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A clear, vivid, and entertaining account of the wonderful march of a thousand miles, made by the author's little caravan through the interior of Persia to St. Petersburg, during the summer of 1875. THE MARVELLOUS COUNTRY; or, Thirty Years in Arizona and New Mexico. Containing an authentic his- tory of this Wonderful Country and its Ancient Civiliza- tion, with a full description of its immense Mineral Wealth, its remarkable Urban Antiquities and magnificent Mount- ain Scenery, together with a full and complete History ot the Apache Tnbe of Indians. By SAMUEL W. COZZENS. Illustrated with more than 100 engravings. Cloth, $2.50. Sold by all book-sellers, and news-dealers, and sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of price. Libraries supplied. Catalogues mailed free to any address on application. LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers, BOSTON. PRESS OF FRANCIS HART & Co. N. Y. THE Library Journal CHIEFLY DEVOTED TO VOL. 7. Nos. 7-8. JULY AUGUST, 1882. CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS AT CINCINNATI. Contents : Page. THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. Justin Winsor . . . 123 CLASSIFICATION. J. N, Lamed 125 PROGRESS OF LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE. W.F.Poole. 130 SELECTING AND TRAINING LIBRARY ASSISTANTS. James L. Whitney 136 AIDS AND GUIDES FOR READERS. 5. .S. Green . . 13$ A NEW CLASSIFICATION AND NOTATION. J. Schwartz 148 PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THE PUBLIC. James W. Ward 167 CLASSIFICATION OF THE BOOK ARTS. C: A. Cutter. 168 Page. THE CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS. Lloyd P. Smith . 172 FICTION IN LIBRARIES. /. L. Beardsley 175 CATALOGUING. L. E. Jones ' . . 177 CHARGING SYSTEMS. K~. A. Linderfelt 178 YEARLY REPORT ON BOYS AND GIRLS READING. Miss C. M. Hewins 182 THE PROCEEDINGS 191 BlBLIOGRAFY 209 ANONYMS AND PSEUDONYMS 309 LIBRARY PURCHASE- LIST 210 GENERAL NOTES 212 NEW YORK: F. LEYPOLDT, Publisher, 13 and 15 Park Row. LONDON : TRUBNER & Co., 57 and 59 Ludgate Hill. YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION, $3.00. MONTHLY NUMBERS, 30 cts. Price to Europe, or countries in the Union, 15*. per annum ; single numbers, is. dd. Entered at the Post-Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter. 122 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. \July-Aug., '82. IMPORTANT NEW BOOKS. " Wine that inaketh glad the heart of man." A HISTOR Y OF CHAMPA GNE. With Notes on the other Sparkling Wines of France. By HENRY VIZETELLY, Wine Juror at the Vienna and Paris Exhibitions ; author of " The Wines of the World," etc. ; Chevalier of the Order of Franz-Joseph. Illustrated with 350 engravings. One elegant 4to vol- ume, appropriately bound in bevelled cloth boards, richly and emblematically gilt. $6. THE TEMPLE: Sacied Poems and Private Ejaculations. By Mr. GEORGE HERBERT. New edition, with an Introductory Essay by J. HENRY SHORTHOUSE, author of "John Ipglesant." This is a fac- simile reprint by typography of the original edition of 1633. No pains have been spared to make it an exact replica as regards size, paper, print, and binding. Small crown. Sprinkled sheep, imitation of original binding. $2. GERMAN CULTURE AND CHRISTIANITY. Their Controversy in the Time 1770-1880. By JOSEPH GOSTWICK, author of " Outline of German Literature," etc. 8vo, pp. xvi-499. Cloth, $6. CONTENTS I. Limitations. II. Deism. III. Rationalism. IV. Lessing. V. Herder. VI. Jacobi and his Friends. VII. Kant's Moral Philosophy. VIII. Fichte's Religious Philosophy. IX. Carlyle. X. Practical Results ; Transition. XI. Poetry; Klopstock ; Wieland. XII. Goethe. XIII. Schiller. XIV. The" Romantic School," etc. XV. Mysticism; Speculative Philosophy. XVI. Schelling ; Hegel. XVII. Schleiermacher. XVIII. Strauss; Baur. XIX. Christian Evidences. HISTORICAL MEMORIALS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY. By ARTHUR PENRHYN STAN- LEY, D.D., late Dean of Westminster. With illustrations. 8vo, pp. (45) 540. $6. *$* This volume is printed from the copy left by the Dean at his death and containing his final corrections and additions. CHAP-BOOK'S OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTUR Y. With Fac-similes, Notes, and Introduc- tion. By JOHN ASHTON. With numerous fac-similes of the old-fashioned wood blocks, ismo, $2.25. The Same. Large paper, $21. *** This volume contains an interesting account of the curious little chap-books published and sold by chapmen or peddlers in the eighteenth century, and now for the first time given to the public in a collected form. It is copiously il- lustrated with upward of one hundred fac-similes of the rude but characteristic wood engravings, without which the book would be of little value. The original editions of these Chap-books are highly prized by collectors, and fetch high prices whenever the rare occasion happens that they are offered for sale. The author of this volume says that he gave ^24. 13. 6 for nine volumes, containing ninety-nine Chap-books, an average of five shillings each. The books were originally sold at one penny. Considering the price literature of this kind will bring at the present day, they were exceedingly cheap. NEW AND REVISED EDITION. THE M YTHOLOGY OF THE AR YAN NA TIONS. By the Rev. Sir GEORGE W. Cox, Bart., M.A. One vol., 8vo, pp. xxviii-594. Cloth, $4.50. CONTENTS BOOK I. Chap. I. Popular Theories on the Origin and the Growth of Mythology. Chap. II. The Re- lation of Mythology to Language. Chap. III. The Source of Mythical Speech. Chap. IV. The Developments of Myths. Chap. V. Diffusion of Myths. Chap. VI. Mythical Phrases as Furnishing Materials for the-'Teutonic Epic Poems, and the Legends of Arthur and Roland. BOOK II. Chap. I. The Ethereal Heavens. Section I. Dyaus. II. Varuna and Mitra. III. India. IV. Brahma. V. Zeus. VI. Odin, Woden, Wuotan. VII. Thunder, Donar, Thor. VIII. Fro. IX. Heimdall, Bragi, and Oegir. Chap. II. THE LIGHT. Section I. Surya and Savitri. II. Soma. III. Correlative Deities. IV. The Dawn. V. Dawn Goddesses. VI. Athene. VII. Aphrodite. VIII. Here. IX. The Erinyes. X. Hellenic Sun Gods and Heroes. XI. Teutonic Sun Gods and Heroes. XII. The Vivifying Sun. XIII. The Sun Gods of Later Hindu Mythology. XIV. The Moon. XV. The Hunters and Dancers of the Heavens. Chap. III. The Lost Treasure. Section I. The Golden Fleece. II. Helen. III. Children of the Sun. IV. The Theban Wars. Chap. IV. The Fire. Section I. Agni. II. Phoroneus and Hestia. III. Hephaistos and Loki. IV. Prometheus. V. The Light- ning. Chap. V. The Winds. Section I. Vayu and the Maruts. II. Hermes. III. Orpheus. IV. Pan. V. Amphion and the Zethos. VI. Aiolos and Ares. Chap. VI. The Waters. Section I. '1 he Dwellers in the Sea. II. The Lord of the Waters. III. The Rivers and Fountains. Chap. VII. The Clouds. Section I. The Children of the Mist. II. The Cloud-Land. III. The Nymphs and Swan-Maidens. Chap. VIII. The Earth. Section I. Dionysos. II. Demeter. III. The Children of the Earth. IV. The Priests of the Great Mother. V. The People of the Woods and Waters. Chap. IX. The Under World. Section I. Hades. II. Elysion. Chap. X. The Darkness. Section I. Vritra and Ahi. II. The Latin Myth. III. Bellerophdn. IV. The Theban Myth. V. The Delphian and Cretan Myths. VI. The Gloaming and the Night. VII. The Physical Struggle Spiritualized. VIII. The Semitic and Aryan Devil. SCRIBNER & WELFORD, 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. CINCINNATI, MAY, 1882. ANNUAL ADDRESS. BY JUSTIN WINSOR, LIBRARIAN OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY. T ADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE L ASSOCIATION: We pay to-day our first visit as an Association to the Valley of the Mississippi. Since our initial meeting in 1876 the principal seaboard cities have welcomed us. We have now moved somewhere near the centre of our American population, and I can- not but hope it augurs an increased library development in the Western, or, I should rather say, in the middle regions, of our country. It is, I am afraid, true, that with all its wealth of books, for the student and the people, the seaboard seems still to develop more conspicu- ously. Within a half year we have seen you will allow me to say it a native of Mas- sachusetts lay the foundation in a Southern State of a great popular library to supplement the scholarly collection given to it by another native of that same State ; and these two merchants never so much princes as when patrons of learning and instruction have caused the city of Baltimore long to remember the names of Peabody and Pratt. It is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when Chicago will associate with the name of New- berry an active work equally shining and equally or even more munificent in its inception. And what shall be the name which Cincinnati is to honor? Its excellent free library, nobly sus- tained by the people themselves, always, it must be confessed, the best resource for such an institution, could, I doubt not, to the advantage of learning, lend its organization to the creation of some special department should such become opportunely the foster-child of any of its liberal citizens. For while it is true that the generalizing of libraries best fits them for the work of popular instruction, it is equally certain that conspicuous strength in one direction gives a collection rank in the com- munity of libraries ; and rank of this sort is not a mere vain-glorious pretension, it means substantial scholarship, the pushing of the bounds of knowledge, and upon this follows fellowship with the great collections and repute among scholars, wherever they are. It makes the library, which has such strength, the Mecca of devotees. It makes it friends wherever there is learning. It gives it a fame that tells for its advantage in many ways. I cannot too strenuously impress upon all whose lot it is to control the development of libraries, the great desirability of giving a part of their energies in making their libraries noteworthy in some way. Of course it is only the large libraries that can hope to take one of the great departments of knowledge and make it an exemplar; but every library can find some minor topic of local interests, like the history of its neighborhood, like the growth of some controlling thought or power which sprung from a brain nurtured in its clustering homes. I must confess I take 126 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. and its pride. There has seemed to be always, among men of special learning, some taint of personal feeling, not altogether generous, in their quite common objections to a working classification of literature, as distinguished from a theoretic methodology. They have scorned it, perhaps, very much as the old pio- neers of the American wilderness might have scorned guide-boards and finger-posts in the forest, and resented the compass-work of the surveyor, blazing township lines and staking roads. It was not in nature that Natty Bumpo should be friendly to a kind of work which cheapened his wood-craft, taking something from the value of the lore that he had spent his life in acquiring. The trackless thicket was full of pointing fingers for him. He found his chart in the mosses upon the boles of the trees, in the bend of their boughs, in the course of the streams, and in all " the lay of the land." His sufficient compass swung always in the heavens, through night and day. What won- der if he scorned the ignorant folk who needed highways and maps? What wonder if he looked jealously at the opening of the roads which let them in, to swarm over his hunting estates? There is something of that feeling, I fancy, rather instinctive and unconscious, in the mind of the scholar, very often, disposing him to be unfriendly to the classification of books. He is at home in the literary wilder- ness ; relishes the exploration of it ; loves the exercise of his own craft in feeling and finding his way. He tracks author to author, back through references to prior authorities and from citations to original texts, with the zest of a hunter tracking game. I can well understand that the systematic cataloguer who invades his library with plans of formal classification, pro- posing divisions and subdivisions, sections and sub-sections, in the rectangular symmetry of a Dutch garden, with every tree of knowledge and bramble-bush of folly nicely ticketed and numbered, and with trim paths leading straightly to each I can well understand that the eco- nomical inventor of such vulgar contrivances is more than likely to be obnoxious to the scholarly soul. But democracy must have its way, not in politics alone, and all things are given over to it. The public library is no longer the seques- tered academic retreat of a studious few ; it is the common town-school of the inquisitive people. The scholar loses nothing in it; his wants are as well considered as of old ; the treasures that he values are as carefully sought and kept ; there is a cloister or two reserved for him in some quiet corner of the place ; but he must elbow in and out with the .rowd. He must come and go on equal terms with the school-girl, who is under orders to compose a class essay on the Invention of Printing and who is looking for a helpful book ; with the boy who has been fired by a story of the " Four Years of Fighting " and wants more of the same sort ; with the lady who is going to Eu- rope and must instruct herself as to what she shall see ; with the speculator who has bought shares in a Colorado silver mine and proposes to look into mineralogy and metallurgy a little ; with the clergyman who has a sermon in mind on the moral bearings of the Chinese question, and needs to fortify himself with pertinent facts ; and with all the young and old who are moved, by special occasions, or by the hunger that is in them, to go gleaning here and there, by random paths and by-paths, in the great field of book-knowledge which a public library aims to enclose, more or less, for their satis- faction. It must be as hospitable to the least of these, and to the smallest of their wants, as to the greatest of scholars and the profoundest of the researches that he pursues. It must be more helpful to them than to him, because they need help more, and because there are really better harvests for mankind to be gathered from the broadcasting of little seeds in common fields, than from the planting of the rare acorns which produce great oaks. So the library must be shaped and organized to meet the pop- ular and common demand upon it, and it is that which makes careful classification a neces- sity now, if it was not in earlier times. In his paper upon the subject last year, Mr. Cutter, speaking only of the classed arrange- ment of books on the shelves, put the promi- nent reasons for it in a few apt words. If the public which makes use of a library can have access to the shelves, " no catalog," he says, " will compare, for educational power, with the LARNED. 127 sight of the books themselves, or, for conven- ience, with a thuro and minute shelf-arrange- ment." If the public must be excluded from the shelves, the librarian, on his own part, needs as perfect a shelf-arrangement " to assist him in recommending books to his readers." But, I confess, it seems to me that the advan- tages of classification are but half obtained if it is confined to the shelf-arrangement. I be- lieve that a systematic catalogue, which repeats the classed arrangement of the books in a classed arrangement of its cards, will go farther than any other form of catalogue, or than any possible exertion of the most accomplished librarian, can go toward compensating a public which is barred from handling and examining the books in their places. I know that I am with a small minority in holding to this belief; and I know that, being scarcely more than an apprentice in library work, it is very presump- tuous in me to hold an opinion against the majority of the master craftsmen : but I cannot help it. I have tried as hard in this matter as in some others to be orthodox, without suc- cess. I can well understand that a catalogue systematically arranged, without a subject-index, and without an accompanying finding-list of authors and titles arranged alphabetically, must be a snare and a torment. But put it into a library with the full complement of tools which belong with it, and I firmly believe that nine in ten of the patrons of the library, young and old, scholarly and otherwise, will find more help and comfort in it than in the best diction- ary catalogue that ever was made. In the library which I have charge of, we adopted, substantially, a few years ago, the system worked out by Mr. Dui. We modi- fied it in some particulars, and Mr. Dui will pardon me for saying that if I had then pos- sessed the small increase of experience which I have gained since, I should have modified his classification quite extensively in some of its parts; but that is an "aside." Our books had been previously in fixed locations. There had been a certain rough shelf-classification of them, going only so far as to distinguish the principal departments of literature. We had a very good dictionary catalogue, quite lately put in print, at heavy cost, and with a card supplement to it on the same plan. But the troubles of the fixed location of books had come upon us, and our classification, such as it was, was being thrown into dire confusion. We accordingly undertook an entire recon- struction of the library, and adopted the ideas of Mr. Dui in their completeness. That is to say, we not only marshalled our books upon the shelves in the open order of the ingenious system of classification and location which he proposed, and thereby secured perpetual free- dom for the expansion of classes, and for future sub-classification to almost any desirable extent, but we also made a subject catalogue for public use, in which the primary cards are arranged exactly as the books are arranged, but with many secondary reference cards added, to represent the same book under different subject-headings, whenever it is many- sided. We prepared and printed a subject- index to this catalogue, enlarged somewhat from Mr. Dui's model ; and we made an alphabetical card catalogue or finding-list of authors and titles, for the immediate use of the librarian and his assistants. We have now been work- ing with these tools for three or four years. We had been working for a longer time before with our dictionary catalogue. There has been, therefore, some experience in our library on both sides of the question, and the result with us is so entirely favorable to the systematic catalogue, indexed, for ex- ploration of subjects, with an alphabetical find- ing catalogue for particular book-calls, that I do not know one person making use of the library who would willingly see our present catalogues give place to a dictionary arrange- ment of the cards. The great advantage which seems to me to belong to the systematic catalogue is in the juxtaposition of related subjects ; and I do not value the mere convenience of that so much as I do its suggestiveness, and the helpful lead- ing it affords in many investigations. You may have in a dictionary arrangement the same subject-entries, under the same headings, but they are scattered as the accidents of orthography fling them. You have "America" in all its aspects at one end of the catalogue, with the "United States " as a political division 128 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. of America at the other end ; with thirty-eight subdividing States strewn here and there be- tween, and with the cities of the Union sprinkled chance-wise in the medley like plums in a pudding. Taking an illustration or two from the great printed catalogue of the Boston Athenaeum, which is the exemplar of its kind, you have " Religion " in Vol. 4, " Mythology " in Vol. 3, "Atheism" in Vol. i, "Deism "in Vol. 2, " Theism" in Vol. 5 ; you have " Med- icine in Vol. 3, " Pathology " in Vol. 4, " Therapeutics " in Vol. 5, " Hygiene " in Vol. 2, "Anatomy" in Vol. I, "Physiology" and "Surgery" in Vol. 4; you have " Banks and Banking" in Vol. I, "Money" in Vol. 3, " Wages " and " Trades Unions " in Vol. 5, " Labor" in Vol. 3, " Free Trade" in Vol. 2, " Political Economy" in Vol. 4. It is true you may have your references to ricochet you from one set of entries to another ; but it is tiresome leaping, and you lose, by for- getfulness, a great deal on the way. I do maintain that an arrangement which brings universals and particulars the general and the special the whole and its parts the family and its members as much together as it is practicable to bring them, in due order of relationship and subordination, is very greatly helpful to almost any quest in bibliography that one may wish to make. Of course the many-sided relations of many subjects will be very incompletely and imperfectly represented in the best working system of clas- sification that can be attained ; but if it reason- ably brings together the things and thoughts and the classes of things and thoughts which are most importantly connected to one another, it cannot fail to make all common research an easier matter than it can ever be made by other methods. Within the past year an elaborate scheme of classification has been published by Mr. F. B. Perkins, of the San Francisco Public Library. It is entitled by the author " A Rational Classi- fication of Literature, for Shelving and Catalogu- ing Books ina Library, with Alphabetical Index." In calling his scheme "a rational classification " I do not understand Mr. Perkins to claim that he has reconciled the practical exigencies and conveniences of a library arrangement with the strictly rational or logical classing of literature ; but he has used the term rather to signify the rational freedom of his plan, as distinguished particularly from the artificial limitations of Mr. Dui's "Decimal System." He says: "The plan here offered wholly neglects decimalism, and seeks to give to each subject just as many subdivisions as it requires. Under ' Europe,' for instance, it allows, not ten countries, but as many countries, divisions, etc., as there are." But there is more than decimalism neg- lected in Mr. Perkins' plan. He has secured entire freedom in arranging the divisions and subdivisions of subjects, by casting every ar- tificiality of system aside. He has trammelled himself by no invention of that systematic no- tation, or "sign language," as Mr. Cutter has called it, by which most classifications are ex- pressed and represented. He has made his divisions and subdivisions "to coincide with facts," as he remarks, not caring for the order in which they fall. The result is eight "classes," divided into seventy "chapters," and those subdivided again into some fourteen hundred "sections;" but there is no scheme of signs or artifice of notation to signify the relation of each section to its chapter and each chapter to its class. The sections are numbered in one series of Arabic figures, from the begin- ning to the end, and the numbers are, of course, without signification. It is this which constitutes, as I understand, the rationality of Mr. Perkins' plan the rationality of a perfect natural freedom of classification, constrained by no systematic artificialities. Without doubt there is importance in that freedom, and it seems to me that Mr. Perkins has used it most excellently. I have gone over his scheme many times and found its details hard to criticise. Every kind of book seems to be happily provided for, with perhaps the least possible duplication of the places which the same book will equally fit. Some librarians object, I believe, that the classing is too minute, and that it is carried into divisions which are rather theoretical than suggested by actual books demanding to be placed. I do not find it so. I have not been able to put my finger upon a section that would not be tenanted in any library which is fairly well proportioned LARNED. 129 for general use. And can there be too much minuteness of classification in a library that is organized upon the movable or relative plan of book-location? I can readily see that where the fixed location is adhered to there may be a limit, soon reached, beyond which the assorting of books becomes troublesome ; but it does not seem to be so in the other case. When books are marshalled, like the units of an army, by corps, by divisions, by brigades, by regiments, by companies, and by files, and the place of each book, like the place of each man, is fixed by lines of relative definition which no move- ment disturbs, the grading and classing ar- rangement becomes then a feature of simplic- ity rather than of complexity, and it can hardly be carried too far for convenience. In fact, we probably owe the recent increase of attention which classification has received to the intro- duction of the plan of relative location in libra- ries, and the more elaborated schemes which have been produced during a few years past are in natural response to its demands. Of course the general scheme of Mr. Perkins is abundantly open to criticism. I say "of course," because I assume that nobody can work out a plan of classification that will satisfy anybody else, nor satisfy hrmself longer than twenty-four hours after he has finished it. There is no best arrangement. There is no structural law that is absolute enough to be recognized by two persons together, nor by the same person in two different states of mind. The reasons for and against this adjustment and that, in a hundred particulars, are too slight, too nicely balanced, and too unimportant for differ- ent minds to be determined by them identically. To a very great extent it is a matter of whim, of idiosyncrasy, like the planning of a house. So we can all of us criticise every scheme of classification that ever has been or ever will be produced. I see a dozen prominent points on which I might put myself in dispute with Mr. Perkins; but to what purpose? It would scarcely be criticism. It would only be setting notions of mine against notions of his, and also, without doubt, against notions of yours. For example, I have a certain notion of my own concerning the treatment of biography. If I ever ventured to frame a scheme of classification for myself, I think I should nearly extinguish Biography as a class division in it. I should associate the lives of men with the several matters on which their lives were spent. I should distribute the biographies of statesmen, soldiers, and like public characters, through the divisions of political history to which they respectively belong. I should annex the biographies of authors to the departments of literature in which they worked ; those of artists to their several arts ; those of divines to church history and theology, and so throughout. But how marry would agree with me ? If, however, Mr. Perkins' classification is to escape criticism, I cannot let his notation for it pass so easily. That seems to me to be the limping part of his system. As I mentioned before, he has simply numbered his partitions, principal and subordinate, general and particu- lar, in one consecutive series, straight through from beginning to end. There is nothing to represent the distinction between one main class and another, nor to mark a boundary between them. The last section in Science is 3,533, and the first section in Arts is 3,534. There is no flag nor monument on the line, neither there nor elsewhere. To provide for the additional subdivisions which special li- braries may need in certain places, or which may be called for by the future development of new phases of knowledge, new epochs in history, and the like, there is a liberal allow- ance of blank numbers dropped here and there through the series, where the possible need for them may be reasonably guessed. Now, this contrivance exhibits to my mind two very serious defects : One is, the total want of elas- ticity in it. It is of a texture that will not stretch to fit different growths and needs. It is a pattern of set proportions, cut in inflexible stuff. And the device of blank numbers, to be a substitute for elasticity in the texture of the plan, is awkward and aggravating. It reminds one of the expedient of a prudent mother, who makes garments too big for her child, and then gathers up the clumsy surplus in " tucks," that are to be let out as the urchin grows. The tucks may be well distributed, and there may be quite enough of them, and they may serve their purpose perfectly, but they offend the aesthetic 130 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. sense. I am sure that Mr. Perkins might invent something less primitive and more ingenious if he would take the trouble. The other defect is the sheer, unrelieved strain which this long serial numeration of class divisions makes upon the memory of those who must learn, in practice, more or less per- fectly, to identify each subject by its number. There is no mnemonic aid not a peg for the memory to lay hold of in climbing or descend- ing the long arithmetical slide. Even a jog in the numbers, at the eight main class-dividing places, would be something of an easement ; but Mr. Perkins has denied even that. I am sure there must be an experience of trouble from this cause in the working of his plan. No doubt it is possible to attach too much im- portance to mnemonic features in arranging the notation of a classifying plan, and to secure them at the expense of too many artificialities. I think that has been done in Mr. Bui's decimal system, although the conveniences produced are very great, as I have found. But such features are of too much value to be thrust en- tirely out of the account. Mr. Perkins wished to escape the fetters of " decimalism," and he has an equal prejudice against combinations of figures and letters, with which prejudice I can sympathize ; for there is a cabalistic look to the sign-language of that mixture which is appal- ing to ordinary minds. The key to it may be simple enough and easily learned, but it has the appearance of a hieratic mystery, and is irksome for that reason. I do not wonder that Mr. Perkins wished to escape from it ; I do not much wonder that he ran away from Mr. Bui's imperious decimals. But is there not some mode in which he could joint and articulate his system without resorting to either? That is the question which I hope he will take seriously into consideration. I have been somewhat leisurely in discussing the " Rational Classification " of Mr. Perkins, because it has proved to be the single subject- matter of my report, as far as I am acquainted with the work of the year in this department. I had expected to have the privilege of review- ing a scheme of classification worked out by Mr. Schwartz, of the Apprentices' Library, New York, and another by Mr. Smith, of the Philadelphia Library Company, concerning both of which there have been whispers in the air for some time ; but neither of these is yet pub- lished. They have been reserved, I believe, for presentation at this meeting, and will prob- ably bring the whole subject of classifica- tion into discussion, in the broadest possible way. PROGRESS OF LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE. YEARLY REPORT, BY W. F. POOLE, LIBRARIAN OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, CHICAGO. pERHAPS the Executive Committee as- 1 signed to me the duty of making a report on the "Progress of Library Architecture" because I am known to favor progress. At the last meeting of the Association at Wash- ington, two papers on " Library Architecture," and the discussion which followed them, brought the subject into prominence, and elicited from the librarians present the expres- sion of an unanimous opinion in favor of a radical reform. In one of these papers I had the honor to set forth objections to the con- ventional and typical style of building, and exhibited plans of construction by which these objections may be obviated. In the other paper, Mr. J. L. Smithmeyer, of Washington, displayed and explained the plans which he had made, under instructions from the Joint Committee of Congress, for the new building of the Congress Library. In Mr. Smith- meyer's plans were embodied everything which is conventional and venerable, and everything which I had condemned. 1 1 The two papers named were printed in the Library Journal (v. 6. pp. 69, 77) ; and Mr. Poole's paper was printed, with the drawings, by the United States Bureau of Education (Circulars for Information, iSSi, Nov. i) ; and with the drawings in the American Architect for Sept. 17, 1881 (v. 10, p. 131). POOLE. The resolution offered by Mr. Edmunds, of Philadelphia, expressing the opinion of the Association, and adopted by a unanimous vote, was as follows : "Resolved, That, in the opinion of the As- sociation, the time has come for a radical modification of the prevailing typical style of library building, and the adoption of a style of construction better suited to economy and practical utility." This resolution could not be regarded as an indorsement of any specific plans which had been under discussion ; but it was a significant indication that the whole library profession is in arms against the absurd, extravagant, com- bustible, and inconvenient library buildings which have hitherto been constructed. It will be the purpose of this report to state what progress, if any, has been made in library construction since the last meeting of this Association ; to speak of the buildings now in process of erection, and the plans on which it is proposed to erect other buildings. A new and practical interest was imparted to the subject, when we met at Washington, from the fact that the two largest libraries in the country, the Library of Congress, and the Boston Public Library, were about to erect new buildings of a size and with requirements such as we have had no experience with. Their old buildings, which were erected less than thirty years ago, are in the conventional ecclesiastical style of the fourteenth century, and faulty in every respect. They cannot be enlarged; the books are in inaccessible gal- leries, where they perish from heat ; readers have insufficient accommodations for study, and the administrative force of the library has no proper facilities for doing its work. Here was an opportunity for striking out into new meth- ods of construction, and for introducing im- provements, such as will not occur again in a century. If mistakes be made here they will be a barrier to future progress. The smaller libraries will copy the plans of the larger libraries ; for it is assumed and the assump- tion ought to be true that the highest intelli- gence and the results of the largest experience are embodied in the largest structures. It becomes, therefore, a necessary part of this report to consider what has been done, and what is doing, in maturing the plans for these new buildings. With regard to the Library of Congress building I addressed a note to the Librarian, Mr. Spofford, several weeks ago, stating that I had been delegated to make this report, and asking for the latest information on the sub- ject. I have received his reply, in which he says : "As to our building there is no new in- formation, save that its special day fixed by the House last month, by a decisive vote which indicates passage, has been postponed two or three times to give what they call bigger mat- ters a chance. The interior arrangement has not been fixed (whatever the newspapers may say), but will rest with the Commission to determine. So, give us more light." Our interest in the Library of Congress arises not simply from the fact that it is one of the two great libraries of the country, but largely from the other fact, that it is a National Library, and that our citizenship gives us a proprietary interest in it. We have, therefore, a right to meddle with its concerns, and to give our advice when we think it is needed. As individuals, and as an Association of American Librarians, there are duties which we owe to that library. We can serve it by getting the ears of the Senators and Repre- sentatives from our own States, and influencing them in its favor. As an Association, we can, by our united action, strengthen the hands of our worthy colleague, its chief executive officer, who asks for our advice and support. For the past ten years the interests of the library have been sadly neglected by Congress in not pro- viding proper accommodations for its books and its readers. With shelving capacity for 200,000 volumes, it has now 400,000 volumes, and the surplus books are stacked up like cord- wood in the galleries and upon the floors, where they are inaccessible. Nothing like order and systematic arrangement is possible under such circumstances. " I know noth- ing," says the chairman of the joint committee of Congress on the new library building, "more humiliating to the character of Congress, or, indeed, to our national character, than the present deplorable condition of our great and 132 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. invaluable library." An earnest appeal has been made every year by the Librarian for more room ; and, although there have been many reports on the subject and many schemes suggested, nothing as yet has been done. The delay has arisen partly from the indifference of Congress, and partly from the conflict of opinions as to the best method for obtaining the room needed. Many members of Congress have clung to the idea that the library in its present location could in some way be supplied with room by taking more space in the Capi- tol, or by throwing out wings. The unanswer- able objection to all these projects is that the location itself is in a fire-trap. The old Capitol building, in which the library is, was erected before the modern principles of fire-proof con- struction came into use. The roof, rafters, flooring, and timbers are of wood. The attic is filled with documents and papers on file ; and as there are no division walls of brick, a fire would sweep from one end of the attic of the old Capitol to the other, as it did through the Patent Office building a few years ago. The Library of Congress has twice been burned, and it is a wonder it has not been burned a third time. The Commissioners appointed by the President, after the burning of the Patent Office, to examine the public buildings in Washington and report on their security or insecurity from fire, brought out these facts as to the insecurity of the old portion of the Capi- tol. It was a question in the minds of the Commission, whether, in case of fire in that building, the great dome would not fall. (See Ex. Doc. No. 10, 45th Cong., 2d Sess., and Senate Reports, No. 753, 46th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 25.) The Library of Congress and the Library of the Supreme Court are under that dome. Fortunately, of late, the attention of Con- gress has been drawn away from all the futile schemes of providing for the library in the Capitol, and is now directed to the erection of a separate building on some outside lot. A bill to that effect is pending in Congress at this time. The location of the building has been discussed with much interest in Washin-- O ton ; but the questions of location and of its external features do not concern us. We are interested in the internal structure and arrange- ment of the building which will be erected, and their bearing upon the progress of library architecture. As our National Library, it will be a building of great cost, and, as a specimen of tasteful and appropriate architecture, should be worthy of the noble purpose to which it will be dedicated. It will, indeed, be a misfortune if the venerable errors which were laid before us at the Washington meeting, as "the pro- posed plan," which were eulogized as "the adopted plan " by Mr. Voorhees. in his speech on the Library Bill in the Senate on March 2d, and against which the whole library profession protests, are to be reproduced in this build- ing. It is consoling to be assured by Mr. Spofford that " the interior is not fixed, but will rest with the Commission [of which he will be one] to determine," and that he appeals to us for " more light.'' It would be gratify- ing to see this assurance in the form of an amendment to the bill now before Congress. The plan which Mr. Voorhees says has been "adopted by the Committee," and to which Mr. Spofford objects as earnestly as any other member of this Association, is a part of the bill itself. It is not easy to see why, if the bill passes in its present form, it will not carry the Committee's plans with it. Large pecuniary interests attach themselves to so important an undertaking; and it is doubtful whether the Commission, having the best intentions, could radically change the plans unless this power was specifically conferred upon them by Con- gress. The objections to the Committee's plans may be stated briefly thus : 1. They will make a show building, and not one practicably adapted to the uses of a library. 