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LIBRARY 



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PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS 






/ 

OF THE 



TWENTY-FOURTH GENERAL MEETING 



OF THE 



AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 



HELD AT 



BOSTON AND HAGNOLIA, HASS 

JUNE 14-20 
I9O2 



PUBLISHED BY THE 
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 

1902 



CONTENTS. 



TITLE. 

Address of the President 

Organization and administration of university li- I 

braries . . . . I 

Incidents in the history of the Boston Public Li- I 

brary ' 

The catalogue of the Public Library of the City I 

of Boston ' 

Pains and penalties in library work ...... 

The gift extremely rare 

Branch libraries: 

I. Planning and equipment 

II. Functions and resources 

III. Administration 

The division of a library into books in use. and I 

books not in use, with different storage methods > 

for the two classes of books I 

The selection of technical and scientific books . . 
Plan for the organization of an institute of bib- ' 

liographical research 1 

The work of the Division of Bibliography, Li- I 

brary of Congress 

The card distribution work of the Library of I 

Congress > 

Home libraries and reading clubs 

The evaluation of children's books from the point I 

of view of the history of literature for children, f 
Report on list of children's books with children"? 1 

annotations > 

Report of the A. L. A. Publishing Board .... 
Report of the Committee on Library Administra- I 

tion f 

Report of Committee on Public Documents .... 
Report on gifts and bequests, 1901-1902 

Proceedings 120-171 

First Session 120-121 

Second Session 121-133 

Secretary's report *2> 

Treasurer's report and necrology ... 122 

Report of Trustees of Endowment Fund. 125 
Report of Committee on International 

Co-operation '26 

Report of Committee on Co-operation 

with N. E. A 126 

Report of Committee on Handbook to 

American Libraries 128 

Report of Committee on Indexes and 

Title-pages to Periodical Volumes. 128 
Report of Committee on Foreign Docu- 
ments 129 

Report of Committee on Public Docu- 
ments 13 

Pains and penalties in library work . . 130 

Third Session ...... . . . . 133-135 

Address of greeting. H tiler C. Wellman. 133 

President's address 135 

Dr. Eliot's address *35 

Fourth Session I35- J 42 

Report on gifts and bequests .... 135 

Report of Committee on Library Training. 135 
Report of Committee on A. L. A. Exhibit 

at Louisiana Purchase Exposition. 140 

Report of A. L. A. Publishing Board . 142 
Report of Committee on Relations with 

the Booktrade 142 

Fifth Session I47-I5* 

Organization of bibliographical work in 

the past 

Plan for organization of an institute for 

bibliographical research .... 147 
Selection of technical and scientific books. 147 
Selection of scientific books. N. D. C. 

Hodges 148 



AUTHOB. 

John S. Billings . . 
Anderson H. Hopkins 



PACE. 



James L. Whitney 



10 
16 



29 

34 



E. B. Hunt 

Arthur E. Bostwick 

Isabel Ely Lord 

Edwin H. Anderson 38 

Langdon L. Ward 4* 

Frank P. Hill * 6 



Charles William Eliot 



5* 



Charles F. Burgess ........... 5$ 

Aksel G. S. Josephson .......... 6l 

W. D. Johnston ............ 6 3 



C. H. Hastings 
Gertrude Sackett 
Charles Welsh . 



67 

72 
.76 



Caroline M. Hewins 79 

W. 1. Fletcher 8 3 

H. C. Wellman; W. R. Eastman; N. D. C. Hodges. 86 

Roland P. Falkner 9* 

George Watson Cole 



- Work of Division of Bibliography, Li- 
brary of Congress ...... 

Proposed bibliography of bibliographies. 
Work and plans of the Publishing Board. 
General bibliographical work. George lies. 
Report on incunabula list. John Thomson. 

Sixth Session 

Interpretation of constitution .... 
Distribution of printed catalog cards by 

Library of Congress 

Branch libraries 

Seventh Session 

Election of officers 

Incidents in history of Boston Public Li- 
brary 

Closer relations between librarians and 
publishers. W. H. Page . . . 

The gift extremely rare 

Public libraries and publicity . _. . . 
Resolutions reported from Council . . 
Report of Committee on Resolutions . 

College and Reference Section 

Catalog Section 

Trustees' Section 

Section for Children's Librarians . . . . 

Round Table Meeting: State Library Com- 
missions 

Round Table Meeting: State Library Asso- 
ciations 

Transactions of Council and Executive Board. 

The social side of the Boston and Magnolia 
meeting and the Post-conference excursions. 

Officers and Committees 

Attendance register 

Attendance summaries. Nina E. Brovmt . 



97 

148 
148 
149 
IS' 
152 

152-163 
152 

156 
163 

166-171 
1 66 

1 66 

166 
170 

171 
7i 

172-186 
187-202 
203-219 
220-227 

228-235 

236-249 
249-251 



255 
256 
268 




CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 

BOSTON AND MAGNOLIA, MASS. 
JUNE 16-20, 1902. 



SOME LIBRARY PROBLEMS OF TO-MORROW : ADDRESS OF THE 

PRESIDENT. 

By JOHN S. BILLINGS, Director of the New York Public Library. 















"\X7HEN the American Library Association 
was organized its object was declared to 
be "to promote the library interests of the 
country by exchanging views, reaching con- 
clusions, and inducing co-operation in all de- 
partments of bibliothecal science and economy ; 
by disposing the public mind to the founding 
and improving of libraries, and by cultivating 
good will among its members." When the 
constitution was revised in 1900, the object 
of the Association was declared to be " to 
promote the welfare of libraries in America." 

This change is significant, not of a change 
in the purposes of the Association, but of a 
general opinion that verbose details of its 
purposes are now unnecessary. At first the 
Association undertook much direct missionary 
work, but this has gradually been taken in 
charge by state and local associations to such 
an extent that our work in this direction is 
now mainly to obtain records of the methods 
which have been found most successful, and 
to bring these to the attention of those directly 
engaged in interesting the people at large, and 
legislators and tax-payers in particular, in the 
establishment and support of free public li- 
braries. 

It is the welfare of the free public library, 
and especially the library intended mainly for 
the circulation of books for home use among 
the people, and supported from public funds, to 
which we have given the most attention. This 
is especially an American institution and it 
has seemed more important that its uses and 
needs should be understood and appreciated 
by the general public than those of purely ref- 
erence libraries, since these last are fairly well 
understood by those who most need and use 
them. 

The main argument in favor of the free 
public library is that it is an essential part of a 



system of free public instruction which is a 
necessary foundation of a satisfactory system 
of self government. It is not true, however, 
that any and every system of education tends 
to produce a stable democracy, and there are 
great differences of opinion among professional 
educators, and still greater differences of opin- 
ion among other thinking men who know 
something of the methods and results of our 
public schools, as to whether our present sys- 
tem is the best one. If the main object of the 
school and of the teacher is to furnish infor- 
mation and cultivate the memory, there is 
good ground for objecting to both the quantity 
and quality of some of the kinds of information 
supplied. If the object of education is to de- 
velop the intellect,' to teach the student how 
to judge as to what is true and to know where 
to look for it, to recognize wise thought, and 
to distinguish the man who is qualified to lead 
from the incompetent man who wants to lead, 
then our public school system is not well suited 
to its purpose. 

The relations which should exist between 
the system of public libraries and the system 
of public schools in a state or city are not yet 
generally agreed upon by both librarians and 
teachers. In a general way it may be said 
that the librarian's view is that the public li- 
brary should be entirely independent of the 
public school system as regards its funds and 
management, that special school libraries are 
apt to be badly managed, and inefficient for the 
purpose of interesting and instructing the chil- 
dren, that the librarian knows more about books 
than the teacher, and can supplement and 
broaden the teacher's work ; and that teachers 
should recognize these facts, should be willing 
and anxious to receive instruction and advice 
from librarians by listening to lectures and talks 
at the library and repeating to their classes 



oO<" 

OrWt- 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



what they have been taught, and urging the 
children to make use of the library. 

A few enthusiasts claim that the librarian 
ought to know more than any teacher, and 
should supplement the defects and ignorance of 
each instructor in his own branch, but treat 
them all kindly and tactfully, recognizing that 
it is not their fault that they do not know as 
much as librarians. Some librarians admit 
that some teachers may know more than they 
do as to the reading most desirable to supple- 
ment the particular instruction which a class is 
receiving, and will be glad to receive lists of 
books wanted. All librarians think it very 
important that the child should learn to use 
the public library and become acquainted with 
its attractions, methods, and resources, so that 
after leaving school he will continue to use it, 
and they do not consider that any mere school 
or class library can be a satisfactory substitute 
for the public library. Moreover, they want 
the children to come to the public library and 
use it because this is a means of bringing their 
parents and friends under the same influence. 
. Superintendents of schools, as a rule, take 
a somewhat different view of the matter, that 
is, if they have given any thought to it, but I 
am bound to say that many of them reply to 
questions on the subject, that they have never 
given it any special consideration. Some of 
those who have considered the matter say that, 
of course, the public library is a useful institu- 
tion, that its chief use is educational, that it 
should be managed so as to help the public 
school as much as possible, but that it should 
not interfere with school methods. They 
believe that the school should have a library 
of its own, under its own management, selected 
with reference to the needs of the different 
classes and grades, that the teachers should 
see that the children use these books, and 
have a record of such use as a guide to dealing 
in the best way with the individual child. 
They say that the public library, in its recent 
arrangements for attracting children and espe- 
cially those in the lower grades, tends to inter- 
fere with the school plans for reading, that the 
children find in the library much that is more 
attractive than the books which they can find 



in the school library, but which is also less 
useful ; that they acquire the habit of desul- 
tory reading, and are led off from the proper 
course. The junior teachers in the schools in 
our larger cities stand in somewhat the same 
relation to the superintendents that the junior 
assistants in the public library stand to the 
librarian, and the opinions of each, while in- 
teresting, are not conclusive. At present the 
majority of teachers in the lower grades know 
and care very little about the public libraries ; 
they may use them to obtain current fiction, 
but it seldom occurs to them to take their 
classes to them or to tell the children what 
they can find there. 

At present it appears that the librarians are 
more aggressive, energetic, and filled with the 
missionary and proselytizing spirit than are 
the teachers, possibly because the work of the 
latter is more monotonous and fatiguing. 

I have several times been asked by legisla- 
tors and jurists whether the public schools 
and the public libraries could not wisely be 
consolidated under one central management 
and thus be made to work harmoniously. 

It is theoretically possible, but I think that 
the result would be that the libraries would 
lose much, the schools gain very little, and 
the public at large be profoundly dissatisfied. 

The Library Association has a special com- 
mittee on co-operation with the Library 
Department of the National Educational As- 
sociation, and it is to be hoped that this com- 
mittee will find a satisfactory solution to the 
problems connected with the relationship of 
the library to the school. No hard and fast 
rules can be established, but it would seem 
that the library, supported by public funds, 
should not interfere with the work of the 
public school. On the other hand, one of 
the most important functions of the school 
is to train the children to use books and 
libraries, and at the present time the chief 
obstacle to the proper performance of this 
function is that the teachers themselves are in 
great need of instruction about public libraries 
and how to use them. For the great ma- 
jority of children story books and works on 
general literature of the right kind are not 



BILLINGS. 



only more interesting but more important 
means of education than the average text- 
books. 

The class which, at present, far outnum- 
bers all other classes in this country is, as 
Professor Bryce says, the group of "thinly 
educated persons whose book knowledge is 
drawn from dry manuals in mechanically 
taught elementary schools, and who in after 
life read nothing but newspapers or cheap 
novels." ' 

Those who have had practical experience in 
free circulating libraries know the truth of 
this characterization, and are trying to get 
the children interested in the library as early 
as possible ; if the library proves more attrac- 
tive than the school it is quite possible that 
the school methods should be changed. But 
whatever may be thought of elective studies in 
the high school and college course, the pub- 
lic library system of instruction must neces- 
sarily be largely elective ; and mere amusement 
should not be the leading elective, as seems to 
be too often the case. 

In recent years the subject of co-operation 
between libraries and librarians has been one 
to which much thought has been given and 
for which a great number of plans have been 
proposed. To secure the most useful co-opera- 
tion, it is desirable to bring into the work 
many libraries which are not intended for the 
ciiculation of books, except, perhaps, among 
a limited class, and some of which are not 
supported by public funds. These include 
the libraries belonging to the general govern- 
ment and to the states, university libraries, 
and the larger libraries belonging to and 
managed by private corporations, either as 
reference libraries only, but for the use of the 
general public, or as reference and lending 
libraries for the use of members, stockholders, 
or subscribers only. Among these are many 
scientific, historical, and technical libraries. 

The problems of these reference libraries 
have been receiving increasing attention in 
the Association in recent years, as is shown 
by the organization of a section devoted more 

'James Bryce, "Studies in history and jurispru- 
dence." N.Y., 1901, p. 200. 



especially to their work, and the subject of 
co-operation will come up for discussion at 
this meeting in several ways and will, no doubt, 
be considered from several different points of 
view. The question, as it appears to most 
libraries, is, What can the greater libraries do 
for us in the way of cataloguing, bibliog- 
raphy, lending of books, etc., with the tacit 
assumption that whatever they can do, they 
ought to do. 

It does not seem necessary to produce argu- 
ments in favor of this view, but perhaps a sug- 
gestion that the smaller libraries should, on 
their side, assist the larger ones so far as they 
can, may not be out of place. 

The public library in this country, which 
now stands, or should stand, second, if not 
first, in interest to every librarian is the Li- 
brary of Congress. I feel it to be a duty as 
well as a pleasure to report to you that the 
work of this library is being well done, and 
-that Congress has recognized the wisdom and 
tact of its librarian by increased appropriations 
for books and for service. You are all familiar 
with the work being done by this central 
library for other libraries throughout the 
country by furnishing catalogue cards, biblio- 
graphical data, etc. I think it well, however, 
to remind you of your duties to this your 
National Library, and especially that the li- 
brarian of every city, town, or village in the 
country should make it his or her business to 
see that one copy of every local, non-copy- 
righted imprint, including all municipal re- 
ports and documents, all reports of local 
institutions, and all addresses, accounts of 
ceremonies, etc., which are not copyrighted 
and do not come into the book trade, is 
promptly sent to our National Library. 

I cannot speak so positively and definitely 
about the state libraries or the great reference 
libraries of the country, but most of them will 
be glad to receive such local publications as I 
have indicated, and the New York Public Li- 
brary especially desires assistance of this kind. 

The controversy between the individualists 
and the collectivists which is going on in 
many fields of human activity exists also 
among those interested in library organiza- 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



tion and management and is taking much the 
same course there as in commerce and manu- 
factures. The tendency is towards organiza- 
tion and division of labor, at first by co-opera- 
tion, later by consolidation. The free public 
library is tending to become a special industry 
by unification of methods for the purpose of 
securing the greatest product with the least 
expenditure. The general public, and many 
librarians, think that the measure of greatest 
product is the number of books circulated. 
This is the argument used with city officials to 
secure increased appropriations, and the kind 
of books which will circulate most rapidly and 
the methods of advertising which will increase 
the number of readers are matters of much in- 
terest to library trustees and managers. From 
this commercial point of view much remains 
to be done in the way of co-operation. It is 
probable that the co-operative cataloguing now 
under way could be much facilitated, and a 
considerable saving to individual libraries 
effected, if one small committee of experts se- 
lected all the books to be purchased for each 
and every library. These books could then be 
catalogued, with annotations on the most 
elaborate plan, classed, marked, and delivered 
to the several libraries, where, of course, they 
would go on open shelves and be advertised 
by co-operative short lists. The libraries could 
then discharge most of their cataloguers and 
experts. One-half the money now used for 
salaries could be devoted to buying books, the 
circulation would increase, and the business 
would flourish. 

Moreover, this committee of experts for the 
selection of books to be purchased would 
naturally be consulted by publishers as to 
what particular varieties of literature are most 
in demand. It would suggest subjects and 
writers, read MSS. and indicate the pictures 
which would stimulate the circulation of the 
volume, and not be objectionable to any one. 
From this, it would be an easy step to under- 
take the publication of books for free public 
libraries and thus effect a wonderful reduction 
in cost ; and if the librarians take up the busi- 
ness of bookselling the scheme will be still 
more neat and compact. 



I need not go into further details, or show 
what might be effected for the world's progress 
by simply extending this scheme to an inter- 
national system ; no doubt you can all readily 
imagine the results which might be obtained 
by a great cosmopolitan free circulating library 
trust with the latest attachments and improve- 
ments. We should then have accomplished 
an important part, what some consider the 
most important part, of the original object of 
the Association, which, you will remember, 
was declared to be the ' ' reaching conclusions 
and inducing co-operation in all departments 
of bibliothecal science and economy." Of 
course, in the formation of the expert Board of 
Managers, the demand for representation which 
will be made by the leaders and managers of 
different religious, political, and sociological 
sects and parties would require consideration, 
and there are some other important details to 
be considered by the Committee on Co-opera- 
tion when it takes up this part of its work. 

I do not think there is any immediate pros- 
pect of the formation of such a free public 
library trust as I have indicated, or that the 
cheapening of library service in this way is de- 
sirable, even if it were possible, but there are 
many things in the mechanical details of library 
economy in which co-operative work may be 
of service without checking or interfering with 
individual development. 

Circulating libraries supported from public 
funds will naturally tend to greater uniformity 
in methods and scope than reference libraries 
supported by corporations, but each has some- 
thing to learn from the other. 

There are some men and women who 
have a great desire for uniformity, who think 
there is only one best way ; they want codes, 
and rules, and creeds ; they want all schools and 
high schools and universities to have one sys- 
tem, even to the periods of their vacations ; 
they want a rule about fiction, and about clas- 
sification, and about salaries for all libraries, 
and they want resolutions passed about all 
these things. 

Concentration has its evils as well as its ad- 
vantages. Some excellent library work in our 
large cities is done by institutions or societies 



BILLINGS. 



5 



which use the library as a means to secure at- 
tention to their special end, which may be 
religious, sectarian, humanitarian, or sociologi- 
cal. The friendly rivalry of different libraries 
in the same city often has good results, though 
perhaps it may be a little wasteful of money. 
To secure the use of a library, the energy and 
enthusiasm of a propagandist are very useful, 
but the propagandist does not work to the best 
advantage in a systematic hierarchy. It is the 
old question of the individual worker or dealer 
versus the co-operative, or the consolidated es- 
tablishment, and while the ultimate answer 
may be in favor of the latter as giving the 
greatest amount of useful results with the least 
expenditure of force, we can understand the 
feelings of the individual worker who fears that 
he will be crowded out, and who says that 
" the lion and the lamb may lie down together, 
but the same lamb don't do it again." 

It must be remembered that almost every 
change in the manner of doing things is inju- 
rious to some individuals. Evolution affects 
not only the fittest, but also the unfit. If it 
be true that the public library is injuring the 
business of the bookseller, that the hustling 
administrator is crowding out the scholar in 
library positions, and that old-fashioned read- 
ers find their old resorts in the libraries less 
comfortable because of the crowd which now 
frequents them, it may still be true that the 
general result is satisfactory. 

The question as to whether the public library 
shall undertake to do other work for the public 
benefit besides the supplying of literature has 
occasionally been raised, but has not been 
seriously discussed as a general proposition. 
When Mr. Carnegie's offer to provide branch 
library buildings for the city of New York was 
made public, many suggestions were made as 
to the desirability of making these buildings 
something more than libraries. For example, 
it was advised that they should be made social 
centres and substitutes for the saloon, that 
they should have lecture rooms, rooms for 
playing various kinds of games, smoking 
rooms, and billiard rooms ; and even public 
baths in the basement were recommended. 
At the present time, in a large and crowded 



city, the need and demand for public library 
facilities is so great that is has seemed best to 
confine the work of these buildings to library 
work proper, but in more scattered communi- 
ties, where sites are not so costly, and meeting- 
rooms less easy to be obtained, some of these 
suggestions are worthy of careful consideration, 
and it might be well to collect the experience 
of the members of the Association bearing on 
this question, and make it a subject for dis- 
cussion at a future meeting. 

As usual, during the past year, there have 
been some public expressions of doubt as to 
the utility or expediency of circulating libra- 
ries. Mr. Howells suggests that we may be 
in danger of reading too much, " reading to 
stupidity." Lord Rosebery also warns us to 
beware lest much reading should destroy inde- 
pendence of thought, referring to the " im- 
mense fens of stagnant literature which can 
produce nothing but intellectual malaria." Of 
course, in some particular cases reading does 
produce bad results. It would, no doubt, be 
better for the public in general, and for their 
own families in particular, if some men and 
some women had never learned to read. " On 
a barren rock weeds do not grow but 
neither does grass." It might also be better 
for the world if some sickly, deformed, degen- 
erate children did not live, and the jail fevers 
of the eighteenth century probably disposed of 
some criminals to the best advantage ; never- 
theless it has been found to be wise economy 
to spend considerable sums of money in les- 
sening the mortality of infants, and of jails, in 
the inspection and regulation of tenement 
houses, and in the compulsory restraint of 
contagious diseases, because the majority of 
the lives thus saved are worth saving, and they 
cannot be saved without preserving some 
others who from the mere utilitarian point of 
view may not be worth the cost. 

The expenditure of public funds upon free 
libraries is in like manner justified by the gen- 
eral belief that it will do more good than harm. 
We cannot yet furnish satisfactory statistical 
evidence as to the results of the free public 
library experiment which we are trying on a 
large scale ; there does not yet seem to be any 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



marked decrease in crime or increase in con- 
tentment among the people who have had 
most use of such libraries, and, while the 
physical welfare of the great mass of the people 
has been advanced during the last fifty years, 
it would be difficult to trace this to the .free 
public library because we do not know what 
use of such libraries has been made by the 
few hundred inventors and captains of indus- 
try to whom this progress is mainly due. 
' It does seem, however, that the free public 
library has lessened the power of the dema- 
gogue and unscrupulous politician to control 
votes, and that in public life the steadily in- 
creasing influence of educated men is, in part, 
due to the reading facilities which the people 
now enjoy. 

When the author of Ecclesiasticus l declared 
that he that holdeth the plow, the carpenter 
and workmaster, the smith also sitting by the 
anvil and considering the iron work, and the 
potter turning the wheel about, all these trust 
to their hands, without them cannot a city be 
inhabited, they shall not be sought for in 
public counsel, they shall not sit on the judge's 
seat, and they shall not be found where para- 
bles are spoken, but they will maintain the 
state of the world, he did not foresee the 
effect of a system of public education including 
free public libraries, in a democratic govern- 
ment. 

As regards Mr. Howells' suggestion about 
" reading to stupidity," that is precisely the 
object of many of the readers of current fiction. 
They are tired and worried, and they read to 
forget or to get asleep. The average novel 
will give this result in from six to ten minutes, 
and the after effects are not nearly so bad as 
those of chloral or sulfonal. The novels of 
five or six years ago will answer this purpose 
just as well, and twelve new novels a year is 
an ample allowance for the average free public 
library. But five-sixths of the other books 
which are produced not because the author 
had anything to say, but because the publisher 
thought that a book on the beauties of brooks, 
or on the birds' nests of the Bronx, or on the 
homes of historical stepmothers or on the 
1 Ecclesiasticus, xxxviii, 25-34. 



lieutenant colonels of the Revolution, would 
sell well are usually of little more value in the 
free public library than the novel ; they count 
for circulation, but they are not read, but 
merely glanced over mainly for the pictures. 

At the present time public opinion in this 
country tolerates expressions of great differ- 
ences of opinion with regard to religion and 
particular creeds. Recently a few Catholics 
have made objections to the free public library, 
upon much the same grounds as those upon 
which the Church objects to public schools, 
and demand that in both the school and the 
library the books provided shall be subject, 
directly or indirectly, to their censorship. 
Somewhat similar demands, although not so 
definite and systematic, are occasionally made 
in behalf of other sects, and they would no 
doubt come from a number of other religious 
and political organizations if it was supposed 
that there was any chance of their success. 
The question will usually be decided for each 
locality by political party requirements, which 
vary much at short intervals, and there is no 
immediate danger to the free public library 
system from this particular form of opposition, 
except possibly for a short time in some 
limited locality. It is necessary to bear in 
mind, however, that public opinion is much less 
tolerant in matters of morals and manners 
than it is in matters of religion, and that in 
selecting books for circulation this opinion 
should be considered and respected. 

The librarian of the free public library has, 
as a citizen, the same rights and duties as any 
other citizen, including the right to express 
his opinions on religious or political questions, 
but as a general rule, his influence for good 
will be greatest when he is not a partisan 
of any particular policy of either church or 
state. 

As regards the large reference libraries, the 
selection of books must be made much broader 
in scope, for even the most ardent propo- 
gandist of a particular creed or shade of 
opinion occasionally wants to see what his 
opponents are saying in order that he may 
specify their errors, and does not object to 
find their publications in the reference library, 



BILLINGS. 



provided they are carefully put away for the 
use of experts like himself and are not placed 
on open shelves consulted by the general 
public. 

The duties and problems of our great refer- 
ence libraries are in many respects peculiar, 
but the limits of this address permit of only a 
brief reference to some of them. One of their 
duties is to preserve the literature of the day 
for the use of future scholars and students. 
Part of the business of the circulating library 
is to have its books worn out and destroyed in 
actual service, but the reference library has 
also another purpose, and the books which 
give it the greatest value and importance 
should be carefully preserved. 

The relations which should exist between 
our great reference libraries located in large 
cities and the rapidly multiplying smaller 
libraries scattered all over the country merit 
careful consideration. The amount of public 
funds which can and should be devoted to 
public libraries is limited, and these funds 
should not be employed in doing compara- 
tively unnecessary work. Many of the smaller 
libraries are now, or soon will be, complaining 
of want of shelf room, and are at the same 
time accepting and trying to preserve and 
catalogue everything that comes to them. All 
of them are preserving books that will not be 
used by any reader once in five years, and two 
or three copies of which in the large central 
reference libraries will be quite sufficient for 
the needs of the whole country. The remark 
of President Eliot in his last annual report 
that " the increasing rate at which large col- 
lections of books grow suggests strongly that 
some new policy is needed concerning the 
storage of these immense masses of printed 
matter " is very suggestive ; and his idea that 
if the Congressional Library and the great 
reference libraries in a few of our largest cities 
would undertake to store any and all books 
turned over to them and make them accessible 
to scholars in all parts of the country, the 
functions of the other libraries might be con- 
siderably amplified, is no doubt a true one. 

Whether the great reference libraries could 
undertake the work thus indicated would 



depend upon the construction placed on the 
requirement that all books should be made 
accessible to scholars in all parts of the coun- 
try. Whether the other libraries would be 
disposed to accept the suggestion to turn over 
their old books not in immediate use, merely 
because it might seem for the public good so to 
do, is much more doubtful, and the selection 
of the useless books involves some questions 
which would be good topics for discussion in 
the Trustees' Section of this Association. 

It is always possible to show that any book 
or pamphlet, in any edition, might be called 
for by some reader, student, or professor if he 
knew it existed, and the difficulties in select- 
ing books to be discarded are very considera- 
ble. Mrs. Toodles' state of mind about things 
that it might be handy to have in the house is 
one that librarians well understand. It is no 
doubt true that in the great majority of libra- 
ries of one hundred thousand volumes and 
upwards, one-fifth of the books are so little 
used that .it would be wiser to dispose of them 
than to use a fund available for salaries or for 
the purchase of books for providing additional 
room. Just at present, in most communities, 
it seems easier to obtain funds for library 
buildings than it is to get the means to ensure 
good service. 

Closely connected with this is the question 
as to the acceptance of gifts of books, es- 
pecially when made with the condition that 
they are to be kept together to form a per- 
manent memorial for the donor. While each 
case must be decided on its individual merits, 
it may be said in general that the desire for a 
memorial can be fully met by book-plates and 
catalogues without the unfortunate and unwise 
requirement that a certain group of books must 
always be kept together. Even gifts without 
restrictions, consisting of one or more cart- 
loads of miscellaneous public documents, odd 
numbers of periodicals, imperfect files of news- 
papers, pamphlets of little interest, etc., in- 
volve some expense to the library, and very 
few libraries should try to retain and utilize 
more than a small part of such material. 

General discussion as to what large reference 
libraries should do is of very little practical 



8 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



interest. The interesting question is, " What 
should this particular library do ? " 

Should the Library of Congress obtain and 
preserve complete files of every newspaper 
published in North and South America? 

Should the Boston Public Library try to 
obtain complete sets of the public documents 
of the Southern States ? 

Should the New York Public Library com- 
plete its collection of first editions of American 
authors by purchase at current prices? 

Should the New York State Library try to 
make a complete collection in Genealogy? 

Should the Chicago libraries attempt to 
make a complete collection of the reports of 
Insane Asylums? 

There are many questions like these which 
require a knowledge not only of the present 
contents, the available funds, and the special 
needs of each library, but also a knowledge 
of what other libraries are doing, if proper 
answers are to be given. 

The methods of co-operation between the 
great reference libraries, for the public good 
and for mutual benefit, are as yet rather local 
and rudimentary. Some points of agreement 
have been reached between the Congressional 
Library, the Boston Public Library, and the 
New York Public Library, asj to the purchase 
of certain manuscripts and rare books ; and in 
every large city there is more or less co-opera- 
tion between the greater reference libraries, 
including the University library, as to pur- 
chases, especially of periodicals. The chief 
subject thus far considered by them is that of 
Bibliography. 

Many schemes for bibliographies, general, 
special, annotated, etc. , have been suggested, 
and a few have been or are being tried. Each 
of these, from the universal bibliography to 
contain thirty millions of titles, to the bibli- 
ography of posters or of Podunk imprints, or 
of poems and essays condemned by their 
authors, has at least one admirer and advocate 
in the person who would like to have charge 
of the making of it ; but when it comes to the 
question as to what has a commercial value 
there is great unanimity in the opinion that 
many of those bibliographies should be paid for, 



not by the makers or the users, but by govern- 
ment or by some philanthropic individual. 

A bibliography is very instructive and useful 
to the person who makes it, and it is well to 
give the person having a taste for such work as 
ample facilities as possible ; but mere uncritical 
lists of all the books and journal articles re- 
lating to a given subject, from the commence- 
ment of printing to the present time, and with- 
out indication as to where the older ones are 
to be found, are of little use to most libraries 
or to their readers. Like some speakers, they 
are too much for the occasion. 

A good bibliography can. in most cases, 
only be made from the books themselves ; the 
labor of its preparation is almost equal to that 
of writing a critical history of the subject, and 
therefore the first question in considering it is, 
Where are the books? 

One session of this meeting is to be devoted 
to this subject of Bibliography, which is an 
important one, and I hope that the papers pre- 
sented, and the discussion to follow, will bring 
out some valuable suggestions. These will be 
especially interesting just now in view of the 
fact that a Bibliographical Department has 
been proposed as one of the special lines of 
work for the recently organized Carnegie Insti- 
tution, and upon the scope and plan proposed 
for such a department will no doubt depend 
the action of the trustees of that corpora- 
tion. 

A considerable part of the bibliographies 
which would be most useful for reference libra- 
ries and those engaged in research work can 
only be prepared by experts in the different 
arts and sciences, and there is an increasing 
demand for such experts in the large reference 
libraries. Just now there are places for three 
or four well educated engineers who have the 
taste and the training required to enable them 
to do much needed work in the critical bibli- 
ography of their art. Every great reference 
library needs half a dozen such experts in 
different departments. Where are they? 

In considering the questions as to the kinds 
of bibliographical work the results of which 
would be most useful to the great majority of 
the public libraries of this country and as to 



BILLINGS. 



the means of doing such work, it appears to 
me that it is best that it should be done under 
the direction of the Publishing Board of this 
Association, which has had practical experi- 
ence in this line, and will always be well in- 
formed as to the needs of such libraries. 

This opinion was brought to the attention 
of Mr. Carnegie, with the suggestion that he 
should give to the American Library Associa- 
tion a special fund, the income of which should 
be applied to the preparation and publication 
of such reading lists, indexes, and other bib- 
liographical and library aids as would be spe- 
cially useful in the circulating libraries of this 
country. The main part of the income would 
be expended in employing competent persons 
to prepare the lists, indexes, etc., and to read 
proofs. The cost of paper and printing would 
be met by sales to the libraries. It was rep- 
resented that such a gift would be wisely ad- 
ministered by the Publishing Board of the 
Association, and that the results would be of 
great value in promoting the circulation of 
the best books. 

In response to this suggestion a check for 
$100,000 was sent to me as " a donation for 
the preparation and publication of reading lists, 
indexes, and other bibliographical and literary 
aids as per (your) letter of March I4th." I 
shall take great pleasure in turning over this 
money if the Association accepts it for the 
purposes and under the conditions stated. It 
is a unique gift from a unique man, who de- 
serves our best thanks. 

To diminish or destroy desires in the indi- 
vidual man is the object of one form of Orien- 
tal philosophy and of several forms of religion, 
the result hoped for being the doing away with 
anxiety, discontent, and fear, and the passive 
acceptance of what is and of what is to come. 

Our work follows an opposite plan ; the 
library aims to stimulate and increase desire 
as well as to satisfy it, and the general ten- 
dency of the free circulating library, as of 
public education, is to increase discontent 
rather than to diminish it. A competent libra- 
rian will be dissatisfied during most of his 
working hours, he will want more books, or 
more readers, or more room, or a better loca- 



tion, or more assistants, or means to pay better 
salaries, or all these things together. Some 
readers also will usually be dissatisfied with the 
library because of its deficiencies in books, or 
because of some books which it has, or because 
the librarian is not sufficiently attentive or is 
too attentive, or because of the hours, or the 
excess or want of heat or ventilation, or 
because of other readers. All this is an 
almost necessary part of the business ; if 
neither the librarian nor the readers are dissat- 
isfied, the library is probably dying, or dead. 
But there is a discontent which is stimulating 
and leads to something, and there is a discon- 
tent which is merely indicative of disease, a 
grumbling discontent, which resembles the 
muscular twitchings which occur in some cases 
of paralysis. A pessimist has been defined as 
a person who, having a choice of two evils, is 
so anxious to be right that he takes both. 
Don't be a pessimist. Life is short and art is 
long ; you can earn your halos without making 
your library perfect, but halos are not to be 
had by waiting for them, nor, as a rule, by 
hunting for them. It will make very little dif- 
ference to you fifty years hence whether you 
got your halo or not, or whether it was a plain 
ring halo or something solid, but it may make 
a great deal of difference to some of the men 
and women of that time, who are now coming 
to your children's reading rooms, as to whether 
you have deserved one or not. Each of you 
and each of your libraries is a thread in the 
warp of the wonderful web now passing through 
the loom of time, but a living thread is not al- 
together dependent on the shuttle of circum- 
stance. It is wise to try to know something 
of the pattern and to guess at some of the 
problems of to-morrow, but in the meantime 
we may not fold our hands and wait because 
we do not see clearly the way we are to go. 
We must do our best to meet the plain de- 
mands of to-day, bearing in mind the warning 
of Ecclesiastes, "He that observeth the wind 
shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds 
shall not reap. ... In the morning sow 
thy seed, and in the evening withhold not 
thine hand, for thou knowest not which shall 
prosper, whether this or that." 



IO 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES. 
BY ANDERSON H. HOPKINS, Assistant Librarian, The John Crerar Library, Chicago, 111, 



I ET me speak to you to-day not merely as 
librarians, but as educators ; as members of 
a great and growing though somewhat form- 
less body devoted to both the conservation 
and the advancement of learning ; as members 
whose duties, while perhaps mainly adminis- 
trative in character, are not without a tutorial 
side. Perhaps it would be better to say edu- 
cationists, rather than educators, if thereby 
the meaning is made more clear. My object 
in thus hailing you is to indicate our view- 
point and enable us to enter upon the theme 
in its broader aspects and with widest sym- 
pathy. 

I believe that no one who has given the 
subject unprejudiced consideration will deny 
that long strides have been taken in educa- 
tional theory and practice within the last few 
decades. As a result of these movements 
demand is made upon us in the name of reason 
that within the memory of men yet young was 
undreamt of. You who sit before me are in 
part responsible for this demand because you 
and your predecessors have helped to create 
it. Therefore it is incumbent upon you that 
you shall help to meet such rational demand 
and satisfy its cravings. These cravings can 
be satisfied so far as university libraries are 
concerned only by certain necessary changes 
in organization, administration, and scope im- 
peratively called for by the new education. 

If in the course of my argument some of the 
things said seem harsh, I beg that you will 
understand that there is neither harshness nor 
animosity in them by any intent of mine. I 
am not now, and have not been for some six 
or seven years past, engaged in university li- 
brary work. For twice as many years, how- 
ever, it has been a favorite study with me and 
the sense of detachment arising from occupa- 
tion in another kind of library work a sense 
amounting almost to aloofness enables me 



to examine the field with a clarity of vision 
that otherwise might be lacking. This sense 
of detachment may have betrayed me into a 
greater freedom of speech than is permissible 
under the circumstances but I hope this is 
not the fact. 

We all admit, with what of cheer we may, 
that there are many things we do not know 
and therefore cannot make positive state- 
ments about, but in the same breath we may 
assert that there are some things we do know 
and are entitled to speak of with conviction. 
It is with this attitude that I have made posi- 
tive statements concerning certain phases of 
the organization and administration of uni- 
versity libraries. If the form in which I have 
couched my message seems dogmatic, let me 
explain it at once by saying that the positive 
form of statement was chosen deliberately after 
having made an examination of the records as 
printed of the College Section of the American 
Library Association. This choice was not 
made through a wish either to be or to seem 
dogmatic, but because in that retrospective 
look my eye was impressed not to say op- 
pressed by the vagueness and formlessness 
of a sea of woulds and shoulds that stretched 
away into the dim distance. I therefore chose 
the positive rather than the conditional form 
of statement as a medium for the expression 
of the ideas and opinions which I place before 
you and for which I ask your open-minded 
consideration, not merely as librarians, but as 
earnest students of educational matters. 

Tearing down is much easier than building 
up, we are often told. I have therefore sought 
not to destroy, but to transform ; and I trust 
that for every statement which you may re- 
gard as iconoclastic, in what follows, you may 
at least find another which may be regarded 
as having a constructive character. 

Let it be stated at the outset that this dis- 



HOPKINS. 



II 



cussion is confined strictly to the phenomena 
of the American university, or, more exactly, 
that it does not include a consideration of any 
set of university conditions other than those 
actually existent or nascent in the United 
States of America. This device lessens the 
scope of the subject, but even thus abridged it 
is so extensive that nothing more than a sketch 
can be presented within the necessary limits. 

It is not necessary for me to present a defi- 
nition of that indefinite but surely growing 
thing, the American university, and I shall 
not do so. Others have already done that 
very well indeed, and a deal of nonsense has 
been uttered about it beside. But for the 
present purpose the word " university" is used 
to mean an institution of the higher learning 
maintained for the furtherance of education 
and research. It is not intended to enter into 
a discussion of even this definition. It is 
merely a definition, a finger-board, pointing 
out the direction the argument is to take. 

Universities consist essentially of two or- 
ganized bodies with their auxiliary equipments. 
These two bodies may be called, for want of 
better names, the Board of Trust and the 
Faculties. This discussion has to do with 
both of these bodies, because its specific sub- 
ject forms an essential part of each of them, 
and because the relations of the library with 
the Board of Trust ought not to be less firm 
and close than with the Faculties, although 
the ramifications will be wider and more intri- 
cate with the Faculties. I shall try to illus- 
trate this idea later, and ask to have it borne 
in mind with particularity. 

The argument does not require that the 
organization of the Board of Trust be entered 
into at this time, but with the Faculties the 
case is different. 

Because the Faculties have the work of in- 
struction and of research in immediate charge, 
they are often thought of and spoken of as the 
university. At this point it would be con- 
venient to use the term in that narrower sense, 
but for the sake of clearness let it be avoided 
even at the cost of circumlocution. 

That body with its natural auxiliaries, then, 



that body called the Faculties and having in 
immediate charge the work of instruction and 
research, consists of numerous parts the names 
of which are yet more numerous and confusing, 
namely : the college, the school, the library, 
the laboratory, the museum,. the gymnasium, 
the shop, etc. But all these, when considered 
with regard to their essential functions, group 
into classes of departments few in number. 
These are the school, the library, and, pos- 
sibly, the museum. If you ask what has 
become of the others I answer that they are 
each and every one either merely one of these 
last or else a part of one of them. If you find 
it impossible to assent to this view there is 
greater trouble to follow, because the position 
which I prefer to take is that they reduce to 
two, instead of three, and that these two are 
the school and the library. 

It is not held that these are the best names 
for the departments under consideration, nor 
even that they are good names. Indeed, I 
fear that the last is no longer a good name for 
its department and will tell you why without 
much delay. 

I have spoken of the Faculties, considered 
as a body, and their auxiliary equipments. 
Now a school or college is one of these aux- 
iliary equipments of the Faculties considered 
as a body. In turn a laboratory is one of the 
equipments of a school. And, in like manner, 
we may go on through the list until my posi- 
tion is justified, and no difficulty arises until 
the library and the museum are reached. The 
museum is often regarded as a laboratory, but 
there is a difference which may be made clear 
perhaps by considering the dissimilarity of 
their contents. The materials of education 
and research, which may be considered as a 
part of the auxiliary equipment of the Facul- 
ties, falls roughly into two classes according 
as it may or may not be used repeatedly. The 
first of these let us call the " permanent 
material of education " and the second " sup- 
plies." Most of the material of a museum falls 
into the first class, while most of that of the 
laboratory falls into the second class. 

The Faculties, in the course of their develop- 



12 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



merit, need and have accumulated vast stores 
of the permanent material of education. This 
consists of books, maps, charts, manuscripts, 
photographs, lantern slides, drawings, statu- 
ary, paintings, and specimens of sorts innu- 
merable, representing all the kingdoms of this 
world. The whole of this falls into the one 
category which I have called the " permanent 
material of education and research." 

Economic administration calls for classifica- 
tion. Classification is putting like things to- 
gether. It is not a long step to find that the 
museum logically goes to (not with) the library 
rather than with the laboratory. The two 
things, namely, library and museum, cover the 
same field more or less exactly. The- differ- 
ence is more one of form of content than of 
the content itself. The museum contains the 
text and the library its commentary. If the 
museum is to go with instead of to the library, 
then it must be erected into another depart- 
ment co-extensive with the university. But 
this would not be economic administration. 
The museum should go to the library and not 
the library to the museum, because organiza- 
tion in libraries is so much further advanced 
than in museums that the needs of both will 
be best served by this arrangement. But then 
the library must be no longer a mere " book- 
ery," as its present name suggests, and classifi- 
cation is something else than what is com- 
monly called by that name in libraries nowa- 
days. 

This, then, is the ideal to be sought. Coa- 
lesce the library and the museum. Bind them 
together in the closest possible relation. Let 
them be no longer a library and a museum, 
but an entity, a living organism whose two 
parts are as vital to each other as are flesh to 
bone and bone to flesh. But do not mix them. 
A mixture is not an organism. Bone and flesh 
do not mix whjle vitality remains nor do 
they separate while vitality remains. 

This brings us to the consideration of uni- 
versity library organization and the more im- 
mediate subject under discussion. 

In the foregoing introduction, without hav- 
ing said it in words, the university, considered 



in relation to its ultimate work, has been held 
to have two aspects voiced respectively by the 
two bodies comprising it. These two aspects 
are the External or general governmental voiced 
by the Board of Trust, and the Internal or 
immediate administrative voiced by the Facul- 
ties. 

For convenience, in the consideration of the 
university library which is to follow, I shall 
choose to regard it also in these dual aspects 
because I shall hold what I have before im- 
plied, namely, that it is clearly co-extensive 
with the university not merely in the narrower 
sense defined by the Faculties, but in its broad- 
est sense. It touches closely every interest of 
the university in its minutest ramifications - 
otherwise it is not the kind of library now 
under consideration. 

Before going further I would like to have 
understood clearly the force of the term " co- 
extensive " as just applied to the university 
library. Of course I do not mean that it is 
the university, nor that it does, or can do, 
the work of the university, nor that it is 
greater than the university, nor that it is equal 
to the university. But I do mean that it is an 
integral part of the university, without which 
the university cannot exist ; that it is as long 
and as broad though not as deep as the uni- 
versity, and that the university contains no 
other department save itself which has these 
attributes. 

Then the government of the university 
library reproduces in miniature the main feat- 
ures of the government of the university itself. 
This statement may be taken as a basic princi- 
ple. Upon it is built the structure I submit. 

The library has an external and an internal 
administration and each of these has a breadth 
corresponding to its proper functions. 

The external administration falls naturally 
into three groups. These groups form 

I. The directorate. 

II. Faculty representation. 

III. Representation of the Board of Trust. 

The first of these, the directorate, is the ex- 
ternal governing board having actual charge of 
the library and its policies. It properly con- 



HOPKINS. 



sists of three, and three only. These three 
are 

(a.) President of the university. 

(.) President of the Board of Trust. 

(c.) Head of the library. 

This statement is intended to mirror the nor- 
mal state of things and must vary slightly with 
variations in the government of the university. 
To make my meaning more clear it may be 
said that in outlining the typical university I 
took no note of such a body, for instance, as 
the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, 
because it is not essential to the conception of 
the type. In the same way when I state that 
the external governing board of the university 
library consists of the foregoing three officers, 
I have not assumed that the President of the 
university and the President of the Board of 
Trust are one and the same person. Such a 
case, of course, requires a solution, which, 
however, is easily found in the election by the 
Board of Trust of a representative from among 
its members. The essential points are, first, 
that the external directorate of the university 
library shall exist ; second, that it be con- 
structed substantially as indicated ; and third, 
that its purposes will be best conserved if it 
consists of three persons and these the three 
named. 

A conspicuous lack of the element supplied 
by this form of directorate is the prime cause 
of much of the inefficiency generally charge- 
able to the university libraries of this country. 
And if it is not known to you it ought to be 
that there is no other one class of large libra- 
ries in the land that as a class is so generally 
and so hopelessly behind the times as are the 
university and college libraries. One of the 
gravest faults in the organization of university 
libraries is usually found here. It is common 
to see the functions of the directorate usurped 
by a committee from the Faculties. So serious 
and so far-reaching is the effect of this error 
that I am led to urge upon you a statement so 
pungent that it may awaken resentment. Nev- 
ertheless I am convinced that to commit the 
policies of the university library to a committee 
elected from and by the Faculties, or ap- 



pointed from the Faculties, is to start the 
library if not on the downward path then on 
the path to comparative mediocrity. It is es- 
sentially, radically, wrong and cannot be 
righted except by undoing. 

I cannot here enter into a detailed state- 
ment of reasons for the position taken, but be- 
cause this is a point of deep interest to all 
concerned and peculiarly apt at causing heart- 
burnings, I must ask you to permit its discus- 
sion at a length which may, to those not 
concerned, seem disproportionate. 

It is conceivable that the Faculties, or more 
likely the professors, may consider themselves 
aggrieved or even attacked by the assumption 
of such a position, but that attitude is not 
tenable, as it is only the system, if system it 
may be called, that is attacked. The position 
does not argue the moral obliquity of the pro- 
fessor nor of. the Faculties, but it does point 
with significant finger to the fact that the in- 
dividual personal interests of the professor as 
head of his immediate department clash with 
those of the library as a whole, and tend to 
make him not an impartial judge or counsellor. 

There seems to be some peculiar element in 
ordinary professorial duties that militates 
against the administrative faculty and that too 
frequently blunts it or that even totally de- 
stroys it. Now, the head of the university 
library must be first of all an administrator 
this without prejudice to either his breadth or 
depth of scholarship and it is not more than 
fair to him that he should have associated with 
him in the management of his department 
others who are also administrators. 

The accuracy of the statement about the 
administrative faculty among professors is 
easily enough verified in our universities and it 
is not uttered in derogation of a noble body of 
men. I recall an incident that occurred many 
years since which will perhaps be illustrative. 
A student was one day busy in the book-stack 
of the university library when his attention 
was attracted by the curious actions of a pro- 
fessor of the highest standing who was also 
busy in an adjoining aisle between the stacks. 
The professor was upon his knees in the aisle. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



The light fell gently upon the silvery hair 
crowning his uncovered head. In his hand he 
held a volume and with upturned eyes he 
seemed anxiously searching for the proper 
place in which to put the book which he was 
returning to the shelf after having examined it. 
He carefully put the volume into an opening 
which seemed about the right size, but it did 
not quite fit. So he timidly withdrew the 
book and continued his search on the adjacent 
shelves until he found a hole that the volume 
seemed to fit more exactly and there he left 
it. For thirty-five long years he had trod 
these halls, had studied and had taught, but 
had not yet learned the use of a shelf-mark of 
a simple description. You need not smile 
far less laugh. He was a kindly and a cul- 
tured gentleman ; a refined and scholarly man ; 
and if I should speak his name to you every 
head would bow in assent. For all these 
years with ever-growing respect his voice had 
been heard touching all that classic memory 
holds dear ; his pen had made his name 
revered in language and in art ; and when his 
artistic soul bade his nimble fingers make the 
music that he loved so well the ears of those 
who heard him were delighted and their hearts 
were touched. And when at last the word was 
passed that he was dead more than one man 
who never had the great privilege of sitting 
under his instruction, but to whom his life 
had been, and yet is, an inspiration went in 
heaviness to look upon his dead face and pay 
high tribute. 

With one other brief illustration of a differ- 
ent class I will pass on. It would seem a 
reasonable thing to expect that a university 
library, whose range is the whole field of litera- 
ture, would arrange the apportionment of its 
funds for the purchase of literature in accord- 
ance with the relative productivity of the dif- 
ferent fields of literature. But I am not aware 
of any instance in which this is done when the 
apportionment is controlled by a Faculty com- 
mittee. The professorial chair is the unit 
instead. I am aware that there are makeshifts 
provided to get around the difficulty but 
they are makeshifts ; that is the trouble. It is 



not a makeshift administration that we are 
seeking. 

All this does not mean, however, that there 
should be no library committee of the Facul- 
ties. That would be perhaps quite as great a 
mistake as the other. 

The second of the three groups named above 
is that formed by the library committee of the 
Faculties ; and it should be elected from and 
by the Faculties, except that the active heads 
of such museums or of such departments of 
the university as have museums organically 
related with the library might be ex-officio 
members of the committee. Its duties are 
purely advisory and the number of members 
is not a vital matter ; but the practical neces- 
sity for an active working committee of this 
kind is neither to be overlooked nor minified. 

The third of the three groups is the library 
committee of the Board of Trust. It is 
created by and from within the Board and 
its duties are to provide adequate funds for 
the work and to audit, or direct the auditing, 
of their expenditure. This closes my sketch 
of the external aspect of the library. 

Now is reached that point in my discussion 
where the subject opens out with fan-like 
sweep into infinite detail. As I touch upon 
internal administration, however, let it be 
remembered that I am speaking to past 
masters in the craft and it shall be my aim 
to avoid detail. 

The university library has four chief func- 
tions. These are to collect, to prepare, to 
conserve, and to distribute the permanent 
material of education and research. To these 
four chief functions which have been long 
recognized others may be added that will not 
be conceded to be of first importance. But 
there is one which I would like to see added 
to rank with these and that is the creation or 
production of the permanent material of edu- 
cation and research. Then let us say the 
university library has five chief functions. 
These are to collect, to prepare, to conserve, 
to create, and to distribute the permanent 
material of education and research. You will 
be quick to see that the term "to distribute " 



HOPKINS. 



has taken on a new value. Whereas under 
the old statement it meant little more than to 
circulate books, under the new statement it 
means also to publish them. In other words, 
the university press becomes a part of the 
library. 

Of course this recital of functions is more 
or less immediately suggestive of the lines 
into which the staff organization must fall. 
Aside from the general direction of the whole 
internal working of the library, each of these 
five functions calls for at least one division 
chief; and some of them may be so divided 
or inter-related as to call for more than one. 
For example, ' ' to collect " calls for a chief 
of purchase division, but under this same head 
must be provided also for receipts. With 
receipts, however, shipments may well be 
allied and this belongs not under the function 
"to collect," but instead under that labelled 
" to distribute.'' Considerations of this kind 
are too numerous and too diverse to permit of 
any attempt here to more than indicate them 
by some such instance as that given, but when 
they have all been considered it is found that 
the whole work may be conveniently grouped 
under one head with about eight assistants of 
rank. The organization then takes this form : 

(a) Head of the Department. 

(b) Secretary of the Department (who may 
or may not be Vice Head). 

(c) Chief of Purchase Division. 

(d) Chief of Receipts and Shipments Di- 
vision. 

(e) Chief of Catalogue Division. 
(/") Chief of Inspection Division. 
(g) Chief of Reference Division. 
(h) Chief of Circulation Division, 
(z) Chief of Publication Division. 

This group of division chiefs forms the nat- 
ural advisory body for the Head of the Depart- 
ment so far as the purely internal workings of 
the library are concerned'. It is his cabinet, 
so to speak. Permit me to suggest that it is 
logically the natural and proper body to appor- 
tion the book fund. 

Beyond this it is not my purpose to go. Of 
course it is seen at a glance that at least some 



of these divisions call for subdivision and that 
all call for a number of assistants of lower 
grade. For instance, classification is taken 
care of under (e), Catalogue Division, although 
it might well be erected into a separate divi- 
sion with its own chief, particularly if the 
museum becomes a part of the library and 
classification is thereby raised in the way in- 
dicated at an earlier point in this discussion. 
In like manner binding and repairing are here 
included under (/), Inspection Division, and 
supplies under (c), Purchase Division, but 
these are matters of detail and are not particu- 
larly difficult of treatment if the object is 
the administration of a library merely as a 
" bookery." 

But I wish to speak to you for a moment on 
a wider and a deeper topic the coalescence of 
the library and the museum ; the union of the 
commentary with its text. Let me first enter 
vigorous protest against a false conception of 
the scope and relations of museums, libraries, 
and laboratories, a conception which seems to 
have been gaining ground with university 
presidents and with professors in the depart- 
ments of learning commonly called scientific. 
The term " museum " has been so often applied 
to unworthy collections that it has fallen into 
some disrepute with scientific workers and the 
term ' ' laboratory " has been magnified by them 
to fill not only its own right and proper place, 
but also that of the older and better name for 
the institution. There has been much loose 
talk to the effect that the library is a labora- 
tory. The truth is that it is nothing of the 
sort ; and statements to such effect are based 
upon a misconception. It is true that certain 
laboratory and museum methods may be used 
in the library to great advantage and should 
be used there ; but the truth stops at that 
point. In brief, the laboratory is to the 
museum what the departmental library is to 
the university library. I have elsewhere 
entered more fully into the proper functions of 
the museum and will not here take your time 
for a more elaborate statement. 

