< '\ S^A THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY m 1 m I m$ 1 Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. University of Illinois Library %& *m ':*' *;-xK^ag i ^v U.H. -~ ^- -'^""i^ *^ \ v L161 1141 v ; , -* *. - * * ' ' ~ ^^^^ ^*lls ! ' PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST GENERAL HEETING OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION HELD AT ATLANTA, QA. MAY 9-13 1899 PUBLISHED BY THE AHERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 1899 f CONTENTS. TlTLB. Address of the President Libraries in the Gulf States ... Considerations as to a printed catalog in book form for | the Boston Public Library f How to encourage the foundation of libraries in small I towns I How to organize state libra- y commissions and make I state aid effective f Hov women's clubs may help the library movement . . How to plan a library building How to make a library attractive On the value of home and prison libraries Co-operative lists of periodicals and transactions of I societies 1 Co-operation in lending among college and reference I libraries f Classification for college libraries Suitability of the Expansive Classification to college I and reference libraries J The library and the small college The library assistant : his title, duties, and relation to I his chief f Statistics and reports The business side of a woman's career as a librarian . . Book selection, buying, and binding Hints on classification Cataloging, accessioning, and shelf-listing for small | libraries f Organization Changing from a subscription library to a free public I library I Management of small public libraries The state librarian's outlook The state library in its mission of collection, distribu- I tion, and exchange f Report of the Co-operation Committee Report of the Publishing Section Report of Committee on Public Documents Proceedings 103-145 First Session 103 117 Secretary's report 103 Treasurer's report and necrology 104 Report of Trustees of Endowment Fund . . 108 Report of Committee on Foreign Documents. in Report of Committee on Library Tracts . . in Report of Committee on American Library Exhibit at Paris Exposition of 1900 . 113 Report of Committee on Title-pages to Peri- odicals 114 Report of Committee on Library Schools . . 115 Election of Andrew Carnegie 116 Second Session : Public meeting 117-122 Address of Eugene M. Mitchell 117 Address of John Temple Graves 118 What a library should be and what it can do. Melvil Detuey 119 Travelling libraries. F. A. ffutchins . . . Exhibition of lantern slidesof library buildings. Third Session 122-125 Report of Finance and Auditing Committee . 123 How to start travelling libraries. /'. A. Hutckins 133 Fourth Session 125-133 Invitation to international bibliographical congress 125 Reproductions of ancient MRS 125 International Catalogue of Scientific Litera- ture. Cyrus Adler 126 Report of A. L. A. Committee on Internation al Catalogue of Scientific Literature 127 Duplication of bibliographic work . . . 128 Plan for a handbook of American libraries F.J. Ttggart 129 Proposed issue of catalog slips by Harper & Bros 130 Votes on revision of A. L. A. constitution . . 130 AUTHOR. PAGE. William Coolidge Lane i William Beer 6 J. L. Whitney 8 S: S. Green 14 L. E. Stearns 16 Eliza G. Browning 18 H. M. Utley 21 Caroline M. Hewins Hervey White C. W. A ndrews . 23 27 I 29 E. C. Richardson 32 Olive Jones 36 C: A. Cutter 41 G: T. Little . . 50 /. K. Hosmer ......... 54 Electra C. Doren 57 60 63 65 Mary E. A hern . . . Dr. G: E. Wire . . . Laura E. W. Benedict Jennie D. Fellows . . Dr. G: E. Wire . Mary B. Lindsay 73 Mar ilia W. Freeman 76 Johnson Brigham 81 W. E. Henry 85 T: L. Montgomery 02 n W: C. Lane R. R. Bowker Plan for a co-operative hand list of incunabula. John Thomson Report on aids and guides. William Beer . Fifth Session Election of officers Use of the postal system at second rates or cost for libraries. W . Scott .... Sixth Session Discussion of open shelves in the light of actual experience. W. H. Brett, F. P. Hill, John Thomson, and others . Seventh Session Place of next meeting Invitations for 1901 Report of Committee on Revision of A. L. A. Constitution Report of Committee on Resolutions . . . Resolution on appointment of Librarian of Congress Large Libraries Section First Session The librarian. John Thomson Department organization. E. H. Anderson . Second Session Assistants. H. L. Elmendorf Library stations. F. M. Crunden .... College and Reference Section First Session : discussion of classification . . Second Session : discussion of co-operation in lending Elementary Section State and Law Library Section Trustees' Section The social side of four Atlanta days. Isabel Ely Lord The travel chronicle. Helen E. Haines . . . Officers and Committees .... Attendance register Attendance summaries 95 IOO 131 133-135 134 '34 136-142 CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS ATLANTA, GA. MAY 9-13, 1899. ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. BY WILLIAM COOLIDGE LANE, Librarian of Harvard University. *T* HE program of our four days' festival, which is in your hands, shows the character of the feast to which we are bidden and the succession of courses of which we are asked to partake. It shows that beside the more solid and sustain- ing viands, of which I think you will find good store and full variety, there is an occasional interlude of lighter refreshment a cup of Roman punch now and then as it were, in the shape of a reception, a barbecue, or a trolley ride to make it easier to profit by the rest. The rulers of the feast have honestly tried to heed the warnings of their predecessors and have not intended to overload their tables. They have borne In mind Swift's direction " Give no more to every guest than he's able to digest; give him always of the prime and but little at a time." If they have caught the in- fection of a bountiful hospitality from the city in which we meet, and if they have not had the heart to refuse additional and unexpected treats offered by some of the guests, prepared it maybe by some new receipt, and handsomely dished up for this special occasion, you will not I am sure blame them. You do not know, even so, how many good things they have unavoida- bly deprived you of one of which was the pleasure of accepting the cordial invitation of the University of Georgia to visit Athens for a day and break our bread with them. Like the chairman of a public dinner I ought not to keep you from a discussion of the pro- gram by more than a formal word of greeting, and what I have to say shall hardly be more than this. But I have observed on other occa- sions when I have sat among the guests at these tables that the chairman is expected himself to provide the first course, something of a char- acter such as we are all familiar with, neatly served up on the half shell, to be swallowed whole by every well-conducted guest without too much consideration or criticism just a half-dozen preliminary mouthfuls, in short, to prepare the way for what follows. He is ex- pected at least to mention how many times be- fore this company has sat down together and with what happy results, to cast a glance at the events of the passing year, and is allowed to indulge perhaps in a few words of congratula- tion at the excellence of our own aims and methods. Let me not fail to follow in the foot- steps of my predecessors. This is the 2ist of our annual gatherings, and surely by this time their purpose and the spirit which issues from them should be clear. We come together from all over the Union, and even from beyond its borders, to get mutual help and counsel; to compare notes on the best ways of accomplishing our objects. We find that others have been wrestling with the same problems that have engaged our thoughts, and we discover that they have usually reached some different solution from that we have ar- rived at a solution which may or may not be better fitted to our own conditions, but which in any case is stimulating and instructive. We realize how broad and how many-sided are the interests and how widely active are the forces with which we deal, and as this becomes clearer and more real to each of us, that living spark of eager purpose is transmitted from one to an- other, brightening in the older and it may be weary workers, and kindling afresh in the younger and untried ones, the common desire to make the library a potent force for good in th's masterful, moving, yet often floundering and mistaken world. For many years these meetings of the Amer- ican Library Association were the only oppor- tunity for librarians to come together and know one another, and carry back to their individual work a quickened sense of responsibility and a new consciousness of power to grapple with difficulties. That the association has thus sat- isfied a real need is shown not only by its steady growth but by the number of local asso- ciations covering individual states or parts thereof that have sprung up in the course of ATLANTA CONFERENCE. the last ten years. There are now 23 such asso- ciations in 20 different states, and it is safe to say that ten years hence there will not be a state in the Union in which the library work- ers do not regularly meet together to discuss their common interests. Without the addi- tional opportunity afforded by these local asso- ciations, librarians, except in the cities, are more isolated than they should be if they would keep their own work abreast of what is being done elsewhere. Yet the local associations do not make the meetings of the National Associ- ation less desirable. These larger meetings draw together the ablest workers from east and west, from north and south, and bring home to all the interests of each in a way that a state association cannot do. We are able to focus here a far greater variety of interest and at- tainment. The meeting of a state association is likely to be composed of representatives from a number of lesser libraries, all having much the same necessities, or it maybe dominated by the one or two great libraries of its section or by its state commission. Such conditions are not unfavorable for the special work it has to do, but there is a strength in being placed above these limitations, as is the case in the meetings of this association, and in having the ideas and methods which have developed in different parts of the country brought face to face, and still more in having the exponents of those ideas and methods sitting side by side, ready to discuss and criticise. Another advantage which is the special privi- lege of the National Association is that it varies its place of meeting widely from year to year. It thus brings large numbers of us into personal relations with libraries and libra- rians that would otherwise remain unknown to us, and it also makes it possible for us to meet where library interests are as yet less deTeloped and where we may hope by our pres- ence and by our discussions to draw public at- tention to the importance of the objects we have at heart. Librarians have faith in their work. Some of us are almost ready to rest our whole social salvation on the library working with the school. At any rate we boldly claim that there is no movement directed toward a better social order, a deeper religious life, a truer apprecia- tion of the beauties or the forces of the world, that is not helped by the library, no pernicious tendency or hindering narrowness that the li- brary will not help to check. This year the association has come further south than ever before. We have come, I trust, with open minds, ready to learn whatever we can of new conditions here, and ready to help, if we can, to open the way for a larger library develop- ment than the South has yet known. We con- gratulate those of you whose homes and work are here in the south, on the field you have be- fore you, and on the influence on life and thought that you can exercise. In the progress already made throughout the country you have a rich store of experience to draw upon, an ad- vantage such as no group of library workers or promoters has had in equal degree before. It is only yesterday, for example, that any syste- matic attempt was made to provide books and build up a reading habit in villages where as yet it is practically impossible to establish per- manent libraries, but the story of the travelling library as now developed in 25 different states shows how much can be done for just such communities. Never before have such active measures been taken to bring the library into line with the school and to influence the char- acter of children's reading, and the story of what has been accomplished and the endless variety of the work in its new adaptations is an inspiration for all who take it up in new fields, for the lesson it impresses is not what great es- tablishments are required for success though there is abundant use for great establishments and ample means but rather how much can be done by simple means directed by human tact and sympathy. You have graciously welcomed us to this beautiful land of the south. We would also gladly welcome. you in ever larger numbers to the happy and satisfying field of labor in which we are engaged, and bid you be of good courage. Librarians, it is true, have their times of discouragement like other mor- tals. There is so much that might be done if only the strength, the means, and the wis- dom were ours, and at times we lack all three of these necessities. But the work itself when rightly presented appeals so directly to the common sense and to the better instincts of a community, and as it grows justifies itself so plainly, that the librarian who is in earnest and has faith (and tact), whose first thought is for the solid success of the library and not for self, is sure in time to win the support of those about him, and to gather both strength and wisdom from experience and from watching the LANE. work of others. Look forward then with con- fidence to the time, far distant though it may be, yet always more surely promised, when the library shall be regarded not as a luxury to be enjoyed by those towns that can afford it, but as a necessity equally with the school or the church or the country store. In this place and at this time the prospect of strengthening library interests is particularly bright. Mr. Carnegie's generous gift to Atlanta will pive a new impetus to the whole library movement in the southeast, and makes this the opportune time to plan for new campaigns and fresh extensions, and Atlanta the natural place from which to start them. Of Mr. Car- negie's many gifts for the building of libraries none is likely to have a wider influence than this one. A new building, and work con- ducted on an ampler scale, will concentrate public attention on library opportunities, and will, let us hope, so stir the enthusiasm of others that vigorous measures will be taken, first per- haps by means of travelling libraries, and later by encouraging the foundation here and there of small town libraries, to arouse and to direct that love of reading which is latent in every man and which under right conditions may en- rich and purify the whole current of his life. Such a movement the whole library profession stands ready to help, and as the forces that initiated it here they will recognize the Young Men's Library of Atlanta, now 30 years old, and administered in a liberal spirit for the pub- lic good, the Library Commission of Georgia and its efficient and enthusiastic secretary, and the well-directed generosity and public spirit of Andrew Carnegie. You will be interested to know that Mr. Carnegie has indicated tome his desire to become a member of tfye A. L. A., and this morning the executive board, as a mark of its appreciation of his abundant gifts bestowed upon libraries and the efficient aid he has thus given to library advancement, has nominated him an honorary member of this association. In looking back over the year that has passed since we met by Lake Chautauqua, the steps taken toward library organization in new states and among special classes of librarians are per- haps the most noticeable events. As the use- fulness of the A. L. A. meetings led to the formation of state associations, so the good ac- complished by the latter has encouraged the organization of societies or clubs identified with a still more limited area and providing oppor- tunity for acquaintance and mutual helpfulness for many to whom even the state meetings are inaccessible. Such development seems to me wise if only the number of meetings to be at- tended is not too greatly multiplied. Just here lies a real danger, however, and to my mind three such meetings in a year are quite as bene- ficial as twice that number. The medical librarians and the state librari- ans have formed for themselves distinct asso- ciations for the discussion of the questions that more especially interest them. If this indicates any lack of hospitality in providing for the treatment of these subjects at the meetings of the general association, we note our shortcom- ings in this respect with regret, and we assure our brothers in the medical and state libraries that, while we recognize that many of the ques- tions that concern the free public libraries, es- pecially the smaller ones, may not interest them, yet we would gladly have the A. L. A. compre- hend all the ever-enlarging library interests of the country. We still count upon their support and co-operation, and while it is plain to see that they may find it of advantage to have s< me of their meetings at other times and places than those of the general association, we hope that they will always also meet in conjunction with us. To the state librarians in particular it seems to me that this is a matter of importance. The state libraries have a double function. They are in the first place libraries of reference for the state legislatures, and as such they are mainly law libraries and collections of public documents, but in the second place they may be central agencies to which the smaller libra- ries should turn for advice and assistance, and this function they are likely to take upon them- selves more and more in the future. For this reason, in my opinion, whether a separate or- ganization in addition is found desirable or not, the state librarians belong distinctly in the A. L. A., where they have an important part to take and where they can best keep in touch with the progress of library work elsewhere. Six new state library commissions, those of Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Indiana, have taken their place by the side of those already established in Massa- chusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Connecticut, Vermont, and Wisconsin. No new state associations have been formed so far as I am aware, but the activity of ATLANTA CONFERENCE. those already organized has been on the whole greater than ever before. To chronicle their doings is far beyond the scope of this ad- dress, but to judge from their programs the subjects of most present interest may be said to be travelling libraries, women's clubs, libra- ries and schools, and children's rooms and children's reading, all subjects connected, not with the technical organization of the library, but with the extension of its influence to new communities or new classes. In regard to children's reading, it may be worth while to mention the criticism made by one of our German friends in the Centralblatt ', who speaks of chil- dren's libraries as library extension run mad. "Children," he says, "do not belong among books. They should first be thoroughly taught to read in the great book of nature. Their other- wise small need of reading can and should be met through the school and the home. " In spite of the misconception of what the library is trying to do for children in this country, there is enough truth at the bottom of the criticism for us to keep it in mind and guard against the suggested abuse. There are many points in the year's history that I should like to dwell upon, but time is wanting. We must not, however, leave un- mentioned the recent appointment of a Libra- rian of Congress, an appointment in which all librarians have taken a lively interest. That this appointment has been made independently of any political pressure or consideration, on grounds of eminent fitness alone, and that the new librarian should be able to enter upon his duties absolutely unhampered by any personal obligations or political ties is surely a matter for hearty congratulation. That the value of previous experience and technical knowledge of library management, always rightly insisted upon by this association, has been strikingly recognized by this appointment, is a good augury for the future, and will, we hope, be fruitful of good results in bringing sharply to public attention the fact that politics must be absolutely eliminated from library administra- tion and the selection of librarians. In this respect the example of the Library of Congress may be expected to have its special influence upon state libraries where political considera- tions alone have too often ruled. It is un- necessary for me to rehearse the part which this association took in advocating a suitable appointment to the Library of Congress, as the simple story has already been told in the Li- brary Journal, It is perhaps the only position in the country in regard to which this associa- tion would feel that it had a right to offer advice, and in offering advice it confined itself to stating the kind of man that should be ap- pointed and the qualifications that were essen- tial. It did not, and, in my opinion, could not properly name any individual to the President, though its representative felt no hesitation in assuring the President that the appointment, which the President himself suggested, would have the unanimous approval of librarians, and he did not hesitate to encourage an expression of this approval on the part of individuals. And now will you be patient with me a mo- ment longer while I say one or two things I have it in my heart to say about our common work and daily life. Librarians, it seems to me, on the whole are fairly contented and happy people, yet I doubt if we realize as fully as we ought our many blessings. We have difficulties to contend with who has not ? We sometimes meet ingratitude and misunderstand- ing, but there is nothing strange in that. On the whole, is there any work, I wonder, which yields more satisfaction than ours, or better re- pays careful, well-directed, unselfish effort, or stands in more interesting relations with the work of others. The world's workers may be roughly divided into those who deal with things and those who deal with persons, or to state it more exactly those who deal primarily with the forces of nature and their application, and those who deal with human forces and their control. In the first class stands the farmer, the sailor, the engineer, the merchant ; in the second the teacher, the preacher, the lawyer, the statesman. To these two we ought per- haps to add a third class the student, whose primary aim is to search after truth, that others may be guided in the application of it. Where do we belong ? I should say in the second class, being, as a whole, missionaries, but at the same time, in specially close relations also with the other two classes. We collect and preserve the material for the student ; we co-operate with the teacher in bringing moral forces to bear on character, we help train the engineer and the merchant, and we lighten the labor and refresh the leisure of all. But beside all this we have our hand upon one of the great instru- ments of human progress. It is through the printed book that the forces of civilization be- come cumulative. Without it one generation could touch only the generation which next LANE. precedes and that which immediately follows itself, and would have only an indirect and im- perfect connection with other generations. It would lose what earlier times had gained, and could not itself transmit to more distant ages the result of its own experience. Books speak to us from the past in no uncertain or fearful tones. They, at least, are perfectly frank with us ; they expose our folly, they chide our pas- sion, they soften our prejudice, and we can listen to them and receive their lesson with an openness and candor which the spoken words of our immediate neighbor too often fail to win. Books thus make possible a continuity in human progress and stir in us a conscious and wholesome dependence on all that other generations have thought and wrought. There thus accumulates an ever increasing store of experience from which to draw strength for the work of the present. It is our privilege to watch this process and our responsibility to make this source of power effective for the highest ends. What a privilege it is, also, that we are al- ways free to place ourselves at the service of another. Most men are so engrossed by their own work (so called) that they have no time, or not as much as they would gladly take, to serve the needs of others. Other callings, of course, when traced back to the basis on which they rest, are all forms of service, or the world would not long allow them to endure. Still, in many other occupations the man more easily deceives himself into thinking that he is working for himself be he farmer, stockbroker or poli- tician and in this way he loses sight of the true significance of what he does. The librarian may be blind to the character of his work also, and think that by doing such and such things he is simply earning so many dollars a month for his own needs (and from this point of view how little cause for satisfaction he often has). But in the librarian's case it is easy to see the matter in a very different light. Really the li- brarian is one of the few persons in the world who enjoys the luxury of never having to do anything for himself, but of being always free to do for some one else. Is not this a great priv- ilege, and do we appreciate it as we should ? Do we complain of drudgery sometimes ? What is drudgery? Merely certain regular duties which have to be done systematically to keep one's work in good order. Every calling has such duties attached to it as a matter of course. After all how little there is of this in our case that does not have some human inter- est to lighten it, or does not give a chance for some ingenuity to diminish it. How full of va- riety are the demands made upon us. What fertility of resource is brought into play in satisfying them ! Again, some persons are so unfortunate as to be shut up all their lives in one narrow set of people who all look at life in the same narrow way and are interested in the same narrow round of subjects, shut off from the rest of the world and all its busy interests. That is far from being our condition. We are expected to know something of all that goes on and to be interested in every one's hobby, and so we find something that we can do for every one, and thus come into the pleasantest relations with persons of the most various interests and at- tainments. From most of them we may our- selves learn something, for it is only in rare cases, alas ! that we can ourselves become learned. We must often be content to point the way to others, but it is no small thing to be a good sign-post; a reliable sign-post excites frequent and lively feelings of gratitude. Then what a chance we have to overcome our prejudices and catch the other man's point of view. If we cannot put ourselves promptly in his place, and get at least a glimpse of the subject as he sees it, we lose our chance to help him, for he is very unlikely, as you have no doubt noticed, to think that his point of view needs any explanation or is in any way peculiar to himself. This is the result of that " certain blindness in human beings " of which Professor William James writes so charmingly. We are troubled with the same limitations, of course, and sometimes we fail miserably to get the slightest foothold where the other man stands, but when we do succeed we are rewarded by a warm appreciation of our " understanding " and " natural good sense," and the exercise keeps us limber-minded and quick to apprehend. How many other blessings we enjoy, how many other fortunate conditions surround our work, I might take the day in relating; but it is one of those conditions that we all like to talk, we all have something to say, and we all want to hear what every one else has to tell. To satisfy all these desires is a somewhat complicated problem, but we will solve it as best we can. In order to make a beginning, however, it is time for your President to close his remarks and invite your attention to the words of others. ATLANTA CONFERENCE. LIBRARIES IN THE GULF STATES. BY WILLIAM BEER, Librarian Fisk Free and Public Library, New Orleans, La. *T*HE history of the Gulf States from a library point of view is not very encouraging. Florida is in the most backward condition. Its state library, founded in Tallahassee in 1845, has an uncataloged collection of state docu- ments, legislative records, etc., and 9853 law books used by the supreme court, and the li- brary of the state university seems to be unim- portant. In some of the small towns efforts have been made by private associations to es- tablish libraries, but they have met with but small success. In St. Augustine is a free pub- lic library, founded in 1874, which has now about 5000 books, and in Jacksonville there is a public library, founded in 1884, with 3000 books. In 1897 it reported 21 libraries with 47,419 books, of which only one was free for circula- tion to the public, with a circulation of 4,188 books. Alabama shows an advance over Florida. The state library in Montgomery was started in 1828 by the members of the supreme court bar. It has at present 21,500 books. The state uni- versity library was founded in 1833, the library building and contents were destroyed in Wil- son's cavalry raid in April, 1865. Since then there have been accumulated 23,000 books and pamphlets. Birmingham has a public library of 8000 books, which is not worthy of that centre of industry. Mobile has a small library supported by the energy of a single person. There were reported for the state, in 1897, 47 libraries with 126,515 books, of which one of 5000 books circulated 1000. Mississippi has a state library at the capital, Jackson, located in a building which is rapidly falling to pieces. Founded in 1838, the law books only have received proper attention. The others, packed in double rows, are prac- tically unused, and the number of books by direct count has not been ascertained for years. It is probably 45,000, with an immense number of duplicates. The state university library at Oxford, Mis- sissippi, was founded in 1849. It has 16.280 books and pamphlets. There are libraries at the smaller institutions, Mississippi College, Clin- ton, of over 2000 volumes, and Millsaps Col- lege, at Jackson, with over 6500 books and pamphlets. Natchez, Vicksburg, and Yazoo City have libraries kept up by subscription. In the summer towns on Mississippi Sound occasional efforts are made to establish libraries, but they meet with scant support. In 1897 Mississippi reported 61 libraries with 180,614 books, and no circulating library free to the public. In Louisiana we find the same state of things so far as regards the state institutions. The state library, founded in 1838, has undergone several changes of location and ravages by fire and water, but has suffered most from the want of support from the legislature. Its latest re- port shows the possession of 13,500 volumes of law books in active use. The 12,000 miscel- laneous books are valuable, but are seldom consulted. The undistributed documents of the state and duplicates account for the large total of books claimed. The state university library at Baton Rouge has been of late years placed in the hands of an energetic librarian. It has now some 24,000 volumes, including duplicates, but the library building is unfitted for the purpose. Shreve- port has a public library founded in 1895. It has 2000 books. Crowley has a small library. New Orleans alone of the Gulf States pos- sesses fully equipped public libraries. From the beginning of the century the wealth arising from the handling of the products of the Mis- sissippi Valley has attracted many persons of culture, and we find that almost immediately after the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States on April ig, 1805, a library society was started. The Touro Free Library was incor- porated in 1824, the New Orleans Commercial Library in 1838, the Young Men's Free Library in 1846. None of these ever possessed more than 6000 books, and they all died after an average existence of six years. In 1845 was formed the nucleus of the present free public library. It was started in and for the public schools. On the completion of a new city hall in 1850 it became practically the city library, BEER. but with a limited circulation and practically no funds for purchases, it gradually lo&t its use- fulness. In 1849 the Fisk Library was founded and was administered by various teaching in- stitutions until 1896, when the two were united and placed in a building situated on a public square in the heart of the town and splendidly lighted. The new institution, under the name of the Fisk Free and Public Library, has 41,000 books, and is growing at the rate of about 3000 annually. It has attained an average circula- tion of 8000 books monthly. A gift of $50,000 for the purchase of books from the heirs of Mr. Hernsheim is about to be handed over to the trustees, $10,000 for use in bringing up the library to date and $40,000 to be invested, the income only to be used. The Howard Memorial Library was founded in 1889 by the gift of $350,000 from Miss A. T. Howard. It is strictly a reference library and can contain only 35,000 books. Since it has long since reached that number the constant overflow produced by ac- cessions of newer and better books is directed to the Fisk Library, in which the books so dis- placed are deposited for circulation. The use of books is about 24,000 annually. The large collection of material on the history of Louisiana brings more and more students from a dis- tance. The two libraries are worked together in the interest of the public. All periodicals in the Fletcher and Cumulative indexes are to be found in one or other of them, and many in both. In 1897 there were reported for the state 41 libraries with 219,728 books, of which the one free public circulating library gave out for home use 26,000 books. In 1899 this library will circulate 100,000. Texas only of this group of states has on its statute book a law permitting towns of 1000 inhabitants to tax themselves for library pur- poses, but as yet no libraries have been started under the law. Efforts seem to be directed to the encouragement of private subscriptions. The state library at Austin is under the care of the Secretary of Agriculture. It possesses 18,000 books and pamphlets, including a good collec- tion of rare books on the history of the state. The state university library occupies the sub- ordinate position which is unfortunately shared by all such libraries south of Washington, D. C. The managing boards have failed to grasp the importance of what is really the heart and centre of university work. It now numbers 35,000 books and pamphlets, and under the charge of its present energetic librarian bids fair to outstrip the libraries of some older institutions. Five cities San Antonio, Fort Worth, Hous- ton, Galveston, and El Paso have had strug- gling libraries for many years. From personal inspection I should say that the one at El Paso is the best. The library at Galveston is being allowed to die while the trustee of the Rosen- feld residuary legacy of probably $350,000 is preparing to act. Houston has a few thousand books, which are neglected. On the other hand , the wave of library creation under the inspira- tion of the State Federation of Women's Clubs has struck Waco, Dallas, Sherman, Abilene, Victoria, Belton, Tyler, and Demson, which doubtless will soon possess and support public circulating libraries. Texas reports 90 libraries with 157,479 hooks, with one at Galveston of 6500 books, circulating 25,651. The total statistics for 1897 for the Gulf States showed : population, 7,085,000; libraries, 260; books, 731,775. In the statistics issued by the U. S. Board of Education in 1897 the Gulf States made the fol- lowing showing: FLORIDA. ALABAMA. MISSISSIPPI. LOUISIANA. TEXAS. TOTAL. 43,so6 4,920 3 28 "7,337 35,1" 7 $3,819 1,635,000 7 J 2 9,178 126,515 i 5,000 4.188 3 1 166,870 23,9*5 6 $2,34 1,350,000 '4 30 '3,744 61 180,614 8 27 312,828 46,43' 12 $3,056 1,190,000 18 14 6,900 4" 219,728 I 18,000 26.000 39 131,232 13,804 7 671,763 134,191 35 10 $18,852 7,085,000 10 132 59,992 3OO 731,755 12 34,000 16.830 $1,689 475,000 I 3,913 31 47,419 I 4,500 1 .000 $7,948 2,445,000 6 5 36,357 90 '57,479 z 6,500 2S.O!SS Books per too of pop Libraries having less than 1000 vols No. " " " " " ..Books Total libraries reporting Total books Free circulating libs., 3000 v. and over.... Books in " " " " .... Issued from " " " " ATLANTA CONFERENCE. CONSIDERATIONS AS TO A PRINTED CATALOG IN BOOK FORM FOR THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.* BY JAMES LYMAN WHITNEY, Acting Librarian Boston Public Library. \ \T HEN, some 40 years ago, the Boston Public Library first occupied its new building on Boylston street, two independent libraries were established there : I. The collection of popular books in the Lower Hall. 2. The more scholarly books in the Bates Hall. For the popular department a finding list was printed in 1858, which has been followed by class lists, in many editions, down to a recent date. For the Bates Hall a list was published in 1861. The title in both was an " Index to the cata- logue," etc., as consisting of brief entries which pointed to a card catalog, or the books them- selves, for fuller particulars. These indexes, moreover, contained the titles of a selected portion only of the library, but few pamphlets, for example, being included unless written by Boston authors or relating to 'the affairs of Boston ; while subject-entries were not given in many cases, particularly where a publication contained less than one hundred pages a poor test, as was then allowed, of the value of any production, and particularly so in science. A first supplement to this index, on a like plan, was published in 1866, and it was pur- posed to follow these indexes with supplemen- tary ones, to be gathered together at some future time, it was hoped, under one alphabet. At this time the library took a great stride forward, the annual additions, which for a few years had averaged 7500 volumes, increas- ing to some 25,000 volumes, including special libraries, such as the Prince and Ticknor collections, which were given with the under- standing that critical and scholarly catalogs be published. Mr. Justin Winsor, soon after assuming the office of superintendent, saw clearly that this great increase was "almost a portent of future unavailing efforts to keep up in print with the growth of the library," and that it had become "a question of prime importance, with the * This paper was prepared last autumn at the request of the Trustees and Librarian of the Boston Public Li- brary, and forms a part of the Annual Report of the Li- brary for 1898-99. future so promising for continued growth, whether some change in the method of present- ing the record of our accessions to the public will not be absolutely forced upon us."f In the meantime, as the nearest approach possible to the catalog desired, a bulletin of new accessions was begun in 1867, which pub- lication, with changes of form, has continued until the present time. To this, from time to time, have been added catalogs of special sub- jects in great number. It is understood that the material supplemen- tary to these catalogs in printed volumes which was being collected in card form was intended only for the use of the officers of the library in preparing a new index volume. Readers were obliged to examine many cata- logs and bulletins, which numbered, in 1871, in both libraries nearly 30 a state of things which was felt to be intolerable. At this time the foundations were laid of a card catalog, intended, under author and sub- ject, to give full entries for all the books in the library. This involved not only the catalog- ing of the new accessions to the library, but also all the omitted material already alluded to, together with the recataloging of some 175,000 volumes. This work of preparation and re- vision has gone on steadily since that time, its scope and methods broadening and ramify- ing with the growth and development of the library. Since the establishment of the card catalog it may be roughly estimated that 400,000 volumes, pamphlets, and parts of vol- umes, newly added to the central library, have been cataloged, and, on an average, 12,000 volumes a year of older material have been revised and recataloged4 While this work has more than met the an- ticipations of its projectors and has proved in many respects an ideal catalog, the question has been asked from time to time by those who have chafed under its requirements and limita- tions, whether it might not be possible to con- t Annual report, 1871. tFrom 1882-1897, 191,472 volumes were recataloged in the work of revision. WHITNEY. dense all this material into printed volumes, which could be consulted more readily and used outside the library building. To this question the reply of the trustees is been that, owing to the expense involved and to other grave considerations, they were not prepared to enter upon an undertaking so vast and of so uncertain an issue. At least, until the library should be housed in a new building and all of the necessary changes of shelf-position and shelf-numbers had been made, a printed catalog, even if possible, would be an unwise project. Now that this transfer has been made and the changes mentioned are under way, how does the case stand ? What will the proposed cata- log involve ? 1. In the first place the work of revision must be pushed with vigor to the end, the cata- logers being called off from all other special work to receive aid in this undertaking from an extra force to be engaged from outside. The cards for every book must be copied in abbreviated form, compared with each other, and if not already done, with the cards in the public catalog, with the shelf-lists, and with the book itself, while the subject head- ings must be submitted to a rigid test as to their correctness and their indication of rela- tionship to the headings of cognate subjects. The catalog of a great library is a constant development; to its latest and highest require- ments all the work of preceding years must be brought. Only when the work is perfected can it be given to the printer. The time needed for this cannot be estimated, but only guessed at from the experience of other large libraries which have printed their catalogs. 2. Supposing that this revision is finished and the card catalog as it stands now is ready to print, what then ? On June 25, 1898, the card catalog measured 12,523 inches linear measurement through the thickness of the stock. Reckoning 80 cards to an inch these cards number 1,001,840. Roughly estimated, from numerous tests made, nine- tenths of these cards contain one title each, and one-tenth two or more titles. It might be said that there are 1,200,000 titles (author and subject) in the public card catalog in the Bates Hall and delivery-room. This leaves out of account many of the titles in the Ticknor and Barton catalogs, which it would be desirable to include in condensed form in a general cata- log of this library. An estimate may be made in another way There were in the Central Library, exclusive of the duplicate-room, on July I, 1898, about 524,000 volumes, or, deducting special collec- tions, say 500,000 volumes. Reckoning two and one-half entries for each book (an accepted estimate),* the number of titles to be printed would be i,25o,ooo.f 3. The question now arises, shall the pro- posed catalog be kept up to date ; that is, shall the titles of books received while the work is in progress be added, or shall it include only what was in the library at the time of beginning the work. For the past seven years the cards placed in the public catalogs in Bates Hall and the de- livery-room have averaged 44,857 a year, or about 150 a day. As the preparation and printing of these titles in addition to those already in the library would push forward the publication of the catalog indefinitely, I will here make only estimates on the collection of books as it now stands. 4. Assuming that these 1,200,000 titles are ready for the printer, how much time will be needed to edit them through the press ? From an examination of numerous catalogs of this and other libraries, I judge that the number of titles to a page would average from 40 to 50, depending on the fulness of the titles given and the style of printing. Calling it the larger number, the catalog would fill 24,000 pages; if the smaller, 30,000 pages. The Boston Athenaeum catalog was printed at the rate of I + pages a working day; the catalog of the library of the Peabody Institute at the rate of less than two pages a day; the in- dex-catalog of the library of the Surgeon-Gen- eral's office, United States Army, at the rate of about three and one-third pages a day. Calling the rate of progress for the proposed catalog five pages a day, the time needed would be in the one case 16 years and in the other 20 years. * The dictionary catalog of the Boston Athenaeum for the period from 1872 - 1894 covers 80,000 bound volumes and 5000 pamphlets, and is estimated to contain 291,840 cards, or nearly three and one-half cards per title. tin this estimate no account is taken of the number of duplicate copies on these cards, the number of volumes made up of many pamphlets, or the number of works in long sets. 10 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. The catalog of the Boston Athenaeum, work upon which was begun in 1856, was sent to the printer May, 1872. January of that year was taken as the limit beyond which no book should be added. On its completion, therefore, it did not contain the titles of books added to the library for the preceding ten years. To the index-catalog of the library of the Surgeon- General's office, and to the catalog of the Pea- body Institute, the titles of books and articles received during the printing were added, ex- cept such as were included in the part of the alphabet already in type. On the completion of the index-catalog enough material had collected in the letter A to fill 828 pages, while in the main work this letter occupied only 718 pages. In the Peabody In- stitute catalog this letter occupies 236 pages in the supplement, and only 136 in the main work. This disproportion would doubtless disappear in the later letters of the alphabet, yet it shows that the titles left over on the completion of a catalog may be as numerous when the work is delayed to insert matter received during its progress through the press as when, receiving no additions, it is put through more rapidly. What will be the value and how great the use of a catalog which does not contain titles of books added for 10 to 20 years previous to its issue ? On the completion of the Boston Athenaeum catalog I examined the books given to readers at the Boston Public Library for some days, and found that seven out of 10 had been pub- lished less than 10 years. Of course such a calalog would have less and less use from year to year.* By recent tests made by Mr. Chevalier, of the catalog department, it appears that of books taken for home use on given days 24 per cent, were published before 1883, while 19 per cent, bore date between 1883 and 1888, and 67 per cent, between 1888 and 1898; while of books taken for hall use, 37 per cent, were published before 1883, while 24 per cent, were issued be- tween 1883 and 1888, and 39 per cent, between * " While the use of the catalog in print is vastly more convenient than the best in manuscript, and while our printed volumes may be of great advantage in other li- braries and to a few students who possess them, it is very apparent from observation that the great bulk of users of the Bates Hall are in search of the newer books, which cannot be found in the printed catalogs." J. Winsor : Superintendents report, 1872. 1888 and 1898. On the completion of the pro- posed catalog for this library it probably would not contain one-fourth of the books called for by readers. An opinion as to the number of volumes re- quired for a printed catalog of the library may be ventured, based on the experience of other libraries. Six years ago an estimate was made that the titles in the card catalogs of the upper hall of the old library building would fill 16% volumes of the size of the Barton catalog (Mis- cellaneous part). This estimate apparently took no account of the titles which have long contents, or of the cases where more than one title is on the card, and, in my opinion, it falls far short of being correct. The Boston Athenaeum catalog of 92,000 vol- umes and about 36,000 pamphlets is in five volumes with 3400 pages. In the five vol- umes of the Peabody Institute Library the 5000 pages catalog a collection of perhaps 100,000 volumes. The index catalog at Wash - ton in its 16 volumes, or 16,000 pages, represents a collection somewhat larger, minutely ana- lyzed. The British Museum catalog, with author entries only, which approaches completion, thus far fills about 110,000 columns (two to a page, folio size). These columns, if joined to one another, would reach more than 17 miles a vivid illustration of the proportions which the catalog of our own library will soon reach. With its more than half a million volumes and many thousand pamphlets an estimate for the Boston Public Library of a catalog in 30 vol- umes of a thousand pages each is probably a moderate one. It would be difficult to estimate the cost of preparing a catalog of this library for the press and printing it. In 1881 the examining com- mittee made a statement, based upon estimates furnished them, that the cost would be nearer $200,000 than $100,000. The catalog of the Boston Athenaeum, in five volumes, is said to have cost nearly $ioo,ooo.-j- Of the index-cata- log of the library of the Surgeon-General's t This estimate is only an approximate one, as may be seen by the reports of the treasurer. The librarian has stated that the cost of printing, paper, binding, etc., was about $20,000, and that for many years there were from two to eight persons preparing the manuscript for the printer. The compilation of this catalog was attended with peculiar difficulties, and its cost was greater than might be expected in similar undertakings. WHITNEY. ii office one volume has been issued yearly at a cost for the printing and binding alone, and not including the cost of preparation, of $12,000 a volume, or $216,000 for the eighteen volumes ' rst and second series) so far issued, in an edi- tion of rooo copies. For printing the catalog of the British Museum, which was begun January, 1881, an annual grant was assigned which has risen by gradual increments to ^3000 a year. * If the price be set upon the catalog based upon its cost, or upon the charge for the cata- logs of other libraries, but few copies would be sold. Even if a nominal price were named, judging from the experience of the library, the sale would probably be quite limited. As already stated, in place of a new general catalog in a printed volume, the bulletin was established, which gives ready access to the new additions to the library. Moreover, as any subject has come into prominence or general interest it has been made the occasion for preparing a special catalog, in which, with the aid offered by specialists, the titles of the most helpful and authoritative works have been gathered. As an example, there may be cited the list of books on social reform, published this year. Such lists as these, ^rawn from the general catalog, when the in- terest of the public on any particular question or department of literature is ardent, are timely and of service, whereas such a topic in a gen- eral printed catalog might at any given moment not have been reached or be a dozen years be- hind the time, f On the completion of this proposed catalog a million cards will probably have accumulated, ne- cessitating the preparation of the first of many * For the British Museum catalog the yearly subscrip- tion for the parts, which began to appear about 1881, is 3 IDS. The selling price of the entire catalog will be .84. About 40 copies have been sold and as many given away. The price of the five volumes of the Pea- body Institute catalog is $37, and $11.50 for volumes 1-3 of the second series. The Boston Athenaeum catalog is sold for $5 a volume, and to libraries at $20 for the en- tire work. About 350 copies have been sold. The price for the catalog of the library of the Surgeon-General's office is $3.50 a volume; for that of the Bibliothfcque Na- tionale 15 francs a volume. tThe Austrian Library Association, at its meeting held on March 26 of this year, decided to abandon the plan for an Austrian general catalog, owing to lack of adequate support, but in its place it voted to publish bulletins de- voted to library matters. Library Journal^ September, supplements to follow. The library would then be confronted with the state of things which led its first superintendent, Mr. Jewett, to affirm that "Nothing short of what a card catalog is in plan can ever be regarded as entirely satis- factory for a great public library," \ and his suc- cessor, Mr. Winsor, to agree with the view of European librarians that "printing in a large and a rapidly growing library is impractica- ble."** Nothing has been said in regard to the print- er's part in the proposed catalog, for the reason that the other considerations adduced are the vital ones. With the addition of another press and linotype the proposed catalog could be put in type to keep pace with the supply of matter furnished by the editors. With the coming of the linotype there was a suggestion that the way might be open for a catalog of the entire library in printed volumes, and moreover that by holding the solid lines or "slugs," insertions might be made and the catalog kept up to date. In this library the linotype has been tested in catalog work to the following extent: In ad- dition to the printing of the titles of accessions for the card catalog and the special catalogs, a Monthly Bulletin has been issued, and at the end of 20 months about two-thirds of this mat- ter has been reprinted, with some changes, from the same slugs, as an " Annual list." Although this is an author catalog, ff arranged simply by classes, and much less intricate than a dictionary catalog of authors and subjects, many difficulties have been met with in its de- velopment. If the attempt should be made to unite the slugs for the annual list with others for a two-year list or a five-year list, as has been proposed, these difficulties would multiply many fold. To mention one: to the labor of find- ing the slugs and rearranging them there would be added the constantly increasing necessity for a new grouping. It would probably be more eco- nomical to set up the whole list anew. For it is a settled principle that work ought to be per- fected before it is sent to the printer; all changes and new arrangements after that are disastrous. The same principle holds good with the lino- type. Editorial work must be done elsewhere % Annual Report 1861. ** Annual Report, 1872. ttThis was followed by a second annual list, Jan. i, 1899. 12 ATLANTA CONFERENCE, than in the printer's office, or the linotype room. With the linotype as up to this time devel- oped, methods which hold good for printing such a publication as the annual list would cease to be operative in the case of a larger and certainly of a much larger catalog. The cost of arrangement and editing would be out of all proportion to the increase of titles. The case as it stands is as stated. Should the linotype ever through the progress of invention overcome its present limitations and effect that which now seems impossible, no one will rejoice more than the maker of catalogs. The Examining Committee of Citizens for 1886, impressed with requirements of the catalog department, suggested "that $100,000 be se- cured by public grant, private subscription or by all combined the income of which should be exclusively devoted in perpetuity to the Bates Hall catalog." With this sum in hand, it would be worth while to consider whether, if it be impossible to make an elaborate author and subject cat- alog, some quicker and less expensive substi- tute might not be found. I. An author catalog, that is, one in which entries are given only under authors' names, and not, as in a dictionary catalog, under sub- jects also, could be prepared with less delay and cost. That of the British Museum has been mentioned. The Bibliotheque Nationale, has begun the publication of such a catalog, of which the first volume contains, in 565 pages, 11,067 titles, or about one-fourth of the titles of works of authors whose name begins with the letter A.* As to the value of an author catalog it should be said that however the case may be in the Bibliotheque Nationale, or in a university li- brary, in the Boston Public Library an author catalog would be of less value than one under subjects. One comes to a library to learn one of two things: i, Whether a certain book is there; or 2, What the library has on a given subject. The first point is settled by author catalog, and U is the only one settled except the question of the bibliographer, who wishes to learn the exact title of an out of the way book. An answer to * The introduction by M. Delisle is interesting, espe- cially section 15, " Raisons qui ont fait adopter 1'ordre alpbabetique pour le catalogue." the second question is found in a subject catalog. The scholar, familiar with literature, will seek what he needs in an author catalog. Even here he will obtain more satisfactory results from the card catalog of the library than from its abbreviated reproduction in book form. The general inquirer, however, as a rule does not know the particular book required, and asks what books are in the library under a given subject. This question cannot be an- swered by an author catalog whether in book form or on cards. The publication of an author catalog for the benefit of all countries may perhaps be justified in the case of the British Museum and the Bibliotheque Nationale, as being national li- braries and containing in the largest gatherings of books in the world an approach to a univer- sal collection. The library on this side of the Atlantic most nearly approximating such a col- lection ought ultimately to be our own national library. This institution receives copies of every book copyrighted in the United States. Even if it should not attempt to publish a com- plete catalog of its collection it is conceivable that an author catalog of at least this portion, representing a complete, authoritative descrip- tion of all the issues of the American press, might be of sufficient service to bibliography to justify its expense. f It would have the advan- tage, which trade catalogs do not possess, of being a full, precise, and scholarly description. Such a work, however, needs to be issued under the authority of one institution only. It does not need to be repeated by other libraries. If each national library would at least under- take such a catalog for the issues of the press of its country, the publications of the world would be economically recorded. But however proper a work like this might be for a national library, with a collection of copyright material presumably complete, and with the resources of a nation behind it, the Boston Public Library stands in a very different position. It is to an extent a scholars' library; it is also a popular library. It does not contain, and does not wish to contain, more than a fraction of the tA catalog of authors was begun by the Library of Congress in 1878, but it was continued only through the letter C. This library's catalog of the title entries of books and other articles entered in the office of the Reg- ister of Copyrights is a publication in the direction in- dicated. WHITNEY. books published in this country. The biblio- graphical value of its catalog in print, there- fore, would be limited accordingly, while the material published abroad which it contains, being for the most part duplicated in the British Museum and the Bibliotheque Nationale to- gether, is adequately recorded at their expense in their catalogs. So much for the scholarly side, the bibliog- raphy pure and simple. For the popular ser- vice, the Monthly Bulletin and special lists, as they are issued from time to time, are adequate and more to the purpose. 2. The titles under authors might be grouped under classes, as in our Monthly Bulletin and annual list. Such a list of all the books of this library, however, would need a classification so extensive and indexes so minute that the labor might quite equal that of finishing the prepara- tion and the printing of our dictionary catalog of authors and subjects. The annual list is only a selection from the Monthly Bulletins, which are themselves only a partial record of the books currently received. From the labor ex- pended on this list (which is without indexes) one can imagine the time needed for the prepa- ration of an indexed list of all the books re- ceived by this library for nearly 50 years. 3. Some years ago, in the Boylston street building, when the pressure for space for the card catalog was a matter of concern, a plan was formed to take out certain sections and print them separately in volumes. While the work done in this direction has great value, as approaching the subjects treated from a dif- ferent point of view from our dictionary catalog, and, while it also supplements that work, the library has never seen the wisdom of substituting these lists for the fuller entries in the card catalog, or breaking up the completeness and continuity of that great work. Still, some such plan may be forced upon us in the future. I have presented the question of a catalog in a printed volume for the Boston Public Library succinctly, and I trust fairly, for considera- tion. I think that such an undertaking would be unwise. The decision of 26 years ago was based on reasons which have gathered strength with the passing of time. POSTSCRIPT. A statement in the Quarterly Review for October, 1898, in regard to the book catalog of the British Museum, supple- ments the information given in the preceding report. It is there stated that the complete catalog will consist of about 600 volumes, con- taining on an average 250 columns each. During its progress through the press the accessions to the library have exceeded half a million titles, only a fraction of which will appear in this cata- log. The number of copies available is about 250, but of these less than one-third have passed into circulation, and even of that number about one-half have been given gratuitously. A supple- mentary catalog of accessions was printed, which a subscriber could obtain for 3 a year in addi- tion to his subscription of 3 los. for the principal catalog. But this accessions catalog found scarcely any subscribers, and the issue has now been contracted within the narrowest possible limits. The writer adds : "The pres- ent situation may be summed up in the state- ment that the catalog of the British Museum is almost unknown outside of the reading-room; that its complete form is found in the reading- room alone, and that the very few persons who have access to it beyond those precincts possess it in a form which is so incomplete as well- nigh to frustrate the chief reason of its exist- ence."