JMffl THE UNIVERSITY mt OF ILLINOIS ~j LIBRARY fl oao^6 m An m 1915 f cop 2. ; BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN Library Association Entered as second-class matter December 27, 1909 at the Post Office at Chicago, III., under Act of Congress of July 16, 1894. Vol. 9, No. 4. CHICAGO, ILL. July, 1915 CONTENTS Papers and Proceedings of the Berkeley Conference OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT HiLLER C. Wellman - - Springfield (Mass.) City Library FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT W. N. C. Carlton . . . . Newberry Library, Chicago SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT Mary L, Titcomb - - - - Free Library, Hagerstown, Md. TREASURER Carl B. Roden .... Chicago Public Library SECRETARY George B. Utley - - A. L. A. Executive Office, Chicago PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BERKELEY, CALIF. JUNE 3-9, 1915 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CHICAGO, ILL. 1915 CONTENTS Title President's address: The library's primary duty The love of the book Bulletins and library printing The fine art of printing The changing literary taste and the growing appeal of poetry "Per contra" Some recent features in library architecture How far should the library aid the peace movement and similar propaganda? The theory of reference work Pioneering in Utah The child in the school and in the library The province of the public library The relation between the agricultural college libraries and the extension work of the country Relation of the agricultural college libraries to the library of the federal department How shall we interest and induce our faculty and students to more general cultural reading An index to agricultural periodicals The civics room AVTHOR H. C. IVeHman H. IV. Kent . M. Cleland 104 The conservation of library materials .... The field of the public library in the college town Inspirational influence of books in the life of chil- dren Reading of older boys and girls Reading in rural districts Library work with foreigners Work with foreigners Bringing the library to the rural population . Ten thousand miles of A. L. A. travel .... May M(Lssce Ill Herbert Putnam 119 Chalmers Hadley 125 G. F. Bowerman 129 IV. IV. Bishop 134 M. E. Downey 139 IV. H. Kerr ' . . 144 R. R. Bowkcr 147 D. IV. IVorking 153 C. R. Barnett 156 Elisabeth Forrest 159 V. E. Clark 162 J. B. Kaiser 163 C. P. P. Vits 169 W. E. Henry 174 C. B. Joeckel 178 E. L. Scott 179 A. G. Whilbcck 185 M. D. Henshalt 190 C. F. Webster 192 Agnes Hansen 196 Ruth Crocker 198 F. W. Foroi. 199 Proceedings First general session Second general session Third general session Secretary's report Treasurer's report Report of finance committee Report of trustees of endowment funds. Report of A. L. A. Publishing Board . Report of committee on co-operation with N. E. A Report of committee on library adminis- tration Report of committee on library training. Report of committee on bookbinding . Report of committee on book buying . Report of committee on federal and state relations Report of committee on work for the blind Report of Panama-Pacific exhibit com- mittee 208-247 208 208 208 208 214 214 214 217 222 223 227 229 230 231 237 A. L. A. Day at the Exposition Fourth general session Letters of greeting Fifth general session Report of committee on resolutions Report of tellers of election Council Agricultural libraries section .... Catalog section College and reference section Children's librarians' section .... School libraries section Trustees' section Public documents round table National Association of State Libraries . League of Library Commissions . American Association of Law Libraries Special Libraries Association .... Attendance summaries Attendance register Index 238 238 238 244 245 247 247 249 250 274 275 276 288 288 290 337 342 344 346 347 355 ^' BERKELEY CONFERENCE JUNE 3-9, J9J5 PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS: THE LIBRARY'S PRIMARY DUTY By Hilleb C. Wellman, Librarian, City Library, Springfield, Mass. Fellow Members: This gathering of the American Library Association is but the thirty-seventh annual conference. The fact is significant, for it reminds us how brief is the history of the public library. Our other teachers are more venerable. Books we have had since the world was young; the church, through the ages; schools and universities and great reference libraries for scholars, hundreds of years; the news- paper, some three centuries; but the public library — free to all the people — only a few decades. That is an amazingly brief period to witness the rise and development of a great educational agency — so widespread and so far-reaching. Yet, rapid as it has been, the spread of the public library is in a sense not sur- prising. It is a truism to say that the safety of a republic rests on the enlight- enment of its people; and wise men were quick to see in the library a sound instru- ment of popular instruction. More slowly, they are recognizing that It also contrib- utes, in a measure equalled by few other institutions save the public school, toward realization of the great ideal — still dear to America — equality of opportunity. It is not strange, therefore, that American communities everywhere are coming to deem it proper that all men have access to books; and for the spread of public libraries, we as librarians need feel no great concern. It will go on whether we urge or no; for the public library has be- come an essential of democracy. But the shaping of the libraries is a dif- ferent matter; it lies often in the hands of the men and women who administer them. And if it is peculiarly the librari- an's responsibility, so, too, it is a responsi- bility demanding foresight and judgment. For the library — to use a mathematical term — is not a constant but a variable. It has assumed new functions and today is still changing to a degree hardly realized save when we regard it in perspective. That the public library should have started with traditions inherited from scholars' or research libraries is but nat- ural. For a whole generation librarians laid more stress on garnering books and on perfecting the admirable machinery of their organization, than on finding read- ers for them; and it did not seem anoma- lous in the late 'sixties — though it does now to us — to find the trustees of a great public library virtually congratulating themselves that the poorest books were the most read, for they reported "It is in many respects fortunate that the wear and tear of the Library falls mainly upon the class of works of the smallest relative importance," while the librarian lamented that "It had become very common for visit- ors to demand the use in the Hall of costly books of engravings, for mere purposes of curiosity." As late as 1868, when the fore- most public library in the country — that of Boston — stood second in size only to the Library of Congress, the classes in the community chiefly served may be guessed from the fact that its reference collections and reading rooms were closed, not only Sundays and holidays, but every evening as well; while of a population numbering a quarter o£ a million souls, less than twelve thousand held cards. The propor- 4 i-r '■' rr, '-i 90 BERKELEY CONFERENCE tlon would be the same if at present all the public libraries in the United States should reach a clientage no larger than the num- ber of people living in New York City. But about that date, under the leadership of a scholar, Justin Winsor, began the great work of popularization, a process which was without doubt hastened by the influ- ence of the American Library Association, with its opportunities for conference and comparison. In former times there had even been question as to the status of women in libraries, or at least protest against admitting them to "the corrupter portions of the polite literature"; but in an early report the trustees of the Boston library gave assurance that they regarded it as "one of the most pleasing and hopeful features .... that its advantages are equally open to both sexes." Nowadays libraries besides making extensive pro- vision for the general reader are striving more and more to meet the special needs of every class in the community. Muni- cipal reference collections are being estab- lished for our legislators and oflicials, technical books are supplied in profusion for the artisans in every branch of indus- try, commercial books for the business men, books for the blind, books for the aliens, even for the sick, the insane and the crimi- nal, and above all, for the children who have in recent years come to absorb so large a share of attention. Furthermore, this great public has been admitted freely to the books on the library shelves; while outside, through branch libraries and stations, by collections in schools and other institu- tions, by traveling libraries and deposits in factory and office building, in shop and grange and club — in short, by placing books wherever they will be accessible — the library alike in the small town and the great city is being carried to the people. More significant still, is the changed con- ception of library work. To supply demand is now regarded as by no means enough; the library must create demand. It must be aggressive, not passive. By booklists and bulletins, by addresses to societies and personal visits to the working men in shop or club, by exhibitions, by circulars, by a constant fire of articles and notes in news- papers and magazines, in short by all the arts and wiles of modern publicity, librari- ans are expected to make known their re- sources, to spread a pealization of the op- portunities both cultural and practical af- forded by the library; and the ideal is not fulfilled until in every man, woman and child capable of comprehending, there has been awakened an appreciation of the bene- fits and the delights to be derived from books. Thus has evolved the modern public li- brary. No similar institution in a commu- nity touches the lives of so many of its people. Consider how rapid has been this development. Much of it has taken place within a generation, much within the years of the present century. Some of it may still be regarded as tentative. With so large a sum of achievement, librarians do not fear frank criticism of details; and a prime purpose of these annual gatherings Is to scrutinize the wisdom of our various activities. For example, in these days when the utilitarian is coming to be a fetich even in education, is there danger of the cultural ideal of the library becom- ing overshadowed? Is there a temptation to overemphasize the bread-and-butter side of the library — the excellent practical work of helping men and women in all callings to advance materially, of furnishing aid to men in business and commerce — all of which appeals so readily to the taxpayer? Are our methods of publicity in keeping with the dignity of an educational institu- tion? With limited funds, is the share of the library's money and energy allotted to the extensive work with children justi- fied by the returns? It is well to con- sider questions like these, to endeavor to make sure that in all directions results are commensurate with the cost, and to weigh the relative emphasis to be given different phases of the work. Whether there be or be not room for some advancement of relative effort as regards the activities already described. It will be agreed without question that they are in WELLMAN 91 the main wise and successful, that they are approved by the taxpayer, and that they constitute but a logical development for accomplishing the ends for which the public library is maintained. But in re- cent years there has become evident a marked tendency towards innovations of a somewhat different nature. They are often grouped under the term library extension, which might be taken to imply that they extend beyond the field of library work in its strict sense. It is becoming increas- ingly common for lectures — not simply on library or literary topics, but popular courses on all manner of subjects — to be provided by libraries and occasionally de- livered by the librarians themselves. Here and there has been further adventuring in the field of direct instruction, with classes for children in science, for for- eigners learning English, and even tenta- tive correspondence courses. Exhibitions of all kinds are held by libraries, including not simply books, bindings, and prints, but paintings, rugs, porcelains and other objects of art, frequently natural history specimens, flower shows, occasionally in- dustrial displays or commercial exhibits; and some libraries have installed perma- nent museums. Story-telling for children on an elaborate scale has become not un- usual, with the avowed purpose of interest- ing them in good literature, but sometimes conducted at playgrounds and other places where there is no distribution of books; and in general the work with children has been extended in manifold directions. We read here and there of games, dances, par- ties — particularly for the holidays, plays, aeroplane contests, athletic meets, and other entertainments, and children's clubs of many kinds. In one city the branch libraries were centers for collection in the "fly-swatting" contests. Such work is sometimes carried on by outside agencies in rooms furnished by the library; more often it is conducted by the library itself. One large library offered prizes to boys and girls making articles during the sum- mer for exhibition last fall; and exhibi- tions of model aeroplanes, bird houses and other results of manual training seem not infrequent. The adults, too, are not neg- lected. We are lending library halls freely for literary, educational, civic and chari- table purposes, and to a growing extent for social gatherings and entertainments as well. Here a library has established a so- cial center for young women where "all the various useful arts and handicrafts [can] be taught, free of charge," and there an- other has opened public debates each week on topics of timely interest, with speakers chosen by the trustees. Photographs and prints of all kinds, music rolls, scores, lantern slides, phonographic records, which are often supplied for circulation, perhaps fall within the legal definition of book or writing, and the lending of his- torical and scientific specimens, and of stereoscopes, radiopticons, and lanterns, is a function that is closely allied. In one or two cities branch librarians are em- ployed in friendly visiting among the fami- lies of the neighborhood or for social service work with factory girls. One li- brary is reported to maintain close rela- tions with the probation oflicer and juve- nile court; another publishes an excellent magazine giving large space to matters of civic and commercial interest; elsewhere libraries are said to be aiding in social sur- veys. Not only is the reading of foreign- ers fostered, but their welfare in other ways is looked out for. Semi-social gath- erings are held, talks on citizenship some- times planned, and in at least a few places, exhibitions of their handiwork have been arranged. Concert-giving by libraries with victrolas is becoming not unusual; and now we are introducing moving pictures. Most of the practices enumerated are as yet by no means common enough to be characteristic of the American public li- brary; but whether general or sporadic, they are of suflSciently frequent occur- rence to show a strong trend. It has been said by one friendly critic that librarians are peculiarly alert to social needs, and so eager to render all possible service, that once convinced of a real want in the community, they are prone to undertake 92 BERKELEY CONFERENCE to meet it without always considering whether the work falls properly within the sphere of the library or could be better conducted by some other agency. No doubt it is true that an institution like the public library, which has developed so rapidly, with few hampering traditions, is especially pliable, and possibly extends its scope more readily than it might other- wise. But the truth is, as a matter of fact, somewhat larger, for the tendency seems but in keeping with the spirit of the times observable elsewhere in the church, in play- grounds and public centers of recreation and education of diverse sorts, and, some critics hint, even in the school curricula. Yet, if these signs really mark the begin- ning of library evolution toward institu- tions of wider social activity, the path should be chosen consciously and with de- liberation, for it is obvious that the change is likely to affect the library itself pro- foundly — either for good or ill. Some of the papers and discussions at the present conference will bear directly or indirectly on various phases of the questions which I have raised; and it is not my purpose to anticipate by offering here my own conclusions. But I should like to plead that however occupied with ex- ecutive cares, and whether engaged in sup- plying with books the practical needs of the community, or turning to work of wider social application, the librarian should never forget or slight what seems to me to be a primary duty of the public library — a service so fundamental that, as I shall try to show, it may be said without exag- geration to touch the springs of our civili- zation Itself. For this twentieth century civilization of ours, which the world so easily takes for granted, is nevertheless regarded with mis- giving by many who examine its evolution and condition. Within the past two or three years alone, not a few thoughtful writers have questioned its solidity and permanence. The Italian historian, Fer- rero; the brilliant English churchman, J. N. Figgis; A. J. Hubbard in his "Fate of Empires," S. O. G. Douglas, Guy Theodore Wrench, Mrs. John Martin — all are im- pressed with the transitoriness of the phe- nomena we know as civilization. Macau- lay's famous New Zealander taking his stand on a broken arch of London bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's, in his "vast solitude" may count at least on the ghostly fellowship of a goodly number of our contemporary writers who have been solicitous as to the laws of modern civili- zation and its decay. Perhaps the most interesting of these treatises is the immensely suggestive little volume in which the archaeologist, W. M. Flinders Petrie, has traced the rise, the flourishing, and the decay of eight suc- cessive civilizations in Egypt during a pe- riod of ten thousand years, and five dis- tinct eras of civilization in Europe from the early Cretan down through the clas- sical and that of our own day. It is only in recent years that, owing to the dis- covery and study of archaeological re- mains, it has become possible to take the long view. Hitherto, students have been confined largely to comparisons between our own civilization and the classical which immediately preceded it. Professor Petrie uses as criteria the development of the different arts, especially the period when each passes from a stage of archaism to a condition of full artistic freedom; and he finds that in all the civilizations he has presented, so far as discernible, the arts have reached their highest devel- opment in the same sequence. First comes sculpture, followed by painting, and then literature; these in turn are succeeded after a somewhat longer interval by the development of mechanics, of science, and the results of applied science, or wealth. There appears to be a striking conformity, not only in the sequence, but roughly, in the relative time, suggesting that the same laws are operative throughout the entire period. The intervals between the suc- cessive waves of civilization as shown by the point when sculpture, the first of the arts, reaches the stage when it is fully freed from archaism averages between thirteen and fourteen hundred years, with WELLMAN 93 an apparent tendency towards lengthening in the case of the later civilizations. Our modem European civilization, according to Professor Petrie, reached the turning point of freedom in sculpture about 1240 A. D.; in painting, about 1400; in litera- ture during the Elizabethan age, or about 1600; in mechanics possibly in 1890; -while the full development in science and in the production of wealth is still to come. Of course, I have not cited the interest- ing and ingenious conclusions of Professor Petrie, which are bristling with debatable points, nor referred to the works of the other authors, who differ much among themselves, as proving any definite theory of civilization. I merely wish to impress on you the well-recognized fact that civ- ilization is an intermittent phenomenon. Nor can I personally see that our own civ- ilization, though covering so much wider area than any which have preceded it, dif- fers essentially from them, except in two respects. One of them is the possession of a religion so ennobling that if its prin- ciples were valid in the hearts of men, it would seem in itself to afford a strong preservative, at least against the corrup- tion and ill living that accompany a de- caying civilization. But one of the phe- nomena that all students point out is the weakening in our times of the hold of religion on the minds and actions of men. The other essential difference, as I see it, between our civilization and previous ones lies in the remarkable development of the arts of communication. The facilities for travel by steamship and railroad, and for the transmission of information by mail and telegraph, have so united the world and brought into contact differing civili- zations as to produce a condition without parallel in earlier ages. But incomparably greater in its effect is the ease of communication from mind to mind resulting from the invention of print- ing. One would be rash, indeed, to assume that this new force in the world, powerful though it be, and aptly termed the art pre- servative of arts, has yet within itself suf- ficient virtue to overbalance the laws v.hich, working through human nature for ages past, have caused one great civiliza- tion after another to rise, reach its zenith, and decay. Yet, when we consider that not simply in preserving knowledge, but in diffusing it among the whole people, it has produced a condition of general en- lightenment that has never before been known; and when we remember also the immense acceleration given to the rena- scence of the very civilization we now en- joy through the recovery by scholars of the Greek manuscripts and classical texts, It may not be immoderate to hope that this great art of printing will have an in- calculable influence in deepening, strength- ening, carrying higher, and prolonging this present wave of our civilization; and should this likewise be destined to recede, in alleviating man's intervening low estate and hastening the world's next great ad- vance. And in carrying to the whole peo- ple the solider and more vital product of the printing press, no such agency has ever before existed as the modern free public library. This, then, I conceive to be the great fundamental obligation of the public li- brary — to make accessible to all men the best thought of mankind, whether it be found in the classic works of the older civilizations that preceded our own, or in the master intellects of a later day, or in the innumerable derivative writings of les- ser minds. And this function is one that I trust may never be forgotten, however far it may seem well to extend the prov- ince of the library in other directions. While striving in every wise way to fur- ther the material or ephemeral interests of our communities, above all, we as libra- rians should prize and cherish the things of the mind and of the spirit. Only those gifted by God can hope for the supreme joy of feeding the pure, white flame that lights man's pathway through the ages. Few they be and blessed. It is privilege enough for us to strive to hold aloft the light, and carry ourselves staunchly and worthily as torchbearers. BERKELEY CONFERENCE THE LOVE OF THE BOOK Bt Henbt W. Kent, Secretary, Metropolitan Museum, of Art, New York I am minded to speak upon the Love of the Book because of a belief that the world is coming to a realizing sense of the fact that care and affection for the body of the Book — its physical appearance — do not necessarily mean indifference to the soul — the thought enshrined in it. I am the more inclined to this task because of a be- lief that the librarian especially, through his determined efforts to bring about a li- brary communism, through his endeavor to relieve the community of all the joys of collecting and possessing books, is pauper- izing the souls of men by just so much. To teach the love of books and to bring about respect for them can be accomplished only by encouraging the ownership of them. To encourage the habit of collect- ing Is as much the duty of the professed advocate of books as is the habit of read- ing itself. No one who does not own a book can love a book. We hear too much about the love of reading. Let us extol the Book. There have been men, who, fired with a desire for learning, and a longing to im- part It to others, collected books with pas- sion ; they have existed from the beginning of time, and have been sung in verse and chronicled in story. To some, the great li- braries of the world lift up their heads as monuments, while to others, less fortunate In the whirligig of time, the auctioneer's catalogs alone remain to tell the story of their accomplishments. It was the son of a merchant, Nicholas Nicolini, who, giving up his opportunities for personal gain in the business world, devoted himself to humanity, and who, with Cosimo de'Medici, gave Italy its first public library, as the fruit of his assiduous hunt for manuscripts. It was a servant to a dealer in vegetables, Magliabecchi, the "glutton of books," "a living cyclopedia, though a dark lanthorn," as Disraeli called him, who by his own endeavors raised him- self to the most distinguished position as a man of letters, and founded the library of Florence that bears his name. It was the poet, Petrarch, the "first mod- ern man," the "apostle of the Renaissance throughout the whole of Europe," lover of Laura and of the ancients, who gave his manuscripts, "compositions and nourishers of his repose," his books that "give delight to the very marrow of one's soul" "the intimate and living part" of him, to found the library at Venice. Of all the lovers of books, none was more assiduous in the search for them, none more successful In gathering them. "There is within me," he says, "an unquenchable desire which I never have been able to suppress, nor have I desired to suppress it; for I flatter myself that the desire for worthy things can never be unworthy. Would you know my com- plaint? I cannot satisfy my hunger for books, even when I have already more perhaps than are needful to me. But the search is like others: success only sharp- ens the edge of desire." There are few figures In the biography of book-collectors as noble as Petrarch, and we like to think of him as ending his life in the way Nolhac describes: "On a July night in 1374, when Petrarch was keeping vigil in his small study, as was his wont, death came to him. His friends found him in the morning with his forehead resting on the book that lay open before him. Thus great Petrarch died, in a fashion worthy of the love he felt for books and knowledge, which, far more than the lovely Provengal lady, had been the burning pas- sion of his life." And speaking of the great humanist re- minds me of his friend, the great cleric, Richard de Bury, whom he met at Paris, "the Paradise of the world" to all true bookmen. "So much did I love that City," says the bishop, "that my stay there seemed always too short. There are 11- 95 braries sweeter than scented chambers; there is a green orchard hanging with every kind of book. There I opened my purse, I undid the strings, and threw my money about with a glad heart to secure the priceless treasures from filth and dust." There, he might have added, he saved many volumes for his collection, which al- ready numbered more books than the li- braries of all the other bishops put to- gether; indeed, each of his several resi- dences contained a library, and so many books Uttered his bedroom that there was hardly room to walk, which reminds us of Magliabecchi's cluttered abode, whose very bed became so crammed with books that he was forced to sleep upon the floor. To the priest and scholar, we must add that other class of lovers of the book, who served as its protector, as efficiently as they, the aristocrats among men, kings, queens and great personages, at whose head stands that epitome of elegance, Jean Grolier, Comte de Anguisy, treasurer of France to his Majesty by divine right, Francis I., fine of face and figure, and be- loved of all men even over-seas. We may not forget him, though his titles, missions and financiering are now forgot. He holds his place in the history of the making of Books, as the friend of Aldus and the patron of authors, aiding the great Venetian to print sumptuously and the authors to write well. He so loved the Book that he could not bear that it should be treated in any but regal fashion. To him we owe an ex- ample followed by sovereigns, of the regard for books as works of art, their possession distinguishing the man as a person of taste and breeding and carrying with it the ob- ligation to share their benefits with one's friends. Such men as these represent for us the period fast fading away, when men's minds and hearts were full of gratitude for the works which God in His grace had given for the understanding of His word and the spread of wisdom. They take us back to simpler days when there was time to read and ponder the written book. They give us an insight into the feelings of those who read those books which we, who can't read them, cherish for their beauty. Such men as these stand for the love of books in the XV and XVI centuries, for what Pater, in his essay on Pico della Mi- randola, puts so well: "For the essence of humanism is that belief of which he seems never to have doubted, that nothing which has ever interested living men and women can wholly lose its vitality — no language they have spoken, no oracle beside which they have hushed their voices, no dream which has once been entertained by actual human minds, nothing about which they have ever been passionate or expended time or zeal!" I must ask you to turn from them, how- ever, to another bookman, a little dusty, a trifle pompous, perhaps, and clearly self- conscious, Sir Thomas Bodley. We can surely forgive Sir Thomas "that he should not wholly so hide those little abilities that he had," when "it was done in some meas- ure in one kind or other the true part of a profitable member of the state," and we are grateful to him for his philanthropy. The statutes he drew up for the library at Ox- ford, as well as his life, introduce us to a new kind of humanism, the active direction of energy towards the betterment of so- ciety. In his writings we have the first note of the modern idea of books — differing from the bishop's, whose whole care was for the fraternity, differing again from Pet- rarch's, whose interest lay in literature alone. His care was for all sorts of stu- dents forever, "to provide for the Indem- nity of the Library as a Treasure to Stu- dents of incomparable worth." The re- quirements necessary to this end, as wisely expressed by him, are as essential today as they were then. He says, "I found myself furnished in a competent proportion of such four kinds of Aids, as unless I had them all, there was no hope of good suc- cess: for without some kind of knowledge, as well in the Learned and Modern Tongues, as in sundry other sorts of scho- lastic Literature, without some Purse- ability to go through with the Charge, with- out great store of Honourable friends, to 96 BERKELEY CONFERENCE further the design and without special good leisure to follow such a Work, it could but have proved a vain attempt and in- considerate." All of the collectors whom we have men- tioned and many more like them were col- lectors of books in the grand manner, and are reverenced by all as the preservers of the Book in a pursuit "honourable to Literature." Whatever their interest in books, whether humanism, the humanities, or the perquisites of the great, if they ac- complish nothing else, they saved for fu- ture generations the manuscripts and books, which, without them, would have perished. There are many worthy people who col- lect books for a different end, for what they can get out of them; some, with a real desire for learning or cultivation, regard- ing them as vehicles of thought; some, as a means of gratifying curiosity; others, with a gentlemanly desire to create a pleas- ant impression in the community in which they live. These are the people who are called "private collectors" by their friend and monitor, the bookseller. There is lit- tle to be said about them. They belong to the great body of the commonplace. They follow the conventions outlined by the teachers of literature in ladies' seminaries and colleges, and are of use to the world of books only when, having brouglit to- gether what the bookseller calls "the books that ought to be in every gentleman's li- brary," they die, leaving their libraries to be sold for the benefit of their widows. They are the men of whom it has been said, "It is not sufficient to become learned to have read much, if we read without reflec- tion." But we should not be too severe upon them: they serve an admirable pur- pose in the book world by making it worth the while of publisher, bookseller, and auctioneer to continue in business. In- deed, were it not for them, who would pro- duce the "sets of standard authors," "li- braries" of this and that, and reprints in mottled, marbled, and stained calf, of "books that everybody ought to know?" These, however, are not lovers of the Book. To them attaches no obliquy, as to those who, like Lord Fopplngton in the Relapse, exclaim: "To mind the insides of a book is to entertain oneself with the forced prod- ucts of another man's brain. Now I think a man of quality and breeding may be mucli amused with the natural sprouts of his own;" or to those who resemble the lover of books described by Pope in the lines: "In books, not authors, curious is my Lord, To see their dated backs he turns you round; These Aldus printed, these De Seull bound, So some have vellum, and the rest as good." Undoubtedly there have been foolish collectors like the one described by La Bruyfere: "I go with my friend, and he receives me in a house where, even on the stairs, the smell of the black morocco with which his books are covered is so strong that I nearly faint. He does his best to receive me; shouts in my ear that the volumes have 'gilt edges,' that they are 'elegantly tooled,' that they are 'good edi- tions' . . . and informs me that he never reads, that he never sets foot in this part of the house, that he 'will come to oblige me.' I thank him for all his kindness, and have no more desire than himself to see the tanner's shop that he calls his library." Collectors like this have ever been a sign of the times in which they lived — times of little literary activity, and of a paucity of books of other kinds. Was not this, how- ever, a reflection upon a state of society, or upon a class, rather than upon the bookman? And speaking of the abuse of the ideals of the book collector brings us to a con- sideration of the phases of book-collecting in the XVIII century, which, like so many things of that period, have been misun- derstood, or not considered at all by the matter-of-fact librarians of today, to their distinct loss, since in that period came about a new development in the collecting of books — the general private ownership. What the great collectors did in the man- ner of their times, the good Bishop of Bury, piously; Sir Thomas, studiously; Grolier, magnificently; that the collectors of the XVIII and early XIX centuries— the era of collectors — did after the fashion of their day, with the spirit of the connois- seur, who collects daintily, preciously, if you please, coins, paintings, prints, and statuary, and everything collectable. This was the period of witty and playful Horace Walpole, the great exemplar of collectors; of Gray, the poet; of the dilettanti; and the Italian dancers. This was the period of the anecdote, with its charming atten- tion to little things, little people, gossip, and the superfluous. This was the period, also, of bibliography that was readable, though grandiloquent, perhaps, to us mak- ers of "Guides," "Lists," and "One hundred selected this and that." This was the period when the book was rediscovered, and, happily, was found to be a proper possession of the layman, the man of cul- tivation, as well as the scholar and the churchman. It was not, indeed, until the XIX century tliat one word was found to express this love for the collecting of books for their own sakes. This word, "Bibliomania," is discovered in the title given to a poem written by Dr. Ferriar, the noted physi- cian, in honor of his friend, Richard Heber, the most distinguished collector of his time, called by Sir Walter Scott, "Heber, the Magnificent, whose library and cellar are so superior to all others in the world." The term is explained by the poet-doctor in the following lines: What wild desires, what restless torments seize The hapless man who feels the book- disease, If niggard Fortune cramp his generous mind. And Prudence quench the spark by Heaven assign'd! With wistful glance his aching eyes behold The Princeps-copy, clad In blue and gold, Where the tall Book-case, with partition thin Displays, yet guards, the tempting charms within. Not thus the few, by happier fortune grac'd And blest, like you, with talents, wealth, and taste. Who gather nobly, with judicious hand. The Muse's treasures from each letter'd strand. For you the Monk illum'd his pictur'd page. For you the press defies the Spoils of age, Faustus for you infernal tortures bore. For you Erasmus starv'd on Adria's shore. The folio-Aldus loads your happy shelves, And dapper Elzevirs, like fairy elves, Show their light forms amidst the well-gilt Twelves: In slender type the Giolitos shine. And bold Bodoni stamps his Roman line. For you the Louvre opes its regal doors. And either Didot lends his brilliant stores: With faultless types, and costly sculptures bright, Ibarra's Quixote charms your ravish'd sight. Ferriar, having set this new Idea in mo- tion and given it a name, the words "Biblio- phile," "Bibliomania," "Bibliophobia," and many others began to be heard In the land, and dictionaries like those delightful ones of Barbier were furnished with brand new definitions. The world waked up to what some were pleased to consider a folly concerning which they had before been ignorant; as, for instance, Disraeli, who says of Bibliomania, "the Bibliomania, or the collecting of an enormous heap of books without intelligent curiosity, has, since libraries have existed, infested weak minds, who imagine they themselves ac- quire knowledge when they keep it on their shelves"; and collectors of books presently came to be divided into two classes — good and bad. But what are the symptoms of this so- called book disease of which old Ferriar wrote? Andrew Lang, that fine figure of a bookman, suspected that it is a senti- mental passion, and for that reason people who have not felt it always fail to under- stand it. We should rather have had him say a passion of fine sentiment of those who, remembering Mainz, respect and love the book. It is pleasant to think that there be some who have imagination and who are not afraid of It, who are not alarmed at seeing further than the best- 98 BERKELEY CONFERENCE seller of the day, or even the best litera- ture. It is good to know that there are those who love the book for its own sake, and not, vampire-like, for what they can get out of it. Dibdin, the learned, the associate of "a galaxy of intellectual splendor," the chatty Scheherazade of a thousand and one bib- liographical delights, began to write upon this subject. "Never willing to believe that an unwearying production of work of a good tendency could ultimately be over- looked by your countrymen, you felt, . . . strongly felt, that the quantity of employ- ment it occasioned, in addition to your own, was a species of patriotism that might challenge the approbation of the v/ise and good." Not so light a task, Mr. Disraeli, to set for "weal: minds," "without intelligent curiosity." His sermon, preached on Ferriar's text, and v.ith Ferriar's title, served as a vehicle to bring into being sane definitions of the eight symptoms of the disease. He sums them up as follows: A craving for Large Paper Copies; Illustrated Copies; Unique, and Vellum Copies; First Editions; True Editions and Black Letter Books; and, best of all, he gives the probable cure for the disease: by the Study of useful and profitable works; by the Reprinting of scarce and intrinsically valuable works; by the Editing of the best ancient writers; by Erecting public institutions; and by the Encouragement of Bibliography. "To place competent librarians over the several de- partments of a large public library," says he, "or to submit a library on a more con- fined scale to one diligent, enthusiastic, and well-informed, well-bred bibliographer or librarian, is doing a vast deal towards diverting the channels of literature to flow In their proper course." What a prophecy is here, Mr. Dibdin! We cannot leave Dibdin without a thought of his friends, who. with him, con- stituted one of the most interesting groups in the history of bibliomania, the love and the collecting of the book. What a galaxy of great names in bibliography is asso- ciated with him. To mention the Rox- burghe Club, which Dibdin founded on the evening before the sale of the Valdar- fer Boccaccio of 1471 from the library of the Duke of Roxburghe, alone introduces us to several of his most choice biblio- maniacal comrades. Mr. Baron Boleand, at whose home the first dinner was held and who ordered his butler "to extricate an elongated bottle of burgundy from dank saw dust and cobwebs in order therewith to celebrate the glories of the coming day"; Mr. Lang, a gentleman of Portland place, "loving books and possessing them in great store"; Sir Egerton Brydges and George Henry Freeling, Esq., whose "Bib- liographical petals were then just begin- ning to unfold"; Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, "of all men most sensitive and anxious about his book acquisitions"; Earl Gower; Edrl Spencer himself; Richard Heber, half-brother of the bishop whose travel connected with the making of his library, upon which he spent upwards of £100,000, and whose eight houses filled with his treasures are familiar facts, and whose famous remark we all remember: "No man can comfortably get along without three copies of each book. One he should have for a show copy which he will prob- ably keep at his country house, another he will require for his own use and reference; and unless he is Inclined to part with them, which would be very inconvenient, or risk the injury of his best copy, he must have a third at the service of his friends"; George Isted, who "dabbled with, than looked lustily to, the black-letter craft, who buzzed about rather than settled upon, the object of his choice, the favorite fiower of in tlie book parterre"; and the rest. 1 am tempted to speak of certain other books and bookmen — of Isaac Disraeli, the father of Benjamin, whose "Curiosities of Literature," "Amenities of Literature," "Calamities of Authors," and "Quarrels of Authors" are the direct descendants of the anecdotes of the preceding period, with an added consciousness, perhaps, and a little less charm, of that wonderful work, "Notes and Queries," that paradise of the good book-lover, that happy hunting KENT 99 ground, which ought by divine right to have a volume to itself; of Spence's Anec- dotes; of Mr. Pierre Bayle and his Dic- tionary; of Voltaire, upon all of whom, nowadays, the top shelf's dust too often gently settles, — but I shall refrain. There may be better men than these, doubtless there are, but as for me, I like to quote Andrew Lang's opening stanza of the poem addressed to Frederic Lockyer Lamson: "1 mind that Forest Shepherds' saw. For when men preached of heaven, quoth he, 'Its a' that's bricht, and a' that's braw. But Bourtliorpe's guide enecht for me.' " Lockyer himself, who in sympathy and in enthusiasm really belongs to the immortals that live a generation or two before him. Is a bookman's writer, and so is fecund Lang and charming Anatole France and half a dozen others. If we were to enter into a discussion of the French bookman's writers of the nine- teenth century, we should find a field so absorbing, so delightful, that no single pa- per would hold our exclamations. Think of Paul Lacroix, who signed "P. L. Jacob Bibliophile" to his "Dissertations Biblio- graphique," and his "Melanges Biblio- graphiques," and many other volumes, who prayed his friends about to sell his library, "Dieu fasse qu'il vous inspire un remords et qu'il vous engage a rester bib- liophile et bibliographe"; of Nodier; of Barbier; of Jouvin; of Didot, the printer — bookmen all, loving nothing more. Such men as these are our ancestors in the love of the book; they loved it be- cause they found it good, because they discovered that its history and its bibli- ography were worthy of their study, be- cause they found in it something more than a vehicle for men's thoughts, noble and all-absorbing as that is, and because they found in large paper copies, illus- trated copies, unique and vellum copies, first editions, and black-letter, beauty worthy of their admiration. To love the book well and truly, we must know three things — its history, phys- ical and geographical; the story of its relation to the great movements for culture in which it has played so important a part; and, last, but not least, we must under- stand that with it we are dealing with a work of art. We will assume that any dealer in books, whether collector, libra- rian, bookmaker or seller, will have found it to his advantage to have a familiarity with the facts connected with the devel- opment of the printing press, its invention, and the discussion which has waged about its: origin, its spread over Germany, Italy, France, and England. We will assume that all librarians at least know the ele- mentary history of its typography — cer- tainly no school should give a diploma to one who did not. We will assume that they at least have tasted the joys of the study of "Black Letter," the "cradle-books" of printing, and have been led to trace the presses of European cities; that they know the kinds of type that obtained and where and how they got their form; why the colophon, was and then gave place to the title-page as we have it today, when pagination, head-titles, chapter-heads, ini- tial letters, and illustrations began to be used — in a word, how long it was before the book broke away from the traditions of the manuscript from which it came, and be- came the book as we know it today. We will assume that librarians will agree with Sidney Lee, who says: "No feature in the intellectual history of (the Renaissance) can compare in practical in- terest with the progress of the new me- chanical contrivance, which stimulated lit- erary effort, and provided means of dis- tributing to literary culture," and no more suggestive light can be thrown on the in- tellectual qualities and tendencies of the people of Europe than "by a summary com- parison of the character, work, aims, and number of the early printers." . . . Very little mention of the art of books is made by the writers on art, because, forsooth, these gentlemen have been as intent upon following a conservative defi- nition of what they called art as the libra- rian has with regard to what he believed constituted the value of books. Indeed, I 100 BERKELEY CONFERENCE suspect that it is because sufficient em- phasis has not been laid upon the book as an object of art that so many who have loved it for this quality have been misjudged by the merely bibliographical- minded. The librarian may not forget that his is the custodianship of objects of art. Can there be a librarian whose li- brary, however meagerly supplied with real books, because of lack of funds, or of circumstances requiring him to be con- tent with travesties of books offered by publishers' lists today — can there be one who does not know his kinship to the cus- todian of works of art? Now you may love the book because of its beauty, with- out reference to its usefulness, just as you may enjoy a picture without thought of its moral lesson, or the Doges Palace without knowing all the history that has taken place inside it. Where can you find a work of the crafts- man or the artist so perfect as the Bible produced in secret by Gutenberg at Mainz, where juster proportions of line, more deli- cate contrasts of light and shade, or more harmonious adjustment of the qualities of beauty and usefulness? Where shall be found a finer appreciation of harmony of thoughts and words and illustrations than in the Italian illustrated books of the XV century; where bolder, directer, and more expressive ornament than in the books of Geoffrey Tory; where has ornament been more admirably applied than in the bind- ings of Italy and France in the days of Grolier, de Thou, and Henri II? When we see buildings erected by rich men and town councils, after plans drawn by misguided offshoots of the school in Paris, famous for architecture; when we see book-plates, bulletins, signs and re- ports of many libraries that know not Typographia; when we see cruelties prac- ticed on books by fair assistants, who blue-ink, rubber-stamp title-pages, who punch little holes out of fair white pages, who stick absurd pockets in the back of the book, we are tempted to wonder how the book, of all things, can be so mal- treated. To love the book well and truly. we must collect it, if It be recognized as a v/ork of art. We hear of all sorts of activi- ties centering in the public library, but I have yet to hear of the librarian who gath- ers his parish together to teach the book — to show the value of editions, of condition, of illustrations, of price, of beauty, and all the other important matters connected with book collecting. Clubs, like the Club of Odd Volumes and the Grolier Club, are formed elsewhere for this purpose; the societies of book-lovers, like the Biblio- graphical Society, the Soci6t6 des Amis des Livres, exist, embracing the collectors of books, prints, and bindings, exhibitions of editions, illustrations, and all of the many factors which enter into the making of the physical book, are held in Paris, London and New York. Such associations write and reprint books on the love of the book, on collecting, and on editions. Why should this field be given over to them and to the bookseller, whose back rooms have become the rendezvous of the collector, by the librarians; indeed, why should the whole literature of what we might call literary biography too largely be written, as it is, by amateurs, booksellers and printers? Hardly half of the books of real value in the bibliography of bibliography were written by a librarian. It may not be amiss to recall the list of the writers on the book, our noble an- cestors. In the XVII century, France had her Naud6, librarian of the Mazarin Li- brary; in the XVIII century, Peignot of the ficole Normale de la Haute Saone, Bar- bier, librarian to the Emperor Napoleon; in the XIX century, Nodier of the Arsenal Library, Lacroix, his associate, and Leopold Delisle; while England may boast her Dib- din, Beloe, Edwards, Garnett, Proctor, Pol- lard and Edmund Gosse, librarians all. Over against their names, however, we must set Richard of Bury, the Bishop of Durham; Justius Lipsius, the Professor of Leyden ; Jacques Charles Brunet, of the Manuel du Libraire; Pierre-Gustave Bru- net, of literary fame; Qu6rard, the bib- liographer; Janin, lawyer and critic; La- lanne, journalist; Uzanne, literary-man; KENT 101 Claudin, the great printer; Joseph Ames, the antiquary; John Nichols, the printer; Isaac D'Israell, the author; William Lowndes, the bookseller clerk; Ames, the printer; Andrew Lang, the poet and es- sayist; Hazlett, the author; Theodore De- Vinne, the printer, Leypoldt, the publish- er, and Livingston, the book-seller. Should not the librarian teach the love of the Book? Should he not encourage the collecting habit in others beside his board of trustees? Has lie no moral obligation to the Book? Have his trustees none? I believe he has and I believe that it is high time that he should awake to the importance of this neglected function. The ownership of Books is the beginning of respect for them, and respect for books is the beginning of wisdom. No librarian can afford to neglect this duty if he would serve his community well and truly. You cannot keep the public forever com- ing to your library; you must teach the reader to be independent if you would have him truly cultivated. Let the librarian ally himself with collectors, with biblio- philes; let him share his bibliographical secrets with the public; let him exhibit, let him publish. Bibliography is not a tool for his private delectation, but a pleasure to be enjoyed by all who under- stand its fascination. There is no useful art so called, that embraces so much of fine art. The variation and wide scope for beauty of proportion made possible by wide margins justifies interest in them; the fact that several arts are embraced in the study of "Illustrated copies," the art of illustration and of the processes of re- productions, engraving, etching and so on justifies it; the intimate and personal re- lation established with authors, publishers, booksellers and owners of books, justifies the love of unique editions and, if time admitted, an apologia could be found for each and all of Dibdin's symptoms of the love of Books. Let us remember the words of Dibdin, that to commit a library to the accomplished bibliographer "is doing a vast deal towards diverting the channels of literature to flow in their proper course." Let us be bibliographers in the true sense of the word, as well as librarians. Let us regard our profession as an art. I am of the belief that the abrogation of this claim by some wiseacres of the early eighties, who Yankee-like, fearing the word art, as incriminating, as involving a con- fession of incapacity, and a lack of moral stamina; who, desiring to impress the community with a sense of the librarian's trustworthiness and importance and think- ing to ally themselves with real men by the adoption of the word "Library science" to express their job, was a mistake. They forgot the traditions of their craft, they sold their birthright in the arts for a phrase. They dropped bibliography from their departments, and substituted shelf, catalog, order, what-not, for it. May we not hope that the day will come when we shall return to our traditions, and when we shall call ourselves, as did our bishop, fondly, by the word. Bibliophiles — lovers of the book, and collectors of it. Let us sing the song of praise for the Book. Let every librarian keep a little corner of his library for the books of "good tendencies" as Dibdin called them, as an ark of the covenant with the high traditions of his calling. Let him go back to the day of the old-fashioned bibliog- raphy when there was the love of the Book. 102 BERKELEY CONFERENCE BULLETINS AND LIBRARY PRINTING By Everett R. Pebry, Librariayi, Public Library, Los Angeles, Calif. Library service is disinterested effort to propagate the best of the world's written thought. All librarians, I suppose, would agree with me in this. I believe the li- brary bulletin, on which I have been asked to speak briefly to you today, can be made one of the most powerful means we have of directing the reading of the people away from the mediocre, the trivial and the cas- ual and acquainting them with the best. Fortunately, we have long ago learned that our libraries must be something more than mausoleums and librarians more than curators. We are visited not only by the few who know the best and seek it, but by the far greater class whose eternal question is, "What shall I read now?" The most powerful advertisement a book can receive is the personal word of com- mendation from friend or acquaintance — the suggestion even of library attendant, 1 believe. Next to this personal touch, though of far less influence, is the anno- tation or book review. If these are to attain to any real influence in our library bulletins, we must make decided changes in the form in which we put them before the public. Our bulletins as a means of advertisement, as an effort to allure the general public to read our books are in- deed a joke. When the average reader (long suffering man that he Is) comes into our public libraries, he wanders around among the book shelves till a fa- miliar author's name or some appealing title strikes his eye, answering for him temporarily the recurring question, "What shall I read next?" We librarians know well that our wonderful card catalogs are for students and for ourselves; they do little to solve this eternal question of the desultory reader. You will agree, too, that the world is divided into two classes, those who delight in asking questions, and those who decidedly do not. And let us not forget that there is something about the impressive architecture of our new library buildings and the hushed stillness of a library room that intimidates even those who are brave elsewhere. To meet this phase of our problem, we need all the assistance supplementary to personal serv- ice that our library bulletins can give us. Let us follow our average reader as he gets his book charged and prepares to de- part. He sees the woman just in front of him pick up one of a pile of printed booklets on the desk, library bulletins free to the public. He reaches for one as in- stinctively as we open our hands to a cir- cular or a tract thrust into them on the street. He does not really want one, he has picked them up before, but he yields to the suggestion in their being there and free. On the way home in the street car he may glance at it. If it is of the usual type, he finds on the front page an array of information that stirs no interest in him, the library location, the list of trus- tees, the librarian's name, the enumera- tion of branch libraries, followed perhaps by library regulations which in a general way he thinks he knows, luckily never having broken any of them. He turns the pages and here he finds more unsought information, an array of statistics, in fact, a whole page of tabulation of things in which librarians are much interested. Finally begins a list of books, frequently headed "Recent Accessions." His eye flits down the page — "General Works," "Phi- losophy," "Religion." The list begins with the classes that typify to him the "dry as dust." Each title is followed perhaps by hieroglyphics which only librarians un- derstand. Perhaps he will find the books listed in the order of a dictionary catalog, and if he chances to be interested in the newest additions in drama or art, he can not find them. Does he turn the page? No, his attention is caught by an ex- tremely clever advertisement above the 103 windows on the opposite side of the car, and he studies the whole line of them for the rest of the way home. Perhaps he leaves the bulletin on the seat behind him, discarded like a newspaper whose head- lines he has scanned. He may have got- ten something from the headlines, but what from the bulletin? Do we put the vital, important part of our bulletins into our headlines at all? Do we even take the trouble to make headlines or put anything else on the front page which shall arouse interest or appeal to the readers whom we need most to reach? There are a few who do, but our usual library bulletin or reading list all over the country can lay claim to nothing more than a respectable dullness. Our bulletins present the ap- pearance of bein-g written, not for readers, but for other librarians, who presumably can endure dullness. We throw away one of our greatest op- portunities for educating people to a more intelligent use of the library. Short articles on books worth reading, or lessons on the use of the library, might well be given in them from time to time, written up in a thoroughly readable way. Fling a question to your readers across the cover of your bulletin. "If you should want to know the history of the early California land grants, how would you use your library to find it?" In a short paragraph, recount the steps for tracking down the desired information. Such suggestions point the way. Let us employ the opportunity of our bulletins tc expand the readers' conceptions of the range of the library's usefulness. Quote half a dozen typical questions which have been telephoned to the library during the previous month. There is an astonishing number of people who do not know that the library stands ready to answer such questions. Make a "feature" of your front page in some way. Even the short eight- page bulletin of the smaller libraries can put together some timely list of books or magazine articles and call attention to its contents by a front-page announcement, "Books about the war," or whatever the list may be. We should aim to make our front page just as attractive as possible; and put our information at the end. The person who wants information will look for it. As to the book list Itself, I am con- vinced that our method of arranging the classes according to the decimal classifica- tion Is a mistake; that the class which con- tains the most important additions should come first, and with annotations. Let us list fewer of our new books, if