THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY OiO.G 1918 OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION Entered as second-class matter December 27, 1909, at the Post Office at Chicago. 111., under Act of Congress of July 16, 1894. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103. Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 8, 1918. VOL. 12. NO. RSttSfl CHICAGO, ILL. SEPTMIBIH. mi CONTENTS Papers and Proceedings of the Saratoga Springs Conference PRESIDENT THOMAS L. MONTGOMERY Pennsylvania State Library FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT JUDSON T. JENNINGS Seattle Public Library SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT LINDA A. EASTMAN Cleveland Public Library TREASURER CARL B. RODEN Chicago Public Library SECRETARY GEORGE B. UTLEY - - A. L. A. Executive Office, Chicago PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION HELD AT SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. JULY 1-6, 1918 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CHICAGO, ILL. 1918 CONTENTS TITLE AUTHOR PACK President's address: Civilization Thomas L. Montgomery 45 Address of welcome Charles B. Alexander 48 The future of library work Arthur E. Bostwick 50 What the city library is doing to help win the war . Hitler C. Wellman 57 The spirit of the war literature: Prose .... George F. Bowerman 60 The spirit of the war literature: Poetry . . . May Massee 72 Canadian libraries and the war George H. Locke 78 The A L. A. follows the flag overseas .... M. Llewellyn Raney 81 The cooperation of the Y. M. C. A. and the A. L. A. William Orr 93 Library work with children in war time .... Caroline Burnite 95 The war and library training Frank K. Walter 98 The library war service Herbert Putnam 103 The work of the A. L. A. war service committee . /. /. Wyer, Jr 106 The A. L. A. war service committee report ... 107 The A. L. A. campaign for $1,000,000 Frank P. Hill 163 Sending books "over there W. H. Brett 183 Libraries and the United States Food Administra- tion Edith Guerrier 184 A call to service William Warner Bishop 185 What the library commission is doing to help win the war Julia A. Robinson 186 What the county and rural library is doing to help win the war Mary L. Titcomb 187 What the state library is doing to help win the war /. /. Wyer, Jr 189 What the university library js doing to help win the war J. C. M. Hanson 192 Is camp library service worth while? Adam Strohm 196 The United States Boys' Working Reserve ... H. W. Wells 198 The day's work in Hoboken Asa Don Dickinson 200 Government documents relating to the war ... H. H. B. Meyer 202 Present discontents with newsprint stock .... H. M. Lydenberg 211 A neighborhood apprentice class Emilie Mueser . 217 Elimination of the use of readers' cards in the public library Jeannette M. Drake 219 What men read jn camps M. S. Dudgeon 221 What men read in hospitals . . ._ Miriam E. Carey 222 A woman among ten thousand bluejackets . . . Blanche Galloway 223 From camp to camp: the work of a field represen- tative Miriam E. Carey 225 What a base hospital librarian should know . . . Edith Kathleen Jones 226 The organization of hospital library service . . . Caroline Webster 231 How the camp library reaches every man . . ". Joy E. Morgan 233 How the camp library reaches every man . . . Frederick Goodell 236 A day at a camp library John A. Lowe 237 A day in camp Lloyd W. Josselyn 239 Camp library work at a naval training station . . Herbert S. Hirshberg 240 A day at Fort Leavenworth Mary L. Titcomb 241 War department indexes Willis F. Sewall 242 Cost reduction in cataloging T. Franklin Currier 243 Cataloging economies: Meeting the demands of war service cataloging May Wood Wigginton 245 Cataloging economies: How Rochester economizes ". Grace B. McCartney 247 Cataloging economies: The care of gift pamphlets . Adah Patton 249 Reports of officers and committees 251 Proceedings of general sessions 276 Round table of the libraries of religion and Executive board 291 theology 311 Council 295 Round table of training class teachers . . 312 Agricultural libraries section 295 Exhibits 312 Catalog section 300 Post-conference notes 313 Children's librarians section 301 National association of state libraries . . . 314 College and reference section 303 American association of law libraries . . . 366 Professional training section 304 League of library commissions 366 School libraries section 306 Special libraries association 369 Camp hospital librarians round table . . . 307 Attendance summaries 371 Lending department round table .... 308 Attendance register 372 Public documents round table ... . 309 Index 379 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE JULY J-6, W8 PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS: CIVILIZATION BY THOMAS L. MONTGOMERY, Librarian, Pennsylvania State Library, Harrisburg, Pa. I would not for a minute keep you in suspense in the adopting of such a title as I have given, nor alarm you with the thought that the whole of this meeting is to be given to a discussion of things from their beginnings. In the choosing of this title I have had in mind certain subjects that are interesting to me, tus- socks, so to speak, in the oozy swamps of human activities, which enable one to bound lightly over the intervals of time and arrive at a triumphant conclusion within forty-five minutes. I hope to be pardoned for the few allusions that I make to my native state in a discourse of this kind. It is much better for a person of my limited horizon to speak of things with which I am familiar rather than to adopt sounding phrases dealing with il- limitable space. If you will look in the dictionary as I have you will probably agree with me that the word "civilization" is the most unsat- isfactory in the whole Webster concatena- tion. It bears very little relation to the word "civil" which precedes it and is even less satisfactory than the word "civilize" which follows it. Its definition contains no thought of charity, kindness, literature, music, nor goodness. It refers simply to advancement in the arts with a rather weak notion of refinement. Until it has been reorganized and rehabilitated it does not as a term deserve the respect of men. But grant that after this war is over it should be made to mean more, that some of the qualities which I have mentioned are included in its definition. Where should we look in the past for inspiration? The Egyptians were advanced in the arts but you would not seek it there, nor in Babylon, nor in Persia. Rome would give us little satisfaction and even Greece can only inspire us with a few years of her his- tory. Her wonderful literature, we are told by statisticians, was produced by some eighteen men only, nevertheless Greece was and is a satisfaction. In her archi- tecture and in her sculpture the Greeks sought to make things more beautiful. It would have been impossible for a Greek to follow Rodin's example and depict "A man with a broken nose." True civilization was not found in the time of King John in spite of Magna Carta and all that meant to mankind. It was not much better after the introduction of the printed book, and in the times of Charles II. people were robbing each other and the government, and acting as if they were possessed of devils. Yet in the reign of the Merry Monarch a son was born to a distinguished man who was probably one of the worst grafters of his time, a child who was to become, in my humble opinion, the great- est contribution to civilization in the two hundred years that preceded and the two hundred years that followed that event. I allude to William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. His history is familiar to all of you. He is pictured in the beautiful series of paint- ings in the Pennsylvania Capitol as a stu- dent at Oxford where he had been sent to fit himself for the life of a courtier. He listens to the argument of the travelling Quaker and is impressed by the honesty and simplicity of his ways. Having adopt- ed this faith he is driven from home by his irate father and is thrown into prison for his profane utterances. He is even shown writing tracts in his cell and upon his re- lease visiting the prisoners and perform- ing various kindnesses to the poor and neglected. Another picture shows him in the act of receiving the Charter for the SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE State of Pennsylvania from Charles II. Whenever Charles II. was not engaged in anything else he gave Pennsylvania to someone. Lord Baltimore thought the land belonged to him but Charles II. owed a large sum of money to Penn's father and this had to be liquidated whether Lord Baltimore liked it or not. The King jest- ingly alluded to Penn's ultimate consump- tion by the savages. He replied that he would have little trouble with them as he intended to buy their lands equitably. "Why," said the King in astonishment, "is not the land mine?" "No," replied Penn, "they are the original occupants of the soil and you have no more right to claim them by discovery than they would have for discovering Great Britain." His fa- mous treaty with the Indians was never sworn to and never broken. Such was the influence which he exerted by his kind- ness, consideration and tact that for sev- enty years from the time of his coming there were neither wars nor even rumors of wars. Penn wrote to Thomas Holme, "When the great God brings me among you I intend to order all things in such a manner that we may live in love and peace one with another, which I hope the great God will incline both you and me to do." Even the