* In the periodical Literature for Jan. 10, 1899, it is stated that the officials of the BibHotheque Nationale have been compelled to cease print- ing their catalog by reason of the great expense involved. When the work was undertaken it was estimated that the catalog would occupy some 80 volumes. The first volume cost ^1600, so that the cost of the entire work might be i30,ooo.t * In a circular from the British Museum, dated isth April, 1899, the statement is made that a supplement will be published to include the titles, not yet incor- porated, of all works acquired since the commencement of the printing of the catalogs to the end of 1899. t Last week M. mile Terquem, of Paris, told me that at some future time, it may be two years or it may be ten, other volumes would no doubt appear, ATLANTA CONFERENCE. HOW TO ENCOURAGE THE FOUNDATION OF LIBRARIES IN SMALL TOWNS : REMARKS SUGGESTED BY SERVICE ON THE MAS- SACHUSETTS FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMISSION. BY SAMUEL SWETT GREEN, Librarian of Worcester (Mass.) Public Library. 'T'HE Free Public Library Commission of Massachusetts was the first state library commission established. Since the appoint- ment of its members, in October, 1890, I have been a member, and wish, now, in the simplest way, to make a few suggestions in regard to the foundation of public libraries in small towns, using the term in a strict sense. There are 353 towns in Massachusetts. When the library commission began its work in 1890 there were 351 towns, and 105 of these had no free public library. That number has been so reduced that there are now only seven towns in the Commonwealth which do not enjoy public library privileges. An obstacle often encountered in establishing a public library is its location, if a town has more than one village. It will be gratifying to learn that this obstacle has always been suc- cessfully removed through suggestions made by members of the commission. In one small town, I remember, one village already had an association library. That, the association gave to the town. The town library, thus aug- mented, was housed in a town hall in the vil- lage. In two other villages branch libraries were opened, one in a disused school-house and a third in another town building. Books kept in one village can from time to time be ex- changed for those in another village. Another solution of the problem for accom- modating persons in all parts of a town is to have the whole library in one village and send from it boxes of books at regular intervals to other villages. Boxes or volumes may also be sent to school-houses as needed by teachers and scholars. In sending books from one part of the town to another the wagons of butchers, fishsellers, and other persons whose business takes them from one village to another, mail wagons, stage coaches, trolley cars, and even private conveyances of public-spirited residents may be availed of. If persons go regularly to the village where the library is kept, on Sunday, the library could be kept open an hour on that day for the exchange of books. Persons attending library conventions from small towns hear much about cataloging, classi- fication, charging systems, and other matters that are not at all applicable to their needs. In a small town with little money to spend very simple library methods are desirable. It would not be found necessary, for exampJe, to have a card catalog. In a report which has just been issued by the Free Public Library Commission of Massachusetts to give an ac- count of every public library in the Common- wealth, with pictures of all separate library buildings, only 150 of 344 libraries report that they have card catalogs. Very likely some of them have such catalogs which have not re- ported them. It seems probable, however, that one-half, if not more, of the libraries in the state, are without catalogs of this kind, and they, without doubt, get along very well with- out them. In small towns it is practicable to let users of libraries go to the shelves to pick out books for themselves, and where a catalog is desirable for use at delivery stations and in homes away from library buildings, a cheaply printed list of the volumes, with occasional supplementary lists issued by the library, or in a local paper, gives the service needed. Expense in manage- ment is to be avoided, and as much money as possible should be used in buying books and magazines to circulate. In many of the smaller towns much gratuitous service is rendered by residents, different persons taking turns in giv- ing out books, helping readers, and attending to other kinds of library work. Such service may be used exclusively or a small sum of money, $25 to $50 a year, may be paid to some person to keep things neat and other persons can give their services. Perhaps the small sum of money mentioned would secure a place for the library in a con- veniently situated house as well as much of the needed service. It seems well for persons in- terested in founding libraries in small towns to establish pleasant personal relations with some person who has knowledge of library work, I GREEN. like the methods in use in the commission which I represent, because they bring about these relations. When a library is to be established in a little town the business of aiding the town is put into the hands of a single member of the commission, who corresponds with the proper persons in the town, finds out what books are accessible there, what the tastes and needs of the people are, and what kinds of books are desired, and, generally, what the library situ- ation is in the town. By personal correspondence difficulties are removed and a wise selection of books is made. Then, too, the person who has been aiding the town always feels an interest in the town and persons in the town keep up a correspondence, and get aid in maintaining and managing the library after it is established. It seems to me that commissions should be careful not to keep towns at a distance by adjusting differ- ences respecting location by rule, or by sending lists of books to a town for which selections are to be made, but should try to establish and maintain pleasant relations in the towns. If mem- bers of a commission are not at hand, perhaps some other well informed persons may be near from whom advice and assistance can be asked. Travelling libraries are very useful in stimu- lating an interest in the establishment of libra- ries and in supplementing their usefulness. Care should be taken, however, to see to it that such a use is made of them as will not discour- age towns from establishing libraries. A different spirit prevails in different states. The care in use in New York, for instance, in supervising educational matters would be re- garded as excessive in Massachusetts. Thus examinations of schools are conducted in New York by the Board of Regents, and public libra- ries aided by the state are supposed to be care- fully looked after and held somewhat in tute- lage. Such a system may be perfectly in place in New York, but I feel sure that it would be disliked in Massachusetts. Our towns like to be allowed to manage their own affairs in edu- cational (including library) matters as well as in other spheres. The same spirit would, I think, resent the enactment of a compulsory law re- quiring every town to establish a public library or to vote a certain per cent, of the amount raised by taxation for its support. Fortunately compulsion is not needed in Massachusetts. By awakening interest, through correspond- ence and personal interviews, and by distribut- ing printed matter, so much interest has been awakened since 1890 that, as stated before, only seven towns are now without free public library privileges. Nor is compulsion needed in that state respecting proper maintenance. It has been thought at times by some persons that compulsion in this matter is desirable, but the best opinion is, it seems to me, that voluntarily the towns in Massachusetts are likely to deal generously by their libraries. That a compulsory law is not needed there (whatever may be the situation in other states) seems to be shown by the commonwealth's ex- perience in regard to common schools. Mr. C. B. Tillinghast, the state librarian, a gentleman who has for a great many years had an official connection with the board of educa- tion, and who is thoroughly conversant with educational matters in the commonwealth, writes me as follows : "There is a compulsory law relative to the maintenance of schools each town being re- quired to raise at least three dollars per child between the ages of 5 and 15. There is only one town in Massachusetts, Gay Head, popu- lated by Indians, that does not raise more than three dollars. The largest amount raised is $51.33 1-3 per pupil, and the average for the whole state $17.87, almost six times what the law requires. It would be as foolish to require towns to appropriate a certain percentage of their wealth for libraries as it would be to re- quire them to do so for schools. I should also fear that it might have a tendency to limit the appropriation to the legal requirement, thereby diminishing the amount that would otherwise be appropriated. I do not believe that any well managed, live library in Massachusetts will suffer for an appropriation." i6 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. HOW TO ORGANIZE STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS AND MAKE STATE AID EFFECTIVE. BY Miss L. E. STEARNS, Librarian of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. A STATE library commission has been not ** inaptly described by Mr. Johnson Brig- ham, state librarian of Iowa, as a Yankee device for bringing together the state, with its ample means and its facilities for getting books cheaply, and the people, with their limited means and their unlimited and illimitable long- ing for books; that shrewd device for bringing together the people who may, can or must, might, could, would or should read, and the books that should be read. That such bodies are finding favor with those that have the best interests of libraries at heart is shown by the fact that no less than 13 state library commissions have been organized within the past nine years such bodies now being found in Massachusetts, which led off in 1890, followed in turn by New Hampshire, Con- necticut, Vermont, Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, Penn- sylvania, and Maine the six last-named hav- ing joined the ranks during the past winter. That each of these state library commissions exemplifies the library missionary spirit of the age may be shown by the fact that it is ex- pressly stipulated in each one of the bills creating such commissions that no member of such body shall receive any compensation for services rendered; indeed, the members of two boards, those of Georgia and Pennsylvania, have been granted the privilege of paying their own travelling expenses. Any state, no matter how politically depraved may be its legislature, may secure a state li- brary commission when the law-makers are made to realize that the bill is backed by a strong public sentiment, and when a practicable plan is shown of maintaining it at a reasonable expense. A bill carrying with it an appropria- tion of but a few hundred dollars is generally passed over by the watch-dogs of the treasury. A measure headed " To promote the efficiency of free public libraries " has no attractions for the scalping-knife of such practical politicians as aCroker or a " Hinky Dink," who passively ignore the first, second, and even third readings of the bill. Their inactivity does not mean, however, that the bill should be introduced and then be allowed to find its own circuitous way through its passage; for such inattention may result in the early burial of the measure in a committee's box, too deep for after-resurrection. In advocating the passage of the measure, strong allies may be found in the various edu- cational associations, such as state federations of women's clubs, teachers' associations, and in personal letters to the legislators from well- known and influential men and women of the state. Sometimes, however, where a state is commission-ridden and has expensive Fish, Forest, Mining, Labor, Dairy and Food com- missions, it may be well to proceed quietly and leave the bill in the charge of a wise legislator interested in educational advancement. The greatest care should be exercised in drafting the desired measure. The best features of existing bills may be wisely adopted with modifications to suit local conditions. If it is desired, through the law's provisions, to di- vorce the state library from political control, the Ohio commission bill maybe wisely studied. In states where it is customary to turn all ras- cals out at intervals of two years, it may be well to fortify the commission by a majority serving ex-officio. In two or three instances, among the library commissions recently created, the state librarian acts as the secretary of the commission. This we do not deem a wise pro- vision, especially where the tenure of office of the state librarian is a brief one, as it would mean a constant interruption in the commis- sion's work. If the state librarian could be appointed by the commission and serve at its pleasure, this part of the difficulty would be remedied. In any event, the sooner the li- brary commission can employ a paid secretary and assistants, who shall devote their entire time to the work, the better for the library movement. After deciding upon the membership of the commission and its officers, its powers are next to be considered ; and right here is where the kind- STEARNS. ly missionary spirit should be made manifest. " The commission shall give advice and counsel to all free libraries in the state and to all com- mittees which may propose to establish them, and to all persons interested, as to the best means of establishing and administering such libraries, the selection of books, cataloging, and other details of library management. The com- mission may also send its members to aid in organizing new libraries or improving those already established " such a provision as the foregoing will show the commission's willing- ness to aid every library endeavor. The western and southern states of our land are not yet ready, we believe, to establish li- braries through compulsory legislation. The conditions which obtain in the west, as affect- ing library development, are but little under- stood in the eastern part of the country. In the west there are whole communities of for- eigners who never had the advantages of free libraries in the far-off fatherland, and who, therefore, know nothing, at first hand, of their benefits. Again, towns in the west are still being cut out of the heart of forests, school- houses, churches, and dwellings are being built, water and sewerage improvements made, sidewalks and pavements laid, all causing heavy burdens of taxes and expense. Such reasons as these cause libraries to be regarded in a certain sense as luxuries and not necessi- ties. Any attempt at coercion would be met with fierce antagonism. But ofttimes, undis- mayed by the taxation bugbear, the library commissioner goes to " Forestville," studies the local conditions, confers with the liberal- spirited and wise-minded, succeeds in getting the village president to appoint a library board of interested men and women under the state library law, whose duty it then becomes to devise ways and means of securing the bless- ings of a free public library. The proceeds from entertainments, fairs, lectures, suppers, etc., in which all join, go to swell the library fund until the library becomes so essential in promoting the general happiness of the town that the people willingly tax themselves for its support. A library started under such condi- tions, with untrained and gratuitous service, is not ready to be officially inspected nor marked below grade for the absence of an altogether too expansive system for its purpose of Classification; but its management warmly wel- comes and adopts any advice or suggestions when tendered in a kindly way through the medium of a wholly friendly visit from the itinerant commissioner. And here comes in the question of state aid. Some of the eastern states have adopted the principle of giving a grant of money upon the opening of a free library. In others a few books are given as an incentive to start the ball rolling. Now it is the universal experience that the occasional receipt of new books is the factor, above all others, that sustains the community's interests in a public library. The difficulty in library extension in small villages lies in the fact that the small annual income for a library is eaten up by its running ex- penses librarian's salary, fuel, light, and rent and too little is left to buy semi-annual sup- plies of fresh books, and a library without such additions soon loses its popularity and support. In discussing the question of state aid, there- fore, might it not be well to devise some method by which the state could assist in sustaining the interest in the library ; and how better could it do this than by sending to each of the smaller communities, at regular intervals, a box of fresh literature not necessarily com- posed wholly of the latest, but many of the best, that are not usually found on the shelves of vil- lage libraries? In other words, might it not be better to invest a lump sum in good books, leaving a margin for late additions, and then, by a wise system of exchange, give an entire state the benefit of each and every book ? Would not the knowledge that fresh books were to be received every six months, year after year, serve as a greater incentive to a community in starting a library than to be given $100 once and for all, or $50 worth of books outright ? This subject will bear the serious and thoughtful consideration of all in- terested in the growth of libraries in small towns arid villages. It has been our aim to show that the state li- brary commission's first duty lies in the direction of nurturing and fostering the small library; for, as has been rightly said, it is, after all, not the few great libraries but the thousand small ones that may do most for the people. The possibilities in library commission work are in- finite. Every commission finds many avenues of labor and each leads to many new ones. i8 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. Among the agencies for good may be men- tioned : (a) The collection of books and maga- zines for travelling libraries, the publication of a library bulletin, with helpful articles on the library profession, details of library manage- ment, reports of libraries, unbiased reviews of the best books for Tillage libraries, etc., etc. (b) The preparation of articles for the press on the library movement, and the publication of handbooks and circulars of information, (c) A library lecturer to rouse apathetic communi- ties of retired farmers and the like to enthusiasm and subsequent action; to address women's clubs, farmers' institutes, town meetings, busi- ness men's leagues, and educational gatherings of every description on the various phases of library endeavor; to give stereopticon lectures on the history of the book, public library build- ings, and travelling libraries; in fact, to conduct a perpetual aggressive campaign for more and better libraries, (d) A library instructor to go about visiting libraries, meeting with boards of trustees as a committee of the whole on ways and means; settling vexed points of charging systems and other details of library manage- ment so perplexing to the inexperienced ; to get the librarians of a single county together, for a little institute or section meeting, elementary in character, but sometimes similar to state library meetings, from which many are debarred by reason of stress of time, purse, or distance; to conduct a summer school of library science where librarians for a merely nominal fee may learn the best methods gained from the experi- ence of others and, best of all, absorb what has come to be known as " the library spirit." (e) An itinerant circuit rider of to-day, who shall visit the various travelling library sta- tions, such as farmers' homes, logging camps, village post offices, and the like, to counsel with the librarians as to the best management of such libraries. (/) An art director, who shall manage a system of travelling pictures to be distributed in farming communities, school- houses, etc. ; to foster a love for the beautiful in communities too poor to purchase works of art for themselves. All this work is in its infancy, but the out- look for the small library is most hopeful and encouraging. For years, as some one has said, the world has been making great reservoirs of blessings in the great cities; but now, from the fountain-head, the state, there comes a well- spring which sends its contents in little rills to sparkle at the doors of the thirsty who cannot come. HOW WOMEN'S CLUBS MAY HELP THE . LIBRARY MOVEMENT. BY Miss E. G. BROWNING, Librarian of the Indianapolis (Ind.) Public Library. "ITITHAT women's clubs may do for the libra- ry movement, is so fertile a theme that the discussion of it might occupy several hours of this program rather than a few minutes, if all that has been accomplished by them and all that should be done were included in the sub- ject. In the two weeks allotted me in which to thoroughly investigate the women's clubs and find out what they are doing for the library movement, I followed the approved plan and used all my spare time from my usual duties in writing to many of the different federations, enclosing a list of questions to be answered, intending to append a full, though concise, re- port to this, made up from their more elaborate replies. Only one reply was received, evidently from a new secretary, for she wrote that their federa- tion had had nothing at all to do with getting a library commission for their state. This was discouraging, for the woman who was president of that federation at the time the library com- mission was created, had herself told me that they had done all the preliminary work for the commission! In the face of these conflicting accounts, and the lack of replies to my other letters of inquiry, I had to abandon all idea of an appendix, and confine my report to the do- ings of the federated clubs in my own state. The recent library legislation in Indiana which resulted in the passage of the library commission bill, and marks the beginning of a very different condition of library affairs in our state, was the work of the committee from the Indiana Union of Clubs. This is a federation that does not exclude men's clubs from its mem- bership, but as only 16 out of the 193 clubs that BROWNING, comprise the federation are men's clubs, and as the work was nearly all done by three wom- en members of the committee, it is safe to give the credit where it belongs to the women's clubs. Indiana has been sadly'in need of more gen- erous treatment in the direction of her libraries, and her citizens should be grateful to the club women who have succeeded in making such a fair start in the right direction. For years, ex- cept for the large towns, Indiana's library laws have been, in a sense, prohibitory rather than of a character to encourage the establishment and maintenance of libraries. Except in cities of over 10,000 inhabitants no town could have a public library unless it first raised $1000 or its equivalent in books. For several years during the club season numberless letters have been received at our li- brary asking for assistance in club work, from individuals in different parts of the state where there were no libraries ; or from librarians of small libraries asking to borrow books their own libraries did not possess, in order that some patron in dire distress might thereby ful- fill her obligation to her club. Of course these requests were always cheerfully complied with to the extent of our ability and consistent with our duties to our own patrons. The point was reached very soon, however, where we were performing, in a small way, the duties of a li- brary commission and carrying on a system of travelling libraries which became burdensome. We soon adopted the plan of complying with the requests, within reason, and at the same time called attention to the poverty stricken condition of Indiana as to its libraries and li- brary laws, the need of a library commission, and the great benefit travelling libraries might be to their sections of the country if we had them ; and suggested that they spend some time in awakening the " library spirit" in their part of the state, and, particularly, to urge their rep- resentatives to do what they could towards remedying the existing condition of library affairs at the next meeting of the General As- sembly. This was a case of turning the tables on them where the library movement was trying to work upon the club woman. And this was but one of the many forces at work prepar- ing the way for more effective library legisla- tion. At the last session of our General Assem- bly five bills were passed affecting libraries ; it is of but one of these the library commission bill and the work the club women did for it that I wish to speak. You have probably noticed in the library periodicals recently, where the details of the bill were given, that Indiana has joined the ranks with those states which have library com- missions. Our commission is too limited in its scope to allow its members to do their best work at present, but it was a long step in the right direction to get the commission at all, and has opened the door to the possibility of future legislation which will give us more. In June, 1897, at the eighth annual meeting of the Union of Clubs in discussing the need of legislation that would result in making it pos- sible to elect women on school boards, brought out a stirring talk on the tendency of the times to establish local clubs and reading circles in all phases of society. It was observed that this fostering of a spirit of culture and general de- sire for a higher education brought with it the absolute need for access to libraries and the systematic use of them.- A resolution was of- fered ' ' That the president of the Union of Clubs appoint a committee of five, of which she should be one, to co-operate with the Library Associa- tion of Indiana in framing a law which shall secure to Indiana a library commission, and this committee to report progress at the next annual meeting of the Union of Clubs." The resolution carried, and the committee was appointed, with Mrs. Elizabeth C. Earl, of Connersville, as chairman, and Miss Merica Hoagland, of Ft. Wayne, as one of its mem- bers. The committee was composed of live, energetic members, full of the sort of en- thusiasm that never tires, never merits de- feat, and rarely meets with it. The chair- man and ether members of the committee visited libraries, attended library association meetings, and wrote to those posted on the sub- ject, until they were well up in three things : What they knew they wanted, and thought the state ought to give them; what they thought the joint committees from the Union of Clubs and Library Association might endorse, and what they hoped the General Assembly might grant. The first included a practically unlimited in- come which they knew they would never get. The second included more good points than the General Assembly could be expected to grant; and the last made a bold stand for a, library 20 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. commission, travelling libraries, and the right of citizens to vote to establish township libra- ries. In the report of the committee to the Union of Clubs at the convention of 1898, these three special points, with others of importance, but perhaps of less value than those just named, were offered as the result of the committee's work, and to form a basis upon which to draft a bill. This report was adopted as presented, and the same committee was continued, with instructions to draft the bill along the lines laid down in the report, and get it before the next General Assembly which would meet during the following winter. Thereupon began six months of hard labor on the part of the committee and its friends but it devolved chiefly on the committee, and largely upon its chairman. They wrote to the clubs and sent copies of the report to their sec- retaries, explaining the bill that was to be pre- sented to the General Assembly, and asking each club in the federation to see to it that a strong committee was appointed to instruct their representatives as to their wishes in this matter as soon as they were elected; and, even before the election, to talk to the candidates, and if possible to get pledges beforehand making the library commission bill a local issue. Im- mediately after election, before they had time to forget that this was the same bill they had just heard about, the club committee sent them letters covering practically the same grounds, and asking their support. The county news- papers were besieged in the same manner, and club women who were known to be good work- ers were written to personally and their ser- vices enlisted in the good cause. But after all this hard work, when one would suppose the entire Legislature was thoroughly acquainted with the wishes of a fair proportion of its constituency, the real effort for the bill had to be made before the committees to which it had been referred by the House and Senate. If one were to attempt to cite half the dis- couragements and misrepresentations the club committee had to combat before the desired leg- islation was secured, they would seem greatly exaggerated. There were several serious counts against the Union of Clubs in the cam- paign against the library commission. One of these was, that the Union of Clubs was merely a catspaw for a very powerful book firm which was using the federation to get a bill passed es- tablishing travelling and township libraries in order that it the book firm might reap the benefit. This sounds like a hoax, but it would be a difficult matter to convince a number of people that the club women could be disinter- ested enough to take so much time in which to work up a sentiment in favor of a bill that would benefit the people of the whole state, and not be working in the interest of some commer- cial enterprise. Human nature is not geo- graphically bounded. People who live narrow, uneventful lives, are everywhere likely to have the common characteristic of a suspicious nat- ure. But the club women of Indiana can af- ford to be magnanimous and forgive them for they have accomplished what they under- took, and we have our library commission. I have gone into detail in describing the methods of the club committee because, when this work was first started, it seemed almost impossible to find anybody who could, from ex- perience, advise just what or how to do; and simple and easy as it all sounds, the committee was obliged to work out its own plans and methods before it could go ahead. If their ex- perience will be of assistance to others, I am sure it will be freely given when asked for. In conclusion, I want to offer a suggestion of a work that may be done in any state. Why could not the federated clubs in states where the library commission is weak in funds, or does not exist at all, take up the work of travelling libraries in a small way ? If each club in the federation should gather up books and maga- zines, equip at least one travelling library and maintain it, turning it over to the commission, if there be one, for systematic distribution with the others; if they should do this, what a help it woud be, both to the commission and the people. The Library Commission could furnish to the clubs or organizations, lists of books desired, and thus avoid the accumulation of out-of-date or unsuitable books, and also of unnecessary duplicates. UTLEY. 21 HOW TO PLAN A LIBRARY BUILDING. BY H. M. UTLEY, Librarian of the Detroit (Mich.) Public Library. 'T'HE suggestions here set down are intended for the benefit of a fairly prosperous and conservative community of 1000 or 2000 inhabi- tants or upwards. It is not necessary to say that any one who chooses to rear a monument to himself in the place of his nativity, in the shape of a library building, with his name cut in marble over the front door, is privileged to spend as much money on it as he may choose. If a town with plenty of means, public spirit, and good taste, decides to do sometbing con- spicuous in the way of a library building, that is one thing. But if a town, appreciating the value of a free public library, maintains one at some sacrifice, and thinks on the whole such library ought to be under its own roof, it natu- rally wants to get the most for its money. These remarks are designed to help out the latter. The lot should be 100 feet wide and of abun- dant depth. If located on a street corner, 20 feet less in width will answer. Place the build- ing midway on the lot, and this will leave plenty of space on each side for light and circulation of air. The dimensions of the building to be 40 feet front by 60 feet in depth and one story high. Excavate under the front '40 feet of the building and carry the basement walls up four clear feet above the grade of the lot. The basement will provide space for heating appa- ratus, fuel storage, closets, and miscellaneous storage. There will be an outside entrance to this at the side of the building and an inside entrance from the library room. The only en- trance to the library will be at the centre of the front through a vestibule 12 feet in depth and 8 feet wide. As the building is low at best, it is desirable to avoid a squatty appearance. This may be done as to the sides by a suggestion of the French roof, or dormer window relief of the roof line. The front may, perhaps, be relieved by a pretty porch. Any architect will be able to devise methods of giving the structure a pleasing effect without adding to its cost. A partition across the building 12 feet from the front wall will leave a space to be divided as follows : 8 feet in the middle for a vestibule and the remaining 16 feet on each side, forming two rooms, each 12 by 16, will open into the library. One will serve for an office for the librarian and the other for a club parlor, children's room, or any other desirable purpose. The remainder of the building will be a single room 48 feet long by 40 feet wide and 16 feet high. There will be five windows in each side opposite each other, each 4^ feet opening in the clear. The window sills will be 5 feet from the floor and the windows will extend to the ceiling. This arrangement will afford abundant natural light to all parts of the room. The room will be open in the centre and divided into alcoves at the sides, by the bookcases, which will be four in number on each side and stand at right an- gles to the wall between the windows. There will also be bookcases against the wall under the windows. The projecting bookcases will be divided into three sections of 3 feet each, and will be double cases, having shelves 8 inches wide on each side. They will be 7 feet high. The space above the cases will be left open, but may eventually be used for a gallery and a second tier of bookcases if desired. The end wall may be utilized for bookcases throughout its entire extent. The shelving capacity of such a bookcase arrangement as described would be fully 10,000 volumes. If enlargement becomes necessary, the end wall may be torn out and the length of the building extended as far as desirable. The bookcases will project into the room 10 feet on each side ; this will leave 20 feet clear space in the middle of the room for its whole length in which can be placed reading tables for periodicals, etc. The alcoves be- tween the bookcases are each 8 feet in the clear, and this affords room for a small table at which two persons could sit without interfering with approach to the book shelves. This arrange- ment throws all the book shelves open for free access by the public. If it is desirable to pro- tect specially valuable books, they may be placed in cases fitted with glass doors which can. be kept locked. 22 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. The librarian's desk is placed adjacent to the librarian's office and cataloging room, and im- mediately beside the exit and entrance. This is convenient for people coming in to return books and for those going out to have books charged. This arrangement affords economical administration. One librarian can take care of the room, having complete view of every part of it, except the recesses of the rear alcoves. If desirable, these can be brought into view by a combination of mirrors. In a small place such as this library is designed to serve, most of the people will be personally known to the librarian. They may be safely trusted to go directly to the shelves to make their selection of books. Probably also they could be trusted to replace their books properly when returning them, in which case the librarian would be relieved of much labor. With the people thus waiting upon themselves, the expense of employing library attendants would be reduced to a mini- mum. The dry-goods-box shape of the building is the most economical form of construction that is possible. The cost of material and construc- tion varies in different localities and at different times. Probably such a building could have been erected a year ago at less cost than to-day. I have submitted the forgoing details to an architect and requested from him an estimate of cost of erection and furnishing of such a build- ing in Detroit in the spring of 1899. He as- HE WINS. sures me that the building could be built with limestone foundation, cut stone sills, brick walls, roof of redwood shingles, interior, in- cluding bookcases, finished with Georgia pine, quartered oak desk, tables and chairs, all ma- terial and workmanship to be of the first-class, for $3500 to $4000. This was about my own estimate, but mine was based upon knowledge of the Jonathan Hall Memorial Library, erected at Ridgeway, Lenawee County, Southern Mich- igan, in 1887. This latter building cost $3500 complete and furnished, the interior finish and bookcases being of butternut. It has not the capacity of the one I have described; but, to off- set that one must bear in mind that building construction cost much more in 1887 than now, and that this library is not of the plain rectangu- lar shape of the one above outlined. It is certainly desirable to get a library out of rented quarters just as soon as possible. The place usually chosen for such purposes is in a down-town business block, over a store and perhaps in an office building or theatre. In such a location it is peculiarly exposed to danger from fire. Quarters of this kind are sure to be dark and dingy, utterly without ventilation of any kind, inconveniently arranged, and about as ill-adapted to the purpose as they could be made. Is it not question of economy and good sense for any town which has a library in rented quarters to place the same under its own roof at the earliest opportunity ? There are many advantages in the style of building here suggested. There are no stairs to climb. Everything is on the ground floor. The whole library is in one room and is con- veniently arranged so that the people may go directly to the shelves and select the books which best please them. There is abundance of light and fresh air. The fewest possible number of library employes is required under such an arrangement, and so there is economy of administration. The pride which the people of a town will naturally feel in having a library building of their own wall be an incentive to them to use it freely. And, lastly, the cost of a build- ing planned on the lines here suggested places it within the reach of almost every community. Usually land is cheap in villages and small cities. It is not necessary to settle upon the ex- act geographical centre. The library needs to be no more centrally located than the school- house. Under some circumstances there may be an advantage in placing the two temples of learning near each other. In any case the cost of lot would not cut much of a figure. There can be generally found some public spirited person or persons who individually or collectively will provide the necessary ground. With a little judicious agitation of the subject the taxpayers can be brought to agree that if it is worth while for the town to maintain a free public library, it is surely wise and economical to place it in a home of its own. HOW TO MAKE A LIBRARY ATTRACTIVE. BY CAROLINE M. HEWINS, Librarian of the Hartford (Ct.) Public Library. TN one of the old streets of a Northern city stands a brownstone building on whose front the sun never shines. There is no noise in its halls, and no clatter of children's feet on its staircase. On the second floor a door opens into a long, alcoved room, where the sunshine pours in through large-paned windows which look out upon an historic burying-ground that in early May is fragrant with pale-hued hya- cinths and gay with tulips burning against the old headstones. The books, which number at least 300,000, are to be freely handled by all readers who are fortunate enough to own, or once in a while to hire, the share, which as the saying goes, is the patent of nobility for the city. Across the graveyard is a busy street, but all sounds of labor and hurry are hushed. The tables have green baize covers, the ink- stands are as old-fashioned as they were fifty years ago. Over the room brood the peace and tranquility that scholars love. The library, without trying to attract readers, is simply, by living out its own conditions and being itself, a most delightful place for a student or a lover of books. It has modern devices in the card- catalog, but does not obtrude them. Its readers are of the most scholarly class of a city proud of its families of scholars. This is the highest development of a library for authors and readers who have leisure to ATLANTA CONFERENCE. browse in books. The shelves are free to them, and they are shut out from a busy, bustling world. It is not a workingman's library, and one rarely sees a child there; but a library like this, or the old Philadelphia Library, the Society Library in New York, the Providence Athe- nxum or the Redwood Library in Newport, plays an important part in keeping up the atmosphere of elegant and scholarly leisure, which is fast departing from public libraries. A student, although he may go to the busi- ness-like loan-room of a great city public library for his contemporary authorities or six- text Chaucer, prefers to ask for them where he does not meet the unwashed public, or hear requests for Captain King and Anthony Hope's latest stories, " David Harum," " Four years in the Philippines," or " The sinking of the Merrimac" Nevertheless, the hushed monas- tic air of a library used for study oppresses, chills and awes an ignorant reader, and finally drives him away. I knew a library in a country town which was supported for several years by the gener- ous gifts of two sisters, one of whom was the librarian. They took a little old house that had at one time been a blacksmith's shop left it on the outside as they found it, with gambrel roof and half-worn red paint, and freshened up the inside with matting, tinted walls, simple shelves, about 1200 books, open fireplaces, reading-tables, one low enough for children, and a cupboard with dolls and tea sets for the very little folks to amuse themselves with while their older brothers and sisters read. But alas ! the little library one day outgrew its quarters and is now in a larger room in the Town Hall, where it has no longer its pictu- resque individuality. I know another in a low-ceiled room that was once one of the schoolrooms of a country acad- emy. There are two or three thousand books around the walls, and on the afternoon when it was opened, with tea and cake and sweet- faced girls in pretty gowns, it certainly had so pleas* ant and cordial an air that every one felt wel- come and at home. We have talked over making a library attrac- tive in our staff meetings and "surely more than half to the damsel(s) doth belong." The suggestions formulated with their help are these : You are going to open a free library in a town or village where the reading habit has not been established. I was asked to say nothing about making a library attractive to children, and will only suggest that Public Libraries, now in its fourth volume, is full of useful hints and suggestions for work with them and with schools. You have to attract the young men and women, perhaps the older men and women, many of whom have minds that have stopped growing. The conditions of library work in some states to-day are the same as they were in Connecticut 25 years ago. There were no free circulating libraries supported by cities and towns, and the subscription libraries were in many cases lead- ing a struggling existence. I have a library in mind up a long, dark stairway. The room was full of sunshine when one got into it, but the approach was not pleasant. A new brief dictionary catalog had just been printed with- out notes or guidance. There was no class-list for the use of the public, and no one was al- lowed to go to the shelves. The long stairs and high alcoves made many unnecessary steps. There was no money for cleaning and dusting. New books were bought to some extent, but there was not much care in choosing them, and no effort at all had been made to bring the li- brary into touch with the every-day life of home and school. The first step was to meet readers half-way and ask them if they had seen certain new books, and the second, for the librarian to be in evidence as much as possible at the charg- ing-desk and counter. A small red rocking- chair, a bright-colored rug, and a student-lamp gave a touch of homelikeness to the place. It was about this time that the wave of women's clubs rolled into the city, and the library estab- lished a close connection with them, and began some work in the schools, of which this is neither the time nor the place to speak. The library's fortunes varied, but it kept its head above water, and by-and-bye, when it offered itself to the city it had established itself on such a basis that all classes and conditions were ready to use it. If possible, get a room on the ground floor. A long flight of stairs has lessened the useful- ness of many a library. Use it for a library and nothing else. A corner of a hall may be cheap, but it is not attractive. I have known libraries in rooms eight by twelve that did good work and brought all the neighborhood to their HEW INS. shelves, but a larger room is better. There are two or three libraries that I have in mind in rooms once used for country stores, large enough for growth and light enough for read- ing. Have two or three tables to begin with, plain pine tables are good enough, and reason- ably comfortable chairs, some of them lower than the others. Subscribe for half a dozen magazines and papers at a dollar a year, like McClure, Munsey, Cosmopolitan, The Puritan, The Ladies' Home Jotirnal, and the Youth' s Com- panion, that is more for grown-up young peo- ple than for children. If you have a little more money, put it into the more expensive illustrated magazines or Harper's Weekly, Frank Leslie, and the Illustrated American, Do not try at first to get the heavier magazines like the Forum or North American Review. We are all chil- dren in our liking for pictures. I have a friend, a clergyman's wife in Montana, who says that she feels proud and happy when she can persuade her people to read the Ladies' Home Journal, You will have old volumes given you from the attics of the neighborhood brown-covered Popes and Miltons, perhaps, or a set of Dick's works. They have their places on the shelves, but they will stay there for a while. Your first year's money should be spent for books on subjects that will be read. This year, for example, I should spend as much as possible for books on the late war, even if I did not buy another volume of history. A hundred dollars should give you 40 good nov- els, 30 children's books, and 30 volumes of war history, travel, electricity, house building, and a few good biographies, with a book or two of reference like Brewer's " Dictionary of phrase and fable" or Bartlett's " Familiar quotations." Scholars and students must wait. You can- not yet afford to buy a book that only two or three of your readers will ever call for. Your shelves will perhaps be of the plainest and roughest, but let your readers go to them. Soap, water, sunshine in winter, shade in sum- mer, and a few flowering plants or the wild flowers as they come, with their names neatly printed, go far towards making any room at- tractive. One western library has a rest-room for farm- ers' wives. If I were opening a new town library I should send letters to the ministers of the little outlying churches asking them to speak of the library to their parishioners and invite them to come in and rest when they are in town. You sometimes get your best readers from lonely farmhouses. Pictures play a large part in the attractive- ness of the modern library. From the great Hegger photographs at $20 or $30 each which the New York State Library circulates, to the Perry pictures at one cent, and the mounted illustrations from newspapers, there is ample room for choice. The danger nowa- days in library and school room is not in having too few pictures, but in making your walls spotty with cheap and ill-chosen chromos and poor half-tones. Birds, at two dollars a year, has an extra set of plates which may be or- dered and mounted. If your village has the beginning of an art club it will find illustrations from the old masters in Harper's Bazar. Por- traits of authors may be mounted and kept in alphabetical order to illustrate titles of books. Sometimes women who never read anything for themselves employ a clever woman to con- dense current novels or read short stories while they work. I have never heard of this being done in a library, but I think it perfectly prac- ticable. Let the librarian put up a notice in the library that on a certain afternoon she will read a story, and invite women to come in and hear it, to bring their work and perhaps their own chairs. Let her read without comment or subtle analysis of plot, simply for the story. If possible, let her show a picture of the author and read or tell something about him or her. One strong hold that a library has is as a help in festivals and amusements. Even where church lines are hard and fast all sects will work to- gether for an entertainment for the benefit of the library. Before holidays Fourth of July, Hallowe'en, Christmas the library can show all its resources, suggest new games, or devise costumes. It is a common saying that every- thing that one has ever learned in one's life is of use in a library, but there is nothing which a librarian can turn more to account than some experience In private theatricals and suggesting stage costumes made out of simple material, or plays and dialogues that are bright and amus- ing without being coarse and silly. In order to make a library attractive you must convince your townsfolk that there is something in it on every subject that any one wishes to know something about. The Tribune and the World almanacs at 25 cents each are 26 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. worth much more than their price. Is some good woman consumed with the desire to know the names and ages of all Queen Victoria's grandchildren ? Let her turn to the World almanac, and there they are with all their mouth- filling names. Is there a dispute on the time made by a trotting horse ? It is recorded in the same useful book. So are the statistics of the Salvation Army, the names of the Forty Im- mortals of the French Academy, and the latest improvements in electricity. Do you wish to know something of labor laws? You will find them in both. "The American Agriculturist year-book," too, is much more than a farmer's manual, for it tells of our new possessions and gives hints on the investment of property and lessons in swimming, gymnastics, and the deaf and dumb alphabet. It is free to subscribers for the paper, and otherwise costs 50 cents. A dollar a year for these three almanacs will answer many questions in libraries which can- not afford large and costly encyclopaedias. One of our Connecticut librarians tells a story about a rich man who had no interest in the public library, until one day his coachman ap- peared in breathless haste, to see if there was a book in it that would help him to find out what was the matter with a favorite Jersey cow. The book was given him, the cow recovered from her illness, and her master has ever since been the fast friend of the library. Reading is in the eyes of many persons a lux- ury a sinf uHuxury except after sunset and on Sunday afternoons and toothers a means of passing time of which they have never thought. To bring books into every-day life is the pleasure of the country librarian. There may be years before a library comes into the hearts and lives of the people, when the circulation is small and the librarian has hours and half-hours on hot or rainy days when no footsteps disturb the silence of her bookroom. This is the time for learning the inside of her books, for picking up stray bits of information that will help her by-and- bye. Does somebody come to her to find out if there is any foundation in fact for the story of Mowgli's life in the jungle ? By that strange inner vision of her sub-conscious self that is sometimes near to clairvoyance, she sees a page of Littell's Living Age, or another of an old volume|of Harper's Magazine with a short article on children reared by wolves in India. Does some one else read Frederic Stimson's most touching tale of Mrs. Knollys, the young Eng- lish bride whose husband fell down a crevasse in Switzerland, and who, learning from a scien- tist the rate of speed of a glacier, went back to Switzerland 40 years afterward, and, a white- haired woman, recovered the frozen body of the lover of her youth just as she had seen him last ? It is the same useful Littell that tells you a similar case. The librarian who reads is not lost, popular evidence to the contrary notwith- standing, and one secret of the library which the public likes to consult is the librarian's power to remember and produce when needed little out- of-the-way bits of information of no great value in themselves, that have come from the habit of running over books. By-and-bye when the li- brary grows, and the librarian has a larger sal- ary and a staff to manage and a thousand matters to attend to that did not exist in the old peaceful sleepy days, she will have no time to browse; therefore, let her make the most of her pasture while she can. Her food at odd times may be " Uncle Silas" or " The house on the marsh" in the middle of a thunder storm, or Lecky's " History of European morals "on a day when everybody in town but herself has gone to the circus, but she can find in each and all of them something to remember and use at some future day. It will be soon known that the library is ready to help anybody find out anything, so far as its resources will allow. After confidence is estab- lished, when the young men come to you for the form [of a letter of congratulation or an after-dinner speech, the young mothers for an invitation for a child's party, the girls for pat- terns for embroidery, the boys for suggestions about which college is the best to go to, the elderly maidens for advice on the care of their parrots and to ask if Angora kittens should have bushy tails at a week old, the farmers on the culture of frogs for the market or the raising of mushrooms, and the ministers on the latest sta- tistics of missions in China, you may feel that your library is truly attractive, and that it makes little difference whether it is classified or card-cataloged just like a library in Chicago or Boston. By-and-bye, when it has outgrown you and you are not quite sure what to do with it, will be time to send for a library school stu- dent or graduate. Meanwhile, it is your busi- ness to know the inside of your books well, and to keep up with what information you can get so well that you can help your readers. The rest will take care of itself in good time. WHITE. 27 ON THE VALUE OF HOME AND PRISON LIBRARIES. BY HERVEY WHITE, John Crerar Library, Chicago. TF we glance at the books upon our shelves, comparing the ones of this year with those of 30, 20, or even 10 years ago, we are struck at once with the enormous change that has come into them in regard to their manner of speak- ing of other classes of society than that of the book writers themselves. What a marvellous interest the world is beginning to take in every one else ! Not so much in individuals, in their personal gossip and welfare that has always been common but an interest in humanity as a mass, in its welfare and tendencies and possi- bilities; most of all in the classes that have been styled by the old books, "lower," the workers, the poor and the dependent, the crimi- nals even, and the defective. Verily the sym- pathies of men are expanding. Not neces- sarily becoming more deeply sympathetic, but touched with a wider and more general sym- pathy always. Men and women are looking outside of their tribes and their races. Their social conscience is being born, begotten by universal education. All of the professions are affected by this change; they themselves are a part of the change. The preacher now must be informed first of all upon the labor question. It is more important than his theology. The physician must turn to sanitation and questions of public health. The litterateur and the artist are fa- miliar with the lives of the poor. The teacher has become almost a missionary, and the li- brarian will not be behind, but will make his storehouse of learning a social force in the community, no longer waiting for the special- ist to come in and seek out his treasures, but actively going forth to bring in the multitudes and feed them; not even being contented with that, for when the multitudes do not come he will carry choice morsels to them and literally force these upon him. Home and prison libraries are a small part of this forcing machinery. It is the attempt of this paper to show something of their workings In Chicago, but chiefly, for it seems much more important, to try to appreciate in a measure the value of this work to the librarian, keeping him abreast with members of the other profes- sions, giving him intelligence as a citizen and freedom of expression as an individual. It is, perhaps, the greatest aim of books to enable people to do without reading, to teach them to look at life for themseves and read their print in the faces of people, in their conversa- tion and habits and longings. The place for beginning this human reading is among the working people and the poor, whose lives are still simple and genuine, who are not conven- tionalized and fossilized in education and so- ciety ; not in the dogmas of the idle and the respectable who talk from the book reviews and art criticisms of the papers, who have natural feelings, no doubt, but spend the great part of their lives in schooling themselves into con- cealing them. What advantages, then, a great city offers for study if one approaches it in the guise of a home librarian. Let us imagine a case and follow it, making it typical from experience. Miss Smith has worked in a library at the dusty routine of cataloging for some five or six years. She earns a good living; has managed a short trip to Europe; helps support her mother, and has a small circle of friends. She wearies of them oftentimes, to be sure. They seem to say the same things over week after week; they weary of her, too, no doubt; per- haps she has little better to offer, cataloging not being very inspiring for conversation in the evening. Finally she is induced to take charge of a home library. She wants to do something for the poor, and an enthusiastic sister librarian has persuaded her. She is given a neat little case containing 20 carefully selected children's books and is told to place it in a home in a poor neighborhood in the city. She is to form a reading circle of 10 children and visit them every Saturday even- ing. It does not seem a momentous under- taking, but it stirs her more than anything has ever done since Europe. On Saturday evening she calls at the given address, the books having been sent on before. She enters a dark alley expecting every moment to be murdered, and climbs the narrow stair- way of the rear tenement house, asking tremu- ATLANTA CONFERENCE. lously for Mrs. Johnson, who is somebody's washerwoman, she has been told. Mrs. John- son herself is at the door. The family is just finishing supper. Yes, they were expecting the lady. The children are wide-eyed with wonder, and the work of organization begins. The circle of 10 is soon completed. It is so easy for the children to run out for their friends. There is hardly time for Miss Smith to look about the poverty-stricken cleanness. They elect a child librarian, adopt rules for the circulation of books, and each draws out one of the wonderful bright covers. There is even time for Miss Smith to read them a chapter from a fairy tale, and they all troop off in a body to escort her to the car at nine o'clock. This is the beginning of the Saturday meet- ings. Miss Smith is looking forward to them every week. By the time the winter is over a great many things have been done. Games have been brought in and sewing for the girls and whittling for the boys. They have established a penny savings bank, too, and have a collection of pictures mounted on cardboard for circulation like the books. They are making window gar- dens in the spring and planning a picnic to the park. Miss Smith has found time to call on the children's parents and now knows all their lives quite intimately, more intimately than with many of her old friends. She is surprised to think how much she has helped them, and how thankful they are for her friendship. She has seemed to give so little effort, and yet there are results never dreamed of : advice about the management of some bad boy, per- suading another into school, listening to long tales of hardship, and giving a sturdy word of courage. She has helped some young girl trim her hat. has given advice to a mother about buying. Even the men look on her kindly. She is richer by ten lives than she was. The next year the character of the work changes. Miss Smith has herself become an organizer, and is persuading new visitors to take circles. She is collecting books now, too, going into the homes of the rich and gaining new romance from them. How many nice peo- ple there are who will help if they can only be told how to do it. There is the beginning of acquaintance, too, with the people of the social settlements of the neighborhoods. How in- teresting these enthusiastic workers are ' The world is opening up with a wealth of acquaint- ance. The former friends of Miss Smith com- plain now that they see so little of her. She has become their most interesting acquaintance. She is reading books again now, the books that before this she only cataloged. She is reading with understanding and knowledge. What a fascination the study of sociology has ! Let us suppose another case. Mr. Jones is also in a library. He is the assistant libra- rian. He spends his life in ordering books, books for other people to read. Mr. Jones has read some of the books, too. He is a thoughtful student in ethics, and has found sociology hope- less. He is even getting tired of ethics, and takes it only in problem novels. Ordering books is grinding routine work. Mr. Jones is growing gray and dusty, sometimes thinking of consulting a physician. Some one interests him in a prison library. The jail has no library at all. The prisoners sit brooding in their cells. Some judge has spoken at a library club urging the needs of these prisoners. The club members have prom- ised books for a library, they have even prom- ised some money. Library clubs promise very easily. Sometimes they forget the trifle of paying. They say that Mr. Jones must be the librarian, and just for the sake' of the experi- ence he promises. He visits the jail next day, but does not receive hearty welcome. "A library?" ques- tions the jailer. " Oh, yes, several people have tried that before, some Sunday schools and three women's clubs. However, the prisoners do need some reading material." Gradually Mr. Jones works his way into the graces of the jailer. He will come three mornings every week and hand out books to the prisoners. He has arranged to do night duty at the library. It is better anyway than society. How interesting criminals are. Mr. Jones had never imagined them so intelligent. In time he is permitted to visit them in their cells. It is necessary to consult them about the books. A prisoner sits so long thinking that he has often something interesting to say. Moreover, there is the excitement of his trial. Will he win ? or will the lawyers on the other side win ? It is not so much a question of whether he did wrong that is on his mind, it is whether he will escape without punishment. Gradually Mr. Jones brings in his ethics. Yes, the prisoner ANDREWS. 