necessary, but bring forward the best of them, and let them be annotated. Let the entry be brief — author, title, date and call number are sufficient. The additional facts that sometimes cumber our bulletin sheets, in the rare cases where they are desired, will be asked for. If we care to make our lists attractive, we must make them simple, we must suppress the technical. I will here quote Mr. E. L. Pearson, who says, "It seems to me hardly necessary to argue that all the curious signs, symbols, abbreviations and mystic marks, which are thought necessary In a catalog are out of place in a bulletin for public use. It is not only unnecessary to put in some of these things, but it is downright bad man- ners to your readers to try to give them Information which they could not under- stand if they wanted it." He deals with another point on which I am entirely In accord with him, the form of the author's name in our bulletins. "A cataloger," he says, "likes to call Arnold Bennett, Enoch Arnold Bennett, and then if the name is given in subject fullness in the bulletin, he becomes E. A.. Bennett, a total stranger to even well-informed readers of books. In the same way, Ellen Key, for whom the catalogers have discovered two or three unknown and useless names, gets in a bulletin as E. G. X. Y. Z. Key, or some- thing similar, and is therefore totally dis- guised." Speaking of his own paper, the "Branch library news," of the New York Public Library, he says, "The entry is now simply the name of the author in its best- known form; we do not use Kitchener, Hubert Horatio, 1st Viscount, but simply Kitchener, Lord, and strange as it may 104 BERKELEY CONFERENCE seem, everybody knows whom we mean by it." There are not a few library bulletins which contain advertisements. Personally, I believe it better to wait until a dignified sheet can be afforded than to compromise in this way. Monthly bulletins are to be preferred to those appearing quarterly, so much of the value of these publications consisting in their timeliness. After we have made every effort to get rid of the technical features which appeal chiefly to librarians and after we have placed statistical information and lists of branches in an inconspicuous part of the bulletin, we shall still fail of the greatest effect if we do not issue a typographically attractive publication. I shall not attempt to say what styles or sizes of type should be used, if only a small type be avoided, for there are many successful combina- tions. Your local printer should be able to advise; if not, follow the model of some bulletin which presents a page pleasing in appearance and easy to read. Another thought has come to me since I began gathering together my ideas on this subject. Might it not be well, consid- ering that very few of our libraries can afford to print bulletins sufficient for all subscribers, to make some effort to see that those we do print get into the hands of people who really want them. At pres- ent they lie on our desks and are taken away by those who happen first to come within our doors. Might not a card read- ing "Library bulletin may be obtained free upon request" deter the indifferent from carrying them home to their waste bas- kets? Might not a conspicuously placed, simply gotten up poster advertising the contents of the bulletin give it a special value, and stir up some of the indifferent? These are only suggestions. The problem of each library bulletin is an individual one. We have been too content to copy from one another; we have gotten into a rut and we need to realize that here is one of the rare fields where it is safe to experiment. THE FINE ART OF PRINTING Bv T. M. Cleland, New York Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: Not being a librarian myself, I am greatly Imbued with a respect and fear of the exactness of expression you may require of me. Thus, after selecting the title "The fine art of printing" for the subject of my paper, I have been greatly disturbed as to whether it would be considered a correct one or not. My only thought in selecting It, was to distinguish between the "liberal art" of printing — its scientific and indus- trial development, of which I have nothing to say, and its aesthetic aspect, to which all I have to say will be confined. I have since become painfully aware that the title "The fine art of printing" is one capable of many meanings other than the one I had in mind. It might be thought, for example, that It meant what is commonly known as "art printing," a term used by printers to distinguish a class of work, the evident aim of which is to be as ornamental and, at the same time, as useless as possible. So let us understand at the outset that we are speaking of the "Fine art" of a kind of printing which can be read, printing which performs its given function, however com- mon and useful that may be. VioUet-le-Duc, the celebrated writer on Architecture, furnishes me with an excel- lent text which I shall translate as liter- ally as possible. He says — "A civilization cannot pretend to possess an art unless that art shall penetrate everywhere — un- less it makes its presence felt in the com- monest of works." Now surely, printing Is, in the best sense, one of the commonest of works, and yet, I venture to say that 105 there are many of us who have done, or have had done for us, a good deal of printing, without realizing that it was or might be, a fine art. We would hesitate to attempt a portrait, or a landscape painting or a dec- orative design, without having a special aptitude or talent or training; but who, for the lack of those qualifications, ever hesitated to say how a piece of printing should be done? And yet, printing is one of the fine arts of design — as fine and as diflicult in its way as any other, and when you or the printer or whoever it may be, says that a piece of printing shall be done thus and so, you are designing it — you are practising a fine art. Many of us are al- ready aware of this, no doubt, and have made worthy efforts to improve the quality and appearance of our printing, but for those who have not done so (whom I sus- pect of being in the majority) a way must be found to bring them to a proper sense of their delinquency. In order that the punishment may not be greater than the crime, however, I will try my best to be brief in my endeavors to point out some of the elements of this art, in the hope that you will consider it worthy of your inter- est and study. Presumably, we are all more or less fa- miliar with the history of the printing press, and have at some time or other in- terested ourselves in the complex and learned disputes over the origin of the art. But our interest at present is not historical and our time is too fleeting and the art itself too long to permit of more than a cursory notice of some of the salient points In its evolution. I need hardly point out that we must confine ourselves to simple typographic printing such as we com- monly use, leaving aside the many develop- ments and allied processes which might come within the scope of our title. Now the primary component of common printing is, of course, the type character, and it is proper that we should begin by considering some of the steps in the de- velopment of type design, as well as the principle on which it was conceived. The fact of greatest Importance regard- ing the origin of printing types is so ob- vious, that it shares the fate of a great many other simple matters of common knowledge, in being frequently overlooked. Most printers never did know, and most other people are wont to forget, that the invention of printing had originally no other motive than the mechanical imita- tion of the handwriting which had pre- viously been the sole means of making a book. We should remember, however, that the handwriting used in books at the time printing was invented, did not resemble that with which we perplex each other at the present day. I should perhaps not say "we" because s/om have, I believe, in your profession an admirable kind of writing of your own which reverts, in a way, to the readability and regularity of the early manuscripts. We are all more or less fa- miliar with the beautiful handwritings of the 15th and 16th centuries and we know to what an extent books thus written and illuminated by the early scribes were treasured by the very few persons who were able to possess them. (It is inter- esting and profitable, in this connection, to imagine how greatly the invention of print- ing must have been deplored by many of the connoisseurs and collectors of that time, to whom its rank commercialism doubtless appeared to sound the knell of the art of the book.) The elementary forms of the written characters in use at the time when move- able types were invented, proceeded, as may readily be observed, from the form of the pen with which they were made. For fine writing a goose or crow quill was used and for the coarser kinds, a split reed, but in all cases they were cut in the same manner. This resembled somewhat our stub pen except that the broad point was sharpened in the form of a carpenter's chisel and cut off at a slight angle to con- form with the position of the hand in writ- ing. The ink flowed in a broad band the full width of the point when the pen was drawn up or down and when it was drawn in a lateral direction along its sharp edge only, a thin line resulted. In forming the 106 BERKELEY CONFERENCE curved strokes of the letters the line was graduated as the direction of the stroke changed, forming a line of peculiar grace, which is Inimitable by any other method, and which is one of the features of greatest beauty in the round, or so-called Roman characters, which, outside of Germany, have long been the accepted medium of western civilizations. It is proper, before going further, to say that we must confine ourselves to the con- sideration of the evolution of the Roman type face only: not because we fail to rec- ognize the great beauty and interest of the many variations which are classed as "Gothic," but because these characters are no longer quite readable to our eyes, and have irrevocably passed from general use. They have no place, except a decorative one, in the practice of modern printing. The first printing types were, of course, made In this Gothic form, common to the writing of Northern Europe, and familiar to the German inventors, and it was not until after the introduction of the new art into Italy that any Roman characters were made for printing. There, the in- evitable demand for an appropriate char- acter in which to print the Latin classics led to the cutting of types modeled upon the Roman manuscript forms. It is in these first Roman types produced in Italy that we find the models which were to serve for all time. These types, I must reiterate, were directly derived from the round formal handwriting of the Latin manuscripts — were, in fact, as close imita- tions as the mechanical difficulties of type cutting and casting would permit; and be- ing nearest to the source, they are the classics of type design. Of all of these first Roman types made in Italy, that which was cut and used by Nicholas Jen- son, a Frenchman, has long held the place of honour and may fairly be considered the example "par excellence" of the period. We should not pass this Italian period without some notice of another form of letter which has become nearly indispens- able in modern printing. I refer to what are known today as "Italics." These are said to have been invented by the great Venetian printer and publisher Aldus Manutius early in the 16th century and were done in imitation of the freer "cur- sive" handwriting commonly employed in regular correspondence. Aldus used these types with charming effect in his little pocket editions of the classics which were the forerunners of our popular priced edi- tions of today. The Italic types came into very general use in the 16th century — were, in fact, somewhat abused for a time, until the formal Roman happily regained its supremacy as the standard for text printing. The Italics came to serve only for the printing of prefaces or dedications, or, as we use them now, for special em- phasis of words or phrases. We must return now to the development of the formal Roman character, and note the nest step in its evolution which takes place in France in the 16th century. Here we find, as in the other arts, that the cre- ative genius of Italy has been seized upon by the French and passed through a proc- ess of refinement — imbued with a peculiar grace and elegance. The solid pen lines and vigorous amplitude of the earlier forms take on an attenuation, a sharpness and delicacy, which, though it has forfeit- ed something of the architectural stability of the earlier model, is more graceful. The important point to be noted, however, with regard to these French types, is that we find in them the design of printing types standing for the first time upon its own feet as an Independent art — independent, I mean, of the slavish imitation of hand- writing. The art of type design had branched out from the parent stem, so to speak, and was growing in its own way. It should not be supposed, however, that it had lost the initial principle of handwrit- ing. It had only added to the character in which it was conceived, a character of its own. The conclusion I would draw from this is, roughly, that these French Roman types of the 16th century might be consid- ered as the first real printing types — the first which accorded fully with the me- chanical requirements of the art as we CLELAND 107 know it today; and hence are the finest models which we have for practical con-' sideration. The earlier Italian models are possibly more beautiful in themselves, con- sidered from a rigidly high plane of taste; but I am not sure that the printing done with them does not partake more of the character of manuscript than of printing as we are required to practice it today. These types are, if I dare say so, a little too clas- sical, a little too remote — like the Greek temples at Paestum, they are inspiring, but it is hard to find any direct application for them. As the 17th century was more notable for exuberance in the fine arts than for taste, so its contribution to the develop- ment of type design, does not command our respect or gratitude. The general char- acteristics of the product of this period were clumsiness and poor workmanship. There was an inclination to fatten the let- ters somewhat and to increase the contrast between the light and the heavy strokes. The serifs of the capital letters became more pronounced and they frequently ex- hibited a tendency to curl and disport them- selves at unseemly angles. There is but little change to be noted during the greater part of the 18th cen- tury. The features of the preceding one were generally retained, though there are notable instances of an endeavor to im- prove tlie workmanship in some quarters. Fournier, the French founder, and William Caslon in England, were both very credit- able workmen; but Caslon's design (which is in very general use today, for want of a better) was sadly far astray from the fine models of the 16th century, which we are told he aimed to rival. It is, comparatively speaking, however, a good sound type face, and though its wide popularity at the pres- ent time is largely due to the circum- stances of its being available, we may be thankful to have anything as good. The end of the 18th century and the be- ginning of the 19th was productive of a very radical development in the design of Roman types — something which was al- most an innovation. We cannot enter into the question of the causes and influences which brought about this change, though they are clearly defined; but must content ourselves with a brief notice of the type- cutter and printer, Bodoni of Parma, as un- doubtedly the leading figure in the crea- tion of what are known today as "modern face" types — the types most commonly em- ployed in the great body of current printed matter. The salient features of Bodoni's innovation are an excessive contrast be- tween the light and heavy strokes of the letters — "light and shade" he called it — the thin strokes being almost hair lines and the thick ones broad and black. The serifs of the letters, which had hitherto flowed in to the stems with a gentle curve, such as would naturally result from a pen stroke, are reduced to simple straight lines, and where tliey were formerly slanting on the lower-case letters, they become practi- cally horizontal. The round letters are no longer quite circular, but eliptical, and the general effect of all the letters is more condensed. Here we have the mechanical printing type finally developed and remote from the source of handwriting; but still not wholly independent of that principle, or lacking in a beauty and dignity of its own. Bodoni's designs especially, though artificial, and to a great degree subservi- ent to a desire for neatness and accuracy, were never wholly mechanical. They opened the way, however, for a complete and speedy disintegration of the whole art of type design. From a tendency to "full figure" the type face progressed through all the stages of stoutness, obesi- ty, and elephantitis, back through emaci- ation and tuberculosis, ending with the contortions of epilepsy! To open a type founder's specimen book today is a shock to the nerves of anyone not inured to the sight of delirium and deformity. If, however, these typographical nightmares are still on sale and in use, it is encourag- ing to know that they are not to any extent created at the present time; but that, on the contrary, noteworthy efforts are being made both by private individuals and com- mercial type founders to revert to better 108 BERKELEY CONFERENCE standards. These efforts on the part of the regular type founders have suffered from a confusion of the mechanical precision re- quired for the iody of the type, with the design of its face. Inestimable improve- ments have been made in the accuracy and uniformity of the casting and the stand- ardization of sizes. But, unfortunately, the same use of the compass and the mi- crometer has been brought to bear on the design of the type face Itself — the curves are scientifically plotted like the curves of a railway track and the sense of life and movement, the human element of all fine design — the thing which was in hand- writing, has been sacrificed to the sterile perfection of a geometrical diagram. The Fine Art of Printing does not end, however, as many printers appear to be- lieve, with the design or selection of a type face and we must go on to the. con- sideration of the arrangement or composi- tion of types. The infinite variety of forms In which type may be required to be set, makes it impossible to do more than touch upon a very few of the commoner ones which may occur In everyday practice. The most important form of composition is, of course, that of text matter, and I want only to make one or two suggestions regarding this, and to point out certain principles which may govern its design — for even this is design. Here, the primary object will properly be readability; and it should be clearly understood that the same means which accomplish this, will, if ap- plied with taste, make for beauty of design. Sometime, not very far In the past some- one arbitrarily decided that a certain size of space should be used between words as a standard for text composition, and from that unhappy day to this, all type has been furnished with this size of spaces and all printers have regarded it as a sacred law, not even daring to think what might hap- pen if it should be departed from. I am not alone in the opinion that were the spac- ing standard of text considerably reduced. It would be greatly improved both in read- ability and appearance, and one may find evidence to support this view in almost any fine old book in which the spacing is close and the continuity of the lines is well pre- served. Most of our text composition to- day has more the appearance of having been splattered on the page or shot from a blunderbuss than composed in well ordered lines. The individual words are generally so successfully isolated in space, that they are as easily connected with the words above and below them as they are with the words preceding and following. This naturally puts upon the eye the diffi- cult task of holding the line intact. It would certainly be a fatiguing exercise mentally and physically to cross and re- cross a stream on stepping stones for hours at a time: and yet our eyes are compelled to hop, skip and jump over the average lose type page with much the same inse- cure motion. By experiment I believe it will be found that a very slight space in- deed is sufficient to distinguish one word from another. Lines may be spaced apart by leading and. In many cases, should be; but there can be no exact rule for this — It depends largely upon the character of the type face itself, and one had better be guided by the aim of preserving the con- tinuity of the line in all eases, resorting to leading when it Is required to this end. The earliest printed books. It will be re- called, had no title pages, but the printer gave as much or as little Information as he cared to, regarding the author, the date, etc., in a colophon at the back of the book. Later, it became the custom to print the title in a simple text paragraph in the same type as that used in the body of the book. It was the spirit of advertising which developed the title-page as we know It today — the desire to command attention, the need for emphasis and display: and in the title-page we find our model for the de- sign of commercial, or what is known by printers as "display" typography. Here, different sizes of type and even different faces set forth the varying significance of the matter to be expressed; and the ma- terial for fine design becomes more liberal and pliant. There are lines of varying lengths and sizes of varying weight and CLELAND 109 color-value to be composed Into an har- monious whole. A not uncommon pitfall, met with in this class of work, is the en- deavor to form solid blocks of capitals of a number of lines of equal length. I say this is a pitfall, because it is rarely suc- cessful and generally results in the evi- dence of effort misspent. It is safer to em- ploy a broken composition of lines of vary- ing length — it is easier and invariably pleasing in effect if well designed. I should not forget to mention the deplorable prac- tice too frequently encountered, of spacing between letters ("letterspacing" it Is tech- nically called) of the lower case. The lower case is by its very nature a continu- ous design intended primarily for text, and it is quite as absurd to separate the indi- vidual letters as it would be to do so in our everyday handwriting. Capitals, on the other hand, may generally be letter- spaced to advantage, and thus be made less confusing and more readable. There is no reason why they should be set, when used together, with no more space than happens to be provided by the typefounder for their proper connection with the lower case. One might continue without end to enume- rate the many little practices of bad design in typography which seem to have their root in nothing but perverseness; but I will mention only one more, which, though it may seem a small matter, is peculiarly foolish and persistent among people who should know better. One of the commonest means of adorning a page of solid text Is to begin it with an ornamental initial. This was, as we know, an agreeable feature of the books of the early printers, who bor- rowed it from the written and illuminated manuscripts; and it has continued in use as long as books have been made. It natur- ally fits snugly into the type page, accord- ing with the depth of a certain number of lines and having about as much space around it as appears between the lines themselves. Why then, will so many print- ers today take special pains to leave a large white space at the side and below it, giving it the effect of clinging desperately by one eye brow to the first letter of the page, with its legs dangling in mid air? There is perhaps no more vital element in the design of a fine book or page of printed matter than the margins, and cer- tainly none about which so much misunder- standing exists or so much nonsense has been talked and written. We have been told that "wide" margins make beautiful books, and that what are called "large paper copies" are by virtue of the large- ness of their paper, worth much larger sums than ordinary books. Might we not gather from this that extra large clothes are better than clothes that fit? It is per- fectly true that within reasonable limits, ample margins will add to the luxurious- ness and beauty of a book, but it is not primarily their amplitude, but their just and perfect proportion which is beautiful, as in every other work of design. In other words, a type page poorly arranged, as most "large paper" editions are, on the widest margins on earth will never be as good as one on the meanest margins which are correctly proportioned in their relation one to another. A glance at any fine ex- ample of a correctly imposed page will show that the narrowest margin is at the back, the next in width being the top, the foredge or side margin being still wider, and the bottom of the page the widest of all. This tends to make the two pages of the book when open form a single block of two col- umns divided by the necessary space for the hinge of the binding. One might ques- tion and analyze this convention, as one might question or seek to analyze the enta- sis of a classical column or the proportion of one of the architectural orders; but it is scarcely worth while. There is a very obvious practical reason for this arrange- ment of margins, in the simple fact that the book is held, naturally, by the sides or the bottom. It is not practicable to have wide margins on all books, for reasons of cost; but correct proportion is one of the few things in this world which has never advanced in price; and if it is inexcusable for this reason to find it lacking in the margins of the cheapest and commonest books, the culpability and sinfulness of no BERKELEY CONFERENCE some of our so-called "editions de luxe" reaches a depth which I hesitate to contem- plate further. There are many other matters, such as the ornamentation of typography and the relation of illustrations to type which have their part in the fine art of printing; but which are less essential and for lack of time must he passed over. We can hardly afford, however, to neglect entirely the questions of press work and papers, which, though they are largely technical, have certainly a vital part in the design of good printing. The finest monuments of the art, as we know, were printed on the old hand press, inked by hand with leather covered pads or balls and the impression drawn by a hand lever operating a screw or toggle. The paper was generally dampened to moderate its resistance to the impression of the type or cuts, and the impression of the form in the paper is quite evident in the finished result. Now this visible im- pression Is one of the essential beauties of really fine printing on hand-made papers or papers of a like character. But we are presented today with further problems such as the printing of halt-tone illustrations in conjunction with type; and tor this a very smooth or a surface-coated paper is re- quired, and instead of the visible impres- sion we can employ only so much as is suf- ficient to render a perfect imprint of the form on the surface of the paper. There is today an almost infinite variety of papers for a vastly greater number of require- ments than were known to the printers of hardly a century ago. Thus we are pre- sented with the problem of selecting suit- able type for these various papers and the complexity of this question makes it scarcely possible to do more than recom- mend the exercise of taste and common sense. For example, the old style types were designed with the object of printing on hand made papers with considerable im- pression from which they gained a certain weight and force. Printed on highly fin- ished or coated papers they lose color to a great extent and present a distressingly di- luted aspect. The modern-face types, such as Bodoni's or the French types of the same period, were made at a time when the first smooth papers came into use and they generally maintain a firmer appearance on the papers commonly employed at present for half-tone printing. Much sentiment attaches today to the old fashioned hand press and for persons whose love of sentiment transcends their appreciation of art, books printed on it have a special value. Good work has been done, we know, on hand presses; and with a great deal of time and pains it may be done today, but a modern cylinder press is in all respects, a finer machine, and is cap- able of doing better work of any descrip- tion, and doing it incomparably faster and in larger quantities. It I have spoken at too great length upon these technical matters, I trust you will pardon me and believe that It was only through an earnest desire that whatever I have to say shall have a practical end. We all recognize that a standard of taste exists In this as in other things, but I know only two well how great are the diffi- culties which meet our every attempt to follow that standard in our daily work, and how little help we receive. The literature on the art of printing is divided between dry historical and bibliographical discus- sion on the one hand and the maudlin sentimentality of the self styled "book- lover" on the other. So I have tried to show that the study of good printing is the study of design — something within the reach of everyone, something which may be applied to any and every piece of print- ing with which we have to do. I want, in short, to impress the fact that the fine art of printing is organic — that it is not de- pendent upon materials and conditions and expense — that it consists in the proper relation of its own inherent elements — type, ink, and paper, and not in extraneous ornament. A groat many people scramble through the pages of a fine book until they come to an ornamental heading or an illus- tration, and to do this is to ignore com- pletely the real art of printing. If I have departed from a fixed principle Ill of conduct, that it is better to try to do good work tlian to talk about it, it is only because tliis occasion seemed too important to let pass, and because I believe there is no better field for the cultivation of a finer taste in this art than the public libraries throughout the country. Either by the establishment of presses of your own or the exercise of taste and design in the printing which you have done for you, there are splendid opportunities. As you uphold and strive constantly for a higher standard in the literature which it is your high calling to distribute amongst the peo- ple, so you will be quick, I believe, to recog- nize the educational value of a higher standard tor the physical form in which that literature is presented. But it is not sufficient that you encour- age or collect fine printing — you have cata- logs and pamphlets and bulletins and many other things the typography of which may be improved upon. Too much lies idle in collections, and I firmly believe that it is the lack of employment and application which is developing signs of insanity in our modern art. It is demoralized, just as people may be, through idleness and lack of purpose. Nothing will save it, but to go out on the street and work for its living — it must "penetrate," to go back to our text, "everyivhere." It must "make its presence felt in the commonest of works." THE CHANGING LITERARY TASTE AND THE GROWING APPEAL OF POETRY By Mat Massee. Editor A. L. A. Booklist, Chicago The changing literary taste and the growing appeal of poetry. Is it true? Does the poet today speak to the average man of today as never before and does the average man of today listen as never before? "To have great poets there must be great audiences too." What does it mean that there are in this country two magazines devoted entirely to poetry, that our literary reviews are devoting pages where ten years ago they devoted lines to poetry, that our popular magazines are featuring poetry and using their highest paid artists to awake the attention of such of their readers as may not turn instinct- ively to the page of verse? Why is It that the "Anthology of magazine verse" for 1913 included forty-seven poems and that of 1914 included seventy-seven? Indeed what is that very collection itself but another evidence that poetry of today really finds readers. Instances to the truth of this might be multiplied indefinitely but I will only name one more, conclusive in this day. Last winter in New York a member of a publishing firm, one of the oldest and most notably commercial in its policy, said to me: "We are going to add some poetry to our list. We feel that it really pays and that we must have it to compete with other houses." The rash layman who attempts to formu- late any theories of literary tastes and tendencies and further attempts to set lim- its or show trend in poetry today lends himself liable to the lifted eyebrow and the murmured word of "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." And it is with a perfect realization of this truth and with a profound and growing humility that the editor of this paper has realized the fu- tility of such an attempt and has merely chosen quotations from the words of the poets themselves to show that it is as true today, perhaps more true, than in the time of the ancient Greeks that children may have schoolmasters for their leaders but men have poets. "For what is it to be a poet? It is to see at a glance the glory of the world, to see beauty in all its forms and manifestations, to feel ugliness like a pain, to resent the wrongs of others as bitterly as one's own, to know mankind as others know single men, to know Nature 112 BERKELEY CONFERENCE as botanists know a flower, to be thought a fool, to hear at moments the clear voice of God." — Lord Dunsany. Perhaps James Stephens would allow us to emphasize this word from Lord Dunsany by reading his The Voice of God' I bent again unto the ground, And I heard the quiet sound Which the grasses make when they Come up laughing from the clay. "We are the voice of God," they said: Thereupon I bent my head Down again that I might see If they truly spoke to me. But around me everywhere Grass and tree and mountain were Thundering in mighty glee, "We are the voice of deity." And I leapt from where I lay, I danced upon the laughing clay. And, to the rock that sang beside, "We are the voice of God," I cried. And what is poetry? We are all familiar with the poets' definitions, "The breath and finer spirit of all knowledge." "A poem is the very image of life expressed in its external truth." "The record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds." Poetry and the joy of poetry are inseparable, "poetry redeems from de- cay the visitations of the Divinity in Man." In contrast to these John Drinkwater, writing about poetry, shows the difference between yesterday and today in the very words he chooses to express his thought. I quote at length: "Poetry seems to me to be the announce- ment of spiritual discovery. Experience might be substituted for discovery, for every experience which is vital and per- sonal is, in effect, a discovery. The dis- covery may not be new to mankind; it Is, Indeed, inevitable that it will not be so. Nor need it be new to the poet himself. To every man spiritually alive the coming of spring Is an experience recurrent yet always vital, always a discovery. Nearly every new poet writes well about the spring, just as every new poet writes well about love. So powerful is the creative impulse begotten by these experiences that it impels many men to attempt utterance without adequate powers, and so the com- mon gibes find their justification. But it Is absurd to pronounce against the creative Impulse itself whilst condemning the in- efficient expression. The bad love poetry of the world is excluded from my defini- tion not because it is unconcerned with discovery, but because it is not, in any full sense, an announcement The articu- lation is not clear. And by reason of this defect a great deal of other writing which has behind it a perfectly genuine impulse is excluded also. On the other hand, much verse which has a good deal of per- fection in form perishes, is, indeed, never alive, because its reason has been some- thing other than spiritual discovery. But whenever these things are found together, the discovery and the announcement, then is poetry born, and at no other time. The magnitude of the poet's achievement de- pends on the range of his discovery and the completeness of his announcement. If I add that verse seems to me to be the only fitting form for poetry, I do so with full knowledge that weighty influence and valuable opinion are against me. Never- theless the term prose-poem seems to be an abomination. The poet in creation, that is to say the poet in the act of spiritual discovery, will find his utterance assum- ing a rhythmical pattern. The pattern may be quite irregular and flowing but unless it is discernible the impulse is in- complete in its effect. To think of the music of verse as merely an arbitrary adornment of expression is wholly to mis- understand its value. It is an integral part of expression in its highest mani- festation. It is in itself expression. There Is an exaltation at the moment of dis- covery which is apart from the discovery itself, a buoyancy as of flight. The sig- nificance of this exaltation is indefinable, having in it something of divinity. To the words of poetry it is given to an- 113 nounce the discovery; to the music to em- body and in some measure translate the ecstasy whicli pervades the discovery. The poet's madness is happily not a myth; for to be mad is to be ecstatic."' May I read once more "For what is it to be a poet? It is to see at a glance the glory of the world, to see beauty in all its forms and manifestations, to feel ugliness like a pain, to resent the wrongs of others as bitterly as one's own, to know mankind as others know single men, to know Nature as botanists know a flower, to be thought a fool, to hear at moments the clear voice of God." The spiritual discoveries of such poets announced In the language fit to express their moods, v.'ith music which must be the inevitable accompaniment of the ecstasy of the moment of discovery will be the poetry of today, whether it be expressed with the quiet simplicity of Robert Bridges or the clarion call of Vachell Lindsay. In- deed so readily today Is technical freedom and variety taken for granted that we find beautiful poems in forms which range from those of classic beauty to the freest of free verse, providing always that the me- dium used fit the mood of the discovery. In choosing typical poems to illustrate the directness, the simplicity, the beauty of spiritual discovery today I have been compelled by wealth to limit my choice. I have excluded all mention of poetic drama although there may be found some of our most beautiful announcements and although In the work of such poets as Stephen Phillips, John Masefield, Alfred Noyes, John Galsworthy, Josephine Pres- ton Peabody, are some of the most serious and significant contributions to recent po- etry. Nor is there space or time to devote to the longer narrative poems in which Mr. Masefield has so ably led the way with his "Dauber," "Daffodil fields," and others. It may be that the twentieth century will one day have its great epic as the result of these and others in this form. It would be interesting to build a se- quence beginning with the time when the poet dared to sing just for the lyric loveli- ness of his song as in Yeats' The Lake Isle of Innlsfree' I will arise and go now, and go to Innis- free, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade. And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow. Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet's wings. I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray, I hear it in the deep heart's core. Such a sequence might end with the latest of poems written in "free-verse" which voices its canons thus, in the preface to the collection "Some imagist poets." 1. To use the language of common speech, but to employ always the exact word, not the nearly-exact, nor the merely decorative word. 2. To create new rhythms — as the ex- pression of new moods — and not to copy old rhythms which merely echo old moods. We do not insist upon "free-verse" as the only method of writing poetry. We fight tor it as for a principle of liberty. We be- lieve that the individuality of a poet may often be better expressed in free-verse than in conventional forms. In poetry, a new cadence means a new idea. 3. To allow absolute freedom in the choice of subject. It is not good art to write badly about aeroplanes and automo- biles; nor is it necessarily bad art to write well about the past. We believe passionately in the artistic value of mod- '"Wllliam Morris.' (Kennerley) John Drinkwater. '"Poetical Works." William Butler Yeats. (Macmillan) By permission. 114 BERKELEY CONFERENCE ern life, but we wish to point out that there is nothing so uninspiring nor so old- fashioned as an aeroplane of the year 1911. 4. To present an image (hence the name: "Imagist.") We are not a school of painters, but we believe that poetry should render particulars exactly and not deal in vague generalities, however mag- nificent and sonorous. It is for this rea- son that we oppose the cosmic poet, who seems to us to shirli the real difficulties of his art. 5. To produce poetry that is hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite. 6. Finally, most of us believe that con- centration is of the very essence of poetry. As an example of this new freedom I have chosen almost at random from the same volume — Round-Pond, by Richard Aldington. ROUiSD-POND' Water ruffled and speckled by galloping wind Which puffs and spurts it into tiny pashing breakers Dashed with lemon-yellow afternoon sun- light. The shining of the sun upon the water Is like a scattering of gold crocus-petals In a long wavering irregular flight. The water is cold to the eye As the wind to the cheek. In the budding chestnuts Whose sticky buds glimmer and are half- burst open The starlings make their clitter-clatter; And the blackbirds in the grass Are getting as fat as the pigeons. Too-hoo, this is brave; Even the cold wind is seeking a new mistress. One can hardly imagine two poems more different in style and mood and yet both are built upon the poet's reaction to the beauty of Nature. A sequence beginning with yesterday and ending with today would be illuminat- ing and perhaps show the trend of modern thinking, but it would require a savant to make it and a volume to write it. After ■ ^■^r^ '"Some imagist poets. An anthology." (Houghton) By permission. all one reads poetry to find spiritual dis- coveries and one does not make one's spir- itual discoveries that way — one lives along from day to day taking life as it comes, quiet or unquiet, sad or glad as is one's mood or wont until suddenly, in a moment, a poem, a picture, the word of a friend, becomes a revelation. These are the mo- ments one treasures and remembers, ut- terly unrelated though they be. So it is with the poems which I shall read. They have all been moments of dis- covery to me. They may not be great, they are not necessarily profound and ap- parently have little relation to one another. But each voices some common truth and if they happen to have been written in the last few years it simply means that each generation must find truth for itself and speak for its own. Here is one which expresses for me per- fectly the joy of being alive out of doors on a country road. It pictures the actual loveliness that contributes to that joy and In the ecstasy of the moment the words find a lilt that sets one's pulses drumming to the tune of over the hills and far away. It is a poem of John Masefield's called Tewkesbury Road' It is good to be out on the road, and going one knows not where, Going through meadow and village, one knows not whither nor why; Through the grey light drift of the dust, in the keen cool rush of the air. Under the flying white clouds, and the broad blue lift of the sky. And to halt at the chattering brook, in the tall green fern at the brink Where the harebell grows, and the gorse, and the foxgloves purple and white; Where the shy-eyed delicate deer troop down to the brook to drink When the stars are mellow and large at the coming on of the night. O, to feel the beat of the rain, and the homely smell of the earth. Is a tune for the blood to jig to, a joy past power of words; And the blessed green comely meadows are all a-ripple with mirth '"Story of a round-house and other poems." John Masefield. (Macmillan) By permission. MASSEE 115 At the noise of the lamhs at play and the dear wild cry of the birds. Mr. Masefield's creed seems to be to take whatever life brings, live it all and live it gladly. Laugh and Be Meret' Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a sopg. Better the world with a blow in the teeth of a wrong. Laugh, for the time is brief, a thread the length of a span. Laugh and be proud to belong to the old proud pageant of man. Laugh and be merry: remember, in olden time. God made Heaven and Earth for joy He took in a rhyme, Made them, and filled them full with the strong red wine of His mirth, The splendid joy of the stars: the joy of the earth. So we must laugh and drink from the deep blue cup of the sky. Join the jubilant song of the great stars sweeping by, Laugh, and battle, and work, and drink of the wine outpoured In the dear green earth, the sign of the joy of the Lord. Laugh and be merry together, like brothers akin. Guesting awhile in the rooms of a beauti- ful inn. Glad till the dancing stops, and the lilt of the music ends. Laugh till the game is played; and be you merry, my friends. In his poem "Biography,"' splendid to read, too long to quote, he sketches many of "the golden hours of bliss," "the dates which made me," and ends with, "Best trust the happy moments. What they gave Makes man less fearful of the certain grave. And gives his work compassion and new eyes. The days that make us happy make us wise." '".Story of a round-house and other poems." John Masefield. (Macraillan) By permission. Incidentally in that same collection are three or four simple, straightforward love poems worth pages of rhymed or unrhymed sensations which certain poets have made their fashion for the hour. I have read enough to show that all one needs to like and read his poetry are a love of life and the ability and desire to understand plain, direct speech. But the gain to one's heart and mind are in direct proportion to the wonderful simplicity and vitality of his announcements and the depth and variety of his spiritual discover- ies. Here is a poem of Joyce Kilmer's which voices, I think, the typical modern rever- ence none the less true because taken lightly. Trees' I think that I shall never see • A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Mr. Kilmer shows that he has moments of high seriousness too when he writes Poets' Vain is the chiming of forgotten bells That the wind sways above a ruined shrine. Vainer his voice in whom no longer dwells Hunger that craves Immortal Bread and Wine. Light songs we breathe that perish with our breath Out of our lips that have not kissed the rod. 116 BERKELEY CONFERENCE They shall not live who have not tasted death. They only sing who are struck dumb hy God. One often finds too, the ancient faith expressed in forms of conventional beau- ty, but in this poem by Alfred Noyes — "In the cool of the evening" — there is a note of today in the frank treatment of the sceptics with their insistence on tangible facts. In the Cool of the En'enixg' I. In the cool of the evening, when the low sweet whispers waken, When the labourers turn them home- ward, and the weary have their will. When the censers of the roses o'er the forest aisles are shaken, Is it but the wind that cometh o'er the far green hill? n. I'or they say 'tis but the sunset winds that wander through the heather. Rustle all the meadow-grass and bend the dewy fern; They say 'tis but the winds that bow the reeds in prayer together. And fill the shaken pools with fire along the shadowy bum. III. In the beauty of the twilight, in the Gar- den that He loveth. They have veiled His lovely vesture with the darkness of a name! Thro' His Garden, thro' His Garden it Is but the wind that nioveth. No more; but O, the miracle, the miracle is the same! IV. In the cool of the evening, when the sky Is an old story Slowly dying, but remembered, ay, and loved with passion still. Hush! ... the fringes of His garment, in the fading golden glory. Softly rustling as He cometh o'er the far green hill. Faith in the possibilities in the human heart we shall find in two poems, one illus- trating the tendency to tell a story in Alfred Noyes. (Stokes) verse, the other — but you shall hear the difference. Path-Flo wek' A red-cap sang in Bishop's wood, A lark o'er Golder's lane, As I the April pathway trod Bound west for Willesden. At foot each tiny blade grew big And taller stood to hear. And every leaf on every twig Was like a little ear. As I, too, paused, and both ways tried To catch the rippling rain, — So still, a hare kept at my side His tussock of disdain, — Behind me close I heard a step, A soft pit-pat surprise. And looking round my eyes fell deep Into sweet other eyes; The eyes like wells, where sun lies too. So clear and trustful brown. Without a bubble warning you That here's a place to drown. "How many miles?" Her broken shoes Had told of more than one. She answered like a dreaming Muse, "I came from Islington." "So long a tramp?" Two gentle nods. Then seemed to lift a wing, And words fell soft as willow-buds, "I came to find the Spring." A timid voice, yet not afraid In ways so sweet to roam. As it with honey bees had played And could no more go home. Her home I I saw the human lair, I heard the hucksters bawl, I stifled with the thickened air Of bickering mart and stall. Without a tuppence for a ride. Her feet had set her free. Her rags, that decency defied. Seemed new with liberty. But she was frail. Who would might note That trail of hungering That for an hour she had forgot In wonder of the Spring. '"Collected poems.' By permission. '"Path flower and other verses." Olive Til- ford Dargan. (Scribner) By permission. So shriven by her joy she glowed It seemed a sin to chat. "A tea-shop snuggled off the road;" Why did I think of that? 1 Oh, frail, so frail! I could have wept, — But she was passing on, And I but muddled "You'll accept A penny for a bun?" Then up her little throat a spray Of rose climbed for It must; A wilding lost still safe It lay Hid by her curls of rust; And I saw modesties at fence With pride that bore no name; So old it was she knew not whence It sudden woke and came; But that which shone of all most clear Was startled, sadder thought That I should give her back the fear Of life she had forgot. And I blushed for the world we'd made. Putting God's hand aside, Till for the want of sun and shade His little children died; And blushed that I who every year With Spring went up and down. Must greet a soul that ached for her With "penny for a bun!" Struck as a thief in holy place Whose sin upon him cries, I watched the flowers leave her face, The song go from her eyes. Then she, sweet heart, she saw my rout, And of her charity A hand of grace put softly out And took the coin from me. I A red-cap sang in Bishop's wood, A lark o'er Golder's lane; But I, alone, still glooming stood. And April plucked in vain; Till living words rang in my ears And sudden music played: Out of such sacred thirst cls hers The world shall be remade. Afar she turned her head and smiled Aa might have smiled the Spring, And humble as a wondering child I watched her vanishing. And the other, The Millennium' Ask for no mild millennium: Our world shall never be nobler than Its inhabitants: Never be nobler than you and I, blind brother. What is this world but our secret natures opened and stamped into cities? The smoke of the mills is only the vapor of our soft-coal hearts: The slums of the poor and the drab pal- aces of the rich are the filth of our spirits: The curses of the world are but the un- leashed beast in us roaming the streets. Here and there is one shining among us: He is not a conqueror of tools, but a con- queror of self: He strides like a sun in the crowds, and people are glad of him: He did not wait for a millennium to per- fect him: He did not see the need of sanitation and pure food to help him to a soul: He wrestled with the antagonist In his own breast and emerged victorious. Give us a hundred million such, and a greater world is upon us: But give us only a perfect world, and It shall be a coat that misfits us. Stagnation and sin shall be there as surely as they are deep in our hearts. And now to the end. As I wrote this paper I had to bury out of sight the great fact in the world today lest in my heart and through my pen should come the question, of what avail is all our striving, where our pride, our hope, our faith, of what use are mere words? And for answer to this doubt there came to my office a little book of poems by Law- rence Binyon, "The Winnowing Fan." I read The Fourth of August, Strange Fruit, Louvain, At Rheims, Ode for September, and read again until, ashamed, my eyes could no longer see to read the page. Here is no weak lament, no cry to God for vengeance on the enemy, here is none of the pomp or glory of war, no vainglorious boasting — but the heart of a people as • "Songs for the new age." Jamea Oppen- helm. (Century) By permission. 118 BERKELEY CONFERENCE their poet knows It and, "I have learned," said the Philosopher, "that the head does not hear anything until the heart has listened, and that what the heart knows today the head will understand tomor- row." I can only read a part of the Ode fob Septembeb' IV All the hells are awake: the old serpents hiss From dungeons of the mind; Fury of hate born blind. Madness and lust, despairs and treacher- ies unclean; They shudder up from man's most dark abyss. But there are heavens serene That answer strength with strength; they stand secure; They arm us from within, and we endure. Now are the brave more brave. Now is the cause more dear. The more the tempests of the darkness rave As, when the sun goes down, the shining stars are clear. Radiant the spirit rushes to the grave Glorious it is to live In such an hour, but life is lovelier yet to give. V Alas! what comfort for the uncomforted, Who knew no cause, nor sought Glory or gain? they are taught. Homeless in homes that burn, what human hearts can bear. The children stumble over their dear dead. Wandering they know not where. And there is one who simply fights, obeys, Tramps, till he loses count of nights and days. Tired, mired in dust and sweat. Far from his own hearth-stone; A common man of common earth, and yet The battle-winner he, a man of no re- nown. Where "food for cannon" pays a nation's debt. This is Earth's hero, whom The pride of Empire tosses careless to his doom. VII O children filled with your own airy glee Or with a grief that comes So swift, so strange, it numbs. If on your growing youth this page of ter- ror bite. Harden not then your senses, feel and bo The promise of the light. O heirs of Man, keep in your hearts not less The divine torrents of His tenderness! 'Tis ever war: but rust Grows on the sword; the tale Of earth Is strewn with empires heaped in dust Because they dreamed that force should punish and prevail. The will to kindness lives beyond their lust; Their grandeurs are undone: Deep, deep within man's soul are all his victories won. I could read a hundred others from as many different poets if you could listen so long, but I hope to have shown you with these few, that poets today are translating all the richness of their spiritual discover- ies into common speech that is direct, un- sparing — not clogged with metaphor, — de- pending, for its beauty, on simplicity and truth; that in form they have kept what they wished of the old but have dared to free themselves from conventions which bound and hindered; that it matters not what the subject so long as life Is in it. Songs and the Poet' Sing of the rose or of the mire; sing strife Or rising moons; the silence or the throng . . . Poet, it matterns not, it Life Is in the song. If life rekindles it, and if the rhymes Bear Beauty as their eloquent refrain, Though it were sung a thousand times Sing It again! Thrill us with song — let others preach or rage; Make us so thirst for Beauty that we cease These struggles, and this strident age Grows sweet with peace. I would like to borrow from "Peter Pan." You do believe in poetry, don't you? '"The winnowing fan." Lawrence Binyon. (Houghton) By permission. '"Challenge." Louis Untermeyer. (Cen- tury) By permission. 119 "PER CONTRA" By Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress There is an exposition across the bay. A feature of it is an attempt upon the part of various agencies for education, for culture, for comfort and for human wel- fare generally, to show what they are, to illustrate what they are doing, and in a measure to justify themselves. It is a sort of justification — of ourselves — that has been assigned to me today. For our Presi- dent seems to think that the service we represent is not yet beyond cavil; that there are those who still question it, or who question it on new grounds. "More people are reading books," he remarks; "more books are in libraries and covering more subjects; more people are registered as users; more money is appropriated; new departments and new activities are being entered upon. Yet some critics cry out for the good old times when readers, though few, did not dilute their minds with so many ephemeral books, etc." Now the argument of such critics is in tlie nature of a demurrer. Admit the in- crease in libraries, in books, in facilities, in readers: what of it? What does it prove? That more people are reading more books. Yes: but what of tJiat? Well, I am "not so sure." I am not sure of tlae answer. I am not absolutely sure that we are required to give it. A de- murrer — in court — is to be decided by the judge, not by the jury. It involves a ques- tion of law, not of fact: a question, there- fore, to be determined by principles and precedents, not by the unprofessional, in- expert and undisciplined impression of a group of men representing merely the average in experience and opinion, and without a permanent relation with the subject matter. In the case of books, and of libraries to supply them freely at the public expense, the principles were enunci- ated, the precedents established, sixty -five years ago. Is there to be no statute of limitations? If under them there has been this continuing and prodigious develop- ment, doesn't that fact in itself create a presumption very nearly conclusive? Doesn't it mean that we are at least an Institution? — with foundations cemented by the general judgment of the com- munity? If so, we ought not to be called upon to dig up those foundations and reset them whenever anyone questions their soundness. The upper structure Is a dif- ferent matter, and the annexes. These may have to be modified as the developing needs of the community may require. But the modifications will be of detail or of emphasis, or of relative accommodation. They should leave the fundaments un- changed. For one fling at our libraries there are, I suppose, a half dozen at our universities. What of them? Does anybody seriously propose to discard our universities? Does anybody really doubt that the fundamental reason of them is sound; or deny that, taken by and large, they are supplying something which the community needs and must have? And does anybody really think attention is to be paid to the com- plaints against them, save as they concern mere systems or methods? Complaints of system and of method are always to be expected, and are always in order, whatever the institution. They leave untouched the organs which are es- sential, and the raison d'etre of the service itself. When, therefore, a critic declares a col- lege training "useless" we are apt to be amused or tolerant, or tolerantly amused. We fancy that he is arguing from one or two results under his personal observa- tion: of a youth who was a born fool, and remained so in spite of a college course; of another who was a born genius, and came into his own in spite of the lack of it. And whenever another critic declares a 120 BERKELEY CONFERENCE public library "useless" because books are nowadays plentiful and cheap, and the peo- ple who really need them will buy them, why not be contentedly amused at him? But this latter critic goes further: he declares that the free supply of books may be actually injurious; that it deprives the ambitious of an incentive which is valu- able — to save, and buy them himself. It also deprives the book itself of that added relish which comes of its acquisition through painful abstinence in some other direction. And finally, that the supply of books by our public libraries as actually operated, means the supply predominately of books that are educationally or cultur- ally worthless, yet by their very profusion tend to enfeeble the mind, as an incessant diet of sweets may enfeeble the palate. Particularly the ephemerae. They are like the true ephemerae in nature, which at cer- tain seasons fall like snow upon the river. The fish gorge upon them till they become easy prey to the kingfisher. Or perhaps like the little book on Patmos: "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter." The physiology on which this latter com- plaint rests is doubtless sound. We do not deny it. What we question is the facts upon which the complaint is based, or the possibility of the alternatives which a de- ference to it would involve. That our libraries are buying much of the "Ephemera" of the day is true: are they, however, spending an excessive proportion of their funds in the acquisition of it? And is the tendency to spend more rather than less? Granting both — the fact and the tendency — what of the alternative? Shall they ignore wholly the predominant inter- est of the public in the literature which is "current"? Our lives are contemporary. Our thoughts are the thoughts of today. Our actions are to affect the affairs of today. Our motives are the motives of today. Our contacts are contacts with the men o£ today and with the things of today. We are indeed subject still to influences which are hereditary; but the influences of which we are conscious are the in- fluences about us now: the facts, the people, the books, all that which con- stitutes our environment. It is these with which we take our start. They are the impulse, an ambition to influence them is the incentive; and it is the hope of in- fluencing them more potently that is our chief motive in looking to the past at all. The aid in this which the past can ren- der is of great concern. It is the ofllce of a library to make it available. No doubt it is, as President Wellman has pointed out, the prime and most important office. But a public library deals not merely with students preparing for life, but with men and women leading lives. It cannot go to them. What brings them to it is either some condition in their own lives, or some condition about them, which they hope to improve, or to benefit by. These conditions are reflected or dealt with in the literature of today. If the library refuses to supply this, it fails to meet its readers on their own ground. And the distance between this ground and the past is a con- siderable one. It is difficult to bridge. If not bridged by the books themselves con- tinuing into the present, the task falls upon the interpreting staff. But it will be a staff lacking apparatus. I take it, therefore, as unavoidable that a public library shall include literature of the day. The question is only: how much? — And in what proportion? — I do not see how it can avoid supplying many books and periodicals that will prove mere- ly "ephemeral". It will certainly supply many far interior to the "standards": in- ferior in literary form, in intellectual power, in moral tone. It need not supply those admittedly debasing. But conscious- ly it does not. This we assert and insist upon. And as to the other values it does draw a line. What the critic complains of is that this line is not drawn high enough. What we answer Is that it is be- ing drawn higher with each developing year. And we point out that this effort 121 is made possible by two developing fea- tures in administration: the prevalence of the system of "open access", ensuring to the reader the direct contacts which enable the better books to make their own appeal; and the increased personal attention given to the reader by the staff, which recog- nizes him as a human being alive, in a living present, and meets and differentiates him accordingly. The criticisms are always in general terms, and therefore vague. 