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THE   QUESTION   MARK      ; 
Published  by  the  Boston  Public  Library  Staff  Association 

Volume  XX  Number  1  Januar^r  1965 

Publications  Committee:  Michael  Arnoldj  Jean  Babcock|  Barbara  Bachrachj 

Jane  Manthorne;  Sheila  Stevens j  lirSo  Bridie  Stotz^ 
George  ScvuLly,  Cartoonistj  Sarah  Usher,  Indexerj 
VJilliam  T,  Casey,  Chairman 

Publication  date:  Deadline  for  submitting  material: 

The  fifteenth  of  each  month  The  tenth  of  each  month 


One  of  our  favorite  patrons  is  a  remarkable  lady  who  has  spent  a 
good  part  of  her  ninety  years  in  the  company  of  books.  Another  favorite  is  too 
shy  to  reveal  her  age^  but  is  old  enough  to  enjoy  the  pre-school  story  hour. 
Considered  together,  these  charming  ladies  represent  the  opposite  ends  of  the 
broad  spectrum  of  library  service.  No  other  institution  attempts  to  serve 
such  a  variety  of  age  and  tastes  as  a  public  library,  and,  in  attempting  to 
render  this  all-incl\isive  service,  no  other  institution  can  lay  claim  to  such 
a  remarkable  record  of  both  failure  and  success. 

By  way  of  underscoring  this  point,  this  particular  issue  of  QM  contains 
reports  of  activity  in  the  three  major  areas  of  public  library  service  -  Adult, 
Young  Adult  and  Children,  These  reports  are  indicative  of  the  manner  in  which 
we  maintain  a  continuing  program  of  activity  on  all  three  levels.  If  these 
programs  represent  our  successes  -  where  then  shall  we  look  for  our  failures? 

If  a  child  has  never  listened  wide-eyed  to  a  story  or  been  transported 
to  the  mafe;ic  land  of  fairy  tales  -  we  have  failed.  If  a  yo\mg  adult  has  nothing 
but  contempt  for  books  and  reading  -  vre  have  failed.  When  an  adult  can  boast  of 
never  having  set  foot  in  a  library  since  childhood  -  we  have  failed© 

To  acknowledge  these  failures,  is  the  first  step  toward  overcoming 
them,  for  one  of  the  hazards  of  this  profession  is  a  form  of  psychological 
myopia.  To  live  and  work  with  books  may  make  us  forget,  that,  for  far  too  many 
people,  the  library  plays  no  part  in  their  lives.  It  is  a  paradox  that  would 
have  delighted  Chesterton  to  realize  that  even  though  we  are  hard  pressed  to 
handle  the  multitudes  who  flock  to  Bates  Hall  on  a  busy  Sunday,  we  rnust  still 
continue  to  search  out  those  who  need  us  most© 

VJithin  this  paradoK  lies  the  root  of  a  mild  form  of  schizophrenia 
\^hich  manifests  itself  when  we  attempt  to  balance  between  the  harsh  reality  of 
daily  living  and  the  bright  promise  of  tomorrow,  VJhile  one  of  our  "split 
personalities"  thinks  large  thoughts  on  the  fiondaniental  philosophy  of 
librariaiiship,  the  other  one  must  concern  itself  with  such  things  as  coverage 
and  overdue  postals. 

But  these  have  ever  been  "the  best  and  the  worst  of  times".  Much 
remains  for  us  to  do  in  the  months  that  lie  ahead*  The  word  "challenge"  has 
been  so  overworked  it  has  lost  much  of  its  effect,  but  it  still  retains  enough 
force  to  remind  us  of  the  magnitude  of  the  job  that  still  needs  doing, 

THE  PU'BLICATIOJIS  CQ'MITTEE 


-  2  - 


rR£SIDEi:T»S  NOTES  I 
I 

Yoxir  Executive  Board  has  been  hard  at   , 
work  on  a  number  of  progrejns  whi.ch  will 
be  discussed  at  the  next  Business  jleetingsi 
One  problem  which  we  have  been  trying  to  • 
solve  is  the  increase  for  the  LA  service©  '. 
I  am  sure  that  it  is  no  news  to  the      j 
membership  to  learn  that  an  increase  has 
been  long  overdue  and  that  it  is  not  only  I 
Justified  but  essential.  Such  an  increase 
is  essential  if  we  are  to  retain  those 
who  are  now  in  the  employ  of  the  LLbraiy 
and  also  attract  new  members  to  the  serv- 
ice, I  can  only  ask  you  to  please  be 
patient  and  bear  with  us  until  we  have 
some  definite  neiis  for  you.  The  Execu- 
tive Board  has  also  been  working  on  an 
In-Service  Training  Program.  I  hope  to 
have  a  definite  program  worked  out  in 
the  near  future, 

%  thanks  to  Lana  Reed  and  the  members 
of  the  Program  Committee  for  the  excel- 
lent program  which  took  place  on  Thxirsday, 
January  lh»     Both  speakers  had  some 
excellent  and  thought  provoking  ixif orma- 
tion  which  the  members  may  be  able  to  use 
not  only  in  augmenting  the  war  on  poverty 
but  in  improving  our  image  and  our  rela- 
tions with  the  public  and  also  in  assist- 
ing in  the  advancement  of  the  underprivi- 
leged in  our  commimity. 


IIARY  T,  CRaVE, 
President 

HHHKHKKKKHHBHKHKi 

PERSOUIEL  NOTES 


■5HHHHKHHH 


Entered 


■iKHHKHKHHH 


Leo  Boucher  -  Book  Stack  Service 
Marjorie  R,  Bloomberg  -  Memorial 
Dorothy  Fletcher  -  Parker  Hill 
Diane  R,  Mitchell  -  Uphams  Corner 
Rose  A.  Strano  -  Charlestown 
Eleanor  L,  Kimball  -  Mt,  Pleasant 
Richard  Forest  -  Science  and  Technology 
Patricia  M,  Morrell  -  Book  Purchasing 
James  Rothwell  -  C^en  Shelf 
Janet  M,  IJatkins  -  Codman  Sqixare 

Re-Entered 

Mrs,  Blanche  S,  Lynch  -  tfyde  Park 
Barbara  Tuthill  -  Ifettapan 


Maternity  Leave 

iirs,  Laura  H„  Reyes  "  Mattapan 
Transferred 

Dianne  iu  Mullally  -  from  memorial  to 

Charlestown 
Helen  V.  Rothwell  -  from  lit.  Pleasant 

to  Egleston 
Jeannette  Dupis-from  Parker  Hill  to 

Bookmobiles 
Alvin  H,  Price-from  Egleston  to  liattapan 
iiary  A.  LaFollette-from  Charlestown  to 

Mt.  Pleasant 
Maureen  E,  Hanlon  -  from  Book  Pm^chasing 

to  Book  Selection  R&RS 

CEASED 

Ronald  D,  McLeod  -  Audio-Visual  -  to 

accept  another  position 
Barbara  H.  Rogstad  -  Uphams  Corner  -  to 

work  at  Science  Museum 
Janet  Price  -  Mattapan  -  to  accept 

another  position 
Barbara  A.  Bachrach  -  General  Reference  - 

to  accept  another  position 

■>HHHKHHH«HHHHHHKHBHKi-iKKHHKHKHKKKKHKKK«HH{- 

BI  I^EMORIAI^ 

James. P»  Mooera 

On  December  31^  1961i,  James  P,  llooers, 
formerly  Chief  of  the  Binding  Department, 
passed  away,  Ylr,   Mooers  had  retired  from 
the  service  of  the  Library  on  April  8, 
i960,  after  almost  li8  years  of  faithful 
service, 

Phil,  as  he  was  known  affectionably  to 
all  his  associates,  entered  the  Library's 
service  on  October  6,  1912  as  an  Appren- 
tice in  the  Binding  Department,  He  left 
the  Library  on  June  25,  1917  to  pursue 
farming  as  a  means  of  livelihood  for  a 
brief  period  of  time.  He  re-entered  the 
Library  on  October  29,  1917,  Less  than 
two  months  later  he  joined  the  United 
States  armed  forces  in  the  First  World 
War,  He  served  his  country  with  distinc- 
tion as  a  machine  gimner  in  the  Arnry,  He 
was  discharged  with  the  rank  of  Sargent, 

Once  again,  on  September  l5,  1919  he 
returned  to  the  Library  and  continued  his 
service  in  the  Binding  Department,  On 
Hay  6,  1931;  he  was  made  Acting  Chief  of 
the  Binding  Department  and  on  August  6, 
1936  he  became  its  Chief  and  continued  as 
head  of  the  unit  until  his  retirement^ 

cont. 


-  3 


Phil  xiras  married  to  Angeline  Hovestadt^ 
who  had  previously  served  as  secretary 
in  the  Binding  Dei^artinent,  They  had  two 
daughters  Olga  Joan  and  Dorothy  Jane,  He 
lived  in  Dorchester  with  his  family 
during  most  of  his  life  and  moved  to 
Randolph  shortly  after  his  retiremento 

Phil  vras  a  man  who  enjoyed  his  work  and 
membership  in  various  organizations.  He 
was  active  in  American  Legion  activities 
and  held  many  offices  in  the  Arnavets 
and  the  Boston  i'ublic  Library  Employees 
Benefit  Association, 

His  was  a  generous  disposition  and  he 
was  at  all  times  a  quiet,  dignified,  and 
fine  gentlemaHa  He  had  the  qualities  of 
loyalty,  dependability,  devotion  to  duty, 
and  cheerfulness.  May  he  rest  in  peace i 

■5HKHB^x-;kb;-x-;khhh:-;;-;;-xskkhk;-;k$-»^s^^^^ 

CONVALESCENT  COI^HIENTS 


In  our  modern  scientific  society  every- 
body, even  one  as  scientifically  benightei 
as  I,  knows  that  nothing  is  static.  Every- 
thing is  constantly  on  the  move,  either 
progressing  or  retrogressing,  [s  ane  things 
may  even  be  moving  sideways  but,  since  I 
do  not  Imow  the  term  for  that  kind  of 
movement,  I'll  ignore  it,]  So,  even  when 
I  seemed  to  be  just  lying  in  a  hospital 
bed,  not  allowed  to  lift  anything  heavier 
than  a  finger,  I  was  aware  that,  right 
under  the  eyes  of  an  alert  medical  staff, . 
I  was  really  moving  all  the  time,  I 
would  have  sworn  that  I  was  keeping 
absolutely  still,  but  you  can't  argue  with 
Science,  nohoiir.  Contrariwise,  I  was  just 
a  victem  of  Kinetic  forces,  obeying  the 
doctor's  orders  and  the  laws  of  dynamics 
at  the  same  time,  I  might  have  developed 
a  fine  case  of  schizophrenia  if  I  had  not 
fortunately  been  so  absorbed  with  my 
coronary  case.  Anyway,  as  long  as  I  X'xas 
on  the  move,  vjilly-nilly,  I  decided  that 
I  would  at  least  choose  my   own  direction, 
and  began  consideration  of  several  possi- 
ble roads  to  take. 

There  was  the  Road  to  Mandalay-  I  have 
long  been  fascinated  by  the  idea  of  seeir^ 
those  flying  fishes  playing  in  the  thun- 
dering daT,Tm  but,  the  political  situation 
in  Southeast  Asia  being  what  it  is,  it 
didn't  sound  lilce  a  place  safe  for  ori- 
ental fish,  let  alone  a  weakened  Westerner, 

Then  I  fleetlngly  considered  Tobacco 
Road  but  even  at  the  height  of  its  literacy 


prosperity,  I  have  never  quite  appre- 
ciated its  earthly  charms.  Besides, 
since  I  had  virtually  given  up  smoking, 
it  seemed  unlikely  that  the  residents 
would  appreciate  me  and  my   undermining 
of  their  weedy  econorry. 

Of  course,  there  is  alvxays  the  Road 
to  Ruin,  but  most  days  I  looked  and  felt 
as  if  that  was  where  I  had  just  been. 

The  direction  most  widely  favored  was 
the  Road  to  Recovery  ,  I  received 
scores  of  cards  and  notes  commending  it 
to  my  attention  and,  since  it  was  the 
only  place  to  which  I  was  actually  in- 
vited, I  thought  I  should  give  it  a  try. 
So,  for  those  who  have  been  inquiring, 
that's  where  I  am  now  -  on  the  Road  to 
Recoveryo  The  posted  speed  limits  being 
what  they  are,  I  couldn't  outrun  the  hare, 
not  to  mention  the  tortoise,  but  I  have 
at  least  advanced  from  a  toehold  to  a 
firm  foothold.  Furthermore,  this  pace 
allows  time  for  me  to  enjoy  the  flowers, 
plants,  billboards  and  well-wishers  so 
liberally  strewn  along  the  roadside o  ^ 
ciirrent  complaint  is  that  this  is  a 
longer  road  than  I  had  expected,  and  I 
hope  I  haven't  missed  my   exit.  Oh,  well, 
maybe  one  of  my  best  friends  vail  tell 
me  where  to  get  off.  They  usually  do, 

Veronica  M,  Lehane 

ROUND  TABLE  OF  CHUDREH'S  LIBRARIAI^S 

The  Round  Table  of  Children's  Librar- 
ians held  its  Winter  meeting  on  Thursday, 
January  lU,  1965  at  the  Worcester  Public 
Libraryo 

Mrs,  Pris  cilia  Moult  on.  Chairman, 
opened  the  meeting  by  expressing  appre- 
ciation to  the  librarians,  particularly 
Mrs,  Madelyn  Wankmiller  of  the  Children's 
Section,  for  the  hospitality  of  the 
Library, 

The  topic  for  the  day  was  on  the  Book 
E^cposure  Program  for  culturally  deprived 
children  in  the  elementary  grades  in 
Worcester,  The  speaker  was  ItLss  I'label 
Wray,  Supervisor  of  Elementary  Education 
for  the  Worcester  Public  Schools,  The 
Worcester  pilot  program,  explained  l-fi-ss 
Wray,  is  strictly  for  motivation  and 
pleasure.  It  is  to  help  the  youngsters 
become  involved  with  books.  She  ex- 
plained the  process  of  book  selection 
and  remarked  on  the  enthusiasm  of  all 
who  participate. 


-  u   - 


After  questions  from  the  floor,  the 
meeting  was  adjoiirned  and  the  membership 
had  an  opportunity  to  toior  the  new  and 
exciting  IJorcester  Library, 

E,  LINDQUIST 


MWM!-"-;:-"-^-"- 


ROUM)  TABLE  OF  YOMG  ADULTS  LIBRARIANS 

The  winter  meeting  of  the  Round  Table  of 
Librarians  for  Young  Adults  was  held  at 
the  new  Worcester  Public  Library  on 
Wednesday,  January  13.  After  a  pleasant 
coffee  hour  in  the  attractive  staff  loimge 
the  business  meeting  continued  in  a  com- 
fortable, well  appointed  meeting  room, 

Mrs,  Leila-Jane  Roberts  announced  the 
resignation  of  Arthur  Wolman  as  President, 
whom  she  as  Vice-President,  replaced  and 
the  appointment  of  Mrs,  Bridie  Stotz  as 
the  new  Vice-President, 


asked  to  write  a  creative  work  in  the 
style  of  the  author  if  they  had  particu- 
larly enjoyed  it. 

Miss  Coleman  read  extensively  from  the 
reviews  which  revealed  surprisingly  keen 
insight  into  the  problems  presented.  She 
spoke  of  the  need  to  represent  death 
[VDeath  in  the  family"  -"Death  be  not 
proud"]  in  the  collection  for  seventh  and 
eight  graders  xjhere  many  children  were 
experiencing  this  for  the  first  time,  and 
that  children  need  older  books  beyond  the 
classics.  One  of  the  problems  of  the 
experiment  was  to  distinguish  those  who 
read  the  advanced  titles  for  prestige,  a 
difficult  thing  to  determine. 

Titles  also  included  in  the  experiment 
Xirere  "Nectar  in  a  sieve",  "Arundel", 
"Hiroshima",  "Pocketbook  of  Ogden  Nash", 
"The  wonderful  world  of  0",  "Report  from 
Red  China",  "The  pearl",  "The  red  pony", 
and  "Cry,  the  beloved  coxmtry".  Other 
titles  will  be  added  and  in  many  instancea 


The  pamphlet  "Every  young  person  needs 
two"  is  now  available  in  a  limited  quantiigfj  the  children  buy  their  own  paper  back 
from  the  Division  of  Library  Extension 
Office,  to  be  used  with  trustees  and  fi- 
nance committees  or  wherever  a  greater 
understanding  is  needed  concerning  public 
and  school  libraries. 

The  program  committee  chairman  announced 
the  mid-winter  meeting  of  MIA  to  be  held 


at  the  Sheraton  Plaza  on  February  11  on 
the  general  topic  of  certification  and 
civil  service j  the  spring  meeting  May  20 
sind  21  at  the  Fi-ovincetown  Innj  and  the 
next  Ro\md  Table  in  Fitchburg  on  May  13* 
which  will  be  a  follow-up  of  the  St,  Louis 
meeting  centering  on  the  common  ground  be- 
tween publishers  and  librarians. 

The  speaker  of  the  morning.  Miss 
Jacqueline  Coleman,  Elementary  School  li- 
brary Supervisor  of  Brookline,  in  a  talk 
entitled  "Higher  horizons  for  the  younger 
young  adult"  described  a  project  carried 
on  id-th  an  eight  grade  [not  an  advanced 
group]  in  which  such  titles  as  "Catcher 
in  the  Rye",  To  kill  a  mocking  bird", 
"Black  like  me",  "Lord  of  the  flies", 
"Good  earth",  were  made  available  in  paper 
back  editions  in  the  school  library.  Those 
who  xd-shed  were  free  to  borrow  them,  with 
the  teachers  assuming  the  responsibility, 
these  titles  being  neither  restricted  nor 
pushed.  If  selected,  reviews  were  written 
for  the  teacher  in  which  the  child  told 
something  about  the  author,  how  the  book 
was  ^^rritten,  what  the  book  said  to  him, 
and  in  some  instances  the  children  were 


copies, 

ffiss  Coleman  feels  that  such  books  will 
not  hurt  the  seventh  and  eight  graders 
since  they  understand  the  social  history 
because  they  are  living  in  it,  while 
"Huckleberry  Finn"  or  "Uncle  Tom's  cabin" 
could  harm  them.  It  was  brought  out 
that  there  was  no  parental  objection 
since  they  wanted  this  opportunity  for 
their  children.  Another  interesting 
comment  from  the  audience  was  that  most 
of  these  books  are  not  difficult  reading 
and  are  short  in  length  and  the  same 
children  who  read  these  would  not  take  a 
longer,  more  solid  book. 

In  closing  her  talk  ffiss  Coleman 
suggested  that  whatever  we  think  the  li- 
brary must  enrich  the  reading  experience 
of  each  child,  that  the  children  with  a 
good  background  of  the  best  children's 
literature  are  ready  for  the  adult  books, 
and  that  the  library  should  let  the 
children  have  free  access  to  these  books 
and  permit  them  to  reject  them  for  them- 
selves, 

A  half -hour  tour  of  the  building  was 
provided  at  the  end  of  the  meeting, 

PAULINE  A,  WALKER 


THE  LIBRARY  PM)   THE  WAR  ON  POVERTY 

A  special  program  was  held  in  the 
lecture  hall  of  the  central  library  on 
Thursday,  January  lii.  '  Sponsored  by  the 
Staff  Association,  it  was  designed  to 
acquaint  the  members  of  the  staff  with 
some  of  the  far-reaching  implications  of 
the  anti-poverty  program  launched  by 
federal,  state  and  local  agencies, 

Itr,  Belden  Daniels,  Program  Director 
of  the  Commonwealth  Service  Corps,  gave 
the  general  outlines  of  the  program  as  it 
applies  to  Massachusetts,  The  Service 
Corps,  which  hopes  to  have  1000  members 
by  September,  1965,  has  three  general 
aims: 

1,  It  co-ordinates  the  work  of 
state  agencies  and  programs, 

2,  It  assists  cities  and  toims  to 
establish  community  action 
programs  such  as  ABCD, 

3,  It  will  also  review  programs 
throughout  the  state  in  order 
to  make  certain  they  are  opera- 
ting at  maximum  efficiency* 

He  explained  that  the  anti-poverty 
program  has  five  general  targets: 

1,  To  sponsor  local  initiative 
lether  than  outside  interventicru 

2,  To  co-ordinate,  at  the  local 
level,  public  and  private 
resources, 

3,  To  encourage  direct  participa- 
tion by  the  people  most 
involved. 

i;.  To  concentrate  available  re- 
sources where  they  will  do  the 
most  good, 

5.  Eliminate  poverty  as  far  as  is 
humanly  possible  to  do  so, 

I'ir,  Francis  X,  Moloney,  who  is  on  loan 
to  the  Mayor's  Office  as  Coordinator  of 
the  ABCD  program,  spoke  with  great  feel- 
ing on  some  of  the  very  disturbing  sit- 
uations vrhich  this  program  is  endeavor- 
ing to  combat.  Giving  a  brief  sketch  of 
the  aims  and  background  of  ABCD,  I^, 
Moloney  explained  that  it  is  a  quasi- 
public  organization,  operated  with  grants 
from  foundations  and  designed  to  cope 
with  some  of  the  human  problems  resulting 
from  contemporary  urban  living, 

l-tr,  Moloney  discussed  two  major  aspects 
of  the  Economic  Opportunity  Act  of  196I|.  « 
the  VJork  Training  Program  for  Youth 


[Title  lb] J  and  the  Community  Action 
Program  [Title  Ila],  He  outlined  some 
of  the  dimensions  of  the  problem  on  the 
local  level  and  indicated  in  general 
terms  how  libraries  would  become  more 
and  more  involved  in  this  massive  effort 
to  cope  with  a  program  which  effects  us 
alio 

W.  C, 

CATHOLIC  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION 

The  winter  meeting  of  the  New  England 
Unit  of  the  Catholic  Library  Association 
was  held  on  Saturday  afternoon,  January 
9th,  at  Ronan  Hall,  Saint  Peter's  School, 
Dorchester,  Sister  Marion  SCH,  PhD,  an 
authority  in  geographic  studies,  gave  a 
talk,  illustrated  with  color  slides,  of 
social  and  economic  conditions  in  South 
America,  specifically  in  the  city  of 
Call,  Colombia,  The  new  John  F,  Kennedy 
Youth  Library  of  St,  Peter's  School,  one 
of  the  few  elementary  school  libraries 
in  the  Boston  area,  was  open  for  inspec- 
tion. Let  it  be  said,  the  library  is 
bright,  modern,  and  well-stocked  with  a 
fine  juvenile  collection.  At  5  p«m,  a 
llass  for  the  deceased  members  of  the  New 
England  Unit  was  said  by  the  Chairman, 
Rev,  Nicholas  Jo  McNeil  S.J,,  in  Saint 
Peter's  Church, 


THANK  YOU  J 


To  the  Staff: 


On  behalf  of  the  Committee  for  the 
Christmas  Tea  I  wish  to  thank  all  the 
staff  members,  former  staff  members, 
and  friends  of  staff  members  who  made 
the  Tea  such  a  success  by  their  dona- 
tions of  food  and  money  beforehand,  and 
by  their  presence  in  the  VJomen's  Lounge 
on  the  afternoon  of  December  22,  1961;, 

ELIZABETH  F.  SCAIvINELL 

Chairman,  1961;  Christmas 
Tea  Committee 

CONGRATULATIONSJ 

To  Mrs,  Carolyn  McDonough  [formerly 
Carolyn  Rose  of  the  R&RS  Division  Office] 
on  the  birth  of  an  8  lb,  6  oz,  baby  boy 
on  January  lh» 


-  6  - 


STAFF  BI  PRINT 

"The  Superriiarket  Come-On",  an  article 
on  paperbacks  by  Jane  Manthorne,  newly 
appointed  Coordinator  of  Young  Adults' 
Services,  appears  in  the  January  1965 
issue  of  the  School  Library  Journal. 

DON'T  MISS  IT  i 

TO  THE  STAFF: 

Please  accept  the  sincere  thanks  from 
the  Coiiffoittee  and  Chairman  of  CARE  for 
your  wonderfiil  contributions  during  the 
year  1961i,  The  total  amount  was  $226,26 
which  iiTas  greatly  appreciateds 

Anne  Dray 

Marie  Cashman 

Rhoda  Blacker 

Selnia  C,  Hon^fitz,  Chairman 

A  thanl<  you  said  simply  sometimes  is 
the  best  way,  so  to  my  Committee,  Anne 
Dray,  Harie  Cashman,  Rhoda  Blacker  please 
accept  rr^  thanks  for  your  cooperatione 
It  has  been  my  pleasure  to  have  served 
with  you.  And  to  Mildred  Somes  for  her 
artistic  help  v/ith  the  CARE  poster^  a 
very  special  Thank  You,  It  is  because 
of  people  like  you  that  made  the  privi- 
lege of  beiiig  your  chairman  such  a 
pleasure.  Thanks, 

Selma  C.  Hond.tz 


Jt-5'_>Ot-!<_»<. 


TEN  COMMANDMENTS  OF  HUMAN  RELATIONS 

1,  Speak  to  people.  There  is  notliing 
as  nice  as  a  cheerful  word  of 
greeting, 

2,  Smile  at  people.  It  takes  72  muscles 
to  frown,  only  Ih   to  smile, 

3,  Call  people  by  name.  The  sv/eetest 
music  to  anyone's  ear  is  the  sound 
of  his  or  her  own  name, 

U,  Be  friendly.  If  you  have  a  friend 

-  be  one, 
5,  Be  cordial.  Speak  and  act  as  tho 

everything  you  do  is  a  genuine 

pleasure. 


6,  Be  sincerely  interested  in  others. 
You  can  like  almost  everybody  - 

if  you  try, 

7,  Be  generous  with  praise  -  cautious 
with  criticism, 

8,  Be  considerate  of  the  feelings  of 
others  -  it  will  be  appreciated, 

9,  Be  thoughtful  of  the  opinions  of 
other.  There  are  usually  three 
sides  to  a  controversy  -  yours,  the 
other  fellovjs,  and  the  right  one, 

10,  Be  alert  to  give  service,  IJhat 
coionts  most  in  life  is  what  vje  do 
for  others. 

Add  to  these  commandments  a  sense 
of  humor,  plenty  of  hxinility  and 
you  will  be  rex^arded  manyfold. 

Written  by  a  retired  lady  (Federal. 
Service)  and  printed  in  a  retired  peoples 
magazine a 


•jhhkk;-«-:hhkh:-; 


The  following  was  received  at  desk 
of  Brighton  Branch  -  Tliis  proves  that 
someone  loves  us  - 

M,  W,  Haverty 

I  do  not  want 

books  today 

Merry  Christmas 

and  a  happy  new 

years 

love 

Ann  ilarie 
Minehart 

yiy  Grandfather  is 
returning  rr^  books 


U     7  M 


V 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


^of^P  6^'» 


\ 


/ 


'^ 


i '  ■ 


Any  contribution  to  the  Soap  Box  must 
be  accoiiipanied  by  the  full  name  of  the 
Association  member  submitting  it,  together 
with  the  name  of  the  Branch  Library, 
Department  or  Office  in  which  he  or  she  is 
employed.  The  name  is  with-held  from 
publication,  or  a  pen  name  is  used,  if  the 
contributor  so  requests.  Anonymous  con- 
tributions are  not  given  consideration. 
The  author  of  the  article  is  known  only 
to  the  Editor-in-Chief,  The  contents  of 
the  articles  appearing  in  the  Soap  Box 
are  personal  opinions  expressed  by  indi- 
vidual Association  members  and  their 
appearance  does  not  necessarily  indicate 
that  the  Publications  Committee  and  the 
Association  are  in  agreement  with  the  vievxs 
expressed.  Only  those  contributions  not 
containing  more  than  300  words  will  be 
accepted. 


.^y 


U 


/  V 


8 


1:^ 


9 
§ 

a 

1-3 


THE   QUESTION   MARK 

Published  by  the  Boston  Public  Library  Staff  Association 

Volume  XX  Number  2 February  1965 

Publications  Committee:  Michael  Arnold^  Jean  Babcock;  Jane  Ifenthornej  Sheila 

Stevens j  Ifrs,  Bridie  Stotzj  George  Scully,  Cartoonist^ 
Sarah  Usher,  Indexer;  VJilliam  T,  Casey,  Chaimian. 

Publication  date:  Deadline  for  submitting  material: 

The  fifteenth  of  each  month  The  tenth  of  each  month 


At  the  bottom  of  the  pile  of  calendars,  Christmas  cards  and  unpaid  bills 
left  over  from  the  Christmas  season  was  a  letter  that  never  quite  made  the 
Soap  Box. 

Dear  Editor: 

I  am  a  new  member  of  the  library  staff,  I  wanted  to  Join  the  Staff  Associ- 
ation, but  some  of  my  little  friends  in  the  Coffee  Shop  tell  me  there  is  no  Staff 
Association,  I-^  department  head  said  that  if  you  see  it  in  the  Question  Mark  - 
it  is  in  the  Question  Mark»  Please  tell  me  what  to  do« 

Virginia 

Dear  Virginia: 

Your  little  friends  are  the  cynical  victims  of  a  cynical  age.  They  believe 
only  in  those  things  they  can  actually  see.  They  believe  that  because  the  Staff 
Association  lies  sleeping  peacefully,  it  does  not  exist  at  alio  They  believe  it 
is  dead  just  because  the  business  meetings  sometimes  resemble  a  v;ake. 

Your  little  friends  are  wrong,  Virginia,  They  can  have  no  understanding  of 
the  mighiy force  of  apathy  that  motivates  this  sleeping  giant.  They  can  have  no 
true  concept  of  the  vast  store  of  indifference  awaiting  only  the  moment  of  liber- 
ation. They  can  not  know  that  when  the  ice  leaves  Copley  Square,  this  mighty 
host  will  rise  as  one  man  and  surge  reluctantly  forward  to  storm  the  gates  of 
City  Hall. 

Not  believB  in  the  Staff  Association?  Why  you  might  as  well  not  believe  in 
Parking  Meters,  in  the  sales  tax  or  in  the  MBTAo  Yes ^Virginia,  there  is  a  Staff 
Association,  It  lives  forever  in  the  heart  of  every  member  who  has  ever  volun- 
teered to  serve  on  a  committee,  who  has  ever  offered  a  resolution  to  further  the 
goals  of  the  membership,  or  who  is  willing  to  give  whatever  is  necessary  to  make 
this  Staff  Association  a  real  and  vital  organization. 

THE  PUBLICATIONS  COMMITTEE 


mm  i^  tm 


PRi^oIDElJT'S  NOTES 

I  regret  to  say  that  the  new  Executive 
Board  has  not  had  a  meeting  because  most 
of  the  members  have  succumbed  to  the  flu,, 
As  soon  as  enough  of  us  recover,  we  vfiU 
begin  to  work  on  the  many  problems  which 
I  outlined  in  nry  report  at  the  January 
Business  Meeting » 

MARY  T.  CROWE, 
President 

^HH(-^^;-;:--;r:HHK:-^-x-;H;-r-;HHHHHHHKHHHKBKHHHHHHH;-;H;- 


PERSONNEL  NOTES 


Entered 


Marsha  VJhitman  -  Bookmobiles  [formerly 

part-time ] 
Margery  E,  Berman  -  South  End 
Mrs,  Judith  Gans  -  Print 
Walter  Jones,  Jr.  -  Rare  Book 
Florence  Jacobs  -  Bookmobiles 
Agnes  Kelley  -  Connolly  [formerly  paa^t- 

time  at  Alls ton] 

Ceased 

Lois  Lyman  -  Washington  Village  -  to 

attend  Simmons  full-time 
Thomas  Logan  -  Book  Stack  Service  -  to 
'tattend  college 
Elizabeth  H,  O'Brien  -  Bookmobiles  - 

moved  to  Lawrence 

■5HHHHHHKHBHKHHHHHBHKHHKHHHHHWKHKKHHKHHHH5- 

IN  MEMCRIAM 

John  Tuley,  Fire  Prevention  Inspector, 
passed  away  on  7  February  1965. 

Jack  had  long  service  in  the  Library 
and  other  city  departments.  He  had  been 
in  the  Public  VJorks  Department,  Real 
Estate  Division  since  1939  before  coming 
to  the  Library's  Buildings  Department  in 
19i;l.  He  became  the  Library's  Fire  Pre- 
vention Inspector  in  19U8o 

His  activities  in  this  position  made 
him  a  familiar  figure  throughout  the 
Central  Library  Building  and  the  Branch 
Libraries,  Jack  took  great  pride  and 
interest  in  his  work.  He  loved  the  work 


he  did  and  was  enthusiastic  in  discussing 
and  lorging  installation  of  the  latest 
developments  in  fire  prevention. 

Jack  was  a  long-time  member  of  the 
American  Legion,  He  served  in  the  regu- 
lar Army   for  four  years.  He  took  part 
in  the  Mexican  Border  Incident  in  1916, 
spent  26  months  overseas  with  the  First 
Division  and  9  months  with  the  Army  of 
Occupation  in  Germany, 

The  great  interest  in  Jack's  life  was 
his  family.  The  activities  of  his  three 
daughters  and  two  sons  were  well-known 
to  all  his  friends  in  the  Library,  as 
Jack  kept  us  posted  on  all  their  activ- 
ities. 

Jack  was  born  in  Staten  Island,  New 
York  in  1897,  lived  in  the  Savin  Hill 
area  of  Dorchester  most  of  the  time  he 
worked  in  the  Library,  but  in  recent 
years  lived  in  the  Ashmont  area.  But  I 
think  Jack  would  agree  that  he  found  a 
"home"  in  the  Library,  His  family  in  the 
Library  will  miss  him  both  as  a  dedicated 
public  servant  and  a  sincere  and  friendly- 
staff  member. 

-;hhhhhhhh;-^s«hhkh5^shkkbhkkkhhkkkhkkhhkkh^ 
BRANCH  NOTES 

On  a  wet  Friday  evening,  January  8, 
Miss  B,  Gertrude  Wade,  I'lrs  Dorothy 
Ekstrom  and  Miss  Peggy  Brooks  embarked 
from  Memorial  and  Mt,  Pleasant  Branches 
to  collect  their  guests  of  honor.  Miss 
Dianne  Mullally  and  ¥!rs.   Vera  Rothwell, 

Miss  Mullally,  after  four  months  of 
service  at  Memorial,  and  i^frs,  Rothwell, 
having  given  of  herself  for  sixteen 
months  at  Mt,  Pleasant,  have  left  respec- 
tively for  the  Charlestown  and  Egleston 
Square  Branch  Libraries, 

One  and  all  sailed  through  several 
courses  of  good  food  at  the  English  Tea 
Room,  after  which.  Miss  Mullally  and  l^s, 
Rothwell  were  presented  with  gift  sweaters, 
being  regaled  the  while  by  a  self-appointed 
delegation  of  clowns  who  shall  remain 
anonymous, 

A  delightful  time  was  had  by  all, 

^H««B^<-;KHHi■ 


-  3  - 


Branch  Notes  cont« 


Dear  Lklitor: 

One  of  our  youiig  borrowers  - 
about  age  10  -  who  forms  part  of  the 
"study  group"  every  day  left  the  follow- 
ing poem  \irith  me  the  other  day.  We  feel 
that  it  ought  to  be  shared  via  the  QM 
with  the  rest  of  the  staff.  Perhaps  we 
should  label  it  -  The  Child's  Eye  View? 