29 will justify himself. The discussion often ends in confession. The prisoner has been longing for a friend, some one with whom to talk it all over : some one neither relative nor lawyer. The interest in ethics grows. Mr. Jones soon has a prisoner to attend to the routine of book circulation and now has established a Sunday class where he talks to a small group of men in the surgeon's room, and together they have a discussion. They read about Jean Valjean and are never weary of talking of his struggles. Mr. Jones has only the best of literature in his li- brary, fiction, and history and travels, some poetry and a few text-books of science. He is surprised to find how many of the men are fondest of the best things; criminals are not altogether criminal, often they are very good fel- lows, only a. little streak in them is wrong. Mr. Jones tries to crowd the little stteak out. He is not an eloquent talker, but sometimes a little thoughtful silence is convincing. At all events Mr. Jones has enlivened his ethics. His life has been lightened by half. He walks about like a king in the prison, and all the doors open before him. He is welcomed also by the men. They like the fellow who is not in to make money, though they do not wholly understand him. Altogether the prison library is a success, at least so far as Mr. Jones is concerned. Let us turn to ourselves for a moment to ask ourselves just three questions and then stop to be thinking the answers. First, are we good modern librarians if we do not assist in some work of helping our books into the hands of those who do not possess them or perhaps even know of their value ? Second, are we good citizens when in spite of our knowledge and our books we are almost wholly ignorant of the social conditions of the larger class of our population and have no knowledge at all of our prisons and other pub- lic institutions ? And third, and most important of all, are we good as men and as women if we do not give to those who have less than we perhaps, be- cause they work harder ? CO-OPERATIVE LISTS OF PERIODICALS AND TRANSACTIONS OF SOCIETIES. BY CLEMENT W. ANDREWS, Librarian John Crerar Library, Chicago. ~pOR the accompanying interesting bibliogra- phy of these co-operative lists of serials I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. A. G. S. Josephson, cataloger of the John Crerar Li- brary. Without claiming completeness, still it shows 20 such publications, of which three have appeared in second editions, making a total of 23 entries. As in other lines of library work we find Italy the pioneer, and the earliest pub- lication is that of the Royal Institute of Lom- bardy and other public establishments of Milan in 1864. Then after a long interval the others follow in chronological order. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF UNION LISTS OF PERIODICALS. 1864. Elenco delle pubblicazioni periodiche che tro- vansi presso il R. Istituto Lombardo di Sclenze e Lettere e altri pubblici stabilimenti di Milano. Milano 1864. Quoted by V. & Ch. Mortet hi their article, " Des catalogues collectifs ou communs & plusieurs biblio- thfequet," in Revue Internationale des bibliotheqttet 1880. University of California. Library bulletin no. i: Supplement to the report of the Board of Regents. Sacramento 1880. 29 p. O. With half-title: University of California. Library memoranda, No. i. Contains: " List of periodical literature in the follow- ing libraries Alphabetical list of periodicals in nine libraries in San Francisco, Sacramento, Berk- eley, and Oakland. Gives short titles and occasional dates. 1881. Catalogues des ouvrages periodiques que re9oi v- ent les principales bibliotheques de Belgique, avec 1'indication des institutions ou se trou- vent ces ouvrages. Bruxelles 1881. Alphabetical list with systematic and other indexes. Described by V. & Ch. Mortet. 1882. Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. A cata- logue of scientific and technical periodicals, 1665 - 1882, together with chronological tables and a library checklist ; by Henry Carrington Bolton. Washington : Published by the Smithsonian Institution. 1885. x, 773 p. O. Vol. 29 of Smithsonian miscellaneus collection! : also No. 514 of the publications of the Smithsonian In- stitution. Alphabetical list of 8603 periodicals. Does not In- ATLANTA CONFERENCE. elude, as a rule, publications of societies. The library list checks the periodicals in 127 libraries. Gives full titles and collations. 1884. Elenco delle pubblicazioni periodiche ricevute dalle biblioteche pubbliche governative d'ltalia nel 1884. Roma 1885. xxn. 316 p. O. Vol. i of Indict e cataloghi, issued by the Minis- terio della Pubblica Istruzione. Alphabetical list of 1890 periodicals in 26 libraries. Gives full title, editor, place, publisher and date of last volume issued. With classified index, list of publish- ing societies arranged by countries and cities, and in- dex of authors and editors. 1884. Lijst van vervolgwerken aanwezig in de Uni- versiteits Bibliothek en in andere openbare bibliotheken van Amsterdam. 1884. A list of books in course of publication. Quoted by V. & Ch. Mortet. 1887. New York Library Club. Union list of periodi- cals currently received by the New York and Brooklyn libraries. Edited at Columbia Col- lege Library. New York 1887. 58 p. O. Alphabetical list of periodicals in 41 libraries. Gives place, frequency of publication and date of first volume in any library. Uebersicht der Bestande an Zeitschriften in den Hauptbiichersammlungen der ho'heren Schulen in Pommern. In Auftrage des Ko'nigl. Provinzial Schulkollegiums zu Stettin zusammengestellt von Ludwig Streit. Col- berg 1887. 33, [i], p. O. Published asa " Programm" from the K. Domgymna- sium und Realgymnasium in Colberg. Classified list of periodicals in 21 libraries. Described by V. & Ch. Mortet. A list of the periodicals in the libraries of the various departments of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. April 1887. Com- piled by Clement W. Andrews, A.M. 8 p. O. n. t. p. Alphabetical list, giving titles, place, and dates. 1890. List of periodical publications accessible to the students of the Univerisity of Nebraska. In The Hesperian, vol. 19, No. 16, p. 8 -n, June i, 1890. Contains about 300 titles of periodicals in the libra- ries of the University of Nebraska, Nebraska Histori- cal Society, and of the different professors at the University. 1892. University of California. Library bulletin no. i. (Second edition.) Co-operative list of peri- odical literature (Supplement to the Secre- tary's report to the Board of Regents, 1892.) Berkeley, California, 1892. 54 p. O. Alphabetical list of the periodicals in 12 libraries. Gives short titles, place, and in some cases, dates. 1893 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A list of the periodicals and society publications in the libraries of the Institute, compiled by Clement W. Andrews, A.M., librarian. 2d ed. May, 1893. Cambridge 1893. 19 p. O. Alphabetical list, giving titles, place and inclusive dates. A typewritten supplement was issued in 1895. Revue semestrielle des publications mathema- tique, redigee sous les auspices de la Societe Mathematique d'Amsterdam. Tome I + Amsterdam 1893 + . This is an index to articles in mathematical periodi- cals and transactions, with a geographical index of publications indexed, wherein those that are taken by Dutch libraries are indicated. 1895. A catalogue of scientific and technical periodi- cals, 1665 - 1895 ; together with chronological tables and a library checklist ; by Henry Car- rington Bolton. 2d ed. City of Washing- ton: published by the Smithsonian Institu- tion, 1897. 1247 p. O. Vol. 40 of Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. Also numbered as 1093 of the publications of the Smithsonian Institution. " Part i of the alphabetical catalog is a reprint from the plates of the first edition, after having made the changes necessary to bring the titles down to date. Part 2 contains additions to the titles of Part i that could not be inserted in the plates, together with about 3600 new titles." Preface. Lists in all 8603 publications in 133 libraries. Has also a classified index. 1896. A list of scientific medical journals in public and private libraries of Baltimore. Com- piled by Miss E. S. Thies. In Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, vol. vil., no. 62-63, p. 114-128. 1896. Alphabeticaiyist with short titles and dates. 1897. A list of periodicals, newspapers, transactions, and other serial publications currently re- ceived in the principal libraries of Boston and vicinity. Boston, The Trustees of the Public Library. 1897. [4.] 143 p. Q. Alphabetical list of periodicals in 36 libraries, giving short titles, place, but no dates. Has an alphabetical subject index. Richter. Verzeichniss der im J. 1897 noch im Erscheinen begriffenen Zeitschriften, welche in d. K. off. Bibliothek und in den Handbib- liotheken d. K. Sammlungen vorhanden sind. Dresden 1897. Lists 1447 periodicals in 10 libraries: quoted by Fritz Milkau in Centralblatt Jiir Bibliothekswesen, 1899, p. 72. Periodicals ... in the New York Public Li- brary and Columbia University Library. [/ Bulletin of the New York Public Library. Vol. i, "no. 2-K New York 1897+.] A classified list, each number covering one subject or group of subjects. Gives full titles, editors, place and dates. Zeitschriftenkatalog des K. k. naturhistorischen Hofmuseums von Dr. August B6hm Edlen von Bo'hmersheim. Wien 1897. viii. [2], 184 p. Q. Published as supplement to A nnalen des K. k. na- tur-historischen Hofmuseums. xii. Band 1897. Alphabetical list of 2148 periodicals, in the various departments of the Museum, with a special index to titles of society publications, in the main catalog en. ANDREWS. tered under place. In the main catalog is incorpo- rated an alphabetical index of societies. 1898. Toronto. A joint catalogue of periodicals, pub- lications and transactions of societies, and other books published at intervals, to be found in the various libraries of the City of Toronto. Toronto 1898. [4.] 96 p. O. Edited by James Bain, Jr., and H. H. Langton. Alphabetical list of the periodicals of 12 libraries, giving titles, place and date of publication. With classified index. Generalkatalog der laufenden periodischen Druckschriften an den osterreichischen Uni- versitats - und Studienbibliotheken der tech- nischen Hochschulen, der Hochschule fiir Bodencultur des Gymnasiums in Zara, des Gymnasialmuseums in Troppa, und der Han- dels - und nautischen Akademie in Triest ; hrsg. im Auftrage des K. k. Ministeriums fxlr Cultus und Unterricht von der K. k. Universitatsbibliothek in Wien, untcr der Leitung von Dr. Ferdinand Grasseur. Wien 1898. vii., 796 p. O. Alphabetical list, with a supplementary list of such periodicals as are to be found only in the K k. Hofbi- bliothek in Wien; giving full titles and careful colla- tions, indicating changes, date of first appearance, editors of first volume, and the more important of the later ones ; also classified index, with an alphabetical index to subjects, and an alphabetical index to editors. Reviewed by Fritz Milkau in Centralblatt fur Bi- bliotheksivesen, 1899, p. 71 - 78. Leigh, Charles W. E. List of the current scientific serial publications received by the principal libraries of Manchester; compiled under the direction of the Hon. Librarian [Wm. E. Hoyle] of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Manchester 1898. vi., 52 p. O. Includes 741 serials. Mentioned in The Library As- sociation Record, vol. i, p. 186 (March i8qg). 1899. Verzeichniss der Zeitschriften fiir die Gebiete der Mathematik, der Physik, der Technik und der verwandten Wissenschaften, welche auf Wiirttembergischen Bibliotheken vorhanden sind. In Auftrage der math. -naturwiss. Vereine von Wiirttemberg zusamnengestellt von Ernst Wolffing. Stuttgart 1899. 18 p. O. Reviewed by Ernst Roth in Centralblatt filr Bibli- otkekstveten, 1899,9. 240-241. Besides these lists already published at least three others are known to me to be in prepara- tion: one of Colorado libraries, one of Phila- delphia libraries, to be published by the Free Library of Philadelphia, and one of the li- braries of Chicago and Evanston prepared by the Chicago Library Club. So far then as to what has been done and is contemplated. Let us now consider briefly the lessons to be drawn from these lists in regard to the methods of securing the best results in future work. It will be understood that what follows is only my personal view, derived from the experience of making two such lists. It should be taken, therefore, only as a basis for that discussion and exchange of views which is the great advantage of our meetings. First, though it may be heresy to state it, I believe that the part which co-operation can play successfully is limited strictly to the first preparation of the material. The editing and publication should be given either to a single institution or individual, or to a very small committee. Even if the general questions of limits, form, and style are decided by agree- ment between the institutions interested, there will be so many different interpretations of the decisions that careful supervision, practi- cally by one hand, will be found necessary. The most important question undoubtedly is that of the limit of the lists. The obvious advice on this point is the correct one: namely, to make the list as full and comprehensive as the means at command will allow. In this connection it should be remembered that addi- tional information often can be given without an increase in the cost at all proportional to the increased value thus obtained. It is not always remembered that blank space in compo- sition is paid for at the same rate as words; so that to omit information which does not increase the average number of lines to an entry, is to make the compositor rejoice at the expense of the user of the list. It usually will be found possible, therefore, to give not merely a rea- sonably full title, but also the place of publica- tion, and, when necessary, the name of the editor. Three important points, however, will re- quire more careful consideration. First, shall the list be limited to publications currently re- ceived, or shall it include those no longer sub- scribed for and those no longer published ? The ease of preparation and comparative cheapness of publication of lists of the first class is a strong inducement to make such; but their usefulness in comparison with the fuller form is much less than the difference in their cost. I understand that the best example of this class, that of the Boston libraries, is looked upon by its compilers as only the basis for a more complete list. Second, what classes of serial publications shall be included? The practice in the past has been very various, but here also I should advise the inclusion of as much as possible. ATLANTA CONFERENCE. Do not think of omitting society publications, and include national, state, and municipal reports if possible. Other purely administra- tive reports, such as those of charitable so- cieties, railroad companies, etc., are more questionable. Entries of these might be con- fined to complete or nearly complete sets, or, as proposed by the committee of the Chicago Li- brary Club, to the reports of the city covered by the list, and to state societies of its own state. The third point is the fulness of entry of the holdings of each institution. Of course if only current periodicals are given this question does not arise. If, however, extinct serials and partial sets are included, then, if the insti- tutions are few, it might be still possible to give the exact holdings in all cases without un- duly increasing the cost; but, if they are many, some compromise must be made. That adopted by the Chicago Library Club is perhaps worthy of consideration. If one or more libraries have complete sets of a serial, these are given first, and then the libraries having incomplete sets, with the beginning and end of their sets, but without specification of the imperfections. If, however, no library has a complete set, the most nearly complete is given in detail, and complementary volumes in other libraries are brought out. Of the form of entry, style of type and of page, abbreviations, etc., it is not necessary to speak here, because those details are relatively unimportant, and should be settled by any one undertaking the work only after a comparison of the more important lists already published. There is, however, one other point which I would like to urge, and that is the desirability of uniformity in the method of entry. This was felt so strongly by us in Chicago, that we have definitely accepted the arrangement of the Boston list as authoritative, though the members of the committee by no means agreed with this on all points. I should add that they by no means agreed with each other on the same points. In conclusion, let me call to your attention the proof of the usefulness of these lists in that three of them have passed into their sec- ond editions, and let me suggest that future publications of the kind should be set by lino- type, or in some similar manner, so as to permit the issue of new editions or at least of cumula- tive supplements at short intervals. CO-OPERATION IN LENDING AMONG COLLEGE AND REFERENCE LIBRARIES. BY ERNEST C. RICHARDSON, Librarian Princeton University Library. TT is a matter of common observation that with the present limited facilities for our American libraries, students, whether depend- ent on college libraries or on general reference libraries, are constantly in lack of the books which they want for their work. This, on the one hand, discourages work, and on the other results in the production of inadequate and im- perfect books. The greatest handicap comes from the fact that the majority of the books cannot even be found in America, the next from the difficulty of finding where in America such works as there are are located, and a third from the great expense involved in travelling even to American books. There are four practical methods by which co-operation may come in to ameliorate this sit- uation, and these may be described under "Cat- aloging," "Purchase," "Specialization," and " Lending." By co-operation in cataloging is meant the employment of some method by which it may be readily known where books can be found. This method has been carried out splendidly for scientific periodicals in the check list to Hoi- ton's catalog. By co-operation in purchase is meant some arrangement by which libraries may supplement rather than duplicate one another in the getting of that majority of books not now owned by any American library. By co-operation in specialization is meant that method of co-operation in purchase by which various libraries take and develop some spe- cialty to the intent that there shall be, so to speak, a Surgeon-General's Office library for every department of knowledge, and that the RICHARDSON. 33 scholar may know at once the most probable supply for his need. By co-operation in lend- ing, finally, is meant the development of some practical scheme whereby, without hardship to the larger libraries, the great expense of trav. elling to books may be eliminated, so far as American libraries are concerned, by sending books from one library to another. All these methods involve one another more or less, but in this paper they will be touched on from the standpoint of co-operation in lend- ing, by which is meant here simply the method already in use among American libraries, and still further developed abroad, systematized, authorized, and extended. The present system is an evolution. At first books as special favor were loaned to known individuals. Then gradually, and for obvious reasons, the rule now generally in use^grew up w that books might be loaned to a library but not to an individual. The system is extending more or less all the time and is already a relief to the situation, but the chief objection to it as now practised is that it throws too great a share of the burden on Harvard, Columbia, and a few others, and its use is limited by the fear of tres- passing on good nature. The object of this paper is to find some practical method by which the objection may be removed and the method extended. First of all, let us try to get at a realization of the situation by the analysis of a definite list of books, and for this we happily have the ma- terial at hand in the " Library check list "of Bolton's "Catalogue of scientific periodicals." In Bolton's list there are 8600 periodicals mentioned. Of 5440 of these there is no copy known in this country; of the remaining 3160, 1153 have but one copy, 521 have two copies, 307 three, and the remaining 1179 have more than three copies. Of the 3160 periodicals, Harvard has 919 and Columbia 791. That is to say: of existing scientific periodicals, nearly two-thirds are not to be found in this country at all; one-third of the remainder are represented in this country by a single copy, and another third by not more than three. Only one-eighth, therefore, of the scientific periodicals mentioned in Bolton's catalog are to be found in more than three out of our (say) 500 college and reference libraries, and the very best equipped of our university libraries have only one-tenth of these periodicals at most, and less than one- third of those which some one has actually found important enough to buy for this coun- try. Now, making all allowances for the fact that many of these not yet acquired by American li- braries are of secondary value, it is neverthe- less true that there is hardly one which should not at some time be wanted for consultation in this country. The most impressive lesson of the analysis is, therefore, the absolute lack of books in this country, but the complementary and hardly less impressive lesson is that while we already have more than 3000 sets, in this country, even the best equipped universities in the land can consult less than 1000 of these on their own campuses. What is to be done about it ? Shall 500 col- leges continue in an indiscriminate way to ., -struggle towards an ideal 8600 periodicals, all of which some one will want some time, but not one in 20 of which some of them will want once in 20 years, or shall we look forward to some sort of definite co-operation, and the sooner the better ? Even if it were not a total impossibility for all college libraries to acquire all the scientific peri- odicals in the near future, supposing, for the sake of reducing to absurdity, that it were pos- sible, it would involve a waste at the present market value of periodicals, reckoning that there are 500 libraries, of not less than one- quarter of a billion of dollars in the unnecessary duplication of 7000 sets, while two or three copies of each, at a total cost of not more than two or three million dollars, would fairly well supply the need say, an economic waste of $250,000,000 in a total investment of $253,- 000,000. Absurd as this is, it is not unlike what we are now doing on the present go- as-you-please every-one-for-himself principle. We are duplicating, every year, a great many sets of periodicals, as we would not need to do under some system where all were free to bor- row. I am entirely aware that there are many pe- riodicals which must be in every institution; that there are many of these even of which there should be several copies in each great in- stitution, but I am not speaking of these. I am speaking of those periodicals which are only used occasionally, and which form the majority in every library. A suggestive example of both classes is found 34 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. in Liebig's " Annalen." The latest series are necessary to every institution for constant use. The first series, while extremely valuable for historic purposes, is only a small fraction of the whole; is only needed occasionally even in the largest institutions ; costs as much as all other series put together, and there are already 25 copies in the country. The competition of libraries 10 to 25 in getting their complete sets has advanced the price of the series from (say) $50 to $300, and the next five years will probably take it to $500. Suppose, now, that library 26 has reached the stage of affording Liebig. Shall the librarian pay $300 for all of Liebig that is often wanted and get also one or two other much-needed-all-the-time sets, or shall he pay also another $300 for this series which will be used once a year, and of which there are already 25 copies in the country, and go with- out the other? There is already $7500 worth of first series of Liebig in the country, and, with proper system of co-operation and lending, this plant will supply our need "more than twice over. The next $7500 available for Liebig's first series might then get 50 more needed sets, and would have the incidental advantage of reducing the fancy prices which now prevail for full sets. That is to say, of $15,000 put into 40 Liebig's, $1000 should, economically speaking, have been put into 10 copies, and $14,000 used for other books. Now, Liebig is even more than a fair ex- ample of the matter, because everything which can be said in favor of complete sets counts also in its favor. Whatever applies to Liebig in this connection, therefore, applies, with still greater force, to many of the 300 others. Here, then, you have on the one hand a great waste of money through unneceisary duplica- tion of copies, and on the other an immense number of sets inaccessible except through a journey to Europe. You have again, on the one hand, the fact that we have a large num- ber of sets in this country, and on the other, the fact that two-thirds of these are inaccessible to even the very best equipped universities, except through expensive journeys or through borrowing. Now, the ideal way of meeting this situation both for economy and for convenience is un- doubtedly a central, national, lending library of the least frequently needed books a library having, perhaps, a central library in Washington with branches in New Orleans, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. But the thing that we are after now is not an ideal, but a practical one. Even if such a library should be estab- lished at once, it would be many years before it could be expected to be free of the need of the co-operation of existing libraries. What we have to consider now is how far the same result of increase in apparatus and decrease in labor and cost of getting at it can be gained in some other way, and that way is, of course, co-operation among the already existing institutions. There are, as has been said, various ways of practical co-operation to this end, but the foundation of all is co-operation in lending. With this principle well established, co-operation in specialization and co-operation in cataloging will at least receive an immense new impetus, while co-operation in purchasing will logically and inevitably follow on the basis of the co-operative work in cataloging. In a practical age, in a practical land, with the ex- ample of great combinations for personal gain before us, it ought to be possible to devise suit- able machinery and secure extensive adopting of this machinery. I do not ignore the fact that there may be obstacles to universal co- operation. There may be legal or political reasons why a municipal library or an endowed reference library could not enter in a combina- tion. There will be personal objection and sus- picions of any definite and formal combination on the part of many, but in a matter where the economy and the advantage are so great to all the members, it ought not to be hard to per- suade them to go into the deal. If trusts are profitable for private gain, why not for public welfare. It is not at all necessary, however, to a prac- tical scheme that all libraries should enter it. Suppose that only the eight university libraries, which have over 100,000 volumes, should enter still an immense gain for them and for Amer- ica could be made. Suppose even that they only go in a little ways, still every step that they go in is concrete gain. I would, myself, like to see every American library of any size, whose legal and political bonds would permit, go into the matter. I would like to see some central bureau, preferably, perhaps, the Library of Congress or the Smithsonian Institution amply endowed to organize existing resources, guide their future development and supplement them RICHARDSON. 35 as far as possible. I would like to see enough altruism or patriotism or far-sightedness, or whatever you choose to call it, infused into the scheme to admit the smallest incorporated li- brary to its benefits. But if this seems too ideal and remote, and you ask for something more practical, I pro- pose that at least the effort be made to have all the college and university libraries represented in Bolton's catalog join in a lending system at least as liberal as that which prevails among European libraries, on the basis of a definitely prepared list of books, of which each library shall furnish a portion, and according to its means. This could be done, if necessary, on the strictest basis of self-interest, but we might perhaps rise to extending its benefits to non- contributing colleges. I have said that at the present time the great objection to the system is the extra burden which it throws on a few of the large libraries, and an authorised general system of exchange would increase that burden. As a matter of fact, under the present conditions, one natu- rally writes to the largest library as being the one most likely to contain the book sought. In the case of the periodicals contained in Bolton's catalog and a few other matters, however, there is a certain tendency towards equalization. The ^considerate librarian, if he wishes to borrow one of the Bolton's bibliography peri- odicals, would choose to ask the favor of one of the smaller libraries having a set wherever possible. Now on the same principle if the committee of librarians of co-operating libraries should take this list and indicate the lending copy or copies of each periodical, it would be easily adjusted so that Harvard, Columbia and the other great libraries should have no more than their share of the burden. There are, in fact, only 81 periodicals in the case of Harvard and 79 in the case of Columbia which are not owned by some other institution, and it is conceivable that in the case of a gen- eral conbination their burden should be reduced to the loan of these and these only, whereas the sets that each would be entitled to borrow would exceed 2000 each that is, they would stand to get 20 times what they give. On the other hand, there are few institutions that would not contribute something and as a matter of fact, the small college, with a faculty of half a dozen, if it contributes little also uses little compared with one having a faculty of several hundred, and what is more it uses the few standard sets that it does own so much less that it can contribute these as lending copies where the larger institutions must keep them for reference. I would propose further, therefore, that a definite beginning of co-operation should be made in just this way : That a circle of co-op- erating libraries be formed, authorized by their trustees to interchange, and that a committee of the librarians should take Bolton's catalog and decide on lending copies perhaps assign- ing three or four lending copies, geographically distributed. By using the Bolton numbers and letters the cost of printing would be insignifi- cant, and a good start could be made at once. This start might be followed up by taking, say, the list of historical periodicals, etc., in Chev- alier, and forming a check list of these with similar assignment. This might perhaps soon be extended to a joint list of the periodicals in the American libraries in all classes, not of scien- tific periodicals only, but of all periodicals and important sets of great publications. The com- mittee of co operating libraries, with such a list before it, could assign lending responsibil- ity in such way (i) That the larger libraries should be relieved of the strain of doing more than their share of lending and (2) so that even the smallest library participating should be able to do something in the work. If such a list were prepared for co-operation in lending it would naturally and inevitably extend to co-operation in purchase. The com* mittee editing the list would discover where the weakest spots in our joint American supply were to be found, and would naturally distribute among themselves the responsibility of filling the gaps in some common sense judgment of which one was best suited to assume each peri- odical. This would tend in time to definitize and extend co-operation by specialization. All this would result in direct and immediate ad- vantage in use, in an immense saving of capital, in the removing of the unnecessary competition which is raising the cost of scientific periodicals to fabulous proportions, and in a general sys- tematization of the work of building up the col- lege and reference libraries. In conclusion, there are two or three things which somebody will think should be men- tioned, and which may be gathered up in ATLANTA CONFERENCE. anticlimax as a sort of miscellany. In the first place, the expense of this lending would be borne, as it is now, by the borrower. In the dim futurity, perhaps, a paternal government may step in and help the matter by lightening still farther the expense of sending such books by mail. For the present, the expense, though considerable, is not to be compared with the ex- pense of travelling to the books, and for a con- servative beginning the check of this amount of expense may not be altogether an evil. In the second place, it should be said that this plan would not need, in any sense, to destroy the right of individual initiative. Every insti- tution will still be free to duplicate what it chooses, and to. judge what new material it is for its best interest to acquire. It will simply extend the privilege which it already gives to every scholar to use its books if he will come to the books, to a privilege of having the books taken to him at his expense. In the third place, and for the benefit of those members of our association who look at the matter from the standpoint of the dealer, let me say that this need in no wise reduce the business or the profits of the book dealers. American libraries, for a long time to come, are going to use with eagerness every dollar that they can get for the purchase of books. This plan will merely save the dealer a good deal of trouble in the hunting up of unnecessary copies of rare sets, while not reducing the vol- ume of his business in the least. Finally, we must not close without recogniz- ing more explicitly the fine contributions to our problem of co-operation in lending which are being made by many libraries. The work of the library of the Surgeon-General's office comes very near the ideal, both as to the localization of the supply for need through cataloging and the actual supply by lending. If there were a Surgeon-General's library for every branch of knowledge this little tale might not have been told. CLASSIFICATION FOR COLLEGE LIBRARIES. BY OLIVE JONES, Librarian Ohio State University. T F a novice in the library profession were to ask if librarians had ever given any atten- tion to the subject of classification it would be necessary only to open the index to the first 22 volumes of the Library Journal at the word Classification and point him to the reference after reference under that much-used term. If a librarian who had kept in touch with all the discussions indulged in by his brethren were asked the question he would probably wearily remark, as did a recent number of the Library Journal in commenting editorially upon a new presentation of the classification problem, that "classification, like the poor, is always with us." Yet in all the discussion on this subject, in the papers written, in the arguments ad- vanced, next to nothing has been said about the desirability, indeed the necessity, of differ- ent kinds of libraries arranging their books according to their special needs. Libraries of different sizes have been considered and noth- ing could be better or more ingenious than the provision which has been made in the Expan- sive classification for small libraries which may eventually grow large, but in regard to libraries of different character almost the only clear note which has been sounded was in the report on classification presented by Mr. Kephart to the World's Library Congress. He said : " It is evident that the same system cannot be used in all kinds of libraries. Yet, if we take any two university libraries for example, or any two free popular libraries, it will be found that they differ from each other mostly in size or in degree of symmetry, but not in scope nor in the character and wants of their users. I can see no good reason why all libraries of a given class might not use the same general method with mutual advantage." That was written six years ago, but it seemed to call no special attention to the fact that one of the main prin- ciples of practical book arrangement was being ignored. To be sure librarians were told to shelve fiction as near the charging desk as possible, and that was about as far as attention to the individual needs of a library went. But it is not strange that this has been so. During the last 23 years since the library move- ment has been spreading over the country it has been mainly a public library movement. JONES. 37 The one thought has been to popularize the library, to bring the book to the people, the people to the book, and, as a means to this end, classification is not of the most vital im- portance. Though in most public libraries classification, and generally close classification, is recognized as exceedingly desirable, the ar- rangement of the different classes of books on the shelves is not a matter that need specially trouble the librarian, excepting, as had been said before, that he see that the most used classes are as near the charging desk as possi- ble. Providing the books are classified accu- rately it does not much matter whether chemical technology follows theoretical chemistry or whether it is shelved at some distance away, whether education comes as a subordinate class under sociology or whether it stands alone, yet related to philosophy and psychology. Even in these days of open shelves it does not much matter if English language is shelved in one part of the library, English literature in another, English history in a third, and geography of Eng- land in a fourth. It does not matter, because even when a library has a large clientage of scholarly investigators it is not of great moment that they must necessarily look in several places in a library when working up a subject. Every one trained in the use of books knows that it is absolutely impossible for any library to gather together in one place all the literature pertain- ing to a subject, and, used as the scholar is to looking in different places for his material, the fact that the main divisions of the subject are separated from each other need not trouble him. And the average frequenter of the libra- ry does not want everything on the subject. He very seldom looks at it in the broad way. If he does, there is the reference librarian to help him. And so classifications have been devised and discussed, and some of them discarded, always with the public library's need, or lack of need, unconsciously in mind. The fact that the pub- lic library has no special need which must be met left the classifier free to elaborate his " idea of the subdivision of knowledge," as Professor De Morgan says, or to adapt this idea to his no- tation, which has more often been the case. But in all healthy growth there comes the period of differentiation, and this period has come, or is surely coming, in the library move- ment. College libraries as such are beginning to awaken, and the individuality of other classes of libraries will undoubtedly soon be felt. That there is a great difference between the ideal college library and the public library is admitted by all who have studied the problems confronting the two institutions. The public library exists for the whole community, it must address itself to all classes of men, it must at- tract the children and retain the mature reader, furnish recreation for the weary, inspiration for the downcast, suggestions for the mentally alert. The college library exists primarily for the few, and those few with a common interest. Though other readers are welcome it is the need of the professor and student that must first be considered. The library must be looked upon not as a great social force but as a factor in the educational work of the college. This is the fundamental characteristic of the college library. It must be an active force in the edu- cational policy of the school with which it is connected. To that end it must supplement the work of the professor. Now the main part of the professor's work is to teach the student to work for himself. All instruction is coming to be more and more by the laboratory method, whether the equipment of the laboratory be test-tubes and beakers, dynamos and motors, or books. Looked at then as a laboratory the college library must consider the arrangement of the different classes of books on its shelves as one of its most important problems. De- fects in the system of classification which could be overlooked in a public library must not be allowed here. Granted, then, that a classification specially fitted to meet college problems is needed by a college library, and granted also, that none of the systems devised up to this time has been made with that end in view, the question at once arises, What have college libraries been doing ? Surely they have not all been in a com- atose state. Although it would, I think, be ad- mitted that the great majority of college libra- ries have not yet felt the quickening power of the modern library movement, yet a sufficient number have be.en alive to the great power of the library and have been actively enough at work to have established principles which may be accepted as governing some phases of college library affairs. Some of these libraries have devised classifications of their own. It is only necessary to mention Harvard, Cornell, ATLANTA CONFERENCE. and the University of California to show what good work each one has done for itself. And Princeton has begun the same work. Other li- braries have nominally, at least, adopted one of the well-known systems. But few instances, however, have come to my attention of an up- to-date librarian, who at the same time was closely in touch with educational work, who followed closely either the Decimal classifica- tion or the Expansive classification. Since Mr. Dewey and Mr. Cutter are to pre- sent papers on this subject, they can correct me if I am wrong in this. I will be inter- ested in knowing of college libraries where either system has been used with satisfaction both to the faculty and the library force with- out so many modifications that the system is scarcely recognizable. Let me give two or three instances noted in my investigation of the subject. Visiting one large university whose catalog announced that the Dewey sys- tem of classification was used in the library, the librarian was asked his reason for using the classification. His answer was that it had been adopted by his predecessor and it had seemed best to continue its use, but that if he had been free to choose it never would have been adopted. When asked as to whether he found the classification satisfactory he took from his desk a copy of the D. C., opened it and showed me the book. It was a graphic answer. Pages were marked out completely, number after number was changed, and when the classifica- tion was adopted as it stood the value of the notation was lost because the books were not arranged according to the numerical order. On writing to the librarian of an important university who is supposed to have adopted the Expansive classification I received this reply: " We use the Cutter Expansive classification, but with so many changes that I do not know whether we have any right to call it Cutter. I cannot see how Cutter or Dewey could be used with any satisfaction without many changes in any college library of any size or personality." A rather interesting incident occurred in con- nection with my inquiry into the classification of the library of one of our most prominent schools. I was assured by a former librarian, the one, by the way, who introduced the classi- fication (it being the D. C.)into the library, that he had found it very satisfactory, had changed but little, and that he had never understood why so much fault had been found with the printed scheme. Shortly after I visited the school itself and found that the professors were not at all satisfied with the classification of the library and did not consider the system a good one for a library connected with an institution of learning. Seemingly a difference in the point of view, although if a college library is to accomplish the greatest good it is absolutely necessary that the librarian and professors be made to see things as nearly as possible from the same point of view. Right here is the point which must be con- sidered in choosing a classification for a college library. It must be devised from the stand- point of the professor as well as of the libra- rian. Dr. Richardson, in writing of his ad- mirable classification of classical philology, stated the principle of college classification in a nutshell when he said: " It is just what the professors need, or think they need." In some of our colleges there is too little at- tention paid to the professor. Not by any means that the professor should be supreme. Professors are only human, and if left to themselves would be too much inclined to make of the university library a collection of private libraries. Because the money is divided between the departments, the pro- fessor in charge of the department being al- lowed in most instances to hand in orders up to the amount of his appropriation, he is rather too much inclined to feel that the books when they come are his and must be found on his shelves, and is sometimes I am glad that these occasions are rare inclined to resent the use of the books by another department. Such a professor must be made to know that the li- brary as a whole stands above any one depart- ment. Then, too, the library must not be kept down to the level of an incompetent professor. If it is known that the professor is not keeping abreast of educational advancement, if his methods of teaching are out of date, the li- brary should take the lead in his work. The reference librarian should be instructed to pay special attention to his students, bibliographies and finding lists should be made specially for them, and the department be thus forced to the front. In this respect the librarian stands next to the president and his position in the univer- sity should be so recognized. Looked at then from the standpoint of a JONES. 39 professor, in arranging the books of a library those classes which the instructor needs to have at hand when presenting the literature of a subject should be shelved near to each other. This is seen especially in the seminary and de- partment libraries, and as a matter of fact these books are gathered together no matter how they have been classified and how marked. A rather amusing and confusing sight was a department library in a school whose books were classified by the D. C. It was the li- brary of chemistry and the books which ought to be there were there, but the marks were a mixture of SOD'S and 6oo's which bewil- dered the observer. It may be objected that it is better not to make the road of learning too easy for the student by gathering the major part of his material for him. Let him learn to search among all books in all parts of the li- brary. There will be enough of that for him to do in any case. It will require the direction of the professor, the oversight of the librarian, and at first the individual help of the reference assistant, to train him to look for all that the li- brary can yield on his subject. It is better that the time of the professor and student be saved by having the main classes together. It may also be objected that courses of instruction change from time to time, that the classes which could have been shelved together some years since may now in the same institution be shelved apart, if the principle of aiding in- structors is carried out. Then let it be so. Provide in the classification and nota- tion for just such a contingency. This can be done and is now being done at Harvard. There each main class stands alone as far as notation is concerned, and if it should ever seem best to take a class up bodily and trans- fer it to some other department of the library there is no numerical or alphabetical order to be disturbed. If the main classes were smaller in size and greater in number this could be even better done. It may be said that it would be hard to de- vise a notation which would work well for such a classification. It would certainly be hard to devise a notation which would show the inter- relation of classes, or be a guide to the con- tents of the books as suggested by Mr. Adams in his " Combining system of notation." But is that after all the true purpose of notation ? Is it not magnifying its office ? The definition of notation as given in the glossary of library terms in the "Library primer" is " A system of signs (figures, letters, arbitrary characters, or any combination of these marks) used to designate the class and book number or shelf number of the volumes of a library, so as to assist in finding or replacing them accurately and quickly." In other words the notation is a guide for finding a book's place in the library, not a guide to its contents nor to its relation to other classes of books. If we could only get this restricted idea of the function of notation settled in our minds we would find much greater freedom in classifying according to the needs of a library. Here is clearly defined a point of difference between a college and a public li- brary. Since the mark on a book which shows its place in a library is also used as a symbol for the book in most charging systems, a pub- lic library must insist on having that mark as simple and quickly written as possible. On a busy day at the loan desk when thousands of books are being circulated it is absolutely neces- sary that the call number be brief. In a col- lege library this is not so. The circulation is the smallest part of the work, and although it is always desirable to make a notation as sim- ple as possible, yet a good arrangement of the books need not, indeed must not be sacrificed to a call number. The call number may be long if necessary. Mr. Biscoe in his defence of the Decimal classification in the Library Journal for Novem- ber, 1898, has likened classification to a "vast series of pigeon-holes in which subjects are placed." His idea, however, is first a large case, this he divides into compartments, and these are further divided into pigeon-holes, the relation of the pigeon-holes one to the other al- ways remaining the same. My idea is rather that of the Wernicke system of units. If you wish the daily report file unit on top, the cata- log drawer unit in the middle, and the card in- dex unit at the bottom, you can have it so, but you can just as well have any other arrange- ment of the three that suits you, or you can have only two units, or one, or as many as you wish. To the objection that with such an arrange- ment one would never know where in a library to find a given class of books, the answer is that of course there would be need of a plat ol the library, just as a map of a city is needed by a ATLANTA CONFERENCE. stranger in order that he may know where to find the streets mentioned in the directory. When the arrangement of the classes is changed a new plat will of course have to be made. In a library with room for growth and connected with a college whose courses of study are well mapped out there will not often be need for change. But when the need comes it should be met. And a plat of the library is a very desira- ble thing no matter what system of :lassification or notation is used. I have in mind the very neat and attractive plat of each floor[of the Am- herst stack, which hangs just where the visitor will easily see it on entering the floor. A list of all the classes and the location of each hang- ing by the catalog case would obviate all diffi- culty. But it was not the intention of this paper to propose a scheme for classifying a college li- brary. It was desired first to show that at pres- ent there existed no system of classification which was found satisfactory when working out the practical problems of a college library, and, secondly, it is desired to urge the College Sec- tion to seriously take up this problem and if possible by means of a committee appointed by the section to devise at least a skeleton classifi- cation which can be offered to the many colleges over the country that are just awakening to the necessity of a live, active college library. For, as has been said, the awakening of the college library has only fairly begun. In most of the colleges it will still be found that the duties of a librarian are laid upon the shoulders of a pro- fessor in addition to his other work. But the next few years will undoubtedly bring great changes, partly due to the intense library spirit which pervades the country and which will naturally affect all classes of libraries, and partly due to the changes in educational methods which are being adopted in even the smallest colleges. It is in behalf of the colleges that are about to begin the reorganization of their libra- ries that I speak now. They are not in a posi- tion to settle questions of classification for them- selves ; they must take a system offered with some authority. A case in point is that of a large and influential denominational college of wide reputation. Although it has been prom- inently before the public for years and has a large attendance its library was in the old-time condition until very recently. Indeed it might have been termed a collection of libraries, so many ministers having bequeathed their books to the college and each library having been kept by itself. A few years since a man was found who wished to perpetuate his name in stone and he was persuaded that a library build- ing for his church school was the fitting way in which to do it. As a result there was com- pleted last year a really fine building and the books were moved into it during the summer vacation. There was not sufficient money at the disposal of the college to provide a libra- rian, so it was necessary to continue on the old plan of having a professor in charge of the li- brary. The professor selected for this work was a young man very enthusiastic in his spe- cialty and very sincere in all work which he would undertake. He applied himself to the library problem and last fall he and his assist- ant were among the most interested of those attending the meeting of the state library asso- ciation. I asked him about the methods adopted in the library, especially the classification. He said that he was not satisfied with the system of classification presented to him, but what was he to do ? He had not time to take up the prob- lem for himself, he could not forget that library work was not his main work, so he did what seemed to be the best thing he could do under the circumstances, he adopted the D. C. He began classifying by it and found it not at all satisfactory. In our discussion of college li- brary classification at the meeting of the College Section of the Ohio Library Association this professor was one of the most severe critics of the decimal system. During the last winter this library has received a large endowment and will soon be in a position to rank high among active college libraries ; but, unless it un- does all the work which it has done, it will al- ways be hampered by a classification which is not the one suited to its needs. This is only one instance out of many. The college libraries are needing help, and they are needing it in this special direction. In many points, of course, the interests of all libraries are the same. Leaving book selection out of the question, the work done in a library natu- rally divides itself into three classes. The first is the securing and recording of books as the property of the library. It might have the general name of the acquisition department, and includes ordering, accessioning, plating, stamping, checking periodicals, binding, and CUTTER. all work involved in keeping files of reports and transactions up to date. All of this work would need to be carried on no matter what would be the disposition of the books after they became a part of the library. If need be, they could be piled up on the floor like so much firewood, as is now being done because of lack of room in a library with which I am intimately ac- quainted, yet no part of the work necessary to make them an integral part of the library could be omitted. The second division includes the orderly arrangement of the books in other words, their classification and shelf - listing. The third division, the extent and importance of which is so great that it is apt to overshadow the first two divisions, includes all the means employed in bringing the reader and the book together. In this division is found the majority of the lines of activity generally known as li- brary work. Here comes cataloging, the mak- ing of finding lists and bibliographies, the circulation of books, the reference work, chil- dren's rooms, branch libraries, travelling libra- ries. All is done to bring the library and its constituency into closer touch. Now the prin- ciples involved in the first division of library work are the same for all libraries. That, I think, is admitted. Business methods must obtain whether the purchases be large or small, whether you buy fiction or science. In the third division very many of the principles are the same. No one wants any better rules for cata- loging than those already formulated. And here, too, it has always been clearly recognized that many of the methods employed in making the library available to readers must be deter- mined by the character of the library and its constituency. It is no more expected that the reference work of a public library be really a course of instruction in the use of books than that a college library should have a children's room. It is in the second division alone that the fact that the principles of work are not the same for libraries of different character has been but faintly recognized. Here, then, as has been said, is where the college library needs help. If the College Sec- tion of the A. L. A. were to issue under its authority some system of classification so flexi- ble that it could be adapted to the varying needs of different colleges without destroying the nota- tion, it would be doing a really great work. At least let the work be attempted. SUITABILITY OF THE EXPANSIVE CLASSIFICATION TO COLLEGE AND REFERENCE LIBRARIES. BY CHARLES A. CUTTER, Librarian Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass. '"TWO things must be considered the gen- eral fitness of the Expansive classification for any library and its special adaptation for college work. The E. C. was made for a proprietary library which allowed free access to the shelves. A man employed in that library said to me yes- terday: " I am greatly attached to the E. C. I do not see how any one who uses it can help liking it." It was afterwards tried, with an improved notation, in other kinds of libraries town, city, medical, military, naval, state, his- torical, high school, and college, and has been examined by librarians committed to other sys- tems and by experts and teachers in library schools. This is what they say of it : " Invaluable." " I wish I could use it." " Your system is far superior to Dewey's." " Simple to understand, very clearly put." 44 The more I study E. C. the more I like it." " I like the Medical classification very much." " We are always glad to recommend this sys- tem." " Consider Expansive best system ever de- vised." " The books seem to fit into the classes very easily." " The superiority of the scheme, especially in Science." 