We know that the museum in this country 
is now chiefly a show-place, at its best, when 



i6 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



in truth it ought to be the touch-stone of 
vital growth. The difference in development 
between the library and the museum has been 
pointed out with friendly hand by Dr. A. B. 
Meyer, 1 of Dresden, in his recent monograph 
" On the Museums of the Eastern Part of the 
United States of America." Three statements 
in his preface to Part I. struck me with partic- 
ular force in this connection. These are to 
the effect that in the United States libraries 
and museums are not always sharply divided ; 
that, aside from this, libraries are on a higher 
plane of development than are museums ; and 
that, in general, the museum in its essentials 
there stands upon a higher level than the 
European. In his phrase "aside from this" 
it seems to be implied that the library and 
museum should be kept sharply separated. I 
cannot assent to this general proposition, how- 
ever. The vitality desired for the museum 
can be had only by its union with the library 
so that the book and the specimen illustrate 

1 Ueber Museen des Ostens der Vereinigten Staaten von 
Nord Amerika. Reisestudien von A. B. Meyer, Director 
des Konigl. Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-Ethno- 
graphischen Museums zu Dresden. 



each other, so that text and commentary are 
side by side, not merely for the earnest student, 
but even for the casual inquirer. In thus 
vitalizing the museum the library need lose 
none of its vigor. Nor will it if only the 
problem is grasped intelligently and with 
strength. The beginning of the work is 
neither difficult nor complicated and begin- 
nings have been made already sufficient to 
demonstrate the worth of the plan. A care- 
fully arranged set of references between the 
two things, the book and the specimen, paves 
the way and is of untold value ; but before the 
whole work can be done there is one huge 
unsolved problem that must be faced and that 
is classification not merely of books, but of 
things. I will not quarrel with you over classi- 
fication. I am not looking for a perfect 
scheme of classification. The thing to be 
sought is a rational plan whereby the various 
classifications now in use in different sciences 
may be unified or brought into a working rela- 
tion with each other and with book classifica- 
tion. Here is a fruitful field. Who will enter 
it? 



INCIDENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. 



BY JAMES LYMAN WHITNEY, Librarian. 



JUST now the University of Oxford is pre- 
paring to commemorate the three hundredth 
anniversary of the opening of Sir Thomas 
Bodley's Library. 

Beside this ancient institution, American 
libraries may seem but infants, whose career 
is hardly worth commemorating. And yet I 
love to think of the Boston Public Library as 
really dating back to some indefinite, misty 
period of time, of which the exact record has 
not been found. 

For we know that there are vague and puz- 
zling allusions some two hundred and forty 
years ago to a Public Library as existing at 
Boston. One is found in the Prince collection 
deposited in the Boston Public Library, in a 



copy in manuscript of the will of the Reverend 
John Oxenbridge, pastor of the First Church 
in Boston. It is dated " Boston in New-Eng- 
land, the 12 day of the first month 1673-4." 
The will begins, " I John Oxenbridge, a Sorry 
Man less than the least of all the mercies and 
Servants of Christ, am the most weak and 
worthless creature," and, after the disposal of 
much worldly estate silver and many gold 
rings for one so humble and dejected, be- 
queaths " To the publick Library in Boston 
or elsewhere as my Executrix and Overseers 
shall judge best, Augustins works in 6 volumes, 
the Century's in 8 volum's, the Catalogue of 
Oxford Library, Trithemius catalogue of Ec- 
clesiastick writers, also Pareus' works in 2 vol- 



WHITNEY. 



umes, Pineda upon Job in 2 volumes, Euclid's 
Geometry, Willet on Leviticus, Davenant on 
the Colossians." 

In the Boston Athenaeum is a copy of Sam- 
uel Mather's " Testimony from the Scripture 
against Idolatry & Superstition " thought to 
be printed at Cambridge, Mass., by Samuel 
Green in 1670. It bears the manuscript in- 
scription " ffor the publike Library at Boston 

1674." 

Of Robert Keayne, first commander of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, 
every Boston person has heard, and of the Town 
House to which he contributed most liberally. 
By his lengthy will he provided that the pro- 
posed Town House should contain a " conven- 
ient roome for a Library & a gallery or some 
other handsome roome for the Elders to meete 
in and conferr together," and that it receive as 
a beginning " such of my Divinitie bookes and 
Comentaries, and of my written sermon bookes 
or of any others of them as they shall thinke 
profitable and usefull for such a Library (not 
simply for show, but properly for use), they 
being all English, none Lattine or Greeke." 

A rather uninviting foundation for a public 
library, one would say, yet not unlike the be- 
ginnings of other American libraries at the 
time. Of the books given by John Harvard to 
the library at Cambridge, sixty-two per cent, 
consisted of theological books, while of the 
foundation books of Yale College, given by the 
little company of ministers at Branford, nearly 
all were theological works, and, strange to say, 
" there was not a single volume relating to 
classical literature or the sciences." And pub- 
lic libraries of the time were not less gloomy. 
The chief possession of the Town Library of 
Concord, Mass., in 1672, was " The Bookes 
of Marters " which the selectmen were in- 
structed to keep from abusive usage and not 
lend to persons for more than one month at a 
time. Even at a much later date a similar 
state of things existed. Franklin in his Auto- 
biography says, " My father's little library con- 
sisted chiefly of books in polemic divinity, 
most of which I read, and have since often 
regretted that, at a time when I had such a 



thirst for knowledge, more proper books had 
not fallen in my way, since it was now resolved 
I should not be a clergyman." 

From the records of the Selectmen we learn 
that Mr. John Barnard, Junr., was " desired to 
make a Cattalogue of all the books belonging 
to the Town Liberary and to Lodge the Same 
in ye sd Liberary," and later that " haveing at 
the request of the Select men Set the Towns 
Liberary in good order, he is allowed for sd 
Service two of those books of which there are 
in ye sd Liberary two of a Sort." l 

Richard Chiswell, an eminent bookseller of 
London, writing to Increase Mather at Boston, 
Feb. 16, 1676-7, says, "I have sent a few 
books to Mr. Usher without order, which I 
put in to fill up the Cask. You may see them 
at his shop, & I hope may help some of them 
off his hands, by recommending them to your 
publike Library." * 

This Library is elsewhere alluded to as be- 
ing at the East End of the Town House, and 
whatever it may have been .it was probably 
the foundation of that accumulation of ancient 
books whose destruction was mentioned at the 
time of the burning of the Town House in 
I747- 3 

Here we lose all trace of the Boston Public 
Library for a long time to come. May not its 
foundation have been laid again only perhaps 
to be overthrown in the troublous times which 
culminated in the siege of Boston ? 

Elsewhere, as we pass over into the eigh- 
teenth century, the mists seem to clear away and 
numerous libraries are seen. We are told that 
twenty-nine existed at the eve of the Revolu- 
tion, and while none of them answers to a 
public library as we understand it, they may 
fairly be called in some sort such. 4 

A foreigner visiting this country at this time 
presents this roseate view: " In many towns, 
and in every city, they have publick libraries. 

1 nth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City 
of Boston. Record of Boston Selectmen, 1701 to 1715. 

2 Winsor's Memorial History of Boston, i., 501 ; Mass. 
Historical Society Collections, 4th series, viii., 576. 

3 Winsor's Memorial History of Boston; Massachu- 
setts Magazine, vol. 2, p. 467, August, 1791. 

4 Winsor's Memorial History of Boston, iv., 281. 



i8 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



Not a tradesman but will find time to read. 
He acquires knowledge imperceptibly. He 
is amused with voyages and travels, and be- 
comes acquainted with the geography, customs, 
and commerce of other countries. He reads 
political disquisitions, and learns the great 
outlines of his rights as a man and as a citi- 
zen. . . ." 5 

From this' time on many libraries were 
established in Boston, by learned societies, 
and by individuals acting together as share- 
holders ; some of them still exist. But for a 
Free Public Library the city was to wait for 
many years. When was its first foundation 
laid? 

As one enters the Copley Square building of 
the Boston Public Library and passes to the 
stairway, he finds, imbedded in the pavement, 
a laurel wreath, encircling the names of those 
who have been regarded as the founders of 
the library. Before this wreath I have seen 
visitors standing perplexed at one name found 
there : Vattemare. 

" Who is this man with the foreign name? " 
was asked. " He seems quite out of place in 
the company of these old Bostonians." 

If curiosity had led these visitors to further 
enquiry, they would not have found help in 
biographical dictionaries and encyclopaedias in 
the great reading room of the library, only the 
brief mention in a German work that Vatte- 
mare was a " Franzb'sischer Bauchredner,'' 
that is, a French ventriloquist. 6 This he was, 
to be sure, but, as we learn from manuscripts 
in the Boston Public Library, in the hand- 
writing of his friend, Miss Eliza Susan Quincy, 
daughter of President Quincy of Harvard Col- 
lege, " in addition to this faculty of producing 
the most diverse voices and tones in every 
direction, and at. every distance, he possessed 
uncommon mimetic talent and could represent 
persons of different sexes, ages, conditions, 

6 Force's American Archives, 5th series, 1776, col. 
1049 : Translation of a letter written by a foreigner on his 
travels, dated Dec. 3, 1776. 

6 Curiously, a brief account of Vattemare is in Apple- 
ton's " Cyclopaedia of American biography," perhaps as 
entitled to American citizenship from his interest in the 
United States. 



and figures with such rapidity of change that 
it appeared like enchantment. This extraor- 
dinary talent, his modesty, and the benevolent 
object of his art everywhere gained him the 
warmest applause, and most nattering testi- 
monials from crowned heads and other distin- 
guished personages." Indeed, he appeared at 
the London theatres in plays in which he took 
all the parts, as may be seen in the play " Ad- 
ventures of a ventriloquist ; or the rogueries 
of Nicholas. . . . Entertainment in three 
parts, as embodied, illustrated and delivered by 
Monsieur Alexandre ... at the Adelphi 
Theatre, Strand. Written and contrived by 
W. T. Moncrieff, London, 1822," with illus- 
trations by Robert Cruikshank of the various 
parts assumed by Vattemare in the play. 

" When Monsieur Alexandre (for this was 
the name by which Vattemare was known) was 
in Scotland in 1824," says a Scotch news- 
paper, ' ' he paid a visit to Abbotsford, where he 
entertained his distinguished host and the 
other visitors with his unrivalled imitations. 
Next morning when he was about to depart, 
Sir Walter Scott felt a good deal embarrassed 
as to the sort of acknowledgment he should 
offer ; but at length, resolving that it would 
probably be most agreeable to the young for- 
eigner to be paid in professional coin, if in 
any, he stepped aside for a few minutes, and 
on returning, presented him with this epi- 
gram : 

'Of yore, in Old England, it was not thought good 
To carry two visages under one hood ; 
What should folks say to you who have faces so plenty 
That from under one hood you last night showed us twenty ? 
Stand forth, arch-deceiver, and tell us in truth 
Are you handsome, or ugly? In age, or in youth? 
Man, woman, or child? Or a dog or a mouse? 
Or are you at once each live thing in the house? 
Each live thing, did I ask, each dead implement too? 
A workshop in your person saw, chisel and screw. 
Above all, are you one individual? I know 
You must be, at the least, Alexandre and Co. 
But I think you're a troop, an assemblage, a mob, 
And that I, as the sheriff 7 must take up the job; 
And instead of rehearsing your wonders in verse, 
Must read you the riot act and bid you disperse. 

' Abbotsford, 23 April, 1824. Walter Scott.' 

' Sir Walter Scott held the office of sheriff of the County 
of Selkirk. 



WHITNEY. 



But all this would not have brought to Vat- 
temare enduring fame or secured him a place 
in our Valhalla. 

In the pursuit of his profession, visiting the 
cities of Europe, and becoming acquainted 
with their treasures of books and works of art, 
he was interested, first of all, as a private col- 
lector, to increase his own stores. Afterwards 
the thought came to him, why might there not 
be between nations an exchange of literary and 
artistic treasures, whereby all might benefit? 

This idea, having gained possession of him, 
never relaxed its hold ; he abandoned his pro- 
fession about the year 1827 and devoted the 
remainder of his life to its realization. Jour- 
neying over two continents, he made his 
persistent appeal, year after year, to govern- 
ments, until, we are told, induced by his 
contagious energy, state after state succumbed 
to his representations, so that by 1853 he had 
brought one hundred and thirty libraries 
within his operations, and between 1847 and 
1851 had brought from France for American 
libraries 30,655 volumes, besides maps, engrav- 
ings, and other objects of interest. 8 

Full of ambition (as expressed in his own 
words) to give the intellectual treasures of the 
cultivated world the same dissemination and 
equalization which commerce had already given 
to its material ones, whose outcome was to be 
' the establishment in every quarter of the 
world of free public libraries and museums 
ever open to the people," he came to America 
at various times between 1839 an ^ 1850. Of 
his visit to Boston an interesting account by 
Josiah Phillips Quincy is to be found in the 
Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society for November, 1884. 

Through the influence of President Quincy, 
and of his son, later mayor, and others, a 
meeting of the young men of Boston, favoring 
the project of Vattemare, was held on April 
24, 1841. This was followed by a general 
meeting of citizens on May 5. 

The enthusiasm at that time elicited did not 
result in any immediate action beyond the ex- 

8 Winsor's Memorial History of Boston, iv., z86. 



change of gifts of books between the cities of 
Paris and Boston. 

On a visit to America in 1847 Vattemare 
found that the time for action had arrived. 
Mayor Quincy in a letter to the city council 
offered the sum of five thousand dollars for the 
furtherance of the plans of Vattemare through 
the establishment of a Public Library and 
museum, provided that ten thousand dollars be 
contributed by others for this purpose. This 
offer was never met. 

The city council voted to appropriate a 
room in the city hall to receive gifts from the 
city of Paris and other sources and appointed 
a committee to consider the expediency of es- 
tablishing a Public Library. 

In March, 1848, on the petition of the city 
council, the legislature passed the necessary 
act authorizing the establishment of such a 
library. 

You see, then, why it is that within the 
laurel wreath the name of Vattemare is seen. 
If not the founder of the Boston Public" Library 
he was at least the suggestor and the inspirer, 
and, as such, may he not be regarded as a 
pioneer of the free library movement in this 
country? 

As Mr. Winsor has said, " His scheme and 
its production are now mostly forgotten. The 
Public Library of Boston would doubtless have 
come without it ; yet in the agitation which 
Vattemare incited we must look for the earliest 
movements which can be linked connectedly 
with the fruition now enjoyed by so many." 9 

The movement for a Public Library has now 
begun to assume shape, if for a time vaguely. 
For three or four years nothing appears to 
have been done by the city council to carry 
out the provisions of the act of the legislature. 

The facts, however, that petitions were pre- 
sented requesting action and that John P. 
Bigelow, then mayor, offered on August 5, 
1850, one thousand dollars (the first gift of 



9 Additional information in regard to Vattemare may 
be found in a biographical sketch by William E. Foster, 
in volume five oi the " Memorial biographies of the New 
England Historic Genealogical Society," published in 
1894, which sketch refers toother sources of information. 



2O 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



money received for the proposed library) 
show that the scheme had not been forgotten. 

The publication of the will of John Jacob 
Astor, by the provisions of which a princely 
sum of money was bequeathed for a Public 
Library in New York City, created a deep im- 
pression in Boston, and tended to crystallize 
public opinion into definite action. 

First of all, a site for a library was to be 
chosen. Members of the city council advo- 
cated the erection of a building in connection 
with a new city hall. Others favored the 
public garden. A piece of land on Somerset 
street was finally bought, but quickly sold, by 
reason of the opposition raised to a site so 
near the Boston Athenaeum and so far from the 
centre of population, of which the trend was in 
the direction of the South End. Sites on 
Temple place and Boylston street were con- 
sidered. The committee were authorized to 
buy either ; the choice fell on the Boylston 
street lot. 

From time to time the question had arisen 
as to a union between the Boston Athenaeum 
and the Public Library. The heated contro- 
versy which arose revived interest in the 
Athenaeum (at that time thought to be mori- 
bund), and it was decided that each institution 
could occupy its own field, and that there was 
room for both an opinion which in the lapse 
of time has been justified. 

In the meantime additional shipments from 
Vattemare had been received to which citizens 
of Boston, Mr. Edward Everett and others, 
made additions. In a letter accompanying 
Mr. Everett's gift of about one thousand vol- 
umes of the priceless early public documents 
of the United States government, he said, " I 
cannot but think that a Public Library, well 
supplied with books in the various departments 
of art and science, and open at all times for 
consultation and study to the citizens at large, 
is absolutely needed to make our admirable 
system of public education complete ; and to 
continue in some good degree through life that 
happy equality of intellectual privileges, which 
now exists in our schools, but terminates with 
them. And I feel confident that with such 



moderate co-operation as I have indicated, on 
the part of the city, reliance may be safely 
placed upon individuals to do the rest. The 
Public Library would soon become an object 
of pride to the citizens of Boston ; and every 
one would feel it an honor to do something for 
its increase." 

These words were prophetic. On the for- 
mation of the first board of trustees, in 1852, 
Mr. Everett was elected as president. The 
preliminary report, drawn up by him and 
George Ticknor, at the request of the city, 
upon the objects to be attained by the estab- 
lishment of a Public Library and the best 
mode of effecting them, is a document which 
will always remain a classic. 

We think of the Boston Public Library as 
an institution to whose foundation but little 
of romance can be attached. Yet not unlike 
a fairy tale is the story of the Weymouth boy, 
Joshua Bates, who, step by step, found his 
way to the position of one of the great bankers 
of the world. How strange the chance that 
just at this time Boston, the city of the lad's 
first adoption, should seek him out in London 
for his aid in carrying out its financial projects, 
and that a copy of the report just mentioned 
should have fallen into his hands. If all the 
books that have come to the library through 
Mr. Bates's gift of one hundred thousand dol- 
lars and accumulated interest could be placed 
before you they would seem to rival the treas- 
ures of Aladdin's palace. 

The success of the library was now assured. 
How the horizon must have lifted when it was 
seen that it was no local, circulating library that 
was to be, but an institution to which students 
were to come the world over ! 

The reading room and library were opened 
in the building on Mason street, on March 20 
and May 2, 1854. 

Commissioners to erect a building were ap- 
pointed, and plans were invited, of which 
twenty-four were received. The books accu- 
mulated at the city hall were moved to the 
building of the Girls' High and Normal School 
on Mason street. Great interest was shown 
in hastening the opening of the library, the 



WHITNEY. 



21 



girls of the school offering their services as 
volunteers. 

The laying of the corner-stone of the new 
building on Sept. 17, 1855, was made the 
occasion of a public display and procession, 
with addresses by Robert C. Winthrop and 
Mayor J. V. C. Smith, with singing by the 
school children. 

The dedication of the library on Jan. I, 
1858, was an affair of more pomp and circum- 
stance, officers of the United States govern- 
ment, stale and city officials, and representa- 
tives of learned bodies marching under mili- 
tary escort to the library building. The 
addresses by Mr. Winthrop, Mr. Everett, and 
Mayor Alexander H. Rice, were listened to 
by 3,000 spectators. On Sept. 17, 1858, the 
Reading room was opened and on December 
20 the Lower Hall library of some 15,000 vol- 
umes was ready for use, with a printed index 
or catalogue. 

There was no more interested or satisfied 
spectator than Mr. Ticknor who watched 
through the day until evening all that was 
done, without seeing a moment's trouble or 
confusion, and felt sure that this great enter- 
prise was to be a success. 

A red-letter day this must have been in the 
history of Boston. As the great oak door 
swung open, how fortunate they who could 
press in with the happy crowd who had been 
waiting long and impatiently for this event. 
And yet a feeling of disappointment must have 
set in, as, gazing about, they found no spa- 
cious, lofty halls ; only a Delivery room with 
a low ceiling and two reading rooms of limited 
size, and a collection of popular books only, 
such as any town library might begin with. 
This Lower Hall library, as it was called, under 
the charge of Edward Capen, was the only 
collection of books accessible. For the open- 
ing of the main collection in its more splendid 
setting the people were to wait for over two 
years, while the work of preparation went for- 
ward with all diligence. Specialists prepared 
the titles of many thousand volumes, whose 
purchase was entrusted to Mr. Ticknor, who 



spent fifteen months in Europe at his own ex- 
pense for this purpose. 

The books as received were placed in build- 
ings near by, where they could be conven- 
iently handled. 

Public interest in the new library was in- 
tense and the generosity of the citizens knew 
no bounds. 

The late Mr. Edward Edwards, the dis- 
tinguished English' librarian, has attributed 
the great success of the Boston Public Library 
to the " co-operation between corporate func- 
tionaries on the one hand and independent 
citizens on the other," which he says has 
always existed here. In the case of libraries 
in course of formation in his own country he 
said that it would not be safe to place any 
great reliance on the acquisition of books by 
gift. 

The stream of gifts to this library has been 
constant. When the Bates Hall was opened 
for use and its first Index published it con- 
tained over 74,000 volumes, nearly all of 
which were gifts. In 1900 the library re- 
ceived 27,174 volumes, pamphlets, etc., from 
2,450 different givers. These gifts have in- 
cluded the great sums of money given by 
Joshua Bates, Jonathan Phillips, the Bow- 
ditch family, the Scholfields, William C. 
Todd, and others, and the lesser amounts from 
many givers, while private collections of price- 
less value have found their way here. 

To plan the first great Free Public Library 
in this country was a difficult undertaking. 
Nowadays delegations from towns planning 
public libraries visit other libraries far and 
near, while pictures and plans of such institu- 
tions are within reach. The founders of our 
Free Public Library were pioneers and had no 
such models before them. They proceeded 
carefully and tentatively, even at times with 
timidity, fearing lest their desires might seem 
too magnificent for public support and bind 
the city for all time to greater burdens than it 
might be willing to assume. But they found, 
as their successors have found, that public 
opinion has not only sustained but has led the 



22 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



way, and the city government has always 
been proud of its library and most generous. 
That there should have been much difference 
of opinion among the founders as to the con- 
struction of the building might be expected. 
A new party had just then come into power 
Know-Nothings, so-called, who were eager to 
prove that they knew all things which was 
very trying to the old-fashioned Bostonian. 
Even as to what should be the scope and 
function of the new library they were not en- 
tirely agreed, as may be seen in the " Life, 
letters and journals of George Ticknor." 
Most important of all, was it to be a popular 
institution with the free circulation of its 
books, or one mainly for scholars, like other 
libraries then in existence? It must be both 
these was the wise conclusion. 

The office of Superintendent having been 
created by an ordinance of the city, the library 
was most fortunate in securing the services of 
Mr. Charles Coffin Jewett, who had been the 
librarian of Brown University and the Smith- 
sonian Institution, a most skilled bibliographer 
and energetic administrator. A card cata- 
logue having been prepared, the books were 
placed upon the shelves, arranged after the 
Decimal System of Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, one 
of the trustees of the library and afterwards 
mayor of the city of Boston. 

It was called the Decimal System because the 
alcoves were multiples of ten, and each sub- 
divided so as to contain exactly ten ranges of 
shelves, and each range to contain ten shelves, 
making, barring exceptions, one hundred 
shelves to each alcove. 

Whether or not this system was what its 
designer intended it to be, namely, " compre- 
hensive, positive, intelligible, and immutable," 
it was at least cunningly devised and quickly 
mastered. The runner for books on his first 
day's service learned that the entry 2345.7 
meant the twenty-third alcove, the fourth 
range, the fifth shelf, and the seventh book on 
the shelf, and he never fumbled or forgot it. 
When the library was moved to Copley square 
all this fair and immutable fabric came near 
tumbling to pieces, at least all the self-ex- 



planatory part of it, and the strain on the 
memory became great. 

Work was next begun on a printed cata- 
logue for the Upper Hall collection. The two 
volumes published in 1861 and 1866 were 
planned on the dictionary system, author, 
subject, and title being in one alphabet, and 
were called Indexes, as pointing to the card 
catalogue for fuller entries. Mr. Winsor says 
that it was the most advanced specimen of 
library cataloguing which had then been pro- 
duced in America, 10 and, as Agassiz predicted, 
it has had a lasting influence upon the gen- 
eral culture of our community. 

A glance at these catalogues will show that 
the books were for the use of scholars and 
were selected by scholars who were inspired by 
high ideals. 

In 1854, soon after the opening of the Astor 
Library, Dr. Cogswell, the superintendent, 
wrote, 11 " I never want to see a reader who does 
not come for a valuable purpose "... 
and he abhorred all who read ' ' the trashy, as 
Scott, Cooper, Dickens, Punch, and the Illus- 
trated News." 

In our own Index Cooper and Dickens are 
hardly represented at all, or Irving, or for that 
matter, Shelley, or Keats, or even Words- 
worth. They were to be looked for in the col- 
lection in the Lower Hall. Later, when it was 
decided that the Upper Hall collection should 
be a lending library and not one for consulta- 
tion only, it took on a more popular character. 

The whole library was now equipped and 
started upon its course, when, suddenly, Mr. 
Jewett died ; the death of Mr. William E. Jill- 
son, the assistant superintendent, followed a 
little later. Mr. Everett had died some time 
before and Mr. Ticknor had given up active 
duty by reason of advancing age. 

At this critical time, the four pillars of the 
library removed, two men appeared who were to 
influence profoundly its future. One was Mr. 
William Whitwell Greenough, a trustee of the 
library for thirty-two years, for twenty-two of 
which he was the president of the board. Mr. 

10 Winsor's Memorial history, iv., 290. 

11 Life of Joseph Green Cogswell, pp. 264, 265. 



WHITNEY. 



Greenough, bred as a scholar and literary man, 
was later called to be the president of a great 
business corporation. He brought to the ser- 
vice of the library a wide acquaintance with 
books, together with a knowledge of men and 
of affairs. Almost daily for thirty- two years 
he came to the library and gave its affairs his 
closest attention. 

In the year 1867 appeared a report of the 
committee appointed to examine the library, 
which attracted wide attention. Written by 
Justin Winsor, a newly appointed trustee, it 
showed a grasp as of one long trained in the 
service. It was evident that a master librarian 
was at hand. Mr. Winsor was at once put in 
charge of the library and a little later made its 
Superintendent and began an administration 
of great vigor. 

The library building, planned to last through 
the century, already in ten years had outgrown 
its limits. In the specifications of the com- 
missioners there was no mention of working 
rooms ; cataloguers and binders worked in the 
alcoves. Rooms for the business of the li- 
brary had to be provided and much additional 
shelf room. 

The original Act of the General Court of 
Massachusetts in 1851 authorized cities and 
towns to establish and maintain public libra- 
ries with or without branches. In the report 
of the Boston Public Library for 1859 the hope 
is expressed that the central library might in 
time " become the parent of a circle of district 
libraries scattered about the city, each with 
separate resources." 

The first of such branches was opened in 
East Boston in 1870; another in Roxbury 
followed in 1873, m a building erected by the 
Fellowes Athenaeum ; and this movement has 
kept on steadily, until now the library has ten 
branch libraries, with large collections of 
books and 107 reading-rooms, stations, and 
other agencies. 

From the beginning it had been seen that 
so great had become the growth of the library 
that the publication of its general catalogue in 
book form could not be continued. Class 
lists were prepared, and in 1867 a bulletin of 



new accessions was begun, which publication, 
with changes of form, has continued until now. 
In time these catalogues and bulletins had 
become so numerous as to choke all approach 
to the books. 

Mr. Jewett had affirmed as far back as 
1 86 1 that " Nothing short of what a card cat- 
alogue is in plan can ever be regarded as en- 
tirely satisfactory for a great public library." 
This opinion was confirmed as time went on. 
In the year 1871 the foundations were laid of 
a card catalogue, the idea of which was bor- 
rowed from the Library of the University of 
Leyden, and intended to give, under author 
and subject, full entries for all the books in the 
library. 12 

This collection of cards, printed within the 
library building, has gone on increasing day 
by day for thirty years until it now includes 
two general catalogues for the central library, 
with duplicates for each of the special depart- 
mental libraries, and independent catalogues 
for each of the branches. The number of 
cards placed last year in their catalogues was 
265,000. 

The attempt was now made to guide readers 
in the selection and use of books by means of 
annotated catalogues which proved to be most 
helpful. 

Mr. Winsor resigned the office of Superin- 
tendent Oct. i, 1877. Under his management 
the library increased from 144,000 volumes to 
320,000 ; the home and library use of books 
increased from 209,000 to nearly 1,200,000. 

The library was placed in charge of Dr. 
Samuel A. Green, one of the trustees, for a 
year ; the trustees of the library were made a 
corporation in 1878 ; and Mellen Chamberlain 
was chosen the librarian (as the office was now 
called), Oct. i, 1878. 

Judge Chamberlain was especially interested 
in American history, and the development of 
the library during his administration was 
largely in this direction. To this end the 



12 The planning of this catalogue fell largely upon Will- 
iam A. Wheeler, the Assistant Superintendent, a scholar 
of accuracy and wide knowledge, whose death in 1874 
was a severe loss to the library. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



coming of the Barlow and John A. Lewis 
collections and the Franklin collection of Dr. 
Samuel A. Green contributed. He also de- 
sired a closer co-operation between the library 
and the public schools. His plans, long 
delayed, have been effectively revived re- 
cently. Judge Chamberlain's chief monument, 
however, will be the collection of manuscripts 
which he bequeathed to the library. In his 
time the scholarly side of the library was 
shown by the publication of the catalogues of 
the Ticknor and the Barton libraries. 

The library, during the last two years of the 
occupancy of the Boylston street building, was 
under the charge of Theodore F. Dwight. 

On April 22, 1880, the General Court gave 
to the city of Boston a parcel of land, situated 
on the southerly corner of Dartmouth street 
and Boylston street, for a building for the 
Public Library. 

In 1883 additional land was bought and the 
sum of $450,000 was granted by the city 
council for a building. Plans were invited, of 
which twenty were received, of various degrees 
of merit. One had a tall chimney, like a 
factory, or brewery, with a large room labelled 
' Beer," thus anticipating notions which are 
in the air just now. Another room was for 
" Supernumeraries." Just what this room was 
to be used for did not appear possibly for a 
sort of doctor's waiting-room for applicants for 
positions in the library. On March 30, 1885, 
the city architect was directed to prepare plans 
to submit to the trustees. In these five years 
of waiting there had arisen a growing sense 
that a building of greater dignity and beauty 
was required than could be provided with the 
means at the disposal of the library. In 1887 



an act was passed giving the trustees full 
power in the matter, and Messrs. McKim, 
Mead, and White were chosen to design and 
supervise the construction of the new building, 
for which ample means were supplied by the 
city. 

On the resignation of Mr. Greenough in 
1888, Mr. Samuel A. B. Abbott was chosen 
president of the Board of Trustees. To these 
gentlemen and their associates the city of 
Boston is deeply indebted for the successful 
carrying out of an enterprise of great magni- 
tude and difficulty. 

On Nov. 28, 1888, the corner-stone of the 
new building was laid, with addresses, and a 
poem by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

The special collections, beginning with the 
Allen A. Brown Music Library, were moved 
in the autumn of 1894; on December 14 the 
removal of the main body of books was begun. 
On the 28th of January, 1895, all the books 
belonging to the library were on the shelves of 
the new building. 

It was a sad day when the dear old Boylston 
street library was given up to an " Eden 
Muse," with its exhibitions of wild beasts 
and " Chamber of Horrors." No wonder that 
those who later tore down the building were 
confronted by an immense python, sent there 
by the avenging gods. 

The new library was opened to the public 
without ceremony on March n, 1895. Mr. 
Herbert Putnam was appointed librarian, and 
to him was entrusted the important work of 
reorganization. 

Its history since that time is outlined in the 
annual reports as well as in the new Hand- 
book prepared for this Conference. 



HUNT. 



THE CATALOGUE OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON. 
BY E. B. HUNT, Chief Cataloguer, Boston Public Library. 



A REAL catalogue is the opposite of a poet, 
fit non nascitur. It is, I believe, always 
an evolution more or less rapid and successful, 
and I suspect that a slow growth brings about 
a more trustworthy and sturdy result than a 
more rapid and pyrotechnic development. 
The oak grows slowly, but it outlasts many a 
maple. 

The foundations of the catalogue of the 
Boston Public Library were laid broad and 
deep by that excellent librarian Charles C. 
Jewett. There have been times of halting 
and even of retrogression, but they have been 
not for long, and the catalogue has grown 
very largely on lines laid down by Mr. Jewett. 

The first catalogue of our library is a small 
octavo volume published in 1854. It is en- 
titled, " Catalogue of the Public Library of the 
City of Boston," and in the preface it is called 
"A condensed index of the contents of the 
Public Library, giving the title of each book 
only once and having no object but to render 
all the books useful. The whole number 
of volumes in the library somewhat exceeds 
12,000." 

In 1858 was published, in large octavo, the 
Index to the catalogue of a portion of the Pub- 
lic Library arranged in the Lower Hall. This 
Index "contains the titles of about 15,000 
volumes, all placed in the Lower Hall. As a 
popular circulating library, therefore, the col- 
ection now offered to the public contains 
probably three times as many desirable books 
as the one offered four or five years ago." 
Supplements to this catalogue were published 
at short intervals, eight having appeared up to 
1865. 

The Index to the catalogue of books in the 
Upper Hall of the Public Library of the city 
of Boston was published in 1861 ; a fat volume 
of 900 pages, two columns brevier to the page, 
embracing about 55,000 volumes, all in the 
Upper Hall. From this it appears that be- 



tween 1854 and 1860 the collection grew from 
12,000 to 74,000 volumes. 

1866. This year was published the First 
Supplement to the Index of 1861. This 
Index embraces about 34,000 volumes, which 
brings the number of volumes in the library 
in July, 1866, up to about 105,000. 

In the preface to the Index of 1858 the 
trustees state: "It will be observed that the 
catalogue now published is entitled ' An In- 
dex. 1 The larger one, when published, will 
probably offer a title of no higher pretensions. 
The main catalogue ... is much more ample 
and important, and is to be found in manu- 
script, alphabetically arranged on separate 
cards, indicating the contents of the library 
with as much minuteness of detail, both by 
subjects and by authors, as the means at the 
disposition of the trustees have permitted 
them to make it." Then follow these words 
of wisdom : ' Next to the collection of its 
books, the trustees look upon the catalogue 
as the most important part of the library, for 
it is the part by which the whole mass of its 
resources is opened for easy use the key by 
which all its treasures are unlocked to the 
many who . . . are asking for them so 
often and so earnestly. A large library without 
good catalogues has sometimes been compared 
to a Polyphemus without an eye, and more 
frequently to chaos, which it certainly too 
much resembles. This reproach the trustees 
hope to avoid for the Public Library, Which 
they desire, above everything else, to render 
useful." That is the key-note of the Boston 
Public Library. 

Please note the date at which it is said that 
" the main catalogue is to be found in manu- 
script alphabetically arranged on separate 
cards," October, 1858. 

This fact, and the additional fact that Ezra 
Abbot had a card catalogue of subjects in the 
Harvard library equipped with blocks, rods, 



26 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



etc., in 1 86 1, would seem to militate some- 
what against the statement made on current 
note-paper and bill-heads of the Library 
Bureau, a corporation established in 1876, 
that the Bureau is the inventor of the card 
system . 

There is another expression in the trustees' 
preface regarding the main card catalogue, 
namely, that it is more ample and important 
than the printed indexes. The word " ample" 
is a most happy one. Those cards were about 
5i X 6| inches in size, and when it became 
necessary, from length of title or contents, to 
use more than the face of one card, it was 
turned over and the back was utilized. This 
catalogue was not open to the public, but 
could be consulted under the guidance of the 
superintendent or his deputies. It served as 
the basis of all the indexes and lists published 
in book form from 1855 to 1866, when the 
first supplement appeared. As this title indi- 
cates, the intention was to print other supple- 
ments as they should be necessary, say once 
in five years. But the nuisance of so many 
alphabets, and new light on the merits of card 
catalogues for public as well as official use, led 
the trustees to abandon the attempt to keep 
up the main catalogue in book form. Promises 
of a forthcoming supplement appear in the 
annual reports of the Trustees from 1867- 
1872. At the latter date, however, is a 
definite statement that there would be no 
further attempt to print another supplement, 
and that the main catalogue would be on 
cards, printed so far as possible, and accessi- 
ble to all uses of the library. 

These "printed" cards were made by 
pasting titles on cards. The titles were 
printed on long galley strips, about one hun- 
dred titles to the form. Thirty impressions 
were generally taken, and were used for special 
lists, etc., in addition to those which were 
mounted and placed in the Public and Official 
catalogues. Gradually the index and first 
supplement were cut up and mounted on cards 
and placed in the Public catalogue, also the 
Bulletins, which had been published between 
the printing of the first supplement and the 



establishment of the card catalogue, were 
mounted and placed in the Public catalogue. 
These pasted titles from the index and sup- 
plement were never inserted in the Official 
catalogue and now only those which have been 
reprinted are to be found in that catalogue ; 
probably 60 per cent, now appear on printed 
cards in both the Public and Official cata- 
logues. During the year 1875 about 70,000 
cards were added to these two catalogues. 

In the year 1869, Mr. Justin Winsor being 
superintendent, a new departure was made in 
the method of dealing with pamphlets. Mr. 
Winsor's own description of it is as follows : 
" Instead of treating each pamphlet of a 
bound volume separately, as if it were a book 
by itself, the volume has been treated as a 
whole, the entry being made under the author 
or subject, just as one or the other was the 
bond of union between the pamphlets, with 
full cross references from a table of contents. 
The gain in compactness more and more 
necessary as our library increases was 
thought to warrant a departure from the prin- 
ciples so well laid down by my predecessor 
[Mr. Jewett] in his manual on catalogue 
work." 

This is what is called in poetry the Lumping 
system ; and with all respect to Mr. Winsor 
and the many good things he did for our 
library and others, it is a system of which the 
" craft and subtilty of the Devil" might well 
be proud. Certainly the mind of man could 
not, unaided by infernal powers, devise a 
worse. Of course it knocked the alphabet 
under both author and subject galley west. 
Then in his rage for historical pamphlet-vol- 
umes the same pamphlet was used over and 
over again. For instance, a volume on the 
history of Charlestown must needs contain 
Webster's Oration at the Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment, so must a volume of Boston history, 
also, Bunker Hill Battle ; Siege of Boston ; 
Bunker Hill Monument Association ; Webster 
himself; Orations, Collected; New England, 
History, Revolution ; United States History, 
Revolution; Concord, Battle of; Lexington, 
Battle of; and soon almost without limit. At 



HUNT. 



all events, we had at one time on the shelves 
and catalogued in one way or another thirty- 
three copies of this oration. Mr. Winsor for 
years poured these pamphlet volumes on to the 
shelves, and the " compact " cards for them 
into the catalogue. At length, about twenty 
years ago, largely through the efforts of Mr. 
Whitney and Mr. Swift, this sort of so-called 
cataloging was stopped and we have been try- 
ing to do over what is worth preserving of this 
mass of stuff, and get rid of the burdensome 
duplicates and purge the catalogues of the 
pamphlet- volume cards. It has been a wofully 
expensive piece of work, and the end is not 
yet. 

To return to the evolution of the catalogue. 
In August, 1876, a change was made, "by 
which it was calculated that half the cost and 
half the delay would be saved. The titles were 
written with prepared ink, 20 to a sheet, and 
by a new process the autograph was trans- 
ferred upon either a lithographer's stone or a 
gelatine plate, from which impressions were 
taken with ordinary printers' ink upon the nec- 
essary number of sheets of Bristol board. 
These being cut up by a machine were con- 
verted at once without the labor of dissecting 
and pasting sheets into cards ready for the 
catalogue, so far as the main entries were con- 
cerned, and only needing the inscription of the 
cross-reference heading for the others." Dur- 
ing this year, 1876, 71,345 cards were placed 
in the catalogues. 

The use of these process sheets continued 
until 1879. I n that year the printing of cards 
directly on sheets of board was undertaken by 
a printer who furnished his own plant ajid was 
paid so much a title, the library furnishing the 
stock. This was the beginning of our present 
style of cards. There have been many changes 
as to faces of type, measure of the lines, etc., 
but no radical change. In the beginning, and 
for many years, the main entry gave no hint of 
the subject headings, but these were added in 
manuscript on the backs of the main or author 
cards. Since 1877 the revision of the cata- 
logue has been going on with greater or less 
regularity and is still progressing. As indica- 



tive of the amount of work which is doing in 
this way, I will remark that in 1899-1900 
there were re-catalogued 13,382 volumes and 
parts of volumes; in 1900-01, 22,583 volumes 
and parts were re-catalogued. The hope is to 
reprint all the pasted and manuscript cards 
and bring the whole catalogue up to the pres- 
ent standard. 

The printing of the cards within the Library 
building has continued since 1879. Shortly 
after our removal to the present building the 
Printing Department was much enlarged. 
Two linotypes were purchased and three 
presses of different sorts, and all the printing 
of the library, including cards, annual lists, 
bulletins, class catalogues, finding lists, 
forms, call-slips, etc., etc., is done within 
the building, The annual report of the 
library, being a city document is, of course, 
published by the city. The output of cards 
has grown steadily since the establishment of 
the Printing Department, and the number filed 
this last year, including Branches, was over 
265,000 ; of this number 232,000 were put in 
the catalogues of the Central Library. The 
Public catalogue, that in Bates Hall, contains 
approximately 1,200,000 cards. Our cards 
run about 70 to the inch, and at that rate there 
are in the Public catalogue 1,428 linear feet, 
or something over a quarter of a mile of cards 
standing on edge. 

It has been found expedient to multiply our 
departmental catalogues. The Fine Arts De- 
partment, the Brown Music Library, and the 
Map Collection has each its own catalogue 
which is duplicated in the Bates Hall catalogue. 
The cards of the other special collections, 
such as the Ticknor, Barton, Bowditch, Prince, 
and others, are filed in one alphabet in cases in 
the Barton-Ticknor room, on the third floor. 
The Statistical Department has its own cata- 
logue. About 60 per cent, of all titles are 
placed in three catalogues, that is, in the 
Public catalogue in Bates Hall, the Official, 
in the Catalogue Department, and in at least 
one of the Special libraries catalogues. The 
total number of cards in all the catalogues can- 
not be less than two and one-half millions. 



28 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



Many men have made their impress on the 
catalogue : Mr. Jewett, clarnm et venerabile 
nomen ! Mr. Winsor, Mr. W. A. Wheeler< 
Mr. James M. Hubbard, and most of all since 
Mr. Jewett, Mr. James L. Whitney, our present 
Librarian. 

So much for the growth of the catalogue. 
As for the sort of catalogue it is, I sup- 
pose every one in this audience knows that 
it is a dictionary catalogue. It is built on 
lines of common sense, and utility has always 
overborne consistency in its making. Many 
of us who have worked longest upon it have 
had much opportunity to deal directly with the 
public and to get a good notion of how the 
average man approaches a big catalogue. If 
we can hit the subject heading that the average 
man will look for, we adopt it, and care very 
little whether it is scientifically consistent with 
the rest of our allied subject headings. Of 
course we always mean to make a see refer- 
ence from the logically scientific heading to 
the one which we adopt, if different, and we 
also try to keep all our allied subject-headings 
connected together by full and minute cross- 
references. 

There are many points which, were we 
making the catalogue de novo, we should 
probably change. I think perhaps one of the 
worst of our faults is the geographical arrange- 
ment of subjects, particularly those of a scien- 
tific sort, such as botany or geology. At 
present it is impossible for the specialist to 
find everything we have on such a subject as 
botany, for each monograph on the botany of 
any particular place was for many years 
entered under the name of the place only. 
For the last six or eight years we have tried 
to remedy this defect by putting these titles 
under both the local and general subject- 
headings, and inasmuch as the bulk of this 
sort of writings is in pamphlet form and is on 



pasted or manuscript cards which will sooner 
or later be reprinted, the specialist will be able 
when that is done to find all of our material 
on such subjects in one place. 

We treat every separate publication, whether 
a broadside or a book of a thousand pages, as 
a volumes and we do all the analysis work that 
we can. Collections of monographs by differ- 
ent writers we always analyze, and we try to 
do this work on the publications of academies 
and learned societies all the world over. 
Nothing, I believe, enriches a catalogue so 
much or makes its material so accessible as 
this analysis work. For the last five years we 
have done on the average between five thou- 
sand and six thousand such titles yearly. 

But I do not intend to apologize for the 
catalogue. It was a pioneer in catalogue work 
in this country, and with all its inconsistencies 
and short-comings, of which no one is so con- 
scious as we who have given our lives, or the 
best part of them, to its upbuilding, it is the 
best catalogue, bulk for bulk, in the world 
This is not an official opinion, but is one ex- 
pressed in my hearing within a month by the 
ripest scholar I know, who has used libraries 
and catalogues not only in Europe, but in all 
parts of this country. Mr. Alleyne Ireland, a 
thorough Englishman who is now on a mission 
to the Far East, sent by the University of 
Chicago, expressed in almost the same words 
his admiration of our catalogue. He had been 
using it steadily for nearly a year, when, last 
summer, he returned to England, and while 
in London tried to continue his work at the 
British Museum. He tried it for nearly a 
week, and then, as he told me, he went to a 
high official and said: " My time is too valu- 
able for me to work in this library ; what 
you should do is to take your entire force over 
to the States and learn how to run a library 
and make a catalogue." 



BOSTW1CK. 



PAINS AND PENALTIES IN LIBRARY WORK. 
BY ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chief of the Circtdation Department, New York Public Library. 



1 N somewhat the same way as Irving makes 
Diedrich Knickerbocker begin his history of 
New York with the creation of the world, so 
we may open a discussion of this subject with 
a word on the theory of punishment. We all 
know that neither moral philosophers nor 
penologists are agreed in this matter. Do we 
inflict punishment to satisfy our eternal sense 
of justice* to prevent further wrong-doing on 
the part of the person punished, as an example 
to others, or to reform the delinquent? So far 
as the justicial theory goes, it is unnecessary 
here to discuss whether it is founded merely on 
the old savage feeling of revenge, which hav- 
ing done its part in ensuring punishment to 
the wrong-doer in the uncivilized past, should 
now be put aside. As a matter of fact the 
rule, " Let no guilty man escape," is a very 
good one for practical purposes, whatever its 
theoretical implications. Why should it be 
necessary to proceed according to any one 
theory in administering punishment? Practi- 
cally in the home, at school, and in the court- 
room the simple administration of justice does 
very well for us, and when we go a little farther 
into the matter we see that each of the other 
elements enters into consideration. Certainly 
it is so in the library. 

Penalties for the infraction of our rules 
should be so inflicted that future wrong-doing 
both on the part of the culprit and on that of 
the remainder of the public becomes less likely 
than before. Whether we always do this in 
the most satisfactory way may be queried. 

Punishable acts committed in a library may 
be divided, according to the old ecclesiastical 
classification, into mala prohibita and mala in 
se ; in other words, into acts that are simply 
contrary to library regulations and those that 
are absolutely wrong. To steal a book is 
wrong anywhere and does not become so 
merely because the act is committed in a li- 
brary ; but the retention of a borrowed book for 



fifteen instead of fourteen days is not absolutely 
wrong, but simply contrary to library regula- 
tions. 

The keeping of books overtime is a purely 
library offence, committed against the library 
and to 'be punished by the library; and with 
it may be classed such infractions of the rules 
as failure to charge or discharge a book, loud 
talking or misbehavior below the rank of really 
disorderly conduct, such injury to books as 
does not constitute wilful mutilation, the giv- 
ing of a fictitious name at the application desk, 
etc. 

For all these strictly library offences the 
favorite penalties seem to be two in number 
the exaction of a fine and exclusion from library 
privileges temporary or permanent. The 
former is more used than the latter, and I 
venture to think unjustly so. From the sole 
standpoint of punishment the great advantage 
of a fine is that it touches people in their most 
sensitive point the pocket. But this is a 
ganglion whose sensitiveness is in inverse pro- 
portion to its size ; in one case the exaction of 
a cent means the confiscation of the posses- 
sor's entire fortune ; in another the delinquent 
could part with a hundred dollars without 
depriving himself of a necessity or a pleasure. 
Of course this lack of adaptability to the con- 
ditions of the person to be punished is not 
confined to this one method. Imprisonment, 
for instance, may be the ruin of a life to the 
hitherto respectable person, while to the tramp 
it may simply mean a month's shelter and food. 
But in the case of a money penalty the lack of 
adaptability is particularly noticeable, and hence 
wherever it is exacted a large portion of the 
public comes to forget that it is a penalty at all. 
Instead of a punishment exacted in return for 
the commission of a misdemeanor and in- 
tended to discourage the repetition thereof, it 
is looked upon as payment for the privilege of 
committing the misdemeanor, and it in fact 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



becomes this very thing. Thus, in states 
where there is a prohibitory law, and periodi- 
cal raids are made on saloons with the result- 
ing fines, these fines often become in effect 
license fees, and are so regarded by both 
delinquents and authorities. Where a munici- 
pality provides that automobiles shall not be 
speeded in its streets under penalty of a heavy 
fine, the wealthy owners of motor-carriages too 
often regard this as permission to speed on 
payment of a stated amount, and act accord- 
ingly. So in the library, the fine for keeping 
books overtime is widely regarded as a charge 
for the privilege of keeping the books longer 
than the formal rules allow. Being so re- 
garded, the fine loses a great part of its puni- 
tive effect, and largely becomes in fact what it 
is popularly thought to be. Thus we have a 
free public library granting extra privileges to 
those who can afford to pay for them and with- 
holding the same from those who cannot afford 
to pay an extremely objectional state of 
things. 

In making this characterization I am aware 
that the sale of additional facilities and privi- 
leges by a free library is regarded as proper by 
a large number of librarians, and that the ex- 
tension of systems of which it is a feature is 
widely urged. It is found in the St. Louis 
plan for fiction, which has been so successful, 
and still more in Mr. Dewey's proposed library 
bookstore. That all these plans are admirable 
in many ways may be freely acknowledged. 
In so far as they may be adopted by endowed 
libraries they are certainly unobjectionable. 
But in spite of their advantages, it seems to 
me that their use in an institution supported 
from the public funds is a mistake. The 
direct payment of money to any institution so 
supported, even if such payment is logically 
justifiable, is open to so much misconstruction 
and is so commonly misunderstood or misin- 
terpreted, that I would hold up as an ideal the 
total abolition of all money transactions 
between the individual members of a public 
and institutions supported by that public as a 
whole. 

The present subject evidently does not 



justify further discussion of this point, but its 
mention here is proper because if library fines 
have become in many cases payments for a 
privilege, that very fact should lead those who 
agree with what has been said above to strive 
for their abolition. 

Another objection to the fine, which is, 
curiously enough, also the chief reason why it 
is almost hopeless to look for its abolition, is 
the fact that wherever fines have been applied 
they have become a source of revenue that 
cannot well be neglected. In a village not far 
from New York the receipts from bicycle fines 
at one time nearly paid the running expenses 
of the place. Agitation in favor of substituting 
other methods of punishing the cyclists who 
ride on the sidewalks and fail to light their 
lamps at sundown would evidently be hopeless 
here. In the same way receipts from fines 
have become a very considerable source of in- 
come in large libraries, and are not to be 
neglected even in small ones. This is appar- 
ent in the following table : 

Income. Fines. 

Boston $309,417.52 $4,621.45 

Chicago .... 285,051.22 7,131.19 

Philadelphia 141,954.45 ^1385.53 

Brooklyn 105,081.19 4,013.26 

N. Y. F. C. L 91,613.12 4,648.98 

Buffalo 87,946.85 2,951.21 

Milwaukee . 71,328.80 1,295.09 

San Francisco 64,066.31 2,250.85 

Newark 43,760.36 ' 1,905.17 

Evidently the abolition of fines in these 
cases would mean a reduction of income that 
would make itself felt at once. 

Now, of course, the knowledge that the de- 
tection of wrongdoing is financially profitable 
to the detector results in increased vigilance. 
So far, that is a good thing. But it goes 
farther than this : it makes the authorities 
strict regarding technicalities ; it may even 
lead to the encouragement of infraction of the 
law in order that the penalties may reach a 
larger amount. In the town that is supported 
by bicycle fines we may fairly conclude that no 
resident calls the attention of the unwary cy- 
clist to the warning sign, past which he wheels 
toward the sidewalk. To do so would de- 



BOSTWICK. 



crease the village revenue and raise taxes. So 
too, what librarian would wish to adopt any 
course that will certainly reduce the money at 
his disposal for salaries and books ? 

Supposing, however, that this loss can be 
made up in some way, is there anything that 
can be substituted for the fine ? It has already 
been stated that suspension from library priv- 
ileges is in use as a penalty to a considerable 
extent, and there seems to be no reason why 
this should not be extended to the case of 
overdue books. There might, for instance, be 
a rule that for every day of illegal retention of 
a book the holder should be suspended from 
library privileges for one week. The date of 
expiration of the suspension would be noted 
on the holder's card, and the card would not 
be returned to him before that date. 

This plan would probably have interesting 
results which there is not time to anticipate 
here. But as long as books cost money and 
librarians refuse to work altogether for love, 
financial considerations must play a large part 
in library changes. The only way in which 
fines can be abolished without decreasing in- 
come is to make the abolition a condition of 
an increased appropriation, which, of course, 
could be done by the appropriating body. 
The making of such a condition is extremely 
unlikely. Hence, if we agree that fines are 
undesirable we must regard their abolition as 
an unattainable ideal. We may, however, 
treat them so as to minimize their bad effect, 
and this, I believe, may be done in either or 
both of the following two ways : 

(i) We may emphasize the punitive value 
of the fine and at the same time increase its 
value as a source of revenue by making it 
larger. This would doubtless decrease the 
number of overdue books, and the exact point 
where the increase should stop would be the 
point where this decrease should so balance 
the increase of fines as to make the total re- 
ceipts a maximum ; or, if this maximum should 
greatly exceed the revenue received from fines 
under the old arrangement, then the rate 
could be still farther increased until the total 
receipts fell to the old amount. The practi- 



cal method would be to increase the fines by a 
fraction of a cent per day at intervals of several 
months, comparing the total receipts for each 
interval with that of the corresponding period 
under the old arrangement ; and stopping when 
this sum showed signs of decrease. 

(2) We may give the librarian the option 
of substituting suspension for the fine when- 
ever, in his judgment, this is advisable. This 
is the course pursued by the law when it gives 
to the trial judge the option of fining or im- 
prisoning an offender. In cases where a fine 
is no punishment at all, and where books are 
kept overtime deliberately, suspension from 
library privileges would probably prove salu- 
tary. A variant of the second plan would be 
to allow the culprit himself to substitute sus- 
pension for his fine. This in effect is what 
the offender in the police court does when he 
avows that he has not the money to pay his 
fine and is sent to jail to work it off. At pres- 
ent when a library offender is manifestly una- 
ble to pay his fine there is usually no alternative 
but to remit it or to deny the culprit access to 
the library until it is paid in many cases an 
unreasonably heavy punishment. 

Of course there is no reason why all these 
modifications of existing rules should not be 
made together. According to this plan fines 
would be raised and suspension would be sub- 
stituted in any case at the librarian's option 
and in all cases where the person fined avows 
that he is unable to pay his fine. The rates 
can be so adjusted that under this plan there 
is no decrease of revenue, but rather a net in- 
crease. 

