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are reasons for disciplinary action and may 
result in dismissal from the University. 

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 




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PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL 
MEETING 



OF THE 



' 



HELD AT 



OTTAWA, CANADA 



JUNE 26-JULY 2, 1912 



AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 

78 E. WASHINGTON STREET 
CHICAGO, ILL. 
1912 



CONTENTS 



General sessions: PAGE 

Addresses of welcome and response 57 

Address Herbert Putnam 59 

President's address: The public library: a 

leaven'd and prepared choice Mrs. H. L. Elmendorf 67 

Publicity for the sake of information: The public's 

point of view W. H. Hatton 72 

Secretary's report George B. Utley 75 

Treasurer's report Carl B. Roden 81 

Reports of boards and committees: 

Finance committee C. W. Andrews 81 

A. L. A. Publishing Board Henry E. Legler 83 

Trustees of endowment funds W. C. Eimball 91 

Bookbinding A. L. Bailey 93 

Bookbuying W. L. Brown 95 

Co-ordination O. H. Gould 96 

Co-operation with the N. E. A M. E. Ahern 101 

Federal and state relations B. C. Steiner 102 

Library administration A. E. Bostwick 102 

Library training A. S. Root 113 

Library work with the blind Emma N. Delflno 114 

Public documents George S. Godard 115 

Preservation of newspapers Frank P. Hill 116 

Publicity for the sake of support. Carl H. Milam 120 

Breadth and limitations of bookbuying W. L. Brown 124 

Open door through the book and the library C. E. McLenegan 127 

What do the people want? Jessie Welles 132 

Assistant and the book Mary E. Hazeltine 134 

Type of assistants Edith Tobitt 138 

Efficiency of the library staff and scientific manage- 
ment Adam Strohm 143 

What library schools can do for the profession Chalmers Hadley 147 

Address Sir Wilfrid Laurier 159 

Conservation of character J. W. Robertson 161 

Address George E. Vincent 170 

Book advertising: information as to subject and 

scope of books Carl B. Roden 181 

Book advertising: illumination as to the attractions 

of real books Grace Miller 187 

Report of Executive Board 192 

Report of Council 195 

Report of resolutions committee 201 

Memorial to Frederick Morgan Crunden , 203 

Report of tellers of election _ 204 

Social side of the conference R. G. Thwaites 205 

Day in Toronto M. E. Ahern 208 

Day in Montreal Carl B. Roden 209 

Post-conference trip Julia Ideson .211 

Sections: PAGE Affiliated organizations: PAGE 

Agricultural libraries 213 American association of law libraries 312 

Catalog 227 League of library commissions 316 

Children'! librarians' 247 Special libraries association 329 

College and reference 268 Attendance summaries 354 

Professional training 295 Attendance register 355 

Trustees' 302 Index ] 357 

Public documents round table 307 

Note: The minutes of the National association of state libraries have not been received in time to be 
ncluded in this volume. They will be separately printed by that association. 



- \ 
OTTAWA CONFERENCE 

JUNE 26-JULY 2, J9J2 



PRELIMINARY SESSION 

(Wednesday evening, June 26, 1912, 
Russell Theatre) 

The association convened in a prelim- 
inary session on Wednesday evening, 
June 26, with Dr. James W. Robertson, 
C. M. G., chairman of the Canadian royal 
commission on industrial training and 
technical education, presiding as acting 
chairman of the Ottawa local committee. 

Hon. George H. Perley, acting prime 
minister of Canada, was introduced and 
welcomed the association to Canada on 
behalf of the Dominion government. The 
speaker called attention to the hundred 
years of peace between the two countries 
and the plans being formulated for cele- 
brating it, and said that international 
conferences such as this were the best 
guarantees of peace; that the more we 
know of each other the less liable we 
were to get into trouble. 

In Canada schools and libraries are 
growing apace, particularly in the new 
regions of the far west, very much the 
same as in the United States. Exchange 
of ideas as in this convention is the very 
best kind of reciprocity and will help 
both nations in their aims and aspirations 
for the good of civilization. 

Comptroller E. H. Hinchey, the acting 
mayor of Ottawa, spoke the city's wel- 
come, calling attention to Ottawa as a con- 
vention city and its growing claims for 
being considered the Washington of the 
North. 

The association was graciously wel- 
comed in behalf of the Women's Canadian 
Club of Ottawa by the president, Mrs. 
Adam Shortt, who also voiced the wel- 
come from the Women's National Council 
of Canada. She said the preachers, the 
teachers, the writers and the librarians 
are four great standing armies, standing 



to protect us and to dispel the hydra- 
headed enemy Ignorance, but that she 
thought of librarians as captains of indi- 
vidual garrisons scattered here and there 
through towns and cities, who are send- 
ing out emissaries among the people and 
moulding and forming the mental and 
moral fibre of each community. 

The CHAIRMAN: The Women's Cana- 
dian historical society was most kind in 
pressing forward its desire to have this 
convention held here. The president, 
however, desires not to speak to-night. 

I have now the pleasure of asking Hon. 
John G. Foster, United States Consul- 
General, to speak, as one of ourselves. 
He is a good citizen, and though of you, 
with us we count him almost one of 
ourselves. 

Mr. Foster said he could have assured 
that portion of the delegates who were 
his fellow countrymen and country- 
women that they would feel very much 
at home in this country, whose people, in- 
stitutions and traditions are so similar to 
those of the United States. 

The CHAIRMAN: Many other repre- 
sentative bodies joined in the effort to 
secure this meeting for Ottawa and are 
represented on the platform to-night, but 
the only other speaker who I shall ask to 
voice for them or for himself welcoming 
sentiments is the Hon. Martin Burrell, 
Minister of agriculture, and, if I may say 
in parenthesis, also Minister of copy- 
rights, since that comes within his de- 
partment. 

Minister Burrell spoke enthusiastically 
of the value of books and the habit of 
good reading and the greater ease with 
which books could now be secured than 
formerly. Continuing he said: 

"I have heard it said by some skeptical 
gentlemen that it is' true that a librarian 
never reads a book; in fact, that he can- 



57 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



not be a perfect librarian and read, be- 
cause he is immediately lost. I do not 
like to hold that view. I rather hold to 
the view that the ordinary librarian, per- 
haps I should say the model librarian, 
should be a guide, philosopher and friend, 
and I do not doubt that many of you are 
very real guides, philosophers and friends 
to those who are seeking for perhaps they 
know not what and whom you can direct 
in right channels with incalculable good 
to their after life. It is absolutely true 
that in our modern life we need that 
guidance. I do not know that I could put 
it better than in the words of another 
great book lover, and good library lover 
too, our friend Robert Louis Stevenson of 
imperishable memory, who said once 
there was a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed 
people in the world who if they were not 
engaged in a conventional occupation 
were in a state of coma; that the few 
hours they did not dedicate to a furious 
toiling in the gold mill were an absolute 
blank. It is your high privilege to sup- 
ply that blank; it is your priceless priv- 
ilege to fill the hours of life which have 
to be a blank because we cannot train 
ourselves for them in this more material 
age, to fill them up with a companion- 
ship and with an influence of the great 
thoughts of the great writers of all ages." 

Concluding, he expressed his pleasure 
at the prospect of entertaining the dele- 
gates at the Experimental Farm on the 
following Saturday. 

The CHAIRMAN: The real president 
of the Canadian Club found it impossible 
to be in Ottawa to-night, and I am the 
poor substitute for Dr. Otto J. Klotz, who 
has been a great pillar of strength in 
Ottawa to those who love books and use 
books. He deputed me to say that he 
was exceedingly sorry he could not meet 
so many old friends of his as would surely 
be in attendance, and still more sorry be- 
cause he was deprived of the joy of thus 
paying a little more back to those who 
love books and use books for all that 
books and learning have done for him. 
He is one of our good men. I am sorry 
he is not here. 



We are delighted to have a woman as 
your president; and in calling on Mrs. 
Elmendorf to respond may I say this 
comes to me after meeting her yesterday 
and to-day that she is altogether a 
woman of whom it may be said in rela- 
tion to her office as president of the 
American Library Association, "thy gen- 
tleness has helped to make it great." 

The PRESIDENT: Mr. Chairman, 
Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the 
American Library Association, I am 
sure that I but express what you are 
all feeling in saying that this royal wel- 
come to the Dominion of Canada makes 
us not only happy but very much hon- 
ored. Some members of the associa- 
tion are already at home in their own 
capital, being keepers of "kings' treas- 
uries" of Canada itself. Others of us are 
librarians from hither and yon in the 
country beyond the border, but we have 
all come with "joy and goodly gree" to 
sit in council in the very capital of the 
lovely land which is so loyally and af- 
fectionately 

"Daughter in her Mother's house." 

A small party of us came across the 
border, as William Morris's heroes are 
wont to move, "by night and cloud," and 
when we reached the boundary line a 
sudden inspiration took us and we 
stooped down and silently, gently gath- 
ered that boundary line in our hands 
and brought its firm lengths with us. 
I hold what might represent its shining 
links here in my hands. Therefore, 
while we visit here with you, in the 
very capital of the Dominion, while we 
hold that boundary line thus in our pos- 
session, from Boston Harbor down the 
coast through New York and Charleston 
to Key West, along the Gulf to New 
Orleans, across the great West to Pasa- 
dena, up the Pacific coast line to Seat- 
tle, from East to West, from North to 
South, there is no let or hindrance to the 
lines of influence which go forth. Those 
lines of influence run free without chance 
for knot or tangle or any such thing. 

I hope you will not need to try whether 



PUTNAM 



59 



"the King's writ runs" but I am sure that 
you will find that Shakespeare reigns in 
our realm, that Tennyson and Bobby 
Burns touch our hearts in song, and he 
who writes the songs of a people need not 
care who writes their laws. 

Just one small story and then I shall 
have finished, for thanks must needs be 
brief if they come from the heart, and 
there is one to come after who will say 
to you with grace and directness and 
clear precision much that I might envy 
but never approach. 

My tall brother happened by good for- 
tune to be in London Town the night that 
the great city went nearly wild in her 
glad rejoicing at the relief of Ladysmith. 
It was a sight to see and join in, and he 
and his wife went on such progress 
through the streets as a cab could make 
for them. In his hand, at the full length 
of his long arm, he waved from the front 
of the cab a Union Jack and a Stars and 
Stripes to indicate his sympathy and good 
feeling. All went well until in one of the 
many enforced pauses a rough chap 
jumped for his hand crying, "Aw, sir! 
One flag'll do!" 

We are very happy to be here and are 
just a little happier to see by these beauti- 
ful draped banners that you have not felt 
that One flag need to do! 

The CHAIRMAN: Those of us who 
have gone to Washington have some- 
times thought we should revise our boy- 
hood's interpretation of the New Jerusa- 
lem of the Book of Revelation. Nothing 
I had ever imagined from St. John's de- 
scription was quite a match for the glory 
and magnificence of the beautiful Library 
of Congress. I have found it delightful to 
think of a nation of great wealth provid- 
ing such a fitting home for its literary 
treasures. Books are the friends and 
ministers of the mind and the soul of 
the people. The Washington building is 
the expression in materials of their aspi- 
rations for what is best and most beauti- 
ful. It is a wonderful building, leaving 
impressions of wonder on the casual vis- 
itor, and still more on those who linger 



in its chaste corridors and see something 
of the working of the library itself. I 
think of the sweet and stately beauty of 
the place, I think of the institution and 
its services, and I think also of the 
man who is more than a match for the 
magnificence of the home of those books. 
We will now hear from the man, Dr. 
HERBERT PUTNAM. 

ADDRESS BY DR. PUTNAM 

Our acknowledgments as visitors having 
now been made by the highest authority 
among us, It is not for the purpose of 
merely enlarging them that I am assigned 
a place upon the program. It is rather, 
I understand, with the view to an ex- 
pression in behalf of the community of 
interest represented by this gathering as 
a whole; and some definition as to what 
we are, what we aim at, and wherein, 
if at all, we differ from our predecessors. 

Our aim is in terms a simple one. It is 
to bring a book to a reader, to lead a 
reader to a book. The task may indeed 
vary in proportion as the book is obvious 
or obscure, the reader expert or a novice, 
so that our service may be as the short- 
est distance between two simple points; 
or as the readiest point between two dis- 
tances. But its main and ultimate end is 
the same. 

And it remains so in spite of organiza- 
tion grown elaborate, apparatus and mech- 
anism grown complex. For the organiza- 
tion is merely to respond to a larger and 
more varied demand, and with a view to 
a more ample and diversified response. 

What then is the difference between the 
library of today and the library of a 
few centuries a single century ago? Is 
it merely in the development of this 
organization, the introduction of this ap- 
paratus and mechanism? Is it to such 
matters that our efforts are directed? Is 
it they which require incessant gatherings 
such as this for explanation, exploitation 
and discussion, and the innumerable reams 
of written contribution in our professional 
journals? They are indeed accountable 
for a large percentage of it: but back of 



60 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



them, beneath them, is a change which is 
fundamental, a change in attitude which 
is essential as no mere form or method 
can be. It consists in the birth and de- 
velopment not indeed of a new character- 
istic in either book or reader, or the dis- 
covery of new potencies in the one or 
new sensibilities in the other but of a 
new sense of responsibility on the part 
of the library in the utilization of the one 
for the benefit of the other. It is an in- 
cident of democracy. 

Now, so far as democracy means the 
participation of the community as a whole 
in the conduct of its affairs the form of 
it has existed with us in the United States 
for generations; and the substance of it 
has existed throughout the Anglo-Saxon 
world. But democracy ought to mean 
something more: it ought to mean the 
participation of every individual in its 
opportunities. And a constitution of so- 
ciety which still left the resources for 
power and intellectual direction in the 
hands of the few was in effect an aristoc- 
racy, and no complete democracy. Among 
these resources a chief is education. And 
the practical monopoly of education and 
of books as an element in it meant a mo- 
nopoly of influence also, a monopoly 
which survived after limitations of caste 
were removed and the opportunities for 
wealth became widely diffused. Against 
it the free public school, the easily avail- 
able college, the cheaply procurable news- 
paper and magazine, and the free public 
library fought and are fighting their fight 
in the interest of the prerogative of the 
individual, in the endeavor to equip him 
as an independent and co-equal unit, so 
that the actual constitution of society shall 
accord with its political form, and indeed 
assure the efficiency and the permanence 
of the form. 

So, having provided for the mass the in- 
terest has of late centred upon the In- 
dividual. 

Meantime, with the evolution from homo- 
geneity to heterogeneity the individual 
himself has become more and more diversi- 
fied in trait, aptitude and need; so that 



the treatment of him by the agencies act- 
ing for the community as a whole has 
also had to become varied. Not merely 
that, but pursuing its responsibilities, to 
become affirmative, where before, so far 
as it existed, it was merely responsive. 

Now the service of school and college 
furnishing definite instruction and per- 
haps training, to an organized body of 
youth, within a limited age, and under 
control, can be reasonably systematized 
and standardized. But the library is to 
furnish not merely education but enlighten- 
ment, and even culture, to the community 
at large without respect to age, and with- 
out subordination to control. It cannot 
impose, it does not control. It may rec- 
ommend, but it cannot direct. It must 
still respond to a need voluntarily ex- 
pressed; but its duty is held to go further: 
it must remind that the need exists, it 
must even inspire the need, that is to say, 
the consciousness of it. In this way it 
is engaged in creating the very demand 
which later it seeks to satisfy. 

Now this duty upon it accounts for the 
prodigious energy in the effort itself, and 
the activity and range of the discussion, 
which are the characteristics of the mod- 
ern library movement, particularly in Eng- 
lish speaking America. It accounts for 
the incessant repetition of explanation, 
of exhortation, of recited experience, which 
give to a present-day library conference 
something of the aspect of a revival meet- 
ing. 

To librarians of the older school these 
are somewhat distasteful; to librarians of 
the more modern school already convinced 
and experienced, they may be tedious; 
but they seem necessary still for the en- 
lightenment and encouragement of others 
newly entering upon the problem, of a 
public not yet fully familiar with the re- 
lations of it to their own welfare, and to 
the helpful solution of local problems 
where the idea meets conditions still im- 
peding: for the field is vast and condi- 
tions are still very unequal. 

The efforts, still inchoate, include also 
many devices which are crude and of 



PUTNAM 



61 



doubtful expediency: especially many de- 
signed chiefly to attract in which the li- 
brary seems to compete with other en- 
terprises courting popularity in a way 
scarcely dignified for a public institution 
maintained by government. They shock 
the conservative in somewhat the same 
way as an advertisement by a lawyer or 
physician shocks the traditions of those 
reticent professions: and they include not 
merely schemes of advertising which 
might seem to impair the dignity of the 
book, but auxiliaries for attracting atten- 
tion such as savor of the devices of a busi- 
ness house In exploiting its goods. The 
ultimate aim is, of course, the commenda- 
tion of the book itself, and the justifica- 
tion lies or is sought in this. But the 
means, well, the means often afflict the 
conservatives in the profession, and even 
cause uneasiness to certain of us among 
the progressives. 

The compensating assurance is that they 
are the promptings of an enthusiasm in It- 
self meritorious; that they are experi- 
ments; that they may prove to be expe- 
dients merely temporary, and that later 
they may be dispensed with after they 
have served their purpose. They are to 
rouse the dormant, stir the stagnant: but 
there are also other agencies at work to 
rouse and to stir; and the time may well 
come when the operation of these in com- 
bination will have achieved the creation of 
a spirit in the community safe to act upon 
its own initiative. 

Apart from the portions of our programs 
devoted to the discussion of such methods 
and devices which concern the direct ac- 
tion of a particular library upon its own 
constituents, is the portion a large one 
devoted to schemes of cooperation among 
our institutions as such in the interest of 
economy and therefore of efficiency in 
their administration. These are necessa- 
rily technical, and their immediate interest 
is to the librarian rather than to the 
reader. But their ultimate benefit is to 
reach the reader, particularly in freeing 
to his use a larger measure of the direct 
personal service of the administration, fn 



interpreting the collections to his need. 
In proportion as they succeed in this they 
will achieve a reversion to that service 
held precious in the library of the older 
type, which, lacking the modern appara- 
tus, and with an imperfect collection, at 
least put the reader into direct contact 
with what it had, and gave him also the 
inspiring personal touch with an enthusiast 
already saturated with its contents: and 
which accordingly sent him forth with a 
grateful glow, too little, alas! evident in 
one relegated to the mere mechanism of 
modern library practice. 

The mechanism became inevitable: the 
increase of the collections, the Increase 
of the constituency, the greater diversity 
of the need, and the demand that this 
should be met promptly, have required it. 
This isn't so apparent to the public, who 
think of the problem of getting the right 
book to the individual reader In only its 
simplest terms. But to us librarians it is 
not merely apparent but urgent. And 
accordingly we expend upon it a length 
and a zest of discussion that quite mystify 
the portions of our audiences outside of 
the craft 

What impels us is that the mechanism 
is not merely elaborate: it is expensive. 
It is the .more so in proportion as it is 
variant in form and involves a multiplica- 
tion of expense by each library acting In- 
dependently in its own behalf. Our ef- 
fort, and the purpose of our discussions, 
is therefore to promote a standardization 
of the form and a co-operative centraliza- 
tion of the work itself, in which our li- 
braries as a whole may secure a partici- 
pating benefit. 

Now the mechanism consists of certain 
apparatus necessarily independent with 
each library administrative records, 
charging systems, etc.; but also of classi- 
fication, catalog and bibliography. All 
of these may be standardized, but the 
opportunity for a co-operation which may 
save expense occurs chiefly in the three 
last named. The extravagance, the need- 
less extravagance, of an absence of It rep- 
resented by the old conditions was little 



62 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



apparent to the general public or to boards 
of control. It becomes obvious when one 
considers that thousands of libraries re- 
ceiving hundreds of identical books, and 
hundreds of libraries receiving thousands 
of identical books were each undertaking 
Independently the expense of cataloging 
and classifying these: thus multiplying by 
exactly their number the total cost of the 
community. As against this, the economy 
of a system under which a particular book 
shall be cataloged and perhaps classi- 
ifled at some central point once for all, 
and the result made available in multiple 
form to all libraries receiving copies of it 
needs only to be stated to be convincing. 
A condition of it is, in the case of classi- 
fication, identity in the basic scheme ana 
notation, in the case of catalog identity 
in the form, and uniformity in the prac- 
tice. The general availability of biblio- 
graphic lists does not depend upon either, 
though convenienced by both. 

Identity in classification seems still re- 
mote, nor does the undoubted vogue of 
the Decimal scheme assure it: for this 
is chiefly among the smaller libraries. In 
the larger, the Decimal scheme, where 
adopted, is apt to be accompanied by vari- 
ations of detail, which mean a variation 
in the place and symbol assigned to a par- 
ticular book, and thus bar the general 
adoption of a decision in the classification 
of it made at any central bureau. So far 
as this variance affects the direct admin- 
istration of a particular library it may be 
unimportant: for the arrangement of its 
own oooks upon its own shelves provided 
this is based on a subject scheme, consist- 
ently carried out may be sufficiently effec- 
tive for its own purposes, even though 
purely individual with itself. What it im- 
plies, however, in multiplication of an 
expense that might be avoided by the adop- 
tion of an identical scheme, is of an import 
very serious. The construction of a scheme 
which should suit equally all libraries and 
all librarians is not to be expected. The 
best that can be hoped for is a scheme 
sound in its fundaments and upon which 
the concessions of individual preference 



necessary will be only as to detail. The 
reluctance of librarians to make such 
concessions is due, I think, to an exag- 
gerated estimate of the importance of 
classification as such that is to say, of the 
precise location of a particular book in a 
given collection; a failure to realize what 
experience should have taught that in 
many groups no location can be absolutely 
permanent, owing to changes in the literary 
output and in the subject relation of that 
group to the rest. This reluctance is, I 
fear, one of the conservatisms least credit- 
able to the profession. It induces tenacity 
in adhesion to systems adopted, and it 
leads to the adoption of new systems de- 
vised to accord with supposed idiosyncra- 
sies of a particular collection or pursuant 
to the ingenious investiveness of a par- 
ticular librarian. I can express myself 
the more frankly because in this latter 
respect the Library of Congress has itself 
been a sinner; and one not yet come to 
repentance. For at the outset of its prob- 
lem it found the Decimal classification in 
considerable vogue, the Expansive in con- 
siderable favor. And it adopted neither, 
but proceeded to devise a scheme of its 
own. It did this out of declared necessity, 
with regard to its supposed interests; and 
considering those interests alone the re- 
sults have seemed a justification. They 
are even being utilized in certain other 
institutions, and though not proffered as a 
model for general adoption, they render 
even now a general service in proving the 
economy of centralizing the process of 
classification, as well as that of catalog- 
ing, at some central point or points from 
which the decisions may radiate. 

The general availability of a catalog 
entry depends of course upon uniformity 
in cataloging practice as well as identity 
in size and form of the card itself, if the 
result takes the form of a card. Agree- 
ment in this has fortunately been rapid, 
and we have now in English speaking 
American a set of decisions, embodied in 
a code of rules substantially accepted 
among our own libraries and even sub- 
stantially acceptable to the libraries of 



PUTNAM 



63 



Great Britian. Between continental prac- 
tice and our own variances still exist, 
and bar the complete interchange of re- 
sults. One cannot doubt, however, that 
time will eradicate, or adjust these also. 

Between bibliography as distinguished 
from classification and cataloging, there 
exist, however, no such impediments; and 
the centralization of bibliographic work 
cooperation in it is progressing apace. 

The prospect is, therefore, fairly cheer- 
ful that librarians will be able in the near 
future to free themselves and their funds 
from undue attention to the mere mechan- 
ism of their craft, and more completely to 
devote their resources and personal serv- 
ice to the book as literature, and the 
reader as a human being. 

The spirit for this is ardent. It is mani- 
fest in our two countries as nowhere else 
in like degree. As regards the reader it 
calls itself proudly "the missionary spirit"; 
it seeks him, appraises him, sympathizes 
with him, counsels him. It does not doubt 
its duty in this to be an affirmative one. 
But as regards the book itself it is not yet 
so decisive. For in the selection of what 
it is to offer it still concedes much to what 
is called the "popular taste" which means 
the popular fancy of the moment, ignoring 
in doing so its prerogative as an "educa- 
tional" institution to assert standards, and 
to abide by them. Its hope is to improve 
the taste itself; and the need of this its 
appropriateness as a function of the li- 
brary, and the means of effecting it are 
to be a main feature of the program of 
this conference. They are justly so, even 
though they are matters of concern chiefly 
for that type of library which is engaged 
in serving the public at large. It is, how- 
ever, precisely that type of library with 
which also the duty should lie of repre- 
senting the standards established by time, 
and the taste represented by the more re- 
fined rather than by the average instincts 
of the community. And as the temptation 
to make concessions is also peculiarly 
theirs the responsibility is particularly 
upon them, their librarians, their trustees, 
and the conservative in public opinion 



to assert this duty and to conform to it. 
The assertion of it may cause resentment; 
but this will prove merely individual; it is 
not likely to organize into formidable re- 
sistance. And in time it will become 
merely sporadic. It will tend to diminish 
in proportion as associations such as this, 
in conferences such as this, declare solidly 
for the authority of the library in such de- 
cisions while clearly distinguishing it 
from any censorship of literature as such. 

The temptation to court "popularity" 
natural in institutions maintained at the 
public expense and therefore dependent 
upon the favor of city councils has an- 
other phase which I hope may prove but 
transitory. It is in the exploitation of the 
service done by the books which are the 
"tools of trade" as against those making 
for general information, or general culture. 
The supposition is that the service of the 
first named is one which will convince cer- 
tain important opinion as a "practical" ser- 
vice, and particularly that it will appeal to 
those who are just now insistent upon vo- 
cational studies as the studies to be given 
right of way in the education of youth. The 
temptation is the greater because the serv- 
ice of a book of this sort is a service whose 
results are readily demonstrable, it is con- 
crete and objective; while that of gen- 
eral literature is but subjective. 

Its importance cannot be questioned, nor 
the duty of the library to perform it, nor 
the success of our public libraries in the 
actual performance of it. The only criti- 
cism might be lest in the emphasis upon 
it, our libraries may seem to underesti- 
mate, if not to disparage, that other serv- 
ice which in its ulterior benefit to the com- 
munity may prove of even greater impor- 
tance; that service which reminds the 
public that livelihood is not the main pur- 
pose of life, nor the present, the local and 
the particular, the only era, the only place, 
the only thing worthy of consideration and 
regard. The books which achieve this 
may have their greatest value in offsetting 
the tendencies of mere industry. This is 
not to say, however, that they may not 
advance industry itself; for though they 



64 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



may not improve the mere dexterity of a 
particular individual in a profession, art 
or trade, they may aid to that sense of 
proportion, that larger view of a world- 
wide relation which will advance the art 
itself; and they cultivate the imagination 
which is the essential of modern industry 
in its larger relations. 

As, therefore, our colleges still stand for 
the utility of the general studies even in 
a career looking to vocation, so our libra- 
ries may well stand for the utility of the 
general literature. Particularly is this 
duty upon them since the opportunity in 
its relation to the community at large is 
uniquely theirs: for no other agency not 
even the museum, or the art gallery, or the 
theatre, the opera house, or the concert 
hall potent as may be the influence of 
these matches the book in power and 
availability in this service of quickening 
the sensibilities, refining the taste, en- 
larging the understanding, diversifying the 
experience, warming the heart and clarify- 
ing the soul. 

And this service understood every- 
where is nowhere save perhaps in Eng- 
land quite so completely followed into its 
consequences as in Canada and the United 
States. The conviction of it grounds our 
libraries upon a public opinion assuring 
permanent support; and inspires among 
individuals enthusiasm for gift and en- 
dowment. The greater, therefore, the 
responsibility of librarians and trustees to 
see to it that this conviction, this enthu- 
siasm and the resources which they pro- 
vide shall be so utilized as to effect not 
merely the most showy but the most sub- 
stantial results. 

And the responsibility should include 
not merely a zeal for the general reader, 
but a regard for the scholar: since a ben- 
efit to the general reader may end with 
himself, but a benefit to the scholar be- 
comes amplified and diffused through him. 
He is not, be it understood, a class by him- 
self. He includes the specialist whose vo- 
cation is research in a particular field; 
but he Includes also the reader for whom 
research is but an avocation. He is the 



unusual man, but he is also the usual man 
in his unusual moments. What is the con- 
scious aim of the one may be the inci- 
dental achievement of the other to ad- 
vance knowledge. And the aid rendered 
by the library to either may be of a con- 
sequence to the community more far 
reaching than the mere diffusion of ascer- 
tained knowledge among a multitude of 
individuals. 

If the effort of our libraries in this direc- 
tion has not kept pace with their efforts in 
the others, the explanation is obvious in 
the emphasis necessary upon the others 
during the past fifty years. But the time 
has come when the obligation to the 
scholar should resume its due place in 
our programs, as well as in our practice. 

And with the resumption of that inter- 
est may we not hope for a recognition a 
re-cognition in our organizations also of 
that type which gave personality to the 
libraries of old? I mean the type repre- 
sented by the Panizzis, the Garnetts, the 
Winsors, Pooles, Cutters and Spoffords. 
For however indifferent such men may 
have been, or might be today, to the mere 
mechanism which of late we have been 
exalting, and which we must hold to be 
necessary under modern conditions, they 
succeeded in producing an atmosphere 
which had a potency of its own, which no 
mere mechanism can reproduce, and for 
which the zeal of routine personal service, 
however "missionary" in spirit, cannot be 
a substitute. For the mechanism gives the 
impression of intervening between the 
reader and the book; and the routine per- 
sonal service fails from the very nature 
of its effort. The reader reached out to 
may be pleased and aided: but he loses 
the lesson and the penetrating suggestion 
afforded by the mere absorption of the 
oldtime librarian in the book itself. It was 
that which once took the visitor out of 
himself, away from affairs, and gave him 
touch with a different world, a sense of 
different values. Does he not miss it now? 
I think he does; and that, however he may 
respect the mere efficiency of the modern 
librarian, as administrator, his really af- 



PUTNAM 



65 



fectionate admiration turns back to the li- 
brarian of the old school whose soul was 
lifted above mere administration, or the 
method of the moment, or the manner of 
insistent service, and whose passionate re- 
gard was rather for the inside of a book 
than for the outside of a reader, even the 
librarian to whom a reader seemed indeed 
but an interruption to an abstraction that 
was privileged. 

I for one, should be sorry to think that 
this type has passed finally. There is 
need for it; there should be a place. I 
trust that it will be restored to us; and I 
deplore the influence upon the younger 
generation in our profession of referring 
to it with condescension if not with con- 
tempt. 

"Our profession." I use the term be- 
cause it is current. We have assumed it, 
and no one has challenged it. There are 
grounds on which it might, I suppose, be 
challenged. "The word implies," accord- 
ing to the Century Dictionary, "professed 
attainments in special knowledge, as dis- 
tinguished from mere skill; a practical 
dealing with affairs, as distinguished from 
mere study or investigation; and an ap- 
plication of such knowledge to uses for 
others as a vocation, as distinguished from 
its pursuit for one's own purposes." The 
latter two requirements are certainly met: 
we are engaged in practical affairs, and to 
the use of others. But the "professed at- 
tainments in special knowledge, as dis- 
tinguished from mere skill," while cer- 
tainly represented in individuals among us, 
are not with us conditions of librarianship 
as a vocation or as an office, nor have we 
in America, as they have in Germany, the 
conventional preparation, the preliminary 
examination as to qualifications, and the 
license which by law or usage are re- 
quirements in the professions strictly so- 
called. A profession should imply uniform 
standards in such qualifications: but the 
qualifications of persons accepted among 
us for library posts of importance, even 
among persons who have made notable 
successes in such posts, vary extraordin- 
arily in both kind and degree. A profes- 



sion should imply a certain homogeneity 
in. ideals, methods and relations; while 
among us there is still a notable diversity. 
The modern library with its large estab- 
lishment and organization, and the respon- 
sibility of large funds, has, like the mod- 
ern university, created a demand in its 
administrators for the traits necessary in 
business rather than characteristic of the 
professions or expected of them. (This 
demand, and the vogue of woman in our 
work a vogue which finds its completest 
recognition at this meeting are indeed 
the most notable of recent phenomena af- 
fecting our personnel.) As yet the con- 
ventional training has not attracted a 
sufficiency of men and women with such 
traits to meet the need; nor has it, on the 
other hand, attracted a sufficient number 
of men and women grounded in special 
branches of the sciences and the arts to 
fill the positions in our research libraries 
which administer, and should interpret, the 
literature of these. The actual personnel 
of our association includes therefore the 
utmost diversity in trait, education and 
experience. 

A considerable such diversity exists 
among teachers, and does not disentitle 
them to the claim of constituting a pro- 
fession; and we are sometimes called edu- 
cators. But we cannot claim to be, for 
we lack the didactic authority, purpose 
and method. 

The final characteristic of a profession 
is its influence upon the community as 
such. Now, our lack of such an influence 
as a body is in part due to the lack of that 
homogeneity in ideal method and per- 
sonnel but in part also to the necessary 
limitations of our office. We are nec- 
essarily non-partisan. We are to fur- 
nish impartially the ammunition for both 
sides of every issue. The moment we be- 
come identified with a single side merely, 
we lose our influence and our authority. 
And it matters not whether the issue be 
political, or theological or economic or 
social. If it be scientific, or merely liter- 
ary, we have more freedom, since the sub- 
ject matter is more nearly academic and 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



less emotional. But even here we must 
avoid the charge of faddism. In a contest 
of morality we may indeed take side 
against the baser, because with this we 
have no influence and no need to court 
one. But there are today few moral is- 
sues clearly distinguishable as such in 
which there is need or temptation for us 
to engage. 

The result of this neutrality is an atti- 
tude which to the world at large must 
seem somewhat colourless; but also a 
habit of mind which insensibly in itself 
becomes neutral. We are content to be 
observers. We avoid becoming contest- 
ants. Such characteristics do not go to 
the solidification of opinion in a profes- 
sion, nor to the assertion of it in an ag- 
gressive way. 

The sum total of all of which (observa- 
tions upon us) is that in spite of our num- 
bers, in spite of the momentous aggregate 
that our "establishment" represents, in 
spite of the assured place which it oc- 
cupies in the community and the social 
system, we are at present, and in many 
ways must continue to be, an aggregate of 
individuals rather than a body politic. But 
even as the Devil's advocate I would not 
so conclude in a deprecatory sense, for we 
may find and show many reasons for com- 
placency and special opportunities" for 
service in the relations which this situa- 
tion implies. 



My original invitation was a large one: 
no less than to estimate the place of the 
library in English-speaking America. I 
have not attempted to comply with it: for 
it seemed too large for my fraction of this 
program. But as a theme it was enticing. 
And so would have been the reverse of it, 
that Is, the place of English-speaking 
America in the development of the library. 
That also will perhaps be worthy of treat- 
ment at some large opportunity. One 
particular aspect of it is suggested by a 
letter of Francis Lieber to General Hal- 
leek, fifty-seven years ago. It runs 

. . . "Have you laid the foundation 
of a great public library in California? 



Your state, above all others, ought largely 
to provide public funds for a library, say 
$20,000 a year for the first five years, and 
then, permanently so much a year. We 
cannot do in our days without large public 
libraries, and libraries are quite as neces- 
sary as hospitals or armies. Libraries are 
the bridges over which Civilization travels 
from generation to generation and from 
country to country, bridges that span over 
the widest oceans; and California will yet 
be the buttress of the bridge over which 
encircling civilization will pass to Asia, 
whence it first came." ... * 

If California may be such a buttress, 
what may we not propound of English- 
speaking America as a whole from which 
through its universities and colleges occi- 
dental ideals and methods are already be- 
ing transmitted to the Orient through the 
effective medium of students sent here for 
their education? 



Such are some of the thoughts with 
which some of us at least approach this 
conference. They are thoughts, even if, 
as yet, only in part satisfactions. There 
is a satisfaction, however, which is dom- 
inant with those of us who come from over 
the border. It is that this conference is to 
be held on Canadian soil; and that here, 
with the broad welcome extended to us, 
with a common subject matter, and with 
purposes in connection with it that can 
awaken neither cavil nor suspicion, we are 
free to indulge in reciprocities that will 
be complete, mutual, and enduring. 

Mr. Lawrence J. Burpee read the fol- 
lowing telegram from the private secre- 
tary of the Duke of Connaught, which was 
received with hearty applause: 

The Governor-General wishes meeting 
of American Library Association every 
success and His Royal Highness regrets 
exceedingly that it is impossible for him 
to be present at your annual meeting to- 
morrow. 

Mr. BURPEE: Similar letters of regret 
have been received from the Right Honor- 

[*From "Life and letters of Francis Lieber." 
Edited by Thomas Sergeant Perry. Boston. 1882.] 



ELMENDORF 



67 



able Prime Minister and several mem- 
bers of the cabinet and from Sir Wilfrid 
Laurier, and we are yet in hopes that Sir 
Wilfrid will be able to be with us on Do- 
minion Day. 

I have been asked by the Dominion 
Archivist and by the Director of the Vic- 
toria museum and the Custodian of the 
National gallery to extend to you a most 
hearty welcome to visit those institutions, 
and I have also been asked by the presi- 
dent of the Ottawa Electric Railway to 
say that the railway would like you to 
consider yourselves guests of the com- 
pany while here, and that the A. L. A. 
button will identify us sufficiently. 

The CHAIRMAN: The work of the lo- 
cal committee has been done largely by 
two men, Dr. Otto Klotz and Mr. Law- 
rence J. Burpee, and perhaps at a later 
session we will have occasion to give 
thanks to Mr. Burpee, who behind the 
scenes has made our official tasks come 
so lightly and so easily. 

The secretary read a cablegram bear- 
ing greetings from the New Zealand Li- 
braries Association, through the secre- 
tary, Mr. Herbert Baillie, librarian of the 
Wellington (N. Z.) public library. 

Adjourned. 

FIRST GENERAL SESSION 

(Russell Theatre, Thursday, June 27, 
9:30 a. m.) 

The PRESIDENT: I have the honor 
to announce that the Thirty-fourth An- 
nual Conference of the American Library 
Association is now open. It seems to me, 
with the welcome given us this morning, 
in the beautiful sunshiny weather, nearly 
as bright and genial as the welcome that 
we were given last night, we open un- 
der very happy auspices indeed, and I 
hope that when you hear the speakers as 
they shall take up the matters on the pro- 
gram, you will feel that the auspices 
have been very well carried out. 

I shall have the pleasure to talk to you 
for a very few moments on the subject 
as printed on the program. 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS 

The Public Library: "A Leaven'd and 

Prepared Choice " 

Last evening's jesting pretense that the 
party from the States had stopped on the 
border and removed the boundary line to 
bring it with them here, into the very 
Canadian capital, was not quite all a jest. 
The American Library Association is it- 
self a witness that though the boundary 
line firmly and clearly defines the limits 
of rule of the two countries in some great 
and essential things, some 

"Glories of our blood and state," 
it need not, it does not, even divide, still 
less alienate, the two peoples. 

It is one of the worthiest, most au- 
spicious foundations of the American Li- 
brary Association that it is, and has ever 
been, continental not national in its sym- 
pathy and membership. Within its cir- 
cle "all who profess and call themselves" 
English-speaking may unite their best 
thought and their best endeavor for this 
important public service. 

There are many fundamental library 
principles that are common to both coun- 
tries and your Program Committee has 
intended to arrange the program and dis- 
cussions to take account of these, leav- 
ing to other and minor meetings such 
things as are national or local in their 
bearing. The committee has wished to 
transcend all division by boundary lines. 
By so much the jest was fact. 

The attempt has been made to stand 
away from detail of all sorts so far that 
it may be possible to see the library 
world as "a world" indeed, "a whole of 
parts," as a system of members, each 
member distinct yet, by virtue of the very 
peculiarities which constitute its distinct- 
ness, contributing to the unity of the 
whole. 

We shall fail to see the library world 
thus, as a world, as a whole unless, amid 
the mass of facts, of experiences, of needs, 
of adaptations involved, we can finally dis- 
cern and seize upon the true center, the 
truly dominant thing. 



OTTAWAICONFERENCE 



If we could once see the true center as 
the center, and the mass of detail taking 
ordered place about it; if we could once 
perceive the dominant that should surely 
rule, and lesser matters in due subjection 
to that rule, then from the obvious things 
ever before our eyes, and only too fam- 
iliar, by that very familiarity made diffi- 
cult to apprehend, the library might all 
at once appeal as an entity, as a clear 
conception. So the forest becomes visible 
to the artist's eyes, the forest, formed of 
trees, but never really seen until all at 
once in the vision of the forest the trees 
are lost to sight. 

Some modes of thought, some phrases of 
expression which have been used are those 
which the philosopher has weighed and 
clarified for his own carefully measured 
statements. Do not smile at my temerity, 
and on the other hand do not be in the 
least alarmed. I ventured but a little way 
and you will not be called to go far into 
the philosopher's country under my lead. 
Even if one be no swimmer it is an ex- 
perience to venture out, with careful bal- 
ance, feeling for secure foothold upon the 
solid bed, even a little way into a mighty 
stream whose full mid-current would sweep 
over one's head. One gets, out of even 
so limited an adventure, a sense of the 
sweep of the river, feels the embrace and 
pull of the current, stoops to drink a lit- 
tle of the clear, bright, deep waters, ever 
thereafter to thirst for deeper draughts 
and to long for strength and mastery to 
plunge into and breast the full stream. 

In trying to find warrant for my own 
thoughts and ordered and lucid statement 
for them, I have sought and consulted cer- 
tain books and some of them were too 
hard for my full reading. I shall not fur- 
ther acknowledge my debt now but, once 
more departing from precedent, I shall 
list them for print at the end of the ad- 
dress. 

In the wish to find the center or domi- 
nant of the library world it would be 
presumptuous for me to dogmatize and 
say "Lo here! this is the point," or "Be- 
hold t this is the principle." In the very 



name of the institution which we are talk- 
ing about there are two elements joined 
Public, and Library and it seems quite 
obviously proper to try the first as the 
center. 

Perhaps the application which follows 
might repel some as narrow, as exclusive 
of any but a single type of libraries. The 
principle itself may, however, be made 
to apply to the entire library world by 
recognizing as "public" all libraries which 
are not private, and by defining public 
anew as applied to each group or type of 
libraries, always letting it include all those 
individuals for whose use and pleasure 
the library is maintained. 

What does "public" signify in Canada 
and the United States? What but all the 
people of these two great experiments in 
democratic society? Pray note that I say 
society not government. An excursion into 
discussion of the latter might involve dab- 
bling in the stream of politics which would 
threaten dangers far more imminent, for 
me, than philosophy promised. To con- 
sider democratic society for a few mo- 
ments very simply is a less hazardous 
matter. 

What is any society but "a world" again, 
a whole, in which the great thing that 
matters is the level and fullness of mind 
that is reached through the diversities of 
complete development and perfection of 
the individual members which compose it? 

The level of value and happiness for the 
whole can only be raised by raising the 
condition of the individuals and, on the 
other hand, that individuality is the most 
complete, of most real, felt value to it- 
self, which contributes to the perfection 
of the whole, because it is only thus that 
the individual is conscious of having done 
his utmost. 

Why try to say it again when the philos- 
opher has said it so exactly? 

"What a man really cares about so it 
seems to me may be described as mak- 
ing the most of the trust he has received. 
He does not value himself as a detached 
and purely self-identical subject. He values 
himself as the inheritor of the gifts and 
surroundings which are focussed in him 



ELMENDORF 



and which it is his business to raise to 
their highest power. The attitude of the 
true noble, one in whom noblesse oblige 
is a simple example of what, mutatis 
mutandis, all men feel. The man is a rep- 
resentative, a trustee for the world, of 
certain powers and circumstances. And 
this cannot fail to be so. For suffering and 
privation are also opportunities. The ques- 
tion for him is how much he can make of 
them. This is the simple and primary 
point of view, and also, in the main, the 
true and fundamental one. It is not the 
bare personality or the separate destiny 
that occupies a healthy mind. It is the 
thing to be done, known and felt; in a 
word, the completeness of experience, his 
contribution to it, and his participation in 
it. 

"At every point the web of experience is 
continuous; he cannot distinguish his part 
from that of others, and the more he 
realizes the continuity the less he cares 
about the separateness of the contribution 
to it. ... It is impossible to overrate 
the co-operative element in experience." 

Does it not appear then that the highest 
possible service to the public is service to 
the individual, in giving to the individual 
stimulus and opportunity for the fullest, 
most diverse, most perfect development, 
creating thus a world the more enriched, 
the more unified, in that each of its mem- 
bers has rich powers, functions and ex- 
perience of his own? 

But the crux is to come. A people, a so- 
ciety, is made up of individuals of diverse 
tastes and powers, but it includes very 
many who are far short of being fully alive 
to the powers which they may possess. 
If the span of such lives passes thus, if 
no stimulus, no illumination reaches them, 
life will be uninspired, unfruitful of much 
service, or much Joy. It will not be life 
at its full, nor "the soul at its highest 
stretch." 

It is not always afar from our own doors 
that such things happen. President Eliot 
says, "Do we not all know many people 
who seem to live in a mental vacuum 
to whom, indeed, we have great difficulty 
in attributing immortality, because they 
have so little life except that of the 
body?" 

From such conditions not only individ- 
uals but all society suffers. As a spot 



of unnourished, inactive tissue in a hu- 
man body is a host ready to receive any 
one of many forms of disease, so, in the 
body politic, individuals not fulfilling their 
utmost best are soil made ready for all 
manner of social and political ills. 

The time may come when society will 
recognize that many social and political 
ills are partly caused by its own neglect, 
and call not for more restrictions, for 
more stringent laws and severer sentences, 
but rather for more carefully and univers- 
ally given opportunity. 

Listen once more to the philosopher. 

"The more highly differentiated the in- 
dividuals composing a society, the more 
complete becomes the social bond between 
them. A man who feels that he is render- 
ing to the community a service at once 
indispensable and only to be performed by 
himself, will have come near to fulfilling 
his part in the highest attainable scheme 
of social harmony." 

If this be true, then there seems clear 
warrant for saying that the community, 
for its own sake, has a vital interest in 
trying to secure for each individual the 
most effective opportunity hot only for dis- 
covering what his distinct contribution 
may be made, but also for developing his 
power to render that contribution most 
completely. 

Does the community anywhere concern 
itself to give such opportunities? Demo- 
cratic society has recognized its necessity 
to give a certain amount of knowledge and 
training by means of its schools. It is be- 
ginning to make the experiment of giv- 
ing a certain amount of skill to earn a 
livelihood. This teaching is done in classes 
and a class Is made up of individuals of 
similar knowledge and attainments, and 
to them is given general and identical 
information which tends to produce like 
results. The community has need for un- 
likeness, for individuals who can render 
unique service. 

The community can never decide what 
the special individual aptitude may be. 
No living soul can discover for another. 
The "power to become" is innate and must 



70 



OTTAWALCONFERENCE 



make its own response to the stimulus 
which is capable of affecting it. 

It is true that the universe is a great 
battery incessantly sending an infinity of 
calls of infinitely varied messages. But 
the receiving operator may be asleep, he 
may never come within range. The uni- 
verse is very wide. The range of experi- 
ence of all is narrow, of some pitifully 
narrow. 

Because of lack of opportunity to see, 
to do, to know, to feel, it is not exaggera- 
tion to say that multitudes live a half- 
alive existence, never useful to their pos- 
sible limit, never happy to their full, for 
happiness is "felt perfection." 

From the beginning of time, some men 
have received their messages, found their 
work, given their service, lived life to 
the full and laid it down with a will. The 
record of these men and their accomplish- 
ment, of man's great adventure to find 
himself, has been written by many hands, 
and that record is literature. 

Arnold says, "To know ourselves and 
the world we have, as a means to this 
end, to know the best that has been 
thought or said in the world," and "Litera- 
ture may mean everything written or 
printed in a book." 

The library is the reservoir of litera- 
ture, a collection of books, but it is some- 
thing more, it comes to have identity, a 
self of its own beyond the sum of all its 
books, when, by the fusing of the whole 
under the vital power of the minds that 
gather and order it, it becomes, in the 
Shakespearian phrase embodied in my 
title, "A leaven'd and prepared choice." 

The library is the one place where time 
and space are set at naught. It is the 
microcosm of the universe. 

Here all the wonders of nature are 
flashed back from the mirrors of eyes that 
have beheld them. 

Here India, and the Arctic and the isles 
of the sea are as close at hand as Niag- 
ara. 

Here Archimedes' lever, Giotto's circle, 
Newton's apple, Palissy's furnace, Jac- 
quard's loom, Jamie Watt's tea-kettle, 



Franklin's kite are cheek by jowl with 
the last Marconigram. 

Here the fate of Aristides, of Columbus, 
of Gordon is as clear to read as the doings 
of yesterday in Chicago. 

The record of what happened at Ther- 
mopylae, at Lucknow, at the Alamo re- 
ceives beside it the tale of the courage 
that rose as the Titanic sank. 

What Buddha and Socrates and Jesus 
taught answers the cry and strengthens 
the heart of doubt and pain to-day. 

The library is the great whispering gal- 
lery of noble deeds and, catching a whis- 
per, 

"The youth replies, I can" 

and goes forth. 

The library is haunted with visions of 
beauty that Plato, that Michael Angelo, 
that Shelley saw the youth exclaims "I 
see!" and follows his lure. 

Here Clotho sits twirling her "thread- 
running spindle" and the youth, catching 
the clue, fares forth whither the fateful 
thread leads. 

The library is almost never the goal but 
to many it may be the starting point 
whence they go forth "to strength and 
endeavor, love and sacrifice, the making 
and achievement of souls." 

The public for whom the library exists 
has little conception or comprehension 
of its power. How shall such publicity 
as will give this knowledge of it be given? 

Such publicity should make clear the 
larger aspects of the library's service, 
showing that the life of any society is "an 
indivisible inheritance" and the welfare 
of all made or marred by the condition 
and service of each one, therefore the li- 
brary should be equipped to be universal 
in its appeal and service, a public neces- 
sity for individual use. 

The public for whom the library exists 
gives it support insufficient for the task 
it should perform. If the library com- 
manded respect would it not receive funds? 

Books are the treasure to be gathered 
for its work. What shall be the principles 



ELMENDORF 



71 



of buying? How create the "leaven'd and 
prepared choice?" 

Books are the medium of appeal, the 
stuff of human knowledge, experience and 
wisdom stored by means of the printed 
leaf. The extent to which each individ- 
ual shares in the stored treasure of the 
race-mind, is, in its sum, the measure 
of public safety and happiness and the 
starting-point for service. How show, how 
make known the attraction and stored 
power of books? 

Every individual must choose his own 
path. How leave him free to choose in a 
wide field? 

Service, but not authority, must be at 
hand. What shall the tests of fitness for 
such service be? 

The staff fit for such service must be 
of rare material and quality. 

The members of the staff are instru- 
ments of the highest elaboration and most 
delicate adjustment. The requisite quality 
of service can only be rendered under fit 
conditions. It is not a matter of knowl- 
edge, conscience and will solely, it is a 
matter of these things plus insight, sym- 
pathy and response. Exhaustion, or an ap- 
roach to it, discouragement from lack of 
appreciation, are like a ground wire for 
loss of power. Body, mind and spirit are 
all involved in this service. How con- 
serve their strength, well-being and joy? 

Unskilled people cannot render fit serv- 
ice. What are the things that matter in 
training? How far can training be effec- 
tive. 

These are the subjects that your Pro- 
gram Committee has thought it might in- 
terest all to consider. Certain leaders will 
discuss them, each according to his own 
will and way. In their wisdom and in that 
of the discussions with which you will 
follow them will lie all the value of this 
conference. 

Books Consulted: A Short List 

Bosanquet, Bernard. The principle of 
individuality and value. Macmillan. 1912. 

Bryce, James. The American Common- 
wealth. Vol. 2, p. 828, and chapter GIL 
Macmillan. 1910. 



Chesterton, G. K. Manalive. Lane. 
1912. 

Douglas, Robert. The choice. Macmil- 
lan. 1911. 

Eliot, C. W. The function of education 
in democratic society. In his Educational 
reform. Century. 1908. 

Goldmark, Josephine. Fatigue and effi- 
ciency. Charities Pub. Co. 1912. 

Hobhouse, L. T. The individual and the 
state. In his Social evolution and polit- 
ical theory. Columbia Univ. Press. 1911. 

Liberalism. Holt. 1911. 

Jones, Henry. Idealism as a personal 
creed. Macmillan. 1909. 

Working faith of the social reformer. 
Macmillan. 1910. 

Macdonald, Greville. The child's inheri- 
tance: its scientific and imaginative mean- 
ing. Smith, Elder. 1910. 

Mark, Thiselton. The unfolding of per- 
sonality as the chief aim of education. 
Univ. of Chicago Press. 1911. 

Sidis, Boris. Philistine and genius. 
Moffatt. 1911. 

Woodberry, G. E. The torch: eight lec- 
tures on race power in literature. Mc- 
Clure. 1905. 

The PRESIDENT: I have very great 
pleasure in presenting one who in truth 
needs no introduction to you; one who 
has not for some time appeared on our 
platform but whom I know you will all 
welcome with pleasure, Miss TESSA L. 
KELSO. 

Miss Kelso, of the Baker and Taylor 
Co., New York City, spoke informally 
from notes only on the topic, "Publicity 
for the sake of information: the librari- 
an's point of view," and has been unable 
to furnish a copy of her remarks for pub- 
lication. 

The PRESIDENT: I think you may 
have seen it mentioned once or twice in 
the course of your reading, that there 
was such a thing as the "Wisconsin idea." 
Now, I would not for a moment, having 
been born in that lovely state, have you 
get any notion that that "Wisconsin 
idea" is singular. We have therefore 
asked to come and talk to us this morn- 



72 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



ing a gentleman who, those closest to 
him say, is a repository of "Wisconsin 
ideas," and I have great pleasure in intro- 
ducing to you Mr. WILLIAM H. HATTON, 
"Mr." Hatton by request, though he is 
ordinarily known in his own country as 
Senator Hatton. 

PUBLICITY FOR THE SAKE OF INFOR- 
MATION: THE PUBLIC'S 
POINT OF VIEW 

When man first discovered that his 
hands would respond to the command of 
his brain and that he could use a club to 
defend himself from his enemy, and that 
he could through combined mental and 
physical effort, react upon his environment, 
the gateway on the road to continuous 
progress was opened to mankind. 

The potential power of man cannot be 
measured. The Creator, in so far as we 
are able to judge, has fixed no limits to 
man's progress. The only limitations are 
his lack of knowledge and his lack of 
power to discern the true relations of the 
forces which surround him. 

Mankind is a social organism, not a 
collection of separate and independent 
parts. Where any part is neglected and 
fails to develop so as to discharge effic- 
iently Its function, the whole organization 
suffers. Therefore society is not only deeply 
interested in education during childhood 
and adolescence, but it is concerned in the 
education of man throughout his whole life. 
The public is as much concerned in the 
education of the man of forty years of 
age as it is in the education of the boy 
of five years. One of the chief functions 
of the state is to secure justice, equity 
and equality of opportunity. Dr. Lester 
F. Ward says, "There can be no equality, 
no justice, not to speak of equity, so long 
as society is composed of members, equally 
endowed by nature, a few of whom only 
possess the social heritage of truth and 
ideas resulting from laborious investiga- 
tion and profound meditations of all past 
ages, while the mass are shut out from 
all the light that human achievement has 
shed upon the world." 



What shall be done that this "light of 
human achievement" shall penetrate the 
cloud of ignorance and cause the lamp 
of wisdom to burn in every home? Your 
reply doubtless will be, "The formal train- 
ing of the schools." Yes; that is a step 
in the right direction, but all will agree 
that the training of the schools is only 
and can be only a beginning, a learning 
how to acquire and assimilate knowledge 
and develop power. There must be other 
institutions and agencies which shall carry 
forward the work of education, if we are 
to have that continuous and universal 
development which is possible and de- 
sirable. 

The library is peculiarly suited for this 
work and its power and future influence 
are not fully appreciated even by those 
engaged in library work. It is not neces- 
sary to say to this audience that the pub- 
lic library is an essential part of a com- 
plete educational system and that there 
should be harmony within the system. 

The training in the schools should be 
such as shall make a beginning at least 
in the preparation for social life and social 
service, in the broad sense. The students 
should be shown that the library is a 
social mirror, a record of the social activi- 
ties of mankind. If for any cause stu- 
dents leave school, they should be in such 
close relation to the library and be so fa- 
miliar with library methods that they will 
be encouraged to continue studying; thus 
we shall find the book in the hand of the 
worker, the ideal condition, assisting him 
in solving his problems and opening to 
him visions of life of which he had never 
dreamed. 

The school authorities should never over- 
look the fact that the average time which 
the individual student attends school is 
short; but be it short or long, pupils should 
be trained in the use of the library, and 
taught how to find in books answers to 
their questions. Questions which shall re- 
quire students to go to the library should 
be regularly given them. In the higher 
grades and in the high schools emphasis 
should be placed on library work. Stu- 



HATTON 



73 



dents should not only be required to read 
certain specified books, as supplementary 
reading, but there should be regular as- 
signments of topics for investigation, 
which will require them to use the li- 
brary and other sources of information, 
thus training them in research methods 
and developing their power of original in- 
vestigation. By this method their school 
work will become a living motive-force in 
their lives. 

The colleges and universities offer a 
great number of courses. So many sub- 
jects are open for study that the most 
that can be done during the college years 
is to select a few and concentrate effort 
upon those selected and leave the great 
field of knowledge for future exploration 
and conquest. Therefore, if a student 
leaves college with high ideals and an 
ambition to explore still further the field 
of knowledge and develop his individuality, 
his immediate need is a good library. 
Therein is the crystallized wisdom of ages 
held in "magic preservation." Here he 
may find freedom for the development of 
his individuality and be able to increase 
his power to react on his environment, en- 
abling him to find profit, pleasure and cul- 
ture in the various activities of life. 

But has he learned how to use the li- 
brary? Let us take the testimony of Dr. 
Harper, former president of the Univer- 
sity of Chicago. "It is pitiable," he said, 
"to find that many graduates of our very 
best colleges are unable, after taking up 
the more advanced work of the divinity 
school or other graduate courses, to make 
use of books. They find nothing; they do 
not know how to proceed in order to find 
anything. No more important, no more 
useful training can be given men in college 
than that which relates to the use of books. 
Why do so many men give up reading 
when they leave college? Because in col- 
lege they have never learned the use of 
books." 

This is the testimony of a man of wide 
experience. A college librarian should be 
a person of strong personality and broad 
culture, and the example of some of the 



universities and colleges of making the 
librarian a member of the faculty should 
be followed by all colleges. The most im- 
portant work for schools and colleges is to 
arouse in the students the spirit of re- 
search, train them in research methods, 
and develop their powers of independent 
investigation. Impress upon them the fact 
that education cannot be received but 
must be acquired, and that the acquisition 
of knowledge is a process co-extensive 
with life. 

President Hibben of Princeton says, "It 
is the nature of education that it does 
not result in a complete and finished prod- 
uct, but rather a progressive process. 
There is nothing final about it. Its 
achievements always mark new beginnings. 
Education must always be defined in terms 
of life, of growth, of progress." 

It will be readily seen that those who 
complete the regular courses of the 
schools, colleges and universities need the 
library. It is well known that the major- 
ity do not take advantage fully of the 
opportunities offered by the schools, but 
for various reasons they drop out all along 
the line. For these we need the library. 
We have a large immigration of adults 
from foreign lands. These people come 
here to make homes and to take part in 
our government. Self-government requires 
knowledge and understanding. Great ques- 
tions are constantly arising which demand 
intelligent action. Ignorance, whether it 
be the ignorance of the rich or of the 
poor, is a menace. One of our grave social 
problems is the ignorance and indifference 
of the ostentatious rich. Rich in material 
things, but poor in the things which make 
life rich. They have not learned that 
every man owes a debt to society that 
can be paid only in service. Complex our 
social organization is and it is becoming 
more complex each year. Grave questions 
are before us for solution. The people In 
general have no adequate conception of 
the possibilities of the library, when prop- 
erly organized, as an effective force for 
dealing with these conditions; and it is 
doubtful if the most optimistic librarians 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



appreciate what may be, and will be done 
in the future with this great instrument 
of education. A community without a 
public library lacks an essential of a well 
organized community. 

Let us have in the library men and wo- 
men of broad culture who have had spe- 
cial training in psychology and sociology, 
who are sincerely and sympathetically de- 
voted to humanity. Let this great educa- 
tional institution be directed by people of 
commanding power, trained for public 
service, who have entered the profession 
as a life work, salaries to correspond, with 
qualifications required and services ren- 
dered. We say services rendered because 
all service must be rendered before it can 
be measured. The library will thus be- 
come the center of intellectual activities 
of the community, a continuation school, a 
local university. 

Society is under obligation to furnish 
every means possible for the development 
of human capacity. There is in the world 
latent talent and capacity beyond meas- 
ure. For the development of this latent 
talent, society is in a measure responsible. 
If opportunity is offered, capacity will 
develop. 

Great forces surround us pressing for 
admission to our lives, telephones, electric 
light, printing, anaesthesia, antiseptics, 
synthetic chemistry, wireless telegraphy, 
etc. These things have always been pos- 
sible but the cloud of ignorance obscured 
man's vision, and kept him from realizing 
his power. 

The degree to which a community dis- 
charges its obligation can be measured by 
the opportunities it offers for the develop- 
ment of the members of that community. 
To offer better opportunities for those who 
wish to continue their studies and to 
bring together those of like tastes and 
desires, let there be opened seminar 
rooms in the library building, or in other 
buildings which shall be under the con- 
trol of the library authorities. To these 
seminar rooms bring students, from every 
walk of life, to study under competent di- 
rection and to investigate subjects in 



which they are interested either from a 
material or cultural point of view. Only 
a small percentage of those who complete 
the high school course go to college. There 
should be provided graduate courses for 
the high school graduates, and other stu- 
dents of like qualifications in these semi- 
nar rooms, directed by the library staff. 
The school teachers and library staff can 
meet in these seminar rooms and discuss 
questions of common interest; and also 
pursue advanced studies. These rooms 
should be the centers for university exten- 
sion work. 

People can be brought together here for 
study and discussion of questions of citi- 
zenship, government, civic betterment, and 
all questions pertaining to social adjust- 
ment. Study groups can be formed for 
regular and systematic study under the 
direction of competent teachers. People 
of all ages can be brought together for 
study, which is impossible under our pres- 
ent system of education. In these groups 
the mature man and woman of high ideals 
will exert a powerful influence upon the 
young. Through this system regular and 
systematic reading under competent direc- 
tion can be encouraged. Teachers and 
parents can meet in these seminar rooms 
and discuss school questions. 

Continuation schools should be main- 
tained. Bring the people from their vo- 
cations to these continuation schools; out 
of these schools organize classes for spe- 
cial work in the library seminar rooms; 
thus may be secured the union of in- 
struction and practical application which 
make for increased efficiency, cultivates 
the whole man, and brightens his life. 

John Stuart Mill said, "The business of 
life is an essential part of the practical 
education of a people without which book 
and school and instruction, though most 
necessary and salutary, does not suffice to 
qualify them for conduct and for adapta- 
tion of means to ends. Instruction is only 
one of the desiderata of mental improve- 
ment. Another indispensable, is vigorous 
exercise of active energies." 

It matters not how highly we value the 



HATTON 



75 



formal training of the colleges we must 
never overlook the fact that a very large 
majority do not have the full benefit of 
such training. We must therefore deal 
with conditions as they exist. When we 
call to mind the names and careers of such 
men as Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, 
Hugh Miller, Herbert Spencer, Richard 
Baxter, Abraham Lincoln, Michael Farra- 
day, Sir Humphrey Davey, Horace Greeley, 
Sir William Herschel, we come to realize 
that many of the brightest stars in the 
world's, constellation have been cut and 
polished by forces other than the formal 
training of the schools. Wide is the field 
and great is the opportunity. 

The question may be raised, "How shall 
we secure the money for this great work?" 
We are expending in the United States 
more than two-thirds of our national in- 
come for wars past and for military pur- 
poses, educating men to destroy. Let this 
fact come to the knowledge of our peo- 
ple and a demand will be made to cut 
down the appropriations for educating 
men to destroy and increase the appro- 
priations for educating men to construct. 

A hundred years of peaceful intercourse 
between two great nations, Canada and 
the United States, with over three thou- 
sand miles of boundary without a gun- 
boat or a soldier, is the best answer to 
the militarist who would spent the money 
for instruments of destruction that should 
be used for instruments of construction. 

How shall we bring to the knowledge 
of the people information relating to this 
great work? There are more than twenty 
millions of students in the schools of Can- 
ada and the United States. These stu- 
dents touch directly or indirectly every 
home. With libraries at various local cen- 
ters correlated with the schools, we have 
what may be called the nervous system 
of education of these great nations. 
Through this system the people may be 
reached more uniformly and regularly than 
in any other way. Here is a great body 
of people seeking information coming into 
direct contact with the homes. 

Therefore we put the schools in the 



first place as a means of publicity for the 
sake of information. Let us bring the 
library and the schools into closer rela- 
tion. Render service to mankind wher- 
ever mankind is. The best publicity is 
secured through services rendered. The 
patronage of the lawyer and physician de- 
pends largely on the quality of service 
rendered. The business man secures cus- 
tom when he establishes a reputation 
for fair dealing. May not the library ex- 
pect good measure of publicity from the 
reputation it has for real accomplishment? 
Study the problem, do things that are 
worth while. Bring the whole power of 
the organization to bear on the subject 
of social adjustment. This will lead to 
various fields of activity. Produce results 
which shall compel attention. Do things 
that will be considered news. Having 
done, having produced, do not hesitate to 
make known. Give your reports what 
the newspaper man calls the "news turn." 

Every librarian should have training in 
psychology and sociology and should con- 
tinue to study. Study man individually, 
in groups, in communities and mankind as 
a whole. 

The PRESIDENT: The next in order 
will be the secretary's report. 

SECRETARY'S REPORT 

The close of another conference year 
finds the executive office still enjoying the 
hospitality of the Chicago public library 
in the commodious, convenient and well 
equipped rooms in the Chicago public li- 
brary building. Heat, light and janitor 
service have also been supplied gratuit- 
ously as in previous years. The associa- 
tion has now held headquarters offices in 
Chicago for nearly three years and it is 
a pleasure for the secretary to report that 
the prospects for continuance and perma- 
nence of headquarters were never brighter 
than they are now. The income from 
membership fees is steadily increasing. In 
1909 the amount raised from this source 
was $4,557.50; in 1910, $4,888.48; in 1911, 
$5,325.46; and the receipts thus far for 
1912 warrant us in hoping that the total 



76 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



amount from membership fees will be at 
least $6,200. While the finances of the 
association even yet do not permit us to 
do many things that are very much worth 
doing and which are in the legitimate 
field of activities, we seem gradually to 
be approaching the time when excursions 
can be made into new avenues. 

Although the work of the headquarters 
office varies from day to day so that 
no two days are alike the year's work in 
the aggregate so closely resemble that for 
last year that much repetition of last 
year's report would be made if a detailed 
statement were presented. The routine 
work has of course been performed, such 
as editing the bulletin, attending to the 
correspondence, advertising for the pub- 
lishing board and sale of its publications 
which in the last year has been the heav- 
iest in its history, the payment of bills, the 
keeping of books, the printing of publica- 
tions for the publishing board, with the at- 
tendant work of making contracts for 
printing and the reading of proof, the ar- 
rangements for the mid-winter meetings 
and the annual conference. The volume 
of this routine work has been very great 
and is still increasing so that often for 
days at a time there is little chance for 
doing anything else. 

Since November 1, 1911, a record has 
been kept of mail sent out from the office. 
From November 1, to May 31, 1912, 11,818 
pieces of first-class mail have been dis- 
patched, or an average of about 67 pieces 
a day. In addition to this 15,794 pieces 
of circular matter were mailed either in 
the interest of the A. L. A. or its publish- 
ing board during the same period. No rec- 
ord of mail received has been kept but It 
runs from 50 to 70 letter a day, and fre- 
quently reaches 150 a day at certain 
seasons and on certain days of the week. 
Of course not all of this requires the per- 
sonal attention of the secretary, a large 
share being orders for publications, or 
remittances for the same, payment of mem- 
bership dues, and various inquiries, which 
are entirely handled by the office assist- 
ants. The headuarters office, however, 



continues to be, we are pleased to say, a 
clearing house for general library informa- 
tion. The Chicago public and John Crerar 
libraries are frequently consulted by the 
secretary, and occasionally the Newberry 
and other libraries, and I desire to ex- 
press at this time my hearty appreciation 
of the cordial assistance given me by the 
reference librarians of these various in- 
stitutions. Thanks to their kind offices 
we have been able in most instances either 
to give the desired information or tell 
where it may be found. To those seek- 
ing advice regarding establishment of li- 
braries, selection or purchase of books or 
policy of administration we have gladly 
helped so far as we were able but al- 
ways make it a point to try to put the 
inquirer in touch with the library com- 
mission of his state or the state library. 
We have taken particular pleasure in cor- 
responding with certain towns in New 
Mexico, Florida, Mississippi and Montana 
where a public library is either being or- 
ganized or where a campaign to secure 
one is being conducted. Notwithstanding 
the systematic efforts of the various com- 
missions to cover thoroughly the library 
work of their respective states many small 
libraries and library boards seem bliss- 
fully ignorant of the existence of such an 
institution as a state library commission, 
and we consider it no small service to be 
able to enlighten them on this point. The 
commissions, on the other hand, are con- 
stantly putting the small libraries in 
touch with the A. L. A. The state li- 
brary commissions can always be counted 
on to co-operate with the A. L. A. to 
publish our news notes and notices re- 
garding publications in their bulletins, to 
recommend membership and A. L. A. pub- 
lications and to respond quickly and effi- 
ciently to any special call. This is thor- 
oughly appreciated by the secretary and 
the executive office. During the past year 
the secretary has made several demands 
on the time of the secretaries of the va- 
rious state library associations and has 
found response in most cases prompt, in- 
telligent and willing. 



UTLEY 



77 



The library interests of the country are 
making progress towards a harmony of 
effort that is good to see and that will 
bring its sure result in better and more 
intelligent service to the people. 

We have endeavored to keep the value 
and importance of publicity steadily be- 
fore us and have accomplished as much 
in this direction as time and funds per- 
mitted. Multigraphed articles have been 
sent out to about 175 of the leading papers 
of the country several times during the 
year and from marked copies sent to the 
office and from reports from librarians 
who have seen the articles in their local 
papers we know that these contributions 
have been pretty generally used. Sev- 
eral special articles on either the work 
of the A. L. A. or the Publishing Board 
have been written for particular papers. 
A publicity committee has, at the request 
of the secretary, recently been appointed 
in the hope of securing still greater public- 
ity. The work of the executive office, how- 
ever, does not lend itself to the making 
of "stories" interesting to those outside 
the profession. Nearly every live and 
up-to-date library, on the other hand, is 
every week living out experiences which, 
if written up in a breezy and popular style 
of which many of our library folk are 
masters, would make capital articles ac- 
ceptable not only to the daily press but 
to the more exclusive magazines as well. 
It appears, therefore, that the executive 
office can perhaps best promote publicity 
for the profession, by urging the prepara- 
tion of these contributions from the refer- 
ence librarians, the children's librarians, 
the loan desk people, the municipal refer- 
ence workers, these people who, as Kipling 
puts it, have 

"lived more stories 
Than Zogbaum or I can invent." 
The secretary has written four or five 
articles on the A. L. A. for various en- 
cyclopedias and year books, and has en- 
deavored to get the association listed in 
all the leading reference almanacs and 
annuals. Lectures before library schools 
by the secretary regarding the A. L. A. 



and its work, and official representation 
at the state meetings have also given 
publicity to the association. 

During the past year twelve persons have 
received library appointments through rec- 
ommendations of the secretary. This is 
a somewhat smaller number than the year 
before when about fifteen were helped to 
positions through the executive office. 
With two or three exceptions the secretary 
has made recommendations only when re- 
quested to do so. 

The work of the publishing board occu- 
pies practically three-quarters of the time 
of the assistant secretary, at least half 
of the time of the stenographer and order 
assistant and probably a quarter of the 
time of the secretary. In consideration of 
this the publishing board appropriates 
$2,000 a year to the operating expenses of 
the office. The work of the publishing 
board is heavier than ever before in its his- 
tory; the receipts from sales for the calen- 
dar year 1911 being $8,502.88, and for the 
first five months of 1912 $6,090.16. Fur- 
ther notice of this feature of the work of 
the office can be found in the report of 
the A. L. A. publishing board presented 
in print at this conference. 

The secretary wishes here to commend 
most heartily the faithful services of his 
fellow-workers at the executive office, Miss 
Clara A. Simms and Miss Gwendolyn I. 
Brigham. Their capable and willing serv- 
ice has been a large factor in the work of 
the association and its publishing board 
and without such intelligence and loyal 
help the results of the year could not have 
been attained. For the active co-opera- 
tion and good will of the officers and 
other members of the executive board the 
secretary is deeply grateful. It has been 
a pleasure to work under such congenial 
conditions. 

Membership There are more members 
in the A. L. A. at the present time than 
ever before in the history of the associa- 
tion. The secretary has conducted as 
vigorously as possible a steady campaign 
for new members, this work not only be- 
ing the duty of the office but directly tn 



78 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



line with the conviction of the secretary 
who has recommended membership in the 
national association to all library work- 
ers in the earnest belief that this action 
is fully as beneficial to the individual as 
tc the association. 

When the January membership bills 
were mailed we enclosed in each envelope 
an appeal for the member addressed to 
secure at least one new member for the 
association. This resulted directly in the 
addition of over one hundred new mem- 
bers and the secretary wishes to take 
this opportunity to thank most sincerely 
and heartily those members who aided 
in this work. Besides the pleasure of se- 
curing these new members it was gratify- 
ing to feel that so many old members took 
such practical interest in aiding the asso- 
ciation. In April membership appeals were 
sent to 1854 members of state library asso- 
ciations who were not members of the 
A. L. A. This has resulted in a fair in- 
crease of membership. In December the 
secretary sent letters requesting member- 
ship to 232 library people who had, ac- 
cording to the news columns of library 
periodicals, recently changed their posi- 
tions assumably for the better. In addi- 
tion to these more or less impersonal ap- 
peals the secretary has written a large 
number of personal letters to those with 
whom he is either personally acquainted 
or else with whom he has conducted an 
office correspondence. As in all other 
lines of business it is this personal ap- 
peal that has been the most effective and 
has brought the largest percentage of re- 
turns. 

When the 1911 Handbook went to press 
last August there were 2046 members in 
the A. L. A. Of this number 13 have since 
died and 26 have resigned. Since last 
August 351 new members have been re- 
ceived making the present total net mem- 
bership 2,358. Assuming that the usual 
number, or about 150 persons, will dis- 
continue their membership this summer 
the net membership in the 1912 Hand- 
book will be approximately 2,208. Of the 
present total membership 332 are library 



or institutional members, 24 of whom have 
joined since last August. 

A. L. A. Representatives at Other Con- 
ferences The practice of having an offi- 
cer or officially appointed delegate repre- 
sent the association at the state library 
association meetings has been followed 
the past year with success fully equal 
to that in previous years. Since the Pas- 
adena conference there have been 39 state 
or provincial library meetings, and a 
speaker representing the A. L. A. has 
been present at 16 of these. The A. L. A. 
at present has too small a budget to meet 
the traveling expenses of these speakers, 
which have been met either by the state 
association or by the delegates personally. 

The joint conference of Michigan and 
Ohio at Cedar Point, Ohio, Sept. 2-8, was 
attended by Mrs. H. L. Elmendorf, presi- 
dent of the American library association, 
who delivered an address on "Joy Read- 
ing," and by the secretary, who spoke in- 
formally on the work of the A. L. A. The 
New York state meeting in New York 
City, Sept 25-30, was also attended by 
both the president and secretary, Mrs. 
Elmendorf giving her address on "Joy 
Reading," and the secretary speaking on 
"What the American Library Association 
Stands For." 

Mrs. Elmendorf was the official delegate 
to the Keystone State library association 
meeting at Saegertown, Pa., Oct. 19-21, 
giving an address on "Joy Reading;" at 
the District of Columbia library association 
conference, at Washington, November 8, 
where she gave a talk on some of the 
recent books; and at the New York state 
teachers' association meeting at Albany, 
Nov. 27-29, speaking on the subject, "School 
and library co-operation; a concrete ex- 
ample and a little theory." 

Mr. J. I. Wyer, Jr., represented the A. 
L. A. at the state meetings of Iowa, at 
Mason City, Oct. 10-12; of Illinois, at Joliet, 
Oct. 11-13; and of Missouri at Hannibal, 
Oct. 18-19; delivering at each meeting an 
rf dress on the subject, "What Americans 
Read." 

Mr. Chalmers Hadley, librarian of the 



UTLEY 



79 



Denver public library, and ex-secretary 
of the A. L. A., was the representative 
of the American library association at 
the meeting of the Pacific northwest li- 
brary association, at Victoria, B. C., Sept. 
4-6, giving an address on "The Library and 
the Community." 

The secretary attended the Minnesota 
meeting, at Lake Minnetonka, Sept. 20-22, 
the Nebraska meeting at Omaha, Oct. 18- 
19, and the North Dakota state meeting 
at Jamestown, Oct. 20-21, giving at each 
conference an address on "Reaching the 
People." He also gave an address at 
the joint session of the Indiana library 
association and the Indiana library trus- 
tees' association, at Indianapolis, Nov. 8th, 
on "The Legal and Moral Requirements 
of a Library Trustee." 

Dr. Arthur E. Bostwick, librarian of 
the St. Louis public library, and ex-presi- 
dent of the A. L. A., was the principal 
out-of-state speaker at the Alabama library 
association conference, at Tuscaloosa, and 
at the State University, November 21, 22 
and 23. Dr. Bostwick gave two addresses; 
the first on "The Companionship of 
Books;" and the second on "The Message 
of the Library." 

Miss Clara F. Baldwin, secretary of the 
Minnesota public library commission, at- 
tended, as A. L. A. delegate, the joint meet- 
ing of the Montana state teachers' asso- 
ciation and Montana library association, 
at Great Falls, December 27-29, 1911, and 
spoke on "The work of a library com- 
mission." 

Dr. Reuben G. Thwaites, secretary of 
the Wisconsin State Historical Society, 
and an ex-president of the A. L. A., officially 
represented the association at the inaugu- 
ration of Dr. George E. Vincent, as presi- 
dent of the University of Minnesota, Octo- 
ber 18. 

Mr. Carl B. Roden, of the Chicago pub- 
lic library, and treasurer of the A. L. A., 
represented the association and gave an 
address on "The library as a paying in- 
vestment," at the Wisconsin library asso- 



ciation meeting at Janesville, February 
21-23. 

The secretary has lectured during the 
year before the Iowa summer library 
school, the New York public library school, 
and the University of Illinois library 
school. He also addressed the summer li- 
brary conference at Madison, Wisconsin, 
on the work of the A. L. A. 

Changes in Officers and Committees 
Following his election as first vice-presi- 
dent, Mr. Henry E. Legler resigned as non- 
official member of the executive board and 
Miss Alice S. Tyler was elected by the 
board to fill the unexpired term ending in 
1912. 

Mr. Harrison W. Graver was unable to 
accept re-appointment as chairman of 
committee on library administration and 
Dr. Arthur E. Bostwick was appointed in 
his place. 

Miss Margaret W. Brown resigned from 
the committee on bookbinding and Miss 
Rose G. Murray was appointed to succeed 
her. 

Necrology The association has lost 
heavily by death during the past year. 
Our losses include the senior ex-president 
of the association, who was a life mem- 
ber, two other life members, and several 
who were, by their regular attendance 
through many years, familiar figures at 
our annual conferences. In all 13 members 
and 4 former members have passed away 
since we last met in conference. The roll 
is as follows: 

Emma Helen Blair, for several years a 
member of the staff of the Wisconsin 
State Historical Library, died September 
26, 1911. Miss Blair had performed valu- 
able and important work as an editor and 
professional indexer, assisting among other 
things in editing "Jesuit Relations" and 
the long series of historical documents in 
Spanish entitled "The Philippine Islands." 
She had been a member of the A. L. A. 
continuously since 1896 (No. 1524), and 
attended the conferences of 1896, 1900 and 
1904. See Library Journal, 36:603. 

Isaac S. Bradley, for many years libra- 
rian and assistant superintendent of the 



80 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Wisconsin State Historical Society, died 
April 22, 1912. He joined the A. L. A. in 
1890, (No. 790) and had taken great in- 
terest in the work of the association. Few 
faces were more familiar at the confer- 
ences than his, as he attended sixteen of 
the annual meetings, those of 1890, '92, '93, 
'95, '96, '97, '98, '99, 1900, '01, '02, '03, '04, 
'06, '07 and '08. 

Frederick Morgan Crunden, senior ex- 
president of the A. L. A., life member, and 
librarian of the St. Louis public library, 
from 1877 to 1909, died October 28, 1911. 
He was president of the A. L. A. 1889-90, 
presiding over the Fabyans conference of 
the latter year, and vice-president of the 
International Library Conference at Lon- 
don in 1897. He joined the A. L. A. in 
1878 (No. 129) and became a life member 
about 1889. To record Mr. Crunden's serv- 
ices to the American library world and to 
the A. L. A. would be practically to give 
a history of the association for the past 
30 years. He participated in many pro- 
grams and conference discussions and was 
one of the best known and beloved of 
American librarians. Mr. Crunden at- 
tended the conferences of 1883 and 1886 
to 1905 inclusive, twenty in all, without an 
absence, except at the San Francisco con- 
ference of 1891. He also attended the 
London international conference in 1897. 
See A. L. A. Bulletin 6:3; Library journal, 
33:569-70; Public libraries, 16:436-38. 

Irene Gibson, chief assistant in the pub- 
lication section of the Library of Congress, 
died July 9, 1911. She joined the asso- 
ciation in 1893 (No. 1114), and became a 
life member in 1910. She attended the 
conferences of 1893, '97, 1903, '08, '10. See 
Library journal, 36:439. 

Jessie Sherburne Gile, assistant in 
charge of the work with schools in the 
public library of Haverhill, Mass., died 
October 22, 1911. She joined the A. L. A. 
in 1902, (No. 2555), and attended the con- 
ferences of 1902 and '06. 

David L. Kingsbury, assistant librarian 
of the Minnesota Historical Society of St. 
Paul, died January 24, 1912. He joined 
the A. L. A. in 1904 (No. 3079), and at- 



tended the conferences of 1904, '08 and '11. 

Mrs. Evelyn N. Lane, head of the cir- 
culating department of the Springfield 
(Mass.) City Library, died August 30, 1911. 
She had been a member of the A. L. A. 
since 1902 (No. 2454), but so far as re- 
corded attended only the conference of 
that year. 

Robbins Little, for twenty years super- 
intendent of the Astor Library, New York 
City, died April 13, 1912. He joined the 
A. L. A. in 1880 (No. 389), and later be- 
came a life member. So far as recorded 
he attended none of the conferences. 

Stella Lucas, librarian of the Tainter 
Memorial Library of Menominee, Wis., died 
July 30, 1911. She joined the A. L. A. in 
1901 (No. 2252), and attended the con- 
ferences in 1901, '05 and '08. 

Adolph L. Peck, librarian of the Glovers- 
ville (N. Y.) Free Library since its founda- 
tion in 1880, died October 9, 1911. He 
joined the A. L. A. in 1883 (No. 466), and 
was a familiar figure at the annual confer- 
ences, having attended those of 1883, '85, 
'86, '87, '90, '92, '93, '94, '96, '98, 1900 and 
1906. 

Mrs. Minerva A. Sanders, for many years 
librarian of the Deborah Cook Sayles Me- 
morial Library, Pawtucket, R. I., died 
March 20, 1912. Although Mrs. Sanders 
was an enthusiastic attendant on A. L. A. 
conferences she never personally joined 
the association, but was officially entitled 
to a seat in the conferences by virtue of 
the institutional membership of her li- 
brary. She had attended fifteen confer- 
ences and was well known to the veterans 
of the association, who well remember her 
early advocacy of open shelves and work 
for children. 

L. W. Sicotte, president of the Numis- 
matic and Antiquarian Society, of Mon- 
treal, died September 5, 1911. He joined 
the A. L. A. in 1900 (No. 1947). So far 
as recorded he attended only the con- 
ference of 1900 held in his home city. 

T. Guilford Smith, of Buffalo, regent of 
the University of the State of New York, 
died Feb. 20, 1912. He had been a mem- 
ber of the A. L. A. continuously since 1893 



RODEN 



81 



(No. 1193), and attended the conferences 
of 1897 and 1903. 

The following persons at various times 
were members of the association but were 
not at the time of their death: 

Zu Adams, for many years connected 
with the Kansas State Historical Society, 
died April, 1911. She was a member of 
the A. L. A. for the year 1904 (No. 3203), 
and attended the St. Louis conference. 

Caroline A. Farley, formerly librarian 
of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass., 
died March 14, 1912. She joined the asso- 
ciation in 1896 (No. 1394), and was a mem- 
ber continuously until 1909. So far as 
recorded she attended none of the con- 
ferences. 

Stephen B. Griswold, for many years law 



librarian of the New York state library, 
died May 4, 1912. He joined the A. L. A. 
in 1892 (No. 943), and remained a mem- 
ber until 1904. So far as recorded he at- 
tended no conferences. 

William B. Parker, treasurer of Library 
Bureau, Cambridge, Mass., died November 
2, 1911. He was a member of the A. L. A. 
continuously from 1889 (No. 757), to 1909, 
and was secretary of the association in 
1890. He attended the conferences of 1889, 
'90 and '96. 

The secretary's report was accepted on 
motion of Mr. J. I. Wyer, Jr., seconded 
by Dr. C. W. Andrews. 

The treasurer's report which had been 
previously printed, was read by title, and 
accepted. 



AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 

Report of the Treasurer, Jan. 1st to May 31st, 1912. 
Receipts 

Balance, Union Trust Company, Chicago, January 1, 1912 $2,005.66 

Trustees Endowment Fund Interest 175.00 

Trustees Carnegie Fund Interest 1,524.33 

George B. Utley, Headquarters collections 4,815.50 

A. L. A. Publishing Board, Installment on Hdqrs. expense .... 1,000.00 

Interest on bank balance Jan. to May 17.34 $9,537.83 

Expenditures 

Checks No. 28-32 (Vouchers No. 437-505) 
Distributed as follows: 

Bulletin $ 187.90 

Conference 15.50 

Committees 54.17 

Headquarters: 

Salaries 2,103.10 

Miscellaneous 308.33 

Trustees Endowment Fund (Life mem.) 150.00 

A. L. A. Pub. Bd. Carnegie Fund interest 1,524.33 

Balance Union Trust Company, June 1, 1912 $5,194.50 

George B. Utley, National Bank of Republic 250.00 

Total balance $5,444.50 

Respectfully submitted, 

C. B. RODEN, Treasurer. 
Chicago, June 1, 1912. 



The following report of the finance 
committee was read by Dr. C. W. An- 
drews, chairman, and accepted. 

REPORT OF FINANCE COMMITTEE. 
To the American Library Association: 
In accordance with the provisions of the 



constitution the finance committee sub- 
mit the following report: 

They have duly considered the probable 
income of the association for the current 
year and have estimated it at $19,450, and 
have approved appropriations made by the 
Executive Board to that amount. The de- 



82 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



tails of the estimated income and of the 
appropriations are given in the January 
number of the Bulletin. The committee 
have also approved the appropriation to 
the use of the Publishing Board to any 
excess of sales over the amount estimated. 
The receipts and expenditures of the Pub- 
lishing Board have been included in the 
figures given, so that they now exhibit 
the total financial resources and expendi- 
tures of the association. 

On behalf of the committee the chair- 
man has audited the accounts of the treas- 
urer and of the secretary as assistant treas- 
urer. He has found -that the receipts as 
stated by the treasurer agree with the 
transfer checks from the assistant treas- 
urer, and with the cash accounts of the 
latter. The expenditures as stated are ac- 
counted for by properly approved vouch- 
ers. The bank balance and petty cash, 
as stated, agree with the bank books and 
petty cash balances. The accounts of the 
assistant treasurer have been found cor- 
rect as cash accounts. 



On behalf of the committee Mr. B. H. 
Anderson has examined the accounts of 
the trustees for 1911, has checked the se- 
curities now in their custody, and certi- 
fies to the correctness of the figures, to 
the bonds on hand, and the balance in 
bank. He finds that at par value the 
bonds and securities amount to $102,500 
for the Carnegie fund, and $7,000 for the 
Principal account. 

He has examined the vouchers for the 
amounts transmitted to the treasurer and 
has compared the reports of the treasurer 
and trustees in regard to the number of 
new life memberships. He certifies that 
to the best of his knowledge and belief 
all of the accounts as submitted to him 
are correct. 

All of which is respectfully submitted 
for the committee. 

CLEMENT W. ANDREWS, Chairman. 

The following reports which had been 
previously printed, were read by title and 
accepted. 



A. L. A. PUBLISHING BOARD 



With the issuance of the A. L. A. Cata- 
log, 1904-11, which is now in press, the 
Publishing Board practically completes an 
important group of bibliographical aids 
which has been in process of compilation 
or publication during the past five years. 
The chief publications embrace the fol- 
lowing: 

A. L. A. Catalog, 1904-11, to be issued 

in 1912. 
List of subject headings for use in 

dictionary catalogs, 3d edition revised 

by Mary Josephine Briggs. 1911. 
Small library buildings; a collection 

of plans with introduction and notes by 

Cornelia Marvin. 1908. 

Guide to the study and use of refer- 
ence books, by Alice B. Kroeger. 1908. 
Supplement to the above, compiled by 

Isadore G. Mudge. 1911. 
Foreign book lists, embracing to date 

German, French, Hungarian, Norwegian 

and Danish, and Swedish. 
550 Children's books; a purchase list 

for public libraries, by Harriet H. Stan- 
ley. 1910. 
Selected list of music and books about 

music for public libraries, by Louisa M. 

Hooper. 1909. 
Hints to small libraries, by Mary W. 

Plummer, 4th edition. 1911. 

This list does not include a number of 
new tracts and handbooks, nor the tenta- 
tive chapters of an A. L. A. Manual of 
library economy which it is proposed upon 
completion to assemble in book form. An 
index to annual library reports, which is 
well under way, will probably be put into 
type before the expiration of the calendar 
year. In addition, during the quintennial 
period now closing, the Board has been 
instrumental in securing the publication of 
the following important bibliographical 
aids bearing the imprints of other organi- 
zations: Index of economic material in 
documents of the states of the United 
States, prepared by Adelaide R. Hasse; 
A. L. A. Portrait index, edited by W. C. 
Lane and Nina E. Browne. 



New chapters of the Manual of library 
economy are noted in another paragraph. 

Directions for the librarian of a small 
library (3000 copies), by Zaidee Brown 
was reprinted for the League of library 
commissions from the type used by the 
Free public library commission of Massa- 
chusetts. 

The library and social movements; a 
list of material obtainable free or at small 
expense (1250 copies), compiled by Ono 
Mary Imhoff, of the Wisconsin free library 
commission, was reprinted for the League 
from the type used for the edition of the 
Wisconsin free library commission. 

Subject index to vol. 7 of the A. L. A. 
Booklist (2500 copies) was printed in June, 
1911. Although proportionately valuable 
to vols. 1-6 the sale has been very unsat- 
isfactory and is not an encouragement to 
prepare future yearly indexes. 

During the past year the following pub- 
lications have been reprinted: A. L. A. 
Index to general literature, edited by W. I. 
Fletcher, 1905 edition (500 copies); Cata- 
loging for small libraries, by Theresa 
Hitchler (Handbook No. 2) (1000 copies); 
Binding for small libraries, compiled by 
the A. L. A. Committee on Bookbinding 
(Handbook No. 5) (1500 copies); Guide 
to reference books, by Alice B. Kroeger 
(1000 copies); and Cutter's Notes from 
the art section of a library (Tract No. 5) 
(1000 copies). A new edition of Miss 
Stearns' Essential in library administra- 
tion (2000 copies) is now in press. It has 
been brought up to date by the author. 

Publications out of Print Several pub- 
lications for which plates were not made 
have recently become out of print. Maga- 
zines for the small library, by Katharine 
MacDonald Jones, and Graded list of 
stories for reading aloud, by Harriot E. 
Hassler were both League publications 
which had been turned over to the Board. 
There is a steady demand for them and 
they should be either brought up to date 
and reprinted or something else issued on 
the same subject. 



83 



84 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Questions of Policy The work now 
nearing an end has engaged the attention 
and absorbed the resources of the Pub- 
lishing Board to an extent that precluded 
entry into new fields calling for large 
expenditures. The editorial work involved 
in the compilation of the third edition of 
Subject headings, extending over a period 
of several years, and the editorial expenses 
incident to the publication of the A. L. A. 
Booklist have practically exhausted the 
current funds available for such service. 
Beginning with the new fiscal year, the 
funds derived from sales will doubtless 
care for all outstanding obligations, and 
the income from the Carnegie endowment 
can be devoted to maintain and to further 
strengthen the Booklist, and to undertake 
new enterprises. 

Out of the great labor involved, and time 
required in the preparation of Subject 
headings, and of the A. L. A. Catalog, has 
developed the suggestion that work for 
new editions of the former compilation 
should be continuous, and that the Book- 
list bears a logical relationship to the A. 
L. A. Catalog. While the members of the 
Publishing Board are not fully prepared at 
this time to urge a definite permanent 
policy in this connection, an interesting 
suggestion comes from Mrs. Elmendorf, 
which well merits consideration in having 
an important bearing on future develop- 
ment. Her suggestion, in her own words, 
is this: 

"Would it not be well to consider the 
publication of the A. L. A. Catalog in 
loose-leaf form on something the same 
principle as Nelson's Cyclopedia? Differ- 
ent parts of it might then be revised from 
time to time and the parts or pages might 
be for sale separately. 

"It could be so printed that the pages 
might be mounted and arranged in a verti- 
cal file, headings being suggested at the 
bottom for arrangement as any library 
preferred, in regular classed order or in 
alphabetico-classed. A card index to the 
vertical file might be made to minimize 
the difficulties of the classed arrangement. 
The notes should be attractive notes, let- 



ting the presence of the book in this 
"Choice Catalog" vouch for its worth and 
in a general way for the treatment, for the 
choice should be guided by the best popu- 
lar, readable treatment. I am more and 
more thinking that effective helps to 
awakened personal interest are needed and 
are lacking. The A. L. A. Catalog has 
always been too bulky, too costly, too 
much directed to the buyer for effective 
personal service. I have long been con- 
vinced that the greatest popular service 
can be performed even in the large libra- 
ries with quite a limited number of books, 
I think not more than 20,000, perhaps not 
more than 10,000. I should like to adver- 
tise that many adequately and attractively 
and watch the results. 

"I know that there are many objections 
and difficulties to be met, and yet I believe 
that there is the germ of a workable 
scheme present." 

List of Subject Headings The chief 
publication of the year has been the new 
List of subject headings, revised and edited 
by Mary Josephine Briggs, cataloger of the 
Buffalo public library. After nearly five 
years of labor this third edition appeared 
October 1st, 1911 and has met with a most 
appreciative reception. 3000 copies w"ere 
printed as a first edition. 1312 copies have 
already been sold (to June 1), and a steady 
demand continues. The reviews have 
been almost uniformly favorable. 

A. L. A. Catalog, 1904-11 The new A. L. 
A. Catalog, 1904-11, although not yet off 
the press as this report is written, will be 
distributed we hope about the date of the 
Ottawa meeting. It contains a selection 
of about 3000 of the best books published 
since the A. L. A. Catalog of 1904, with a 
list of books now out of print which ap- 
peared in that Catalog, and also of new 
editions. Children's books are listed sep- 
arately. Five thousand copies are being 
printed as a first edition, of which nearly 
3000 have been subscribed for in advance 
of publication. From the preface written 
by the editor, Miss Elva L. Bascom, the 
following extracts are selected: 

"The general plan of the Catalog and the 



A. L. A. PUBLISHING BOARD 



85 



routine of co-operation in the selection of 
titles practically coincide with those of the 
original work except that the whole rou- 
tine, from the preliminary selection to the 
final preparation for printing, has re- 
mained in the hands of one person. 

"All titles have been submitted to the 
publishers for latest information, so that 
the list should be dependable for prices. 

"The sixth edition (1899) of the Decimal 
Classification has been followed. This de- 
cision was made on the information that 
the smaller libraries had not to any extent 
adopted the seventh edition. It is to be 
hoped that when the time comes to revise 
the 1904 Catalog there may be at hand a 
complete revised edition of the "D. C." 
simplified for the requirements of the 
smaller libraries. 

"The addition of subject headings (not 
given with the titles in the 1904 Catalog 
was determined on before the decision to 
print only a class list was made. It has 
been a frequent request from the libra- 
rians of smaller libraries, who need help 
in this matter and who found it difficult 
to find the headings chosen for the Dic- 
tionary list in the 1904 Catalog. The new 
edition of the List of subject headings 
has been followed with some additions. 
Where the subjects of analytics are easily 
ascertainable, they are only recommended. 

"While in the beginning the attempt was 
made to adhere fairly closely to the pro- 
portion of titles to each subject given in 
the 1904 Catalog, it was found impossible 
to do so without impairing the usefulness 
ot the list. The output of books in the 
subjects grouped under Sociology has been 
so great, and the demand for them so 
heavy, that it seemed better to include a 
larger number than was originally planned 
rather than risk weakening the usefulness 
of the section. The greatest increase has 
been in Useful Arts, and this was inten- 
tional, since there is no division where 
the average librarian is more in need of 
help, nor where it is more difficult to find 
the "best book" on short notice. 

"Two special lists are incorporated in 
the Catalog, both in answer to definite 



requests. One is a selection of about 50 
titles of religious books specially chosen 
for Catholic readers. Two preliminary 
selections were made, one by an assistant 
in the St. Louis public library at the re- 
quest of the librarian, Dr. A. E. Bostwick, 
and a second by the Rev. W. J. McMullen 
of Pittsburgh, at the request of the libra- 
rian of the Carnegie library of Pittsburgh, 
Mr. H. W. Graver. Both lists were then in- 
corporated into a much more extensive 
one, covering all subjects, compiled by Mr. 
William Stetson Merrill, of the Newberry 
library. The final selection, limited to 
religious books, was submitted to Arch- 
bishop Ireland, and at his request was 
examined by the Rev. J. A. Ryan, of the 
St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. 

The second list consists of 50 titles of 
modern drama and books about it. It was 
impossible to get any unanimity of opinion 
on such a brief selection and the editor is 
aware that it will satisfy a very small 
proportion of libraries. It is allowed to 
stand, however, for the suggestion it may 
give to the perplexed librarian of the 
smaller library. 

"It is hardly to be imagined that any 
one ever prepared a list of this character 
and extent without wishing to ask the 
indulgence of possible critics and to ex- 
plain why it is so much farther from 
perfect than it was expected to be. It 
seems a fairly simple task to select 3000 
titles from the books published in eight 
years, but a list based on the co-operation 
of about 75 librarians and 100 experts, all 
fully engaged with their own work, and 
selected, edited and prepared for printing 
in the intervals between work having a 
prior claim, is bound to progress but 
slowly and to suffer many changes of for- 
tune. One needs to be this sort of clear- 
ing house of opinion but once to realize 
how far apart our libraries are in the mat- 
ter of book selection. In many cases what 
is one library's meat seems to be another's 
poison, and one soon reaches the convic- 
tion that there are no "best books" on any 
subject for a library of any size if li- 
brarians alone are to be consulted. Hap- 



86 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



pily, professors, special students and ex- 
perts in general are less at variance. It 
is only fair to say that the Fiction and 
Children's lists represent librarians' votes 
only. It is to be doubted if the Fiction, 
at least, would have retained the proper 
amount of "light reading" if it had passed 
through the hands of literature professors. 
If it does not prove a good "working" selec- 
tion the editor will be greatly disappointed, 
for it was on that ground alone that many 
titles escaped the deleting pencil." 

A. L. A. Booklist With the current 
number of the A. L. A. Booklist, volume 8 
is completed. Since the initial number 
appeared in January, 1905, the Booklist 
has come to be regarded as an indispen- 
sable tool in every library. There has been 
no deviation from the original policy of 
furnishing to the libraries, and the numer- 
ous small libraries particularly, an un- 
biased guide in selection of books cur- 
rently published. The number of titles 
listed from the 2500 annually examined, 
has been expanded from time to time, but 
the general character of the publication 
has been retained. Suggestions have come 
to the Board for change of name, for 
change of form and size, and for other 
changes that might lead to a larger use of 
the list by the general public. While the 
members of the Board have given careful 
consideration to the arguments presented, 
they have deferred reaching a final con- 
clusion until practical unanimity can be 
arrived at as to the wisdom of the changes 
sought. A total of 7729 titles has been 
included in the 2456 pages which comprise 
the eight volumes of the Booklist: 

A. L. A. BOOKLIST 

Volume No. of Titles No. of Pages Nos. in Vol. 

1 500 144 8 

2 690 256 8 

3 681 238 8 

4 643 317 9 

5 739 197 6 

6 1,417 424 10 

7 1,583 456 10 

8 1,476 424 10 



Manual of Library Economy Six chap- 
ters of the Manual were printed and ready 
for distribution previous to the Pasadena 
conference, namely: 

1. American library history, by C. K. 
Bolton. 

2. Library of Congress, by W. W. 
Bishop. 

4. The college and university library, 
by J. I. Wyer, Jr. 

17. Order and accession department, by 
F. F. Hopper. 

22. Reference department, by E. C. 
Richardson. 

26. Bookbinding, by A. L. Bailey. 
During the latter half of 1911 the four 
following chapters were printed, also each 
in a separate pamphlet, appearing in the 
order here named: 

20. Shelf department, by Josephine A. 
Rathbone. 

15. Branch libraries and other distribu- 
ting agencies, by Linda A. Eastman. 
9. Library legislation, by W. F. Yust. 
12. Library administration, by A. E. 
Bostwick. 

Since their publication the following 
number of copies of each chapter have 
been sold (to March 31): 

Chapter 1 

2 

4 

9 

12 

15 

17 

20 . 



22 
26 




Total 7,729 



2,456 



Total 4,936 

Manuscripts for two more chapters, The 
library building, by W. R. Eastman, and 
Proprietary and subscription libraries, 
by C. K. Bolton, are ready and in the sec- 
retary's possession, but funds for printing 
are not in hand at present, owing to the 
heavy obligation incurred by the printing 
of Subject headings and the A. L. A. 
Catalog, 1904-11 within so short a time of 
each other. It is hoped, however, to print 



A. L. A. PUBLISHING BOARD 



87 



these and perhaps some others before the 
end of the year. 

Periodical Cards The shipments of 
periodical cards sent out since the close 
of the last report of the Board (May 1, 
1911) have comprised 3,009 titles and 
180,241 cards, not including reprints of 
cards in which errors have been discov- 
ered after the cards have been distributed. 

Copy is received regularly by the editor, 
Mr. William Stetson Merrill, every two 
weeks, on the fifth and twentieth of the 
month from the following libraries: Col- 
umbia, Harvard, John Crerar, New York 
and Yale. This copy is edited promptly 
and prepared for the printer. 

Advertising The Board's publications 
have been regularly advertised in Library 
Journal and Public Libraries and in one 
special number of The Dial. For the rest 
circularization and correspondence from 
the headquarters office has been relied 
upon. During the year over 15,000 pieces 
of circular matter have been mailed from 
headquarters office in the interest of our 
publications. 

Particular effort has been made to ad- 
vertise widely the new List of subject 
headings and the A. L. A. Catalog. For 
the latter in addition to circularizing the 
libraries descriptive postal cards were ad- 
dressed to 7,000 high school and normal 
school principals. From these circulars 
only about 100 orders for the Catalog can 
be directly traced. It seems plain that it 
does not pay to advertise our publications 
among the high schools. Slips advertising 
the Catalog were sent to the librarians of 
all the leading colleges, requesting that 
these slips be distributed to members of 
the faculty interested in book selection. 
This resulted in getting orders from many 
college libraries addressed, but very few 



from the teaching staff. Experience would 
indicate that libraries and librarians are 
the only classes to which advertising can 
profitably be addressed. We have en- 
deavored to keep the state library com- 
missions regularly informed on all our 
publications and all of them which issue 
monthly or quarterly bulletins list our 
new publications therein, generally with 
appreciative annotations and descriptions. 
Exhibits of publications have been made 
at several state library meetings visited by 
the secretary. 

During the past year the principal li- 
braries of England, Scotland and Ireland 
have been circularized with lists of our 
publications, and a very gratifying num- 
ber of orders have been received as a re- 
sult. When the revised edition of Subject 
headings appeared copies were sent to 
nearly all the library periodicals of the 
various countries of Europe with the re- 
sult that they reviewed the book and quite 
a number of continental orders have been 
directly traceable to these reviews. Copies 
of Subject headings and the new A. L. A. 
Catalog have been ordered from almost 
every important country in the world. 

This report would be incomplete without 
hearty acknowledgment of the excellent 
work of the Secretary, Mr. George B. Ut- 
ley. To his good business judgment and 
careful and judicious management is due 
in great measure the splendid financial 
showing recorded in the accompanying 
fiscal statement. The affairs of the Board 
have never been in better shape than now. 
The sales are increasing encouragingly, 
the inventory shows a salable stock with 
less "dead" material than at any time for 
years back, and the office organization is 
now well systematized and effective. 

HENRY E. LEGLER, Chairman. 



88 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



FINANCIAL REPORT 
Cash Receipts June 1, 1911, to May 31, 1912. 

Balance, June 1, 1911 $2,337.70 

Interest on Carnegie Fund 4,524.33 

Receipts from publications: 

Cash sales $3,781.47 

Payments on account 7,690.89 11,472.36 

Interest on bank deposits 4.53 

Sundries 1.98 $18,340.90 

Payments, June 1, 1911 to May 31, 1912. 
Cost of publications: 

A. L. A. Booklist $1,940.35 

Library and social movements (1250 copies) 25.50 

Supplement to Guide to reference books, 1909-10 (3000 

copies) 220.12 

Subject headings, second edition reprint (200 copies) . . . 132.30 

Subject index to Booklist Vol. 7 (2500 copies) 223.00 

Copyright on Hints to small libraries 1.03 

Copyright on Supplement to Guide 1.03 

Directions to librarian of a small library (3000 copies) 76.49 
Government documents in small libraries, reprint (1000 

copies) 25.50 

Manual of library economy, Chap. 1, 2, 4, 17, 22, 26 376.55 

Manual of library economy, Chap. 20 48.80 

Manual of library economy, Chap. 15 62.80 

Manual of library economy, Chap. 9 43.40 

Manual of library economy, Chap. 12 37.55 

Binding for small libraries, reprint (1500 copies) 29.00 

Reprints from Bulletin 40.91 

Cataloging for small libraries, reprint (1000 copies) 64.00 

Library statistics tables 2.25 

A. L. A. Index to general literature (part of reprint) 108.00 

Notes on the art section of a library, reprint (1000 

copies) , 20.00 

Guide to the use of reference books, reprint (1000 

copies) 259.08 

Subject headings, third edition (3000 copies) 3,518.96 

Periodical cards 1,516.38 $8,773.00 

Addressograph machine supplies 21.84 

Furniture and fixtures 103.00 

Advertising 282.15 

Postage and express 631.49 

Rent at Madison office 300.00 

Travel 281.35 

Salaries 3,670.00 

Expense at headquarters 2,000.00 

Supplies and incidentals 1,066.36 

Printing (stationery, etc.) 43.25 

Balance on hand, May 31, 1912 1,168.46 $18,340.90 



A. L. A. PUBLISHING BOARD 



89 



SALES OF A. L. A. PUBLISHING BOARD PUBLICATIONS 
April 1, 1911, to March 31, 1912. 

A. L. A. Booklist, regular subscriptions 1115 $1,115.00 

Additional subs, at reduced rate of 50c 141 70.50 

Bulk subscriptions paid 1,083.65 

Extra copies 1659 242.78 ?2,511.93 

Handbook 1, Essentials in library administration 492 71.63 

Handbook 2, Cataloging for small libraries 677 89.15 

Handbook 3, Management of traveling libraries 88 12.73 

Handbook 4, Aids in book selection 42 6.23 

Handbook 5, Binding for small libraries 139 21.35 

Handbook 6, Mending and repair of books 602 78.21 

Handbook 7, vU. S. Government documents 652 84.87 364.17 

Tract 2, How to start a library 80 4.00 

Tract 3, Traveling libraries 26 1.30 

Tract 8, A village library 219 7.65 

Tract 9, Library school training 196 9.55 

Tract 10, Why do we need a public library? 390 13.50 36.00 

Foreign Lists, German 100 42.25 

Foreign Lists, French 150 26.09 

Foreign Lists, French fiction 130 4.25 

Foreign Lists, Hungarian 95 9.70 

Foreign Lists, Norwegian and Danish 98 16.71 

Foreign Lists, Swedish 105 18.56 117.56 

Reprints, Arbor day list 30 1.50 

Reprints, Bird books 33 3.30 

Reprints, Christmas Bulletin 65 3.25 

Reprints, Library buildings 139 13.78 

Reprints, National library problem today 26 1.30 

Reprints, Rational library work with children 64 3.20 26.33 

Periodical cards, subscriptions '. 1,197.45 

Periodical cards, Old South Leaflets 15.75 

Periodical cards, Reed's Modern Eloquence sets 9 22.50 

Periodical cards, Smithsonian reports set 1 15.00 1,250.70 

A. L. A. Manual of library economy: 

Chap. I. American library history 528 46.73 

Chap. II. Library of Congress 473 34.60 

Chap. IV. College and university library 589 52.67 

Chap. IX. Library legislation 251 18.96 

Chap. XII. Administration of a public library 267 20.44 

Chap. XV. Branch libraries 475 32.71 

Chap. XVII. Order and accession department 591 46.25 

Chap. XX. Shelf department 474 34.65 

Chap. XXII. Reference department 617 55.54 

Chap. XXVI. Bookbinding 671 53.78 396.33 

A. L. A. Index to general literature 31 177.00 

Catalog rules 486 271.06 

Children's reading (now out of print) 6 1.48 

Girls and women and their clubs 57 13.55 

Guide to reference books 686 888.25 

Guide to reference books, Supplement 761 181.50 

Hints to small libraries 203 136.69 

Lamed, Literature of American history 29 160.47 

Lamed, Literature of American history, Supplement 79 64.21 

List of music and books about music 82 20.12 



90 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



List of editions selected for economy in bookbuying 126 30.99 

List of 550 children's books 346 55.85 

List of subject headings, 2nd edition 218 397.45 

List of subject headings, 3rd edition 1125 2,717.00 

Plans of small library buildings 98 120.52 

Reading for the young 9 6.61 

Reading for the young, Supplement 16 3.94 

Subject index to A. L. A. Booklist, v. 1-6 260 66.23 

Subject index to A. L. A. Booklist, v. 7 961 84.49 6,397.40 

League publications: 

Anniversaries and holidays 13 3.25 

Directions for librarian of a small library 1186 54.53 

Graded list of stories for reading aloud 335 32.71 

Library and social movement 1000 31.63 

Magazines for the small library 313 29.38 151.50 

A. L. A. Bulletin and Proceedings 258 87.96 

A. L. A. Bulletin, Hopper reprint 462 11.85 99.81 

Total sale of publications 110,351.73 



REPORT OF THE CARNEGIE AND ENDOWMENT FUNDS 



To the President and Members of the 
American Library Association: 

The Trustees of the Endowment Funds 
in presenting their annual report for the 
year ending January 15, 1912, desire to 
say that there has been no change in the 
securities held by the Board. The market 
price of most of them remaining about 
the same, changes could not be made to 
the advantage and desired betterment of 
the fund. 

The Trustees are pleased to state that 
all interest has been promptly paid. 

Mr. E. H. Anderson of the New York 
public library was again deputed to audit 
the accounts of the Board and inspect the 
securities, and he gives to the Trustees, 
as the result of that examination, the fol- 
lowing letter: 

Dear Mr. Appleton: 

Enclosed herewith are the vouchers from 
Mr. Roden, Treasurer of the American 
Library Association, and the receipt for 
the rent of the safety deposit box in the 



vaults of the Union Trust Company. I 
have written the chairman of the Finance 
Committee that I have examined these 
vouchers and found them in accordance 
with your type written statement. 

The four type written sheets which you 
gave me yesterday I have checked as cor- 
rect as to the bonds in your custody, as 
to the vouchers referred to above, and as 
to the cash balance on hand. I have certi- 
fied to Mr. Andrews, the chairman of the 
Committee on Finance, that to the best of 
my knowledge and belief the reports con- 
tained on these sheets are correct. 
Very sincerely, 

(Signed) E. H. ANDERSON. 

The General Endowment Fund has been 
increased during the year by the taking 
of seven life memberships by the persons 
named, adding to the Fund, $175.00. 
Respectfully submitted, 

W. C. KIMBALL, 
WM. W. APPLETON, 
W. T. PORTER. 
Trustees of A. L. A. Endowment Fund. 



CARNEGIE FUND, PRINCIPAL ACCOUNT 

Cash donated by Mr. Andrew Carnegie $100,000.00 

Invested as follows: 

June 1, 1908 5,000 4% Am. Tel. & Tel. Bonds 96% $ 4,825.00 

June 1, 1908 10,000 4% Am. Tel. & Tel. Bonds 94% 9,437.50 

June 1, 1908 15,000 4% Cleveland Terminal 100 15,000.00 

June 1, 1908 10,000 4% Seaboard Air Line 95% 9,550.00 

June 1, 1908 15,000 6% Western Un. Tel 108% 15,000.00 

June 1, 1908 15,000 3%% N. Y. Cen. (Lake Shore Col) 90 13,500.00 

June 1, 1908 15,000 5% Mo. Pacific 104% 15,000.00 

May 3, 1909 15,000 5% U. S. Steel 104 15,000.00 

Aug. 6, 1909 1,500 U. S. Steel 106% 1,500.00 

July 27, 1910 1,000 U. S. Steel 102% 1,000.00 



102,500 
Jan. 15, 1912 Union Trust Co. on deposit 



99,812.50 
..187.50 



$100,000.00 



In addition to the above we have on hand at the Union Trust Company $150 profit 
on the sale of the Missouri Pacific Bonds, which we have carried to a special surplus 
account. 

91 



92 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



CARNEGIE FUND, INCOME ACCOUNT 

1911 

January 15, Balance $2,487.76 

February 15, Int. N. Y. Central 262.50 

March 1, Int. Missouri Pacific 375.00 

March 1, Int. Seaboard Line 200.00 

May 2, Int. U. S. Steel 437.50 

May 2, Int. Cleveland Terminal 300.00 

July 5, Int. Amer. Tel & Tel. Co 300.00 

July 5, Int. Western Union Tel. Co 375.00 

August 9, Int. N. Y. Central 262.50 

September 1, Int. Seaboard Line 200.00 

September 1, Int. Missouri Pacific 375.00 

November 1, Int. U. S. Steel 437.50 

November 1, Int. Cleveland Terminal 300.00 

December 31, Int. Union Trust Co 54.33 

1912 

January 2, Int. Western Union Tel. Co 375.00 

January 2, Int. Am. Tel. & Tel. Co 300.00 $7,042.09 

Disbursements: 
1911 

March 2, Carl B. Roden, Treas $2,487.76 

August 15, Carl B. Roden, Treas 2,000.00 

October 6, Carl B. Roden, Treas 1,000.00 

December 27, Rent Safe Deposit Co 30.00 

January 15, 1912 Cash on hand 1,524.33 $7,042.09 

ENDOWMENT FUND, PRINCIPAL ACCOUNT 
1911 

January 15, On hand, Bonds and Cash $7,111.84 

April 1, Life membership Mary E. Hawley 25.00 

April 1, Life membership Mary F. Isom 25.00 

May 1, Life membership H. W. Graver 25.00 

August 9, Life membership M. S. Dudgeon 25.00 

August 28, Life membership F. K. Walter 25.00 

October 4, Life membership R. G. Thwaites 25.00 

November 1, Life membership R. B. Stern 25.00 $7,286.84 

Invested as follows: 

1908 

June 1, 2 U. S. Steel Bonds 98% $1,970.00 

October 19, 2 U. S. Steel Bonds 102% 2,000.00 

November 5, 1% U. S. Steel Bonds 101 1,500.00 

1910 

July 27, 1% U. S. Steel Bonds 102% 1,500.00 

January 15, 1912 Cash on hand, Union Trust Co 316.84 $7,286.84 

ENDOWMENT FUND, INCOME ACCOUNT 
1911 

January 15, Cash on hand $448.41 

May 2, Int. U. S. Steel 175.00 

November 1, Int. U. S. Steel 175.00 $798.41 

Disbursements: 
1911 

February 15, C. B. Roden, Treas $448.41 

July 5, C. B. Roden, Treas 175.00 

January 15, 1912 Cash on hand 175.00 $798.41 



BAILEY 



93 



COMMITTEE ON BOOKBINDING 

During the year the special library edi- 
tion of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, men- 
tioned in last year's report, and at various 
times in the library periodicals, was placed 
on the market under considerable diffi- 
culty. As planned at first, three special 
library editions were all to be bound in 
England and imported for libraries by the 
publishers. Unfortunately, it was discov- 
ered after orders had been taken that the 
publishers could not, under the copyright 
law, import any copies, and notices to that 
effect were sent to libraries that had or- 
dered these editions. The publishers then 
found that the cloth bound set, according 
to the A. L. A. specifications, could be 
manufactured in this country and again 
librarians received communications from 
the publishers. Owing to these various 
communications from the publishers, to- 
gether with notices from this committee, 
many librarians remained without knowl- 
edge as to the real state of affairs. 

At the present time the committee un- 
derstands that the cloth bound set, with 
special reinforcements, can be obtained 
directly from the publishers in this coun- 
try, and that sets bound by Mr. Chivers 
can be obtained directly from him. Sev- 
eral complaints of the new bindings have 
come to the committee, but upon investi- 
gation, it was found in every case that 
the complaints were due to imperfect or 
torn pages and not to defective binding. 
Undoubtedly many imperfect sheets were 
passed in the first copies that were sold. 
We have reason to believe, however, that 
later sets have been more carefully col- 
lated. Complaints about the cloth binding 
have also been received from large libra- 
ries. As a matter of fact this edition was 
not intended for large libraries. From the 
beginning it has been stated that the cloth 
edition was for the use of small libraries. 
Large libraries were expected to get one 
of the leather editions. 

It is quite evident that publishers are 
beginning to realize that good binding, es- 
pecially of reference books, is an asset 
of considerable value when dealing with 



libraries. During the year the committee 
has several times been called upon for spe- 
cifications and suggestions for the binding 
of large reference books. Perhaps the 
most noteworthy instance was that of the 
Century Company, which submitted sam- 
ples of binding for the new edition of the 
Century Dictionary. The Century Com- 
pany and the J. F. Tapley Company, of 
New York, which did the binding, adopted 
various methods of strengthening the vol- 
umes, and the samples submitted included 
not only all of the committee's specifica- 
tions, but several others. The samples 
were so good and the honesty of. purpose 
of the Century Company and the J. F. Tap- 
ley Company so evident that the commit- 
tee felt no hesitation in stating that the 
result was the best piece of commercial 
(machine bound) binding ever brought to 
its attention. Visits of two members of 
the committee to the bindery showed that 
the specifications in every case were being 
lived up to. The committee, furthermore, 
obtained full description and specifications 
of this binding, which, with certain modi- 
fications, can be used as a standard for this 
kind of work. 

Specifications for strong binding were 
also submitted to H. W. Wilson Company 
for the binding of the new volume of U. S. 
Catalog; to Robert Glasgow, of Toronto, 
for a set entitled "Makers of Canada"; and 
to the Review of Reviews Company for the 
"Photographic history of the Civil war." 
The specifications, as submitted, were 
adopted by the Robert Glasgow Co., and 
the Review of Reviews Co. The H. W. 
Wilson Co. adopted them with some slight 
modifications which met with the approval 
of the committee. 

So far as the reinforcing of fiction and 
juvenile books by publishers is concerned, 
matters stand about the same as they have 
been for the past two years. The plan 
has practically been dropped by all pub- 
lishers. In a few cases, books which the 
publishers have discovered are in constant 
demand by libraries, are kept in stock in 
special binding. Examples of these are the 
Little Cousin Series, published by Page, 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



and the Peter Rabbit Series, by Warne. 
The number of titles of such books is 
very few. 

It must not be supposed, however, that 
because the publishers have stopped do- 
ing this, such books are unobtainable. On 
the contrary, it is easier to get reinforced 
publishers' covers than ever before, and 
with the surety that the work is well 
done, which was not always the case 
when they were bound by the publishers. 
Those who wish to use the attractive pub- 
lishers' covers, and at the same time have 
a book which will outlast the period of ex- 
treme popularity, can do so by ordering 
from one of the several firms which do 
work of this kind. In most cases the 
increased cost is greater than was the case 
when the books were done by the pub- 
lishers, but the work is far better done and 
in the opinion of the committee the in- 
creased value more than compensates for 
the increased cost. Furthermore, the 
books are not injured for rebinding. In 
fact, in some cases the sewing of the book 
is designed to last during its lifetime. 
When the first cover wears out, all that 
is necessary is to recase it. 

While discussing the question of rein- 
forced bindings it may not be amiss again 
to call attention to the special binding of 
the Everyman's Library. Experience in 
the use of these volumes only emphasizes 
their serviceability, attractiveness and 
cheapness. Whenever possible all replace- 
ments should be made from this collection. 

During the year the publishers of two 
periodicals, Everybody's and World's 
Work, adopted a scheme of binding which 
necessitated cutting off the backs of sig- 
natures. It was apparent at once that 
this scheme made it necessary for libra- 
ries which bound these periodicals to have 
them overcast in sewing. Since few bind- 
ers understand the proper method of over- 
sewing and moreover generally charge ex- 
tra for it, many libraries were put to much 
inconvenience and added expense. Pro- 
tests from this committee to the publish- 
ers were promptly heeded, and as a result 
all libraries now receive the regular edi- 
tion with folded sheets. 



The correspondence of the committee 
has largely increased. Inquiries are fre- 
quently received from publishers, from 
binders and from librarians. Inquiries from 
librarians cover all phases of binding, and 
not infrequently the committee is asked 
for opinions as to the work of certain 
binders. In answering these questions 
about individual binding the committee 
has been at a disadvantage, because, ex- 
cept in the case of a very few binders, it 
has no definite knowledge of their work. 
To remedy this difficulty the committee 
has, with some hesitation, planned to es- 
tablish a collection which shall include 
samples of the work of all binders which 
make a specialty of library binding. These 
samples are to be four in number and will 
show methods of binding fiction, juvenile 
books and periodicals. In addition to these 
samples binders are asked to answer 24 
questions which cover methods, materials, 
and prices. It is hoped that, with these 
samples and answers to these questions, 
the committee will be in a position to 
form more definite opinions about the 
work of any binder, and librarians who 
ask for opinions will receive answers based 
on actual knowledge. 

The scheme is yet in its infancy but al- 
ready samples have been received from 
several binders, and letters from some of 
them express approval. The committee 
realizes that good binding may be done 
in several ways, and while members of 
the committee may have individual pref- 
erences, every effort will be made to give 
impartial opinions. Certainly no binder 
who does good work need fear unjust crit- 
icism. Librarians can help in this work 
by, 

1. Sending names of library binders. 

2. Urging binders to comply with the 
requests of the committee. 

3. Asking for opinions when the collec- 
tion is complete. 

In view of the facts outlined above, it 
seems reasonable to suppose that one of 
the committee's most valuable functions is 
to act in an advisory capacity, not only to 
librarians, but to publishers and binders. 
For this reason all librarians are urged to 



BAILEY 



submit their binding problems to the com- 
mittee. 

Magazine Binders 

During the year a number of varieties of 
magazine binders have been examined. 
Several firms failed to respond to a request 
for a sample or did so too late. Others 
doubtless exist of which the committee has 
not heard. The result of study of this 
subject during the past three years, aided 
by the chapter dealing with it in Dana's 
"Book binding for libraries," Edition 2, is 
here set forth. 

Of course no one binder is best for all 
libraries or for all requirements of one 
library. Each must decide for itself by 
noting the condition of its magazines when 
they are ready for the bindery whether any 
binder at all is needed. A library which 
has no money to spend on the more dur- 
able covers or dislikes them for any reason 
may use one of the methods described m 
the chapter in Dana referred to above. A 
method, used to some extent by the 
Brooklyn public library, consists, in brief, 
of putting on a brown paper cover and se- 
curing it by paste or brass staples to a 
bunch of advertising pages at front and 
back. 

The best inexpensive binder Is that 
known as the "Springfield." It can be made 
in any bindery, consisting simply of a 
cover with a stiff strip at the back in 
which are three eyelet holes, one at each 
end and one in the middle. The magazine 
is laced in with tape or shoe string. Thia 
method damages the magazine much less 
than others similar, some of which require 
drilling holes through from side to side. 
In principle the binder made by Cedric 
Chivers, Brooklyn, N. Y., is a more durable 
form of the Springfield and is heartily rec- 
ommended. 

Some libraries desire a binder from 
which a magazine cannot readily be stolen. 
This is a matter of local opinion. The 
best for this purpose appear to be the new 
"Bull dog" binder just put on the market 
by Gaylord Brothers, Syracuse, N. Y., and 
the "Buchan" binder mentioned by Mr. 
Dana. All such binders are heavy, clumsy. 



and slow in operation. For those maga- 
zines deceitfully put together without sew- 
ing or staples the "Bull dog" and the 
"Buchan" binder will both give satisfac- 
tion. 

Among a multitude of other binders the 
best type is that whose mechanism con- 
sists of a stout rod firmly fastened though 
playing free at one end, and fastened at the 
other by a simple catch. Many built on 
this principle are too clumsy. A few are 
needlessly flimsy. Of those examined the 
best are the following: 

"Universal" made by J. J. Ralek, New 
York City. 

"A. L. B." made by American Library 
Bindery, Philadelphia. 

"Torsion" made by Barrett Bindery Co., 
Chicago. 

For covering binders various materials 
have been used. For long service and good 
appearance we recommend pig skin back 
and keratol sides. Cow hide and buckram 
are cheaper and will not last as long. Can- 
vas is ill suited for this purpose. 
Respectfully submitted, 
A. L. BAILEY, Chairman. 
ROSE G. MURRAY, 
N. L. GOODRICH, 

Committee. 

COMMITTEE ON BOOK BUYING 

During the past year the A. L. A. Com- 
mittee on Book buying has been negotiat- 
ing with a Committee of the American 
Booksellers' Association with a view to 
bringing about a better understanding be- 
tween the booksellers and the libraries. 

Upon the request of the Committee of 
the Booksellers' Association, your commit- 
tee made a statement of the situation, 
which was delivered to them in October, 
1911. The booksellers' committee pre- 
pared a reply to this statement, which was 
delivered to your committee in April, 1912. 

A meeting of the two committees was 
held on Thursday, May 6th, 1912, in Cleve- 
land, but it was without any definite result. 
It was agreed that the two committees re- 
port progress to their respective associa- 
tions and that they submit to their ex- 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



ecutlve committee the statement and reply 
referred to, with a report upon the pres- 
ent situation and to ask to be allowed to 
continue the negotiations if the executive 
committee thought it wise to do so. 

WALTER L. BROWN, Chairman, 

C. B. RODBN, 

C. H. BROWN. 

COMMITTEE ON CO-ORDINATION 

The following report is the result, in 
part, of a question referred to the Com- 
mittee on Co-ordination by a meeting at 
the Pasadena conference. 

The question was, Whether libraries are 
justified in making a moderate charge in 
connection with every volume lent, suf- 
ficient in the long run, to cover the admin- 
istrative expense involved in looking up 
and sending the volume asked for: not as 
payment for the use of the book, but to 
relieve the lender of an undue burden of 
expense, unavoidably attendant upon the 
system of lending with some freedom to 
other libraries. 

In the opinion of the committee this 
question could be most profitably discussed 
only in connection with the whole subject 
of inter-library loans. It is clear, both 
from past and present developments, and 
from the direction these developments are 
taking that inter-library loans are, as yet, 
merely in their infancy. It is clear, too, 
that such loans increase the efficiency of 
libraries which participate in them. Fi- 
nally, it is evident that there is a marked 
tendency not simply to multiply library 
loans, but to enlarge the field within which 
it Is considered appropriate to effect 
them taking "field" both in a geographical 
sense, and as relating to different classes 
of borrowers. Accordingly, it is not sur- 
prising that additional machinery and new 
methods should be required, and that some 
at least, should already have been devised. 
Also, it is safe to predict that this growth 
in machinery and in methods will continue. 

Therefore, the Committee on Co-ordina- 
tion has thought that it might be helpful, 
at the present time, to attempt a discus- 
sion (which will partake of the character 
of a symposium) in regard to the purpose 



and scope of inter-library loans. It is 
hoped that, as a result of this and subse- 
quent discussion, it may become practic- 
able to formulate some general rules for 
the conduct of inter-library loans. If a 
code of such rules could be framed, even 
granting that the provisions would, of 
course, bind no library against its will, one 
more step would yet have been taken in 
the direction of systematizing and extend- 
ing a process which has already produced 
excellent results, and bids fair in the near 
future, to modify library practice in im- 
portant particulars. 

While the purpose of inter-library loans 
is uniform in the main, it varies to some 
extent, with the nature and duties of the 
participating libraries. 

Neglecting minor differences, such li- 
braries fall into two groups: Reference li- 
braries, including libraries of colleges and 
universities; and libraries whose work is 
of a more popular character; or, to state 
the matter in terms of readers: Libraries, 
most of whose readers are "serious," and 
libraries, some, at least, of whose readers 
are not so very serious. 

This distinction is not a sharp one, yet it 
produces wide divergence in the point of 
view, and in the practice of these two 
classes of libraries. A comparison of the 
third contribution to this symposium with 
the first and second will make this matter 
evident. Both points of view are accurate, 
and varieties of practice, provided only 
that they exist among the members of a 
comprehensive system, are the best guar- 
antees of the ultimate achievement of 
great results. 

C. H. GOULD, 

Chairman. 
I. 

The purpose of inter-library loans is to 
make available the unusual material in one 
library to an enquirer who cannot visit it 
in person and does not find available the 
identical material in some institution 
nearer at hand or which has a nearer con- 
stitutional duty to serve him. The service 
to him must be subject to the convenience 
of the constituency of the lending library 



PUTNAM 



97 



and can be expected only if the risk and 
expense of it shall be met by the borrowing 
library in his behalf. 

1. It is not to be expected therefore that 
a library will lend either (1) books which 
if not in the applicant library, are within 
the ordinary duty of the latter to supply; 
or (2) books in constant use among its own 
readers; or (3) books for the general 
reader as against the investigator. 

2. It is not to be expected that material 
will be sought the transportation of which, 
even with the best precautions, involves a 
necessary injury, as for instance, by 
strain, or a contingent injury in its use 
outside of the walls of the institution own- 
ing it by persons over whose use it has no 
supervision. A stipulation for its use 
within the walls of the borrowing library, 
while entirely reasonable, may not cover 
the case completely, as the responsibility 
for the care of the material cannot, by a 
mere stipulation for care, be transferred 
from the owning to the borrowing library. 

3. Subject to 2, the important service 
in inter-library loans being to make gen- 
erally available the unusual book for the 
unusual need of the serious investigator, 
the fact that the book needed is either 
rare, or part of a set whicn may be marred 
by the loss of a single volume, or that it 
is even unique, as for instance a manu- 
script, ought not to be conclusive against 
the loan, for it is just through such ma- 
terial that the inter-library loans may ren- 
der their most important service. 

4. The applicant library should refrain 
from applying (a) for ordinary books 
which are within its constitutional duty to 
supply to its immediate readers, or (b) for 
unusual books requested for a purpose 
which it knows to be trivial, or by a per- 
son of whose discretion and seriousness it 
is not assured, or (c) for books which, 
within the legitimate provisions of a loan 
are to be had from some institution nearer 
at hand, or having a nearer constitutional 
duty to it and to the constituency which it 
serves, or (d) for books which upon their 
face must be in constant use in any library 
possessing them. 



5. The lending library may reasonably 
stipulate: (a) That the entire cost of the 
service shall be met by the borrowing li- 
brary, and may look to this library alone 
as responsible both for the safety and 
prompt return of the material and for the 
replacement of the material if lost or dam- 
aged, and (b) it may reasonably include 
as part of the expense: (1) packing; (2) 
carriage; (3) insurance; (4) the fraction, 
if estimable, which the particular loan 
should bear of the expense of administer- 
ing the service, (c.) As to the duration of 
the loan: that it shall not exceed the pe- 
riod of its local loans, with an allowance 
added for the transit both ways; and the 
lender may reasonably couple with this a 
right of summary recall. It may also im- 
pose penalties for delays in returning ma- 
terial, or for carelessness in its use or in 
repacking. It may of course reserve the 
right to decline further loans to a library 
which has shown indifference in these re- 
gards, or whose applications have been in- 
cessantly frivolous, (d) It may of course 
limit the number of volumes lent to any 
one library or for the use of any one in- 
vestigator at any one time, (e) It may, 
without prejudicing applications from other 
institutions, deny the application of any 
particular library, because of lack of as- 
surance as to the safety or intelligent use 
of the material if lent. Its decisions in this 
regard resting often upon the impressions 
of a general experience, ought to be un- 
embarassed. It should not therefore be 
called upon to explain them. 

HERBERT PUTNAM. 

II 
A statement of general policy in regard to 

inter-library loans 

The primary purpose of inter-library 
loans is the promotion of scholarship by 
placing books not commonly accessible and 
not in use in one library, temporarily at 
the service of a scholar who has access to 
some other library. It should not be al- 
lowed to interfere with the reasonable and 
customary use of books by home readers, 
and the extent to which sending can be 
carried depends on the local conditions 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



of the lending library, the importance of 
the service to be rendered, the character 
of the books desired, the distance to which 
they are to be sent, and a number of other 
circumstances. 

The larger university libraries, having 
large numbers of professors, advanced stu- 
dents and other professional scholars im- 
mediately dependent on them, may find it 
necessary to restrict the scope of their 
loans in justice to their local constituency, 
while others may rightly extend the sys- 
tem beyond the limits indicated, so as to 
meet the wants of readers in public libra- 
ries, teachers in high schools, and others. 