44 The classification of the book arts seems most excellent." "I can only speak of it in terms of the highest appreciation." 41 The nomenclature in Language and Philol- ogy is unusually good." "Your system, which I regard on the whole as the best in existence." ATLANTA CONFERENCE. " I have always been glad that we adopted the Expansive classification." " Excellent and superior to any other that has been offered to librarians thus far." " I like the subdivisions very much better than those of the Decimal system." "Indispensable even to the experienced li- brarian as a guide in accurate classification." " From a scientific point of view your treat- ment of Biology seems especially excellent." " Your charging system promises to be as helpful as I have found your classification and book numbers." " Should adopt it were I to change. Have examined it carefully, especially in History and Social Science, and consider it the ablest." " I am delighted with the arrangement of Natural Sciences, especially with the mark for books on Nature and with the position of An- thropology after Zoology." " Your work is a perfect mine of ductile and flexible metal, and seems to be fully appreciated by the bibliothecaires, if one may judge from the almost universal use made of it in many adaptations." " I am using here the D. C., and therefore see the many disadvantages of that. I know nothing practically about the E. C., but I should expect Mr. Cutter's classification to be superior to the D. C. in logical arrangement and provision for ' all sorts and conditions' of topics." " The Expansive classification has, as its name implies, the possibility of expansion in all directions; changes are more easily made and sub-divisions in different classes introduced, without disarranging previous order. Its local list, which can be applied to any class, is an especially fine feature, which is lacking in the D. C." " I have been well pleased with having adopted the Expansive classification for use here. I should certainly feel like suggesting its use at . I see no reason to expect the spe- cial difficulty that you mention, that it would be harder to arrange and to find books under the notation using letters than under the notation using figures." This is what the college librarians say: " I am deeply interested in the question of a satisfactory classification for a college library. The E. C. is greatly superior to the D. C, , but I cannot feel that it is just what we need." "I sat down with the D. C. and the E. C. side by side, and spent the afternoon in a care- ful comparison of the two. At the end I said, ' The E. C. is the one we want. We'll discard all that we have done and take this. We'll use the most fully developed form the seventh.' We introduced it as fast as we could, and we are thoroughly satisfied with it." " We have been using the Expansive classifi- cation in this library for several years. In elasticity and in general arrangement it is supe- rior to any other with which I am acquainted. We have not found in actual practice that the class marks are longer or more complicated than in other systems, nor have we found any inconvenience arising from the combined use of letters and figures." "I have arranged the philosophical books according to the seventh system, and the ar- rangement is satisfactory to those who use the books as well as to myself. I have marked our scientific books according to the sixth. I like the classification very well, and, so far as I can judge without having used it very extensively, it is well adapted to a college library. I have not found difficulty with the notation so far as I have used it." " The E. C. has been!in use in this university library for over 100,000 volumes for six years. We started with the sixth, but have shifted to the seventh as fast as it came out. I believe your seventh to be admirably adapted to the need's of a large college library. I am not aware that the notation has caused any difficulty. If I were to put into two words the qualities which lead me to prefer the E. C., they would be its Rationality and its Flexibility." " In 1888 I took this library, with only acces- sion and shelf number to locate books. I have nearly doubled the library in size, have intro- duced E. C. notation and distribution to every book in the library. I have removed the paper labels first used on back of books, and put nota- tion on in stamped letters, and have completed dictionary catalog for all books and pamphlets, without any help other than that secured from students during their college course. We have no stack, the shelves being entirely open to all students. Twice I have kept a student one year after graduation, but aside from this the work has been done by undergraduates, without pre- vious training. This is not to_show what I have done, but what could not have been done, I CUTTER. 43 believe, had we used a figure notation. I have to begin at the start with each man, and the beauty of the E. C. is that it appeals to the common sense and logic a man has in him. The same is true in a great measure of those who wish to use the library independently, students as well as professors." In theory, classification and notation are two entirely different things, but in practice they are married, so that it is not altogether an Irish bull to say that the better half of the Expansive classification is the notation that accompanies it. That notation is simple, short, elastic, cor- respondent, mnemonic. First. It is simple. Letters are used to mark the main classes and all their non-local subdi- visions, and for nothing else. Figures are used for two things. The numbers from i to to mark those divisions which it is convenient to group together at the beginning of many classes, namely: Theory and Study, the Bibli- ography, Biography, and History of the class, the form divisions Dictionaries and Encyclo- paedias, Handbooks and Tables, Periodicals, Societies, and Collections (meaning works of several authors together). The figures from i to 10, I say, are used for this. The figures from n to 99 are used to mean countries (40, Spain; 56, Russia; 61, India; 71, Egypt; 83, the United States, and so on), so that it is possible to express the local relations of any subject in a perfectly unmistakable way, the letters never being used to signify countries, and the figures never being used to signify any other subjects but countries. Thus 45 is England wherever it occurs; e.g., F being History, F45 is the his- tory of England; G being Geography, 645 is the geography of England, or travels in Eng- land, and so on; and this notation can be used not merely with the main classes, but with every subdivision, no matter how minute, which in any library is worth dividing by countries, as Ki.45, English law ; Hi-45, English joint stock companies; HT45, English budget; HU45, English tariff ; 1045, the English poor; IU45, English schools ; 1x45, English universities; JT45, English politics ; Jv45, English adminis- tration; or to turn to another order of ideas: X45, English language; 45, English literature; ZY45, History of English literature ; ZT45, English bibliography ; WF45, English archi ^ecture ; WP45, English painting. Wherever one wishes to separate what relates to England from other works on any subject, one has only to add 45 and the thing is done. No other system has this feature. It is true that the later editions of the Decimal scheme have provided a similar list of marks for 69 countries, using the numbers 30-99, but as these same numbers are also used for all sorts of subjects, there is nothing to show in any particular case whether they mean country or not. For example: 37, which in the Decimal classification is Rome and Italy in Geography, is also seminary method in Edu- cation, regular polyhedrons in Geometry, Kep- ler's problem in Astronomy, azimuth constant in Practical astronomy, spectrum in Descriptive astronomy, norite in Lithology, cups and ves- sels in Prehistoric archaeology, rosaceae in Botany, mayacese in Monocotyledons, arthros- taca in Articulates, pancreas in Anatomy, hot drinks, tea, coffee, etc., in Personal hygiene, inspection of pigments, wall papers, etc., in Public health, pancreas in Pathology, dispro- portionate growth of parts in Orthopedic sur- gery, amnion in Diseases of women, sewage farming in Sanitary engineering, nature print- ing in Printing, gables and pediments in Archi- tecture, and more than twice as many other things in other places. I do not suppose that to a person thoroughly acquainted with the system this presents much difficulty, but certainly 37 considered as a local number is not mnemonic, and such a farrago of meanings is far from simple. A similar enumeration could be made of multitudinous meanings for every one of the other 68 'numbers. People who know nothing of the Expansive classification talk to me of the superior simplicity of the Decimal notation. It strikes me that the boot is on the other leg. In the E. C., on the contrary, as figures above n never mean anything but a country, whenever they occur in a mark one knows at once that the book so marked treats of its subject with special reference to a coun- try, e.g., when one sees N83 or 083 or RPF83, one knows that it means something about the United States, 83 being the U. S. country num- ber. (These three marks denote the U. S. flora N83, the U. S. fauna 083, and the U. S. fisheries Rpp83.) Sectnd. The letter part is much shorter in its marks than any figure notation can be. It starts with 26 classes instead of jo ; it sub- 44 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. divides each of these classes by 26 instead of by 10 ; when it uses three characters (the least number used in the D. C.) it makes 17 times as many classes as the figures make; with four characters it has 45 times as many, and with five 118 times as many. Now, this means al- most perfect freedom, plenty of subdivisions where one wants a great many, and few divi- sions with very short marks where one needs only a few. And with this liberal notation one can do a great deal to make different parts of the classification correspond in marking with one another, which one cannot do if one has a very limited number of characters to work with. One can also express the relation of classes to one another and to their subordinate parts much better. Third. It is mnemonic, i.e., alliterative, a matter of minor importance, but still, as far as it goes, a help, first, in learning the class marks, and then in keeping the less used marks in mind. I find myself helped very much by it, but I know of others to whom it gives no help whatever. That is their misfortune, but of course is no objection to the notation, for in this it is no worse than a figure notation, which can give no help to anybody. I have been amused by hearing people say that figures are more easily remembered than letters. I ask them which they find easier to remember, the initials of their friends' names or the street numbers of their friends' houses. Some say one and some the other. The fact is that a man remembers easily what he uses constantly.* If he addresses many letters to the headquarters of the Library Bureau the number 530 sticks in his memory in connection with it. But if he classifies by the D. C. 530 seems to him to mean Physics and nothing else, though those three figures have no natural connection whatever with Physics. But C has a connection with Christianity, and there is a reason why G should stand for Geography, and in class B Bm for Aforal philosophy, in C Cl> for ^ible, Ce .Evidences, Cf Polity of the Church, Cr Ritual, in F (Hist. Sci.) Fc Chro- nology, Fi /inscriptions, F jVumismatics, in H (Economics) H/6 Commerce, Hm Money, H* * I asked my latest pupil-assistant if he found any dif- ference in ease of remembering between the numbers of our local marks and the letters of our subject mark. " No," said ha, " except that I use the letters more, and so I know them better." Taxation, in I (Sociology) Ic Criminal classes, and so on. One use of these initial-markings is that they afford certain fixed points from which one can calculate forward or backward. E.g . one knows that Banking is the next class to Money. Now, Money is easily remembered as Hm. Then Banking will be H. But, at I said before, no one is obliged to use these mnemonics; nothing depends on them; nothing has been sacrificed to bring them about. Those who do not like that sort of thing can simply ignore them. There is, I know, a certain prejudice, I can- not give it a higher name, against the use of letters in notation and still more against the concurrent use of letters and figures. Many persons are so much influenced by this that they turn away from the E. C. at once. Some even after examination and while acknowledging the merits of the classing are willing to give up all the advantage of a carefully worked out classi- fication, all the convenience of a short and easily remembered notation, all the assistance to be had from a well-constructed and effective local list rather than make the slight effort required to get familiar with the notation, although if they would do that all difficulty would vanish at once. With other persons it is not so much their own repugnance to the use of letters for marks as the fear that other people, their as- sistants or the public, will be puzzled or re- pelled. The fear is needless. Read what those who have used the notation say : " Perfect freedom in notation, interpolation, etc." " I have not found difficulty with the nota- tion." " I am not aware that the notation has caused any difficulty." " I had boys for a time and found no difficulty with them. I remember one to whom I gave half an hour's instruction and looked in on him the next day and that was all ; he never needed any more, and he is a young boy. " With reference to your notation, my experi- ence is that it is no more difficult for boys to manage than the Dewey, when the latter is ap- plied to close classification. A glance at the Bulletin of the Hartford Public Library should convince one of this." " I have found no difficulties with the nota- tion. My ' runner ' is a high school student ; he learned the location of the books very quickly CUTTER. 45 and at first I discovered only a few misplace- ments. He has been here less than a year and has averaged not over two hours a day, but for some time he has been able to get books readily and accurately. Within three years I have trained two assistants with equally encourag- ing results." " Boys take to the Cutter marks even more easily than girls. I was not here when the change was first made from numbers to the alphabetical arrangement, but on inquiry I can- not find that any difficulty was felt, except that incident to any change, and they all say, after they got used to the change itself, it was very much easier, for in many cases, if they know the author and title, it is not necessary to know the number at all. This applies especially to fiction and biography, but I find that in other classes they often find the books in the same way, without having to look up the number." "With 12,000 volumes the circulation was over 120,000 volumes a year for home use, with a reading-room use of about 30,000 volumes more. We liked the E. C. very much and found the notation simple. It was very interesting to see how quickly the assistants learned the ar- rangement of the books. The people, too, who had free access to the shelves, easily learned to find the books. I know that figures are more quickly written than letters, but with the card charging system the writing of the call number each time a book goes out is avoided. My short experience in a small technical library closely classified by the Decimal system makes me feel that the notation of the E. C. is simpler. The marks are shorter and the letters are more easily arranged than the decimal marks. I have only spoken of the use of the notation, for I feel that the classification speaks for itself. I be- lieve that the notation would seem simple to you as soon as you began the practical use of it." " You speak of the length of the call number. I should like to enclose some numbers copied from a catalog which claims to be an adaptation of theD. C: Knight's Shakespeare, 822.338110.4.1 Kittyleen, by Clarke, 813^40646.245 Murfree, Tennessee Mts., 813 M8625 468 Cooke, Henry St. John, 813^6644 06 In the Lowell City Library, which is D. C., the call numbers are equally objectionable. In the E. C M 6590 represents description of Constanti- nople, while 914.96 are the numbers required to represent the same in the D. C. For general travel Mr. Cutter uses only the letter G, while for travel, in the D. C., three figures (910) are always necessary. The same holds true in al- most every division. We have lists for books sent in from three delivery stations, and in no instance, however badly written, have we been unable to find, by a comparison with the shelf sheets, what book was desired. The compari- son of list with shelf sheet is only made, of course, when there is a little doubt about the figures or letters on the list. With our attend- ants the letter to indicate a class is easier to remember than a figure; it means more to them. Free access to the shelves is permitted in this library, and with a yearly circulation of about 75,000 volumes we are able with very little trouble to keep the books in their proper posi- tions. We have employed boys as well as young ladies to return the books to the shelves, and it took very little time for either to under- stand the classification. The attendants who have been with us before and since the change in classification would not be willing to return to the old system, finding this so much more simple and adaptable." " Mr. decided that of all known forms of classification the E. C. was superior. During the three years the boys and attendants at the issue desk found no difficulty in the practical working of the system. I think none of the boys there had more than a grammar-school education, and at times some of those employed were rather below the average intelligence. In reorganizing my library at I decided to use the E. C. in one of its simpler forms, the fourth classification mainly, using portions of the sixth in certain classes where the library had many books and a fuller subdivision was desirable. All the desk work was done by boys, and they were usually boys with only a grammar - school education and of average brightness and fitness for their work. The combination of letters had no terrors for them, and they very soon became expert in finding and putting up books, and they did both very rapidly. I think the difficulties of the notation are much over-estimated by those who have not tried the E. C. I have never used the D. C., but in my opinion those who believe the E. C. to be a better classification than the D. C. (as I do myself) need not be deterred from using it 4 6 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. on account of its notation. In many cases, notably Biography, Geography, History, and Literature, the book numbers are shorter than in the D. C., and the ' local list ' is, I think, one of the very good features. The fact that 83, for instance, means always the United States, whether used with F, G, or any other letter, is of great assistance to the memory. The E. C., like the D. C., becomes more complex and diffi- cult to handle the more it is subdivided, but I cannot see why several letters added to the class letter should bother one more than the additional figures after the D. C. has been cur- ried out to three figures." Of the classification there is time for only a hasty characterization.* It has sometimes been called complicated. Nature is complicated in the sense in which this is meant of being full of distinctions. But the E. C., even where it is most minutely subdivided, is said to be easily intelligible; and, moreover, is no more detailed than the user chooses to make it. With the same notation there are seven differ- ent classifications of progressively increasing fulness. He can select any one that suits his ideas, or he can mix two or three together, using one of the earlier and less developed schemes where he prefers broad outlines and one of the later schemes for those classes which for any reason he thinks ought to be broken up into more sections. This is not the only liberty. In hundreds of cases alternative places for sub- jects are allowed and suggested, so that the scheme may meet all sorts of special require- ments, all sorts of individual whims even, though I often venture to say what I prefer, so as to assist those who haven't the time for or shrink from the labor of choosing for them- selves. It is one of the advantages of a letter notation that it has enough characters to spare for such extra classes. And here let me remark in parenthesis that the minuteness of one's classification does not show itself to the public by the marks on the backs of the books, to which they will pay no attention, but by the labels on the shelves. If, for instance, you have only half a shelf full of Domestic economy, but, in view of those likely to be added, think it well to adopt 12 subdivi- * The classification of Electricity which was read here as an example will shortly appear in the 7th system, lass R, sions, of which perhaps seven are represented by the present stock, you only put on one label, " Domestic economy." The shelf-going patron sees this and only this. As he looks over the books he doesn't notice or care for their order, and so he is not troubled by any " complexity." When the stock has increased to two shelves partially full you can add another label, " Food and cookery," and long before you reach the size of the British Museum, which has 50 or 60 shelves of cook-books alone, you can make a label of every one of the 12 sub- divisions and your shelf-goer will be glad to have them, especially if he sees a list of them hung up on the end of the shelves or in some other convenient place which will serve the same purpose as the list of rooms and occupants at the entrance to an office building. The order of classes and (what is much more important) of subdivisions under classes, though very likely not the best possible and certainly not the only good order, tries to be scientific, logical, natural, convenient. It follows the practice now general both in classification and cataloging of putting the inclusive, the general, first and the special, the subdivision, after- wards. Among the subdivisions it puts the local first, then the subject divisions. It fol- lows the evolutionary idea throughout, in Natural history putting the parts of each sub- ject in the order which that theory assigns to their appearance in creation. Its science pro- ceeds from the Molecular to the Molar, from Number and Space through Matter-and-Force to Matter-and-Life. Astronomy, proceeding from the general to the particular, first surveys the stellar system, then concentrates upon the sun and its satellites, ending with the earth considered astronomically. The proper suc- cessor to this is the earth, in itself, that is con- sidered physiographically and geologically, and the plants and animals upon its surface. Here, therefore, we make an easy transition from Physics or the matter sciences to Natural his- tory or the life sciences. Then Botany rises from Cryptogams to Phanerogams, Zoology from Protozoa to Primates, ending with anthro- pology. Part of that is Anatomy and Physi- ology, which leads directly to the practice of medicine and its various branches. So we modulate from Science into the Arts. In other places also each subject runs on to ^he n^xt by easy transitions.. Th^S Biblft CUTTER. 47 since the first half belongs to Judaism and the second to Christianity, is put between the two; Church history leads from Theology to History; Statistics from Geography and description of countries to Economics; the Theatre and Music are links between the Recreative and the Fine Arts. I suppose it will not be urged here as I have heard it elsewhere that all this is of no account, that any broad common sense scheme will do, that the people do not care for fine distinctions, ingenious arrangements, symmetrical form, and that librarians are too busy in choosing books, elevating the taste of the public, push- Ing their relations with schools, conducting ex- hibitions and museums, to notice whether their classification is good or bad, or, if they do not like it, can yet get along with its infelicities and obstructions as they could with a slightly ill fitting coat or a slightly pinching shoe. I sup- pose this is more or less true of town or city libraries, but surely the more leisurely reference librarian will not feel thus indifferent to ideal considerations. But any librarian who admits the public to his shelves will find that they will get much more pleasure and profit from their privilege if the books are put on the shelves in an ar- rangement simple, rational, easily explicable, and suited in its degree of minuteness to the size of his library at present or in a not too distant future. Inasmuch as large special collections, which may come to any library, require specially mi- nute classing, a system which is intended for general use must work out general subjects in great detail. This the E. C. does.* On the other hand it is advised that individual Biography and Fiction, and each national litera- ture be kept in one single alphabet, though a notation is provided for divisions if desired. And the classing recommended for ordinary use is minute in those places where minuteness is easy for the classifier and useful to the user (that is, especially in things concrete or local), but broad in parts where divisions would de- pend on differences not easily recognized either * See Greek philosophy BB, Indian religions BZD, the subdivision to be used after any religion (note to Bzy), Bible CB, Apocrypha CBY, Life of Christ CGG, Papacy DGA, the Huguenots Dj 392, History of Rome If 35, the table of divisions to be used for any language, the form and the period Ubles in Literature, also the Shakespeare and Dante tables. by the classifier or the reader (that is chiefly in abstract subjects.) And this leads me to notice that there are two opposite tendencies in classification makers, which for want of a better name I may call, the one a tendency towards the abstract and gen- eral, the other a tendency towards the concrete and individual. The first divides everything into general subject classes or form classes, such as Philosophy, Theology, Biology, Phi- lology, Literature, Poetry, Drama, and scatters all that relates to individuals among these. The second has the same general classes, but also has a number of concrete and even of indi- vidual classes, like Woman, Books, Shake- speare, etc. To the first belong nearly all the systems in use for classification on the shelves, indeed all of the published systems. Extreme examples of the second going so far as to de- stroy all subject arrangement are the old classification of the N. Y. State Library and the present arrangement of the N. Y. Mercantile Library, in which books are classified simply by the individual author in one alphabetical order of family names. A certain number of libraries have shown the influence of this indi- vidualizing tendency in special cases, when everything of or about some selected author is put into one alcove. f In the E. C. this individualizing tendency is recognized in a number of cases. Not to speak of Bible and Woman, which occur in many schemes, the E. C. offers to its users sections for Children, and for the Book arts,}: and in Literary history there are notations for special collections of Shakspeare, Dante, Goethe, Mo- Here, Milton, which are adjustable for any other author whom the librarian desires to segregate. So in the minute subdivision of grammar, in- stead of putting a pamphlet on the inflection of the noun under Inflection and a thesis on the syntax of the noun under Syntax, I offer a special place where whatever relates to the noun is gathered together. There are similar t Many have a Shakespeare collection. Wellesley has also Goethe, Schiller, Homer, Milton, Dante, Chaucer, and Spinoza collections. Cornell has 6000 volumes of and on Dante, also Goethe, Hutton, Kant, Byron, Lea- sing, Luther, and Reuter collections. t That is, all the arts which go to the making and use of a book from Authorship through Writing, Print- ing, Publishing, Bookselling, up to Libraries (private and public), ending with Bibliography and Literary his- tory. 4 8 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. places for the pronoun, the adjective, the verb, the particle. But the most important instance of thing-ar- rangement is classification by countries. It was practised long ago by Professor Jewett in the scheme devised by him for the Boston Pub- lic Library, where it is still in use. It is per- haps better known from Mr. Noyes' Brooklyn Library catalog, in which besides the usual gen- eral classes, there is a great section called " Countries," under which all that relates to each nation in biography, history, geography language, and literature is put together under the name of the country. At a meeting of the College Section last year at Lakewood-on-Chautauqua, the country grouping of Language, Literature, and Literary history was declared to be very necessary for college libraries. The E. C. adopts it as one of its alternatives. The use in its notation of letters to denote non-local subjects and of fig- ures to denote countries allows the classifier to place under the country not merely Language and Literature, but also Art, Commerce, Geog- raphy, History, Law, the Natural sciences, the Arts, and all of their subdivisions, any sub- ject in fact which he desires to include, whether broad or minute, if only treated locally. The notation permits the widest liberty. This ar- rangement may be adopted for all countries or for a selection of countries. All subjects or a selection of subjects may be so treated. The selection need not even be the same for different countries, though, of course, there are the usual reasons in favor of uniformity of treatment. The method is simply thi: The SUBJECT and FORM CLASSES and their NON-LOCAL SUBDI- VISIONS are marked by LETTERS (as F History and Fc Chronology, G Geography and travels, W Art and WP Painting, Y Literature and ZY Literary History). The marks for books re- lating to COUNTRIES begin with FIGURES, which are followed by letters showing the subject di- visions (as 2$xc Indo-Germanic languages, 32\vj Greek sculpture, 36wp Italian painting, 38MJV Swiss glaciers, SQFE French revolution, 4OYD Spanish drama, 42YN Scotch songs, 43YQ Irish wit, 45HK English commerce, 5?vv Hun- garian music). On the shelves the letter (sub- ject) classes would be kept in one part of the library, the figure (country) classes in another. But if the selection of local subjects thus put under countries was limited to one group of classes the countries would be put in that neigh- borhood. If, for instance, only History and Geography were put under countries the figure notation would naturally be intercalcated be- tween G and H ; if it contained only Language and Literature it would follow Z. The following examples partly show the re- sult for one country. Note that in each sub- ject ALL the subdivisions of the class can be in- troduced whenever they are wanted. GERMANY (47). Spiritual Sciences. German philosophy. German ethics. German mythology. German higher criticism. German theology. German church polity. 47B 47BM 47BZ 47CBC 47CF 47CP 470 47E 47F Historical Sciences. Ecclesiastical history of Germany. German biography. German history. With all the period divisions given on pp. 21-24 of History, as 47F:cA Reign of Henry the Fowler (a colon is needed after the p to distinguish these periods from the subdivisions of F that follow). 47FF German antiquities. 47FI German inscriptions. Alternative, 47x6. 47FU German numismatics. 47FV German heraldry. 47FW Lists of German nobility. 470 German geography, travels in Germany. With parts of Germany and places in Ger- many alphabetically sub-arranged as 470 M47 Meissen. 47GZ Maps of Germany. Social Sciences. 47HB Statistics of Germany. 47HE German industry. 47HH Co-operation in Germany. 47HK German commerce. 47HN German banking. 47HT Public finance of Germany. 47HU German tariff. 47IB German police. 4710 Crime in Germany. 4710 Care of the poor in Germany. 47IK Education in Germany. 471W German gymnasia. 47IX German colleges. 47IYR German technological schools. CUTTER. 49 47JT The German constitution. 47ju German politics. 47jv German national administration. 47ju German municipal government. 47K German legislation. 47KL German law. Natural Sciences. 47N German flora. 470 German fauna. 48ox German lepidoptera. 47P German vertebrates. 47PE German birds. Fine Arts. 47V German festivals. 47VT German theatre. 47VY German music. 47W German art. 47WC German galleries. 47WF German architecture. 47WGK German cathedrals. 47WJ German sculpture. 47WP German painting. 47WPT German landscape painting. 47WQC German wood engraving. 47\vv German costume. Language and Literature. 47X German philology.* 47XB German inscriptions. Alternative 47^1. 47x0 German language. 47XD German dictionaries. 47XE German etymology. 47x0 German grammars. 47x1 German nouns. 47-xic German cases. 47xj German verbs. 47XJT German tenses. 47XL German syntax. 47XP German prosody. 47XR German dialects. 47XRP The Frankfort dialect. 47x8 German slang. 47v German literature. 47YD German drama. 47YP German poetry. 47ZY Literary history of Germany. 47ZYAF Lit. hist., Reformation period. 47ZYD History of German drama. 47ZYP History of German poetry. 47ZZ Bibliography of German literature. 47ZZAF Bibliography of Germ, lit., Reforma- tion period. */.. Language, Literature, and Archeology together. 47ZZD Bibliography of German drama. 47ZZP Bibliography of German poetry. And so on. Any subdivision in the classification may be inserted in its proper place in this list. In a few instances a slight change in the notation may be advisable. Some one may wish to keep the history of each branch of literature with that branch. For that purpose a simple notation would be : 47Y German literature. 47Y: Y History of German literature. 47Y:YAF History of Germ, lit., Reformation period. 47Y: z Bibliography of German literature. 47YD German drama. 47YDY History of German drama. 47YDR Bibliography of German drama. 47YF German fiction. 47YFY History of German fiction. 47YFR Bibliography of German fiction. 47YP German poetry. 47YPY History of German poetry. 47YPR Bibliography of German poetry. 47YPZ Bibliography of Germ, poetry, classical period. This provides for one demand of college li- braries. There is, I am told, another need that books be massed in departmental lines, often in departmental libraries. The E. C. no- tation with its large basis and consequent elas- ticity allows this. There are hosts of alterna- tive arrangements suggested, by choice among which and by occasional change in the marking almost any scheme suited to any need can be constructed. The E. C. is not a rigid and un- changeable system, but rather a carefully con- structed universal machine with interchangea- ble parts. I do not know what 'college profess- ors desire, never having had any requests for changes in our order from professors in the college which uses our library; but if any col- lege librarian will explain to me in detail what he wants to do apparently they do not all want exactly the same thing I think I can show him how his scheme can be constructed with the E. C. materials. N. B. I am not recommending all of the local or all of the minuter classing above ; I am merely showing that if any one wishes, it can easily be made with brief marks. Local classing is especially suitable in the His- torical sciences, the Fine arts, and Language and Litera- ture. ATLANTA CONFERENCE. THE LIBRARY AND THE SMALL COLLEGE. BY GEORGE T. LITTLE, Librarian of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me. *TPHE dictionaries say that a library is a col- lection of books. I employ the word to connote a collection of books that is used, used frequently by a considerable number of persons, used under the oversight and direction of a librarian who is not a mere keeper but a master of books. Books stored away are not a library. Books collected for the occasional use of a few scholars are not a library. Books selected with wisdom and merely set on shelves are not a library. For the purpose of this paper let library mean a collection of books plus the man who manages it, plus the men who use it. It is harder to define the small college. The difficulty does not lie in the lack of them. The Commissioner of Education tells us that our country has, in round numbers, 500 colleges and universities. If those institutions are small that have less than 250 collegiate students, nine out of every ten of these are small. If we look at their productive funds and count those small that do not have an endowment of $200,000, eight out of every ten are small. If we examine their curriculum and classify as small those giving no post-graduate instruction or not hav- ing a professional school attached, seven out of every ten are small. Again, its locality sometimes makes a college small. In New England, the home of two old and richly endowed universities with upwards of a thousand under-graduate students, Bowdoin is classed a small college. Yet it has as many students and as ample an endowment as the University of Georgia, which no one would care to call small in this presence. But my definition is not relative, varying with position and circumstance, nor is it con- crete, depending on size, wealth, or curriculum. It is ideal. I can best express it by quoting a remark of Chief Justice Peters : " The Maine boy," he said, " should go to the Maine college. If he goes to Harvard or Yale he goes through more college, but if he comes to Bowdoin more college goes through him." The small college, then, is the institution that goes through a boy instead of having him go through it. It touches him vitally, rather than superficially. It per- meates him. He is not the same boy afterward that he was before. He carries away some- what of the spirit of the ideals, as well as of the learning of his alma mater. He carries this away, not merely outwardly in the form of a blue or scarlet flag to wave at football con- tests, but inwardly, in the guise of a certain hall mark on his character, not visible at first glance. In a word, the small college is that institution where the most students come into closest contact with their instructors, with each other, with the educational facilities, the tradi- tions, and the ideals of the place. Having shown that these two terms are used in a somewhat idealized sense, I trust you will accept more readily my thesis, which is this : The library is the centre and soul of the small college. It is here that teachers and pupils meet on common ground as learners. Here there is a subtle spirit of sympathy and helpfulness that shuns the recitation-room. This is the laboratory for those numerous departments of instruction that deal with the knowledge of man as distinct from the knowledge of nature. It brings the undergraduate of to-day into rela- tions with the alumnus of half a century, for it is the treasure house of old records, class al- bums, and among its most highly prized and carefully guarded alcoves is that devoted to the writings of graduates. It is the place where the freshman comes to ask questions and knows he won't be " guyed." It is the place where the sophomore finds full sets of the student annuals and last year's base- ball scores. It is the place where the junior delights to display his bibliographical knowl- edge to his girl friends. It is the place the senior is most loath to leave and misses most sorely on graduation. For here he has spent his spare moments most profitably. Here, serene and safe, he has looked forth upon the turmoils and troubles of the world, has read of wars and rumors of wars, has noted the perils and privations of explorers, has learned of the triumphs of science, has pondered the thoughts of sages, has rejoiced in the pic- tures of poets, has been transported by the LITTLE. imagination of the novelist to every quarter of the globe and to every period of its history. In a word, the library is the exceeding high mountain whence the young man can see all the kingdoms of the earth. I don't dare to say that the tempter never enters, but I do say there is at hand for the soul's nurture and guidance heavenly manna. " Poesy serveth and conferreth to magnanimity, morality, and delectation; and, therefore, it was ever thought to bear some participation of divineness because it doth raise and erect the mind." The men he meets here are the men who can show him that food. No more difficult and delicate task can be conceived; no more fruitful and blessed one when performed aright. For college boys, who can better perform it than college professors? If worthy of their place they must have an acquaintance with the litera- ture of power, as well as that of knowledge. Theirs are the words, which, fit'y spoken, are most likely to prove apples of gold in pictures of silver. Casual encounters at the library shelves, simple questions asked and answered, confidential talks, bits of friendly counsel, are all links in an inconspicuous chain which binds teachers and students in helpful relations and hands down that love of truth, reverence for the right, and spirit of brotherhood which is the basis of all real progress. In this elaboration of my thesis I have used the Indicative mood. Confidentially, I must confess that exactness, if not truth itself, de- mands the potential mood. I am reminded of the curt and apposite remark of an old lady, whose family relations were not noted for har- mony or happiness, on her way home from a sermon in which the preacher had drawn a vivid and entrancing picture of the love that ought to exist between husband and wife : " Now," said she to a neighbor, "between you and me and the bedpost, oughter ain't the same as is." We who have charge of college libraries are by no means confident that they are the centre and soul of our respective institutions. We are forced to replace the is by ought to, by may be, by is to be, if this or that happens. Yet no one of us would be recreant to our heart's ideal, whether shadowy or distinct. Dissatisfied with our attainments, we are not cast down by our failures. With Browning, we hold that " we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake," and " at noonday in the bustle of man's worktime, greet the unseen with a cheer." For those, then, to whom such an ideal li- brary has attractions, I wish to set forth three principles or lines of effort that I believe con- ducive to the desired result. The first duty of the librarian who means that his library shall be the centre of his col- lege is to make it accessible. The library build- ing ought to be the most conveniently situated of all the college structures. It should be the local as well as the intellectual centre. Over this the librarian rarely has control. The past has decided its position. He can, however, greatly lessen any disadvantages to which he may be subjected in this direction. An out-of- the-way place open at all hours is as convenient as a central one open half the time. Even at the cost of self-denial, be liberal in fixing the periods at which the library can be consulted. There is nothing the average human being enjoys more than the privilege of doing a thing when he feels like it. If the athletic freshman only feels like visiting the library about once a term, and that immediately after breakfast, let him find it open. You may thereby gain a patron before the four years have passed. It is not, however, merely the open door, but the open book, that should welcome the new- comer. To make the books ^really accessible is the task that tests the librarian's ability. The first step, I believe, is free access to the shelves. If not to all the shelves, at the least to those on which are placed not alone the usual books of reference, but a careful selection of the best books upon all subjects. It is unwise, as well as dangerous, to lay down any rule in such a matter, yet, I think I am justified in saying that any college library that does not offer free ac- cess to as many volumes as it annually circu- lates sins against the principles of modem library science. Books are to be used. Stu- dents learn how to use them by using them. Every time they go to the shelves, take down a half-dozen books on the same subject, glance at their contents and select the one they think best suited for their purpose, they are perform- ing an important operation toward the end in view. This tasting before one eats cannot be done by proxy. The hand of the attendant and the moments of time intervening between the seeker and the books serve to check or to prevent this use pf a college library. ATLANTA CONFERENCE. If the first step toward accessibility is phys- ical, the second is intellectual, and of corre- spondingly greater importance. To be really accessible, the books must be well arranged and well cataloged. We have already discussed classification. I content myself with expressing two thoughts on the general subject. Any ar- rangement not provided with a scheme for numbering books so that the accessions will stand in close proximity to previously purchased books on the same subject is a delusion and a snare. To put it technically, modern library science calls for movable location. The other thought is a word of caution against a hasty decision to change the method of classification already in use in the library. An enthusiastic librarian, realizing the advantages that will follow from a better arrangement, undertakes it sometimes without counting the cost. It is a serious task to reclassify and renumber twenty or thirty thousand volumes when any consid- erable portion of them are either old or in for- eign languages. Provided the work is done with reasonable thoroughness, it is almost sure to require twice the time and labor estimated. I am almost tempted to say that unless one is certain of maintaining his position, his health, and his enthusiasm for a period of ten years, he ought never to attempt the reclassification of the library under his charge. By this ref- erence to ten years, I do not mean to recommend the common practice of doing the task piece- meal, here a little and there a little, and finding even at the end of a decade some odds and ends with the old numbers. Having reclassified a library of 35,000 volumes while it was growing at the rate of 1500 volumes a year, by giving up seven or eight summer vacations and work- ing my cataloger to the verge of nervous pros- tration, experience enables me to testify that this is not the best method. When it becomes a librarian's duty to reclas- sify and I believe that often it is a necessary step toward vitalizing the collection let him, after a few months of testing and preparation, employ at once sufficient assistance to allow him to carry out his plans in a reasonable time. Another essential to the intellectual accessi- bility of a college library is a good catalog. Wherever there is a careful arrangement of books, free access to the shelves, and less than 20,000 volumes, its importance is somewhat lessened. But if the student cannot help him- self to the books, you must give him at the least an author catalog; if your classification is not fairly minute, you must add subject entries; when you have more than 20,000 volumes ex- pensive mistakes of duplication will occur and unpardonable gaps will arise in the collection without a well-made and carefully kept up card catalog. Yet, I venture to say that in the equip- ment of the small colleges there are few things rarer than a good catalog. The reason lies mainly in the cost. A catalog for a college li- brary, properly made and maintained, requires the continued exercise of both brains and tech- nical training. Many smaller institutions can pay for and get these qualities a part of the time, few all the time. Occasionally, when the library is not large, the desire for a printed cat- alog results in a considerable expenditure upon type and paper which is of only temporary ser- viceableness. Thus one generally finds in vis- iting smaller college libraries either a badly worn, interleaved printed catalog, or a card catalog begun on an elaborate scale, but with the entries for the difficult works reserved fora "more convenient season," and those for the current accessions presenting an irregular line of advance, the popular books being in sight, but the miscellaneous gifts being in the rear. In nothing have we college librarians fallen so far behind the times in the spirit of li- brary progress as in our failure to co-oper- ate in cataloging. One of our number, Pro- fessor Otis H. Robinson, set forth its advan- tages and possibilities nearly 25 years ago, but, with several notable and well-known excep- tions, neither in the co-operative indexing of periodicals, which has been carried on so suc- cessfully by Mr. Fletcher, nor in the co-opera- tive cataloging of new books, which is languish- ing for the lack of pecuniary support, have col- lege libraries been especially prominent. It sometimes seems as if their poverty not only prevented favorable action, but also careful con- sideration of the matter. For instance, a few years since I found a teacher in charge of a college library of 15,000 volumes making a sub- ject index of articles in the North American, the Forum, and similar periodicals, for the es- pecial use of students in preparing for debates. I suggested the purchase of Poole's Index, and the supplementary volumes. "Oh," replied he, "that would cost at least $20, and we can- not afford it," He was paid a meagre salary, LITTLE. 53 and yet I venture to assert that he spent more than fifty dollars worth of time upon his index, which was of only temporary usefulness, for his successor neglected it. For five years an effort has been made with the support of the Publishing Section to supply printed catalog cards of new books as they are issued. My library is one of 28 that subscribe. We find that satisfactory cards are furnished us promptly at a less cost than we could make typewritten cards equally accurate. But on examining these cards of the new books, we find a striking absence of certain titles which a college library will need. In the list of books published by Macmillan in January and Feb- ruary, I note 50 volumes of which I would like catalog cards. I find cards for only 13. The fault is not in the system but in the subscribers, for on further inquiry I learn that only three other college libraries buy these cards, and necessarily our needs cannot justly influence the selection of books to be cataloged. It is my strong belief that only by co-operation can the small college libraries ever become well cataloged. Having made his library in every sense accessible, it remains for the librarian to render it attractive. The few expedients to which I shall briefly call your attention are not of equal importance, and may not commend themselves to you as especially practical. Newly published books as distinct from old ones have a hold upon many frequenters of libraries. They quickly turn aside from a book whose exterior alone has grown familiar, to seize one whose fresh cover proclaims its recent issue. These people, when in a listless mood, are apt to go away saying that there is nothing new in the library, in case your scanty accessions are at once put in their assigned places. So for them and for that smaller group who really wish to see all that is added, it is well to place the new books, temporarily, on certain shelves near the entrance. The college library is for education rather than for entertainment. Yet its attractiveness for the student body is greatly increased by the presence of a few popular novels. "The raiders," "The refugees," "The prisoner of Zenda," do not hold such a place in English literature that they can claim entrance, but they will bring you readers who would never come to ask for " Rob Roy," " The Virginians," or " Pride and prejudice." Without in the least trespassing upon the functions of the private circulating library, I believe it lawful for the college librarian to call attention to his more serious wares by allowing " Mr. Dooley " and " David Harum " to be occasionally seen in the neighborhood. There is a subtle charm to the private library of a man of wealth and culture. It lies, I think, in the fact that the books have been carefully selected without regard to price and placed in a cosy and comfortable room where they are always at home. Now, under favor- able circumstances, this attractiveness can be given to one room in a college library by carry- ing out the idea of a small standard library of literature composed of books the best in every sense, an idea which Mr. Foster set forth so ex- haustively last year in a number of the Provi- dence Public Library Bulletin. Pleasure as well as profit cannot fail to come from the use of a collection which gives a unique combination of personal choice with authoritative selection. Accessibility and attractiveness will make the library the centre of the institution. Do they necessarily render it the soul of the col- lege ? I think not. To attain our ideal we must have the library stand for knowledge and helpfulness. While in a measure both of these should characterize every department of the college, their flowering will be both natural and efficacious in the library. But they will not blossom without personal influence and ex- ample. The librarian himself must possess the scholar's love of thoroughness with the Christian's enthusiasm for humanity. If he has enough of either quality, his helpers will catch the contagion. But who of us is so con- ceited as to think our leaven sufficient for the whole loaf ? We must have coadjutors. They are not far to seek. No college faculty is so small that it has not at least one true scholar whose love of research has not dried up his spirit of helpfulness. No college town is so small as not to include some cultured man of leisure, whose aid and advice will be cheerfully given to any college lad with whom he is brought in contact. If the frequent presence in the library of men of these two types can be secured, the necessary forces are at hand. The battle may not yet be won, but victory is assured. The library will be the centre and soul of that small college. 54 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. THE LIBRARY ASSISTANT : HIS TITLE, DUTIES, AND RELATION TO HIS CHIEF. BY JAMES KENDALL HOSMER, Librarian Minneapolis (Afinn.) Public Library. TPO propitiate the spirit of the moment, let " the exordium of my remarks be a naval figure. On the tumultuous sea of a great city's life, the public library, with its branches, sta- tions, and sub-stations swims like the squadron of an admiral, and the enemy which it forever combats may be described as vacant-minded- ness. This vacancy of mind is a thing of pro- tean shapes : now it is the dearth of knowledge, felt by the man of scholarly tastes ; now it is the ennui of the fashionable lady, coveting a time-killer between the ball of last night and the opera of to-night ; now it is the soul-hunger of the child with eyes just opening upon a world quite unknown ; now it is the ignorance of the man of affairs which must be done away with if this and that business scheme is to be pushed to success. Vacant-mindedness has many shapes ; but whatever shape it takes, it is always in an American community a desperately aching void, and confronts its antagonist, the public library, with an omnipresent and unsleep- ing energy that makes needful every resource. The squadron, besides its commander, must have its fleet-captain, chief-of-staff, chief assist- ant ; a head also for each department ; and crews larger or smaller of catalogers, desk at- tendants, reference-clerks, delivery-men, mes- sengers, and janitors. If the campaign of the library is to be effectual, the places from com- mander down must be properly filled ; every hand must know its work and be zealous in it. Since every proper assistant hopes to stand at some time in the chief place is, in fact, a chief librarian in the making, and is always, if he be suitably ambitious, bettering his equip- ment with that end in view it is right to ask, at the outset, what the chief librarian should be. Not long since I saw him described substan- tially as follows : He should, first of all, possess firm health. He should have wide knowledge of men and women, and the power of meeting them with firmness and good-nature. He should have seen the world in various lands through having been to some extent a rolling-stone; provincialism should be polished off from him, bis back should possess no lodgment of moss, He should be an administrator, with lively ini- tiative tempered by cool judgment, with a sharp eye for the qualities that tell in the men and women whose work he directs, with persistency tempered by geniality in pushing a policy, with all screws so far from being loose that to rattle him shall be out of the question. He must be a man of thorough academic education, able to read, if not to speak, the great ancient and modern tongues, and as widely read as possible in all literatures. Morally, he must be pos- sessed of lamb-like patience, of lion-like cour- age, of sunny spirit, of invincible push. The ideal librarian, in fact, should possess wings that drag on the floor. Among poultry of the celestial kind, if he be fully equipped for his work, not Gabriel himself will surpass him in the splendor of his feathers and all this fine plumage he must be prepared to prink and trim usually upon a very modest stipend. Since every assistant is potentially a chief and aspires to be a chief, let the assistant have in his eye some such figure as this. But while chiefhood, so to speak, remains in abeyance, what, precisely, is the assistant's field? Tore- cur to the naval figure, in large operations, be- side the admiral must always be the fleet cap- tain, chief-of-staff, first assistant; and the chief- of-staff is often scarcely less important than the commander himself. Gneisenau, indeed, in the belief of many, made Bliicher; Moltke certainly made the princelings who were in the fore- ground in the wars of '66 and '70: just so I be- lieve there are fleet-captains that have made admirals, and first assistants who have made librarians. To try to distinguish between the spheres of the librarian and the first assistant, perhaps we may say that the former should be occupied by grand strategy the latter with tactics. In his warfare against the vacant- mindedness about him, the void that ever aches and keeps him forever on the alert, the chief librarian must take the broad view. In his arsenal of books what deficiencies need to be made good that his fire may be well sus- tained : where shall he put his branches and stations that assault may be most quickly and HOSMER. 