1 have yet to see one based on statistics, one that named a single book supplied which ought not to be supplied. An excess of current fiction has always been alleged. And as to this statistics are quoted. They are al- ways, however, statistics of circulation; and they overlook, what has frequently been pointed out, that the current novels are the small change of literature, and, therefore, being issued, read, and returned more rapidly, count more in the total than the so-called "serious," which is also the more deliberate, literature. The detail of the complaint — that they serve no useful purpose to the reader him- self — we can afford to ignore. I think it time that we did. The fair reason for reducing the number of them that we pro- vide, or of eliminating them altogether, is a more practical one. It is, that the en- deavor to supply them in adequate quanti- ties to meet the interests of the moment, is futile; and that the mere profession of supplying them invites demands which are an expense to deal with even in the nega- tive — by answering that the book is "out"; and that the cost of administering the volumes which are actually acquired and supplied, is in itself excessive. For we must not forget that the cost of issuing a volume of fiction is as great as that of issuing a volume of history or philosophy; and if, as happens, tlie volume of fiction is Issued a hundred times in a year to the others one, the cost will be multiplied accordingly. It is on this ground and on this partic- ularly that I am personally in favor of leaving the "current fiction" — that is all novels within one year after publication — to the subscription libraries. I have fre- quently said so; and have not changed my opinion. Such a course would alone, I be- lieve, dispose of nine-tenths of the critics.' That is, however, a mere detail. The omission would still leave a wide range of literature neither definitely instrucvive, nor 111 any way beneficial save to the judicious. But are we to regard solely the injudi- cious? — Let us take courage from the Areo- pagitica: "if it be true that a wise man, like a good refiner, can gather gold out of the drossiest volume, and that a fool will be a fool with the best book, yea or without book, there is no reason that we should deprive a wise man of any advan- take to his wisdom, while we seek to restrain from a fool that which, being restrained, will be no hindrance to his folly." But people read too much! — Particular- ly they read too many of the books that signify nothing because they require no effort on the part of the reader. Certainly, they do. This is an age of print; and the schools — and the oculist — have given us the ability to take advantage of it. We are gregarious: it makes us citizens of the world. We are curious: it brings to us all the facts and phenomena of our time. We are self-conscious: it re- flects us. We love gossip: it provides it, and food for it. We are — still — romantic. It supplies the romance. And we court e.Ycitement: it supplies that also. In some moods and states of exhaustion, of petu- lance or of despair, we crave mere distrac- tion. To some among us this may be achieved by means of a master book, a classic. They are fortunate. To the com- mon run, if it can be achieved by a book at all, it will be only by a book contem- porary with the reader: which takes the phenomena of life familiar to him and re- composes them so that they become dramat- ic; or sheds intelligence upon them so that they represent to him something significant 'It was recommended by Jlr. Dana at the Niagara Conference a dozen years ago. His paper states the case tersely and with com- plete good sense. 122 BERKELEY CONFERENCE which he had not before seen in them; or it changes his angle of vision; or it re- lates them in some sympathetic way to himself. Perhaps it may relate them also to that which is permanent in all litera- ture. If so, the author has himself bridged over the gulf between the reader and the classics. He has interpreted the classics: but he has done so in a language which is intelligible, because it is the language of the reader himself. For such an author the reader is the point of departure, and the present day. Equally must it be for the library. But a profusion of books is so "enervat- ing"! So in a sense is a profusion of any other good thing. Civilization itself is enervating: it deprives us of the discipline of privation and hardship. Every luxury made available, every necessity made easy, means one less opportunity for the exer- cise of hardening virtues. I heard a physi- cian remark that the tests and the instru- ments of precision which had made for the safety of modern surgery were ruining the faculties of observation in the medical pro- fession. He meant, because they render the exercise of those faculties less neces- sary. Very likely. But the answer is that they have rendered modern surgery possi- ble. As for the faculties of observation: other faculties — of reasoning, for instance, which deal with the results — have still their opportunity and their exercise. "We value only what we have to work for." To be sure. To the toiler in a city sweatshop who secures his annual week in the country only by penurious self denial during the remaining fifty-one, the woods, the fields, the birds, the very air are para- dise. To the country boy who lives among them they are commonplaces of which he is unconscious. But this does not prove that they do not benefit him. The book secured by self-denial has an added value: but it is a value added only in relation to the circumstances of the possessor. Its essential quality remains the same, and its potency, as it came to him without effort. The man of few friends sets a special store by each disproportionate to his merit. But the man of many friends may be more capable of valuing the few whom he makes his intimates: for the possession of the many enlarges and diversifies his sense of values. The man limited to a narrow area may profit by the very necessity of making the most of his opportunities in an intensive way. But the man who can travel, and through travel secure varied contacts and experiences, is enlarging and diversifying not merely his sense of values but other elements in himself, very useful to him individually and as a citizen. In mere power the man who keeps his thoughts, his passions, and his purposes within narrow confines, and conforms rigorously to them his acquaintance, his reading and his experience, surpasses: just as in mere power the stream confined be- tween the narrow limits of a gorge excels an equivalent body of water spread out over wide and shallow areas. But the ser- vice of the latter may be the more benig- nant. There are times when the narrow and intense, rather than the broad and sympathetic, qualities are necessary to society. But those times — requiring the Puritan, one may even say, the fanatic- are times of stress and crisis. They are not the normal times of modern society. So this very profusion of opportunity which modern civilization affords, has its compensations. It is relaxing — undoubt- edly. It affects the mind as a Turkish bath affects the body. It opens all the pores. And the risk is the risk of open pores^: which is that they will let something in injurious to the system. To be more exact physiologically, it is that they will let something out which the system cannot spare. In the case of the body this is a certain vital warmth. In the case of the mind it may, I suppose, be either warmth of energy and conviction — or that conscious power which comes of tense and sustained effort against a specific obstacle. But civilization has still its obstacles. There are plenty of them: it is only their character which has changed, and the di- rection of the effort required. We may 123 no longer have to fell the trees or uproot the stumps; but there will still be the soil to enrich, and the crops to diversity, and the question of markets, and the ulti- mate consumer. The awe in which book-learning was once held extended to the books themselves. It has passed. We are now on easy terms with them. We treat them casually as we do mere acquaintance upon the street. We approach them for a word, a laugh, a mere nothing, and then pass on. We do not ex- haust the opportunity. Others will occur. Still less do we "make up for it" as for a formal occasion. Awe has its values: the loss of it is a loss of certain values. On the other hand the easy familiarities which displace it may bring some efficiencies very desirable. They may be merely social: but social effi- ciency is not to be disparaged, nor even social facility. To relax is also to ex- pand. So far as books are concerned, the pres- ent profusion goes along with other peri- lous profusions, of which most nearly anal- ogous are the performed play, and the moving picture. Neither requires effort in the spectator, — intellectual effort, that is to say. They are, however, facts. "Vaude- ville is a fact; and so is the "movie". Philosophizing, one would find much to de- plore in them. It would not be their mor- ality: for the most popular of them are those whose moral is unimpeachable. The worst that can be charged against them is vulgarity; and this charge lies against only a fraction of them. But we must not forget that a large por- tion of each audience lives in an atmos- phere even more "vulgar", and that in earlier times that portion would have had no experience at all outside of their par- ticular environment. The play or the "movie" gives them such an experience. It may be merely emotional. If it appeals to their sense of humor it is also, in a meas- ure, Intellectual. It may at least widen their sympathies and quicken their imagi- nation. It requires no effort; it involves no dis- cipline. This is a pity. Plays and pic- tures which would be intelligible and could be enjoyed only by the active exercise of the reasoning powers would certainly be more "educational". If we had only such plays, and only such examples in art, in music, and in literature; and the public would flock to them as they do to those actually provided, our republic might be- come an amplified Athens. But the others exist and appeal, and the vast majority of the public to whom they appeal and who by supporting render them possible, is of people who in Athens would have formed no part of the audiences: for we must not forget that of that entire community . it was but ten thousand — the "upper classes" — alone who were privileged to such experiences. The participation in them of the rest of the community — of the community as a whole — is a phenomenon only of our day. That is true of the plays and the pictures. It is true of the books. With this difference — of moment to us: that where the books are to be supplied by an agency acting as we do in behalf of the community as a whole, and at its expense, there are certain responsibilities. They involve certain standards, — variable, but progressive. The moral standard is already, I think, amply recognized. The intellectual is recognized as far as contemporary conditions permit. There remains the question of taste. And It is as to this in books, as in the play and the moving picture, that the opportunity for improvement chiefly lies. Taste isn't something which may be handed a man. Knowledge may be; but not taste. It isn't something which, having got, he merely possesses. Rather It possesses him. It is the man himself: a unit, in the sum total of his sensibilities. It is subjective: it cannot be dictated to. But it may be influenced. The sure in- fluence is association, and a progressive experience: for the improvement cannot be abrupt, it can only be gradual. In our reading public the hope of im- provement lies, I believe, in the two in- fluences I have mentioned: the freer dl- 124 BERKELEY CONFERENCE rect contact with the books themselves, attracting to new experiences: and increas- ing mediation between them and the reader bj the librarian who, knowing them, re- lates them to the needs of the reader as a present day human being. It is in effi- ciency In this human relation rather than in catalogs and classification, and the other Instruments of precision, that our distinct- ive opportunity as librarians now lies. It is this which is now having our attention as never before. Concern for It has taken the place of the concern for mere system and apparatus that excited us forty years ago: — in that second stage of our develop- ment, when mere expansion of the oppor- tunity for the reader having become as- sured, our zeal turned to the perfection of systems and apparatus, and we were in danger of losing sight of the religion in the mere ritual. We recognize now that those mechanical devices, while necessary, are merely devices. They are to be utilized; but they are to lead the reader to the book, not to be consciously interposed be- tween him and the book. They are to be a gateway, not a barrier. They are also in a way, a guide. But the main guide must be the librarian himself, herself. The first con- tact should be with him, and so far as prac- ticable, this should continue, until the final contact with the author has been assured. The qualities that it demands include some not characteristic of the librarian of the older school. The qualities he had were in some respects admirable. But the readers he had to meet were a limited, a select class. They approached him endowed al- ready with appreciation. The impulses he responded to were already existing: he did not have to create them. The modern librarian — of a public library (and it is the ordinary public library I am speaking of throughout) has often to create the impulse as well as to direct it. The old time librarian was contemporary with the past. The present day librarian must not forget to be contemporary also with the present. He must be informed not merely as to the book, but as to the reader. He must understand him and what actuates him. For this, he must have the widest possible familiarity with the affairs, the interests, the influences of today: a familiarity gained not by formal education but by travel and by varied social contacts. In quite a new measure, therefore, is it necessary that our librarians shall secure these; — and not merely the librarian-in- chief, but the entire interpreting staff. With them, with the fundamental education back of them, with the temperament and the instinct for service; as human beings part of your own time in thought and feel- ing, but as librarians infused also with the thought and feeling of all time, you have opportunities for service not sur- passed by that of any other profession, and certainly not vouchsafed to former gener- ations of your own. And the distinctive opportunity is inci- dent to the very conditions which the critics deplore. For if this present age is profuse, and superficial, it is also alert, eager and impressionable. You can aid It to exact knowledge, clear and discriminate thinking, and the choice of the better reason. That is the prime office of books and of libraries. In the promotion of morality and of taste, however, their ser- vice is chiefly auxiliary; and we refuse to admit them accountable as if the only responsible agency. The prime agencies are clean and comely homes, decent stand- ards in business and civics, and whatever is refining in art, architecture, music and the drama. Let the community see to those and it may count upon the public library for its due share in co-operation with them. SOME RECENT FEATURES IN LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE' By Chalmebs Hadley, Librarian, Denver PuliUc Library Questions of library architecture have been considered by this Association from its organization. It was the theme of dis- cussion at the Naragansett Pier meeting nine years ago. The intervening time since then has been particularly rich in the development of library architecture and the recent literature on the subject in- cludes such valuable publications as "Small library buildings," edited by Miss Cornelia Marvin; "New types of library buildings," by the Wisconsin free library commission; and "How to plan a library building for library work," by C. C. Soule. The importance of a properly planned building for library work was realized as thoroughly years ago as now, but there have been sweeping changes in our ideas of what constitutes a properly planned build- ing. These have been due to the growing complexity of library work, to Its democratization, and to the progress made in artificial lighting. Our ideas have changed also in regard to the architectural impression which a library building should give. Prior to the Columbian exposition held in Chicago in 1893, our library structures showed the influences of the Gothic, Tudor, Georgian and other architectural styles without particular regard as to whether the style was especially adapted to the type of library, or whether local traditions ex- isted which ought to be considered in planning any library structure. The superb array of buildings of the Greek type, at the Columbian exposition gave an impetus to that impressive style in this country which has continued with un- diminished fervor ever since. It had an unprecedented effect on library archi- ^ Preliminary remarks in describing slides illus- trating such features in the library buildings at Portland, Oregon ; St. Louis ; Somerville and Springfield, Mass. ; Mineral Springs and Ft. Atkin- son, Wis.: Elizabeth, N. J.; and two branch library buildings in Denver. tecture, coming as it did in the early years of that era of new buildings, due to the munificence of Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Through this munificence, library build- ings sprang mushroom-like over the land and, mushroom-like, was that object of fervid local pride — the ever present library dome where the heated air was wafted in winter time and from whence dripped the summer showers. Many of these domes were of stained glass, an expensive item in a building of medium cost, and in others, portraits in glass of familiar authors were placed, be- hind which were arc lights to be turned on at auspicious times, when from the dark- ened dome there flashed the portraits of Shakespeare and Booth Tarkington, Milton and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The last decade has witnessed a wide departure from this stereotyped library building, particularly in those states where public library commissions have been most active. In these states successful efforts have been made in increasing number to provide buildings to meet the particular library needs of the community to be served. During the last ten years there has ap- peared also an increasing number of library buildings which architecturally have sought to embody the local traditions of their communities. A larger number of buildings have also been designed to meet the special climatic conditions of their lo- calities. Consequently, along the Atlantic seaboard, buildings of the Georgian type, and in the Middle west, those of an English domestic type, or buildings which in their design show the long, unbroken lines of the low-lying prairies, have appeared in num- ber. In the high plateau region of the Central west, buildings of the North Italian type have become numerous, while in the West and Southwest in particular, library structures are reproducing the dis- 126 BERKELEY CONFERENCE tinctive features of the early Spanish colonial buildings. Our largest library structures continue to follow the Greek type and so secure the compactness and monumental impressive- ness which it affords, but there has been a notable departure from this type in our smaller libraries in favor of a style less expensive than the Greek, less institutional and formal in appearance, and more flex- ible in design. Whatever the type may be, however, there has been a gratifying decrease in attention to decorative details in our smaller buildings with a correspond- ing increased effort to secure beauty through structural lines and exquisite pro- portions. Of late there has been much discussion as to the comparative cost of library and school building construction with criti- cism of the greater cost of libraries. Such a comparison is not entirely fair, however, for it must be remembered that usually the library building is the only one of its kind in the community, that its work is broadly social as well as educational, that it must provide for diverse activities within its walls, and that it gives service to the public for twelve hours or more every day in the w'eek and practically every day in the year. Even with fire- proof construction, some of our newer library buildings have been erected at the cost of but twenty-one cents a cubic foot. Occasionally, during the last few years, libraries have been erected as part of a group arrangement of buildings in cities where civic center plans have been form- ulated. The architectural beauty so ob- tained may in the future result unfor- tunately for libraries in setting restrictions difficult to avoid should the enlargement of the library building become necessary with the growth of its work. A desire has recently become apparent in some cities and towns to give the branch library, as well as the main build- ing itself, the appearance of a store. To heighten this effect, it has been suggested and actually tried in places, to provide a building similar in appearance to sur- rounding stores, flush with the sidewalk and with no entrance steps. Many store rooms with good wall space and light are well adapted to library uses, but the de- liberate desire to efface all appearance of a library structure and imitate that of a store room is a sad commentary on the American public, as well as one of its most democratic institutions. Probably the alert citizen who appreciates the value of books and is keen to recognize the build- ing which houses them is quite as valuable to the community as the one too indolent to climb the usual half dozen steps at a library entrance. Some of our newest large buildings re- veal the desire to accommodate the nu- merous civic organizations which wish to meet at the library. One of the most re- cently completed ones shows three audi- toria seating from 100 to 125 persons each and five committee rooms. Such facilities not only accommodate numerous worthy organizations, but they greatly increase the library's influence by reaching many who otherwise might not come to the li- brary building. Such use of library rooms makes perti- nent the question. What restrictions. If any, should a library place on the character of meetings held under its roof? It also raises the question as to how far a library in a large city should go as a municipal meeting place without sacrificing its greater value as a library. In spite of our numerous excursions into the kindergarten and other fields of en- deavor, most of them eminently worthy and proper, our principal activity as a public institution remains that of work- ing directly through books. The main rea- son for providing meeting places for clubs, etc., therefore, is the increased opportu- nities of supplying books. For that rea- son I would not provide separate outside entrances to library rooms, but would re- quire every individual of our consider- ably coddled library public to reach those rooms through the library's entrance and corridors. By doing so, the visitor will be brought into physical contact at least with 127 the library's main activity as a tax-sup- ported institution, even at ttie annoyance of increased noise in tlie building. Another feature In our newer buildings which is increasingly noted is that of plac- ing boolv staclts in the center of the build- ing rather than against one of the exterior walls, usually the rear one. This former arrangement resulted from the expense and insufficiency of artificial light in the stacks, and natural light was poured into the room at the cost of depriving readers and staff of one-fourth of the light and fresh air that should have been theirs. In the older arrangement, many plans were used to catch the last lingering ray for the stacks, even to lining opposite walls and courts with enameled tiles or by painting them white for purposes of better reflection. In addition to the ob- jection of giving the books, rather than readers, outside light and air, this arrange- ment had other disadvantages. Natural light in most cities is an uncertain source for libraries, direct sunlight frequently causes deterioration to book bindings and paper, and the placing of stacks against an outside wall prevents easy ac- cessibility to them from the other three- fourths of the library building. The substitution of tungsten for carbon lamps, and now nitrogen for the tungsten, has increased the intensity of artificial light over four-fold, with but little, if any, increase in expense. Hence, natural light is no longer so indispensable to book stacks as it once was. By placing the stacks in the building's center, the least valuable part of the li- brary structure, a step is taken for greater and more uniform accessibility. One of our most experienced librarians is not con- tent with this, however, but believes that a vertical stack, even in the library's cen- ter, will not be the final arrangement for accessibility, but that the various floors should be so reinforced that one or two tiers of stacks could be placed on every floor in the exact location where the books on that particular floor will be most easily reached. Another feature in our newer buildings is more definite provision for the greater comfort and well-being of the staff. It was Mr. Hitt of Washington, I believe, who stated that in the success or failure of a library's work, the building itself contrib- uted five per cent; the book collection, twenty per cent, and the librarian and staff, seventy-five per cent. It is wisdom to see that proper facilities for the well- being of such a contributing force be provided, and rest and recreation rooms for staff members are becoming usual. A notable development in library plan- ning, especially in smaller cities and towns, is shown in the attempt to make the li- brary building a social center, or to make its activities an integral part of a social center scheme. What is most needed in many small communities is not a library alone, so much as a library in connection with recreation rooms, a public auditorium, rest rooms and, if a separate wing to the building be possible, a gymnasium. I be- lieve that frequently much of the enthu- siasm for a public library in a small town is based on a more or less unconscious de- sire for a social center. It is folly for libraries in medium-sized and larger cit- ies to attempt social activities which can be handled better by other institutions, but new library buildings in several small cities show interesting attempts to make the library building a physical part of a community center. Some possible loss of identity to the library in such a scheme will be more than compensated for by bringing the various forces for commu- nity betterment into more active co-opera- tion and by decreasing their individual cost of maintenance. Some of our older library buildings are said to have forty and fifty per cent of floor space devoted to entrance halls, stairways, corridors, permanent wall space, etc. It is noticeable in our newer build- ings, both large and small, that space for such uses has been greatly decreased. One of the radical changes in decreasing this waste has been the frequent elimina- tion, when possible, of permanent walls. 128 BERKELEY CONFERENCE Such a radical change as this can not be made in the larger so well as in smaller buildings, but usually it is found that many permanent walls are not only dis- pensable, but their replacement by floor cases as dividing lines is a decided im- provement. It is always difficult, in plan- ning a library structure, to forecast abso- lutely the spaces needed for the library's various activities. Wherever floor cases can be used in place of permanent walls to mark these divisions, not only will greater flexibility result, but a spacious, open interior will be obtained, with in- creased light and air. While numerous radical changes in li- brary planning have been general during the last decade, this is true particularly in our smaller buildings. One reason is, there was much to improve, for as a class, library buildings in our smaller cities and towns did not represent the thought and ability displayed in the larger buildings. One change which has been noted par- ticularly in our smaller buildings has been that in the shape of the building itself. Many of the older buildings were slightly oblong, others were square, or if the build- ing lot were narrow, the building's, depth was greater than its frontage. Another favorite plan was known as the "butterfly" type, with a central delivery room flanked to the right and left by reading rooms for adults and children, and with- floor cases tor books back of the delivery desk. Such a plan had certain merits in a medium-sized building, but its defects were glaring in a small library with but one library employee, or two at most. Consequently, as a result of experience and intelligent observation, we seem to be reaching a more uniform floor plan for small libraries, which shows a simplifica- tion in the interior arrangement and a lengthening of the building's frontage at the expense of its depth. By increasing the length of a small building, several advantages result. In- stead of depending on end windows, which frequently abut on adjoining property not controlled by the library, an unfailing source of natural light will be secured through the increased window space made possible by the longer front and rear walls. By this lengthening, a greater sepa- ration of rooms for adult and juvenile readers will be possible, with added quiet- ness in both. Another advantage will be to bring the delivery desk forward so it need not be more than fifteen feet from the building's entrance. Most of our better small buildings also show, when possible, an open interior with a substitution of floor cases for per- manent walls; the abolition of a librarian's room from the main floor, in buildings costing less than $10,000; and the aban- donment of a separate book or stack room until the capacity of all wall and floor cases is exhausted. A building somewhat in the way of an innovation, which offers excellent advan- tages to a small branch building, or a village library, Is, for want of a better term, described as having a "broken" floor plan. By this is meant two wings of equal length, adult and juvenile reading rooms. Joining at right angles like the letter "L." Such a building, placed at street inter- sections, provides an entrance at the street corner, with a walk to the library's en- trance, which will be on the inside angle of the building. Directly opposite the en- trance will be the delivery desk. At this point, midway between the two wings, the library attendant will have excellent su- pervision of both reading rooms. The "break" in the floor plan also gives ex- cellent separation of the two reading rooms without the need of dividing parti- tions. If a librarian's room is to be lo- cated on the main floor, it would be built directly back of the delivery desk. Most librarians and trustees have gone through the unpleasant experience of try- ing to locate a proposed building when citizens on two rival streets were in arms as to which thoroughfare the new building should face. By using this type of build- ing, with an entrance at the street inter- section, both factions will be appeased and a most excellent library building plan will be secured. BOWERMAN HOW FAR SHOULD THE LIBRARY AID THE PEACE MOVEMENT AND SIMILAR PROPAGANDA? By George F. Bowekman, Librarian, The PuMic Library of the District of ColumHa I suppose it may be taken for granted that the members of no other profession could have been more surprised and shocked at the outbreak of the great Euro- pean war tlian were American librarians. Living in an atmosphere of peace and good will and enlisted in the work of spreading enlightenment, joined by many strong ties with our professional colleagues in other lands, we had assessed the spirit of the world to be in harmony with the spirit of our profession and with the American spirit, strong for universal peace and had thought that the world had become suffi- ciently civilized so that war, or at least a great continental war, involving the most advanced European peoples, was no longer possible. Even now it hardly seems com- prehensible that many of the European libraries are either closed or are running shorthanded because librarians are serving with armies in the field where they are fighting their professional colleagues of other nations, being killed or maimed or contracting diseases that will cut short their careers. Almost incredible also is it that the great library of the University of Louvain should have been destroyed in war in this the twentieth century. It is all so bewildering as almost to defy belief. Although our country has happily kept out of the war through the wise leadership of the President and the fundamental de- votion to peace of our people, yet the coun- try in general has suffered heavily and many American libraries in particular have had appropriations much curtailed as a result of the business depression brought on by the war. With our sympathies aroused and our professional interest en- listed, ought we to allow an annual meet- ing of our national association falling while the v/ar is still in progress to pass without asking whether there is anything that we librarians and the libraries we represent can do to further the cause of international peace, whether we can as- sist in bringing about the peace that shall last, that win make all wars impossible, unthinkable? I am sure that we librarians "look forward," in the words of William James, "to a future when acts of war shall be formally outlawed among civilized peo- ples." How far Is the library justified in going and what specific methods are we as librarians justified in taking to help in causing this view to be generally accepted? In attempting to answer these questions it is desirable first to lay down certain principles that should guide the library in its attitude toward propaganda in general and then to inquire whether there are any special considerations that may properly affect our attitude toward the peace move- ment. The librarian is constantly confronted with demands for the purchase of books and magazines, the offer of free copies of books, magazines and pamphlets issued on one side or the other of controverted ques- tions, cults and isms. The main guiding principle should be that of interested neu- trality. The library seeks complete en- lightenment on the part of its constitu- ency and to that end affords the fullest possible representation to both sides, to all sides of every controverted question. The library should encourage a broad and liberal spirit of free inquiry; its purpose is not to restrain but to foster comprehen- sive curiosity. The offers of literature or the requests for its purchase may have propaganda in mind; the proponents very probably intend to use the machinery of the library, expensive to the public but cheap for their use for the dissemination of their own views. The library in lending itself to such use is not playing into the 130 BERKELEY CONFERENCE hands of the propagandist, but is rather availing Itself of offers and requests to afford the inquiring and curious public, in- terested in subjects of current discussion, with material for the study of the ques- tions at issue. Care should of course be taken when material representing one side only is offered, to procure the best ma- terial on the other side, together with the writings of capable neutral critics, if such exist. Even though the subjects of dis- cussion may sometimes seem relatively unimportant or even at times rather fool- ish to the matter-of-fact librarian, the library cannot best meet the needs of the public unless it furnishes such material. The library wishes to be fair and escape the criticism of being narrow-minded or biased. Some subjects which provoke only a smile or faint interest among sophisti- cated persons like librarians, may be of surpassing interest to certain readers of character and standing in the community. This position of hospitality Is, I believe, the proper attitude of the librarian toward the many controverted questions with which he is constantly dealing such as vivisection, vaccination, Roman Catholi- cism, Christian Science, socialism, the sin- gle tax, the recall, capital punishment, im- migration restriction, prohibition and woman suffrage. The individual librarian or member of a book committee may have strong opinions on some or all of these subjects; he may be superior in his per- sonal attitude toward some of them and hostile toward others; ofBcially, however, he must be sympathetic toward various points of view, for they are vital questions to large sections of the community and to ignore them is to render a public library unresponsive to the needs of its public. The work that libraries may appropri- ately do with respect to a sharply con- troverted question may be well illustrated by what has been done by them in the case of the present war, involving as it has disputes over causes, atrocity charges, in- fractions of international law, etc., on the one hand, and an American public divided in its sympathies on the other. Ever since its outbreak the public has been closely fol- lowing the war not only by means of the newspapers, but numerous readers have flocked to libraries to study with eagerness books, reviews and controversial pam- phlets. The war has created an entire new and voluminous literature that libraries have properly collected and made available, in many cases by means of maintaining a series of special shelves devoted to ma- terial about the war. Several libraries have printed for distribution reading lists, compiled in their own libraries or have distributed the list issued by the Publish- ers' Weekly. In gathering this material, libraries have collected widely and impar- tially, in order to afford the amplest op- portunity for the forming of independent judgments. The wise librarian has utilized this occasion to bring to the attention of his readers not only material about the immediate and controverted questions at issue, but also books about the historical aspects of the controversy, about the con- ditions in times of peace in the nations in- volved and also especially the literature of peace and international arbitration. How far should the library definitely promote the peace movement itself, if at all? Should its attitude be strictly that which it occupies toward any other con- troverted question? If so, the peace advo- cate may hope much from what the library can do for it is believed that the literature favorable to peace and international arbi- tration is far stronger than that opposed to peace. Simply for the library to possess full resources on both sides of the question and to exploit it by displays, annotated lists and the other usual methods will of itself powerfully aid the peace movement. This war has forcibly dragged the question out of the academic shades where it has for the most part previously rested and made it the most vital question before the bar of the world's opinion. It can no more be neglected than can the question of the cost of living. Every library at all re- sponsive to public questions must provide full resources and make them available to BOWERMAN 131 the public. That of itself inevitably pro- motes the peace movement. But I believe that the library is justified in occupying a more advanced position on this particular controverted question. It is likely that few librarians or library trus- tees, whatever their individual opinions may be, would officially advocate omission to provide for suitable national defense, or for proper development of army and navy and other elements of preparedness, at least until such time as armies and navies, if retained at all, are made into international military and police forces. These are immediate questions of public policy with which he has nothing officially to do. I believe, however, that it is en- tirely in consonance with the purpose of the library, as an integral part of the pub- lic educational system, as an institution devoted to the spread of democracy and the promotion of enlightenment, as an in- stitution with books in many languages, containing information about all the peo- ples of the world, and as an institution with many international friendships with librarians and other scholars throughout the world, to promote in every suitable way the strongest ties of international friendship. Librarians are also interested in peace and should, I believe, promote it as a mat- ter of self-preservation. Many observers have predicted that the present war will cease only with the complete economic ex- haustion of one or more of the combatant nations. In any event the rehabilitation of all of the countries involved will be a long and painful process. Money spent on armies and navies and for interest on piled up debts cannot be spent for social objects or for education; and since the library is perhaps the youngest and least considered of all educational agents, it will doubtless suffer most from the enforced economies resulting from war preparations. We are told that more than 70 per cent of the in- come of our own national government is spent on wars past and future. Can any- one doubt that library appropriations would be larger if military and naval ex- penditures were smaller? Most librarians would agree not only that war and preparations for war are en- tirely at variance with the purposes for which the library exists, but that war versus peace is no longer a controverted question of public policy at all. It is rather a question of fundamental ethics: Is the world willing to go on sanctioning a system that puts all of the resources of modern technical science into commission for wholesale murder and theft? The fail- ure to adopt at the close of the present war some plan that will eliminate war from the earth except as a measure of punishment by an international police force would be to postpone the time when the library may hope to do its full work. We the librarians of today want to see the scope of the library enlarged instead of having it kept to its present narrow limits. We want to see libraries have larger and better paid staffs in order ade- quately to meet present demands. We need money to foster larger demands on the part of the public. Both as citizens and as librarians we want to see promoted all of the other movements that make for social well-being and enlightenment, knowing that thereby the opportunities and de- mands for our own work will most surely be enlarged. The reduction of the burden of armaments offers, I believe, the best hope for the expansion of the library and of library work. Although I have been arguing that the library by reason of its essential char- acter as well as because of self-interest ought definitely to promote the peace movement yet I do not think that the specific measures I shall advocate will prove unacceptable even to those librarians and library trustees who conceive the peace movement as strictly falling within the field of controverted questions. In proposing that the library stress the peace movement there is no suggestion of neg- lect to provide the fullest possible re- sources for the study of literature favor- ing war and controverting pacifist argu- ments. 132 BERKELEY CONFERENCE In an enumeration of the ways in whicli the library can appropriately aid the peace movement I should put foremost the effi- cient and liberal development of the library itself and the compelling extension of its resources to the entire reading popu- lation. If only the library is generously stocked with travel literature, books in foreign languages and literatures, tech- nology, fine arts, economics, sociology and history; if it has branches and other agen- cies and expert administration so that it is really used by approximately the entire population, it becomes a great leavening influence, improving the economic effi- ciency of the population, increasing their general enlightenment, counteracting the jingoism of the yellow journal, making good Americans of recent immigrants and increasing the sympathetic interest of per- sons of American birth in foreign lands and peoples. The great agent for the amal- gamation of those of foreign birth is the public school and the library is or should become its strong right arm. In other words, if the library is able by proper sup- port to cease being a static institution sim- ply responding to calls made upon it and can become a dynamic institution that shall reach out and influence the entire population and join in a big way in the forward social movements, it can power- fully influence public opinion. Who can doubt that this influence would be for gen- eral progress, including international peace? It must be confessed that some of the Influence of the library has- been in the direction of fostering warlike sentiments. Many of the books, most popular in libra- ries, fiction, juvenile books and histories, glorify war and inflame international hatreds. I make no suggestion of a censor- ship that would eliminate such books. It is desirable, however, that libraries should furnish an ample stock of the books that depict the horrors of war and that they sliould encourage the writing of books of history that record the work of heroes of peace and that recognize the fact that real history is a record of the development of pacific civilization and international harmony. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace miglit well enlist some geniuses in the work of writing master- pieces of fiction for adult and juvenile readers — books that will do for the cause of peace what "Uncle Tom's Cabin" did for the slavery question. It is a perfectly fair proposition I believe, for the library as an educational institution to stress such a part of its collection. Of course it goes without saying that the library should have the best possible stock of books on international law and on the economic nad social phases of war and peace. The literature of peace, internationalism and war may well be exploited by the methods already mentioned and by the pub- lication of lists such as those issued by the Brooklyn Public Library in 1908 (57 pages), by the public libraries of Boston, Denver, Salem and Buffalo, by the Library of Con- gress and the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. The American Association for International Conciliation has issued two lists on "Internationalism," compiled by Mr. Frederick C. Hicks, and has dis- tributed them to libraries generally. Mr. Hicks also prepared and the American As- sociation issued, two or three years ago, about a dozen "best book catalog cards," each card listing, with annotation, several titles of books and periodicals on various phases of the peace question. These cards have been inserted in the card catalogs of a large number of American libraries. This work should be continued. The American Association has issued for free distribution a reference list and a sylla- bus for the study of international polity, by Dr. John Mez. It is also believed that the American Peace Society or one of the other American peace agencies, would, if the American Library Association or any considerable number of American libraries should make the suggestion, issue a brief and a comprehensive annotated list of books on peace in very large editions for distri- bution by libraries to their readers. The call for literature on the peace question in libraries is already large. The distri- BOWBRMAN 133 bution of such lists would stimulate such calls. Librarians might well let it be known to the Carnegie Endowment and the local peace societies that they would welcome lectures and debates on the peace ques- tions in their lecture halls in their main libraries and branches. In common with most lectures given in library auditoriums, they need not be directly under library auspices, but might be under the patron- age of the peace societies. The public library is now generally becoming a fea- ture in the social and civic center move- ment by which public school buildings are coming to be used for public lectures, meetings and debates. Here are oppor- tunities for the popularization of knowl- edge of the peace movement and for li- brary co-operation in furnishing the litera- ture for the study of the question. The story-telling now done in library children's rooms or in schools by chil- dren's librarians, or with library co-opera- tion, offers another opportunity for im- planting peace ideas in the minds of com- ing citizens. If heroes of war form the subject of the stories, care should be taken not to leave the idea that war of today is the romantic thing it may possibly have been once — or more probably never was, except in the minds of the romancers. Perhaps the horrors of war should not be detailed to younger children, but the deeds of heroes of peace might well be utilized in story-telling. More material in the in- terest of peace suitable for story-telling should be published. It ought also to be listed in bibliographies for children's li- brarians and teachers, and for the children themselves. Something has been done in this direction in the publication by the New York Public Library of its pamphlet list entitled "Heroism." The scope of the American School Peace League might well be enlarged to include the library. One of its objects is to secure the writing of histories for children which will be truthful but will not unduly empha- size international and racial antipathies. The library surely needs such help, should use it and might well join in the move- ment. So far as I am aware, this is the first time that the relation of the library to the peace question has ever been specific- ally discussed at a meeting of the Ameri- can Library Association. The New York Library Club devoted a meeting in No- vember, 1912, to the subject. The speak- ers were President Nicholas Murray But- ler, Professor Samuel T. Dutton and others, who discussed the movement generally, the literature of peace, the library and peace, international bureaus of informa- tion and the international exchange and loan of books. I believe that the topic ought frequently to appear on the pro- grams of the national and local library associations. If the practical suggestions here offered seem few, it should be stated that the pur- pose of my address is more to enlist libra- rians and the library in the cause of peace than to point out specific measures, to ap- peal to the spirit rather than definitely to outline the practical. If I have offered sufficiently convincing arguments that the library may properly assist in this move- ment, appropriate measures will suggest themselves to alert librarians. Even if the advocates of international- ism should at the close of this war see their dreams realized by the establishment of a supreme international tribunal and the stable development of a body of inter- national law enacted by regularly recur- ring sessions of the Hague Peace Confer- ence, by the organization of a League of Peace, a Federation of the World or a World State, the task of making any such plan work, of holding any such organiza- tion together when some crisis arises, or of securing the acceptance of the decrees of any such international tribunal would be a difficult one. In order to be success- ful, behind the world organization and the international court there must be the sym- pathetic world spirit. This can only be secured by education, in which the library should have an increasingly large part. BERKELEY CONFERENCE THE THEORY OF REFERENCE WORK By W. W. Bishop, Superintendent of the Reading Room, Library of Congress One of the commonest phenomena in the growth of a language is the unconscious development of technical phrases. Words which have a plain and ordinary meaning, universally understood and used, are given a special turn or a peculiar import in some locality or in some occupation. In a highly developed form of civilization in which communication is rapid and inter- course constant such special and peculiar meanings spread quickly and become cur- rent before people are aware either of the fact or the process. Every calling and profession has its own jargon, perfectly intelligible to the initiate, though but half understood by the rest of the world. And in a singularly democratic country, one in which governmental decrees fixing nomenclature are practically unknown (for the reason that the central government has no concern with local matters) the jargon of a trade or a profession may be- come fixed without any particular atten- tion from anyone. Coined words, as the verbs "to accession," "to shelf-list," are in all conscience bad enough, but chief of the startling and novel crop of new phrases In our calling is the term "reference libra- rian." To the curious I commend the task of tracing in the library press and in library reports the history of this designation. It would make a good subject for a seminar paper. But whatever its history, the term has arrived. It meets me in half a dozen letters a day. I find persons signing them- selves "reference librarian" writing from colleges and universities, from public li- braries, from endowed research libraries, from state and governmental libraries. These libraries are large and small, general and special, but they all have a person styled a "reference librarian," and in their reports we will find paragraphs on "refer- ence" work, "reference" books, "reference" rooms, and so on. But a study of the functions performed by these persons and in these departments leave me with the impression that the terms are used rather loosely, that the duties performed by "ref- erence workers" are by no means the same in all libraries. Observation also leads me to believe that the term covers functions ranging from the practical control of all the relations with the public (in certain non-circulating libraries) down to the mere task of keeping order in a college study room. Before beginning any dis- cussion of reference work, then, there is need, even among librarians, for a cer- tain amount of definition. Reference work, as defined in this paper, is the service rendered by a librarian in aid of some sort of study. It is not the study itself — that is done by the reader. Reference work is ordinarily distinguished from circulation work in libraries, although reference work may, and often does, lead to the sort of circulation librarians profess an ardent desire to further. The help given to a reader engaged in research of any sort is what we mean by reference work. It may be aid of the most trivial sort, as in the finding of a name in a city directory, or of the most elaborate charac- ter, as the preparation of extensive lists of references such as those printed by the Division of Bibliography in the Library of Congress, or by the New York Public Li- brary. But it is primarily help given to a reader, not performance of the reader's task. Reference work, then, is in aid of research, but it is not research Itself. "Reference" librarians, it should follow are employees assigned to the task of as- sisting readers in the prosecution of their studies. They are the interpreters of the library to the public. The books are here on the shelves; the machinery of library operation (catalogs, files, and what not) 135 is ready; here are readers, each with his own need. But without some one to help a little, to explain, to suggest, to direct, the right book, the right article does not always fall into the reader's hands. The expert and the tyro alilce bring their dif- ficulties to the man who can help them with his knowledge — not of the topic, but of the machinery. He does not, he can not, be an expert in many and various fields. But he does know books and library meth- ods. He can refer people to the right place in the catalog, the proper section of the shelves; he is able to solve baflling puz- zles in the way of abbreviated or incom- plete titles, and he knows more than a little of what books his library owns. He is the interpreter of the library to readers, revealing not that which he himself has created, but that which has been gathered, arranged, listed, labeled, and shelved against their needs. The reference librari- an has always existed. It is only of recent years that division of labor has given him a name — without his knowledge or consent, as for the most part names are wont to be bestowed. "Reference books," too, have taken on a new and dubious meaning. Formerly the term was restricted to works of an encyclopsedic character, to books of ready reference. Dictionaries, almanacs, cata- logs, cyclopaadias, compendia, were refer- ence books. Now (in libraries) to these have been added all other books placed in reading rooms with the view of keeping them there for the convenience of readers. Reference books we generally hold to mean books in the reference rooms, or reading rooms, which are not ordinarily subject to circulation. Other books to which the old definition applies and which may not be in the reference rooms still receive the old designation. Bayle's Dictionary, for example, would doubtless be considered a reference book even by the ruthless mod- ernist who consigns it to the stack and never revels in the spicy anecdotes, the keen thrusts of its heretical author. I find also (not among librarians) a disposition to term "reference" books any books to which reference is made in syllabi and reading lists. Time and again I have seen letters asking about "reference" books, which proved to be very ordinary and commonplace text-books, or monographs. To librarians, however, the term doubtless conveys its old meaning of compends for quick consultation and has come to include also such other books as experience has placed at the convenience of reference workers and readers in reading rooms. The modern extension of this word ref- erence is further seen in the phrases "ref- erence rooms" and "reference library." These are set over against circulation de- partments and lending libraries. As a rule, it is the smaller libraries which use the