Libraries should not be expected to lend 
text-books for general class use, popular 
manuals or books for the general reader, 
inexpensive books and those which can 
easily be procured through the book-trade, 
books to assist in school or college debates, 
or books for ordinary purposes of school 
or undergraduate study. Neither should 
they lend books which are likely to be in 
frequent demand by their own readers, or 
books which they do not lend at home on 
the ground that they ought always to be 
accessible on the shelves. In this respect 
practice will naturally differ widely, one 
library being ready to lend books which 
another would consider it necessary to 
keep always at hand. 

Caution should be exercised in lending 
volumes of newspapers, periodicals or so- 
ciety transactions and parts of expensive 
sets, since such volumes, if lost, are dis- 
proportionately expensive and sometimes 
practically impossible to replace. More- 
over, periodicals and society publications 
are often unexpectedly wanted for the pur- 
pose of verifying references, etc., and stu* 
dents may justly expect that they will 
always be accessible with a minimum oJ 
delay. 

The borrowing library should bear the 
expense of transportation both ways, and 
additional charges, if required, for the in- 
surance of specially valuable books. It 
should be financially responsible for the 
replacement of books lost or injured in 
transit. 



Borrowing libraries should take pains to 
borrow from sources nearest at hand or 
most naturally under obligation to lend. 

Titles of books wanted should be given 
with all practicable precision, both to in- 
sure getting the very thing asked for and 
to make the labor of finding the book as 
light as possible for the lending library. 

Applications for loans should always be 
made through the librarian of the borrow- 
ing library and not directly by the profes- 
sor or student for whose advantage the 
loan is desired. If books are lent on di- 
rect request of the individual, not trans- 
mitted through the library with which he 
is associated, this library cannot be held 
responsible for the prompt and safe re- 
turn of the books or for replacing them if 
lost in transit. Librarians are therefore 
justified in declining to lend on direct re- 
quest and in insisting that application 
must be made through the librarian. 

A library is justified in placing a limit 
on the number of volumes which it may be 
expected to lend at one time to a single 
institution say five or ten volumes. 

Loans should be made for a definite pe- 
riod, but the length of this period naturally 
varies with the occasion. The period be- 
gins with the despatch of the book from 
the lending library and ends with the day 
on or before which the book should be 
sent off by the borrowing library. If an 
extension of time is desired, it should be 
asked for long enough in advance of the 
book's being due to enable an answer to 
be received. Books may always be re- 
called by the lending library in advance of 
the late originally named if needed for the 
reasonable service of its home readers. 

In lending rare books, large volumes, 
portfolios of plates, etc., a library may 
be expected to insist that they must be 
used only within the building of the bor- 
rowing library. In some cases, it may be 
advisable to put the same restriction on 
all books lent. 

Fines may properly be charged and col- 
lected for books detained beyond the al- 
lotted time without request for extension. 
Repeated failure to return books promptly, 



GILLIS 



99 



or negligence in packing them safely is 
sufficient ground for declining to make 
further loans. When books are sent out 
or returned, separate notice of the fact 
should be sent by mail, stating date of 
shipment, mode of conveyance, etc. It is 
recommended that blank forms prepared 
for this purpose be used. Applications for 
loans may also most conveniently be made 
on suitable blanks. 

Libraries that are called upon for fre- 
quent loans are justified in making a mod- 
erate charge in connection with every vol- 
ume lent, sufficient in the long run to cover 
the administrative expense involved in 
looking up and sending off volumes asked 
for. This charge is not to be considered 
as a payment for the use of the book, but 
is intended simply to relieve the lending 
library of an undue burden of expense un- 
avoidably attendant upon the system of 
lending with some freedom to other li- 
braries. 

It is recommended that libraries arrange 
so that the services of some competent per- 
son may be regularly available at a mod- 
erate charge for looking up information, 
verifying references, etc., when the time 
and labor involved in such inquiries seem 
to exceed what may reasonably be de- 
manded of the library staff. The employ- 
ment of such a person to obtain specific in- 
formation will also occasionally serve in 
place of making a loan. 

It is also suggested that the possession 
of a cameragraph, for making rotary 
bromide prints, or other similar device by 
which facsimile copies can be made in- 
expensively, would often enable a library 
to send a satisfactory copy of portions of 
a rare book or manuscript in place of lend- 
ing the original. 

WILLIAM COOLIDGE LANE. 

Ill 
Inter-library loans 

I. Purpose. 

(1) Prompt service, (a) The book, if 
purchased, might have to come from a 
greater distance and so cause delay, (b) 
The book, if out of print, would take time 



to find or might not be possible for an 
agent to locate for a very long time, if at 
all. 

(2) Economical service, (a) The library 
that loans the book. Rather than have a 
book, that has cost time and money, stand 
idle on the shelves, the library owning it 
would be better repaid for the expenditure 
if the book were used by more people, (b) 
The library that borrows the book. Rather 
than purchase a book which would seldom 
be requested, it would be better to borrow 
it, and use one's funds and time and shelf 
room for books that would be in constant 
demand. For example: take two special 
lines of library service here in California 
at the present time. 

(1) Books for the blind. Aside from a 
small collection in the San Francisco read- 
ing room and library for the blind for the 
local blind, and the small collection for 
the students in the Berkeley California in- 
stitute for the education of the blind and 
the deaf, the state library has almost all 
the books and magazines used by the blind 
of the state. It would not be economical 
for other libraries or individuals to under- 
take to carry on this work, so the state 
library discourages anyone else buying 
such books and undertakes to furnish them 
to anyone needing them. If many want 
to read certain periodicals they are dupli- 
cated several times and sent in order to 
the various blind borrowers. 

(2) Medical books and periodicals. The 
Lane medical library in San Francisco and 
the Barlow medical library in Los Angeles 
have perhaps the best medical collections 
in the state. The state library of course 
has and is building up a collection in this 
line for the use of the whole state, but it 
often borrows from the first two mentioned. 
II. Scope. 

There will be no limit, apparently, to the 
scope of inter-library loans in California. 
Each library at present makes an effort to 
loan anything asked of it by any other 
library. For example, the state library 
buys no fiction, but from the union cata- 
logs of the county free libraries which is 
located at the state library, it is possible 



100 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



to tell where a certain book is located and 
to direct one to the other for a rush re- 
quest of fiction. 

Rare books are loaned by library to li- 
brary and used by the borrower at the 
library. 

Newspapers it is not necessary now to 
loan as by cameragraphing the needed ex- 
tract from them, the expense, wear and 
tear, and risk of such loans are avoided. 
The same applies to articles in unbound 
or bound periodicals. Cameragraphing an 
article in a periodical also makes unneces- 
sary the duplicating of certain periodicals 
because of some especially needed article. 
Cameragraphing is also economical in that 
it keeps the files in the library and so more 
material is always available for reference 
use. 

Even reference books, however, are 
loaned or borrowed frequently to meet cer- 
tain needs. So the scope is of necessity 
a matter of judgment of the particular 
case in question. 

III. Extent of borrower's financial respon- 
sibility. 

When a library borrows, it takes the fi- 
nancial responsibility, in case of loss or 
injury, and if the borrower is an individual, 
he takes it. The State library pays trans- 
portation on all loans to and from the 
county free libraries, and the county free 
library on all loans within the county. 
Loans to other libraries are usually paid 
sending charge by the library sending the 
book and returning charge by the library 
returning the book. 

The expense of administering the serv- 
ice of inter-library loans is not being con- 
sidered here in California, and we believe 
that question will never arise here, no 
matter how great the demands on each 
other grow to be. 

The spirit of co-operation is growing so 
rapidly here that the rivalry seems to be 
more who has and can give more rather 
than who can take more. 

IV. Order in which libraries should be 
applied to for a loan. 

There is no order here in California ex- 
cept that almost all libraries apply first 



to the State library and the State library 
being naturally the best informed on the 
special lines of strength in the various li- 
braries in California, can request the li- 
brary that is either known to have it or is 
likely to have it, to forward it to the library 
needing it. This is already possible for 
periodical files as there is at the State 
library a union list of periodical files in 
California libraries. Periodicals which are 
not in any California library, are borrowed 
with least loss of time, from the Library 
of Congress or Surgeon General's library. 

V. Average duration of loans. 

It would not be economical to plan a 
time limit on loans, as usually the library 
requesting it states the time the book will 
be needed and it is, if possible, loaned for 
that period. As soon as the library bor- 
rowing it is through with it, even if sooner 
than the time it expected to need it, the 
book is returned. Any book must of ne- 
cessity be subject to recall by the library 
loaning it. There cannot well be a limit to 
the number of volumes loaned at any one 
time. That would naturally depend upon 
the need. No fines or other penalties for 
negligence in returning loans are neces- 
sary where there is a spirit of perfect co- 
operation, as librarians all understand the 
necessity of system, and in California at 
least, show great consideration for each 
other. 

VI. Forms of application for loans; notice 
of shipment, etc. 

The forms used by the State library and 
county free libraries in California have 
been found to be perfectly satisfactory. 
Requests are sent in to the State library 
in duplicate. One is returned with the dis- 
position made of it written on it and the 
duplicate is kept on file as a record at the 
State library. If not in the State library a 
similar duplicated request is sent to some 
other library. 

VII. Inter-library loans in California. 

We in California find that a request is 
never refused and that requesting such 
loans in itself makes a library proud of 
its strength and of its place in the sys- 



AHERN 



101 



tern and builds up in this way a strong 
feeling for co-operation. 

The rules to be adopted for inter-library 
loans in California will be those that ex- 
perience shows are necessary, and are 
likely to give the best results for Cali- 
fornia conditions. 

J. L. GILLIS. 

COMMITTEE ON CO-OPERATION WITH 

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION 

ASSOCIATION 

The Committee on Co-operation with 
National Education Association is in a 
position to report that an appointment 
has been made by the executive board of 
the National Education Association of a 
representative of the American Library 
Association to speak at the third general 
session of its meeting in Chicago on the 
place of the library in educational move- 
ments. The committee feels that this 
recognition of the work of the library on 
the part of the National Education Asso- 
ciation is a decided victory, as for many 
years the authorities of the National Edu- 
cation Association have courteously but 
constantly turned away from the request 
made by the American Library Asso- 
ciation committee for a representative on 
their program. 

A selection was made of Dr. Arthur E. 
Bostwick, librarian of the St. Louis public 
library, to present the library cause be- 
fore the National Education Association. 
It is needless to add with full assurance, 
that the matter is safe in his hands. 

At the invitation of the president of the 
library department of the National Educa- 
tion Association, Mr. E. W. Gaillard of 
New York, the committee has endeavored 
as best it could in the short time allowed, 
owing to the lateness of the invitation, to 
make an exhibit of American Library 
Association material, booklists and mate- 
rial illustrative of the relations between 
libraries and schools, to be in place at 
the National Education Association meet- 
ing to be held in Chicago. 

It seems, therefore, that the work of the 
past year is one that should afford satis- 



faction in the recognition that the Amer- 
ican Library Association has received 
from the National Education Associa- 
tion. 

President George E. Vincent, of the 
University of Minnesota, who will deliver 
an address at the Ottawa conference, at 
the invitation of the American Library 
Association program committee, has been 
invited to present the official greetings 
of the National Education Association to 
the American Library Association. 

The committee through its chairman 
has advised with several groups of school 
librarians, but it has been the policy to 
confine action to affairs in which the na- 
tional organizations as individual units 
were concerned. 

MARY EILEEN AHERN, Chairman, 
GENEVIEVE M. WALTON, 
IRENE WARREN, 
GEORGE H. LOCKE, 
J. C. DANA. 

The PRESIDENT: The next report is 
that the committee on catalog rules for 
small libraries. 

The SECRETARY: The chairman of 
this committee, Miss Theresa Hitchler, 
wrote me that she hoped to make a re- 
port through some other member of the 
committee, and that it was the hope of 
the committee to have that work finished 
by fall. 

The PRESIDENT: Then the chair will 
accept that as a report of information. 

Adjourned. 

SECOND GENERAL SESSION 

(Russell Theatre, Friday, June 28, 
9:30 a. m.) 

First Vice-President Henry E. Legler 
presided. 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: It has 
always been a moot question as to what 
vice-presidents were for. Mrs. Elmendorf 
has undertaken the very doubtful experi- 
ment of endeavoring to find out, and so 
she has designated the respective vice- 
presidents in their order to preside over 
the meetings of the conference. 

We shall reverse the order of the pro- 



102 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



gram and call for the committee reports 
first. 

The following reports were presented 
and received, all having been previously 
printed, with the exception of the supple- 
ment to the report of the committee on 
library administration and that on work 
with the blind. The committee on inter- 
national relations stated that they had 
no report to make. 

COMMITTEE ON FEDERAL AND 
STATE RELATIONS 

Your committee's chief activity has been 
along the line of a parcels post, as we have 
felt that was the most feasible measure for 
obtaining lower postal rates. The chair- 
man of the committee had personal inter- 
views with the chairmen of the House and 
Senate committees on Post Office, and filed 
with the latter a formal endorsement of 
the parcels post, as well as the resolution 
looking in that direction, passed by the 
Council at its meeting in January last. 
The committee recommends that the con- 
tinuance of this advocacy be authorized by 
the association. 

We also recommend that the association 
endorse a movement for the better safe- 
guarding of the national archives and ren- 
dering them accessible to students, feeling 
that the preservation of these govern- 
mental records is one of considerable im- 
portance, and one in which librarians have 
an especial interest, inasmuch as they have 
under their care manuscripts as well as 
printed books. 

The attention of depository libraries is 
called to the report of Senator Smoot, on 
the revision of printing laws (62nd Con- 
gress, second session. Report 414, p. 33 
and following) which discusses the pro- 
posed amendments to the laws with ref- 
erence to depository libraries. 

BERNARD C. STEINER. 

COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY ADMINIS- 
TRATION 

Your committee has not been active dur- 
ing the whole year, the present chairman 
having been appointed to fill a vacancy. 
What it has done has been in the way of 



a small beginning toward a general sur- 
vey of methods in public libraries, which 
it is hoped may be carried forward to com- 
pletion in future years. 

The scientific position that the first 
thing to do, in making an investigation, is 
to find out the facts, has only recently been 
taken in work of this kind. It has gen- 
erally been assumed by those who have 
desired to better conditions of any sort 
that the existing conditions were well 
known to all. The fact is that no one 
person or group of persons is in a posi- 
tion to know all the conditions thoroughly 
and that the elementary task of ascertain- 
ing them and stating them is usually by 
no means easy. It is now generally recog- 
nized that we must have a Survey an 
ascertainment and plain statement of the 
facts as they are as a preliminary to 
action or even to discussion. 

It has seemed to your committee that 
the general feeling, shared by the educa- 
tional and industrial worlds, that methods 
are not always efficiently adjusted to aims 
should find some place also in the library. 
We are spending large sums of public 
money, and investigations by "economy 
committees," "efficiency bureaus" and the 
like are taking place all around us. It 
will be well for us to take a step in ad- 
vance of these and get for ourselves some 
sort of a birds-eye view of our work, from 
the standpoint of its possible lack of com- 
plete efficiency adaptation of end to aim. 
In order to do this we must first have a 
survey, which we conceive to involve in 
this case a statement of just what libra- 
ries are trying to do and just how, in some 
minuteness of detail, they are trying to do 
it. Comparison and discussion of methods 
will naturally follow later. 

The method of taking up this matter was 
suggested by some very preliminary work 
done in the St. Louis public library. The 
head of each of the various branches and 
departments was asked to make a detailed 
written list of the various operations per- 
formed by the assistants in that particular 
department, dividing them into purely me- 
chanical acts and those involving some 



BOSTWICK 



103 



thought or judgment. This in itself proved 
to be an interesting task and both in- 
formation and stimulation resulted from 
it. Certain operations, common to the 
largest number of kinds of work, were then 
selected and tests were made, involving 
both speed of performance and efficiency 
of result. From a large number of such 
tests it is expected that some standardiza- 
tion of operations may result, or at any 
rate the cutting out of useless details and 
the saving of time for needed extensions 
of work. The object of an investigation of 
this kind is of course not to discover ways 
of making assistants work harder and 
faster but to find out whether the same 
amount of work, or more of it, may not be 
done with less effort. 

To extend this bit of experimental work, 
which has not progressed beyond its first 
steps, to all the libraries of the United 
States is of course impossible without mod- 
ification. Your committee has not the ma- 
chinery to handle detailed lists of opera- 
tions from thousands of different libraries. 
Fortunately it is easy to select operations 
that are common to very large numbers 
of libraries of divers sizes and kinds and 
in all parts of the country. As examples 
of such operations, and as a small begin- 
ning, we selected those of accessioning, 
charging and discharging, and counting is- 
sue. Even with a narrowing of the field 
to two operations, however, it was impos- 
sible to investigate these in all our libra- 
ries, or even in a large number. After 
a discussion by correspondence, revealing 
some difference of opinion, we decided to 
select about twenty-five libraries, as rep- 
resentative as possible of different sizes, 
different institutions and different local- 
ities. The list as finally made up was as 
follows: 



Public Libraries 

New York 
St. Louis 
Pratt Institute 



State Libraries 

New York 

Iowa 

California 



East Orange, N. J. Connecticut 



Atlanta, Ga. 



Virginia 



University Libraries Subscription Libra- 
Harvard ries 
Syracuse Mercantile, N. Y. 
Oberlin Athenaeum, Bos- 
Kansas University ton. 
Shurtleff College Mercantile, St. 

Alton, 111. Louis. 

Trinity College a| ubnfln 

Hartford Conn. fiar Association> 

Tulane University ^ Y 

New Orleans, Ac * ademy of Med . 
La " icine, N. Y. 
Reference Libraries Engineering socie- 
Grosvenor, Buffalo ties, N. Y. 
Newberry, Chi- John Crerar, Chi- 
cago, cago. 
To the librarians of each of these li- 
braries was then sent the following let- 
ter: 

To the Librarian: 

The Committee on Library Administra- 
tion of the A. L. A. is beginning a survey 
of simple operations common to all sorts 
of libraries, especially with a view to find- 
ing out whether there is much diversity 
of detail in them, and ultimately of noting 
particular methods that seem likely to 
result in time-saving or in better results. 
For the moment, however, a mere survey, 
involving a detailed description of the 
method of performing certain kinds of 
work is all that is aimed at. The Com- 
mittee has selected 26 libraries of very 
different sizes and types, and yours is one 
of these. If you are willing to cooperate, 
will you kindly send at once to the chair- 
man a description, in as minute detail as 
possible, of the following operations: 
Accessioning 
The counting of issue 
The charging of books 
The discharging of books 
Please describe each step of these opera- 
tions seriatim and in detail, not omitting 
such as are purely mechanical, and noting 
points where different assistants would be 
apt to act in different ways. A description 
of the operation of accessioning in the 
New York public library (Reference de- 
partment) is enclosed as a sample. 

If you can not do this, please notify us 
immediately, that another library may be 
put on the list in your place. 
Yours truly, 

ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chairman, 
HARRY M. LYDENBERG, 
ETHEL F. McCOLLOUGH, 

A. L. A. Com. on Administration. 



104 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Sooner or later we obtained the desired 
data from 20 of the 26 libraries to which 
this letter was sent. Only one, the Gros- 
venor Library of Buffalo, returned no an- 
swer. Five declined on various grounds. 
The California State library wrote to us: 
"We do not feel satisfied with our present 
arrangements and do not believe we are 
in a position to offer any suggestions that 
would be of service in connection with 
this investigation." The Mercantile li- 
brary of New York wrote: "We regret that 
we find ourselves unable to co-operate 
with your committee in this undertaking." 
The librarian of Trinity college, Hartford, 
writes that "with the exception of student 
assistants the librarian is the entire staff." 
The senior regent of Shurtleff college, Al- 
ton, 111., writes: "Our building is not yet 
complete and in the management of the 
old, we are so nearly without a system 
that I hardly feel it worth while to try to 
reply to these questions." The librarian 
of the New York Engineering Societies 
writes: "This library * * * has no 
charging system. Its system of accession- 
ing will be abandoned as soon as possible. 
I suggest that you enter another library 
on your list." 

Replies such as these seem to imply a 
misconception of the nature and purposes 
of a survey. Our object is to ascertain 
facts, not to gather a selected number of 
ideal cases. 

For these five libraries the following 
were substituted: 

Westminster College, Fulton, Mo. 

Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. 

Washington State Library. 

New York Society Library. 

Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass. 

These furnished that data for which we 
asked, with the exception of the Wash- 
ington State library, which declined. We 
have material, therefore, from 24 libraries 
altogether. 

The last of this body of data comes to 
hand just as this preliminary report goes 
to press, but it is being digested and tab- 
ulated and some of the results, at least, 
will be ready for the Ottawa meeting, al- 



though there will not be time for any 
study of these results or for recommenda- 
tions based thereon. 

The reports from the various libraries 
will be on file at headquarters at Ot- 
tawa and will be accessible to all mem- 
bers of the association who desire to con- 
sult them. 

Regarding the question of the counting 
of circulation through traveling libraries, 
deposits and the like, which has been re- 
ferred to your committee, we beg to re- 
port as follows: 

The sending of books from a library 
to a school, a club, or some other place 
where they are to be used or circulated 
may be regarded in two ways by libra- 
rians. It may be held that the sending of 
the books from the library is itself an 
act of circulation or that the place to 
which they are sent for use or distribu- 
tion is a temporary station of the library, 
and that sending books thereto is no more 
circulation than if they were sent to a 
library branch or delivery station. Ob- 
viously, if the former view is accepted, 
no use that is made of the book after it 
reaches the station can be recorded by the 
library. When we have lent a book to a 
reader we do not inquire how many per- 
sons in the family use it or whether a 
neighbor borrows it. The library bor- 
rower is responsible for it and it simply 
counts as one in the issue. But if the 
place to which it goes is to be treated as 
a station, then the use of the book at or 
from that station is part of the library 
record. If it is used in the school, club, or 
other place where it is deposited, such use 
is not circulation, however, but hall or 
library use, as if it had been used in a 
branch library. If it is issued from the 
station for home use, such issues, and 
every such issue, is properly counted with 
the circulation. 

It seems to your committee that the 
second of these alternatives is the one that 
should be recognized, both from theoret- 
ical and practical reasons. The sending 
of a collection of books to a place where 
it is to be used resembles much more 



BOSTWICK 



105 



closely the temporary transfer of such col- 
lection to a branch than it does ordinary 
circulation. Practically also, it is desir- 
able to take account of whatever use is 
made of the books in such places and log- 
ically this can be done only on the second 
theory. 

On neither of the theories is it allowable 
to count the original sending as one issue 
and then to count or estimate issues from 
the station; or to count uses in the station 
as home issues. 

Some libraries report that they are un- 
able to secure proper statistics of use at 
the station and that they must therefore 
either count the original issue or guess 
at the use in some way, or fail to report it 
at all. In cases of this kind, whatever is 
done should be made plain by a note in 
connection with the published statistics. 

To recapitulate, we recommend: 

(1) That the act of sending books from 
the library to a station of any kind, no 
matter how temporary, be not regarded as 
an issue to be counted in the circulation, 
although separate account of books thus 
sent should be kept and may be published 
if desired. 

(2) That books used in the station be 
counted as hall or library use and that 
books issued from the station be counted 
as home use. 

(3) That where it is found necessary to 
depart from this method in any way, such 
departure be plainly stated in a foot note 
to the published report. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 
ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chairman. 
ETHEL F. McCOLLOUGH, 
HARRY M. LYDENBERG. 

(Supplementary Report) 
As a supplement to that portion of its 
report which has already been presented, 
your committe now submits the following 
preliminary tabulation and discussion of re- 
sults. As is usual, in such investigations, 
our questions have not been interpreted in 
the same way by all to whom they have 
been addressed. Supplementary questions 
must therefore be sent out in many cases 
and these must be framed separately for 



each case. This will be the next work of 
this committee, should you see fit to con- 
tinue it as at present constituted. 

Your committee trusts that it is clearly 
understood that it does not desire to infer 
from the extremely small proportion of 
cases discussed anything that should be 
properly inferred only from a large num- 
ber of cases. Facts are stated numerically, 
but no numerical conclusions are or can 
be drawn. At this stage of the investi- 
gation no recommendations at all can be 
made. 

Accessioning 

The material received varies so much 
in respect to the items reported upon, and 
the fullness with which each step Is 
treated, that a second questionnaire must 
be sent out before there can be any uni- 
formity of tabulation. For example: 

One librarian writes us, "We keep no 
accession book for ordinary circulating 
books, only for expensive art books" and 
fails to state what items are entered. 

Another reports that "the books are ac- 
cessioned, each separate volume being 
given a separate accession number" but 
does not say whether an accession book is 
used or not. 

Two librarians write that "the Standard 
A. L. A. Accession book is used" and leave 
us to infer that every column is filled in. 

And two assure us that the promised 
material will be sent in soon. 

It Is interesting to note, however, that 
only two libraries, the Boston Athenaeum 
and the Forbes library, use the Bill 
Method of accessioning. The other li- 
braries all use an accession book, but 
differ widely in the number of items en- 
tered; for example, one library enters only 
author, title, source and price, and an- 
other has an accession book printed for 
its own use, including columns for the fol- 
lowing: Date of entry, accession number, 
place of publication, publisher, date of 
book, size, class, additions classified (in- 
cluding a column for each of the main 
classes in the D. C. system, one for fiction, 
and one for juvenile books), volumes 
bought, volumes received as gifts, perl- 



106 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



odicals bound, pamphlets bound, the 
language of the book (4 separate columns 
marked Eng. Ger. Fr. and Other), source, 
publisher's price, discount, net price, bind- 
ing, remarks. 

The majority of libraries reporting, use 
the A. L. A. standard accession book or 
the condensed form of the same. 

Libraries Using Book Method 
Atlanta. 

Bar Association of N. Y. 
East Orange. 
Iowa State Library. 
John Crerar Library. 
Kansas State University. 
Kings County Medical. 
N. Y. City Circulating Department. 
N. Y. City Reference Department. 
N. Y. State Library. 

N. Y. Society Library (accessions only 
expensive art books). 
Newberry Library. 
Oberlin College. 
Pratt Institute Free Library. 
St Louis Mercantile Library. 
St. Louis Public Library. 
Syracuse University. 
Tulane University. 
Virginia State University. 
Wesleyan University. 
Westminster College. 

Libraries Using Bill Method 
Boston Athenaeum. 
Forbes Library. 

Charging and Discharging 
The data contributed on this subject are 
so uneven and varying that any accurate 
and minute comparison is impossible at 
present. The functions that constitute a 
charge or discharge are variously regarded 
by different libraries. The eighteen li- 
braries forming the basis of this study, 
with a note of their charging systems, 
may be roughly arranged in the following 
groups: 

College or University Libraries 
Oberlin. Double file. Borrowers' file 
and book file under date. 



Syracuse. Double file. Borrowers' file 
and book file under call-number. 

University of Kansas. Double file. Bor- 
rowers' file and book file under date. 

Tulane. Single file. Book file under 
class. 

Wesleyan. Double file. Borrowers' file 
under date and book file. 

Westminster. Single file. Book file un- 
der date. 

Public or Circulating Libraries 

Boston Athenaeum (Subscription). 
Double record. Borrowers' file and book 
record under date. 

Carnegie Library of Atlanta. Newark 
System (no details). 

East Orange Public Library. Newark 
System (many variations). 

Forbes Library. Browne System. 

New York Public Library. Newark Sys- 
tem. 

Pratt Institute Free Library. Newark 
System. 

St. Louis Mercantile Library (subscrip- 
tion). Browne System. 

St. Louis Public Library. Newark 
System. 

State Libraries 

Iowa State. Reference. (Uses tempor- 
ary slip when a book is issued for home 
use filed under date.) 

Virginia State. Double file. Borrowers' 
file and book file by titles. 

Reference Libraries 

Newberry Library. 

No attempt has been made to study the 
charge or discharge of books for library 
use. 

Society Library 

Medical Society of King's County. Bor- 
rowers' record. 

Reversing this arrangement and group- 
ing under charging systems, we have: 
Newark System 6. 

Carnegie Library of Atlanta. 

East Orange Public Library. 

New 'York Public Library. 

Pratt Institute Free Library. 

St. Louis Public Library. 

Syracuse University (modified). 



BOSTWICK 



107 



Browne System 2. 

Forbes Library. 

St. Louis Mercantile Library. 
Double File Borrower and Book 6. 

Boston Athenaeum. 

Oberlin College. 

Syracuse. 

University of Kansas. 

Virginia State Library. 

Wesleyan University. 

Single File Book File under Date or Class 
3. 

Iowa State Library. 

Tulane University. 

Westminster College. 
Borrowers' Record 1. 

Medical Society of County of Kings. 

It is evident from this tabulation that 
libraries of the same character use the 
same systems identical in their essen- 
tials but different in detail. College li- 
braries and those whose use corresponds 
to that of a college library find with but 
two exceptions a double file useful one of 
borrower and one of books the latter 
varying greatly in arrangement, owing to 
the distinctions between students and 
faculty. 

A re'sume' of the college and state sys- 
tems studied follows: 

Iowa State. When book is issued, as- 
sistant copies the call number from the 
book plate upon a manila charge slip, then 
adds the name of borrower and her date 
of loan. Charge slips are deposited tem- 
porarily in a drawer, and next morning 
are arranged by call-number and filed in 
the charging tray. There are no fines; 
books are issued subject to call. The first 
of each month the tray is examined; all 
slips bearing a date a month old are taken 
out, compared with the shelves to ascer- 
tain if the books have been returned, and 
shelved without being discharged, and 
with the shelf list, to verify the call num- 
ber; at which time the author and title 
are copied on the reverse side of slip. 
Notices requesting the return of books are 
filled in with the author, title and date of 
loan, and sent to borrowers. Date of notice 
is placed on charge slips with colored 



pencil, and the slips refiled in tray. In 
discharging books, the slips bearing cor- 
responding call numbers are taken from 
tray and destroyed. 

Oberlin College. Charge. Book pocket 
contains two cards, one white, one pink 
with author's name, title of book and call 
number and accession number. Borrower 
signs name on both and leaves on desk. 
Dating slip with date of issue is put in 
book pocket. Assistant stamps both cards 
with date of issue filing white cards by 
call number under date and pink card 
alphabetically with borrower's card under 
borrower's name. These are ultimately 
divided into two files, the "day file" and 
the "long file," the latter including books 
drawn by professors and others privileged 
to retain them more than two weeks. 
When boot is returned dating slip is taken 
out and saved for future use. Book is 
checked off by finding book card in file 
and borrower's name is checked from that. 
Pink card is then withdrawn from bor- 
rower's file. 

Syracuse University. Borrower's cards 
are kept on file by serial number. When 
a book is issued its call number is written 
on borrower's card and date of issue 
stamped on it and on dating slip. Book 
card is stamped with borrower's number 
and date of issue. Borrower's card is 
filed under number and book card filed by 
call number. When book is returned book 
is checked off, date on borrower's card 
stamped with date of return and the card 
put in regular file of borrower's cards. 
(The book card system itself seems to be 
the Newark). 

Tulane University. Borrower makes out 
a temporary book card which is filled out 
with the book data, his name and address 
and date and is filed by class. When book 
is returned temporary book card is de- 
stroyed. 

University of Kansas. Corresponds to 
Oberlin except that book card filed with 
borrower's card is not signed or dated and 
that the single file is by class. Has two 
files one for students under date and 
one for faculty under name. Books are 



108 



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discharged at students' leisure by check- 
ing off. 

Virginia State. Borrowers' file and book 
file of temporary book cards alphabetically 
under title. 

Wesleyan. When book is issued a ma- 
nilla slip is written giving name of bor- 
rower, call number, author and title. The 
date due is stamped on dating slip in 
book. Slip is placed in box and next morn- 
ing a second slip is made from it giving 
call number first, then author, title and 
name of borrower. Date due is then 
stamped on both cards. First card (bor- 
rower's slips) are filed (by date if stu- 
dent, by name, if professor). The other 
slips (book cards) are filed alphabetically 
under author. Book is discharged by 
checking off both slips being withdrawn 
from issue and presumably destroyed. 

Westminster. No students' cards. Per- 
manent book card stamped with date and 
borrower's name. Date stamped on book 
pocket. Cards filed under date. Assistant 
discharges at leisure by checking off. 

Public or circulating libraries prefer the 
Newark or Browne system the majority 
the Newark: 

Boston Athenaeum. Corresponds to 
Oberlin save that day of year instead of 
day of month is used for dating. That one 
slip Is filed in borrowers' case with infor- 
mation relating to borrower's assessments, 
etc., instead of with borrower's card, and 
that the single file is by author. When 
book is returned date of return is stamped 
on book slips when book is checked off. 

Carnegie Library of Atlanta. Newark 
system, using slots in desk to sort cards. 
No details of checking off. 

East Orange. Newark system, using 
colored book-cards to distinguish classes. 
Magazines and four weeks' books not 
stamped on reader's cards. In children's 
room non-fiction not stamped on reader's 
card. Books checked off near charging 
desk. 

Forbes Library. Browne system. Bor- 
rower's pockets filed numerically under 
each letter of alphabet in order of regis- 
tration. Fiction and non-fiction pockets 



kept in separate file. When book is is- 
sued borrower gives his number by which 
his pocket is found. Book card is taken 
from book pocket and put in borrower's 
pocket and date of return is stamped on 
book pocket. Book record is kept by ar- 
ranging under date, book cards in pockets 
alphabetically under author and title. (De- 
tails of information on book card not 
given). Book is discharged by withdraw- 
ing book card from borrower's pocket and 
transferring to book pocket. Recent books 
(last two years) are evidently discharged 
and shelved at once. Others three times 
a day. Empty borrower's pockets are filed 
throughout the day. 

New York Public. Newark system. 
Book card has author's surname, title of 
book, class number and accession number. 
Variously colored book cards are used to 
indicate various classes. Assistant makes 
hurried examination of book to be issued 
and copies borrower's card number on 
book card and stamps date with dating 
pencil on reader's card, book pocket and 
book card the latter to be done at leisure 
if there is a rush. Puts borrower's card 
in pocket and gives books to reader. Book 
card is dropped in proper slot in desk (ten 
slots indicating the ten classes). Book 
cards filed under date of issue by class 
author and accession number. Book 
cards for foreign books are arranged 
alphabetically after book cards in Eng- 
gish. When book is discharged, assist- 
ant checks off book comparing date of card 
with that of book, examines book for dam- 
age and then cancels date on reader's 
card, restoring card to reader. (Note. It 
hardly seems that this checking off before 
cancelling date on reader's card can be 
done except in a very slack hour, and 
must cause annoying delay to reader). 
Books are then placed on truck to right of 
assistant, later revised and shelved. 

System has many exceptions, one of 
which is to write reader's card number on 
dating slip as well as book card. Others 
are the writing of Special or Sp. on book 
card, opposite card number to indicate the 
privilege of extended time to special card- 



BOSTWICK 



109 



holder, as well as on dating slip. In this 
case, call number or accession number is 
written on card (presumably reader's 
card) and the use of branch initial on 
reader's card to show card issued from a 
branch other than that from which book 
is borrowed. 

This library uses a reader's receipt file 
for books returned without card a slip 
giving name, address, card number, class 
number, date of issue and return. This 
system with variations is also in use in 
the St. Louis public library (called the 
"write-ups") and also in the Pratt Insti- 
tute free library and supposedly many 
others. 

Pratt Institute Free Library. Newark 
System. Uses different ink pads for fic- 
tion and non-fiction, and dating pencils. 
Puts book cards into slots in desk; fiction, 
non-fiction and teachers. Stamps dates 
first and then writes card number. Uses 
different ink pad for discharging. Charg- 
ing and discharging (including checking 
off done at same desk) done by same as- 
sistant except in a rush hour. Checking off 
however is done at assistant's leisure 
that Is, the reader's card is stamped off 
before book card is found. Book cards 
are filed by class under date. Keeps a 
separate renewal file. 

St. Louis Mercantile Library. Browne 
system, with separate reader's identifica- 
tion card, seldom used. Uses blue reader's 
pocket for fiction, salmon color for non- 
fiction, and manilla pockets for pay dupli- 
cates. Book card corresponds in color, 
except in case of regular books issued as 
extras. Book card has Cutter class num- 
ber, author and title. Assistant stamps 
date due on dating slip and book card 
which is placed in reader's pocket. Pock- 
ets are put temporarily in tray near issue 
desk and later filed by class, under date 
due. Books are discharged by charging 
assistant at charging desk, by taking book 
card from pocket and slipping it into book. 
Empty reader's pockets are constantly be- 
ing filed in regular reader's file. 

St. Louis Public Library. Newark sys- 



tem. Different colored ink-pads for seven 
day and fourteen day books and for dis- 
charging. Reader's number first written 
on bookcard, then book card, dating slip 
and reader's card stamped. Reading-room 
books charged on slips filled out by reader. 
Two books generally are issued on one 
card but "Additional Books" stamped on 
reader's card entitles cardholder to a 
greater number of volumes, of non-fiction, 
usually six. This privilege is granted to 
educators, social workers and others en- 
gaged in serious study, at the discretion 
of the head of the circulation department. 
Discharging is done at a separate desk 
in the usual way, receipts being filed for 
books returned without reader's card. 
Books are placed on a truck and checked 
off by a special assistant. 

Society Library 

The Medical Society of the County of 
Kings Uses a borrower's receipt, giving 
author, title, accession number and bor- 
rower's signature. These receipts are filed 
by borrower's name. When book is re- 
turned> it is discharged by stamping date 
of return in receipt and placing in file of 
cancelled loans. 

The libraries using colored book cards 
to denote the classes are: 

East Orange Public Library. 
New York Public Library. 
St. Louis Mercantile Library colors 
simply indicating fiction or non- 
fiction. 

Those using colored book cards for their 
double file (borrower's and book) are: 
Boston Athenaeum. 
Oberlln College. 

At the time of book's issue bookcards_ 
are dropped into a drawer through slots 
designating classes of the books issued by 
the following libraries: 

Carnegie Library of Atlanta. 
New York Public Library. 
Pratt Institute Free Library des- 
ignates fiction, non-fiction and 
teachers. 
Libraries using temporary bookcards, 



110 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



filled out at time of book's issue by bor- 
rower or assistant: 

Iowa State. 

Tulane University. 

Virginia State. 

Wesleyan University. 
Libraries using a borrower's record for 
privileged classes (professors, etc.) and a 
time record for students: 

Kansas University. 

Oberlin University. 

Syracuse University. 

Wesleyan University. 
Cards identifying the readers appear to 
be required by all the libraries save West- 
minster. These vary those of the Boston 
Athenaeum, Medical Society of County of 
Kings, apparently taking the form of a 
subscription entry while the St. Louis 
Mercantile Library issues one as an iden- 
tification card, which is seldom called into 
use. 

Libraries using borrowers' cards in a 
file at the library to indicate what the 
reader has out, are: 

Oberlin. 

Syracuse call numbers of books are 
written on students' cards. 

University of Kansas. 

Virginia. 

Wesleyan. 

Tulane. 

Those using a borrower's card which re- 
mains in the possession of the borrower, 
while he has books from the library, to in- 
dicate number of books out, date either of 
issue or when due, and a date of return 
are those employing the Newark system: 

Carnegie Library of Atlanta. 

East Orange Library. 

New York Public Library. 

Pratt Institute Free Library. 

St. Louis Public Library. 
Syracuse uses the Newark system but 
retains cards in borrower's file (under bor- 
rower's number) at library. 

As regards the discharge of books, the 
use of the Browne system presupposes a 
complete discharge of the book, in case of 
a borrower taking another at the time of 
its return. 



Libraries retaining borrowers' cards at 
the library discharge at their leisure. 

Where the Newark system is used (with 
the exception of the New York public li- 
brary) an incomplete discharge is made at 
the time of the book's return consisting 
of the stamping of the date of return on 
reader's card. It is obviously impossible 
to delay a reader while book is checked off. 
Checking off is then done at leisure either 
at charging desk by desk assistant or spe- 
cial assistant appointed for that work. 

Counting of Issue 

The eighteen libraries reporting on this 
subject may be grouped under the follow- 
ing heads: 

Public or Circulating 
Boston Athenaeum (subscription). 
Carnegie Library of Atlanta. 
East Orange Library. 
Forbes Library. 
New York Public Library. 
Pratt Institute Free Library. 
St. Louis Mercantile Library (sub- 
scription). 
St Louis Public Library. 

College or University 
Oberlin College. 
Syracuse University. 
Tulane University. 
University of Kansas. 
Wesleyan University. 
Westminster College. 

State Libraries 
Iowa State. 
Virginia State. 

Reference Library 
Newberry Library. 

Society Library 

Library of the Medical Society of the 
County of Kings. 

Eight of these libraries record statistics 
of reference use: 
Newberry. 
New York. 
St. Louis Public. 
Syracuse. 



BOSTWICK 



111 



Tulane. 

Virginia State. 

Wesleyan. 

Westminster. 

The following do not include reference 
use on their statistics sheets, although in 
some cases it is probably kept separately: 

Boston Athenaeum. 

Carnegie Library of Atlanta. 

East Orange. 

Forbes. 

Pratt Institute. 

St. Louis Mercantile. 
The Medical Society of the County of 
Kings and Oberlin College library make 
no record of reference use, but the latter 
records daily and monthly attendance. 
Pour libraries keep no record by class: 

Boston Athenaeum. 

Medical Society of Kings. 

Wesleyan. 

Westminster. 

The following count the circulation on 
the day of issue: 

Boston Athenaeum. 

Newberry. 

Pratt Institute. 

St. Louis Public. 

Virginia State. 

Westminster. 

In all the other libraries it is counted 
next morning, save in Kings County Med- 
ical, where only an annual count is made. 
East Orange and New York use colored 
bookcards to indicate the various classes; 
St. Louis Mercantile uses different colors 
for fiction, non-fiction and pay-duplicates, 
and Tulane uses a colored slip for refer- 
ence requests. 

Two libraries, Iowa State and Univer- 
sity of Kansas, report that no record of 
issue is made. 

Public or Circulating Libraries 
Boston Athenaeum. The manilla cards 

forming the author record are counted at 

night and the number is entered in a book. 

There is no entry by class and reference 

use is not reported. 
Carnegie Library of Atlanta. Issue is 

kept in three groups for fiction, rent or 



pay collection and classed books. The 
latter are arranged under class numer- 
ically or alphabetically. Fiction and rent 
collection are alphabeted and all are 
counted on the following morning and 
entered on a daily sheet, juvenile issue 
being counted separately. No report on 
reference issue. 

East Orange. Colored bookcards are 
used here to indicate different classes. 
The issue is counted on the following 
morning and arranged according to the 
Dewey Classification and entered in a 
statistics book. No report on reference 
issue. 

Forbes. Counted by groups of classes. 

New York Public. Colored bookcards 
are used here. Adult and juvenile issue 
are counted separately on the following 
morning: 

1. By Dewey classes, issues in each 
class being added together to obtain the 
total issue in each group and the two 
groups then added for the grand total of 
the day. 

2. By language. 

3. Poetry, periodicals and music are 
counted separately as well as with their 
respective classes. 

Reference books are charged on slips, 
signed by the reader, the number of 
volumes issued being noted on the upper 
right hand corner. At the close of the 
day these slips are counted twice, first 
by readers and second by volumes. 

Pratt Institute Free Library. The daily 
issue is counted on the day of issue and 
arranged in four groups fiction, non-fic- 
tion, teachers and renewals, and entered 
on manilla slips which are divided into 
spaces for the ten Dewey classes and also 
for languages, duplicate pay collection, 
summer issue, delta and double star, the 
last two being special collections. These 
totals are all transferred to a daily statis- 
tics sheet. A reference record Is not re- 
ported on, but is undoubtedly kept in 
some form. 

St. Louis Mercantile. The issue is kept 
in seven and fourteen day trays and ar- 
ranged by class, salmon colored cards be- 



112 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



ing used for non-fiction and blue for fic- 
tion. Before the library opens in the 
morning the issue is counted and entered 
in a book under classes (Cutter). Refer- 
ence record is not reported. 

St. Louis Public. Issue is kept in trays, 
separated into groups for seven and four- 
teen-day fiction, the ten Dewey classes and 
(in summer) vacation issue. At night it is 
counted and entered on a statistic sheet, 
under the same heads. Reading-room is- 
sue is entered on the same sheet, also by 
class. The home issue is then separated 
by date, seven-days in one alphabet and 
fourteen-days in another, and arranged by 
author and accession number not class. 
This arrangement, by affording but one 
alphabet in which to search for a book 
due on a given date, reduces, the oppor- 
tunity for mistakes to a minimum. Three- 
day magazines are inserted with seven-day 
cards under the correct date. In the morn- 
ing the circulation is revised for errors in 
alphabeting and also for illegible charges 
which are traced by means of a number, 
assigned to each assistant. 

Reference use is entered on a form di- 
vided into four columns for main reference 
room, art room, technical department and 
totals. The entries are by class and the 
number of volumes given to each reader 
noted. All records are transferred the 
following morning to a permanent sta- 
tistics book. 

College or University Libraries 

Oberlin. The author cards are arranged 
at night under date of issue by classes, 
fastened together with a rubber band and 
placed in the issue tray ahead of all pre- 
vious circulation. In the morning they are 
counted and entered on a statistics sheet 
under class, then filed in the issue tray. 
Statistics of reference use are not kept. 

Syracuse University. Statistics are re- 
corded for home issue, reading room issue 
and attendance. When the books are 
charged they are divided into over-night 
and two week circulation; in the morning 
these are subdivided into twelve classes 
and again recorded as charged to students, 



faculty or departments. Methods of re- 
porting reference use are not outlined but 
a record of some sort is made, probably at 
the discretion of the various reading-room 
attendants. One of the colleges (Applied 
Science) reports to the general library 
only once a year and others monthly. 
Other departments report only attendance. 

Tulane University. Every morning 
charging slips are grouped into classes 
and counted. Yellow slips, indicating li- 
brary use are counted in the same manner 
and then destroyed. Entry is made in a 
record book under class, library use being 
recorded in pencil and home issue in red 
ink directly beneath it. 

University of Kansas. No record of 
issue is kept. 

Wesleyan University. The issue is 
counted each morning in four groups; 
bound and unbound (issued to individ- 
uals), reserve, or books placed on reserve 
shelves and seminar, or volumes sent to 
seminars for temporary use. The last two 
groups are counted only at the time of 
issue, their reference use not being noted. 
Entry is made in a day book under these 
heads; no count is taken by classes. 

Book cards are counted each evening for 
home circulation, reference books as they 
are given out during the day. There is 
apparently no record by class and the 
method of entry is not stated. 

Westminster. Counted by class each 
evening. Reference books counted as 
issued. 

State Libraries 

Iowa State. No record of issue is kept. 

Virginia State. A blank form spaced 
for fourteen classes is used for keeping 
the daily record of books given out both 
for reference and home use, the distinc- 
tion being presumably indicated by the use 
of pen and pencil, although this point la 
somewhat obscure. At night these totals 
are added. 

Reference Library 

Newberry Library. There are six refer- 
ence departments, each keeping statistics 
for men and women, morning and even- 



ROOT 



113 



ing visitors and books used, the latter be- 
ing entered by classes. These reports are 
drawn up at night and taken next morn- 
ing to the accessions clerk who enters the 
figures in a permanent statistical record. 

Society Library 

Medical Society of the County of Kings. 
No record is here maintained of reference 
use. Home use slips are filed and counted 
annually to determine the circulation for 
the year but there is no record by class. 

It is evident from the preceding tabu- 
lations that the reports of the various li- 
braries are too uneven to admit of accurate 
comparison. Many points of interest, as 
the record of reference use, are omitted, 
although in many cases this record is 
doubtless preserved. 

In closing your committee desires to ac- 
knowledge valuable assistance in the tabu- 
lation and discussion of the above results, 
rendered by three members of the St. 
Louis public library staff, Mrs. H. P. 
Sawyer, chief of the department of in- 
struction, Miss Mary Crocker, chief of the 
open shelf department, Miss Jessie Sar- 
gent, first assistant in the issue depart- 
ment, and Miss Amelia Feary, of the cat- 
alog department. 

ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chairman, 
ETHEL F. McCOLLOUGH, 
HARRY M. LYDENBERG, 

Committee on Administration. 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
LIBRARY TRAINING 

After correspondence, it was decided at 
the beginning of the year to make another 
effort to obtain from the Executive Board 
an appropriation which would make pos- 
sible the repeatedly suggested inspection 
of library schools. Accordingly, such a 
request was made at the meeting of the 
Executive Board at Chicago last Janu- 
ary, and an appropriation of $200 was 
obtained. 

About the same time, a request was pre- 
sented to the chairman of the Committee 



on library training, signed by representa- 
tives of nearly all the library schools, re- 
questing that the committee recommend 
a minimum standard admission, length 
of course, and curriculum for library 
schools. 

To this the chairman replied, calling 
attention to the reports of 1905 and 1906, 
in which an endeavor had been made to 
meet a part of the request, and request- 
ing that the schools indicate in what re- 
spects these reports should be modified 
or supplemented. The replies to this re- 
quest are most interesting and will be 
of great service to the committee. When 
all the schools have answered this in- 
quiry, the replies will be manifolded and 
the committee will give the request care- 
ful consideration. A thoroughly satisfac- 
tory recommendation, however, will natur- 
ally follow, rather than precede, the con- 
templated inspection of schools. 

A tentative scheme of points to be ob- 
served in the proposed inspection has 
been prepared, and is being considered 
by persons interested. When their crit- 
icisms and suggestions have been re- 
ceived, the committee will consider the 
scheme. When approved by the mem- 
bers of the committee, and when the com- 
mittee has found a suitable person to 
make the inspection, the library schools 
will be given the opportunity to ask for 
such inspection, and to the extent of the 
funds available for the purpose, the in- 
spection will be made. 

In the light of the facts obtained in 
such a careful study of the library schools, 
it is hoped to make some recommenda- 
tions which will be of service to the 
schools, and to the profession. 

On account of the absence of the chair- 
man of the committee from the country 
since the first of February, the work has 
progressed slowly. For the same reason, 
this report is submitted without being 
first considered and approved by the other 
members of the committee. 

AZARIAH S. ROOT, 
Chairman. 



114 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
WORK WITH THE BLIND 

The committee on library work with the 
blind notes with satisfaction the progress 
which has been made in the past year to- 
wards increasing the production of new 
embossed literature. The installation of 
stereotype-makers operated by electricity 
and of power presses in some of the print- 
ing offices means a constantly increasing 
stock of books for circulation. Most im- 
portant of all there seem to be indications 
that a new era is dawning when all Amer- 
ica can unite on one point type. 

The eleventh convention of the Amer- 
ican association of workers for the blind, 
held at Overbrook, Pa., June, 1911, was 
marked by one session unparalleled in the 
history of type discussions, when, during 
the report of the uniform type committee, 
the blind themselves contributed $1800.00 
towards the creation of a fund to be used 
in making scientific tests and experiments 
to determine upon a uniform system of 
embossed point print. With the completion 
of the fund of $3,000 and the co-operation 
of certain printing offices, members of the 
committee have been hard at work pre- 
paring tests and making experiments. An 
outline of the work of this committee ap- 
pears in the "Outlook for the blind" for 
April, 1912, (v. 6, no. 1). 

Lists of new publications in embossed 
type as well as lists of magazine articles 
referring to the blind are published from 
time to time in the "Outlook for the blind," 
which is the only magazine in this coun- 
try especially helpful to workers for the 
blind. Librarians are urged to place the 
"Outlook for the blind" on reading tables 
and among the current magazines and to 
encourage its reading by the general pub- 
lic, who need educating concerning the 
best methods of helping the blind. 

Helen Keller has said, "I follow with 
keen interest your efforts to make the 'Out- 
look for the blind' a success. Nothing is 
more usefull to the sightless than an In- 
telligent magazine in their interest, set- 
ting forth their needs, making known what 
they can do to earn a living, and advocat- 



ing movements of the right sort in their 
behalf. The 'Outlook for the blind' is just 
such a publication. The fact that influen- 
tial and wise persons who have the wel- 
fare of the blind at heart favor the 
magazine makes it all the more valuable. 
It deserves liberal support from philanthro- 
pists and practical workers for humanity." 

The Samuel Gridley Howe Society has 
been organized in Cleveland, Ohio, with 
headquarters at 612 St. Clair Avenue, N. 
E. "The plan of this society is to raise 
funds from local sources to defray the 
cost of the presswork, the paper and the 
very simple binding used," in the work 
of adding to the list of books in tactile 
print. 

The list of publications already issued, 
in American Braille without contractions, 
includes titles by Deland, Davis, John Fox, 
Jr., Van Dyke and others. 

The Michigan school for the blind, at 
Lansing, now publishes a magazine in 
American Braille, with contractions, en- 
titled the "Michigan herald for the blind," 
issued monthly except July and August. 
The subscription price is 25 cents per 
year. 

The Xavier Braille publication society 
for the blind, 824 Oak Avenue, Chicago, 
which was organized in 1911, has since 
issued the "Catholic review," a monthly 
magazine in American Braille, with con- 
tractions, subscription $1.00 per year. 

The Society for the promotion of church 
work among the blind announces that 
volumes 1 and 2 of the music of the Hym- 
nal of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
have been finished and are ready for dis- 
tribution. Copies may be obtained from 
Mr. John Thomson, treasurer, 13th and 
Locust Streets, Philadelphia. 

Since the fire in March, 1911, when the 
New York state library for the blind was 
almost totally destroyed, the new collec- 
tion has grown with rapidity and is now 
nearly as large as at the time of the fire. 
Miss Mary C. Chamberlain, the librarian, 
writes, "We hope soon to make the col- 
lection larger than it has ever been." 

The circulation of embossed books from 



GODARD 



115 



the public library of Cincinnati, Ohio, "in- 
creased during the past year from 1,400 
during 1910 to 3,900 during 1911, which 
was attributed to the fact that the library 
society for the blind has provided a cat- 
alog in point print, which is sent out." 

The reading room for the blind in Wash- 
ington, D. C., which was discontinued in 
1911, has been reopened in the Library of 
Congress. 

During the past year the Perkins in- 
stitution for the blind has given away 
about 2,000 volumes in line type to li- 
braries and schools, retaining a sufficient 
stock of duplicates for use in the cir- 
culating library of the school. The new 
library of the institution, now in course 
of construction at Watertown, Massachu- 
setts, will be very large and commodious; 
it will be capable of holding 20,000 volumes, 
with provision for an extra gallery for 
10,000 additional volumes if necessary. 

In commemoration of the Dickens cen- 
tenary, "Great expectations" has been em- 
bossed in American Braille. 

The committee plans a full report of li- 
braries which are doing work for the blind 
and will endeavor to secure from them an 
outline of the work they are doing at pres- 
ent. In addition the special needs of read- 
ers will be sought with a view to having 
the books desired brought to the notice 
of one or more of the publishing houses. 
Efforts will be made to secure the estab- 
lishment of additional libraries of em- 
bossed books in states where no such 
libraries are now maintained. 

Respectfully submitted, 
EMMA R. NEISSER DELFINO, 
Chairman. 

COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC DOCUMENTS 

Your Committee on Public Documents 
respectfully reports that two important 
reports relating to the printing, binding 
and distribution of government publica- 
tions have been made and are now before 
Congress. 

The first is the report of the Special 
Commission on Economy and Efficiency, 
appointed by President Roosevelt, and 



transmitted February 5, 1912, in a special 
message approving the same by President 
Taft, which "recommends that the work 
of distributing documents be centralized in 
the office of Superintendent of public docu- 
ments in the Government Printing Office 
as a substitute for the present method of 
distribution by each of the departments, 
offices, and bureaus issuing such docu- 
ments. The plan does not contemplate 
any change in the authority which deter- 
mines the persons to whom documents 
shall be sent, but only that the physical 
work of wrapping, addressing, and mail- 
ing the documents shall be done at one 
place, and that the place of manufacture." 

The second report is that made by the 
Congressional Committee on Printing of 
which Senator Smoot is chairman. This 
committee was appointed under an act of 
Congress approved March 3, 1905, and was 
directed to revise and codify the laws re- 
lating to public printing, binding and dis- 
tribution of government publications. 
After seven years of investigations and 
hearings this committee has formulated 
and presented to Congress a new bill (Sen- 
ate Bill 4239) covering this entire subject. 
This bill which makes radical changes in 
the general printing act approved January 
12, 1895, has passed the Senate and is 
now before the House. 

While both reports embody many recom- 
mendations and suggestions made by our 
association and by the librarians of our 
larger libraries, your Committee on public 
documents has thought best to delay its 
formal report until after the discussion at 
the sessions of the government documents 
round table, at which time a paper by 
Superintendent of Documents, August 
Donath, will be read, and possibly also 
one from Senator Smoot, who has written 
that other engagements will prevent him 
from being present and speaking. 

As copies of the proposed bill and the 
special reports relating to the same have 
been sent to several librarians, it is hoped 
there will be a full and free discussion in 
order that any desirable changes or omis- 
sions in the proposed bill may be called to 



116 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



the attention of the Congressional Com- 
mittee while there is an opportunity. 
Respectfully submitted, 

GEO. S. GODARD, Chairman. 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: No 
doubt all of you have very carefully and 
thoroughly read the printed report of the 
Publishing Board, which was distributed 
at the first session of this conference. It 
will therefore be unnecessary for me 
to point out to you some of the very 
important recommendations, or sugges- 
tions, which appear therein, and I men- 
tion it at this time merely for the pur- 
pose of adding that since the former ses- 
sion, through the generosity of Mr. Wal- 
ter L. Brown of the Buffalo library, the 
Publishing Board is enabled to distribute 
in connection therewith a list which illus- 
trates one of the very strong suggestions, 
as we think, which appears in that report. 
You will find this list for distribution at 
the entrance, and those of you who may 
care for it, may help yourselves as you 
pass out.* 

We will now hear from the committee 
on deterioration of newspaper paper. We 
have had for the last two years some ex- 
ceptionally interesting and important re- 
ports on that very important subject, and 
we are glad to know that Dr. Hill will at 
this time present a supplemental report 
covering the investigations which he has 
made during the last year, additional to 
the facts which he has reported hereto- 
fore. Dr. Hill will please report for this 
committee. 

PRESERVATION OF NEWSPAPERS 

Two years ago a report on the "Deterior- 
ation of newspapers" was presented to the 
American Library Association at the 
Mackinac conference, and as a conse- 
quence the executive board appointed 
Messrs. Frank P. Hill, Brooklyn public 
library, Horace G. Wadlin, Boston public 

*The list referred to was a reading list of selected 
books on Greece, prepared with annotated notes in the 
form advocated by Mrs. Elmendorf in the report of the 
Publishing Board. 



library, and Cedric Chivers, bookbinder, a 
committee to consider the subject further 
and report back to the association. As 
stated at the Pasadena conference last 
year the committee was appointed too 
late to make any satisfactory report at 
that time. This year the report can be 
only one of progress. 

In order to bring the matter more 
clearly to your minds liberal quotations 
are made from the 1910 report. 

"An examination of old Brooklyn and 
Manhattan papers showed that in many in 
stances papers published within the last 
forty years had begun to discolor and 
crumble to such an extent that it would 
hardly pay to bind those which had been 
folded for any length of time. Upon 
further investigation it was found that 
practically all of these newspapers were 
printed on cheap wood pulp paper, which 
carries with it the seeds of early decay, 
and that the life of a periodical printed on 
this inferior stock is not likely to be more 
than fifty years. 

"This is a serious matter and demands 
the attention of publishers and librarians 
throughout the country. It means that the 
material for history contained in the news- 
papers will not be available after the 
period mentioned, and that all such his- 
torical record will eventually disappear un- 
less provision is made for reprinting or 
preserving the volumes as they exist at 
present. The historian depends to such an 
extent upon the newspapers for his data 
that it will mean a serious loss if some 
preservative cannot be found. 

"As soon as the condition of the files 
of the Brooklyn public library was dis- 
covered a circular was sent to some of the 
prominent newspaper publishers asking 
(1) the result of their experience; (2) 
whether a better grade of paper was be- 
ing used for running off extra copies for 
their own files; (3) what, if any, means 
were being taken to preserve the files in 
their own offices. It was hoped as a re- 
sult of this circular that definite measures 
of improvement would be suggested. From 
responses received it is evident that there 



HILL 



117 



is a desire on the part of the publishers to 
meet the requirements of librarians and 
others on this subject; and it is likely that 
a conference of publishers and librarians 
will be held in the near future to consider 
the feasibility of printing some copies on 
better paper, but the answers showed that 
no special paper was used and that no 
means were taken to preserve (by re- 
printing or by chemical process) those in 
the worst condition. 

"Inquiries were also sent to various 
manufacturers of paper with no better re- 
sult. No encouragement was received 
from this source except that one man- 
ufacturer thought that some newspapers 
were using a better grade, and another, 
that he had just the paper which ought to 
be used. It was stated that two New York 
publishers used a better grade of paper 
for a few additional copies, but returns 
from these papers indicate that no differ- 
ence is made at the present time." 

During the past six months the mem- 
bers of the committee have been in cor- 
respondence with publishers regarding the 
possibility of striking off a few extra 
copies on a better quality of paper, and 
Mr. Chivers has taken upon himself the 
duty and responsibility of experimenting 
with a "cellit" solution prepared especially 
for the preservation of newsprint paper. 

Early in June of this year the committee 
invited representatives of the leading New 
York and Brooklyn papers to meet in con- 
ference on the subject. The following 
papers were represented: The Brooklyn 
Daily Eagle by H. F. Gunnison, the New 
York American by Jerome Buck, the New 
York World by E. D. Carruthers, and the 
Publishers' Weekly by John A. Holden. 
The object of the conference was stated to 
be: 1st. The consideration of method of 
preserving bound volumes of newspapers; 
and 2nd. The possibility of publishers 
printing extra copies of the current Issue 
on a better grade of paper for binding 
purposes. 

Mr. Chivers stated that he had not used 
"celestron" the German product, but had 
made successful experiments with "cellit," 



an American solution. His investigation 
proved that the deterioration was due in 
a large measure to the exposure of the 
paper to light and air and that by cover- 
ing the paper with a coating of "cellit" or 
"celestron" the pores were filled and oxi- 
dation prevented. He was afraid, how- 
ever, that the question of expense would 
deter most librarians and publishers from 
dipping the volume page by page in the 
solution, as suggested in the earlier re- 
port of this committee, but expressed the 
hope that some method would be devised 
by which it could be used less expensively. 
Mr. Chivers was of the opinion that since 
oxidation begins at the edges the life of 
the paper may be extended from 50 to 75 
years if the edges of the bound volume are 
painted with the solution, and that this 
treatment could be repeated with the same 
result. He called special attention to the 
necessity of binding newspapers as soon 
as possible after publication so that they 
need not be long exposed to the air. The 
desirability of this practice was empha- 
sized by some of the publishers and by 
Mr. Arthur D. Little, the Boston chemist. 

Considerable discussion arose over the 
question of printing extra copies of cur- 
rent issues on a better grade of paper, 
and the conclusion arrived at was that 
there was no practical objection to it, and 
that it could be done without very much 
extra cost of time, labor or paper. 

The conference developed the fact that 
there was another drawback to the preser- 
vation of newspapers, namely, the poor 
quality of ink, and that nothing would be 
gained by using the better quality of 
paper unless a better quality of ink was 
used. 

Mr. Carruthers, of the New York World, 
drew attention to the fact that the colored 
sections of the Metropolitan Sunday 
papers were destroyed by worms within a 
short time after publication. 

So far as the committee was advised the 
first and only newspaper in the country to 
print extra copies on better paper was and 
is The Red Wing (Minn.) Republican, 
which furnishes copies of its publication 



118 



OTTAWAiCONFERENCE 



to the State historical society for filing 
purposes. 

Considerable publicity has been given 
the subject since the meeting through the 
American Newspaper Publishers' Associa- 
tion, and several valuable suggestions 
have been received. 

Mr. Gunnison of the Brooklyn Daily 
Eagle writes: 

"I have given considerable thought to 
the matter of the better grade of paper 
and have come to the conclusion that the 
only feasible way is to have rolls of good 
paper and use that after the regular edi- 
tion of the paper is run off. As Mr. 
Carruthers of the World said, this would 
be almost impossible for some of the 
larger papers to carry out. The Eagle 
could do it very nicely because we have a 
different system of handling the paper and 
we shall try to put this into operation be- 
ginning with the first of the year." 

As is well known the Eagle is one of the 
best newspapers in the United States, so 
that if anyone is particularly interested in 
securing for filing purposes a paper which 
will last for 100 years or more he should 
subscribe to the Eagle. 

Miss Jane Roberts, of Newark, N. J., 
states that she uses a preparation put up 
by a Newark chemist and has met with 
success in its application. 

Mr. Conde Hamlin of the New York 
Tribune sent in the following: 

"I did think of one method which 
seemed to me would be less expensive 
than the use of a special grade of paper 
for the printing of a few copies. That 
would be to take a fine grade of French 
tissue paper and after separating the 
sheets which composed the paper to be 
preserved, covering both sides of the 
printed matter with this tissue and a fine 
grade of paste. This, of course, would 
make the bound volume much thicker but 
would preserve the paper itself. 

"I doubt whether this suggestion is of 
any value but take the liberty of making 
it." 

It was decided that the subject was of 
sufficient interest and importance to war- 



rant further investigation and the confer- 
ence adjourned to meet in September. We 
therefore recommend that the Committee 
be continued. 

FRANK P. HILL, Chairman, 
HORACE G. WADLIN, 
CEDRIC CHIVERS. 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: Inas- 
much as the report of the committee con- 
tains a recommendation, that recommen- 
dation is now before you for action. Un- 
less there are objections, the report will 
be referred to the executive board for con- 
sideration of the recommendations con- 
tained therein. 

Dr. HILL: Mr. President, I hope we 
may hear from Mr. Chivers for a moment 
if he is here. 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: With 
characteristic thoroughness Mr. Chivers 
has proceeded with his experiments as 
outlined by Dr. Hill, and we shall be very 
glad to hear from him at this time as to 
what he has found out. 

Mr. CHIVERS: The report you have 
heard deals pretty fully with the subject, 
and I think the association may be con- 
gratulated upon the fact that the publishers 
of the more or less national newspapers, 
who would be required to print quite a num- 
ber of copies, are willing to do it, but that 
is not the whole of the problem. The diffi- 
culty of bad paper and newspaper files will 
be felt in the future rather with local news- 
papers, because only a few copies would be 
required for filing purposes, and the printer 
would find special printing too troublesome 
and expensive. 

As you have heard, there is a substance 
called cellit, a solution of cellulose and 
spirit, into which the paper may be dipped, 
and thoroughly saturated. The spirit 
quickly evaporating leaves the paper quite 
tough. The result is a very satisfactory 
paper. It is, however, practically impos- 
sible to dip so large a surface as a news- 
paper into this solution. The fibre when 
wet is too weak to handle ; also the spirit in 
the solution quickly evaporates, leaving a 
glutinous mass, impracticable to deal with. 
We understand that oxidation of the paper 



CHIVERS 



119 



resulted from the action of light, air and 
deleterious atmosphere. If the newspaper 
for filing were not allowed to be used in the 
reading room but were set aside on the 
morning of publication, kept from the light 
and air, and a board or weight placed upon 
it, and if the volume were bound directly 
it was complete, very little mischief would 
happen. Again, if the edges of the volume 
were frayed out and this solution of cellit, 
which is comparatively cheap and quite 
practical to use in this way, should be 
painted upon the edges, you would have a 
newspaper file which would last for a great 
number of years. How many, I do not 
know, but the chemist who accompanied me 
to the British Museum, in conducting the 
examination of newspapers under the in- 
structions of your committee, could see no 
reason why the paper should not last in- 
definitely. We discovered there because 
in the British Museum there are more news- 
papers brought together than in any other 
place in the world that newspapers which 
were left lying about before binding were 
in a very bad condition in the course of 
four or five years, while newspapers which 
had been bound some fifteen or twenty 
years, of the same kind of paper, were in 
thoroughly good condition, proving that if 
you could take care of the paper and not al- 
low it to be exposed to the air there is no 
reason why even bad paper should not last 
a very long time. The rule should be made 
as I have suggested it. In the British Muse- 
um there had been no rule, but the exigen- 
cies of the binding shop had been consulted, 
and here and there a newspaper had 'been 
bound quickly, and it was all right; and if 
it had been left about, as some of them 
were, it was all wrong. That is my prac- 
tical contribution to the discussion. 

Dr. BOSTWICK: I would like to ask 
Dr. Hill if his committee investigated the 
newspaper report that it is now possible, 
or will be shortly possible, to obtain a 
thin, tough metallic sheet which can be 
printed upon. It was reported that that 
had been done. 

Dr. HILL: Nothing of that nature came 
before the committee, Mr. Chairman, but 
I am sure that at the next conference 



some publisher or some commercial house 
will give us that desired information. I 
would say for the benefit of those who are 
interested in this subject, and a great 
many of us ought to be, that there are 
extra copies of the first report of the com- 
mittee on the table for distribution. 

Dr. BOSTWICK: I would like to ask 
Mr. Chivers if he proposes, in applying 
the cellit to the edges of the sheets, to 
apply it to the bound volume as a whole, 
and whether in that case the edges of the 
sheets would not stick together? 

Mr. CHIVERS: No. The spirit very 
quickly evaporates and leaves a coating 
upon the edge of the paper. Last year at 
Pasadena I was able to show the edge of 
a piece of paper before and after treat- 
ment, and dealt with quickly it is not glutin- 
ous in any way, and the application is per- 
fectly successful. 

Mr. BOWKER: I would like to ask Mr. 
Chivers if it would not be practical to dip 
the newspapers by some such process as Is 
used in the development of moving pic- 
ture films or kodak films. They have roll- 
ers which carry the paper quickly through 
the solution. 

Mr. CHIVERS: That occurred to me, but, 
if you will remember, I said the substance 
is a solution in spirit, which very quickly 
evaporates. The rollers might get clogged 
up in the course of a minute or two. 

Dr. ANDREWS: Has the committee ever 
investigated the process used by the New 
York State library for the restoration of Its 
manuscripts which came so near total de- 
struction. The result there seemed to be 
admirable, but the process might be too 
expensive. 

Mr. HILL: I would say, Mr. Chairman, 
that the committee had two or three letters 
from Mr. Wyer, the director of the library, 
but I do not think he mentioned that. He 
may be able to answer the question him- 
self. 

Mr. RANCK: I would like to ask if the 
committee gave any consideration to the 
temperature and humidity of the rooms In 
which the newspapers were kept, as having 
some bearing on the life of the paper. 

Mr. CHIVERS: Some attention was given 



120 



OTTAWA 1 CONFERENCE 



to that in the British Museum. The papers 
are carefully kept. The temperature there 
does not vary as it does in America. Some- 
times it is humid more or less, but it does 
not vary so much. It is the action, not of 
the humidity, but of light and air itself upon 
the paper which produces early decomposi- 
tion. 

May I say in reply to Dr. Andrews that 
we certainly took into consideration the 
covering of the newspaper with other paper 
or some other material, and it is altogether 
too expensive. The report that I was able 
to give of the action of cellit meets the 
difficulty in a better way, and for a frac- 
tion of the cost and trouble. 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: On 
behalf of the executive board the chair is 
requested to announce the appointment 
of the following committee on resolu- 
tions: Dr. Reuben G. Thwaites, chairman; 
Miss Mary W. Plummer, Mr. Judson T. 
Jennings. 

The dainty bit of literature which ap- 
peared in connection with the first issue of 
the program and bulletin, bearing the sig- 
nature of the president of this association, 
strong and persuasive as it was dainty, 
renders unnecessary any introduction by 
the present chairman to the program of 
this morning. The topics, as you will note, 
are attractive, they are in the hands of 
those competent to speak upon them, 
they grow out of the forceful keynote ad- 
dress at the initial meeting of this asso- 
ciation; like the branches from a tree, 
they are consistent parts of the whole. 
We will begin by listening to MR. CARL 
H. MILAM, secretary of the Indiana pub- 
lic library commission, who will speak on 

PUBLICITY FOR THE SAKE OF 
SUPPORT 

In every community there are scores 
of intelligent men men who are well- 
informed on most subjects who do not 
know what the modern public library does, 
whose conception of it is what might have 
been expected a generation or two ago. 
The word "library" to them means such a 



collection of books as they have in their 
homes, or the library they used while in 
college. There is no thought in their minds 
of the aggressive, civic and educational 
force that we believe the American pub- 
lic library to be. 

These men are not found in any one 
particular class. Business men and public 
officials may seem to head the list, but 
there are college professors and presidents, 
and well educated professional men who 
are quite as uninformed and indifferent 
as any others. I could point to dozens of 
men and women in my own state, high 
up in educational affairs, and some of 
whom are officially in close touch with 
libraries, who do not realize at all what 
place a public library can hold in com- 
munity life. 

Perhaps the best evidence on this propo- 
sition, if evidence is needed, is found in 
the recent books dealing with civic and 
educational affairs. In many of them the 
authors speak forcibly and unmistakably 
in favor of the public library, and exhibit 
a knowledge of current library practice 
that is gratifying to the library profession, 
but there are other books not few in num- 
ber in which the writers show an en- 
tire lack of appreciation of the public li- 
brary movement. 

It is very easy for us to say, when such 
a condition is brought to mind, that it is 
the other fellow's fault, that there is no 
excuse in these days for anybody's being 
ignorant of the public library movement. 
Perhaps that is true; but, for my part, I 
am inclined to wonder if the fault is not 
with the librarians themselves. They have 
been so busy working out their own ad- 
ministrative problems that they have not 
taken the trouble to keep the public in- 
formed on the progress made. They have 
pushed the establishment of libraries 
that has been comparatively easy but 
they have not yet, to any very great ex- 
tent, created a public sentiment that in- 
sists enthusiastically on generous appro- 
priations. 

There is need for some advertising that 
will take care of this situation. It might 



MILAM 



121 



emanate from different sources: from the 
state and national library associations and 
departments working on the public gen- 
erally; and from the libraries themselves, 
individually working on their own com- 
munities. Most of the library association 
publications are professional literature; 
most of the speeches made under the au- 
spices of the associations are made to li- 
brarians and others already interested. 

What is needed now, if my reasoning 
is correct, is a publicity campaign that 
will cover a wider range. Let its pur- 
pose be to give concrete, up-to-date infor- 
mation about the public library to every 
man and woman who reads, to every in- 
dividual who is interested in any way 
in civic improvement or educational af- 
fairs. Surely no better way can be found 
of laying a foundation for liberal library 
appropriations. 

One great need is for popular books and 
pamphlets on public library work. Dr. 
Bostwick's "The American public library," 
is the one available volume of this char- 
acter; there is room yet for several other 
publications, shorter, for the most part, 
and dealing with special phases of library 
work rather than with all phases. Many 
people will have to read a short article 
or pamphlet before they will acquire suf- 
ficient interest to undertake a whole book. 

The different lines of library work that 
offer subjects for popular treatment are 
many. Most of them have been written 
about for librarians; why can't we have 
them written about now for the general 
public? Properly printed and attractively 
illustrated, a series of books and pamph- 
lets of the sort I have in mind could be 
used to a good advantage all over the 
country. Of course, a good deal of the 
material distributed would never be read, 
but the fact that little advertising book- 
lets are widely used by business men would 
indicate that in the long run they do have 
a gobd effect. 

Perhaps the most promising field is that 
of the magazines, for practically all in- 
telligent Americans read some monthly or 
weekly periodical. Some would be reached 



by the good literary magazines, some by 
the so-called family magazines; others 
read only the trade journals, and a few 
only religious. All together they offer a 
medium of publicity that would reach 
nearly everybody. If we could successfully 
emulate the people who have pushed some 
of the great movements like conservation 
or industrial education we should soon 
have everybody believing that the public 
library is a live issue. No other movement 
offers better opportunities for such public- 
ity, for there is no other institution quite 
so broad in its interests as the public li- 
brary. 

Why cannot the library associations have 
a publicity man whose business it would 
be to get such articles into the magazines, 
to prepare little booklets such as I have 
described for the information of the gen- 
eral public, and to do whatever else he 
can to interest influential men and the 
world at large in public libraries? This 
man might also be made responsible for 
getting library news articles and feature 
stories into the newspapers. Such articles 
would undoubtedly do a great deal to edu- 
cate newspaper readers to a knowledge 
of library work as it now is, but if they 
did nothing more than to keep the sub- 
ject before the people they would be worth 
while. 

There is also a large field open for 
public speakers. A publicity man, repre- 
senting a national or state organization, 
could make himself very useful as a 
speaker at public gatherings. He could 
easily secure a place on the programs of 
many civic, scientific and educational or- 
ganizations, and by a popular presenta- 
tion of the public library's" service along 
the line that particularly interested the 
members, could undoubtedly make scores 
of new friends for public libraries. 

Such a person would be welcome also 
as a lecturer on librarianship at college, 
academy and high school gatherings, at 
chapel and convocation exercises, etc. 
These talks would have a double value 
in that they would help to bring good 
people into the library profession and at 



122 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



the same time give information about li- 
brary affairs to students and instructors. 

So far as I know, the library profession 
has never indulged in paid newspaper or 
magazine advertising. This may be due 
to the fact that we can usually get all the 
space we want in the regular news col- 
umns free of charge; but I suspect it is 
due partly to our conservatism, to our fear 
that paid advertising would be considered 
undignified. Certainly if the newspapers 
and magazines are willing to print with- 
out pay all that we wish, we need not 
consider the paid "ad." But if it is im- 
possible to secure the desired space in 
any periodical free of charge, it mignt 
be worth while to buy it. 

The paid library advertisement need not 
be similar to the ordinary commercial ad- 
vertisement. It could be modeled after 
the "talks" sometimes used by large cor- 
porations and promoters which are meant 
to create a sentiment favorable toward 
the company. They should be done in 
newspaper English and should, of course, 
be short and to the point. Charles Stelzle, 
in his "Principles of successful church ad- 
vertising," says that "One denomination 
in the U. S. has made a selection of a 
group of newspapers throughout the coun- 
try which print regularly an editorial on 
some doctrinal or ethical theme and which 
is paid for by the national body." If it 
is not undignified for a church to do these 
things, surely it would not be out of place, 
for the public library. 

So much for the advertising methods 
that might be followed by the A. L. A., 
the League of Library Commissions, or 
the various state associations and com- 
missions. By such means the attitude of 
friendliness toward libraries in general 
would undoubtedly be fostered and an in- 
terest in their establishment and mainte- 
nance greatly increased. But the libra- 
rian of a public library could not rest 
on this. The proper "taste" for library 
expenditures if we may so express it 
in his particular town will depend largely 
on his particular library and his own meth- 
ods of advertising. 



Of course we ahall all agree that the 
best advertisement is satisfied patrons and 
lots of them, and that without the back- 
ing of such patrons, the advertising will 
do little good; also that special work for 
the special classes who have most to do 
with tax levies and appropriations will 
bring good results. 

Almost as important as satisfactory serv- 
ice is a business-like administration. The 
library management ought to be such that 
it will command the respect of business 
men. No amount of mere talk about the 
need for more money or of the wonderful 
advantages that will accrue to the city 
in case an extra thousand dollars be ap- 
propriated, will count for anything unless 
the librarian knows how to talk business. 
In fact it does not seem surprising that 
some libraries are poorly supported when 
one realizes that there are hundreds of 
librarians who know nothing about their 
library finances, who leave the money mat- 
ters entirely to the library board. 

Unfortunately, the librarians who are 
ignorant of the financial condition of their 
libraries, except their own salaries and 
the fines, are not all found in the country 
towns and are not all without library 
school training. 

I know of one librarian in a city of nearly 
one hundred thousand population who 
never knows the amount of the library In- 
come, for either the current or the past 
year. 

I know of another library, this one in a 
small town, that has been running for sev- 
eral years on a very limited income al- 
though the board has absolute power to 
more than double the library levy. Re- 
cently the librarian, a library school grad- 
uate, resigned, because, she said, there was 
no future. A few weeks later a candidate 
for the position met with the board to talk 
things over. She went armed with a 
p-slip full of figures. She knew the as- 
sessed valuation of the town, and the pres- 
ent and possible library income. She 
knew something about the city finances 
and whether the town could afford an in- 



MILAM 



123 



crease ' for the library. She had similar 
figures for the adjoining townships and 
was prepared to tell how township sup- 
port might be secured. In fact, she went 
to the board meeting prepared to discuss 
the financial possibilities of the library in 
a business-like way, to tell what ought to 
be done, how much it would cost to do it 
and finally, what she would take to shoul- 
der the proposition. 

Of course, she was employed. She was 
employed at her own salary and on her 
own conditions, and the board agreed to 
follow out her recommendations. 

Such a librarian is a perpetual adver- 
tisement for the library of the very best 
sort. His reputation for a good business 
administration will win the business men, 
and his knowledge of city finances will 
win the respect of public officials and 
others interested in city government. 

The library and the librarian also need 
a reputation for being interested in all 
civic improvement societies and other or- 
ganizations that have for their business 
the public welfare. Agreeable professional 
relations with the men and women who 
are members of these societies will make 
friends for the library of the best and 
most active people of the city. The li- 
brarian can without difficulty, secure an 
invitation to address such organizations 
on matters pertaining to the library and 
if he is the right sort, he will be allowed 
to present his cause when he is asking 
for more money. 

The librarian who does all these things 
ought not to have any great difficulty in se- 
curing the money necessary to run his 
library properly. It will be an added ad- 
vantage, however, to keep the name of the 
library before the people. We ought not 
to be satisfied until everybody knows that 
there is such a thing as the public library 
and that it is situated at a certain place. 
The mere fact that a man knows a thing 
exists will make him approachable when 
the time comes to ask his support. 

In order that people who do not use the 
library may nevertheles know something 
about it and be prepared to play the part 



of intelligent citizens when appropriations 
are discussed, there is need for a continu- 
ous series of newspaper articles that will 
tell, frankly and fully, what the library is 
doing. These articles should appear as 
news items whenever possible and should 
be readable. The librarian who does the 
largest part of the reporter's and editor's 
work is likely to get the best results. It 
the papers are accustomed to getting some- 
thing from the library regularly, they will 
be willing to print financial reports and 
budgets with explanations when the time 
comes. If for any reason the library can- 
not get its items printed as news, then the 
same material can be used in paid "talks" 
to the public. 

Just before time for making the appro- 
priation, comparative statistics can be used 
tc a good advantage, especially if graphi- 
cally shown with cuts. They can show the 
smallness of the library income as com- 
pared with incomes of other city depart- 
ments, the lack of growth in library income 
as compared with the growth of the city, 
and the appropriation for the library in 
question as compared with other libraries 
in cities of equal size. 

The newspaper is the recognized me- 
dium for all sorts of local advertising. It 
reaches more people than any other me- 
dium and many people who could not be 
reached in any other way. In advertising 
the needs of the library, however, where 
only a comparatively small number of peo- 
ple must be reached, it seems reasonable 
to assume that the circular letter might 
accomplish good results. It should be 
carefully written to catch the attention, 
beginning with some statement in which 
the reader is interested, proceeding rap- 
idly to the business in hand, and, above 
all things, stating clearly at the end, the 
exact action desired. 

It is possible now to get up perfect imi- 
tations of individual type-written letters. 
Such letters with the name and salutation 
inserted on a machine, and with personal 
signature, ought to bring results. Those 
or actual personal letters are the last 
word. 



124 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Any man who has in the background of 
his mind a knowledge of what the library 
stands for, a good opinion of the library 
based on good service and continued publi- 
city, ought to be influenced to definite 
action by a good personal letter. 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: It is 
not given to many of us to approach a 
subject from so many directions as Mr. 
WALTER L. BROWN, librarian of the 
Buffalo public library, in grappling with 
the subject of "The breadth and limita- 
tions of bookbuying." His all-around ex- 
perience will make this next paper one of 
exceptional value to us. 

Dr. Thwaites has kindly consented to 
read the paper for Mr. Brown. 

BREADTH AND LIMITATIONS OF 
BOOK BUYING 

One of the first principles of public li- 
brary management is that of adjusting it 
to the needs of its public, by whom and 
for whose benefit and pleasure it is sup- 
ported by the municipality. Upon this 
proposition there has been no disagree- 
ment, as it is self-evident. 

Questions of general policy arise when 
we attempt to decide what is beneficial 
and what is detrimental, just how far we 
may go to supply books for special and 
limited use, and just how far we may re- 
spond to the popular taste in the demand 
for the expenditure of public funds for 
pleasure. 

The breadth and limitation of book buy- 
ing should be determined by the needs of 
the public rather than from the ratings of 
the books which are being published. We 
should find the books that are best fitted 
for the people who are to use them, rather 
than to try to fit the people to the books 
which we may consider as the most de- 
sirable. The questions so often raised as 
to the admittance to the library shelves of 
some books of fiction of doubtful morals or 
the latest piece of erotic literature seem 
very trivial when we consider the problems 
that face us in the broad field of library 
work. The library is a public enterprise 
for public good, and not merely a coopera- 



tive scheme for the purpose of obtaining 
cheap reading, nor a bibliographical store- 
house. The important question is whether 
the books we are asked to buy will serve 
any legitimate end of library service. 

Most of our American cities resemble 
each other in the exceedingly complex 
character of their population, each of 
whose varied elements has more or less 
claim on the services of the public library. 
While it is not possible to classify de- 
finitely the residents of a city for library 
purposes, there are certain large groups 
which we may recognize. 

In the first place, the public library has 
to serve, as libraries of all times have 
served, those who have had all the advan- 
tages of systematic education those in 
the learned professions and in other walks 
of life who have had given to them, 
through college and university training, a 
wider vision than that of the average citi- 
zen; those who have had given to them at 
least the knowledge of the existence of the 
store of accumulated thought and of the 
records of the past. Upon these more for- 
tunate ones rests the responsibility, in a 
large measure, of carrying the torch of 
knowledge and civilization a little farther 
with each generation. The public library 
does not pretend to act as a guide to this 
part of the community, but it must serve 
as its laboratory and as its source of 
supply. 

A second group which includes a large 
part of our population is made up of those 
who have had the advantage of the full 
course of the grammar school, with the 
smaller number who have had that of the 
high school. From this group come not 
only the clerks in our stores and offices, 
but men in the more skilled occupations, 
and also many business men and employ- 
ers of labor. Some of these are existing 
through gray, narrow, uneventful, toilsome 
lives, while others take a large and lead- 
ing part in all that concerns the life of the 
community and in the moulding of public 
opinion. It includes men of many creeds 
and civilizations, prejudices, desires and 
ambitions; of many degrees of culture and 



BROWN 



125 



taste, high and low; influenced by very 
different inheritance, associations and op- 
portunities. 

Some gain through application most of 
the advantages of the best training, while 
others not only fail to make use of, but 
often practically lose the education the 
city has given them. For the larger num- 
ber of this group there are great possibil- 
ities for good in the means of education 
and cultivation which are now being pro- 
vided by the municipality. 

How may the public library best meet 
the needs of these people, so many and so 
diverse? How may it give to those who 
lack it that which will enliven, improve, 
stimulate and cultivate, creating not only 
the desire for what is best in life, but sup- 
plying the essence so far as it may be 
gained from the stimulus and inspiration 
of books? How may we give others the 
practical knowledge that is needed by 
them in their varied occupations and 
activities? 

Probably the most potential group in 
our cities is that large one made up of the 
children of the immigrants. If they can 
be lifted by education, if their taste can be 
guided and directed toward better desires, 
the help which the library is able to give 
will act as a tremendous force for good. 
If these children are left alone to indulge 
in what is vicious and demoralizing in the 
life of the crowded sections of the cities, 
they will become a menace to the muni- 
cipal life. Their parents have little to give 
them. The schools have on an average 
a brief five years in which to in- 
fluence these children, but they do send 
them out with the power to read English. 
The public library may exert its influence 
not only during their school life, but if it 
acquires a hold upon them at that time, 
it will continue to be an influence for good 
upon these future rulers of the city. 

Is it not possible, in a small way at least, 
to cultivate their taste and give them 
some desire to read what is worth while? 

The broad base upon which city life 
rests is still another group made up 
usually of the newcomers from many 



lands. A very large number have little or 
no education excepting such as their toil 
has brought them. Many are able to read 
their native tongue, but all their traditions 
and all their lore is that of other lands 
and literatures. We find that many of 
the more intelligent among them have 
brought, in addition to their muscular 
strength, much that might enrich their 
adopted country if it could find means of 
expression. They constitute a danger in 
our life only when lacking the knowledge 
of our tongue, our ways and our ideals, 
and when in ignorance of the adjustment 
of our government by the popular will, 
they become the prey of the demagogue. 
He easily gains a blind following among 
the ignorant by preaching class hatred 
and a kind of discontent which is un- 
righteous. 

Library work among these people should 
not only act as a safeguard, but may prove 
an opportunity for some at least to attain 
a broader life by awakening the desire for 
knowledge and the ability to grow which 
comes with the reading habit and the 
knowing how to use books. 

The public library has not only to carry 
out its mission to the individuals of these 
groups as its part in social advancement, 
but it has to cooperate in the work of 
betterment with the schools, and with 
clubs and "movements" and with all man- 
ner of philanthropic and social endeavor. 

There is no lack of appreciation of this 
function of the public library and we need 
not emphasize it any more than the ser- 
vice which it renders promptly and liber- 
ally to the scholars and other leaders of 
the mental life of the community. If we 
should fail to recognize our duty in either 
respect, objection would be promptly ex- 
pressed. 

The real value of a public library as a 
municipal institution can be best measured 
by its service toward building up a more 
intelligent, hopeful and happier citizen- 
ship. 

It is possible to help the immigrant 
through the writers of his native tongue 
which bring him pleasure and pastime. 



126 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



We may even now help him in his material 
progress in his new home by giving him 
elementary books in English, from which 
he may acquire some knowledge of Amer- 
ican institutions and American life, and 
the time may come when we will be able 
to do far more with great effect by having 
American books translated into other 
tongues for this purpose. 

We need to help by far the greater pro- 
portion of foreigners to acquire English, 
because it is a tool which all must have in 
this country for intelligent bread-winning 
purposes. We need to study the race his- 
tory of those represented in the popula- 
tion, and we should know something of 
their conditions before coming to Amer- 
ica; something of their education and 
their mental development. Many sections 
of our large cities have different problems 
in the amalgamation of the population and 
the library should do what it can to help 
solve them. 

A library agency in the neighborhood of 
these newcomers is a center of real ser- 
vice and helpfulness. No work shows 
more definite results, or is appreciated 
more than that which we do among the 
immigrants and their children, who are 
often used as go-betweens by the parents 
and the library. 

While there are many agencies at work 
upon the children of the immigrant, the 
library has a very important place and 
much responsibility. No matter what the 
other demands may be, we cannot afford 
to neglect these children, and we must 
make generous provision to get them in- 
terested in good books through the schools 
and the library. 

Between the immigrants and their chil- 
dren at one extreme, and the educational 
institutions and the scholar at the other, 
there is that very large group of the com- 
munity made up of the more or less edu- 
cated people, concerning whose needs and 
desires most of the questions on book- 
buying are raised. This is a reading 
group. A certain part of it consumes tons 
and tons of newspapers and cheap mag- 
azines, the very names of which are 



strange in libraries. This is the reading 
perhaps the only reading of many of 
them, and we find that they go to the 
newspapers for the stirring and morbid 
records of crime, for scandal, for gambling 
news and other sensational matter, and 
they are reading the magazines for stories 
of much the same character. 

Such readers crave excitement; they 
seldom read a book for pleasure, and they 
have never used the printed page for the 
purpose of obtaining information since 
their school days. It seems vital that the 
public library should find some meeting 
place with this section of the community. 
The plane of the cultivated reader has no 
temptation whatever. One must get down 
to earth to start growth, and the danger 
of bending down is far less than that of 
keeping aloof by reason of too high a stan- 
dard. It is possible to do this without 
wholly giving up our demand for good 
quality, and we may find popular books 
free from vulgarity and from any perni- 
cious influence, which, if properly used, 
may create a zest for better books when 
they are offered. 

In selecting books of different grades for 
the purpose of leading readers from the 
poorer books to the better, we do, of 
course, put before the readers of the better 
books a selection of descending qualit'y. 
Fortunately, however, there is little danger 
in this, for there is a safeguard in the fact 
that a taste for the better books carries 
with it a dislike to those of inferior 
quality. 

It is well to remember also that even the 
lightest fiction selected by the library is 
free from most of the objectionable qual- 
ities of the reading indulged in by many 
readers whom we hope to reach. 

As we advance in the scale of our read- 
ers, the demands upon the library in- 
crease. More and more the library is be- 
coming of commercial use. Not only men 
of the various industries are finding use 
for the recorded experiences and the ad- 
vice of experts In their own lines, but busi- 
ness men are beginning to find great pos- 
sibilities in the use of books as time- 



McLENEGAN 



127 



savers and as a help to efficiency. The 
use of the book as a tool Is becoming con- 
stantly greater, and the public library, as 
a matter of course, is to supply all books 
which may be so used. It is the plain duty 
of the public library to make known its 
ability to help its community in these 
practical ways. 

It would seem that wise book buying 
would result more often through a study 
of the city rather than from the searching 
of book catalogs. The public library 
perhaps more than any other educational 
institution may receive help from social 
surveys, social engineering, and the rec- 
ords of commercial organizations. 

If a social survey has not been made of 
our city, we should at least ascertain the 
elements which go to make up its popula- 
tion. Let us know the types of people to 
be reached and their numbers. How 
many Americans of native stock? How 
many residents of foreign birth? How 
many children of foreign born parents? 
What are the races represented English 
speaking, Germanic, Slavic, Latin, etc.? 
What are the social and economic condi- 
tions? What are their occupations? What 
of their education and aesthetic develop- 
ment? These are pertinent questions for 
the library. 

Then let a search be made for the most 
attractive books for each group, always re- 
membering that there is a place for sound, 
clear, elementary books on all subjects, 
and that these should be duplicated freely. 
Let the business of the community be 
analyzed. Are there textile, steel or wood 
industries? What manufacturing is done, 
and what raw materials are used? What 
of its markets? What of its transporta- 
tion? What authoritative material may we 
find on all these subjects, and how may 
we make it of valuable use? What is be- 
ing done in our city for the fine arts; for 
natural science; for the study of litera- 
ture; for religious and ethical teaching? 
How may we cooperate in all this work by 
supplying the necessary books? Let there 
be a thorough understanding of how and 
where good books may be used, and then 



let us consider the breadth and limitation 
of our book buying. 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: One 
is tempted to linger over the flavor which 
has been given to the wording of the next 
topic, "The open door, through the book 
and the library; opportunity for compari- 
son and choice; unhampered freedom of 
choice," and if we do not linger longer on 
this it is because we know that that fla- 
vor will be made permanent after listen- 
ing to the address itself of the speaker, 
Mr. CHARLES E. McLENEGAN, libra- 
rian of the Milwaukee public library. 

THE OPEN DOOR, THROUGH THE 
BOOK AND THE LIBRARY; OP- 
PORTUNITY FOR COMPARISON 
AND CHOICE; UNHAMPERED 

FREEDOM OF CHOICE 
A professor in one of our large univer- 
sities recently complained that college 
students of the present day are so woe- 
fully ignorant of many things that they 
could reasonably be expected to know. 
The exciting cause of the professor's out- 
burst was an attempt to get from his class 
some information about Chanticleer. He 
was met by conservative and judicious 
silence until one youth, who was not quite 
sure, ventured the opinion that it was a 
popular song sung by Jane Addams. Of 
course such an answer would irritate a 
Chicago man, and justly too, when we 
consider that Miss Addams is what made 
Chicago famous. 

But the wail of the professor provokes 
the question: Where do all the scholars 
and thinkers of the world come from? 
What keeps up the breed? . What is it 
that fills in the ramshackle, ill-jointed, un- 
promising frame of much of our school 
product, and returns us so much of fine 
manhood and womanhood, and so much 
of the sound learning and ability of the 
working world? We must, I think, admit 
that the world is fairly furnished with 
men and women, intelligent and useful, 
whom no college can claim. And every 
college has its quota of dunces who may 
never be anything else. My professor 



128 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



made no discovery of an alarming decad- 
ence, for what he complains of has always 
been true. We should not be pessimistic 
about youth, and we must be fair to our 
schools. They make better what we send 
them, but they have no science of alchemy. 
Many men and women find their inspira- 
tion in schools. But after the largest 
measure of allowance, it will be conceded 
that the amount of scholarship and effi- 
ciency in the world far exceeds the out- 
put of our scholastic plants. There are 
more of such people than schools produce, 
and the surplus must be accounted for in 
some other way. This surplus comes, 
somehow, from that vast throng who are, 
in a sense, the forgotten children of modern 
education those hundreds of thousands 
who fall out of the ranks in school days, 
and yet who persist and find themselves 
without the help of the schools. It is very 
fortunate that this is so, for otherwise we 
might have to abandon some of our weight- 
iest political maxims. The world is gov- 
erned by proverbs, but as a rule of action, 
a proverb is as dangerous as dynamite. It 
is as useful as a club in a political cam- 
paign. But Dr. Holmes was right: prov- 
erbs should be sold in pairs so that one 
may correct the other as a counter irri- 
tant. 

One of the most venerable and mossy 
of these narcotic saws is that our school 
systems are the bulwark of democracy. 
Undoubtedly presidents could be elected 
on this platform alone, if you could find 
an opposing party foolish enough to deny 
it. Yet schools can be the bulwark of 
democracy only by a confusion of terms, 
by which we mean that education and in- 
telligence are the bulwarks of democracy. 
This we may grant; but we are now 
speaking of something besides the three 
R's and things that children learn in 
school. By education and intelligence, 
we mean the resultant of many forces act- 
ing on one point. We may readily admit 
that democracies like ours have only in- 
telligence with which to oppose the pow- 
ers that tend to gather at the center or to 
fly off the circumference. 



It seems to me that what we call the 
education of our schools is a very im- 
perfect instrument for the work it is sup- 
posed to do. What do we say first to 
that fifty per cent of the population who 
drop out of grammar schools with only 
the most elementary and inadequate knowl- 
edge of the three R's? What has the 
school given them with which to fight 
the battles of democracy? It is not only 
the spur of necessity which drives youth 
to labor so early. That is undoubtedly 
one cause. There are also the profound 
weariness and distaste which come of for- 
ever seeking from the textbook page, from 
the teacher's voice, and from the gradgrind 
drill for something to awaken the mind 
where the mind has no interest. Ger- 
many has been the first to see this fail- 
ure of the common school to equip the 
majority; the killing effect of one sort of 
training for every type of mind. Witness 
the system of continuation schools for 
those who find themselves after beginning 
the bread and butter work of life. Wit- 
ness the compulsion of the employer to 
devote part of the apprentice time to spe- 
cial instruction in the chosen craft. Even 
the unused moments of garrison life in 
the army are not wasted. Everywhere 
the progress of Germany is prolonging the 
school day in the discovery of aptitude, 
and in the cultivation of it after it has 
been discovered. In our English-speak- 
ing world we are trying to find the same 
thing in our trade schools, in our manual 
training, in our vocational education, in 
the many things which we perhaps hastily 
call fads in education. They all indicate 
a reaching after something which is not 
now attained; a search for an awakening 
influence on minds that are now dormant; 
for something to light the inward eye. 
In all there is the implication of a need 
which has not been met. These things 
are the evidence that the diet of public 
education is not varied enough to nourish 
all the children of the commonwealth, to 
awaken the dormant power for SOME 
THING that lies somewhere in most of 
humanity. 



McLENEGAN 



129 



"The hungry sheep look up and are not 
fed." 

Public education has given long and 
careful thought to those who remain in 
school. It is just becoming conscious of 
the great majority who do not remain 
the great majority whom necessity, choice, 
or lack of adaptation of the school to the 
child drive yearly Into the rough school 
of life. At present the best that schools 
do for these is to provide each child with 
the means of self education the ability 
to read. But we are to remember that 
this is only one of the instruments of 
education; it is not education itself. It 
is no discovery, and it needs little obser- 
vation to point out, that with this instru- 
ment of reading, the newspaper, the mag- 
azine and the book are the potent educa- 
tors of our day. They are, or should be, 
the bulwark of democracy. I am not con- 
cerned to discuss this further than to 
show that what we have vaguely depended 
solely upon our schools to do, is not done 
by them, and never has been done by 
them. For the great mass, our schools 
give each child the one open sesame 
reading. There they leave him to open 
what doors he can and will. 

Before I suffer as a heretic, let me quote 
a really thoughtful man, Thomas Carlyle, 
called by a breezy miss in our last civil 
service examination "the great English 
apostle of hope." You remember that, in 
speaking of the origin of universities, Carl- 
yle in his Heroes said, "If we think of 
it, all that a university or final highest 
school can do for us is still but what 
the first school began doing teach us to 
read. The place where we are to get 
knowledge is the books themselves. It 
depends on what we read after all man- 
ner of professors have done their best for 
us. The true university of these days 
is a collection of books." Possibly there 
is a little something "proverbial" about 
this, and perhaps it should be mixed with 
a trifle of Mark Hopkins on the end of a 
log. But a collection of books, be it large 
or small, is a library. That definition still 
holds, though we may have to include 



"skittles and beer" after awhile. It is 
quite clear that this aspect of a library 
as a distinct and active factor in educa- 
tion has only of late impressed itself upon 
the public mind. It marks the library as 
a vitalized public utility, from which we 
are to expect more than has yet been re- 
ceived. Even the best of schools has its 
limitations because of the inflexibility of 
its courses of study, and it may fail, often 
does fail, to touch with any spark of liv- 
ing fire. But the library may provide 
something for every type of mind. The 
library cannot create mind or the will and 
disposition to use it, any more than the 
school can. But where the desire to feed 
any mental craving exists, it would be a 
very poor library indeed that cannot sat- 
isfy it in some degree. This power of the 
right book to supplement the school, or 
even to take the place of it, is not yet 
comprehended in any fulness in our pub- 
lic education. But it is just in this power 
of the book that a library has one of its 
best reasons for being, and it is for this 
reason that, when the library comes into 
its own, it will be a most important fac- 
tor in education. Let us see to it that 
one door is kept open for those who dis- 
cover themselves after school days are 
gone. There are thousands who fail to 
grasp their opportunities in the way and 
at the time that schools prescribe that they 
should. Some of these find themselves 
by living, by working, by accident it may 
be, or by any of the infinite ways in 
which humanity adjusts itself to its sur- 
roundings. For them the library is a 
path into fields of learning, into avenues 
of power that make all things possible. 
Here is the college of our self-educated 
man. There is no mystery about it. It 
is the natural result of following the in- 
ward light. We know that the better part 
of education is what we give ourselves. 

One should not use a single instance 
to prove a principle. It is not merely 
bad logic ; it is not logic. Yet the fact that 
everyone who deals either with people or 
with books knows many such cases shows 
that the experience is universal. One day 



130 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



not long ago, as I sat alone in the office, 
a lad came in. "Mister, do you buy the 
books here?" I admitted complicity. 
"Will you buy one that I want?" I asked 
what it was. "Chickens." To cut the 
story short, I asked him to sit down and 
we talked about chickens, for I am some- 
thing of a farmer. I found that he had 
read everything in the library on poultry 
and was hungry for more. He knew the 
hen intimately. He had mastered the 
genealogy, the sociology, the psychology, 
and the "Why" of hens. Furthermore, 
while he was doing time in school, he was 
also carrying on a successful chicken busi- 
ness on a city lot, from which business 
he had wrung two thousand hard dollars, 
which he had safely in the bank. He had 
already marked down a little farm near 
the city which would be his as soon as he 
had "completed his education" in the gram- 
mar school, and then he would make the 
feathers fly. I am glad to say he got 
his book, and I added another lesson to 
the many my boys have taught me. 

What is our concern with this lad? He 
is a type of what I have in mind. I do 
not value him for his ability to make 
money. Men make money who aren't 
worth a cent. I measure him by his value 
as a producer, by his value to humanity 
as an example, and by his value to a li- 
brary as a walking delegate for free and 
unrestricted choice in books. He is an 
educated man, joyfully occupied in some- 
thing which engages every faculty of his 
mind, which he loves, understands, and 
has mastered for himself. Your country 
and mine will be the better the more they 
can grow of that sort of man. He has 
made good; he has arrived. And to ar- 
rive somewhere, under your own steam, 
is a great thing in life. You might not 
get the answer you were looking for, but 
you could not get a foolish answer, if you 
asked him of Chanticleer. 

Lest I be misunderstood, I repeat for a 
moment. Schools must be systematized. 
They must follow a course of study. Un- 
happily, what is called economy dictates 
that the young must be herded together 



in droves, graded by their ability to do 
one or two things into groups of presump- 
tively equal power, equal ability to compre- 
hend and to labor, and of similar tastes. 
It is the best that modern education has 
been able to do in the schools. Yet every 
one of these presumptions of equality is 
false. In spite of the Declaration of In- 
dependence, no two people on earth are 
equal except in their right to live, move 
and have their being. But on this educa- 
tional bed of Procrustes each soul of our 
Anglo-Saxon race lays him down to pleas- 
ant dreams. Alas for him whose mental 
legs are too long, or too short, to fit 
the couch! Dreams? For some they are 
nightmares! Just because of this nar- 
rowness of public education, because of its 
inability to touch all types of mind, we 
have that endless procession, out and 
ever out, from our schools. 

It is not my wish to take a hopeless 
view of education. There is no reason 
for taking such a view. I wish merely to 
emphasize a fact which has always been 
true, but a fact of which we are just be- 
coming conscious. The problem of edu- 
cation in the days that are coming is to 
adjust our machinery so that these lost 
products shall be lessened. In this read- 
justment the library will have its place 
as a recognized and systematic factor in 
"the greatest business of the state." 

The open door through the library and 
the book has a pleasant sound. Yet prob- 
ably the most surprising fact in actual 
experience is the helplessness of even in- 
telligent people in using books. The ad- 
dress of Prof. Chamberlain, delivered be- 
fore this association a year ago, did not 
overstate the case of the schools. But 
schools are beginning to meet the issue, 
and in time they will remedy the condi- 
tions for those who are fortunate enough 
to remain in schools. But always for us 
will remain that contingent who drop out 
of school, in days before the school can 
reach them with this gospel of the book. 
The school has lost them, and, if ever 
they find the open door through the book, 
it will be by chance, or because the li- 



McLENEGAN 



131 



brary itself opens the door. It rests with 
us to proclaim our mission to them. Of 
course every good library has always 
taught those insistent ones who knocked 
at its doors. But the library has been a 
passive agent of this education, not an 
active one. A public library, in my judg- 
ment, should be equipped with the neces- 
sary apparatus to conduct this work sys- 
tematically, to propagate its own use, to 
spread the gospel of the open door among 
the people whom it serves. If this seems 
a violent innovation, I beg you to con- 
sider it from the schoolmaster's point of 
view, as well as from the librarian's. Here 
is a great body of people in every com- 
munity whom other agencies have taught 
to read, who depend upon reading to re- 
turn service to the state and to promote 
their own welfare. On the other side, the 
library, with the admitted duty of further- 
ing education through the book. Does it 
not rest with the library to teach per- 
sistently, systematically, and by every 
practicable means, how and where to find 
what to read? The means of doing this 
is another matter, but for the expediency 
of it, and the need of it, examine in any 
considerable community, the roster of the 
great correspondence schools, and reflect 
how many people are groping their way 
out of darkness toward the light. What 
people pay for, as they do for this in- 
struction, they want; and what these learn- 
ers get for their money, they should have 
for nothing in any public library. When 
we teach how and where to find what to 
read, the open door through the library 
and the book will have some meaning for 
every man, woman and child who can 
simply read. All the artificial barriers that 
stand between the reader and his book 
will go; the barrier in the book itself 
will largely be removed, and the library 
will reach through intelligent choice many 
of those who are counted down and out 
by the schools: the thoughtful man who 
has come to realize the possibilities of 
his work: the one who has waited long 
to find his aptitude; the timid; the hesi- 
tant; the shy and distrustful; the misun- 



derstood; those who see the "dawn of a 
tomorrow." The procession is endless, 
and each has his human need, which runs 
the gamut from utility to the highest joys 
of life. We talk so much about the strug- 
gle for existence that we forget that the 
best thing in life is just to live. Not all 
reading is for material profit; some of it 
is for happiness, and that happiness is 
purest and most complete which we find 
for ourselves. It is the discovery of one's 
own light that brings the abiding joy. 
What man or woman cannot look back to 
the inspiration of some finding of his own 
for which he owes no one but his Creator? 
These are the finest moments of life. 

"Then felt I like some watcher of the 

skies, 
"When a new planet swims into his ken." 

So said Keats upon first looking into Chap- 
man's Homer. To express the rapture of 
the poet is given only to the poet. But 
the pure joy of finding for ourselves some 
of the true and beautiful with which we 
are in harmony, is reward enough. 
Whether we look upon our library as a 
source of recreation, of happiness or profit 
(and it is all of these) this army, who 
have fallen out of the ranks in the on- 
ward march of education in the school, 
seem to be our especial wards. To open 
the door through the book for them is a 
work worth doing, not as a means of sal- 
vation, but as a means of sowing more 
efficiency and more happiness among men. 
Ours is not the schoolmaster's task of 
teaching things: it is the nobler task of 
showing humanity how to teach itself. 

And, while we speak of missions, the 
library need not take itself too seriously. 
The world is not looking to us for the 
salvation of mankind. When all is done 
that can be done, there will still be those 
who will not read, and who will follow 
the primrose path after their natures. 
There are many agencies in life that work 
for good and the library is one, not the 
only one. Our field is clear-cut and well- 
defined to extend the use of books. There 
seems to be a sort of nervous notion 
abroad that one of the chief ends of li- 



132 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



braries is to draw a crowd and put a 
nice book into every hand. I do not 
know about all these enrichments of our 
libraries as I read of them. Have books 
any compelling power over those who 
merely come into their presence, unless 
such people love the books or at least 
wish to read them? Of this I have no 
doubt: There are enough who care to 
use our libraries, if we can take away 
that helpless bewilderment which over- 
comes those who are cast adrift, without 
rudder or compass, upon a sea of books. 
Teach them the ways in which books may 
be made to yield their treasures. Open 
that door in youth if possible, and it will 
be the best possession which youth car- 
ries into manhood. But open it sometime, 
for the real harvest time is when he who 
wishes to read, reads what he wants. It 
might be more soul-satisfying to me to 
hand out to my chicken boy books that 
minister to more attenuated needs but 
what about the boy? Is he not better that 
he finds for himself in the book what feeds 
his mind? The glory and power of the 
library is that he who can merely read, 
may there find what the in-dwelling spirit 
asks for. It is good that there should be 
one place in education where there is no 
brimstone and treacle, no Mr. Squeers, and 
no Smikes. "For books are not absolutely 
dead things, but do contain a potency of 
life in them to be as active as the soul 
whose progeny they are." 

The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT: A cu- 
riosity which has existed since libra- 
ries were first started is about to be grati- 
fied. We are to get the answer to the 
question, "What do the people want?" 
from MISS JESSIE WELLES, of the Car- 
negie library of Pittsburgh. 

WHAT DO THE PEOPLE WANT?* 

If we are to believe the voices in the 
air the people want some big things, for 
it is a notable fact that the things most 
loudly demanded are wanted by a few 
people for all the people. The socialistic 
group wants a cooperative industrial sys- 

Abstract. 



tern for everybody, another familiar 
group in no uncertain voice demands 
votes for all, whether we want them or 
not, and there is a third group to which 
our president has referred, the members 
of which think that they see in universal 
education a panacea for the ills of state 
and society. Of this group all librarians 
must be at least ex-officio members while 
librarians in public libraries must work 
definitely toward the end which it avows. 

How are we doing this? It will not 
serve to take refuge back of the state- 
ment that our only hope for universal 
education is with the child. We have a 
duty toward the adult as well as toward 
the child, and our aim must be not to 
get people to read books but to get all 
the people to read the right books, the 
books best adapted for their individual 
development. 

Are we supplying the right books? For 
book selection, a well nigh perfect tech- 
nique has been established, but is tech- 
nique enough? Knowledge of books and 
of technique are imperative but the li- 
brarian who supplies the right books to 
all the people must know and understand 
his fellowmen. 

Who are the people whom we are to 
serve? Do we perchance throw them into 
one great group and call them the public 
as distinguished from librarians? Who 
are we but "the public" to the actor, the 
artist, the man in the railway office? No, 
a wise providence has endowed men with 
a great variety of characters and tem- 
peraments, and when environment has 
further complicated matters, we must try 
to understand them all. For our present 
purpose let us group the people on the 
basis of a taste for knowledge. 

Some people are born with a thirst 
for knowledge, some acquire a taste for 
it through early training and environment 
and some must have knowledge thrust 
upon them if they are to have it at all. 
Of book selection for the educated in 
any of these groups this paper does not 
deal. The subject has been discussed 
often and well, and while we have by 
no means reached the point where we no 



WELLES 



133 



longer need to study how to serve them, 
the question is not a gravely puzzling one. 
The elimination of the educated brings 
us down to a study of book selection for 
the under-educated and the indifferent in 
the interest of universal education for 
the benefit of state and society. 

Some of these uneducated ones may be 
found in each of the three groups. Many 
from the first two groups come to our 
libraries and should be served thought- 
fully and wisely. In many cases the only 
indication of a thirst for knowledge is an 
omniverous appetite for exceedingly poor 
novels. If they have already devoured 
many, their taste is probably hopelessly 
perverted and about all we can hope to 
do is to hold their interest and eliminate 
the yellow horror with its debilitating in- 
fluence by supplying free, easily acces- 
sible books of even the lightest grade 
found upon our library shelves. This is 
a very slight advance, but it is a step 
forward. Others of this class if "caught 
young" can be interested in better litera- 
ture, and are worthy of our careful 
thought and the wisest service. 

There come also to libraries many in 
whom the real desire to know is awake 
but still rubbing its eyes. They must 
not be confused with that class of people, 
difficult to deal with in every sphere, who 
seek to appear wiser than they are, and 
some personal knowledge of the individ- 
ual is imperative in order to avoid this 
mistake. They usually ask for assistance 
in book selection and great care should 
be taken in giving it, as it serves well the 
future of our race to help one of these 
"derive education," as one such borrower 
has expressed it. 

And now we come to the most difficult 
group of all, those who must have knowl- 
edge thrust upon them if they are to have 
it at all. These do not come to our li- 
braries, but we go out to them by means 
of various forms of extension work. We 
are inclined to take this branch of work 
lightly, but it is full of potential good for 
the commonwealth. Here we have the 
citizen at our mercy, why not see what 



we can do with him to help the cause of 
universal education? 

Extension work can be carried on with 
a small staff, but every worker should be 
of the best, strong in knowledge of books 
and of human nature. The book selec- 
tion for these smaller, centers can be 
based upon some personal knowledge of 
the individual, and the collection may be 
made a powerful educational tool. The 
individual can best be reached through 
his personal tastes, for the developing of 
which he does not dream that books exist. 

This personal work must be devoid of 
sentimentality. The worker's motive 
must be a desire for fair play, and he 
must not approach the people in a mis- 
sionary spirit. They do not want to be 
uplifted by a missionary nor surveyed by 
a social worker. The only spirit in which 
we can study their needs is the spirit of 
good fellowship, with the honest desire to 
share with others what we ourselves en- 
joy. We can reach only a few of the 
people who need help most and books 
can give then only a small part of the 
awakening and training and broadening 
that the state desires for them, but our 
effort should not be gauged by what we 
can accomplish. We have to thank pre- 
vious generations for many benefits which 
result from their aiming high above their 
power of achievement, and if by personal 
study of the under-educated we can raise 
the standard of their reading in the 
slightest degree, the general standard of 
intelligence of the next generation will ad- 
vance in the same ratio, and this the 
state finds worth while. 

After this paper the session adjourned. 

THIRD GENERAL SESSION 
(Russell Theatre, Saturday, June 29, 

9:30 a. m.) 

Joint session with the Professional 
training section. Mr. James I. Wyer, Jr., 
director of the New York state library, 
and ex-president of the A. L. A., occupied 
the chair. 

The CHAIRMAN: Your temporary 
chairman for the morning has but one 



134 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



compunction in accepting this pleasant 
privilege, and that is that it inevitably de- 
prives you of the gracious presence of 
your rightful presiding officer, even 
though it be only for a few. minutes. 

Miss MARY E. HAZELTINE, preceptor 
of the University of Wisconsin library 
school, will speak to us on 

THE ASSISTANT AND THE BOOK 

The library movement is no longer a 
crusade, it is a movement of peaceful edu- 
cation. In truth, the library movement, is 
not a movement at all, it is an achieve- 
ment. The library has come to be a cen- 
ter of personal interest. People, one by 
one, are the object of our labors. They 
are to be brought, through the personal- 
ities of those who preside over books, into 
touch with the personalities that dwell 
within books. 

There are many militant movements to- 
day, those for universal peace (strange 
paradox), equal suffrage, labor reform, and 
for human betterment in crowded cities 
great social movements that are being pro- 
moted through the vigorous propaganda 
and the emphatic zeal of their leaders. 
Over against these dynamic social move- 
ments, the library operates as a quiet 
force, at once personal, intellectual, edu- 
cational, persuasive but powerful, study- 
ing community interests, serving commun- 
ity needs it is true, but accomplishing the 
work through the individual. These other 
movements will, after their first victories 
are won, likewise take on an educational 
aspect, but they will become strong and 
far-reaching only as people are touched 
and served by them. 

No cause can be greater than the per- 
sonality which interprets it. It matters 
little how proud the ideals of the leaders, 
or how great the possibilities of the work 
itself, nothing can really be accomplished 
except through the vision, ability, and 
knowledge of those who have actual con- 
tact with the public. Technique and 
method in library work are of less im- 
portance than the personality of the 
assistant, his preparation for the work, his 



continued renewing of himself in interest 
and knowledge, his immediate contact 
with affairs of the day, and his ability to 
share his interest and information with 
others. 

If this be true, behind the library must 
lie a personal force. This must be se- 
cured, first, through the personality of 
those who labor within its walls; then, 
through the personalities of the books 
themselves that are ready if permitted, to 
answer every human need. The vital con- 
nection between these depends upon the 
person that can stimulate a love of books, 
or arouse a feeling for their need. Are our 
libraries today manned by such assistants? 

The plain matter of fact is that we are 
still over-technical. For petty details in 
devotion to routine and technique, we 
crucify personality; we kill the love of 
books among our library workers, for there 
is no time to read, no opportunity to make 
or keep a real acquaintance with books. 
Schemes to induce others to read are con- 
stantly being devised, red tape is ever be- 
ing wound around our system of details, 
professional duties are allowed almost 
brutally to shut us out from contact with 
the best in literature. There are too many 
meetings to attend; too many papers to 
write; have you ever been obliged to 
forego an open-air performance of Electra 
at your very door that would have brought 
interpretation and understanding, because 
you had to rival Euripides and prepare a 
paper for the American Library Associa- 
tion? Librarians, alas, take their work 
too seriously, and too painfully do their 
duty. 

"For each man kills the thing he loves, 

By each let this be heard, 
Some do it with a bitter look, 
Some with a flattering word." 

The librarian of the older days was a 
crabbed and positively forbidding guardian 
of books. Then for a period of years 
and there are traces of this time still with 
us, the library worker had the attitude 
of the clerk, so important seemed the de- 
tails of library service. Now we are ap- 
proaching the time when the librarian 



HAZELTINE 



135 



shares in the spirit of the social worker. 
The one big blessed thing that we all want 
to do (and we are all assistants to the 
public) is to get people to love the human 
messages in books, for "Books are not dead 
things and do contain a potency of life in 
them to be as active as that soul whose 
progeny they were." The only way to do 
this is to make sure that the person who 
deals with the public knows books is 
fairly radiant with book lore. He should 
not be a rapt scholar absorbed in his own 
research, nor on the other hand a spirit- 
less, lifeless, or flippant clerk. 

Within a decade there has come a 
change in the tenor of most library re- 
ports, most noticeable within the last five 
years. The emphasis is now largely on 
the myriad things that are done for the 
public which require a knowledge of books 
and the ability to use them for people. 
This new library service can only be car- 
ried forward by assistants who know both 
books and people. The library assistant 
is now rapidly becoming a constructive 
social worker and has the most potent 
spiritual forces of all^he ages at his 
command. 

But in addition to personality there 
must be education. This is a primary re- 
quisite for an assistant. Nothing can sup- 
ply the lack of knowledge. Where noth- 
ing is, nothing results. It is evident that 
our libraries are recognizing educated 
assistants. 

Mr. Anderson H. Hopkins in his report 
to the Board of trustees of the Carnegie 
library of Pittsburgh, said in 1908: 

"Near the beginning of the report 
appears a statement of the names of mem- 
bers of the staff, in an arrangement show- 
ing the positions that they occupy. I have 
long felt that this is not adequate, al- 
though it is in accord with the custom of 
large public libraries in this country. A 
number of the members of our staff have 
not only academic degrees, but also de- 
grees or certificates from professional 
schools, and I believe it would be a good 
plan for us to set these forth in our state- 
ment, as is commonly done in the calen- 
dars of colleges. There can be no question 
that the work done by the staff compares 
favorably with that done by any similar 



professional body and I believe that it 
would be well to take this step in recogni- 
tion of the fact." 

In the report of the Cleveland public 
library for 1909 this statement is made: 

"An analysis of the preparation of the 
various members of the staff for their 
work gives this interesting showing: col- 
lege graduates, 47; partial college courses, 
24; library school graduates, 46." 

From the report of the Boston public li- 
brary for 1909 the following is quoted: 

"Three grades of educational qualifica- 
tions are required. The lowest grade, 
which includes a comparatively small num- 
ber of pages, sub-assistants, etc., requires 
a training equivalent to a grammar school 
course. The middle grade requires qual- 
ifications equivalent to a high school 
training and familiarity with one foreign 
language. The third grade, including 
seventy-seven of these persons, requires 
qualifications equivalent to those obtained 
by a college course, and familiarity with 
two foreign languages. The proper cat- 
aloging and classifying of books and the 
reference work necessary to aid those us- 
ing the library also requires in many posi- 
tions much higher qualifications than those 
which could be obtained by the ordinary 
college course." 

Libraries should secure more assistants 
with academic training, whose minds have 
come in contact with the many subjects 
that reveal the past and interpret the pres- 
ent. We must rely on the colleges for the 
production of such assistants, that they 
shall come to us already knowing the 
sweep of literature on the library shelves, 
already loving books and knowledge, and 
filled with their power. Such workers can 
not help radiating a passion for books. 
They will make the library a living insti- 
tution, a center of glowing personality. Of 
some it can be said: 

"Who reads and reads and does not what 

he knows, 

Is one that plows and plows and never 
sows." 

It can never be said of the college bred 
assistant who has been fired with the mes- 
sage of books that he is such an one, but 
rather, he will sow day in and out that 
priceless seed of the love of books in the 



136 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



living soil of human hearts. Because such 
workers have seen the vision, have walked 
in its light, they will continue to make 
books a part of their daily living, never 
losing the habit of systematic reading, de- 
spite the routine and immediate demands 
of the library. 

We have said that the responsibility for 
supplying this knowledge and love of 
books a part of their daily living, never 
answer, however, that they cannot bring 
to their students in four years this literary 
culture if they do not come to c'ollege 
with some previous acquaintance with 
books; and that, if the student must study 
all the practical, social, utilitarian, and 
commercially valuable things demanded 
today, the reading of books is crowded out. 
Is not then, the responsibility for awaken- 
ing the love of books for their own sake 
thrown back upon libraries, and upon the. 
book knowledge of those that serve within 
their walls? Our book service, of which 
we have been boasting for many years, 
ought surely by this time to show results 
among those whom we have been serving. 
If the colleges claim that there are few 
among their students who have any real 
knowledge of books, should not we count 
the failure partly ours? 

And what is the reason? The assistant 
who has given the book to the growing 
boy or girl has done it mechanically, has 
done it as a clerk has done it without 
knowledge of its message, and as a result 
has failed to arouse a love of books, a love 
of reading. The failure is in the library 
assistant. We have substituted for train- 
ing in book values, for appreciation of 
their literary content, for knowledge of 
their true worth among assistants a me- 
chanical skill in the handling of books. 

The trained assistant must ever keep 
alert in himself the spirit of knowledge 
that is in him. In this same spirit and by 
this same habit, the reading of trained 
members of the staff must become a con- 
tagion and quicken the love of books in 
the untrained. The library looks then to 
the trained assistant to come with a knowl- 
edge and love of books that shall be re- 



tained as his birthright, and used as a 
talent not hid in a napkin. 

Library assistants cannot all be college 
bred. Many library workers are recruited 
locally, among those for whom the library 
itself has been a university. These make 
up a large body of the assistants who fill 
important positions in all types of libra- 
ries. For their book knowledge and love 
of learning the colleges cannot be held 
responsible. The end desired must be se- 
cured by the library itself. First, by 
choosing for an assistant today one who 
has appreciated the environment of books; 
second, by encouraging and aiding him to 
a fuller knowledge of books through syste- 
matic reading; third, by creating an atmos- 
phere of books in which future assistants 
may grow up. 

To the average assistant who feels her 
importance because she is working in a 
library, librarianship means an ability to 
do things with the hand, rather than with 
head and heart. Many seek a library posi- 
tion because they think it involves only 
neat and easy work, having in mind the 
purely mechanical and technical side, 
without a thought of its meaning and 
strength. The line should be drawn very 
sharply between those who know books, 
can think about them, and who can ex- 
press the reason that is within them about 
their values, and those who only know 
their outside, their mechanical care, and 
the keeping of their records. So we find 
the responsibility for the book short- 
comings of even our best educated assist- 
ants at our own door. 

It is said that librarians do not know the 
great life interests, the pervading charm 
of music, the thraldom of art, the abiding 
realities of religion, the solace of the out- 
of-doors; have never sensed the author's 
heart-throbs which have gone into the 
books they lightly handle, or gloried in 
the transcendent mysteries which lie in 
poetry. How many library assistants 
really do read books for the joy of it? In 
how many has this joy been killed; in 
how many has it never been created? For 
these is not the library responsible? 



HAZELTINE 



137 



Some libraries are already seriously car- 
ing for the training of their assistants. 
In the large city libraries positions are 
filled chiefly from the training class con- 
ducted by the library itself where a graded 
service has been established and promo- 
tion depends upon examination. But much 
of this training, like all library training, 
is of necessity technical and professional, 
rather than cultural. Many libraries fur- 
ther report staff meetings for general dis- 
cussion of library matters, while a few 
report such meetings for the general book 
knowledge of the staff. 

From the Dayton, Ohio, public library 
the report comes that monthly staff meet- 
ing have been held since January, 1908, 
for various stated library purposes, and 
that the members contribute anything of 
interest from personal reading which 
would be suggestive to other members for 
their own reading, or helpful to them in 
dealing with the public. Library time 
is allowed for these meetings. 

In 1906, Mr. Dana reported that mem- 
bers of the staff met once a week to 
discuss library matters in general and to 
have a report by one of the class on the 
literature of some assigned subject. 
Among the subjects reported on were, 
photography, history of literature, French 
revolution, French history, travel in Japan, 
opera, etc. 

In 1907, Mr. Brown, of the Buffalo pub- 
lic library reports: 

"We have done more staff training this 
year than was possible before. Round 
tables are now held in nearly every de- 
partment, at which methods and books 
are discussed. To this we can trace habits 
of greater carefulness and accuracy, a 
more comprehensive view of the work as 
a whole, and happier, better service." 

In 1908, the report says: 

"The staff round tables 'the part of our 
work which keeps us keen and alive as one 
member expresses it have been held as 
usual. At these meetings methods of work 
and books are discussed and frank talks 
upon the best means of helping borrowers 
are given; but the spirit of sympathy and 
comradeship which results from meeting 
together as library workers and talking 
over the work, its purpose and ideals, is 
really the most valuable and important 
result of these meetings." 



From Cedar Rapids, 1905, comes the re- 
port: 

"A meeting of the staff has been held 
on Thursday mornings for the discus- 
sion of current events and library prob- 
lems." In 1908: "The Thursday morning 
hour has been given to the reading aloud 
of poems suggested in Dawson's 'Makers 
of English poetry.' Some time was de- 
voted to Browning and Milton. New books 
were discussed and current events were 
considered." In 1909: "The staff has taken 
up the study of Brander Matthews' 'Devel- 
opment of the drama,' and has read sev- 
eral of the Greek tragedies. Current 
events and new books were also discussed. 
In 1910: "The weekly staff meetings have 
been continued and are most helpful." 

The Cleveland report for 1910 says: 

"The staff round table continues to meet; 
this year, more than ever, emphasis has 
been laid upon a broader and less super- 
ficial knowledge of books on the part of 
the staff, and it is believed that some 
progress has been made in this direction. 
* * * All this shows a flexibility of 
mind on the part of our staff which has 
made them grow with their work. There 
has also been the ability of the older mem- 
bers to train and inspire younger and 
newer assistants." 

Constant study is required among those 
who have attained academic distinction, 
evidenced in advanced degrees, in record 
of profound research, in contributions to 
learned societies and journals, and in pub- 
lished monographs and books. Even 
teachers in the grades must pass exami- 
nations to hold their positions, and ex- 
cel in order to secure promotion. No one 
employs a physician who does not keep 
abreast of scientific and medical discover- 
ies by graduate courses or private study; 
few listen long to a preacher who does 
not keep in touch with the spirit of the 
times. Can it be that the library profes- 
sion is the only one in which a systematic 
progression is not generally demanded? 

A definite amount of reading should be 
required of all library assistants. They 
must not be allowed to stagnate, nor to 
think that because they live in an at- 
mosphere of books they are exempt from 
reading. There should be on the part of 
the librarian a keener feeling of responsi- 
bility for his assistants and for their 
growth in the knowledge and love of 



138 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



books. Whether this shall be brought about 
through organized classes, whether it shall 
be through weekly reading with required 
reports, or whether it shall be through the 
subtle influence of the librarian's person- 
ality and love of books which inspires and 
him; or whether it shall be a combination 
of all these, remains to be worked out by 
each local institution, but worked out it 
must be, unless with our boasted free 
books, we are to become the by-word and 
the laughing stock of future generations. 

We all acknowledge that the assistant is a 
most important individual. Have we looked 
well to his necessary book qualifications 
and to his continued opportunities for im- 
provement while serving the library? And 
have we analyzed what these opportuni- 
ties should be? We say frankly: First, 
the librarian is brother's keeper of all the 
assistants. Second, the educated library 
assistant in creating a love for books, owes 
as much to his fellow assistants, who have 
been less fortunate in the matter of edu- 
cation, as he does to the public. Third, 
that the library itself should become a 
progressive training school for love of 
books and reading. 

It is the assistant who has caught the 
message of books, who has heard the 
gods calling him to celestial heights, who 
realizes what Robert Louis Stevenson ex- 
pressed when he said that he felt like 
thanking God that he had a chance to earn 
his bread upon such joyful terms it is 
such an assistant who makes the library a 
place where people want to read. And 
that is the true library whose books are 
read. 

No one has a richer opportunity to be a 
public servant in all the fine significance 
of that word, than the assistant to the 
public in the public library. He may un- 
lock the treasures of the past, for those 
treasures are committed unto him not 
for keeping but for sharing freely. This 
public servant may extend the knowledge 
of the discoveries and innovations of the 
present, and thus become an interpreter 
of the scholar's message. This public ser- 
vant may match the answering book with 



the inquiring mind, the responsive page 
with the hungry soul. This public ser- 
vant may lead out the spirit of youth, 
lift the burdens of middle life, may speak 
solace to old age through the thoughts 
and songs of poet and prophet, dramatist 
and seer. This public servant must be a 
great personality, either an achieved per- 
sonality, or a personality in the making; 
this public servant must be a lover of peo- 
ple, a lover of life, and therefore a lover of 
books. 

The CHAIRMAN: The next paper on 
the program is by Miss EDITH TOBITT, 
librarian of the Omaha public library. 
Miss Tobitt herself, I regret to say, is de- 
tained, but she has sent her paper and it 
will be read by Mr. Frank K. Walter, of 
the New York state library school. 

TYPE OF ASSISTANTS: 
ABILITY TO DISCERN QUALITY AND 
ESSENTIALS OF BOOKS AND 
POWER TO GIVE INFORMA- 
TION RATHER THAN 
ADVICE 

When gathering the material for my 
part of this discussion of "Type of as- 
sistants," my inclination turned constantly 
to another wording of the title, that is, "the 
value of the book to the public dependent 
upon the intelligent discrimination of the 
assistant," so while I shall try to adhere 
more closely to the original subject than 
this would indicate, I hope that you will 
pardon me if I now and then talk on the 
second title. 

"Efficiency in business" has received so 
much discussion of late that it is a brave 
person who dares assume the privilege of 
continuing the subject, but having seen the 
statement that "the more books of the 
right kind are read, the more efficient a 
nation becomes," a librarian naturally be- 
lieves that the discussion has no end but 
may be continued indefinitely, for this 
means not only a supply of the right kind 
of books but also an efficient distribution 
of these books. 

When speaking of the efficiency of the 
employees in a library, it would seem that 



TOBITT 



139 



the same general rule would hold as in 
other occupations, but this is scarcely true. 
The people who are served by an institu- 
tion maintained at public expense expect a 
higher grade of service than when served 
by the employees of some private institu- 
tion or business. No doubt, this is be- 
cause a higher grade of honor or integrity 
is expected in the occupant of the office 
which is maintained for the public good, 
at the public expense, than one which is 
maintained for private gain. Naturally the 
same general rules regarding adaptability, 
politeness, industry, and various other at- 
tributes should be applied to the occupant 
of any position but in the case of the pub- 
lic servant only the very highest standards 
should be tolerated. 

Aside from the public the librarian's 
first interest should be in the employees of 
the library. Again and again the state- 
ment has been made to the effect that the 
"work of getting the right book to the 
right person falls upon the desk assistant 
chiefly," but as almost all of the employees 
of a library are desk assistants at some 
time during each day, it follows that all 
of the employees bear almost equal 
responsibility. 

It would seem that the selection of 
books for the library should have first at- 
tention, but books are easy of selection 
compared to employees, and easily dis- 
posed of if not found to be useful, while 
the assistant must be carefully placed in 
the department for which she is the best 
fitted. For taking all of the valuable 
characteristics of all of the assistants into 
consideration, there are to be found as 
many grades of value as there are books 
in the library. To be able to do the sub- 
ject of "the library assistant" justice, the 
writer should have a very thorough knowl- 
edge of human nature, a knowledge gen- 
erally possessed by successful teachers 
and sociological workers, but not often by 
the librarian. Such knowledge comes 
from a kind of experience not easily ob- 
tained by a librarian. It is more to a li- 
brarian's credit to know thoroughly the 
members of the staff and consequently be 



just to all than it is to have succeeded with 
any other one piece of work, because per- 
fect justice toward employees will produce 
the best work for the library. 