Of course the adoption of such rules would 
be regarded by a large portion of the public as 
a curtailment of privileges, but such an outcry 
as it would probably raise ought not to be ob- 
jectionable as it is a necessary step in the in- 
struction of the users of a library regarding the 
proper function of penalties for infraction of 
its rules. These rules are for the benefit of 
the majority and the good sense of that major- 
ity ought to, and doubtless would, come to the 
rescue of the library authorities on short notice. 

As long as the library fine is a recognized 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



penalty, numerous petty questions will continue 
to arise regarding its collection, registration, 
and use. Any exhaustive treatment of these 
is impossible in the limits of a single paper and 
I have chosen to neglect most of them in order 
to dwell on the question in its larger aspects. 
It is the exaction of the fine, after all, that is 
the library penalty the money is part of the 
library income and its collection and disposi- 
tion are properly questions of finance. One 
point, however, regarding the disposition of 
the fines bears directly on what has been said. 
In municipal public libraries like that of Boston, 
where the city requires that the fines shall be 
turned directly into the public treasury and not 
retained for library use, the substitution of a 
different penalty would presumably involve no 
diminution of income. From ordinary consid- 
erations of equity, however, it seems to me 
that this disposition of the fines is objectiona- 
ble. If the fines are to be turned into the city 
treasury they should be placed to the credit of 
the library appropriation as they are in 
Brooklyn. 

Regarding the collection of fines there are 
one or two points that bear directly on their 
efficiency as a punitive measure. First, shall 
fines be charged ? It seems a hardship to re- 
fuse a well-known member a book because he 
does not happen to have with him the change 
to pay a 15 cent fine. This point of view, 
however, loses sight again of the element of 
punishment. When the delinquent who is 
fined a dollar in the police court does not have 
the money with him, does he request the mag- 
istrate to charge it and send in a bill for the 
month's penalties all at once? The true 
method, I am convinced, is to insist on cash 
payment of fines, and if this is done promptly 
their character as penalties will be more gener- 
ally recognized. 

Another point in regard to the collection 
of fines is their effect on the assistants them- 
selves. In -every library a stream of money 
passes in at the desk in very small amounts. 
This must all be accounted for, and we have 
the alternative of requiring vouchers for every 
cent or of simply keeping a memorandum 



account and seeing that the cash corresponds 
with it at the close of the day. 

This latter plan, in some form, is usually 
adopted. To misappropriate funds under these 
circumstances is not difficult, and I submit that 
it is not right to place a large number of young 
girls in a situation where such misappropriation 
is easy and safe. In spite of Mark Twain, who 
prays that he may be led into temptation early 
and often, that he may get accustomed to it, I 
do not believe that this is a good general policy 
to pursue. We all know of cases where as- 
sistants have fallen into temptation, and we 
should not hold the library altogether blame- 
less in the matter. But on general principles 
such a plan is not good business. Every one 
who is responsible for money collected must 
show vouchers that he turns over every cent 
that has been given to him. Why should the 
library assistant be an exception? I look to 
see some form of cash register on every charg- 
ing desk in the ideal library of the future, nor 
can I see that its use would be a reflection on 
the honesty of the assistants any more than the 
refusal of a bank to cash an improperly en- 
dorsed check is a reflection on the honesty of 
the holder. 

This is on the supposition that we are to 
retain the fine as a penalty. Such considera- 
tions, of course, weigh down the balance still 
more strongly in favor of its abolition. 

I have devoted so much space to the penalty 
for keeping books overtime because the rule 
on this subject is the one that is chiefly broken 
in a free public library. Other offences are 
usually dealt with by suspension, and very 
properly so. For the loss or accidental injury 
of a book, however, a fine is again the penalty, 
and here, as the offence is the causing- of a 
definite money loss to the library, there is 
more reason for it. The money in this case, 
indeed, is to be regarded as damages, and its 
payment is rather restitution than punishment. 
Even here, however, the argument against 
money transactions with a free institution 
seems to hold good. There is no reason in 
the majority of cases why he who loses or 
destroys a book should not give to the library 



BOSTWICK. 



33 



a new copy instead of the price thereof, and 
for minor injury suspension is surely an ade- 
quate penalty. 

Here we may pause for a moment to ask : 
What right has a library to inflict any penalties 
at all ? I must leave the full discussion of this 
question to the lawyers, but I am quite sure 
that libraries, like some other corporations, 
often enact and enforce rules that they have no 
legal right to make. To cite an instance that 
came under my own observation, the Brooklyn 
Public Library's rules were for .more than a 
year, according to good authority, absolutely 
invalid because they had not been enacted by 
the Municipal Assembly, and that library had 
no right to collect a single fine. Yet during 
this time it -did collect fines amounting to 
several thousand dollars, and not a word of 
protest was heard from the public. In this 
and similar cases we are getting down to first 
principles the consent of the governed ; 
which, whether based on ignorance or knowl- 
edge, is what we must rely on in the end for 
the enforcement of law in self-governing com- 
munities. I am afraid that it is this general 
consent, in a good many instances, that is 
enabling us to enforce our regulations, rather 
than any right derived from positive law. To 
take a related instance, it is by no means cer- 
tain that libraries are not breaking the law of 
libel every time they send out an overdue postal 
notice. The courts have held that a dun on a 
postal is libellous, and our overdue cards 
specifically inform the person to whom they 
are addressed that he owes money to the 
library, and threaten him with punishment if 
the debt is not paid. Yet although occa- 
sional delinquents remark that the law is 
violated by these postals, public libraries in 
all parts of the United States continue to 
send them out by thousands daily with few 
protests. This seems clearly a case where 
the public consents to a punitive measure of 
doubtful legality, and approves it for the pub- 
lic good. 

The second of the two classes into which we 
have divided infractions of library rules con- 
sists of those that are also contrary to statute 



law or municipal regulation. How far shall 
these be dealt with purely from the library 
standpoint, and when shall they be turned 
over to the public authorities? If a small boy 
yells at the desk-assistant through door or 
window he is a disturber of the peace ; if he 
throws at her some handy missile, such as a 
vegetable or a tin can, as occasionally happens 
in certain sections of unregenerate New York, 
he is technically committing an assault ; shall 
he be handed over to the police? 

Of course one must not treat trifles too 
seriously. Yet probably libraries have been 
somewhat too timid about dealing with petty 
offences. There is an unwillingness to drag 
the library into the police reports that seems 
to be a relic of the days when all libraries 
were haunts of scholarly seclusion. 

The modern public library cannot afford to 
be considered an ' easy mark " by those who 
wish to indulge in horse play or commit petty 
misdemeanors, and in some cases it is in 
danger of getting this reputation. 

When we come to more serious offences, 
the library's duty is clearer. Theft, wilful 
mutilation of books, or grave disorder must of 
course be punished. In many cases, however, 
the detection of the first two offences is very 
difficult. Theft from open shelves is easy. 
For the thousands of books lost yearly in this 
way hardly a culprit meets punishment. I 
have known a professional detective to confess 
that the open shelf baffled him. " If you will 
only shut the books up," he said, " I can find 
out who takes 'em ; but here everybody is tak- 
ing out books and walking around with them." 
When the professional acknowledges himself 
beaten, what shall the librarian do? Mutila- 
tion is even harder to detect. In both these 
cases the offender has simply to wait his 
opportunity. Sooner or later there will be a 
second or two when no assistant is looking, 
even if the man is under long-standing sus- 
picion, and in that brief time the book is 
slipped into the pocket or the leaf is torn out. 
Even when the offender is caught in the act, 
the magistrate may not hold, or the jury may 
fail to convict. A persistent mutilator of 



34 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



books in one of our branch libraries escaped 
punishment last winter because the custodian 
of the reading-room where he was caught did 
not wait until the leaf on which he was work- 
ing was actually severed. The man asserted 
that the sharp lead pencil that he was using to 
separate the leaf was merely being employed 
to mark a place, and thus by confessing to a 
minor defacement he escaped the penalty of 
the more serious offence. 

For a library that is thus forced to appeal 
continually to the law to protect its assistants, 
its users, and its collections, a manual of 
library law would be useful, and I am not sure 
that the appointment of a committee of this 



Association to take the matter in charge would 
not be eminently justified. 

It is the misfortune of this paper that it has 
been obliged to dwell on the darker side of 
library work. It is hardly necessary to remind 
an audience of librarians that this is not the 
prominent side. All users of a library are not 
delinquents or law-breakers, and the assistants 
have other and better work than to act as fine- 
collectors and detectives. The sombre effect 
of what you have just heard should have been 
dispelled by a paper on " Rewards and delights 
of library work," but this the Program Com- 
mittee has seen fit to omit, probably because 
it is not necessary to emphasize the obvious. 



THE GIFT EXTREMELY RARE. 



BY ISABEL ELY LORD, Librarian of Bryn Maivr College. 



T T is whispered, with what authority I cannot 
myself determine, that the day of textual 
criticism is past, and since librarianship is, we 
are somewhat insistently told, the profession 
of the future, it would hardly be fitting to 
attempt such work in this particular place. 
But fortunately exposition is still possible and 
useful. It is true that we should read great 
literature itself, but equally true that exposi- 
tion of certain specimens of great literature is 
very helpful. Plato, indeed, remains Plato, 
and the source of all philosophy except what 
can be dug up out of Aristotle, and the expo- 
sitor remains only an expositor ; but it is 
equally true that by diligence and devotion the 
latter may be of much more value to the world 
than he could possibly be by any attempt to 
produce original work. Moreover, it is not 
well that all the serious thinking that has been 
done about the world's great philosophies and 
poems should be lost to that world. It is for 
these reasons that the present scribe diffidently 
presents certain researches on what she has 
grown to believe a really great poem. The 
analysis and comments are open to criticism 
and emendation ; they are offered as suggestive 



rather than final. This is, is it not, the true 
spirit of research? 

The poem, then, is one undoubtedly known 
to all this audience, so accustomed to hear 
itself called literary and learned, but with your 
kind tolerance I will repeat it, begging you to 
note it carefully as a whole before it is con- 
sidered in detail. It runs as follows : 

" THE CHA-ME-LE-ON. 

" A use-ful les-son you may con, 
My child, from the Cha-me-le-on. 
He has the gift, ex-treme-ly rare 
In an-i-mals, of sa-voir faire, 
And if the se-cret you would guess 
Of the Cha-me-le-on's suc-cess, 
A-dapt your-self with great-est care 
To your sur-round-ings ev-er-y-where, 
And then, un-less your sex pre-vent, 
Some day you may he Pre-si-dent." 

The author of the poem, I hardly need to 
say, is Mr. Oliver Herford. 

As the substance of the lines is our especial 
subject, I shall not dwell upon the style, except 
to point out how admirable it is. There are 
no flou' ishes, no unnecessary words, no pad- 
ding. It has the simplicity and directness of 
all great poetry. Its theme may perhaps be 
most c!.:arly expressed in the following words : 



LORD. 



35 



// is one of the great laws of nattire that 
adaptability is necessary to achieve true suc- 
cess. Such a bald and unpoetical statement 
is inadequate, but sufficiently clear. To illus- 
trate this vital truth Mr. Herford has turned 
to the animal world, and, like a new Esop, 
has found us an example among the humbler 
creations. It is easily to be seen that no other 
animal in the zoologies and there are a 
great many more there than anywhere else 
could illustrate this point at all convincingly. 
We all see this now, but only the imagination 
of the poet could have soared to seize it first. 
To set forth the theme, the poet takes refuge 
in no artifice. He does not need allusion 
or illusion, but relies only on simplicity and 
sincerity. He gives, too, a noble example, 
shining among the decadent poets of the day 
like the good deed that lights a naughty world, 
when he boldly declares in the first words he 
utters that he has a directly moral aim. There 
is no art for art's sake in question with Mr. 
Herford ; he uses his art to convey great moral 
truths. Thus begin the potent words : 

" A use-ful les-son you may con, 
My child, from the Cha-me-le-on." 

There is no command, no force. You may 
con, if you will. It is possible that some care- 
less readers may have been misled by the 
words "my child" into thinking that the 
poem was not written for adult minds. Dis- 
abuse yourselves of that notion at once, I beg. 
They indicate only the attitude of the moral 
teacher. Thus Socrates might have addressed 
his pupils ; thus Mrs. Eddy addresses those 
who have read all that she has written. 

The moral purpose of the poem, and the 
object from which the lesson is to be drawn, 
being thus clearly placed before the reader, 
the poet continues, with exquisite economy of 
words, to give the reasons for his exhortation. 
He might well have interpolated here a beauti- 
ful description or some far-fetched simile to 
suggest the ideal he holds aloft, but he prefers 
rather to concentrate the mind more and more 
on the great facts he enunciates. To turn 
again for a moment to style, perhaps there is 
no better place than this to point out how 



direct Mr. Hertford's method is. He never 
leaves you guessing. The subject comes when 
and where you expect it, and the verb is never 
far to seek. It is remarkable, also, to note 
that the proportion of words derived from any 
source but the pure fount of Anglo-Saxon is 
singularly small. 

This last fact makes all the more striking 
Mr. Hertford's bold and original use of two 
words of an absolutely foreign tongue, intro- 
duced in the next two lines : 

" He has the gift, ex-treme-ly rare 
In an-i-mals, of sa-voir faire." 

Why has the poet here used two words from 
the French language? The reason is plain, 
after a moment's reflection. French has been 
for centuries, and still is, the one language 
known to the polite societies of the civilized 
nations of the earth. In old-fashioned phrase- 
ology, it is the " polite language." And the 
words he takes from it make up an expression 
that, although it means literally " to know 
how to do," has come to mean, as we all rec- 
ognize, the right outward manner of doing any 
given thing, especially any social act. It is 
said, by the way, that a stupid man could never 
become a saint ; it is certain that a gleam of 
intelligence is required for the cultivation of 
sa-voir faire. But to return. The tremen- 
dous significance of all this grows as we medi- 
tate upon it, and when we read the next four 
lines 

" And if the se-cret you would guess 
Of the Cha-me-le-on's suc-cess, 
A-dapt your-self with great-est care 
To your sur-round-ings ev-er-y-where," 

we find absolute confirmation that the poet is 
talking of manners and only of manners. The 
chameleon does not change his character under 
different circumstances ; he does not become 
a lion when he crawls upon a tawny leaf; he 
only changes the color of his skin an unes- 
sential trifle as regards his mental and moral 
being in order to get into harmony with his 
surroundings. He loses nothing, he gains 
that effectiveness that could never be his while, 
in the colloquial phrase, he "swore at" the 
things about him. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



Now it is well known that a great preacher 
makes every person in a huge congregation 
feel that the sermon was meant for him or her 
particularly. The mediocre preacher gives 
you a comfortable feeling that he is talking 
about the sins and follies of your neighbor, 
but the really great one makes you distinctly 
uncomfortable by holding up the mirror to 
yourself. It cannot be, of course, that the 
great preacher actually has in mind your or 
any one else's peculiarities. It is only that he 
knows the human heart. And so it cannot of 
course be that Mr. Herford intended this poem 
for librarians only, but it is very hard for the 
serious-minded librarian to become convinced 
that it is not especially intended for him or 
her. The poem is founded on a poet's 
knowledge of human nature, but surely the 
human beings that can learn most from it are 
the professional librarians. 

Our highest success in any community, then, 
depends on our manners. That is a very broad 
term. It covers all outward manifestations of 
one's thought and attitude toward the world. 
It means the kind of English we speak, and 
the way we speak it, the way we dress, with 
a large majority of us the way we wear our 
hair, and the way we conform to the social 
laws and customs of the people with whom 
we are thrown. If a man is perfect in all these 
respects, he will not become a good librarian, 
naturally, unless he has intelligence and faith 
in his work and uses them both. But without 
the additional grace of manners, it matters not 
how much faith and intelligence he has, he 
will never do the work that he could otherwise 
he will never, therefore, attain the high- 
est success. And, incidentally, the average 
library trustees judge much more by the out- 
ward and visible signs than by the inward and 
spiritual grace. They see your manners much 
more than they do your brains, and infer much 
about the one from the other. Intelligence 
they expect, manners they delight in. And 
theirs is generally no bad indication of the 
general public judgment. 

Perhaps it is a little stretch to include 
knowledge of one's community under the head 



of manners, but if you are going to adapt your- 
self to it you have to get to know it first. If 
it is your desire to get the right book to the 
right person, knowledge of one is not suffi- 
cient you must know both, otherwise you 
will hardly adapt either properly. It is not an 
uncommon mistake to attempt to accomplish 
something for which the community is not 
ready, and so to waste time and force irrevoc- 
ably. There are some other lines of Mr. 
Herford's, written on the dachshund, that are 
not without their application here : 

" Observe the air 
Of lackadaisical despair! 
I think he finds it does not pay 
To wag a tail so far away." 

There is no more crucial test in this matter 
of manners than the way in which information 
is imparted. There is an attitude of conscious 
superiority that would adapt nobody to any- 
body under any possible circumstances, and 
it is currently reported that librarians adopt this 
manner early and often. Probably the only 
way to avoid this difficulty is the fundamental 
one of acquiring a little humility, and to do 
this it is only necessary to face the facts. It 
is not true that a librarian knows any one 
thing better than every one else or as well as 
some one else. It is a lamentable necessity 
that his knowledge should be superficial. Su- 
perficial means on the surface, and it is obvi- 
ous that one who has to cover such a vast deal 
of ground cannot dig down very far at many 
places. A librarian may know thoroughly 
some one branch of human knowledge, for- 
tunately for the profession there are a few such, 
but of the other thousaads of subjects he 
has only glimpses, and these quite likely from 
the wrong point of view. The fact that he 
knows more than somebody who knows noth- 
ing or very little is not one on which to found 
great hopes of becoming an authority. And 
there is no reason to suppose that a librarian's 
judgment is by virtue of his office better in any 
given direction than any other man's. It was 
a very wise observer of facts and of human 
nature it was the great Dr. Jowett who said : 



LORD. 



37 



" Not one of us is infallible, not even the 
youngest ! " 

I am led suddenly to a side-path here, by 
this word of Dr. Jowett's. We have all heard 
it proclaimed, more or less openly, that this air 
of assumed infallibility is found more frequently 
in those librarians who have received formal 
training those who have had that part of 
library training to be got from books and 
lectures than it is in those who have become 
librarians as the fat old lady played whist, by 
the grace of God. I wonder if this difference 
really exists? It would be an excellent op- 
portunity to suggest the collection of statistics, 
but I heroically refrain. It is, however, evi- 
dent that those who have received the formal 
training need to be doubly careful not to ac- 
quire the manner, and should, indeed, from 
the very advantages they have received, be 
expected to keep clear of it. 

The matter of dress is not one that can be 
dealt with in detail. It might, perhaps, be 
well to point out that however loudly we may 
sing "The man's the man for a 1 that," we are 
naturally drawn, every one of us, to the people 
who are attractively and appropriately clad 
rather than toward those who wear what are 
technically known as "freak" clothes. Dress 
is to one side of one's work exactly what tech- 
nical training is to another neither is an 
end in itself; both are important only to make 
our real work easier to do and more effective 
when done. 

Neither is there need to dwell on the ob- 
servance of social laws. Age brings experi- 
ence. When we are young and madly demo- 
cratic we proclaim some of us that it makes 
no difference whether pie is eaten with a knife, 
a fork, or a spoon ; but when the years have 
brought the philosophic mind we know that 
it does. This is not because of any natural 
law as to the physical, mental, or moral injury 
resulting from an unorthodox method of eating 
pie, but because we know that such non- 
observance shows a serious lack in the person 
concerned, whether lack of observation, lack 



of sense, or lack of courtesy. None of these 
things count because they are intrinsically im- 
portant, but all of them count, and count very 
much, because of what they indicate. They are 
forgiven in those who have proved themselves, 
but all the force of early impressions, a more 
potent force in library work than almost any- 
where else, is lost. 

I cannot bring myself to dwell on the last 
lines of Mr. Herford's poem : 

" And then, un-less your sex pre-vent, 
Some day you may be pre-si-dent." 

They raise such painful questions and prob- 
lems for the great majority of those who are 
engaged in library work. These may indeed 
win all rewards " unless your sex prevent." 

But you will note that Mr. Herford in first 
bringing out his lesson referred to the quality 
of adaptability as " the gift extremely rare." 

" He has the gift, ex-treme-ly rare 
In an-i-mals, of sa-voir faire." 

It is a relief that he confines the rarity to 
animals. Just how far he intends to infer 
that it is rare in librarians I mean in human 
beings the humble commentator cannot 
affirm. But from observation it will be found 
that the gift is a talent given to every one in 
some measure, and hid in a napkin only be- 
cause its great value is not recognized. Any 
one can cultivate the gift. But the only possi- 
ble way to do it is to change the convictions 
or lack of convictions on which its absence 
depends. The gift is not developed in the 
librarian who believes himself or herself in 
some subtle sense, in some indefinable and 
usually invisible way, better than the people 
he or she serves. Only to those who adopt 
the attitude of Christian charity for you will 
note that St. Paul was the first to exhort us, 
through his example, to be all things to all 
men only to these comes in its perfection 
that which gives the power of the chameleon 
to fill with satisfaction to himself and every 
one who sees him his appointed place in the 
universe the gift extremely rare. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



BRANCH LIBRARIES: PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT. 
BY EDWIN H. ANDERSON, Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. 



IT will be taken for granted, I think, that in 
planning a branch library building the li- 
brarian and the architect should work together, 
each suppressing for the time being his air 
of omniscience. As Mr. Foster aptly says, 
the librarian and architect should enter into 
a " temporary partnership." Such an associ- 
ation should prove pleasant and profitable 
to both, and secure the best results. The 
floor plan should be the librarian's special 
charge, and this ought to be determined upon, 
in consultation with the architect, before any 
elevations are drawn. The exterior and the 
decoration of the interior should be left to the 
architect. Such, it seems to me, should be 
the conditions, if librarian and architect are 
both thoroughly competent in their separate 
spheres.* 

There are few general principles for planning 
branch libraries which will apply in all cases. 
The size, shape, and slope, if any, of the lot, 
the climate and the character of the soil, the 
population to be served, etc., all have their 
part in determining what the plan shall be. 
I will confine myself to three or four types, 
variations of which will meet the ordinary 
conditions in most of the states of the Union. 
In the warmer climate of the Gulf States a 
different arrangement of windows and doors 
might perhaps be necessary. In some locali- 
ties the water in the soil makes it impractica- 
ble to put the basement even partly under 
ground. 



* For the approved principles of planning and equip- 
ping libraries in general the reader is referred to the files 
of the Library Journal, Public Libraries, and various 
architectural journals, particularly to Mr. Foster's article, 
" Planning a library," Brochure Series, Nov., 1897, Mr. 
Eastman's paper, ' Library buildings," Waukesha Con- 
ference, 1901, Mr. Soule's Paper, "Points of agreement 
among librarians as to library architecture," San Francisco 
Conference, 1891, and to the latter's pamphlet, "Library 
rooms and buildings," recently published as "Library 
tract no. 4," by the Publishing Board of this Associ- 
ation. 



A branch library should be planned, first, 
for the convenience of the public, second, for 
convenience, efficiency, and economy of ad- 
ministration from the point of view of the 
staff, and third, for architectural effect. I 
shall assume that the members of this associ- 
tion are practically agreed that the first two 
conditions are best secured by giving the 
public free access to the shelves. Personally, 
I feel that there can be no question about this 
if, with free access, complete supervision is 
secured. From the standpoint of administra- 
tion, effective supervision from a central desk 
is certainly desirable, if not absolutely neces- 
sary. Where the size of the lot permits it, 
the three essentials of a branch library a 
reading room for adults, a children's room, 
and sufficient shelf capacity should be pro- 
vided on one floor, which should be the first, 
or ground, floor. If you have a lot 75 or 100 
feet square and you need shelf capacity fo r 
only 12,000 to 15,000 volumes, the simplest 
plan which will secure these essentials is a 
plain parallelogram with the long side at the 
front, with the entrance in the middle, and 
the loan desk in the centre of the room, op- 
posite the entrance. Three of the branches 
of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh are of 
this type, varied slightly in two of them by a 
small wing extension at the back of the central 
desk. In this plan the main floor may be 
simply one large room, with reading tables 
and wall cases for adults in one end, with 
tables and wall cases for children in the other 
end, and with rails separating these from the 
loan lobby in the middle. Entrance is through 
the loan lobby and between the central desk 
and the rail at the right, and the exit is be- 
tween the central desk and the rail at the left. 
This is the plan of our West End branch. 
For these rails, however, we propose to sub- 
stitute floor cases about three-and-a-half feet 
high with shelves on the side away from the 



ANDERSON. 



39 



lobby only. The plan of our Mount Wash- 
ington and Hazelwood branches is practically 
the same as that of the West End branch, 
except that glass partitions take the place of 
the railings. The purpose of these glass par- 
titions is to secure greater quiet in the reading 
rooms. 

Another type of floor plan which secures all 
the advantages attained in our West End 
branch, is that of the South Side branch of the 
Cleveland Public Library. This consists, 
briefly, of two parallelograms placed at right 
angles to each other, with the entrance at the 
inner angle, with the central desk opposite the 
entrance, and with rails leading from the en- 
trance to the desk. This plan seems to me 
admirably adapted to a corner lot, where, as 
at Cleveland, you may provide a walk through 
a grass plot at the corner to the entrance at 
the inner angle of the building, with the outer 
end of each parallelogram reaching to one of 
the streets. The effect at Cleveland is very 
pleasing inside and out. 

In the plans mentioned thus far all the 
books are shelved in wooden wall cases, under 
high windows, around the room or rooms. 
There is no waste room because the floor 
spaces are utilized for reading-room purposes. 
Where large shelf capacity is not required, 
there is only one objection to this plan the 
browsing of the readers at the wall cases some- 
times disturbs the readers at the tables, espe- 
cially in the adult reading room. Another 
objection has been urged, that the high win- 
dows give a prison-like effect inside and out. 
But you cannot have your cake and eat it. 
The windows are high to make room for the 
necessary wall cases and provide the best light. 
Moreover, so eminent an authority as Mr. 
Russell Sturgis has intimated that books are 
the most beautiful wall decoration a room can 
have. 

When the population of the district to be 
served by the branch is dense, and more peo- 
ple and more books are to be provided for, 
some other type of floor plan must be used. 
If you have a lot which has a frontage of 90 
to 140 feet and a depth of 75 to 100 feet, I 



should solve the problem by some variation of 
a plan which my friend, Mr. Eastman, calls 
my pet, the plan of our Lawrenceville branch 
in Pittsburgh. This, as you know, is an 
adaptation of the "trefoil" or "butterfly" 
plan that has been so generally adopted of 
late years. The plans of this branch have 
been printed in the Library Journal for Sep- 
tember, 1897, in our own third annual report, 
and in various other places. It will not be nec- 
essary, therefore, to give a detailed description 
of it here. It consists, briefly, of a reading- 
room for adults and a children's room of the 
same size, on either side of the entrance and 
delivery lobby, and back of these a book wing, 
which in this case is semicircular in form, but 
may be polygonal, five-sided, or three-sided. 
The loan desk is built around a central point, 
which is on a line with the partitions between 
the book wing and the reading rooms ; and 
the floor cases in the book wing are on radial 
lines which, when projected, converge at this 
central point. The reading rooms are sep- 
arated from the book wing and the delivery 
lobby by glass partitions and doors. There 
are doors leading from the delivery lobby to 
the reading rooms, but these doors are clossd 
except on Sunday, when only the reading rooms 
are open to the public. Entrance from the 
lobby is through the turnstile at the right of 
the loan desk, thence from the book wing 
through doors near the turnstiles, to the 
reading rooms. Exit is through the turnstile 
at the left of the loan desk. Each of these 
turnstiles works only in the direction indicated. 
This arrangement makes it necessary for 
every one to pass the discharging counter on 
entering, and the charging counter on leaving. 
This floor plan provides large shelf capacity 
in the book room, and secures complete super- 
vision from the central desk of every depart- 
ment on one floor. I know of no other way 
in which such supervision can be combined 
with so large book capacity. Mr. Eastman, 
in his paper on ' ' Library buildings " at the 
Waukesha conference, says: "For public 
access passages between cases should be five 
feet wide. Cases have sometimes been set 



40 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



on radial lines so as to bring all parts under 
supervision from the center. This arrange- 
ment, especially if bounded by a semicircular 
wall, is expensive, wasteful of space, and of 
doubtful value, except in peculiar conditions. 
It is not adapted to further extension of the 
building." Let us examine these statements a 
moment. If we substitute for the semicircular 
book wing at Lawrenceville a parallelogram of 
the same superficial area, with parallel floor 
cases five feet apart, we shall gain something 
in shelf capacity and lose supervision of five- 
sixths of the book room. At the inner ends 
the Lawrenceville floor cases are three and a 
half feet apart, which we find to be ample, and 
eight and a half feet at the outer ends, an 
average of six feet apart. In the wider spaces 
between the outer ends we place small tables 
and chairs, which give the reader an oppor- 
tunity to sit down and "sample" the books 
before he makes his decision, and also pro- 
vide places to put the books he has taken from 
the cases and which we prefer to have the 
assistants return to the shelves. So, you see, 
not one square foot of space is wasted in the 
book wing of our Lawrenceville branch. And 
what practical librarian doubts the value of 
effective supervision of the book room? You 
may think I take an extreme position when I 
say that free access is not entirely successful 
without complete supervision from a central 
loan desk, if economy of administration is to 
be considered. I have had some experience 
with free access to parallel floor cases. Boys 
and girls of from fourteen to twenty years are 
inclined to get behind parallel floor cases and 
talk, laugh, and carry on flirtations, where they 
cannot be seen by the library assistants. The 
book room becomes a sort of rendezvous for 
the young people of the neighborhood, and 
parents soon learn that their sons and daugh- 
ters have a meeting place where there is no 
proper supervision. The idea gets abroad 
that the influence of the library on the young 
people of the community is baleful rather than 
beneficial, and its energies are crippled in a 
hundred ways and its influence weakened. 
The test of a thing is in its use, not in mere 



academic discussion. The radial floor case 
plan has given entire satisfaction in Pitts- 
burgh, both to the public and to those who 
administer the branch libraries. This does 
not mean that we consider it beyond criticism. 
We hope to improve on the Lawrenceville 
plan in a new branch for which tentative plans 
have been drawn. But the general plan will 
remain the same, with larger reading rooms, 
and with two small reference rooms inserted 
between these reading rooms and the book 
room. Experience has taught us that these 
additions are desirable. 

There can be no question that a square book 
room can be built for less money than any 
other form. But should all the advantages of 
another form be sacrificed to save a slight 
additional cost in construction ? It is true, 
also, that the radial floor case plan is not 
adapted to further extension, except upward. 
For what purpose do you want to extend the 
book room of a branch library, if you have a 
shelf capacity of 25,000 or 30,000 volumes ? 
A branch library should not be expected to 
perform the reservoir function of a main 
library. Only live books have a place on the 
shelves. And are not 25,000 or 30,000 live 
books enough for a branch library? 

Under any of the first floors described above, 
a basement eight or nine feet high may be 
placed, in which should be the heating plant, 
a small lecture, or study club, room, and 
storage rooms. Under the semicircular book 
wing it is also possible to put an auditorium, if 
one is needed, with a seating capacity of five 
hundred. 

Thus far I have confined myself, to the dis- 
cussion of types of branch libraries with which 
I am familiar. Naturally, I know best the two 
types we have in Pittsburgh. This must be 
my excuse for talking so much about our own 
branches. There is, however, a very impor- 
tant type with which we have so far had no 
experience in Pittsburgh the type required on 
a narrow city lot between two high buildings. 
Not having had this problem to deal with, I 
feel some timidity about discussing it. What 
strikes me as an admirable solution of such 



ANDERSON. 



a problem will be found in the plans for the 
new Yorkville branch of the New York Public 
Library, which are well described in the 
Library Journal for May of this year. The 
three essentials of a branch library a room 
for an open-shelf lending collection for adults, 
a children's room, and a general reading room 
are here placed on three separate floors, one 
above the other. There are no partitions, each 
floor being simply one large room. This is a 
sort of triplication of the type of branch library 
described in the earlier part of this paper. 

There is little time to discuss equipment, or 
furniture and fixtures. I shall, therefore, note 
briefly only a few of the more important points. 

Where there is a delivery lobby it need not 
be large, if there is free access to the shelves. 
Such a lobby is like the platform of a street 
car or of a political party it is "to get in on, 
not to stand on." 

The delivery desk may be circular, octagonal, 
or square. The octagonal and square present 
better sides for the entrance and exit passages. 
Turnstiles may, or may not, be placed in these 
passages. The desk should have an exterior 
diameter of not less than 15 feet, to provide 
working space on the inside. The counter top 
should have a width of two feet or more. This 
counter should be 40 inches high. Many 
desks are 42 inches high. This does very 
well for men, but is too high for women. 

The shelving in the adult room and the 
children's room may be built to the ordinary 
height, and the two upper shelf spaces in the 
children's room used for a bulletin frieze around 
the room. This imparts symmetry to the ap- 
pearance of the two rooms as seen from a 
central lobby, and provides a useful addition 
to the children's room. 

We have used three heights of tables and 
chairs in our children's rooms, but have come 
to the conclusion that only two are necessary, 
26 and 22 inches for the tables, and i6& and 
14^ inches for the chairs. 

Floor coverings may be of hard wood, cork 
carpet, marble, or interlocking rubber tile. 
Cork carpet is comparatively noiseless, and has 



proved satisfactory in most localities. Owing 
to the dirt in Pittsburgh, however, so much 
water has to be used in cleaning that the 
superintendent of our buildings and our archi- 
tects thought it would be unsightly and unsan- 
itary. Our floor coverings are marble, which 
meets other requirements admirably, but is 
cold and noisy. In our next branch we expect 
to use interlocking rubber tile on the floors of 
the reading rooms. It has all the advantages 
of cork carpet, and in addition, is free from 
leaky seams and is practically indestructible. 
Unfortunately, it is very expensive. 

Where electricity is used the general illumi- 
nation of the rooms should come from lights in 
the ceiling, rather than from chandeliers or 
other pendants, which are unsightly. Table 
lights, as well as those for floor cases, should 
be wired from below. The question has lately 
occurred to me why in our reading rooms we 
are always arranging to have readers sit at 
tables. Would any one think of sitting down 
to read at his own home in the evening, with his 
book resting on the table before him and with 
the light in front, however well shaded? At 
home we sit in armchairs with the light at our 
backs, the table serving merely as a pedestal for 
the lamp. Why not provide similar comfort in . 
library reading rooms? Instead of so many 
reading tables, why not have a few lamp 
standards, or posts, with four-branch fixtures 
at the top, four or five feet from the floor, and 
with half a dozen light armchairs arranged 
round each standard with their backs toward 
the light? 

I cannot close this paper without emphasiz- 
ing the fact that, after all is said and done, the 
most important thing about a branch library is 
the librarian directly in charge of it. No 
mechanical devices or arrangements can take 
the place of the intelligence and enthusiasm of 
a good branch librarian. Next in importance 
to the librarian comes the collection of books 
and periodicals. Of course it is important that 
the workshop be as well planned as possible ; 
but after all the building is a tertiary consider- 
ation. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



BRANCH LIBRARIES: FUNCTIONS AND RESOURCES. 
BY LANGDON L. WARD, Super-visor of Branches, Boston Public Library. 



DRANCH systems are in the making, in a 
peculiar sense, so that a resume of the 
functions of a branch or of its resources repre- 
sents rather what ought to be, or may be 
proved to be wise in the future, than what ac- 
tually exists in any large library at present. 

There is no generally accepted nomenclature 
for branches and stations, though the whole 
subject was discussed quite fully and clearly at 
the conference of 1898, and it may be assumed 
that all are familiar with the distinctions be- 
tween the different types as they were defined 
then. I am in fair agreement with others if 
I call a branch a subordinate and auxiliary li- 
brary with a considerable fixed collection of 
books, a delivery station an agency of the 
central library without any books for direct 
circulation, a delivery and deposit station an 
agency of the central library with a shifting 
collection of books which are circulated di- 
rectly from the station, but with no permanent 
books, or very few. It would be possible to 
call a deposit and delivery station a branch, 
since it has books upon its shelves, but this 
is not generally done. Still more, such a 
station, with the addition of reference books 
and a very small permanent collection, say 
of 1,000 volumes, may be called a branch, 
and this is done in some libraries. The defi- 
nition given above includes such small branches 
as these, though in certain libraries they would 
be called reading-rooms. 

The delivery station pure and simple has 
been a success in some cities where there is a 
strong central library with no branches. It is, 
however, merely a mechanical agency for dis- 
tributing books to the public. All that is to 
be got in visits to a branch, namely, the stimu- 
lus of the crowd engaged in the same pursuit, 
the sight and handling of other books than the 
one wanted, the use of reference books and 
periodicals, the influence of pictures, the in- 
formation to be gained from the attendants and 



from the bulletins and card catalogues all 
this is lacking. And while the home use of a 
popular library is chiefly fiction and light litera- 
ture, the hall use may be quite a different 
thing. A system of house-to-house delivery is 
essentially of the same nature as the delivery 
station, though of wider scope. Except for 
those confined to their houses, car tickets at 
reduced rates, to the central library or the 
nearest branch, would be far better. I do not 
know if these are yet provided anywhere, 
though I have no doubt they will be in time. 
But a little place must be left for individual 
effort, for people may be pauperized intellectu- 
ally as well as materially. 

If progress is from the homogeneous to the 
heterogeneous, from simple to complex func- 
tions, the correct development would seem to 
be from delivery stations to branches, through 
delivery and deposit stations and reading- 
rooms or small branches. In the Boston 
Public Library there are no simple delivery 
stations, and the shop stations, which have 
both delivery and deposit features, are slowly 
being eliminated in favor of what are called 
service stations, in charge of a library employe. 
The reason is, of course, the more complex 
functions of which the latter type is capable. 
Cost is the drawback to the service station and 
the branch, but the results justify the expense. 
It is the branch only, and generally the one of 
larger type, which is to be specifically con- 
sidered here. For its functions are compre- 
hensive. 

A branch should be a distributing agency 
for the central library. By this means the 
branch resources are supplemented and its 
efficiency increased. It is relieved from carry- 
ing books on its shelves which it would other- 
wise find necessary. In the most effective type 
of system, central and branches are so linked 
together that the same borrowers' card is good 
everywhere and books taken at one point may 



WARD. 



43 



be returned at any other in the system. The 
central library is the clearing house. This 
arrangement is possible only with a daily wagon 
service. But, further, the branch should be 
an advertising agency for the central library, 
making its resources known to the local con- 
stituency. For no branch ought ever to con- 
sider itself a substitute for the main library. 

The branch may very effectively be the agent 
of the central library in carrying out special 
enterprises for which the central corps ot 
assistants is inadequate. For example, in 
Boston the plans of the library for work with 
schools have been carried out very largely 
through the personal labor of the custodians 
of branches and reading-rooms, and the enter- 
prise of taking applications for library cards in 
all the schools of the city could never have 
been accomplished except by using the force of 
branch employees. 

In its more independent functions the branch 
should not only be a reservoir of books, large 
enough to answer the reasonable general de- 
mands of a community, but also in many cases 
a reservoir of books for schools and a distrib- 
uting centre with regard to them. Duplicates 
should be multiplied for this purpose. There 
are over seventy grammar and high schools in 
Boston, and when it was found three years 
ago that the Central Library was not equipped 
for supplying more than a small portion of 
them with deposits of books, the branch col- 
lections were brought into requisition. The 
deeper reason was that the schools were thus 
made better acquainted with their natural cen- 
tre, the branch. The Boston schools are now 
divided among the branches and reading- 
rooms of the city, from two to six schools 
being allotted to each branch. The Central 
Library supplies certain schools, and supple, 
ments and directs in the case of all. If the 
great aim of a branch should be to enlarge its 
constituency, the most effective means is a 
system that will attract and secure the school 
children of its own district. The parochial 
schools are in every essential point public 
schools and should be so treated by librarians. 

But the branch ought also to be in touch 



with every educational institution in its dis- 
trict with social settlements, study clubs, 
and other such enterprises. The churches 
should, of course, be included. Such a close 
relationship is good for the branch and good 
for the institution, and co-operation has been 
found to be a remarkably stimulating word 
when used in this sense. There should be 
compiled a list of the educational institutions 
of the city, arranged according to the districts 
represented by the branches, and each branch 
should be held responsible for new informa- 
tion. 

In fact the branch should be the intellectual 
centre of the district as far as possible. Its 
local character should be emphasized. In one 
branch that I know in a poor quarter, people 
come for advice, to learn the spelling of words, 
to have letters written, to settle the point at 
issue in a bet. A group of old soldiers gathers 
there to read books on the Civil War. A cen- 
tral library is not local or personal, -but with 
the proper attendants the branch is both. 

In the case of the full-grown and unwilling 
man, educational results must be chiefly 
looked for as a by-product of the whole 
library activity. It is, however, of the first 
importance that the branch should make its 
reputation as an advisory agency for that part 
of a community which will accept direction. 
And here tact, persistence, and good nature 
play their part. It is astonishing how an un- 
failing and smiling eagerness to assist will win 
over a community. 

But if a branch system is to be efficient, its 
agencies must cover the ground for which the 
library is responsible. Large branches are 
expensive, and are practicable only at the 
more important centres, but they may be sup- 
plemented by reading-rooms or small branches 
at the lesser centres of business and popula- 
tion, located also with reference to the steam 
and electric railroads and the flow of travel. 
The ideal in a large city is to have these occur 
at intervals of half a mile. People will not go 
so far as a mile or even three-quarters of a 
mile. If their own gratification only were 
concerned, they might be left to suffer, but 



44 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



for the good of the municipality they should 
be provided with library agencies where they 
will use them. 

To perform the functions which have just 
been outlined, a remarkably well-equipped 
corps of assistants is necessary. Now the 
ordinary library, though it may have one or 
two assistants of high grade at each branch, 
cannot usually have more. It has faithful 
grammar or high school graduates. It may 
even have persons with the educational equip- 
ment and ideas of the palaeolithic period of 
library science. Yet with the small body of 
assistants at any branch ordinarily from 
three to five there must be an interchange 
of duties. The second assistant must take 
charge of the branch on certain evenings, the 
repair clerk must on occasion do reference 
work. Since library school graduates, how- 
ever, are not available for positions paying 
from $5 to $7 a week, the only remedy is for 
the library to educate its own assistants not 
in a desultory way in the course of the regular 
work, but by some definite system. This may 
be done by meetings or classes, by encourag- 
ing the study of Mr. Dana's, Mr. Spofford's, 
Mr. Fletcher's, and Miss Plummer's books, by 
circulating library periodicals, or by a system 
of written questions. The latter plan is not 
new in the Boston Public Library. At present 
in its branch department there is being issued 
from time to time a series of examination ques- 
tions designed to cover all the points of library 
science which a branch assistant needs to know. 
Answers are distributed after a little interval, 
for the object is not, primarily, to test ability. 
The questions have the peculiarity of being 
specific, and of dealing with library science as 
applied to the branches of one library. Since 
all branch assistants must be on occasion 
reference librarians, a large part of these 
papers will probably be taken up with ques- 
tions on the books of the branch col- 
lections, so that the assistant will not give 
Kitchin's "History of France" to a person 
who is studying the Revolution of 1848, nor 
recommend Macaulay for the period of the 
Norman Conquest, nor consider Hume an 



equal authority on fact with Mandell Creighton. 
So that she will know what translations of 
Homer the branch has, whether Butcher and 
Lang's Odyssey is in verse or prose, and which 
is the best translation into English of Dante, 
though she may never have read a line of any 
of these books. For it is well known to libra- 
rians that you can train assistants of ordinary 
education to do wonderful things with books, 
so that they may show others what they have 
no real knowledge or appreciation of them- 
selves. Librarians-in-chief often have the 
same faculty of adaptation. These papers 
when collected will form a sort of vade mecum 
or branch assistant's guide, and though the 
method of question and answer is somewhat 
antiquated, it is very orderly and unambiguous. 
The problem remains to be worked out, but it 
is hoped that these papers will materially 
assist in giving employes an enlarged, knowl- 
edge, and especially a certitude of knowledge. 
Of the head of a branch all this is already ex- 
pected, and in addition executive ability and 
initiative. 

With regard to the resources of a branch in 
books, it might at first appear that the greater 
they are the better. But considerations of cost, 
space, and time make it desirable to keep most 
collections within moderate limits. Every 
superfluous book hinders the efficiency of the 
branch. 

What is the proper number of volumes for a 
branch collection? Mr. Putnam considered 
15,000 volumes to be the limit for a branch in 
an important centre, and with a circulation of 
50,000 volumes or more yearly. A new 
branch should have several thousand less to 
begin with. This applies only to branches 
which draw daily from a central library. In 
order to keep this limit, or any limit, if there 
is a plentiful supply of new books, replace- 
ments must be carefully considered and with 
some system, and once every five years or so 
the branch must be weeded out. 

There will not, however, usually be 15,000 
titles in a branch, for from 1,000 to 2,000 vol- 
umes will be duplicates. In a large city a 
reluctance to duplicate is fatal to the usefulness 



WARD. 



45 



of a branch, for continual disappointments 
will alienate the members of its constituency, 
especially the school teachers. The problem 
of the proper proportion of the different classes 
in such a collection has not yet, so far as I 
know, been worked out in any branch libraries 
with a central delivery, with sufficient thorough- 
ness to justify dogmatism. There should be a 
supply of juvenile books adequate to the actual 
use, which is probably from 35 to 40 per cent. 
of the whole use, and half of the juvenile 
books may properly be fiction. There should 
be from 400 to 600 volumes of reference books, 
and these should always include a separate 
children's reference collection. There should 
be several hundred volumes of bound periodi- 
cals primarily for use with Poole's Index. 

Most branches to-day are overstocked with 
fiction ; for in some of them there are from 
three thousand to four thousand titles. But 
the cutting down which is inevitable may 
easily be carried too far. If we are honest 
with ourselves we know that a perfectly nat- 
ural craving for variety leads cultivated as well 
as illiterate people to prefer the mediocre new 
book to the old one of the first rank. And 
those who are familiar with the illiterate class 
know that, as Mr. Cutter says, "there is in 
such people an incapacity of mind which 
makes a book two degrees above them a sealed 
book." Yet this class must be provided for. 
A mediocre novel is not necessarily a silly 
novel. Most things are mediocre; most of us 
are mediocre librarians. And it is a fallacy 
that there is a direct and exclusive connection 
between the best literature and ethics. The 
essential thing for a public library, one of 
whose functions is to furnish recreation, is to 
look for and make use of the wholesome 
novels. One of the most radical instances on 
record of the condemnation of works of the 
imagination is "the pleasant and careful 
search " which the curate and the barber made 
of the library of Don Quixote. Circum- 
stances went far to justify them, it is true, but 
the case will not do for a precedent. 

In the branch collections there will necessa- 
rily be a fixed element and a shifting element, 



the latter representing the current purchases 
which must be made in order to retain the in- 
terest of the public, or books which were for a 
time the best but have been superseded. It 
is not always possible to combine opportune- 
ness and durability, and popular novels and 
books about the Dreyfus case must be had 
though it is certain that the demand will 
cease. But in all shops a portion of the goods 
becomes spoiled or shopworn, or goes out of 
fashion. And experience has proved that the 
superfluous fiction, at least, will find a use if 
it is shifted from one to another of the smaller 
branches and displayed on open shelves. 

In a library where there are several branches 
and the system is highly centralized, the same 
books should be bought for each branch. The 
administrative advantages of this are apparent, 
and while theoretically every district differs 
from every other, practically this is not of 
much importance, with a central library to rely 
upon for special calls. Each branch has one 
or more peculiarities which must now and 
then be taken into account, so that each must 
have a few books in addition to the common 
stock, but these are surprisingly few. Further, 
if you have the same books, you will print the 
same finding list for all, following in principle 
the example of the seven libraries of Hamburg 
quoted by Mr. Winsor in 1876, at Phila- 
delphia, for there is nothing absolutely 
new. 

To the one who chooses or recommends 
books for a branch library comes what may be 
called the a priori temptation, that is, the in- 
clination to use the intuitive method in select- 
ing, and to aim at completeness because of its 
intrinsic propriety. But branch collections 
should be made on empirical principles, and 
completeness should be quite disregarded. 
For nothing produces such disappointing re- 
sults as intuition, and nothing so devours 
money and time and space as completeness. 

It has been often said that there is nothing 
so delightful as to plan reading for other 
people, and the fascination is well illustrated 
in the numerous lists which were made once 
upon a time by noted people by way of sub- 



4 6 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



stitutes for Sir John Lubbock's list of one 
hundred books. The extreme divergence of 
the makers 1 views may be noted by the way. 
It is, however, quite proper that a limited 
number of standard books which are not 
eagerly read should be placed in a branch 
library, for such books impart information by 
their mere presence, and they nourish a high 
ideal. All of the books of the Lubbock list 
are in the branches of the Boston Public 
Library, and nearly all the authors of Mr. 
Foster's standard library are represented. But 
the rule of choice is otherwise. English liter- 
ature is naturally of greater excellence than 
American, nevertheless American authors must 
be multiplied in our branch collections. Books 
on English history will bear a ridiculously 
small proportion there to those on American 
history. In the latter class there need be 
little hesitation in choice. Anything respect- 
able is useful. But the history of certain 
countries and periods will hardly be needed at 
all, because our schools do not study precisely 
these. The demand must rule, and however 
it may be in philosophy, with regard to the 



make-up of branch collections all the libra- 
rian's ideas are derived from experience. 

It is evident that the time is close at hand 
when in this matter the experience of libraries 
will be combined, and as a result of experi- 
ment and report there will be a certain uni- 
formity in the branch libraries all over the 
United States. If librarianship were ever to 
become mechanical, all would be over ; for 
personality and mistakes are far better than 
mechanism and the dead level of accuracy. 
But I do not see that this identical element 
need interfere with individuality. If seventy- 
five per cent, of the titles in branch collec- 
tions at any given time were the same in 
various places, the margin of twenty-five per 
cent, would be sufficient for local and indi- 
vidual need and choice. 

In the Branch Department of the Boston 
Public Library a plan for weighing and esti- 
mating the use-value of all the books in the 
branches has been for a long time among the 
memoranda of "agenda" awaiting the com- 
pletion of other special enterprises. 



BRANCH LIBRARIES: ADMINISTRATION. 
BY FRANK P. HILL, Librarian Brooklyn (TV. Y.) Public Library. 



A T present only a few libraries have branches, 
but the time is not distant when these ac- 
cessories will be required in every city of any 
considerable size. 

A whole session might profitably be devoted 
to the consideration of the organization, equip- 
ment, and administration of branch libraries. 
Instead, the representatives of three libraries 
have been given the task of presenting the sub- 
ject in fifteen-minute papers, consequently it is 
possible to take no more than a cursory view. 

Mr. Anderson has looked at the physical side, 
as it were, and set forth the architectural re- 
quirements of branch buildings. Mr. Ward 
has dwelt particularly upon the functions and 
resources ; and it falls to the lot of the newest 
recruit in this line of work to say something of 
the organization and conduct of a branch 



library system. One of more experience would 
have hesitated before accepting the responsi- 
bility, and the writer's appearance is accounted 
for only by quoting the familiar line of Pope : 
" For fools rush in where angels fear to tread." 
In the early library history of this country a 
library started with one central building, and 
as the demands increased, branches were estab- 
lished as needed, or as suburban towns were 
brought within the city limits the libraries 
established in these towns became a part of the 
system. Boston and Chicago are good ex- 
amples of this growth. Cleveland, Baltimore, 
and Pittsburgh began by having a Central 
Building and developing the branch system 
gradually, neither city having any old library 
to absorb. Without doubt this is the ideal 
way, because there is a centre to work from, 



HILL. 



47 



and because a consistent and cohesive plan can 
be developed. Latterly, Philadelphia, New 
York (the old Free Circulating Library), and 
Brooklyn opened branches in response to 
pressing needs of particular localities, looking 
forward to the time when public sentiment 
would be sufficiently aroused to secure appro- 
priations large enough to provide a Central 
Building. 

If branches are started first, and particularly 
if many at a time, there is likely to be diver- 
gence of opinion among those in charge unless 
a thorough organization has been effected. 
Libraries taken in by absorption are pretty sure 
to have such different methods that the ques- 
tion of how much effort should be made to 
change their schemes of classification and cata- 
loguing is sometimes a difficult one to decide. 

Each library so absorbed has grown up in its 
own way and believes that way the best and 
undoubtedly it was up to the moment of con- 
solidation. It is easier to tear down than to 
build up ; to criticise than to originate ; so we 
must step cautiously and carefully. A safe 
motto for librarians to adopt is contained in the 
words of Hamilton Wright Mabie : " There is 
a genius in knowing what to discard as well as 
what to keep." 

Whether in a single building or scattered as 
branches over the whole city, it is essential 
that the institution be placed upon a sound 
business basis and the work centralized. To 
accomplish this desideratum a library without 
a central building must provide adequate ad- 
ministration quarters with offices under one 
roof for all heads of departments. This ar- 
rangement establishes a centre about which 
the whole system clusters, admits of frequent 
consultation, and forms the natural source of 
information pertaining to any of the branches. 
Here the policy of the library is determined, 
practical co-operation made possible, and that 
centralization and unification which are abso- 
lutely necessary to harmonious and effective 
administration insured. This is the key to the 
situation, but it is sometimes difficult to secure. 
Take the Brooklyn Public Library, for example. 
Some months ago a series of questions was 
sent to the seventeen branch librarians. The 
answers were tabulated and the result was 



so surprising that I will only state that in some 
instances the same kind of work was being 
done in as many ways as there were branches. 
Other libraries have had similar experience ; 
but we are on the up grade now, and all striv- 
ing for that uniformity which will fit in with 
local environments. Of the advantages of 
centralization, I can do no better than quote 
from one of our librarians-in-charge : 

" That such a plan [of centralization] 
frequently involves the sacrifice of individual 
ideas and methods of work is inevitable ; and 
the plea is sometimes urged that the ultimate 
result will be to destroy originality ; so far as 
routine goes this is undoubtedly true, but there 
are many features of library work incident to 
the personal contact with the public, making 
of bulletins, preparation of reading lists, etc., 
that offer an inviting field to every librarian in 
charge as varied and resourceful as the indi- 
vidual personalities themselves. When this 
feeling that we are each an integral part of a 
great library system, as closely linked in pur- 
pose and methods to the administration depart- 
ment and to each other as if all were gathered 
together under a single roof, has superseded 
purely selfish interest in our respective charges, 
then and not till then will the full measure of 
united action be realized. Without such a 
conception of the task before us the best indi- 
vidual effort, no matter how zealously pursued, 
will avail little. This phase of the question 
invites serious reflection on the part of every 
one of us, and a keen sense of our own personal 
responsibility to the trust imposed in us. I 
like to think of the branch not as a limited, in- 
dependent collection of books, more or less 
arbitrarily selected and placed conveniently for 
the public, but rather as a local representative 
of a great system, never a mere substitute for 
it." 

The first requisite for an orderly and syste- 
matic administration of a library is a staff so 
organized as to work effectively in every direc- 
tion. 

A suggested organization is : 

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. 