2. The building will be needlessly extrava- gant. A vast amount of space will be wasted in order to obtain what is falsely called "ar- chitectural effect." Such treatment would be proper in a large church or cathedral, but is wholly out of place in a library. 3. The arrangement for storing the books is the worst that could be devised . The alcoves are carried five stories high, one story higher than in the present Congress Library. The books POOLE. '33 are made inaccessible, and the binding of such books as are stored in the galleries will perish from heat. Mr. Spofford gave his experience in this matter, at the Washington meeting, in these words : " If you go into the upper galleries of the Li- brary of Congress on any day of the winter and take a book from the shelves, the chances are that it will almost burn your hand. It has oc- curred to me that if these warped and shrivelled and overheated volumes were not inanimate beings if they could only speak they would cry out to their custodians : ' Our suf- ferings are intolerable.' In the library I speak of, moreover, there is only the injury resulting from the rising heat to which the books are subjected, since no gas is burned. When to the fearful and almost incandescent heat that gathers under every ceiling is added the well- known destructive influence of coal-gas burned through many hours of each day, the effects upon the books and bindings are simply de- plorable." Mr. Spofford here speaks only of the heat in winter. The effect of summer heat upon the bindings of books stored in galleries is even more deplorable. The blazing sun of a Wash- ington summer, pouring down through the sky- lights of the roof of the structure planned by Mr. Smithmeyer, will raise the temperature to a height far in excess of that caused by artifi- cial heat in winter. Mr. Dyer, of the St. Louis Mercantile Library, says the temperature of his upper gallery- frequently rises in summer (and he has no skylights) to 140 degrees. It is folly and madness to place books under such condi- tions that their bindings are sure to be de- stroyed by excessive heat. It seems unnecessary to speak of other feat- ures in the plans adopted by the joint commit- tee of Congress, which are as faulty as those which have been named. Mr Voorhees, in his elaborate speech of March 2d, stated that the adopted plans were carefully examined by the principal librarians of the country, who attended the meeting of the American Library Asso- ciation, at Washington, in February, 1881 ; that the committee had the benefit of their experience and observation, and that the plans were warmly approved. Mr. Voorhees has been strangely misinformed as to the opinions and the proceedings of this Association. The library bill has not yet come to a gen- eral discussion in the Senate and House ; and if it should be so amended as to refer all ques- tions relating to plans to the three Commission- ers, with full power to act, and with the au- thority to consult with expert librarians, no rea- sonable objection can be raised to the bill. In its present form it is likely to meet with oppo- sition from the best friends of the Congress Library and the library interests of the coun- try. A senseless opposition to the appropriation of public money for the expansion of an insti- tution which is likely to become a National Li- brary must be expected, and can do little harm. Already the Washington correspond- ents of several metropolitan newspapers, whose appreciation of literature is limited to the 4 ' Turf Register " and " Stud Book," are turn- ing their oracular wisdom into this channel. They tell us that the Library of Congress is be- coming an ambitious and dangerous institution ; that the librarian is now helping members pre- pare their speeches, and soon he will write them ; that he is a power behind the throne greater than the throne, and can carry any measure he sets his heart upon ; that the library building scheme is an ambitious project to promote his own political importance, and that he will soon demand a seat in the cabinet. They tell us that the copyright literature of the country, which by law is deposited in the library, is trash ; and that the proper disposition to make of these books is to build or hire a cheap store- house, and pack them away, like so many red- herring. They need not be catalogued or placed on shelves, for nobody will ever ask to see them. This is a cheerful view of American literature ! The estimate is so absurd it needs no comment, for it carries its refutation upon its face. The service which the Library of Congress is doing in the registration, cataloguing, and preservation of the copyright publications of the country, alone justifies the expense of erect- ing a new building for its accommodation. It is the Census Bureau of our national literature. Its functions ought to include the registration '34 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. and preservation of every book and pamphlet publicly and privately issued in the country, whether copyrighted or not. No institution, except it be under the auspices of the govern- ment, could do this. The registration of a new book is as important as the registration of a new baby. It matters not whether it be a large book or a small book, a good book or a poor book, a book with covers or a book without covers. It is enough for the purpose of regis- tration and for preservation in a national library that it is a book. Every little picaninny in the South, even if it be humpbacked and have the rickets, is registered by the patient census- taker, the name written out in full, with age, nativity, and social condition, and with as much pains as if he were a millionnaire, had stolen a railroad, or was owner of a trotting mare with a record of 2.io|. Cannot the Government do as much for a book ? We can make no rea- sonable guess as to which of the books and pamphlets of our day will be rare and priceless two hundred years hence ; but of this we may rest assured they will be publications which we now regard as trifles or trash. As we all have a deep interest in the welfare of the Library of Congress ; as the present is an important crisis in its history ; and as our colleague, the accomplished librarian, cannot be present and speak to us in its behalf, this re- port has treated its affairs more freely than would otherwise have been deemed necessary. BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. On the 22d of April, 1880, the State of Mas- sachusetts gave to the city of Boston a lot of land on the corner of Boylston and Dartmouth streets, measuring thirty-two thousand five hun- dred square feet, for the erection of a new Pub- lic Library building, and with the condition that the city should begin to build within three years. As the trustees for ten years have been complaining of their old building, and when they submitted their annual report, in June last, had had under consideration for more than a year the new enterprise, it was expected that the report would throw some light on the matter of library construction. This expecta- tation was not realized. If the trustees had any views as to plans of construction they were carefully concealed. The only passage in the report bearing on the subject was the fol- lowing, the meaning of which is obscure : " No elegant edifice is to be designed in which the books are to be deposited in conformity to the architectural or ornamental structure of the building; but it should be erected over the books, the arrangement and classification of which for convenience of use must determine the form and details of its great hall in which they must necessarily be stored, and thus out- line the walls of the building. The other con- ditions of the library can be easily fashioned to conform with this first necessity." If this means that the new building will have " its great hall in which they (the books) must necessarily be stored " (which the trustees re- gard as " this first necessity"), it is a repetition of the plan of the old building, which they have so persistently and eloquently condemned, and at last propose to abandon. In order to obtain the latest information, I addressed a letter of inquiry to Judge Cham- berlain, the librarian, and I will give the fol- lowing extract from his reply, dated April 8 : "We have done absolutely nothing in re- spect to the plan of the new library building. Mr. Greenough [the president of the trustees] was abroad last summer, and looked at many buildings, both in England and on the Conti- nent; and the same may be said of the city architect, Mr. Clough. A year ago the trus- tees passed a vote recommending that the City Council should authorize the city architect, in consultation with the trustees, to prepare plans for the construction of a fire-proof building. As yet there has been no conference that I am aware of between the architect and the trustees. In fact, the trustees have had all they wanted to do in securing the requisite land." Judge Chamberlain, having described the lot given by the State, says that the trustees are unwilling to build on so small a lot, which is equivalent to a lot 250 X 130 feet. They desire POOLE. '35 to buy an adjoining lot of equal size, giving them 65,000 square feet, a lot 25,000 square feet, or 62^ per cent, larger than the one on which I proposed, in my paper on " Library Construction," to erect a building with a ca- pacity of three million volumes. The Legisla- ture has authorized the city to condemn the ad- jacent property ; but the City Council has not yet voted the money to pay for it. In the meanwhile the proposition has been considered of taking the new High School property, on Montgomery street, for the Library ; and no practical results have been reached. Judge Chamberlain closes by saying that he will look with interest for the views of the Association on the subject of library architecture expressed at this meeting. MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. The University of Michigan is erecting a very tasteful library building from plans made in Boston. The reading-room is semi-circular in front, with a radius of forty feet, and has a depth of about sixty feet. The necessary rooms are numerous and convenient. The Harvard Library stack plan is adopted for the storage of books, and will shelve one hundred thousand volumes. The Harvard plan is modi- fied in several particulars. The cases are placed three feet apart instead of two feet four inches ; the stack has a central passage-way, and three instead of six galleries or floors, all of which changes are improvements. The first floor is of stone, and the second and third floors of hammered glass, except the passage- ways, which are of stone. The height of stories is seven feet six inches. The building which encloses the stack is in its exterior meas- ure 55.6 by 43.4 feet. A passage-way three feet six inches wide surrounds the stack. Mr. Winsor is the advocate and defender of the stack system ; and, as I am not its patron, I shall leave him, in the general discussion which is to follow, to explain its merits. THE ENOCH PRATT LIBRARY. Mr. Enoch Pratt has presented to the city of Baltimore a large sum of money, for the pur- pose of founding a free public library for the circulation of popular books, provided the city will accept the gift and administer it as a pub- lic trust. It is intended to supplement the work of the Peabody Institute Library, which is solely a library of reference. Mr. Pratt, like Mr. George Peabody, the city's earlier bene- factor, is a native of Massachusetts, and in business has made his fortune in Baltimore. Without waiting for the city to accept the gift, Mr. Pratt has gone about the erection of a building on his own land. His lot has a frontage of Si feet on Mulberry street, and a depth of 140 feet to a 2o-foot alley. As the lot has no light of its own except on the front and rear, in order to get light into the middle portion of the building it was necessary to draw in the walls twenty feet on each side, giv- ing the building a width of only thirty-seven feet. The only peculiar feature of the structure is that the first story of the middle portion, thirty-seven by seventy-five feet, and eighteen feet high, is to be used for the storage of books. Two stories are made of this room, each nine feet high, which are connected by stairs and lifts. The architect estimates that these two stories will shelve one hundred and fifty thou- sand volumes, which, in practice, I think, will be found an over-estimate. Above the book- room is a reading-room of the same size, and twenty-five feet high. Connected with it, on the Mulberry-street front, is a book-room thirty feet square, divided as before into two stories, each nine feet high, and which, it is supposed, will contain fifty thousand volumes. There seems to be little in the general plan of this building to be commended, and nothing worthy of being copied. The lot is inappro- priate. The building should have been placed on a corner lot, where the light would be 136 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. ample. The light portions of the building are devoted to directors 1 room, offices, janitor's quarters, and packing-room, and the darkest portions to the books. It is a unique idea to store books in rooms nine feet high. In con- versing with the architect, after the contracts were awarded, I was surprised that he had taken the advice of no practical librarian, and had read none of the papers on library con- struction which have appeared in the publica- tions of this Association. GENERAL. A Public Library will soon go into operation in the city of Lafayette, Ind., and, as the plans of the building have been prepared by myself, I need only say that they embody views of mine which are well known. Colonel Charles G. Hammond, of Chicago, is building at his own expense a library building for the Chi- cago Theological Seminary, which will have a capacity of fifty thousand volumes. The necessary rooms for reading and study will be models of good taste and common-sense. The Chicago Public Library, with eighty-seven thousand volumes, still occupies rented quar- ters ; but it is hoped that a new building is in the near future. A bill is pending in Congress, with every indication of .passing, by which the United States will release a nominal claim to Dearborn Park, that it may be occupied by the Public Library. The legal questions concern- ing the time for distributing the Newberry fund, which must eventually be applied to the establishment in Chicago of the Newberry Public Library, are still pending in the Su- preme Court of Illinois. When this great fund of three or four million dollars becomes available for a library of reference as it doubtless will be one of the most interesting problems in library construction which have occurred in this country will then present itself. The most encouraging feature in the progress of library architecture during the past fifteen months is that there has been a greater ad- vance than appears in the practical results which have been laid before you in this report. Public attention has been awakened to the sub- ject. Librarians are losing respect for antique absurdities, and are not afraid to think for themselves. Committees ask not whether the plan is old and typical, but whether it is convenient, useful, economical, and sensible. Architects are now seeking information from those to whom they formerly dictated conven- tional rules. Whatever improvements are to be made in library construction must come from the experience and suggestions of our own profession. The future is full of promise, and doubtless before the next meeting of the Association we shall see the proof that our faith in progress is not groundless. SELECTING AND TRAINING LIBRARY ASSISTANTS. BY JAMES L. WHITNEY. T E President has asked me to say a few words as to the best method of selecting and training library assistants. I am sorry that Judge Chamberlain is not here to take the part originally assigned to him, for, no doubt, there are few subjects which have impressed themselves more strongly on his mind, since he joined our brotherhood, than this. To you, Mr. President, the task might also most appropriately fall, for no one has had oc- casion to feel the importance of this subject more than you. You will remember the great pressure of those seeking places in the Boston Public Library, when you were there, and the long queue of applicants who stood in waiting. To select from such a company the best assist- ants was no easy task. WHITNET. '37 As a means of expediting the business a series of questions was printed, with blank spaces for the answers, and a copy was given to each applicant. These questions were both numerous and searching, covering the points of education, health, and character, and the stand- ard set was a high one. As might be expected, few of those who took these papers home had the courage to return, and, in this way, much time was saved and annoyance escaped. From the papers that were returned it was easy to throw out those of applicants who were evi- dently unworthy, and to narrow down the num- ber to a few. Even with these precautions it was found that sometimes mistakes were made, so far are we influenced by prepossessions or prejudices, and so liable are we to be imposed upon by glibness and a fair exterior. We have often been informed of late that librarians have proved to the world that theirs is a profession worthy of being classed with the liberal professions. However that may be, we are determined, or ought to be, to admit to our ranks only such as are worthy to become members of the highest professions, realizing, as we do, that there are few positions where the difference between an educated and an uneducated assistant is so marked as in a library, or where poor work is so fatal. For a library may be compared to a watch, each part in which depends on the proper action of the other, and where poor work in the least mem- ber affects the whole. In the catalogue department, for example, the perfection of each person's work depends largely on the thoroughness of that done by the one who goes before him. Some persons are sure to be correct, or as near to it as is possible, and the reviser goes on with certainty, rapidity, and with the minimum of exertion. Others have a fatal facility in blundering, and this is a severe trial to the strength and temper of the reviser, often paralyzing his own ability to do good work. 1 It has been thought that these defects from 1 One is tempted in such cases to repeat Petrarch's in- vectives against the professional copyists of his time: " Who will discover a cure for the ignorance and vile sloth of these copyists, who spoil everything and turn it to nonsense?" Symonds. Renaissance in Italy, if., 129. an insufficient education, which are so common in library assistants, may be overcome by teach- ing and training within the library. It has been suggested that classes be formed for instruc- tion, and that lessons and lectures be given by the librarian and others outsiders, it may be in the various branches of knowledge. Much, no doubt, might be accomplished in this way, if the pupil should prove to be bright and ambitious ; but the labors of both librarian and assistant are in too great demand to allow of much time for such instruction. The libra- rian cannot expect to usurp the functions of the school-master and to add them successfully to his own. The work of study and training must be done, for the most part, in the school-room, and the new-comer must be thoroughly tested as to the fruits of this study before he is admit- ted to library service. In examining a candidate, having discovered that he is of good stock physically, and likely to bear the strain of continuous library service for a series of years ; that he is accustomed to habits of order and punctuality; that he is studious and accurate, and, above-all, amiable ; the most thorough examination should be made as to his intellectual ability. He should, first of all, have an aptitude for languages, and a considerable proficiency in them, for in a library, if anywhere, the proverb is true, " He who knows four languages is equal to four men." I do not see how any one can attempt to be a librarian lacking a knowledge of Latin and Greek. Without this, in a large library, one must stand appalled before the open pages of books that daily come before him. How can one hope, for example, to wrestle with the terminology of botany, medicine, and the other sciences, unless he has the sixth sense, which a linguistic training gives ? The applicant should also have at least the groundwork prepared for the other sciences which is formed by a college education.' I have said that this examination must be a thorough one, and it may well go back of the candidate himself to his ancestors, to see what of intellectual as well as physical quality he has 1 Especially would I urge the importance of the study of history. '3* CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. inherited from them. This necessity is not felt by myself alone. The librarian of the Boston Athenaeum recently said to me, "The older I grow the more I believe in cultivated assistance and the Brahmin blood." Such an assistant naturally springs at once to the front rank, outstripping those of ordinary abilities and those who take up library work merely as a means of making a living, and often with little ambition beyond it. Some one has said of the people of a certain community that they are constantly "shinningup genealogical trees." There cannot be too much of this when there is any serious work at hand. 1 When an assistant has been found possessing these qualifications he should be made the most of and given every possible help and facility. The librarian should personally revise his work and assist him at every point, at least until he is able to stand alone. If desirous of perfecting himself in any language or other study he should be allowed a little time every- day for such study, and be encouraged to still further effort outside library hours. Here he may be helped, as has been the case in Boston, by the free or cheap evening classes such as those which have been formed in the languages and other studies by the Young Men's Christian Union of that city. He should be told that it is hardly possible to be too thorough and accu- rate, and that every mistake will be likely at some day to rise up in judgment against him. He should be made to understand from the very beginning that his position in the library is as important as that of any officer, and that the library expects of him just as good work as from any one. He should be made to feel that advancement is sure if he is faithful to his call- ing, and that in the higher work of a library the opportunities for an education are very great. There have been cases, even, where 1 It hardly seems necessary to say that applicants for positions in libraries who have already served in other libraries should be required to bring testimonials from their former employers. Yet there are at the present time persons filling positions of trust in libraries who have been found incompetent where they have already served. It is too much the habit to regard persons who say that they have had experience in a library as fitted for undertaking even difficult work in a new position, without finding out what that " experience " may amount to. young men and young women have come to a library, having had but slight opportunities for an education, who have been so persevering in their efforts for improvement that they have risen to the highest rank in the profession. We can all point, in unhappy contrast, to many cases where assistants, lacking this ambition, have gone on year after year without progress, and each year deepening their own ruts. It is hard to understand the extent of the knowledge which comes from routine work in a library where one apparently has time only to be familiar with the titles of books ; yet there can be no doubt of the value of this intellectual training. A librarian's knowledge is, to be sure, spread over a vast range of subjects, in no one of which can he hope for the thor- ough knowledge of the specialist. Happily, however, it has been found that this diffusive, partial knowledge serves a good purpose, and that the strength of the chain is not that of its weakest link. As a help in this training I would suggest that the library assistant, from the very begin- ning of his service, make it a point to read cer- tain literary papers. The knowledge of books and of events that comes from the systematic reading of such papers as the Nation, the Lit- erary World, the Athenaum, the Academy, and the Spectator, will prove of great service. To these may be added, if time allow, some of the more bulky reviews, and also French and German periodicals. As a means of keeping up a knowledge of the modern languages, a novel or descriptive work, or a play in some one of those languages might always be kept in hand. 1 With the development of libraries in this country, the need of a higher standard of edu- cation in librarians and their assistants has be- come a pressing one. It is well that this Con- vention should put itself on record as recog- nizing this fact. It is a matter for congratulation that young men on leaving college are enter- 1 As helps in this direction the editions of the New Tes- tament, published in various languages by the American Bible Society, might be mentioned. As occasion offers, the reading of these, which are more convenient than other less familiar books, which require a more frequent use of the dictionary, has been found helpful in fixing in the mind the meaning of words. GREEN. '39 ing in increasing numbers the service of libra- ries, and that the newly established girls 1 col- leges have already furnished many educated persons, who are doing good work in the same field. From this the most beneficial results are to be anticipated. AIDS AND GUIDES FOR READERS. YEARLY REPORT, BY S. S. GREEN, LIBRARIAN OF THE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, WORCESTER. IN accordance with a request of the Execu- tive Board of the American Library Asso- ciation, I herewith present a report on the progress which has been made the past year in furnishing aids and guides for readers. Catalogues. The British Museum has made the important announcement that it is beginning the work of printing its catalogue. The additions to the library are to be catalogued in print, and vol- umes of the manuscript catalogue, that have become distended by numerous entries, are to be printed, as funds are forthcoming. Thus, very valuable lists of books, interesting to stu- dents of Dante, Shakespeare, Homer, etc., will probably become accessible to readers throughout the world. It is estimated that it will be forty years before the whole catalogue can be printed, unless the appropriation for the work (about $8,000 a year), made by the gov- ernment, is increased, and that when com- pleted its 3,000,000 entries will fill 200 vol- umes. This estimate, as I understand it, applies to an author-catalogue alone, as the Museum has no subject-catalogue. The Lenox Library has issued No. 5 of its Contributions to a Catalogue. This includes the books in the library on the subject of Shakespeare, and this volume, with the cata- logue of books on Shakespeare, in the Barton collection of the Boston Public Library, makes the contribution of the United States a valubale addition to the bibliography of the writings of the great English dramatist. The valuable catalogue of the Boston Athe- naeum has been completed during the year. The trustees of this library are deserving of unreserved praise, for the liberality shown by them in issuing this catalogue, and Mr. Cutter will always be remembered by librarians and readers with profound gratitude, for the suc- cessful efforts he has made to render it the most substantial aid to investigators in general literature to be found in the printed catalogues of the libraries of England and America. Dr. J. S. Billings has increased the sum of obligations under which he has laid students of the theory and practice of medicine, by issuing a second volume (Berlioz-Cholas) of his inval- uable Index Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's office, U.S. Army. Mr. Scudder, of Harvard College Library, is introducing devices into the subject-catalogue of the college to make it more useful to the general student, and the progress made in this direction every year is noted in the annual re- ports of Professor Winsor, the librarian. The Boston Public Library has issued during the past year a catalogue of works in the Arts and Sciences contained in the Lower Hall, and added between the years 1871 and 1881, with references to books in the Bates Hall. Indexes. The announcement that the new edition of Poole's Index will probably be on sale Decem- ber i has given unalloyed satisfaction to read- ers and students and to librarians. It is stated that over 200 periodicals, in 5,000 volumes, have been indexed in this work, and that the 300,000 references which it contains will fill 1,500 closely-printed pages. It includes entries to December 31, 1881. All honor to William F. Poole and William I. Fletcher, and to the libraries whose officers 140 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. have seconded these gentlemen in their efforts to accomplish an undertaking which is so great, and which seemed likely to be unremu- nerative. This work is the fruit of the spirit of cooperation which has sprung up among libra- rians since 1876, and which the American Li- brary Association and the Library Journal have done much to foster and increase. This association undertakes no business en- terprises, but has conferred lasting benefits upon readers, by aiding and encouraging efforts in their behalf. Nothing it has done will re- dound more to its credit for good judgment and wise management than the firm support and ready assistance it has afforded Mr. Poole in bringing out the new edition of his Index. Four new indexes have been issued the past year by William McCrillis Griswold, of Bangor, Maine. Mr. Griswold is one of our associates, and is known to the community generally by his assumed name of Q. P. Index. The works lately published are : A General Index to Scribner's Monthly ; A General Index to Lippincott's Magazine ; A General Index to the Eclectic Magazine (vols. 1-96), and to vols. 37-148 of The Living Age, and The Q. P. Index Annual for 1881 : An Index to The International Review, The Popular Science [Monthly], The Century, Lippincott's, The Nation, The Atlantic, The Living Age, Har- per's, and The Eclectic, for 1880^81. These indexes can be had by addressing Q. P. Index, Library of Congress, Washington, B.C. It is desirable that Mr. Griswold should be encouraged to continue his work as an indexer. His indexes will not be superseded by Mr. Poole's great work. The latter will, of course, be indispensable to large libraries and useful in all. But, even in large libraries, indexes will still be needed that refer in greater detail to the contents of particular periodicals than is possi- ble in a work which indexes in a single, al- though large, volume a great number of maga- zines and reviews. Mr. Poole's work will be interesting in small libraries, in enabling stu- dents to find out in what periodicals informa- tion is to be found, even although the libraries cannot themselves furnish the books. Still, for smaller libraries, a few indexes with many references to sets of periodicals in their pos- session, or taken by citizens of towns where they are situated, must be more useful than one volume which makes comparatively scanty ref- erences to a great number of magazines and re- views, most of them not readily accessible to inquirers. Palmer's Index to the Times Newspaper has, as usual, worked backwards as well as forwards, and now covers the issues of the great English daily from April I, 1 86 1 -December 31, 1881. The New York Daily Tribune has continued its series of indexes by issuing " The New York Daily Tribune Index for 1881." William Gushing has continued his index of the North American Review by issuing a ' ' Sup- plementary Index to the North American Re- view, Vols. 126-131 (1878-1880)." This Sup- plement, as well as the original index, and an Index to the Christian Examiner, may be had by addressing Rev. William Gushing, 18 Wen- dell street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Royal Geographical Society has pub- lished, in v. 50 of its Journal, List of Papers in the "Journal" and "Proceedings;" List of Maps, and other Illustrations ; List of the Au- thors of Papers. See v. 50, pp. 153-242. London. Mr. William I. Fletcher has done a favor to that large portion of the community which be- lieves there is profit or entertainment, or both, in novel-reading, by allowing two indexes, pre- pared by him, to be published in the Library Journal, namely, Index to Serial Stories con- tained in bound volumes of leading periodicals, and List of important Serial Stories published in the Revue des Deux Mondes to 1880, inclu- sive (L. J., v. 6, p. 1 66). For a list of the periodicals, the stories contained in which have been indexed in the former list, and for the Index itself, see Library Journal, v. 6, p. 42. On page 167 of the same volume of the Journal may be found a few additions to this list by W. M. Griswold. It may be also stated that Mr. Frederick Leypoldt, 13 and 15 Park Row, New York, reprinted a few copies of Mr. Fletcher's first list, which he has sold for five cents a copy. Of other indexes published during the past year, it may be enough to call attention to an GREEN. 141 Index to Neander's General History of the Christian Religion and Church, and an Ana- lytical Index to the works of Hawthorne, by Eva M. O'Connor. Both of these indexes are published by Houghton, Miflin, & Co., of Bos- ton ; but before buying them the intending pur- chaser should see to it that the references are to the particular edition of the works of these authors which he owns. The same precaution should be observed before buying Percival Clark's Index to Trev- elyan's Life and Letters of Macaulay, cabinet edition, 1878, London, Longman's. This index was issued by the Index Society, which has its head-quarters in London, and of which our minister, James Russell Lowell, is president. The other publications of this society re- ceived since our last meeting are : Report of the second annual meeting of the Index Society ; to which are added three indexes : I . Indexes of Portraits in the ' British Gallery of Por- traits," Jerdan's "Portrait Gallery," Knight's "Gallery of Portraits," and "Lodge's Por- traits." 2. Index of Abridgment of Patents. 3. Index of Obituary Notices for 1879. Guide to the Literature of Botany, by Ben- jamin Daydon Jackson. The Index Society has other indexes ready for printing. The following indexes have been completed. It is to be hoped they may be published : They are : Index to the Biographical Notices of the first fifty volumes of the Gentleman's Magazine, by R. H. Farrar, and a Hebrew and Topical Index to Lange's Commentary of the Old Testament, by Professor Pick. Libraries as Educational Institutions. The first thing a library has to do, if it wishes to exert a beneficial educational influence, is to see to it that the selection of its books is care- fully made by competent persons. In buying additions, substantial aid may be had by consulting the annotated lists of books purchased, from time to time, by some of the larger libraries, and the Library Purchase Lists which, prepared by Mr. Cutter of the Boston Athenaeum, have appeared in successive num- bers of the Library Journal, beginning with Vol. 6, No. i. Among valuable lists with notes now issued, which it will be well for smaller libraries to make use of, are the bulletin of new books recommended by the State Board of Education of Rhode Island, prepared by W. E. Foster, of Providence, and issued quarterly ; the bul- letins of the Hartford Library Association and the Boston Public Library, and the lists of additions to the Boston Athenaeum and the Young Men's Library of Buffalo. Librarians may also make the card-catalogues of their libraries more useful to readers by sub- scribing to publications such as these, cutting out some of the notes and pasting them on the cards. It may not be amiss to remind managers of small libraries that the best" sort of information regarding books may be obtained by reading the book-notices of such papers as The Literary World, The New York Evening Post, or its weekly issue, The Nation, in the United States. and the Academy and the Athenaeum, in London. In order to make libraries, in which readers are admitted to the shelves, attractive, the books must be well arranged, and care should be taken to make the plans of arrangement known. A decided influence in behalf of the educa- tion of the community may be exerted by mak- ing large numbers of reference-books, such as Encyclopaedias, Biographical Dictionaries, Dic- tionaries of Mechanics, etc., accessible to readers. It is important also to provide quiet study- rooms for really studious persons. Knowledge of the progress that has been made during the past year in improving plans for the arrangement of books, for the indica- tion of the arrangement, and for facilitating in other ways the use of libraries by students and readers, may best be obtained by reading the numbers of the Library Journal issued during the year, and the reports of the most enter- prising librarians. " How to Use the Reading-room," is a use- ful little publication, prepared by W. E. Foster, for use in the Providence Public Library. 