term "reference room," or "reference department." The larger libraries, which subdivide their work in aid of readers, are more likely to use the term "reading rooms," particularly as they probably have half a dozen departments for specialized aid of research. A technical reading and study room, for instance, is not ordinarily referred to as a "reference room," but as a "department of technology." "Reference libraries" are a group apart. Their function is primarily the aid of specialized, of ad- vanced research. Considering the great number of libraries and the money spent on them in America, the group is a very small one as yet, but as notable as it is small. There is moreover, small question as to the meaning of the word when ap- plied to them. Reference in their case spells research. Whether or no these definitions find common acceptance, there can be no ques- tion as to one fact which confronts any- one planning reference work for any par- ticular library. Most of our libraries are open twelve to fourteen hours daily, and for a short period on Sunday. The aver- age library employee is not present more than eight hours a day. Obviously this m.eans, save in very small libraries, a cer- tain duplication of force and division of labor in the reference work. This at once implies a certain amount of organization and planning in its conduct. The mere as- 136 BERKELEY CONFERENCE signment of a probably suitable person to the reference desk is of course not enough. There must be some continuity in the work, some assurance that the man coming at night will get as good service as the man who came in the morning. In other words reference work demands a policy on the part of the librarian, a definite plan as to what is expected from it, and the means to be applied toward it. Even it it has grown up of itself after its own fashion, the very success it has achieved requires a careful analysis and a plan for continu- ation. We have given great attention to buying books, to cataloging and classify- ing them, to building up circulation, to bringing the books home to the people, to providing buildings. The reference work demands the same sort of care and thought. Another very obvious fact is that no one person can possibly have special knowl- edge of the wide variety of subjects on which libraries have books. It is almost inevitable that, even in a library of moder- ate size, some one else than the reference librarian may be the best person to assist a particular inquirer. In a large library in which specialists are necessarily gathered, it is highly probable that the special de- partment, or the specialist in some de- partment, rather than the reference libra- rian, should attend to his need. The reader "is entitled to the best aid in the library's staff." Thus on any theory of reference work, the reference librarian is bound by a self-denying ordinance. Not his service merely, but the best service, he is to put at the reader's disposal. He is to be a guide not alone to the books, but to the library's resources in personnel. This principle also presupposes a policy on the part of the library as a whole toward the reference work. That policy will differ according to the nature of the demands made upon the li- brary and the extent of its resources. There are, speaking very broadly, three sorts of demands in ordinary reference work, the inquiry for historico-Iiterary In- formation of every sort, the inquiry about present-day conditions in social and eco- nomic fields, and the inquiry in special fields of knowledge, such as technical chemistry or electricity, or law. The his- toric (or antiquarian) demand is the most familiar and probably the most frequent in large libraries; the social (contempo- rary) demand is the most insistent and difficult to satisfy; the technical demand (when serious) is usually made in a tech- nical library, or by a person already trained who is capable of handling for himself the technical books. Now the general library is usually either strong in history, literature and the arts, or strong in statistics, documents, and sociology. It is seldom so evenly developed (for what- ever reason — many will occur to you at once) in all fields that none has a pre- ponderance. The equipment and training of the reference workers should, it would seem, reflect the strongest side of the li- brary's collections, at least up to the point where those collections require the services of specialists. For example, suppose a library has a good collection of music which is growing rapidly as a result of an endowment. Ultimately it will need a specialist in musical literature in charge of the collection. Until the time comes for him, however, It would be folly not to have some one on the reference staff — or at least available for reference work — who knows more than a little of music and its literature. But if the reference librarian is not to absorb inquiries at the reference desk, if he is properly to consider himself an in- troducer of readers to the person best able to assist them, he is also required by this very obligation to sift inquiries, to discover those, for instance, which can be answered by means of the World's Alma- nac, or Who's Who, and to prevent them going past him to bother and annoy busy folk. We have at the Library of Congress a department of Semitics. But we have learned in the Reading Room to spot the young Egyptians and Syrians who wish to read the files of our one Arabic illustrated magazine, and not to let them get past the 137 Reading Room desk to the Semitic De- partment. If the question can be handled with reasonable ease and celerity by the reference force, it should remain with them. Tact, the ability to single out the actual thing wanted in the haze of the first ques- tions, a good memory, knowledge of cata- logs and of classifications, are the prime requisites in a "reference" librarian. Add- ed to them must be — as indicated above — an acquaintance with some field in which the library is particularly strong, and in which there is a persistent demand. Ex- perience, too, counts for more in reference work than almost any other factor, partic- ularly experience in the library in which the work is done. Time and again I have seen reference workers made wise by long years of training handle with consummate ease and success an inquiry which had bafiSed inexperienced folk of excellent, even superior, training. The acquaintance with the library's resources, which comes fi-om living in it, the knowledge of how similar questions were met before, the curious ability to sense the real point at issue, are assets which come with time alone. We shall not attempt In this paper to take up the practical matters of Jiow such reference librarians shall perform their m.anifold and varied duties. The topic is the theory of reference work, which involves of course the attitude of the li- brary toward it, and the qualifications of those engaged in it, as well as the pre- liminary discussion of its nature. But the tools of the reference worker and his quarters we may properly include within the theory of his work. Whether the force be large or small, whether the work be general or special, the reference librarian must have some special place to work in and some things to work with. (I have seen both fundamentals totally ignored.) To begin with his tools. In a general sense the entire reference collection is for his use in aiding readers, but it is the books and apparatus which he uses per- sonally with great frequency that more Immediately concern us. These should be near at hand where they can be reached with little motion. No matter what his particular line of work, there are sure to develop lists and bibliographies, memo- randa and notes. Some sort of record is naturally kept of particularly difficult and puzzling inquiries. He will need a vertical file for all these, and if the demand is for ephemeral publications on questions of the hour and the place is strong, his vertical file is likely to grow to large dimensions. He will need as many works of quick reference as he can get about him, dictionaries, indexes, compends of statistics, recent bibliographies, directo- ries, and so on. These are his first aids, his emergency tools. His next line of help is not so often the general collection of reference books as it is the catalog of the library. If that instrument is at all well made, it is the natural resort of the reference librarian in almost all his emergencies. He prob- ably will know it more thoroughly than anyone except the fliers. It would seem almost a necessity that he should not be placed far from it, and yet we have all seen reference rooms remote from the public catalog, even on separate floors. Then come the reference books in the reference room, open to readers freely, and distinctly for their use, but in a peculiar sense also the tools of the reference libra- rian. Reference collections should be made with local ends in view. While one may with safety and wisdom foresee a de- mand and provide reference books for it, the bulk of the reference books should be such as experience shows to be needed in that particular place. Because a book is very useful in some large library, it is by no means certain that it will prove an equally valuable reference aid in a small town library or in a special library. Ref- erence collections, moreover, should con- tain a certain number of duplicates. Ex- perience will show what they shall be. My plea is that the reference collection should be made up strictly in accordance with local needs, guided by the reference librarian's observations and his knowledge 138 BERKELEY CONFERENCE of the demand. It goes without saying that it will require constant and drastic revision. Such are the tools of the trade. How should they be housed? No details can be given, but certain principles may be at least mentioned. The reference room must be near the public catalog; it must not be remote from the book stacks. There should be (even in small libraries) some provision for privacy of consultation when necessary. It is extremely difficult to have no place to take an embarrassed inquirer, no place to consult on what may be very important matters other than the open reference room. Some study rooms where groups can work adjacent to the main reference room seem also a necessity. De- baters and clubs we are likely to have with us for some time to come. Further details are matters of the individual build- ing. Assuming, then, that we are agreed that reference work is organized effort on the part of libraries in aid of the most ex- peditious and fruitful use of their books, under comfortable housing conditions, we may safely inquire whether its possibili- ties have been explored, its limits reached. Have we yet done all that can be done properly to exploit the books in our li- braries, to develop their use to the utmost? Is it not true that we are but beginning to see the possibilities of useful service which can be rendered to the community, not alone by the existence of rich collec- tions, of carefully selected libraries, but by the trained and organized force which interprets them? Is it not imperative that we abandon (if we have ever held) the passive attitude, politely responsive to demands, but creating none? Consider for a moment the attitude of the so-called "special" library toward its clients. Be- cause of their high intelligence in some special field, of their keen interest in the literature of their calling, the clients of such a library demand and secure high- grade service within that field, a service which generally sets Itself no limits of time or effort on behalf of its readers. Zeal in such a library does not degenerate into offlciousness, nor does proper reserve become indifference. The librarians of a scientific laboratory, of an insurance com- pany, of a research institute know their limited clientele, anticipate their wants, respond to their calls, serve intelligently, and therefore successfully. Even so, general libraries may perhaps establish a relation of intimacy with at least certain sections or classes of their larger community. By a study of its com- ponent parts, of its social organization, there have already been found in many cities possibilities of helpful aid to many classes of readers who ordinarily came but seldom to any library. Such a study ol a town or city one supposes every li- brarian makes in a general way. But the reference workers in large and small pub- lic libraries are under special obligation to consider not only those daily demands which custom and training bring to their desks, but all those latent chances of use- fulness which lie too frequently undreamt of about them. Why buy certain classes of books? Why keep other classes? Who can use this sort, and who that? Why not develop a certain subject for a certain need, even if it be hitherto unvoiced? Why not spend on the study of the possible and actual use of books some of the energy shown in selecting fiction and reading re- views? In other words, why not exploit intelligently and successfully the non- recreative side of library work, building up stores of books against a future need, gathering ephemeral material for the day? The possibilities of reference work In reference libraries are, I believe, but dimly seen as yet. Judging from our foremost examples, one might say that the key- note is specialization, either by way of departments within a general library, as the New York Public Library, or by limit- ing the field of the library itself, as in the John Crerar Library, or the John Carter Brown Library. But specialization means planning for the student, the investigator, fully as much as for the librarian assigned to the care of a department. It means a 139 policy of acquisition in special fields, a development of a special clientele, a spe- cialized service whicli can create a de- mand as well as supply one. The mere library specialist, who sits in a room and gathers books about him, performs a serv- ice of a certain sort, it is true. But the specialist in American history, in prints, in maps, in music, in physics, in law, in statistics, who keeps In touch with the men of his sort throughout the world, who knows them, knows what is going on, con- tributes his mite, brings them eagerly about him, fills a vastly more important post. We have men of this sort, and we shall have more of them as our libraries grow. They are alive. They are the true reference workers, whatever their official nomenclature. And the general "reference librarian," the man who is compelled to be all things to all men, who, counting nothing and no one trivial, spends his days opening up to the miscellaneous public the stores of the library's books, what of him? He sends the interesting inquiry on to the specialist; he passes on the Interesting man to another head of department; he greets generations of students in high schools, colleges, normal schools, tech- nical schools; he helps out the hurried newspaper man hunting desperately for a portrait or a biography of some one sprung into fame between editions; he sets the aspiring Daughter of the American Revolution on the track of a new bar; here he averts a difficulty, there he smooths down an irate reader with too often a just grievance; he is an inter- preter, revealing to inquirers what the library has; he is a lubricant, making the wheels run noiselessly and well. Little glory and less reputation accrue to him. He counts his days' work done well, but sees no tally of so many thousand books bought or other thousands cataloged. At his best scholars use him, like him, thank him. At his lowest ebb no one considers him save as a useful part of the machinery. This is the theory of his work — service, quiet, self-effacing, but not passive or un- heeding. To make books useful, and more used, — this is his aim. This aim and this theory are alike honored in any gathering of librarians. PIONEERING IN UTAH By Mart Elizabeth Downey, Library Secretary and Organizer of Utah After listening to all the wonderful things that are being done in mature li- brary work all over our country, on this fine program, which has been so ably pre- pared for us, it may be well to come back to first principles for a few minutes and listen to some of the things that are being done in one of our new States. Provincial- ism is, I presume, one of the most inter- esting subjects which any of us can pursue. Any of us who travel across the continent from time to time, or who go abroad, or who are working in the various states, no doubt have a very interesting fund of sto- ries to relaie. When I went to Utah more than a year ago I soon found my preconceived notions of the state undergoing a change, and that to have any real success there I must work with the people and use the agencies which the gods had already placed there. The thing that will be of interest to you, is, perhaps, the methods of work which are as different from the east and middlewest, as conditions are different, and I presume whatever is found to work successfully in Utah, may safely be said to be of special value to all these inter-mountain states from Canada to Mexico, and from the Mis- issippi Valley to the Coast states, where conditions and people are much the same. One of the greatest aids to promoting library work over the state is the pulpit of the Mormon church, which is open for the 140 BERKELEY CONFERENCE discussion of any subject of social and civic betterment. So on many of the Sundays I have spoken from one to three times In the churches, before the parents' classes and at the young people's and tabernacle services. Here one always finds a good audience and can reach "the ear of the people, and better attention one would no- where find. Again, they are a joyous, happy people, and I am inclined to feel that our people of the older states would be the better for some of their dancing. Everybody dances, from the little child to the person "with one foot in the grave." It would no doubt surprise some of you to see the dignified program of a library dedication include a dance. . . . The library movement in Utah, being so closely allied to the public school system, proves of great advantage. The connection of the State library work with the department of education places the whole army of teachers behind It. The co-operation is all that one could desire and it is remarkable what can be done for a library when all the school people of the town arc back of it. I found the schools generally had at least a few books called a library. The books were usually for adults, seldom selected to suit the grades of the children. One could rarely go into a school library and find enough books suited to any one grade, so that each child might have one at the same time. The teachers were calling for a graded list. So a list containing about sixty books for each grade was made for the eight grades and sent to school super- intendents all over the state. These books are being purchased everywhere, which Is bringing about one of the greatest features of our work in Utah. We have two great objects In Utah. One is a free public library in every town, and the other a book for each child in the pub- lic schools suited to his age and grade, or as many books and suited to the grade as the teacher has pupils enrolled, and each child to be encouraged to read at least an average of two books a month, one every two weeks, or twenty-five a year, the child to write down the author, title and date of every book he reads, keeping his own indi- vidual ledger record. This is no idle dream, for the library and schools are co- operating all over the state to bring this about just as fast as w-e can carry the mes- sage. The Salt Lake public library has put the books into three schools from the fourth grade through the eighth, and the super- intendent of schools, who is on the library board, assures me that they will be placed in all the buildings just as fast as funds permit. Provo has given the order for the books to be put into all public schools, the Brigham Young university training school and Proctor academy. Ogden is enthusi- astic, and the library board is arranging with the city fathers for an increased ap- propriation to purchase the books for the schools. American Fork has already placed them through all the grades. Garland, Richmond, Brigham City, Ephraim, Manti and Moab are all working toward this end. It is safe to say that next year will see this object accomplished by every town In the state having a public library, and it will mean tliat the children now in the public schools of Utah will be a generation of readers. If the child reads even this small average we are asking. It means a total of 25 books a year. If he does this only from the fourth grade through the eighth he has read 100 books, and there are compara- tively few children all over the country who are doing that now. If the child con- tinues this reading through the four years of high school he has read 100 more. Read- ing in this way even through the eighth grade would mean the creation of a systematic reading habit. The law providing that fifteen cents for each child in school be spent for books an- nually, also helps to promote this move- ment. In towns where there are libraries, the money is often turned over to the li- brary board to purchase the books. The books are, of course, all returned to the public library for the summer, so DOWNEY 141 that the children may have use of them through the vacation period. One of the distressing needs I saw in my first visit to the libraries over the state, was the total lack of periodical files for reference. Only five libraries in tlie state had collections of any value, — University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Agri- cultural College, Salt Lake public library, and Ogden public library. I could not rest till a collection was started in every library, and I saw that it was go- ing to take heroic measures to bring it about. The problem is so different here from the east and middle-west. There, people hoard old magazines in their homes till a library can get a fine start toward complete files in almost any small town, so that, by exchange of duplicates with other libraries, it will soon have a fine collec- tion. Here, everything in the way of peri- odical matter, in the small town, is sent off to the ranches, miners and sheep-herders, a worthy cause, but it plays havoc with this valuable reference part of any library. Another difficulty is to get the library board and sometimes the librarian to see the value of periodicals for reference. An old magazine is simply an old magazine, and it is hard to realize that after it has served its purpose of current reading, it is still worth all and more than it cost, for reference. Nor do they know of the in- dexes, Poole and Readers' Guide, till they are told. The binding is another problem. Most of these libraries have too small funds and are yet too much in need of books to con- sider binding periodicals. Even the ex- pensive filing cases are out of the question. However, the Schultz Co., Chicago, furnish a case, holding a volume of the standard sized magazine, at ?6 per 100 when ordered by the hundred, and these are so inex- pensive that even the smallest library can afford all it needs; and when the cases are properly marked, and on the shelves, they look as well as though they were bound vol- umes. After the first hundred are on the shelves, it is no trouble to have as many ordered as needed. These periodical files, with the Readers' Guide, together with an atlas, dictionary, and encyclopedia, give to the small library an opportunity to do fair work in the way of reference. The magazine campaign week in the va- rious towns over the state, has done as much to arouse interest and to add to the resources of the libraries, as anything we have done. It started in Salt Lake before the holidays. I saw that the nucleus for periodical reference files in libraries over the state must come from Salt Lake, Ogden, and Prove. So we got the co-operation of the superintendent, principals, and teach- ers of the city schools and for a week had the children in the thirty school buildings of Salt Lake collect old magazines from the homes. We did not limit what they should bring, as we wanted to feel the pulse of the periodical reading of the city. I presume such a collection was never before brought together in such a way. There was a contest to see which building, room and child would gather the most. The children counted what they brought from time to time and the teachers put the num- ber on the blackboard where everyone en- joyed watching it grow from day to day. One building collected over 30,000 numbers, and one child had more than 700 numbers to his credit. It was a common sight to see a boy on the streets with his little sled- load and hear him calling to some other child the number he had already brought. It worked like magic. Everybody's house was visited a number of times and so thor- ough was the collecting that by the end of the week, I doubt whether even a Sears, Roebuck, or Montgomery Ward catalog, or a last year's almanac, or a fashion book could have been found in a home of Salt Lake. The next problem was a place to have them brought for sort- ing. The beautiful reading and study room of the State University library was offered and a church considered, but finally the L. D. S. high school library rooms were offered and accepted as being the most central place. Draymen were busy for several days hauling the maga- zines and I spent a week at hard labor. 142 BERKELEY CONFERENCE sorting, filing and packing, begging every- one I could to help, as there was no money for this part of the work. The public li- brary kindly loaned members of its staff, the librarian of the University came for half a day, three stenographers in the state superintendent's office each came a day, and other friends helped. A few facts might be of interest as to the material collected. About half of it was Saturday Evening Post, Leslie's, Collier's, Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, and the fashion magazine type, half of what was left was the wood pulp paper, dime novel type in periodical litera- ture; and what was left, about one-fourth of the whole collection, was what we were seeking for reference use in the libraries. There was plenty of it and with duplicates, so that fairly complete sets could be made up for each library. Only the last few years of any magazine had been preserved, however. So I think most of the small li- braries in Utah will have to be satisfied with files going five years back. Aside from obtaining this valuable ma- terial, and discovering the caliber of peri- odical reading, other results of which we had not dreamed were accomplished. Chil- dren had talked "Library" in every home and set people thinking. The children felt the importance of having done something to help the cause. The hearts of the school people were warmed by being asked to co- operate, so that they were ready to respond to other things we wanted to bring about. I was invited to give a series of talks be fore the principals' meetings, and so was able to show them what the conditions in Salt Lake were, that the schools were not providing books for general reading and that the public library had but one child's book to five cliildren in the public schools. They were told what the circulation of chil- dren's books was in comparison with the number of children in the city and shown that the children of Salt Lake were going through the public schools without learn- ing how to read. So we had a wonderful awakening. The principals in turn invited me to speak before their parent-teachers' associations, so that I have now covered half the buildings and will visit them all as fast as I am in Salt Lake to accept invitations. The superintendent said to me not long ago, "You are always wel- come. You come with a message which everybody can understand and put into practice." Seeing what has begun in Salt Lake, we are following the same plan in every town in the state and the results are more rapid in the small towns, in many cases, than in the city, for the books can be ordered for the whole school system at one stroke. While the magazine collection, through the schools of small towns, is often meagre for the reason given, the children take just the same interest and by the end of the week everybody in the community, young and old, is talking library. Sometimes the contest between competing grades grows sc warm as to become a town affair. In one of the last towns to make the collec- tion, the little second and third grades were winners and each would again and again surpass the other. In the end the second grade won and the teacher gave them a talk on how the victors should, treat the conquered, while the superin- tendent of schools told the third grade the way to take defeat. In Ogden, where one of the buildings gathered over 31,000 numbers, the children brought some un- usual books which had to be sent home. One little girl brought a beautiful, morocco bound volume of Whittler's Poems, another cliild brought a book from his father's law library, while a third little girl brought the family Bible, saying they never read it any more at home, and a fourth brought a Methodist hymnal. The State Industrial School located in Ogden, co-operated in the hauling. The superintendent sent an auto- mobile and two boys, who helped us collect what we wanted for reference from each building, while other boys followed with a wagon and gathered up the rest of the ma- terial for the Industrial school, taking four immense loads. In Provo the surplus was sent to the State Mental Hospital. Here the children in one building grew so inter- DOWNEY 143 ested in collecting that they drove to neigh- boring towns to gather magazines. In ad- dition to using little sleds, when the snow was on, the children in other towns used their wagons, and even wheelbarrows. From these collections 16 libraries have the beginning of periodical reference flies and the value of what has been gath- ered and distributed may be conservatively estimated at $3,000. If as much more can be accomplished in the next year every library in the state will have the nucleus of such a collection for reference. One of the things that makes the work in Utah worth while, and somewhat re- lieves the exhaustion of travel, is the beau- tiful scenery. I have seen sucli wonderful things in nature there as any of us would go round the world to see or spend any amount of time or money we could afford. Almost every town one visits has a beau- tiful natural setting and boasts some unique feature — a canyon, lake, or moun- tain. It would seem, too, that these natural surroundings of nature affect the building revolution now going on over the state, so that the people seem even unconsciously to bo putting their homes and public buildings in harmony with the beauty around them. New homes, schoolhouses, churches and public buildings are going up everywhere. The library is in line with this building movement. It would seem sometimes that the people are building-crazy. They will often levy a tax and the council will build a library months before they have a thing to put in it, or have even appointed a library board. The woman's club movement, so active in most parts of the country, has not pro- gressed so fast in Utah outside of the large towns; hence the library movement has lacked this strong support. I think not more than one or two libraries now existing could claim to have had their inception in a woman's club. The Utah Federation of Women's clubs has had a limited influence In promoting interest through their tew traveling libraries scattered over the state. But those who have so kindly devoted time to sending them out have "grown weary in well-doing" and the books are for the most part "resting by the wayside." So we are urging the executive board to dis- tribute the books in 300 to 500 lots and give them outright to the libraries to in- crease their meager collections. The fede- ration is also asked to continue its activity in providing as many books to every new town that levies a tax for a library. This work would be unique on the part of women's clubs and be the direct aid which some of our older states, as New York and Massachusetts, provide. So far as I can see, this would be the greatest service the Utah Federation of Women's clubs could render the libraries of the state. It would also help to bring about the fine feeling toward the federation, so much desired, from the small towns. Twenty-one towns in the state have now levied tax for library maintenance. In ad- dition to the beautiful building in Salt Lake, given by Mr. Packard, sixteen other towns have completed buildings given by Andrew Carnegie — have them under con- struction or promised. Mr. Carnegie's generosity, perhaps, has done more to stimulate the establishment of libraries in the state than any other one thing. A dozen other towns in the state have li- braries, which it is hoped will soon have tax support and buildings. Many others are awakening to the need of libraries and will start them in tlie near future. The University of Utah library now has splen- did quarters in the new administration building, with one of the finest reading and study rooms in the country. The Brigham Young university and the Agricultural col- lege have good collections of books, which are well organized and administered. A dozen academies throughout the state have something in the way of libraries, but they are yet little organized or developed, with the exception of the L. D. S. high school li- brary in Salt Lake, which has its 5,000 or more books well on the way to organiza- tion. Denominational schools over the state should see to it that the libraries are more adequate, for any school to quite an extent 144 BERKELEY CONFERENCE may be measured by its library. The state mental hospital, the school for the blind and the deaf, the industrial school and state prison are all well provided with li- braries suited to the particular class of per- sons using them. The state institutions in Utah are, no doubt, far better supplied with books than those in most of the older states. We have, too, a vision of what the Salt Lake Public library will be some day, with a half-million-dollar library building in the civic center, a network of branches ra- diating to all parts of the county and ex- tension work through the schools that can- not be surpassed. The state has awakened to the need of organized effort througli the Utah Library association, which held its third meeting last June, with sixty-five members in at- tendance. The state department of public instruc- tion has been able to do some active work through a library secretary and organizer in the last three years. The legislature in- creased the appropriation at its last ses- sion. The Utah summer library school has now held three annual sessions at the Univer- sity of Utah. Most of the librarians have attended more than one session. The library laws, providing for the an- nual expenditure of fifteen cents for each child of school age for books, and for the tax support of municipal libraries, are good as far as they go, but the territory for the tax levy should be extended to cover the school district and county, so that in many cases the building may be more adequate, the tax income larger, and the service ex- tended to the rural district. Utah has made a fine beginning and has fully awakened to the library movement. Being new in the library field she has the advantage of building on the experiences of the older states. With the various or- ganizations pulling together, it will be but a comparatively short time till there will be a free public library within easy reach of every man, woman and child in the state. May this soon come to pass. THE CHILD IN THE SCHOOL AND IN THE LIBRARY' Bt Willis H. Kerb, Librarian, Kansas State Normal School, Emporia, Kansas There Is to be a new American educa- tion. The school is to do more and better. The child is to be better educated, hand, head, heart, and soul. Society is to be saner, more healthful, stronger and cleaner in industry and government. The church Is only extending its grip. It is for the library to say, by its atti- tude, whether in all this its part shall be large or small. When we show our educa- tional brethren how large is the library's legitimate and effective part, we shall have their enthusiastic appreciation and co- operation. When we make the public un- derstand that large part, we shall have un- limited public support. But unless we ' This paper was a contribution to the general program by the Section of Library Work with Children. "lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes," ours shall be that small part of complacent self-admiration. The child In the school is being thor- oughly measured and surveyed. Long since he was elaborately analyzed, classi- fied, and recapitulated. And "still the wonder grows that one small head can carry all he knows." He is still inscrut- able. Just now there is uncertainty in the edu- cational ranks. New ideas, new principles, new materials have been brought into the educational process; the reaction is not yet completed. In the meantime practice varies widely, and the contusion seems to be greater than it is. For while pedagogies and psychologies perish, the child persists. 145 He is the constant factor in all educational agencies, — school, library, playground, church, and home. As the future man and citizen, amidst all the fluctuations of opin- ion and practice, the child is the one thing worth while. By its attitude toward the child and his education, the library defines its own field of usefulness. You do believe in children, don't you? Perhaps it is safe to predict that in the new educational synthesis at least the fol- lowing principles will gain rather general acceptance: — First, minds cannot be divided up into little pigeonholes; subjects of study or of knowledge cannot be separated sharply from all others; children cannot be graded Into exact mental sizes (as egg, nut, or lump coal) or into arbitrary mental quali- ties (as No. 1 hard. No. 2, or no grade wheat). Second, all knowledge is not contained in books. The spoken word as well as the written may be one of the "King's Gar- dens." Nature also is to be read as a book. Third, although education must be for the masses and in masses, the individual child must be understood and trained. Fourth, although rather more rigorous standards than ever before are to be set up, the great educating force is to be per- sonality rather than precept. It is my purpose this morning to ask what meaning these four observations may have for library work with children and schools and teachers. And yet may it not be that here, too, the "child is father of the man?" Unity of mind and of knowl- edge and of conduct means as much in adult education as in elementary educa- tion. The passing of blind book worship is not a phenomenon observed only in chil- dren. The individual adult, full often as the child, must be taught to get the mean- ing of his book. Inflexible method palls rather more quickly upon the adult than upon the child; the adult simply lets your institution alone; while the child, in the course of his education will have other opportunities to be swayed by the person- ality that is the spark of life. Before discussion of these guiding prin- ciples, let us distinguish between school and library. Despite the overlapping of work, and notwithstanding the following suggestions that the library may take over some of the present functions of the school, please let us understand that the library is not to become a school and that the school is not to swallow up the library. School is formal. Library is informal. Fundamentally, the school is for discipline (training, if you will). Fundamentally, the library is for culture. The belief un- derlying these remarks is that the library does nothing that could be better done in school, but the library's work is a neces- sary part of education. Unity of the child's mental life means this to librarians: — The children's depart- ment educates. It cannot merely enter- tain. It cannot detach its story-telling from what is learned at school. Its train- ing results in conduct. It must answer for the wrong book given the child. Sometimes it must answer for giving any book at all. Its work is part of the child's education, either good or bad. Minute and arbitrary grading of books, stories, and pictures finds no warrant in the children we try to fit into our pigeon- holes. Children of the same so-called grade vary in ability as much as one thousand per cent. The same reading material was recently found to be within the compass of children all the way from the second to the sixth school grades; the better second- grade scholars could read and understand the same material as the poorer sixth grad- ers. A plan of grouping more justified by recent educational advance is what school men call the "six-three-three" plan, or sometimes (as in Los Angeles) the "five- four-three" plan. This would be a primary group, including kindergarten and grades one to six; an intermediate group, grades seven to nine; a secondary group, the three upper high-school years. Indeed, I am not sure but that the schools of the future will have teachers of subjects rather than teachers of grades. So far as It is administratively possible, libraries may 146 BERKELEY CONFERENCE well prepare for a similar organization of correlated specialists for the work with children. The passing of the old-time book rever- ence need not alarm libraries. The new reverence is ability to use books, not fear of them. But the new education believes that the child may learn also by using his hands, by visiting the fields, by seeing things done, and by the telling of his ex- periences. The child will continue to use library books, but for more varied pur- poses. It means also that in the library perhaps the child should hear as many stories read from books as are told from memory. Moreover, it means that the child might well be encouraged to tell the libra- rian of his discoveries in bookland, picture- land, toy-land; expression should equal im- pression. I am aware that this is almost a ridiculous suggestion to the librarian in a crowded children's room on a Saturday afternoon; but I am insisting that we rec- ognize the educational bearing of that which we do or do not do. Such an oral report from reader to keeper of books, is more than an educational virtue; the con- tact informs and enthuses; it remedies the formlessness and disintegration of minds that come from much reading without any organization or reaction. Equally, the passing of blind worship of books means that in the provision of illus- trative or museum material, libraries have not yet reached their educational respon- sibility. Having furnished these girls with the Ben Greet Shakespeare, why not help them act it out on the library stage? Hav- ing furnished the boy the how-to-make-it book, why not let him try out the plan with the "Meccano" or "Constructikon" outfit? Does the library's business stop with giving him the idea? I repeat: Ex- pression must follow impression, the use of books results in conduct. Are expres- sion and conduct any of the library's busi- ness? Librarians have rather more effective opportunities than teachers for contact with individuals. One of the present op- portunities for library individual service to children and for library co-operation with the public schools is possibly in the teaching of reading. The school men are seeking means of economy of time in edu- cation. After the first two years of in- struction by the school in phonetics and mechanics of reading, may not the libraries take over the rest of what is now too often a slow humdrum singsong process? In his compilation of the classics of "Library and school," Mr. Bostwick quotes the first trial of the scheme, at Pomona, California, a dozen years ago. Each child reads a dif- ferent book, for the sheer pleasure of it; he tells teacher and class about it; every- body is Interested because it is all new. Manifestly, the library should supply the books needed. If the schools are going to feed the children, and take care of the babies while the mothers work, and provide laundry facilities for the neighborhood — then can't the libraries teach reading? Seriously, as long ago as 1908, in his "Psychology and pedagogy of reading," Dr. Huey predicts this: "Perhaps librarians will some time be trained to be our most effective teachers of reading, and many of them are so al- ready. . . . Perhaps if all reading classes had to be conducted in the library, the 'silence' rule itself would compel better use of the recitation time; and I am glad to find, too, that in the best libraries the early years are provided for with reading aloud and the telling of stories to the chil- dren, giving the literature to the children as the race learned it in its childhood, through the ear and with the help of an abundance of pictures." Manifestly, it will require the resource- fulness of personality rich in native en- dowment and training, to discern what end of action will follow the reading of this book by this boy, to know that this girl of twelve is not so old mentally as that girl of eight, to utilize all suitable materials and experiences for the education of this child, to cling to the interests of this boy and at the same time to leaven the whole mass. To find and train people who can use a rule or a text-book without being BOWKER 147 enslaved by It, — that is the problem of the child in the school. That we are finding and training people who can use a tool or a book or an occasion for the welfare of the child — that is the triumph of the library for the child. THE PROVINCE OP THE PUBLIC LIBRARY By R. R. Bowker, Editor, Library Journal, New York Mr. President and fellow members of the A. L. A.: One can not but hark back from this meeting a quarter century to the first visit of the A. L. A. to this Coast. I recall that we were shown then all these wonderful garden spots which three years before, we were told, were nothing but a desert of sage brush, and our humorist re- ported to us at a reception where our hostess had the most lovely profusion of golden hair that in a confidential moment she had said to him, "You see these luxuri- ant tresses? Three years ago this head was only a desert of sage brush!" Twenty-five years is a long time in the modern history of California, and it is in- teresting to note that this land of gold is less and less valuing the gold of the dark- ness and more and more valuing the gold of the sunshine; thinking less of that gold of the dead past, which must be painfully and patiently dug from the mines or from the sands, and emphasizing more the golden fruitage and the golden grain of the living present and the yet greater harvest of the great future which such genius as that of Burbank is prophesying for this wonder- ful Coast. It is reported often in the East that our California friends have large im- aginations, so that they realize in advance the figures of population and wealth of the next census. Instead of harking back to the last one; but we who have come to California feel as when the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon, that the half had not been told us, and, like Solomon, Cali- fornia, having riches and honor, has never- theless made choice of wisdom. And so we are met in this noble and splendid state university, which represents wisdom as the crown of the riches and the honor of this great state. When at the turn of the century it came time to rebuild this great institution for the future, the state showed its catholic feeling by open- ing a world-wide competition for the plan- ning of the grounds, and its catholicity was emphasized by the choice of a French land- scape artist for that purpose, and this work was taken up by an American genius, the professor of architecture in the univer- sity, who has brought forth the results which we have seen; and I can not refrain from mentioning that France, with its free education to all comers of all nations, had educated not only the French citizen who planned the grounds, but the Ameri- can citizen who has since crowned his work, so that France is now showing itself in the free education of California. And how glorious that that work should be crowned at last by this beautiful belfry, uprising toward the blue, whose bells ring out the old, ring in the new, and chimes a larger liberty, a greater independence, the liberty of knowledge. What a far cry from the little red school house of New England and the patient schoolma'am who came from the East half a century ago, as soon as the mining camps and the settlements here had chil- dren to teach, to begin the teaching of the new race here! What a far cry to this noble university, the last in a chain of free institutions for the higher education, stretching from my own free College of the City of New York, which from its historic heights fronts the sunrise over the Atlantic, to this beautiful sight, looking across the Bay through the Golden Gate to the sunset of the Pacific! What a far cry from the four books of the Mechanics' 148 BERKELEY CONFERENCE Library half a century ago, of which Dr. Jenks told us the other evening, to the library of the modern day, to this splendid example of modern architecture housing the Bancroft library, so happily saved from the great earthquake and the great fire, to the Library of Congress, whose work and whose chief you so rightly acclaimed the other day, and to the New York Public Library, that greatest example of the popu- lar library of our time! And I must add, what a far cry from that little group of three, Frederick Leypoldt, that great and generous bibliographer long since passed over to the majority, Melvil Dewey and myself still among the living, who Issued the first call and from the hundred or so who formed the first conferences of the A. L. A., — when Miss Matthews and one or two other ladies were almost lost in the overwhelming number of men, and quietly pulled the coat tails of Dr. Poole and asked If he would not speak up in meeting for them, — to this great international body of the American Library Association, with its three thousand members, where "votes for women" so overwhelmingly predominate that it is only by your courtesy that we men have any part at all! Tliese are examples of what we call evo- lution, and in discussing provinces and functions it is not that one should play the part of a prophet, but that one should be an observer trying to learn from natural evolution what is the right thing to do, what is the right thing for which to plan. And we must remember that while the other animals, men excepted, are controlled by and are responsive to their environ- ment, man controls his environment and makes it responsive to him, so that we have come to recognize creative evolution and conscious creative evolution, and thus to emphasize the responsibility which we have in shaping for ourselves and our fel- low men the environment which is to make the future. From that point of view It occurs to me that one of the first things to do is to look at the modern public library in its highest development, and from my mental notebook I mean to re- mind you of a few facts about the New York Public Library as the culmination of the library effort of the last generation, and from that text, as it were, to speak of the functions of the modern library and its possibilities and its limitations. For the origin of that library. New York owes a debt to this Coast, for It was in the great Northwest that the unlettered and uneducated fur trader laid the foundation of the fortune wliich his son dedicated in part to the making of the Astor library. It was the friend of William B. Astor, Dr. Cogswell, a scholar and a bookman, who made the collection which was the nucleus for the great Astor library. But he passed, and then came the time exemplified in the trite story of the librarian of Harvard, who locked the door one day behind him and said that he was going over to a pro- fessor's house to get the only two books left out of the library and then the collec- tion would be complete! At that time the librarian of the Astor library was pre- paring "Salad for the solitary" — some of you may recall the title of that almost for- gotten book— in the rather gloomy build- ing which repelled rather than invited use. But also, at the same time, James Lenox, really a great collector, was laying the foundation of the Lenox part of the Astor, Lenox and Tilden foundation. Then came as the third part of that origin the legacy of Samuel J. Tilden, the Governor Tilden who believed that he should have been President Tilden — and I think we can not too much emphasize today, for not suffi- cient emphasis has ever been laid upon it — the significance of that episode in American history, which must become an episode in world history. For instead of a revolution, instead of uprisings, the ver- dict of an improvised court was accepted by half our people against their will as the unquestioned verdict of the people, and so a great statesman, who believed that he had been elected President and a great party behind him acquiesced in the verdict of the court and gave to all time an ex- ample of what an American democracy can do to avert wars such as to the south of BOWKER 149 us and across the ocean are now a world calamity. So out of those three sources came the Astor, Lenox and Tilden foundation of the New York Public Library. Meantime a small group of people, inspired with the modem library spirit, felt that in the great metropolis there ought to be something more than a great reference library, for today neither the president of the library nor the president of the United States can take a single book out of the main collec- tion on Fifth Avenue. For Mr. Astor and Mr. Lenox both made the inhibition that no book should be taken from the building, a rule seemingly contrary to the modern library spirit and yet useful in its way, for it is well that in one repository a scholar should be sure that he should find at any time any book that he might want. Let us be thankful, however, that this Is a single exception, and not the rule. These friends of library progress, with Mr. W. W. Appleton at their head, and with the loved lady whom we used to know as Miss Ellen Coe as their executive, started the free circulating library, and when the time came the two divisions joined to make the New York Public Library of today. There is always a man who does things, and the man for the hour and the needed man proved to be that great physician, that great bibliographer, that great scholar, that great librarian, Dr. and Col. John S. Billings — a man, a soldier who showed that there were victories of peace greater than the victories of war, a physician whose sanitation work will rank him only after the names of Waring and Gorgas, an executive who mastered men and con- quered circumstances. To him, with the late president of the New York Public Library, Mr. Cadwalader, is due the re- sult which is the noblest monument today of the public library spirit. For that work the City of New York gave the most valu- able site in its keeping, and upon it erected a building costing $9,000,000. It is a trite saying that in an American city or town of today the public library takes the place of the cathedral in a European city, and last year there were attracted to the New York Public Library not less than two mil- lion visitors, of whom 700,000 were read- ers in the reference department, taking out about two million books, or nearly twice the number of books in the library. In its circulating department, in the 40 branches which have developed from the modest be- ginning of the New York Free Circulating Library, nine and a half million books were taken out, and this year there will be over ten million, a third of them for chil- dren, so that several times the population of New York must be multiplied to make the number of books circulated from the public library and its branches. Besides the revenues from the great foundation the library obtained from the City of New York $850,000, more than half of which is spent for service, and it is an interesting proof of the emphasis that serv- ice has in our American library system, that as a rule at least twice as much is spent for service as for books. That library spent over $400,000 for service and not quite $200,000 for books out of these public funds, and for that money it got pretty nearly 200,000 books, confirming in a curious way the generalization that it costs something like ten cents to circulate a book and something like an average of a dollar to buy a book. These are extra- ordinary figures, but they are not so extra- ordinary as the kind of service done in the library. And that brings me to the illustra- tion, through that library, of the manifold functions of the public library of today. In the beginning. Dr. Billings, with ex- traordinary foresight, mapped out on a library standard card still in the library the building as we see it today, which was wisely built, as every library should be, from within outward. Today a scholar working in research can go to that library, in the economics room, in the pub- lic document room, in the local history and genealogy room, in the music room, in departments far more than I can name to you, and can instantly, with the help of the most thorough expert, get at once what he wants. I remember only a few 150 BERKELEY CONFERENCE weeks ago a scholar saying to me that the great thing about the public library was the fact that he had no longer to spend hours waiting and waiting, but he tele- phoned to the library and told them what books he wanted and what subject he was working on, and presently, when he arrived at the library, he found all he wanted and more than he thought existed. These books in the special departments are instantly at service, and for the general reader any book is at his service in six or seven min- utes, and if so long as fifteen minutes is taken — why, that is a matter which you are requested to report at headquarters. This work in the public library itself and in the branches, is accomplished by the help of a staff of no less than twelve hun- dred people, inspired by the same motive of service to the public. And let me say here, that in this whole organization, sec- ond to the great work of Dr. Billings, and Edwin H. Anderson in complementing and carrying on his work, too much credit can not be given to the man who sits quietly among you today, whose modesty I will not offend by mentioning his name, who had rather, unlike Caesar, be the second man in the metropolis than the first in any other place, and to w'hose tact and execu- tive ability every member of the New York Public Library staff knows how much the public owes. ■ In the presidential address, of such com- prehensive survey and such large vision, our president of the year has cataloged, as it were, the manifold functions of the modern library. I will not repeat or try to extend that catalog, but I shall suggest to you the various fields in which the work of the public library exists. But first I want to remind you that the public library exists from the public purse, and by its social service must make good to the community. There are limitations in both directions, limitations of money and limitations of service. Our friend here from the Oregon State Agricultural Col- lege, Mrs. Kidder, was telling me only last week that she did not use student help in her library, because she thought a person who came to it for research and ■nho knew his subject could not rightly be waited upon by some ignoramus who had to find out about things before he could be of service; and her service to the public and to the state has been richly recognized by the obtaining of all the money needed to provide college gradu- ates instead of student help in the library of the State Agricultural College. It is said that the State Agricultural College of Wisconsin has added fifty per cent to the output of the crops of that state, and it is also said that under Dean Henry's administration no legislator could vote against the item for the support of the State Agricultural College, or vote to re- duce it, without being kept at home when he faced his constituents at the next elec- tion. These instances illustrate how will- ing is the public to pay for what it gets. We are facing an extraordinary eco- nomic change: this great wave of prohibi- tion which the necessities of war have brought in Europe and which the reasons of peace are bringing about in our own country, is taking from us one of the great sources of internal taxation; and the cessation of imports is reducing one of the chief sources of income of the national government in its customs revenues. But economists, I believe, may look forward to a straightforward system of taxation in which the public will be only too willing to pay tithes, if necessary, as did the Jew- ish people of old, as did our Mormon friends whose work we saw as we came through Utah, provided they get the serv- ice for the money. So that we need not fear but that all good functions of the library will be supported from the public purse. And how wide those functions are! I hold myself a thorough-going individualist and would not willingly give up my private right of thought or action or occupation to any tyranny of democracy or otherwise. But we are all socialists in some measure: it is a question of degree. And with the public library it is a question of where the service should stop. That is a ques- BOWKER 151 tion on which It is impossible to make a wise generalization; the decision must de- pend on the environment of the library, on the construction of that library and on the guiding genius of the librarian as well as on the social factor. But taking a large view of the work of the library, I think we may say that the province of the library is in recreation, in information, in education, and in inspi- ration. And like those Mayan pyramids of which Dr. Hewett told us, you will observe that this is, as it were, a ter- raced pyramid, the greatest quantity of service at the bottom in recreation, the greatest quality at the top, in inspiration. I say "recreation" and emphasize that word, and yet it is difficult to say what limits should be put in the field of recrea- tion. You have already heard much dis- cussion as to how largely novels should be bought, but we must not forget that fiction serves its great purpose, as in the case of Dr. Billings himself, who, after the day's work, actually refreshed himself by running through a couple of novels a night before he went to sleep. There is a great phrase of the poet Gower, "The world it neweth every day," and the purpose of recreation is to renew the man for his next day's work. The function of the public library in that field of recreation must, I think, be tested by its results on the reader in that direction. Then comes the great field of informa- tion, for which the other name, or the finer name, is research work. Whether it is advisable for a library to answer five hundred times in a year, as the New York Public Library, I am told, did last year, how to pronounce the unpronounceable name of that Galician fortress over which the world is now warring, is certainly a matter of doubt. But through the tele- phone and in every way the public library must emphasize the work of informing its public, and more particularly, rendering every possible service at the behest of those men who are engaged in research work, historical or scientific, or other, and with whom, of course, the librarian is in peculiar sympathy. And then comes that great work of edu- cation, which is done so largely in connec- tion with the school. For more and more we feel that the librarian and the teacher must be walking and working hand in hand. It is impossible, of course, to draw sharp lines of demarcation between the several provinces, for whether the story- telling hour is of recreation or of amuse- ment or of education or of inspiration no one can say; indeed, all these four func- tions of the public library are joined more or less in the case of every reader. But the work of education is, of course, one which the library emphasizes perhaps above all. Last and greatest of all is the work of inspiration, and that is not only the work of books, but the work of character, which nowadays we are more fond of calling "personality." That is the personal touch of the librarian, not only to supply read- ers with the books that will inspire, but to add to that inspiration the touch of personality, the charm which Miss Massee gave us in reading from the poets the other day. I can not speak of the inspirational side of public library work without referring to the inspirational character of such gath- erings as this and like associations. It seems to me we can not too much empha- size their nationalizing character in the work of such conferences as we hold from year to year, for which large bodies of people journey across our great country, find how great it is, come into personal relation with the people in another section and bring to that section the knowledge and the inspiration which for the moment engrosses them. I hope that this confer- ence will in that way be of help to our California friends, but I am convinced that at least from the conference of 1915 we shall take away more knowledge and more inspiration than it has been our priv- ilege to bring to California. For with its county system and in its many original developments, California and the Pacific 152 BERKELEY CONFERENCE Coast have much to teach us who come from the East. And, after all, the great value of these conferences is the inspira- tion that comes from meeting face to face those of the same profession and feeling that each is one of a great army of peace, doing the work of the people, the work of the future. It is a profession which is singularly fortunate in many ways, I think — the only profession of which it can be said that no sooner does a gradu- ate come out of the professional school than he or she is sure of instant place, so great is the demand still above the supply. So for our work of inspiration we have the inspiration of a great and growing pro- fession behind us; and this inspiration can never be of greater service than at this moment. It is not for librarians to inter- fere in the politics of their community, or in the politics of their nation, but it is for librarians to help to set and promote a standard of thought, to promote ideals which will tell in the thought of the na- tion. It will interest you to know that at this moment, in the midst of this calamity of world war, French library friends are setting themselves to the task of rebuild- ing France through the medium of public libraries, and at the head of that move- ment a government official is in touch with a number of library people in this country, with the intent of being ready tr promote in France immediately after the cessation of the war a great public library movement modeled on the Ameri- can plan, a course very fitting, because our own Benjamin Franklin, the first diplo- matic representative of our country abroad, gave name to a library association far antedating the American Library Associa- tion itself. And I know that all of you will be glad to co-operate with such friends as these in promoting throughout the world the American library spirit. It was the hope of those of us who at- tended the Brussels conference in 1910 that the internationalism which there man- ifested itself everywhere throughout the exposition might bear fruitage of peace. One of the most striking exhibits shown at that exposition was that of the inter- national associations graphically shown by a line drawn from each capital of Europe to every other capital where there were corresponding associations, so that from Brussels as headquarters hundreds of in- ternational associations were shown ex- tending throughout the several countries of Europe and of the world, which the men at that conference believed were mak- ing war impossible and peace the future normal state of the world. How sadly that dream has been dissipated, those of us who visited the beautiful library of Lou- vain in that year and think of it today have had reason to know. But let us not de- spair; let us hold our country to the lead- ership of peace; let us be ready to help all throughout the world who want our help in the direction of our chosen profes- sion, and let our brethren abroad, who may now be foes, be helped through our intermediation and our example in the fu- ture, to be again brothers, recognizing letters as the great means of letting one nation know the other, and recognizing that through such work as ours ultimately the feeling of brotherhood throughout hu- manity is again to become dominant in the world. 