While the actual work of getting the 
right book to the right person may fall 
chiefly upon the desk assistant, the man- 
ner in which this is done emanates from 
those who decide the policy of the library. 
If those who are at^the head of affairs have 
forgotten or have never realized that the 
library exists for the people, and that it Is 
maintained at public expense for that pur- 
pose, and because of this lack of knowl- 
edge maintain an 'attitude of arrogance to- 
ward the people, the assistants will do the 
same. It is true that an indifferent and 
unsympathetic librarian cannot always 
prevent a capable and efficient assistant 
from doing her work well, yet the lack of 
efficiency at the head will often dis- 
courage capable assistants and will never 
better the work of poor ones. 

In a library of medium size having thirty 
employees or less it is a comparatively 
easy matter for the librarian to keep in 
close touch with the work of the members 
of the staff and by personal effort main- 
tain a definite standard, while in a large 
library this duty must of necessity be de- 
tailed to others. But whatever the means 
adopted, every library must have a definite 
standard of efficiency which bears directly 
upon the service to the public and al- 
though a full knowledge of the technical 
details of the work of the library are with- 
out question necessary, a proper knowl- 
edge of the right attitude toward the pub- 
lic is a greater necessity and should re- 
ceive from the librarian much greater em- 
phasis than the technical side. 

The characteristic most to be desired in 
a library employee, in no matter what 
position, is that of the self-disciplined and 
well trained servant who understands the 
rights of others and what they should ex- 
pect of him in his position, and who at- 
tempts to respond to this demand. These 
characteristics, if they exist, are inherent 
but may be more fully developed by ex- 
perience. 



140 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



It may be well to try to outline in a gen- 
eral way what should be expected of the 
occupants of some of the important posi- 
tions in a library, for the final outcome of 
the work will depend upon the librarian's 
ability to discriminate in the selection of 
the right persons to fill these positions. 
For the children's librarian, the first re- 
quirement is a knowledge of children and 
the ability to feel and show sympathy and 
affection without being sentimental. Many 
attractions may be introduced into the 
children's department but the vital things 
are to know the children "and the books. 
A mistake in the appointment to this posi- 
tion might be more nearly fatal than a 
mistake in any one of the other depart- 
ments, for the ability of the children's li- 
brarian to discern intelligently those qual- 
ities in a book which are right for the child 
may permanently settle that child's taste 
in literature. The future well being of the 
library often depends upon the wise 
choice of the children's librarian. 

A knowledge and love of people may 
also be put as the first requisite for the 
head of the circulation department, ex- 
tending not only to the people who are 
generally called "the public" but also to 
the employees of the library. This posi- 
tion may well be considered the most im- 
portant in the library, next to the librarian 
and assistant, for from this source the 
other employees will instinctively acquire 
the standard for their treatment of the 
public and obtain their ideas of what is 
the amount of knowledge of books which 
should be expected of a desk assistant. 
The personality of the head of the circu- 
lation department and her ability to be 
helpful and to teach those in her depart- 
ment to be helpful, can do more toward 
increasing the usefulness of a library than 
any other one characteristic. The em- 
ployee given to much detail is not gen- 
erally a success here. Rather that em- 
ployee who, by strength of personality, 
leads others to do good work, is the best. 
The head of the circulation department 
has the best opportunity of any one in the 



library for making a direct path from the 
borrower to the book. 

Scholarship, without question, must be 
considered the first requirement for the re- 
ference librarian, and if the public is to 
learn to have confidence in the library as 
an educational institution, no mistake 
must be made here. But the scholarship 
must always be allied with the desire to 
do service. 

Frequently the cataloger appears to the 
other members of the staff to be so far 
removed from direct contact with people 
that it is assumed she cannot intelligently 
know what the public wants. Except in 
very rare instances this is a mistake, as 
has been proved by some of our great 
catalogs, the makers of which probably 
rarely waited upon the public. It is the 
ability to put oneself in the place of the 
questioner, to have a sympathetic interest 
in the people, that counts, and also to re- 
alize seriously that only by means of the 
catalog can the public have a true knowl- 
edge of what is in the library. 

The same general rules may be followed 
all through the library. Different positions 
require different qualifications and it rests 
with the librarian to see that the employee 
fits the position. If this is not done it will 
make little difference how good the collec- 
tion of books may be, the contents of the 
library will not reach the public in a direct 
way. The library is what the librarian and 
assistants make it by their intelligent use 
of the material supplied. 

This may all seem very commonplace. 
If it is, then why have we not profited 
more by what we already know? It must 
be granted that many libraries inherit em- 
ployees who are not particularly well fitted 
for the place they are expected to fill. The 
only thing to do in this case is to put them 
where they will do the least harm. We 
cannot expect to maintain an all star cast, 
but by studying carefully the people in the 
employ of the library the librarian can 
generally so manipulate things that event- 
ually the right person will be in the right 
place. 
The program makers asked to have dis- 



TOBITT 



HI 



cussed "the ability to discern quality and 
essentials in books." For this we must 
have first the student and careful reader 
who, through the study of various subjects 
is able to judge the literature of those sub- 
jects. It cannot reasonably be expected 
that library employees will be able to have 
a first hand knowledge of all classes of 
literature, but all employees may become 
reasonably familiar with the names of the 
best writers on many subjects and the 
character of their work. It is by means of 
the various literary tools provided and the 
ability to acquire a more general knowl- 
edge of many subjects by much reading 
that the library employee increases in 
value. In this particular part of the work 
the library assistant gains more by much 
reading than she does by experience. 

It is not my duty to discuss the kind or 
the extent of the education possessed by 
those who become library employees. We 
all agree that this should be the broadest 
and the most general possible with em- 
phasis placed on literature and history. 
Most of our assistants enter the library 
training classes at the close of a high 
school course, and, generally speaking, 
librarians do not expect more than this be- 
cause the salaries which are offered will 
not attract people of higher education. 
Therefore, if an assistant is to learn to dis- 
cern quality and essentials in books some 
provision should be made by which this 
knowledge may be acquired in the library 
after entering as an employee. Just as 
the librarian is responsible for the attitude 
of the assistants toward the public so are 
the librarian and heads of departments re- 
sponsible for the growth of the efficiency 
of the employees in this particular phase 
of library work. 

A standard of efficiency must be main- 
tained along this line of education as well 
as personal treatment of the public, there- 
fore it is impossible to emphasize too 
strongly the necessity of continuing the 
education of the library employees after 
finishing the work of the training class 
and after having become an employee of 
the library. It can scarcely be considered 



advisable to attempt to give much practice 
work in all departments to all employees 
but it should be one of the requirements of 
the library that provision be made 
whereby all of the employees in a depart- 
ment shall learn to know the general 
character and the value of most of the 
books in that department. 

From the library periodicals of England 
one may gather that there is some rather 
severe criticism of the assistants in li- 
braries, the general feeling being that a 
lack of efficiency deprives the public of 
their proper share of service. I should 
like to quote from a paper by Mr. John 
Bar, which appeared in the Library world 
(vol. 13). 

"If the library would only adopt a policy 
whereby a guarantee could be had that the 
assistants in the library would be taught 
their profession in a thorough manner, I 
am positive that the now prevalent lament 
regarding the apathy and carelessness of 
assistants would be reduced to a vanishing 
point, because from observation, I believe 
that the assistant is the product of his en- 
vironment; he is what the conditions in 
the library make him. The policy of the 
library should be to provide the staff with 
every opportunity for improvement in gen- 
eral, literary, and technical knowledge. In 
order to meet the first part of the proposal, 
the time of the staff should be so arranged 
as to allow a reasonable portion for private 
study as well as recreation. And in order 
to fulfil the latter part that relating to 
technical knowledge the work of the li- 
brary should be so organized as to ensure 
that every assistant shall, in a series of 
progressive steps, obtain an adequate and 
thorough knowledge of all the practical de- 
tails of librarianship." 

The people of America cannot offer quite 
as severe criticism of their library em- 
ployees as this would imply has been of- 
fered in England, but the suggestions re- 
garding further education after entering 
the library, are such as we might well 
follow. 

The second item suggested by the pro- 
gram makers reads "the power to give in- 



142 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



formation rather than advice." This nat- 
urally would come through the ability of 
the employee to eliminate his own opinion 
and to put forward instead the opinions of 
those who are qualified to know. Here 
again the employee may, by much reading, 
become more efficient. There is nothing 
so offensive to patrons of a free institution 
as to have unsolicited opinions and advice 
offered by employees. And yet this is a 
characteristic of the new employee and is 
prompted not by conceit but by a desire to 
be helpful and to please. The best way to 
be helpful in a library, as elsewhere, is to 
help people to help themselves. In this as 
in all of the work of the library the stand- 
ard must be that established by those 
highest in authority, and ways and 
methods must be put forward whereby the 
assistant may know what plan she is to 
follow. 

The ability to be helpful comes by much 
experience, both personal experience and 
the experience of others. To quote, "ex- 
perience is the force which makes life pos- 
sible . . . and books alone give per- 
manence to the facts of experience." 
Therefore to busy people in need of the 
experiences of others, the greatest help 
comes by much reading. 

We may attempt in every way possible 
to make general rules governing the ef- 
ficiency of the library staff, and attempt 
to maintain certain definite standards, 
both for the sake of the public and in 
order to keep down the expense of main- 
tenance, but with all this we shall never 
be able to reach a perfect system, partly 
because many employees give promise of 
much, but soon reach the limit of their 
capacity and cease to grow, and also be- 
cause of the frequent unavoidable changes. 

There is some variance in the minds of 
librarians regarding the place of the li- 
brary in a city, but without discussion we 
must all agree that first of all the free 
public library is a collection of books 
maintained for the use of the public. In 
order that these books may be available 
the employees must not only give efficient 



service, but they must also have a clear 
understanding of the public. 

It has been said many times that a few 
books in the hands of an intelligent and 
discriminating employee are of greater 
value than a large collection poorly han- 
dled. The employees constitute the medium 
by which the books reach the public and 
it rests with the buyer, the cataloger, the 
desk assistant, the reference librarian, and 
the children's librarian to see that these 
get into the hands of the right people at 
the right time. It is here that the careful 
discrimination of the librarian and assist- 
ants is necessary. 

The average library is much too large to 
be well used by the public and the em- 
ployees of the library. In most libraries of 
100,000 volumes there are possibly not 
more than 10,000 which are of real value. 
If the employees could know the authors, 
titles, and something of the contents of 
most of these it is quite as much as may 
be expected. If the assistant comes to the 
library with a reasonably good education 
and something of a desire to add to what 
she has, and will read regularly of books 
which are of general interest there is no 
reason why she should not learn to dis- 
criminate quite as carefully in the selec- 
tion of books for the individual borrower 
as the assistant who has made a special 
study of the criticism of literature. 

No mention has been made of require- 
ments for special positions in a library. 
This can only be settled after the em- 
ployee has shown some fitness for spe- 
cial work. As the library is what the li- 
brarian and assistants make it, it rests 
with the librarian and those in the highest 
positions in the library to decide definitely 
on a policy, the result of which shall be 
prompt and efficient service from the time 
of the purchase of the books to their final 
distribution into the hands of the people. 

The CHAIRMAN: Next upon the pro- 
gram occurs the paper, "The efficiency 
of the library staff and scientific manage- 
ment," by ADAM STROHM, assistant li- 
brarian Detroit public library. 



STROHM 



143 



THE EFFICIENCY OF THE LIBRARY 

STAFF AND SCIENTIFIC 

MANAGEMENT 

In conversing one day with the super- 
intendent of one of our local industries 
where the library is maintaining a station, 
I learned something of the many provi- 
sions devised by the welfare department 
of the organization as conducted by the 
social secretaries of the company. From 
my tour of inspection I have a vivid recol- 
lection of attractive dining rooms, an in- 
door gymnasium with an up-to-date swim- 
ming pool, office or laboratory for a med- 
ical attendant to administer first aid and 
attend to accidents of more or less seri- 
ous nature, architectural plans, free of 
charge, for prospective home builders, a 
well selected book collection of popular 
and technical character, presided over by 
a representative of the public library, 
which institution also arranges for bi- 
weekly noon lectures on popular and in- 
structive topics. On my commending the 
humanitarian spirit animating the man- 
agement of the company the prompt re- 
sponse came: "That element enters only 
as incidental in our policy. It is all a 
matter of business. We must hold our 
organization intact. It is important to. 
retain our skilled workmen and we must 
make it worth their while to remain with 
us." 

If it has been found to be good policy 
to provide for the contentment and wel- 
fare of the human units in an organiza- 
tion where, after all, a large part of the 
day's work is rather mechanical and of 
fixed standards, how vastly more impor- 
tant it must be to give a close, generous 
consideration to the happiness and com- 
fort of the personnel in a library system 
where the personal service is of par- 
amount importance, where the physical 
and mental vitality is under constant pres- 
sure, where improvement in the day's 
work is always exacted and where the re- 
sult yielded to the individual effort is un- 
certain and often undemonstrable. 

In the case of library service, humani- 
tarian regard should weigh equally with 



considerations of statistics and output, in- 
asmuch as library work is a service for 
humanity and its welfare. Those entrusted 
with the management of libraries may 
well remember the maxim that "as we do 
we teach," which, applied to library condi- 
tions, may lead us to conclude that what- 
soever is done to promote the happiness 
and best instincts of the rank and file 
in a library organization, will result di- 
rectly in instilling in the public service, 
rendered by them, a spirit of sympathy, 
ready regard of the rights and needs of 
the public and an eagerness to serve loy- 
ally. Any library management conceived 
and executed in this spirit may be de- 
pended upon for achievements in what 
is really library economy. 

I'll endeavor to formulate some sug- 
gestions toward effecting such results and 
I can harbor but feelings of satisfaction, 
should I be advised later that they have 
already been practically realized in some 
institutions. 

The question of how to maintain and 
increase the efficiency of the staff might 
well be approached from two angles, the 
physical and the mental conservation of 
forces. 

Dr. Luther H. Gulick makes the state- 
ment, that "there are conditions for each 
individual under which he can do the 
most and the best work. It is the busi- 
ness of those in charge of others to ascer- 
tain these conditions and to comply with 
them." 

We hear so much in our day about scien- 
tific management that we may be led to 
begin inquiring skeptically if its value is 
not exaggerated in the interests of pro- 
fessional organizers, systematizers, etc. 

No working chart for computing the 
energy of a mental effort or for the in- 
crease of its productiveness has as yet 
been devised but none of us will deny 
the need of a working plan for the day's 
work. Else we drift. 

According to the new doctrine as laid 
down by Mr. H. N. Casson, "there is no 
such thing as unskilled labor, there is an 
intelligent method for every accomplish- 



144 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



ment. Scientific management does not 
mean frenzied production. On the con- 
trary, it individualizes the workman, it 
means the better ordering of the work 
for the best interests of both individual 
and the service. Consequently, it provides 
for recreation as well as for work. It in- 
sists that the individual shall not sag so 
far down at the end of the day's work 
that he will not recuperate." This con- 
cerns not only expended energy but mis- 
directed energy. 

The day's schedule should be so arranged 
that work requiring the highest mental 
effort be assigned to the most fruitful 
hours of the individual, the work so dis- 
tributed that each individual performs the 
task he can best do and is most worthy 
of his highest skill. 

Pride in the work under your hand, the 
sense of doing something worth while, gen- 
erates the spirit of loyalty and happiness 
which reckons, not so much with the writ- 
ten library regulations, as with the un- 
written law of the service to stand by 
cheerfully as long as needed. 

During the recent years I spent in the 
East, it was my privilege to become in- 
timately acquainted with one of the most 
distinguished engineers our country pro- 
duced during the last half-century. One 
day when I had occasion to call upon this 
gentleman, I was directed to proceed 
from his office to one of the noisiest de- 
partments of his extensive mills. There 
I finally located him seated on an anvil, 
watching taciturnly the moving throng of 
busy mechanics. I learned afterwards that 
the lifelong habit of this philosophic en- 
gineer was to emerge from his secluded 
office and enter the quarters where the 
"wheels turn around." There he would 
in his quiet manner ask shrewd questions 
and enter into conversation with any one 
whose task or skill attracted him. It is 
on behalf of the rank and file in the li- 
brary world that I draw upon this recol- 
lection of an industrial organization noted 
for its resources and efficiency. Invite 
the confidence of every member of the 
staff, welcome suggestions, allow your as- 



sistants to voice the conclusions their ex- 
perience and service bring home to them, 
listen with sympathy to suggestions 
prompted by loyalty and daily pondering. 
There are times when we may well forget 
our official gradings, when it will prove 
profitable to learn from the members of 
the crew how our theories stand the test. 

The question of hours, salaries and va- 
cations can be answered only in a general 
way. The gauge by which we examine the 
running of the human machinery entrusted 
to us should be read with sympathy, and 
we should set a pace that we can hold 
the entire day or the working period of 
a normal life. Speaking for our own in- 
stitution, we adhere to the 42-hour weekly 
schedule with provision for a weekly half- 
holiday. Evening work should certainly 
never exceed the number three in any one 
week and personally I'm leaning toward 
the more desirable two evenings a week. 
Where a special evening force is employed 
the recommendation of course, does not 
apply. 

The restroom and the kitchenette are 
now so generally established as to be 
past the stage of argument. These rest- 
rooms should be well equipped and no 
niggardly considerations should stand in 
the way of making them neat, airy and 
inviting in order to afford comfort and 
relaxation. The appearance and atmos- 
phere of the restroom should banish the 
dull sense of drudgery and evoke the gent- 
ler side of life. 

The half-holiday and vacation should be 
provided, not so much because a faithful 
servant has earned a rest, but because 
without it life means living at a low level, 
with the certain result of deadening one's 
faculties, ambition and alertness, whereas 
these should all grow with one's experi- 
ence and work. Certainly a month's vaca- 
tion in the course of a year is a minimum 
respite In any professional activity of con- 
fined nature and mental concentration. 
We must consider the weight of the state- 
ment made by Luther H. Gulick that, 
"growth is predominantly a function of 
rest and that the best work that most of 



STROHM 



145 



us do is not in our offices or at our desks, 
but when we are wandering in the 
woods, or sitting quietly with undirected 
thoughts." Those who are entrusted with 
the responsibility of supervising the daily 
toil of others should so govern that each 
individual remains "master of his own 
work and not its slave." 

Just a few words as to the rate of com- 
pensation prevailing in the library profes- 
sion today. In so far as the city of De- 
troit is concerned, the scale of wages now 
in operation and adopted some three years 
ago, was based on the salaries paid in 
the public schools which seems a fitting 
arrangement inasmuch as our public li- 
brary is an outgrowth of, and, as to ap- 
pointment of trustees, still under the con- 
trol of the Municipal Board of Education. 
The professional training and executive 
skill required in a librarian of today make 
it seem reasonable that his or her com- 
pensation should be fairly at par with the 
salaries paid in other city departments 
where professional training is among the 
requisites, such as Department of City 
Engineer, City Attorney, Municipal Mus- 
eum, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Principal of a High School, etc. Our sal- 
ary schedule based upon the schedule ap- 
plying to principals and teachers in our 
local public schools operates in parts as 
follows: 

Heads of departments to receive the 
same pay as principals of eight 
room schools. 

Branch librarians to receive the same 
pay as principals of seven room 
schools. 

First assistants to heads of depart- 
ments to receive a salary corre- 
sponding with that of assistants to 
principals of schools. In the same 
manner the schedule applies to the 
rank and file, promotions being 
given semi-annually, based on sen- 
iority and service record. 
That this regulation would apply satis- 
factorily in other municipalities is ques- 
tionable, as may be deduced from a state- 
ment made by one congressman, who, in 



discussing the salaries paid the school 
teachers in the city of Washington re- 
marked with blunt sympathy that "the 
policemen were paid more to crash the 
skulls of the children in Washington than 
the teachers were paid for putting some- 
thing into them." 

To maintain the efficiency of the library 
staff it is necessary not only to consider 
the welfare of the individual during his 
working hours but to provide such material 
regard for his day's toil that his vitality 
and enjoyment of life may be conserved 
by having the means to afford the neces- 
sary comfort and social status consistent 
with our profession. 

To consider the importance of personal 
appearance, neatness in dress in our serv- 
ice with the public is simply to recognize 
the point of view of the library patron 
whose opinion is worth while, and how 
are we to exact this showing of "fine front" 
if we do not defray the cost thereof? 

It is difficult, if not physiologically un- 
sound, to speak about the mental con- 
servation of the library staff apart from 
its physical maintenance, but in consider- 
ing the former I would invite" your atten- 
tion to what Mr. P. W. Goldsbury so aptly 
calls "the recreation through the senses." 
Mr. Goldsbury remarks, "the importance 
of our understanding, the wide range of 
the functions of our senses, the influence 
of our surroundings and the manner in 
which they re-act on our minds." He il- 
lustrates his point by quoting the saying 
that "for horses the hardest road out of 
London is the most level one. There are 
no hills to climb and descend, and the 
tired horse has no chance to rest one set 
of muscles while another works. Monot- 
ony produces fatigue; and because this 
particular road is one dead, monotonous 
level, more horses give out on it than on 
any other road leading out of London." 
Irresistibly the moral of the canvas be- 
fore us breaks in upon our individual 
sense of self-preservation and our respon- 
sibility for the welfare of others. For 
economic as well as for humanitarian 
reasons it behooves us to so apportion the 



146 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



day's work that one's senses are exercised 
one after another and through interchange 
of duties and tasks, not only one's body 
but one's mind is given a variety of exer- 
cise and impressions. The rotation of 
duties every two hours in departments 
where direct service with the public is 
given, will, I believe, be found to afford 
some relaxation and wholesome change 
to attendants on duty, especially so, if the 
change afford the alternative of station- 
ary position and moving about. 

We all know how one's mind, spirit, aye, 
even nerves are affected by objects within 
our vision, the feeling of depression that 
benumbs us when our eyes rest on dingy 
colors and ugly outlines, when we dwell in 
gloomy quarters or poorly ventilated 
rooms. Architects and librarians will find 
that the efficiency of the human machinery 
housed within the library walls will be 
maintained at its best if beautiful effects 
in color and design of interior decorations 
are features of the library equipment, if 
daylight is abundant, furnishings tasteful, 
atmospheric conditions invigorating let 
us sometimes have even the fragrance 
and color-play of flowers. The capacity 
of our senses for higher development is 
nourished by the stimulus from the out- 
side world which brings to us, often un- 
consciously, mental and physical refresh- 
ment and recreation. The occasional re- 
laxation in the day's work contributes to a 
reasonable mental and physical balance, 
even the occasional conversation during 
working hours may well be tolerated, cer- 
tainly any undue restriction thereof will 
do more harm than good. 

I trust that in siding with the authority 
just quoted and submitting to you these 
considerations I will not be charged with 
implying that "work is to take secondary 
place." To the contrary: it is by con- 
sideration of the little things, by modu- 
lating adverse factors, by dealing in a 
common sense manner with the conditions 
surrounding our physical and mental field 
of daily toil, that we may be able to re- 
store the energy that we expend and not 
only maintain, but increase, our efficiency. 



Our stock in trade, our best assets in 
library work are the joy of the work and 
the happiness of the individual. The re- 
sponse from each one of us to the call for 
ever more faithful and efficient service 
will come with a hearty good will if our 
strength be protected our altruistic vis- 
ions given time and leisure to go wool- 
gathering. 

The CHAIRMAN: It is well known to 
all of us that the Province of Ontario 
has done notable library work in recent 
years. Under the guidance of a corps of 
educational and library officials this work 
has been stimulated and intensified. A 
great aid too in the work has been the 
Ontario library association, with a mem- 
bership, organization, meetings and com- 
mittee work that correspond favorably 
with any other library organization any- 
where. The conference has not up to 
this moment had an opportunity to hear 
in an official way from the Ontario library 
association, which must of course be 
numbered among the hosts of this meet- 
ing. Dr. C. R. Charteris, its president, is 
in the room, and the chair is very cer- 
tain that the conference will not be con- 
tent without a few words of greeting from 
the president of the Ontario library asso- 
ciation. 

Dr. Charteris expressed pleasure at 
bringing greetings from the Ontario li- 
brary association, saying they were 
backed by about one hundred representa- 
tives from the province. He was sure 
that all, whether trustees or librarians 
would return home with renewed energy 
and endeavor to increase interest in li- 
brary work. 

The CHAIRMAN: As this point, la- 
dies and gentlemen, the program natur- 
ally divides, and we are brought to that 
portion of it prepared by the Professional 
training section of the association. The 
gavel will be turned over to the chairman 
of that section, Mr. Matthew S. Dudgeon, 
secretary of the Wisconsin free library 
commission. 

(Mr. Dudgeon takes the chair.) 

The CHAIRMAN: Those of us who 



HADLEY 



147 



are interested directly in library schools, 
as well as those of you who are more in- 
directly, but none the less vitally, inter- 
ested in library schools, feel that we are 
fortunate that the next subject, "What 
library schools can do for the profession," 
should be presented by a man who has 
not only seen the inside of library schools 
as a student, but also, as secretary of a 
state commission, as secretary of the 
American Library Association, and as li- 
brarian of a public library, has seen the 
needs of the library and has seen what 
the capacities of the library school grad- 
uate are to meet those needs. I will 
call upon, but not introduce, Mr. CHAL- 
MERS HADLEY, librarian of the Denver 
public library. 

WHAT LIBRARY SCHOOLS CAN DO 
FOR THE PROFESSION 

For nearly thirty years an invigorating 
influence has come to library work through 
the library schools. During that time hun- 
dreds of young men and women, selected 
for personal and educational qualifications, 
have been given training in the mechanics 
of library work and have been placed in 
touch with the best library thought. As 
a result, fewer libraries have been con- 
verted intc laboratories for experimental 
work in technique. 

The library schools have been commended 
repeatedly by this association and their 
services are too obvious for comment. In 
considering, however, what they can do 
for the profession today, we shall assume 
the role of the devil's advocate and en- 
deavor to point out how they may serve 
more fully in what they are doing and 
what they should do that perhaps is not 
being done. In the time available we 
can do little more than summarize. 

The first library school was founded and 
conducted in connection with a university 
library and for several years at least, its 
curriculum showed the strong influence of 
university demands. The curricula of the 
later schools have been modified some- 
what, but changes have been unimportant 
as compared to the traditions retained. 



These were carried from the pioneer school 
to those established later with certain gen- 
eral basic principles which doubtless al- 
ways will be kept. 

For several years a feeling has been 
sensed, although vaguely expressed that 
changes and modifications in library school 
courses were needed. There have been 
convictions that the schools were not as 
closely in touch with certain growing activ- 
ities in library work as libraries themselves 
were with growing demands and new fields 
open to them. These convictions have 
been most pronounced in the schools 
themselves. As stated by one library 
school director, "In some way, the li- 
brary school should train its students to 
meet the vital demands that humanity 
makes upon all who come regularly in 
communication with people." The aim of 
the school seems more clearly realized 
than the means of attaining it, but ef- 
forts are seen in the shifts and changes 
in curricula. In preparing its students 
to meet the vital demands that humanity 
will make, it is evident the schools have 
concluded this can best be done by ad- 
ditions rather than eliminations from 
courses of study. The training conducted 
by the oldest school began with a three 
months' course which in the second year 
was increased to seven months and then 
to two years. Another school, typical of 
several, has never increased the time pe- 
riod over one year, but has so increased 
the work required that in eight and one- 
half months, including vacations and holi- 
days, instruction and examinations are 
given in forty-three subjects, a minimum 
of three hundred and seventy-seven hours 
of practice work is required, and a trip of 
six hundred miles in ten days is taken 
when some fifteen to twenty libraries are 
inspected and reported on. 

In these crowded courses of study, the 
schools should be expected by the pro- 
fession to prevent its ideals from being 
smothered in the stress of technical work. 
The usual incentive to enter library work 
comes from a love of books but this love 
will avail little if it be unaccompanied by 



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OTTAWA^CONFERENCE 



a consuming desire that the community 
also share it. Generalities and pseudo- 
sentiment concerning ideals have invited 
ridicule, but no librarian, however reticent 
or how unrecognized his actuating prin- 
ciples may be, can carry on his work suc- 
cessfully without following the vision 
which vitalizes his professional life. From 
1876 to the present day, this association 
has cherished its aims and our schools can 
do no greater service than imparting those 
guiding principles that the means of work 
may not become the end. 

No institution can create qualities lack- 
ing in a student and library schools will 
concern themselves mainly with the me- 
chanics of library work, which is most 
difficult to obtain elsewhere. But this 
instruction may either strengthen or 
weaken indispensable qualities for libra- 
rianship and the profession reasonably can 
expect the schools to foster such. Three 
related qualities which should be devel- 
oped in prospective librarians are: a sense 
of proportion in library work, initiative 
and judgment 

When we consider the importance of a 
proper sense of proportion, should we not 
congratulate ourselves that the schools 
are devoting less attention to a particular 
handwriting and other incidentals, the in- 
sistence on which always seemed to be- 
little the dignity of a great work. Legi- 
bility in a medical prescription is more 
important than on a catalog card, but 
medical colleges and library schools alike 
can concentrate their strength on more 
vital needs. 

In expecting the schools to develop 
initiative and good judgment in a student, 
it is not suggested that students be en- 
couraged to attempt changes in systems 
of classification, cataloging and other tech- 
nical processes which have been perfected 
by the best library thought of two genera- 
tions. In such a course as book selec- 
tion, however, after general principles are 
presented, cannot students be thrown more 
fully on their own judgment and their prac- 
tice work be confined to evaluating current 
publications? Their conclusions could then 



be verified by comparison with selections 
in the order department. A year's work 
confined to sitting in judgment on books 
from five to fifty years old, when these 
books are known to be desirable through 
their presence on the shelves, deadens in- 
itiative and judgment and makes routine 
of what should be one of the refreshing 
pleasures of the work. 

One of the profession's needs today is 
more men men whose abilities would 
qualify them for the highest positions in 
any work, and these the library schools 
should attract. While many of the most 
useful and talented library workers are 
women, the fact remains that the demand 
for good men far exceeds the supply, yet 
we find an astonishing shortage in the 
schools. Even the school most largely at- 
tended by men, reports a decrease since 
the year 1903. More than one school has 
attracted so few that the presence of a 
man is noteworthy and there seem to be 
schools connected with universities where 
hundreds of young men are preparing for 
professional life, that have yet to enroll 
one man student. 

Should we not expect the schools to 
supply more men? Can they not co-operate 
with the American library association in 
presenting the claims and rewards of li- 
brarianship to young men in the universi- 
ties? Not only would such presentations 
interest both men and women, but they 
would help to dispel many existing me- 
diaeval conceptions of library work which 
still survive. Our shortage in men can- 
not be due entirely to the financial re- 
turns in library work. The average sal- 
ary of men in that work exceeds the aver- 
age in several crowded professions, and 
yet our greatest rewards are not in money 
returns. Men may regard the school 
courses simply as means to an end, and 
if so, perhaps the means could be made 
to appeal more strongly to men. It is rash 
in these days to compare attributes of 
the masculine and feminine mind, but 
may we venture to say women, as a rule, 
have more patience and enjoyment than 
men in work requiring sustained atten- 



HADLEY 



149 



tion to details. Do not library school 
courses, as now arranged, appeal largely 
to the house-wifely instincts and cannot 
courses be devised for men who never in- 
tend to fill library positions where the 
exercise of these instincts will ever play 
so important a part in their work as will 
problems of administration and questions 
of library policy. We shall admit that 
all students should have sufficient training 
in cataloging for instance, to know good 
or poor cataloging when met with. But 
personally I fail to see why a man des- 
tined for administrative work should neces- 
sarily have to do expert cataloging in 
order to appreciate it, any more than he 
would first have to write a book before his 
judgment in book selection for his library 
could be relied on. 

During the last ten years the library has 
undergone phenomenal development in its 
relations with other educational and so- 
cial forces. Today we must co-operate 
not only with the public school, but with 
the social settlement, the juvenile court, 
and various other special municipal activi- 
ties. The profession should expect the 
schools to provide their students with a 
working knowledge of what the relations 
of a library to these activities should be, 
what methods employed bring best results 
and what some of the problems and possi- 
bilities are from such relations. And most 
important of all, the schools should be 
expected to provide candidates for library 
work with a proper appreciation at least 
of the importance of the library's public 
relations in general. No mastery of tech- 
nique or high endeavor greatly avails if 
the library's public relations be not han- 
dled intelligently and skillfully. Rules 
and regulations are but the written creeds 
of institutions in the details of loaning 
books, but back of all of them are the 
great unwritten laws and principles of 
procedure, more important than all the 
printed regulations in existence. Great 
policies in public relations are being tried 
and tested today and light on them should 
be focused through the schools so pros- 
pective librarians can see ahead more 



clearly. Questions of relations with the 
public are confronting all who, in the 
words quoted before, have to meet the 
vital demands that come through constant 
communication with people. In the Public 
service magazine of April, 1912, under the 
heading "Public relations the vital prob- 
lem," the following is taken from the presi- 
dent's address before the Illinois Associa- 
tion of Gas Manufacturers: 

"Slowly probably, but surely, the ma- 
jority of owners and operators of public 
utilities are coming to the realization that 
the most important, the most vital sub- 
ject with which they have to deal in the 
management of their properties today, is 
that of public relations. It used to be 
that the man who could put the most gas 
in the holders at the lowest cost, or could 
generate the most power at the electric 
or street car plant, was the most impor- 
tant in the whole organization. 

"It is different now. The basis of organi- 
zation has changed and the man who has 
made a study of public relations the man 
who can create and conserve the public 
good will is given the reins of control." 

But should a man wish to make a par- 
ticular study of the library's public rela- 
tions before he is compelled to assume 
the responsibilities accompanying them, 
he may have difficulty. One school makes 
provision for special students, but on ac- 
count of the extra work each additional 
student makes on the faculty, it is often 
impossible to enter. Admission depends 
on available desk room and on condition 
that the regular classes are not so large 
as to occupy the entire time of the faculty. 

The theory at present seems to be, 
give every student a little of everything 
he may need, as the process of forgetting 
what he will not use is easier than the 
work of acquiring it should he need it. 
We therefore see men destined for con- 
trol of large libraries, women planning for 
positions as catalogers in university libra- 
ries, candidates for small public institu- 
tions, those who will specialize in biblio- 
graphical work all of them differing in 
natural inclinations, special preliminary 



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OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



training and professional aims in library 
life, being introduced to forty-three phases 
of library work, with instruction in all 
of them varying from 2 to 101 hours, ac- 
cording to the subject, with at least 377 
hours of practice work and a library trip 
through all of which the student emerges 
in eight and one-half months, possibly 
somewhat bewildered by the process but 
groping for the ladder up which he is 
determined to climb. 

Cannot the schools do the greatest serv- 
ice to the student and to the profession 
by abandoning the plan of putting all stu- 
dents through the same square hole? In- 
stead of giving a little of everything, can- 
not the school give much of what the stu- 
dent will use and nothing of what he can 
dispense with or what can be got easily 
outside of the school? Cannot the courses 
be simplified somewhat to permit this? 
Entrance examinations are conducted early 
in June for admission to the school in Sep- 
tember. Cannot a study of the history of 
libraries, the history of books and print- 
ing, the reading of library literature on 
publishing houses and other non-technical 
work be required of the student during the 
intervening three months? The literature 
would gladly be provided by libraries over 
the country and the three months' reading 
and intelligent observation in the library 
by the student before beginning his tech- 
nical training would be advantageous. 
Three months' acquaintance and observa- 
tion of the student by the librarian would 
make his recommendations valuable to 
the school. 

But school courses as at present out- 
lined cannot be made sufficiently flexible 
to provide specific training for specific 
work. Therefore, cannot the schools di- 
vide the instructional field between them 
and concentrate their individual efforts on 
special lines. This division of work is 
done most successfully by libraries in large 
cities. 

Such a division would have several ad- 
vantages. A man loving responsibility and 
the management of affairs could secure a 
maximum of definite training for admin- 



istrative work and a minimum of work 
less important in his professional career. 
A woman under appointment as head of a 
small public library, would receive a max- 
imum of training for this work and a min- 
imum in the methods and features of work 
in a college library. One of promise as 
a cataloger would receive a maximum of 
technical training made possible through 
a minimum of time and effort required in 
studying the problems of a children's li- 
brarian. 

The objection can be raised that neither 
the school nor the student can determine 
his future work and therefore a minimum 
number of hours in as many as forty- 
three subjects is preferable as a founda- 
tion. But in these general courses as out- 
lined today, there is a great preponderance 
of work in certain lines. In speaking of 
the time devoted to cataloging, one school 
director said, "There is, however, much 
reason for this, as a large number of the 
graduates become catalogers and many 
others enter positions where a knowledge 
of cataloging is essential." 

We shall agree that an expert knowl- 
edge of cataloging is essential in many 
positions, but has not the large number 
of graduates from this school who have 
become catalogers, been due partly at least 
to the fact that twice the time in school 
was devoted to this work than to any 
other, the aggregate equaling the com- 
bined hours of seventeen other branches. 

The fact that one's special training 
largely determines one's field of work, is 
seen in another library school where a 
maximum of children's work is made pos- 
sible by a minimum in some other depart- 
ments. The result is that of the 148 grad- 
uates of this school, 107 were, last year, 
engaged in children's work, principally as 
heads of departments. The remaining 41 
graduates were represented in other fields 
of library work. 

The division of the field between the 
various schools would have another ad- 
vantage of the student. At present, a 
school's geographical location, or its en- 
trance requirements largely decides a stu- 



BRETT 



151 



dent in selecting a school. But would it 
not be better if the student's selection 
were based on what the school could offer 
in special lines of work. 

It may be thought that a prospective stu- 
dent lacks the self-knowledge to determine 
his qualifications for special work. Many 
students have and more should have li- 
brary experience before schools are en- 
tered and these will know their intentions 
and qualifications. Even if an occasional 
mistake were made, the student still would 
have instruction in the various lines of 
library work. 

In the school referred to before, the 41 
graduates who are not filling positions for 
which special training was given, are suc- 
cessfully occupying positions of honor and 
responsibility in other library fields. 

Again, the law of supply and demand 
makes no exception to library work, and 
with a division of the field, a student could 
receive the fullest training in the work 
for which there was the greatest demand. 

In conclusion, the profession should not 
expect the schools to turn out finished 
products. Librarianship is not merely a 
process. It is also a habit of mind an 
attitude towards public affairs which seeks 
activity through the medium of books. 
But in inculcating the principles toward 
this attitude, the profession must rely and 
can rely with confidence on the schools. 

The CHAIRMAN: The paper just present- 
ed, and other phases of the subject, will be 
discussed by Mr. William H. Brett of the 
Cleveland public library. 

Mr. BRETT: My good friend Mr. Hadley 
has stated so clearly the problems, the pur- 
poses and the difficulties of the library 
school, and I am so heartily in accord with 
so much that he has said, that I regret that 
I must differ from some of his conclusions. 
In considering these questions we must bear 
in mind that a majority of the students are 
in schools giving only a one year's course, 
and only a minority are so fortunate as to 
be able to attend the schools giving courses 
of two or more years. Now, the problem 
and the difficulty in a one year school is to 
arrange a course of study which shall be 



best for students entering school with 
widely differing preparation, some with, 
others without, library experience, and with 
differing aptitudes, abilities, ambitions and 
plans for the future. To arrange a course 
which will best meet the needs of such an 
aggregation of students is a serious prob- 
lem. 

The criticisms on the work of the schools 
in the paper, seem to be mainly, first, that 
too much of the routine work, the technical 
work, is unnecessary for those who may be 
so fortunate in the future as to fill ad- 
ministrative or other important positions, 
in which they will not need to do such work, 
and that routine work of that sort tends to 
deaden those more important things, sense 
of proportion, initiative, judgment, ability 
to deal with the larger problems of life. 
While I fully agree as to the importance of 
these things, I believe there is little occa- 
sion to fear that a solid technical course 
will lessen these qualities in any one who 
is so fortunate as to have them in any 
eminent degree. It seems to me that those 
qualities are rather the gift of God to their 
fortunate possessors than the work of the 
library schools. My own conviction is that 
whether it be had in the first year of one of 
the larger schools, or in a school giving a 
one year course, a definite, solid basis of 
technical training is an absolutely essential 
foundation for good library work. I believe 
that any specialization in library work 
should be built on such a foundation, just 
as specialization in law, in medicine and 
in the technical professions, is based on a 
general professional training. 

We should have, I think, in our library 
training, the opportunity for specializing 
when the students are ready for it, but I 
believe that whatever position one is to oc- 
cupy, whatever work in the library one may 
be fortunate enough to do, the solid, gen- 
eral training of one year in a library school 
is none too much as an introduction and 
basis. So that I believe that specialization 
in a one year course is not desirable, even 
if it were practicable, which it is not for at 
least two reasons: The time is too short 
and the expense too great. Such a sugges- 
tion reminds me of something which I 



152 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



heard President Eliot of Harvard say one* 
upon a time at a meeting of school superin- 
tendents, on the subject of enriching and 
broadening the course in grammar schools. 
He argued in a very strong and interesting 
way for greater freedom for the brighter 
child to pass along more rapidly by means 
of special instruction. It was answered in 
various ways by the school men, but to me 
the answer was very clear, namely, that 
what Harvard university, with one instruc- 
tor for eight or nine students, could do is 
not practicable in grade schools with one 
instructor for fifty students. 

So any attempt to specialize in a one year 
course would require an increase of cost 
for instruction greater than the result would 
be likely to justify. An important co-opera- 
tion has been at various times suggested 
and discussed as follows: If the courses of 
the one year schools could be so closely ap- 
proximated to the first year's work in the 
larger schools that students having com- 
pleted the one year's course might after- 
wards, if able to meet the requirements, 
complete their work, specializing, if they 
chose, in the second and third years' work 
of the larger schools, this would seem a 
perfectly feasible and desirable thing. 

Another co-operation which I think would 
be of great value might be arranged with 
the colleges if they would give credit for 
work in the library school. A large part of 
the work in the library school, such as book 
selection, the subject headings, classifica- 
tions, the use of reference books, and some 
other subjects, have a definite and high ed- 
ucational value, equal I believe, we may 
fairly say, to that of the average value of the 
college curriculum. If the college would be 
willing to give credit for a fair share of 
this work, the student might by some over- 
time work, graduate from college and from 
a library school giving one year courses, 
in four years, or by adding another year, 
from college and a two year library school. 
This would, of course, require co-operation 
through the course. In one instance such a 
co-operation has been planned and will be 
put into operation, the college proposing 
to give a credit of six-tenths of one year for 
one year's work in the library school. The 



initiative in that case oamo from the col- 
lege. It is true as we all know that we are 
trying to secure for the service a prepara- 
tion in college and in library school which 
is out of proportion to the salaries paid. 
This is the inevitable condition of a new 
profession. Adequate recognition will not 
be given to a profession until it has by long 
service demonstrated its importance, nor 
will individual members receive adequate 
salaries until they prove their efficiency. 
This is as true in the library as it is In 
business. In business salaries are usually 
based on the proven value of services al- 
ready rendered. No young man in a mer- 
cantile house is likely to receive a salary 
in 1913 larger than he has shown his ability 
to earn in 1912. In other words, the man 
or the woman who grows in business rela- 
tions must keep the work ahead of the sal- 
ary. Keep the work away beyond the com- 
pensation and the compensation will fol- 
low it along even though it may not over- 
take it. 

To bring about the best results the library 
schools should co-operate with each other 
and with the colleges to bring up and main- 
tain high standards and to insist on a good, 
solid, general and technical foundation, up- 
on which specialization may be built. 

The CHAIRMAN: I am not sure but 
that there should have been a second pa- 
per, upon the subject of "What the li- 
brary schools can not do for the profes- 
sion." I wonder if it has ever occurred 
to you that a medical school confines a 
student for four years before he is per- 
mitted to go at large. I wonder if you 
have ever put to yourselves the question, 
how many medical students, in their first, 
or second, or third, or fourth year after 
graduation, you have been ready to em- 
ploy in vital matters in your own fam- 
ily. I am quite sure that were any of the 
young ladies here seeking to employ a 
lawyer in a breech of promise suit against 
any of the young men, they would not go 
to the law graduate in the first year of 
his experience. It seems to me, there- 
fore, that It Is not surprising at all that 
we do not find in the library school grad- 
uate, during the early years of his actual 



ANDERSON 



153 



work, all the business ability, the diplo- 
matic qualities and the personality, book 
knowledge and tact that we might expect. 
We cannot do everything in one year, I 
think we all agree. What we do wish to 
know, and what we welcome very defi- 
nitely, I am sure, from the standpoint 
of the schools, is that you let us know, 
in any way possible, what we can do that 
has not been done. 

The discussion will be carried on fur- 
ther by Mr. Edwin H. Anderson, of the 
New York public library. 

Mr. E. H. ANDERSON: I find myself 
in such general agreement with Mr. Had- 
ley's excellent paper that I fear I can do 
little to stir up interest by discussion. 

His point that in the first library school 
the influence of the university library was 
too marked and that university demands 
have had too much influence on the curri- 
cula of all schools, seems to me well taken. 
It is only natural that it should be so; but 
since most of the schools are now directly 
connected with, or closely related to, pub- 
lic libraries, I think their courses of in- 
struction are more and more losing the 
marks of university influence. This in- 
fluence should still hold with the schools 
connected with universities. But these 
schools, it seems to me, should frankly 
specialize and prepare students for uni- 
versity library work. 

Mr. Hadley very properly emphasizes 
the need for more men students in the 
schools. I am sure all the existing schools 
are glad to have as many good men as 
they can get. The difficulty seems to be 
to find enough men of the right sort who 
are sufficiently interested in library work 
to take a course of formal training for it. 
If the schools could, as Mr. Hadley sug- 
gests, cooperate with the American Li- 
brary Association in presenting the claims 
and rewards of librarianship to young men 
in the universities, I think the results 
would justify the effort. I would suggest 
therefore that the A. L. A. Committee on 
professional training consider this sugges- 
tion and arrange to act upon it as soon as 
possible. There is a crying demand for 



mor men from the schools. The only 
remedy for the present condition is to in- 
duce more men of the right sort to enter 
the schools. Mr. Hadley has suggested 
one method of accomplishing this. An- 
other and more direct method is for li- 
brarians themselves to call to the atten- 
tion of young men of the right sort the 
opportunities which the schools open to 
them for professional library work. I 
think the heads of the schools will agree 
with me when I say that in general their 
best students are those who are sent to 
them by librarians. Now if these same li- 
brarians would make a special point of 
urging upon educated young men the ad- 
vantages of the school training, both the 
schools and the profession would profit by 
it. Nothing is so effective as personal sug- 
gestion and explanation; and a librarian 
who likes his work should have little dif- 
ficulty in arousing the interest of univer- 
sity men of his acquaintance who are not 
attracted by the older professions. 

Mr. Hadley seems to think that much 
of the instruction in the schools at present 
is wasted upon one "destined" for admin- 
istrative work. The difficulty is to tell 
when a man or a woman is destined for 
work of this sort. The inclination for it 
is not always accompanied by the neces- 
sary qualifications. How are we to de- 
termine who is destined for administrative 
work and who for work of another sort? 
A student might enter a library school ex- 
pecting to prepare for administrative 
duties and find after a term's study that 
he preferred, or was better fitted for, some 
other kind of work. Personally I can say 
that few of the things I studied at the li- 
brary school have proved useless to me in 
administrative work. 

Mr. Hadley makes one suggestion which 
has often been under discussion in library 
school alumni associations, and which I 
happen to know was very seriously con- 
sidered by the faculty of one library 
school some five years ago. This sugges- 
tion is that the schools provide courses of 
instruction in general library administra- 
tion for those who look forward to admin- 



154 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



istrative positions. Most of the schools 
have lectures each year from librarians of 
various sorts of libraries large, small, 
public, university, etc., in which they are 
asked to tell in general terms how their 
libraries are administered. The question 
is, can the schools go further than this? 
Is there a science of administration which 
can be taught? The qualities needed for 
administrative work, library or other, are 
the gift of the gods, not of the schools. 
The schools can give the students a first- 
hand knowledge of the various phases of 
library work, and this is important. But 
they cannot give breadth of view to a 
mind naturally narrow; nor can they en- 
dow the student with personal force and 
poise, tact, savoir faire, sympathy, a sense 
of justice, in a word with gumption. Now 
a course of formal instruction in admin- 
istrative gumption is one that no librarian 
with any gumption would attempt to give. 
The whole school of life is devoted to this 
course, and few degrees are conferred. He 
would be a god-like instructor indeed who 
could impart to his students the gifts of 
the gods as developed and perfected by the 
great school of experience. Anything less 
than the thunders of Sinai would be an in- 
adequate introduction to such a course. 
What I am trying to emphasize is that the 
essential qualities for administrative work 
are too general and intangible to be taught 
formally in any kind of school. The 
schools cannot give their students a 
knowledge and love of books; these, for 
the most part, they must bring with them. 
Neither can they give them a knowledge of 
life. Are they not, therefore, by the very 
nature of the case, restricted to teaching 
chiefly the technique, I had almost said 
the mechanics, of library work? A knowl- 
edge of the technique is necessary to the 
administrator; but the ability to make the 
best use of this technique is a natural en- 
dowment developed by experience and en- 
vironment through the course of years. 
Have we any right to expect a library 
school to provide more than a small part 
of that experience and environment? Are 
we not asking of the library schools what 



no other profession expects from its spec- 
ial schools? Do we get our bankers from 
business colleges, or the managers and 
presidents of our railroads from schools of 
engineering? 

Some one has said that knowledge is the 
material with which wisdom builds. The 
library schools can impart a knowledge of 
library methods. They can hardly teach 
the wise use of those methods. They can 
suggest and illustrate it; but courses of 
instruction in administrative wisdom are, I 
fear, an iridescent dream. 

The CHAIRMAN: This subject is open 
to discussion if there is any one who feels 
moved to contribute to our wisdom. 

Mrs. ELMENDORF: Mr. Chairman, may 
I put in one straw from the outside world 
to show that other technical concerns are 
taking up this point of view also. One 
of the great universities is about to es- 
tablish a technical school. They have 
called to the aid of the faculty three men 
very high in the technical world, all of 
them having attained great practical suc- 
cess. Those three men have agreed in 
recommending to the faculty that they re- 
duce the technical hours in the schools, 
as compared to other technical schools, 
and devote more time to the humanities. 

Dr. BOSTWICK: May I say just a 
word from the standpoint of one who is 
interested in the product of the library 
school, as making use of that product? 
I do not think this point has been al- 
luded to at all this morning, which is my 
excuse for intruding it upon you for a mo- 
ment. 

I want to emphasize the value of li- 
brary schools as selectors, which it seems 
to me is very great, transcending even, 
perhaps, their great value as trainers. I 
know a great many persons who use li- 
brary school students, who, if they were 
asked why they preferred one library 
school to another, would say it was not 
because the training in that school was 
so much better, or because the instruc- 
tors in that school were so much better, 
but simply because they always got bet- 
ter people from that library school. Why? 
Because those persons, who exist in great 



RATHBONE 



155 



numbers, who are congenitally unfit to 
become librarians, are not allowed to get 
into such schools, and, if they do, they 
are not allowed to graduate. Conse- 
quently, if you choose graduates of those 
particular schools you are always sure of 
getting good persons. Therefore, I re- 
gard the selective function of a library 
school as extremely valuable. No matter 
how good the training you give, no mat- 
ter how good the instructors you have, 
if you allow people in your schools who 
are unfitted for library work, your prod- 
uct will be worth little. 

Miss RATHBONE: The cap that Mr. 
Hadley has constructed, fits so well that I 
could not forbear putting it on. I want to 
assure you all, however, that its conical 
shape is not the result of inheritance but 
of evolution. The curriculum of the par- 
ticular school I have the honor to be asso- 
ciated with has been a growth, and a 
growth very largely made up from sug- 
gestions, the solicited suggestions, of its 
own graduates who have worked in the 
library field. Subjects have been added, 
others have been omitted, others have 
been reduced in time given to them, ac- 
cording as our students have found in 
their practical work that they needed 
things they did not get, or that certain 
things that we gave them were not of the 
greatest practical value. Again and again 
we have sent out circular letters, and have 
requested in personal interviews, the 
frankest possible criticism from our grad- 
uates of the preparation that they re- 
ceived in the school. I have seen a great 
many such letters, and have talked with 
a great many people. I must confess, 
however, that I have never yet had the 
criticism from any of the graduates that 
too much time was devoted in the school 
curriculum to cataloging. That criticism 
may come, and when it does we shall be 
glad to meet it, but I have not yet hap- 
pened to receive it. 

One other point I want to make, and that 
is that I think the libraries depend upon 
library schools for general assistants. 
That is one reason why a one year school, 



I think, should give all of its students ex- 
perience in all of the different departments 
of library work, because, though after they 
go out into the field, some become cat- 
alogers, some children's librarians, some 
reference librarians, and a few, adminis- 
trators of large libraries, the average grad- 
uate that goes out, three-fourths of our prod- 
uct certainly goes at first into a public li- 
brary as a general assistant. The heads of 
such libraries want assistants who can go 
one week into the children's room; who, if a 
shortage occurs in the reference room, 
can be put there; and if in the meantime 
the work has piled up in the cataloging 
department, can be transferred from the 
children's room, or the reference depart- 
ment, to that department. I think that 
kind of all-round instruction, and the flex- 
ibility that results from it, is one of the 
most valuable assets that the trained li- 
brarian can take with him into general 
library work. 

Dr. HILL: Mr. Chairman, in the first 
place, I would like to ask Mr. Brett if he 
will give us the name of the college 
which is allowing the library course to 
be taken as part of the rating. 

Mr. BRETT: It is the College for 
Women of the Western Reserve univer- 
sity of Cleveland, and the school that co- 
operates with it is the Western Reserve 
library school. 

Dr. HILL: In the second place, Mr. 
Chairman, the note in Mr. Hadley's pa- 
per which attracted and arrested my at- 
tention, related to men, naturally. Now, 
I want to say that as mere men we are 
not afraid of anything, we are not afraid 
that we are going to be crowded out of 
the library profession by our women 
friends, but we are looking around to see 
that we do not get crowded too much; 
and this subject of bringing into the pro- 
fession more men and better men al- 
though I would say to the ladies that there 
are a good many good men among us 
still available, was taken up by the 
American Library Institute last fall, and 
presented very clearly by Dr. Dewey. He 
said in a paper which was submitted to 
the Institute that- it was the duty of the 



156 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



American Library Association to inter- 
est the universities BO that the work of 
our association might be brought to the 
attention of the students, and that we 
ought to arrange to have lectures given 
by librarians at the various universities. 
I became interested in this subject and 
last winter, talking with a president of 
one of the Eastern universities, asked if 
such lectures would be acceptable. He 
said that he would be very glad as presi- 
dent of that university to extend an invi- 
tation to the library association to send 
representatives there to place before stu- 
dents the advantages of the library pro- 
fession, and to carry on a course which 
would enable interested students to di- 
rect their work along library lines. He 
said, further, that he had no doubt but 
what every college and university in the 
land would welcome such co-operation. 
Such being the feeling of the president 
of one university, it seems to me that it 
is time for the committee named by Mr. 
Anderson to take some active measure 
to have the country divided in such way 
that librarians in the neighborhood of the 
various universities will arrange to lec- 
ture before the students. I think the mat- 
ter should be given immediate attention. 
Miss KELSO: Mr. Chairman, I have 
made a study also this last winter, not 
with college presidents, but with certain 
members of the graduating class of Co- 
lumbia university and Harvard university. 
In the dogma expressed here it seems to 
me you treat the university graduate, who 
has had four years' earnest study, as if 
he were in kilts, and the girl in short 
skirts. Those men and women have 
wrested from the college tradition the 
right to say what they are going to do, in 
their junior, if not their sophomore year, 
and to come out after their graduation 
from economical and sociological courses 
and to be presented to the curriculum you 
have, is little short of absurd. Go to the 
professors at the head of the economics 
departments of our universities, men or 
women, and they will tell you that their 
students have known for two years what 
they were going to be. I know several 



undergraduates that, before their gradu- 
ation, had opportunities of national im- 
portance, as executive secretaries, to go 
in and organize a national office. To ask 
those fellows, who have been taking vol- 
unteer practice work, as numbers of them 
do, in health department work, in tubercu- 
losis and a thousand and one things, to 
go and take up this library school cur- 
riculum, they will not. Bring an under- 
graduate who is in his senior year to 
talk to you; go to the professor at the 
head of one of these departments and ask 
him to send you a young woman or a 
young man to talk to you about what the 
aims of their classes and fraternities 
have been. 

I do believe there is a way out, and 
that is to admit frankly that the library 
schools can select, as Dr. Hill has well 
said, and send students to the libraries 
for the trying-out process, and above all 
to have the library association show very 
much more interest and attention to 
what the library schools are doing. And 
I can say to you, as an old librarian, that 
you are reaping what it seemed to me 
was a whirlwind sowed some years ago. 
For a long time past, and when we first 
had the schools, we shut the door on the 
possible entrance of politics into libra- 
ries, a very serious menace, as we all 
know. We all rushed forward and talked 
about the library school, and if a com- 
munity had a man or woman who could 
fill the place, who had special literary 
ability, had been well educated and was 
proved to have some executive ability, we 
all roared, "You're lost if you don't take 
some one who has gone through a library 
school training." You know we did. And 
the poor old committee succumbed and 
got a library school candidate. We can- 
not prepare librarians unless we relate 
them to the great field of human en- 
deavor and social affairs to which the 
library belongs, if it is used in a proper 
way, and we must find other means in 
the library association to evolve some sys- 
tem to afford the trying-out process. 

Mr. WALTER: Although we get at 
the matter from different points of view, 



WALTER 



157 



[ am quit* certain that Miss Rathbone, 
Miss Kelso and I arc in exact accord on 
some points. One Is in th recognition 
of the real responsibility for the curricula 
of library schools. The library school 
courses are what they are because the 
libraries want them so. Miss Kelso may 
probably not be quite so familiar with the 
special demands of libraries as those who 
are on library school faculties are. A 
great demand exists at present along two 
lines. The most frequent demand, I 
think, is for college or university gradu- 
ates, who are masters of every branch of 
library technic, and who possess as well 
a wide and extensive knowledge of all 
subjects, which will make them valuable 
in varied lines of work and in different 
departments; in other words, universal 
specialists. This demand comes repeat- 
edly from the smaller libraries and not in- 
frequently from the larger ones. The li- 
brary school is forced in many ways to 
make a concession to that demand and to 
teach many things rather than a few spe- 
cialties. I am not sure that the conces- 
sion is always as great or as harmful as 
has been asserted, and one reason why I 
am not so sure of this is because I have 
been studying the curricula of several 
schools of philanthropy (whose practical 
character has just been commended) in 
order to make some improvements in a 
proposed course in the institution with 
which I am connected, and the differ- 
ences in the general plans of the two 
kinds of schools are so far from being 
radical that we have been able to take 
over many of their specialized ideas and 
put them in our curriculum, with so little 
change that I defy you to find where the 
joints are. 

Another demand is for real specialists 
to put in charge of special departments 
of large libraries. I believe that demand 
is growing. But you must remember, if 
you are going to have them, that two 
things are necessary. If you want special- 
ists trained in different subjects, you must 
give them time to get their training and 
you must pay them enough to attract them 
and to keep them when you get them. 



In an ngintering school you hare 
lengthy courses full of engineering tech- 
nic, because you demand engineers. 
No good school would cut out that tech- 
nic simply because you needed an engi- 
neering student in your technology de- 
partment and couldn't afford to wait or 
to pay for a graduate. Why should we 
have to stop doing what experience, and 
the experience of years, has proved nec- 
essary, what most of the people who go 
out of the library schools say is neces- 
sary why should we cut out general sub- 
jects simply because of a temporary 
or limited demand for short-cut semi- 
specialists? You do not give time to 
prepare specialists. You are prone to 
send in a letter on Saturday saying you 
must have a man in charge of a special 
department next Tuesday, that he must 
be a graduate of one of the best techni- 
cal schools of the country and that he 
must also have a thorough knowledge of 
library technic. At present I do not 
believe there is enough demand for those 
people to attract many of them, because, 
these specialists, in most cases, are 
obliged to come into general library work 
and to keep in general work until the spe- 
cial positions for which they are particu- 
larly fitted become vacant or are created. 

I believe thoroughly in the missionary 
spirit. I believe every librarian ought to 
have in him the spirit of St. Francis, to 
enable him, if need be, to go barefoot and 
get along with almost no food at all, but 
I do not believe in the right of the pub- 
lic to demand that he work for a salary 
so small that he must wear the habit and 
eat the food of St. Francis. If you ex- 
pect to find these exceptional men you 
must pay for them and have places ready 
for them. You cannot expect the impos- 
sible. The question of technic is a seri- 
ous one but it is not going to be solved 
entirely by omissions and short cuts. 

I might also say that the institution 
with which I happen to be connected de- 
pends very largely, so far as the changes 
in its curriculum are concerned, on the 
suggestions of the people who have gone 
out from the school and who are working 



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in libraries, and it often plans its courses 
in accordance with what they suggest, as 
the result of their own experiences. What 
is more, and I am not speaking for our- 
selves only, for similar conditions exist 
in other schools in this way we have 
(among others) the experience of more 
than thirty men and women who are at 
the head of libraries in cities of the 
United States in either the first or the 
second class. 

Mr. JOSEPHSON: It may well be that 
the present library schools cannot train 
both librarians and assistants; and per- 
haps, in consequence, we must have two 
kinds of school, one school for assistants 
and one for librarians. However that 
may be, either school must teach bibliog- 
raphy, and by that I mean the knowledge 
of the records of books and the art of de- 
scribing books, so that the one who reads 
the description may know what the book 
is. Description includes, of course, not 
only cataloging but classification and an- 
notation as well. 

I would like to supplement Mr. Strohm's 
paper in one particular. I think it would 
be well if chief librarians would do some- 
thing to encourage the continuation of 
professional studies among the members 
of their staffs, particularly among the 
younger members, both those who come 
from library schools and those who do 
not. We cannot expect them to study too 
hard after a full day's work, but I think 
in most cases we would find that such en- 
couragement would be appreciated. The 
assistants who are ambitious to go for- 
ward would be willing to spend a couple 
of hours a week on further studies, and 
it might not be entirely out of the way for 
the library to allow some time for such 
work. 

Mr. GEORGE: It seems to me that in 
our discussion to-day a means of practical 
relief has been missed by each of the 
speakers, and that is that the ordinary, 
customary method of universities be 
adopted by these library schools, and in- 
stead of attempting in a year's time to is- 
sue a diploma of doubtful value at best, 
as representing anything in particular, 



they should adopt the certificate plan, 
and allow their course to extend over a 
sufficient time to guarantee something; 
have their courses divided up in such a 
way that a certificate will represent 
something definite to those of us who want 
to use library school students. It seems 
to me in that way we can get some prac- 
tical value from the schools and get ef- 
ficient aids and assistants in the library 
service. The great difficulty about the 
whole thing is that most library school 
graduates lack a sufficient background and 
there is not time in one year's course, 
naturally, for them to acquire anything of 
that kind, or an experience that can be of 
practical value to us. I merely throw 
this out as a practical hint, because I have 
been waiting for it to come from some of 
the speakers. By having a certificate 
covering part of the ground, either cata- 
loging or some other branch of library 
service undoubtedly we would be per- 
fectly willing to recognize that as an 
authoritative guarantee from the schools, 
rather than a diploma that, as I say, is 
doubtful at best as representing anything, 
because of the varying courses and re- 
quirements of the different schools. 

At the conclusion of this discussion the 
session adjourned. 

FOURTH GENERAL SESSION 
(Monday, July 1, 9:30 a. m.) 

Dominion Day Program 
Dr. James W. Robertson, C.M.G., took 
the chair, on behalf of the Ottawa local 
committee, and called the meeting to or- 
der. 

The CHAIRMAN: Your president has 
in her genial and successful way insisted 
that the acting chairman of the local com- 
mittee should preside on this occasion. 

Of most men one might say when they 
are forty-five they are middle-aged and 
mature. This is the forty-fifth anniver- 
sary of the birth of this Dominion; and 
Canada is still but a youth, a sturdy/grow- 
ing, promising youth among the nations. 
She is a people of great heritages, of 
lofty aspirations and of fine ideals, and 



LAURIER 



159 



she has in Sir Wilfrid Laurier a son 
worthy of herself. He will speak to us 
this morning. 

SIR WILFRID LAURIER:* Though I 
have no claim whatever to be here on 
this present occasion, still if my presence 
on this platform can further convince our 
American visitors how welcome they are 
amongst us, I can assure them that I 
would have traveled many and many a 
long mile to swell the greeting with the 
seal and hand of the Canadian govern- 
ment and the Canadian people. Welcome 
you are, not only for the good work in 
which you are engaged, not only for the 
intellectual labors which are your daily 
vocation, but also because whenever you 
cross our borders, and whenever the Can- 
adian members of this association cross 
your borders, you and they are real mis- 
sionaries of peace, apostles of civiliza- 
tion, and those visits tend further to im- 
prove our relations, to dispel old preju- 
dices and to make us appreciate the bless- 
ings of the peace which hath prevailed 
between your country and my country for 
nearly a hundred years. 

May I take advantage of the present 
opportunity to remind you of the fact, 
which has been twice already brought to 
your attention, that to-day is the national 
holiday of Canada. We celebrate our na- 
tional holiday on the first of July, you 
celebrate yours on the fourth of July, 
but the resemblance goes no further. 
The day you celebrate on the fourth of 
July recalls the fact that your forefathers 
wrenched and violently tore asunder the 
tie which had bound them to the mother- 
land. I think I can call upon your mem- 
ory to confirm that history attests that 
this step was not taken lightly, that it 
tore the heart strings of many and many 
of those who signed the Declaration of 
Independence, but that it was forced upon 
them by the vicious policy that was fol- 
lowed toward the colonists by the British 
government. 

Our history is a very different one. The 
day that we celebrate in Canada recalls 
no violence. On the contrary we cele- 

* Printed only in part. 



brate the day when the authorities of 
England, King, Lords and Commons, de- 
livered unto us a charter of union, of lib- 
erty and of local independence. Thus at 
the very start our courses were cast in 
different directions. You are a republic, 
we are a monarchy. We have kept the 
old monarchy of England. As to the mer- 
its of respective forms of government, re- 
publican institutions or monarchical insti- 
tutions, I would not say a word on this or 
any other occasion, because this has al- 
ways seemed to be an idle speculation. 
We know that the form of government is 
after all a matter of indifference; we 
know that there must be a virtue in re- 
publicanism, and we Canadians are here 
to testify that in the monarchy of Eng- 
land there is as ample liberty as there is 
in any part of the world, not excepting 
even the American republic. 

Proud as I am to say that you have your 
democratic institutions, we are blessed 
with institutions more democratic, and we 
have what Abraham Lincoln called the 
government of the people, by the people 
and for the people. I do not mean to say 
by this, Ladies and Gentlemen, that the 
people never make mistakes. I speak for 
my country, not for yours. But speak- 
ing for my country, I would say that at 
that we must not be surprised nor angry, 
because it is an attribute of mankind, 
after all, to err. 

Though, Ladies and Gentlemen, as I 
have told you, our lots have been cast 
apart, though you are one country and 
we are another, still, after all, we can say 
with some pride that we have been 
friends, and better friends we ought to 
be. Men there are in this country, I 
am sorry to say, who are rather afraid 
of you American people. They believe 
that you have some hostile design upon 
us; and some of your men have perhaps 
harbored that thought themselves. But 
if these views are scattered amongst some 
of my countrymen, they have not at all 
scared me; I have no fear at all of the 
American people. I am not afraid of 
contact with you. I would not be afraid 
to trade with you, to sell to you and buy 



160 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



from you, because I believe that after all, 
proud as you have reason to be of your 
own nation, we Canadians are just as good 
as you are. 

But, if we cannot trade, If we cannot 
sell and buy, and I would not enlarge on 
this, because I would perhaps trespass on 
politics, if we cannot trade and buy from 
one another, at least we can exchange 
ideas, sentiments, principles, and this is 
the very thing which you have been do- 
ing in Canada during this last week. To 
this nobody can object. Ideas and princi- 
ples can travel freely across the line, and 
I believe that everybody would be all the 
better for this interchange. So I have no 
fear whatever that there should be an ab- 
sorption of this country by your country. 
And may I say what is my own ideal? 

It seems to me that there is a greater 
future for Canada, and for the United 
States. You have your problems and we 
have enough of our own problems. We 
can afford to share the continent and we 
can be, you Americans and we Canadi- 
ans, the pioneers of a new civilization, a 
civilization representative of the twen- 
tieth century. We can give to the world 
this example of friendship without hesita- 
tion and with perfect confidence in one 
another. The bane of Europe to-day is 
militarism. All the nations of Europe are 
distrustful of one another; they spend 
one-half their income for war, in mili- 
tary preparation one against the other. 
Thank heaven, on this continent, we never 
think of war with one another. We have 
the longest frontier that separates two 
nations, and I thank God there is not a 
fortress to be found upon it, nor a gun 
nor a cannon to frown across it. This 
is the example which we give to the rest 
of the world. It is certainly an achieve- 
ment of which we have every reason to be 
proud; and when you, Ladies and Gentle- 
men, come over to our country, as you 
have, you are further instilling the truth 
of that sentiment, and my last word to 
you will be, as the first. Come again, 
come often, and the more often you come 
the more cordial and warm will be the 
welcome. 



President ELMENDORF: I am quite 
certain that this audience would be un- 
willing that some reply should not come 
from itself. May I ask Mr. R. R. Bowker, 
whom I see in the box, to reply for the au- 
dience? 

Mr. BOWKER said, that as he rose to 
propose on the part of the United States 
members of the American Library Asso- 
ciation a vote of thanks, he wished to 
express the equal gratification of our 
fellow members that we have received 
the hospitality, so unbounded, of the ad- 
ministration of Canada, and especially 
that we had been thus welcomed by the 
man whose presence personifies and 
whose name is a synonym not only for his 
own party but for United Canada. He 
said the United States members took only 
one exception to what he had said, and 
that was that they used the word "Amer- 
ican" in a broader sense than he. The 
American Library Association means, not 
the United States, not Canada, but both. 
We have no United States library asso- 
ciation. We may almost hope that there 
shall be no Canada library association, 
but we hope that Ontario, with its library 
association, will be the pioneer to lead its 
sister provinces into the fellowship and 
affiliation in which our other associations 
stand in the American library associa- 
tion. 

The speaker said it was not only in 
the brilliant and eloquent pages of Park- 
man that the history of the two sister 
nations was interwoven; that a man from 
Woburn, Massachusetts, was the first to 
see what the site of Ottawa meant; that 
our own Thwaites had brought anew to 
life the deeds of the Jesuit fathers and 
early explorers, and that Miss Plummer 
had personally conducted many thousands 
of boys and girls of the children's rooms 
through Canada with her "Roy and Ray." 

Mr. Bowker said he supposed we did 
not rightly recognize Canadian writers in 
the United States libraries because they 
were so thoroughly a part of English lit- 
erature, and that it would be very grate- 
ful if some one so good as Mr. Hardy, the 
secretary of the Ontario library associa- 



ROBERTSON 



161 



tion, could before the close of th meet- 
Ings give a bird's-eye view of Canadian 
writers. 

"It is a significant coincidence that on 
this very day there goes into operation 
throughout the British Empire a law 
which, if not for the first time, as least 
most explicitly, recognizes the relation- 
ship of the several English nations to the 
motherland, for the new copyright code 
which to-day goes into operation states 
in so many words that the self-governing 
dominions of Canada, Newfoundland, Aus- 
tralia, New Zealand and South Africa 
may adopt the imperial act, or modify it 
to meet their own judicial process, or leg- 
islate independently. It is interesting to 
some of us that this recognition should 
be so explicitly made in the field of let- 
ters." 

In closing, the speaker proposed that 
we express our thanks to our Canadian 
brethren, our hosts who have been so hos- 
pitable, by a rising vote. 

Amid hearty applause the entire audi- 
ence arose. 

The CHAIRMAN: Before it became 
necessary for Dr. Otto Klotz, who was 
and is chairman of the local committee, 
to be absent from the city, I had agreed 
to deliver an address to the convention 
on Conservation in Canada. The time 
having come, on the program, for that 
event, I propose now to tell you a little 
of what we in Canada are doing to con- 
serve the best we have. 

CONSERVATION OF CHARACTER 

We are all concerned for the good name 
of our community, for its reputation and 
its character. Most of us are concerned 
for the welfare of our nation, for" its 
place of honor and influence and power 
among the nations of the earth. Canada 
is one of the youngest among the self 
governing peoples. It is only forty-five 
years since we became a Dominion, and 
we begin only now to find ourselves as a 
nation. A people who gain self-govern- 
ment become in reality a nation only 
when they are animated by some domi- 
nant purpose to preserve their ideals by 



further achievement. The preservation 
of whatever w have found to be worthy 
in the past, the good, the true, and the 
beautiful, by using them in everyday 
life for further accomplishment and at- 
tainment, that is conservation. There 
have been rotations of nations and 
of civilizations on the face of the earth, 
as there have been rotations of crops on 
the fields of the farm. This year's crop 
is for its own harvest and also to prepare 
the land for the crop to follow it. The 
far foresight which peers thoughtfully 
into eternity while planning for to- 
morrow is also a part of conservation. 

In common use the word "conservation" 
becomes a bland and comprehensive ex- 
pression into which we put all our scat- 
tered convictions and aspirations and 
gropings after what is best for the largest 
number of people for the longest stretch 
of time. It took on a new meaning when 
Theodore Roosevelt used his megaphone 
on it. And because it is an omnibus with 
room always for one more, for one more 
idea, one more suggestion, one more pol- 
icy, it becomes mightily popular. 

The first concern of conservation is 
necessarily with natural resources, but it 
does give a significant purpose to all the 
activities of a nation and of an individual. 
The large, inclusive aim of Canada in 
conservation is that Canada shall be 
great in the character of her people, great 
enough to match the matchless heritage 
that has come to her in blood and ideals, 
in possessions and institutions, in oppor- 
tunities and obligations. Canada's con- 
tribution to humanity in a large, uplifting 
way will be in the perfection by a com- 
posite people, diverse in origin of race, 
language and religion, the perfection by 
such a people of the finest of all fine arts, 
the fine art of living happily and pros- 
perously together, while working with in- 
telligent skill and unfaltering will for 
ends believed to be for the common good. 
These large ends include the improvement 
of the material and social setting of every 
home, the refinement of the inherited 
quality of life of every child and the ref- 
ormation from generation to generation 



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of the habits, standards and ideals of the 
people. All to the end that we may find 
satisfactions, large, broad and lasting, 
through invigorating labor, social service 
and abiding good will amongst ourselves 
and also extended to all our neighbors. 

Let me give you a very brief glimpse, 
merely an indication, a suggestion, here 
and there, of what we are trying to do. 
First of all, a word on what we have in 
possessions to conserve; then a glimpse 
or two of what we are doing with our es- 
tate; afterwards a glance at what we are 
seeking for ourselves; and finally a look 
in on what we stand for as a young 
people among other kindly and compet- 
ing nations. 

On What We Have 

We have a great deal. Never before in 
the history of the race did seven millions 
of people have such a heritage come into 
their free possession. Half a continent 
wide and a whole continent long, that is 
our estate. We are happy in the setting 
of our national life. A very brief survey 
of what it means to us and what it is in 
itself must suffice this morning. Who 
knows it? I hear people speak of Canada 
as a red patch on the map, as a stretch 
of prairies where wheat grows, as the 
northern fringe of the glorious free re- 
public of the United States. These hardly 
shed a candle power of light on our es- 
tate. Half a continent wide and one-sixth 
of the way around the globe! If Europe 
were eleven in area, we are twelve, and 
much of it habitable, destined to be the 
setting of fine homes of a robust people. 

Let us take Canada in four areas, in 
thousand-mile stretches. We can afford 
to speak of ourselves in those dimensions. 
A thousand miles in from the Atlantic, 
where else do you find a better place for 
homes for a dominant people whose pur- 
pose it is to pull up by strength and in- 
telligence and justice and good will, and 
not to crush down and hold back? Dom- 
inant because the human race can be at 
its best in physique, in endurance, in 
tenacity, in capacity, in aspiration, where 
apple trees grow in beauty and bounty 



and the summer air is full of the fra- 
grance of clover blossoms. Think back 
through your books, and over the globe, 
and into the lives of the people. Recall 
the old stories, the apple trees of Eden 
and the land flowing with milk and honey. 
After all, physical setting means much 
for the glory of human life. This is a 
fine stretch of a thousand miles for 
homes, of apple trees and clover blos- 
soms with plenty of running water, with 
skies decked in beauty by clouds, with 
showers and sunshine in alternate abun- 
dance, and farm houses with yards full 
of children rolling on the grass picking 
flowers and climbing the apple trees. 
That is worth while, to have a thousand 
miles filling up with homes, willing for 
more to come and share their joy. 

Then we have a thousand miles of wil- 
derness, a great reservoir north of the 
Great Lakes. It tempts the adventurous 
to seek gold and silver; great areas for 
trees, and lakes to refresh the thirsty 
land on both sides by the genial drop- 
pings from the rains gathered from the 
wastes. , 

Then come a thousand miles of prairies, 
stretching out to the foothills of the 
Rocky Mountains. It took a thousand 
times a thousand years to make that 
place fit for our possession and habitation 
now. The frugality of prodigal nature 
was storing in the soil plant food for 
crops for thousands of years, not that 
men might ship wheat, but that boys and 
girls should have the finest chance that 
the race had known hitherto to be a 
strong, dominant, lovely and loving peo- 
ple. A thousand miles of prairies! Why 
do your people flock over to those prair- 
ies? Not for greed of money. I have 
been enough in the States to know that 
you libel yourselves in one unkind way. 
You say the American worships the al- 
mighty dollar. Chase the charge down 
and he wants the dollar for the sake of a 
home, for the pleasure of conquest, for 
the worship of some boy or girl, to give 
him and her a better footing and a better 
start. The call of Canada is not merely 
from property and a chance to get it. 



ROBERTSON 



163 



The call of Canada is the call of a wide 
chance for possessions, for a piece of 
good land to own for oneself. It is also 
the call of the land where law is re- 
spected, as well as obeyed. It is most 
loudly and convincingly the call of a land 
with chances for children. That is what 
pulls them here, the chances for children; 
and these newcomers are amongst the 
foremost of those who see that the big- 
gest and best and best-sustained building 
in the place is the public school. 

Then we have five hundred miles, half 
a thousand, going over the mountains to 
the Pacific Ocean. It is a piece of the 
great Creator's fine art in the rough, with 
the impressiveness of nature's majesty 
and the instability which endures. Tucked 
in between the mountains are fertile val- 
leys with peaches and plums and wheat 
and all good things to sustain the homes. 
A great asset is that five-hundred mile 
strip, the mountains pregnant with coal 
and gold and silver, and the streams 
teeming with fish from the inexhaustible 
feeding places of the north. 

That is a glimpse, merely the head- 
lines, of our national home, our real es- 
tate; and we believe the people will be 
quite a match for it. We come to feel 
the responsibility for that now. 

Only a word or two of detail. We have 
forests in vast areas, some of them as 
yet unsurveyed, and a climate and soil 
which lets nature far more than restore 
the lumberman's cut. Our forests are in- 
exhaustible in the abundance of their 
serving power for coming generations; 
now that we have begun to conserve 
them by preventing fires, by providing 
patrols, and also by diffusing knowledge, 
training and conviction throughout the 
common schools. Then we have fisheries. 
Many of you come up here and regale 
your friends for evenings afterwards by 
fish stories. I speak of the great value 
to Canada of fish and fishing. When I go 
to the coasts, how I glory in the conser- 
vation of life by fishing! I fish a little. 
One of my pawky friends once gave me a 
book called "Fishin' Jimmy." It had one 
sentence with which I comfort myself 



when I feel disposed to fish when I should 
be otherwise diligently employed. It was 
this, "Young man, the good Lord, when 
He needed fellows to help Him for the 
biggest job ever taken up, picked out 
chaps who caught fish." Think of Nova 
Scotia, the fishing smacks, the men who 
are not afraid, those who go down to the 
deep in ships, they see the wonders of 
the Lord while they do their duty for 
their families. There is conservation of 
the quality of life by the unboasting and 
the uncomplaining, heroic commonplaces 
of daily toil. With quiet tenacity, against 
conditions of discomfort which cannot be 
escaped, and carelessness of personal 
ease such men teach us how to live. 
Then we have waterways, and water 
powers, not merely to illuminate houses 
and run cars, but to enlarge leisure by 
having our heaviest tasks done by man's 
further alliance with the electric current. 
Then we have minerals and lands. Each 
of these merits more than a discourse for 
itself. I feel the incompleteness, the in- 
sufficiency, of my statements of our re- 
sources and our efforts towards conser- 
vation. However, just a word about 
lands, good land and fertile land. 

Take an example, one only. Seager 
Wheeler lives north of Regina. How our 
hearts go out in sympathy to those peo- 
ple who suffer from nature's inhuman 
manifestation of her strength. (A refer- 
ence to the Regina cyclone of the day be- 
fore.) I have not learned to look up 
through nature's devastations to nature's 
God, but I have learned to look through 
human life to man's God, Whose tender 
mercies are over all His other works. 
Seager Wheeler lives north of Regina. 
Out at the Experimental Farm, where we 
were on Saturday, Dr. Saunders, pa- 
tiently, quietly, modestly, brought to- 
gether a strain of wheat from Calcutta 
and a strain of wheat from the North- 
West. A new child is born unto us in 
wheatland. Seager Wheeler gets some of 
that wheat and begins the process of se- 
lection on his own farm, "the best out of 
the best for the best." Last autumn I was 
in New York at the back-to-the-land ex- 



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position. A thousand dollar prize in gold 
was there for the man who would bring 
the best bushel of wheat from anywhere 
on the continent. The judges were ex- 
pert men from the United States, and 
Seager Wheeler from the middle of our 
North-West plains won the thousand dol- 
lar prize for his bushel of wheat from 
that part of our land. More than that, I 
have a photograph of the plot from which 
this bushel of wheat was taken, and it 
measured up 80 2-3 bushels to the acre. 
No wonder we think well of our land, and 
you folks want to get some of it. 

One other sentence only, otherwise I 
should be beguiled into talking far too 
long about our lands. In these days, 
dangerous in their clamors for bigness 
and swiftness and luxury, one needs to 
remind himself that satisfactions do not 
come from these things, but from honest 
labor whereby one conserves the strength 
and beauty of some part of nature and 
man, and develops power and joy in an- 
other unit of nature and man, making 
the earth and man rejoice together. 
Truly a nation's life consisteth not in 
the abundance of the things it possesseth. 

On What We Are Doing 

We in Canada are happy in the occupa- 
tions of the people, as well as in the set- 
ting of our lives. What has occupation to 
do with conservation? Occupation con- 
serves the best that humanity has 
achieved in human beings themselves. 
Not books? It would be a loss if all the 
books were taken from us, it would be 
a loss somewhat modified by the advan- 
tages. But whosoever will offend one of 
these little ones in whom is conserved 
all the achievements and attainments of 
the race to this day, it were better for 
him that a millstone were hanged about 
his neck. The menace of books is that 
they sometimes crush down and crush 
out the aspiration of young life for joy 
in constructive, creative, co-operative 
labor, through merely selfish, silent read- 
ing for gratification. We are happy in 
the occupations of our people that minis- 
ter to greatness in character. A new 



country like ours needs the constructing 
and conquering qualities, more than the 
sedentary, absorbing, remembering capac- 
ities. The farmer follows one of the con- 
quering, constructive occupations, gath- 
ering wealth out of the otherwise chaos. 
His labor creates wealth and conserves 
the health and virility of the people. 
What a grudge I have against the modern 
factory that, in making things, debases 
men. I do my thinking aloud in a meet- 
ing like this. Therefore I do not flatter. 
I will warrant we should not have women, 
as I have seen them, working in facto- 
ries, with poor air and little sunshine amid 
the infernal rattle of machinery, if we 
believed in our heart of hearts that 
things were for homes and that good 
homes for all the people was the dom- 
inant object of a strong nation. Why 
should I have cloth in my house because 
it is cheap when it is transfused by the 
blood of women in Leeds? Why should 
I want a coat on my back that carries 
with it the stain of tears from children 
who have had no chance? Why should I 
walk easily in boots, factory-made in 
order that they may be a dollar a pair 
cheaper, when I have seen women 
atrophied by the monotonous poverty of 
their job who should have been mother- 
ing a family and nursing the aspirations 
of young people? We do not want to 
have things, things, things as our idols 
and our end in life. 

The fundamental occupations which 
engage the large majority of our people 
are farming, making homes and teaching 
and training the young. The farm, the 
rural home and the rural school together 
provide the opportunities and means of 
culture in forms which children and 
grown people can turn into power power 
of knowledge, of action and of character. 
Farming is much more than moving soil, 
sowing grain, destroying weeds and har- 
vesting crops. It is taking care of part of 
the face of Mother Earth as a home for 
her children. Making homes is much 
more than building houses and providing 
furniture, food, clothing and things. It is 
creating a temple, not made with hands, 



ROBERTSON 



165 



as a place of culture for the Divine in us. 
Those who live by agriculture are not all 
of the earth earthy, and the rural home 
is a fine school for the soul. Teaching 
and training the young is much more than 
instructing children in the arts of read- 
ing, writing and reckoning those flexible, 
useful tools of the intellect. Much of the 
time of the school has been consumed in 
these tasks; but now we come to a hap- 
pier day when those arts can be acquired 
joyfully in less than a year and a half, 
instead of painfully, reluctantly and with 
difficulty as spread over six years. The 
main portion of the school time will soon 
be devoted to caring for the health, the 
habits and the standards of the pupils 
while watching and directing the develop- 
ment of their powers of body, mind and 
spirit. 

These three fundamental mothering oc- 
cupations in Canada nourish and sustain 
all the others, such as commerce, manu- 
facturing, transportation and the profes- 
sions. By means of them, followed as 
well as they can be by an educated and 
cultured people, the country will be kept 
prosperous and fertile. It can be made 
beautiful only by radiant homes, whence 
youth will go forth from generation to 
generation to refine life by their charac- 
ters, to exalt it by their ideals and to 
improve its conditions by intelligent 
labor. 

I must say a word or two as to whence 
we got the impetus, the stimulus, towards 
conservation. Intelligent, conscious, 
planned and organized effort for conser- 
vation came to us from Washington. We 
are the Washington of the North in more 
ways than one, and I think I express, if 
I may venture to do so, the hope and con- 
viction of my friend Sir Wilfrid Laurier 
when I say that, a hundred years hence 
and less, the Washington of the North 
will be more than abreast of the Wash- 
ington of the South because of the influ- 
ence, the moulding influence, of climate 
and homes and schools such as we in this 
country will have. But the Washington 
of the South had a great gathering in 
1908, when the Governors of all the States 



and others were assembled to consider 
conservation. I read the report of the 
proceedings with some care. Then I 
turned more than once to read, right 
after it, an old classic about a gathering 
in the time of King Ahasuerus, the gath- 
ering of the governors of 127 provinces. 
And I laid down the Bible with the con- 
viction that that Ahasuerus assembly was 
no higher in its essence and in its fruits 
than a pow-wow debauch of Indian chiefs 
on the plains. Take the setting and the 
spirit of the Ahasuerus crowd self-seek- 
ing, careless of human rights, neglectful 
of children's claims. That story was 
worth recording as a great exhibition of 
monstrous selfishness, the thing itself 
worth avoiding, worth opposing, worth 
smiting to the death every time it rears 
its ugly greedy head. On the other hand, 
consider Washington. The governors of 
sovereign states come together, for what? 
Not to consider how they might enrich 
themselves at the expense of the weak 
and those in their care, but how they 
might conserve for all the people, the 
property of all the people, for the benefit 
of all the people, for the longest stretch 
of time. That was a great gathering. It 
will go down in history as marking a new 
epoch in human activity and endeavor. 
And whatever may be said amid the tran- 
sient controversies of party politics, the 
name of Theodore Roosevelt will stand 
out illustrious for leadership in a new 
effort for conservation that saves, not 
merely forests and material resources, 
but that saves moral earnestness among 
the people. I have no sympathy, myself, 
with your own harsh criticism of these 
political conventions you are holding now 
in the States. Not being a politician, I 
can speak of politics without fear. May 
I tell you what my thinking has been? 
Perhaps only twice before did the United 
States ever get such service, such an 
awakening when you had the struggle 
for liberty, and, afterwards, the war for 
freedom. What means the present com- 
motion which bursts through conventional 
conventions of polite speech? Is it not 
that, you shall be saved from a supine 



166 



OTTAWAfcCONFERENCE 



sense of satisfaction with having only 
things from the loss of great concepts 
of justice and right aflame in moral ear- 
nestness? I rejoice with you that we are 
indebted to Washington for impetus and 
stimulus in moral earnestness regarding 
forests and other resources. That is 
Gifford Pinchot's contribution not to 
make lumber cheap, but to make the land 
fertile and prosperous, that boys and 
girls may be beautiful and strong and 
glad. Worth while is the moral earnest- 
ness that uses materials only as the 
mechanism of its efforts for the improve- 
ment of life. 

Then Canadians attended officially an- 
other meeting in Washington in 1909, 
came back and Parliament instituted a 
Commission of Conservation. That Com- 
mission has been at work for three years 
seeking to serve our peaple by showing 
how they could improve themselves as 
well as their circumstances through ef- 
fort to conserve their resources. 

On the Provincial experimental farm in 
Wellington County, Ont., Professor Zavitz 
works. He took thin, light grains from a 
variety of oats, and sowed those by them- 
selves; and, from the same variety, he 
took plump, heavy, dark grains, and sowed 
these by themselves. For twelve years 
he followed that plan on the same soil, 
under the same climate, with the same 
management. At the end of twelve years 
the crop from this plump seed rose by 
twenty-six bushels more to the acre and 
ten and a half pounds more to the bushel 
than the crop from the poor seed. That 
was conservation secured by intelligent 
application and good management. You 
can do that with life as well as with seed 
and with land. The long distance aim as 
well as the local object of conservation 
is to make Canada a better country to 
live in and a more beautiful country to 
love; and to make Canadians a people of 
greater vigor, finer texture and nobler 
character. 

On What We Are Seeking 

We in Canada are a composite sample 
of life. We have come to us Anglo-Saxon, 



Celtic, Gallic, Teutonic, Slavonic and 
others. All these streams of blood flow 
over Canada and mingle in us. It is not 
any longer with us merely a toleration of 
an individual or of an idea from Russia 
or the States but an appreciation of the 
person and the idea, to make them serve 
our people better. There is conservation 
in that. The best we have inherited is 
the quality of life. Our more immediate 
ancestors loved liberty, prized intelli- 
gence and cherished justice. These they 
had won by courage, by struggle, by pa- 
tience and by privation. They left them 
to us to be improved by education. Con- 
cepts such as these are what count in the 
great issues of life. 

Let me without any offense or bad taste 
be personal and speak of one of my an- 
cestors. He has been dead a long time. 
I didn't know him. But not infrequently 
I can feel the thrill and the efforts at 
domination of his convictions and his 
habits. I remember a dog biting me. I 
could have strangled the creature with 
my hands. I did not learn that in school, 
but I had the instinct in me from that 
old ancestor. I can think of him in a 
cave, living a bare coarse life. But he 
conserved the chance for the babies; and 
the lion and the wolf and the bear could 
not stand against the club and the fire 
which he used for the protection of his 
wife and children. Coarse! Of course he 
was. A thing of paws and claws and 
jaws! But he conserved his concepts of 
duty, his ideals of protection for the 
young and the weak. His concepts and 
the labors and struggles they involved by 
and by refined his body. Then, ages 
afterwards, 20,000 or 30,000 years after- 
wards, we had Lord Lister. Two hun- 
dred and fifty thousand women saved an- 
nually through the service of his refined 
brain and his trained hands, and his large 
concepts of duty. And we had Florence 
Nightingale; and you had Abraham Lin- 
coln. And we all have everybody and 
anybody that conserves concepts of joy 
and glory through duty discharged by 
constructive, contributing labor, social 
service and abiding good will. In these 



ROBERTSON 



167 



and others innumerable we have a her- 
itage, not made with hands. 

Time fails me even to name all our 
other heritages which are not in material 
resources. There are customs, institu- 
tions, laws, manners, ideas, traditions, 
standards, ideals, art, songs, language 
and books. Books are more than mate- 
rial things. They are material humanized 
into food for the mind and spirit as soil 
and air may be glorified into apples and 
flowers for the senses. Sometimes pro- 
duced with immense pains, they bring in- 
finite joys. The Kingdom hath come to 
us for such a time as this when a new 
day dawns for happiness and well-being 
on earth. 

Some of the means under modern con- 
ditions through which further advances 
in the formation and conservation of char- 
acter are to be looked for are, first those 
which lead young people to the achieve- 
ment of joy through the processes of 
labor as distinguished from its wages or 
other rewards. Every child who is given 
a fair chance can manage that. In this a 
little child may lead us. Secondly, those 
which produce the pleasure of working 
together for some end believed to be good 
for all. Will not school pupils and older 
students work themselves into social 
efficiency, by co-operating in productive 
labor, as well as play themselves into 
ability by means of team games? Both 
together are better than twice as much 
of either alone. Thirdly, those which 
yield gladness through creative work 
whereby each individual strives to give 
expression to his own concepts of utility 
and beauty in concrete things as well as 
in words and other symbols. The insist- 
ence, by school and college, upon passive 
receptiveness for prolonged periods may 
have disciplined the mind for the percep- 
tion of symbols, and the understanding 
of theories and rules. But has not the 
heaping of instruction upon enforced pas- 
sivity led to an atrophy of the love of 
constructive creative labor? Immobility 
in classes all day long is not goodness. 
That sort of thing is the one persisting 
attribute of the dead or the nearly mori- 



bund. Every man who actively conserves 
these constructive, co-operative, creative 
powers, and achieves joy and satisfaction 
through their exercise, saves himself and 
becomes a saving factor in his commu- 
nity. In doing these things he transfuses 
the routine of life by a spirit of trained 
intelligence, cultured ability and habitual 
good will. The use of books and book- 
information are a helpful aid to the growth 
of mental power, the development of 
moral ideas and the progress of educa- 
tion. Books furnish some of the food and 
stimulus to thought. But when these are 
not turned into service through action, 
they become so much cloying debris upon 
vitality. 

I have happily seen enough in the last 
few years to bring me to the conclusion, 
that, in less than ten years on this conti- 
nent, all children from rural homes will 
come to the schools at 6 or 7 years of age 
able to speak better than they speak now, 
and able to write and read and to figure 
up to division. They will come to school 
able to do all that, having played them- 
selves into ability. We have been on 
wrong lines in making a child take up a 
book at six, and so far as schooling is 
concerned, stay under the domination of a 
book until he is sixteen. Then he has 
been liberated into a laboratory, or into 
life, and says, "Thank the Lord that book 
business is done!" That is not wise, 
that is not safe. How the book has men- 
aced humanity in recent years, on all 
sides, by its insistence that reading is 
the end of education, the main means and 
object of culture, instead of being merely 
a contributing means toward the larger 
end of living. You people concerned with 
books must take the bread of life in your 
hands and minister to life, not under the 
guise of book-learning, but for the forma- 
tion of habits and standards and fine 
ideals. 

Put into the language of everyday life 
the main steps in every complete educa- 
tional experience are: observing, think- 
ing, feeling and managing towards and 
into some form of expression. It appears 
to me that the closer in point of time 



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OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



the steps are taken together, the greater 
the growth of power and the surer the 
formation of habits. Frequency of expe- 
rience is what forms habits and not repe- 
titions of instructions or information. In 
so far as these experiences can have close 
relation to the threefold activities de- 
manded by life, so much the better for 
the culture of the student, even if not so 
complimentary to a subject or its profes- 
sor. I mean the activities which we ex- 
plain as those of body, mind and spirit in 
the individual's capacity as an earner, a 
member of society and a trustee in the 
scheme of life. No doubt this runs coun- 
ter to the common notion that culture 
even real culture as a process and as a 
result develops and implies a certain 
aloofness from the practical work done 
by men and women to earn their living, 
and a sweet, or sour, sense of superiority 
to utilitarian questions of bread and but- 
ter. But we must not forget that invig- 
orating toil invigorating bodily toil is 
the only known road to health, strength 
and happiness. Nowadays culture is be- 
coming a term almost as elusive as educa- 
tion itself. Agriculture was doubtless the 
root, the root word as well as the funda- 
mental process, of human culture. The 
man on the farm gets some light on its 
intrinsic nature from his occupation. To 
him culture stands for crops, the best in 
quality and the largest in quantity that 
can be obtained, for the suppression of 
weeds, insects and disease, and for the 
increase of beauty and fertility. Culture 
has no origin in idleness, indolence or 
sloth. These make for the corrosion of all 
the vigors of the physical and mental and 
moral nature. Culture means plowing 
and harrowing and sowing and hoeing. 
It means labor and sorrow as well as play 
and flowers. It means the ripping of the 
iron share as well as the genial affection 
of the sun. Culture is far deeper than 
the polite polish on the skin of manners 
and speech. It is not gained by the mere 
learning of languages, living or dead, or 
the acquisition of knowledge, scientific or 
superstitious, in the poetic meaning of 
that word. It is the residuum, the left- 



over, such as it is, in character in body, 
in mind and in spirit after every com- 
pleted educational experience. From 
actual practice comes skill in the finest 
of all fine arts, the fine art of living hap- 
pily together while working for some 
good end. Alike in school and college, on 
farm and in factory, in shop and office, 
in home duties and public affairs, that 
kind of life develops a quick sense of re- 
sponsibility, it establishes good standards 
close by which are understood, it nour- 
ishes conscience and strengthens the will- 
energy towards further culture, better 
work and happier living. These things 
we seek to conserve, using our material 
resources for the enrichment of the qual- 
ity of life we have inherited, in order to 
pass it on undiminished and unimpaired. 

On What We Stand For 

This end of an educated people, cul- 
tured in character, which itself is only a 
means towards the largest end, is worth 
striving for and worth living for. All life 
is an unceasing struggle. The point is to 
choose the right objects and means. In 
the past, humanity has been winning all 
along the line with an occasional setback 
such as threatens the present. Its war- 
fare is ever against ignorance, helpless- 
ness, poverty, disease, vice and illwills. 
Education is to train individuals for that 
warfare. Its endeavors are most success- 
ful when the experiences which it pro- 
vides for each individual are in themselves 
a vital part of the hard campaign. It 
must ever vary its strategy and tactics 
and weapons, as the field of operations is 
moved forward. Times change and we 
change with them. The need of the times 
is education to qualify us all to achieve 
satisfaction through labor and service 
and good will. 

Finally, I present to you the more ex- 
cellent graces of conservation as earnest- 
ness, cheerfulness and the habit of cher- 
ishing and following high ideals. At first 
these are rather traits of character in 
embryo than fixed attitudes or habits of 
mind. The particular and specific disci- 



ROBERTSON 



169 



plines of life and of good books are to 
correct softness, to promote gentleness 
and to develop a capacity for enduring 
and enjoying hardness as a good soldier 
of truth, beauty and goodness in everyday 
life. In reality, each individual disciplines 
himself in liberty, by self-government, by 
diligence, by rational obedience to au- 
thority and by co-operation. The disci- 
pline which develops character and power 
is administered from within; external 
regulations are like the finger posts to 
indicate the open path and also the place 
where trespassing is forbidden. In the 
choice and in the action is discipline. 
"Choose ye this day whom ye will serve" 
is at the parting of the ways every 
morning, and is seldom displayed in 
prominence at the dramatic crises of life. 
Habits are grown in quiet ways, like the 
shapes of trees and the budding and 
ripening of fruit.. They become the des- 
tiny "which shapes our ends, rough-hew 
them how we will." The librarian and 
every other citizen who lives and moves 
and has his being in an atmosphere of 
earnestness, cheerfulness and high ideals, 
is ready for his best work. Such men and 
women go through life with open minds, 
with broad sympathies, and appreciative 
respect for all the worthy achievements 
and attainments of men and women, of 
boys and girls. Their patriotism, their 
humanity, in brief, their conservation of 
character, finds its best accomplishment 
in making and leaving a better place, with 
a better path, for better children, to 
carry the torch of life onward and up- 
ward, clearer and stronger, because of 
what they have been and done. 

From one of youi selves (Ella Wheeler 
Wilcox) we have beautifully expressed 
one of the great dominating purposes 
which I think animates all Canada to-day: 

"Build on resolve and not upon regret 
The structure of thy future: do not 

grope 

Among the shadows of old sins, but let 
The light of truth shine on the path of 

hope 
And dissipate the darkness: waste no 

tears 
Upon the blotted record of lost years; 



But turn the leaf, and smile, oh smile, to 

see 

The fair white pages that remain for 
thee." 

At the conclusion of Dr. Robertson's 
address a brief paper was read by Sir 
James Grant on some of the literary 
products of Canada. Following this paper 
Professor John Macnaughton, of McGill 
university, delivered au address on "The 
value of literature." He protested vigor- 
ously against the present day tendency 
toward pure utilitarianism in education 
and pleaded for a large place for the great 
and enobling literature of the past in our 
educational systems. 

The CHAIRMAN: I have the pleasure 
of asking Sir Wilfrid Laurier to serve the 
Canadian libraries and librarians in pre- 
senting a little gift to the president. 

SIR WILFRID LAURIER: Mr. Chair- 
man, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am en- 
trusted with a very pleasant duty. The 
Canadian members of the American Li- 
brary Association are desirous of pre- 
senting to its president some expression 
of their respect and esteem, and they have 
chosen to convey it in the shape of a gavel 
which they want to present to you, Madam 
President. It is of Canadian wood and 
Canadian silver, and I hope you will 
carry it with you as a token adding pleas- 
ure to your sojourn here, pleasant at all 
events for all of us, and, I hope, for you 
also. 

President ELMENDORF: Sir Wilfrid. 
Mr. Chairman and Canadian friends: This 
beautiful gift to the association is made, 
I am told, of Canadian wood inlaid with 
Canadian silver. Of course Canadian 
wood means the wood of the maple and 
how does that wonderful close fiber come 
into being? The maple leaf reaches up- 
ward into the free air and there it gathers 
sunshine and the gases of the atmosphere 
and combining, converting and solidify- 
ing these impalpable things into fiber 
stores them away as this beautiful wood. 

What is literature and how does it come 
into being? By means of the printed leaf, 
out of human life, are gathered individual 
knowledge, experience and emotion and 



170 



OTTAWAICONFERENCE 



combined and converted these individual 

contributions pass as wisdom into the 

race mind there to be stored forever to 

"Help such men as need." 

You have thus given us fit symbol in- 
deed of our profession. 

Just one thought more. I come from 
the border line where there is much hope 
that some permanent memorial of the 
hundred beautiful years of peace may be 
built. In the same spirit, I hope that this 
gavel may be the only weapon ever raised 
to enforce order between Canadians and 
Americans. 

Mr. BOWKER: Let us remember 
"kindness in another's trouble" and that 
even a closer bond than the common 
work in our profession, is the bond of 
sympathy in time of loss. 

I move, in view of the partial destruc- 
tion of the public library at Regina and 
the great catastrophe that has come to 
her people, that the president of the 
American Library Association be author- 
ized and requested to send the sympathy 
of this conference to the public library 
and the people of Regina. 

The motion was agreed to unanimously, 
and the message ordered sent. 

Adjourned. 

FIFTH GENERAL SESSION 

(Russell Theatre, Monday, July 1, 

8:30 p. m.) 

President Elmendorf occupied the 
chair. 

The SECRETARY: It was our hope 
that Dr. Claxton, U. S. Commissioner of 
education, would be with us at this con- 
ference, but he was unable to come and 
so sends us this greeting: 

Mrs. H. L. Elmendorf, President, Amer- 
ican Library Association, Ottawa. 

"Convey to association my greetings 
and best wishes for successful meeting. 
P. P. CLAXTON." 

The PRESIDENT: Ladies and Gentle- 
men, my introduction to-night is to be 
very short indeed, that you may the 
sooner reach the treat in store. Our hon- 
ored speaker of the evening has his own 
message for us. He also bears a message 
from the National Education Associa- 



tion. He is the honored son of his great 
and beloved father Bishop Vincent, he 
has been dean of the University of Chi- 
cago, he is still president of the Chautau- 
qua Institution, he is the president of the 
University of Minnesota, more than all, 
he is himself, Dr. GEORGE EDGAR 
VINCENT. 

ADDRESS BY DR. VINCENT 

Dr. VINCENT said, in opening his ad- 
dress, that he brought the greetings of 
the National Education Association, being 
an "uninstructed delegate," and he firmly 
believed "that with your tact, with your 
boundless energy, with your irresistible 
enthusiasm, you will ultimately sweep 
away into the vortex of your aggressive 
enterprise even the school teachers of the 
United States and Canada." 

Continuing Dr. Vincent said: 

I find some difficulty in deciding just 
what analogy I shall use this evening. 
This is a subject which has exhausted 
almost all the forms of metaphor, simile 
and analogy. Librarians have been 
likened to almost everything under the 
sun. There are three metaphors which 
have survived from the old days. You are 
all familiar with these. You use them 
ironically, to describe that condition of 
affairs which prevailed in libraries before 
you supplanted those archaic people who 
used so thoroughly to misinterpret the 
functions of the librarian. 

One is the analogy of the museum, the 
library as a museum of books, a museum 
carefully guarded, a museum to which the 
public is not to be admitted except under 
conditions which make resort to the place 
so irksome that only a few persist. You 
remember the old story of the man in 
Philadelphia who had committed a crime. 
To escape detection and go where nobody 
would look for him, he resorted to the 
reading room of the Philadelphia library. 

Then there is the other analogy I do 
not know that this has been, so far, in- 
sisted upon, but it is a very good one, it 
seems to me the analogy of the peniten- 
tiary of books, with the librarian as a 



VINCENT 



171 



jailer. Just why these people should have 
been put In prison as they were in the old 
days, just why their friends should not 
be permitted to visit them, it is hard to 
say. This is akin to another analogy, the 
library as a mausoleum of books, a place 
where books are buried, and the librarian 
is a bibliotaph. 

These old analogies, these figures of an- 
other day, serve pleasantly to flatter a little 
your complacency over things as they are. 
But we have no time to devote to the dead 
past. Let us consider some of the analo- 
gies which are still living. I have been 
a little bewildered by that analogy this 
morning, the maple leaf and the gavel. I 
have not been quite able to work it out. It 
seems to me, with all deference to the 
delightfully poetic figure, which took every- 
body by storm, including myself, it is a 
mistake to try to analyze these sentiments. 
There was something about preserving 
the light in the maple leaves and the 
leaves of the book. Now, as a matter of 
fact, leaves are put away in a library very 
much as they are in an herbarium. There 
is no botanical relation to the trunk of a 
tree after they have been folded and put 
away. So I don't see how that works out 
but that doesn't make any difference. An 
analogy never goes on four legs. This 
one just happened to have about two and 
a half feet upon the ground. But that is 
Mrs. Elmendorf's analogy; I propose to 
leave it alone. There may be an explosive 
possibility about it which she will explain 
some time when she has a chance to work 
it out. She had very short notice and she 
did it beautifully, and I know so little 
about botany that it gave me practically 
no intellectual difficulty. 

Then there is the analogy that we are all 
very fond of, the analogy of the library as 
a department store. There you have your 
efficient business manager. The library is 
a place where it is no trouble to show 
goods, where you have your various depart- 
ments and the goods are up to date ; where 
yon have all sorts of advertising methods, 
where you advertise in the daily papers, 
send out bulletins, get up circulars and 



posters and attract attention by illustra- 
tions, where you have an elevator and all 
that sort of thing. Just think of the sacri- 
fice that librarians are making, the mere 
pittances they are receiving, when they 
might be running these great emporia in 
our large cities. The department store 
offers a good analogy if you do not press it 
too far. There is not very much money 
in the business. It doesn't pay very well 
in dollars and cents, but think of the 
Intellectual advantages ft offers* the 
psychic dividends that a business of that 
sort pays! 

Then there is a figure I worked out 
myself a while ago, the library as a social 
memory. That seems to me capital. I 
think, so far as I know, I have a copy- 
right on that figure. It was a good address, 
by the way, in which I used this trope. 
I wish I had remembered it; I should have 
brought it along and read it to-night 
instead of making this carefully set 
address. Yes, the social memory idea is 
a good analogy. It reduces the librarian 
to a medulla oblongata, so far as I am able 
to understand the psychology of the situa- 
tion. Yet that is an honorable function, 
although largely automatic. It is a good 
thing to control the resources of the social 
memory, to be able to put these at the 
service of the public mind decidedly a 
fruitful analogy, but I do not care to elabo- 
rate it this evening. 

Another figure is an hydraulic image 
the library as a reservoir a reservoir of 
the world's refreshing, stimulating, ener- 
gizing, fructifying influences. The li- 
brarian becomes a gate keeper and an irri- 
gator. It is a beautiful thought, that you 
are letting out these fertilizing floods over 
the plains of human ignorance and stupid- 
ity. No wonder you think well of your- 
selves. 

Then there is another that appealed to 
me this morning you are a center of 
radioactivity, of Intellectual and moral 
radioactivity, you are social and psycho- 
logical physicists. The library as a center 
of psychic radioactivity strikes me as some- 
thing satisfying, fascinating, delightful. 



172 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Another figure has appealed to my imagi- 
ation. It is the library as an inn of books. 
Had you thought about that? Of course, 
you had and that makes you hotel 
keepers. You see, being hotel keepers you 
would naturally be interested in all kinds 
of equipment; you would have the rooms 
prepared for your guests in the very best 
way, you would have a fireproof hotel, the 
rooms rather narrow, if you please, but 
plenty large enough and fairly well lighted 
and ventilated. The trouble is when you 
are running a big hotel to have the 
register carefully kept. You know, almost 
none of our best hotels can ever tell you 
whether a man is in or out. They are 
always uncertain about it, and in the old 
days before libraries and hotels became so 
efficient you could never be sure the clerk 
knew his business. You have changed 
all that, you- are the most competent of 
hotel keepers and know how to build 
hotels and equip them. You furnish lob- 
bies and parlors in which to meet guests, 
or if one likes he may take them home 
with him. I wish I had time to elaborate 
this idea of the Inn of Books. I am get- 
ting fond of it as the imagination plays 
with it. You can fancy Socrates coming 
in, looking about cautiously, with a cer- 
tain apprehension, a little nervous for 
fear that she might be there. You can 
imagine him hanging about the corridors, 
listening to the gentlemen as they talk, 
coming up behind them, listening a little 
while, then saying in that calm way of his, 
that dangerously calm way, "I beg your 
pardon, but just what do you mean by 
'progressive?' Precisely what significance 
do you give to 'life, liberty and the 
pursuit of happiness?' " Oh, it would be 
dreadful if Socrates were to come around 
and ask what we meant by the things we 
say. No wonder they gave him the hem- 
lock cup. You couldn't permit him in 
your hotel. People would not understand 
him and would not associate with him in 
these days when we so much resent being 
asked to analyze and explain our auto- 
matic phrases. 

You can see Horace coming in. He 



wouldn't be at all anxious to avoid the 
ladies. He would 'soon catch sight of 
the pretty stenographer. What pleasure 
he would take in dictating to her a clever 
ode. Yes, Horace would like the modern 
hotel. Then picture Pepys coming in, reg- 
istering and then buying a yellow jour- 
nal. How dismayed he would be! Pepys 
would have no chance whatever with Mr. 
Hearst. Then you can see the entrance 
of Lord Bacon. He would reveal his dual 
character, insist upon having the state 
suite all to himself, then hasten to dis- 
cover how the electric lights and the elev 
ator worked. You can image this sort of 
thing and can draw from it any analogy 
you please, but I have not time to do more 
than merely suggest it. It would make an 
admirable address for somebody who will 
be invited to address you next year. 

I am not going to talk about these anal- 
ogies, I am going to talk on the psychology 
of pictures. You know these are psycho- 
logical days. We have now the psychology 
of almost everything. We have the 
psychology of infancy, the psychology of 
childhood, the psychology of adolescence 
and the psychology of senility; we have 
the psychology of advertising, we have the 
psychology of salesmanship and we have 
Henry James. Therefore one need make 
no apology in fact, one would apologise 
for not talking upon a psychological theme. 
I am going to try to see whether psychol- 
ogy has anything to say to librarians. Of 
course, it must have something to say. 
You are all psychologists. Anybody that 
knows how to give some one a book he 
does not want and make him think he likes 
it, is a psychologist. It is perfectly ob- 
vious that a psychological theme will be 
appropriate for a company like this. 

When we try to describe what is going 
on in our minds we are immediately 
forced to use some sort of imagery, ideas 
made familiar in some other field. So 
when anybody reads psychological litera- 
ture nowadays he is sure to come across 
the phrase "the threshold of conscious- 
ness." Here is a simple picture a two- 
room house. One is the conscious room, 



VINCENT 



173 



the other Is the unconscious room. There 
is a door between, and when an idea goes 
from the conscious to the unconscious 
room it goes over that threshold, and when 
it goes back it necessarily has to go over 
that threshold again. Then James has 
given us that fine figure, "the stream of 
consciousness." How good it is! Your 
thoughts and feelings flow on day after 
day and year after year like a stream. 
Practical questions arise at once. What 
sort of a stream of consciousness have I? 
Is the stream going steadily on, or is it 
rather like a babbling brook, making a 
pleasant murmur but with little power? 
Or like the River Platte, spreading out 
and disappearing in the sands of stupidity, 
or like a turgid stream, so muddy that it is 
almost impossible to see anything beneath 
the surface? Or is it a strong, clear, 
on-sweeping current to which new ideals 
and feelings are contributed day by day, 
so that as the years go on it becomes a 
mighty energy to turn the wheels of the 
world? A very good figure, and we may 
very well put such questions to ourselves. 
Professor Cooley, of Michigan, has 
suggested another figure which I think 
would sufficiently antagonize Professor 
Macnaughton if he were here. Let us 
imagine a room, the walls and ceiling of 
which are incrusted thickly with incan- 
descent lights. Near the door let us 
imagine a box containing a lot of switches. 
You turn on a switch and that immediately 
lights up a line across that wall, over the 
ceiling and down the other wall. You can 
stand there and turn on and off these 
switches and light up those circuits of 
electric lights at will. In similar fashion 
you have brain cells and these brain cells 
are like incandescent electric lights, the 
filaments of which connect with one 
another into circuits of association. 
When some one turns on a switch, by a 
visual image, or by an odor, or by a sound, 
there suddenly lights up in your mind one 
of these circuits of memory. When you 
look at the turrets of that beautiful 
Chateau Laurier, what do you see? Are 
you not in the valley of the Loire? Can't 



you see the frowning front of Chinon, the 
gracious facade of Asay-le-Rideau, the lace- 
like stairway of Blois, the massive turrets 
of Amboise? It is a fine thing to have 
one's mind well-wired, to have the circuits 
in good condition. A personal question 
you can put to yourself is "What sort of 
mental lights have I? Are they four 
candle power or thirty-two Tungsten? 
Are my switches in perfect working 
order, or are my circuits crossed, and 
fuses melted so that my mind is in semi or 
complete darkness?" This is a very 
practical way of applying these figures; 
and this address would be of no value if 
it did not now and then sound the hom- 
iletic note. 

There is another figure to which I call 
your attention. It is the figure of the stere- 
opticon lecture. We all go to stereopticon 
lectures. Many of us are fond of moving 
pictures. We may say we are not, we may 
take high ground, but we sneak in to see 
them. We all like pictures, we are like 
children in this regard; and when we go 
to a stereopticon lecture we know that no 
matter how stupid the lecturer may be, 
once in two minutes we are going to get 
a slide. The laws of physics work in our 
interests, for if the lecturer keeps a slide 
in the lantern longer than two minutes the 
heat is likely to break it. Therefore 
cupidity thwarts the passion for speech. 
We are all the while attending stereop- 
ticon lectures. We all have screens in our 
minds, and on these screens pictures are 
passing constantly. Our mental life can 
be described accurately and vividly in 
terms of these pictures, these slides of 
memory and imagination. Then, too, 
there is a spectator within us looking at 
the pictures, commenting upon them and 
having feelings about them. The charac- 
ter of the individual is revealed by the pic- 
tures he fondly holds on the screen of his 
mind. How curiously mental pictures are 
related to one another, and what strange 
slides some of them are! Let us examine 
them for a little. 

In the first place, it is important to 
notice that some pictures are very vague. 



174 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



That means they are not well focused. 
You have been to a stereopticon lecture 
when the man could not work the lantern 
and when there were most unseemly alter- 
cations between the gentleman on the plat- 
form and the unfortunate person who was 
trying to run the lantern. It 13 bad 
enough to have the slides put In upside 
down; It is bad enough to have them start 
at the end of the lecture instead of the 
beginning; it is bad enough to have one 
of your favorite colored slides drop on the 
floor, but the worst thing is to have a slide 
so badly focused that you cannot tell 
what it is. Do you realize that in these 
mental panoramas, in these stereopticon 
exhibitions that we are attending, there are 
some pictures that are not well focused? 
Think of the ideas we have that are vague 
and hazy. Attention is the power which 
focuses pictures on the screen of the 
mind. You haven't possession of a pict- 
ure until you can see it in its clear out- 
lines. What a deal of vagueness there is 
in the world! How many ideas that, as a 
friend of mine says, "are fuzzy around the 
edges." The only mental picture that is to 
be trusted is the slide which is precise and 
clear and definite and accurately focused. 
Then another thing to note about these 
pictures is the way in which they are 
related to one another. We may have a 
passive or an active attitude toward the 
show that is going on. When you are in 
a passive condition, you know how oddly 
these pictures come on, what an absurd 
relation sometimes they have to one 
another. They seem to have no logical 
connection whatever. Some pictures 
always appear together, although they may 
have no connection except that they were 
originally associated in that way, and you 
can never get one of them without the 
other turning up. It is amusing, some- 
times grotesque, sometimes absurd, the 
way these pictures are grouped. Some 
come in what we call a logical series; 
that is, they have some connection with 
one another, one brings up another, and 
you go through the series from one point 
to another. Oh, how promiscuously these 



pictures come on the screen of the mind, 
some without the slightest premonition of 
their coming. It is fascinating to recall 
the process by which one picture sug- 
gested another, and that one a third. At 
times the spectator within us takes con- 
trol and says, "I won't have that picture 
any longer, I will have another." He has 
the power to summon pictures. There lies 
the control. If there be in this world any- 
thing like self-control, that self-control is 
in the control of mental imagery. That 
control is the secret of personality. In 
terms of mental imagery can we define 
the individual and his power over him- 
self, for mental pictures control our lives. 
Habit is merely a mental picture which 
has become automatic. Just because you 
can do the thing although you are con- 
scious of the picture no longer, it does 
not mean that that image was not there 
once. When I want you to do something, 
I tell you to do it. If I have authority 
over you I put the picture of that act in 
your mind and I hold it there until it has 
worked itself out in conduct. Of course, 
I should not go about it in that way, with 
you, as an association of librarians. Not 
at all. I should attempt it in quite 
another way. I should sneak the picture 
into your mind by what we call indirect 
suggestion. If you were somebody I 
could browbeat into doing what I told 
you to do, I could order you to do it. In 
other words, I could jam the picture 
right into your mind, hold it there and 
say, "Now, you do that thing." But, with 
you, I couldn't do it that way. But I 
think I could manage some of you at any 
rate. When you were not watching, I 
should slip the picture into your mind. 
You wouldn't know where it came from. 
It would come on naturally. You would 
think you thought of it yourself. That is 
the gentle art of suggestion, to slip a pict- 
ure on the screen of a person's mind 
without letting him know how it got there. 
He naturally, then, supposes it is the result 
of those deceptive processes which he 
identifies with personal thinking. You 
cannot cram ideas down the throat of a 



VINCENT 



175 



free-born American citizen. Of course, you 
can't. Moreover, what is the use of cram- 
ming them down his throat when you can 
squirt them into him with a psychological 
hypodermic? That is the charming thing 
about suggestion. All control, then, is con- 
trol through mental imagery. You have 
had this experience, for example. As you 
stood in a railroad station and a locomo- 
tive came thundering in, you have had, for 
a moment, an impulse not only an im- 
pulse, you have had the picture in your 
mind of throwing yourself under the loco- 
motive. From a casual inspection of the 
company I should suppose that none had 
tried that experiment as yet. Why? Be- 
cause you were able to remove that pict- 
ure from your mind and substitute for it 
another a picture of the presumable ap- 
pearance of things in a very short time after 
you had made the experiment, or the vista 
of a long and happy life stretching out be- 
fore you, or of obligations to family and 
friends. Any one of these pictures will 
serve the purpose. But if the time ever 
comes when that picture of going under 
that locomotive gets firmly fixed in your 
mind, nothing except physical force from 
without can prevent your going under the 
wheels. Every motor idea that comes into 
our minds tends to work itself out into 
action. That is the secret of the hypnotic 
sleep, in which the person who is under 
your control, through pictures produced in 
his mind, automatically carries these 
things out into action. Mental imagery is 
the secret of life, and control of mental 
imagery means the control of mankind. 
Self-control is the control of one's own 
imagery. 

The personality, the self, is revealed in 
this imagery and in the attitude of the 
spectator within us. You know those dif- 
ferent attitudes. There are some pictures 
that come upon the screen of your mind, 
and the spectator within you is immedi- 
ately interested. For example, here comes 
a picture on the screen of your mind of the 
day when that board that you had been 
working with so long, that unintelligent 
board, that board made up of reactionary 



people that you had so long been nursing, 
came to the point where you were able to 
tell them of that scheme of yours which 
must inevitably, logically and remorse- 
lessly lead to putting the library in your 
community on a modern basis. When the 
picture of your triumph on that occasion 
comes upon the screen of your mind, the 
spectator within you claps her hands and 
says: "You were very clever about that; 
you waited a long time, you worked it 
skillfully, you certainly are a capable per- 
son." You all get pictures of that kind. 
You can't help looking at them. Here is 
another slide a reception. Of course, 
when they said that yours was an ex- 
tremely becoming gown, you were quite 
delighted; and you talked well; you did say 
a lot of brilliant things. To be sure they 
were not original nobody expects that 
but you were very fortunate in your an- 
thology that afternoon. I can see by the 
broad and amiable smiles all of you are 
wearing, that pictures of a similarly agree- 
able kind are by suggestion appearing on 
the screens of your minds. 

But you have pictures of a very different 
sort. How could you? of course, you 
were just from the library school, it was 
only your first position, but, at the same 
time, how conld you? you cannot imagine 
how you could have mistaken Sir Thomas 
More, in the sixteenth, for Thomas Moore 
in the nineteenth century. How could you 
have done it? Yet you did. When that pict- 
ure comes on the screen of your mind the 
spectator within you shrinks and says: 
"Why must we look at that? Take it off 
at once." It would be very piquant if I 
could take other illustrations from your 
own experience, but I cannot do that. I 
shall have to take one out of mine. I have 
a number which my spectator dislikes. 
Here is a recent one: 

At our experimental farm we have a very 
beautiful new saddle horse. As I pretend 
to be something of a rider I went to ride 
this horse. There was a sort of celebra- 
tion that afternoon, and I thought it would 
be pleasant for the president of the Uni- 
versity to ride one of these blooded horses 



176 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



to give eclat to the affair. I went out and 
rode this mare about. Everything went 
well until I encountered several traction 
engines in active operation and a number 
of automobiles. I was in a very narrow 
place. There being almost no other direc- 
tion for the mare to go, she began to take 
a vertical course. She was in good con- 
dition and rather rotund, and the laws of 
physics worked out their inevitable result. 
At forty-five degrees I held on admirably. 
At sixty-five degrees, I began to feel some 
little distress. At eighty degrees I looked 
behind me, and at 89 1-2 degrees I slid off. 
Now, such is the admirable press organi- 
zation in the great state of Minnesota that 
every newspaper, I think, in the common- 
wealth I haven't found one yet that 
skipped the item called attention to the 
fact that the president of the University 
had come a cropper or, if not strictly a 
cropper, the effect of it was the same. One 
of the papers was kind enough to say that, 
being an expert rider, I landed on my feet. 
If I did, my fundamental ideas of anatomy 
have been entirely erroneous. As I have 
been traveling about the state in the last 
few weeks, I haven't met a man, woman 
or child who has not sooner or later 
worked that back-sliding into the conver- 
sation. This is a picture of which, when 
it comes on the screen of my mind, the 
spectator within me says, "I suppose we 
have got to stand this, but it is certainly 
getting to be slightly tiresome." We all get 
slides of that sort in our collection. 

Then there are pictures of another sort, 
beautiful pictures, inspiring pictures, yet 
for some reason the spectator within us 
is left cold and unaffected by these images. 
It is the very tragedy of human nature 
that we may intellectually know beau- 
tiful, noble, inspiring things, may have 
uplifting visions, and yet the spectator 
within us may look at these things and 
never so much as feel a flutter of the 
pulse. We do not incorporate ideas until 
these things have become not only a part 
of our intellectual apprehension, but un- 
til they have become a part of our emo- 
tional nature, until we make them into 



the very fabric of ourselves. We define 
the self, therefore, in terms of mental 
pictures, and the control of self is the 
control of mental pictures. Let me know 
the pictures to which you constantly re- 
vert, let me know the pictures that come 
steadily to the screen of your mind, let me 
know the pictures that the spectator with- 
in you gloats over and feels a loyalty to, 
and I will reveal to you your character. 
Whatsoever a man thinketh in his heart, 
whatsoever pictures he makes his own, 
whatsoever pictures he gloats over with 
joy and satisfaction, these things reveal 
the true personality. 

Consider another thing: the content of 
these pictures, the kind of pictures. How 
are they determined? They are deter- 
mined by our social relationships. Do you 
think the same sort of pictures are in the 
mind of the Englishman as are in the 
mind of the American? Do you think the 
same kind of pictures come into the mind 
of the Frenchman as come into the mind 
of the German? There are certain uni- 
versal pictures, the same for all educated 
people, but most pictures take on a group 
character. What are the pictures that 
come into your minds as librarians? Pict- 
ures of your active calling. These pictures 
are very definite. You have your own 
phrases, your own language. These 
phrases and these forms of speech are 
themselves the labels of mental imagery. 
Every social group is held together by its 
phrases. Oh, how we love these phrases 
and how glibly we repeat them! So too, 
college professors have their own phrases. 
What a sesquipedalian terminology it is 
with which they bewilder the lay mind and 
overpower the student! How would law- 
yers get on but for their monopoly of 
archaic forms of speech? Think of the 
doctors' terminations, so many of them 
fatal, in itis, which they have invented in 
the last few years. So every social group 
determines very largely the conduct of its 
members by cleverly putting into their 
minds the imagery that it wishes to have 
carried out. Why do you dress as you do? 
Do your clothes represent your individual 



VINCENT 



177 



taste? In some measure, but for the most 
part you dress as you do because society 
puts fashion pictures into your heads. 
You ladies dress as you do because these 
fashion plates and the women you see up- 
on the street leave a deposit in your mind, 
a composite picture, and that composite 
picture works itself out in your own charm- 
ing and becoming wardrobe. To be sure, 
as librarians, you have individuality; as 
librarians, you have a certain personal dis- 
tinction, but it is, after all, only a varia- 
tion upon the common modes which you 
share with all your sisters everywhere. 
These standards, these ideals, these types, 
that we talk about are put into our minds 
by the social groups of which we are mem- 
bers, and we are to a very large extent 
dominated by these pictures. Do you 
doubt it? Just examine your mental im- 
agery. How much of that mental imagery 
have you secured as a result of your own 
first hand experience? How much of that 
mental imagery represents original think- 
ing? How much of that psychic pano- 
rama have you received ready-made from 
the society to which you belong? 

The pictures come qu^jkly upon the 
screen of the mind. How readily they are 
summoned by suggestion! If I had time 
I could bore you almost to extinction 
by calling .up in your minds images that 
are common to all of us. We all have 
large collections of slides. The depressing 
fact is that for the most part they are 
identical. How refreshing it is to meet an 
original person. Who is the original per- 
son? Just the person that has some 
slides that were made at home. Most of 
us have the same old, tiresome slides. 
When we have to make conversation, what 
do we do? Go to the pigeon-hole, take out 
a slide, put it into our minds and then 
reflect it to our friends. We have to be 
able to talk on a great variety of subjects. 
In the nature of things we could not think 
out these things for ourselves. Society 
has provided the slides. There they are, 
like a well-organized collection, a card cat- 
alog, with a topical index. To suppose 
that we make the slides ourselves is a 



grateful illusion. There may be a few who 
do, but most of us get ours from the stock 
houses in New York and Chicago. 

Was there ever a time when pictorial 
imagery was presented to the public as in 
these days? These are the days when 
people's minds are filled with visual im- 
agery as never before in the history of 
mankind. And never before was the same 
imagery spread over so wide an area. 
Think, for example, of what cartoons do. 
Cartoons are a substitute for thinking. 
Cartoons are ready-made slides. Cartoons 
are arguments ready to serve. Cartoons 
demand no intellectual effort. They would 
not be successful as cartoons if they did. 
A cartoon which you have to analyze is in 
the nature of things a mistake and a dis- 
appointment. A cartoon tells the story in- 
stantly. It is a slide put into the minds 
of millions of people in a single week. 
Then consider the imagery sent out by the 
illustrated magazines. There is only one 
magazine, I think, now, that does not have 
illustrations. Some of us take it just for 
that reason. It has a kind of distinction 
on that account. The Atlantic Monthly 
has no illustrations except in the advertis- 
ing pages some of those are very good 
but it has that sense of uniqueness, that 
kind of snobbishness, which is appreciated 
even in a democracy like our glorious de- 
mocracy, where we are all free and equal, as 
contrasted with the social distinctions of 
this monarchy under which we are so hos- 
pitably received this evening. It is a mis- 
take to suppose that the visual is sug- 
gested merely by drawings and photo- 
graphs. When we go to a lecture on 
"Mother, Home and Heaven" we expect 
the speaker in lieu of lantern slides to 
supply "word pictures." The Sunday sup- 
plement is the absolute symbol of our state 
of mind. 

As we haven't time to think i. e., to 
make our own slides naturally we haven't 
time to bring our collection together to see 
whether it is consistent. We are going 
about with a most extraordinary selection 
of slides. The only reason we get along 
with peace of mind is that we do not take 



178 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



our slides out of the different boxes at the 
same time. You keep your religious slides 
in one box, your moral slides in another, 
your business slides in another, your pro- 
fessional slides in another and never take 
anything out of two pigeon-holes at once. 
For that reason you go through life with- 
out knowing what an extraordinary col- 
lection of hopelessly contradictory and mu- 
tually destructive ideas you are carrying 
about under that hat of yours. It is only 
by keeping these things in their boxes that 
we have anything like peace of mind. A 
few people, of course, are constantly going 
through their boxes, sifting, reorganizing 
and unifying their collections. These are 
the men and women who think, who have 
courage, and for the most part they rep- 
resent genuine leadership. But most of 
us are satisfied to get our slides ready 
made, to get them in quantities and to 
have them remain a most heterogeneous 
accumulation. 

There is a vast popular demand for 
ready-made slides. In every possible way 
these substitutes for thought are being 
sent out. Political slides are industriously 
distributed. You notice the difficulty that 
you have just now in talking about the 
political situation in our glorious country. 
We do not yet know what to say. You see, 
the slides haven't yet been sent out for 
this week. We have to wait until the slide 
makers put them on the market. We are 
all waiting to know what, to say; we are 
all waiting for a new set of slides which 
shall be adjusted to the new conditions. 
If you bring out that old slide about the 
Republican party that saved the country 
No! You don't want to say anything about 
that. You see at once, even though it has 
saved the country for years you can see 
that that slide won't do. It is cracked. 

Pardon a digression which enforces the 
point that in these days everything has to 
be pictorial. You see, when I am address- 
ing a group of librarians in a jaded condi- 
tion, I have to use pictorial illustrations. 
It is true, I should like to be didactic and 
pedagogic on an occasion like this, but you 
are in a psychological condition which 
makes it absolutely impossible. Even the 



thought of listening to these songs that 
are coming afterward, would not keep you 
if I were not constantly pictorial and keep- 
ing your minds filled with this beguiling 
imagery. 

Imagery, then, is absolutely essential; 
self-control and social control are depend- 
ent upon the distribution of appropriate 
mental slides. The very life of the nation 
depends upon this. Here we are, nearly a 
hundred million people we always In- 
clude children whose slides must be sup- 
plied and in some fashion unified. The im- 
agination breaks down at the thought of 
this vast task. This national like-minded- 
ness is a glorious achievement. It has 
never been equaled anywhere on the face 
of the earth. To keep these millions of 
people, who are scattered over three mil- 
lion square miles, with the same funda- 
mental pictures in their heads is a mar- 
velous triumph. 

That we are the most progressive, the 
most mighty, the most highly civilized 
country on the face of the world that is a 
gorgeous colored slide, which we keep on 
hand all the time. There are a lot of 
slides like that, that are common to every- 
body. True, we have slides specialized for 
the use of various social groups, but the 
fundamental slides that preserve our na- 
tionality, are common to millions. 

We have to have institutions that keep 
these slides vivid in the minds of our peo- 
ple. It is the greatest attempt at social 
control that has ever been conceived. 

But the national slide industry is by no 
means perfected. On the whole, there is 
an appalling number of these pictures that 
are vulgar slides, cheap slides, common- 
place slides, uninteresting slides. It is 
your business for now I come to my an- 
alogy it is your business, as the people 
who are running the moving-picture con- 
cerns of the United States, to see to it 
that better pictures are put into the minds 
of your fellow citizens. You have the 
responsibility of superseding in the mental 
collections of millions of our citizens slides 
that are cheap and unworthy and inac- 
curate and misleading, with mental pic- 
tures that are clean-cut, trustworthy, in- 



VINCENT 



179 



forming and inspiring. That is your busi- 
ness. You are in competition with the 
moving-picture houses. There are nine 
thousand of these moving-picture concerns 
working night and day in the United 
States, filling the minds of people with 
mental imagery. But every library is full 
of potential mental pictures which can be 
made interesting, ennobling and uplifting 
to millions of people. It is your privilege 
to get these slides out into circulation, a 
mighty appealing thing to do, a splendidly 
stirring thing to do. I hope you are thor- 
oughly alert as members of this mental 
picture syndicate. You know what you 
have to do. You must advertise and you 
must capture the public in every possible 
way; you must not be ashamed to put out 
posters describing the wonderful pictures. 