142 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. " Suggestions to Students," printed for the benefit of pupils in the Edinboro' State Normal School, Pennsylvania, may be found on page 1 60 of Vol. 6 of the Library Journal. The Thomas Crane Public Library, of Quincy, Massachusetts, has issued two Children's Book Lists, one containing books under the heads Fiction, Fairy Tales, and Historical Fiction ; the other, books under the heads Biography, History, Science and Natural History, Travel and Adventure, Miscellaneous. The lists are intended to be short, containing, both together, only a few hundred volumes. The second list seems meagre, but both must be useful, although not above criticism as regards the selection of books appearing in them. In response to an application made by me to Mr. Charles Francis Adams, Jr., for infor- mation regarding the results which have fol- lowed the use of the Children's Lists, he has caused a copy of a recently issued report of the School Committee of the town of Quincy to be sent to me. I make the following extract from this document: "The liberal appropria- tion for books and stationery, last year, has sup- plied us with means sufficient to add much good reading-matter to our stock ; and, in addition to this, a set of encyclopaedias has been placed in each building. The children are making much use of these as books of reference, and are daily learning not to rely upon other per- sons for information which they can find out for themselves. Our home-reading has been greatly facilitated by the preparation of the Children's Book Lists, under the direction of the Trustees of the Thomas Crane Public Library. Of these lists two numbers have already appeared, and others are to follow. Many of these books have been on trial in our schools, as in the preparation of the lists all teachers were re- quested to furnish the names of those books that have been proved to be interesting and in- structive. Facts are continually presenting themselves which prove that the connection between the Public Library and the Public Schools is gradually growing stronger and stronger, which must be especially gratifying to all interested in the education of the young. In this connection it may be said that the trustees have indicated their desire to do all that lies in their power to aid the schools, and have expressed their willingness to place in the library, for the use of teachers, Barnard's Jour- nal of Education, in thirty volumes, which is a complete cyclopaedia of educational literature. It would seem that the school department should do as much at least as the trustees to increase the professional knowledge of its teach- ers. Much study upon the history, theory, and practice of education is necessary on the part of teachers, in order that mistakes may be avoided and the best results obtained ; yet it is manifest that a teacher, on a salary of four hun- dred dollars or less, will have little left, after defraying expenses, to invest in books of any kind. Permit me to suggest that a small sum of money be invested under your direction, so that a few of the best works on education may be placed in the Public Library beside the books furnished by the Trustees, thus forming a nucleus around which, in the future, may be gathered all of those books that would be use- ful to teachers." Mr. J. N. Larned, of Buffalo, has issued during the year a catalogue of books in the Young Men's Library suited to young persons, indicating in it such books as he knows to be wholesome. He writes me as follows, in reply to inquiries of mine : "I think our little cata- logue of Books for Young Readers has had, and is having, considerable influence on the reading of young people in this library. I have had testimony to that effect from a good many parents and teachers who are systemati- cally using it, and who have been prompted to exercise more supervision over, and guidance of, the reading of their children by the help which this little book gives them. The boys and girls themselves seem to value it. That the books recommended in the catalogue are much more in use than they formerly were is a fact which the assistants in the library say is very noticeable. Many good books that had fallen into neglect, and were always catching dust on the shelves, are now in lively demand, and going and coming like the newest ones. "I am satisfied that the results will more than repay the labor of preparing the list, and would, indeed, more than repay a much larger undertaking in the same direction." GREEN. Mr. Larned published a large enough edition of his catalogue to enable him to sell copies to other libraries. In Indianapolis the Library Committee of the Public Library selected fourteen volumes for a small reference library, which the School Board of that city has placed in the schools. School libraries have been formed in Provi- dence. Mr. Foster writes, in his third report, "That these 'branch' collections, as they may appropriately be considered, are so administered as to be used under peculiarly favorable circum- stances, for they circulate under the teacher's own eye, giving him an opportunity for judi- ciously following up the use of each book by the most effective suggestions, instructions, and supervision." It is stated that the Boston Public Library is now supplying small libraries to schools. Some of the schools in Worcester have libra- ries ; a few, large libraries, and it has been the practice of the School Board to buy a few ref- erence books for use in every school build- ing. It is the custom of the library in Worcester to allow every teacher who wishes, to take out eighteen books for school uses ; and some of the instructors, availing themselves of this privi- lege, and making use of cards held by scholars also, have out fifty volumes at a time. These books are selected from the catalogues of the library, and from manuscript lists of choice books kept in the librarian's room. They can be changed as often as desired. The practice of this library is to buy a number of duplicates of really good books, and to supply the demand for them. Mr. Foster, of Providence, has continued to publish, during the year, his monthly Reference Lists. Many of us subscribe for these, and we all value them highly. He has also continued to send weekly lists of books on current topics of interest to two of the Providence papers, and to supply to readers in his library daily a list of books on subjects of present inquiry. Mr. Foster also provides lists of books for the use of students in Brown University, in connection with subjects which they have to investigate. Librarians in Baltimore and Providence have even gone so far, in one instance in each city, in supplying the wants of the community, as to distribute a bibliography of the subject of a lecture among the auditors. To such persons as have not yet availed themselves of the results of Mr. Foster's labors I wish to say, that no library can well get along, if it wishes to do an educational work, without having in hand the monthly Reference Lists. As a specimen of their contents, I give, in a note, a list of the subjects illustrated in the last four numbers, namely, those for January, Feb- ruary, March, and April, of the present year. 1 They are in Vol. 2. A table of contents is supplied with Vol. I. The lists are furnished by W. E. Foster, at $1.00 per year, or at 10 cents per copy. Mr. Foster is deserving of the highest praise, both for the amount and the excellence of his work. It should be borne in mind that his efforts in " practical bibliography " have the purpose of meeting an immediate need, and are intended only to meet the requirements of the occasion, and not to be exhaustive bibliog- raphies of subjects adapted to the wants of profound investigation. Prof. Winsor continues to supply lists of books, pamphlets, and articles bearing on the subjects of themes and discussions which stu- dents in Harvard University have to prepare for. These are not printed, however. In a paper read before this association at Philadelphia, in 1876, on Personal Relations be- tween Librarians and Readers, I wrote : " Place in the Circulating department one of the most accomplished persons in the corps of your as- sistants. . . . Instruct this assistant to consult with every person who asks for help in selecting books." The Boston Public Library has recently tried the plan here recommended, and with the hap- piest results, in raising the character of the reading of persons frequenting the lower hall of that institution, that is, the portion of the i^Estheticism, Florence, The Suez Canal, Henry Wads- worth Longfellow, The Roman Catacombs, The Nibelung- enlied, The German Empire, Elements of Unity in South- eastern Europe, The Chinese in the United States, The Venus of Mclos, Burke, and the French Revolution. 144 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. building which contains the more popular books that are given out for home use. For particulars regarding this interesting work, I refer you to recent reports of the libra- rian of the Boston Public Library. A distinguishing feature of the Free Public Library of Worcester for the last eleven or twelve years has been, that it has cordially in- vited all inquirers, whatever their age or posi- tion, to come to the reference library and pro- pound their questions, assured that as much time as is necessary will be taken in every case to satisfy their inquiries, if answers to them can be found in books. This work grows in impor- tance every year. Instead of having a reference library that is not used at all, as was the case twelve years ago, there began to be a large use of books at once under the new system, and there has been a great increase in its use every year since. Last year we gave out to inquirers, to use in serious investigations within the library building, 42,000 volumes, in addition to such works as they helped themselves to from unusually well-supplied shelves of reference books, to which access is allowed without ob- taining permission. I have no doubt this use will be increased 5,000 volumes the current year. Questions that are put to us at the library are, I believe, almost invariably answered ; but much time is, of course, taken in answering them, and many books have to be bought or borrowed in carrying on the work. I have no doubt that, in its extent and vari- ety, we are doing a work in Worcester that is unique. I should like, to take a single branch of the work, to speak of the close connection that has been brought about between the library and the industries of the city, and to show what is be- ing done to advance their interests and to spread technical knowledge among workmen ; but a paper would be needed to treat of this subject, and its full treatment would be out of place in a report such as this. There is in our building, as I stated at the Washington meeting of this Association, a hall, warmed and lighted, and furnished with tables, chairs, and settees, in which the officers of the library can meet the teachers of the public schools, to confer with them on work which the schools and the library are doing together, classes from the schools and societies which desire the benefits which come from looking at costly illustrated works, and in which clubs and associations can hold meetings when costly books and plates are required for purposes of instruction and entertainment. This hall has been much used the past year. For example, the Women's Club listened here to a lecture by one of its number, illus- trated by works in the library, on Eastern An- tiquities. A class from one of the grammar schools, whose members had become interested in Armor and in deeds of Chivalry, were brought by their teacher to the library and shown My- rick's Ancient Armour and Le Croix's books on the Middle Ages. A class came from the High School to look at the great work of the Piranesis on Roman Architecture and Antiquities. Soon after Christmas I sent notices to the teachers in several grades of the public schools, that, between certain hours on a specified Wednesday afternoon, I would have on exhibi- tion two hundred or more recently issued books that, it seemed to me, would help the teachers in their work. They came to the library in large numbers, and spent a great deal of time in examining the books. The Art Society has had a meeting at the library, in which one of its number gave an ac- count of the history and purposes of the Arun- del Society ; another, a description of the processes of chromo-lithography ; and still other members explained to the company, broken up into groups, the publications of the Society, which had been arranged by a committee on curtains hung about the rooms, or, when bound, on easels and tables. As soon as I return home, a class connected with one of the churches in Worcester, which has lately been making a stay-at-home tour through England, is coming to the library for an evening to look at representations of scenes and objects of interest in Stratford-on-Avon, and pictures of Kenilworth, Warwick Castle, etc. The library in Worcester was a pioneer in doing work in connection with schools. There have always been the most friendly relations GREEN. between the Superintendent of Schools, the teachers, and the officers of the library, and our collection of books has been freely used by teachers and scholars of the higher grades of the public and private schools in which Worces- ter abounds, since the introduction into the library, eleven or twelve years ago, of the sys- tem now prevailing. An account of the manner in which we brought about closer relations between the libra- ry and the 7th, 8th, gth, and some lower grades of the public schools, was given in a paper which I read at a meeting of the American Social Science Association, held in Saratoga a year ago last September. All that it is necessary to say here in regard to this matter is, that the work described in that paper is still carried on, and that much aid con- tinues to be afforded by the library in the study of geography, in helping the scholars to make little investigations, and in making the reading- lesson interesting. The principal development of the work among these lower grades of schools has been in the increased use of the library by teachers for taking out books for the use of scholars needed in the work which they are doing, in trying to substitute wholesome reading for that which is a waste of time. Some interesting new connections have been made with*he High School the past year. Squads of boys and girls now come to the library from this school during school hours. The plan is working well. The teacher in history, who has about one hundred and fifty scholars studying Greek and Roman History under her charge, is, by my advice, sending all of these scholars to the library, in parties of ten each, to look at illustrations of Greek and Roman antiquities. I show them such works as "Falke's Greece and Rome: their Life and Art," translated by our associate, William Hand Browne, of the Johns Hopkins Univer- sity Library; "Stuart and Revett's Antiquities of Athens," "Parker's Archaeology of Rome,' "Wey's Rome," "Josef Langl's Denkmaler der Kunst. Bilder zur Geschichte vorzugsweise fur Mittelschulen und verwandte Lehranstal- ten," which is being published in Vienna, and give them, for additional descriptive matter, such books as " Mahaffy's Old Greek Life " and " Wilkins's Life of the Romans," two volumes of the series of History Primers, " Mahaffy's Old Greek Education," "Guhl & Koner's Life of the Greeks and Romans," " Smith's Diction- ary of Antiquities," "The Encyclopaedia Bri- tannica," etc., etc. The object of this method of study is, ot course, to aid the imagination of pupils, and to make real to them whatever they read and study about. Thus, for example, they are shown a picture of the Forum as it is to-day, perhaps also a picture of it as it appeared in the last century, when the Piranesis represented it, before the excavations of later years had been made ; and a picture of the Forum as it was in the times of Cicero, reconstructed according to the directions of competent scholars, as given in the work of Falke and elsewhere. So, too, views are given of the remains of the Parthe- non and a representation of this vast pile of buildings as it appeared in the days of its glory. Pictures are shown, too, of the dress and houses and domestic utensils of the Greeks and Romans. The scholars are required to write out an account of different objects which they see pic- torially represented. The teacher who is conducting this exercise also has her scholars review history by topics, and sends them to the library, where the proper books are given them for pursuing their investigations. Every member of her class is engaged to-day in preparing an elaborate essay descriptive of some class of objects, Basilicas, the Cata- combs, Baths, Theatres, and Amphitheatres, the dress of the Greeks and Romans, or of Greek and Roman educational facilities, or concerning Greek heroes. Work similar to that done by Mr. Metcalf and other teachers in schools in Boston is done in the High School in Worcester ; but, while the Public Library in Boston supplies the books needed, the pupils themselves are required with us to furnish the volumes studied. It is intended to give the pupils as good a knowledge of Bryant, Irving, Longfellow, and Hawthorne, as can be obtained in a course ex- tending over two years, every scholar in the 146 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. High School being engaged for six months in studying each one of these authors. Much work has to be done at the library, in connection with this study of American litera- ture. Allusions have to be looked up, for ex- ample. An interest developed in the Alhambra of Irving leads to the desire of seeing such representations of the remains of Moorish ar- chitecture, and particularly such remains of the Alhambra as the library possesses. The principal of the High School came to me a few months since and stated to me that he was dissatisfied with one feature of the English course of study, and wished to substitute some- thing in the place of book-keeping for a portion of the class. He had received permission from the Superintendent of Schools to talk the mat- ter over with me and arrange some new exer- cise agreeable to him, if the library could aid him. We considered the matter carefully, and concluded that, as the scholars were studying Greek history, it would be well to give them a taste of Greek literature. We formed this plan : I, having the power to buy duplicates, agreed to furnish six copies of each of the two little volumes in the series of ancient classics for English readers about Homer, namely, one on the Iliad, and one on the Odyssey, and six copies each of good translations of the poems of the Iliad and Odyssey. The members of the class would never have the opportunity of becoming acquainted with Homer in Greek, and as young people enjoy reading his poems when their attention is fixed upon them, the experiment seemed worth trying. The class has gone through the little books, which were intended to give the members a preliminary general knowledge of the story of the poems before attacking the big books which contain Homer's writings themselves, and are now at work on the Iliad and Odyssey themselves. The teacher in charge tells me the plan has proved successful, and that the class is enjoy- ing a very pleasant and profitable exercise. Bibliography . It seems unnecessary to give a list of the bibliographical publications of the past year, for their appearance has been duly chronicled in the department " Bibliografy," in the Li- brary Journal. It is desirable, however, to notice a few works. Two valuable publications have been issued from the British Museum, namely, a Hand-list of bibliographies, classified catalogues, and indexes placed in the Reading-room of the British Museum for reference, by G. W. Por- ter, and The book of British topography; a classified catalogue of the topographical works in the Library of the British Museum, relating to Great Britain and Ireland, by J. P. Ander- son. Two timely lists of books are, The literature of civil-service reform in the United States, by W. E. Foster, published by the Young Men's Political Club, Providence, and a list of works on Political Economy, and Political Science, compiled by W. G. Sumner, David A. Wells, W. E. Foster, R. L. Dugdale, and G. H. Put- nam, and issued as Economic Tract No. 2, by the Society for Political Education, New York. A revised edition has been published of Books and Reading, by Noah Porter, President of Yale College. This is a valuable book for popular use. The present edition is enriched by an appendix, containing a select catalogue of books, prepared by Mr. James M. Hubbard. This list of Mr. Hubbard is excellent, and cannot fail to prove useful. The works given, however, under the headings " Bible " and " Christ," are utterly inadequate to gwe a record of the thought and scholarship of the present time. A book to which particular attention should be called is a manual of historical literature by Prof. Charles K. Adams, published by Harper & Brothers. It com prises brief descriptions of the most important histories in English, French, and German, together with practical sugges- tions as to methods and courses of historical study, and is a very valuable bibliography. (See notice in The Nation of May 4, 1882.) Gardiner and Mullinger's introduction to the study of English History contains valuable lists of books. In connection with the Bibliography of the Pre-Columbian discoveries of America, pub- lished in the Library Journal recently, it is well to call attention to "Notes on the Bibliography of Yucatan and Central America," by Ad. GREEN. 147 F. Bandelier, published in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, at the meet- ing held at Worcester, October 21, 1880. Bibliographies of the writings of Dickens and Thackeray ; a list of the published writings of Herschel on astronomical subjects, by E. S. Holden, and many other interesting lists of books, pamphlets, and articles have appeared since our last meeting. Particulars regarding them may be found by consulting a recent file of the Library Journal. The paper, "Library Aids," which I read at the meeting of this Association in Baltimore last February, has been published as a circular of information by the Bureau of Education in Washington, and is probably in the hands of all librarians. Lists of good books are appended to many of the articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. The Birmingham Free Libraries have just issued a preliminary list of Bibliography in the new reference library, Birmingham, 1881-82. Very valuable bibliographical aid is to be had from the Bulletins of the Boston Public Library and of Harvard University. Twelve numbers have been issued of Bibliographical Contributions prepared in the Library of Har- vard University, and edited by Justin Winsor. Among the latest issues in this series are : 1 1 . Samuel H. Scudder, The Entomological Libra- ries of the United States. 12. A List of the Publications of Harvard University and its offi- cers, 1870-1880. 14. William H. Tillinghast, Notes on the Historical Hydrography of the Handkerchief Shoal in the Bahamas. 15. J. D. Whitney, List of American authors in Geology and Paleontology. It is announced that No. 17 of this series will be : A List of the most useful Reference Books, by Justin Winsor. Cornell University has begun the publication of " The Library." The first number was issued with the date January, 1882, and con- tains notes, list of additions, etc. This num- ber has two bibliographical lists, namely : Works relating to architecture, in Cornell Uni- versity Library, and Petrarch Bibliographies. Twelve monthly bulletins a year are issued by the Cincinnati Public Library. When gath- ered into volumes, indexes are provided, namely, a subject-index and an index of authors, anony- mous works and collections. In closing this branch of my subject, I must call attention to an important work on anonyms and pseudonyms, the first volume of which bears the imprint of the present year, namely, Halkett, S: and Laing, J: Dictionary of the anonymous and pseudonymous literature of Great Britain, including the works by foreign- ers written in, or translated into, the English language. Vol. I. Edinburgh. 2. 2. (Boston agents, Lockwood, Brooks, & Co. $10.50.) For current information in regard to pseudo- nyms and anonyms, reference is made to this heading of the Library Journal. While finishing this portion of my report the welcome news comes of the publication, by Triibner & Co., of a second edition of their Catalogue of Dictionaries and Grammars of the principal languages and dialects of the world. Miscellaneous . In conclusion, I will mention the titles of five books recently published, which librarians will at once recognize as sources from which to obtain information very generally sought for. Who wrote it? An index of the authorship of the more noted works in ancient and mod- ern literature, by William A. Wheeler. Edited by Charles G. Wheeler. Boston : Lee & Shep- ard, 1881. Familiar Allusions. A hand-book of mis- cellaneous information, by William A. Wheeler and Charles G. Wheeler. J. R. Osgood & Co., 1882. The reader's hand-book of allusions, refer- ences, plots, facts, and stories, by Rev. E. Cob- ham Brewer. J. B. L. & Co. Words, facts, and phrases. A dictionary of curious, quaint, and out-of-the-way matters, by Eliezer Edwards. J. B. L. & Co., 1881. Ogilvie, J. Imperial dictionary of English. New edition, by C. Annandale. Vols. I and 2. Of this work, which is practically a new work, by Mr. Annandale, and which claims to con- tain many thousand more words than any other dictionary of our language, the London Spec- tator of November 26, 1881, says : " We have no hesitation in saying that it will prove a most thorough piece of workmanship, and that, among reference-books of its class, it will hold the first place, both as an authority and a source of instruction and entertainment." 148 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. A NEW CLASSIFICATION AND NOTATION. BY J. SCHWARTZ, LIBRARIAN OF THE APPRENTICES LIBRARY, NEW YORK. IN 1870 I was requested to examine the vari- ous systems of shelf-arrangement then in use, with the view of recommending one for adoption in the New York Apprentices' Li- brary, which had been successively arranged on the numerical and alphabetical plans, and had found both unsatisfactory. None of the schemes examined seemed to.be free from ob- jection, and a careful study of them was made, with the idea of combining their best features in one system. It soon became evident to me that all the possible methods of shelf-arrange- ment might be reduced to three fundamental forms : the Numerical, the Alphabetical, and the Classified. It then occurred to me that if a system could be devised that combined the three forms in one, it would approach nearer perfection than any other, and it is this leading idea that forms the basis of the " Combined system," devised by me in 1871, which has been in successful operation in the Apprentices' Library since that time. A brief account of the plan will be found in the preface to the cata- logue of the Apprentices' Library, published in 1874, and a fuller explanation, written at the solicitation of the editor, appeared in the Li- brary journal, Vol. 3, No. i. Without any effort on my part, other than the above, the scheme has attracted considerable attention, and has been adopted, with more or less modi- fication, in at least ten libraries in this country. Indeed, I may say that, either directly or indi- rectly, it has suggested all the systems of shelf- arrangement, devised since 1871, that have come to my knowledge. Most of these plans have been published in tne Library journal, and have been taken up for consideration at the annual conventions of the Library Associa- tion. In reading the proceedings of these meetings I have been unable to discover any reference to myself as the originator of the method of combining the three fundamental forms of shelf-arrangement, although elsewhere, and in private, most of the authors of these modified systems have freely acknowledged their indebtedness to me. 1 make the above explanation not only in justice to myself, but to prevent any possible misconception in the minds of those who are unacquainted with the facts. The system submitted in the present paper is substantially the same as the one devised by the author in 1871, but contains such improve- ments and modifications as have suggested themselves in an experience of ten years with the plan in its crude form. The changes intro- duced are considerable, but do not in any way affect the essential and fundamental principles. In its present dress I believe the system to be worthy of consideration and examination, and, if not accepted in all its details, it may still be of value, as it was in its original form, in sug- gesting improvements and modifications to others. The points in the present system that seem to me to require special consideration and ex- planation, are : A, the classification ; B, the author-number; C, the title-number; D, the treatment of duplicates and editions ; and, E, the manner of indicating the size. I will con- sider each of the points in order. A. The Classification. There are 23 main departments, of which 20 are devoted to the 8 and smaller sizes, and the remaining three to the 4 and larger sizes. Twenty of these departments are designated by the initials of their names. In the remain- ing three the class letter designates the size, Q being used for the quartos, F for the usual folios, and X for the Xtraordinary sizes, such as ele- phant folios and the like, that have to be placed in cases, or specially constructed shelves. Each of these 23 departments, except class N (novels), is divided into nine classes, which are designated by the Arabic figures i to 9. They are also arranged alphabetically. In the 22 departments arranged on this plan there are SCHWARTZ. 149 (22 X 10) 220 classes, including the 22 general classes. A final division of these 220 classes is made by dividing each into four sub-classes, designated in the tables by the letters a, b, c, d. These letters are only for reference, and are not actu- ally used in applying the scheme. How one division is distinguished from another will ap- pear when we come to the explanation of the author-number. I call the classification mnemonic because it is alphabetical and self-explanatory. The order of the alphabet is peculiarly adapted for mne- monic purposes, as it is universally known and understood. I could easily have thrown the tables into a logical form, but I have care- fully refrained from so doing, as I am sure that, like its innumerable predecessors, it would have been satisfactory to no one but its maker. There are many libraries ar- ranged in logical order ; but no two of them are arranged alike, and the only thing that the classifiers from Aristotle to Messrs. Cutter and Perkins are agreed upon is to disagree. There must be something radically wrong in a method that results in discord. As the basis of each new logical scheme de- pends upon some preconceived metaphysical idea in the mind of the classifier, I would call it the Subjective method, and would substitute for it an alphabetical or Objective method, in which the order of the classes is conditioned by something outside of the mind of the clas- sifier, that is to say, by the names of the sub- jects themselves. Assuming that an alpha- betical arrangement of classes is desirable, there would probably be very little difference of opinion as to the order and nomenclature here chosen, as I have endeavored, as far as possible, to select the names most generally as- sociated with their respective subjects. Still, in this respect, the scheme is, to a great extent, only tentative, and is open to improvement. If space permitted, much additional argument might be advanced in favor of the proposed arrangement, but I will content myself, at pres- ent, with one that seems to me to have con- siderable weight. If the Alphabetico-classed method of classification, as exemplified in the catalogues of the Harvard, Congress, Brooklyn, and Apprentices' libraries, is the best way of harmonizing the rival claims of the Systematic and Dictionary catalogues, it is not clear why the same method should not work just as well on the shelves. Precisely the same arguments will apply in the one case as in the other. In laying out the details of the classification the law of proportion has been strictly ob- served. If we divide human knowledge into the three well-defined groups, HISTORY, LIT- ERATURE, and SCIENCE, it will be found that each has just seven departments in the present scheme. The same law is observed in the minor divisions, as far as practicable, so that although there are only 887 heads, every im- portant subject about which books are written, or that is likely to be sufficiently represented in a library, is provided with a separate rubric. In some of the later schemes very little attention is paid to this law. We find, for instance, mi- nute subdivisions of Philosophy, Photography, and Engraving, the three classes embracing 120 out of 1,000 classes, or 8 per cent, of the whole ; whereas Geography and Travels, which in most libraries have ten times as many works as all three combined, have no more sections than Photography! On the other hand, Fic- tion, which is the most largely represented class, in circulating libraries at least, is rele- gated to an obscure corner of Literature. The natural consequence of this unphilosophical proceeding is a multiplication of numbers where economy is most desirable, and the evil is sought to be overcome by either omitting the class symbols altogether, or by substitut- ing some arbitrary mark in their place. B. The Author Number. Having a system of alphabetically arranged classes from A.o to Z.g, the problem is to unite with them a series of numbers sufficiently large to provide for the probable acquisitions in each class. I have selected 999 as the lowest admissible number. The usual method of numbering the separate works in each class, in the " Movable" system, is to take them in the order of their acquisition and call the first No. I, the second No. 2, and so on. This is essentially arbitrary, as there is no reason what- ever, aside from the mere accident of purchase, '5 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. why a book should have one number rather than another. As the subject treated of deter- mines the place of each book in a scheme of classification, it would be more logical and consistent to have the number conditioned by something in the book itself. It was this consid- eration which led me, in 1871, to devise my system of alphabetical notation, which forms one of the essential and peculiar features of my original plan, and which has been adopted with more or less variation in most of the schemes devised since that time. The 999 numbers in our table might be arranged in one series of alphabetical combinations ; but in that case only 230 classes could be numbered, and our tables have 880 exclusive of Fiction. If we want to number more than 230 classes, we must divide the 999 numbers into as many series as there are subdivisions in each of the classes A.o to Z.g. I have se- lected four divisions as sufficient. This gives three series of 300 each and one of 100 num- bers. In the numbering table these four series are headed a, b, c, d, and correspond to, and are to be used in numbering, the similarly designated sub-classes in the mnemonic classi- fication. Care has been taken that the series of 100 numbers is always used for the less im- portant classes. If we take a number of alphabetically ar- ranged works, such as Directories, Cyclopedias, and Catalogues, and average the space occu- pied by the several letters, we shall find that we can make nine nearly equal divisions with the following letters : No. i beginning with A, 2 with B, 3 with D, 4 with G, 5 with I, 6 with M, 7 with O, 8 with S, and 9 with T. This scheme of division is easily remembered, as the vowels A, E, I, O, and U, have the odd numbers I, 3, 5, 7, and 9. It not only forms the basis of the several numbering tables, but has been applied in numbering the classes. It will, therefore, serve as a mnemonic key to the whole system, and will enable one to not only give the class number of every important subject, but to make a pretty shrewd guess as to the author number. Thus : British kallography is K. 2 ; British his- tory, E. 2; Music, D. 6; Chemistry, C. 2; Biblical theology, T. 2 ; and Engineering, U. 3. In the few cases where this idea could not be entirely carried out, it will be found that there is a variation of only one number. In applying the key to the first table of 100 numbers, we get 9 divisions of n^ numbers each ; consequently the key letters will be num- bered as follows: A. o; Br. ir^; D. 22|; G. 33f ; I- 44? M. 55$; O. 66$; S. 77 ; T. 88|; and the letters will be found so numbered in the table, the fractions being of course suppressed. In table b, of 300 num- bers, the key letters are numbered A. 100; Br. (11^X34-100) 133; D. 166; G. 200; I. 233; M. 266; O. 300; S. 333; T. 366. In table c these numbers are increased by 300 each, and in table d?by 600 numbers each. C. Title-Numbers. Where a class contains several works by the same author, it is necessary to add a character of some kind to distinguish one individual work from another. I have chosen, as the simplest and most expressive, the 9 Arabic figures, and the 26 letters of the alphabet. As an author number may also be used alone, we have (9_|_26-{-i) 36 possible variations for each alphabetical combination. The separate works of an author can be arranged either alphabeti- cally, or in the order pf their acquisition. An alphabetical arrangement is more convenient and useful in Fiction, Biography, and Litera- ture, but may be applied to other classes, if thought desirable, although it is of very little account outside of the classes just named. To secure an alphabetical arrangement the title- numbers should be used as follows : In the case of popular authors of fiction, biographies of celebrated characters, such as Napoleon, Washington, etc., and in voluminous and noted authors in other classes, the whole 26 letters can be utilized, the 9 Arabic figures being reserved for less important authors, the initial of the title (where letters are selected as title-numbers), and the figures corresponding to the key-letters (where the 9 figures are selected), being used to maintain the sub-alphabetical arrangement of the individual books. Where the exact initial or figure is already occupied the next vacant one can be taken. The foregoing method of applying the title- numbers, if carried out in all the classes, would SCHWARTZ. give a uniform average of two authors for each number. But 26 title-numbers is much too large for one author, except in Fiction and the other cases enumerated, and it will be found that 9 title-numbers are quite sufficient for most authors. Our 36 title-numbers will, therefore, generally enable us to number, alphabetically, four authors with each combination. By writing the figures and letters under the 9 key letters, we shall have four series, beginning with figure I, and letters a, j, and r. If more than four authors in the same combination are to be pro- vided with numbers, any of the unoccupied title-figures or numbers can be used for the purpose. As our 36 title-numbers are not intended to be used exclusively for one author, but may accommodate two, four, or more, and as 36 is about the maximum number of works for a shelf, it would be better, perhaps, to call each of our alphabetical combinations an ideal shelf. When all the title-numbers of a combination are used the ideal will correspond with the real shelf. Bearing this in mind, there is no diffi- culty in providing for certain exceptional cases that may arise. There may be, for example, authors who will need more than the 9 or 26 numbers reserved for them in our plan. The remedy is simply to continue the same series of title-numbers in the nearest vacant combina- tion, either preceding or succeeding. As such cases can only arise when the proper ideal shelf is filled, the new series will, as a matter of course, be continued on the next shelf, and all the separate works with the same initial or number will be immediately underneath those in the first series. It is, therefore, easy to pro- vide for the most voluminous authors, and keep up the sub-alphabetical arrangement of their works. Taking, for example, an extreme case where an author has written 75 works in the same class, three shelves will accommodate them all, and any separate work can be found with ease, as all the a's and b's, etc., will be found together, only instead of being side by side they will be placed immediately under- neath each other. If the 36 title-numbers and 300 ideal-shelf- numbers should prove insufficient to provide for all the works in a class, the numbering capacity can be increased to any desirable extent by subdividing the class by means of the 26 letters, added to the department letter. I do not think such division will be found necessary or even desirable, as the number of special heads is large enough for a library of 2,000,000 volumes, and the number of libraries that ex- ceed this is limited. I merely indicate the possibilities of the system to provide for any contingency that may arise. As our 887 classes can be increased to 23,062, and each of these can accommodate 10,800 works, it is difficult to imagine a case where the system would not be able to provide every work with a special and distinct number, and still use no more than seven characters in any case. In class N, Novels, where the number of individual works of most authors is very large, and where a satisfactory division into classes is hardly feasible, the system has been modified as follows : the series b, c, d, of author-num- bers are extended to 3,000 each by allowing ten variations for each combination. The first series of 3,000 is devoted to English, the second to French, Spanish, and Italian, and the third to German and Teutonic fiction. The series of 100 combinations headed "a " is similarly extended to 1,000 numbers, and is divided into four sub-classes, as shown in the tables. In each of the series of 3,000 num- bers, each number is uniformly divided among two authors, the title-numbers I to 9 being used for the less voluminous authors, and the 26 title-letters being reserved for the more popular writers. Each of our three grand divisions of Novels will, therefore, provide for 6,000 separate authors, and if these should be insufficient they can be increased to 156,000 by adding one letter to the class letter. Our system of notation consists, then, of six characters only for the largest classes, viz., a department letter, four figures, and a title- number of one character. The ordinary shelf systems, using Arabic figures only, have just as many characters, and it would not be possible to number a library of 100,000 works with less, if restricted to Arabic figures ; but our system is capable of marking 8,000,000 works without using more. As I use 35 characters in my title- numbers, 152 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. and as Mr. Dui's new numbering-base con- sists of the same characters, I think it is proper for me to state that I am not a convert to his system, and that there is nothing in common between our two methods of applying these characters. I use the characters for a specific purpose, as explained in this section, for individual works alone, whereas Mr. Dui's plan is, if I understand it correctly, to use the numbers and letters interchangeably in place of the ordinary decimal system of ten characters. I first used the 35 title characters in precisely the same way as explained in this section, in 1878, whereas Mr. Dui's system was not published until 1879. Without ex- pressing an opinion on the merits of his pecu- liar manner of using numbers and letters, I would say that I have not found it necessary to avail myself of his method of economizing characters, nor have I found it desirable to amplify them by means of the decimal system as applied in the plan of my friend Mr. Cutter, in which in stands before 2, and 299 before 3. The body of my system of notation con- sists of Arabic numerals only, used in the usual way, where in is placed after no, and 299 before 300. I have found the ordinary decimal system of Arabic figures fully adequate to meet all the requirements, and the proof is that I do not need as many characters as any of the schemes devised since 1871. Mr. Dui, for example, requires seven characters to number 1,000 novels, and eight for a collection of 10,000. Mr. Edmands's fiction catalogue has seven in most cases without counting the class letter, which is understood. Mr. Massey gen- erally uses seven, and Mr. Cutter, in a table he sent me, finds that he needs seven and eight characters in 40 per cent, of a class of 3,000 works, although, according to his calculation, his average for a library of 250,000 volumes would not exceed six or seven characters. In all these cases duplicates are excluded. While the number of characters would probably re- main the same as at present if the libraries represented were twice or three times as large, the fact remains, that the largest number of characters are used in the most popular classes, such as Fiction and Biography. To show the capacity of my system, it is only necessary to consider that each ideal shelf admits of 36 works. A class with 300 ideal shelves has, therefore, room for 10,800 works, and a department for (10,000X36) 360,000. The whole scheme of 24 departments conse- quently provides for (360 X 23) 8,280,000 works, or 16,560,000 volumes, if we may as- sume that each work will average two volumes. Allowing 90 per cent, for waste, we shall still have room for nearly 2,000,000 volumes, with- out counting duplicates, or, in other words, for more books than are now in any library in the world. D. Duplicates and Editions. Duplicates, that is, other copies of the same work, should have a letter in addition to the title-numbers. Another edition of a work, that merely differs in form, should be treated as a du- plicate ; but, if it contains additions or changes in the matter, it should receive a separate title- number. As a rule, it will be found that edi- tions in fiction must be treated as duplicates, and, in other classes, as separate works. As there may be several copies of editions treated as duplicates, and as it is desirable to keep them together, the first edition should be num- bered a, the second /, the third o, and the fourth u. This allows eight copies of a, and six each of /, o, u. Should there be more than four editions to be treated as duplicates, the letters e, /, r, and x could be used for number- ing the first copy of each. This would pro- vide for six editions with three copies, and two with four copies each. Assuming that four editions of David Copperfield are in a library, they would be designated as follows : N.I722.