Walking Purchase of 1737 did not in its rascality cause a break with the redskin, although by it the Delaware lost their most highly prized lands. It was not until the Indian learned that the white man could not keep his word that the Delaware, the Shawnee and the Mingo, oppressed from without by the unfriendly Iroquois and cheated from within, moved gradually westward, pressed by the throng of land-thirsty settlers who invariably by their association with the rum traffic made the Indian more savage than he had been before, and this disgrace has been per- petuated to the present time. The Indian has been routed out of each place assigned to him by the greed of those having charge of his affairs, but a kind Providence has always seen to it that the place to which he is banished provides riches for him in the form of mineral wealth or oil so that he again becomes subject to the cupidity of those who should be his best friends. The utter absurdity of the provisions which allow an uneducated and brutal foreigner the full rights of citizenship and deny to the native American the right to dispose of his property except through a trustee, must be manifest to the crudest intellect I like to think of American de- mocracy as having had its birth at Valley Forge. It is impossible, however, to in- clude the history of the Iroquois in such a conclusion. Its confederacy of five tribes, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayu- gas and Senecas to which the Tuscaroras were afterwards added was associated un- der a plan which has lasted for more than three centuries and still exists today. Their importance is not due entirely to their early acquirements of firearms but to the wisdom of their system of govern- ment. The council of matrons, the con- struction of the clans (the members of which were not allowed to intermarry within the same clan) and their admit- tance of captured enemies to full tribal rights, all stamp them as of an advanced intelligence. Through a long series of years they held the balance of power be- tween the French and English in America. They were good agriculturists and grew corn, tobacco and fruits. They also made splendid pottery and kept their public rec- ords upon wampum. Most certainly those who are interested in the equal rights of women must regard the Iroquois as a very advanced type of civilization. The limita- tion of descent belonged exclusively to the woman. A chieftain's son did not succeed him in office, but his brother. If there were no brother then a son of his sister or some descendant of the maternal line was chosen. When a decision had to be made it was by unanimous agreement. It was no wonder that such a people approved of Penn's League of Amity. Unfortunate as it was that warfare had to enter into the relations of the three nations, now joined together for the protections of the rights of man, these early contests with the In- dians unquestionably developed a hardy MONTGOMERY 47 people whom even the sufferings of Valley Forge could not overcome, and the subse- quent victory at Yorktown was due in no slight degree to the heroism engendered here in spite of privation and disease. The free public school system forms an- other attractive stepping-stone in the path of general civilization. In my own state a system had prevailed for years of fur- nishing free schooling only to self-con- fessed paupers. This was based upon the old Friends' public school established in 1697, whereby the rich were schooled at reasonable rates and the poor for nothing. A class distinction was thus engendered which resulted in the poor people staying at home. Philadelphia was the first to cast aside this system and provide free schools at public expense. Agitation for the extension of this system finally cul- minated in an act of the legislature pre- sented in 1834 which was passed with only one dissenting vote. On account of the taxation necessary for carrying out the act about one-half the districts rejected it and sent representatives to the legislature to have the law repealed. The Governor was told that any favorable consideration of the act on his part would result in his defeat for re-election. At this time there appeared upon the scene one who by his energy and ability immediately took front rank in the affairs of the Commonwealth. When I was a small boy I used to be told of the pithy remark of Mr. Chauncey De- pew that the three great Pennsylvanians were Benjamin Franklin of Massachusetts, Albert Gallatin of Switzerland and Thad- deus Stevens of Vermont. Slightly worn by the repetition of this bon mot I re- marked that I would like to add another, George Washington of Virginia. When- ever George Washington wished to do any thing he came to Pennsylvania. His ex- peditions through western Pennsylvania in 1753, 1754 and 1755 are well known. He was at Brandywine, Whitemarsh, German- town and Valley Forge and while President of the United States he resided in Phila- delphia, except during the short visits that he paid to New York. Incidentally I be- lieve it is part of the education of every gentleman that he should pay short visits to New York. George Washington, how- ever, seldom went to Virginia except to look after the crops or to attend a fox hunt. The speech of Thaddeus Stevens in sav- ing the free school act from defeat was one of the most masterly in his career. "If," said he, "the opponent of education were my most intimate and personal polit- ical friend and the free school candidate my most obnoxious enemy, I should deem it my duty, as a patriot, to forget all other considerations and I should place myself unhesitatingly and cordially in the ranks of him whose banner streams in light." People who had no children said that the tax was unjust to them, and he replied that the wealthy farmer was taxed to sup- port criminal courts and jails, although never tried for a crime nor having enjoyed the hospitality of a prison. Of course, it was understood that a great part of the opposition to the free schools was on the part of the sectarian institutions, the pro- jectors of which did not wish to be taxed for both. Only second to the public schools has been the civilizing effect of our public li- brary system. In some respects it is more important, for its influence extends from the cradle to the grave. I don't know whether it is a general feeling but I have myself an intense and loving respect for the men who first forwarded the idea of the free distribution of books. Of those of our guild who met in 1853, Mr. Lloyd P. Smith, Dr. W. F. Poole and Dr. Edward Everett Hale are the only ones whom I knew and of these Dr. Poole was the only one associated with the free library move- ment. It is wonderful, however, to think that such an assemblage of librarians could take place at that day. The opening remarks of the President show why. "To every one who knows the nature of the librarian's duties, the details which con- sume his days and render absence from his post impossible, except at the cost of severe labor on his return, it must be manifest that we have met at considerable 48 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE sacrifice. We obey some strong heartfelt impulse in incurring the expense of this gathering." How expensive it was may be gained from the report on salaries. Only twelve men at that time received for their services $1,000 or upwards and the high- est salary in the country was $1,900, given to the state librarian of Massachusetts. Nevertheless we find these men going forth to spread the doctrine throughout the country and in 1876 they met almost spon- taneously to form the association of which you and I are proud. It is no easy task to accomplish the results which have been attained by enthusiasm alone, yet such has been the fascination of our propaganda that it has increased in influence year by year with but one important gift to help the cause, and now in this year of the war we find ourselves the trustees of books and dollars by the million in the effort to preserve civilization in the soldiers' and sailors' rough life. This work has been well done. It has been well done because the former President of the Association had a thorough grasp of the situation and appointed a committee upon which it would have been very hard to improve, and that committee being thus intelligently constituted knew that the Librarian of Congress should be given the widest lati- tude in prosecuting the work. I shall re- frain from speaking of the events of the past year. The future I have consigned to one far abler than I, but I should like to bring this before you. After the war is over, where are the youths of the nations to assemble to accomplish their post-gradu- ate work under competent supervision? It is not likely that they will submit them- selves to the influence linked with the Prussian propaganda. England cannot re- ceive them. France is far-spent. It may be that America may be called upon, with its great educational foundations, to pro- vide a center for the students of the whole civilized world. God grant that she may prove equal to the demands which may be made upon her! It is evident that the German language is to be driven from our schools. I hope that Portuguese and Span- ish may be substituted, so that we may un- derstand our neighbors to the south and thus lead up to a United States of Amer- ica extending from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic Ocean, its citizens fighting shoulder to shoulder for the protection of the rights of man. ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY CHARLES B. ALEXANDER, Regent of the University of the State of New York Conscious as I am of the honor ac- corded me as the representative of the Regents of the University of the State of New York, really representing the State of New York, of extending a word of wel- come to this distinguished conference of the American Library Association, yet it is with a new spirit of appreciative un- derstanding that I bring to you the greet- ings of the governing Board of our educa- tional system. I feel an added pride in greeting you in renowned and historic Saratoga. This re- gion has a particular interest to us at this time when our minds are so often turning for inspiration to the glories of our past history and to the heroes who made us a nation. This region, because of its won- derful water routes, has been the great strategic point in the wars waged for the control of this continent. The battles of Saratoga in 1T77 and the surrender of General Burgoyne broke up the great cam- paign which was planned to sever and con- quer the warring colonies; they aroused great enthusiasm throughout the country, and were the determining event which led France to form the alliance which assured our independence. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, George Clinton and ALEXANDER 49 Philip Schuyler are early names in the long list of distinguished personages who have enjoyed the benefits and pleasures of this great resort. One may drink deep of patriotism, too, at these Pierian springs. I am, however, here primarily to extend to you the cordial invitation of the Re- gents of the University of the State of New York to visit another historic place, a few miles south of us. This year we celebrate the centennial of the New York State library. We feel a pardonable pride in its history in its growth and achieve- ment and service to the educational life of our State. There is needed only your presence to make this the notable occasion we wish it to be and which we believe it deserves to be in the library and educa- tional history of the country. We expect to have the honor of welcoming you at Al- bany next Saturday, July 6, 1918. Merely to glance over your program is to gain an inspiring realization of the myriad activities of our libraries which touch all phases of the nation's life, and of their ef- ficient adaptation to the great emergency which we face. The theme of your pro- gram is the war and your consideration will be the utmost utilization of your or- ganized activities in bringing the victory that will assure the permanence of the in- stitutions built by the world-old struggle for freedom and human happiness. The French Army has a saying: Pourvu qua les civils tiennent; that is, that victory is certain, "if the civilians hold out." I have wondered if this aphorism was born of the bitterness of those whose lot it was to suffer and die or of a deep understanding of the essential truth of it. We have looked with a horrible loathing at the trav- esty on civilization which prostituted the entire efficiency of a modern nation's so- cial and economic life to the work of con- suming and destroying. But the enemy has employed brute force as his funda- mental argument and we have no alterna- tive but to answer it in kind. To-day na- tions war, with all their stupendous and marvelously organized forces. Lloyd George has said that he feared the thor- ough organization of Germany's civil life, educated and drilled during a generation to obedience and efficiency, more than the armed forces of the enemy. Our armies cannot be defeated if your civil popula- tion, their indispensable foundation, is strong and unyielding. The democracies of the world, which live in the intelligent sup- port of the people, are warring with a power which exacts a blind, pitifully blind, obedience of its myrmidons. It is a mat- ter of training, of education. This is well recognized. Everywhere posters confront us, exhorting, admonishing, advising; the government disseminates information throughout the land; public speakers pro- vide enlightening knowledge; our great, free press is ubiquitous. The people must be informed must be taught what to do and how to do to conserve and bring to bear the great, latent strength of the na- tion. In this world conflict the war has illum- ined things hitherto unnoticed. Among other things, it has illumined the idea of duty. Today this does not consist In doing the immediate thing for which one is em- ployed, but in doing the best thing pos- sible in the service of the nation. This was well illustrated when one of our of- ficers checked the advance of the foe the other day by marshaling around him' cer- tain cooks and other camp followers. The cooks might very well have said that they were not there to fight but to cook, but each man of the miscellaneous gathering surrounding the officer left his Immediate occupation and they baffled the foe. So for example the idea of sacrifice, which until the war was treated by many as an obsolete function; but now with millions making sacrifices and ready to make the great sacrifice, the world is enlightened, fio also the old phrase, "a life for a life," is constantly illustrated, as it was the' other day where the enlisted man carried his officer along the deck, and just as he got the officer in a place of safety was himself killed. In the ability to reach, educate and af- fect the adult population the library occu- 48 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE sacrifice. We obey some strong heartfelt impulse in incurring the expense of this gathering." How expensive it was may be gained from the report on salaries. Only twelve men at that time received for their services $1,000 or upwards and the high- est salary in the country was $1,900, given to the state librarian of Massachusetts. Nevertheless we find these men going forth to spread the doctrine throughout the country and in 1876 they met almost spon- taneously to form the association of which you and I are proud. It Is no easy task to accomplish the results which have been attained by enthusiasm alone, yet such has been the fascination of our propaganda that it has increased in influence year by year with but one important gift to help the cause, and now in this year of the war we find ourselves the trustees of books and dollars by the million in the effort to preserve civilization in the soldiers' and sailors' rough life. This work has been well done. It has been well done because the former President of the Association had a thorough grasp of the situation and appointed a committee upon which it would have been very hard to improve, and that committee being thus intelligently constituted knew that the Librarian of Congress should be given the widest lati- tude in prosecuting the work. I shall re- frain from speaking of the events of the past year. The future I have consigned to one far abler than I, but I should like to bring this before you. After the war is over, where are the youths of the nations to assemble to accomplish their post-gradu- ate work under competent supervision? It is not likely that they will submit them- selves to the influence linked with the Prussian propaganda. England cannot re- ceive them. France is far-spent. It may be that America may be called upon, with its great educational foundations, to pro- vide a center for the students of the whole civilized world. God grant that she may prove equal to the demands which may be made upon her! It is evident that the German language is to be driven from our schools. I hope that Portuguese and Span- ish may be substituted, so that we may un- derstand our neighbors to the south and thus lead up to a United States of Amer- ica extending from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic Ocean, its citizens fighting shoulder to shoulder for the protection of the rights of man. ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY CHARLES B. ALEXANDER, Regent of the University of the State of New York Conscious as I am of the honor ac- corded me as the representative of the Regents of the University of the State of New York, really representing the State of New York, of extending a word of wel- come to this distinguished conference of the American Library Association, yet it is with a new spirit of appreciative un- derstanding that I bring to you the greet- ings of the governing Board of our educa- tional system. I feel an added pride in greeting you in renowned and historic Saratoga. This re- gion has a particular interest to us at this time when our minds are so often turning for inspiration to the glories of our past history and to the heroes who made us a nation. This region, because of its won- derful water routes, has been the great strategic point in the wars waged for the control of this continent. The battles of Saratoga in 1777 and the surrender of General Burgoyne broke up the great cam- paign which was planned to sever and con- quer the warring colonies; they aroused great enthusiasm throughout the country, and were the determining event which led France to form the alliance which assured our independence. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, George Clinton and ALEXANDER 49 Philip Schuyler are early names in the long list of distinguished personages who have enjoyed the benefits and pleasures of this great resort. One may drink deep of patriotism, too, at these Pierian springs. I am, however, here primarily to extend to you the cordial invitation of the Re- gents of the University of the State of New York to visit another historic place, a few miles south of us. This year we celebrate the centennial of the New York State library. We feel a pardonable pride in its history in its growth and achieve- ment and service to the educational life of our State. There is needed only your presence to make this the notable occasion we wish it to be and which we believe it deserves to be in the library and educa- tional history of the country. We expect to have the honor of welcoming you at Al- bany next Saturday, July 6, 1918. Merely to glance over your program is to gain an inspiring realization of the myriad activities of our libraries which touch all phases of the nation's life, and of their ef- ficient adaptation to the great emergency which we face. The theme of your pro- gram is the war and your consideration will be the utmost utilization of your or- ganized activities in bringing the victory that will assure the permanence of the in- stitutions built by the world-old struggle for freedom and human happiness. The French Army has a saying: Pourvu gu0 les civils tiennent; that is, that victory is certain, "if the civilians hold out." I have wondered if this aphorism was born of the bitterness of those whose lot it was to suffer and die or of a deep understanding of the essential truth of it. We have looked with a horrible loathing at the trav- esty on civilization which prostituted the entire efficiency of a modern nation's so- cial and economic life to the work of con- suming and destroying. But the enemy has employed brute force as his funda- mental argument and we have no alterna- tive but to answer it in kind. To-day na- tions war, with all their stupendous and marvelously organized forces. Lloyd George has said that he feared the thor- ough organization of Germany's civil life, educated and drilled during a generation to obedience and efficiency, more than the armed forces of the enemy. Our armies cannot be defeated if your civil popula- tion, their indispensable foundation, is strong and unyielding. The democracies of the world, which live in the intelligent sup- port of the people, are warring with a power which exacts a blind, pitifully blind, obedience of its myrmidons. It is a mat- ter of training, of education. This is well recognized. Everywhere posters confront us, exhorting, admonishing, advising; the government disseminates information throughout the land; public speakers pro- vide enlightening knowledge; our great, free press is ubiquitous. The people must be informed must be taught what to do and how to do to conserve and bring to bear the great, latent strength of the na- tion. In this world conflict the war has illum- ined things hitherto unnoticed. Among other things, it has illumined the idea of duty. Today this does not consist in doing the immediate thing for which one is em- ployed, but in doing the best thing pos- sible in the service of the nation. This was well illustrated when one of our of- ficers checked the advance of the foe the other day by marshaling around him' cer- tain cooks and other camp followers. The cooks might very well have said that they were not there to fight but to cook, but each man of the miscellaneous gathering surrounding the officer left his Immediate occupation and they baffled the foe. So for example the idea of sacrifice, which until the war was treated by many as an obsolete function; but now with millions making sacrifices and ready to make the great sacrifice, the world is enlightened. 60 also the old phrase, "a life for a life," is constantly illustrated, as It was the' other day where the enlisted man carried his officer along the deck, and just as he got the officer in a place of safety was himself killed. In the ability to reach, educate and af- fect the adult population the library occu- 50 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE pies a position of great responsibility and is a great power for national defense. This situation, which offers our libraries the greatest opportunity in their history to demonstrate their educational value to the nation has been fully realized and thor- oughly acted upon by the American Li- brary Association. With its watchword, "War service," this Association has bent its fullest energies to the duty, and its splendid work forms an inspiring chapter in the history of the war. Educational results are mostly in- determinable, but some tangible accom- plishments are noted with marveling grati- fication. I wish all of our people could know of the great fund raised for the war work; of the acquisition of innumerable books; of the erection of the many library buildings and the establishment of branch libraries in our camps; of the library work in hospitals; of the technical and recrea- tive books placed in our forts, naval ves- sels, camps, and sent abroad; of the labor and time given by trained men to the work; and of the other countless activities of the "Library war service." It is demon- strated that the library provides as high and important a war service as any other field of effort. To many this realization of the great power and influence of the library comes with some surprise. The extraordinary development of this branch of our educa- tional system has not been generally com- prehended. Indeed, it is a far cry from the modest beginning of the American Li- brary Association in that convention at Philadelphia in 1876 to this great business organization which affects our entire edu- cational and social life. By its progress- ive methods, this Association has estab- lished the public library as a familiar and potent agent of our civilization; and it has made library work a science indeed, efficient, economical, practical. And one has only to study the library history of Europe to realize that you have done pio- neer work, and furnished a vitalizing spir- it to the library life of the world. THE FUTURE OP LIBRARY WORK BY ABTHUB E. BOSTWICK, Librarian, St. Louis Public Library When a railroad train is on its way, its future history depends on which way it is heading, on its speed, and on whether its direction and its speed will remain un- changed. With these premises, one may confidently predict that a train which left Chicago at a given hour on one day will reach New York at a given hour on the next. Of course, something may happen to slow the train, or to wreck it, or even to send it back to Chicago, in which cases our predictions will come to naught. This is what the weather man finds. His predic- tions are based on very similar data. Our weather conditions travel usually across the continent from west to east at a fairly uniform rate. If that rate is maintained, and the direction does not change, and nothing happens to dissipate or alter the conditions, we can predict their arrival at a given place with a fair degree of accu- racy. Those who rail at the weather man's mistakes are simply finding fault with our present inability to ascertain the causes that slow up storm centers, or swerve them in their course, or dissipate them. When we know these things, and know in addi- tion what starts them, we can give up mak- ing forecasts and write out a pretty def- inite weather time-table as definite and as little subject to change, at any rate, as those issued by the railroads. My business at this moment is that of a forecaster. We know just where and what the library situation is at present, and some of us think we know where it is head- ed. If it should keep on in the same di- rection and at the same rate, we ought to BOSTWICK 51 be able to describe it as it will be, say, in 1950. Of course, it may get headed in some other direction. It may slow down or speed up; it may melt away or strike a rock and be irrecoverably wrecked. If I see any chances of any of these things, it is my business to mention them. If my forecast should turn out a failure no one can prove it until 1950 arrives, and then I shall not care. To begin with the necessary prelimina- ries of our forecast what and where are we now? I have said that I know; prob- ably you think that you do; but as a mat- ter of fact our knowledge is neither com- prehensive nor accurate. We need a gen- eral library survey. We have, as a sort of statistical framework, the figures now printed annually in tabular form in the A. L. A. Proceedings, but probably no one would maintain that these do, or possibly could, give an adequate idea of the char- acter or extent of the work that our libra- ries are doing. Those of us who think we know something of it have gained our knowledge by experience and observation and neither is extensive enough in most cases to take the place of a well-consid- ered and properly-managed survey of ex- isting conditions and methods. In default of a survey, we must, as I have said, fall back upon observation and experience. I can certainly claim no mo- nopoly of these, and what I say in this re- gard is, of course, largely personal. But it seems to me that the distinguishing marks of library work, as at present conducted, include the following. As you will see, they are all connected and overlap more or less. They are all growth-products. They are: 1 Size and expense 2 Socialization 3 Professionalization 4 Popularization 5 Nationalization. First, library work in our country to- day is large and costly. Extensively it covers a great territory and reaches a huge population. Intensively it embraces a large variety of activities many that one would hesitate, on general principles, to class as "library work." Secondly, a large amount of this in- crease of activity has been of a kind that we are now apt to call "social." It deals with bodies or classes of people, and it tends to treat these people as the direct objects of