VJhat  Does  a  Librarian  Do?  [humorous] 

VJhat  does  a  librarian  do  when  she  has 

nothing  to  do? 
She  sits  around  like  a  clown  that  is  what 

she  does« 
What  does  a  librarian  do  when  she  is  mad 

at  you? 
She  kicks  you  ought  with  a  shout,  that  is 

what  she  does» 
What  does  a  librarian  do  when  you  have 

something  to  chew? 
She  says  spit  it  out,  then  kicks  you  out, 

that  is  vrhat  she  does  J 
V\Jhat  does  a  librarian  do  when  she  is  mad 

at  you? 
I  pity  you«  Just  play  it  cool  and  act 

lilce  you  were  just  getting  ready  to  go<, 

By  the  Poet  John 

Respectfully  submitted, 
B.  GERTRUDE  MADE 

COmRATULATIdlSi 

To  Itrs,  Barbara  Flye  [formerly  of  the 
Home  Reading  Division  Office]  on  the 
birth  of  a  7  lbs,  i;  oz,  baby  boy,       , 
Michael  Richard,  on  January  31» 

CONGRATULATIONS J 

To  Iferie  Quinn  [Reference  Division 
Office]  x^ho  was  delighted  recipient  of  a 
beautiful  diamond  ring  on  February  l8th, 
A  September  wedding  is  planned  by  Marie 
and  her  fiancee,  Dennis  Buckley  of 
Arlington,  Congratulations  and  best 
wishes  to  you  bothi 

•jh«bhbhhc-x-^x-:h;-x-;khhhhhs>^^ 


NEQRO  HISTORY  VffiEK  PRCCJIAM 
FCR  lom^G  .^liULTS 


Today's  younger  generation  are  the 
history  makers  of  tomorrow.  With  this 
thought  in  mind  it  seemed  logical  to  focus 
a  Negro  History  V/eek  program  on  career 
opportunities  for  young  adults.  High 
school  students  were  invited  to  come  to 
the  Lecture  Hall  of  the  Boston  Public 
Library  on  Wednesday,  February  10,  at 
6:U5  p.nie  to  discover  for  themselves  that 
"Negroes  Can  and  Do  Make  Good"  and  to 
find  out  how  Negro  job-holders  have  done 
so. 

Sponsored  by  the  South  End  Branch  li- 
brary and  the  Yo\mg  Adult  Room  of  the  Open 
Shelf  Department,  the  program  consisted 
of  four  interrelated  segments.  First  came 
a  panel  discussion  on  the  subject,  skill-. 
fxdly  moderated  by  Miss  Jane  lianthorne. 
Coordinator  of  Young  Adult  Services,  The 
distinguished  panelists  included  Mr,  John 
D,  0 'Bryant,  Guidance  Counselor,  Boston 
Technical  High  School,  Dro  David  V7,  Skinner, 
Vice  President  and  General  Manager, 
Polaroid  Corporation,  Kr,  ifcrray  L,  Townsenc 
Jr,,  Deputy  Enqsloyment  Policy  Officer, 
U,  S,  Internal  Revenue  Service,  and  Mr, 
Harold  L.  Vaughan,  Supervisor  of  Assessors 
for  the  City  of  Boston,  [a  fifth  member, 
Mr,  Thomas  J,  Broi'm,  founder  of  Jobs 
Clearing  House,  Inc,,  was  ill  with  the  flu] 
Because  the  four  panelists  varied  widely 
in  background  and  vocational  experience, 
each  one  had  something  important  and  yet 
distinct  to  say  about  how  young  people 
shoiiLd  prepare  themsleves  to  enter  the 
working  world,  how  they  should  act  on  the 
job,  and  their  chances  for  realizing  pro- 
motion and  personal  achievement.  They 
were  candid  and  straightforward  in  their 
assessment  of  possible  limitations  and 
opportunities  in  the  employment  field  for 
Negroes,  yet  they  communicated  to  the 
audience  the  conviction  that  there  are 
careers  unlimited  for  all  those  who  are 
genuinely  interested  in  aspiring  towards 
thema 

Following  this  lively  exchange  of  views 
and  factual  information,  eight  young  Negro 
men  and  women  gave  individual  job  profiles 
~  short  talks  on  their  own  particular 
fields  of  work.  Represented  in  the  group 

Cont, 


-  I;  . 


were  a  systems  engineer,  a  credit  analyst 
for  a  bank,  a  medical  research  assistant, 
and  of  course  a  librarian,  the  BPL's  ^ir, 
Alvis  Price,  Young  Adults  Librarian  at 
the  Mattapan  Branch  Library,  Personable 
and  sincere,  the  speakers  frequently 
added  impact  to  their  presentations  by 
revealing  many  different  types  of  jobs 
they  had  held  before  attaining  their 
present  positions. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  talks  members 
of  the  audience  were  welcome  to  take 
their  questions  directly  to  the  job- 
holders and  panelists,  and  to  inspect  the 
excellent  exhibit  of  career  materials 
prepared  by  Mrs,  Helen  Bickford,  Young 
Adults  Librarian  of  the  Open  Shelf 
Department, 

Although  the  weather  was  most  uncoop~ 
erative  on  the  night  of  February  10  with 
sleet,  freezing  rain,  and  hazardous 
driving  conditions,  the  Lecture  Hall  was 
comfortably  filled  with  a  receptive  and 
responsive  audience  of  both  high  school- 
ers and  their  parents.  One  mother 
appeared  alone.  Her  two  teen-agers  were 
busy  studying  for  exams  but  not  wanting 
to  miss  the  program,  they  had  delegated 
her  to  attend  and  bring  back  the  infor- 
mation! 

MLA  I-HD-WINTER  JffiETING 

The  Mid-VJinter  gathering  of  MLA.  took 
place  on  Thursday,  February  11  at  the 
Sheraton  Plaza,  The  program,  arranged 
by  Vice-President  Mlton  E.  Lord,  had  a 
two-fold  theme.  Although  the  primary 
purpose  was  to  introduce  the  State  Board 
of  Library  Commissioners  to  the  Associa- 
tion, it  was  also  designed  to  convey  the 
message  that  1965  would  definitely  be  a 
Library  Year  for  both  state  and  nation. 

Introducing  the  "faceless"  people  v/ho 
served  iiithout  compensation  on  the  Board, 
Mr  Lord  recalled  the  history  of  this 
organization  and  some  of  the  outstanding 
people  who  had  served  as  members.  He 
mentioned  the  debt  that  professional 
librarians  owe  to  the  interested  and 
knox'Tledgeable  lay  people  who  contributed 
so  much  to  the  Ifessachusetts  libraries. 

After  an  introduction  by  Chairman, 
Richard  Sullivan,  each  of  the  members  of 


the  panel  spoke  briefly  on  one  aspect 
of  the  state-wide  program  of  library 
service  indicating  in  general  terms  what 
is  being  done  now  to  aid  libraries  and 
Xifhat  we  may  look  forward  to  in  the  future. 
The  program  concluded  with  a  series  of 
questions  submitted  from  tlie  floor, 

■«-!HHX-;KHHHKHKHV;HBKKHHKHKKKHh;-^-;HH;-;HKHKHKH:-^^ 

STAFF  m   PRINT 

"Books  for  the  Job  Corps",  an  article 
by  Jane  Manthorne,  appears  in  the 
February  l^th  issue  of  the  Library  Journal 
VJe  are  certain  the  staff  tjill  be  intereste 
to  learn  the  BPL's  role  in  supplying  the 
Job  Corps  with  a  recreational  booklist 
of  USO  titles  as  an  adjunct  to  their  in- 
structional program^  Following  the 
article  is  a  photograph  of  the  BPL  staff 
members  who  participated  in  this  project. 

Another  article  by  Jane  Manthorne 
entitled  "Way-Out  Literature  Collides 
\Jith  Tomorrow"  appears  in  The  Pilot ^s 
Catholic  Book  Week  Supplement,  February 
21-27,  1965.  This  article  gives  us  a 
provocative  insight  into  the  literary 
world  of  Science  Fiction, 

DON'T  MISS  THEMJ 


-  5  - 


On  Friday  evening,  February  $,  the 
staff  of  tlie  ICirstein  Business  Branch 
and  the  many  friends  of  Mss  Winifred 
Root  gathered  at  Anthony's  Pier  h 
Restaurant  to  launch  her  on  her  retire- 
ment. Former  colleagues  and  friends 
came  from  near  and  far  for  the  occasion. 
The  general  consensus  was  that  it  vxas 
the  party  par  excellence  and  Winifred 
was  certainly  sans  pareil.  Looking  very 
beautiful,  chic  and  unretireable,  she 
charmed  us  with  her  speech  accepting  our 
gifts  of  a  television,  an  art  book  and 
greenback  ifhich  should  help  to  keep  the 
television  in  good  repair, 

Mrs  Dorothy  Lovett,  our  former  libra- 
rian, v7ho  was  unable  to  attend  sent  a 
poem  vfhich  suriis  up  our  Winifred, 

To  Winifred  on  Her  Retirement 

We  salute  -  Winifred  Root,  librarian. 
Dispenser  of  books  at  K,  B,  B. 
For  nearly  a  quarter  century; 
First  the  third  floor,  now  the  second 

she  tends. 
Quietly  maldng  a  great  many  friends. 

We  salute  -  V/inifred  Root,  musician. 
Pianist,  allegro  and  con  brio.. 
She  once  was  a  member  of  a  trio; 
By  means  of  her  liagnavox  she'll  knovj 
The  sound  and  style  of  the  latest 
maestro. 

We  salute  -  Winifred  Root,  outdoorsiiian, 
Altmina  of  Camp  Kokatosi, 
Canoer  and  climber,  no  cosy 
Fireside  calls  when  the  weather's 

apposite 
At  Panther  Pond,  Rockport,  or  Ogunquit,  j 

We  salute  -  Winifred  Root, cosmopolitan. 
Traveler  to  out  of  the  way  nooks. 
She  can  use  as  guide  her  brother's 

boolcs. 
Interested  in  causes,  at  home  her 

search 
Has  taken  her  to  Community  Church, 


We  salute  -  Winifred  Root,  friend  and 

colleague, 
iiaker  of  verses  for  many  xriio've  gone. 
She  deserves  here  and  now  one  of  her  own. 
Good  friend  and  colleague  over  the  years. 
She'd  have  done  well  at  many  careers, 

D,M,L,  and  R.L.,  February-  5,  1965 
RITA  M,  DESAUU^IERS 

JETTING  UP  FROM  PATTERSON 

On  Saturday,  February  6,  two  students 
appeared  in  the  Open  Shelf  Department, 
They  were  Fine  Arts  majors  from  Patterson 
State  College,  Patterson,  Nev;  Jersey  who 
had  flown  up  that  morning  to  see  the 
exhibit  of  puppets  on  the  first  floor  of 
the  Central  Library  Building,  We  don't 
know  how  they  found  out  about  the  exhibit, 
but  the  incident  does  show  that  BPL 
publicity  reaches  far  and  wide. 

They  expressed  their  enthusiasm  and 
appreciation  to  both  Grace  Loughlin, 
Chief,  and  A3J.ce  VJaters,  Professional 
Assistant,  vrho  conveyed  the  visitors' 
sentiments  to  the  man  responsible  for 
the  entire  project,  Thomas  lianning, 
Cliief,  Exhibits  Office. 

\f  \/  \f  \j  \^  \j   \/  \f  \j  v/  «/  \/  w   \y  \f  v/  \f  ^/  v/  \/  */   \/  \/   \/  %t   \/  \/  \f  %/  yf   \/  \/  \f   sf  \j  x/  v/  w  ** 

CONGRATULATIONS 1 

To  riarie  0' Neil,  daughter  of  B,  Joseph 
and  formerly  of  Book  Stack  Service,  who 
v:as  the  recipient  of  a  full  four  year 
scholarship  to  Emmanuel  College, 

INFCRMATION  DESK 

Reports  that  mary  visitors  to  their 
desk  in  the  foyer  are  quite  amazed  to 
find  themselves  inside  a  library.  Many 
had  thought  it  was  a  Post  Office  and  one 
fellow  recently  confessed  that  he  has 
been  passing  through  Copley  Square  for 
tvxenty  years  and  had  always  assumed  this 
vjas  a  train  station. 


-;hhh^xh«hc-»j„sh«hhh^»-;hhkk;-x-;c-x-x-^shk;^^^^ 


-  6  - 


\    ! 


\ 


'    X 


/ 


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^ 


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^^ 


r.^...- «-..  —  — ' 


Axiy   contribution  to  the  Soap  Box  must 
be  accompaiiiGd.  by  the  full  naine  of  the 
Association  mejiiber  submitting  it,  to- 
gether v?ith  t;>.e  name  of  the  Branch  Li- 
brary, Department  or  Oifice  in  which  he 
or  she  is  employed.  The  name  is  vri.th~ 
held  from  publication,  or  a  pen  name  is 
used,  if  the  contributor  so  requests, 
AnonjTTious  contributions  are  not  giveii 
consideration.  The  author  of  the  articlf 
is  Iciiown  only  to  the  Editor-in-Chief, 
The  contents  of  the  articles  appearing 
in  the  Soap  Box  are  personal  opinions 
expressed  by  iiidividual  Association 
members  and  their  appecu-ance  does  not 
necessarily  itidicate  that  the  Publica- 
tions Coi.ii.iittee  and  the  Association  ^e 
in  agreement  uith  the  views  expressed. 
Only  those  contributions  n.ot  containing 
more  than  300  v:ords  will  be  accepted. 


Dear  Editor: 

I'Jhy  hasn't  the  Library 
Administration  or  the  Staff  Association 
presented  a  new  salary  schediole  for  the 
entire  staff.  The  limited  approach  of 
a  small  raise  for  some  of  the  Library 
Assistants  will  not  solve  the  problem. 

It  is  apparent  that  our  scale  for 
beginning  professionals  is  not  adequate 
to  attract  the  young  library  school 
gradiiates. 

The  result  of  an  inadequate  salary 
scale  is  turnover,  training,  turnover. 


training,  turnover,  training,  etc. 

Once  our  pre -professional  assistants 
have  their  library  degrees  we  can  expect 
them  to  look  for  greener  pastures. 

The  City  is  not  about  to  offer  a  City- 
wide  increase.  If  the  Library  staff  and 
administration  do  not  present  a  strong 
case  for  the  increase,  you  can  be  sure, 
no  consideration  will  be  given. 

The  WHOLE  staff  needs  a  new  salary 
schedule » 

THE  TIME  IS  NOW 

Dear  Soapbox; 

Should  we  rejoice  at  the  new 
Interlibrary  Loan  Section  wliich  was 
designated  as  a  result  of  the  BPL  assuming 
the  interlibrary  loan  duties  of  the  Eastern 
Regional  Library  under  State  Aid?  Or 
should  we  pause  sind  reflect  on  the  number 
of  people  who  worked  on  interlibrary  loans^ 
from  both  Divisions,  prior  to  this  new 
arrangement.  Certainly,  one  prson  isn't 
going  to  be  able  to  cope  with  the  vol-ume 
of  work  involved  in  this  project  when  in 
the  past  [when  the  number  of  ILL'S  received 
daily  weren't  nearly  as  vast  as  at  present] 
it  took  quite  a  nun±ier  of  people  to  make 
this  a  smooth  working  operation,  I  think 
it  is  a  gross  in justice, to  all  concerned, 
to  lindertake  a  project  of  this  diraension 
id.thout  ample  remuneration,  adequate 
quarters  and  a  sufficient  number  of  work>. 
ers  to  cope  with  this  enormous  project, 

LET'S  LOOK  BEFORE  I-ffi  LEAP  J 

■}khhh«khh>^«khkhhkhchhhkhkhhb«-;hhhhhh^ 


THE  QUESTION  MARK 
Published  by  the  Boston  Public  library  Staff  Association 
Volume  XX  Number  3 March  196$ 

Publications  Committee:      David  G,  Nevin,  Chairman 

Publication  date :                      Deadline  for  submitting  material : 
The  fifteenth  of  each  month The  tenth  of  each  month 

Welcome  to  a  new  Question  Mark J  Or  at  least  to  a  new  editorial  regime. 
It  will  be,  I  am  sure,  of  comfort  to  some  and  a  disappointment  to  others  that  the 
issue  contciins  no  drastic  changes  or  amazing  new  concepts  and  insights.  It  should 
be  made  clear  from  the  outset,  however,  that  althcu^  the  editorial  is  signed  by  a 
Publications  Committee,  the  new  chairman  has  not  as  yet  chosen  a  full  committee.  He 
alone  bears  responsibility  for  the  issue,  its  editorial  content  and  its  tardiness. 
Hopefully,  April  idLll  bring  both  a  Publications  Committee  and  a  publication  date 
slightly  closer  to  the  l5th  of  the  month. 

.-f^ -_ » 

It  gives  a  considerable  boost  to  one's  faith  in  youth  to  discover  that,  in 
an  age  where  teenagers  and  college  students  are  regarded  primarily  as  hoodlums  and/or 
beatniks,  there  is  an  occasional  young  man  or  woman  who  has  become  the  victim  of  such 
generalizations.  Such  was  our  feeling  just  the  other  day  when  two  boys,  dressed  in 
rather  sloppy  teenage  style,  courteously  got  up  to  give  their  seats  to  two  ladies  who 
had  just  climbed  aboard  the  subway,  A  look  of  pleasant  surprise  was  noticed  on  the 
faces  of  several  other  passengers  sitting  nearby. 

Warmest  congratulations  are  likewise  in  order  for  the  group  of  college  men 
who  undertook  the  not  inconsiderable  task  of  publishing  the  first  issue  of  a  new 
periodical:  AGORA,  Boston's  Cross-Campus  Student  Monthly.  In  addition  to  contribu- 
tions by  Angelo  Maramano  of  the  Music  Department  and  Mike  Meleedy  of  the  Periodical 
Room,  the  masthead  reads  much  as  a  BPL  Library  Assistants'  directory  might.  Editor- 
in-chief  Tom  Needham,  managing  editor  Bob  Kavin,  and  "all-pairpose  slave"  Greg  Stowe 
are  all  from  the  Book  Stack  Service;  George  Ctiraming  and  Bill  Needham  from  the  Perio- 
dical Room;  Skip  Cronin  from  Book  Preparation^  and  Paul  McCallion  from  Government 
Documents  and  Social  Sciences. 

From  an  all-too-rapid  skimming  through  its  pages,  it  seems  rather  doubtful 
that  Saturday  Review,  Harper's,  and  The  Atlantic  Monthly  will  have  very  serious 
competition,  but  barring  numerous  'typos',  we  rather  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  first 
issue.  The  combination  of  editorial  opinion,  poetry,  and  short  stories  seemed  to 
hit  just  the  right  blend,  and  the  month's  "Calendar  of  Events"  brings  together  much 
information  available  only  firom  several,  more  limited  soiirces.  If  you've  missed  it, 
copies  are  still  available  at  a  few  newstands  in  the  Copley  Square  area. 

"The  market  place"  fills  a  need  for  expression  by  a  group  who  often  find 
themselves  bursting  at  the  seams  with  no  creative  outlet.  Certainly  what  they  have 
to  say  merits  being  heard.  We  wish  them  every  success  in  the  continuation  of  their 
venture. 

THE  PUBLICATIONS  COMMITTEE 


-  2 


PRESIDENT'S  NOTES 

The  1965  Executive  Board  met  for  the 
first  time  late  in  February.  Much  of  the 
time  was  devoted  to  the  problems  which 
are  still  current  in  1965:  namely  the 
Library  Assistants '  salary  schedule  and 
the  project  concerning  the  economy 
measures  to  which  this  Board  will  ^ve 
priority.  The  Board  also  discussed  the 
need  for  In-Service  Training  and  an  Orien- 
tation Program  and  have  agreed  to  work  on 
this  until  a  program  has  been  established. 

On  March  8th,  an  emergency  meeting  of 
the  Board  was  called  to  discuss  the  possi- 
bility of  the  entire  Library  Staff  coming 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  Civil 
Service  Commission.  The  advantages  and 
disadvantages  were  carefully  weighed.  The 
Board  agreed  that  it  would  not  serve  the 
best  interests  of  the  Staff  to  come  under 
Civil  Service.  It  was  voted  to  send  the 
President  and  Mr  Casey^  the  former  Editor 
of  the  Question  Mark  to  attend  the  hearing 
on  March  9th  and  to  record  their  approval 
of  passage  of  Bill  #326.  This  Bill  was 
introduced  by  the  Massachusetts  Library 
Association  requesting  that  Librarians, 
Library  Assistants,  and  Library  Aides 
remain  exempt  from  Civil  Service  rule. 

The  Executive  Board  also  met  in  regular 
session  with  members  of  last  year's  Board 
to  discuss,  evaluate,  and  formulate  ways 
and  means  to  economize  on  library  opera- 
tions in  order  to  find  enough  money  for  a 
5^  salary  increase  for  the  Library  Assis- 
tants Service.  A  full  report  will  be  made 
to  the  Staff  as  soon  as  it  is  completed. 

MARY  T.  CROWE 
President 

BACK  IN  FOCUS 

After  her  month-long  bout  with  a  virus 
pneumonia,  the  Audio-Visual  Department 
welcomed  back  Mrs  Veronica  Silverman  with 
open  arms,  a  bouquet  of  flowers,  and  a 
large  sigh  of  relief. 


-iH^-zf": 


Hf-IH 


SHHHHHHt-»4H(--5KH«fr-5HHHHHH;- 


CIVIL  SERVICE  HEARING 

It  was  difficult  to  get  an  accurate 
count  of  the  number  of  librarians  who 
jammed  the  stuffy  committee  room  at  the 


State  House  on  Tuesday,  March  9,  but  they 
were  both  numerous  and  vocal.   They  came 
to  register  their  support  of  House  Bill 
#326.   This  was  a  proposal  to  exempt 
librarians  from  the  provisions  of  the 
Civil  Service  Law. 

This  idea  of  incorporating  library 
workers  under  Civil  Service  was  not  new. 
It  had  been  proposed  some  years  ago  and 
subsequently  defeated.  The  current  pro- 
posals, including  House  Bill  #326,  have 
as  their  intention  the  specific  exemption 
of  library  personnel  from  the  Civil 
Service.  If  the  enthusiasm  demonstrated 
by  the  library  people  who  supported  it  is 
any  criterion,  the  Bill  is  destined  to 
meet  with  legislative  acceptance. 

W.C. 

Connolly  Branch 

A  SALUTE  TO  THE  APPROVAL  ROCM 

A  busy  hive  —  a  mountain  of  books 
Diligent  hands  —  determined  looks 
Typewriters  clicking  —  cards  completed 
Files  consulted  —  energies  depleted. 

Librarians  pondering  —  fiction  lists 

checked 
Telephones  ringing  —  desks  bedecked 
Book  trucks  groaning  —  department 

shelves  filled 
Curators  frowning  —  duplicates  killed. 

New  arrivals  —  pencils  set 

A  shuffle  of  chairs  —  a  tete-a-tete 

A  silence  descends  —  books  rejected 

A  gracious  thank  you  for  those  selected.' 

RUTH  MICHELSON 

Book  Selection,  R&RS 

BRANCH  NOTES 

We  are  proud  to  announce  the  arrival  of 
oiir  "nephew",  Richard  Reyes,  on  Tuesday, 
February  I6.   This  young  man,  who  checked 
in  at  6  lbs  and  9  ounces,  is  the  son  of 
Mr  &  Mrs  Mario  (Laura)  Reyes,  and  to 
quote  Miss  Kaufman,  who  visited  the 
family,  is  "positively  beautiful".  -Need 
we  say  more. 

The  proud  Aunts  and  Uncles 
at  Mattapan  Branch. 


"  3  - 


PERSONNEL  NOTES 

Entered : 

Agnes  F.  Kelley  -  Connolly  (formerly  part- 
time) 
Florence  Jacobs  -  Bookmobiles 
Mrs  Grace  Duffy  -  Lower  Mills 
Mary  P.  Stephenson  -  Kirstein  Business 

Branch 
Peter  C.  Ellsworth  -  Bookmobiles 
Michael  G.  Hiinter  -  Open  Shelf  (formerly 

part-time) 
Brendan  M.  Craven  -  Central  Charging 

Records 
Maureen  E.  Smith  -  Book  Purchasing 
Kevin  J.  VSxpe  -   Open  Shelf 
Ralph  V.  Mayo  -  Book  Purchasing 
Kevin  Duffley  -  Central  Charging  Records 
Alexander  Greenwald  -  Book  Purchasing 

Maternity  Leave; 

Mrs  Mar jorie  P.  Whalen  -  Bookmobiles 

Terminations ; 

Judith  C,  Grohe  -  Codman  Square  -  to  enter 

family  business 
H,  Barry  Morris  -  Open  Shelf  -  another 

position 
Lois  Lyman  -  Washington  Village  -  to 

attend  Simmons  full-time 
Judith  Fleming  -  General  Reference  -  for 

travel  and  study 
Samuel  D.  Wilson  -  Open  Shelf  -  to  devote 

more  time  to  college 
Melicent  Seyfert  -  Connolly  -  to  be 

married  and  leave 
Massachusetts 
Mriam  C.  Oester  -  Book  Stack  Service- 
moving  out  of  Boston 
Heidi  R.  Rieper  -  Bookmobiles  -  moving 

out  of  Boston 

Transferred ; 

Michael  T.  Tiorano  from  Central  Charging 

Records  to  Audio-Visual 
Mary  A.  LaFollette  from  Mt,  Pleasant  to 

Memorial 
Helen  M.  McDonough  from  Memorial  to  Mt. 

Pleasant 
Margery  E.  Berman  from  South  End  to  Uphams 

Comer 
Dorothy  W,  Perkins  from  Central  Charging 

Records  to  Faneuil 


PRE-PROFESSIONAL  NOTE 

The  following  from  the  March  l5th 
Library  Journal; 

"The  Rhode  Island  Library  Association 
Scholarship  Committee  is  offering  a  |500 
scholarship  to  qualified  persons  interes- 
ted in  pursuing  a  career  in  librarians hip. 
Applicants  must  have  been  accepted  in  the 
library  science  program  of  a  qualified 
graduate  library  school.  The  deadline 
for  filing  applications  is  April  1$,   1965. 
The  scholarship  will  be  awarded  at  the 
spring  meeting  on  May  8,  1965.  Applica- 
tion forms  may  be  secured  from  Mrs  Miriam 
G.  Haas,  Chairman,  Scholarship  and 
Recruitment  Committee,  R.  I.  Department 
of  State  Library  Sei*vices,  Roger  Williams 
Building,  Hayes  Street,  Providence,  R,I, 
02908„" 

-»-J^>^HHHHH^5HHHHt■5HHHHHHHHHHHH^^H^^ 

TO  A  LIBRARIAN  01 

THE  WORID  HAS  BEEN  AUTOMATIZED  AS  02 

EVERY  SCHOOLBOY  KNOWS  03 

MACHINES  TRANSLATE  ALL  POETRY  TO  Ok 

BASIC  ENGLISH  PROSE  05 

HIGH  SPEED  MAGNETIC  MEMORIES  06 

QUANTIZE  ESSENTIAL  TRUTH  0? 

AND  STORE  SUFFICIENT  ESTIMATES  OF  08 

MARY  AND  OF  RUTH  09 

THE  MUSIC  OF  THE  FUTURE  WILL  USE  10 

RANDOM  NUMBER  THEMES  11 

AND  WASTE  NO  MICROSECONDS  FUTILEY  12 

ENCODING  DREAMS  13 

SO  WHEN  YOU  CATALOG  THE  DAWN  OR  iJk 

CLASS  THE  LILYS  STEM  1$ 

DON'T  FILE  IT  DEWEY  DECIMAL  BUT  16 

PUNCH  IT  IBM  17 

-  William  Fuller  Brown,  Jr.,  "Verses 
in  the  Modern  Manner",  ETC . ;  A  Review 
of  General  Semantics,  v,  21,  no,  k 
(December  1961; ),  pp.  lilli-5. 


-  h  - 


CATHOLIC  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION 
AWARD 

Ruth  Sawyer  Durand  has  been  selected  by 
the  Catholic  Library  Association  to  be 
the  recipient  of  the  Regina  Medal  in 
recognition  of  her  lifetime  dedication 
and  "continued  distinguished  contribution 
to  children's  literature".  This  award  is 
given  annually  and  will  be  presented  to 
Mrs  Durand  at  a  luncheon,  Tuesday,  April 
20,  1965,  in  Philadelphia,  as  part  of  the 
activities  of  the  annual  CLA  Conference. 

Both  a  native  and  a  resident  of  Boston, 
Mrs  Durand  is  well  known  to  children's 
librarians  at  BPL,  She  has  shared  with 
them  her  experience  with  people  and  books, 
demonstrated  her  talents  as  a  storyteller, 
and  enriched  the  shelves  of  children's 
rooms  everywhere  with  her  many  distin- 
guished books.  In  1937,  she  was  awarded 
the  Newbery  Medal  by  the  American  Library 
Association  for  her  book.  Roller  Skates. 
From  her  rich  and  varied  experience  both 
in  telling  and  collecting  stories  here 
and  abroad,  she  has  written  The  Way  of  the 
Storyteller,  an  inspirational  book  dealing 
with  storytelling  as  a  creative  art  and  a 
classic  in  the  field. 

To  Ifrs  Diirand  we  extend  our  warmest  good 
wishes  and  congratulations  for  an  honor 
well  deserved  and  truly  earned, 

MARTHA  ENGLER 
South  Boston  Branch 

NOTABLE  BOOKS,  196U 

After  sifting  through  a  total  of  550 
nominations  submitted  by  3U  libraries 
representing  every  si»e,  type,  and  loca- 
tion in  the  U.S.,  the  Notable  Books  Coun- 
cil of  the  American  library  Association 
announced  on  March  1st  a  list  of  ^h   out- 
standing titles  published  in  196U. 

Those  interested  in  participating  in 
the  heated  discussion  which  invariably 
follows  this  annual  event  are  directed  to 
the  complete  listing  appearing  in  the 
March  l5th  issue  of  Library  Journal, 
(v.  90,  no.  6,  p.  1279TI 


BOOKMOBILE  INS  AND  OUTS 

On  February  l6th,  the  Bookmobile  Office 
held  a  going-away  party  for  Mar jorie 
Whalen  and  Heidi  Reiper  at  Mick's  on 
Warrenton  Street  in  Boston,  Mrs  Whalen 
is  anticipating  a  blessed  event  in  June, 
and  Miss  Reiper  has  returned  to  her  home 
in  New  York  and  will  be  married  in  the 
near  future. 

Also  in  February,  three  new  members 
were  added  to  the  Bookmobile  staff: 
Marsha  Whitman,  who  was  an  extra  at  the 
Ifyde  Park  Branch;  Peter  Ellsworth,  who 
was  recently  discharged  from  the  Army; 
and  Florence  Jacobs,  who  is  new  to  the 
Library  Service. 

DOUBLE  ENTENDRE:  JUHOR  VERSIONI 

While  doing  a  stint  at  the  charging 
desk,  surrounded  by  public  of  all  ages, 
I  was  asked  by  the  little  ^rl  whose 
books  I  was  charging  out: 

"Mss  Engler,  do  you  know  the  three 
different  kinds  of  sex?" 

.  I  replied  promptly  (after  all,  no 
fourth  grader  is  going  to  get  away 
thinking  there  is  anything  about  sex 
that  I  don't  know),  "Sure.  Middlesex, 
Essex,  and  Sussex." 

"Oh,  no.  That's  not  it",  she  said 
gleefully,  "It's  female  sex,  male  sex, 
and  insects." 

ED,  NOTE 

Despite  the  disclaimer  for  a  Publica- 
tions Committee  at  the  beginning  of 
page  1,  warmest  thanks  are  in  order  to 
Miss  Marie  Quinn  who  filled  in  vrith  such 
an  admirable  job  as  'Emergency  Committee* 
Typist. 


-5  - 


SOME  THOUGHTS  ON  ORIENTATION 
AND  IN-SERVICE  TRAINING 

This  article,  entitled  "A  View  from  the 
Bridge",  was  written  by  Lois  Booth  after 
an  interview  with  the  Director  for  The 
Staff  Outlook  of  the  Denver  Public 
library  (February  18,  1965).  Names, 
acronyms,  and  initials  are  'Denverese', 
but  there  is  also  some  food  for  serious 
thought. 

"Knowing  that  the  administration  long 
has  been  interested  in  in-service  train- 
ing, I  asked  Mr   Shearouse  to  give  me  his 
views  on  the  library  training  program. 
"'Before  you  can  do  a  good  job,  you 
should  know  for  yourself  where  everything 
is,  and  what  the  library  has  to  offer, 
you  know, '  Mr  Shearouse  related.   'When 
I  came  here  the  need  for  more  training 
was  being  expressed  by  the  entire  staff 
in  workshops,  in  suggestions,  and  in 
committee  reports.  It  was  this  need,  so 
strongly  felt  by  the  entire  staff,  that 
prompted  us  to  begin  in-service  training 
on  several  levels. 

"'Working  with  Miss  Scott,  Mrs  Parrahm, 
and  Mrs  Lawrence,  we  were  able  to  decide 
how  to  go  about  satisfying  this  need  as 
best  we  could.  The  first  program,  you 
will  remember,  was  the  Young  Adult  work- 
shop in  the  spring  of  sixty-four,  which 
was  very  successful.  From  there  we  went 
on  to  the  weekly  information  sessions  in 
each  area  of  the  library. 
" '  We  instituted  the  branch  and  depart- 
ment heads  meetings  each  month  where 
branch  people  and  department  heads  could 
discuss  book  selection  and  book  materials 
together,  among  other  things.  Next  was 
the  Children's  workshop,  and  after  that 
the  Adult  Services  workshop, ' 

"Mr  Shearouse  tnok  a  deep  breath  and 
continued.   'Last  spring  we  suddenly  had 
six  vacancies  to  fill  and  we  decided  to 
fill  them  with  library  school  graduates, 
most  of  whom  we  knew  would  have  had  no 
library  experience.  Theory  is  all  fine 
and  good  and  is  just  what  library  school 
students  need  and  want  -  but  theory  is 
useless  without  practical  experience. 

"'We  decided  that  a  formal  on  the  job 
training  would  answer  the  needs  expressed 
by  so  many  librarians  who  had  gone  before 
them  ,  ,  .  we  decided  to  give  more  prac- 
tice now  than  theory.  We  would  give  them 
a  subject  area  plus  extension  work  and 
expose  them  to  as  many  public  service 


areas  as  possible  in  a  year.  We  had 
hoped  at  first  to  make  the  program  a  com- 
plete two-year  package,  but  DPL  isn't 
large  enough  to  afford  such  a  luxury, '  a 
phrase  which  was  to  be  repeated  for  me 
later  in  answer  to  another  question. 