55 effectively met? How shall he replenish the stock of information in his own mind, knowl- edge growing from more to more, day by day, as it does ; and what time can he find to be productive himself, working to stimulate the better tastes of his community, to supply in- formation, to add prestige to his institution by making it a centre of scholarship and worthy literary accomplishment ? With all this, cer- tainly the hands and the mind of the librarians will be well filled. It is indispensable that he should have at his side one whose function shall be to care for the thousand details of adminis- tration, the tactics ; and if at the same time that one be a man or woman, broad and keen, capable of surveying the strategic plane and of giving advice in the larger field, it will simply be in accordance with the precedents of the great chiefs of staff, who at the right hand of commanders have been of momentous weight in crises. As to assistants of lower grade, for each there is the round of duties, narrow or broad, to be fulfilled; but I should say the hope of reaching the highest place should never be lost sight of. A footing once gained in a large li- brary, let no subordinate forget that before fidelity and capacity his path will widen toward the top. And here it is in place to speak of a certain discouragement that seems inevitable in the position of an employe in a large library. I remember once, in the great starch factory at Oswego, I saw a company of young women who had acquired astonishing dexterity in doing up packages of starch. Their fingers as they worked were scarcely visible ; in a second or two of time the product was properly enclosed and labelled for the market. My guide said these girls did nothing but this; every other part of the manufacture was as unknown to them as if they were strangers in the factory. This very dexterity was a bar to any enlarge- ment of their sphere of work. It was to the interest of the Kingsfords that they should be kept at the one thing, this deftness increasing all the time through the limitation, but with a sacrifice of all breadth of training. Political economists have often noticed the trouble which comes in factory life from a close division of labor, each worker having his own little task at which he becomes infinitely dexter- ous, but knowing nothing else. Division of labor is pushed sometimes to such an extent as to produce even physical deformity. One set of muscles becomes abnormally developed while another set withers the fingers become quick while the legs shrink. In a large library some- thing approaching this is quite possible. The capable assistant, aspiring to abroad efficiency, feels that it is a misfortune to him to be kept to one task; that it would be far better for his training if he could change his work, discharging in turn each one in the various round of labors. In practice, however, what inevitably comes to pass? A writes a faultless hand, and has a marked spirit of neatness and system. In utili/- ing his staff the library head, having in view the good of the institution, naturally assigns A to the catalog. B has poise, a ready smile, firmness, combined with a quick eye and prompt mind; B therefore goes naturally to the issue desk. C, having dealt much with books, and possessing a retentive memory, has become deeply read; C goes to the reference- room. D, self-reliant and full of executive force, will, it is likely, be charged with the direction of a branch. A, B, C, and D, once placed, may find it no easy thing to get away from their respective spheres. As years go by the natural aptitude of each becomes more and more fully developed. The little groove of the first month becomes a well defined rut. In his rut the assistant becomes skilful, but his very skill operates to his detriment. With a helper of such marked efficiency in the place, it is no t economy to employ there anybody else. Every head of a large library, I suppose, is more or less beset with petitions from those of his staff who feel that they are side-tracked in corners or lost in these ruts, who weary of the monotony of their tasks, and long to develop in other work powers almost untried. If the libra- rian, however, is disposed to yield to the press- ure, straightway from the head cataloger, from the superintendent of circulation, or the super- intendent of branches, comes remonstrance : " Smooth running of the library machine re- quires that A, B, C, and D shall each stay in his place. To break in new people will cause embarrassment; they themselves, though highly skilled in one way, in other ways are but tyros, and must be broken in with loss of time and patience." I believe I do not exaggerate the matter. As in a great factory, so in a large library, the most economical utilization of the forces ATLANTA CONFERENCE. of the employes seems sometimes to require a sacrifice of the individual, for whom rounded symmetry of growth is better than one-sided- ness. Many an assistant in a large library has doubtless felt he has had no fair chance, and very likely may have reached the opinion that, as a training-school, a small library is really to be preferred, where work of all kinds must be done; just as I have heard a great banker say that, for a business training, a cross-roads country store was vastly better than a huge city establishment. I can think of no way for fully meeting this difficulty. The welfare of the em- ployes in a large library must perforce be a secondary consideration, the first demand being the efficient and economical service of the pub- lic. Something may be done by a well organ- ized system of staff meetings. If these can be regularly held say once a week during six months of the year the heads imparting each one the lore of the department which he super- intends, the subordinates giving time out of hours to learning the tasks with which, in the daily routine, they have no concern, certainly something can be done toward a well rounded development. Important incidents of such a system of meetings are the fostering in the members of the staff of friendly acquaintance, the springing up of esprit du corps, the knitting of the links necessary to proper co-operation. The large'library lacks an important, indeed an indispensable thing, which does not make pro- vision for an efficient system of staff meetings. Let the assistant aspire always to the high places of the profession, and always keep in view the great ideals. And here let me com- bat for a moment a conception of the librarian's character, which in my judgment is incorrect, and which, if it prevails, I believe will effect seriously the dignity of our profession. Talk- ing not long since with the librarian of a large library in his office, an office which had few sug- gestions of books, and might as well have been the office of a banker or manufacturer, he told me that his work was purely administrative. Passing judgment upon books, their selection, classification, cataloging, as well as charging and discharging at the desk all these func- tions were in the hands of subordinates. Nor had he time to study or write in any line, his energies being quite absorbed in executive work the control of his large staff, the over- sight of a widely extended and highly compli- cated system of distribution, the receipt and ex- penditure of large funds. The librarian re- ferred to did not think it right that his energies should be thus exclusively absorbed in adminis- tration ; it was, however, in his case, inevitable. I am old-fashioned enough to feel it will be a sad day for our profession when the quali- ties required in the high places are for the most part the same qualities required for the success- ful running of a department store. It has been asserted that librurianship had come to that that it was quite a secondary consideration whether or not the librarian should be a bookish man. Heretofore the heroes of our profession have been a Lessing, librarian at Wolfenbllttel, greatest scholar and critic of his time, giving to the world while discharging his office the " Ed- ucation of the human race," and " Nathan the Wise"; a David Hume, librarian of the Advo- cates' Library at Edinburgh, while busy in his place, ranking as the soundest philosopher and best historian of Scotland ; a Justin Winsor, while librarian at Boston and Cambridge, rising to be the first authority in America in his great field ; a William F. Poole, librarian at Bos- ton, Cincinnati, and Chicago, at the same time in each great city leading as critic and anti- quarian. Or to refer to honored men still living who, however, greatly to the loss of our call- ing, have laid down their professional burden, I point to Richard Garnett, Keeper of Printed Books in the British Museum, and always pro- lific in the directions of biography and the choicest belles lettres ; and to Joseph N. Lamed, librarian at Buffalo, but becoming in the widest and profoundest sense a scholar as regards the records of human achievement. Heretofore such men as these have been our cynosures. Has the time arrived when such ideals are superseded when the model libra- rian shall be chiefly a man of affairs, a man to run a department store, while erudition and literary capability are matters of small account ? One would say that it was a good thing to have at the head of a large library a man who by achieving something in the realm of literature had gained among his fellows a position of some authority who naturally would be looked up to to direct in choosing books and following out courses of reading who placed as he would be at the intellectual centre of his city might be a spring out from whom should flow a constant, if not always, perceptible stream DOREN. 57 of influence, working directly, and also in a thousand subtle ways, for the refinement of taste, the propagation of true learning, the bringing to pass in general of sweetness and light. One would say that capability of this sort should count as much looking toward high position as the kind of capability that provides for "the introduction of automobiles and the wireless telegraph in the delivery system at the most expedient time, that the heaviest possible discount shall be knocked off the bills of the bookseller, that the staff, while lavish of skill and labor, shall be always low-salaried and yet always good-natured. It is not necessary to feel, however, that the scholarly and the administrative faculties can- not be combined in one man. It is much to ask, but as the world evolves, higher and higher be- comes the type of man demanded. To recur again to the navy, the distinction between the of- ficers of the line and the engineers has been abrogated ; the captain must be able to run the machinery, the engineer must be capable of commanding the ship. The great librarian must have the executive, and also the bookish gifts. There have been such librarians ; there will be such librarians hereafter ; what is de- manded will be provided. If, however, it were the case that such gifts were incompatible, and that in the need for capable administra- tion, scholarship and literary taste should come to be held of small account, the dignity of our profession would be lowered most unfortu- nately. STATISTICS AND REPORTS. BY ELECTRA C. DOREN, Librarian Dayton (0.) Public Library. TTHE annual report of a library is the defin- itive, official statement of its status and workings issued by the governing body for the information of the public and the profession and as the permanent annals of the institution. Whether it is valuable and authoritative or not must depend upon a number of things, such as the choice of statistical headings, the accu- racy with which the figures under them have been gathered and tabulated, and the proper linking together and interpretation of the facts thus collected. Library statistics represent an effort to reduce to common business terms, by means of figures, the net results of the library's operations for a given period. Properly to supplement these, to vitalize and illuminate them, as it were, re- quires in the mind of the librarian a clearly conceived notion of the immediate purpose which that particular report is to serve. With- out a directing motive the report is dead from the start. Without a keen sense of the signifi- cance of statistics, and without, at the same time, a guarding sense of their insufficiency, a report maybe turned out which, though costing much labor, will be lame and ineffective, pos- sibly directly damaging to the library's inter- ests. The form and essential contents of library statistics have already been ably discussed, and the general lines which they shall follow practically resolved and determined upon in the A. L. A. committee report of 1876 (L.j. I : 429). The text of the annual report, its purpose, and something of the process of constructing it, has also been admirably presented in Miss Gar- land's paper at the Cleveland conference, 1896 (L. j. 21 : 656). Aside from inviting a renewed interest in these two important discussions, this paper will concern itself with the minor particulars of statistics and reports under two heads: i, statistics; 2, text. Under the head of statistics, method in gathering and tabulating will be considered, and under text the make-up and general arrangement of the parts of the annual report, including range and propriety of subject matter. And as re- gards these points I shall only hope to intro- duce the subject and throw out a few hints by the way upon the purposes and underlying principles as they have appeared to me. In respect to statistics, then, we have first clearly to distinguish between the things which can be measured and those which are of such nature that they may not be measured, reserving matters of time and quantity for the " figures " to tell, and for the text the more intangible things in which quality, spirit, and tendency are felt. Having respect to the things which are not seen, we are to set about taking the dimensions ATLANTA CONFERENCE. of the things which are seen, in order that we may discern the relationship, if any, between them. In other words, we are to be able more truly to trace cause and effect in the ordinary operations of the library and to start our policy of administration from the ground of actual and existing fact. This is the sole, and, as it seems to me, the sufficient excuse for statistics. The essential statistics of a library, briefly stated, are all those that enter into the final ac- count of it as property and from which a cor- rect estimate of use as proportioned to expendi- ture may be deduced. At the foundation of the statistics are the primary records of the li- brary, such as the accession and loan records, shelf list, and account of receipts and disburse- ments. The form and accuracy with which each of these is kept and also the system of charging and classification in use will control the possibility of ascertaining certain facts, as well as the final accuracy of the statements themselves. In respect to the form of statistical tables and the choice of subject headings, they should be made to facilitate rapidity of calculation and clearness of statement. Figures under any given head must be gathered directly from items and should show date of gathering. Every possible chance for confusion of items or misstatement is to be carefully guarded at each step of the proceedings. The possible com- binations of any groups of facts and consequent conclusions therefrom cannot be apparent un- til tabulation is complete. Upon this point and the choice of headings a practical statistician in the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Statistics says: "Your questions taken together must tell something. The tabulation will display the weakness or strength of your chain of reason- ing." Library statistics form the basis for compar- ing the institution with itself at different stages and with others of like character, and they may constitute conclusive evidence for or against any given policy of administration. As one of the gauges of public usefulness and of growth or decline of the library and as furnishing argu- ments in a tangible form for the existence of any given features of it, they are of an impor- tance not to be overlooked. This is particularly true when it comes to answering the practical questions of a board of trustees whose business it is to justify and to apportion the expendi- tures of the library and to relate it to the rest of the economic world and the scources of its support. Uniformity from year to year in sta- tistical headings and tables, consistent, of course, with expanding conditions which may require additional headings, is extremely neces- sary, as otherwise a large part of their value for purposes of comparison is destroyed. The statistical method that is, the applica- tion of figures to the collecting and massing of data at first hand from original items is applic- able and valuable in many parts of library work. Such inquiries, for instance, as regards the life of books of a given make-up in respect to bind- ing and paper, the loss of books due to public access to shelves, and questions of like character may best be handled in this way. It has been found of service, too, in matters of executive advice; for instance, in the report and tally of errors in a given department of work. Thus positive proof and not mere conjecture or opin- ion as to the usefulness of clerks and assistants may be arrived at. If the assistant has the benefit of seeing this report upon his work it may have a corrective tendency, furnishing, as it does, in fair and definite and impersonal form, the necessary rebuke for carelessness or inef- ficiency. In respect to the text of the annual report, very much of its usefulness as a handy book of information depends upon the arrangement of the different classes of subject matter under specific and uniformly worded captions. The constitution and by-laws under which the li- brary works, as well as the report of what the library is doing, must naturally govern this gen- eral form and arrangement; but succinct, formal and exactly descriptive statement are always de- siderata in title and caption. In general, then, the make-up of the report should have respect to the inclusion of all the essential facts in the constitution, government and workings of the library placed in as nearly logical order as possible. Notwithstanding the excellent advices of the past in regard to the compilation of library re- ports, lack of uniformity, careless editing and vagueness of statement in minor particulars have not wholly disappeared from many other- wise valuable and interesting reports. For the sake of emphasis mention of some of these de- ficiencies may be made. The title-page should state the name of the institution as legally in- DOREN. 59 corporated, the name of the place and state where situated, the number and frequency of the report and the period covered by it. There should be a list of contents at the beginning, either on the back of the title-page or upon the first recto following it, Following the table of contents should appear the names of the pres- ent governing board and officers, the term for which each is elected to serve, the name of the chief executive of the library and the names of his staff, the hours and days on which the li- brary is open. Historic matter, such as list of former trus- tees, acts or amendments of legislature estab- lishing the library and defining powers of the board of trustees, etc., may be compiled at stated intervals, say every five or ten years, and should properly find place in the library re- port, as well as a complete list of the library's publications. After the names of the trustees, staff, etc., should come the introductory report or letter of transmittal, as the case may be, of the board of trustees. If the board has a treasurer, his re- port comes next; then the librarian's report, text first, followed by statistical tables and list of donors. There should be a running caption for each page. In case there is no treasurer the librarian makes the financial report, and as being of first importance it should precede all other tables. Where income is received from taxation it would save a multitude of inquiries if, in the latter, the rate of taxation on the dol- lar valuation and amount of the tax duplicate could be stated. The text or explanatory matter of the annual report is, in its way, as important as the figures, and is much more usable and effective if it is carefully paragraphed and each set of facts is emphasized by separate caption, however brief the statement of them may be. It would be interesting and instructive to hear from those present what they most wish to find in the library reports which they receive. For my own part, just now, I like to know about binding, building arrangements, special work in any line opened for the first time by the li- brary, individual efforts in library extension and organization, and also of the internal ad- ministration of departments, staff, etc. Of course prolixity is a danger to be avoided at all times and everywhere. The choice of miscel- laneous subject matter for the annual report is for each librarian to decide each year. An an- nual report should be something more than the bald and merely definitive statement of the status of the institution and of the things done by it within the period. It should by all means impart the spirit of the workings, carrying in solution, as it were, the aim of the governing body; making felt the movement and trend of the library's work in the community. In the presentment of the report, this is largely a mat- ter of English and a due regard for the ordi- nary laws of composition. Officially the re- port is formal, categorical even; yet, after all, it is no mere category, and not mere annals to be filed for the future antiquarian. If an in- stitution is anything, it is organic and of pres- ent concern. The report should show this. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end; and these are to be arranged with idea of unity toward purposes dynamic in the library's im- mediate development. To sum it up, the ani- mating principle of composition, the gist as to the construction of a report lies in the follow- ing elements: (i) Integrity of fact, that is true statistics running back into true foundation records; (2) a full array of all the facts; (3) philosophic treatment; (4) definiteness of aim. Even if nobody ever read an annual report, the librarian would have to subject himself to the discipline of collecting statistics and inter- preting them. For it is in this way that he brings himself face to face with results as they stand in masses; and with the issues thus set before him, he must extract from the situation, for good or ill, all the elements of persuasion which it contains. He must be a seer as well as a doer. At regular intervals and also at certain stages of his work he must take stock of intentions and tendencies as evidenced by explicit figures. He has to get on the outside and view the library as if it were any other business establishment, and from such a point of view forecast future policy. In this as- pect of the subject, the annual report is now, and may be more than it has yet been, a pro- fessional incentive as well as a professional discipline. 6o ATLANTA CONFERENCE. THE BUSINESS SIDE OF A WOMAN'S CAREER AS A LIBRARIAN. BY MARY EILEEN AHERN, Editor Public Libraries, Chicago. T N this day and age we hear ad infinitum and almost ad nauseam much discussion of woman's work and place in the economy of nature and in the material world. Without going into any of the reasons, or combating any of the arguments for or against the present status of women in any place, we must recog- nize the fact that there is a vast army of women who are in the labor market to-day, involuntarily or otherwise. Of these we need only consider such as come within the scope of our own profession, or in the many relations it bears to other movements of the day. Women in library work as professionals is distinctly an American idea. There are but very few women in library work in England, and none of them in responsibie positions. One of the incidents that excited most comment at the International Conference in 1897 was the presence of so many women librarians in the American party. There is, therefore, a special duty laid upon those women who are in the work, as well as those just taking it up, to prove their fitness for coming before the public in the capacity of serving in any position in the library profession. There is a type of an individual that has always been recognized, and everywhere hon- ored, when it reaches the development described as womanly. The library profession, be it said in the beginning, offers a pleasant and profitable field of action for womanly women. There is no room for any other kind in this work, just as there is not in any other serious field. No woman can hope to reach any standing or field for effective work in the library profession, any more than in any other, who does not bring to it that love which suffereth long and is kind, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, vaunteth not itself, thinketh no evil, is fervent in spirit, and diligent in business. That there are many such, the rolls of those in high places amply testify. That there are some who have not caught the meaning of their work one's daily experience and observation make clear. There is still some discrimination against the sex in the minds of library boards, it is true, but on the women in the world to which most library trustees belong must fall in a large measure the blame, though the women librarians are not wholly to be excused. One of the first and most important lessons which a woman who enters the business world needs to learn is the seeming paradox to for- get she is a woman, and at the same time keep ever before her that she is a woman. She should lose all sight of preliminary bounds which are perfectly proper in the relations of the social world, but which do not exist in the business world. That there would exist a more ideal condition of affairs if the business world were more polite, and recognized that cer- tain forms and ceremonies make people hap- pier, may be true, but that it does not write its code under these lines is beyond dispute. In meeting the obligations which are as- sumed on entering this field of labor, as in all others, no consideration should be demanded in the fulfilment of the duties connected there- with, on any grounds that would not be justi- fiable were a man in the place. It may work extra hardship on a woman who has duties to perform outside the library, if she obeys the rule to be at her desk at 9 o'clock every morn- ing, but that is not considered sufficient excuse for her tardy arrival. If arrangement is made by the library, which will relieve the pressure on her, a favor has been granted, not a right conceded. On the business side of library work all ideas of sex, color, or previous conditions are prop- erly eliminated. A woman is engaged to do certain things because as an individual she is supposed to be able to perform them, and no question of privilege other than as an individ- ual should be looked for. The sooner the women who are in the busy working world comprehend this point and act accordingly, the sooner the problem of women's wages, posi- tions, and promotions will be settled. As for the second part of the paradox, every woman who, by force of circumstances, is com- pelled to be a part of the machinery of public affairs, owes it not only as a duty to herself, AHERN. 61 but to every other woman so situated, to try to live up to the finest ideals of womanhood. No woman striving ever so hard to play the part of a man has ever succeeded in doing more than to give just cause for a blush to the rest of her kind. The dignified woman never has any complaint to make of those with whom she comes in contact in a business life. She need not be so frigid in her demeanor as to be repellent, but she can be possessed of a winning sweetness which comes from a sympathetic attitude towards others, and which will only be emphasized by the quiet calm that is the outward evidence of mental equipoise. The flippant answer or banter is no- where more out of place than in serving in a public library. It detracts from the proper feeling that a library is a source of help and light and sweetness, which it is the duty of every one engaged in the work to keep before the eyes of the public. If nature has not en- dowed the woman who desires to enter the li- brary profession with this dignity of manner, this commendable characteristic, it is well to set about its cultivation at once, for it is a well- known fact that it is quite as easy to train a set of manners as a set of morals, and as the at- tribute of dignity can be classified under both headings, it can be easily seen what rare ad- vantages belong to the woman who can claim it as her own. Then there is another attribute which has no place in the equipment of a woman librarian, and that is that almost indefinable something called "feelings." It is sometimes called a form of egotism, though not generally recog- nized as such by its possessor, but which never- theless is as self-centred as the conceit which springs from vanity, and while it may not be so arrogant, is hardly less provoking. As a matter of fact, it seems to me, after a long service of years for the public, that in this work-a-day practical world the less one thinks about one's self and one's feelings the better, and the best chance of happiness lies in forgetting our own individuality altogether and living for others. In library work, as in other work, the per- sonality of the woman which comes nearest the ideal woman as she is found anywhere else is the important equipment upon which a large share of her success or failure depends. In contemplating library work as a liveli- hood, the first thing to consider is the fact that the outside of the books will require attention as well as the inside, and the fact that a girl likes to read is not necessarily frima facie evi- dence that she will make a good librarian, or certainly is not a prime requisite for a techni- cal librarian who is somewhat hampered in her cataloging or classifying, unless a liking of that kind is constantly held in check. The chief requisite of a librarian, I should say, and the one in which observation would lead me to say there is greatest lack among women in general, is executive ability and a knowl- edge of business methods. I do not mean to be understood as belittling general culture and technical knowledge; they, of course, are essen- tial; but more librarians possess the latter than may be found exercising the former, and, as the head of an institution, the first qualifica- tions are most necessary. The detail of arrange- ment may be left to another; but the librarian herself must meet that most exacting public the public which gets something for nothing and with tact, judgment, and skill win its ap- proval of her plans for meeting the needs of the community. She must have skill in managing others, and setting them to do her bidding with- out a loss of that sympathetic relation between librarian and staff so necessary for success in managing the institution. The woman librarian, more than the man, has to be on her guard against personalities entering into her administration. I have been told over and over of the trial it was to hold themselves at the proper point where they could be the friend of those about them and at the same time maintain the place of an officer on duty. Only executive ability will carry one safely through these things, and seri- ous thought should be given to its cultivation, for it can be acquired. To this executive ability must be added a sense of business principles and what may be termed appreciation of the situation. While learning the forms and processes neces- sary to the easy running of a library, it should be borne in mind that there is also the other side. While a librarian should know how to meet her reading public, she should also know how to meet her board. While she should know how to charge and discharge the books which the public takes, she should also be capable of auditing accounts and buying intelligently, and by that I do not mean w^o/she buys so much as 62 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. how she buys. A librarian, in order to be a success, must be acquainted, and thoroughly so, with the business world, its methods and rules, its requirements and privileges. A libra- rian may be in close touch with her readers, she may have an elaborate system of catalog- ing and classification, but if her reports come up to the library board in a slipshod, confused state, bearing signs of a lack of what is termed business sense, her standing with them is im- perilled, and where a librarian has lost the ad- miration of her board her influence in that field is at an end. When a business house receives an order for goods, well prepared, clear as to what is wanted, definite as to price and carriage, it takes a real pleasure in filling it, and, because of its clearness, time is saved to both the buyer and the seller, which to the latter, at least, is always money. One of the weak places in the woman libra- rian's equipment is a lack of generous charity for what she considers the professional failings of others in the work. If one weak place in the armor of a fellow-worker is discovered, like a knight of old, she fastens her attention on that alone, despite the fact that there may be 50 strong points beside it, and even the weakness under the direction of its possessor may not be so glaring a fault as it appears in the eyes of the faultfinder. Think only of the good points, look for them, and do not let any one else know that you see where the short- comings lie, and after a while you will not be quite sure that you saw them yourself. There is room for good workers always, and water will find its level. Hunt for the good things in other people's libraries, and it will not be long until the often expressed opinion of men, that women in business are jealous of each other's success, will die out for want of material to support it. If there is a particular part of library work that you find more congenial than another, work toward reaching it, and if you are proper- ly fitted for it the chances of its coming to you are decidedly increased. But, if you undertake to do something else, the fact of its not being your choice has no bearing on the performance of it in the very best way possible, and here comes in the question of salary. Women in business are accused, and not without cause, of slighting their work because the salary is not commensurate with the duties which they are called on to perform. Have a distinct under- standing before beginning work as to what you are to receive for your work, and then do it the very best you are able. If you find that you have sufficient reason for being dissatisfied with the remuneration speak to the proper persons about it, and then abide honorably by the decision. One has no right by shirking his legitimate work to cast reproach on the whole body of workers. If you are at the head of affairs make it a point to tell definitely, and in good season, what those about you may depend upon both as to positions and salaries. It is said that women managers are too apt to consider such things as personal matters, and are weak in dealing with them. It is just as much the right of an assistant to know definitely about these things as it is for the President of the United States to know of his term and salary. In the correspondence which brings requests for employment I have seen a disposition to do certain things which form the reasons of labor unions. I refer to the practice of cutting under the salary received by the majority for certain work. Librarians as a class are paid less than school teachers, while their work is about on the same basis. This is, in a large measure, the fault of librarians themselves. They do not work on this problem in harmony, and there is still too much "influence" back of giving places. I have my doubts about sending for a position the name of a girl who is willing to work for nearly nothing, for I cannot help thinking that her talents are not in demand in the market, or else she does not intend to carry out her contract, and her work will amount to about the same as the salary she asks. Librarianship is a delightful and helpful field for work to those who will rise to its possibili- ties, but there is no room for thoughtless, in- different posing here, as there is nowhere else. An army of noble women have done heroic work in opening the doors of the business world to their sisters; it is an obligation resting on every woman who enters these doors to add something to the credit of the army, and it is little less than criminal to detract from the rep- utation so hardly earned of being faithful conscientious workers. WIRE. BOOK SELECTION, BUYING, AND BINDING. BY DR. G. E. WIRE, Worcester County Law Library, Worcester, Mass. T3OOK selection is a most entrancing, and may be made a most extravagant piece of work. If the library is entirely new there seems no limit to the lines of knowledge which are demanded; if there is some stock of books on hand, the rounding up and filling out with new books is even more difficult. And in both cases the money is liable to be limited. In some cases there is a sum of money to be wholly expended on books at the very first. This, if anywhere proportionate to the size of the library, gives a good start. In most cases, however, an entirely fresh start has to be made, which is, on the whole, the better way. Remember first and foremost that Rome was not built in a day ; that no library ever burst full fledged on an expectant public. The libra- ry is an artificial person, a corporation which does not get sick and never dies. What it cannot buy this year it may buy next year or year after next, or five years hence. Here is where it differs from a private individual, for, like Tennyson's brook, it "goes on forever." So do not be alarmed, excited, or discouraged because you cannot get everything at once. Many things can bear to wait. Look out for the agent who tries to impose on you by saying that you cannot again have a chance to buy at this price. He is looking for just such game. As librarians and trustees, by examining cata- logs, first-hand, second-hand, and auction, you soon learn that books are perennial. There is no book printed which cannot be bought at prac- tically your own reasonable price a year from to- day as well as to-day. It makes no sort of differ- ence what the agent tells you to the contrary. Second. As a general thing, buy the latest and freshest things first. The great demand will be for fiction, and the fiction habitues will want more than they deserve. If their de- mands were fully met it would mean all the latest novels and many copies of each. As it is, we make large concessions to this class, but they must not monopolize the book fund. Buy current sociology, light science, useful arts, fine arts, literature, history, biography, travels. Then as you have opportunity, go back and buy second-hand and auction books to fill gaps. One library that I know is 25 years old and 20,000 volumes strong, and only within the last few years has it begun to buy auction and second-hand books. Third. Beware of bad advice. Look out for the local man who has a hobby and the trustee who wants to fill up the library on his particular line. In one library of 5000 volumes I found enough evolution for a library of 25,000 vol- umes. Why ? Because one of the trustees was much interested in it. Look out for the local clergyman, lawyer, or doctor who tries to get his own technical books bought at the expense of the public. I do not believe in a small libra- ry, or any library short of 50,000 volumes, buy- ing professional books. Of the three, I think the clergyman is liable to be most tempted and to bear the most watching. He or the " literary man" will want the "classics" say of his- tory, like Grote's " Greece," 12 volumes, listing at $18, and Gibbon's "Rome," eight volumes, at $12. Now, the small library can well afford to do without these, for a time, at least. They are both period histories, do not give the com- plete history of either nation, and require to be supplemented by other books, and this puts too much money into the bygone empires of Greece and Rome. But they are just the books to be recommended because they are " classics," or because the wise(?) man never heard of any others (and he never read even the first volume of these, much less later, fresher, and more reliable works), or because he may want them some time (which time never comes), or because he wants to appear wise and learned. I never knew anybody who read them, and in many libraries you will find vol. I more or less worn, while the leaves of the later volumes have not even been cut open. Another thing about the older books, the classics, they frequently come in by gift. A 50- year-old edition of Gibbon or Hume is just as good, and generally better, in paper, print, and binding than the edition of to-day. These cliques, hobbies, and fads, in or outside of the library board, deserve close watching, and require much diplomacy to get around with- out offending anybody. 6 4 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. Fourth. Beware of expensive books. Let me give you some examples from two lists of this present year, each with some authority back of it. One of them wants a village library to buy such books as these: Cheyne and Black, Encyclopaedia Biblica, 4 v., $16. Oman, History of the art of war in the Middle Ages, from the 4th to the I4th century, $4.50. Webb, Industrial democracy, 2 v., $6. Scott, Bird studies: land birds of eastern North America, $5. Brandes, William Shakespere, 2 v., net, $8. Dill, Roman society in the last century of Ro- man Empire, net, $4. Kemp, Nine years at the gold coast, $5. Pickering, Pioneering in Formosa, $6. Corbet, Drake and the Tudor Navy, 2 v., $10. Brown, First republic in America, $7.50. Bismarck, the man and the statesman, 2 v., $7-50. Muntz, Leonardo Da Vinci, 2 v., net, $15. The other list recommends the Polychrome Bible, at an average price of $2 per part; Armstrong, Gainsborough and his place in Eng- lish art, $25. Day, Windows : stained and painted glass, $10.50. Frazer, Literary history of India, $4. Vondel, Lucifer, $5. Busch, Bismarck, 2 v., $10. Ward, Life and times of Cardinal Newman, 2 v., $10. Landor, In the forbidden land, 2 v., $9. Vivian, Servia, $4. These are all far too expensive for any li- brary of less than 15,000 volumes, or an income less than $6000 a year. They lock up too much of your money in one or two volumes which will be but little used, and are not, properly speaking, reference books. All this time there are dozens of books on much more wanted sub- jects to be had at $i, $1.50, and $2 a volume. Again, some will be put out in cheaper editions, like Nansen's book. Fifth. Beware of ill-fitting books. Many of the above-mentioned books are not only ex- pensive, but ill-fitting the small American li- brary. They are foreign books on abstruse subjects, or else appeal only to a limited class. Take Oman's "Art of war in the Middle Ages " ($4.50), for example. How much good is such a book going to do in a small library ? Its only place is in a large library. If it were a work covering briefly the art of war since the down- fall of the Roman Empire, or even in modern times, there might be more reason for its pur- chase. But it is short at both ends, and there is nothing to go before or to follow after. But the worst and most ill-fitting book I know of is the " Encyclopaedia Britannica." The original edi- tion costs some $270, and all cheap editions are poorly printed and plates unreliable. It is the most disappointing reference book I ever tried to use, and I generally leave it severely alone. It has monographs on about one subject in a hundred, and the other 99 are conspicuous by their absence. The subject-matter is almost entirely English, but by dint of agents they managed to sell many copies here. Another ill-fitting book, just out, is the " En- cyclopaedia of sport " (Putnam, 2 v., $20), which is already selling for 25 per cent, less in Eng- land, and will undoubtedly go much lower. It is written entirely from the English point of view, and has been severely criticised in our sporting journals. The methods of hunting, distribution of game and fish, and social condi- tions being so different, render the book almost worthless here. Cases have been known of Walton and Cotton's "Angler" being recom- mended as of use in fishing. Any 25-cent man- ual of Dick & Fitzgerald would be much better. In the selection of books the "Ladies' Home Journal list," the Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Vermont library commission lists, and the Wisconsin and New Jersey department of edu- cation lists are better than the A. L. A. list or its supplements. These lists I recommend have been made by persons entirely familiar with the work of small libraries and knowing their needs, and not by so-called " experts " who never saw a small library and have no knowledge of its small bank account. Buying. If you have a good local man patronize him, but generally you had better take the largest reliable book house accessible to you. Make your orders as full and explicit as you can, giving author, reasonably full title, edi- tion, size, date, publisher, and price if possible. In case of many works of fiction and some standard non-copyright books leave some lati- tude for the agent. Do not expect too large discounts. The day of 40 % has gone by, and BENEDICT. we are coming nearer and nearer to net prices; 25 % is the most you can expect and get good service and reliable dealing. Remember that the bookman is not an object of chanty, nor yet is he a thief, and give him a chance to live. Many of these books are sold on a narrow margin of profit. Sometimes he will be obliged to raise his price on a few books, but you will generally find he lowers it on others, so the average is the same. Don't buy cheap fiction, printed from old plates on wood-pulp paper and cheaply bound. The better editions of fiction and juvenile are none too good to stand the rough usage and rebinding consequent on such usage. Above all, do not buy a lot of second-hand fiction to put into the hands of the people. It is too much to expect them to respect a book when it is dirty to start with. After the library is well started and has 10,- ooo, 15,000, or 20,000 volumes you may safely buy at auction and second-hand to fill gaps, but it is not advisable to do so before that. Binding. As a general rule buy all you can in cloth, even sets of encyclopaedias, and all but such bulky works as Webster's International and the Standard dictionary. Beware of the agent who wants to sell you sheep for calf, cowskin for morocco, and so on. In buying cloth you get one wear out of your book, anyway, before re- binding, and frequently that is all you want. This, of course, does not apply to second-hand or auction books. Your main question about binding will be in periodicals and fiction. The linen book cloths are being used for both of these classes, and do very well. Of course, our aim is to put all periodicals into half morocco, but in many libraries this is an unthought of luxury. A good roan will do for years. Morocco is cheapest, because it lasts so much longer that one binding does for two or three roan bind- ings. Fiction does well in half leather, roan, bock or skiver or full cloth. We are com- ing to do novels and juveniles in cloth, and much prefer to do so if we can get a binder to use it. Require your books to be sewed all along on linen thread and laced in on three or four bands, according to height of book, except in fiction, which is generally pasted in. HINTS ON CLASSIFICATION. BY LAURA E. W. BENEDICT, Librarian of Lewis Institute, Chicago. A TALK on classification resolves itself, in part, into a plea for a more extended edu- cation. Ability in classification depends prim- arily upon an intimate and orderly knowledge of many subjects. Here there is no possible subterfuge for covering up ignorance. In sub- ject cataloging, which perhaps comes nearest to classification in the breadth of knowledge re- quired, if in doubt as to where a work belongs you may catalog it under any number of head- ings; ingenious cross-references will point out the most winding path. If you get confused in reference work you may clear your wits by an agile use of indexes, dictionaries, and bibliog- raphies. But in the matter of classification the book fits into one place only and that place must be the unique spot in human knowledge to which the author destined it. We can't con- ceal a superficial education here. If we clas- sify Cook's "First book in old English," or Sievers' "Old English grammar " in 427, along- side of Morris and Skeat's " Specimens of early English," we make merchandise of our hazy impressions regarding the periods of the forma- tion of our mother tongue. We tacitly confess our ignorance of the fact that, according to the universal practice of the English depart- ments in German and American universities, old English is a synonym for Anglo-Saxon, and so the before-mentioned books are pushed into a middle English settlement, instead of being comfortably housed in 429. Instances in point might be indefinitely multiplied. As the prime essential for classifying, there- fore, let us take all the courses of study that we can get in language, literature, history, and science. It is not so much the juggling with figures that makes classification hard; it is rather our own inability to grasp the final in- tention of the author. Nothing but years of good solid study will give us an unerring sense of where a book belongs. It seems unfort- 66 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. unate that, in order to get anywhere or be anything in the library world, the younger libra- rians feel that they must be in continual activi- ty ; writing papers, rushing to clubs, getting their names into the library journals, expound- ing some pet scheme in detail, slaving on com- mittees and indexes, giving out more than they have ever taken in. This feverish unrest, this " bottled-lightning " condition is not expected of beginners in any other of those learned pro- fessions among which we venture to rank our own. The lawyers, physicians, teachers, who touch the high-water mark are those who have taken time for a gradual, healthy growth of their mental faculties. Would it not be better to keep our evenings for study and be a little less public spirited ? Perhaps more rest and more brain nourishment would give us in clas- sification that " vital sense of security " which Professor William James tells us about. The next requisite for this work is a sprink- ling of that same sort of good sense which is required in any other business. We may clas- sify with liberal hand, putting the books in the departments for which they were or- dered, or where indicated by the special use of our own particular library. In a college the classifier should have access to the original requisition lists of the faculty, in order to consider in the light of his own knowledge the intention of the professor. Stopford Brooke's "Theology in the English poets" would fit snugly into 210 in the the- ological library, but if ordered for the study of English literature it adjusts itself in 821. Span- ton's "Science and art of drawing" is almost equally at home in 515 and 744; its dwelling- place will be decided by the needs of the re- spective departments. In the matter of complete sets, while the ten- dency seems now toward scattering into classes, yet often one seems to be tied by such a me- chanical device as the form of publication. If there is a continuous volume number and gen- eral index there is nothing for it but to keep the set together and classify in the place where it will be most useful. In the Fordham edition of the "Complete works of Edgar Allan Poe" we must, forsooth, keep poetry with prose, because of the general index. Could we break up the set we should distribute it among the sections 811, 813, and 814. We, however, consign the set to 813, not only because Poe's fiction predominates in quantity, but still more because, in the opinion of most critics, it forms the most valuable part of his literary work. Take, again, a work of the nature of John Addington Symonds " Renaissance in Italy." We may separate the volumes if we please: we are blocked by no con- secutive numbering; the "Age of the despots' may go into 945, the " Fine arts" into 700, the remaining volumes into 850. Yet, considering the unity of the author's plan, the dearth of com- prehensive works in English on that period, and the help that it is for students of the Re- naissance to find material of this sort to- gether, we may well determine to keep the set intact in 850. We use a generally accepted system so as to get the best results from co-operative work with the least labor to ourselves, but our own needs should modify such system as occasion demands. Practical suggestions on this subject were offered by Mr. Tandy in the April number of Public Libraries. It is convenient, especially in a library where the shelves are open, to arrange all single bi- ographies in one continuous alphabet by sub- ject. A student may then easily lay his hand upon what he wants, without having to find out, before knowing a man's shelf location, in which of several fields he was the most distinguished. Specific bibliographies, on the other hand, are most accessible when placed with their sub- jects. Some simple numerical scheme will serve to bring together all the books about an author directly following his own works; for example, after the book number, or after the author's initial if his place is marked by the Dewey class number, we may assign as follows: .1 Selections, .2 Bibliography, .3 Concordances and dictionaries, .4 Commentary and criticism, .5 Textual comment, .6 Versification, .7 Atlases. If there are various works of criticism on one poet, the initial of the commentator annexed will serve for arrangement in alphabetical order. Except where it is desired to emphasize the philological department, the section " prosody " may well be disregarded. Only the closest hair-splitting can separate books on the struc- ture of verse from those on the study of poetry. Works like Gummere's " Handbook of poetics,' or Lanier's "Science of English verse," or Brewer's " Orthometry," or Guest's "History of English rhythms," or Corson's " Primer of BENEDICT. 67 English verse," are essentially more valuable to the student of literature than to the student of philology, and hence should find their place in 808. i. The subject of prosody, which filled the closing pages of our antiquated grammars and rhetorics is omitted altogether from the best modern text-books on these subjects. The section 808 has an almost unlimited ca- pacity, but it need not, for that reason, be made a dumping-ground. In a library which has a growing English department, 808 should be carefully sub-divided. As the study of rhetoric by means of constant theme-writing is made more and more the basis of English education in our best colleges, there is prospect for an ever-increasing flow of publications on specific divisions of rhetoric. A monograph on style or on narrative, if marked simply 808, is swamped in two or three shelves full of works on Eng- lish composition. The sub-divisions of rhetoric itself offer a natural and easy method of classi- fication. A zero should be inserted after the decimal point to distinguish this arrangement from the Dewey sub-division for what we may term the forms of literature. Suppose we use 808.01 for qualities of style, as Lewes's " Principles of success," Walter Raleigh's "Style," Spencer's "Philosophy of style," Palmer's "Self-cultivation in 'English." We may leave 808.02 for elements of style, that is the paragraph and the sentence ; here would come " Baldwin's " Expository paragraph and sentence," Lewis's " History of the English paragraph," Scott and Denney's "Paragraph- writing." 808.03-808.06 will serve for works treating of the study of the different forms of composition: description, narration, exposition and argument. Baldwin's " Specimens of prose description " will go into 808.03 ! Brewster's "Specimens of narration" into 808.04; La- ment's " Specimens of exposition," 808.05 ', Baker's Principles of argumentation," 808.06. This last-named sub-section is for argument re- garded as a branch of composition. Of course works on public speaking and debate considered from the side of oratory keep their place in 808.5. In these days, when librarianship throws down the glove for the right to be admitted among the learned professions; when young women holding certificates from a high school, and with a technical library education are en- couraged to rank themselves with head pro- fessors in the university; when two years in a training class makes a girl the intellectual equal of men who have spent 20 or 30 years in wear- ing study; when, in plans for co-operation with schools there is a faint touch of superiority on the librarian's part, and the willingness to hear a deprecatory tone from the teacher; when this marvellous growth of the library movement places all other professions in an apologetic attitude; when it is generally recognized that nothing but lack of ability keeps all mankind from studying to be librarians, we would do well to make good our claims. At all events, if we cannot be learned enough to vindicate our position, let us be a trifle more humble, and drop the notion that we " never make a mistake." If, trusting to the title-page alone, we inadvertently put Frost's " Solid ge- ometry " or Aldis's "Elementary treatise on solid geometry " in 513.3, we may be pardoned for not knowing that 516 includes solid analytics as well as plane. (The blank 516.6 might be utilized for solid analytical geometry.) But if a mathematician finds it there, and is so good as to tell us our error, surely we may be mobile enough to acknowledge graciously that our researches in mathematics have been limited. Few classifiers have time to give minute study to many subjects. Even in matters where no actual danger of mistake is involved, con- versations with scholars who are not librarians will help one to classify or reclassify with more scientific accuracy. At the same time, we need to cultivate an imperturbable spirit. Although willing to learn from anybody, the classifier cannot hope to please everybody. There will always be a per- centage of people scholarly people, too who think it a personal grievance that all the works by one author cannot be found together. Every specialist looks at the nature and aim of a book from his own standpoint. The ideal classi- fier, therefore, is both sturdy and pliable, the one quality detracting not a whit from the other, 68 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. CATALOGING, ACCESSIONING AND SHELF LISTING FOR SMALL LIBRARIES. BY JENNIE D. FELLOWS, Assistant New York State Library, Albany. A CATALOG on cards is universally recog- nized as the only kind which can be kept up to date and therefore as indispensable. In a small library where printing is out of the question the most legible results are obtained by the use of the disjoined or printing hand. The important items on a card are the call num- ber, the author's name, the title, the imprint in- formation (as illustrations, place, date etc.) and for a dictionary catalog the subject headings. Perhaps the call number may not be con- sidered a part of the cataloging but its impor- tance on the card will justify here the statement that it should be very conspicuous. Place it where it cannot be overlooked and make it stand out by the use of colored ink. Prac- tice differs greatly on the forms of authors' names but in a small library economy demands the simplest forms sufficient for easy identifica- tion and the convenience of the users calls for those most commonly known. There is universal agreement that the title should be as short as possible without omitting matter of value, but the cataloger is prone to forget that what is of value on one card may not be on another. The searcher under the author's name generally wishes a particular book and the title there should include what is likely to be remembered, by which he may identify it. On the subject side one more often desires a certain kind of information and such parts of the title should therefore be retained as will show the treatment of the subject and the scope of the work. If a book treats of two or more subjects, calling for as many cards, omit on the card for each subject, as far as grammatical wording will allow, all matter pertaining only to the others. In the imprint the most important items are the edition, number of volumes if more than one, illustrations and maps, size, place and date. Other matters, such as paging and publisher, may be included, but few small libraries will find it advisable. Most of these details are of less value in fiction than in other classes and in this some libraries might think it wise to give only the number of volumes and the date. If you have a dictionary catalog the choice of subject headings will try your souls, but the principal points to be observed are exact desig- nation of the subject and absolutely consistent use of the same heading for the same subject, with references from synonymous terms and related subjects. The term accessioning in its broad sense covers the various details connected with add- ing a book to the library, but it is commonly used with the more limited meaning of enter- ing in the accession book. The accession book is a record of volumes in the order of their receipt and should give a concise but accurate description with source and cost and, under the heading Remarks, a brief history, including statements of such matters as re- binding and the final disposition of a book if removed from the library. A form which has given great satisfaction in small libraries is the " Condensed accession book " furnished by the Library Bureau. This book, providing for one, two, or five thousand entries, costs $i, $3, or $5. The printed headings of the columns calling for author, title, place, publisher etc. keep before one the various facts to be recorded. The entry runs across two pages, of which the left-hand page bears the accession numbers in sets of one hundred, twenty-five on a page, preventing error through duplication or omis- sion, but if for any reason you prepare a book for yourself instead of using this you will still find the division by twenty-fives an ad- vantage, both in the almost absolute certainty of detecting at the end of a page any mistake in numbering and in the readiness with which a number may be found. Here let me say that you should insist on having everything in the way of blank-books, sheets and cards which you obtain from a local dealer cut exactly the same size as those generally in use, in order that when in future you decide to purchase the regular supplies there may be a convenient uniformity in this respect. In the work of accessioning it is generally conceded that a line should be given to each FELLOWS. 