the library's attention, instead of dealing primarily with books, as for- merly, and only indirectly with their read- ers. In fact, the persons with whom the library now deals may not be readers at all, except potentially, as when they are users of club or assembly rooms. Thirdly, librarians are beginning to think of themselves as members of a pro- fession. At first sight this may seem to be a fact of interest only to library workers, and not at all to the public. Its signifi- cance may appear if we compare it to the emergence of the modern surgeon with his professional skill, traditions and pride, from the medieval barber who simply fol- lowed blood-letting as an avocation. Pro- fessionalism is a symptom of a great many things of achievement and of conscious- ness of it and pride in it; of a desire to do teamwork and to maintain standards; to make sure that one's work is to be carried on and advanced by worthy successors. Fourthly, libraries are now conducted for the many; not for the few. It is our aim to provide something for every one who can read, no matter of what age, sex, or condition. We do not even limit our- selves to readers, for we provide picture books for those who are too young to read. We are transferring the emphasis of our work from books to people. This charac- teristic is closely connected with what I have called "socialization," but it is not the same thing. An institution may deal with all the people without dealing with them socially or in groups; and it may deal en- tirely with groups without dealing with everybody. The library now does both. Fifthly, the library is now a national institution, at least in the same sense as is the public school. It is national in extent, national in consciousness, if not national in administration. Our own association 52 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE has played its part in this development; the present war has given it a great stim- ulus. Those who see no nationalism with- out complete centralization and who say that we are not yet a nation because all our governmental powers are not centered at Washington, will doubtless deny the na- tionalization of the library. They take too narrow a view. We may now combine two or more lines of inquiry. In what direction is the libra- ry moving in each of these respects? Is it speeding or slowing up? Is there any rea- son to look for speeding or slowing up in the future? As regards size and cost, our develop- ment has been swift. We cannot, it seems to me, keep up the rate. Twenty years ago the institutions now constituting the New York Public Library circulated a million books. They now circulate ten million. Does anyone believe that twenty years hence they will circulate one hundred mil- lion? There must be further increase, be- cause we are not now reaching every per- son and every class in the community, but it will not and cannot be a mere increase of quantity. We must do our work better and make every item and element in it tell. We must substitute one book well read for ten books skimmed. In place of ten worth- less books we must put one that is worth while. There are already signs of this substitution of quality for quantity in our ideals. Extension, as opposed to intension, has appealed to many enthusiastic librarians as "missionary work." Perhaps the term is well chosen. Some of it is akin to the missionary fervor that sends funds to con- vert the distant heathen when nominal Christians around the corner are vainly demanding succor, material, mental and spiritual. We have too much of this in the library; attempts to form boys' clubs with artificial aims and qualifications when clubs already formed to promote objects that are very real in the members' minds are ignored or neglected; the provision of boresome talks on "Rubber-culture in Peru" and on "How I climbed Long's Peak," when members of the community would be genuinely interested in hearing an expert explain the income tax; the pur- chase of new books that nobody wants when an insistent demand for old stand- ards of sterling worth has never been ade- quately met; all sorts of forcing from the outside instead of developing from the inside. This kind of thing, like charity, begins properly at home, and the real mis- sionary takes care to set his own house in order before he goes far afield to fill the nearby demand, when it is good, before at- tempting to force something on those who do not want it. It is in this direction that our promise of continued progress lies when we cannot see grounds for expecting great future in- crease of income. This leads us naturally to discuss what I have called our socialization, which is just beginning. It is running strong, but there is room for a long course, and that course, I believe, it will take. In the first place, we are functioning more and more as community centers, but there is enor- mous room for advance. We are strag- gling all along the line, which is one sign of an early stage. Some of us have not yet awakened to the fact that we are destined to play a great part in commu- nity development and community educa- tion. Others are reluctantly yielding to pressure. Others have gone so fast that they are in advance of their communities. Take, if you please, the one item of the provision of space for community meet- ings, regarded by some as the be-all and the end-all of the community center idea. It is really but one element, but it may serve as a straw to show which way the wind blows. Some libraries are giving no space for this purpose; some give it grudg- ingly, with all sorts of limitations; others give quite freely. None of us gives with perfect freedom. I suppose we in St. Louis are as free as any. In 15 assembly and clubrooms we house 4,000 meetings yearly. Our only limitations are order and the absence of an admission fee. I incline to think that the maintenance of BOSTWICK 53 order should be the only condition. If an admission fee is charged, part of it should go to the library, to be devoted to caring for the assembly and clubrooms and im- proving them. There are many commu- nity gatherings that can be best adminis- tered on the plan of a paid admission. These ought not to be excluded. Most of our restrictions are simply exhibits of our reluctance to place ourselves at the com- plete social disposal of the community. A community is not a community unless it has political and religious interests. If we are going to become socialized at all, why balk at these any more than we should exclude from our shelves books on politics and religion? I look to see so- cialization, in this and other directions, proceed to such lengths that the older li- brary ideals may have to go entirely by the board. Some of them, are tottering now. I have said that I consider this mat- ter of the use of assembly rooms only one item in what I have called socialization. It may all be summed up by saying that we are coming to consider the library somewhat in the light of a community club, of which all well-behaved citizens are members. Our buildings are clubhouses, with books and magazines, meeting rooms, toilet facilities, kitchens almost every- thing, in fact, that a good, small club would contain. If you say "then they have ceased to be libraries and are something else," that does not affect me any more than when you show that we are no longer speaking Chaucer's language or wearing the clothes of Alfred the Great. When we were trying to explain to the architects of the New York branch build- ings exactly what we wanted in those structures and met with the usual miscon- ception based on medieval ideas of a libra- ry, one of the most eminent architects in the United States suddenly sat up and took notice. "Why, these buildings are not to be libraries at all," he said, "they are to be reading clubs." He had learned in a few minutes what many of us still see through a glass darkly. An even more important manifestation of what I have called socialization is the extension of occupation groups to which the library is giving special attention and special service. The library has always had in mind one or more of these groups. Once it catered almost entirely to a group of scholars, at first belonging predominant- ly to the clergy. In later years it added the teachers in schools and their pupils, also the children of the community. These are definite groups, and their recognition in the rendition of service is a social act. Other groups are now being added with rapidity, and we are recognizing in our service industrial workers, business men, artists of various kinds, musicians and so on. The recognition of new groups and the extension of definite library service to them is progress in socialization, and it is going on steadily at the present time. Just now the most conspicuous group that we are taking in is that of business men. In adjusting our resources and meth- ods to the needs of this group we are changing our whole conception of the scope of a library's collection. As Mr. Dana has pointed out, we now collect, preserve and distribute not books alone, but printed matter of all kinds, and in addition rec- ords of other types, such as manuscripts, pictures, slides, films, phonograph discs and piano rolls. Some of these, of course, are needed to adapt our collection to oth- ers than the business group to educators, artists or musicians. We shall doubtless continue to discover new groups and un- dergo change in the course of adaptation to their needs. The recognition of special groups and the effort to do them service has proceeded to a certain extent outside the public libra- ry, owing