" 'We  wanted  our  six  trainees  to  see  a 
DPL  viewpoint.  Supervisors  always  are 
responsible  for  any  on  the  job  training. 
It  has  to  be  done  in  any  case  when  any 
new  person  comes  in  to  fill  a  vacancy; 
therefore,  it  was  natural  for  us  to  want 
to  give  each  trainee  six  months  OJT  in  a 
subject  specialty,  such  as  Art  and  Music 
Department  or  Young  Adult  Division,  and 
six  months  in  branches, 

"'Since  this  plan  would  give  us  the 
opportunity  to  express  our  viewpoint,  we 
wanted  them  to  be  able  to  freely  discuss 
any  problems  that  might  arise,  any  sug- 
gestions they  had  to  offer,  and  also  to 
become  acquainted  with  omt   special  depart- 
ments where  they  wouldn't  be  gaining  OJT 
because  we  limited  the  course  to  public 
service.  Thus,  we  included  plans  to  hold 
seminars  periodically, 

"'Here  was  our  chance  to  explore  in 
some  depth  services  like  the  Bib  Center, 
JADA,  and  personnel  policies.  They  took 
tours.  They  had  bull  sessions.  The 
meetings  are  somewhat  structured  to  give 
them  knowledge  of  our  reference  services, 
but  they  are  also  designed  to  permit  free 
expression,  to  ask  questions  like  the 
ones  the  staff  is  forever  asking  "How  can 
I  learn  the  collections?  When  is  a  refer- 
ence question  a  reference  question?  How 
much  time  do  I  devote  to  it  before  I  turn 
it  over  to  someone  else?" 

"'My  aim,  and  the  administration's  aim 
in  all  training,  is  to  try  to  make  oior 
people  more  flexible,  to  be  able  to  move 
them  from  one  station  to  another  without 
too  much  difficulty.  We  fight  against 
rigidity  because  we  haven't  enough  libra- 
rians to  go  around.  We  can't  afford  to 
have  specialists  only.  Librarians  must 
learn  to  be  all  'round  librarians  first; 
to  feel  that  they  can  move  easily  from 
one  job  to  another  within  the  system; 
then  to  have  a  specialty  such  as  litera- 
ture and  history;  and  only  then  at  last 
to  specialize  within  a  department  -  to 
become  a  history  specialist. '  Mr  Shearouse 
said. 


6  - 


SOME  THOUGHTS (con't) 

" 'Vfy  idea  of  the  whole  staffing  program 
is  that  in-service  training  makes  it 
possible  for  us  to  know  a  librarian's 
strengths  and  abilities.  We  must  have 
the  general  person  first.  Remember,  a 
librarian  is  a  librarian  first;  a  depart- 
ment librarian  second;  and,  possibly,  a 
specialist  last  of  all.'" 

The  Library  Administration  Division 
(Personnel  Section,  In-Seirvice  Training 
Committee)  of  the  American  Library  Asso- 
ciation has  just  this  year  issued  a 
revised,  in-depth  "Bibliographic  essay" 
on  this  subject.  The  study,  by  Judith  K. 
Sollengerger,  Research  Assistant  at  the 
Indianapolis  Public  Library,  is  entitled, 
In-Service  Training;  A  Bibliographic 
Essay. 

"The  purpose  of  this  bibliograpl^S''  is  to 
assemble  the  relatively  recent  (since 
1955)  writings  on  the  subject  as  a  guide 
to  those  who  wish  to  know  what  is 
currently  being  thought,  written,  and 
done  about  library  staff  training  and 
development.  Under  the  term  "in-service 
training"  have  been  included  not  only 
those  programs  which  are  carried  on  with- 
in individual  libraries,  but  those  which 
are  organized  outside  the  library  with 
the  cooperation  and  encouragement  of  the 
library  to  a  greater  or  lesser  degree. 
Furthermore,  since  employee  training,  for 
the  highly  paid  executive  as  well  as  the 
unskilled  laborer,  has  received  a  great 
deal  of  attention  in  business,  industry, 
and  many  other  organizations  and  has  been 
tried  out  extensively  on  all  levels,  the 
bibliography  includes  a  selection  of 
titles  from  the  abundant  literature  on 
personnel,  management,  and  efficiency 
outside  the  field  of  libraries.  In  this 
revised  edition  many  of  the  titles  listed 
in  the  first  edition  have  been  dropped; 
many  recent  titles  have  been  added, 
bringing  the  entries  well  into  the  first 
half  of  196U." 
("Introduction",  pp.  1-2.) 


DATES  TO  REMEMBEE 

April  20-23:  Catholic  Library  Associa- 
tion, Philadelphia. 

April  25-May  1:  National  Library  Week. 

May  20-21:  Massachusetts  Library  Asso- 
ciation, Provincetown, 

May  30- June  3:  Medical  Library  Associa- 
tion, Philadelphia. 

May  30- June  5:  International  Publishers 
Congress,  Washington,  D.C. 

June  6-10:  Special  library  Association, 
Philadelphia. 

July  It -10:  Amertcan  Library  Association, 
Detroit. 

In  case  you  missed  it  or  haven't  cau^t 
up  with  it  yet,  the  entire  March  issue 
of  the  ALA  Bulletin  is  devoted  to  the 
Washington,  D.C,  Midwinter  Meeting. 

"Put  yourself  in  the  middle  of  things, 
to  get  at  once  at  the  heart  of  the  busi- 
ness; most  roam  around,  in  useless  mill- 
ings either  about  the  edge,  or  in  the 
scrub  of  a  tiresome  verbosity,  without 
striking  upon  the  substance  of  the  matter; 
they  make  a  hiindred  turns  about  a  point, 
wearying  themselves,  and  wearying  others, 
yet  never  arriving  at  the  centre  of  what 
is  important;  it  is  the  product  of  a 
scattered  brsdn  that  does  not  know  how  to 
get  itself  together;  they  spend  time,  and 
exhaust  patience,  over  that  which  they 
should  leave  alone,  and  afterwards  are 
short  of  both  for  what  they  did  leave 
alone." 

-  A  Truthtelling  Manual  and  the  Art  of 
Worldly  Wisdom;  being  a  collection  of  the 
aphorisms  which  appear  in  the  works  of 
Baltasar  Gracian  of  the  Company  of  Jesus 
and  Reader  in  Holy  Scriptures  in  the 
College  of  Tarragona  immediately  trans- 
lated for  the  understanding  from  a  1653 
Spanish  text  by  Martin  Fischer,  doctor, 
and  professor  of  the  University  of  Cin- 
cinnati. A  second  and  revised  edition. 
Springfield,  111:  Charles  C.  Tho^s 


-  7  - 


IF 


SILENCE 


WERE 


GOLDEIvI 


We  might  very  possibly  have  the  richest 
library  staff  in  the  country.' 


Any  contribution  to  the  Soap  Box  nnist 
be  accompanied  by  the  full  name  of  the 
Association  member  submitting  it,  toge- 
ther with  the  name  of  the  Branch  Library, 
Department,  or  Office  in  which  he  or  she 
is  employed.  The  name  is  withheld  from 
publication,  or  a  pen  name  is  used,  if 
the  contributor  so  requests.  Anonymous 
contributions  are  not  given  considera- 
tion. The  author  of  the  article  is  known 
only  to  the  Editor-in-Chief.  The  con- 
tents of  the  articles  appearing  in  the 
Soap  Box  are  personal  opinions  expressed 
by  individual  Association  members  and 
their  appearance  does  not  necessarily 
indicate  that  the  Publications  Committee 
and  the  Association  are  in  agreement  with 
the  views  expressed.  Only  those  contri- 
butions not  containing  more  than  300 
words  will  be  accepted. 


T^IE   QUEST'ION  MARK 
Published  "by  the  Boston  Public  Library  Staff  Association 

Volume  XX,  Number  5 May  I963 

Publications  Committee?  1/Villiam  F.  Caseyj  Harry  Andrews;  Evelyn  Isaacs;  Sarah 

M.  Usher,  Indexer;  David  G.  Nevin,  Chairman 

Publication  Date;                       Deadline  for  submitting  materials 
The  fifteenth  of  each  month The  tenth  of  each  month 

"THE  QUALIFICATION  IS  NEED" 

Miss  Pauline  Winnick  opened  her  talk,  given  as  the  Bertha  V.  Hartzell 
Memorial  Lecture,  by  quoting  statistics  based  primarily  on  Bernard  Berelson's 
1949  study  for  the  Public  Library  Inquiry,  The  Library's  Public.  This  and  later 
studies  have  shown  that  libraries  are  supported  by  the  total  society  for  the  use 
of  a  very  small  minority.   Only  ten  percent  of  the  adult  population  are  "active" 
users  while  a  maximum  of  an  additional  five  percent  can  be  classified  as 
"occasional".   Even  among  students,  less  than  one  third  are  active  public  library 
users.   And  of  the  total  number  of  books  read  by  the  United  States  public,  less 
than  one  fourth  are  borrowed  from  libraries. 

She  went  CD  to  outline  programs  under  the  Economic  Opportunity  Act  (P.L. 
83-452)  and  the  Library  Services  and  Conatruction  Act  (P.L.  88-269),  both  of 
1964,  directed  in  large  measure  at  the  "other  75  percent"  of  the  library's  pro- 
spective usersi  Job  Corps,  Coramxinity  Action  Program,  Neighborhood  Youth  Corps, 
Work  Experience  Programs,  and  VISTA,  the  Volunteers  in  Service  to  America. 
Under  LSCA  she  cited  several  interesting  examples  of  what  is  being  done  in  the 
Queens  Borough  and  Brooklyn  Public  Libraries;  day-care  centers,  preschool  story 
hours,  and  a  'community  librarian'  philosophy  with  detached  workers  whose  job  it 
is  to  take  the  library  and  the  library  idea  directly  to  the  public  it  purports 
to  serve  by  merely  being  'there'. 

But  v/hat  concerns  us  here  is  not  the  facts,  statistics,  and  programs, 
interesting  'though  they  may  be.   Those  who  are  particularly  interested  should 
turn  to  Library  Journal  (Sept.  I5,  I964)  or  to  the  January  I965  issue  of  the 
ALA  Bulletin  where  Miss  T/Vinnick  and  others  have  covered  the  "War  on  Poverty" 
programs  in  considerable  detail.  Vk'hat  does  concern  us  is  that  such  efforts  are 
creating  a  sink-or-swim  necessity  for  reexamination  of  the  concept  of  the  li- 
brary as  a- social  institution.   Libraries  in  general,  and  the  public  library  in 
particular,  have  become  so  accustomed  to  and  generally  content  v/ith  service  to 
a  minority  public  that  the  concept  of  the  library  as  a  dynamic  social  institution 
and  center  of  communication  may  be  beyond  both  its  fiscal  and  intellectual  means. 
Those  who  are  searching  for  current  information  fast  have  long  since  given  up 
the  idea  of  the  public  library  as  a  source.  Nor  will  we  be  able  to  provide  more 
than  a  minimal  service  to  a  minority  public  so  long  as  library  administrators 
and  boards  are  content  to  v/ait  "until  the  school  board  gets  theirs"  to  request 
additional  funds. 

As  Miss  Winnick  pointed  out  so  well,  the  federal  government  has  provided 
the  foundation  on  which  to  build.  Not  until  we  have  established  a  more  dynamic 
image  of  the  library  as  a  center  of  communication  and  as  a  pivot 'in  the  processes 
of  social  change,  however,  will  the  base  of  library  use,  service,  or  fiscal 
support  be  broadened  in  order  that  these  great  institutions  may  become  fitted 
into  the  framework  of  an  expanding  society. 


PRESIDENT'S  NOTES 


-  2  - 


I  wish  to  express  my  appreciation  to 
all  those  who  helped  make  the  10th 
Hartzell  Memorial  Lecture  successful,  I 
am  especially  indebted  to  Mrs.  Bridie 
Stotz  and  the  Members  of  her  Committee 
for  obtaining  the  services  of  Miss  Pauline 
Winnickji  I  am  sure  that  all  those  who 
heard  Miss  ifiiinick  speak  were  inspired, 
by  the  many  challenging  ideas  and  projects 
which  are  now  in  process  or  are  being 
planned  for  the  future,  I'ly  thanks  to 
Eleanor  Halligan  and  Tom  Manning  for  the 
delicious  refreshments  and  beautiful 
flower  arrangements, 

I  know  that  most  of  the  staff  is  waiting 
for  word  on  the  Library  Assistants  salaiy 
schedule.  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  tell  you 
that  there  is  no  money  available  for  in- 
creases in  the  immediate  future.  Because' 
the  City  is  having  financial  difficulties, 
the  Trustees  do  not  feel  that  they  can 
present  a  supplementary  budget  for  in- 
creases until  the  1965  Boston  tax  rate  is 
announced.  Ordinarily  the  tax  rate  is 
announced  in  June,  but  this  year  the  rates 
Tin.ll  not  be  determined  and  announced  until 
August  when  the  City  should  have  some  idea 
of  the  amount  of  aid  it  will  receive  from 
the  Commonwealth,  The  Trustees  have 
stated  that  the  LA  salary  schedule  will  be 
given  priority. 

The  Executive  Board  met  recently  to 
discuss  other  questions  of  concern  to  the 
membership.  These  problems,  which  include 
In-service  training  and  the  future  of  the 
Coffee  Shop  will  be  discussed  at  length 
at  the  Business  Meeting  to  be  held  on 
May  28th, 

MARY  T.  CROIJE 

President 

BPL5A  COMilTTEE  MEMBERSHIPS  1^65 
HOUSE  COMMITTEE  FOR  MEN  AND  WOMEN 


CONSTITUTION  COMlVilTTEE 


Louis  Polishook 
Claire  0' Toole 


Joseph  Naples 
Margaret  Lyons 


CONCESSIONS  COMITTEE 

Corinne  Henderson,  Chairman 

Brenda  Brewington 

Margot  Timson      Claire  0' Tools 


Sheila  Stevens,  Chairman 

Claire  0' Toole       Martin  Haters 

PROGRAl'l  COFiMITTEE 


Gerald ine  T.  Beck, 
Eleanora  Chaplik 
Elinor  D,  Conley 
Marjorie  Gibbons 
Mary  Hackett 
Gerald ine  Herrick 


Chairman 

Mildred  Kaufman 
Mary  Langton 
Rose  Moorachian 
Mildred  Presente 


SPECIAL  SERVICES  COMMITTEE 


Ruth  Conroy,  Chairman 
Jean  Babcock 
IJinifred  Frqnk 


Corinne  Henderson 


i'lEMBERSHIP  COMMITTEE 

Sadie  M,  Rotondo,  Chairman 
Macy  Mar go lis         Barbara  Ste ingle in 
Marie  Cashman         Josephine  Kelley 
Helen  Lord 

NOMINATING  COMMITTEE 

Elinor  D,  Conley,  Chairman 
Mildred  Adelson       Nura  Globus 
Gerald ine  Gardner     Anthony  Tieuli 
Patricia  Harrington 

CARE  COimiTTEE 

Josephine  H,  Kelley,  Chairman 
Margaret  E,  Lyons     Mary  E,  Mollcy 
Mary  A,  LaFollette 

ENTERTAIM^NT  COMMITTEE 

Eleanor  Halligan,  Chairman 

Jean  Babcock         Margaret  Thrasher 

Margot  Timson         Bertha  Keswick 

HARTZELL  MEMORIAL  LECTURE  COl^MITTEE 

Bridie  P,  Stotz,  Chairman 

Ruth  M,  Hayes         M.  Jane  Manthorne 

Rose  Moorachian 


-  3  - 


PERSOMEL  NOTES 


ENTERED: 


John  F.  Bundy  -  Music 

Henry  D,  Selvitella  -  Book  Stack  Service 
Thomas  G,  Kochins  -  Book  Stack  Service 
Patrick  H,  Potega  -  Book  Stack  Service 

TRANSFERRED ; 

Marie  J,  Qviinn  -  from  Reference  Division 
Office  to  Home  Reading  and  Coiranunity 
Services  Division  Office 

CEASED; 

Assvmta  Donisi  -  Book  Selection,  Reference 

-  resigned 

Maureen  Hanlon,  Book  Selection,  Reference 

-  resigned 

Qiristopher  Ivusic  -  Periodical  &.  Newspaper 

-  to  work  in  Washington,  D,C, 
Michael  Arnold  -  Periodical  &  Newspaper 

-  another  position 

William  Wards  -  General  Reference  -  to  be 

Assistant  Librarian  at  Framingham  Libraiy 
Mary  E,  VJalsh  -  Book  Stack  Service  -  health 

IN  MEMORIAM 
Helen  Schubarth 

On  March  2li,  196$,   Helen  Schubarth  died, 
very  suddenly.  Her  death  was  a  great 
shock  to  all  who  knew  her,  and  our  sympathy 
goes  to  her  sisters  and  other  members  of 
her  family  in  the  loss  of  such  a  vital, 
loving  and  uncompromisingly  honest  person. 

For  almost  forty  years  Helen  Schubarth 
"accounted"  for  all  the  expenditures  of 
the  Boston  Public  Library  in  her  position 
cis  Auditor,  and  later  Chief  Accoxmtant, 
Her  accounting  was  meticulous  in  every 
detail:  she  demanded  accuracy  and  exact- 
ness from  her  staff,  but  not  more  than  she 
demanded  from  herself.  The  high  standards 
she  set  for  her  office  x/ere  never  allowed, 
to  deteriorate,  even  though  it  might  mean 
an  extra  hour  or  two  added  to  her  Twrking 
day.  She  won  the  respect  and  admiration 
of  all  who  had  any  connection  with  her 
work. 

Miss  Schubarth  enjoyed  her  life  in  the 
library  as  she  fully  enjoyed  so  many  other 
things  •••  family,  friends,  the  theater, 
the  arts,  music  (she  sang  and  played  the 
piano  beautifully),  the  opera,  travel. 


Flowers  were  a  joy  ,,,  her  friends 
received  them  from  her  to  celebrate  any 
occasion  ..,  or  just  because  she  loved, 
to  share  their  beauty.  She  entertained 
delightfully,  and  liked  to  talk  with 
her  friends  on  vrLdely  diverse  subjects. 
She  had  a  deep  concern  for  her  family 
and  friends,  and  a  genuine  sympathy  and. 
kindness  for  mar^  less  forttinate  than 
herself. 

Although  her  death  came  less  than  five 
years  after  her  retirement,  those  years 
were  ones  of  pleasure  in  her  leisure, 
her  family  and  friends.  Her  vivacity 
and  enthusiasm  for  all  facets  of  her  life 
remained  undiminished  to  the  very  end.,,« 
and  that  is  iniiat  she  had  always  hoped 
for. 

GERTRUDE  McCABE 

Ruth  A.  Foley 

I'^hen  Ruth  Foley  died  on  May  9,  the 
Library  lost  a  most  iinique  and  beloved 
personality, 

A  veteran  of  35  years  service,  she  had 
survived  through  many  changes  and  many 
vicissitudes  vjith  her  spirit  undimmed. 
and  her  sense  of  humor  undiminished.  She 
loved  the  Library  and  the  people  who 
worked  here.  She  often  said  she  would, 
rather  be  unhappy  here,  than  unhappy 
somewhere  else.  To  her  the  Library  was 
her  home  and  her  co-workers  her  friends. 
She  was  always  willing  to  work  an  extra 
night  for  another,  to  give  up  her  day 
off  to  someone  else,  to  work  at  a  momentis 
notice  in  an  emergency. 

But  to  her  many  friends  she  will  be  most 
remembered  for  her  jokes  and  quips,  which 
she  could  produce  in  the  most  impossible 
situations.  Her  humor  was  quick,  clever, 
but  gentle  and  never  unkind,  except  to 
herself.  To  me,  and  to  many  of  her  old 
friends  she  was  known  as  "Miz  Foley  dear" 
and  her  memory  is  forever  woven  into  our 
memories  of  earlier  days  when  oiir  hearts 
were  young  and  gayer  because  of  "Miz 
Foley  dear", 

CLAIRE  0 'TOOLE 


CONT. 


.1;- 


Joseph  P,  Cullinane 


A  friendly  face  is  being  missed  at  the 
Central  Library,  The  whijnsical  smile 
and  pleasant  "Good  day"  of  Joseph 
Cullinane  has  gone  forever,   'Joe'  passed, 
away  suddenly  on  April  l8th  of  this  year, 

A  native  of  Mssion  Hill,  his  was  a 
unique  knowledge  of  that  area.  He  was 
born  there,  educated  there  and  married, 
there , 

Joe  joined  the  staff  of  the  Library  as 
a  member  of  the  Buildings  Department  on 
September  27,  1939;  and  was  ever  con- 
scious of  the  endeavors  it  took  to  keep 
this  building  a  thing  of  beauty. 

It  is  difficult  to  express  the  feelings 
of  the  staf f j  of  we  who  knew  of  his 
faithful,  knowledgeable  and,  conscientious 
philosophy  towards  the  Library,  The 
best  way  for  all  of  us  to  remember  him 
is  to  be  as  loyal  to  the  Library  as  was 
Joseph  P,  Ciillinane, 

THOMAS  MANNING 


■}H;-»^x-x■^-x-x-^x-;(-WH(-x^H(-^H^x^HHHHHi-^^ 

FIVE  NAJffiS  TO  SEVEN  SUPERIORS 
WILLIAM  FRANCIS  O'HARA 
BPL  SERVICE,  1918  -  1965 

Having  attended  Boston  Latin  School, 
and  then  Burdett  Business  College,  Mr, 
O'Hara  (who  was  called  "Francis"  by  his 
family  and  friends)  decided  to  enter  the 
service  of  the  Boston  Public  Library,  It 
was  then  August,  1918,  I  cheerfully 
admit  that  I  had  already  been  bom  at  the 
time,  but  I  had  never  seen  the  famous 
Italian  palace  in  Copley  Square,  In 
fact  I  had  never  even  seen  North  America, 
But  August  3,  1918  was  the  day  that 
William  Francis  O'Hara  entered  the  portals 
of  the  BPL  and  took  his  place  at  a  desk 
in  the  Ordering  Department  under  the 
Chief,  Miss  Theodosia  McCurdy,  There  he 
was  to  remain  for  forty-seven  years. 

Within  three  months  William  (  in  those 
days  he  was  called  "William"  in  the  BPL) 
so  impressed  Miss  McCurdy  with  his  will- 
ingness to  help  that  she  recommended  him 
for  permanent  employment  on  November  5, 
1918,  three  months  in  advance  of  the 
usual  half-year  wait.  The  labor  shortage 
due  to  World  War  I  was  being  felt  at  the 
library,  and  the  problem  of  handling 


mail  bags  of  fifty  and  seventy-five 
pounds  became  too  difficult  for  Miss 
Cunniff  and  Mr,  O'Hara,  So  Miss  McCurdy 
requested,  that  Mr,  Niederauer  (the  then 
Building  Superintendent)  arrange  to  have 
the  janitors  put  the  mail  bags  on  the 
mailing  table  for  the  Ordering  Department 
staff. 

After  that,  things  went  along  like  a 
house  afire  and.  William  did.  such  a  fine 
piece  of  work  that  the  new  Chief  of  the 
department,  Mr,  Louis  FeLLx  Ranlett 
recommended  Mr,  O'Hara  for  a  raise,  re- 
ported that  his  work  was  excellent,  and 
that  he  was  to  be  especially  commended, 
during  the  recent  rush  of  business,  (I 
did  a  double  take  on  tliat  ~  but  the  date 
was  1929  NOT  1965).  Mr,  O'Hara  was  then 
responsible  for  the  mail  and  the  for- 
warding of  all  material  from  the  Ordering 
Department,  and  supervised  three  young 
men:  Charles  Mosey,  and  the  late  Leo  T, 
Ryan  and  Earle  A,  Quadros, 

From  1918  through  1936,  during  the 
period  of  the  'two-platoon  system', 
William  also  worked  on  the  Sunday  and 
evening  services  in  the  Periodical  Room, 
under  the  late  Francis  J.  Hannigan,  but 
all  of  his  regular  library  service  was 
in  the  Ordering  Department.  When  this 
department  was  divided  into  the  Book 
Purchasing  Department  (for  acquisitions) 
and  the  Book  Selection  Departments  (for 
selecting),  Mr,  O'Hara  (as  he  had  now 
become  to  us  all)  remained  in  the  Book 
Purchasing  Department.  Here  he  served 
xinder  seven  department  heads :  Miss 
McCurdy,  Mr,  Ranlett,  Mr.  Maiers,  Miss 
Mulloy,  Mr,  Ball,  Mr,  Ettele,  and  Miss 
Rea, 

In  later  years  Mr,  O'Hara  was  responsi- 
ble for  the  material  received  from  the 
library's  many  miscellaneous  dealers.  He 
became  such  an  expert  on  locating  unusual 
items  which  often  got  sidetracked,  that 
Mr,  Ball  used  to  say:  "Bill  is  a  good  man 
for  resolving  snags,"  (By  this  time  the 
men  on  the  staff  began  to  call  him  "Bill") 

In  the  days  of  my  so-called  youth,  I 
remember  how  well  Willie  knew  every  girl 
in  the  building,  (The  girls  affectionatel; ' 
called  him  "l«7illie")  There  was  never  a 
need  to  find  out  the  name  of  the  new 
young  lady  just  assigned  to  some  remote 
department  far  from  the  Book  Purchasing, 
One  just  asked  Willie,  Proof  of  his 
popularity  alvjays  came  on  Saint  Valentine'. 
Day,  when  all  the  ladies  deluged  his 
desk  with  greetings. 


nr,Ti+-.. 


-  :>  - 


Bill  made  many  friends  throughout  the 
staff,  and  he  was  always  both  anxious  and 
willing  to  accomodate  his  fellow-  worker^ 
in  any  manner  in  which  he  was  able*  Once 
he  performed  a  sibaII  commission  for  a 
fellow  worker,  a  necessary  errand  to  pur- 
chase fish.  Unfortunately  for  Bill,  word, 
of  this  got  around  the  department.  For 
years  aftervrards,  someone,  every  so  often, 
would  pop  up  to  ask:  "Bill,  did  you  get 
Harriet's  fish  yet?"  But  Bill  would  just 
turn  scarlet,  get  flustered,  and  pooh-pooh 
all  his  many  helpful  acts  of  kindness  as 
something  that  didn't  matter.  He  loved, 
chocolates,  and  had  his  special  favorite 
varieties.  Often  he  would.  surreptltiousHy 
pass  one  a  candy  from  a  precious  small 
horde  in  a  paper  bag  from  Pierce's,  Again 
he  would  bring  in  a  whole  box  and  share 
it  vri-th  the  depai-tmento 

William  O'Hara  was  a  pleasant  gentleman 
to  work  wj.jh,  a  great  support  in  times  of 
personal  difficulties,  v7onderfully  help- 
ful about  straightening  out  problems    ' 
which  no  one  else  could  remember,  and 
always  willing  to  do  his  part  in  libraiy 
activities.  As  I  write  this.  Bill  and 
his  vivacious  sister,  Irene,  are  enjoying 
the  Florida  sunshine  on  one  of  their  mar^ 
holidays  together.  We  all  send  him  our 
congratulations  and  best  xirishes  that  they 
xn.ll  both  continue  to  enjoy  the  sunshine 
and  leisure  of  many  more  happy  trips, 

I^IARY  ALICE  F,  REA 

ARTHUR  HEINTZELMAN  MEI40RIAL  FUND 

Contributions  to  the  Arthur  Heintzelman 
Memorial  Fund  can  be  made  through  members 
of  the  corimittee  for  the  fund: 

Geraldine  Herrick 
Thomas  J,  Manning 
Louisa  S.  Metcalf 
Russell  A,  Scully 
Paul  B,  Sirens  on 
Sarah  M,  Usher 

A  lasting  memorial  to  MTo  Heintzelman^ 
the  fund  xd-ll  become  an  endowment  for  the 
purchase  of  prints  and  drawings,  follovx- 
ing  the  tradition  of  his  accomplishments 
as  the  Library's  first  Keeper  of  Prints 
from  I9I4I  to  i960. 

Contributions  sent  by  check  should  be 
made  out  to  The  Trustees  of  the  Public 
Library  of  the  City  of  Boston,  and  marked 
Arthur  Heintzelman  Memorial  Fund, 


BRANCH  BRIEFS 
NEW  NORTH  END  BRAI^CH  LIBRARY 

"Spotlights  beamed  their  radiance  on 
the  long  broad  walk  and  the  eager  and. 
enthusiastic  public  poured  in  to  see  the 
luxurious  new  North  End.  Libraiy  quarters. 

"The  little  people  and  the  big  people, 
more  than  1000  of  them  came  to  the  gala 
open  house  and  formal  dedication  of  the 
new  North  End  Branch  Library  at  25 
Parmenter  St.,  Boston  on  Wednesday  evening. 
May  5« 

"It  was  a  grand  and  glorious  night, 
weather  and  occasion  wise.  Old-time 
libraiy  patrons,  some  of  them  recalling 
going  to  get  books  at  a  delivery  station 
at  the  North  Bennett  Street  Industrial 
School  mingled  with  new  residents  newly 
exposed  to  North  End  library  service, 

"Former  North  End  Branch  Library  r-t-aff 
workers  helloed  old  library  friends  and, 
rejoiced  with  them  in  their  new  co2y 
quarters, 

"Sixteen  distinguished  foreign  librar- 
ians from  Europe,  Asia  and  the  Orient  on 
a  tour  of  American  libraries  sponsored,  by 
the  State  Department  were  wide-eyed  at 
the  beautiful  and  comfortable  furnishings, 
the  lush  greenery  surrounding  the  jetting 
fountain  with  six  fat  goldfish  nestling 
under  the  shocking  pink  lotus  blossoms, 

"State  and  cit;/  dignitaries  joined 
North  End  residents,  invited  guests  and 
library  personnel  in  this  unusual  ceremony 
~  a  combined,  occasion,  the  dedication 
ceremonies  c-nd  the  awarding  of  the  Maiy  U, 
Nichols  Book  PriiLe  Awards  for  196ii  and  1965. 

"The  evening  started  with  a  buffet 
supper  at  5:U5  for  the  Mayor,  the  City 
Council,  the  Library  Trustees,  State 
Representatives,  the  architects  and  other 
guests, 

"Greeting  the  guests  as  they  arrived 
were  the  chaarming  and  gracious  Mrs. 
Geraldine  Herrick,  North  End  Branch  Li- 
brarian, Milton  E,  Lord.,  Director  of  the  • 
Boston  Public  Library,  and.  Anthony  Tieuli, 
Young  Adult  Librarian  at  the  North  End 
Branch, " 

The  Italian  News  of  Friday,  May  lii,1965, 
from  whose  feature  article  the  above  is 
quoted.,  goes  into  glowing  detail  listing 
guests,  gifts,  and  congratulatory  tele- 
grams. Those  particularly  interested 
should  read  the  fuller  account  given 
therein,  but  the  full  impact  of  the 
building  itself  cannot  be  adequately 
Cont, 


-  6- 

described  in  words.  If  you  haven't  seen 
it  yet,  it  is  well  worth  the  special  trip 
—  only  a  five-minute  walk  up  Hanover  St« 
from  the  Haymarket  MTA  station  (left  on 
Parmenter  St, ), 

But  to  recount  the  events  of  the  evening 
in  briefer  fashion,  following  the  buffet 
supper  the  doors  were  opened  to  the  public 
and  dedication  ceremonies  began  shortly 
before  8  p.m.  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Mayor,'  Presided  over  by  Mr,  Augustin  H, 
Parker,  President  of  the  BPL  Trustees, 
they  consisted  of  an  invocation  given  by 
the  Rt,  Rev,  Edward  G,  Murray  (also  a 
Trustee),  an  address  by  Mayor  Collins, and 
the  key  presentation  ceremony.  Architect 
Karl  Koch  presented  the  solid,  gold  engrave- 
ed.  key  to  Mr,  Parker,  who  in  turn  gave  it 
to  Mrs,  Herrick:  "Ex  Libris  Felicitas 
North  End  Branch  Library  1965". 

Mrs,  Herrick  then  introduced  guests  and. 
staff,  and  Mr,  Lord  presented  the  l6th 
and  17th  annual  Mary  U,  Nichols  Book  Prize 
awards,  Mary  U,  Nichols  was  Branch  Librar- 
ian at  North  End  Branch  from  19U1  to  19h9 
and  died  of  a  heart  attack  at  Central  in 
January  of  19li9,  Money  raised  hy  her  many 
friends  in  the  North  End  was  presented,  to 
the  Library  and  funded  as  "The  Plary  U, 
Nichols  Book- Prize  Fund  —  Established  on 
May- 20,  19ii9,  through  inter  vivos  gift  by 
friends  of  Mary  U,  Nichols,  Branch  Librar- 
ian at  the  North  End  Branch  Library  from 
19iil  to  19li9,  Income  to  be  used  to  award, 
annually  a  book  prize  to  the  North  End  boy 
and  to  the  North  End  girl  who  in  their 
senior  year  at  a  North  End  high  school 
have  excelled  in  English," 

The  first  award  was  given  June  2,  19h9, 
Books  are  handsomely  bound  in  the  BPL 
Bindery  and  contain  a  memorial  'puppeteer* 
bookplate  especially  designed  by  the  late 
Arthior  ¥,  Heintzelman,  Keeper  of  Prints, 
to  symbolize  Miss  Nichols '  work  with 
puppets  at  the  Branch,  The  196ii  prizes 
were  to  have  been  axxarded  at  the  dedica- 
tion'of  the  Branch  in  the  summer  of  that 
year,  but  since  the  Branch  was  not  opened 
until  May  of  1965,  two  awards  were  made 
this  year.  Winners  were  Domenic  Stagno 
and  Robert  Dello  Rosso,  graduates  of 
Christopher  Columbus  High  School,  and 
Roberta  M,  Lombardozzi  and  Angela  S, Dello 
Russo,  both  graduates  of  Julie  Billiart 
High  School, 

Guests,  staff,  and  ■visitors  lingered  we31 
into  the  evening  to  enjoy  punch  and  cook- 
ies and  to  luxviriate  in  the  wonderful 
surroundings.  To  quote  from  the  Italian 


News  once  again,  it  was,  indeed.,  "a 
truly  magnificent  opening  in  every  way", 

Mattapan  Branch  is  delighted,  to 
announce  its  newest  baby.  Daughter  of 
our  ^oung  Adults  Librarian,  Alvis  Price 
and  his  pretty  wife,  Christina,  made  her 
debut  on  April  22, 

Congratulations I 

■5bkhhkhhk;-;hkhhhhh(- 
IT»S  A  FAST  AGE  VJE«RE  LIVING  IN 

Monday,  at  2  p,m,,  a  teen-ager  — 
probably  9th  or  10th  grade  — '  came  to  the 
library  for  a  book  that  vjould  teach  him 
how  to  dance,  Ha^ving  learned  from  him 
that  he  was  going  to  a  'prom»,  Mrs, 
Rubenstein  gave  him  a  book  on  social 
dancing,  and  laughingly  suggested  that 
he  practice  10  or  12  hours-a-day  'til 
prom  time,  in  order  to  become  fairly  '" 
adept  at  the  art,  "Heck,  no",  said  he, 
"The  prom  is  tonight,  I  just  got  in- 
vited yesterday", 

STAFF  IN  PRINT 

Just  published  Isy   the  American  Library 
Association  is  its  ACRL  Monograph  No,  27, 
R.are  Book  Collections;  Some  Theoretical 
and  Practical  Sugr;6stions,  edited  by  H» 
Richard  Archer,  Custodian  of  the  Chapin 
labraxy  at  Williams  College,  The 
chapter  on  "Cataloging  and,  Classification" 
was  xiiritten  hy   John  Alden,  Keeper  of 
Rare  Books, 

The  introduction  to  Thomas  R,  Adam's 
recent  American  Independence;  The  Growth 
of  an  Idea;  a  Bibliographical  Study 
(Providence,  Brown  University  Press, 1965 ) 
states  that  to  Mr,  Alden  the  author  is 
more  indebted  than  to  any  ether  indi-vidual, 
"Anyone  acquainted  with  the  meticulous 
and  thorough  manner  in  which  Mr,  Alden 
works  will  understand  the  obligation  I 
am  under,"  Mr,  Adams,  son  of  Randolph 
G,  Adams,  is  Librarian  of  the  Johii  Carter 
Brown  Library  at  Brown  University, 


-X-^-^>HHKHHHf^-SH$-;HH!-};--iH;- 


k^x-^>-»^^:-*-x-«sh(-;hhhhhh{- 


-  7  - 


FOURTH  GOVERITOR'3 
COI'JFERENCE  ON  LIBRARIES 


The  Fourth  Governor's  Conference  on 
Libraries,  held  Thursday,  April  29  at  the 
Hotel  Somerset,  consisted  of  two  parts: 
an  afternoon  colloquimn  and  a  'Diamond 
Jubilee'  dinner  at  6  p,m. 