69 volume instead of making a single entry for a set. The former method is unquestionably far more satisfactory since it allows the recording of facts applicable to one volume but not to all, while the use of ditto marks in the case of details which are identical reduces to almost nothing the labor of repetition. In some libraries it seems to be considered of no importance in what order the books are accessioned. Do not fall into this mistake. The necessity of entering the prices is enough to show that the order of the bill should be followed. When but few books are purchased at a time individual entries can easily be looked up and the cost supplied, but when the library becomes large and the additions in- crease much time will be wasted if this method is pursued and it is better to establish at once the rule which you will wish to follow in future. The shelf list is a list of books in the order of their arrangement in the library and its chief uses are as a means of taking inventory, to prevent the repetition of a book number in any class, and as a brief classed catalog. The items generally recorded are class and book number, accession number, author and a brief title. Both theory and practice vary widely as to the form of the list. Many prefer to use cards of the size for cataloging, giving a card to each work. With this system new entries can be inserted at once in their proper order but the greatest care must be taken to prevent loss or misplacement. The strongest argument in its favor is that the list never needs to be rewritten. Other librarians prefer sheets 10 x 25 centimetres (about 4 x 10 inches), giving a sheet to a class, or in large classes like fiction a sheet to one letter or to one author in a class. With this method entries are made in order of shelf arrangement for the books in the library when the list is written and addi- tions in any class are placed on its sheet in the order of their arrival. When these latter en- tries become numerous it is necessary to re- write the sheets but this would occur at such long intervals that I am sure that the time so spent would be more than offset by that saved in consulting sheets rather than cards. At one time I was an ardent admirer of the card system but having used it I should, at least for a small library, greatly prefer sheets, possi- bly making an exception for fiction and biog- raphy if the additions in these classes were large but certainly not if they were less than 200 a year. As the most complicated of these three sub- jects and the one which alone requires such treatment as will make the work readily used by the public, cataloging has received the most attention in the literature of library economy. The fullest and best known work upon it is Cut- ter's " Rules for a dictionary catalogue," which may be obtained free from the United States Bureau of Education at Washington. Modestly railing itself an appendix to these rules, a won- derfully satisfactory guide to the choice of subject headings is the "A. L. A. list of subject headings," of which a revised edition appeared in 1898, for sale by the Library Bureau at $2. One charge in connection with its use ! Read the preface. There you will find statements on the principles to be observed in selecting head- ings and also a list of classes of headings not included, most of which, however, your com- mon-sense should be able to supply if only you realize at once that in these cases you must de- pend upon your common-sense and not upon the book. Two small and accordingly conve- nient catalogs, specimens of excellent work which has been and therefore may be done, are those of the Osterhout Free Library, Wilkes- Barr6, Pa., costing $2, and of the "A. L. A. li- brary of 5000 volumes," furnished free by the United States Bureau of Education. In the " Papers prepared for the World's Li- brary Congress," also to be obtained free from the Bureau of Education, are a summary of settled and of disputed points in cataloging with a comparison of methods and also a very full presentation of the work of the accession department. An inexhaustible mine of information is the Library Journal, published in New York at $5 a year. A consolidated index to the first 22 volumes has recently been issued. Many ex- ceedingly useful articles are also given in Pub- lic Libraries, published by the Library Bureau at its Chicago office at $i a year. The knowl- edge of different methods is of infinite value if sufficient judgment is used to select what is best adapted to the individual needs, but the articles in these periodicals are too scattered and pre- sent the subjects from too many points of view to serve as a convenient general guide and it is a great advantage to have a single code care- ATLANTA CONFERENCE. fully compiled in the light of experience and with due consideration of suggestions from many sources. The best such work is the " Simplified Library school rules," first issued as number 16 of Library Notes, a useful technical periodical published by the Library Bureau in Boston, subscription price $i a volume. The " Simplified rules " were used last year in some of the summer schools. After careful revi- sion and with the addition of instructions in library handwriting they are now published as a separate work which may be obtained from the Library Bureau for $1.25. This code covers very clearly in detail the technical treatment of the subjects which we are considering and was prepared with especial view to the needs of the small library. In any general code which you might adopt you would doubtless feel that local conditions required some modifications but in making them it is well to be cautious and not to act merely from personal preference. Consider well in each case whether any benefit will really result from the desired change and, if possible, con- sult some one who has already tried it. If you deliberately decide to make it, put it down on paper, that when you leave your present field of labor your successor may not introduce in- consistencies through not knowing what meth- ods you have followed. Two interesting and suggestive little manuals are the " Public li- brary handbook " of the Denver Public Library, published by Carson-Harper Co. Denver, (pa- per, 35 cents; cloth, 65 cents; morocco, $i) and Miss Plummer's "Hints to small libraries," of which an enlarged edition appeared in 1898, published by Truslove, Hanson & Comba, New York, at 50 cents, with 40 cents as a special rate to libraries. There is one work to which I wish to call your attention, although it is not yet issued. This is the "Library primer," of which some features appeared in the early num- bers of Public Libraries. It is now listed as about to be published by the Library Bureau, and is a work to which careful attention should be given as soon as opportunity offers. ORGANIZATION. BY DR. G. E. WIRE, Worcester County Law Library, Worcester, Mass. now suppose our books have been bought, they are being classified, cata- loged and made ready for use by being prop- erly tagged and pocketed, and are being de- posited on shelves in their proper order. While this is going on we are also getting ready to open; and this getting ready, this welding a mass of detail together to make an effective machine, is called organization. Building or rooms. Fortunate is the librarian who is consulted about these important details. Generally they are all arranged for her, and she has the task of adapting herself to them. The rooms or building should be in a busy part of the place, not of necessity on the business street. They should have plenty of natural and artificial light, and be capable of being warm in winter, cool in summer, and well ven- tilated at all times. Of course we shall have to do without all the refinements of library work, and we may be confined to one room. The best arrangement for a one-room library is roughly as follows: Work Room Work Room Book Shelves Delivery Children's Room Desk Reference and Reading Room WIRE. This gives the essentials, and may be either open or closed shelf system, as may seem best. Shelving. Temporary shelving may be made by local carpenter, but do not put much money into it, as sooner or later it will have to be laid aside. Pine or cypress is the best, and on no account be persuaded into having any oak or hardwood, for it will be so much money thrown away. Shelving should not be over six and one-half or seven feet high, low two-inch base- board, flush top double cases 16 inches wide for fiction and ordinary 8vo books. From four to eight cases should have ledges about three feet from floor, and this portion be wider, say 24 to 26 inches, for quartos and small folios. Use metal shelf pegs, and do not allow any notched wooden supports for small books to get into and large books to wear against. All shelving, as far as possible, should be interchangeable, and your shelves should be built in 6, 9, or 12 foot lengths, allowing 3 feet for shelf and necessary space for the supports and partitions. Watch the carpenter closely, for he is prone to divide up wall space to suit his ideas of uni- formity without any regard to yours. Write out instructions and insist on their being'carried out, or you do not pay for it. No varnish should be allowed on surfaces which come in contact with the books. Supplies. These may be divided into cata- loging and general supplies. Cataloging sup- plies should be bought of firms ensuring quality and uniformity of stock. These include cata- log, shelf list, and charging cards, all linen stock, accession books, inks, pens, catalog case, slip trays. It is possible to start a library with $50 worth of these supplies, bur this is^as low as it is safe to go. This will furnish material for all the records necessary to be kept. This point should be borne in mind, and on no account attempt to save money by neglecting these ab- solutely essential records. General supplies can be gotten of local stores. These include brooms,;brushes, soap, matches, hammer, screw- drivers, etc. Printing. This, except in case of pockets and charging cards which require to be exact to the millimeter, can be done at home. You will need to educate most printers as to exact measurements of borrowers' cards, etc., to get them exact, and also have to exercise great se- verity to secure uniformity in stock, color, and type, but it can be secured. Be sure you have all the necessary blanks and forms in what seems reckless profusion before the day of opening, as the public will consume quantities of them. Periodicals and papers. These should be ordered in advance and be in regular receipt before the library is open, so as to be of help to you in many ways. Always order by the year or volume, through some responsible agency. If your local man can supply them, well and good, but I generally find he cannot for any length of time. You will have to be careful about the year or volume, as most of our peri- odical men and publishers are peculiarly reck- less and will begin your subscription when they receive it, with no regard to volume or year. If you are going to open in March or April, which may mean June or July, begin your subscription in January. You may not think much about it at first, but later you will recog- nize the value of a complete volume of a peri- odical. If you plan to begin in early fall begin in July. Most of our periodicals begin their volumes in January or July; a few, the most notable of which are Harper, Century, and Bookman, disregard this rule. I had an expe- rience in this line, and it took considerable work to get a list of some 70 United States medical journals properly lined up to the begin- ning of the year. Keep a simple register like the following, but keep it accurately, and of course register each piece and stamp it before it is used or looked at by any one: Harper's Monthly. Harper's Weekly. Jan. i Vol. 70 Jan. i 2 3 4 5 Vol. 50 i-i i-i 1-8 i-iS 1-22 1-30 6 8 Feb. 2 Feb. 2-2 2-15 Mar. 3 2-26 Mar. Ap. 4 4-18 Ap. May 5 4-26 May 6 June June 5-3 July 7 6-29 July 8 Aug. 7-35 Aug. 8 Sep. 8^26 Sep. Oct. 9 Oct. 9-27 V T- 10 V , - NOV. 10-29 NOV. ii T\ ec. 11-25 Dec. ATLANTA CONFERENCE. This just shows when each number is received, and if a number is skipped the vacant space is a reminder until the omission is supplied. Use simple binders, those which hurt the periodical least, for the temporary binding. Tie up in volumes, with a label showing volume and year. Charging systems. Put in a simple charging system. The Library Bureau two -card or double-charging system will carry you until your circulation runs up to 100,000 a year. Beyond that you had better use the Newark system. Remember that by adopting standard sizes in pockets and cards at the very first you can afterward change without stopping your circu- lation or altering your pockets and trays. See that the system is all right, that you can work it smoothly, and that your attendants all under- stand it. See to it that you have the pencils and dating stamps ready, also plenty of cards and slips, and that your charging trays, coun- ters, and all are correct before the opening day comes. It will be a pity to spoil your certain success by the failure of any of these small things. Now, to pass from some of the material things to the immaterial. Directors or trustees. Happy are you if you have a small board of directors who will leave you alone in your work, only coming in occa- sionally to see how you are getting on. Early learn to rely on yourself and do not bother them over details you should know yourself. Of course you are to use all due tact and dis- cretion, and do not go to the bookman for shelves, or vice versa. The press and reporters. Always stand in with the press. Always give out the same news to all papers, if possible, and be impartial as far as possible. The press is a most mighty influence, and the smaller the place the more we appreciate this fact. No matter how busy you are, always find time for a word with the reporter, even^if you have no news. It costs you nothing and may save you a good deal some time. Time of opening. Be careful about commit- ting yourself as to time of opening unless it is foreordained ; for by reason of various delays it is often put off from time to time. The pub- lic are often delayed and discouraged by false alarms. It is better of course to get all the work done beforehand, but frequently it is wiser to open on Fiction, Biography and Travel, than to delay too long. This can be done and has been done. Local circumstances must gov- ern you about many of these things. Access to shelves. The question of open ac- cess has been so thoroughly touched upon by others that I will only mention it. I am in favor of it in some form or other, carefully adapted to local conditions and needs. Rules. They should be few, and as simple as possible. Have them clear and concise. Be sure you have both a state and a local law protecting the library from loss by mutilation and theft. I am particular about long forms on application or registration blanks. In small places there is no need of such ironclad obliga- tions as are used in large cities. Training assistants. In preparing books for circulation you will have good opportunities for testing the temporary help which has to be hired at such time and for making your se- lection of permanent assistant or assistants. Happy are you if you can do so unhampered by any undue influence. Remember you must have on the whole more in your one assistant than you would have in a large library. The chief requisites are: tact, graciousness, readi- ness to work, neatness, accuracy, rapidity and punctuality. Of course no one under a high- school graduate is eligible to even temporary work. The mere bookishness of certain people is of no good. They are prone to be reading themselves when they should be helping others. You will have to keep the ordering, cataloging and classification largely in your own hands, but you should train your assistant to shelf- list, mark the books, enter periodicals and stamp them, attend to binders and files, wait on desk, to charging and discharging and some reference work. The technical knowledge can be further increased as time goes on and some training should be given in classification, cata- loging and reference work. If you have more than one assistant, the instruction and work should be divided so as to fit the individuality. Always remember this, and do not expect to make a good cataloger of a bright, inaccurate, restless individual, fond of meeting people and not given to studious, hard work. Such a per- son can be trained for a desk-attendant, but is no good for a cataloger. I have known studi- ous, quiet people, conscientious to a fault, but not liking a crowd and liable to be confused in LINDSA Y. 73 a rush, who made excellent catalogers. Above all and beyond all remember that the sole aim of all this expense of labor, time, of this ex- pense of money, of the care and minute atten- tion to details is to get the reader and the book together. Whatever ministers to this is all right, whatever hinders it is all wrong. The library is for the people, by the people and of the people. Be not above them. You cannot lead them when on a pedestal, but you should get down and lift them up. It is from the com- mon people that all our readers have sprung; and it is the common people, who to-day fill our shops and factories, till our farms and gardens, throng our streets, make our wealth, and fight our battles, that we want to help. So remember and adapt yourself, your library and your as- sistants all to this one end. CHANGING FROM A SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY TO A FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. BY MARY B. LINDSAY, Librarian Evanston Public Library, Evanston, 111, T^HE day of the subscription or proprietary library is well nigh past, except as a means to a greater end, that of establishing its successor, the free public library. To quote Mr. C. A. Cutter (L. j., 1893) : " In this country the proprietary library was the parent of the public library and, as is said to be the custom among some savage tribes, the son when grown up has devoured his father." The faithful work which was done in the years past by the supporters of the subscription library has not been lost but lives in the great public libraries of to-day, which stand as worthy monuments to their predecessors. In many parts of our country subscription li- braries still exist, but they are rapidly yielding to the broader educational spirit, which seeks to place the library equally with the public school within the reach of the masses. In most places where this spirit is properly manifested, the subscription library is glad to turn over its property to form the nucleus of a free public library. It is encouraging to note how few are the cases where these libraries hold out against such change, but where such opposition does exist, it is usually overcome sooner or later by public sentiment, for the un- endowed subscription library is easily forced to the wall by a library which offers free to all a supply of good books and reasonable access to its shelves. In providing free reading to the public the best success has not been attained by the vari- ous methods employed by private enterprise, such as endowment or temporary endowment by support pledged for certain period of years. The various methods of state aid, either direct- ly or by legislation authorizing cities and towns to tax themselves for support of free libraries, are conceded to be the best. In most of the states such laws exist, many authorizing a di- rect tax to be used exclusively for establishing and maintaining public libraries, and some sub- sidizing the public schools, giving them the requisite assistance in establishing and carrying on free libraries. One of the best recent examples of the de- velopment of a large public library from a small beginning as a subscription library is the St. Louis Public Library. This was chartered in 1865 as the St. Louis Public School Library; supported by subscrip- tions and life memberships, it opened with 1500 volumes. In 1869 the St. Louis Board of Pub- lic Schools assumed the support of the library, working in connection with the life members, supplementing its receipts with annual appro- priations. In 1882 agitation was begun towards a free library by Mr. James Richardson, presi- dent of the board, who in his annual report urged the necessity of a great free public libra- ry to complete the system of public education. This agitation led to an attempt to secure the passage of a law to provide for a public library by way of increasing the school tax. This at- tempt was unsuccessful. From this time on each year the question was kept alive by appeals and arguments for a free library from the libra- rian and the successive presidents of the board in their annual 'reports, these appeals eliciting favorable comment from the public press. In 1884 the librarian, Mr. Crunden, drafted a bill authorizing cities, towns, villages, etc., throughout the state to tax themselves for the 74 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. establishment and maintainance of free libra- ries. The passage of this bill was secured by Hon. J. M. Luring, and became the Missouri library law in April, 1885. In 1892, through action of the board of managers of the library, a legal opinion was obtained, deciding that the statute was readily available and that no legal difficulty stood in the way of transferring the library to a board of trustees to be appointed under the statute. In January, 1893, an active campaign was begun for securing a popular vote in favor of the library. The result of the election was highly gratifying 36,000 votes were cast in favor of a "one-fifth mill tax for a free library" to 6000 votes against it. The actual transfer of the existing library to the city and into the trust of the new board of directors involved some difficult legal problems, on account of certain bequests made to the former manage- ment upon certain conditions, and on account of the peculiar relations of the former manage- ment to the life members. These legal difficul- ties were, however, surmounted, the consent of a majority of the life members was obtained, and the library was finally deeded to the city March i, 1894. The next case to be cited is that of the Peoria (111.) Public Library, which is an excel- lent instance of what may be accomplished by a small band of citizens loyal to the best edu- cational interests of their city. The Peoria Mercantile Library Association was incorporated in 1865, formed by the union of two rival mercantile libraries, with a nucleus of some 1500 books. A subscription of $13,000 was raised, of which $10,000 was used in the purchase of a valuable property in the business centre of the city. The library was maintained by a small subscription fee of $2, which was afterwards raised to $4 per year, this small in- come being eked out by lectures and entertain- ments. Members of the Mercantile Library Associa- tion, realizing the inadequacy of a subscription library to provide for the literary wants of the people, were instrumental in securing the pas- sage of the Illinois library law. This law, which is a most liberal one, and has served for a model in many states, was originally framed by Mr. E. S. Willcox, of the Peoria Mercantile Library Association, now librarian of Peoria Public Library, and was passed with one or two amendments in 1872. Under this law in 1880 the Peoria Public Library was organized by action of the city council, and a board of directors was appointed by the mayor. In 1882 the Mercantile Library Association turned over its entire collection of 12,000 books to the public library, and both libraries were consolidated in the building owned by the Mer- cantile Library Association. In 1894 the overcrowded condition of the li- brary led to an agitation for a new building. The Mercantile Library Association, which was still in existence, now found itself in posses- sion of a property which had increased by careful management from $10,000 to $75,000, and the public library owned 50,000 books. A proposition was made by the Mercantile Library Association to the city council that if the city would purchase a lot, the Mercantile Association would sell its property and devote the proceeds to the erection of a new public library building. This proposition was accepted and a new build- ing was erected under the direction of a com- mittee chosen from both boards. This build- ing was turned over to the city, the Mercantile Library Association closing its career with the surrender of this trust. This library building, with a capacity for 200,- ooo books, and well equipped for aggressive li- brary work, stands as a noble monument to the 140 contributors to the original fund which, so well invested, made such a building possible. As there are, however, a greater number of smaller subscription libraries, for which the prospect of becoming free libraries seems favor- able, it will perhaps be more to the point to de- scribe the change which has taken place in such small libraries. The La Porte (Ind.) Public Library dates its origin from the library agitation spreading from New Harmony (Ind.), where William McClure, the first president of the Philadelphia Academy of Science, had become associated with Robert Owen in his socialist experiment. Mr. McClure provided in his will for the establishment of workingmen's institutes, one of the provisions of which was the collection of a library of 100 volumes, and one of these libraries formed the nucleus of the La Porte Library and Natural History Association in 1863. This association had a somewhat checkered career of some 33 years, involving numerous complications in property. They had accumulated some 5000 LJNDSA Y. 75 volumes and had a small building sufficient for their needs on an ample lot near the centre of the city. They also had an additional property yielding a small income. Their income, how- ever, from all sources was hardly large enough to keep a librarian at a small salary. After an agitation led by the librarian with co-operation of the Woman's Club, which had felt the lack of reference books, the association voted, in January, 1896, to turn the library over to the city for a free public library, to be sup- ported by a special tax of one-third mill, there being in the state an act providing for a tax of one-third mill for the support of a free li- brary under control of the school board. The income-bearing property of the Library Association was sold and the proceeds devoted to enlarging the library building. The library was formally transferred to the city in April, 1897. The present income is about $1300, which will soon be increased by the new Indiana library law passed at the recent session of the Indiana Legislature which authorizes a one mill tax. The Indiana Library Association and the women's clubs of the state were largely instru- mental in securing the passage of this law. The next illustration is the Kankakee (111.) Public Library. As has already been noted, Illinois has a very liberal library law, but ow- ing to opposition from a Ladies' Library Asso- ciation already established, public sentiment was not strong enough to secure a vote in favor of a public library until 1896, when some pro- gressive citizens, together with the Women's Club, succeeded in carrying a vote to establish a public library and reading-room. A board of directors was appointed, and, anticipating their income, some books were purchased and the li- brary organized by Dr. G. E. Wire. The li- brary started with 500 volumes, and in the first two years the circulation grew so rapidly the small stock of books was almost worn out. Meanwhile the patronage of the Ladies' Library Association had almost entirely ceased, and ac- tive steps were taken towards uniting the two libraries. There were some 26 stockholders in this association, of whom a large majority finally voted to give their library of about 10,000 books to the public library. They also transferred a gift of $5000 which had been left them for a library building. This was increased by a f 10,- ooo appropriation from the city and by private gifts, and in 1898 a $15,000 building was dedi- cated. One of the principal conditions of the transfer of the property of the Ladies' Associa- tion to the public library was that in future three of the directors of the public library board should be women. These conditions have been fulfilled, and the present president of the board testifies to the success of the plan. The Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library grew out of the City Federation of Ladies' Literary Clubs which was organized in January, 1895, naming for one of its objects in its articles of incorporation the establishment of a free public library. A sentiment was soon created in favor of a public library and entertainments were given for a fund to be donated to the library when established. In January, 1896, a petition was presented to the city council signed by members of the federation asking that the ques- tion of establishing a free city library be sub- mitted to the voters at the following spring election. This was carried to a successful vote, and the following June the library was estab- lished under the Iowa library law. This law was passed in 1873 allowing a one mill tax, which has since been increased to three mills. The Evanston (111.) Public Library is the out- growth of the Evanston Library Association, which was formed in 1870, allowing free use of its books in the reading-room and charging a small weekly fee for the drawing of books. The Illinois library law, which was intro- duced in 1872, was amended through the efforts of Mr. L. H. Boutell, of the Evanston Library Association, to include all municipal corpora- tions, as well as cities, in the right to vote a tax for libraries. The following year the citizens of the village of Evanston voted for a two mill tax for a free public library, a board of directors was appointed, the property of the Library As- sociation was turned over to the city under this new board and the library thrown open to the public in July, 1873. Briefly as to a few general principles, con- ceding that the free library to be supported adequately for the use of the people, must be supported by the tax of the people: i. The state should have a library law, pro- viding for the incorporation of a library to be supported by the people, and providing for such library to receive real and personal property for purposes of the library. The Illinois library law is cited as being a liberal example of such law. The essential points of this l^w are 36 follows ; ATLANTA CONFERENCE. The power of '.initiative in starting a public li- brary is vested in the city council in case of in- corporated cities, and does not rest with the vote of the people. In case of town, village or township the question may be submitted to vote upon petition of 50 legal voters. The maximum tax is two mills for cities of less than 100,000 in- habitants, one-half mill in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants. The tax is permissive not manda- tory the law reading " may levy a tax, etc." The control of the library funds is given to the board of directors of the library, provided that all moneys received for such library ... be drawn upon by the proper officers of said city, upon the proper, authenticated vouchers of the library board. The law provides for a board of directors of nine members to be appointed by the mayor with the approval of the city council. 2. Continual agitation of the question must be the watchword. A determined effort must be maintained on the part of the people both within and outside the local library association to over- come an opposition which may sometimes come from but one or two members of an organization and yet be enough to block progress. 3. Due attention must be paid to all legal questions of property. In cases where gifts are bestowed upon special conditions, great care should be taken to see that such conditions are kept unbroken. 4. The organization of the new library board requires great prudence. In general it is safe to say that the new board should at first be made up of at least a part of the former board, whose experience in library management, though under different conditions, is valuable. As to the technical details of the change, wherever possible reorganize the library on modern library principles. If this cannot be done all at once, begin with the new accessions on new principles and as fast as possible work over the old books to the new arrangement. Until all states have obtained a library law providing for tax sustained libraries, the mission of the subscription library should be pre-emi- nently to work towards such end by stimulating a desire for reading and creating public senti- ment in favor of a free library, meantime en- couraging gifts and collecting such books as will form a valuable nucleus for a public library. MANAGEMENT OF SMALL PUBLIC LIBRARIES. BY MARILLA W. FREEMAN, Librarian Michigan City (Ind.) Public Library. *T*HE public library should be not only the educational centre of the town or city, and often its art centre as well, but it may be- come, in the language of the new sociology, a centre of social service. Just here lies the great opportunity of the librarian of the small library. She is fortunate in her privilege of per- sonal contact with her public, and upon her de- pends, in large measure, the atmosphere of the library. She should be alert, tactful, a gracious hostess, ready alike with helpful suggestions to the timid or the uncertain, and with quick, intelligent service for the man who knows what he wants and wants it at once. Let her, if possi- ble, find some time for personal intercourse with her readers. If she knows, as she should, the books she handles, and remembers, as the " small librarian " may, not only the names and faces, but the differing personalities of her readers, she may quietly and unobtrusively direct the whole trend of the intellectual life of her town, h,e should be accessible, not only within the library, but out of it. Let her not rebel at being known as " the library lady " by the small boys on the street. Let her be ready, not to introduce indeed, but to respond willingly to talk of books and of the library, even at those social functions where "shop" is supposed to be tabooed. She should carry out in every way the open- door policy, not merely by opening the doors and waiting for people to come in, but by going out to seek them. Many people hesitate long and timidly over the preliminary visit to the library for a card. I like the suggestion of Mr. Foss, of Somerville, Mass., in Public Libraries, March, 1899, that a personal canvass of the town be made, so that every man, woman, and child may be offered a library card. And , above all, when people have come, let them be made to feel at home. The aim and general attitude of the librarian being thus outlined, how shall she put it into active force? that is, by what channels cap FREEMAN. 77 she reach the people at large, and, when reached, how hold them ? Since this is the day of the children, the first thought of the librarian may well be for them. And, first of all, do not shutout bright and eager children by the age limit. If there must be a test, let it be nothing more than the child's ability to write his own name. The pride of owner- ship and of responsibility should not be denied him. Often the younger children take better care of books than their older brothers and sisters. If possible, have a special room for the children. If not, resort may be had to a children's alcove or corner. The smallest li- brary may at least find space in a corner of its reading-room for a special table for the children, made lower than the usual size, and, if it can be managed, cases with some, or all, of the children's books should be near their tables. In our library we are fortunate in having a room which can be devoted to the children, and which is at the same time so situated that it can be under the personal supervision of the libra- rian. The children's books are in wall-cases about the room, grouped according to subjects, under various attractive headings, such as Stories of long ago, Fairy tales, Indian stories, Poetry, Lives of great men and women. The children may make their own selections, except as they desire help, with no restriction other than careful treatment of the books. We have considered the organization of a children's li- brary league, for the protection of the books, but our town is not too large for individual work with the children, and we have found the use of the Maxson book-mark sufficient thus far. We are fortunate, also, in the possession of a room which may be used as a class-room in con- nection with our work with the schools. The room is furnished with tables and with chairs sufficient to seat 50 pupils and their teacher. Each grade in the schools, from grades five to eight, has the use of this room for one after- noon session of each month. All the eighth grades come the first week, the seventh grades the next, and so on through the month. At their grade meetings the teachers determine upon the subject which they will take up at their next visit to the library, and notify us a week in advance. Books on that subject sufficient in number to supply each pupil in the grade, and suited to the age of the pupils, are sent up to the room, and each child, is assigned a topic upon which to write a short composition from the material furnished. When a pupil has found all he can from one source books are ex- changed, and thus each child comes into contact with several books which may be new to him. The subjects chosen are those in which differ- ent grades are at the time specially interested in school. Thus last week the seventh grades, which are reviewing in school the geography of Europe, had for their library subject travel in Europe and description of various European countries and cities. For-this grade we utilized, in addition to the regular books of travel, such descriptive stories as " Hans Brinker" and the "Witch Winnie " series. A younger grade took up stories, battles, and incidents of the Ameri- can Revolution. In the spring and fall nature- study afternoons are popular. A specially val- uable feature of the plan is the opportunity it gives the librarian for short talks to the pupils on the use of the library, the reference books and card catalog, accompanied by practical ob- ject lessons and tests. The school children are unanimously enthusiastic over their library after- noon, and we find the plan very successful in stimulating their interest in good reading and in forming the library habit along right lines. With libraries where there is no room available for such work, there may be at least an occa- sional visit to the library from teacher and pu- pils for the purpose of becoming familiar with the location and use of the reference books and other resources of the library. We have found the monthly visits helpful in the opportunity they give the librarian to know the teachers individually, and to come into sym- pathetic relation with them and their work. The close co-operation that should exist be- tween the library and the schools will be most firmly grounded upon a personal and individual interest on the part of the librarian in the teach- ers and in their plans for work and for personal culture. Special privileges to teachers, short talks at the teachers' meetings, personal visits to the schools for talks to the pupils all these things help to strengthen the tie between library and schools. The librarian should keep in close touch with the school work, informing herself in advance of the order of studies and subjects for debate, so that the wants of pupils may be promptly sup- plied. The teachers may be asked to furnish lists of special topics to be taken up in ATLANTA CONFERENCE. phy, history, and other studies, and references may be made for each topic on separate cards, to be included in the catalog. In advance of all special days which are celebrated in the schools, such as Washington's Birthday, Arbor Day, and Memorial Day, lists of references and suitable selections should be compiled. These lists, which may be fastened upon the library bulletin board, sent to the teachers, and printed in the daily papers, will serve a double pur- pose, that of answering the demands of the children for " pieces" to speak, and of helping the teachers to prepare their programs. The question of free access to the shelves is a puzzling one. Certainly the public should be made to feel at home among its own books, and certainly the experience of libraries with " open shelves " goes to prove that the public may be trusted among its own books. For the larger libraries, such a plan as Mr. Foster's "Stand- ard library " (see Providence Public Library Bulletin, October, 1898, or Library Journal, De- cember, 1898), or the remarkably successful open-shelf department of the Buffalo Public Library, seem to have solved the problem. The same plan may be applied, in miniature, to small libraries in which the construction of vhe building or other conditions make indis- criminate access impracticable. In these cases, one side of the delivery-room, or at least an al- cove or corner, may be fitted with shelves ac- cessible to the public, upon which may be placed a selected collection of books from all classes in the library, including not only some of the newest and some of the most popular, but also some of the "best" books books upon which Time has set the seal of its ap- proval. This open-shelf corner or department should in no way interfere with the privilege to teachers, students, and all who wish of exam- ining the entire collection in the main book- stack. Indeed, it may well be adopted even where free access is the rule, for the conven- ience of the many readers to whom a large ar- ray of volumes brings embarrassment and un- certainty. In the first confusion and excite- ment attendant upon the opening of a new library, this plan of partial access may be made simply a preliminary step to the inauguration of open shelves, after the novelty shall have worn away. Certainly the access of the public to the shelves, whether in whole or in part, not only brings 3 great saving of time to public arid librarian alike, but is a source of that freedom and satisfaction which should inhere in an insti- tution whose first aim is " public happiness." Reference work similar to that done for the schools should also be done for the literary clubs of a town. The library may furnish ma- terial and aid in the making of programs, lists of references on the general topics of work, to be printed with the program, and lists of refer- ences on special subjects for individual mem- bers of the club. We find that a room in our building, the use of which is given to literary clubs for their meetings, has helped to effect a strong co-operation between the library and the club members. The use of pictures in connection with the school and club work is helpful. For this pur- pose maybe utilized illustrations from duplicate or worn-out magazines. In our library we have, through requests in the newspapers, re- ceived many volumes and odd numbers of val- uable magazines. These are primarily used for the completion of volumes and sets, but from all duplicate numbers the best illustrations are cut, mounted on heavy gray paper or bris- tol board, and classified like the books. Groups of them, illustrating various countries, art sub- jects, etc., are loaned to teachers, to literary clubs, or to individuals. These pictures are also utilized in the library for wall exhibits and illustrated bulletins. Two large, portable screens are covered with groups of pictures on various subjects, the soft, gray mounting paper making an effective back- ground. For Christmas one of these screens was covered with a fine collection of Madonnas, some of them taken from magazines and illus- trated papers, many loaned by friends of the library. The other screen bore a collection of illuminated holiday magazine covers, mounted on gray paper. On a large wall space was placed an exhibit of gay holiday posters. The screens are at present used for reproductions of pictures by modern artists, in illustration of a course of University Extension lectures on art, the collection of pictures on the library screen being changed each week to correspond with the subject of the lecture for that week. Every library, however small, should have a bulletin board and blackboard placed in a con- spicuous position, to which may be fastened, or upon which may be written in bright colored chalks, attractive lists of new books, birthday FREEMAN. bulletins of some noted person accompanied by his or her picture, anything and everything, in brief, which will attract the attention of visitors and encourage them to use the library. Among the ways and means of gaining the attention and interest of the public, the library exhibit is one of the most popular. An exhibit of photographs taken by local amateurs; an " Indian day," with a collection of local Indian relics, Indian pictures mounted and grouped on the wall, including Burbank's highly colored studies, with some new " Indian books " for the boys and with all the old ones attractively dis- played; a " Nature day " in the spring or early fall, with decorations of wild flowers, with an exhibit of books relating to birds, animals, plants, and out-of-door life in general, the walls covered with the beautiful colored bird and animal plates issued by the Nature Study Pub- lishing Co., of Chicago, perhaps a few rare birds in cages; these and innumerable other ideas may be effectively used. Art exhibits are a most pleasing and legitimate part of the li- brary's work, from the collection of mounted illustrations cut from the magazines, or the local loan collection, to the exhibition of original drawings and paintings loaned by Scribner's Sons and other publishing houses, or the beauti- ful reproductions of the world's great pictures loaned by the Helman-Taylor Co. and other art firms. Scarcely second in importance to the work with the children and the schools is the oppor- tunity of the library among the working classes. In any town large enough to sustain a public library there are likely to be more or less indus- trial centres, and to the mass of workers which such centres gather about them, the library should make a special appeal. Let us hope, primarily, that it is situated upon a main busi- ness street, where the factory people as they stroll by of an evening may find It convenient to drop into the brightly-lighted reading-room. The best bait will be a goodly number of clean, entertaining, illustrated periodicals, popular monthlies, reliable reviews, illustrated week- lies, and wholesome " funny papers." Try to have if possible at least one semi-technical magazine for each class of workers represented in the town, and the Scientific American and its supplements for all inventive boys and men. With a large German population we find two or three illustrated German papers a good draw- ing card, and we keep on file the local German daily as well as those printed in English. We have also a slowly increasing collection of German books, believing that the German working people, many of whom can read only in their native tongue, should share with others the privileges of the library and of access to the printed page. Many German parents, too timid to come to the library themselves, will send their children, who, taking advantage of the two-book privilege, will draw a German book for the father or mother and an English book for themselves. If it is the aim of the library to draw to it all classes, there should be at least a few books suited to the wants of each individual class. A little group of carefully chosen, up-to- date books on electrical and mechanical engi- neering, locomotive construction, wood-working machinery, or textile industries, according to local needs, will often prove the best possible investment, even for a small library, in a manu- facturing town. Superintendents or foremen of factories may be interested by requests for suggestions from them in the selection of tech- nical books, and the intelligent workingman who can find at the library just the book he wants on electricity or foundry practice be- comes from that moment one of the library's warmest adherents. But given the book and the man who wants it, how is the one to be drawn to the attention of the other ? The first article of the modern librarian's creed should be "advertise." Ad- vertising is one of the fundamentals of success in the business world, and why not in the li- brary world ? From the time your first instal- ment of books is ready for the public your watchword should be " Make it known." Doubtless the best advertising medium is the local newspaper, which will carry the library news into many homes. In it may be printed lists of the new books, introduced by a striking headline, and by brief notes or reviews on some of the most timely or valuable among the books. Lists of books on special topics or for special days should frequently appear, and a half or quarter column of " Library notes," calling attention to gifts of pictures or books to the library, to special exhibits or other library matters, will help to keep the public interested. If your list is one of special interest ask your editor to have the type saved for further use 8o ATLANTA CONFERENCE. It may be taken to a small job press, and 500 or looo or more copies may be struck oft for distribution at the library. The expense in- volved in this will be slight. Some newspapers will print these lists free, if such a notice as the following be inserted in the list : " Printed by the courtesy of the Daily News." If there is more than one paper in the community furnish library news and lists to them all, thereby mak- ing them all friends of the library. Where there are but two papers, of about equal standing, it is well to send exactly the same copy to each and divide the library's job-printing between them. If your town has one or more trade journals send them lists on various local industries, on electricity, and on labor questions. An excel- lent list for Labor day was published in the Union Advocate, St. Joseph, Mo., Sept. 3, 1898. A most successful means of advertising the library among the workingmen is by means of bulletins and lists posted in factories, car-shops, electric power-houses, etc. In every depart- ment of every factory and industrial centre in our community we have placed one of the little wall-boxes, originated by Mr. Wright, of the St. Joseph Public Library, containing a number of library application blanks and labelled with the following inscription : PUBLIC LIBRARY, EIGHTH AND SPRING STREETS. BOOKS LOANED FREE. Take one of these applications, fill it out, have some real estate owner sign as your guarantor, then bring it or send it to the library and books will be loaned you without charge. Library ofen frtm 9.30 A. M. to 9 P. M. Each of these boxes is accompanied by a printed or typewritten list of books books on electricity for the power-house on locomotive construction, pattern making, metal work, en- gineering, etc., for the car factory and railroad shops, and attractive titles of books for girls and women in all departments of factories where women are employed. The results from this one form of advertising have been more sat- isfactory than from any other employed. The library wall boxes may also be placed in hotels, railway stations, and other public places. In these days, when the A B C of social ser- vice Altruism, Brotherhood, Co-operation is familiar to all, the library must be indeed poor and small and self-centred which can do noth- ing to extend its privileges to those, at least in its own immediate environment, to whom the library itself is not accessible. Poor and re- mote parts of town, or adjacent rural districts, may be made centres for small travelling li- braries, little groups of books sent out from the main library to some home or small store from which as a centre they may be issued to the people of the neighborhood. To children too far away to reach the central library, little home libraries may be sent. A home library is de- nned as "a group of 10 or more poor children, a library of perhaps 20 carefully selected books placed in the home of one of the children, and a sympathetic visitor, usually a woman, who meets the children once a week, talks over the books which they have read at their homes, and interests and amuses them for an hour in any way she choses." Each group contains both boys and girls from eight to fifteen years of age. The members of a fire department, a police force, or a life-saving crew, are quick to appre- ciate an effort to provide them interesting read- ing for the long, monotonous hours in the stations. Regular travelling libraries may be sent them each month, or a more informal ar- rangement made. At the life-saving station in Michigan City the captain gives leave of ab- sence to one of the men once a week to exchange books at the library for the crew. A light, compact wooden case, suitable also as a recep- tacle for the books at the station, is convenient for carrying them back and forth. Suggestions might be multiplied in regard to the opportunities for usefulness in the manage- ment of the small library. Much may depend, it is true, upon the assistance and the resources which the librarian may have at her command, but more will depend, in the end, upon the unwearying patience and energy and enthusi- asm of the librarian and her band of helpers. Kipling has painted for us at once the ultimate ideal and the ultimate reward of the earnest worker, in that happy state where " No one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame ; But each for the joy of the working, and each in his separate star, Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They Are." BRIGHAM. 81 THE STATE LIBRARIAN'S OUTLOOK. BY JOHNSON BRIGHAM, State Librarian of Iowa. the beginning of the present year, several states have enacted laws in response to popular demand for a more generally help- ful library service. I will briefly outline this new legislation, using the summary as a text for such running comment as has occurred to me to make in the course of a somewhat hasty consideration of the subject. Beginning in the far East, the legislature of the state of Maine has given statutory permis- sion to the state librarian to loan books in the state library, except reference works and docu- ment sets. It has also inaugurated the travel- ling library system and created a library com- mission to operate the same. This commission is composed of five members : the state libra- rian a member by virtue of his office ; the other four members to be appointed by the governor; the state librarian to be secretary of the com- mission. A similar measure has become a law in In- diana. In the last-named state the commission is composed of three members, to be appointed by the governor ; the state librarian to be sec- retary of the commission. A provision is also made for township libraries. Wisconsin has its own original way of doing what needs to be done. In the matter of the travelling library recent legislation has contrib- uted further to its success, though none but a Wisconsin man or woman can tell with absolute certainty just what the commission's improved condition really is, beyond an increased appro- priation. But, however original the Wisconsin library laws may be, there is ever in the Wol- verine legislator's mind a sublime confidence in the ability and purpose of chosen state officials to evolve from them something really worth having and worth paying for and the confi- dence seems to be well founded. Minnesota has a new library commission and travelling library law, the product of a long campaign of education. The commission cre- ated for the execution of Minnesota's new law is composed of the president of the state uni- versity, the state superintendent of public in- struction, the secretary of the state historical society and two appointees of the governor; the commission to elect its officers from its own membership, these to serve without pay, but to be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred. Along with this new travelling library law an act was passed enlarging the scope of the old free public library law. California's legislature, at the last, rejected the library commission and the travelling li- brary, but passed an act which transfers the choice of trustees for the state library from the legislature to the governor, from the appoint- ment of these trustees all at one time to the selection of one every year. The new law also increases the powers and responsibilities of the library board. This, although not what was hoped for, was a long step forward, being the transfer of the appointing power from the legis- lature which means the majority in the legis- lature (in other words, the party caucus) to one man responsible directly and alone for the choice he may make. Knowing the enormous political and personal pressure put upon the chief executive of the state, I think that the one good turn of the California legislature de- serves another, namely, the creation of an ex- officio rather than an appointive library board, all the members responsible solely and directly to the people, the membership continuous, the librarian's tenure dependent upon this body and thus removed as far as possible from that bane of the state library, the meddlesome and incon- siderate interference of personal and partisan politics. I am glad to be able to illustrate my point in favor of an ex-officio board by reference to re- cent history in my own state. The library board in Iowa is probably as far removed from both personalism and partisanship as one can reasonably expect to find any body of men this side Arcadia. It is composed of the governor, the secretary of state, the state superintendent of public instruction, and the six members of the supreme court. But there has been, until re- cently, this glaring inconsistency in our state library law; while the board was held respon- sible for the library, the appointment of the li- brarian and practically the librarian's assist- ants, too was a part of the patronage of the ATLANTA CONFERENCE. governor. But our last general assembly, rightly reasoning that the appointing power should lodge with those who are held respon- sible for services rendered by the appointee, and painfully aware that the state library had been weakened by frequent changes from one personal or political appointment to another, wisely transferred the appointing power from the governor to the entire library board. In thoughtful consideration for the supposed sor- row of our governor at the loss of patronage, the legislature made the new law take effect, not immediately, but in the year 1900. But, to the surprise of many, Governor Shaw took early occasion to announce through the press that he recognized the wisdom of the change, and that, in deference to the spirit of the new law, he would waive his right to select and would ap- point any one the board might recommend. The California legislature is to be commended for enlarging the powers of the state library board, thereby serving notice on that body that henceforth much more will be expected of it than simply to register the statutory decrees of the legislature. Quitting California, let us stop long enough on our way back east to note the brave though losing fight made by the champions of library progress in Nebraska for a library commission and the travelling library. The struggle lasted until almost the last day of the session. When the unwelcome end came there was no despond- ency, but rather a firm determination to renew the contest next time, meantime to show by local object lessons in the travelling library, and by an accumulation of evidence from other states, that Nebraska cannot afford to deprive her citi- zens of the benefits of a rightly conducted free travelling library. Iowa already has the travelling library, but lacks the library commission, that everywhere present missionary force which makes the sys- tem state-wide in its beneficence and everywhere alike helpful in its operation. Our state library is easily and satisfactorily handling 70 travelling libraries of 50 books each, and a few hundred standard works for special loans, and every three months will add to the number of such libraries and such works for special use. But what are too or 200 travelling libraries, and what is a collection of 1000 or 2000 books for special use, when there are nearly 2000 post- offices and about 3600 school districts in the state? Iowa must soon decide whether to go on indefinitely buying and circulating travelling libraries, thus encouraging communities to look to the state for their reading, or to create a library commission, and through that commis- sion plant and transplant libraries, grafting its strength into the weakness of local effort, and so making the weak strong and ultimately self- supporting and self-sufficient. Our state library association, strongly backed by the Iowa Fed- eration of Women's Clubs and other organiza- tions, will unitedly urge upon the next general assembly the alternative of the library commis- sion as more American, more conducive to high- grade citizenship ; and all are agreed in that the state library shall be represented on the commission, and that a large part of the work of the commission, including the work devolv- ing upon the secretary, can be safely entrusted to women. On the Minnesota law I have two criticisms to offer. In the first place, it declares that the commission's chosen officers shall serve without pay. Now, it will be impossible to place a li- brary commission upon a working basis that will satisfy the demands of the people without making provision for the entire time and best services of at least one person of recognized official position on the board. Again, in the personnel of the commission the law doubly recognizes the chief executive, giving him two appointments ; it also recognizes the office of the state superintendent, that of the state uni- versity president, and that of the secretary of the state historical society, but, strangely enough, it wholly ignores the one office which should be and is, in all the other travelling library states, in close and sympathetic touch with the new library movement. And by the provision that the commission shall elect officers from its own membership, it prevents the state librarian from even serving as the commission's secretary. The Indiana law is better in this respect. By naming the state librarian as secretary of the commission the travelling library is sure of the services of one organizing mind, presumably imbued with the missionary spirit and directly in touch with the library movement of the time. In my judgment the real organizing mind upon which the commission must depend for its ex- ecutive force should have had a voice and vote BRIGHAM. in the commission, and should have been the dc jure, as he must necessarily be the de facto, executive head of the commission. But so long as the ancient fiction remains prevalent in our official world, which gives toaboard of eminently respectable do-nothings all the honor, if there be any, letting its secretary do all the work and draw all the pay and the opprobrium, if there be any, I should not inveigh against the Indiana law, for, faulty as it seems tome in this respect, the new commission will be in good hands, and the law cannot fail to do great good. The Maine law, making the state librarian secretary of the commission and yet giving him full membership in that body, is better still, and yet I cannot forbear to speak of one inconsist- ency in the make-up of the commission which it creates. By arbitrarily making one of its five members secretary, it deprives that one member of eligibility to the presidency of the commission, though, for reasons already given, he should be the one best fitted to serve as its executive head. A few words, in passing, on that feature of the Maine law which permits- the state libra- rian to loan any books in the state library ex- cept reference books and document sets. My one criticism on this feature would be that the Maine legislature, having trusted the state li- brarian thus far, might well have gone a step farther and left to that official's discretion this whole matter of loaning books from the state library. Let me recall a recent experience. A request came to me by mail for two volumes of a document set a set of great value, but one rarely in use in the library. I knew the would- be borrower and sympathized with his pur- pose to prepare a paper for a club composed chiefly of university professors. Forbidden by statute to loan the books direct, I borrowed them myself, and expressed them to him. Ten days thereafter the books were back in their places and nobody had been the loser by the slight fracture which the law had sustained, and at least a score of thoughtful and scholarly men had become the wiser thereby, somewhat better fitted to meet