# would be the first copy purchased ; N. an edition in two volumes, of which N.I N.i722.dc, and N.ij22.dd would be other copies; ^.ij22.di would be an edition printed in Boston, and N. 1722. do and N.ij22.du, edi- tions printed in Philadelphia and Chicago, of which N.iJ22.dp and N.ij22.dv were other copies. E. Size. In my original plan I distinguished one size from another by using a different series of num- bers for each of the four sizes, 12, 8 G , 4, and SCHWARTZ. 153 folio. For example, a work in 12, by Smith, one, not only to facilitate reference, but be- would be numbered 412; in 8, 747; in 4, cause the difference between the ordinary 883; and, in folio, 983. It is better, however, 12 and 8 is too trifling to serve any prac- to use the same number, or the same number tical purpose by the. separation of these two increased by a uniform addition, for the same sizes. combination in every class, and to distinguish To make the foregoing explanations more the unusual sizes by class letters, as I have intelligible, I have added a number of exam- done in the present plan. The 12 and 8 sizes, pies, showing the application of the system in which I formerly arranged in two alphabetical various classes. They immediately follow the series, I have thought it best to combine in author tables. '54 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. Q S a ' a "tn c 3 3 U b 1 4J 5 Geography. Canada. Colonial histo ri v; IM rt > a rt ?/ C O Manners and -3 c i i i c ."2 "rt o "3 PM Western and 1 : ; : a * r. S 'J "o 1 o d R C) c 2 2 -> ct . u Q 1 1 in U ^ r^ r^ e V p en S _0 c^ . . >, C p 1 u b c p 2 m I 1 ~ -J C 9> d a _o '> Q o : e lumbian c IS o j2 u< c _0 IS c 0) rt M j: 8 W T3 o O tn O h C 4= 1 43 S Z /; S M S U w O fc 1 M 1\' S po I w ssBJo^ns G T3 "G >* fl d ri S S 2 J3 G tiJD o -2 x * .fl C G C C C ^ ^^3 _ ^: ^ ,c g ^ ^. ||| S d "o 5 a - 11^ S>8 | JJ 4) -J c TJ C i-. 'C o o 2 'C O O U O S C 1 "o --j >-c rt jo ||| -C tx: _ o ^ OrtM . -jj X 3 _6 O ', r^ ^ " U tS tl "2 -a "5 -S 3 -5 '5 - .> G - R .a S 'g 3 PL, p S ffi S t4 < PL, JD ! ! ! ! B ! 1 So d . . jj o ^3 . . 52 : 2 I ^ c 2 : : ral Works. . . . . Antarctic eers Guide books .... r ery General geog's in . . . . Greek authors . . . Fiirrmp -. . . . . . Hydrology . . . . Europe . . . . Voyages 1 Works. i | g &" '""to _O _j ^ -O g .2 d >, c g 2 ^ rl M cS "to S3 *. -^ C &"3 3 e ofccgS 2^Ji.2 t ill i liiSl artg" rt w^glJo : i i|| | : : a Genera . . ; . . i ^ >> ; i 25 -22 *- -^ : . Geography C * 5 8} S * B a 1 1* ^1 s 5 '6 ^ 2 .s 'S a B c .a 13 E < < w S -3 < Geognosy America Circumnavigatic 1. History: cn.cA*. .CU"oj rt . ^ . . . 1) " . ^ u tn.f^. e"2P, - J3 '2 1i3 cr d m r3 f. . n 'g M M 3 2 s 3 2 * " . ^ * 1*1 S % P rt g J^^ ^^ -B ^-^ C OOcoOOi-nCQCUhnO *o rt 'S 6 rt c w ii : D u, t . 4) o ,G 4) ^n ^ **^ ^S ^ ' S o S o c i 2 2 - ) 4) 4) O : c c ^ ) IH ) O O < 2G"2c c'SoJalu C2c2 ^GCCC OUHOU ^OOOO . . g . c 'C g S 1 S 4) >, 5 *^ '& 1 8 : | **!;;; B 1 .-S TJ rt ^ . G G" cn 'e gj <^ TJ "? > 2 "a" u g rt i-. G ^ E/5 -5 i o H 1 ^ s 4 "u 4) 2 r 'rt "S 3 ^ ^ Arctic and Antarctic r Encyclopaedias and ga Latin and Greek geog Mnn . t Physical geography . . Statistics Voyages and travels . s e : .S T-l * 1 $ a Bt O K ^ 'S fc u r| 'c .a S W >, G .2P cS -2 M .2 S S ^ "-g^O^O .C^'-' i O-^OWO^ S(^c/2p ~ N ro ^- xo VO ^ 00 Ox O N ro ^- "" vc > *-. oo o\ Q NH N CO ^" u^ *O r>>OO ON '56 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. CO C -i cd K b ' o 03 2 <: 5 o c >-" w fe -c 3 o 2 ! 5 d o rt cj s s ^ 1 Q u c-T c in "S V go Q S 1 BJ 9 i "rt rt H rt C .ii ^ r! a rt O O l/i u Q, rt 1 > Morocco rt C Q c ^^ Isolated .5" ^i n ~ fc C ^C - Travels i ri \ OH O 3 J W >, . c O o p rt 1 CJ Ci W n the Hoi P rt H 1 nTurkey- ta "a3 ry2 T> a 3 C u o la a, S w O b 'r rt _0 : is o rt b V Q P C d rt _rt ^3 t S a u < /: S K- i "rt " vl S X w o rt J C T> s " ^ . rt . [ * rt 5 "rt * 3 . General . General . Thibet. .S I <5 . Modern d ^E- CJ . General ' rt 1 . Kamtsch *e c . Arabia . . \ I 01 rt rt "3 : I 1 O c "e 3 x' CJ J2 "S | u o X! 3 Cfl General works rt cT 1 rt 5 Egypt, Nubia Northern Af rt g rt tJ "5 S India and Indo Oceanica Persia, Afghan: Siberia and Tar rt 1 T3 Ci rt t/i J3 3 H ON n CO t IS- vO l> 00 o\ Class S. Sociology. . . . Oriental. ... Finance and money. H ... Oriental. ... Oriental. . . . Ship-building and navigation, e . . Trade-unions, strikes, etc. ... Pauperism. 0) rt i ^ in . Protection and free trad . Crime and criminals . . . I . European ... . Commerce . . . "rt o 5 . European . . . . European . . . . Naval science American Book-keeping .... General works . . . . 1 American I American Military science . . . "2 rt "rt 'E. rt O 3 cT; Education . .. General works. ... W'hts and meas; 3 IT. ^ j3 CA | P a p p . . . General woi ... Genera rt 5 c5 ... Genera ... Genera rt Vj 1 e General works Benevolent societies . Commerce and finance Government .... "rt rt _> ~7. '? r < rt rt rt b rt Political economy Social science . Women o N ro ^t" w> VO t^> 00 o SCHWARTZ. O t: rt 3 0> C? -; < >_i (0 i O Division D. Collected works. Scientific. Chemistry. -> I Biography. rt O C 3 I, Medicine. Political economy. Philosophy. tn rt O B o > 3 y bo c p s, ^o "o g- W b 3 r. 7- Jp' = 1 . Geograph . Literature :0 X . Politics . J c 3 n C 'Si c W Division I Bibliography . . . Historical Architecture .... b _: = Language ' 'S m rt Agriculture | J ~l J i a ;j u Q ! 3 o < a _o tn "5 g u ex a rt a 3 a 3 a 5 a a -^ rt a o d 3 a rt rt 5 Ok 1 5, tn 5 fc Genera Genera rt V i D a Genera rt 1* 1) Genera Genera fi V O Sub-Classes. General works Annuals and periodicals . . . . Cosmology rt d -r = Language and literature. . . . Medicine and natural history Political and social sciences. Theology and philosophy . . . tn rt > I g V O Italian essays and miscellany. Greek authors. Hungarian and Bohemian. o "a s rt J "7 1 X .fi j Slavonic "5 i "3 i r = . . French poetry . . . . . German poetry . . . 'S o _rt h- ( . . Latin authors .... w "o rt .f 3 "3 c p, .1 rt P, X . . Scotch . Drama . Drama . English drama. . . . . Frenph drama . German drama . . . i . Italian drama Latin and Greek . . . Russian Spanish drama . . . 1 General works. . . . General works. . . . c c s. rt X J> a" Provencal rt r. rt ^: "3 Q navian WolloM^ar, Romansch .... u u p ~ 5 Oriental Portuguese General works. ... General works American 43 'C German and Teutonic -t 1 C K- j i . "5 6 c rt .5 Oriental and Slavonic Spanish and Portuguese . . . J! rt o 'o u CO J3~ "u - N ^ * j r> - 00 158 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. D H o * a OT ^J CO U O 2 O U z 2 I 6 r. o i ^^ o bQ o Division D. Comparative lexicolo English lexicology. Speeches. PVench lexicology. German lexicology. Italian lexicology. Latin and Greek lexi Hungarian and Bohe Spanish lexicology. Pasigraphy. | | Ur rt o ' g 1 > * P O 8 O B 5 Comparative gram English grammar. Rhetorical collecti French grammar . German grammar Italian grammar . . Latin and Greek gi Polish and other S Spanish grammar Phonography .... * ; J V M rt * J J 3 j . B * rt Division B Origin of languag V 2 y J2 H W 1 French language. . German language . Italian language . Latin and Greek 1 . Russian _rt -C rt C. T. > Alphabetics , r ^ in . M . 5 * . in a rt Dlvisiot General wo o _i s General wo , r rt "D j| navian. . Wallachian mansch . Modern Gr Oriental . . Portuguese General wo q o . . B Q H M o ) I d ^ S P i ps 3 3 i. f IP 3 en s rt rt 1 a u X o Pk C/3 O O X 3 a rt -r rt -5 5' General X i t/; B *~ z CJ French . German J cS C a H-l Oriental -c 'E rt a, X U) c ^ N . * U-, vo K oo ON j 1 1 j i 1 < i 4 * t 1 1 1 .H ( I i 5 1 1 1 en C > * : r i J j i I T i ; i '. ^3 !' I i i g C >, CA i Oriental 1 j f t 3 O , 1 a C u: "ZT 6 1 rt e >-I fc . o ; 1 I c j rt . "rt Ji 5 o c B O , * s . * . , \ pt, N fe ^ [sj ft, ^ N 43 c - 6 <; c o <; c l o 3 3 rt "c ON C ** ON Os C N ON ON C N ON O ON C ON O x ON ON C N ON ON C s ON ON C ON N ON T3 7 5 rp Y" " ~) ^O t^ OC O^ 1 rt 8 8 5 8 'i rt i-t M 5 ro ^- u i vo r^ oc ON O 5 . - . " >-> c> \ f*} ^ u >o r^ oc ON SCHWARTZ. '59 i i 2 2 .6 * o . . >> S -g . 8 b J2 g ,rif 111 -all jjiiifiiji tntnuJui^inujtnuSw oooooooooo ^ i 1 ' a i- '5 1 i I i - JS 1 * -1 g-8 ^ 8L>1 3 J || rf o ;-.-; ofr, rt CT? CLiCl! J 3 I'^US ^:S.y 4} ^ c 2 dj >> M v, -3 - -2 Uo s <3<<|;S o'li:;!!!!! oooooooooo Ml^iA^^wWAnm a .s S .2 S 2 ^ 1 g & SjSWPQftSpnEcfi T3 ,rt . . tn 1 ::::::: :-l c ^ ::::::: w CS j C 1 43 || ! s 4J : : . : M cs c >, ; : c ?. S ^ o* ::::::: ss a 13 : ; o o is .a ^ u : : : ^2 ^'O(U>-,bJOP-i>,!> > ' '. V rt.0^3CuoC2^Cuog M li It Sill 1-1 ill 5 e5 5 U 5 -is o o 5* S O ^OP^OH-INPHWW e Books. cAc/i(Atncnc/3t/]c/it/itn OOOOOOOOOO }Ml^l-llHV-t)-lV-tWlHt-( VBI9CICBCSCBC9SCBGB 3dSd^d==JSd o ; o ; o j o ; o ; o j cyo ; o j o j d ^b-l^-^os -d ll >i-*'73Gi-rt? : -\^ t/1 U llilsllllf PQ_fPc^Oh-lNPHWc : ::::::.:. X "d 9 "o O v CO ^ ........ jj 2 1 '. ' ' I I ' ' * s :::::::: J 3 ::::::: :5 : : : : : 1 : : : >, x . . M ^ . |2,j 1 ill 11 1*11 s ifilslJagI 1 R. Reference AMM.MMMMtAMM OOOOOOOOOO rtjrtrtrtrtcirtcic^rt OOOCJUOOUCJCJ OOOOOOOOOO M O ^ 1 i at CO ifJlil^il ji3 *4=5 p a ^ o u j-'^-j >-CLW G*J ;> i'S rt^^r-- d rt430 p^UPH^K^Wh-lHU i>QjUQJU 1 UUiL)(U , CJOOUOOOOO CAcntAtAtAtACAc/lt/} j2 'a 'a 'a 'e 'a 'a 'a 'a 'a CO CO 1 o tACI3CAtACAt/lU3tA(ACA UDW^>>>^>^>>>.>>>>>^>^ U tu) ij ij d> u ^ oj oocjooyooo t/ityi^t/it/ic/ic/itnt/} 'a a % 'a 'a 'a 1 a a | CCCGflflCCG cjrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtcj cacccccccc cc^cccncc rtrtCrtrtrtcjrtrt * ufl 4 , rt rtrtcSrtcjcjrtrtri QJ qjqjDD4JCJ-iU!-iI->U X^XXXX^XXX C^cjrt(iic3o3rtc3c^c^ M M M c M C .-C M M H IDDugDDDIUdJlU CCC^CCCCGG ai)"J^iJi)i)OilD OOOOOOOOOO : : : : : : t;^ : .....>>... : : : : : : o ; : : w v .2 " >, : 1 S 2 - 1 f ^ ^ i : &ll-3^ P - c 'o js d a-g^s^ | |.| i 1 1 1 . | Illllilll s llilrllfl ^ idiajii^i :::::: o :: i ^i!ii 1 & 2 g S S i! 1.^213^ S o ' 5 - o 43 a & M^ c g ^ 11 6 - s l^l Illllilll lilIlMili |3jlils3 5 : : 13 a , 1 2,IU^ . LUitt! fifUti.ii.! - 2 ^ S >,-g T3 bb^ 8| ill 11 111 C-S g otn^^ 13 v O OSUWKJS^H^ O ""NfOTt"%vOt~-ooo\ OMfO^"^vOt->.OOON O>-lN' r >^l u ^^O*^OOO^ 1 60 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. Dirision D. t5 a ^ g 5 'o H * s "8-3. " S rf -e &. j o .2 h a .5 IseSIslIsalaS O42rt>og(j3ul) E3 ^t CB -4 v Q w d) il Jsjiii-tfja.wa.ofxc! PHtnOOc/)Oa)<:c/)O . . . Philosophy of art. . . . Carpentry and building. . . . Perspective. . . . Books of prints. . . . Out-door. . . . Special. . . . Vocal. . . . Special. . . . Special, n. . Anc't and mediaeval design. O c ' \ . '. I . , . ^ T3 H O 2 _o 'Z '> ^ rt II t; ::::: rt ^ o s :.:::: j. j? : ^ ^ : g f : a : ' t> H IH O CO 2 O S c V3 . rt " & e ~ J3 -. ' - < fl if 111 til W^^^J, (H tJD S ^ o 2 c h a c : :::::::: M - 5 fe w i-i O w o W | < \ J o a _o 'ja '> 5 : : i : i : s : : uit/iui 'c * 9 9 - fl * ^4 ^4 ^t ^ *- 4* O.4I ' hi-cii - b Jv * ooo . o .. o o . ^^^^^^^-g^ : 1 1 2 o ; ' i i i i ; I ^ 01 x . t/ic/itfltnt/iC a ^::^-2^^^^ o o ooooog -:-cMjs.2 _, S .5 . _ ^, , rt a (0 H 1 I3'rt't3.y'rte'rt rt 'rt ' M G C >4 C fl M ^. G ^'G^'5a5g'2 CCC(ijC.t^^t/iC^ v i- u.Sru^ ooowacirtrtrtrtC! i- B " u B M M f* *g i; (U.. -u.ua)iuiu c CMCCCCC 1) a)iiC | U4iUl'l> O OPuWOOGOOS III. MNEMO Division A. . * , X . X . '/. . S 6 S B' B a ! tn'D'iui) >-.'i/i'i-tn' it/iat/s^t/sam rt^ii g^! 2^ 4< . KuCuSi-iCi-i cJO^.O^-O~,O e^C^S^C^ .? - S _- 3 _- H'_^ 3 _- ^Si2d2cj2j2 Ji2"o | U 'Si j J : 1 g 1> 1 ^ 4 o^-^ -"=? * * s . * 1 S 1 S 1 ScO'-jS^ 08 ^ . 3-S-SSM^oSC oecsSoOio^ 1 ' 1 '^ sss g^s.s^^^^ S S^ (53SooqA< jb-Classes. ;;;;;;;- ::::::; 1 1 s ::::': g >, i i ! : i \ ': ': ': I j : i : t/3 "5 .t bjn>~>'^ liiliilili llilfiliii S^^^S^-^K-rtrt O SCHWARTZ. 161 1 U-, O >-, .; 4; Ort^ rt o c3 I T? rt "75 i- SS-g^l^S^S^ n3"aj228i'> ff < H H lsS5S : : : : : - S : : g : : : S : . . . . . 0. . , g ^ J 1 ' W 2 . .'.'... -3 : ; 1^1 =1 %>* 3 g ' *g 8 JJ P S o rt w e p, C3C CGCCC O ctf ctf CS a w 69 OS iS V4 V 4> K. (UOIUCUD o oj cL,p H ^a,p H a<&,&i > r> r Ooo--;ooooo Op^^3i_ui-,i-,i-, C5j33CT33333 WfcwWWWWWWW 4J 1 IHifiiilS ^S^- ii " rt i>5 ( "'3 < y |"1 ll -1 H 1 gsSg.SgJSoJ wS^wc/5wp-.w^Q ilosophy. ^3 5 S-2 -g'o-j;<5!g(u d g O u PnOW^WS Q T. Theolo J5 S a * s i rt 1-5 1 -Si ajlj? Illritillii l^_5l|_^al >> : : : : g : : : : : O to 01 -G "O ^ : : : : % %* ~ : ' u> E/J . -r.--f.-r.-r.-r. . ^t ^ ^^^J^^J^J U5U5t/3tt/l*^U5W5tyi ^^jai^l^ g^l^!^l O N C S a i-^tntn ^ . . . ^ S -. M -^ J*OO.2OOOOO ,2:a . ^ _ <" _ _ _ rt _ OOOOO^OOO ^^^^^o^^^ o rt ^ : . -g, > J g S ^ ^ j= * '5 ~ ^ ^ Cu ' o ^ ;5 rp^ricsSrtrtrtrtrt S 't* to 4 3 C C h 1* E _X S u QJ .; j qj Q,) u 4) a.Se"3sPepfl ffi""^.aJ^Urt | ul'(UluaJ OOOPnOOOOO h'ajairtrtajrtrtrtcj fifGwwEt.CQ&iSG ^ O U D 1) KoooooSooo lf|1s| 111 llii 1 1 1 8 g g O^EKOE 1 -* WOO ^ - : : s : ': : : : ; ; c ^ '. : J : : : : : S 1 o 1:3 1 &0 o ^. 'G -s : 1 * S : -3 >-> 2 <" S ...-.. 3 o c i : - *i .S p * 1 1 - : ^ S | 5 ^'fcJ ^8 M HI -ill 2 tfll lift* fliilliili O^UWW^S^cfiH c c -p ; i-:i!i 4 ! -pliii] 1 'rtS 1 "-'5^'-3 rt ' C >^C Illllllpl O < Q ^ B fl S ft .; ^ : % g; * "S -* S -o 1 S s >, 1 - ^ -3 ^c^ - Illilll III c 3o-^-^ M > : > B ? * OMQWffiJ^ c^ oNfo^-tovot-oocr> OMNrO^->oOt^OOOS ONro^-i^ivo t^OOO> I 62 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. Division D. . Exhibitions of industry. . Animaliculture. . Soap and perfumery. c J !g Household art and taste. S c M w 8 1 . Jewelry and instruments. . Telegraphy. . Silk. ^ g c 1 2 Division C . . . . History of invent u c 3 s' 1 ^ ^ "3 . . . . Metallurgy . . . . Bookbinding . . . .... Wool .5 't* M jrewing f> 2 -3 \ -d c "C ) a 3 Encyclopse Agriculture . Distilling a 3c >* u . . Assaying . id . . Printing . .. Cotton... . . Cabinet-w< c ' i 1 1 1 1 | !fl fl in Q . Genera . Genera . 1 Genera c O . Genera c O G O J" C O ~ O . Genera . . . . t '. -c ; . . c t^ Sub-Classes General works 4) E j 1 3 ~0 1 Engineering Household science . . Leather and rubber g Metal and mineral m Printing and telegrap] Textile fabrics Wood manufactures. '* s r<- * w- vo ^ oo ON 'rt'rt o'S'S'S'S^^-S 'o 'o >- 'o 'o 'tj 'o 'o 'o 'o rtrtCdrtrieirtrtrt C C *H M C G M M 4 M Dl>D
    l> ccCcccccec DurtojuaJDOV^ oooooooocSo g I g g c s i 1 1 1 1 1 ! g g ! g g i C C C C C C C ooooodo 'o'o.S'o'o UUMUUCJtJUU o'o.'o'ooooo'o U SCHWARTZ. 163 IV. ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF AUTHOR NUMBERS. Alphabet Combination. Division A. Division B. Division C. Division D. C *> O a si 11 CWQ 5 s O Division A. Division B. Division C. Division D. Alphabet Combination. Division A. Division B. Division C. Division D. Aa Chal . . . I CO 7eo Gaa . . . 8OO Ac .... IOI 401 **** 7OI Che ... 17 *y ICI 4CI iSr 1 7Ci Gal ... 66 2O I 500 COI 801 Ad .... Chr . . . I C2 4C2 7C2 Gar . . . 802 Ai Ci .... Ge . . . 5 U ^ Xr>7 Al 1U J 7 u o Cla . . . 18 1 OJ I C4 43J 75J 7C4 .54 -2Uj 204 5 u o 804 TOC 7OC Cle ... ICC 4cc 7CC Gil ... 2O C coc 8oc An . .. Cli .... ic6 Gl. ... 7C 55 OU 5 806 An .. IO7 *7O7 Coa . . . IQ *5 W I C7 4C7 /3 U 7C7 35 2O7 CO7 8o7 Ar .... 1 Fig 7V 1 JU Kaa . . 54 A 842 747 Fl .... 71 Kea .. 54^ C47 847 Foa . . 7v6 Kia. .. 54J SAA Carl . . Kla . 48 84 c 1 i> *45 745 Fra . . 72 vs 795 Kn Ko ^45 846 Cat . . . i An Kr Ku C47 847 Cea .. 16 148 44.8 74.8 198 408 708 248 C48 848 Cha .. IAQ AACl 74Q Fun . . IQQ 4QQ 7OQ Lai . 24Q C4.Q 8^10 164 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. IV. ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF AUTHOR NUMBERS. Concluded. Alphabet Combination. Division A. Division B. Division C. Division D. Alphabet Combination. Division A. Division B. Division C. Division D. Alphabet Combination. Division A. Division B. Division C. Division D. 8 CO Oa . 66 Lar *y j Di> u 8cr 01 7OT 60 1 Sla . . . 87 J3 U 6ci Lea . 5 U o* OS 1 CC2 b l 8C2 Or ... 602 7C2 051 nC2 OC2 Lee .. 2C7 CC7 i^ 8c7 Paa . . 67 7O7 60 7 QO7 Sn 777 6C7 OC7 Lei . . CT 2CA CCA 8CA Pal ... 7OA 604 QOA 8d 7CA 6cA OCA Ler ccc 8cc Par . . . Sol . . . 6cc OCC Let . cc6 55 856 Pea . . . 68 706 606 7C6 55 656 Lia . 2C7 CC7 8C7 Pel . . . 7O7 607 OO7 gc 7C7 6C7 OC7 Lin .. 3^ 2C.8 rc.8 858 Per . . . 108 608 908 7C8 658 oc8 Lit . . . 2CQ CCQ 8co Pf . . . . 60 7OQ 609 QOQ 7CQ 6co QCQ ioy coo 860 Pha . . . 610 Sta . . . g6 660 3J c6i 861 Phi . . . 711 611 OT I Sto . . . 76l 661 961 Lor .. 262 c62 862 Pia ... 7O 712 612 OT2 Stra . . 762 662 962 CA 26^ 563 867 Pin . . . 7T 7 6l7 QT 7 Stu . . . 87 767 667 067 T 11 864 PI .... 664 T v . c6c 865 Poa. . . 7T 6ic 7&C 665 CC 266 566 866 Pon . . . 7 1 3 1 7l6 UI 3 616 y 1 ^ 016 88 766 666 966 McG 267 c67 867 Pra . . . 717 617 OI7 Tal . . . 767 667 067 McO . - 268 568 868 Pro .. 72 7l8 618 9l8 Tar . . . 768 668 968 Mad .. c6 269 c6o 869 Pu.... 7IO 619 OIO Te go 760 669 060 Mai . 870 O .. Tha . . . 3/ u C7T 871 Raa . . 621 Tho . . . 771 C7 272 i/ 1 C.72 071 872 Ral . . . 722 622 Q22 Tia . . . QO 772 672 Q72 Mat. . 277 C77 877 Rar . . . 727 627 Toa . . . 777 677 O77 27A C7A 7o 8 7 A Rea . . 7A 72A 624 77A 67A Q7A rg 27C C7C 87 c Rel . . . 72TJ 62C O2C Tr OI 77C 6?c O7C b/b C7n 876 Rer. . . 626 y 2 Tu . . . . J'J 77n 676 Mer . . 277 5/ u C77 877 Rh . .. 7C JW Tw . . . -}/" 777 O77 Met . . CO 278 C78 77 878 Ria . . . ' -> 728 628 y-^7 Q28 Ua ... Q2 778 678 Q?8 27O C7Q 870 Roa . . 629 Ul . . . . 77O O7O Mil .. . *Iy 280 c8o 880 Rol .. 76 77O 670 O7O Ur.... 380 680 980 60 281 5 0 Bread and cheese and kisses N. 1865.*: Duchess of Rosemary Lane N. 1 865 .d Golden grain N. 1865.7 Grif N. 1 865.5- Island pearl N.i865./* Jessie Trim N.i865.* Joshua Marvel N. 1865.7 King of no land N.i865-/ Love's victory N. 1865.^ Feuillet. Camors N. 1899.2 Led astray N. 1897. 5 Marriage in high life N. 1897.6 Romance of a poor young man.... N. 1897.7 Story of Sibylle N. 1897.8 1 66 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. V. APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM: SCIENCE, etc. Theology : Bibles. Amharic. Biblia sacra amharice. 1840.. T. 1105 Arabic. Holy Bible in the Arabic language. 1857 ............................ T.iioS Bohemian. swata. Biblia sacra: to gest, biblja 1851 ..................... Canarese. Bible in the Canarese language. 1820-38 ....................... . T. 1 143 Chinese. Bible in the Chinese language. 1809-21 ......................... T.I 151. a Same. Transl. by Morrison. 1812- 23 ........................ . ..... T.I 151. Cingalese. Holy Bible transl. into Sin- ghalese. 1846 ................... T.I 153 Danish. Bibellen, eller den helige skrift. 1855 ......... ............... ... T.II6; Dutch. Bijbel : dat is, de gansche heilige schrift. 1857 .................... T.I 176 English. Biblia: the bible, that is, the holy scripture of the olde and new tes- tament. Transl. by Myles Coverdale. 1835 ............................ T.uSi.a Same. Transl. from Vulgate. With notes by Haydock. 1845 .......... Same. (Geneva version.) 1606 . . T. uSi.c Same. Edinb., 1793 ............. T.nSi.d Same. Printed by R. Bowyer. Lond., 1796 ...................... T.nSi.e Same, with apocrypha. Phila., 1798. T.uSi./ Same. 4 vols. Phila., 1804 ...... T.u8i.- Same. Transl. from Greek by Thomp- son. 4v. Phila., 1808 ........... T.n8i./fc Same. Self-interpreting bible, with notes by Brown. 1815 ............ T. iiSi.z Same. Stereotype edition. 1818. . T. uSi.j Same. N. Y., 1819. 8 ......... T.ii8i. Same. N. Y., 1819. 12 ........ T.iiSi./ Same. N. Y., 1819. 16 ........ T.uSi.m Same. With notes by D'Oyley and Ment. 1818-20 .................. T.nSi.w Same. Stereotype edition. 1833.. T. 1181.0 Arranged in chronol. order by Towns- end. 1834 ....................... T.n8i./ Same. With notes by Boothroyd. 1836 ............................ T.n8i. Same. 3 vols. Lond., 1836. 8..T.ii8i.r Same. With notes by Gaunter ..... T. i iSi.s Same. Oriental bible. With notes by Cobbin ........................ T. I iSi.t Same. In paragraphs. Lond., 1850. 8 French. La bible. Londres, 1686-87. "T.i 196.0 Same. Imprime'e sur 1'ddition de Paris de 1'annee. 1805 T. 1196.1$ Same. Revu sur les originaux par Martin. 1855 T. 1 196.*: Same. Selon la Vulgate. Avec les dessins de Dore". 1866 T.ng6.d Gaelic. Leabhraicheanant-sean tiomuaidh, etc. 1807 T.I200 German. Bibell mit annotaten [von] Dietenberger. 1577 T. 1203.0 Same. Ubersetzt durch Piscator. 1784 T.I203.3 Same. Nach der iibersetzung von Luther. 1856 T.I2O3-C Same. Goln, 1857 T.I 203.0" Hawaiian. Palapala hemalele. 1837-38. T. 1219 Italian. Sacra bibla tradotta da Diodati. 1 850 , T. 1 235 Karen. Bible. Transl. by Mason. 1 853. T. 1 242 Latin. Biblia cum summarium apparatu, etc. 1519 T.I 25 1. a Same. Vulgato ed. 1555 T. 1251.^ Same. Ad vetussissima exemplaria castigat a. 1571 T. 1251.^ Malay. Elkitab. 1731-33 T. 1270.0 Same. In Arabic characters. Re- vised by Hutchings. 1821 T. 1270. Manx. Yu vible casherick. 1819 T. 1270.^' Portuguese. Biblia sagrada. 1 858 T. 1 3 1 6 Spanish. Biblia en lengua espanola. 1824 T. 1357.0 Same. Traducidos por P. Scio de S. Miguel. 1858 Swedish. Bibelen : aller den heliga skrift. 1855 T.i 3 6 5 Turkish. Bible Transl. by Boboosky. 1827 T. 1376.0 Same. Transl. by Goodell T. 1316.6 Welsh. Bibl cyssegr-lan. 1 857 T. 1 387 WARD. 167 PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THE PUBLIC. BY JAS. W. WARD, LIBRARIAN OF THE GROSVENOR LIBRARY, BUFFALO. [We have not received this paper, but, instead, a note from Mr. Ward, regretting his inability to furnish the manuscript, which, in some unaccountable manner, he says, has got out of his hands, and is, to all appear- ances, lost beyond recovery. The chief points of the paper he gives from memory, as follows. ED.] rPHOUGH so much is done by library directors J_ and librarians, so much money expended, and so much ingenuity exercised, for the comfort, expedition, and convenience of the public, many library visitors are still dissatis- fied with the ingeniously-devised facilities thus afforded them ; they are disappointed because they do not find their privileges fully up to their expectations, expectations founded on a misapprehension of the true nature of the undertaking of a public library, and, therefore, erroneous and misleading. Of this so often en- countered misapprehension, there are several degrees, more or less affecting the librarian's peace of mind. Some look upon a public library in much the same light that a street Arab regards a free lunch. Others, with a juster appreciation of its true character, still expect of it too much : too much of the library, as a source of knowledge, and too much of the librarian, the oftenest consulted book in the library. He is expected to know everything, in the library and out of it. This class is impatient of delay, if time is required to look up a question ; an answer is expected off-hand. A question arises, to what extent a librarian should read the books that pass through his hands to the library shelves. I am unable to see in what sense it can possibly be true that " the librarian who reads is lost." In my judgment the librarian who did not read would be the hopelessly lost man. The extent and thoroughness of his reading is simply a question of time. Fortunately, the librarian does not read like other men. He reads by glimpses ; by a sort of instantaneous photo- graphic process; not by words, but by pages. But whether his process be slow or rapid, some of the time at his disposal must be spent in ascertaining the argument, character, and at least the general drift, of each book he provides for public reading. Again, there are those who expect of a library that it should be exclusive, partisan, one-sided ; whereas a public library is the one place above all others that should be forever out of reach of all sectional or partisan control. It is the place where all light-rays, from whatever source, and of whatever color, are gathered into the pure white focus of truth. Then there are those "who cannot brook control," and are uneasy and unhappy under necessary restrictions and regulations for good order. Some not unfamiliar illustrations were given of this phase of discontent, happily not common, the treatment of which, like that of all other matters and questions that spring from the complex and ill-understood relations that exist between the public library and the public, must be based upon mutual confidence, concession, and compromise. The paper, on the whole, was of a practical and conservative nature, its strictures being aimed at those whose notions in regard to library privileges are extravagant and un- reasonable. It was a plea on behalf of the librarian. " Like the Apostle Paul," said Mr. Ward, "I magnify mine office. I think that in the daily administrations of his functions, the librarian (if possible) has every motive of po- sition and reputation to be right, and every opportunity of observation, experience, and professional consultation with his contempo- raries, to be right ; and I think it will be gen erally found that he is right." 1 68 C1NCINNA Tf CONFERENCE. CLASSIFICATION OF THE BOOK ARTS. BV C: A. CUTTER, LIBRARIAN OF THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM. /CONCERNED as we are, all our lives, with \^ books, living among them and on them, no part of our libraries, one would think, would receive more of our attention than the books about books. And it is a striking testimony to the unselfishness of librarians, and their desire to attend rather to what interests their patrons than to what interests themselves, that they do not appear to have bestowed any special thought upon the classification of the book arts, by which I mean all that relates to the making, the keep- ing, and the using of books. So far as I know, nobody has thought of putting them together. Literary history is usually made a subdivi- sion of the Belles-lettres ; but Bibliografy is made a class by itself, entirely separated from literature. Publishing and Bookselling are put with Commerce, but booksellers' catalogs are put in Bibliografy. Printing is put with the Mechanic arts, but histories of printing are again put in Bibliografy, and so are lists of early-printed books, and the incunabula them- selves are put in the safe or the closet. Illumi- nation of manuscripts is sometimes put with Bibliografy, sometimes among the Fine Arts. Catalogs of manuscripts are put in Bibliografy ; the manuscripts themselves are treated in vari- ous ways ; the writing by which they are made, which also is an important step in the prep- aration of the printed book, is put sometimes with Language, sometimes under a heading Arts of communication, which itself is one of the useful arts ; and, if I remember right, I have seen Writing reckoned as a Commercial art. Paper-making, and all the other preparation of the materials for writing, is put in Manufac- tures. Authorship and Composition or Rheto- ric is sometimes put with Language, sometimes with the Belles-lettres. Where Indexing would be put I do not know, because, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of Mr. Allibone, the apos- tle of indexing, it did not get a literature of its own till within a few years, and no niche has been made for it in any of the hitherto pub- lished schemes. Now, I do not deny that these classings were correct, and that my proposal of grouping al- the book arts together is highly unsystematic ; that to bring into one group several classes hav- ing reference to a concrete thing like a book, and intrude this group among classes founded on abstract conceptions, as Filosofy, Religion, History, Sociology, is an incongruity ; and to form this group by taking various subdivisions out of the proper classes is a robbery. But, nevertheless, I maintain that there is an overbal- ancing convenience, both for the memory and for use. I do not claim a very great conven- ience, but there is enough to override considera- tions of theoretical propriety. There is a cer- tain number of books which treat of these book- arts altogether, or of several of them together. Moreover, they illustrate one another much more than each of them illustrates the rest of the class into which it is usually put, some of them having been joined to these classes by a very loose connection, so that several, as I have already pointed out, were assigned, by different classers, to different classes. Printing is of no especial interest to the man who is looking up the Mechanic arts, nor book- selling to the student of Commerce. Rhetoric appears to be classed with Language, simply be- cause language is used in Rhetoric, which is much as if one should put Music in the Me- chanic arts because it uses instruments. Having decided to put the book arts to- gether it became necessary to arrange them. I will not weary you by describing all the steps which needed to be taken before a satis- factory result was reached. I went thru my books on these subjects to see what classes they called for. I looked over catalogs to see if books which were not yet in the Athe- naeum could require any additional classes. I studied the subjects to forecast the future, and CUTTER. 169 provide, if possible, for books that have not been written. Here I must confess to a failure. The future, so far as it is not a repetition of the present, is not provided for in this classing of the book arts. After a time I found that the subjects could fall into four main divisions : Production of books (which we might call Bibliopoetics) ; Disposition of books (Biblio- thetics) ; Description of books (Bibliograph- ies), the second (Disposition) falling natural- ly into two subdivisions : Distribution of books and Storing of books. In detail the arrangement is this : First come, of course, the general works, those which relate to all or several of the book arts, as Porter's "Handy book about books." Then come the book-producing arts, arranged in the order which they actually take in the production of books. First, the genesis of the book in the brain of man, Authorship, including Rhetoric and the principles of Criti- cism ; next, the art by which these thoughts are recorded, Writing, which, of course, in- cludes Palaeografy, and is followed by cata- logs of manuscripts. Here I should put the art of Illumination and Book ornament in gen- eral, altho they might equally well go among the Fine arts. Next the art of multiplying the record, Copying processes and Printing, including the history of Printing and lists of incunabula. When the sheets are printed they go to the binder. Book-binding, therefore, comes next. This finishes the Production ; Distribution follows. It is not worth while to make two classes of Publishing and Bookselling; they are often combined in practice, and it would be impossi- ble to separate their literature. Here is a geo- grafical arrangement for publishers', booksell- ers', and auctioneers' catalogs. It would have been easy to separate auction catalogs, but what good would it have done ? It would have been like the ineptitude of having an index of authors and an index of subjects to a book, classification for the sake of classifying, or, as the vexed reader is apt to think, for the sake of making trouble to all concerned. This sec- tion forms a very natural transition to the division Book storing, i.e., Libraries. These are, of course, divided into Private and Public. The first have a preliminary section of works on " Book-buying, book-collecting, biblio- mania," which very properly follows auction- eering, and is half-way between the two divis- ions book distribution and book storing, being, in fact, book distribution viewed from the other side. I place private before public libraries, because they are, in fact, the inter- mediate stage between the dealer and the pub- lic library, the treasures of collectors gravi- tating to the latter. As long as books are in private hands they may reappear again and again in the market. Only when they have reached the shelves of the public library can they be considered to be in their final resting- place. 1 Having then made our books, distributed them, and permanently placed them, we pro- ceed to describe and enumerate them. In Bibliografy, as everywhere else, the general works come first (such works as Brunet and Gra'sse) ; they are followed by works describing particular classes of remarkable books, as the condemned or prohibited, the imaginary, the privately printed, the rare, the vellum books, etc. Anonyms and pseudonyms are not out of place next. National bibliografy and its near relative, Literary history, succeed, followed by Subject bibliografy, and, to sum up and close the whole, works on the Selection of read- ing. You will note that there is a double classifi- cation runing thru x : one of subjects and one of countries. You find catalogs of MSS., book- sellers' and auction catalogs, public library cat- alogs, private library catalogs, bibliografies, literary histories, books on the selection of reading, each in a separate place ; but it is equally easy to see all that belongs to any one country in these various relations. For instance, E being the mark for English, we have 1 It did not seem worth while to separate the history of private libraries from the catalogs, for the so-called histories are mostly lists of the books in the library, and therefore, are partial catalogs; whereas public library reports and histories are of an entirely different nature from their catalogs, and wanted for different purposes, and, usually, at different times ; for the latter separation was plainly necessary. 