The  colloqui  .  vdiich  was  entitled, 
"Libraries  and  the  Great  Society",  was 
concerned  with  the  roles  of  federal, 
state,  and  local  governments,  respectively, 
in  library  development.  Miss  Alice  Cahill, 
Assistant  Director,  Division  of  Library 
Extension,  Massachusetts  Department  of 
Education,  introduced  the  discussion  by 
pointing  out  some  of  the  problems  of 
governmental  relationships  to  libraries* 
After  Mss  Cahill 's  remarks,  Mr,  Erwin  D, 
Canham,  Editor-in-Chief  of  the  Christian 
Science  Monitor  and  Member  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  the  Boston  Public  Library, 
took  over  as  moderator  of  the  discussion* 

The  first  speaker  in  the  colloquium  was 
Mr,  John  G,  Lorenz,  Director,  Division  of 
Library  Services,  US  Office  of  Education, 
xvho  reviewed  some  of  the  federal  legisla- 
tion already  passed  or  being  considered 
by  Congress  at  the  present  time.  While 
doing  this,  !%",  Lorenz  pointed  out  some 
of  the  problems  which  such  legislation 
could  alleviate*  He  emphasized,  however, 
that  the  federal  government  cannot  solve 
all  the  problems.  Federal  aid  can  and. 
should  serve  only  as  a  stimulus  to  state 
and  local  activity. 

State  government  was  represented,  by 
Miss  Jean  L,  Connor,  Director,  Division 
of  Library  Extension,  NY  State  Education 
Department,  Miss  Connor  pointed  out  that 
ours  is  an  age  of  change  and  that,  in 
order  to  provide  adequate  library  service 
in  our  society,  there  must  be  cooperation 
between  libraries  and  other  social  agen- 
cies. She  felt  that  the  state  libraries 
have  four  major  functions:  to  point  out, 
especially  to  laymen,  the  relevance  of 
libraries  to  conterporary  society;  to 
coordinate  cooperative  activities  among 
the  libraries  of  the  state,  especially  in 
regard  to  collections  of  specialized 
material;  to  see  that  the  libraries  of  the 
state  are  fulfilling  the  needs  of  their 
patrons  constructively  and  successfully; 
and  finally,  to  make  sure  that  all  who  are 
participating  in  providing  library  services 
are  reinforcing  one  another's  efforts. 


Mr,  Kenneth  R,  Shaffer,  Director  of  the 
School  of. Library  Science  and  of  the 
Libraries  'at  Simmons  College,  reviewed  the 
many  changes  in  librarianship  which  have 
occurred  during  the  past  four  or  five 
years.  He  pointed  out  that  "this  is  just 
a  beginning"  compared  to  what  may  be 
expected  in  the  future. 

Finally,  the  only  layman  on  the  panel, 
Mr,  Robert  J,  M.  O'Hare,  Director  of  the 
Bureau  of  Public  Affairs  at  Boston  College 
and  former  Town  Manager  of  Stoughton, 
Massachusetts,  discussed  some  of  the 
problems  of  the  library  in  the  local 
community.  He  pointed  out  that  libraries 
are  necessary  in  order  to  assure  our 
children  the  education  required  to  pre- 
pare them  adequately  to  meet  the  chal- 
lenges of  modern  society.  He  noted  the 
need  not  only  for  a  greater  number,  but 
also  for  more  attractive,  functional, 
and  better-equipped  libraries  in  our 
communities. 

There  followed  a  brief  discussion 
period,  enlivened  by  a  debate  on  the 
feasibility  of  combining  school  and 
community  libraries 

•JHHHHHKHKKHHJ- 

Although  the  above  report  was  submitted 
to  the  Staff  by  our  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, liar  ion  McCarthy,  no  member  of  the 
Association  was  present  at  the  'Diamond 
Jubilee '  dinner  responsible  for  reporting 
on  the  evening's  activities.  Notes  taken 
from  the  program,  however,  indicated  that 
it  was  in  honor  of  the  l^Iassachusetts 
Division  of  Library  Extension,  1890-196^, 
with  Richard  J,  Sullivan,  Chairman,  Board, 
of  Library  Commissioners,  as  Toastmaster, 
After  a  welcoming  address  by  Governor 
John  A.  Volpe,  several  speakers  and  guests 
were  scheduled  to  participate:  remarks 
ty  Dr.  Owen  B,  Kiernan,  Coiimissioner  of 
Education,  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts; 
greetings  by  EdTmi  Castagna,  President, 
American  Library  Association;  and  the 
keynote  address  try  the  Honorable  Silvio 
0,  Conte,  Member  of  the  US  House  of 
Representatives  from  Pittsfield,  Mass, 


-  8  - 


CATHOLIC  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION  ANNUAL 
CONFERENCE  -  PHILADELPHIA,  APRIL  19-23 

This  is  a  report  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  Elementary  School  Libraries  Section 
meetings  which  I  attended.  There  were  maiy 
other  meetings  of  value  and  interest  to 
librarians  about  which  I  cannot  give  a 
first  hand  report  as  I  was  not  present. 

The  Regina  Medal  Award  Luncheon  on 
Tuesday,  April  20,  at  which  Mrs,  Ruth 
Sa^iyer  Durand  received  the  Regina  Medal 
for  her  lifetime  of  distinguished  contri- 
bution in  the  field  of  children's  litera- 
ture was,  to  me,  the  most  stimulating  and, 
delightful  experience  of  the  entire  con- 
ference, l^trs.  Durand,  although  not  fully 
recuperated  from  a  bad  virus  infection, 
gave  a  vigorous  talk  on  the  value  of  fine 
books,  finely  written,  rich  in  vocabulary 
and  in  meaning  for  family  reading.  She 
told  of  some  of  the  x^ronderful  storytellers 
she  had  met  in  Ireland,  Spain,  and  other 
countries  who,  though  perhaps  poor  in  ma- 
terial things,  were  blessed  with  a  rich- 
ness of  words,  a  richness  much  to  be 
envied,  "A  poverty  of  words  is  one  of  the 
xTOrst  poverties  a  person  can  live  xri. th," 
she  said.  Mrs,  Durand  ended  her  talk  xd.th 
the  telling  of  one  of  her  Irish  tales. 
The  Peddlar  of  Ballaghadereen.  She  was 
accompanied  by  her  dau^ter,  Mrs.  Robert 
McCloskey,  and  Mrs.  Annis  Duff  of  Viking^ 
Company.  Among  those  present  was  Virginia 
Haviland  of  the  Library  of  Congress, 
formerly  Readers  Advisor  to  Children,  BPL, 
At  each  place  at  table  there  was  a  souven'r 
copy  of  the  paperback  edition  of  Mrs.  .  r  ■ 
Durand 's  classic.  The  Way  of  the  Story- 
teller, 

The  following  morning,  David  McCord  spoke 
to  the  Elementaiy  Section  members  on  the 
importance  of  poetry  for  children.  It  was 
a  lively  presentation  stressing  the  uses 
of  rhythm  and  a  sucfiinctness  of  words. 

In  the  afternoon.  Sister  Anne  Lucille 
told  about  the  need  for  school  libraries 
on  parochial  schools  and  of  how  this  need 
is  being  met  in  her  area  of  service,  ..•- 
northern  New  Jersey.  Sister  Ann  Lucille 
has  established  the  Elizabeth  Seton  libraiy 
Guild,  consisting  of  UOO  mothers  in  hh 
parishes.  These  volointeer  helpers  in 
parochial  school  libraries  having  no  pro- 
fessional librarian,  are  given  about  18 
hours  of  library  science  instruction  by 
Sister  who  makes  periodic  visits  to  these 
schools.  The  results  are  astounding. 


Sister  Anne  Lucille  showed  slides  of 
some  of  these  school  libraries,  not  the 
most  advanced  in  her  district,  but 
rather  those  in  which  it  had  been  insis- 
ted it  was  BiPOSSIBLE  to  fit  any  kind, 
of  library  into  the  existing  plant.  But   | 
the  impossible  was  accomplished  and      i 
judging  from  the  slides,  accomplished     j 
very  well.  Books  are  purchased  from     ' 
Catholic  Library  Service  and  come  fully 
processed  and  catalogued.  Book  ^election 
for  this  service  is  under  the  direction 
of  such  professional  children's  librar- 
ians as  Margaret  Martignoni,  Ethna 
Sheehan  and  Clara  Kircher. 

Also  at  this  afternoon  meeting,  Frank 
A,  Stevens,  Supervisor  of  School  Librar- 
ies in  New  York  State,  explained  the 
implications  of  the  Elementary  and 
Secondary  Education  Act  of  1965  as  it 
applies  to  non-public  schools  and  school 

libraries, 

A  special  tour  was  arranged  to  the  new 
CLA  headquarters  at  Haverford,  An 
attractive  private  residence,  in  excellent 
condition,  has  been  adapted  to  the  needs 
and  uses  of  the  CLA  Bookshelf  of  out- 
standing children's  literature.  Miss 
Wessel,  Children's  Librarian  of  the 
Detroit  Public  Library,  was  a  past  chair- 
man of  the  Elementary  Section  who  served 
with  great  dedication  and  distinction. 

Tours  were  also  made  to  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania's  Charles  Patterson  Van 
Pelt  Library,  a  fine  example  of  modem 
functional  construction.  I  was  deeply 
interested  to  note  that  in  the  reading 
rooms  of  this  library,  used  by  the 
graduate  students  of  the  University, 
there  were  conspicuous  signs  posted,  "No 
"  Talking  Allowed".  Commenting  on  this  to 
the  librarian-guide,  I  was  told  that  it 
was  a  necessary  stricture  otherwise  the 
library  would  be  turned  into  a  "courting 

On  the  $th  floor  of  the  library  is  the 
Union  Library  Catalogue  which  lists  in 
one  alphabet  approximately  5,000,000 
titles  owned  by  l60  libraries  in  the 
Philadelphia  area.  Here  also  I  was 
interested  in  the  librarian's  comment 
that  no  machine  has  yet  been  invented 
that  can  compete  with  the  human  hand  and, 
eye  in  the  interfiling  of  catalogue  cards, 

Ife  also  visited  St.  Joseph's  College 
Library  and  the  Free  Library  of  Phila- 
delphia. At  this  latter,  the  delegates 
were  shown  the  treasures  of  the  Rare 

Cont, 


-  9  - 


Book  Department,  currently  exhibiting 
rare  editions  of  Beatrix  Potter,  Kate 
Greenaway,  and  other  well  knoim  children's 
authors  and  illustrators.  The  tour  con- 
cluded with  tea  served  graciously  in  the 
Rare  Book  Department  irith  FLP  Director 
Emerson  Greenaway  as  host. 

At  the  business  meeting  of  the  Elemen- 
tary Section  it  was  voted  to  change  the 
name  of  the  section  to  Children's 
Libraries  Section,  It  was  felt  that  this 
new  title  more  nearly  represented  the 
interests  of  the  Section  tiiich  is  not 
concerned  alone  with  school  libraries  but 
rather  with  all  phases  of  library  service 
to  children, 

MARTHA  C.  EICLER 

GOURMET  CORNER 

i 

Numerous  requests  were  received  follow- 
ing the  Hartzell  Lecture,  and  Mrs.  Rotondo 
has  been  good  enough  to  submit  the  recipe 
for  the  delicious  "Peppermint  Squares  a 
la  Adams  Street", 

Peppermint  Squares 

Melt  together: 

2  squares  unsweet  chocolate 
I"  cup  margarine 

Cream  together: 

1  cup  sugar 

2  eggs 

Add  mixture  of  chocolate  and  margarine 
to  this* 

Add  to  them: 

J  cup  flour 

dash  of  salt 

J  teaspoon  of  peppermint  extract 

•§•  cup  chopped  nuts. 

Grease  well  and  flour  a  9"  x  9"  square 
pan.  Balce  in  350°  oven  for  20  to  25 
minutes • 

Filling 

While  cake  is ' baking,  make  filling  and 
refrigerate. 

Combine  and  mix: 

2  tablespoons  cream  or  milk.  Start 

with  one  and  add 
1  cup  confectioner's  sugar 
■J  teaspoon  peppermint  extract 


After  cake  has  cooled,  spread  filling 
over  it  and  chill  enough  to  set.  After 
this  is  done,  pour  over  chocolate 
glaze  on  top  of  filling. 

Glaze 

Melt  together: 

1  square  chocolate 

1  tablespoon  margarine 

Chill  cake  again  and  cut  in  square, 

CONGRATUUTIONS  I 

To  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Lavirence  Savignano 
(Joan  formerly  worked  at  the  Officer- 
in-Charge  Desk)  on  the  birth  of  a  6  lb, 
9  02»  baby  girl  on  May  km     They  have 
named  their  2nd  child,  first  daughter, 
Teresa, 

DUESi 

The  Treasurer  has  requested  that  all 
persons  wishing  to  join  the  Staff 
Association  submit  their  name  and 
department  together  -tirith  one  dollar 
($1,00)  annual  dues.  Send  or  deliver 
to  Louis  Polishook,  Central  Charging 
Records, 

LET»S  i^IAKE  IT  100^  ill 


Dear  Reader : 

QM's  editor  apologizes  for  the 
tardiness  of  this  issue  •  Earlier 
issues  have  been  slightly  delayed,  but 
this  is  close  to  the  ridiculous  i     Had 
it  not  been  for  the  excellent  services 
of  Miss  Jean  Babcock,  however,  this 
might  well  have  been  a  midsummer  issue. 

All  of  which  points  directly  to 
the  fact  that  <^A   is  without  a  typist 
and  needs  one  desperately.  Anyone 
willing  to  donate  three  or  four  hours 
a  month,  please  contact  the  editor  c/o 
the  Audio-Visual  Department.  As  an 
official  duty  of  the  Staff  Association, 
library  time  is  ordinarily  allowed. 


/ 


^ ' 


SOAP  BOX 


Any  contribution  to  the  Soap  Box  must 
be  accompanied  by  the  full  name  of  the 
Association  member  submitting  it,  toge-  ' 
ther  with  the  name  of  the  Branch  Library, 
Department,  or  Office  in  which  he  or  she 
is  employed.  The  name  is  withheld  from 
publication,  or  a  pen  name  is  used.,  if 
the  contributor  so  requests.  Anonymous 
contributions  are  not  given  consideratioii 
The  author  of  the  article  is  known  only 
to  the  Editor-in-Chief.  The  contents  of 
the  articles  appearing  in  the  Soap  Box 
are  personal  opinions  expressed  by  indi- 
vidual Association  members  and  their 
appearance  does  not  necessarily  indicate 
that  the  Publications  Committee  and  the 
Association  are  in  agreement  with  the 
views  expressed.  Only  those  contribu- 
tions not  containing  more  than  300  words 
will  be  accepted » 


To  the  Editor: 

It  seems  to  me  that  an  institution  of 
our  size  should  have  some  official  policy 
with  regard  to  staff  attendance  at 
funerals  of  staff  members,  particularly 
members  who  have  been  here  for  decades. 
The  most  recent  funeral  of  a  staff  member 
was  poorly  attended,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  person  had  worked  here  in  Central 
for  3^  years.  There  were  about  15  persons 
at  the  service,  but  a  very  small  percent- 
age of  these  xrent  to  the  funeral,  and  they 
had  trouble  securing  transportation. 

It  is  difficult  to  go  to  a  funeral  witb 
out  transportation,  so  perhaps  some  policy 
could  be  evolved  by  which  people  who  have 
cars  and  are  willing  to  take  passengers 
could  notify  Personnel  or  put  a  notice  on 
the  Bulletin  Board  in  case  of  a  funeral. 

Perhaps  the  Staff  Association  should 
take  the  matter  up.  At  ar^r  rate,  someone 
should, 

CLAIRE  0 'TOOLE 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Soap  Box: 

Some  time  ago  I  picked  up  in  a  bookshop 
a  copy  of  Arnold  Bennett's  BOOKS  AND 
PERSONS,  (Doran,  1917),  a  book  of  literary 
comments  and  essays,  and  found  in  it  a 
piece  called  CENSORSHIP  IN  THE  LIBRARIES 
(pp  167  -  19U)«  Here  are  some  of  the     I 
things  he  has  to  say  about  us:  1 

"Boston, c»  the  city  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, of  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  ,,,  of 
Emerson,  Lowell,  Longfellow,  and.  Holmes 
•••  has  a  Public  Library,  It  is  sup- 
posed to  be  one  of  the  finest  public 
libraries  in  this  world,  or  any  other,,, 
A  women  asked  for  George  Moore's  "Esther 
Waters,"  The  work  was  included  in  the 
catalog  of  the  Library,  In  reply  to  her 
request  she  was  informed,  that  she  could 
not  have  the  book  unless  she  obtained 
from  the  Chief  Mandarin  or  Librarian 
special  permission  to  read  it,,,," 

Bennett  goes  on  to  say  that  the  lady's 
husband  was  a  prominent  journalist  in 
Boston,  and  iirhen  he  heard  the  story,  he 
looked  into  the  irfiole  question  of  starring 
books  in  our  catalog,  and  wrote  it  up  in 
his  paper. 

The  surprising  thing  to  me  in  the  Bennetl 
article  was  the  statement  that  "pernographi 
books  were  listed  in  the  public  catalog  wit 
a  red  star, 

"Esther  Waters"  is  now  on  the  open  shelve 
and  not  very  much  in  demand.  We  have  becoi 
much  more  liberal  in  our  policy  of  what  to 
put  on  open  shelves.  But  all  books,  eithe.t 
bought  or  accepted,  as  gifts  tiy  the  Library^ 
should,  be  listed  in  the  public  cataloge 

HARRY  Al^IDREVB 

UNFAIR  TO  FEMALES 

li/hy  is  it  the  females  of  the  Book  Stack 
Service  Department  are  totally  ignored  whei 
it  comes  to  receiving  step-rate  increases? 

Males  who  have  been  in  the  service  of 
the  library  from  six  months  to  two  years 
(LA  I's  and  LA.  2's)  have  just  recently 
jtimped  to  LA  U's« 


While  the  females  who  have  been  in  the 
service  for  seventeen  years  are  still 
LA  2's  and  another  who  is  an  LA  5  after 
37  years. 

Now,  we  ask  you,  IS  THIS  FAIR? 

VERY  DISCOURAGED 


m 


uestion 


[\^ 


Al^K 


THE  BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


JUNE      1965 


THE  QUESTION  MARK 
Published  by  the  Boston  Public  Library  Staff  Association 
Volume  XX,  Nimiber  6 June  1965 

Publications  Ccinmittee:  William  F,  Caseyj  Harry  Andrews;  Evelyn  Isaacs;' Maiy 

Skewes;  Sarah  M.  Usher,  Indexer;  David  G,  Nevin,  Chairman 

Publication  Date:                    Deadline  for  submitting  material: 
The  fifteenth  of  each  month The  tenth  of  each  month 

It  shall  be  the  object  of  the  Association 

(a)  to  foster  professional  librarianship 

(b)  to  further  the  common  interests  and  the  welfare  of  the  bibliothecal  staff 

(c)  and  to  promote  greater  efficiency  in  library  service. 


THOUGHTS  ON  THE  IMMINMT  DEMISE  OF  THE  COFFEE  SHOP 

Both  the  June  Staff  Memo  and  the  minutes  of  the  May  28  Staff  Associa- 
tion Business  Meeting  inform  us  that  the  Central  Library's  Coffee  Shop  is  to  be 
closed  between  the  time  the  present  annex  is  torn  down  and  the  completion  of  the 
new  building.  Although  the  actual  event  may  not  take  place  for  a  year  or  more, 
there  is  no  more  than  a  suggestion  of  the  type  of  interim  facilities  which  may  be 
provided  or  how  long  we  can  expect  to  'bide  our  time*  until  the  new  building's 
lounges  and  lunch  rooms  will  be  available.  It  is  suggested,  then,  that  rather 
than  waiting  until  the  last  minute,  it  might  be  prudent  to  do  a  little  planning 
ahead  for  what  will  be  a  rather  large  gap  in  the  fringe  benefits  we  all  now  enjcy 
and  will  surely  sorely  miss  when  that  fateful  day  arrives. 

Although  it  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  sit  down  with  a  cup  of  coffee, 
a  coke,  or  a  sandwich,  the'  present  facilities  are  neither  spacious  nor  very  com- 
fortable. In  this  respect,  &t  least,  the  problem  of  putting  up  with  temporary 
quarters  or  the  almost  complete  lack  thereof  should  be  considerably  eased:  when 
the  day  comes,  it  will  mean  that  we  are  just  that  much  closer  to  the  opening  of 
the  new  building  with  its  hopefully  larger  and  more  comfortable  staff  accomoda- 
tions. 

But  even  assuming  that  we  are  able  to  view  it  intelligently  merely  as 
a  necessary  evil  created  by  the  slow  churning  of  the  wheels  of  progress,  the  non- 
availability of  a  reasonably  priced  meal — a  difficult  enough  burden  for  many- 
may  not  prove  nearly  so  permanent  a  resiilt  as  the  lack  of  sufficient  space  to  sit 
and  discuss  personal  experiences  and  feelings  and  to  complain  of  libraiy  problems. 
This  month,  for  the  first  time  in  a  long  time,  we  have  a  reasonable  representa- 
tion of  staff  opinion  in  the  Soap  Box,  But  hy  placing  a  tape  recorder  in  the 
Coffee  Shop  for  a  single  afternoon,  there  would  be  sufficient  material  for  nearly 
a  f\ill  year's  Soap  Boxes, 

(Continued  -  -  -  page  9) 


-  2  - 


PRESIDENT'S  NOTES 

Ed»  note;   Mary  Crowe  is  on  vacation     j 
as  this  issue  goes  to  press.  We  have 
nary  a  picture  postcard  from  her  and 
can  only  invite  your  attention  to  the 
Recording  Secretary's  minutes  taken 
at  the  May  28  Business  Meeting. 


**«*=«***>|<****W^*******^*1'*************** 


PERSONl^EL  NOTES 


ENTERED: 


Mrs.  Rebecca  Peters  -  Bookmobiles 
Patricia  A.  McCabe  -  Book  Preparation 
Shirley  A.  Lyons  -  Fine  Arts 
Barbara  Ann  Langone  -  Book  Selection, 

R&RS 
William  M.  King  -  Book  Preparation 
John  J.  Rohen  -  Central  Charging  Records - 

return  from  Military  Leave 

TRANSFERRED; 

Rena  Fisher  -  Egleston  Square  -  formerly 

a  part-time  Library  Aide,  now  Pre- 

Professional 
Kevin  Shea  -  Book  Preparation  -  formerly 

part-time  in  Cetaloging  &  Classification 

R&RS 
Andrew  Soo  -  Book  Stack  Service  -  formerly 

part-time 
Stephanie  G.  Daggett  -  West  Roxbury  - 

formerly  part-time 
Denise  A.  Boyce  -  Central  Charging  Records 

-  former  Library  Aide  at  Mt.  Pleasant 
James  G.  Mercer  -  Book  Stack  Service  - 

formerly  a  Library  Aide  in  Branch  Issue 
Marie  C.  DeFronzo  -  North  ^-nd  -  formerly 

a  Library  Aide 
William  C.  Hanway  -  Book  Stack  Service  - 

formerly  in  Cataloging  &  Classification 

HR&CS 

Cont. 

Folksinging  is  when  a  lot  of  rich  college 
kids  get  together  and  sing  about 
poverty.  —  Cambridge  Circus 


j  CEASED; 

i  Winifred  F.  Root  -  Kirstein  Business 

Branch  -  retired 
!  Hilliam  F.  O'Hara  -  Book  Purchasing 
Dorothy  Banner  -  Mt.  Pleasant 
Raymond  Collins  -  Duplicating  -  another 

position 
Peter  Ellsworth  -  Bookmobiles  -  return 

home 
Kevin  Hipe  -  Open  Shelf 
Jeanne  F.  McGerigle  -  Kirstein  Business 

Branch  -  to  stay  at  home 
Frances  MacArthur  -  Fine  Arts  -  moving 

to  Maine 
Joan  Morris  -  Science  and  Technology  - 

resigned 
Dorothy  Perkins  -  West  Roxbury  -  resigned 

NElVLYl'ffiDS: 

Ella  Vi/hite  -  Central  Charging  Records, 

to  Stanley  E.  Lombara 
Juliana  DeKoning  -  Brighton,  to  Howard 

Hickerson  and  moving  to  Memphis,  Tenn. 
Joan  M.  White  -  Bookmobiles,  to  Edward 

McKinnon 
Paula  M.  Burke  -  Kirstein  Business 

Branch,  to  Paul  B.  McCarthy 

************************************** 
IN  MEi^ORIAii 


Jean  B.   Lay 

After  a  month's  hospitalization  Miss 
Lay  passed  away  on  June  2,  1965.   Her 
friends  were  confident  that  she  would 
rally  and  leave  the  New  England  Baptist 
Hospital  for  her  usual  happy  summer  on 
the  coast  of  Massachusetts,  but  that  was 
not  to  be.   She  has  been  buried  in  Amhens-fc, 
Nova  Scotia,  where  she  was  born  and 
J  spent  her  early  years.   Her  attachment 
for  the  town  where  her  father  had  been 
high  school  principal  was  made  concrete 
over  the  years  by  annual  contributions 
for  school  prizes.   She  attended  Mt. 
Allison  College  and  Truro  Normal  School 
in  Nova  Scotia  and  spent  a  number  of 
years  teaching,  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  1918  to  enter  the  library  field. 
She  first  worked  in  Springfield  where 
she  entered  a  library  training  course. 


-  3  - 


Her  work  at  the  Boston  Public  Library 
began  in  1924  when  she  worked  in  the  then 
Branch  Catalog  Department.   This  work  led 
to  one  of  her  hobbies.   She  cataloged 
children's  books  and  became  interested 
in  the  Children' s  Room,  and  put  together 
delightful  scrap  books  to  be  given  away 
to  young  acquaintances.   I  first  met  Jean 
Lay  when  she  was  sent  to  the  old  Boylston 
Branch  Library  (now  Connolly)  to  update 
the  catalog  and  shelflist  there. 

Although  Jean  gave  the  impression  of  a 
sombre  outlook,  a  real  vein  of  humor  was 
there  and  brought  forth  many  a  laugh 
among  her  friends  when  she  entertained  at 
the  Pioneer  Hotel  at  luncheon  and  evening 
card  parties.  Her  memory  for  poetry  was 
remarkable;  it  also  was  her  pleasure  to 
experiment  with  verse  as  well  as  with 
other  forms  of  writing. 

The  theatre  and  opera  meant  a  great  deal 
to  her;  here  too,  her  remarkable  manory 
for  stage  personalities  made  her  a  fasci-i- 
nating  conversationalist.   Since  her  retire- 
ment about  ten  years  ago  she  had  seen 
many  a  performance  not  only  in  Boston  but 
in  England.   Her  travels  during  these 
years,  although  concentrated  on  iingland, 
did  take  her  as  far  as  the  Soviet  Union 
on  one  occasion.   Jean's  friends  at  the 
Pioneer  and  in  the  Library  will  miss  her 
pithy  comment  on  these  and  other  matters. 
They  will  also  miss  her  genuine  interest 
in  their  undertakings  for  she  rarely  for- 
got any  of  her  fellow  workers. 

PEARL  SMMif 

******************** 

Mary  E.   Mulvaney 

With  the  passing  of  Mary  E.  Mulvaney, 
the  Library  has  lost  another  of  its  many 
honored  and  respected  retired  employees, 

Mary  came  to  be  known  as  "Marie"  back 
in  her  "stack  girl"  days  when  so  many 
Marys  were  working  together  that  a  call 
of  ";iary"  brought  everyone  running. 
During  her  50  years  with  the  Library  she 
graduated  from  the  stacks  to  the  Regis- 
tration Department  where  she  stayed  until 
her  retirement,  after  that  Department  had 
expanded  into  the  present-day  Central 
Charging  Records.  Her  devotion  to  duty 
during  this  span  of  years  was  evident  in 


her  remarkable  attendance  record  and 
the  quality  of  her  work.   She  was  a 
perfectionist  and  the  product  of  her 
work  was  positive  proof  of  this 
personal  quality. 

Those  of  us  who  had  the  pleasure  of 
working  close  to  her  found  in  her  a 
friend,  confidante,  and,  of  prime  im- 
portance, a  good  and  thorough  teacher 
in  the  work  we  were  expected  to  perform. 

The  exquisite  work  she  did  with  a 
needle — knitting,  sewing,  crocheting- 
was  a  delight  to  behold,  and  no  request 
for  a  dressed  doll  or  a  baby  set  for  a 
charity  bazaar  was  ever  turned  down, 

I'l/e  all  knew  her  as  a  bright,  cheerful, 
generous  person.   Since  her  retirement, 
those  of  us  who  kept  in  touch  with  her 
always  heard  her  say  cheerfully,  "I'm 
just  fine,"  even  though  we  knev;  she  had 
just  come  through  a  bout  with  illness. 
It  made  us  feel  a  bit  ashamed  that  a 
short  time  before  we  may  have  been 
feeling  sorry  for  ourselves  because  of 
some  minor  discomfort  or  irritation. 

As  someone  so  simply  put  on  the  day  we 
heard  of  her  passing,  "It  was  a  privilege 
to  have  knov/n  her." 

GERTRUDE  E.  STUHL 

ALA  CONFEREES 

The  following  listing  is  printed  with 
best  wishes  for  happy  landings  in 
Detroit,  July  4  -  10. 

Division  of  General  Library  Operations 


Edmund  R.  Ettele 
Catherine  MacDonald 
Helen  Sevagian 

Division  of  Home  Reading  &  Community 


Services 
Ruth  M.  Hayes 
Kathleen  Hegarty 
M.  Jane  Manthorne 
Mary  G.  Langton 
Eleanora  Chaplik 
Evelyn  Eillman 
Mary  Crov^e 
Beryl  Robinson 
B.  Gertrude  Wade 


-  4  - 


Division  of  Reference  and  Research 
Services 

B.  Joseph  O'Neil 
Florence  Connolly 
Rosalie  k,    Lang 
Minna  Steinberg 

CONGR/iTULATIQNSI 

A  letter  from  Alphonse  F.  Trezza, 
Associate  Executive  Director  of  A.LA  and 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  Library  Ad- 
ministration Division,  has  been  received 
notifying  Helen  Sevagian  of  her  success 
in  the  recent  nationwide  ALA  elections. 
Miss  Sevagian  has  been  elected  a  Member 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Section 
on  Public  Relations  of  LAD, 

QTl  extends  warmest  congratulations  to 
Miss  Sevagian  ...  and  compliments  to  LAD 
on  an  excellent  choice. 

AMTIQUARIAII  LIBRi^IAN? 

The  perennial  question  as  to  the 
proper  function  of  librarians  is  aired 
in  the  May  3  issue  of  the  Antiquarian 
Bookman  as  follows: 

"T'Ir.  Edward  (sic)  Castagna,  Director 
of  the  Enoch  Pratt  Free  Library  and 
President  of  the  American  Library  Associ- 
ation, has  described  the  urgency  of  the 
problem  throughout  the  country;   'It 
is  hard  and  challenging  work  to  sell 
reading  in  the  neighborhoods  where  chil- 
dren grow  up  without  the  basic  language 
experience  which  most  of  us  take  for 
granted.   We  must  show  that  words  can 
be  used  for  purposes  other  that  the  ex- 
pression of  the  most  immediate  and 
physical  need  and  that  language  skill, 
once  acquired,  can  lead  to  a  new  way  of 
life  for  people  of  all  ages.  Vjhat  is 
needed  is  not  just  traditional  library 
service,   '.''ihat  is  required  is  innovation, 
the  creation  of  techniques  that  can 
liberate  vast  numbers  of  children  and 
adults  from  their  environment.   1/Ve  must 
free  able  librarians  of  their  present  re- 
sponsibilities so  that  they  can  get  their 
teeth  into  the  problem — study  the  needs 
of  the  poor,  develop  ways  of  satisfying 
them,  and  train  others  to  work  effectively 
with  them. ' 

—NLW  press  »-elease." 


To  which  the  Editor  of  AB  (Sol  M. 
Malkin)  replies: 

"EdI   liihat  nonsensel   'Able  librarians' 
should,  must  be  bookmen  first  and  last, 
and  leave  all  other  noble  tasks  to 
sociologists,  therapists,  literacy 
teachers,  etc.,  each  qualified  in  his 
own  fieldl" 

**J.*^t*j»:j)c**+*j|<j******1i***)([  +  ***  ********** 

A  FOMD  FAREYjELL 

Lana  Maybury  Reed  was  paid  due  homage 
on  Friday,  May  28th  at  a  luncheon  in 
her  honor  at  DuBarry's.   Vvithin  the  two 
years  that  Lana  had  been  a  staff  member, 
she  had  won  the  affection  of  a  large 
number  of  Library  personnel.   Twenty- five 
of  these  friends  joined  in  the  luncheon 
celebration,  with  many  more  contributing 
to  her  gift. 

The  Committee  of  Four  who  organized 
the  luncheon  within  the  space  of  a  week 
worked  so  efficiently  that  it  was  sug- 
gested that  they  be  made  a  permament 
committee.   (Maria  Consoli,  Genevieve 
Molony,  Marian  McCarthy  and  Regina 
Cotter  promptly  declined.)  They  had, 
however,  done  their  work  well  for  this 
occasion. 

The  guests  were  guided  to  their  seats 
by  Stork  place  cards  designed  by  Jean 
Babcook.   We  ate  a  delicious  meal  of 
chicken  or  scallops  (and  one  cheese 
omelette).   Lana  looked  lovely  and  was 
quite  delighted  with  her  corsage  of  pink 
sweetheart  roses  and  lilies  of  the  valley. 
Mr.  Carroll  made  his  usual  witty  pre- 
sentation of  the  gift— a  dainty  lounge 
robe  and  some  green  bills.   Lana  thanked 
everyone  for  the  gift  and  luncheon  and 
especially  for  the  opportunity  to  work 
with  them.   She  indicated  that  she  ex- 
pected her  faith  in  the  book — namely 
Dr.  Spock — would  see  her  through  the 
challenging  period  of  motherhood. 

The  Library  will  miss  Lana  who  was  a 
valuable  member  of  the  Adult  Services 
Office  staff.   She  had  endeared  herself 
to  the  Never  Too  Late  Group  which  she 
led  and  had  played  an  indispensable  part 
in  the  programming  of  the  Central  and 
branch  libraries.  We  are  happy,  however, 
that  she  goes  forward  to  the  wonderful 
experience  of  motherhood.  Dr.  Spock  in 
hand. 