the question under consid- eration. Another instance not so easily passed upon. A few days ago a man called upon me wanting to borrow several works on Lafayette. He was surprised and grieved when I said I could not loan him the books, and he remarked that he had recently borrowed valuable works from the New York State Library and from the library of Harvard University, and that with- out giving security of any sort save a line of commendation from a friend, a man of assured position in our community. All that I had dared to hope for on entering upon my duties as state librarian was permission to loan books at my discretion to parties living within the limits of the state. But here came a report of a loan outside the state, and without security of any sort except the uncertain security one has in a general letter of commendation! Is it safe, is it wise to let books go out of the state library, and even outside the limits of the state? My answer would be yes throwing the entire responsibility upon the librarian. It is ever the highest wisdom to be generous "but, "as Mr. Brooke in " Middlemarch " was wont to sagely remark, "only to a certain ex- tent, of course." The extent to which one may carry the loaning of books not duplicated in the library should, as it seems to me, be made the individual problem of the state librarian in the solution of which he should give the state the benefit of a reasonable doubt. The state librarian who is really interested in his work, and who really appreciates his op- portunities for public service, must see before him a vast missionary field. That field is await- ing not yet the harvest, but, in most states first the breaking, then the grading, then the sowing, then the cultivating, and after that the harvest. The state librarian who sees in the duties and opportunities of his position only an endless chain of detail work of buying, and check- ing, and accessioning, and cataloging, and shelving, and finding, and replenishing, and so on round and round from year to year is only a modern exemplification of the watch-dog the- ory of the mediaeval librarian, and is as far be- hind the spirit of the new library movement as the isth century was behind the iQth. I would not underestimate the value of the detail work to which reference has been made. Little as I have been privileged to know of library school training, I gladly bear testimony to the supreme necessity of it as an equipment for the handling of the large library and to the desirableness of it in the handling of the small library. But the state librarian who regards these necessary means as the "be all and end 8 4 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. all " of library work is evidently in need of an eye-opener, and a heart-opener as well. The librarian's field is not confined within four walls, however spacious the enclosure. It is, rather, the world a world of ever-re- curring wants of the mind wants which books alone can supply; a world of men and women with noble cravings for universals, but, alas! with strong counter-cravings for non-essentials; dreamers of dreams and seers of visions, yet strangely tied down to time-killing occupations and time-serving habits of thought and life. As we recall the throngs that visit our state libraries, the refreshment and help which many thousands there seek and surely find, we cannot deem it presumptuous to claim for the state librarian's work some measure of the glory of this age some measure of confidence in the future of the state library as an institu- tion planned to benefit and bless. We cannot well be otherwise than strenuous in our insistence that the state that has erected the most capacious and magnificent library building, or set apart and furnished the most palatial apartment in its capitol, and filled its shelves with the choicest literature of all the ages, has but laid broad and deep the founda- tions for the ' ' more stately mansions" which aoth century civilization will have a right to expect. What is the least that aoth century civiliza- tion will have a right to expect of the state ? That it go on buying books ? Yes, always. That it enlarge its appropriations for the pur- chase of books and for library work ? Yes. That it approximate more closely toward per- fection in the essential work of classifying and cataloging ? Yes. That it fill our places with others, better fitted by nature and educa- tion, to do the work we are now doing? Yes, but not too suddenly! The mission of the state library, so well begun in some states, so haltingly begun in others, will not have even neared its consumma- tion till there is established between the hum- blest and remotest citizen and the state a relation by which, with the minimum of friction, expense, and delay, the citizen may avail him- self of so much of that soul-nourishment and mind-medicine as he may crave. The state must not let the popular demand for libraries die out for want of sustenance. It must not let the travelling library movement fritter away in vain though well-meaning at- tempts on the part of clubs to perform educa- tional functions which properly belong to the state. We must show the partially convinced majority in the travelling library states, and the sceptical majority in the other states, that the maintenance of the connection, desired by some and already established by others, be- tween the state and the individual scholar and reader and seeker after knowledge is as much a part of the duty of the state toward its citi- zens as is the maintenance of the relation which has long been sustained between the state and the common schools. In all our plans for the more intimate rela- tion between the individual reader and the state we should regard the state library as the storm-centre of library activities. And finally, in the future we must not draw back from our pioneer work for the library cause the cause of humanity though all the old- time missiles of conservatism should be hurled at us at once. I am uttering only a truism when I declare that every step of progress and reform has been made in the face of volleys of epithets, the most effective of which are "pa- ternalism," "socialism," and the like. We pioneers in this library movement have had rather less than our share of opposition! Now, while the foes of progress are diverted to other fields of activity, let us push as fast and far toward the front of our purpose as our com- missariat will warrant ; and so long as we can keep going, and can hold the ground we gain, let us not complain if now and then we find our rations short, or not exactly to our taste. HENRY. THE STATE LIBRARY IN ITS MISSION OF COLLECTION, DISTRIBUTION AND EXCHANGE. BY W. E. HENRY, State Librarian of Indiana. INHERE has been a growing and laudable zeal in library work within the last ten years which, I presume, has not been equalled at any other time in library history, and there has followed an improvement in library man- agement and methods certainly not surpassed in any other line of professional work. Every sort of library has been improved and made more useful except the old church, or what might better be called the cathedral li- brary, and next to the cathedral library in com- pletely escaping the new life and zeal stands the state library. One has escaped because of the dead conservatism it represents, and the other has almost entirely escaped the power of {he resurrection because of the withering and blight- ing influence of partisan politics, which is the bane of every institution which is supposed to represent culture or merit. However, the state library has not wholly escaped the new life, for a few state librarians do read and fewer still do think, and in some rare instances real librarians have been placed in state libraries, and I believe it fair to say that the tendency is growing, however slowly and unsteadily. But this new zeal for good library work, as it has reached from the .general body toward the state library, has failed to distinguish and to recognize what seems to me a vital distinc- tion between the general public library and the state library. I do not wish to imply here that the state library cannot accept and use new methods and new devices in library work; I do not wish to imply that the state library cannot use well-trained librarians ; I do not wish to even suggest that a state library cannot associate with and improve by experience of other libraries. On the contrary, these are the elements in our hope of salvation. But I do wish to state positively that I believe the state library as such has a distinctive function not possessed by any other library and not understood even by many able and zealous librarians. The public library is a public but a local institution, and every person, because of the proximity of his residence to that library, becomes a part owner of the library and has a right to be heard on all questions touching its manage- ment. The state library is distinctly not only a state institution in the sense that the uni- versity or the normal school or the school for the blind is a state institution, but beyond that it is a state office, and by this I mean to say that it is one of the administrative offices of the state. The state library is for the state as such as distinctively, though not so prominently, as is the office of secretary of state, auditor, or court reporter. The essential mission of the state library is to serve the state as an institu- tion, and there is no more reason for the state library becoming a popular institution than there is for the state treasury becoming a popular institution, and there is no more reason for the citizen expecting library help from the state library other than as reference than there is for his borrowing money from the state treas- ury when his corn or cotton fails. The state library must preserve the written records of the state and all things directly and vitally relating to the interests of the state as such, just as the treasury and the auditor's office must preserve the financial interests of the state as such. The institutional interest of the public library is a minimum interest if it exists in any degree whatever. The public library, while socialistic as a possession of the city, county, or township, is in its primary purpose for the individual as such and not to serve the political organization. The chief end of the public library is to serve the people individually, the chief end of the state library is to serve the state as an institu- tion. One by its nature becomes a reference library in matters of state and the other be- comes a circulating library of popular interest on miscellaneous matters. If my distinction is a true one, and I believe it to be so, then there is a line of demarkation which has not been fully recognized, and unless it shall be recog- nized and some present tendencies checked our state libraries must lose their distinctive feat- ures and encroach upon ground not their own, and, while failing in their distinctive mission, 86 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. they must even more signally fail in their efforts to assume a popular duty. A popular interest within a state may be conducted from a central state office and should be, as is our public and popular education, but it is not the duty of the state to minister to the individual as such, and when the state attempts to reach and satisfy the personal wants of its individual citizens it is reaching beyond the province of the state and is attempting an end, which not only by its nature but by its extent can never be accomplished. The state can serve but poorly, if it all, a popular interest by direct and immediate ministration. For the state to furnish its citizens directly with books of enter- tainment is not wholly unlike furnishing them with theatre tickets, and, in fact, the parallel may be so close that to trace it further is dangerous. Socialism and paternalism doubt- less have a truth to teach, but I am not ready to believe it is the whole and only truth. The state library must not become a lending library if it has a state mission. If it has not it is a useless expenditure of state funds and should be cut off the appropriation list. If my conclusions are true as to the distinc- tion between the state and circulating libraries, and if my general statement is true as to the mission of the state library, then I must follow up for this particular occasion some of the spe- cific duties of the state library, especially in the lines of collection, distribution, and exchange of state publications. I wish to use the word state in its largest significance, not restricting it to one of our own political organizations, but to extend the term to all governments which publish their own records. In my judgment it is the first duty of each slate library to collect and preserve more than one copy of every report, document, bulletin, or other publication of whatever sort printed wholly or in part at the expense of the state. This seems so simple and so much a matter of course and so clearly the duty of the state li- brary that it need not be mentioned, but, on the contrary, I have reason to believe there are many state libraries that do not even do this. I am sure there is not a complete set of the publications for even last year in the Indiana State Library, and I have made the greatest possible effort to collect such, but there was no law demanding a deposit anywhere of these publications. However, I succeeded in having a bill become a law by the last legislature which demands that the printing authorities deliver to the state library 150 copies of each publication of whatever sort, size, or subject for preservation, distribution, or exchange, and the present administration will spend a portion of its time and energy seeing that this law is enforced to its strictest letter. These 150 complete sets of our publications will enable us to preserve, distribute, and ex- change quite as fully as is desirable. Our new law also provides that the librarian shall dis- tribute at least once a year complete sets of every publication then on hand and undistributed. I use our own case to illustrate my theory of preparation for this work. It is first the busi- ness of the state library to collect every publi- cation printed wholly or in part at the expense of the state. What is the state's duty in exchange ? It should be the ambition in each state library to possess not only its own documents, but equally complete sets from all other states of our Union at least, and then as many foreign states as can be well arranged for and cared for when re- ceived. There are two laws, either of which may be the guide in state exchange; one is the Golden Rule, and the other I shall for convenience designate as the Wooden Rule, because it may be broken on occasion. Whether it is the mis- sion of the state to be altruistic or not I shall not attempt to say. Shall we distribute to those states which do not for any reason or no reason send their publications to us, or shall it be ex- change or nothing ? Shall I withhold from West Virginia and Georgia because they with- hold from Indiana ? Shall I follow the Golden Rule, precious and never to be broken, and send to these states regardless of how they treat Indiana, or shall we adopt the Wooden Rule which may be broken, and when Mary- land withholds from Michigan let Michigan with her excellent set of publications retaliate ? The Golden Rule is excellent morals regard- less of the number who practice it, but, as a matter of business, it is not good unless all con- cerned in the transactions shall obey it. At pre'sent we follow the Golden Rule. I am not sure that we shall continue it as a permanent policy. For the next two years at least each state in the Union will receive a full set of our publications prepaid. HENRY. Distribution, not exchange, is, in my judg- ment, quite as important as the exchange alone. By distribution, not exchange, I refer to the practice, or lack of it, of each state government sending to all possible depositories within the state where state publications can be deposited and made useful to the citizens of the state. These depositories may in some degiee vary both as to number and nature in the several states. I can again illustrate by my own state. We send sets of our publications to each public library within the state, to each college and normal school library, and to each commis- sioned high school in the state, and the legisla- tive publications to each county clerk within the state. Is it the duty of the state to place its publi- cations easily accessible to the greatest possible number of citizens ? Indiana says yes. Re- stating my general doctrines briefly, then, I would say it is the especial duty of every state library to have properly arranged upon its shelves a complete set of its own publications, and, if this matter has been so neglected up to the present time that a complete set cannot be had, its neglect should stop with this minute, and from this day on a complete set of state publications should be collected and shelved. Not only should each state have a complete set of its own publications, but it should so dis- tribute to other states that each state shall have a complete set of all the states, and, further, it is the duty of each state library to distribute within the state so generally that as nearly as possible every citizen of the state may have ac- cess to all state publications. Our recent move- ments in education toward social and economic studies demand these books in all parts of the state. Every college, normal and high school, as well as the more progressive citizens, should have access to all these things. Is it so ? Should it be so ? Can it be made so ? In every state in the Union this ought to be in the hands of the state librarian, if he is a librarian, and if he is not then he should be removed from his false position before the people. A state is entitled to a librarian. It is not the business of the secretary of state to collect and distribute the state's books, else the state needs no librarian. In few states, if any, are these matters well managed where they are under the control of any person other than the librarian; in many not even then. REPORT ON STATE DOCUMENTS. But the object of the committee represented by me on this occasion is to discover and exhibit the conditions, distribution and exchanges of the state publications in the several states, hoping that we might discover as fully as pos- sible all the facts, and still more strongly hoping that we might make such a revelation of facts that this might be at least the beginning of greater interest in these matters and a more intelligent management of them. I have thus prefaced the statistical portion of the report with my own views as to the mission of the state library as such that we might have some ground that should be made the basis of discussion. In speaking of the state library as such I have not attempted to state its complete mis- sion. I have only attempted one, but in my judgment its chief mission. Defects in Results. I have long known that it is easy to ask a question that some few persons can interpret, but I am becoming more and more convinced day by day that it is quite impossible to ask a question that no one can misconstrue. The questions themselves, after careful thought, and after having been submitted to several persons for criticism, have defects. I should have excluded by my questions any possible way of including session laws and court reports in the replies, but my object was to find with regard to other state publications that have no legal force behind them. This defect has rendered unauthoritative two re- sults : first, the number of states sending ex- changes; and second, the number of states from which states are receiving exchanges. I believe it fair to say there were many more defects in the replies than there were in the questions. 1. There were eight states and territories that absolutely refused to reply even after I had made three distinct and separate requests for information. There is no excuse for such conditions if libraries are conducted as they should be conducted. 2. Many librarians who answered at the ques- tions left a large proportion with no attempt at reply. Such are indicated by in the table where the answer should appear. 3. Many replies were by such references to in- formation as I could not take time to hunt down, 88 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. 4. Many attempted reply with almost no in- formation, and they seem to have given what they gave without attempt to post themselves; therefore I know some replies to be wrong and many incomplete. This defect does not apply to a considerable proportion of the libraries addressed. Enough for defects. The large majority of persons addressed replied promptly, fully, and intelligently, and are entitled to the most sin- cere thanks and obligations of the members of the committee which I have the honor to repre- sent; and, as spokesman of that committee, I hereby extend to all librarians, whose kindly efforts assisted us in collecting what I hope and believe will be valuable information, the sin- cere regards of this committee. The good, however, to come from this in- vestigatation and report must depend on others than the committee. We must hope it will give energy and added intelligence and effort to the subject of collection, exchange and dis- tribution of state publications not before prac- ticed, and if this effort shall add to the efforts and successes in a single state which shall re- sult in better collection, exchange and distri- bution of its own publication, the effort has been amply repaid. REPORT UPON PUBLICATION, CONDITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF STATE PUBLICATIONS. PUBLICATION AND CONDITION OF HOUSE AND SENATE JOURNALS. STATE. Journals are printed from what year? Bound as one or separate ? Are journals indexed ? Indexed. By whom ? Is indexing well done F Does name of state appear in back title ? Ala 1818 1818-1868 asone. 1869 as two. Yes Clerks of H.&S... Yes No. Ark Cal 1849-64 annual- ly, 1866 bien- nially. 1864 Separate Sometimes as one. Sep. Separate Separate Yes Yes Supt. of State Print- ing. Sec. of State Clerks of H. & S. Yes Yes No... No. Yes. No. Early ones no, present yet. Col Ct Del H. 1837-8. 1840. Some years . . . Yes.... Clerks of H. & S. . . No Fla... Ga 1804 Separate Yes No Clerks appointed for this purpose. Generally No. No. Yes. Seldom. Idaho First 15 sessions of ter. except 5th state, 1891. 1818 1816 Ill Ind I T Sep., except in extra sessions. Separate Doc. and Index de- partment. Cferksof H.&S. .. Notfullenough. No Since 1833 la Kan Ky 1838 1855 Separate Separate Separate Yes. . . Yes Yes Sec. of State Yes ... Yes. Yes. No. Sec. of State Clerks of H. & S. . . Yes No Me 1854, except 1861, '62, '63. 1728 Separate Early as one. Later Sep. Separate Separate Separate Separate Separate Yes Yes Clerks of H. & S. . . No No. No. No. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. No. Since 1891. Yes. Yes. No. Md Yes Mass H. since 1864, S. since 1868. Council J., 1824 -34, H. & S. ~ l8 35- Ter. 1849-57, state 1857. 1817..... Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes... Clerks of H. & S. . . Clerks of H.&S. .. Fair. Yes Mich Minn Printing expert .... Clerks of H. &S... Yes Yes; in recent years. Miss Mo Mont Neb Nev N.H N.J 1820 1864 1855 t864 1784 Separate Separate Separate Together at present ; sev- eral changes have occurred Separate Yes Yes Yes Yes Sec. of State . . Clerks of H.&S... Fair Fair Sec. of State Clerks of H.&S... Clerks of H.&S... Yes No Sometimes Yes, since 1842. HENR Y. 89 PUBLICATION AND CONDITION OF HOUSE AND SENATE JOURNALS. Continued. STATE. Journals are printed from what years? Bound as one or separate ? Are journals indexed ? Indexed. By whom ? Is indexing well done 1 Does name of state appear in back title ? N M N Y Separate Yes... Clerks of H.&S... Printer and binder. No... Yes No. Yes. N. C N D 1800 As one to 1869 Yes sep. since. O O. T 1803 separate Separate Separate Separate Later ones are. Yes Yes... Yes Clerks of H. &S... Clerk and commit- tee for that pur- pose. Sec. of State Appointments b y clerks of H.&S.. No... Yes No. Yes. No. Yes. Or... Complete ...... Fair . . , No Pa 1682-1700 Min. of Province, XT I79 - R. I s c !8i8 Early as one, sep. now. Yes Clerk of H.&S.... Yes No. S D Tenn All years Complete From the first.. 1836, earlier rec. in 8 vol. 1740 Early fifties From first to 1 873 annually, since 1873 bi- ennially. 1836 1895 Separate Separate Separate Separate Separate Separate Separate Separate Yes .. Yes Will be from present ses- sion. Yes Yes... Yes Yes Yes No Clerks of H.&S... Sec. of State Fair Not always Recent ones do. Generally. Yes. Yes. No. Tex Utah Vt Clerks of H.&S... Clerks of H.&S ... Clerk of H. &S... Fair Fair Fair Va Wash W. Va Clerks of H.&S... Clerks of H.&S... Fair Fair No. From 1885. Yes. Wis Wyo Eight states and territories not heard from, after sending three inquiry sheets. All publish ex- cept R. I. All separate now, except N. H.; six have at times combined. Indexed now in all states ex- cept Idaho. Indexing done by: Clerks of H.&S., 21; Printer, 3 ; Sec. of State, 8; Special appoin- tees, 2. Well done? Yes, 1 1 ; No, 9; Fair, 13. Name of state in title, No, 18; Yes, 18. PUBLICATION AND CONDITION OF DOCUMENTS. STATE. Department of- ficial reports bound. Are documents continuously paged ? Is there a gen- eral index ? Does name of state appear in back title? Do documents include all re- ports ? Are contents of documents fixed by law ? Ala 1869 No No No Yes No. Ark Cal 1849-64 annual- ly, 1866 bien- nially. No No No Yes No. Col... Ct Dei 1850 No No No Yes Fla Ga Idaho I?"...: No.. No No Yes No. Ill Ind I. T... 1838 1836 No A few of the earlier. No No Yes No No... No Yes. No. la Kan SE:::: '854 1861 1839 No... No No No... No No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes. Yes. Yes. Me Md Mass Mich '833 1825 1857 1842 No... No No No No .. No No No No No No No Yes... Yes Yes No Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 9 o ATLANTA CONFERENCE. PUBLICATION AND CONDITION OF DOCUMENTS. Continued. STATE. Department of- ficial reports bound. Are documents continuously paged ? Is there a gen- eral index ? Does name of state appear in back title ? Do documents include all re- ports ? Are contents of documents fixed by law ? Minn Yes... For each vol . . . No Yes Yes Yes... Yes Yes. Miss Mo 1870 No Mont Neb 1871, only for our own li- brary. 1864 1859, generally. '839 Nev N. H No No No No No No. . Yes ... Yes No Yes Yes No Yes. Yes. No. N. J N.M N. Y N.C 1830 No No No No No No Yes. . . Yes No. No. N.D O O.T 1836 Yes No No No Yes. Or... Recent years. . . No .. No No... No No... Yes Yes Only dep't re- ports. NoT Yes Yes.' No. Yes. Pa R. I. . S.C S.D 75 1813 No... Yes No No Yes No Tenn Tex Utah Vt Va Wash... 1852 1884 1897 1863 1870 After 1895 Yes No No No Yes No No No No Recent ones do .... Generally Yes.... Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes. No. No. No."" W. Va Wis Wyo 1872 No No No... No No Since 1866 Yes Yes Yes. Yes. Documents bound under some name : Yes, 28; No, 6. Continuously paged: Yes, 5; No, 23. One general in- dex: Yes, i; No, 28. Name of state in back title: Yes, 14; No, 16. Do documents include all re- ports? Yes, 20; No, 8. Contents fixed by law ? Yes, 17; No, ii. EXCHANGE AND DISTRIBUTION OF STATE PUBLICATIONS. STATE. Do you ex- change with other states ? Do you send in exchange all you print ? What state offi- cer sends and receives ex- changes ? From how many states do you re- ceive fairly full exchange ? To whom do you distribute in your state? Do you shelve and make acces- sible these ex- changes ? Ala Codes and re- ports. Sec. of State & State Libra- rian. Sec. of State does that. Yes. Ariz. . . Ark.... Cal Col Ct Yes Yes No provision by law. Only laws and court reports. No All we have ac- cess to. Sec. of State. . . 45 State and Co. offi- cers, State Insti- tutions, Libs, on application. State Institutions and Libraries. Libraries and Hist. Soc. Hist. Soc., Law Li- brary, Del. Col- lege. Yes. Yes. Del All accessible.. Bach officer his own. Yes. Fla... Ga No provisions of law. Only laws and reports. Laws and re- ports. Yes: No State Librarian. Bach officer his own. State officers and courts. No. Will do so soon. Yes. Yes. Idaho Each dep't as it likes. No. . . . Ill Officers and Libra- ries. Officers, Institu- tions, and Libra- ries. Ind I.T... Yes State Librarian. la Kan Yes Yes Yes Yes Sec. of State... State Librarian. 6 Officers and Institu- tions. Members of Legis- lature. Yes. Yes. HENRY. EXCHANGE AND DISTRIBUTION OK STATE PUBLICATIONS. Continued. STATE. Do you ex- change with other states ? Do you send in exchange all your print ? What state offi cer sends and receives ex- changes ? From how many states do you re ceive fairly ful exchange ? To whom do you distribute in your state ? Do you shelve and make acces- sible these ex- changes ? Ky Yes Yes State Librarian Yes. Me Md Mass Mich.... Minn Miss Mo Yes Yes Yes Yes... Yes Yes Laws and court reports. We reciprocate. Yes... Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ... Yes Yes Each dep't as it chooses. Yes State Librarian State Librarian Sec. of State... Officers, Institu- tions, Libraries. To any one on application. Officers and Libra- ries. Associate Libraries Officers and Insti- tutions. Officers of State and Co. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No room. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 47 State Librarian State Librarian. 47 Sec. of State... Sec. of State. 47 Mont State Librarian. State Librarian. Sec. of State... State Librarian. State Librarian. State Schools and the press. Libraries Neb Nev N.H N.J N. M . . . Yes... Yes Yes, generally. No 21 47 State and Co. offi- cers. Towns, Libraries and officers. Officers and Col- leges. 47 N.Y N C Yes Laws and court reports. No No State Librarian. Sec. of State.. . 38 Officers and Col- leges. Colleges having lib. of more than 5000 vols. Yes. No. 28 N. D... O O.T Or ... Yes Yes *Jo provision by law. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes State Librarian. Ter. Librarian. Sec. of State . . . State Librarian. Sec. of State. . . Libraries on r e - quest. State and Co. offi- cers. All Educational In- Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 33 47 18 Pa R.I s c Yes Yes Yes stitutions. Colleges and Libra- ries. Officers and Libra- ries. Officers and Col- leges. State Librarian. S. D Tenn Tex Yes Discretion o f Sec. of State. Yes Yes Yes Laws and court reports. >aws and court reports. We reciprocate. On request As the law di- State Librarian. Sec. of State 48 State and Co. offi. cers. Officers and Institu- tions. Officers and Institu- tions. Colleges and Libra- ries. Colleges Officers Yes. Yes. rects. No Utah Vt... Va Wash Yes Yes Yes No. Sec. of State. . . State Librarian. Sec. of State... Sec. of State. . . State Librarian, Sec. of State State Librarian. Sec of State Yes. Some yes, some no. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 47 47 W. Va Officers and Institu- tions. Officers, Institu- tions and Libra- ries. Officers and Institu- tions. Wis Yes Wyo... On request Do you e x - change with states? Laws and court re- ports, 7; Jour- nals also, 25; Reciprocate, 2; On request, i ; Discretion of Sec., 4. Exchange a 1 1 printed mat- ter ? Yes, 24; No, 12. What officer ex- changes? Sec. State, i 9 ; State Lib'n., 2i;Eachd'pt., 2. All, 18; Rest ranging from 3 to 30. Officers, all; Libra- ries, 15; Colleges, 5- Are these e x - changes shelved and made useful ? Yes, 35; No, 4. W. E. HENRY, Indiana State Library. COMMITTEE : \ C. B. GALBRKATH, Ohio State Library. ARTHUR H. CHASE, New Hampshire State Library. ATLANTA CONFERENCE REPORT OF THE CO-OPERATION COMMITTEE. BY THOMAS L. MONTGOMERY, Chairman, Wagner Institute, Philadelphia. ' I"HE report of the Co-operation Committee differs very radically from that of former years in that it is but a preface to a number of papers on co-operative work. At the meeting of the executive board of the A. L. A. held at Harvard College on Nov. 25, it was decided to have a whole session of this conference given up to the presentation and discussion of the co-operative work of the past year. From a number of letters received through Mr. Andrews, who was last year the chairman of this committee, it was thought that a good many co-operative measures had been undertaken in the west and in the central states, which mi'^ht be made known to the whole profession by means of special papers in a session of this kind. In this the committee was disappointed, and the few replies received in answer to 53 letters presented the most meagre details. The committee have, how- ever, secured a number of papers which promise a most interesting session, the leaders of the discussions in each instance being practical workers in the departments of which they speak. It only remains for the committee to touch incidentally on the co-operative work that has come to its attention during the past year concerning which no special papers will be presented. In California Mr. George T. Clark states that a bibliography of works relating to California is being prepared through the industry and en- thusiasm of one of the members of the Cali- fornia Library Club, and 5000 titles have already been reported upon. In Massachusetts the Library Art Club, of which Miss Sargent is the secretary, is accom- plishing much for the smaller libraries. In Maine, Mr. George T. Little reports that the librarians are trying to arrange a co-opera- tive list of expensive books and serial publica- tions in order that these may be made available to the libraries of the state which might thereby be saved the continual borrowing from the Bos- ton Public Library and from Harvard. The plan looks to the prevention of the duplication of such sets as the Transactions of the Royal Society and the seeing that each librarian is in- formed of what the other is buying in the way of works of reference. In Bay City, Michi- gan, Mrs. MacDonnell reports that the libra- rians are working for the passage of a bill to promote the establishment and efficiency of pub- lic libraries. Mr. Utley, of Detroit, Mr. Hill, of Newark, Miss Countryman, of Minneapolis, and Mr. Chase, of Concord, N. H., report that no co- operative measures have been forwarded in those sections during the year. Mr. Whitaker, of the University of Colorado, writes that the Colorado Library Association has been planning a union list of periodicals, but that it has not as yet materialized. A circular has been received from Miss Board- man, of the state library at Columbus, O., en- titled " The Library Extension Committee, Ohio Library Commission," which contains a number of questions, the answers to which will enable the Ohio Library Association to keep exact statistics of all libraries in the state. Mrs. Fairchild, of the New \ ork State Library School, reports that the school is working in co-operation with two committees of the Amer- ican Historical Association, first with the Com- mittee on the Teaching of History in Secondary Schools and Colleges. Mr. Wyer, of the class of 1898, at the request of this committee, com- piled a bibliography on the subject. The re- port and bibliography is to be published by Macmillan. A similar piece of work has been begun for the Committee on History of Colo- nies and Dependencies, the chairman of the committee being Henry E. Bourne, of Adelbert College. Three members of the class of 1900, Miss Haines, Miss Saxon and Miss Mudge, will do the work. The school will also co- operate with the A. L. A. Publishing Section in indexing some of the sets by which the section proposes to extend its work. A very interesting leaflet has reached the committee, describing some correspondence with regard to the Library Division of the Seaboard Air Line. The first president of the board. Mr. St. John, has gathered together 10 travelling libraries, each containing 100 or more books, which are moved from point to point and placed MONTGOMERY. 93 in charge of an assistant industrial agent of the company. Mr. Andrew Carnegie made it pos- sible to mention this in a report of the commit- tee on co-operation, by contributing $1000, to be used in extending the work. Mrs. Heard, of Middleton, Ga. , who has charge of the libraries, is given full credit for their successful operation. In looking up the word "co-operation," to find out what might be expected of the com- mittee, the chairman found that " co-operation " in industry means "the equitable distribution of all gain among those who earn it." While this definition might apply to those who have been reaping fortunes in connection with the Publishing Section and to the bank accounts fattened by " Poole's index," we felt that it had its limitations when applied to other schemes of work. Herbert Spencer prefers to use the word in its widest sense as signifying the combining activity of citizens under whatever system of regulation. We would prefer, however, to de- scribe co-operation, when referring to library matters, as an active interest felt in any scheme of work by an individual, with the power to im- part his or her enthusiasm to others. Under this latter definition, it would seem that the name of Miss Wallace should be mentioned first in the extension of co-operative work in the South during the past year. The co-operative work which the University of Illinois State Library School has done since its foundation has been in connection with the following interests : Chicago Children's Aid Society, Central Art Association, Northwestern University Settlement, Chicago University Set- tlement, Helen Heath Settlement, Aloha Club, Chicago Commons, all these being within Chi- cago; Illinois State Library Association, Illinois State Teachers' Association, Urbana Public Li- brary, and Travelling libraries*. The work with each may be briefly outlined: Chicago Children' s Aid Society . The home li- brary work, started by this society in 1893, was in 1894 taken over by students of the library school. Groups of children were formed in the worst parts of Chicago, on the South Side, the West Side, and the North Side. Library stu- dents solicited books and money, and gave their time as visitors. The work flourished up to the time that the school moved from Chicago. The Chicago Library Club has since taken charge of the home libraries, centring them at * Abstract. the Chicago Normal School, where they are under the supervision of Miss Irene Warren, a graduate of the library school, and where they can enlist the normal school students as visitors. Central Art Association. The association, which is formed "to promote and disperse a knowledge of art among the people," works with the children's home libraries through its secretary, who meets and explains to different groups of children the making of casts and of newspaper illustrations, and shows them paint- ings by good artists. The Northwestern University Settlement, the Chicago University Settlement, the Helen Heath Settlement, the Aloha Club of working girls, and the Chicago Commons each asked the help of the library school in arranging and caring for their books. The students willingly gave their time, and organized in each instance a li- brary of several hundred volumes, and retained partial supervision of it afterward. Illinois State Library Association, The school has aided in and conducted the work of the "bureau of information " started by the associa- tion in 1896, and it has been charged with the compilation of statistics on libraries in the state collected by the association and its members, according to the plan adopted in 1897, and its share of this work will be ready in June Illinois State Teachers' Association. In con- nection with a supervisory committee appointed by this association, one of the library students is preparing a library manual for the use of the teachers in the high school and the grades, which is to include chapters on different classes of reference books and chapters on the care of books and periodicals in the schools. Urbana Public Library. The seniors in the library school have served during this year under the authorization of the board of trustees of the Urbana Public Library in opening the library from 3 to 6 each afternoon during 10 months of the year. The library had been open only from 6 to 9, and the library funds forbade engaging extra help for extra hours, so the trustees gladly accepted the offer under con- ditions which would protect their readers from too frequent changes at the loan desk. Travelling libraries. In February, 1899, the students of the library school contributed money to buy a library of 50-60 volumes to begin circulating in Champaign county, and through their example the Champaign Social 94 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. Science Club was led to contribute Travelling library no. 2 for the same county. As the Illi- nois legislature has again failed to pass a bill for a library commission and travelling libra- ries, the school will continue its active interest in the matter by trying to secure more collec- tions of books for exchange. It has now se- cured the co-operation of the Illinois Agricul- tural Experiment Station for a vigorous cam- paign. The director of the station has prom- ised to speak of travelling libraries at every farmer's institute in the state, and to solicit books and money from associations and indi- viduals. Mr. Henry, the state librarian of Indiana, proposes a plan for utilizing the books now wasted as duplicates. It goes a step further than any clearing-house scheme hitherto under- taken in that it includes annual reports and pamphlets as well as books. (See L. J. , 23:576.) Mr. Henry states that the library is not wholly unselfish in this effort, as it will claim the first right to satisfy its own needs from the materials sent in. At the second conference of the Societa Bib- liographica Italiana, held at Turin, Sept. 8, 1898, it was decided that a special committee should be appointed to investigate and report upon the chemical reagents that may be employed with- out damage to manuscripts. Regarding the deterioration of paper the association voted to recommend that the government regulate by law the character of the paper to be used for the public acts, for the documents to be preserved in the archives, and for a given number of books which the printers are required to contribute to government libraries. The formation of a National Association of State Librarians was accomplished at Washing- ton, Nov. 16, 1898, at a meeting at which 10 states were represented. Most of the time of the conference was given up to discussions of questions relating to the more perfect organiza- tion of state legislative documents and the more complete distribution to all states of all publi- cations issued by each state. The organization is in no way opposed to the A. L. A. Mr. James Warrington, of Philadelphia, has started a list of works on psalmody. This he proposes to make the foundation of a union list of books on that subject (See L. J., 24:178). He asks that librarians report to him any titles not on his list and any other bibliographical in- formation or correction, and proposes to pub- lish the revised list from time to time at his own expense. It was the intention of the Free Library of Philadelphia a year or two since to prepare a dictionary of historical fiction, but it having been announced that Mrs. Zella A. Dixson was preparing such a work, the matter was not pressed. It seems that there is a large amount of ground uncovered by Mrs. Dixson's book, and in co-operation with a large number of the principals and teachers of schools of Phila- delphia, arrangements were made last year for the collection of the necessary material and ultimately for the publication of such a dic- tionary under the auspices of the board of trus- tees of the Free Library of Philadelphia. With the assent of the board, over 900 circulars in- viting co-operation have been addressed to various persons likely to be interested in the work. At the present time over 230 readers have entered upon the work as invited by that circular, upwards of noo novels have been assigned to the readers, and about 500 reports have been received, and, of course, many more are likely to be handed in almost daily. There remains, however, approximative^ the large number of 5000 volumes still to be assigned and reported on. It seems that in no work could the value of co-operation be more keenly needed than in undertaking such a task as this dictionary of historical fiction. It is a matter in which every librarian by reading five or more books could facilitate a very important work. It is a task involving little or no expenditure of time if divided amongst a large number. The real bulk of the work will fall upon the editor and the editorial committee. It is felt that the work should be cordially endorsed by the A. L. A., and that an energetic effort should be made to obtain the assistance of at least 500 more readers. In conclusion, the committee report that they have communicated with the editors of Golden Days and the Youth's Companion, as requested by the vote at the Chautauqua conference. The replies of the editors were unfavorable to any change of the present size or form of either publication. LANE. 95 REPORT OF THE A. L. A. PUBLISHING SECTION. BY WILLIAM C. LANE, Treasurer, Librarian of Harvard University. A S in previous years, the Publishing Section presents a brief statement in regard to each of its publications. The accompanying table shows for each one the excess of expendi- ture over receipts, or of receipts over expendi- ture at the beginning of the year 1898, the operations of the year, and the resulting excess of expenditure or receipts at the end of the year. Separate columns also show the number of copies of each publication sold in 1898 and the number of copies still on hand at the end of the year. A few additional words of explana- tion in regard to some of the items is all that is required. A. L. A. index. As reported last year, all the 750 copies which were printed have been sold. In reply to circulars which were dis- tributed in the autumn, asking those who al- ready owned the work whether they would prefer to receive a supplement to the original book, or a new edition including the material of the old, and sold, of course, at an increased price, the reply was so distinctly in favor of the new edition that the Publishing Section had no hesitation in asking the editor, Mr. W. I. Fletcher, to prepare a new edition rather than a mere supplement. Mr. Fletcher already has the work well in hand, and the new edition may be expected in the spring of 1900. It will proba- bly be about twice the size of the old edition. Reading for the young. A supplement to this book was issued in 1897, and had a fair sale when first published. The sales for 1898 have naturally been less, but no expenses in connec- tion with the book have been incurred, so that the net receipts have diminished the sum now invested in this publication to about $500. List of subject headings. A new edition of this List, with an appendix of tables for the arrangement of subheads under Countries and states, Cities, the Bible, Shakespeare, Lan- guages, and under the Country and Language subdivisions of the forms Literature, was issued in June. 1898. About 350 of the 500 copies printed were sold before Jan. i, and since that time it has been found necessary to print a second lot of 500 copies to supply the steady demand. Books for girls and women. It will be noticed that the sale of this book, 381 copies, considera- bly exceeds the sales of the previous 16 months, which only amounted to 277 copies. Books for boys and girls. This little hand- book, which is sold at three cents when taken in lots of 100 or more, has had a fairly good sale, so that we have had to print a third thou- sand; but we should like to see it in use in large quantities by a still greater number of libraries. Printed cards for books. 1330 titles have been cataloged during the year, about the same as the average of recent years. We intend to include all books sent to us by publishers which are in any degree suitable for public libraries. Of those received, a few considered too tech- nical are omitted ; and we also omit most of the school text-books, juvenile picture-books, and books of devotion which reach us, but in gen- eral these are not sent by publishers. English books which bear an American imprint or are regularly handled by an American house we include as well as American books, but we do not try to catalog English books which are not regularly on sale in this country. Printed cards for periodicals. The character of this work, which was begun in February, 1898, was described at some length in last year's report. Up to Dec. 31, 1898, the total number of titles cataloged was 2645, and the number of cards printed and distributed amount- ed to 168,845. The 16 subscribers to the full set, as reported last year, has now increased to 20, and all the extra sets which were printed at the beginning have been taken up. On the other hand, we have only 16 partial subscri- bers, i.e., such as take the cards for certain specified publications only. While the number of full subscribers is beyond what we had ex- pected, the number of partial subscribers is far less. On Jan. i the price of the cards was reduced from $3 to $2. 50 per hundred titles for the full subscribers, and from $4.50 to $4 per hundred for the partial subscribers. A further reduction in the latter price would pos- sibly have the effect of increasing considerably the number of these subscribers, but the labor involved in the distribution of cards to them is so much greater than in the case of the others that the price is necessarily higher. At the beginning of the year 1899 the five libraries which contribute the material for the work con- sulted in regard to dropping a few of the peri- odicals which had been found less useful or ATLANTA CONFERENCE. had been included by error, and recommended the inclusion of a number of other publi- cations, mostly those of American scientific societies and of American colleges. While the number of serials is thus increased from 184 to 236, the actual number of titles to be cataloged in the course of the year will not, it is thought, be much enlarged. The charac- ter of the list as a whole has been very much strengthened by the changes, and the special attention of partial subscribers, and of those who might become so, is invited to the addi- tional list of periodicals now included. In response to a pressing demand from sev- eral subscribers the experiment has been made, beginning with the cards sent out March 25, of printing at the bottom of the card a subject heading as a guide in classifying the titles. These headings are, for the most part, simply those which the library that catalogs the titles would use for its own catalog. As the work is done by five libraries, each with a catalog on a different system, it will be seen that consistency in the form of these headings cannot be ex- pected. They must be taken as simple sugges- tions to help the cataloger, and not as guides to be implicitly followed. As suggestions, it is hoped that they may be of sufficient value to repay the trouble of printing. As supplementary to these printed cards for current publications, the Publishing Section has recently offered to furnish cards for certain complete sets extending back over a number of years, and for books of composite authorship. Among the sets included in the first offer are the proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1875 to 1898 (the addresses of the vice-presidents only to be cataloged), the Bulletin and Memoirs of the New York State Museum from 1887 to 1898, the annual reports of the Smithsonian Institu- tion and of the U. S. National Museum from 1886 to the present day, and the annual reports of the Bureau of Ethnology from 1879 to 1895. The books of a composite character for which cards are offered are Depew's "One hundred years of American commerce," the "Liber scriptorum" of the Authors Club, the " Oxford House papers," three series, and a number of German Festschriften. For the latter, which are not likely to be found outside college libraries, we cannot expect many subscribers; but for the others, and for the scientific proceedings and reports which are in a large number of libraries, we ought to have a correspondingly large number of subscriptions. With this in view, the price has been made as low as possible, viz: $i per hundred cards. It is safe to lay that very few libraries that own these annual reports and proceedings have felt that they could catalog them in the ordinary way. It will be interesting to see if this cheaper and uniform method of cataloging meets with favor for such cases. It should be added that sub- ject headings will be printed at the bottom of the card, as is done on the cards for printed books; and, the work being done under the direct supervision of the Publishing Section, a greater degree of consistency may be expected than is possible on the cards for periodicals. New ways in which printed catalog cards can be made useful are constantly being sug- gested. The Warner Library Club some months ago asked whether the Publishing Sec- tion would prepare and print cards for the separate authors included in its " Library of the world's best literature," so that references to the articles contained in this extensive work might be placed directly in the catalogs of the libraries owning it. The Publishing Section agreed to prepare and print cards if the War- ner Club would buy the edition outright, and superintend the sale and distribution of them. One hundred sets of the cards have just been printed and delivered to the publishers of the Warner Library, and we are informed that most of them have already been subscribed for. The Massachusetts Library Club has also been discussing whether it would not be useful to issue printed catalog cards for the reports included in the Massachusetts state documents and for the special articles contained in many of them. With the co-operation of the state librarian, who agreed to pay for the expense of printing and free distribution to all the libraries in the state which received the documents, the library club undertook to provide for the cata- loging; and the cards will probably be printed for the club by the Publishing Section. The idea is to include cards both under author and subject headings for each of the regular cur- rent reports, with notes, giving the date when the report was first included in the state docu- ments and other similar items of interest. Cards will also be printed for the monographs, which appear in considerable number in some of the reports, such as those of the Board of Health and the Department of Agriculture. It is intended that from year to year new cards shall be issued and distributed for the new monographs that appear, but for the regular annual reports no new cards will be needed. The necessary subject headings will be printed at the top of the card. LANE. 97 It has recently been suggested that an index of agricultural literature, either on cards or in book form, was a desideratum; and it is pn-ba- ble that the support of a sufficient number of theological libraries and of students of theology could be secured to warrant a card index of theological periodicals, carried out in the same way as the cards now prepared for articles in other current periodical publications. If we should undertake to catalog in this way a group of theological periodicals, we might increase the value of the cards by including among them the theological articles which appear from time to time in the more general periodicals already indexed. The possible extension of printed catalog cards applied to the indexing of current litera- ture raises interesting questions in regard to the relative convenience of material printed in this form and material printed annually in book form, as in the "Annual literary index." It is evident that if the number of cards annually issued should greatly increase, the labor of as- signing subject headings to them and incorpo- rating them in the catalog of the library would in time become very burdensome, so that it would probably become necessary to apply some uniform scheme of subject headings such as that provided in the Decimal classification, in the Expansive classification, or in the scheme proposed by the Royal Society. Even with subject headings already provided the card sys- tem, if very greatly extended, would almost surely break down. Under the Royal Society's plan of indexing scientific literature, for exam- ple, 160,000 cards a year would have to be dealt with, and there are few, if any, libraries which could undertake to arrange and preserve from year to year so bulky a collection of cards as this. Further consideration of the subject need not be had in this place, but the discus- sion of the Royal Society's plans may lead to some useful modification of our present meth- ods. Annotated cards in English history. The pro- posal made last year for taking up and continuing Mr. W. Dawson Johnston's plan of issuing cat- alog cards for current books on English history, with annotations, has been carried out, Mr. Johnston selecting the titles and supplying an- notations. The 26 titles of books published in 1897 have been issued, and about 60 titles for the books of 1898 will be published in four quarterly instalments, of which two are already out. The note attempts to express concisely the contents and character of the book, its scope and value, and its relation to other au- thorities on the same subject. Reference is also made to all important reviews of the book which have appeared up to the time when the card is printed. The cards are ordinarily is- sued not less than six months after the publi- cation of the books, and it is intended that they shall form a permanently valuable record, such as will be always useful in a card catalog. Few subscriptions have been received so far, but enough to cover the expense of publication. The value of the cards is such that a large num- ber of subscriptions ought to be received as soon as it is realized how useful they may be. Of the cards for 1897 and 1898 only 100 sets have been printed, so that those libraries that wish to be sure of obtaining them should not delay in sending in their subscriptions. Supplement to the A. L. A. catalog. It was ex- pected that this Supplement would be ready for distribution early in the year, but the committee reports that it has been unavoidably delayed in its work, because it has undertaken to secure the judgment of experts in making up the lists. It is evident that the authority and value of the Supplement as a guide in the selection of books is in this way much increased, but it is unfortunate that its issue should be so long de- layed. It is another illustration of the fact that the association ought itself to have the means to employ and suitably remunerate per- sons competent to take charge and carry out work of this kind, instead of having to depend upon those who are already heavily burdened with duties which demand all their strength. Advice and direction is all that should be asked of a committee such as this, composed of active librarians. Yet some one endowed with skill and judgment must give much time to prepar- ing the material to be submitted to the experts whose advice is asked, and to putting the whole in form for the press. This work the associa- tion ought to provide for; but so far is it from being able to do this, that when the question of printing the Supplement was presented to the Publishing Section a year ago, the Section did not feel justified at that time in undertaking even so much, and the association has to thank the New York State Library for accepting the Supplement to be issued as one of its own pub- lications, and allowing us to have extra copies printed for our use. Portrait index, and other works in prepara- tion. Work on the Portrait index has gone on quietly and continuously throughout the year, with the co-operation of a number of helpers in different parts of the country. Material amounting to about 30,000 cards has been re- 9 8 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. ceived, and it is now time that some one should be regularly employed on the work of consoli- dation and revision. The assistant secretary of the Section has too many other demands upon her time to put any steady work on the Portrait index. Acting on the suggestion made by Mrs. Fair- child, the executive board appointed a com- mittee to consider the issue of a series of short library tracts dealing with elementary topics, and of a character to arouse interest among people unfamiliar with library affairs, and to give preliminary information in regard to the organization and usefulness of public libraries. The committee will report direct to the associa- tion, and it is hoped that the printing of the tracts may be begun immediately by the Pub- lishing Section. Several other publications have been sug- gested to the Section, among them a list of ref- erence books for the guidance of library students and catalogers, and an index to the more im- portant articles in the various library journals, English and American, and to other articles on library administration which have appeared in other bibliographical periodicals. Up to the present time all our publications, except the "A. L. A. index," have been handled for us by the Library Bureau, and the associa- tion is under lasting obligations to the Bureau for the pains and interest taken on our behalf. The Library Bureau, however, is not primarily a publishing house; and while it is in direct communication with the libraries of the country perhaps more completely than any other one agency, it naturally does not reach the book trade, and it is thought that many of our pub- lications might have had a larger sale if we could have come into more direct relations with the bookseller. Arrangements are therefore being made with Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. to handle our publications in the future, except such as are of purely technical interest and would be bought only by libraries and library workers, like the "List of subject headings" and the several series of printed catalog cards. It is expected, however, that the Library Bureau will continue to keep on sale all the publications of the Library Association as in the past. In accordance with votes passed by the ex- ecutive board, the trustees of the Endowment Fund, having held the interest received on ac- count of the fund until it was sufficient to cover the $1000 (the sum of the three loans which it had formerly made to the Publishing Section), plus $110.83, the amount of the interest on the same loans, cancelled the notes which they held and returned them to the Publishing Sec- tion. In other words, they appropriated $i 1 10.83 of their income to the uses of the Publishing Section, which enabled the Publishing Section to repay the loans formerly received from the Endowment Fund. In February, 1899, the trustees made a further payment from their income of $70.90 to the Publishing Section for its uses. This brief survey of the activities of the Pub- lishing Section, and of the new duties which it may be called upon to take up, make it evident that some new arrangement for the future is desirable. The work has clearly outgrown the conditions under which it is at present carried on. In January, 1899, in making a statement to the trustees of the Endowment Fund in regard to the details of our work, I said: "This rapid review of the work of the Sec- tion may serve to show how much it has de- veloped, especially during the last three years. It has worked under conditions which in some respects have greatly favored it, but are likely to hamper its further development. It has en- joyed the hospitality of the Boston Athenaeum for over two years, and so has been spared all expense for rent, light, and heat, but the space there available is strictly limited, and as the material which it handles accumulates, it must seek better accommodation elsewhere, but not without increased expenditure. An assistant secretary has been employed for two years, but from the beginning the labor of superin- tendence on the part of the secretary-treasurer has been gratuitous, and his labor now exceeds what a man with other engrossing cares can give. Greater progress might have been made, and the work of the Section been more efficient- ly conducted, if the whole time, or a large por- tion of the time of a skilful manager could have been devoted to its affairs; but such a measure has been absolutely beyond the power of the association to carry out. With the work which the Publishing Section now has before it, however, it is essential that some such arrange- ment should be made, and it is not likely that the profits to be derived from the Section's undertakings will allow of adequate expendi- ture for superintendence and for rent, because, as has been said already, the very object of the Section's existence is to take up projects which do not appeal to the publisher who con- ducts his business for profit. That some of its publications have paid expenses is due to the LANE. 99 fact that expenses have been kept down by the conditions under which we have worked and that a profit has not been asked for. " It should also be pointed out that there is much work of a routine nature now done by the secretary and treasurer of the association which takes more of the time and strength of those officers than is right, that would naturally be turned over to the Publishing Section, had it a sufficient staff. The Publishing Section office would thus become the central office for all the activities of the Library Association, would re- lieve its officers of unnecessary drudgery, and would insure these various interests being systematically looked after." To provide for the increased expenditure which is involved, either the Endowment Fund must be increased so as to provide a larger in- come, or, if this is not immediately possible, we should in some way obtain a guarantee from one or more individuals interested in the work of the association, that the expenditure for rent and additional assistance shall be met. The statement for last year shows a balance of $718 of receipts over expenses, but the reason of this is that no new book publications have been taken up in which money has been sunk, and that the printed cards have shown some profit. During the coming year considerable sums not to be immediately repaid will have to be put into the new edition of the A. L. A. in- dex, into the Portrait index, and, perhaps, into other undertakings, and since the treasury of the Publishing Section is independent of the treasury of the association, we cannot enter upon these new undertakings without having some definite assurance behind us of the nec- essary capital. If $1000 or $1500 could be guaranteed to the Section to make good any possible deficit, the work the Section has planned at present could be pushed on vigor- ously and efficiently during the coming year, and it is quite possible that only a small part of the sum guaranteed would have to be actually called for. That either by this means or in some other way the proper development of the Section's work shall be provided for is to be urgently hoped. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS, JANUARY I TO DECEMBER 31, 1898. Publications. Copies sold in 1898. Copies on hand Dec. 31, 1898. Balances, Jan. i, 1898, being excess of expenditures or re- ceipts to date. Operations, Jan. i to Dec. 31, 1898. Balances, Dec. 31, 1898, being excess of expenditures or re- ceipts to date. Spent. Received. Expenses. Receipts. Spent. Received. i $4-55 88.84 $4-55 2d edition. Prelim, expenses. $88.84 498.79 203 403 381 571 J43 614 $666.26 167.47 470.60 167.64 .18 82.72 27.17 List of subject headings $128.41 514-0 167.64 $85.01 Books for girls and women 7-J7 534-69 39-17 337-77 3-9 6-99 451-97 25-50 364-17 Fine arts bibliography 127 791 349 i,235 13-50 26.40 811.71 1,245-55 77-35 Books for boys ana girls Portrait index. Prelim. expenses. Printed cards for books Printed cards for periodicals Annotated English hist'y cards. . 75.577 168,845 193-60 940.27 1,598-32 186.52 332.16 348-87 109.17 22.43 List of French fiction 456 508 1,350 A. L. A. Proceedings 75 .50 25 Totals " $1,588.96 $322.01 1,266.95 $2,950.29 718.08 $3,668.37 $1,436.51 $887.64 548.87 $1,588.96 $1,588.96 $3,668.37 $3,668.37 $1,436.51 $1,436-51 Atsett and Liabilities. Bal. Jan. i, 1898. Operations of 1898. Bal. Dec. 31, 1898. Dr. Cr. Dr. Cr. Dr. Cr. General expense and income account Endowment fund *395.36 1,000.00 $1,145.28 1,110.83 $3,646.11 110.83 $1,896.19 Old members' accounts 90.69 M9-43 36.76 90.26 2,308.38 83 1,188.85 53-93 70.60 Due to George I les 11.43 1,950.30 11.92 1,455-02 S6i i? $419-25 Due on savings bank accoun Due from Library Bureau 296.27 30.10 1,022.50 Due on bills and subscription Totals.. . s $368.53 1,266.95 $1,635-48 $1,471-85 548.87 $2,020.72 General balance $1,635-48 $',635-48 $2,020,72 $2,02072, 100 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. REPORT OF COMMITEE ON PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. BY R. R. BOWKER, Chairman, Editor Library Journal. *~P H E Committee on Public Documents has this year nothing to report in the way of actual progress in legislation. Congress has had before it the bill prepared by Mr. Crandall extending the original law, and several minor bills, but it has not attempted, in the short session of an expiring Congress, to give attention to any. The committee is gratified to state that it has assurances from Senator Lodge, chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing, that his com- mittee will be prepared to give careful attention to this subject in the long session opening the present year, and that he will be glad to have the counsel and co-operation of the American Library Association in making from the several bills a draft for proposed legislation. The legis- lation already on the statute books has done much toward bringing the publication of gov- ernment documents into a comprehensive sys- tem, such as was outlined in the report made to the San Francisco conference of the A. L. A., which appears in Library Journal, i6:Cl6. The committee is gratified to be able to state that the various improvements in the cataloging and distribution of public documents in the office of the Superintendent of Documents has been continued and developed under Mr. Terrell's superintendency. While regretting changes in offices where continuity seemed peculiarly desira- ble, the committee, in representing the asso- ciation, has been glad to accept the evidence of good management which Mr. Ferrell has shown as Mr. Crandall's successor. Particular care has been taken within the office, by careful registry and indexing of names, to prevent that waste of public documents which comes from throwing pell-mell at the head of the ordinary citizen as many copies of one public document as there may be people to suggest his name as the recipient. This was a costly abuse which has been very nearly corrected. Of the three kinds of catalogs provided for by the law of Jan. 12, 1895, the " Monthly cata- logue " has been continued through February, 1899, and a cloth-bound edition, with index tags for the several months, has been issued for 1898 ; the latest " Document (consolidated) index " for Congressional sessions is that for the 55th Con- gress, published in February, 1898, that for the second session being now in the printer's hands; and the latest " Document catalog (comprehen- sive index) " is that covering the first year of the 54th Congress, July i, 1895 to June 30, 1896, be- gun under Mr. Crandall's and completed under Mr. Terrell's administration. Superintendent Ferrell proposes a change in method by which the document catalog (com- prehensive index), which under the law should be published annually, should be after the completion of that for the 54th Congress pub- lished biennially. Under the present plan, many measures originating in one session of Congress are not disposed of until another ses- sion, so that much work is duplicated and much inconvenience caused by having two separate references instead of one to the same matter in the same Congress. It is proposed to continue the sessional indexes as heretofore, and these give practically and more promptly the session- al information duplicated in the comprehensive catalog under the present method. Under the new plan all the publications connected with any one Congress during its two years of exist- ence would be included in one volume and with these the non-Congressional documents for two fiscal years. The proposed change seems entirely worthy of commendation. The following resolutions are submitted : Resolved, That the A. L. A. approves and commends the proposal of the Superintendent of Documents, that the " Comprehensive in- dex" of public documents should be pub- lished biennially, covering an entire Congress, instead of annually, covering only one or two sessions, and urges that the " Document (con- solidated) index " provided for each session be printed and distributed by the Government Printing Office as soon after the close of each session as is practicable. Resolved, That the A. L. A. extends its thanks to Senator Lodge, Chairman of the Joint Com- mittee on Printing, to Public Printer Palmer, and to Superintendent Ferrell, for their courte- ous invitations for the co-operation of the asso- ciation in the further improvement of the publication of public documents, and that the Committee on Public Documents be instructed to extend such co-operation. BOWKER. 101 The committee is able to report, in response to the requirement of the association, as ex- pressed in the resolution passed atChautauqua, a nearly complete statement of the condition of the state libraries and of the exchange of docu- ments among them: STATISTICS OF STATE LIBRARIES. The information given in the accompanying table was obtained in response to queries sent to every state and territory except Alaska, but Florida, North Carolina, and West Virginia failed to respond. In size, the libraries will be seen to range from New Mexico's 6000 volumes up to New York's collection, which numbers 218,000 exclu- sive of the 43,500 volumes in her travelling libraries. Mississippi and South Dakota would seem to have no record indicating the number of volumes they possess, and Georgia has not included in her estimate the state documents she possesses. Either law-books or state docu- ments predominate in all the states except New York and Pennsylvania ; in Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wis- consin, the law library is a separate institution, in Montana and Ohio it is a separate department; while Georgia and Idaho are obliged by lack of room to store away all books other than law, and Texas and Illinois, on the other hand, have not a law-book in their state libraries. 23 of the libraries claim to have practically all the docu- ments of their own states ; New Mexico and Texas seem to have the least complete collec- tions, the latter state having been able only partially to replace the documents lost in 1881 by fire. The states are almost unanimous in their desire for freer interstate exchanges ; Pennsylvania has perfected her system ; Maine desires to exchange with all countries and has Canada and New Zealand already on her list; Virginia is required by statute to exchange with other states; and Alabama and Massachusetts both supplement their exchanges by purchasing. The state librarian of Texas deplores that ex- changes are made by the secretary of state and volumes so acquired retained by the secretary or sent to the supreme court ; Minnesota ap- pears to confine her attention to the law docu- ments of other states ; while Kansas, under the present administration, is exchanging under protest, although that state has a good record in the past. On the whole, the table is decidedly encour- aging, especially as regards the state libraries beyond the Mississippi, which average fewer volumes than the libraries of longer-settled sec- tions, but hold their own in desire for method and in progressive spirit. The most satisfactory sources of general in- formation on the subject of state publications are : the Bar Association catalog ; the catalog of the Charlemagne Tower collection of colo- nial laws, published by the Pennsylvania His- torical Society in 1890; the appendixes to the "American catalogue," 1884 -90 and 1890-95; the n-page bibliography of constitutional con- ventions, contained in the N. Y. State Library Bulletin of additions, no. 2; and the following bibliographies of individual states : ALABAMA. Bibliography of Alabama. (In Report of the American Historical Association, 1897.) Bibliography of the statute law of the south- ern states; by T. L. Cole : Alabama. Wash., Statute Law Book Co., 1897. 8. From Publications of the Southern History Assoc., Jan., 1897. ARKANSAS. Bibliography of the statute law of the southern states; by T. L. Cole: Arkansas. Wash., Statute Law Book Co., 1897. 8. From Publications of the Southern History Assoc., April, 1897. CALIFORNIA. Catalogue of state publications of California, 1850 -July 1894. (In Report of the Trustees of the Cal. State Library. 1892-94, p. 31-62.) FLORIDA. Bibliography of the statute law of the southern states; by T. L. Cole: Florida. Wash., Statute Law Book Co., 1897. From Publications of the Southern History Assoc., July, 1897. INDIANA. A descriptive catalogue of the offi- cial publications of the Territory and State of Indiana; from 1800 to 1890; by Daniel Waite Howe. (In Indiana Hist. Soc. publications, v. 2, no. 5, p. 135. Indianapolis, Bowen-Mer- rill Co., 1890.) IOWA. Historical bibliography of the statute law of Iowa; by T. L. Cole. (In Law bulletin of the State University of Iowa, no. 2, 1891, p. 38-48.) MAINE. Bibliography of Maine to 1891; by Joseph Williamson. Portland, 1896. 2 v. 8. Executive, legislative, and judicial depart- ments of Maine, [Publications]. (In 27th report of the State Librarian, 1895-96, p. 23-32.) MARYLAND. Handlist of laws, journals, and documents of Maryland to 1800 ; by J. W. M. Lee. Bait., 1878. 4. 15 p. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Official publications, 1789- Oct. 1894. (In Annual report of the state librarian, 1889-90 [p. 87-I37," 1 145-152]; 1891 [p. 73-1381; 1892 [p. 75-104, 119-125]; 1894 [p. 99-112].) NEW JERSEY. A guide for the collection of the early laws of N. J., giving a table of sittings of the Colonial Assembly, 1702-1776, and of the State Legislature, 1776-1844. Trenton, W: S. Sharp, prtr., 1881. 16. 8 p. NORTH CAROLINA. Indexes to [list of] docu- ments rel to N. C. during the colonial exist- ence of said state, now on file in offices of Board of Trade and State Paper offices in London ; transmitted in 1827 by Mr. Gallatin ; now pub. under direction of the public Treas- urer. Raleigh, T. Loring, 1843. 8. 120 p. IO2 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. OHIO. Publications of the state of Ohio, 1803- 1896, with index to the executive documents; corap. by R. P. Hayes. Norwalk, O., 1897. 8. 71 P. RHODE ISLAND. Check list of R. I. laws ; by J. H. Bongartz. Providence, 1893. 8. $i. TEXAS. Raines, C. W. Conventions and con- stitutions relating to Texas, and the collation of the laws of the republic and state, all in chronological order. (fn his Bibliography of Texas, app. no. i, p. 227-237. Austin, Gammel Book Co., 1896. 8.) VERMONT. Bibliography of Vermont; prep, by M. D. Oilman, with additions by others. Burlington, Free Press Assoc., 1897. 349 P- VII, WISCONSIN. [List of publications of the State of Wisconsin, 1853-97; comp. by S.I. Bradley.] Part of Bibliography of Wis. in preparation for publi- cation. In addition state library catalogs and the reports of the state librarians of the several states furnish information of varying value. There is at present in course of preparation at the office of The Publishers' Weekly, New York, a list of the publications of each state and territory of the Union, from the beginning to date, being a consolidation and extension of the various lists given in the appendixes to the "American catalogue." TABLE SHOWING CONDITION OF STATE LIBRARIES. State. Librarian. Total vols. State docs. Law-books. Miscellaneous. Docs, of own state. Docs, of other states. 1 Ala .... Ari Ark ... Cal Col Ct Del.... Fla Ga Ida Ill Ind .... la .. .. J. M. Riggs C. H. Akers A. C. Hull, ex-off 30,000 15,000 60,000 108,000 12,000 12-15,000 40,000 12,000 50,000 10,000 33,ooo 29,000 61,500 62,000 100,000 40,000 47,000 50,000 100,000 9S,ooo 28,000 Fill 5 rooms. 30,000 8,000 38,600 44,000 50,691 50,300 6,000 i 7,933 60,000 15,000 57,i68 7,000 23,000 135,000 26,000 60,000 Yes Yes Yes Yes Chiefly Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Incl. in misc. Yes Yes 30,000 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Few Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes > Yes Yes 9,800 Yes Yes No Separate dept. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Chiefly Separate dept. Yes Chiefly Yes 26,200 Chiefly Yes Separate lib'y Yes Yes Yes Chiefly Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Chiefly Separate lib'y Chiefly Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes No. > No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? ? Yes Yes ? Yes 24,100 Chiefly 30,000 Chiefly Yes > Chiefly No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? All All Most All Many Many Most Some Yes Most Most Most All All All All All Most Most All Most All Most Most All Most All All Few All Most All All All Most All V'y few Most All All Many None All Most All Most All All Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Miss H. E. Stevenson, ass't.. C: J. Hoadly T: W. Jefferson Sec. of State, ex-off J. E. Brown ". Mary S. Wood J. A. Rose W.E.Henry J. Brigham Kan.... Ky La Me Md Mass .. Mich... Minn... Miss... Mo Mont... Neb.... Nev.... N. H .. N.J.... N. M... N. Y... N. C.... N. Dak. Ohio . . Okla . . . Or Pa R. I... Mrs. A. L. Diggs Miss P. H Hardin A. F. Phillips L. D. Carver Mrs. A. B. Jeffers C. B. Tillinghast Mrs. M. C. Spencer C. A. Oilman, St. Law Lib. . MissH. D. Bell Mrs. J. Edwards Laura E. Howey D. A. Campbell E.Howell A. H. Chase 4 H: C. Buchanan J. Segurd M. Dewey R. A. Cobb F. Falley C. B. Galbreath G: H. Dodson J. B. Putnam S E: Reed 4 J. H. Bongartz, St. Law Lit. S. C..,. S. Dak . Tenn. . . Tex.... Utah . . Miss N. Montgomery P. Lawrence, ass't set. of st . . Miss Jennie Lauderdale E. Digges 35,ooo 19,000 8,000 34,ooo 85,000 25,000 13,000 105,000 20,000 L. P. Palmer. .. Vt Va Wash... W. Va. . Wis.... Wyo . . . H. A. Huse W.W.Scott H. Bashford P. S. Shirkey I: S: Bradley, St. Hist. Soc . . J: Slaughter 1 To the question, " Does State Library desire to exchange with other states" ? every state but Kansas gave an affirmative answer. 'Succeeded M. R. Hamilton, Jan.. 1899. 'Succeeded Dr. W: H. Egle, Jan., 1899. 4 In Rhode Island the Secretary of State is ex-officio state librarian and the state library is incidental ; it contains about 5,000 v., mostly state documents. The state has an important law library with separate organization. Succeeded Miss Pauline Jones, Jan., 1899. FIRST SESSION. THE PROCEEDINGS. ATLANTA AND LITHIA SPRINGS, GA., TUESDAY - FRIDAY, MAY 9-12, 1899. FIRST SESSION* (KIMBALL HOUSE, TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 9.) THE meeting was called to order at 10.15 by President LANE, who referred to the fact that the meeting was called t order with the gavel presented to the A. L. A. by its Jamestown hosts of last year. " It bears," he said, "on two gold plates on each side space for the names of 10 presidents of the association, be- ginning with Mr. Putnam. But it will be more than 10 years before the memory of the hospi- tality that we received last year at Lake Chau- tauqua will be forgotten by us." Mr. LANE then delivered THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. (See p. i.) F: M. CRUNDEN. I would like to make a mo- tion and some remarks upon it, pertaining to one item of the president's address. He re- ferred to one of the most important events in the library world of last year the appoint- ment of the Librarian of Congress from the ranks of the American Library Association. Now our president himself had a good deal to do with bringing this appointment about I don't know just what, but he certainly had something to do with it ; I am sure it was largely due to the ability and tact with which he managed the affair ; and I think it would be proper for this association to put itself on record as appreciating that work. I therefore move that the thanks of the association be tendered to President Lane for the ability, energy, and tact with which he represented the American Li- brary Association in regard to the appointment of the National Librarian. Secretary CARR temporarily took the chair *As indicated on the program, the first session of the association was an informal reception, held in the Kim- ball House parlors, Monday evening; the meetings of the various sections were also included as regular ses- sions. The sessions as here given cover only the general business sessions of the associations. pending the consideration of this motion, which was unanimously carried. HENRY J. CARR made his SECRETARY'S REPORT. Because of the 1899 meeting taking place early in May, the interval since the meeting of 1898 at Lake Chautauqua has been one of barely 10 months. It has also been a period of restriction in expenditures, so far as possible, because of the financial status of the associa- tion when its administration came over to the hands of the present officers. Disbursements, ordinary and extraordinary, including the inev- itably large cost of the papers and proceedings of 1898, were out of proportion to the income of that year, notwithstanding the considerable ad- dition of new members. If the conservative restraint exercised since then proves effective in bringing the affairs of the association over to the next administration with a fair working balance after the publica- tion of the Proceedings of 1899, it will be a matter of much gratification to all concerned. If not successful in that respect, then it will be necessary to reduce other and more desirable expenditures to a lesser figure during the next official year ; for associations, like individuals, should follow the principle of " pay as you go." An "A. L. A. handbook" for 1899, including complete member list, was much called for and seemed an essential expense. Prepared and issued early in the year, it comprised 56 pages (3/4* 5% inches), costing $119 for the printing of an edition of 4500 copies. Somewhat over half the edition has now been used, leaving a balance of about 2000 copies for subsequent distribution. With the issue of a small supple- ment containing notices, lists of officers, com- mittees, new members and changed addresses, etc., that number will probably suffice for the coming year. Concerning one exceptional event of the past year more than passing notice is merited. The 104 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. offer from the executive committee of the sonian, or to the International Conference Second International Library Conference (Lon- while the majority seem to have ignored the don, 1897), of 25 bound copies of the Transac- matter entirely. tions of that conference without charge, was Other gifts to the A. L. A., coming to the received in October, 1898, and accepted by the hands of the secretary, have been as follows: executive board. (No more than 750 copies From the library of the National Institute, San- were printed, and all but 100 were distributed tiago, Chili, one volume " Ultimos dias coloni- to members of the conference who paid a fee of ales en el Alto-Peru " ; and from the New York one guinea each.) Deeming that the 25 copies Public Library (Astor, Lenox, and Tilden foun- would be of most service if placed with libra- dations) current issues of its monthly bulletin, ries in various localities, the executive board A quantity of back-number Proceedings of directed their distribution to libraries having the A. L. A. (3 of Cincinnati, 1882; 87 of membership in the A. L. A. that had not other- Buffalo, 1883 ; 32 of Lake George, 1885) were wise been supplied. Transmission to 25 such received from the preceding secretary and libraries was effected through the Smithsonian turned over to the Publishing Section. Long Bureau of International Exchanges in Febru- since supposed to be out of print, and not to be ary, 1899, and it is presumed that all the libra- obtained from any source, their discovery came ries designated did receive the book, although in the nature of an agreeable surprise, and will only nine acknowledged it to the secretary, as enable some persons to complete their sets of requested. Some have given credit to this as- the publications of the association, sociation, as was proper ; others to the Smith- GARDNER M. JONES read the TREASURER'S REPORT. RECEIPTS: Balance on hand July i, 1898 (Chautauqua conference, p. 114) $766 16 Fees from annual members: From 13 members for 1897 From 211 members for 1898 From 425 members for 1899 649 members at $2 $1298 oo Fees from fellows: From i fellow for 1898 From 9 fellows for 1899 10 fellows at $5 50 oo Fees from library members: From 3 libraries for 1898 From 28 libraries for 1899 31 libraries at $5 155 oo 1503 oo Life memberships: Theodore W. Koch George W. Williams Gardner M. Jones Fred P. Jordan 4 life memberships at $25 $100 oo Life fellowships: Free Library of Philadelphia 100 oo Sale of conference proceedings 3 oo Trustees of the Endowment Fund: Contribution in aid of the publication of the proceedings 150 oo Interest on deposit, New England Trust Co 2 44 1858 44 $2624 60 FIRST SESSION. 105 1898. PAYMENTS: July 21. C. F. Williams, supplement to A. L. A. catalog $35 10 July 21. George Bursch, lantern, Chautauqua conference 7 50 July 21. Kent House, telephone, etc., lantern show 459 July 21. Publishers' Weekly, advance papers, Chautauqua conference 49 26 July 21. Publishers' Weekly, expressage, postage, etc 3 04 July 21. Helen E. Haines, note-book, etc., for recorder 65 Aug. 9. Frank T. Boland, stenographer, Chautauqua conference, on account 50 75 Aug. 9. Ames & Rollinson, engraving testimonial 5 oo Aug. 12. Journal Printing Co., printing, Chautauqua conference 27 35 Aug. 12. C. F. Williams, printing, Chautauqua conference 27538 Aug. 13. Frank T. Boland, stenographer, Chautauqua conference, balance 118 15 Aug. 19. Library Bureau, circulars, mailing and postage, Chautauqua conference. .. 101 67 Sept. 19. Buffalo Public Library, gas, etc., Chautauqua conference 1025 Sept. 19. Publishers' Weekly, proceedings, Chautauqua conference, on account 40000 Oct. 7. Trustees of the Endowment Fund, 5 life memberships 125 oo Nov. 16. C. F. Williams, letterheads for Melvil Dewey, secretary's expenses I oo Nov. 16. Salem Commercial School, typewriting membership list for secretary 3 oo Dec. 9. Newcomb & Gauss, stationery for treasurer 13 oo 1899. Feb. 3. Trustees of the Endowment Fund, life membership 25 oo Feb. 6. Publishers' Weekly, proceedings, Chautauqua conference, balance 48869 Feb. 6. Publishers' Weekly, postage and expressage on proceedings 721 Mar. 18. F. H. Gerlock & Co., handbooks 11900 Mar. 18. F. H. Gerlock & Co., printing, etc.. for secretary 1725 Mar. 27. Trustees of the Endowment fund, life fellowship 100 oo April 24. F. H. Gerlock & Co., printing for secretary 2225 April 24. Henry J. Carr, expenses Atlanta conference 11617 April 29. Gardner M. Jones, treasurer's expenses, postage, clerical assistance, etc. . . 61 91 $2188 17 Balance on hand April 30, 1899: Deposit in New England Trust Co. , Boston $21 25 Deposit in Merchant's National Bank, Salem 415 18 436 43 $2624 60 The payments may be classified as follows: new members have joined the association and Proceedings, including delivery $895 90 six have died - Stenographer 168 90 Respectfully submitted, Secretary and conference expenses : GARDNER M. JONES, Treasurer. Chautauqua conference $485 04 Atlanta conference 277 67 Necrology. 702 71 Ia Hannah Elizabeth Bigelow (A. L. A. no. Treasurer s expenses 7491 o \ * u * iv u 1250, 1894), treasurer of the Marlborough Recorder s expenses 65 ,,, x . ,. ... ,-, . ,. ,, (Mass.) Public Library. Born in Berlin, Mass., Supplement to A. L. A. catalog 35 10 . .. , , ,, , ,, in 1848; died at Marlborough, May 27, 1898. $1938 17 She was the daughter of Levi Bigelow, and had The present status of membership (April 30, P assed almost her whole life in Marlborough. 1899) is as follows: On the death of her father she assumed entire Honorary members 3 char * e of her P r P ert y lef ' b y him - and alwa y s Life fellows i managed her business affairs with ability and Life members 12 success - She was an attendant at the Unitarian Annual fellows (paid for 1899) - ' 10 church a d interested in its welfare. In many Annual members (paid for 1899) 426 P ublic affairs she took a keen interest, especially Library members (paid for 1899) 27 in an educational direction. She was a trustee TV of the public library for 15 years, serving for /5oi the entire period as treasurer of the board, and During the period covered by this report 113 took the deepest interest in all matters pertain- io6 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. ing to it, contributing freely time, money, and literature in its behalf. Among her gifts to the library was a fund in memory of her father for the purchase of photographs and objects of artistic or historic interest, and in her will she gave $5000, the income to be used for the pur- chase of new books. (Marlboroufh Enterprise, May 28, 1898.) 2. Arthur M. Jellison, (A. L. A. no. 1570, 1897), librarian of the Mechanics' Institute, San Francisco, Cal. Born in Maine in 1854; died in San Francisco July 27, 1898. He went to Cali- fornia with his parents while a child, entered the service of the Mechanics' Institute Library in 1876, and during the 22 years of his connec- tion with it he rendered unceasing and faithful service. No effort was too difficult and no labors too exacting for him; he was literally unsparing of his energies if thereby the interests of his library could be advanced and its patrons bene- fited. He was an active member of the Califor- nia Library Association, having acted as its secretary during the initial years of its history, and he filled the position of vice-president at the time of his death. (Library Journal, Sept., 1898.) 3. Dr. William Pepper (A. L. A. no. 1317, 1895), president of the Board of Trustees of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Born August 21, 1843; died July 28, 1898. Dr. Pepper was one of the men of whom it could be said in the fullest and truest sense that he was an " all-round man." He was an eminent physi- cian; he brought out the University of Penn- sylvania from the position of a grand school to that of a great university; he held the chair of theory and practice of medicine from 1860-64; he was lecturer on morbid anatomy and, later, on clinical medicine. For 16 years he was provost of the university, and saw the number of students increase more than threefold during his admin- istration. He caused the period of studentship for the medical profession throughout the United States to be increased from one or two years to four years. He created the whole machinery of the great Commercial Museums, whose exhibition is to be held in Philadelphia in the fall of 1899. He induced his uncle, George S. Pepper, to donate a considerable sum for the establishment and maintenance of a free library in Philadelphia. Out of that has grown the present system of a main library with 14 branches which now flourishes in the city. He labored to procure for it a permanent site and a handsome fire-proof building. Those ends seem to be in very reasonable reach, and of Dr. Pep- per in his great library work will have to be said, as has been said of many in times past, " He planted and watered, and others have come to the gathering." No one who worked with him ever worked without being infused with his personal magnetic enthusiasm. To work with Dr. Pepper was to throw yourself headlong into a work, to be full of it till its result was accomplished, and ever to be reach- ing out for greater and greater development of the business in hand. He was a genuine en- thusiast, with marvellous administrative power. Any lieutenant who once obtained his confidence was sure of the staunchest friend, the bravest supporter, and an unfailing counsellor in times of doubt and trouble. His removal by death was a very great loss to Philadelphia and to many important movements. (John Thomson. See "Memorialproceedings in honor of Dr. Pepper" published in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society.) 4. Jeremiah C. Kittredge (A. L. A. no. 743, 1889), chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Tewksbury (Mass.) Public Library. Born in Boston, Dec. 13, 1847 ; died in Brookline, Mass., Dec. 19, 1898. He attended the Boston Latin School, Phillips Academy, Andover, and the Chauncey Hall School, Boston. His health failing, he was obliged to give up his studies, and later was placed in charge of the family estate. He devoted himself to literary work and the care of his property, and for some time was engaged in the real estate business. From 1870 to 1880 he lived at the old homestead in Tewksbury. He then took up his residence in Boston, and in 1889 built his home in Brookline, where he lived until his death. He travelled extensively in Europe and in this country. He published a work on the Tewksbury Library, a " library guide," was the author of " Historic footprints on British soil," and wrote a large number of dramas and comedies. By his will he be- queathed the sum of $5000 to the trustees of the Tewksbury Public Library, which was founded by himself and his brother, George A. Kittredge, the income to be expended for the purchase of books. In case the town decides to erect a library building the testator directs that the sum may be applied to assist in its FIRST SESSION. 107 erection, provided it is called the Kittredge Li- brary. {Boston Transcript, Dec. 20, 1898; L. J., fan., 1899.) 5. Leonard Thompson (A. L. A. no. 1307, 1894), trustee of the Woburn (Mass.) Public Library. Born in Woburn, Nov. 2, 1817 ; died in Woburn, Jan. 21, 1899. He was always prominently identified with the town, and served continuously as library trustee since 1865. In 1877 -8 he was a member of the Gen- eral Court and had also served as town treas- urer and as sinking fund commissioner. In 1892 he presented the city with a fund for free lectures, and the following year, on his fiftieth birthday, added $5000, thus establishing the Burbeen free lecture course, which is given every winter. He was a member of the Massa- chusetts Library Club, New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Society of Colonial Wars, and other historical associations. He attended the Lake Placid, Cleveland, and Lake Chautauqua conferences of the A. L. A., and the Second International Library Conference in London, 1897. (Library Journal, Feb., 1899.) 6. Mrs. Adelgitha Blackwell Lemcke (A. L. A. no. 1293, 1894), wife of Ernst Lemcke, of Lemcke and Buechner, New York City, died at her residence in Orange, N. J., on Feb. 13, 1899, aged 50. She joined the A. L. A. in 1894, and, with her husband, had attended every conference since that date. Her ready wit, unfailing humor, and cordial kindliness made her always a delightful companion, and her many friends in the library world will long miss her cheerful presence. (Library Journal, March, 1899.) NOTE. In addition to the names listed above six per- sons who had been members of the A. L. A., although not members at the time of their death, died during the period covered by the necrology. The names are fur- nished by Mrs. H. J. Carr, to supplement and complete the official record, as follows: Mrs. Ada North (A. L. A. no. 131, 1878), formerly li- brarian of Iowa State University, and an active worker in the library cause in that state ; died Jan. 8, 1899. L. H. Boutell (A. L. A. no. 521, 1886), formerly trustee of the Evanston (111.) Public Library ; died Jan. 16, 1899. Mrs. Harriet A. Tenney (A. L. A. no. 159, 1878), for many years state librarian of Michigan ; died Jan. 20, 1899. Frederick Beecher Perkins (A. L. A. no. 74, 1877) ; died Feb. 3, 1899 (See Library Journal, Feb., 1899). George R. Howell (A. L. A. no. 970, 1892), long archivist of N. Y. State Library ; died April 5, 1899 (See Library fournal, April, 1899). Edward J. Mason (A. L. A. no. 538, 1886), trustee of Chicago Historical Society ; died Dec. 18, 1898. I S: S. GREEN. I would like to ask the names lof the three honorary members mentioned by the [treasurer in his report. I think there are one or two other honorary members of the associa- tion. I remember distinctly that Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard College, was made an honorary member at the time of the Boston meeting, and I think there are other honorary members. It was recommended that information con- cerning all honorary members of the associa- tion be obtained by the treasurer, and their names placed upon the records. Voted, That the treasurer's report be accepted and referred to the Finance Committee for audit. R. R. BOWKER. The mention of the name of Dr. Guild causes me to make a suggestion which, I think, will be received with unanimous approval. Dr. Guild, some of you may not know, is on his death-bed and about to pass away, and I think it will be a graceful and a grateful thing for this association through its secretary to send a telegram of greeting to Dr. Guild. I think he would very much appreciate such action. I therefore move that the secre- tary be authorized to send the greetings of this body to Dr. Reuben A. Guild at Providence. Voted. W: I. FLETCHER presented the REPORT OF THE PUBLISHING SECTION (See p. 95.) as printed in advance, without reading. C. W. ANDREWS. There is one question I would like to ask, and that is as to the ex- penses of operation. Is this a report of merely the physical expenses of printing, postage, etc ? I am speaking particularly of the printed cards for books, periodicals, etc. Pres. LANE. Practically the only running expense is the salary of the assistant secre- tary. Other expenses, such as rent, heat, or light, we are relieved of, and our only running expenses are the salary of the assistant secre- tary and stationery. That expense for the year is divided up among the different publications issued in a fair proportion. W: I. FLETCHER. Those who have followed the work of the section more closely for these years will know that at present there is no membership in the Publishing Section ; it has merely performed the work of a committee of io8 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. the association, and that committee is appointed annually. S: S. GREEN. Has the committee any plans to suggest for the continuance of its work? W: I. FLETCHER. I have some indefinite propositions to provide for an increased ex- penditure ; the Endowment Fund should be in- creased in order to provide a larger income for this particular division of the association's work ; or we should in some way obtain a guaranty from one or more individuals interested in the work of the association that the expense of rent and other expenses shall be met. You will ob- serve that what is immediately required is a guaranty, and that means money, because we must have money in hand to work with. S : S. GREEN. How much do you want ? Pres. LANE. There is needed a guaran- tee fund of $1000 to $1500 for next year's work. We must have something solid back of us, for we ourselves have not the capital to fall back upon. The trustees of the Endowment Fund properly take the position that the princi- pal of their fund cannot be used for this pur- pose. They are, however, able to aid us from year to year under the direction of the council by the appropriation of a portion of the income of the fund, but we cannot go ahead with ad- ditional work unless we may be assured money to back us up, if we should need it. As yet we have not needed it, for we are about $700 ahead. S: S. GREEN. Is your committee prepared to formulate a plan ? W: I. FLETCHER. The committee had planned that at this meeting there should be a general meeting of the trustees of the Endowment Fund and of the members of the Publishing Section, to see if provision can be made for the sec- tion's work. S: S. GREEN. I move that there be such a joint meeting of the Endowment Fund trus- tees and the Publishing Section, and that a re- port be made, if possible, before the close of this meeting, recommending some plan to be adopted in regard to the increase of the funds for the use of the Publishing Section.* Voted. * The proposed meeting was not held because of lack of time, but the Publishing Section, two of its members having offered to guarantee $300 apiece toward the ex- penses of the section up to July i, 1900, on condition that three other persons would do the same, has asked the trustees of the Endowment Fund if they can find the other three guarantors. C: C. SOULE read the REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE ENDOWMENT FUND. To the Secretary of the American Library Asso- ciation : As no report appears to have been received in regard to the Endowment Fund at the last conference, I submit herewith a report cover- ing the period from June 15, 1897, date of last report, to May 2, 1899. No additional subscriptions have been re- ceived during this period, and the only per- manent increase of the fund has come from six life memberships and one life fellowship, $250 in all. At the Philadelphia conference the council voted, " that the trustees of the Endowment Fund be directed to apply such portion of the interest of the Endowment Fund as may be necessary for that purpose, to the extinguish- ment of the notes of the Publishing Sec- tion." In accordance with this vote, the notes of the Publishing Section, amounting to $1000, were cancelled and surrendered to W. C. Lane, treas- urer of the section, and interest due on the notes, amounting to $110.83, was waived. In order to leave this transaction on record, these amounts have been duly entered as receipt and payment on the cash account. Feb. 2 the treasurer of the Endowment Fund was notified by the secretary of the A. L. A. that the council had voted (by correspondence) as follows : " That from accumulated interest now in the hands of the trustees of the Endowment Fund, $150 be appropriated towards paying the deficiency on Proceedings of 1898 and $100, or so much thereof as necessary, to the Publishing Section for its purposes." Pursuant to these instructions, $150 was paid to G. M. Jones, treasurer of the A. L. A., Feb. 10. On reckoning the entire interest earned by the fund since its foundation, and subtracting the payments of Oct. 28 to the Publishing Section and Feb. 10 to the A. L. A., it was found that only $70.97 accrued interest remained to be drawn upon. This amount was accordingly paid to W. C. Lane, treasurer of the Publishing Section, thus exhausting the in- terest, and leaving on hand Feb. 10, 1899, only the principal of the fund, which, under the constitution, cannot be expended for any pur- FIRST SESSION. 109 pose. Since then interest to the amount of which can be expended during the coming year $58.43 has accrued. This interest balance and as the council may direct, an estimated interest income of $309, in all CHARLES C. SOULE, $367.43 (more or less), constitute the amount Treas. A. L. A. Endowment Fund. ENDOWMENT FUND STATEMENT, JUNE 15, 1897 -MAY 2, 1899. 1897. Cash received. June 15. Balance on hand $6488 July 8. Repayment of mortgage loan 500 oo Interest on same to maturity 30 oo Aug. 2. Interest on mortgage loans 68 oo Oct. II. Interest on mortgage loans 2450 1898. Jan. i. Interest on deposit 23 34 Jan. 10. Interest on mortgage loan 60 oo Feb. i. Interest on mortgage loan , 44 oo Mar. 14. Repayment of mortgage loan 800 oo Interest on same to maturity 24 oo Oct. 8. From G. M. Jones, Treas. A. L. A.: Life membership of C. W. Andrews, Chicago; T. W. Koch, Cornell Univ.; G. W. Williams, Salem; G. M. Jones, Salem; W. L. Glenn, Baltimore ; 5 at $25 125 oo Oct. 12. Interest on mortgage loans 93 oo Oct. 12. Interest on deposits 10 36 Oct. 28. From Publishing Section A. L. A., Notes dated Mar. 4, 1896 ($250); Dec. 10, 1896 ($250); May 24, 1897 ($500): Principal looo oo Interest no 83 Nov. 26. Repayment of mortgage loan 200000 Interest on same to Dec. 8, 1898 121 65 Allowance of mortgagee for legal fees 10 oo 1899. Feb. 7. Repayment of mortgage loan 400 oo Interest on same to maturity 14 oo Interest on mortgage loan 30 oo From G. M. Jones, Treas. A. L. A.: Life membership of F. P. Jordan 25 oo Feb. 10. Interest on deposits 1 1 18 Mar. 28. From G. M. Jones, Treas. A. L. A.: Life fellowship of Free Library of Philadelphia 100 oo Apr. 3. Interest on mortgage loan 24 50 May 2. Interest on deposits 33 93 $5748 17 1 898 . Cash paid out. Oct. 6. Rent of safe deposit box, one year $ 10 oo Oct. 28. Paid to W. C. Lane, Treas. A. L. A. Publishing Section, pursuant to vote of council (see p. 144 of proceedings of Philadelphia Conference, 1897) nio 83 Nov. 26. George D. Ayres, legal fees on payment of mortgage 10 oo 1899. Feb. 10. Paid G. M. Jones, Treas. A. L. A., according to vote of council (as reported in letter Feb. 2, 1899, H. J. Carr, Secretary A. L. A., to C. C. Soule), accumulated interest 150 oo Paid to W. C. Lane, Treas. Publishing Section, according to same vote, balance of accumulated interest 70 97 Apr. n. Rent of safe deposit box to April 15, 1900 10 oo $1361 80 Cash in bank May 2, 1899 4386 37 $5748 17 no ATLANTA CONFERENCE. Assets. Mortgage note bearing 7 per cent, interest $700 oo Mortgage note bearing 6 per cent, interest 1000 oo Cash in bank awaiting investment 4386 37 $6086 37 Of this $6027 94 represents principal and $58 43 accumulated interest. Estimated income for coming year. Interest on hand $ 58 43 Interest on mortgages 109 oo Estimated interest in amount awaiting investment 200 oo 1367 43 Liabilities, none. Annual expenses, $10 oo for safe deposit box ; other incidental expenses defrayed by trustees. The following documents were appended : At the request of Mr. Charles C. Soule, treas- urer of the Endowment Fund of the American Library Association, I have examined his ac- counts and securities and find $4386.37 on de- posit in the International Trust Co. of Boston, with evidences of investments of $1700 (seven- teen hundred dollars) in mortgage loans, kept in the Third National Bank Safe Deposit Co., Boston, in the name of the Trustees of the En- dowment Fund of the American Library Asso- ciation. JAMES L. WHITNEY, Chairman of Finance Committee American Library Association. To the Secretary of the A. L. A.: DEAR SIR: In connection with the report of our treasurer, we wish to call the attention of the association to the fact that the principal of the Endowment Fund amounts to only $6027.94, from which we can expert an annual income of not over $300. In order to do promptly and thoroughly the associated work demanded by the growth of the library interests of the United States, we believe that a fund of $100,- ooo and an income of $5000 per annum is greatly needed, and we suggest that systematic effort be made either to increase our fund to $100,000 or to obtain annual subscriptions to the amount of $5000. We have already in our hands the offer of a gentleman noted for his benefactions to educational institutions to con- tribute to an annual guarantee fund, and be- lieve that further contributions could be ob- tained, if the need for such expenditure could be clearly set forth by the association. Respectfully submitted, JOHN C. HUTCHINS, GEORGE W. WILLIAMS, CHARLES C. SOULE. MELVIL DEWEY. What interest are we get- ting on that $4300 for investment? Mr. SOULE. Two per cent, on call. MELVIL DEWEY. I want to speak of certain methods of the association in regard to this fund. At this time we have this Publishing Section; it is a big organization and is doing a very valuable work, a work that has gone be- yond our expectation, and I submit that it is not practical wisdom for us to keep this $4300 lying in the bank at 2 per cent, because we are afraid to invest that money in our own securi- ties. We will lend it out on some farm per- haps, and we may or may not collect it, but we are afraid to lend it to our Publishing Section with all of its obligations on hand. I think it would be a great deal wiser for us to ask the trustees of this fund at this conference to con- sent to loan this money to the Publishing Sec- tion. We have in that section an important work that we ought to do, and I don't think we ought to be cut off from the use of this fund. We would lend it on some other person's security, why not on our own ? Mr. SOULE. The constitution prohibits the use of the principal of the Endowment Fund for association purposes. The trustees of the fund from the beginning until now have taken the view that they were at liberty to make a loan to the Publishing Section out of the prin- cipal of the fund, but only on exactly the same terms that they would lend to any one else. The report of the trustees of the Endowment Fund was accepted. R. R. BOWKER read the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. (Step. 100.) The report was accepted and the resolutions appended thereto were separately put and car- ried. C. H. GOULD summarized briefly the FIRST SESSION. in REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN DOCU- MENTS. The committee decided soon after the Chau- tauqua conference, to endeavor to compile a finding-list of German public documents. The difficulty of such an undertaking was necog- nized, but the committee resolved to make the attempt, in the hope of producing something which, however imperfect, might at least be useful. Owing chiefly to the kind assistance of Mr. Kistner, of Leipzig, a considerable amount of material has been got together. This consists of lists of publications of the Imperial Govern- ment, and of the states of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hesse, and Wurtemburg. But the mere collecting of these lists has consumed an entire year. The committee hopes now, how- ever, to proceed to arrange in bibliographical form such material as has been received. On behalf of the committee, C. H. GOULD, Chairman. The report was accepted and the committee continued. President LANE stated that the REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON A. L. A. CATALOG SUPPLEMENT was practically included in the report of the Publishing Section. In the absence of J. C. DANA, chairman, the report of the COMMITTEE ON CO-OPERATION WITH H. E. A. was not presented.* C: C. SOULE read the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY TRACTS. The first step toward a plan for a series of publications to be issued by the American Li- * Mr. Dana sends a brief report, stating that the joint committee on Relation of Public Libraries to Public Schools, appointed by the N. E. A. at its Washington meeting of 1898, is just sending its report to the printer. This report, making a pamphlet of 50 or 75 pages, will be presented to the N. E. A. at Los Angeles in July. It con- tains a consideration of the small country library prob- lem in its relation to schools, by F. A. Hutchins ; a con- sideration of the effect of the use of literature in schools, by Prof. Charles McMurry, and another covering some- what the same ground by Sherman Williams, of New York ; Miss M. Louise Jones, of the State Normal School, Emporia, Kansas, makes a report of the things done and the things that should be done by normal schools along the lines of the report ; and J. C. Dana sets forth the possibilities and privileges of the librarian in her relations with teachers and pupils. brary Association, and intended not for ex- perienced librarians but for communities where library interest is to be developed, for the trus- tees or organizers of new small libraries, or for the inexperienced librarian of such libraries, was made in March, 1898, at a joint meeting of the Pennsylvania Library Club and the New Jersey Library Association, held at Atlantic City, N. J. Mrs. Fairchild, of the New York State Library, introduced the subject, and spoke of the need of library literature for free dissem- ination (citing the constant inquiries received by many librarians from persons planning or interested in library development in small towns), of the impossibility of answering such questions with the fulness and care desirable, and of the absolute lack of any material that could be freely sent in answer to those ques- tions. The discussion that followed showed how generally the need of such literature was recognized, and a resolution was passed bring- ing the subject before the executive board of the American Library Association. In Novem- ber, 1898, the executive board appointed a committee on Library Tracts, with instructions to consider what ground such a series of tracts should cover, and how they might best be written and published, and to report upon the matter at the Atlanta meeting. Before presenting the plan outlined for these tracts it may be well to indicate the special needs they are intended to meet. Every well- established librarian must to an extent be fa- miliar with these needs or with the expression of them as given in letters from persons who write to ask for information on all phases of library beginnings. The scope of the informa- tion desired may best be seen from extracts from some of the letters referred to, those quoted having all been received within recent months. One writer from a small Indiana town says : " Parties here are considering the building of a library at a total expense of about $25,000, and want to find a plan that will suit the con- ditions here. The town has 14,000 people; is a factory town; is not a county seat; its popu- latiort is composed of iron and glass workers and tradespeople. If you can give us any in- formation as to our needs it will be gratefully received." Another writer explains that the women of a small western town are trying to arouse interest 112 ATLANTA CONFERENCE. in the establishment of a public library, and asks " What is there I can get on public li- braries, and also on public libraries as a factor in education ? Kindly tell me what there is printed on this subject and where I can procure it." A third letter, this time from Indian Ter- ritory, says " We are wanting to start a free reading-room and library in our little town (3000 inhabitants), and hardly know where to go for information," and proceeds to ask such questions as " Can you tell me what library or publishing house or book-store will let me have a box of books monthly or quarterly, we paying for the use of them ? What is the price and who is the publisher of the 24 volumes called ' University of Literature ' ? What is the price of Sonnenschein's 'Best books'"; while from Texas come various letters, one as follows : " We think of agitating in this city of 10,000 people the matter of a public library. With view to getting started right, it has occurred to me that your association might have some litera- ture that would be available and valuable to us. Can you make a suggestion ? We are at the very beginning of the subject, and for a while, at least, we should have no support from public funds." It is not possible for the busy librarian to answer these correspondents in such a way as to meet their needs. There should, then, be at hand for free distiibution some material that would carry the first principles of library or- ganization to those by whom it is most needed, and who are not reached by the library period- icals or the present technical manuals. What is needed are elementary statements, simple generalities, and practical suggestions. Whether such a series of publications should be sup- plemented later by manuals intended for more advanced workers is a subject on which the opinion of the conference is desired, but the plan now outlined is confined to what seems the first and most essential need. The committee suggests as a beginning for such a series seven subjects, to be treated in individual tracts. Other subjects that naturally come to mind in such connection are reserved for further consideration and later treatment, should the tracts now contemplated prove useful. Of the subjects named it is possible that two might be based upon papers presented at the present conference, to be later revised, edited, and adapted for tract publications. The subjects suggested are: 1. Why should we have a public library ? This should answer the first question asked when the project of library organization is broached in town or village ; it should be a simple and convincing statement of the ad- vantages of a library to a city, its place in ed- ucation, in social and industrial life ; and it should be inspirational rather than didactic or statistical. 2. How to start a public library. This should be a logical supplement to no. I. It should be a simple, practical statement of the first steps necessary in establishing a public li- brary, the need of awakening public interest, importance of town support, methods of trans- ferring to public control already existing asso- ciation libraries, and suggestions for organiza- tion. It might include also a compilation of existing library laws, pointing out desirable features in such legislation. 3. Travelling libraries. This should be in- tended for use in communities where the travel- ling library is the most practical form of library work. It should be based upon the fine work already done in Wisconsin and elsewhere, should give information as to commissions and state aid, and should emphasize the travelling library as the nucleus of a free public library. 4. Suggestions for governing boards of libra- ries, derived from recent library practice. This should cover the administration of the library through its board, giving hints as to the appoint- ment of an effective body of directors, their number and duties, the necessity of keeping libraries out of politics, the advantages of com- petitive examinations or some civil service safe- guard in appointments, the selection of a libra- rian, his proper duties and powers, etc. 5. Library rooms and buildings. This should not be a general article on library architecture, but rather should define: i, the best location for such a room or library; 2, what sort of a room will best answer the purpose; 3, how it can be simply shelved and furnished, and how much shelving will answer for 300, 500, or 1000 vol- umes as. the library grows; 4, how small and simple a building will serve for a library, and how much it will cost. It might include also a descriptive summary of a few selected modern library buildings, their cost, style, and merits. 6. Selection and purchase of books. This should be a simple statement of the best me- FIRST SESSION. diums, lists, etc., available in selecting books for libraries, the principles to be followed in such selection, methods of purchase, ordering, etc. 7. Scope and management of college libraries. The need of this tract is found in the hundreds of small colleges scattered throughout the country in which the library, though perhaps the only potential book centre in the town or county, is entirely neglected, or its possibilities as a general educational influence are ignored. It should be meant for the faculties or trustees of such colleges, and should be intended to awaken a realization of the true function of the college library in aiding and inspiring all edu- cation. Regarding the preparation of the tracts, it is recommended that, should the plan outlined be approved, the committee be authorized to select writers and assign subjects. Manuscripts should be subject to revision, and should be submitted to others familiar with the special subjects treated for suggestions and additions. Refer- ences to further material on each subject should be appended to each tract, if practicable. It is recommended that the tracts be issued by the A. L. A. Publishing Section, under the editor- ship of the committee, and that they be dis- tributed upon application to the Publishing Section and the secretary of the A. L. A., who should be supplied with copies for distribution in his discretion. It is recommended that the manufacturing cost (printing, paper, binding, etc.) of such a series of tracts be approved as a proper association expense, with the under- standing that not less than two tracts be issued before the next (1899) conference; and that details of size, edition, style, cost, etc., be re- ferred to the committee, in consultation with the executive board and the Publishing Section. In conclusion, the committee requests that the subject receive full consideration and discussion by the conference; that suggestions or recom- mendations be freely offered, and that there- port be accepted and the committee continued, with authority to carry out the work, either on the lines suggested or as modified by the judg- ment of the conference. CHARLES C. SOULE, \ MARY W. PLUMMER, [ Committee. HELEN E. HAINES, ; The report was accepted, and Mr. Soule hav- ing stated that he would be unable to continue in the chairmanship, it was Voted, That Miss Helen E. Haines and Miss Mary W. Plummer, with another member to be appointed by the president, constitute a com- mittee to carry into effect the report of the committee on Library Tracts.* C. W. ANDREWS read the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON AMERICAN LIBRARY EXHIBIT AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION OF The committee appointed to consider the ques