Chief Librarian. 

First Assistant Librarian. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



Second Assistant Librarian. 
Librarian's Secretary. 
Chief Clerk. 
Financial Secretary. 

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS. 

Superintendent of Branches. 
Superintendent of Children's Department. 
Superintendent of Book Order Department. 
Superintendent of Cataloguing Department. 
Superintendent of Traveling Libraries. 
Superintendent of Supplies. 

Under these would follow Librarians-in- 
charge of Branches, Assistants, Apprentices, 
Fine collectors, Messengers, and Janitors. 

A word as to the several divisions recom- 
mended. The heads of departments should 
be selected for their special fitness for the work 
required and paid accordingly. Of the duties 
of Librarian and Assistant Librarians and Sec- 
retary it is unnecessary to speak, but it may be 
helpful to indicate briefly those attached to 
some of the other positions. 

The duties of the chief clerk and financial 
secretary are chiefly of a clerical nature. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF BRANCHES. 

Among the supervisors the Superintendent of 
Branches is mentioned first, because under the 
chief librarian the one occupying this position 
must keep in touch with the needs and person- 
nel of the several branches. As one has well 
said : The Superintendent of Branches should 
keep in view the following objects : (a.) To 
save the time of the chief librarian by acting as 
an intermediary between him and members of 
the staffs of branches, attending to all such 
matters as can be acted upon without specific 
authority, and sifting out for his attention only 
such cases as seem of special significance. 
(#.) To view the work of the branches from 
a comparative standpoint, comparing their 
equipment, the conditions under which their 
work is carried on and the results obtained, 
with the object that all may be treated with fair- 
ness in the furnishing of books, supplies, and 
service, (c.^) To bring about centralization in 
all cases where it would increase the useful- 
ness or decrease the expense of the several 
branches, (d.) To promote co-operation and 



develop esprit de corps. (.) To give appren- 
tices instruction in methods and practical work 
at the branches. 

CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT. 
Next in importance on this faculty should be 
named the Superintendent of the Children's 
Department. We can at least concede that 
she (and I use the pronoun advisedly) occu- 
pies a most responsible place, for upon the 
success of this department largely depends the 
success of the library. There are not many 
people equipped for this post. The occupant 
must combine the qualities which go to make 
up the best sort of teacher, librarian, and 
mother, and must have the executive ability to 
originate plans for the extension of the work, 
exercise general supervision over all children's 
rooms, their management and discipline, select 
and distribute juvenile literature throughout 
the system, and superintend the preparation of 
bulletins and kindred illustrative work. 

BOOK ORDER DEPARTMENT. 

All accessions to the library by gift or pur- 
chase should be handled by the Book Order 
Department. 

Everything connected with the entering of 
gifts, checking of bills, order slips, auction and 
trade catalogues, recommendations of libra- 
rians and readers, and exchange of books be- 
tween branches should be attended to here. 

Having a union catalogue and shelf-list at a 
central place, it is easy to check up orders, 
prevent unnecessary duplication, and indicate 
for which branches a book is intended, as it is 
not desirable to place copies of all books pur- 
chased in every branch. 

The selection of books for the different 
branches depends in a measure upon the rec- 
ommendations of the librarians-in-charge, who 
know what the branches need in the way of 
new books and " shorts." 

CATALOGUING DEPARTMENT. 

A greater degree of uniformity not otherwise 
attainable is secured if all cataloguing is done 
by the central cataloguing staff. All the ac- 
cessioning, classification, and assignment of 
numbers not only for the union catalogue, 



HILL. 



49 



but for branches should be done at one place, 
leaving to the branches the further preparation 
of the book for circulation. 

It is somewhat expensive but quite necessary 
that a union catalogue and a union shelf-list 
showing resources of the whole institution be 
kept by the Cataloguing Department, so that 
information concerning any book at any branch 
may be supplied on the instant. 

A card catalogue and shelf list should be 
kept at each branch, showing just what books 
are in the branch. 

A great deal of time and labor will be saved 
by ordering cards from the Library of Congress 
and using them for the union and branch cata- 
logues. 

A satisfactory division of work seems to be 
something like this : 

WORK DONE BY CATALOGUE DEPARTMENT. 

1. Looked up in union card catalogue. 

2. Books plated. 

3. Accessioned. 

4. Classified. 

5. Numbered. 

6. Subject headings indicated. 

7. Entries made in union card catalogue 

and union shelf list for duplicates. 

8. Work revised. 

9. Cards filed. 

10. Books counted and listed. 

11. Books sent to branches. 

12. Branch catalogue cards revised. 

13. Monthly bulletin work. 

WORK DONE BY BRANCHES. 

1. Books stamped. 

2. Leaves cut. 

3. Books pasted (pockets and dating slips). 

4. Book cards made. 

5. Books, shelf, list, and catalogue cards 

written. 

TRAVELING LIBRARIES. 

The Traveling Library is an acknowledged 
factor in a modern library. It goes into the 
club, the home, the school, the factory, and 
public institutions, and reaches people who do 
not ordinarily visit a library. 

The opportunities for splendid work in this 



department are limitless, and an able, scholarly, 
tactful, and conscientious person is needed for 
Superintendent. 

The home libraries which are coming into 
greater prominence should be under the man- 
agement of this department. 

The collection of books ought to be as dis- 
tinct as at a branch. 

DEPARTMENT OF SUPPLIES. 

The Superintendent of Supplies should be 
a man of large business capacity. Supplies 
for the year should be purchased at one time 
in large quantities and stored at a central 
depot and drawn upon from time to time by 
requisitions made by the librarians-in-charge. 
The amount of stock, such as janitors' sup- 
plies, cards, printing, stationery, etc., needed 
during the year may be easily ascertained from 
estimates submitted by the branch librarians 
at the beginning of the year. 

The purchase of books should be left to 
the Book Order Department. 

Except for incidental expenses no money 
need be expended by branch librarians. 

BINDERY. 

The question of the advantages of a bindery 
under the control of the library authorities is a 
debatable one. Given a central building, the 
problem is easy of solution, as the books are 
then in the same building and under library 
supervision. It is perhaps as convenient and 
satisfactory to establish a certain standard for 
binding and then distribute the work among 
several firms, requiring the same grade of 
work, paying therefor uniform prices. The 
details of management should come under 
responsible supervision and not be left to the 
binder to regulate. 

RESERVOIR FOR BOOKS. 

The library of to-day must place some re- 
strictions upon the purchase of books. Fiction 
by a little known writer may safely lie over for 
six months. Those of us who have tried this 
experiment are pleasantly surprised to find that 
at the end of the probationary period there is 
little demand for the books. Regarding other 
literature it is not necessary to purchase a copy 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



of a new book for each branch, but there should 
be a reservoir to serve as a receptacle for dead 
or unused books from which they could be 
drawn for the branches when there is a de- 
mand. I quote again from the same librarian- 
in-charge : 

"We need a central reservoir from which to 
draw books which for many reasons cannot be 
duplicated in every branch. Into such a reser- 
voir might well be sent all volumes exclusive 
of reference works and others to be noted later 
not circulating in the several branches. The 
branch has no room for books rarely used, and, 
what is more vital, no money to spend in their 
acquisition. Certainly we cannot afford to buy 
books never taken out, and at the same time 
plead lack of funds as an excuse for not obtain- 
ing books sadly needed. In this as in all pub- 
lic matters the greatest good for the greatest 
number must be our guide, and the occasional 
seeker must depend upon this central source 
for his occasional book. The branch must 
contain live and active books, books that will 
be read and re-read, rebound, worn out, and 
replaced. That, briefly, should be the book's 
' biography.' By a process of elimination and 
survival of the fittest the stock of material 
should be kept a living force. In apparent 
contradiction to what I have just written I 
would exempt from exportation to the central 
reservoir ' books of power ' so called. I be- 
lieve we should always have before the eyes of 
the reader the best there is in literature, and 
if after a year, such books having offered them- 
selves appealingly to the public, the dating 
slips remain blank, I think we might be justi- 
fied in concluding that something was the mat- 
ter with the public, or possibly with the libra- 
rian in charge. But beyond these claims of 
the world's best literature I would make no 
further exemptions. Ancient text-books, obso- 
lete scientific treatises, worn-out theological 
discussions, and all other dust-gatherers surely 
can be of no value to the general reader and 
seldom to the student except as a basis of com- 
parison. Actual experience will of course be 
the final test. If a book does not circulate and 
cannot be made to circulate, send it to this 



common reservoir. It will still be always ac- 
cessible, and it is possible that from the com- 
bined demands of the several branches it may 
be of occasional service." 

Thus far we have been considering the ad- 
ministration of the whole system, from a cen- 
tral point, but the real power lies in the 

BRANCH LIBRARIANS. 

A librarian-in-charge should possess peculiar 
qualifications for the position. The foundation 
should be a liberal education, added to which 
one should be broad-minded, far-seeing, and 
progressive. The mission of a librarian is 
only partly accomplished when the merely per- 
functory service of circulating books and keep- 
ing records is done. It needs enthusiasm and 
force in the individual at the head to stimulate 
the assistants and do effective work with the 
public. 

Freedom of action should be accorded heads 
of branches ; they should be held to a degree 
responsible for building up their particular 
libraries. They should not be treated as mere 
machines, but be given an opportunity to 
broaden and develop the work in their own 
neighborhood, and be made to feel their im- 
portance to the entire city system. To this 
end there should be frequent meetings of the 
staff for the purpose of comparing notes, decid- 
ing upon methods, defining the scope of work, 
discussing books, relations with the public, 
etc., and to increase the efficiency of the assist- 
ants they may be given instruction of a higher 
grade than that given apprentices. 

There are other things which add to the 
effectiveness and smoothness of administration. 
Among them may be mentioned frequent visits 
of the chief librarian and superintendents to 
the branches, interchange of books and cards 
among branches ; special express delivery to 
branches and delivery stations, and telephone 
communication throughout the system. 

An outline only of how a branch library may 
be administered has been given, but it may 
serve the purpose at a time when librarians are 
becoming more generally interested in the 
subject. 



ELIOT. 



THE DIVISION OF A LIBRARY INTO BOOKS IN USE, AND BOOKS NOT IN 
USE, WITH DIFFERENT STORAGE METHODS FOR THE TWO CLASSES 

OF BOOKS. 

BY CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT, President of Harvard University . 



DEFORE this assembly of experts it is 
proper that I should describe the past ex- 
periences and present conditions which have 
lately led me to study the library question 
anew, and have caused me, who am not an 
expert, to venture to write on the subject. 

When Gore Hall was built in 1840, my pre- 
decessor, President Josiah Quincy, supposed 
that the building had sufficient capacity to hold 
the probable accumulation of books during the 
remainder of the century ; yet within thirty-five 
years it was necessary to construct an exten- 
sion which held many more books than the 
original building. Within twenty years more 
it became necessary to reconstruct the interior 
of the original Gore Hall in such a manner as 
greatly to increase its book capacity ; and now, 
within six years of the last enlargement, a 
further enlargement, more considerable than 
either of the preceding, is declared to be ab- 
solutely necessary. The city of Boston erected 
about forty years ago what was then considered 
a very large library building on Boylston 
Street. Within less than forty years that 
building had to be replaced by a building of 
vastly greater capacity at the cost of several 
millions of dollars ; and this new building is 
so placed with reference to the surrounding 
streets that it will be almost impossible in 
time to come to more than double its capacity. 
Only thirteen years ago Cambridge built a 
public library ; but the city has already been 
obliged to make a considerable extension of 
the building. In the meantime many new 
public libraries have been erected in the vari- 
ous cities and towns which constitute the 
metropolitan district of Boston. I have, there- 
fore, witnessed a very extraordinary increase 
in the number of books kept accessible to 
readers in the communities which fall under 
my immediate observation ; and I have also 
witnessed frequent enlargements of the build- 
ings used for storing these collections, enlarge- 



ments repeated at always diminishing intervals. 
All over the country, but especially in Massa- 
chusetts, local public libraries have been rapidly 
established within a single generation ; so that 
the centres from which books are distributed, 
or at which books are read, have multiplied 
extraordinarily. Since Gore Hall was planned 
that is, quite within the life-time of many 
persons here present the production of books 
and other printed matter has increased at an 
unprecedented rate; until now there is no 
library, however rich, which pretends to keep 
pace with the annual publications of the world ; 
and all libraries, large and small alike, are 
compelled to exercise close selection in the 
purchasing and acceptance of books. No ex- 
isting library can dream of providing two 
miles and more of new shelving every year. 
Completeness can no longer be the ideal of 
any library. Judicious selection for local and 
present use is the ideal. 

At a university which employs a large num- 
ber of specialists as teachers, the books selected 
for purchase will be those which the university 
specialists decide are most needed at the 
passing moment by themselves or their pupils ; 
and since these specialists change somewhat 
rapidly by death or transfer to other fields of 
labor, the direction of purchases in a given 
university library will probably change consid- 
erably from generation to generation ; so that 
even in a university library the selection of the 
books must be called variable and almost 
casual, unless an unchanging policy of pur- 
chasing only in certain specified departments 
of knowledge be adopted and persistently 
maintained. I know no instance of the long 
maintenance of such a policy for a public col- 
lection not professional. 

The prodigious annual output of books and 
magazines is by no means all original matter. 
A large proportion of it is matter which has 
only been revised or recast. Each generation 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



makes its own treatises, gazeteers, bibliogra- 
phies, indices, dictionaries, and cyclopaedias, 
re-edits the famous books come down from 
preceding generations, and writes its own 
biographies of the heroic personages of the 
past. It is impossible to discern any limit to 
this portentous flood of reproduction. Yet in 
each generation this immense mass of revised 
or recast matter invalidates much of the printed 
work of former generations or throws it out of 
use. Moreover, all signs indicate that the 
flood of printed matter has by no means 
reached its height. Indeed there is every 
reason to suppose that printing and publishing 
will become cheaper and cheaper, and the fa- 
cilities for authorship and the number of 
authors greater and greater. The ease with 
which books are made has altered the charac- 
ter of the printed book. It is plain that great 
masses of new books have only an ephemeral 
interest, like the monthly magazines and the 
weekly papers. 

Under these conditions the great need of 
means of discriminating between books which 
may fairly be said to be in use and books which 
may fairly be said to be not in use has been 
forced on me, and on many other persons 
nearly concerned with the largest, readiest, 
and most profitable use of libraries, and with 
the promotion of sound reading among pupils 
at school, students at college or university, and 
the people at large. The problem is essen- 
tially an economic one. It is not a good use 
of the precious educational resources of a com- 
munity, or an institution, to enlarge at frequent 
intervals its library building, if the new space 
needed for books in use can be secured by dis- 
carding books not in use ; and it is not frugal 
policy to permit the presence of thousands or 
millions of dead books to increase the cost of 
service, care, and cleaning in a much-fre- 
quented library. 

I admit at once that the means of just dis- 
crimination between books in use and books 
not in use are not easy to discern or to apply ; 
but I maintain, nevertheless, that the search 
for these means should be diligently prose- 
cuted, and that every reasonable suggestion of 
means of discrimination deserves careful atten- 
tion. It is obvious that no one man is compe- 



tent to discriminate, on principles of judgment 
which his own mind elaborates, between a 
dead book and a living book in all departments 
of learning. The only satisfactory test is the 
actual demand or absence of demand for the 
book in question. Thus, it might naturally be 
suspected that a book which had not been 
called for in a university library for twenty 
years possessed but a faint vitality ; whereas a 
book that was called for every year would cer- 
tainly be considered alive. The fact of disuse 
seems to me an effective criterion, and the 
question for librarians is how to determine that 
fact of disuse. In libraries where no person 
has access to the shelves except the librarian 
and his assistants, so that every book used is 
ordered by a written slip, and passes the de- 
livery desk, the fact of disuse can certainly be 
satisfactorily determined. In libraries where 
some thousands of books, say from five thou- 
sand to a hundred thousand, are kept on open 
shelves, accessible to all users or all privileged 
users of the library, there must be some princi- 
ple of selection which assigns books to those 
open shelves. No judicious librarian will keep 
on open shelves books which are never touched. 
There already exists, therefore, a satisfactory 
criterion for large numbers of live books. The 
real difficulty in determining disuse arises in 
libraries which permit access to all their 
shelves to a considerable number of readers 
who may handle the books at their pleasure, 
and remove any of them temporarily to neigh- 
boring tables where they can be conveniently 
read. This permission has no value except in 
a classified library, or, rather, except in those 
parts of a library which are classified. There 
are many libraries in which the " browsing " 
process is not permitted, and in them this diffi- 
culty in determining the disuse of a book does 
not exist. Moreover, where the difficulty ex- 
ists now it would be removed by enforcing the 
simple rule that the reader admitted to the 
shelves may take a book down, but shall not 
put it up ; and this rule would have other ob- 
vious advantages. I shall have something to 
say later concerning the value of the process of 
browsing in a library. 

I have found on inquiry that the discrimina- 
tion between books in use and books not in use 



ELIOT. 



53 



has already been made in some libraries of 
widely different character as regards size, rate 
of growth, and general purpose. Thus the 
British Museum has already made large dis- 
criminations. The Medical Library of Boston, 
although it has lately procured a new building 
much larger than its first, has still large num- 
bers of books stored in the suburbs of Boston. 
The Harvard Library has been forced to box 
thousands of books, and store them in the cel- 
lars of other buildings a very inconvenient 
method. The Boston Athenaeum has for some 
years put its most used books in its lower 
stories, and its least used in the upper, for the 
convenience of its attendants, and of its pro- 
prietors who have access to the shelves. Many 
town libraries have found no difficulty in de- 
ciding upon those books which are so seldom 
called for that they may be put in out-of-the- 
way places. 

But what should be done with disused books, 
when once the means of discrimination be- 
tween the used and the disused have been 
found? It seems to me clear that a book 
which is worth keeping at all ought to be kept 
accessible ; that is, where it can be found, on 
demand, with a reasonable expenditure of 
time and labor. The problem, then, is to de- 
vise a mode of storing disused books, so that 
they may be kept safe and accessible, and 
yet at a low cost for shelter and annual care. 
The most obvious considerations of economy 
demand that disused books, or books very 
seldom used, should be stored in inexpensive 
buildings on cheap land. There is frightful 
waste in storing little-used books on land worth 
a million dollars an acre, if land worth a hun- 
dred dollars an acre would answer all reasonable 
purposes. Next, no unnecessary number of 
copies should be stored for one and the same 
community. If, for instance, there are thirty 
public or semi-public libraries within twelve 
miles of the State House in Boston, it is waste- 
ful for each of those libraries to be storing dis- 
used books, for many of the books so preserved 
would be duplicates. There should be one 
store-house for disused books for the entire 
district, wherein not more than two copies of 
any book should be preserved. Thirdly, the 
interior construction of such a building should 



differ in important respects from the construc- 
tion of the ordinary book-stack in use to-day. 
A stack like that of the Harvard Library, which 
was the first stack constructed of the type now 
common, or that of the Congressional Library, 
a more recent and far more costly type, pro- 
vides a passageway between each two rows of 
books ; and in order to get good daylight into 
the middle of these narrow aisles or passage- 
ways, the lengths of the rows are very mod- 
erate, and there are often passageways along 
the ends of the rows of books between these 
ends and the walls. The result of this ar- 
rangement is that not more than one-fifth of 
the cubical contents of the building which 
covers the stack is really occupied by books. 
In order to secure compact stowage, all books 
in such a store-house as we are contemplating 
should, in the first place, be assorted by size. 
They should next be marked by a label at the 
top of the back to receive only a serial letter 
and number. No classification of the books 
should be permitted ; for a classified library 
occupies more space than one which is not 
classified. The books having been assorted 
by size should be placed three deep on the 
shelves, and on the edge of each shelf should 
stand fixed-location shelf-marks bearing the 
numbers of the three books behind each mark. 
The serial number once assigned to a book 
should never be changed, and the place of each 
book once fixed should never be changed. 
The passage-ways should be long, and should 
end against the walls, and only one passage- 
way down the middle of the stack should 
afford access to the passage-ways between the 
rows of books. In this way nearly two-thirds 
of the building might be actually occupied by 
books. The roof should be flat, and so con- 
structed as to defend the upper stories from 
the heat of the summer sun. All windows 
should be double, to exclude dust and cold. 
In winter the temperature of the entire build- 
ing should be kept low, and by the use of 
gratings for floors the whole building should be 
treated as one room for purposes of heating 
and ventilating. None but the attendants 
should ever be allowed in the stacks. They 
would find the books called for by their serial 
numbers only, and would bring them to the 



54 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



reading-room and studies which should be 
attached to the building. It ought, of course, 
to be possible for any student who desired a 
large number of books to have them brought 
to him in a separate room where he could ex- 
amine them at his leisure, and retain the use 
of them for a definite period. It should also 
be possible for any library in the district which 
used this store-house to procure any books 
from the store-house on written or telephoned 
orders, the cards corresponding to all the 
books in the store-house being kept at all the 
libraries which were large enough to accommo- 
date such a catalogue. Such a building could 
be a regular polygon, like a square, and so 
have a shorter perimeter than any irregular 
polygon of the same area, like a long rectangle, 
for instance. 

The books in such a store-house would be 
reasonably accessible to real students. They 
would no longer encumber the libraries from 
which they had been dismissed. They need 
no longer encumber the card catalogues in 
ordinary use at the libraries from which they 
had been dismissed. The discharge of disused 
books from the thirty or more libraries of the 
whole district into this common receptacle 
would be intermittent, perhaps, by weeks or 
months, but fairly continuous by long periods, 
such as five-year or .ten-year periods. The 
libraries of books in use would themselves be 
more economically and effectively administered 
if relieved of the burden of the dead books ; 
and they would be under no necessity of ex- 
tending their buildings at short intervals over 
new areas of more and more expensive land. 

The treatment of the library catalogue under 
these new conditions would deserve careful 
consideration and experimentation. In libra- 
ries which contained a well-classified subject 
catalogue, it might, or might not, be best to 
keep in the classified catalogue the titles of dis- 
used books. By retaining all the titles which 
had ever found place in the classified catalogue, 
a student unacquainted with the literature of 
his subject would be supplied with an impor- 
tant bibliographical guide ; but on the other 
hand by keeping in the catalogue the titles of 
disused books the bulk of the catalogue would 
be increased in a progressive measure, and the 



daily use of the catalogue would therefore be 
made more difficult and more time-consuming 
for everybody resorting to it. 

These last considerations lead naturally to 
the interesting subject of "browsing." There 
can be no doubt that the inexperienced student 
gets some advantage from looking over the 
books in a classified library on a subject in 
which he has an intelligent interest ; but of 
course his chief advantage is procured from 
those books which have still so much life in 
them as to be sometimes read. Browsing on 
good books is often helpful, but browsing on 
poor books, and particularly on books which 
have been so replaced by better ones as to have 
gone out of use, is a very questionable advan- 
tage for the ordinary student. I am not sug- 
gesting that browsing on live books should be 
prevented, but only that browsing on dead 
books might be made less convenient than it 
now is by requiring that the dead books to be 
examined should be ordered and brought to- 
gether for the browser in a reading-room or' 
study. For the advanced student, who wishes 
to make a really thorough study of the litera- 
ture of a given subject, the examination of the 
books on that subject which happen to stand 
on the shelves of a given library ought not to 
be satisfactory. He may be quite certain that 
the collection is not complete, and that it may 
even be described as casual. He ought to 
make acquaintance with a thorough bibliog- 
raphy of his subject, or he ought at least to 
examine thoroughly several classified cata- 
logues of books on his subject. He should 
never be content with the selection of books 
which happens to have been made in a single 
library, but should examine the contents of 
several libraries. In short, he ought to regard 
browsing in one collection not as thorough 
study at all, but only as a pleasing gratification 
of curiosity in comparatively leisure moments. 

It is obvious that the economical advantages 
of the division of books which has been here 
suggested would be numerous. In the first 
place, the trustees of libraries would not have 
to hold vacant large pieces of expensive land 
all about their present library buildings, in 
order to provide for enlargements of those 
buildings in successive generations. In the 



ELIOT. 



55 



second place, they would not be put to the 
expense of building these successive enlarge- 
ments, but would always keep in a sufficient 
building that number of books for which it had 
originally been designed, the older books which 
had proved to be disused being constantly re- 
placed by newer books which are to be put to 
the test of use, and the whole collection being 
actually alive. Again, the maintenance of the 
store-house for disused books would be far less 
costly than the maintenance of the building 
for the active library as regards heat, light, 
number of attendants, and cleaning. Finally, 
the handling of the catalogues and the delivery 
of books at the active library would be quicker 
and easier, and the service of that library 
would, therefore, be less expensive and more 
efficient. Every hundred thousand books in a 
much-used library and every million cards in 
its catalogue increase the cost of service and 
care, because they add to the difficulties of the 
service, and the extent of the care-taking. 

It seems to me that emphasis should be laid 
henceforth not on the number of volumes which 
a library contains, but on the wise selection of 
its books, and on the facilities for the daily use 
of its treasures. It is much more important 
that adequate provision of reading-rooms, large 
and small, should be made, than that browsing 
be permitted, or that every book owned by the 
library should be obtainable on demand within 
a few minutes. It is not unreasonable that an 
interval of twenty-four hours should elapse 
between the receipt of an order for a book and 
its delivery. Commercial circulating libraries 
both in England and in this country are highly 
successful, although they often require a much 
longer interval than this between the receipt 
of an order and the delivery. As the facilities 
for the safe delivery of books by mail, parcel 
deliveries, or expresses increase, the habit of 
borrowing books from a distance ought like- 
wise to become common. The student and 
the general reader alike should be willing to 
await the delivery of the book he wants for 
hours or even days, just as a naturalist waits 
for the season at which his particular material 
is to be found, or for the time of year when 
his plant flowers, or his moths escape from the 
chrysalis, or his chickens or his trout hatch. 



The real student ought to be capable of some 
forelooking, and of a certain deliberation in 
reading. 

Whenever the distinction between books in 
use and books out of use, and between a li- 
brary of live books and a store-house for dead 
books, comes to be admitted and applied, it 
will be possible to return to spacious and hand- 
some halls and rooms for the permanent active 
library. The modern steel stack is not a dec- 
orative or inspiring structure, and we should 
all be glad to advocate with a good conscience 
more beautiful and interesting forms of con- 
struction for the library of books in use. 

It is an interesting but not an urgent ques- 
tion how many depositories of dead books 
might reasonably be provided in the United 
States. If the general conception should be 
accepted, the interests of different localities 
will in time determine the number of places of 
deposit for books out of use. In my report on 
Harvard University for the year 1900-01, I 
mentioned three appropriate places of deposit 
Washington, New York, and Chicago ; but I 
can see great convenience in having one place 
of deposit for Eastern Massachusetts ; and 
doubtless the Pacific coast and the eastern 
slopes of the Rocky Mountains would some day 
need others. 

It has been said that the present generation 
cannot determine the taste in books which any 
future generation will manifest, and therefore 
that present disuse of a book is not to be ac- 
cepted as evidence that it is dead outright and 
forever. This suggestion has some truth in it, 
but it does not go far. There are few books 
now in use which have been resurrected after 
long burial ; but if there were such books, their 
temporary storage in the house of disused 
books would not prevent their restoration to 
some of the active libraries when the new gen- 
eration had discovered or rediscovered their 
merits. I am not proposing a crematory for 
dead books, but only a receiving-tomb. Neither 
am I proposing that the bibliophile or the anti- 
quarian should be absolutely deprived of his 
idols, but only that his access to them should 
be made somewhat less convenient and attrac- 
tive. 

Another mode of selection in the purchase 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



and holding of books by different libraries 
within some territory of moderate extent has 
often been suggested, namely, the assign- 
ment to different libraries of different subjects 
to which they shall severally confine themselves 
in the purchase of their books. There is a 
great deal to be said for this mode of selection, 
if the interests of a large community like the 
Boston metropolitan district, for example, 
rather than those of a single town or city, or a 
single university, are to be considered. But it 
ought to be observed that this method of se- 
lecting the books which any given library shall 
own involves the same willingness on the part 
of readers to wait a reasonable time for the 
books they want, as must be assumed if the 
line of division in any one library shall be 
between books in use and books not in use. 
If European history were assigned as one of 
its subjects to the Boston Public Library and 
American history to the Harvard Library, the 
historical student in Cambridge might have to 
wait for his book until it could be brought 
from Boston, and vice versa. No principle of 
selection can be applied to a group of libraries, 
which does not involve, though infrequently, 
some reasonable delay in the delivery to the 
reader of the book he wants ; yet it is indispen- 
sable that some principle of selection or other 



shall be adopted. It is also to be observed 
that books will inevitably come to be disused 
in the several departments assigned to each 
separate library. 

What I have wished, and still wish, to urge 
upon the attention of professional librarians 
solely in the interest of the best use of the best 
books is the need of determining beforehand 
the general policy which is to be adopted with 
regard to the storage and most convenient use 
of the overwhelming masses of books which are 
pouring forth at all the large centres of book- 
making in the world, masses which each decade 
bids fair to double. At present most of the 
libraries of the country are vaguely contemplat- 
ing an indefinite enlargement of their buildings, 
and an indefinite increase in the cost of main- 
taining, caring for, and serving out their grow- 
ing collections of books. The present buildings 
of many libraries may now look adequate for 
years to come ; but surprisingly soon their 
vacant shelves will be filled, and the pinch we 
have felt three times within sixty years at the 
Harvard Library will afflict them also. There 
seems to me to be an urgent need of settling 
soon on a clear and feasible policy for the 
future ; and I know no body of persons more 
competent than that I now address to discover 
and promulgate such a policy. 



THE SELECTION OF TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 
BY CHARLES F. BURGESS, University of Wisconsin. 



I T is my purpose as the unofficial representa- 
tive of the American Society for the Promo- 
tion of Engineering Education to submit to 
your consideration a line of work which has 
been taken up as one of the possible means for 
furthering the interests of technical education, 
and one which cannot be made effective with- 
out the cooperation of the library interests. 

Those who are actively interested in engi- 
neering education cannot help but feel a certain 
sense of responsibility for the remarkable 
record of industrial development which the last 
few decades have made. For substantiation of 
such claim attention need but be called to the 
captains and other officers of industry who have 



been trained in the technical schools of the 
country. 

The inadequacy of the engineering education 
of thirty years ago for present conditions is 
scarcely more obvious than the fact that engi- 
neering education of the present will not suffice 
for the future. Present methods, continued 
indefinitely, would develop leaders as they have 
done in the past, but the question of a debata- 
ble nature may be raised : Is the country 
better off with a few great engineers, or a large 
number who are capable? 

Perhaps the most serious limitation upon en- 
gineering education at the present time is its 
failure to reach the rank and file of industrial 



BURGESS. 



57 



workers, a limitation which is steadily increas- 
ing in degree. In spite of the fact that some 
of our advanced technical schools are free from 
tuition charges, it is evident that only a very 
small percentage of the inhabitants seem to be 
endowed with the privilege or opportunity of 
attending such institutions. It has been esti- 
mated that but one per cent, of the pupils of 
the grade schools continue their work beyond 
the high school. 

It seems to be the predominating idea at 
present that increase in efficiency of engineer- 
ing education lies mostly with reference to the 
instruction of the favored minority who are 
able to attend technical schools. This is 
shown by the action of the leading engineering 
schools in increasing the height of the barrier 
commonly termed entrance requirements, thus 
more noticeably decreasing the percentage of 
those permitted to attend. A college education 
gives to its possessor an advantage over his 
fellow men and almost ensures for him promo- 
tion to the more important positions, thus serv- 
ing in a considerable degree to remove the less 
fortunate from the line of promotion. This 
stratification which appears to be developing, 
placing the technical graduate in the upper 
layer and creating an engineering aristocracy, 
is to be deplored as contrary to the American 
doctrine of equal opportunity for all. By the 
very progress of the technical graduate the out- 
look for the shop man or machine laborer is 
darkened, for, seeing the higher positions ap- 
parently closed to him, he will lose that incen- 
tive which is the underlying foundation of 
American enterprise hope of advancement. 
He will feel that he is born to a position in life 
from which he cannot rise. 

The solution of this problem as to how such 
condition may be avoided is perhaps the most 
difficult and important task which those inter- 
ested in technical education have to undertake ; 
but there is no doubt that American ingenuity 
will find a way of satisfactorily solving this, as 
it has done other great problems. Various ex- 
perimental solutions are now under trial and 
others have been proposed. Among the former 
are the so-called correspondence schools, sum- 
mer schools for artisans which at least one of 
our universities has instituted, night schools, 
classes conducted by the Y.M.C.A., instruc- 



tion offered by manufacturers, and various 
other methods, each of which has its own ad- 
vantages and disadvantages which it is not my 
purpose to discuss. 

The great school for the industrial worker is 
the shop or the factory. The worker in this 
school is in a laboratory of the most efficient 
sort in which he can develop efficiently if he 
will develop his brain together with manual 
skill and dexterity. 

The workman must first be taught to realize 
that unthinking skill can never hold its own 
against brain training. After instilling this 
feeling every possible opportunity should be 
given to make the work of brain training as 
simple and efficient as possible. The corre- 
spondence schools, in having enrolled over a 
quarter of a million students, have demonstrated 
the state of intellectual hunger which prevails 
among the industrial workers of the country. 
In addition to demonstrating the existence of 
this hunger, at least some of the schools have 
done much toward satisfying the same.. 

The proficiency of the industrial worker lies 
largely in his knowledge of the laws of nature 
and their applications and limitations, and an 
ignorance of such laws determines to a large 
extent the difference between the mechanic and 
the engineer. Such laws and applications may 
be learned from books, and in this fact lies the 
opportunity which the libraries have for further- 
ing industrial progress. 

There are various ways in which the libra- 
rian's work may be to the advantage of engi- 
neering education, by which term is meant the 
dissemination of knowledge which bears upon 
and influences industrial development. 

The library may supply such scientific and 
technical literature as will meet the require- 
ments of those who wish to use the same for 
recreation or for general information, and there- 
fore including writings of a popular nature. 

The library may stimulate interest in scien- 
tific and technical matters among high school 
students and others who are to choose their 
life's work. 

The means may also be offered to technical 
men for continuing their studies, or in carrying 
on investigation, for which purpose a good 
reference equipment is requisite. 

The library, in placing at the disposal of the 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



workman-artisan class the literature best suited 
to the needs, may accomplish results of ines- 
timable value. " The vast number of workers, 
so important to the future welfare of the repub- 
lic, deserve and are in need of more considera- 
tion and encouragement for self education than 
are those who constitute what are known as our 
educated classes." It is to the means of giving 
aid to this class that I wish especially to point. 

Libraries have been and are at the present 
time very inefficiently dealing with this matter, 
the following remark recently made by a promi- 
nent technical man emphasizing this point : 
" Instruction in engineering literature is not 
organized, it is not looked after, it is not cared 
for, yet it is one of the most important ques- 
tions. On entering a modern public library 
one finds excellent reading lists upon almost 
any topic in history, art, literature, and some 
science, but none on engineering or technical 
subjects." 

A study of methods of increasing the effi- 
ciency reveals some of the causes of inefficiency, 
principal among which is the lack of a sufficient 
number of books, and, what is equally harmful, 
the presence on the shelves of books whose 
influence is not only indifferent but actually 
harmful. A great improvement can undoubt- 
edly be effected by the judicious application 
of the process of subtraction from, as well as 
addition to, the shelves. The unsatisfactory 
selections so commonly made, and the requests 
which are frequently put to its individual mem- 
bers for book lists, have furnished the incentive 
to the Society for the Promotion of Engineer- 
ing Education in appointing a committee of 
seven members, representing various lines of 
technical and engineering work, naming as the 
duties of such committee the compilation of 
a list of scientific and technical books which 
could be recommended for library use. 

It has appeared to our committee that for 
various good reasons it would be best to con- 
fine our work, at the beginning at least, to the 
selection of books for the smaller libraries, and 
including perhaps not more than one hundred 
and fifty titles. In this way it was thought that 
the best results with the time at our disposal 
could be accomplished. 

I had hoped to present at this time such 



a list, but, owing to the time necessary and the 
difficulty in arriving at an agreement which the 
geographical distributions of this committee 
involves, I am, unfortunately, unable to carry 
out my expectations ; and the publication of the 
same will, therefore, have to be postponed to a 
later day. 

From expressions of opinion which have 
come to my attention, I incline to the belief 
that many librarians may not view our efforts 
with favor, and will repeat with unkind accent, 
" another bibliography prepared by experts." 
I admit that there is some ground for the 
assertion that a specialist will usually make a 
poor selection, for general library purposes, of 
books dealing even with his line of work, hav- 
ing his nose buried so deeply into his subject 
that he is unable to obtain a fair perspective. 
It is difficult for him to judge of the value or 
even to see any value whatever in the elemen- 
tary books which are most important from the 
library standpoint, and, in fact, many special- 
ists are totally unfamiliar with the elementary 
literature in their lines. The objection that 
professional prejudices and jealousies are likely 
to be detrimental to proper selection might 
also be a factor, though certainly a minor one. 
A scientific and technical library, chosen by 
lists made independently by specialists in 
various lines, is liable to be unbalanced by 
reason of the various ideals which different 
men have as to library requirements. 

Braving such criticism, our committee has 
undertaken the work, and it is hoped that the 
librarian may look with favor upon the results, 
especially when considering the fact that various 
difficulties, limitations, and faults are realized 
by the committee, and attempts have been 
made to remedy or minimize them. 

In examining the engineering literature 
various factors, which must be taken into 
account in making proper selection, become 
apparent. 

Certain branches of engineering and science, 
especially those capable of spectacular treat- 
ment, have been subjected to a flood of litera- 
ture during recent years. The greater part of 
such literature, in spite of its popularity, is not 
only unreliable and worthless, but is actually 
harmful and a hindrance to true progress in 



BURGESS. 



59 



engineering education. Many of these books 
have been written solely for the purpose of 
financial profit, and consequently have been 
manufactured as cheaply as the employment of 
cheap brain labor would permit. A number of 
books on electrical subjects may be readily 
named, which bear evidence of having been 
written by authors who know very little of the 
branches upon which they claim to instruct. 
Another deficiency in technical books, especi- 
ally in those of elementary nature, is caused by 
the author's endeavor to place facts and laws 
in the most elementary manner possible, which 
is often done at the expense of truth and ac- 
curacy. 

It is to be deplored that those who represent 
the most advanced learning in their profession 
seldom indulge in the writing of elementary 
books, since the financial reward for such work 
is not comparable to that which may be received 
in more strictly professional work. The writing 
of the elementary book is often therefore left 
to the amateur engineer. 

The public demand may seem to make it 
necessary to place many undesirable books on 
the shelves, but it seems to me that just as 
much care should be used in barring misleading 
books in science and engineering as in exclud- 
ing those which are detrimental from the moral 
standpoint. A book recently issued, written 
evidently with the sole hope of large sales, 
deals with the telephone. Many statements 
made therein show the author's ignorance of 
fundamental science, or his total depravity in 
trying to pass them off as elementary science to 
the unitiated ; yet this is a book for which there 
is a large demand, due to a general desire for 
the information which such work purports to 
give. On the score of inaccuracy and simplic- 
ity carried too far, the majority of the books 
belonging to the ABC class of publication 
should be rejected. 

In scientific and engineering lines the steady 
and rapid progress has made the need of revi- 
sion of its literature especially great, and there 
is perhaps no other department where books so 
soon become of the antiquated order as here. 
For this reason a selection may safely be con- 
fined almost entirely to publications of the last 
few years. 



In arguing for the organization and more 
efficient operation of scientific and engineering 
departments in the public library with the view 
of helping especially the working class I am 
well aware that nothing new or heretofore un- 
tried is being presented. I will anticipate some 
of the objections which may be raised against 
this system for industrial betterment. It will 
be argued that certain libraries have maintained 
technical departments at considerable expendi- 
ture of capital and labor, but that little interest 
has been manifested in the same by the people 
who were to be benefited. 

It is true that only a small percentage of the 
industrial workers seem to have an ambition to 
rise, strange as this statement may seem, and 
even if possessed of such, few have the enter- 
prise to do the extra work necessary to further 
this ambition. The results, however, which 
can be effected by ministering to the require- 
ments of those who have both ambition and 
enterprise, even though such number be small 
at present, is a sufficient argument for carrying 
on the work. In this way the library may serve 
as a net spread wide to catch the talent which 
the country produces. 

It is argued that the man who works eight 
hours a day is not eager or in good condition 
to put in his little spare time with books ; but, 
with the better class of such men, their minds 
are, after their day's manual work, fresh and 
eager for mental work which they may be 
given at night. If literature having'some bear- 
ing on their daily work be placed in their 
hands they will be bound to become interested. 

Further it may be said that manufacturers 
have installed libraries in connection with their 
works and have even offered free instruction 
to their employees. The indifferent success 
which such attempts to improve the men have 
met points to possible failure for public libra- 
ries if they take up this work. It has been 
a matter of common experience, however, that 
advantages such as gratuitous instruction 
offered by employers are seldom appreciated 
by employees, for the majority become suspici- 
ous of the intentions, feeling that such efforts 
are being made in the interests of capital 
rather than labor. To the library this is a 
matter of less moment, for the public may be 



6o 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



made to have a feeling of ownership, which 
is synonymous with a feeling of interest. There 
may be means whereby the library may in- 
crease such interest. An experiment with 
this in view is to be tried by the Public 
Library at Madison, Wis., during the coming 
winter. It is proposed to have a series of 
informal talks or lectures given to the em- 
ployees of local factories upon technical sub- 
jects which may be of interest to them, a small 
charge to be made for the course. The pro- 
ceeds are to be used for the benefit of the 
technical library, books and periodicals being 
purchased which will be of most service to the 
contributors. Experience has shown that a 
free course of lectures will not retain the 
interest of the audience as will a course in 
which money is invested, and in addition to 
retaining such interest it is thought that the 
investment of the proceeds as before mentioned 
will increase the interest in the library. The 
lectures are to be given by local engineers and 
professors of the College of Engineering of the 
University of Wisconsin, and almost any 
public library can easily get up such a course 
of talks, as the technical men of the community 
will readily lend their assistance. 

The library, to be a place of study, requires a 
good list of reference books and journals. 
Current technical and trade periodicals would 
be a drawing card, and those who possess, 
even to a minor degree, the ability of self- 
education will find here their mental nourish- 
ment. In almost every industry there are now 
technical books and trade journals and cata- 
logues of very high educational value which 
may be acquired at a very small cost. A most 
valuable part of engineering and scientific 
literature is in such publications, and with 
bound volumes of the same the librarian might 
readily compile reading lists for those who 
desire to look up any particular line. 

Other reference books should be available, 



such as Kent's " Mechanical engineer's pocket 
book," Foster's " Pocket book on mechanical 
engineering," Trautwine on civil engineering, 
electrical and mechanical dictionaries, books 
for self-instructing in drafting, an excellent 
example of which is Davis' " Mechanical draw- 
ing and machine design." 

Books which are in many ways ideal for such 
reference library are those published by the In- 
ternational Correspondence Schools of Scran- 
ton, Pa., consisting of bound volumes of their 
lesson sheets on subjects such as electrical engi- 
neering, mechanical engineering, civil engineer- 
ing, shop practice, steam engineering, and 
various other lines. Each subject is treated in 
several volumes, taking it up from the very 
elementary point and gradually developing it 
through a comparatively advanced stage. A 
student may therefore take up a subject at any 
point to suit his preparation, and since the 
works are fairly complete, supplementary books 
are necessary. The books have been prepared 
by specialists and authorities in various lines, 
and have been successfully designed to meet the 
requirements of those seeking self-education. 
These works have in the past been available 
only to those who paid the fee as correspond- 
ence students, but the International Corre- 
spondence Schools have recently changed their 
policy to the extent of allowing public libraries 
to obtain their publications. 

If study of drafting and designing is to be 
carried on it might be advisable to place at the 
student's disposal drafting boards or tables. 
Other facilities might also be made available, 
but an enumeration of such extension work 
would carry me beyond my intended destination. 

By suitable scientific instruction the useful- 
ness of the industrial worker to society is in- 
creased, his horizon is broadened, the dignity 
of his calling is developed ; and no other agency 
seems as universally suited for furnishing such 
instruction as does the public library. 



JOSEPHSON. 



6l 



PLAN FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF AN INSTITUTE FOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL 

RESEARCH. 

BY AKSEL G. S. JOSEPHSON, The John Crerar Library, Chicago, III. 



F\URING the days of the discussion of the 
co-operative cataloging scheme a couple 
of years ago I presented to the Co-operation 
Committee of this Association a plan for a 
complete American bibliography. This plan 
was based on the same mechanical principle as 
the cataloging plan presented by the commit- 
tee at the Montreal conference, and provided 
for electrotypes to be made for single entries 
from which cards could be printed and which 
also could be used for printing of bibliographies 
in book form, to be kept up to date by cumula- 
tive supplements and cumulative new editions. 
My scheme for carrying on the work was also 
largely the same as that suggested by the com- 
mittee. The entries were in all cases to be 
made from the books or articles themselves, 
not from other bibliographies, and the work, it 
was suggested, might be done in co-operation 
by a number of leading libraries, the field of 
work to be divided according to the particular 
strength of each co-operating library. For in- 
stance : the literature previous to 1700 might 
be recorded by the New York Public Library, 
the copyrighted books after 1870 by the Li- 
brary of Congress, the literature of medicine by 
the Surgeon General's Library, that of geology 
by the United States Geological Survey, etc. 
A central bureau was to be established for the 
supervision of the work, for revision as well as 
for the printing and distribution of the cards 
and other publications. The cost of organiza- 
tion and maintenance until the undertaking 
would be self-supporting should be borne, it 
was suggested, by such national scientific so- 
cieties as might be interested in a scheme for 
an American bibliography. 

The Co-operation Committee expressed in 
its report to the Montreal conference the hope 
that the plans for the co-operative cataloging 
of books for libraries might pave the way for 
this plan. The Bibliographical Committee of 
the American Historical Association to which 
it had also been presented did not see its way 
to make any recommendation. 

Now, the failure of the scheme was inherent 



in the proposition that institutions, libraries 
and societies, founded to further certain defined 
interests, should spend a part of their income 
in the interest of an undertaking which, while 
touching their own interests at more than one 
point, could not be said to be part and parcel 
of their work. And it soon became clear to 
me that the only way to solve the problem 
would be through the establishment of a 
separate richly endowed institution, unaffili- 
ated but working in harmony and co-opera- 
tion with other institutions of learning. There 
are institutes established for chemical, medical, 
archaeological research. The bibliographical 
needs of American scholarship require the 
foundation of an institute for bibliographical 
research to be a centre for investigation and 
publication in the field of bibliography. The 
chief undertaking of such an institute, around 
which all its other work should centre, would 
naturally be the American bibliography, 
conceived in its very broadest sense, not 
merely covering literary productions printed in 
America, but also such dealing with American 
subjects and written by American authors, 
even though printed elsewhere. It would 
naturally be divided in two parts, the bibliog- 
raphy of current literature and the retrospec- 
tive bibliography of the past. The retrospective 
work should be taken up piecemeal, so that the 
most useful and so far most inadequately treated 
subjects be undertaken first. For instance, to 
attempt a complete bibliography of medicine, of 
American ethnology or geology, would be futile ; 
on the other hand, bibliographies of photog- 
raphy, of education, of fine art, of engineering, 
of bibliography, would be invaluable. All the 
work of the Institute should be conceived as 
parts of its American bibliography and as far 
as non-American publications are recorded, as 
parts of the universal bibliography which for 
centuries has been the dream of bibliographers 
and librarians. If I claim that this universal 
catalog is possible I base this assertion on the 
mechanical principle of electrotype plates for 
single entries. By using such plates, as much 



62 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



qf the work as is completed will always be ready 
for use, and nothing will ever be out of print. 

The bibliographical problem is international. 
An attempt to solve it from the standpoint of 
a single country, without proper attention to 
its international aspects, will invite failure. 
If a bibliographical institute be founded in this 
country it must seek co-operation with similar 
institutions in other countries. Such institu- 
tions are the International Council for the 
" Catalogue of scientific literature " in London, 
the Institut International de Bibliographic in 
Brussels, the Concilium Bibliographicum in 
Zurich. In this country various independent 
undertakings might be co-ordinated with each 
other and with the work of the Institute ; for in- 
stance, the bibliographical work of the Library 
of Congress and the various government bureaus 
at Washington, the co-operative cataloging of 
articles in serials carried out under the auspices 
of the A. L. A. Publishing Board, the several 
bibliographies of individual states in the 
Union published by the American Historical 
Association. 

The functions of an institute for bibliograph- 
ical research would by no means be exhausted 
with the preparation and publication of bibli- 
ographies according to a preconceived plan. 
Arrangements should be made by which stu- 
dents engaged in research might have special 
bibliographies prepared for them. It is highly 
important that literary investigators be re- 
lieved from the preliminary work of compiling 
bibliographies of the subject they intend to 
investigate, thus saving valuable time that 
would be more profitably spent in productive 
labor. There should also be provision for 
temporary employment of students and bibli- 
ographers, desirous of carrying out some spe- 
cial bibliographical work under the auspices 
of the institute. These would be paid on the 
basis of the salaries of the permanent officers 
of the institute and the result of their work 
published by it in its regular style, on cards 
and in books, printed from electrotypes. And 
societies such as the proposed American bibli- 
ographical society might make arrangements 
to have the institute issue their bibliograph- 
ical monographs. 

These are the three functions of modern 
bibliography: recording, classification, and 



evaluation. And the organization of the insti- 
tute should be planned so as to include all 
three. For each publication recorded there 
should be supplied 

(i.) A bibliographically accurate copy of 
the title, with collation and other descriptive 
notes, such as contents. 

(2.) The indication of its place in some 
recognized system of scientific classification. 

(3.) A note of evaluation telling the bias 
of the author, whether the work be based on 
original research or is a compilation from 
secondary sources, and whether it is a popular 
account or intended for students only. 

The staff of the institute would ultimately 
consist of a director, a chief clerk or business 
manager, a number of special bibliographers, 
scientific men, each a specialist in some field 
of research, and also trained in bibliographical 
method, with catalogers, indexers, and other 
clerical assistants. 

The cost of an institution of this kind must 
be considerable. The only way to establish it 
must be by a large endowment and by its 
utilizing existing institutions in all ways possi- 
ble. The Co-operation Committee estimated in 
its report to the Montreal conference the cost 
of preparing and printing cards at 85c. per title 
including electrotypes ; if the work of the pro- 
posed bibliographical institute be estimated on 
the same basis, we might calculate the cost from 
$i to $1.50 per title. While the ultimate en- 
dowment must be considerable, the work should 
begin in a moderate way. There must be a 
great deal of experimenting, a great deal of 
feeling one's way, before the sure path be found 
and an adequate basis made for the work. Some 
revenue might be expected from the sale of 
cards and book publications. The institute 
would, however, not be a commercial under- 
taking, and the prices of its publications 
should cover only the cost of stock, printing, 
and distribution. 

Perhaps the first step towards founding the 
institute would be to offer post-graduate in- 
struction in bibliography to scientists who 
desire to make it their life work, whether they 
be candidates for positions with the institute 
or wish to prepare themselves for bibliographi- 
cal work in general or for leading positions in 
libraries. 



JOHNSTON. 



THE WORK OF THE DIVISION OF BIBLIOGRAPHY, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
BY W. DAWSON JOHNSTON, Library of Congress. 



C OME ONE has said that the American stu- 
dent spends in copying title-pages the time 
that other people give to reading books. Per- 
haps this is true ; other people may not give 
much time to reading, or, the American student 
may get more from title-pages than other stu- 
dents get from books. But if it is true that we 
have devoted so much attention to bibliog- 
raphy, why have we so much still to do, and 
why has so much of our work been of merely 
local and temporary value? The reason, I be- 
lieve, may be this : we have been inclined to 
regard bibliography as we have been accus- 
tomed to regard the older sciences with which 
we have been familiar ; we have looked upon 
it as we have looked upon them, as the natural 
product of the intellect of the individual and 
the proper province of speculative thought. 
Little by little we are learning, however, that 
bibliography is a descriptive science, that its 
value as a science is in proportion to its com- 
pleteness and exactness, and that its complete- 
ness and exactness are dependent upon the 
systematic co-operation of professional bibli- 
ographers. In other words, we are recogniz- 
ing that it is no longer sufficient to leave our 
study about books to chance, to arrive at our 
knowledge of books by guess-work, to entrust 
our information concerning books to the mem- 
,ory. We are no longer content to print our 
books and turn them out into the world trusting 
that they will come back when needed ; we are no 
longer content to take the first book or any book 
on a subject from the shelves ; we are no longer 
content to trust our own opinion or that of 
.our neighbor regarding what we should read. 
Books that are interesting we have learned may 
be misinforming, and books that have at one 
time informed us may now be misleading. We 
must be instructed about books by the bibliog- 
rapher, just as we are instructed concerning 
other things by specialists, we have concluded. 
It is these things that have led us to see the 
importance of the organization of bibliograph- 
ical agencies and the consequent systematiza- 



tion of bibliographical knowledge for in all 
the descriptive sciences the one is the neces- 
sary condition of the other. Economic, geo- 
logical, and archaeological surveys are already 
recognized as the function of the state, and 
the individual who should undertake a census 
of the United States would simply amuse. 
And now we are beginning to see that the bib- 
liographical survey of the country is also the 
function of the state. 

In the middle of the last century librarians 
planned to make the Smithsonian the biblio- 
graphical center of the country. That institu- 
tion, with the co-operation of Henry Stevens, 
undertook the compilation of a Bibliographia 
Americana, and at the same time inaugurated 
the co-operative cataloguing of American libra- 
ries by the preparation and printing, according 
to the Jewett plan, of a catalogue of the col- 
lection of ancient history in the Library of 
Congress. In 1854, however, the Regents 
withdrew their support from the library and all 
the librarian's bibliographical undertakings fell 
to the ground. 

After the failure of these plans at the 
Smithsonian, a " Student of American biblio- 
graphy " suggested in the Historical Magazine 
(vol. 2, p. 335, November, 1859) the forma- 
tion of an American Bibliographical Associa- 
tion, the object of which should be the 
preparation of a complete national bibliog- 
raphy. With a board of government, library, 
and bibliographical collections at some central 
point, he said, and with the cooperation of 
the members of the Association, and the publi- 
cation of quarterly or semi-annual bulletins, 
much, very much, might be done towards the 
accomplishment of the desired result. It was 
not, however, until 1876 that such an associa- 
tion, the American Library Association, was 
formed. And it was not until 1886 that the 
Association recognized the importance of its 
bibliographical functions by the establishment 
of the Publishing Section, and not until 1897 
that the Association fully recognized the pos- 



6 4 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



sibilities of its relations with the national 
library, and sought re-incorporation under the 
laws of the United States, with headquarters 
at Washington. During the early history of 
the Association all the bibliographical work of 
the Association was published in its official 
organ, the Library Journal. With the estab- 
lishment of the Publishing Section, however, 
more elaborate bibliographical undertakings 
were planned for the Association. Among 
these the report upon the organization of the 
Section mentioned, (i) the printing of cata- 
logue cards of leading new publications, (2) 
the essay index, (3) the indexing of scientific 
serials, transactions, and monographs, and (4) 
an index to bibliographical lists ; and con- 
cluded with the following remark "One of 
the most important functions of the Publishing 
Section will be the establishing of an under- 
standing between the many librarians who are 
engaged on one or another bibliographical 
undertaking, often covering the same ground, 
or at least overlapping, where a mutual under- 
standing would lead to an equitable division of 
the field. And it is believed that more of this 
special work would be intelligently done in 
one and another library if there were some 
central agency through which a proper division 
of labor could be arranged." 