***♦****************>*******♦********* 


-  5  - 


AIvIERICAl:J  Fim  FESTIVAL  1965 

No  starlets,  no  lights,  no  brass  band — 
only  films,  and  good  films  at  that.   This 
7th  session  of  the  American  Film  Festival, 
sponsored  by  EFLA,  the  Educational  Film 
Library  Association,  was  held  in  New  York 
City  at  the  Biltmore  Hotel,  April  21-24. 

As  chairman  of  the  pre-screening  com- 
mittee for  the  category,   "Stories  for 
Children",  and  chairman  judge  for  the 
screening  session,  "Guidance:  Personal 
Invocation",  I  was  privileged  to  see  many 
outstanding  films.   It  pleased  the  pre- 
screening  committee,  which  had  included 
BPL  staff  members,  that  the  winner  of  the 
"Stories  for  Children"  Blue  Ribbon  Award— 
Comet  at  Night,  produced  by  the  National 
Film  Board  of  Canada — was  the  same  film 
selected  as  their  first  choice. 

In  addition  to  four  days  of  film  sessiois, 
an  interesting  program  of  lectures  and 
special  activities  was  arranged  for  those 
attending,   "Film  Making  on  Campus"  was 
presented  Vu'ednesday  evening  in  co-opera- 
tion mth  the  University  Film  Producers 
Association.   The  role  of  the  University 
was  discussed  by  a  panel  of  experts 
working  with  films  on  campus,  chaired 
by  IVilbert  H.  Pearson,  United  States 
Information  Agency. 

On  Thursday  afternoon  the  New  York  City 
Film  Council  sponsored  a  luncheon  with 
George  Stephens,  Jr.  of  the  USIA  as  the 
speaker.   His  topic,  "Films— Ambassadors 
at  Large",  covered  the  problems  and 
difficulties  the  A,gency  has  in  producing 
and  distributing  films  for  world  circula- 
ticn  and  how  successes  as  well  as  failures 
reach  an  audience  of  millions, 

Thursday  evening  was  a  special  treat; 
arrangements  had  been  made  for  Festival 
registrants  to  attend  several  film  events 
at  the  Vforld's  Fair.   The  most  fascinating 
of  these  was  a  special  screening  at  the 
Johnson  Wax  Pavillion  of  the  three-screen 
film.  To  Be  Alive.   All  the  glowing  advance 
reports  about  this  film  were  true,  and  it 
is  a  visual  experience  not  to  be  forgotten. 
After  the  showing  we  were  privileged  to 
meet  the  producer,  Francis  Thompson,  who 
discussed  the  film  technique  and  answered 
questions. 

On  Friday  afternoon  a  special  program, 
"Films  and  the  Conmunity  Mental  Health 
Boom",  was  held  under  the  sponsorship  of 
the  Committee  on  Physical  and  Mental 


Health  Films.   A  panel  of  experts 
discussed  the  film  shown  and  the  future 
growth  of  the  mental  health  film  field. 
That  evening,  the  gala  banquet  took 
place  in  the  grand  dining  room  of  the 
Biltmore.   After  dinner  and  presentation 
of  the  annual  SFLA  awards — this  year 
awarded  posthumously  to  Paul  C.  Reed, 
pioneer  leader  in  the  audio-visual  field 
and  former  editor  of  Educational  Screen-— 
the  Blue  Ribbon  winners  were  announced. 

After  screening  of  the  winners  on 
Saturday,  yours  truly  headed  back  for 
Boston  with  aching  bones  and  blurry  eyes. 

EUCLID  J.  PELTIER 

***m  *******iK*  ****************  ********** 

SOMEBODY'S  MOTHER 

Excuse  me,  but  3 'm  in  a  hurry. 

Are  you  the  librarian  here? 

I'm  looking  for  something  on  Milton... 

Or  Hilton  ...  or  Walton — Oh  dearl 

Well,  you  must  know,  it's  the  assignment 

For  eleventh  grade  English  this  week. 

My  daughter  is  taking  that  course  now 

And  she's  writing  some  kind  of  critique. 

So  since  I  was  going  right  by  here, 

I  thought  I  -would  drop  in  to  see 

If  you  had  a  book  that  might  help  her — 

She  must  get  an  A  or  B, 

Her  father  and  I  are  quite  worried. 

Just  next  year  she  has  to  apply 

To  the  College  of  his  and  my  choice  which 

Requires  a  grade  average  that  is  high. 

But  the  poor  girl  has  no  time  to  study. 

She  has  something  to  do  every  day. 

You  know  she's  the  band  baton  twirl er 

And  she's  taking  both  tap  and  ballet. 

Then  her  social  life,  too,  is  important, 

A  girl  of  her  age  should  have  fun 

And  there's  always  some  party  or  movie 

Or  dance  to  keep  her  on  the  run. 

But  she  needs  a  career  to  fall  back  on. 

Her  father  and  I  just  insist 

That  she  study  for  some  nice  profession... 

Maybe  lawyer  or  psychiatrist, . , 

Oh,  look  at  the  timel   I  must  run  now. 

My  bridge  club  is  meeting  today. 

But  do  be  a  dear  and  find  something 

And  just  sort  of  hide  it  away. 

Her  father  can  get  it  this  evening. 

He'll  be  glad  to  help  out — he  agrees 

That  parents  should  always  encourage 

Worthwhile  research  projects  like  these. 

By  Barbara  Toohey 
(Cleveland  Public  Library  Staff  Asso- 

ciatifcn..  News  &  Views,  v,  29,  no.  4, 

Mar  ch-Ap  ril,  1965) 

**********  *****^jt:*:f****-***#**4:4!*1c**:^t** 


-  6  - 


MUSIC  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION. 
NEW  fflGIAM)  CHAPTW 

The  Spring  meeting  of  the  New  England 
Chapter  of  the  Music  Library  Association 
was  held  on  Saturday,  April  10,  at 
Connecticut  College  in  New  London. 

The  morning  session  consisted  of  talks 
by  Mr.  Philip  L.  Miller,  Chief  of  the 
Music  Division  of  the  New  York  Public 
Library,  and  by  Mrs,  Catharine  K.  Miller, 
Librarian  (ret.)  of  the  58th  Street  Music 
Library  in  New  York  City.  Mr.  Miller 
described  and  showed  plans  for  the  new 
Library  and  Museum  of  Performing  Arts  at 
Lincoln  Center.   This  new  Library/ 
Museum  will  be  a  combination  of  the  three 
performing  arts  sections  of  the  present 
library — Music,  Theatre,  and  Dance 
Collections,  each  with  its  own  separate 
stacks  and  reading  areas.   The  Library 
will  continue  to  be  in  two  distinct  sec- 
tions. Research  and  Circulation,   The 
lov;er  floor  will  house  the  circulating 
collection,  with  browsing,  exhibit  and 
listening  areas,  and  an  intermediate 
reference  section  for  the  casual  reader. 
A  special  card  vjill  be  issued  to  admit 
readers  to  the  research  library  on  the 
top  floor.   A  small  auditorium  will  be 
available  for  recordings,  concei-ts, 
chamber  music,  and  dance  recitals.   The 
question  now  remains  as  to  when  the 
Library/Museum  will  open-— that  old  money 
problem  againj 

Mrs,  Miller,  fascinating  and  to  the 
point  as  always,  spoke  on  "Music 
Librarians",   I'lhei-eas  once  an  aptitude 
for  librarianship  and  musical  knowledge 
was  considered  sufficient  background,  now 
music  librarians  must  also  be  familiar  with 
musicology,  ethnomusicology,  and  the 
adjacent  performing  arts.   Mrs.  Miller 
believes  that  the  cataloger  and  the 
reference  librarian  should  be  allowed  to 
switch  places  in  order  to  gain  a  broader 
perspective  of  the  field.   She  also  spoke 
of  the  great  mass  listener  problem  with 
which  today's  music  librarian  must  cope, 
and  stressed  the  fact  that  the  training 
of  music  librarians  must  not  be  watered 
down  to  take  care  of  these  people,  but 
rather  that  the  standards  of  training 
must  be  raised. 

At  the  business  meeting  which  preceded 
luncheon,  the  following  officers  were 
elected:   President,  Alfred  Kuhn,  Yale 


University;  Vice-President,  Mary 
Ankudowich,  Smith  College;  Secretary- 
Treasurer,  Gertrude  Martin,  ViTheaton 
College;  Member-at-Large,  Ruth  Bleeker, 
BPL,   It  was  announced  that  a  separate 
"Union  List  of  Music  Serials"  was  under 

consideration,  to  be  published  by 
Wilson,  and  members  of  the  Chapter  will 
be  polled  in  the  near  future  as  to 
their  feelings  on  the  project. 

The  afternoon  session  on  "Library 
Services"  consisted  of  a  panel  of 
three  librarians  and  three  library  users. 
The  librarians:   Mrs,  Ruth  Bleeker,  BPL; 
Miss  Eileen  Borland,  MIT;  and  Mr,  Brooks 
Shepard,  Yale  University.   The  library 
users:   Mr.  John  Baviochi,  composer  and 
and  teacher,  of  Brookline;  Miss  Mary 
Peckam,  Smith  College  senior  and  Music 
major;  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  Greenberg, 
graduate  music  student  at  Connecticut 
College.   Each  panel  member  discussed 
the  services  offered  by  or  received 
from  his  library.   It  seems  that  even 
the  most  knowledgeable  and  intelligent 
library  user  is  still  not  aware  of  all 
that  a  library  can  and  should  offer  him, 
and  must  be  educated  to  the  fact  that 
the  librarian  is  there  to  help  him.  The 
panel  concluded  with  a  lively  and  in- 
formative open  discussion  period.  A 
coffee  hour  ended  the  day's  activities, 
giving  us  an  opportunity  to  chat  with 
old  and  new  friends. 

NATALIE  PALME 

if:^^,^rt' ********************************* 

CONCERNING  HIGH  SHELVES 

It  wasn't  very  long  ago 

I  fretted  over  bending  law 

For  each  book  the  public  needed 

Now  it  seems  that  I've  succeeded 

In  changing  Fate's  malign  intent 

For  now  I'm  stretched  instead  of  bent  J 

ALWAYS  COMPLAINING 

:ti*ifilflHF.Hlc***********l******************** 

OF  INTEREST  ON  THURSDAYS 

One  way  to  save  money  is  to  live  as 
cheaply  after  payday  as  you  do  the  few 
days  before. 

ANONYMOUS 

iliifL**^ti^*-^*.it:**iti*****************  ******** 


-  7  - 


Any  contribution  to  the  Soap  Box  must 
be  accompanied  hy   the  full  name  of  the 
Association  member  submitting  it,  to- 
gether with  the  name  of  the  Branch  Library, 
Department,  or  Office  in  which  he  or  she 
is  emploj'^ed.   The  name  is  withheld  from 
publication,  or  a  pen  name  is  used,  if 
the  contributor  so  requests.   Anonymous 
contributions  are  not  given  consideration. 
The  author  of  the  article  is  known  only 
to  the  Editor-in-Chief.   The  contents  of 
the  articles  appearing  in  the  Soap  Box 
are  personal  opinions  expressed  by  indi- 
vidual Association  monbers  and  their 
appearance  does  not  necessarily  indicate 
that  the  Publications  Committee  and  the 
A-^r.ociation  are  in  agreement  with  the 
viev'S  expressed.   Only  those  contribu- 
tions not  containing  more  than  300  words 
will  be  accepted. 


Dear  Soap  Box: 

IT'S  NOT  THElvI  IT'S  fiE 

Oh,   what  a   joy  it  would  be 

Indeed, 

If  they  sent  a  slip  that 

I  could  read. 

But  it's  not  them. 

It's  me. 

An  hour  to  run  one  slip? 

Oh  no. 

But  I  get  more  than  one 

Slip  you  know. 

But  it's  not  them. 

It's  me. 

Tell  me  how  to  loaf  in  a  chair, 

Vi/hen  there's  never  any 

Anywhere 

But  ■'t's  not  them. 

It's  me. 


How  can  I  find  the  books, 

Mr.  B. 

1/Vhen  there's  never  any  light  to 

See. 

But   it's   not  them. 

It's  me. 

I  will  only  say  a  few  things 

More 

How  can  one  person  run 

Five  and  Four? 

But  it ' s  not  them. 

It's  me. 

And  oh,  dear  public  can't 

You  read? 

Starred  books  go  out? 

Indeedl 1 

But  it's  not  them. 

It's  me. 

Oh  tell  me  kind  sir  and  lady  fair. 
How  can  I  find  a  book  that's 
Just  not  there. 
But  it's  not  them. 
It' s  me. 

Mr.  B.  please  tell  me 

Where  I  have  failed. 

My  Negro  skin  has 

Paled, 

But  it's  not  them. 

It's  me . 

Mr.  E.  please  heed  my 

Request, 

Someday  be  my  guest 

Because, 

IT'S  NOT  ME, 

IT'S  THffll 

MISS  BOOK  STACK  SERVICE 

MORE  »ORK  BUT  A  RAISE,  TABOO 

With  this  "Long  Island  Deal"  much  more 
work  is  involved  at  Centre  Desk. 

At  the  present  time  the  work  can  be 
handled  without  any  difficulty,  but 
when  school  re-opens  in  the  fall  it  will 
take  at  least  two  of  the  attendants  here 
at  the  desk  just  to  take  care  of  the 
Long  Island  and  New  England  Deposit  books. 

This  wd  11  thrust  a  greater  load  of  the 
regular  work  on  the  three  remaining 


-  8  - 


attendants  at  Centre  Desk,  especially  on 
a  day  when  ^000  slips  are  requested  at 
the  desk. 

Don't  you  think  we  deserve  a  raise  like 
everyone  else? 


WAITING  PATIENTLY 


Editor's  note; 


The  above  is  a  very  specific  and  local 
complaint.  It  is  worthy  of  general  note, 
however,  on  at  least  two  counts: 

1.  It  is  representative  of  the  common 
discontent  with  the  Library  Assistants' 
salary  schedule, 

2.  It  points  out  rather  well  the  con- 
fusion in  many  minds  concerning  salary 
schedule,  promotion,  and  job  classi- 
fication. Here,  it  would  seem,  is  an 
excellent  example  of  how  a  particular 
job — as  a  result  of  Regional  service, 
temporary  storage  arrangements,  etc, — 
has  become  much  more  complex  and  demanding 
than  when  originally  described  for  classi- 
fication purposes.  A  "raise",  either 
across  the  board  or  "like  everyone  else", 
may  be  very  desirable  in  furthering  the 
common  interests  and  welfare  of  the  staff, 
but  this  is  an  instance  involving  a  sig- 
nificant increase  in  both  complexity  and 
responsibility  of  one  particular  position. 
Jobs  at  Centre  Desk  appear  to  be  prime 
candidates  for  reclassification. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Soap  Box: 


Some  days  ago  I  went  up  to  the  Pru- 
dential Tower,  and  along  with  the  beauti- 
ful vistas  stretching  east,  west,  south 
and  north  of  Boston,  I  had  a  new  view  of 
the  Library,  It  dominates  the  area  with 
its  perfect  proportions,  and  looks  com- 
pletely in  keeping  with  the  masterpiece 
of  architecture  it  seems  when  you  look  at 
it  at  close  range,  and  with  the  marbles, 
paintings  and  treasures  within.  The 
Annex,  hugging  one  of  the  Library  walls, 
so  sturdy  and  serviceable  for  almost  50 
years,  seemed  from  that  distance  a  country 
lean-to,  an  interloping  excrescence  and 
parasite.  So  that  from  the  point  of  view 
of  restoration  and  making  the  new  pro- 
jected building  mesh  perfectly  xdLth  the 
old  grand  one,  the  removal  of  the  Annex 


may  be  a  sort  of  boon.  But  the  simul- 
taneous elimination  of  space  for  half  a 
million  books  is  a  much  more  serious 
matter,  I  hope  the  temporary  measures 
by  the  Administration  will  prove  adequate. 
While  in  the  New  York  Public  Library 
last  week,  I  found  that  their  overflow 
books  have  been  sent  to  an  Annex  not  too 
far  away,  and  the  public  is  asked  to  go 
there  themselves.  Could  we  not  have 
taken  a  building  nearby  where  the  public 
could  be  sent  to  consult  the  books,  or 
perhaps  some  departments  idiich  are 
eventually  slated  to  go  into  the  new 
building  be  removed  with  all  their  books, 
on  new  and  old  numbers,  and  housed  in 
some  hired  quarters  not  far  from  Copley 
Square,  We  will  know  in  the  fall  when 
business  resumes  in  earnest  how  well  the 
current  plans  are  going  to  work  out, 

HARRY  ANDREWS 

Dear  Editor: 

In  May  two  full-time  Officers-in- 
charge  were  appointed  in  the  Reference 
Division  of  the  Library,  One  of  the 
requirements  of  these  new  positions  which 
seemed  to  many  to  be  undesirable  was  that 
the  new  Officers -in-charge  would  have 
to  work  every  other  Saturday. 

But  now  we  find  out  that  this  is  not 
so.  The  new  Officers-in-charge  are  only 
going  to  work  one  Saturday  in  fovr 
during  the  vacation  period,  and  the 
Curators  in  the  division  are  being  forced 
to  work  all  the  other  Saturdays  I 

Several  of  the  Departments  in  the 
Reference  Division  operate  with  a  mini- 
mum staff  at  all  times,  and  during  the 
vacation  period  the  heads  of  these  de- 
partments are  positively  needed  in  their 
own  departments  on  Saturdays  to  provide 
coverage.  So  who  is  actually  going  to 
work  while  the  Officers-in-charge  have 
extra  Saturdays  off?  Why,  the  general 
assistants,  of  course,  who  are  filling 
in  for  their  Chiefs  who  are  filling  in 
for  the  Officers-in-charge  who  are  at 
the  beach  or  playing  golf, 

And  so  we  find  that  the  vacation 
schedules  of  all  subject  departments 
must  reflect  the  necessity  for  providing 
coverage  for  the  Officer-in-charge  office 


on  Saturdays. 

Looking  at  this  situation  from  a  long 
range  point  of  view  we  find  another  unfor- 
tunate result.   It  has  always  been  ad- 
vantageous for  the  Off icer-in-charge  to 
maintain  cordial  relations  with  the  staff. 
This  Saturday  business  will  certainly  not 
aid  our  two  new  Off icers-in-charge  in 
establishing  harmonious  relations  with 
the  subject  departments  based  on  mutual 
under steinding  and  respect. 

E  PLURIBUS  UInIUM 


MOPgRM  ANNOTATIONS 

Cinderella— A  beautiful  passionate 
woman  bares  her  naked  foot  to  the  man 
she  loves  while  her  stepmother  and 
stepsisters  plot  to  cheat  her  out  of 
the  one  memorable  night  in  her  life. 

Treasure  Island — ^The  crew  of  a  ship 
bent  on  rape  and  plunder  land  on  an 
island  inhabited  by  sex-crazed  canni- 
bals. An  innocent  boy  finds  the 
secret  of  growing  up. 

Art  Buchwald,  And  Then 
I  Told  the  President  (Putnam,  1965) 


(Thoughts  on  the  imminent  demise  of  the  Coffee  Shop  cont'd,  from  page  l) 


The  Coffee  Shop  is  an  outlet  for  all  sorts  and  varieties  of  built-up 
emotions  and  general  'gripes'.  No  other  source  is  quite  able  to  provide  as  much 
satisfaction  as  being  able  to  sit  with  one's  co-workers' in  a  hash  session  over 
each  other's  complaints,  ideas,  disregarded  suggestions,  etc.  The  Staff  Sugges- 
tion Box  might  be  able'  to  pro-vide  an  escape  valve  for  excess  steam  if  suggestions 
were  even  acknowledged,  but  except  in  the  occasional  instance  where  the  $25c 
'best  suggestion'  award  is  presented  (some  have  accused  the  Committee  of  ul  ijig 
this  only  as  a  means  to  keep  controversial  suggestions  from  being  aired  via 
other  means  or  to  delay  action  on  a  particularly  sore  point)  no  satisfaction  is 
received  except  in  the  writing  itself,  %■  submitting  a  contribution  to  ^'s  Soap 
Box,  one  can  at  least  have  ideas  put  in  print  with  a  reasonable  assurance  that 
thqy  will  be  read,  even  if  not  acted  upon. 

Staff  locker  space  was  never  veiy  plentiful;  the  removal  of  the  Staff 
Library  to  its  inaccessible  quarters  at  Roslindale  affected  only  the  Pre-Profes- 
sionals  and  others ' attending  library  school;  but  with  the  closing  of  the  Coffee 
Shop,  staff  morale,  already  at  apathetic  depths,  will  reach  a  new,  low  ebb.  One 
of  the  last  fringe  benefits  which  has  partially  compensated  for  inadequate  salary 
scales  is  now  to  be  removed.  That  this  step  is  necessary  is  hardly  contestable; 
but  that  some  other  place  for  blowing  off  steam  or  just  good  company  should  be 
found  seems  mandatory.  Unless  some  method  is  found  to  redress  or  offset  this  and 
other  justified  grievances,  the  Library  woiild  appear  to  be  in  grave  danger  of 
losing  one  of  its  most  valuable  assets — the  remaining  good  will  of  its  employees 
— before  the  ink  is  dry  on  the  architect's  plans  for  the  new  building. 


™ 


uestion 


MA^ 


THE  BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


JULY     1965 


THE     QUESTION     MARK 
Published  b^^  the  Boston  Public  Library  Staff  Association 
Volume  XX,  Number  7  July  1965 

iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiniii/iiiiniiiiii/niiiii/iiinii/ii/iiiiiirrniw 

Publications  Committee:  William  F.  Casey;  Harry  Andrews;  EveltTi  Isaacs;  Mary 

Skevjes;  Sarah  M.  Usher,  Indexer;  David  G.  Nevin, 
Chairman. 

Publication  Date:                      Deadline  for  submitting  material 
The  fifteenth  of  each  month  The  tenth  of  each  month 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiniiniiiiiiniiniiiiimi/i/fn 

CERTIFICATION 

There  have  been  many  questions  concerninr'  the  certification  require- 
ments for  exemption  from  Civil  Service  raised  bv  the  publication  of  General 
Administrative  Notice  #80. 

Were  those  already  holding  previously  issued  (19)48)  certificates  not 
to  be  required  to  apply  apain?  Then  was  it  merely  in  error  that  some  who 
thought  themselves  certified  under  former  regulations  received  instructions 
to  register  anew? 

VJhat  of  the  Pre-Professionals,  especially  those  who  are  within  one 
or  two  courses  of  their  library  deforces?  Are  they  to  be  required  to  apply 
for  certification  as  Library  Assistants,  only  to  turn  around  in  six  months 
or  a  year's  time  and  be  required  to  reapply  (and  pay  an  additional  three 
dollar  fee)? 

But  whereas  the  above  inquiries  concern  only  a  minor  portion  of  the 
total  bibliothecal  employees,  one  question  encompasses  all:   is  it  alto^^ether 
right  that  the  individual  incumbent  employee  must  pay  for  certification  by 
the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Library  Commissioners?  VJhen  the  Professionals 
and  Library  Assistants  were  hired,  there  was  no  certification  requirement 
mentioned.   Is  it  not  the  Library's  responsibility  to  cover  the  cost  of  a 
program  which,  although  enacted  by  the  Commonwealth's  General  Court,  it  may 
be  said  to  be  on  record  as  supporting?  When  the  qualifications  for  employ- 
ment have  been  up";raded  with  the  employers  full  knowledge  and  concurrence, 
it  vjould  seem  only  proper  that  he  bear  the  burden,  financial  or  otherwise, 
of  such  action  as  it  affects  those  already  in  his  employ, 

G.A.N.  #80  was  well  vrritten,  informative,  and  to  the  point.   But  the 
questions  vjhich  it  has  managed  to  raise  are  nearl""-  as  many  as  those  it 
answered.  We  urge  the  administration  to  seriously  consider  the  publication 
of  additional  clarifying  information. 

THE  PUBLICATIONS  COMMITTEE 


It  shall  be  the  object  of  the  Association 

(a)  to  foster  professional  librarianship 

(b)  to  further  the  common  interests  and  the  welfare  of  the 

bibliothecal  staff 

(c)  and  to  promote  greater  efficiency  in  library  service. 


-    2   - 


PERSOm'EL  KOTES 
NEW  EMPLOYEES; 

Brenda  Shporer  -  Rare  Book  Dept.  - 

from  part-time  to  full  time 
Richard  P.  Sullivan  -  Government 

Documents 
Robert  J.  Broder  -  Book  Stack 

Service 
Shirley  Hakim  Din  -  Adams  Street 

Branch 
Marion  Twickler  -  Book  Stack 

Service 
Ann  P.  Martin  -  './ashington  Village 

Branch 
Patricia  M.  Morgan  -  General 

Reference  Department 
Helen  A.  Goldenberg  -  HR&CS 

Division  Office 
Mary  McCarthy  -  Buildings  Dept. 
Katherine  M.  Mackey  -  Roslindale 

Branch 
Patricia  A.  McNally  -  Adsjns  Street 

Branch 
Helen  Petry  -  Central  Charging 

Records 
Carolyn  P.  Smith  -  Memorial  Branch 
Michelle  L.  Tyndal  -  General 

Reference  Department 
Kathryn  H.  Martin  -  General 

Reference  Department 
Diana  V/.  Muzzarelli  -  Pine  Arts 

Department 
Judith  S.  Koren  -  Brighton  Branch 
Joanne  E.  V/amer  -  Codman  Square 

Branch 
Carol  M.  './arren  -  History  Dept. 

TRMSPERS: 

Paul  Romano  -  from  Rare  Book  Dept. 

to  Central  Charging  Records 
Bridie  P.  Stotz  -  from  Roslindale 

Branch  to  Mt.  Bowdoin  Branch 
Linda  A.  Ivors  -  from  Mt.  Bowdoin 

Branch  to  Dorcester  Branch 
Jennie  M.  Kielczewski  -  from  Mt. 

Bowdoin  Branch  to  South  Boston 

Branch 


Mary  Skewes  -  from  RoiRS  Cataloging 
and  Classification  to  HR&CS 
Cataloging  and  Classification 

Mary  T.  Crowe  -  from  South  Boston 
Brsjich  to  Egleston  Square  Branch 

Helen  V.  Rothwell  -  from  Egleston 
Square  Branch  to  Mt.  Bowdoin 
Branch 

TERMINATIONS; 

Peter  Brownlie  -  Book  Stacks  - 

another  position 
Laura  V.  Abate  -  R&RS  Cataloging 

and  Classification  -  resigned 
Louise  M.  Watson  -  Central  Charging 

Records  -  returning  to  home  in 

New  York 
Regina  A.  "Dichetti  -  Kir  stein 

Business  Branch  -  to  travel  and 

work  on  own  projects 
Lucille  0 'Brien  -  R&RS  Cataloging 

and  Classification  -  returning 

home 
Sandra  Slone  -  Kirstein  Business 

Branch 
Predericka  Jean  V/yss  -  Mattapan 

Branch  -  husband  has  accepted 

another  position  in  New  York 
Mary  i\nne  Vaughan  -  Science  and 

Technology  -  another  position 
Dona  Atwood  -  Audio- Visual  - 

marriage 
Bette  B.  Pinckney  -  Dorcester 

Branch  -  resigned 
Rebecca  E.  Peters  -  Bookmobile 

Service  -  ret^mming  to  Indiana 

MATERNITY  LEAVE; 

Lana  M.  Reed  -  HR&CS  Division  Offic 

MILITARY  LEAVE: 


Lawrence  G.  Scott  -  Central 
j   Charging  Records 

RETIRED; 


Rose  T.  Fitch  -  V/est  Roxbury  Branch 
Leonard  T.  Kanter  -  Book  Stack 
Service 


-  3 


PI  J.-IEriORIill/I 
Dorothea  A^nes  Blue 

V/hen  Dorothea  Blue  passed  away 
on  June  21,  I965,  she  had  served 
on  the  staff  of  the  Boston  Public 
Lihrary  for  approximately  twenty 
years.   Her  library  career  began 
in  the  \i7obum  Public  Library  and 
continued  in  the  branches  of  the 
Boston  Public  Library,  with  the 
greater  part  of  her  service  spent 
a:t  the  West  End  Branch  and  the 
Parker  Hill  Branch. 

Perhaps  some  would  think  that 
Dorothea  had  a  sad  life.   To  be 
sure ,  she  had  imusiially  heavy 
family  responsibilities  all  her 
life,  and  for  this  reason,  she  may 
have  missed  many  of  the  social 


CLASSICS   REVISITED 

In  its  issue  of  March  20,  1965, 
the  Satiirday  Review  printed  the 
first  essay  of  a  series  by  Kenneth 
Rexroth,  called  "Classics  Revisited 
with  the  following  introduction  by 
the  editor: 

Literary  classics  are  classics 
because  they  have  endured,  be- 
cause successive  generations  have 
found  in  them  some  hum^  truth 
that  does  not  turn  stale  with 
time.   But  because  the  human 
vantage  point  is  continually 
shifting,  each  generation  must 
necessarily  interpret  the  classic: 
afresho   With  this  issue,  there- 
fore, SR  presents  the  first  of 
of  a  series  of  second  looks  at 


pleasures  that  one  takes  for  granted,  the  classics  by  Kenneth  Rexroth, 


But  she  was  sincerely  devoted  to 
her  family  and  she  had  her  own 
enjoyment  of  life  and  her  own 
infectious  sense  of  humor  in  spite 
of  discouragements  and  responsi- 
bilities. 

Too  fev/  people  knew  Dorothea, 
probably  because  she  was  not  able 


to  socialize  very  much.   But  those  have  appeared; 


who  worked  with  her  and  the  many 
members  of  the  public  whom  she 
served  over  the  years  will  remember 
her  helpfulness  and  friendliness, 
her  fundamental  good  nature ,  her 
brief  tempers  over  minor  irritatJoE 
and  her  ready  la\Aghter.   She 
surely  gave  of  herself  wherever  she 
was,  and  she  will  surely  be  missed 
by  those  of  us  who  had  the  good 
fortune  to  have  knov/n  and  v/orked 
with  her. 


author,  critic,  painter,  and  co- 
founder  of  the  San  Francisco 
Poetry  Center.   "I  have  tried," 
says  I.Ir.  Rexroth,  "to  provide  a 
bridge  across  the  blockage  of  the 
ages. " 

So  far  (July  10),  eleven  essays 


March  20 
March  27 
April  3 
April  10 
May  1 
May  15 
May  29 
June  5 
June  12 
Jvne   26 
July  10 


Epic  of  Gilgamesh 

The  Iliad 

The  Odyssey 

Beowulf 

Njal  's  Saga 

Don  Quixote 

Livy 

Satyr icon 

Plutarch 

Tacitus 

Le  Morte  d 'Arthur 


Mr.  Rexroth  is  a  writer  of  great 
briginality,  clarity  and  depth,  and 
CHaRLESTOV.IvT  BR  .NCllthese  essays  are  not  only  excellent 

introductions  to  the  classics,  but 
are  themselves  additions  to  litera- 
ture.  He  wants  us  all  to  read  the 
Art  is  not  truth;  art  is  the  lie  t^eat  books  of  the  past  in  their 
■  "  /original  languages,  as  he  did,  but 

he  knows  that  that  is  a  cons-ummation 


ELINOR  D.  CONLEY 


*** -St  **■><•*•»  ^ -5^  •);- -:c- i;- ** -K -;;--;;--;;- -x-**  rr -x- -:;--;;- -K- * -;t  * -X- * 


which  makes  us  see  the  trnith 

PABLO  PICASSO 


not  easily  achieved,  and  he  there- 
fore adds  a  note  at  the  end  of  each 

cont. 


-  4  - 


essay  recommending  the  best  trans- 
lation.  This  is  of  particular 
value  to  those  librarians  who  have 
to  think  of  replacements  or  addi- 
tions in  these  areas. 

H.  A. 

PLM  AHEAD.' 

Oct.  6-9;   New  England  Library 
Association,  V/entworth-by-the- 
Sea,  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

Oct.  10-16;   International  Federa- 
tion for  DocTJunentation  (FID), 
Sheraton  Park  Hotel,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

SCHOMRS 

On  behalf  of  the  Staff  Associ- 
ation, QM  extends  warmest  con- 
gratulations to  the  four  Pre- 
Professional  Library  Assistants 
who  were  awarded  scholarships  by 
the  Trustees  for  study  at  library 
schools  during  this  fiscal  years 

J.  \7arron  Harrington 

South  Boston  Branch  Library 

Carolyn  A.  Kirldiam 
Connolly  Branch  Library 

Marian  A.  McCarthy 
Education  Department 

Jo  Ann  A.  Mitchell 

Adams  Street  Branch  Library 

****** ->i- * -x- ■)(■**■)(•*■»«• -x- *  ^- **** -x- -;;•* -Jt  * -X- ** -K- *  * 

And  here's  still  another  cure 
for  crabgrass.   Take  an  unpopular 
stand  and  let  the  pickets  trample 
it  to  death, 

CHAI^GING   TIDIES 

***^.-***********  ;*** -if***:;  ■x-*-x  ****** 


RELIEF.' 

Was  it  in  anticipation  of  the 
annual  hot  weather  diatribe? 
(There's  one  in  the  Soap  Box  this 
month. )   Or  was  it  feared  that 
the  unconfirmed  rumor  about  other 
City  employees  being  allowed  to 
leave  work  early  on  particularly 
warm  days  would  cause  uncontrollabl 
rebellion?  Or — Saints  perserve 
us.' — was  it  out  of  the  kindness 
of  their  hearts? 

Whatever  the  motivation,  we  would 
still  like  to  thank  the  adminis- 
tration for  granting  two  additional 
days  of  annual  leave.  Although 
not  as  hot  as  some,  this  s\;umner 
has  been  sufficiently  uncomfortable 
to  make  working  in  a  non-aircon- 
ditioned  building  somewhat  less 
than  pure  pleasure.   \/e  think  it 
was  well  deserved. 

********************************* 

SHAKESPSilRE  ONCE  MORE 

An  Open  Shelf  Department  paton 
was  recently  talking  about  Shake- 
speare with  one  of  our  bright  yoimg 
men,  and  mentioned  several  items  I 
had  never  heard  before :   that  some 
members  of  the  Jamestown  Colony  in 
1607  had  been  friends  of  Shakespear 
in  England,  that  some  documents 
and  deeds  of  that  time  were  hidden 
somewhere  on  Martha's  Vineyard, 
that  a  Shakespeare  signature  was 
on  the  back  of  a  portrait  owned  by 
that  patron,  etc..   The  most  in- 
triguing part  of  this  new  (to  me) 
Shake spear eana  cache  was  the  claim 
that  Shakespeare  had  hidden  his 
name  in  one  of  the  psalms  of  the 
English  Bible.   The  great  King 
James  Bible  was  printed  in  1611, 
and  so  presumably  some  of  the 
translations  and  preparations  were 
made  in  1610,  when  Shakespeare  was 
46  years  old.   In  the  46th  psalm, 
the  46th  word  from  the  top  is 


-  5  - 


SHAKE,  and  the  46th  word  from  the 
"bottom,  (not  coimting  of  course  the 
word  SELAH  which  meant  END) ,  is 
SPEARE.   I  checked  it,  and  it  v^as 
so.   This  can  be  considered  co- 
incidence only  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  mythical  monkey  typing 
at  random  a  mythical  niomher  of 
centuries  will  eventually  type  out 
King  Lear.   My  own  guess  was  that 
the  Elizahethan  scholars  engaged 
in  the  translation  must  have  been 
acquainted  with  the  poets  and 
dramatists  of  London,  and  perhaps 
occasionally  asked  some  of  them, 
after  some  translation  had  been 
made,  to  beat  it  into  more  poetical 
shape.   Shakespeare  must  have  been 
one  of  these  poets,  and  having 
that  impish  streak  in  him  which 
when  he  was  a  boy  made  him  make  a 
speech  v/hen  slaughtering  a  calf, 
he  thought  he  would  put  something 
over  on  the  professors  and  conceal 
his  name  in  the  translation. 