And what rare pictures you have ! What 
is a novel? It is a film of moving pictures. 
What is a great novel? It is a series of 
great pictures and what lovely pictures 
they may be; what interesting, what in- 
spiring pictures they may be! What a 
great collection of such mental pictures 
you have in your libraries! And when 
people read George Barr McCutcheon, try 
to get that film away from them and give 
them George Meredith. You laugh at that, 
but how about "Harry Richmond?" Isn't it 
as good a story as ever Anthony Hope or 
as ever George Barr McCutcheon wrote? 
It is a good slide, a good film. When peo- 
ple come and want to read Laura Jean 
Libbey of course you wouldn't have her on 
the premises but if that is their standard 
try to work off Robert Louis on them. You 
know, there are some of Robert Louis' that 
are fairly sensational. You can get people 
started on the right road with Robert 
Louis if you go about it in a clever way to 
pull the cheap slides out of people's minds. 

But, you say, there are a lot of people 
whose mental apparatus, if I may modify 
the figure a little bit, no, it is not a mod- 
ification, it is an amplification, it is a per- 
fectly locical development of the figure, 
you say that for a good many people you 
want a magic lantern in their mind that 
will focus properly. That is the business 
of education. That is what Dr. Robertson 



and I are trying to do, to make the minds 
of the young focus properly, on the right 
sort of things. You must get a great deal 
of inaccurate information made accurate 
and definite. You know, one of the great 
troubles with our educational system is 
that our ideas are so haphazard, so un- 
trustworthy. 

The scientific slides need looking after 
carefully. They are changed every few 
minutes, but we have to do the best we 
can to run the latest and most trustworthy 
slides into the minds of the people. Then 
think of the literary slides. I was very 
much interested in the discussion this 
morning. I fear it will go on indefinitely 
as long as the gentlemen do not define their 
terms. But I think if they were to do this 
they would discover that they both believe 
about the same thing. 

But here at hand is the real application 
of this figure. What is it that makes life 
interesting? It is to be able to associate 
with the ordinary, commonplace experi- 
ences of life an illuminating, inspiring, fas- 
cinating imagery. Do you realize that the 
books in your library give no pleasure 
whatever except as they interpret life to 
people who bring the experience of life to 
the books? A book is a mere dead symbol 
until it becomes vital in the life of a living 
man or woman. You have books in your 
library in foreign languages. These books 
are sealed to people who do not know 
those foreign languages. You would not 
think of offering a French or German book, 
say, to an average college graduate. You 
must have people who understand the 
language in which books are written. So 
when you give a book of history or a book 
of science or a book of poetry to a man or 
woman, that man or woman must bring a 
little bit of life, a little gleam of life ex- 
perience, in order to get into any kind of 
relationship with that book. Then the 
book reacts and becomes a guide for the 
further investigation and interpretation of 
life. And so the book and life together go 
on enriching human experience. 

I wish we had more accurate slides 
about history, especially about the French 
Revolution. We mostly get our slides on 



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OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



the French Revolution from the Sunday 
evening sermons of eminent divines who 
are proving that the French Revolution 
was completely parallel with our times, 
and that France went to the bad largely 
because the Church was temporarily dis- 
established. Now, if we get our slides of 
the French Revolution from popular pul- 
pits and from stump speakers we shall get 
some curious pictures. We want to put 
Into the minds of the people the slides 
from men like Morse Stephens and von 
Hoist before we introduce those lurid and 
beautifully colored slides from Carlyle and 
those rather melodramatic slides from "A 
tale of two cities." Then there is the fall 
of Rome, for example. Anybody can ex- 
plain the fall of Rome, and we are always 
upon the brink of a French revolution. 
What we need is an accurate picture of 
what caused Rome to fall. Then as for 
Greece Greece, that magic word! We 
need a lot of pictures about Greece. I 
have a good deal of interest in classic cul- 
ture if it can be, for a large number of 
people, divorced from the classic lan- 
guages. To suppose that there is an iden- 
tity between Greek grammar and Greek 
life, its social institutions and its aspira- 
tions and their lessons for us, is to make 
a very serious blunder. You have noticed 
that an eminent Greek scholar from Eng- 
land has been lecturing at Amherst. Did 
he talk about grammar? No, He talked 
about the philosophy of Greece, the poli- 
tics of Greece, the social history of Greece. 
These are things we need; for, my friends, 
you know, and you need to preach this 
doctrine, that modernity defeats itself. To 
suppose that reading the daily newspaper 
and having the mind filled with contem- 
porary events gives any one a right to 
judge of those events, is absurdity itself. 
We can understand the present only as 
we can connect that present with the past. 
Therefore, if we are to have an intelligent 
population many men must have a vivid 
and accurate panorama of human history; 
they must be able to see the present in 
the light of the past, and then to predict 
with some little degree of certainty 



what we are to have in the future. Look, 
for example, at our present crisis. I am 
not going to interpret it, I do not under- 
stand it; but we cannot possibly see be- 
neath the surface of it unless we try to 
interpret it in the light of the experience 
of other nations. What have all the great 
nations of Western Europe done? When 
we ask that question, and when we see 
how parties are aligned in this Dominion 
where we meet to-night, we cannot fail to 
get a little light upon what is going on at 
home. There the same social forces are at 
work, under different conditions, to be 
sure, but working themselves out in- 
evitably. 

So it is our business to fill the minds of 
our fellow citizens with accurate pictures, 
with definite pictures, with pictures of 
reality, with pictures which shall illumine 
every department of life. If there is any 
aim in education, it seems to me it is to 
make man a citizen of the world, to make 
him at home in nature, at home with man- 
kind, at home with all the great forces 
which play a part in his personal develop- 
ment, which sweep through him into the 
lives of generations yet unborn. When his 
mind is filled with such pictures, when the 
spectator within him goes out to the best 
and finest and truest of these pictures with 
genuine appreciation, then you have the 
development of personality and the devel- 
opment of a great civilization. 

You, my friends, are the keepers of 
these films and slides. It is your business 
to see that they are well chosen, to see 
that they are made available, to see that 
the people are stimulated, that the people 
are made to realize vividly what it means 
to have their minds filled with these true, 
these beautiful, these inspiring pictures 
which will enable them to interpret life, 
to enter into it more richly, to get out of 
it more joy, the joy of intelligent appre- 
ciation, the joy of work well done, scien- 
tifically done, the joy of comradeship, the 
joy of association in great enterprises. 
When these pictures fill the mind, when 
the spectator within is loyal to them, then 
there is richness of personal life, then 



VINCENT 



181 



there is genuine advancement of civili- 
zation. 

Imagery is the clue to conduct. With- 
out mental imagery there can be no de- 
velopment of character. Without mental 
imagery there can be no social progress. 
This mental imagery comes from the ex- 
perience of life. You are not the sole pur- 
veyors of it. Books, as I have said, are 
dead and inert things until men with some 
experience of life come to them for further 
insight and for guidance as they go their 
way trying to understand life and to inter- 
pret it more truly and to get out of it 
greater richness. 

There is a delight in mental pictures. 
May our pictures be interesting and true 
and ennobling, may they increase in num- 
ber as the years go on, may they open up 
to us vistas of personal satisfaction, give 
us keener insight into the meaning of life 
and stir us to larger loyalties and to truer 
service. May we pledge ourselves to this 
great work and to the furthering and fos- 
tering of those things which Watson has 
so finely called "the things that are more 
excellent." 

"The grace of friendship, mind and heart 

Linked with their fellow heart and mind, 
The gains of science, gifts of art, 

The sense of oneness with our kind, 
The thirst to know and understand, 

A large and liberal discontent, 
These are the goods in life's rich hand, 

The things that are more excellent." 

At the conclusion of President Vincent's 
address, Mr. Lawrence J. Burpee an- 
nounced that M. Amedee Tremblay, or- 
ganist of the Basilica, would accompany 
a number of Canadian folk songs which 
M. Normandin, of Montreal, would sing. 
They were given in three groups of three, 
and between each group was given one of 
Dr. Drummond's poems in character, by 
Mr. Heney, of Ottawa, a most excellent in- 
terpreter of these sketches of the French- 
Canadian habitant. 

These unique, interesting and well ren- 
dered contributions to the exercises of 
the evening were much appreciated by 
all present, and at their conclusion the 



session closed with a brief but hearty ex- 
pression of acknowledgment from Presi- 
dent Elmendorf. 

SIXTH GENERAL SESSION 

(Russell Theatre, Tuesday, July 2, 
3 p. m.) 

President Elmendorf occupied the chair. 

Mr. CARR: Many of us appreciate the 
work done in days past by Frederick 
W. Faxon, in personally conducting our 
post-conference tours. Business obliged 
him to take another course this year and 
cross the water. It has been suggested 
that we send him a wireless despatch of 
appreciation and felicitation in the name 
of the association. Madam President, I 
move the authorization of such a tele- 
gram. 

The motion was carried unanimously, 
and the cablegram ordered sent. 

The PRESIDENT: Now, we will pro- 
ceed with the regular program, which 
brings us to the last of our series grow- 
ing out of the idea of service to the indi- 
vidual, and we shall take pleasure in 
hearing Mr. CARL B. RODEN, assistant 
librarian, Chicago public library, on 

BOOK ADVERTISING: INFORMATION 

AS TO SUBJECT AND SCOPE 

OF BOOKS 

At my first A. L. A. conference, that of 
Waukesha, now eleven years ago, I heard 
discussed that topic ever fruitful of dis- 
cussion: the librarian's attitude toward 
those books which are technically known 
as 'off-color.' The indignant resentment 
of that part of the public which failed to 
appreciate the censorious solicitude of the 
librarian was vividly set forth, and there 
were those who felt that the only per- 
manent way out was, in the words of 
George Ade, to "give the public what it 
thinks it wants." But the Librarian of 
Congress, in defending the library's point 
of view, uttered a remark which, as his 
remarks have a habit of doing, clarified 
the atmosphere as a Chicago lake breeze 
lifts a fog, and we settled back again 



182 



OTTAWA 6 CONFERENCE 



serene in the knowledge that our ortho- 
doxy had once more been vindicated and 
set upon its firm foundations. 

He said, in effect, that the duty of the 
librarian was not exclusion but selection 
and that in the full consciousness of his 
responsibility to the entire community he, 
the librarian, must exercise fully and 
freely his prerogative of selecting, out of 
the multitude of books, those which best 
suited his purpose and served his ends. 

The phrase "not exclusion but selection" 
struck at least one in that audience as so 
clear and telling a characterization of the 
librarian's business that he has kept it in 
mind, and well within reach for instant 
use, ever since. Many times it has served 
to confound the irate patron who com- 
batively insisted that he was old enough 
to judge for himself what was good for 
him. Not a few times has it been the 
stone offered the facetious newspaper man 
who came seeking for bread in the form 
of a "story" on the "barring out" of the 
latest shady novel. Today it recurs again 
as a fitting text upon which to base a plea 
for the more effective advertising of books 
as to subject and scope, and I trust that 
my exegesis may not prove too violent to 
establish the relation between my text and 
my topic, which to my mind is close and 
intimate. 

A library, of the kind with which we are 
now concerned, is first of all and after 
all a collection of books, selected and as- 
sembled by the librarian. It may be so 
administered as to become a great civic 
force, a social instrument, an educational 
agency, but first of all it is a collection of 
units, brought together upon certain prin- 
ciples as they operate in the mind of the 
library's administrator. Now, the word 
"administer" is a transitive verb, one de- 
finition of which is: "to manage, to con- 
duct, as in public affairs," and another, 
"to serve, to dispense, as in medicine." 
We may so administer manage, conduct 
the library as to render it a power for 
the advancement of humanity, and when 
we do that we are responding to the im- 
pulse which is generated in the very air 



which we in this age of advancement 
breathe. 

Or we may administer serve, dis- 
pense the books, as in medicine; know- 
ing the powers and the virtues of each; 
perceiving the stimulating effects of one, 
the acceleration of heart action induced 
by another; this one as an emollient and 
an anodyne, that one as a vesicatory or 
an excitant; here a bromide, there a sul- 
phite, yonder a tincture blandly dissolved 
in a vehicle of simple syrup, next a pill, 
sugar-coated, but none the less a stern and 
bitter dose. And when we do that we are 
returning to the habits and practices of 
that "old librarian" so useful to use now 
as a horrible example and a subject for 
humorous divagation, but we are also re- 
turning to the faith once delivered to the 
saints, for after all. the Fathers believed 
with Lord Bacon that "some books are to 
be tasted, others to be swallowed and 
some few to be chewed and digested" and 
they did love to administer them "as in 
medicine." 

It is far from my intention to imply that 
the new librarian does not know his books. 
Certainly he has not surrendered one 
ounce of his faith in their potency. Rather 
does he impute to them, collectively, 
greater powers than ever before, regard- 
ing his library as a moral unit of large in- 
fluence and seeking to extend its operation 
to the uttermost limits of his jurisdiction. 
But is it not thus collectively that he pre- 
fers to regard and administer it; as a 
great, powerful moral force which shall 
permeate the community and envelop it 
so that, by a sort of intellectual pantheism, 
we may all be in tune with the Infinite If 
we but open the windows of the soul? Is 
he not being borne along in the modern 
tiend in therapeutics which is replacing 
doses and cordials, tinctures and bitter 
pills with a state of mind? 

Creating the library habit by such 
methods: by putting the library in the way 
of the public and making it a familiar and 
consuetudinal part of the environment; 
pervading the civic fabric and injecting it- 
self into the daily life of the citizen, is one 



RODEN 



183 



thing. It is a very great and glorious 
thing. To the multitude it has opened new 
channels of relaxation, of stimulation, of 
mental growth and moral adjustment. Its 
possibilities have not been overstated 
even by the librarian himself. And on the 
day when librarians discovered the means 
and perfected the methods which set the 
library in that commanding and strategic 
position, on that day they set themselves 
in their rightful place as public educators 
and added a powerful impulse to that di- 
vine momentum by which humanity is be- 
ing driven forward toward the goal of per- 
fection which must be its destiny. But 
creating the reading habit well, is that 
quite the same thing? And if it be not 
quite the same thing, are librarians still 
concerned as much as formerly with pro- 
moting the generation of the reading habit 
as a part say the lesser half of their 
task? And if librarians are so concerned, 
are they are we using the most effec- 
tive methods to advance that part of our 
task? And is advertising the library just 
the same thing as advertising the books? 
It is by the consideration of these ques- 
tions that I hope to expound my text and 
deal with the topic assigned to me,. 

The library habit is akin to the museum 
habit, the public conservatory habit and 
the menagerie habit, and differs from the 
reading habit as visits to these institu- 
tions differ from cultivating your own 
garden patch or rearing your own pets. 
Perhaps the logical conclusion of these 
comparisons would seem to be that one 
must own one's books, but happily one 
does not have to own a book's body in 
order to possess its soul. Our present li- 
brary machinery is admirably adapted to 
the nurture of the library habit. Open 
shelves, book display racks, branches in 
which all visible barriers and restrictions 
have become as obsolete as the "keep off 
the grass" signs in the parks, all these in- 
vite the promiscuous and profuse handling 
of books, the sipping and skipping, the 
skimming and returning for more. Our 
card catalogs with their stern non- 
committalness and deadly monotony make 



it necessary for the reference patron to 
call for whole armfuls of books which he 
fumbles hastily, scouring the index and 
tables of contents, and laying them aside 
for the next dip into the grab bag. Our 
monthly bulletins, presenting in serried 
ranks the accessions of the month, 
severely marshalled by the rules of the 
decimal classification, and with one title 
closely followed by the next, so that the 
roaming eye is constantly caught by new 
and ever more attractive possibilities for 
skipping and skimming what could be 
devised more effectively to promote that 
species of gluttony which is indicated by 
long lists of call numbers of books which 
we simply must see before next month's 
bulletin appears with another long list? 
All these things conduce to high circula- 
tion statistics and are therefore grateful to 
our senses. But how many of them are 
calculated to impart the reading habit, are 
effective in instilling "much love and some 
knowledge of books" as a distinguished li- 
brarian has paraphrased it in a recent 
lecture? How far does any of this ma- 
chinery go in advertising books as to their 
subject and scope, as the program has it? 
The science of advertising claims a 
psychological basis all its own. Perhaps 
it is no psychology at all but only a func- 
tioning of instinct that causes us to re- 
spond, and often capitulate in the end, to 
the ceaseless reiteration and ever-present 
insistence upon a given assertion. But 
whatever it is, it reacts upon the volition 
in so compelling a manner as to justify, 
even in the final acid test of the cash book, 
the enormous outlay of money poured 
forth in arousing it. And the keynote of 
it all is, not the fact of the reiteration, 
though that is important, but the over- 
powering irresistible confidence with 
which the assertion is put forth. The ad- 
vertiser who would go before his public 
with the guarded statement that "our soap 
seems to be a very good soap and barring 
certain blemishes, a very desirable ar- 
ticle," or would quote somebody's else 
testimonials (a practice now employed 
only by those Ishmaelites of commerce, 



184 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



the patent medicines) might spread his 
placards in a solid wall across the country, 
with no other result than that of obliter- 
ating the landscape which now he only 
makes hideous. Yet I ask whether the 
foregoing does not fairly represent the 
general style of book annotations in li- 
brary publications, when we treat our- 
selves to the luxury of annotations at all? 
Yet the business man and the librarian 
both need publicity, and that which each 
should secure varies from the other only 
in degree, not in kind nor in the object 
primarily to be attained by it, namely, the 
patronage of the public. The merchant 
seeks this patronage for his own ends of 
private gain; the librarian, for ends which 
he knows to be of higher value and of 
greater consequence to the life of the com- 
munity. The former offers for sale an 
article which he has manufactured or pur- 
chased, and to the use of which he sets 
out to convert the public by methods 
which have been found effective, though 
they are expensive. The latter buys his 
goods, not, let us hope, with quite the 
same purpose of securing only such as are 
likely to appeal to the passing fancy of his 
constituency. His aim being higher than 
the mere gratification of tastes and de- 
sires, he applies higher standards to his 
purchases. His business is selection. 
Every book that he adds to the library he 
first selects out of all that are offered, and 
each selection is fortified and backed by 
his deliberate judgment that that parti- 
cular book will be a good one for his 
public. He knows why it is so, and now 
it becomes his business to convince his 
patrons that it is so, and to induce them 
to profit by the selection which he has 
made. How does he go about it? 

His task is both easier and more dif- 
ficult than that of the merchant. Easier, 
because he asks nothing more intrinsi- 
cally valuable than time and thought; 
more difficult, because to most people the 
use of a book is not yet so proximate a 
need as a safety razor or even a cake of 
soap. In common with the merchant he 
is striving to secure that indispensable ele- 



ment upon which every human transaction 
between two parties must rest, namely, 
the confidence of those with whom he 
seeks to deal: confidence in his motives, 
in his judgment, and in the value of the 
service which he offers to perform. And 
while the merchant constantly faces the 
danger of losing the faith of the public 
through the easily aroused distrust of the 
value of that which he offers, the librarian 
finds even greater difficulty in overcoming 
the fear that his design is the philan- 
thropic one of uplifting and improving 
their mental condition instead of merely 
amusing them. While the one must com- 
bat the lurking suspicion of his customers 
that he may be "doing" them, the other 
must dissimulate lest he be discovered in 
the act of "doing them good." 

Each, then, is under the same necessity 
of securing the attention of the public, and 
ultimately for the same end: that of en- 
suring the prosperity and consistent 
growth of his enterprise. We know how 
the merchant advertises. Now, how does 
the librarian advertise? By means of 
catalogs, bulletins, reading lists, oc- 
casionally by space in the newspapers, 
when that can be had free. Very good 
means, these, for advertising the library; 
for implanting the library habit. But very 
poor and weak means, indeed, for adver- 
tising the books or instilling the reading 
habit. Books are not advertised in library 
publications, except incidentally, for you 
cannot advertise a book merely by men- 
tioning its name, or copying its title page. 
In his spacious and optimistic way the 
librarian, when speaking ex cathedra, in 
library publications, vests himself, with- 
out intending to, in a sort of cloak of in- 
fallibility as unbecoming as it is unnatural, 
saying: "Behold, I bring you the books of 
the month; they are good books or they 
would not be here. That is enough for you 
to know. I have spoken!" And yet he 
has at his command twice over the chief 
essential ingredient of all good advertis- 
ing, namely, confidence. Confidence in the 
righteousness of his mission and confi- 
dence in the merit and integrity of his book 



RODEN 



185 



selection, and in the conscientious meth- 
ods employed in making it. Why does he 
not try to do a little of that which the 
merchant spends millions in trying to do 
transmit that confidence to his patron? 
Why, when his business is book selection, 
and he knows he prosecutes it faithfully, 
is he so afraid of being caught at it? 

The monthly bulletins of our public li- 
braries, with a few shining exceptions, 
are bare and bald author and title lists em- 
ploying that deadliest of all monotonous 
forms, the catalog entry. Now, I have 
been too long apprenticed to the trade of 
the cataloger to find it in my heart to cavil 
at his art and the carefully evolved, scien- 
tifically derived principles upon which it 
rests. But when the cataloger is "a- 
cataloging" he is not writing advertising 
copy. He is making a permanent record, 
and he is following certain rules which 
long experience has established and vindi- 
cated as good and necessary for that pur- 
pose. He finds it necessary to establish, 
beyond the possibility of confusion, the 
absolute identity of an author, and he does 
this by giving that author his full and cor- 
rect name, stripping him of all disguises 
and never heeding the fact that the author 
himself may have been trying through all 
his years of discretion to live down the in- 
discretions of his baptismal record. This 
practice of employing full names in a card 
catalog can still be defended, though with 
much labor. But when an author is made 
to appear thus full-panoplied in a monthly 
bulletin, which should have the freshness 
and attractiveness of a news-sheet which 
is all it is he is more often disguised and 
concealed from, than revealed to, the view 
of him who is expected to read as he runs. 
Again, the cataloger rightly confines him- 
self to rendering an accurate transcript of 
the title page, neither adding thereto, nor, 
if he be wise, subtracting one jot or tittle 
therefrom. But title pages, like human 
faces, are often but a poor index to char- 
acter, and many a book which might upon 
closer acquaintance prove a very good 
friend indeed, if only some one had been 
near to speak the few formal words of In- 



troduction required in good society, is 
passed by because of a forbidding and aus- 
tere, or otherwise misleading, counte- 
nance. And so the monthly record becomes 
a stern and monotonous affair, requiring 
to be furbished up and trimmed with all 
sorts of side issues by way of supplying 
what the city editor calls human interest, 
all of them well contrived to advertise the 
library, but using up the space which 
should be given over to advertising the 
books of which, first of all, and after all 
the library is composed. 

Mr. Dana, in his pamphlet on booklists, 
makes a statement, from the experience of 
his own library, but which must have 
found an echo in many a heart, to the ef- 
fect that the monthly list did not supply 
any definite demand and was very little 
used. Exactly! So might a monthly list 
of additions to the city directory be very 
little used; so does the periodical revision 
of the telephone directory supply a de- 
finite demand only to those who are look- 
ing for something and the average citi- 
zen is spending very little of his time 
looking for books. They must be shown to 
him, and then he must be shown why it 
will be to his advantage, pleasurable or 
profitable, to make their closer acquaint- 
ance. 

Open shelf rooms, or, wanting these, dis- 
play racks and tables are in themselves a 
mighty stride forward in shortening the 
distance between the reader and the 
books. But do they always go the whole 
distance? Is it enough to turn a man 
loose in a roomful of books, all beckoning 
to him and standing in rows expectant to 
be chosen, like children in a game? They 
cannot speak, the attendants, gracious and 
hospitable and expert though they be, can- 
not speak to everyone. They often have 
enough to do to give attention to those 
that have the courage to speak to them. 
But placards could speak. Small groups 
of books, taken out of their tactical forma- 
tion on the shelves and brought together 
because of some bond of common interest 
not always convertible in terms of the 
decimal classification, could become elo- 



186 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



quent. And eloquent, indeed, and welcome 
to the dazed explorer of unfamiliar pre- 
cincts, would be a bulletin, many of them, 
plenty of them for a belief in signs of 
the right sort is a mark of wisdom which 
would tell him in an authoritative, con- 
fident, and confidential way what he 
wishes to know, namely, something about 
the books, or only about a few of them, 
that surround him. We do these things, 
sometimes, on rare occasions, on special 
days, by means of special bulletins. But 
it is mostly in the children's room. In fact 
we take great pains that the children 
should receive the benefit of our expert 
judgment and ministrations. But to their 
elders, to most of whom we might well 
apply a reverent adaptation of the words 
of the precept, beginning: "Except ye be- 
come as a little child . . . ," to their 
elders we pay the subtle and misdirected 
compliment of assuming that they know 
as much as we do about what is, after all, 
our chief business, the selection and 
proper employment and enjoyment of 
books. 

It begins to appear, then, I hope, that 
what I am driving at is that the way to 
convey information as to subject and scope 
of books is to talk about them, and to talk 
about them in such a way as to transmit 
not only the information, but our own in- 
terest in them, our confidence in them, 
and our point of view which is not dif- 
ferent from that of the people we seek to 
serve, though it may be more clearly de- 
fined when it comes to books. We are all 
human beings together and our chief com- 
mon interest is human interest. When we 
can establish that bond between ourselves 
and those whom we desire to reach the 
task is done. 

Why is it that the Chicago Evening Post, 
three weeks ago today, devoted 500 words 
in its editorial columns to comment upon 
the shelf of classics and the illuminating 
explanatory legend accompanying it, in 
the Springfield, Mass., library? Why is 
it that when we receive the St. Louis bul- 
letin, we turn first to the page of "Books 
I like and why I like them?" Why do the 



pleasant little informal chats in the Chi- 
cago book bulletin about the troubles of 
the reference department meet with so 
wide a response? Why is Mr. Wellman's 
charming booklet about "Some modern 
verse" still kept in every librarian's little 
private file of things really worth keep- 
ing? Because in all of these, in one form 
or another, there appears the common 
bond of sympathy, the common note of 
human nature, which finds its complement 
wherever nature is human; the common 
ground of interest in the self-revelation of 
human beings which these little isolated 
and intrinsically unimportant enterprises 
bring to light. The book bulletin that 
would report upon the books of the month 
iu the same pleasant, informal fashion, 
that would embody a page or two of book- 
chat in the same style of sprightly, inti- 
mate, personal causerie, think you that 
such a book bulletin would stand in great 
danger of being suspended because "it was 
very little used?" 

Let us, then, talk more about our books: 
by word of mouth, in print, by placards, 
by whatever means ideas may be con- 
veyed, so that the means be effective and 
the ideas our own! When we annotate, 
and so breathe the breath of life into the 
dry bones of a catalog entry, let us hon- 
estly assume responsibility for the pres- 
ence of the books in the list, by giving our 
own appraisal, and not always by quoting 
from some organ of orthodoxy whose very 
name connotes oppressive solemnity to 
the man in the street. We have our own 
collective opinion ready made for us every 
month in the A. L. A. Booklist, concisely 
put, simply worded, and the result of the 
combined judgment of a body of collabor- 
ators of the highest respectability. But 
this we mostly keep to ourselves, as a sort 
of trade secret, instead of giving the pub- 
lic at large the benefit of this most ad- 
mirable product of co-operative skill. 

And let us do these things not by way 
of pretending to oracular gifts or the pos- 
session of omniscience, but as a means of 
revealing ourselves and so of establishing 
a channel of communication between our- 



MILLER 



187 



selves and our people through which the 
clear stream of human nature, which is 
common to us all, may flow unobstructed. 
And upon that stream we may confidently 
launch our several ships, freighted with 
wisdom and joy, profit and pleasure, in- 
spiration and growth and life itself, safe 
in the knowledge that they will be wafted 
straight down the stream to their destina- 
tions, the hearts and minds of our patrons. 

Perhaps this is one of the things in the 
mind of the president when she laid down 
the following query as the point of de- 
parture for this week's program: "Should 
not the library, neglecting no other known 
service, make very certain that it fulfills 
its own unique task, that is, to provide 
and to make known the sources v of joy?" 

The PRESIDENT: I think it is quite 
evident from several references in Mr. 
Roden's very delightful paper why the 
president went to Springfield for a paper 
on making known the charm of books. 
The librarian at Springfield was by "royal 
command" compelled either to write a 
paper himself or produce some one who 
could write it, and Mr. Wellman has pro- 
duced Miss Grace Miller's manuscript, 
which he will read to us. 

Mr. WELLMAN: Madam President, 
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very sorry 
that Miss Miller could not be here to pre- 
sent her paper in person. She is known 
to some of you through the notes which 
she writes for the Springfield Bulletin. 

Mr. Wellman read the following paper, 
prepared by Miss GRACE MILLER, of 
the Springfield city library. 

BOOK ADVERTISING: ILLUMINATION 

AS TO ATTRACTIONS OF 

REAL BOOKS 

The reputation of the American people 
as a nation of readers evokes a pleasur- 
able sensation of pride in the patriotic 
heart. But when we pause to ask, "What 
do they read?" that pride is destined to 
fall. Newspapers, periodicals, novels, the 
popular books of the hour yes, but how 
many of the books of all time? It may 
be doubted if the present generation, with 



all its opportunities, reads as many of 
these as did its fathers. 

Two traits seem forcibly to impress the 
cultivated foreigner as characteristic of 
our men and, to a lesser degree, of our 
women a hard materialism and a lack 
of interest in the finer things of life. Is 
there any relation between this dearth 
of idealism and the reading habits of the 
nation? Ideals are the greatest force in 
life, and what a man's ideals are is largely 
determined by what he reads. The power 
of great literature to awaken noble am- 
bitions, to cultivate the imagination, to 
impart the ability "to see life steadily and 
see it whole" is undisputed. In face of 
all this, where does the library of to-day 
stand? 

It has been pointed out that the modern 
library movement is of recent growth. We 
look with amazement at all that has been 
accomplished in the last quarter-century. 
There seems little to connect the library 
of the present with the library of the past. 
But one link remains the book. Some- 
times it seems as if that was the one thing 
we were leaving out of our thought the 
book, not as a material object, paper, print- 
ing, binding, to all of which we pay much 
attention, but the book as literature. Is 
the library, too, becoming materialized? 
As the authorized custodians of the wis- 
dom of the past, we stand in an im- 
portant and dignified relation to the pres- 
ent. How can we share our treasures with 
a public that too often fails to appreciate 
its need for them? 

First of all above all mere schemes and 
devices however good must come a real 
love and enthusiasm for books, and a 
knowledge of them among library work- 
ers. It is impossible to awaken an in- 
terest in other people in a subject in which 
you are not interested yourself. There 
has been more or less good-natured rail- 
lery among librarians over that time-hon- 
ored recommendation for one who wishes 
to enter library work, that he is "fond 
of reading." In the long list of qualifica- 
tions which, we are told, the library as- 
sistant should possess a list so compre- 



188 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



hensive that one is reminded of the old 
jest about expecting all the virtues for 
four dollars a week love of books seems 
to be ranked very low. It may be ques- 
tioned if this is not a mistaken policy. Af- 
ter all, books are the basis of all library 
work and the attitude of the workers to- 
ward the books, cannot be unimportant. 
One of the most scathing indictments ever 
brought against library assistants was 
made when Gerald Stanley Lee accused 
them of being "book chambermaids." We 
like to judge our profession if I may be 
allowed that disputed term by its leaders; 
but the public judges us by the people 
who answer their questions in our delivery 
rooms and at our information desks and 
in our reference departments. And it Is 
no use trying to evade the issue, as some 
libraries do, by requesting people not to 
ask questions at the delivery desk. Two- 
thirds of our public never get any farther 
and, even when referred to some other de- 
partment, show an inexplicable unwilling- 
ness to go there. 

A few years ago the following communi- 
cation appeared in a well-known paper: 
"Will you kindly inform me through the 
columns of the Saturday Review of Books 
where I can find the story of 'Gil Bias'? I 
inquired at one of the public libraries and 
the attendant said she had never heard 
of it." Incidents like this, and we must 
in all honesty admit that they are liable 
to occur in any library, may be one reason 
for the too prevalent impression that the 
library is merely a place where one can 
get a new novel. If we wish to promote 
the reading of the best books in our com- 
munities, we must have literary taste and 
a familiarity with books in the members 
of our library staffs. 

The power of the viva voce, personal 
opinion is apt to be underestimated. "It's 
great," says the little cash-girl in the de- 
partment store, and her word settles the 
matter for the hesitating purchaser. With 
the public at large, your recommendation 
of a book goes farther than a learned re- 
view by a real authority. Here is where 
our opportunity lies, not only inside the 



library, but outside. A librarian who re- 
cently read "Eothen" and found it thor- 
oughly delightful, casually spoke of it 
among his friends and, as a result, knows 
of no less than seventeen people who read 
the book and twelve who bought it. This 
incident is typical. Why did you choose 
the last book you read? Even if you are 
a librarian and in the habit of looking 
over endless numbers of book reviews, it 
is more than likely it was because some- 
one spoke of it in a way to arouse your 
interest. 

In our professional capacity we all ex- 
pect to be called upon for advice in select- 
ing books, but even outside the library 
we are probably alike in finding that peo- 
ple assume we can help them to discover 
the "something interesting" for which they 
are looking. Accordingly, the advantage 
of a broad range of literary likings is ob- 
vious. The world of literature is wide and 
there is something in it for every taste. 
If your personal preference happens to be 
for the moderns, if you enjoy Ibsen and 
Shaw and Maeterlinck don't look askance 
on that other type of mind that finds hap- 
piness in Scott and Browning and Tenny- 
son. The mental breadth that can sym- 
pathize with a point of view that it does 
not share, is nowhere more desirable than 
in library work. 

Much effort is being expended by librar- 
ies at the present time in promoting the 
reading of their books. It is being more 
and more recognized that a smaller num- 
ber of books more widely read fulfills the 
real purpose for which the library exists 
better than a larger number standing on 
the shelves. This is now so much of a 
commonplace that we are liable to forget 
how new the idea is. It was not so long 
ago that the annual report pointed with 
pride to the large proportion of income 
spent on books and the small amount on 
administration. The whole movement ex- 
pressed by the term, "publicity," is the 
growth of a few years. So far most of 
our work along this line has been devoted 
to promoting the reading of new books 
and technical works. Gratifying success 



MILLER 



189 



has crowned our various schemes. But 
every library worker knows that the easi- 
est class of books for which to find read- 
ears is new books. The reasons for this 
are so apparent that we need not dwell 
upon them. To circulate the great books, 
the classics, the books which constitute 
literature in the restricted sense is an- 
other and a far more difficult undertaking, 
and on this we have hardly made a be- 
ginning. Yet if the library is to stand 
and we all believe it should for the high- 
est, for true culture and refinement, if it 
is to be a source of ideals, as well as 
ideas, here is a side of our work which 
must not be neglected. 

We may be inclined at times to under- 
rate the library's ability to secure the read- 
ing of specific books. An experiment tried 
some years ago may serve as an object 
lesson. Van Vorst's "The woman who 
toils" and "The souls of black folk," by 
Du Bois, were selected for this experiment. 
Under ordinary conditions the first of 
these books would have enjoyed a fair de- 
gree of popularity, while the second would 
have had a rather small circulation. The 
library bought a number of copies of each, 
sent notices to all the papers, had book- 
notes in its bulletin, put up publishers' 
advertisements on its bulletin-boards, and 
(note this last) discussed the books in 
staff-meeting so that every assistant was 
able to talk about them intelligently. 
The results surpassed expectations. For 
months it was impossible to meet the 
calls for them, and reserves came in stead- 
ily; most remarkable of all, after eight 
years the circulation of one is eight and 
the other three times above the average. 
So much for what a library can do in 
determining what its constituency shall 
read. 

One reason why the best books are not 
read is that many people do not know how 
readable they are. In the vocabulary of 
the great public the word classic is synon- 
omous with dry. It frightens people. How 
much the schools are responsible for this 
through their use of great literary master- 
pieces as text-books is a disputed ques- 



tion. If we can only succeed in making 
people understand that the reason these 
works are classics is because their inher- 
ent interest is so great that it has kept 
them living and vital through the years 
that have brought oblivion to hordes of 
weaker writings, we shall have accom- 
plished something truly worth while. But 
if to many of our patrons the classic is 
something to be feared and avoided, there 
are others who really wish the best, but 
either do not know it or are so busy that 
they neglect it, taking the book that comes 
first to hand. Like those daughters of 
time the hypocritic days, books too bring 
diadems and fagots. 

"To each they offer gifts after his will, 
Bread, kingdoms, stars and sky that 
holds them all." 

How often have we, wearied and hurried, 
hastily taken a few herbs and appJes, only 
to feel later the solemn scorn of a wasted 
opportunity. 

There are probably few librariea to-day, 
outside the very small ones, that do not 
employ book lists, more or less elaborate 
in form, to call attention to their resources. 
These can be used to good advantage to 
recommend the purely literary attractions 
of the library's collection. But there are 
book lists and book lists. To some libra- 
rians a book list is a list of books, and 
nothing more. The newest member of the 
staff can take his subject, a pencJl and a 
pad, and look in the card catalog under 
the proper heading, and lo! the list is 
made! And it is worth just about the 
amount of work put into it. A successful 
list requires far more than this. The books 
must be carefully selected by some one 
who knows them. If there are annotations, 
they must really annotate. If your brief 
note adds nothing that the public wishes 
to know, it is wasted. The number of en- 
tries, the title, the arrangement, the paper, 
and the print, all are important in decid- 
ing the popularity of a list. A distinction 
needs to be drawn between the list for 
students and the list for popular reading. 
The former may be very full, but experi- 
ence tends to show that the latter should 



190 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



be brief twenty-five entries at the long- 
est; and many times, ten would be bet- 
ter. Ten great autobiographies, ten world- 
famous dramas, ten literary masterpieces 
the very titles hint at that multum in 
parvo which gives popularity to collections 
like Dr. Eliot's five-foot library. To read 
five feet of books and find oneself simply 
but sufficiently armed and equipped to hold 
one's own with any university giant, how 
enticing it sounds! and how simple. The 
public dearly loves superlatives "the 
best," "the most famous," "the greatest." 
If any librarian doubts the drawing power 
of these phrases, let him make a trial of 
them. A knowledge of psychology may 
be a great aid in library work. 

To be successful, the compiler of a book 
list should thoughtfully consider whom he 
hopes to reach by it and then take meas- 
ures to see that it reaches them. Advertise 
your list, and do not for a moment think 
that great literature, because it is great, 
needs no advertising. If your local paper 
will say that the library is distributing a 
fine list on the immortal Greek tragedies, 
far more people will be interested in that 
list than if you merely hand it out at 
your delivery desk. 

The most encouraging thought in regard 
to the promoting of the reading of the 
best books by means of lists is the broad 
field from which the books can be se- 
lected. The true book-lover in library 
work often feels like Tantalus seeing all 
the time so much he would like to read 
and cannot. And so he turns with avidity 
to preparing for more fortunate mortals 
lists, not only of the things he has read 
and loved, but of the things he would love 
to read. Poetry, drama, essays, biography, 
letters, travel here is a world from which 
to choose. 

Supplementing the lists and adding to 
their attractiveness are collections of the 
books themselves. In large libraries most 
people are more or less at sea. Who has 
not seen them wandering aimless and be- 
wildered from shelf to shelf, and who has 
not noted the relief with which they turn 
to almost any small selection of books. 



Many libraries have kept statistics show- 
ing the circulation of books placed on 
special shelves, and it is invariably found 
that it is much higher than that of the 
books kept in their regular places. This 
has passed the experimental stage. To- 
day we know that we can in this way 
increase the use of any books we se- 
lect. There are just as good books in the 
stack, but they will not be read to any- 
thing like the same extent. A library has 
in its delivery room certain shelves on 
which appear all the new books that are 
bought, regardless of class. The circula- 
tion from these shelves is notably large. 
After a varying length of time these books 
are sent to the regular shelves. Imme- 
diately the use of them decreases. Books 
that were read almost continuously while 
they were on the special shelves only go 
out occasionally. But take them back 
to one of the small miscellaneous collec- 
tions in the delivery room and they im- 
mediately begin to circulate again. The 
merchants learned long ago that people 
buy what they see, and so in all the stores 
a large amount of stock is on the counters 
for inspection. Librarians have learned 
that people also read what they see. In 
both cases, however, the methods adopted 
to secure patrons are influenced by the 
natural limitation as to the amount that 
can profitably be seen. The experienced 
clerk does not show the prospective buyer 
too many different kinds of cloth, lest he 
should become confused, be unable to de- 
cide, and refrain from buying. So with 
the reader. He can select something sat- 
isfactory from a single case of books, when 
row after row of them gives him mental 
vertigo. So do not say to him, "Here is 
all Greek literature choose." But bring 
together on a table or a shelf a few books 
and say, "Here are a dozen of the great- 
est tragedies in the Greek language. All 
of them are worth reading. Take one." 

But when you have brought together this 
little collection and called attention to it, 
never think your work is done. After a 
little while change it for something else. 
The wonted soon becomes out-worn. When 



MILLER 



191 



the collection is new, it is regarded with 
interest. Leave it too long, and people 
cease to see it. They walk past the shelf 
with a subconscious feeling that they know 
what is there. The thing to cultivate in 
them is a delightful uncertainty as to 
what they will find, coupled with the ex- 
pectation that it will be something dif- 
ferent from what they saw last time. 
Change we must have. Here again we 
may take a lesson from the merchant. 
Time, thought, and money are spent on 
preparing a beautiful window display. 
Does the proprietor settle back and say, 
"This is the high-water mark. We cannot 
arrange a better window than this; there- 
fore we will make it permanent." Not at 
all. He realizes that while at first it will 
draw crowds, after a bit it will become an 
old story. He must offer something fresh. 
So get together a collection of the best 
books; call attention to them; get your 
public in the habit of looking for them; 
but change them frequently. The infinite 
variety of literature is such that its pre- 
sentation need never become stale. 

One method of introducing people to the 
best literature seems comparatively little 
used in this country, though common in 
England, and that is the lecture course. 
It is generally affirmed that the American 
people no longer care for lectures. Forms 
of popular entertainment wax and wane. 
The New Englander of the middle nine- 
teenth century was an enthusiastic attend- 
ant of lectures and there can be no doubt 
that he owed much in an intellectual way 
to the habit. Almost all of the best-known 
literary and public men of that period 
either went on lecturing tours or gave read- 
ings from their works. Their influence was 
thus greatly extended and an interest 
awakened in things worth while to an ex- 
tent otherwise impossible. The old-fash- 
ioned lecture certainly compares favorably 
in its results with many methods of en- 
tertainment in vogue to-day. It is to be 
feared that the latter, far from stimulating 
mental life, are conducive to inertia of 
thought. It would be an interesting ex- 
periment for the libraries to attempt a 



series of lectures on literary lines and see 
if their old popularity could be revived. 

Another way of calling attention to the 
best in literature seems wholly neglected 
by libraries; and, surprising as it seems, 
this is through their bulletins. Nearly all 
large, and many small, libraries publish a 
bulletin, but little has been done to develop 
this important library agency. Here is a 
field that may well be cultivated. Most 
publications have to put much money and 
work into the task of securing readers. 
Our clientele is already provided by the 
patrons of our institutions. Because the 
bulletin gives a list of new books, and be- 
cause many of the reading public are in- 
terested in new books, they read our bulle- 
tins. Why do we not give them some- 
thing more than a bare list of accessions? 
If we wish to make our influence felt in 
the character of the reading in our com- 
munities, this is our opportunity. The 
work may be difficult, but it is certainly 
worth attempting. 

All librarians have viewed with min- 
gled feelings of wonder and amusement 
those ingenious literary ladders, by which 
the unsuspecting reader is triumphantly 
led from Mary J. Holmes to Thackeray. 
During the library experience extending 
over a number of years, the present writer 
has hopefully watched for an instance 
of some individual reader climbing this 
amazing structure, but she has watched in 
vain. It is not my aim to show how the 
reader of Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poems 
may be induced to change to Milton; or 
how a devoted lover of Gaboriau may fol- 
low a blazed trail that shall lead via Mun- 
sterburg's study of criminal psychology to 
William James; or by what methods Jack 
London's "Call of the wild" might event- 
ually end in Darwin's "Origin of species." 
This puzzling task must be left to some 
more ambitious soul. But in every com- 
munity there is a class of people, be it 
smaller or larger, to whom an attractive 
presentation of the stimulating qualities 
of real literature would appeal; and if 
such a presentation was rightly made, 
they would respond. Will not some li- 



192 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



brary make trial of this method? Let 
it publish in its bulletin a series of brief 
articles about the great books, telling what 
they have meant in the past, what they 
mean to-day; showing them as sources 
of inspiration and of consolation; making 
it clear that any one who has made him- 
self master of their treasures can never be 
mentally poor. Then let that library re- 
port the outcome and tell us whether, in 
its opinion, it paid. The trouble with too 
many library experiments is that the ex- 
perimenters never seem to follow them up 
and tabulate their results. The schemes 
sound fine, but as to their actual working 
there is much haziness. Librarians are 
notably ready and anxious to learn from 
one another, and a plan reported as being 
tried in one place is likely to be imme- 
diately started in many others. If libraries 
would carefully investigate the actual re- 
sults achieved by their various devices, 
and report their failures as well as their 
successes, much wasted effort might be 
avoided. 

Another untried scheme that might be 
suggested is a series of readings. The 
wealth of English poetry commends that 
form of literature as well suited to this 
purpose, though of course there is no 
dearth of material along many lines from 
which to choose. The theory of this 
method is the same as that of the story- 
hour for children, and the same question 
would present itself whether the auditor 
would merely enjoy the entertainment or 
whether sufficient interest would be 
awakened to induce him to pursue the sub- 
ject farther. Most libraries have small 
lecture rooms, and this plan has the rec< 
ommendation that it can be tried at slight 
expense. 

But after everything possible has been 
said for schemes of one kind and another, 
we shall come back in the end to the 
supreme importance of personality. No 
amount of advertising, no number of lists 
and special collections can ever take the 
place of the cultivated and enthusiastic 
book-lover in promoting the reading of 
the best books. 



The PRESIDENT: It all pretty nearly 
amounts to saying that our public are 
our friends, our books are our friends, 
and we wish to help the friends of the 
first part to the pleasure of knowing the 
friends of the second part. 

The next order of business is the report 
of the Executive board and the report of 
the Council, which the secretary will 
read. 

The SECRETARY: There have been 
two meetings of the Executive board, and 
two meetings of the Council, during this 
conference. 

EXECUTIVE BOARD 

At the first meeting of the Executive 
board ordinary routine business was first 
transacted, and, later, Mr. Henry E. Leg- 
ler, as chairman of the committee ap- 
pointed to draft a by-law stating definitely 
what person or persons are entitled to 
cast votes for institutional members, re- 
ported that the committee recommended 
that the by-laws be amended by adding 
the following section: 

Sec. 11. The vote of institutional mem- 
bers shall be cast by the duly designated 
representative whose credentials are filed 
with the secretary. In the absence of 
such designation or of such delegate the 
vote may be cast by the chief librarian 
or ranking executive officer in attend- 
ance at the meeting. 

Consideration was given to the recom- 
mendations adopted by the Council from 
the Committee on relation of the A. L. A. 
and State library associations and on 
motion of Dr. Andrews, it was voted to 
recommend to the association that Sec- 
tion 14 of the Constitution be amended by 
inserting the following clause, after the 
words "and twenty-five by the Council 
itself;" . 

"and one member from each state, pro- 
vincial and territorial library association 
(or any association covering two or more 
such geographical divisions) which com- 
plies with the conditions for such repre- 
sentation set forth in the by-laws." 

Also that Sec. 3a be added to the By- 
laws as follows: 

"Each state, territorial and provincial 
library association (or any association 



EXECUTIVE BOARD 



193 



covering two or more such geographical 
divisions) having a membership of not 
less than fifteen members, may be repre- 
sented in the Council by the president 
of such association, or by an alternate 
elected at the annual meeting of the 
association. The annual dues shall be 
$5.00 for each association having a mem- 
bership of fifty or less, and ten cents per 
additional capita where membership is 
above that number. The privileges and 
advantages of the A. L. A. Conferences 
shall be available only to those holding 
personal membership or representing 
institutional membership in the Associa- 
tion." * 

Adjourned, subject to the call of the 
chair. 

The second meeting was held after the 
election of officers. Mr. Legler presided. 
Mr. George T. Settle, acting assistant 
librarian of the Louisville free public 
library, appeared before the board and in 
behalf of the library board and various 
officials and organizations of Louisville 
and Kentucky invited the association to 
meet in Louisville in 1913. 

A letter was read from Mr. George F. 
Bowerman, librarian of the District of 
Columbia public library, in which was ex- 
pressed a desire that the association meet 
in Washington in 1913 and, if found prac- 
ticable and desirable, to adopt the policy 
of holding recurrent meetings in that city. 
Invitations for the conference of 1913 
were also received and read from the con- 
vention bureaus of Chicago, Buffalo and 
San Francisco. All of these invitations 
were tabled for due consideration. 

After general discussion it was voted 
as the opinion of the Executive board that 
the next conference should be held at 
some summer resort in the eastern sec- 
tion of the country and the secretary was 
instructed to investigate places of this 
nature, and report to the board. 

A report of considerable length was re- 
ceived from the Bookbuying Committee 
relative to negotiations between the re- 
spective committees appointed by the A. 
L. A. and the American Booksellers' As- 
sociation, upon which it was voted that 

As this by-law would be meaningless until the 
above recommended amendment to the Constitution is 
in force, action on the by-law was postponed by the 
Association until the next annual conference. 



this report be sent to the respective mem- 
bers of the Executive board and their 
opinions and suggestions thereon be filed 
with the secretary to be later considered 
by the board. 

A communication from the secretary of 
the Catalog section was received stat- 
ing that the following resolution had been 
unanimously adopted by that section: 

RESOLVED, that the A. L. A. Execu- 
tive board be asked to appoint a commit- 
tee to investigate the cost and method of 
cataloging in accordance with the sugges- 
tions in Mr. Josephson's paper, "What is 
cataloging?" * Mr. Josephson's paper ac- 
companied the communication. It was 
voted that the president appoint a com- 
mittee of three for this purpose and that 
an appropriation of $15 be made for the 
necessary expenses of the committee. 
The president appointed as this commit- 
tee Mr. A. G. S. Josephson, Miss Agnes 
Van Valkenburgh and Miss Emma V. 
Baldwin. 

A communication was considered from 
Mr. Asa Don Dickinson, addressed to the 
secretary, relative to a campaign for a 
library clearing house for periodicals. It 
was taken by consent that such a cam- 
paign would not be practical for the A. 
L. A. to undertake under present condi- 
tions. 

Mr. Wellman, as special committee of 
one from the Publishing board, to inves- 
tigate the advisability of the appointment 
of a committee to work upon the compila- 
tion of a code for classifiers, reported 
favorably on the plan and recommended 
that the Executive board take the matter 
in hand and appoint a committee as re- 
quested. On motion it was voted that the 
following committee be named: W. S. 
Merrill, J. C. Bay, W. S. Biscoe, W. P. 
Cutter, J. C. M. Hanson, Charles Martel 
and P. L. Windsor. 

On motion of Dr. Andrews it was 
voted that the secretary secure data re- 
lating to the library careers of the mem- 
bers of the association, this information 
either to be incorporated in the annual 
For Mr. Josephson's paper, see page 245. 



191 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Handbook or filed at the headquarters 
office for use of the membership. 

On motion of Dr. Andrews it was voted 
that the president suggest to the mem- 
bers of the Executive board any changes 
he deems desirable in the membership of 
the standing committees and to ask for 
such suggestions and that the secretary 
inform the members of any changes sug- 
gested by the committees themselves. 

On motion of Miss Eastman it was 
voted that C. W. Andrews and A. E. 
Bostwick be re-elected members of the 
Publishing board for terms of three years 
each. 

Voted, that at its January meeting the 
Council be requested to define the policy 
of the association as to the number of 
general sessions advisable at the annual 
conference. 

On motion of Dr. Andrews it was voted 
that the program committee be asked to 
consult the wishes of the affiliated or- 
ganizations regarding the closer grouping 
of their respective sessions at the annual 
conference. 

Voted, that at future conferences of the 
association the ensign of the United 
States and the British union jack be 
placed side by side to signify the inter- 
national nature of the association. 

Adjourned. 

Note: The standing committees for the year 1912- 
13 were later appointed as follows and although these 
appointments were not a part of the Ottawa conference 
business, the list is here given for convenience of ref- 
erence. 

A. L. A. STANDING COMMITTEES, 
1912-13 
Finance 

C. W. Andrews, The John Crerar li- 
brary, Chicago. 

F. F. Dawley, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
Edwin H. Anderson, Public library, New 

York. 

Public Documents 

G. S. Godard, State library, Hartford, 
Conn. 

A. J. Small, State library, Des Moines, 
la. 

Ernest Bruncken, Library of Congress, 
Washington, D. C. 



John A. Lapp, State library, Indianap- 
olis, Ind. 

M. S. Dudgeon, Wisconsin free library 
commission, Madison, Wis. 

T. M. Owen, Department of archives 
and history, Montgomery, Ala. 

S. H. Ranck, Public library, Grand 
Rapids, Mich. 

Adelaide R. Hasse, Public library, New 
York. 

C. B. Lester, State library, Albany, N. Y. 

Co-operation with the National Education 
Association 

Mary Eileen Ahern, "Public Libraries," 
Chicago. 

Marie A. Newberry, Public school li- 
brary, Ypsilanti, Mich. 

Irene Warren, School of Education, 
Chicago. 

George H. Locke, Public library, To- 
ronto, Ont. 

Harriet A. Wood, Library association, 
Portland, Ore. 

Library Administration 
A. E. Bostwick, Public library, St. 

Louis, Mo. 

Geo. F. Bowerman, Public library, 

Washington, D. C. 
John S. Cleavinger, Public library, 

Jackson, Mich. 

Library Training 

A. S. Root, Oberlin college library, 
Oberlin, O. 

Faith E. Smith, Public library, Chicago. 

Mary W. Plummer, Library school, Pub- 
lic library, New York. 

Adam Strohm, Public library, Detroit, 
Mich. 

Caroline M. Underbill, Public library, 
Utica, N. Y. 

Chalmers Hadley, Public library, Den- 
ver, Colo. 

Cornelia Marvin, Oregon library com- 
mission, Salem. 

Geo. O. Carpenter, trustee, Public li- 
brary, St. Louis, Mo. 

International Relations 
Herbert Putnam, Library of Congress, 
Washington. 



COUNCIL 



195 



B. C. Richardson, Princeton university 
library, Princeton, N. J. 

J. S. Billings, Public library, New York. 

W. C. Lane, Harvard university library, 
Cambridge, Mass. 

R. R. Bowker, "Library Journal," New 
York. 

Bookbuying 

Walter L. Brown, Public library, Buf- 
falo, N. Y. 

C. B. Roden, Public library, Chicago. 
C. H. Brown, Public library, Brooklyn. 

Bookbinding 

A. L. Bailey, Wilmington Institute free 
library, Wilmington, Del. 

Rose G. Murray, Public library, New 
York. 

J. R. Patterson, Public library, Chi- 
cago. 

Federal and State Relations 

B. C. Steiner, Enoch Pratt free library, 
Baltimore, Md. 

T. L. Montgomery, State library, Har- 
risburg, Pa. 

Demarchus C. Brown, State library, 
Indianapolis, Ind. 

Paul Blackwelder, Public library, St. 
Louis, Mo. 

C. F. D. Belden, State library, Boston, 
Mass. 

Catalog Rules for Small Libraries 
Theresa Hitchler, Public library, Brook- 
lyn. 

Margaret Mann, Carnegie library, Pitts- 
burgh. 

Mary L. Sutliff, Library school, Public 
library, New York. 

Travel 

F. W. Faxon, Boston Book Co., Boston, 
Mass. 

C. H. Brown, Public library, Brooklyn. 
J. F. Phelan, Public library, Chicago. 

Co-ordination 

C. H. Gould, McGill university library, 
Montreal. 

J. L. Gillis, State library, Sacramento, 
Cal. 

N. D. C. Hodges, Public library, Cin- 
cinnati, O. 



W. C. Lane, Harvard university library, 
Cambridge, Mass. 

Herbert Putnam, Library of Congress, 
Washington. 

T. W. Koch, University of Michigan 
library, Ann Arbor. 

J. C. Schwab, Yale university library, 
New Haven, Conn. 

Work with the Blind 

Mrs. Emma Neisser Delfino, Free li- 
brary, Philadelphia. 

Laura M. Sawyer, Perkins Institution, 
Watertown, Mass. 

Laura Smith, Public library, Cincinnati, 
O. 

Miriam E. Carey, Public library com- 
mission, St. Paul, Minn. 

Charles S. Greene, Free library, Oak- 
land, Cal. 

Program 

Henry E. Legler, Public library, Chi- 
cago. 

E. H. Anderson, Public library, New 
York. 

George B. Utley, A. L. A. Executive 
office, Chicago. 

COUNCIL 
First Meeting 

The first meeting, held June 27th, was 
called to order by President Elmendorf, 
with 37 members present. First Vice- 
President Legler, at request of the presi- 
dent, took the chair. 

Voted that a committee of three be ap- 
pointed by the chair to nominate five 
members for Council to be elected by 
council for a term of five years each. 
The chair appointed George H. Locke, R. 
G. Thwaites and Mary L. Titcomb. 

Mrs. Elmendorf, as chairman of com- 
mittee on relations of the A. L. A. and 
certain other national associations, made 
a report of progress, stating that the 
committee had formulated a letter set- 
ting forth the desire for closer co-opera- 
tion, which letter had been transmitted 
by the secretary to 35 associations. Re- 
plies had been received from 23, all of 
which expressed a desire for closer co- 
operation between their association and 



196 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



the A. L. A. Voted that the report be 
received as report of progress and the 
committee continued. 

In the absence of Mr. W. C. Lane, 
chairman of the special committee to 
promote and co-operate in the develop- 
ment of printed cards in relation with in- 
ternational arrangements, Dr. C. W. 
Andrews made an informal report on his 
own work as a member of the committee, 
stating that the John Crerar library was 
testing the time required to order printed 
cards from the Royal Library of Berlin 
to see whether such orders would reach 
their destination in time to be filled. He 
expressed the hope that a majority of 
such orders would be received in time. 
Mr. Bowker spoke of the work as seen 
by him on a recent trip abroad. Dr. Put- 
nam spoke informally of the Leipzig ex- 
hibit of book arts planned for two years 
hence. 

The committee on ventilation and light- 
ing reported informally through the chair- 
man, Mr. Samuel H. Ranck, who stated 
that a formal report had been prepared 
and would be presented at a later session. 

Miss Alice S. Tyler, chairman of the 
Committee on relation of the A. L. A. and 
State library associations, presented the 
following report: 

The Committee on relation of the A. L. 
A. and State library associations reports 
to the Council the further consideration 
of the report which was referred back to 
the Committee at the January meeting 
of the Council and makes the following 
recommendation : 

That Council recommends that the 
Executive board consider the advisability 
of amending Section 14 of the Constitu- 
tion and Section 3 of the By-laws to in- 
clude representation of state, territorial 
and provincial library associations in the 
Council and the conditions of such mem- 
bership. 

The Committee further suggests that 
the By-laws be amended to provide that 
the privileges and advantages of the 
A. L. A. conferences shall be available 
only to those holding personal, or repre- 
senting institutional, membership in the 
association. 

Voted that this report be adopted. 

The Committee appointed to consider 
the government of American libraries 



and their relation to the municipal au- 
thorities, presented a report through the 
chairman, Dr. A. E. Bostwick, upon which 
it was voted that the report be recommit- 
ted to Committee for consideration as to 
minor changes and further report. 

On motion it was voted that the Com- 
mittee be continued and that member- 
ship be increased to five. The president 
named M. S. Dudgeon and Adam Strohm 
as additional members. 

Adjourned, subject to call of the chair. 

Second Meeting 

At the second meeting, held June 29th, 
24 members were present. Vice-President 
Legler presided at the request of Presi- 
dent Elmendorf, who was present. 

Dr. Andrews, as a member of the Com- 
mittee on conditions governing affiliation 
of other than local, state and provincial 
associations, reported orally, recommend- 
ing that a by-law be framed to include as 
one feature that a membership fee of 
$25.00 a year be assessed on such affiliated 
organizations, stating that three at least 
of the already affiliated organizations had 
expressed their willingness to such fee, 
and that the remaining association has 
been received on condition that it accept 
such terms of affiliation as might be de- 
termined by the A. L. A. 

On motion of Mr. Bowker it was voted 
that the report be received and that the 
Committee be continued but that at the 
request of Dr. Putnam he be relieved and 
Mr. J. I. Wyer, Jr., be appointed as a 
member of the Committee. 

At this meeting Council elected the fol- 
lowing persons as members of the council 
for a term of five years each: Josephine 
A. Rathbone, Mrs. Percival Sneed, Mrs. 
Harriet P. Sawyer, M. S. Dudgeon and 
W. O. Carson. 

The report of the Committee on gov- 
ernment of American libraries, Dr. Bost- 
wick, chairman, which was presented at 
a previous meeting and recommitted to 
the Committee for certain minor changes, 
was again presented and it was voted 
that the report as amended be received 
and the resolution adopted. The report, 



COUNCIL 



197 



including the resolution referred to, is as 
follows: 

Report of Committee on Relation of the 

Library to the Municipality 
To the American Library Association: 

Your special committee to whom was re- 
ferred the matter of drafting a report on 
what the association regards as funda- 
mental in the relation of the public library 
to the municipality, submits herewith its 
report. This whole subject is of such 
great importance that your committee 
believes it should receive further consid- 
eration, especially if it is desired that 
there should be submitted the draft of 
what may be termed a model library ar- 
ticle, chapter, or title in a city charter, 
particularly a charter in a state operating 
under a so-called home rule law, whereby 
each city may make its own charter 
within the limitations fixed by the state 
constitution and a general state law. 

Your committee believes that the asso- 
ciation is practically unanimous in its con- 
viction that the public library should be 
regarded as a part of the educational ma- 
chinery of the community, and that the 
functions of the educational organization 
are generally separate and distinct from 
those of the local government organiza- 
tion. In the very nature of things it is 
therefore impossible for the public library 
to get the kind of administration it de- 
serves when it is administrated as a part 
of the city's system of parks, or under the 
supervision of its board of public works. 
It may be stated that in some of our states 
the state constitution recognizes this dis- 
tinction by providing for two corporations 
with the same geographical boundaries, 
the one dealing with the questions of local 
government and the other with education, 
the public schools. This constitutional 
distinction is based on the principle that 
education is a matter of state concern, 
that the interests of the state in education 
are paramount, and therefore that the 
state should exercise greater control in 
educational affairs than in local govern- 



ment affairs. In line with this thought, 
your committee submits the following re- 
solution, which it recommends to the asso- 
ciation for adoption at this time: 

RESOLVED: That the American Li- 
brary Association calls the attention of 
municipal governments, and of public 
bodies engaged in the preparation of new 
or amended charters for such govern- 
ments, to the necessity for securing inde- 
pendence of action of the public library as 
an educational agency co-ordinate with the 
schools. Radical changes in forms of 
municipal government have sometimes left 
the library's position insecure or doubtful, 
and charters providing the so-called "com- 
mission form" of government have in par- 
ticular often failed to define adequately the 
position of public libraries and their 
governing boards. Where there is classi- 
fication of municipal functions, this asso- 
ciation feels very strongly that the public 
library should be grouped with educative 
agencies such as the public schools rather 
than with departments that have little or 
nothing to do with its work. While it is 
desirable to keep the control of the library 
in independent hands and not to place it 
and the schools under the same direct 
management, we believe that a city 
charter should contain no provision group- 
ing the library otherwise than with edu- 
cative agencies. 

If the foregoing resolution is adopted, 
we recommend that a committee be ap- 
pointed to study this subject further and 
to submit the draft of what might be 
termed a library chapter for a city charter. 

For the purpose of discussion and to 
clarify the thought of the association on 
this subject your committee submits the 
following tentative points which it be- 
lieves should be considered for such pro- 
posed model library chapter. 

First, the charter should provide for a 
library board which should have power to 
administer and control the public library 
of the city, and at the same time admin- 
ister all libraries municipally owned in the 
city. This would include the municipal 
legislative reference library in the city 
hall, libraries in public schools, high 
schools, and possibly such others as li- 
baries in municipal art galleries, mu- 
seums, etc. This board should consist of 
not less than five or more than nine mem- 



198 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



bers, excluding ex-officio members, the 
number of which should not exceed one 
half of the appointive or elected members. 
A sufficiently small proportion of the 
board should be elected or appointed each 
year to make its membership fairly con- 
tinuous so that it may develop a construc- 
tive policy, something that is impossible 
where the membership is likely to change 
materially at brief intervals. In no case 
should the terms of more than half of the 
members expire at one time. 

In our smaller cities or towns it would 
seem advisable to consider whether the 
municipal art gallery and museum should 
be administered by the same board which 
administers the library. It has been sug- 
gested that in such places it would be pos- 
sible to carry on this work with very much 
less expense under one management than 
under several managements, and expe- 
rience apparently demonstrates that hav- 
ing the library, art gallery, and museum 
interests in the city in the same building, 
or in a group of related buildings, adds 
immensely to the public service of each 
at a minimum expenditure of money. In 
other words, having all these interests un- 
der one roof or in buildings closely adjoin- 
ing each other makes it possible for each 
institution to strengthen the other, and at 
the same time makes it possible for the 
best cooperation and coordination; and 
furthermore many more people will use 
each of these institutions when they are 
together than when they are widely sep- 
arated. In larger cities where it may seem 
desirable to have the art and museum in- 
terests under separate boards the charter 
should provide for official (ex-officio) rep- 
resentatives of each of these institutions 
on the boards of the others as well as with 
the board of education of the city, so as 
to insure the greatest amount of coopera- 
tion and coordination. It is the convic- 
tion of this committee that the educational 
interests of the community in many of our 
cieties today should be coordination to a 
greater extent than they are now, not only 
for the purpose of eliminating duplication 
of work and effort but also for the mutual 



strengthening of the work and effort of 
each. 

In many small cities and some larger 
ones it has been the practice for the public 
library to be managed by the board of edu- 
cation. The disadvantage of this, how- 
ever, is that the library interests are usu- 
ally turned over to a committee and that 
the membership of this committee is 
likely to change from year to year, so that 
there is no constructive policy; and where 
there is no constructive policy the inter- 
ests in the library on the part of other 
members of the board is likely to be small. 
However, many of the difficulties with the 
management of a public library by a board 
of education have frequently grown out of 
the method of appointment or election of 
the school board. If the school board is in 
politics and therefore more or less par- 
tisan, the library is apt to suffer by this 
arrangement even more than the schools 
themselves. Possibly, where public opin- 
ion is sufficiently alive to the value and 
importance of education a single board 
might manage all the educational interests 
of a city, just as the board of regents of 
one of our large state universities admin- 
isters its varied activities. 

Another point to be considered is 
whether the library board should be 
elected by the citizens at large, or ap- 
pointed by the mayor or selected by the 
board of education. Election by the citi- 
zens of members to such a board should 
be absolutely non-partisan. Women should 
have the right to vote and should be eli- 
gible to the board. The board should have 
power to fill vacancies which may occur 
by death or resignation, until the next 
general election, in case the board is 
elected by the citizens at large. Of course, 
if the members are elected by the board 
of education, vacancies dould be filled at 
any time by that board, and if they are ap- 
pointed by the mayor he could fill a 
vacancy. 

Your committee believes that it is un- 
wise for a public library to be governed 
by a board which elects its own members, 
or a majority of its own members: in 



COUNCIL 



199 



other words, a "close corporation" is not 
the form of governing board that is best 
for a library belonging to all the people of 
the community. This would not apply 
where cities make a terminable contract 
with an existing institution. It is gener- 
ally unwise for the corporate name of a 
municipal public library to bear the name 
of an individual. It should bear the name 
of the city, and the charter should fix its 
name. 

The charter should provide for the or- 
ganization of the library board by the 
election of a president and vice-president, 
with the city treasurer as the ex-officio 
treasurer of the board and the city comp- 
troller as the auditor of the board's ac- 
counts. It should also provide for a 
secretary or clerk, who should be an 
employee of the board rather than a mem- 
ber of the board, and it is highly desirable 
that this officer should be the librarian. 
In any case his powers should not conflict 
with those of the librarian. 

The charter should give the library 
board full power to hold trust funds which 
may be placed in its hands, to administer 
the same, and to accept and to hold gifts 
of real and personal property for the gen- 
eral purposes for which the board was 
created. The charter should provide, if 
the state law does not do so, that the li- 
brary should not receive less than a min- 
imum fund for its maintenance, based on 
the assessed valuation of the city. It 
ought never to be possible for a council so 
to cut a library's budget that it is neces- 
sary to close branch libraries or abandon 
established work for a year or more, 
thereby cutting off for the time being all 
normal growth and sometimes crippling 
the library so that it takes years to re- 
cover. This has happened in more than 
one American city. The whole idea of a 
minimum tax for the maintenance of a li- 
brary is in line with the thought ex- 
pressed in many of our state constitu- 
tions: namely, that the educational inter- 
ests of the community are paramount. 

The library board should have full legal 
rights for defense in the courts, etc. The 



charter should provide that the chief law 
officer of the city should be its legal 
representative. 

The library board should be given the 
power to render library service by con- 
tract to communities outside of the city 
limits, such as towns, townships, or 
counties. In short, it should be given lib- 
eral powers for extending its usefulness 
into similar or related unoccupied fields. 

The library board should be given abso- 
lute power and responsibility over its em- 
ployees, their appointment, promotion, 
salaries, removal, etc., within the general 
limitations of the charter. It should pro- 
vide that all employment should be given 
on the basis of merit alone, but that a 
civil service system should not be im- 
posed upon it from the outside any more 
than a municipal civil service should be 
imposed upon a board of education in the 
employment of teachers in the public 
schools. Your committee has yet to learn 
of a single American city where a mu- 
nicipal civil service commission, which 
deals mainly with the employment of 
clerks in offices, policemen, firemen, etc., 
has been able satisfactorily to select or 
promote employees for educational work. 

The library board should also have 
power to draft and enforce regulations 
governing the reasonable use of the li- 
brary under the general limitations of the 
city charter or state law. 

And, finally, the charter should provide 
that the library board should submit an- 
nually to the mayor or the legislative or 
tax levying body of the city a report of its 
receipts and expenditures together with a 
general account of its work and trusts. 

As stated above, your committee offers 
all of this to serve as a basis for discus- 
sion if it is desired that a model library 
section for a charter should be drafted. 

All of which is, 

Respectfully submitted, 
ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chairman, 
JUDSON T. JENNINGS, 
SAMUEL H. RANCK. 

The Committee on ventilation and light- 
ing of library buildings, Samuel H. Ranck, 



200 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



chairman, made a verbal report of prog- 
ress, stating that a lengthy written report 
covering the investigations and results of 
correspondence had been prepared. The 
Committee stated that certain commer- 
cial companies proposed to make experi- 
ments along the lines of the Committee's 
investigation and it was taken by consent 
that the Council express its gratification 
that these experiments are to be under- 
taken by the respective companies and 
that the results will be watched with in- 
terest. On motion of Dr. Steiner it was 
voted that the report be accepted as a 
report of progress and Committee con- 
tinued. 

Mr. Charles S. Greene informed Council 
that the California library association 
had unanimously passed a resolution to 
invite the A. L. A. to meet in California 
in 1915. The statement was received as 
information and ordered transmitted to 
the Executive board. 

Adjourned, subject to call of the chair. 

The PRESIDENT: You have heard the 
reports. If there is no objection they will 
be received, but there are certain recom- 
mendations incorporated in them that need 
action. Will the secretary please read 
once more the recommendations from the 
report of the Executive board? 

The secretary read again the proposed 
amendment to Section 14 of the Constitu- 
tion. 

The PRESIDENT: What is your pleas- 
ure? It should be remembered that this 
amendment to the Constitution will re- 
quire an affirmative vote for two succes- 
sive sessions of the association. 

On motion of Mr. Samuel H. Ranck, 
duly seconded, the amendment received an 
affirmative vote. 

The secretary read again the proposed 
Section 11 of the By-laws, recommended 
by the Council, and on motion of Dr. 
Bostwick, seconded by Dr. Andrews, this 
amendment to the By-laws was adopted. 

The secretary here read again the reso- 
lution incorporated in the report of the 
Committee on government of American 
libraries and their relation to the munici- 
pal authorities. 



Dr. BOSTWICK: Madam President, in 
moving the adoption of this resolution, I 
would suggest that opportunity be given 
for its discussion by the association. 

Mr. RANCK: I second the motion for 
the adoption of that resolution, Madam 
President. 

The resolution was adopted. 

The PRESIDENT: Here is a matter of 
news from the outside world. The bulle- 
tins have announced that Governor Wood- 
row Wilson has been nominated on the 
forty-sixth ballot by acclamation. I think 
this is the first time that a woman ever 
made that kind of an announcement. 

There is a matter of business from the 
Public documents committee, on which 
we should like to hear from Mr. Godard. 

Mr. GODARD: This resolution which 
comes from the Committee on public doc- 
uments, comes before you in a little 
irregular manner, because the govern- 
ment documents round table was not held 
until yesterday afternoon, and there has 
been no meeting of the Council since, and 
will not be to the end of the conference; 
but the purpose of the resolution is simply 
to convey to the Congressional committee 
on printing, at Washington, the thanks of 
this association for the efforts that com- 
mittee has made to embody in the bill 
which has been passed by the Senate the 
several recommendations made from time 
to time during the seven years' existence 
of the committee, relating to the print- 
ing, binding and distribution of docu- 
ments. The bill as a whole has met with 
the approval of the various librarians, as 
manifested at the government documents 
round table yesterday afternoon. While 
some minor suggestions were made, it 
was thought best that these suggestions 
should go to the committee in the form 
of suggestions rather than be embodied in 
the resolutions. 

If in order, I should be pleased to read 
the resolutions. 

WHEREAS the Congressional Commit- 
tee on printing, appointed under an Act 
passed March 3, 1905, has after seven 
years of investigations and hearings, for- 
mulated and presented to Congress a new 
bill relating to public printing, binding 



THWAITES 



201 



and distribution of government publica- 
tions, which embodies so many of the 
suggestions and recommendations upon 
these subjects, made from time to time 
by this association and its several com- 
mittees, 

RESOLVED, that we, the members of 
the American Library Association, as- 
sembled at our Thirty-fourth Annual Con- 
ference at Ottawa, Canada, June 26th to 
July 2nd, 1912, express our appreciation 
to the Senate and House Committees on 
Printing, and to the Superintendent of 
Documents, for the uniform courtesy and 
careful consideration extended, and the 
hope that the Bill (S 4339) may be en- 
acted into law substantially as passed by 
the Senate. 

The PRESIDENT: You have heard the 
resolution as presented from the public 
documents committee. What is your 
pleasure? 

Dr. ANDREWS: I hope the association 
will by three-fourths vote approve this 
resolution. I can testify that Mr. Godard 
did not understate the approval which the 
draft of the bill met with at the govern- 
ment documents round table. 

The resolution was adopted unani- 
mously. 

The PRESIDENT: The next business 
in order is the report of the Resolutions 
committee, of which Dr. Thwaites is 
chairman. I want to say just one word 
before those formal resolutions are read, 
to express my own personal appreciation 
of the efforts of our Canadian hosts. It 
seems to me that in their welcome to us, 
in their kindly courtesy, in every attitude 
which they have taken toward us, they 
have made an atmosphere of good cheer 
and hospitality in which all our business 
has been done; it has been an atmos- 
phere of the greatest acceptance and de- 
light, and has been like the sunshine out 
of doors. We will hear the report of the 
Resolutions committee. 

Dr. Thwaites, chairman of the commit- 
tee, read the following report: 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON 
RESOLUTIONS 

Your committee beg leave to recommend 
the adoption of the following minute, to 
be spread upon the records of the con- 



ference, and that copies thereof be for- 
warded by the secretary to the several 
bodies and persons mentioned therein. 

In its membership and its sympathies, 
the American Library Association is 
broadly American. It aims to secure 
among the librarians of the continent that 
practical reciprocity in ideals and inter- 
ests that should everywhere prevail among 
those engaged in undertakings for the 
moral and intellectual betterment of hu- 
manity. 

The association is deeply gratified in 
being able to hold its 34th annual confer- 
ence within the Dominion of Canada, whose 
representatives have for many years prom- 
inently participated in the management and 
deliberations of the association. Since Its 
meeting in Montreal, twelve years ago, 
the membership of the association has 
increased from nine hundred to twenty- 
three hundred. Toward this expansion (it- 
self a visible sign of that quickening of 
popular concern in educational affairs 
which has been so marked a feature of 
the past decade), Canada has contributed 
a goodly share. It is hoped and believed 
by the association that this conference 
will still further inspire and strengthen 
those public-spirited men and women, who, 
in various capacities, are conducting the 
public and institutional libraries of the 
Dominion. 

Of the fine temper and professional zeal 
of its Canadian membership, the associa- 
tion has had frequent evidence; but the 
experiences of the past eight days have 
brought to the members from the United 
States a new, although by no means un- 
expected, sense of the abundant hospitality 
of their Canadian colleagues. Any vote of 
thanks that may be adopted by this asso- 
ciation, can seem to the visitors south of 
the international boundary, but cold recog- 
nition of the warm sincerity of their greet- 
ing in the capital of the great Dominion. 
It is hoped, however, that between the 
lines of this fraternal salutation from the 
men and women of the south, their con- 
freres of the north may read such sym- 
pathy and love as words cannot convey. 



202 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



The association begs to place on record 
its heartfelt thanks to all of those many 
Canadians who, in whatever measure, have 
contributed towards the success of this 
delightful meeting and to the entertain- 
ment of its participants. But to the fol- 
lowing men and women who, either offic- 
ially or personally, have been intimately 
concerned in preparations for and in the 
management of the many charming hos- 
pitalities that have made this conference 
so notable in the history of American li- 
brarianship, the association unanimously 
expresses its especial appreciation. 

At Toronto, entertaining the western 
delegation: The Government of the prov- 
ince of Ontario, represented by Sir James 
Whitney, premier, the Hon. R. A. Pyne, 
minister of education, and Mr. Walter R. 
Nursey, inspector of public libraries; Pro- 
fessor Needier, librarian of the University 
of Toronto, and Professor Lang, librarian 
of Victoria college; the Ontario Library 
Association and its officers: the members 
of the Toronto public library board, and 
their chief librarian, Dr. George H. Locke. 

At Ottawa, the Government of the Do- 
minion, represented by the Hon. George 
H. Perley, acting premier, and the Hon. 
Martin Burrell, minister of agriculture; 
His Worship the Mayor of the Corporation 
of the City of Ottawa; the local Com- 
mittee of Ottawa, the chairman of which, 
Dr. Otto Klotz, was represented by Dr. 
James W. Robertson, C. M. G.; particularly 
Mr. Lawrence J. Burpee and Mr. D. P. 
Cruikshank, together with the lady mem- 
bers of the committee; the Ottawa public 
library board represented by Alderman 
Ainslie W. Greene, chairman; the Cana- 
dian Club of Ottawa; the Women's Cana- 
dian Club of Ottawa; the Ottawa Electric 
Railway represented by its president, Mr. 
Thomas Ahearn; Mr. John F. Watson of 
the Dominion Central Experimental Farm; 
United States Consul-General and Mrs. J. 
G. Foster; Manager F. W. Bergman of the 
Chateau Laurier; and Manager Mulligan 
of the New Russell. 

In addition to its acknowledgment of 
the foregoing the association wishes to 



express most sincere appreciation of the 
cordial message which it received from 
the Governor-General, H. R. H. the Duke 
of Connaught, who unfortunately was de- 
tained at Montreal because of the illness 
of H. R. H. the Duchess, whose subse- 
quent recovery is a source of international 
gratification; of the great kindness of Sir 
Wilfrid Laurier, in consenting to address 
the conference upon Dominion day; of 
the excellent addresses by Dr. George E. 
Vincent, president of the University of 
Minnesota and by Professor John Mac- 
naughton, of McGill university; and of the 
admirable arrangements for the post-con- 
ference tour made by one of the ex-presi- 
dents of the association, Professor Charles 
H. Gould, librarian of McGill university, 
Montreal. 

R. G. THWAITES, 
MARY W. PLUMMER, 
J. T. JENNINGS, 
Committee on Resolutions. 

The PRESIDENT: You have heard the 
report of the Resolutions committee. Let 
us pass it by a rising vote. 

The resolutions were adopted unan- 
imously, by a rising vote. 

Dr. THWAITES: I have another reso- 
lution, Madam President, to offer from the 
committee, a resolution, not a minute: 

RESOLVED, that the American Library 
Association, as an international -organiza- 
tion, has viewed with profound satisfac- 
tion the project for the establishment of 
a National Library in and for the Domin- 
ion of Canada, and takes pleasure in 
joining the Royal society, the Ontario 
library association, and other learned 
societies in Canada, in respectfully urg- 
ing upon the government of the Domin- 
ion the vital importance of such an insti- 
tution in the fostering and conservation 
of the intellectual resources and national 
spirit of Canada; and further, in urging 
upon the government the desirability of 
effecting such establishment at the earliest 
possible moment. 

The resolution was adopted unan- 
imously. 

The PRESIDENT: We have one more 
resolution, which is a tribute of love and 
respect that we shall pay with all our 
hearts. Dr. Andrews will report for the 



ANDREWS 



203 



special committee appointed to draft a 
suitable memorial concerning our late 
friend Frederick M. Crunden. 

Dr. ANDREWS: First let me express 
my regret that Mr. Henry M. Utley, chair- 
man of the committee appointed by the 
board to draw up this memorial, is not 
present in person; secondly, to state for 
the committee that we have departed 
from the usual custom of offering a reso- 
lution, and have placed before you a brief 
statement of Mr. Crunden's life and char- 
acter, which we hope will convey to those 
who have come into the association 
since the time when he had to give up 
active connection with it, a record of his 
services. 

FREDERICK MORGAN CRUNDEN 
Frederick Morgan Crunden was born at 
Gravesend, England, September 1, 1847, 
the son of Benjamin Robert and Mary 
(Morgan) Crunden. Coming to St. Louis 
while a child, he was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of that city and graduated 
from its high school in 1865, with a scholar- 
ship in Washington university. In the 
latter institution he took a course in the 
arts and sciences, graduating in 1868 with 
the degree of bachelor of arts. Teaching 
in the public schools of St. Louis before 
graduation, and later in the college faculty 
of the same university, he received the 
degree of master of arts in 1872. 

His marriage to Miss Kate Edmondson 
was in 1889. During his college course Mr. 
Crunden took a vital interest in library 
work, and in January, 1877, he became 
secretary and librarian of the St. Louis 
public (then public school) library, con- 
tinuing as such until 1909. 

Equally identified with many other so- 
cieties, local and national, he had been a 
contributor to leading magazines upon 
educational and sociological subjects, and 
had attained international fame before he 
was stricken in 1906 with the malady 
which resulted in his death October 28, 
1911. 

Mr. Crunden's public services were by 
no means confined to the distinctively li- 



brary interests of his community and the 
country. He was particularly interested 
in the mutual relations of schools and li- 
braries, developing them in St. Louis in 
a manner which served as a model for 
others, and contributing largely to the 
evolution of the present official relations 
of the National Education Association and 
the American Library Association. 

In his public writing he has expressed 
most clearly and happily the fundamental 
principles of these relations, and it is a 
great pleasure to his friends, as it was to 
him in the last days of his life, to know 
that his statement of the value of recorded 
thought has been carved in granite on the 
walls of his cherished institution. Never- 
theless it was to library work that the 
greater part of his time and thought was 
given, and it is the success of his work 
as a constructive librarian that naturally 
we most fully recognize. He combined 
high executive ability with a comprehen- 
sive knowledge of the contents of the col- 
lections under his charge. He had that 
sense of the real librarian, which has been 
said to be "an intensive perception of 
the needs of the present, and a prophetic 
insight into the needs of the future." 

He worked zealously and unceasingly, 
first for the broadening of the work of 
the St. Louis public schools library, then 
for its conversion into a free public li- 
brary, and finally for its development into 
a strong institution ranking among the 
great libraries of the land. It is pleasant 
to know that even in the last years he 
was able at times to follow its course along 
the lines forecast by him, and that he could 
realize the high appreciation of his serv- 
ices so generally felt by his fellow citizens. 
Almost in the beginning of his library 
career, he began also his services to the 
American Library Association, which were 
secondary only to the work he did for St. 
Louis. 

He attended first the Boston conference 
of 1879, and rarely after that did he miss 
a meeting. Elected councillor in 1882, he 
served the association almost continuously 
until his illness. He was vice-president 



204 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



in 1887-88, and under his presidency the 
Fabyans conference of 1890 took rank as 
the largest and one of the most success- 
ful meetings held up to that time. When 
the association met at St. Louis, in 1889, 
and again in 1904, he was a most thought- 
ful host, whose care for our welfare con- 
tributed largely to the success of those 
meetings. He served also as one of the 
vice-presidents of the Chicago conference 
in 1893, and as vice-president of the inter- 
national library conference at London in 
1S97, and was one of the chief spokesmen 
of the association party. This list of offi- 
cers by no means measures the debt of the 
association to him. The much longer list 
of committees on which he served would 
indicate better the character and breadth 
of his work, but even this would leave un- 
expressed the professional knowledge and 
the personal pleasure gained from his com- 
panionship by the individual members. 

This sense of personal loss must be felt 
by all who met him in the other library 
circles in which he was interested, espe- 
cially the Missouri state library associa- 
tion, of which he was the first president, 
and the New York state library associa- 
tion, whose annual meetings he so often 
attended. 

No member of the A. L. A. of his day 
had a wider and closer personal acquain- 
tance among the membership than Mr. 
Crunden. He had a spirit of friendliness 
and human sympathy which prompted him 
to take hold upon the hearts of those with 
whom he was brought into contact in his 
profession. He had no ambition which 
inclined him to self-seeking, but was al- 
ways quick to recognize the merits of 
others and to give acknowledgment freely 
and heartily. He was naturally of a mod- 
est and retiring disposition, but wholly 
without self-consciousness or reserve. He 
looked upon every question with frankness, 
unbiased by any consideration outside of 
its true merits as approved by his mature 
judgment. He held his views firmly, but 
he never undertook to force them upon 
others. His many fine qualities of mind 
and heart are a source of joy to all who 



recall the memory of him as he was in 
the midst of his long and brilliant career. 
His more intimate friends recall with won- 
der the patience with which he bore the 
strain of the years of ill health which 
preceded the final breakdown, and remem- 
ber with gratitude his gracious hospitality. 

The PRESIDENT: What is your pleas- 
ure, Ladies and Gentlemen? 

Dr. BOSTWICK: I move that this 
memorial be spread upon the minutes of 
the association, that it be printed in the 
proceedings of this conference, and that 
copies of it be sent to Mrs. Crunden and 
to Mr. Frederick M. Crunden's brother, 
Mr. F. P. Crunden of St. Louis. 

The motion was unanimously adopted. 

The PRESIDENT: The chair would 
like the support of the first vice-president 
on the platform, and in the meantime, 
while he comes forward, after the report 
of the tellers of the association, we have 
one additional treat which when the time 
comes I shall ask Mr. Burpee to announce. 
The report of the tellers of election is in 
order, which will be read by the secre- 
tary. 

The SECRETARY: The report of the 
tellers states that you have elected the 
following officers: 

REPORT OF THE TELLERS OF 
ELECTION. No 

For President of Votes 

Henry E. Legler, Librarian, Chicago 

Public Library 151 

For First Vice-President 

E. H. Anderson, Assistant Librarian, 
New York Public Library 143 

For Second Vice-President 
Mary F. Isom, Librarian, Portland 

(Ore.) Library Association 145 

For Members of Executive Board 

(for three years) 
H. C. Wellman, Librarian, Springfield 

City Library Association 145 

T. W. Koch, Librarian, University of 

Michigan 148 

For Members of the Council 
(for five years) 

F. K. Walter, Vice-Director, New York 
State Library 145 



LEGLER 



205 



Margaret Mann, Chief Cataloger, Car- 
negie Library of Pittsburgh 144 

W. W. Bishop, Supt. of Reading Room, 
Library of Congress 147 

E. R. Perry, Librarian, Los Angeles 
Public Library 141 

Caroline Burnite, Director of Child- 
ren's Work, Cleveland Public Li- 
brary 146 

For Trustee of Endowment Fund 

(for three years) 

W. C. Kimball, Chairman, New Jersey 
Public Library Commission, Trenton, 

N. J 146 

JOHN F. PHELAN 
LLOYD W. JOSSELYN 

Tellers of Election. 

The PRESIDENT: I have had this 
beautiful gavel but a very little while, 
but it nevertheless gives me great pleasure 
to transfer it. Do you remember that 
Miss Kelso said that we should be able 
to produce evidence in the way of results 
for the value of our work? I am going 
to make a very distinguished, a very large 
claim: I think you owe the presence of 
the president-elect not here only but in 
the profession to the interest which wag 
originally aroused in his mind in the Mil- 
waukee public library. 

Mr. Legler, I have great pleasure in pre- 
senting the gavel for the meeting of 
1913 to you as president-elect and in ask- 
ing you to take charge for the remainder 
of this meeting. 

The PRESIDENT-ELECT : Madam 
President, Members of the American Li- 
brary Association, For the personal good- 
will which you have expressed, I give to 
you my thanks. In so far as your action 
attests confidence, it must be received as 
a call to service, and if I may be so pre- 
sumptuous as to represent in what I say 
those who have been grouped by you for 
the ensuing year into one official family 
in that spirit we receive this gavel, not 
as a symbol of authority but of service. 
Without venturing upon the uncharted 
sea of prophecy, we shall endeavor to in- 
terpret in terms of action those mental 



images which have been crystallized for 
us by the strong, virile papers, fortified 
by the abounding interest and the con- 
tagious enthusiasm of all participants in 
this conference. The modern library 
movement, recent as has been its incep- 
tion, has progressed through two strongly 
marked stages, and is entering upon a 
third. The first era was that of pioneer- 
ing, the sowing of seed. The second may 
perhaps be termed the era of experimen- 
tation, out of which grew a few mistakes 
and some splendid results. But we have 
entered upon a third era, the period of 
constructive work, of careful patient plan- 
ning, of building enduringly. If a year 
hence, when we yield into other hands the 
high commission which you have en- 
trusted to us, we shall be able to say 
that some advancement has been made, we 
shall be proud and happy; and we hope 
that your work, which, of course, must 
be our work, will yield some realization of 
our high hopes and aims and aspirations. 

What is the pleasure of this confer- 
ence? 

I am advised that Mr. Burpee has an- 
other pleasure in store for us, and we 
shall be glad to hear from him. 

Mr. BURPEE: Mr. President and 
friends of the American Library Associa- 
tion: On behalf of the local committee I 
have asked our friend Mrs. Herbert Ault, 
of Ottawa, to try to express to you our 
feelings in bidding you farewell. Mrs. 
Ault will sing the old Scotch song, that 
you all know so well, "Will ye no come 
back again." 

After the singing of this fine old song, 
Mrs. Ault led the audience in the singing 
of "Auld Lang Syne," whereupon the 
president-elect declared the Thirty-fourth 
Annual Conference of the American Li- 
brary Association adjourned. 

THE SOCIAL SIDE OF THE 
CONFERENCE 

Throughout the eight days which we 
officially spent within the confines of the 
Dominion, cordial appreciation of our 
presence was constantly in evidence. 



206 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Twelve years had passed since a gather- 
ing of the association had been held 
among our hospitable co-laborers north 
of the international boundary; I think we 
all were convinced that in so long delay- 
ing our second visit, we of "the states" 
had been the losers. No doubt there will 
hereafter be a greater frequency of 
Canadian meetings. 

The western delegation was the first to 
experience the sincere and unaffected 
warmth of Canada's greeting. Ontario's 
capital and metropolis was reached by the 
Chicago special at noon of Tuesday, 
June 25. The Toronto committee of ar- 
rangements was composed not only of 
librarians, but representatives of the pro- 
vincial government, prominent educators, 
and professional and business men and 
women. Their program of entertain- 
ment had included a morning automobile 
ride through the many parks and charm- 
ing residence quarters of the city; but 
the ride was abandoned, for the hour at 
which the guests were tardily delivered 
to them by the railway managers spelled 
luncheon, a British institution that 
brooks no delay. 

The scene of the spread was the attrac- 
tive refectory of Victoria College, one of 
the considerable group of educational in- 
stitutions comprising Toronto University. 
The customary welcome was voiced by 
Sir James Whitney, premier of the prov- 
ince, the Hon. R. A. Pyne, provincial 
minister of education, and Dr. George H. 
Locke, chief librarian of the Toronto 
public library. Each of these local speak- 
ers expressed the hope that the Associa- 
tion might at some early date honor 
Toronto with one of its annual confer- 
ences. Dr. Andrews of John Crerar 
gracefully responded for the visitors. 

Luncheon over, the spacious and well- 
equipped buildings of the university were 
visited and admired, and in due time 
afternoon tea was charmingly served on 
the smooth-shaven lawn of one of the de- 
lightful quads. Dinner followed not long 
after, in the beautiful new public library 
building, so admirably administered by 
Dr. Locke, to whose kindly activity we 



owed a large share of the day's greet- 
ings; and here the guests tarried and 
rested amid familiar surroundings until 
the departure of their train for Ottawa, 
close upon ten o'clock. 

Arriving at Ottawa towards noon of 
Wednesday, the westerners soon were 
commingling with their fellows from other 
parts of the Union and Canada, forgetful 
of geographical sections and national 
boundary lines. Before nightfall, all of 
us realized that we simply were members 
of a household of co-workers gathered 
under the family roof-tree of the citizens 
of Ottawa and the members of the gov- 
ernment of the great Dominion. A pecu- 
liarity of Canada's hospitality, as we ex- 
perienced it, was that the government 
itself, both in Toronto and in Ottawa, 
was quite as active and as informally cor- 
dial in arranging for our entertainment, 
as were individual or associated bodies 
of its citizens. 

Fortunately our week included both 
Sunday and Dominion Day. The morning 
of the former was largely devoted to visits 
to the many large and sumptuous 
churches. Especially favored were those 
who witnessed the fine ante-pilgrimage 
parade of those French Catholic societies 
that have for their name-giver St. Jean 
Baptiste, the patron saint of all French 
Canadians. The afternoon was spent in 
driving or trolleying to the numerous 
parks and several interesting suburbs, 
and in taking the many walks wherein 
the stately panoramic view of three com- 
mingling rivers (Ottawa, Rideau, and 
Chaudi&re) caused us all to envy the lot 
of those who dwell with this array of 
mountains and waterfalls at their very 
doors. 

The patriotic exercises of Dominion 
Day (July 1) reminded us strongly of the 
historical origin of modern Canada, 
which owes a large share of her prosper- 
ity to the grit and enterprise of the Loy- 
alist pioneers. Driven forth from the 
American colonies because they failed to 
sympathize with the movement whose 
culmination we observe with such en- 
thusiasm, three days later each July, they 



THWAITES 



207 



carried to the wilds of the north those 
same sturdy Anglo-Saxon qualities of 
mind and heart and brawn that have 
erected and maintained the American 
Union. That Canada had at last become 
a powerful, self-conscious, and justly- 
proud nation, only sentimentally linked 
with the parent isle and her sister domin- 
ions over seas, was a fact borne home to 
the visitors, with a forcefulness novel to 
many of them. It is not likely that any 
American librarian present at the Russell 
Theatre during Dominion Day, will again 
flippantly discuss the possibility of our 
annexation of Canada the day for that 
sort of talk has passed, and happily f6r 
both sides of the border. 

Of course Sir Wilfrid Laurier, no longer 
premier, but now "leader of His Majesty's 
Opposition" in Canada, wa:, the chief 
attraction in the day's program. Fore- 
most of French Canadians, one of the 
most accomplished of orators, and in 
every way a world character, Sir Wil- 
frid's appearance attracted a crowded 
house; and his graceful speech and 
charming manner, so characteristic of his 
race, deserved such recognition. But 
some other features of the program were 
no less entertaining in their way the 
vigorous, thoughtful, but strictly practical 
views of Dr. Robertson, as he graphically 
described Canada's almost boundless re- 
sources, and with large vision outlined Irs 
plans for their conservation; and the 
equally clear and insistent, yet delicately 
humorous, protest of Professor Mac- 
naughton, against such materialistic tend- 
encies of modern education as had been 
expressed by his friend and predecessor. 
The day was admirably closed by Presi- 
dent Vincent of Minnesota, whose mar- 
shalling of the possibilities of librarian- 
ship in the furnishing of mental pictures 
for the entertainment and instruction of 
humanity, resembled the falls of Chau- 
di&re in sparkle and velocity. 

Not content with representation on the 
program and in honorary seats on the 
platform, the government of the Dominion 
took a considerable hand in the social 
activities of the week. Among the attrac- 



tions of Ottawa is the central experi- 
mental farm of Canada, with its broad, 
well-kept acres, in which the astronom- 
ical observatory is in close touch with the 
silos, and pastures and barns are attrac- 
tive features of the landscape gardening, 
and up-to-date poultry-runs are charm- 
ingly mingled with evidences of floral and 
horticultural experimentation. In this in- 
teresting environment, a garden party 
was given under the auspices of the min- 
ister of agriculture, the Hon. Martin 
Burrell, ably seconded by Mr. John F. 
Watson of the farm staff. There were 
tents and lawn chairs, a very British- 
looking band, military-like policemen as 
ushers, brilliantly-green foliage, and the 
socially e"llte of Ottawa acted as cicerones 
to the varied activities of farm and ob- 
servatory. Thus the librarians (who had 
autoed to the scene, through miles of 
drives along the park-like banks of the 
Rideau Canal) were made paradoxically 
to feel not only at home, but quite as 
though the scene of their entertainment 
were four thousand miles eastward, in 
the motherland itself. Another govern- 
mental activity, especially attractive to 
the young folk of the conference (there 
are, however, no old librarians), was an 
informal ball in the parliament building 
itself. Because of these things, the bib- 
liographical fraternity from the states 
almost unanimously came to the conclu- 
sion that thenceforth they would, in all 
courtesy, forget all about the recent un- 
pleasantness over reciprocity, and be 
stout supporters of the present Dominion 
government. A division on the question, 
at the close of the conference would, I 
fancy, have revealed few members of the 
A. L. A. in the opposition lobby. 

The representatives of our own govern- 
ment were not to be outdone in these 
matters. Consul-General and Mrs. J. G. 
Foster were informally "at home" on 
Sunday afternoon. Scores of American 
librarians, especially those concerned 
officially in the association's affairs, were 
much pleased for a short hour to be enter- 
tained as guests on what constructively 
is American soil. 



208 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



But while official "functions" necessa- 
rily stood out with prominence, there was 
ever on the tapis a succession of un- 
official attentions to the visiting throng. 
Dr. Robertson was the life of the enter- 
prising local committee. Around this 
body clustered several effective agencies 
of welcome and entertainment his wor- 
ship the mayor (every Canadian mayor is 
"his worship," but this title of genuine 
respect would be a serious misfit in some 
of our cities south of the boundary), the 
public library board, the local Canadian 
Club, and the Woman's Canadian Club, all 
were actively and omnipresently enlisted 
in our behalf. And wonder of wonders! 
our little identification button meant free 
trolley rides within the corporation lim- 
its a much-appreciated premium for 
wearing the badge. In short, every door 
was open to us; at every turn, right glad 
we were made to feel that we had come 
to Ottawa. 

Curiously enough to those of us who 
think of the A. L. A. in the oft-quoted 
classification of the hotel agency, as an 
institution "mostly women," the Ottawa 
newspapers appeared never to recover 
from their astonishment in this regard. 
The preponderating numbers of "lady 
librarians" was the cause for daily edi- 
torial comment. But it was noticeable 
that the head-lines persistently referred 
to the event as "Library men in council" 
painful evidence of the fact that the 
prevalent American evil of head-line in- 
accuracy has at last spread to the north- 
land. 

The practice of holding state, library 
school, and library staff dinners in the 
course of the conference, is increasing. 
These gatherings form an interesting and 
welcome feature of our social activities 
during conference week. At Ottawa they 
were more numerous and noticeable than 
heretofore, and gave rise to much good- 
natured rivalry as to enthusiasm, num- 
bers, and table decorations. It is evident 
that the library schools are gathering 
traditions with age; and their alumni as- 
sociations are growing in pardonable self- 
consciousness. A new feature was the 



exchange of rival "yells." One director 
was heard to express her intention of 
offering prizes in the next school year, for 
appropriate class songs and collegiate 
battle-cries, that her school might not be 
outdone in this respect by the vociferous 
young women of Pratt and Wisconsin. 
One heard more or less at Ottawa, of 
"the girls of our class," "dear old Pratt," 
"the way we do it at Albany," the "tradi- 
tions of Wisconsin" (five years old!), and 
the like. It is thus that the profession is 
looking up. 

Socially, the Canadian conference was 
eminently successful, both at Toronto and 
Ottawa. This feature was, in its way, 
quite as good as the literary program it- 
self, and that is saying much. As for 
Madame President, she sweetly and dig- 
nifiedly looked and acted her part, socially 
as well as behind the gavel, and the 
Dominion folk fairly worshipped her. I 
fancy, when all is said, that that perhaps 
is a good share of the secret of our un- 
doubted success in Canada. 

REUBEN G. THWAITES. 

A DAY IN TORONTO 
A most cordial invitation from the To- 
ronto public library, through the libra- 
rian, Dr. Locke, had been received for a 
day's visit in that city en route to the 
A. L. A. meeting at Ottawa, and the party 
which assembled at Chicago to take the 
special train looked forward with great 
expectation. Needless to say these ex- 
pectations were fully met. As this was 
the first hospitality offered, the zest for 
enjoyment was at full height when the 
party from the middle-west reached To- 
ronto, Tuesday morning, June 25. Most 
of the company had left their various 
posts of duty only the day before and 
were ready to enter a new land with a 
joyful spirit. 

The special train was nearly two hours 
late in arriving at Toronto and thereby 
lost to the visitors the pleasure of an 
automobile ride which had been arranged 
by the City Council. Still, as no one had 
anticipated it, the pleasant street car ride, 
which took its place, was a welcome 



AHERN 



209 



change from the confines of the sleeping 
car. The ride around the business part 
of the city on the special cars ended at 
Victoria college. A local committee con- 
sisting of Dr. A. H. U. Colquhoun, Deputy 
Minister of Education, Prof. A. E. Lang, 
librarian of Victoria college, Prof. G. H. 
Needier, librarian of University of To- 
ronto, with Dr. G. H. Locke as chairman, 
received the party at Victoria college, 
where a luncheon was served to 175 per- 
sons, the hosts of the occasion being the 
Education Department of the Province of 
Ontario and the Senate and Board of 
Governors of the Victoria college. The 
Hon. Dr. Pyne, minister of education, pre- 
sided over the occasion and speeches 
were made on behalf of Victoria college 
by Hon. Justice MacLaren, on behalf of 
the Government by Chairman Dr. Locke 
and on behalf of the University by Prof. 
Alfred Baker. Each in turn expressed the 
appreciation of the ideas cherished by the 
A. L. A. and were most cordial in invita- 
tion to the association to hold a future 
meeting in Toronto. Response for the 
visitors was made by Dr. C. W. Andrews 
of the John Crerar library, Chicago, who 
complimented Ontario on the progress 
which had been made in library develop- 
ment and particularly the city of Toronto 
in its new work under the new librarian, 
Dr. Locke, whom Dr. Andrews claimed as 
a Chicagoan in view of the fact that he 
had been so valued a part of the faculty 
of the University of Chicago, at one time, 
for six years. 

After the luncheon the new library at 
Victoria college was thrown open for in- 
spection. Prof. Lang and his assistants 
were most courteous in showing the visit- 
ors through and displayed for their in- 
spection some of the rare volumes and 
manuscripts, especially specimens of 
ancient papyri which are unique. 

Later the Premier of the Province of 
Ontario, Sir James P. Whitney, received 
the librarians in the legislative chambers, 
Parliament Buildings, and made an ad- 
dress of welcome. From the Parliament 
Buildings the librarians visited the li- 
brary of the University of Toronto, which 



they found exceedingly interesting, and 
well up to date. Regret was felt by many 
at the absence of Mr. Langton of the 
library, who was in Europe in search of 
health. A most delightful occasion was 
the garden party in the university quad- 
rangle tendered by the Board of Govern- 
ors of the university. The ivy covered 
walls, the greensward, the perfect day, 
delightful company and the most cordial 
hospitality accompanying the refresh- 
ments left an impression of the greatest 
pleasure on all who were present. The 
large number of Toronto citizens who 
were present, the faculty with the mem- 
bers of their families, were most courte- 
ous in making the occasion one of great 
delight. 

At six o'clock dinner was served by the 
public library Board in the art room of 
the reference library building. f There 
were 229 at the dinner which deserved 
far greater consumption than the hospi- 
tality of the day had left room for, but 
"the feast of reason and the flow of soul" 
were much in evidence. The chairman 
of the occasion was the President of the 
public library Board, Mr. Turnbull. A 
most hearty address of welcome was 
made by Chief Librarian Locke and was 
responded to in kind by Mr. Legler of 
the Chicago public library. After dinner 
the building was thrown open for inspec- 
tion and the visitors enjoyed greatly see- 
ing the magnificent reading room as well 
as the other departments of the library. 
Of special interest was the J. Ross Rob- 
ertson historical collection of 1,000 
Canadian pictures, representing various 
phases of Canadian life from the earliest 
period. 

It was a happy, if tired party that left 
on the special train at 10 p. m. for Ottawa 
with most grateful memories of cordial 
hospitality and pleasant company in the 
day spent in Toronto. 

M. E. AHERN. 

THE DAY AT MONTREAL 
One's capacity for receiving bounteous 
acts of hospitality may be never so un- 
confined; one's pleasure in accepting 



210 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



them may be never so untrammelled by 
thoughts of unworthiness or of the hope- 
lessness of ever making an adequate re- 
turn for all this charming thoughtfulness 
and lavish entertainment; yet there comes 
a time when one's vocabulary of appreci- 
ative acknowledgments merely and ab- 
jectly fails from overwork, and collapses 
with nothing more articulate than a gasp 
left to signify an impotent desire to do 
justice to the occasion. With many of 
the librarians this unhappy condition be- 
came acute in the course of the day at 
Montreal. Leaving Ottawa on Wednesday 
morning, July 3d, by special train, a 
goodly company comprising the Post- 
Conference party, reenforced by numer- 
ous "trippers" whose return passage 
made Montreal the point of departure 
was received, on arriving at the latter 
city, by a local committee, headed by the 
librarian of McGill University, and was 
promptly transferred to a long line of 
comfortable vehicles which were soon 
moving up town through the broad streets 
and past the stately buildings of Canada's 
largest city. To the traveller from the west- 
ern plains the upward direction of the 
journey was especially noticeable and 
much sympathy and some solicitude was 
expressed for the stocky horses in their 
long pull through the warmth of the mid- 
day sun. But they plodded sturdily on, 
ccnscious of the pitiless grade of those 
rock-ribbed streets only as part of the 
day's work. And soon they came to the 
shady drives and beautiful banks of 
Mount Royal Park and so onward and 
upward to the summit, whence the un- 
paralleled outlook over the city, the ma- 
jestic St. Lawrence and the country 
beyond unrolled before the admiring eyes 
of the visitors. After an all too brief en- 
joyment of this superb spectacle, the 
party re-entered the waiting carriages 
and was quickly conveyed down hill and 
deposited on the beautiful campus of 
McGill University, where, to the accom- 
paniment of noonday whistles and bells, 
luncheon was served under the trees. 
These Canadian garden affairs, how they 
impress the visitors from over the line! 



The dignified beauty of the setting ren- 
dered complete by the invariably benevo- 
lent co-operation of the weather; the 
profusion and variety of appetizing and 
daintily served viands, and the unobtru- 
sive yet efficient service truly the stout- 
est jingo was led to exclaim with 
unfeigned heartiness: "They do these 
things so much better in Canada!" After 
luncheon a brief inspection was made of 
several of the college buildings, notably 
of the charming library, with its delight- 
ful reading room, which was visited by 
some in order to study its architecture or 
its administration, but by many more for 
the purpose of paying their respects to 
the official home of the librarian of the 
University, their cordial host and the 
ubiquitous chairman of the committee to 
whom the entertainment at Montreal was 
due. Mr. Gould won the hearts of his 
guests completely and earned their last- 
ing gratitude and perpetual wonderment, 
the former through the generous hospi- 
tality he provided for them; the latter 
through the calm, simple, self-effacing yet 
all pervading way in which he dominated 
the situation and acquitted himself of his 
arduous task. And still there was more 
to come, for on reassembling on the lawn 
the visitors found a long and inviting line 
of motor cars in waiting, and in these a 
tour of the city was made, ending at the 
pretty new public library in the suburb 
of Westmount, where they met with a 
pleasant welcome by Miss Saxe, the libra- 
rian, and with more refreshments! 
From here the guests dispersed and made 
their way back to town in small groups 
at their own convenience. An invitation 
from the White Star Line to join in the 
festivities on the new steamship Megantic 
to mark its impending maiden voyage, 
attracted some of the librarians during 
the evening. The Post-Conference party 
reassembled on board the steamer Sague- 
nay and left for its pleasure trip at nine 
o'clock, while the others went each his 
own way, some homeward, some by cir- 
cuitous routes prolonging their holiday, 
but all with regret that the delightful 
Canadian days had come to an end, and 



IDESON 



211 



with deep gratitude and appreciation of 
the cordial hospitality and gracious good- 
fellowship of their Canadian brethren and 
indefatigable hosts. 

C. B. RODEN. 

POST CONFERENCE TRIP 

"Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous 

criticism, 
Strong and content, I travel the open road." 

So the librarians assembled aboard the 
"Saguenay." The day in Montreal had been 
a full and pleasant one and its evening found 
the post-conference party tired but tran- 
quilly expectant of the joys the boat's de- 
parture was to bring. To this some excite- 
ment was lent by the dash on board, just 
as the gangplank was going in, of the New 
Jersey Library Commission contingent who 
had lingered too long at the reception ten- 
dered the A. L. A. on the White Star liner 
'TVtegantic." Many friendly farewells were 
waved by the A. L. A. members whose of- 
ficial travels ended at Montreal. As the 
boat started for Quebec, deck chairs were 
soon filled by those who wished to watch 
the noble sweep of the river and the grace- 
ful skyline of the city with its myriads of 
lights. 

During the short stop at Quebec the next 
morning only a few strenuous ones ven- 
tured ashore. The majority were content 
with the splendid view of the city with its 
frowning precipice crowned by the Citadel 
and the graceful pile of the Chateau Fron- 
tenac, below which were spread the pic- 
turesque roofs of the Lower Town. It was 
the Fourth of July and after the flags 
flourished by the patriotic members of the 
party had been duly saluted, everyone set- 
tled down to the calm enjoyment of a safe 
and sane fourth. The boat glided past the 
falls of Montmorency, the lovely Isle of Or- 
leans, the wooded shores of the river where 
in one place forest fires raged, showing a 
thin tongue of flame under a hovering cloud 
of smoke, and on from the stately grandeur 
of the St. Lawrence to the wild beauty of 
the Saguenay. It was here that the real 
business of travel began. Baedekers made 
their unblushing appearance, most of them 



bearing on their backs the mystic symbols 
917.1. The maps and guidebooks provided 
by the company were studied while the 
really "litry" were turning the pages of 
"A chance aquaintance" or "The golden 
dog." 

At half past six, a landing was made at 
L'Anse St. Jean but word was given that 
the real village was some distance beyond, 
a nice walk from British standards! A gay 
start was made but the muddiness of the 
road and the "recedingness" of the village 
combined with the ravages of the black fly, 
which Van Dyke has truly said is "at the 
bottom of the moral scale of insects," caused 
even the most valiant to turn back. There 
were a few who with true Yankee enter- 
prise chartered the only vehicles in sight 
and came back with glowing tales of the 
quaintness and charm of the village, but 
for the majority, it must remain the fair 
Carcassonne of dreams. 

The great Capes of Trinity and Eternity, 
towering up through the gloom, were 
passed after nightfall. A searchlight 
thrown on them from the boat brought out 
their craggy inaccessibility and made 
weirdly impressive the statue of the Virgin 
on one of the terraces of Trinity. At Ha Ha 
Bay few were up in time for exploring but 
the view of the charming Bay was to be had 
from the deck or even from conveniently 
located staterooms. It had been suggested 
that here opportunity would be given an- 
glers to make the acquaintance of the "un- 
sophisticated fish" of the region, but if any 
wonderful catches were made, no stories 
of them floated to the ears of the feminine 
contingent. Turning back from here the 
boat passed through the most striking part 
of the journey, stopping for some time 
around the capes of Trinity and Eternity. 
To attempt to describe the scenic beauties 
of the trip would he to attempt what was 
admirably done by the chronicler of the 
post conference of 1900 (see Proceedings 
A. L. A. 1900, pp. 174-182.) The pleasing 
pastime of trying to hit the sides of the 
capes with rocks thrown from the boat was 
indulged in by a few of the passengers. 
Howells tells us that his uninspired hero ac- 
tually did it. And that was forty years ago ! 



212 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



The origin of this custom might be an in- 
teresting question for a class in library 
economy to investigate. 

The hours spent at Tadousac will be 
pleasantly enshrined in the book of mem- 
ory. The air was fresh and cool and many 
came and went visiting the salmon hatch- 
eries, and the ancient chapel, strolling 
through the picturesque streets where they 
were met with kindly hospitality by the 
habitants, or driving through the balsam 
scented woods. 

Leaving these pleasant shores, a few 
hours brought the boat to Murray Bay, 
where the night was spent. Every one 
started out for a walk in the morning, but 
the road led past the shops dealing in 
homespun, and there was a general halt. 
These characteristic raids sometimes cause 
one to pause and wonder whether the great- 
er pleasure of traveling comes from adding 
new and beautiful slides to our mental col- 
lection or new articles of vertu to our do- 
mestic equipment. Those who did get 
beyond the shops were rewarded by a walk 
through a straggling French village with 
quaint views and picturesque glimpses most 
enticing to the amateur photographer. A 
number also with true tourist thoroughness 
visited the former summer home of the 
President of the United States and even 
took snap-shots on his front steps. 

All met for luncheon at the Manoir 
Richelieu, a meal well served and good. A 
round of applause was given Captain Koe- 
nig as he joined the party and another was 
given Mr. Gould, the perfect host, whose 
kindness and thoughtfulness will long be 
remembered by those whom he personally 
conducted. 

After luncheon vehicles of all kinds, in- 
cluding that most fascinating of all, the 
caleche, waited to take the party to the 
Falls. The drive through a beautiful coun- 
try with fields of clover and daisies and 
hedges of wild pink roses ended at a pulp 
mill, where the interesting process of con- 
verting the virgin forest into wood pulp 
was viewed. Beginning at the front door 
where the bales of pulp were taking their 
departure, the party went back step by 
step. To achieve the last a steep chute 



had to be ascended and the perils of descent 
seemed so great that nearly all preferred 
to go around and cross back by some step- 
ping stones. The water was not deep but 
the stepping stones were small. There may 
have been other falls but if there were, no 
one seems to have seen them. 

That night was a gay one on board the 
"Saguenay." It was the culmination of the 
delightful evenings spent around the piano 
with music, songs and story telling. At the 
command of Mr. Bowker who, with his 
charming wife, made admirable masters of 
ceremonies on these occasions, in accord- 
ance with the precedent set twelve years 
before by the A. L. A. post conference, all 
purchases of homespun, coverlets, rugs, and 
dress patterns were brought out and hung 
over the gallery rail for a loan exhibit. 
After they had been duly inspected a war 
dance was led by Miss Askew, the partici- 
pants being each clad in his respective pur- 
chases. Stories, songs and charades fol- 
lowed and the evening ended in singing the 
following choice composition to the tune 
of the "Little Brown Jug." 

The A. L. A.'s started one day, 
To explore the Saguenay, 
Young and old, gay and grim 
Twenty-five hers to every him. 

Ha Ha Bay, A. L. A,, 
Sailing up the Saguenay, 
Ha Ha Bay, A. L. A., 
Each from his own library! 

Oh, Mr. Gould from Montreal, 
Our genial host, beloved of all, 
We'll rue the day when we must say 
Farewell to you and Saguenay. 

During the next two days in Quebec, li- 
brarians circulated themselves freely, the 
torrid heat seeming to cause no appreciable 
falling off. On Sunday morning various 
church services were attended, many going 
to the Basilica. Nearly every one found 
opportunity to visit the principal sights, 
Dufferin Terrace, the Plains of Abraham 
(where early impressions gathered from 
school histories of the hazard of Wolfe's 
climb were somewhat modified), and the 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



213 



lower town, and many, like true "debtors 
of their profession" visited tne library of 
Laval University. Luncheon was enjoyed 
on both days at the Chateau Frontenac. 

On Sunday afternoon, a much appreciated 
hospitality was extended the American Li- 
brary Association by Mr. and Mrs. Henry 
Porteous, seigneurs of the Isle of Orleans, 
who entertained with a delightful garden 
party in their beautiful grounds and gar- 
dens. In the evening many found their way 
to Dufferin Terrace to listen to the music 
and watch Quebec promenade by. 

Monday morning the party was received 
by Alderman Collier, in the absence of the 
Mayor, who extended a courteous welcome 
and after that a street car ride around the 



city was enjoyed by the party as guests of 
the City of Quebec. 

In the afternoon a special train was char- 
tered to take the party to the church of St. 
Anne de Beaupr6. A courteous priest acted 
as guide and carefully explained all the 
wonders of this miraculous shrine. On the 
return trip the falls of Montmorency and 
Kent House were visited. 

It was with great regret in spite of the 
heat, that farewell was said to this most 
picturesque of cities. Good-byes were said 
the next morning in Montreal and each 
went on his separate way with the feeling 
that the past week had been one of pleasure 
and rich experience long to be remembered. 
JULIA IDESON. 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



The first meeting since organization was 
held on the evening of June 27. Mr. James 
I. Wyer, Jr., presided. In his opening re- 
marks Mr. Wyer gave a brief account of 
the events leading up to the formation of 
the section. He also spoke of the various 
kinds of agricultural libraries and of their 
growth and influence. 

An address of welcome was delivered by 
the Hon. Martin Burrell, Canadian min- 
ister of agriculture. 

WM. M. HEPBURN, librarian of Purdue 
university presented a paper on 

LIBRARY EXTENSION WORK OF AGRI- 
CULTURAL COLLEGES 

Extension work is now a name to con- 
jure with. Its most popular aspects, the 
corn train, the wheat special, the farmers' 
short course, where a thousand or more 
men and women from the farms gather for 
a week's instruction, have all been ex- 
ploited in the newspapers to such an ex- 
tent that they are well known everywhere. 
The new methods of extension work were 
developed in the agricultural colleges or 
agricultural departments of universities. 
It seems now as though many of these 
methods were to be applied in other fields. 



The moving cause for all this activity is 
the desire to bring opportunities for edu- 
cation to every man, woman and child in 
the state who has sufficient energy and 
ambition to desire them. Along purely 
agricultural lines the extension work car- 
ried on by the State college of agriculture 
at Cornell, is typical. The December num- 
ber of the "Announcer" outlining this 
work contained eight quarto pages giving 
information under twenty-five separate 
heads. The work carried on by a uni- 
versity as a whole is best illustrated by 
Wisconsin, whose university extension di- 
vision has carried this work further 
than any other similar department. The 
phrase, "The university that goes to the 
people," applied to Wisconsin, and the 
slogan, "If you can't come to the college, 
the college will come to you," used by 
North Dakota agricultural college, illus- 
trate the aims of the workers in this 
field. 

Of course much of this extension work 
is altogether outside of the sphere of the 
library, but there are signs that the li- 
braries of agricultural colleges, and of the 
land grant colleges especially are waking 
up to the fact that there are public needs 



214 



OTTAWAICONFERENCE 



which they are best fitted to supply. The 
extension departments of the various col- 
leges have found a number of problems 
confronting them in which they need the 
help of the college library, such for in- 
stance as matters relating to the use of 
books for special study, and the general 
problem of awakening in the farm com- 
munity an interest in books and reading. 
I shall attempt briefly to characterize the 
various phases which this library exten- 
sion work has taken, or may take, with- 
out more than passing reference to the 
work of specific institutions. 

The first letter of enquiry sent by a 
farmer to his state college or experiment 
station, might be said to have originated 
the entire extension work, and the growth 
of correspondence between farmers and 
the college, with its professors and ex- 
perts, indicates the nature of the demand 
on the part of the public, and the success 
of the work of the stations and colleges in 
arousing this interest. This correspond- 
ence forms and always will form a very 
important phase of university extension 
work. To get in touch with individuals, to 
have them take the trouble to write you 
concerning their needs is a sure indica- 
tion of their interest. Just as the corres- 
pondence of the commercial house is 
systematized, and form letters used where 
possible, so the growth of this extension 
work has led to the publication of brief 
bulletins, or circulars in place of the elab- 
orate and lengthy bulletins so often is- 
sued by the experiment stations on the 
same subjects. 

One of the needs which was soon felt in 
correspondence was that for a brief list of 
books on agriculture, which could be sent 
In response to inquiries from individuals 
and libraries. This list is sometimes a 
simple mimeographed list, or a short 
printed list, or even a more elaborate 
bulletin, such as the Cornell publication, 
"What shall the farmer read" or the more 
recent one, "Reading in the farm home." 
There is real need for these lists, and 
every college library or extension depart- 
ment should have such a list available for 



distribution. There is room perhaps for 
some co-operation here in order to secure 
greater uniformity and the opinions of 
many who are in close touch with the 
needs of the farming community. 

One of the outcomes of the extension 
work in agricultural colleges, was the 
forming of reading and study clubs and 
clubs for social and civic purposes, and 
the publishing of study outlines for read- 
ing courses, which might be taken up in- 
dividually or by groups. In some cases all 
the reading necessary was included in the 
bulletins published, such as the Cornell 
reading courses. In others special books 
were assigned which could be purchased 
from the extension department, or bor- 
rowed from it. Thus began the lending 
of material from the college library or 
some department of the college, a practice 
which I believe is destined to grow to 
large proportions, especially when we se- 
cure parcels or book post. In several 
states this work is now well organized. 
The University of Wisconsin, the North 
Dakota agricultural college and perhaps 
others are prepared to send out what they 
call package libraries to individuals, clubs, 
societies or schools for a certain fixed per- 
iod of time. These package libraries con- 
sist of pamphlets, speeches, newspaper 
clippings, articles clipped from magazines, 
bulletins issued by the university and 
other miscellaneous matter. 

North Dakota gives a list of subjects on 
which they are prepared with package li- 
braries in agriculture, biography, educa- 
tion, science, municipal affairs, etc. They 
will even lend typewritten copies of decla- 
mations, dialogues, orations and printed 
copies of amateur plays. 

Wisconsin in addition to its package li- 
braries issues bibliographical bulletins on 
subjects of general interest, as does the 
University of Texas. If these package li- 
braries are made more elaborate including 
larger pamphlets and books, they can be 
dignified by the name of traveling libra- 
ries. So far as is known by the writer, this 
work is not carried on by the college li- 
brary except in one instance, the library of 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



215 



Massachusetts agricultural college, where 
Prof. Charles R. Green has this work in 
charge. In other colleges it is managed 
by the extension division or department 
with, however, the co-operation of the 
college library and other library interests, 
as in Wisconsin. It will readily be seen 
that this work duplicates to some extent, 
the work of the public library, or at least 
the work that the public library should be 
doing. It is evident too, that this work 
would have its best field in states where 
there were few public libraries in the 
smaller towns and villages. 

The looking up of references on domes- 
tic science, the boy scouts, or the fireless 
cooker and other similar subjects is sup- 
posed to be the work of the public library. 
It may be that notwithstanding the em- 
phasis placed by the public library on its 
reference work, and work with schools, 
the college by its extension service is go- 
ing to enter this field and do at long 
range what the public library is not doing 
for its own local community. If there is 
sufficient demand from the rural districts 
for the service given by the public discus- 
sion and information divisions of the ex- 
tension work (as it is often called) it is 
certainly a strong argument in favor of 
the extension of the public library service 
over the counties or townships as is now 
being done in several states. There is a 
good field here for co-operation between 
the local library, the organized library in- 
terests of the state, the college library 
and the extension service of the college or 
university. 

An interesting feature of the work of 
the extension department at Purdue uni- 
versity is the combination of the printed 
list of books, the sample library, and the 
actual sale of books to the farmers. Some 
months ago by consultation with members 
of the station staff and actual examination 
of many volumes, a list of about 75 titles 
relating to agriculture, was compiled and 
printed. Several sets of these volumes 
were then obtained from the publishers, 
and arrangements made with them for 
mail orders of these books at certain dis- 



counts. The printed lists and sample 
volumes were taken to county fairs, insti- 
tutes, farmers short courses, and on spe- 
cial trains. The lists were distributed, the 
books shown to the farmer, and his order 
taken on the spot at list price. Many 
orders come in later by mail. There is 
good psychology in this method of getting 
the book to the farmer. He can examine 
the book for himself, give the necessary 
weight to the recommendation of the man 
in charge, and having confidence in the 
university as represented by the exten- 
sion department, he trusts it with hfs, 
money. 

During the year and a half that this plan 
has been in operation 1,350 volumes have 
been placed in the hands of farmers in 
the state and the sales have been as high 
as $475 in a month. Some may see ob- 
jections to this method of book distribution 
and there are dangers that must be 
guarded against, but in Indiana it is re- 
garded as firmly established. 

There are problems that can only be 
briefly referred to here connected with the 
distribution of agricultural literature, that 
are partly extension and partly library 
problems. Many tons of printed matter 
are being distributed every year by the 
various colleges and experiment stations. 
To insure the best use of this material 
some "follow-up" system and some instruc- 
tion to the farmer in its care and preserva- 
tion would seem to be essential. The 
small circular or bulletin is taking the 
place of the more elaborate publications 
formerly issued on the same subject and 
these are being sent only to those who re- 
quest them and have a real need for them. 

The college should be willing and able 
to lend books to institute workers, lectur- 
ers, clubs, and to other libraries unless 
this service is already well done by some 
other agency. 

It should also be a clearing house for in- 
formation relating to agricultural litera- 
ture and should co-operate wherever possi- 
ble with the other departments of the 
institution whose work looks toward the 
betterment of rural life. The value of 



216 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



books to both young and old in the farm 
home, may be overlooked by the other de- 
partments organized for more practical 
and perhaps more well denned ends, and 
in this matter the librarian has both an 
opportunity and a duty. 

Dr. James W. Robertson, chairman of 
the Canadian royal commission on indus- 
trail training and technical education, de- 
livered an address on economic and agri- 
cultural conditions in Canada. 

Mr. Wyer read a paper prepared by Dr. 
A. C. TRUE, director, U. S. office of experi- 
ment stations, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture on the subject 

SUGGESTIONS AS TO A POLICY OF 
ADMINISTRATION OF AGRICULT- 
URAL COLLEGE AND EXPERI- 
MENT STATION LIBRARIES 

Dr. True said in part: 

Fifty years ago next Tuesday, the 2nd 
of July, the act was passed which auth- 
orized the establishment in each state of 
a college "to teach such branches of learn- 
ing as are related to agriculture and the 
mechanic arts," and it was just twenty-five 
years ago this year that the act was 
passed which created the agricultural ex- 
periment station as a department of the 
agricultural college. 

It seems, therefore, peculiarly fitting 
that on this jubilee anniversary we should 
be discussing the relation to each other of 
these two institutions which have done so 
much for the agricultural interests of our 
country, and we believe are destined to do 
much more. 

The agricultural or land-grant colleges 
authorized by the Morrill act of 1862 were 
the direct outcome of a persistent demand 
for an education better suited to the needs 
of an age of progress than the classical 
form then in exclusive use. Interest in 
experimental work grew rapidly and cul- 
minated in the passage by Congress and 
signing by President Cleveland in 1887 of 
the bill introduced by Wm. H. Hatch, of 
Missouri, which provided for the estab- 
lishment of an agricultural experiment sta- 
tion at each of the agricultural colleges, 



as a department of the college. This act 
provided the sum of $15,000 annually for 
the establishment and maintenance of the 
experiment station. It was later supple- 
mented by the Adams act passed in 1906, 
which provided for an increased annual 
appropriation, bringing the sum total of 
federal appropriation for each station up 
to $30,000. 

In the Hatch act establishing the exper- 
iment stations the wording of the law 
clearly sets forth the fact that the station 
is a department of the college. 

It would seem obvious, therefore, that, 
since the station is a department of the 
college, the station library should be con- 
sidered a part of the college library and 
thus come under the general direction and 
control of the college librarian. This in- 
volves the presumption that the college 
authorities appreciate the importance of a 
well managed library and therefore em- 
ploy a well-trained and efficient librarian, 
and have a good library organization. 

The work of the experiment station may 
be broadly grouped under the two heads 
research and the dissemination of the re- 
sults of that research. A necessary pre- 
liminary to all successful research work is 
the examination of the records of similar 
or allied work. These records are con- 
tained in books and periodicals, and a 
moment's thought reveals the fact that 
the station library lies at the very heart 
of the station's work and' is second to 
nothing in importance. Even the records 
of hypotheses tested and found untenable 
are valuable, as they may save much use- 
less effort and consequent loss of time. 
The equipment of the station library 
should, therefore, be one of the first con- 
siderations in the organization of the sta- 
tion, and not merely a desirable adjunct if 
better advocated activities permit. 

The function of the agricultural college 
library is primarily to serve the interests 
of the professors and students who com- 
pose the college, whereas the mission of 
the experiment station library is to serve 
the investigators and scientific workers 
who constitute the station staff. For 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



217 



the college library to accomplish the best 
results there should be direct and con- 
stant intercourse between the professors 
and the librarian. The latter should be 
cognizant of the broad outlines of the 
courses being given and should be spe- 
cifically informed of theme work about to 
be assigned and theses subjects when 
chosen. If the librarian does not know 
these things before the call for material 
comes, it may be very difficult to supply 
just what is wanted. Even with every care 
there will sometimes be a conflict of in- 
terests, but a system of co-operation be- 
tween the teaching force and the librarian 
should reduce these conflicts to a min- 
imum, should work for the benefit of all 
concerned, and make the library a con- 
stantly increasing aid in the process of 
education. 

The experiment station library, being 
designed for the use of scientific investi- 
gators, is really a reference collection. It 
should consist of the records of agricul- 
tural investigations the world over and 
such books of reference in each branch of 
the station's work as the investigator in 
charge of that work thinks necessary. 

The co-ordination of the interests of the 
two constituencies, the investigator on 
the one hand and the teaching force and 
student body on the other, is one of the 
most important problems of the librarian 
of the agricultural library. It is a task 
which will require his best ability as an 
administrator, and will be accomplished 
only by the exercise of boundless patience 
and unlimited tact, combined with an im- 
partial sense of justice to everybody. 
Only when the investigator, professor and 
student each realizes fully that the li- 
brarian's chief concern is to be of service 
to him, will the ideals of the library be 
realized. 

The vital concern of experiment station 
workers and the officers of the agricul- 
tural colleges in the library and its activi- 
ties was evinced by the fact that a session 
of the Association of American agricul- 
tural colleges and experiment stations 
which met in Columbus, Ohio, November, 



1911, was devoted to this subject. Nobody 
knows better than the workers themselves 
how useful the library may be to them, 
and their discussion of different phases of 
its problems was full of suggestions for 
the improvement of the service. 

In the development of the libraries of 
the agricultural colleges and experiment 
stations in the various states there have 
grown up three distinct types of libraries. 

The first type is the experiment station 
library which is kept separate from the 
college library but under its control and 
which is devoted somewhat exclusively to 
the use of the station workers. An ex- 
ample of this type of library is found at 
the State college of Washington. 

The second type is the agricultural col- 
lege and experiment station libraries com- 
bined into a single agricultural library and 
kept separate from the university library. 
as at Wisconsin. This type may be con- 
sidered as belonging to the departmental 
type of library. Other states which have 
adopted this plan are California, Iowa, 
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Vir- 
ginia. 

In the third type the collections of 
agricultural literature including the ex- 
periment station collections, are consoli- 
dated with the college or university 
collections and administered as one unit. 
Examples of this type are the libraries of 
the University of Illinois, the Oregon agri- 
cultural college and the Kansas agricul- 
tural college. 

Under certain conditions the advantages 
of one type may far outweigh the disad- 
vantages and leave little doubt that this 
is the best for the particular institution 
concerned. 

In the library of the first type, namely, 
the experiment station library kept sepa- 
rate from the college library but under its 
control, the collections are composed 
principally of the following classes of 
literature : 

1. As complete a collection as can be 
had of publications (a) of the U. S. De- 
partment of agriculture; (b) of state ex- 
periment stations in the United States; 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



(c) of agricultural, horticultural, dairy and 
live stock and kindred societies; (d) the 
publications of departments of agriculture, 
of agricultural schools and societies in 
foreign countries, all of which literature 
may be designated as the "official agricul- 
tural literature." 

(2) Files, at least current ones, of the 
leading agricultural periodicals of the 
United States, together with the best of 
those published in the interest of each of 
the special branches of agriculture, live 
stock, dairying, horticulture, etc. 

(3) A collection of reference works 
both general and agricultural, as well as 
standard works on agriculture and its 
various branches and allied sciences. 

Few if any of the separate experiment 
station libraries can be said to have not- 
ably complete collections, aside from the 
"official agricultural literature." Scientific 
books and periodicals are expensive and 
most of the agricultural colleges have not 
felt able to duplicate expensive sets of 
periodicals and scientific reference works. 
Therefore, since the college needs such 
works as well as the stations, the result 
has been in most cases that they have 
been filed in the college or university li- 
brary and the station collections have 
been limited principally to the "official 
agricultural literature" described above. 

That the experiment station workers 
should have readily available as complete 
a collection as possible of the "official agri- 
cultural literature," both American and 
foreign, seems most desirable if not im- 
perative. Whether this material should be 
filed in the station library or in the college 
library and to what extent it should be 
duplicated is a matter for each institution 
to decide, according to its needs and local 
conditions. In the case of an experiment 
station located on the college campus and 
near enough to the college or university 
for the station workers to use the general 
library, there is still much to be said in 
favor of a separate reference and reading 
room for the experiment station staff with 
an assistant in charge, the collection con- 
sisting principally of the "official agricul- 



tural literature," a selected list of current 
periodicals and a good selection of ref- 
erence books of special interest in experi- 
ment station work. The ideal plan would 
be for this room to adjoin the university 
library like a seminar room. If it is not 
feasible on account of distance for the ex- 
periment station workers to have the col- 
lection next to the general library, then 
it should of course be in the experiment 
station building or agricultural hall. 