These plans were for the most part 
realized during the decade following the 
establishment of the Section: catalogue 
cards for current books, the "A. L. A. 
index to general literature," and cards for 
current periodicals were published, and an- 
notated lists issued of books on fine art, 
American and British history. The carrying 
on of these undertakings by this Association 
was an important step in the history of Ameri- 
can libraries. They were, however, so far de- 
pendent upon the beneficence of individuals 
that their continuation appeared problematical. 
At this juncture the possibilities of the national 
library, then recently reorganized, began to 
be felt. After the accession of the present 
librarian they were recognized by the state 
also, and during the past year the first and 
most practical of the bibliographical functions 
of the Association, the cataloging of current 
literature, has been delegated to the Library of 
Congress. Doubtless it will soon delegate to 



the library other bibliographical functions also, 
and require other bibliographical duties. So 
that while the Association will remain the 
legislative body of American librarians, its 
administrative duties will be more and more 
discharged, under its direction, at the national 
library, and the dream of Professor Jewett and 
of that anonymous " Student of American 
bibliography " at last be realized : an associ- 
ation of American bibliographers, and that 
association the trustee of the greatest biblio- 
graphical institution the world has known, a 
body which never dies, a treasury which is 
never empty. 

It is not for me at this time to speak of the 
extent, the character, and the significance of 
all the bibliographical work of the national 
library ; the great bibliographical collections 
may be described at another time, the value of 
service in the library as an education in scientific 
bibliography is patent to all, and the inestima- 
ble value of the work of the large corps of spe- 
cialists attached to the library staff can best be 
demonstrated by themselves. 

Neither is this the place to describe and com- 
ment upon the bibliographical work of the 
country at large to speak, for example, of 
the value of such local biblicgraphical work 
as is being done by the United States Govern- 
ment, the Virginia Historical Society, the Ohio 
State Library, the New York Public Library, 
the Kansas City Public Library, Columbia Uni- 
versity, and Cornell University. This may be 
described elsewhere. I may be allowed, how- 
ever, to say something about the character of 
the Division of Bibliography of the Library of 
Congress, because that is the only bibliograph- 
ical institution in the country, and a distinct- 
ive feature of the organization of the national 
library. 

The policy of the librarian regarding this 
branch of the service of the library is defined 
in his published statements to be, the pursuit 
of investigations involving research too elabo- 
rate for the attendants in the reading-room, or 
in form inconvenient for them to handle expe- 
ditiously, the compilation of lists of references 
on topics of current interest, particularly upon 
topics which are the subject of investigation, 
discussion, or possible legislation by Congress, 
the recommendation for acquisition by the 



JOHNSTON. 



library of such useful books as in the course of 
the foregoing duties and from specific exam- 
ination of bibliographies and reviews, the Divi- 
sion discovers to be lacking, and, in the last 
place, the cooperation with other libraries in 
all useful bibliographic undertakings. 

In the pursuit of this policy the Division, 
under the direction of Mr. Griffin, has since 
its establishment answered 2,125 communica- 
tions asking for bibliographical information. 
In the investigation of the questions thus pre- 
sented, and particularly in the course of the 
investigations which have led to the published 
lists of references upon the questions of the 
day, the deficiencies in the library's collections 
have been discovered and recommendations 
which would lead to the supply of these defi- 
ciencies made by the Division. These recom- 
mendations have numbered 11,197 since the 
establishment of the Division. These are the 
most important functions of the Division 
the answer of bibliographical questions pre- 
sented to the library, and the systematic 
building up of a collection of books at the 
capital which will make possible the answer 
to all such questions. 

In answering some of the questions which 
have been referred to this Division it has been 
necessary to compile extended lists of ref- 
erences. Of these the most complete have 
been printed; the selected lists are either in 
typewritten form or on cards. 

Of the first class are the following : 
Lists on Colonies and Trusts, each of 

which has gone through two editions. 
Lists on Reciprocity, Mercantile marine 
subsidies, the Danish West Indies, 
Porto Rico, and Samoa and Guam, and 
a list on Irrigation, which is in press. 
The following lists remain in typewritten 
form : 

Lists on the Monroe Doctrine, the Trans- 
Siberian railway, Immigration, Cabinets 
of England and America, Jury system, 
American invasion of British commerce, 
Anglo-Saxon alliance, Postal service of 
the United States, Educational qualifi- 
cations for suffrage, Study and teaching 
of history, State banks and banking, 
Universal postal union and parcel post, 
Popular election of senators, Chinese in 



America, Municipal affairs, the Navy, 
Industrial arbitration, Iron industry in 
Sweden and Russia, Liquor question, 
Gothenburg system, Municipal owner- 
ship of street railways, Mormonism, 
Party system, Presidential inaugura- 
tions, Cuban campaign of the Spanish- 
American war, Constitution of the 
United States, Postal savings banks, 
Highway improvements, Annexation of 
Cuba, Compulsory education, Compul- 
sory voting, Convict labor, Expansion. 
These are selected lists intended for the use 
of the library, but if needed for use elsewhere 
may be expanded and published. 

In addition to these published and type- 
written lists are lists still on cards. Among 
these are : 

Lists on Alaska, American State Archives, 
Anarchy, British Columbia, The Budget, 
the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, Commerce, 
Comparative legislation, Constitutional 
law, Eight-hour day, Genealogy, Eng- 
lish local history, Far west, Indian 
names, International arbitration, Inter- 
national law, Land tenures, Library 
training, National university, the Negro, 
Nineteenth century, The Philippines, 
Proportional representation, Railroad 
finance, Siberia, Spain, Sugar, Trans- 
portation, and Triumphal arches. 
These lists are accessible within the Division, 
and when required will be either typewritten or 
printed and published. 

An advance upon the mere list of references 
has been made in treating the subjects of ap- 
portionment and the treaty-making power. 
The Division has prepared an analytical and 
digested list of documents and discussions upon 
the apportionment of representatives from the 
first apportionment in 1879 to ^ e present 
time. 

There has also been prepared a bibliograph- 
ical account of the treaty-making power of the 
United States, giving the authorities on inter- 
national law and constitutional law which set 
forth the various views of the powers of the 
state in its foreign relations and which afford a 
comparison between the methods of making 
treaties in the United States and Great Britain. 
The references included likewise trace the 



66 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



history of the growth of the treaty-making 
power under the Confederation and Constitu- 
tion and point out the sources dealing with the 
discussions that have arisen over the constitu- 
tionality of special treaties. A chronological 
conspectus of the latter is given in addition to 
an enumeration of general discussions of the 
subject. 

The Division also has in preparation a bib- 
liographical account of the origins and devel- 
opment of the Senate. 

These papers are in the nature of biblio- 
graphical histories. 

The Division has also cooperated with 
libraries and bibliographers in useful biblio- 
graphical enterprises. Among these may be 
mentioned the preparation of the " Union list of 
periodicals currently received in the libraries 
of the District of Columbia," published last 
year, the preparation of lists of American edi- 
tions of Milton, works on the metric system, 
works on local history, etc. 

In this way the Division is of service to the 
student and the reference librarian. 

But the Division seeks to be of special ser- 
vice to the bibliographer. It has access to the 
largest collection of bibliographical material on 
the continent, and therefore has in preparation 
a list of special bibliographies ; it has also full 
information regarding such bibliographical 
work as is in progress. Some of this was pub- 
lished in an article on " Present bibliographi- 
cal undertakings in the United States," in the 
Library Journal, September, 1901. This in- 
formation regarding bibliography both retro- 
spective and current should prove of special 
value to the bibliographer. 

The significance of this branch of the work 
of the national library may be pointed out in 
a few words. First, it should make unneces- 
sary much of the work now expended on refer- 
ence lists by smaller libraries ; second, together 
with the work of the other branches of the 
library, it should make possible the ultimate 
correlation and completion of the bibliograph- 
ical work of the country. Of some 1,225 lists 
recorded in Miss Newman's "Index to sub- 
ject bibliographies in library bulletins," about 
one-half are duplicates. Of these lists, n re- 
lated to municipal government, 12 to education, 
13 to music, 13 to botany, 13 to electricity, 



and 14 to Christmas, and of the 45 libraries 
referred to, in 1895, 7 prepared lists on the 
Armenian question ; in 1896, 6 prepared lists 
on South Africa and the Boer question, 10 
lists on Cuba, and 34 lists on the currency 
question; in 1897, 9 prepared lists on the 
Cretan rebellion, and 14 lists on the Alaskan 
gold fields. And this enormous waste of labor 
still goes on, as the quarterly index to refer- 
ence lists published by libraries, compiled by 
the Providence Public Library, shows. In 

1899, for example, 10 more lists on South 
Africa and the Boer question were compiled in 
addition to the 6 compiled in 1896, and in 

1900, 17 lists were published upon the sub- 
ject of China and the Far Eastern question. 
Much of this waste of labor, time, and money 
on the part of local libraries may, perhaps, be 
saved by the use of the publications of this 
bibliographical bureau and by the preparation 
and publication by this bureau of comprehensive 
lists of references upon all questions which are 
at once of popular interest and practical value. 
Such lists would serve the double purpose, when 
checked up, of indicating both the resources 
and the wants of the library in which they were 
used, and so prove, potentially, many times as 
valuable as the lists now printed by the local 
library.* At the same time this would give the 
local library the freedom in which to carry on 
the bibliographical work which the national 
library cannot do and which the local library, 
or the library possessing collections of unique 
value, can do. 

I need not dwell upon the influence of local 
bibliographical work upon local library inter- 
ests, and upon the possibilities of cooperation 
between the local librarian and the local printer, 
journalist, and man-of-letters in the preserva- 
tion of the local literature. I must, however, 
emphasize the fact that the local collection and 
record of local literature is essential to a com- 
plete collection and record of the national 
literature, and that while the results of the 
work done by local libraries may be brought 



* I do not mean -by this that these lists are bibliogra- 
phies, but that those which are of value represent bib- 
liographical work and an expenditure of time which would 
better be employed in the study of such bibliographical 
lists as mayor should be published by such a bibliogra- 
phical bureau as I have referred to. \V. D. J. 



HASTINGS. 



together at the national library, while there 
may be a bibliographical clearing-house at 
Washington, the initial bibliographical work 
of the country, work similar to that done by the 
New York Public Library, for example, must 
be done by the local libraries. 

Nor need I more than refer to the fact that 
bibliographical catalogues of special collections, 
like the Avery collection at Columbia Univer- 
sity, or the Dante collection at Cornell, are 
essential not only to their extended usefulness 
to the student, but also to the organic develop- 
ment of such collections, for by such a cata- 
logue only can a collection, what it has, and 
what it lacks, be made known to those collec- 
tors who can, perhaps, best supply its wants. 
The bibliographical work of the local collector 
and of the special scientific collector are thus 
both essential. 

The addition and multiplication of the re- 
sults of their work may be the work of the 
national library ; this work it has sought to 
accomplish in the past and will, under the 



librarian's direction, seek to accomplish in the 
future, in these three ways, and under these 
three heads the bibliographical work of the 
library may be summarized : 

(1) By keeping a record of all bibliograph- 

ical work, past and present ; 

(2) By preparing lists of references upon all 

popular questions ; and, 

(3) Through the Catalogue Division, by 

preparing and publishing a biblio- 
graphical record of every book which 
should find a place on the shelves of 
the national library, that is, on the 
shelves of the libraries of the United 
States. 

These things are indicative of the biblio- 
graphical work which the National Library has 
already undertaken ; what further work it will 
undertake depends upon the needs and wishes 
of the students of the United States, and their 
representatives in Congress assembled, and 
especially upon the wishes and advice of the 
members of this Association. 



THE CARD DISTRIBUTION WORK OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
BY C. H. HASTINGS, Library of Congress. 



'THE work of distributing printed catalogue 
cards to libraries was commenced by the 
Library of Congress about Nov. i, 1901. Up 
to June 14, 1902, 170 libraries had subscribed 
for cards. In addition to these there were on 
the list of subscribers seven individuals, mostly 
university professors, who subscribe for cards 
in their special lines. 

The libraries using the cards may be classi- 
fied as follows : 

Public libraries of 100,000 volumes or more, 
16; public libraries of from 25,000 to 100,000 
volumes, 44; public libraries of from 10,000 to 
25,000 volumes, 30 ; public libraries of less than 
10,000 volumes, 28; university libraries, 12; 
college libraries, 14 ; high school and normal 
school libraries, 4; libraries of departments 
and bureaus of the United States government, 
4 ; state libraries, 7 ; theological libraries, 2 ; 
law libraries, 2 ; technological libraries, 3 ; 



libraries of historical societies, 2 ; one art 
institute library, one bibliographical society. 

Up to June 1 6th 20 depository libraries 
had been selected, namely : Atlanta Carnegie, 
Brooklyn Public, Cleveland Public, Denver 
Public, Fiske Free and Public (New Orleans), 
Illinois State, John Crerar (Chicago), Johns 
Hopkins University (Baltimore), McGill Uni- 
versity (Montreal), Mechanics 1 Institute (San 
Francisco), Massachusetts State, New York 
Public, New York State, Philadelphia Free, St. 
Louis Public, University of Minnesota, Univer- 
sity of Nebraska, University of Pennsylvania, 
University of Texas, Wisconsin State His- 
torical. 

Statistics in detail of each order filled during 
the month of May show that during that 
month about one-half of the cards sold were to 
fill orders by serial number. It goes without 
saying that, except for an occasional card out 



68 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



of print, cards can always be furnished when 
ordered by serial number. The test comes in 
filling orders submitted by author and title. 
During May cards were supplied for approxi- 
mately three-fourths of the titles submitted in 
this form. The proportion, then, of sets of 
cards supplied to titles ordered, reckoning both 
serial number and author and title orders, was 
approximately seven-eighths. 

The experience of the libraries using the 
cards has been so well summed up in the 
report of the Committee on Library Admin- 
istration, and in the paper on the subject in 
the June number of the Library Journal, that 
further statistics in regard to the matter seem 
unnecessary. Accordingly I shall devote the 
rest of the paper mainly to a discussion of 
some of the chief difficulties in the card distri- 
bution work, with a statement of what is being 
done by the Library of Congress to overcome 
the difficulties, and wherein the libraries sub- 
scribing for cards may assist in their solution. 

i . Delay in receiving the copyrighted books. 
The framers of the present copyright law 
evidently had no prevision as to card distribu- 
tion work. The law simply requires, as to 
deposit of copies, that "on or before the day 
of publication in this or any foreign country 
two copies be delivered at the office of the 
Librarian of Congress or deposited in the mails 
within the United States addressed to the Li- 
brarian of Congress." As the law now stands, 
it is entirely possible for a New York publisher 
to conform to it and yet place copies of a pub- 
lication in the hands of individuals and libra- 
ries one day before the deposit copies reach 
the Copyright Office at Washington. There 
are excellent reasons for supposing that pub- 
lishers sometimes give themselves at least three 
days of grace, after the publication of a book, 
before sending in the copies to the Copyright 
Office. In addition to this there are usually a 
few books each month, probably less than one 
per cent, of the whole, which through careless- 
ness on the part of publishers or authors come 
to hand weeks after publication, or do not 
come at all, unless a letter of inquiry is sent 
out by the Copyright Office. 

Another provision of the law that causes 
trouble is one requiring that there shall be de- 



posited a copy of every subsequent edition of 
a book " wherein any substantial changes shall 
be made." The question as to how much con- 
stitutes a substantial change and who is to be 
the judge as to the same not being settled by 
the law, room is left for a variety of interpre- 
tation with the result that the later edition 
may or may not come to the Copyright Office, 
while reprints bearing a new date and requir- 
ing a new card quite as much as a new edition, 
are not sent in at all. The non-copyrighting 
of new editions is especially noticeable and an- 
noying in the case of law books. 

In spite, however, of disturbing exceptions, 
the fact remains that the great majority of 
copyright books come to hand promptly after 
publication, so that, after allowing for the time 
that it takes to catalogue the books and get 
the cards into stock, 90 per cent, of the cards 
for current copyrighted books, on the average, 
are ready when orders are received for them. 
But the question remains what can be done 
about the other ten per cent. The Copyright 
Office has changed its routine so that books 
are sent to the catalogue department as soon 
as they are received, and it stands ready at any 
time to investigate a case of failure to send in 
the deposit copies. Clearly the Copyright 
Office is doing all it can under the present law 
to facilitate the prompt production of cards for 
copyrighted books. 

After the books are received in the Catalogue 
Division, two weeks, on the average, are re- 
quired to produce printed cards from them. 
Several days might be saved here were it not 
for the necessity of holding titles to get a form 
of five which can be given a subject heading 
in the proof. It is possible that ways will yet 
be devised to materially reduce the time re- 
quired for cataloguing. 

As far as the filling of the orders by the Card 
Distribution Section is concerned, excepting 
in the case of very large orders, it seldom 
happens that the order remains unfilled for 
over two days. This much delay has been 
necessary owing to the fact that orders come 
in very irregularly. After the ist of July, 
when the overflow in the catalogue room will 
be placed in the card distribution room, we 
expect to have a force sufficiently elastic to 



HASTINGS. 



6 9 



enable us to fill almost any order within 
twenty-four hours. 

In spite of what has been done and can be 
done to expedite the work, there is likely to 
remain always a percentage of copyrighted 
books for which cards cannot be furnished if a 
library orders them immediately after the pub- 
lication of the book. 

A wait of two weeks, according to the report 
of the Committee on Library Administration 
and according to our own experience, will usu- 
ally enable the library to obtain most of the 
others, probably nine out of ten per cent. We 
prefer to have the waiting done at the other 
end of the line, it saves checking and filing on 
our part, and it would seem that it ought to be 
a saving to the library ordering cards. How- 
ever, if libraries do not choose to wait a couple 
of weeks for the 90 per cent, in order to get the 
99 per cent, all at once, we will continue to 
hold titles for cards just as we have done in 
the past. We will also hold titles longer in 
order to secure the hundredth per cent., but 
we do not advise libraries to wait for this last 
per cent., as it is sometimes a very elusive 
quantity. 

2. The number and variety of current non- 
copyrighted books ordered by American libraries. 
The number of very important books in this 
class for which cards are ordered by libraries is 
of course not large. The Library of Congress 
might easily buy all of them, and by waiting a 
year or two it would probably become apparent 
in one way or another what the most important 
books were. This seems to have been, to some 
extent at least, the old way of selecting books 
at the Library of Congress. But when the card 
distribution work began the Library of Congress 
was all at once called upon to be as up-to-date 
as all the up-to-date libraries on the list of sub- 
scribers to the cards. It was expected to have 
cards not only for the most important books, 
but for all of the books which chanced to strike 
the fancy of librarians. The result can be in- 
ferred. 

The attempt to reduce the time necessary to 
secure cards for books ordered to a matter of 
definite periods with definite checks, which 
worked very well in the case of copyrighted 
books, has been more or less unsuccessful in 



the case of non-copyrighted books. The time 
set has often proved too short, and not in- 
frequently a book which we thoroughly ex- 
pected would be ordered, has for some reason 
not been ordered. 

The fact is recognized by those having to do 
with the ordering of books at the Library of 
Congress that it, being primarily a reference 
library, can never hope to buy and never ought 
to buy many books which may properly be 
bought by public libraries. At the same time 
there is a disposition to buy such books as we 
care to have promptly on their appearance and 
to send the books on to the catalogue depart- 
ment as quickly as possible. Books of this 
class for which there seems likely to be a large 
current demand for cards are now bought in 
New "York, have a " hasten " slip inserted in 
them, and are sent to the Catalogue Division 
within two days after being received. In the 
Catalogue Division they are pushed through 
along with the copyright books, and cards are 
ready for them within two weeks. . 

To facilitate the prompt selection of such 
books the work of selecting them has recently 
been organized in such a way as to give the 
heads of Divisions, and others interested, a 
certain portion of the field and a certain num- 
ber of critical journals for which each is held 
responsible. 

The percentage of cards for non-copyrighted 
books which we have been able to furnish thus 
far is admitted to be small. Fifteen per cent, 
of those ordered would probably be an outside 
estimate. Unless there should be a marked 
gain in the number of volumes received and in 
the promptness with which they are received, 
the conclusion of the Committee on Library Ad- 
ministration, that the percentage of cards sup- 
plied for orders relating to this class of books 
is so small that it does not pay to order them 
except by serial number, is manifestly true of 
libraries which cannot wait ; but the reward for 
waiting here is much greater than in the case 
of copyrighted books. One large library, the 
best waiter on our list, reports that it gets cards 
for sixty-eight per cent, of the titles which it 
submits for foreign books ; another large library 
which submits its orders in the same way, but 
is a poor waiter, gets apparently only five per 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



cent, of the cards ordered. In view of the 
present effort being made by the Library of 
Congress to get a respectable number of this 
class of books on its shelves promptly we trust 
that some of the libraries, even though much 
disappointed in regard to the percentage of 
cards furnished in this class, will continue to 
experiment in ordering them a while longer. 

3. Ordering cards for books announced, but 
not yet published. This practice is a source 
of expense to us, and the advantage to the 
library ordering cards for such books must 
be a doubtful one. Orders for cards for 
Larned's " Guide to the literature of American 
history " have been coming in ever since the 
card distribution work began in November. 
Marconi's "Wireless telegraphy" is another 
old offender. Orders are constantly being 
received for books in series, some of which 
we believe are still in a nebulous state in 
the mind of the author. After the publica- 
tion of the spring announcement number of the 
Publishers' 1 Weekly the proportion of titles of 
books announced in the orders received was 
something alarming, in view of the fact that no 
charge could be made for looking them up. 
This has been remedied in the new price list, 
but we earnestly hope that the up-to-date li- 
braries on our list will remain satisfied with 
being up-to-date and cease to speculate in 
futures. 

4. The smattness of the orders. The aver- 
age size of the orders received amounts to less 
than one dollar ; each order must be put 
through from half a dozen to a dozen proc- 
esses according to circumstances. It is easily 
possible to come out the loser in handling the 
smaller packages. A few libraries on the list 
have inclined to the idea at times that a small 
daily order is the thing. From our point of 
view a weekly order is much more proper. 

In connection with small orders a word may 
be said in regard to other small items in the 
book-keeping. In order to dispense with the 
services of a special book-keeper it is necessary 
to keep the accounts as few and as simple as 
possible. While we cheerfully give credit for 
cards returned on which we have made a mis- 
take, we cannot give credit with the same 
cheerfulness, or at all, on cards in the case of 



which the mistake was made by the library 
ordering the cards. Two or three cards, once 
they are removed from the stock, are poor 
property. We do not wish them returned 
even as a gift, much less can we give credit 
for them and write a polite note of acknowl- 
edgement. 

5 . The fixed expenses of the card distribu- 
tion work. For the satisfactory carrying on 
of the work four complete catalogues of the 
printed cards are now in use or are being pre- 
pared. In addition to these a catalogue of 
copyrighted books in the process of cataloguing, 
a catalogue of books ordered for which cards 
are wanted, and a catalogue of oddities and 
suspects for which we haven't cards and are 
trying to find out why not, are required. 
These catalogues must be kept up-to-date to 
the hour or they cannot be relied upon for 
filling current orders. 

The work of the assistant in charge of dis- 
tribution, and of the stenographer, is to a 
large extent not productive of direct returns 
in the way of cards sold. Add to these ex- 
penses about a thousand dollars a year for the 
storage of cards and it will be seen that the 
fixed expenses are at present large. If the 
amount of cards sold should increase to two 
or three times what it is at present, the fixed 
expenses, inasmuch as they will remain prac- 
tically the same, will not be so formidable, 
but just at present they are an important and 
disturbing factor in the work from the financial 
point of view. 

In the new regulation as to the sale of cards 
which we have distributed to such of the sub- 
scribers to cards as are present at Magnolia, I 
wish to call attention to a few points : 

Notice that the regulations are in the form of 
proof sheets merely and are not to be accepted 
as final. The purpose of distributing them 
here is to enable subscribers to make sugges- 
tions to members of the Library of Congress 
staff present if they care to do so, or to submit 
them in writing at any time before June 27. 

The chief changes made in the method of 
distribution appear most plainly in the price 
list. 

In view of the fact that the working catalogues 
necessary for carrying on the business have 



HASTINGS. 



not yet been completed, that cards are still 
stored for the most part on temporary tables, 
and that the force required to carry on the 
work when at a normal, can as yet only be 
estimated approximately, it is recognized that 
any scale of prices fixed on at this time must 
still be tentative. A year later it may be prac- 
ticable to announce a relatively permanent price 
list, but for the present we have contented 
ourselves with a readjustment of the old prices 
so as to make them correspond more nearly 
to the cost of cards, including the expense of 
handling them under different circumstances. 
The price for orders submitted in the form of 
serial numbers remains exactly the same, but 
in the price for orders submitted by author and 
title, one half cent has been added to the price 
of the first card to cover the cost of looking up 
the serial number and other items of work in- 
volved in handling orders by author and title. 
Provision is also made for extra charges.in the 
case of lists which are not made out in the re- 
quired form. 

The proper subscription price for the proof 
sheets is still under debate, and it is not un- 
likely that the price indicated on the proof 
sheets will be changed in the final issue of the 
regulations. It is obvious that the proof sheets 
are issued to furnish a convenient means of 
ordering cards. If used for that purpose, 
notice that there is a provision for a rebate in 
the price up to the full cost of the proof. If 
not used for that purpose they should bear a 
much larger share of the cost of typesetting 
and fixed expenses of the card distribution 
work than is indicated by the price given. 

In the price of cards -subscribed for by classes 
and subjects there has been a very marked re- 
duction. Instead of paying two cents each for 
cards on his specialty, the specialist can now 
get them for less than one cent if he will take 
the whole group. 

The first six classes of cards offered for 
subscription are designed to be used by 



libraries in place of proof sheets if they so 
prefer. 

Class four, representing cards for a selection 
of the more important books printed in English 
and the most important books in other lan- 
guages, and Class five, representing current 
non-copyrighted books printed in English, are 
especially designed for the smaller libraries. 
It is true that either selection will cost more 
than the proofs ; but cataloging is a compara- 
tively expensive process at best, and it is 
thought that the selection of cards will be found 
superior to the proof sheets in so many respects 
that they will well repay the extra cost. 

The points of superiority may be briefly 
summed up as follows : 

i . No further expenditure of time is required 
for preparing them for filing in a card case, as 
is required in the case of proof sheets ; 2, in 
case a book is received which is catalogued by 
one of the cards, one card is ready at hand to 
be used in the main author catalogue or in 
some other way as a check on the book ; 3, 
the same card furnishes the means of ordering 
more cards by serial number with the least ex- 
penditure of time and money ; 4, the collection 
of cards not used at once can be regarded as a 
bibliography of books which the library may 
wish to buy in future, as well as a selection of 
titles which may interest some of its readers ; 
5, the non-current titles in the proof sheets are 
for most purposes an objection, in that each 
must be scanned in order to ascertain that it is 
not wanted. In the case of cards, on the other 
hand, the non-current cards need not be re- 
ceived at all. 

The demand that the proof sheets be con- 
tinued is so positive that there is no chance of 
their being suspended for the present. At the 
same time, it seems probable that enough 
libraries will be interested in the plan of sub- 
scription to cards in place of proof sheets to 
make it worth while to sort the cards in the 
way required by such subscriptions. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE, 



HOME LIBRARIES AND READING CLUBS. 
BY GERTRUDE SACKETT, Supervisor of Home Libraries, Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pa. 



CTATISTICS show that the majority of a 
large city's population will not come to the 
library, and a progressive librarian feels his re- 
sponsibility greatest toward those whose igno- 
rance keeps them from understanding their 
own need. A part of the mission of the mod- 
ern library is to awaken a knowledge of this 
need and then to meet it adequately. If to do 
this is necessary and important in the case of 
adults it becomes doubly so with children, who 
are in the most important habit-forming period 
of life. 

In the city of Pittsburgh with its population 
of 321,000 there are about 100,000 children of 
a reading age. Of these not one-half are 
drawing books from our six children's rooms, 
and only a small number find it possible to 
get them from our deposit collections in the 
schools. What then of the remainder, to the 
most of whom the moral and educational influ- 
ence of good books is denied, whose concep- 
tions of life are allowed to form according to 
the precarious standards of their homes and 
neighborhoods? For the majority of these 
children are found nested in our crowded tene- 
ment districts or in the cheapest outskirts of 
our cities. There they live unnatural lives full 
of unchildlike scenes and lawless excitement. 

Of the children who may be said to form our 
non-library attending public excluding a 
small proportion who find food for the imagin- 
ative and investigative mind within their own 
homes we may make three broad classes : 

1. Those who wish to read, but to whom 
books are inaccessible. 

2. Those who have no interest in books be- 
cause they do not know them. 

3. Those who are omnivorous readers, but 
of the worst, most pernicious type of literature. 

In the first class are children who living at a 
distance cannot afford car-fare, or those chil- 
dren whose early life of drudgery at home, in 
the mill, factory, or shop, renders their over- 
tired bodies unable to make any extra physical 
exertion. To such the desire to read either 
inherited or acquired soon, through lack of 



nourishment, grows into indifference and finally 
dies. The cravings of the imagination are 
deadened, imagination which in its different 
stages brings with it the joy and beauty of our 
lives, and without which life is reduced to the 
dull monotony of hard facts. 

In the second group are placed those chil- 
dren in whose lives books have no place, whose 
interest is lacking because books are unknown. 
Such children we have found playing in the 
very shadow of a library building ; a library, 
yes, but what that word represented, that it 
had any significance for them, they knew not 
nor cared. Perhaps their curiosity may have 
carried them beyond its portals, but the beauty, 
order, and quiet of the building, so different 
from their own disordered lives and homes, 
awed and embarrassed them, bringing to them a 
keen consciousness of their own unkempt con- 
dition. This can often be successfully over- 
come by the children's librarian if she is able 
to give them sufficient attention ; if not, it 
may prove to the children an experience not to 
be lightly encountered a second time. And in 
this case interest must be aroused in some 
simple personal way, usually in their own 
home. 

But by far the largest, most dangerous, and 
hopeless class are those who are already insa- 
tiable readers, but of most pernicious literature. 
I do not refer to that class of reading which is 
in itself harmless, but which wastes time, and 
demanding no thought, stupefies the mental 
faculties. I refer to that which is positively 
harmful, which makes crime attractive and 
dresses immorality in enviable luxury. It is a 
fallacy to think that the poorer classes are not 
reading. They are, how much we cannot 
adequately estimate ; if we could, I think we 
would be startled out of our complacent inac- 
tivity in the matter. Go, as I have, week after 
week on Saturday evening to a stationer's in 
one of the crowded portions of the city and 
watch the steady stream of people who seek 
the tiers of illy assorted novels and the rows 
of cheap magazines and newspapers. Note 



SACKETT. 



73 



their selections. Watch what the messenger 
boys on the street cars and the shop girls at 
noon hours read. Examine the books you find 
under the bed, on the dressers, trunks, or 
kitchen tables rarely in the parlors of their 
homes, and then marvel that human nature 
is so innately good, that we have as high a 
standard of morals and citizenship as we have. 
Pittsburgh I speak of it only as the city I 
know best has eight well-equipped book 
stores. In fearful opposition are the uncounted 
hundreds of little stores where cigars, bad 
candy, and worse literature are alluringly dis- 
played. There books may be rented for the 
nominal sum of one to ten cents, or purchased 
at a price ranging anywhere from five to fifty 
cents. Unfortunately, the worse the book the 
lower the price. '' I like Conan Doyle," said 
a lad of fifteen, " but he comes high. You 
can get a lot of this for a nickel," indicating 
a second-hand copy of Jesse James. That boy 
lives within short walking distance of a public 
library. He is now an enthusiastic member of 
a library club. Occasionally Jesse James or 
the Old Sleuth still peeps from his pocket while 
he pores over the books on the club table. 
Lately he asked for the " Last days of Pompeii," 
and another boy, a club member, complained 
that he had not time to read " Rip Van Winkle " 
during the week, as his friend had borrowed it. 
A taste for exciting and immoral literature once 
firmly established is hard to counteract, but 
taken in time is easily guided into other chan- 
nels. Not poverty of food and clothes, but 
poverty of higher ideals and better standards 
of living is the greatest need from which these 
children suffer. Believing as we do in the 
elevating power of books, how can we best 
bring them to these children to make their 
lives broader, fuller, and richer, thus leading 
them to a better citizenship and a higher civili- 
zation ? 

Mr. C. W. Birtwell, of the Children's Aid 
Society of Boston, found a solution for this 
problem when, seventeen years ago in a tene- 
ment house, he gathered a group of children 
about him and nailed upon the wall the first 
home library. Since then a complete system 
of travelling home libraries has sprung up in 
Boston under his thoughtful supervision, and 
the work is spreading throughout the country. 
Mrs. E. M. Fairchild, of the New York State 



Library, was the first to realize the importance 
of this work in connection with libraries, and 
to introduce it into the city of Albany. 

In response to ninety-five letters sent to the 
libraries and charitable organizations of the 
principal cities of the United States, we have 
received twelve answers reporting the intro- 
duction of home libraries. These answers show 
four different methods of administration : The 
administration of home libraries under charita- 
ble institutions, under libraries, under charita- 
ble institutions and libraries in conjunction, or 
under library schools and associations. Of 
those supervised by charitable institutions, 
Boston has 60 home libraries, Baltimore 30, 
Chicago 30, and Philadelphia 4 ; of those un- 
der public libraries, the New York Public Li- 
brary reports 25, Cincinnati 15, Helena 2, and 
Pittsburgh 31. Under charitable associations 
and libraries combined, Providence reports 10. 
Under library schools and associations, Chi- 
cago 10, Brooklyn 5, and Buffalo 8. Much 
work is being done under the direction of uni- 
versity students and social settlements', which 
in its aim is akin to that of the home libraries. 
As yet Boston and Pittsburgh are the only 
cities having supervisors whose entire time is 
given to furthering the work of the home libra- 
ries. This special supervision is certainly im- 
portant, as overtaxed librarians or philanthropic 
workers have not adequate time and strength 
apart from their regular duties for the problems 
constantly presenting themselves in home 
library work. 

Books for the home libraries are either gifts 
of public-spirited citizens, as in Albany, Balti- 
more, Boston, Brooklyn, Helena, and Pitts- 
burgh, or they are taken directly from the 
shelves of the public library as at Buffalo, 
Cincinnati, New York, and Providence. The 
selection of the books, whether donated or 
taken from the shelves of the public library, 
should rest with the supervisor or a spe- 
cially appointed committee familiar with both 
books and children. Twenty-five dollars buys 
a neat little case and twenty volumes. Edi- 
tions well illustrated, with attractive covers, 
should be chosen. In making up a library to 
be sent to a group, the sex, ages, and tastes of 
the children should be consulted. In many 
cities the libraries are kept intact, and pass 
progressively from group to group. This has 



74 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



its drawbacks, as you cannot remove the books 
that are not being used and replace them by 
others. Then if you have aroused your chil- 
dren to an interest in animals by a trip to the 
zoo or circus ; in flowers or birds by a walk in 
the fields and woods ; or in foreign lands by a 
visit to the museum, you cannot immediately 
supply them with a number of books on the 
subject. 

Records should be kept at the headquarters 
of the home libraries of donors of home libra- 
ries, books purchased, visitors of groups (in- 
cluding names of visitors, members, hour and 
place of meeting, and books charged to the 
groups), of individual children (including name, 
address, age, and general remarks), of books, 
pictures, and games loaned to group, and also 
a record of their circulation among individual 
children. A written report should be sent in 
monthly by the visitor of each group. These 
reports should be filed away for reference. 

Two of the greatest problems in home library 
work are : ist, how to secure the right kind of 
a home library visitor, and 2d, how to obtain 
access to the homes or districts most requiring 
the influence of the home library and the home 
library visitor. Books by themselves will do 
but a limited amount of good in these homes. 
The children's interest in them must be aroused 
through their interest in an individual. Pri- 
marily then the success of a home library group 
depends upon the visitor. They should be 
persons of tact, refinement, and culture, having 
not only a love for childhood, but an intuitive 
understanding of it. With this must be also 
a deep sense of responsibility in the task 
undertaken and a spirit of sympathetic 
rational helpfulness. Such a visitor becomes 
the children's companion and friend, and later 
a helper and counsellor to the whole neighbor- 
hood, where little courtesies, hitherto foreign 
to the lives of the people, spring into being t 
and a greater carefulness in speech, dress, and 
the appointments of the home become ap- 
parent. The ideal visitor is hard to find, yet I 
firmly believe that if we have enthusiasm our- 
selves we will awaken it in others. We do 
not want temporary visitors, but we do want 
the young men and women who are willing to 
grow with the neighborhoods in which they 
have centred their interests to study the 
needs of the people, individually and collec- 



tively, and be the medium for helpfulness 
between them and all the cities' civil and phil- 
anthropic institutions which can better their 
conditions. 

There is still another side to the visitor prob- 
lem. Interest may not be hard to arouse, but 
it is certainly at times difficult to sustain, and 
the home library work is so full of discourage- 
ments that a visitor, especially an inexperienced 
one in work with children, may feel herself un- 
able to cope with it, and give up in despair. 
Monthly meetings of the visitors for discus- 
sions, reports, and helpful suggestions are in- 
valuable, but I doubt if this is sufficient, as 
there are always those who cannot attend them. 
There should be some one having a practical 
knowledge of the work, and whose whole time 
is devoted to its cause, some one to whom 
the visitors can go in moments of keenest dis- 
couragement, and discuss their perplexities. 
Sometimes the visitors fail to realize that the 
supervisor is anxious to discuss these problems 
with them, giving them as far as possible the 
benefit of the experiences of others. Until this 
is clearly understood and a stronger feeling of 
co-operation established, it is advisable that the 
supervisor make personal calls on the visitors. 

Mrs. E. M. Fairchild, in an article on home 
libraries, suggests a class for the study of prac- 
tical philanthropy under competent leadership. 
The idea is excellent, and would certainly 
create a corps of ideal home library visitors, 
if we could make one qualification, and that is 
that no one should be admitted to membership 
who is not willing to put her study to practical 
use not only in investigating conditions, but 
in actually working to combat them. 

Finding homes for the libraries in districts 
where they will do the most good is the second 
great difficulty. Lack of appreciation upon the 
part of parents who do not wish to be bothered 
with other people's children, but are perfectly 
willing that their own should reap all the ad- 
vantages possible, is often met with ; and neigh- 
borhood quarrels and jealousies, and the hope- 
lessly crowded condition of the tenement 
houses, where boarders sleep by day as well as by 
night, often makes it hard to establish a group. 
But we rarely give up trying. One earnest 
home librarian said, " I worked a year to place 
a library in a certain district, devoting all my 
spare time to friendly calls there, and I sue- 



SACKETT. 



75 



ceeded." Sometimes we have requests for home 
libraries, most often from localities where there 
is already one. Occasionally a visitor finds her 
strongest impulse for good work in the help 
given her by some one in the neighborhood. 

Group meetings should be conducted in 
various ways, the method depending upon the 
class of children with whom the visitor is work- 
ing. Though these methods may differ widely, 
the home library hour should always be one of 
genuine enjoyment, and yet everything the 
visitor plans, whether it be games, or reading 
aloud, or physical exercises, or classes in sew- 
ing and basket-making everything should 
tend toward developing the children into happy, 
wholesome boys and girls. The visitor should 
not forget that through all this enjoyment she 
is giving the children a love for good books 
which will become their life-long friends and 
helpers, and whose influence will be felt long 
after hers has become a thing of the past. 

Except in the case of very young children, 
boys and girls should be in separate groups, 
for the interests and requirements of boys soon 
outgrow that of girls, and it is hard to keep 
them happy with mutual profit. Home groups 
are adequate only to the needs of girls and 
young boys. A girl's social instincts, under 
moral conditions, never outgrow her home, 
and we should try to keep them centred 
there. The home library should come into their 
lives as early as possible, even at the picture 
book and big print age, for two reasons: 
because the earliest years of childhood are the 
most plastic and impressionable, and in the 
case of boys the home group satisfies them but 
for a short time, as the natural gregarious in- 
stinct which comes to a boy at about the age of 
twelve draws him from the family circle into a 
larger social world. It is this instinct which 
leads him to form clubs and gangs. Since 
boys must have club life, we should organize 
for them clubs which will be beneficial rather 
than allow them to form for themselves those 
which will be degrading. 

Why should not libraries recognize their op- 
portunity and form library clubs? In Pitts- 
burgh this has been done as a natural out- 
growth of the home library work. We now 
have twelve clubs. These differ in member- 
ship and organization. In some cases a 
room for club meetings has been obtained 



at a small monthly rental ; other clubs meet 
in school-rooms ; while the boys of one 
have built a house for themselves. One city 
school board, realizing the educational factor 
of the club in the neighborhood, has equipped 
for our use a room in the school building and 
provided janitor service, heat, and light. As 
an experiment we have lately rented three 
rooms on the ground floor of a tenement house 
and opened a large club library. Here, with 
the consent of his parents, any child in the 
neighborhood may draw books, and enjoy the 
privileges of the reading room. Small clubs of 
ten or twelve members each, among both boys 
and girls, are being formed under the leader- 
ship of volunteer workers. Club members pay 
weekly dues of from one to four cents, a part of 
which has been voted to the general treasury of 
the library reading room, to help defray running 
expenses, the remainder to be used as needed 
by the individual clubs. In thus contributing 
to the general funds, an interest in the whole 
organization is fostered. The work as outlined 
for the coming year includes clubs for reading, 
story telling and games, basketry, wrought-iron 
work, mechanical drawing, carpentry, cooking, 
and sewing. Much of the work of discharging 
and arranging the books upon the shelves has 
been done by the children themselves. Money 
having been given us for the support of these 
rooms, and the work of the club leaders being 
voluntary, the central library is at little expense, 
except that of providing books and super- 
vision. 

As a general rule, boys 1 clubs should be con- 
ducted according to parliamentary laws, no 
matter what their special line of interest is. 
Parliamentary rule and military discipline call 
forth and deepen in the boy a keener sense of 
his responsibility, and therefore of his own 
manhood. In the home library groups, how- 
ever, we should on the whole avoid organization 
which tends to destroy that social home spirit 
so vital to this part of the work. 

We do not aim to establish permanent clubs. 
When they have outgrown their usefulness in 
one district, they are reorganized in a new 
neighborhood. The club is but to serve as a 
transition from the more limited home life to 
the wider life of the world, and to prepare the 
boy or girl to enter his or her larger social and 
civic relationships. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



THE EVALUATION OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF 
THE HISTORY OF LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN. 

BY CHARLES WELSH. 



"THE child himself must determine what his 
books shall be," "Children invariably 
prefer the classic form of the story to the text 
which has been specially written for them," 
" There is no need to adapt the classics to the 
children, because the children are adapted to 
the classics," are three statements which I 
think will be amply substantiated by a brief 
glance at the history of books for children, 
and it will be instructive and helpful in con- 
nection with much that has been put forward 
about children's reading and children's libra- 
ries if we consider for a moment the children's 
books that have lived, and examine the ele- 
ments that give them their genuine and abid- 
ing interest, and have placed them in the ranks 
of the books which never wear out. To study, 
however briefly, some of the oldest and best 
tried books, and to try to define the qualities 
which have given them their permanent hold 
on the child mind, may be useful as a means 
of comparison, and perhaps as furnishing some 
standards of value. 

The making of books for children except 
lesson books and books of manners and courtesy 
is a comparatively modern idea, not much 
more than one hundred and fifty years old, and 
yet the children have been selecting for them- 
selves for centuries from a literature which is as 
old as that of the race itself. Long before the 
folklore of the world was ever written, the child 
had made its choice from among the fairy tales 
and folk stories with which older people amused 
each other, and as Thackeray says : " Many of 
these stories have been related in their present 
shape thousands of years ago to little copper- 
colored Sanskrit children. The very same tale 
has been heard by the Northern Vikings as 
they lay on their shields on deck, and by the 
Arabs crouching under the stars on the Syrian 
plains, when the flocks were gathered in, and 
the mares were picketed by their tents." * 

To go back only as far as the period of the 
romances, there is no doubt that many a well- 
born child of the Middle Ages has listened to 

* Fraser's Magazine for 1846. 



and enjoyed the Chansons de Geste, the 
legends of Arthur and the Knights of the 
Round Table, Charlemagne, the Twelve Peers 
and Amadis of Gaul, while knights and ladies, 
squires and dames were pleasantly beguiling 
the hours by reading them aloud ; and among 
the popular stories which from this time on 
were the delight of the common people gener- 
ally there were many that proved to be espe- 
cially suited to the tastes and mental needs of 
the children, and upon which they were not 
slow to fasten and stamp their approval. 

The earliest reduction of these stories to 
writing in a form which brought them within 
the reach of the common people in England 
was that of the chap-book. These chap-books 
flourished to their greatest extent during the 
sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth cen- 
turies. They were printed in the rudest man- 
ner on paper of the coarsest character ; and 
decorated with cuts which as often as not had 
no reference to the text whatever, or a very 
remote one indeed. They were mostly sold 
for a penny each, but there were farthing and 
half penny ones, too, which now, as Sir Walter 
Scott said, "would be cheaply purchased 
at their weight in gold." They were the only 
literature for the people for certainly two hun- 
dred and fifty years, and were published pri- 
marily for the amusement and education of the 
grown-ups among the common folk. 

Chap-books, generally, received their death- 
blow in the middle of the eighteenth century, 
but they lingered until well on into the first 
half of the nineteenth. Among the tens of 
thousands of them which have well-nigh disap- 
peared from the face of the earth, there are 
some few which are familiar in our ears as 
household words, because the children have 
fastened on them, made them their own, and 
have thus given them an inheritance of ever- 
lasting life. 

Bevis of Southampton, Adam Bell, Fryer 
Bacon, William of Cloudesley, Cam Wood the 
Cook, dim of the Clough, Bellianis and Flores 
of Greece, and hosts of others, are to-day 



WELSH. 



77 



known only to scholars and students of folk- 
lore, but Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, 
Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack the 
Giant Killer, Little Red Riding Hood, Rey- 
nard the Fox, Sleeping Beauty, Cock Robin, 
the House that Jack Built, Tom Thumb, and 
Dick Whittington are read with as much eager- 
ness by the little ones to-day as they listened 
to them hundreds of years ago. 

As with the popular stories in the chap-books, 
so with the rhymes and jingles of Mother 
Goose, which some one has called "the rich 
deposit of the centuries." They have come 
down to us from the childhood of the race and 
have become the literature of the childhood of 
the individual. The unerring instinct of the 
mother has seized upon those ditties and jin- 
gles which were best suited to the awakening 
senses of the child, and without knowing that 
she was obeying a great psycho-pedagogical 
law, she has for centuries been stimulating the 
sense of rhythm and exciting the wonder, 
fancy, and imagination of her babe with the 
material which awakens the best response and 
which has the greatest educative value at this 
early stage. 

The first collection of the rhymes and jin- 
gles of Mother Goose was published by John 
Newbery about 1780, but they were found 
scattered in chap-books and had been current 
orally for centuries. 

At this time Oliver Goldsmith was in the 
constant employ of the publisher Newbery, 
editing his little books, concocting his adver- 
tisements, writing his prefaces, devising his 
title-pages, etc. ; there is as little doubt that 
he was the compiler of this collection as that he 
was the author of " Goody Two Shoes," and 
there is something extremely significant in 
this connection in the fact that the gentle 
Goldsmith, who " touched nothing that he did 
not adorn," should, by the unerring sympathy 
of his child-like and simple mind, have been 
the first to select from the lore of the people 
those songs of the nursery which lie nearest to 
the heart of the mother, and most readily ap- 
peal to the babe, and that he should have writ- 
ten the first book directly intended for children 
which has become a classic. 

During the two hundred years which closed 
with the eighteenth century there came four 



books which, though not intended for children, 
were eagerly appropriated by them. " The 
pilgrim's progress," which, as some one has 
finely said, was written in 1688 for grown-up 
saints, happily fell into the hands of little 
sinners, who found in its direct, simple, and 
dramatic story elements which appealed to 
them, without caring for the theological doc- 
trines it was intended to inculcate or the con- 
troversies with which it was concerned. Then, 
when the Puritan influence was growing fainter, 
and before the rekindling of interest in child 
life in the eighteenth century, came "Robin- 
son Crusoe," which, in 1714, stumbled upon 
immortality by reason of its adoption by the 
children. 

In like manner the children have appro- 
priated " Gulliver's travels," which appeared 
in 1726, knowing nothing, and caring less, 
about the stinging and biting satire with which 
it was permeated. And later on, in 1785, they 
made" Munchausen's travels " their own, which 
were intended to bring the then prevailing exag- 
geration of traveller's tales into ridicule. 

The " Arabian nights," that great store- 
house of oriental romance enshrining the folk- 
lore of the people, found its way piece-meal 
into the literature of the nursery, for which, 
however, it was never intended. 

^Csop's fables, too, of which Dr. Thomas 
Fuller, the famous author of the " Worthies of 
England," writing in the seventeenth century, 
said: "Children cannot read an easier, nor 
men a wiser book," have never ceased to have 
their charm for children, although their intent 
was simply moral and political and their aim 
was directed to their elders, but the elements 
which interest, of which we shall speak later, 
are never over-shadowed by the teaching they 
convey. 

Most of this took place before John Newbery 
began to publish books for children. If we 
survey the books of the period from the time 
he began to publish, in 1744, until the end of 
the eighteenth century the "age of prose 
and reason " as it has been called we shall 
find ourselves fully justified in characterizing it 
as the period of the didactic story book. In 
the story books we can trace the effect of the 
earlier books of education, and the endeavor to 
combine instruction with amusement was their 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



prevailing characteristic. The Newberys pub- 
lished over three hundred books, written pri- 
marily for children by contemporary authors. 
The two which have lived are " The melodies 
of Mother Goose," first collected by Oliver 
Goldsmith, and " Goody Two Shoes," written 
by him in conjunction with Newbery himself. 
This was probably the dreariest period in the 
whole history of children's literature. 

Then we come to the Jane and Ann Taylor, 
Maria Edgeworth, and Mrs. Barbauld period, 
in which we get a little further away from the 
directly instructive, and find in them the effort 
to infuse principles of morality rather than to 
furnish detailed rules for guidance. This period 
is only a little less dreary than that which pre- 
ceded it. But a few of the stories of that 
period survive to-day. Probably the best 
known of them are: "Eyes and no eyes," 
"The discontented pendulum," and some of 
the verses of Jane and Ann Taylor. 

After that we come to the Sunday school 
book period, and I only refer to it here because 
the history of Sunday school books so strik- 
ingly illustrates the view that it is the child 
itself who, in all time, has been the sole 
arbiter of what shall be called a classic among 
his books. He alone in the final outcome ac- 
cepts or rejects what is provided for him and 
he does it upon principles which are as un- 
changeable and eternal as the child himself. 
The history of Sunday school books has been 
a curious one, reflecting in a striking manner 
the tendencies of the age in which they flour- 
ished. At first they contained very distinct 
sectarian teaching, and each denomination, or 
group of denominations, had its own set of 
authors who introduced such dogma into their 
books as was in accordance with its views and 
would insure their acceptance. Later on dis- 
tinct sectarian teaching was gradually dropped 
and those books had the best sale which were 
colorless in that respect, while inculcating only 
the broad religious principles on which all sects 
alike were agreed. Very keen indeed was the 
scrutiny to which the publishers submitted the 
books they put forth for this market, lest any 
bit of dogmatic teaching should drop in una- 
wares. 

Then at a later period those books were 
most in favor which illustrated by example 



rather than by direct teaching rules of conduct 
and of morals to be approved and followed. 
But Sunday school books, professedly put 
forward as such, are no longer in such demand 
as formerly. The old-fashioned Sunday school 
book is banished, never to return unless to be 
examined as a curiosity. 

As soon as the rich collection of stories of 
Hans Andersen and the Brothers Grimm were 
made available to English speaking children 
they recognized in them the witchery of a magi- 
cian which will never fail to charm ; and the 
operation of the same instinct which then 
guided them has placed Ruskin's " King of the 
Golden River," Thackeray's " Rose and the 
ring," Kingsley's " Water babies," and " Alice 
in Wonderland " in the ranks of classics for 
children while the result of bringing within 
their reach in recent years the wonder world 
of classic myth and story, in which no one did 
greater work than Charles Lamb in his " Cruise 
of Ulysses," and Hawthorne in his "Wonder 
book," furnishes abundant proof of the state- 
ment that "the children are adapted to the 
classics." 

Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, 
Mayne Reid and Fenimore Cooper, did not 
write for youth, but with never failing instinct 
the young people of two English-speaking con- 
tinents have found suitable mental food in most 
of their stories. 

If we now examine for a moment the ele- 
ments in the books which have survived and 
of course I have not attempted to enumerate all 
of them it may perhaps help us to explain 
some of the causes of their never wearing out. 
You are aware of the experiments which have 
been made during recent years in order to as- 
certain the elements in stories which interest 
children, and they are found to be in the order 
of their preference as follows : Action, names, 
speech, description, place, time, possession, feel- 
ing, dress, (/esthetic details, sentiment, and 
moral qualities. This is, however, but re- 
stating in our modern quasi-scientific way what 
many writers out of their sympathy with and 
insight into the child mind have said long ago. 
Lady Eastlake wrote over sixty years since, 
" The real secret of a child's book consists not 
merely in its being less dry and less difficult, 
but more rich in interest more true to nature 



HEWINS. 



79 



more exquisite in art more abundant in 
every quality that replies to childhood's keener 
and fresher perceptions. Such being the case, 
the best of juvenile reading will be found in 
libraries belonging to their elders, while the 
best juvenile writing will not fail to delight 
those who are no longer children. ' Robinson 
Crusoe,' the standing favorite of above a cen- 
tury, was not originally written for children ; 
and Sir Walter Scott's ' Tales of a grandfather ' 
addressed solely to them, are the pleasure and 
profit of every age, from childhood upwards. 
Our little friends tear Pope's ' Odyssey ' from 
mamma's hands, while she takes up their 
' Agathos ' with an admiration which no child's 
can exceed." 
All this brings us back to the point from 



which I started, and confirms in a remarkable 
degree the statements with which I began. 
" The real touchstone," as Lady Eastlake said, 
"is the child himself." He has sturdily re- 
jected the "juveniles " by the ton and by the 
hundred thousands, and the reason for this is 
obvious in the light of the foregoing. We are 
at last beginning to recognize this great prin- 
ciple, and the study of the history of children's 
literature should do immense good by bringing 
out the truth of it more strongly. It shows 
that it is the birthright of the child to enter 
into the domain of the world's best literature, 
and to choose therefrom what is best suited to 
its needs, and it shows too that the children of 
all ages, when they have had the opportunity to 
do so, have exercised that right. 