163 THE RELATION BETWEEN THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE LIBRARIES AND THE EXTENSION WORK OF THE COUNTRY AS DEVELOPING UNDER THE SMITH-LEVER ACT By D. W. Working, Agriculturist, United States Department of Agriculture; in Charge of Extension Work in the Western States The Smith-Lever Act provides for an ex- tension of the work of the state agricul- tural colleges. The agricultural college is not to be supplanted in any of its proper undertakings, but is given an additional source of strength and of revenue and a new commandment to work among coun- try people by a particular educational method. It is hardly fair to say that the agricultural college has been given a new motive; but it is fair to say that the Smith- Lever Act has already given every one of the agricultural colleges an enlarged vision of its opportunity. For a half-century or more American agricultural colleges have been trying to occupy the great field of opportunity opened to them by the original Morrill Act. Already they have occupied the strategic positions. They have laid the foundations of an agricultural science; they are developing a workable system of teaching; they are commanding the re- spect of other institutions of higher edu- cation; they are winning the confidence of the people to whom they make their direct appeal; and now they are given the means and the order to reach out from their strategic positions and to occupy the entire field of agricultural education. The opportunity Is greater than any of us have realized. It appeals to our imaginations; it challenges us to our highest endeavors. When a new task is thrust upon an es- tablished institution, at once there is an insistent call for constructive thinking. In the case of the problem before us, there is demand for a careful analysis of the sit- uation presented to the agricultural col- leges. A new burden has been placed upon them; a new and enlarging endow- ment has been provided for a definite kind of service; and, with the increased bur- den and the increasing revenues, there has come also a new and gratifying recogni- tion of the ability and the willingness of these institutions to extend their teaching services from the college itself to the re- motest country hamlet, schoolhouse, and farmstead. To think clearly on the problem of the relation between the agricultural college library and the extension work now devel- oping under the terms and with the finan- cial support of the Smith-Lever Act, it is needful to realize that this extension work is a teaching service of the college itself; it is the college finding its full opportu- nity, attacking the whole of its task, and no longer content with trying to do the easy inside work of agricultural education. It is needful also to realize that the col- lege library is a very essential part of the college. We cannot overestimate the im- portance of the library. In it are arranged for use all of the written knowledge which has been accumulated through the ages. It contains food for students, working equipment for scholars and teachers, and the cunning Implements by which investi- gators pry into the secrets of nature. Best of all, the well organized library contains that good Genius of the inquiring student — the librarian. The librarian, as custodian of the treasures of his house of books, gathers food for students in order that students may feed thereon and grow in knowledge and wisdom and power tor serv- ice; he accumulates the tools which the master workmen in teaching and research so much need, but only to lend them for use in the increase of knowledge and the mak- ing of men and women who shall become more faithful and effective workers in the various useful occupations of life. So the work of the college depends very largely upon the librarian; so also the work of 154 BERKELEY CONFERENCE the extension service of the college must depend upon the librarian. If we in the extension service are to accomplish the mission on which we are sent, we shall succeed because of the help of the libra- rian — largely through carrying to the peo- ple of the country the teaching material which the librarian gathers, selects, sifts, and places in our hands to carry to the people. Thus far, for the most part, we have had both teacher and student within the college walls, and it has been a compara- tively simple matter for the teacher to tell his students what to read and for the librarian to place the books in the hands of the learner. It has been easy for the student to learn something of the re- sources of the library and to make use of them in his search tor knowledge. "Oh, for a book!" exclaims the college student, — and it is placed in his hands by the willing librarian. "Oh, for a book!" cries the boy or girl on the farm, — but there Is no answer to the cry. "Oh, for the book that will answer this question!" cries the farmer in his field and the woman in kitchen or nursery, — but there is no ready librarian to meet the need. Thus it has been; thus it is today; but thus it is not to be in the near future when the plans on which your minds are working shall have been developed into a present service reaching to the remotest country commu- nity and to the last man on the loneliest farm. The extension teacher lives far from the college, and cannot call his students to- gether for study or recitation. At best, he can meet only a small proportion of them, and these only occasionally. Usu- ally, he must meet his students by the roadside, in fields and orchards, in coun- try homes, or at schoolhouse gatherings. The extension teacher is a traveling mis- sionary of agricultural education: to reach all of the people to whom he is sent, he must organize them and start them on the road to self-help, which means self-teach- ing under leadership. Do you see that it is our task to organize these people and to show them the vision of service which you librarians can render them through books? A very large share of the extension teachers employed under the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act are known as county agents, or agriculturists. They are the teaching agents of the state college of agriculture and the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture. More than a thou- sand of these men are now working in single counties or small groups of coun- ties; and it is probable that the number will be doubled within five years. The service they are giving is new, but It is a real service, and we are able to prove that it more than pays its way when measured by the exacting dollar-standard, to say nothing of its educational and so- cial values. These men are developing into a new type of teacher of agriculture. They are men of special training and spe- cial adaptabilty, sent to be fellow-students with farmers as well as to be teachers of farmers. They are college teachers with field assignments. It is their special task to bring to the people of the near and remote parts of their counties the newest results of scientific investigations that ap- ply in the particular regions and to connect the new teachings with the approved prac- tice of the best farmers. Doing this teach- ing service to mature men, as well as to immature persons, the extension worker must be sure-footed in his thinking and teaching, and he needs every help which librarians can give by means of books and other printed matter and all of the devices that may be used to make the printed page acceptable and serviceable to the people with whom the county agent works. It is hardly necessary to say that these county agriculturists and other extension teachers are more than willing to use li- braries and librarians in their teaching work. College trained men and women may be trusted to give the librarian a good name for usefulness to those in search of knowledge; so it is quite safe to say to you librarians that extension WORKING 156 workers everywhere are more than pleased to have you take up so promptly the im- portant subject now under consideration. It should be clear to every librarian that the extension teacher needs to make the largest possible use of library facilities and service. More than any other teacher, he will need to depend on books, for books must do most of his teaching for him. To the extent that you can adapt your methods to his needs and put big and little bits of helpful print into the hands of his widely scattered students, to that extent will you be helping your sev- eral colleges to make the work of the ex- tension teachers directly and genuinely helpful. When you have fully realized that the extension service of your college is the college itself working among the people outside the cities and towns, you will see as we see that your library has the same opportunity to help the extension teachers as to help other college teachers: that it has the same duty and privilege to work with and for the people of the country that it has been enjoying in its work with and for the students registered at the college. It may not be amiss to emphasize the thought of co-operation which underlies the Smith-Lever Act. The money appro- priated by this Act is provided for co-oper- ative agricultural extension. The agricul- tural college of each state is the active partner, the Department of Agriculture the consulting partner. Neither can work without the other. Congress appropriates the money for the use of the colleges under certain very definite conditions, which can be met only as college and department work together in the co-opera- tive spirit and according to prescribed methods. Thus we have a National Agri- cultural Extension Service, endowed by nation and state and conducted directly by the state agricultural college accord- ing to a general plan outlined by Con- gress and detailed working plans agreed upon by the college and the secretary of agriculture. The entire service provided for promises to be of great use to the people of the country, with a permanence of support and a steadiness of policy that could hardly be expected if the work were entirely dependent upon state sup- port. . The library is a collection of books and other printed matter — material to be used by seekers after knowledge and ideas. The librarian is one who knows his library and who knows how to make its resources available to those who should use it. For most of us, the library is not very help- ful without the librarian: sometimes it is even forbidding or baffling. The librarian does at least two things for his public: he shows the inquirer how to make direct personal use of the library itself; and he puts into the student's hands the particu- lar book or magazine or newspaper imme- diately needed, even pointing out the page and paragraph where helpful information is to be found. In the extension field, we shall expect the same service from the librarian. Our difficulty just now is to find out just how the thing is to be done. In the college, the teacher tells the li- brarian that his students are interested in a particular subject at a particular time, — and the librarian assembles the right books in convenient places for use. In our extension work we shall probably have to follow the same method. Why may not the county agent tell the libra- rian that his farmers are interested in cabbage-growing at a certain date and in killing cabbage worms at a certain later date, and do so with confidence that the right kind of printed matter will be as- sembled and sent at the right time to the persons who need instruction? Of course this is easier said than done. But when all of the extension workers go into con- ference with the library staff to consider the needs of the farmers and to canvass the resources of the library, we may be sure that workable plans will be thought out. . . . Our department and every experi- ment station has given away tens of thou- sands of publications that have gone to waste because they have told too much 156 BERKELEY CONFERENCE or because they were received too soon or too late. It is worth considering if it might not be advisable to devise a care- fully indexed filing system for use by every patron of the extension library you are planning to develop. An index to Farmers' Bulletins or other publications is a good thing; but if most of the publi- cations have been mislaid because of the lack of a filing device, the index will large- ly fail of its purpose. If a few librarians of an inventive turn of mind will work out systems of classifying and filing bul- letins, leaflets, and newspaper clippings, and then have a simple and inexpensive filing-case put on the market. It may be that we shall soon find that our publica- tions will be of much greater use because they can be found when they are espe- cially needed. RELATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT STATION LIBRARIES TO THE LIBRARY OF THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE By CLAniiiEi. R. B.vknett, Librarian, Department of Agriculture, Washington In its general relations with the land grant colleges and experiment stations, the Federal Department of Agriculture has been represented by the Office of Experi- ment Stations, which, as a central agency established for their especial benefit, has aided them in a variety of ways and has sought to promote co-operation between them and the Department of Agriculture in their various undertakings. By the agri- cultural appropriation act for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1915, the name of the Office of Experiment Stations was changed to States Relations Service and Its activities extended. This name indi- cates more clearly the functions of the ofllce and is striking proof of the impor- tance attached to co-operation between the states and the Federal government in the promotion of agriculture. Through the Association of the American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, and the Office of Experiment Stations, the various state experiment stations as well as the colleges with which they are connected, are brought together so as to form with the Federal Department of Agriculture a national system of agricultural education and research which is said to be the most complete in the world. There is, however, one link lacking in this system, — namely, the libraries, which have taken little part in the work of co-operation among these institutions. That a closer relationship and greater co-operation between the library of the national Department of Agriculture and the libraries of the state agricultural colleges and experiment stations would be productive of good results will scarcely be denied. The establishment of the Agri- cultural Libraries Section of the American Library Association has been a step to- ward bringing about greater co-operation by affording an opportunity for the dis- cussion of problems common to agricul- tural libraries. In presenting to the section a paper on the subject of the relation of the libraries of the agricultural colleges and experi- ment stations to the library of the Federal Department of Agriculture, the object has been to explain the general policy of the library of the department in this connec- tion, in the hope that by making better known its desire to be of service to other institutions, its opportunities for useful- ness may be increased. As the national agricultural library connected with the na- tional institution for agricultural research, the library of the Department of Agricul- ture should, it is believed, extend its serv- ices as far as possible to the investigators in agricultural science throughout the country. Land grant colleges and experi- BARNETT 157 ment stations, although state institutions, are supported in part by funds given by the national government to the states to be used for their maintenance and they have certain definite relations to the dif- ferent branches of the national govern- ment. Their relations with the Depart- ment of Agriculture are closer than with any other department of the Federal gov- ernment and they can be said to have a just claim to share in the services of the library of the department. Inter-Library Loans Since few of the state agricultural col- leges have collections entirely adequate to their needs, it has been felt that the li- brary of the Department of Agriculture could be of special service by extending to them the use of its more complete col- lections. Although the library is a refer- ence library and its first duty is unques- tionably to the department, nevertheless it may be said to be its next important duty to serve the agricultural colleges and experiment stations, and as a part of that duty it has been its policy to lend Its books to the scientists of these institu- ions as far as possible without interfering with the work of the department. The li- brary has made no attempt to advertise this service, as it has seemed wiser for the present to let the service grow naturally and as a result of real needs, rather than to force its growth through undue stimu- lation. In spite of the fact that this serv- ice has not been advertised, the number of books which the library is lending outside of the department is growing rapidly from year to year. In 1906, which was the first year a record was kept of the number of loans to institutions outside of the city, 138 books were lent to 26 states and ter- ritories. In the fiscal year 1914, 896 books were lent. These went to institutions in 46 different states and territories. With the development of the libraries of the state agricultural colleges and experi- ment stations, they will no doubt have col- lections much more adequate to their needs. Nevertheless, it is a question whether their funds will ever be sufficient to make it advisable for them to purchase without regard to the collections already existing in the library of the Department of Agriculture and other libraries. Some co-operation on the part of agricultural li- braries in the building up of their collec- tions w'ould therefore seem most desirable. Information as to whether certain books and periodicals are contained in the li- brary of the department and whether they would probably be available for lending, will always be gladly furnished to libraries contemplating the purchase of these books. Exchange of Duplicates The Department of Agriculture has also attempted to serve the agricultural col- leges and experiment stations through the free distribution to them of its duplicates. The library accumulates a large number of duplicates of government and state publi- cations and also a large number of peri- odicals which are sent currently as gifts to the various bureaus and divisions of the department and which later find their way into the library. Many of these publica- tions are of interest to other agricultural libraries, but the problem has been how to place them where they will be of most use at a minimum expense to the depart- ment in the labor of handling them. Some years ago the library printed lists of its duplicates for exchange, but the responses received did not seem to justify the con- tinuation of the expense and work. Lack of room and assistants to devote to the care of the duplicates for a time forced the destruction of many publications of probable value to other libraries. A few years ago the library began again to dis- tribute its duplicates to the agricultural col- leges and experiment stations. Typewritten lists were sent out simultaneously to var- ious agricultural colleges and they were re- quested to check the items of interest. On receipt of the requests it was found that several institutions requested the same publications. We attempted to treat all alike by sending about the same number 158 BERKELEY CONFERENCE of publications to each institution. This method, however, had its disadvantages, as it involved a good deal of work on the part of the agricultural college libraries in checking up their files with the list and in return they probably received only a small part of the items requested. There- fore, during the past year we have been carrying out a different plan. We have from time to time made on slips a rough list of duplicates and have sent the slips to a few libraries which we knew ■wished especially to receive the dupli- cates. After one library has checked the list as to the items desired, we send the remaining slips to another library. By this method a library receives all the items se- lected, but it has the disadvantage of showing partiality to certain institutions. We have not, therefore, worked out any scheme which is in all respects satisfac- tory. We would be glad to have sug- gestions as to a plan which would be likely to be satisfactory to all the agricultural colleges and experiment stations and at the same time Involve a minimum amount of work on the part of the department library. Bibliographical Information Relating to Literature of Agriculture The library has also attempted to serve other agricultural libraries by sup- plying bibliographical information con- nected with the literature of agriculture. The Department of Agriculture as a whole may be considered as a bureau of agri- cultural information as well as an institu- tion for agricultural research. Each bu- reau and division of the department is called upon to answer requests for special- ized information in its own particular field. The questions which the library has re- ceived in the past would seem to indicate that it is regarded as the national source of information regarding the literature of agriculture. In attempting to perform this service the library has been greatly aided by the co-operation of the scientists of the department and by its close relationship with the library of Congress. A selected list of library accessions is being included in the new Departmental Circular, the publication of which was be- gun in May, 1915. Although the list does not contain more than a third of the ac- cessions to the library and omits almost entirely the annual reports, proceedings, etc., it may be of some service to the li- braries of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations. The list takes the place in part of the Monthly bulletin for- merly published by the library. The printing of cards for the publica- tions of the department and the accessions to the library was begun by the library for the primary purpose of serving the agricultural colleges and experiment sta- tions. The cards cataloging the publica- tions of the department are distributed free by the Library of Congress to the state agricultural colleges and experiment stations at the expense of the department. Organization of Agricultural Libraries It has also been considered a legitimate part of the work of the library of the de- partment to furnish assistance to the agri- cultural colleges and experiment stations in so far as possible, in the organization and reorganization of their libraries, in- cluding their cataloging and classification. Librarians from state agricultural colleges have on several occasions spent from one to three months in the library studying its methods and resources, and assistants from this library have in three or four in- stances been sent to state agricultural col- leges to aid in the reorganization of their libraries. Some of our assistants have also been called away permanently to positions in the state agricultural colleges. It has been suggested that the library might be able to perform a valuable service if it could have on its staff someone trained in the work of organizing libraries and with a wide familiarity with agricultural literature and the problems of agricul- tural libraries. It this organizer could visit the various state agricultural college and experiment station libraries every year or two, it would probably do much to bring the agricultural libraries closer to- 169 getter and increase their efRciency by making generally available the combined experience of the various libraries. If the state agricultural colleges and experi- ment stations cared for this service and made an urgent demand for it, it is not un- likely that the department would be will- ing to furnish it under certain conditions. HOW SHALL WE INTEREST AND INDUCE OUR FACULTY AND STUDENTS TO MORE GENERAL CULTURAL READING? By Elizabeth Forrest, Librarian, Montana State College In my earlier an'd more inexperienced days when I was just graduated from the library school, I used to plan almost re- vengefully in my chagrined surprise how some day I would revisit the school and tell them there that the methods I listened to so enthusiastically about educating the public would not work: that the public did not want to be educated. This re- minds me of the account given by Miss Addams, in her "Twenty years at Hull- house," of the failure of the hygienic food kitchen that the settlement workers tried to establish in the neighboi'hood. One woman voiced the sentiment of the com- munity by saying that the food was nutri- tious, but that she did not want to eat what was nutritious; she preferred to eat "what she'd ruther." After this little introduction you can readily understand how hesitatingly I began to prepare a paper on the present topic. I entirely abandoned at the start any idea of sug- gesting to others ways and methods of improving cultural reading, and decided to confine myself to investigating condi- tions and reporting on them, hoping that such a resume might somewhat aid us all. Accordingly, a questionnaire was sent to forty-two technical institutions of col- legiate rank. The list of colleges of agri- culture and mechanic arts endowed by Congress in the United States Bureau of Education report was used as a basis in selecting the libraries to be interrogated. The large university libraries were not questioned, since the problems of a well equipped library in an institution where the technical work is only one phase of activity are so different from those of more limited colleges. In like manner the schools for colored students were not con- sulted. Work with representatives of a race recently in slavery must present far greater difficulties than our own. Only twenty-six libraries replied. The general tone of the replies revealed on the whole a feeling of discouragement among the librarians. Only four of them were really optimistic with regard to conditions, and eight frankly reported little success. The remainder were doubtful as to the results of their efforts or entirely failed to answer with regard to this matter. Only two librarians wrote that nothing was done to stimulate cultural reading among the library patrons. It was difficult to classify the replies, since it was quite evident that the librarians had used different standards in answering the questionnaire. A num- ber replied tliat they were doing little to improve the reading and then went on to describe methods which others had felt to be adequate. Also varying opinions were advanced. One librarian thought it futile to make any effort, while another considered it almost unnecessary in view of the present excellent use of the library. It Is only fair to state that the latter did report, nevertheless, attempts to interest readers. There are many methods used to get bet- ter reading. The showing on special shelves of general collections of books and of collections on special topics, as well as displays of the new books are the common- est ways to attract readers. Almost as usual are special exhibitions of books to which members of the faculty are invited, book notices in the college paper, and 160 BERKELEY CONFERENCE more or less instruction to freshmen in library usage. A little less general prac- tice is notices to the faculty of new ac- cessions or of books of special interest to them. One librarian sends word of a duplicate pay collection of fiction; an- other of the free distribution of duplicate government bulletins; still a third writes to the effect of miscellaneous lectures and of a literary round table held by the faculty and the students. Nine refer especially to the excellent help given the library by the English department. Nine also report some instruction to freshmen to help them to use the library properly and at the same time to interest them in books. With respect to the realization by the librarian of the need of awakening wider interest in reading among the stu- dent body and members of the faculty and the effort put forth to accomplish that end the questionnaire has revealed encourag- ing conditions. Let us examine the causes that hinder the effects we wish for. First of all there is often the lack of a book fund ample enough to permit the purchase of attrac- tive books for general reading. In a small educational library there is always the ten- dency, indeed the necessity for buying first, and often exclusively, books that are intended primarily for collateral reading. There are a large number of such books which are not, properly speaking, refer- ence books, all good in their way. In every college library. Even more mature and serious-minded individuals than the aver- age college student would scarcely take home such material to read from cover to cover. If the library is to be instrumental in promoting worth-while reading, there must be available plenty of good fiction, drama, biography, books of travel, and of popular science — books many of which will never be used for class work. In this connection is proved the need and ad- visability in a college library of the crea- tion of a general book fund to be expended by the librarian. Only in this way will the library possess interesting books that invite reading. The department head pro- fessor is a specialist and buys out of a limited fund books that aid in class in- struction. If a certain phase of a subject is not taught, it is not likely to be repre- sented in the library. Without the con- trol by the librarian of a general book fr -d. the book selection may be scientific and up-to-date, but it will be one-sided and incomplete. Another important reason why students do not read more extensively and wisely is the student's actual lack of time. This holds true particularly with regard to the students in agricultural and engineering institutions. I think I am correct in stat- ing that the technical schedules throughout the country are very heavy. The number of hours of laboratory and shop work re- quired, added to the recitation periods, and the time necessary for preparation leave a student little unemployed time. More- over, a large proportion of the students in these colleges are wholly or partially self-supporting while in attendance; this still more cuts down the margin of free time for reading and thought. Some time should normally be allowed for athletics, student activities, friendships and recrea- tion. Our students not only lack the time necessary for reading; they fail to appre- ciate the value of such reading, because they have no just conception of the worth of matters not allied with their particular line and not productive of money. This condition is especially to be found in the technical colleges. Here the students come largely from rural and small town com- munities, from homes and districts of lit- tle culture, and many of them from poorly equipped high schools where the teaching has been too much confined to the texts. They then pass into technical courses which absorb their energies and in which often the instructor has a narrow outlook. It seems to be true that such is the case more with engineerng than with agricul- tural students. Personally I have observed this fact at the University of Illinois, at the Pennsylvania State College, and at the Montana State College. One history in- FORREST 161 structor told me that he got his inspiration from the agricultural students and not from the engineering students. Our Eng- lish professor at Montana asked a class of sophomore engineers what surety they could give a city council that the bonding issue necessary to build water-works would pay for itself. Apparently most of the class had never heard of a bond! It is undoubtedly true that an engineer needs more technical knowledge than an agri- culturist, but it seems unfortunate that the average engineer should often be so nar- rowed as to be fit only for routine work. We as librarians ought to do all in our power to counteract such conditions. One of our senior engineers recently lost a position he applied for, because the em- ployer asked him to state in writing his opinions with regard to capital and labor. He had no opinions on such a subject, nor did he have an adequate command of Eng- lish to express views, even if he had possessed them. . . . These, briefly, are the reasons why our students do so little cultural reading, or do not even read to any great extent books directly connected with their studies. Members of the faculty are in many in- stances affected by similar conditions. Chief among these are the constantly in- creasing demands for specialization in all lines. A successful man has little time to read nowadays. Moreover, many of our teaching force grew up in their student days under the old regime of library con- ditions, and they themselves never formed good habits of reading. My own experi- ence, however, is that there is a constant- ly increasing appreciation and realization among college teachers of the need of a good library well organized and admin- istered. A quite innocent cause of reduced faculty use of the library is the possession of good private libraries of their own by members of the faculty body. I find some newspaper and magazine reading by students to be quite general. While this is all very well in its way, such desultory and fragmentary reading can never take the place of the sustained perusal of serious books. Such a condition is but one more indication of the hurried habits of a busy age. Some of this period- ical reading amounts to nothing but the idle turning of the leaves of illustrated periodicals and the occasional reading of a light short story. In a college of any size it is easy for the library staff to be deceived with regard to the number of students using the library. If the library is crowded, — and what one is not? — and the students are numerous, the library will easily present the appearance of being well used. Moreover, a small staff pushed to desperation to answer the demands already made upon it quails at the thought of inducing more use of the library. However, it may at the same time be true that many of the students are not doing any reading that is worth while, aud that some of the best books seldom circulate. A large percentage of the stu- dents who crowd library tables are simply using the library as a study room in which to prepare lessons from their text-books. Of the crying need of increased library use and more reading along cultural and also specialized lines, no librarian worthy of the name will fail to appreciate the reality. When we find professors with Ph. D. degrees who frankly confess that they cannot use a card catalogue, when agricultural graduates and instructors ad- mit of never having heard of the govern- ment index to agricultural experiment sta- tion literature, when college seniors com- pelled to write a thesis enter the college library for the first time, when other stu- dents are graduated without ever having drawn a book, and when both faculty and student members often show a lamentable ignorance, even of standard English liter- ature (I have heard instructors boast of their lack of knowledge of well known authors), it is time that the college li- brarians of the country exert themselves to overcome these defects. It is true that the librarians sense these difficulties and are striving to meet them. Perhaps the first step in this direction is the realiza- tion of the necessity for requiring of all 162 BERKELEY CONFERENCE freshmen some study of the proper use of a library. The offering of an elective in library instruction is not adequate to meet the problem. Those most in need of such a course fall to elect it. It would seem that the ideal way would be to make compul- sory some such work for all freshmen, and then to provide further instruction for those who wish it. The library staff, how- ever, cannot give such instruction, if it is heavily taxed in time and energy. It is surely worth while to sacrifice a good deal to make it possible for every student to gain at least an elementary knowledge of how to use a library. There is, however, another aspect to library usage. The library is, above all, a tool to be employed properly. It may be more; — it may be one door to an under- standing and appreciation of life and its spiritual verities. Right here the purely technical student is most lacking. I can- not express the matter as clearly as did our chairman in her letter to me, and so I quote her words: "Technical education may give one as much discipline in se- curing mental alertness and perhaps grasp, yet no technical subject gives one the knowledge of man — his methods of thought and action, his decisions and the result of his decisions — which fits a man or woman to cope with the world of men." I have noticed this lack of understanding of hu- man nature in one of my dearest friends. herself a woman of education and attain- ments, but technically trained only. In- asmuch as she is high-minded, she takes for granted the same attitude in others, and is bewildered and unhappy when she often runs onto other traits. More study of history and sociology, a wider reading of fiction and a drama would have better prepared her to meet the world, and with truer knowledge of life and its hard con- ditions, she would have had more sym- pathy and tolerance for storm-tossed hu- manity. The question of the power of personal contact is one that cannot be estimated. A little patience, a word here and there, and a great deal of tact in calling atten- tion to books and magazine articles that are worth while will in time have an effect. Tact is particularly needed in deal- ing with members of the faculty. It is necessary to be careful to give due re- spect to men who have specialized in sub- jects we know little of, and above all the service asked for should be rendered be- fore offering one not requested. However, if the librarian is really competent and possesses valuable information the faculty will gradually appreciate this and will come in time to ask help and advice. In this way he will be able to take his proper place as a guide to literature in the col- lege community. AN INDEX TO AGRICULTURAL PERIODICALS By Vina Elethe Clark, Librarian. lOKa State College of Agriculture It is scarcely necesary at this time to present arguments in favor of an index to agricultural periodical literature. That has been well done by Mr. Hepburn of the Purdue University library in two papers before this section, and, moreover, we are all agreed that we need it. Therefore, the object of this report is not to give de- tailed information regarding such an index, but to provoke a discussion of ways and means to get it. You all received copies of the circular letter sent out from our library some weeks ago, and practically all of you re- plied to it. All of the replies were favor- able to the plan, some librarians naturally being more enthusiastic than others. Mrs. Kidder received many replies, also KAISER 163 to her request for lists of fifty agricultural periodicals most desirable for indexing. These lists were studied carefully, and the number of votes each periodical received was recorded. Many periodicals received but one vote, others two or three, and others five and up. Finally a list of fifty receiving the greatest number of votes was made, and this list is appended to this report. The situation in a nutshell is then that all of the agricultural libraries need and want an index to agricultural periodical literature and we have a list of the fifty magazines for which indexes are wanted by the greatest number. The question is then, how shall we get the index? If Mr. Wilson could furnish us such an index at a price within the reach of our libraries, our troubles would surely be over. If this does not seem possible, is there anything left to us but co-operation of some sort? List of Fifty Periodicals Breeders' Gazette Country Gentleman Hoard's Dairyman Reliable Poultry Journal Wallace's Parmer Kimball's Dairy Parmer Pruit Grower & Parmer Garden Magazine Better Pruit Journal of Heredity Rural New Yorker Journal Agricultural Science Farm and Fireside American Forestry Farm Poultry American Sheep Breeder Country Life in America Gardener's Chronicle Jersey Bulletin Green's Fruit Grower Market Growers' Journal Ohio Farmer Journal American Society Agronomy National Stockman & Parmer Orange Judd Farmer Progressive Farmer Berkshire World Chicago Dairy Produce Gleanings in Bee Culture New York Produce Review American Poultry Journal American Poultry Advocate American Fertilizer Florist's Exchange Florist's Review Horticulture Journal of Agricultural Research Creamery & Milk Plant Monthly Farmers' Review American Co-operative Journal American Breeder Canadian Horticulturist Practical Farmer Countryside Magazine Thresherman's Review Forestry Quarterly Homestead Poultry American Lumberman Field Shepherd's Journal THE CIVICS ROOM By John B. Kaiser, Librarian, Tacoma Public Library One of the most recent experiments in specialization within the public library has brought into being so-called Civics Rooms. They exist in name, so far as I have been able to ascertain, in but four libraries, namely, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit and Louisville. There is usually an intangible though compelling force — perhaps we may even say a tide in the affairs of men — which brings about as the result of a definite need the creation of new agencies for satisfying or fulfilling the need. A comparatively recent development In library work is the legislative reference li- brary. It came into being when men more fully realized the seriousness of the prob- lem of intelligent legislation in general, and it offered itself as a factor in the so- lution of this particular problem. Simi- larly, some years later the seriousness of the problem of municipal government be- 164 BERKELEY CONFERENCE came more generally realized, and there were those who went as far as to say that from an economic standpoint the city is the greatest problem confronting the nation to- day. At once, here again, the library came forward and presented the specialized mu- nicipal reference library as one factor — and indeed a powerful one — in the problem of improving municipal government and administration. Another similar case is presented by the business men's branch, illustrating library aid in solving the difficult problems of modern business in all its phases, from corporation management to efficient book- keeping for country groceries and from boosting buy-at-home campaigns to the latest opportunities for extending our over- seas commerce. To what, then, shall we ascribe the ad- vent of the civics room, and in what way, if any, is it related to these other tried ex- periments in library specialization? Accepting the conclusion that the civics room offers one factor in the solution of some pressing public problem, the com- pelling force in this case can be no other than the growing public demand for a more enlightened and more efficient citizen- ship. Civics, we are told, is "the science of civil government; the principles of govern- ment in their application to society." Or, if we prefer a different statement, It Is "the science that treats of the government of cities, of citizenship, of the organizing of life in cities and of the relations between citizens and the government. Civics in- cludes (1) Ethics, or the doctrine of duties in society, (2) Civil polity or governmental methods and machinery, (3) Law in its ap- plications most directly Involving the inter- ests of society, (4) Economics or the prin- ciples or laws of wealth and exchange, (5) History of civic development and move- ment." If this latter more comprehensive defini- tion of civics is made the program of the civics room this new agency surely has a large place to fill, but the library civics room must be organized with a view to making the most of physical and financial limitations and of the other features and phases of library work and available infor- mational agencies. Legislative and munici- pal reference libraries certainly foster an enlightened knowledge of "the principles of government in their application to so- ciety," and business branches, by providing information on the laws and methods of trade and successful management, foster, at least indirectly, a better citizenship by providing an opportunity for advancement in one's chosen line of commercial en- deavor. Is there, then, a place in library work for an additional agency of civic im- provement such as the civics room, and if so, what is that place? The Chicago Public Library, which opened its civics room May 1, 1912, fur- nishes the best concrete example of what we are discussing. It is also a proved suc- cess, so that any criticisms of it or sugges- tions regarding it are themselves open to question on the ground of being theoretical r.nd untried. Its plan of operation is fully described in "Chicago Commerce" for April 26, 1912, (pages 23-27,) in an address given by Mr. Legler before the Ways and Means Committee of the Chicago Association of Commerce just prior to the formal open- ing of the room. "This department," says Mr. Legler, "is to be called, for want of a better term perhaps, the civics department of the library, and it will aim to center in one room the best and latest and the most up-to-date material which the library has among its resources affecting education, business and civics." After three years of work with this civics room Miss Edith Kammerling, who has it in charge, outlines its present scope in the following detailed and effective manner: The present scope of the public library civics department. a) National affairs. b) State affairs especially Illinois. c) Municipal affairs; as: Municipal dance halls Commission form of govt. Non-partisan elections Smoke nuisance Parks and playgrounds KAISER 165 Garbage disposal Municipal markets Social surveys Subways Jitney bus Railroad terminals Municipal ice plants d) Political, social and economic; as: Initiative and referendum Woman suffrage Immigration Child labor Housing Social settlements Syndicalism Cost of living Moving picture shows Blue sky laws Mothers' pensions Juvenile courts Open air schools Social centers e) Topics of current Interest; as: Chicago boys' court Delinquent girls' court Public defender Effemination question in the public schools Juvenile-adult offender Paying fines on the installment plan Three-fourths decision in jury trials Boards of public welfare School savings banks Recall Short ballot Minimum wage Employers' liability Employers' welfare institutions Labor unions Co-operation International arbitration Garden cities Child welfare Reformatories Pension systems Industrial education Unemployment This is truly an adherence to and a splen- did development of Mr. Legler's original plans for a department concentrating the current data on educational, business and civic problems. From the published reports of the Chi- cago Public Library' it appears that the civics rooms was used during its first year even more extensively than was antici- pated, having received 43,187 recorded visitors who consulted over 40,000 books 11912-1913; 1913-1914. and boxes of pamphlets and some 17,000 magazines and 6,500 volumes of bound newspapers. The second year's attendance was nearly 10,000 greater than the first and the increase in material used was greater in proportion. The Chicago Li- brary's report for 1913-1914 (pages 31-33) furnishes further light on this subject, and presents an interesting selection from the thousands of questions asked. = Turning now from a consideration of the actual scope of a civics room's work to a speculative discussion of its proper scope, theoretically speaking, we find quite a dif- ference in opinion. Mr. Legler's experi- ence prompts him to state his thus: "It seems to me that municipal reference work need not necessarily be a part of its scope primarily, but that it should be affili- ated therewith through an institution in the City Hall. It should, however, be a business men's branch as well as a reser- voir of material available to graduate stu- dents, social workers, civic organizations and serious students of present-day prob- lems." And Miss Kammerling adds that they have not found it expedient to advertise the material for business men to any great extent because of the lack of space to ex- pand. Dr. C. C. Williamson, now liead of the Municipal Reference Branch of the New York Public Library, takes a somewhat dif- ferent view: "I should be inclined my- self," says Dr. Williamson, "if I were charged with the organization and manage- ment of a civics department in a public li- brary, to assign to it nearly all matters which are included in the data presented each week in the Public Affairs Informa- tion Service 'Bulletin' published by the H. W. Wilson Company." And further: "I should not include business, commerce, etc., as would be expected in a business branch. I would have it cover municipal reference work, legislative reference work, social betterment, etc., and make it cater to every want relating to government and social 2See also A. L. A. Bulletin 7:339-42 (Kammer- ling) and Public Libraries 17:221-22. 166 BERKELEY CONFERENCE welfare." Mr. Wheeler of Los Angeles in- clines to this view also. He would prefer business books in an industrial department if no separate business department exists, but should only one special department be possible he would stretch its scope to in- clude education, civics proper and business subjects. Miss McCormick in Cleveland believes a civics department, a municipal reference li- brary and a business branch three distinct institutions, each serving a separate need. Mr. Ranck of Grand Rapids deems it both extremely difficult and unwise for a library In advance to limit the scope of any par- ticular line of work. He would have it work out its own salvation, letting com- munity demands on the one hand and ex- isting library service and resources on the other be the determining factors in the de- velopment of the work. Perhaps this speculative exercise has been carried far enough, but I will venture my own opinion, which I find partially shared by one or two others, and I will bor- row some of the language of Mr. Wheeler. He writes: "The difficulty is that most libraries in branching out into special fields, are not able to undertake more than one special department, on account of lack of funds. Consequently, In actual practice these special departments include more than their name would imply, and oftentimes contain a mixture of material that is in a way inconsistent, but which proves really useful and usable." Whether a civics room is to be in the main library building or apart from it is, to my mind, an important factor in deter- mining its scope, and the size and location of the main library building are funda- mental considerations making any generali- zation almost impossible. However, for a civics room with a main building in a city already having the more specialized mu- nicipal reference library in the City Hall, I fail to see where Chicago's plan can be improved upon. With a main library so lo- cated that a separate civics room in a more central location would attract a large pa- tronage, my present inclination would be to combine government, social welfare and business in one department, but I agree with Mr. Wheeler that where an industrial department is possible in addition, then business, industrial, and technical sub- jects should form one group, and govern- ment and social welfare another. If we could place our ideal main building and City Hall next to each other in a central business location our problem would be much simplified. Some of the administrative problems and methods of the civics room seem already solved for us. Pamphlets, clippings and fugitive material generally, closely classi- fied but uncataloged, appear reasonably ac- cessible, whether in labelled pamphlet boxes on shelves or cared for in vertical files, and both the dictionary arrangement and the Decimal Classification for vertical files have their strong adherents. Also there exists in some quarters a tendency toward but one file for all material in a special library of this character. From Newark, whence so many good ideas ema- nate, we may expect soon some special ad- vice on map filing. Miss Kammerling re- ports that in Chicago they have solved the problem of circulation of the material by having package libraries made up, which contain practically the same material as is to be found in the boxes. The last few years have witnessed much progress in the problem of securing infor- mation regarding the appearance of valu- able so-called fugitive material in the gen- oral field of public affairs and also in the actual acquiring of the material itself. These sources of information have been made familiar to us through articles in the library press and the proceedings of this Association. Elsewhere I have listed fairly comprehensively' most of them that had appeared by the spring of 1914. Since then some new ones have appeared and ^Kaiser, Law, Legislative and Municipal Reference Libraries, Boston Book Co. 1914, 467 pages. See pages 80170; 187-88; 261-323; (especially p. 109- 116,; 125-128; 187-188; 228-229; 274-276; 280-281; 285-6; 321-23.) 