170 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. X4E Catalogs of English manuscripts, and of MSS. in England. x8E History of printing in England. XEE Catalogs of English publishers, book- sellers, and auctioneers. XHE Catalogs and history of English private libraries. XKE Reports and history of English public libraries. XME Catalogs of English public libraries. XNE Works on English pseudonyms and anonyms. XTE English bibliography. XVE Literary history of England. xx8E Bibliografy of English history. XXAE Bibliografy of English topografy. XYE Selection of books for English readers. The inquirer has merely to go from division to division, looking at the subdivision E alone, and he will exhaust the capacity of the library in regard to the Book arts of that country, so far as they are not contained in works of more general capacity ; and that is as far as any class- ing can take him. I have tried to prepare a scheme that could be used in a very small, or in the largest possible, library. As an example take literary history, xv and xw. This, itself only a division, is subdivided by countries (as XVE English lit- erary history) . So far almost any library will wish to go, and there many libraries will stop, leaving all their books in one alfabetical ar- rangement. For my own purpose I shall sepa- rate from the mass of general works a certain number of sections, showing the history of the drama, of the fiction, of the poetry, etc., of the country, each by itself. I also have special sections for the literary history of certain pe_ riods : the early English, the Elizabethan, the Stuart, the Queen Anne, the Georgian, the Victorian ; another section for the literary his- tory of single authors, arranged by their names. If the library is very large it may be necessary to similarly divide the form-sections above men- tioned, and make a place for the history of Elizabethan poetry or of the Elizabethan drama, either as a subdivision of the history of Eng- lish drama, or of the history of the Elizabethan lierature. One wants, too, to collect together the liter- ary history of particular classes (as royal and noble authors) , and the local literary histories ; just as in literature we have a place for the collections of the works of local authors. And so on. Every form into which Literature is divided, Periodicals, Essays, Ana, Letters, Ora- tions, Wit and Humor, Satire, Dialogues, Drama, Fiction, Fables, Fairy Tales, Legends, Popular Literature, Ballads, Poetical romances of chiv- alry, Poetry, all have their corresponding sec- tions in Literary history. There is also a place for Dialects, with a possible subdivision of each dialect into its literary forms. The British Mu- seum would not need any more ; the village library may use as much less as it pleases. If any of the sub-divisions is thought to be unnecessary, one has only to disuse it, and put its books into the general alfabet of English literary history. I at first intended to put the bibliografy and literary history of each country with the litera- ture of the country. Thus, we should have the Bibliografy of English literature, then the Lit- erary history of England, then the Literature itself, so that the student of English literature would have everything he could desire put to- gether under his hand. The notation still allows this arrangement, but I have given it up for three reasons : (i) It is plain enough that people do not usually want, at the same visit, the history of the literature of the country and a work of the literature. They usually want either a play or a history of the drama, a par- ticular poem or a criticism on English poetry ; but not, in general, both at once. So that the advantage of mixture could not be great. (2) On the other hand, the arrangement is clearer if each is kept by itself. There is more danger of confusion in the minds of readers if we have three slices of English bibliografy, English lit- erary history, and English literature, and then a sandwich of French bibliografy, literary his- tory, and literature, succeeded by a Washing- ton pie of American bibliografy, literary his- tory, and literature. (3) It does not suit the notation so well. (4) One often gets as much information from the general histories of litera- ture as from the special literary histories of the country ; and one is reminded of that fact bet- CUTTER. 171 ter when the general and the special are put together by themselves in one class, and are not separated from one another by the interpo- sition of parts of the other classes Bibliografy and Literature. I therefore now put in Litera- ture only the belles-lettres books about litera- ture are in the Book arts. Literary history, you will notice, is xv and xw, so that, to make the notation for the literary history of any country, one has only to prefix an x to the mark for its literature (e. g. VF, XVF ; VG, XVG ; VH, XVH) . As national bibliog- rafy is XT and xu, we have an easily remem- bered trio : VE English literature. XTE Bibliografy of English literature. XVE History of English literature. The literature, it should be noticed, is not very far removed from the works about it, x follow- ing close after v. Much is said about the memory-assisting qualities of the alfabet. I would not speak dis- respectfully of the alfabet, but it must not assume to be the only memorizer. A natural, logical, reasonable arrangement is easily under- stood and easily remembered. The order adopted here, of progression from the brain of the thinker through the hand of the writer and the machines of the printer and binder over the counter of the publisher and bookseller to the shelves of the private bookbuyer and pub- lic library, is so simple, so clearly indicated, as the physicians say, that I cannot imagine any one forgetting it to whom it had once been ex- plained, and I should not imagine that it would require any elaborate explanation. Yet I must confess that I did not get it completely settled till a few days ago, after repeated trials ; and if, after looking at this, I should show you some of my previous schemes, you would wonder that any one could be so blind to the obvious requirements of the situation. To some of my friends, I know, all this ap- pears to be much ado about nothing ; it makes, they say, no practical difference how these sub- divisions are arranged ; when one has once got accustomed to an order one can use it just as well if it is theoretically bad as if it were theo- retically perfect. They are right in part, but not wholly, (i) It is easier to learn first, and to remember afterwards, an order which is made on some evident principle than one which is made at hap-hazard ; (2) a theoretically jus- tifiable arrangement is more likely to bring together classes of books that will be wanted at the same time ; (3) there is a certain num- ber of persons who pay considerable regard to theoretical considerations in their daily life ; they feel a need of justifying to themselves whatever they do ; and if anything seems inept or not congruous with the rest of the arrange- ment, they have a continual sense of irritation. Some one has said that "nothing produces more discomfort than the constant presence of a thing which one dislikes a little," and we all know that the "saddest of words of tongue or pen are those sad words, ' It might have been.' " To feel that a classification to which one is committed is careless or stupid ; that it might have been made satisfactory with a little more thought ; to think of any ingenious class- ing as some men think of their best jokes, just when it is too late to utter them, is one of the minor miseries of a librarian's life, which it is worth something to avoid. Even if it made no difference to the public he would wish to be careful for his own comfort. BOOK ARTS, x. Book arts in general. Book production. xi. Authorship, including Rhetoric and Indexing. X2. Writing, including Shorthand and the materials for writing. X3- Palasografy. X4, X5. Catalogs of manuscripts arranged geografically. x6. Illumination and other book orna- ment. X7. Printing (for literary purposes, ex- cluding, therefore, fotografic, telegrafic, and dry-goods print- ing) : the art. x8, xg. Printing : the history, arranged geografically. 172 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. XA. Incunabula : catalogs and history. XB. Incunabula: the books them- selves. xc. Binding and book-preservation. Book distribution. XD. Publishing, Bookselling. XE, XF. Catalogs of publishers, booksell- ers, and auctioneers (arranged geografically) . Book-buying and book storage. XG. Book-buying, book-collecting, bib- liomania. XH, XI. Private libraries : history and catalogs (including catalogs of those sold, and catalogs of pri- vate collections which have been incorporated in public libraries, but are catalogd by themselves) . xj. Public libraries : general works and administration. XK, XL. Management, reports, and his- tory of particular libraries, ar- ranged geografically. Catalogs, arranged geografically. XM, XN. XQ. XR, XS. XT, XU. XV, XW. XX. XY, XZ. Book description. Bibliografy in general. Remarkable books (condemned, imaginary, lost, privately print- ed, rare, vellum printed, etc.). Anonymous and pseudonymous books, arranged geografically. Bibliografy, arranged geografically. Literary history, arranged geografi- cally. Subject bibliografy, arranged in the order of subjects. Selection of reading, arranged geo- grafically. THE CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS. BY LLOYD P. SMITH, LIBRARIAN OF THE LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA. HOWEVER they may differ on the subject of cataloguing, librarians are agreed that books should be arranged on the shelves accord- ing to subjects. Experience teaches that it is impossible to attach too much importance to the advantages flowing from a wise and methodical order in the arrangement of a library. It is when it comes to systems of classification that experts a limited number begin to differ ; and the reason is not far to seek. It is mainly because of the hardness of the task, which is so great that Aristotle, who executed it for the King of Egypt, was said by Strabo to be the only man who was ever able to arrange the books of a large library in an orderly and sys- tematic manner. From that time to the pres- ent, the classification of human knowledge has occupied, more or less, the attention of some of the wisest of mankind, including such men as Bacon, Leibnitz, D'Alembert, and Cole- ridge. I refrain from wearying you with an account of the various systems which have been put forward from age to age. Those who wish to examine the history of the subject, will find it set down in detail in Woodward's System of universal science (Philadelphia, 1816). Suffice it to say that the genius of orderly arrangement seems, in modern times, to have taken up its special abode with the French, who have succeeded as well in classifying books as they have in ordering some other things usually considered more important. The system of dividing a library into five classes Theology, Jurisprudence, Sciences and Arts, Belles-Lettres, and History, the whole followed or preceded by Bibliography is com- monly ascribed to the great French bibliog- rapher, G. F. De Bure, a bookseller of Paris (1731-1782) ; but he appears to have merely adopted the plan of his predecessor in the same business, Gabriel Martin (1679-1761), who himself borrowed from Jean Garnier's Systema bibliothecce collegii Parisiensis Societatis Jesu (1678). The plan, being found to work well SMITH. '73 in practice, has since been commonly followed in the catalogues and libraries of France, and, indeed, of the Continent generally ; and, in the arrangement of its books on the shelves, a system not very different is now practised at the British Museum. This plan was also delib- erately adopted, but not without valuable im- provements in detail, in the preparation of his catalogue of the Philadelphia Library (1835) by my learned and painstaking predecessor, the late George Campbell. That classified cata- logue was a thorough and scholarly piece of work, to which was added a copious alpha- betical Index ; but in the meantime the Phila- delphia Library had no classification on the shelves, it being probably the only large col- lection of books in the world where the volumes were arranged by sizes only, and in the order of accession. The defects of that system or want of system were so serious that, on the occasion of removing the Loganian Library and the greater part of the books of the Libra- ry Company, in 1878, to the Ridgway Branch, the opportunity was embraced to make a more logical disposition of them on the shelves, and one based, as to its main features, on the sys- tem of the printed catalogue of 1835. It was in the actual execution of this work res sane magni momenti multique sudoris that the accompanying classification was wrought out ; and as a bibliographical system, to be of value, must be the fruit of experience rather than an effort of genius, it has occurred to me that my fellow-members of the American Library Asso- ciation might possibly find in it some useful suggestions. The classification is intended to be perma- nent only so far as the six main classes A, E, I, O, U, and Y, and their sub-classes a, b, c, d, e, etc., are concerned. In its details it is open to modification to suit the needs of libraries de- voted mainly to the collection of one or a few classes of books. As the volumes multiply on the shelves, it is obvious that the divisions i, 2, 3, 4, etc., can be added to indefinitely by each librarian for himself without deranging the system. Moreover, the divisions can them- selves be subdivided by supplying arbitrary marks. For example, under Zoology (I 1 6), I have made but one subdivision, that of Birds (I 1 6-J-), whereas an Academy of Natural Sciences might well find it expedient to distrib- ute their works on the animal kingdom in ac- cordance with the elaborate plan set forth in Agassiz's Essay on classification. On the other hand, a small library may content itself with the classes and sub-classes marked by letters only, or even with the classes A, E, I, O, U, Y, alone. It is to be remarked, in passing, that, by this arrangement, whatever improve- ments may be made from time to time in the details of the system, the books have always a relative, and not a fixed location on the shelves, so that they may be moved from shelf to shelf, from case to case, and from building to build- ing, without altering the shelf- marks. The system is available, not only for the arrangement of books on the shelves, but also for their classification in a subject catalogue. Indeed, the shelf-lists themselves form when properly made a subject catalogue, which may be sent off to the printer as soon as there is money enough to pay for setting them up in type. It is true that most of the ends of a subject catalogue may be gained by the modern dictionary catalogue, combining authors and subjects in one alphabet, which it is to the credit of Mr. Poole to have invented, and of Messrs. Cutter, Noyes, and others to have developed ; but, nevertheless, to my mind, the ideal printed catalogue is a classified one, with a copious alphabetical index. Suppose that the British Museum had such a printed cata- logue to-day, how much would the usefulness of that great institution be enhanced. It is only too obvious that the librarian who adopts this, or indeed any plan for the classifi- cation of books, must sometimes be at a loss to decide exactly under what subdivision to place a particular book, the problem, in difficult cases, being quite the highest proposed to a bibliographer. The rule is to place each book under its most specific class, but, nevertheless, two successive librarians or, indeed, the same one at different times might, without impro- priety, classify the same book under different heads. To secure uniformity, therefore, and to make the work of cataloguing and classifying books arranged on this plan more easy, the accompanying Synopsis and Classification are CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. followed by an alphabetical Index. In its prep- aration, I have made use of the subject Index of my ingenious friend, Mr. Melvil Dui, in his excellent Classification of a library (Amherst, 1876). By his kind permission, it is here re- produced, with the addition of about nine hun- dred new catchwords which were found desirable in practice ; for some of the latter I am indebted to Mr. F. B. Perkins' Rational classification of literature (San Francisco, 1881), which reached me as these sheets were passing through the press. The alphabetical class-signs in my sys- tem are placed alongside of the numerical class- signs in Mr. Dufs system. The reason for adopting an alphabetical instead of a numerical designation of the several classes and sub- classes, was simply to prevent confusion in calling for a book by its number, it being thought that the number of the class might be mistaken for the number of the book. This, of course, is a matter of detail which may be changed without affecting the system. Whether the classification itself is more or less logical than that of others who have at- tempted this hard and thankless, but needful, task, it is not for me to say. It has at least the merit of not being made out of nothing, but rather of having been evolved from a preex- isting system which has the approval of the best bibliographers of Europe, and which has been tried for centuries, and not found want- ing. Nolumus leges Anglice mutare. I believe the groundwork of the system to be good, but I know very well that the building I have raised upon it can be improved; and, therefore, any one who thinks of making use of either, would do well to study among others the Table Methodique of Brunet, and the classification which, however, is rather crude of the Brit- ish Museum. The latter can be consulted in Henry Stevens 1 Catalogue of the American books in the Library of the British Museum (London, 1866). Mr. Dui's and Mr. Perkins' highly original systems are also full of valuable suggestions, though the former is, to my think- ing, not sufficiently worked out in detail, while the latter, with its six thousand classes ten times as many as are used in the British Museum is, if anything, too much so. The reference alphabet first used by Mr. Dui gives their systems of classification, in point of practical utility, a decided advantage over others ; and Mr. Dui's decimal division brings in an element of simplicity which has, in theory at least, some obvious advantages. It is also steadily making its way into practice, and I understand there are more American libraries now using that plan than any other. Mr. Perkins "believes that his system accomplishes some good things which Mr. Dui's does not, and cures some de- fects in it ; " and I agree with him. If I did not think that mine was on the whole better than either, I should not publish it. Nevertheless, I am free to say, that in working out the details, I consider Mr. Perkins' arrangement, in some respects, better than my own, and if I had seen it in time I could have improved mine in sev- eral ways. Mr. Schwartz's Mnemonic System, and that of Mr. Cutter described in Vol. IV. of the Library journal are also worthy of the highest consideration. Doubtless the true Classification of Books, at once rational and convenient in practice, is a thing yet to be es- tablished, but at any rate the materials for it exist ; and if the present System with its Index on which I have been working more or less for the past four years contributes in any de- gree to make the labors of those who follow me more easy, it is all that I expect. I have only to add my thanks to our excel- lent Secretary for his kindness in undertaking the publication of the work, and to say that its profits, if any, are to go to the American Li- brary Association. SYNOPSIS. Class A. Religion. E. Jurisprudence. I. Sciences and Arts. O. Belles-Lettres. U. History. Y. Bibliography and the history of lit- erature. Sub-classes. a, b, c, d, e, etc. Divisions. i, 2, 3, 4, etc. Subdivisions. +, A, Q, IV, V, VI, etc. [As the details of the classification and the index of subjects were not read to the meeting, and have been published by the Library Bureau, they are omitted here. ED.] BEARDSLET. '75 FICTION IN LIBRARIES. BY I. L. BEARDSLEY, LIBRARIAN OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARY, CLEVELAND, O. IN this, my first attendance upon one of the annual meetings of the American Library Association, I came with no thought of obtruding my opinions or my experiences upon its delib- erations. I came rather to gain information than to attempt to enlighten you upon profes- sional methods and details, which I have not the egotism to suppose you would receive much benefit from, and I am somewhat reluc- tant now to relate what, most likely, is an old and familiar story with most of those present. All, or the majority of you, from your familiar- ity with professional requirements, seem to have had more time than myself to devote to the attainment of that minuter knowledge so necessary to rise to the highest point of use- fulness, in a calling which requires not less mental discipline, not less industry, than to become eminent in any of the learned profes- sions. I have found, from year to year, how much is yet unlearned, what application it re- quires, if I would keep ahead in my calling, in the grand march of the world of letters, and, as I have before intimated, I have not, with all my application, been able to evolve any theo- ries, or take acceptable part in deliberations in that higher technical knowledge which is be- ing so ably discussed. In speaking, yesterday, with a gentleman of this Convention, whom I have long known by reputation, of my experience in dealing with such books as are generally deemed trashy and, in many cases, pernicious, he thought it would be worth relating, as it is a subject upon which each individual librarian has had his own special experience, and from varying circumstances, must each have its own pecu- liar phase. I am very well aware that there are different opinions as to what should prop- erly be embraced in this ostracized list, and to discuss that point would go outside of my design. When I took charge of the Cleveland Public Library, it contained between sixteen and seventeen thousand volumes, more than six thousand of which were fiction. I have no data by which to tell what was the percentage of fiction drawn, but it must necessarily have been very large, exceeding, I should say, eighty per cent. There were on the shelves probably not far from five hundred volumes of what is known as Oliver Optic's books. It did not take me long to discover that the institu- tion was of very little practical benefit to those who desired to make use of it, for no one single course of valuable reading could be pursued to the end of intelligent inquiry. The Board of Education was the manager of the library, and the then Chairman of the Library Committee believed thoroughly in buying what, he said, the people wanted, and he went to the bookstores and made purchases, thinking, perhaps, that official power imparted superior intelligence. He was a good friend of mine, and said, in his positive and pleasant way, " You musn't think you know everything about libraries, for you are new at the business. I have been Chairman of this Committee for several years, and know something of what is needed." Of every book of Pinkerton's, and I presume you all know what they are, he bought fifteen copies ; Mrs. Southworth not less than fifteen, and other works of like character, I need not mention names of authors, not less than ten copies. Well, for two years matters went on in this way, leaving me in perpetual vexation of spirit. The time came, however, when a new committee on books was selected, and at the head of it a- man of learning, one who was thoroughly in harmony with my ideas. We then began a new course, and I took fresh courage and interest in my work, but demagogues crept into the Board of Education and our institution finally got shut up and for four months it lay idle. Finally it was opened with the Librarian and two assistants. This gave me the long desired opportunity to re- CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. organize on sounder business principles. A law was passed creating a Library Board, and good men were placed in charge. That Board was in perfect unison with my well-known opinions, and we started out on a career, that I believe, will lead to grand results. Year by year we have worn out and got rid of objec- tionable books, and with no falling off in the use of the library. From less than 17,000 vol- umes, with 6,000 volumes of fiction, we have now 40,000 volumes, with less than 7,000 vol- umes of fiction. The percentage of fiction drawn has decreased gradually, and from sixty- nine per cent, four years ago it was fifty and a fraction last year; and this year it will, I hope, be still lower. Taking the last three years which I have in mind, the increase in circulation has been upwards of 30,000 volumes. You can well understand that, to produce this result, while at the same time getting rid of a popular but, in the judgment of the managers, useless class of literature, required steady and persistent labor ; and I think it will be acknowledged that the measure of success was all that could have been expected. I have long tried to get our Board of Education to take action in requiring teachers to recommend and direct what the school children should read, and two years ago, in response to a memorial letter of the Library Board, the Superintendent of Schools, by advice of the Board of Education, made the proper suggestions to teachers. The instructions, however, not being compulsory, not much benefit came of it. Catalogues were furnished to all the large school-buildings, and two or three, in which fiction was omitted, were returned with the word that, as fiction was left out, they did not want the catalogues. The increase in demand for books for consul- tation has steadily increased, approximating, I believe estimating by the past months this current year to thirty thousand vol- umes. We have a fine building on Euclid Avenue, appropriated by the Board of Education, a handsome stone-front structure, sixty by one hundred feet, on a lot one hundred by two hundred feet, the two upper stories of which are for our use. The Reference Department contains between nine and ten thousand volumes, a most valuable collection of books. I am gratified to say^that our library has become a popular institution, and the cultured portion of our citizens bestow high encomiums upon it. I am not vain enough to suppose that I am the chief contributor to this flattering condition, for the Library Committee, for the past four years, have been largely men of intellect, zealous for the good work, and have advised and directed well, and, by their interest and intelligence, have lightened my labors greatly. It affords me pleasure to mention the name of the Rev. Dr. Brown, President of our Board for four years, whom the Buffalonians, we think selfishly, induced to come to their city and make his home, and I can assure my Buffalo brethren, that, if they have not already made his acquaintance, they will soon do so. I hope to meet in convention with this association again and again, and so far as my little experience will go in performing necessary work, I shall be glad to volunteer my services. Although I may be unable to advise or direct, I may, at least, take an humble part in forward- ing the great interests entrusted in our hands. It is hardly relevant to the subject to add that business methods have, in my judgment, very much to do with the legitimate value and success of a library. I have given the sub- ject much attention, and from an unfamiliarity with the business details of other libraries, I have been obliged to feel my way and add a single change now and then to correct such deficiencies as seemed necessary. I will only further add that I allot each assistant her duty and make their success always competitive by their own interest, and the work is well done. My loss of books two years ago was one in eleven thousand drawn, last year one in fifteen thou- sand drawn, and the present year the loss will not increase. I have trespassed longer upon your time than I desired or ought to have done, and thank you for your kind attention. JONES. 177 CATALOGUING. YEARLY REPORT BY L. E. JONES, BIBLIOGRAPHICAL BUREAU, NEW YORK. I^HE library world during the past year has witnessed no startling innovation in the field of cataloguing. The work done has been rather that of progress in lines already laid down than of experiment in new methods, bib- liographers apparently thinking it better to give further trial to already existing systems, than to bewilder themselves and their public by any very marked changes. Minor variations will always occur, but even these have been more in development of previously accepted principles than in the principles themselves. Whether this conservatism is due to a diversion of interest to what seem more pressing sub- jects, or whether it is the natural condition of rest following periods of development, might be difficult to determine. It is, however, no- ticeable that in the cognate departments of clas- sification and indexing, a much greater activity of investigation has been displayed. The completion of the Boston Athenaeum Catalogue stands deservedly at the head of the year's work. Its importance is not only in the magnitude of the undertaking and in the char- acter of the Library, but in its forming our most complete representative of the dictionary system, especially as applied to a large collec- tion of books. Its proved utility will consti- tute the best test of the wisdom of continuing that system for combined reference and circu- lating libraries, a test which has already been well-nigh met in the unanimous favor with which' the work has been received, both by the proprietors of the Library and by the public at large. It will be the standard for all future undertakings ; but a standard which few can hope to reach. Ranking with that of the Athenaeum in mag- nitude and importance, is Dr. Billings' Index- Catalogue of the Surgeon-General's Office, of which the second volume has made its appear- ance since the Washington Conference. Though none but its compilers are competent to criticise it, all cataloguers can, to a degree at least, appreciate its thorough minuteness of analysis and untiring accuracy of compila- tion. It causes medical bibliography to ap- pear with the equipment and suddenness of a Minerva. Though not in the domain of library cata- logues yet relating to them so far as it was in- tended for the use of librarians, is the American Catalogue, of which the concluding volume has been published since the Association's last meeting. The mode of entry in this resembles the dictionary system in its selection of specific topics (and not classes) for subject headings, but it differs from the dictionary ar- rangement in its placing the author-and-title- entries in one alphabet, to form the first vol- ume, and the subject-entries in an alphabet and volume by themselves. The work is designed as a book-buying tool, for which it furnishes prices and publishers of current publications. Of the other catalogues issued during the year, that of the Watertown (Mass.) Public Library is a volume of nearly 500 octavo pages, in which the entries, condensed to a single line each, are arranged dictionary-wise, with some cross-references and specification of contents. That of the Uxbridge (Mass.) Public Library is an exemplification of the Amherst classifica- tion scheme, a copy of which is bound with each catalogue. It comprises about 100 octavo pages, and consists of an author-list and a class-list, the latter arranged on the Amherst plan, to which the accompanying index forms a subject-key. The compiler has shown the courage of his convictions in printing the short " catalog," not only on the title-page of his own book, but also in his record of other cata- logues (under bibliography) an exercise of judgment to which their non-conforming au- thors may possibly take exception. The Brookline (Mass.) Public Library has issued an admirably prepared supplement of its acces- sions during the past eight years in the form of a dictionary catalogue of over 500 pages, 178 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. octavo, with full names, imprints and contents. The typography is exceptionally neat, giving the page a most clear and attractive appear- ance. Supplements have also been issued by the N. Y. Apprentices' Library and by the Taunton Public Library. The former is a book of about 200 pages, the titles arranged on Mr. Schwartz' well-known principles of classifica- tion, of which he takes this occasion to say that his ten years' experience in its use has not only confirmed his own opinion of its utility, but, judging by the imitations, has also con- verted others. The Taunton Supplement is a small quarto of some 70 pages, consisting of an author-list, with a classified index added. The publication by the Buffalo Young Men's Library of a list of books for young readers was, in itself, a most happy idea ; and the di- vision of books under each subject (whenever practicable) into three classes, suitable to differ- ent ages, was even happier in its conception. A valuable catalogue of the works on the Law of Nations and Diplomacy in the State Depart- ment at Washington, and a List of Documents and other Publications of the U. S. Govern- ment, issued during the last quarter of 1880 and the first quarter of 1881, are among the special catalogues of the year. It is devoutly to be hoped that the last may prove a forerun- ner of some regular and permanent publication. To these should be added a new edition of its Catalogue of Books in Foreign Languages, and a supplement to its Catalogue of Books in the Arts and Sciences, from the Boston Public Li- brary. The former is an author-list of 32 pages, with references to other catalogues of the Library ; the latter has similar references, and gives the additions since 1871 in 56 pages, under the dictionary system, with notes. In neither are imprints given. As this report is only intended to point out what is especially important or notable, and does not aim to form a complete record of all that has been accomplished in this field, the remaining publications of the year need not be mentioned. A number of the smaller libraries have also issued catalogues, others have pub- lished supplements, and there have been the usual accession-lists, bulletins, and lists of ad- ditions. Before the next meeting we may ex- pect to hear from the Baltimore Peabody In- stitute and from the Indianapolis Public Li- brary, both of whom are printing ; and before very long we trust to see Mr. Spoffbrd's author- catalogue, to which we are all looking forward, knowing so well what its value must be. The British Museum is also printing ; but who has the courage to look forwards forty years to its completion ? CHARGING-SYSTEMS. BY K. A. LINDERFELT, LIBRARIAN OF THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC LIBRARY. T IKE some other members of this Associa- Ls tion, of whom I know, I owe a grudge to our program committee for not informing me, before my arrival in Cincinnati, of the duty as- signed to me of reporting on charging-systems, as I should have liked to have given a history of the development of system in the manner of charging books to borrowers, presented a sketch of the different methods now employed in the libraries of America, instituted a com- parison between them, pointed out their sev- eral defects and advantages, and thus opened the way to finally discovering a charging-sys- tem of ideal perfection. A considerable part of this work has, however, already been done in the elaborate papers and discussions on this subject in the third volume of the Library Journal; and the best thing I can do under the circumstances is, therefore, to confine my- self to a few remarks in reference to the charg- ing-systems with which I have become ac- quainted in my endeavor to find a suitable one for my own library, and to give a rapid de- scription of the one I now use. Many, I have no doubt, will consider this whole matter to be of but trifling value, and say that almost any record is good which will show where a book is, and when it went out. There are libraries leaving, of course, out of consideration entirely such as are merely used LINDERFEL T. 1 7 9 for reference, and the books of which only cir- culate within the sacred precincts of their own walls there are libraries, with a picked and aristocratic constituency, wholly above re- proach, that can afford to take such a view of the question. But to those of us having charge of a collection of books to which all the mot- ley crew of a large city have practically unre- stricted access, whether they be white or black, permanent residents or temporary visitors, honest or dishonest, bank-presidents or rag- pickers, and being often obliged to study how to do the greatest good with the smallest amount of expenditure, it becomes a question of the greatest importance, how to increase the proportion of new books by keeping those al- ready acquired in proper condition and, at all times, within easy reach of the librarian's hand. Then, the general public is a jealous public ; jealous of their prerogatives and sensitive of any undue interference with their real or sup- posed rights ; and any librarian having ever had the misfortune of being the target for the resentment of a borrower, who has received a notice to return a book already duly delivered to the attendants, will know how futile it fre- quently is to try to explain the fallibility of humankind in general, and library attendants in particular, and devoutly wish for the speedy invention of a self-indexing, self registering, and self-everything-else charging machine. There exist in libraries with which I have become acquainted two radically different methods for recording books and borrowers in circulation, the ledger and the slip systems, as well as several varieties of combinations of the two. The former, with its rapidly accumulat- ing pages of closely written entries, like the grocer's or the meat-monger's account-book, in all its varying forms, is, at the best, a cum- brous, inconvenient, and time-wasting affair, belonging in the same category as fixed shelf- location, interleaved catalogs, and similar de- vices, which are rapidly getting to be num- bered among things of the past. It may, therefore, be set aside with merely this pass- ing notice, all the advantages which it pos- sesses, or might possess, having been recorded in Mr. Dui's excellent papers already referred to. The slip-system, on the other hand, ad- mits of such an infinite variety of modifica- tions, that it is difficult to decide, sometimes, what the most convenient, accurate, and eco- nomical arrangement is. I can, thus, only allude to a few of the principal variations which have come under my notice. In the great majority of libraries, when a new member becomes entitled to the privilege of using its contents, whether through some other person's guaranty, a money deposit, or an annual fee, a card is given him as a certifi- cate that he has complied with all the require- ments of the management, and which must be produced in all his transactions with the libra- ry; although there are libraries, like the St. Louis public school library, which do not re- quire even this slight cooperation on the part of the borrower for keeping its records in shape. In some libraries this card serves no other purpose than the one indicated, or pos- sibly as a reminder to the borrower of the time when his book must be returned, while in other libraries it forms an integral part of its charg- ing-system. This latter is a risky arrange- ment, as my experience, at least, is that an ordinary borrower has even less regard, if pos- sible, for the card than for the book itself, and considers its loss of no importance whatever. Where the entire record is kept in the library, secure from the gaze and touch of the profa- num vulgus, there are, again, essential differ- ences in the manner of arrangement and ma- nipulation. Some libraries, as, for instance, the Detroit Public Library, make the book-bor- rower write the entire record-slip with number, title, name, etc., it being, in fact, only the call- slip in a fixed form, which slips are then filled, and constitute the only record of books in cir- culation. This arrangement would seem to make it an extremely irksome task for a person, who had his "declaration of intention" signed "Pat. x O'Brien," to call for a book; while the attendants must necessarily often be sorely tried by illegible scrawls. In other libraries, like the Chicago Public Library, the attendants write the record-slip themselves, in a manner that has been fully illustrated by Mr. Poole in his contribution to the government report on public libraries. In one thing, however, these and other libraries with a similar charging- i So CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. system agree, namely, that the slip is merely a temporary affair, written for the occasion, and thrown away as soon as the book is returned. The system in use with us until a little more than a year ago was an exact copy of Mr. Poole's; and I can, therefore, testify to its gen- eral excellence in all but one point, which, to me, seems a very important one. It keeps a record only of the book, and not of the bor- rower, who, nevertheless, is often more liable to go astray than the book. In order to obvi- ate this difficulty I adopted, on January i, 1881, the charging-system I now employ, and which has, so far, given me entire and decided satis- faction. Instead of temporary slips, I use permanent ones, made of thin board, the size of the standard catalog card, printed with blank lines in two columns down the length of the slip ; and instead of one slip I use two, one constituting the record of the book, the other of the borrower. Of these two, the book- slip is made of white card-board, and the mem- ber-slip of manilla tag-board, so that they can be easily distinguished from each other. We have also a slip of pink card-board, which is identical with the white one, except that it de- notes a book which can be retained only seven days, instead of the customary two weeks. The book-slip has printed or written, in the blank space on top, the number of the book, and is kept in an "Acme " card-pocket on the cover, while the book is in its place on the shelf. When it is called for by a person who desires to borrow it, or withdrawn from the shelf for any other purpose, this slip is taken out, and the borrower's number entered on the first empty line in the left-hand column. Then the date is stamped at the same time as the borrower's own card, on the opposite line in the right-hand column. It will thus be seen that this slip becomes virtually an exact coun- terpart of Mr. Poole's charging-slip, and is treated, filed, and used exactly in the same manner, but returned to the card-pocket when the book is returned. The tag-board or mem- ber-slip is marked at the top with the number of the borrower's card, and all these slips, with us amounting to between 5,000 and 6,000, are kept, arranged in one numerical series, in two compartments added to Mr. Poole's file- box, standing on the delivery-desk. When the member withdraws a book, the number of this book is entered on the slip corresponding to his card, but no date stamped opposite. When the book is returned, however, the date of such return is stamped on the member-slip, opposite the book number. 