REPORT ON LIST OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS WITH CHILDREN'S ANNOTATIONS. 
BY CAROLINE M. HEWINS, Librarian, Hartford (Ct.~) Public Library. 



IT is four or five years since Mr. R. R. 

Bowker suggested that there could be no 
more interesting and useful "evaluations" for 
the American Library Association to publish 
than comments on children's books made by 
children themselves. Miss Moore and I at the 
Chautauqua Conference in 1898 undertook the 
preparation of such a list, and she asked in 
the Library Journal and Public Libraries for 
comments arranged on cards of uniform si*, 
stating the age, sex, and nationality of the 
child making them. The public immediately 
inferred that our list was in print, and the 
requests which we received for it would fill a 
much larger pigeon-hole than the answers from 
librarians. At the Montreal conference we 
reported a few comments. Since that time we 
have received no contributions, and no report 
was presented at the last conference. 

Our present report is largely based on a 
consideration of about twelve hundred papers, 
written by boys and girls in the sixth, seventh, 
eighth, and ninth grades of grammar schools. 
A part of them are in the form of familiar 
letters to a librarian, and the rest in answer to 
questions prepared in a public library and pre- 
sented to the same grades. 

The man who went about lecturing on 



temperance in the middle of the nineteenth 
century used to take another man with him 
to appear as the "awful example." In the 
following report the general statements were 
kindly prepared by Miss Moore to save me 
time, and the "awful examples" come from 
the other end of the line. 

The letters and lists may be summed up 
like the themes in Elsie Venner. They have 
the same " stringing together of the good 
old traditional copy-book phrases," the same 
"occasional gushes of sentiment " and "pro- 
found estimates of the world." Out of twenty 
or thirty which poor overworked Helen Darley 
read, " there were two or three that had some- 
thing of individual flavor about them." That 
proportion is much larger than we have found. 

" There is a marked difference in the degree 
of spontaneity manifest in the familiar letter 
written at the personal request of the librarian 
and the paper written as an exercise required 
by the teacher. Both reveal a pathetic scarcity 
of vocabulary in relation to the subject, due in 
large measure to the fact that an exercise of 
this kind is an unrelated and infrequent ex- 
perience to the majority of children. It is 
only by frequent repetition that we gain power 
in self expression in any line. It is hardly to 



8o 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



be expected, therefore, that children should 
be able to talk or to write familiarly about 
books and reading until they have made the 
connection and found the habit of doing so. 

" From the twelve hundred papers we have 
selected, less than fifty are worth considering 
for our purpose. The great mass of material re- 
jected shows the influence of the schoolroom in 
the selection of the books mentioned (chiefly 
school-duplicates) in the evident desire to 
please the teacher in expressing a preference 
and in a stereotyped form of expression, a form 
which varies slightly in different schools and 
in different grades of the same school." 

The questions were as follows : 

1 . Name as many books as you can that you 
have read this school year. 

2. Mark the names of the books that you 
like best with X and tell how many times you 
have read each one. 

(No reliance could be placed on the X mark 
to denote books liked best, it was so often 
obviously used for books the children thought 
that they ought to like. They guessed at the 
number of times they had read them and at 
the number of hours they spent every week in 
reading.) 

3. Why do you like these books and how 
do you think any of them have helped you? 

Very few boys and girls can express the way 
in which a book has helped them. Once in a 
while a child says something which shows that 
the book has become a part of his life, as in 
this: 

" I think that they all helped me, for I saw 
in nearly every one a different side of life : 
life of the old times, life of to-day, life of the 
poor, life of the rich, life of royalty, life of 
paupers, life on the border, life in the cities, 
and every kind of life. 

"Some of these books have very good 
characters in them and when I get a hold on 
some book which does have a good character 
I read the author's life if I can. I do this be- 
cause the author who writes about good 
characters must be a character himself. 

"In many books I make friends with most 
of the characters that take principal parts, and 
try to imagine myself with them. 

" In some books are many things which are 
historical or witty, or something of the like. 



When I run across one of these I make a note 
of it." 

The following is by a Jewish boy who is in- 
terested in the Jewish character, whether seen 
from the standpoint of another faith or his own : 

" I like Shakespeare's book because it is very 
exciting and he gives a fine account how the 
Jews were treated in olden times. He gives us 
a very fine account of Portia and Shylock. I 
feel sorry because he lost all his money. I do 
not blame him for wanting a pound of flesh 
from Antonio. Everybody would like to take 
revenge on a man who would borrow money 
from you and would not pay it back. He clung 
to his religion. 

" Scott represents Isaac of York, the Jew in 
' Ivanhoe,' the same as Shakespeare represents 
Shylock in the ' Merchant of Venice.' " 

A few children have the idea that books 
help them by enlarging their world or their 
vocabulary, or developing their imagination, 
and others that outside reading is an aid to 
lessons or examinations, but most of the 
answers recognize nothing that books do for a 
reader. 

The contrast between rich and poor children 
appeals to boy-and-girl readers, and wealth 
and material success play a large part in their 
estimates of books. One boy with a fondness 
for drawing likes to read about poor boys who 
became rich artists, and a girl expresses the 
sentiment of many others when she writes : 

" I like all of Meade's books because she 
always has a poor girl who at the end rises far 
above the rich one that had at one time looked 
down upon her, or if the rich girl helps a poor 
girl she always does some noble thing to repay 
her before the end." 

These are fair specimens of many of the lists 
written by girls of thirteen in the ninth grade : 

" I like Dotty Dimple because she was kind, 
and it helped me to be kind. I like Ragged 
Tom because he was brave and good and it 
helped me to be brave and kind. Laddie I 
like because he would help others. It helped 
me to help others. Black Beauty I liked be- 
cause it taught me to treat animals kind." 

" I liked ' The partners ' best because it was 
neither too old for me nor too young. I liked 
' Barberry Bush and other stories ' because it 
helped me to pass away my time. I liked 



HEW1NS. 



81 



' Ivanhoe,' ' Lady of the Lake,' and ' Julius 
Cassar,' because being read in class they were 
easy to understand. I do not know why 
I liked The Katy and Bessie books and ' Little 
men ' and ' Little women.' " 

The fourth question is : 

4. What friends do you make in them (the 
books), and why do you think you should like 
to know some of them ? 

The answers to this question show lack of 
thought, lack of imagination, and lack of pro- 
portion. Very often the only book-friends 
whom a child remembers are in the last book 
that he has read. Many boys and girls hon- 
estly say things like these : 

"I didn't make any friends in them because 
I never seen their faces only on pictures in the 
books." 

" I like all the books in the same way as I 
like any books. They give me pleasure and 
take up time when you are sick or haven't 
anything to do." 

" I have never thought of liking any of the 
characters for friends." 

" I thought Portia in ' Merchant of Venice' 
and Mary in ' Mary Queen of Scots,' with 
Josephine in ' Little women ' would make 
good friends, but never thought of them as 
friends for me or anybody of this time." 

The lack of sense of proportion in estimat- 
ing books and choosing book friends is seen in 
this example from the sixth grade : 

' The friends I have made are Jack and Jill, 
and Dan, Allie Fairweather, Philip, Oliver, 
Mr. Brownlow, Denise, Rose, Agnes, Harry, 
Widow Greshome, Worth Bagley, Dewey, 
Sampson, Massasoit, Anthony Wayne, Gen- 
eral Schuyler, George Washington, Jesus, 
Robinson, and Aladdin." 

A lack of interest in what is read is shown in 
this: 

" In all books some people appear agreeable 
and some appear disagreeable. It is a pleasure 
sometimes when one is tired to take a good 
book and read a chapter or two. In all books 
you have a friendly feeling toward some char- 
acter." 

It is a pleasure after reading through a room- 
ful of such letters to find one like this : 

"I am not very fond of books, although I 
think there are many things or facts which can 



be learned out of books. I have often started 
a book and have gotten along through the 
middle of it when it became very dry and un- 
interesting and would drop it and never pick it 
up again. 

" The trail of the Sandhill stag ' is the 
only book that I have ever finished. It was 
written by E. S. Thomson. There were many 
beautiful pictures in the book, but I do not 
know the artists who .drew them. This book 
was quite short and interesting and I liked it 
very much, as I am fond of outdoor sports, 
although I only read it once. The book spoke 
of a boy named Yan who had chased up and 
down the hills about his home for years after 
the track of a deer. At last he came face to 
face with the deer and raised his rifle to shoot 
it, but the deer had such a sad expression on 
its face which seemed to have stunned the boy 
and he turned back and went home without 
injuring the stag. I think that it has helped 
me to think twice before I act." 

In answer to the question, " Do you copy in 
a book sentences or lines of poetry that you 
like from books that you are reading, and learn 
them by heart afterwards ? " the same boy 
writes : 

"I copy into a blank-book quotations from 
books and learn them afterwards. I have 
copied and learned quotations from Caesar, 
' Merchant of Venice,' ' Autocrat of the 
breakfast-table,' and ' House of seven gables.' 
I have also copied and learned Tennyson's 
' Lotus-eaters,' Gray's ' Elegy,' Lincoln's speech 
at Gettysburg, and a part of Webster's speech 
in reply to Hayne." 

Do such exercises tend to make children 
self-conscious, and can we depend upon the 
spontaneity of written replies? Everything 
depends on the person who conducts the exer- 
cise and on the question asked. 

There are very few teachers whose own 
knowledge of books can be depended upon to 
draw out children into talking about them. I 
had tried in one schoolroom to make children 
understand the pleasure of finding out from 
one book something about a character who is 
mentioned in another, and when the letters 
came, every child in that room had given as 
a reason for knowing what book to read, "a 
book that there was something about in the 



82 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



last book I read." Evidently the teacher had 
impressed on the children that that was what 
they ought to write. Teachers are not, as a 
rule, well-read. 

This year I have not asked for letters, and 
did not let the children know that I was going 
to give my yearly talk. They took pencil and 
paper to the hall, and I asked the four upper 
grades to tell me something about a book, not a 
school duplicate, that they had read lately and 
somebody whom they liked in it, but not to say 
that anybody was " kind." Then I gave them 
the question from the March St. Nicholas, " If 
you were going to have a birthday party, what 
characters from books should you like best to in- 
vite? " Here are some of the lists, which show 
the same lack of proportion that we have found 
before and the influence of books lately read : 

Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, 
Falconer, Crane in " David Harum," John 
Eliot, Shakespeare, Rafial, Evangeline, Tom 
Thayer, Sir Walter Scott. 

Ellen Douglas, George Washington, Lady 
Rowena, Rebecca the Jewess, Malcolm Graeme, 
Janice Meredith, Julius Caesar, Abraham Lin- 
coln, The Douglas, Dorothy Arden. 

Caesar, King Alfred, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, 
Washington, Dickens, Alexander, Daniel 
Boone, Plato, Socrates. 

Washington, Shakespeare, King Alfred the 
Great, Jane Eyre, Stephen Brice, Portia, King 
Arthur, Joan of Arc, Ellen Terry, Ellen of 
Ellen's Isle. 

Sir William Wallace, King Robert the Bruce, 
Mary Queen of Scots, Ellen Douglas, Beetho- 
ven, Jo March, Nigel Bruce, Lady Isoline, Re- 
becca, Pegasus. 

Julius Caesar, Antony, Marcus Brutus, Oliver 
Bright, Janice Meredith, Sitting Bull, Roderick 
Dhu, Grizzly, James Fitz James, Michel Angelo. 

Caesar, Garibaldi, Washington, Livingston, 
Roosevelt, Narian, Cronje, Hanna, Green, Jesse 
James, Frank James, Brutus, Cassius. 

"The most valuable kind of comment un- 
doubtedly is to be gathered from the off-hand 
statements of the boys and girls as they ex- 
change their books or meet for informal book- 
talks at the library. There are great difficulties 
in the way of gathering a body of available 
material of this kind. While it is true that 
every children's librarian is constantly receiv- 
ing communications from the children with re- 



gard to the books they are reading, it would be 
exceedingly difficult and quite undesirable for 
her to transcribe their comments with the 
necessary data. If a child should see her writ- 
ing down what he had said, or suspect that she 
meant to do so, she would lose his confidence 
forever. According to his nature he would 
either never volunteer another expression of 
pleasure or distaste, or he would make a sensa- 
tional statement if possible in order to gain 
prominence in her eyes. Even if it were possi- 
ble for the children's librarian to make these 
records of spontaneous comment it is probable 
that a very small proportion of them would 
justify publication. (That comment which 
fails to impress itself with sufficient clearness 
for her to write it from memory is not likely to 
be worth much, since it has not entered so 
actively into her day's experience as to have 
become a part of her resources.) 

" Will such a list as this justify by its value 
the expenditure of time and labor involved in 
its compilation? 

" Are we justified in going on with it, and 
what may we expect to get from it ? " 

A list of children's comments must be made 
slowly. At times I have thought that it 
would be impossible to get honest opinions 
enough for an annotated list, but in looking 
over my collection I find that I have more 
than I supposed. 

Teachers often ask for lists in a perfunctory 
way, and care more about neat writing and cor- 
rect spelling than about what impression a book 
has made on a child. I think that in another 
four years, with the help of some of our unsuc- 
cessful experiments, and with the aid of visit- 
ors in home libraries and children's librarians, 
we may get results that are worth having. 

If every children's librarian would send us 
within the next six months from five to ten of 
the best and most natural expressions of opinion 
received from children, we could take the best 
of them and gradually, by eliminating the less 
striking, get a number large enough to be worth 
printing. It is to be desired that we have the 
opinions of more than one child to a book, the 
point of view of a boy and a girl if possible. 



FLETCHER. 



REPORT OF THE A. L. A. PUBLISHING BOARD. 
BY W. I. FLETCHER, Chairman. 



CHANGES in the personnel of the Pub- 
lishing Board during the year covered by 
this report were as follows : the term of Melvil 
Dewey expired in 1901, and he was re-elected 
by the A. L. A. Executive Board for three 
years. Mr. George lies resigned from the 
Board owing to the pressure of other engage- 4 
ments, and Mr. Charles C. Soule was chosen in 
his place. Mr. Soule was also made treas- 
urer in place of Mr. E. H. Anderson who was 
appointed last year, but who resigned on ac- 
count of the difficulty of attending to the busi- 
ness while located so far from the office of the 
Board. Miss Nina E. Browne, who faithfully 
served the Board for several years as assistant 
secretary, was this year appointed secretary, 
her office remaining at io Beacon Street in 
the building of the Boston Athenaeum. 

The work of the Board has gone forward 
steadily although less rapidly than we could 
wish. The following brief review of the prog- 
ress of its various publications will serve to 
elucidate the financial account appended to 
this statement, and to show how extensive and 
important its work has become. 

1 . Printed Cards for Books. The trans- 
fer, under promising conditions, of this under- 
taking to the Library of Congress relieves the 
Board of further effort in that direction and 
marks the happy ending of one chapter of its 
work. 

2. A. L. A. Index. The new edition of 
this book, in press at our last meeting, was 
issued in October. It is almost exactly double 
the size of the former edition and is corre- 
spondingly more useful, a necessary tool in 
every library. 

3. Guide to the Literature of American 
History. Owing to long delays connected 
with the completion of the editorial work, and 
particularly of the very elaborate and useful 
index, this book is but just off the press. 

As was stated last year, our former associate, 
Mr. George lies, has assumed the expense of 



the preparation of this most important work, 
to the extent of ten thousand dollars, a most 
liberal endowment of historical research. The 
book has cost more than this, but it is expected 
that the sales will soon cover this additional 
cost. 

4. Guide to the Study and Use of Refer- 
ence Books, by Miss Alice B. Kroeger. This 
book is all in type, and it was hoped that it 
might be actually published before this meet- 
ing. This will be found a most valuable, as it 
is the only, library help in connection with 
reference work. 

5 . Library Tracts. One tract (no. 4) 
has been added to the series. It is on library 
buildings and rooms, and was prepared by 
Mr. Charles C. Soule. With the present great 
interest in the subject of library architecture, 
this tract should prove one of our most useful 
publications. 

6. Printed Cards for Periodicals not cov- 
ered by "Poole's index." The issue of these 
cards has gone on steadily, the number of 
titles printed in 1901 being 2,849 as against 
2,843 i n 1900, and 2,916 in 1899. The esti- 
mated expense of $75 per year for the entire 
set has not been exceeded nor quite equalled. 
As the advantages to the smaller libraries, or 
those having special collections, of subscribing 
for the needed portion of these cards come to 
be more recognized, the number of partial sub- 
scriptions has largely increased and is now 
fifty-one. As will be observed there is a small 
profit on these cards. A further increase in 
the number called for would permit a reduction 
in the price. 

7 . Cards for < ' Miscellaneous Sets. " This 
has been a popular and successful feature of 
the Board's work. In 1901 cards were issued 
for six such sets : Old South Leaflets, National 
Museum Bulletin, Smithsonian Miscellaneous 
Collections and Contributions to Knowledge, 
U.S. Bureau of Education Circulars, and Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society Collections. The 



8 4 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



demand for these cards is such that one set is 
already out of print, and the others nearly so. 
Three additional sets are already issued in 1 902, 
and others will follow. Suggestions of addi- 
tional sets which should be so indexed will be 
gratefully received. By arrangement with the 
Massachusetts Library Club and the Massa- 
chusetts State Library, a set of cards for the 
Massachusetts Public Documents was issued at 
the bare cost of the cards and printing, and 
the supply was at once exhausted. 

Cards for the British Parliamentary Papers 
are in type and will be issued probably this 
month. They will be found very useful, even 
where, perhaps especially where, these Papers 
are not regularly received, as they will be a 
guide in the selection of such as may be 
wanted. 

8. The Board has undertaken the issue of 
cards prepared by the Bibliographical Society 
of Chicago indexing the contents of the lead- 
ing bibliographical publications (and the bib- 
liographical contents of library periodicals). 
Subscriptions are being received for these 
cards, and may be made to cover all issued or 
such of them as refer to selected periodicals. 
Special attention is invited to this important 
undertaking. 

9. Portrait Index. This will be one of 
the Board's largest publications in book-form, 
probably exceeded only by the A. L. A. Index. 
The material required by the plan of the work 
is nearly all in hand, and the alphabeting and 
digesting of this material is under way. This 
should prove one of the most useful of refer- 
ence books. 

10. English History Cards . The issue of 
these cards, edited and annotated by Mr. W. 
D. Johnston of the Library of Congress, has 
been continued under somewhat adverse 
circumstances, which resulted in the delaying 
of the cards for the last publications of 1900 
until May of this year. Those for books of 
190.1, it is hoped, will be issued relatively 
earlier, and probably in two portions instead 
of four. This publication still lacks sufficient 
support, while highly prized in a few libraries. 

1 1 . Reading for the Young has been al- 



lowed to go out of print. The time has come 
when an entirely new work in this line should 
be prepared, and it is to be hoped that with 
the present development of children's librarian- 
ship, and the increasing demand for a good 
up-to-date guide to children's reading, such a 
work may soon be forthcoming. 

1 2 . List of Srtbject Headings. This work 
is much in demand, and has for some time 
been more than self-supporting, so that its 
compiler has been receiving some slight re- 
turn for his work, which, however, was freely 
rendered as a labor of love. 

13. List of Books for Girls and Women, 

14. Bibliography of the Fine Arts and 
Music. These continue to have a slow sale, 
far from commensurate with their real value. 
The Board will apparently not be able for a 
long time to cancel its indebtedness to Mr. 
lies for his financial support of these publica- 
tions. It should be said that he asks for no 
payment except such as shall come from sales, 
the indebtedness to him thus constituting no 
charge on the assets or income of the Board 
except upon this one account. 

15. A. L. A. Catalog of 5,000 Volumes. 
Just as this report goes to press, we are ad- 
vised of the recent action of the N. Y. State 
Library Association and State Library, by 
which the preparation of an entirely new edi- 
tion of this book (the former edition being 
entirely out of print and also out of date) is 
assured in the near future ; and that its publi- 
cation under the auspices of either the Library 
of Congress or the U.S. Bureau of Education 
is also assured. Present plans look to the 
issue of printed catalog cards for this entire 
list by the Library of Congress at very low 
rates, so that new libraries using this list as a 
basis of purchase may secure the necessary 
catalog cards at once, at an expense much 
below that of cataloging in an inferior manner 
for themselves. 

1 6. Handbook of American Libraries. 
The Board has not received this work for 
publication as yet, but it is still in the hands 
of the committee charged with its prepara- 
tion. 



FLETCHER. 



Attention is called to the financial statement 
appended hereto. It should be noted that 
the account is closed Jan. i, 1902, and the 
apparently large balance on the debit side is 
accounted for almost wholly by one or two 
items like the amount due Houghton, Mifflin, 
& Co., which represents the entire cost of the 
new edition of the " A. L. A." index, the sales 
of which had but just begun. In another year 
this account will be nearly or quite balanced. 

The payment of $600 by the Trustees of the 
Endowment Fund toward the support of our 



publications authorized by the A. L. A. Coun- 
cil was not actually made until after Jan. i, 
1902, though it properly should belong to the 
year 1901. This would have increased our 
cash balance as stated by this amount. 

It remains true, as was said in last year's 
report, that the proper conduct and develop- 
ment of the work of the Publishing Board 
' ' requires a better financial condition than it 
yet has." One of the most important ques- 
tions that can come before the Association is 
how to secure this. 



STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS, JAN. i TO DEC. 31, 1901. 



PUBLICATIONS. 


Balances Jan. i, 1901, being 
excess of expenditures 
over receipts to date. 


Operations, 
Jan. i to Dec. 31, 1901. 


Balances Dec. 31, 1901, being 
excess of expenditures over 
receipts to date. 


Spent. 


Received. 


Expenses. 


Receipts. 


Spent. 


Received. 






$6.32 


$1.15 

14.82 

224-73 
3245-83 
60 
631.73 
3-75 
68.00 
1522.23 
985-52 
25-45 
457-58 


$1.00 

6.60 
29.90 

1 2. 2O 
14.82 




$6.17 
i-73 




$4-87 
368.37 








$338.47 




29-I5 


4'-35 


Books for girls and women.... 










359-66 




37- ' 9 




io-53 
477.40 
1064.00 




List of subject headings 
A. L. A. index, 2d edition .... 
Portrait index, prelim, ex 


474.04 


726.81 


467.84 
1290.02 


2649.67 
1290.62 






608.60 


551.68 


528.55 


Bibliographical cards 




3-75 
"4-33 


61.83 




S.5o 
1 763.25 
956.06 


57'.9o 
337-88 




330-88 
367-34 












25-45 








457-S8 
17.00 






83-95 




66.95 












Totals 


$2647.07 


$1816.33 
830.74 


$7181.39 


$5477-52 
1703.87 


$4748.90 


$2214.39 
2534.S' 








$2647.07 


$2647.07 


$7181.39 


$7181.39 


$4748.90 


$4748.90 


OTHER ACCOUNTS. 


Balance Jan. i, 1901. 


Operations of 1901. 


Balance Dec. 31, 1901. 


Dr. 


Cr. 


Dr. 


Cr. 


Dr. 


Cr. 


General expense and income 


$S23'.64 
636.82 


$1617.08 
46.^1 
241.69 

369.52 
16.50 


$580.01 
6.32 

4705.09 
1973-74 

1264.55 


$9.90 

83.19 
533i-8i 
2028.44 

3252.39 


$196.92 
867.28 


$1046.97 
40.09 
83.19 

424.22 
2004.34 


Old members accounts 




Library Bureau account 
Due to the Publishing Board 


Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. ac- 




Totals 


$1460.46 
830.74 


$2291.20 


,".'.'.'. 





$1064.30 
2534-5' 


$3598.81 








$2291.20 


$2291.20 







$3598.81 


$3598.81 



86 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION. 
BY HILLER C. WELLMAN; W. R. EASTMAN; N. D. C. HODGES. 



T^HE subject of Library Administration is so 
broad that the committee has been in doubt 
as to the scope of its work. Any comprehen- 
sive treatment would mean a large volume. 
The committee determined, therefore, to give 
consideration to a few definite subjects and es- 
pecially to recent developments. 

COST OF CATALOGUING, ETC. 

Considerable time was spent in drawing up 
tables of statistics, with a view to getting ac- 
curate figures on the cost of getting a book on 
to the shelves of a library. The attempt had 
to be abandoned. Dr. Steiner in his interest- 
ing paper on the subject could make only a 
vague guess as to the cost in his own library ; 
and owing to the overlapping of the work of 
different departments and the absence of suita- 
ble statistics, it seems hardly feasible to get an 
accurate estimate of this item of expense. 

A rough idea may be gained by examining 
the cost of recataloguing various libraries 
where outside assistance has been employed, 
which shows usually a cost varying from 10 
cents to 20 cents per volume. This figure in- 
cludes a shelf-list, but does not include the 
cost of ordering and accessioning. It does in- 
clude, however, the time spent in hunting up 
and extracting old cards from the catalogue, and 
in erasing old numbers on the book-plates. 

One figure given to the committee showed a 
cost of cataloguing amounting to only six cents 
per volume. 

In another case an experienced library or- 
ganizer states, " With such local help as I can 
train and manage I can handle 1,000 books in 
a month for a small public library in a fairly 
satisfactory way." Allowing a hundred dollars 
per month for salaries, the cost, exclusive of 
supplies, ordering, and shelf-list, would be 10 
cents per volume. 

At Brookline, Mass., an expert classifier and 
one or two assistants have been employed for 
a year in reclassifying the library on the deci- 
mal system. A highly-paid classifier was se- 



cured so as to ensure the best possible work. A 
new shelf-list has been made and the catalogue 
and catalogue cards have been thoroughly re- 
vised, many of the cards being newly typewrit- 
ten. The cataloguing is rather elaborate with 
many analytical cards. During the year 7,347 
volumes have been reclassified and the service 
cost $1,384.60; that is, i8 T % cents per vol- 
ume. It is the opinion of the classifier and 
also of the librarian that the time consumed in 
looking for books temporarily out of place, in 
searching for cards in the old catalogue, es- 
pecially when the previous cataloguing was 
erratic, in erasing numbers, in cancelling en- 
tries on the old shelf-list, and in making over 
imperfect cards, has made the work certainly 
as great and perhaps greater than it would 
have been if the books had been ordered and 
set up anew. If it had been possible, it would 
perhaps have been an economy to recatalogue 
the books entirely anew, and throw away the 
old cards bodily, rather than to pull out each 
set of cards and attempt to make them over. 
The cost of supplies hardly exceeds i^ 
cents per volume, so that 20 cents per volume 
is a generous estimate of the cost of putting 
non-fiction on the shelves of that library of 
60,000 volumes. For fiction, of course, the 
cost would be very much less, probably under 
10 cents per volume. 

On the whole, it is safe to say that for the 
ordinary public library of 50,000 volumes the 
entire cost of getting a book from the dealer to 
the shelves, omitting only the cost of selecting 
the books to be purchased, ranges from 10 cents 
to 25 cents per volume. This cost is likely to be 
materially reduced by the use of the printed 
catalogue cards issued by the Library of Con- 
gress, a report of which follows. 

PRINTED CATALOGUE CARDS ISSUED BY THE 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Through courtesy of the Librarian of Con- 
gress a joint circular was sent out containing 
requests for information regarding the improve- 



WELLMAN, EASTMAN, HODGES. 



ment in the distribution or in the form or con- 
tents of the printed catalogue cards issued by 
the Library of Congress, and also certain ques- 
tions regarding their use for the enlightenment 
of the committee. 

About no replies were received, but only 70 
of these were from libraries where sufficient 
cards had been used to make the answers of 
value. Of these, 36 used the cards for main- 
taining one cardi catalogue only, while 31 
ordered duplicate sets to provide for two or more 
catalogues, in two cases the number of cata- 
logues being 14 and 19 respectively. Fourteen 
libraries used the cards also for shelf-lists. 

In five libraries it was thought no saving of 
time had been effected, but in 60 libraries a 
marked saving of time was observed. In most 
cases this saving was estimated, although in 
one or two cases a similar result was reached 
by actual account of the time consumed for 
special lots of books in ordering, checking, 
sorting, and marking the cards, handling the 
books, etc. The estimated saving ranged in 
amount from ten to seventy-five per cent., and 
the majority were of the opinion that from 
one-third to one-half of the time of the cata- 
loguer was saved. A further economy in 
some instances resulted from the employment 
of cheaper labor for the mechanical work of 
ordering the cards. 

There was pretty general agreement that the 
stock of the printed card is not at present quite 
equal to the standard Library Bureau stock, a 
fact especially shown when erasures are neces- 
sary ; but there was still greater agreement as 
to the excellence of the cataloguing. The re- 
plies clearly demonstrated the fact that cards 
for current copyrighted books are received with 
great promptness, nine-tenths of them, perhaps 
more, within a week of ordering, when the 
library is not too distant from Washington ; 
and in general the same is true of current non- 
copyright or foreign books when the cards are 
ordered from the proofs. But delays are con- 
siderable and the proportion of cards not sup- 
plied is large, when the cards for foreign books 
are ordered without first ascertaining that the 
book has been received by the Library of Con- 
gress. 

When the cards can be sent for at the same 
time that the book is ordered, they are fre- 



quently received before the book. When they 
are ordered after the book has been received, 
in most libraries it is found feasible to place 
the books in circulation at once without waiting 
for the cards, by keeping a record on a memo- 
randum slip, which sometimes serves afterward 
as copy for the printed bulletin of accessions. 
In large libraries, where more elaborate record 
is needed, a temporary author-card is inserted 
in the catalogue ; and in small libraries simply 
checking the receipt of the cards against the 
title in the accession book is sufficient to en- 
sure that no book slip through without being 
catalogued. 

From these facts your committee conclude, 
that by ordering printed catalogue cards 
from the Library of Congress for all current, 
copyrighted books (a class comprising most 
of the accessions of the ordinary American 
library), and by ordering cards for other books 
so far as proofs are available to show that they 
have been catalogued, it is now possible for 
public libraries to secure promptly printed cata- 
logue cards, not only more legible than manu- 
script cards, but vastly superior in fulness and 
accuracy to the cataloguing of the average 
library, and at the same time costing less than 
the ordinary manuscript cataloguing. 

The advantage seems so great that minor 
differences in the form of entry, etc., should 
not be allowed to stand in the way.* 

Besides use in the catalogue, these printed 
cards are now or may be employed in the fol- 
lowing ways : for a card shelf-list, for a chrono- 
logical or accession list, for duplicate catalogues 
especially at branches, for special catalogues or 
card bibliographies, for copy for the printed 
bulletin, for exhibiting accessions on the bulle- 
tin boards, for notices to persons interested of 
the receipt of special books, for bulletins of 
accessions in schools or branches, possibly for 
charging records, and when selected cards 
are received without order as suggestions for 
purchases. Doubtless with the present ability 
to procure these cards at small cost, other im- 
portant uses for them will soon be found. 

We regard this co-operative cataloguing, made 

* In the opinion of the chairman, a library formerly 
using a card which varies as much as half an inch 
in length from the printed cards can advantageously use 
the latter by cutting them to the proper height. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



possible by the use of the Library of Congress 
printed cards, as the most important develop- 
ment in library administration in recent years, 
and unhesitatingly recommend its advantages 
to libraries which have not yet profited by 
them. 

CO-OPERATIVE LISTS, ETC. 

A useful series of brief co-operative lists for 
free distribution among the patrons of a library 
has been issued by the New York Library As- 
sociation. The subjects covered thus far are 
"The United States and its government," 
"Debating," " Botany," " Gardens and gar- 
dening," "Books that most men like," and 
" Stories of delicate workmanship." These lists 
are without library numbers and each contains 
a dozen or more titles of books in most 
libraries. By purchasing them from Mrs. H. 
L. Elmendorf, of Buffalo, a library is able to 
distribute among its patrons these attractive 
little bibliographies or bulletins at the extremely 
moderate outlay of fifteen cents per hundred. 

Another co-operative enterprise of great value 
is the list of fiction for children in preparation 
by the Children's Librarians' Section of the 
A. L. A. This list is to be longer than the 
New York lists, and will eventually include 
non-fiction, and will be a catalogue or finding- 
list of children's books. A simple form of 
numbering is to be used, and by making the 
numbering of the children's books conform, it 
should be possible for libraries of the smallest 
means to procure and retail to their juvenile 
readers for an almost nominal sum the best 
catalogue of children's books that can be devised 
by the combined efforts of the leading children's 
librarians in the country. 

Other publications to be recorded are, a 
graded catalogue of books for school children 
issued by the Buffalo Public Library, 30 cents ; 
a list of the first '1,000 volumes for a public li- 
brary, issued by the New Jersey commission as 
an appendix to their second report ; the edi- 
tion of 1902 of a " Suggestive list of books for 
a small library " recommended by the state 
commissions of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, 
Nebraska, Idaho, and Delaware ; and the hand- 
book of library organization issued by the Min- 
nesota library commission in co-operation with 
the Commissions of Iowa and Wisconsin. 



HOME DELIVERY. 

Delivery of books at the houses of readers is 
a new feature tried by a few libraries. The 
committee has received reports on the subject 
from Milton, Somerville, and Springfield, Mass. 

In Springfield Mr. Dana made the experi- 
ment of sending in April, 1901, 1,200 circulars, 
offering to deliver books at the door to all card- 
holders in a household once a week for ten 
weeks, upon payment of five cents per week 
not per volume delivered, nor per individ- 
ual, but five cents per household. 

A hundred and twenty households, represent- 
ing an average of three borrowers each, paid 
for the delivery, and about 222 volumes were 
issued weekly. Nearly 50 per cent, of the sub- 
scribers were not previously users of the library. 
The receipts were $6 per week, and the cost to 
the library for horse-hire and the services of a 
high-school boy, etc., amounted to nearly $10 
per week. 

The next autumn a thousand circulars were 
sent out, offering to continue the home delivery 
at the rate of 8 cents per week. Less than 
sixty households subscribed, and the number 
decreased by May I, 1902, to thirty-two. The 
receipts the past year, therefore, have ranged 
from a maximum of $4.80 to a minimim of $2.56 
per week, and the cost has averaged from $3.75 
to $4 weekly, including $2 per week for horse 
hire. 

This latter figure represents the cost of the 
delivery proper, and does not include the ex- 
pense of sending circulars and lists of books, or 
of looking up and charging the books. 

The percentage of fiction issued in this way 
has been somewhat higher than that at the 
library. The most frequent complaint was 
caused by the failure to get the book desired, 
especially the new novel. Generally, when 
unable to fill an application, the library chose 
a volume as a substitute, and many readers left 
to the library the selection of books to be sent. 
This gives the library a valued opportunity to 
distribute good literature, but the reader is not 
always satisfied, and the labor involved is a 
very considerable item. 

In Somerville Mr. Foss began last October 
a system of home delivery, conducted by school 
boys, usually twice a week. Each boy has 
assigned to him a district containing about 



WELLMAN, EASTMAN, HODGES. 



8 9 



3,000 inhabitants, and this he is expected to 
canvass thoroughly, and to deliver and collect 
books at two cents per volume the round trip. 
This fee he pockets for his labor, and a good 
boy should earn about $1.50 per week. 

Thus the library is not involved in the scheme 
financially, but must devote much time to or- 
ganizing and supervising arrangements and 
to selecting and managing the boys. 

Between two and three hundred volumes are 
delivered weekly, and the character of the liter- 
ature is about the same as that issued at the 
library. 

In Milton Miss Forrest began, Jan. i, 1902, 
a system of home delivery covering sections of 
the town remote from the library, which is paid 
for by the library without any charge to the 
borrower. A man is hired to " make the deliv- 
ery on Thursday of each week, for $5 a delivery, 
with the understanding that the price is to re- 
main the same, should the number of books to 
be delivered increase." 

The messenger serves about eight hours per 
week, and, of course, distributes call slips, bul- 
letins, fine notices, etc. The delivery has in- 
creased from 23 to 80 volumes per week, mak- 
ing the cost now about seven cents per volume, 
and fiction is only 62 per cent, of the issue. 
The home delivery, Miss Forrest states, " has 
increased the circulation and the number of 
card-holders, and has reached many residents 
of the town who have never before used the 
library." 

These are the facts so far as ascertained. 
Your committee is unwilling yet to pronounce 
an opinion, but thinks the Association should 
give careful consideration to the matter, with a 
view to weighing the pros and cons and deter- 
mining whether the advantages of greater con- 
venience to readers and of interesting persons 
not previously using the library, outweigh the 
disadvantage of losing the benefits derived by 
the reader from visiting the library itself. 

LIBRARY INSTITUTES. 

In library work it is of the first importance 
to provide capable and earnest librarians. The 
training schools and the great annual library 
meetings, supplemented by state associations 
and local clubs, are doing essential work, but 
the library movement outruns any and all of 



these influences. Small libraries are multiply- 
ing more rapidly than trained librarians can be 
secured, and with resources far too slender to 
afford trained service. Not one library in ten, 
in many states not one in twenty, is directly 
reached by the most enthusiastic or most in- 
structive gathering at state or national library 
meetings, or by any of our library schools or 
training classes. Every state commission feels 
the necessity of going out personally to talk 
with trustees and librarians about the most ele- 
mentary and practical things. 

From the first it has been a feature of the 
Wisconsin work that those in charge of travel- 
ling libraries in given districts have been called 
together to talk with the librarian of the com- 
mission and to compare notes. In Western 
Massachusetts meetings of librarians, trustees, 
and townsfolk have been held at various points 
to learn from the experience of representatives 
of larger institutions who went expressly to 
visit them. Similar work is doubtless done in 
many of the states. A systematic effort of 
this kind is reported this year from New 
York. 

Under the direction of a special committee 
of the New York Library Association a series 
of institutes was held with the distinct purpose 
of improving library methods. The state was 
divided into eleven districts. In three of these 
where there were local library clubs the work 
was commended to their attention. For each 
of the other eight districts a local secretary 
was appointed, furnished with a list of libraries, 
and requested to put himself at once in com- 
munication with them, and take steps to awaken 
an interest in their coming together. Dates in 
April and May were assigned for meetings and 
a general program prepared, covering three 
sessions of two to three hours each. 

The subjects chosen presented in miniature 
a somewhat complete course in library econ- 
omy. An evening of popular addresses to the 
public was also part of the plan, and in three 
cases these were supplemented by a lantern 
exhibition of library building plans. 

For each institute a conductor was appointed 
who called in such help as was available and 
was responsible for details. The first institute 
opened April 15, the eighth meeting closed 
May 10. Three meetings were held the first 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



week, two in the second week, and three in 
the last week. 

The interest shown was on the whole ex- 
tremely gratifying. Numbers at the instruc- 
tional sessions ranged from 22 to 75 ; at the 
popular sessions from 25 to 200. The number 
of libraries represented was from 8 to 18. At 
the largest gatherings special efforts had been 
made to interest the women's clubs. 

The topics were presented in their very sim- 
plest terms and familiarly discussed. Where 
numbers were small the result was probably 
more valuable on that account to those present. 
The plan was considered a success in bringing 
together librarians of experience and those 
who lacked in this respect. The one hundred 
and ten libraries reached were only one in six 
of those invited, which fact offers a wide field 
for future effort in the same direction. 

The cost of such meetings and of the organi- 
zation required to maintain them presents a 
difficulty. In this case the expense was practi- 
cally shared by the state association, the state 
library, and several private individuals who 
gave their services and paid their own bills. 
For many reasons it would be desirable for the 
state to be wholly responsible for work like 
this as it is for similar work with teachers. 

Whether conducted by state, club, or indi- 
vidual effort, your committee commends this 
form of activity to all who have at heart effi- 
cient administration in the smallest libraries. 

STUDENT HELP. 

In a library staff where there may be from 
ten to a hundred or more members, it is certain 
that the work is not all of the same grade, and 
does not all of it require special library train- 
ing. The question is whether for minor posi- 
tions it is desirable to employ boy and girl 
students from high schools and local colleges. 

With reference to pages, every librarian 
knows that there is no future in a library for the 
boy of fourteen who leaves school to accept a 
position as page. The boy is tempted by the 
pay, but after being in the library three or four 
years he has received little training which is of 
advantage in the business world. Some libra- 
rians report that their pages secure good posi- 
tions in offices and factories, but the majority 
would consider it an injury to a boy of limited 



education to tempt him into a library as a 
page. 

The libraries which report favorably on 
student help are : the Detroit Public Library, 
where school boys have been employed as 
pages ; the Cleveland Public, where student 
help both from colleges and high school has 
been employed for evening assignments, 
dinner hours, and half-holidays ; the John 
Crerar Library, for evening service only; the 
Chicago Public, which is now working under 
civil service rules, which prohibits any prefer- 
ence being given to special classes of appli- 
cants, but formerly got satisfactory results from 
student helpers "who, as a rule, are bright 
and good workers ;" the Providence (R.I.) 
Public, which employs students from Brown 
University as clerks during the evening and 
pupils from the high schools as pages 
"These have frequently been students of 
much force of character (who, perhaps, other- 
wise would not have undertaken anything so 
laborious) and we have profited from their 
characteristic ability ; " the Salem, Mass., 
Public Library, where high school boys have 
been employed ; the Case Library, at Cleveland, 
with a limited experience of two instances 
only; the Boston Athenaeum, which has em- 
ployed college students for Sunday duty " very 
successfully in our particular case." Mr. 
Bolton remarks: "This is a serious problem, 
but I fear there is no solution unless the boys 
will study, few will ; " the Amherst College 
Library, which has employed Amherst stu- 
dents ; the Boston Public, where student help 
has been used for Sunday and evening service 
and for extra work on Saturdays, Mr. 
Whitney states that the results have been 
very favorable ; the Minneapolis Public 
Library, Dr. Hosmer reports : "We have 
had excellent service from university and high 
school students and see no reason against 
employing them ; " the Lowell, Mass., Public 
Library and the Brooklyn Library, where they 
have just begun to engage high school boys 
" for evening work and find them much better 
than ordinary pages more intelligent and 
more interested ; " and, finally, the Worcester, 
Mass., Public Mr. Green emphatically states 
that, in view of their experience, he looks very 
favorably on the employment of school boys 



WELLMAN, EASTMAN, HODGES. 



and girls and college students, as the library 
offers no future for employees of limited 
education. 

On the other hand, Dr. Canfield, of the 
Columbia University Library, writes: "I have 
used what is called ' student help ' by the hour 
in several institutions before coming here 
both in the library and elsewhere and have 
always found it the most expensive and least 
effective service that could be secured," and 
adds that it is not possible to offer a fairly 
well-educated, bright, ambitious boy sufficient 
inducement to remain in the library. It is 
generally true that " as soon as we have a boy 
thoroughly well trained as a page, some down- 
town office gathers him in and we are obliged 
to begin over again." Miss Lord, of Bryn 
Mawr College Library, gives it as her experi- 
ence that " such amateur work is not of suffi- 
cient money value to the college to pay the 
students enough to amount to real help ; he or 
she had better borrow the same amount of 
money and finish in a shorter time, and the 
library had much better get assistants giving 
their time and undivided interest to its work ; " 
Mr. Collins, the reference librarian at Prince- 
ton, is also inclined to the belief that college 
students ought to be able to get more remu- 
nerative side jobs. Mr. Anderson, of the 
Carnegie Library at Pittsburgh, reports that 
they have tried student help, but do not ap- 
prove of it. Mr. Crunden, of St. Louis, states 
that formerly student help was used in St. 
Louis, but he does not believe it a good policy ; 
most of the boys drop out after two or three 
years and seek positions elsewhere. An effort 
is made to stimulate the boys to study and the 
reading of good books. 

In view of the above testimony, and not- 
withstanding some adverse criticism, it is the 
opinion of your committee that in many in- 
stances by employing college students for 
special work, intelligent and cultured service 
can be secured at a low cost ; and that in gen- 



eral by hiring high school students by the hour 
to serve as pages and in other minor positions, 
a more intelligent worker can be retained at 
less cost, and without cumbering the staff with 
permanent employees who as their time of ser- 
vice lengthens will naturally clamor for ad- 
vancement to positions for which lack of gen- 
eral education renders them unfit. 

RENEWAL BY TELEPHONE. 

The question of allowing renewal by tele- 
phone has been discussed at some length in 
the library periodicals. Your committee simply 
call attention to the purpose of requiring a re- 
newal, which is to force the borrower to take a 
certain amount of trouble in order to retain a 
book after it is due, this with a view to ensur- 
ing its being returned and made available for 
other readers unless the first reader really 
desires to use it, in which case he will take the 
necessary pains to have the time extended. 
Your committee are not certain that the inter- 
ests of the public are benefited more by the 
convenience of using the telephone in cases of 
legitimate renewal than they are harmed by 
its abuse in cases where the borrower merely 
wishes to avoid the trouble of returning on 
time a book which he has finished reading ; and 
we suggest this question for discussion. 

FINES. 

Many of the poorer patrons of a library, 
especially children, are debarred from using it 
because of having incurred small fines which 
they are really unable to pay. A two-cent 
fine often deprives such persons of the privi- 
lege of ever again drawing books. We repeat 
the suggestion, which has been made before, 
that for young children at least, an alternate 
penalty be fixed, "so that deprivation of library 
privileges for a certain period may be consid- 
ered as equivalent to the payment of a small 
fine, and thus readers may not be driven per- 
manently from the library's influence. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



BY ROLAND P. FALKNER, Chairman. 



VOUR Committee on Public Documents de- 
sires, before presenting its report, to express 
its regret at the retirement of its former chair- 
man, Mr. R. R. Bowker,and to bear testimony 
to the efficiency of his long continued service. 
He has taken an active interest in the work of 
legislation. During his connection with the 
committee some of the most glaring defects in 
the system of printing and distributing the 
public documents of the United States have 
been removed, and to this result his efforts 
have contributed in no mean degree. His 
successor knows no better program for the 
work of the committee than to follow the 
course marked out by Mr. Bowker. 

LEGISLATION. 

No legislation affecting the public documents 
has been accomplished by the present Con- 
gress. Two measures of interest to librarians 
are before it. One authorizes the Superin- 
tendent of Documents to distribute to libraries 
the first editions of the Nautical Almanac and 
American Ephemeris instead of the second 
editions as heretofore.* A second measure is 
of wider interest. A bill, Senate 4261, pro- 
viding in substance that the publications of the 
executive offices shall be issued to libraries as 
soon as they are printed, has passed the Senate 
and is now in the possession of the Committee 
on Printing of the House of Representatives. 
The text of the bill is appended to this report. 
It provides no general amendment of the exist- 
ing laws, but contains a few simple provisions 
of especial interest to libraries. Besides the 
features already noted, it increases the number 
of volumes at the disposal of the Superinten- 
dent of Documents for distribution to 600. At 
the present time the law does not give him a 
sufficient number to meet the demand were all 
possible depositories actually designated. 

This Association has placed itself on record 
over and over again in favor of a more expedi- 

* Since the preparation of this report the resolution in 
question has been passed. R. P. F. 



tious delivery of public documents to deposito- 
ries. The Superintendent of Documents has 
kindly furnished tables showing the date of de- 
livery to libraries of some of the more impor- 
tant annual publications. These have been 
selected because the offices in question are 
generally prompt in issuing their reports. As- 
suming that the cloth-bound issues are ready 
January i of the year following the close of the 
fiscal year, the following table shows the ap- 
proximate delay in distributing them to depos- 
itories : 

TABLE SHOWING APPROXIMATE DELAY IN MONTHS 
IN DISTRIBUTING CERTAIN REPORTS. 







c 
_o 


| 


1 


0. 


8 






o 


15 


sS 

* 


1 


Q 




V 




C! 
rt 






<u-d 





o 


3 






V 




c c 


> 




8 






o! 




V rt 


a 


o 






E 


fe 


c 


CM 







^ 


1890 


48 




44 


40 


42 


78 


So 


1891 


37 


. . 


34 


32 


32 


40 


35 


1892 


44 




56 


3i 


3i 




39 


1 893 


25 




26 


25 


26 


26 


26 


1804 


iS 




14 


iS 


13 


14 


'4 


1895 


22 


2 5 


2S 


25 


24 


24 


24 


1896 


35 


36 


27 


29 


36 


29 


32 


1897 


25 


32 


24 


24 


2S 


24 


26 


1898 


13 


2 S 


2 3 


27 


12 


23 


21 


1899 


15 


16 


15 


iS 


IS 


16 


15 


1900 


13 


16 




13 


IS 


'3 


14 



It shows that from a period of three to four 
years the interval between printing and distri- 
bution has been reduced to a little over a year. 
This probably represents the maximum which 
can be obtained under the present law, and the 
zeal and energy of the Superintendent can ac- 
complish nothing further in this direction with- 
out modification of the law. Even at the 
present time the date which intervenes between 
the first publication of the regular reports and 
the issue of the same in the sheep-bound form 
to libraries is considerable and vexatious. To 
eliminate this delay is an object much to be de- 
sired. Not only will it obviate the necessity 
of securing, in the case of the larger libraries, 
duplicate copies of these volumes, but it will 
probably secure to these libraries the receipt of 
the cloth-bound issues at an earlier date than 



FALKNER. 



93 



they would be obtained through private cor- 
respondence. 

As respects the scope of the act it suffices to 
say that it does not apply to publications pre- 
pared by Congress only, and would, therefore, 
have no reference to the House and Senate 
reports. The Senate documents of the 56th 
Congress, second session, comprise 34 volumes, 
of which 15 would not have been affected by 
such a law, giving an immediate distribution 
of 19 volumes. The House documents num- 
bered 137 volumes and of these 17 volumes 
only have been undisturbed by such a law, 
giving an immediate distribution of 120 
volumes. This would have left for distribution 
in the document form 43 volumes (including 
the reports) instead of 182 as the matter actu- 
ally stood. 

As the passage of the bill described would 
remove the most serious inconvenience in the 
present method of distributing documents, 
your committee presents a resolution express- 
ing the approval of the Association of this 
measure. 

There are, of course, a few other matters 
connected with the federal documents which 
might appropriately be the subject of sugges- 
tion or recommendation on the part of the 
Association. 

1. All who have occasion to use those vol- 
umes of documents which contain a large num- 
ber of separate issues have appreciated the 
difficulty in finding such as are desired. A 
return to the old method of printing the docu- 
ment number on each page of the document 
would avoid this inconvenience. 

2. Beginning with the 3d session of the 
53d Congress the bound volumes of the Con- 
gressional Record issued to depository libraries 
have borne no indication of the dates covered 
by each volume. The inconvenience which 
results from this omission, since a majority of 
references in the Record are by date and not 
by volume or Congress, has been felt by libra- 
rians generally. Here, again, a return to the 
old method of lettering the backs of the vol- 
umes would be desirable. 

3. The inadequacy of the indexing of the 
Congressional Record is a source of constant 
trial to those who have to use it. The index 
at present is purely a title index, and in no 



sense of the word a subject index. In view of 
the wide latitude permitted for debate on cer- 
tain measures, such as appropriation bills, it 
frequently happens that the most important 
speeches are indexed under titles which give 
absolutely no clue to their contents. A single 
illustration from the present session of Con- 
gress will suffice. Before the introduction of 
the Cuban reciprocity bill there had been no 
less than five speeches dealing with the rela- 
tions of the United ^States with Cuba. The 
indexes to the Congressional Record 'do not, how- 
ever, enable the searcher to discover the fact, 
It would be to the advantage of all concerned 
if the indexes at least to the bound volumes 
were made much fuller, and while preserving 
the excellent features of the present index 
should add the subject feature also. The ad- 
ditional cost of such work would be amply re- 
paid by the benefit derived. 

It has been deemed proper by your commit- 
tee to make these matters the subjects of ap- 
propriate resolutions. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

The year past has been particularly rich in 
publications concerning the federal documents. 
The Superintendent of Documents has issued 
the document index for the 56th Congress, ist 
session, and also for the 56th Congress, 2d 
session. The latter has not yet been distrib- 
uted in the sheep-bound edition. If the law 
already noted were in force this document 
would already be in the libraries and the docu- 
ments of the 56th Congress, 2d session, would 
not lack a key. 

A comprehensive catalogue for the 55th 
Congress has also been issued. The advantage 
of having all the matter pertaining to different 
sessions of the same Congress in one volume 
is plainly shown by an examination of the 
present issue. 

The most noteworthy achievement of the 
year has been the publication of the tables and 
index of the Congressional documents from the 
I5th Congress, 1817-18, to the close of the 
52d Congress, March] 3, 1893. This work 
repeats substantially (with 24 exceptions 
only) the serial numbers given in the earlier 
check list of the office, with fuller bibliograph- 
ical notes respecting the contents of the several 



94 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



volumes, noting especially irregularities in 
numbering and omissions. The second part 
of the work is an index to the more important 
documents included in the sets. It is an index 
of titles, and certain of the more frequently re- 
curring items of personal or temporary interest 
have been omitted. In a work of this magni- 
tude one is tempted to utter a wish that even 
more might have been omitted. A complete 
index by subjects would be, however, too great 
a task to be undertaken. In a notice of the 
work in the Library Journal, the reviewer 
states that one of the documents here repre- 
sented by single entry requires in an analytical 
treatment over 150 entries, and this gives an 
inkling of what would be necessary in a com- 
plete analysis of the volumes. 

This volume, the most valuable key to the 
public documents of the United States which 
has thus far been printed, is one of a series in 
preparation in the office of the Superintendent 
of Documents. Of the remaining volumes, one 
will include the Congressional documents be- 
fore the 1 5th Congress, the other the Depart- 
ment documents. When this work, already far 
advanced, shall have been completed, we shall 
have with the comprehensive catalogues a 
complete key to all of the documents issued by 
the United States government so far as the 
office of the Superintendent of Documents has 
been able to discover them. 

The office of the Superintendent of Docu- 
ments has also prepared for the Committee on 
Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives, 
a list by years of the speeches, reports, and 
public documents relating to the navy of the 
United States from 1880 to 1901, intended as 
a documentary history of the new navy. It 
has also begun the publication of price lists on 
special subjects which are not comprehensive 
bibliographies, as they give only those books 
which are in his office for sale, but are still 
useful guides of the subjects of which they 
treat. A list on irrigation and another on 
labor, industries, trusts, and immigration have 
already been issued ; one relating to inter- 
oceanic canals, ship subsidy, commerce and 
transportation, Pacific railroads, and statistics 
will shortly be issued. 