167 some older ones have developed materi- ally. All agree that the weekly "Bulletin" of the Public Affairs Information Service which cumulates bi-monthly and annually, now published by the H. W. Wilson Com- pany for the co-operating institutions, takes first place in this field and is truly a clearing house of public affairs informa- tion. If any are unfamiliar with this ser- vice it will repay immediate investigation. It gives information regarding public af- fairs, events, and publications, and in some cases will even supply the publication listed. Another new publication to be specially mentioned in this connection is "Informa- tion — A Digest of Current Events, includ- ing Index to Dates," an outgrowth of the "Index to Dates" published monthly with quarterly cumulations by the R. R. Bowker Company. This Is broader in scope than Public Affairs, covering international events also, but leads to documents and publications only indirectly. "Municipal Reference Library Notes," published since December 1914 by the New York Public Library under the direction of Dr. C. C. Williamson, now shares first place with the "National Municipal Re- view" as a source of information on cur- rent publications of all kinds relating to municipal affairs. Its weekly appearance, its annotations and its special features, such as lists of current New York City publications, give it a unique position in this class of literature. In the more technical lines should be noted the Current Literature References multigraphed weekly by the library of Stone and Webster,' and the "Reference Bulletin" begun in April 1915 by the Index Office, Chicago. Our most useful guides, then, to current public affairs information would include the "American City," the "American Polit- ical Science Review," the "American Eco- nomic Review." the "Bulletin" of the Pub- lic Affairs Information Service, the "Con- 1 Temporarily suspended. gressional Record," the "Monthly Cata- logue" of the Superintendent of Docu- ments, the "National Municipal Review," "Special Libraries," "State Publications," the "Survey," the "Municipal Journal and Engineer," "Municipal Engineering," "In- formation," "Municipal Reference Library Notes" (N. Y.), the Stone and Webster "Current Literature References" and Index Office "Reference Bulletin." The three types of library work, munici- pal reference, civics room and business branch, which may or may not be properly assigned to a civics room, are confronted by many of the same unsolved or only partially solved problems. The next step, then, is to attempt to solve these problems. One who has for some time left the field of special library work, though his interest in it remains, would be unqualified to offer solutions, but perhaps a small service can be rendered those most concerned by fur- nishing here a collective statement of these problems, and an indication in some cases of the direction in which a solution may perhaps lie. Discussion may clear up some matters at once. From those actually confronted by them I have secured this list of difliculties: 1. The replacing of uncataloged pamphlet material stolen from pamphlet files. (Would a brief entry shelf list be worth the time?) 2. Getting in contact with the latest pamphlet material. (Public Affairs Infor- mation Service approaching a solution.) 3. To expand the Wisconsin classification (cf. Los Angeles Public Library "Bulletin" for May 1915.) 4. Administering a special library with- in a general library, especially securing prompt and efficient action in ordering and securing material. 5. The need of expert knowledge in so many fields of work. 6. Securing specific information on the practice of cities with reference to practi- cal problems. City records give insufficient data, particularly cost data. 7. Locating fugitive material in time to secure it before it is out of print. 168 BERKELEY CONFERENCE 8. Securing reports from other cities. Permanent central distributing agency needed. 9. Lack of promptness in publishing mu- nicipal reports and poor Indexes. 10. Difiiculty of obtaining and indexing current and recent ordinances. 11. Do municipal reference libraries at- tempt to index ordinances of their own city? To what extent index ordinances of other cities? Inadequate indexes to mu- nicipal magazines and municipal subjects in technical and general magazines. 12. Securing questions from city officials in time to make the necessary research, especially when correspondence is in- volved. 13. The best method of calling the atten- tion of officials and civic workers to new material for them. Compare New York "Municipal Reference Library Notes" and the Cleveland experiment, as follows: "We have a brief file of guide cards headed with names of city officials, depart- ments, divisions, and bureaus of the city. As we add books, pamphlets, etc. or find magazine articles of unusual value, we note these in pencil on a slip of paper, stamp the date when noted, and drop the slip behind the name or department for whose benefit it is noted. These slips are later compiled into very brief lists and handed to persons or departments. We have found that, almost invariably, officials will read a few pointed references given them, but they do not always read the same kind of references when they are included in a longer list embracing material not especially applicable to their work." WHiat was suggested a year ago is still true.' In the field of library science a classification acceptable to special libraries operating in the public affairs field and sufficiently flexible to keep up with current developments is still a desideratum; so also is a standard guide in assigning subject headings or, better, a standardization of civic nomenclature, as Miss Hasse has phrased it in her appeal before you last year for an enlarged, progressive and standardized civic bibliography.^ The list of technical desiderata could easily be extended but one more must suffice. Compilations of the ordinances of a number of cities on single subjects,^ edited with historical, descriptive and eval- uating notes are practically unknown, though they would form a class of material of inestimable worth in municipal refer- ence work. Definite progress has been made in the field of co-operation, instanced especially in the development of the Public Affairs Information Service and the increasing membership of special library workers in such associated organizations dealing with public affairs as the National Municipal League, the American Political Science Association, American Bar Association, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the Special Libraries Association, and a host of others. Membership In as many local civic and other organizations as is possible by staff members is most com- mendable, and the last report of the Se- attle Public Library illustrates their belief in this plan. The librarian himself should not neglect business men's organizations and has a place in the Chamber of Com- merce and the Rotary Club as well as on the golf links if his inclinations and abili- ties lead him that way. Some see in the establishment of a National Department of Municipalities in our government, and then an International Municipal Congress and Bureau the greatest step in co-opera- tion in the field of municipal affairs. Perhaps you feel we are getting away from a discussion of the civics room in the individual library, but I think this is all relevcnt matter and that the subject leads naturally to its larger aspect, the civic opportunity of the library, and the part the library can play in the new move- ment for training for public service. And this part is not limited to furnishing data to hundreds of civil service applicants ■Kaiser ibid. p. 228-33; 342-43. 169 which the Chicago Civics Room does on so large a scale. Please note that the Com- mittee on Practical Training for Public Service' of the American Political Science Association is headed by Dr. Charles Mc- Carthy of the Wisconsin Legislative Refer- ence Library, and that it was a library school (Wisconsin) which inaugurated a course in "library administration and pub- lic service." The college librarians must take note here and we should all of us real- ize the significance of the report of another committee of the American Political Sci- ence Association, that dealing with instruc- tion in political science in colleges and •See Preliminary Report in American Political Science Association Proceedings 1914, page 301-56. universities.^ In its suggestions for im- proving the situation in universities it asks an inquiry into library approprations for the purchase of books and documents. May we not say now that it is fairly clear that the library has a definite place in the civic development of the American com- munity? It is certainly responding to the public demand for an instrumentality that shall lead to a more enlightened and more efficient citizenship. The civics room in the library is one means we have evolved for this use and if properly advertised and developed it will become the people's school and will tend to create an effective check on .radical self-government and an effective incentive toward true democracy. ^American Political Science Review 9:353-74 (May CLEVELAND EXPERIENCE WITH DEPARTMENTALIZED REFERENCE WORK By Cael P. P. ViTz, Cleveland Public Library The Cleveland Public Library is trying out an organization for central building li- brary work differing decidedly from the arrangement usual in libraries. Briefly, the formerly circulating and reference depart- ments are merged and are operated under one immediate administration. This greater unit is then subdivided along subject lines into divisions, as technology, sociology, fine arts, etc. In this arrangement, books on the same subject, whether intended primar- ily for reference or for circulation, are shelved together or in close pro.ximity, are administered by one division staff and used in the same floor area. After years spent in a building which cramped all attempts at expansion the Cleveland Public Library is at present in satisfactory temporary quarters, and is awaiting the planning and erection in the near future of a worthy and adequate per- manent building. We are therefore defi- nitely trying out the present plan and will decide upon the fundamental arrangement In the new building, very largely in the light of our present experience. As our present plan Is worked out in a commercial building not at all planned with a view to library use, it seems neces- sary in our discussion to keep its unusual features in mind, especially as they result in some advantages and some disadvan- tages. Our entire public work is on one long and comparatively narrow floor. It is 450 feet long and 100 feet in width for 180 feet of its depth, and for almost the entire remainder has a width of 85 feet. The north and south walls and almost all of the west side are practically solid glass, the remainder, solid walls. The ceiling is fifteen feet high. Five large skylights add very materially to the successful lighting of the room. A stack two stories in height and accommodating 250,000 volumes is placed against the windowless east wall. Most of its lower tier is open-access. The Poole sets and the upper tier are restricted. It is to be noted that all of the shelving, which serves to break up the room into alcoves is freely accessible to the public and contains the bulk of both the circulat- ing and reference books in most of the classes. The chief exception is in the fine arts division, where the expensive refer- 170 BERKELEY CONFERENCE ence books are kept In locked glazed cases. The only public entrance to the library is near the south end. . . .' The main library organization has at its head the second vice librarian and a first assistant. Under their direction the work is carried on by a staff of some fifty per- sons divided into the following divisions: General Reference & Information Periodical Philosophy & Religion Sociology Science & Technology Literature History, Travel & Biography Fine Arts Popular Library Foreign Desk Branch Loan Shelf All of these are on this one floor. In ad- dition there are the Newspaper Reading Room and Library for the Blind in a por- tion of the old Main library building and the Municipal Reference Library in the City Hall, both twelve blocks distant. The names of most of these divisions are self- explanatory. A few will, however, bear further definition. The foreign division has the popular books in foreign languages which are for circulation. These collec- tions range from a few hundred volumes in less important languages to 26,000 in the German language. The desk division has charge of all the loan work of the main library and of the union registration rec- ords for the system. The Branch Loan di- vision has charge of loans from the main to the 150 other agencies, filling, with the help of the divisions, author, title and sub- ject orders received from the branches and making the proper loan records. The shelf division has charge of the shelves of the main library and of its statistical, order, withdrawals and additions, and binding records, the page service and the inventory. The most important division in many respects is the General Reference Division. It Is a chief point of contact. 'Floor plans and nhotoeraphs of the present quar- ters are to be found in "Library Journal." Novem- ber 1914, and in the Cleveland Public Library Re- port, 1913. where most of the ready reference work is done, and serves as a clearing house for a large part of the remainder. Here are shelved the indexed sets of periodicals and their indexes (except scientific and techni- cal), the dictionaries, encyclopedias and compendious books of all kinds, the out-of- town, city, telephone and business directo- ries, the bibliographic equipment of the li- brary, maps and atlases, the clipping file and the general catalog. It serves as a general information desk and handles tele- phone inquiries. At the general catalog Is stationed an assistant from the catalog department, fre- quently the catalog librarian herself, to answer questions from the public in regard to the catalog and to help them in their use of it. With this, of course, is com- bined the work of filing in and revision of the catalog. This contact with the public in its struggle with the tool of the cata- logers' construction is of great help to the latter in their effort to make it as usable and simple as possible without sacrificing completeness or accuracy. In addition, each division will have a complete catalog containing author and title cards for all books shelved in the division, and subject cards for all books in the library, regard- less of where shelved, whose subjects fall within the scope of the division. . . . An intercommunicating automatic house- phone puts every division in touch with every other and makes it possible for as- sistants to call upon the general reference division or the general catalog for help or for them in turn to call for books from the distant divisions by call number. In brief, each desk commands the resources of the whole library. A book carrier running 300 feet of the length of the room serves to bring books from the various divisions to cither the reference or catalog desks as needed. Readers are, however, encouraged to visit the alcove for the book wanted rather than to wait for it to be brought to them at the catalog by the call slip method. When a reader wishes to consult a number of books, which are widely scattered, they are of course collected for him at a con- 171 venient table, as are volumes in periodical and indexed sets. The great advantage of our present method is that it puts all our resources under one general administration and makes them universally available. It brings together more nearly all the ma- terial on a subject and minimizes the sepa- ration which seems unavoidable with the growth of large collections. . . . I shall take up first the pros and cons resulting from this merging of the circulat- ing and reference collections as it is be- ing tried now by the Cleveland Public Li- brary and then take up the different ques- tions of municipal reference and business branches and such other agencies as In- volve the housing of a fraction of the li- brary's books at some distance from the main collection for the use of a special class of readers. The advantages and disadvantages of our present arrangement as compared with one where the circulating and reference de- partments are kept sepEfrate may be sum- marized briefly as follows: Advantages: I. To the public: a. Greater convenience and effective- ness for work in having all the material on a particular subject concentrated in one place and not in two departments. b. Less traveling about after objec- tive point has been reached, as all material is easy of access. c. Easier for user to plan work of some duration, because he knows immediately the complete re- sources of the library, the part which can be withdrawn by him for use at home or office, and the part which can be used only in the building. d. Fewer explanations of needs are necessary, as with one assistant in charge of all the material but one statement of needs is neces- sary instead of two required where there are two departments. n. To the staff: a. Better training and greater satis- faction to the division assistants to have in their charge all ma- terial on subject. b. Possibility of knowing exactly what material borrower has seen before searching farther, result- ing in, a. Better service. b. Fewer questions and expla- nations. c. A greater facility in fitting book to reader, as the assistant can know both books and clientele more intimately, and is in a bet- ter position to supply the author's viewpoint and his relation to his subject. Moreover, the assistant who knows well his subject can more easily get the reader's view- point and do this without seem- ing to catechize. in. Administration of book collection: a. Book purchase. Economy in du- plication possible. Often one book can do the work of the two which would be necessary in two distinct departments. b. Circulating material will often be available for reference use. c. Reference material will often sat- isfy the borrower's wants if it is right at hand. d. Easier to decide what reference books can be spared for lending when the complete resources of the library are known. e. The circulating books are made of more value when people can examine the illustrative material afforded by the reference books. f. The bibliographies and indexes in the reference books are a fre- quent help as a supplement to the catalog in the use of the circula- ting portion of the book collec- tion. IV. In administration of the staff: a. Specialists for each main subject possible. Results are: Contents of books known more minutely; a better opportunity to keep in touch with the literature of the subject and closer connection and easier co- operation with those individuals and organizations in the city, whose interests lie in the field covered by the division. This third point I consider very im- portant. b. A more smoothly working staff where all the assistants are or- ganized into one staff with one head, than where they are not so imited. Where all the resources are in one collection, and are kept available for all to use, there is BERKELEY CONFERENCE less room for incomplete co-opera- tion or departmental jealousy. It is one unit and not two with a need for adjustment between the two. . . . Disadvantages: I. To the Public: a. Longer distance to go for a ques- tion that a conveniently located separate reference department might answer. A different floor plan is a partial answer. b. Separation of the encyclopedic from the more general reference material. This difficulty, also, can be minimized by a proper floor plan, but it is an inevitable accompaniment of size. c. Irritation caused by being sent from division to division. The elimination of sending from cir- culating to reference department and vice versa more than balances the somewhat increased trouble on this score. Here again a floor arrangement planned with these problems in mind can reduce the difficulty. II. To the Staff: a. Difficulty of doing thorough refer- ence work in divisions without ac- cess to complete catalogs, cyclo- pedic and general bibliographical material. Again a proper floor plan is a partial solution. b. Difficulty at the general reference desk of having the catalogs, etc., but not the books immediately to hand. Carrier system, house 'phones and proper page service can do much to minimize, especi- ally if the general reference desk is located centrally as regards the book collection. c. The assistant in one division does not know the resources of all di- visions, and important material classified elsewhere may be over- looked. This objection bears a direct relation to the ability of the assistant In the division. Where inquiries are received in writing, involve considerable re- search or for which some time is allowed, they can be cleared through the general reference desk and this difficulty obviated. Combining the two departments reduces the chances of overlook- ing important material. d. Lack of responsibility, as sub- jects are passed on from one di- vision to another and no one as- istant feels responsible for the whole service as a completed unit. The same comment as for the pre- ceding applies, e. Danger that divisions will devel- op along main lines of their sub- jects at expense of those more or less alien; e. g. the biological sci- ences in technology; or amuse- ments, games and sports in fine arts. This tendency must be guarded against by the general administration. This difficulty is more theoretical than real, as a collection's growth is determined largely by demand. The following difficulties in administra- tion are chargeable more directly to the combining of the two departments. III. In administration: a. Reference books in unaccustomed hands. This is a temporary diffi- culty only, the result of reorgani- zation. It will be possible ulti- mately for the division assistants to know their own reference books better than the general ref- erence assistants, though they will not be able to know the gen- eral field as well. b. Difficulty of building up a large staff having in addition to other desirable qualifications what is known as "reference sense" and skill in use of a bibliographical equipment. c. Greater cost of service in having the time of trained specialists de- voted in part to the circulation of books, which could be done by an assistant possessing a good gen- eral education and the desirable human qualities. This assumes that the general reader as dis- tinguished from the special stu- dent is in less need of the special- it's help, an assumption which is at least debatable. . . . Some of the difficulties encoun- tered for which we are now in part finding remedies, can, I think, be almost complete- ly overcome in our new building without the sacrifice of any of the undoubted ad- vantages enjoyed at the present. Such a plan would locate the general reference di- vision, constituted much as now, centrally as regards the remainder of the library and near the entrance so as to remain the point of first contact. This arrangement will permit of a strong general reference staff, 173 centrally located and thoroughly controll- ing the collection and especially the means for unlocking its stores. It will still per- mit, in fact require, assistants, (special- ists as far as possible,) with desks in the several main groups of books. To the former will naturally fall requests of a ready reference nature and those of a gen- eral and elementary character, club pro- grams, etc.; to the latter, the more per- sonal introduction to books and the special guidance so often essential; the opportu- nity for co-operation with outside interests, and help in research to the continuous worker in some special field. Such a modi- fication, without losing any of the advan- tages, would result in a decided increase in effectiveness in the reference service. A different set of problems, however, is involved, when a section of the library's collection is extracted and located so that it is no longer a working portion of the greater collection. This is the question ol so called business branches, municipal ref- erence libraries, and, to a lesser degree, civ- ics rooms and other special collections lo- cated possibly in the same building, but in separate rooms. Where, as in business and municipal reference branches, the collec- tions are at a considerable distance, they virtually cease to be parts of the same col- lection. The ordinary branch is, or at any rate should be, an extension of the circula- ting phase of library work, in which the aim is to bring the book to the reader. It has in itself no elements of service, that are not present also in the main library. Its aim is to give to the reader of a local- ity out of the many books on its shelves that one which will best meet his need for culture, inspiration, general informa- tion or practical education. In reference work, however, it is necessary to bring the user to the book. The individual reference book is not loaned, so that it may always be where it is expected to be. The branches in their reference work are mere weak duplications of the main library serv- ice and are not its integral parts. The book collection should not be divided, as its value lies in its completeness. A di- vision of the library into self-contained parts is not possible. It will be necessary always to supplement the resources of any part, and very materially so, from those of other parts. A municipal reference or a business branch at a distance makes neces- sary considerable duplication of material. Both the branch and the central collec- tions will attract calls which can be satis- fied only by use of material shelved in the other place. Records of all kinds are com- plicated. Cataloging is made more diffi- cult because portions and only portions of sets are duplicated, and because second copies have different manner of treatment. Classification problems must be met. Diffi- culties arise due to not knowing at the main what is being received by the branch, and, at the branch what new material is added to the main. The branch is without the complete general catalog and the peri- odical and government indexes, and is dis- tant from books on subjects not strictly within the scope of the branch and yet often needed. All of the objections so far are minor and all can be met fairly well. What seems to me to be the deciding argu- ment I am reserving for the last. A li- brary may be likened to a burning fagot. It will burn well as long as it is kept to- gether. The occasional addition of a stick will keep the fire steady and effective. Its size makes the fire conspicuous. Remove one and the single stick is not easily kept alight. Replenishment is less easy, as fresh sticks are not many and cannot be spared easily from the larger blaze, nor can it attract much attention. Perhaps the analogy is faulty, but there is an advantage in having all your material together. There is an immense advertising value in this fact alone. Libraries, of necessity, adver- tise more in general terms than on specific subjects, and even where the appeal made is specific the effect is likely to be general. It is possible to advertise a business branch or a municipal reference room in the City Hall and expatiate on the possibilities of service. Such advertising may help the branch; it does not help the central collec- tion. Moreover, it does not effectively 174 BERKELEY CONFERENCE reach many who should use the branch but who, attracted by the prestige of the gen- eral collection, come there only to be dis- appointed. Where all departments are to- gether they reinforce each other, and every well-rendered service in one part calls at- tention to the possibilities of service in every other part. . . . Of course I recognize that where the cen- tral library is at a great distance from the business center of the city a separate busi- ness branch may be justified despite Its disadvantages, but a central library which, though not centrally located, is yet within the down-town district, will serve business men better than could a business branch, even though located much more advantage- ously, except at the cost of practically complete duplication, which would result in an expense no library could justify. Further items of expense are: the cost of the branch, or its equivalent, rental, up- keep, and a staff larger than needed for the undivided work. . . . The maximum of efiiciency will result from a concentration or centralization of collections, catalogs and staff. Thus is in- sured directness and definiteness of service and a certainty that every borrower will get all the service that the library has to give. THE CONSERVATION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS: READING A PROBLEM IN REQUIRED By W. E. Henry, Librarian, University of ^yashington, iicaltu- The old problem of the old library was the preservation of its materials frequently to the point of almost preventing their use. A new problem of the new library, and more specifically the college and uni- versity library, is the conservation of ma- terials that should and must be used. Etymologlcally considered there seems to be no essential difference between pres- ervation and conservation, but in our re- cent popular use the words are fairly dis- tinct in the minds of many, and suggest almost opposite meanings. Preservation carries with it the suggestion of prevent- ing use, or special preparation for future use. Conservation connotes not the lack of use but rather the careful and economic and rational present use in such form or degree as shall husband the material, as shall not destroy it, as shall retain it for future use. The old library preserved, the modern library must conserve. . . . We have for some time been familiar with the theory of conservation as applied to our forests, our mines, our water power, but it is so recent that we have begun to think of the needs and rights of future generations that everyone who considers this question with me well knows the chief facts concerning the vigorous, uncomprom- ising, and yet unfinished fight in national and state governments for the protection of the rights of the next and following generations to a participation in the use of what nature has provided In what we choose to call natural resources. . . . Conserve, make permanent, guard the future, protect the interests of those who are not hero to protect their interests: all these have come to be partial definitions of the word conservation. With the very instinct of the librarian, the preservation of all good things, one would scarcely think that there should ever be any necessity for emphasis upon con- servation. However, there is a real prob- lem of conservation arising in many li- braries, and especially in our college and university libraries, that is pressing hard upon us, and, so far as I know, no solution has been offered or even publicly consid- ered. It is not a problem of the first magni- tude in library administration, but it is a vital one within its scope. It is the prob- lem that lias come with our modern con- ceptions of college teaching, with our peda- gogy, if you please. It is a backward ex- tension of our modern and rapid extension of graduate teaching and study. 175 There was a time when the fact that a statement of fact or opinion was in print made it authoritative, and no questions of veracity were asked, and no serious con- sideration was taken as between questions of authority growing out of investigations and questions of opinion that were based upon no other consideration than that someone had funds sufRcient to pay the printer. . . . We are now in a new educational world with new conceptions of education and new conceptions of study and class manage- ment. Now we have the lecture, the note- book, and the assigned reading. Any col- lege teacher of whatever rank or prepara- tion will presume to lecture upon almost any topic if he has read not less than two text-books and one article from an ency- clopedia upon the subject. He expresses himself in much poorer form than can be found in almost any book that has been written upon the subject; the student, in- stead of really thinking what the profes- sor is saying and what he means by what he says, is on the verge of writer's cramp and paralysis trying to take in his note- book in a still poorer form what the Profes- sor is so badly expressing. Then this stu- dent spends his time at home, rewriting his notes while he should be either read- ing or thinking upon the subject under con- sideration, a duty for which he has had but little time and less preparation. Then, in order to compensate in some way for the poor lecture and worse notes, he has taken, he must read five hundred more or less pages per month, so rapidly and so disconnectedly that sometimes per- haps he never sees the relation between what he is reading and the course he is taking for which he wishes credit. The chief purpose of the note book and the required reading are to impress upon the dent that he has, in the vocabulary of the University, a "stiff" course, and that the professor is no "snap." With the "assigned reading" comes our little problem of conservation of materials and if I may not be taken too literally, I should say the conservation of source ma- terials. This title would not be far wrong, but I hesitate to use it lest it be interpre- ted too literally, and should appear to be attempting more than I really had in mind to do. With the lecture, the note-book, and the assigned reading grew the idea that each student, even to the freshmen, must make the nearest approach to an original investi- gator and make first hand researches. The students in a very small high school, twenty miles from a library, informed me that the history work in that school was original research. They did not under- stand, but they used the language of an elder. In this effort for the so-called research the faculty has selected the assigned read- ings in many cases from the nearest ap- proach that the given library possesses to first hand sources. It is not bad that stu- dents know of such source materials; it is well to have some mention or (if no more) a brief digest of this material for even elementary work, but our problem of con- servation comes in the library when a class of from fifty to one hundred and fifty careless students are required to read an expensive and out-of-print book, or certain chapters in it. Mind you, the wholesale reading of rare and expensive materials is done very large- ly by students who care little or nothing for the facts they obtain or for the care of the literature. The chief concern of most of them ends with examination day. Many of our professors are as thought- less of the future use of the materials and of the welfare of future generations of stu- dents and for the integrity of the library materials, as are the great logging com- panies of the integrity of the forests, or the lumber interests of future generations. The moment a reading is assigned to a large class some overthoughtful and in- dustrious student, whose penetrating intel- lect fastens itself upon the vital words and most important sentences of the text, and whose generous spirit dictates that he should do some thinking tor others, be- 176 BERKELEY CONFERENCE gins to underscore all these words and sentences. This penciling is usually done with a soft blurring pencil that penetrates the soft rough surface of book paper and cannot be erased. Sometimes the student who has gone far enough to appreciate and value the real permanency of records will dis- card so temporary a makeshift as a pencil and use ink both for underscoring and the occasional marginal note which he is wil- ling to contribute lest some future reader or a member of his own class may be too dull to catch the points of vital signifi- cance. The wearing out or the mutilation of an isolated book is serious enough, but it is of slight concern in comparison with a volume of a long run of periodicals, and this is the thing that is most likely to oc- cur. The article in a high class scholarly periodical is usually much better material for assigned readings than are the books that are less condensed, less direct and less up to date in both conception and treat- ment of the subject. . . . We can go to our shelves of economic journals or to our philosophic journals where a hundred and fifty students have read the latest on "trusts and combines," or the "seven men who control the wealth of the United States," the "taxation of in- tangible property," the "problems of mar- ket distribution," or the "democratic idea of a god" in Hibbert's, or in educational journals, where like numbers must know what Stanley Hall said about adolescence or what Professor Blank knows about child study and in these behold awful examples of the needs of conservation. . . . It does not at first thought seem very serious that a dozen or twenty pages be destroyed out of a periodical containing fifty thousand pages, and perhaps this im- pression influences the students' thought, if he thinks, but all who have tried to re- place a mutilated volume know the serious- ness of it. Not only do these readers mutilate by pencil or even ink, and by the excessive wear that comes from hundreds reading the same selection but occasionally there comes a student who becomes so firmly attached to an article in a technical magazine that he finds he cannot separate himself from it, and since he can't stay with the be- loved selection, he gently removes the much sought for article from the magazine and takes it with- him. Our Volume I of the "Pedagogical Seminar" during the last session of our summer school fell into the hands of a high-school teacher, and an article of twenty pages was torn from the periodical; and a significant feature of this transaction is that the article was entitled, "Teaching Ethics in the High School." The humor of it alone makes the mutila- tion less difficult to bear. . . . The question is not difl5cult to compre- hend and its seriousness is readily appreci- ated. The cure or remedy is not so easily determined upon or so readily applied. The first and perhaps the chief difficulty in remedying the defect is that the applica- tion does not lie within the realm of the librarian's jurisdiction. The difficulty lies in the modern schemes of instruction and any remedy that may be applied is likely to be applicable only by the professor, and if a remedy shall come by which the con- servation of our almost source materials may be possible and our sets of valuable periodicals may be kept intact it will prob- ably come through the changes made by the teaching force of the Universities, and they, up to this time, have not appreciated the problem, nor even that a problem ex- ists. We, as librarians, however, more clearly comprehending that the problem exists and that it is or may soon become a serious one, may legitimately busy ourselves in speculating upon the case and finding if possible a solution for our conservation problem. If the solution is possible and a remedy for present errors may be found it is quite possible that our professors may be made to appreciate the situation and their co- operation secured to bring about such changes in practice as will solve the prob- lem I am trying to present. HENRY 177 I think it fair to assume that the pro- fessors will not totally change nor very seriously modify their present plans of in- struction. The so-called lecture method will not be abandoned, and the demand will persist that students, even down to the freshmen, shall have access to the second- ary sources in the form, usually, of the latest and most important expert view as set forth in our great periodicals, which are the most precious possessions of most of our universities. Our only hope then, it seems to me, is to devise some plan for the use of the ma- terials that will make available to a large class the real essence of these best second- ary sources, and yet prevent the actual handling of these periodicals by untrained and many times uninterested young stu- dents who do not to any degree appreciate the sacred value of what to them is little more than paper. The nature of much of this material is such that it is quite impossible to purchase many copies, as can easily be done in the case of recent books, any one of which might be used as a text. The periodicals could usually be bought in duplicate when first published, if we could know at that time that they are to be wanted, but generally many months have elapsed and sometimes years, before we are aware that a certain period or a given theory cannot be adequately studied unless all the members of a large class may each have unrestricted access to a given article in a bound magazine that can scarcely be duplicated or replaced. I see at this time but two courses to even suggest that may help the situation. One is wholly in the hands of the professor, the other is to a degree within the control of the librarian if he may have advance warning of the call that is to be made and has available funds. The first is that instead of each of a large class reading and penciling a valuable art- icle in an expensive periodical, this article be assigned to one student rather than 150 and that he digest it thoroughly for the class, and even furnish the members of the class with a brief of his digest by duplication. The faculty objection to this scheme would probably be that it leaves one hun- dred and forty-nine students idle while one digests the material, for at times it seems they are more interested in the fact that the students work than that they secure results through their work. Having been a college teacher, I must think that many students can be employed at such work at one time, each on a separate assignment and the class as a whole get a much wider range than under present plans, and each receive large benefits from the intensive work of other members of the class. The second possible plan, and one within the control of the librarian, is the duplica- tion of the entire assigned article, by mime- ograph or otherwise, so that many copies may be at the loan desk, that many read- ers may be accommodated at one time. This plan seems a rational solution, but in the course of a year, it will cost many dol- lars, and in one sense not increase the resources of the library. A third mere possibility comes to my mind, but it is not in the control of either professor or librarian, and it is so far out- side the limits of probability, if not of possibility that I hardly need mention it. It is the more generous preparation and publication of source books for different lines of study. These so-called source books would, of course, be digests of the best literature in a particular and restric- ted line. Unless, however, the courses were fairly uniform in many educational institutions, the market for such source books would not justify publication. Whether the courses and the materials could be sufficiently standardized to keep a source book in the market for a series of years, I do not know. I know we must do something for the conservation of our best materials at what- ever cost. I should like to know how the problem impresses other members of this section and what solutions you have to suggest. BERKELEY CONFERENCE THE FIELD OP THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE COLLEGE TOWN* By C. B. Joeckel, Librarian. Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library The field of the public library in the col- lege or university town does not differ in a general way from that of any public li- brary, but there are some special problems. Let us define very briefly the respective fields of the university library and of the public library. The primary function of the university library is to serve the uni- versity community. It is primarily a refer- ence library. The primary function of the public library is to serve the whole com- munity. It is primarily a circulating li- brary. The two institutions differ both in the public they are trying to serve and in their methods of serving that public. There are two main groups of problems. One group is concerned with the question, How much shall the public library help the university or college library? You college library people may resent the inference that you need any help from the public li- brary, but you cannot deny that the public library does help you in some ways, whether you need the help or not. Probably the first problem which will confront the public library in the college town is this, How far shall we go in supply- ing copies of books asked for by college students, particularly books which are re- served at the college library? The wise student will rush to the public library for the book which is reserved at the univer- sity library. In meeting this problem we must recognize the fact that the student is for several years a member of the commu- nity and is therefore entitled to the privi- leges of the public library. On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that it is the duty of the college library to meet the demand for such books as far as possible. I feel that the public library should pur- chase such books only when they can be useful to the general, as well as the uni- versity, public. There are two corollaries to this prob- lem of meeting the demand on the public library for books reserved at the college library. The first is, how to prevent the loss, either temporary or permanent, of such books. In going over the titles of books reported missing at our library here in Berkeley, I have been surprised at the number whose loss must he attributed to university students. Probably the only so- lution of the problem will be to put such books in a closed portion of the stack, or behind lock and key. The other corollary to the reserve book problem is. Shall the public library adopt a system of reserving books in demand by college students, similar to the system of reserves in a college library? My opinion on this point is still in the formative state, but right now I should be inclined to decide against a reserve system for the public li- brary, which, as I stated a little while ago. is primarily a circulating library. The problem of supplying enough copies of re- served books Is the problem of the college library, just as the problem of supplying enough copies of current fiction is the problem of the public library. Another way in which the public library helps out the university or college is by furnishing necessary books for collateral reading of university extension students. In some colleges and universities extension students are not granted library privileges except for reading and reference, and the public library should, I am sure, go as far as possible in meeting the demands of such students for books for home reading. Now let us consider how much the public library in a college town should ask help of the college library. Take, for instance, the matter of interlibrary loans. How often should the public library ask the col- lege library for books on interlibrary loan? In a paper I wrote for a Section meeting SCOTT 179 of the California Library Association three or four years ago I said: "In general, it seems to me that interlibrary loans on the east side of the bay (meaning San Fran- cisco Bay), and possibly all around the bay, are not necessary." I was speaking at that time from the university library point of view, but I think I can still subscribe to that statement. Another interesting but perplexing prob- lem confronting the public library is to try to determine how far to avoid the purchase of books because they happen to be in the college library. The standards of purchase of a public library in a town where there is a strong college or university library will vary considerably from those of a public library which stands alone in its com- munity. There are a good many books, mostly scholarly and expensive, which the public library in a college town would hardly be justified in buying as long as copies are accessible at the college library. One more way in which the college can help the public library is in reference work. Of course, there will be many in- stances in which the college library, witk its large collection, will be better equipped to answer reference questions than the smaller collection of the public library, but readers should be referred to the college library only when the public library has failed after careful effort to meet their needs, and when the questions they are looking up are of some real Importance. The guiding principle in solving these problems should take the middle ground of friendly co-operation rather than the extreme either of too much independence on the one hand, or of too much dependence on the other. INSPIRATIONAL INFLUENCE OF BOOKS IN THE LIFE OP CHILDREN By Mrs. Edna Lyman Scott, Lecturer on Story-Telling, Seattle In the midst of problems and conflicting responsibilities it is not surprising that one often hears a sigh for the "Golden Age of Childhood" — for the time when there are no cares, when all is freedom, fun and frolic. But as we look about us at the children of today, would any of us truly wish to be a modern child if he could? You gasp! Is not this the era of the child? Is it not the time, above all others, when the first consideration is for him, when his needs are met before he realizes them, when his desires have only to be expressed to find gratification? Is he not the center about which modern society moves? Are not laws made for him, moneys appropriated to be devoted to his service, lands set aside for his use? Are not the most schol- arly studying him, the most alert observ- ing him, the most carefully trained minis- tering to him? Has he not come to have even a commercial value to the state, so that he is protected and cared for as an asset? Certainly all these conditions are true or partially true, but who would ex- change his own childhood tor that of a child of today? Did we not have more leisure, did not imagination thrive better unobserved, were we not more resourceful, since the re- sources of adults were not ours to com- mand? Would we change the companion- ship of the most interesting of mothers for that of any kindergartener, or the firm, even justice of the father who had learned his lessons of obedience before he exacted them, for the discipline of any school? We jumped from the wood-pile because a ship was burning, and swung from the rafters of the barn because an invisible audience was ready to applaud the won- derful performance of the "World's Great- est Lady Gymnast." What would we have thought of directed play?" Sometimes we made bold to venture to the public library — it was not nearly so enticing as a certain book-case at home 180 BERKELEY CONFERENCE filled with a very miscellaneous collection of volumes. We pulled them down one after another until the one was found; we returned again and again, and though we were sure we had looked at every one, we wondered why it was that the green book we never had cared to read before, now looked so very entertaining? What would we have thought of graded lists? We did not need them; — these books found their way into our consciousness to inspire and uplift, apparently without effort on anyone's part. How did it happen? What is it that enables a book to be in- spirational to anyone? Is it not when he comes upon the thought of the author un- hampered by a preconceived notion of it, unprejudiced by what someone else thinks of it, and uninfluenced by the sense of what he ought to think about it? If a book speaks straight to the heart, or to the head, firing the enthusiasm, or stimu- lating the thought, is not that inspira- tional influence? And to how many chil- dren of this day have books thus spoken? Is it because they lack the atmosphere of freedom in making the acquaintance, which alone makes inspiration possible, or is it because the children's book of today does not suggest thought? A teacher of literature once told me it was her custom to ask her students about the books they had read as children, and she found that never more than two or three in a large class expressed any enthusiasm; many could not remember anything about the books they had read. Experiments in library schools furnish almost identical re- sults. To comparatively few do the years of childhood seem to have been in the least vital,— they leave no clear impres- sions of what they felt or thought about people and things, — no experiences stand out as significant— and the book-lite, if there was any, has left but a blur. Once, long ago, an old house stood be- neath the sheltering branches of huge oaks and slender elms. Within its walls, a sim- ple family history lived itself into reality, found its way into the world, and returned again to rekindle its fires at the hearth where they had first been lighted. Activity characterized the life of the house, from the business interests of the tall soldier father and the many-sided tal- ents of the mother who administered the affairs of the household and was its poet and seer of visions also, down to the youngest of its children, who arose in the morning with the question, "What shall we do now?" It was not, however, the activity which made the atmosphere significant. It was not that which gave it vitality and immor- tality in the lives of those who came in touch with it. It was, rather, that they felt the cultural things came first, the things of the spirit were esteemed the real things; that books containing life-giving ideals and lasting thoughts were among the assets of the home to be most prized and made most one's own. That high ideals and great thoughts had already enriched the lives of those of maturer years, made them interpreters of value, and the chil- dren, whoever they might be, unconscious- ly felt that here were people who knew books, not as superficial acquaintances, but as friends, tried and valued. When the lights began to spring into being through the village, an atmosphere of expectancy was evident in the old- fashioned living-room, as of good things to come, and the final household duties were completed with haste, that the hour of reading before bed-time might be made as long as possible. It was an hour all shared, and the interest of the reading was enhanced by the gentle voice of the reader. There were times when the tale seemed a trifle beyond the grasp of some — there must have been times when it took the heart of childhood to find absorbing inter- est in the very simple stories. But the memories of those experiences, themselves like books, one and all recite their stories, some more vividly, some less so. Many of these book friends are now re- ported "out of print" and have been for years; — some of them were the old friends 181 of the Mother. "Scottish chiefs" had fired the boyhood enthusiasm of the Father. But they can never be quite "out of print" while battered copies stand on the shelf to be taken down and read to those who follow after. There never has been in all the multi- tude of animal books published one which deserved to be a greater favorite than "The life of a bear." It was when these children of the house were wee folk, they followed step by step the delightful adven- tures of Martin from his babyhood in the mountain-cave, his lessons in woodcraft and worldly wisdom, to his coming of age, his ventures into the vineyards and among the cattle, and at last his capture. There was such pleasure in knowing a family of wild creatures so intimately, even if the sympathy with Martin was a little too keen when he played the role of dancing bear, finished his days in the zoo, and achieved immortality in the museum. If the book was intended to give any infor- mation, it certainly did not burden any with passages to be skipped, but left a delightful feeling with all that they would like to know more, not only about bears, but about other folk, commonly spoken of as "wild beasts," who live in strange places. Whether it was the expression of such an interest, I do not know, but "Lit- tle folks in feathers and fur" was the com- panion chosen for a visit made about this time to the grandmother's farm. Scien- tists have pronounced this book hopelessly unsound — but why listen to their ranting, since they will not write? Someone has said that children care for the books that touch their own lives directly in some fashion or other, — fairy tales appealing to the child who is con- stantly making excursions into imaginary realms, realistic stories to the child who is limited by his inability to "make be- lieve" and cares only to see himself mir- rored with slight variations in what he reads. Perhaps the unusual children com- bine the two in their more catholic tastes, and revel not only in imaginative litera- ture, but in touches of realism as well. '"i'he story of Dollikins" was a small ob- long book bound in red, and it came from England, which accounted, we believe, for the unfamiliar scenes and costumes in the illustrations. But oh what Joy to hear of the adventures of a doll who was ill and went to the seashore — whose ward- robe was more elegant than the ladies in real lite, and who was made to do so many things it was possible to imitate. Was that the charm, too, of the "Lucy books" that had belonged to the Mother? Or was it that she had been inspired by them to learn her letters by pricking all the o's with a wax-headed pin, as Lucy did, and had actually seen an apple cook- ing as it twirled on a string before the fire? It was not alone to the children of the home that the book world was opened. Each week a "wriggling, furniture-scratch- ing mob of boys," as one of them recently expressed it, appeared for a chapter from "The boys of '61," Dickens' "Child's his- tory of England," "Page, squire and knight," "The little duke," Knox's "Boy travelers," and other favorites. That these hours were full of inspiration was evi- denced by the persistent attendance at the time, and not less by the worn volumes which have been read and re-read to other boys in their turn. From every corner of the country grown men have stopped at the old house as they journeyed on affairs of business, to say "We have not forgotten those old days, when you used to read to us. How did you ever stick it out with such a noisy bunch?" I have sometimes wondered why I never take up an "Arabian nights" without feel- ing a consciousness of heat, and summer days, and light sifting through closed green blinds? Perhaps it is not so strange, since the surroundings, however incidental, have a way of reproducing themselves as the backgrounds of our memories. In the old living-room, near the fireplace, there was a walnut table with spindle legs and shelves which held books tightly ar- ranged in rows. They were most of them "grown-up" books — "Pilgrims' progress" 182 BERKELEY CONFERENCE lay on the top. It had an embossed cover and conventional flowered borders in blue or pink, and on Sunday afternoons this great book was taken down and could be read when other books about giants and ogres were forbidden. What the differ- ence was I never knew — but was subcon- sciously grateful that there was a differ- ence. On the first shelf, next three small blue volumes of Tennyson, stood the faded and dingy, and "fat" "Arabian nights" close fel- low to "Baron Munchausen," with the pic- ture of the horse with the stream of water flowing through his severed body. This edition of "Arabian nights" must have been nearly complete, the print was very fine, and the few colored illustrations crude; but through an entire summer of long, hot days, it furnished constant and unceasing entertainment and delight to the girl friends who haunted the old house. Heat and discomfort were forgotten as scenes of magic filled the hours, and genii, enchanted princes, beautiful princesses, caves filled with gold and jewels held the listeners spell-bound with their charms. "Tales of a caravan inn and palace" was almost as engaging and possessed the add- ed fascination of making us "shiver"— like the Dor€ Illustrations in the "Ancient mar- iner." "Little men" was a perfect find. It had the advantage, too, of being somewhat of a surprise, for, by some binder's slip, it stood in a cover labeled "Old-fashioned girl." One day, when everything had failed to in- terest, and every book had been read at "least a thousand times," we stumbled on it and began to read. It was a perfect revelation — for such a life was undreamed of even, and we read every chapter with cumulative enjoyment. I shall never for- get the sensations that were mine as I listened to the chapter called "Patty-Pans" which recounted the installation of a tiny kitchen as part of the playroom, where the children cooked real dinners, and had all manner of fun. We sat on the porch fioor with our backs against the great front door — I remember because everyone had to walk around us to get in. One read, then another; we could not wait for breath to proceed, and we could not bear to finish. Who does not remember his first poetry? Certainly he could never forget it, if it had been read to him by a poet and looking back through the years the voice with its music and soft cadences sounds again, he sees the light in the eyes, that look which he only half understood, he can almost feel his hand stealing again to his throat (he did not know why it felt so strange), and he realizes it Is to the reader of his first poems that he owes his love of the greatest of all literature. Perhaps there are those who never experienced a break in their love of verse, but many children drop poetry with their fairy tales, and nothing ever seems to revive their Interest in it. It was during the dark ages when poetry was a thing abhorred, that I sat on the floor under an old-fashioned grand piano, where the reading aloud of poetry had driven me to other amusements. Disap- pointment at being thus self-banished left an ear half conscious of what went on, — and suddenly into that consciousness came the lines. "Alone, hut with unbated zeal. That horseman plied the scourge and steel; For jaded now, and spent with toll, Emboss'd with foam, and dark with soil. While every gasp with sobs he drew. The laboring stag strain'd full in view. Two dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed. Unmatched for courage, breath and speed, Fast on his flying traces came. And all but won that desperate game. For, scarce a spear's length from his haunch. Vindictive toil'd the bloodhounds staunch; Nor nearer might the dogs attain, Nor farther might the quarry strain. "The hunter mark'd that mountain high, The lone lake's western boundary, And deem'd the stag must turn to bay. Where that huge rampart barr'd the way; Already glorying in the prize Measur'd his antlers with his eyes." It was a story! Then even that despised poetry might be endured, since, by patient listening such adventures could be enjoyed. Never again after "The lady of the lake" SCOTT 183 was persuasion to read poetry necessary. "The lay of the last