Libraries of the second or departmental 
type, namely, where the college of agri- 
culture and the experiment station collec- 
tions are combined, contain in general all 
the library resources of the institution 
along purely agricultural lines, including 
the "official agricultural literature," and 
in addition a fairly complete collection in 
the sciences relating to agriculture. Such 
libraries have a two-fold purpose. They 
must supply the needs of the professors 
and scientists in connection with their in- 
vestigations and in addition must serve the 
students of the agricultural college. If 
the college of agriculture and the experi- 
ment station are some distance from the 
university, so far as to make frequent 
consultation of the university library im- 
practicable, there is no question but 
that the college of agriculture and the ex- 
periment station ought to have a separate 
library for their especial needs. If on the 
other hand they are near enough to the 
university library to make it feasible for 
the professors and scientists to use it fre- 
quently, it is an open question whether it 
is wise to separate the agricultural collec- 
tions. It is then a question of a central 
library versus a departmental or special 
library. The nearer the college of agri- 
culture library is to the university library, 
the more intensive should its collections 
become. 

There is much to be said in favor of the 
third type of agricultural library, namely, 
where the agricultural collections are in- 
corporated with the college or university 
collections. When the topography of the 
campus and the location of the buildings 
are such as to make it feasible for the sta- 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



219 



tion workers and the agricultural profes- 
sors to use the college or university 
library, the balance of the arguments 
seems to be in favor of this arrangement, 
both as regards economy of funds and ef- 
ficiency of service, if the special needs of 
the station workers can be and are given 
proper consideration by providing the 
really necessary duplicates and an assist- 
ant especially qualified to aid in the biblio- 
graphical research connected with the in- 
vestigations of the experiment station. 
There is a decided tendency toward unity 
in modern science. This is especially true 
in the sciences relating to agriculture. 
The entomologist needs to use botanical 
books, the botanist must use chemical 
books, etc., etc. This has an important 
bearing on library problems and as far as 
agricultural libraries are concerned, is an 
argument for centralized collections. 

As it is probable that it will be a long 
time in the future, if ever, before the ex- 
periment stations will have sufficient funds 
to build up complete collections for their 
special use, independent of the colleges, 
and since it is a question whether, if funds 
were actually available, it would be wise 
to expend them in duplicating to such an 
extent the college library collections, it 
seems evident that some compromise ar- 
rangement is inevitable. In attempting to 
work out a satisfactory library plan, every 
institution should make a careful survey 
of local conditions, such as the size of the 
collections, the size of the library staff, 
funds available, location and architecture 
of the college and experiment station 
buildings, and then attempt to work out 
the best possible policy under its peculiar 
conditions. In working out such a policy, 
there are three important points to con- 
sider, the question of administration, the 
question of convenience and the economy 
of funds. 

As regards administration, attention has 
already been called to the fact that the 
station is by law a department of the col- 
lege and under its control. If fully lived 
up to, this fact would seem to decide many 
vexed questions of administration. Sooner 



or later, it is believed, the colleges and ex- 
periment stations will find that there is 
less to be gained by standing alone than 
they had supposed and they will realize 
the advantages of a unified library admin- 
istration for the institution as a whole. 

In considering the question of conveni- 
ence, distance is the most important fac- 
tor. This difficulty can, however, to a 
great extent be minimized by an adequate 
telephone and messenger service between 
the library and the various departments of 
the college. Even for the sake of con- 
venience, it is a question whether any in- 
stitution is justified in separating its agri- 
cultural collections from the college or 
university library, unless it is prepared to 
provide an efficient assistant to look after 
the collection. Because books are near at 
hand does not mean that they are more 
accessible. 

If an institution is limited in funds and 
if its total resources in books do not ex- 
ceed 30,000 volumes, there seems little 
doubt but that the interests of the station 
and college can best be served by combin- 
ing forces and resources in one strong li- 
brary with adequate service, unless the 
topographical conditions make this plan 
impossible. Such a combination certainly 
husbands the finances, since separate li- 
braries involving a duplication of catalogs 
and reference books necessitates a con- 
siderable outlay of funds. 

But whatever the details of the library 
arrangement for the institution may be, 
the station should by all means have if 
possible the services of some person, call 
him what you will, librarian, biblio- 
grapher, or reference assistant, who may 
give his time and energy quite fully to the 
special requirements of the station, for 
example, in keeping the official literature 
complete and up to date, in looking up re- 
ferences, making excerpts, making and 
taking care of indexes, preparing biblio- 
graphical lists, and in doing bibliographi- 
cal work of a miscellaneous character. 
There is unquestionably need for libra- 
rians trained along agricultural lines. It 
would seem as though the library training 



220 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



schools of the universities of Wisconsin 
and Illinois were peculiarly well situated 
to make a specialty of training librarians 
for agricultural work. 

One of the important duties of such an 
assistant, regardless of whether the agri- 
cultural collections are maintained as a 
separate library or incorporated with the 
general library, should be the care and 
collection of agricultural publications ob- 
tainable by gift or exchange. There is 
now a great accumulation of public and 
miscellaneous documents, American and 
foreign, which may be obtained at little 
or no expense as regards purchase, but the 
collection, safeguarding and general care 
of this material is a very considerable 
task. Too many of the agricultural col- 
leges and experiment stations have not 
sufficiently regarded the importance of 
collecting this material and of keeping 
their files complete and in a readily avail- 
able form. A large portion of this ma- 
terial is never noted in the bibliographies 
of the book trade. It must be sought for 
in catalogs and book lists, in reviews, 
second-hand catalogs, and in many less 
obvious places. Much of the material is 
not for sale and is only obtainable by gift 
or exchange. It is therefore an important 
matter that there should be close co- 
operation between the experiment station 
and the library in arranging such ex- 
changes. The station bulletins and re- 
ports, published by each state, should be 
the means of obtaining for the station or 
college library many valuable exchanges 
from this country and abroad. 

In regard to the accessions to the li- 
brary, whether obtained by purchase or 
gift, there are certain definite principles 
which should be followed: first, it is 
most desirable that all the purchases of 
books and periodicals for all the collec- 
tions included in the university and experi- 
ment station should be made by the cen- 
tral general library, even the books pur- 
chased from the Adams fund, in connec- 
tion with some definite project; second 
that all the records in regard to the re- 
sources of the library be kept in the gen- 



eral library. Furthermore, all the collec- 
tions, whether obtained by gift or pur- 
chase, should be regarded as the unques- 
tioned property of the institution at large, 
and under the custody of the librarian. 

In regard to the purchase of books from 
the Adams fund, the fact that the experi- 
ment station worker needs in connection 
with an investigation certain books not 
already in the library, which books he is 
allowed to purchase from the Adams fund, 
is not, in the opinion of the office of ex- 
periment stations, reason for assuming that 
the books should not be purchased through 
the library or that they shall not be re- 
garded as the property of the library. 
Therefore, in a library efficiently admin- 
istered, there would be no inflexible rules 
which would make it impossible for any 
experiment station worker to retain in his 
laboratory for an indefinite period while 
he is carrying on his investigations, the 
books which he especially needs to have 
at hand, regardless of the fact that they 
were purchased through the library. As 
far as the office of experiment stations is 
concerned in the supervision of the ac- 
counts of the purchases made by the state 
experiment stations from the Adams fund, 
it has interpreted the law to mean that 
the funds can be used in part for the pur- 
chase of books needed to carry on a spe- 
cial experiment in progress but it does not 
hold that books so purchased must be held 
as the property of the department. On 
the contrary, it is inclined to believe that 
the funds will be safeguarded fully as well 
if not better, by the purchase of books 
through the library. 

As regards the assignment of funds for 
the library, there is lacking in many of 
the agricultural colleges and experiment 
stations any well matured policy. A hard 
and fast allotment of funds to departments 
is of doubtful wisdom. It would be bet- 
ter to be guided more by the use likely to 
be made of the books by the various de- 
partments than to attempt any impartial 
division among them. In all but a few of 
the state agricultural colleges and experi- 
ment stations the funds available for 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



221 



books are pitiably small. They need to be 
greatly increased. In some instances the 
purchase of scientific books seems unduly 
restricted as compared with expensive ap- 
paratus. As long as the funds are meagre, 
there is the more need for a well equipped, 
progressive librarian, with a knowledge of 
the resources of other libraries, who will 
co-operate with other libraries, and by ex- 
changes and interlibrary loans be able to 
supplement the resources of his own li- 
brary. The library of the U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture has been glad to lend 
its books to state agricultural colleges and 
experiment stations as freely as possible 
without interfering with the work of the 
department. The borrowing of a book 
needed for the special use of an investi- 
gator will often avoid the necessity of pur- 
chasing it and leave the funds available 
for the purchase of books of more general 
use. 

The answers to the questionnaire sent 
out by the Agricultural libraries section 
disclosed the fact that a large number of 
the agricultural colleges, but none of the 
experiment stations, have library com- 
mittees, and that the college library com- 
mittee's activities do not, except in a few 
instances, extend to the stations. It is not 
the purpose of this paper to discuss gen- 
eral library problems except so far as they 
touch upon the problems of the agricult- 
ural library. No arguments pro or con 
will therefore be brought to bear upon the 
desirability of library committees. If, 
however, it is thought best by an institu- 
tion to have a library committee, it should 
by all means be a committee for the whole 
institution. As already emphasized, the 
station is a department of the college and 
there would seem to be no reason for ex- 
cluding it in the consideration of the li- 
brary problems of the college, for there is 
no department of the college whose inter- 
est in the library is more vital. It was 
interesting to note that in one of the state 
agricultural college libraries, whose growth 
in the last few years has been remarkable, 
there is no library committee. In another 
college with a growing and progressive li- 



brary, the library committee was referred 
to as not much help and no hindrance. In 
some colleges the powers of the library 
committee are described as merely advis- 
ory as to library policies; in others, it evi- 
dently has considerable power, the decis- 
ion in regard to the purchase of books be- 
ing left largely to the library committee. 
It is a question whether this latter ar- 
rangement is altogether wise. There are 
certain dangers connected with it. If the 
librarian cannot be trusted to make a wise 
selection of books for the college, with the 
help of recommendations of the members 
of the faculty and station staff, then the 
disadvantages connected with a library 
committee empowered to decide on the 
purchase of books should be minimized as 
far as possible by having the library com- 
mittee rotate in office, in order to insure a 
fair representation of the needs of all de- 
partments of the institution. 

In the case of the experiment stations, 
the decision in regard to the purchase of 
books in most instances rests entirely with 
the director or the heads of the depart- 
ments. This plan, too, has its disadvant- 
ages. The ambitious specialist allowed to 
have his own way without regard to the 
needs of his fellow workers is apt to pur- 
chase books of service only to himself. If 
there is a library committee for the insti- 
tution, it would be far better to have the 
book purchases for the station considered 
by the committee on the basis of a gen- 
eral policy taking into account the special 
requirements of the station's work and 
funds. If there is no library committee, 
then the librarian of the college should by 
all means be consulted in regard to the 
purchase of all books for the station as 
well as the college. It should, of course, 
be understood by the librarian, as well as 
by other officers of the institution, that 
purchases of books and periodicals for the 
experiment station under the Hatch Act 
should be strictly confined to those re- 
quired in connection with the work of the 
station and under the Adams act to those 
directly relating to the approved project 
of research. It will, therefore, be neces- 



222 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



sary for the station director to pass on 
the extent of the library purchases from 
station funds and the character of the 
books and periodicals to be thus pur- 
chased. 

Among the functions, problems and op- 
portunities of the librarians of our agri- 
cultural colleges, extension work remains 
to be considered. The extension work of 
the agricultural college is now one of its 
vital activities and is every year enlarging 
its scope. Leaders are needed for every 
phase of this work, for correspondence 
schools, for farmers' institutes, for mov- 
able schools of agriculture, for work on 
practice farms, and in many other of the 
activities which are being used in carrying 
the improved methods of modern agri- 
culture to the farmer himself. The experi- 
ment station is an organized effort of 
science to improve agriculture, and the ex- 
tension work of the agricultural college is 
the practical means of reaching the farmer 
with useful information. The rural prob- 
lem is one of the burning public questions 
of the day and upon its proper solution 
depends much of the progress which we 
confidently expect. The farmer must him- 
self co-operate in the solution of this 
problem and the leadership is of a very 
high order that recognizes as an absolute 
essential to success, and succeeds in en- 
listing, an active participation on the part 
of the farmer in the work of bringing 
about an improved practice of agriculture. 
If then the library is as important in all 
the phases of the work of the agricultural 
college as we deem it to be, the work of 
the library should by all means be repre- 
sented in all the extension work activities. 

In conclusion, the above suggestions re- 
garding the administration of the agricul- 
tural college and experiment station li- 
braries and their opportunities for service 
to the investigator, the student and the 
farmer, may be briefly summarized as 
follows: 

First: The libraries of the agricultural 
colleges and experiment stations should 
always be in charge of well-trained and 
efficient librarians. 



Second: The books and periodicals 
should be selected with reference to the 
well-considered needs of the various 
branches of the institution, having regard 
for the vast amount of literature which 
may be secured by gift and exchange. 

Third: The experiment station collec- 
tion, even when separately housed, should 
be considered and administered as an in- 
tegral part of the college or university li- 
brary, under the direction of the college 
or university librarian. 

Fourth: The needs of the experiment 
station staff should be met by the employ- 
ment of a librarian, bibliographer or refer- 
ence assistant especially qualified to serve 
the station in all its interests. 

Fifth: In the extension work activities 
of the college for the more direct benefit 
of the farmer, the library should have its 
share. 

It is realized that there may be a wide 
difference of opinion as to the methods to 
be employed, but the object of this paper 
will be in part accomplished if it directs 
attention to the principles upon which a 
policy of administration should be built. 
The problems of the library need the com- 
bined thought and efforts of librarians, 
faculties and experiment station staffs in 
order that it may by its efficiency promote 
to the fullest extent the work of the agri- 
cultural colleges and experiment stations. 

Several papers were presented on 

SOME TYPES OF AGRICULTURAL COL- 
LEGE AND EXPERIMENT STATION 
LIBRARIES 

The first was by CLARENCE S. HEAN, 
librarian of the college of agriculture of 
the University of Wisconsin, on the type 

(a) Agricultural College and Experi- 
ment Station Libraries Combined and 
Separate from the University Library but 
under its Control. 
Mr. Hean said in part: 

The administrative officers of the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin believe thoroughly in 
the theory that teaching and research 
should go hand in hand. That theory 
practically applied in our college of agri- 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



223 



culture and agricultural experiment sta- 
tion virtually combines the two organiza- 
tions into one. 

This agricultural department of the 
university is housed in a group of build- 
ings at the extreme western end of the 
campus. The general university library is 
situated at the extreme eastern end, a full 
half mile away. It therefore seemed ad- 
visable to establish a departmental library 
for the convenience of our agricultural 
workers. 

In our college the funds received from 
the United States are not nearly sufficient 
to finance all of the station work, or re- 
search work as we call it. The budget is 
made up by adding together the income 
from all sources and apportioning this 
whole amount among the departments ac- 
cording to their needs and talents. Orders 
may then be issued by each department, 
subject to the dean's approval, to the ex- 
tent of its allotment. When bills are re- 
ceived the head of the department marks 
with an "R" all items ordered for research 
(i. e. station) work. The bookkeeper en- 
ters items so marked against United 
States funds until they are exhausted. 
The library being a department of the col- 
lege its funds are treated in this same 
manner. This marking of research items 
in the bills with an "R" is the only dis- 
tinction ever made between books pur- 
chased for station or for college purposes. 

All of the books purchased are classified, 
cataloged and filed as one collection. It 
is understood throughout the college that 
books for the Adams or Hatch investiga- 
tions are to be purchased by the library. 
Such books when received are given the 
right of way in all library processes and 
forwarded immediately to the investigator 
who requested them. 

The selection of books rests with the li- 
brary committee. This committee consists 
of five members of the faculty appointed 
by the dean for a term of one year, and 
the librarian, an ex officio member. The 
chairman of the committee has been re- 
appointed for many consecutive terms. 
The other members are rotated among the 



different departments. Lists of books for 
consideration at their monthly meetings 
are made up by the librarian. Any mem- 
ber of the faculty, or student either for 
that matter, may recommend books to go 
on the list. 

The selections having been made, the 
list is forwarded to the university libra- 
rian. It is then checked with the univer- 
sity catalog. Items already available any- 
where on the campus are reported back 
for further consideration. If it is the judg- 
ment of the committee that an additional 
copy is needed in our library it is so 
ordered, but all needless duplication is 
avoided. The actual order is made out by 
the university librarian who has at hand 
the bibliographical data for such work. 

The books are received, accessioned and 
plated at the general library. They are 
then forwarded to our college library to be 
classified and cataloged. All our books 
are permitted to circulate not only among 
the students and professors of our own 
college but among those of any college of 
the university. In return the same priv- 
ilege is granted to us by the other col- 
leges. Having a well developed delivery 
system and a liberal loaning policy, we en- 
courage the policy of a strong central 
library. 

The next paper, prepared by ASA DON 
DICKINSON, librarian State college of 
Washington, treated type 

(b) The experiment station library sep- 
arate from the college library but under 
its control. 
Mr. Dickinson said in part: 

In the state college of Washington, the 
experiment station library is said to be 
separate from the college, but under its 
control. Our college library building oc- 
cupies a central position on the campus, 
not over two hundred yards from the 
offices of most of the members of the sta- 
tion staff. Part of the lowest tier of the 
college library book stack is set aside for 
the accommodation of the station library, 
the point of division being marked by a 
gate. A specially designated member of 
the college library staff acts as station li- 



224 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



brarian, under the direction of the college 
librarian. Her salary is paid largely but 
not wholly out of the station funds. Her 
duties as station librarian occupy about 
one-third of her time, but these duties have 
precedence over her college library work. 
In the absence of the station librarian, 
members of the station staff are served 
by the college library staff. 

Our station library is made up almost 
entirely (1) of publications of the U. S. 
Department of agriculture; (2) of publi- 
cations of the state experiment stations, 
and departments of agriculture and horti- 
culture; (3) of the agricultural, horticul- 
tural and kindred periodicals. The college 
library contains duplicate collections of the 
first two classes of material. The third 
class in our experience is relatively of 
less importance, as it consists chiefly of 
the popular "farm-papers." The station 
library, like the college library, has its 
own card-catalog of U. S. Department of 
agriculture publications, and its own card- 
index of experiment station literature. 

Students and practitioners of the science 
of agriculture seem to be specially fortu- 
nate in that so much of the valuable ma- 
atrial on their subject is published and 
freely distributed by the federal and state 
governments. There is perhaps no other 
science in which the unofficial literature 
is so relatively unimportant. It is true, 
the technical journals of the allied sciences 
contain much that is of value to the ex- 
periment station worker. But so far as 
my experience goes, the use of this is not 
constant and continuous, as is the case 
with governmental material. Let us have 
separate and distinct sets of state and fed- 
eral "Bulletins," for our college workers 
and for our station workers, as both classes 
need to refer to them so frequently. But 
is not this going far enough? Is it not 
the wisest policy to confine our station li- 
brary collection principally to these well- 
thumbed publications, and to place the less 
constantly used and more expensive unoffi- 
cial material in the college library, where 
it can be of service to a larger public? 

MISS MARGARET HUTCHINS, of the 



reference department of the University of 
Illinois library described type 

(c) Experiment station library consoli- 
dated with the university library. 

Until 1897 the library of the Illinois ex- 
periment station and the university library 
were separately housed, cared for and sup- 
ported. In that year the state erected a 
library building for the university and in 
it the experiment station deposited its col- 
lection of nearly five thousand titles. From 
that time the station ceased buying books 
from the Hatch fund, with the possible ex- 
ception of a very few books for laboratory 
equipment, and it has never bought any 
from the Adams fund. The books depos- 
ited by the experiment station in the uni- 
versity library were classified and cata- 
loged and became a part of the library. 
The only difference in treatment from 
books otherwise acquired was that the ex- 
periment station books were accessioned 
separately so that it would be possible to 
take them out of the library again if de- 
sired. All books and periodicals bought 
or exchanged for the experiment station 
since 1897 have been dealt with like those 
bought or exchanged for the university. 
The questions of administration come 
therefore for the most part under the gen- 
eral library policy. 

Books are purchased for the university 
either out of the legislative appropriation 
for the library or the appropriations for 
the university and its different colleges 
and departments of investigation. 
1. Library funds. 

The library funds are assigned to the va- 
rious departments in the colleges of the 
university by a committee on the appor- 
tionment of library funds, consisting of 
the president, the librarian and the deans 
of the colleges, who act on the recom- 
mendations of a senate library committee. 
This is composed of the president and the 
librarian and seven members representing 
the following interests; Agriculture, En- 
gineering, Science, Graduate school, Li- 
brary, The languages, literature and arts, 
and The philosophical and social sciences. 
Besides preparing for the first mentioned 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION 



225 



committee on apportionment, detailed es- 
timates of the library needs of the various 
colleges, schools and departments, the li- 
brary committee acts as an advisory board 
to the librarian in matters of library ad- 
ministration and policy. The college of 
agriculture, which in Illinois is of course 
intimately connected with the agricultural 
experiment station, receives its share of 
the library funds for the purchase of books 
selected by its professors and investigators. 
2. Maintenance Funds, called Equipment 
funds in the Library to distinguish from 
Library funds. 

Books are also purchased out of the 
legislative appropriations for the support 
of certain colleges and out of allotments 
made by the trustees from the general uni- 
versity funds for colleges not specifically 
provided for by the legislature. In the 
case of agricultural books these funds have 
the two purposes: the maintenance fund 
for the college of agriculture and the ex- 
periment station and, second, the appro- 
priations for special departments of in- 
vestigation in the experiment station. 

The general policy of the faculty of the 
college of agriculture (or the staff of the 
experiment station) as to purchase of 
books out of these two different funds for 
college and experiment station is to buy 
books for special investigations out of 
station funds unless they clearly would be 
of use also to the students and instructors 
of the college at large. Books needed by 
the special investigator and the college 
in general at the same time are duplicated. 
When books are no longer needed in the 
laboratory or office for the special work 
for which they were bought, they are re- 
turned for general circulation to the main 
library by whose staff they were ordered 
and cataloged. Books already in the 
library, whether bought out of library 
funds or equipment funds for any college 
may be sent to a laboratory, office, or read- 
ing room from the main library unless they 
are needed for reference or class use in the 
main library or any branch of it. 
Exchange. 

The library and experiment station also 



work together in the matter of exchanges. 
The library exchange assistant arranges 
for the exchange of experiment station 
publications the same as for other publica- 
tions of the university, while the station 
attends to the actual mailing of its pub- 
lications, as it has better facilities for 
this than the library. In this way the 
library receives from the exchange of the 
agricultural experiment station publica- 
tions alone between four and five hundred 
publications, of which more than one-half 
are from foreign countries, seventy agri- 
cultural periodicals and the publications 
of ninety learned societies being obtained 
in addition to the publications of state 
universities and stations and universities 
and libraries all over the world. Besides 
these, the library receives by the exchange 
of other University of Illinois publications 
many hundred more publications, some of 
which are of interest to agricultural scien- 
tists and economists. 

Advantages of the Consolidation of Station 
and. University Libraries 

1. Economy of administration. 

No staff of agriculturists or any other 
specialists trained for scientific or literary 
research can be expected to order, catalog 
and care for books as quickly and effi- 
ciently as can the well organized library 
staff of forty, with its order department, 
gifts, exchange and periodical assistants, 
and cataloging, binding, loan, and refer- 
ence departments, whose whole time and 
attention is devoted to these special lines 
of library work. The library, too, which 
handles some thirty thousand new books 
a year can afford to have more elaborate 
equipment in the way of trade bibliogra- 
phies of various countries, catalogs of other 
libraries, mechanical means for duplicating 
catalog cards, shelving books, etc., than 
can such an institution as an experiment 
station whose money should be spent 
mostly on salaries of specialists and lab- 
oratory and field equipment. 

2. Security In preservation of valuable 
books. 

While the majority of agricultural de- 



226 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



partments at Illinois favor departmental li- 
braries, they all make it conditional "If 
we had a proper and secure place for 
them." All with whom I have talked have 
also emphasized the advisability, almost 
the necessity, of keeping all books on the 
campus, whether in departmental .libra- 
ries, laboratories or main library, under 
the central administration and the super- 
vision of the librarian of the university. 

3. Opportunity to use books and period- 
icals purchased by other colleges of the 
university. 

It can readily be seen that books and 
periodicals purchased especially by the 
College of Science may also be of use to 
the Agricultural experiment station. The 
agricultural faculty also benefit by the pe- 
riodicals, university publications, etc., re- 
ceived in exchange for publications of 
other colleges in the university. 

4. Greater educational opportunities. 
The agricultural experiment station, 

while receiving the benefits thus enumer- 
ated from its close connection with the 
university library, is able also to extend 
its circle of influence through the library, 
which naturally reaches more people than 
the station could by itself. Not only do 
the students and faculty of the other col- 
leges of the university have an oppor- 
tunity to use the agricultural books, but 
people throughout the state can and do 
borrow them from the library. 

Discussion on the same type of library 
administration was continued in a paper 
prepared by Mrs. IDA A. KIDDER, libra- 
rian of the Oregon Agricultural College 
library. 

She said in part: 

Our policy of one central library was 
rather thrust upon us by the exigency of 
our situation than deliberately chosen, for 
we began with a single librarian and one 
part time student assistant, but after four 
years' experience I should pursue the same 
general course. It is evident, however, 
that in libraries growing at the almost 
incredible rate of many of our western 
libraries, one must have principles of or- 



ganization and administration, rather 
than a fixed policy, or inflexible plans. 

At the Oregon agricultural college we 
have the advantage of having all our 
class room and laboratory buildings lo- 
cated near each other. 

We have had no difficulty or complica- 
tion as to funds, since nearly all our 
station funds have been used for experi- 
ments and laboratory equipment At first 
we had almost no college funds for the 
purchase of books and periodicals, hav- 
ing only such portion of the general equip- 
ment fund as could be spared after equip- 
ing our rapidly growing laboratories, but 
at the last session of our legislature the 
library was granted a fund of $15,000 for 
the biennium for books, periodicals and 
binding, and of the Crop Pest fund of 
$15,000 a year, granted for investigation, 
ten per cent could be spent for books and 
periodicals. This has been used and the 
library has therefore had this biennium, 
$9,000 a year. Most of the Crop Pest fund 
has been spent for books directly useful 
to the station investigator. Of the regu- 
lar college library fund, the station depart- 
ments have received their share along 
with the strictly instructional departments. 
The library fund is apportioned by the 
president of the college, after consultation 
with the librarian, the basis of judgment 
being the need of the department together 
with its present equipment. The books 
purchased from station funds are usually 
for some specific investigation and are 
kept in the laboratory collection of the 
department purchasing. A record is kept 
of the books purchased under each differ- 
ent fund. 

The head of each department is re- 
sponsible for the books in his laboratory 
collection, and once a year an inventory is 
taken. In our general catalog we have 
the cards of every book kept in a depart- 
ment stamped, under the call number, with 
the name of that department; thus it is 
possible to locate from the catalog all 
books except those out on loan. All our 
freshmen have one semester's instruction 
in the use of the library, that is, one lec- 
ture and one practical problem a week, 



CATALOG SECTION 



227 



with one college credit allowed. During 
this period we urge the students to feel 
at liberty to go to any laboratory to con- 
sult any book needed for their work, but 
with all the encouragement we can give 
them, I feel convinced that the books 
kept in the laboratory collections do not 
have the general use from the students 
which they would have if they were lo- 
cated in the general library. 

We expect soon to place in our agricul- 
tural building duplicate catalogs of the 
publications of the United States Depart- 
ment of agriculture and of the state ex- 
periment stations. This will be a great 
accommodation to the men working in 
the station. 

We keep our duplicate reports and bul- 
letins arranged so that at a moment's no- 
tice any duplicates may be found. We 
have one department whose work it is to 
secure and care for the continuations of 
value to an agricultural college. This is 
one of the most valuable features of our 
organization, and though it was difficult 
to give the service for such a definite de- 
partment, from our small library force, 
it seemed imperative and has proved a 
wise step. The reference librarian of the 
college does the reference work for the 
station as far as called upon. She bor- 



rows for the use of the station from a 
number of other libraries. 

It seems to me that the problem of 
administering the college and the experi- 
ment station library, whether separately 
or combined must always present a num- 
ber of almost insurmountable difficulties; 
men engaged in research demand all ma- 
terial for their work closely and imme- 
diately at hand, instructional work re- 
quires that all the material on the campus 
shall be easily accessible to its use. To 
meet these so often conflicting demands 
without extravagant duplication requires 
of the librarian a broad-minded impartial- 
ity of judgement. 

The next topic was a symposium of 
recent reference books and new periodicals 
of special interest to agricultural libraries, 
which was treated under the following 
heads: (a) New periodicals, by E. Lucy 
Ogden, Library of Congress; (b) Agricul- 
tural reference books, by Elizabeth S. In- 
gersoll, of Cornell university library, and 
(c) Reference books in sciences relating 
to agriculture, by Emma B. Hawks, of the 
U. S. Department of agriculture library. 

Miss Claribel R. Barnett, librarian of 
the U. S. Department of agriculture library 
was re-elected chairman for the coming 
year. 



CATALOG SECTION 



FIRST SESSION 
(Thursday, June 27, 8:15 p. m.) 

The first session of the Catalog section 
was held Thursday evening, June 27, the 
chairman, Miss Laura A. Thompson, of 
the Library of Congress, presiding. The 
reading of the minutes of the last meeting 
was dispensed with and they stand ap- 
proved as printed. 

The topic of the evening, "Subject head- 
ings," was introduced in a paper by Miss 
MARY JOSEPHINE BRIGGS, cataloger of 
the Buffalo public library, and editor of 
the "A. L. A. list of subject headings." In 



the absence of Miss Briggs, this paper was 
read by Miss Sula Wagner, of the St. Louis 
public library. 

THE A. L. A. LIST OF SUBJECT 
HEADINGS 

Every cataloger, at least at the begin- 
ning of her career, has an ideal of the 
catalog which she would like to make: 
a catalog conforming to the most ap- 
proved rules, accurate in bibliographical 
detail; consistent in form, in method of 
entry and in arrangement. 

She realizes from the first that the task 



228 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



of achieving this ideal will be difficult; 
she soon begins to fear that it will be im- 
possible. After perhaps years of endeavor, 
she questions if it is even desirable. 

Absolute consistency in the matter of 
author entry may be attained by strict 
adherence to the A. L. A. rules, and the 
divergences from these rules necessary 
to adapt them to the varying conditions 
of public circulating, reference and uni- 
versity libraries are slight and unimpor- 
tant. But who can frame a code of rules 
or formulate principles through which 
consistency in subject headings may be 
attained? And is consistency so absolutely 
necessary or desirable? Is not the ideal 
catalog the one which is best adapted to 
the needs of the majority of its users; 
which is so arranged that the reader can 
find what he wants in the shortest possi- 
ble time, even at the sacrifice of absolute 
consistency? 

When the work of revising the Subject 
headings was begun, an effort was made 
to learn the wishes of all interested in re- 
gard to the principles upon which the new 
edition should be based. 

Many of you remember the list of ques- 
tions that was published in the Library 
journal and in Public libraries. Some 
of you sent answers to those questions. 
They were questions of scope, of princi- 
ple of selection, and of arrangement. The 
answers received from librarians, catalog- 
ers and reference workers, the opinions of 
members of the advisory committee upon 
these and other problems, the ideas ex- 
pressed by library workers consulted by 
Miss Crawford in the various libraries 
which she visited, the suggestions gleaned 
from correspondence with other library 
workers and with experts upon various 
subjects, were all carefully noted by Miss 
Crawford, and in some instances tabulated 
so that the varying opinions could be seen 
at a glance. These notes, together with 
lists of headings from many libraries, large 
and small, made up the material from 
which the third edition of the Subject head- 
ings was compiled. 

The most casual examination of this ma- 



terial revealed the fact that while on some 
points there was practical unanimity of 
opinion, upon others there was the great- 
est diversity. 

The following are not exact quotations, 
as I no longer have the correspondence 
at hand; but they fairly indicate the op- 
posing views of some of the writers: 

"Expand the list by the addition of neces- 
sary new headings, but make few if any 
changes. The A. L.'A. headings are in 
very general use, and the possible ad- 
vantage of changes would not compensate 
for the inconvenience and expense of 
wholesale alterations in existing catalogs." 

"The old headings are antiquated. Do 
not hamper libraries yet to be by perpet- 
uating phraseology that no longer conforms 
to modern usage." 

"For the sake of uniformity, adopt the 
Library of Congress headings, even if not 
always entirely satisfactory for a public 
library." 

"The Library of Congress headings are 
not at all adapted for use in popular libra- 
ries. Disregard them." 

"The public library is for the plain peo- 
ple, use headings they will understand." 

"If the public does not understand scien- 
tifically accurate headings it should be 
taught. Do not lower the standard of 
scientific cataloging." 

To choose headings that should offend 
as little as possible these widely differing 
advisers, to steer a course between ultra- 
conservatism and iconoclastic radicalism, 
was the difficult task that confronted me 
in undertaking the compilation of the new 
list of Subject headings. 

A special effort was made to formulate 
a principle that should govern the choice 
of adjective phrase; inversion; or noun, 
subdivided. Is it better to enter under 
Chemistry, Physiological, or Physiological 
chemistry? Under Psychology, Educa- 
tional, or Educational psychology? Under 
Negro suffrage or Negroes Suffrage? 

A strict rule for this sort of heading 
would be a boon to catalogers, but surely 
not to the users of the catalog. The aver- 
age reader does not reason concerning the 



CATALOG SECTION 



229 



principles upon which the catalog is con- 
structed. The fact that he today finds 
what he seeks entered under Chemistry, 
Organic, will not prevent his turning to 
Electric engineering rather than Engineer- 
ing, Electric, tomorrow. The adoption of 
either form of entry to the exclusion of 
the others would lead to absurdities. Be- 
cause it is satisfactory to subdivide Rail- 
roads, would it be desirable to abandon 
headings beginning Electric and substitute 
subdivisions of Electricity for Electric con- 
ductors, Electric lighting and Electric 
power? Or because Botany, Structural, is 
preferable to Structural botany, should we 
use Physics, Agricultural, instead of Agri- 
cultural physics? 

In the end, all efforts to frame the de- 
sired rule resolved themselves into some- 
thing like this: It is necessary to use 
all three forms of heading; noun with sub- 
division, adjective phrase, and inversion. 
Each case must be decided upon its own 
merits, and that form Used under which 
it is believed that the majority of read- 
ers will look, the majority of readers in 
each particular library, be it understood. 
A university library will use many sub- 
divisions because it is convenient for pro- 
fessors and students to have much of the 
material brought together under large sub- 
jects. A medical library will use few, if 
any, headings beginning Medical, because 
Medical is understood. 

As was stated in the introduction, no 
radical changes from the second edition 
were made except in response to what 
seemed to be a very general demand. 
There were few dissenting votes to the 
proposition to abandon the headings Arts, 
Fine, and Arts, Useful. The majority in 
favor of Government instead of Political 
science was less decisive, but still a ma- 
jority, and the confession heard more than 
once, "I never can remember the difference 
between political science and political econ- 
omy," was a straw that helped to turn the 
scale. Trade union is no longer a com- 
prehensive term when organizations of 
teachers and of others outside the trades 
must be included. The phrase Domestic 



economy is being superseded in recent 
books by Home economics or by Domestic 
science. It is impossible to mention the 
changes in detail or to give the reasons 
for each, but no changes were made with- 
out careful consideration. 

Just how far it is advisable to alter ex- 
isting catalogs in order to conform to the 
new headings is a problem that each cat- 
aloger must decide for herself. If in your 
opinion the heading already in use is better 
than the new one suggested, by all means 
retain it. If, while admitting a slight ad- 
vantage in the new heading, you think 
that the gain is not sufficient to justify the 
labor of changing, it is much easier to al- 
ter your copy of the Subject headings than 
to erase or re-write catalog cards. But if 
you are convinced that the new heading 
is one that will be more readily found by 
the users of your library, and by the desk 
attendants who have not catalog training, 
then make the change, even at the ex- 
pense of considerable time and labor. And 
by all means consult the attendants in the 
circulating and reference departments if 
in doubt as to the advisability of making 
a change. They know how books are 
called for. They know how they them- 
selves look for them; and "see" references 
are irritating when there is a line of im- 
patient borrowers reaching from the re- 
quest window to the door. 

Such changes as have already been made 
in the catalog of the Buffalo public library 
have met with general approval from the 
loan desk. Recitations and readings; 
Grammar, English; Spelling, English; Corn 
instead of Maize; Humor instead of Wit 
and humor; the transfer of the subhead- 
ing Best books from Bibliography to Books 
and reading; and the removal of Immigra- 
tion from under country, have received 
especial approbation. The necessity for 
the latter change was made apparent when 
it was discovered that the half dozen cards 
under Immigration were so soiled as to 
be almost illegible, while those under U. S. 
Immigration bore no evidence of use; 
either because the "See also" reference 
had been overlooked, or because readers 



230 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



were daunted or confused by the complex 
arrangement of the cards under United 
States. 

In all these cases the new heading dif- 
fers from both the old A. L. A. heading 
and from the Library of Congress head- 
ing. 

Starting with the ( intention of retaining 
all headings upon which the A. L. A. list 
and the Library of Congress were agreed, 
I soon found that some of these very 
headings had occasioned the greatest dis- 
satisfaction. If the new list was to be 
acceptable to any considerable number of 
those who had taken sufficient interest in 
the subject to answer Miss Crawford's 
questions, I must endeavor to get closer to 
the point of view of the users of the cat- 
alog, rather than be governed by theory 
or established precedent. 

The Library of Congress headings are 
admittedly devised to meet conditions in 
the Library of Congress, certainly very 
different conditions from those of a public 
library. Moreover, the Library of Congress 
headings have been, and still are, in a 
state of development. Many changes have 
been made in the last dozen years, and as 
it is plainly impracticable to reprint imme- 
diately all cards bearing a discarded head- 
ing, libraries purchasing cards printed sev- 
eral years ago will often find headings sug- 
gested that are no longer in use by the 
Library of Congress. Sometimes cards for 
two editions of the same book bear alto- 
gether different headings. 

The varying headings adopted by the 
departmental libraries, whose cards are 
printed and issued by the Library of Con- 
gress, cause still further apparent incon- 
sistency. We cannot be sure that any 
particular heading was ever approved by 
the Library of Congress unless the card 
bears the Library of Congress serial 
number. The Department of Education, 
for example, uses Secondary education and 
Art education, while the Library of Con- 
gress uses Education, Secondary, and Art 
Study and teaching. The Department 
of Agriculture has adopted Botany, Agri- 
cultural; Fruit and fruit trees; and U. S. 



Forestry; while the Library of Congress 
enters the same material under Botany, 
Economic; Fruit culture; and Forests and 
forestry U. S. Such variations make 
it impossible for any cataloger using the 
printed cards to follow blindly the head- 
ings suggested thereon, and emphasize 
the fact that no list of headings can be 
satisfactory to all kinds of libraries. 

Most of the headings for the new A. L. 
A. list were decided upon before the Li- 
brary of Congress began to issue its printed 
lists. On comparing the lists first received, 
I found cases where the Library of Con- 
gress had changed its practice, and as 
each instalment was issued I made changes 
in the manuscript already prepared, in 
order to bring the two lists into closer 
agreement. Doubtless in the Library of 
Congress lists yet to be issued there will 
be many headings different from those in 
use five years ago, at the time the list 
which was my guide was copied from the 
Library of Congress catalog. 

Conformity in general to the Library 
of Congress headings was my aim, and in 
most cases of doubt the usage of the 
Library of Congress, if known, was the 
determining factor in the decision. But 
when, fortified by the approval of such 
advisers as were available, including in 
important cases the member of the Pub- 
lishing Board who is now president of the 
American Library Association, I was con- 
vinced that some other form of entry 
would be more helpful to the users of a 
public library, I adopted that form, even 
though inconsistent as in the treatment 
of English language, or not altogether 
accurate as in the substitution of Corn 
and Rubber for Maize and India-rubber. I 
may add that in no case did I decide in 
opposition to the majority of- the members 
of the advisory committee, though only a 
few specific headings were submitted to 
them. 

The list, being prepared for moderately 
large libraries, contains many headings 
that may well be ignored by the smaller 
libraries. Not only are most of the sub- 
divisions unnecessary, but so also are 



CATALOG SECTION 



231 



many distinctions which would result in 
separation of material that might better 
be kept together if the entries are few, 
such as Charity organization, Infants 
(Children being a sufficient entry), Soil 
absorption, Soil moisture. 

The list is not intended as a guide to 
be followed blindly, but to be adapted to 
individual needs, by the exercise of com- 
mon sense perhaps the most necessary 
part of a cataloger's equipment. 

Consideration of cost and weight of the 
book necessitated limitation of the scope. 
There was a strong plea for the inclusion 
of geographical terms, at least in cases 
of disputed spelling. A list of such names 
was prepared by Miss Crawford, with full 
references and definitions. It was esti- 
mated that this list would add perhaps one 
hundred pages to the book, and the Pub- 
lishing Board did not feel that it was ad- 
visable to include them. Very many head- 
ings that might be considered as falling 
within the scope of the book were omitted 
because their use would be infrequent, 
and it was thought better that the occa- 
sional cataloged should write these head- 
ings on the blank pages, rather than that 
all should be required to pay for an un- 
necessarily long and correspondingly 
heavy list. 

Just a word in regard to the actual 
amount of material in the book. The state- 
ment of the Publishing Board that the third 
edition contains about three times the ma- 
terial in the second edition has been ques- 
tioned on the score that the new edition 
is printed on one side of the leaf only. 
It should be remembered, however, that 
only the printed pages are numbered, so 
that the list of headings in the third edi- 
tion occupies 397 pages, double column, 
while the second edition contained but 
193 half pages and 12 full pages. That 
is, the printed matter in the third edition 
occupies nearly four times the space filled 
in the second edition. Moreover, the type 
is smaller, so that the new page contains 
twelve lines more than the old one. There- 
fore, allowing for the blank space occa- 
sioned by the disparity of the lists of "See 



also" and "Refer from" references, it is 
believed that the estimate of three times 
the material of the second edition is con- 
servative. 

The subject was continued in a paper 
by Miss MARY W. MACNAIR, of the Li- 
brary of Congress on 

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LIST OF 
SUBJECT HEADINGS 

The list of subject headings issued by 
the Library of Congress is used also, for 
reference and comparison, by many other 
libraries throughout the country. It has 
been suggested that a statement in regard 
to the purpose, scope, and manner of print* 
ing of the list, might be useful to the li- 
brarians receiving it, and possibly valuable 
as well to others who are interested in the 
undertaking, and who may be, to some ex- 
tent, unfamiliar with the Library of Con- 
gress catalog. 

The printing of the list of subject head- 
ings was begun in the summer of 1909. 
Up to that time, the second edition of the 
A. L. A. subject headings had been used 
as a basis for the subjects assigned in the 
Library of Congress catalog. But so many 
additions and alterations had been made 
in our interleaved copies of the A. L. A. 
list, that the need of an entirely new list 
of headings began to be urgently felt, al- 
though the difficulty had been partially 
obviated by the printing of lists of addi- 
tions to the old A. L. A. list, for distribu- 
tion to the catalogers at the Library of 
Congress. At this date the third edition 
of the A. L. A. list was already in prepara- 
tion, yet it was considered wiser to print 
a list of the Library of Congress headings, 
rather than to cooperate in the A. L. A. 
undertaking, as the headings needed in 
our catalog differed to such an extent 
from those required for the average public 
library. 

The distribution of the list to other li- 
braries was not, at first, contemplated. 
The printing of the subject headings was 
undertaken to facilitate the work of the 
catalogers in the Library of Congress, and 
it was believed that, if supplied to other 
libraries in its preliminary form, the list 



232 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



would give rise to many queries in regard 
to unavoidable omissions and inconsisten- 
cies. It had not progressed far, however, 
before many libraries intimated that it 
would be useful to them to receive the 
letters as they were issued, and when 
requests became too urgent for refusal, 
it was decided to supply copies at a price 
insuring that only those libraries should 
order them which had serious use for them. 
It was considered that 50 copies for dis- 
tribution outside the Library of Congress 
would surely be sufficient, but it turned 
out that the estimate was too small, and, 
in consequence, there has had to be much 
reprinting of the early letters of the alpha- 
bet. The edition of the letter P, just 
issued, was 500 copies. 

The scope of the list of headings is 
largely inclusive in its character, covering 
subjects in all branches of knowledge as 
far as they have been adopted in the Li- 
brary of Congress catalog. The names of 
persons and places are, however, omitted, 
also names of societies, institutions, and 
bodies of various kinds, names of treaties 
and conventions, and systematic names of 
genera and species in botany and zoology. 

The classes theology, and military and 
naval science are only partially represented 
in the list, as these sections are not yet 
recataloged. The classes language, litera- 
ture, and philology, which are now in the 
process of recataloging, are more fully, 
but not yet wholly, represented. In the 
earlier letters of the alphabet, few head- 
ings in law were introduced (as it has 
only been during the past few months that 
the law headings have been systemat- 
ically considered), but they are now in- 
cluded in the list, and many of those 
omitted in the earlier letters are being 
entered in the lists of additions to the sub- 
ject headings issued in connection with the 
main list. 

We include in the list the more impor- 
tant subdivisions under a subject. These 
subdivisions are printed in italics, and 
separated from the main subject by a dash. 
One point to which I would especially call 
the attention of librarians using the list 



is that ordinarily only those subdivisions 
are printed under a subject which are dis- 
tinctive, or peculiar to that subject. Gen- 
eral form subdivisions, such as Directories, 
Periodicals, Societies, etc., which may 
properly be used under any subject re- 
quiring them, are, as a rule, omitted from 
the list. (A list of these form subdi- 
visions can be found on p. 19 of the 
"Preliminary list of subject subdivisions," 
issued by the library in 1910.) Under 
names of countries only the history sub- 
divisions are included. 

Turning now from the consideration of 
the subdivisions, a few words may be 
useful in regard to the cross-references 
from subject headings to related subjects. 
In general, it may be said that references 
are made from the more inclusive to the 
smaller subjects, and not ordinarily back 
from smaller to larger. We should refer 
from Grain to Maize and Rye, but not from 
Maize and Rye back again to Grain. Where 
practicable, references are made from the 
most inclusive to somewhat more limited 
subjects, and from these latter to sub- 
jects still more specific, rather than from 
the inclusive to the specific subjects. We 
refer from Art to Engraving, from Engrav- 
ing to Stipple-engraving, not directly from 
Art to Stipple-engraving. These general 
principles have been departed from where 
it has seemed expedient, the desire being 
to render the list useful and practical, 
rather than to make it adhere too strictly 
to rigid rules of procedure. 

The seeming incompleteness of refer- 
ences from many subjects, references 
which obviously are needed to round 
out the various aspects of subjects is 
due to the fact that certain headings are 
not as yet introduced in the Library of 
Congress catalog. We have been very 
conservative about introducing new head- 
ings until called for by the books in hand, 
judging that the headings should be made 
to conform to the literature, rather than 
the literature to the headings. 

The printing of a subject in antique type 
indicates that, in the library catalog, the 
subject has country subdivision, as in Edu- 



CATALOG SECTION 



233 



cation, Labor and laboring classes, Insur- 
ance, etc. It may be helpful to add here 
that the country is subordinated to the 
subject in our catalog, when it seems de- 
sirable to keep the material on a topic 
together, rather than to distribute it un- 
der the country headings. This includes 
many subjects in technology, science, art, 
and the social sciences. 

The numbers which follow the subject 
headings indicate where the material deal- 
ing with those subjects is classified in 
the Library of Congress. The explanatory 
words following these numbers serve 
merely to guide those interested in the 
classification scheme. They are in dif- 
ferent form from the subject headings, 
and should not be confused with them. 
In the matter of hyphens, the Century 
dictionary has been used as an authority. 

At the present time the list of headings 
has been completed through the letter P. 
Q and R are now ready for the press, and 
will probably be issued in the course of 
a few weeks. The editor of the list some- 
times feels it to be a cause for gratitude 
that the English alphabet is composed of 
only 26 letters. Should it contain as many 
letters as some other alphabets, the San- 
skrit for example, the day of completion 
of the list might indeed be far away. 

A few words in regard to the printing 
of the lists known as "Additions and cor- 
rections" will, I think, be needed for a 
full understanding of the subject headings. 
I have already spoken of the lists of ad- 
ditions issued in connection with the old 
A. L. A. list, before the Library of Con- 
gress list of headings began to be printed. 
When letter A of our new list was ready 
for press, there had been four of these 
lists issued, the additions being cumulated 
in each successive number. The correc- 
tions in the lists appeared but once, and 
were carried over by the catalogers to 
copies of the A. L. A. list. The headings 
in these early supplementary lists have, 
of course, been incorporated in the Library 
of Congress list, as far as the letters have 
been printed. 
Even after the new list was begun, 



it was found impossible to dispense with 
the "Additions and corrections" lists, as 
the library catalog grew and expanded. 
We have continued to issue them from 
time to time, as occasion has demanded, 
and have included in them new headings 
in the section of the alphabet not yet 
printed, as well as additions to the letters 
which have already appeared in print. 

Each "Additions and corrections" list ia 
cumulative, as far as the additions are 
concerned, so that a library possessing the 
main list and the latest supplementary list 
has a complete record of all the Library 
of Congress headings which have been 
printed. As was the case in the lists sup- 
plementary to the A. L. A. headings, the 
corrections noted appear but once, and 
should be carried over by catalogers to 
the main list of subject headings. 

The classification numbers, and cross 
references to related subjects, known as 
the "See also" references, are not in- 
cluded in the supplementary lists. Direct 
"See" references from one subject to an- 
other, or from one form of name to an- 
other, are, however, usually included, that 
the cataloger may avoid the pitfalls lurk- 
ing for the unwary. 

Including the early supplementary lists, 
there have been, up to the present time, 
eight lists of "Additions and corrections" 
issued, and number 9 is ready for the press. 
Having now touched upon some general 
features in regard to the issuing of the list 
of subject headings, with its supplement- 
ary lists, I will conclude with a word as to 
a later and fuller edition. The list now 
being issued is a preliminary list, printed 
as manuscript, and, to some extent, ex- 
perimental in its nature. While it is be- 
ing made as complete and inclusive as 
present conditions seem to warrant, the 
intention has been to reissue it later in 
book form, wider in its scope and more 
inclusive in its references. Concerning 
the date of issue of the fuller edition, 
should this desired consummation be 
brought about, it is impossible at this time 
to make a statement. Probably it will 
be best to wait until the remaining classes 



234 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



of books in the library are reclassified and 
recataloged, before any definite decision 
as to date is reached. 

It has been suggested that the next edi- 
tion of the list might be put into loose-leaf 
form, with a view to keeping it to date 
by inserting new leaves, when necessary, 
in place of old ones. Experiments may be 
tried along this line, and the relative mer- 
its of the various loose-leaf binders in- 
vestigated. The advocate of this plan sug- 
gests that the linotype slugs be kept stand- 
ing, and that once a month the sheets on 
which changes have been made be re- 
printed, and distributed to the catalogers 
at the Library of Congress, and to sub- 
scribers to the list. 

The subject matter of a later list would 
doubtless agree with the present list in 
general features, but some minor changes 
might be found to be desirable. One point 
to which our attention has been called is 
the possible advantage of entering sub- 
jects in zoology and botany in the plural 
form rather than in the singular, as most 
of them have been entered in the present 
list. Another matter which merits con- 
sideration is the substitution of subdi- 
vided headings for the inverted forms now 
in use in certain classes of subjects, as 
in the headings Oxygen, Physiological ef- 
fect of, and Man, Origin of. Some other 
questions to be considered are as to 
whether it would be advisable to distin- 
guish in the list those subjects which are 
divided by country and then by city, from 
the subjects which have direct local sub- 
division; whether certain classes of head- 
ings now included could be advantageously 
dispensed with; and whether the 'main sub- 
divisions of the animal and vegetable king- 
doms are a valuable feature of the list. 

Doubtless other matters will suggest 
themselves for consideration as time goes 
on, and we shall hope eventually to pub- 
lish a list which may commend itself as a 
valuable tool to library workers. Borrow- 
ing the words of Mr. Charles A. Cutter 
in the preface to his "Rules for a diction- 
ary catalogue" we may say with him: 
"It is to be expected that a first attempt 



will be incomplete, and we shall be obliged 
to librarians for criticisms, objections, or 
new problems, with or without solutions." 
It had been hoped that Mr. J. C. M. Han- 
son would personally supplement this pa- 
per by an informal account of the early 
practice and experimentation of the Li- 
brary of Congress. In his unavoidable 
absence, brief extracts from a personal 
letter were read by Miss Thompson, who 
then called upon DR. E. C. RICHARDSON, 
librarian of Princeton university, to open 
the discussion with some previously pre- 
pared notes on 

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF 
CATALOGING 

This discussion by the direction of 
proper authority is a discussion of the 
alphabetic subject catalog as suggested 
by the A. L. A. and Library of Congress 
subject heads. It is confined to general 
principles and general principles, of course, 
always have exceptions. This discussion 
is, however, free in considering these so 
far as it pleases. 

Some of the fundamental principles may 
seem more like rules than principles at 
first sight but it is believed that they are 
all well principled. However, it is not 
pretended that they are all the principles 
in sight; quite the contrary, there is quite 
a pocket-full of these left each with the 
memorandum of some principle, big or 
little, and there are but twenty-one here 
enumerated. This being a discussion 
rather than a systematic paper properly 
refers to matters of recent personal ex- 
perience. Since the first page of the new 
subject index contains subjects down to 
the name "Absolute," there has been drawn 
a synopsis of all the subject headings 
used by the A. L. A., Library of Congress, 
Harvard, Sydney, Princeton and the in- 
dexes of the Expansive Classification and 
Decimal Classification. 

This will illustrate the variety of usages 
which have to be dealt with in attempt- 
ing to systematize this matter so as to 
get uniformity and may be regarded as 
illustrations of the principles enumerated. 



CATALOG SECTION 



235 



1. A catalog is a name list of concrete 
or specific objects as distinguished from 
classes of objects; a list of plants in a 
botanical garden, of mineral specimens in 
a museum or books in a library, but a 
list of kinds of plants, minerals or books 
apart from concrete specimens is not. In 
the case of books such a list is a biblio- 
graphy. The book catalog is a directory 
or guide book to certain concrete books, 
the bibliography is a list of books in the 
abstract, applying equally whether its 
books exist in one place or another, or 
even if they no longer exist at all. 

2. A library catalog is a directory or 
guide book to books for use. The imme- 
diate object to publishers, new book deal- 
ers, book auctioneers or antiquarians is 
sale, the object to the librarian is use. 
This difference affects both the form of 
the catalog and the description of the 
books. 

3. Library catalogs in turn may be dis- 
tinguished into catalogs for the adminis- 
tration (which include chiefly accession 
catalog and the shelf list) and those for 
direct use of readers (which include au- 
thor, subject, title, imprint, etc., catalogs) 
the special use in every case modify- 
ing the form of the catalog. 

4. Catalogs for readers differ accord- 
ing to the two needs of readers which the 
catalogs try to meet. These needs are 
(1) To find a given book; (2) to find a 
book or group of books of a given char- 
acter. It is not quite exact to say under 
this second head, that the object is to 
find information on a given subject or 
topic, for it may be that the object is to 
find special forms such as incunabula or 
Venetian imprints, association books, fic- 
tion, poetry, drama, essays, orations, bal- 
lads, encyclopedias, dictionaries, period- 
icals, classes of rarities, books on vellum, 
etc. 

5. The prime object of a library cata- 
log or directory to books for use resolves 
itself into a matter of the economy of 
time and of attention. Where there are 
only two or three books in a man's library 
there is obviously little need of catalog. 



As soon as there are many the guide book 
is needed. Whether, therefore, the cata- 
log is author or subject, the controlling 
thought in its making is the economy of 
attention of the user. 

6. The alphabetic order is on the whole 
the quickest reference order. The eco- 
nomic solution for these two needs proves, 
therefore, to be, the two alphabetical cat- 
alogs (1) the author and title catalog, (2) 
the alphabetical subject catalog. Title cat- 
alogs and the like are simply supplement- 
ary practical devices to aid inexperienced 
or forgetful readers. 

The author and title catalog is distin- 
guished from the author and catch-word 
catalog by the entry of anonymous titles 
under the first word rather than under the 
most significant word. 

6b. Following a natural evolution, the 
systematic library catalog and the alpha- 
betical classed catalog are practically ex- 
tinct species, overwhelmed in the strug- 
gle for existence by the alphabetical sub- 
ject catalog's quick and ready reference. 
This economy is, to be sure, effected for 
the average use, at a very great expense 
to the use of a good many readers who 
wish to consider all related aspects of a 
topic, but with the growing habit of clas- 
sification of libraries, there is in fact a 
handy substitute, for these readers, in the 
classification, its index, and the shelf list. 
The alphabet subject catalog has thus be- 
come the recognized sole form of subject 
catalog for users in general. 

7. The nature and origin of the alpha- 
betical subject catalog is the same as that 
of the alphabetical encyclopedia, the al- 
phabetical index to books and alphabetical 
index to a system of classification. Its 
rules and applications may, therefore, be 
guided by experience and practice in these 
three fields as well as direct experience 
in the alphabetical subject catalog. 

8. Habit being a chief factor in quick 
reference, it is important that the name of 
the subject should be that of common 
usage. By this is not meant necessarily the 
use of the common people, but the form 

generally used in book indexes, encyclope- 



236 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



dies, and library classifications. It is 
greatly to be desired that all encyclopedias, 
classifications, indexes and alphabetical 
subject catalogs should use just the same 
terms the same form among synonyms, 
the same practice as to singular or plural, 
adjectives or substantive entry. 

9. At least the names of the subjects 
in the alphabetical subject catalog should 
be identical with those of the alphabetical 
index to the systematic catalog if there is 
any or the classification of its own library. 

10. Whatever names are used must be 
clearly defined. This is the first princi- 
ple of subject cataloging, whether the ar- 
rangement is alphabetical or systematic, 
that the subject word shall be so clearly 
defined that there is no mistaking what 
is to go under it. It is hard to lay too 
much stress on this matter. It is the 
Alpha and Omega of subject cataloging of 
every sort, besides which even uniform 
names and the question of arrangement 
are quite secondary. 

11. In choosing the names for classes, 
the most specific should be used. This is 
a very important aid indeed to clear defi- 
nition. The only objection is the split- 
ting of kindred subjects the same idea 
which leads to the alphabetical classed or 
systematic catalog. 

Many cautions are issued warning 
against being too specific some well 
founded, but the danger lies almost wholly 
in the other direction. There may be a 
limit but the principle is one of the clear- 
est and most important in the whole mat- 
ter and even the encyclopedias even the 
Britannica itself are getting further and 
further away from the old Britannica type. 

12. The names of subjects so far as 
they are identical with author catalog en- 
tries should be determined by the same 
rules as in the author catalog. This is 
another important aid to uniform names 
which should be strictly insisted on. 

13. The alphabetical subject catalog 
should have a classed index, as the classed 
catalog or the shelf list must have an al- 
phabetical index. Note that the index 
to the new Britannica by its alphabetical 



index recognizes itself as an alphabetical 
classed encyclopedia rather than an alpha- 
betical subject encyclopedia. Note also 
that it has the systematic index the idea 
which in the end must be applied to every 
alphabetical subject catalog and which 
will be fully served automatically if the 
names of the classification index are iden- 
tical with the subject headings and the 
class number attached to each of the sub- 
ject catalog headings. 

14. Sub-headings and sub-sub-headings 
should be alphabetically arranged. They 
should not be systematic or chronological. 

15. Sub-headings should be chosen by 
the same rules an3 principles as main 
headings and thus make a duplicate list. 
There may be practical limits to this but 
principle is clear. 

16. The arrangements of titles under 
main subject or sub-headings need not 
be alphabetical. Much is to be said for 
the chronological order of authorship or 
publication, but almost the only use for 
alphabetical arrangement by authors un- 
der heading is a poor duplication of author 
catalog use. It might be a real advantage 
to break the bad habit of using subject 
catalog for author purposes and on the 
other hand, the chronological arrangement 
of titles in the vast number of cases would 
save turning all the cards as required in 
the alphabetical order. Nevertheless the 
alphabetical is now the common method. 

17. Complex books may be analyzed for 
the subject catalog. This is the distinc- 
tive advantage of the subject catalog over 
the shelf list that it can put different arti- 
cles in the same volume or various sub- 
jects involved in one title under all their 
effective headings. It is obvious, however, 
that this principle must be limited to ap- 
ply in a wooden way would involve all 
periodicals and essays, a rock on which 
more than one attempt at subject catalog- 
ing has been wrecked. 

18. The subject catalog should not be 
overloaded with references. The princi- 
ple of economy of attention requires this. 
Few things are more aggravating in work- 
ing under subjects than to have to finger 



CATALOG SECTION 



237 



over a large number of irrelevant cards. 
Some of the remedies for this are sub- 
division, the arrangement in chronological 
order of publication as above suggested, 
limiting analysis by excluding all works 
analyzed in accessible indexes and, where 
there is more than one edition of the same 
work, indicating one only and referring 
to the author catalog for the others. 

19. The card should not be overloaded 
with details. The principle of economy of 
attention involves reducing the amount of 
material in a title to its lowest terms 
(whether on card or printed book) a mat- 
ter greatly helped by typographical dis- 
tinctions or corresponding distinction In 
the breaking of written lines, the location 
of certain details on certain lines or cer- 
tain fixed places on the card, the use of 
red ink, underscoring, and similar details 
enabling the user to get the essential facts 
as to the identity of the work and its 
location in the building in the shortest 
possible time. 

20. The indications on the cards of 
either catalog should be as brief as may 
consist with clearness and so displayed 
on the card as to catch the eye- quickly. 

21. Subject cataloging is a practical art, 
not a science. Names will be changed 
from time to time and a part of the art 
is therefore to develop a method of record 
on cards which shall cost the least possible 
effort for making changes. 

Dr. G. E. Wire, of Worcester, continued 
the discussion of subject headings, with 
special reference to medical headings in 
the third edition of the A. L. A. List of 
subject headings. 

Dr. Wire said a lack of knowledge of 
medical and surgical terms had led the 
compilers of nearly all the library cata- 
logs into using erroneous headings, 
"Sees" and "See alsos" and that these er- 
rors had been continued in the third edi- 
tion of A. L. A. subject headings. 

A cataloger of good preliminary educa- 
tion, with experience gained in a large li- 
brary, and with the opportunities to be 
found in a large library, college, reference 
or circulating, of consulting books, or peo- 



ple or both, can in time produce a fairly 
logical system of "Sees alsos" and "Sees," 
and subject headings in almost any sub- 
ject except medicine. 

Among the changes suggested by Dr. 
Wire are the following: 

Abdomen. The rational references and 
cross references are: 

See also, Intestines, Viscera. 

Cross reference should be simply Vis- 
cera. 

Anatomy. Why refer to Glands and not 
to Liver, the biggest gland in the body? 
Why to Chest and not to Lungs? Autopsy 
should not be referred to; that reference 
should come from Pathology. 

Appendicitis. This is a surgical disease 
and should be put under Surgery, Prac- 
tice of, instead of Medicine, Practice of. 

Contagion and contagious diseases. 
Contagion and Infection seem to be con- 
fused. We are referred from Infection to 
Contagion as if they were synonomous 
terms. 

Homeopathy. "See also Medicine" 
should be used for polemical treatises 
only. These headings show a bias against 
Homeopathy which is common in some 
classifications. 

Hygienic. Has 54 "See alsos," most of 
which are fair but one-half of them could 
be omitted to the bettering and clearing 
of the list. 

Hygiene, Public. This is better on the 
whole than Hygiene (plain), more con- 
sistent and logical in their references and 
cross references, thus confirming our con- 
tention that it is from lack of medical and 
surgical knowledge that these lapses oc- 
cur. 

Medicine. I should omit the following 
special headings, leaving only the general: 
Allopathy; Anatomy; Anaesthetics; An- 
tiseptics; Autopsy; Bacteriology; Den- 
tistry; Diagnosis; Histology; Homeop- 
athy; Hospitals; Inoculation; Narcotics; 
Pathology; Pharmacy; Physiology; Stim- 
ulants; Surgery; Therapeutics; Vaccina- 
tion. 

From Medicine, Practice of, I should 
omit all the surgical headings as follows: 



238 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Appendicitis; Bones, Diseases; Cancer; 
Erysipelas; Eye, Diseases and Defects; 
Obstetrics; Surgery; Tumors. 

Dr. Wire recommended that a medical 
mind with suitable library training should 
have been consulted about these headings 
before a final printing. 

Miss Anna M. Monrad, of Yale univer- 
sity library, outlined the principles and 
scheme of subject headings for philology 
and literature applied in the catalog of 
Yale university library. 

SECOND SESSION 
(Friday, June 28, 8:15 p. m.) 

The second session of the Catalog 
section was held in the ballroom of the 
Chateau Laurier on the evening of Fri- 
day, June 28, Miss Thompson presiding. 

Mr. Keogh, Miss Van Valkenburgh and 
Miss Mann were appointed by the chair- 
man as nominating committee. 

The first paper was by Miss ONO 
MARY IMHOFF of the Wisconsin legisla- 
tive reference library, on 

CATALOGING IN LEGISLATIVE 
REFERENCE WORK 

The state which studies the laws and 
experience of other states and countries 
in order to bring to its own statute books 
the best features of each, combined with 
the results of original work, confronts a 
problem of no small dimensions. The 
mass of laws put forth by the forty-eight 
states of this country is so overwhelming 
that it is practically impossible for one 
man thoroughly to comprehend their mer- 
its and disadvantages. The legislative 
reference library, therefore, must be of 
service in helping to select that which is 
worthy of imitation, at the same time dis- 
carding the impractical features. 

The reasons for .the success or failure 
of such laws, and the differences in 
economic or local conditions in two com- 
munities must always receive serious con- 
sideration by those who are endeavoring 
to meet the advancing economic demands 
for properly constructed and better laws. 



The comparative element of this vast ac- 
cumulation of material must always be 
remembered, not only in the care, but also 
in the gathering of material, if the library 
is to serve its highest purpose. 

Because of this and other well known 
characteristics of a library of this type, 
the demands are of a peculiar nature and 
cannot be met by the ordinary library 
material treated in the usual library 
method. It is more or less of a quasi- 
library, requiring an adaptation of library 
processes to a combination of office and 
library work. As a result of this differ- 
ence, the general library rules for catalog- 
ing must be decidedly modified. One is 
justified in making the catalog of such 
a library a law unto itself, for each and 
every one of its class has its own partic- 
ular problems, environment and limita- 
tions, which will probably be met in its 
own particular way. 

Since the problem becomes so largely 
one of individuality and circumstances, it 
might be well to consider for a moment 
some of the essential differences in pur- 
pose and treatment of material, and to 
realize the desirable points to be attained 
as well as the non-essentials, or things 
actually to be avoided. 

The processes and methods of this kind 
of a library must in their nature be con- 
ducive to rapidity and conciseness of serv- 
ice. Time saving devices are unusually 
important, not only in the acquisition of 
material and the actual technical work, 
but in the delivery of material. The 
speedy availability of the most serious 
treatises on the most profound subjects 
is absolutely necessary. Between ses- 
sions many, many hours of the most ear- 
nest and serious efforts must be spent in 
investigation, study and research in 
order to relieve the pressure of heavy re- 
search work as much as possible during 
the session. 

The library deals with business men 
who are seeking an answer to some spe- 
cial need. They have a definite reason 
for seeking the information and a definite 
point of view and they expect the library 



CATALOG SECTION 



to answer their questions in a business- 
like manner. Too much emphasis cannot 
be placed upon efficiency of service as 
shown through rapidity of service. The 
legislator is a busy man and any time 
saved through devices which quicken de- 
livery of material, or shorten the time 
devoted by the patron himself, is well 
worth while. If two hours is necessary 
on the part of the library worker between 
sessions to put material into such shape 
that it may be delivered ten minutes 
sooner during the legislative session, it 
should be given cheerfully. 

Condensations, digests, and briefs may 
be prepared during the interval between 
sessions which will save hours of time 
during the actual high pressure season 
of the session itself. Any sort of short- 
cut brought about by analyticals, or any 
other devices known to the cataloger, 
should be used. Shrewdness of judgment 
and a general discrimination as to what 
is really valuable is not only highly de- 
sirable but absolutely essential. 

Since time is such an important ele- 
ment, it might be well to call attention to 
the fact, that the legislative reference 
library may be adequately maintained 
without many of the records which are 
favored in libraries in general. Do away 
with as much "red tape" as possible. 
Simplicity of material, simplicity in serv- 
ice, simplicity in the whole department 
is to be commended above almost any 
other one characteristic. Among those 
records which can be abandoned with 
perfect propriety in such a department, 
are the accession book, gift book and 
withdrawal book. So much of the mate- 
rial is ephemeral in its value that the cost 
of maintenance outweighs the value re- 
ceived in actual results. The serial list 
may be exceedingly simple. Records of 
the number of books cataloged, or circu- 
lation statistics are of very doubtful value 
in this work. 

Since the loss of material is inevitably 
rather large, an inventory is almost essen- 
tial. However, material is easily re- 
placed, much of it is free and because of 



this fact, a biennial inventory will prove 
satisfactory in most cases. There is no 
need of a complicated charging system. 
In truth, establish no records of any kind 
within the library until convinced that 
its efficiency will be hampered without 
them. Emphasis is put upon this point, 
because of the fact that all legislative 
reference departments have small appro- 
priations in the beginning, and it is dur- 
ing this early period that the library must 
justify its existence by showing results 
in active service rather than in catalogs 
and records. At first there are never 
enough assistants to do both efficiently. 
Therefore, let the tendencies be toward 
those things which will bring into evi- 
dence vital things rather than mere good 
housekeeping. 

It might be well to state that the term 
"catalog" will be used in the broadest 
possible sense. The definition of the term 
as it will be used in this paper, might be 
given as "a record of sources and of ma- 
terial," and not merely a record of mate- 
rial to be found upon the shelves of any 
one library or institution. 

The catalog should be kept as simple 
as possible in its essentials. Conciseness 
of title, brevity of treatment, and above 
all clearness, must always be borne in 
mind. Sacrifice library school rules if 
necessary. Let there be no hesitation in 
enlarging or changing the title if by so 
doing greater clearness is gained. It 
must be remembered always that the 
catalog is made not for librarians with 
technical knowledge, but for men whose 
use of it will be that of an untrained stu- 
dent. Let it be such that your constitu- 
ency may use it without help. Be exceed- 
ingly generous with notes, never failing 
in the case of bills to show whether such 
bills became laws or failed in passage. If 
a bill became a law, give the citation. If 
reports or cases are known by special 
names, be sure to note that fact. Let 
there be no ambiguity either in title, sub- 
ject or note. Annotations as to the sub- 
stance of material are also highly desir- 
able, particularly when they show whether 



240 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



a given article is favorable or antagonis- 
tic, or state the reliability of the author 
concerned. 

The material itself falls into three dis- 
tinct classes which influence the catalog- 
ing treatment; books, pamphlets, and 
clippings. The books and pamphlets 
show comparatively little variation from 
regular cataloging methods. Clippings 
in the Wisconsin legislative reference 
department are mounted upon manila 
sheets, eight by ten, arranged chronolog- 
ically under classification number, marked 
with a book number Z and treated as a 
single pamphlet. They have no author 
card, being entered merely under the 
subject-heading necessary, with the au- 
thor line left blank. This procedure is 
convenient in some other cases, such as 
certain extracts from the Congressional 
record, containing discussions in which 
various members take part and where it 
is difficult to enter under any individual 
or even joint authors. 

Since the author phase of the catalog 
is of less interest than the subject phase 
which acquires unusual importance, sec- 
ondary cards may be very .largely omit- 
ted. Joint author cards are really of very 
little service. Series and title cards are 
the exception rather than the rule. 
Whenever possible it is advisable to make 
continuation cards instead of entering 
new compilations or new editions on sep- 
arate cards. In the case of continuation 
cards, it is advisable to choose a brief 
title and pay no attention to such varia- 
tions as may be given in different edi- 
tions. For instance, a 1907 compilation 
of state tax laws might be entitled, 
"Laws relating to assessment and taxa- 
tion," and the 1909 one simply "Taxation 
laws," and the 1911 one "Revenue and 
taxation laws." These may all be entered 
upon one card under the simple title, 
"Tax laws," and the three volumes added 
as continuations. In short, do not at- 
tempt to show the exact detail by means 
of cataloging, such as is advisable in pub- 
lic libraries. What your patron wishes 
to know is whether you have the tax 



laws of that state and what is the date 
of their compilation. These are the facts 
which interest him and the number of 
pages or the particular form of the title, 
is of absolutely no value to him. This is 
a good example of that freedom in con- 
densation and changing of titles which is 
somewhat heretical in its nature, but 
which after all leads to that saving of 
time and patience which is so necessary. 
Use only such imprint as is absolutely 
essential; omitting on the whole, illustra- 
tions, maps, portraits, and plates. In 
cases of excerpts from periodicals the 
name of the magazine with the date of 
that particular issue is usually deemed 
sufficient. 

Because the ordinary patron of the leg- 
islative reference library is unfamiliar 
with library methods, it has been found 
convenient to file "see also" cards at the 
beginning of the subjects rather than at 
the end. For this same reason, the guide 
cards should be much more numerous than 
in other libraries, and it is of great ad- 
vantage to have the main headings 
brought out upon thirds with the sub- 
divisions of these main headings on fifths 
of a different color. Blue and manila 
form a good color contrast for such a 
scheme. 

As has been said before, the compara- 
tive feature of this work is one which is 
worthy of special consideration. Its value 
can scarcely be over-estimated. The effi- 
ciency of the library can be greatly in- 
creased by a constant lookout for such 
material. Every book, pamphlet or clip- 
ping, passing through the hands of the 
cataloger must be most carefully re- 
viewed, not only for its general material, 
but for any comparative statement which 
shows either conditions, laws, or tenden- 
cies in two or more communities, states, 
or countries. It may take form as a tab- 
ulated statement, a chapter, a paragraph, 
or even a mere foot-note, but at some 
future time it may serve as a starting 
point for an investigation, or give instan- 
taneous help in the question as to "what 
states or countries have laws similar to 



CATALOG SECTION 



241 



this." The advisability of listing such 
comparative material in a separate cat- 
alog must be determined by each library. 
When it is buried in the regular catalog 
it requires much longer to answer such 
questions than when kept in a separate 
file. If made into a catalog by itself, 
there should always be a note showing 
exactly what states or countries are in- 
cluded in the comparison and the dates 
covered by such material. In other words 
the comparative entry must be justified 
either by the title or a note showing that 
it really is a comparison. Probably two- 
thirds of such material is analytical in 
character. 

The question of analyticals will be 
greatly influenced by the subject matter 
under consideration. Upon certain sub- 
jects there are practically no book treat- 
ises, and most of the material will be 
found in the form of analyticals. The 
amount to be analyzed, the choice of form 
and the relative value of the material 
concerned must be determined by shrewd 
judgment on the part of the cataloger. 
The entire library will be greatly en- 
hanced by a careful selection of analyti- 
cals, but the bulk of the catalog must not 
be increased unless with good reason. 

The percentage of analyticals will be in 
most cases much higher than in the or- 
dinary library, because so often a few 
pages are worthy of special notice on ac- 
count of their comparative nature, the 
particular view point of the author, or 
sometimes merely because of the scarcity 
of material on that subject. As to the 
cataloging form for analyticals, there is 
no reason why it should not follow the 
general rules of the library as a whole. 
My own preference is for the long form, 
because oftentimes the short form is not 
perfectly clear to the legislator. Al- 
though advocating simplicity, as a gen- 
eral thing, it should not require clearness 
to be sacrificed at any time. There is 
room for discussion on this point and 
there is difference of opinion, but my 
conclusion in the matter has been reached 
after some experimentation. A little more 



work on the part of the librarian is pref- 
erable to the slightest bit of doubt on the 
part of the legislator. 

Since legislators are investigating spe- 
cific problems, looking at them from a 
single point of view, and not always con- 
sidering a subject in its broadest sense 
or in its relationship to knowledge in 
general, the question of subject headings, 
outside of classification, becomes prac- 
tically the most important single proposi- 
tion the cataloger has to consider. In 
practically every case the popular rather 
than the technical form of heading is de- 
sirable. The simple ordinary term should 
be chosen, for it is under this type of 
heading that your reader will be most 
certain to look. In his haste and absorp- 
tion he fails to realize that there is any 
possible viewpoint, other than his own. 
Having but one thought in his mind, he 
naturally expects to find his material un- 
der this subject. Most certainly he should 
find at least a cross reference. There- 
fore, one recommendation is to be exceed- 
ingly generous in the matter of cross 
references. Under such conditions it is 
always wiser not to trust one's own judg- 
ment, but to call upon various people 
asking under what heading they would 
look for material of a certain type. In 
this way the cataloger may secure sug- 
gestions which are unusually helpful and 
which put into the catalog the ideas of 
many persons rather than of one. 

For instance, a book or pamphlet relat- 
ing to the extortion practiced by usurers 
would be found under a heading such as 
"Interest" or "Usury." However, there 
are various other headings under which 
individuals might expect to find material 
of this kind, depending upon the particu- 
lar phase of the question which he had 
in mind at the time. A busy man, wish- 
ing to draft a bill putting the loan shark 
under control, would be thinking of a loan 
shark and not of the underlying principle 
of interest. Another man approaching 
the question through interest in the in- 
stallment plan would expect to find mate- 
rial of use to him under that subject. 



242 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Another man taking a broader view of the 
subject might look under "Interest." Each 
of these men would be justified in look- 
ing under the particular subject he had 
in mind, expecting to find either the ma- 
terial or a reference sending him to the 
chosen heading. Every possible heading 
which suggests itself is worthy of con- 
sideration, for such an investment of time 
will more than pay for itself in the satis- 
faction it brings to those who use the 
catalog. The necessity for painstaking 
effort and careful thought in this connec- 
tion is verified by experience. 

Special and local names may well be 
noted on all main cards and cross refer- 
ences made in every case from such 
forms. For instance, the law governing 
the sale of stocks recently passed in 
Kansas, which is popularly known as the 
"Blue sky law" should be noted as such 
in the catalog. The "Mary Ann" bill may 
be called for by that name and if there 
is no cross reference in the catalog the 
untrained assistant in the library, or the 
stenographer, will never find it. The me- 
chanical part of the catalog should be so 
complete that it does not require ac- 
quaintance with all phases of the subject 
in order that a person may use it intelli- 
gently. Therefore, special and local 
names inevitably need attention. 

The contents of a legislative reference 
library are largely of either an economic 
or a legal nature, and its patrons some- 
times approach the material from the 
legal side and sometimes from the eco- 
nomic side. In assigning subject headings 
this fact must never be forgotten. Con- 
sequently, the headings will sometimes 
take a legal turn and sometimes an 
economic turn. At times it is necessary 
to compromise and choose one halfway 
between the two. 

Let us consider for a moment the rela- 
tionship of the economic and the legal 
material. Justice Holmes, in his book on 
the "Common law," expresses this rela- 
tionship unusually well. He says in sub- 
stance that the growth of the law is 
legislative; it is legislative in its grounds; 



that the secret root from which law draws 
all the juices of life is consideration of 
what is expedient for the community. 

The economic necessity for law pre- 
cedes the legal expression. The need for 
a statute is felt long before it is formu- 
lated. This is readily recognized by polit- 
ical economists and lawyers. Judge 
Dicey, in his book entitled, "Law and 
opinion in England," (Lond. 1905, p. 367) 
says: "A statute * * * is apt to re- 
produce the public opinion, not so much 
of to-day as of yesterday." Since a legis- 
lative reference library is busied with the 
process of law-making, rather than with 
the administration or interpretation of 
law, the trend will be toward the eco- 
nomic headings rather than the legal. 
The tendency of law is to crystallize, and 
subjects legal in aspect are likely to be 
complete in themselves, and therefore less 
amenable to library purposes. As an ex- 
ample, a subject heading such as "Emi- 
nent domain" is legal in its nature. This 
will be used in the main body of the cat- 
alog without a doubt. It may have cross 
references of both a legal and an eco- 
nomic nature. At the same time "Emi- 
nent domain" may be used as a sub- 
division of economic headings, such as 
"Railroads," "Street railways," "Tele- 
graphs," and "Telephones." This shows 
how the legal aspect of an economic 
question may be brought directly in touch 
with the economic phase of the question. 
Another example is "Liquor problem;" as 
it is used in the subject headings, it is 
an economic question, yet we use the 
subdivision "Illegal traffic" which in- 
cludes purely a legal phase. "Discrim- 
ination," a legal term, will cross refer to 
some specific form under an economic 
heading such as "Railroads Rebates." 
It is often necessary to refer from some 
rather popular headings to legal forms, 
such as "Funeral expenses, see Estates 
of deceased persons." Again it may be 
necessary to mix the two with a heading 
such as "Ethics Business and profes- 
sional," with cross references from legal 
headings, such as "Professional ethics," 



CATALOG SECTION 



243 



"Legal ethics," "Medical ethics," etc. 
The general conclusion reached is that 
there is likely to be either subdivisions 
or cross references back and forth from 
any type of heading to any other type, 
with one exception, namely, an economic 
subdivision of a legal heading. In our 
experience in Wisconsin, we have not 
found this combination of headings 
either necessary or advantageous. This 
fact but emphasizes what has already 
been said, that law once established, be- 
comes permanent and fixed in character. 

Geographical divisions as main head- 
ings should be used sparingly, but geo- 
graphical subdivisions of subjects are 
very helpful. Primary election laws, road 
laws, tax laws, will all be more available 
if divided by states, not only in the classi- 
fication, but in the subject heading. If 
clearness or rapidity of service demand 
subdivisions, they should be made, even 
though there be few cards under each 
subdivision. 

Many helpful suggestions for subject 
headings and cross references may be ob- 
tained from law indexes, law encyclope- 
dias, and the New York index of legisla- 
tion. 

Not only is it necessary for the cata- 
loger to know the material which is in 
the library itself, but if efficient work is 
to be accomplished it is decidedly neces- 
sary that material not within the four 
walls should be made available. Let all 
kinds of knowledge be at the cataloger's 
command, and make the mechanical de- 
vices carry as much of this burden as 
possible. First of all, material which is 
in town but which is not contained within 
your own library, should be noted. Stat- 
utes and session laws of all the states 
should be obtainable though not necessar- 
ily a part of the library itself. If a state 
or law library is near at hand, it is far 
better to rely upon them as a source of 
reference than to duplicate such a collec- 
tion on your own shelves. Articles in 
law magazines, reports large in bulk, but 
issued only occasionally, may be noted, 
when not placed upon the shelves. In 



Wisconsin we make a distinction between 
material in existence within the city and 
that which is in existence elsewhere, such 
as in the Library of Congress, the John 
Crerar library, or near-by institutions. A 
manila catalog card tells us that the ma- 
terial may be found outside of the city, 
whereas by stamping the name of the li- 
brary in the place of the call number on 
a white card, we indicate that the mate- 
rial is in town. Subject entries only are 
made for material of this sort. 

There are many indexes already in ex- 
istence which will supplement the catalog 
and call to the attention of the worker 
available material. One of the most val- 
uable sources of all is found in the ex- 
perts of the neighborhood. The librarian 
is too prone to think that all the most 
useful knowledge is in books or printed 
form. Some of the best help imaginable 
can be obtained from men. Every com- 
munity has within its borders specialists 
of various types; men who have given 
their lifetime to the study of some par- 
ticular question. Make such individuals 
a portion of the catalog; use them as 
sources. The telephone is at your com- 
mand and oftentimes more valuable in- 
formation can be obtained from some per- 
son within telephone call than can be 
gotten from hours of work with shelf 
material. 

Furthermore, do not limit yourself to 
the talented man within the community, 
but use the expert wherever he may be 
found. Correspondence will often bring 
information to your door; mount the let- 
ters; put them with the clippings or cat- 
alog them separately; in case of urgency, 
telegraph. In fact, have some of the ap- 
propriation deliberately set aside for sup- 
plementing the catalog by telegrams. 

A record of sources, arranged both by 
places and subjects is of service. Under 
your subject list enter the names and ad- 
dresses of those who are specialists. 
Experts throughout the country will thus 
be at your command. In the geographi- 
cal list, put the names of parties to whom 
you may apply for material relating to a 



244 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



given community. Suppose for instance, 
that your state is contemplating a Work- 
men's compensation law and some state 
where there is no legislative reference 
department is also considering the mat- 
ter. This state passes a law on Tuesday, 
and on Saturday the bill of your own 
state is coming up for consideration. You 
need exact information as to which bill is 
passed, whether it passed with or without 
amendments; in fact, you must have im- 
mediate and full knowledge concerning 
that law. You may have within your 
mind some possible source, but during the 
stress and pressure of the legislative ses- 
sion such a list relieves one of the neces- 
sity of remembrance. 

The catalog, through its mechanical 
devices, can carry this burden. The cat- 
alog is not merely a record of sources 
within the four walls, but must endure as 
a record of all possible available sources, 
so that time and energy given to "the 
living part" of the catalog, is well 
expended. 

In addition to the sources already men- 
tioned, there are numerous other possible 
indexes of value. When the bills are 
available in printed form, a subject index 
indicating the final disposition of a bill 
whether killed, passed or vetoed is of 
inestimable use. Such indexes for the 
general laws and the local and temporary 
laws are advantageous. A comparative 
index, apart from the regular catalog, al- 
ready noticed, may be mentioned again in 
this connection. An index of the docu- 
ments of the state is also a valuable asset, 
since the publications of most states are 
rather poorly indexed and have practi- 
cally no centralized list of subjects. The 
decisions of the attorney-generals quite 
often are of as much importance in law 
conclusions as are the decisions of the 
courts. They have virtually either vital- 
ized or invalidated laws upon the statute 
books. In states where statute revisions 
are rather infrequent, statute indexes may 
be necessary. These indexes should be 
made supplementary to the regular cata- 
log. Some of them may be carried along 



as side issues at the same time as the 
regular work, and others may be taken 
up in their entirety to be accomplished 
as time permits. 

Since the importance and value of such 
a library depends, not upon the quantity, 
but upon the quality and efficiency of the 
collection, the disposition of material 
which has become historical in its nature 
comes prominently into the foreground. 
Unless there is constant supervision and 
reduction, there is an unnecessary and 
useless accumulation. The working li- 
brary will never be a large one. After a 
state policy relating to a given question 
is established, the library should, within 
a reasonable time, dispose of the larger 
portion of the collection on that subject. 
Its present usefulness from the legislat- 
or's standpoint is over. Its future value 
is as a historical contribution. As a re- 
sult, there will be continual withdrawals 
as well as continual acquisitions. 

After all, that which makes library 
work so stimulating and so interesting is 
the human element. The progress which 
one may make in its mechanical side, the 
service of all its books and pamphlets, 
the importance and the value of the ma- 
terial, depend primarily upon the human 
side of it. The mere fact that the scholar, 
as well as the man with a hobby, the 
student along with the crank, the conser- 
vative together with the radical, the theo- 
retical and the practical man, are all 
brought together in a common place, 
shows that the mechanical is truly the 
lesser value in this field of work. How- 
ever, it is in the making of a more per- 
fect apparatus, in the saving of time and 
energy, in the additions to its efficiency, 
that the cataloger receives his reward. 
The possibilities of this work are so far 
reaching, that every reasonable device or 
idea is at least worthy of trial so that 
there may be every possible advancement 
in every practical direction. It is a new 
work and there are few guide posts. We 
cannot accept other experiences unques- 
tionably. What are virtues in another 
library may be vices in the legislative 



CATALOG SECTION 



245 



reference work. What we most need is a 
safe and sane balance of judgment, quick- 
ness of perception, a sense of foresight, 
combined with all the special knowledge 
possible, great discrimination, initiative 
and the ability to meet any situation, and 
above all, the disposition to test every 
new conception or suggestion which may 
lead to development; in fact, the more of 
these virtues which the cataloger may 
possess, the more efficient will be the re- 
sult, not only in the catalog itself, but in 
the net results shown by the work in its 
entirety. 

In the discussion following the paper, 
Mr. W. H. Hatton, chairman of the Wis- 
consin free library commission, spoke of 
the importance of knowing not merely 
books but men and making a wise use of 
correspondence. 

Next on the program was Mr. A. G. S. 
JOSEPHSON'S query 

WHAT IS CATALOGING? 

In raising this question I am not con- 
cerned with the principles of cataloging, 
with the difference between cataloging 
and bibliography, or any problem of that 
kind. My problem is the much more 
practical: What part of the work of a 
library staff is meant when cataloging is 
spoken of in an annual report? What 
does it mean when a librarian states that 
a certain number of assistants have dur- 
ing a certain period cataloged a certain 
number of books? And, bringing the mat- 
ter down to a particularly practical point, 
what does he mean when he says that it 
costs a certain sum of money to catalog 
a book? I am not going to answer the 
question, I want it answered. I don't 
want it answered right off. I would like 
to see this section go after the problem 
and bring in the answer. _In a word, I 
suggest that this section appoint a com- 
mittee for the purpose of investigating 
the method and cost of cataloging in a 
number of representative libraries. I 
would not be much concerned for the 
present with the methods of the small 
public and college libraries, but only with 
such libraries as may be said to have a 



special cataloging force; and I would not 
extend the inquiry to more than a score 
of libraries at the most. 

The following draft of a questionnaire 
will show succinctly enough what I have 
in mind: 

1. How many persons between the 
grades of head of department and cler- 
ical attendants are connected with your 
cataloging force? In how many grades 
are these divided? 

2. How many of these are occupied 
with the actual writing of the titles? 

3. How many persons of the grades of 
clerical attendants and pages are occu- 
pied with copying of cards, typewriting 
headings, filing and other such more me- 
chanical work? 

4. Are any persons of a higher grade 
than clerical attendant doing any of the 
above kinds of work, and why? 

5. Are those of your assistants who 
write the titles occupied with this all day, 
or do they change regularly to some other 
kind of work? If the latter, is such other 
work treated merely as relief from the 
drudgery of title writing, or does it occupy 
a considerable part of the assistants' 
time? Or, are a certain number of days 
a week devoted to cataloging (i.e. title 
writing) all the time, and other days 
given up to other kinds of work? 

6. Are the following items, or any of 
them, determined by the assistants who 
write the titles, or by superior members 
of the staff: 

(a) general form and completeness of 
entry; 

(b) author heading and added author 
headings and cross references; 

(c) collation; 

(d) subject headings; 

(e) classification. 

7. What is the average salary of the 
members of your cataloging force? 

There may likely be other questions to 
be included; some of the above questions 
may be made more detailed or given a 
different formulation or bearing. I be- 
lieve that an inquiry of this kind, if car- 
ried out as it should be done, would do 



246 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



much to show us where changes in our 
methods might be introduced, to the in- 
creased efficiency of the cataloging force 
and to the benefit of its members. 

The ensuing discussion, participated in 
by C. B. Roden, W. S. Merrill, C. W. An- 
drews and others resulted in the adop- 
tion, on motion of Mr. Roden, of the fol- 
lowing resolution: 

RESOLVED, that the executive board 
be asked to appoint a committee to in- 
vestigate the cost and methods of catalog- 
ing in accordance ' with the suggestions 
in Mr. Josephson's paper. 

A report on uniformity in cataloging 
rules, made by Miss Helen Turvill, in- 
structor in cataloging in the Wisconsin 
library school, as chairman of a commit- 
tee appointed at the January, 1912, meet- 
ing of the library schools instructors, was 
presented by Miss Mary E. Hazeltine. 

In connection with this report, Miss 
Hazeltine submitted for inspection a 
double file of printed rules on cards em- 
bodying the present usage of the Wiscon- 
sin library school, which it was hoped 
might serve as a basis for the further 
work of the committee. One file was ar- 
ranged numerically as given to the stu- 
dents for class work; the other, alphabet- 
ically under topical guides, as the students 
would have them filed with illustrative 
sample cards, at the end of the course.* 

The report itself, which was merely one 
of progress, to be completed at the mid- 
winter meeting, was accompanied by a 
request for discussion at Ottawa and a 
list of points on which an expression of 
the preference of librarians was desired. 

Points for Discussion 

Call number Position. 

Heading Second line indention. 

Date. 

Figures When to be written out. 

Edition Spacing. 

Omissions to be indicated. 

Supplied information to be bracketed? 

Collation 

To include paging? 
Author abbreviation 

Women's names. 

These card rules may be obtained of the Democrat 
Printing Company, Madison, Wis., $2.50 per set. 



Title card. 
Imprint? 

Initial article in curves. 

Author's name. 

Spacing after initials. 

Spacing between name and titles. 

Added entry cards. 
Form of date. 

Contents. 
Form. 
Punctuation. 

Cross reference. 
Form. 

Joint author. 

Analytic. 
Form. 
Position of paging. 

Added edition. 

Miss Gooch and Miss Van Valkenburgh, 
members of the committee, spoke in ex- 
planation of its purpose and scope. 

Mr. Merrill said that as editor of the 
A. L. A. periodical cards he was glad to 
learn that a committee was working to 
secure greater uniformity in catalog en- 
tries. 

Among the libraries contributing the 
copy for the periodical card work of the 
Publishing board, there is still variation in 
the mode of entering authors' names: 
sometimes date of birth is given and 
sometimes it is omitted; names unused 
by a writer are looked up and entered 
upon the card by one library and disre- 
garded by another library; periods after 
initials are used or omitted; names of 
joint authors are both given in the head- 
ing by one library and only first name is 
given by another, while there is even di- 
versity about filling out initials of the 
second author's name. 

These divergencies are not only theoret- 
ically inconsistent but practically incon- 
venient, because the printed cards do not 
conform entirely to the practice of any 
library. Mr. Merrill said he hoped that 
agreement upon these points might soon 
be reached. 

The question of methods of bringing 
the matter to the attention of librarians 
was informally discussed by Miss Mar- 
garet Mann, Miss Bessie Goldberg, Miss 
Bessie Sargeant Smith, and others, but as 
the chairman, Miss Thompson, pointed 
out, the report was but a partial one and 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



247 



not from a committee of the Catalog sec- 
tion. Therefore no action was required. 
Owing to the lateness of the hour, 
further consideration of this subject and 
also problems of arrangement in a dic- 
tionary catalog, which was scheduled in 
the program, were referred to the incom- 
ing section officers. 



The nominating committee submitted 
this ticket: Chairman, Miss Harriet B. 
Gooch, instructor in cataloging, Pratt in- 
stitute school of library science; secre- 
tary, Miss Margaret Sutherland Mackay, 
head cataloger, McGill university. 

They were unanimously elected and the 
meeting adjourned. 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



FIRST SESSION 
(Friday afternoon, June 28th) 

The first session was held at the Cha- 
teau Laurier Friday afternoon, June 28th. 
The chairman, Miss Mary de Bure Mc- 
Curdy, presided. The general topic was 
"Work of special libraries with children," 

MISS MARY S. SAXB, of the Westmount 
public library of Montreal, read a paper 
on the subject 

WITH THE CHILDREN IN CANADA 
Miss Saxe said they had in Westmount 
the only properly equipped children's room 
in any library in the province of Quebec, 
and that the only library work for chil- 
dren in Montreal was done by the Mc- 
Gill university settlement workers in the 
slums of that city. The best children's 
work in the province of Ontario is now 
done by the public libraries of Toronto, 
Ottawa, London, Collingwood, Berlin, Sar- 
nla and Fort William. Among the smaller 
libraries the work done at Gait is par- 
ticularly worthy of mention, the quality be- 
ing due, as is generally the case, to the 
unselfish and enthusiastic work of the li- 
brarian. At Winnipeg, although they have 
a handsome library building and a room 
set apart for the children, activities seemed 
at a low ebb when the speaker visited the 
library two years ago. 

"The Church of England in Canada has 
done a good work up there within the Arc- 
tic circle with its Sunday school libra- 
ries. The Indian children and the half- 
breed children, of whom there are many, 
get all their reading from this source. 



"Away cut on the Pacific coast, a mis- 
sionary of this same church became in- 
terested in the logging camps that he 
found among the islands of the gulf of 
Georgia. He returned to the Bishops of 
Columbia, and of New Westminster, stat- 
ing that he must have a boat built, which 
would be a church, and also an ambulatory 
library. It was a beautiful scheme it 
was also an expensive one. But those of 
you who care to read of its development 
in a little book entitled "Western Canada" 
can do so, and you will learn with delight 
how well the idea has worked out. 

"In the past two years the library move- 
ment in Canada, especially in the North- 
west, has expanded rapidly. Regina has 
opened a new public library within the 
past six weeks, and the work for children 
is to be well looked after. Calgary, New 
Westminster, Vancouver, Victoria, all tell 
the same tale of a long struggle in crowded 
quarters and now new buildings and 
splendid promise of good work. It is 
most unfortunate for us in Canada, that 
our distances are so great, our ties have 
to be mostly railway ties. 

"In Westmount we opened the Chil- 
dren's room in January, 1911. We began 
agitating the dire need of such a depart- 
ment fully seven years before the reality 
came." 

The paper on County work with chil- 
dren prepared by Miss ALICE GODDARD, 
head of children's department, Washing- 
ton County free library, Hagerstown, Mary- 
land, was read by Miss Gertrude Andrus 
in Miss Goddard's absence. 



248 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



COUNTY WORK WITH CHILDREN 

My subject, as announced on the pro- 
gram is "County work with children." In 
the first place let me say that there is 
little or nothing to be said about county 
work with children that does not apply 
equally to work with adults in the same 
community. The experience of the Wash- 
ington County free library of Hagerstown, 
Maryland, during eleven years of rural 
work, has been that the books that go 
into the country homes are read by old 
and young alike. The reason for this is 
not far to seek; the children are going 
to school, for a few months of the year, 
at least, and are receiving an education 
that was, in many cases, denied the par- 
ents. Before the installation of our li- 
brary, books, other than an occasional 
religious periodical, perhaps, were an un- 
known quantity in the average farm house, 
so that, even if the farmer or his wife 
had acquired the reading habit as a child, 
it had lapsed, through disuse. Conse- 
quently, when our books were first brought 
to the door the same books appealed to 
both parents and children. One mother 
told us, with tears in her eyes, that we 
could never know how she enjoyed hear- 
ing the children read the books aloud, 
for neither she nor her husband could 
read or write. 

At a farmers' institute in Ohio, an en- 
lightened farmer once remarked that the 
three things that had done most for the 
amelioration of the lot of the farmer's 
wife were, rural free delivery, rural tele- 
phones and Butterick patterns, and to that 
trilogy we add rural free delivery of 
books. How to reach the country children, 
is, of course, the problem that confronts 
a county library. The methods of the 
Washington County free library of Hagers- 
town, Md., are: 

First The children's room of the cen- 
tral library. This is a large, pleasant room, 
on the second floor, where the usual activ- 
ities of any children's room are carried on. 
Two story hours a week are held, Friday 
nights for the older children, and Satur- 
day mornings for the younger ones; many 



of our regular Saturday morning visitors 
are from the outlying districts; there are 
three little boys who come "four mile," as 
they express it, nearly every week to hear 
the stories, they have been known to be 
led into the extravagance of spending 
even their return fare on the train such 
are the temptations of city life! and hav- 
ing to walk home. One very small boy 
who is with us almost every Saturday 
is the son of a stage driver, his father 
brings him in, and leaves him with us for 
the morning, he is known among us as 
"sonny," because of characteristics sim- 
ilar to those of Ruth McEnery Stuart's 
hero. 

Any child in the county, so soon as he 
can write his name, may "join liberry," 
regardless of "race, or previous condition 
of servitude," a phrase not without mean- 
ing still, in Maryland. The same priv- 
ileges are extended to all, town and coun- 
try children alike, two books at a time, 
with privilege of renewal. Country books 
may, of course, be renewed by telephone 
or mail, and frequent cards come to "Dear 
teacher," or even "Dear friend." 

The teachers draw to a practically un- 
limited extent upon the circulating collec- 
tion, as well as from the school duplicates, 
of which more a little later. So much for 
the work of the main library. 

Second Branches throughout the county. 
These are deposit stations, placed in the 
country store, the postoffice, the toll gates 
or, in some cases, in private houses, the 
boxes contain about fifty books, and are 
returned every two or three months for 
a fresh supply. A custodian is appointed 
who keeps track of the books by means of 
an alphabetized blank book, the book slips 
being kept at the library, filed by the 
Browne system, under the name of the 
station, Shady Bower, Black Rock, etc. 

Third The Boonesboro Reading Room. 
This village began with a deposit station, 
and became so interested that a permanent 
reading room was established, maintained 
entirely by the village, except for the 
books, which are supplied by the library; 
a permanent collection was given, which 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



249 



is supplemented by an exchange every ten 
days. A fortnightly story hour is carried 
on here; during the past two years it has 
become necessary to divide the children 
into two groups, to the older ones the 
same series of stories is told as to the 
older group at the library, Norse myths, 
Iliad and Odyssey, and, this winter, Chau- 
cer, Spencer and Shakespeare. The latter 
author, by the way, meets with special 
approbation among our country friends. 

Fourth Schools. The country schools, 
as well as those in town, are visited, and 
collections are sent; with the books are 
sent pictures, prints of the masterpieces, 
mounted, and annotated with sufficient 
fullness to serve as a lesson outline, if the 
teachers wish to use them so. 

Fifth The book wagon, or to be strictly 
accurate, one must now say book automo- 
bile. About six years ago it was discov- 
ered that thirty of the stations were off 
the line of railroad, trolley or stage, and 
the question of transportation arose; for a 
year a horse and wagon filled the need, go- 
ing out simply for the purpose .of carrying 
cases back and forth. Then the book 
wagon was built, so constructed as to 
carry several cases for deposit sta- 
tions, and at the same time, some 
two hundred books on its shelves; thus 
began our rural free delivery of books, and 
the wagon, with its driver, Mr. Joshua 
Thomas, became one of the features of the 
county, until about two years ago, when a 
most unfortunate accident deprived us of 
both. A stray engine, coming round a 
curve, struck and completely demolished 
the wagon; happily, Mr. Thomas and the 
horses were across the track, the horses 
escaped uninjured, and Mr. Thomas, 
though thrown out and stunned, sustained 
no injuries other than the shock, which, 
at his age, was naturally very great. Mr. 
Thomas has now retired from active la- 
bors, and the wagon has been succeeded 
by an automobile. 

Perhaps I can best give you an idea of 
the work of the wagon if you will come 
with me, in spirit, for a typical day in 
the country. The new car is constructed 



very much as the old wagon was, with 
room for two passengers, besides the 
chauffeur, one member of the staff goes 
on the trips now, for our chauffeur is a 
chauffeur only, nor is he the picturesque 
figure Mr. Thomas was. 

Let us choose a morning in spring, 
when red bud and dogwood are in bloom, 
and the fruit trees are fluffy masses of 
pink and white clouds, and the tender 
green of new life is showing on hill side 
and forest, and the "hills of Maryland" 
stand out like lapis lazuli against a tur- 
quoise sky. It is a fair country, and one 
can understand why the early settlers 
tarried in this valley in their march west- 
ward, over the very National Road that we 
shall drive over today; a road full of his- 
toric meaning, a road that has seen the 
covered wagons of the emigrant tide, that 
has resounded to the tread of advancing 
and retreating armies, and that is now a 
thoroughfare for motor cars. We see 
little, or no actual poverty, occasionally 
the down-at-the-heels farm of a "poor 
white," but thrift and comfort are the 
rule. 

We spin gaily along in our motor wagon, 
stopping at the farm houses along the 
way; occasionally horses shy at us, and 
children stick their fingers in their 
mouths and stare, for automobiles are still 
somewhat of a novelty on cross roads and 
lanes, and country horses and children are 
not so sophisticated as their city brethren. 
Sometimes we go a mile or more off the 
main road, to reach one house; we are re- 
warded in one such case, for we find a 
girl of sixteen, who has never read Miss 
Alcott, and we leave her with Little 
Women in her arms. A swarm of "sun- 
bonnet babies" greets us here, too, and we 
find a picture book for the older sister to 
read to them. 

At one house we have some difficulty in 
enticing the farmer's wife out to look at 
our wares. "He" is out on the farm, and 
there is not much time for reading. We 
discover a boy of twelve or thirteen, how- 
ever, lurking in the background, with a 
dog at his heels, the dog is a convenient 



250 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



topic of conversation, and Beautiful Joe 
happens to be in the wagon. An inquiry 
as to the family elicits the information 
that this boy is all, except an "orphant 
boy we took." After some difficulty the 
"orphant boy" is brought forth from the 
recesses of the barn, where, we strongly 
suspect, he has had an eye at a crack all 
the time, and proves to be the regulation 
"bound boy" of Mary E. Wilkins, tattered 
straw hat, patched overalls and all; he, 
too, has a fondness for animals, and so we 
drive away, leaving boys and dog looking 
after us, with Seton-Thompson as a com- 
panion. 

One wide detour, up a hilly lane, brings 
us to a house, commanding a wonderful 
view of hills and valleys, and the Potomac, 
a winding silver thread in the distance. 
Here we find the mistress of the house, and 
a girl of sixteen or eighteen, who "lives 
there;" they used to get books from the 
old wagon, they tell us, and it has seemed 
a long time since they had any. Accord- 
ingly, we bid them help themselves, and 
as we are preparing to drive away, one of 
them, hugging a huge pile of heteroge- 
neous literature, says to the other, "Law, 
Bess, we'll fergit to listen on the 'phone!" 
an unconscious tribute both to us and the 
rural telephone system. 

And now we find that the dinner hour 
has arrived; sometimes there is a country 
hotel at hand, but more often we have 
dinner at some hospitable farm house, 
which gives us a golden opportunity to 
make friends with our people. It is notice- 
able that the conversation is confined al- 
most entirely to us women, the men at- 
tending strictly to the business in hand; 
the women, however, make the most of an 
unusual event, and between serving and 
conversation, it often seems to us as 
though their own wants must be entirely 
forgotten. 

There is a country school on our way, 
and we stop there to get the key to a 
church a little farther on, where we are 
to pick up a case of books; the tempta- 
tion to a story teller is too great to be 
resisted, the wagon goes on, to come back 



a little later, the two rooms are put to- 
gether, and I have the pleasure of telling 
"Johnny Cake" and "Seven little kids" to 
children who have never heard them be- 
fore. When the wagon appears we sug- 
gest a picture, and a grand stampede fol- 
lows, all the school commissioners and 
truant officers on earth could not have 
kept a child in that building the charm 
of the Pied Piper was no greater! 

"And what do your country children 
read?" We are often asked, and we like 
to reply, with considerable pride, that they 
read good books. When the wagon is be- 
ing loaded for a trip a large proportion of 
the books is from the shelves of the chil- 
dren's room, and of the fiction fully 75% 
bears the mystic symbol "J," showing, as 
I have said, that the same books are read 
by parents and children; war stories are 
always in demand, particularly of the 
Civil War; Henty is a prime favorite, and 
of the better Hentys, With Clive in India, 
Beric the Briton, for instance, we dupli- 
cate quite freely. Novels of a religious 
character, such as Ben Hur are popular, 
and Pilgrim's progress is always in de- 
mand. 

And so our day slips by, and before we 
know it evening is upon us; by four 
o'clock we see preparations for the night 
going on in the barn yard. We go home, 
tired, but with depleted shelves, and the 
consciousness of a good day's work. May 
there be many more to come, and may 
each one of you fare forth with us 
one day, on some such happy library 
adventure. 

Mr. Henry E. Legler read a paper pre- 
pared by Miss JEAN McLEOD, house li- 
brarian, Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, on 

AN EMPLOYEES' LIBRARY ITS SCOPE 
AND ITS POSSIBILITIES 

I have been advised that there is only 
one thing more ruinous to one's reputation 
than an absent debut to the American Li- 
brary Association conference, and that is 
to inflict a maiden paper upon someone 
else to read. But after absorbing some of 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



251 



Mr. Legler's courage and optimism, I can- 
not refrain from treading upon this dan- 
gerous ground and setting forth a few pet 
theories. I do not know that Sears, Roe- 
buck & Company needs an introduction or 
an explanation, but as the character, com- 
bined with the magnitude of the house, is 
quite unique, and is such a vital part of 
the library work, the foundation of this 
paper, as well as of the work itself, must 
of necessity be predicated upon some 
knowledge of the house machinery. 

We are dealing with a mail order retail 
house, and this paper will be based upon 
the central plant only. The existence of 
the outlying factories, not only in Chicago 
but throughout the country, all under the 
control of one corporation, opens up a new 
field in commercial library work, which to 
my knowledge has never been touched. 

The house handles everything that 
does not mean the usual stock of a de- 
partment store, but everything that can 
be bought and sold. New opportunities 
arise as your eye wanders down the list 
of the various departments. Our house 
directory lists over 200 departments, in- 
cluding jewelry, baby clothes, and farm 
implements. In fact, a home can be fur- 
nished complete from parlor to stables. 

Besides the merchandise, we have the 
various administration and utility depart- 
ments, which include press rooms, bind- 
ery, machine shops, shipping rooms, em- 
ployment department, restaurant, green 
house, hospital, barber shop, chemical lab- 
oratory, etc. With this cosmopolitan cen- 
ter, condensed under one management, 
there is no limit to library possibilities. 
My experience so far has been that every- 
thing in print can find a congenial resting 
place somewhere in the house. 

The central plant occupies three square 
blocks, including five buildings and a sixth 
in the process of construction. The lar- 
gest of these, the merchandise building, is 
nine stories high and two blocks long, and 
is a condensed village in population and 
activity. The library is located next to 
one of the most popular sections in this 
building, the employees' and house sales 



department. In this section employees 
are obliged to call for their personal pur- 
chases. This is an added convenience and 
a time saving arrangement. The printing 
building, administration building, power 
house and paint factory complete the 
group of this seething little city, and 
make one wish that a branch library might 
be established in every corner. 

Our library is primarily a deposit branch 
of the Chicago public library. We have 
about 1600 books on deposit, which give 
us a circulation of about 4000 a month. 
In addition to that, our daily express serv- 
ice gives us the resources of the main 
library stock, and makes it possible to 
send individual cards with specific re- 
quests through the station department. 
This is a great help in making out lists on 
special topics, as 25 or 30 books on a sub- 
ject may be listed and drawn one after the 
other without further reference. Our cir- 
culation for these books runs from be- 
tween 75 to 100 a day. 

In addition to our public library books, 
we have about a thousand of our own. 
About 75 per cent, of this collection is 
light fiction and juvenile books; that is, 
stories for both boys and girls of the in- 
termediate age. Books of this character 
are, of course, in the greatest demand, and 
it is for the right kind of this material 
that we are constantly searching. This 
supplementary collection of our own does 
not in any way detract from our public 
library books, but rather serves as added 
bait and leads to the better books of the 
public library, upon whose resources we 
depend for our existence. 

We subscribe for about 40 monthly and 
weekly periodicals, both technical and 
popular. In addition to these, we have 
several shelves of miscellaneous mag- 
azines, composed of month-old copies sent 
out from the main library, as well as our 
own old copies, and donations from the 
employees. All of these magazines we cir- 
culate. In fact, we are in no sense a read- 
ing room, as the very nature of a busy 
8-hour day and 45-minute lunch period will 
prove. Our charging tray and a few pieces 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



of furniture are the only things we refuse 
to let go to the homes or departments. 

In taking charge of the library last fall, 
I realized that there were two distinct 
phases of the work: the commercial or 
economic, and the social the first to be 
established, the second to be developed 
both sides equally interesting and offering 
equal possibilities. 

The commercial value must be estab- 
lished not only by becoming familiar with 
the policy of the house, but by cooperating 
with the heads of departments and making 
the library felt as a live agent throughout 
the house. 

Cooperation is best established by the 
reference work which can to a large ex- 
tent be created. For instance: One of the 
buyers in the supply department is deal- 
ing with two agents for rubber bands. 
The contract is a big one. There is much 
discussion as to which make of rubber 
band will live the longer. In self-defence, 
the buyer telephones the library for any 
information on rubber. Right here is the 
librarian's chance to make or mar. Per- 
haps this buyer has no library card, but 
at the eleventh hour has thought of the li- 
brary as a last resource. There is one 
sure way to cure him of ever using the li- 
brary again, and to persuade this time- 
pressed business man that the library is 
a plaything done up in red tape, and that 
is to send word to him that he must come 
personally to the library, sign an applica- 
tion, and wait for the book according to 
our library law. He will probably decide 
to take a chance on the merits of the rub- 
ber bands, and condemn the library as an 
agent of too slow blood for his purposes. 

The point is to get the information and 
to get it at once to the right man. If we 
can find something on our own shelves, a 
boy is sent with the book at once, even 
if he carries an encyclopaedia with him. 
If, as often happens, we are not so fort- 
unate, a signal of distress is sent over the 
'phone to the reference librarian at the 
main library, and she sends out material 
on the next delivery. Not only does this 
apply to the buyer of rubber bands, but 



to the chemist who wants material on 
fabrics, textiles, and lubricating oils; to 
the manager of the grocery department, 
on the blending of coffee; to the furniture 
buyer, on cabinet making and period furni- 
ture; to the head of the agricultural de- 
partment on the silo and the traction en- 
gine; to the clerk in the shipping depart- 
ment, on parcels post; to the girl in the 
correspondence department, on punctua- 
tion; to the boy in the automobile repair 
shop, on the gas engine; and so on in- 
definitely. A memorandum of these re- 
quests makes a busy day for the weekly 
visit to the reference room at the main 
library. Books of interest on each par- 
ticular subject are listed, even to govern- 
ment bulletins. We have even had in- 
trusted to our care material from the pub- 
lic document department, and Mr. Leg- 
ler's liberality has given us an economic 
value that will be the stepping stone to a 
new work, and make the library a factor 
to be reckoned with by the progressive 
commercial house. 

In our library, as well as in any other, 
the reference work is not confined to the 
books alone. The value of magazine ma- 
terial is an old story, but its worth is self- 
evident in a progressive business house 
whose aim is to anticipate future con- 
tingencies as well as to meet present 
needs. Before discarding magazines, all 
the usable material is appropriated and 
sent to the man or woman interested. 
Not only does this apply to the man's busi- 
ness, but to his hobbies a little article 
for instance, on poultry raising or photo- 
graphic chemistry will often create public 
opinion very favorable to the library. So 
far we have not kept a clipping file of 
these articles, but that is one of the next 
steps that could be made quite an impor- 
tant feature. 

To keep in touch with the buyers and 
department heads, the newest books on 
subjects of special interest stimulate not 
only the men in charge, who are always 
ready to respond to new ideas, but arouse 
new interest among all employees and in- 
directly lead to promotion through more 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



253 



efficient work. These books are sent right 
to the department, either to be examined 
with a view to buying, or, if already pur- 
chased, to be circulated in the depart- 
ment. We find that in this way we lose 
few if any books and our time-honored 
statistics do not suffer. 

And so in many little ways it is possible 
to creep into the commercial life of an 
immense concern; to develop gradually 
from a convenience to a necessity. 

The social side of our work is perhaps 
a misomer. At least, it is an intangible 
sort of thing that has no name. Our rea- 
son for existence is the same as for any 
other public library that is, for the com- 
mon good. To do any grade of work other 
than simply handing the books over the 
counter, it is necessary first of all to be- 
come familiar with the personnel of our 
employees. We have about 8500 em- 
ployees, and to become personally ac- 
quainted with each is, of course, impossi- 
ble. However, a surprisingly large num- 
ber can be reached on this footing, and 
the rest is a question of time combined 
with a sane democratic attitude. We do 
not want our people to feel that reform 
through the library is one of the rules on 
the application blank, or that the libra- 
rian's stamp of approval must go out with 
every book. Advice, so labeled, is never 
given. 

Of our 8500 employees, one-half are girls 
varying in education from grammar school 
to college graduates. One-fifth of this 
number are under 18 years of age. The 
work with this last group is intensely in- 
teresting, and can be developed in many 
ways. We have, of course, the usual 
problem, in trying to direct from Mary J. 
Holmes and Southworth to a better grade 
of reading. However, we are not working 
in the dark to the same extent as is the 
usual public library. Our girls are all 
banded together with a common interest, 
and we are at once on the same big plane. 
We have access to them at any time of 
the day. We are a part of the thing most 
vital to them their daily work and means 
of support. They come to the library dur- 



ing the noon hour for a change of scene 
and to see the other girls, as well as to 
exchange their books. We give them 
books for their parties and books for their 
night school classes. A girl is told by her 
employer that she will lose her position 
unless she learns to use good English. In 
desperation, she comes to the library, and 
we give her a book, yes, even three books, 
if she needs them, to help her keep her 
position. Another girl must be transferred 
to a less desirable position unless she can 
increase her vocabulary in order to take 
dictation more intelligently. She is ad- 
vised to come to the library, and we are 
there to see that she gets the right books. 
The next time she may come without being 
sent. The girls come to us to find out 
when the lake boats begin their trips, as 
well as to find desirable places in which 
to spend vacations. And so we welcome 
them each time they come, regardless of 
what their errand may be, for we want 
them to feel that the library is theirs, and 
is a convenience as well as a pleasure. 

The work with the girls is so varied, 
and is such a study in itself, that I have 
only touched upon its possibilities. How- 
ever, a book on the subject would not 
cover the field, but lack of time and con- 
sideration for your feeings will prevent 
further comment, and I will simply out- 
line just a few of the ways in which we 
try to reach the boys, one-third of whom 
are under 21 years of age. Aside from the 
eternal vigilance to blot out all Alger 
traces, we have many really interesting 
phases of the work with the boys. We 
first of all can and do have confidence in 
the boys. We can get necessary informa- 
tion as to their home conditions, if 
we wish it. We have, in common with 
them, as with the girls, their vital inter- 
est, the beginning of their career. The 
influence that can be exerted over these 
young boys, many of whom are leaving 
home for the first time, and are, so to 
speak, "men among men," is tremendous. 
Often a wavering ambition can be rein- 
forced and a chance for "making good" 
saved by showing a little unasked interest. 



254 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



We try to give the boys material for both 
work and play. We post lists of books on 
the bulletin boards in various depart- 
ments, and so call attention to books 
on "choosing a career," or "business ef- 
ficiency." Then we make up lists on ath- 
letic sports, interest in which is stimu- 
lated by our athletic association, whose 
membership includes both boys and girls. 

Many times a department is discovered 
where little or no interest is taken in the 
library. We find that the boys and girls 
from there never come to the library, and 
so we take the library to them. In every 
case the managers are very anxious to co- 
operate and are willing to have us send 
a small collection of light fiction to the 
time clerk's desk. She circulates these as 
she wishes. So far, we have lost no books 
in this way, and in every instance new 
borrowers have been the direct result. 

Many of the boys have been obliged to 
leave school before entering high school 
or even the upper grades, and in many 
ways we can supplement their lack of 
school training especially if we can dis- 
cover a gleam of interest in any one sub- 
ject, such as mechanics, electricity or 
history. 

All our work, our aims, and our possi- 
bilities are crystalized in our Library 
Bulletin, a home product in every sense 
of the word. The direct object of this 
little publication is to attract all ages and 
all classes of our employees. It is sent 
to every department, and from there dis- 
tributed personally. We try to have in 
each issue a section to appeal to popular 
demand, as well as to promote some spe- 
cial feature. We hope to make this bulle- 
tin a strong factor in our work, a lever 
that will gauge not only the circulation 
of our books, but will be the connecting 
link between the library and the em- 
ployees, and make it the medium of a new 
energy and a new enthusiasm radiating 
from our small quarters to every activity 
of the plant. 

And so, in these few pages, I have tried 
to show that the commercial house li- 
brary, although in its infancy, has come to 



stay. And as the pioneering becomes 
more and more an established fact in li- 
brary work, more commercial houses will 
recognize the need. They will be more 
than ready to respond to the progressive 
public libraries, whose efforts to expand 
and to bring their resources to the very 
centers of civic activity will thus estab- 
lish a more intelligent relationship and 
efficient cooperation with their very means 
of support. 

Miss Grace A. Whare, of the Houghton, 
Mich., public library, was present at the 
meeting and asked the privilege of pre- 
senting a very attractive exhibit of colored 
slides and illustrations which she used in 
telling Miss Lagerlb'f's Story of Nils. Each 
of twenty-six illustrations depicted an ad- 
venture of Nils. 

Business Meeting 

The regular business meeting of the sec- 
tion was held at Chateau Laurier, June 
29th at 9:30 a. m. Miss McCurdy presided. 

The minutes of the last meeting were 
read and adopted. The chairman an- 
nounced that the terms of two of the five 
members on the advisory board had ex- 
pired and that only one member was ap- 
pointed at the last meeting, instead of 
two. This raised the question as to the 
advisability of having an advisory board 
since none of the other sections had such 
boards. It was urged that an executive 
committee be formed consisting of the 
three officers of the section and two other 
members to be appointed by the chairman, 
and that all the members of this executive 
committee be actually engaged in some 
phase of library work with children. It 
was finally decided, however, to continue 
the advisory board as heretofore and the 
chairman was requested to appoint mem- 
bers to fill the vacancies. Mr. Hill and 
Miss Titcomb were appointed to serve for 
three years each. The chairman appointed 
the following committee on nomination for 
officers: Annie S. Cutter, Gertrude An- 
drus and Adah Whitcomb. The meeting 
then adjourned. 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



255 



SECOND SESSION 

(Monday afternoon, July 1st) 
The second session of the section was 
held July 1, at 2 o'clock. The general sub- 
ject was "Work with high schools." Mr. 
FRANK K. WALTER, vice director of the 
N. Y. State library school, read a paper on 

TEACHING LIBRARY USE IN NORMAL 
AND HIGH SCHOOLS 

Within the past few years the literature 
of this subject has become so copious that 
any original discussion of basic principle 
has become nearly out of the question. 
The excuse for papers like this one, which 
is mostly mere reiteration, lies in the fact 
that outside of library circles the matter 
has not been very seriously considered in 
spite of the constant repetition, and rela- 
tively few teachers have as yet attempted 
to give definite instruction in the use of 
books. 

It is one of the characteristics of the 
present that we are learning the necessity 
of saving time and effort by doing better 
the things we can already do passably 
well. To this end vocational schools and 
vocational courses are being established 
everywhere. If the use of the tools of the 
trades must be taught in the interests of 
greater individual development and greater 
efficiency, there certainly is need of teach- 
ing the efficient use of books which are the 
already recognized tools of the professions 
and which are more and more coming to 
be recognized as necessary supplements to 
the tools of the handicrafts. 

So far, it must be admitted, the re- 
sponse on the part of teachers has not 
been very general or very enthusiastic 
when courses of instruction in the use of 
books are advocated. At first sight this 
may seem strange. The primary purpose 
of both school and library is educational 
and many of the principles on which each 
line of work is based are equally familiar 
to teachers and to librarians. Let me in- 
stance but a few. 

1. Education is a continuous process, 
started but not concluded in school. This 



is generally accepted and correspondence 
schools, study clubs, and similar activities 
are recognitions of its truth. 

2. The complexity of modern life is 
lengthening the period of formal school in- 
struction and the rapid rise of new in- 
dustrial processes and the social problems 
arising in consequence, make after-school 
reliance on either past instruction or in- 
dividual personal experience unsafe. 

3. Education is not confined to books 
but books of the right kind are the best 
single aid to education. 

4. Modern methods of teaching demand 
the comparative use of books, not reliance 
on a single text-book. Modern courses of 
study emphasize this by their lists of ref- 
erences to material for the use of teacher 
and pupil. In a pamphlet of 40 pages on 
"The high school course in agriculture," 
issued by the University of Wisconsin, 
\l~Vz pages are devoted to references to 
suggested reading. Children now study a 
subject, not a single text-book or series of 
text-books. 

5. The library is the only continuation 
school really practicable for all the people 
at all times and for all subjects, and like 
any other institution, its value increases 
in proportion to the intelligence shown in 
its use. 

Contrary to a rather hazy though some- 
what general impression, there are only a 
few choice spirits to whom it is given to 
love books instinctively and to know them 
intimately without instruction. The mul- 
titude, whatever their rank or fortune, 
handle them more or less all the time 
without knowing much about them or 
caring much about them. It is true that 
a knowledge of books comes more readily 
to some than to others, but training will 
do much for even unpromising people 
who, without training, would be practically 
helpless. The need of this training was 
shown very clearly a decade or two ago 
when the method of teaching changed 
rather generally from text-book mastery 
to the so-called laboratory method. There 
were few more pathetic sights than many 
of the older teachers, almost totally un- 



256 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



trained in the comparative use of books 
which the new method involved, and yet 
forced to give up their reliance on the 
catechetical method and memorized text- 
book which could be kept open by the 
teacher while the pupil recited. 

If the library and the school have so 
much common doctrine and if both recog- 
nize in their precept and their practice 
the importance of books, it seems obvious 
that some instruction along this line 
should be given in the high school and, 
indeed, much earlier. Again, if pupils are 
to be taught to use books, it seems equally 
obvious that the intelligent use of books 
must first be learned by the teacher. That 
is, there should be a "library course" in 
the .normal school. 

If library and school agree so far as to 
recognize the need of such a course there 
still remain several general methods of at- 
tempting to get the desired results. 

(1) By experiment. This is the cus- 
tomary way; the empirical method or, 
under certain conditions, the inductive 
method. "We learn to do by doing" was 
a pedagogical maxim to conjure with some 
years ago and it has not yet lost its siren's 
charm. Teachers are still assuming that 
pupils will learn to use books well by 
using them without direction, even though 
an excess of the experimental method has 
confessedly failed in other directions. We 
do not often learn to do things in the best 
way without some direction nor does mere 
handling of an object teach us much about 
it. Infinitely more biology can be learned 
from two or three angle worms studied in 
a laboratory than from quarts of them 
used for fish bait. The laissez-faire 
method and the experimental method 
without a competent teacher to make it 
really inductive are both uncertain in re- 
sult and costly of time and effort. 

(2) By sending pupils to the nearest 
library for all aid outside the text-book 
and by handing over to the nearest libra- 
rian all responsibility for teaching the use 
of books. Librarians often advocate this 
method. It is only an application of the 
specialization which is so common in high 



schools and by which each subject has its 
own teacher who may or may not try to 
correlate his own work with that of his 
colleagues. The librarian, who at least 
ought to know about books, is the logical 
person to plan courses and to give formal 
instruction and in any school which can 
possibly have a librarian who devotes her 
entire time to the library this is the proper 
course to follow. It happens, however, 
that many schools which greatly need such 
a course have no one but the regular 
teachers to administer the library and to 
teach its use. In such an emergency no 
school faculty is complete without at least 
one teacher who can show the pupils 
and her fellow-teachers, if need be some- 
thing of the best methods of using books. 
Moreover, teachers need to know how to 
use the books connected with their own 
courses even if they need do little or 
nothing in the way of general library 
work. 

(3) A third general method remains: 
systematic training in regularly scheduled 
classes in the high school and a systematic 
course in the normal school for the future 
teachers of elementary and of high 
schools. This is the plan generally 
adopted for other subjects and the failure 
of the schools to provide in their curricula 
a place for library training can reasonably 
be attributed only to the fact that libra- 
rians have failed to impress on teachers 
the necessity for such instruction. There 
are several reasons for the failure. One 
of the fundamental principles of success- 
ful advertising is that the prospective cus- 
tomer must be convinced that the value 
of the advertised article exceeds its cost. 
Perhaps we librarians have not always 
recognized the value of this principle in 
our own campaigns. We use our library 
jargon and speak learnedly of "library 
methods," and "the library world" as 
though our work were based on some oc- 
cult secret (which it is not) and as 
though we who carry it on were a peculiar 
people (which we sometimes are), and we 
plan elaborate courses in "library econ- 
omy" which would strike terror to the 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



257 



heart of any teacher, were any teacher in- 
terested enough to look at them. 

It is well to remember that, as far as 
its place in the school is concerned, the 
library must always be an auxiliary, not 
au independent affair an auxiliary of the 
greatest importance which aids all courses 
but interferes with none. This is what it 
is in the increasing number of schools in 
which the use of the library is being suc- 
cessfully taught and whenever teachers 
are shown that librarians are urging some- 
thing that is a time-saver, not a time- 
consumer, and that the course they sug- 
gest is not an independent affair but 
something which, even in its own lessons 
and problems can be made to bear directly 
on the daily work of the school, there will 
not be much trouble in getting periods in 
which to teach the use of the library. As 
we too often present the matter, in the 
form of courses planned with little refer- 
ence to actual conditions in the school and 
with problems compiled from our library- 
school note-books , or our training-class 
notes and not from material selected for 
its direct relation to the subject matter of 
any course in the school, we are seemingly 
asking the teacher to become interested in 
our work, not in a subject that is of im- 
portance to teacher as well as to librarian. 
No general can plan a successful cam- 
paign of invasion without a knowledge of 
the topography and people of the country 
to be invaded and no course of study can 
be successful unless based on sound 
pedagogy and visibly related to the cult- 
ural or vocational need of the persons for 
whom it is intended. It is also well to 
remember that in strategy an officer 
counts for more than a private and that 
if official recognition is to be secured for 
any subject, the interest of principals and 
superintendents, who plan the curricula, is 
absolutely necessary. Work with sub- 
ordinate teachers alone will make slow 
progress. 

Another point which we are just begin- 
ning to emphasize is the necessity of 
getting articles in which we desire teach- 
ers to be interested, into periodicals in- 



tended for teachers instead of confining 
them to the columns of library periodicals. 
The advertiser who wants to reach en- 
gineers will not send his advertisements 
exclusively to the "American journal of 
theology." 

Although the high school and the normal 
school are usually mentioned together in 
discussions on the general subject of li- 
brary instruction in schools, there should 
be decided differences both in content and 
in general purpose between the courses in 
the two kinds of schools. In the high 
school, the purpose should be to teach the 
pupils to use books efficiently in solving 
problems arising in their individual ex- 
periences. The care and management of 
libraries can legitimately be taught only 
in so far as such knowledge helps the 
pupil to use libraries of all kinds more 
intelligently. There is no need of detailed 
instruction in technique, though some ele- 
ments of method are necessary. The use 
of the catalog must be taught in order to 
overcome the prejudices of most readers 
against card catalogs by teaching the 
youth before he arrives at obstinate and 
benighted manhood, that red headings, in- 
dentions and other conventions of the 
catalog are as sensible and necessary as 
black ruling, red ruling and other conven- 
tions of day-book and ledger. A little at- 
tention also to the theory of the charging 
system will help later in preventing hon- 
est but inaccurate thrusts at "red tape in 
libraries." 

The general characteristics of reference 
books should be discussed with the mean- 
ing and significance of those universal but 
little known elements of all modern books, 
the title page, table of contents and index. 
The growing popularity of bibliographies 
of all kinds suggests instruction in their 
make-up and use while the growing im- 
portance of periodicals of all kinds shows 
the need of knowing how to use the gen- 
eral periodical indexes. In all this work 
there can be and should be the closest re- 
lation to the other work of the school 
course and the various teachers can 
easily suggest material of direct use to 



258 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



them which will be quite as interesting 
and valuable for illustrating the use of the 
library as set problems compiled exclu- 
sively by the librarians. Moreover, such 
procedure will demonstrate conclusively 
both to teacher and to pupil the direct 
value of the library in helping school work 
to be done better and quicker. Though 
any teacher can be of help in this way, 
English, geography, civics and history are 
particularly good subjects with which to 
begin this cooperation. 

It is doubtful whether the librarian 
should attempt much formal instruction In 
book selection in the high school unless it 
is done with the full knowledge and with 
the assistance of the other teachers. 
Otherwise, such instruction will almost 
inevitably lead to duplication and to con- 
flict with the work regularly given in other 
courses. Tactful suggestions to teachers 
on the value of material which they over- 
look or know nothing about and personal 
attention to the voluntary reading done by 
pupils outside the school-room and not 
connected with the regular work of the 
school will furnish any school librarian 
plenty of opportunity for missionary work. 

Some description of the anatomy of a 
book will probably help cultivate a greater 
respect for books as books and may lessen 
the tendency to use books badly which is 
now so prevalent among school children 
furnished with books paid for by the 
school board and not directly bought by 
their parents. 

All of this teaching should be very 
simple. What is perhaps the most suc- 
cessful manual of the present on the sub- 
ject of teaching the use of books in 
schools (Ward's Practical use of books 
and libraries), owes its success largely to 
its attention to the small details which 
everybody, large and small, is supposed to 
know but of which nearly everybody is 
quite ignorant. 

No high school course of this kind is 
complete unless it cultivates friendly rela- 
tions with the public library and promotes 
the use of the library after the pupils have 
left school, by calling on it for aid while 



they are still in school. The best school 
librarians make every possible use of the 
public library while they are at the same 
time using to the utmost the resources of 
their own school libraries. 

The amount of time required for such a 
course as that outlined here and which is 
substantially the same as dozens of other 
courses outlined elsewhere, depends con- 
siderably on whether any preliminary 
work of the kind has been given in the 
lower grades, and, to some extent, on the 
size and general character of the school's 
collection of books. Something worth 
while has been done in five or six lessons, 
though not much can be done in less than 
ten or twelve, and the twenty to thirty 
periods which interested principals have 
sometimes granted are none too many. 
The general plan will also depend partly 
on whether the instruction is all given in 
one year or throughout the entire high 
school course. 

In the normal school the purpose of the 
library course should be not only to teach 
the use of books, but to teach, in addition, 
the principles of their proper selection and 
enough of the essentials of library tech- 
nique to enable the teacher to administer 
successfully a small school library and to 
understand the methods used in larger li- 
braries. It should be not only for indi- 
vidual improvement, as in the high school, 
but designed also to give skill in teaching 
others how to use the library. It is neces- 
sary, of course, to supply any deficiencies 
in training of the kind that was suggested 
for the high school, before the administra- 
tive side of the work can profitably be 
taken up. 

The technical side of the work, there- 
fore, will be more in evidence in the nor- 
mal school course. The preparation, 
adaptation and use of the important rec- 
ords such as the accession book, the shelf- 
list, the catalog and the charging system 
are necessary parts of the equipment of 
any teacher who is likely to be put in 
charge of a school or class-room library. 
A study of the most common trade lists 
and a few typical booksellers' catalogs 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



259 



with some comment on trade discounts 
and the purchase of second-hand books 
will save much time and trouble later 
when the teacher is expected to advise as 
to what and where to buy. 

Instruction in simple methods of book 
repair will yield large dividends in the 
shape of better cared for and longer lived 
books. 

Simplicity and direct relation to school 
work are the two things to be insisted upon 
throughout. Though the subjects and, to 
some extent, the treatment should be the 
same as that of the library school, there is 
neither opportunity nor need of the same 
variety and extent of instruction and prac- 
tice which should characterize schools for 
the professional training of librarians, nor 
should any school which can afford spe- 
cial teachers in other subjects thrust tech- 
nical library work upon its regular teach- 
ers. To the teacher, the library is 
auxiliary to her main work and insistence 
on elaborate administrative methods will 
defeat its purpose. 