to the slowness of its reaction to this particular need. The result has been the special library. I am one of those who are sorry that the neglect of its op- portunity by the public library has brought this about, and I hope for a reduction in the number of independent special libra- ries by a process of gradual absorption and consolidation. The recent acquisition of some formerly independent municipal ref- erence libraries by the local public libra- ries is a case in point. There must always be special libraries. The library business of independent industrial and commercial institutions is best cared for in this way. But every group that is merely a section of the general public, set apart from the rest by special needs and tastes, may be cared for most economically by the public library. If its service is not adapted to give such care, rapid and efficient adjust- ment is called for. In a library forecast made several years ago, Mr. John C. Dana stated his opinion that the library, as it is, is "an unimpor- tant by-product," that it is to be of impor- tance in the future, but will then have de- parted from the "present prevailing type." Without necessarily agreeing to our pres- ent insignificance, we may well accept, I think, this forecast of future growth and change. Professionalization, too, has by no means reached its limit. As has been pointed out, it is a symptom, rather than the thing itself. It is like a man's clothes, by which you can often trace the growth or decay of his self-respect. Pride in one's work and a tendency to exalt it Is a healthy sign, provided there is something back of it. The formation of staff associa- tions like that recently organized in New York is a good sign, so is the multiplica- tion of professional bodies. The establish- ment of the A. L. A. in 1876 was the be- ginning of the whole library advance in this country. It was only a symptom, of course, but with the healthy growth of libraries I look for more signs of our pride in what we are doing, of our unwillingness to lower it or to alter its ideals. The familiar question, "Is librarianship a profession?" reduces to a matter of def- inition. We are being professionalized for the purposes of this discussion if we are growing sufficiently In group conscious- ness to let it react favorably on our work. One of the earliest developments of a feeling of professional pride in one's work is an insistence on the adequate training of the workers and on the establishment of standards of efficiency both for workers and work. Here belongs a forecast not only of library school training, but of offi- cial inspection and certification, of sys- tems of service, etc. Standardization of this kind is on the increase and is bound to be enforced with greater strictness in the future. In our professional training as in other professions the tendency is to- ward specialization. With us, this spe- cialization will doubtless proceed on the lines of facilities for practice. An engi- neering school cannot turn out electrical engineers if the only laboratories that it has are devoted to civil and mechanical engineering. A specialist in abdominal surgery is not produced by experience in a contagious disease ward. Similarly we ought not to expect a school remote from public library facilities to specialize in public library work, or a school in close connection with a public library to produce assistants for the work of a university library. Increasing professional spirit among us will demand specialization ac- cording to equipment. Popularization, some may think, has al- ready gone to the limit. How can we be more of the people than we are today? Are we not, in sooth, a little too democratic, perhaps? Personally I feel that a good deal of the library's social democracy is on the surface. Any member of a priv- ileged class will assure you that his own class constitutes "the people" and that the rest do not matter. The Athenians hon- estly thought that their country was a democracy, when it was really an oligarchy of the most limited kind. England hon- estly thought she had "popular" govern- ment when those entitled to vote were a very small part of the population. A li- brary in a city of half a million inhabit- ants honestly thinks that a record of 100,- 000 cardholders entitles it to boast that its use extends to the whole population. We cannot say that we reach the whole number of citizens until we really do reach them. The school authorities can go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in; we cannot. 55 Herein doubtless lies one of our advan- tages. Our buildings are filled with willing users. It is our business to universalize the desire to read as the schools are uni- versalizing the ability. But we have not yet done so, and popularization proceeds slowly. I cannot say that I see many in- dications of speeding up in the rate, al- though our increase in the recognition of groups, noted above, may have an influ- ence here in future. As groups develop among that part of the population that uses the library least, our opportunity to extend our influence over that part will present itself. One such group is ready for us but we have never reached it that of union labor. The recognition of the unions by the library and of the library by the unions has been unaccountably de- layed, despite sporadic, well-meant, but in- effective efforts on both sides. No more important step for the intellectual future of the community can be taken than this extension of service. Nationalization has just begun. It is speeding up and will go far, I am sure, in the next twenty years. Our libraries are getting used to acting as a unit. We should not like administrative national- ization and I see no signs of it; but na- tionalization in the sense of improved op- portunities for team work and greater willingness to avail ourselves of them we shall get in increasing measure. For in- stance, one of our greatest opportunities lies before us in the inter-library loan. It knocks at our door, but we do not heed it because in this respect we have not begun yet to think nationally. But having be- gun national service in the various activi- ties brought to the front by the war, we shall not, I am sure, lag behind much longer. The national organization of the A. L. A. has long provided us with a framework on which to build our national thoughts and our national deeds, but hith- erto it has remained a mere scaffolding, conspicuous through the absence of any corresponding structure. The war is teach- ing us both to think and to act nationally, and after it is over I shall be astonished if we are longer content to do each his own work. Our work is nationwide, in peace as in war and our tardy realization of this fact may be one of the satisfactory by- products of this world conflict. Now it is not beyond the possibilities that the library movement, headed right and running free, may still fail because it meets some obstacle and goes to pieces. Are there any such in sight? I seem to see several, but I believe that we can steer clear. If we split on anything it will be on an unseen rock, and of such, of course, we can say nothing. One rock is political interference. The library has had trouble with it of old and some of us are still struggling with it. It is assumed by those who put their trust in paper civil service that it has now been minimized. This overlooks the undoubted fact that in a great number of cases the civil service machinery has been captured by politicians, and now works to aid them, not to control them. The greatest danger of political interference in public libra- ries, now lies in well-meant efforts to turn them over to some local commission estab- lished to further the merit system, but actu- ally working in harmony with a political machine. Another rock on which we may possibly split Is that of formalism. Machinery must be continually scrapped and replaced if progress is to be made. It will not grow and change like an organism. The library itself is subject to organic growth and change, but its machinery will not change automatically with it. If we foster in any way an idea that our machinery is sacred, that it is of permanent value and that con- ditions should conform to it instead of its conforming to them, our whole progress may come to an end. I have called this a rock, but it is rather a sort of Sargasso Sea where the library may whirl about in an eternity of seaweed. Another obstacle, somewhat allied to this of formalism, is the "big head" none the less dangerous because it is common and as detrimental to an institution as it is to an individual. Just as soon as a per- 58 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE motors, and a host of similar topics. In fact, no day passes without many calls for technical books directly or indirectly bear- ing on the war. When the American Library Association undertook last fall to raise a million dol- lars to supply books and libraries for our soldiers and sailors, public libraries throughout the country conducted the cam- paign. That was almost the first of the national campaigns for funds, and showed splendid vision on the part of the Amer- ican Library Association's leaders. But projects of the kind were novel; it was necessary to convince librarians, trustees, and public of the necessity of the work. In the light of later campaigns, the amount required seems trivial; but at the time the quotas assigned to each library looked formidable indeed, and I suspect many a librarian confronted the problem with mis- giving. The occasion, however, furnished an exceptional