minstrel," "Evange- line" with its long swinging lines, and "Miles Standish'' were the next friends: after that I do not remember how they came, until, passing from childhood to youth, Shelley's "Skylark" and "Wild west wind" solaced, and Byron was read, under protest, from cover to cover. One day there was a birthday, and a whole row of books stood waiting for their places to be found. They were all bound alike, and all written by the same man. Sir Walter Scott by name, and they had titles which had no meaning at all. It was In the days before novels were "required reading" in the schools, that the Mother skipped the introduction and began the story of Ivanhoe. Dry, uninteresting, hard to read? Well perhaps, — but none of the children would have pronounced them hard to listen to. Here was a world unknown, a world that really had been, yet was as won- derful as the world of fairy princes. If tasks at school palled, playmates grew un- interesting, and there was "nothing to do," each brown book was an invitation to lose Identity and become a Leicester, a Quentin Durward, or Richard-the-lion-heart. For the first time history was worth-while, sim- ply because it touched these heroes, even though the connection may have been very slight. If Mark Twain has been read again and again because he alone knew how to be funny, he certainly has not been less loved just for the simple art of story-telling. That the "Prince and the pauper" "might have been true even if It wasn't true" was not needed as a justification in the preface, because you knew it must have been true; it could not sound that way if it wasn't true; it tvas true. You loved the Prince for his bravery, his sufferings, his fair treatment and gentle courtesy when sorest tried, you loved every description of court- ly procedure and lavish display; you glor- ied in the growing courtliness of the little pauper; in his quick adaptability and his resourcefulness in difficult situations you felt his princely character, and almost wept that he must lose his throne to keep his heritage of honor. Such was the hold of this book that it was for years a resort in time of depression or convalescence from the numerous childish illnesses. It is a wonderful thing to have written one real book that has brought joy to the heart of a child, real joy that lasts. Wheth- er it is true, as we often hear, that every man has some one story he can tell .suc- cessfully, it is certain that the single story for children which many a great author has allowed himself the pleasure of telling has a rare and enduring quality which few writers of children's books possess. It is difficult to analyze, but it touches children and grown people equally. One could never tell why we laughed at "The rose and the ring" or even at "Alice In Wonderland." But isn't it enough to know we slept bet- ter when we had heard them, and that we reveled in the nonsense like lambs in the green fields? How glad we are there were no psychologists to investigate the cause of our merriment, and none in authority to demand that we tell whether we under- stood the wonderful symbolic meaning in "At the back of the North Wind," or "The Princess and the goblin." They gave us something like the same feeling that came with some of the stories we heard from the Bible — we felt the great Power leading ever to the light, and we wished some- way, that we were better — though we could not have told why and we were not even sure it was anything in the stories that had made us feel so. Surely there would come a protest from the very walls of the old rooms, they might of their own volition repeat the story of "Scrooge and Marley," if we forgot to give it place. For every Christmas, with the regularity of the stockings at the fire-place and the "little round-green-trees" in the window "The Christmas carol" was read. Like Tiny Tim's "God bless us every one," it shed the blessing of unselfishness like a soft light over the simple Christmas fes- tivities. And are you wondering what all this has to do with the "Inspirational influence of 184 BERKELEY CONFERENCE books in the life of children"? Why do children voluntarily read books? Some merely to pass the time, some because they find satisfaction in the act of reading, but, do not the majority read because the book suggests further mental activity? They are natural imitators, and the book supplies the material for dramatization, or portrays characteristics which seem admirable and stimulate to efforts at reproduction. Are there not many more "Sentimental Tommys" than we have been conscious of, or willingly admitted? Children are always being somebody. Sometimes this imitative tendency takes the form of playing the story, sometimes of impersonating the individual who has seemed heroic and sometimes merely trying to imitate the admired qualities. I know a young girl who says she re- members that she was always acting as she thought people in books would have acted. She sat perched for hours in a most uncomfortable position in an apple-tree reading, because the heroine of a book she had read made an impression by doing so. She was haughty or gracious, friendly or distant as the particular character she was impressed with at the time happened to be. If a book influences and inspires such activity, it must be because it makes its impress with the clearness and vividness which come with the freedom and joy of spontaneous reading. Inspiration is rarely bred of tasks im- posed by authority, or of directed activity. We have laughed Charles Lamb's "brows- ing" out of existence, and with the dis- appearance has gone the real opportunity to choose, to weigh and measure, which alone preserves originality, or stimulates the creative impulse, or gives the breath of inspiration to books. The sense of dis- covery is one of the chief elements of in- spiration; but it is almost impossible to "discover" anything in the modern library, — some wise librarian has already "found" and recorded it, and ticketed it for the individual who needs it. The importance of bringing all the resources of the library to the service of the public has become so deep a conviction that we may need to remind ourselves that we do harm rather than the desired good, when we deprive children of the stimulating effort of seek- ing to find for themselves, and formulat- ing independent judgments. If the public library is to take the place of the ideal home where the recorded thoughts of those great minds who have gone before is part of the background of its children, where the association with people who have always understood, valued and loved books creates an unconscious re- ceptivity and longing for the world of thought, then must we not preserve in the library as nearly as possible the elements which such a home represents? Training is to make the enthusiasm and love of books efficient, but back of the training there must be the person who really values books as his most treasured and familiar friends, who with all his learning has never grown away from his fondness for them as he was fond of them in childhood. Compulsory companionship, something we have to read, whether in the school or the library will never be a source of in- spiration. To quote the deductions of a young per- son from meditations on "why you never liked the books you had to read in school," "You can't get inspiration by having books shoved at you. Inspiration doesn't come in batches,— it comes as it grows out of thinking about the books you have read. A difference of opinion with the teacher might spoil the teacher's whole plan for presenting her literature lesson, and make it impossible to point the moral she in- tended. Hence, quite unconsciously, any originality, any independent opinions, or unorthodox tastes were nipped in the bud." The librarian may be just as guilty as the teacher of trying to impress her own tastes, standards, and appreciation on the public. It is not we who are to inspire but the books, so would it not be well if we had more faith in the power of thought to reach the consciousness longing for truth? WHITBECK 185 Only as the child can come to feel that they are his books, that lie may read what he likes, pass by what does not attract, bring back a book half-read, like or dis- like any or all, without even subconsciously suffering from a sense of disapproval or failure to meet the expectations of a li- brarian — only then will his book life be a joy and so an inspiration. Our claim for the work with children has been that it is educational — but educating a taste for lit- erature does not necessarily mean stand- ardizing taste. Absolute uniformity is not desirable, nor can we even say that exact conformity to our own opinion is the ideal. How do we dare say this is the book the boy in the slums needs, or that this book will release the child of the complacent suburbs from his bondage to indifference and ennui, or that this story peoples with heroes the unimaginative life of the child of the country? Long ago the great Socrates said "All my good is magnetic, and I educate not by teaching, but by going about my daily bus- iness." If we would rouse the latent love of na- ture, all we can do is to bring one where he may hear for himself, — "What the sea has striven to say So long, and yearned up the cliffs to tell." Where are our memories, what have we done with the book-life of our childhood? Did we have no inspirations to color our lives that we have so little understanding of the vital necessities in our children's rooms? Only one who has felt for himself the inspiration of books, — books of many kinds — who thrills still at the very names of his favorites, who knows the joy of finding a message for himself and so recognizes that the message he receives is not the only one, only such a one can ever place books where they may be an inspirational influ- ence in the life of children. READING OF OLDER BOYS AND GIRLS By Mrs. Alice G. Whitbeck, Librarian, Contra Costa County Free Library, Martinez, Calif. If one of those time-honored question- naires could have been sent to all librarians who deal directly with the adolescent, ask- ing what problems they would like dis- cussed at this meeting, I do not doubt in the least but that a majority of the answers would voice the same thought but ex- pressed in different ways, "How can we keep the boys and girls interested in good books?" "How can we reach the young girls?" "What shall we do with the young people whose books show a steady decline from the books they read in the children's room?" When so many conditions enter into the work of each one of us, how can any all embracing answer be given? You ask, "What do the older boys and girls read?" We might answer sliortly, "They read ■whatever they can get their hands on, many times books we wish they would not," and theoretically, "They should read only the best." We realize our problem but are we able to present any solution that will fill all possible cases? Innumer- able illuminating papers have been writ- ten on the subject; we have a number of very helpful books on the question of children's reading; we have lists compiled by well known authorities and yet we seem still to have the problem with us. All of us acknowledge the same aim, the same earnest desire to see the youth of our town read books that will give him not only the necessary pleasure and recreation but enrich his entire life and yet, I some- times wonder whether we do not take this point too seriously and I ask you to hark back to your own adolescent days and con- fess — did you always read books that en- riched your mind and that exerted a last- ing influence on your life? You certainly 1S6 BERKELEY CONFERENCE did read many a good book that left its impression but was it by design or by acci- dent? Realizing our own western conditions so well, I am possibly able to visualize the needs of the small town and the very small library whether in California or in any other state that is extending its library service from the large towns to rural com- munities. So I repeat, we may have to adjust ourselves to different conditions but in the end I hope may unite upon one point which we have in common and which we have to fight as a destructive force in our work — I refer to the author without a conscience and the publisher without scruples. Both of these are back of the problem of the adolescent reader. As we trace a few of the conditions un- der which we who are so widely separated by magnificent distances work let us not lose our tolerance for the taste of the six- teen-year-old miss or our sympathy with the desires of a wide-awake boy. In thinking over the question before us my first impulse was to chart or diagram it somewhat as follows: Represent the adolescent boy or girl by a small circle, connect this circle with seven others, representing the sources from which he reads or the conditions under which he reads. These circles will represent re- spectively the large, the small, the rural, the high school and the factory library, the bookstore or private reading exchange (sometimes called the underground li- brary) and alas! the last circle for the boy and girl who do not read at all. If you can visualize these circles we will in- dicate on straight lines radiating from them, the conditions that we find that either make or mar the reading tastes of the child and influence his reading as an adolescent. What do we find in the first circle that many of you recognize? A large library with a finely appointed children's room un- der expert supervision where every pos- sible attention is paid to the selection of books and every means taken to bring these books before the children — by story hours, by reading lists, clubs, home li- braries — in short, by every known and ap- proved method are these children directed in their reading. The library is able to afford a duplicate collection of intermediate books or perhaps an intermediate depart- ment. The problem becomes not one of ways and means but one of selection and the ability or inability to meet the on- slaught of cheap books by cheap authors issued by cheap publishers and for sale in cheap stores. The question of the intermediate collection is well treated by Mr. Herbert L. Cowing in the April, 1912, number of the "Library journal," where he quotes from the papers written by the first year high school pupils. These ex- tracts show that such a collection was realized as great benefit as soon as sug- gested and one that would fill an undefined need. Care should be taken in this col- lection not to include too many of the books on the required reading list of the high school lest it be regarded as an ad- junct to the high school work. Equal care should be taken in the posters and notices above such a collection. "Inter- esting books for girls" is not always the best caption. Better "Love stories" plain and unvarnished, over the group of stories. The main object of this collection is to keep the young people away from the shelves as long as they can find more books suited to their tastes here. I feel that a trial of the intermediate collection will prove its worth. In the second circle we have the small library that more of us are familiar with and where we meet our greatest difficulties. We are forced to acknowledge that our children's room is inadequate, either too small or our help not trained or expert, or we have no children's librarian at all and we ourselves must be everything save janitor. Our funds are small and here is an instance where we have not even more time than money. We look with a growing depression at the young girls reading from the adult shelves and many rebuffs have made us hesitant to do more than sug- gest. What is the need here? Is it an WHITBECK 187 article in one of ttie library journals or commission bulletins full of inspiration but which we lay down with a sigh and ". "I wish I could" thought somewhere In the back of our tired brains? Is it an ex- ceptionally fine list of books by some well known authority that we note again with blue pencil in our library journals think- ing that we will send for it tomorrow and then the tomorrow becomes still another? With all the recent books on children's reading before us, do we need still an- other? In spite of all that has been writ- ten, all that has been lectured upon, we have the same problem in all its varieties in the small library. In the rural library we have all the points above enumerated but each in a still greater degree. With less money to ex- pend the selection of books must be wiser; an expert librarian out of the question, the personality of the one selected must be even more carefully considered. As a rule the rural librarian knows each child intimately; she has the opportunity to talk with and direct the country boy and girl to a degree that the city librarian can never hope to emulate. Far from the town centers, she must rely upon printed lists, bulletins and the A. L. A. Booklist. This last list serves the rural and small library in a very helpful way. The group- ing of books in classes has been a very happy change; perhaps the additional grouping of an intermediate collection in which the fiction, suitable and wholesome enough for the young, might be listed, and such technical and popular class books as would appeal to the youth would be still another welcome innovation. At all events, by such a grouping attention would be called to the list specially. The high school library is on a dif- ferent basis because it is understood to be essentially the working laboratory of the school, a place to study, look up references, read from assigned lists, possibly iinding something interesting, more often not. Here the high school librarian, or the English teacher who sometimes serves as librarian, is able to approach nearer the adolescent student than in any of the cases heretofore mentioned. The right per- sonality is able to win the confidence of both the diffident and the over-confident. For some reason it has been found that the recommendation of the teacher about a book is final. If the high school is for- tunate enough to have one of those rare English teachers who is also a book-lover, a dramatic reader and a sympathetic friend, her influence is unbounded. This rare teacher or high school librarian will have read Dr. G. Stanley Hall's "Ado- lescence," and the chapter on intellectual education, and school work in his "Youth, its education, regimen and hygiene" and "The individual in the making," by E. A. Kirkpatrick and everything else that will enable her to appreciate the call of the youth and his sudden fierce desire to read of wild adventures, melodramatic movie stories, and of the girl to revel in books of the order of "The rosary" and others. Let me stop here long enough to relate two recent personal interviews that bear closely on this influence of the English teacher and the high school librarian. I had in the public library a very bright boy for the two months before he en- tered high school and then for two years after he entered. He graduates this year and I met him the other day on the way to the city. He is manager of the student's co-operative bookstore and so combines the business side with a wonderfully receptive mind and strong literary tendencies. Af- ter talking on book-buying and his work as manager, I touched on the question of the reading of the boys, what they were reading, how much, whether the four years made any difference in the general taste and many more questions to the same end. He answered that the freshmen were kept too busy to read very much on the outside except for school work; that the teacher (one of the rare kind, by the way) always had some new book that she con- sidered worth while for them to read and all it needed to rouse their interest was a short reading from it and her recom- mendation. Drama she made so delightful 188 BERKELEY CONFERENCE a study, it took the place of the inferior novel. He did not believe in reports but in class talks. He thought that the whole taste of the high school pupils had been in- fluenced by this teacher. I asked a girl, a recent graduate, how she felt on this same question. She most enthusiastically gave this same teacher fullest praise for guiding not only her own reading but that of the girls she knew. The history teacher of the same school was also given fullest appreciation for her efforts to lead the student from the poorer periodicals to those of a higher type. On the other hand my attention was called to a waiting list of sixteen high school girls In a rural high school for the "Eyes of the world," and this but a sample of the reading of the young people of this community. A visit to the high school library of a very large school and a talk with the efficient librarian who devotes all her time to the students brought out many inter- esting facts. She said, by keeping the library open after school hours and us- ing her time to chat informally on all sorts of subjects, she was sure to bring the talk round to books and reading. The children felt her interest and not her authority, and were glad to go to the library for the book recommended. A voluntary class in public speaking and journalism brought an increased interest in books. Boys frankly confessed that they found their vocabulary enlarged by the reading she suggested and asked her for books that would help in business. By gaining their confidence, she was able to open up a line of reading bearing on advertising, efficiency and kindred sub- jects, and to demonstrate the real and practical value to their high school ac- tivities and school publications such books could have. One girl wanted her mind "fur- nished" presumably for social purposes and wanted books that would help her "know something." We come now to the factory library which will include the department store as well. This side of library reading is less known to many of us. There are a few factories supplying their young work- ers with reading, there could be many more. One high school librarian told me that the trouble was not so much that the children read trash but they did not read at all. If this be the case in the high school, how much more true it must be among the many who leave school in the grammar grades to go to work. I found in one department store that the young girl employees buy on bargain days dozens of the L. T. Meade books and others similar and circulate them. The gaudiest and cheapest of trashy fiction is placed before them at such prices that they can buy them and after having been fed on this class for a while, they seek the same kind at the public library, become discouraged if they do not find it and easily drop the reading habit. The movie play, novel- ized, is fast taking the place of the cheap paper novel. I need make no comment on the literary quality of the novelized movie. The circle that contains the bookseller who is the purveyor to the underground library, what shall I say of him! The easiest solution would be, of course, to eliminate one of the two upon whom the bookseller is dependent — the publisher or the author, which? Here we come to the very source of our troubles. — the author and the publisher. It is the same old story and there is nothing new about it but can we not talk over some way to put the syndicate author and the conscience- less publisher out of business? At least, if we drive the first nail in his coffin — or if we object to such drastic measures, we might insert the tiny wedge that will eventually topple over his structure, we shall not have met in vain. We are familiar with them all — the syndicate author, the series writer who can write as many books to a series as the publishers will dare to publish, the sweetly senti- mental author who goes right to the heart of the girl and who knows just how to end each novel so that another must be forthcoming to tell us how Susan "grew up" and another how she "decided" and WHITBECK 189 without doubt another to tell us how she almost was divorced. In this day of advertising, pursued al- most as an art, when publishers go to any length to get their new fiction before the people, when the magazines devote pages fore and aft to book notices couched in most glowing descriptions, what won- der that the young people ask for these books? How are they to discriminate or be expected to have our point of view? If a town library has carefully censored its fiction and refuses to buy the newer books that the young people are eager for, does it not work a more lasting harm by leaving the supplying of these books to the subscription libraries and rented col- lections which are not censored in the slightest degree. Would it not be better to have the girl read the mediocre book in the public library and to hope that through guidance she may become inter- ested in something better, than to have her get the rented collection habit and go from bad to worse unrestricted? I spent a morning in a large department store look- ing over the tables piled high with books in a series. I could hardly credit the salesman when he told me of the enormous sales. When I asked who bought them, he said that the parents, the boys themselves, many young men and the country stores. The boys acknowledged that they were not in the public library but could not see why. How can we expect the alive and alert boy who sees daily at the Ex- position the sensational and almost im- possible flying of the boy-aviator, to see any harm in the Boy-aviator series, the Submarines and all the rest of the thrill- ers? We may deplore the speediness and intenseness of the age but censoring boys' books in the library will never stop the reading if the supply is always at hand and the tables kept filled. Better written thrillers would be read just as willingly were they at hand. With us in the county library work, this is one of our greatest trials, to find the substitute for the de- partment store series. Miss Hunt once in a paper referred to the sanitary precautions that parents took to protect their children from the "deadly house fly, the mosquito, the com- mon drinking cup and towel." We feel this keenly when we look at these thou- sands of books cast in the same mold and realize that some parents are unwit- tingly allowing their children's moral estimates to be so lowered and vitiated. Do you feel that I have wandered from the reading of the adolescent? Yes, for the moment, to get at the root of the trouble. I feel sure that if our boys and girls either in the high school or at work select the poorest of the adult fiction, it is because a taste for this sensational read- ing has been given them in some way. The more vigorous mentally will survive and not have been harmed, possibly, but there will be thousands of mental weaklings whose moral estimates will become lowered and who can never recover from the vitiated taste. The wedge must be driven in before we reach the critical age and if we are in earnest we will read carefully the paper by Mr. Franklin K. Mathiews, Chief Scout librarian in the Publishers' Weekly of May 18th. Although the Children's Section of the A. L. A. has always stood for what Mr. Mathiews is now trying to do, I do not know that the matter has ever been brought so definitely before us as now. BERKELEY CONFERENCE READING IN RURAL DISTRICTS By Mrs. May Dexter Henshall. School Library Organizer, California State Library Every school district in California from the most isolated mountain or desert dis- trict to the most populous schools in towns or in cities is provided by law with funds for library purposes. The total amount expended by the elementary schools for the year ending June 30, 1914, was $160,- 011.03. In the beginning trustees and teachers were left to use their own discretion in the selection of books and apparatus. The rural people were far from any library cen- ter. The school libraries of today bear mute evidence of the fact that the free- dom to select books indiscriminately re- sulted in selection of books for the adults of the neighborhood while the children seemingly were forgotten. In order that the children's rights should be regarded a law was passed providing that county boards of education should adopt an approved list of books and ap- paratus and selections could be made only from this approved list. This was a step in the right direction but still did not bring about satisfactory results. County boards of education are very busy with their school duties. They have not the time to study books as they should in order to make approved lists that give the wide range of reading needed and at the same time exclude the undesirable ma- terial. Teachers change frequently in the rural schools. When the exchange of teachers occurs, the books and apparatus purchased by the first will often be dis- approved or disregarded by the second. Lack of right system, the least return for the money invested, absence of guid- ance in the children's reading and an un- intentional but utter disregard of the im- portant point that school libraries should be made an asset to the teachers and the pupils are facts any thinking person will admit upon inspecting an average school library. Absence of the moving pictures and the various other attractions of the cities should give the rural children the time and the inclination to read, but personal observation and the testimony of many teachers and superintendents show that the great majority of rural children under the district library system are doing very little reading. They cannot, because the district libraries contain only a small per- centage of books adapted to their needs. The following is an actual list of books from a rural school in California and has many duplicates in other districts. It may serve to answer the question, "Are the children in rural districts reading? If not, why not?" Carlyle-Emerson Correspondence, Vols. 1 and 2. Quintus Claudius. Vols. 1 and 2. Gibbon's Rome, Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Purpose and Success. The Old Santa Fe Trail. Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen. In the Lena Delta. In Darkest Africa, Vols. 1 and 2. Bancroft's Native Races of the Pacific States, Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Milton's Poetical Works. Practical Home and School Methods. The Century Book of Facts. The Wonders of Common Things. Mistress of the Manse. The Vicar of Wakefield. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. Rab and His Friends. Spectrum Analysis. Decisive Battles of the World. Gods and Heroes. Red Riding Hood. Polarization of Light. Footprints of Time and Analysis of Our Government. Darwin's Origin of Species. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Lives of Distinguished Females. The Socialist and the Prince. Tom Sawyer. Don Quixote. The Wonders of Science. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. Huxley's Anatomy of the Invertebrates. HENSHALL 191 The list contains four hundred books quite as interesting to children from six to fourteen years of age as most of the ones quoted. Recognizing that a system that fails to give children children's books is wrong, four years ago it was made legally pos- sible for the schools and county libraries to co-operate in order to give real library service to the schools. By this means the teachers and children have at their com- mand an expert to advise and assist them in selecting their books. The trustees are given the power to authorize the county librarian to become their purchasing agent. The excellent selection of subject matter as well as the buying of good editions, at- tractive covers, and readable print has re- sulted in giving the children the desire to read. A county superintendent that had schools receiving county library service wrote that upon investigation of about sixty schools he had found "The range of reading phe- nomenal." Another superintendent of a county not having co-operation between the school and the county library said, "Chil- dren in the rural schools are not reading because of lack of interesting books, limited library funds and poor selection of books." A county librarian of a county giving library service to district schools stated that at the end of the sixth month of school she had furnished 7,216 to thirty- seven schools. In the same length of time another county librarian had furnished twenty-five rural schools, transferring $1,115.05, with 5,688 books. The children's reading is guided in various ways: (1) The librarian and teachers come into close contact through the librarian's visits to the schools and seeing actual conditions, and the teacher in turn visiting the county library and examining the books that will give best service to the children. (2) Sending new titles and old favorites in good editions. (3) Use of lists and model collections at teachers' institutes. A talk on editions was given at one time with books to illustrate. (4) Use of printed lists. (a) Selected list of stories based on Cleveland's "75 books of ad- venture." (b) Distribution of the Pratt In- stitute library graded lists "What shall I read?" (c) Pasting a brief descriptive note on the outside cover of the book. (5) Use of sample collection of books. (6) Having the children tell the li- brarian or teacher their favorite books. (7) Special selections made by li- brarians for children who do not read often cause them to become interested in reading. (8) Story telling by the librarian or the teacher. (9) Giving a talk on a collection of new books sent to a school. (10) Close co-operation between the teacher and the librarian results in estab- lishing good reading habits among chil- dren. Investigation of children's reading has shown that they like the realistic stories rather than the fairy tales. Burgess' "Bedtime stories" delight the younger chil- dren. "Robinson Crusoe" in a good edition, well illustrated, never grows old. The Wal- ter Crane picture books are a joy to the children. The McLaughlin linen books are very popular with the little foreign children. The Coe and Christie Story Hour Readers, The Free and Treadwell primer and reader, with the Progressive Road to Reading following close after are favorites for school room use. Boys often ask for books on electricity. The following list of books gives a fair idea of the books being sent by county librarians to teachers to aid them in their work and give the pupils the right reading material. During the term the teacher will send in special requests for any other books desired by her or the children. BERKELEY CONFERENCE Allen, Industrial studies: Europe. Arnold, See and say series: Book 1. Arnold, See and say series: Book 2. Arnold, Stepping stones to literature. 3d reader. Altscheler, Guns of Shiloh Altsclieler, Soldier ot Manhattan Anderson, Stories and tales Baldwin, Baldwin's readers Baldwin. Fairy stories and fables. Blaisdell, Twilight town Blanchard, Girl of '76. Brady, Colonial fights and fighters Burchill, Plan of work for the Progres- sive road to reading Brown, Uncle David's boy Burgess, Goops and how to be them Burgess, More goops and how not to be them Burgess, Mother West Wind's animal friend Burnett, Little Lord Fauntleroy Burnham, Descriptive stories for all the year Carleton, Dorothy Carpenter, North America Carryl, Davy and the goblin Coe, Story hour readers primer Coe, Story hour readers Book 1. Coe, Story hour readers Book 2. Curtis, Marjorie's schooldays Curtis, Play and recreation Dinsmore, Teaching a district school Dimock, Be prepared Drysdale, Young supercargo Fassett, Beacon first reader Fassett, Beacon second reader Gilchrist, Helen and the uninvited guest Grinnell, Blackfoot Indian stories Grover, Overall boys Grover, Sunbonnet babies Half a hundred stories for the little people. Hamlin, Catharine's proxy Harrison, Panama Canal Heath, Heath readers 3d reader Hunt, California the golden Johnson, What to do at recess Kipling. Just so stories McDonald, Manuel in Mexico Maeterlinck, Bluebird Maxwell, Speaking and writing vol. 1-2. Mills. Spell of the rookies Maran, Kwahu Morgan, How to dress a doll Oswell, Old time tales Peary, Snow baby Perkins, Japanese twins Potter, Tale ot Mrs. Tittlemouse Potter, Tailor of Gloucester Rankin, Adopting of Rose Marie Roberts, Neighbors unknown Robinson, At the open door Ruskin, King of the Golden River Sabin, Early American history for young Americans St Nicholas Serl, In the animal world Sindelar, Nixie Bunny in workaday-land Smith, Boy Captive in Canada Smith, Boys and girls of seventy-seven Smythe, Primary reader Spyri, Heidi Sneath, Golden deed book Sneath, Golden door book Sneath, Golden key book Sneath, Golden path book Sneath, Golden word book Tappan, Children's hour Tomlinson, Boy soldiers of 1812 Tomlinson, Red chief Tomlinson, Three colonial boys Tomlinson, Washington young aids Wheelock, Birds ot California Wiltse, Hero folk of ancient Britain Wiley, Wewanee the little Indian boy. LIBRARY WORK WITH FOREIGNERS By Caroline P. Wersteb, Library Organizer, New York State Library After listening to a most delightful dis- cussion at the meeting of a literary club connected with a library in one of our inland villages on some of the striking biographies of the past two years, when the charm of "The promised land" was described with apparent feeling, "From alien to citizen" was referred to as a book that should be read by everyone who would know of the diflBculties and hard- ships of those who come to our shores with high hopes, and the marvelous faith that could not be shattered by the many disillusions awaiting Abraham Rhibany on his "Far journey" was dwelt upon with fervor. And when this was followed by a discussion on Immigration it seemed advis- able to give a practical turn to the meeting and suggest that the enthusiasm felt for these men and women could be diverted WEBSTER 193 into useful channels by broadening the library work of the village so that it would include the foreign-born residents. Little enthusiasm greeted the sugges- tion that foreigners be urged to use the library, that foreign papers be subscribed to and that books in foreign languages be placed upon the shelves. The objections raised were that "this sort of thing might be all right in some places, but the for- eigners in S were a poor lot;" "A few went to night school but it was English they wanted;" "There was not enough money to buy all the English books demanded in the village, so why create a new demand that could not be satisfied?" (A reason always given by the cautious and conservative when new work Is suggested.) This personal experience has a bearing on our discussion only so far as this vil- lage which we call S is typical. Perhaps ■we can decide whether or not it is and whether its prejudices are the prejudices of other villages in the country. Are its people peculiar in liking to read and dis- cuss the hardships of the immigrant, but think of him as someone far away? Are its library trustees typical? If so, are they going to "pull down the blinds" and hold themselves aloof from the stranger within their own little gates, while looking with admiring eyes at the stranger who has "made good" in the great world outside? If this point of view is typical, can Li- brary Commissions do anything to change this, or must they, too, "pull down the blinds" and be satisfied with work done with the English-speaking people in their borders? S is typical in so far as there are people there who care to read about immigration and its problems but have no feeling of responsibility toward the immigrant liv- ing two blocks away. Haven't we all known people who "loved to read nature books" but had little use for nature at first hand? We all know, too, that it is not the one who travels most who reads the travel books, and it is not the farmer, but the city man, who is the greatest reader of much of our farm literature. The psychol- ogy of all this would take us a long way from our present subject, but it is all typified in the request of a very ragged little girl who went into the Rochester Library one day last winter and said, "Please, lady, I want a story that tells of the sad and wealthy lives of the rich." S is typical in so far as a few of its people are self-satisfied — every community has a few people who are satisfied with things as they are, but fortunately no com- munity is entirely made up of such peo- ple — and if there is only one person in a community with a library vision for the for- eigners, "the blinds are going to be raised" and the Commission ought to be in a posi- tion to help raise them. Massachusetts, as usual a leader in things educational, grasped the opportu- nity for work in this line. In 1912 its Legislature authorized the Commission to appoint a secretary to look after the inter- ests of the foreign-speaking people in the state. Other states that are conscious of their needs must soon follow suit, for this is no academic question that we are dis- cussing, but a very real problem that is confronting us. When we pause to con- sider that almost one-third (to be exact, 30.2%) of the entire population of New York state is foreign born, that in Massa- chusetts 31.5% is foreign born, in Rhode Island 337c, Minnesota 26%, North Dakota 27%, California 24%-, and the New England states, once the most essentially American section of the country, now have less than two-fifths of its population consisting of native born of native parentage, it is not too much to expect to have some one on the Commission of each of those states whose entire time should be given to look- ing after the library interests of these people. It would seem to be a foregone conclu- sion that any state with a large foreign population should have someone connected with the Commission who would not only co-operate with libraries by giving advice as to selection and arrangement of for- eign books and suggesting a possible point 194 BERKELEY CONFERENCE of contact with each race, but such a per- son should be in touch with library trus- tees, employers of labor, patriotic and civic associations and foreign papers. The libraries in our smaller towns are still singularly remiss in their work with foreigners — as I write, two small libraries that are doing excellent work with their English patrons come to mind. They are libraries situated in villages with a popu- lation of about 6,000 people, two-thirds of whom are foreign born. These libraries are liberally supported by taxes (a portion of which is paid by foreigners). One of these has no books for foreigners on its shelves, while the other has 75 volumes in a traveling library from Albany. Should not these libraries be advised — not on the basis of missionary work, but as a measure of self-preservation — to study the needs of the foreigners and then to try to supply these needs? One does not have to go very deeply into this sub- ject to recognize in the foreigner of today the voter of tomorrow, the professor in the university the day after and our presi- dent the next generation. Many city libraries have for a number of years been awake to their opportunities and the foreigner has had equal opportu- nity with the native. One has only to think of Providence, and its work with foreigners under Miss Reid comes to mind; Passaic, and the work done by Miss Camp- bell with its foreign-born citizens stands out, or Buffalo, and we see the Polish branch, with Mrs. Kudlicka, a Polish woman, in charge. An so on through Cleveland, Chicago and New York, with their rooms and branches given over to various nationalities. But we are looking at it from a different angle and our problems are different from theirs. We must get the small library outlook on this as on other problems and study the situation through its eyes, but with a larger vision. Our problems differ •so. too, in different states, that it is with difficulty that one considers fundamental principles. The problem of one city is often greater than the problem presented by a whole state. Think of Calumet, with its 24 different nationalities, as against Minnesota with one nationality predomi- nating. The problems presented in the states populated from the northern coun- tries of Europe are as nothing compared with those from the eastern and southern countries. The Germans and the Swedes are so nearly akin to us that they rapidly Americanize, but the immigrants from the eastern and southern countries of Europe are slow to absorb our ideals. It is because of these differences that any general discussion of commission work is difficult, and it would be impos- sible to give any suggestions that would apply equally to all Commissions. The ideal, of course, for any state with a large foreign population is to have a person at- tached to the Commission whose whole time would be devoted to work with for- eigners. But the majority of our state legislatures have not seen the wisdom of such a course, and it is for us to consider another way out. For most Commissions at present, this is through the traveling library, and our traveling library problems can be briefly outlined in three questions: What sort of books shall we include in them? Where shall we find authoritative lists of books in foreign languages? How can the widest possible use be made of the books? I believe that books in foreign lan- guages must be included; books in as many languages as there are nationalities in a state. That the foreigner ought to have books in his own language I supposed had passed the period of debate, but dur- ing the past winter I have learned that there are library trustees and some teach- ers who feel that only English books should be bought for foreigners. Every time this is insisted upon I am reminded of Miss Campbell's story of the rebuke administered to her by one of her Slovak patrons when he approached her request- ing that she buy some books for the Slo- vak people. After listening to what he had to say, she asked him If from the WEBSTER 195 point of view of the library, he really thought it more desirable to provide books ill this language than to spend the money at their disposal in providing the very best books in English, which the foreigners could enjoy as soon as they had mastered the language? He turned on her at once and said: "My dear lady, I have read much and studied all about this country and have only found two things native to it, the Indian and the buffalo; now which are you that you speak of us as for- eigners?" But where are we to find the authorita- tive lists? There are many pitfalls for the unwary in buying foreign books for traveling libraries. The problem presents difficulties undreamed of in our own lan- guage. Following blindly the lists of others is always unsafe, but one must be doubly sure of the pilot in buying books in foreign languages. A short time ago, for our traveling libraries, we ordered from a dealer the duplicate of a list pub- lished by a library of the highest stand- ing, thinking we had a safe guide. To our amazement, when the books were received a manikin appeared with them. The mani- kin had been listed as a book on the li- brary list. It was useful to our medical department, but of little use in a traveling library collection. But for authoritative lists, what have we? There are the few A. L. A. lists and the invaluable Italian lists prepared by Mr. Carr for the Immi- grant Publication Society that are authori- tative, but they do not pretend to supply our needs. Can the League offer a way out by publishing more lists? Mr. Carr, president of the Immigrant Publication Society, In speaking at the meeting of the Eastern Section of the League in January, said that the Publication Society expects to publish a Yiddish list and one for the Spanish-speaking Jew, and they hope be- fore long to publish books on citizenship and United States history as well as books about America in simple English. This, of course, will be of great assistance, but the society is limited for funds and must perforce work slowly. At the Eastern Section meeting there was some discus- sion of close co-operation between the League and this society. To some a com- mission and library membership seemed advisable, but no decision was reached, for the needs of different commissions varied greatly. The society work at pres- ent is confined to so few languages, but there unquestionably will be opportunity for co-operation as the work develops. Beside the need for foreign books and authoritative lists for buying these books, we must have simple manuals in English, simple books for learning the language, books which tell in simple and clear Eng- lish the story of our country, its great men and its government. At present the compiling of such lists is comparatively easy, simply because there is so little ma- terial from which to choose. Couldn't the influence of the League be brought to bear upon publishers so that more and better books of this nature be published? At the meeting of the Eastern Section of the League it was demonstrated that work with foreigners was on the increase. The majority of the Commissions there represented reported that more books and in a greater number of languages were being demanded. The question was raised at that time as to whether it was advis- able to have a committee appointed for the League to report on work done by various commissions and perhaps suggest methods of future work, and they recom- mended to the Western Section, about to convene in Chicago, that such a committee be appointed. Of course, each state will have to solve its problems in its own way, but a central committee might be of great assistance and those of us who are grop- ing in the dark need all the assistance possible in our search for light. 196 BERKELEY CONFERENCE WORK WITH FOREIGNERS By Agnes Haksen, Seattle Public Library In the presence of people possessed of an experience in ttiis field of work so much greater than our own, we feel a certain temerity, even presumption, in dis- cussing our recent efforts to establish re- lations between the foreigners in Seattle and the Seattle public library. But since work with foreigners in the West pre- sents problems somewhat different from those arising in the East or Middle West, we hope an account of our activities along this line will have an interest for you suffi- cient to elicit the suggestions of which we stand most in need. Of course, every seaport town is bound to have a foreign element. Nevertheless, we were rather amazed on investigating the matter in Seattle, to learn of the va- rieties of nationalities in our midst, and the large proportion they constitute of our population. Our first step, once it was decided to give special attention to the library needs of these people, was to make a survey of their numbers, their neighborhoods, their clubs, their newspapers and their special activities. Information bearing on these points was obtained for the most part from the consulates located in the city, and by visits made to the English-for-foreigners classes in the night schools. From the former source we learned of a number of foreign organizations existing in the city — benevolent, literary and political — through acquaintance with which we hope to come into closer touch with the members, and from our night school visits we learned more definitely than would otherwise have been possible the localities favored by cer- tain nationalities. In the densely popu- lated eastern cities, where the immigrants colonize according to nationality, this is a knowledge easy to come by, but it is not so immediately obvious in our west- ern towns, where they may be said to "favor" rather than monopolize certain lo- calities. They seem much more inclined to monopolize certain occupations, the Greeks engaging for the most part in the bakery, coffee-house, and liquor business, the Italians in truck-gardening and boot- blacking (the Greeks, however, are begin- ning to dispute their monopoly in the lat- ter line), the Croatians in fishing, and the .Japanese in small mercantile pursuits, while the Scandinavians and Germans, on the contrary, pursue a variety of occupa- tions. Knowledge of these facts proves of not a little value in foreign book selection. Because of the friendly co-operation of the teachers in the night schools, we have been able in many instances to come into very close personal touch with the for- eign pupils attending the night classes, and by a foreknowledge of their interests, have succeeded in arousing sufficient en- thusiasm in them on their first visit to the library to inspire them to bring friends or relatives when they come again. Of course, our work with foreigners does not present half the difficulties which beset libraries in certain large eastern cities, ports of entry for immigrants, for instance, or manufacturing towns, where the population is made up largely of fac- tory employes of foreign nationality. Li- braries in such localities are confronted with problems decidedly more sociological than ours, dealing as they must with what one might call the "raw material." By the time the European immigrant reaches our western coast he has usually come under the Influence of some social agency, and the process of Americanization has already begun. While this may make our work less difficult, it does not make It less interesting. Through our visits to the night schools we reach the element most nearly resembling the immigrants familiar to eastern libraries. But while information that we have books in their own languages may induce them to accept HANSEN 197 our invitation to visit the library, once tliere, their interest almost immediately spreads to the English books, and the books that prove most popular with them are our "Books for new Americans," his- tories and biographies, spellers and letter- writers, and books about the countries from which they come. It is an interest- ing fact that among not a few there is a fear that reading in their own language may retard their progress in learning Eng- lish. Since, however, these sternly de- voted students of our own language are usually only in the second reader in the night schools and hardly as yet able to read without difficulty the English books they so earnestly desire, we are making for their benefit lists of the English trans- lations we have of books in our foreign collections. These lists enable us partial- ly to satisfy the na'ive demand for Eng- lish books that also contain translations in the language of the borrower, inter- linear, in parallel columns, or on opposite pages, — a strange type of book with which an amazing number seem to be familiar, to judge from the frequency of the request. However, they are quite as well satisfied if given an American or English book in the original, and a translation of the same into their own language, in a separate vol- ume. In order to suppiy the demand for this sort of loan, we endeavor to keep our foreign collections well supplied with translations of our best American and Eng- lish standards. The number of English translations of foreign books of course greatly exceeds the number of our foreign translations of English books, since our foreign collections are as yet not extensive, but this works no harm, inasmuch as the foreigner is likely to be flattered rather than disappointed to be introduced to a translation of some standard of his own language, especially if it is one with which he is already familiar. In the latter case his memory of the context is often such as to minimize for him the linguistic diffi- culties of the text. Although the immigrant portion of our population claims so large a part of the attention we give to foreign work, there is another element which, while it makes perhaps a less stirring appeal, is quite as important. This is composed of the naturalized, or Americanized, foreigners who still cherish a love for the literature of their native country and whose demand for "new" books in their various languages is as insistent as that of our American borrowers. We have little enough money to spend in the purchase of foreign books, and as a consequence, feel especially keenly the lack of reliable and authoritative lists from which to make our selections to the best advantage. Although there exist some excellent lists for the forming of basic col- lections, there is a crying need for regu- larly appearing supplements, by means of which the foreign collections of a library may be kept as up-to-date as its Eng- lish collection. The ideal tool would be an annual publication listing the best books published in the principal Euro- pean languages during the year, enriched with brief annotations. Even without an- notations, such a list, if compiled by an organization of the highest standing, com- posed of experts in the various languages, would be invaluable. In the event of such an all-embracing publication being for the present unrealizable, it is to be hoped the League of Library Commissions, before adjourning, will see its way clear to organ- izing some plan whereby this deeply felt want may be satisfied, either by uniting forces with the Immigrant Publication Society of New York or with other bodies equally qualified and interested in this field of library work. The fact that the foreign population of a city the size of Seattle is composed of two distinct elements, the one immigrant, with all that implies, the other of a high average intelligence and culture, shows the breadth of view it is necessary to bring to the task of compiling foreign lists that may prove of equal service through- out the country, because not only are there sharply contrasted elements in the foreign population of the cities, but the 198 BERKELEY CONFERENCE foreign populations of the states often dif- fer radically in character. There are pit- falls of many kinds to avoid, not the least of which is the tendency to regard all foreign readers as immigrants, whom it Is the sacred duty of the American public library to protect and elevate, socially, morally and intellectually, forgetful of that large class of foreigners who, already Americanized, are still imbued with their own nationality, and whose intelligence craves a greater variety of Intellectual food than their newly arrived compatriots. We seem to have wandered from the Seattle public library, but in reality we are only giving voice to our most pressing need, — adequate, reliable lists from which to supplement our foreign collections. We look forward with intense longing to the day when Mr. John Foster Carr's list of Yiddish books will appear, and the list of Russian books upon which we have been given to hope the A. L. A. publishing board is now working. BRINGING THE LIBRARY TO THE RT"r!AI, POPULATION: MULTNOMAH CO., OREGON By Rdth Crocker, Portland {Ore.) Library Associatioii The county of Multnomah is a small one, with no large town outside of Port- land. To the west are forested hills, and winding roads lead to the few scattered hamlets. Eastward the land is more level until one comes to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, and there are more populous farming districts. By means of library deposit stations and classroom li- braries in schools scattered through the territory, it is now possible for every resi- dent to enjoy library privileges. Owing to the small size of the county, every dis- trict of it can be visited several times a year. By means of these visits the libra- rian learns what localities need libraries, supervises the stations already established, and develops the interest of the people In the library. In the fall of the year a visit is made to every school in the county, for that is the time when fresh books are sent out from the school department. Talks are given to the children not only about the books in their classroom library, but about the opportunity of their parents and elders to have a library station in the neighborhood. Stops are made at cross- road post offices and general stores, and the uses and privileges of a library station are explained. If following these announcements a re- quest is received for the establishment of a station, a second visit is made by the librarian or superintendent of branches, to see what quarters are desirable and avail- able, and the finding of a custodian willing to volunteer her services is left to the people. On this visit the superintendent of branches takes time enough to meet the people and become sufficiently ac- quainted with them to know their names and recognize them when they return her visit at the library. When the books are sent out, a third visit is made. The deposit station quar- ters are arranged, it may be in a store, a post office, a schoolhouse or a farmhouse. A sign, "Public Library Station," is placed conspicuously. The custodian is instructed in the charging and care of the books. Sometimes multigraphed notices of the coming of the library books are sent to the local residents, and sometimes the books are first displayed at a meeting of the grange or parent-teacher organization, though this involves the carrying of the books from the station to the place of meeting. After the station is established, if it is not too remote, the superintendent of branches or an assistant visits it on an CROCKER 199 average of once in six or eight weeks, to see what books are needed and to sug- gest to the custodian interesting and usable books that might circulate more. Some of the stations are too inaccessible to be visited often, but all are visited twice a year. When the visits are made now, it is found that everybody except the newcom- ers knows about the library privileges. The library visitors are cordially wel- comed as old friends. The work of bringing the library's re- sources to the rural population in Mult- nomah county has been done not by print- ed advertisement in newspapers, nor by the making of formal addresses, but by going out into the highways and greeting the people along the roads, learning their names, listening to their reports of crops and stock, and telling in friendly fashion of the books the library is so glad to sup- ply. This feeling of acquaintance leads the people to write to the