Professor  Leslie  Hotsen,  in  his 
excellent  tir.  V/.  H.  ,  had  written 
about  the  extraordinary  familiarity 
of  the  Elizabethans  in  general 
with  the  psalms.   So  recently  when 
I  was  in  the  New  York  Public  Li- 
brary, I  looked  up  his  address  in 
Connecticut  and  wrote  to  him  about 
all  this.   These  scholars  are  much 
more  courteous  and  accessible  than 
administrators,  politicians  and 
movie  stars,  and  within  a  few  days^ 
I  had  an  answer. 

'   Here  are  a  few  quotations  from 

his  letter; 

...I  am  happy  that  you.  enjoyed 
JJr.  '//.  H.  smd  shared  some  of 
its  author's  gusto.  You  will 
look  forward,  as  I  do,  to  further 
discoveries  about  Hatcliffe,  in 
confirmation  ...  I  am  afraid 
that  the  46th  psalm  curiosity 
has  been  commonly  knovm  for  many 


years.   I  heard  of  it  in  the  20 «s 
and  it  was  old  then.   No  reput- 
able scholar  or  critic  believes 
that  it  shows  anything  at  all . , . 
a  curious  coincidence,  nothing 
more.   V/hat  is  quite  impossible 
is  that  King  James's  learned 
Hebrew  scholars  v/ould  ever  dream 
of  turning  to  a  common  player 
for  help — an  actor  who  had  neithe 
attended  the  university  nor 
studied  the  elements  of  the 
longuage .... 

I  greatly  admire  Ilr.  Hot  son,  but 
I  v;ill  go  on  believing  my  inter- 
pretation of  the  "coincidence", 

H.  A, 
■>;- -x- -^t  *** -x- -:;-***■«• -x- ^(- **■«■****■«■* -X- -5^ -x- •* -X- *•«■*«•  * 

ALTOTNAE  NOTES 

Congratulations  to  Mrs.  Mary 
Elizabeth  (Betty)  West  on  her 
appointment  to  a  new  position  as 
Coordinator  of  School  Libraries 
for  the  City  of  Springfield, 
Illinois.   Mrs.  V/est  entered  the 
B.P.L.  as  an  "Extra"  in  1939,  and 
chose  the  field  of  children's 
work  as  her  specialty.   She  v\ras 
Children's  Librarian  in  the  Central 
Library  Children's  Room  from  1953 
until  she  left  in  1956  to  become 
Director  of  Children's  Work  at 
the  Lincoln  Public  Libri-ry,  Spring- 
field, Illinois,   Best  wishes  to 
her  from  her  B.P.L.  friends  as  she 
tc.kes  over  her  ncv/  and  challenging 
duties  on  September  1. 

And  more  congratulations.'   At 
the  ALA  Conference  announcement 
was  made  by  the  Children's  Ser- 
vices Division  that  Mrs.  West  has 
been  elected  to  membership  on  the 
Newbery-Caldecott  Committee, 


-  6  - 


A  recent  meeting  at  Rand  Mc- 
Nally's  in  New  York  was  attended 
by  two  B.P.L.  Alumnae — Virginia 
Haviland  (formerly  Readers  Advisor 
for  Children)  and  Muriel  C.  Javelin 
(formerly  Coordinator  of  Work  with 
Adults).   The  prize  offered  that 
day  was  a  globe  of  the  world. 
According  to  established  custom, 
the  honor  of  drav;ing  the  winning 
name  went  to  the  person  coming  the 
greatest  distance.   Miss  Haviland, 
from  V/ashington,  D.  C,  qualified. 
And  what  name  did  she  draw?  You've 
guessed  it — Muriel  C.  Javelin i 

*  *  *  *  •)«■  * -X- *  *  *  *  * -Jf- *  •»  *  ^ -Jt  * -it  *  *  * -if  * -x- *  * -K- -»^  *  *  * 

IWien  power  leads  man  toward 
arrogance,  poetry  reminds  him  of 
his  limitations.   When  power 
narrows  the  area  of  man's  concern, 
poetry  reminds  him  of  the  richness 
and  diversity  of  his  existence. 
When  power  corrupts,  poetry 
cleanses. 

JOHN  F.  KENNEDY 
*********************  ****-)i*  ****** 

Novelist  Eric  Ambler's  manu- 
scripts and  files  have  been 
presented  to  the  Boston  University 
Library  and  will  be  housed  in 
the  $5.5  million  Mugar  Library, 
currently  \:inder  construction. 

LIBR-^YRY  JOURNAL. 

April  1,  1965,  p.  1688. 

****  **■**•»■**  *-x-**-;^-K4f^ -:******* -it***** 

There's  a  trend  toward  longer 
education  and  one  toward  earlier 
retirement.   Give  generously  to 
these  causes  now.   Help  stamp 
out  work.    - 

CHANGING  TILffiS 


FUTURE  ALUMNI  NOTES 

Vi/ord  has  been  received  that 
Mr.  and  r/Irs.  Macy  Margolis  be- 
came the  proud  parents  of  a  baby 
boy  weighing  in  at  just  over  7 
pounds  on  Tuesday,  July  20. 
Warmest  congratulations  to  our 
Curator  of  History  and  his  lovely 
wife. 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arthur  Goldschmidt. 
Jr.  take  pride  in  announcing  the 
arrival  of  Stephen  Robb  Gold- 
schmidt,  weight  8  lbs,  3^   ounces, 
on  June  4,  1965.   Mrs.  Louise 
Goldschmidt  was  Children's 
Assistant  at  South  Boston  Branch 
at  the  time  of  her  resignation 
from  the  B.P.L.  to  accompany  her 
husband  to  Cairo,  Egypt.   Since 
then  she  has  been  working  as  a 
cataloger  (art,  architecture, 
city  planning)  at  MIT.   In 
September,  the  Goldschmidts  will 
move  to  Pennsylvania  where  Mr. 
Goldschmidt  will  be  teaching 
European  and  Near  Eastern  History 
at  Perm  State, 

*  *  *  *  ^t -if  •;;•  *  ■)(■  * -r  *  *  *  * -x- *  # -x- *  *  * -if  *  ** -x- ■!<•  *  *  ■)(•  * 

MODERN  A^TNOTATIONS 

Little  Red  Riding  Hood  -  A 
girl  goes  to  visit  her  grand- 
mother only  to  discover  a  wolf 
in  her  bed.   Read  v/hat  happens 
when  the  girl  refuses  to  get 
into  bed  v/ith  the  wolf. 

ART  BUCHWALD, 
And  Then  I  Told  The  Preside 
(Putnam,  19^57 


*-x-** -it ^ -::- -x -x-* * -K- **   •  ■!%- **** ********''A--:i** 


-    1    - 


•   ''  "  V 


*"s 


^--V 


-/^P 


'   y  ■ 

BOX 


Any  contribution  to  the  Soap  Box 
must  be  accompanied  by  the  full 
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submitting  it,  together  with  the 
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partment, or  Office  in  which  he 
or  she  is  employed.   The  name  is 
withheld  from  publication,  or  a 
pen  name  is  used,  if  the  contribu- 
tor so  requests.   Anonymous  con- 
tributions are  not  given  consid- 
eration.  The  author  of  the  article 
is  known  only  to  the  Editor-in- 
Chief.   The  contents  of  the 
articles  appearing  in  the  Soap 
Box  are  personal  opinions  ex- 
pressed by  individvial  Association 
members  and  their  appearance  does 
not  necessarily  indicate  that  the 
Publications  Committee  and  the 
Association  are  in  agreement  with 
the  views  expressed.   Only  those 
contributions  not  containing  more 
than  300  words  will  be  accepted. 


To  the  Soap  Box  editor t 

Staff  morale  is  extremely  low 
because  of  over-patronage,  under- 
staffing,  lack  of  space  and  equip- 
ment, low  salaries  in  comparison 
•  with  the  amo-unt  of  coping  done  on 
many  levels,  and  apparent  uncon- 
cern for  staff  comfort  on  the  part 
of  the  administration. 

Could  not  some  slight  gesture 
tov/ard  that  staff  comfort  be  made? 
Such  as  more  fans  (some  are  really 
made  ill  from  heat),  fans  v;hich 
have  not  rotated  for  years  re- 
paired, ventilation  of  the  entire 
building  during  the  cooler 


night  hours ,  replacement 
quickly  of  burned  out  light 
Hllbs,  repair  of  the  water 
fountains  which  no  longer  run 
really  cold  (i.e.  see  stack  2 
kitchen  fountain) ,  fans  started 
an  hour  before  library  opens , 
windov/s  open  at  that  time  to 
bring  cool  air  in,  one  staff 
spot  where  smokinj  is  not  per- 
mitted or  really  good  ventil- 
ation of  smoking  spots  (stack  2 
locker  room  smells  of  smoke 
always  now  and  so  do  clothes  in 
lockers,  and  is  perpetually  like 
a  turkish  bath  most  of  the  summer 
from  lack  of  ventilation). 
Thes?  are  but  a  few  of  the  little 
things  which  could  be  remedied 
without  much  expense  and  pay 
off  immensely  in  staff  well-being. 

HOT  MB  TIRED 

BUSES  FOR  LONG  ISLAND 

I  wonder  if  thought  has  been 
given  to  the  possibility  of  having 
buses  take  members  of  the  public 
to  Long  Island  to  consult  materials 
in  certain  instances  ra.ther  than 
have  the  books  brought  here?  I 
realize  the  facilities  for  study 
must  be  limited.   However,  it 
would  seem  that  other  factors 
v/ould  outweigh  that  thought  and 
provisions  be  made.   Our  primary 
purpose  as  a  public  library  we 
knov/  is  to  give  the  best  possible 
service  under  even  the  most  diffi- 
cult conditions. 

Material  is  not  being  sent  on  a 
selective  individual  item  basis. 
Collections  have  not  been  scanned 
(with  a  very  few  exceptions).   The 
principal  decisions  have  been  made 
according  to  type  of  classifi- 
cation.  This  may  be  generally- 
logical.   To  those  of  us  working 


directly  with  subject  collections 
considerable  material  basic  to 
area  study  is  slated  to  go.   If 
this  must  be,  it  must  be.   All  we 
may  hope  for  is  the  possibility 
of  bus  service  as  noted  above  or 
some  other  plan  to  ease  the  impact. 
As  librarians  I  do  not  feel  that 
we  should  just  sit  back  and  with- 
hold siiggestions  which  may  be 
feasible. 

Instancies  in  particular  should 
be  offered.   Indications  are  that 
the  "93  "s"  (Special  Collections) 
may  be  sent.   This  is  by  no  means 
a  dead  collection.   I.lany  hundreds 
of  scholarly  and  subject  field 
series  and  periodicals  currently 
received  are  involved.   Bade  files 
are  in  constant  use  being  in  many 
instances  the  only  holding's  in  the 
region.   As  to  the  individual  book 
items  -  nationally  famous  holdings 
such  as  those  in  the  labor  history 
and  economic  theory  area  would  be 
included.   People  come  from  many 
places  to  consult  these.   V/ill 
they  have  to  sta.y  overnight  in 
Boston?  Undoubtedly  some  might 
be  sent  on  inter-library  loan  if 
the  person  knew  the  situation  in 
advance.   Students  will  be  assigned 
week-end  papers  based  on  items  not 
available  in  school  libraries. 
Certain  term  papers  depending  on 
such  items  may  well  be  the  key  to 
a  college  career.   Have  we  notified 
all  colleges  and  schools  in  the 
region? 

?.1ARY  F,  DALY 

Dear  Soap  Box; 

Since  the  O's-in-C  have  boen 
covered  so  that  they  work  only  1 
Saturday  in  4  this  suimner,  how 
about  Saturday-v/ork-relief  for  the 
rest  of  the  staff  who  arc  working 


every  other  or  more?  Could  not 
the  office  workers,  who  never 
(well  rarely  ever)  work  a  Saturda; 
all  year,  not  volunteer  to  cover 
one  Saturday  each  so  that  the  res- 
of  us  night  have  a  much  needed  re. 
Since  this  is  one  of  uhe  very  few 
libraries  open  in  the  entire  area 
on  Saturday,  it  would  not  matter 
too  much  that  these  office  worker; 
did  not  know  the  subjects.   Most 
of  the  patronage  on  Saturday  in 
the  summer  is  students  end   out-of 
town  residents  who  come  only  be- 
cause their  own  libraries  are  clo 

SOCIETY  FOR  EQUAL  OPPORTUKir 

To  the  editors 

Some  few  staff  members  are 
making  life  unpleasant  for  the 
majority; 

1.  Taking  milk,  canned  foods, 
or  entire  l\anches  from  the 
refrigerator  in  the  stack 

2  kitchen,  whi.oh  another  staf. 
member  has  counted  on  and 
purchased. 

2.  Moving  to  another  location, 
pawing  over,  or  turning 
upside  down  liinches  of  others 
presumably  in  search  of  his 
or  her  ov/n.   Ho  one  likes 
food  handled  by  others.   Fo 
one  likes  to  h\mt  all  over 
the  refrigerator  for  his 
limch.   Fo  one  really  cares 
to  find  his  sandwich  drcnche 
in  fruit  juice  or  something 
else  because  it  was  turned 
upside  down.   Label  your 
lunches ! 

3.  Leaving  spillable  items  care- 
lessly where  they  can  be 
tipped,  drenching  the  l\inche' 
of  others  and  thereby  ruinin 
them. 

4.  Leaving  tables  filthy  with 
sticlcy  rings,  ashes,  crujnbs, 
etc.  for  the  next  user  to 
wipe  up. 


-  9  - 


5.  Moving  chairs  or  tcbles  out 
of  place  and  "expecting  otliors 
to  replace  then  (loungo  also) 

6.  Leaving  coffee  shop  dishes 
for  others  to  return  to  the 
coffee  shop. 

7.  Heglectinj  to  ret-urn  empty 
coke  "bottles  to  cases  provided 
(lounge  use  of  cokes  or  food 
is  prohibited) 

Let's  all  make  it  a  point  to  put 
"back,  mop  up,  pick  up  after  our- 
selves, and  not  to  touch  what 
"belongs  to  others.' 


was  not  an  emergency  and 
"relief"  was  asked  for  that 


DISGUSTED 

To  the  editor; 

I  am  in  almost  complete  agree- 
ment with  the  person  who  v/rote 
to  the  SOA?  BOX  concerning  Satur- 
day work  at  the  Officer-in-Charge 
desk.   I  will  have  to  work  in  my 
department  at  least  eight  Satur- 
days during  the  summer  period. 
The  Off icers-in-Charge  I  under- 
stand are  scheduled  to  work  four. 

Having  worked  almost  every  Sat- 
urday for  aliiiost  forty  years  I 
thought  that  this  summer,  at  least 
I  would  like  to  cut  it  dov/n  to  one 
in  two.   I  considered  that  reason- 
a"ble  end  certainly  did  not  feel 
that  I  was  "being  overv/orked  on  that 
"basis.   '..Tien  we  agree  to  v/ork  in  a 
public  department  Vi/e  l<nov/  we  have 
to  do  Saturday  worko   In  addition, 
I  kno\'"  of  no  Curator  who  hasn't, 
when  necessary,  worked  in  emer- 
gencies or  carried  on  some  activity 
needed  even  though  it  did  not  fall 
specifically  v;ithin  their  "job 
description."   7e  all  know  our  re- 
sponsibilities and  seldom  asked  for 
"relief"  even  when  it  meant  working 
from  nine  to  nine.   I  think  the 
reaction  -  and  it  was  a  general 
reaction  -  was  to  the  fact  that 

cent. 


this 
that 

we  would  never  request  ourselves. 
There  was  no  doubt  in  our  mind 
that  the  request  was  made  without 
realiza-tion  of  the  general  situ- 
ation.  Almost  everyone  objected, 
giving  their  reasons  verbally.   A 
few  of  us  put  it  on  paper  in  the 
belief  that  reasons  for  objection 
would  be  clarified c   Evidently 
they  made  no  real  impression  as 
they  were  rejected.   The  ironic 
part  of  this  "shimmer  relief" 
measiire  is  that  while  most  of  us 
are  called  on  to  work  several 
days  in  a  row  under  ninety  degrees 
temperature  if  the  weather  breaks 
that  'way,  the  Off  icers-in-Charge 
have  a  nicely  air-conditioned 
office.   I  do  not  agree  that  we 
should  make  them  responsible  or 
hold  any  ill  will  against  them  as 
individuals, 

JIARY  P.  DALY 

To  the  Soap  Box  Editors 

I  wish  to  say  that  I  have  been 
very  much  interested  in  the  thoughi 
that  when  staff  members  become  ill 
the  Staff  Repreeentctive  from  that 
Branch  \/here  the  person  is  v;orking 
at  the  time  should  send  informatioi 
pertaining  to  whether  the  staff 
member  is  hospit  lized  and,  if  so, 
what  hospital  so  that  a  shov/  of 
more  concern  for  each  other  may 
be  shov/n  v/hen  it  really  coixnts  for 
something.   Most  usually  you  get 
v.'ord  that  a  person  you  had  worked 
with  many  years  ago  is  deceased 
without  ever  having  heard  that  the 
said  person  was  even  ill. 

In  June  there  was  an  omission  of 
an  administrative  notice  in  regard 
to  a  staff  member's  death.   I  thinl 
much  more  care  should  be  taken  in 
the  futirre  to  avoid  such  omissions. 

lL'^lRY  a.  la  pollette 

Ed.  notes  Having  been  informed  of 
the  above  omission,  ^  was  able  to 
pro veil  upon  Mrs.  Conley  of  the 
Charlestovm  Brench  to  write  a  brief 
tribute.   It  appears  elsewhere  in 
this  issue. 


m 


bestion 


THE  BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


OCTOBER      1965 


THE  QUESTION  MARK 
Published  by  the  Boston  Public  Library  Staff  Association 
Volume  XX,  Number  9 October,  196^ 

Publications  Committee:  William  F.  Caseyj  Harry  Andrews;  Evelyn  Isaacs;  Sheila  M, 

Stevens;  Sarah  M,  Usher,  Indexer;  Martin  F,  Waters,  Chair- 
man, 

Publication  Date:                         Deadline  for  submitting  material: 
The  fifteenth  of  each  month The  tenth  of  each  month 

It  shall  be  the  object  of  the  Association 

(a)  to  foster  professional  librarianship 

(b)  to  further  the  common  interests  and  the  welfare  of  the 
bibliothecal  staff 

(c)  and  to  promote  greater  efficiency  in  library  service. 


In  last  month's  editorial  we  "hinted"  that  our  promotional  system,  among  other 
things,  could  stand  some  inprovement.  Since  then,  several  people  have  taken  us  up 
on  this  asking  "What  is  wrong  with  our  promotional  system'^"  One  indication  that 
there  is  something  wrong  with  it  is  that  there  is  no  clear  general  understanding, 
among  the  staff  members,  of  the  sjrstem.  Indeed,  some  long-service  staff  members 
will  argue  that  we  have  no  system  worthy  of  the  name. 

Can  we  get  any  help  from  the  Personnel  Manual?  I'm  afraid  not.  For  example, 
concentrating  on  the  Professional  Library  service,  we  find  that  Section  ijCl.Ol  of 
the  Manual  states  that  "Any  enployee  is  eligible  for  promotion  into  the  Professional 
Library  Service  ...  if  he  has  met  the  standards  of  education,  experience,  and  char- 
acter established  for  entry  into  the  service."  But  nowhere  in  the  I^nual  can  we 
find  what  these  standards  are. 

However,  in  searching  the  Manual  for  a  statement  of  these  standards  we  discover 
(Section  200.011)  that  "The  Professional  Library  Service  is  composed  of  employees 
who  perform  professional  duties  commensurate  with  the  standards  of  librarianship 
generally  accepted  in  public  and  private  librairLes  in  the  United  States".  Actually, 
the  standards  of  librarianship  vary  so  greatly  throughout  the  United  States  that  we 
can  find  little,  if  any,  value  in  this  statement. 

However,  there  is  a  statement  in  the  Manual  (10$,05)  —  "All  orders,  practices, 
and  policies  which  existed  prior  to  April  1,  (I960)  not  in  conflict  with  this  Man- 
ual, continue  in  effect,"  —  Which  opens  up  an  entirely  new  line  of  thought.  This 
statement  seems  to  indicate  that  the  1938  Qualifying  and  Promotional  Examination 
System  is  still  the  Basic  promotional  system  of  the  library.  True,  it  has  lain 
inoperative  in  recent  years,  but  it  is  still  with  us.  More  on  this  next  month, 

PUBLICATIONS  COMMITTEE 


~  2  « 


PRESIDENT'S  NOTES 

There  is  little  to  report  on  the  salary 
situation  and  other  problems  besetting 
the  membership  at  this  time.  Because  of 
the  recent  change  in  the  Administration, 
I  ask  you  to  be  patient  until  the  new 
Director  has  had  time  to  become  familiar 
with  the  problems  idiich  have  caused  such 
low  morale  among  the  staff,  I  can  tell 
you,  however,  that  some  of  our  difficult- 
ies are  being  re-examined  and  re-consider- 
ed, I  hope  to  be  able  to  report  on  the 
results  very  soon. 

The  Executive  Board  and  I  hope  that  all 
of  you  will  accept  our  invitation  to  meet 
the  new  Director  and  Mrs.  McNiff  at  the 
reception  which  is  to  be  held  on  November 
nineteenth.  Details  concerning  time  and 
location  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  the 
Q.M. 

BRANCH  NOTES 

Memorial 

Carolyn  P.  Smith,  Senior  Library  Assist- 
ant, and  formerly  Library  Aid  at  Egleston 
Square,  has  been  awarded  a  special  $1170 
Charles  Irwin  Travelli  tuitional  scholar- 
ship to  attend  Northeastern  University, 

How  very  proud  we  are  of  Penny  and  all 
our  people  who  accept  the  bright  challenge 
of  educational  advancement.  Our  best 
wishes  go  with  her. 

South  Boston 

At  sequestered  Harbor  Lights,  overlook- 
ing placid  Neponset  River,  the  staff  gath- 
ered for  a  pleasant  social  evening,  Sep- 
tember 29th.  The  guests  of  honor  were 
three  recently  transferred  colleagues, 
Mary  Crowe  (to  Egleston  Square),  Anna 
Brackett  (to  South  End),  and  Elisabeth 
Franck  (to  Dorchester),  It  was  a  conviv- 
ial reunion,  good  food,  high  spirits,  and 
a  view  of  the  sunset  over  Dorchester  Bay, 
Souvenirs  of  their  much-too-short  period 
of  service  at  South  Boston  vrere  given  to 
the  alumnae:  to  Mary  Crowe,  twoprtable 
ash  trays,  ^ne  for  home  use  and  one  to 
carry  in  her  purse;  to  Anna  Brackett,  a 
piece  of  costume  jewelry  in  the  form  of  a 
filagree  butterfly  brooch;  to  Elisabeth 
Franck,  a  hand  puppet,  a  frisky  gray 
squirrel  with  a  wondrous  bushy  tail.  A 
good  time  was  had  by  all. 


ENGAGEMENTS 

Two  of  Reference  and  Research  Catalog- 
ing and  Classification  LA  2 's  are  wearing 
diamonds,  as  of  October  l8th. 

Rosalie  Greenspan  is  engaged  to  marry 
Joseph  Neiraan,  a  student  at  Boston  Univer- 
sity, The  date  is  tentatively  set  for 
December  2k,   1966. 

Martha  Parker  plans  to  marry  Bruce  Await, 
an  employee  of  John  Hancock  Life  Insurance 
Conpany,  on  October  1,  I966. 

«** 

Announcement  has  been  made  of  the  engage- 
ment of  Sheila  Swalnick,  Central  Charging 
Records,  and  Michael  Mllstone,  a  student 
at  Salem  State  College.  A  July  U,  I966 
wedding  is  planned. 

RETIREMENT  PARTY 

On  Thursday  evening,  September  30,  1965> 
the  Bindery  had  a  retirement  party  for 
Mary  Dornan  and  Daniel  ¥,  Sheeran,  at 
Blinstrub's  Village  in  South  Boston.  The 
party  was  attended  by  more  than  fifty 
friends  and  guests  of  Miss  Dornan  and  Mr. 
Sheeran, 

We  hope  that  all  irtio  attended  the  dinner 
had  a  very  enjoyable  time,  and  that  they 
enjoyed  the  show  that  followed. 

We  would  like  to  thank  those  friends  who 
attended  the  dinner  and  those  nice  people 
who  made  a  donation. 

Many  Many  Thanks] 

THE  COMMITTEE 

The  annual  business  meeting  of  the  Bos- 
ton Public  Library  Staff  Association  will 
be  held  on  November  19th  at  9tl5  A.M.  in 
the  Lecture  Hall  of  the  Library.  We  hope 
that  all  members  of  the  Association  who 
can  be  there  will  be  there. 


-  3  - 


Any  contribution  to  the  Soap  Box  must 
be  accompanied  by  the  fxill  name  of  the 
Association  member  submitting  it,  to- 


gether with  the  name  of  the  Branch  Library  !    7    •*  ^u      "'""?";.:  . 

n«^„.^ 4, rsff        •   u-  u  u     1-   Tieeds  and  give  us  the  very  best  Division 

Department,  or  Office  in  which  he  or  she  ^  "^ 

is  employed.  The  name  is  withheld  from 

publication,  or  a  pen  name  is  used,if  the 


contributor  so  requests.  Anonymous  con- 
tributions are  not  given  consideration. 
The  author  of  the  article  is  known  only 
to  the  Editor-in-Chief.  The  contents  of 
the  articles  appearing  in  the  Soap  Box 
are  personal  opinions  expressed  by  indi- 
vidual Association  members  and  their 
appearance  does  not  necessarily  indicate 
that  the  Publications  Committee  and  the 
Association  are  in  agreement  with  the 


not  containing  more  than  300  words  will  b^ 
accepted. 


To  the  Editor: 

It  was  indeed  a  harsh  policy  that  the 
Administration  established  this  fall  by 
which  Library  i^ssistants  who  were  attend- 
ing college,  and  who  worked  full  time 
during  the  summer  were  not  permitted  to 
go  on  half-time  during  the  school  year. 
Many  had  been  able  to  do  this  during  the 
previous  years.  These  assistants  were 
good  workers,  well-trained,  and  in  many 
instances  helped  the  library  to  meet  sev- 
eral personnel  emergencies. 

Also  an  explanation  should  be  forth- 
coming as  to  why  some  of  these  assistants 
have  been  allowed  to  work  half-time  and 
others  have  not. 

V  V  D 


vance  of  the  season,  but  we  want  to  be  sure 
you  have  time  to  fill  our  needs,  in  time 
for  Christmas  delivery.  If  you  could  do  it 
sooner,  we  would  not  ask  for  another  stock- 
ingful  then.  We  need  badly  a  Division  Head, 
who  has  his  full  working  hours  to  devote  to 
our  needs  and  problems.  Other  desired 
specifications  are  that  he  or  she  be  sym- 
pathetic, easily  appreciable,  have  a  sense 
of  hvimor,  know  what  it  means  to  work  nights, 
Saturdays  and  Sundays,  understand  student 
use  of  the  library  and  its  attendant  prob- 
lems, have  the  courtesy  to  acknowledge  stafl 
presence  when  met  in  corridors  etc.,  have 
both  our  welfare  and  that  of  the  library  as 
.an  institution  at  heairt.  Our  morale  is 
shot.  We  are  worde  than  orphans.  Our  ser- 
vice is  suffering  from  many  angles,  many  of 
which  could  be  cured  by  a  Division  Head  we 
respect  and  whom  we  found  accessible. 
Please  Santa,  devote  some  thought  to  our 


NEED 


Head  you  can  find,,, we  sincerely 
good  one.' 

REFERENCE  DIVISION 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Soap  Box: 

I  should  like  to  suggest  a  new  regular 
featvire  for  THE  QUESTION  MARK— a  list  of 
the  ten  most  called  for  books  at  the  Cen- 
tral Library,  Thus  members  of  the  Staff 
will  know  what  is  being  read  locally,  will 
be  able  to  conpare  our  list  with  the  lists 


^.  ^    _.     ,   nnxu      i-v_a.'   j.^^  the  local  papers  and  in  the  TIMES  and 
^„r  „  Sf:  f  •  *JL!'?S  ,^"J^r!?n°:^fr'^I^-™B™  Bcok  Reviews,  and  after  they 


Dear  Santa, 

You  may  consider 


this  a  little  in  ad- 


have  coirplied  with  the  rules  and  taken  such 
books  out,  will  perhaps  try  to  return  them 
faster.  It  may  be  a  good  idea  to  supjply 
along  iri-th  the  list  the  number  of  copies 
on  hand  and  the  number  of  people  waiting. 
The  Staff  will  thus  have  a  better  picture 
of  the  Library  procedures  in  this  matter 
and  be  more  intelligent  with  the  public 
whenever  any  question  on  this  type  of  ac- 
tivity arises. 

The  ten  most-called-for  books  right  now 
(October  20)  in  order  of  popularity  are 
as  follows: 

MRS.  JACK— .Louise  Hall  Tharp 
INTERN~Dr.  X 
THE  SOURCE— James  Michener 
UP  THE  DOWN  STAIRCASE— Bel  Kaufman 
THE  GREEN  BERETS— Robin  Moore 
GIFT  OF  PROPHECY— Ruth  Montgomery 
GAMES  PEOPLE  PLAY— Eric  Berne 
AIRS  ABOVE  THE  GROUND— Mary  Stewart 
IS  PARIS  BURNING?— Larry  Collins 
MAN  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  GCN«-Ian  Fleming 


The  same  information  minus  the  number  ofl  To  the  Editor  of  THE  QUESTION  MARK 


copies  and  the  number  of  r;  j^uests  could 
perhaps  be  made  available  to  the  public 
via  BPL  NEWS. 

HARRY  ANDREWS 

To  the  Soap  Box: 

" . , .SO  THAT  NON-PROFESSIONAL  EMPLOYEES  WHL 

HAVE  A  GREATER  SENSE  OF  CAREER..."??? 


6k   Report  of  the  Examining  Committee,  Sub- 
committee on  Personnel",  I  have  just  ar- 
rived back  from  Personnel  having  been  told 


OPERATION  BEST-SELLERS 

A  sudden,  myeterious  SNAFU  in  our  oper- 
ations behind  the  scenes  has  resulted  in 
a  stoppage  of  the  buying  of  new  books. 

Books  are  our  red-and-white  corpuscles 
and  our  entire  reason  for  existence. 

There  are  always  some  new  books  on  our 


The  above  quote  is  taken  from  the  "1963-  weekly  lists  which  can,  in  an  emergency. 


be  deferred  to  more  prosperous  times. 

Not  so  with  Best  Sellers.  The  Public 
demands  them  and  we  can't  do  without  them. 


that  my  job  reclassification  was  not  forth-  It  is  fraught  with  some  danger  to  sit 


coming  in  the  forseable  future  for  my 
present  duties  with  the  Library.  I  am 
working  with  very  interesting  material  in 
the  newly-created  Acquisition  Section  of 
Government  Documents,  Among  my  many  rea- 
sons for  -pplying  for  this  position  were 
background  knowledge  which  I  gained  work- 
ing x-rith  the  Government  publications  and 
iniative.  I  expected  that  monetary  com- 


pensation in  keeping  with  the  type  of  work  Room  at  the  United  Nations  for  inspiration. 


involved  would  also  be  forthcoming.  I 
have  been  informed  today,  that  there  is 
very  little  possibility  for  reclassifica- 
tion at  the  present  time.  It  seems  that 
my  duties,  as  interpreted  by  Personnel, 
do  not  require  retlassification.  The  up- 
grading of  positions  outside  the  secret- 
arial and  office  seem  to  depend  solely  on 
the  niomber  of  persons  supervised,  regard- 
less of  the  level  of  work.  Are  there 
formulas  on  hand  which  would  take  into 
consideration  such  items  as  quality  of 
work,  background  knowledge  and  iniative? 


prior  to  that  interview,  it  was  I.  I  am 

well  aware  that  I  am  not  alone  in  seeking 

a  pay  raise  commensurate  with  my  duties dn 

the  Library,  It  is  my  inpression  that 

this  situation  is  shared  by  many  of  my 

fellow  Staff  Associates.  Yet,  what  is  be-|-  PHECY,  MEMOIRS  OF  AN  AMNESIAC,  and  MAN 

ing  done  to  remedy  this  appalling  situa^  ■  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  GUN. 


at  a  public  desk  and  tell  people  we  are 
not  buying  new  books, 

I  told  a  woman  the  oth^r  day  that  there 
were  62  people  ahead  of  her  for  the  INTERNj 
she  looked  at  me  like  Madame  Defarge,  and 
I  had  visions  of  knitting  needles  and 
guillotines. 

Deeply  pondering  the  problem  on  a  visit 
to  New  York,  I  went  to  the  Meditation 


And  Inspiration  came, 

I  think  that  those  Happy  Few  who  were 
invited  on  September  30  to  witness  the 
transfer  of  power  on  our  apex  should  ass- 
ess themselves  a  Best  Seller  apiece  and 
donate  it  to  Home  Reading. 