This instruction in technique should be 
simple, but it does not follow that a 
teacher who has learned merely these ele- 
ments of technique is fitted in turn to give 
satisfactory instruction to other teachers 
or even to administer a school library in 
the best way. To do this a librarian of 
wide training and experience is necessary, 
one whose knowledge of library theory 
and practice is wide enough to give the 
perspective necessary to judge what is es- 
sential, and intimate enough to determine 
what adaptations should be made to fit 
either general library conditions or spe- 
cial contingencies of individual libraries. 
Efficient simplicity is the result not of 
ignorance but of trained judgment and the 
apparent simplicity obtained by reckless 
or ignorant amputation of library manuals 
may be worse than none at all. A well 
managed school must have a well-admin- 
istered library and a well-administered 
library implies a competent librarian, not 
merely the regular presence of a teacher 
with rather fewer classes and conse- 
quently more leisure than her colleagues. 



Indeed, though considerable technique 
has been suggested as advisable, I am very 
strongly of the opinion that technique, if 
by this term is meant the processes of 
keeping library records, should be thrust 
upon teachers only as a necessity, not as 
a desirability. In a school so small that 
one teacher or a very few teachers at most 
must do all kinds of work, it will be nec- 
essary and therefore it must be taught 
to these teachers. In larger and better 
equipped schools there is no more reason 
for teacher-librarians with a mere smat- 
tering of library training than there is 
logic or justice in compelling the teacher 
of English or of history to be the princi- 
pal's secretary. 

Of even more importance than technique 
is a careful study of important reference 
books. Only a small proportion of the 
books which would be useful can possibly 
be obtained and it is very' important that 
the teacher be able to use to the utmost 
such books as the school may possess. 
The compilation of reading lists and lists 
of references, whether for the use of the 
teacher or the guidance of the pupil, im- 
plies the use of bibliographies, footnotes 
and appendixes and a consideration of the 
bibliographic aids which are so common 
in modern text-books and so little used 
by teachers. 

Moreover, the teacher must know some 
of the principles of book selection, must 
know a fair number of the best aids to 
book selection and must know where to 
find and how to use good book reviews. 
No approved list of library, library com- 
mission, or state department of public 
instruction can take the place of independ- 
ent knowledge, though these approved 
lists are indispensable aids. 

The proper relations of school and pub- 
lic library certainly must be taught if any 
closer and more general cooperation of the 
two is to be brought about. Both teacher 
and librarian must be parties to such co- 
operation and each needs to know the 
point of view of the other. 

There is no general agreement as to the 
amount of time which the normal school 



260 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



ought to devote to library instruction. In 
a summary compiled in 1909 by the New- 
ark free public library (Public libraries 
14:147), the number of hours devoted to 
such work in 28 normal schools varied 
from one lesson to 60. Most of the schools 
which are recognized as leaders in this 
work gave about 20 lessons. There is rea- 
son to believe that the general situation 
has not materially changed except that the 
shorter courses are being lengthened and 
more normal schools are offering courses 
in library methods. The small number of 
lessons in even the good courses makes 
directness and emphasis on essentials im- 
perative. If all normal school students 
had been taught to use books before enter- 
ing the normal school, considerable time 
which is now used in teaching things 
which should already be known could be 
devoted to the methodic and pedagogic 
side of the subject. 

More and more normal schools are put- 
ting instruction in library methods on a 
par with other subjects by giving credits 
for it. This is only what all ought to do. 
No normal school is doing its work well 
if it sends its students out unskilled in 
the use of the tools of their own trade. A 
course in the use of books and libraries 
is no more of a luxury in the general train- 
ing of any teacher than a gas range and a 
kitchen sink are luxuries in the equipment 
of a domestic science department or 
planes and chisels in a manual training 
room. 

It is not merely altruism that urges li- 
brarians to encourage this work. It is 
highly commendable to increase the good 
feeling between two members of the so- 
called "educational trinity," the church, 
the school and the library, but the benefits 
to the library will be more direct than 
mere pleasure in promoting the success of 
another line of social welfare. To ensure 
its own permanence, the library must have 
a reading public in the future as it has in 
the present and the adult reader of the 
future is the child of the present. To en- 
sure the further development of the li- 
brary, not only readers but more readers 



are needed and the library will be sure of 
getting them only when school room and 
children's room work together, and when 
not only those who come to the library 
from choice, but all the children whom the 
community entrusts to the school are 
taught in the school the latent power in 
the books the library offers for their use 
and are taught by trained teachers how 
best to make that latent power dynamic. 

The discussion of this paper was led by 
Mr. W. J. Sykes, librarian of the Ottawa 
public library, and formerly head of the 
English department of the Collegiate in- 
stitute of Ottawa, who read a paper pre- 
pared by Dr. L. B. Sinclair, dean of the 
school for teachers, Macdonald college. 

MISS MARY E. HALL, librarian of the 
Girl's high school, Brooklyn, N. Y., read a 
paper on 

THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE HIGH 
SCHOOL LIBRARY 

Miss Hall said in part: 

To those of us who are interested in 
the problem of guiding the reading of 
boys and girls one of the most important 
recent developments of the modern library 
movement is the new life which is com- 
ing into the high school libraries through- 
out the country. 

The high school library, although an 
old institution, is just beginning to "find 
itself" in the library world of to-day. It 
not only has a right to exist but has pos- 
sibilities for doing important work in the 
future which will fully justify its exist- 
ence. It must serve not only as a great 
laboratory for the work of all depart- 
ments in the high school but as an im- 
portant experiment station for all our 
work with young people of high school 
age and aid us in the public library's solu- 
tion of the problem of helping the thou- 
sands of boys and girls who leave gram- 
mar school and the children's room and 
go out into the adult room of the large 
public library with no one to guide them 
in their explorations among the books, 
and no one to take the friendly personal 
interest in them that the teacher and li- 



CHILDRENS' LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



261 



brarian of the children's room always felt. 
Through the high school library and the 
public libraries' young people's depart- 
ment of which we dream, we must under- 
take to "follow up" the work begun in the 
children's room and build upon the founda- 
tions which librarian and teacher have 
already laid. 

What are some of the revelations which 
have been made to those of us who re- 
luctantly undertook this work some eight 
or ten years ago? In the first place we 
are, as our high school debaters would 
say "firmly convinced" of the need of a 
large carefully selected collection of books 
within the high school building where they 
may be had at a moment's notice for refer- 
ence and reading. We are convinced that 
we were wrong when in our first enthu- 
siasm over the public library we decreed 
that the high school library should be 
limited to books of reference and "re- 
quired" reading, and that all books to be 
read for the pure joy of reading should 
be given over to the public library. 

For four reasons I would plead to-day 
for a large, well equipped library in every 
city high school, a library managed ac- 
cording to modern library methods and 
in charge of a trained and experienced 
librarian who shall be the equal of the 
high school teachers in broad education 
and thorough professional training. This 
librarian must be able to win the confi- 
dence and friendship of pupils and teach- 
ers and to enter sympathetically into the 
life of the school. This library may be 
under the control of the Board of Educa- 
tion or a joint undertaking of Board of 
Education and public library as in Cleve- 
land, Newark, Passaic, Madison, Wis., and 
Portland, Oregon. 

My first reason for this new high school 
library is found in the aims and ideals 
of the modern high school. It is no longer 
content to serve merely as a preparatory 
school for college. It realizes that for the 
great majority of pupils it must be a prep- 
aration for life. As these four years end 
their formal school education it must make 
the most of the time. These four wonder- 



ful years of high school age are the time 
when ideals are being formed, when boys 
and girls are hero worshippers, and the 
personal contact with teacher and libra- 
rian or the reading of good biography may 
do marvelous things in moulding character 
and setting up standards. In aiming for 
social efficiency the modern high school 
endeavors to prepare for intelligent citi- 
zenship, for interest in and service for the 
various movements for social betterment. 
My second reason for this larger and 
more efficient library in the high school 
is the need created by modern methods of 
teaching. The text book to-day is only 
a guide, with its foot-notes and bibliog- 
raphies it is a vade mecum to the in- 
terested student to the best books in school 
and public library on the subject covered. 
The efficient teacher to-day uses books, 
magazines, daily paper, pictures and lan- 
tern slides to supplement the text book. 
Many of these must be at hand in the 
school building and so classified and cat- 
aloged that they are available at short 
notice. Unexpected questions arise in 
class discussions and must be settled be- 
fore the close of the recitation period by 
a student being delegated to "look it up" 
in the school library and report to the 
class while interest is keen. This could 
not be done in a library even five minutes' 
walk from the school. There are odd min- 
utes at the close of a recitation when a 
book from the school library can be bor- 
rowed and enough read to make the stu- 
dent eager to finish it. Pictures are 
wanted to illustrate some topic and are 
loaned from one classroom to another for 
every forty minutes of a school day when 
the teacher finds they help to awaken 
interest. The whole method of the reci- 
tation has changed. "It becomes," says 
one, "the social clearing house where ex- 
periences and ideas are exchanged and 
new lines of thought and inquiry are set 
up." One of the most interesting things 
in the school library work is the use of 
books and magazines for the three min- 
ute talks pupils have to give in English, 
French, German and Latin as cultivation 



262 



OTTAWA^CONFERENCE 



in the art of oral expression. They may 
chose anything that interests them or 
would interest the class, some interest- 
ing bit of news in the morning's paper, 
some anecdote about a famous person, an 
account in the Survey of the Camp-fire 
girls, etc. 

The search for material for these three 
minute talks makes the school library a 
busy place at times. Students vie with 
one another to bring to class the most 
interesting contribution from history, biog- 
raphy, literature, current events, etc. So 
interested are the students in this kind 
of library work that some of them began 
making a rough index of material in news- 
papers, magazines and books that would 
be good for such talks. The use of the 
library depends not so much upon the 
subject as upon the teacher, a teacher 
of mathematics who is a constant reader 
will get the students to make a better 
use of the library than the English teacher 
who prides herself that she has taught 
Shakespeare's "As you like it" so thor- 
oughly "inch by inch" that her pupils can- 
not possibly fail in the final examination. 
The biology teacher whose one cry a few 
years ago was the need of cultivating the 
powers of observation now acknowledges 
that the books in the school library or 
public library are needed to make the 
laboratory and field work of greatest value. 
Even the instructors in the gymnasium feel 
that books may help. Interesting books 
such as Mrs. Richards' "Art of living," 
Dr. Gulick's "Mind and work," Woods 
Hutchinson's practical talks on the sub- 
ject of health, etc., are placed on reserve 
shelves or tables and read by pupils not 
as "required" reading but because they 
find them interesting. Students interested 
in problems in chemistry or in the work 
of physics come up to the school library 
for a free study period to look over the 
books on the library shelves and to read 
them on the suggestion of the teacher. 
School library reading is coming more and 
more to be the result of suggestion rather 
than compulsion. 

History teachers add to the interest of 
the recitation by suggesting collateral 



reading which will appeal to the students, 
biography, historical fiction, orations, 
poetry, and drama are all called into play, 
attention is called to articles in current 
periodicals and a wise use of the daily 
paper is made in order to interest stu- 
dents in history in the making. The his- 
tory teacher posts on the bulletin board 
interesting subjects for "special topics," 
brief oral reports to the class on interest- 
ing material outside the text book and 
students eagerly volunteer to look them 
up in the library and report to the class. 
"How did the Romans tell the time of 
day?" "Describe the daily life of a monk," 
"Methods of travel in the middle ages," 
etc. Debates also are an important fea- 
ture of the history recitation: "Which con- 
tributed most to civilization, the Greeks 
or the Romans?" 

In English there has been a great revo- 
lution recently. Aside from the inter- 
esting work in oral .expression already 
mentioned teachers are beginning to real- 
ize that training in the power of expres- 
sion and the cultivation of taste and ap- 
preciation must come from extensive read- 
ing of good books, rather than intensive 
reading of a few. Supplementary reading 
is no longer an "assignment" of a stand- 
ard work of literature to be taken as a 
dose of medicine by the pupil with the 
comforting assurance of the teacher that 
it "will do him good." With the best 
English teachers supplementary reading 
is really an introduction to the best books 
in school library and public library, books 
to be read not for marks but for pleasure 
with the hope that it may mean a perma- 
nent interest in good reading, a wise use 
of the public library and the building up 
of home libraries. The supplementary 
reading list of to-day is a list of many 
different kinds of interesting books, old 
and new, which ought to appeal to the 
average high school boy or girl. There 
is ample opportunity for each to find some- 
thing which he will really like and he 
may take his choice. 

The skillful English teacher no longer 
spoils this reading by requiring an ex- 
amination as to plot, character develop- 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



263 



ment, climax, etc. Instead of this dreaded 
written report which was warranted to 
dull the interest in the most exciting novel 
as it haunted the reader all the way 
through the book the recitation is occa- 
sionally given up to an informal talk about 
the books the pupils have read and en- 
joyed very much such a book symposium 
as we librarians delight in. The enthu- 
siasm of a pupil in his report on a book 
will create an immediate demand for it. 
"I want that book you talked about in 
class, it must be a dandy one," the libra- 
rian hears one student say to another as 
they browse at noon among the books of 
fiction. In the more intensive study of 
the masterpieces of English literature the 
best English teachers make the study one 
of training in appreciation and not an 
"exercise in mental gymnastics" or a pro- 
cess of vivisection. They realize with Bur- 
roughs that "if you tear a thing all into 
bits you haven't the thing itself any more." 
They have the pupils read other works 
for comparison, the Alcestis and Medea 
and compare them with some of Shake- 
speare's plays they have been studying. If 
reading Lycidas, then Theocritus, Shelley's 
Adonais, Arnold's Thyrsis are read and 
discussed. In studying Burke, orations by 
Lord Chatham and Mansfield are read and 
compared. Students find in this compara- 
tive work a great delight and in this work 
as well as in the debates which English 
teachers encourage some of them surprise 
us with their powers of discrimination and 
their deep thinking. All of this calls for 
the use of many kinds of books in school 
and public library. 

My third plea for a school library is in 
the needs of individual students for a 
guidance in their reading which can be 
better given by the librarian in the school 
library than in the busy public library. 
The school librarian has the teacher al- 
ways close at hand and can know the prob- 
lems of these teachers in their work with 
pupils. Through attendance at the teach- 
ers' meeting she can keep in close touch 
with the school's methods of work and 
its ideals. She can unify the library 



work which the school is urging upon the 
pupils as twenty branch librarians work- 
ing with groups of these same students 
cannot do. She comes to know each of 
these hundreds or thousands of pupils bet- 
ter even than some of the teachers in 
these large schools who have them in 
their classes for only six months or a 
year while she has them in the library 
every day for four years and comes in 
close personal touch with them. She 
knows them through their parents, their 
teachers, and their friends and can some- 
times find the point of contact which cer- 
tain teachers have failed to find. We must 
make the school library do for the pupils 
what the little home library used to do for 
many of us. In these days of apartment 
houses and tenements, when families move 
about so constantly there is little chance 
for the home library. 

My fourth plea for a library within the 
high school building is that it is absolutely 
necessary as a connecting link between 
the high school and public library in our 
large cities. Wonderful things may be 
accomplished by the high school librarian, 
who believes the most important work of 
the school library is preparation for the 
best use of the public library and who en- 
courages the use of the public library 
through all the four years. She can be 
an excellent "go between" not only for 
pupils who do not use the public library, 
but between public library and principals 
and teachers who have no idea what it 
can do for them. She can enlighten them 
on the functions of this institution of the 
people, show them how much more it is 
than what they suppose it to be, "a col- 
lection of fiction for those too poor to 
buy their own books." She can enlighten 
teachers as to the necessity for giving 
the reference librarian due notice when 
material is to be needed by classes on a 
special topic, and the need for ascertain- 
ing whether there really is any available 
material before requiring reports from stu- 
dents on impossible subjects. She can 
bring about a personal acquaintance of 
high school teachers and librarians in 



264 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



public libraries and invite the library work- 
ers in public libraries to conferences with 
teachers in the school library. 

She can take a census of each entering 
class at high school and find how many 
are not using the public library and why. 
Such a census shows usually 30% who 
have no library cards. Some have their 
cards taken from them by parents when 
they enter high school lest they read so 
many books it interferes with their stud- 
ies. This is a frequent occurrence. In 
other cases a heavy fine has made a drain 
upon the purse of some poor mother and 
she has vowed that not one of her chil- 
dren should have a card in the public li- 
brary. Many of this 30% have never cared 
enough for books to have a card in the 
public library. The librarian who finds 
these conditions early in the term ex- 
plains to parents by personal notes and in- 
terviews that library cards in the public 
library will be an absolute necessity for 
high school work. Students who have 
never had cards are urged to apply for 
them at once and they are sent to just 
the right person in the public library who 
will take an interest in them, often a per- 
sonal note of introduction being given to 
the pupil to make that first visit to the 
public library easy and pleasant. 

In addition to the possibilities in high 
school library work already mentioned the 
librarian has opportunities for doing many 
things not possible or not done so easily 
in the public library. 
1. Creating the right attitude towards the 

library reading called for by the modern 

high school. 

The old time school library was not a 
pleasant place. She can introduce public 
library methods, an attractive room, 
plants, pictures, bulletin board, etc. Let 
them feel an atmosphere of friendliness 
from the start and bring in the spirit of 
joy rather than stern duty by making the 
first visit a delight. An informal "library 
reception" to each entering class or to 
groups of 40 or more as they enter the 
school until all have had this meeting 
with the librarian, makes a good start. 



Here the students are shown the beauti- 
ful illustrated books, pictures, etc., and 
librarian and pupils talk over the books 
they have read and liked. Teacher and 
librarian call attention to books they may 
like to read during free study periods and 
pupils are made to feel that the library 
reading is one of the pleasures of high 
school life. 
2. The study period. 

This has marvelous opportunities for the 
librarian. Here, every 40 minutes come 
from 60 to 100 pupils, filling every avail- 
able seat. Many come for definite refer- 
ence work, special topics, required read- 
ing, many just to spend a free period in 
browsing. In our best high school libra- 
ries there is as little red tape as possible, 
even "library passes" being dispensed with 
at times. Pupils are free to use books as 
they choose. They crowd around the li- 
brary bulletin boards for suggestions as to 
good books to read, interesting magazine 
articles, a glimpse of the day's news as it 
had been clipped by seniors and posted in 
the form of a "model newspaper" under 
heading, "Foreign affairs, National, State, 
City, Art, Civic and social betterment, etc." 
The bulletin boards call attention to spe- 
cial art exhibits in the city, to musical 
opportunities in the way of opera and 
concerts, etc. Teachers in the various 
departments make the department bulle- 
tin boards in the library a constant means 
of awakening interest. The French de- 
partment posts post cards showing views 
of places, mentioned in their reading. Latin 
teachers post reading lists on life in the 
time of Cicero, and pictures of Pompeian 
houses, furniture, cooking utensils, etc., to 
make the life real. Often at the close of 
a study period if all are through their 
regular work the librarian gives an In- 
formal three minute talk on some interest- 
ing thing on the bulletin boards, urges the 
reading of some poem or ' essay or new 
book of biography, such as Mary Antin, 
calls attention to some unusually good 
magazine article, or to some good edition 
of a book to buy and own, Hugh Thom- 
son's illustrated Silas Marner in the Cran- 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



ford series, Pride and Prejudice in Every- 
man's series, library binding, as a good 
edition to take out into the country for 
summer reading. 

3. Instruction in use of books. 

In the school library far better than by 
sending classes out to the public library 
definite and systematic instruction can be 
given by librarian on the uses of books. 
A regular schedule for this work is pre- 
pared by principal or head of English de- 
partment and lessons, lectures, quizzes 
and problems are given by teacher or li- 
brarian as a part of the school work. By 
working in this close touch with teachers, 
problems will relate directly to their every 
day class work. 

4. The library as a social center. 

Here the librarian in the school finds 
boundless opportunities not possible in 
public library work. Parents' receptions 
are held in the evenings in the large and 
beautiful library room and the librarian 
acts as hostess. Here come rich and 
poor of all nationalities, learned and un- 
learned and the librarian meets them all, 
talk over with them, the boys and girls, 
shows them what the library tries to do 
for them and goes over the parents' prob- 
lems with those who read too much or 
those who are reading trash, and last 
but not least those who do not like to 
read. The librarian suggests good books 
and good editions for parents to buy and 
the number of note books and pencils at 
work show how eager many are for this 
help they delight in the beautiful illus- 
trated books almost as much as the boys 
and girls. 

The noon hour offers great possibilities 
to the school librarian. Here she is "at 
home" to all students who want to talk 
about books. Around her desk is held 
a daily "book symposium." Absolute free- 
dom and frankness is encouraged. She 
is aided in her recommendations by the 
pupils' own comments of approval and 
their word goes farther with a doubting 
soul than any word of hers. If a pupil 
returns a book with "I don't like it," the 
librarian tries to find where the trouble 



was. If it was the first page or chapter 
which seemed uninteresting she points out 
the place just ahead where it begins to 
be most interesting, gets a student nearby 
who read and liked the book to tell just 
enough to show the doubting pupil what 
he is missing by not reading it. Or, if on 
talking with the pupil it seems he would 
not like that particular book she assures 
him it is nothing to be ashamed of if one 
does not like all great books, that we 
have to grow up to some, that some may 
never be interesting to us while absorb- 
ingly interesting to others. The personal 
equation has to be considered. 

Library reading clubs are a great power 
for influencing the reading of high school 
pupils. It is the age of clubs and organi- 
zations. In the books the pupils choose 
while browsing the librarian finds a point 
of contact and by the reading clubs can 
direct the voluntary reading. Interests 
unsuspected by teachers are revealed to 
the school librarian. An interest in art 
by a pupil thought hopeless in mathematics 
and physics and only a fair student in 
other things. The librarian in the school 
has expert aid in this club work. For the 
library reading club on art she selects the 
most inspiring and sympathetic art 
teacher on the faculty. For those who 
are reading Darwin and Spencer and Hux- 
ley, the finest teacher in biology who 
thoroughly knows the literature and can 
make the reading mean much. For those 
interested in civic and social questions, 
clubs for discussion and debate are formed 
with English and history teachers for ad- 
visers, but all center in the school library 
and meet there after school. After school, 
also where the library is large or there 
are two rooms, students may stay to 
study, tenement homes and apartments 
are often difficult places for quiet work. 
For our own school a biography reading 
club has been a great success, the stu- 
dents reading interesting biographies of 
famous women, Alice Freeman Palmer, 
Carla Wenckebach, Jane Addams, Florence 
Nightingale, etc. Also lives of great ex- 
plorers, artists, musicians, statesmen, etc. 



266 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



5. Vocational guidance. 

This is coming to mean great possibili- 
ties. If the librarian is sympathetic and 
has won the hearts of the students they 
will come naturally to her as a source of 
information on what a boy or girl can do 
to earn a living. It is a serious problem 
to the high school pupil, often there is no 
one at home to help. The librarian must 
be ready with books, pamphlets, clippings 
to lay before the student the many possi- 
bilities in choosing a vocation. The books 
on these subjects are the most popular 
books in the library of a large boys high 
school. Catalogs of technical and trade 
schools, etc., should be on file for refer- 
ence for students desiring to plan spe- 
cial courses in high school to meet their 
entrance requirements. Where there is a 
committee of teachers on vocational di- 
rection the librarian can be of great serv- 
ice in aiding in collections of books, maga- 
zines and pamphlet material. 

These possibilities of the high school 
library make it a most tempting field for 
any one interested in work with the older 
boys and girls. The librarian has the op- 
portunity of making the school library: 
(1) A great working laboratory for all 
departments which will meet their needs 
for reference and serve to stimulate in- 
terest or awaken interest in the work 
of class room or laboratory. (2) A prep- 
aratory school for the best use of college 
or public library by training students in 
the use of a library during the four years 
in school. (3) Compensation to the stu- 
dents for the lack of a home library. 
Carefully selected, largely a collection of 
the best books on the subjects which high 
school pupils would be interested in and 
containing all the really great things in 
the world's literature it affords a brows- 
ing place which should mean that inspir- 
ing and stimulating contact with books 
which many have felt in their home libra- 
ries, and it should mean also that personal 
guidance of the reading of the individual 
which in more fortunate homes parents 
give to their children. And perhaps quite 
as important as any other is the possi- 



bility of opening up to the high school 
students and teachers the great resources 
of the public library. The success of the 
high school library of the future will de- 
pend largely upon its relation to the public 
library. We are just at the beginning of 
things to-day in this matter of co-opera- 
tion and shall probably see important de- 
velopments along this line during the next 
five years. 

Mr. Gilbert O. Ward, supervisor of high 
school branches, Cleveland public library, 
led the discussion on Miss Hall's paper. 
He said in part: 

High school pupils after all are a very 
small proportion of the school community. 
Why should a public library put an ex- 
pensive assistant into a high school, 
where, after all, the actual numbers af- 
fected are small? One answer is this: 
High school students like college students, 
though in a less degree, are a chosen few. 
They are in a position to become naturally 
leaders in the community. And it seems 
to me that public libraries which have the 
chance to establish high school branches 
should consider the possibilities of the in- 
direct influence on the community as well 
as the direct influence on the limited num- 
ber of high school students. 

In considering now the relation between 
high school library and public library, let 
us first sum up the needs of the high 
school, the points in which the public li- 
brary fails to meet the situation, and the 
points in which the independent high 
school library is liable to failure: 

The high school needs: 

1. Books, freely duplicated, including 
general reference books, books relating to 
school work and selected genera? reading 
adapted to the abilities and appreciation 
of high school students. 

2. A trained librarian. 

The progressive high school needs these 
in the building as it needs a chemical 
laboratory in the building. There is no 
better reason for making a student go to 
the public library for an ordinary bit of 
class work, than for sending him to the Y. 
M. C. A. for his gymnasium work. 



CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS' SECTION 



267 



The public library fails with the high 
schools as follows: 

1. It generally lacks official standing 
in the school plan, hence it has to work 
with the individual teacher or principal as 
chance offers. 

2. Teachers are often too indifferent, 
careless, or overpressed by work to come 
to the public library. 

3. Visits to the public library for refer- 
ence work, inside or outside of school 
hours, takes up pupils' time, even if the 
school is convenient to the public library. 
This difficulty gets worse as reference 
work increases. 

4. Library instruction should cover a 
number of periods, and if given in the pub- 
lic library, the necessary number of visits 
deranges schedules, wastes time and 
raises questions of discipline. 

5. The public library is sometimes un- 
able or unwilling to duplicate books 
freely enough to meet school needs. 

6. The public library is not on the spot 
to answer instant needs. 

The independent high school library 
meets peculiar difficulties and dangers in 
fulfilling its duty. It is right to say here 
that the highest point of development in 
high school libraries has, to the best of my 
knowledge, been reached in certain high 
schools in which the library has no con- 
nection with the public library, but where 
it is managed by a well-paid, trained and 
experienced librarian. Generally speak- 
ing, however, especially in the case of 
high schools which do not employ a 
trained librarian, I think I may say that 
the independent high school library at 
present is likely to be narrow in scope, 
badly administered, self centered and neg- 
lectful of co-operation with the public li- 
brary, and hampered by red tape getting 
books promptly through boards of educa- 
tion. 

Neither school library nor public library, 
it seems to me, can alone meet high school 
needs. The school library needs the pub- 
lic library because of the broadening in- 
fluence of the usually larger institution. 
It needs the resources of the usually 



larger collection. It can oftn benefit by 
suggestion and aid in administrative 
details, especially when in untrained hands. 

The public library needs the school li- 
brary, among other reasons, to bring it into 
closer contact with the school system 
officially. The public library, it seems to 
me, should require the high school li- 
brarian to attend its regular staff meetings 
if she be a public library official or invite 
her to attend them if she is not. The 
high school librarian in many cases attends 
school faculty meetings, and by regularly 
attending public library staff meetings she 
can intelligently interpret school to public 
library and vice versa. The public library 
needs the high school library so as to get 
earlier and more certain information of 
books needed for class use, for the pur- 
pose of reserving in the public library or of 
concentrating them in the school library. 
Six copies of a title concentrated at call 
in the high school library and lent from 
there for short loans, prevent a few 
students from monopolizing books, and so 
do much more satisfactory work than 
twice the number lent from the public 
library in the usual way. In general, the 
public library by working through the high 
school library should work more effect- 
ively by meeting the school on its own 
ground. 

It is pretty clear, I think, that the school 
library and the public library need each 
other. The questions remaining are: 
What kind of co-operation is most effect- 
ive? How can that co-operation be brought 
about? 

I doubt if there is a universal answer 
for either question. I think that local 
conditions will have to be studied in each 
case, and under local conditions I include 
the school situation, the public library sit- 
uation, personalities, local politics, etc. 

Miss Hall has found a satisfactory 
answer for the library controlled by the 
school. The solution which has come 
under my observation is the administra- 
tion of the school library by the public 
library, with a division between school 
and public library, of the expense. 



268 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



This plan in one form or another is now 
being tried with the high school libraries 
in five cities Cleveland, O.; Madison, Wis.; 
Newark, N. J.; Passaic, N. J.; and Port- 
land, Ore. This includes eleven libraries 
actually in operation, and five others in 
contemplation. The plan has also been 
adopted, I am informed, by a number of 
towns in New Jersey. 

In bringing about co-operation, the first 
step is to make a careful, thorough study of 
conditions, not forgetting the questions, 
"What is the attitude of the principal?" 
and, "Which can pay the higher salary 
public library or high school?" 

The results under any plan, may we add, 
depend on the high school librarian. She 
should have a college education to put her 
on a par with the teaching staff. She must 
be adaptable. She must have solid book 
knowledge, especially of English and his- 



tory. She must be able to manage a room 
full of students without fuss or strain. A 
raw high school graduate with a smatter- 
ing of technique will not do. 

Finally, whatever the public library's 
part in the scheme of co-operation, the pub- 
lic library must be willing to view the sub- 
ject from the school side, and be willing 
to adapt its methods to school needs. 

A short business session of the active 
members of the session followed this meet- 
ing. Upon recommendation of the Nomin- 
ating Committee the following officers 
were elected: Chairman, Miss Effie L. 
Power, supervisor of children's work, St. 
Louis public library; vice-chairman, Miss 
Alice Goddard, head of children's depart- 
ment, Washington County free library, 
Hagerstown, Md., and secretary, Miss 
Hannah M. Lawrence, children's librarian, 
Buffalo public library. 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



FIRST SESSION 
(Friday, June 28, 8:15 p. m.) 

The first session of the College and 
Reference section was held on the eve- 
ning of June 28, in the banquet room of 
the Chautau Laurier, about 75 people be- 
ing present. In the absence of Dr. A. S. 
Root, chairman of the section, and Miss 
Irene Warren, secretary, the meeting was 
called to order by Mr. P. L. Windsor, 
who had at the request of Dr. Root and of 
Mr. Utley, arranged the program; Mr. S. 
J. Brandenburg acted as secretary. 

Mr. THEODORE W. KOCH, librarian 
of the University of Michigan, read the 
first paper entitled 

SOME PHASES OF THE ADMINISTRA- 
TIVE HISTORY OF COLLEGE AND 
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES* 

The development of college and univer- 
sity libraries has been so rapid during the 
past score of years that it may be worth 

"Abridged from an address delivered before the New 
York State Library School and the University of 
Michigan Summer Library School. 



while to turn back for a moment and col- 
lect a few illustrations of early ideas of 
library management from the history of 
the older universities. The most inter- 
esting ones for this purpose are those 
of Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard, Yale 
and Columbia universities. 

The Bodleian in its reorganized form 
was opened in 1602 with a stock of two 
thousand five hundred volumes a fairly 
large collection for those days. It had 
been established in Duke Humphrey's day 
in a suite of rooms over the Divinity 
School "far removed" as the old univer- 
sity records put it, "from any worldly 
noise." The first rules for the govern- 
ment of the library were drafted by Bod- 
ley himself. While in general they were 
wise ones, they reflected the spirit of the 
times in which they were written. Sir 
Thomas objected to the inclusion of belles 
lettres as beneath the dignity of the in- 
stitution he was fostering. "I can see 
no good reason," said he, "to alter my 
rule for excluding such books as Alma- 
nacks, Plays, and an infinite number that 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



269 



are daily printed of very unworthy mat- 
ters. Haply some plays may be worthy 
the keeping but hardly one in forty. . . . 
This is my opinion, wherein if I err I 
shall err with infinite others; and the 
more I think upon it, the more it doth 
distaste me that such kinds of books 
should be vouchsafed room in so noble a 
library." Scholars were required to leave 
a deposit in cash as a pledge of good 
faith when borrowing books, but the de- 
posit was usually a mere trifle compared 
with the value of the loan. Unscrupulous 
borrowers willingly forfeited the money 
and kept the manuscripts. Some volumes 
were stolen, while others were entered 
in the catalog as "missing," a distinction 
with perhaps very little difference. Tra- 
dition says that Polidore Virgil had stolen 
so many books that the authorities were 
finally compelled to deny him access to 
the library, whereupon he promptly ob- 
tained from Henry VIII a special license 
to borrow whatever manuscripts he de- 
sired and the librarian had to bow to the 
ruling of the King. 

In a manuscript copy of the works of 
St. Augustine and St. Ambrose in the Bod- 
leian, is written, "This book belongs to 
St. Mary of Robert's Bridge: Whosoever 
steals it, or sells it, or takes it away from 
this house in any way, or injures it, let 
him be anathema-maranatha." Under- 
neath another hand has written, "I, John, 
Bishop of Exeter, do not know where the 
said house is: I did not steal this book, 
but got it lawfully." 

At one time folios in the Bodleian were 
chained to the shelves but the custom 
was given up and the chains sold for old 
iron in 1769. That the arrangements at 
the Bodleian were viewed with favor by 
library benefactors can be seen from a 
letter which the worthy John Hollis of 
London, second founder of Harvard Col- 
lege library, sent to the authorities at 
Cambridge in 1735: "You want seats to 
sit and read in and chains to your valu- 
able books like our Bodleian library or 
Zion College in London. You let your 
books be taken at pleasure to men's 



houses and many are lost, your boyish 
students take them to their chambers and 
tear out pictures and maps to adorn their 
walls." 

Gibbon in his autobiography has com- 
mented upon the sloth of 18th century Ox- 
ford and its absolute indifference to study. 
The records of the Bodleian ' substantiate 
the low point to which the intellectual 
life of the university had ebbed. The reg- 
isters of books borrowed for the decade 
1730-1740 show that only rarely were 
more than one or two books asked for in 
a day. In some cases a whole week is 
passed over without a single entry being 
made. The indifference throughout the 
university showed itself in the manage- 
ment of the library. For 92 years, that is, 
from 1768-1860, the Bodleian was so un- 
fortunate as to be in the hands of only 
two men, the Reverend John Price, of 
Jesus College, who died in his eightieth 
year, and Dr. Bulkeley Bandinel, his son- 
in-law, who lived to be even a year older 
than his predecessor. As an illustration 
of Price's ideas of librarianship we have 
it noted by Professor Beddoes that "he* 
discouraged readers by neglect and inci- 
vility, was very careless in regard to the 
value or condition of the books he pur- 
chased, and had little knowledge of for- 
eign publications." When Captain Cook's 
Voyages were first published there was 
quite a demand for the work. Librarian 
Price promptly loaned it to the Rector of 
Lincoln College, telling him that the 
longer he kept it out the better, for as 
long as it was known to be in the library 
he would be perpetually plagued by in- 
quiries after it. Price has been compared 
to the verger who sorrowfully complained 
that people were continually invading his 
church and "praying all over the place." 
However, it must in justice be said that 
Price's correspondence as printed by John 
Nichols in his "Illustrations of the liter- 
ary history of the 18th century," shows him 
to have been helpful to some of the schol- 
ars of his day. 

Bodleian's librarians in the eighteenth 
century were mostly clerks in holy or- 



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ders and it was not uncommon for them 
to fail to open the library at all on a 
Saturday if they were "taking duty in the 
country," on the following day. There is 
preserved in the Bodleian a scrap of pa- 
per which an angry scholar affixed to the 
door of the library in 1806 when he found 
it closed contrary to the statutes. On it 
were these words in Greek: "Woe unto 
you who have taken away the key of 
knowledge ! Ye enter not yourself and 
hinder those who come." 

How striking is the difference between 
the lax administration of the 18th century 
and that of the 20th can be seen by a 
study of the Bodleian staff-kalendar, an 
annual of over 400 pages in which are 
listed day by day the special duties of 
various members of the staff, with all 
sorts of suggestions for the improvement 
of the service. 

King George III in his famous inter- 
view with Dr. Johnson asked whether 
there were better libraries at Oxford or 
at Cambridge. The sage replied that he 
believed the Bodleian was larger than 
any library they had at Cambridge, at the 
same time adding, "I hope whether we 
have more books or not than they have 
at Cambridge we shall make as good use 
of them as they do," a reply which I 
always like to associate with the remark 
of Dr. Cogswell: "I would as soon tell you 
how many tons the Astor Library weighs, 
as how many volumes it contains." 

While the university library at Cam- 
bridge has never been the recipient of such 
large and rich donations as has the Bod- 
leian, it is today one of the best stocked 
university libraries in the world. Its 
first benefactor was Thomas Scott of 
Rotheram, archbishop of York, who not 
only gave 200 books and manuscripts, but 
also the first library building. Despite 
other benefactions the collection appeared 
"but mean" in the eyes of John Evelyn 
when he visited it in 1654. 

Among the earliest gifts to one of the 
college libraries at Cambridge there are 
some volumes which raise curious ques- 
tions. According to Dr. Montague R. 



James, the provost of King's College, Cam- 
bridge, one book has the Bury bookmark 
and evidently came from that source; an- 
other belonged to the canons of Here- 
ford, another to Worcester, and another 
to Durham. How and under what con- 
ditions did the early collegiate and mon- 
astic bodies part with these? "Was there 
not very probably an extensive system of 
sale of duplicates? I prefer this notion," 
writes Dr. James, "to the idea that they 
got rid of their books indiscriminately, 
because the study of monastic catalogs 
shows quite plainly that the number of 
duplicates in any considerable library was 
very large. On the other hand it is clear 
that books often got out of the old libra- 
ries into the hands of quite unauthorized 
persons: so that there was probably both 
fair and foul play in the matter." 

The most famous librarian of Cam- 
bridge University library was Henry 
Bradshaw, who not only left a strong im- 
press upon the paleographers and histori- 
ans of his day, but did much for librari- 
anship by his contributions to biblio- 
graphy and his work on the printed cata- 
logs issued by the Cambridge University 
library. He believed in making the li- 
brary as accessible as possible to those 
who were entitled to its use. The watch- 
words of his administration were "lib- 
erty and discretion," liberty for the peo- 
ple to go freely about the whole library, 
examining and borrowing such books as 
they liked, and discretion on the part of 
the administration in putting such ex- 
tremely moderate restrictions upon this 
freedom that the security of its most 
precious books were safeguarded and the 
presence of the books most constantly 
needed for reference was assured without 
undue interference with freedom of ac- 
cess to the shelves or the borrowing of 
books from the library. 

His management of the university li- 
brary was not in all respects satisfactory, 
due mostly to the fact that the staff was 
very inadequate to the task of the at- 
tempted reclassification of the large col- 
lection of books, and also to the crowded 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



condition of the building. Bradshaw did 
not have a marked capacity for working 
through subordinates. "He could not," 
said one of his assistants, "bring himself 
to allow any one to answer letters for 
him." He used to carry large numbers of 
unanswered letters in his coat pockets 
and would sometimes take them out and 
show them with a certain mischievous 
glee and say in his droll way, "I am too 
wicked. What shall I do?" No one knew 
this failing better than himself. He once 
remarked to Thomas Buchanan Read, 
who wanted some information from him, 
"You had better come and get what you 
can by word of mouth. I offend lots of 
my friends by not answering their let- 
ters, or by losing them like yours." One 
friend, to whom he had long promised a 
visit and who could not get a definite 
answer to his invitations, sent Bradshaw 
two post cards on one of which was writ- 
ten "Yes," and on the other "No," ask- 
ing him to post one or the other. Brad- 
shaw promptly posted both, although by 
the next mail he wrote to say that he 
would come, and he kept his promise. 

Bradshaw used to say that whenever he 
was asked to send back an interesting 
book he "suffered from a chronic paraly- 
sis of the will and could not return it un- 
til the fit had passed away." In matters 
of routine business he was, however, sel- 
dom behind time and his library accounts 
were always accurately kept. He was 
very strict about the observance of the li- 
brary rules and could never tolerate seeing 
books mishandled. Dr. Zupitza, a great 
friend and admirer of Bradshaw, tells how 
one day he was making notes in ink from 
the famous manuscript of Bede's "Ecclesi- 
astical history," in the Cambridge Uni- 
versity Library when Bradshaw happened 
to notice him. "You Germans have no 
reverence," said the librarian as he rushed 
at the ink bottle and carried it away. A 
manuscript of that character was not to 
be approached with anything more dan- 
gerous than a lead pencil. 

Bradshaw had no personal ambition 
and was only too eager to give away such 



information as he possessed. He put his 
vast store of knowledge at the disposal 
of his large group of friends and their 
books were all the better for his biblio- 
graphical zeal. He himself left compara- 
tively little finished work. "My province," 
he once wrote, "is to give help on certain 
details which most people don't care 
about." 

Before leaving Oxford and Cambridge, 
a word must be said about the individual 
college libraries. Many of these date 
from the 15th century when it was the 
exception rather than the rule for uni- 
versity students to own books. Books 
were rented from both booksellers and tu- 
tors. The college libraries then, as to- 
day, did not have enough copies of text- 
books to go around. The statutes of St. 
Mary's College, Oxford, dating from 1446, 
forbade a scholar the continual use of a 
book in the library for more than one 
hour or at most two hours, for fear that 
others wanting the book might be hin- 
dered from the use of it. Most of the two 
score colleges of Oxford and Cambridge 
have their own libraries, many of them 
filled to overflowing with precious manu- 
scripts and old authors. While the manu- 
scripts, like those of Corpus Christi, nat- 
urally attract scholars from all over the 
world, the libraries are now comparatively 
little used by the students of the univer- 
sities themselves. This is not surpris- 
ing when it is known that to some of them 
no books have been added for a century 
or more. There is no union depository 
catalog in a central place showing what 
these libraries contain and very little cor- 
relation, although there has been some 
specialization, as in the dramatic collec- 
tion at Trinity College, Cambridge, or the 
modern history at Merton College, Oxford. 

Several years ago when I visited the 
Bodleian Library, I was shown around the 
portion known as "Duke Humphrey's li- 
brary," and when I admired the old parch- 
ment bound volumes in the alcoves my 
guide remarked sententiously: "These 
books were on these shelves when the 
Pilgrims sailed for America." That re- 



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mark points to an essential difference 
between many of the old world libraries 
and those of this country. The museum 
feature which is so strong in the adminis- 
tration of some of the European libraries 
is much less prominent in those of the 
United States. 

Illustrations of university library his- 
tory in this country naturally begin with 
Harvard. The library there was begun 
on the death of its first benefactor in 
1638 with his bequest of 320 volumes. The 
Mathers were among the largest collect- 
ors of books in their day in New England 
but few of their possessions passed into 
the college collection, most of the Mather 
library having been destroyed in 1775 dur- 
ing the battle of Bunker Hill. About the 
close of the 17th century Cotton Mather 
said of the Harvard College Library that 
while it was "far from a Vatican or Bod- 
leian dimension" he considered it the 
"best furnished that can be shown any- 
where in the American regions." The 
fire of 1763 which destroyed the first 
Harvard Hall destroyed also the entire 
college library, housed in an upper room, 
with the exception of one volume: Dow- 
name's "Christian Warfare," which was out 
in circulation at the time. "May Har- 
vard Library," wrote John Barnard of 
Marblehead, "rise out of its ashes with 
new life and vigor, and be durable as the 
sun, tho' the building is a nuisance." This 
contemptuous sounding phrase, intended 
to describe the ruined building, can again 
almost be justified in connection with the 
overcrowded and outgrown structure of 
today. The first general catalog of the 
library, printed in 1790, containing 350 
pages, devotes 100 pages to theological 
tracts, 50 to religious books, 3% to Bibles, 
% of a page to periodicals, 4 to books of 
travel, and ten to Greek and Latin au- 
thors all of which shows how closely the 
college had held to its original purpose as 
a training school for the ministry. 

There was practically no change in the 
curriculum at Harvard College during the 
first two centuries of its existence. The 
old classical course as pursued by our 



forefathers required comparatively few 
books. With the introduction of such 
studies as modern history and languages, 
the sciences and economics, came the de- 
mand for access to many books, both old 
and new. 

That books were regarded as a first es- 
sential in the establishment of colleges 
in the New World is shown not only by 
the terms of John Harvard's will, which 
bequeathed one-half of his estate and all 
his library "towards the erecting of a 
college," but also by the picturesque 
founding of Yale College. Eleven minis- 
ters met in New Haven in 1700 agreeing 
to form a college. Each member brought 
a number of books and presented them to 
the body, and laying them on the table 
said these words, or to this effect: "I give 
these books for the founding of a college 
in this colony." Then the trustees as a 
body took possession of them and ap- 
pointed the Rev. Mr. Russel of Branford 
as keeper of the library, which at that 
time consisted of about 40 folio volumes. 
The library with the additions which came 
in was kept at Branford for nearly three 
years, and was then carried to Killing- 
worth. In 1765 the library had grown to 
4,000 volumes, showing a growth of only 
60 volumes a year through two genera- 
tions. 

Other American university libraries 
showed equally modest beginnings. In a 
letter from President Manning to Dr. 
Llewellyn, 1752, is found the following ref- 
erence to the early efforts made on be- 
half of the library of Brown University: 
"At present we have but about 250 vol- 
umes and these not well chosen, being 
such as our friends could best spare," a 
statement which was equally true of many 
other college libraries of that period. 

The vicissitudes of American university 
libraries in their early years would seem 
to have been enough to discourage any 
but the stoutest hearted librarian. Thus 
the King's College buildings in New York 
having been required by the British for a 
military hospital, the books were depos- 
ited in the City Hall or elsewhere. Three 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



273 



years later some 600 or 700 volumes were 
found in a room in St. Paul's Chapel. 
How they got there is a mystery, but they 
were all that remained of the nucleus of 
what is today the Columbia University 
Library. Mr. John Pintard, the founder 
of the New York Historical Society used 
to say that he remembered seeing the 
British soldiers carry away the books 
from the college library in their knap- 
sacks and barter them for grog. Horace 
Walpole in his Memoirs sneers at the 
Prince of Wales, afterwards George III, 
for presenting a collection , of books to an 
American college during the Revolutionary 
War, and says that, instead of books, his 
Royal Highness ought to have sent arms 
and ammunition. 

In his report as secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution for 1850, Prof. C. 
C. Jewett wrote: "Our colleges are mostly 
eleemosynary institutions. Their libra- 
ries are frequently the chance aggrega- 
tion of the gifts of charity; too many of 
them discarded, as well-nigh worthless, 
from the shelves of donors. (But) among 
them are some very important collections, 
chosen with care and competent learning, 
purchased with economy and guarded 
with prudence." 

In 1850 Marshall College at Mercers- 
burg, Pa., reported that "the college li- 
brary is distributed among the profes- 
sors each professor having charge of 
those books pertaining to his department." 
Until comparatively recent years the peri- 
odicals subscribed to by one of our west- 
ern state universities were sent direct to 
the homes of the professors interested 
and whether they were brought to the li- 
brary later for binding depended upon the 
whim of the professor. 

One of the striking contrasts between 
the college library of today and that of 
the middle of the last century is shown 
by a comparison of the hours of opening. 
The Chinese character for "library" means 
"a place for hiding books," and if some 
members of the present day faculties 
think there is still justification for this 
pictograph, what would they say of the 



apology for a library which their prede- 
cessors had to contend with? In 1850 the 
libraries at Amherst and Trinity, for ex- 
ample, were open once a week from 1 
to 3 p. m., at Princeton one hour twice a 
week, at the University of Missouri one 
hour every two weeks. At the University 
of Alabama there was a rule that "the 
books shall ordinarily be received at the 
door, without admitting the applicant into 
the library room." Harvard with its 28 
hours of opening per week was as usual 
in the vanguard of progress, but contrast 
even those liberal hours with present day 
schedules of 89 hours and even more per 
week and you see that there has been 
considerable progress along this line. 

"A quarter of a century ago the library 
in most of our institutions," said the late 
President Harper in an address delivered 
in 1894, "even the oldest, was scarcely 
large enough, if one were to estimate val- 
ues, to deserve the name of library. So 
far as it had location, it was the place 
to which the professor was accustomed 
to make his way occasionally, the student 
almost never. It was open for consulta- 
tion during perhaps one hour a day for 
three days a week. The better class of 
students, it was understood, had no time 
for reading. It was only the 'ne'er do 
well,' the man with little interest in the 
class-room text-book, who could find time 
for general reading. Such reading was a 
distraction, and a proposition that one 
might profit by consulting other books 
which bore upon the subject or subjects 
treated in the text-book would have been 
scouted. All such work was thought to be 
distracting. The addition of one hundred 
volumes in a single year was something 
noteworthy. The place, seldom fre- 
quented, was some out-of-the-way room 
which could serve no other use. The li- 
brarian there was none. Why should 
there have been? Any officer of the insti- 
tution could perform the needed service 
without greatly increasing the burden of 
his official duties." 

That the college library of the middle 
of the last century was little more than 



274 



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a storehouse for books, in which the un- 
dergraduate had very little interest, is 
amply substantiated by th reminiscences 
of older graduates. "To those of us who 
graduated thirty, or forty, or more years 
ago," said the late William Frederick Poole, 
"books, outside of text-books used, had 
no part in our education. They were 
never quoted, recommended, or mentioned 
by instructors in the class-room. As I 
remember it, Yale College library might 
as well have been in Wetherfield, or 
Bridgeport, as in New Haven, so far as 
the students in those days were con- 
cerned." 

In the old days at Columbia College, 
freshmen and sophomores were allowed 
to visit the library only once a month to 
gaze at the backs of books; the juniors 
were taken there once a week by a tu- 
tor who gave verbal information about the 
contents of the books, but only seniors 
were permitted to open the precious vol- 
umes, which they could draw from the li- 
brary during one hour on Wednesday aft- 
ernoons. In 1853, the salary of the li- 
brarian of Columbia was raised to three 
hundred dollars! Professor Brander 
Matthews, who graduated from Columbia 
in 1871, says that the library was at that 
time small and inconvenient and that he 
never entered it to read a book and never 
drew one from it during all the time he 
was an undergraduate. 

The rules of the old days forbade the 
use of any lights in the Harvard Library, 
"excepting only when the librarian is 
obliged to seal official letters with wax 
he may with proper precautions use a 
lighted taper for that purpose." This re- 
calls an entry in the diary of John Lang- 
don Sibley, who records spending "four 
hours with a lantern and cloak in the 
chilly cellar" where he found many books 
and pamphlets not in the College Library." 

Mr. Sibley, who spent 36 years in the 
service of the Harvard Library, has fre- 
quently been pictured as typical of the old 
style collector and custodian of books. 
The story is told of his having once com- 
pleted an inventory of the library and, 



when seen crossing the yard with a par- 
ticularly happy smile, was asked the rea- 
son for this pleased expression. "All the 
books are in excepting two," said he. 
"Agassiz has those and I am going after 
them." Exaggerated as this picture of 
him undoubtedly is, it must be said that 
he did lay much more emphasis upon the 
collecting and preservation of books than 
upon their use. 

His successor, Justin Winsor, was the 
author of the remark which has come to be 
regarded as one of the truisms of modern 
librarianship: "A book is never so useful 
as when it is in use." 

In his second annual report (1879) Mr. 
Winsor thus summed up his idea of library 
management: "Diligent administration, 
considerate forbearance, care that no rule 
is enforced for the sake of mere outward 
uniformity, and the establishment of re- 
ciprocal confidence between the govern- 
ment and the users of the library, open the 
way to many relaxations of old established 
prohibitions, which could not be safely 
allowed if a less conciliatory spirit pre- 
vailed. There should be no bar to the use 
of books, but the rights of others, and it 
is to the credit of the mass of library 
users that, when a librarian manifests that 
single purpose, he can safely be liberal in 
the discharge of his trust." 

Mr. Winsor had an exceptional faculty 
for organization and administration. For 
some time after he left the service of the 
Boston Public Library it was hardly no- 
ticeable that there was no librarian. This 
was due to the fine organization which Mr. 
Winsor had effected and did not prove, as 
Alderman O'Brien of Boston argued, that 
Mr. Winsor's services could easily be dis- 
pensed with. He found time for writing 
history during the years of his librarian- 
ship at Boston and at Harvard because he 
knew how to administer. No doubt in his 
later years the historian in him overshad- 
owed the librarian. 

The salient feature of Mr. Winsor's ad- 
ministration of the Harvard College Li- 
brary lay in the fact that he extended very 
materially the use of books by students. 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



275 



He instituted the system of "reserved" 
books by which the instructor is enabled to 
have gathered in an accessible place the 
reading which he required of his classes, 
a device absolutely essential in the new 
method of teaching which substitutes the 
reading of authorities for the old time 
study of text-books. 

And what as to the buildings in which 
these libraries are housed? The earlier 
ones like those of Harvard and Yale, were 
suggestive of Gothic chapels, while the 
later ones, like Michigan, Illinois and 
Cornell, are based upon an ecclesiastical 
motif, and have the questionable addition 
of a clock tower, the usual accompanying 
chimes helping to break into the quiet 
which it is so desirable to maintain in any 
library. Harvard's Gore Hall was an at- 
tenuated copy of the chapel of St. John's 
College, Cambridge, England, and neces- 
sarily ill adapted to the needs of a library. 
It was poorly lighted, poorly ventilated, 
hard to warm in winter, damp in parts 
during the spring and autumn. There 
were no private rooms, no working room, 
no conversation room, and no reading 
room worthy of the name. The only sav- 
ing thing about the management was that 
the advice of old John Hollis was not fol- 
lowed and both students and professors 
were allowed to draw books for use in 
their rooms and homes. 

In some cases where the library building 
has been presented as a gift or as a memo- 
rial, trouble has arisen from the proverbial 
difficulty about examining too closely into 
the lines of the proposed gift. Notable il- 
lustrations of this are found in the li- 
braries of Columbia University, the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania and the late but 
not lamented library of Leland Stanford 
University. The Columbia University Li- 
brary, the gift of ex-President Low in 
memory of his father, was designed by 
McKim, Mead & White after the plan of 
the head of the firm, the late Mr. Charles 
F. McKim. Some of you may be familiar 
with the story of the visitor to Mr. McKim's 
studio asking how he was getting on with 
the plans for the new library. "Oh, every- 



thing is going lovely," said he. "You see 
there on the wall the outline of the fac- 
ade and the layout of the building. I have 
worked up all the details of the reading 
room and the large dome but I don't 
know where to put the darned books." 

"Today," wrote President Harper, "the 
chief building in the college, the building 
in which is taken the most pride, is the 
library. With the stack for storage pur- 
poses, the reading room for reference 
books, the offices for delivery, the rooms 
for seminary purposes, it is the center of 
educational activity. The staff of assist- 
ants is often larger than the entire faculty 
of the same institution thirty years ago." 

The importance of the university library 
in the educational work of the institution 
is being recognized more fully each year. 
"Much of the usefulness and attractiveness 
of the university for its students," said 
President Eliot in his annual report for 
1905-06, "depends on the size of the li- 
brary, on the promptness with which it ob- 
tains the newest interesting books, and 
on the efficiency and liberality of its ad- 
ministration. Any need of the library is 
therefore a need of the whole university." 

The second paper was then read by Mr. 
WILLARD AUSTEN, assistant librarian of 
Cornell University. His paper, an abstract 
of which follows, was entitled 

RIGHTS OF THE USERS OF A COL- 
LEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
AND HOW TO PRESERVE 

THEM 

The problem of administering a college 
or university library with due regard to 
the rights of all the users is far from sim- 
ple. A college or university community is 
not a democracy, where all have equal 
rights. The natural division into two 
great classes, the mature teacher and the 
immature student is the first apparent 
cause for the modification of privileges. 
The need of materials for teaching as op- 
posed to the needs of the student suggests 
other modifications. The need for books 
of research at home or in the laboratory 
that may also be wanted for general read- 



276 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



ing, introduces a third factor that may dis- 
turb any set of rules that may be framed. 

Any reader should be allowed to use 
any book in the library when and where it 
is most convenient to do so, so far as this 
can be done and preserve the rights of 
other users and preserve valuable materi- 
als not easily replaced for future genera- 
tions of users. The ability to shift any 
book from the place where it is little 
needed to the place where it is much 
needed, at a moment's notice, is the ideal. 

Users may be roughly grouped as fol- 
lows: 

1. Instructors of all grades, those whose 
need for books is primarily for teaching. 

2. Those doing research work, which 
class may include teachers, graduate and 
undergraduate students. 

3. Students needing books for collat- 
eral reading. 

4. General readers of all classes, and 
all persons are general readers when not 
reading for a definite purpose, but for gen- 
eral culture. 

Obviously the rights of all these classes 
are not of equal importance. 

To outline the means of protecting their 
rights, it is necessary to classify users 
by certain of their characteristics which 
bear no relation to the groups named 
above. First, the conscientious worker 
who, while using many books, never re- 
tains one beyond his real need for it, and 
who constantly bears in mind the possible 
need that others may have for a book he 
is using. Library rules are not made for 
such. The next and most difficult class to 
deal with are those who want to gather 
about them all the books they can con- 
veniently lay hands on, with the thought 
that they will "come handy some day." 
A large class, running down to the low- 
est ranks of college students, comprise 
those who think they must have all the 
material on a subject at hand at one time. 
Another class, largely college students, 
is made up of those selfish persons who, 
having a task, ride rough shod, if neces- 
sary, over the rights of others in doing 
it. Then there is the small class that can 



be designated by no other names than 
thieves and vandals, those who steal 
books, and cut out text or illustrations. 

An adequate code of rules and regula- 
tions should be drawn up, care being taken 
that all rules should be made for the sole 
purpose of preserving rights and property. 
Of first importance are the regulations for 
getting books back into the library. A 
time limit of one month on all books not 
in use for instruction or research has been 
fairly successful. All bound volumes of 
periodicals may be limited to two weeks 
or one month. A limit may be put on the 
number of volumes a user may have out 
at any one time. A requirement that all 
books must come back to the library, once 
a year, regardless of the use being made 
of them, will keep in the library many 
books that have been left lying around 
after being used. 

Within the library the problem of mak- 
ing all books available for use when 
needed is not a simple one. Reserve col- 
lections, and the recall of books when 
needed are familiar practices; but when 
the demand for a book is very great, its 
use by one person may be limited to one- 
half or one hour as the case may call for. 
The failure to return a reserved book 
when due interferes seriously with others' 
rights. In these cases students must be 
made to respect the rights of others, even 
at the cost of losing their own privileges 
which is often a more effective discipline 
than a money fine. The library shares 
with other departments of the college or 
university the duty of teaching student a 
due regard for the rights of others. The 
problem of detecting the few thieves and 
vandals who curse all used libraries, may 
require professional advice. Few seem to 
be brought to justice, in spite of all efforts. 

Whatever measures are employed to pro- 
tect the users' rights and the library prop- 
erty, they must have their foundation in 
a system of classification and notation that 
clearly indicates in every record the char- 
acter of the book and its relation to other 
material in the library; and in a system of 
record of use that tells not only where a 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



277 



book is when out, how long it has been 
out, and who is responsible for it, but also 
tells the life history of that book from the 
time it comes into the library until it is 
worn out. 

After the discussion of Mr. Austen's pa- 
per, Mr. F. K. W. DRURY, assistant libra- 
rian of the University of Illinois, pre- 
sented a paper on 

DO WE NEED A SHORT STORY INDEX? 

Is not this the day of the index? Have 
we not Poole, the Reader's Guide, the 
Portrait and the Engineering Indexes, 
Granger's Index to Poetry and Recitations, 
and the Index to Victrola Records? What 
Granger is to poetry, may we not compile 
for the short-story? For if this is the day 
of the index, is it any less that of the 
short-story? 

If we agree to omit fairy stories and 
folk tales and most juveniles what is the 
extent of short story literature? In a 
very brief survey of the field did I not 
find 404 English and American authors 
and 37 foreign authors in English transla- 
tion whose stories have attained book 
form? 

Let us credit each author with ten titles 
and we have at once 4,400 stories worthy 
of recognition. And these do not include 
the vast horde of 'stories literally thou- 
sands that have appeared and are ap- 
pearing monthly, weekly, yea even daily, 
in the magazines of the hour. 

How recent then shall we make our 
list? Shall we anticipate the Get-rich- 
quick Wallingford tale announced for next 
month? Where shall we draw our line? 

How inclusive shall our list be made? 
Shall the Saturday Evening Post and the 
two Sunday magazines be indexed? Or 
shall we stay within the circle of the 
Readers' Guide and the Magazine subject 
index? How many of the newstand best 
sellers shall be admitted? Mr. Wyer shows 
us the million circulation figures of the 
Woman's World, Comfort, the Vickery 
and Hill list of three (Happy Hours, 
Hearth and Home, and Good Stories), yet 



these are not taken by our libraries and 
if indexed could be consulted with diffi- 
culty. Where shall we draw this line? 

Again, how far abroad shall we go? 
Shall the short-stories in foreign tongues 
fraternize with their English cousins? Or 
shall they be aliens and only admitted 
when really anglicized? Do we need an 
index? Let us test our present resources. 
How do you find in which volume of Kip- 
ling is printed "Thrawn Janet" or his 
"Man who would be king?" How many 
copies of "The necklace" can you supply? 
Granger tells you it is in Cody's "World's 
greatest short stories" and your catalog 
may show it in De Maupassant's works, 
or his "Odd number." But how would you 
find out that this classic is also in "Little 
French masterpieces," in Esenwein's book 
on the short story, and probably in several 
other places. 

Somebody comes in and asks for "Na- 
poleon Jackson" and you do not find it in 
the volumes you have by Ruth McEnery 
Stuart. Perhaps it is loaned out. Would 
not such an index show that this story 
appeared in the Century for January, 
1902, under the title "The gentleman of the 
plush rocker"? 

Vainly have I searched through catalogs 
and bibliographies and even biographies 
to find in which book of stories by "Adi- 
rondack" Murray may be found "A busted 
ex-Texan." The book itself must be in 
hand to find this information. Try to 
search down a particular title by Stock- 
ton, or Bret Harte and you will soon de- 
spair. 

Have we not then three distinct classes 
of publications which can be indexed with 
profit? 

(a) Collected stories of authors, of 
whom we have listed at least 4,400. 

(b) Periodical sets, which Poole in- 
dexed by titles only, but since 1900 the 
Readers' Guide has by both author and 
title. 

(c) Collections of stories, of which 73 
at least are available today. 

Can we not characterize or classify our 
short-story by some such terms as those 
used in the Philadelphia free library 



278 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Catalog of Prose Fiction, published in 
1904? 

Have you ever been disappointed in 
reading a story? Have you not often 
wished to know if it were a "good" one or 
"worth while" before you began it? In- 
deed, have you not often refrained from 
reading one for fear of wasting your time? 

How can we tell about these short 
stories? Are they good or bad? Detec- 
tive or amorous? Psychological or 
mysterious? 

Have you ever seen a short story re- 
viewed? Have you any way of knowing? 
Must we read every one to find out? 

Some may be characterized from the 
author. The Sherlock Holmes series are 
obviously detective stories. We can be 
pretty sure of Ambrose Bierce and Edgar 
Allan Poe. So stories in Harper's have a 
general tone quite characteristic. 

Here at once is a most important and 
a most difficult part of such an index. Is 
not the value of Granger immensely in- 
creased by the topical index? Are we not 
laboring patiently to classify our novels 
by subjects? Why not also the short- 
story? 

We may now ask ourselves: What 
would be the scope of the entries? For 
discussion, we suggest: 

1. Author list; giving author, title, 
number of words, location, character. 

2. Title index. 

3. Subject or character index. 

You will readily see the elements of a 
dictionary catalog here, and it is debat- 
able whether to separate the entries in 
the three groups as above, or to alphabet 
them together. Shall we double star the 
100 best and star the 500 next? 

Are not these questions too perplexing, 
is not the labor of compilation too ardu- 
ous, and is not life too short for the read- 
ing and classifying all these titles, for 
one person to attempt this task alone? 
It has seemed so. Hence this question 
mark rampant, hence this interrogational 
presentation, hence this request for co- 
operation. Without the subject charac- 
terization one man could do it, but would 



not one of the most valuable features be 
omitted? 

With definite assignments, under an 
editor-in-chief, is not this index possible? 
Is it not needed? 

In the discussion it was brought out 
that the Chicago public library had made 
a list of fairy tales, that the Cleveland 
public library had begun a list of short 
stories not in periodicals, and that titles 
of stories frequently occur in reference 
lists on subjects like, for example, 
Hallowe'en. 

After a discussion of Mr. Drury's 
paper, Mr. ROBERT KENDALL SHAW, 
librarian of the Worcester (Mass.) free 
public library, spoke on the subject 

IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CEN- 
TRAL REFERENCE BUREAU 
DESIRABLE?* 

This subject has been so fully treated 
in recent years, notably by Mr. Lane in 
an address at Oberlin college in June, 
1908, and in several reports of the Associ- 
ation of college librarians, that onjy an 
outline will be attempted here. 

A natural preliminary inquiry presents 
itself: Is reference work in all its phases 
adequately performed already? With a 
well trained library staff, whose work 
may be supplemented by the inter-library 
loan; by writing letters; by the use of 
the priceless though incessant telephone; 
or by seeking the aid of some such 
bureau of inquiry as that of Thos. Nel- 
son's Sons, The Boston Transcript, The 
New York Times or Notes and Queries, 
are we keeping our public satisfied, and 
the voice of conscience still? 

If not, and if the question of creating 
some central agency for auxiliary refer- 
ence service is to be discussed, shall this 
central agency take the form of a central 
lending library, with its permanent build- 
ing, book reservoir and staff to administer 
it, or of a central reference bureau, which 
will receive all kinds of inquiries, and an- 
swer them, as far as possible, by consul- 
tation in libraries already existing, or in 
other institutions which may possess the 
desired information? 

Abstract. 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



279 



That a central lending library, equipped 
and maintained under the auspices of the 
A. L. A. is today or even tomorrow im- 
practicable, can scarcely be denied by in- 
telligent librarians. The writer believes 
that no adequate endowment could be 
secured; that if any funds were obtained 
for this purpose, years would be required 
to build up a useful collection; that such 
a collection would, to a great extent, 
duplicate existing material; that running 
expenses would be far greater than for 
an information bureau, and that there are, 
in short, other more pressing needs. 

If a central reference bureau is to be 
established, what form shall it take? 
Shall it be attached to some institution 
already in operation or exist independ- 
ently? The latter seems preferable, as it 
could then maintain a consistent policy, 
unhampered by political or other undesir- 
able influences; proceed unhampered with 
singleness of aim and method; be gov- 
erned by persons disinterested and none 
others; and restrict its collections exclu- 
sively to the purposes which its founders 
intended it to pursue. 

Where should such an agency be estab- 
lished? At some library center like 
Boston, New York, Philadelphia or St. 
Louis? At A. L. A. headquarters? At the 
Library of Congress or under the auspices 
of some active state library commission? 
The two institutions specifically men- 
tioned are already doing a large work in 
this direction. 

The duties and opportunities of this 
bureau would be: to collect and coordi- 
nate the public-service records of Ameri- 
can libraries and cognate institutions 
(e. g. supply information on special collec- 
tions, subject bibliographies, reading 
lists, etc.) ; by questionnaires, visits and 
in other ways obtain supplementary infor- 
mation along these and similar lines; to 
get results printed and disseminated; to 
furnish definite information on lending 
conditions now obtaining in American li- 
braries, and, when possible, to improve 
them; and to serve as a free registration 
and employment agency for librarians 



and library assistants. Although this last 
suggestion has not been proposed, to the 
writer's knowledge in earlier schemes, its 
importance as a practical measure, is ob- 
vious. To the large body of faithful and 
efficient workers who have not enjoyed 
the benefits of a library school training 
such an agency would render signal 
service. 

The unfortunate but frequently recur- 
ring repetition of reference research 
would, in large measure, be prevented if 
librarians were enabled to derive prompt 
assistance, in case of knotty problems, 
from a competent central agency. Their 
duty to dispatch to this agency solutions 
to such questions of probably common 
interest as they had themselves discov- 
ered, would be equally obvious. 

The trend of library thought in the 
thinking world today is toward centrali- 
ation and coordination of effort; witness 
the sense of the Brussels conference of 
1910 that central information bureaus 
should be established in all countries of 
progressive library spirit; the success 
and practical value of the gigantic Ge- 
sammtkatalog; and the expected benefits 
from the youthful Boston cooperative in- 
formation bureau. 

That American librarians are looking 
toward a fuller development of inter- 
library loans, and away from a central 
reference bureau, is the consensus of the 
recent (1910, March and May) symposium 
conducted by the Library Journal. Our 
duty now is, by sympathy, interest and 
contribution, to forward the work of the 
Library of Congress and the A. L. A. 
headquarters, and to make our own lend- 
ing conditions the most generous in our 
power. 

Mr. C. H. Gould, chairman of the com- 
mittee on co-ordination, stated that the 
subject just presented had a close rela- 
tion to several matters before his com- 
mittee, and gave a re'sume' of their report 
submitted in print to a general session of 
the conference. 

Dr. Andrews, as a member of the Com- 
mittee, added that in his opinion photo- 



280 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



graphic reproductions might prove a satis- 
factory substitute for many inter-library 
loans. The installation of a cameragraph 
in the John Crerar library had proved 
of much more use than had been antici- 
pated, not only in regard to the number 
of copies made, but also in regard to the 
scope of the material thus copied. It had 
been found in many cases that these 
photographic reproductions could be fur- 
nished for less than the cost of transpor- 
tation of the volume, and that besides 
they gave a permanent record to the bor- 
rower. The only obvious limitation was 
the impossibility of reproducing copy- 
right material. 

After further discussion, the chairman 
asked Dr. W. K. Jewett, librarian of the 
University of Nebraska, to serve as chair- 
man of the nominating committee and to 
select two others to serve with him. The 
session then adjourned. 

SECOND SESSION 

(Monday, July 1, 2:30 p. m.) 

The second session was held Monday 

afternoon, July 1, in the ballroom. The 

first paper was by Mr. J. C. M. HANSON, 

associate director of libraries, University 

of Chicago, and was read in his absence 

by Mr. M. G. Wyer, librarian of the State 

University of Iowa. The paper follows. 

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE DE- 
PARTMENTAL LIBRARY PROBLEM 
IN UNIVERSITIES, WITH SPE- 
CIAL REFERENCE TO THE 
UNIVERSITY OF 

CHICAGO 
List of references 

Departmental arrangement of college li- 
braries, by Edith E. Clarke. Library 
journal vol. 11, 1899, p. 340-343; vol. 16, 
1891, p. 264-268. 

Reference, seminary, and departmental li- 
braries at Cornell university, by W. 
Austen. Library journal, vol. 18, 1893, 
p. 181-183. 

Function of a university library, by H. L. 
Koopman. Library journal vol. 19, 1894, 
p. 24-30 of Conference Report. 



The departmental libraries of the Univer- 
sity of Chicago, by Z. A. Dixson. Li- 
brary journal vol. 20, 1895, p. 375-377. 

Notes on the government and control of 
college libraries, by G. W. Harris. Li- 
brary journal vol. 22, 1897, p. 55-57 of 
Conference Report. 

Relation of seminary and departmental 
libraries to the general university li- 
brary, by George H. Baker. Library 
journal vol. 23, 1898, p. 103-106 of Con- 
ference Report. 

First Report of W. C. Lane, librarian of 
Harvard university, 1898, p. 2-5. Com- 
pare also his 5th Report, p. 215. 

The Problems of the departmental system 
in university libraries, by W. W. Bishop. 
Library journal vol. 26, 1901, p. 14-18. 

Report of College and reference section, 
1902. Library journal vol. 27, p. 172-178 
of Conference Report. 

Relation of the departmental or group 
libraries to the main library, by Dr. E. 
D. Burton. Library journal vol. 28, 1903, 
p. 19-23 of Conference Report. 

Discussion in College and reference sec- 
tion, 1903. Library journal vol. 28, 1903, 
p. 170-175 of Conference Report. 

The future university library, by B. Ranel. 
Nation vol. 84, March 21, 1907, p. 263. 

The university branch library, by W. Aus- 
ten. Library journal vol. 28, 1908, 
p. 220-222. 

Plea for the central library, by J. Bas- 
com. Educational review, vol. 38, Sept. 
1909, p. 139-149. 

Departmental libraries, by F. C. Hicks. 
Columbia university quarterly, vol. 13, 
March, 1911, p. 185-195. 

Departmental libraries in universities and 
colleges, by Henry E. Bliss. Educa- 
tional review, April, 1912, p. 387-409. 

Ueber die Bibliotheken der Preussischen 
Universitatsinstitute, von Dr. Naetebus. 
Zentralblatt fur Bibliothekswesen, vol. 
23. 1906, p. 341-367. 

Allgemeine Grundsatze fur die Vermeh- 
rung der Preussischen Staatsbiblio- 
theken, von W. Erman. Zentralblatt fttr 
Bibliothekswesen, vol. 25, 1908, p. 429- 
433. 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



281 



Bemerkungen zu dem Brmanschen Ent- 
wurf "Allgemeine Grundsatze fiir die 
Vermehrung der Preussischen Staats- 
bibliotheken," von J. Franke. Zentral- 
blatt fiir Bibliothekswesen, vol. 26, 1909, 
p. 12-22. 

Fiir die Seminarbibliotheken, von F. Beh- 
rend. Zentralblatt fiir Bibliotheks- 
wesen, vol. 26, 1909, p. 23-25. 
Erlauterung und Begriindung der Allge- 
meinen Grundsatze fur die Vermehrung 
der Preussischen Staatsbibliotheken, 
von W. Erman. Zentralblatt fiir Biblio- 
thekswesen, vol. 26, 1909, p. 97-121. 
Universitatsbibliothek und Institutsbiblio- 

theken, von Karl Biicher, 1910. 
Zentralization der Bibliotheken, von Hugo 
Zimmen Zentralblatt fur Bibliotheks- 
wesen, 28. jahrg. 1911, p. 446-469. 
The pros and cons of the departmental 
system have been summarized in several 
of the articles mentioned above. In his 
annual report as librarian of Harvard col- 
lege for 1898 Mr. Lane calls attention, on 
the one hand to the more convenient use 
of books in a small collection, and in case 
of scientific subjects, the possibility of 
having the books in or near the labora- 
tory. On the other hand he emphasizes 
the increased difficulty of consultation on 
the part of persons- not immediately con- 
nected with the department, less careful 
supervision, increase in expense of admin- 
istration, less security from fire, lack of 
that reinforcement which every depart- 
ment of a general library receives from all 
related departments, tendency to narrow- 
ness, and growth of special collections be- 
yond a convenient size. 

On September 28, 1900, Professor E. D. 
Burton, the present director of the libra- 
ries of the University of Chicago, and Pro- 
fessor H. P. Judson, now president of the 
university, presented before the faculty 
briefs for and against the following pro- 
position: That a limit should be placed 
in the near future to the development of 
the departmental library system. The af- 
firmative urged that it was for the 
advantage of the departments whose inter- 
ests and relationships are widespread, 



notably of philosophy, history, political 
economy, political science, and sociology, 
that all the library resources of the uni- 
versity should be gathered in one build- 
ing and brought under one administration 
and catalog system. The convenience of 
scholars coming from a distance de- 
manded concentration also facilitated the 
practical administration of the libraries. 
As departments grew and the number of 
books increased, the departmental library 
system became unwieldy. 

In the negative the following advantages 
of the departmental system were em- 
phasized: The importance of close connec- 
tion with the classrooms, especially the 
seminar rooms. For the departments 
which have laboratories the retention of 
the libraries in connection with the labor- 
atories was indispensable. Granting the 
importance of serving the convenience of 
visiting investigators, their convenience 
must always be subordinated to that of 
the large number of students and profes- 
sors of the university. Practically all the 
valuable results of concentration could be 
secured by a catalog of all the depart- 
ments in the general library and a system 
of underground book railways and tele- 
phone communication. 

The latest summary which has come to 
my attention is one by Mr. Hicks in the 
Columbia university quarterly for March, 
1911. 

There is little that can be added to the 
arguments presented in these statements. 
Perhaps the following points in favor of 
the departmental system might be em- 
phasized: 

(1) Books in the same room with the 
reader and free access to them is a great 
inducement to study. It increases the use 
of books, makes it easier for the investi- 
gator to consult books in use by others, 
and also to consult with colleagues in re- 
gard to questions which arise during the 
investigation. The student feels more at 
home, less subject to inspection and ob- 
servation by officials. This adds to the 
pleasure which he may take in his work 
and to the feeling of personal respon- 



282 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



sibility for the collection of books with 
which he is working. 

(2) The ability of a departmental li- 
brary to make collections of minor publi- 
cations in the line of its special investiga- 
tion to an extent difficult or even impossi- 
ble for the general library may also be 
conceded. 

Against the system more emphasis 
should ba placed on the following: 

(1) As Mr. Lane points out segregation 
of books in departments tends to narrow- 
ness. While seminary methods of instruc- 
tion should lead the student to avail him- 
self of the entire resources of the univer- 
sity library, the departmental system as 
carried out in many universities tempts 
him to limit his investigations to the de- 
partmental library. The narrowing influ- 
ence of this must be obvious to those who 
have observed how various subjects and 
classes overlap and intertwine, how ma- 
terial of importance is found in unex- 
pected places, in general collections, trans- 
actions and proceedings of societies and 
institutions, government reports, and en- 
cyclopedic works, not in the departmental 
library, the loss therefore of that rein- 
forcement which each department should 
receive from all other related depart- 
ments. 

(2) The use of the departmental li- 
brary is often limited to students of a 
particular department. It becomes dif- 
ficult therefore for others to gain access. 
If admitted, they are hampered by special 
rules and arrangements unfamiliar to 
them. Books are as a rule not allowed to 
circulate and their withdrawal for use in 
connection with other related works be- 
comes difficult. 

(3) Many valuable books of reference 
which cannot well be duplicated are 
placed beyond the reach of the majority 
of students and professors. 

(4) It increases the liability to loss, 
because when there are many depart- 
mental libraries open many hours a day 
it becomes practically impossible to pro- 
vide in all of them adequate supervision 
at all times. 



(5) The growth of the departmental 
libraries beyond a convenient size and the 
incidental disadvantages of inadequate 
shelf space, disorder, lack of accommoda- 
tion for students, the relegation of less 
used books to garrets and cellars. 

6. To provide fairly complete catalogs, 
author, title, and subject, for a large li- 
brary is becoming more and more difficult 
as the collections increase in size. To 
provide these calalogs also for a number 
of departments, or to furnish copies of the 
sections likely to interest a given depart- 
ment, would require an expenditure of 
time and money quite beyond the means 
of any university, and entirely out of pro- 
portion to the advantages to be gained 
therefrom. The absence of satisfactory 
catalogs in departmental libraries will 
therefore have to be reckoned with and 
must be emphasized as one of the most 
serious disadvantages of the system. 

I realize that no argument is likely to 
change the conviction of certain profes- 
sors and departments, that the depart- 
mental system is the only one which 
merits consideration, or the view on the 
other hand of other professors and stu- 
dents, perhaps also the librarian, that a 
strong general library with small working 
collections in the departments, largely 
duplicating books in the general library, 
is in the interest of the great majority and 
offers the only reasonable solution. It 
may, nevertheless, be convenient to have 
at hand a summary of the question with 
references to the literature on the sub- 
ject, especially if governing bodies should 
be called upon to regulate the issue as has 
been the case in Italy and Prussia. 

The development of the departmental, 
problem in university libraries dates back 
to about 1870. While a great many sem- 
inar collections, especially in Germany, 
were started prior to that year, they had 
not as yet reached a size which called for 
funds, special administration, or space, to 
a degree sufficient to embarrass the gen- 
eral library and the university. 

It may have its interest to give a brief 
outline of the development of the system 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



283 



in Prussia. It should prove suggestive as 
furnishing a parallel to our own situation. 
In his ''Bine Reise durch die Grosseren 
Bibliotheken Italiens,"* Dziatzko speaks 
of the Italian government regulations of 
1885-1889 governing the relation of the de- 
partmental libraries to the general uni- 
versity library. The Italian regulations 
specified among other points the follow- 
ing: 

Departmental collections are to be con- 
sidered as part of the university library. 
The library commission of the university 
is to superintend the departmental li- 
braries through the director of the univer- 
sity library. Second copies of books 
already in the university are to be pur- 
chased only in case of the most pressing 
necessity, and periodicals are not to be 
duplicated. Books are to be transferred 
from one library to another according to 
definite agreement. Books are to be ac- 
cessioned in the university library and to 
be entered in its author catalog and 
stamped with the university library stamp. 
' The approval of book appropriations on 
the part of the ministry depends on com- 
pliance with these regulations. The li- 
brary commission had apportioned the an- 
nual book appropriations as follows: six- 
tenths to departmental libraries, labor- 
atories, clinics, collections, etc., four- 
tenths to the general library. 

Whether the Prussian ministerial regu- 
lations adopted soon after were based on 
the Italian is not known; but the similar- 
ity of the problem has undoubtedly led to 
considerable uniformity in the measures 
adopted. 

It was in 1891 that the situation in the 
Prussian universities had reached a point 
where some government intervention 
seemed called for in order to regulate the 
relations between the university libraries 
and the so-called institutsbibliotheken. 
The regulations formulated (printed in 
the Zentralblatt fur Bibliothekswesen, 
1897) specified in part as follows: De- 

_*Beitriige zur Theorie und Praxis des Buch und 
Bibliothekswesens. Sammlung Bibliothekswissenschaft- 
licher Arbeiten. 6. heft. p. 106-109. 



partmental libraries cannot dispose of 
their books; when no longer needed they 
are to be turned over to the university li- 
brary. They are reference libraries and 
no books can be loaned except by order 
of the university council, or at Berlin 
which has no council, by the ministry. All 
students of the university are admitted to 
the use of the departmental libraries. 
The university library shall make an 
author catalog of the books in the de- 
partments, one copy for the departmental 
library, the other for the union catalog in 
the general library. The university li- 
brary can loan books to the departmental 
library for a semester, provided they can 
be spared. 

While the government passed the regu- 
lations it neglected to provide sufficient 
appropriations to carry them out, the re- 
sult being that the union catalog referred 
to was begun at only two universities, 
Berlin and Bonn, and at the former lack 
of help soon caused a considerable ac- 
cumulation of arrears. The experience 
gained showed that, an indication in the 
catalog of the general library, that a 
given book can be found in a department 
is of little value. The general library has 
not on that account been able to dispense 
with the purchase of a copy, the distance 
to the departmental library and the diffi- 
culty of securing access making it neces- 
sary to duplicate. Occasionally a student 
has been referred to a departmental li- 
brary, but it has not happened frequently 
enough to warrant the extra expenditure, 
or the duplication of catalogs. It has on 
the other hand proved of great assistance 
to the departmental library, and in Bonn 
its continuance is strongly urged by the 
departments. The same holds true of 
Berlin, although instances have been re- 
corded where a department has refused 
to accept the catalog prepared by the 
general library. 

In other respects the departments have 
neglected to follow the regulations. It 
has been said, for instance, that instead 
of turning duplicates over to the univer- 
sity library certain departments have dis- 



284 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



posed of them through exchange or have 
sold them outright to book dealers. 

In his report before the Versammlung 
Deutscher Bibliothekare, 1896, Dr. Naete- 
bus gives an excellent survey of the de- 
partmental libraries of the Prussian uni- 
versities, reporting in all on 367 different 
collections. A perusal of his report and 
of the discussion which followed shows 
that the problem in Prussia is in most re- 
spects similar to our own. 

In the Zentralblatt fur Bibliotheks- 
wesen, 1909, p. 103, et seq., Dr. Erman 
criticizes the regulations of 1891 for not 
specifying or providing means for enforc- 
ing them. Incidentally hesays with refer- 
ence to the development of the departmen- 
tal libraries, that while the original plan 
had been to make the books most urgently 
needed by students in seminars and lab- 
oratories more convenient of access than 
was possible in the overworked ana 
overcrowded university libraries, var- 
ious circumstances had cooperated to- 
wards gradually making these collections 
more comprehensive than they were in- 
tended to be, to include in fact almost all 
the literature in a given field or in related 
and overlapping fields of knowledge, thus 
making the departmental libraries quite 
independent of the university library. 
While the original plan had seemed to 
furnish welcome relief to the university 
libraries, its recent extension had threat- 
ened seriously to cripple them. 

It was perhaps the lack of funds on the 
part of the university libraries which had 
caused the difficulty in the first place. The 
departments finding that certain expen- 
sive books could not be obtained through 
the university library began to purchase 
them for their own use. As the funds of 
the departments were too small to permit 
of extensive purchases, every effort was 
made to increase them by special and ex- 
tra appropriations, this being so much the 
easier as the directors of the departments 
were frequently the most influential and 
powerful men in the faculties, and funds 
which otherwise would have fallen to the 
university library were thus diverted to 



the departments, extending the size and 
scope of their working collections far be- 
yond the bounds originally intended. 

Dr. Erman states that many professors 
have according to his own experience 
sought to secure practically all new acces- 
sions of value for the departmental li- 
brary, leaving for the general library only 
the books seldom or never asked for. To 
discontinue the university library alto- 
gether and divide its collections among 
the departments would seem a far simpler 
and more logical plan, and there should 
be no hesitation in considering its realiza- 
tion provided there seemed any hope that 
forty departmental libraries would replace 
the university library and perform its 
functions in a satisfactory manner. Un- 
fortunately, such a solution seems out of 
the question. It would prove disastrous 
to the university in various ways. There 
would be lost to it the one department 
alike common to all members of the 
faculty and to the student body. Very few 
work in so narrow a field that they would 
be served by consulting only one of the 
departmental libraries. The younger in- 
structors and students who might not 
have any department, would be at a great 
disadvantage. If the university libraries 
were ever discontinued Dr. Erman thinks 
that there would soon arise an irresistible 
demand for their restoration. He also 
thinks that the increase in the adminis- 
trative expense resulting from a depart- 
mental system would be so great as to be 
practically prohibitive. 

In Germany as with us, the desirability 
of some modus vivendi by which univer- 
sity libraries and the departments could 
be made to work in harmony and mutually 
assist one another, has repeatedly been 
emphasized. As it is, the professor to 
whom a general library was once a vital 
question, but who has now at hand a well 
equipped departmental collection, is likely 
to lose all interest in the former and de- 
vote himself entirely to the development 
of the latter. Here in America the sepa- 
ration may not as yet have reached the 
point where, as in a case cited by Dr. Er- 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



285 



man, a professor on being elected to the 
library council said to him that this was 
the first intimation he had had of the ex- 
istence of a university library. At the 
same time, we have here and there evi- 
dence of a strong drift in this direction, 
particularly so in universities where the 
departmental system has been most fully 
developed. 

Another eminent German librarian who 
touches on this problem is Dr. Milkau. In 
Kultur der Gegenwart, Abt. 1, p. 579, he 
states that in certain universities the total 
appropriation of all departmental libraries 
sometimes equals or even exceeds that of 
the general library. Originally intended 
as collections of reference books to be 
used in connection with instruction, they 
have gradually grown to considerable 
size, so that their supervision and regula- 
tion is year by year becoming more diffi- 
cult. Dr. Milkau would not abolish the 
departmental libraries; on the contrary he 
freely grants their great value and superi- 
ority in some respects to the university 
library. There must, however, be co- 
operation between the departmental li- 
braries one with another, and with the 
university library. .Purchase of sets and 
expensive books must not be decided upon 
regardless of what is already in the uni- 
versity. Each department must limit it- 
self strictly to its own particular field and 
omit all works not urgently needed, or of 
some permanent value. He offers as a 
remedy for the problem the following: To 
limit the size of the departmental collec- 
tion, setting a maximum number of 
volumes not to be exceeded, a cure which 
seems a little too radical to find favor 
with all parties concerned. 

In the discussion on the report of Dr. 
Naetebus referred to above, Dr. Gerhard, 
of Halle, insisted that the only way to se- 
cure relief would be through radical meas- 
ures on the part of the government, viz., 
to cut down the departmental appropria- 
tions to a point where they would be 
forced to restrict purchases to the books 
most urgently needed for use in connec- 
tion with instruction, the appropriations 



thus saved to be turned over to the uni- 
versity library. Dr. Roth, of Halle, com- 
plained of the lack of system in the 
development of the departmental libraries 
due to the frequent change of directors. 
He, however, considered the power of de- 
partments to secure books through gift 
and exchange an important and valuable 
factor, one not to be underestimated. Dr. 
Erman, Breslau, agreed with Dr. Gerhard 
and stated that there must be a readjust- 
ment of the funds appropriated for the 
purchase of books for the university and 
departmental libraries. There could be 
no complaint with the development of 
large and comprehensive collections in 
the departments, if at the same time the 
university libraries received enough to se- 
cure at least a small part of the books 
needed to keep their collections up to 
date. There would never have been so 
large a development of the departmental 
libraries if the university libraries had 
been in a position to answer the demands 
made on them. As it is, when an ex- 
pensive book is wanted and the university 
library has not the funds to secure it, 
there immediately appear from two to 
three copies in as many departmental li- 
braries, while there is no copy in the 
university library. The situation which 
results is intolerable. If in Breslau in- 
stead of 31,000 marks a year for the 
university library and 31,000 for the de- 
partmental libraries, the former had 40,- 
000 and the latter 20,000, it would mean 
an immense improvement for all con- 
cerned. 

Dr. Geiger, Tubingen, and Dr. Frank- 
furter of Vienna, reported that essentially 
the same or even a worse state of affairs 
exists in Wurtemburg and in Austria. 

The radical measures recommended by 
Dr. Gerhard and others were not approved 
by Dr. Naetebus, especially on account of 
the ability of departmental libraries to 
secure gifts and exchanges not within the 
reach of the university library. 

Since this discussion took place I under- 
stand that the book funds of the Prussian 
university libraries have been materially 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



increased, thus somewhat relieving the 
situation. After this brief survey of the 
conditions existing in certain European 
universities it may be of interest to turn 
to one of the two American universities in 
which the building up of departmental 
collections has preceded the development 
of a strong general library. 

Departmental Libraries at the University 
of Chicago 

The extraordinary development of the 
departmental library system at the Uni- 
versity of Chicago is due largely to a num- 
ber of causes and conditions, many of 
them accidental and peculiar to the uni- 
versity. The main reason was probably 
the lack of a general library worthy of 
the name; also the fact that some of the 
strongest men on the faculty favored the 
departmental system. 

In the president's report (Decennial 
Publications, first series, 1903, vol. 1, 
p. 266-290) is found an "Outline history of 
the legislation of university bodies on the 
question of departmental libraries and 
their relation to the general library." The 
first sentence reads: "The system of de- 
partmental libraries for research work, 
supplementing the general library of the 
university, dates from the organization of 
the university itself." This would indi- 
cate that the departmental libraries were 
considered supplementary to the general 
library. However this may have been at 
the outset, later developments show that 
the general library has been so entirely 
outstripped and overshadowed by the de- 
partmental collections that in 1910, at any 
rate, when the writer had his first oppor- 
tunity to observe conditions at close hand, 
the general library was found to consist 
of some 75,000 volumes of odds and ends, a 
mere conglomerate which would have 
been of little service, except for the fact 
that it was the only collection on the 
campus from which books could be drawn 
somewhat freely and to which under- 
graduates had general access. Appropria- 
tions for books amounted to $25,265, of 
which the general library had only $1550; 
the departmental libraries, $23,715. (See 



above, Dr. Gerhart's complaint about the 
situation at Halle, 31,000 marks for the 
general library, 31,000 for the departments). 

While the original plan had no doubt 
intended that departments should abstain 
from ordering books of interest to several 
departments, that books of general inter- 
est therefore should be purchased only by 
the general library, the latter was unfor- 
tunately prevented by lack of funds and 
equipment from meeting these demands, 
the inevitable result being that the depart- 
ments soon ceased to look to the general 
library and ordered for their own use any 
book to which a professor might have 
occasion to refer in his courses, regard- 
less of whether it was in the general, li- 
brary or .in another departmental library. 
Whether in placing orders he was in- 
truding on the domains of a related 
department may or may not have been 
considered. At any rate books on exactly 
the same subject are now found in a num- 
ber of departmental libraries, editions of 
the same book are separated and there 
is duplication of copies to an extent 
hitherto unheard of, as far as I know, in 
any university library. 

That the president and faculty have 
been aware of the situation and have tried 
to find a solution, of that there is evidence 
enough. 

Mr. Bishop in his articles in the Library 
journal, vol. 28, has given a survey of 
the discussion which took place at the 
University of Chicago in 1898-1901. A full 
report is found in the Decennial Publica- 
tions, first series vol. 1 quoted above, and 
in the University record vol. 5. It has 
been referred to also by Mr. Henry E. 
Bliss in his recent article in the Educa- 
tional review, April 1912. 

The solution attempted, perhaps the 
only one possible at the time, consisted in 
a grouping of related departmental collec- 
tions. The following group libraries were 
formally approved by the library board in 
1899: Classical, Modern Languages, and 
Historical. In 1900 the university senate 
approved the general plan that all de- 
partments having laboratories should re- 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



287 



tain their libraries in the same building 
with the laboratory, those not having lab- 
oratories should as a rule be transferred 
to the general library building when one 
was erected. I have already referred to 
the briefs presented by Dr. Burton and Dr. 
Judson in October, 1900, on the proposi- 
tion that a limit should be put in the near 
future to the development of the depart- 
mental library system. The University 
Congress after discussing them adopted 
two resolutions: (1) That it is the judg- 
ment of this body that the departmental 
library system should be retained. (2) 
That a committee of three for each of 
the several groups of departments rec- 
ognized by the Board of libraries, labor- 
atories and museums be appointed, the 
committee to consider and to recommend, 
respecting the group represented, what is 
best for it and the university in general. 
The report of this committee appeared in 
the University record Nov. 9 and 16, 1900. 
These reports from the different groups 
and departments are of interest in show- 
ing the sentiment in the various depart- 
ments of the teaching body. They were 
briefly as follows: Of the Classical De- 
partment five favored the departmental 
system, two a general library. The 
Modern Language group was unanimous 
in favor of centralization. The Haskell 
group (Divinity School, Semitics, and 
Comparative Religion) proposed the main- 
tenance of branch libraries of books likely 
to be in constant use by students in con- 
nection with the ordinary class work to 
be kept in the lecture hall building, that 
no books should be permanently assigned 
to these branch libraries of which there 
was not another copy in the general li- 
brary. The Historical group held to the 
departmental library system, but was not 
so particular about the control of the li- 
braries. Like the Divinity School, it pre- 
ferred locating the departmental collec- 
tion in one building with the general li- 
brary and related departmental libraries. 
The Philosophical group recognized the 
great value of location of related depart- 
ments in the same building, but held 



strongly to departmental control of the / 
library and free access of students to 
books in which they are interested. If 
these two things could be granted, they 
would advocate a single building for all 
departments. The Mathematical group 
was con-committal, it emphasized however 
that Astronomy and Mathematics must 
be kept together and that books in these 
libraries are used almost exclusively by 
students of the two departments named.* 
The Biology group recommended that 
upon erection of a suitable library build- 
ing a separate room be assigned to the 
Biology library. That arrangements be 
made for telephone communication and 
speedy transfer of books to laboratories, 
that special books and periodicals needed 
by the department for constant use be 
kept in each laboratory building as a 
branch of the departmental library, that 
books in such branch libraries be rend- 
ered easily accessible at all hours, and 
that provision for adequate supervision of 
these branch libraries be considered an in- 
dispensable preliminary to their establish- 
ment. The Chemical group wished the 
Chemical library to be retained in Kent 
Chemical Laboratory, but preferred to see 
the proceedings of academies and journals 
of general scientific interest kept in the 
general library, also that a reference shelf 
containing books of interest to those who 
are taking undergraduate work in chem- 
istry be maintained in the general reading 
room of the general library, and that spe- 
cial books needed for consultation in con- 
nection with laboratory work be kept in 
the laboratory. Physics considered the 
departmental library as indispensable to 
the department. The Geology group re- 
ported most unqualifiedly in favor of de- 
partmental or group libraries that should 
embrace essentially all the literature per- 
taining to the group so far as practical 
considerations would permit. The full 
statement of this group deserves to be 
read. It is a most emphatic defense of the 
departmental system. The statement of 

*NOTE Later on Mathematics decided that their 
library must be kept in the Mathematical building. 



288 



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the Modern Language group and of Pro- 
fessor Hendrickson of the Classical group 
contain the strongest statements on the 
other side of the question. 

On November 4, 1900, these reports were 
referred by the library board to a com- 
mittee of three, one of whom was the 
Associate Librarian, Mrs. Dixson. The 
committee reported on March 16, 1901 
(see University record March 22, 1901) in 
favor of maintaining the departmental 
system, but recommended the centraliza- 
tion as far as possible at one point in a 
central building of the administration of 
the libraries, and of the books of the uni- 
versity not in use in the departments. 
After much discussion of the report and 
a later modification of it, it was decided 
to refer the matter to a commission con- 
sisting of professors and trustees ap- 
pointed for the purpose of making a 
thorough study of the entire problem. 
The outcome of the work of this commis- 
sion was a decision to place in buildings 
connecting with the general library the 
following departmental or group libraries: 
Philosophy, History and Social Sciences, 
Classics, Modern Languages, Oriental 
Languages, the Divinity School, the Law 
School. That further, the departmental 
libraries of Chemistry, Physics, Geology, 
and the Biological sciences, be retained in 
the department buildings of these depart- 
ments, it being understood that these de- 
partments may place such books as they 
desire in the general library building. The 
library of Mathematics and Astronomy 
should be associated with the library of 
Physics. 

Time will not permit any detailed con- 
sideration of the report of the commission. 
It was approved by the Congregation, 
August 28th, 1902, and adopted by the 
Board of trustees September 12th of the 
same year. It is the plan laid down in 
this report that has in the main been fol- 
lowed in the location and erection of the 
Harper Memorial library, dedicated on 
June 11, 1912, and which it is also proposed 
to follow in the separate buildings to be 
provided for the Historical Group, Philoso- 



phy, Modern Languages and Classics. 
When completed this plan will bring the 
Humanities, with the exception of Geogra- 
phy into buildings adjoining the General 
Library, connected with it or with one an- 
other by bridges. 

Since the adoption of the report nearly 
ten years have elapsed during which there 
has been some progress in the direction 
of centralization, at any rate of manage- 
ment and control of libraries. A some- 
what uniform system of rules and regula- 
tions was adopted in 1911. In the same 
year a common system of catalogs and 
classification was finally approved. 
The catalogs will include: 

{!)" A dictionary catalog for the pub- 
lic in the general library, dupli- 
cated in part in the catalog 
department (Official catalog). 

(2) Classed catalog for the public in 
the general library, duplicated in 
part in the catalog department 
(Shelf-list on cards). 

(3) Author catalog and shelf-list on 
cards for the departmental li- 
braries located in buildings not 
connecting with the general 
library. 

(4) Author catalog only for depart- 
mental libraries located in the 
general library, or in buildings 
connecting with it. 

N. B. Catalogs in the departmental li- 
braries will not according to the present 
plan include analyticals or other added en- 
tries which may be provided in the dic- 
tionary and classed catalogs of the general 
library. 

Even with the limitations here indicated 
the catalog plan as outlined may seem a 
little ambitious and likely to prove ex- 
pensive and difficult to maintain. In view 
of the present situation, as well as the 
outlook for the future, even assuming that 
departments which in 1900 favored a de- 
partmental system should be indisposed to 
change their attitude, it seemed neverthe- 
less the safest plan to adopt. The gen- 
eral library aims to build up a strong cen- 
tral reference collection. This collection 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



289 



should be classified and cataloged so as to 
yield the best possible results. Merged 
with the catalog of the general library 
will be one covering all the departmental 
libraries. It would, of course, be desir- 
able to provide every departmental library 
with as exhaustive a catalog as the one 
proposed for the general library. The 
expense however, even in this day of 
printed cards would, I fear, be practically 
prohibitive. Moreover, it is doubtful if 
many of the departments would find the 
expected relief in an elaborate author and 
subject catalog of their collections as they 
stand. This last statement may seem to 
require some further substantiation, and 
I shall in the following endeavor to pres- 
ent the necessary proofs and illustrations. 
It is no doubt true that heads of de- 
partments and their associates frequently 
take a personal pride in their departmental 
library and feel a certain responsibility 
for its growth and development. I have 
known cases where a department would 
resent any suggestion that a part of 
its books might to good advantage be 
transferred to the general library or to 
another department in exchange for ma- 
terial in these libraries bearing more di- 
rectly on the special line of study which 
the department is supposed to represent. 
The fact remains, nevertheless, that these 
libraries frequently show in their develop- 
ment a lack of that strong coordinating 
influence so essential to systematic growth. 
A detailed examination of their collections 
soon reveals the fact that books have been 
ordered principally with reference to their 
use in connection with courses given in 
a department, no one apparently ques- 
tioning the right of one department to 
poach on the premises of another or on 
that of the general library. There has re- 
sulted, therefore, a situation which can- 
not be remedied by any catalog, no matter 
how exhaustive or how perfect. This 
leads me to go a step further and to ven- 
ture the assertion that the lack of a strong 
central library can not be compensated by 
merely bringing together related depart- 
mental libraries into the same or adjoin- 



ing buildings. It is even doubtful if it 
would be worth while to prepare an ex- 
haustive union catalog of such libraries 
without considerable migration of books 
from one department to another. 

A few illustrations taken at random from 
the books which have come under my ob- 
servation during the past month or two 
in connection with the recataloging, will, 
I think, bear me out in this statement. 

General works on science are in a num- 
ber of libraries, mainly in Geology, Biol- 
ogy, and the general library, but also in 
a number of other departmental libraries. 

The History library includes many books 
which deal solely with Education, Medi- 
cine, Music, Art, Religion, Technology, and 
other subjects, over-lapping, therefore, 
practically with all other departments. 
The main duplication, however, seems to 
be in Church History with the Divinity 
library, in History and Topography with 
Geography, in Ancient History with Class- 
ics and in Education and other subjects 
with the general library. 

The Modern Language library duplicates 
chiefly material in the libraries of History 
and Geography, besides of course the gen- 
eral library. It is, however, the one de- 
partment which strongly favors consoli- 
dation of books on the same subject, and 
if the other departments in or connect- 
ing with the general library will agree to 
such consolidation, its duplication, except 
with Geography and the Classical Depart- 
ment, should cease after the transfer of 
its books to the general library building. 
The fact that this library has on its 
shelves works like Alumni Oxoniensis, 
Catalogue of the Advocates Library, 
"Ersch and Gruber," La Grande Encyclo- 
pedic, Dante's Dictlonnaire biographique 
et bibliographique des hommes les plus re- 
marquables, Haebler's Typographia Iber- 
ica, etc., will therefore prove an advantage. 

The Classical library presents one of the 
most vexing problems of our library situa- 
tion, one not solved by a most liberal du- 
plication. Its collections overlap mainly 
with those of History, Sociology, Science, 
Political Science, Economics, Literature, 



290 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Divinity, and the general library. I am 
not now referring to texts and transla- 
tions of classical authors, but to modern 
books on ancient history, government, ad- 
ministration, and the like. What tends 
to aggrevate the situation is the fact that 
this library possesses also the only set 
on the campus of certain important gen- 
eral, literary and bibliographical period- 
icals, e.g., Revue critique. Although this 
department is in the near future to oc- 
cupy a building connecting with the gen- 
eral library, it has always taken a strong 
stand against any merging of its collec- 
tions with those of other libraries. There 
is, therefore in this case little hope of 
relief through consolidation. 

Books on Education have been a source 
of particular trouble inasmuch as they 
have been purchased extensively by a 
number of departmental libraries. Me- 
diaeval literature and the history of the 
middle ages is again a field which has been 
developed by the Classical library, Modern 
Languages, History and the general li- 
brary. General books on Literature may 
be found in Philosophy, History, Modern 
Languages, and the general library, and 
likely also in the Classical department. 
Books on Evolution treating the question 
strictly from the biological standpoint may 
be in Philosophy and History, but not in 
Biology. Whether the reverse holds true, 
I have not as yet been able to verify by 
an actual examination of the Biology li- 
brary. Naturally books on Experimental 
and Physiological Psychology may be found 
in Philosophy, Psychology, and also in the 
Biology library. 

Books on Metallurgy while chiefly in 
Geology are also represented in the li- 
brary of Commerce and Administration. 
This holds true also of Engineering, Shop 
Management, and Agriculture. The latter 
subject is freely represented also in Bot- 
any, Economics, and in the general library. 

Geography, which is connected with the 
departmental library of Geology in a build- 
Ing not to connect with the general li- 
brary, buys extensively in History, also 
in Economics, Natural conservation of re- 



sources, Soils, Economics, Botany, Plant 
Industries, etc, etc. 

Meteorology is represented in Geology, 
in Physics, Astronomy, and in the general 
library. Books on Water Supply, Irriga- 
tion and the like are in Geology and Geog- 
raphy, Chemistry, Economics, and the gen- 
eral library. Books on Fisheries, Whal- 
ing, and related subjects may be found in 
Geography, Biology, and the general li- 
brary. Commerce is largely represented 
in Geography, Economics, the general li- 
brary, Commerce and Administration, and 
the Classical library. Canals, Waterways, 
and Railroads, are mainly in Geography 
and Economics, but also in the general 
library. Mining is in "Geography and Geol- 
ogy, and also in Economics. Marine Biol- 
ogy will be found in Geography and Geol- 
ogy as well as in Biology. Geology has a 
considerable number of books on Physics 
and Chemistry. Books on various indus- 
tries are found in Economics, in Geology, 
and in the general library. Commercial 
Geography is somewhat evenly divided be- 
tween Geography and Commerce and Ad- 
ministration. 

Another great difficulty is the separa- 
tion of volumes of the same work. For in- 
stance, there is in no library a complete 
set of the Statesman's Year Book or the 
Almanach de Gotha, but partial sets in 
at least two or three libraries. This holds 
true also of several bibliographical period- 
icals and annuals, e.g., Le Soudier's An- 
nuaire de la Librarie francaise. 

The instances here cited consider only 
the duplicating and overlapping of inde- 
pendent books or monographs treating the 
same subject, or the same phase of a sub- 
ject; it does not take note of the duplica- 
tion common to all libraries because of 
the inclusion in encyclopedias, general pe- 
riodicals, and other comprehensive works, 
of material on a special subject; neither 
does it refer to the duplication which may 
be proper in such subjects as Railroads, 
Waterways, etc., where one department 
takes up the technical and another the 
economic phase of a subject. 

It would be possible to go on citing 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



291 



hundreds of illustrations similar to the 
above, but time will not permit. When 
the work which practically took its begin- 
ning in October, 1911, viz., reclassification 
and recataloging of the libraries, has been 
completed I dare say that anyone con- 
nected with the work who may have had 
time to make notes by the way, would be 
in a position to furnish valuable informa- 
tion as regards the practical workings of 
a departmental system similar to the one 
which has grown up at the University of 
Chicago. 

I have stated that the bringing together 
of related departmental libraries under one 
roof and the thorough cataloging of all 
the books on the campus in the manner 
indicated above, will not furnish a satis- 
factory solution of our problems. This I 
believe can only come about through some 
exchange of books between departmental 
libraries which shall bring together, not 
necessarily all books on the same subject, 
but at any rate the bulk of the material 
which deals with a special phase of a sub- 
ject, and the various volumes of a period- 
ical, annual, or similar work which I trust 
all are agreed should stand together. 

It resolves itself then into a question 
of reclassification or rather relocation of 
a part of the book resources of the uni- 
versity, and a partial surrender of the 
right on the part of the departments to 
determine absolutely the physical location 
of every book purchased on their recom- 
mendation. Personally, I feel rather hope- 
ful that when the cataloging of a number 
of libraries has been completed and their 
resources brought together in a common 
catalog, the members of the various de- 
partments will see for themselves the ad- 
vantage to all concerned of a partial re- 
distribution. 

In a small way the general library has 
inaugurated such redistribution by indirect 
purchase of general bibliographies and re- 
ference works from the departmental li- 
braries, a sum equal to the cost of the 
work at the time of original purchase be- 
ing transferred from the book apppropri- 
ation of the general library to that of the 



department. Some of the departments 
have been most willing to agree to such 
transfers. If it can be put into effect in 
the libraries which are now to be brought 
under the same roof, i.e., the Humanities 
with the exception of Classics and Geog- 
raphy, it will go far toward the establish- 
ment of what it is hoped may prove a 
fairly efficient central library. The cen- 
tralization of catalogs and reference books 
alone would in time make it desirable for 
the departments more and more to con- 
sult the general library. A real consoli- 
dation of the resources of the Historical 
Group, Modern Languages and Literatures, 
Religion and Theology with the present 
general library will, it is hoped, prove to 
be even more effective. 

I have already stated that Geography 
would remain outside of this consolidation 
and probably also the Classical depart- 
ment, in spite of the fact that the latter 
is soon to occupy a building connecting 
with the general library. It is hoped that 
in both cases arrangements can in time 
be devised which, while satisfactory to the 
departments, shall prove effective in 
checking the almost unrestricted duplica- 
tion of material in other libraries which 
now obtains. 

It is true that ten years ago other de- 
partments of the Humanities also held that 
while related libraries might to good ad- 
vantage be brought under one roof, there 
should be no merging of their possessions. 
Considering, however, the lack of coordi- 
nation in the development of the same li- 
braries, the overlapping and intertwining 
of ( their respective fields, it is difficult to 
believe that this view can prevail for any 
length of time. 

I have endeavored in the above notes 
to show that the departmental problem is 
practically the same in various countries. 
In Italy, Germany, and Austria as well as 
in America the development of depart- 
mental collections to a point where they 
have become a perplexing and trouble- 
some problem to government and univer- 
sity authorities is due primarily to the 
inability of the general university library 



292 



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to provide books and conveniences desired 
by the departments. Neither a union cat- 
alog nor the most exhaustive duplication 
of books, service, and equipment has so 
far served to offset the weakening of the 
central library which has been an inevit- 
able result of the rapid growth of depart- 
mental collections. 

Possibly Mr. L. N. Wilson of Clark uni- 
versity may have pointed out a partial 
solution to some of our perplexities. He 
states that at Clark university not only 
is the drafting of the classification sche- 
dules attended to by the professors, but 
also the actual classification of the books. 
Where the faculty is willing to undertake 
these duties the librarian is naturally re- 
lieved of a great and difficult responsi- 
bility. While the plan has evidently 
worked out in a satisfactory manner at 
Clark, it would seem a difficult or even 
impossible expedient for certain other uni- 
versities, particularly the largest ones. 
There would be difficulty in securing the 
necessary volunteer service. Then the li- 
brarian would no doubt have to exercise 
infinite tact in his efforts to coordinate 
and harmonize the work of so many vol- 
unteer classifiers. That some coordinating 
influence would he required we may take 
for granted. Personally, I see little relief 
in the direction here indicated. As for 
the University of Chicago, I imagine that 
we are, in common with most university 
libraries destined to have the depart- 
mental problem with us in some form or 
other as long as there are collections of 
books to be administered in connection 
with departments and courses of instruc- 
tion. We shall watch with great interest 
the development of the plans of sister uni- 
versities, a number of which are said to 
contemplate the strengthening and exten- 
sion of at least a part of their depart- 
mental collections. 

I may say in conclusion that judging by 
observations at Chicago I should be dis- 
posed to agree entirely with Dr. Gerhard 
of Halle, and others of our German col- 
leagues, when they state that there can 
be no objection to the building up of strong 



departmental libraries, provided this can 
be achieved without crippling the general 
library. But where the departmental libra- 
ries are developed at the expense of the 
general library, and where willingness to co- 
operate, or to observe the most necessary 
restrictions as regards the fields to be cov- 
ered is lacking, there the interest of the 
great majority both of faculty and stu- 
dents are made to suffer for the conven- 
ience of the few, a convience which is, 
besides, in many cases only imaginary, 
and based on a lack of knowledge and ap- 
preciation of the possibilities of a general 
library, and no doubt also of the limita- 
tions of departmental libraries. As pre- 
viously stated, the general library is the 
one department common to the whole uni- 
versity, the department which should have 
no ax to grind, and which under normal 
conditions might, therefore, be trusted to 
preserve an impartial attitude and to safe- 
guard the interests of all departments 
alike without fear or favor. 

In closing this paper it is difficult to 
refrain from expressing the opinion that 
whatever the policy adopted with refer- 
ence to its library system, a university 
owes it to its constituency to see that a 
strong and well balanced general library 
constitutes an integral part of the scheme. 
The establishment of the latter should, 
when possible, take precedence over that 
of large departmental collections. When 
it becomes necessary to organize the lat- 
ter, they should be considered distinctly 
a part of the general library and be placed 
under its control. A partial or nominal 
control on the part of the general library 
is not likely to prove effective or to furn- 
ish the best possible service for the great- 
est possible number. 

Dr. W. K. JEWETT then presented a 
paper on 

THE PROPORTION OF UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY INCOME WHICH 

SHOULD BE SPENT ON 

ADMINISTRATION 

The college librarian, like every other 
department head in the institution, is 



COLLEGE AND REFERENCE SECTION 



293 



anxious to spend as much as possible for 
the development of his department and is 
consequently seeking to get his appropria- 
tion increased as often as possible. It is 
usually of assistance to him in securing 
the favorable attention of the authorities 
to be able to show that the prevailing 
tendency among institutions of similar 
rank is to do that which he requests in 
his own case. Sometimes the librarian 
is asking more money for books, some- 
times more money for administration and 
frequently more money for everything. 
While preparing an estimate for the au- 
thorities of our own institution, I recently 
collected data from 25 representative 
college and university libraries in differ- 
ent parts of the country and was inter- 
ested to compare the data and draw what 
conclusions I could from the examination 
and from my own knowledge of the stand- 
ard of accomplishment in the respective 
institutions. All but one of these libraries 
have over 60,000 volumes. I was able to 
separate them into three groups with 
reference to their book expenditures; 
those spending $5,000 a year or less, those 
spending between $5,000 and $20,000, and 
those spending $20,000 or more. 

Six of the 25 libraries were in the first 
group, spending not to exceed $5,000. In 
all of these the expenditure for library 
administration exceeded that for books, 
in some cases by more than 100%. By 
amount spent for library administration 
I mean the amount spent for salaries and 
wages of persons employed in library 
work. In other words I mean to include 
student assistants and to exclude janitors. 

Twelve of the 25 libraries were in the 
second group, spending more than $5,000 
and less than $20,000 for books. Ten of 
these spent less for administration than 
for books, one spent more and the remain- 
ing library spent the same for adminis- 
tration as for books. 

Two libraries in the group receive gifts 
of considerable sums each year for the 
purchase of books, the buying of which is 
done through the library so that for all 
purposes of comparison it is as though 
their book funds were increased just so 



much. I have regarded the gift money 
as equivalent to part of the book fund, 
although the actual payment is made by 
the giver without its passing through the 
hands of the college treasurer. Aside 
from these two, only one library in the 
second group receives any great number 
of volumes by gift. The average number 
of volumes received by gift is about one- 
third of the number received by purchase. 
The proportion of income used for salaries 
ranges from 35% to 45% leaving out the 
two libraries above mentioned which 
spent 50% and 52% for salaries. 

Seven libraries made up the third 
group composed of those spending $20,000 
or more for books. I omitted to obtain 
any figures from Harvard, Yale or Chicago 
as they are known to be making extraor- 
dinary expenditures at present in reorgan- 
izing or recataloging. Of the seven, two 
spent less for salaries than for books, two 
spent the same for each and two spent 
more for salaries than for books. The 
seventh library like two of those in the 
preceding group has considerable sums 
placed at its disposal each year for book 
buying but the disbursement is made by 
the donor and not by the university treas- 
urer so that exact figures for calculating 
percentages are not available in its case. 
The proportion of income employed for 
salaries by the other six ranges from 40% 
to 60%. 

From this brief comparison of data it 
is possible to draw the conclusion that 
with the smaller libraries a certain mini- 
mum of administration cost is necessary 
in order to operate the library at all and 
that this does not necessarily increase 
with the growth of the book fund. Where 
the book fund is less than $5,000, it is no 
reflection on the capacity of the librarian 
if his salary expense exceeds that amount 
although it is evidently his duty to devote 
his principal efforts to securing increased 
book appropriations. After the book fund 
has passed the $5,000 mark, the librarian 
should be prepared to give most excellent 
reasons for letting his salary roll exceed 
or even equal the book fund in case his 
governing board should begin to make 



294 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



comparison with the figures of other in- 
stitutions. If his library is in what I have 
called the second group and his salary 
expense exceeds 45% of the total income, 
he ought to stand ready to show cause at 
short notice for some one is likely to 
attract the attention of the president to 
the fact any day. 

If on the other hand his salary roll 
represents less than 45% of total income, 
the librarian may well resist the sugges- 
tions of professors to call for more book 
money and instead devote his annual ap- 
peals to securing additional needed as- 
sistance and more adequate compensation 
for the members of his present staff. 

With the libraries of the great univer- 
sities the case is different. An institution 
that can spend upwards of $20,000 a year 
for books has more complex needs and 
more varied activities than the smaller 
colleges and universities. The quality of 
service demanded of the library is higher 
and much less is forgiven by the ambi- 
tious holders of highly paid chairs. The 
pressure of research work demands 
greater facilities for the prompt purchase 
and cataloging of "rush" books. More 
accomplished reference librarians must 
be had to meet the needs of clients in a 
great institution with a large number of 
graduate students. Catalogers of special 
qualifications must be provided to handle 
the books in oriental and other languages 
not commonly encountered in the ordi- 
nary college library. In the work of a 
large cataloging department there is more 
opportunity for lack of uniformity to 
creep in, and the need of accuracy in an 
enormous catalog is more vital than in a 
small one. Therefore the work of the 
revisers has to be more painstaking and 
time consuming than in a smaller collec- 
tion where everything is simpler. Reclas- 
sification of whole sections of books 
whose classification is now out of date, 
must be undertaken. Bibliographies have 
to be compiled for professors. The prep- 
aration of publications, like the catalog 
of a special collection, is called for while 
the smaller library may never print any- 
thing more extensive than a list of its 



Poole sets. The duties of the shelf de- 
partment in a great library are more com- 
plicated than many persons dream of and 
in all the departments fuller and more 
accurate records are needed. More ex- 
tended routine in the order department 
is required in order to prevent uninten- 
tional duplication. Messenger service for 
the delivery of books in response to tele- 
phone calls from other buildings may be 
furnished. The maintenance of an effi- 
cient exchange bureau is needed in order 
to conduct the exchange of university 
publications with the innumerable minor 
learned societies all over the world. 
These publications are often called for in 
the great universities, although one could 
not reasonably expect to find them in the 
lesser institutions. 

In fact for many reasons the proportion 
of income required for administration in 
libraries of the first rank increases with 
the size of the collection itself. It is a fair 
inference therefore that a university li- 
brary with a book fund of more than 
$20,000 a year is justified in maintaining 
a pay roll in excess of that sum without 
fear of criticism. 

The committee on nominations, report- 
ing through Dr. W. K. Jewett, chairman, 
recommended that the by-laws of the 
Section be so amended that, instead of 
electing a chairman and a secretary each 
year as heretofore, a committee on ar- 
rangements consisting of three members 
be elected, the one first named by the 
committee this year to serve for one year, 
the second to serve two years, and the 
third to serve three years; one member 
to retire each year hereafter and his suc- 
cessor to be then elected for a three year 
term. 

On motion the recommendation was 
approved unanimously. 

The committee then recommended that 
the following persons be elected as the 
committee on arrangements: Mr. Andrew 
Keogh, Mr. N. L. Goodrich, and Miss 
Sarah B. Askew. On motion the recom- 
mendation was adopted and the three 
declared elected. The session then ad- 
journed. 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING SECTION 



The meeting of the section was held at 
the Chateau Laurier, Tuesday morning, 
July 2. Mr. M. S. Dudgeon, chairman of 
the section, presided. 

Mr. FRANK K. WALTER gave an ac- 
count of the new quarters and resources 
of the New York state library school. 

Mr. Walter said that the new quarters 
in the new State Education building 
would probably be ready by October first 
of the present year, and would provide 
the most spacious rooms belonging to any 
library school. The present temporary 
quarters, however, are comfortable and 
fairly commodious. A good working col- 
lection of reference books and trade and 
subject bibliographies has already re- 
placed that destroyed by fire. When 
present orders have been filled the new 
collection will be better than the old. 

The collection of illustrative material, 
thanks to the untiring industry of Miss 
Florence Woodworth, is growing by leaps 
and bounds. About 4,000 administrative 
blanks and forms are mounted and classi- 
fied and a large number are as yet un- 
mounted. About 1,400 pictures and plans 
of library buildings (including post-cards) 
are mounted and filed. 

The.re is an excellent collection of 
works on bookmaking, ancient and mod- 
ern, and a fair number of examples of 
printing of various periods and of beau- 
tifully bound books. About 150 mounts 
show binding material, book illustrations, 
type faces and other material illustrat- 
ing printing and binding processes. 

Mention must be made of the "Alumni 
collection" which the New York State 
Library Association is collecting for the 
school. Its aim is "to cover all books, 
pamphlets, clippings, etc., written by 
students of the school and biographical 
or professional material relating to them," 
together with portraits of the students 
and library buildings erected under their 
supervision. 



The "class work collection" numbers 
about 2,300 volumes and is intended pri- 
marily for class use, particularly in cat- 
aloging, classification and subject head- 
ings, in selection of books, and in print- 
ing and binding. 

All of this material is listed in a sep- 
arate dictionary catalog prepared ex- 
pressly for the school's use. More than 
10,000 cards are already included in this 
catalog which is growing rapidly as more 
material becomes available for use. 

The collections of the New York State 
library will be available as soon as the 
new building is ready. Including such 
documents and other volumes as can be 
temporarily shelved for use, upwards of 
200,000 volumes will probably be avail- 
able. These include an excellent set of 
United States documents, a very fair col- 
lection of state documents, many impor- 
tant foreign documents, and a good work- 
ing collection of statutes, law reports, 
legal periodicals and legal treatises. 

Mention must also be made of the 700 
annuals and serials (including reports, 
bulletins, etc.), on various phases of li- 
brary work which are currently received 
and filed and of about 500 bound English 
and American periodical sets (including 
most of those listed in the various peri- 
odical indexes) besides the numerous 
foreign periodicals, transactions, etc., cur- 
rently received. 

Miss AGNES VAN VALKENBURGH, 
instructor in cataloging at the library 
school of the New York public library, 
read a paper on 

TRAINING OR TEACHING 
It may be well at the start to explain 
the terms used, to be sure that we are 
looking at the matter in the same light. 
Teaching, in this instance, I understand 
to mean that assistants shall have had 
library school instruction, while training 
is the instruction which is given in the 



295 



296 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



library or department itself to fit the ap- 
plicant for the special work she is to do. 
When I say assistants, I also mean libra- 
rians of the smaller libraries, such posi- 
tions as the library school student has 
been called upon to fill. 

There are two points of view in look- 
ing at the question, that of the assistant 
and that of the employer. On the first 
there can be little discussion, as the same 
principles are here involved which un- 
derly all education. It is certainly better 
for any person to have a view of the 
whole field rather than of one small part 
of it. I was talking to the head cataloger 
of a large department the other day, and 
she said that one of her main troubles 
was in getting the assistant who has been 
given a certain part of the work to do, to 
see that any other parts are necessary 
or important. If the curriculum of our 
library schools does not give our students 
this broader view, we are not living up to 
our opportunities. 

No library school, or any other school, 
for that matter, turns out a finished prod- 
uct. I cannot say to you that the best 
pupil in my class at the end of one or 
even two years is a first-rate cataloger. 
I can only say that I hope and think that 
she understands the principles and their 
relation to the rest of the work, and with 
experience will prove competent, having 
shown capabilities which point in this 
direction. On the other side, I have 
talked with many library people of expe- 
rience and they all say that, anxious as 
they are to give the persons under their 
care all possible instruction, they are so 
busy with the pressure of accomplishing 
so much work every day, that when they 
find a person who does one kind of work 
well, they are very apt to keep her at 
that, rather than to give her an opportu- 
nity to do all the kinds of work, for the 
sake of her education. 

I always have the greatest admiration, 
not unmixed with reverence, for those 
who can conduct the business of a large 
department and a training class at the 
same time, as either alone seems to me 



to take all the energy of an ordinary per- 
son; also the more people you have to do 
work which can be done by fewer, the 
greater the economic waste. 

From the point of view of the employer 
there is something to be said on both 
sides. Now-a-days the old plea is seldom 
heard that library school people know 
too much and have no idea that any 
method is feasible but the one they have 
been taught. I did have once a graduate 
from a so-called library school, to assist 
in my department while I was ill; after 
she had been there about a week, she an- 
nounced that she did not like the way the 
library was classified and during my brief 
absence she thought she would re-classify 
it. We had about 150,000 volumes at that 
time and more than a million cards in our 
various catalogs. Thus did ambition 
disqualify her, as we had regretfully to 
let her go, but fortunately her kind is 
rare enough to be interesting. 

The other objection to the employment 
of trained people is the question of ex- 
pense. The niece of the president of the 
board must ha've occupation and is willing 
to work for her spending money, so as an 
economical measure, it would be a good 
thing to employ her. This has two fal- 
lacies: First, someone has to pay for the 
education of every person and it is better 
from the point of efficiency to have this 
done by the employee herself rather than 
by the institution. Secondly, we should 
all be willing to pay for what we get, and 
you certainly get more for your money in 
employing the skilled person than the 
amateur. 

Miss Sutliff, after years of experience 
as a library school teacher, and with 
both apprentices and graduates, said to 
me that she thought that a person who 
was trained for a certain piece of work, 
at the end of one year, did that work bet- 
ter than the school graduate, but at the 
end of five years the second was a much 
better employee. 

There is also this to be said on both 
sides of the question. There are people 
constitutionally unfit for library work, 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING SECTION 



297 



training or no training, just as there are 
people who can never run an aeroplane 
or climb a greased pole or be a third-term 
president; they are not fitted for it, and 
all of us have had more or less experi- 
ence with these both in school and out. 
They may be excellent people; in fact, it 
is exactly this class of whom her friends 
say, "Isn't it too bad Mary never married; 
she would make such a fine wife for some 
good man." 

I have had a green girl who could never 
be taught to write a dozen catalog cards 
correctly because she had no bump of ac- 
curacy; I also had a library school grad- 
uate with the same failing, and when I 
mildly suggested that the number of cor- 
rections seemed excessive, she replied, 
"Oh yes, but, you see, I knew you were 
going to revise them, so I was not more 
careful." She also did not remain with 
me. 

There are many bright girls who will 
pick up knowledge of all parts of the 
work on their own initiative and without 
any special effort on your part, will be 
perfectly qualified to step into your place 
should necessity arise. There is one 
danger which may be mentioned here and 
that is the possible injustice done to this 
exceptional person when library boards 
refuse to consider any person except li- 
brary school graduates. During the time 
students are at school, they and the fac- 
ulty are carefully considering for which 
branch of the work they are best adapted, 
so the employer runs less risk in this re- 
spect also, than when he takes an un- 
known quantity which he hopes may fit 
some particular place. If the various li- 
brary schools are not turning out people 
with broader horizons and greater adapt- 
ability, they are not doing their full duty; 
but if the students they have taught are 
better qualified for the work, this fact 
should have due consideration in the 
selection of assistants or librarians. 

Miss JOSEPHINE A. RATHBONE, 
vice-director of the Pratt institute school 
of library science, described a projected 
normal course. 



A PROJECTED NORMAL COURSE AT 

PRATT INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF 

LIBRARY SCIENCE 

Much has intervened, but possibly some 
of you may remember that some thing 
was said on Saturday about specializa- 
tion in the library school course. Dis- 
cussion among the library school direct- 
ors present showed a consensus of 
opinion that specialization is undesirable 
in the first year of a two years' course 
and practically impossible in a one year 
course, nor did any radical plan of differ- 
entiation of function among the schools, 
other than that which has come about al- 
ready by natural causes, commend itself 
as possible at present at least. 

The only practicable form of specializa- 
tion therefore seems to be along the line 
of advanced courses for those who have 
acquired the fundamentals of technique 
and who have had sufficient experience to 
determine clearly the direction in which 
their aptitudes lie. Such a course we are 
making toward at Pratt Institute and it 
is of our plans and aims for this normal 
course in library training that I have been 
asked to speak today. 

The inception of the course came about 
not as the result of a desire to do some 
new thing, but as a solution of two press- 
ing problems with which I found myself 
confronted last summer; one of these 
problems is common, I am sure, to all 
library school directors, the difficulty of 
finding teachers for their faculties or of 
supplying from their graduates demands 
of public libraries for directors of train- 
ing classes. The other problem was local 
and peculiar to ourselves, and by reason 
of it a possible solution was indicated for 
the former. This was the suggestion 
made by the librarian of the Brooklyn 
public library that the Pratt Institute 
Library school take over the instruction 
of the Brooklyn public library appren- 
tices. As the professional school of 
Brooklyn, it was clearly our duty to per- 
form this function for the public library 
of Brooklyn, and it only remained to find 
a way, first, that would satisfy the needs 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



and requirements of the Brooklyn public 
library system; second, that would so 
strengthen the Pratt Institute school as 
to recommend the plan to our trustees; 
third, would help to alleviate the profes- 
sional situation of which I had become 
so acutely concerned. 

In response to this need, almost an 
answer to prayer, for the idea occurred 
to me in church, came the conception of 
a normal course to fit advanced students 
for teaching positions in the profession. 
Now for a normal course three elements 
are requisite. Knowledge of the subjects 
to be taught, training in pedagogical 
methods and directed practice in teaching. 
The necessary knowledge of the subjects 
taught could be obtained by admitting to 
the course only those who had already 
acquired library technique. Pedagogical 
training could be given at Pratt Institute 
where there already existed a splendidly 
organized department of education and 
for the practice teaching there was the 
apprentice class of the Brooklyn public 
library for which the normal students 
could prepare and conduct the courses in 
library economy under the direction and 
supervision of our instructor of proved 
success in teaching. These two indispen- 
sable factors inherent in our situation 
seems to mark the Pratt Institute library 
school as distinctly the place of all others 
in which this experiment of training for 
teaching positions in library work could 
be tried. Now, does the need exist for 
librarians who are trained to teach? 
What is the situation? 

There are ten or eleven library schools 
offering courses of one or two years. 
There are probably twice that number of 
summer library schools. There are 
training classes in all of the larger libra- 
ries and many of the medium sized 
libraries. There are many normal schools 
in which library courses are now given 
and the trend in this direction is unmis- 
takable. There are school departments 
in many of the larger libraries in which 
more or less actual teaching is done, and 
in which a librarian who was at the same 



time a teacher, who understands the 
teachers' point of view would connect 
school and library the more completely. 
Many of you know that these positions 
are not easy to fill. But could a course 
be planned that would fit candidates for 
such positions? I believe so. 

I am not going to degrade pedagogic 
training for teachers. That battle has al- 
ready been fought out in the educational 
world. Of course, the best teachers are 
born, not made, and some few heaven 
sent may teach the better for not having 
learned how, but there are not enough of 
them to go around and the greater major- 
ity teach the better for training in tried 
and approved methods, applied under 
competent direction. 

The normal course will therefore con- 
sist of two main parts theoretical train- 
ing and practice teaching. 

The first part embraces educational 
psychology, a forty-eight hours' course, a 
thirty-six hours' course in the history of 
education, a general survey with a sup- 
plemental course on American public 
education high schools, normal schools 
and colleges a thirty-six hours' course in 
the theory of education taking up the 
conduct of recitations and giving the pre- 
sentation of subjects, examinations, etc. 
A study of public institutions, both civic 
and philanthropic, will also be included. 
So much for the theoretical side. The 
practical application of the theory of ed- 
ucation to the teaching of library tech- 
nique will be made by the preparation of 
the courses for the Brooklyn apprentices 
and the conduct of the classes. The plan 
for this work is as follows: The normal 
students will spend a month before the 
teaching of the apprentices begins in the 
study of the Brooklyn public library 
system and in the preparation for the 
classes they are to conduct under the 
direction of Miss Julia Hopkins who is to 
have charge of this work. This work 
has been planned in consultation with 
the Brooklyn public library librarian and 
staff and between us we hope to work out 
the ideal apprentice course. I will go 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING SECTION 



299 



into this somewhat fully in order to show 
its value as teaching experience for the 
normal student. 

1. There are to be two apprentice 
classes a year, beginning in October and 
March respectively. To these classes four 
months of instruction will be given. This 
gives each normal student the opportu- 
nity of preparing and conducting differ- 
ent courses each term. 

2. The four months of instruction will 
be followed by three months of practical 
work in selected branches of the Brook- 
lyn public library, during which time the 
apprentices will learn the techincal de- 
tails of branch work under the supervision 
of the branch librarian, thus freeing the 
course of these details and making it pos- 
sible to spend the class room time on the 
broader professional and culture side of 
the subjects taught. 

3. 160 hours of instruction will be 
given to apprentices, on three days of the 
week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 
the alternate days to be devoted by them 
to study and preparation. Full library 
time will be required of them, which will 
ensure three hours of preparation for 
each hour of class room work or lecture. 
This means the compiling of full reading 
lists by the normal students to accom- 
pany the instruction. 

4. The subjects taught fall into three 
groups, cultural, technical and profes- 
sional, with strong emphasis on the first 
and an effort to correlate the first two 
quite closely. Besides a review of the 
classics of literature, there will be a study 
of the important literature of different 
subjects history, biography, sociology, 
science, and to this study will be related 
as far as possible both parallel courses of 
classification and reference books, the 
apprentices being thus required to handle 
a great many books and to get at their 
subject contents quickly. They will be 
required also to make a great many short 
reading lists on related topics. In the 
course in children's work, which Miss 
Clara Hunt will supervise, emphasis will 
also be laid on the book. Miss Hunt will 



examine and criticize the lectures pre- 
pared by the normal students. We wish 
to strengthen this phase of the work both 
because it is needed by the apprentices 
and because it will be of the utmost value 
to the normal students, especially to those 
who go into normal school work later. 