librarian or come fearlessly to her office at any time to consult about books. Both the librarian and the superintend- ent of branches are enthusiastic members of the grange, and by frequent attendance at the meetings and participation in the social part of these occasions, they cement the feeling of interest in "our library." TEN THOUSAND MILES OF A. L. A. TRAVEL The Going Trip "It's a long, long way to California, In the warm days of May, But it's worth all it costs to go there Just to see the A. L. A. Mr. Wellman is our leader. When he' calls us we'll be there — But when we get to San Francisco We're going to— THE FAIR!" As soon as the American Library Asso- ciation voted to hold its 1915 Conference at Berkeley, California, plans were formu- lated for a railroad trip across the conti- nent. During the winter months details were worked out, features added, side trips changed, in an endeavor to provide, in this, the fourth trans-continental journey of the A. L. A., the best trip with the least dis- comfort at a reasonable cost. When at last the long awaited 24th of May arrived the Easternmost contingent, thirteen travelers, with yellow tagged bag- gage, started from Boston, on the Fall River boat-train, and the next day were joined by some sixty New Yorkers under Mr. Brown's parental care. All were soon comfortably settled in four special steel Pullmans on a Pennsylvania express, and after a pleasant journey through the moun- tains and a good night's sleep, reached Chi- cago, after breakfast May 26, where at the fine new Northwestern station a social hour was in order. Over forty "Middle Westers," guided by Mr. Phelan, here joined us, and many Chicago librarians were down to see us off. Two more sleepers were added to the train, and with observation car, two diners and baggage-car we pulled out as the "A. L. A. Special." Then came surprise number one; the part of the trip where hot weather seemed sure, — across the farms of Iowa, and the prairies of Nebraska and Colorado — proved so cool and rainy that steam heat was really comfortable on the cars. Of course we stopped now and then and added a librarian to our company; got a couple of good ones somewhere in Iowa in the dark, and others fully as desirable late at night in Nebraska. The process of getting acquainted was proceeding rapidly now, as each member wore a little disk of white bearing his name, a plan which seemed an improve- ment over the numbered buttons. On May 27 Denver was reached about 2 p. m. and sightseeing automobiles were in waiting. The weather was delightfully clear after the morning rain. Some saw the city, the parks and zoo, in the "being 200 BERKELEY CONFERENCE seen-by-Denver" auto-cars, others made Lookout Mountain their objective point and returned with exuberant accounts of snowy mountains, and cailons deep and gloomy. Shopping was enjoyed by all, and many an unsuspecting postcard, and fire-agate ring was annexed to the party. During dinner at Hotel Savoy, Mr. Charles R. Dudley, lovingly known to the old guard as "Dud," graced our company with his presence, and his genial countenance added to our pleas- ure at being again in the beautiful city where he and Mr. Dana had, in 1895, enter- tained us so well. In the evening Librarian Hadley provided enjoyment in plenty in the fine library building. A most entertaining talk by the naturalist, Enos A. Mills, on the National Parks, was followed by music, refresh- ments, and opportunity for dancing until it was time to retire to and on the special train at the Union Depot. May 28, we were up early in order to miss no part of the wonderful Rocky Moun- tain scenery. From Pike's snowy Peak at breakfast to the beautiful canon of the Eagle River at sundown the day was one of impressive views. The Royal Gorge seen from the top-less observation car was traversed about noon, its sheer sides rising over two thousand feet in pinnacles and crags, almost over the track. We ad- mired the rushing, foaming Arkansas River which seemed to dispute with the railroad for passage. We marvelled con- stantly at the engineering skill which had carried a railway successfully through such an apparently impassable mountain region as the Denver and Rio Grande line trav- erses for five hundred miles. After the Gorge came glimpses of Mt. Massive, and other snow capped peaks, then the Collegiate Range — Harvard, Yale and Princeton, — and the more distant Sangre de Cristo Moun- tains, their snowy summits tinged with red by the setting sun. Soon after we had seen the smoke from the Leadville smelters rising over a near- by slope we were at Tennessee Pass, over ten thousand feet above sea level, — the Continental Divide. It was passed, w^ith almost no discomfort to any member of the party — another evidence, if any was needed, of what a splendid party we had. Then, coasting down into the dusk, we had that, to the writer, most beautiful view of all the day, — the green broad val- ley far below on the right, the serrated peaks looming high on the opposite side and all about, those Colorado evergreen trees, growing like so many exclamation points on the mountain slope, where the train winds its way downward, clinging to its little rocky shelf. Glenwood Springs had been chosen as the point for the mid-continental rest, a chance to gain strength and make up sleep by a day and night "on shore." Ho- tel Colorado, w-here we had a late but ex- cellent dinner May 28, and a long restful day the 29th, convinced all of the wisdom of the plan. Everyone had the best room in the house, and the proprietor was gener- ously Intent on making us all want to come again. The ride up the Grand River Canon In the morning showed Colorado scenery at Its best, dozens of new wild flowers to col- lect along the roadside, water falls, caiions, crags, and the rushing river. We passed a canvas topped emigrant wagon equipped with storage room for furniture, with beds and stove ready for family needs en route. The woman, when we inquired their des- tination said: "We haven't decided yet where we will locate." Road gangs, — con- victs on parole, — were at work, and we were impressed by the absence of prison garb or restraint of any sort. After lunch, and our moving-picture group by Pathg Frferes, some of us tried tlie hot sulphur spring swimming pool, and groat was our enjoyment of this novel treat- — but oh! Wasn't the bottom of the pool slippery, and how heavy our bathing suits seemed as we emerged from the dense water. After an early supper, refreshed and with new life, we found our train and were soon speeding West. That evening a party of young people paraded through the train about bed-time singing the Tipperary tune to the words at the A. L. A. TRAVEL 201 head of this narrative, serenading the president. Thenceforth our Chorus was frequently in evidence, new songs being composed to fit each occasion. Sunday morning Salt Lake City greeted us, and after breakfast at Hotel Utah, pri- vate automobiles, provided through the courtesy of Miss Esther Nelson of the Utah University Library and Miss Johanna Sprague of the Public library, took the whole library party all about the city, and out through the old Mormon trail to the high boulevard drive lately completed. Here was spread out before us the view of the city and its surrounding ranges of mountains. No more beautiful spot can be imagined than was here chosen by the first settlers. On our return to town, an organ recital at the Mormon Tabernacle, arranged es- pecially for us, by Organist McLellan, was thoroughly enjoyed, and just before noon our special train started South with Miss Nelson added to our party for the rest of the trip. The Great Salt Lake was now out of sight and for the next twenty-four hours we had a desert journey from Utah, through Nevada to California — such an interesting desert with its hills and val- leys and prairies of Yucca palm and cac- tus. The party had by this time become thor- oughly at home on its train, and groups were to be found visiting friends in the various cars, or discussing the topics of the day in the observation car, which had a nice little parlor, as well as several card rooms, a barber-chair and a buffet. We had a printed list of members, but that, though useful, didn't describe tlie company. Let us try to call to mind a few. First there was the genial Eastern editor — and his ever-helpful charming wife. Their draw- ing room latch-string was always out, though he was rather more likely than not to be found deep in literary work. In car E105 sits the breezy western editor, and there the young ladies desirous of better- ing their library positions held confidential conferences. Cheerful Charlie was ever present, going up and down the train giving "lowers" to "uppers," and handing out compartments when apparently none were available. The New England sextette — or was it really a quintette — always together off or en the train. They showed the Western un- believers that New Englanders were hu- man after all, and rather good company too, though so exclusive. How to behave when you have lost all your money was de- lightfully demonstrated by one Easterner, aided by a good sister. AH will remember the candy-man, who so thoughtfully provided sweets for the la- dies all the way, even into Canada on the return. There were three pleasant ladies who al- ways had a timely question every time a member of the Travel Committee went by. We enjoyed them, for the queries were usu- ally easy. Remember that good soul who knew her ticket had been stolen, — forgetful that she had loaned it to the conductor the day be- fore, and held his receipt? The optimist was with us, who was sure it would soon clear, and be beautifully cool. But why continue — only to say there wasn't a kicker among them all. On May 31, just before noon, with the first really warm weather of the trip, the desert suddenly changed to orange groves as we approached San Bernardino, Califor- nia. Then a few miles beyond our train stopped at Riverside, where Mr. Daniels, waving a banner, greeted us, bedecked us with orange Riverside badges, and by the aid of a fleet of private automobiles, con- veyed us In a moment to the Glenwood Mission Inn. Here in the inner courtyard, amid tropical surroundings, and with Span- ish music, an orange luncheon was served. The quick transformation from desert to such fertility, and the foreign touch given by architecture, decorations and music, made this luncheon in the open southern California air so wonderfully attractive that the Impression created upon all, espe- cially those new to California, will never fade. It typified California's welcome to 202 BERKELEY CONFERENCE the American Library Association. After lunch, a group picture, then an auto trip to the top of Mt. Roubidoux, and it was necessary to take our train again for the short journey to the Coast, where, at Los Angeles that evening, Mr. Perry of the Public library had arranged for special cars, a fine dinner at Hotel Alexandria, and an hour's inspection of his library. Our stay here in Los Angeles was made the more pleasant by the presence of Miss Helen E. Haines, formerly prominent in American Library Association councils, who was looking so well and hearty that we hardly knew her, and all her old friends were rejoiced in her greatly im- proved health. Again we are at home on our train for the long evening run to San Diego, and so heavy was our train equipment that the Santa F6 quite misjudged the time re- quired, and it was after midnight when the U. S. Grant Hotel received us. Two nights in the same stationary bed was in- deed a treat, when such a hotel as the U. S. Grant was our resting place. Two days in one place seemed quite a novelty also, and every moment was filled with sight- seeing. Mrs. Davison of the Public library had planned, with the local library club, a right royal reception for us June 1 in the California building at the Panama-Califor- nia Exposition. Tliis was followed by a talk by Dr. Hewett, director of the Ameri- can School of Archaeology, on the archaeo- logical history of the Soutliwest, after whicli he conducted the party through the buildings. The horticultural features, so prominent and pleasing a part of this ex- position, were shown by Miss Sessions, and a delightful buffet lunch was provided for us in the patio of the Southern Cali- fornia counties building. Spanish archi- tecture, with Spanish mandolins, and Span- ish singing and dancing, added to the charm of tliis delightful repast, and all compared it with that other California luncheon of the previous day at Riverside. The Fair was much enjoyed, its restful compactness, its glorious gardens, and those cute little chairs for two, which, by the aid of a storage battery, allowed such deliberate sight-seeing, with no exertion except to one's pocketbook. But the Fair was only one feature. Old Mexico's bor- der line was within an easy ride and sev- eral ventured over. Coronado Beach, world-famous resort, was visited by many. A pilgrimage to Point Loma, of theosoph- ical tame, was enjoyed by a large party. Some launched around the bay, or mo- tored to Ramona's house at Oldtown. In the evening after a jolly cafeteria supper, where even our president had to wait in line with his tray, we visited the "Isthmus" shows, — one staid New Englander going so far as to bet on a toy horse race, winning a box of chocolates, which she, to square her conscience, distributed to the losers. June 2, at one o'clock, we were gathered at our special, and when finally engines were secured, the start was made on the last stretch of the pre-conference journey. Several of our San Diego library friends joined us and passing through Los Angeles wo picked up other delegates, among them the Grand Canyon party, who had left us in Denver, seemingly weeks ago. With one hundred fifty on our train, we dined from two Southern Pacific diners, and many considered this the best train meal of the trip — especially the cherry pie — a local dish which recurred constant- ly from here on but which the "third sit- ters" usually found exhausted. The plan followed throughout the trip of assigning sittings at the first, second or third table, was an innovation which worked even bet- ter than the committee had hoped. It gave nearly everyone his choice of meal hour and avoided the usual "standing in the al- ley" awaiting seats. Owing to a blocked tunnel on the Val- ley route, we were sent over the Coast line, and instead of reaching Berkeley for breakfast, we had an a la carte meal on the train and it was nearly one o'clock when we bade farewell to our homelike Pullmans at University Avenue station. Now for a brief six days the Travel Committee's responsibility ended and an- other shall chronicle the conference period. A. L. A. TRAVEL 203 Here each of the three members of the committee received a substantial token of appreciation from the members of the party — a Gladstone bag to one, a fine um- brella to another, a toilet case to the third. It was a pleasant surprise, and the com- mittee appreciated the attention, as it showed their efforts had given general sat- isfaction. Yet, with such an exceptionally good party of travelers and such a happy family the conductors' task was but a pleasure. The committee would here ex- press their heartfelt thanks for all the many courtesies and kind words received. The Returning Trip On June 9, after an interesting confer- ence and a glorious though all too fleeting glimpse of the great Panama-Pacific Ex- position, and San Francisco, the time for starting homeward was at hand. All had enjoyed the week and appreciated the hos- pitality of the local committees. At 8 p. m. nearly an even hundred gath- ered at the Oakland ferry station to re- sume their travels. Many of our friends of the Western journey were to return independently, but a goodly number came to the station to bid us bon voyage, and several, when they saw the familiar crowd and the special cars, were homesick that they, too, were not to be of our merry party. The glee club gave several of its songs and all joined in the choruses dur- ing the half hour before our special start- ed. Truth compels us here to add that two of our men (and men were so scarce) missed the train, but joined us safely two days later. June 10 was Shasta day, the big white mountain being visible for hours from the car windows. A short stop at Shasta Springs gave all a view of the pretty wa- terfall, and afforded an opportunity to try the spring water — very like Apollinaris In taste. Today again, we had canyons and rushing rivers, and forests as of yore, but we missed the observation car, which no pleading of the committee had succeeded in obtaining. Like the restaurateur who would not give bread with one fishball, the Southern Pacific would not add an obser- vation car for less than the one hundred and twenty-five fares agreed upon by all the United States lines. Didn't it seem good to have coupons for meals again, after having to spend so much "real" money to eat during those six days off the train! Wasn't it like old times again to "visit" in the cars? There were many missing, it is true, but several newcomers were aboard. A new and di- minished edition of the party names was distributed. The "goggle girls" were again to be seen, with their colored caps and smiling faces. The man with the apple orchard and niece was now with us, telling of the one and introducing the other. He who lost his suit cases at Berkeley, hav- ing removed the American Library Asso- ciation tags in order to get regular hotel rates, was cheerful under adversity. Now that there was no observation car, it was more nearly possible to give satisfaction to the lady who must be next the Observa- tion and Diner. The originator of the "Sleeper for men only" was still with us, and like all great inventors, he had been imitated, for there was a sign on one car, "Ladies only." It must be recorded, however, that when the conductor, reading the sign, threatened to put out every man found visiting in that car, a strong protest in feminine voices was heard. Ashland was our first stop in Oregon, and here baskets of brilliant Oregon roses were brought aboard and distributed with the compliments of the ladies of the place. On the morning of June 11, the party arrived for breakfast at Isomville, known to the outside world as Portland. Miss Isom of the Public library had provided private autos tor a ride to the Heights, and also had so planned the Rose Festival that we enjoyed the final day, with its parade, its gala decorations, and, in the evening, the beautiful electric parade. Nor shall we soon forget the afternoon recep- tion she gave for us at her new and splen- didly designed library building. The sys- tem of guiding us over the building from 204 BERKELEY CONFERENCE the engine room to the top of the stack was a triumph, and showed the planning of a master mind. At 11:30 we retired aboard our train, and awoke very early nest morning at Tacoma, Washington, where, with Kaiser- Uche thoroughness, the librarian had planned a drive, not into the enemies' country, but to the base of that kingly Mt. Tacoma, and the Mt. Rainier National Park. After an early breakfast at Tacoma Hotel, over seventy of the party started on the one hundred and fifty mile trip, by auto, to the mountain. The almost perfect roads, the primeval forests of enormous trees, — some of them three hundred feet In height and nearly ten feet in diameter, — the gorges and jutting ridges, the pleasant luncheon at National Park Inn, the home- cooked and unique chicken dinner at 8 p. m. at Chicken Dinner Inn, where the chorus again sang its songs, and last, but not least, the visit after lunch to Nisqually Glacier, with opportunity for all to stand upon its snout; all these and other joys make this day stand out as perhaps the best one-day trip of the whole journey — even though the mountain failed to show its hoary head, and in spite of the efforts of the "Bluebird" auto to mar the pleasure. Here Mr. Phelan, of the Travel Committee, left the party for home, planning to make sure of our arrangements at coming stops. From Tacoma to Seattle most of the party chose the Puget Sound steamer for a quiet Sunday morning trip, — (quiet except while the lady thought the porter had forgotten to put aboard her little wicker basket) — and by noon our whole company, numbering now but eighty-two, was settled at Hotel Washington. Four big cars took us for a delightful three-hour ride Sunday afternoon, and we saw, by the courtesy of Librarian Jen- nings, our host, four of his branch libra- ries, which were very attractive; much of the suburbs of Seattle, surrounding its three lakes; and the University, which now uses many of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Fair buildings for its purposes. Finally, to com- plete our enjoyment, Mt. Tacoma (in Seat- tle called Mt. Rainier) appeared, a faint pink pyramid, seemingly floating just above the horizon — and we knew what we had visited and missed the day before! Monday, June 14, was Puget Sound day, a restful all-day steamer trip to Vancouver, with two hours after lunch, at Victoria, where Mr. Scholefield met us at the dock and motored us all over his beautiful city, and through its parks, finally ending at his new Provincial library, just finished, but as yet without books. Here our host bade us welcome, and provided such delicious home-made candies, and tasty delicacies we forgot we had but recently had a sub- ctantial meal on board the steamer. Even a traveling brewer found the refreshments O. K. until, being asked what library he represented, he beat a hasty retreat, mum- bling something about his mistake. After dinner that evening, the "Princess Victoria" docked at Vancouver, and a hap- py, rested party was conveyed by autos to the new palatial Vancouver Hotel for the night. Here Mr. Douglas of the Public library met us and told his plans for our morning. He wanted to show us so much it was necessary to cut out over half the trip suggested, but we did enjoy to the full our delightful ride, first through Stan- ley Park, with its big trees, and fine views of bay and ocean, then to Shaughnessey Heights, one of the best residence sec- tions of Vancouver, and finally back by the Marine Drive to the Carnegie library, where Mr. Douglas and his daughter, both of whom had accompanied us on the ride and explained the points of interest, re- ceived us in the librarian's oflSce and spread out before us the book treasures of the library, which Mr. Douglas has gath- ered during the years he has been libra- rian. As we were leaving Vancouver, on the afternoon of June 15, it seemed as if this city was the most attractive we had vis- ited — an impression we remembered hav- ing voiced regarding each city along our journey after we had been shown its at- A. L. A. TRAVEL 205 tractions. Our versatile glee club cele- brated this visit by a new song. Vancouver Yip Vancouver, B. C, B. CI Yip Vancouver, B. C.! I don't care wliat becomes of me As long as I stay in this pleasant cit-ee! Sing of joy, sing of bliss, Home was never like this! Yip, Vancouver, B. C! The Canadian Pacific Railway had pro- vided a special train, and also an observa- tion car, even though we had but eighty- two in our party. This last attention was thoroughly appreciated by all, even though that irrepressible young librarian sat out there and persistently told of the wonder- ful Itchy-Witchy and its Itchy-Witchy ways. Another surprise was the a la carte dining service, where our coupons were good for one dollar, and if we were frugal It was possible to get quite a little silver back in change, — 'twas like finding money, — but the meals were so good few saved anything more than a tip for the waiter, and even that went by the board when cherry pie appeared on the menu. — What beautiful scenery did the A. L. A. party at dinner remind one of? Why, the Royal Gorge, of course! The views from the train became more and more grand as we ascended the val- ley of the Eraser River, at times thread- ing narrow winding canyons, very wild and beautiful. We passed strange stations^ who could have named them — Spuzzum, Statsum, Walhachin, Kamloops, Ducks, Shuswap. The railway then enters a green and fertile ranching country. As dusk ap- proached (and in June all through this northwest country the twilight lasts well up to nine o'clock) our party was in an unusually expectant mood for there had been posted on the observation car bul- letin an announcement extraordinary — "Vaudeville show in dining car at 8:30." This unique entertainment, gotten up without previous planning, proved a howl- ing (no reflection on the chorus) success. Several of the dining car waiters took part giving English coster dialect songs. and Scotch dialect recitations, but the program, of which we give excerpts be- low, will serve to show a little of the versatility of library parties. The Merrt Midnight Minstrels Managers— Bill Spaulding De Rue, Bob Hughes De Rue. Ushers— Eddie Redstone, Georgie God- ard. The Floradora Sextette Girls. Mamie Burnham, famous in Irish and Russian dances. (Algernon S. Prize beer-fed baby of Canada.) (Reginald S. Prize milk-fed baby of U. S. A.) Competing for first beauty prize. Fannie Myers, nurse. Indian War Dance, by the chief of the Library Indians. The Lovett Sisters, Lil and Lou. Francesca de M, Spanish Dancer. Bill S. Champion Heavy Weight in his great standin' aroun' act. Solos, duets, quartettes and choruses by members of the troupe. Here is a sample song. Homeward Bound (Tune: John Brown's Body.) We've been to California and we've been to see the Fair, We've seen the roaring rivers and we've breathed the mountain air. We've seen the Western cities and we've sailed on Puget Sound, And now we're homeward bound. Chorus: Three long cheers for our jour- ney. (3 times.) For now we're homeward bound. A "Bluebird" took a flight one day, way up a mountain road, A jolly crowd went with her, and it made a gorgeous load. But on the homeward journey, when their hearts were all on fire. The Bluebird did RETIRE. Chorus bird BANG went the tire on the Blue- As she came flying home. Some girls went on a walking trip with Brown as chaperon, They saw a camp up in the woods and wanted it for home. "Nay, nay," said Brown, "We'd best go back, for duty's calling me Away from Nisqually." 206 BERKELEY CONFERENCE Chorus: "Nay," said Brown, "We'd best be going" Away from Nisqually. ™„„ The whole affair created much merri- ment, and the "troupe" played to a full house, the chefs and waiters in the rear being as much interested as our own people. Mr. Forrest Spaulding was the chief promoter and actor and had able assistants, especially in the costume de- partment. June 16 it rained, and the Selkirks hid their heads. At Glacier House we saw not a sign of Mt. Sir Donald or any of his companions, and were glad we had not planned a day stop here, as was at first contemplated. Toward afternoon, near Field, the clouds broke away and we caught entrancing glimpses of snowfields, and white peaks, and had beautiful vistas up and down the valley of the Kicking Horse River. Just after passing the Con- tinental Divide the train stopped at Lag- gan, where the little tram-line starts for Chateau Lake Louise, three miles away, where we spent three nights and two days. It proved a most charming spot, and a hotel such as one would like to live in for weeks instead of days; but the clouds had again closed in and we saw no mountains that evening. The next morning the outlook was very moist though at 11 a. m. the clouds broke away and for two hours we caught glimpses of mountains among the clouds, but our views were soon quenched by cloudv rain. Many intrepid mountaineers took walks, pony rides and drives to points of interest, hoping it would again clear. All returned wet but happy and with never one word of complaint. A snowstorm en- livened things in the afternoon, a dance in the evening. We were lulled to sleep by the patter of raindrops outside our win- dows. J i-J MoRBAixE Lake There is a drive at Lake Louise, Lake Louise, ., The dampest known between the seas, 'tween the seas, 'Twas there we saw a June snowstorm And the mist-shrouded mountains form. Fare thee well, for I must leave thee. Full of mud and water leave thee, With a rivulet a-running Down my neck and back; Adieu, adieu, dear drive, adieu, adieu, adieu, I can no longer stay with you. stay with vou. So I'll hang my clothes before the roaring grate And on thy glories meditate. Next morning, after breakfast, the sun burned through the mists, and the snow peaks and glaciers appeared. Everyone went forth to enjoy these Canadian Alps. The wonderful color— a turquoise green— of Lake Louise was remarked by all. Many went on pony-back to Lake Agnes, where the ground and trees were white with recent snow, and where the delightful English lady in charge of the tea house, told us what a "perfectly ripping day it was after the beastly weather of yester- day." Drives to Morraine Lake (which yesterday's water-soaked party re-chris- tcned More Rain Lake), tramps to the glacier, and Paradise Valley filled the day. though the clouds again shut down to- wards night. A surprise was sprung on the Travel Committee that evening, when at seven o'clock all gathered in the special dining room to find it decorated with flags and Iceland poppies. Flag-draped chairs were placed for the Committee, on either side of Mr. Bowker, who acted as presiding of- ficer calling, between courses, for speeches from various members of the party on the general topic of "What do you think of ■ the Travel Committee?" The chorus was heard from too, a new song being added to its repertoire. A Toast to the Travel Committee. (Tune: "Lord Goffery Amherst was a sol- dier of the King.") Oh here's to Mr. Faxon and our jolly ' A. L. A., And the travel committee too. And here's to Mr. Phelan, who has left us by the way. And forsaken our merry crew, A. L. A. TRAVEL 207 And here's to Mr. Brown, who came direct from Brooklyn town; To chaperon the party was his cue. And here's to Mr. Wellman, who's our leader all the way, And last, but not least, HERE'S TO YOU. Chorus: A. L. A., A. L. A., 'Tis a name that's known From sea to sea, A. L. A., A. L. A.; From the A. L. A. are we. This testimonial dinner, planned by Mrs. Bowker, w-as carried out with such secrecy that many besides the members of the Committee were kept in complete ignor- ance. From Lake Louise to Banff is but a short train trip of an hour, and at Banff was our last scheduled stop. The day, June 19, broke rainy, but A. L. A. luck was still with us, and shortly after lunch at the Banff Springs Hotel, the sun ap- peared and with it the surrounding moun- tain peaks of the Bow River Valley. A swimming pool of hot spring water here, as at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, claimed many of the party, and the others watched the antics of the bathers from settees about the big pool. All day Sunday, we rested, traveling smoothly across the plains of Saskatche- wan. At 8:30 p. m. we reached the Unit- ed States border, Portal. North Dakota, where customs and emigrant requirements were quickly satisfied and we were rush- ing on toward Minnesota. Minneapolis and St. Paul library folk, planned, as had our coast friends, to occupy pleasantly every moment of our stay in their cities. We had a long, delightful auto ride, ending with a charming reception and tea at the University Club, St. Paul. Here, her many friends were glad to find pouring tea Mrs. McCaine, former librarian of St. Paul. She had during her long term of ofiice been a frequent attendant at American Library Association conventions and we were glad to see her again, looking so well after a winter's illness. Next morning at Chicago, in the North- western station the party breakfasted to- gether, and the A. L. A. songs were sung for the last time, as here our party was sadly diminished, only twenty-eight plan- ning to continue East together. It had been one of the most congenial crowds ever brought together and, after a month's travel, it was like parting from old friends. On June 23, twenty reached New York, and but ten remained to take the Fall River boat for Boston. That evening a farewell dinner was held on board the "Commonwealth," with place-cards and souvenirs for each of the survivors. Our last coupon was gone, home duties were before us, one of the most wonderful of all the many American Library Associa- tion trips was but a vivid memory. Per- haps under the circumstances conversa- tion lagged somewhat. At breakfast time we safely reached Boston, after an absence of thirty-one days, in which we had traveled nine thousand nine hundred and flfty-six miles by rail and steamer, and about three hundred ninety- five miles by automobile, and all without harm coming to any one of the one hun- dred seventy who participated in the jour- ney. 'Twas a long way to California, In the cool days of May, But 'twas worth all it cost to go there Just to see the A. L. A. Mr. Wellman was our leader. When he called us we were THERE. But now we've been to California, We're going EVERYWHERE. F. W. Faxon. itlHsT'Sam: "Sm «;:£k ■aWB.WiTg'! ZS& tifi'img; IiMibiafl "Kgm"_ nf $Ll.Xii_trr r. ■ae 3 HIT or 3a ssui j^sHr n: leKnaaiH^ an ris- 'MillfntTtfrnrTg; »;iii ' i. ^i i'ljTT- T^rf aQn- ":s:^ at Drier 31 unmrpfm- -=t»^ Trsima> ^"TTT » -1i~r T^Tig- -ntl H- J- JE -TVS - «i !|-~c- gH> lar aDmwFr iijm- 'jngHsis stj ic imr "trrrr- umirmfl.uHas. 'Otas anmfiier s ' ^n :'i - j JV fe- rint rwf TtnrraiiSf -sf ■as? 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"^"^TFai-TTT if BBSS -ntrmj^ tt t'H^ 5linf- iBQifc. wiiiiit is 3i~aiacsn5r usst es i firse- ^acF if 3iuiTH~> vui'S-i-4ra- Tmf TersnniC lo^sesant if lae istouaasBi^s sc^ iiit- 3ijrssiiE Sannrs- rrrrif a piil ^ t^ if 'as >»J=t»rir r rni i - rwv, ar-rfF e:^ •jf ■smrsfe i^mcait 3i "3h igeraams if •de :io BERKELEY CONFERENCE are treated in the report of the chairman of the board, elsewhere rrinted. it is un- necesary here to do more than nial;e this brief reminder of them. The A. L. A. Booklist.— The editorial offices of the Booklist have now been com- bined with A. L. A. headquarters for nearly two years, and the experimental stage has passed. Regarding editorial ad- vantages in Chicago the editor is better qualified to speak and has frequently voiced appreciation of and satisfaction with the support given her by Chicago institutions and individuals. It is only necessary for me to supplement her words by adding that from the business point of view it is even more satisfactory to have editorial and publishing offices under one roof than we had anticipated. The Book- list is showing steady although not rapid growth in circulation. Plans for an ex- tensive campaign among high school li- braries in the fall are being qiade. Publicity. — We have made exceptional efforts at newspaper publicity the past eighteen months but thus far the results have been far from satisfactory. At the Washington conference a publicity commit- tee of three gave trained and systematic attention to the subject employing a news- paper expert to assist. Very little news about the conference appeared, however, in papers outside Washington, but this may have been due to an acute crisis in the Mexican situation that monopolized front pages that week. Mr. W. H. Kerr, the present chairman of publicity, devoted practically his entire time to press work during the Chicago mid-winter meetings. A number of well-written articles were given to the press representatives but only a little actually appeared, except on the one subject of newspaper reading in li- braries, and this article was so garbled as to make it of doubtful value. Mr. Kerr will have charge of publicity work at the Berkeley conference, and as we are al- ready working in co-operation with the news bureau of the Exposition we hope to achieve some material result. The secre- tary gives frequent news items to the Associated Press. Occasionally these arc used, but not widely. Libraries of the country, however, secure a vast amount of aggregate space in their local papers. The headquarters office subscribes to a clipping bureau and receives daily from fifty to sevent.v-five articles clipped from papers all over the United States and Canada giving news of their respective local libraries. It cannot therefore be said that libraries receive no attention from newspapers. The pamphlet on li- brary advertising and publicity which Mr. Charles E. Rush is preparing for the Pub- lishing Board will contain a section on the preparation and handling of news- paper articles. Some librarians need a little coaching on how to write a news "story," how to give it the necessary "punch" to "put it across," and this Mr. Rush's pamphlet will try to give. Field work. — The rapid development and growth of work at headquarters is making it increasingly difficult for the secretary to be absent very long from the office. This last year he attended the N. E. A. conference — Library section, in St. Paul, in July, the Illinois Library Asso- ciation annual meeting in Springfield, the Atlantic City meeting in March, and lec- tured before the Iowa and Indiana summer schools and at Western Reserve. New York State Library School, Library School of the New York Public Library, Pratt Institute and Pittsburgh. Short and in- formal talks have also been given in Chi- cago, including at the bi-e'Ji.ial of th». General Federation of Women's Clubs last June, and the spring meeting, April, 1915, of high school teachers at the University of Chicago, at which he talked to the manual training section. The secretary was one of the American delegates appointed to the proposed Ox- ford Pan-Anglican conference of Septem- ber, 1914. but on account of the European catastrophe, this gathering was not held. The Association was instrumental in helping in the organization of the Wyoming Library Association, and Mr. ChalmeTs Hadley, librarian of Denver and former SECRETARY'S REPORT 211 secretary of the A. L. A., was the official delegate of the Association to the organizing meeting at Laramie. Library statistics — Pursuant to the vote of the Council at its January meeting, the secretary sent to chief librarians, who were members of the A. L. A., about 850 in number, the form for statistical reports prepared by the Committee on library ad- ministration and adopted by the Council, with the request that a copy be filled out and returned to the A. L. A. headquarters and that the library's annual report con- tain a statistical page in the recommended form. It is gratifying to notice that a number of libraries have incorporated such a page in their recent reports. Pursuant also to the vote of the Council, acting on the recommendation of the Com- mittee on library administration, the sec- retary has printed as a part of his annual report the statistics of those libraries which ha-e submitted their figures on the A. L. A. form. There are 85 of these li- braries included in this report.' It is hoped that the comparative statistics here provided will be of considerable practical value and service to American libraries. The expense of printing this tabular mat- ter is unfortunately so exceedingly heavy that the secretary feels that in subsequent years a selected list only can be printed, including perhaps the statistics of some 40 or 50 representative and typical libra- ries in different sections of the country. Statistics of other libraries would be kept on file in the secretary's office, where they could be consulted by those interested. The reports printed include only statis- tics of free public tax-supported libraries. The Committee appointed soon after the January meeting of the Council has been engaged in drawing up a form adapted to college and reference libraries, and when this report is in hand, statistics on the approved from will be collected from col- lege and reference libraries. Miscellaneous. — Photographs of six ex- presidents of the Association have been 'Printed, for typographical convenience, at the end of this report. added to our headquarters collection; 17 are now framed and hung on our wall. We very much wish every ex-president who has not yet responded to the secre- tary's urgent request for his photograph would comply. During the coming year we hope to make a feature of the collecting of books and pamphlets relating to library economy in all its phases. All librarians publish- ing anything on this subject will perform an appreciated service by sending a copy as a permanent accession at A. L. A. head- quarters. We shall be greatly obliged if publishers will put us on their exchange list for material of this kind. The secretary prepared the article on library activities of the year 1913-14 for the forthcoming report of the U. S. Com- missioner of Education, and has written the article on the American Library Asso- ciation for the International Year Book annually fof several years past and has supplied data about the association to numerous other publications. Necrology — Since the Washington con- ference fifteen members of the Associa- tion have passed away. The roll Includes some of our oldest members and a num- ber young in years and at the zenith of their physical powers and professional careers. The list follows: Mrs. Judith Walker Andrews, of Boston, though not a librarian was the mother of a librarian and ex-president of the A. L. A., and had long been deeply concerned in library progress. Joined 1900 (No. 1996) and attended conference of that year. Died Aug. 29, 1914. Mrs. Sarah A. C. Bond, connected with the Boston office of Library Bureau, died Sept. 19, 1914. Joined 1892 (No. 955), and attended conferences of 1892 and 1902. Mrs. Henry Draper, of New York city, who joined 1902 (No. 2431), died Dec. 8, 1914. She attended the conference of 1902. Bernard R. Green, superintendent of the building. Library of Congress, Washing- ton, and an able student of library archi- tecture and equipment, died Oct. 22, 1914. 212 BERKELEY CONFERENCE Joined 1901 (No. 2145), and attended the conferences of 1892, 1897, 1907 and 1914. Edna M. Hawley, librarian of the Su- preme Court Library, Salem, Oregon, died Feb. 25, 1915. Joined 1903 (No. 2751), and attended conference in 1904. Thomas J. Kiernan, superintendent of circulation. Harvard College library, died July 31, 1914. Joined 1879 (No. 301), and attended conference of that year. David R. Moore, librarian of the Ber- keley (Calif.), public library, died May 27, 1914. Joined 1905 (No. 3329), and attended conference of that year. Ada L. Palmer, cataloger in the Buffalo public library, died Mar. 31, 1915. Joined 1914; attended no conferences. Katharine Lucinda Sharp, founder and for thirteen years director of the Univer- sity of Illinois Library School and librarian of the University, died at Lake Placid, where she has resided for the past eight years, on June 1, 1914. Miss Sharp was member of the A. L. A. Council from 1895 to 1905 and was vice-president in 1898-99 and again in 1906-07. Joined the A. L. A. 1892 (No. 1023) and attended the conferences of 1892-95, 1897-1904, 1906-07, fourteen in all, and the London Interna- tional Conference of 1897. See Library Journal 39:567; Public Libraries 19:287. Luella M. Sloan, chief reviser of the catalog department in the Newberry li- brary, Chicago, died April 20, 1915. Joined early in the present year (No 6547), and had attended no conferences. Jean Terquem, bookseller of Paris, pat- ronized by many American libraries, was killed in battle Sept. 15, 1914. Joined the A. L. A. in 1910 (No. 4795); attended no conferences. Erastus Swift Willcox, librarian of the Peoria (111.), public library since 1891, charter member of the Illinois Library Association, drafter of the bill creating free public libraries in Illinois in 1872, and a member of the A. L. A. since 1892 (No. 944), died March 31, 1915. He attended the conferences of 1897, 1904 and 1908. See Public Libraries 20:212. Miss E. von Wilmonski, assistant in the reference cataloging division of the New York public library, died Nov. 20, 1914. Joined 1914 (No. 6278), and at- tended conference of that year. Euphemia Winans, assistant in the New York public library, died April 29, 1914 (decease not learned until last year's necrolcsy had been compiled). Joined 1898 (No. 1718), and attended conferences of 1898, 1900 and 1906. Harry Woods, secretary of state of Illi- nois and ex-officio state librarian, died Oct. 12, 1914. Joined 1914 (No. 6043); at- tended no conferences. The following persons formerly be- longed to the Association but were not members at the time of their death: Frederick H. Hild, former librarian of the Chicago public library, died Aug. 10, 1914. Joined 1886 (No. 520), and attended conferences of 1886, 1887, 1889, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908. Edward P. Judd, bookseller in New Haven, Conn., died Oct. 30, 1914. Joined 1886 (No. 576), and attended conference of that year. Prof. Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury, professor emeritus of English at Yale Uni- versity, died April 9, 1915. Joined 1890 (No. 784), and attended conferences of 1900 and 1905. Minnie M. Oakley, formerly in the Wis- consin Historical Society library, and later in the Los Angeles public library, died Feb. 28, 1915. She joined the A. L. A. in 1886 (No. 545), and attended the con- ferences of 1886, 1887, 1889, 1893, 1895, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1911. Margaret A. O'Brien, formerly assistant in the Omaha public library, died Feb. 21, 1915. Joined 1887 (No. 634), and attended conferences of 1891, 1893, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1904, 1908. William Curtis Taylor, formerly librar- ian of the Tacoma public library, died . Joined 1893 (No. 1213). Talbot H. Wallis, formerly state li- brarian of California, died July 4, 1914. Joined 1889 (No. 735), and attended con- ferences of 1889 and 189L SECRETARY'S REPORT 213 Dr. Anthony Woodward, first librarian of the American Museum of Natural His- tory, died Feb. 4, 1915. Joined 1892 (No. 968), and attended conferences of 1892 and 1898. Respectfully submitted, GEORGE B. UTLEY, Secretary. NOTES TO FOLLOWING TABLES 1. Atlantic City, N. J., p. 1. (In addi- tion to 2,737 new borrowers registered, 1,065 visitors made deposits for drawing books. 2. Buffalo, N. Y., p. 1. Receipts from "other sources" include bank interest in the sum of $8,606.95. 3. Chillicothe, 0., p. 1. The library is also open to use of residents of the county, numbering 25,492. 4. The item of $500 noted as "received from other sources" was received from the County Commissioners. 5. Cincinnati, O., p. 1. The amount of $4,835.28 entered as "unusual expense" was for insurance. 6. Dedham, Mass., p. 1. The statistics of fiction lent are for central library only. 7. Duluth, Minn., p. 1. The amount noted as "received from other sources" includes $3,000.00 from a tax certificate. 8. Duquesne, Pa., Carnegie f. 1. The statistics of home circulation are for cen- tral library only. 9. The librarian's salary includes com- pensation for club work. 10. The amount paid for janitor service includes such service for the entire build- ing in which the library is housed. 11. Gardner, Mass., Levi Heywood memorial 1. The cost of binding is in- cluded in the amount expended for books. 12. Hanover, N. H., Howe 1. Statistics relating to number of volumes in library are for nine months only. 13. Harrisburg, Pa., p. 1. The amount of $5,000.00 noted as "received from other sources" was appropriated from the in- vestment fund. 14. Los Angeles, Cal., p. 1. The "un- usual expense" of $10,068.45 was for equipping new central quarters and for removal thereto. 15. Mauch Chunk, Pa., Dimmick me- morial 1. The sum of $25,000.00 noted as received from other sources is the legacy of Mrs. Mary Packer Cummings. 16. The item of $28,483.80 noted as "unusual expense" was money invested. 17. Menominee, Mich., Spies p. 1. The sum of $749.88 entered as "State grants" accrued from license fees and penal fines. 18. New Rochelle, N. Y., p. 1. The items given under "maintenance" are not representative, on account of removal. 19. Scranton, Pa., p. 1. ■ In the amount paid for "other maintenance" is included the sum of $3,519.35 for maintenance of branches. 20. Seattle, Wash., p. \. The amount of $42,560.11 noted as "received from other sources" represents ten per cent of the city's receipts from licenses, fines and fees. 21. The amount expended for binding includes certain salaries. 22. The salaries for branch janitor service are included in the total of salaries for library service. 23. Somerville, Mass., p. 1. The sum of $3,252.24 noted as "received from other sources" accrued from dog licenses. 214 BERKELEY CONFERENCE REPORT OF THE TREASURER Jan.-Apr.. 1915 Receipts Balance, Union Trust Company, Chicago, Jan. 1, 1915 $3,792.80 Membership fees 5,578.85 Interest on bank balance, Jan.-Apr. 22.43 $9,394.08 Expenditures Checks No. 65-70 (Vouchers No. 1023-1098) 3,677.72 Balance Union Trust Co., Chi- cago $5,716.36 G. B. Utley, Balance, Nat. Bank of Rep 250.00 Due from Publishing Board on 1914 acc't 500.00 Total Balance $6,466.36 James L. Whitney Fund Principal and interest, Dec. 31, 1914. $174.55 Interest, Jan. 1, 1915 2.55 Fifth Installment, Feb. 20, 1915 23.78 Total $200.88 Respectfully submitted, C. B. RODEN, Treas. Chicago, May 10, 1915. REPORT OF FINANCE COMMITTEE In accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the Finance committee sub- mit the following report: They have duly considered the probable income of the Association for the current year and estimate it at $25,750.00; and have approved appropriations made by the Ex- ecutive Board to that amount. The details of the estimated income and the appropri- ations are given in the January number of the Bulletin. On behalf of the committee. Dr. C. W. Andrews has audited the accounts of the Treasurer and of the Secretary as Assistant Treasurer. He has found that the receipts as stated by the Treasurer agree with the transfers of the Assistant Treasurer, with the cash accounts of the latter, and with the statements of transfers in the account of the Trustees, except that one installment ot $175.00 on the interest from the Endow- ment fund received late in 1913 has been credited in the accounts for 1914. The ex- penditures as stated are accounted for by properly approved vouchers and the bal- ance shown as that in the Union Trust Company agrees with the bank statement of January 1st, 1915. The bank balances and petty cash of the Assistant Treasurer as stated agree with the bank books and petty cash balances. The accounts of the Assist- ant Treasurer have been found correct as cash accounts. On behalf of the Committee Mr. F. O. Poole has checked the securities now in the custody of the Trustees and he certi- fies that their figures are correct. He finds that at par value the bonds and other se- curities amount to $102,500 for the Carnegie fund, and $8,000.00 for the Endowment fund. He further certifies that they hold receipts for all expenditures given in their account. The accounts of the James L. Whitney fund which are in the hands of the Treas- urer have been examined and found correct as stated by him in his annual report. Respectfully submitted. For the committee, H.VBBISON W. Cbaver, Chairman. REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE CARNEGIE AND ENDOWMENT FUNDS To the President and Members of the American Library Association: The Trustees of the Endowment Fund of the American Library Association beg leave to submit the following statement ot the accounts of their trust — the Carnegie and general funds — for the fiscal year end- ing January 15, 1915. There has been no change in the invest- ments during the year. All interest on the investments has been promptly paid. The Trustees hope that three new life memberships may soon be secured, so An asterisk (* A dagger (t) An arrow {-> item is included in the The superimpo indicates that the neur indicates that the librar or -<-) in place of an next column toward whi sed small hgnres refer t City or town Name of library ols. lost drawn ; year Total number of vols, at end of year -a Eg a >, ^ >< 46 784 1 Appleton, Wis F. p. 1 11,1091 1,610| 12,719 ...,l J Atlantic City, N. J. F. p. 1 49 ' ' ' 1 ! Auburn, Me Auburn n 1 190 19,194 1 2,433 4 Baltimore, Md The Enoch Pratt f. 1. . . - 5,183 321,576 6,000' 5 Bingbamton, N. Y.. Biughamton p. 1 610 3&,595 1 .. 6 Brookings, S. D F. p. 1 j 1 1,482 j - P. 1 41.^98 j 808,787 . 1 1 1 ' S Buffalo, N. V P. 1 -- 27,905 2,000 1 1 330,057 137,846 1 1,272 1 139,148 9 Cedar Rapids, la.. . P. 1 32.311 ........1 1 1 P. 1 108 29,157 1 .... 1 "11 Cincinnati. O P. 1 95 14,628' 1,036 463,521 |93,402 j 4,312 197,714 12 Council Bluffs, la.. F. p. 1 21,597 6,3351 27,932 j 276 | 20 296 P. 1 217 1 14 Dexter, Me Town 1 45 65 12,030 1 1,S Dubuque, la Carnegie- Stout f. p. I.. ..1 190 47,777 1 1 F 1 01 1,279 57,520 10,4S9I 68,009 17 Dunkirk, N. Y F. 1 60 201 1 12,348 1 ! 18 Dmiuesne, Pa Carnegie f. 1 - 779 25,459 1 HJ Elizabeth, N. J F. p. 1 1,175 48 339 j 20 Elkhart, Ind Elkhart-Carnegie 1 342 23,049 1 2,970 21 Elmira, N. Y Steele memorial 1 152 707 18,314 2,208 20,522 1 i 1 395 22 Evanston, 111 P. 1 24 08 . 406 45,879 4,877 50,756 1 1 j 23 Evansville, Ind P. 1 139 8,804 8,103 16.907 ! 1 i 24 Everett, Wash P. 1 90 580 7,802 1,583 9,385 1 1 1 23 Fairhaven, Mass.... The Millicent 1 889 19,318 -> 041 71 161 1 i t 1 26 Cadsden, Ala P. 1 154 1 1 5,045 1 1 27 Gardner. Mass Levi Heywood mem. I 86 526 1 1 15.815 J ! 1 1 28 Gary, Ind P. 1 2,882 17,1551 26,040 1 1 1 1 1 43,195 1 1 1 29 Great Falls, Mont.. P. 1 695 15.179 1 1 1 1 29 1 30 Hanover, N. H Howe I 37 3,938| 1,1D9| 5,047 | 19 | 10 | 31 Harrisburg, Pa P. 1 76 1 1 12,591 1 1 1 32 Harrison, N. J F. p. I - 40 1 1 6,620 1 1 L. 33 Joliet, 111 P. 1 1,178 1 1 ( 1 36,857 1 7,719 383 | 2,637 5,465 1 34 Lancaster, Pa A. Herr Smith m«m. 1. 351 12,358 1 i 35 Leavenworth, Kas. . F. p. 1 t; 456 23,300 1 1 1 1 P. 1 45| 436 1 1 , P. 1 37 Long Beach, Cab. . "620 32.651 1 1 1 16,897 227,894 1 18,786 1 4,383 'l 2,746 120,423 39 Manchester, N. H.. City 1 ..1 701 'l 74,000' 'l 1 2,887 1 3IE IBLIC i - ' - — 1 - — —3 - -" - — C - —2 - — —2 - • — — - — — ~ — — ^ 1 — — — — — — — - — — — — — — — 1 71 — —t — — — — ■( — C — - — — . — ■-'■ - ~ _2-5.93 3.15 14.37 20(».28 An asterisk (') indicates that the nt A dagger (t) indicates that the lib An arrow {-> or -^1 in pb- -' - ipproMmaLe. tral building. iuperiinposed small tigures refer ■d which the that th :ted appended to the table STATISTICS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES (According to form adopted by the Council of the American Library Association' • 1 .\nnual report for eS Populat'n served BrVhB 1 Schools Co ?^ = =" =^ 1 =^— 1 1 1 Is o'= — -^' 1 2 2 'a 2 — 1 li 1 1 1 c 1 g-n Si ! i Hours open each week (central lib.) Xo. of vols. at beginning of year -No. ol vols, added during year t l-E ° s 1 Ciiy '"■ '""" 1 Xame of library Purchase Gilt, ex. change, etc. Binding ma- terial not otherwise counted or withdrawn during year vols, at end of year < 4 H I it For lending For reading Adult Juv. Total Adult Juv. Total 1 i 1 92 2 94 < i e2 _T3 1 Api)l«*P"' ^ '^ F. p. 1 Jun. 30. •14 18.000-1... — 1 1 ! 307|66-72 166-72 10.840 1,719| 12,559 409 202I 611 206 33I 239 438 54 6| 784 11,1091 1,6101 12,719 1 1 > Atlantic City. X- J- F. p. 1 Dec. 31.'14 46.150 |...|..|....|...| — ^^ 1 307| 72 1 72 19.358 3,7941 23,152 1,135 734 1,869 321 181 SO ~r,\~ .... 1 2961 482 778 20,229) 4,064| 24,293 | 1 1 .— — 1 . : 4 Baltimore. MJ The Enoch Pratt 1. 1.. . Dec. 31.'14 558,485 15 I..I 2 |...| ...|..| 6 1 161 100 — 13 305| 69 78 1307,540 18,425 .— r 794 340 -|t: ....i i 5.183 321,576 1 1 6,000* ; Bingliamton. X- "i-- Biiighamton p. 1 Dec. 31.'14 60,000' 15 38 329| 66 73 34,498 1,800 567 2,367 339 1 ■ ...I..: 1 i 610 36',595 1 Ti^^J^kiynTN'- v.... P. 1 Dec. 31, '14 1,833,696 23 71 13 1 43| 64 289 375 365| 87!4 91 764,006 83,059 11,615 -|- 1,405 1 1 41,298 1 808,787 1 S Buffalo. X- 1 P. 1 Dec. 31. '14 454,113 ... ..| 8 1 981 951 9511 103 216 35 365| 72 82 | 1316,908 38,398 1,733 ' 215 — 846 i 27,905 1 \ 330,057 137,846 1 1,272) 39,148 9 Cedar Rapids, la. . . P. 1 Dec. 31.'14 Dec. 31.'14 40.000 |... 14,508»l... .■! 2 131 22 24 98 8 364| 72 84 29,683 1,935 2,394 4,329 198 17 1 84 1 '601 i 2,000 1 1 32.311 I...-....1 1 1 II Cincinnati. P. 1 Dec. 31. '14 460.732 9 "1 201 79 223 365] 78 88-91 446,293 27,948 ■— — 2,774 ___ ...|... 52| 40 1,134 : 1: 14,628 1,036 ) 1 463,521 193,402 i 4,312 | 197,714 !> roniicil Bluffs. la.. F. p. 1 Dec. 31. '14 ,9,9, '1 .'1 .1 mi 111 3061 75 1 79 20,168 4 Z-JAI ) 1 7 1 5 1.973 2,116 4,095 39 39 134 21,597 1 ' -^-'- •;:•■.[:■■•( ' ■ 92, o,.| o„ 13 Dedham, Mass p. 1 Dec. 31.'14 ''-«^ 2|.-|---|---| ... 3 2771 48 1 48 20,000* 1,225 ■■]■■■ njj |...... 217 1. 1 1 1 14 Dexter, Me Town 1 Feb. 28,M5 4,000 ...|..l.... 6 8 7 309J 34 1 34 11,610 271 135 406 47 ... 47 30 2] 32I 20| 45 65 :~:::t 12,030 1 i 15 Dubuque, la Camegie-Snul f. i>. 1.. Dec. 31.'14 38,494 ' U 3I1I 72 75 46,117 1,039 638 173! j 1 190 47,777 1 1 16 Duluth. Minn F 1 Nov.30.'lJ 91,435' -) ^1 16 i3j 3501 79 j S2'A\ 53.345 839 62,184 4,222 2,346 6,568 229 11 240 281 15 296 557| 722 1,279 57,520 10,489 68,009 ) | 17 Dunkirk. N. Y F. ! Dec. 31.'I-I 17,221 ....1...:..... ... 1| 306| 66 1 66 9,772| 1,960 11,732 439 256 795 122 ... 122 ...1 4li 160 i 201 1 12,348 1 1 IS Duquesne. Pa Carnegie f. I Dec. 31.'H 18,000' 2 ..j....|...i 54 3] 3621 78 78 1 24,542 1,543 62 91 779 25,459 1 1 1 IV Elizabeth. X. J F. b. 1 Nov. 30.'U 83,000* 1 3 ....1...1 11 161 3051 72 72 37,226 6,243 365 1,175 48,339 ...)-..... 1 JO Elkhart. Ind Elkhart-Carnegie 1 Dec. 31.'14 19,282 ...j..j.... 3071 72 21,621 1,292 1... 13C 138 342 23,049 1 2,970 Jl Elraira. X. V Steele memorial 1 Jun. 30.'N 37.176 ...| j ... S| 307) 66 66 17,753 2,228 19,981 878 232 1,110 138 ... 455 252 707 18,314 2,208 20,322 1 1 i 395 " Evanston. Ill P. 1 iMavSl.'H 24,978 ...1.. 2 ...1 40 3 36lj 72 76 44,752 4,886 49.638 518 78 596 891 37 928 282 124 . 406 45,879 4,877 50,756 - '3 Evansville. Ind P. I Dec. 31.'14 69.647 3t 2 3I 13 81 363l 76 76 5,475 4,460 9,935 3,282 3,751 7,033 78 .. . 78 31 108 139 8,804 8,103 16,907 1 1 P. 1 Idcc. n:u 32.000 ...l..i....l...l 3591 54 60 319 131 .. '. 1. .. 580 7,802 1,583 9,385 1 25 Fairhaven, Mass.... The Millicent 1 [ Dec. 31.'14 6,000* ......... 2 365) 84 84 19,151 2,005 21,156 866 228 1,094 6991 190 889 >1 ifii — — P. 1 Dec. 31.'14 9,061 ...1 308) 33 4.381 739 89 ,. . . 1 154 S,045 — t: 6 5 1 5 27 Cardner. Mass Levi Heywood mem. 1 Dec. 31,'14 17,000* .. .'1 2 24 15,043 1,132 166 1 526 15,815 194 6 51 51 760J 2.122 28 Gary. Ind P. 1 Dec. 31.'14 35,000* 3 2| 6 3,963 9,028 12,991 663 278 941 2,882 17,155) 26,040 43,195 j i 1 Apr. 30,'14 26,502* 5 365| 72 84 13,946 596 1,117 1,773 111 695 15,179 ' .10 Hanover. N. H Hove 1 Jan. 31,'14 2,240 - — 3 3,257 921 4,178 643 204 847"^ 22 37 3,9381 1,1091 5,047) 19 | 10 | | 29 Dec. 31.'14 64,186 62 62 8,653 2,612 1,402 76 12,591 — 1 ! ! 1 .12 Harrison. X. J F. :,. 1 14,498 4 302J 3VA 31J^ 5,000 1,640 20 40 1 6,620 iS Joliet, 111 P. 1 j 34.670 16S ^2 . 30,690 3,917 34,607 1,147 526 577 1,178 36,857 ) 7,719 383 ) 2,637 ) 5,465 A. Herr Smith m«m. I. Dec. 31.'14 52,000' . ^J^;., J5 72 10,750 1,122 799 38 351 12,358 1 1 - ~ — 10 2 4 97 I') F. p. 1 [n.,. ^1 '14 19,363 8 361) 72 76 21.658 1,584 359 142 1 23,300 1 1 ~ — TT. >6 Leominster, Mass.. P. 1 Dec. 31.'14 18,000' •••1 365) 72 80 28,544 1,678 30,222 905 314 1,219 143 2911 145 436 29,301| 1,847 31,148 1 37 Long Beach. Cal... P. 1 Jun. 30,'14 40,000" 1^ 6 73 .. 3 301) 72 79 28,194 2,617 1,908 4,525 230 13 219 •620 32,651 1 — 1 .'8 Los Angeles, Cal... P. 1 .Itmh 3n'l4 438.914* 17 363) 75 83 224,349 16,889 1,952 1.591 16,897 227,894 ) 18,786 ■■■I — 3 39 Manchester, X. H..'Ci!v 1 Dec. .11 '14 70,063 12 71,750* 2,447 247 252 1 701 ] 74.000*1 2,887 1 1 1. 1; 1 1 1 1 ; LIBRARIES luring .ic k Receipts on No. of bor registered year Total no. of registered borrowers No. of r papers periodi currently ceived. Unexpended balance c rt 2 in M •a S s 1 3 Adult Juv. Total Adult Juv. Total ■3 < > 3 P c .a 1 356 2251 5 101 101 $ 1,912.841$ 3,000.00 $ 30.00 _ 1 2,7371 .... i 226 226 1,813.00 15,000.00 ' 5,000* 4 67 67 60,781 415.51 2,500.00 $ 250.00 190.00 $ 4.00 10,688 42,897 3 498 498 115 42,300.00 50,000.00 .... 2,009 733 2,742 115,379 4,727|20,106 3 115 15 62,472 106.87 11,300.00 100.00 20.00 899 15 800.00 'l ' 125,230 330,210 3 550* 140,602.39 459,362.49 5,800.00 3,969.03 1 26,940 _ . 86,898 3 J.... 480 820 3,508.83 113,300.00 1,000.00 4,392.22 2,684| 794 3,478 1 7,8461 3,054110,900 4 .... 192 192 892.30 15,101.58 13.00 1 1,221 8,962 73 73 266.69 2,867.27 45.00 20.835)10,108 30,943 96,891 3 .... 907 1,890 31.50 172,622 29 2,118.95 ;7Q 2,110 8,764 3 |.... 4,441.24 14,447.39 6,271.00 240 5.517 340.97 313.96 961 310 1,271 1 I 26 26 1,248.00 61.00 225.00 1.267 843 2,110 11,822 5 166 180 255.18 8,194.73 3.668 1.518 5,186 22,090 262 262 3,332.62 21,715.53 1,625 7,768 60 60 549.01 3,000.00 100.00 i 80 80 1 3,905 11,129 3 20.500.00 941 6,443 170 170 52.99 7,632.82 691 375 1,066 1 5,044| 1,895] 6,939 3 70 70 25,000* 643.53 4.500.00 65.00 2,898.41 2,324 9,645 5 174 174 13,000* 3,620.63 8,914.87 736.36 4,484 3,887 5,5891 9,476 3 109 248 16,064 1,581.72 19,989.80 1 2,741 1,2671 4,008 M 1 9.1 401.24 4,873.13 ->- 1 :n 120 212 119 331 2,153 1,055| 3,208 184 143 327 1,781 1,269| 3,051 44.88 999.96 7.50 1 1,186 2.722 324.78 3,692.62 3.199.17 1 4,116 1 6,8871 4.67911 l.^A/; '--.' 372 167,952 .99 33,214.70 1 984 1.811 2.795 3,748 3,380| 7,128 2 108 47 108 4,307.93 9.000.00 781 47 6,518 2.322 8,840 j 6,518 2,322| 8,840 1 114 42 114 38,441 443.59 3,499.98 3,614.81 525.0C 1,386 4.065 2 42 178.09 3.500.00 871 7,477 3 85 85 1.825.00 7,000.00 56 00 1,583 1 0,809 \sy. 15,867 499.391 2.000.00 1 10 1 1,636 4,715 M j l,046.94j 5,621.81 75.00 38 00 9761 497 1.473 5,099 1,717| 6,816 1 1 165.121 4.571.0(1 894.97 101.00 9,201 22,262 I-' 1, 24,795.00 1 663 jl./lC 36.685 85,369 H j 212.93| 159,837.00 30.00 2.668 1 9,865 1 s > 289 1 30S 1 1 2,221.121 16,500.001 1,413.38 j\ame of library HE Payme