opportunity for impressing on the public the importance of books and libraries. In Springfield the task was ren- dered easier by the city's being made a center for western Massachusetts, and holding a large meeting addressed by speakers furnished by the Association. The program suggested was followed, and a committee organized consisting of seventy patriotic women who canvassed the city. By the middle of the campaign week, Springfield's quota was fifty per cent over- subscribed. The experience raises a query, however, as to the best method of proceed- ing in subsequent campaigns. It is desir- able that contributions should come from as many individuals as possible, and yet the total amount to be raised seems hardly great enough to warrant the time and en- ergy of a large organization and a house- to-house canvass. Just as soon as war was declared, as already stated, large contingents of sol- diers were stationed in Springfield to guard the Armory, the Watershops, and certain other places. The need of recreational reading by these men was so obvious that the library supplied deposits of books be- fore the American Library Association be- gan operations; and it has continued to care for these groups, requisitioning from the American Library Association the more technical books and special publications not obtainable by gift in the city. Books for the soldiers have been solicited con- tinuously, and have been shipped to the camps and dispatch offices. Pictures have been gathered and classified for use in military instruction at Camp Devens, and scrapbooks have been made for the hos- pitals. In March when the book campaign week was instituted, the plan was tried of enlisting the pupils in the high schools. In proportion to the effort involved, the results were surprising. The newspapers responded generously, and for seventeen days contained items ranging from a few paragraphs to special articles of two or three columns. The cooperation of the high school principals was obtained, and an opportunity secured to address the pu- pils in each of the three schools. They were asked to assume entire responsibility for gathering the books; and they took hold with a will. A wholesome rivalry be- tween schools set in, and the result was more than 34,000 excellent books. Mem- bers of the Woman's Club lent automobiles, a local box company presented packing cases, trucking companies furnished trans- portation, and the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense helped in plating and preparing the books for circu- lation. The library has, naturally, been active in the movement for food conservation. It promptly printed lists of books to help the housekeeper make the best use of food sup- plies, and it has, of course, displayed all sorts of charts and posters showing the nutritive value of foods. The newspaper is doubtless the best medium for arousing widespread interest, but you cannot de- pend upon people's taking the trouble to clip; for recipes, food cards, or other ma- terial which is to be kept and consulted frequently, other methods of distribution are desirable. In this connection, the pub- lic library affords an admirable channel for reaching the homes of the people. Be- 69 sides printing lists on gardening, beekeep- ing and similar subjects, the Springfield library has procured and distributed thou- sands and thousands of pamphlets on diet, canning, vegetable raising, thrift, etc. With the aid of the high schools and of the Hampden County Improvement League, it prepared model meals for meatless, wheat- less and other days, all showing a correct- ly balanced diet. Throughout these ex- hibitions the cases were surrounded by housewives copying the recipes and dili- gently figuring the calories. The library then arranged with the Committee of Pub- lic Safety for a continuous series of ex- hibits and demonstrations in the main building and also in the branches. It has tucked in library books, when borrowed, thousands of excellent recipes to encour- age the use of substitutes for meat, wheat, sugar, fats and oils and please note the adjective excellent, for many of the recipes printed have been almost as deadly as en- emy shells. In the same way, at appro- priate branches recipes have been distrib- uted in foreign languages, and in one in- stance a speaker was obtained to address a gathering of foreign housewives. Of course, pictures, notices, posters and lists have been constantly displayed in aid of all patriotic movements, and the month- ly Bulletin has constantly urged their im- portance. The reference department has gathered material on women's war work, and maintains also a directory and regis- ter of local organizations engaged in war work. The hall and rooms of the library and museums have been placed freely at the service of patriotic organizations, and parties have been held for the soldiers. Precedent has gone to the wall, and solici- tation in the library of contributions for furthering patriotic work has been al- lowed. Campaigns for the Red Cross, the Red Triangle, the War Chest, Liberty Loans, and allied projects have been as- sisted, the librarian and other members of the staff have served as canvassers, and they have also represented the library on committees for food conservation, Ameri- canization, draft registration and the like. A meeting of librarians in the western part of the state was called to further war gardening, conservation and thrift. A booth was installed to raise money for the Young Men's Christian Association; a sta- tion established for selling thrift stamps to the public; and thrift clubs were or- ganized among the children. In short, like public libraries everywhere, the institution has tried to cooperate in every possible way with food and fuel conservation com- missions, with the Council for National De- fense, the Committee of Public Safety, and all similar organizations. But the signifi- cant fact is that while for months with perhaps a single exception, all work of this kind in the library was undertaken by the initiative of the library, the field of its usefulness is now recognized. Within the space of two days, for example, it has been asked to further the Red Cross knit- ting campaign, to distribute circulars for thrift stamp week and to take charge of the distribution of sugar cards. Not least important in these trying times is the opportunity the library affords for relaxation from nervous strain. With this in mind, incidentally, a little booklist was printed entitled "Nonsense and humor." The war is continually present, conscious- ly or subconsciously and the resulting ten- sion is depressing. Many a man or woman finds in books which lead the thoughts into other fields, the relief and refresh- ment that make for sanity and emo- tional poise. We should not forget, however, that probably the most fundamental service is rendered by the library through its large collection of books on the war. A catalog with descriptive notes was printed and 4,000 copies distributed, listing the best and most popular. Books of this kind ex- ert a powerful influence in educating pub- lic opinion. Circulated by the thousands throughout the whole community, they give an intelligent comprehension of the issues at stake, further unity of though; and action, stiffen the determination to win, and promote in no small measure in- creased willingness to bear the depriva- 60 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE tions, hardships and losses necessary for success. The record, In truth, is modest enough, especially when contrasted with the serv- ice and sacrifice of those who hazard their all in the battle front. But no great war nowadays can be won in the field alone; the men in khaki, to win, must be backed by the whole civil population at home. Here lies the opportunity of the library. Through the public library system, the people can be reached as by no other agency save the press, and with an influ- ence in some ways different and more en- during. In aiding the production of muni- tions and food, in assisting all forms of community effort necessary to maintain the fighting forces, in making known and reenforcing the wishes of Governmental agencies and commissions, in stimulating informed and intelligent patriotism, and in sustaining the morale of the nation, the li- brary finds a work by no means to be de- spised. And library workers may take comfort in knowing .that their effort in their home libraries forms a real and im- portant, if humble, part of the vast war machinery. THE SPIRIT OF THE WAR LITERATURE: PROSE BY GEORGE F. BOWERMAN, Librarian, Public Library of the District of Columbia The student of the prose writings of this war is already confronted with an em- barrassment of riches perhaps unequaled in the history of literature. Incomplete bibliographies have recorded more than 15,000 titles of books and pamphlets on the war. The purpose of this paper is to se- lect from this mass a very few of the most important and typical books for comment. I do not intend to be critical, but I shall attempt to show something of the spirit of the books selected for consideration. Although an interesting subject for study, the books generally considered to have had an influence in fathering the war, such as the writings of Treitschke, Bern- hardi and Nietzsche must be omitted, as must also the writings treating of the causes and political aspects of the war, even though they include the significant and eloquent utterances of President Wil- son, watched for the world over; the books by James M. Beck that did so much to bring to America conviction of the