The  two  principals  at  that  party  should 
get  the  $10.  KENNEDY  by  Sorenson,  which 
an  important  review  said  was  the  best 
book  on  Kennedy  so  far,  one  of  the  best 
books  of  its  kind,  and  almost  a  master- 
piece,    p^jg 

The  P5's/and  P7's  can  get  THE  SOURCE, 


If  anyone  had  a  "Greater  Sense  of  Career'  MRS.  JACK,  IS  PARIS  BURNING,  and  MAKING 


OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  Pli's  will  oblige  us  by  getting  cop- 
ies of  UP  THE  DOWN  STAIRCASE,  INTERN, 
GAMES  PEOPLE  PLAY,  IHE  GREEN  BERETS,  MY 
TWELVE  YEARS  WITH  KENNEDY,  GIFT  OF  PRO» 


tion?  True,  members  of  the  Association 
have  approached  the  Trustees  with  our 
grievance,  but  no  action  has  resulted. 
For  me,  the  Staff  Association  has  been 
useless,  I  have  been  a  member  since  1956^ 
and  no  action  on  Salary  increases,  has  been 
taken J  Since  the  effectiveness  of  the 
Staff  Association  has  been  q\aite  obvious, 
\diy  not  cease  its  existence?  I  for  one, 
could  use  that  dollar  that  I  paid  to  be- 
long to  this  obviously  out-moded,  and 
thoroughly  useless  organization, 

JOSEPH  HARPER 


The  logistics  of  what  Pii's  get  what 
books  can  be  worked  out  in  a  short  con- 
ference, 

HARRY  ANDREWS 

ANSWERS  TO  PREVIOUS  SOAP  BOX  LETTERS 

Part  two  of  Mr.  Geoghegan's  report  on  Cen- 
tral Library  maintenance: 

#ii--jlep?  qcement  of  Burned  Out  Light 
Bulba 

We  have  two  types  of  lighting,  incandes- 
cent and  fluorescent.  Each  of  these  must 
be  broken  down  into  categories  with  refer- 


»*  s  •• 


J. 


ence  to  their  accessibility.  An  unlightedthe  tank  froze, 
tube  or  lan^)  may  also  fall  into  two  cat-    b— Has  the  unit  the  capacity  and  recovery 
egojrlv^.  It  may  be  sijply  burned  out;  or,     rate  to  produce  $0OF  water  in  volume 
something  more  difficult,  such  as  burned      at  peak  periods? 


out  ballast,  starter,  switch,  over-loaded 
circuits,  etc.,  may  be  causing  the  mal- 
function. The  replaceitient  of  a  tube  in  a 
firture  which  is  not  accessible  is  govern- 
ed by  many  factors.  Are  there  men  avail- 
able to  erect  staging?  Is  it  a  public 
area?  Are  men  available  to  climb  the 
staging?  (All  workers  are  not  capable  of 


The  water  by  thermometer  test  during  the 
morning  relief  periods,  after  continued  use, 
was  found  to  be  60°F.  This  is  an  indica- 
tion that  the  machine  is  probably  over- 
taxed by  present  usage.  The  fact  that  both 
men  and  women  are  now  using  the  Stack  2 
facilities  has  undoubtedly  increased  the 
demands  on  the  unit  and  we  are  now  in  the 


working  at  any  great  height.)  Then,  if  itprocess  of  acquiring  a  new,  larger  unit 

is  a  burned  out  tube,  the  trouble  is  over. 

If  not,  a  new  group  of  problems  arise.  l£ 

the  fixture  old?  Are  parts  available  and 

in  stock,  (we  never  have  enough  money  to 

stock  other  than  the  bare  necessities), 

and  do  we  have  a  licensed  electrician  on 

duty?  (We  have  only  one,  due  to  Civil 


Service's  inability  to  supply  more  at  pre- 
sent salary  scales.)  We  are,  however, 
very  fortunate  to  have  three  very  reliable 
helpers,  but  the  work  they  can  do  is  limi- 
ted by  law  and  must  be  supervised  by  a 
licensed  man.  It  seems  one  problem  com- 
pounds another. 

In  cases  where  the  fixture  is  accessible 
and  can  be  visually  checked,  lamps  and 
tubes  are  replaced  promptly.  In  some 
areas  such  as  the  annex  and  basement, 
where  each  lamp  is  on  a  drop  cord  indi- 
vidually switched,  it  is  not  possible, 
without  employing  a  man  just  for  this  job, 
to  check  each  and  every  light.  The  staff 
helps  immeasurably  by  reporting  lighting 
problems  to  Buildings  for  correction. 

Once  again,  we  could  give  the  type  of 
service  which  the  writer  of  the  complaint 


suggests,  if  we  had  three  full-time  elec- 
tricians and  helpers,  and  a  large  budget 
for  spare  parts. 
#5— -Water  Coolers 

There  are  two  major  factors  to  take  in- 
to consideration  when  judging  the  perform- 
ance of  a  water  cooler,  provided  the  mach 
ine  is  operating. 

a~Is  the  control  low  enough? 
The  control  on  the  unit  on  Stack  2  is 
set  to  produce  water  at  50°F,  which  is 
the  recommended  tenperature  for  public 
water  coolers,  as  the  water  at  this  terp- 
erature  can  do  no  harm  to  dentvires,  etc.. 
This  unit,  by  actual  thermometer  test, 
can  produce  water  at  50°F.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  machine  got  so  cold  on  Fridaj 
afternoon,  August  13th,  that  the  water  in 


for  this  area. 

There  is,  however,  no  undue  hardship  be- 
ing placed  on  persons  using  this  cooler, 
as  there  is  another  one  just  across  the 
hall  in  the  Coffee  Shop. 

Sincerely  yours, 
T.P.  Geoghegan 
Superintendent  of  Library  Buildings 


M3RE  SOAP  BOX 

To  the  Editor, 

In  a  letter  from  Mr.  Lord  in  the  last  is- 
sue of  THE  QUESTION  MARK  commenting  on  the 
R,  and  R,  Division  Curators  being  required 
to  work  on  Saturdays  last  summer  for  the 
Officers-in-Charge  he  stated  that  "With 
the  best  will  in  the  world  the  responsible 
administrative  officers  of  the  Library 
were  not  able  to  arrive  at  a  solution  that 
has  been  found  to  be  uniformly  acceptable," 

I  am  sorry  to  report  that  neither  I  nor 
any  of  the  other  Cixrators  with  whom  I  have 
talked  saw  any  evidence  of  this  good  will. 
There  was  no  spirit  of  compromise  evident 
in  the  orders  that  vjere  given  to  the  Cura- 
tors, Vfe  were  sirply  told  to  do  it. 

Many  of  us  have  never  worked  in  the  Of- 
ficer-in -Charge  Office,  were  never  told 
that  such  work  was  a  condition  of  employ- 
ment, and  do  not  wish  to  do  this  kind  of 
work. 

If  this  policy  of  assigning  people  to  do 
any  job  at  all  in  the  Library  were  carried 
to  its  ultimate  extreme,  the  Curators 
could  find  themselves  out  shovelling  snow 
come  next  January, 

D.C. 

To  the  Soap  Box: 

Although  I  am  the  Chairman  of  the  Pub- 
lications Committee  of  the  Staff  Associa- 
tion, I  am  writing  this  letter  as  an 
"average  man-on-the-street". 


-  6  - 


There  has  been  a  lot  of  smoke  and  heat 
generated  by  last  summer's  Saturday  Of- 
ficer-in-Charge  schedule,  but  little  lighlj. 
None  of  the  letters  to  the  Soap  Box  has 
mentioned  the  basic  cause  of  the  trouble, 
I  think  that  the  persons  in  charge  of  ar- 
ranging this  schedule  were  surprised  at 
the  lack  of  enthusiasm  felt  by  almost  the 
entire  body  of  Ciirators,  a  group  knovjn  to 
me  to  be  most  cooperative  in  covering 
emergencies  and  aiding  one  another  and  the 
Library  under  ordinary  circumstances. 

The  main  reason  for  the  almost 
opposition  to  this  summer  schedule  can  be 
found  in  the  way  the  Officer-in-Charge 
was  set  up.  As  anyone  wbo  had  been  in  the 
position  of  regxilarly  arranging  schedules 
for  a  full-time  Central  Library  department 
knows  you  cannot  operate  such  a  department 
throughout  the  year  with  less  than  four 
people.  The  Officer-in-Charge  was  organ- 
ized as  a  two-man  department,  and  thus 
scheduling  difficulties  were  built  into 
the  department  at  its  conception.  To  be 


unanimous  Willi 


sure,  our  two  Cccrdinators  were  to  provide 
"supplemental  coverage";  but  this  proved, 
or  was  thought  to  be,  not  enough. 

And  so  it  is  generally  agreed  that  last 
summer's  Officer-in-Charge  schedule  was 
not  an  outstanding  success;  however,  that 
is  over  anddane  with.  What  we  need  to  do 
now  is  to  make  arragnements  so  that  this 
situation  will  not  re-occur  next  summer, 

MARTIN  F.  WATERS 


PERSONNEL  NOTES 

New  Enployees ; 

Jean  Leydon— Personnel 

Mrs.  Sybil  Smith— Branch  Issue 

Paul  Brawley — Audio-Visual 

Carolyn  S.  Poole — Roslindale 

Mrs.  Genevieve  S,  Twomey — Buildings 

Judy  S.  Strachan — Mr.  Lord's  Office 

Jerome  Sullivan — Book  Stack  Service 

Melody  Gayer~Div,  Off.,  HR  and  CS 

Susan  Brodrick — Mattapan 

John  J.  Diggin  Jr, — Open  Shelf 

Avis  Stillman — Book  Stack  Service 

Transferred; 
Esther  Leonard — Education  to  Cat.  and^,  't 
Clcea.,  R.  and  R.S. 

Married! 

Barbara  J,  Brown— South  End,  to  Richard 
Beach 


Maternity  Leave; 

Mrs.  Phyllis  Patrick— Kirs tein 

Leave  of  Absence: 


Diane  G.  Farrell — Codman  Square,  attend 
library  school  at  Columbia 

Terminations  J 


Marcia  L.  Pina — Cat.  and  Class.,  HR  andCS, 

another  position 
Paula  B.  McCarthy^-Kirstein,  to  stay  at 

home 

am  J.  Scannell — Kirstein,  another 

position 
Patricia  Neth— Book  Selection,  HR  and  CS, 

return  to  school 
Eleanor  Kimball— Mt.  Pleasant,  t«  attend 

library  school  full-time 
Patricia  McRae— Kirstein,  another  position 
Brenda  Curran — Cat,  and  Class.,  R.andRS, 

go  to  Germany 
Mrs.  Ella  Lombara — Central  Charging  Record^ 

^ill-time  job 
James  Duffy — Central  Charging  Records,  fuU 

time  job 
Leo  Boucher— Duplicating,  another  position 
Jo-Ann  Conroy— Book  Stack  Service,  return 

to  college 
John  Koch— Book  Stack  Service 
Jo-Ann  C,  Mitchell — Adams  Street,  attend 

college  full-time 
Robert  Fantasia — Book  Stack  Service,  re- 
turn to  college 
Michael  J.  Vene«ia — ^Patent  Section,  an- 
other position 
Mrs.  Beverly  Lambert — Cat,  and  Class,,  R. 

and  R.S.,  stay  at  home 
Lynne  Simek — Science  and  Technology,  attend 

college  full-time 
Mrs.  Geneva  R.  Kershner— General  Reference, 

return  to  California 
Henry  Selvitella— Book  Stack  Service 


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Husbands  and  wives  welcome 

Lecture  HaLl- Central  Libraru 

■4^  tpie/j  ft  .HI  -yi^i/A^ 

COMMITTEE  FOR  RECEPTION 
Louisa  Metcalf  Pauline  Walker 

Bradford  Hill  William  Casey- 

Joseph  O'Neil      Ruth  Hayes,  Chairman 


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^A^ 


THE  BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


NOVEMBER     1965 


THE  QUESTION  MARK 
Published  by  the  Boston  Public  Library  Staff  Association 
Volume  XX «  Number  10 November,  196^ 

Publications  Coiranittee:  William  F,  Casey j  Harry  Andrews;  Evelyn  Isaacs;  Sheila  M, 

Stevens;  Sarah  M.  Usher,  Indexer;  Martin  F,  Waters,  Chair- 
man. 

Publication  Date:                      Deadline  for  submitting  material: 
The  fifteenth  of  each  month The  tenth  of  each  month 

It  shall  be  the  object  of  the  Association 

(a)  to  foster  professional  libra rianship 

(b)  to  further  the  common  interests  and  the  welfare  of  the 

bibliothecal  staff 

(c)  and  to  promote  greater  efficiency  in  library  service. 


We  thought  that  we  might  arouse  some  interest  in  awakening  the  Li- 
brary's somnolent  promotional  system  with  last  month's  editorial,  but 
there  seems  to  be  more  interest  in  burned  out  light  bulbs  than  in  pro- 
motions . 

We  received  very  few  comments  on  our  editorial j  and  we  have  not 
heard  of  any  great  rush  to  the  personnel  office  by  our  LA's  for  in- 
formation on  qualifying  for  the  Professional  Library  Service,  al- 
though we  did  have  pointed  out  to  us  the  very  minor  detail  that  the 
Library  Qualifying  Examinations  have  not  been  offered  for  at  least 
eight  years. 

The  main  point  we  were  attempting  to  make  was  that  our  basic 
promotional  system  is  still  the  corprehensive  1938  system  which  in- 
cluded in-service  training  for  non-professional  workers  (LA's)  as 
well  as  for  the  professional  staff.  This  has  not  been  officially  re- 
placed or  discontinued  and  has  been  modified  only  a  very  little  in 
the  last  26  years.  At  least  this  seems  to  be  the  case  so  far  as  we 
can  discover  from  the  Personnel  Manual, 

It  is  especially  to  be  deplored  that  we  are  not  actively  pro- 
viding an  in-service  training  program  for  our  LA  service,  A  high 
school  graduate  who  enters  this  service  ordinarily  cannot,  by  con- 
tinuing his  education  outside  the  library,  prepare  himself  specifically 
for  advancement  in  most  of  the  types  of  work  which  the  LA  services  pro- 
vides. There  are  exceptions,  of  course,  such  as  secretarial  work. 

Along  vrith  this  we  find  that  the  Officers  of  the  Library  who  are 
engaged  in  making  promotions  cannot  be  provided  with  substantial  in- 
formation which  will  enable  them  to  accurately  evaluate  the  qualifica- 
tions and  abilities  of  the  several  candidates  for  a  given  position. 

It  would  seem  that  the  re-activation  of  our  in-service  training 
program  might  be  a  good  way  for  us  to  get  back  in  the  promotional 
system  business. 


PRESIDEWT'S  NOTES 

The  President's  Notes  vd.ll  of  necessity- 
be  brief  this  month  since  we  are  still 
undergoing  a  period  of  transition.  The 
new  Directflfep  has  been  in  office  a  little 
more  than  6  weeks  and  cannot  possibly  be 
expected  to  have  familiarized  himself  or 
come  to  terms  with  all  the  problems  which 
have  plagued  the  Library  for  some  time, 
I  feel  quite  certain,  however,  that  given 
the  time,  he  will  attempt  to  alleviate 
our  most  pressing  problems, 

I  recently  met  with  Mr,  McNiff  to  dis- 
cuss the  salary  situation.  He  stated 
that  salaries  were  of  vital  interest  to 
him,  also,  and  that  he  would  study  the 
situation  most  carefully.  He  could  not 
say  vHnen   or  how  salary  increases  would  be 
granted  but  that  the  whole  salary  picture 
was  under  advisement, 

I  might  also  add  that  during  my  dis- 
cussion with  Mr.  McNiff,  he  stated  that 
he  was  most  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  staff  and  concerned  with  what  is  best 
for  the  library.  As  members  of  the  Staff 
Association,  it  might  be  well  to  consider 
again  the  goals  of  the  Association  J  (see 
Sept.,  1965  Editorial)  and  review  our 
present  attitudes  and  professional  con- 
duct with  an  eye  towards  playing  a  more 
positive  role  in  Association  activities 
and  in  improving  Communications  between 
Staff  and  Administration, 

B  P  L  IN  BLACKOUT 


The  changing  of  the  guard  had  just 
taken  place,  the  day  shift  was  gone,  the 
night  shift  was  settling  into  its  evening 
routines  when  the  lights  suddenly  dimmed, 
flickered,  and  went  out,  A  lone  holdout 
for  a  full  minute  was  an  old  non-fluores- 
cent light  high  up  in  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  Open  Shelf,  People  were  caxight 
at  the  catalogs,  sitting  reading  in  the 
chairs,  browsing  at  the  shelves.  The 
Department  flashlight  was  in  a  desk  in  an 
inner  office  in  a  bottom  drawer,  but  in 
the  dark  I  could  not  find  it.  Dozens  of 
matches  were  being  lighted  by  customers 
in  a  way  which  would  have  scared  and  out- 
raged adirdnistrators  mindful  of  our  treas^' 
ures  upstairs,  Officer-in-Charge,  Bill 
Lewis,  was  immediately  on  the  phone  ask- 
ing us  to  lead  the  public  to  the  front 
lobby.  The  evacuation,  even  from  the 
Children's  Room, was  calm  and  orderly. 
Officer  Regan  and  the  Custodians  appeared 


«  2  - 

with  flashlights  and  lamps  and  went  with 
despatch  all  over  the  building,  leading 
staff  and  public  to  the  front  entrance. 
Rumors  flew — the  power  failure  extended  to 
Niagara,  probably  sabotage,  perhaps  the 
country  was  under  attack.  But  by  means 
of  transistor  radios  carried  by  some  young 
people  we  soon  knew  what  had  happened,  and 
Mr.  Lewis  sensibly  decided  to  close  the 
Library, 

We  stood  for  an  hour  or  so  at  the  front 
door.  The  moon  was  very  bright  and  very 
full,  and  lit  up  the  dark  Square,  which 
was  both  beautiful  and  eery.  Traffic  was 
moving  along  as  usual,  helped  along  by 
the  flashlights  of  students  who  appeared 
suddenly  and  spontaneously,  and  looked 
neither  pro  nor  anti  Vietnam— Just  Ameri- 
can boys  responsibly  stepping  into  the 
breach  when  help  was  needed.  Many  of  the 
regular  Library  customers  hung  around  the 
Square,  asking  when  we  would  reopen.  One 
man  said  he  wanted  to  come  in  to  get  warm, 
A  distraught  woman  insisted  that  her 
grandchild  must  still  be  in  the  building. 

We  began  to  disperse  almost  regretfully. 
A  new  expeidence  had  been  shared.  Two  of 
our  ladies  sitting  quietly  but  somehow 
forlorn  in  the  recess  at  the  bottom  of  the 
Great  Stairway  reminded  me  of  Mr,  and  Mrs. 
Strauss  waiting  for  the  end  on  the  Titanic, 
The  dark,  grim,  and  sirtister  Prudential 
Building  and  the  quiet  Huntington  Avenue 
made  me  think  of  ON  THE  BEACH. 

Much  credit  is  due  to  Messrs.  Lewis, 
Maxwell,  Mealy,  Murphy,  Bmno,  and  Officer 
Regan  for  the  way  the  situation  was  han- 
dled at  the  BPL.  The  names  may  not  sound 
like  Bedford  and  Exeter,  Warwick  and 
Gloucester,  and  it  would  be  an  exaggeration 
to  say  that  the  scene  was  a  Battle  of 
Agincourt  on  St.  Crispin's  Dayj  but  it  was 
a  night  to  remember. 


HARRY  ANDREWS 

CAN  YOU  HELP? 

Periodical  and  Newspaper  is  lacking 
these  issues  for  binding.  If  you  have 
and  can  spare  copies  flrom  your  personal 
files,  please  send  them  to  that  department: 

American  Journal  of  Nursing, 

March  1965, 

American  Opinion,  Dec,  19614, 

American  Scholar.  Fall  1961;. 

Aviation  Week.  March  9,  I96I4, 

Feb,  15,  and  March  1,  196$, 

Best  Sellers,  June  1,  1965. 


#•  3  ** 


Better  Homes  and  Gardens* 

January-June,   I96I4J  Sept.* 

Dec.  1961 J  May  I962, 
CQ,     January  I96I4, 
Christian  Advocate.     Nov,  5> 

19;  Dec.  3,  17,  31,  I96I4. 

Jan.  Ih,   28,  1965. 
Daedalus,  Fall  I963. 
Esquire.  Sept.  1965. 
Flower  Grower.  Jan,  and 

Feb,  1965. 
Harpers  Bazaar,  Jan.  Feb, 

Mar.  Aug.  1965. 
Hot  Rod.  Sept.  I963. 
Editorial  Research  Reports. 

Se--^.  27  and  Oct.  11,  I96I; 

January  25,  1961. 
Films  xn  Review.  Jan.  and 

Mar.  196iij  Jun.  and  Jul. 

1963. 
Eenyon  Review.  Aut-umn  1957. 
Library  Quarterly.  Oct.  1958. 
Ladies  Home  Journal.  Jan.  1965. 
Living  Church.  Jun.  13,  1965. 
Mademoiselle,  Sept,  and  Oct, 

1965. 
New  Statesman.  June  11,  25, 

1965. 
N.y.  Public  Library,  Bulletin, 

June  196ii, 
Outdoor  Life,  Nov.  I9635  Feb, 

Mar.  I96U.  Oct.  I963. 
Queens  Quarterly,  #1-3  196ii, 
Macleans.  June  15,  1963. 
PMLA  #[j  pts.  1  and  2,  #5  I960. 

(Sept.  and  Dec.) 
Month.  January  1955. 
Motor  Trend.  Dec,  1962 j  April, 

May,  July,  Sept.  Oct,  1963; 

Jan.  1958. 
PLD  Reporter,  fk   1955. 
Popular  Electronics.  Sept, 

1962;  Jan. -Mar.  1963;  Jan. 

196U. 
Radio  Electronics.  Mar.  I96I1. 
Saturday  Evening  Post.  Jan.  2, 

16,  30;  Feb.  13,  27,  1965. 
Science  Digest,  Jan.  I96I4;  Mar. 

Aug.  Sept.  1965. 
Simmons  Review.  Fall  1962. 
Sunset.  April  1963. 
Town  and  Country,  Feb,  1965. 
True.  Sept.  1965. 
Seventeen.  Jan.  Feb.  1963. 

April  1965. 
Times  Literary  Supplement.  Jun. 

29,  1962. 
Unesco  Bulletin  for  Libraries, 

October  1958, 
Radcliffe  Quarterly.  May  1965, 


Yankee.  Mar. -Jun,  Sept.  Nov,- 
Dec.  1963;  Jan. -Mar.  Jul^'-- 
Aug.  1962, 
World  Tennis.  October  196h, 
Vital  Speeches.  May  1,  196Ii, 
June  1,  1963. 

THE  OMBUDSMAN  RETURIC 

Every  once  in  a  while  a   beautiful,  just 
right  word  gains  currency,  gets  used  too 
much,  until  those  of  us  who  wince  at 
cliches,  hate  to  hear  it,  or  see  it  in 
print  again:  words  like  image,  radiance, 
charisma. 

I 'd  like  to  bring  to  the  attention  of 
the  Staff  one  such  word  I  have  seen  two 
or  three  times  the  last  few  months,  be- 
fore the  usual  fate  overtakes  it.  The 
word  is  OMBUDSMAN,  and  this  is  what  the 
NEW  YORK  TIMES  said  about  it  in  an  article 
on  Sunday,  November  llij 

"...The  early  Nordic  word,  said 
to  be  traceable  back  to  the  l5th 
century  is  common  to  Norway,  Swe- 
den, Denmark,  and  Finland,.,, cm 
means  about,  bud  means  message, 
and  man  means  man,,,. The  ombuds- 
man is  a  government  official, 
above  reproach,  and  beyond  be- 
ing reached  by  politicians  and 
bureaucrats,  who  will  listen  to 
complaints  from  those  citizens 
who  believe  that  they  and  their 
rights  have  been  abused  by  the 
government  and  its  officials..." 
The  TIMES  article  wants  an  ombudsman  in 
the  world  of  travel  to  take  care  of  the 
interests  of  travelers.  But  from  its  def- 
inition I  think  all  three  objectives  of 
our  Association  as  stated  on  the  front 
page  of  the  QM  would  be  served  by  such 
a  guardian.  The  Examining  Committee,  for 
all  the  good  will  and  civic  mindedness  of 
its  members,  is  not  such  a  guardian. 
They  go  on  guided  tours,  and  speak  to  the 
very  people  vdiose  bottleneck  activities 
or  inactivities  are  the  chief  reason  why 
this  Library  does  not  function  the  way  the 
fine  vision  of  our  Founders  and  the  gen- 
erous provision  by  the  city  would  make 
possible.  There  is  nothing  of  real  pro- 
mise in  the  latest  Report,  but  there  is 
a  note  of  hope  in  one  of  the  "answers'*  by 
our  "officials."  Mr.  Moloney  will  soon 
return  from  another  assignment;  and  his 
office,  and  he  personally,  have  been  the 
nearest  thing  to  an  OMBUDSMAN  we  have  re- 
cently had. 


«   4   r. 


Onds  day,  a  few  years  ago,  annoyed  by  the 
curtailment  of  the  daily  use  of  Branch 
Issue  books  for  Open  Shelf  customers  and 
disturbed  by  reports  from  'friends  and 
public  about  the  fearful  denudation  of 
Open  Shelf  shelves  of  books  for  the  ed- 
ucated common  reader — the  Stendhals,  the 
E.  M.  Forsters,  the  Kierkegaards,  the 
Freuds,  the  Sartres,  the  Santayanas,  the 
Virginia  Woolfs— I  made  a  spot  check  in 
one  iirporbant  category,  very  popular  since 
the  '20 's,  and  very  influential  in  life 
and  literature  since:  the  131.3U,  psy- 
choanalysis. There  were  just  two  books 
on  the  shelf  in  Open  Shelf,  There  were 
one  hundred  and  twenty  five  on  the  shelves 
in  Branch  Issue,  The  competent  Book 
Selectors had  approved  the  selections;  the 
City  had  supplied  the  necessary  funds; 
Sook  Purchasing  had  made  the  purchases; 
Book  Preparation  people  had  furnished 
them  with  attractive  cellophane  covers; 
and  the  extra  boys  in  the  afternoons  had 
diligently  placed  them  on  the  shelves, 
and  kept  them  in  order.  And  there  they 
stood  for  months,  in  shameful  inutility, 
in  monumental  rebuke  to  Library,  Division, 
and  Department,  Scores  of  people  in 
search  of  these  very  books,  the  Freuds, 
•the  Alexanders,  the  Jungs,  the  Adlers, 
the  Homeys,  the  Brills,  the  Berglers, 
the  many  fine  studies  for  crA   against  the 
subject,  were  turned  away  unsatisfied 
every  day  unless  they  left  postcards  for 
them.  Most  people  are  unwilling  to  do 
that  except  for  best  sellers. 

There  is  some  small  justification  for 
the  belief  that  some  of  these  people  seem 
to  want  these  Library  books  for  their  own 
private  collections.  But  that  is  a 
different  problem  and  has  never  been 
adequately  discussed, 

I  showed  that  remarkable  statistic, 
125-2,  to  Mr,  Moloney  that  same  day, 
I  don't  know  what  he  did  about  it,  A  few 
years  later  some  money  was  suddenly 
"found"  to  replenish  Open  Shelf  shelves 
in  that  area.  But  Mr,  Moloney  looked 
disturbed  and  appalled  at  the  statistic, 
and  that  is  enough  for  me  to  nominate  him 
BPL  OMBUDSMAN,  and  we  should  welcome  his 
return, 

HARRY  ANDREWS 

"A  ROSE  BY  ANY  OTHER  NAME..." 

Education,  like  other  departments,  gets 
its  share  of  questions  that  have  to  be 


interpreted  before  they  can  be  answered. 
The  student  v*io  needed  a  "pencil  topper" 
was  looking  for  the  pencil  sharpener,  A 
patron  who  wanted  to  use  the  Docustat 
asked  for  the  "Gopystat." 

The  Officer-in-Charge  gets  all  kinds  of 
titles,  such  as  the  "Officer  of  the  Da/' 
and  the "Guard  on  Duty." 

Then  there  was  the  summer  visitor  who 
admitted  that  she  hadn't  been  in  the  Li- 
brary for  years,  who  wanted  to  see  the 
painting  "The  Dance  of  the  Hours,"  That 
turned  out  to  be  John  Elliott's  "The 
Triumph  of  Tise," 

ENGAGEMENT  • 

Margaret  Claire,  I^j^^  Cataloging  and 
Classification,/nai  a  aiainond  from  James 
Latten  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  The  date  of 
the  wedding  has  not  been  set, 

Q.  C.  C.  LUNCHEON 

The  Luncheon  Committee  of  the  Quarter 
Century  Associations  wishes  us  to  remind 
all  staff  members  that  they  are  invited 
to  the  luncheon  meeting  of  the  Quarter 
Century  Association  which  will  be  held  at 
the  Hotel  Lenox  on  Wednesday,  December 
8th,  at  one  o'clock. 

Tickets  at  $2,50  (including  tax  and  tip), 
may  be  obtained  from  Harry  Fletcher,  Trea- 
surer, Cataloging  and  Classification,  R, 
and  R.S,  All  returns  must  be  made  by 
VIednesday,  December  1st, 

We  Repeat:  All  members  of  the  Boston 
Public  Library  staff  are  cordially  in- 
vited to  attend.  Those  having  twenty- 
five  or  more  years  of  service  are  urged 
to  join  the  Association.  Dues  are  $1.00 
per  year,  payable  to  The  Treasxarer. 


-5  - 


Any  contribution  to  the  Soap  Box  must 
be  accompanied  by  the  full  name  of  the 
Association  member  submitting  it,  togeth- 
er with  the  name  of  the  Branch  Library, 
Department,  or  Office  in  which  he  or  she 
is  employed.  The  name  is  withheld  from 
publication,  or  a  pen  name  is  used,  if 
th«  contributor  so  requests.  Anonymous 
contributions  are  not  given  consideratioa 
The  author  of  the  article  is  known  only 
to  the  Editor-in-Chief,  The  contents  of 
the  articles  appearing  in  the  Soap  Box 
are  personal  opinions  expressed  by  indi- 
vidual Association  members  and  their  ap- 
pearance does  not  necessarily  indicate 
that  the  Publications  Committee  and  the 
Association  are  in  agreement  with  the 
views  expressed.  Only  those  contribu- 
tions not  containing  more  than  300  words 
will  be  accepted. 


To  the  Soap  Box  Editor: 

Please,  \ihy  should  an  answer  to  a  Soap 
Box  letter  be  granted  more  than  the  300 
words  allowed  a  staff  association  member 
in  the  Soap  Box  itself?  If  we  must  com- 
press our  thoughts,  complaints  or  queries 
into  300  words,  surely  the  higher  echelon^ 
who  make  reply  should  be  able  to  be  lucid 
in  the  same  number  of  words i  Perhaps  the 
writer  of  the  original  Soap  Box  letter 
could  have  made  a  point  more  clear  on 
burned  out  bulbs,  for  example,  by  going 
into  the  degree  of  dimness  through  cate- 
goidzation,  or  asking  about  the  capabil- 
ity of  staff  workers  going  into  dark 
places  in  search  of  books  etc... (are  all 
workers  capable  of  seeing  in  the  dark?) 
ere  there  eome  available  on  any  given 
staff  short  enough  to  avoid  hitting  a 
head  on  low  beams  in  the  dark?)  ••• 


or  pointing  out  that  we,  too,  have  staff 
shortages  because  of  money  or  non-avail- 
ability of  candidates  at  present  salary 
scales,  which  are  further  depleted  in 
giving  service  to  the  public  by  not  be- 
ing able  to  see  in  the  dark,  etc.  We 
must  make  do,  however,  with  300  words  I 

FAIR  PLAY  &  EQUAL  RIGHTS 

To  the  Editor: 

How  much  longer  must  we  be  fobbed  off 
by  such  gobbledegook  as  the  "essay"  on 
types  and  categories  of  light  bulbs?  We 
do  not  care  whether  or  not  there  is  a 
category... only  thatwe  have  sufficient 
light.  Nor  are  we  interested  in  non- 
"visual"  checkE  on  lighting  fixtures.  We 
do  care  when  bulbs  in  staff  quarter, 
easily  seen  and  easily  accessible  to  a 
tall  man,  or  a  man  on  a  chair,  go  out  and 
stay  out  for  days,.  (Incidentally  why 
doesn't  someone  save  the  library  money 
by  checking  that  fixture  over  the  long 
mirror  in  the  stack  2  locker  room  which 
goes  out  regularly  after  a  day  or  two  of 
use?.,, remaining  out,  to  our  sorrow,  for 
days.) 

We  notice  the  lighta  by  which  we  work, 
find  books  for  patrons  and  shelve  returns, 
These  lights  are  easily  checked  "visual- 
ly", are  easily  replaced,  but  cause  many 
errors  and  delays  in  service  to  the  pub- 
lic when  out.  Busy  public  departments 
do  not  always  have  time  for  work  orders. 
Building  phones  are  not  always  free  when 
dimness  occurs,  and  servicing  is  slow. 
Could  WE  have  extra  bulbs?  WE  could  re- 
place them  though  it  be  unprofessional 
of  us  to  do  soc 

We  tire  of  words  which  gloss  over  con- 
ditions but  do  not  remedy  them.  We  know 
of  fans  for  which  work  orders  were  ■ 
regularly  provided,  not  yet  repaired  be- 
cause "there  is  no  money  for  parts",,, 
relatively  inexpensive  parts  perhaps? 
We  do  realize  that  Buildings  is  short- 
handed — as  we  all  are,  V/e  do  appreciate 
the  brave  attenpt  the  men  in  Buildings 
make  to  keep  us  happy  and  comfortable, 
once  they  are  assigned  to  a  task.  Some- 
thing seems  to  be  lacking  before  assign- 
ments are  made  or  in  the  method  of  their 
making, 

Vie  are  most  grateful  for  that  new  bub- 
bler, incidentallyi 

FRUSTRATED  AGAIN 


••  6  " 


Editor's  Note: 

Tne  ruDiications  Committee  decided  to 
print  in  its  entirety  Mr.  Geoghegan's  re- 
port on  maintenance  problems  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons:  1)  It  was  an  answer  to  a 
letter  which  appeared  in  the  QM  and  we 
wished  to  encourage  the  answering  of  such 
letters  by  the  Library  Administration. 
2)  It  did  contain  some  information  of  pos- 
sible  value  to  staff  members. 

To  the  Soap  Bex: 

CHRISTMAS  is  the  one  fairdly  holiday  thai 
brings  peace  and  happiness  to  all.  How- 
ever, the  announcement  that  the  library 
will  be  open  on  December  26th  from  two  to 
six  o'clock  is  not  a  peaceful  thought' for 
the  staff  who  MUST  work  on  Sunday.  In 
the  past,  the  library  closed  on  Sunday 
when  Christmas  was  celebrated  on  Satvirday, 
Why  the  change? 

It  would  be  a  nice  Christmas  present  to 
the  loyal  Sunday  workers  to  have  this  Sun- 
day off. 

A  SUNDAY  WORKER 

A  BIRTHDAY  SALUTE 

On  November  llith  this  year,  the  library 
celebrates  the  l5th  birthday  of  our  own 
"Coffee  Shop."  Yes,  it  was  in  19S0   that 
the  doors  of  this  "Institution  within  an 
Institution"  were  opened  by  Sam  and  Dot 
Adelstein.  I  for  one,  have  enjoyed  the 
special  services  rendered  by  them.  The 
making  of  my  unusual  combinations  such  as 

and  ,  was  met  with  a 

slight  squint  of  disbelief,  but  it  was 
made,  I  for  one,  have  appreciated  their 
services  and  take  this  opportunity  to  ex- 
press my  gratitude, 

JOSEPH  HARPER 

Editoi*s  Note; 

Although  we  think  it  is  very  kind  of  Mr, 
Harper  to  remember  this  anniversary  of  the 
Coffee  Shop,  because  of  the  unusually  re- 
volting comijination  of  ingredients  of 
which  his  favorite  sandwich  is  composed, 
and  because  some  of  our  readers  may  have 
weak  stomachs,  we  have  deleted  the  names 
of  these  ingredients. 

To  the  Editor: 

Until  recently,  after  a  new  book  was 
cataloged  and  shelf -listed  by  the  Refer- 
ence Division,  a  tenporary  catalog  card 
was  filed  into  the  Public  Catalog,  Thus 


the  book  was  immediately  made  available  to 
the  public.  The  permenant  card  filing 
could  then  be  done  orderly,  carefully,  and 
systematically. 

Temporary  cards  are  no  longer  filed  in 
any  catalog.  When  I  asked  why  I  was  told 
by  the  Officer -in-Charge  that  it  was  a 
"time  saving  measure" . 