General Greely's list of the public documents, 
ist to I4th Congress, has also been published 



since the last report of this committee. This 
list divides the documents into four classes 
Senate documents and reports, House docu- 
ments and reports, and gives a chronological 
list of each class. Notes also indicate the 
libraries in which the documents can be found. 
In certain directions, aids in the use of the 
government documents can be found in other 
publications issued during the year. A serial 
finding list, Senate Document 238, 56th Con- 
gress, 2d session, by Mr. J. M. Baker, assist- 
ant librarian of the Senate library, contains a 
record of the places in the sheep-bound volumes 
of most of the important serial publications, 
which will be very useful for libraries which are 
unable to have special sets of reports or whose 
sheep-bound volumes do not bear the serial 
number. Bulletin 177, of the United States 
Geological Survey, is a catalogue and index of 
the publications of the Survey from 1880 to 
1901. Bulletin 51 of the United States 
National Museum is a check-list and index of 
the publications of that office. Useful bibliog- 
raphies of special subjects are found in some 
of the recent publications of the Library of 
Congress. A list of books on trusts notes the 
articles in the consular reports dealing with 
this subject. Lists upon irrigation and reci- 
procity note all of the documents upon these 
subjects, while a second edition on mercantile 
subsidies will contain references to all docu- 
ments bearing upon shipping and mail con- 
tracts. 

STATE DOCUMENTS. 

As the National Association of State Libra- 
rians will present a report upon the binding 
and distribution of the state documents, your 
committee must refrain from discussing what 
is desirable in legislation or noting a number 
of valuable suggestions received from a number 
of state librarians and confine itself to stat- 
ing what has been accomplished since its 
last report was presented. Inquiries addressed 
to the state librarians have elicited replies from 
all but twelve and it is probable that these had 
nothing of interest to report to the Associa- 
tion. 

Since the last report of this committee the 
state of Alabama has established a Department 
of Archives and History which unites some of 



FALKNER. 



95 



the functions of the state library and a state 
historical association. Connecticut has au- 
thorized the state comptroller to print 375 
additional copies of state reports, to furnish to 
the state librarian a sufficient number for ex- 
change purposes, and to distribute the re- 
mainder to such public libraries in the state as 
may apply for them. Iowa has increased the 
number of documents printed and placed 500 
copies at the disposal of the state library com- 
mission. It has also provided more generous 
editions of some of the special reports. 
Rhode Island in 1901 created the office of 
state librarian, and in the present year has 
authorized that officer to exchange publica- 
tions with nations, states and municipalities, 
and to make requisition upon state officers 
for the documents required for this pur- 
pose. South Dakota (March 9, 1901) in its 
general printing law provides that the secretary 
of state shall distribute journals, public docu- 
ments, and statutes to each state and territorial 
library, and to the Library of Congress. Wash- 
ington by law of March 6, 1901, provides that 
the reports of state officials shall be bound in 
collected form as public documents, assigns a 
certain number to the state library and to the 
educational institutions of the state, and fur- 
nishes 50 copies to the state library commission 
for exchange with other states. California and 
Montana report that the next legislature will 
be asked to provide a suitable exchange system. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

During the past year the principal publi- 
cations of bibliographic interest relate to 
Kansas. The State Library has issued a cata- 
logue of its Law Library, and the State His- 
torical Society has issued a list of the Kan- 
sas state and territorial documents in its 
library. The somewhat earlier publications 
of the Illinois State Historical Library, its 
catalogue of 1900 and its publication No. 3, 
"Territorial records of Illinois, 1809-1811," 
have not been previously noted in these re- 
ports. The check lists in the reports of the 
State Librarian of Pennsylvania for 1900 and 
1901, and of New Jersey for 1900, have also 
escaped attention. Important bibliographic 
work is in progress in some of the state libra- 
ries. Wisconsin is preparing an index to its 



public documents. Indiana has classified and 
catalogued all the state documents in the 
library, and proposes to print these catalogues 
in the forthcoming report of the library. The 
New York State Library has almost completed 
an index of New York Senate and Assembly 
documents, which they hope to publish soon, 
probably within the next year. To render 
more available the material contained in the 
governors' messages of the various states, it 
has analyzed and classified messages of 1902 
so that the recommendations on any particular 
subject may be consulted easily. In the fall it 
will publish a brief topical digest of these mes- 
sages. 

During 1901 more than 40 new state boards 
and offices were created. A number of old 
boards were reorganized under new names and 
several were abolished. Besides these, various 
new state institutions were created. These 
numerous creations, changes of name, and con- 
solidations make the task of the librarian who 
attempts to keep a complete file of state docu- 
ments extremely difficult. The "Annual sum- 
mary and index of state legislation " will be 
altered to show in concise form the annual 
changes in state boards and officers. 

The reports of special investigating commis- 
sions are usually the most valuable and most 
difficult to obtain of the state documents. After 
two or three years it is almost impossible to 
secure one of these special reports. To enable 
librarians to better keep track of them as they 
are issued, it is proposed to include in the sum- 
mary and index of legislation a list of special 
investigations ordered each year. 

ARCHIVES. 

Considerable progress is being made in pre- 
serving and making available the early archives 
of the various states. Connecticut has made 
provision for editing and printing the state 
archives from 1780-1788. In the Virginia State 
Library there is a large collection of valuable 
unpublished manuscripts which is now being 
arranged and catalogued. The librarian ex- 
presses the hope that before long at least the 
more important material may be published. In 
the last report of the American Historical As- 
sociation Professor Osgood has published an 
important report on the archives of New York 



9 6 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



state. The publication by Mr. Ford, of the 
Massachusetts House Journal of 1715, is an- 
other evidence of the same interest. 

The committee notes with pleasure the 
appearance of the first part of Miss Hasse's 
book upon the cataloguing of public documents, 
which will undoubtedly increase the interest in 
public documents in the libraries generally. 
The inclusion of a course in the care and treat- 
ment of public documents in the summer course 
of the Wisconsin Library Commission is further 
evidence of a gratifying increase of interest in 
documents. 

In conclusion your committee desires to sub- 
mit the following resolutions : 

Resolved, That the American Library Asso- 
ciation respectfully urge upon the House of Rep- 
resentatives the early consideration and passage 
of Senate Bill 4261 relating to the distribution 
of public documents. The libraries of the 
country are vitally interested in the success of 
this measure which would greatly increase the 
use of the official publications of the United 
States in libraries, and enable them to give 
a more efficient public service. 

Resolved, That the president of this Associa- 
tion be authorized to communicate with the 
Public Printer and the Joint Committee on 
Printing of Congress, calling attention to the 
desirability of a return to old customs in the 
issue of public documents respecting 

1. The printing of document number on 
every page of numbered documents. 

2. The lettering of the bound volumes of the 
Congressional Record in such manner as to 
show the dates covered by the contents of the 
same. 

Resolved, That the president of this As- 
sociation be authorized to communicate with 
the Joint Committee on Printing of Congress, 
urging a more copious Index to the Congres- 
sional Record. Without omitting any features 
of the present Index, this Association deems 
it highly desirable that the scope of the Index 
be so enlarged as to include references 
to the subject of debates, in addition to the 
record of bills, resolutions, and other formal 
titles under which debate arises. 

The bill (S. 4261) for a better distribution 
of documents to libraries, previously referred 
to, is as follows : 



A BILL 

To provide for printing, and binding in cloth, addi- 
tional copies of the first edition of government docu- 
ments and publications for distribution to the 
designated depository libraries in lieu of the sheep- 
bound copies of the document edition, so called, now 
supplied to said libraries. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives of ike United States of America in Congress as- 
sembled, That whenever any annual report, serial, 
periodical, or miscellaneous publication of an executive 
department, bureau, board, commission, or office of the 
government shall be ordered printed upon the requisition 
of the head thereof, or upon the order of Congress or 
either House thereof, the public printer shall print six 
hundred copies in addition to the number named in the 
requisition or order of Congress, unless previously 
ordered, to be known as the " library edition," for distri- 
bution by the superintendent of documents to state and 
territorial libraries and designated depositories ; provided, 
that this Act shall not apply to confidential matter, blank 
forms, or circular letters. 

SECTION 2. That Congressional numbers shall not be 
printed upon any of the documents or reports provided 
for distribution to state and territorial libraries and 
designated depositories under the provisions of section 
one of this Act. 

SECT. 3. That in binding the library edition the best 
grades of cloth shall be used, and the public printer shall, 
as far as practicable, assign a distinctive color to the 
binding of the publications of each department and office, 
and when a color has been assigned the same shall not 
be changed; and, to insure prompt delivery, the public 
printer shall give precedence in binding to documents 
intended for distribution to libraries and depositories. 

SECT. 4. That whenever any printing shall be done 
upon the order of Congress or either House thereof, or 
upon the requisition of the head of an executive depart- 
ment, bureau, board, commission, office, or Congressional 
committee, except matter marked confidential, blank 
forms, and circular letters, two copies shall be sent, as 
soon as printed, by the public printer, if printed at the 
Government Printing Office or any branch thereof, or by 
the head of the office upon whose order the same was 
printed if printed elsewhere, to the superintendent of 
documents for entry in the monthly catalogue; and 
whenever the injunction of secrecy has been removed 
from any document printed as confidential, two copies of 
the same shall be sent by the proper official to the super- 
intendent of documents. 

SECT. 5. That beginning with the first session of the 
Fifty-eighth Congress, the public printer shall deliver to 
the superintendent of documents for distribution to state 
and territorial libraries and designated depositories, 
bound, of House documents and reports and of Senate 
documents and reports, except those included in the 
library edition, each six hundred copies. 

SECT. 6. That all laws in conflict with the provisions 
of this Act are hereby repealed. 



COLE. 



97 



REPORT ON GIFTS AND BEQUESTS TO AMERICAN LIBRARIES, 1901-1902. 

BY GEORGE WATSON COLE. 



THE period covered by this report is from 
July I, 1901, to June i, 1902, or eleven months. 
As a rule it includes single gifts of $500 or 
more in money, as well as those of 250 vol- 
umes and over. Other noteworthy gifts, not 
strictly falling within these limits, have been 
included, together with some that have hith- 
erto escaped notice in these reports. 

The total number here recorded is 721, rep- 
resenting a money value of $11,974,298.54, of 
which $2,705,247,91 was donated for endow- 
ments, running expenses, etc., and the re- 
maining $9,269,050.63 for the erection of 
library buildings, sites, etc. Of this latter 
amount $7,604,000 was contributed by An- 
drew Carnegie to 234 libraries, 214 of which 
are in this country and to which he has given 
$6,359,000. In addition to this sum for the 
erection of buildings, gifts have been made of 
23 buildings and 27 sites upon which no valu- 
ation has been placed. To complete this sur- 
vey we must also take into account 177,669 
volumes and 97,016 pamphlets (some of great 
value) which have been presented to various 
institutions throughout the land, as well as 
gifts of a special character, as works of 
art, museum specimens, etc. 

If the total number exceeds that recorded 
in my former report, which covered a period 
of thirteen months, it is probably due to the 
fact that a more careful examination has been 
made of the library periodicals of the interval 
covered viz., the Library Journal, Public 
Libraries and Public Library Bulletin, from 
which much of the information herein con- 
tained has been gathered. A more extended 
application for information has also been 
made to the libraries themselves. Their num- 
ber, however, is so large that it has been 
found impracticable to reach them all, espe- 
cially the smaller ones, by personal corre- 
spondence. In order, therefore, to secure the 
fullest information possible from sources other 
than those already named the library com- 
missions of each state, so far as they exist, 
were, as last year, asked to contribute infor- 



mation concerning the gifts made in each ot 
their states. 

I was much surprised to learn that 
most of the state commissioners do not 
attempt to keep a systematic record of the 
gifts made within their respective jurisdic 
tions. It would seem that nothing could do 
more to stimulate a liberal spirit towards 
libraries than by carefully keeping such a 
record and giving it as great publicity as 
possible. Nothing could be better adapted to 
excite a noble emulation among those inter- 
ested in libraries to contribute of their means 
for the establishment and support of these 
universities of the people. If some states, 
therefore, appear in this report to have re- 
ceived more than their proportional share of 
donations, it is largely due, no doubt, to the 
fact that the library commissions in those 
states have been more alive to the advantages 
to be derived from keeping the people fully 
informed as to what is being done toward 
the founding and maintenance of libraries. 

The thanks of the compiler are extended 
to all who have assisted him by furnishing 
any portion, however small, of the informa- 
tion embodied in the list which follows. 

It will be noticed that while there are a 
greater number of individual gifts in this 
year's report, the average amount, as well as 
the grand total, is considerably below that of 
last year. This may be accounted for, in part, 
by the change of policy adopted by the chief 
donor to American libraries, Mr. Andrew 
Carnegie. Last year's report contained the 
announcement of his gifts to the largest cities 
in the country, in amounts which from the 
very nature of the case can never be repeated. 
And just here it may be said that the zeal of 
the reporter carried him so far as to include 
two or three of these gifts, which were an- 
nounced between the Waukesha Conference 
and the appearance of the Conference number 
ot the Library Journal, which, strictly speak- 
ing, should have appeared in the present report. 

Mr. Carnegie's change of policy, to which 



9 8 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



reference has just been made, consists in giv- 
ing amounts much smaller in size than for- 
merly, thereby increasing the number of re- 
cipients. Last year's report contained 121 of 
his gifts, of which 112 were in the United 
States. This year he gives 234, of which 214 
are in this country. Last year, his largest 
gift of $5,200,000, was made to New York 
City. In four other gifts he gave a sum of 
$3,500,000. Last year his gifts averaged a 
little over $114,000 each, while this year the 
average is only about $29,650. Until recently 
Mr. Carnegie has issued no authorized state- 
ment of his benevolences. Just before leav- 
ing for Europe this spring he gave out a re- 
vised list which was reprinted in the Chicago 
Tribune for May 4th. In this list are included 
gifts to 368 cities and towns for free public 
libraries. These contributions have covered a 
period of more than a decade, though in in- 
creasing numbers year by year. 

It is safe to say that not one of his gifts 
will have so far-reaching an influence for 
good as that of $100,000 to the Publishing 
Section of the American Library Association, 
announced in the president's address at the 
Magnolia Conference. By means of this timely 
gift the Publishing Section of this Association 
will be enabled to publish several important 
works which it has had in preparation for 
some time past and to enlarge its plans, which 
have hitherto unfortunately been hampered 
from lack of funds. 

Several gifts mentioned in the following 
list call for special mention. Among the 
most important is that of the Duncan Camp- 
bell Memorial collection, received by the New 
York State Library from the executors of 
Miss Ellen Campbell. This collection is es- 
pecially rich in old and rare printed volumes 
and manuscripts, including, as it does, 45 
incunabula and 19 mediaeval manuscripts. 
The whole forms one of the most important 
collections ever received by this library. 

The Library of Columbia University, 
through the generosity of Mr. William C. 
Schermerhorn, has come into the possession 
of the DeWitt Clinton collection of about 
noo letters, consisting of about 9000 pages, 
addressed to him by many of the most im- 
portant authors, statesmen, and other notable 
persons of the first quarter of the last cen- 



tury. This collection will prove of great 
value to the historical student of that period. 

The library of Brown University has also 
acquired a valuable collection of 5000 ms. 
pieces, consisting mainly of the correspon- 
dence of the diplomatist, Jonathan Russell 
(Brown, 1791), United States minister to 
Norway and Sweden and one of the five 
ccmmissioners who negotiated the Treaty of 
Ghent. It has also received a smaller but 
very valuable collection of letters and papers 
of Henry Wheaton (Brown, 1802), the cele- 
brated writer on international law. 

It is a noticeable fact that libraries are 
more and more beginning to receive collec- 
tions, which until of late were supposed to 
belong more properly to museums than to 
libraries. The relationship existing between 
libraries and museums has always been closer 
in England than with us, and it is a some- 
what curious fact that the first of the British 
municipal libraries, that at Warrington, was 
established under the Museums Act of 1848, 
two years before Ewart's Act was passed 
for the establishment of public libraries. 

I hasten rapidly over some of the most im- 
portant of these gifts. Those of about 3000 
prints to the New York Public Library and 
an equal number of photographs and repro- 
ductions of noted paintings to the library of 
Plymouth, Mass., fall more properly within 
the true functions of a library. From these 
to 2139 medical medals presented to the Bos- 
ton Medical Library and a collection of over 
5000 butterflies, valued at over $10,000, given 
to the Public Library in Plainfield, N. J., is a 
greater step toward the museum idea. 

We learn with great pleasure that two of 
our university libraries have received speci- 
mens of literature dating back to most an- 
cient times. Princeton University Library 
has received 95 Babylonian cylinders and 
cone-shaped seals and 400 clay tablets, while 
the library of Haverford College has received 
400 cuneiform clay tablets from Babylonia, 
all in the Assyrian language, and of an aver- 
age date of 2500 B.C. 

Time and space fail us to comment farther 
upon the gifts enumerated in the following 
list. We leave to each reader the pleasure 
of finding in it such as from their character 
or locality are of especial interest to him. 



COLE. 



99 



AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. 

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ; Publishing 
Section. $100,000, June 17, 1902, the income 
only to be expended in the preparation, and 
publication of reading lists, indexes and 
other bibliographical and literary aids es- 
pecially adapted to free public circulating 
libraries, from Andrew Carnegie. 

CALIFORNIA. 

ALAMEDA. Public Library. $35,000, July 10, 
1901, for building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Increased from $10,000 previously offered. 
City council has voted to appropriate not 
less than $7000 yearly for its maintenance. 

BERKELEY. University of California. $2000, 
for law books, from Mrs. Jane Krom 
Sather. 

$2000, for books on architecture, from Mrs. 
Phcebe A. Hearst. $3000 promised for next 
year. 

$500 (annually), for books on mechanics 
and electricity, from Mrs. Andrew S. Hal- 
lidie. 

About 2000 volumes and 2000 pamphlets, 
being scientific and geological library of the 
late Dr. Joseph Le Conte, including many 
presentation copies, with autographs of au- 
thors, from Mrs. Joseph Le Conte. 

250 volumes on viticulture and viniculture, 
from the California Wine Makers' Corpora- 
tion. This probably makes the university's 
collection upon this subject the most com- 
plete in the United States. 

Los GATOS. Public Library. $10,000, Oct. 20, 

1901, for building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
PASADENA. Public Library. 600 or 700 vol- 
umes, from the estate of Mrs. E. F. Bowler, 
as a memorial to her. 

POMONA. Public Library. $15,000, Feb. 17, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
RIVERSIDE. Public Library. $20,000, Sept. 2, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

SAN BERNARDINO. Public Library. $15,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

SAN FRANCISCO. Public Library. $750,000, 
July 5, 1901, for buildings, from Andrew 
Carnegie. Accepted July 15. Mr. Carnegie 
recommends that about one-half of the 
amount should be expended on a central li- 
brary building and the rest on branches. 

$25,000, April 10, 1902, for a branch library, 
from Andrew B. McCreery. 

3200 volumes and pamphlets, from William 
Emmette Coleman. 

SANTA CRUZ. Public Library. $5000 addi- 
tional, April 15, 1 002, for building, making 
a total of $20,000. from Andrew Carnegie. 

SANTA ROSA. Public Library. $20,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

STANFORD UNIVERSITY. Stanford University 
Law Department. About 500 volumes, pri- 



vate library of the late Judge Sawyer, of 
the U. S. Circuit Court, from his sons. 

COLORADO. 

CANON CITY. Public Library. $10,000, Dec. 
17, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. A site has been secured. The city 
already appropriates $1100, and $600 is 
added from private subscription. 

DENVER. Public Library. $200,000, March 13, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carne- 
gie, provided that an annual maintenance 
of $30,000 be guaranteed. 

GEORGETOWN. Public Library. $10,000, March 
7, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

LEADVILLE. Public Library. $100,000, July 12, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie, 
provided the city furnish $2000 (?) a year 
for its maintenance. 

PUEBLO. Public Library. $60,000, Feb. 14, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Accepted. 

CONNECTICUT. 

BLOOMFIELD. Public Library. Bequest of 
$15,255.85, for a library fund, from Levi 
Prosser, of Boston, Mass., on condition that 
town provide a suitable room. A building 
is being erected for library purposes. 

DURHAM. Public Library. Site and $4000, 
towards a library, name of donor not stated. 

FAIRFIELD. Fire Department Library. 1200 
volumes, as a nucleus for a library, from 
the Mill Plain Circulating Library. 

Public Library. $30,000, for a new me- 
morial library, raised by popular subscrip- 
tion. 

GREENWICH. Havemeyer School Library. 

2000 volumes, from Henry O. Havemeyer. 
HARTFORD. Case Memorial Library. $1000, 

for the purchase of periodicals, from Mrs. 

Charles B. Smith. 

About 600 volumes, from the library of the 
late Rev. A. C. Thompson, D.D., of Bos- 
ton. 

315 volumes, from Mrs. M. D. Thompson. 

Public Library. Bequest of $5000, from 
Mrs. Martha Wood Brown, several years 
since (corrected report of last year). 

Trinity College Library. One of the finest 
of existing copies of Audubon's "Birds of 
America," value not stated, from Dr. Gur- 
don W. Russell, of the class of 1834. 

LITCHFIELD. Noyes Memorial Library. New 
library building, costing about $20,000, as a 
memorial to Mrs. William Curtiss Noyes, 
from her grandson. Dedicated July 5, 1901, 
and is also used as the headquarters of the 
Litchfield Historical Society. 

MERIDEN. Curtis Memorial Library. New li- 
brary building, from Mrs. Augusta M. Cur- 



100 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



tis, as a memorial to her husband and 
daughter. Corner-stone laid Sept. 28, 1901. 

Free Public Library. $4115, from public 
contributions and subscriptions, including 
$1000 each from George A. Fay, Francis At- 
water, J. D. Billiard, and Mrs. E. H. White. 

MIDDLETOWN. Wesleyan University Library. 
Bequest of $20,000, as an endowment fund, 
from Mrs. (Stephen) Harriet Hoxie Wil- 
cox, of Brooklyn, N. Y., who died Aug. 21, 
1901. By the terms of the will the execu- 
tors have 10 years in which to settle the es- 
tate, but interest at the rate of four per 
cent, is to be paid after two years. 

$5018, June 24, 1901, to April 15, 1902, to 
the Alumni Library Endowment Fund, from 
subscriptions. The fund now exceeds $35,- 
ooo. 

418 bound volumes, from library of the late 
Rev. Joseph Pullman, class of '63, from 
Mrs. M. E. Pullman, of Stamford, Conn. 

NEW HAVEN. Yale University Library. Be- 
quest, as residuary legatee, expected to 
amount to $150,000; one-half of the income 
to be devoted to purchase of Belles-lettres, 
the rest to the general purposes of the li- 
brary, from Edward W. Southworth, of 
New York City. (Yale, '75.) 

$1200, divided among six of the seminary 
libraries of the university, from George E. 
Dimock, of Elizabeth, N. J. 

$900, expended by donor's wish for addi- 
tions to music department, from an anony- 
mous friend. 

$250, from ex-President D. C. Gilman, of 
Johns Hopkins University. 

Young Men's Christian Association Li- 
brary. $10,000. for library purposes, and in 
addition the income of $5000, the principal 
to go to the library on the death of the 
donor, Mrs. Hoadley B. Ives. 

NORWALK. Public Library. $20,000, Aug. 30, 
1001, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Gift of a central corner at Mott and Bel- 
den avenues, site for the new Carnegie Li- 
brary building, valued at $19,000, Dec. 5, 
1901, from Hubert E. Bishop. Mr. Car- 
negie's offer of $20,000, not $50,000, as pre- 
viously reported, was accepted at a special 
city election held Sept. 20, 1901. 

NORWICH. Otis Library. Bequest of $3000, 
without conditions, from Miss Elizabeth B. 
Woodhull, who died in February, 1902. 

WATERBURY. Silas Branson Library. Gift of 
several handsome mahogany cases, to hold 
the library's collection of Indian relics, 
from an anonymous donor. 

WOODBURY. Public Library. Gift of the prop- 
erty known as the Parker Academy, value 
not stated, and $5000, Jan. 3, 1902, from 
Edward Boyd. 

DELAWARE. 

DOVER. Free Library. $2200, as an endow- 
ment fund, raised by Mrs. Priscilla H. 



Richardson and members of the Century 
Club Committee. 

$1000 from Manlove Hayes. 
WILMINGTON. Wilmington Institute Free Li- 
brary. $781.61, from a friend. 

$291, from Joseph Bancroft Sons Co. 

Several portraits and photographs, of Del- 
aware jurists, etc., from W. F. Smalley, 
Howard Pyle, and others. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

WASHINGTON. Catholic University. Bequest 
of $50,000, for a library, from Mrs. Sarah 
Ferris Devlin, of Boston, Mass. 

'Library of Congress. 222 volumes and 182 
pamphlets; mostly works of, and relating 
to Dante, from Theodore W. Koch, of 
Philadelphia. 

133 volumes and 3302 pamphlets, of 
Chinese works, from William Woodville 
Rqckhill. 

Riggs Memorial Library of Georgetown 
University. Art books, valued at $1000, 
from various sources. 

FLORIDA. 

JACKSONVILLE. Public Library. $50,000, Feb. 
13, 1902, for building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. It is planned to transfer the prop- 
erty of the local library association, valued 
at $6000, to the new library organization. 

PENSACOLA. Public Library. $15,000, Aug. 
16, 1901, for building, from Andrew Car- 
negie ; legislation has been procured author- 
izing the city to levy a tax for the support 
of the library and to authorize it to enter 
into an obligation to support it. 

TAMPA. Public Library. $25,000, Jan. 16, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

GEORGIA. 

ATHENS. State Normal School Library. Li- 
brary of over 4000 volumes, from faculty, 
students, and townspeople. 

University of Georgia Library. $50,000, 
from George Peabody. 

ATLANTA. Carnegie Library. 309 volumes, 
from T. H. Martin. 

Six books from the Roycroft publications, 
from Elbert Hubbard, of Aurora, N. Y. 

Bust of Andrew Carnegie, made by Chev- 
alier Trentanove, costing $900, from the 
school children of Atlanta. 

COLUMBUS. 'Public Library. $25,000, April 
28, 1902, for building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

$5000, for a site for the new Carnegie li- 
brary building, from George Peabody. 

MACON. Public Library. $20,000, June 18, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
NEWNAN. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. i, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Accepted Jan. 21. 

QUITMAN. Brooks Library. Bequest of 
$1000, from J. L. Cutler, of Boston. 



COLE. 



101 



IDAHO. 
Moscow. Free Library. $700, to help start 

a library, raised by popular subscription. 
POCATELLO. Public Library. Over looo vol- 
umes, from Miss Helen Miller Gould. 
ILLINOIS. 

BLOOMINGTON. Public Library. $15,000, for 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

BLUE ISLAND. Public Library. $15,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

CARROLLTON. Public Library. $10,000, Oct. 
18, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

CHARLESTON. Public Library. $18,000, Oct. 
30, 1901 (accepted), for a building, from 
Andrew Carnegie, a yearly maintenance of 
$1900 required. 

CHICAGO. John Crerar Library. Bequest of 
$1000, the income will be devoted to the 
purchase of books on international law, 
from Huntington Wolcott Jackson. Re- 
ceived, January, 1002. 

McCormick Theological Seminary Library. 
$15,000, for immediate purchase of books, 
from Stanley McCormick. 

The Newberry Library. Gift of the Deane 
Collection, consisting of 1500 volumes and 
189 pamphlets, from Dr. N. Senn. 

-"535 volumes of newspapers, Sept. 6, 1901, 
principally files of local German news- 
papers, from Illinois Staats Zeitung Pub- 
lishing Company. 

369 volumes of newspapers, Dec. n, 1901, 
the greater part being a file of the Chicago 
Daily News, from Victor Fremont Lawson. 

Public Library. About $150,000, for a pub- 
lic library building at Hyde Park, to be 
known as the "T. B. Blackstone Memorial 
Branch Library," from Mrs. T. B. Black- 
stone. The gift has been accepted, and the 
library will be erected at Kenwood, Wash- 
ington avenue and 49th street. 

Bequest of $1000, income to be used to 
purchase books for the blind, from Hunt- 
ington W. Jackson. This bequest was left 
to the "Society for Home Reading for the 
Blind," now disbanded, but may eventually 
find its way to the Public Library. 

University of Chicago Library. A new 
building, to cost $150,000, for a temporary 
home of the library, from John D. Rocke- 
feller. 

CHICAGO HEIGHTS. Public Library. $10,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

DANVILLE. Public Library. $40,000, Dec. 26, 
IQOI, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. Accepted Dec. 28, 1901. 

EVANSTON. Free Public Library. New li- 
brary building, to cost $100,000 (offered), 
by Charles F. Gray, upon condition that "an 
acceptable site be secured." 

Gift (pledged), by popular subscription, of 



about one-third the amount required for 
"an acceptable site" for the new library 
building, offered by Charles F. Grey. 
Among the contributors are William Deer- 
ing and Mayor James A. Patten, who give 
$5000 each. 

$1000, towards fund for purchase of a site 
for a new library building, from William 
L. Brown. Total subscription, $12,000. 

Northwestern University Library. $543, as 
a fund for the increase of the library, the 
principal to remain intact, from the class of 
1895, the fund to be known by the class 
name. 

HAWTHORN. Y. M. C. A. Railroad Library. 
$500, to equip a library, from Mrs. Julia E. 
Rosenfield. 

JERSEYVILLE. Public Library. $10,000, April 
14, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

MATTOON. Public Library. $20,000, July 15, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

MOLINE. Morris Rosenfield Memorial Li- 
brary. $500, for a Railroad Young Men's 
Christian Association Library, from Mrs. 
Julia E. Rosenfield, of Rock Island. 

Public Library. $37,000, Aug. 30, 1901, for 
a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

$10,000, for purchase of site for Carnegie 
library building, from the citizens of Mo- 
line. 

OAK PARK. Scoville Institute Library. $500. 

Name of donor not stated. 
PARIS. Public Library. $18,000, March 13, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
PEKIN. Public Library. $5000, Dec. 18, 1901, 

for a building, in addition to a former gift 
of $10,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Site, value not stated, for the new Car- 
negie building, from George Herget and his 
wife. 

ROCKFORD. Public Library. Several hundred 
volumes, constituting the library of the late 
A. M. Potter. 

INDIANA. 

ALEXANDRIA. Public Library. $800, for an 
endowment, from an unnamed donor. 

BEDFORD. Public Library. $15,000, Jan. 12, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Site secured Jan. 29, 1902, and on April 10, 
1902, $5000 additional, making a total of 
$20,000. 

BLOOMINGTON. Public Library. $15,000, Dec. 
24, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

BRAZIL. Public Library. $20,000, March 13, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

CARTHAGE. Public Library. $2000 from the 
children of Henry Henley, and $1000 by 
popular subscription toward a new library 
building, dedicated June 6, 1902. 

COLUMBUS. Public Library. $15,000, Jan. 3, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
A site was secured on Jan. 29. 



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MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



DANVILLE. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

ELK HART. Carnegie Library. $5000, Dec. 16, 
1001, to render building more nearly fire- 
proof, in addition to a former gift of $30,- 
ooo, from Andrew Carnegie. 

ELWOOD. Public Library. $25,000, Oct. 18, 

1901, for building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Accepted Dec. 2. 

GOSHEN. Public Library. $10,000, for a build- 
ing, in addition to previous offer of $15,000, 
making a total of $25,000, from Andrew 
Carnegie. Offer increased at the request of 
the citizens, the conditions of the first gift 
remaining unchanged. 

GREENCASTLE. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 
22, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

$5000 additional, March 18, 1902. making 
total gift $15,000, for building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

GREENSBURG. Public Library. $15,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

HARTFORD CITY. Public Library. $15,000, for 
a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

HUNTINGTON. Public Library. $25,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. The 
usual conditions have already been met. 

INDIANAPOLIS. Butler College Library. $20,- 
ooo, Nov. 6, 1902, for a building, in addition 
to former gift of a site and $10,000, as a 
memorial to their daughter, from Mr. and 
Mrs. Edward C. Thompson, of Irvington. 
The library will be known as the "Bona 
Thompson Library." 

KOKOMO. Public Library. $25,000, Feb. 28, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
This gift has been accepted. 

LOGANSPORT. Public Library. $25,000, April 
26, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

MICHIGAN CITY. Public Library. $2500, from 
Mrs. F. C. Austin, of Chicago. 

NEW ALBANY. Public Library. $35,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

TIPTON. Public Library. $10,000, March 13, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

WABASH. Public Library. $5000 additional, 
April 30, 1902, for a building, making a to- 
tal of $10,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

WASHINGTON. Public Library. $5000, Aug. 
II, IQOI, for a building, in addition to for- 
mer gift of $20,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 
The building is in process of construction. 

Block of land in the heart of the city, valued 
at $5000, for a site for the new Carnegie 
library building and for a park, by Joseph 
Cabel. 

IOWA. 

ALGONA. Public Library. $1000, from George 
W. Schee, of Primghar. Mr. Schee has 



also given $1000 for school libraries in Palo 
Alto county. 

ANAMOSA. Public Library. $10,000, for a 
building, raised by popular subscription. 

ATLANTIC. Public Library. $12,500, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

CEDAR FALLS. Public Library. $15,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

Site for a library building, amount not 
stated, raised by popular subscription. 

CEDAR RAPIDS. Free Public Library. $25,000 
additional to previous offer of $50,000, for 
building, from Andrew Carnegie, provided 
the site of May's Island can be made prac- 
ticable. 

CLINTON. Public Library. $30,000, Sept. 8, 

1901, for building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Accepted March 31, 1902. 

Site for a library building, amount not 
stated, raised by popular subscription. 

DAVENPORT. Free Public Library. $5342, 
from Frederick Weyerhaeuser. Acknowl- 
edged Dec. 3, 1901. 

1500 volumes, from Mrs. W. D. Putnam. 

DENISON. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

DES MOINES. $800, for a library for the U. S. 
cruiser Des Moines, from the citizens of 
Des Moines. 

DUBUQUE. Free Library. $10,000, Jan. 2, 

1902, for a building, in addition to a former 
gift of $50,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Site, value not stated, for the new Carnegie 
library building, from Frank D. Stout. 

EAGLE GROVE. Public Library. $10,000, May 
i, 1002, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

ELDORA. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 2, 1902, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. Ac- 
cepted. 

ESTHERVILLE. Public Library. $10,000, March 
22, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

FAYETTE. Henderson Library. $5000, from 
ex-Governor Larrabee. 

GRINNELL. Iowa College Library. $3000, for 
the J. M. Chamberlain Memorial Fund, 
from graduates and friends of the college, 
the largest single gift being $500. 

$1000, for a book fund, from Prof. Leon- 
ard Fletcher Parker. 

HAMPTON. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

HAWARDEN. Public Library. $5000, Oct. i, 
IQOI, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie, 
the $400 yearly guarantee required pre- 
viously having been secured through tax 
levy, by a popular vote. 

$500, for a site for the new Carnegie build- 



COLE. 



103 



ing, from President Watkins, of the First 
National Bank. 

$500, to beautify the library grounds, raised 
by popular subscription. 

HOLSTEIN. Public Library. $700 ; $500 raised 
by popular subscription, and $200 from 
George W. Schee, of Primghar. 

INDIANOLA. Simpson College Library. $1000, 
for a book fund, from Mrs. Stillman. 

IOWA CITY. Public Library. $25,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

LAKE CHARLES. Public Library. $10,000 
(offered Nov. 20, 1901), for a building, 
from Andrew Carnegie. 

MANCHESTER. Public Library. $10,000, April 
19, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

MAQUOKETA. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

MARSHALLTOWN. Public Library. $25,000, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. On 
April 28. 1902, $5000 additional, making a 
total of $30.000. 

MASON CITY. Public Library. $25,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

NEWTON. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 22, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Money for a site for a public library build- 
ing, amount not stated, raised by popular 
subscription. 

$1000, for a book fund, from Samuel Rich- 
ards. 

ONAWA. Public Library. Public library 
building on a lot 132 feet square, and $4000 
for books and furniture, from Judge Addi- 
son Oliver, on condition that the town pay 
$1000 yearly for its support. The gift has 
been accepted. 

OSKAI.OOSA. Public Library. $20,000, March 
13, 1002, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

POCAHONTAS Co. School Libraries. $1335.44 
and 4000 volumes, from teachers of the 
county. 

TIPTON. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 9, 1902, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

WASHINGTON. Public Library. $8000, for a 
building, from Mrs. Jane Chilcote. 

WATERLOO. Public Library. $30,000, April 16, 
1002, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

KANSAS. 

EMPORIA. Public Library. $20,000, May 2, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

FORT SCOTT. Public Library. $18,000, March 
22, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

HUTCHINSON. Public Library. $15,000, April 
8, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

KANSAS CITY. Public Library. $75,000, July 
16, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 



negie. Accepted Aug. 7. A site has al- 
ready been secured. 

NEWTON. Public Library. $10,000, March 13, 
1002, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

OTTAWA. Public Library. $15,000, Jan. 28, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

PAOLA. Public Library. Bequest of $10,000, 
for a building, from Mrs. Martha Smith, 
who died March 24, 1962. 

SAUNA. Public Library. $15,000, Feb. 25, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

STOCKTON. Library Association. Valuable 
collection of books, from Miss Helen Miller 
Gould. 

TOPEKA. Public Library. Bonds for $1800, 
which will give the library an income of 
$126 a year, from J. R. Mulvane, the money 
to be spent for new books, as a memorial 
to his wife, Harriet Newell (Freeman) Mul- 
vane, who died Aug. 20, 1901. 

Half-reclining statue of Pauline, sister of 
Napoleon I., as Venus, from Mr. and Mrs. 
Edward Wilder. 

Kansas Travelling Libraries Commission. 
250 volumes, from Mrs. Sara T. D. Robin- 
son, of Lawrence. 

WINFIELD. Public Library. $15,000, Feb. 18, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

KENTUCKY. 

COVINGTON. Carnegie Library. $35,000, July 

16, 1901, for the addition of an auditorium 
to the library building, an increase to the 
original gift of $40,000, making a total of 
$75,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

DANVILLE. Central University. $25,000, to- 
wards a new library building, from Thomas 
H. Swope, of Kansas City. 

$25,000, towards a new library building, 
from friends of the university. 

HENDERSON. Public Library. $25,000, July 
30, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. Accepted Aug. 16, 1901, provided 
that the next General Assembly pass an 
amendment to the charter giving the city 
the legal right to make the appropriation 
required for the maintenance of the library. 

HORSE CAVE. Horse Cave School. 500 se- 
lected volumes, valued at $1000, from Miss 
Helen Miller Gould, of New York City. 

LEXINGTON. Public Library. $50,000, Jan. 
20, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

LOUISVILLE. Public Library. $250,000, Jan. 

17, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. This is a renewal of an offer made 
two years ago, but never accepted, because 
of local differences between the city council 
and the Polytechnic Library directors. 

PADUCAH. Public Library. $35,000, Oct. 28, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
The city council has agreed to furnish the 
$3500 yearly appropriation required. 



104 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



LOUISIANA. 

LAKE CHARLES. Public Library. $10,000, for 
a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Site for the new Carnegie library building, 
from the North American Land and Timber 
Company. 

NEW ORLEANS. Fisk Free and Public Library. 
260 valuable French books, from a Louis- 
ianian, who has preserved his anonymity. 

MAINE. 

AUGUSTA. Lithgow Library. Bequest of 
$1000, from J. L. Cutler, of Boston. 

BANGOR. Public Library. Bequest of $4000, 
to be used for the purchase of books, prob- 
ably for the reference department, from 
Mrs. Grace D. Patten, who died Nov. 15, 
1901. 

BIDDEFORD. Biddeford Library Association. 
$22,000, to rebuild and stock the library, 
raised by popular subscription. The fol- 
lowing are among the largest contributors : 
Robert Me Arthur, $8176.24; James G. Gar- 
land, $1000; Mrs. Estelle M. Tatterson, 
Mrs. Margaret C. Luques, Charles H. Pres- 
cott, Jerry G. Shaw, James G. Garland, 
Robert Donaldson, James G. Brackett, 
Charles H. Goodwin and Benjamin F. Bry- 
ant, all of Biddeford, $500 each; Hon. 
George K. Dexter, of Boston, Mass., and 
Hon. George P. Wescott, of Portland, $500 
each. Donors of $1000 have the privilege of 
naming an alcove, and those of $500 may 
have a tablet placed upon the wall as a 
memorial to themselves or any one they 
may designate. 

Property of the Pavilion Church Society, 
value not stated, from Robert McArthur. 
The new library will be called the "McAr- 
thur Library." 

BRUNSWICK. Bowdoin College Library. Be- 
quest of $1000, from John L. Cutler, of 
Boston, Mass. 

looo volumes, from Charles W. Pickard, 
of Portland. 

BUCKFIELD. Zadoc Long Free Memorial Li- 
brary. Memorial library building, dedicated 
Aug. 17, 1901, from Hon. John D. Long, of 
Hingham, Mass., in memory of his father 
and mother. 

CHEBEAGUE. Public Library. New library 
building, cost not stated, from Mrs, Alice 
Frye, of Cambridge, Mass. 

FAIRFIELD. Lawrence Free Public Library. 
New library building, to cost $15,000, from 
Edward F. Lawrence. 

Site for a library building, value not stated, 
from Mrs. Louise E. Newhall. 

$1000, for the purchase of books, from Ed- 
ward F. Lawrence and Mrs. Louise E. New- 
hall. 

FARMINGTON. Public Library. Bequest of 

$1000, from John L. Cutler, of Boston. 
FREEPORT. B. H. Bartol Library. $1000, to- 



wards the erection of a new building, from 
Mrs. Brazier, of Philadelphia. 

LUBEC. Public Library. Site for a public li- 
brary building, value not given, from B. M 
Pike. 

ROCKLAND. Public Library. $20,000, April 
16, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

SACO. Thornton Academy Library. New li- 
brary building (to cost $25,000, plans ac- 
cepted Oct. 23, 1901), from Mrs. Annie C. 
Thornton, of Magnolia, Mass., and her 
daugher, Miss Mary C. Thornton. It will 
be called the Charles C. G. Thornton Me- 
morial Building. Accepted Oct. 23, 1902. 

SOUTH PARIS. Public Library. Bequest of 
$25,000, for a public library, from W. H. 
Parsons, of Brooklyn. 

WATERVILLE. Public Library. $20,000, April 
28, 1902, for building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

MARYLAND. 

CUMBERLAND. Public Library. $25,000 (de- 
clined May 20, 1901), for a building, from 
Andrew Carnegie. 

HAGERSTOWN. Washington County Free Li- 
brary. $10,875.63, for a public library build- 
ing, raised by popular subscription. The 
following contributed $500 or more each: 
E. W. Mealey, $3200; C. H. Carlile, $1500; 
Waldo Newcomer and sisters, $1000; Henry 
Steck, Mrs. William T. Hamilton, and Will- 
iam Updegraff, each $500. 

Building site, valued at $1500, from Ed- 
ward W. Mealey. 

1500 volumes, from Edward W. Mealey. 

500 volumes, from Edwin Bell. 

LAUREL. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 2, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
MASSACHUSETTS. 

AMHERST. Amherst College Library. Be- 
quest of $2000, to be expended for books, 
no restrictions, from Prof. Herbert B. 
Adams, class of 1872. 

Town Library. Bequest of certain prop- 
erty valued at $1500 or $2000, to the town 
of Amherst, on conditions which will prac- 
tically make it a gift to the Town Library, 
from Prof. Herbert Baxter Adams. 

ARLINGTON. Robbins Library. Marble statue, 
representing Nydia, the blind girl of Pom- 
peii, from Mrs. Samuel C. Bushnell. 

ATHOL. Public Library. $15,000, March 13, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

500 or 600 volumes, mostly fiction, from H. 
M. Humphrey. 

BELMONT. Public Library. Library building, 
expected to cost about $50,000, from Henry 
O. Underwood. 

BOLTON. Public Library. $10,000 for a build- 
ing( announced Nov. 5, 1901, and accepted), 
from Ann Eliza Whitney, of Lancaster, in 
the name of her deceased sister, Emma 
Whitney, the town to furnish a central site, 



COLE. 



105 



put in the foundations, place a memorial 
tablet in the building, and pay Miss Whit- 
ney the interest on $3000 during her life- 
time. 

BOSTON. Boston Medical Library. 2139 med- 
ical medals, from Dr. H. R. Storer, of New- 
port. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
290 volumes and pamphlets on botanical 
subjects, from the library of Waldo O. 
Ross, from Mrs. Ross. 

$500, for the purchase of books, from the 
Saturday Club, of Boston. 

Public Library. About 1000 volumes, from 
the executors of the estate of Mrs. Lydia 
Attwood. 

344 volumes, July 6, 1901, from Miss Helen 
C. McCleary. 

BRIDGEWATER. Public Library. $500, without 
restrictions, from Mrs. Sarah Alden. 

CAMBRIDGE. Harvard Union Library. 400 
volumes, from J. B. Gerrish, class of '71. 

Books, etc., from members and friends of 
the union. 

Harvard University Library. $2000, for 
books on the history of the Ottoman Em- 
pire, history of Poland, and other historical 
subjects, from Assistant Professor A. C. 
Coolidge. 

$800, for increase of the library of the De- 
partment of Education, through Mr. John 
F. Moors, from various subscribers. 

$500, in continuation of former gifts, for 
the purchase of Scandinavian books and 
books relating to Scandinavia, from Mrs. 
E. C. Hammer, of Boston. 

$500, for the purchase of books, from the 
Saturday Club, of Boston. 

373 volumes, forming an additional instal- 
ment of the Riaut library, from Assistant 
Professor Archibald Gary Coolidge. 

Collection of Slovak literature, collected in 
the summer of 1901, by Assistant Professor 
Wiener, numbering 123 volumes and 1567 
pamphlets, containing much folk-lore ma- 
terial, from Assistant Prof. A. C. Coolidge. 

CANTON. Public Library. $70,000, for a pub- 
lic library building, from Augustus Hemen- 
way. 

CHILMARK. Public Library. $600, $500 for a 
building fund and $100 for a lot, from the 
women of Chilmark. 

CONWAY. Field Memorial Library. $52,000, 
for an endowmunt fund, from Marshall 
Field, of Chicago, 111. The building and 
over 6000 volumes, costing more than $100,- 
ooo, were given in memory of Mr. Field's 
parents, John and Fidelia Nash Field. 
Opened to the public Nov. i, 1901. 

DALTON. Public Library. $500, from Zenas 
Crane. 

DRACUT. Public Library. 358 volumes, chiefly 
American history, and $125, as a memorial 
to the wife of Brig.-Gen. James Varnum, a 



Revolutionary soldier from Dracut, from 
The Molly Varnum Chapter, D. A. R. 

DUDLEY. Public Library. Library building, 
to be erected, value not stated, from Heze- 
kiah Conant, of Pawtucket, R. I. 

DUXBURY. Public Library. $10,000, for a 
building, from William J. Wright. 

FITCHBURG. Public Library. $10,000, from 
Hon. Rodney Wallace. 

GRANVILLE. Public Library. New building 
costing about $12,000, from citizens. Among 
the prominent donors are Hon. Milton B. 
Whitney, $5000; Francis Cooley, of Hart- 
ford, Conn, $1300; the balance through the 
efforts of Mrs. R. B. Cooley and other 
ladies. 

GREENVILLE. Ephraim Copeland Memorial 
Library. Bequest of about $2000, made 
available by decree of court Jan. 31, 1901, 
from Ephraim Copeland, who died about 
50 years ago. This will be practically a 
branch of the Leicester Free Public Li- 
brary. Dedicated Oct. 15, 1901. 

GROVELAND. Hale Library. 3500 volumes, 
from Mr. E. G. Hale, of Newburyport. 

HADLEY. Public Library. $4000, for a library 
building, from John Dwight, of New York, 
provided an equal amount be raised from 
other sources. 

HAMPTON FALLS. Public Library. New li- 
brary building, cost not given, from John 
T. Brown, of Newburyport. Opened to the 
public Aug. 30, 1901. 

HANOVER. John Curtis Free Library. $1000, 
originally given by John Barstow, of Prov- 
idence, as a fund to the Hanover Academy, 
now abandoned, from his daughters, Misses 
Lydia K. and Elizabeth T. Barstow, of 
Providence. 

HARDWICK. Paige Library. Bequest of books, 
maps, manuscripts, and residue of her es- 
tate, value not given, from Mrs. Ann Paige. 

HARVARD. Public Library. Bequest of two 
sums of $20,000 each, for the extension and 
maintenance of the library, from Warren 
Hapgood. of Boston, payable on the death 
of his wife, on condition that the town 
grant land adjoining the library and that 
the addition be known as the Hapgood 
Memorial. 

HINGHAM. Public Library. Bequest of $500, 
from Alfred Hersey. 

HOLLISTON. Public Library. Bequest of a 
plot of ground, for library purposes, value 
not given, from Mrs. Elizabeth S. Burnap. 

HOLYOKE. Public Library. $89,950, towards 
a public library building, raised by popular 
subscription and contributed funds. The 
completed building was turned over to the 
library authorities Jan. 18, 1902. Among 
the contributors were the following: Hon. 
William Whiting, $3000; an anonymous 
donor, $1000; Joseph Metcalf, George U. 



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MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



and W. A. Prentiss, Joseph A. Skinner, and 
James H. Newton, each $500. 

LITTLETON. Reuben Hoar Library. Bequest 
of $1000, to establish the Laws Fund, from 
Mrs. Henry (Laws) Henarie, of San Fran- 
cisco, Cal. 

LYNN. Public Library. Bequest of $10,000, 
for any use deemed advisable, from Walter 
Scott Dickson. 

LYNNFIELD. Public Library. Bequest of 
$1000, received March, 1901; $500 will be 
considered a perpetual fund and $500 de- 
voted to library needs, from George L. 
Hawks, of Wakefield. 

MALDEN. Public Library. $25,000, in 1901, 
towards the Converse Endowment Fund, 
from Elisha H. and Mary D. Converse, in 
addition to the gift of $125,000, previously 
reported. 

MANSFIELD. Public Library. Soldiers' Me- 
morial Library building, costing over $16,- 
ooo, of which amount $6500 was raised by 
popular subscription. Mrs. E. F. Noble 
gave site and $2500 and F. L. Cady $500. 

MARLBORO. Public Library. $30,000, April 29, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Bequest of $5000, from George N. Gate, 
to become available after the death of his 
widow. 

MATTAPOISETT. Public Library. $10,000, Feb. 
3, 1902, for a building, from George H. 
Purrington, Jr. The gift has been accepted 
and the town will furnish a site. 

MELROSE. Public Library. $25,000, Jan. 6, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
This gift has been accepted. 

MIDDLEBORO. Public Library. Bequest of 
$100,000; $50,000 for a public library build- 
ing and $50,000 for books and periodicals, 
from Thomas S. Pierce. 

NATICK. Morse Institute Library. Bequest 
of $5000, from John O. Wilson. 

NEWBURYPORT. Public Library. $5000, in ad- 
dition to a previous gift of $10,000, in- 
come to be used for support of reading- 
room, from William C. Todd. 

Bequest of $5000, from E. H. Stickney, of 
Chicago, 111. 

Bequest of $5000, from E. S. Moseley, in- 
stead of $3000, as reported last year. 

Bequest of $4000, from Abram Cutler, of 
Boston. The total of endowment funds is 
now as follows: for general purposes, $29,- 
ooo ; for purchase of books, $45,000 ; and for 
reading-room. $15,000. 

Portrait of Col. Samuel Swett, of Boston, 
by Gilbert Stuart, name of donor not stated. 

NEWTON. Public Library. Bequest of $1000, 
from Mrs. Elizabeth L. Rand, the income to 
be devoted to the purchase of books. 

Marble statue of Diana and pedestal, the 
work of G. M. Benzoni, from an anonymous 
friend. 

Newton Theological Seminary. Bequest of 



$5000, to be known as the Greene Me- 
morial Library Fund, the income to be spent 
for books, from Stephen Greene. Bequests 
of $2500, with similar conditions, are left 
to the American Baptist Missionary Union 
and to the American Baptist Home Mis- 
sionary Society. 

NORTHBOROUGH. Public Library. $500, for 
printing the library catalogue, from Cyrus 
Gale, the donor of the library building. 

PEPPERELL. Public Library. $100,000; $50,- 
ooo, for lot and building, $25,000 for furni- 
ture, books, etc., and $25,000 for an endow- 
ment fund; also his private library and art 
collections, value not stated, from the late 
Charles Farrar Lawrence, of New York 
City, who died May 12, 1897. 

PITTSFIELD. Public Library. $15,000, May 2, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

PLYMOUTH. Public Library. $750, towards 
purchase of a library site, from Nathaniel 
Morton. 

3000 photographs and reproductions of 
noted paintings, from Miss Mary G. Bart- 
lett. 

QUINCY. Thomas Crane Public Library. Site 
of the French homestead, adjoining the li- 
brary, by Albert Crane. The house will be 
removed and the grounds graded in connec- 
tion with the existing lawn. 

REVERE. Public Library. $20,000, Oct. 18, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

ROWE. Public Library. Bequest of $1000, as 
a permanent fund, from Mrs. Sarah R. 
Drury, of Troy, Ohio, to be known as "The 
Preserved Smith Library," in memory of 
her father. 

SALEM. Essex 1 Institute. Bequest of $10,000, 
the income to be expended for books on 
China and translations from the Chinese, 
from Miss Elizabeth C. Ward. 

Bequest of $3000, the income to be devoted 
to library purposes, from Miss Harriet Put- 
nam Fowler. 

SHREWSBURY. Public Library. Bequest of 
about $50,000, to be used in the erection of 
a library building, from Jubal Howe. 

SOMERVILLE. Public Library. Bequest of 
$2500, to be used for the purchase of music 
books, from Joseph F. Wilson. 

SOUTH WEYMOUTH. Fogg Memorial Library. 
$1000, for the purchase of reference books ; 
also a beautiful bronze tablet, in the refer- 
ence room, in memory of her husband, Gen. 
James Lawrence Bates, from Mrs. Mary J. 
Bates. 

SOUTHBRIDGE. Public Library. $20,000, March 
7, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. The town already appropriates $2800 
yearly for library maintenance. Declined 
April 25, 1902, for the later offer of Jacob 
Edwards. 

$50,000, for a building, and a site, value not 



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stated, from Jacob Edwards, of Boston, a 
native of Southbridge. 

SPRINGFIELD. City Library Association. $2100 
for purchase of the Brewer lot, raised by 
popular subscription through efforts of 
Nathan D. Bill. 

Bequest of $10,000, from Charles M. Kirk- 
ham. $5000 is to be devoted to the pur- 
chase of books and $5000 to beautifying the 
grounds. 

Valuable collection of paintings, Indian 
relics, etc., from estate of David A. Wells, 
of Norwich, Conn. 

SWANSEA. Public Library. Greater part of 
the library of the late Seth Brown, from 
George Brown, of Fall River. 

TAUNTON. Public Library. $60,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie, in addi- 
tion to offer with other prominent steel 
men, to erect at Taunton a $100,000 statue 
to the Leonard family, which founded the 
iron industry in America. 

TUFTS COLLEGE. Tufts College Library. 2000 
volumes of musical works, valued at about 
$2500, from Hon. Albert Metcalf. 

TYNGSBORO. Public Library. $1000, towards 
a new public library building, from Miss 
Mary E. Bennett, provided the town will 
raise $5000 additional for the purpose. 

TYRINGHAM. Public Library. Gift of $1000, 
towards a library building, raised by popu- 
lar subscription. 