1 The presence on the member-slip of a number without a date opposite therefore shows there is a book out on this card ; the contrary, that it is not at present in use. All matters that in anyway affect a borrower's standing with the library, or involve a forfeiture of its privileges, are duly noted on this slip, and the consecutive slips referring to a certain card thereby be- come a complete history of the use any indi- vidual borrower has made of the library. This slip serves as an entirely satisfactory solution of the difficulty frequently presenting itself in libraries employing a card in the hands of the borrower, of how to prevent, without fail, the use of two cards by the same person, when one has been lost and found after a new one is issued. Waiting for a new card for a week, or a month, or a year, after the loss of the old one has been reported, does not afford a reme- dy for this evil, as I can assert from my own experience. With my system, however, anew card may be issued immediately, whether the first be really lost or not. The new card and 1 Book-slips. White card-board. Member-slip. Manilla tag-board. 2468 424.6 925.42 2468 R April 10 2468 MayS 934.6 MayS 93S-43 LINDERFEL T. 181 the corresponding slip are both marked with a " 2," or any conventional cabalistic figure ; and if, then, twenty cards should be presented bearing the same number, none but the one thus marked can draw any books from our library. The book-slips are used for various other purposes, such as recording the sending of the book to the binder, entries of special requests for holding it, when it comes in, for the benefit of an anxious reader, and so forth. Renewals for a second period, while the book is out, are indicated merely by writing an " R " between the borrower's number and the date. The process, simply stated, is as follows : A person presents his card at the delivery- window, and asks for a book, orally or in writing. The book, if in, is brought, its slip removed from the pocket, and the borrower's slip found in the general file. The two slips are then placed side by side, the number of each entered in the left column of the other, and the date stamped on the white slip and on the borrower's card. The borrower's own card is then put in the book-pocket, the book delivered, and the two record-slips thrown into two boxes on the desk, where they remain until the closing of the circulating department at night, when the two piles are sorted out, both in numerical order. In the morning, before the opening of the library, the package of white slips is placed, separately, in a com- partment of the file-box, indicated by their date, and the manilla slips are sorted back in the general file of memberships. When the book is returned, the date on the borrower's card shows where the white slip is, and the card number locates exactly the manilla slip. Both are taken out ; the white slip, without further entry, returned to the book-pocket, and the manilla slip, as well as the borrower's card, stamped with the date, which completes the transaction, and releases the borrower from further obligation in regard to this book. The manilla slip is then passed on to a small box, placed between the receiving and the deliv- ery window, and divided into compartments marked o, i, 2, 3, etc. ("thousand" being understood in each case), where it can readily be found at once, as soon as the borrower has selected and called for his next book. If he should go away without taking a new book, the slip is returned to the general file at the first opportunity the attendants may have to do so. I have often been asked whether this ar- rangement does not form a very complicated charging-system, and take considerably longer time than the ordinary one-slip systems ; and to this I answer, that the system is extremely sim- ple in its working; that the actual writing done each time is exactly the same as is necessary with Mr. Poole's charging-system, and that the infinitesimal quantity of extra time required for getting the member-slip, and stamping the date once more, is amply compensated for by the greater security, and the comparative im- munity from mistakes, which it affords. In my last report to the Board of Trustees of the Milwaukee Public Library, I gave a list of twenty questions which can be instan- taneously answered by our new charging-sys- tem, and when it is considered that fourteen of these questions, or 70% of the whole number, some of them of the greatest importance, were left unanswered by the method of charging formerly used by us, except by keeping a sep- arate record, I think it must be admitted that even a small additional outlay of time can- not be thought a loss. These questions are as follows (those left unanswered by the old system being printed in italics) : 1 . Is a given book out ? 2. If out, who has it ? 3. When did he take it ? 4. When is it to be sent for, as over- due ? 5. Has the book never been out? 6. How many times (and when) has the book been out ? 7. How many books were issued on a given day ? 8. How many in each class f 9. How many books are now out, charged to borrowers ? 10. What books are at the bindery, etc. ? 1 1 . Has a certain book been rebound, and when ? 12. What books have been discarded? CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. 13. Does the circulation of a discarded book warrant its being replaced? 14. Has a given person a book charged to him ? 15. How many persons have now books charged to them ? 1 6. Are those the persons who registered earliest or latest f 17. How often has a borrower made use of the library ? 1 8. Has a person had a given book be- fore? 19. What has been the character of a per- son 's reading? 20. Is a person's card still in force and used? As regards the origin of my system of charging and recording books, I may say that I am indebted for the groundwork of it to our esteemed colleag, Mr. W. E. Foster, of Provi- dence, although I have lately heard that it really originates, like so many other good things in library works, with Mr. C: A. Cut- ter. I have, however, in several important particulars, modified his system so materially as to entitle it to be considered a distinct va- riety ; and any one who would like to know wherein these modifications consist, I refer to the Library journal 4: 445 and 5: 320, in which short descriptions of Mr. Cutter's and Mr. Fos- ter's procedure is given. I have lately had the satisfaction of seeing my system introduced, without change, in another library, and though I should not dare to say that it would be equally suitable in all libraries, and possibly not at all in those with a very large number of members, and a very high daily circulation, I have yet to learn of a charging-system that, for the wants of the average library in this country, surpasses it, as regards insuring safety of the books, economizing time, and preventing mistakes. YEARLY REPORT ON BOYS' AND GIRLS' READING. BY MISS C. M. HEWINS, LIBRARIAN OF THE HARTFORD LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. ABOUT the first of March I sent cards to the librarians of twenty-five of the leading libraries of the country, asking, " What are you doing to encourage a love of good reading in boys and girls?" and soon after published a no- tice in the New York Evening Post and Nation, saying that statements from librarians and teachers concerning their work in the same direction would be gladly received. The cards brought, in almost every case, full answers ; the newspaper notice has produced few results. The printed report of the Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy, Mass., says: "The trustees have recently made a special effort to encourage the use of the library in connection with the course of teaching in the public schools. Under a rule adopted two years ago the teachers of certain grades of schools are in the practice of borrowing a number of those volumes they consider best adapted to the use of their scholars, and keeping them in constant circulation among them. During the year two lists of books for the use of the children in the public schools were printed under the direction of the trustees. One of these lists contained works in juvenile fiction ; the other, biogra- phies, histories, and books of a more instructive character. All the works included were selected by the trustees as being such as they would put in the hands of their own children. The lists thus prepared were then given to the teachers of the schools for gratuitous circulation among their scholars." Mr. Green, of the Worcester, Mass., Free Public Library, writes : " The close connection which exists between the library and the schools is doing much to elevate the character of the reading of the boys and girls. Many books are used for collateral reading, others to supplement the instruction of text-books in geography and history, others still in the employment of leis- ure hours in school. Boys and girls are led to read good books and come to the library for similar ones. Lists of good books are kept in HE WINS. '83 the librarian's room, and are much used by teachers and pupils." Mr. Upton, of the Peabody Library, Peabody, Mass., gives as his opinion: "If teachers did their duty, librarians would not be troubled as to good reading. My experience of about thir- ty-five or forty years as a public grammar-school teacher is, that teachers can control, to a great extent, the reading of their pupils, and also that, as a class, teachers are not great readers. We should have little trouble in changing to some degree our circulation, but our thirteen- foot shelves and long ladders prevent the em- ployment of the best help. We print bulletins and assist all who ask aid." Miss Bean, of the Public Library, Brookline, Mass., says: "I have no statistics of results relative to my school finding-list. Its influ- ence is quietly but steadily making itself felt. The teachers tell me that many of the pupils use no other catalogue in selecting books from the library, and I know there are many families where the children are restricted to its use. We keep two or three interleaved and posted with the newest books when I think them de- sirable. Several of the teachers have told me personally that they had found the list useful to themselves ; but teachers are mortal and human. Many of them think duty done when the day's session is over, and the matter of outside read- ing with their pupils is of little moment to them. I want to get out a revised list, with useful notes." Mr. Rice, of the City Library, Springfield, Mass., writes: "We have a manuscript cata- logue of the best and most popular books for boys and girls. We call attention to the best books as we have opportunity when the young people visit the library. We endeavor to influ- ence the teachers in our public schools to aid us in directing the attention of boys and girls to the best juveniles, and such other books as they can appreciate." Mr. Arnold, of the Public Library, Taunton, Mass., says : " What I am doing is to indicate in the margin of my catalogues the works which are adapted to the taste and comprehension of young people, so that not only their own atten- tion may be diverted from the fiction depart- ment, but that their parents an r l teachers may easily furnish them with proper lists. We aim at excluding from the library books of a sen- sational character, as well as those positively objectionable on the score of morality." Miss James, librarian of the Free Library, Newton, Mass., in speaking of the catalogue, without notes, of children's books, published by that library in 1878, and given to the pupils of the public schools, says : " I do not think that catalogue ever influenced a dozen children. We have just completed a very full card-cata- logue which the children use a great deal in connection with their studies. Eleven hundred zinc headings are a great help. I frequently speak to the children to get acquainted with them, so they are quite free to ask for help. Our local paper has offered me half a column a week for titles and notices. I shall, of course, notice children's books as well as others." Mr. Peirce, the superintendent, says in his last report: "It is only from homes where the intellectual and moral character of childhood is neglected, as a rule, that the library with us is in any wise abused by the over-crowding of the mind with novels. In many of even these cases kind and wise restraint can be, and is, exercised by the librarian." Mr. Cummings, curator of the Lower Hall card -catalogue of the Boston Public Library, and Miss Jenkins, assistant librarian in the same place, have kindly sent me the manu- scripts of their forthcoming reports to the trustees. These reports are wholly on the methods and results of their personal inter- course with readers, and the increase in special reading during the last few years. Concerning boys and girls Mr. Cummings writes : "I must not forget . . . the juvenile readers, school- boys and school-girls, and the children from the stores and offices about town. These latter are smart, bright, active little bodies, often more in earnest than their more fortunate fel- lows of the same age. They are an object of special solicitude and care. The school children come for points in reading for their compositions and for parallel reading with their lessons in school ; and such books are suggested as may be found useful. The two most available faculties in children to work upon are the heart and the imagination. 184 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. Get a hold on their affections by encourag- ing words and manifesting a readiness to help them, and you command their devotion and confidence. Give them interesting books (Optic and Alger, if needs be), and you fix their attention. Above all, let the book be interesting ; for the attention is never fixed by, nor does the memory ever retain, what is laborious to read. But, once assured of their devotion, with their confidence secured and their attention fixed, there is nothing to prevent the work of direction succeeding admirably with them." Miss Jenkins says : " The use of the library by the young people is increasing every year. The change in the character of children's' books has been a great help to us, fairly crowding out many of the trashy stories so long the favorite reading. One of the first things that attracted my attention was their perseverance in seeking certain authors, and their continual exchange of books. I soon found their difficulties with the catalogue. They read only stories, and wanted those full of incident and excite- ment ; when their favorite author failed, they sought for something else that sounded right in the catalogue, or sometimes wrote only the numbers without much reference to the titles, trusting, I suppose, to luck. Not liking the looks of the books they would return them. A steady recurrence of this made it a nuisance. One of my first steps was to join one of the many groups around the room, and look over with them, suggest this author, or this, that, and the other book, until they were furnished with a list of books fairly suited to their age, and then, suggesting that the list should be kept for future reference, pass on to another group. This is now a general practice, and seems to suit the little folks ; if, after several applications, they are unsuccessful, it is my custom to get them a book. My young people began to ask me to help their friends, also to help others themselves ; so gradually the bright faces of my boy and girl friends have grown familiar, and as they gain confidence in me we strike out into other paths, and many bright, readable books, historical or containing bits of geography or elementary science, have been read. It so happened that many of my young friends grew quite confidential, and told me about their school and lessons. It was not very difficult to induce them to read some things bearing upon their studies ; these books were shown to their teachers, and many were ready to cooperate at once ; this led to an acquaintance with several, and the teachers', plan of study became a basis of selection for reading in history, biography, travel, and natural science. From books suited to their capacity much effective work has been done. Several classes have studied English history, and their reading has been made supplementary from the topics. Later, when a list of notable persons was given to them, they showed the effect of their reading by giving very good short sketches of these persons. American history colonial, revolutionary, administra- tions, civil war, reconstruction has been treated similarly, and the teachers are much gratified at the result. We find that these boys do not fall back to trashy reading, but ask for better reading in place of their old favorites. Several girls of the high school have sought assistance in their various studies, especially in Greek and Roman history, and have read, in connection with the histories recommended, novels and some interesting travels, and have spent much time over engravings and photo- graphs illustrative of their reading. Two of these girls, having asked me for a novel, mean- ing something like their former reading, I made tests by giving them exactly what they asked for. Very soon both books were returned, with the remark, ' I couldn't read it.' In a little talk that ensued, and in which I drew from them a criticism of their reading, it dawned upon them that they had developed, or grown, as they said. I could go on giving instances of this gradual development in individual cases, and of its influence upon others to whom these readers recommended what they had read, the increased call for the better books of fiction, biography, history, travel, miscellany, and science. In four years' work books of sensational incident, so long popular, have lost much of their charm. They have been crowded out by better books and personal interest in the young people themselves." Mr. Foster of the Public Library. Providence, PIE WINS, 185 R.I., has sent an account in detail of his work among pupils and teachers, which may be thus condensed : Soon after the opening of the library, in 1878, he held a conference with the grammar-school masters of the city, and through them met the other teachers. He printed for the use of pupils a list of sugges- tions, some of the most important of which were summed up in the following words : " Begin by basing your reading on your school text-books ; " " Learn the proper use of refer- ence-books ;" " Use imaginative literature, but not immoderately ; " " Do not try to cover too much ground ;"" Do not hesitate to ask for assistance and suggestions at the library ; " " See that you make your reading a definite gain to you in some direction." Mr. Foster soon gained influence among the teachers by personally addressing them, and began to publish annotated lists of books for young readers. A reading hour was estab- lished in the public schools, and pupils learned to give in their own language the substance of books which they had read. Mr. Foster says : "Our plans were by no means limited to the public schools, but included Brown University, the Rhode Island State Normal School, the Commercial College, the private schools for girls, and the two private boys' schools pre- paratory for college, one of which has ten teachers and some two hundred and fifty pupils. One morning I met the boys of this school in their chapel, and gave them a twenty minutes 1 talk on reading, particularly on the question how to direct one's current reading, as of newspapers, into some channel of permanent interest and value. Since my address before the teachers of the State (published in the papers and proceedings of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction for 1880) we have had many calls for assistance from outside the city, from teachers in the high schools and grammar schools of other places. In 1878 I began the preparation of a bulletin of new books, issued quarterly by the State Board of Education, and there have been several instances of a series of references in connection with school-work. In July, 1880, I sent to the different teachers a series of suggestions about the reading of their pupils, covering such points as preserving a record of the books read, books not being read and returned at too frequent intervals, and the inspection of these matters by the teacher, or rather establishing communication between the teacher and pupil so that these things shall be talked over. 1 ' Finding-lists have been checked for the schools, appeals have been made by Mr. Foster in public addresses for supervision of children's reading by teachers and parents, and duplicate copies of books have been placed in the library for school use. In conclusion, Mr. Foster adds: "There has been a gradual and steady advance in methods of cooperation and mutual understanding, so that now it is a perfectly understood thing, throughout the schools, among teachers and pupils, that the library stands ready to help them at almost every point." Mrs. Sanders, of the Free Public Library, Pawtucket, R.I., writes: "I am circulating by the thousand Rev. Washington Gladden's 4 How and What to Read,' published as a cir- cular by the State Board of Education of Rhode Island. I am constantly encouraging the children to come to me for assistance, which they are very ready to do ; and I find that after boys have had either a small or a full dose of Alger (we do not admit 'Optic'), they are very ready to be promoted to some- thing more substantial, Knox, Butterworth, Coffin, Sparks, or Abbott. I find more satis- faction in directing the minds of boys than girls, for though I may and generally do suc- ceed in interesting them in the very best of fiction, it is much more difficult to draw them into other channels, unless it is poetry. I should like very much to know if this is the experience of other librarians. My aim is first to interest girls or boys according to their ability to enjoy or appreciate, and gradually to develop whatever taste is the most prominent. For instance, I put on the shelves all mechani- cal books for boys ; works upon adornments for homes, painting, drawing, music, aids to little housekeepers, etc., for the girls." Mr. Fletcher, of the Watkinson Library, Hartford, Conn., says, in a recent address on the public library question in its moral and re- ligious aspect: "Many of our public libraries beg the whole question, so far as it refers to 1 86 CINCINNA TI CONFERENCE. the youngest readers, by excluding them from the use of books. A limit of fourteen or six- teen years is fixed, below which they are not admitted to the library as its patrons. But, in some of those more recently established, the wiser course has been adopted of fixing no such limitation. For, in these times, there is little probability that exclusion from the library will prevent their reading. Poor, indeed, in resources must be the child who cannot now buy, beg, or borrow a fair supply of reading of some kind ; so that exclusion from the library is simply a shutting up of the boy or girl to the resources of the home and the book-shop or newspaper. A slight examination of the literature found in a majority of homes and most prominent in the shops is enough to show what this means, and to explain the fact, that the young persons first admitted to the public library at fourteen years of age come to it with a well-developed taste for trash and a good ac- quaintance with the names of authors in that department of literature, but with apparently little capacity left for culture in higher direc- tions." Mr. Winchester, of the Russell Free Library, Middletown, Conn., said in his report, last Jan- uary: "A departure from the ordinary rules governing the use of the library has been made in favor of the teachers in the city schools, al- lowing a teacher to take to the school a num- ber of books upon any topic which may be the subject of study for the class for the time, and to retain them beyond the time regularly al- lowed." In a letter three months later he writes, " I cannot trace directly to this arrange- ment any change in the reading of young folks. We have taken a good deal of pains to get good books for the younger readers, and I make it a point to assist them whenever I can. I feel quite sure that, if trash is shut out of the library and withheld from young readers, and, if good and interesting books are offered to them, they will soon learn not to care for the trash." Mr. Bassett, of the Bronson Library, Water- bury, Conn., says in his printed report: " The librarian can do a little towards leading young book-borrowers towards the selection of proper books, but it does not amount to much unless his efforts are seconded by parents and teach- ers. It is of little use, I fear, to appeal to parents to look after their children's reading. It is possible that they do not know that, in not a few cases, boys and girls from eight to six- teen years of age, even while attending school, draw from three to six volumes a week to read, and often come for two volumes a day. That they fail to realize the effects of so much read- ing on their children's minds is evident when we hear them say, and with no little pride, too, ' Our children are great readers ; they read all the time.' Such parents ought to know that instead of turning out to be prodigies of learn- ing, these library gluttons are far more likely to become prodigious idiots, and that teachers find them, as a rule, the poorest scholars and the worst thinkers." He adds an appeal to teachers : " Give out questions that demand research, and send out pupils to the library for information if necessary, and be assured that a true librarian enjoys nothing so much as a search, with an ea'rnest seeker, after truths that are hidden away in his books. Do not hesitate even to ask questions that you cannot answer, and rely upon your pupils to answer them, and to give authorities, and do not be ashamed to learn of your pupils. Work with them as well as for them. But, whatever else you do, do not waste your time in urging your pupils to stop story-reading and to devote their time to good books. A parent can command this, you cannot ; but you can make the use of good books, and the acquisition of knowledge not found in books, attractive and even necessary, and your ability to do this determines your real value as a teacher. Your work is to change your earth-loving moles into eagle-eyed and in- telligent observers of all that is on, in, above, and under the earth." Mr. Bassett writes that as a result of this appeal there was in Novem- ber, December, January, and February, an in- crease of nineteen (19) per cent, in the circula- tion of general literature, science, history, travel, and biography, and a decrease in juveniles of ten (10) per cent, for January and February, 1882, as compared with the same months of 1 88 1 . For the first nineteen days of March the increase of the classes first-named was thirty- seven (37) per cent, over last year, and the HE WINS. 187 decrease in juvenile fiction twenty-seven (27) per cent. He ends his letter: "As a school officer and acting school visitor, I find that those teachers whose education is not limited to text-books, and who are able to guide their pupils to full and accurate knowledge of sub- jects of study, are not only the best, but the only ones worth having." Mr. Rogers, of the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, Vermont, says: "I have with- drawn permanently all of Alger, Fosdick, Thomes, and Oliver Optic. I have for some time past been making the teachers in the primary schools my assistants without pay. I give them packages of books to circulate among their respective schools. Very good results have been obtained. The Police Gazette and other vile weeklies have been discarded for books from the Fletcher Library. Most of the young folks are not old enough to draw at the library themselves, and this method has to be used, as in many instances the parents will not or cannot draw books for their children. Each teacher has a copy of Mr. Smart's excellent book, ' Reading for Young People. 1 Such books as are in our collection are designated in their copies." The New York Free Circulating Library is quietly doing good by the establishment of care- fully selected branch libraries in the poorest and most thickly settled parts of the city. In the words of the last report: "The librarian has been constantly instructed to aid all readers in search of information, however trivial may be the subject, and, while the readers are to have free scope in their choice of books, libra- rians have attempted, when they properly could do so, free from seeming officiousness, to sug- gest books of the best character, and induce the cultivation of a good literary taste." Miss Coe, the librarian, adds, "Boys will read the best books, if they can get them." Mr. Schwartz, of the Apprentices 1 Library, New York, says: "We are always ready and willing to direct and advise in special cases , but have not as yet been able to come across any general plan that seemed to us to promise suc- cess. The term ' good reading ' is relative, and must vary according to the taste of each reader, and it is just this variety of standards that seems to present an unsurmountable obsta- cle to any general and comprehensive system of suggestions." Miss Bullard, of the Seymour Library, Au- burn, N.Y., reports a decrease in fiction from sixty-five (65) to fifty-eight (58) per cent, in the last five years. She says: " I have en- deavored, year by year, to gain the confidence of the younger portion of our subscribers in my ability to always furnish them with interest- ing reading, and have thus been able to turn them from the domain of fiction into the more useful fields of literature. Another noticeable and encouraging feature of the library is the increasing use made of it by pupils in the high school in connection with school-work." Mr. Larned, of the Young Men's Library of Buffalo, N.Y., writes: "I think the little cata- logue is doing a great deal of good among our young readers and among parents and teachers. We exert what personal influence we can in the library, but there are no other special measures that we employ." The catalogue, a carefully chosen list of books for young readers, with stars placed against those specially recommend- ed, includes, besides books mentioned in other letters , the Boy's Froissart and King Arthur, Miss Tuckey's Joan of Arc, Le Liefde's Great Dutch Admirals, Eggleston's Famous American In- dians, Bryant's History of the United States, Verne's Exploration of the World, Du Chaillu's books, What Mr. Darwin Saw, Science Prim- ers, Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle, Smiles's Biographies, Clodd's Childhood of the World, Viollet Le Due's Learning to Draw, Dana's Household Book of Poetry, Uncle Re- mus, Sir Roger de Coverley, several pages on out and in door games, hunting and fishing, with plenty of myths and fairy tales, an anno- tated selection of historical novels, and a short list of good stories. The Friends' Free Library, Germantown, Pa., still excludes all fiction except a few care- fully chosen stories for children. The report of the committee says: "Our example has been serviceable in stimulating some other li- brary committees and communities to use more discrimination in their selection of books than may have been the case with them in the past. From our own precious children "we 1 88 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. would fain keep away the threatening contami- nation, if in our power to do so ; the divine law of love to our neighbor thence instructs us to use the opportunity to put far away the evil from him also." The representatives of the religious Society of Friends for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, have published during the year a protest against demoralizing literature and art, taking the ground that the national standard of moral purity is lowered, and the sanctity of marriage weakened, by most of the books, pictures, and theatrical exhibi- tions of to-day. The current report of the Cincinnati public schools gives a full account of the celebrations of authors' birthdays in the last two years, and the superintendent, the Hon. John B. Peaslee, LL.D., in an address on moral and literary training in school, urges that the custom, so successfully begun, shall be kept up, and that children in all grades of schools shall be required to learn every week a few lines of good poetry, instead of choosing for them- selves either verse or prose for declamation. Mr. Merrill asks in his last report for coopera- tion between the school and the library, and says in a letter: "I read a paper some time ago which was published in a teachers' maga- zine, and have addressed our Cincinnati teach- ers. We purchased a number of the cata- logues of the Young Men's Library of Buffalo, and have written in our corresponding shelf numbers. A few of our teachers have also ob- tained these catalogues. I judge that the chil- dren are beginning to take out better books than formerly. The celebration of authors' days in the schools has been very beneficial in making the children acquainted with some of the best literature in the libraries as well as with the use of books of reference." Miss Stevens, of the Public Library, Toledo, Ohio, says: "We are fond of children, and suggest to them books that they will like. Give a popular boy a good book, and there is not much rest for that book. Librarians should like children." Mr. Poole, of the Chicago Public Library, writes : "I have met the principals of the schools, and have addressed them on their duties in regulating the reading of their pupils, and advising their pupils as to what to read and how to read. My talk has awakened some interest in the teachers, and a committee has been ap- pointed to consider what can be done about it." Mr.Carnes, of the Odd Fellows' Library Asso- ciation, San Francisco, fires this shot in his re- port: "Even the child knows that forbidden fruit is the sweetest on the branch. If you wish to compel a boy to read a given book, strictly forbid him even to take it from the shelves. The tabooed books will somehow be secured in spite of their withdrawal." Mr. Metcalf, of the Wells School, Boston, who told at the conference of 1879 of his work in encouraging a love for good, careful, and critical reading, writes : " My girls have bought Scott's Talisman, and we have read it together. I have now sent in a request for forty copies of Ivanhoe. My second class have read, on the same plan, this year, Mrs. Whitney's We Girls, and the third class have finished Towle's Pizar- ro, and are now reading Leslie Goldthwaite. The City Council refused, last year, to appro- priate the $i,oooasked for. When we have the means, all our grammar and high school mas- ters will be able to order from the library such books as are suited to their classes. This plan introduces the children to a kind of reading somewhat better than would otherwise reach them, and, best of all, it gives them great facil- ity in expression." Hartford, which has now no free circulating library, but hopes for one within two years, still keeps the old district system of schools, and several of these schools have a library fund. Mr. Barrows, principal of the Bcown School, writes : " Our library contains the usual school reference-books. Recently we have added quite a number of books especially adapted to interest and instruct children, such as The Boy Travel- lers, Miss Yonge's Histories, Butterworth's Zig- zag Journeys, Forbes's Fairy Geography, etc. The children are not permitted to take these books away from the building. Pupils are in- vited to bring such additional facts in geogra- phy, or history, as they may obtain by reading. Topics are assigned. Should spices be the topic, one pupil would read up concerning cloves ; an- other nutmeg, etc. Again, pupils are allowed to make their own selections, and invited to HE WINS. 189 give, at a specified time, any facts in geogra- phy, history, natural science, manufactures, inventions, etc. For this extra work extra cred- its are given. Our object is to cause pupils to realize the conscious and abiding pleasure that comes by instructive reading ; to encourage such as have not been readers to read, and to influ- ence such as have been readers of trash to be- come readers of profitable books. The result, so far, is very encouraging. Many have be- come enthusiastic readers, and can give more facts and information thus obtained than we have time to hear. As the Christmas holidays approached, many signified a desire that their presents might be books, such as we have in our library ; for they do not have time at school to exhaust the reading of these books, and con- sequently do not lose their interest." Within the last few months Mr. Northrop, Secretary of the Board of Education of Con- necticut, has distributed in the high schools and upper classes of the grammar schools of the State, blanks to be filled by the pupils with the kind of reading that they like best, and the names of their favorite authors. Several hun- dred of these circulars were destroyed when the Hartford High School was burned last win- ter. The publication of a list of books suitable for boys and girls has been delayed, but Mr. Hoi- brook, of the Morgan School, Clinton, Conn., who prepared the list, writes concerning his work in school : " I have the practical disburse- ment of three or four hundred dollars a year for books. In the high school, in my walks at recess among the pupils, I inquire into their reading, try to arouse some enthusiasm, and then, when the iron is hot, I make the propo- sition that if they will promise to read nothing but what I give them I will make out a schedule for them. A pupil spending one hour, even less, a day, religiously observing the time, will, in five years, have read every book that should be read in the library. Those who agree to the above proposition I immediately start on the Epochs of History, turning aside at proper times to read some historical novel. When that is done I give them Motley, then Dickens, or Prescott, or Macaulay, Hawthorne, Thacke- ray, Don Quixote. Cooper I depend on as a lure for younger readers. When they have read about enough (in my opinion) , I invite them to go a little higher. Whenever they come to the office and look helplessly about, I immediately jump up from my work, and, solving the personal equation, pick out two or three books which I think adapted first to interest, and then instruct. I try to welcome their ap- pearance, assuring them that the books are to be read, urging the older ones to read carefully and with thought. Some I benefit ; others are too firmly wedded to their idols, Mrs. Holmes and Southworth. Finally, it is my aim to send them away from school with their eyes opened to the fact that they have, the majority, been reading to no purpose ; that there are better, higher, and nobler books than they ever dreamed of. Of course I don't always accomplish this ; but he who aims at the sun will go higher than one aiming at the top of the barn." A commission of sixteen ladies was appointed last year, by the Connecticut Congregational Club, to select and print a catalogue of books for Sunday Schools. During the year it has examined one hundred and eighty-four, almost all reprints of well-known books, and has se- lected one hundred. At least one annotated Sunday-School catalogue was prepared before the appointment of the commission, directing the attention of children to such books as Tom Brown's School Days and Higginson's Young Folks' Book of American Explorers, and of older readers to Stanley's Jewish Church, Martineau's Household Education, Robert- son's Sermons, Sister Dora, Hypatia, Charles Kingsley's Life, and Atkinson's Right Use of Books. The conclusions to which these opinions, from libraries and schools in ten different States, lead us, are these: I. The number of fathers and mothers who directly supervise their chil- dren's reading, limiting their number of library books to those which they themselves have read, and requiring a verbal or written account of each before another is taken, is small. 