This  afternoon  I  spent  an  hovir  of  thp 
library's  time  tracking  down  a  book  that 
was  shelf-listed  on  October  19,  1965. 
There  was  no  indication  that  this  book 
was  owned  by  the  library  in  the  public 
catalog,  the  official  catalog,  or  in  the 
catalog  of  the  subject  department  that 
had  ordered  the  book. 

The  library  paid  me  for  the  time  I  spent 
looking  for  this  one  bookj  it  paid  a  pro- 
fessional assistant  in  Book  Selection  to 
check  the  records  and  tell  me  that  the 
book  had  been  ordered;  it  paid  a  pro- 
fessional assistant  in  the  subject  de- 
partment to  check  the  records  and  tell  me 
that  the  book  had  been  received  and  what 
the  number  was;  it  paid  a  Library  assist- 
ant in  j^he  Shelf  List  to  tell  me  that  the 
book  had  been  shelf-listed  and  when;  it 
paid  a  library  Assistant  in  the  subject 
department  to  find  the  book  on  the  New 
Book  Shelf  and  to  type  a  Temporary  cat- 
alog card  for  her  department  before  she 
would  let  me  take  the  book. 

The  only  thing  that  saved  this  routine 
from  being  a  complete  waste  of  time  was 
the  fact  that  the  borrower  finally  got 
the  bookf  and  that's  why  we're  all  here, 
isn't  it? 

Let's  hope  we  don't  adopt  any  more  "time 
saving  measures"  like  this  one. 

DRAG  GOLATAC 

To  the  Editor: 

An  inportant  point  to  consider  is  the 
fact  that  I  was  never  approached  on  the 
subject  of  the  letter  written  by  "Refer- 
ence Division",  Views  of  several  indi- 
viduals do  not  necessarily  encompass 
views  of  all  members  of  a  division, 

MARGOT  TireON 
Member  of  the  Reference  Division 

Editor's  Note: 

The  letter  in  the  October  Q.M,  which 
was  signed  Reference  Division  was  written 
by  only  one  staff  member.  Your  editor 
understood  this  nom  de  plume  to  be  in 
keeping  with  the  whimsical  style  of  the 


letter.  I  am  sure  that  there  was  no  in- 
tention to  deceive  or  misrepresent. 

To  the  Soap  Box: 

"IT'S  OLD  HAT J" 

In  the  October  issue,  I  expressed,  somef- 
•what  bitterly  perhaps,  my  disappointment 
in  not  having  my  position  re -classified. 
For  those  members  of  the  Staff  Associa- 
tion who  were  members  of  the  Employee's 
Union  in  I9J46  when  the  first  issue  of 
THE  QUESTION  MARK  was  hot  off  the  presass, 
a  re-reading  of  that  issue  and  sub- 
sequent ones,  will,  I  believe,  evoke  the 
response  "It's  Old  Hat.'"  And  for  those 
of  you  who  hold  the  maxim  "History  Does 
Not  Repeat  Itself"  might  also  re-read 
that  first  issue.  Note  how  that  familial' 
tune  "Classification"  occupies  most  of 
those  issues.  In  brief,  "To  re-classify 
or  not  to  re-classify",  is  then,  as  now, 
still  the  question.  Here  we  are  19  go- 
ing on  20  years  later,  and  still  the  tun<i 
of  classification  lingers  on,  somewhat 
nostalgically.  Is  the  year  I966  going  t<i 
give  a  repeat  performance  of  that  old 
refrain?  I  hope  not J 

JOSEPH  HARPER 

Focus  of  Department  Heads 

To  the  Editor: 

I  wonder  how  much  the  department  heads 
realize  that  they  are  often  (but  not  al- 
ways) the  cause  of  low  morale?  Is  not 
low  morale  caused,  to  a  great  extent,  by 
listening  to  the  constant  extreme  rejec- 
tion of  new  policies,  the  constant  bick- 
ering which  occurs  betvieen  departments, 
and  the  constant  lack  of  cooperation? 
Nothing  will  be  accomplished  (and  conse- 
quently morale  will  remain  low)  if  these 
attitudes  remain  unchanged.  Such  stumbl 
ing  blocks  are  little  more  than  childish 
and/or  defensive  behavior  on  the  p^  rt  of 
the  department  heads. 

To  quote  from  Practical  Administration 
of  Public  Libraries  by  Wheeler  and  Gold- 
hor,  page  93... 

Recognition:  Psychologists  and 
specialists  in  industrial  rela- 
tions are  well   aware  that  morale 
thrives  on  appreciation  and  on 
favorable  comment  for  good  work. 
The  Chief's  Attention  to  Stig- 


gestions;  A  staff  quickly  meas- 
ures administrative  cordiality  to 
new  ideas.  Does  the  librarian 
or  department  head  have  an  open 
door  but  a  closed  mind?  Confi- 
dence and  enthusiasm  mount  when 
it  is  discovered  that  the  chief 
is  not  too  busy,  but  interested 
in  details,  knows  what  is  going 
on,  understands  the  value  of  a 
suggestion  and  does  something 
about  it.  Within  a  department, 
suggestions  may  have  consequen- 
ces to  the  individual,  maybe  re- 
sentment and  opposition  from  the 
head,  and  strained  relationships. 
The  librarian's  task  is  to  de- 
velop department  heads;  their 
task  is  to  build  the  administra- 
tive interest  of  assistants,  un- 
til all  place  the  improvement  of 
their  department  above  personal 
pride  and  sensitiveness.  He 
needs  also  to  be  the  coordinator, 
gatherer-up  and  information 
spreader  between  departments,  to 
avoid  confusion  and  cross  pur- 
poses, 

PAH 

To  the  Editor: 

The  Office  of  the  Officer-in-Charge  of 
Reader  Services  wishes  to  express  its 
appreciation  to  those  members  of  the  staff, 
both  in  the  Central  Library  and  the  Branches, 
to  the  Sullivan  guards,  and  also  to  the 
duty  policeman,  for  their  cooperation 
during  the  emergency  created  by  the  power 
failure  and  resultant  blackout, 

WILLIAM  R.  LEWIS 

To  the  Editor: 

Earlier  this  year  the  Library  appointed 
a  Coordinator  of  Cataloging  and  Classifi- 
cation whose  primary  function,  as  stated 
in  the   announcing  G.A.N.,  was  to  execute 
the  cataloging  and  classification  policies 
of  the  BPL.  For  many  years  now  we  have  had 
coordinators  in  our  midst  and  most  of  us 
are  more  or  less  familiar  with  their  re- 
spective duties  vdiich  are  mainly  to  over- 
see the  duties  in  their  particular  area. 
Why  then,  in  this  instance,  should  these 
duties  change  so  drastically?  Why  has 
this  new  Coordinator  been  allowed  to  as- 
sume more  responsibility  than  any  coordin- 
ator heretofore?  It  seems  nonsensical  to 
leave  Department  Heads  in  such  departments 
if  coordinators  are  going  to  usurp  their 


»»  8  •" 


the  rule  or  is  this  to  be  the  policy  of 
the  Library  in  the  future?  If  so,  isn't 
it  a  waste  of  the  tax  payers  money  to 
have  Department  Heads  too^ 

I'M  REALLY  CONCERNED 


IN  MEMQRIAM 


HARRIET  SWIFT 


On  October  25,  196^,  Harriet  Swift, 
Curator  of  Americana,  Emeritus,  died 
after  a  long  illness.  Daughter  of 
Lindsay  Swift,  himself  a  long-time  Li- 
brary employee  and  Editor  of  the  Library 
Bulletin  for  25  years,  Harriet  entered 
the  service  in  1921  as  a  Probationary 
Assistant  in  the  Executive  Department, 
In  1926  she  was  transferred  to  the 
Special  Libraries  Department  as  Assistant 
in-Charge  of  the  Barbon-Ticknor  Room. 
When  this  was  transformed  inte  the  Rare 
Book  Department  upon  the  appointment  of 
Zolt^n  Haraszti  as  Keeper  of  Rare  Books, 
she  continued  as  Assistant  in  Charge  un- 
til 19^40  when  she  became  Curator  of 
Americana,  a  position  which  she  held  un- 
til her  retirement  in  September,  1959 » 

Energetic  and  forthright,  never  reluc- 
tant in  expressing  an  opinion.  Miss  Swift 
was  a  loyal  and  valued  member  of  her  De- 
partment, ever  ready  to  help  a  young 
assistant.  Even  after  her  retirement, 
Harriet  continued  to  work  at  her  desk 
clearing  up  "snags"  and  hoping  to  organ- 
ize the  many  rare  children's  books  into 
a  comprehensive  collection.  This  project, 
however,  was  abandoned  when  she  undertook 
part-time  employment  in  the  Library  of 
the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society — 
a  fitting  place  for  one  so  fond  of  plants 
and  gardening. 

We  can  only  regret  that  Miss  Swift's 
final  years  at  her  retirement  home  in 
Rockport  were  marred  by  persistent  and 
serious  illness.  She  will  be  much  missed 
by  her  many  friends  and  associates,  A 
Fund  is  being  collected,  in  hopes  of  per- 
petuating her  memory  in  some  small  way, 

E.  M.  0. 


PERSONNEL  NOTES 


New  Employees 

Jerome  A.  Crowley,  Jr. — Bookmobiles 

William  Moreland— Branch  Issue 

Transferred 

Mary  Jo  Campbell— from  Book  Stack  Service 
(Center  Desk)  to  Kirstein 

William  King — from  Book  Preparation  to 
Periodical  and  Newspaper 

Ronald  Logan — from  PeirLodical  and  News- 
paper to  Science  and  Technology  (Patent) 

John  Pelose — from  Branch  Issue  to  Dupli- 
cating 

Maternity  Leave  of  Absence 
Mrs,  Brenda  Brev/ingt on— Central  Charging 
Records 

Retired 

Florence  McManus — Faneuil 

Terminations 

Ernest  A.  Dimattia — Science  and  Technologj^ 
to  accept  position  of  Director  of  Salem 
Public  Library 

Mrs,  Grace  M.  Duffy— Lower  Mills,  to  re- 
main at  home 

Mrs,  Willie  Mae  Davis — Mount  Pleasant,  to 
move  to  New  York 


THE  BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  STAFF  ASSOCIATION 


Srijjttu  ^4  (Tu 


a  a 


C  o  a  d  Li  c  t  e  cl  Tc-  u  r   cf  the 

1  FRANCIS  A-COUNTWAY  LIBR 

OF  MEDICINE 


crvi 


w\. 


m 


■  k^^l 


Jucbdctu  Moraifia -December  Tj^ioO 

at     10    a.  m « 


This  tour  has  been  axranged  especially 
for  the  Staff  Association 


EVERYONE  IS  CORDIALLY  INVITED  TO  ATTEND 


™ 


uestion 


THE  BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


DECEMBER      1965 


THE  QUESTION  MARK 
Published  by  the  Boston  Public  Ldbraxy  Staff  Association 
Volvune  XX,  Number  11 December,  1965 

Publications  Coiiiroittee :   Harry  Andrews;  Evelyn  Isaacs j  Sheila  M.  Stevens; 

Sarah  M,  Usher,  Indexer ;  Martin  F,  Waters,  Chairman, 

Publication  Date:  Deadline  for  sutmitting  material; 

The  fifteenth  of  each  month  The  tenth  of  each  month 


It  shall  be  the  object  of  the  Association 

(a)  to  foster  professional  librarianship 

(b)  to  further  the  coromon  Interests  and  the  welfare  of  the 

bibliothecal  staff 

(c)  and  to  promote  greater  efficiency  in  library  service. 


One  of  the  benefits  that  sometimes  comes  to  "always-late"  editorial 
boards  is  that  once  in  a  while  some  good  news  comes  along  which  the  sinart 
"on-time"  editorial  boards  miss  by  their  promptness.  And  so,  being  able 
to  coiiiment  on  the  good  news  of  the  pay  increase  which  most  of  the  LA's 
and  some  others  have  been  granted  gives  us  an  additional  reason  to  be 
thankful  that  we  are  again  late  in  publishing.  It  is  unusually  pleasant 
when  a  pay  raise  comes  at  Christmas,  and  the  timing  on  this  one  is  just 
about  perfect. 

Although  we  don't  like  to  imply  that  there  is  a  direct  relationship 
between  letters  to  the  Soap  Box  and  money,  you  xd.ll  note  that  there  are 
no  letters  of  complaint  this  month.  Which  we  think  dramatically  demon- 
strates the  truth  of  the  old  saying  that  when  money  comes  in  the  door, 
letters  to  the  Soap  Box  fly  out  the  window. 


-  2  - 


FRESIDEMT'S  NOTES 

My  thanks  to  everyone  who  contributed 
their  time  and  talent  to  the  very  success- 
ful reception  for  Mr,  and  I-lrs,  McNiff  in 
November.  Both  Mr,  and  Mrs,  MclJiff 
expressed  their  appreciation  and  pleasvire 
in  meeting  the  Staff, 

I  wish  to  express  my   thanks  also  to 
Mr,  McNiff  and  to  the  members  of  the  Pro- 
gram Committee  who  arranged  for  the 
Ck)untway  Library  toior.  Those  of  us  who 
attended  found  it  a  most  enjoyable  and 
educational  experience. 

On  December  10th  the  Executive  Boa3rd  and- 
I  met  with  Mr,  McNiff  to  acquaint  him  with 
the  goals  and  history,-  of  the  Staff  Associ- 
ation and  to  discuss  some  of  the  problems 
which  have  contributed  to  the  low  morale 
of  the  staff. 

The  first  item  under  discussion  was  the 
salary  schedule.  As  I  stated  in  the 
President's  Notes  in  the  November  issue 
of  the  QM,  Mr,  McNiff  expressed  his  con- 
cern for  the  welfare  of  the  staff  and  his 
desire  to  work  out  an  eqiiitable  salary 
schedule.  Provision  has  been  made  in  the 
1966  budget  for  a  salaiy  Increase  but 
Mr.  McNiff  could  not  say,  at  that  time, 
just  how  such  an  increase  would  be  dis- 
tributed. The  size  of  the  budget  allot- 
ment for  the  library  is  still  dependent 
upon  the  solution  of  the  financial  prob- 
lems of  the  City  and  the  Commonwealth. 
Mr,  McNiff  did.  s^,  however,  that  he 
believes  the  Staff  will  not  be  disappoint- 
ed when  the  increases  do  come  through. 

In-service  training  and  orientation  were 
also  brought  up  for  discussion,  Mr.McIttff 
mentioned  the  fact  that  this  was  on  the 
agenda  at  a  recent  Division  meeting.  He 
found  the  presentation  most  interesting  t 
but  said  that  he  wo-old  lilce  to  make  a 
thorough  study  of  the  situation  before 
committing  the  Administration  to  any  pro- 
gram. 

Other  problems,  including  a  new  study 
of  the  re-classification  of  the  L«  A, 
Service  and  the  lack  of  caaiunication 
between  the  Administration  and  the  Staff 
and  between  divisions  were  also  discussed., 
Mr,  McNiff  plans  to  make  a  complete  study 
of  every  facet  of  the  B.P.L.  and  said 
that  he  would  keep  in  mind  the  problems 
which  we  discussed  -with  him. 


Both  the  Jibcecutive  Board  and  I  felt 
that  the  future  of  the  Staff  and  the 
BPL  promises  to  be  most  exciting  and 
rewarding, 

MARY  T.  CROWE 
President 


■3««hhhk;-;;-;h;-;;-;;-j« 


HH^-ii-.  ■IHH-.iiii-t^-„-.H~-:ii.->Htit 


W.  SOlERSST  MilUGHAM  iQJk   >  196^ 


A  great  many  years  ago,  in  the  "dark 
backward  and  abysm  of  time"  before  I 
came  to  work  in  the  BPL,  ny  friends  and  I 
used  to  hang  aroimd  in  the  old  West  End, 
The  place  as  Joshua  Bates  had  recommended, 
was  warm,  roomy,  well-lighted,  comfortable, 
and  open  every  evening,  the  collection 
excellent,  varied,  and  accessible,  our 
curiosity  insatiable,  and  other  distractions 
few,  so  we  did  a  good  deal  of  browsing  and. 
reading.  One  of  the  books  we  ran  into  at 
the  time  was  THE  MOON  AIJD  SIXPEI\ICE  by 
W,  Somerset  ilaugham,  who  died  at  91  last 
week,  and  even  today  I  remember  some  of 
the  excitement  we  felt  at  the  time.  Know- 
ing little  of  the  distinction  between 
fiction  and  non-fiction,  and  not  yet  having 
formed  the  librarian's  habit  of  reading 
reviews  and  books  about  books,  I  thought 
the  book  was  a  biography  of  a  painter 
naroed  itrickland,  and  iiinnediately  wanted, 
to  Icnow  more  about  such  a  remarkable  man, 
I  didn't  like  to  ask  the  Librarian  or  the 
assistants,  so  I  ransacked  the  biographical 
dictionaries  and  encyclopedias  in  the  place, 
and  got  noTijhere  fast.  So  one  of  my  friends 
and  I  decided  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
big  Library  on  Copley  Square,  and  ^re  spent 
one  whole  Sunday  afternoon  in  Bates  Hall 
and  the  Fine  Arts  Department  looking  in 
vain  for  material  on  the  life  of  Charles 
Strickland,  paintex'.  It  was  not  only 
frustrating  but  sad.  'ie  couldn't  under- 
stand how  so  important  a  painter,  as 
described  in  the  book,  wouldn't  even  have 
a  line  in  an  encyclopedia. 

That  item  got  itself  straightened  out  in 
my  mind  later  vjhen  we  all  read  almnst  all 
of  Maugham's  books  as  they  came  out.  But 
his  reputation  waned.  A  few  years  ago 
Edmund  V/ilson,  that  loner  among  literary 
critics  and  unofficial  arbiter  of  literary 
reputations,  wrote  a  deadly  piece  on 
Maugham  in  one  of  the  periodicals,  and. 
killed  him  dead  for  the  intellectuals. 


W.S,  Maugham 


-3  - 


Mr,  and  Mrs.  McNiff  Welcomed 


In  196ii,  on  the  occasion  of  iiaugham's 
90th  birthday,  there  was  some  flurry 
about  him  in  the  papers,  I  thought  I 
would  get  into  the  act  and  wrote  him  a 
longish  letter  about  the  episode  above, 
to  remind  him  how  much  he  had  meant  to 
some  young  people  many  years  ago,  and  to 
cheer  him  up  against  the  IJilson  attack. 
He  wrote  back  from  his  villa  on  the 
Riviera  pretty  promptly,  as  follows: 

",,,  Thank  you  for  your  charming  letter 
and  all  the  nice  things  you  say; 
I  was  touched  and  much  pleased. 
You  must  forgive  me  if  I  reply 
briefly.  Ify"  recent  birthday  pro- 
duced an  avalanche  of  nearly  two 
thousand  letters,  and  at  my 
advanced  age  and  in  my  indifferent 
state  of  health,  I  find  it  all  a 
bit  of  a  strain.,,," 

The  public  disregards  the  critics  and 
still  read  Ilaugham,  but  not  all  of  him, 
OF  HUliAN  BONDAGE,  lliS  MOOK  AND  SIXPENCE, 
IHE  RAZOR'S  EDGE,  CAKES  iUID  ALE,  RAIN, 
AND  ASHEIJDEN  still  circulate  frequently. 
Fledgling  writers  read  his  THE  SUJMII'IG  UP 
and  other  autobiographical  pieces,  I 
myself  vrould  lil-ce  to  reread  an  old  book 
of  his  if  the  talented,  competent,  and 
obliging  people  in  the  General  Reference 
Department  will  hunt  it  up  for  me.  It 
was  about  a  doctor  in  the  Far  Ea^t  who 
would  close  the  office  at  noon,  and-  he 
and  his  assi^ant  would  retire  to  an  inneij  Well  become  their  hallmark 


The  BPLSA  reception  for  Mr,  and  Mrs. 
McNiff,  held  in  the  Lecture  Hall  on  Friday 
evening,  19  November  1965,  easily  captures 
honors  as  the  most  successful  Association 
affair  of  the  yaar  and  the  best  attended 
event  in  recent  years.  Joining  the  guests 
of  honor  in  the  reception  line  were  the 
President  of  the  Association,  Mary  Crowe, 
the  Vice-President,  Linda  Ivers  and 
William  Le;ri.s,  representing  the  Executive 
Board, 

The  setting  was  superb.  The  caterer, 
in  addition  to  serving  an  excellent 
collation,  succeeded  in  transforming  the 
usually  severe  lines  of  the  Lecture  Hall 
into  a  f lot/er  bedecked  formal  room  vjorthy 
of  a  >Jashington  diplomatic  affair^  Com- 
plementing the  room  decor  and  aciding  tone 
to  the  occasion  was  the  incli;i3ion  of 
chamber  music  from  the  Baroque  psriod,  by 
members  of  the  staff  of  the  Ilusic  Depart- 
ment: P.uth  Bleecker,  John  Bundy,  Angelo 
Mammano  and  Natalie  Palme, 

Those  in  attendance  included  Monsignor 
Murray  and  Mr,  and  Mrs,  Canham  of  the 
Library  Trustees,  the  tcp  administrative 
officers  of  the  Library  and  their  wives, 
department  heads  by  the  score  and  a  good, 
representatioii  of  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  Library  staff.  The  size  of  the  turn- 
out was  in  itself  a  testimonial  to  the 
guest  of  honor,  Mr,  and  Mrs,  McNiff 
responded  to  the  congratulations  and  well 
wishes  of  the  assembled  guests  with  a 
becoming  modesty  and  grace  which  might 


darkened  room,  and  sitting  in  different 
corners  would  spend  hours  sraoking  opituti 
pipes,  with  such  resultant  feeling  of 
well-being  that  the  uphoria  communicated 
itself  to  the  reader, 

EA3SI  AiffiRa'JS 

Bow  To  Dorothy  Elcstrom 

Seen  in  the  Children's  Room  at  Memoirial 
during  Children's  Book  Week  -  a  large 
basket  of  gourds,  each  gourd  presented  by 
a  child  with  the  followJLng  sign: 

To  Mrs.  Ekstrom 
Our  Librarian 
•vrtio  makes  every  week 
Children's  Book  Week 
at  the  Julia  V/ard  Howu 


■JHHKKKHBKrtK— ;H;- 


^MH.-iH<-«^--j{-;:  ^Hi- 


A— JHHHHHrSwHc-:  -;W— A-X-Jf- 


It  was  a  triily  delightful  evening] 

•JH««-XHHH«K;-X-;;-K^«HHa;-X->-XSf-5HHHHKHHKH«^^^^ 


IN  1  Jil'iORIAM 


LEONARD  J,  KaI^TER 


On  November  18,  after  a  very  long  illness, 
Leonard  J,  Kanter  passed  aw^,  Leonard 
had  been  on  the  s'':aff  of  the  Library  for 
almost  forty  years,  beginning  in  the  old. 
Special  Collections,  then,  successively. 
Music,  Newspaper  Room,  Patent  Room,  and. 
Book  Stack  Service, 

Leonard  was  a  quiet  man,  \mcomplaining. 
He  delighted  in  the  pun.  He  always  tried 
to  be  of  service,  whether  helping  the 
public  or  calling  the  attention  of  a  col- 
league to  some  forgotten  reference  book. 
His  world  outside  the  Library  he  enriched 
by  his  vrork  tirith  neighborhood  youth  groups 
and  with  the  elderly. 

Our  sympathy  to  >irs,  Kanter  and  to  his 
children, 


B,  Gertrude  Wade  Honored 


^k" 


The  atmosphere  was  one  of  good  cheer 
tinged  silently  with  regret  at  losing  a 
good  friend,  teacher,  and  "0\ir  Boss",  We 
were  drawn  together  around  the  table, 
heavy  with  Dorothy  Ekstroin's  preparations 
for  our  Sunday  dinner,  and  the  next  hours 
were  filled  with  excitement  and  laughter, 

Mrs,  Anne  Bromer  cleverly  had  arranged 
for  us  to  sing  "To:  B.G.VJ,"  to  the  tune 
of  "Manyana"  and  we  verbalized  our 
thoughts  with  wishes  for  the  best  of  all 
things  in  life. 

Reluctantly,  some  of  us  left  early  but 
coffee  and  good  talk  lasted  into  the  wee 
hours. 

So  long.  Miss  Wade,  But  not  goodbye, 

Tr»:  B.G.W, 
(To  the  Tune  of  "Manyana") 

For  many  years  ^ou've  been  a  part  of  this 

the  BPL 
And  we  will  bet  it  won't  forget  the  gal 

who  gave  it  hell. 
The  City  Point,  The  Codman  Square,  and 

then  old  Faneuil 
And  best  of  all  our  favorite  two,  MP  - 

Memorial, 


Chorus 

We'll  miss  you 

And  wish  you 

Shalom,  au  re voir,  and  fond  adieu 

The  Appalachian  liountain  Club  of  this 

you're  very  proud 
And  even  though  you're  chased  by  bears 

you  woioldn't  cry  out  loud. 
You  hoist  your  pack  upon  your  back  and  it 

must  weigh  a  ton, 
Yotir  shoes  they  leak,  your  sneakers 

squeak,  but  this  you  say  is  ftm. 

Chorus 


All  the  young  adults  you  help,  they  say  i, 

you're  mighty  grand 
The  adults  and  the  children  have  receivied 

your  helping  hand. 
And  everyone  both  here  and  there  will 

miss  you  very  much 
For  they  agree  with  us  today  that  you 

must  keep  in  touch 

Chorus 


A  fond  farewell  is  made  today  from  us 

your  employees 
As  you  join  psychology  in  lieu  of 

libraries. 
We  wish  you  luck,  we  wish  you  well,  we 

wish  you  all  success 
And  more  than  that,  our  Dear  ^dss  Wade, 

we  vjish  you  happiness. 

Chorus 


Your  Staff  at 

Memorial  -  Mt,  Pleasant 

QUOTES  FROM  ANTIQUARIAN  BOOKMAN  - 
December  6.  1965:  page  2070 

",,, .report  from  St.  "Joseph,  Mo.,  that 
Mayor  Arthur  Meers  received  an  envelope 
containing  some  ashes  and  an  unsigned 
note  reading:  'In  protest  against  the 
recent  increase  of  overdue  library  book 
fines  from  three  to  five  cents,  I  bave 
bxirned  my   library  card,'" 

November  15,  1965  -  page  1835 

",,..Tne  TIMZ^3  LIT.  SUP.  (Oct.  21;  and  3l) 
has  been  carr;iT.ng  on  a  controversy  over 
th3  limited  citaloging  of  erotica  and 
suppressed  books  in  the  British  Museiun, 
N,F,  Sharp,  Keeper,  Dept,  of  Printed 
Books  (B.M.)  states  that  Private  Case 
books  are  now  being  entered  in  the  General 
Catalogue  "as  fast  as  the  availability 
of  staff  time  allows..,  as  a  normal 
cataloging  process,"" 

Private  Case  in  the  British  Museum 
corresponds  roughly  to  former  BPL  cate- 
gories of  Inferno  and  Reserve  Collection, 
We  are  assured  that  the  same  practice 
is  being  followed  here  in  ;!aking  the  books 
available  in  the  catalogue  as  time  allows, 

HARRY  ANDREWS 

7rtorfr>wC~/~.wr>ric  /0«  v^Tw.~rt^^       /•■  «*•^  n  *i  ,%  «  /\  *»  >ir>»  .*  .iTa  /.  *.  j%  ..-crfrx 

HARRIET  Sl'dTFT  IIEMORIAI. 

CantribTitiona  tr  the  Harriet  Swift 
xiemorial  have  been  most  gratifying.  The 
Committee  has  received  suggestions  as 
to  the  type  of  memorial  but  has  postponed 
its  decision  luitil  after  the  holiday 
season.  It  takes  this  means  of  express- 
ing thanks  to  those  who  have  already 
participatcsd  in  the  memorial. 


IHE  COMiiirTEE 


•3»SaH;SHH«^-X^H^XShHHoHH;-^SHC-XS;-XSK«H^^ 


-^-X-X-J.-Ji-VX-K- 


Writer  and  Editor 


-5- 


The  TBlES  LITERARY  SUPPLLiiEi^JT  (London) 
remains  almost  the  best  book-review 
magazine  in  the  English-speaking  world, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  papers 
to  read  regularly.  An  outsta.iding  fea- 
ture is  its  Letters  to  the  Editor  sectiorw 
A  reader  will  make  an  objection  to  some- 
thing a  reviewer  said,  another  reader 
will  coiinent  on  the  objection,  and  away 
they  go.  For  months  the  battle  igill 
rage,  with  courtesy  and  good  htimor  but 
seriously-cn  a  new  reading  of  a  much 
anthologized  peom  by  Tennyson,  what  the 
Norwegians  now  think  of  Quisling,  the 
neglect  of  the  Bronte  house  at  Haworth, 
how  Doris  Langley  Moore  used  the  Byron 
manuscripts  still  jealously  guarded  by 
his  noble  descendants,  how  George  Painter 
represented  a  still  living  friend  of 
Proust  in  his  recent  biography,  or  a  new 
Wise  forgery  discovered  at  the  University 
of  Texas. 

The  latest  such  epistle-fest  was 
started  on  Sept,  23  ^■ri.th  a  letter  fr«m 
Louis  J.  Halle,  well-lcnown  American  poli- 
tical scientist  and  now  at  the  Graduate 
Institute  of  International  Studies  at 
Geneva,  not  in  answer  to  a  review,  but 
Tnrith  deliberate  intent  to  start  a  dis- 
cussion on  the  relations  between  the 
writer  and  the  editor  in  the  modem  pub- 
lishing world. 

He  says: 

",,, although  discussion  of  the  writer's' 
role  frequently  appears  in  print,  Dne 
finds  little  about  the  editor 's-in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  editor's 
role  has  been  increasing  to  the  point, 
where, ,.,it  exceeds  the  vrriter's. 
Today...  the  inriter  contributes  the 
raw  material  that  the  editor  refines 
or  reshapes  tu  make  the  finished  arti- 
cle...in  the  style  of  the  periodical 
rather  than  the  author,,. This  is 
stultifying  tJ  stylistic  distinction. 

It  is  death  to  idiosyncracy most 

editors  prefer  ii/hat  everybody  says  to 
what  everybody  does  not  say,  and  pre- 
fer it  to  be  said  in  the  language  in 
which  everybody  says  it.  Consequently 
it  is  hard  to  get  by  them  ^^^ith  a 
thought  or  a  phrase  that  is  not  common 
currency,,.," 


The  letter  goes  on  at  considerable 
length  T.rLth  many   examples  of  editorial 
invasions  into  authors'  r.Tanuscripts,  but 
also,  in  fairness,  citing  cases  where 
such  editorial  resh^ing  is  necessary, 
as  when  an  article  is  written  by   a  man 
vjho  is  an  erpert  in  his  subject  but  not 
expert  in  writing  about  it. 

Many  letters  have  already  appeared 
commenting  on  lir,  Halle's  views.  Several 
authors  gave  horrible  examples  of  their 
OTim  experience.  Professor  Morgenthau, 
of  the  University  of  Chicago  wrote  in 
indignation  about  his  breaking  ijith 
COIfi£I>fTARy  because  they  had  changed  some- 
thing he  'ad  written  for  them.  Finally 
TLS  itself  T-jrote  an  editorial  on  the  sub- 
ject, deriding  the  professor's  claim  to 
the  sacrosanctness  of  his  every  word. 
But  the  letters  in  general  agreed  that  a 
xjTiter  has  a  right  to  have  his  xrords 
printed  as  he  had  written  them, 

Thoush  o\ir   situation  on  the  smaller 
arena  of  BPL  is  somevjhat  different,  re- 
lations between  writer  aiid  editor  also 
occasionally  get  strained.  The  Jqh  of 
Editor  on  the  Question  I'^ark  is  thankless 
and  burdensome,  and  all  members  of  the 
Staff  who  have  held  it  are  to  be  com- 
mended for  their  library  patriotism  and 
responsibility.  But  it  has  never  been 
clearly  outlined  as  to  i^rhat  scope  the 
Editor  has  in  deciding  what  is  to  appear 
in  the  pgper  and  in  what  fom.  One  recent 
Editor  had  a  large  reprerientative  committee, 
met  with  them  regularly  once  a  rionth  for 
several  hours  and  discussed  every   item  to 
be  included  in  the  next  issue,  including 
his  editorial.  Another  rejected  several 
letters  relevant  to  BPL  affairs  without 
consulting  his  committee,  and  a  third  took 
the  next  logical  step  and  said  he  needed 
no  committee  and  no  meetings  at  all. 

The  Question  Mark  exists  not  only  for 
the  reporting  of  vital  statistics  of 
staff  .lembers.  It  has  to  be  vigilant 
about  the  way  both  Staff  and  Administration 
live  up  tr  the  standards  admirably 
siunmarized  as  the  object  of  our  Association 
on  the  front  page.  And  an  arbitrary 
Panjandrum  as  Editor  will  not  do, 

HARRY   AIJDREWS 


.    6    . 

PERSONNEL  NOTES 


faltered 

^llarose  Leimberg(Mrs,)  -  Codman  Square 

John  C,  Foley  -  Book  Purchasing 

Donald  A,  McQuaid  -  Periodical  and 

Newsp^jer 
Raymond  Salter  -  Book  Stack  Service 
I«roy  Dixon  -  Book  Stack  Service 
Richard  R,  Manstir  -  Office  of  RecDrds, 

Files,  Statistics  (NE  Coop  Student) 

Transfers 

Barbara  Stenglein  -  from  Charlestown  tr 

Mattapan 
Marjorie  M,  Gibbons  -  from  Washington 

Village  to  South  Boston 
William  Iioreland  -  from  Branch  Issue  to 

Open  Shelf 
Dennis  M,  Sarsfield  -  from  Open  Shelf 

to  Branch  Issue 
Grace  M,  DiGange  -  from  Dorchester  to 

Mattapan 

Ceased 

Mary  L,  Harrington,  Bookmobile  -another 

position  -  to  wjrk  in  Gennany 
Mrs.  Barbara  J,  Beach,  Soutii  End  -  to 

stay  at  home 
Mrs.  Lana  ReeJ,  Home  Reading  Division 

Of  rice  -  to  stay  at  home 
Sally  Lee  Shoemalcer,  Cataloging  &  Cias3„ 

if ication  R&RS  -  another  position 
Adria  Cimo,  Audio  Visual  -  to  be  married 

and  move  to  California 
Martha  Jane  Monazynski,  Information  Office 

-another  position 
Nancy  E,  Peace,  Education  -  to  attend. 

V/esleyan  University 

Maternity  Leave 

Mrs,  Ann  M,  Duggan  -  Bookr.iobile 

CONGRATULATIONS! 

To  Mr,  and  Mrs,  Joseph  Hulme  (Duplicating 
Section)  on  the  birth  of  a  7  lbs,  ^  oz, 
baby  boy  on  December  21st,  Needless  to 
say  the  Hulme 's  have  decided  to  name  their 
second  child.,  first  son,  Joseph  Jr, 


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THE  COMMITTEE 


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Catherine  M,  Farrell 
Harry  C,  Fletcher 
Doris  M,  Gray- 
Bertha  S,  Keswick 
Grace  B.  Loughlin 
Janice  A,  Maniscalco 


Mary  M.  Mcronough 
Louisa  S.  Metcalf 
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Patrick  H,  Potega 
Mary  Alice  Re a 
Mildred  R,  Somes 
Sarah  M,  U&her 


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