The technical courses will take up the 
usual subjects. In classification the em- 
phasis will be laid on the subject content 
of the classes to add to the general infor- 
mation of the apprentices and the course 
related, as I said before, to the study of 
the literature of the subjects. 

In cataloging the emphasis will be laid 
on an intelligent understanding of the 
use of a catalog rather than on the details 
of cataloging. On the professional side 
the course will be stronger than is usual 
in apprentice courses. 

Now of what value will this course be 
in providing teaching experience to the 
normal student? 

1. As preparation for directing appren- 
tice classes in public libraries I feel that 
it will be of direct utility. 

2. For giving instruction to high school 
students In bibliography, reference 
works, classification and the use of the 
catalog it would seem to give adequate 
training. 

3. For conducting courses in normal 
schools these mentioned subjects plus the 
course in children's books and perhaps 
the history of libraries would seem to be 
a good preparation. 

4. The courses in classification, refer- 
ence work, history of libraries, work with 
children, loan desk work, compare favor- 
ably in length of time given to them and 
in thoroughness with the average one 
year library school course and the prep- 
aration, to say nothing of the conduct, of 
such courses would be an excellent foun- 
dation for the teaching of the same sub- 
jects in a library school. 

In addition to these main features of 
the course, the pedagogic training and the 
practice teaching, there will be lectures 
on normal and high school library work 



300 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



and permission has been obtained from 
the public school system for the normal 
students to have practical work in the 
library of the buildings, training school 
and in some of the high school libraries. 
Opportunity to study the organization and 
methods of presentation of other library 
schools has been promised. 

The first year or two will, of course, be 
experimental and experience" alone can 
show how the whole thing will work out, 
but we feel that the opportunity is a 
great one and we mean to approach it 
openmindedly and to allow it to develop 
organically. 

Its success will, of course, depend on 
our securing the right kind of material 
for the class and for this we must look 
to the profession at large and especially 
to the other library schools. We do not 
want large classes, ten would be the out- 
side limit, five or six the desirable num- 
ber. But our own school could not sup- 
ply even so many, and if you believe the 
plan a good one, the need real, and if the 
theory of differentiation of function seems 
wise, I ask you to send us those of your 
students who seem fitted for such work, 
and by cooperation, council and support 
help us to make the course a benefit to 
the whole profession. 

There seems to be some misapprehen- 
sion in the profession as to the relation 
of the Brooklyn apprentice class and the 
general course of our own school. So far 
as our one year course is concerned the 
only connection is that the Brooklyn pub- 
lic library has graciously permitted us to 
put our students in the branches of the 
Brooklyn public library for practical 
work, while the apprentices are invited 
to attend the course of lectures by libra- 
rians. There is no thought of combining 
the two classes in classroom work, which 
would not be advantageous to either 
group. 

Miss Mary W. Plummer gave the fol- 
lowing outline of the work done during 
the past year at the library school of the 
New York public library and the plans 
for the second year. 



REPORT ON THE NEW YORK PUBLIC 
LIBRARY SCHOOL 

During the past year we have done four 
things: Trained thirty students for the 
one year certificate; given partial train- 
ing to members of the library staff, to 
be continued or completed the coming 
year; given the same to members of other 
library staffs, to be continued or com- 
pleted, both to be recognized by pass- 
cards; and tested three sets of probation- 
ers for the lowest grade of the library 
service. 

There is nothing especial to be said 
about the first class, except that out of 
twenty-five who were able to do the full 
year's work, more than twenty applied 
for the second year and the diplomas. Of 
these, three asked for the unpaid prac- 
tice, amounting to fifteen hours per week, 
and taken as an equivalent for their tui- 
tion. These three will probably take 
two courses of the three offered for the 
second year in administration, advanced 
cataloging, and reference work, and in 
work with children. 

The remainder have applied for paid 
positions at not less than $50 per month,' 
with one course in the school. As mem- 
bers of the staff for the time being, they 
will have no tuition to pay. 

The second type of student we hope 
may increase in number as time goes on. 
One branch librarian took about half the 
course, carrying on her regular work and 
responsibilities, and seemed none the 
worse. Others took single subjects in 
which they were interested. One assist- 
ant from a suburban library did the same, 
commuting daily. These, of course, were 
assigned only a nominal amount of prac- 
tice, since they had their regular work. 
For these as well as the probationers the 
entrance examinations of the school were 
insisted on. The probationers being 
usually too young for the school, were 
allowed three conditions, since they have 
plenty of time to work them off before 
old enough to enter the school. Others 
take the probation first, and if appointed 
to the staff, serve six months or more, 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING SECTION 



301 



and can then enter the school as staff 
members without tuition. 

They understand that they are not in 
any sense a class, that they are not being 
trained but merely tested, that the school 
is responsible only for the original selec- 
tion of the probationers, and though it 
may take and does take an interest it has 
no real jurisdiction after this selection is 
made. 

Mr. Brett announced that the Cleveland 
public library would introduce a training 
class for children's librarians in which the 
students would be given practical work 
for five days and receive five-sixths of the 
regular salary. The remainder of the 
time will be given to instructions and lec- 
tures. 

Mr. W. H. Kerr stated that the State 
normal school at Emporia, Kansas, had a 
course in library work which required 
one-fourth of the time in the four years. 

Miss Hazeltine presented the card code 
of over five hundred cataloging rules 
which had been prepared by the Wiscon- 
son library school for instruction in its 
school, after consultation with, and as- 
sistance from many librarians. 

In response to a qiiestion by Miss Mary 
E. Hall as to what was being done to 
train librarians to take charge of school 
libraries, the discussion turned to that 
subject. 

Several of the schools mentioned that 
practical work in school libraries was 
given their students. Emphasis was laid 
on the point that high school students 
who had taken a course in the high 
school in library methods were not quali- 
fied to have charge of school libraries. 

A preliminary report was presented 
from the chairman of the committee on 
the uniformity of forms of catalog cards 
in simplified cataloging. 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON UNI- 
FORMITY OF FORMS OF 
CATALOG CARDS 

The committee on revision of catalog- 
tion; but there seems to be some doubt 
as to whether we are to attempt to cover 
subject of securing unification in instruc- 
ing practice appointed by the library 



schools instructors at their meeting in 
January, 1912, wishes to make a brief re- 
port of the work done. 

As a preliminary step in securing opin- 
ions from the various schools on the 
extent of the work and the forms that the 
code should take, the following plan was 
tried. A sufficient number of the galley 
proofs of a new edition of the rules com- 
piled by the Wisconsin library school 
were secured and, on May 6, sent to all 
of the library schools; also to one or two 
individuals whom the chairman thought 
might be interested in the project from 
the teaching point of view. It was 
thought that this code, which had proved 
a practical one, might at least serve as a 
basis for comments. The schools were 
asked whether they desired to co-operate 
in the attempt to secure uniformity in 
practice, and if they approved of the 
form in which the Wisconsin code was to 
be printed, that is, on cards; and lastly, 
to show by their comments the points 
wherein their practice varied. 

Replies have been received at this date 
from all of the schools, and from them 
the following conclusions are reached: 

First, there is a general interest in the 
all of the points of a complete catalog- 
ing code, or only matters of spacing, in- 
dention, punctuation, etc. 

Second, the majority of the schools 
returned the proofs fully annotated for 
the changes which they desire. On the 
whole, these comments showed that the 
differences are not great and that uni- 
formity on many at least can be secured, 
if so desired by the schools. 

Third, a general discussion of the sub- 
ject will be helpful, before any final de- 
cision can be reached in regard to a co- 
operative code. 

The committee accordingly decided to 
ask that there be a discussion of the 
matter at the Ottawa conference and a 
notice to this effect was sent to each 
school. 

A list of the points for discussion has 
been made out.* The committee will hope 
to make a final report at the midwinter 
meeting. 

HELEN TURVILL, Chairman. 

The membership committee, consisting 
of Miss Josephine A. Rathbone, Miss 
June R. Donnelly and Mr. Paul Black- 
welder, was continued. The program 
committee, consisting of Miss Mary W. 
Plummer, Miss Mary E. Hazeltine and 
Mr. Frank K. Walter, was also continued. 

Mr. Frank K. Walter was elected chair- 
man for the coming year and Miss Agnes 
Van Valkenburgh, secretary. Adjourned. 

*See Catalog Section Minutes, page 246. 



TRUSTEES' SECTION 



(Friday, June 28, 8:15 p. m.) 

The Trustees' section met on Friday 
evening, June 28, at the Chateau Laurier. 
Mr. W. T. Porter, of Cincinnati, chairman 
of the section, presided and Mr. T. L. 
Montgomery, librarian of the Pennsylvania 
State library, acted as secretary. 

The first item on the program was a 
paper prepared by Dr. OTTO J. KLOTZ, 
trustee of the Ottawa public library, which 
was read in his absence. 

THE TRUSTEE'S DUTY TO THE 
LIBRARY 

Dr. Klotz said in part: 

It should be assumed that when one ac- 
cepts the appointment as library trustee he 
accepts therewith the duties and respon- 
sibilities of such position. He who treats 
them with indifference is a source of weak- 
ness to the board. There is no room on a 
library board for a man who accepts the 
appointment "just for the honor of it." 
The trustee must be seized with the funda- 
mental idea and principle that the public 
library is the people's university, that it is 
the fountain to which all have access, 
whose wholesome waters shall give re- 
newed life and intellectual strength. 

The trustee's first duty is to see that the 
library receives adequate municipal sup- 
port. This is seldom an easy matter. It 
generally requires a good deal of mis- 
sionary work, through the newspapers, 
through personal appeals to councillors, 
through public addresses before the council 
or otherwise. The public must be told of 
its need, which it frequently does not 
recognize. The trustee must exercise the 
influence of an educator. 

The work of the trustee is often dis- 
couraging and disheartening, and may 
take years to attain a particular end. Our 
public libraries act favors the carrying out 
of some definite plan, because an ap- 
pointee holds office for several years, giv- 



ing him an opportunity of thoroughly 
familiarizing himself with the whole range 
of library affairs to the great advantage 
of the best interests of the public and 
of the library. A further advantage of 
this tenure of office is that it permits of 
what is in athletics called "team work." 
We know how effective it is in this latter 
respect, and so it is too with a library 
board. I have reason to refer to this, be- 
cause all libraries in Ontario are not so 
constituted that "team work" can be ef- 
ficiently carried out. I allude to libraries 
whose board has no fixed continuity. 
With a continuity to the board definite 
plans may be formulated that one knows 
in advance will take years to carry out, 
but if there is no continuity to the board, 
each new board will have its own notion, 
using the term notion advisedly, in con- 
tradistinction to the matured plan, for it is 
not to be expected that new men, thrown 
into new surroundings, faced by problems 
wholly or nearly wholly foreign to them, 
can act with that intelligence, with the 
large-mindedness essential to the best in- 
terests of the community. The fault lies 
not with the men, but with the system. 

One of the first considerations is the 
public. The trustee should know his pub- 
lic well, just as a physician can only treat 
his patient intelligently after having made 
a thorough diagnosis. The people of one 
town may differ from those of another 
town, their industries and interests may be 
different so that a successful course 
adopted by a board in one place may not 
meet with the same success in another, 
and as the people, the citizens, are to be 
beneficiaries of a public library, it Is all- 
important that their needs be closely 
studied. It must ever be the aim of the 
trustee to try to give the greatest good to 
the greatest number, without however 
neglecting to provide opportunities within 
reasonable limits commensurate with the 



302 



TRUSTEES' SECTION 



303 



funds available to the exceptional artisan, 
mechanic or bright young man who is 
anxious to pursue his work beyond the 
ordinary. It can be truly said that even 
those who do not use the library are to a 
greater or less extent benefited by it 
through the environment of those who do 
use it. One of the functions of a library, 
and one that generally appeals most to 
those that control the purse strings, is to 
increase the industrial productiveness of 
the people of the respective town or mu- 
nicipality. Take a town for example whose 
industries are almost wholly those of cab- 
inet making. It should be the duty of a 
trustee to see that the library and reading 
room is especially rich and complete in all 
that pertains to cabinet making; to car- 
pentering; the different kinds of wood; 
designing; drawing and everything that 
may further the artisan's skill and thereby 
his productiveness. For we must ever re- 
member that the commercial success of a 
nation rests on the skill and productive- 
ness of its artisans. This function of the 
public library is one that may be measured 
in dollars and cents, but the other func- 
tion of making better men and women, of 
character-building, pf brightening homes 
by the perusal of good literature, of whole- 
some fiction, of making better citizens, of 
appreciating the rights as well as the re- 
sponsibilities of citizenship, these things 
can not be measured in coin, but they 
make for a nation's progress and stability. 

The most important office is of course 
the librarian, and the success of the library 
depends more upon him, or her, than upon 
any one else; for a poor library board and 
a good librarian are preferable to a good 
board and poor librarian. 

Hence it is a most important duty of the 
trustee to see that the services of a good 
librarian be obtained, not merely an auto- 
maton that hands out books and checks off 
those returned. The day of utilizing men 
or women whose usefulness in other fields 
has vanished is past and such should be 
kept out of the library. What is wanted 
is a person who has enthusiasm for the 
work, who has studied library work and 



methods, who in an unostentatious and 
quiet way will be helpful to the readers, 
who can guide particularly the younger 
readers in their choice of literature, who 
can encourage the formation of reading 
clubs and societies, who can make the li- 
brary and reading room, especially for 
small libraries, cheerful and attractive by 
little devices, and by his or her own atti- 
tude to the users of the library add much 
to its usefulness and influence for good. 
The next duty of the trustee is to see that 
adequate remuneration be given for the 
services rendered. The good librarian is 
in love with his work and is quite willing 
to sacrifice something on that account to 
follow a chosen vocation. But that is 
no reason why inadequate remuneration 
should be accorded. Let the librarian feel 
that he is getting a fair reward for his 
services, co-operate with him, assist him 
in his endeavors to improve the usefulness 
of the library, let him feel that he has the 
good-will of the board, and do not throw 
all the responsibility of the whole manage- 
ment and its aims upon his shoulders. Do 
not dampen his enthusiasm and zeal by in- 
difference and simply perfunctory attend- 
ance at meetings, or absence altogether. 
The library requires the undivided atten- 
tion of both librarian and trustees. Bear 
in mind that it is an educational institu- 
tion of the town with a larger attendance 
than that of the schools. It cannot too 
strongly be urged upon the trustees and 
board that a mere collection of books does 
not constitute a public library, it requires 
the connecting link, the librarian, to bind 
those two words more closely together 
the public and the library, and the more 
intimately will they be connected the more 
efficient the librarian is. 

A trustee should make a point of becom- 
ing somewhat acquainted with what other 
libraries are doing, as found in reports and 
publications. He may at times get thereby 
new ideas or pointers that may be appli- 
cable in his own library. Again if he has 
occasion to travel and has an hour or so 
to spare in a town or city where there is 
a public library, he should go there, "nose" 



304 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



about, and he will find that the visit is 
profitable. The trustees should within 
their means make the library and room or 
rooms as cheerful and comfortable as pos- 
sible. Let the rooms be well lighted and 
the light so distributed as to be restful to 
the eyes. Try to make the library the 
most attractive place in town. That in it- 
self is a standing temperance sermon, 
without being preached, which many peo- 
ple do not like. 

Believe in the library as an educational 
institution for all the people, young and 
old; believe in the library as an aid for 
technical education; believe in the library 
as a good thing for your town; and be- 
lieve in the library as making for a strong 
and progressive nation. 

This paper was followed by one by Mr. 
WALTER R. NURSEY, inspector of public 
libraries of the province of Ontario, on 

THE TRUSTEE'S DUTY TO 
THE PUBLIC 

Mr. Nursey said in part: 

It is well for us all to remember, to 
whatever country we owe allegiance, we 
should be stirred by one purpose only, a 
common purpose that recognizes neither 
international barriers nor impalpable lines 
of latitude; our great aspiration being to 
increase the spread of pure literature, the 
democracy of letters through the coopera- 
tion of the public library which as an 
educational factor is soon destined to be 
recognized as of equal importance with 
university, college or school. 

Before submitting to you my views on 
the trustee's duty to the public let me 
briefly recite library conditions that at 
present prevail in Ontario. Ontario, prac- 
tically, is the only province in the Do- 
minion of Canada that has an aggrega- 
tion of public libraries, 434 in all, sup- 
ported in part by the local legislature, 
under the fostering care of a sympathetic 
minister of education and a very liberal 
government. 

The first library organized in this prov- 
ince, then Upper Canada, was at Niagara- 
on-the-Lake in 1800. In 1835, the first 



legislation dealing in any way with the 
library movement was passed and the 
same year the first government aid was 
granted. In 1851 a new act was intro- 
duced creating what was known for many 
years as the Mechanics' Institute, the au- 
thorities believing that technical books for 
the working classes were not less impor- 
tant than those for the learned professions. 
At this time only $2,000 per year was ap- 
propriated and this was found utterly in- 
sufficient for the purpose. In 1869 gen- 
eral literature was recognized in Upper 
Canada in this connection, in addition to 
the acquisition of technical books. In 1882, 
the first free library was organized in Can- 
ada, at Toronto. 

In 1900, following upon the good ex- 
ample set by your organization, the On- 
tario library association was instituted, 
but it was not until 1909 that the present 
Ontario public library act was passed by 
the legislature, under which all public II- 
brar.'es, free and association, are now or- 
ganized and controlled. To-day we have 
140 free libraries and 244 association li- 
braries in this province operating under 
the provisions of this act. 

In Ontario, whether the library is free 
or association, the financial and domestic 
affairs of both are under the supervision 
of a board of trustees, the only difference 
in these two boards being that in the case 
of the free library, the governing body is 
called a library board and in the case 
of the association library, a board of man- 
agement; the financial responsibilities are 
not altogether the same, for while the 
trustees of the free library are custodians 
and paymasters of an income derived from 
the special rate levied yearly for library 
purposes by the municipality, the board of 
the association libraries have no fixed in- 
come to disburse, being supported largely 
by the fluctuating fees of the members. 

The rates levied to support a free li- 
brary vary, and are based principally, as 
in many instances in your own country, 
on population, and range from a minimum 
rate of one-quarter of a mill on the dollar 
to a maximum of three-quarters of a mill. 



TRUSTEES' SECTION 



305 



In the case of both of these classes of 
libraries, government aid, of course, is 
extended in the form of a yearly grant 
based upon the annual report of the ex- 
penditure of the library upon books and 
paid in conformity with the libraries act, 
subject to departmental regulations. 

Once a library in Ontario accepts a gov- 
ernment grant, it automatically becomes 
a public library. Thenceforward it is 
amenable to the provisions of the statute 
and failure to keep open or render an an- 
nual report to the department of educa- 
tion for two consecutive years, is the 
signal for dissolution. In other words, it 
commits suicide. The minister may then 
take possession of all its books, its mag- 
azines and periodicals and dispose of them 
as he may deem best. Further, if a li- 
brary fails in any year to comply with the 
regulations, the minister has power to 
withhold the whole or a portion of the 
government grant for that year. 

The Ontario act, as you have seen, pro- 
vides for two classes of libraries, both of 
which are public libraries; the business of 
both classes being administered by a 
board of trustees, one of whom is elected 
chairman, and while the responsibilities of 
these boards is greater in the case of the 
free libraries, both have equal, if not sim- 
ilar obligations as custodians in law of the 
people's interests. 

Before proceeding to submit my own 
ideas of what appears to be the most im- 
portant, if perhaps the unwritten duties of 
a library trustee to the public, and which 
I present with extreme diffidence in the 
presence of so many experts, let me briefly 
enumerate what are the legal obligations 
of a trustee in this Province as set forth 
in the statute regulating the same at the 
present time. 

These powers are vested in the mayor, 
or reeve, as the case may be, with three 
other members appointed by the local 
municipal council, three by the local pub- 
lic school board or board of education and 
two by the separate school board repre- 
senting the Roman Catholic section of the 
community; nine trustees in all who elect 



their chairman and retire annually in ro- 
tation. These trustees forfeit their posi- 
tion if they absent themselves from three 
consecutive monthly meetings without 
leave. 

The legal duties of these trustees con- 
, sist in the general management, regulation 
and control of the library and reading 
room entailing the securing, erecting or 
renting of the necessary buildings for the 
purpose of the library and reading room, 
and the purchase of books, newspapers, 
magazines, maps, etc., illustrative of the 
arts and sciences for the library reading 
room and museum. These responsibilities 
are further increased by the necessity for 
keeping the building and its contents in a 
proper state of preservation and repai- 
and to provide the necessary fuel, lighting 
and other necessaries and accommoda- 
tions and also the appointment or dismis- 
sal at pleasure of the officers and servants 
of the board. 

The board is also obliged to make rules 
for the use of the library reading room 
and museum and for the admission of the 
public thereto and for the general man- 
agement of the library; its reading room, 
museum, evening classes and art school, 
and of all property under its control. For 
breaches of any of its rules, it may im- 
pose penalties not exceeding $10. 

At least two out of these nine trustees, 
should be women; women who have won 
a record for activity and good common 
sense in their departments of business. 

It is also the duty of the faithful trustee 
to encourage the public to realize that it 
is the librarian, not the trustee, who is the 
real pilot of the ship, and jealously up- 
hold the hands of that important official. 
Unfortunately the library has sometimes 
been converted into an asylum for the vil- 
lage derelict whose unfitness for any or- 
dinary business pursuits would seem to be 
the highest passport possible, his inca- 
pacity emphasizing in the minds of some 
trustees his apparent suitability for the 
position. 

Summarizing the situation, we find the 
general importance of the position of a 



306 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



trustee viewed from the "library act" point 
of view, to be that 

(1) He holds the property of the li- 
brary in trust for the whole community. 

(2) That the board has the same 
standing as any other corporate public 
body, town council, school board, board of 
education, etc. 

(3) That the trustees alone can man- 
age public library affairs and that they 
have the exclusive authority to pay rent, 
to build or to sell property, subject to the 
statutory provisions. 

(4) That they have the power both to 
raise and expend money for library 
purposes. 

(5) That they can demand certain 
moneys from the municipal council, rang- 
ing from a quarter of a mill up to three- 
quarters of a mill on the dollar of the total 
annual assessment at the will of the rate- 
payers. 

(6) That the trustees alone are em- 
powered to employ or dismiss the libra- 
rian and other members of the staff. 

(7) And that they alone are respon- 
sible to the public. 

Their importance, if further evidence 
was wanting, is established by the develop- 
ment of the library movement in the Prov- 
ince of Ontario, demonstrated by the fact 
that as individuals, they have been active 
in founding and maintaining the Ontario 
library association. Hence it is easy to 
understand that the hope for the real and 
lasting expansion of library work largely 
depends upon the educating of the trustee 
up to the sane realization of his respon- 
sibilities. 

In order to have a fair understanding of 
the trustee's many obligations, we must 
consider the duties he is called upon to 
perform in connection with his own 
library. He should be present and assist 
at the Easter meetings of the Ontario li- 
brary association, and attend the library 
institutes which are yearly held in each of 
the 14 library districts into which the 
province has been carved for this purpose. 
As an evidence of the material of which 



the ordinary trustee is made, it is well 
to note that out of nine presidents who up 
to the present time have filled that office 
in the Ontario library association, between 
the years 1900 and 1912, six at one time 
or another have been library trustees. 
Eighty trustees were active officers of 
these library institutes in 1911, and of 
these at least 75 gave papers or addresses 
during the year ending April, 1912. 

Wonderful opportunities for extending 
the influence of clean literature is held by 
every trustee in the hollow of his hand, 
and the literature of the library, taken in 
all its bearings, forms the great line of 
demarkation between the human and the 
animal kingdom. Hence, the sound and In- 
telligent coupling of morally well-balanced 
men and women should be sought, not 
merely the professional educationist, who, 
not infrequently is apt to be somewhat 
narrow in his vision; "not the mere liter- 
ary triflers or amateur reformers" nor the 
league of superficial progressives who 
amuse themselves by lopping off the 
branches of an evil, but rather the strong 
and impatient workers, the real trail- 
makers who strike at the roots. Often in 
a rough and most unpromising exterior we 
find the very elements and characteristics 
we have long sought in vain. 

In and out of season, first, last, and all 
the time in addition to his statutory obli- 
gations the trustee should make the wel- 
fare of the librarian his greatest concern. 
What the pilot is, what the sails are, what 
the wheel and the propelling power are, 
individually and collectively to the ship 
so is the librarian to the library. It Is 
quite conceivable that a library could ex- 
ist without a trustee, but almost incon- 
ceivable that it could exist without a 
librarian. 

In Ontario we are doing all we can to 
elevate the status of the librarian, as well 
as her status in the army of intellectual 
workers. We have summer schools and 
library Institutes to encourage her in her 
ambitions and to improve her knowledge. 
1 am persuaded that on the walls of every 
library might well be written in large 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ROUND TABLE 



307 



characters, and without any suspicion of 
disrespect, "God bless our Librarian." 
1 refer of course, to the faithful efficient 
librarian with a proper conception of her 
own duties who should be honoured in the 
community by virtue of her position entail- 
ing such profound responsibilities. Her 
smallest act of official consideration, to 
her juvenile readers especially, leaves a 
widening ripple of influence, the far- 
reaching effect of which can scarcely be 
over-estimated. The librarian, unless it is 
obviously inopportune, should also without 
doubt be invited to attend every meeting 
of the trustees and share their undivided 
confidence, and the importance of her posi- 
tion and her individuality should never be 
dominated or over-shadowed by the per- 
sonality of the trustee. Her suggestions 
wherever possible should be respected, de- 
ferred to and acted upon, and every point 
strained to give her a living wage as 
nearly commensurate as circumstances 
will permit, with a due and extreme re- 
gard for the importance of her task, at 
best, a somewhat thankless one. 

I am a strong advocate for Sunday open- 
ing wherever it can be accomplished with- 
out interfering with the conscience or 
freedom of the employee, and if exempt 
from hardship. I further believe that 
every trustee should permit the purchase 
of books relating to any religious belief 
providing that they are not of a contro- 



versial nature, and that he should actively 
co-operate with the librarian in the selec- 
tion of the really best current literature, 
both books and periodicals, giving fiction, 
say a 50% maximum at the most. 

Last, but not least I maintain that It 
should be a man trustee's greatest pleas- 
ure and manifest duty to secure the co- 
operation of at least two capable women 
workers to share his responsibilities as 
co-trustees. 

Discussion brought out the interesting 
fact that the Ontario library association 
included in its membership almost as 
many trustees as librarians. Mr. Bowker 
suggested that those from the states inter- 
ested in library development should seek 
to follow the Canadian example in this re- 
spect, and obtain more active participation 
from trustees in the library association. 
Dr. C. R. Charteris, president of the Onta- 
rio library association, gave further word 
on the relation of trustees to the library 
organization in Canada, and Mr. T. W. 
Banton, trustee of the Toronto public 
library, who had been present at the Mag- 
nolia conference, spoke of his disappoint- 
ment at finding so little participation by 
trustees in that meeting. The officers of 
the section were re-elected for another 
year: Chairman, W. T. Porter, trustee Cin- 
cinnati public library; secretary, T. L. 
Montgomery, librarian Pennsylvania State 
library. 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ROUND TABLE 



A Public Documents Round Table was 
held on July 1, Mr. George S. Godard, State 
librarian of Connecticut, in the chair. Miss 
Elizabeth M. Smith of New York state 
library was appointed secretary. 

The preliminary report of the Committee 
on public documents already printed was 
read, in order to bring briefly before the 
session the status of the bills now be- 
fore Congress relating to the printing, bind- 
ing and distribution of public documents. 

The chairman reported his efforts to 
bring to the conference the Superintendent 



of Documents, Mr. August Donath, to pre- 
sent in person a paper on the new printing 
bill. A failure of Congress to provide in 
the appropriations for traveling expenses 
for this and similar purposes, made this 
impossible. The chairman, Mr. Godard, 
reported that he had laid before the Sen- 
ate Committee on appropriations the ad- 
visability of appropriating funds to pay ex- 
penses of the Superintendent of Docu- 
ments, or some other competent official, 
while trying to get into closer relations 
with the depository and other document 



308 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



libraries. The secretary read a letter from 
the clerk of the Committee on appropria- 
tions reporting that Mr. Godard's letter 
would be called to the attention of the 
committee at the proper time. The fol- 
lowing letter from Mr. Donath on the sub- 
ject of public documents, dealing especially 
with the new printing bill, was read by Mr. 
Geo. N. Cheney of the Court of Appeals 
library, Syracuse, N. Y. 
Office of Superintendent of Documents, 

Washington June 8, 1912. 

My dear Mr. Godard: 

Complying with your kind invitation to 
send to your committee a paper dealing 
with the subject of public documents from 
a standpoint of interest mutual to your 
association and to this office, I herewith 
submit a few words covering the subject 
as briefly as its intelligent discussion will 
permit. I deem it a privilege to be able to 
address those to whom this is a live sub- 
ject, and regret all the more that Congress 
does not seem inclined to endorse recom- 
mendations, repeatedly made, that would 
bring the members of your association and 
the official in charge of this branch of the 
public service into more intimate inter- 
course. This would surely be in the inter- 
est of better service on the part of this 
office and a clearer interchange of expert 
opinion that could not be otherwise than 
beneficial to the cause which the law cre- 
ating our connection was intended to serve. 

The idea underlying the legislation that 
created "designated depository libraries" 
was undoubtedly the intent to create five or 
six hundred places throughout this broad 
land where the history of the country, as 
expressed in the printed page, should be 
accessible to the public. A very good in- 
tention, and one very largely impractical. 
When it is remembered that the yearly out- 
put of public documents is nearly a thou- 
sand, and that a steadily increasing amount 
of shelf room is required to make all these 
accessible, even those who only have a 
superficial acquaintance with the subject 
will see that to live up to the requirement 
which accompanies the designation is be- 
yond the ability of perhaps the major 



number of the libraries now regularly sup- 
plied. Only in the larger cities and the 
most prosperous communities are there 
libraries able to cope with this "contract." 
Added to this cause for failure to carry out 
the intent of thus creating permanent 
places accessible to the student of the his 
tory of his country has been the right of 
a Senator or Representative to change the 
designation at the beginning of a Congress, 
thus leaving the discarded institution with 
a partial supply of public documents, and 
starting the new selection with a void that 
is never filled. Poor business, surely. And 
it is this condition that the official now in 
charge of the Public Documents Division 
has worked very hard to have amended. 

I am glad to be able to state that light 
seems to nave broken on this matter. After 
repeated searching inquiries on the part of 
the Printing Investigation Commission the 
true situation seems to be understood, and 
the measure popularly known as the New 
Printing Bill, which deals with the whole 
subject of the public printing, promises to 
establish a connection between the libra- 
ries of the land and this office that shall 
be of more benefit to the public and at 
much less expense than the operation of 
the law of January 12, 1895, permitted. At 
present writing this bill has passed the 
Senate, has been favorably reported, with 
amendments, to the House, and appears 
to be in shape for speedy final action. It 
contains many provisions that make for 
economy in the public printing, but I will 
only mention what is of more immediate 
interest to the libraries of the country. 

To begin with, the law will permit selec- 
tion, at stated intervals, of the class of 
publications that a designated library is 
able or desirous to handle. What a relief 
that will be can best be appreciated by the 
officials in charge of the smaller libraries. 
It will serve them, and it will likewise 
save money to the Government. The vol- 
ume of literature sent out from here that 
later is returned can only be realized from 
personal observation. My personal ac- 
quaintance with it began on the day I took 
charge of this office. There were moun- 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ROUND TABLE 



309 



tains of it, and in a few months, so the 
Public Printer informed me, he desired to 
lay before the Committee on Printing his 
report recommending how much of the ac- 
cumulation seemed worth returning into 
stock, and how much should be sold as 
waste paper. However, the subject has 
become so familiar to the law-making body 
that remedial action is now apparently in 
sight. 

The bill likewise assures that perma- 
nency to a designated library without which 
the original intent, above fully stated, is 
defeated. Once designated, no change in 
the political representation in Congress 
from that particular locality will affect the 
library's status. Thus the two causes that 
have operated to nullify the intent to cre- 
ate permanent depositories of the coun- 
try's history will be removed. And while 
the question of selection may at first seem 
somewhat of a problem to many librarians, 
I feel confident that this matter will soon 
work smoothly and satisfactorily. I should 
not forget to mention that besides the priv- 
ilege of thus curtailing their receipts from 
this office, libraries may also, in certain 
cases, receive duplicates that they find 
desirable. 

Among other provisions of the new bill 
that will appeal to your committee I may 
mention that it goes a long distance in 
carrying out the slogan, "one edition for 
one book," by taking out of the numbered 
Congressional series all annual and serial 
publications and those of which a Depart- 
mental edition has been printed, the only 
exception being the Messages of the Presi- 
dents and the Annual Reports of the heads 
of the nine Executive Departments. This 
elimination of document numbers will 
materially reduce the size of what is com- 
monly known as the "sheep set," and I 
also expect that it will enable a speedier 
delivery of this class of publications, be- 
sides permitting a return to the old custom 
of placing the serial number on each 
volume. 

I believe the foregoing covers in as con- 
densed a form as the subject admits the mat- 
ters just now of greatest interest in the dis- 



cussion of the subject of public documents. 
I need not assure you, and through you your 
associates, of the earnest desire on the part 
of this office to co-operate to the fullest pos- 
sible extent with the good work that the 
libraries of the country are doing in ad- 
vancing the intelligence of a people whose 
will is the foundation of our Government. 
The greatest menace to a government of 
the people is ignorance, and no agency is 
superior to the libraries of the land in 
combating this foe of free institutions. 

In the hope that these remarks will be 
kindly received, and assuring you of my 
personal regard, I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 
AUGUST DONATH, 
Superintendent of Documents. 
GEO. S. GODARD, Esq., Chairman, 

Committee on Public Documents, 

American Library Association. 

Before discussion was opened, the sec- 
retary of the meeting read a courteous let- 
ter from Hon. Reed Smoot, Chairman of 
the Senate Committee on Printing, express- 
ing regret at his inability to deliver at 
the Conference an address on the general 
topic of printing, binding and distribution 
of Government publications, and referring 
with appreciation to the intention of the 
A. L. A. Committee to deliver to him a 
concise report of the suggestions made by 
the librarians interested in Government 
publications. Discussions followed. 

Mr. Henry J. Carr, a former president of 
the A. L. A. and a veteran document libra- 
rian, advocated concentrating the efforts of 
the association on getting the bill througn 
in its present form, on the ground that it 
was now so nearly satisfactory, and had 
already been so long in preparation, that 
further delay would be unfortunate. 

Mr. J. D. Thompson, formerly chief of 
the Department of Documents in the Li- 
brary of Congress, now librarian of the 
Columbia University Law library, Intro- 
duced the question of a limited distribu- 
tion of bills. The following suggestions 
were made: 

By Mr. Thompson (1) that public and 
private bills form separate numbered se- 



310 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



ries, the former to be distributed to libra- 
ries requesting, or, if necessary, subscrib- 
ing through the Superintendent of Docu- 
ments, or (2) that the text of any bill 
under consideration should be included in 
the printed report on the same. 

By Mr. Thorvald Solberg, United States 
Registrar of Copyrights, that every bill 
which has passed one house should be 
printed in a permanent form convenient 
for library use. 

By Mr. Clement W. Andrews, librarian 
of the John Crerar library of Chicago, that 
bills not favorably acted upon should also 
be included in any scheme to be sug- 
gested; that better provision be at the 
same time recommended for supplying 
reports of hearings to interested libraries. 

By Mr. William R. Reinick, chief of the 
Public Documents Department of the Phil- 
adelphia Free library, in favor of Mr. 
Thompson's suggestion of separate series 
for public and private bills, and of better 
distribution of reports of hearings. 

By Mr. Herbert S. Hirshberg, reference 
librarian, Cleveland public library, that 
bills be printed in the Congressional 
Record. 

By Miss Edith E. Clarke, now chief 
cataloger in the library of Syracuse 
university and formerly on the staff of the 
Superintendent of Documents, that the 
Superintendent of Documents be given a 
certain specified number of copies of bills 
to be distributed to libraries on request. 

By Mr. R. R. Bowker, editor and pub- 
lisher of the Publishers' weekly and the 
Library journal, that bills favorably re- 
ported be included in Committee reports; 
that reports of hearings be included in the 
document series; that the Superintendent 
of Documents be given the power to dis- 
tribute, on request, copies of individual 
bills. 

By Mr. Solberg, that texts of bills be in- 
cluded in committee reports whether 
reported favorably or not. 

In conclusion the following resolution 
was introduced by Mr. Thompson: 

RESOLVED, that the Committee on Pub- 
lic Documents recommend to the proper 



Congressional authorities that there be 
appended to each Committee report on a 
public bill, when printed (1) the text of 
the bill and (2) the testimony taken If 
stenographically reported and not con- 
fidential. 

This resolution was adopted. 

Further suggestions regarding other 
provisions of the printing bill were made 
as follows: 

By Mr. Thompson: That unbound num- 
bered documents be distributed in advance 
of the bound volumes, and that librarians 
be given option as to the form they 
prefer. 

By Mr. Andrews: That some provision 
be introduced which should place in the 
hands of some one higher in authority 
than the blanket clerk, the power to place 
documents in the confidential nondistribut- 
able class and thus keep out of that 
class documents of general library in- 
terest which are not confidential. 

The chairman then introduced the sub- 
ject of daily lists of documents, with a 
suggestion that lists be prepared in the 
Senate and Assembly Document Room and 
printed daily in the Congressional Record, 
of all documents received the day pre- 
vious in the document rooms. Such a list 
should meet with favor from Congress 
because prompt notice of publication 
would be valuable to Congressmen as well 
as to libraries. 

Doubts of its practicability were raised 
by Mr. Solberg and Mr. Andrews. The 
latter referred to the difficulty rising from 
the fact that the Congressional Record 
was published only during the sessions, 
and suggested that the public printer fur- 
nish the lists. Miss Laura A. Thompson 
considered the difficulty raised by Mr. 
Andrews a small one because fewer doc- 
uments and documents of less immediate 
interest were issued when Congress was 
not in session. 

Miss Clarke stated her opinion that the 
Superintendent of Documents should issue 
the list as a daily bulletin. Mr. Ernest 
Bruncken of the office of the United States 
Register of Copyrights, by letter advo- 
cated this plan. Mr. Godard stated that 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ROUND TABLE 



311 



the Superintendent of Documents was un- 
willing to undertake it. Mr. Thompson 
stated that the necessity of sending it out 
by mail daily made it impracticable. It 
was decided to take no action on this 
particular matter. The following resolu- 
tion, however, was moved by Miss Clarke 
and carried: 

WHEREAS: The reading public of the 
United States are looking more and more 
to the libraries and especially to the de- 
pository libraries, to supply to them and 
advise them about all the publications of 
the United States Government, and 

WHEREAS: The librarians must of 
necessity largely depend for information 
as to these publications, upon the cat- 
alogs and bibliographical aids issued by 
the office of the Superintendent of Doc- 
uments, and 

WHEREAS: Promptness in the print- 
ing of these bibliographical aids is most 
essential to the timely use of current gov- 
ernment material. Therefore be it 

RESOLVED, That the librarians of the 
American Library Association assembled 
at Ottawa, respectfully urge the Super- 
intendent of Documents to use all reason- 
able haste in the compilation, printing and 
distribution to libraries, of the Monthly 
Catalog of United States Public Docu- 
ments and of the Document Catalog, so 
that they may be available in libraries as 
soon as possible after the periods covered 
by the same. 

Mr. James I. Wyer, Jr., director of the 
New York state library, Albany, called at- 
tention to the withdrawal of free distribu- 
tion of the specifications and drawings of 
United States patents, and moved the fol- 
lowing resolution, which was carried: 

RESOLVED: That the librarians of the 
for a limited free distribution of the bound 
volumes (or less desirable, the unbound 
volumes) of the Specifications and Draw- 
ings of the United States Patents, the 
Superintendent of Documents, perhaps, to 
designate or determine such libraries upon 
presentation of good reasons. 

Mr. Charles H. Hastings, chief of the 
card section in the Library of Congress, 
expressed regret at the impossibility of 



printing on Library of Congress printed 
cards the volume numbers of the doc- 
uments in the Congressional series, since 
the documents were not assigned to 
volumes until some time after publication. 
The following resolution, proposed by 
Mr. Thompson, was adopted; 

RESOLVED: That the Committee on 
Public Documents recommend that ar- 
rangements be made at the Government 
Printing office for the assignment of bul- 
letin or document numbers at a later stage 
than at present, in order that they may 
correspond more nearly with the order of 
publication, and that wherever possible, 
documents be assigned to their volumes in 
the Congressional series at the time of 
publication in order that the volume num- 
bers may be used in cataloging. 

Mr. Solberg called attention to the un- 
satisfactory method of numbering Treas- 
ury decisions and decisions of the Attor- 
ney General. 

Attention was called to the House 
amendment making centralization of dis- 
tributors in the office of the Superintendent 
of Documents obligatory to all depart- 
ments. A similar provision was stricken 
out of the Senate appropriation bill. 

Mr. Thompson and Mr. Solberg opposed 
obligatory centralization and suggested 
that the association register with the 
Senate Committee on Printing its disap- 
proval on the grounds both of economy 
and of promptness of service. 

Mr. Bowker expressed a hope that the 
association would strongly endorse the 
attempt now being made to establish a 
legislative reference department at the 
national capital. 

Mr. Wyer moved that the Committee on 
Public Documents send a resolution of 
thanks to the Senate and House Commit- 
tees on Printing and to the Superintend- 
ent of Documents, for their uniform cour- 
tesy and careful consideration of the 
several suggestions made. 

This motion was carried. The meeting 
then adjourned. 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES 

Seventh Annual Meeting:, Ottawa, Canada, June 26-July 2, J9J2 



FIRST SESSION 

(June 27, 1912, 2:30 p. m., at the 
Chateau LauMer.) 

The meeting was called to order by 
President Godard, forty-four being pres- 
ent. 

The president introduced Mr. H. H. 
Bligh, K.C., librarian of the Supreme 
Court of the Dominion, who welcomed the 
association to Canada and expressed the 
hope that the sessions would be profitable 
and that the stay in Ottawa would be en- 
joyed. He invited the members of the 
association to visit his library. 

President Godard then addressed the 
association. 

The report of the treasurer was read 
by the secretary, as follows: 

To the American Association of Law 
Libraries: 

Your treasurer respectfully reports the 
following receipts and expenditures: on 
August 24th I received a statement from 
Mr. F. O. Poole, former treasurer of the 
association, and a list of receipted bills 
which total $943.71. These receipts are 
expenditures made by Mr. Poole on be- 
half of the Association since the balanc- 
ing of his books on May 5, 1911. 

For the period from Aug. 26, 1911, to 
June 24, 1912, the following receipts and 
expenditures were made: It might be well 
to state here that your treasurer was 
elected at the annual meeting of the As- 
sociation held at Pasadena in May, 1911, 
but the financial affairs were not turned 
over to him until the above date. 

Receipts 
F. O. Poole, to balance account.. $ 88.58 

Subscriptions for Index 666.50 

Dues 316.00 

Advertising 263.75 

Overpayment of dues .26 

Overpayment of subscriptions 4.00 

$1,335.09 



Expenditures 

Treasurer, printing &... 

supplies $ 37.87 

G. G. Glasier, express . . . 3.96 

H. L. Butler, typewriting 

for 1911 11.35 

The Index 

Composition, printing & 
binding No. 2 & No. 4 
and storage on back 
number as per bills... 447.45 

Salary of Karl Ed. Stein- 
metz as Mgr. Editor as 
per agreement with 
Executive Committee. . 400.00 

Salary of Frederick W.. 
Schenk as per agree-, 
ment with the Execu- 
tive Committee 80.00 

Printing the report of 
the Committee on Ses- 
sions 1.75 

Wrapping and shipping 
No. 2 of the Index 10.41 

Wrapping and shipping 
No. 4 of the Index 12.52 

Supplies furnished the 
Editor of the Index, 
and express 19.05 

Return of overpayment 
of dues 25 

Refund of subscriptions. 4.00 



Balance in First Nat'l. 
Bank, Montpelier, Vt. 



1,028.61 



$306.48 



Your treasurer wishes to express at this 
time his appreciation of the many favors 
of the different officers of the association. 
Respectfully submitted, 

E. LEE WHITNEY, Treasurer. 

The secretary reported that aside from 
arranging the program of the annual meet- 
ing, taking up details with reference to 
the election of new members, and other 



312 



LAW LIBRARIES 



313 



routine matters, the Executive committee 
had been obliged to meet the situation 
arising from the much regretted resigna- 
tion of Mr. Gilson G. Glasier, as editor 
of the Index, after the publication of the 
first number of volume 4. It was finally 
decided to engage Mr. Karl E. Steinmetz, 
as editor of the balance of volume 4 at 
slight increase in compensation over the 
amount he received for indexing. The 
negotiations consumed so much time that 
after the publication of No. 2 of volume 
4. it was decided to omit the third num- 
ber, and to proceed forthwith with the 
preparation of the annual number which 
was to contain all index material of the 
year, including that which would have ap- 
peared in the third number. 

At the meeting of the Committee in 
Cleveland, December 29-30, there was re- 
ceived from Mr. Schenk a proposition for 
doing the indexing and editing of vol- 
ume 5 of the Index which was so favor- 
able to the association that the Commit- 
tee decided to accept it. Arrangements 
were effected which the Committee be- 
lieved would place the work on a firm 
basis. 

Members were urged to do their best 
to secure new subscribers. 

On motion by Mr. Small, the president 
was directed to appoint an auditing com- 
mittee, a nominating committee, and a 
committee on resolutions, of three mem- 
bers each, which committees were di- 
rected to report at a later session during 
the convention. The president appointed 
the following committees: 

Auditing Committee: Mrs. M. C. Kling- 
elsmith, Miss Frances D. Lyon, Harold L. 
Butler. 

Nominating Committee: A. J. Small, 
E. A. Feazel, C. J. Babbitt. 

Committee on Resolutions: E. M. Bor- 
chard, F. B. Crossley, F. O. Poole. 

Dr. G. E. Wire, chairman, reported prog- 
ress on behalf of the committee on the 
Reprinting of Session Laws. This report, 
together with other reports and papers 
not set out in this number, will be found 
in the Law Library Journal published by 



this association in conjunction with the 
Index to Legal Periodicals. 

Mr. George N. Cheney, chairman, on be- 
half of the committee on the list of law 
libraries and librarians, reported prog- 
ress. 

Mr. O. J. Field, chairman, on behalf of 
the committee on Latin American Laws, 
reported that that committee had received 
but one response to about thirty letters 
sent to various South American legal in- 
stitutions. This reply came from Brazil, 
and called attention to the fact that the 
National Press of Rio de Janiero had for 
sale the public laws of the country. The 
committee hoped to report additional in- 
formation at the next annual meeting. 

Mr. Poole, temporary chairman of the 
committee to confer with the Library of 
Congress on shelf classifications for the 
law department, reported that a series of 
questions had been propounded by the Li- 
brary of Congress, a copy of which had 
been sent to each member of the commit- 
tee, and that replies thereto had been 
received from Mr. Hewitt and Mr. Bab- 
bitt, which replies had been transmitted 
to the Library of Congress. No further 
action was taken by the committee pend- 
ing further word from the Library of 
Congress, which library since that time 
has seemed to be fully occupied with 
other matters. 

Mr. A. J. Small, chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Bibliography of Bar Association 
Proceedings, reported that a complete list, 
prepared by Mr. Francis Rawle, of Phila- 
delphia, had been received by the commit- 
tee, but that, in accordance with Mr. 
Rawle's request, details given in this list 
many of which were in very abbrevi- 
ated form would have to be put into bib- 
liographical shape before publication. It 
was further reported that arrangements 
would be effected whereby this work 
might be done, and publication secured. 

Mr. Small, chairman of the Committee 
on the Bibliography of American Statute 
law, reported progress. 

On motion of Mr. H. L. Butler, it was 
voted to accept the reports of the special 



314 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



committees so far received, and to con- 
tinue all the committees, subject to such 
change in personnel as might seem nec- 
essary to the incoming president, and 
further, that all committees be directed 
to report at the next annual meeting. 

Mr. John B. Kaiser, librarian of the De- 
partment of economics -and sociology of 
the University of Illinois, read a paper 
on library school training for employees 
of law libraries. This was followed by 
an animated discussion. 

On motion, it was voted to adjourn, to 
meet again on June 28th, at 9:30 a. m. 

SECOND SESSION 

(June 28, 1912, at 9:30 a. m., at the 

i 
Chateau Laurler.) 

President Godard called the meeting to 
order and stated that the first matter to 
be taken up was the consideration of the 
"Tentative list of subject headings for 
a law library catalog" prepared by the Li- 
brary of Congress. 

Mr. Edwin M. Borchard introduced the 
matter. He stated that the list had been 
prepared primarily for the use of the Li- 
brary of Congress in its own catalog and 
in the work of printing catalog cards for 
distribution. It was hoped that the list 
in its final form would be of help to law 
libraries throughout the country, and to 
this end criticisms of the tentative list 
and suggestions were asked for. 

Mr. Borchard then took up the head- 
ings in regard to which there might be 
difference of opinion, and explained the 
decision reached by his library. He 
pointed out several cases where changes 
had already been made in the list. 

Considerable discussion ensued on vari- 
ous points. 

At the suggestion of Mr. Borchard, the 
president was, on motion, directed to ap- 
point a committee of three to confer with 
the Library of Congress on the matter 
of these subject headings. 

The president announced the commit- 
tee as follows: George N. Cheney, Lu- 
ther E. Hewitt, J. David Thompson. 



On motion, the resolutions committee 
was directed to draw up and present at 
a later session of the convention, a reso- 
lution of thanks to the Library of Con- 
gress for undertaking this work. 

The president announced that the nom- 
inating committee was ready to make its 
report. 

The nominations presented by this com- 
mittee were as follows: President, 
Franklin O. Poole; 1st Vice-President, 
Frederick W. Schenk; 2d Vice-Presi- 
dent, Mrs. M. C. Klingelsmith; Secretary, 
Miss G. E. Woodard; Treasurer, E. Lee 
Whitney; Executive Committee, E. O. S. 
Scholefield, O. J. Field, E. J. Lien. 

On motion, the report was accepted and 
the president was directed to cast one 
vote for the candidates mentioned. 

The president announced that he had 
cast the vote and that the above officers 
were elected to serve during the ensuing 
year. 

On motion, the meeting adjourned until 
June 30, at 9 p. m. 

THIRD SESSION 

(June 30, 1912, 9 p. m., at the Chateau 
Laurier.) 

Mr. Butler, of the auditing committee, 
presented a report on behalf of the com- 
mittee, as follows: 

The auditing committee begs to report 
that it has audited the books of the treas- 
urer for the year ending June 24, 1912, 
and finds same to be correct. 

Respectfully submitted, 
MARGARET C. KLINGELSMITH, 
FRANCES D. LYON, 
HAROLD L. BUTLER. 

On motion, the report was accepted and 
the treasurer's report was approved. 

Mr. Poole, on behalf of the committee 
on resolutions, presented a number of res- 
olutions acknowledging the services to the 
profession of the Massachusetts State li- 
brary in publishing a list of American 
statute law, and the catalog of foreign 
statute laws; of Mr. Francis Rawle in pre- 
senting to the association for publication 



LAW LIBRARIES 



315 



his list of Bar Association proceedings; 
of the Library of Congress in compiling a 
list of subject headings for law library 
catalogs, and the Guide to the legal litera- 
ture of Germany; and to all those who 
contributed to the program of the meet- 
ing, and had been instrumental in mak- 
ing the stay of the members in Ottawa so 
pleasant and profitable. There was also 
presented a resolution in acknowledg- 
ment of the life work of William J. C. 
Berry, one of the charter members, and 
formerly librarian of the Association of 
the Bar of the City of New York, and of 
Stephen B. Griswold, the only honorary 
member of the association, and formerly 
state law librarian of New York. All these 
resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

Mr. A. J. Small stated that he had re- 
ceived many requests for information re- 
garding shelf classifications of text books 



in his library and moved that the presi- 
dent appoint a committee of three to 
gather information regarding such classi- 
fications in the several libraries and pre- 
pare the same for publication. After dis- 
cussion the motion, being seconded, was 
duly carried. On motion it was voted to 
appropriate $25.00 for the expenses of the 
committee. The president announced the 
committee as follows: Miss G. E. Wood- 
ard, G. N. Cheney, E. A. Feazel. 

The business of the association having 
been completed it was on motion, voted 
that the meeting adjourn sine die. 

In addition to the above sessions, the 
association met in conjunction with other 
bodies in two joint sessions, the first with 
the National Association of State Libra- 
ries and the Special Libraries Association, 
and the second, with the Bibliographical 
Society of America and other bodies. 



LEAGUE OF LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 

Ninth Annual Meeting at Ottawa, Canada, June 28-July \, J9J2 



FIRST SESSION 
(Friday, June 28, 2*: 30 p. m.) 

The first session was called to order by 
the first vice-president, Mr. C. H. Milam, 
of Indiana, in the absence of the presi- 
dent, Miss Cornelia Marvin, of Oregon. 

It was voted to waive the reading of the 
minutes of the last annual meeting. The 
financial report of the secretary-treasurer 
was read and accepted. 

The chairman appointed as a nominat- 
ing committee to report at the last ses- 
sion, Charlotte Templeton, A. L. Bailey, 
and Mrs. Percival Sneed. 

Miss Elizabeth B. Wales then presented 
the following report on charter provisions 
for public libraries in cities having the 
commission form of government. 

REPORT ON CHARTER PROVISIONS 
FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN HOME 
RULE OR COMMISSION GOV- 
ERNMENT CITIES 

The present chairman took charge of 
the work about May 1st. The committee 
found the time remaining so short that 
it was deemed inadvisable to attempt to 
prepare material for the League at this 
meeting. Therefore your committee begs 
leave to report progress and submit an 
outline of its plans for criticism and sug- 
gestion. 

The discussion of the subject seemed to 
indicate that the difficulties might fall 
into two classes. Cases involving a satis- 
factory library law in danger of change, 
and difficulties occasioned by attempt 
to better the original law under the Com- 
mission government; and a further divis- 
ion including cases where the commission 
law as passed was inapplicable to the li- 
brary government, or conflicted with the 
law. The committee suggests dealing 
with the matter by statute law rather 



than by city charter provision, and would 
suggest as a method, that: 

(a) Two provisional sections be drafted, 
one to insure the continuing in force of the 
state library law already on the books, 
to be used in states where such continu- 
ance is for the interest of the library; an- 
other to provide for the organization and 
control of the library under commission 
government by a definite statement in 
the commission law to override all former 
statutes, to be used in states where the 
present law is not satisfactory. 

(b) These sections be submitted to the 
heads of library commissions for criti- 
cism, accompanied by a letter of expla- 
nation embodying the question, "Would 
such state law meet the problems of li- 
braries in commission governed cities in 
your state?" 

Another and perhaps better way of se- 
curing the result would be to write to 
library commissions and ask these ques- 
tions: 

(1) What difficulties have arisen in the 
library administration of commission gov- 
erned cities in your state? 

(2) What remedies would you suggest 
to meet these difficulties? 

(3) Would you incorporate these sug- 
gestions in the laws of your state or in 
the charters of your cities? 

The committee also suggests that a let- 
ter be written to Mr. Richard S. Childs, 
stating the main difficulties experienced 
and- requesting an opinion regarding the 
best method of meeting them. Mr. Child's 
known interest would no doubt bring an 
enlightening answer to any communica- 
tion of reasonable length. 

Miss Tyler has generously permitted the 
committee to use the letters received by 
her in the preparation of her paper for 
the Pasadena conference, and to these 
cities one or two questions might be sent 
bearing upon the special conditions de- 



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LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 



317 



veloped. This "second appeal" may be 
made extremely valuable by careful treat- 
ment; for instance, there are twelve cities 
which have experienced change in the 
number of trustees representing the ef- 
fect of the law in California, Iowa, Illi- 
nois, Michigan, and S. Dakota; three re- 
port a board elected by the Commission 
or council instead of appointed by the 
mayor; again the Michigan law, and also 
that of Massachusetts and North Caro- 
lina; two (Lewiston, Iowa, and Decatur, 
111.) report supervision of buildings and 
grounds by city committees; two (Des 
Moines and Tacoma) mention the value 
of increased publicity; one (Colorado 
Springs) reports civil service; there were 
in this first inquiry between twenty and 
thirty "no change" reports; some of these 
said no change "as yet." There were 
many special points noted in the letters 
which would repay investigation by the 
committee. 

We shall hope for a generous coopera- 
tion from the members of the League, if 
it be your pleasure to continue this com- 
mittee. 

Respectfully submitted, 
ELIZABETH B. WALES, Chairman, 
CARL H. MILAM, 
M. S. DUDGEON, 
ARTHUR L. BAILEY. 

The report was accepted and the com- 
mittee continued. 

In view of the work being done by a 
committee of the A. L. A. Council on li- 
brary laws and charter provisions, the 
League committee on the motion of Miss 
Tyler, was instructed to cooperate with 
the A. L. A. Council committee. 

Mr. M. S. Dudgeon reported the work 
of the Committee on Library post as fol- 
lows: 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY 
POST 

Your committee on library post reports 
as follows.: 

The present status of federal legisla- 
tion is thus given in a letter received 
from the Hon. John J. Esch, member of 
Congress from Wisconsin. 



"The post office appropriation bill, as it 
passed the House recently, provided for 
a rural parcels post with rates of 5 cents 
per pound, and 1 cent for each additional 
pound up to eleven pounds. These rates, 
however, are confined to parcels emanat- 
ing in the town from which the route 
runs, or along such route, with the right 
of interchange of packages from route to 
route. As few books exceed a pound in 
weight this would mean a charge of 5 
cents. The post office appropriation bill 
is now before the Senate. What action it 
will take remains to be seen. The House 
bill contained a provision for the appoint- 
ment of a commission to investigate the 
whole subject of a general parcels post, 
the commission to make its report to 
Congress by the opening of the next reg- 
ular session in December." 

Parcels Post vs. Library Post 
Our League president forwards the fol- 
lowing letter from a Washington corre- 
spondent who is evidently perfectly famil- 
iar with the subject: 

"I am in receipt of your letter of May 
17th, asking me whether there is any 
hope of getting a library post, and in re- 
ply will say that if you mean a special 
act providing for a library post, separate 
and distinct from other postal service, I 
do not think that there is any hope of 
getting it in the near future. 

"I do think, however, that the parcels 
post bill which Senator Bourne has pro- 
posed, if passed at this Congress, will 
very rapidly develop into a law which 
will be entirely satisfactory for library 
purposes. The average library book 
weighs slightly over a pound, but will 
come easily within two pounds. Under 
Senator Bourne's bill the rate on rural 
routes would be 5 cents for the first 
pound and 1 cent additional for each ad- 
ditional pound; within the fifty mile zone, 
6 cents for the first pound and 2 cents 
for each additional pound; within the two 
hundred mile zone, 7 cents for the first 
pound and 3 cents for each additional 
pound. These rates were decided upon 
with a certain margin of profit to the 
government so that there would be no 
possibility of the government sustaining 
loss. It was believed that it would be 
disastrous to the parcels post movement 
to have any loss at the beginning. Such 
a loss would serve as an excuse for the 
abandoning of a parcels post. I am very 
certain that if this bill should be passed 
one year's experience would demonstrate 
that the rural rate could be reduced to 
4 and 1 cent, making 5 cents for a two 



318 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



pound package; the 50 mile zone could 
be abolished and the rate for the 200 
mile zone fixed at 5 cents for the first 
pound and 1 cent for each additional 
pound. The 200 mile zone, at that rate, 
ought to give you as good a library post 
service as you can expect to have within 
a number of years. I do not think that 
you can expect to get a law enacted 
which will provide for 'the carrying of 
library books at less than cost. It is no 
argument to say that the government is 
now carrying newspapers at less than 
cost. It made a mistake in establishing 
such a rate, but having made it, it cannot 
easily increase the rate. 

"You ask whether there is anything 
the library people can do to forward this 
matter. My opinion is that the one thing 
you could do would be to help get senti- 
ment back of a general parcels post so 
that a bill on a zone basis with rates 
varying according to distance, will be 
passed by this Congress. When we once 
get a law of that kind, its development 
will be very rapid. The trouble will be to 
get the first law on the statute books." 

Senator Bourne's Bill 

The bill introduced by Senator Bourne 
seems to be all that we can hope for at 
present. A summary of it follows: 

Postal rates on parcels vary with dis- 
tance, thus protecting local merchants 
and competing with express companies. 

Third and fourth classes of matter are 
combined. 

A special rate of one cent an ounce up 
to four ounces is provided for circulars 
and small packages of goods. 

Rates are as follows: 

Local, city and rural delivery only, 5cts 
for the first pound and one cent for each 
additional pound. 

Within 50 miles zone, Gets for the first 
pound and 2cts for each additional pound. 

Within 200 miles zone, 7cts for the first 
pound and Sets for each additional pound. 

Within 500 miles zone, 8cts for the first 
pound and 5cts for each additional pound. 

Within 1,000 miles zone, 9cts for the first 
pound and 5cts for each additional pound. 

Outside 2,000 miles zone, 12cts for the 
first pound and lOcts for each additional 
pound. 

These rates are based on a careful 
computation of the actual cost of col- 



lecting, distributing and delivering pack- 
ages, plus the actual cost of transporta- 
tion. 

Weight limit, 11 pounds and maximum 
charge 12cts, the international limit 
and rate. 

Committee Progress and Recommendations 

The committee has canvassed the situ- 
ation carefully and corresponded at some 
length with many persons. It has also 
suggested that the various commissions 
take up and follow the matter with their 
respective congressmen. Many commis- 
sions have done this. South Dakota, at 
its annual library association meeting 
adopted a formal resolution to be for- 
warded to senators and congressmen for 
the state. 

The committee recommends: 

1. That the secretary of each commis- 
sion which has not already done so im- 
mediately communicate in a personal let- 
ter as already suggested with each sena- 
tor and congressman from his state. 

2. That each state commission at its 
next annual meeting adopt a resolution 
endorsing a parcels post law similar to 
Senator Bourne's measure, urging low 
rates on rural routes, and a zone system 
and send such resolutions, signed if pos- 
sible by all the members of the commis- 
sion, to each senator and congressman in 
the state. 

3. That each state library association 
do the same. 

4. That this League adopt such a reso- 
lution, and that the secretary from each 
commission sees that such resolution 
reaches the senators and congressmen in 
his state. 

5. That efforts to secure a separate li- 
brary post law be abandoned for the pres- 
ent. 

Respectfully submitted, 

M. S. DUDGEON, Chairman. 

The report was accepted and the com- 
mittee continued and the secretary of the 
League was instructed to place its recom- 
mendations before the Council of the A. L. 
A., in order to secure the cooperation of 



LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 



319 



that body. The members of the League 
were particularly urged to assist the com- 
mittee in its efforts. 

A report of the committee in state 
school library systems, in the absence of 
Miss Martha Wilson, the chairman, was 
read by the secretary. It consisted chiefly 
of a summary of the school library laws 
of the different states. The report was 
accepted. 

The report of the committee on study 
clubs outlines, prepared by Miss Marga- 
ret Brown was read by Mr. Dudgeon. It 
was as follows: 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON STUDY 
OUTLINE 

The committee finds that the difficul- 
ties encountered by traveling libraries in 
attempting to supply satisfactory and ade- 
quate reference material to the many 
study clubs largely dependent upon them 
for books, is chiefly because of the mis- 
cellaneous program, covering a wide va- 
riety of subjects. 

In addition to this, many traveling li- 
braries receive requests for study out- 
lines or are asked to prepare them; 
hence it was decided by the committee 
that a plan should be submitted for the 
preparation of study outlines. 

This plan once in use by traveling li- 
braries preparing outlines, would bring 
about a certain standardization, thus mak- 
ing an outline prepared by one useful to 
all. Such a plan could not only be uti- 
lized by traveling libraries but by other 
organizations concerned in providing out- 
lines for study clubs. 

A plan was presented at the mid-winter 
meeting of the middle-west section of the 
League, which after discussion has been 
revised and is herewith again presented 
with the following recommendations: 

First. Plan for preparation of study 
outlines 

Basis. 

A One book selected as foundation for 
outline. If a single book suitable for text 
cannot be found, outline to be based on 
fewest number of books necessary for the 



purpose. Texts selected to be authori- 
tative, reasonable in price, readable and 
stimulating. 

B. Five to ten books as collateral ref- 
erence. Selected to cover subject in 
study outline and amplify the text. Pub- 
lisher and price given for all books in- 
cluded, for use in purchase. A more ex- 
tended list of books can easily be pre- 
pared by any library where additional 
material is available. 

Lessons should be outlined by: 

C. Question method. Five to ten defi- 
nite questions on each lesson. 

D. Or, Topical method. Topics as- 
signed under each lesson should be those 
which present special phases of the gen- 
eral subject. The two methods may some- 
times be combined. Written papers, if 
included under either Question or Topi- 
cal form of study outline, should be as- 
signed only for subjects which require 
some degree of original thought; all in- 
formation to be derived from text books 
and encyclopedias should be covered by 
the regular lesson for oral discussion. 
Note. Number of meetings of study clubs 
vary. Probably not less than sixteen or 
more than twenty-six lessons. Many aver- 
age two meetings a month. October to 
May. 

Second. That this committee be au- 
thorized to draw upon the League treas- 
ury for a definite sum for the employment 
of a capable compiler to prepare outlines 
based on this plan. 

Third. That if possible the cooperation 
of some publisher be secured to print the 
outlines thus prepared, or others passed 
upon by the committee, and furnish 
them at reasonable cost to the various 
commissions operating traveling libraries 
and to club and individuals desiring them. 

Fourth. That the study outline com- 
mittee be constituted a sub-committee of 
the publications committee and be em- 
powered to select subjects, revise and 
pass upon all outlines submitted, before 
printed. 

MARGARET BROWN, Chairman. 



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OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Explanatory Notes on the Plan of 
Preparation of Study Outlines 

A. The use of a few designated books 
(or a single book) as a basis for com- 
mon study of the same subject, or closely 
related topics, provides the means by 
which the unity and coordination is se- 
cured, which is essential for effective and 
satisfactory results. 

Each member may, if she so desires, 
provide herself at nominal cost with the 
source references necessary to cover the 
essential point contained in the outline. 

B. The books ,for collateral reading 
should be carefully evaluated and selec- 
tion based upon their real value in supple- 
menting text, from the standpoint of re- 
liability, readableness and stimulative 
quality, also that the price shall not be 
prohibitive of purchase by clubs, local 
public libraries and duplication in travel- 
ing libraries of large number of copies 
for use in supplying many different clubs. 

Any local or traveling library may eas- 
ily provide additional books for collateral 
reading whenever the collection permits. 
It is not, however, deemed advisable to 
have such extended lists incorporated in 
the outlines; as a demand would then be 
created which could not be supplied by 
the small library, and therefore would be- 
come a handicap and embarrassment. 

C. In outlining lessons by the ques- 
tion method, the questions should be so 
formulated as to stimulate discussion; 
not simply to be answered in the affirma- 
tive or negative. 

The question method permits a free ex- 
pression of individual opinions based on 
personal reading. Such "discussion awak- 
ens the keenest interest through the ac- 
tivity of different minds upon the same 
fact or idea," as each member is ex- 
pected to prepare herself to answer all 
questions. 

The question method is endorsed by 
many educational experts as a desirable 
method for the conduct of study classes, 
and has been found to be practical and 
satisfactory by many study clubs. 

D. In outlining lessons by the Topical 



method, care should be taken to include 
no more topics than can be thoroughly 
discussed, and such phases of the sub- 
ject assigned as topics as will amplify 
the general subject which has been stud- 
ied in common by all members from the 
text upon which the outline is based. 

The report was accepted. On the mo- 
tion of Mr. Bliss it was voted that the 
chairman of the committee be authorized 
to draw upon the treasurer of the League 
for any amount not to exceed $100.00 to 
defray the expenses of preparing some 
experimental outlines carrying out the 
plans suggested in the report. It was 
moved by Mr. Dudgeon that the chairman 
be instructed to enter into negotiations 
with some publisher to secure coopera- 
tion in printing study outlines approved 
by the committee, to be sold to study clubs 
and library commissions at reasonable 
cost. Carried. On the motion of Mr. 
Bliss, it was voted to continue the study 
outline committee, with Miss Brown as 
chairman, and to authorize the commit- 
tee to select subjects, revise and pass 
upon all outlines before printed. 

Adjourned. 

SECOND SESSION 
(Saturday, June 29, 8:30 p. m.) 

As there were several important com- 
mittee reports still to be received it was 
voted to hold a meeting on Monday after- 
noon at 4:30 to complete the transaction 
of business. Mr. Milam then turned the 
meeting over to Miss Miriam E. Carey, of 
Minnesota, and the evening was devoted 
to the consideration of libraries in insti- 
tutions. 

Miss E. KATHLEEN JONES, librarian 
of the McLean Hospital, Waverley, Mass., 
read a paper on 

LIBRARY WORK AMONG THE 
INSANE 

I have been asked to talk about two 
things to-night, our library at McLean 
Hospital in Waverley, Massachusetts, and 
my idea for organization among the state 
hospitals of the different states. By dint 



LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 



321 



of considerable money, much thought and 
labor and an unlimited amount of In- 
terest and cooperation with the librarian 
on the part of superintendent and trus- 
tees, we have been able to build up at 
the McLean Hospital something which ap- 
proaches pretty near our ideal of what a 
library in a hospital for the insane should 
be. But in regard to the second subject 
I feel a little diffident, since there are 
several among you who have actually 
organized the institution libraries of 
your different states and combined them 
under one head, while I have only 
dreamed about it. Still, the dream and 
the vision must always be forerunners of 
accomplishment, and you also must have 
dreamed before you were able to build. 

At McLean Hospital we have two li- 
braries, one for the use of the patients, 
which was started in 1835 with 160 vol- 
umes and now numbers over 7,000, and a 
medical library organized in 1887 and con- 
taining over 5,000 volumes. The two are 
kept entirely distinct with separate ac- 
cession-book, catalog, classification and 
finances. The medical library comprises a 
fairly good department in general medi- 
cine and a very fine one in chemistry; but 
of course, its principal features are -books 
and periodicals in psychology and psychi- 
atry. We take 85 medical and chemical 
journals, most of them German, and the 
care of these periodicals alone is no 
slight task for the librarian. I will just 
say incidentally that, unable to find any 
classification for medical books which 
seemed at all adequate to our needs we 
have evolved one for ourselves, using 
the decimal idea in numbering. It is a 
thoroughly satisfactory scheme for us and 
we hope some time to print it for the bene- 
fit of the medical libraries in other hos- 
pitals for the insane. 

Although our general library for the 
patients has been in existence for sev- 
enty-five years and more, for the first 
six decades it was conducted in a rather 
desultory manner, as indeed, most li- 
braries were at that time. It was not till 
1895 that any attempt at classification 
and cataloging was made, and not until 



1904 was a trained librarian installed and 
the whole department put on a business 
basis. The expenditure of the annual ap- 
propriation was at that time put into the 
librarian's hands with directions to build 
up the library at her own discretion, sub- 
ject, of course, to the approval of the su- 
perintendent and trustees. That the busi- 
ness basis is the only successful one, 
these figures show: in 1904, after sev- 
enty years, the library numbered only 
4,000 volumes, with few new books but a 
large assortment of old sermons and evan- 
gelical biography, and its circulation was 
about 5,000. During the eight years of 
the new regime, more than 3,000 volumes 
have been added and the circulation has 
increased to over 8,500. 

During its seventy-five years of service 
our library has exemplified at least four 
important things: first, as has been 
shown, that one cannot get such good re- 
sults from the old desultory method of 
having a few books on the wards looked 
after by nurses, or even in a central li- 
brary run by a stenographer in her spare 
moments, as from an organized, central li- 
brary with a trained librarian at its head. 
Second, that although the business basis 
is the only successful one, the admin- 
istration of it should be as simple and 
free from "red tape" as possible. The 
nearer a hospital librarian can keep her 
library to the idea of the private library 
and the more friendly and personal rela- 
tions she can establish with the patients 
the more good she can accomplish. The 
third point I would make is that unless 
they are very ill and destructive, books 
are treated as carefully by the insane as 
by the users of the public libraries. Last 
year, out of 8,686 volumes taken out by 
patients and nurses, only 9 were lost or 
destroyed, and of these only two were 
charged to patients. It is the proud boast 
of one of our head nurses who has under 
him the next to the most violent and de- 
structive ward on the men's side, that 
he has had out for his patients over 450 
volumes in the last two years, and has 
not lost or had mutilated one single book! 

The fourth and most important lesson 



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OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



we have learned is that the value of a 
well-selected library can hardly be over- 
estimated as a therapeutic agent. I do 
not mean by this that a cure can be ef- 
fected simply by reading the right books; 
that of course is absurd. But it is a fact 
recognized by all psychiatrists and at the 
basis of the treatment of. the insane in 
all hospitals to-day, that whatever takes 
a patient's mind off himself and his own 
troubles and directs his thoughts into 
other and more wholesome channels, con- 
tributes to his recovery. And when 
amusement pall, handicrafts tire and golf 
and tennis are too strenuous, books and 
pictures will almost always help. It is 
for this reason that we have to be so 
careful of the kind of reading, especially 
of fiction, which we put into the hands of 
our patients. They must be wholesome 
stories; anything dealing with suicide or 
insanity is strictly tabu; also stories 
which are morbid or would be apt to 
arouse a morbid train of thought. With 
these exceptions the insane want and 
should have the same books which you 
and I read. Moreover, and I wish I could 
say this loudly and emphatically enough 
to be heard over the whole country, the 
insane are not imbeciles and they are 
not children, and they resent it when they 
are treated as such just as much as you 
or I would. If the old ladies like to re- 
read the stories they loved when they 
were young, so do old ladies everywhere, 
but they do not want kindergarten sto- 
ries. And they are as interested in what 
is going on in the world and in keeping 
up with the times as anyone. 

About once a week I go to Boston, look 
over the new books, select the ones I 
like the looks of and have them sent out 
"on approval." Every book of fiction is 
read by me, or if it is distinctly a man's 
book, by someone of the staff in whose 
literary judgment I can rely. The books 
which are kept are then classified and 
cataloged and either sent directly to 
some patient or ward where I know they 
will be appreciated, or else placed on the 
"new book shelves." Neither staff nor 
nurses are allowed to have the new books 



until the patients have read them. The 
patients come over four evenings a week 
to the library, the men Mondays and Fri- 
days and the women Wednesdays and 
Saturdays. Our library consists of two 
large and very beautiful rooms with open 
shelves and open fires. Some of the pa- 
tients roam about and browse among the 
books, others sit at the tables and look 
at pictures and magazines, while still 
others join the ladies of the house who 
generally sit in the front library in the 
evening with their fancy-work and the 
fire. Sometimes we play cards with them. 

Besides these four evenings, certain pa- 
tients are sometimes allowed to come 
over in the daytime, and the nurses come 
in at any time of day to get books for 
some particular patient or for their ward. 
These "traveling libraries" on the wards 
are our most successful means of reach- 
ing those patients who are too feeble, 
or too ill, or who lack the initiative to 
come to the library and select their own 
books, but who will often get interested 
in a book which lies on the sitting-room 
table of their ward. 

I am often asked what kind of books 
aside from fiction the patients call for. 
I suppose books with pictures would rank 
first, for patients who are too ill to read 
will often look at these by the hour. 
These picture-books comprise art books, 
of which we have a very fine collection 
bought and added to each year with 
money from a bequest to the hospital; 
Black's travel books; Country Life in 
America, etc. Next come the nature and 
out-of-door books; then literature, espe- 
cially Longfellow, Whittier and Tennyson. 
History is seldom called for by the pa- 
tients, sociology and economics never; 
yet our nurses, especially our Canadian 
nurses who want to know about condi- 
tions in the States, frequently ask for 
these, and we have books on all these 
subjects; for, though our hospital motto 
is "Patients first," we find that whatever 
increases the intelligence of the nurses 
increases their efficiency, and we are glad 
to have them avail themselves of every 
opportunity ior reading and study. 



LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 



323 



Frankly humorous books I have learned 
never to give to a depressed patient, and 
Miss Carey tells me she has had the same 
experience. If a patient is much de- 
pressed he seems to resent being cheered 
up if he knows it, and we all have real- 
ized in ourselves that unless we are in 
the mood for it there is nothing in the 
world so dreary as an avowedly funny 
story. Neither is there any call for 
collections like the "International li- 
brary of famous literature," and the "Li- 
brary of American literature," and in this 
matter too, Miss Carey agrees with me. 
Short stories also are at a discount here. 
The patients want novels which shall 
grip and hold their attention in spite of 
themselves. We all know that the com- 
plete librarian is supposed to have an 
extra sense of intuition, and I think I un- 
consciously say to myself in selecting 
books for the patients, "If I felt the way 
that patient looks as if he felt, what kind 
of books would I want?" Sometimes, 
though, one makes mistakes. For instance, 
we have one patient, a dear old lady, 
somewhat prim, a little austere, a typi- 
cal New England aristocrat of the old 
school, with whom one immediately asso- 
ciates "Cranford" and "Oldfleld" and Mrs. 
de la Pasture. But this dear lady wants 
detective stories, if you please, and the 
more gruesome and bloodier they are the 
more she revels in them. In her estima- 
tion, "The Marathon mystery" and "The 
Boule cabinet" and "The Mystery of the 
yellow room" totally eclipse "Down our 
street" and "Queed" any day. 

But while short stories are seldom 
called for, the "short story in long 
dresses" and bound by itself, is very popu- 
lar with patients who are physically weak 
and unable to hold large volumes or to 
read very long at a time. I always keep 
a collection of these little books in a spe- 
cial bookrack so I can lay my hands on 
them at any moment. They comprise such 
titles as "Pigs is pigs," "The good Samari- 
tan," "Philosophy Four," "Stickeen," "The 
perfect tribute," "Songs from Vagabondia," 
"The friendly craft," etc. Then I have 
other racks on tables and window shelves 



which I keep filled with different books, 
changing them often. And I find that 
shifting the books on the shelves every 
little while brings into prominence some 
which have heretofore been overlooked. 
In short, I try to keep something new in 
the library all the time, even if only a 
new plant or arrangement of flowers, for 
the patients in a hospital of this sort are 
very dependent on outside agencies for di- 
version and interest, and their attention 
must be caught and held by some means 
or other. 

So much for the reality: now for the 
dream. 

Because the library in our hospital has 
been such a success, because it has so 
thoroughly proved its therapeutic value, 
I dream of the time when one as efficient 
shall be in every hospital in the country. 
The fact that ours is a private hospital 
means that we are not helped by the 
slate; it also means that most of our 
patients, but by no means all, are on a 
paying basis; it most emphatically does 
not mean that we have the monopoly of 
the educated class. While it is true that 
there are many illiterates in the state 
hospitals, it is also true that there are 
in them thousands of men and women as 
well educated, as refined, as great lovers 
of books as those in our private hospital. 
For the majority, it is the question of 
money, not of education, which deter- 
mines a patient's place in the state or the 
private institution. If our people value 
our library so highly, what must be their 
deprivation when because of lack of funds 
they have to go to state institutions where 
there are no books and periodicals or at 
best only a few old ones, never changed 
and seldom added to. 

The state says it cannot afford to ap- 
propriate for each of its hospitals and 
asylums an annual sum sufficient to build 
up such a library as ours and maintain 
so many trained librarians, and the state 
is justified. But I have dreamed of a 
cooperation by means of which there shall 
be in every state one trained librarian 
who shall organize into a library what 
books there already are in each institu- 



324 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



tion, advise and train in library methods 
those in charge, and buy from an annual 
appropriation such as the state can afford, 
new books which shall be sent from one 
hospital to another in the form of trav- 
eling libraries, and after they have gone 
the round be divided up among the indi- 
vidual institutions, thus -slowly building 
up each library. This organizer should 
be in the employ either of the State 
Board of Insanity (or its equivalent) or 
else of the State Library Commission. It 
would seen that the former would be more 
satisfactory and less complicated, as the 
state institutions already are under their 
control, but in some states the library 
commission seems to have have been en- 
tirely successful in cooperating with the 
state board. One thing seems certain, 
that unless the state board and the hos- 
pital superintendents can be interested 
in the scheme little can be done; while 
with their Interest and cooperation suc- 
cess is insured. 

That this dream is practical has been 
proved in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and 
a few other states. In New York, most 
of the state hospitals seem to have fairly 
good' libraries, and the one at Middle- 
town, N. Y., ranks very nearly with Mc- 
Lean in the number of volumes, and seems 
to be carried on very efficiently. In Tren- 
ton, N. J., there is a state hospital which 
has a memorial library with a good an- 
nual appropriation and which adds about 
one hundred and fifty books a year. I 
have with me the figures of the hospital li- 
braries in nineteen states, if anyone cares 
to see them. 

In my dream I see equal library advan- 
tages to every state hospital in the coun- 
try, and I hear from them all the words 
they will say to you who are able to re- 
alize these dreams, words our patients 
at McLean have said to us over and over 
again, "You don't know what this library 
has meant to me!" This is an opportun- 
ity for intimate helpfulness and real, prac- 
tical usefulness which I hope everyone of 
you will try to introduce into his state. 

In the discussion that followed, Miss 
Jones said the McLean Hospital library 



had an appropriation of about $300 a year 
for books alone for the patients, but 
thought that a state hospital library could 
get on nicely with less. Miss Templeton 
gave an account of state institutional 
work in Nebraska where the policy has 
been to get library work in these institu- 
tions under the contrpl of the state 
library commission. 

Mr. Dudgeon said that a list of simple 
industrial books had been prepared with 
much care for the prisoners in the Wis- 
consin state prison. Also that the chap- 
lain helped in recommending reading for 
the prisoners, those who expected to get 
out being especially anxious to keep up 
with events and not be Rip Van Winkles 
when released. 

Miss Carey, of Minnesota, said their 
state commission has made special ef- 
forts to know what the libraries of the 
institutions were doing, how many read- 
ers they had, and how many books 
they circulate. She said this familiarized 
the institutions with the commission and 
so the officers were glad to put the burden 
off on the commission. She thought it 
was impossible to do anything until the 
officers of the institutions were on your 
side; that this must be worked for until 
secured. 

After discussion the session adjourned. 

THIRD SESSION 
(Monday, July 1, 4:30 p. m.) 

The third session of the League opened 
with a report from Mr. F. F. Hopper, of 
Tacoma, on the work of the Committee 
on federal prison libraries. His report 
was as follows: 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LI- 
BRARIES IN FEDERAL 
PRISONS 

The report of this committee made by 
Mr. Hadley at the Pasadena meeting, out- 
lined correspondence with the Depart- 
ment of Justice in Washington, which De- 
partment has supervision of the peniten- 
tiaries including their libraries. After re- 



LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 



325 



peated efforts by Mr. Hadley, the de- 
partment seemed to become interested in 
the libraries in the prisons, and friendly 
to suggestions for improving them, but 
the officials considered that proper li- 
brary facilities were dependent upon the 
provision by Congress of a system of edu- 
cation for the prisoners. However, the 
department already had the authority to 
appropriate money from its own funds for 
the purchase of books for the prison libra- 
ries. In his report, Mr. Hadley recom- 
mended that a bill be introduced in the 
next Congress for an annual appropria- 
tion for books and their care in peniten- 
tiary libraries. 

In 1911 catalogs of the libraries in the 
penitentiaries at Atlanta and at McNeil 
Island were prepared by the prison libra- 
rians and printed. After these were sub- 
mitted to the Department of Justice, it 
seems to have been decided to adopt a 
definite policy for the annual expenditure 
of money for the purchase of books for 
one of these libraries, that at McNeil Is- 
land. This decision was probably has- 
tened by the disclosures the cataloges 
made in regard to the kind of books al- 
ready in the libraries. It is evident that 
fiction constitutes almost the whole of the 
collections. At any rate in January the 
attorney general wrote the secretary of 
the American Library Association that the 
department would spend $100 annually for 
the purchase of books for the library at 
McNeil Island, and requested that a list 
of books be prepared, none of the books 
to be fiction, but chiefly history, biog- 
raphy and science. Mr. Utley asked the 
present chairman of your committee to 
prepare the list since the Tacoma library 
is the nearest to McNeil Island and the 
present chairman was somewhat ac- 
quainted with the conditions and needs 
there. A list of 500 titles, with a first 
choice of books to cost $100.00 was con- 
sidered, but the list was reduced to 175 
titles, since it was deemed best to pro- 
vide only for purchase for two years. 
Since the library already contained con- 
siderable fiction and the public libraries 
of both Seattle and Tacoma frequently 



send the prison selected books from their 
discards, it was fortunate that the de- 
partment wished no fiction on the list. 

We have learned from the Department 
of Justice in the last few days that simi- 
lar purchases were not contemplated for 
the much larger prisons at Atlanta and 
Leavenworth. No attempt was made to 
secure the introduction of a bill in Con- 
gress providing for an annual appropria- 
tion for books and their care in the pen- 
itentiary libraries, since it was already 
so late in the present session; since the 
new interest of the department under the 
present law appeared promising; and 
since it seemed desirable first to secure 
the discussion and cooperation of the 
American Prison Association and other 
societies interested in prison administra- 
tion and reform. It was hoped that a 
member of this committee could present 
the subject of libraries in the federal pris- 
ons at the meeting of the Conference of 
Charities and Corrections in Cleveland 
during the present month, but it was not 
possible to carry out the plan. The 
American Prison Association has for- 
mally invited a member of the committee 
to discuss the same subject at the annual 
meeting of the association at Baltimore in 
November, and it is highly desirable that 
the invitation be accepted. It should be 
possible to interest and secure the power- 
ful backing of the American Prison Asso- 
ciation in securing the passage of any 
contemplated legislation looking to the 
improvement of prison libraries. 

The warden of the prison at McNeil Is- 
land secures some fifty magazines as gifts 
by merely begging them from the publish- 
ers! At both Atlanta and Leavenworth, 
the only new magazines the prisoners see 
are those which they subscribe for them- 
selves or which are sent by their friends. 

In the Atlanta prison, a regular school 
is conducted, and whatever books are pur- 
chased from the general funds are school 
books. A school should be established at 
McNeil Island. At present there are no 
facilities for such work there but with the 
example of the one at Atlanta, it should 
be possible to urge effectively that the 



326 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



department establish a school at McNeil 
Island. 

In the coming year the commendable 
start which the Department of Justice 
has made in purchasing books for the 
prison at McNeil Island, should open the 
way for successful efforts in persuading 
the department to undertake much more 
liberal purchases of books for the libra- 
ries of the much larger prisons at Atlanta 
and at Leavenworth. 

It is earnestly recommended that a vig- 
orous presentation of the needs of the 
prison libraries be made to the depart- 
ment by someone in person, backed by 
all the influence obtainable. It is also 
urged that a list of fiction suitable for 
prison libraries be cooperatively made 
with the utmost care. The needs of the 
prisoner in his reading for recreation are 
very special, and many books entirely 
suitable for the open shelf room of a pub- 
lic library should be ruthlessly excluded 
from the prison. Expert knowledge of the 
psychology of the prisoner should in some 
way be obtained in preparing a list of 
fiction for reading in prison. It is bet- 
ter that the prisoner read not at all than 
that he should be given many of the books 
eminently fit for one in the normal con- 
ditions and relations of life. 

FRANKLIN F. HOPPER, Chairman. 

Mrs. Sneed supplemented Mr. Hopper's 
report with a report of conditions in the 
federal prison at Atlanta and of confer- 
ences which she had had with officials 
from Washington. It was her opinion, 
based on advice from the prison authori- 
ties that the only way to accomplish any- 
thing is for some one to go to Washing- 
ton, put the case plainly before the De- 
partment of Justice and ask that an ap- 
propriation be made for libraries in the 
federal prisons. Mr. Dudgeon moved that 
Mrs. Sneed, Dr. Owen and Mr. Hopper act 
as a committee representing the League 
with full power to act, and that the League 
pledge itself to hearty cooperation. Car- 
ried. Miss Tyler moved that the secre- 
tary of the League send a communication 
to the Council of the A. L. A., stating the 



progress of the committee and asking for 
its cooperation. On the motion of Mr. 
Dudgeon, $50.00 was placed at the dis- 
posal of the committee to carry on its 
work. 

The report of the publications committee 
was then presented by the chairman, Mr. 
M. S. Dudgeon. At his suggestion the rec- 
ommendations of the committee were 
voted on as they were read. 

The League adopted the first, second 
and third recommendation of the commit- 
tee; took no action on the fifth, and 
adopted the sixth. The report of the com- 
mittee was then accepted. 

REPORT OF THE PUBLICATIONS 
COMMITTEE 

Your committee respectfully reports the 
following: 

1. A very definite demand has been 
presented to the committee from the va- 
rious commissions calling for the publica- 
tion of a buying list of about one thousand 
titles for use by small libraries. The 
committee has investigated the matter and 
is glad to report that Miss Zaidee Brown's 
list has been revised and brought up to 
date by Miss Webster of New York, and 
that this will admirably meet the demand. 
After going over the matter with Mr. 
Utley, it appeared that no advantage would 
result should this committee handle this 
publication. The committee recommends 
that the separate commissions deal di- 
rectly with the New York state library. 
The committee is informed that the com- 
missions will be circularized by the New 
York authorities for this purpose. The 
price is exceedingly reasonable, probably 
not exceeding two cents each in large 
quantities. It seems likely that arrange- 
ments can be made so that each commis- 
sion can stamp or print upon the title 
page such matter as it sees fit. 

We understand that copy of the list 
is now ready for the printer. When 
printed this list will also contain a maga- 
zine list. 

2. It was suggested by the president 
of the League that the committee collect 
and print short paragraphs suitable for 



LIBRARY COMMISSIONS 



327 



publication in newspapers during local 
campaigns for a library. The committee 
recommends that this be undertaken by 
one of the commissions as a sub-commit- 
tee, rather than by the publications com- 
mittee. 

3. Mr. Gillis of California, has sug- 
gested that each commission prepare a list 
of the best material available treating of 
the history of its state. This seems to 
the committee the function of the state li- 
brary rather than the commission and it 
recommends that this request be referred 
to the National Association of State Li- 
braries. 

4. It was suggested that the committee 
reprint Moulton's "Aids to Library Work 
with Foreigners." This matter was re- 
ferred to the A. L. A. Publishing Board, 
which has arranged for its publication. 

5. The committee has been asked also 
to consider the publication of a buying 
list for traveling libraries, to be followed 
by a periodical supplement probably is- 
sued in mimeograph form. The question- 
naire submitted to the commissions indi- 
cates that there would be only a limited 
use of such a list, many commissions 
maintaining that present aids are suffi- 
cient. The commissions exhibited so 
little interest in the matter that this ques- 
tion is submitted to the League without 
recommendation. 

6. The loss resulting from the suscep- 
tibility of the trustee or librarian of many 
of the smaller libraries, to the subtle wiles 
of the eloquent book-agent, calls for some 
authoritative pronouncement upon the 
value, or lack of value, of subscription 
books. To make such a pronouncement 
seems to be the function of the A. L. A. 
Publishing Board. The committee there- 
fore respectfully recommends that such 
board be requested to make proper provi- 
sion for such pronouncement. 

Respectfully submitted, 

M. S. DUDGEON, Chairman, 
ZAIDEE BROWN, 
MARY E. DOWNEY. 

In the absence of the chairman of the 



committee on uniform financial reports 
for library commissions, the following re- 
port was read by the secretary: 

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM 
FINANCIAL REPORTS 

The difficulties confronting the compiler 
of statistics of expenditures of library 
commissions or library extension depart- 
ments are obvious, owing (1) to variations 
in organization and scope of work in dif- 
ferent states, (2) to variations in account- 
ing systems which must conform to the 
state accounting system, and (3) to vari- 
ations in methods of appropriations. For 
example, in some states definite appropria- 
tions are made for certain departments of 
work, in others certain expenses such as 
printing, binding and office supplies are 
paid from the general state fund for all 
departments. In view of these facts, many 
commissions are of the opinion that a uni- 
form accounting system which will meet 
the needs of every state is impracticable. 

Your committee collected the financial 
reports of each library commission, or 
other state department doing library ex- 
tension work and made a careful compari- 
son of the items included. 

It was found that these items could 
practically all be grouped under a few 
general headings, as given in Table I. It 
was further suggested that another sum- 
mary giving approximate totals for vari- 
ous departments be added, as outlined in 
Table II. 

The committee therefore submits this 
summary of expenses, as a tentative form, 
to be used in the annual report of the 
League for purposes of comparison. 

The work of the committee has shown 
that such a summary can readily be made 
from the financial reports of the several 
commissions as they are now published 
and it is believed that this table would be 
a useful addition to the yearbook. 

The outline here presented is not re- 
garded as final, but is submitted for your 
discussion and amendment. 

CLARA F. BALDWIN, Chairman. 



328 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



TABLE I. 
Summary of Expenditures 

Books and binding 

Direct aid 

Pamphlets for distribution 

Express, freight and cartage 

Office supplies and furniture 

Periodical clearing house 

Periodical subscriptions and member- 
ships 

Postage 

Printing 

Salaries 

State institutions 

Summer school 

Traveling expenses 

Traveling library boxes 

Miscellaneous 
Total 

TABLE II 

Summary of Expenses by Departments 

Field work 

Instruction 

Traveling library 

Direct aid 

Legislative reference 

School library work (for Oregon) 

Educational reference (for N. Dakota) 

The report was accepted. 

The secretary then presented the fol- 
lowing report of what the League Year- 
book should contain. 

LEAGUE OF LIBRARY COMMISSIONS' 
YEARBOOK 

In accordance with the request of the 
president of the League, the secretary has 
made the following outline of the matter 
which should be included in the Yearbook 
to be published this coming autumn: 

List 'of members of the League. 

Officers. 

Committees. 

Constitution. 



Report by states, giving under each the 
names of the executive staff, a list of the 
publications in print, and new legislation 
pertaining to library extension, any dis- 
tinctly new phase of work taken up, and 
in the case of a new commission a full 
account of its form of organization and 
scope of activities. 

Traveling libraries: Number of vol- 
umes in fixed groups; number of volumes 
on open shelves; loans. 

Number of requests in answer to which 
books have been sent; number of volumes 
sent out. 

Requests classified as follows: Groups 
of taxpayers, public libraries, schools, in- 
stitutions, study clubs, individuals, other 
organizations. 

Summary of public library conditions by 
states: Population, number of towns of 
over 2,000; number of libraries supported 
by tax; number of libraries supported by 
associations; number of subscription libra- 
ries; number of library buildings; num- 
ber of trained librarians. 

Financial report according to the recom- 
mendations of Miss Baldwin's report. 

The report was accepted. 

The nominating committee then pre- 
sented the following names as officers 
of the League for the ensuing year: 

For president, Mr. C. H. Milam, Indi- 
ana; for first vice-president, Miss Eliza- 
beth B. Wales, Missouri; for second vice- 
president, Dr. Thomas M. Owen, Alabama; 
for secretary-treasurer, Miss Zaidee 
Brown, Massachusetts; publications com- 
mittee: M. S. Dudgeon, Wisconsin, chair- 
man; Miss Fannie C. Rawson, Kentucky; 
Miss Caroline F. Webster, New York. 

It was voted to instruct the secretary to 
cast the ballot for these officers. 

The meeting adjourned. 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION 

Fourth Annual Meeting, Ottawa, Canada, June 26 July 2, J9J2 



FIRST (GENERAL) SESSION 
(Thursday, June 27, 2:30 p. na.) 

In the absence of the president, the vice- 
president, Herbert O. Brigham, state libra- 
rian of Rhode Island, called the meeting to 
order in ,the ball room of the Chateau 
Laurier. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: Ladies and 
Gentlemen, we will open the session this 
afternoon with the consideration of a gen- 
eral topic, which will be taken part in by 
Mr. Dudgeon and by other speakers who 
will discuss Mr. Dudgeon's paper. It so 
happens that this year we have been so 
fortunate as to have the article reprinted 
beforehand in the publication of the 
Special Libraries Association, so that 
doubtless many of you are already familiar 
with the paper. 

I am going to appoint on the nominating 
committee Messrs. George W. Lee of Bos- 
ton, John A. Lapp of Indianapolis, and 
Miss E. V. Dobbins of Ndw York City. 

We are very fortunate in having with us 
to take the main paper for this opening 
session a man who has been actively en- 
gaged in special library work for some 
time in the west, one who is very familiar 
with the development of the "Wisconsin 
idea" of legislative reference work, and 
closely associated with Dr. McCarthy in 
developing that idea. 

I take great pleasure in introducing to 
you Mr. M. S. Dudgeon, secretary of the 
Wisconsin library commission, who will 
talk upon the subject of "The plan, scope 
and results of special libraries." 

Mr. DUDGEON: Mr. Chairman, Ladies 
and Gentlemen There are those who 
maintain that there is no such thing as a 
special library in a class of its own, but 
that what we call a special library is 
simply a general reference library which 
by the needs of its patrons has become 
somewhat specialized in its methods and 



in its equipment. On the other hand, 
there are those who maintain that a special 
library has so distinctly a different func- 
tion and purpose, that its scope is so dif- 
ferent, that its equipment is so different, 
and that the equipment, the qualities and 
the characteristics of those who man the 
library are so different, as to entitle such 
an institution to an entirely different clas- 
sification; that it is not a general reference 
library, but a special library, something 
entirely different. It seems to me to be 
more or less a distinction witnout a dif- 
ference, more or less a play upon words. 
I have, at the request of the Program Com- 
mittee, written down what seemed to me 
the perfectly obvious things that might be 
said about the scope and purposes of the 
special library. You have the paper be- 
fore you as printed in "Special Libraries," 
and will probably be fortunate enough to 
escape some detail, as I will try to shorten 
this somewhat in the reading.* 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: I think we all 
have a clear understanding of just what a 
special library means, and I think we 
should all notice especially the allusion 
that Mr. Dudgeon made to the reference 
library as compared to the public library, 
in the definition of the use of the book. 

I think one of the finest examples of a 
special librarian one can find is in our 
absent president. Dr. Whitten is doubtless 
one of the best authorities to-day on public 
utilities, and he has this month gone to 
London, where he is spending the summer 
investigating public utilities for the Na- 
tional Civic Federation. That, I think, 
accounts for his absence, and we regret 
very much that he is not here. 

I am going to ask Mr. Josephson of the 
John Crerar Library, Chicago, to lead the 
discussion. 

A. G. S. JOSEPHSON: I am afraid that 

*Mr. Dudgeon's paper appeared in full in "Special 
Libraries," June, 1912, pp. 129-138. 



329 



330 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



you will not find my paper what you ex- 
pected it to be, a discussion of Mr. Dud- 
geon's paper. When Mr. Lapp wrote me 
some time ago to ask if I would not dis- 
cuss the question, I began to try to make 
up my own mind as to what a special li- 
brary was. I had made my mental notes on 
that subject, and when* Mr. Dudgeon's paper 
came and I read it and undertook to dis- 
cuss it, it happened that my own ideas 
came first.* 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: I am going to 
ask Mr. W. P. Cutter, librarian of the En- 
gineering Societies of New York City, to 
contribute either by a paper or an oral 
discussion of Mr. Dudgeon's address. 

Mr. CUTTER: I do not know that I have 
anything to offer as a contribution to the 
discussion of Mr. Dudgeon's very interesting 
paper and Mr. Josephson's very interesting 
discussion of it. I might, perhaps, with my 
usual liking to express things briefly, say 
that I consider a special library as one that 
serves people who are doing things, and a 
reference library one which serves people 
who are thinking things. The former are 
not thinking about doing things, they are al- 
ready doing them. I think that applies also 
to people who are serving as legislators, who 
are making laws; to sociologists, who are 
making attempts to handle crime and other 
sociological questions. I believe that the 
development now in the public library 
world is in the direction of service to the 
public. For twenty-five or twenty-six years 
now we have been talking about, first, 
books, and then about places for storing 
books, buildings to put them in, methods 
of cataloging them, charging them, of 
making picture bulletins for children and 
all that, and we have finally arrived at a 
discussion of the methods of serving the 
people who are really doing things. It has 
taken about twenty-five years to arrive at 
that point, and I think we are reaching 
that goal. I noticed, although I was not 
present at the meeting this morning, that 
in two reports of committees of the Amer- 
ican Library Association, an instrument 
was mentioned which has been used in 

*Mr. Josephson's discussion will appear in a later 
issue of "Special Libraries." 



one library, at least, to my knowledge, for 
the reproduction of material for people 
who are doing things, a reproduction of 
printed material, manuscripts, maps, draw- 
ings, etc. This is the first time that has 
come up, I think, in a report in the Amer- 
ican Library Association on the reference 
side. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: I hoped that Dr. 
McCarthy, the head of the legislative ref- 
erence department of the Wisconsin li- 
brary, and Mr. Galbreath, former state 
librarian of Ohio, who is now secretary of 
the Constitutional Convention of Ohio, 
would be present to-day. In their absence 
the discussion is now open to the members, 
and I hope there will be a very general 
and free discussion. 

JOHN A. LAPP: I have not very much 
to say except to emphasize one or two 
points which Mr. Dudgeon brought out in 
his paper. One of those points is the fact 
that the material which we deal with in 
special libraries is not found in books. In 
a short experience of only four years, I 
think, outside of those references to legal 
works, to law periodicals and law books, 
I have not been able to do one-tenth of my 
work from books or from published ma- 
terial. Most of the work, the real work, 
which has been done by the legislative 
reference department of Indiana has been 
done through work which we have pre- 
pared, which we have drawn up from the 
general material scattered here and there 
in obscure sources and from letters which 
we had written to experts outside. I say 
scarcely one-tenth, and I do not know but 
perhaps that is too liberal. One-tenth of 
the questions we have been able to an- 
swer from published material. That would 
seem to me to be the most distinguishing 
point about the special library. I believe 
that the heads of the industrial libraries, 
the manufacturing libraries, the commer- 
cial libraries, will agree with me on that 
point. 

The subject of the training of special 
librarians is the one subject here upon 
which there seems to be, thus far, a divi- 
sion of opinion. I have always believed 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



331 



that the person who has a general knowl- 
edge of the subject, with a library training, 
is the person who is best qualified to do 
the work of a special library. I think that 
is true particularly in legislative and mu- 
nicipal reference work; but, on the other 
hand, it should be emphasized that if that 
person did not have a pretty good knowl- 
edge of library work, or if he did not have 
a pretty efficient librarian with him, he 
would make a sorry failure, as Mr. Dud- 
geon has suggested. At the same time, I 
do not believe that the librarian who is 
trained as a librarian merely, who loves 
books and so on, can get hold of the real 
vital part of the work in a way that the 
person who is using the special library 
demands. On the whole I am inclined to 
believe that the best working arrangement 
is to have a man in the library who has a 
knowledge of the subject matter and a per- 
son who knows something about library 
work and library training, and then to 
have him supplemented by some one who 
knows the library side of it, with a bare 
knowledge of the other subjects, and, 
working together, they can bring about a 
very efficient special library service. That 
is the ideal of a special library combina- 
tion. I think it has worked out in most 
cases. But, again, speaking from personal 
knowledge, I do not think that I could ever 
do very much in legislative reference work 
if I were a librarian without the other 
training. Whatever I had of librarian 
training, through the school, when I went 
into the work, might be placed in very 
small compass I haven't told this before 
but I will confess now that when I began I 
knew very little about librarianship. If my 
assistants knew that at the time, at any 
rate, I have never told it before, but I have 
learned something about it since that time. 
But I think I could have made a better suc- 
cess of librarianship if I had had more 
library training. On the other hand, I do 
not believe I could have gotten along if I 
had not had the other side of the subject 
more largely. So I agree with Mr. Dud- 
geon on most points as to that question; 
but I would suggest that the person who 



is in charge, if he is not fairly well 
grounded in librarian skill and librarian 
art, should have some one with him who 
would keep him off the rocks, because he 
will go on the rocks if he does not have 
some one to guide him. 

The special library meets a very special 
need. That has been pointed out many 
times. We deal with material that is not 
in print. We manufacture it. Many times 
we must color it with our own opinions. 
Some people say that in public affairs, in 
municipal and legislative reference work, 
we should not allow our own personality 
or our judgment to enter into the work. 
I should like to find a librarian who is 
able to keep from doing that. If I have 
knowledge which to me seems certain, if 
I know a certain fact and have the informa- 
tion right at hand, I cannot refrain from tell- 
ing the person who ought to know that fact; 
I cannot refrain from telling him that a cer- 
tain thing is right, or a certain thing is 
wrong. While we must all do it diplomatic- 
ally, it is out of the question, I believe, for a 
man to be efficient as a special librarian, 
even in dealing with the public affairs in li- 
braries, to avoid giving his own opinions on 
subjects. What is the use of his getting a 
knowledge of the subject if he cannot 
really use it? But he should use it very 
discreetly. 

The special library was very well de- 
scribed by Mr. Cutter when he said it was 
a library for those who do things, while 
the reference library is for those people 
who think of things. This is the age of 
efficiency. I believe that the librarian is 
the efficiency engineer, or ought to be 
the efficiency engineer, of the educational 
world. I think the general reference libra- 
rian ought to be that, and I think the 
librarian of the special library, particu- 
larly of the manufacturing and industrial 
library, can be to a large degree the effi- 
ciency expert of such a concern. 

GUY E. MARION: I think the people 
who are present here would take a good 
deal of satisfaction in knowing who the 
people are that are actually and most 
vitally interested in special library work, 



332 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



and I have analyzed an up-to-date mem- 
bership list which I hold here in my hand, 
of which I should be glad to show copies 
to any who may be interested. We have 
now grown to a group of 224 people who 
are interested. That is a growth, roughly, 
of twenty-five per cent since our last meet- 
ing in New York City. 'There are four in- 
surance libraries in the country. There 
are nineteen people who are interested in 
public utilities. There are five financial 
libraries. There are among the com- 
mercial, technical and scientific libraries 
(many if which are in manufacturing con- 
cerns), forty-eight. Among the public 
affairs libraries, which cover the legisla- 
tive reference departments of state li- 
braries as well, there are something like 
thirty-six. It is interesting to note that 
the public libraries have themselves been 
sufficiently interested to know what we are 
doing, so that forty-five of them have be- 
come members of this association, to be 
in touch, I presume, with what we are aim- 
ing for. There are twenty-nine colleges 
and universities interested; and of miscel- 
laneous people whom we can hardly clas- 
sify, not knowing where they belong, there 
are thirty-eight. In this connection I 
think it is worth while to say to you, many 
of you who frequently change about the 
country, or are looking for advancement, 
that it would not be amiss for you to fill 
out one of the little blanks showing your 
qualifications, the things in which you are 
interested. At the present moment I know 
of the largest automobile concern in this 
country, the automobile trust, which is 
looking for an active, wide-awake librarian, 
probably a man. Those opportunities are 
coming to the attention of your secretary 
quite frequently, and we shall always be 
glad to have you keep in touch with us by 
filling out one of these little blanks. We 
may be able to readjust you. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: The Secretary 
has an announcement to make in regard to 
city planning. 

Mr. MARION: I think it would not be 
amiss for me to speak of three or four of 
our bibliographies. There has been one 



list published under the direction of Mr. 
Meyer of the Library of Congress, called 
"Selected list of references on the short 
ballot," which is easily obtainable at our 
headquarters; also a list of references on 
street railway service by Robert H. Whit- 
ten, our president. There was prepared by 
Mr. Dana, "The social questions of to-day," 
which is a very useful compilation of sub- 
jects, and institutions and people interested 
in social questions. Then, in addition, our 
May number of "Special Libraries" has pub- 
lished probably the most remarkable col- 
lection of city planning items that has 
ever been gathered together. It was done 
co-operatively between the Library of 
Congress and the Department of landscape 
architecture of Harvard university. (Here 
the Secretary read a notice of a later 
complete bibliography of City planning 
which will be published by the Library of 
Congress in which a new complete clas- 
sification scheme for the arrangement of 
all the articles will be used.) 

I think that the classification alone will 
be exceedingly useful to you who ulti- 
mately, with the growth of American 
cities and their rapid development, are 
going to be forced to take an interest in 
the subject of their re-arrangement. This 
is going to become more and more a vital 
problem, it seems to me, in the future 
here in America than it ever has been in 
the past; and when the final list is pub- 
lished it will consider not only American 
experience, but also European, appertain- 
ing to that subject. 

GEORGE W. LEE: I should think this 
might be a good chance for people to ex- 
press themselves as to the need of biblio- 
graphical matter to go into "Special 
libraries," as members who receive "Spe- 
cial Libraries," whether they think the 
trend of articles is about right and to 
make suggestions. Possibly it might be 
some guide to the editorial committee to 
know whether the material they are put- 
ting in is about right, or whether there 
are certain things that might with ad- 
vantage be inserted. Then the question 
comes, are you helping, yourself, to make 
up these bibliographies? 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



333 



The VICE-PRESIDENT: Perhaps Mr. 
Lapp can speak of the various ways in 
which we made the bibliographies, work- 
ing with the Library of Congress methods 
and various others. 

Mr. LAPP: That question might prop- 
erly come up later, but I just mention at 
this time that we should be thinking about 
it, and report at a later session of this 
organization, this week. The matter is 
very important to us, because we have 
some difficulty in selecting. We have 
some difficulty in knowing just what the 
members of the association desire most, 
and at the present time we have a work- 
ing arrangement with a number of people 
who are supplying things regularly. We 
should be glad to enter into arrangements 
with others if the demand seems to be 
great. Just now we have an arrangement 
with the Public Utilities Committee, 
which supplies every two or three 
months a summary of the best public 
utility references of the period before. 
We also have an arrangement with the 
Library of Congress, through Mr. Meyer, 
by which we receive a bibliography for 
every issue, a short bibliography on some 
obscure subject, some subject that is not 
covered in any systematic bibliography, 
or not covered adequately; and the desire 
is to get questions which would be of the 
widest interest and at the same time not 
conflict with something that has already 
been published, because the whole pur- 
pose of the Special Libraries Association 
is to do those things which nobody else 
does. If we find that we are doing some- 
thing now which somebody else can do 
better, we should be very glad to transfer 
it to them, and merely undertake those 
things which nobody else does. We have 
an arrangement also by which we are 
going to receive some of the best refer- 
ences to material on city documents, 
beginning with the next issue. That I 
think will add very materially to the value 
of the publication, because city documents, 
as you know, are now almost inaccessible 
for the reason that no one knows that they 
are published until they are perhaps out 
of print, and they cannot be obtained. 



I would like to take this opportunity of 
asking all our friends to contribute when- 
ever they know of anything that is done or 
that has happened regarding a bibliography 
or in the way of a special locality that you 
think should be mentioned, that you send 
a note to the editors, or send us a copy of 
the publication itself. This is purely a 
co-operative enterprise, and it is by co- 
operation that we get the real value of the 
work. The hope is to cover the whole 
country, so that if a man is working on a 
subject in Boston some one in San Fran- 
cisco can learn about it, and, if he is 
thinking of doing the same thing, have him 
co-operate and perhaps get that thing done 
better; and any information which can be 
given which will facilitate that plan will be 
of very great value to the association and 
be a very great help to the editors. 

Mr. CUTTER: The first statement Mr. 
Marion made, about obtaining assistants 
for the people who need them, is, I think, 
the most searching question in connection 
with special libraries. It seems to me it 
would be wise for this association to com- 
municate with graduating classes of some 
of our universities and suggest to the mem- 
bers of those classes well enough in ad- 
vance that the library profession is a 
desirable thing for young men to enter. I 
think it would be a very wise thing for 
this association to take that up, and tell 
them the reasons why, and the demand for 
assistants. At the present time I have 
knowledge of several positions, but the 
specification is made that men are desired, 
as most of our business men are so ignor- 
ant that they do not know how efficient 
women are. 

I would say in regard to what Mr. Lapp 
mentioned, that I have some 250 bibliogra- 
phies on engineering subjects, some of 
them too special, but some of them would, 
I think, be of general interest, and I will 
take the opportunity of sending him a list 
of these. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: It might be of 
interest to note what has already been 
printed in connection with the Library of 
Congress, to show the character of the 
publications received from that source. 



334 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



You will recall, for instance, a bibliography 
on the drinking habit, the short ballot, on 
anti-cigarette ordinances and laws, the 
open shop, public utility rates, the pardon- 
ing power, compulsory voting, preferential 
voting, and, finally, city planning, and, 
also, I might say, one on the administra- 
tion of charities and correction boards, a 
rather technical subject, which appeared 
in the April number, 1911. 

(There here followed- a discussion led by 
Mr. C. A. George, of Elizabeth, N. J., in 
which he asked for information as to the 
real purpose of the Special Libraries move- 
ment. Mr. Josephson, the vice-president, 
and Mr. G. W. Lee, of Stone & Webster, 
Boston, offered replies to the questions 
asked.) 

Mr. DUDGEON: My connection with 
this association was due to this concep- 
tion, that in my business, which was legis- 
lative work, etc., I conceived that there 
was a great deal in books that ought to be 
brought to the attention of the people who 
were doing the work, and I was glad to 
join an association whose special function 
seemed to be to help one another devise 
ways and means of getting book knowledge 
into the hands of the actual workers. 
Now, that seems to me to be somewhat of 
a distinct proposition. I think Mr. Cutter's 
definition justifies our existence. We are 
specialized in getting knowledge out of 
books and out of the experience of others 
into the hands of workers rather than into 
the hands of people who are just thinking 
about working. It seems to me that it is 
quite distinct although hard to distinguish. 

Miss LINDHOLM: I believe in the 
effort to make the business public more 
appreciative of the work we are doing, we 
should write more articles about our work 
and our libraries. I think if there were 
articles written for the different electrical, 
engineering, automobile and manufacturing 
periodicals it would help a great deal. 

Mr. CUTTER: I would suggest, Mr. 
President, that you can combine all those 
periodicals the lady mentions by writing 
articles for the Wall Street Journal. That 
is the place where the people read things. 



The VICE-PRESIDENT: The editor of 
the Wall Street Journal was with us at our 
September meeting and gave us a very in- 
teresting description of his own part of the 
work in connection with the business, and 
the information bureau established by the 
Wall Street Journal. I sometimes think 
we fail to note the speed with which that 
information must be obtained, either in the 
reference department or the newspaper. 
They will sometimes employ a mere me- 
chanical device to save two minutes in con- 
nection with the information given. 

I think Miss Lindholm's suggestion is a 
very good one and possibly can be worked 
out by getting more and more in touch 
with the trade periodicals. Many of those 
trade periodicals are not taken by the pub- 
lic libraries, are not listed in any indexes 
of periodicals, and much of the material 
afforded there is of unusual value. 

Mr. CUTTER: I would suggest that we 
have a committee on publicity for the asso- 
ciation. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: The committee 
have a plan to advance for that which I 
think they will bring out at the next meet- 
ing. 

SECOND (FIRST JOINT) SESSION 
(Friday, June 28, 2:30 p. m.) 

The second session was a joint session 
held in conjunction with the National As- 
sociation of State Libraries, the American 
Association of Law Libraries and the 
Bibliographical Society of America. Mr. 
George S. Godard, acting secretary-treas- 
urer of the National Association of State 
Libraries, called the meeting to order and 
occupied the chair. 

Before beginning the regular program, 
Mr. Beer, librarian of the Howard Memo- 
rial library at New Orleans, called atten- 
tion to a bibliography of French fiction, 
which he had come across during his 
travels in Europe last year. He said in 
part: "I discovered that there was being 
published at Lisle on the borders of Bel- 
gium by a Roman Catholic priest the most 
honest, the bravest review of fiction that 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



335 



exists in any language. He does not fear 
to mention every book which is published. 
He praises those which are good, and he 
scathes with the most bitter sarcasm and 
truthfulness those that are absolutely bad. 
He is the Abb6 Bellian. If a young lady 
goes to buy a book she is asked if that 
particular book is in the list of Abb6 
Bellian. If it is not that store refuses to 
supply it to any one who is not of lawful 
age. It has been supplemented by a 
monthly publication which is very reason- 
able in price. It has been published since 
1903." He urged that all become familiar 
with this book in order that the supply of 
French books generally throughout the 
United States in our libraries may be much 
more carefully selected and be more repre- 
sentative of the great French fiction. Dean 
Walton of the McGill University law 
school, Montreal, prepared a paper entitled 
"Legal systems of Canada, with a list of 
statutes and other legal papers of the 
Province of Quebec." This paper opened 
the formal program and was read by Mr. 
Charles H. Gould. This paper was fol- 
lowed by another entitled "Present Status 
of legal bibliography" by Dean Wigmore of 
the Northwestern University law school. 
This was read by Mr. Edwin M. Borchard, 
law librarian of the Library of Congress, 
in connection with his own paper on "The 
bibliography of international and foreign 
law, with an account of the method of 
building up the collections of foreign and 
international law in the Library of Con- 
gress." After reading Dean Wigmore's 
paper and discussing the present literature 
in this field and existing bibliographies, 
Mr. Borchard called attention to the effect 
which the increase in foreign travel had 
had upon all law library problems in 
America, bringing in as it had the wider 
international relations from year to year. 
He said "There are three points of view 
that have guided us" (in the formation of 
the Library of Congress collection) "the 
practicing lawyer's necessity of knowing 
foreign law, the legislator's necessity for 
knowing the solution of social and eco- 
nomic problems, the scientific object, the 



students' need of developing the science of 
law." He dwelt at some length upon the 
methods which he had used in arriving at 
the best selection of foreign continental 
law books. Through his connection as in- 
ternationl law expert at the Hague Fish- 
eries Arbitration he was enabled to get 
first hand judgment regarding the actual 
books by foreign lawyers. Further in the 
name of the Government by correspond- 
ence he approached the law departments 
of universities, judges of Supreme Courts, 
practicing lawyers, etc., of other countries. 
In Latin America he worked through the 
consuls and ministers of the United States 
to get such information. By these methods 
the books were ordered and many have 
now arrived. The question now presents 
itself as to how to make available this new 
material. This is being done by the pub- 
lication of guides to the foreign law. "The 
first guide, the guide of the law of Ger- 
many, appeared about a month and a half 
ago. ... It undertakes to furnish an 
introduction to the German system as a 
whole, and to the principal leading in- 
stitutions, as parts of the system in some 
detail, mentioning particularly the impor- 
tant literature and how to use it, what the 
American lawyer in terms of his own law 
may expect to find in these European 
books. . . . The guide of the law of 
France is now in course of preparation, 
and will probably appear about the first of 
next year. We hope then to continue with 
Austria, Spain and Italy, which we con- 
sider the important countries. Later we 
may publish Belgium and Switzerland in 
one volume, perhaps including Scandina- 
via, and then one volume for the law of 
Latin America. If we do not get to the 
publication of guides we will publish the 
material that we have received, editing it 
v/ith perhaps bibliographic notes of such 
information as we can convey in order to 
open up this bibliographic source to the 
general investagator. . . . We are 
getting many letters every week in Wash- 
ington from lawyers throughout the whole 
United States, asking for information on 
foreign law. . . . Comparative law is 



336 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



a field which is now getting great impetus, 
partly through the work of developing 
legal collections, partly through the neces- 
sities of a case. We are no longer an in- 
sular nation. Growing international rela- 
tions are making necessary some knowl- 
edge of foreign law and the desirability of 
its knowledge to legislators is admitted, I 
think, without a question." 

Mrs. Margaret C. Klingelsmith, librarian 
of the Biddle law library of the University 
of Pennsylvania, followed with a paper 
upon "The books of the beginnings." Prof. 
Archibald McGoun of McGill university 
next presented a paper entitled "The bibli- 
ography of Canadian law." Dr. G. E. Wire 
of the Worcester county law library of 
Massachusetts opened the discussion. 
Speaking of the ordinary bar library for 
the working lawyer, he urged that there 
was needed an extension of Mr. Soule's 
Manual referred to in Dean Wigmore's 
article. He advocated also a much shorter 
list of citations than that employed in 
Soule. He further referred to the need of 
some publication on Spanish American 
bibliography, which would cover such 
things as the number of Porto Rican re- 
ports in a given series. He would like also 
some publication which would give the 
various codes and compilations of laws, 
both official and unofficial, in advance of 
"our law book friend" who comes along to 
tell us about it. From the practical stand- 
point he said that books on foreign laws 
were so much more useful when translated, 
that in the average law library the same 
books in the original language would be 
rarely used. 



THIRD (SECOND GENERAL) SESSION 
(Monday, July 1, 1912, 2:50 p. m.) 

The third session was the second session 
for discussion of problems peculiar to the 
special library and was called to order by 
Vice-President Brigham. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: We have one 
paper which remains from our first session, 
and I am going to call for that paper first. 



That will be a paper by Mr. T. J. Homer, 
member of the Massachusetts bar, on "The 
Boston co-operative information bureau." 
The development of that bureau is interest- 
ing and is the first attempt, I think, in this 
country co-operatively to work the libraries 
by exchange of publications, and I think 
probably you can be supplied on applica- 
tion with copies of their bulletins which 
some of us have here, and which will show 
you the extent of the movement. I am go- 
ing to ask Mr. Marion to read Mr. Homer's 
paper.* 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: We will now 
proceed to the regular program for the 
day. We have a paper by Mr. D. N. 
HANDY. The topic has been changed by 
the speaker so, that it reads, "The library 
as a business asset; when and how?" and 
I introduce now Mr. Handy of the Insur- 
ance Library Association of Boston. 



THE LIBRARY AS A BUSINESS ASSET; 
WHEN AND HOW?** 

I feel that this subject of the asset 
value of the special library is one that 
is bound to be constantly growing in in- 
terest, because, of course, the tendency of 
business is to scrutinize carefully the 
things which it pays money for, and unless 
it can be shown that the library has some 
asset value, naturally, the library will come 
in for the first cuts in the budgets, and, 
later on, a complete cutting off. When the 
subject was assigned me by Mr. Marion 
he put the subject as "The library as a 
business asset." I have therefore dis- 
cussed the subject from that standpoint, 
and inasmuch as it seemed to me that the 
whole thing resolved itself into a few very 
general and broad principles I have not 
made any attempt to consider details at 
all, but have assumed one or two things 
that it seemed to me must lie at the 
bottom of the whole proposition and must 
decide for us whether the library is to find 

This will be published in full in the -Library jour- 
nal and reprinted in Special libraries. 

** Abstract. The full paper will appear in "Special 
Libraries." 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



337 



a place among commercial assets and is to 
receive from business the support to which 
as an asset it is entitled. 

An asset, in business, is a debt-satisfying 
possession. In determining business sol- 
vency assets are set over against liabilities, 
and if the former exceed the latter, the 
business is said to be solvent. The term 
assets is applied technically to material 
possessions. But there are possessions 
other, and even more essential than ma- 
terial: these are the moral, out of which 
assets grow. At the foundation of every 
business lie courage, competency, integ- 
rity, preseverance. These cannot be com- 
puted or averaged, but their commercial 
value is everywhere recognized. 

Wherefore, let us at the outset agree 
that when we speak of the library as a 
business-asset, we speak not of its value as 
so many books and pamphlets, but of its 
value as a contributing agency to those 
more fundamental possessions to which 
material assets owe their existence. 

What, then, has the library contributed 
and what may it in the future hope to con- 
tribute that will add to business courage, 
integrity, competency, preseverance? In a 
word, to business efficiency? 

The answer is found in a measure in our 
conception of a library and its function. 
Shall we then describe what we have in 
mind when we speak of the library that may 
become a business asset? 

It certainly is not any collection of books 
and pamphlets under any custodian and 
handled probably more often by the janitor 
than the manager. That is not the kind 
of library that we have in mind. Our li- 
brary is a collection organized and planned 
for a definite end. . . . 

The measure of its value is to be sought 
in increasing efficiency of personnel; wider 
outlook, clearer vision, firmer grasp, 
greater fortitude. 

It would be pleasant to think of the pre- 
cise manner in which a library might en- 
trench itself in business favor, until it be- 
came admittedly indispensable. Such an 
experience is not uncommon. Libraries 
there are to-day adjuncts of successful 



business houses which stand on a plane 
of equality with every other department; 
whose directors are in every sense advis- 
ers; whose position in importance and dig- 
nity yields precedence to none. They add 
efiiciency to the entire staff, and by breadth 
and merit bring distinction to the business 
they serve. 

The asset value of a library is dependent 
upon a variety of conditions. 

Foremost among them, I should say, 
must be a condition of receptivity on the 
part of business itself. 

Again, and only second in importance, is 
the attitude of the library towards busi- 
ness. If the library shall cling to tradi- 
tional aims; shall overestimate the im- 
portance of conventional methods; shall 
hold disdainfully aloof from those adapta- 
tions and changes which alone can make 
it useful to business, then its asset value 
will never be large or general. 

Finally, assuming business and the li- 
brary to agree as to their mutual helpful- 
ness, the lines along which they are to 
co-operate, if the results are to be satisfying 
to both, must be susceptible of being 
easily seen and followed. . 

At no time in the history of the modern 
business world has the opportunity been 
so favorable for a lasting alliance between 
the library and business. Business was 
never more complex, nor more moral. 
Greater wisdom is required to develop it. 
It is more sensitive. Results come quicker, 
failure follows more promptly on the heels 
of error success almost anticipates the 
footsteps of sound judgment. Conse- 
quences are more far reaching. Disaster 
to one involves many while bankruptcy 
carries overthrow and panic to hundreds 
of others. 

The greater demands of business are 
seen not only in the enormous growth of 
industrial enterprises, and the larger 
responsibilities of management, but in the 
increasing numbers of college and univer- 
sity men who are seeking business careers. 

Again, an almost revolutionary change 
has taken place in the public attitude 
towards business of every kind. It matters 



338 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



not what it is. The idea now is that men 
live for service; that men organize socially, 
commercially, and industrially for service. 
And if any organization is unable to under- 
go this test it must reform, or stand aside 
and let a better take its place. This I take 
it is the interpretation of the great unrest 
which has possessed England and America 
in the last decade. . 

All these this increasing complexity, 
growing sense of social responsibility, de- 
mand for an increasing inflow of college 
men into business spell opportunity for 
the library as an indispensable adjunct for 
business enterprise. Answering for our first 
condition, then, it may be said that busi- 
ness is in a receptive mood, and that it 
stands ready today to welcome among its 
productive forces the library organization. 

But if the library is to be truly an asset 
to business enterprise, the library itself 
must recognize not only its opportunity but 
its responsibility. The failure of the gen- 
eral library to lead in this work of aiding 
business in the solution of its problems has 
been inevitable. Business wants its own 
technology; it wants pamphlets, clippings, 
reports all sorts of special things which 
no public library with all its other obliga- 
tions could ever hope to get and to classify. 

Hence the need of specialized libraries 
and special methods. It is evident that the 
special library has a whole field of methods 
yet to amplify, systematize and unify. If 
the library is to help business it must be 
organized as business is organized. To get 
everything on a subject may bs necessary 
for some purposes, and is always interest- 
ing to the bibliographer; but to get the 
adequate thing is the business-librarian's 
ideal of service, and if he misses it he may 
wake up surprised to find his labor unap- 
preciated. 

Business is multiplying short-cuts, mo- 
tion-savers, "efficiency" getters in every 
department; it will tolerate nothing less 
from the library. It is for the library to 
prove its value to demonstrate its prac- 
tical worth by adjusting itself to the busi- 
ness environment. It must not follow too 
closely the traditions of general library 



work. It ought to be familiar with general 
library methods; but it should never lose 
sight of the fact that general library meth- 
ods were devised with an eye single to 
general library problems. The problems of 
a business library are different 

This, then, is the duty of the business 
library if the title to asset-value is to go 
unchallenged. And the library may be 
certain that business will not take it at its 
own appraisal but will demand to see for 
itself whether its claims are justified. 

Business libraries in many cities are 
justifying their existence and are gradually 
making for themselves a secure place 
among the assets of the enterprises which 
they represent. . . . Finally, how are 
the library and business to co-operate for 
their mutual advantage? 

It is evident that in this respect business 
has to perform a duty even greater than 
we have laid upon the library itself. If the 
library is under obligation to adapt itself 
to the needs of business, business is under 
special obligation to place its resources 
more completely at the disposal of the li- 
brary. It must take the library seriously 
and plan for it accordingly. . . . 

Business fails to appreciate the ally that 
it might have in the well conducted library. 
It appreciates and at times is mildly grate- 
ful for the library's service; but it has 
shown no great discernment when it came 
to an understanding of the means by which 
the service was rendered. It asks for and 
expects results; but has little appreciation 
of the price at which results must be 
bought. 

An indispensable requisite of a business 
library is a librarian thoroughly conversant 
with the main facts of the business. He 
must know its theory and history. He 
must be freed from routine at least to the 
extent necessary to enable him to become 
an expert in the materials which he hand- 
les. He must be treated as a literary ad- 
viser and given the opportunity to develop 
literary discrimination and judgment in the 
field which he covers. Then he becomes 
more than a custodian of book; he is a 
counselor, impressing his personality upon 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



a unique source of business inspiration, 
namely, the business literature of his col- 
lecting and bringing direct to his superiors 
the information which they will know how 
to use for the good of the business as a 
whole. 

Subordinates, working under him, will 
assemble, classify, card index, bulletin and 
distribute, while the library itself will 
stand on a level with manufacturing, 
accounting and selling. It will be a de- 
partment of the business, organized like 
other departments, for efficiency. . 

The library may adapt itself to business, 
but it is for business to say whether the 
adaptation shall be thoroughgoing and 
effective. Is the library, then, a business 
asset? My answer is that it is such just in 
proportion as business is willing to let it 
be. When business shall treat it as it 
treats other factors of business success, 
discerning its possibilities of usefulness, 
encouraging and planning for its develop- 
ment, adapting it to the requirements of 
business activity, then it will justify itself 
unquestionably. . 

Business has already awakened to the 
possibilities of library help, and wherever 
it has done so with insight and courage it 
has answered for itself the question which 
we have here proposed. In banking, in 
finance, in engineering, in applied chem- 
istry, in insurance and in numerous other 
fields, business has set itself to the task of 
adapting library methods to business needs. 
Special collections administered for special 
requirements are springing up in every 
large city, and the liberality with which 
these are beginning to be supported is in 
some respects an indication of business' 
own estimate of their value. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: The matter is 
now open for discussion, and I will ask Mr. 
Morton, librarian of the United Gas & Fuel 
Company, to be the first speaker.* 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: The next 
speaker is Miss MARGARET E. MURRAY, 
librarian of Wm. Filene's Sons, Boston, who 
will address us on the subject 

*Mr. Morton's discussion will appear in "Special 
Libraries." 



THE EARNING POWER OF A SPECIAL 

REFERENCE LIBRARY ON RETAIL 

DISTRIBUTION 

The Wm. Filene's Sons Company of Bos- 
ton are retailers of men's, women's, chil- 
dren's and infants' wearing apparel and 
employ at present about 900, but in a few 
months will employ 2000 employees. Among 
other innovations they have made provision 
for a Business Reference Library in their 
new building, which they are to occupy this 
coming fall, and which is, so far as we 
know, the first in this line of business. 

It is planned to have on file all informa- 
tion relating to the business and such other 
information as may be helpful to the man- 
agement and all other employees in the dis- 
charge of their duties, such as daily papers, 
technical and general reference books, 
trade journals, newspaper clippings, and 
typewritten material. 

The library was created because there 
was a definite need for a central clearing 
house of information on the latest and best 
in retail distribution and because it was 
urgent that one department should be 
responsible to care for safely and mobilize 
the valuable information, books and pam- 
phlets scattered throughout the various 
offices of the organization. 

Now what will the earning power of this 
special reference library be? It will be in 
exact proportion to its use and efficiency, 
based on just how well and how often it can 
make or save a dollar for the business. It 
will depend largely on how aggressive the 
library policy will be in creating needs and 
meeting the needs for its material, and 
although it may not be able to show quite 
as tangible a profit and loss statement as a 
merchandise department, still there should 
be the same effort and desire to know the 
stock on hand the first of the month, the 
purchases, the expenses of the department, 
the stock on hand at the end of the month 
(having in mind depreciation) and the 
sales, which would be services rendered. 

The more efficiently and oftener the ref- 
erence library serves the organization, the 
more time it saves high-priced executives, 



340 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



and helps the rank and file, the more cer- 
tain it will become a permanent paying 
department of the business and make itself 
indispensable. This is in general how the 
earning value will be determined. How- 
ever, if the library is to succeed, such gen- 
eral statements will not be sufficient. 

The chances for service <and making 
definite contributions toward business effi- 
ciency in a large retail establishment are 
innumerable, and especially in a pro- 
gressive house like the one with which I 
have the honor to be associated. 

But such service and such contribution 
must be made very definite, must be made 
very specific and must be applied to every 
member of the organization. 

For some years past our company has 
been experimenting with profit sharing 
agreements, and one of the difficulties has 
been for general profit sharers, men and 
women in non-selling departments, working 
for the whole store, to show what has been 
his or her contribution toward profits. 

Therefore, if a reference librarian, who 
would be termed a general profit sharer, 
fails to study, position by position, just how 
he or she can contribute to the needs of the 
men and women connected with the organ- 
ization, the library will not be recognized 
and felt as a money making investment. 
It is, therefore, along these lines that the 
Filene reference library will be operated. 

In all the initial steps and preparatory 
work of organizing, the methods of the 
legislative reference libraries are as far as 
possible being applied. 

The work of some of the successful legis- 
lative reference libraries is divided into 
three main divisions comparative, critical 
and constructive, and in analyzing the store 
material on hand, it is found that pretty 
nearly all of these main divisions of refer- 
ence work have in the past been practically 
ignored. In isolated cases, comparative 
work has been attempted, as for instance, 
furnishing specific information from some 
other store on some store policy for some 
one manager, but it has not been dissemi- 
nated and placed at the service of all. The 
need of having this work done has been 



recognized and in the future will be done 
through the library. 

Retail distribution has its laws and pol- 
icies, but the laws and policies are, to a 
large degree, empirical. They are the 
result of years of effort and experience, and 
what was good five years ago, may not be 
good today. All policies are constantly 
changing. 

Therefore, the first work, and at present 
in hand, before the library can start on its 
aggressive mission is to tabulate, classify, 
index and fit for use the present valuable 
information scattered throughout the offices 
of the management, destroying everything 
obsolete or whatever has become a per- 
manent part of the store organization. 

For it is imperative in a fast growing 
business employing an increasing number 
of executives, that now employees should 
profit to the fullest extent by the experience 
of past years and how other people have 
handled problems new to us, and the library 
can assist very definitely by placing in their 
hands brief summaries on important sub- 
jects connected with the business, revised 
copies of duties of various positions, bibli- 
ographies on important subjects related to 
the business, and any other material that 
will help them absorb in the shortest pos- 
sible time the fundamentals of the business. 