2. The number of teachers who read and appreciate the best books, or take pains to search in libraries for those which illustrate les- sons, or are good outside reading for the pupils, is also small. 3. The high schools, normal schools, and 190 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. colleges are every year sending out young men and women with little knowledge of books except text-books and poor novels. 4. In towns and cities with free libraries, much may be and has been done by establish- ing direct communication between libraries and schools, making schools branch libraries. 5. This can be done only by insisting that teachers in such towns and cities shall know something of literature, and by refusing to grant certificates to teachers who, in the course of an hour's talk, do not show themselves well enough informed to guide children to a love of good books. . The classes now reading under Mr. Metcalf's direction in Boston, or cele- brating authors' days and the founding of their own state in Cincinnati, will be, in a few years, the teachers, the fathers, or the mothers of a new generation, and the result of their reading may be expected to appear in the awakened intelligence of their pupils and chil- dren. 6. Daily newspapers may be used with ad- vantage in schools to encourage children to read on current events and to verify refer- ences. 7. Direct personal intercourse of librarians and assistance with children is the surest way of gaining influence over them. Miss Stevens, of Toledo, has put the secret of the whole mat- ter, so far as we are concerned, into four words : " Librarians should like children." It may be added that a librarian or assistant in charge of circulation should never be too busy to talk with children and find out what they need. Bibliography and learning of all kinds have their places in a library ; but the counter where children go needs no abstracted scholar, ab- sorbed in first editions or black-letter, but a winsome friend, to meet them more than half- way, patiently answer their questions, " and by slow degrees subdue them to the useful and the good." PROCEEDINGS. 191 THE PROCEEDINGS. FIRST SESSION. (WEDNESDAY MORNING.) The Conference assembled in College Hall, on Walnut Street; and at 10.30 A.M. was called to order by the President, Mr. WINSOR. In the absence of Mr. Dui, the Secretary, on motion of Mr. MERRILL, Mr. A. W. TYLER (Librarian of the Indianapolis Public Library) was chosen Secretary pro tern. Hon. JACOB D. Cox, in the absence of Mayor MEANS, welcomed the Association in behalf of the Committee of Arrangements and the citizens of Cincinnati. The PRESIDENT delivered his annual ad- dress. (See page 123.) Mr. C. W. MERRILL, Chairman of the Pro- gram Committee, announced the program for the afternoon. The Treasurer's report was next called for. Mr. S: S. GREEN, Chairman of the Finance Committee, announced that the Treasurer was necessarily absent, and had sent his report to him to present to the meeting of the Associa- tion. Mr. Green also stated that at the last meeting of the Association there was no treas- urer, and matters were in the hands of the Fi- nance Committee, where they remained until the appointment of a Treasurer, soon after the Washington meeting. Hence the necessity of a report of the Finance Committee. This, said he, is herewith presented ; and appended to it, to explain in detail certain items in it, is the report of the Treasurer. 1881. Dr. Feb. 8. To balance from last ac- count . . $435 99 To membership fees col- lected at the meeting of the Association in Wash- ington and Baltimore, Feb. 9, 10, and n, iSSi Amount brought forward, $559 99 To other membership fees collected from Feb. 15- March n n oo 1882. May 9. To Frederick Jackson, Treasr. of the Amer. Lib. Assoc., balance due the Association, May 5 . . 247 25 $818 24 1881. Feb. 15 Cr. Amount carried forward, 124 oo $559 99 By bill of W. E. Foster (postage, envelopes, tele- grams, expressage) . . $10 53 Feb. 15. By bill of E. L. Freeman & Co., Central F^lls, R.I., for printing 20 50 Feb. 28. By payment made to Mel- ville Dui, in accordance with a vote of the Execu- tive Committee of the Amer. Lib. Association, for money advanced by him to F. B. Perkins, for work on the Amer. Lib. Association Catalogue . 200 oo Mar. 8. By Charles Hamilton's bill, printing ...... 2 oo Mar. II. By Cashier's check sent to Frederick Jackson, Treas- urer Amer. Lib. Associa- tion ......, : 337 96 1882. May 5. By expressage on Treasur- er's books, etc 15 May 5. By postage stamps and en^ velopes used by Chair- man of the Finance Com- mittee a 70 May ii. By cash balance .... 24440 $818 24 SAMUEL S. CREEIST, Chairman Finance Committee Amer- Library 192 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. I have examined the above account, with the vouchers, and find the same correct. J. N. LARNED. FREDERICK JACKSON, Treasurer, in account with AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. v 1881. Dr. Mar. 12. By cash balance received from S. S. Green $337 96 By cash balance received from Reception Committee, Boston Conference, July, 1879, 35 6 1882. May 5. By cash received for member- ships to date 280 oo $653 56 1881 Cr. Mar. 22. To fees returned to Miss D. E. Miller . $2 oo April 18. To express charge on A. L. A. Catalog from San Francisco . 8 50 June 6. To cash paid Rock- well & Churchill . . 261 24 To cash paid Forbes Lithographic Co. . . 42 oo June 24. To cash paid F. Leypoldt 36 85 Oct. 12. To cash paid Li- brary Bureau (M.Dui), 1958 Dec. 23. To cash paid Chas. Hamilton, printer . . 10 25 To cash paid by F. Jackson, for postage . i 95 1882. Jan. 4. To cash paid Rock- well & Churchill . . 6 oo Jan. 27. To cash paid Li- brary Bureau, print- ing and postage . . 4 28 May 5. To cash paid Li- brary Bureau, print- ing and postage . . 13 36 To cash paid by F. Jackson for postage . 30 406 31 To cash balance paid Fi- nance Committee $247 25 BOSTON, May 5, 1882. Examined with vouchers, and found correct. SAMUEL S. GREEN, J. N. LARNED. Mr. Green, after reading the reports, stated that they had not been audited, and suggested that the usual course was to refer them to the Finance Committee, to be examined. A motion was made and carried to so refer them ; and the result is here appended to the reports. (See Thursday afternoon.) POOLE'S INDEX. Mr. POOLE reported upon his Index : In making this my final report of progress on the new edition of the "Index to Periodical Literature," I have the pleasure of stating that the manuscript is finished; that the printing is begun ; and that bound copies of the com- pleted work will be in the hands of the collab- orators and the public before the close of the present year. Messrs. James R. Osgood & Co., of Boston, will be the publishers, and the printing is in progress at the University Press at Cambridge. I have here for your inspection 160 page-proofs of the electrotype plates, and the matter of 130 pages more is in type. About 50 pages of the plates are cast each week. We expect the printing will be completed early in December. Comparing with the old edition the rate of progress in the alphabet, the pres- ent indications are that the new edition will make 1,500 pages, each page having twice as much matter as in the old edition. The price of the work has been fixed at $15.00, which, considering the amount of matter, is relatively less than one-half the publication price of the old edition, and one-fifth of the selling price. A vast deal of labor and care has been given to the work; but not more than was anticipated and provided for. No embarrassments or delays of any kind have occurred. The full original plan has been carried out, and the cooperative feature of the work has been a complete suc- cess. We, the editors, have done all that we promised to do, and more even. We promised to bring the references down to January, 1880; we have brought them down to January, 1882, and this additional work was done wholly by ourselves. We promised 1,200 pages, and shall PROCEEDINGS give you 1,500 pages. The list of periodicals in- dexed is larger than was promised. Not every serial in the first list has been indexed ; because, in some instances, no complete sets could be found. Some of the English collaborators did not finish their work in season to be included in this issue ; but their work will appear in the first supplement, it being a part of our plan to issue a supplement every five years. It is highly creditable to the spirit and energy of the American librarians that every set of periodicals undertaken by them has been in- dexed. A large number of serials have been indexed which were not in the original list, so that the additions outnumber the omissions. Every precaution has been taken to secure accuracy in the references, and all questions of doubt have been looked up from the serials themselves. I long since divested myself of that pride of accuracy which imagines that a catalogue, or a book wholly made up of refer- ences, can be printed without errors ; yet I am confident from the verification of thousands of references in revising copy and correcting proofs, that the errors will be very few. I shall esteem it a favor to be informed of such as may be found. Much labor has been given to the preliminary chapter of the work. Besides giving alphabet- ical lists of the periodicals, abbreviations, places of publications, dates, number of volumes, and the collaborators, it will contain in a tabular form a Chronological Conspectus of all the serials indexed, arranged in the order of senior- ity. The titles of the serials will appear at the top of the table, and the years in the left-hand column. The volume or volumes of a serial issued on any year will appear in the intersect- ing square. A glance will show when a serial begun, and, if discontinued, when it ended, and the precise volumes for any particular year. There will be cross-references from the alpha- betical to the chronological list. The Chro- nological Conspectus will serve several useful purposes : 1. It will furnish the means of readily ascer- taining the date when any article was issued. 2. It will give the volumes of other serials of the same date. Each period has its own books and topics of special interest; and it is interesting to trace the discussion of them through contemporary journals. They are often treated under such various headings that the Index will not always bring them to- gether. 3. It will enable librarians and others to number their sets to correspond with the num- bering in the Index. The numbering of vol- umes in many sets of periodicals is so irregular and senseless that it is impossible to use the designation of volumes given on the title-pages. In the Eclectic Review, for instance, seven "New Series " appear, each with a separate numbering. The Methodist Quarterly Review has a third and a fourth series, but no first and second se- ries. The late volumes have a consecutive numbering, the one for 1881 being vol. 63 ; but there are not so many volumes in the set. The true consecutive numbering of that volume is 41, and it so appears in the Index. The Prince- ton Jfei'iew, under its present management, has no numbering of the volumes at all. The St. James Magazine began to number its volumes consecutively; then it went off into " New Se- ries ; " then it went back into consecutive num- bering from the beginning, and made a wrong count, leaving out nine volumes. I have in most instances discarded " series," and in cases of special stupidity, like those mentioned above, have numbered the volumes consecu- tively without regard to what was on the title- pages. It will, therefore, be necessary to re- number these sets and make the volumes cor- respond to the Chronological Conspectus. This can readily be done by attaching to each volume an adhesive tag with the proper num- bering upon it. I cannot speak too appreciatingly of the in- telligence and devotion which my associate edi- tor, Mr. William I. Fletcher, has given to the work. He has developed a remarkable aptitude for this class of literary labor, combined with rare executive ability. The most fortunate in cident in my conception of the plan of this en- terprise was in selecting Mr. Fletcher as my associate editor. The confidence in him which I then entertained, based on several years of intercourse as my assistant in other relations, has been more than confirmed. The scheme of this work, which is now nearly completed, was suggested and adopted at the first meeting of the American Library Association, at Philadelphia, in October, 1876. The result could not have been reached by any other means than its cooperative feature. Are there not other projects of similar char- CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. acter which the membership of this Association, composed of the chief librarians of the coun- try, can undertake and carry through by the same cooperative method ? Many such schemes might be suggested ; but there is one to which I wish at this time to call your attention. A GENERAL INDEX to works other than peri- odicals is greatly needed by students and literary men. The plan of the Index which I suggest would differ from the scheme of the Universal Index, which has been much talked about in England and nobody is willing to undertake in this : It will not include every topic in the range of human knowledge, but only such practical subjects of general interest as students, literary men, general scholars, and writers for the press, would be likely to need. The book, therefore, could be brought into reasonable limits. Volumes of essays and miscellanies, and standard books in history, biography, po- litical economy, social science, education, etc., would be analyzed and indexed under specific topics. Different departments could be assigned to the persons most competent to treat them. A responsible editor should be selected to whom contributions would be sent, and to whose judg- ment the selection and arrangement of the ma- terial would be committed. Each cooperating library and regular contributor would be fur- nished with a copy of the book when printed. The demand for the book is such that the sale would justify a publisher in assuming the expense and risk of its publication and tlje payment of copyright. The first edition would doubtless be imperfect; but it would be a basis on which a second edition could be constructed which would be of inestimable value. If subsequent editions were called for, the range of topics might be enlarged. As the plan of the work became known to writers and specialists, they would send in the references they had made in their investigation of subjects. For strength- ening the helpful apparatus for ready reference in our libraries, nothing is more needed than indexes which will give wider and more spe- cific information than is found in our subject catalogues. Mr. SMITH favored th e plan ; and referred to the special bibliographies in the ninth edition of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" and in Larousse's "Grand dictionaire universel." Mr. GREEN spoke in favor of analyzing es- says, and upon learning from Mr. Poole that he meant to provide for the inquiries of intel- ligent men of only a moderate amount of cul- ture, expressed a strong interest in having the proposed index made. If Mr. Poole is willing to undertake the great task of editing or supervising the publication of such an index, he would be doing a great ser- vice to libraries and individual inquirers. An immense number of questions which a librarian now has to answer personally would be answered by pointing to a heading in this in- dex, or by referring the inquirer to an as- sistant to help him in using the index. The librarian could thus make himself more useful to seekers after information by having more time at his disposal for answering questions, which would come up continually, not answered, or not answered in the form required by the inquirer, in the index. COOPERATION. Mr. CUTTER reported from the Cooperation Committee : The committee has done very little during the year. It has considered the Rules adopted by the Library Association of the United King- dom, and finds that they agree, in the main, with the Rules of the A. L. A. ; that the Eng- lish association has introduced some additional directions, mostly coinciding with those given in Cutter's Rules, and that there are a few points of which the committee do not ap- prove. It would be well if the meeting would reconsider the A. L A. code, and bring it, so far as is possible, into harmony with the Eng- lish. The changes which we shall propose will not affect our practice ; they will merely serve to define it a little more carefully. The work of indexing periodicals for the obituary volume of the Index Society has con- tinued. The volume. for 1880 is already printed, and will probably be distributed to the collab- orators in a few weeks. We should like some additional volunteers, and we must have one for the N. Y. Tribune and the N. Y. Times, be- cause the gentleman who has undertaken those has been obliged, by the failure of his eyes, to abandon the work. The A. L. A. Catalog is in a most unsatis- factory condition. Mr. Perkins having been compelled to give it up, the committee under- took to bring it out in sections, prepared by specialists; but hitherto, after repeated efforts, PROCEEDINGS. they have been able to secure the cooper- ation of only one person. The committee will continue the search for workers, but without much hope of success. The men who are com- petent are too busy ; and the committee think that a catalog of this sort is not worth publish- ing unless it is very well done. PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. Mr. GREEN, chairman of the committee ap- pointed at the Washington meeting to secure a more satisfactory distribution of Public Docu- ments, reported that bills had been prepared embodying the wishes of the Association, and that, after their approval by the Executive Com- mittee of the Association, these had been sent, with numerous petitions in support of them, to the Committee of the United States Senate on Printing. Considerable correspondence has been carried on with members of that com- mittee, and with other senators and officers of the government; but no action has as yet been taken on the bills by the committee. The mat- ter is now in the hands of Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, who has some hopes that he may secure action by Congress during the present session. Mr. GREEN recommended that the committee of the Association be requested to continue its efforts, and that large powers be given to its chairman. Mr. LLOYD P. SMITH spoke in favor of having an agent in Washington to procure pub- lic documents for such libraries as desire them, and moved that the committee receive the thanks of the Association, and the whole sub- ject be referred to the same committee with full power to act in the premises, in accordance with its judgment; and that the Secretary be instructed to write to Senator Anthony, the chairman of the Committee upon Printing, that it is the unanimous sentiment of this Con- vention that such a bill as that recommended by our committee upon the distribution of public documents should be passed by Congress. These resolutions were carried unanimously. Mr. T: W. P. ROGERS, of the Fletcher Li- brary, Burlington, Vt., being absent, his paper, upon the " Heating of libraries," was deferred. At 12 o'clock the Convention adjourned for the day. The afternoon was spent in at- tending an organ concert at the Music Hall, and in sight-seeing in various parts of the eity. SECOND SESSION. THURSDAY MORNING. The Conference opened at a little after ten o'clock. Mr. C. W. MERRILL, from the Program Committee, recommended that the papers assigned to Thursday evening be trans- ferred to Saturday morning, because on Satur- day the teachers of the public schools could attend more conveniently. On motion, the change was approved by the Association. A letter was read inviting the Association to visit Oakwood, Clifton, the residence of Mr. H: Probasco. The courtesy of the invitation was acknowledged, and the letter referred to the Program Committee. The PRESIDENT stated that his report upon "The general progress of library interests" had been included in his opening address. CLASSIFICATION. Mr. J. N. LARNED read his paper upon "The classification of books." (See page 125.) The PRESIDENT spoke briefly in review of the paper, and favored following neither the dictionary nor the classed system of cata- loguing, exclusively ; but said that each person would prefer the one or the other, as his predilection led him. He called upon Mr. Cutter to .defend the mixture of figures and letters in the notation now used by him. Mr. CUTTER. I have been surprised at the almost universal distrust of the plan of mixing numbers and letters shown by librarians. I adopted it myself without any apprehension that it could make difficulty; I have heard of no trouble from it at Winchester ; I have had no trouble with it at the Boston Athenaeum, either from the attendants or from the public, who there have free access to the shelves. The very day on which I started for Cincinnati I hired a new boy, and put him to work setting up books marked in this way. At noon my first assistant reported that the boy seemed to find no diffi- culty in arranging the books, and that he had arranged them right. A system of notation which a boy unaccustomed to library work could learn in an hour cannot be very objectionable. The attendants learn the meaning of many of the figures, so that they are no longer caba- listic signs to them ; for example, they know that after v the next letter is always a name of 196 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. a country, and the third letter (if before R in the alfabet) the name of a form of literature. So when they see VIP they know it is a division of Italian literature, and, of course, they all know that P is poetry. As xv is literary history, they know that XVID.M23 is a work by a man whose name begins with M on the history of the Italian drama. This is a tolerably long combination (XVID. 1*123), a "d yet, as it falls into two parts, class-mark and author-mark, separated by the (.), the eye takes it in without difficulty ; and all the more so if the letters XVID are understood as history of the Italian drama ; for, of course, combinations that convey an idea are read and remembered much easier than mere meaningless groups of letters. But even without this the mere mechanical use of the characters is not so puzzling as some have feared. Mr. SMITH said that in moving to the Ridg- way branch he had used a combined system of letters and numbers, and found it to work satisfactorily. Mr. WHITNEY. Our library is so vast that we cannot make a new classification ; but have enough to do to improve that which we have already, and to perfect the dictionary system as shown in our catalog, in Mr. Cutter's and our cards. The question of classification is of more importance to the smaller libraries, but less important to the larger ones now in work- ing array. Mr. CUTTER spoke of the difficulties of arranging biographies, and how they were met in different libraries. Mr. WHITNEY spoke highly of the catalog of the library at Manchester, England. Mr. CUTTER (replying to a question of Mr. Dyer) said that the classification of the cata- log at the Boston Athenaeum and that on the shelves are entirely different : the shelves being systematically classed, while the catalog is on the dictionary plan. Mr. WINSOR said that at Harvard University Library there are two kinds of card catalogs : the one a dictionary and the other classed. Mr. SMITH spoke of the arrangement in the Philadrlphia library. LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE. Mr. POOLE then read his Report on Library architecture. (See page 130.) Mr. WHITNEY. During the last six weeks, since the date of the report from the Boston Public Library, given in the paper just read, further steps have been taken tending to a decision of the question of a new building. In accordance with the vote of the City Council directing the Trustees to consider and report upon the suitability of the new English High and Latin School building for the uses of the Library, an examination of this building has been made by an architect, whose opinions have been embodied in a icport presented by the Trustees to the City Council. As scholars have not come in sufficient numbers to fill the building, the question has been raised in the City Council whether the schools could not be better accommodated in a smaller building, and whether the present building is not adapted to the purposes of the Public Library. During the period of delay caused by the dis- cussion of this matter the Trustees are giving much attention to the subject of the best designs for a new building, and sketch-plans are in progress of preparation, which will probably be printed in the autumn. Until these plans are matured, criticism is obviously out of place. Mr. DYER. I indorse all that my friend Mr. Poole has said in regard to the many objection- able points in the proposed building for the National Library, in the city of Washington. At the request of Mr. Poole, I kept an accurate register of the temperature of our library rooms, and found, during the time, that the mercury rose to 140 degrees, near the ceiling, after the gas had been burning for three hours. It is true, our rooms are badly ventilated, there being no means of escape for the heated atmosphere above the windows ; and I doubt if the temperature in the fifth or sixth galleries of any library can be reduced below that point. We all know the damage that will necessarily accrue to the very best binding, under such circumstances. We might almost as well place valuable books in a bake-oven at once, as a means of preserving them. And, therefore, with such facts staring us in the face, I deem it the bounden duty of this Association to enter its protest against the erection of such a struct- ure. The United States Government can well afford to provide a suitable building, in every respect, for its invaluable collection of books. I am sorry Mr. Spofford is not here to give us all the facts. I know that he desires a build- PROCEEDINGS. 197 ing that will be a model library, in every sense of the word ; and I trust that our Senators and Representatives in Congress will not withhold the requisite appropriations for such a structure. Mr. A. W. TYLER said that when he was con- nected with the Astor Library, in winter the temperature in the south building, where he was working, frequently fell to 58 Fah., and 56 in the north (now middle) building, and that it was impossible to keep warm at the very time when the galleries of the second floor were too hot, the halls being some sixty feet in height. He was sorry to learn that the recently completed new building had been constructed on a similar plan. Mr. MERRILL, in reply to a question of Mr. Dyer, stated that in his library the heat is uni- form in both the lower and upper alcoves in the daytime ; but at night the books in the upper alcoves must suffer from heat, or gas, or both. Mr. K. A. LINDERFELT, of the Milwaukee Public Library, moved that resolutions be passed protesting against the proposed meth- ods of constructing a building for the Con- gressional Library. The matter was referred to a committee, to be named by the Chair. The Chair afterwards named Messrs. Linderfelt, Poole, and Smith, who reported the resolutions on Friday morn- ing. SECRETARY'S REPORT. The secretary pro tern, read Mr. Dui's report as Secretary of the A. L. A., for the year 1881- 82: The establishment of Sections, as recom- mended in my last report and as recorded in Lib. /'/., 6: 4, relieves me from reporting, except on those matters under my own imme- diate charge. I wish, in passing, to urge all our members to support the chairmen of these new sections, by sending them everything useful in making their annual reports complete. In the general offices there has been an increasing number of applications, both per- sonal and mail, noticably less about the A. L. A. and its objects, and more about specific points. A constant wish for the A. L. A. Catalog makes the delay in completing it doubly to be regretted. No one thing would so much advance our best work. No special effort has been made, and yet a goodly number of new members has joined us. A persistent effort by all present members cud easily carry our membership into the thousands, for all sympathize hartily in our work, and the interest and income from such a membership wud enable us to complete at once our A. L. A. Catalog, and to carry out other much-needed work. In accord with the vote past at Baltimore, the Secretary has, during the year, entirely on his own responsibility, undertaken a number of needed departments of library work. Their success, tho not brilliant, has been such as to pruv the real need, and another year promises to largely develop their best features. The Consultation Department, started by Mr. F: B. Perkins, has been continued, and has pruvd of service to a goodly number of librarians and trustees, who hav used it, mostly thru correspondence. The plan seems to meet the wants of both those need- ing advice and those needing relief from con- stant and serious drafts on their crowded time. The Employment Department has bro't together librarians and catalogers and posi- tions, and pruvd a great and growing con- venience to both sides, tho it has cost no little labor to attend to the claims of the over forty who have availed themselves of its help during the year. The Catalog and Index Department has made only a fair beginning. Some work has been satisfactorily done, and each year wil doubtles increase the calls. The Publication Department wil doubtles pruv one of the most useful. The long- promist Library Manual is fairly started, some pages being already in type. New editions of the Rules for Cataloging, Indexes of Subjects, and the Decimal Classification ar soon to appear; also, Introductions, with rules and illustrations, for the Shelf and Accession Catalogs, for Binding and Order Books. The new Smith's Classification, of which copies ar at this meeting, is* the first work completed. Mr. Smith gives all the labor and copyright, and the total profits from the sale after paying the printer's bill go into the treasury of the A. L. A. This fact has seemed sufficient reason for offering the book for sale with our proceedings at this meeting. As none of these departments are as yet 198 CINCINNA Tl CONFERENCE. self-supporting they must be given time for development. Stil, jujing from a year's experience, they wil all prove most efficient aids in library cooperation. ~ In general, I can only repeat the reports and recommendations of the Boston and Washing- ton meetings, to which I refer those interested. (Lib. J'nl., v. 4, p. 282 ; 5, p. 274, and 6, p. 112.) MELVIL Dui, Secretary. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF BOOKS. Mr. GREEN read an extract from a letter of Mr. Foster, of Providence, in which a question was put to the Convention, " Where does the authority lie in the different libraries of the county to restrict the use of rare and expensive books?" This called forth a very lively dis- cussion. Mr. TYLER. In the new catalog which I am printing, I have marked valuable and rare books in three gradations, somewhat after the plan of the Boston Public Library. One star signifies that the book so marked can be obtained only by permission of the librarian, and be kept for but seven days ; two stars, that it can be used only in the reading-room ; three stars, that it can be consulted only in the pres- ence of an officer of the library. Our bound magazines are all two-starred books ; except where we have, as in the case of Harper's and Scribner's, duplicate sets for circulation. This designation of the bound magazines was made before I became librarian, and by vote of the library committee, in con- sequence of the loss of a volume, which broke a valuable set of a British magazine. Personally, I favor the greatest liberty of access to and use of books, which is com- patible with their preservation for posterity; but I decidedly concur with an opinion of Mr. Winsor's, which he gave me two years since in reply to a question of mine, that the present generation will have to submit to some re- straints in order that valuable books may be preserved for the next. Mr. WHITNEY. In our own library there has been a growing carefulness of our more ex- pensive and rare books within a few years, and more checks have been put upon their delivery, especially for use outside of the building. The policy of the library has always been very liberal in this matter, possibly too much so for its own good. During the many years in which the library has been in use the books have be- come very much worn. An assistant has been appointed, whose duties consist in putting these worn books in better condition, and protecting them, when necessary, by covers. The larger works in the library, the folios and large quartos, were found especially to need this care. Many books, which had been given out freely to readers, it was found necessary to keep within the building. For instance, Sir William Stirling-Maxwell's "Annals of the Artists of Spain," which has become very rare, and could not be replaced for less than seventy- five dollars, had been loaned as freely as "Uncle Tom's Cabin; " and this was the case with Ruskin's " Stones of Venice," and many other books. Volumes of bound periodicals are kept within the building, as, when lost, they are of all books the most difficult to replace. Duplicate sets are kept of Harper, the Atlantic, and of other popular magazines, which are freely given to readers. Mr. LINDERFELT. While our library be- longed to an association no restriction whatever was placed on the use of any of the books, no matter how rare or expensive they were ; and I have now almost daily occasion to deplore this want of forethought on the part of the managers. Plates and pages have been cut out of our best books, including cyclopedias, art journals, and the like. Volumes of sets of magazines were circulated as other books, and the result is our now having on our hands a large number of sets of which not one is complete, except what we have succeeded in filling up lately. I would rather, for my part, have no magazines at all than incomplete sets, dating back all the way from ten to fifty or more years; as now we shall either have to put up with the continual aggra- vation of incompleteness, or throw away a large number of volumes and buy new sets. Until two years ago we allowed magazines to be drawn on special request, but we soon found that even that would not do; and, therefore, the trustees have passed a stringent rule that no magazines or periodicals shall leave the building, which in my opinion is the .only way to keep them for the legitimate use of students and inquirers. To provide for the story- readers, however, who really are the ones most grieved by the withdrawal of magazines from PR O CEEDINGS. 