WAKEFIELD. Beebe Town Library. Bequest 
of $2000, as an endowment fund, from 
Cyrus G. Beebe, a son of Lucius Beebe, in 
whose honor the library was named. 

WALPOLE. Public Library. $15,000, Aug. 5, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Site, value not stated, for the new Car- 
negie library building, from Charles S. Bird, 
of East Walpole. 

WATERTOWN. Free Public Library. $2750, 
for furnishing and refitting Pratt reading 
and reference rooms, from the estate of the 
late Charles Pratt, of Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Bequest of $1000, to establish Benjamin H. 
Pierce Fund, for purchase of books, from 
Benjamin H. Pierce. 

Money, to forward the furnishing of Hun- 
newell Hall, a reference reading room, 
raised by popular subscription. 

WELLESLEY. Public Library. Bequest of 
$1000. from Elizabeth Flagg. 

WEST FALMOUTH. West Falmouth Library. 
$600, to cancel note due from the associa- 
tion, from D. Wheeler Swift, of Worcester. 
Mr. Swift has given $2500 since 1896 to this 
library. 

WESTBORO. Public Library. Bequest of a 
large part of her estate, value not given, 
from Ellen E. Bixby. 

$500, for printing a catalogue, from Cyrus 
Gale. 

WESTFORD. J. V. Fletcher Library. Bequest 



of $900, to be known as the Laws Fund, 
from Mrs. Henry (Laws) Henarie, of San 
Francisco, Cal. This library has also been 
the recipient, during the past year, of a 
number of valuable paintings and other 
works of art, from several donors. 

WESTMINSTER. Forbush Memorial Library. 
Bequest of $50,000, for a library building as 
a memorial to the late Joseph W. Forbush, 
from Charles A. Forbush. 

Site for the new Forbush Memorial Li- 
brary building, raised by popular subscrip- 
tion, of which Alonzo Curtis contributed 
$500. 

WOBURN. Public Library. Bronze statue of 
Count Rumford. a replica of that at Munich, 
for the library grounds, value $7500, from 
Marshall Tidd. 

MICHIGAN. 

BENTON HARBOR. Public Library. $15,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

CHARLOTTE. Public Library. $10,000, March 

13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

DETROIT. Public Library. $750,000, July i, 

1901, for a central library and about five 
branches, from Andrew Carnegie, the city 
to furnish building sites and guarantee an 
annual maintenance of $75,000. Accepted 
July 9. Previously reported. Five branch 
libraries will be erected at once at a cost of 
$50,000 each. 

ESCANABA. Public Library. $20,000, May I, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
HILLSDALE. Hillsdale College Library. 500 

volumes of historical and geographical 
works, from W. E. Ambler and sons, of 
Cleveland, Ohio. 

IRON MOUNTAIN. Public Library. $2500, for 
a building, in addition to a former gift of 
$15,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

LANSING. Public Library. $35,000, Jan. 11, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

MOUNT CLEMENS. Public Library. $15,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

PETOSKEY. Public Library. $12,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

PORT HURON. Public Library. $40,000, Feb. 
6, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. Accepted Feb. 10, 1902. 

ST. JOSEPH. Public Library. $15,000, March 

14, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car 
negie. 

MINNESOTA. 

ALBERT LEA. Public Library. $12,000, April 

16, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

AUSTIN. Library Association. $12,000, Oct. 

17, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

CLOQUET. Public Library. Public library 
building, to cost $8000, raised by popular 



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MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



subscription. Among the largest donors are 
the Northern Lumber Co., $1500; the Cloquet 
Lumber Co., $1500, including six building 
lots valued at $500 ; the Johnson- Wentworth 
Lumber Co., $500; Mrs. George S. Shaw, 
$1000; and Mrs. J. E. Lynds, $500. $3000 
was raised by popular subscriptions of from 
$i to $100 each. 

CROOKSTON. Public Library. $1000, for li- 
brary purposes, raised by popular subscrip- 
tion. 

LITTLE FALLS. Public Library. $10,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

NORTHFIELD. St. Olaf College Library. New 
library building, to be erected, from Consul 
Halle Steensland, of Madison, Wis. 

RED WING. Public Library. $15,000, Dec. 
17, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. Accepted Jan. 4, 1902. 

Site, lot 96 x 120 feet, facing the public 
park, for new Carnegie library building, 
value not stated, from James L. Lawther, 
in memory of his son. 

SLEEPY EYE. Dyckman Free Library. $2000, 
above former report, towards a public li- 
brary building, from F. H. Dyckman, of 
Orange. N. J. 

$1500, for a purchase fund for books, raised 
by popular subscription. 

STILLWATER. Public Library. $25,000, July 
16, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

WINONA. Free Public Library. Library 
building, cost, including equipment, etc., 
$50,000, from William Harris Laird. Pre- 
sented to the city Jan. 21, 1899, previously 
unreported. 

MISSOURI. 

COLUMBIA. State Historical Society of Mis- 
souri Library. Gift of the Sampson col- 
lection numbering 1886 volumes and 14,280 
pamphlets relating to Missouri and the 
Mississippi Valley, the result of thirty-three 
years of collecting, from F. A. Sampson, 
of Sedalia. 

: 343 volumes, 3678 pamphlets, and 125 
charts, from the Sedalia Natural History 
Society. 

Gift of a Masonic library of 300 volumes, 
from the Sedalia Masonic Lodge, No. 236. 
The Society's collections, consisting mainly 
of the three gifts just named are popularly 
estimated to be worth $25,000. 

JOPLIN. Public Library. $40,000, Aug. 7, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

KANSAS CITY. Public Library. Nelson Gal- 
lery of Art, valued at $7500, housed in the 
library building, from William Rockhill 
Nelson. 

ST. JOSEPH. Public Library. About $1000, 
raised by popular subscription, through ef- 
forts of three women's clubs. 

1000 volumes, from Captain Albert Head. 



SEDALIA. Carnegie Library. More than 100 
framed photographs of European art and 
scenes, from Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Cotton. 

SOUTH ST. JOSEPH. Free Public Library. 
Site for new Carnegie library building, 
value not stated branch of St. Joseph 
Free Public Library from South St. Jo- 
seph Town Co. 

MONTANA. 

BILLINGS. Parmly Billings Memorial Li- 
brary. New library building (dedicated, 
Oct. I, 1901), from Frederick Billings, Jr., 
of New York. 

BOZEMAN. Public Library. $15,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. This gift was accepted March 25. 

DEER LODGE. Public Library. $20,000, for a 
building, from Conrad Kohrs, as a memorial 
to his son, William K. Kohrs. Accepted, 
Nov. 16, 1901. 

State Prison. $5000, for purchase of books 
for a library, from William A. Clark, Jr., 
of Butte. 

DILLON. Public Library. $7500, Jan. 26, 1902, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

GREAT FALLS. Public Library. $30,000, July 
9, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. Accepted July 16. 

$1000, to be expended in the purchase of 
books, from G. M. Hyams. 

HELENA. Public Library. $30,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. The gift 
has been accepted. 

KALISPELL. Public Library. $10,000, Dec. 28, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. The city already expends $1000 
yearly for library maintenance. 

MILES CITY. Public Library. $10,000, Aug. i, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

NEBRASKA. 

BEATRICE. Public Library. $20,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. This gift was accepted March 25. 

FREMONT. Public Library. $15,000, Jan. 4, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

$3000, for purchase of new books, raised 
by popular subscription. The rent for one 
year was donated by L. M. Keene. 

GRAND ISLAND. Public Library. $20,000, 
Feb. 7, 1902, for a building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

LINCOLN. Nebraska Public Library Commis- 
sion. About 350 volumes, from the Ne- 
braska Federation of Women's Clubs, on 
condition that the Commission maintain a 
system of especial loans to study clubs. 

SOUTH OMAHA. Public Library, $50,000, for 
a building, from Andrew Carnegie. Ac- 
cepted Oct. 14, 1901. 

YORK. City Library. Bequest of one cow, 
from Mrs. George W. Woods. 



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NEVADA. 

RENO. Public Library. $15,000, March 13, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

CONCORD. St. Paul's School. Memorial li- 
brary building, costing about $150,000, from 
George R. and William C. Sheldon. It was 
dedicated in June, 1901. 

CONWAY. Jenks Memorial Library. Library 
building costing about $50,000, from Mrs. 
Jenks, as a memorial to her husband, Dr. 
Thomas L. Jenks, of Boston. The building 
was dedicated June 13, 1901. 

DOVER. Public Library. $30,000, May i, 1902, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Collection of music and music books num- 
bering 1000 volumes, scores, etc., including 
rare scores and original editions, from John 
W. Tufts, of Boston, Mass. 

Gift of nearly 500 books and pamphlets of 
local history, a collection of great value, 
from E. R. Brown. 

DUBLIN. H. P. Farnham Memorial Library. 
Library building, costing over $20,000, to- 
gether with an annual endowment of $3000 
for heat, light, and repairs, from Mrs. H. 
P. Farnham, of New York. The building 
was dedicated June 30, 1901. 

EXETER. Public Library. Bequest of 1800 
volumes and many valuable pamphlets, the 
private library of the late John T. Perry. 
The books will have separate shelving and 
will be designated as the "Perry Collection." 

HAMPTON FALLS. Public Library. Building, 
formerly occupied by the Christian Chapel, 
for library purposes, from John T. Brown, 
of Newburyport, Mass. Turned over to 
the town Aug. 30, 1901. 

LITTLETON. Public Library. $15,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

MEREDITH. B. M. Smith Memorial Library. 
A new building, costing between $12,000 and 
$15,000, from Mrs. B. M. Smith. The 
building was dedicated June 17, 1901. 

NASHUA. Public Library. Gift of $50,000, 
for a public library building, as a memorial 
to John M. Hunt, from Mrs. Hunt and her 
daughter, Miss Mary E. Hunt. A site has 
been purchased at a cost of $35,000 and the 
building is now being erected. 

PETERBORO. Town Library. $5000, Feb. 19, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

SOMERSWORTH. Public Library. $15,000, for 
a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

WEST SWANZEY. Stratton Free Library. Be- 
quest of library building and its contents, 
together with $5000 as a fund for the main- 
tenance of the library and building, from 
George W. Stratton, of Boston. 
NEW JERSEY. 

EAST ORANGE. Free Public Library. New 
library building (corner-stone laid Oct. 29, 
1901), by Andrew Carnegie. 



HACKENSACK. Johnson Public Library. New 
library building, cost including equipment 
about $60,000, from W. M. Johnson, First 
Assistant Postmaster General. The build- 
ing was dedicated Oct. 5, 1901, and the 
library opened for regular work two days 
later. 

812 volumes, from William M. Johnson. 

484 volumes, from the Hackensack Library 
Association. 

JERSEY CITY. Free Public Library. Large 
and valuable collection of minerals, shells, 
curios, etc., from David W. Lawrence. 

1705 volumes and 2352 pamphlets, forming 
the valuable scientific library of the late 
L. B. Ward, from his estate. 

MADISON. Drew Theological Seminary Li- 
brary. 2360 volumes, the library of the late 
Prof. George R. Crooks; $600 of the pur- 
chase money was contributed by friends of 
the seminary. 

NEW BRUNSWICK. Free Public Library. 
$50,000, March 15, 1902, for a building, 
from Andrew Carnegie. This gift was ac- 
cepted March 30. 

Gardner A. Sage Library. Bequest of 410 
volumes and pamphlets, from Rev. John A. 
Todd, of Tarrytown, N. Y. 

Rutgers College Library. Bequest of about 
3000 volumes, from Rev. John A. Todd, 
D.D., of Tarrytown, N. Y. 

NEWARK. Free Public Library. 500 volumes 
for the juvenile library, from R. C. Jenkin- 
son. 

366 volumes, from James E. Howell. 
ORANGE. Free Library. $1000, for the pur- 
chase of new books, from Henry Graves. 

Over 1150 volumes, valued at about $8000, 
the entire library of the late Daniel Addison 
Heald, from his three surviving children. 

PASSAIC. Jane Watson Reid Memorial Li- 
brary. $105,000 (offered Nov. 19, 1901), for 
a public library building at the Passaic 
suburb of Dundee, from Peter Reid, upon 
condition that the building shall be known 
as the "Jane Watson Reid Memorial Li- 
brary," and that the building shall have 
suitable rooms for the assistance and proper 
instruction of the young people of that sec- 
tion of the city. 

$2000, for the purchase of books, from 
Peter Reid. 

PATERSON. Free Public Library. $100,000, 
for a new library building, to replace the 
one destroyed by fire, Feb. 8, 1902, from 
Mrs. Mary E. Ryle, as a memorial to her 
farther, Charles Danforth. Gift accepted 
Feb. 18, 1902, with expressions of sincere 
gratitude. Mrs Ryle's previous gifts of 
house and land, remodeling and furnishing, 
and the enlargement of the old building 
amounted to about $85,000. 

PERTH AMBOY. Free Public Library. Li- 
brary site valued at about $12,500, Jan. 19, 



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MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



1902. for the new Carnegie library building, 
from Cortlandt Parker, of Newark, upon 
condition that the property shall always be 
used for the purposes of the Free Public 
Library. 

Site for the proposed Carnegie library 
building, valued at $5000, offered Feb. 14, 
1902, and accepted the same date, from 
Leonard and Adolph Lewisohn and James 
C. McCoy. 

PLAINFIELD. Public Library. Valuable col- 
lection of more than 5000 butterflies, ar- 
ranged in eight cases and valued at over 
$10,000, from ex-Mayor Andrew Gilbert. 
The collection will be exhibited in the art 
gallery. 

PRINCETON. Princeton Theological Seminary. 
1210 volumes, a part of the library of Prof. 
Samuel Miller, the second professor of 
Princeton Seminary, and the great-great- 
grandfather of the donor, from Mr. Samuel 
Miller Breckinridge Long. 

'Princeton University. $50,000, for library 
endowment, name of donor not stated. 

Collection of 1200 Arabic mss., on deposit, 
from Robert Garrett, Esq. 

95 Babylonian cylinders and cone-shaped 
seals and 400 clay tablets, name of donor 
not stated. 

TRENTON. Free Public Library. The Charles 
Skelton library fund, amounting to about 
$0000 in cash and an annual income of $900, 
derived from real estate, has recently been 
turned over to this library by direction of 
the Court of Chancery. The income will 
be used to purchase reference books. Mr. 
Skelton died in 1879. 

3000 volumes, one-half late novels, the rest 
representing pure and applied sciences, from 
F. W. Roebling. 

VINELAND. Public Library. Books, valued 
at about $2000, from the late N. B. Webster, 
forming the nucleus of the library. 

WEST HOBOKEN. Free Public Library. $25,000, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
NEW MEXICO. 

LAS VEGAS. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902. for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

NEW YORK. 

ALBANY. New York State Library. Bequest 
of the Duncan Campbell collection of 3295 
volumes, 809 pamphlets, 49 manuscripts, and 
493 plates, engravings, etc., from Miss Ellen 
Campbell. Received June I, 1901. This 
collection forms a rare and valuable addi- 
tion to the library. 

1356 volumes and 9328 pamphlets, from 
Walter Stanley Biscoe. 

Public Library. $175,000, March 14, 1902, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie, an 
annual maintenance fund of $20,000 is re- 
quired. Plans for the acceptance of the 
gift include a merger of the libraries of the 



Young Men's Association, the Pruyn Li- 
brary, and the Albany Free Library; the 
erection of a central building for $150,000; 
and the use of $25,000 for the equipment 
of the south end (Albany Free Library) as 
a branch. Declined May 19, 1902. 

AMSTERDAM. Public Library. $25,000, Feb. 
9, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

ANGELICA. Public Library. Library building, 
value not given, from Mrs. Frank Sullivan 
Smith, as a memorial to her mother, Lucia 
Cornelia Hapgood Higgins. 

BAY RIDGE. Free Library. Bequest of $500, 
from Norris L. M. Bennett, of New Utrecht. 

BINGHAMTON. Public Library. $75,000, April 
28, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

BROOKLYN. Brooklyn Institute Museum Li- 
brary. 382 volumes, from Dr. James Cruik- 
shank. 

Gift of 339 volumes, from Maria Sprague 
Meeker. 

Brooklyn Library. 374 volumes, from 
Thomas G. Shearman's estate. 

Long Island Historical Society Library. 
$17,430, for a special endowment fund, 
raised by popular subscription. The follow- 
ing are among the largest amounts sub- 
scribed : Wilhelmus Mynderse and John J. 
Pierrepont, each $5000; Frank Sherman 
Benson, $1100; Charles A. Hoyt, Frank 
Lyman, and Henry K. Sheldon, each $1000; 
subscriptions in sums less than $500, $3330. 

Medical Society of the County of Kings Li- 
brary. Purple collection of 4169 volumes, 
14,492 pamphlets and periodicals, May 4, 
1901, purchased and presented by 12 
Brooklyn physicians. 

Watson collection of 4100 volumes and 1929 
pamphlets and periodicals, Oct. 4, 1900, pur- 
chased and presented by 12 Brooklyn phy- 
sicians. 

Gift (or loan) of 2041 volumes and 7987 
pamphlets and periodicals, Oct., 1901, from 
the Long Island Historical Society. 

1015 volumes, 8043 pamphlets and period- 
icals, from the New York Academy of 
Medicine, New York City. 

838 volumes and 12,855 pamphlets and peri- 
odicals, Nov. 15, 1001, from Mrs. Alexander 
J. C. Skene. 

471 volumes and 1790 pamphlets and peri- 
odicals, April 20, 1901, from Dr. Charles 
De Szigethy. 

393 volumes and 3984 pamphlets and peri- 
odicals, Sept. 22, 1900, from Dr. Joseph H. 
Hunt. 

362 volumes and 43 pamphlets, May i, 1902, 
from Mrs. E. N. Chapman. 

288 volumes and 731 periodicals, March 12, 
1001, from Bristol Medical Library, Bristol, 
England. 

269 volumes and 1045 pamphlets and peri- 



COLE. 



Ill 



odicals, from the Northern Dispensary, of 
New York City. 

Young Men's Christian Association Li- 
brary. Gift of $500, for new books, not 
fiction, October, 1901, from George Foster 
Peabody. 

BUFFALO. Public Library. Collection of Mex- 
ican books exhibited at the Pan-American 
Exposition, from the Mexican Government. 

CANANDAIGUA. Wood Library. $10,000, Nov. 
4, 1901, for building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

CANASTOTA. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 10, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

CANTON. Public Library. $30,000, Sept. 19, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

CHATHAM. Public Library. $15,000, Sept. 4, 

1901. for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
COHOES. Carnegie Library. Site for the new 

Carnegie library building, value not stated, 
from Charles R. Ford. 

Site, value not stated, for the new Car- 
negie library building, from Mrs. Frances 
V. Hubbard, in memory of her husband, 
the late Mayor Hubbard. 

FULTON. Public Library. $15,000, March 13, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
GLOVERSVILLE. Public Library. $50,000, Jan. 

21, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie ; a repetition and increase of a former 
offer of $50,000. The gift was accepted 
Feb. 17. 1902. 

GRIFFIN'S CORNERS, DELAWARE Co. Skene 
Memorial Library. $5000, for a building, 
from Andrew Carnegie. No condition is 
attached to this gift except that the li- 
brary shall be a memorial to Dr. A. J. C. 
Skene, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and shall bear 
his name. 

HAMILTON. Colgate University Library. 543 
volumes, from Joseph Spencer Kennard, 
D. C. L. 

Bequests of 435 volumes, from Prof. P. B. 
Spear, D.D. 

IRVINGTON. Public Library. $10,000, July 4, 

1901, to establish a public library, from 
Frederick W. Guiteau. 

ISLIP. Public Library. $10,000, Oct. 23, 1901, 

for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
JOHNSTOWN. Public Library. $5000, Jan. 16, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie, 
in addition to a former gift of $20,000. 

KINGSTON. Public Library. $30,000, Jan. 7, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

MOUNT VERNON. Public Library. $15,000, 
April 9, 1902, for a building, making a total 
of $50,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

NAPLES. Public Library. $1000, to be used in 
establishing a library to be conducted in 
connection with the High School, to be 
known as the Hiram Maxfield Library, from 
D. H. Maxfield. 

NEW ROCHELLE. Public Library. $50,000, for 
a new library building, from Andrew Car- 



negie. As the library just before the receipt 
of this offer had leased quarters for 10 years 
and the leaser refuses to release the library 
the offer will pass unaccepted. 
NEW YORK CITY. Aguilar Free Library. Be- 
quest of $1000, from Theodore G. Weil. 

American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 
3621 volumes, including 3450 pamphlets, 
May 17, 1901, on the early sciences, formerly 
belonging to Latimer Clark, one of the 
founders of the English Society of Tele- 
graph Engineers, from Dr. S. S. Wheeler. 
This collection represents 47 years of col- 
lecting by Mr. Clark. 

American Seamen's Friend Society. Be- 
quest of $5000, the income to be used in 
providing libraries for sailors, from Mrs. 
Cornelia C. Tompkins. 

American Museum of Natural History Li- 
brary. 2420 volumes in the Chinese lan- 
guage, from China. 

Nearly 2000 volumes, pamphlets, etc., in 
various branches of science, from the heirs 
of General Egbert L. Viele. 

300 volumes and pamphlets on conchology, 
valued at $1500, from Frederick A. Con- 
stable. 

Columbia University Library. Bequest of 
$50,000, the income to be used in the pur- 
chase of books, from Mrs. Lura Currier, 
to be known as the Nathaniel Currier Fund. 

Gift (offered) of from $3000 to $4000, for 
the equipment of a laboratory library in 
history for undergraduate students, from an 
unnamed friend of the university. "It is 
not known that an experiment of this kind 
and of this magnitude has been made in any 
educational institution in this country, and 
the results are awaited with great interest 
by other departments." 

$2600, for the purchase of Chinese books 
and books about China, from the Dean Lung 
Fund. 

$1000, for current expenses of the Avery 
architectural library, from S. P. Avery, 
also about $1000 in addition, for special 
purchases for that library. 

6000 volumes, from the Chinese Govern- 
ment. 

"Clinton Papers" (costing $2500), embrac- 
ing 1 100 letters addressed to DeWitt Clin- 
ton and his letter-books, about 9000 pages 
in all, from William C. Schermerhorn. 

'475 volumes, for the library of Earl Hall, 
from the library of the late Frederick Will- 
iam Dibblee, from his mother Mrs Sarah 
M. Dibblee. 

379 volumes and 778 pamphlets, from Presi- 
dent Nicholas Murray Butler. 

356 volumes and 1115 pamphlets, from 
George Watson Cole. 

Over 200 volumes of books and mss. re- 
lating to Spanish-American countries, from 
Prof. Arthur N. Brown, of Annapolis, Md. 



112 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



Cooper Union Library. Bequest of $20,000, 
for a special library fund, from Oswald 
Ottendorfer. The recent gifts of $300,000 
from Andrew Carnegie and $300,000 from 
the Cooper and Hewitt families are to be 
applied to the general purposes of the 
Cooper Union. 

General Society of Mechanics and Trades- 
men. Bequest of $4750, from Charles B. 
Haughian. 

New York Historical Society. Gifts ag- 
gregating $105,000, for new library building; 
the largest from Miss Matilda Wolfe Bruce 
of $15,000, others of $1000 or over from 
William K. Vanderbilt, Charles A. Sherman, 
Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson, William C. 
Schermerhorn, Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes, 
Nicholas Fish, Mrs. Caroline Frederick 
Hoffman, Frederick Wendell Jackson, 
Henry Phipps, Dean Hoffman, Daniel 
Parrish, Jr., Miss Charlotte A. Mount, and 
Miss Susan Mount. 

New York Press Club. $5000, Dec. 18, 
1901, for the purchase of books, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

New York Public Library; Astor, Lenox, 
and Tilden Foundations. 2409 volumes and 
2480 pamphlets, a collection relating to eco- 
nomics, statistics, history of railroads in 
this country, etc., from Mrs. Simon Sterne. 

1560 volumes and 1487 pamphlets, consist- 
ing of railroad reports, reports of state 
treasurers, auditors, etc., from H. V. and 
H. W. Poor. 

520 volumes and 50 pamphlets, forming 
the John Robinson collection of English and 
American annuals, art treasures of the 
Paris Exposition, etc., from Mrs. Henry 
Draper. 

511 volumes of newspapers, from the Long 
Island Historical Society. 

990 prints, from Charles B. Curtis. 
909 prints from R. H. Storer. 

628 or more prints, from James D. Smillie. 

400 prints, from S. P. Avery. 

New York Society Library. Bequest, from 
Charles H. Contoit; the final $5000 of this 
bequest has recently been paid to the library. 
The whole amount received from this 
source has been $142,504.86. 

850 volumes, from the library of the late 
John R. Broadhead, the well-known his- 
torian of New York State. 

New York University Library. 2485 vol- 
umes, some of them private and limited edi- 
tions of rare works of American history 
and literature, from William Frederick 
Havemeyer. 

2363 volumes, from Miss Helen Miller 
Gould. 

. Bequest of 1685 volumes of German litera- 
ture, from the Hon. Oswald Ottendorfer. 

1398 volumes, from Rev. Charles R. and 
Prof. W. K. Gillett. 



619 volumes of American history, from the 
members of the Council of New York 
University. 

256 volumes, from Prof. John James 
Stevenson. 

253 volumes, from Mrs. A. B. Smith. 
NEWARK. Public Library. Memorial window, 

of the value of $1500, from Henry C. Reid, 
of Evanston, 111., in memory of his wife. 

NIAGARA FALLS. Public Library. $50,000, 
for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

NORWICH. Public Library. Bequest of real 
and personal property, value not stated, for 
library purposes, from Mrs. Jane M. Guern- 
sey. Various conditions are attached to 
this bequest. 

NYACK. Public Library. $15,000, Dec. 23, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
The three corporations of Nyack, South 
Nyack, and Upper Nyack already contrib- 
ute $1200 annually, rendering acceptance 
almost certain. 

ONEIDA. Public Library. $11,000, Dec. 31, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

PENN YAN. Public Library. $1500, towards 
new building, from Mr. and Mrs. H. K. 
Armstrong, provided $10,000 be raised for 
the purpose. 

$2500, towards building, from Charles Cur- 
tis, of New York, on condition that $10,000 
be raised for the purpose. 

PINE HILL. Public Library. New public li- 
brary building, to be erected, cost not 
stated, from Henry Morton, President of 
the Stevens Institute, as a memorial to his 
wife, who died at Pine Hill last summer. 

PORT JERVIS Public Library. $10,000, for a 
new building, in addition to his previous 
gift of $20,000, making a total of $30,000, 
by Andrew Carnegie. 

Site for the new library building, value not 
stated, by Peter F. Farnum. 

PORT WASHINGTON. Public Library. Gym- 
nasium and library building, cost not stated, 
from Howard Gould; the people will be 
asked to vote upon a suitable site and ar- 
range for the care of the property. 

POUGHKEEPSIE. Vassar College Library. A 
fund for a new library building, announced 
May 2, 1902, name of donor withheld. 

ROSLYN, L. I. William Cullen Bryant Li- 
brary. $1500, raised by popular subscrip- 
tion through the efforts of Mrs. Clarence 
Mackay. 

About looo volumes, from Mr. Bryant's 
Cedarmere library, from Mrs. Clarence 
Mackay. 

SANDY HILL. Public Library. $10,000, May 
2, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

SARATOGA. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS. Public Library. $20,000, 



COLE. 



Jan. 7, 1902, for a building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

SCHENECTADY. Public Library. Bequest of 
$10,000, from John E. Ellis, of New York. 

SYRACUSE. Syracuse University Library. 
$500 and a set of the Jesuit Relations, of 
73 volumes, from Theodore Irwin, of Os- 
wego. 

WATERTOWN. Flower Memorial Library. A 
site, value not stated, in addition to her gift 
of $200,000, for a memorial library building, 
from Mrs. Emma Flower Taylor. 

WATERVLIET. Public Library. $20,000, Feb. 
10, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

CHAPEL HILL. University of North Caro- 
lina. $550, for recataloging purposes, from 
the Dialectic and Philanthropic Literary 
Societies, by which the library is endowed. 

CHARLOTTE. Public Library. $5000, Oct. 13, 
1901, for a public library building, in addi- 
tion to former gift of $20,000, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

DURHAM. Trinity College Library. New 
library building and equipment, to cost 
about $70,000 (instead of $50,000, as pre- 
viously reported), from James B. Duke. 

GREENSBORO. Public Library. $30,000, May 
3, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

NORTH DAKOTA. 

FARGO. Public Library. $20,000, for a build- 
ing, from Andrew Carnegie. 

GRAND FORKS. Public Library. $20,000, for 
a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

VALLEY CITY. Public Library. $15,000, July 
20, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

OHIO. 

AKRON. Public Library. $50,000, for a build- 
ing to serve the double purpose of a library 
and club for boys and young men, from 
Col. George T. Goodrich, on condition that 
an endowment fund of $30,000 be raised 
and a site furnished by the city. The city 
offers a site in Bierce Park. 

$70,000, Dec. 23, 1901, for a building, from 
Andrew Carnegie. 

ASHTABULA. Free Public Library. Bequest 
value not stated, of her entire estate, from 
Maria Conklin, to "erect and construct in 
whole or in part a suitable building for the 
Free Public Library to be known as the 
'Conklin Library Building.' " 

BARBERTON. Public Library. Library, with 
furniture, and several thousand books, in 
rented quarters, from Ohio C. Barber," Presi- 
dent of the Diamond Match Company. 

CINCINNATI. Lloyd Library. This library, of 
about 15,000 to 20,000 volumes and pam- 
phlets, devoted to botany, pharmacy, chem- 
istry and allied sciences, has been thrown 



open to the public and is pledged to be 
donated intact to science. It will finally be 
placed in the university best calculated to 
serve science. 

Public Library. $180,000, April 9, 1902, 
for six branch libraries, in various 
parts of the city, from Andrew Carnegie. 
This gift has been accepted. Recent legis- 
lation authorizes the city to issue $180,000 
in bonds, the money so raised to be ex- 
pended for the purchase of sites and the 
equipment of the Carnegie branches. 

Gift of two sites for the Carnegie branch 
libraries, worth from $5000 to $10,000 each. 

$1600, for the library for the blind, by va- 
rious donors. 

Gifts aggregating $1582, from numerous 
donors ; four of $100 each. 

Schmidtlapp Memorial Library. $100,000, 
for the erection of a memorial library build- 
ing, devoted exclusively to art on ground 
set apart for art purposes in Eden Park, by 
J. G. Schmidtlapp. 

CLEVELAND. Adelbert College Library. $1000, 
from Hon. John Hay, Secretary of State, 
Washington, D. C. 

Set of "The Jesuit Relations ;" edited by 
Reuben Gold Thwaites (73 vols.), from 
alumni and friends. 

COLUMBUS. Public Library. $150,000, Jan. 
i, 1902, for a building, from Andrew" Car- 
negie, on condition that a yearly mainte- 
nance of $20,000 be guaranteed. The gift 
has been accepted. 

DELAWARE. Ohio Wesleyan University. Be- 
quest of 600 volumes, largely of classical 
works and a splendid collection of English 
grammars, from Prof. W. G. Williams. 

GALION. Public Library. $15,000, April 15, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

GAMBIER. Kenyan College Library. $17,500, 
in property and money, the income to be 
spent for books and $13,000 to build a new 
stack-room, from James P. Stephens (Class 
'59), Trenton, N. J. 

GREENVILLE. Carnegie Library. $10,000, for 
a building, in addition to the original gift 
of $15,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

KALISHEL. Public Library. $10,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

KENT. Free Public Library. $10,000, Sept. 
i, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

A site, valued at $3000, for the new Car- 
negie building, from Hon. Marvin Kent. 

KENTON. Public Library. $17,500, Jan. 24, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie, 
on condition that the town grant a yearly 
maintenance of $1750, provide a building 
site, and secure an endowment of $10,000. 

$10,000, offered as an endowment fund, by 
Lewis Merriman. 

$5000, offered as an endowment fund, from 
an anonymous donor. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



MANSFIELD. City Library, Bequest of $5000, 
by will filed Sept. 9, 1901, from John C. 
Larwell. 

NEWPORT. Public Library. $6500, Jan. 10, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie, 
in addition to a former gift. 

PORTSMOUTH. Public Library. $50,000, July 
18, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. This gift has been accepted. 

WASHINGTON. Public Library. $12,000, Jan. 
15, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

WELLINGTON. Public Library. New library 
building, to cost $15,000, from Col. Myron 
T. Herrick, as a memorial to his father and 
mother. 

Public Library. $10,000, Feb. 7, 1902, for 
a building, from Andrew Carnegie. Ac- 
cepted March 3. 

XENIA. Public Library. $20,000, Jan. 27, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
The city already appropriates about $2000 
yearly for library maintenance. 

OKLAHOMA TERRITORY. 

GUTHRIE. Public Library. $20,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. Accepted 
by the city council in Oct., 1901. 

$6000, additional, March 22, 1902, for a 
building, making a total of $26,000, from 
Andrew Carnegie. 

OREGON. 

FULTON. Public Library. Library building, 
by the boys of Fulton. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

BEAVER. Public Library. $50,000, for a build- 
ing, by Andrew Carnegie. 

BESSEMER. Public Library. $30,000, Feb. 20, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

BRYN MAWR. Bryn Mawr College Library. 
$1258.70, for books, apportioned among 
various departments, from a friend of the 
college. 

GROVE CITY. Public Library. Site for the 
new Carnegie library building, from J. N. 
Pew. 

HAVERFORD. Haverford College Library. 400 
cuneiform clay tablets, from Babylonia, all 
in the Assyrian language, from T. Wister 
Brown, of Philadelphia. They are to be 
known as the "Haverford Library Baby- 
lonian Collection" average date 2500 B. c. 

35o volumes, chiefly scientific works, from 
the library of the late Prof. Edward Drinker 
Cope, from Mrs. Cope. 

JENKINTOWN. Public Library. $1500, raised 

by popular subscription. 
KENNETT SQUARE. Bayard Taylor Memorial 

Library. $1000, from Gen. William Palmer, 

of Colorado Springs, Colorado. 
McKeE's ROCKS. Public Library. $20,000, 

for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
MEDIA. Free Library. Gift (or loan) of 400 



volumes, from the Friends' Free Reading 
Room. 

NEWCASTLE. Public Library. $40,000, for a 
building, by Andrew Carnegie. This gift 
has been declined. 

NORRISTOWN. Public Library. $50,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. Accepted 
May 3, 1901. The collection of the present 
Norristown Library Company is to be 
merged into the new institution. Unsuccess- 
ful injunction proceedings were instituted 
to prevent acceptance. 

PAULSBORO. Public Library. 1000 volumes, 
from the Powder Company. 

PHILADELPHIA. College of Physicians Li- 
brary. $1000, from Dr. William W. Keen. 

Bequest of 1500 volumes, from Dr. John 
Ashhurst, Jr. 

The library of 1500 volumes of the late 
Dr. J. Stockton Hough, unique collection of 
rare and early medical works, in part by 
subscription as follows : Dr. G. Fales Baker, 
$500; Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, $200; Dr. John 
K. Mitchell, $200. 

Drexel Institute Library. 915 volumes, 
Feb., 1902, from George W. Childs Drexel, 
of the Public Ledger. 

Franklin Institute Library. $10,840, added 
to the permanent funds of the institute, 
from the subscribers to the National Ex- 
port Exposition, 1899. 

Free Library of Philadelphia. Books, at 
a cost of $1476.31, from P. A. B. Widener. 

Books, costing $500, from Messrs. William 
S. Cramp & Sons. 

Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Be- 
quest of $5000, from Howard Williams 
Floyd. 

About 600 bound volumes, from Mrs. 
Charles J. Stille. 

Library Company of Philadelphia. $5000, 
from Henry C. Lea. 

University of Pennsylvania Library. Gifts 
of various funds amounting to $4000, to 
complete files of medical, mathematical, 
and chemical periodicals and the series of 
the Calendars of State Papers and the Eng- 
lish Rolls Series, from friends of the uni- 
versity. 

Gift of the non-medical portion of the J. 
Stockton Hough collection, particularly val- 
uable for its bibliographical section and 
containing 26 specimens of incunabula, from 
a number of gentlemen who gave the funds 
necessary for the purchase. 

SHARON. Public Library. $200,000, for a 
building, from Frank H. Buhl, President of 
the Sharon Steel Co. 

TITUSVILLE. Public Library. $25,000, offered, 
for a building, from W. S. and R. D. Ben- 
son, of Passaic, N. J., and their sister, Mrs. 
C. F. Emerson, as a memorial to their par- 
ents and to be known as the Benson Mem- 
orial Library. 



COLE. 



RHODE ISLAND. 
NEWPORT. Redwood Library. Bequest of 

$5000, from George H. Norman. 
PROVIDENCE. Brown University Library. Gift 

of $2500, for a fund for the purchase of 

books for the classical departments, from 

James Tucker, Jr. 

310 volumes, to the Wheaton collection of 
international law, from William Vail Kellen, 
Ph.D. 

5000 manuscript pieces, to the Wheaton 
collection of international law, mainly the 
correspondence of Jonathan Russell Brown, 
1791, Commissioner to negotiate the treaty 
of Ghent. 

Small but very valuable collection of the 
letters and papers of Henry Wheaton 
Brown, 1802. 

Public Library. $1000, from Mrs. Philip 
Allen. 

Rhode Island Historical Society Library. 
Bequest of $2000, from Esek A. Jillson. 

Bequest of about 1000 volumes, a collection 
on the English and American stage, formed 
by Charles J. Jillson, the son of the donor, 
Esek A. Jillson. A title list of this col- 
lection was published in the "Co-operative 
Bulletin of the Providence Libraries," for 
December, 1901. 

Large collection on American history, trav- 
els, and ethnology, valued at $3000, from 
Henry R. Bartlett, as a memorial to his 
father, John Russell Bartlett. 

WESTERLY. Westerly Memorial and Library 
Association. Bequest of $150,000, and also 
many works of art, from Mrs. Harriet W. 
Wilcox, of Brooklyn, the income to be used 
in maintaining the building, library, and 
adjoining park. 

SEABOARD. 

SEABOARD. Seaboard Air Line Travelling Li- 
braries. $2000, for books, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

SPARTENBURG. Wofford College. Bequest of 
his large and splendid library, number of 
volumes not stated, from Dr. H. Baer, of 
Charleston. 

SOUTH DAKOTA. 

MITCHELL. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 28, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Accepted Feb. 10, 1902. 

REDFIELD. Public Library. $10,000, March 13, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

YANKTON. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

TENNESSEE. 

CHATTANOOGA. "The Carnegie Library of 
Chattanooga, Tennessee." Gift (offered) of 
$50,000, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. Accepted Jan. 20, 1902. 



KNOXVILLE. Public Library. $15,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie, on condi- 
tion that a yearly appropriation of $3000 be 
guaranteed for its maintenance. This offer 
has been declined. 

NASHVILLE. Public Library. $100,000, Oct. 
18, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. Accepted Nov. 14, 1901. The How- 
ard Library voted, Dec. 5, 1901, to turn all 
its property over to this library. 

A site for the new library building, value 
not stated, by J. Edgar McLehanen. Ac- 
cepted Jan. 20, 1902. 

SEWANEE. University of the South. $6000, 
for equipping Convocation Hall as a library, 
the donor's name withheld. 
TEXAS. 

BIG SPRINGS. Public Library. $4000, for a 
public library building, also a site for the 
same, from The Texas and Pacific Rail- 
road Company. 

$1000, towards a building, from Miss Helen 
Miller Gould. 

$1000. towards a building, raised by popular 
subscription. 

BRYAN. Public Library. $10,000, April 16, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

DALLAS. Public Library. New library build- 
ing, costing $50,000 (dedicated Oct. 29, 
1901), from Andrew Carnegie. 

Site for new Carnegie building (cost 
$9525), largely raised by public contribu- 
tions. 

EL PASO. Public Library. $35,000, Jan. 15, 
IO02, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

FORT WORTH. Carnegie Public Library. Gift 
of new building (formally opened Oct. 17, 
1901) from Andrew Carnegie. 

GEORGETOWN. Southwestern University Li- 
brary. $1000, from Mrs. Viola Hunt, of 
Dallas. 

HOUSTON. Public Library. $6000, for a book 
fund for children's books and periodicals, 
in memory of his little daughter, from N. 
S. Meldrum. 

SANTA ANNA. Public Library. $15,000, Feb. 
3, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

TEMPLE. Public Library. $10,000, Jan. 27, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

WACO. Baylor University. A $75,000 library 
building and chapel, from Frank L. Carroll. 
Cornerstone laid March 3, 1902. 
UTAH. 

SALT LAKE CITY. Latter-Day Saints College 
Library. $1000, for purchase of text-books 
on natural science, from Ezra T. Clark, of 
Farmington. 

Travelling Library Committee. $500, from 
George Foster Peabody, of New York, 
bringing his gifts up to $700. This gift 
assures the life and growth of these libraries 
for three years. 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



VERMONT. 

BRANDON. Free Library. $875, raised by 
popular subscription, $300 being given by a 
non-resident. 

BRATTLEBORO. Free Library. $500, from Dor- 
man B. Eaton. 

$500, from Rev. George L. Walker. 
BURLINGTON. Fletcher Free Library. $50,000, 

Aug. 7, 1901, for a building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. Accepted Aug. i4th. The build- 
ing is to be begun the present month, June, 
1902. 

DERBY LINE. Public Library. $50,000; 
$25,000 for a library building, $15,000 for 
furnishings, books, etc., and $10,000 for an 
endowment, from M. M. Haskell. 

ENOSBURGH. Public Library. $700, from the 
Ladies' Improvement Society. 

GRAFTON. Public Library. $500, from Mrs. 
L. B. Daniels. 

GUILDHALL. Public Library. New library 
building, with site, and about 500 volumes, 
from Col. E. C. Benton, of Boston. This 
building was dedicated July 10, 1901. 

HARTFORD. Wilder Club and Library. $1200, 
from the friends of the founder. 

LUDLOW. Fletcher Memorial Library. New 
library building, costing upward of $100,000 
(dedicated Nov. i, 1901), from Hon. Allen 
M. Fletcher, of New York City, formerly 
of Indianapolis, Ind. 

MONTPELIER. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. $973, 
from the Ladies' Library Guild. 

$706, from the Ladies' Library League. 
NEWFANE. Moore Public Library. Library 

building, valued at $9000, 2100 volumes, 
and $2000 for an endowment, from Mrs. 
Philura C. Moore. 

NORTHFIELD. Norwich University. Valuable 
library of the late Orlando Dana Miller, 
from his daughters, Lizzie B. and Eva B. 
Miller, South Merrimack, N. H. 

NORWICH. Public Library. New library 
building, cost not stated, erected by pop- 
ular subscription. 

PUTNEY. Public Library. $500, from C. W. 
Kimball. 

RANDOLPH. Kimball Public Library. $10,000 
toward a new library building (offered) by 
Col. Robert J. Kimball, provided the town 
will furnish a site without drawing upon 
the present library fund. 

$3300, from Mrs. Sarah J. Crocker. 
READING. Free Library. Library building, 

costing $5000, from Hon. Gilbert A. Davis, 
of Windsor. 

RICHFORD. An>ina A. Brown Public Library. 
$500, from Hon. S. P. Carpenter. 

SHELDON. Free Library. $3000, from Jona- 
than Northrop. 

ST. ALBANS. Free Library. Bequest of a li- 
brary building, to cost $25,000, from Hon. J. 
Gregory Smith, instead of $10,000, as pre- 
viously reported. 



WASHINGTON. Public Library. $700, from 
Mrs. H. A. White. 

WEATHERSFIELD. Proctor Library. Building, 
cost not given, from B. Frank Blood, of 
Waltham, Mass., to be called the Proctor 
Library, in honor of his grandfather, an 
old-time resident. 

WINSOR. Mary L. Blood Memorial Library. 
Memorial library building, costing about 
$4000. together with $3000 for the purchase 
of books and library repairs, by Benjamin 
F. Blood, of Waltha'm, Mass. 

WEYBRIDGE. Cotton Free Public Library. Be- 
quest of $4000, from Joshua F. Cotton. 

330 volumes, from Benjamin W. Dodge. 

VIRGINIA. 

CHARLOTTESVILLE. University of Virginia Li- 
brary. 341 volumes, from Robert M. 
Hughe?, Esq., of Norfolk, Va. 

HAMPTON. Normal and Agricultural Institute 
Library. Gift .(offered) of $100,000, for the 
erection and equipment of a library build- 
ing, to be known as the "C. P. Huntington 
Library," from his widow, Mrs. Huntington. 
This amount will also provide a fund for 
carrying on its work. Amount unreported 
last year. 

NORFOLK. Carnegie Library. Site, valued at 
$15,000, for the new Carnegie library build- 
ing, as a memorial to the late Dr. William 
Selden, the first president of the Library 
Association, from his children. 
WEST VIRGINIA. 

CHARLOTTESVILLE. Public Library. $20,000, 
for a public library building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

HUNTINGTON. Public Library. $25,000, Jan. 
6, 1902, toward a library building, to cost 
about $80,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

$10,000 additional, March 22, 1902, for a 
public library building, making a total of 
$35,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

MARTINSBURG. Public Library. $5000, to- 
ward erection of a public library building, 
from an unknown lady, provided $5000 
more is raised for the same purpose in two 
3'ears and site furnished. 

MORGANTOWN. West Virginia University. 
18,000 volumes, the private library of the 
Hon. W. T. Willey, formerly United States 
Senator, from his heirs. The library is in- 
valuable because of its completeness in the 
early history of West Virginia. 

WISCONSIN. 
BARABOO. Public Library. $12,000, March 13, 

1902, for a public library building, from 

Andrew Carnegie. 
BELOIT. Public Library. $25,000, Aug. 30, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

This offer was accepted Sept. 3. 
CHIPPEWA FALLS. Public Library. $20,000, 

Feb. 17, 1902, for a building, from Andrew 

Carnegie. 



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117 



EAU CLAIRE. Public Library. $40,000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

FOND DU LAC. Public Library. $30,000, Feb. 
8, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. This gift has been accepted. 

$6000, for site of the new Carnegie library 
building, raised by popular subscription by 
women's clubs. 

GRAND RAPIDS. /. D. Witter Free Travelling 
Libraries. Bequest of $5000, to maintain a 
system of travelling libraries for Wood 
County, from J. D. Witter. 

T. B. Scott Public Library. Bequest of 
$5000, for a library endowment fund, from 
j. D. Witter. Mr. Witter had previously 
given $5000 for the same purpose. 

GREEN BAY. Kellogg Library. $5000, Oct. 14, 
1901, for a building, in addition to a former 
gift of $20,000, from Andrew Carnegie. 

LANCASTER. Public Library. $1500, for li- 
brary purposes, raised by popular subscrip- 
tion. 

MADISON. Public Library. $75,000, Dec. 30, 
1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
Accepted Jan. 10, 1902. 

State Historical Society. 694 volumes, 
mostly English literature, from Mrs. 
Charles Kendall Adams. 

172 volumes and 785 pieces of unbound 
music, the musical library of the late Prof. 
James S. Smith. 

A deposit of 723 bound volumes and 550 
pamphlets and newspaper files on Mormon 
history, from Albert Theodore Schroeder, 
of Salt Lake City, Utah. This collection 
probably will be later presented to the li- 
brary. 

$4000, for a fund for the purchase of books 
on art or of objects of art for the museum, 
from Mrs. Charles Kendall Adams. 

University of Wisconsin Library. 2300 vol- 
umes, a portion of his private library, from 
Dr. Charles Kendall Adams, formerly pres- 
ident of the University of Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin Free Library Commission. $895, 
for free travelling libraries, from citizens. 

$ I 35S, for German Travelling Libraries, 
from citizens and libraries. 

MARINETTE. Public Library. $30,000, Sept. 
17, 1901, for a building and site, from Isaac 
Stephenson, on condition that the city puts 
itself under bonds to appropriate at least 
$3000 yearly for its support. This offer was 
unanimously accepted by the common coun- 
cil on Oct. 2. 

MILWAUKEE. Public Library. $10,000, from 
Mrs. Antoinette Keenan. This amount has 
been devoted to a special collection of 
works on literature, kept in a separate room, 
and known as the "Matthew Keenan Me- 
morial Collection." 

Pair of beautiful bronze electroliers, April 
26, 1892, from Judge J. M. Pereles, the re- 
tiring president of the Library Board. 



MONROE. Public Library. $20,000, March 19, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

NEENAH. Public Library. $10,000, Oct. 17, 
1001, towards a building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

$15,000 additional to Carnegie gift, towards 
a building, raised by popular subscription. 

Gift of an appropriate library site, valued 
at $3000, from Mrs. Theda Clark Peters. 

NEW LONDON. Public Library. A collection 
of German books, number of volumes not 
stated, from Senator W. H. Hatten. 

OCONTO. Public Library. $15,000, for a build- 
ing, from James Farnsworth, of Chicago, 
111., provided the city furnishes a site and 
$1500 annually for maintenance. 

PORTAGE. Public Library. Bequest of $5000, 
from Mrs. George Krech. $2000 has al- 
ready been turned over to the library, the 
remainder will be paid when the estate is 
closed. 

Nearly 2000 volumes, from the Free Li- 
brary Association, an organization of ladies. 

500 books, from Miss Maria Austin. 
RACINE. Public Library. $50,000, Aug. 5, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

Accepted Dec. 12, 1901. 

$9500, for site for new Carnegie library 
building, raised by popular subscription. 

RIPON. Public Library. $10,000, April 15, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
SHEBOYGAN. Public Library. $10,000 addi- 
tional, March 17, 1902, for a building, mak- 
ing a total of $35,000, from Andrew Car- 
negie. The city council has agreed to ap- 
propriate $3500 yearly for maintenance. 

SPARTA. Public Library. $10,000, Feb. 12, 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
STANLEY. Moon Memorial Library. New li- 
brary building, cost not stated, from Mrs. 
Sarah F. Moon, of Eau Claire, as a me- 
morial to her late husband, Delos R. Moon. 
It was dedicated Dec. 17, 1901. 

Public Library. $500, for the purchase of 
books, from S. T. McKnight. 

STEVENS POINT. Public Library. $20,000, for 
a public library building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

$3000, for a site for the new Carnegie li- 
brary building, raised by popular subscrip- 
tion. 

WAUKESHA. Public Library. $15,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

WAUSAUKEE. Public Library. Public library, 
reading-room, and gymnasium building, to 
cost $5000, from H. P. Bird. 

$1000, for the purchase of books, from H. 
P. Bird. 

WEST SUPERIOR. Public Library. Site, value 
not stated, for the new Carnegie library 
building, from the estate of John H. Ham- 
mond and money raised by popular sub- 
scription. 



n8 



MAGNOLIA CONFERENCE. 



WHITEWATER. Public Library. Bequest of 
$17,000, from Miss Flavia White, of St. 
Paul, Minn., upon condition that the greater 
part be used to erect a new library building 
on the site of the present one. 
PORTO RICO. 

SAN JUAN. Public Library. $60,000, July 30, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. The city council has agreed to ap- 
propriate $6000 annually for library main- 
tenance. 

$100,000, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie, provided the city appropriate $6000 
annually for its maintenance, "supplemented 
by action on the part of the insular legisla- 
ture, bringing the total up to $8000 or 
$0000." The building will be erected front- 
ing on Plaza Colon. 

CUBA. 

HAVANA. Public Library. $250,000, for a 
library building from Andrew Carnegie. 

Over 3000 volumes, only 300 of which are 
bound, from Senor Figarola Canedo. 

DOMINION OF CANADA. 

BRITISH COLUMBIA. VICTORIA. Public Li- 
brary. $50,000, March 13, 1902, for a build- 
ing, from Andrew Carnegie. 

MANITOBA, WINNIPEG. Public Library. $100,- 
ooo, July 25, 1901, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. This gift was accepted Feb. 
10, 1902. 

ONTARIO, BELLVILLE. Public library building, 
offered by Gilbert Parker, the novelist. 

BERLIN. Public Library. $15,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

COLLINGWOOD. Public Library. $10,000, 
July, 24, 1901, for a building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

CORNWALL. Public Library. $7000, for a 
building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

GALT. Public Library. $17,500, April 17, 
1002, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

GODERICH. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

GUELPH. Public Library. $20,000, Jan., 

1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

KINGSTON. \Queens University Library. 
Fine set of Canadian historical portraits, 
valued at $5000, from Gilbert Parker, the 
novelist. 

LINDSAY. Public Library. $10,000, Jan., 
1902, for building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

LONDON. Public Library. $10,000, March 
13, 1902, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie 

MONTREAL. McGill University Library. 
$20,000, for the purchase of books required 
in the regular university course, from Sir 
William MacDonald. 

MONTREAL. Public Library. $150,000, Aug. 



4, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

PEMBROKE. Public Library. $10,000, July 
16, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

ST. CATHERINE'S. Public Library. $20,000, 
Jan. 2, 1002, for a building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

ST. THOMAS. Public Library. $15,000, 
March 13, 1902, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 

SARNIA. Public Library. $15,000, Jan. 20, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

SMITH'S FALLS. Public Library. $10,000, 
Jan. 31, 1902, for a building, from Andrew 
Carnegie. 

STRATFORD. Public Library. $12,000, Dec. 
25, 1901, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 

THOROLD. Public Library. $10,000, May I, 
1902, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

TORONTO. University of Toronto Library. 
$10,000 (received), from Mr. and Mrs. 
Goldwin Smith. 

NE WFO UNDLAND. 
ST. JOHNS. Public Library. $50,000, for a 

building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

ENGLAND. 
GREENWICH. Public Library. 10,000, for 

building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
STRATFORD-ON-AVON. Public Library. Gift, 

April 17, 1902, amount not stated, for a 

building, from Andrew Carnegie, on con- 
dition that a site be furnished. 

IRELAND. 
WATERFORD. Public Library. 5000, Oct. 7, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 

SCOTLAND. 
ANNAN, DUMFRIESHIRE. Public Library. 

3000, July 13, 1901, for a building, from 

Andrew Carnegie. 
CLACKMANNAN. Public Library. 1200, for 

a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
COATBRIDGE, LANARK. Public Library. 15,- 

ooo, July 12, 1901, for a building, from An- 
drew Carnegie. 
DALKEITH. Public Library. 4000, Aug. 23, 

1901, for a building, from Andrew Carnegie. 
DUNDEE. Public Library. 37,000, Oct. 21, 

1901, for branch library buildings, from 

Andrew Carnegie. 
GLASGOW, KINNING PARK. Public Library. 

5000, for a building, from Andrew Car- 
negie. 
LARBERT, STIRLINGSHIRE. Public Library. 

3000, Sept. 8, IQOI, for a building, from 

Andrew Carnegie. 
PAISLEY. Free Library and Museum. 27,- 

500, from James P. Coates, of the J. V. P. 

Coates Thread Mills, Pawtucket, R. I. 
RUTHERGLEN, LANARKSHIRE. Public Library. 

7500, Aug. 29, 1901, for a building, from 

Andrew Carn