Perhaps it may be of interest to mention 
briefly what special subjects, both general 
and technical, the library must watch out 
for. The best way is, with apologies, to 
give you an idea of the personnel of the 
management. The Filene brothers and 
their partners are public spirited citizens; 
one brother, Mr. Edward A. Filene, with a 
few other men, organized the present suc- 
cessful Boston City Club and was largely 
responsible for the amalgamation of the 
numerous commercial organizations of the 
city into the present Boston Chamber of 
Commerce, and was chairman of the recent 
Metropolitan Plan Commission of Massa- 
chusetts. The other brother, Mr. A. Lincoln 
Filene, served for three years on the State 
Commission for Industrial Education and 
is now a member of the Executive Board of 
the National Society for the Promotion of 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



341 



Industrial Education, and also contributed 
largely in time and money to the Boston 
Vocational Bureau. The other partners are 
also serving on special committees of vari- 
ous organizations and are all, with the 
Filenes, very keenly interested in labor 
problems, the relations of employers to em- 
ployees, and each has on his desk the best 
books on scientific management, as Tay- 
lor's, Gantt's, Emerson's and Brandeis'. 

Therefore, first of all the business refer- 
ence library will have on its shelves six or 
seven of the best books on scientific man- 
agement, also books on organization and 
finance. Then will be added special books 
on bookkeeping, auditing, insurance, statis- 
tics, advertising, decorating, buying, sell- 
ing, materials, and subjects of interest to 
the Filene Co-operative Association (an or- 
ganization consistng of all employees and 
members of the corporation, each member 
having a single vote) such as pensions, 
arbitration, compulsory insurance, co-oper- 
ative housing, etc. 

Perhaps it might also be well to add that 
this association has maintained a library of 
all the popular fiction for the past twelve 
years, and no fiction will be placed in the 
new business reference library. 

The librarian is also custodian of all the 
private contracts, leases and corporation 
records, and is expected to prepare digests 
of any important papers at any time. 

This is what the Filene library expects to 
do and must arrange for resources to actu- 
ally obtain and devise ways and means for 
the dissemination of information needed. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: We have with 
us to-day Miss E. V. Dobbins, who is libra- 
rian of the Edward Accounting library of 
the American Telegraph & Telephone Com- 
pany, New York City, and she will add to 
the discussion. 

Miss DOBBINS: I desired not to write a 
paper, because I might write one too long 
and not say much in the end, so I thought 
perhaps it would be interesting just to tell 
you why our immense corporation found it 
necessary to have a library. We have a 
large engineering library; that is, we have a 
very fine collection of technical books un- 



fortunately, as yet, no librarian; we have a 
splendid legal library, and I represent the 
accounting library. Two years ago our 
comptroller, who is an authority on account- 
ing in the United States and has some rep- 
utation abroad, decided that it was neces- 
sary to get together the material, and they 
were good enough to offer me the position, 
which I was very glad to accept. So we col- 
lected what few books we had. We didn't 
have much. We bought largely. All our 
men are authorities on the particular sub- 
jects with which they deal, so, consequently, 
in buying books for our library we cannot 
select, as we used to in the public library, 
with due respect to the library, any and all 
books on a particular subject. We have to 
have the last word upon it. Accounting is a 
peculiar subject inasmuch as there are only 
about four or five authorities I may be 
wrong, that is all I could ever find. If any- 
body knows of any more I should be more 
than glad of the information. 

We go largely into economics. We also 
take up public utilities and reports of 
county and state governments and city re- 
ports. We do some little work in scientific 
management. I do not think the sym- 
pathies of the officials lie very largely in 
the direction of scientific management, how- 
ever. Everybody there is supposed to know 
his job and do it. We are very fortunate in 
not being handicapped for money. We 
can buy whatever is out, just as soon as it 
is out, and as many copies as we find it 
necessary to have. We deal primarily with 
the accounting department, which includes 
the statistician's department too, and the 
executive department. Those are two very 
big departments and they keep us pretty 
busy all the time. We have quite a file of 
pamphlets. We do not give as much care 
to the pamphlets as we do to the books. 
When we came to the question of catalog- 
ing I realized that we had a very big piece 
of work on our hands, and we were short 
of help, and it was essential that we have 
everything up to date just as quickly as we 
possibly could. So I bought Library of 
Congress cards, and. it was a very happy in- 
spiration, for we had everything done by 



342 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



sub-headings and everything assigned in 
about two weeks, and of course that helped 
considerably. 

The library is used frequently and pri- 
marily by the officials and the directors. 
The employees of the company have the 
privilege of coming, and they come often 
and freely. The comptroller has told me 
time and time again that he could not 
measure in actual money value the service 
the library has given the house and him- 
self primarily. We take all the leading 
economic and scientific journals and they 
circulate. I have a list of the names of the 
various men to whom they go. I tried to 
have a specified time for their return, but 
I am sorry to say it did not work out. Our 
desks are all equipped with telephones, so 
we telephone, and if they can find them 
they return them. When they cannot find 
them the oldest office boy, Joseph, is en- 
listed. I think he was the leader of the 
Boy Scouts. He knows generally where to 
get them. I think he says they are gener- 
ally behind the desks, but in any event we 
get them, and if they are very badly torn, 
mutilated or marked, we buy other copies 
to bind. The leading magazines we bind as 
soon as the volume is completed. They 
form the largest part of our reference work. 
I go over those magazines very carefully 
and find what I would like to bring out more 
prominently than in a bound magazine, and 
we catalog those particular subjects, buy 
extra copies, put them in the pamphlet file, 
catalog them and put them in the pamphlet 
catalog, so that if by any chance the bound 
volume is out and a particular article is 
sought, we have it. We find in those two 
places we can generally meet all the needs 
of the library. I do not think any of the 
people of the corporation have really ever 
become familiar with the actual library side 
of it. They look upon a shelflist as some- 
thing fearful and awful, and they do not 
understand it, but as long as they get what 
they want when they want it, they seem 
thoroughly happy. Speaking in a quite im- 
personal way, I think our library is quite a 
business asset, because I can candidly say 
that the men who are at the head of our 



corporation would not tolerate it five min- 
utes if it were not. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: We were to 
have a paper by Miss Abbott of the ref- 
erence department of the Studebaker Cor- 
poration of South Bend, Ind. She was 
hindered, however, in the preparation of 
this paper, and also from coming to this 
meeting, but the paper will be furnished 
later and printed in "Special Libraries." 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: I would like to 
inquire whether Mr. Pack, Secretary and 
Comptroller of the Toronto Electric Light 
Company is here. 

Mr. LAPP: Mr. Chairman, I have a letter 
from Mr. Pack which I wish to read. When 
Mr. Pack was asked to be present at this 
meeting he said he would write his views at 
least, if he could not come. He has written 
a general statement of his belief in the 
special library. 

(Mr. Lapp here read the letter which is 
available at the office of Secretary.) 

Mr. MARION: May I ask whether Miss 
Tutt, who is present, I think, might not 
have something to say in relation to the 
automobile library, inasmuch as she is act- 
ively representing Miss Elizabeth Abbott 
here? 

Miss TUTT: Mr. Chairman, I scarcely 
feel prepared to say anything about her 
library, particularly as an automobile li- 
brary, for I do not know that she has done 
anything especially in the automobile work 
of her library, her work taking up all lines. 
Her work has grown to such an extent that 
she told me just a day or two before I left 
that she really did not know but that they 
would have to get another name for it; she 
had not as yet found anything in the cor- 
poration that she had not been called upon 
to do, so that she was at a loss to know 
just what it was that she was expected to 
do. It has developed wonderfully and very 
satisfactorily. It has been up-hill work, as 
you all know. The corporation has changed 
hands, gone into various companies, come 
back again, and she had it all to meet and 
arrange. All that work and all the papers 
and records have just simply piled up, are 
all being sorted out now, indexed and put 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



343 



in order. She is doing a wonderful work. 
The other institutions there in South Bend 
are watching very closely her work and I 
think it will be but a short time before the 
other factories will be following suit; but 
so far as the automobile part is concerned, 
there is nothing any more special in that 
than in any other line of work that she has 
done ; that is to say, nothing that I know of. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: I am going to 
ask Mr. Marion, our secretary, who is at 
the head of a technical library, to take part 
in this discussion. 

Mr. MARION: I must say, as one of the 
other speakers, that I have not prepared a 
paper, believing that in such an assemblage 
of essayists and discussers it would not be 
impossible to find some very good material 
from which to talk extemporaneously. I 
have not been disappointed. Two or three 
points I will mention in what may be only 
a rambling discussion, but they may be 
worth while to some of you. 

Mr. Handy mentioned in a passing way 
only the entrance of a large number of col- 
lege men into business to-day. I do not 
think he put the matter nearly strong 
enough. It is this very entrance of well-, 
educated men into business, rather than 
coming in through the long process of ex- 
perience, entering, that is, half way up the 
scale of life, equipped with a fine technical 
training, making them already professional 
men, as the physician steps into the com- 
munity a professional man, that has forced 
business to equip itself along a little dif- 
ferent line. It seems to me this is one of the 
great telling reasons why more and more 
special libraries are going to be built up in 
manufacturing concerns and industrial 
plants; for with these men coming in, they 
do not come as mechanics wanting a plane, 
a Saw or a hammer; they come primarily 
wanting books and nothing else. They have 
been trained to the ample use of books for 
four and sometimes six years previous to 
their entrance to business, and to take 
books away from them would be like tak- 
ing the plane or saw or hammer away from 
the carpenter. So these men must be pro- 
vided for, and I think that is one of the 



chief causes that is compelling business to 
adopt libraries. 

Regarding the type of librarian that is 
required for administering this sort of a 
library, I think enough emphasis has not 
been put upon the keen aliveness which is 
required in these people, if I may be par- 
doned for saying so, in comparison to those 
who are employed in public institutions, 
where the term of office is likely to run 
anyway for a year. In business, we have to 
mane good, and to make good seriously, 
daily. Our reputation is at stake every 
time a question is asked. 

Then it seems to me there is no oppor- 
tunity for the quiet type of librarian who 
would like short hours and the freedom to 
come and go at leisure. It requires pri- 
marily some one of tireless vitality and one 
who is ready to sacrifice himself to build 
up not only the efficiency of his own depart- 
ment, but to support other departments 
when they may be overworked. 

This brings me to the point of the prepa- 
ration for special librarianship. I question 
very much whether the librarian who is 
prepared through the regular source of sup- 
ply, the library school, to-day, is going to 
become just the type of person to take up 
this special library work. It seems to me 
the more I consider it that a great many 
of the most successful special librarians are 
those who have grown up through business, 
at least to a certain degree, and have taken 
on the library training in their own quiet 
moments. If this is the case, would it be 
worth while for the library schools to con- 
sider a list of special libraries where candi- 
dates for their certificates or diplomas 
might go to spend a fraction of their sum- 
mer vacation in actual special library work 
and receive credit in their schools toward 
their diplomas? I think that that might be 
worked out with more careful thought. 

Mr. Morton mentioned the fact that the 
statistics of the library do not show up 
against the operating department, the 
manufacturing department, etc. I want to 
say that with the Arthur D. Little, Inc., 
Library, we are now obliged to pass in time 
slips. In other words, the library has been 



344 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



put upon a par with the other departments, 
the chemical, the research and the engineer- 
ing departments, and at the end of every 
month we are given an opportunity to 
show what we have done in the way of re- 
sults. 

If there has been a quiet month of course 
there will be little put in in the way of 
service, in time, but the time slips show 
and it is up to the library to maintain its 
standing, to show just what it has done 
during the month in actual time, because 
with a concern of the nature of ours, which 
is a consulting and engineering corporation, 
time is a great element. Mr. Handy touched 
upon that, but not half emphatically enough. 
In the insurance library I am sure he does 
not appreciate it. The monthly report is 
based primarily on the time spent on dif- 
ferent problems, and these time slips are all 
assorted and tabulated against special 
pieces of work which are generally known 
in an engineering organization by what is 
called a job number; and so the librarian's 
time is now being accounted for in the same 
way that that of the head of the research 
department is being accounted for. It 
seems to me that that is a step in advance 
and indicates progress. 

It occurred to me to say to you that while 
I have been here at this conference I have 
received application for another member- 
ship, so that while we came with 224, we 
now have 225 members. The Metropolitan 
Life Insurance Company have requested 
their librarian to become a member of this 
association, so that we grow daily. 

Mr. Brigham has called my attention to 
the fact that it ought to be brought out 
forcibly here how necessary it is for every 
one of you people, no matter what part of 
the country you may go to, to bring to the 
attention of this association officially, either 
through the secretary or the president, the 
birth of every such library that you may 
know of. Business does not know us. We 
know business of course, but until this as- 
sociation has had a much wider publicity 
campaign that we have been able with our 
meager means to give it, business cannot 
come to us and cannot get the help that we 



can give it. If, then, when you go to your 
respective places, you would be alive to 
the creation of every special library in your 
part of the country, and when you know of 
a collection of books where a librarian 
might be necessary, you would bring it to 
our attention, we would write them and tell 
them of the service that we can render 
them. 

I think the thing that has impressed me 
most in the discussion that has gone on just 
now is the fact that the company that em- 
ploys Miss Dobbins has three special libra- 
ries. That is unique, it seems to me, that 
one corporation should employ three special 
libraries; not merely one, but a library for 
the legal department, another for the ac- 
counting department and a third for the 
engineering department. That it seems to 
me represents a pretty high development of 
the special library idea. 

Miss DOBBINS: May I just interrupt a 
moment to say that I too submit a report 
at the end of every month. It was my own 
suggestion, for I wanted the company to 
know that we were doing something, and 
we would possibly be lost sight of in such 
an enormous place. So I sent in a report, 
very brief, just giving the number of books 
circulated in the various departments, the 
number of pamphlets and the reference 
work done. They said they were very glad 
to get it, and that it put us on a working 
basis. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT : Before opening 
a more general discussion I would like to 
have the secretary make a few announce- 
ments regarding certain things of interest. 

Mr. MARION: I have here a bound vol- 
ume of "Special Libraries" that all may see 
everything that has been published to date. 
I think it would be of interest to some of 
you who are not familiar with its contents. 
We also have for sale, if any one cared to 
purchase them, three copies of Volume 2 
complete. Then we have for distribution 
to any who might care for it, "The earn- 
ing power of chemistry," which is writ- 
ten by Mr. Little, the president of the con- 
cern which I serve. As you know, Mr. 
Little is, to-day, one of the foremost in- 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



345 



dustrial chemists In this country, if not in 
the world. He Is also this year, by a very 
fortunate circumstance, it seems to me, 
president of the American Chemical Soci- 
ety. I say fortunate because this year 
America is entertaining the International 
Congress of Applied Chemistry that meets 
in Washington and New York in September. 
This is a review to convince the business 
man of the usefulness of chemistry in solv- 
ing his everyday problems. It is a reprint 
of a free public lecture delivered to the 
business men of Indianapolis last June. It 
is simply a talk upon business from another 
angle. In the same way Mr. Handy's talk 
is equally strong, it seems to me, from the 
library standpoint. 

We have also for sale here, should any 
one care to purchase it, the city planning 
bibliography which was published as the 
May issue of "Special Libraries." It is 25 
cents a copy. This was compiled by Har- 
vard university and the Library of Con- 
gress. 

I have a few copies left of "The library 
as an adjunct to industrial laboratories," a 
paper which I submitted originally to the 
American Chemical Society at its Boston 
meeting, and describing in minute detail 
my own personal library. It may be of in- 
terest to some and you are welcome to it if 
any of you wish to take it away. 

Mr. HANDY: I was particularly inter- 
ested in Mr. Marion's discussion, and in one 
suggestion more especially, that the library 
school might specialize somewhat more 
along the lines of special library work. 
While I think that might well be brought 
up as a subject of discussion this evening, 
I should like to say just now that it seems 
to me, in the first place, that there is a 
great dearth of properly prepared assistants 
to do the kind of work that is needed in 
the special library. I think the libraries 
that specialize in business library work 
have found that to be true, and that these 
library schools in general are not particu- 
larly adapted to meet that requirement. It 
occurs to me, then, that it might be possible 
for special libraries, possibly through the 
co-operation of the American Library Asso- 



ciation, to get the library schools of the 
country, at some time in their course, to 
offer a more specialized course which could 
be taken by those students who intend to 
specialize in library work, and that in that 
course an attempt be made to develop the 
special library attitude, which is absolutely 
and wholly different from the general li- 
brary attitude, toward the subjects handled. 
It seems to me that several exceedingly 
good things could come of it. In the first 
place, if the library schools would do for 
special libraries as they do for general li- 
braries, that is, if they would select a cer- 
tain number of libraries, which measure up 
to certain standards, throughout the coun- 
try, and assign pupils to those libraries, 
with the understanding that before they 
could be qualified they would have to meas- 
ure up to a certain standard ; then a student 
who spent a certain amount of time in such 
a library would receive credit for special 
library work in the library course, exactly 
the same as students do now in general 
library work. Then I think you would find 
that you would get, in the first place, more 
specialized students; in the second place, I 
think you would lift the plane of special 
library work immensely, you would lift it 
to a much higher plane of professionalism 
and you would find that your directors and 
your people who pay the money to support 
these libraries would vie with one another 
to be qualified by the leading library schools 
in the country, and I think that in itself 
would be an inducement to a good many 
halting business concerns to support, as 
they are not supporting now, their libraries; 
they would see the advertising value of be- 
ing endorsed by the leading library schools 
in the country, if they did not see anything 
else, and they would pay the money neces- 
sary to bring their own libraries up to that 
degree of efficiency. 

On the other hand, it seems to me that 
the special library is offering an exception- 
ally interesting field to young women going 
into library work, and that the library 
schools as at present organized are not 
pointing the way to them as they should; 
and possibly the library schools are not in 



346 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



a position to do it. I did not mean to con- 
sider this at this point, but I do think that 
is one of the subjects that might be seri- 
ously considered now or this evening, and, 
if necessary, a committee appointed to go 
over the whole subject, and possibly co- 
operate with the American Library Associa- 
tion or the library schools, whichever might 
be necessary, to bring it to a focus. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: It might be of 
interest to know that in Simmons we have 
a library school which appoints special 
courses with a view to fitting women espe- 
cially for economic and business library 
work. 

Do you desire, Mr. Handy, to put your 
suggestion in the form of a motion now or 
later? 

Mr. HANDY: My motion, then, would 
be this, that the subject of co-operation 
between the library schools and the special 
libraries, with the aim of preparing students 
especially for special library work, be taken 
up at the conference this evening. (Carried) 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: Before we take 
up any further discussion, out of respect to 
the Chairman of the Municipal Year Book 
Committee, I wish to ask for a report from 
that joint committee, of which Mr. Ranck 
is chairman. 

Mr. RANCK: I can only report progress 
again. I had hoped to be able to report 
something very definite at this time. Our 
committee had a meeting in New York in 
June, after the Pasadena meeting, at which 
time there were present Mr. Baker, the 
editor of "Engineering News;" Professor 
Hart of Harvard; Professor Rowe of the 
University of Pennsylvania; Mr. Woodruff 
of the National Municipal League, Dr. Whit- 
ten of the New York Public Service Library 
and myself. I think that includes all of the 
persons who were present. 

The committee discussed first of all what 
should be included in a municipal year book, 
and as a result of that discussion, which 
lasted three hours, in the City Club, Mr. 
Woodruff was delegated to take up with 
certain publishing houses the project of put- 
ting this thing through. I have had several 
letters from Mr. Woodruff within the last 



few months, or weeks, on this subject, and 
he hoped to have a definite announcement 
ready for this meeting. The delay has been 
on account of the fact that the head of one 
of the publishing houses, the one that 
seemed most favorable toward this project, 
and a publishing house that is in the busi- 
ness of making year books and encyclo- 
pedias, was in Europe, and so Mr. Woodruff 
could not get that thing put through. How- 
ever, he is in hopes that it may be put 
through almost any day. 

I may say that thus far the prospects of 
our having for the cities of the United 
States and Canada an American municipal 
year book, are altogether favorable. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: Do you wish 
the committee to be continued? 

Mr. RANCK: I think we have this in 
hand and that perhaps we might continue it. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: This committee 
has rather a unique function anyway. It 
speaks for both the State Libraries and the 
Special Libraries associations, a joint com- 
mittee. 

Mr. RANCK: And there was brought 
into it the National Municipal League and 
several others. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: Doubtless the 
National Municipal Review will contain in 
time notes of the proceedings of that com- 
mittee, so that the members will be in- 
formed. Could it not be done that way? 

Mr. RANCK: As soon as the thing is 
definitely decided I will notify the sec- 
retary. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT : Yes, but I mean 
it would be available for any one to read in 
the National Municipal Review which ap- 
pears from time to time. 

Mr. RANCK: Probably, yes. If I may be 
permitted, I should like to say a word about 
another matter that was under discussion 
this afternoon. I was very much interested 
in what was said about present engineering 
training and the kind of training of men 
who are going into business, in their use of 
books, and their demand on libraries. A 
few weeks ago I had the privilege of going 
through one of the largest electric lamp 
factories in the country, one of whose 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



347 



branches has 2000 people employed, and I 
was particularly Interested in the corps of 
professional men. I went there to visit a 
friend of mine who is a physical engineer. 
He was a professor at the University of 
Pennsylvania, was afterward at the head of 
the department of physics in one of our 
state institutions, and was taken from that 
into this concern, and within the last three 
years that concern has engaged, I think, 
four or five doctors of philosophy, four or 
five men who have been professors in tech- 
nical schools, and they are going at that 
business altogether different from the rule 
of thumb method; and that type of men 
who are accustomed to use books and who 
do use them are coming into demand more 
and more. One thing my friend said, that 
impressed me very much, was this, that in 
going about to a number of engineering 
schools, Cornell, the State College of Penn- 
sylvania and several others, he has been 
talking to the boys taking engineering 
courses, of the chances and opportunities 
for going into that sort of work. These 
companies are after technically trained men 
from the colleges and universities and they 
send men like him out to talk to the boys 
and try to get them to come into their 
works. Another thing he emphasized, and 
which I think we must keep in our mind 
all the time it is a thing we emphasize 
as librarians of the public libraries, but it 
has a bearing in the work of this organiza- 
tion as well he said he was telling the boys 
at Cornell and those other engineering 
schools that while engineers have to deal 
with things, they have to know science ; yet 
that more than half of the problems of the 
average engineer are problems of men 
rather than problems of things. In other 
words, that the humanities must be studied ; 
that you must know sociology that was re- 
ferred to here this afternoon and eco- 
nomics, just as much as chemistry and 
business and all that sort of thing. In 
short the two must go together. 

Mr. G. W. LEE: Mr. Chairman, you have 
a question box there which has been for- 
gotten all about, and I am not very sorry. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: No, I haven't. 



I am going to put it in for discussion, the 
whole thing. 

Mr. LEE: There were no questions, I 
think, except the question box. I should 
like to question that. There ought to be 
some machinery at these conferences for 
introducing the new members; some 
method by which we can all let it be known 
what we especially want to know; some 
way to meet the people that have this in- 
formation. 

Now, what I want to say about the ques- 
tion box is that it seems to me that the 
Special Libraries Association might intro- 
duce a circular that tells about the next 
conference of the American Library Asso- 
ciation, and could put in a little slip saying, 
"Please send to headquarters a statement 
of what you want to know, what is your 
specialty." It would help immensely. 
People come here to get some information; 
they want to know about filing photographs, 
about dry-goods libraries and so on, and we 
ought to make it possible for them to get 
something out of the convention without 
trying too hard. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: I think Mr. 
Lee has raised a very natural question. I 
have talked with some of the older mem- 
bers of the American Library Association, 
and it seems to be the feeling that we have 
lost something since we have grown so 
large. With eight hundred members, it is 
almost impossible to know every one per- 
sonally, as it was when there were only a 
couple of hundred in attendance at the 
meetings. The New York library meeting 
in September will bring together as many 
people as used to come to the American 
Library Association meetings ten or fifteen 
years ago. I do not see any way out of it 
except to follow some definite method from 
headquarters so .that the American Library 
Association itself can arrange the matter. 
It is not a matter of hospitality necessarily, 
but oftentimes the stranger within our 
gates is the one that suffers in these re- 
spects. After you have been to three or 
four conventions you enjoy yourself, but the 
first year it is difficult to know people. 

Mr. MORTON: I should like to offer a 



348 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



suggestion with regard to the difficulty of 
the newer members getting to know the 
older ones. I find out that the way to get 
acquainted is to pitch in and do some work. 
Then they have to know you. I would 
therefore suggest putting the younger mem- 
bers on the various committees and make 
them work and work hard; then they will 
come to know people. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: You have 
brought up a very important point, and 
that is what we might call the committee 
system. The system has often failed by 
being limited to three members. The 
chairman does the work and sends around 
to the other members to sign up; or they 
live at various points of the country and 
the chairman forgets to do the work or for 
various reasons fails to report. The way 
to get the best results is to appoint a com- 
mittee of one and get the work done by 
that committee, and if he does not do the 
work, discharge him and get another per- 
son in his place who will do the work. We 
are suggesting now a re-arrangement of 
that method by which we can get, I think, 
better results, in answer to your remarks. 

Mr. MARION: I wonder if Mr. Handy 
would develop a little the idea that was 
brought out in a conversation that he held 
with me some little time ago in Boston, in 
which he pointed out the sort of large op- 
portunities that come to the special libra- 
rian, that do not come to the public libra- 
rian, and cannot from the very nature of 
things. 

Mr. HANDY: I had in mind especially 
when I was talking with Mr. Marion a man 
who at present holds the position of assist- 
ant manager in New York of the Fire In- 
surance Exchange. I think his salary is 
between six and seven thousand a year. It 
happens that he is a very bright fellow, and 
he is taking charge also of evening classes 
in the New York University school of com- 
merce and accounts, which adds another 
thousand dollars a year to his salary. I am 
speaking, in this, simply from the stand- 
point of salary. He started in as a special 
librarian. He came into opportunities 
solely through the close personal contact 



with superiors who were looking for 
exactly this kind of advisory and expert 
service that I tried to emphasize in my 
paper. Of course, he made good in the 
smaller position, and through making good 
there got the opportunity to go to New York 
in the first place, in a position, which while 
not particularly better than the one he had 
occupied as librarian, was better in oppor- 
tunities and much beyond anything that 
any special library would be likely to offer; 
and he has so far made good in New York 
that he has come into the opportunity that 
I spoke of, and he has the present salary, 
which of course carries with it responsi- 
bilities; but it seems to me it will be a 
great many years before in general library 
work one would find an opportunity like 
that for advancement, because it was all 
done in about seven or eight years. It is 
that possibility of getting in close contact 
with the heads of great industrial organiza- 
tions and great enterprises, and by making 
one's self extremely serviceable and valu- 
able there, that makes the special library 
a particularly promising field either for 
bright men or bright women. It is not the 
library service in itself but it is the oppor- 
tunity of getting into close contact with 
men who have made great successes in 
business, and that opportunity, I think, 
does not come to the general librarian. 
The person entering the general library 
must expect that the top of the work is 
simply the library oportunities themselves, 
and, of course, they are somewhat limited. 
A person entering special library work 
feels that the top is the whole vast indus- 
trial or commercial enterprise in which he 
is engaged, and if he has the adaptability 
and that is precisely the thing which we 
have been trying to emphasize as necessary 
in library work, he naturally, as time 
goes on, sees the field of opportunity 
broadening, and the opportunity comes for 
him to step out of the more restricted into 
the larger, more active field. 

I know another person who received a 
very interesting offer, with a considerably 
larger salary and greater executive respon- 
sibilities, due entirely to the fact that he 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



349 



had made good in special library work; to 
the fact that that work brought him into 
contact with superiors who were able to 
help him into a broader opportunity. I 
think that is well worth emphasizing for 
either men or women interested in this 
meeting. 

Mr. LAPP: Just that fact is the reason 
why we should have some means of train- 
ing special librarians. The good men are 
being drawn off so rapidly that it is im- 
possible for the demand to be supplied, and 
I am glad that the question of training 
librarians is coming up, and I hope that 
when it does come up we shall have some 
provision made for a committee that will 
work out a complete scheme in co-opera- 
tion with the American Library Association 
and the library schools for the training of 
special librarians. But right there we 
should also emphasize the fact that it is 
not merely the librarians that should be 
trained, but we should train the directors 
of the establishments, and it ought to be 
emphasized in all special library work that 
there is a difference. I would agree with 
many who have spoken before, that the 
director of an establishment need not 
necessarily be a person trained in library 
work, although a person trained in library 
wok could make a good success of it if he 
also had an insight into the business. But 
I would emphasize the fact that we need a 
training for directors of establishments and 
we also need a special training for libra- 
rians and assistants. It is a great deal in 
the library world as it is in the college 
world, that the men who become really 
worth while as college professors, in the 
commercial departments at least, and in the 
engineering departments, unless they have 
a taste for the teaching work which would 
prevent their leaving it, do not stay very 
long in the business of teaching, and the 
college must continually recruit new men, 
and that is a difficulty that is going to con- 
front the Special Libraries Association and 
people who are establishing special libra- 
ries, more and more. I believe that if the 
number of concerns to-day that ought to 
have special libraries and would profit 



wonderfully by them, were to attempt to 
get special librarians or directors of depart- 
ments, they would fail completely and the 
whole movement would go to the bad, 
simply because you could not supply the 
people who would be competent for the 
work. The same thing is true of municipal 
reference departments. It is unfortunate 
if they are established and men who are 
not qualified are put in charge. The same 
thing is true of legislative reference de- 
partments. We might better wait for years 
rather than establish them before we can 
put them in charge of people who appre- 
ciate the work to be done, and who have 
the ability to do it. So that I think our big 
problem is to keep the special library 
movement from growing too fast for us to 
supply the men and women who can do the 
work; and I would emphasize again that we 
need two or three different kinds of train- 
ing; one for those who are to have general 
direction of the work, for those who are to 
do the actual work on the library side, and 
also for the assistant side. 

Mr. LEE: One difference is that in the 
public library you are being asked ques- 
tions all the time, and in the special library 
you are being asked questions two-thirds 
of the time, and the other third you ask 
questions yourselves, so you get the benefit 
of variety; part of the time you are a stu- 
dent, and the rest of the time you are a 
librarian, and there is that stimulating, 
broadening effect, and to me it has been a 
very uplifting effect. 

Mr. MORTON: Mr. Marion spoke of the 
training of the librarian, also Mr. Lapp and 
one or two others. I do not know whether 
our position is particularly unique, but 
some months ago I lost my assistant, and 
instead of going to a library man I con- 
sidered myself extremely fortunate to get 
a man who was a graduate chemist, a civil 
engineer, a mining engineer and a man who 
had had wide experience in all of those 
branches. It seems to me that for tech- 
nical business the practical training in the 
particular line of business is of far greater 
value than training in any library system, 
simply on account of the nature of the in- 



350 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



formation that they are called upon to 
produce. 

Miss LINDHOLM: I wish to add a word 
to what Mr. Lapp has said, to point out the 
fact that even if we should try to give 
courses in special library work in the 
library school, there would not be any 
teachers in the library school qualified to 
give these courses, because they would not 
have the special library experience, and we 
ourselves are too busy running our special 
libraries to give the courses, so that it is 
really a matter quite far in the future, I 
should think. Last spring I read in the 
Library Journal a very good article on a 
course for legislative reference librarians, 
but that is the first article of the kind I 
have ever seen, although I had often 
thought about it myself. 

Another thing that would help out in try- 
ing to give some idea of special library 
methods to new people, would be for those 
of us who have gotten our libraries well 
in hand, our systems, etc., to get up a series 
of little handbooks on how to organize a 
financial library, a public utilities library, 
a legislative reference library and so on, 
those who are perhaps library school stu- 
dents could use these pamphlets as text- 
books. This would necessitate our starting 
in the publishing business and having a 
publishing board, like the American Li- 
brary Association. 

Miss HOAGLAND: I think we should fail 
in our whole duty toward the library profes- 
sion, and especially to the profession of the 
special librarian, if we did not take some 
account of this growing demand for train- 
ing in special library work. I think that we 
appreciate the great difficulty of combina- 
tion of the technical work that is necessary 
in library training and the special library 
field that each might wish to occupy. It 
has seemed to me that it was possible to 
make a combination by giving a minimum 
of library training, and then for students 
to specialize in some business lines and 
learn the bibliography of that trade. Of 
course, that is a very difficult operation in 
the ordinary library school, but I believe 
there are places in the country where that 



might be acquired, where many businesses 
are present, capable of furnishing the 
libraries, and where students can take, say, 
three months of technical training, which 
would include typewriting of records, and 
then can be sent into the field to learn that 
field, the school to furnish them the special 
bibliography for that special work. In that 
way I believe we could develop a series of 
libraries that would train for special 
librarianship. 

Miss MILLER: There is already one 
school, the Wisconsin school, which gives 
regular instruction to such students as 
wish to take up legislative reference work. 
They are given from one to two months 
library experience during those two months 
in the winter when the other members of 
the class go to the public libraries. They 
at least get the principles of legislative 
reference work. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: If there is no 
further discussion, we will take up the re- 
ports of committees, and the first will be 
Mr. Lapp's report, as editor of the publica- 
tion. 

Mr. LAPP: There is very little to report 
in regard to the publication. It has been 
issued regularly since January, 1910, and 
the third volume is now nearly completed. 
The growth of subscriptions has been grati- 
fying, and the publication has been able to 
do what was done on the membership 
which we have had. We hope to have an 
increased membership, because there are 
a number of things which we can do. We 
have now regularly established several 
sources of information, we are going to 
have others, and out of those we will pub- 
lish, I think, a better, more useful maga- 
zine the coming year than we have in the 
past. We have a connection with the Li- 
brary of Congress by which a special 
bibliography is furnished every month upon 
some obscure question. We have a connec- 
tion with the New York public library by 
which we receive municipal documents. 
We have a connection with the Public 
Utilities Committee by which we will have 
public utility references and the others, 
insurance references and so on. The pub- 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 



351 



lication will issue also some special bibliog- 
raphies such as the one that was issued 
recently on city planning. It will take up 
certain others and publish them as means 
permit. 

The main thing I want to ask as editor 
of "Special Libraries" is that the editor 
should receive co-operation from persons 
connected with the association. This is a 
co-operative enterprise and every one 
should co-operate. Whenever you know of 
anything which has happened in your com- 
munity in the special library interest, or 
of any publication that does not get into 
the ordinary sources, furnish that to the 
editor and it will be scattered over the 
country through "Special Libraries." 

A new system will be organized following 
this meeting, we hope, by which the coun- 
try will be divided into districts in each of 
which there will be one person who will be 
responsible for that district, and we hope 
in that way to keep in closer touch. We 
will also have a representative in the 
different classes of special libraries so that 
no one will be left out, and we will get re- 
ports from all persons who are represent- 
ing the different departments in the special 
libraries, which now number perhaps seven 
or eight that are active different classes of 
libraries. 

I want to ask for suggestions also from 
the members of the association about 
things that we want published. I would be 
glad to receive letters. I do not receive 
enough of them; and, another thing, I do 
not receive criticisms. There are many 
things we would like to know about the 
publication, many things we would like to 
learn. We would like to hear from you 
either one way or the other on the publica- 
tion. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: I will call for 
the report of the Committee on Public 
Utilities, Mr. Morton. 

(Mr. Morton rendered a brief report 
which is available in the secretary's office 
to those who may be interested to see it.) 

The session then adjourned. 



FOURTH (EXTRA) SESSION 

(Monday, July 1, 8:15 p. m.) 
After an informal interchange of ideas 
among a small group of people who 
gathered in the private dining room, the 
business session, continued from the after- 
noon, was called to order by Vice-President 
Brigham. In view of the small attendance 
and in order to allow greater publicity the 
meeting was adjourned to Tuesday, July 2, 
9:30 a. m. 

FIFTH (SECOND JOINT) SESSION 
(Tuesday, July 2, 9:30 a. m.) 

The second joint session was attended by 
the National Association of State Libraries, 
the American Association of Law Libraries 
and the Special Libraries Association 
delegates, and was presided over by Mr. 
Brigham, vice-president of the Special Li- 
braries Association. The meeting was held 
in the ball room of the Chateau Laurier. 

Mr. Charles J. Babbitt of the Massa- 
chusetts state library read the first paper, 
entitled "Snags, stumbling blocks and pit- 
falls among the session laws." During the 
course of his paper Mr. Babbitt touched 
upon some very interesting phases of these 
questions. In the absence of Mr. James 
MKirdy, Mr. Thomas Montgomery, state 
librarian of Pennsylvania, presented his 
paper, entitled "Bill drafting." Following 
this, in the absence of Dr. John H. Arnold, 
librarian of the Harvard Law School, Mr. 
George S. Godard read his paper, entitled 
"The history of the growth and develop- 
ment of the Harvard university law li- 
brary." Great regret was expressed at the 
absence of Dr. Arnold, who may now be 
looked upon as the father of law libraries. 

Following this Mr. Lapp discussed the 
question of co-operation between legislative 
reference departments. This address also 
covered a report upon the same subject as 
well as a report on legislative reference 
service. Mr. Godard followed with general 
remarks, in which he called attention to 
the great changes in our present social life, 



352 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



brought about by Improvements in our 
methods of transportation, so that now our 
view point is so much broader that in the 
drawing of bills we can no longer overlook 
what other states are doing, hence the 
great necessity for co-operation and wider 
knowledge in this field. He reviewed 
briefly the work of the J^aw Reporting 
Company and tried to point out how service 
such as they had rendered might be made 
practical. He appealed for a national 
legislative information bureau, and he 
questioned whether this could ever be 
brought about by co-operation, but rather 
insisted that it must be a definitely estab- 
lished service run for profit or subsidized 
by government support. The chairman 
called attention to the library law abstracts 
which are probably present in every state 
library in one form or another. In these 
abstracts minute subjects are touched 
upon which are difficult to get at. The ma- 
terial usually exists only in carbon form. 
As a result of an interview with a commer- 
cial concern, the chairman found that with 
the use of the multigraph this firm would 
agree to furnish three hundred copies for 
$1.00 a folio with $5.00 for composition and 
general work. This would mean on a thirty 
folio, a total of $35.00 for an issue of three 
hundred copies. He suggested that such 
material be sent to a central agency and 
believed that such a scheme could be 
worked out successfully. Mr. Babbitt 
called attention to several interesting in- 
stances where the assistance of such a 
scheme would have been invaluable in 
furthering greater publicity for material 
which was only found through co-operation 
among the state libraries. Dr. Clement 
W. Andrews believed that this sort of work 
should be done at the American Library 
Association headquarters and thought with 
competent operators this was the most 
practical way to have it done. He also 
called attention to the fact that the Illinois 
State Bankers Association had asked the 
John Crerar library to undertake an analy- 
sis of the State Banking Association publi- 
cations. He offered to send circulars 
covering that work to any state or. law 



libraries that might find them of useful- 
ness. 

Mr. D. N. Handy of the Insurance Library 
Association of Boston spoke in regard to 
the recently organized legislative bureau of 
the National Board of Fire Underwriters. 
One of the chief functions of this bureau 
will be to bring together an abstract card 
index of the laws in the various states in 
the country bearing on fire insurance. Re- 
cently the Association of Life Insurance 
Presidents has completed a card index 
abstract of the laws bearing on life insur- 
ance, comprising something like four 
thousand cards. Mr. Godard offered fur- 
ther discussion which he finally followed 
with a motion to the effect "that our com- 
mittee on resolutions prepare suitable reso- 
lution directed to Congress, endorsing the 
bill now before Congress looking toward 
the permanent establishment of a legisla- 
tive bureau at Washington and expressing 
our hope that it may be established in the 
very near future, and at the same time ex- 
pressing our willingness to co-operate in 
any way that we can." Mr. Montgomery, as 
chairman of the Committee on resolutions 
then offered several resolutions.* 

Mr. Johnson Brigham of Iowa then 
opened up the discussion of the relation 
between state libraries and legislative 
reference bureaus, to which Mr. Mont- 
gomery replied. General discussion fol- 
lowed in which several told of the actual 
working relations between these two juris- 
dictions in their several states. The meet- 
ing adjourned at 12:24 p. m. 

SIXTH (BUSINESS) SESSION 
(Tuesday, July 2, 12:25 p. m.) 

At the close of the second joint session, 
a business meeting of the Special Libraries 
Association was called to order by Vice- 
President Herbert O. Brigham in the ball 
room of the Chateau Laurier. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT: The first bus- 
iness is the report of the secretary-treas- 
urer. 

These resolutions will be found in full in the 
proceedings of the National Association of State Li- 
braries, which will be printed by that association. 



SPECIAL LIBRARIES 353 

Mr. MARION: The membership has in- be very satisfactory. We have a cash 

creased, from September, 1911, from 171 balance of $292.15. There seems to be an 

members, until June, 1912, to 224 members, Increased call for special librarians in 

which is an increase of thirty per cent, heretofore unknown fields. The following 

The bulletin has increased in pages from statement indicates the condition of the 

12 to 16. The financial situation seems to treasury as of the date given: 

SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION 

July 1, 1912. 

Financial statement cf the books as of the above date. 
Receipts 

Cash on hand Sept. 27, 1911 $119.07 

Membership fees and subscriptions 415.80 

Sale of back numbers 85.28 

Sale of reprints, bibliographies, etc 31.13 

Advertising 12.00 



Expenditures $663.28 

Rent of hall at New York meeting 15.00 

Stenographic work of New York meeting 15.00 

Postage, telegrams, express, etc 41.08 

Storage cabinet for editor's office 13.25 

Indexing of volume 1 10.00 

Printing 275.50 

Bank Exchange 1.30 371.13 

July 1, 1912, Cash on hand $292.15 

Accounts Receivable 144.10 

Accounts Payable no bills 

rendered 
GUY E. MARION, Treasurer. 

On motion of Mr. Montgomery the report Executive Board: Officers ex-officio: O. 

was received. E. Norman, Chicago; Florence 

The CHAIRMAN: The report of the ex- Spencer, New York, 

ecutive board of the Special Libraries Asso- There being no counter nominations, on 

ciation is brief. It is proposed during the motion, the secretary cast a ballot for the 

coming year to readjust as far as possible association, and the chair declared the nom- 

the committee system 'and substitute there- inees elected for their respective offices, 

for representatives for certain sections of Mr HANDY: Will it be in order now to 

the country, so that the persons who rep- fak e up tne ma tter of special education for 

resent those sections shall be responsible the spec i a i training of library assistants? 

for the part in which they are located. It The CHAIRMAN: That comes under the 

is entirely a matter for the board. I think head Qf new businesg which we are now 

that will be the extent of their report, in taking up YQU &re , n order 

brief, and I will now call for the report of 

. ,. -, T , Mr. HANDY: I would make a motion that 

the nominating committee, Mr. Lee. 

Mr. LEE: The nominating committee a committee of three be appointed by the 
respectfully submits the following list of President, upon the training of special li- 
., . branans, with instructions to report upon 

officers for the ensuing year: 

. _. -v, TT j T. this matter at the next annual meeting. 

President: D. N. Handy, Boston. 

Vice-President: R. H. Johnston, Wash- The motion was seconded by Mr. Lapp 

ington. and carried. 

Secretary-Treasurer: G. E. Marion, Bos- Upon motion of Dr. Andrews the meeting 

ton. adjourned sine die. 



ATTENDANCE SUMMARIES 



By Position and Sex 

Men Women Total 



Trustees 21 

Library Commissions 

representatives 9 

Chief librarians 103 

Assistants 50 

Library schools 1 

Editors of lib. periodicals 2 

Commercial agents 24 

Others . 38 





12 

130 

191 

13 

2 

3 

105 



21 

21 
233 
241 

14 
4 

27 
143 



Total 248 



456 704 



By Geographical Sections 

6 of the 6 New England States sent. 
5 " 5 North Atlantic States and 
District of Columbia sent. 
' 6 South-eastern States sent. 
7 North Central States " . 

6 South Central States " . 
' 11 Western States " . 

7 Pacific States " . 
' Canadian Provinces.. " . 



5 

7 

3 

7 

4 

5 

England 

Japan 



179 

12 

203 

23 

26 

16 

144 

1 

1 



Total 704 

By States 



Alabama 1 

California 8 

Colorado 4 

Connecticut 17 

Delaware 1 

District Columbia 20 

Florida 1 

Georgia 5 

Illinois 82 

Indiana 17 

Iowa .. .10 



Missouri 17 

Nebraska 4 

New Hampshire. 7 
New Jersey 13 



New York 
North Carolina 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania . 
Rhode Island . 



99 
2 

45 
1 
1 

40 



Kansas 5 South Dakota ... 1 

Kentucky 5 Texas 1 

Louisiana 1 Utah 1 

Maine 5 Vermont 9 

Maryland 6 Virginia 3 

Massachusetts . 53 Washington 6 

Michigan 34 West Virginia ... 1 

Minnesota 9 Wisconsin 15 

By Provinces 

Alberta 1 Ontario 125 

British Columbia 1 Quebec 13 

Manitoba 3 Saskatchewan . 1 



99 England 



Foreign Countries 
1 Japan . . 



Total . ..704 



By Libraries 

Libraries having five or more representa- 
tives : 

Brooklyn Public L 8 

Chicago Public L 22 

Cleveland Public L 24 

Detroit Public L 8 

Grand Rapids Public L 6 

Illinois, L. of Univ. of 10 

Indiana State L 5 

John Crerar L 7 

Library of Congress 10 

McGill Univ. L 9 

New York Public L 7 

New York State L 12 

Ottawa Public L 11 

Pittsburgh Carnegie L 11 

St. Louis Public L 12 

Toronto Public L 10 

Note: Those who participated in post- 
conference trip only are not counted in 
above statistics. 



354 



ATTENDANCE REGISTER 



* Prefixed to a name indicates participation in post-conference trip on the lower St. Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers 
** Prefixed to a name indicates participation in post-conference trip only. 



Abbreviations: F., Free; P., Public; L., 
Library; In., Librarian; asst., Assistant; 
trus., Trustee; ref., Reference; catlgr., 
Cataloger; Br., Branch; sen., School. 

Abbot, Etheldred, asst. In. P. L., Brookline, 
Mass. 

Ahearn, Mrs. Thomas, Ottawa, Can. 

*Ahern, Mary Eileen, editor "Public Li- 
braries," Chicago, 111. 

*Alexander, W. H., asst In. Assn. of the Bar, 
New York City. 

*Alexander, Mrs. W. H., New York City. 

Allin, Eugenia, organizer 111. L. Ex. Com- 
mission, Decatur, 111. 

*Anderson, Mrs. C. N., Detroit, Mich. 

Anderson, Edwin H., asst. director P. L., 
New York City. 

Anderson, John R., bookseller, New York 
City. 

*Anderson, Margaret M., asst. P. L., De- 
troit, Mich. 

Anderson, Robert B., asst. In. Harvard Law 
L., Cambridge, Mass. 

Andrews, Clement W., In. John Crerar L., 
Chicago, 111. 

Andrus, Gertrude E., supt. child, dept., 
Seattle, Wash. 

* Anthony, Grace F., New York City. 

Arbique, Georgette, asst. P. L., Ottawa, Can. 

Archer, Frances R., In. P. L., Talladega, 
Ala. 

Arms, Jessie L., 1st asst. catlgr., Univ. of 
Iowa, Iowa City, la. 

*Askew, Sarah B., organizer P. L. Com- 
mission, Trenton, N. J. 

Ault, A. W., trus. P. L., Ottawa, Can. 

Austen, Willard, asst. In. Cornell Univ. L., 
Ithaca, N. Y. 

Austen, Mrs. Willard, Ithaca, N. Y. 

Ayer, Clarence W., In. P. L., Cambridge, 
Mass. 

Babbitt, Charles J., asst. State L., Boston, 
Mass. 



Baer, Harriet Irene, Hebrew Institute Br., 
P. L., Chicago, 111. 

Bailey, Arthur L., In. Wilmington Inst. F. 
L., Wilmington, Del. 

Baker, Charlotte A., In. State Agric. Coll., 
Fort Collins, Colo. 

Baker, Herbert W., Ottawa, Can. 

Baker, Mary N., In. P. L., Elwood, Ind. 

Ball, Fanny D., In. Central High Sch., Grand 
Rapids, Mich. 

*Banks, Mary, In. P. Service L. of N. J., 
Newark, N. J. 

Banton, T. W., trus. P. L., Toronto, Can. 

Barickman, Mrs. Rena M., In. P. L., Joliet, 
111. 

*Barnett, Claribel R., In. U. S. Dept. of 
Agric., Washington, D. C. 

Barnett, J. Davis, sec'y-treas. P. L., Strat- 
ford, Ont. 

Barnstead, Winifred G., asst. catalog dept. 
P. L., Toronto, Can. 

Barry, May H., asst. Geological Survey L., 
Ottawa, Can. 

*Bascom, Elva L., editor A. L. A. Booklist, 
Madison, Wis. 

Bates, Helen C., chief order dept. P. L., 
Detroit, Mich. 

Bates, Mary R., asst. In. Univ. of Vt, Bur- 
lington, Vt. 

Baxter, Miss, asst. In. P. L., London, Ont. 

Beatty, Alma, In. P. L., Pembroke, Ont. 

Beer, William, In. Howard Mem. L., New 
Orleans, La. 

*Bell, Madelene M., senior asst. child, 
dept. F. P. L., Worcester, Mass. 

Bergman, F. W., mgr. Chateau Laurier, Ot- 
tawa, Can. 

Bergold, Bertha R., asst. Lincoln L., Spring- 
field, 111. 

Bergold, Mrs. E., Springfield, 111. 

Berry, Ethel L, N. Y. State L. Sch., Albany, 
N. Y. 

Billingsley, Mary P., asst. In. State L., Tope- 
ka, Kas. 



355 



356 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Black, Mary J. L., In. P. L., Fort William, 
Ont. 

Blackwelder, Paul, asst. In. P. L., St. Louis, 
Mo. 

*Blanchard, Grace, In. P. L., Concord, N. H. 

Bligh, Harris H., In. Supreme Court L., Ot- 
tawa, Can. 

Bliss, Robert P., asst. sec'y F. L. Commis- 
sion, Harrisburg, Pa. 

Blodgett, Evelyn M., catlgr. State L., Mont- 
pelier, Vt. 

Bogle, Sarah C. N., director Training Sch. 
for Children's Lns., Carnegie L., Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. 

Booth, Mary J., In. State Normal Sch. L., 
Charleston, 111. 

Borchard, Edwin M., law In. L. of Con- 
gress, Washington, D. C. 

Borresen, Lily M. E., In. P. L., Two Har- 
bors, Minn. 

Bostwick, Andrew Linn, technical In. P. 
L., St. Louis, Mo. 

Bostwick, Arthur E., In. P. L., St. Louis, 
Mo. 

Bostwick, Mrs. A. K, St. Louis, Mo. 

Bowerman, George F., In. P. L., Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

*Bowker, R. R., editor "Library Journal," 
New York City. 

*Bowker, Mrs. R. R., Stockbridge, Mass. 

Boyd, Anne M., In. James Millikin Univ., 
Decatur, 111. 

Boyd, Edward J., mgr. Cassell Co. Ltd., To- 
rcnto, Can. 

Boyd, Mrs. W. P., Arthur, 111. 

Boyle, Gertrude M., asst. catalog dept. P. 
L., Toronto, Ont. 

Brandenburg, S. J., In. Miami Univ. L., Ox- 
ford, O. 

Brett, William H., In. P. L., Cleveland, O. 

*Briggs, Walter B., In. Trinity Coll., Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

*Briggs, Mrs. Walter B., Hartford, Conn. 

Brigham, Herbert O., In. State L., Provi- 
dence, R. I. 

Brigham, Johnson, In. State L., Des Moines, 
la. 

*Brown, Alice Harris, In. Kingsbridge Br., 
P. L., New York City. 

Brown, Demarchus C., In. State L., Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 



Brown, Geo. A., chairman Carnegie P. L., 

Campbellford, Ont. 

Brown, Walter L., In. P. L., Buffalo, N. Y. 
Browning, Eliza G., In. P. L., Indianapolis, 

Ind. 

Brydone, William, trus. P. L., Clinton, Ont. 
Bryson, Dr. Mary, Ottawa, Can. 
Bucher, Mrs. E. A. Sherwood, asst. U. S. 

Dept. of Agric. L., Washington, D. C. 
Bulmer, Jeanie N., In. Y. W. C. A., New 

York City. 

Burpee, Lawrence J., Ottawa, Can. 
Burpee, Mrs. L. J., Ottawa, Can. 
Burr, Clara J., Rocky Hill, Conn. 
Burrell, Hon. Martin, minister of agricul- 
ture, Ottawa, Can. 
Burrell, Mrs. Martin, Ottawa, Can. 
Butler, H. L., Am. Law L., New York City. 
Butters, Mary T., In. P. L., Niagara Falls, 

Ont. 
Byam, C. A., chairman P. L., New Liskeard, 

Ont. 
Calder, Mrs. Mary E., In. P. L., Fenelon 

Falls, Ont. 
Caldwell, Clara A., asst. P. L., Cleveland, 

O. 

Caldwell, Lena E., In. P. L., Flint, Mich. 
*Calhoun, Alexander, In. P. L., Calgary, 

Alta. 

*Calhoun, Marion, asst. In. Geological Sur- 
vey L., Ottawa, Can. 
*Calhoun, Mrs. R. C., Ottawa, Can. 
Cameron, A. W., ex-pres. Ont. L. Assn., 

Woodstock, Ont. 
Carey, Miriam E., organizer P. L. Com., 

St. Paul, Minn. 

Carr, Henry J., In. P. L., Scranton, Pa. 
Carr, Mrs. Henry J., Scranton, Pa. 
Carson, W. O., In. P. L., London, Ont. 
Carswell, F. Edina, Toronto, Can. 
Carswell, R., law book publisher, Toronto, 

Can. 

Carswell, Mrs. R., Toronto, Can. 
Carter, Bertha, asst. catlg. dept. State L., 

Indianapolis, Ind. 
Casey, Magdalen, In. Archives L., Ottawa, 

Can. 
Caswell, E. S., sec'y-treas. P. L., Toronto, 

Can. 
Champion, Miss J. H., In. P. L., Sault Ste. 

Marie, Ont. 



ATTENDANCE 



357 



Chapin, Artena M., In. A. K. Smiley P. L., 
Redlands, Cal. 

Chapman, Effie Louise, In's sec'y, P. L., 
Seattle, Wash. 

Cbarlton, Miss M. R., In. Medical L., Mc- 
Gill Univ., Montreal, Can. 

Charlton, Ruby, N. Y. State L. Sch., Al- 
bany, N. Y. 

Charteris, Dr. C. R., pres. Ontario L. Assn., 
Chatham, Ont. 

Chase, Kate B., asst. P. L., Chicago, 111. 

Cheney, George N., In. Court of Appeals L., 
Syracuse, N. Y. , 

Cheney, Mrs. George N., Syracuse, N. Y. 

Chidester, Maud, children's In. P. L., Evan- 
ston, 111. 

Chipman, Frank E., managing director Bos- 
ton Book Co., Boston, Mass. 

Chivers, Cedric, bookbinder, Brooklyn, 
N. Y. 

Clapp, Clifford B., catlgr. Dartmouth Coll. 
L., Hanover, N. H. 

*Clark, Mrs. George Edward, Skaneateles, 
N. Y. 

Clark, Geo. L., State L., Lansing, Mich. 

Clark, Mrs. G. L. Lansing, Mich. 

Clarke, Edith E., head catlgr. Syracuse 
Univ. L., Syracuse, N. Y. 

*Clarke, Elizabeth P., In. Seymour L. Au- 
burn, N. Y. 

Clayton, Reta, Ocean Grove, N. J. 

Cleavinger, John S., In. P. L., Jackson, 
Mich. 

Cleland, Ethel, asst. & catlgr. leg. ref. dept, 
State L., Indianapolis, Ind. 

"Clement, Caroline B., asst. P. L., Man- 
chester, N. H. 

Climie, Janet, asst. P. L., Listowel, Ont. 

Climie, Lillie, In. P. L., Listowel, Ont. 

Cobb, Edith H., asst. F. P. L., New Bedford, 
Mass. 

*Cochran, Mary R., In. Walnut Hills Br., P. 
L., Cincinnati, O. 

Colby, Adah M., supt. of branches and ap- 
prentices, P. L., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Colegrove, Mrs. Mabel E., Heermance Mem. 
L M Coxsackie, N. Y. 

*Cotter, Minnie B., In. P. L., Derby, Conn. 

*Craig, Jennie A., custodian English 
Seminar, Univ. of 111., Urbana, 111. 



Graver, Harrison W., In. Carnegie L., Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. 

Craver, Mrs. H. W., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Crevecoeur, P. B. de, In. Fraser Institute, 
Montreal, Can. 

Crocker, Mary, chief open shelf dept. P. L., 
St. Louis, Mo. 

**Crosby, Caroline R., Milford, N. H. 

Crossley, F. B., In. Northwestern Univ. 
Law L., Chicago, 111. 

Cmikshank, D. P., mngr. Library Bureau, 
Ottawa, Ont. 

Cruikshank, Mrs. D. P., Ottawa, Ont. 

Cunningham, Jesse, municipal ref. In. P. L., 
St. Louis, Mo. 

Curtiss, Frances, asst. P. L., Detroit, Mich. 

Cutter, Annie S., supervisor sch. dept., P. 
L., Cleveland, O. 

Cutter, W. P., In. Engineering Societies L., 
New York City. 

Cuttle, A. H., chairman L. board, Colling- 
wood, Ont. 

Cuttle, Mrs. M. A., Collingwood, Ont. 

*Dakin, Maude L, asst. L. of Congress, 
Washington, D. C. 

Dale, Dorethea P., asst, P. L., Cleveland, O. 

*Dame, Katharine, instructor N. Y. State 
L. Sch., Albany, N. Y. 

Daout, Emilieu, vice-pres. Librarie Beau- 
chemin, Montreal, Can. 

Datz, H. R., Library Bureau, New York 
City. 

Davis, Eva, asst. P. L., Toronto, Can. 

*Davis, Georgia S., asst. P. L., Grand Rap- 
ids, Mich. 

Davis, Mary I., 1st asst. Carnegie West Br., 
P. L., Cleveland, O. 

Davis, Mary L., In. P. L., Troy, N. Y. 

Davis, Orlando C., In. P. L., Waltham, Mass. 

Davison, Mrs. Hannah P., In. P. L., San 
Diego, Cal. 

DeCelles, Alfred D., In. of Parliament, Ot- 
tawa, Can. 

Dewar, A. F., Ottawa, Can. 

**Dewey, Mrs. Melvil, Lake Placid Club, 
N. Y. 

Dice, J. Howard, N. Y. State L. Sch., Al- 
bany, N. Y. 

*Dickerson, L. L., In. Iowa College L., Grin- 
nell, la. 

*Dill, Maude, Decatur, 111. 



358 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Dinsmoor, Kate E., head catlgr. State L., 

Topeka, Kas. 
*Dinsmore, Lucy C., In. Walker Br., P. L., 

Minneapolis, Minn. 
*Dobbins, Elizabeth V., In. Am. Tel. & Tel. 

Co., New York City. 
Doren, Electra C., Dayton, O. 
Dougan, Alice M., N. Y. State L., Albany, 

N. Y. 
'Dougherty, Anna R., chief art dept., F. L., 

Philadelphia, Pa. 
Dougherty, Harold T., In. Sayles Mem. L., 

Pawtucket, R. I. 

*Dougherty, Helen R., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Dow, Mary E., In. P. L., Saginaw, Mich. 
**Drury, Miss C. K., New Brunswick, N. J. 
*Drury, F. K. W., asst In. Univ. of 111., Ur- 

bana, 111. 

*Drury, Mrs. F. K. W., Urbana, 111. 
**Drury, Mrs. J. B., New Brunswick, N. J. 
Drysdale, Sara E., head circ. dept., P. L., 

Ottawa, Can. 
Dudgeon, M. S., sec'y Wis. F. L. Com., 

Madison, Wis. 

Duefel, Jennie, P. L., Decatur, 111. 
Dunham, B. Mabel, In. P. L., Berlin, Ont. 
Durfee, Jennie T., Decatur, 111. 
Dwight, Edith C., In. Ont. Agric. College 

L., Guelph, Ont. 
Eakins, Wm. Geo., In. Law Soc. of Upper 

Canada, Toronto, Can. 
Eaman, Mabel, asst. John Crerar L., Chi- 
cago, 111. 

Eastman, Linda A., vice-In. P. L., Cleve- 
land, O. 
Elliott, Caroline L., ref. In. P. L., Chicago, 

111. 
*Elliott, Edith L., clerk Democrat Printing 

Co., Madison, Wis. 

Elliott, Thos. E., trus. P. L., Kenora, Ont. 
Ellis, Helen, asst. P. L., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
*Ellis, Victoria, In. P. L., Long Beach, Cal. 
Elmendorf, Mrs. H. L., vice-In. P. L., Buf- 
falo, N. Y. 
Eno, Sara W., In. Stetson Univ. L., DeLand, 

Fla, 
Erb, Frederic W., supervisor loan div. and 

asst. In., Columbia Univ. L., New York 

City. 
Erskine, Edith, In. Mark White Sq. Br., P. 

L., Chicago, 111. 



Estabrooke, Mrs. Kate C., Maine L. Com- 
mission, Orono, Me. 

Evans, Mrs. Alice G., In. P. L., Decatur, 111. 

Fatout, Nellie B., Pacific Br., P. L., Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. 

Faxon, Frederick W., L. mgr., Boston Book 
Co., Boston, Mass. 

Faxon, Mrs. F. W., Boston, Mass. 

*Faxon, Mrs. Marcus, Boston, Mass. 

Feazel, Ernest A., In. Law L., Cleveland, O. 

Fellows, Jennie D., instructor N. Y. State 
L. Sch., Albany, N. Y. 

*Fenton, Polly, catlgr. P. L., Milwaukee. 
Wis. 

Field, O. J., chief clerk Dept. of Justice, 
Washington, D. C. 

Field, Pearl I., sen. asst. P. L., Chicago, 111. 

Field, Ruth K., asst. P. L., Cleveland, O. 

*Fison, Herbert W., In. P. L., Maiden, Mass. 

*Fix, Arminda L., Walla Walla, Wash. 

Flexner, Jennie M., classifier F. P. L., Louis- 
ville, Ky. 

Ford, Eva M., Chicago, 111. 

*Forstall, Gertrude, asst. catlgr. John 
Crerar L., Chicago, 111. 

Foster, Consul-General John G., Ottawa, 
Can. 

Foster, Mrs. J. G., Ottawa, Can. 

Fuller, George W., In. P. L., Spokane, Wash. 

*Furness, Margaret, sen. asst, John Crerar 
L., Chicago, 111. 

Gamble, Wm. B., chief tech. div., P. L., New 
York City. 

Gay, Helen K., In. P. L., New London, Conn. 

Gaylord, H. J., Gaylord Brothers, Syracuse, 
N. Y. 

Geddes, Helen C., asst. Univ. of 111. L., Ur- 
bana, 111. 

George, C. A., In. P. L., Elizabeth, N. J. 

George, Mrs. C. A., Elizabeth, N. J. 

*George, Lillian M., catlgr. Purdue Univ. 
L., Lafayette, Ind. 

Gerould, J. T., In. Univ. of Minn., Minne- 
apolis, Minn. 

Gifford, Florence M., asst P. L., Cleveland, 
O. 

Gill, Anna, asst. P. L., St. Louis, Mo. 

Glasgow, Ellen, Richmond, Va. 

*Gleason, Celia, asst. In. P. L., Los Angeles, 
Cal. 



ATTENDANCE 



359 



Godard, Geo. S., In. State L., Hartford, 

Conn. 

Godard, Mrs. Geo. S., Hartford, Conn. 
Goldberg, Bessie, head catlgr., P. L., Chi- 
cago, 111. 

Gooch, Harriet B., instructor Pratt Inst., 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Goodchild, F. D., publisher, Toronto, Can. 

Goodchild, Mrs. F. D., Toronto, Can. 

Goodrich, Nathaniel L., In. Dartmouth Coll., 
Hanover, N. H. 

Gosnell, R. E., Dom. Mss. Com., Victoria, 
B. C. 

*Goss, Agnes C., In. State Normal Sch. L., 
Athens, Ga. 

*Gould, Charles H., In. McGill Univ., Mon- 
treal, Can. 

Grant, D. M., trus. P. L., Sarnia, Ont. 

Grant, Sir James, Ottawa, Can. 

Grasty, Katharine G., In. Eastern High 
Sch. L., Baltimore, Md. 

Greene, Ainslie W., chairman P. L., Ottawa, 
Can. 

Greene, Chas. S., In. F. L., Oakland, Cal. 

Greene, Mrs. Chas. S., Oakland, Cal. 

*Greenman, E. D., asst. U. S. Bur. of Educ. 
L., Washington, D. C. 

**Greenman, Mrs. E. M., Albany, N. Y. 

**Greenman, E. May, asst. State Educ. 
Dept., Albany, N. Y. 

Griggs, Lillian, asst. Barr Br., P. L., St. 
Louis, Mo. 

Gymer, Rose C., In. Perkins Br., P. L., 
Cleveland, O. 

Hadley, Chalmers, In. P. L., Denver, Colo. 

Hall, Bessie G., Trav. L. Dept., McGill Univ., 
Montreal, Can. 

*Hall, Drew B., In. P. L., Somerville, Mass. 

**Hall, Mrs. Drew B., Somerville, Mass. 

Hall, Ernest S., In. P. L., Plattsburgh, N. Y. 

Hall, Mary E., In. Girl's High Sch. L., 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Hamilton, W. J., chairman P. L., Fort Wil- 
liam, Ont. 

Handy, D. N., In. Insurance L. Assn., Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

Hardenberg, Bessie, asst. P. L., Scranton, 
Pa. 

Hardy, Judge A. D., trus. P. L., Brantford, 
Ont. 



Hardy, E. A., sec'y Ontario L. Assn., Toron- 
to, Can. 

*Hardy, Mary T. asst. In. P. L., Grand 
Rapids, Mich. 

Harris, Miss A. M., In. P. L., Guelph, Ont. 

Harrison, Joseph LeRoy, In. Forbes L., 
Northampton, Mass. 

Hartshorn, W. H., Maine L. Commission, 
Lewiston, Me. 

Hasbrouck, Mary K., In. P. L., Ogdensburg, 
N. Y. 

Hastings, C. H., chief of -card section, L. 
of Congress, Washington, D. C. 

Hatton, Wm. H., chairman Wis. F. L. Com., 
New London, Wis. 

Hawkins, Eleanor E., head catlgr., P. L., 
Kansas City, Mo. 

Hawkins, Mrs. W. M., Buffalo, N. Y. 

Hawley, Mrs. Joseph R., Chicago, 111. 

*Hawley, Mary E., asst. catlgr. John Crerar 
L., Chicago, 111. 

*Hay, Flora N., ref. In. P. L., Evanston, 111. 

*Hayes, Ethel M., acting In., Tufts College 
L., Tufts College, Mass. 

Hazeltine, Mary E., preceptor L. Sch. of the 
Univ. of Wis., Madison, Wis. 

Henderson, Lucia T., In. James Prendergast 
F. L., Jamestown, N. Y. 

Henley, Lillian, asst. ref. In., State L., In- 
dianapolis, Ind. 

Hepburn, William M., In. Purdue Univ., 
Lafayette, Ind. 

"Herrick, Gate E., New Haven, Conn. 

Hewins, Caroline M., In. P. L., Hartford, 
Conn. 

Hewitt, Luther E., In. Law Assn., Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Hildreth, Eugene W., Publisher, Boston, 
Mass. 

Hill, Edith M., 1st asst. St. Glair Br., P. L., 
Cleveland, O. 

Hill, Frank P., In. P. L., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Hill, Grace, N. Y. State L. Sch., Albany, N. 
Y. (Ft. Dodge, la.) 

*Hills, Elizabeth C., In. Cobleigh L., Lyn- 

donville, Vt. 
Hinchey, Comptroller Edward H., Ottawa, 

Can. 

Hirshberg, Herbert S., ref. In., P. L., Cleve- 
land, O. 
Hirshberg, Mrs. Herbert S., Cleveland, O. 



360 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Hoagland, Merica, director Indiana L. Sen. 

Indianapolis, Ind. 
Hodge, Cordelia B., F. L. Com., Harrisburg, 

Pa. 

Hodge, Mrs. J. M., Harrisburg, Pa. 
Holmden, Kate, asst. P. L., Ottawa, Ont. 
Honeyman, J. R. C., In. 'P. L., Regina, Sask. 
Hookstadt, Carl, asst. L. of Congress, 

Washington, D. C. 
Hooper, Louise M., In. P. L., Brookline, 

Mass. 

Hopkins, Jessica, In. P. L., Paducah, Ky. 
Hopper, Franklin F., In. P. L., Tacoma, 

Wash. 

*Horsfall, Elizabeth L., Br. In., F. L., New- 
ton, Mass. 

Hough, Romeyn B., Lowville, N. Y. 
Houston, Charlotte S., asst. McGill Univ. 

L., Montreal, Can. 

Hubbard, Anna G., order In., P. L., Cleve- 
land, O. 

Hubbell, Jane P., In. P. L., Rockford, 111. 
Huestis, A. E., trus. P. L., Toronto, Can. 
*Hughes, Howard L., In. P. L., Trenton. 

N. J. 

Hunter, Adam, In. P. L., Hamilton, Ont. 
Huntting, Henry R., bookseller, Springfield, 

Mass. 
Hutchins, Margaret, ref. asst. Univ. of 111. 

L., Urbana, 111. 
*Hutchinson, Helen, In. Am. Medical Assn., 

Chicago, 111. 
Hutchinson, Susan A., In. Brooklyn Inst. 

Museum L., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Hyde, Sophie, head order dept., Univ. of 

Minn. L., Minneapolis, Minn. 
*Ideson, Julia, In. Carnegie L., Houston, 

Tex. 
lies, George, New York City. (Trustee 

Hackley School L., Tarry town, N. Y.) 
Imal, K., director, P. L., Osaka, Japan. 
Imhoff, Ono Mary, asst. In. legislative ref. 

dept., Madison, Wis. 

Imrie, William, In. P. L., Tillsonburg, Ont. 
Ingersoll, Elizabeth S., supt. order dept., 

Cornell Univ. L., Ithaca, N. Y. 
Inman, Grace E., 1st. asst. F. L., Olneyville, 

R. I. 

Inman, Harris W., Providence, R. I. 
Jackson, Emeline, asst. P. L., Winnipeg, 

Man. 



*Jackson, Henrietta, asst. In. P. L., Win- 
nipeg, Man. 
Janvrin, Charles E., In. Nat Hist. L., Univ. 

of 111., Urbana, 111. 

Jardine, Isabella, In. P. L., Hespeler, Ont. 
Jellinghaus, Carl L., asst. editor "Library 

Journal," New York City. 
Jenkins, Frederick W., In. N. Y. Sen. of 

Philanthropy, New York City. 
Jenkins, Mrs. F. W., New York City. 
Jennings, Judson T., In. P. L., Seattle, 

Wash. 
Jerome, Janet, asst. child. In., P. L., Denver, 

Colo. 

*Jessop, Edith, Columbus, Ga. 
*Jewell, Agnes H., asst. In. P. L., Adrian, 

Mich. 
Johnson, Josephine M., asst. P. L., Chicago, 

111. 

Johnston, Louise, In. P. L., Stratford, Ont. 
Johnston, R. H., In. Bur. of Railway Eco- 
nomics, Washington, D. C. 
Jolicoeur, Marie E., asst. P. L., Ottawa, Can. 
Jones, E. Kathleen, In. McLean Hospital, 

Waverly, Mass. 
Jones, Mabel Delle, In. P. L., Charleston, W. 

Va. 
Jones, Mary L., In. Bryn Mawr L., Bryn 

Mawr, Pa. 
Josephson, Aksel G. S., chief catlgr. John 

Crerar L., Chicago, 111. 
Josephson, Mrs. Aksel G. S., Chicago, 111. 
Josselyn, Lloyd W., In. Univ. Club, Chicago, 

111. 
Jutton, Emma R., loan In. Univ. of 111. L., 

Urbana, 111. 
Kaiser, John B., In. Dept. of Economics, 

Univ. of 111., Urbana, 111. 
Kaiser, Mrs. John B., Urbana, 111. 
Keator, Alfred D., asst. P. L., Brooklyn, 

N. Y. 

Keefer, Jessie G., asst. P. L., Scranton, Pa. 
Keith, Kate, gen. asst. child, dept. Carnegie 

L., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Kelso, Tessa L., The Baker & Taylor Co., 

New York. 

Kennedy, Annie A., In. P. L., Kingston, Ont. 
Kennedy, Ellen L., sec'y to In. P. L., Chi- 
cago, 111. 
Keogh, Andrew, ref. In. Yale Univ. L., New 

Haven, Conn. 



ATTENDANCE 



361 



Kerr, Mrs. Jessie, In. P. L., Brussels, Ont. 

Kerr, Willis H., In. Kansas State Normal 
Sch., Emporia, Kas. 

Kerr, Mrs. W. H., Emporia, Kas. 

Kimball, W. C. ( chairman N. J. P. L. Com., 
Passaic, N. J. 

King, Dr. W. F., Dominion Astronomer, Ot- 
tawa, Can. 

Klingelsmith, Mrs. M. C., In. Biddle Law 
L., Univ. of Pa., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Koch, Theodore W., In. Univ. of Mien., 
Ann Arbor, Mich. 

Koch, Mrs. T. W., Ann Arbor, Mich. 

*Koerper, Anna C., asst. order div. L. of 
Congress, Washington, D. C. 

Kohler, Minnie M., In. P. L., Moline, 111. 

Kopp, Adeline E., In. P. L., Palmerston, Ont. 

Krause, Louise B., In. H. M. Byllesby & Co., 
Chicago, 111. 

Lagergren, Anna C. asst. Univ. of Chicago, 
Chicago, 111. 

Lamprey, Mary L., In. Ames F. L., North 
Easton, Mass. 

Lane, Harriet, In. P. L., Freeport, 111. 

Lapp, John A., leg. ref. In., State L., Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 

Lapp, Mrs. John A., Indianapolis, Ind. 

Larmouth, Mrs. L. P., Ottawa, Can. 

Latham, Calhoun, In. P. L., Bridgeport, 
Conn. 

Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, Ottawa, Can. 

Law, Marie H., asst. Carnegie L., Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. 

Lawrence, Hannah M., child. In. P. L., Buf- 
falo, N. Y. 

Le Sueur, Dr. W. D., Ottawa, Can. 

Lease, Evelyn S., In. Kellogg-Hubbard L., 
Montpelier, Vt. 

Ledbetter, Mrs. Eleanor E., In. Broadway 
Br., P. L., Cleveland, O. 

Lee, George W., In. Stone & Webster, Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

Legler, Henry E., In. P. L., Chicago, III. 

Legler, Mrs. Henry E., Chicago, 111. 

*Lehman, Reba F., In. P. L., Hazelton, Pa. 

Leitch, Harriet E., In. Edgewater Sub. Br., 
P. L., Cleveland, O. 

"Leslie, Eva G., child. In. P. L., Cleveland, 
O. 

Lewis, Eleanor F., head of circ. & ref. 
depts. Northwestern Univ. L., Evanston, 
111. 



Lewis, Sarah Virginia, 1st asst. circ. dept. 
P. L., Cleveland, O. 

*Libbie, Frederick J., book auctioneer, Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

*Libbie, Mrs. Frederick J., Boston, Mass. 

*Lindholm, Marie F., In. P. Service Com., 
New York City. 

*Ling, Katherine G., asst. ref. In. P. L., De- 
troit, Mich. 

Locke, George H., chief In., P. L., Toronto, 
Can. 

Loeffler, Olive N., asst. child, dept., Car- 
negie L., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Lomer, D. A., asst. McGill Univ. L., Mon- 
treal, Can. 

*Loomis, Nellie A., In. P. L., Columbus, Wis. 

Lovi, Henrietta, chief order div., P. L., 
Chicago, 111. 

*Lucht, Julius, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Lyman, Bertha H., ref. In. P. L., Provi- 
dence, R. I. 

Lyman, Edna, story teller and lecturer on 
children's work, Oak Park, 111. 

Lyon, Frances D., sub. In. State Law L., 
Albany, N. Y. 

McClelland, E. H., technology In., Carnegie 
L., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

McCormick, M. C., asst. L. of Parliament, 
Ottawa, Can. 

*McCrum, Blanche P., Lexington, Va. 

McCurdy, Mary de Bure, supervisor of sch. 
div., Carnegie L., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

McCurdy, R. M., In. Mercantile L., Cincin- 
nati, O. 

Macdonald, Mrs. A. C., In. P. L., St. 
Thomas, Ont. 

*McDowell, Grace E., In. Winthrop Station 
Br., P. L., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

McElroy, Annie, asst. P. L., Ottawa, Ont. 

MacEwen, Violet M., asst. P. L., West- 
mount, Que. 

MacGuiness, Miss C. L., Assn. of the Bar 
L., New York City. 

Mackay, Margaret S., head catlgr. McGill 
Univ. L., Montreal, Can. 

McKellar, Janet C., In. P. L., Ingersoll, Ont. 

McKillop, Samuel A., In. South Side Br., 
P. L., Milwaukee, Wis. 

*McLachlan, Nancy C., In. F. P. L., Hanni- 
bal, Mo. 

McLenegan, Chas. E., In. P. L., Milwaukee, 
Wis. 



362 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



McLenegan, Mrs. Chas. E., Milwaukee, Wis. 

*McLoney, Ella M., In. P. L., Des Moines, 
la. 

MacNair, Mary W., asst. L. of Congress, 
Washington, D. C, 

Macnaughton, Prof. John, McGill Univ., 
Montreal, Can. 

Manche, Hellene, asst. P. L., Cleveland, O. 

Mann, B. Pickman, bibliographer, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

Mann, Mrs. B. Pickman, Washington, D. C. 

Mann, Margaret, chief catlgr. Carnegie L., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Marion, Guy E., In. Arthur D. Little, Inc., 
Boston, Mass. 

Marquand, Fanny E., asst. catlgr. P. L... 
Cleveland, O. 

*Martin, Mary P., In. P. L. Assoc., Canton, 
O. 

Martyn, A. E., Ottawa, Can. 

Mason, Mrs. Anna P., asst. P. L., St. Louis, 
Mo. 

Massee, May, head open shelf dept. P. L., 
Buffalo, N. Y. 

Masson, Annie A., catlgr. P. L., Ottawa, 
Can. 

*Matthews, Harriet L., In. P. L., Lynn, Mass. 

Mears, Igerna A., asst. P. L., Cleveland, O. 

*Mell, Mildred, chief of Staff, Univ. of Ga. 
L., Athens, Ga. 

Merrill, Wm. Stetson, chief classifier, New- 
berry L., Chicago, 111. 

Mettee, Andrew H., In. L. Company of the 
Bar, Baltimore, Md. 

Metz, Corinne A., In. Brumback L., Van 
Wert, O. 

Milam, Carl H., Sec'y P. L. Com., Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 

Milam, Mrs. Carl H., Indianapolis Ind. 

Millard, Alice G., In. P. L., Gait, Ont. 

Miller, Mrs. A. J., Muskegon, Mich. 

Miller, Lulu F., In. Hackley P. L., Muske- 
gon, Mich. 

*Miller, Zana K., In. Wis. Tax Com., Madi- 
son, Wis. 

*Moir, Elizabeth, ref. In., P. L., Toronto, 
Can. 

Monchow, Carrie M., In. F. L., Dunkirk, 
N. Y. 

Monrad, Anna M., asst. Yale Univ. L., New 
Haven, Conn. 



Montgomery, Thomas L., In. State L., Har- 
risburg, Pa. 

Montgomery, Mrs. Thomas L., Harrisburg, 
Pa. 

Morningstern, Wm. B., head tech. dept. F. P. 
L., Newark, N. J. 

Morningstern, Mrs. Wm. B., Newark, N. J. 

Morse, Anna L., In. Reuben Macmillan F. 
L., Youngstown, O. 

Morton, F. B., Philadelphia. Pa. 

*Moulton, John G., In. P. L., Haverhill, 
Mass. 

Murray, Margaret E., In. Filene Ref. L., 
Boston, Mass. 

*Myers, Frances E., child. In. P. L., Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. 

Naughton, Jane, Watertown, N. Y. 

Nichols, Albert R., asst. In. P. L., Provi- 
dence, R. I. 

Norman, O. E., In. People's Gas Light & 
Coke Co., Chicago, 111. 

Norton, Mary K., In. P. L., Proctor, Vt. 

Nursey, Walter R., inspector of libraries, 
Dept. of Education, Toronto, Can. 

*Nutting, Geo. E., In. P. L., Fitchburg, 
Mass. 

*Nutting, Mrs. Geo. E., Fitchburg, Mass. 

O'Flynn, Josephine, instructor of appren- 
tices, P. L., Detroit, Mich. 

*Ogden, E. Lucy, asst. L. of Congress, 
Washington, D. C. 

5ko, Adolph S., In. Hebrew Union College 
L., Cincinnati, O. 

O'Meara, Eva J., asst. McGill Univ. L., 
Montreal, Can. 

O'Shaughnessy, Margaret, principal asst. 
P. L., Chicago, 111. 

Owens, Alpha L., asst. John Crerar L., 
Chicago, 111. 

Palmer, Margaret, In. P. L., Hibbing, Minn. 

* Palmer, Mary Bell, In. Carnegie L , Char- 
lotte, N. C., 

Paoli, Mrs. Minnie B., loan In. P. L., Cleve- 
land, O. 

Parent, Dr. R. H., Ottawa, Can. 

Parker, John, acting In. Peabody Institute, 
Baltimore, Md. 

*Partch, Isa L., asst. P. L., Detroit, Mich. 

Patten, Katharine, In. Minneapolis Athene- 
urn, Minneapolis, Minn. 

Pattengill, Henry R., Lansing, Mich. 



ATTENDANCE 



363 



Patterson, J. Ritchie, supt. binderies div., 

P. L., Chicago, 111. 
Patterson, Mrs. J. R., Chicago, 111. 
*Patton, Adah, classifier, Univ. of 111. L., 

Urbana, 111. 
Peacock, Joseph L., In. Memorial & P. L., 

Westerly, R. I. 

Peck, Nina A., asst. P. L., Cleveland, O. 
Peoples, W. T., In. Mercantile L., New York 

City. 

Peoples, Mrs. W. T., New York City. 
Perley, Hon. George H., Acting Prime Min- 
ister of Canada, Ottawa, Can. 
*Peters, Mary G., In. F. P. L., Bayonne, 

N. J. 
*Petty, Annie F., In. State Normal and In- 

dust. Coll. L., Greensboro, N. C. 
Phelan, John F., supt. dept. of branches, P. 

L., Chicago, 111. 

Phelps, Edith Allen, In. Carnegie L., Okla- 
homa City, Okla. 
Phillips, E. C., Oneonta, N. Y. 
Phillips, Mary E., ex-ln., Oneonta, N. Y. 
Pillsbury, Olive E., In. Davis Sq. Br., P. L., 

Chicago, 111. 
Plummer, Mary W., director L. Sch., P. L., 

New York City. 
Pollard, Annie Archer, 2d asst In., P. L., 

Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Poole, Franklin O., In. Assn. of the Bar L., 

New York City. 

Porter, W. T., trus. P. L., Cincinnati, O. 
Potter, Mrs. Frederick W., Oakland, Cal. 
Power, Effie L., supervisor of child, work, 

P. L., St. Louis, Mo. 
*Pratt, Adelene J., Asbury Park, N. J. 
*Pratt, Edna B., organizer P. L., Com., 

Trenton, N. J. 
*Preston, Nina K., In. Hall-Fowler L., Ionia, 

Mich. 
Proulx, Adelard E., ref. asst. P. L., Ottawa, 

Can. 

Putnam, Herbert, In. L. of Congress, Wash- 
ington, D. C. 

Quinn, Florence, asst. P. L., Chicago, 111. 
*Rabardy, Etta L., asst. Boston Atheneum, 

Boston, Mass. 
Ranck, Samuel H., In. P. L., Grand Rapids, 

Mich. 
*Rand, Mrs. H. T., Boston, Mass. 



Randall, Bertha T., In. East Liberty Br., 
Carnegie L., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Raney, M. Llewellyn, In. John Hopkins 
Univ. L., Baltimore, Md. 

*Rankin, Eliza J., In. P. L., Newark. O. 

Rankin, H. M., Chatham, Ont. 

Rankin, Ina, asst P. L., New York City. 

Rankin, M. S., Chatham, Ont 

Rathbone, Josephine A., vice-director 
Pratt Inst. Sch. of L. Sci., Brooklyn, 
N. Y. 

Rawson, Fannie C., Sec'y L. Com., Frank- 
fort, Ky. 

Read, Eva G., Hon. In. Women's Can. Hist. 
Soc., Ottawa, Can. 

Reece, Ernest J., Cleveland, O. 

Reed, Amy L., In. Vassar Coll. L., Pough- 
keepsie, N. Y. 

**Reed, Edith. 

Reed, Lois A., asst In. Univ. of Rochester 
L., Rochester, N. Y. 

Reese, Rena, asst. In., P. L., Denver, Colo. 

Reid, Adelia, asst. In. State L., Lansing, 
Mich. 

Reid, Jennie S., In. P. L., Chatham, Ont 

*Reid, Marguerite McQ., foreign dept., P. L., 
Providence, R. I. 

Reinick, Wm. R., chief pub. doc. dept., F. 
L., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Reque, Anna C., classifier P. L., Chicago, 
111. 

Richardson, E. C., In. Princeton Univ. L., 
Princeton, N. J. 

Richardson, Mabel K., In. Univ. of So. Dak., 
Vermillion, S. D. 

Ritchie, Hazen, chairman P. L., Peterbor- 
ough, Ont. 

Robb, Miss M. I., In. P. L., Woodstock, Ont. 

Robbins, Mary E., In. & chairman L. Facul- 
ty, Simmons College, Boston, Mass. 

Roberts, Mrs. Blanche W., In. Bates Col- 
lege, Lewiston, Me. 

*Roberts, Flora B., In. P. L., Superior, Wis. 

Roberts, Mary H., order asst. Univ. of 111. 
L., Urbana, 111. 

Robertson, J. P., In. Provincial L. of Man- 
itoba, Winnipeg, Man. 

Robertson, Dr. James W., C. M. G., Ottawa, 
Can. 

*Robinson, Helen F., Divinity Sch. L., Phil- 
adelphia, Pa. 



364 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



* Robinson, Rev. L. M., In. Divinity Sch. 

L., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Roden, C. B., asst. In. P. L., Chicago, 111. 
Roden, Mrs. C. B., Chicago, 111. 
*Rolland, Anna P., aset. In. P. L., Dedham, 

Mass. 

Rose, Grace D., In. P. L., Davenport, la. 
Ross, L. I., asst. McGill Univ. L., Montreal, 

Can. 

Rowe, Carrie A., clerk of files, Office Spe- 
cialty Co., Toronto, Can. 
Rowell, W. C., rep. of H. W. Wilson Co., 

New York City. 
Rule, Elizabeth E., asst. In. P. L., Lynn, 

Mass. 

Rush, Charles E., In. P. L., St. Joseph, Mo. 
*Russ, Nellie M., In. P. L., Pasadena, Cal. 
Ryan, M. Lillian, sen. asst. Br. dept., P. L., 

Chicago, 111. 
Sanborn, Alice E., In. Wells Coll., Aurora, 

N. Y. 
Sanborn, Henry N., stud. N. Y. State L. 

Sch., Albany, N. Y. 

Sanborn, W. F., In. P. L., Cadillac, Mich. 
Sanborn, Mrs. W. F., Cadillac, Mich. 
Sargent, Abby L., In. P. L., Medford, 

Mass. 
Sargent, Jessie M., 1st asst. circ. dept., P. 

L., St. Louis, Mo. 

Saxe, Mary S., In. P. L., Westmount, Que. 
Scarth, Mrs. W. B., Ottawa, Can. 
Schenk, Frederick W., law In. Univ. of 

Chicago, Chicago, 111. 
Schenk, Mrs. F. W., Chicago, 111. 
Scott, Mary McKay, Ottawa, Can. 
Scott, Victoria, In. P. L., Owen Sound, Ont. 
*Secombe, Annabell C., In. P. L., Milford, 

N. H. 

Seemann, Samuel, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Settle, Geo. T., acting asst. In. F. P. L., 

Louisville, Ky. 

*Sewall, W. F., In. P. L., Toledo, O. 
*Sewall, Mrs. W. F., Toledo, O. 
Seward, Wm. F., In. P. L., Binghamton, 

N. Y. 

Seymour, May, Lake Placid Club, N. Y. 
Shattuck, Helen B., In. Univ. of Vt., Bur- 
lington, Vt, 
Shaw, Robert K., In. F. P. L., Worcester, 

Mass. 



Sheaf, Edith M., In. F. L., Herkimer, N. Y. 

Shearman, Edna M., Dept. of Labor, Ot- 
tawa, Can. 

Sheets, A. Coleman, 2d asst. State L., 
Harrisburg, Pa. 

* Sheldon, Philena R., asst. L. of Congress, 
Washington, D. C. 

Shepard, Rhoda C., asst. P. L., Cleveland, 
O. 

Sherwood, Kittie W., Cincinnati, O. 

Shortt, Mrs. Adam, Ottawa, Can. 

*Sibley, Mrs. Mary J., acting In. and director 
L. Sch., Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, N. Y. 

Silverthorn, Bessie B., asst. In. Kellogg- 
Hubbard L., Montpelier, Vt. 

Simms, Clara A., asst. sec'y A. L. A., Chi- 
cago, 111. 

Simpson, Mrs. J. B., Ottawa, Can. 

Sine, Clifford, sec'y P. L., Gananoque, Ont. 

Small, A. J., law In. State L., Des Moines, 
la. 

Smith, Adam F., Office Specialty Mfg. Co., 
Toronto, Can. 

Smith, Arthur B., In. State Agric. Coll., 
Manhattan, Kan. 

Smith, Bessie Sargeant, P. L., Cleveland, O. 

Smith, Mrs. Elizabeth, In. P. L., Chadron, 
Neb. 

Smith, Elizabeth M., ref. asst. N. Y. State 
L., Albany, N. Y. 

Smith, Elizabeth W., Portland, Me. 

Smith, Frances, Chadron, Neb. 

Smith, Rev. G. L., In. P. L., Forest, Ont. 

Smith, Geo. Dana, In. Fletcher F. L., Bur- 
lington, Vt. 

Smith, Jessie F., Forest, Ont. 

Smith, M. E., trus. P. L., Niagara Falls, Ont. 

*Smith, Robert L., asst. ref. In. P. L., Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. 

Sneed, Mrs. Percival, prin. Atlanta L. Sch., 
Carnegie L., Atlanta, Ga. 

Snyder, Mary B., In. Nelson Br., P. L., 
Queens Borough, N. Y. 

*Solberg, Thorvald, reg. of copyrights, 
Washington, D. C. 

*Speck, Mrs. Laura, asst. P. L., St. Louis, 
Mo. 

Spencer, Lois A., In. Spies P. L., Menom- 
inee, Mich. 

Spereman, Patricia, catlgr., Dept. of Educ., 
Toronto, Can. 



ATTENDANCE 



365 



*Sperry, Helen, In. Silas Bronson L., Water- 
bury, Conn. 

Sperry, Ruth, Waterbury, Conn. 
Sprague, Joanna H., In. P. L., Salt Lake 

City, Utah. 

Sprague, Katherlne T., Buffalo, N. Y. 
Sproule, Jessie, asst. P. L., Ottawa, Can. 
Staton, Frances M., asst. ref. dept. P. L. 

Toronto, Can. 

Steele, Elizabeth K., In. P. L., Lorain, O. 
Steiner, Bernard C., In. Enoch Pratt F. L., 

Baltimore, Md. 
Stetson, Willis K., In. F. P. L., New Haven, 

Conn. 
Stevens, W. F., In. Carnegie L., Homestead, 

Pa. 
Stevenson, Luella M., 1st asst. Carnegie F. 

L., Braddock, Pa. 

Stewart, Mrs. McLeod, Ottawa, Can. 
Stewart, Margaret M., In. P. L., Brock- 

vllle, Ont. 
Stimson, Florence, loan desk asst. Univ. of 

Cincin. L., Cincinnati, O. 
Streeter, Margaret K, In. P. L., Muncie, Ind. 
Strohm, Adam, asst. In. P. L., Detroit, Mich. 
Strong, George F., In. Adelbert Coll. L., 

Cleveland, O. 

Stuart, W. H., bookseller, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Stuart, Mrs. W. H., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Sutherland, Elizabeth M., Ottawa, Can. 
Sutton, Edith, In. P. L., Smith's Falls, Ont. 
*Swezey, Anne D., In. P. L., East Chicago, 

Ind. 

*Sykes, W. J., In. P. L., Ottawa, Can. 
Sykes, Mrs. W. J., Ottawa, Can. 
Talcott, Mary K., In. Conn. Soc. of Colonial 

Dames, Hartford, Conn. 
Tamblyn, W. W., Bowmanville, Ont. 
Templeton, Charlotte, sec'y P. L. Com., 

Lincoln, Neb. 
Templeton, Mrs. Robert, Sturgeon Bay, 

Wis. 

Thain, Mabel A., In. P. L., Oak Park, 111. 
Thayer, Maude, In. State L., Springfield, 111. 
Thomas, Herbert I., Ottawa, Can. 
Thomas, Mrs. Herbert I., Ottawa, Can. 
Thompson, H. F., representative of B. F. 

Stevens & Brown, London, Eng. 
Thompson, J. David, law In. Columbia Univ., 
N. Y. City. 



Thompson, Laura A., asst. L. of Congress, 

Washington, D. C. 
Thompson, Laura E., asst. P. L., Grand 

Rapids, Mich. 
Thuman, Jane E., child. In. F. P. L., New 

Bedford, Mass. 
Thurston, Elizabeth P., In. F. L., Newton, 

Mass. 
Thwaites, Reuben G., supt. Wis. Hist. Soc., 

Madison, Wis. 
Tilton, Edward L., architect, New York 

City. 
Tinkham, Mabel, catlgr. and ref. In. P. L., 

Gary, Ind. 
Titcomb, Mary L., In. Washington Co. F. L., 

Hagerstown, Md. 

Tobitt, Edith, In. P. L., Omaha, Neb. 
Tracey, Angie E., asst. In. P. L., Lewiston, 

Me. 

Tremblay, Ame'de'e, Ottawa, Can. 
Turnbull, John, trus. P. L., Toronto, Can. 
Turner, Louise G., asst. P. L., Detroit, 

Mich. 
*Tutt, Virginia M., In. P. L., South Bend, 

Ind. 
Tyler, Alice S., sec'y Iowa L. Com., Des. 

Moines, la. 
""Underbill, Adelaide, assoc. In. Vassar Coll. 

L., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
*Underhill, Ethel P., child. In. F. P. L., Wor- 
cester, Mass. 
*UtIey, George B., sec'y A. L. A., Chicago, 

111. 

"Utley, Mrs. George B., Chicago, 111. 
Van Benschoten, Miss M. M., ref. In. L. 

Assn., Portland, Ore. 
Van Duzee, Edward P., In. Grosvenor L., 

Buffalo, N. Y. 
Van Valkenburgh, Agnes, instructor L. Sch., 

A. P. L., New York City. 
Vincent, Dr. George E., president Univ. of 

Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. 
Wadlin, Horace G., In. P. L., Boston, Mass. 
*Wagner, Eva K., Dedham, Mass. 
*Wagner, Sula, chief catlgr. P. L., St. Louis, 

Mo. 
Wales, Elizabeth B., sec'y Mo. L. Com., 

Jefferson City, Mo. 

Walker, A. R., In. P. L., Belleville, Ont. 
Walker, Mrs. A. R., Belleville, Ont. 



366 



OTTAWA CONFERENCE 



Walter, Frank K., vice-dir. N. Y. State L. 

Sch., Albany, N. Y. 
Walter, Mrs. Frank K., Albany, N. Y. 
Ward, Gilbert O., supervisor of high sch. 

branches, P. L., Cleveland, O. 
*Ward, Helen M., In. Scripps Br., P. L., De- 
troit, Mich. 

Warner, Mrs. Cassandra W., asst. in charge 
of loan desk, Bryn Mawr Coll. L., Bryn 
Mawr, Pa." 

*Warner, Nannie M., asst. F. P. L., New 
Haven, Conn. 

Watts, Irma A., leg. ref. bur., State L., Har- 
risburg, Pa. 

Weaver, A. B., Buffalo, N. Y. 

* Webber, Anna Louise, In. Silsby L., 
Charlestown, N. H. 

Weber, Jessie Palmer, In. 111. State Hist. L., 
Springfield, 111. 

Webster, Caroline F., L. organizer, N. Y. 
State L., Albany, N. Y. 

*Welles, Jessie, supt. of circulation, Car- 
negie L., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Wellman, Harold O., asst. to chief of cir- 
culating dept. P. L., New York. 

Wellman, Killer C., In. City L. Assn., 
Springfield, Mass. 

Whalen, Gladys E., Hay Mem. L., Sacket's 
Harbor, N. Y. 

Whare, Grace A., In. P. L., Houghton, Mich. 

Wheeler, Sumner York, treas. Essex Co. 
Law L. Assn., Salem, Mass. 

Whitcomb, Adah F., In. Hiram Kelly Br., P. 
L., Chicago, 111. 

*White, Anne R., In. Washington & Lee 
Univ. L., Lexington, Va. 

Whitmore, F. H., In. P. L., Brockton, Mass. 

Wilcox, Helen C., Mt. Vernon, N. Y. 

*Wildman, Bertha S., Carnegie L., Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. 

*Wilkins, Lydia K., Washington, D. C. 

Wilkinson, O. A., rep. Globe-Wernicke Co., 
Cincinnati, O. 

Wilkinson, Mrs. O. A., Cincinnati, O. 



*Williams, Carrie L., asst. F. L., Newton, 

Mass. 
Williams, Lizzie A., ex-ln., Cambridge, 

Mass. 
Wilson, Mrs. Cora McDevitt, bookseller, 

New York City. 
Wilson, H. W., president H. W. Wilson Co., 

Publishers, Minneapolis Minn. 
Wilson, Mary Augusta, child. In. Black- 
stone Br., P. L., Chicago, 111. 
*Winchell, F. Mabel, In. P. L., Manchester, 

N. H. 

Windsor, P. L., In. Univ. of 111., Urbana, 111. 
Wink, Mrs. J. S., In. P. L., Port Arthur.Ont. 
Wire, Dr. G. E., dep. In. Worcester Co. 

Law L., Worcester, Mass. 
Wire, Mrs. G. E., Worcester, Mass. 
Wise, Flora E.,,asst. F. L., Newton, Mass. 
Wolter, Peter, manager L. dept. A. C. Mc- 

Clurg & Co., Chicago, 111. 
Wood, Mable J., Herkimer, N. Y. 
Wood, Mary W., In. Blackstone Br., P. L., 

Chicago, 111. 
Woodard, Gertrude E., law In. Univ of 

Mich., Ann Arbor, Mich. 
*Woodman, C. Belle, Springfield, Mass. 
*Wootten, Katharine H., In. Carnegie L., 

Atlanta, Ga. 
Wright, Charles E., In. Carnegie F. L., Du- 

quesne, Pa. 

Wright, Ida F., asst. In. Lincoln L., Spring- 
field, 111. 
*Wright, Rebecca W., sec'y Vt. L. Com., 

Montpelier, Vt. 
Wyer, James I., jr., director N. Y. State L., 

Albany, N. Y. 
Wyer, Malcolm G., In. Univ. of Iowa, Iowa 

City, la. 

Wyer, Mrs. Malcolm G., Iowa City, la. 
Wyse, Cornelia, asst. catlg. dept. P. L., 

Chicago, 111. 

Yust, William F., In. P. L., Rochester, N. Y. 
Zachert, Adeline B., director of child, work 

F. P. L., Louisville, Ky. 



INDEX 



Accessioning (of books), rpt. of com. 
on lib. administration on, 105-6. 

Adams, Zu, died, 81. 

Affiliation of other than local, state 
and provincial associations, rpt. 
of com. on conditions governing, 
196. 

Affiliation of state library assns. 
with A. L. A., recommended 
amendment to constitution affect- 
ing, 192-3; rpt. of com., 196. 

Agricultural libraries section, pro- 
ceedings of, 213-27. 

Ahern, Mary Eileen, chrm. com. on 
co-operation with N. E. A., 194; 
"Day in Toronto," 208-9. 

American Association of Law Libra- 
ries, proceedings of, 312-5. 

American Library Association, presi- 
dent's address (Elmendorf), 67-71; 
secretary's rpt. (Utley), 75-81; 
treasurer's rpt. (Roden), 81; rpt. 
of trustees of Carnegie and En- 
dowment fund, 91-2; rpt. of Exec- 
utive board, 192-4; rpt. of Coun- 
cil, 195-200; election of officers, 
204-5; attendance summaries and 
register, 354-66. 

A. L. A. and certain other national 
associations, relations between, 
rpt. of com. on, 195-6. 

A. L. A. Booklist. Rpt. of Publishing 
board on, 86. 

A. L. A. Catalog, 1904-11, sugges- 
tions regarding (Elmendorf), 84; 
rpt. on (Bascom), 84-6. 

A. L. A. changes in officers and com- 
mittees (rpt. of secretary), 79. 

A. L. A. committees on 
blind. See Blind, 
bookbinding. See Bookbinding, 
bookbuying. See Bookbuying. 
co-operation with N. E. A. See 
National Education Association, 
co-ordination. See Co-ordination, 
federal and state relations. See 

Federal and state relations, 
finance. See Finance, 
international relations. See Inter- 
national relations, 
library administration. See Li- 
brary administration, 
library training. See Library 

training. 

newspaper paper. See News- 
papers. 

program. See Program, 
public documents. See Public 

documents. 

resolutions. See Resolutions, 
travel. See Travel. 

A. L. A. Constitution, recommended 
amendment to, and by-law to, 
adopted, 192-3. 

A. L. A. Council, amendment to con- 
stitution relative' to election of 
members to, proposed, 192-3; 
rpt. of, 195-200. 

A. L. A. Executive board, rpt. of, 
192-4. 

A. L. A. membership (rpt. of sec- 
retary), 77-8. 

A. L. A. necrology '(rpt. of secretary), 
79-81. 

A.--L. A. publishing board, rpt. of 
(Legler), 83-90; recent publica- 
tions, 83-4; policy of, 84; period- 



ical cards, 87; advertising, 87; 
financial rpt., 88; sales, 89-90. 

A. L. A. representatives at other con- 
ferences (rpt. of secretary), 78-9. 

Anderson, Edwin H., discusses paper 
on library schools by Hadley, 153- 
4; member finance com., 194; mem- 
ber program com., 195; first vice- 
pres., A. L. A., 204. 

Andrews, Clement W., rpt. of finance 
com., 81-2; re-elected member 
Publishing board, 194; chrm. 
finance com., 194; informal rpt. 
as member com. to promote printed 
cards in relation with international 
arrangements, 196; reports for 
com. governing affiliation of other 
than local, state and provincial 
assns., 196; presents rpt. of com. 
on memorial to F. M. Crunden, 
203; reports on use of camera- 
graph, 279-80; addresses public 
documents round table, 310. 

Andrus, Gertrude, reads paper by 
Alice Goddard, 247. 

Arnold, John H., "History of the 
growth and development of the 
Harvard university law library," 
351. 

Askew, Sarah B., member com. on 
arrangements College and ref. 
section, 294. 

"Assistant and the book" (Hazel- 
tine), 134-8. 

Assistants, type of (Tobitt), 138-42; 
"Efficiency of the library staff and 
scientific management (Strohm) , 
143-6. 

Attendance summaries and register. 
See American Library Association. 

Ault, Mrs. Herbert, 205. 

Austen, Willard, "Rights of the users 
of a college and university library 
and how to preserve them," 275-7. 

Babbitt, Charles J., "Snags, stum- 
bling blocks and pitfalls among the 
session laws," 351. 

Bailey, Arthur L., rpt. com. on book- 
binding, 93-5; chrm. com. on book- 
binding, 195. 

Baldwin, Clara F., represents A. L. 
A. at Montana assn., 79; rpt. of 
com. on uniform financial reports, 
327-8. 

Baldwin, Emma V., member com. to 
investigate cost and method of 
cataloging, 193. 

Banton, T. W., addresses Trustees' 
section, 307. 

Barnett, Claribel R., chrm. Agricul- 
tural libraries section, 227. 

Bascom, Elva L., rpt. on A. L. A. 
Catalog, 1904-11, 84-6. 

Bay, J. C., member com. on code for 
classifiers, 193. 

Beer, William, participates in dis- 
cussion, 334-5. 

Belden, C. F. D., member com. on 
federal and state relations, 195. 

Berry. W. J. C., 315. 

Billings, J. S., member com. on inter- 
national relations, 195. 

Biscoe, W. -S., member com. on code 
for classifiers, 193. 

Bishop, W. W., member of Council, 
205. 

367 



Blackwelder, Paul, member com. on 
federal and state relations, 195; 
member membership com. Pro- 
fessional training section, 301. 

Blair, Emma H., died, 79. 

Bligh, H. H., welcomes Am. Assn. of 
Law Libraries, 312. 

Blind, rpt. of com. on work with the 
(Delfino), 114-5; com. on, 195. 

" Book advertising: information as to 
subject and scope of books" 
(Roden), 181-7; "B. a.: illumina- 
tion as to attractions of real books" 
(Miller), 187-92. 

Bookbinding, rpt. of com. on (Bailey), 
93-5; com. on, 195. 

Bookbuying, rpt. of corn, on (Brown), 
95-6 ;" Breadth and limitations of" 
(Brown), 124-7; com. on, 195. 

Books, knowledge of, among lib. 
assistants (Hazeltine), 134-8; (To- 
bitt), 138-42. 

Borchard, E. M., addresses Am. 
Assn. of Law Libraries, 314; reads 
paper by Wigmore, 335; partici- 
pates in discussion, 335. 

Bostwick, Arthur E., speaker at Ala. 
lib. conference, 79; chrm. com. on 
lib. administration, 79; rpt. of 
com. on lib. administration, 102 
13; discusses library schools, 154- 
5; re-elected member Publishing 
board, 194; chrm. com. on library 
administration, 194; rpt. of com. 
on gov. of Am. libraries, 196-9. 

Bowerman, George F., letter from, 
regarding meeting in Washington, 
193; member com. on library ad- 
ministration, 194. 

Bowker, R. R., responds to welcome 
by Laurier, 160-1; member com. 
on international relations, 195; 
speaks on printed card work abroad, 
196; addresses Trustees' section, 
307; addresses public documents 
round table, 310. 

Bradley, Isaac S., died, 79. 

Brett, Wm. H., discusses paper on 
library schools by Hadley, 151-2. 

Briggs, Mary J., "A. L. A. list of 
subject headings," 227-31. 

Brigham, Herbert O., presides Spe- 
cial Libraries Association, 329. 

Brigham, Johnson, participates in dis- 
cussion, 352. 

Brown, C. H., member com. on book- 
buying, 195; member travel com., 
195. 

Brown, Dcmarchus C., member com. 
on federal and state relations, 
195. 

Brown, Margaret, rpt. of com. on 
study outlines, 319-20. 

Brown, Walter L., rpt. of com. on 
bookbuying, 95-6; "Breadth and 
limitations of bookbuying," 124- 
7; chrm. com. on bookbuying 
195. 

Brown, Zaidee, secretary-treasurer 
League of Library Commissions, 
328. 

Bruncken, Ernest, member public 
documents com., 194. 

Burnite; Caroline, member of Coun- 
cil, 205. 

Burpee, Lawrence J., reads messages 
of greeting, 66-7; 181, 205. 



368 



INDEX 



Burrell, Hon. Martin, address, 57-8; 
addresses Agricultural libraries 
section, 213. 

Butler, H. L., 313, 314. 

California Library Association, reso- 
lution to invite A. L. A. to Cali- 
fornia for 1915, 200. 

Cameragraph, use in John Crerar 
library (Andrews), 279-80. 

Canada, conservation in (Robertson) , 
161-9. 

Canada, resolution relative to a 
national library for, 202. 

Cards, Printed Catalog, informal 
rpt. by C. W. Andrews on work of 
special com. to co-operate in devel- 
opment of, in relation with inter- 
national arrangements, 196. 

Carey, Miriam E., member com. on 
work with blind, 195; presides at 
session of League of Library Com- 
missions, 320. 

Carpenter, George O., member com. 
on library training, 194. 

Carr, Henry J., moves message of 
greeting be sent to F. W. Faxon, 
181; addresses public documents 
round table, 309. 

Carson, W. O., member of Council, 
196. 

Catalog rules for small library, rpt. 
from com. on, 101; com. on, 195. 

Catalog section, proceedings of, 227- 
47; resolution from, 193. 

Central reference bureau, Is the 
establishment of a, desirable 
(Shaw), 278-9. 

Charging systems and methods, rpt. 
of com. on lib. administration, 
106-13. 

Charter provisions for public libra- 
ries in commission governed cities, 
rpt. on (Wales), 316-7. 

Charteris, C. R., addresses assn., 
146; addresses Trustees' section, 
307. 

Cheney, George N., addresses Am. 
Assn. of Law Libraries, 313; mem- 
ber com. on subject headings, 314; 
member com. on classification, 315. 

Children's librarians' section, pro- 
ceedings of, 247-68. 

Chivers, Cedric, discusses preserva- 
tion of newspaper paper, 118-20. 

Clarke, Edith E., addresses public 
documents round table, 310. 

Classifiers, code for, proposed and 
committee appointed, 193. 

C lax ton, P. P., telegram of greetings 
from, 170. 

Cleavinger, John S., member com. 
on library administration, 194. 

College and reference section, pro- 
ceedings of, 268-94. 

Commission governed cities, rpt. on 
charter provisions for public li- 
braries in (Wales), 316-7. 

Connaught, Duke of, telegram from, 
66. 

Constitution, See A. L. A. Constitu- 
tion. 

Co-ordination, rpt. of com. on (Gould, 
Putnam, Lane, Gillis), 96-101; 
com. on, 195. 

Crunden, Frederick M., died, 80; 
memorial on life and services, 203- 
4. 

Cutter, W. P., member com. on code 
for classifiers, 193; participates in 
discussion, 330, 333, 334. 

Dawley, F. F., member finance com., 
194. 

Delfino, Emma R. N., rpt. of com. on 
work with blind, 114-5; chrm. com. 
on work with blind, 195. 

Departmental library problem in 



universities, Some observations on 
(Hanson), 280-92. 

Dickinson, Asa Don, proposes clear- 
ing house for periodicals, 193; 
addresses Agricultural libraries 
section, 223-4. 

Dobbins, Miss E. V., participates in 
discussion, 341-2, 343. 

Donath, August, letter from, 308-9. 

Donnelly, June R., member member- 
ship com. Professional training 
section, 301. 

Drury, F. K. W., "Do we need a 
short story index?" 277-8. 

Dudgeon, M. S., presides third gen- 
eral session, 146 ff ; member public 
documents com., 194; member 
com. on gov. of Am. libraries, 196; 
member of Council, 196; presides 
Professional training section, 295; 
rpt. of com. on library post, 317- 
8; rpt. of publications com., 326-7; 
chrm. publications com., 328; ad- 
dresses Special Libraries Assn., 
329. 

Education through the library: 
"Open door, through the book and 
the library" (McLenegan), 127- 
32. 

"Efficiency of the library staff and 
scientific management" (Strohm), 
143-6. 

Election of officers. See American 
Library Association. 

Elmendorf, Mrs. H. L., president 
A. L. A., responds to welcome, 58- 
9; president's address, 67-71; 
represents A. L. A. at conferences 
in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 78; suggestion regarding 
A. L. A. Catalog, 84; participates 
in discussion on library schools, 
154; accepts gavel in behalf of A. 
L. A., 169-70. 

Executive board. See A. L. A. Exec- 
utive board. 

Farley, Caroline A., died, 81. 

Faxon, Frederick W., message of 
greeting to, 181; chrm. travel com., 
195. 

Feazel, E. A., member com. on 
classification, 315. 

Federal and state relations, rpt. of 
com. on (Steiner), 102; com. on, 
195. 

Federal prisons, See Libraries in 
federal prisons. 

Field, O. J., addresses Am. Assn. of 
Law Libraries, 313; member Exec- 
utive com. Am. Assn. of Law 
Libraries, 314. 

Finance, rpt. of com. on (Andrews), 
81; com. on, 194. 

Financial reports, rpt. of com. on 
uniform (Baldwin), 327-8. 

Foster, Hon. J. G., welcomes assn., 
57. 

George, C. A., discusses library 
schools, 158. 

Gibson, Irene, died, 80. 

Gile, Jessie S., died, 80. 

Gillis, J. L., rpt. of com. on co- 
ordination, 99-101; member com. 
on co-ordination, 195. 

Godard, George S., rpt. com. on 
public documents, 115-6; chrm. 
public documents com., 194; pre- 
sents res. from public documents 
com., 200; presides public docu- 
ments round table, 307; presides 
Am. Assn. of Law Libraries, 312; 
presides joint session, 334; partici- 
pates in discussion, 351-2. 

Goddard, Alice, "County work with 
children," 247-50; vice-chrm. Chil- 
dren's librarians' section, 268. 



Gooch, Harriet B., chrm. Catalog 
section, 247. 

Goodrich, N. L., member com. on 
arrangements College and ref. 
section, 294. 

Gould, Charles H., rpt. com. on co- 
ordination, 96; chrm. com. on co- 
ordination, 195; reads paper by 
Walton, 335. 

Grant, Sir J., addresses assn., 169. 

Greene, Charles S., member com. 
on work with blind, 195. 

Griswold, Stephen B., died, 81; 
resolution concerning, 315. 

Hadley, Chalmers, represents A. L. 
A. at Pacific N. W. Lib. Assn., 78- 
9 ; " What library schools can do for 
the profession," 147-51; member 



Handbook, biographical data for, 
193. 

Handy, D. N., "Library as a busi- 
ness asset; when and how?" 336-9; 
participates in discussion, 345-^6, 
348-9, 352; pres. Special Libraries 
Assn., 353. 

Hanson, J. C. M., member com. on 
code for classifiers, 193; "Some 
observations on the departmental 
library problem in universities, 
with special reference to the 
University of Chicago," 280^92. 

Harvard university law library, 
History of (Arnold), 351. 

Hasse, Adelaide R., member public 
documents com., 194. 

Hastings, C. H., addresses public 
documents round table, 311. 

Hatton, Wm. H., "Publicity for the 
sake of information," 72-5. 

Hawks, Emma B., addresses Agricul- 
tural libraries section, 227. 

Hazeltine, Mary E., "Assistant and 
the book," 134-8; presents card 
code for catalog rules, 301; mem- 
ber program com. Professional 
training section, 301. 

Hean, C. S., "Some types of agricul- 
tural college and experiment sta- 
tion libraries," 222-3. 

Heney, Mr., presents Drummond's 
poems in character, 181. 

Hepburn, Wm. M., "Library ex- 
tension work of agricultural col- 
leges," 213-6. 

Hewitt, L. E., member com. on sub- 
ject headings, 314. 

High school library, Possibilities of 
(Hall), 260-6. 

High schools. Teaching library use 
in normal and (Walter), 255-60. 

Hill, Frank P., rpt. of com. on pres- 
ervation of newspapers, 116-8; 
discusses library schools, 155-6. 

Hinchey, E. H., welcomes assn. to 
Ottawa, 57. 

Hirshberg, H. S., addresses public 
documents round table, 310. 

Hitchler, Theresa, chrm. com. on 
catalog rules for small libraries, 
195. 

Hoagland, Merica, participates in 
discussion, 350. 

Hodges, N. D. C., member com. on 
co-ordination, 195. 

Homer, T. J., "Boston co-operative 
information bureau," 336. 

Hopper, F. F., rpt. of com. on library 
work in federal prisons, 324-6. 

Hutching, Margaret, addresses Agri- 
cultural libraries section, 224-6. 

Ideson, Julia, "Post-conference trip," 
211-3. 



INDEX 



Imhoff, Ono M., "Cataloging in 
legislative reference work." 238-45. 

Ingcrsoll, Elizabeth S., addresses 
Agricultural libraries section, 227. 

Insane, Library work among the 
(Jones), 320-4. 

Institutional membership, by-law 
regulating vote of, 192. 

Inter-library loans, rpt. com. on co- 
ordination, 96-101. 

International relations, com. on, 
state they have no rpt., 102; com. 
on, 194-5. 

Isom, Mary F., second vice-pres. 
A. L. A., 204. 

Jennings, J. T., member com. on gov. 
of Am. libraries, 199; member com. 
on resolutions, 202. 

Jewett, W. K., "Proportion of uni- 
versity library income which 
should be spent on administration," 
292-4. 

Johnston, R. H., vice-pres. Special 
Libraries Assn., 353. 

Jones, E. Kathleen, "Library work 
among the insane," 3204. 

Josephson, A. G. S., discusses library 
schools, 158; chrm. com. to investi- 
gate cost and method of cataloging, 
193; "What is cataloging?" 245- 
6; discusses paper by Dudgeon, 
329. 

Josselyn, L. W., teller of election, 205. 

Kaiser, John B., 314. 

Kelso, Tessa L., addresses assn., 71; 
discusses library schools, 156. 

Keogh, Andrew, member com. on 
arrangements College and ref. 
section, 294. 

Kidder, Mrs. Ida A., addresses Agri- 
cultural libraries section, 226-7. 

Kimball, W. C., trustee of Endow- 
ment fund, 205. 

Kingsbury, David L., died, 80. 

Klingelsmith, Mrs. M. C., second 
vice-pres. Am. Assn. of Law Li- 
braries, 314; member auditing com. 
Am. Assn. of Law Libraries, 314; 
reads paper at joint session, 336. 

Klotz, Otto J., message from, 58; 
"Trustee's duty to the library," 
302-4. 

Koch, T. W., member com. on co- 
ordination, 195; member Execu- 
tive board, 204; "Some phases of 
the administrative history of col- 
lege and university libraries," 268- 
75. 

Lane, Evelyn N., died, 80. 

Lane, Wm. C., rpt. com. on co- 
ordination, 97-9; member com. on 
international relations, 195; mem- 
ber com. on co-ordination, 195. 

Lapp, John A., member public docu- 
ments com., 194; participates in 
discussion, 330-1, 333, 349, 350, 
351. 

Laurier, Sir W., addresses assn., 159- 
60; presents gavel on behalf of 
Canadian librarians, 169. 

Lawrence, Hannah M., sec'y Chil- 
dren's librarians' section, 268. 

League of Library Commissions, pro- 
ceedings of, 316-28. 

Lee, George, W., participates in dis- 
cussion, 332, 347, 349. 

Legislative reference work, catalog- 
ing in (Imhoff), 238-45. 

Legler, Henry E., rpt. A. L. A. pub- 
lishing board, 83-90; presides 
second general session, 101; chrm. 
program com., 195; president of 
A. L. A., 204, 205; reads paper by 
Jean McLeod, 350. 

Lester, C. B., member public docu- 
ments com., 194. 



Librarianship, aim and definition of 
(Putnam), 59-66. 

Libraries, government of, and their 
relation to the municipal au- 
thorities, rpt. of com. on (Bost- 
wick), 196-9. 

Libraries in federal prisons, rpt. of 
com. on (Hopper), 324-6. 

Library, Public: "a leaven'd and 
prepared choice:" president's ad- 
dress (Elmendorf), 67-71. 

Library administration, rpt. of com. 
on (Bostwick), 102-13; com. on, 
194; "Proportion of university in- 
come which should be spent on 
(Jewett), 292-4. 

Library extension work of agricul- 
tural colleges (Hepburn), 213-6. 

Library post, rpt. of com. on (Dud- 
geon), 317-8. 

Library schools, proposed inspection 
of, 113; "What 1. s. can do for the 
profession" (Hadley), 147-51; dis- 
cussion of above paper (Brett, 
Anderson and others), 151-8. 

Library training, rpt. of com. on 
(Root), 113; com. on, 194. 

Lien, E. J., member Executive com. 
Am. Assn. of Law Libraries, 314. 

Lighting and ventilation of libraries, 
rpt. of com. on (Ranck), 196, 199- 
200. 

Lindholm, Marie F., participates in 
discussion, 334, 350. 

Little, Robbins, died, 80. 

Locke, George H., member com. on 
co-operation with N. E. A., 194. 

Louisville, invitation from, 193. 

Lucas, Stella, died, 80. 

Lyon, Frances D., member auditing 
com. Am. Assn. of Law Libraries, 
314. 

McCurdy, Mary de B., presides 
Children's librarians' section, 247. 

McGoun, Archibald, "Bibliography 
of Canadian law," 336. 

Mackay, Margaret S., sec'y Catalog 
section, 247. 

McLenegan, Charles E., "Open door, 
through the book and the library," 
127-32. 

McLeod, Jean, "Employees' library 
its scope and its possibilities," 
250-4. 

MacNair, Mary W., "Library of 
Congress list of subject headings," 
231-4. 

Macnaughton, John, addresses assn., 
169. 

Magazine binders, rpt. on, 95. 

Mann, Margaret, member com. on 
catalog rules for small libraries, 
195; member Council, 204. 

Manual of library economy. Rpt. 
of Publishing board on, 86. 

Marion, Guy E., participates in dis- 
cussion, 331-2, 343-4, 345; pre- 
sents rpt. as sec.-treas. Special 
Libraries Assn., 353; sec.-treas. 
Special Libraries Assn., 353. 

Martel, Charles, member com. on 
code for classifiers, 193. 

Marvin, Cornelia, member com. on 
library training, 194. 

Merrill, W. S., chrm. com. on code 
for classifiers, 193; discusses uni- 
formity in catalog entries, 246. 

Milam, Carl H., "Publicity for the 
sake of support," 120-4; presides 
League of Library Com., 316; 
pros. League, 328. 

Miller, Grace, "Book advertising: 
illumination as to attractions of 
real books," 187-92. 

Miller, Zana K., participates in dis- 
cussion, 350. 



MKirdy, James, "Bill drafting," 351. 

M our ad, Anna M., discusses subject 
headings, 238. 

Montgomery, T. L., member com. 
on federal and state relations, 195; 
secy. Trustees' section, 307; 
participates in discussion, 352. 

Montreal, day in (Roden), 209-11. 

Morton, F. B., participates in dis- 
cussion, 339, 347-8, 349. 

Municipal yearbook, rpt. on (Ranck), 
346. 

Murray, Margaret E., "Earning 
power of a special reference library 
on retail distribution," 339-41. 

Murray, Rose G., member com. on 
bookbinding, 79; member com. on 
bookbinding, 195. 

National education association, rpt. 
of com. on co-operation with 
(Ahern), 101; official greetings 
from, 170; com. on, 194. 

Necrology. See A. L. A. necrology. 

New York public library school, rpt. 
on (Plummer), 300-1. 

New York State library school, 
account of new quarters and re- 
sources (Walter), 295. 

New Zealand Libraries Assn., greet- 
ings from, 67. 

Newberry, Marie A., member com. 
on co-operation with N. E. A., 194. 

Newspapers, rpt. of com. on preserva- 
tion of (Hill), 116-8; discussion on 
subject, 118-20. 

Normal and high schools, Teaching 
library use in (Walter), 255-60. 

Normal course at Pratt Institute, 
proposed (Rathbone), 297-300. 

Norman, O. E., member Executive 
board Special Libraries Assn., 353. 

Normandin, Monsieur, sings Cana- 
dian folk songs, 181. 

Nursey, Walter R., "Trustee's duty 
to the public," 304-7. 

Ogden, E. Lucy, addresses Agricul- 
tural libraries section, 227._ 

Ontario, history and condition of 
libraries in, 304-7. 

Ontario Library Association, greeting 
from president of, 146. 

"Open door, through the book and 
the library" (McLenegan), 127-32. 

Owen, T. M., member public docu- 
ments com., 194; second vice-pres. 
League, 328. 

Paper, rpt. of com. on preservation of 
newspaper (Hill), 116-8. 

Parker, William E., died, 81. 

Patterson, J. R., member com. on 
bookbinding, 195. 

Peck, Adolph L., died, 80. 

Perley, Hon. Geo. H., welcomes assn. 
to Canada, 57. 

Perry, E. R., member of Council, 
205. 

Phelan, J. F., member travel com., 
195; teller of election, 205. 

Plummer, Mary W., member com. 
on library training, 194; member 
com. on resolutions, 202; rpt. on 
N. Y. public library school, 300- 
1; member program com. Pro- 
fessional training section, 301. 

Poole, F. O., addresses Am. Assn. of 
Law Libraries, 313; pres. Am. 
Assn. of Law Libraries, 314. 

Porter, W. T., presides Trustees' 
section, 302; chrm. Trustees' sec- 
tion, 307. 

Post-conference trip (Ideson), 211-3. 

Power, Effie L., chrm. Children's 
librarians' section, 268. 

Pratt Institute school of library sci- 
ence, Proposed normal course at 
(Rathbone), 297-300. 



370 



INDEX 



Prisons, See -Libraries in federal 
prisons. 

Professional training section, pro- 
ceedings of, 295-301. 

Program com., 195. 

Public documents, rpt. of com. on 
(Godard), 115-6; com. on, 194; 
res. from com. on, 200. 

Public documents round table, pro- 
ceedings of, 307-11. 

Publications, recent, of A. L. A. 
publishing board, 83-4. 

Publications committee of the League 
of Library Commissions, rpt. of 
(Dudgeon), 326-7. 

Publicity for the sake of information 
(Hatton), 72-5; p. for the sake of 
support (Milam), 120-4. 

Publishing Board. See A. L. A. 
Publishing board. 

Putnam, Herbert, address, 59-66; 
rpt. com. on co-ordination, 96-7; 
cnrm. com. on international rela- 
tions, 194; member com. on co- 
ordination, 195; speaks of proposed 
Leipzig exhibit of book arts, 
196. 

Ranck, S. H., member public docu- 
ments com., 194; rpt. com. on 
ventilation and lighting of li- 
braries, 196, 199-200; member 
com. on gov. of Am. libraries, 199; 
reports for municipal yearbook 
com., 346; participates in discus- 
sion, 346-7. 

Rathbone, Josephine A., discusses 
library schools, 155; member of 
Council, 196; "Projected normal 
course at Pratt Institute," 297- 
300; membership com. Professional 
training section, 301. 

Rawson, Fannie C., member publica- 
tions com. League of Library Com- 
missions, 328. 

Reference work. See College and 
reference section. 

Regina, Sask., message of sympathy 
to, on account of cyclone, 170. 

Reinick, W. R., addresses public 
documents round table, 310. 

Resolutions, rpt. of Com. on 
(Thwaites), 201-2. 

Richardson, E. C., member com. on 
international relations, 195; "Fun- 
damental principles of Cataloging," 
234-7. 

Robertson, James W., presides pre- 
liminary session, 57-ff; presides 
fourth general session, 158-ff; ad- 
dresses assn. on Conservation in 
Canada, 161-9; addresses Agricul- 
tural libraries section, 216. 

Roden, Carl B., represents A. L. A. at 
Wisconsin assn., 79; rpt. of treas- 
urer, 81; "Book advertising: in- 
formation as to subject and scope 
of books," 181-7; member com. on 
bookbuying, 195; "Day in Mon- 
treal," 209-11. 

Root, A. S., rpt. com. on lib. training, 
113; chrm. com. on lib. training, 
194. 

Sanders, Minerva A., died, 80. 

Sawyer, Mrs. Harriet P., member of 
Council, 196. 

Sawyer, Laura M., member com. on 
work with blind, 195. 

Saxe, Mary S., "With the children in 
Canada," 247. 

Schenk, F. W., first vice-pres. Am. 
Assn. of Law Libraries, 314. 

Scholefield, E. O. S., member Exec- 
utive committee Am. Assn. of 
Law Libraries, 314. 

Schools. See High 'Schools, Library 
schools. 



Schwab, J. C., member com. on co- 
ordination, 195. 

Secretary's rpt. (Utley), 75-81. 

Settle, George T., invites A. L. A. to 
Louisville on behalf various organi- 
zations, 193. 

Shaw, R. K., "Is the establishment 
of a central reference bureau de- 
sirable?" 278-9. 

Short story index, Do we need a 
(Drury), 277-8. 

Shortt, Mrs. Adam, welcomes assn. 
on behalf women's clubs, 57. 

Sicotte, L. W., died, 80. 

Sinclair, L. B., discusses paper by 
Walter, 260. 

Small, A. J. f member public docu- 
ments com., 194; addresses Am. 
Assn. of Law Libraries, 313. 

Smith, Elizabeth M., sec'y. public 
documents round table, 307. 

Smith, Faith E., member com. on 
library training, 194. 

Smith, Laura, member com. on work 
with blind, 195. 

Smith, T. Guilford, died, 80. 

Smoot, Reed, letter read from, 309. 

Sneed, Mrs. Percival, member of 
Council, 196. 

Special Libraries Association, pro- 
ceedings of, 329-53. 

Spencer, Florence, member Executive 
board Special Libraries Assn., 
353. 

Social side of the conference 
(Thwaites), 205-8. 

Solberg, Thorvald, addresses public 
documents round table, 310. 

Steiner, Bernard C., rpt. com. on 
federal and state relations, 102; 
chrm. com. on federal and state 
relations, 195. 

Strphm, Adam, "Efficiency of the 
library staff and scientific manage- 
ment, " 143-^6; member com. on 
library training, 194; member com. 
on gov. of Am. libraries, 196. 

Study outlines, rpt. of com. on 
(Brown), 319-20. 

Subject headings, papers and dis- 
cussion on, 227-38. 

Sutliff, Mary L., member com. on 
catalog rules for small libraries, 
195. 

Sykes, W. J., reads paper by L. B. 
Sinclair, 260. 

Thompson, J. D., addresses public 
documents round table, 309; mem- 
ber com. on subject headings, 314. 

Thompson, Laura A., presides Cata- 
log section, 227. 

Thwaites, Reuben G., represents A. 
L. A. at inauguration Geo. E. Vin- 
cent, 79; rpt. of com. on resolu- 
tions, 201-2; social side of the con- 
ference, 205-8. 

Tobitt, Edith, "Type of assistants," 
138-^2. 

Toronto, day in (Ahern), 208-9. 

Travel com., 195. 

Treasurer's report (Roden), 81. 

Tremblay, Amedee, 181. 

True, A. C., "Suggestions as to a 
policy of administration of agri- 
cultural college and experiment 
station libraries," 216-22. 

Trustees' section, proceedings of, 
302-7. 

Turvill, Helen, rpt. on uniformity in 
cataloging rules, 246, 301. 

Tutt, Virginia M., participates in 
discussion, 342-3. 

Tyler, Alice S., elected to Executive 
board, 79; rpt. of com. on relation 
of A. L. A. and state library assns., 
196. 



"Type of assistants" (Tobitt), 138- 
42. 

Underbill, Caroline M., member 
com. on library training, 194. 

Uniformity in cataloging rules, rpt. 
of com. on (Turvill), 246, 301. 

Utley, George B., rpt. of sec'y, 75-81; 
represents A. L. A. at conferences 
in Ohio, Minnesota, Nebraska, 
North Dakota, Indiana, Wis- 
consin, 78-9; lectures before li- 
brary sch. Iowa, New York, 
Illinois; member program com., 
195. 

Van Valkenburgh, Agnes, member 
com. to investigate cost and meth- 
od of cataloging, 193; "Training 
or teaching," 295-7; sec'y Pro- 
fessional training section, 301. 

Ventilation and lighting of libraries, 
rpt. of com. on (Ranck), 196, 199- 
200. 

Vincent, George E., address by, 170- 
81. 

Wales, Elizabeth B., rpt. on charters 

Provisions for public libraries, 316- 
; first vice-pres. League, 328. 

Walter, Frank K., discusses library 
schools, 156^-8; member Council, 
204; "Teaching library use in nor- 
mal and high schools," 255-60; 
gives account of new quarters 
N. Y. State library school, 295; 
member program com. Professional 
training section, 301; chrm. Pro- 
fessional training section, 301. 

Walton, F. P., prepares paper for 
joint session, 335. 

Ward, G. O., discusses paper by 
Mary E. Hall, 266-8. 

Warren, Irene, member com. on co- 
operation with N. E. A., 194. 

Washington, D. C., suggested for 
1913 conference, 193. 

Webster, Caroline F., member pub- 
lications com. League of Library 
Commissions, 328. 

Welles, Jessie, "What do the people 
want?" 132-3. 

Wellman, H. C., reads paper by 
Grace Miller, 187; member Execu- 
tive board, 204. 

Whare, Grace A., addresses Chil- 
dren's librarians' section, 254. 

What do the people want (Wells), 
132-3. 

Whitney, E. L., rpt. as treas. Am. 
Assn. of Law Libraries, 312; treas. 
Am. Assn. of Law Libraries, 314. 

Wigmore, J. H., prepares paper for 
joint session, 335. 

Windsor, P. L., member com. on code 
for classifiers, 193 ; presides College 
and reference section, 268. 

Wire, G. E., discusses subject head- 
ings in medicine, 237-8; addresses 
Am. Assn. of Law Libraries, 313; 
participates in discussion, 336. 

Wood, Harriet A., member com. on 
co-operation with N. E. A., 194. 

Woodard, Miss G. E., sec'y Am. 
Assn. of Law Libraries, 314; mem- 
ber of com. on classification, 315. 

Wyer, J. I., Jr., represents A. L. A. 
at conferences in Iowa, Illinois, 
Missouri, 78; presides third gen- 
eral session, 133; member com. on 
conditions governing affiliation of 
other than focal, state and provin- 
cial assns., 196; presides Agricul- 
tural libraries section, 213-27; 
reads paper by A. C. True, 216; 
addresses public documents round 
table, 311. 

Wyer, M. G., reads paper by Hanson, 
280. 



BULLETIN 



OF THE 

. AMEEICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 

Entered as second-class matter December 27, 1909, at the Post-Office at Chicago, 111. 
Under Act of Congress, July 16, 1894. 

VOL. 6, No. 4. CHICAGO, ILL. JULY, 1912 



CONTENTS: 

Papers and Proceedings of the Ottawa 

Conference > 



OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION : 
PRESIDENT 

MRS. H. L. ELMENDORF - Buffalo Public Library 

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT 

HENRY E. LEGLER - - Chicago Public Library 

SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT 

MARY W. PLUMMER New York Public Library 

TREASURER 

CARL B. RODEN - - Chicago Public Library 

SECRETARY 

GEORGE B. UTLEY - - - - A. L. A. Executive Office 



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