jus- tice of the cause of the Allies; Friedrich Naumann's "Central Europe," regarded as the official statement of Germany's terri- torial ambitions in this war; the answer to Naumann by Andr6 ChSradame in his "Pangerman plot unmasked" and other writings, and the group of books by Ger- mans who have left Germany and are now opposing her, "J'accuse, by a German" and "The crime," by the same author, and "Be- cause I am a German" and "The coming democracy" by Hermann Fernau. Limita- tions of time compel me to represent this phase of my subject by two books only, treating of the psychology of the war in England and France, with mention of a third book on the psychology of German kultur. The spirit and temper of England can- not be better shown than by a brief ex- tract from a fascinating book by Profes- sor Gilbert Murray, entitled "Faith, war, and policy" (1917). From this gentle Ox- ford don and classicist we have the right- eous indignation that any right-minded man must feel at the present time. We must not hate, we are told (in August, 1914), but there is to be no softening of fiber resolution rather "to face death and kill." "For there is that side of it too. We have now not only to strain every nerve to help our friend we must strain every nerve also to injure our enemy. This Is horrible, but we must try to face the truth. For my own part, I find that I do desper- ately desire to hear of German dread- naughts sunk in the North Sea. Mines are BOWERMAN 61 treacherous engines of death; but I should be only too glad to help to lay one of them. When I see that 20,000 Germans have been killed in such-and-such an engagement, and next day that it was only 2,000, I am sor- ry. That is where we are. We are fight- ing for that which we love, whatever we call it. It is the Right, but it is something even more than the Right. For our lives, for England, for the liberty of western Europe, for the possibility of peace and friendship between nations; for something that we would rather die than lose. And lose it we shall unless we can beat the Germans." Something of the French spirit may be gathered from an unusual book by Gustave LeBon, "The psychology of the great war" (1916), which aims not to examine the historical events of the war but rather "to analyze the psychological phenomena which surround its genesis and evolution." His theme is the preponderance of what he calls the mystic over the rational bases of action in the present struggle. To quote a few extracts from his introduction: "The present war is a contest between psychological forces. Irreconcilable ideals are grappling with one another. Individual liberty is drawn up against collective servitude, personal initiative against the tyranny of state socialism, old habits of in- ternational integrity and respect for treaties against the supremacy of the can- non. The ideal of the absolutism of force, whose triumph Germany is now striving to secure, is nothing new, for in antiquity it reigned supreme Men were beginning to forget the dark ages in which the weak were pitilessly crushed, the useless bru- tally cast off, and the ideals of the nations were conquest, slaughter and pillage. But the belief that the progress of civilization had once and for all destroyed the barbar- ous customs of primitive periods was a dangerous illusion, for new hordes of sav- ages, whose ancestral ferocity the cen- turies have not mitigated, even now dream of enslaving the world that they may ex- ploit it." And from the concluding chapter: "Even though the German armies should win a hundred battles and lay a hundred cities waste, the world needs liberty so much and has so many means of defense that no Caesar may hope to subject it to his laws." And again: "All these disasters will have no result if our will to win persists, for the conquest of a nation's territory is not enough. To dominate a people its soul must be van- quished too Germany has not enfeebled the will of any nation which she has in- vaded. All of them would rather die than submit The future depends, beyond all else, upon the continuance of our will. CONQUER OR DIE, BUT NEVER YIELD! must be the brief watchword of the na- tions which Germany would enslave. Neither Nature, nor Man, nor Fate itself, can withstand a strong and steadfast will." Although published early in the war and then criticized by some as not sufficiently judicial, Dr. Thomas F. A. Smith's "The soul of Germany" is now, in the light of Germany's crimes, seen to be an acute and illuminating study of German character and ideals. The author, an Englishman, spent twelve years in Germany as a stu- dent and teacher and as a lecturer in the University of Erlangen and throughout the country. His book is especially important for its analysis of the German system of education, in which he characterizes the German schools as intellectual barracks and the universities as high schools of kultur and brutality. Defending his state- ments from German official statistics of vice and crime, the author makes an ap- palling but unanswerable indictment of the moral state of the German people that helps to explain their conduct of this war, without regard for honesty, honor, decency, pity, or chivalry. From the books of discussion and criti- cism let us turn to the literature of per- sonal experience. One of the most interesting and widely read contributions to the literature of the war is a book so unique as almost to defy classification. I refer to Sir Oliver Lodge's "Raymond, or life and death," a memoir of the great scientist's youngest son who was killed in action. The exceptional character of the book lies in the fact that it not only pictures the son while alive and doing a man's work in the trenches, but also follows him beyond the grave and by means of what the father regards as authentic messages received through a trance medium represents him as a still 62 SARATOGA SPRINGS CONFERENCE living personality, exhibiting the same in- terest in and affection for his family that he felt in his life on earth. As is well known, Sir Oliver Lodge, a scientist of the first rank, has long been a believer in psychic communications between the living and those who are physically dead. From these communications the author argues a certainty of the continuity of life. He holds also that without such a belief all the great sacrifice of human lives that the war involves has no meaning. Dr. Conan Doyle says of this book: "It is a new revelation of God's dealing with man, and it will strengthen, not weaken, the central spirit of Christianity. It is one of the few books of which it can be said that no one can read it with care and understanding and be the same man or woman afterward. If you are a be- liever in such things already it will have left that belief wider and more definite. If you are not a believer you will find opened up to you a new world which you cannot lightly dismiss from your philos- ophy of life." The books that make the widest appeal to those who are taking only a distant and safe part in the war are those which re- late the experiences of combatants and noncombatants in camp, trench, hospital, and throughout the belligerent and invaded countries. From the large and growing list of books by fighting men it is possible to choose only five or six of the most vivid. "Over the top," by Sergeant Arthur Guy Empey, is deservedly the most popular war book by a soldier. Empey, or "Emp," as he calls himself when, on the public platform, he puts the punch of his vigor- ous personality into the interpretation of his thrilling story, has lived a great deal in his relatively few years. After sixteen years spent in knocking around the world, including service in the United States Reg- ular Army, he had settled to his engineer- ing profession when the European War broke out. The news of the sinking of the Lusitania caused him to write emergency telegrams to the members of his National Guard command ready to be sent as soon as the expected order should come from Washington to report for duty. One day after the messages had been covered with months of dust, a lucrative professional offer came over the 'phone and to his own surprise he found himself declining it because he was off for England. Arriv- ing there he enlisted in the British army, went to the front, always volunteered for extra hazardous duties, was wounded three or four times, once lying for thirty-six hours unconscious in a shell hole. His necessary surgery included a pretty opera- tion in facial restoration. A wound in the shoulder prevented further fighting, so that after eighteen months he was dis- charged as "physically unfit for further war service." Since his return to America he has written "Over the top," and other sketches first published serially and later issued in book form as "First call." "Over the top" is a perfectly direct ac- count of his experiences as a British Tom- my. One gets no heroics, but rather the hard work, the fatigue, the discomfort, the filth, the torture endured from cooties, the danger and suffering, and also the humor, the fun, and the practical jokes. Early in his book he speaks of some conversation as happening after he had learned to "un- derstand English," meaning of course the Cockney and other dialects of unlettered Englishmen. For his readers he has fur- nished a thirty-five page glossary entitled "Tommy's dictionary of the trenches." Some of these terms are "Blighty," mean- ing home; "No man's land"; "Carry on," keeping at it; "the best of luck," the Jonah phrase of the trenches, used whenever a man goes "over the top" or into extra hazardous- duty ;