199 circulation, we provide extra sets of Harper's, the Century, and St Nicholas, for use as ordi- nary books, and the wisdom of this arrangement is shown by the fact, that we have, during the last year, irretrievably lost two volumes out of these extra sets. To all our reference books readers have unrestricted access under the eye of an attendant, except books with a number of plates, or otherwise of more than average value, which are kept in a locked case, and can be handled only by special permit from the attend- ant in the room. As long as human nature remains what it is now, it is necessary, in public libraries, to adopt some such safeguard for pre- venting vandals among the borrowers from ruining or impairing the value of books that cannot easily be replaced. As for recent books that do not enter in a set, even if of consider- able value, I think they best subserve their purpose by circulating with as little hindrance as possible. Mr. GREEN. In the library at Worcester, this authority lies with the librarian. Formerly assent was required from the President of the Board of Directors, and one member of the Library Committee, or from two members of said committee. But it was found that mem- bers of the Board of Director?, when applied to for permission to take out an expensive book, invariably inquired whether the librarian considered it safe to let the applicant take out the book or not, and acted on his judgment. Hence the change in the rule. I allow a very free use of expensive books; and, under certain circumstances, if, for instance, it were needed to illustrate a lecture on Natural History, I should even allow, under conditions, such books as Audubon's great works on birds and quadru- peds to be taken away from the library building. I should not hesitate to say to improper persons, that I could not allow them to take out expen- sive books without presenting the matter to the Library Committee for its consideration. Mr. J. W. WARD spoke of the custom at his library. Mr. SMITH, of Philadelphia, thought that the power to lend such books should be lodged in the librarian. Mr. WHITNEY said that the Boston Public Library buys large numbers of current peri- odicals, which are put into pasteboard covers, and are given out to readers under the same re- strictions as books. Mr. DYER. We find that readers can gradually be led from " trashy novels " to the higher classes of romance, from South- worth to Collins, Trollope, Bulwer, Dickens, Thackeray, and George Eliot, and from thence to the best standard works in travels, history, and biography; but we must not attempt to drive ; at first we give them what they ask for, and as their fondness for reading increases, we find it an easy matter to lead them, step by step, to the upper rounds of the literary lad- der. I am unwilling to admit that there are such things as "books too rare and valuable " to be read or consulted; if so, why should we gather them into our libraries? For what are books in- tended, if not to be read? Surely not to be, placed safely under lock and key, where they may be seen only " through a glass dimly." Why should not such books as Audubon's Birds of America interest the naturalist even more than the artist? My theory is, that such books should never be abused ; that libraries that can afford to own them should provide for their examination by all of its members (of course not including juveniles), under proper restrictions and surveillance to insure their safety from the slightest damage. Mr. DYER spoke of the practice in his library. Mr. WHITNEY advocated buying duplicates, and running the risk of loss. Mr. LARNED explained the practice of the Young Men's Library of Buffalo, where vol- umes belonging to bound series of periodicals, and works of a costly or rare character, are let out to proper persons on the security of a writ- ten obligation in the following form : YOUNG MEN'S LIBRARY, BUFFALO, 188 Permission to take the volume named below from this library, and to retain it for days, is given only upon the promise of the person receiving it that, in case of loss or se- rious injury while in his (or her) possession, he (or she) will pay the full cost of procuring a perfect copy with which to replace the same, even though the purchase of the entire series, or some part of the series of volumes to which it belongs, should be found necessary; that proper compensation shall be paid for any aminor injury that the volume may sustain while thus with- drawn from the Library, and that, if it is re- 2OO C INC INN A TI CONFERENCE. tained beyond the time specified above, a fine of twenty cents for each day thereafter shall be paid. Title , Place and Date of Publication, Size, Binding, Present Condition, I have received the volume described above subject to the conditions set forth, and hereby agree to fulfil the same. Mr. WINSOR thought the discretion should be left in the hands of the librarian, and spoke of his practice, both in the Harvard Library and when connected with the Boston Public Li- brary. Mr. CUTTER. By the rules of the Athe- naeum this power lies with the Library Com- mittee, but, owing to the great inconvenience to borrowers of being obliged to wait for the weekly meeting of the committee, which would frequently be equivalent to not having the use of the book at all, the power has been delegated to the librarian to use in all ordinary cases. It is well, however, that the rule remains un- changed, and that the librarian has behind him a body which will take the responsibility in doubtful cases. Moreover, in cases which are not doubtful, it perhaps mitigates the disap- pointment of the borrower not to be refused at once, but to get a negative after some delay, and, as may be supposed, due deliberation. Upon motion, the Conference then adjourned to 2.30 P.M. THIRD SESSION. (THURSDAY AFTERNOON.) Mr. Green reported for the Finance Commit- tee that it had examined the accounts of its Chairman and of the Treasurer, with vouchers, and had found them correct. Upon motion they were then accepted and adopted. TRAINING LIBRARY ASSISTANTS. In the absence of Hon. MELLEN CHAMBER- LAIN, the discussion upon the topic, " The best method of, selecting and training library assist- ants," was opened by Mr. J. L. WHITNEY. (Seep. 136.) Mr. WINSOR gave his experience at Boston and at Cambridge. Mr. TYLER. The habit of the Indianapolis Library is to nominate those who appeared most likely to make suitable attendants to be substitutes. From these substitutes I selected for attendants, as occasion required, those who show aptitude and taste for the work in the sev- eral departments. Should a substitute, for any reason whatever, prove unfitted, she simply falls out by the way, with no imputation upon either abilities or character. I find the plan to work well, and would try a similar plan for as- sistants of a higher grade than attendant. My library has young ladies for day attendants, and young men who are fitting themselves for pro- fessional life, as night and Sunday attendants. Mr. GREEN read his report upon " Aids and guides to readers." (Seep. 139.) Mr. WESTON FLINT spoke of the Congres- sional list of Government publications. Mr. J. B. PEASLEE, Superintendent of Public Schools, stated that while he was not connected with any library, yet he felt the deepest inter- est in the objects of the Association, and in the subjects under consideration, and proceeded in the most courteous manner to extend an invita- tion to the members of the Conference to visit Eden Park immediately after adjournment, saying that he was sure that the visitors would admit that the natural beauty of the park was unsurpassed by that of any other park in America. Mr. CUTTER read the paper of Mr. SCHWARTZ, of the Apprentices' Library, New York, who was absent. (See p. 148.) The PRESIDENT announced as a committee to nominate an Executive Board for the ensu- ing year, Mr. W. T. PEOPLES, Mr. J. N. LARNED, and Mr. WESTON FLINT. (As Mr. Peoples left town at an early hour the next day, Mr. Larned was made chairman of the committee, and Mr. John N. DYER, of the St. Louis Mercantile Library, added to its num- ber.) The Association then adjourned until 8 P.M., and its members made the excursion to Eden Park, under the guidance of Mr. PEASLEE, Mr. ALEX. HILL, and Mr. C. W. MERRILL. PROCEEDINGS. 20 1 FOURTH SESSION. (THURSDAY EVENING.) LIBRARIES AND THE PUBLIC. Mr. JAMES W. WARD read his paper on " Public libraries and the public." (See p. 167.) Mr. GREEN. I do not like the tone of the paper. The public is wrong if it expects to find in a librarian a walking dictionary, but it has a right to expect to find him a walking bibliography. I feel it to be my duty, as well as my privilege, to point out to every applicant the sources of information. The public, it seems to me, is slow to express its wants, and should be encouraged to do so. The librarian is the servant of the public; he is paid for serv- ing, ^e also has authority enough to enforce politeness in applicants for information. He has no right, however, dealing as he does with persons many of whom have not had the oppor- tunity to acquire fine manners, to be fastidious or sensitive. Mr. TYLER. I do not suppose that even the model librarian of the future will be expected to know everything that is in the books under his charge ; that is simply impossible. But he will know, what every good librarian should know, how to put the inquirer upon the track of what he wants. The librarian of to-day should cultivate friendly relations with those who are making investigations among his books, and, as occasion demands, should make available to them his superior acquaintance with the means of prosecuting those researches. He will encourage readers to come to him for information, even upon points which, to him, may be very trivial, and, so far as may be prac- ticable, will aid and stimulate them in their work. The librarian cannot be expected to read, or begin to read, a tenth of the books which pass under his hands; but, in one way or another, he will manage to know something about them, so that when needed he can put his hands upon them, and bring them forth to divulge the secrets hidden in their pages. Such efforts as these to aid one's readers will repay the librarian who puts them forth many fold. As I often tell my readers, when in the act of apologizing for the time they are taking, and the trouble they think they are making, " I like to have such questions as these asked me, for they teach me something, too." So the librarian who really enters into the spirit of his work will find a constant reward in it. Some of the pleasantest and most valuable acquaintanceships I have formed have been begun in the library in the attempt to bring to my visitors the information or pleasure they were seeking. Mr. FLINT. In the Patent Office Library, such work as was recommended has been carried out. My assistants were expected to be able to aid, each in a special department, when visitors were seeking information. Mr. CUTTER. Something like this has been done at the Athenaeum. I long since adopted the practice of paying most of the assistants, not by the year or the week, but by the hour. This plan was chosen for other reasons, but it has the advantage of making it easy, when any outsider wishes any investigation or copy- ing done at the Athenaeum, to detail an assistant for the service, whose time is then charged to the temporary employer, and not to the library. Some years ago, a lady, compiling art-reference books, thus occupied a large part of the time of one of our assistants, who consequently be- came very familiar with our large collection of art books, so that I soon found that inquirers on any point of art history, or those numerous persons who were in search of the engraving of a particular painting, could be referred to her with certainty that their wants would be supplied if the library contained anything to the point. In the pressure of work arising from the printing of our catalogue, this relief was very grateful ; and Mrs. Otis became, in fact, if not in title, Special Librarian of the Art Room. I purpose to extend the method to other departments, so far as opportunity offers. Mr. WARD. Every librarian should con- sider it a duty to answer every possible .ques- tion freely and cheerfully. Mr. POOLE. To aid inquirers in the refer- ence department is one of the most pleasant duties of my position. My office door is always open, and anybody seeking for information is encouraged to come to me directly and without formality. Mr. MERRILL asked what Mr. Poole did with a slip containing a request, " Send me a good novel." 2O2 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. Mr. POOLE replied that under his system such a question could not be answered, as applicants are sent to the catalogs to look up the shelf-numbers. But, finally, when urged, he did recollect a case where the richly dressed wife of a councilman asked for " an interesting book," and after many trials he found the book she wanted was a volume of Mrs. South- worth's. He got her as clean a copy as he could find, and she expressed her gratification with the question, " Don't you think Mrs. Southworth is such a beautiful writer, Mr. Poole?" Mr. GREEN. In such a case I always have a novel sent; such a request gives the attend- ant an opportunity to send one really good. I mean to have enough polite attendants to do whatever the public desires, and such attend- ants become very apt in suiting the tastes of readers, and consume very little time in select- ing acceptable books. Mr. CUTTER stated that in his library almost the entire reading of some persons were chosen by one of the attendants, who had acquired ex- traordinary ability in satisfying them. Mr. DYER spoke of the practice in this re- spect in his library in St. Louis. Mr. CARR. The conditions, as to the assist- ants and the public, vary in different libraries. In some the delivery desks are very near to the books, and hence the readers (book-takers) come easily and naturally into contact with the assistants, in the immediate presence of the books ; while in others, as at the Cincinnati Public Library, the requirements of the service are such, owing to the size of the library or construction of the building, that the delivery- desks and the attendants at them, are them- selves far removed from the books. As a result, the library assistants, in the former case, being continually in contact with both the books and the public, become, sooner or later, and almost as a matter of course, well qualified to impart the information and aid which will naturally be sought of them. While in the latter case, the situation of the assistants would necessarily seem to be such as to almost or quite prevent their acquiring the knowledge requisite for answering questions likely to be asked of them. This result is the more to be regretted, perhaps, since such questioners, if not answered on the spot, are more apt to drop the matter, unless very ardently in pur- suit of information, than to seek another room or officer of the library in search of it. Mr. DAVIS. I rise to correct a misappre- hension which may have been made by a re- mark of our honored President. He said that Harvard is the only college represented at this meeting. Now, I should not wish the im- pression to go abroad, that when this National Association of Librarians met in Cincinnati, not one of the many colleges in Ohio was repre- sented. I have the honor of appearing for the University of Wooster. I have been a silent, but interested, attendant upon the sessions of this body. Silent, for two reasons : i. I came to learn to receive suggestions and help. 2. I have perceived that the discussions have turned mainly upon the practical management of the great public libraries in our larger cities. But, as a College librarian, I have listened to these discussions with deep interest, and have found them suggestive and helpful. As to the subject now before us, the College librarian is as deeply interested in it as any other can be. When I took charge of the Library at Woos- ter, five years ago, I found the books arranged on the shelves largely according to size, style of binding, etc. ; beautiful sets standing togeth- er, to make a fine appearance. My first work was to break up these sets, and to arrange the books, big or little, according to subject. My next step was to throw open the gate which had hitherto barred all access to the books, and to invite the students to come behind the rail- ing, that they might handle the volumes, and by personal examination become familiar with their authorship and contents. Often a score of students will be thus engaged, and to be able to answer their manifold questions I find re- quires reading and study. To keep in advance of three or four hundred wide-awake Western young men and women, earnestly engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, is no small under- taking. And when I think of the influence that a librarian may have on so many expanding intellects and forming characters, by directing their reading, I feel like "magnifying my office." For quiet and unobserved, but real and lasting impression and usefulness, I would not exchange the work of a librarian for that of any professor in the colleger or even for that of the President of the University himself. Of course, I may be mistaken. But that is my PROCEEDINGS. 203 feeling concerning the office and work of a librarian. FIFTH SESSION. (FRIDAY MORNING.) The PRESIDENT announced as a Committee on Resolutions, Mr. Smith, of Philadelphia, Mr. Whitney, of Boston, and Mr. Dyer, of St. Louis. The Committee on Nominating an Executiv Board reported the following names : Justin Winsor, J. L. Whitney, S. S. Green, C. A. Cutter, Melvil Dui. RESOLUTIONS. The Committee on Resolutions, named above, reported as follows, and their report was adopted : Resolved, That the members of the Ameri- can Library Association, now in convention assembled, hereby return their hearty thanks to the Hon. J. D. Cox, and other members of the Committee of Arrangements, for their cordial welcome to our members from various parts of the United States, and for their generous hos- pitality ; to Mr. George Ward Nichols, Presi- dent of the College of Music, for the pleasure of listening to the celebrated organ of Cincin- nati; to Mr. John B. Peaslee, Superintendent of Public Schools, for his kind offices in bring- ing the teachers and librarians together, and for organizing an expedition to view the beauties of Eden Park; to Mr. Chester ^V. Merrill, Mr. Jno: M. Newton, and others, for throwing open to the Association the libraries under their care ; to the Literary Club, and the Ger- man Literary Club, for the use of their rooms ; and last, not least, to Mr. Henry Probasco, for his hospitable invitation to view the noble art and bibliographical treasures in his private col- lection. Mr. LARNED, of Buffalo, extended the invita- tion of the Y.M.A., of that city, that the Association hold its next meeting in Buffalo, and said he could promise what no other mem- ber could, cool weather in August, at which time he invited the Association to come. Mr. DYER, of St. Louis, extended a very cordial invitation to the Association to meet there in 1883. Mr. SMITH favored St. Louis ; and Mr. MER- RILL moved that the next meeting be held at Buffalo, which was carried by 16 to 6. Mr. TYLER moved that the time be August, the exact date to be settled by the Executiv Board, in consultation with Mr. Larned. This was carried without dissent. Mr. CUTTER showed and explained his scheme for classifying the book arts. (Seep. 168.) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. The Committee on Resolutions regarding the Building for the Library of Congress, reported as follows, and their resolutions were adopted unanimously : Resolved, That the erection of the new build- ing for the Library of Congress affords such an opportunity of improving the architecture of libraries, with respect to convenience in use and administration, safety of the books, and economy of construction, as is not likely to again occur; and that it is of great importance to the library interests of the country that the old and conventional errors of construction be avoided in the interior plans of this building. Resolved, That the plans submitted to this Association at the Washington meeting, by Mr. J. L. Smithmeyer, and adopted by the joint committee of Congress, embody principles of construction which are now regarded as faulty by the whole library profession ; and, therefore, as members of the American Library Association, we protest against the erection of the building for the library of Congress upon those principles. Resolved, That we reaffirm the resolution adopted at the Washington conference, by a unanimous vote, in the following words : "That, in the opinion of this Association, the time has come for a radical modification of the prevail- ing typical style of library building, and the adoption of a style of construction better suited to economy and practical utility. Resolved, That the Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library Building was misin- formed, when he stated, in his speech in the Senate on March 2, that "the adopted plan " had been " warmly approved" by the librarians of the country at their Washington meeting, the fact being that the librarians of the country are earnestly opposed to the plans adopted by the committee. Mr. LLOYD P. SMITH read his paper on the classification of books. (See p. 172.) 204 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. On motion of Mr. GREEN, it was voted that the Finance Committee invite Mr. F. Leypoldt, of New York, to publish the papers and pro- ceedings of the current meetings of this Associ- ation as one or more numbers of the Library journal, and require him to print enough extra * copies of such portions of the journal as will enable the Secretary of this Association to send one copy of the papers and proceedings to every member whose dues have been paid ; pro- vided, however, that the Finance Committee shall not allow more money to be spent in printing the papers and proceedings than the treasury contains. FICTION. Mr. J. L. BEARDSLEY read his paper upon "Fiction." (See p. 175.) Mr. GREEN asked Mr. Beardsley if he put out all exciting novels from his library at once. Mr. Beardsley replied, " No ; but I allow them to wear out and do not replace them. Thus they disappear from the catalog." Mr. WHITNEY. The impression has pre- vailed, to some extent, that librarians are not sufficiently interested in the subject of good and bad fiction, and the charge has even been made that they are "callous and indifferent" in the matter. This, it seems to me, is far from being the truth. If their efforts have not produced in all cases the results to be desired, it may be at- tributed, perhaps, in part, to these two causes : First. The number of new novels published is so great that librarians, with the pressure of their other work, are not able to read many of them. They are obliged to depend on the opinion of their friends and that of newspapers and periodicals. It would, probably, not be too much to say that few editors of newspapers in this country find time to read carefully the novels that come to them for notice. Editors are in a greater state of hurry even than libra- rians. Both, in their estimate of books, must depend largely on the reputation of the author and the publisher. The trustees of a certain library were once charged in a newspaper with giving to their readers improper stories. An examination of the files of this newspaper revealed the fact that many of the books denounced had been praised in its columns, and recommended to its readers. Second. As might be inferred from what has just been said, the advice which librarians receive is often so conflicting that they do not get great help from it. With us there is one party calling through the editorials of repu- table newspapers for the purchase of everything that is offered, believing that each kind will gravitate to its own. Others demand that all fiction be excluded. Mr. Emerson once asked me how many new books were purchased for the Boston Public Library. When I mentioned the number, he expressed astonishment, and said, "Probably not one in fifty of them ought ever to be read. Why buy the new book when the old is so much better?" Between these extremes of opinion how is the librarian to decide? Where can he get advice worth following? Information as to the character of books is always welcome to the librarian. Recent dis- cussions have brought much light and stimu- lated to a greater carefulness in the purchase of books. In our own library new books are distributed among the trustees, the officers, and others for examination, and an officer has been appointed whose duties consist largely in ex- amining the new works of fiction and books for the young. If any one knows that a book is a bad one let him tell the librarian at once. If he thinks that it is a poor one, he is at liberty to give his opinion ; but the librarian will take his opinion always for what it is worth, re- membering that yhat seems worthless or even harmful to one may not be so to another. A poor woman came to our library not long ago, from one of the poorest quarters of the city, asking for a novel by Mrs. Southworth. When asked why she read such stories she answered, that the pictures which these books gave her of people who are well-fed and well-dressed and enjoy all the comforts of life which she lacked were very pleasant to her, for she imagined for the time that she was in their company. The distinction between books which are bad for all, and those which may be bad for some, must always be kept in mind. Mr. J. J. JANNEY. Our Board has endeav- ored to secure the assistance of the teachers in the public schools in directing the reading of the children, and, we think, with very good and satisfactory results. The teacher selects a list of books in reference to the studies of the class, and advises the students to read them. A class PROCEEDINGS. 205 may be studying history ; the teacher puts into its hands a list of books relating to the history in hand. Another class is studying English literature ; a list of books illustrating that is given. The results have been entirely satis- factory. The reading of many of the children has been turned into better channels. The librarian may exert a great influence over boys and girls. A boy presents himself, wanting some " good story." He is told we do not think we have exactly what he wants ; but there is what we think a good book for him, handing him " The story of a bad boy," for instance, or one of the Bodley books, and asking him to take that and read it, and if he does not like it we will try to find something that will suit him better. The result, in such a case, has been that the boy has returned, his face aglow with delight, and the state- ment that that is the best book he ever read, and no farther demand from him for trashy reading. We occasionally meet with men and women, women especially, in whom the demand for sensational literature seems fixed and incurable. They cannot get above Mrs. Southworth. Our success in improving the style of read- ing has been very satisfactory. A few years ago, 69 per cent, of our issues were fiction ; last year, 49 per cent. only. And we have lost no readers. The per cent, of readers in the total population is steadily increasing. With a population of 52,000, and 13,000 volumes in the library, our issues last year were 65,017, besides 7,611 books consulted in the rooms. As to the total exclusion of fiction, while the managers of the Germantown Library feel satisfied with their rule, which totally excludes it, we think that not wise nor prudent. A very large amount of fiction, pure and simple, has become classic, and will ever remain so. But where shall the line be drawn? That must be determined as the cases arise. The issues of some houses should be received with great caution ; the products of some authors rejected at once. I think I could draw a line around Mrs. Southworth, for instance, without hesita- tion. We aim to answer all inquiries. A young man is looking up authorities on a question he is debating, or a girl is to write a composition. The librarian cannot always refer to the proper authorities. If he cannot do so, the applicant is asked to call again, and they will be looked up. This adds to the labor of the librarian, but it makes a friend of the applicant, and adds to the usefulness of the library. Mr. DYER tho't all fiction should not be ex- cluded, and spoke of readers' tastes improving, so that they grew from the use of the poorer to that of the better fiction. Mr. WINSOR spoke of an incident which oc- curred to him while in the Boston Public Library, and mentioned the book, "tabooed by the Boston Public Library." " This," said Mr. Smith, " might be called the puff oblique of the book." Mr. SMITH gave his experience, and that of the Friends' Free Library at Germantown.- He mentioned the Loganian Library, and its career, which, he said, might be described as "The greatest good to the smallest number." He also mentioned Dr. Rush's similar plan, the result of which was a library costing $800,000, that averaged but nineteen readers a day. Mr. WARD. Some librarians seem disposed to limit their interference to advice. I think we can all recall instances where prohibition would have been the correct course, especially in relation to young people, who too often obtain books to read, not only without the knowl- edge of their parents, but really and knowingly contrary to their wishes. This is one of the evils connected with the indiscriminate de- livery of books to children. There are books harmless enough to read occasionally; but it is sometimes sad to see such a waste of tim, as when a young man spends several hours a day, for many days together, turning over the leaves of "Punch." This brought out from several members a lively defence of the historical value of " Punch," tho it was allowed that three hours a day was, perhaps, too much to devote to that one branch of study. Mr. LINDERFELT read his paper on Charg- ing Systems. (Seep. 178.) The PRESIDENT having had his attention called by Mr. Poole to the existence of a lively young sister association, extended a hearty welcome to the Western Library Association, and announced that its first annual meeting would be held in Indianapolis, in October next. Mr. CUTTER moved that the cataloguing rules be referred back to the Cooperation Com- 2O6 CINCINNATI CONFERENCE. mittee, with power to make needed changes to bring them ir.to uniformity, so far as should appear desirable with those of the L. A. U. K. Adjourned to Saturday at 10 A.M. The afternoon was spent at Mr. Probasco's, the evening at the Zoological Garden. SIXTH SESSION. (SATURDAY MORNING.) The meeting was called to order at 10.25 A.M. Mr. GREEN made certain announcements, and then moved votes of thanks to Messrs. J : Shil- lets & Co., for their courtesy in furnishing copies of King's Pocket-book of Cincinnati, for distribution among the members of the As- sociation, and to the editors of this city, for their kindness in printing full reports of the meetings of the Association. Both resolutions were carried. SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES. The PRESIDENT made a welcoming address to the teachers of Cincinnati ; and then pro- ceeded to read extensive extracts from Miss C. H. Hewins's report on "Reading for the ydung." (Seep. 182.) Mr. J: B. PEASLEE, Superintendent of Public Schools, said : Fellow-Teachers : It is ex- ceedingly fortunate that the American Library Association should meet here this year, when we are endeavoring to adopt some plan to se- cure better cooperation between our libraries and the schools, and thereby to direct more effectually the reading of the pupils. What the children are reading is, to my mind, the most important question that can be considered by teachers and parents. I believe that a pupil who loves our intermediate (gram- mar) schools, even with a love of reading good books, is on the sure road to an hon- orable manhood or womanhood. Much has been done of late years to give the pupil correct literary tastes, in the learn- ing and reciting the best thoughts of distin- guished authors, in celebrating their birthdays, in putting their portraits into our school- rooms, in planting a grove in Eden Park to their honor and memory ; but the great ques- tion, How can we obtain the most good from our libraries? has not as yet been decided by us. Whether we shall adopt the methods pur- sued so successfully at Worcester, Mass., which Will be explained by Mr. Green, the distin- guished Librarian of the Worcester Public Library, or that of Boston, or a modification of the two, or some other plan that may be suggested, I cannot say; but I trust these con- ferences between our teachers and the libra- rians who have devoted their lives to the study of books may result in great good to the schools. Before I close I wish to extend the thanks of our teachers for the assistance given our pupils by Mr. Newton, Librarian of the Mercantile Library, and also to Mr. Merrill, of the Public Library. Mr. GREEN was called upon to open a discus- sion on the best methods of securing coopera- tion between libraries and schools. Mr. Green's address was extempore, and therefore cannot be given in full. Following are the heads under which he grouped numerous illus- trations. Added to these are a few references to other volumes of the Library journal and to the report on " Aids and guides to readers," read by Mr. Green at the meeting of the Li- brary Association on Thursday afternoon of the present year. ist. The methods in vogue in libraries to assist teachers to make scholars read carefully. Especial mention was made in this connection of the work done by the Boston Public Library. For a description of this work, see Lib.j'nl., 5 : 299-302. The books which are furnished by the Public Library in Boston in doing this work may be supplied in other ways. Thus, in Worcester, where there is a two years' course in which six months is given to the study of each of the authors, Bryant, Long- fellow, Hawthorne, and Irving, the scholars are required to furnish their own books. These could also be supplied by the School Committee, or with money raised by subscrip- tion. As helping to make young persons careful readers, it was mentioned that applicants for admission to Harvard University are required to pass an examination on certain books which they are required to read, such as, for example, Scott's Ivanhoe. The thorough reading of certain books, or of parts of books, is a portion of the course in the Latin High School, and other schools in Boston. See, also, Lib. /'/., 5: 243 (2d column), for an account of work done in Providence, R.I. PR O CEEDINGS. 207 ad. Aid afforded by librarians in furnishing collateral reading to teachers and scholars, and in helping both to make investigations. For ample illustration of the way in which work of this kind is done in the Public Library at Worcester, Mass., see Lib.j'nl., 5 : 235-245, for "The relation of the Public Library to the Public Schools " : a paper read at a meeting of the American Social Science Association, in Saratoga, Sept. 8, 1880, by S: S. Green. This paper was also published in the American journal of social science, and in pamphlet form. See, also, for an account of interesting work done during the past year by the library in Worcester, in connection with the Worcester High School, that portion of Mr. Green's re- port on Aids and guides to readers, published in this number of the Lib. /'/., contained under the heading, Libraries as educational institutions. 3d. How libraries may aid teachers in the regulation of the reading of the young. See the paper and report referred to under the last head for information on this subject, and for miscellaneous information regarding the general subject under consideration. Mr. W: F: Poole has said that, when his Index of Periodical Literature should be pub- lished, he thought it would be well for the mem- bers of the American Library Association to help him and Mr. Fletcher to get out a sub- ject-index referring to books. Such a work as this, well prepared by librarians, would be of immense service to teachers and others. This abstract gives only a very meagre ac- count of Mr. Green's address of over an hour. It is as long, however, as he can make it at present with his numerous engagements. Mr. JOHN HANCOCK, of Dayton, O., was called upon by the President to say something on be- half of the teachers. He spoke briefly, and, among other things, said, that the public library should shape the public thought in a city. He was glad to know of what was doing in Worces- ter. He then spoke of his experience as a teacher, in connection with this subject. Mr. POOLE spoke of his intercourse with the teachers of Chicago, how he excited their interest and cooperation. He called them to his office, talked with them, and gave them copies of his finding list. He spoke of his in- tercourse with the little folks, and of how he increased their interest, and encouraged them in their reading. Mr. G. A. CARNAHAN, Principal of the First Intermediate School of Cincinnati, spoke of his watching the growing taste of the boys and girls in reading. He had very little faith in trying to control the reading of children ; but wished them to be taught to select their own reading. The PRESIDENT spoke of the intercourse which the American librarians had, in London, with Sir Redmond Barry, and of the work he accomplished at Melbourne ; and especially of his success in interesting the teachers and the children. Mr. DYER moved the following resolution, which was put by the Secretary, and carried unanimously : Resolved, That the thanks of this Association be given to the President for the able manner in which he has presided over the deliberations of this Association, and for his continued attend- ance at its meetings. Mr. LARNED moved a vote of thanks to "our industrious Secretary pro tern." which was carried. And at 12.35 the PRESIDENT declared the Conference adjourned. A. W. TYLER, Secretary pro tern. LIST OF PERSONS PRESENT. Mrs. Cyrus Arnold, Woonsocket, R.I. W: J: Edwards Barnwell, Cincinnati P. L. I. L. Beardslej, Cleveland (O.) P. School L. E: Bertz, Rugby, Tenn. Mrs. Ellen M. Bosworth, Harris Institute L., Woonsocket, R.I. G. A. Carnahan, Principal of the First Intermediate School, Cincinnati, O. H: J. Carr, Grand Rapids, Mich. J. Francisco Garret, Boston Public L. Reuben Colton, Library of American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass. Rebecca Cooling, Cincinnati P. L. Jacob D. Cox, ex-Governor of Ohio. C: A. Cutter, Boston Atheneeum. Mrs. J. C. Davies, Dayton, O. T. K. Davis, Library of University of Wooster, Wooster, O. J: N. Dyer, Mercantile L., St. Louis. Anna Eppens, Cincinnati P. L. Christoph Bernhard Frenk, Cincinnati P. L. Mrs. Edwin Noah Fuller, Cincinnati P. L. Weston Flint, Library of the U. S. Patent Office, Washington, D.C. S: S. Green, Free P.L., Worcester, Mass. Harriet Eliza Garretson, Cincinnati P. L. J: Hancock, Superintendent of Schools, Dayton, O. Mary C. Harbaugh, Ohio State Library, Columbus. Hannah P. James, Free Library, Newton, Mass. J. J. Janney, P. L. and Reading Room, Columbus, O. J. N. Larned, Young Men's L., Buffalo, N.Y. K. A: Linderfelt, Milwaukee P. L. Mrs. M. E. Linderfelt, Milwaukee. A. P. Massey, Case Library, Cleveland, O. Chester Wright Merrill, Cincinnati P. L. H: C: Meyer, Cincinnati P. L. W. H. Mussey, Mussey Library, Cincinnati. Sallie Amanda Owens, Cincinnati P. L. W. T. Peoples, Mercantile L., N.Y. J: B. Peaslee, Superintendent of Schools, Cincinnati. W: F: Poole, Chicago P. L. Low Scanthin, Evansville P. L. Kittie Wadsworth Sherwood, Cincinnati P. L. Lloyd P. Smith, Library Company of Philadelphia. A. W. Tyler, Indianapolis P. L. James W. Ward, Grosvenor P. L., Buffalo, N.Y. Theresa H. West, Milwaukee (Wis.) P. L. James L. Whitney, Boston P. L. Mrs. E. A. Winsor, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis. Robert C. Woodward, Springfield (O.) P. L. '82.] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. 209 B. Bibliografy. BIBLIOGRAFIA del vi. centenario del Vespro Siciliano. Palermo, Pedone Lauriel, 1882. 16. 3 1. (250 copies.) 101 nos. (34 historical, 4 dramatic, 4 fiction, 8 oratorical, 39 poetical, 10 periodical, 2 musi- cal). CATALOGUE de livres choisis a 1'usage des gens du monde, cont. les meilleures productions de la litterature contemporaine. Paris, lib. de la Soc. Bibliog., n.d. ^ + 176 p. 12. 2/r. GILL, Theodore. Bibliography of the fishes of the Pacific coast to the end of 1879. Wash., 1882. 73 p. O. (Bulletin of the U. S. Nat. Museum, no. n.) LARNED, J. N. List of works on charity and kindred subjects. (Pages 249-254 of S. H. Gurteen's Hand-book of charity organization, Buffalo, 1882, O.) MOTTA, Emil. Versuch einer Golthardbahn- Literatur, 1844-82. (In Bibliog. u. lit. Chronik d. Schweitz, 1882, p. 14-18, 39-46, 64- 70, 86-92 ; and is to be continued.) U.S. ... Communication from the Secretary of State rel. to the establishment of an Inter- national Bureau of Exchanges. Wash., Gov. Pr. Off., 1882. 113 p. O. Contains a list of official publications issued by Congress and the Departments, 1867-81. J: STUART BLACKIE'S Altavona ; fact and fic- tion from my life in the Highlands, Edinburgh, 1882, 14 + 425 p. 8, contains a 6-page "list of some works on the history, antiquities, language, poetry, and music of the Highlands." C. H. EVANS' American college directory, v. 4, 1882, St. Louis, Evans & Co., 1882, 168 p. 8 ($i), contains "complete list of educational periodicals." Indexes. INDEX SOCIETY. Index of obituary notices for 1880. London, 1882. 7 + 103 p. sq. O. Contains about one fourth more than the last index, the increase being in part due to the American contributions. The JOURNAL of speculative philosophy for Oct., 1881, contained (pp. 434-444) an index to v. 1-15. REVUE de Belgique ; table gen., 1869-80, v. i- 36. Brux., Marquardt, 1882, 48 p. 8. 3/n 50. Enougms ant) Aschenbroedel (No name series) is by Miss Katie Carrington, of Colebrook, Conn., known already as a contributor of pleasant stories to the Atlantic. The island home. " The anon, author, James F. Bowman, has died at San Francisco. ' The island home ' acquired an enormous circulation, and it was from this volume that Max Adeler drew his nom de plume" Athenaum, June 17, 1882. A lesson in love is said to be by Mrs. Ellen O. Kirk, the wife of the editor of Lifpittcott's magazine. A mere caprice is by Mme. Bigot, formerly Mary Healy, a daughter of G. P. A. Healy. Mme. Bigot has written a version of her novel in French, and it is now passing through the press of Charpentier in Paris, where the author has long resided. Literary world. Nngrf historic^ et mythologies:, Glasgow, Hugh Hopkins, 1882, 8, pp. 8 + 231, is by Duncan Keith. The book contains (i) Frederick n., Emperor of Germany and King of Sicily, (2) Northern mythology ; 330 copies printed. T. T. B., Mitchell Library. The revolt of man is by Walter Besant. Christian Reid. A weekly journal having said that this is the pseudonym of a Miss Johnson, application was made to D. Appleton & Co., publishers of Christian Reid's books, who de- clare that they know nothing of Miss Johnson, and that the author is Miss Frances C. Fisher, of Salisbury, N. C. G. Valbert, ps. of Victor Cherbuliez in the Revtie des Detix Mondes. Graybeard. Graybeard's lay sermons is by J: F. Graeff. Henry Churton. Toinette, by H: Churton, N. Y., J. B. Ford & Co., 1874, D, is now repub- lished as "A royal gentleman, by Albion W. Tourgee. N. Y., Fords, etc." [cop. 1881]. D. Picche, ps. of F. Verdinois in articles in the Fanfiilla reprinted as Profili letterari napolitani de Picche, Napoli, Morano. 1882. Pontoosuc, ps. of E. H. Kellogg in "The Johnson protocol and international good neigh- borhood, two letters to Gen. Grant. Pittsfield, Mass., 1869," 24 p. O. Victor Lafcrte. Alexandre II. details inedits sur sa vie intime et sa mort. Paris, A. Ghio, 1882. 18. ajr. "L'auteur neseraitautre d'apres les indiscre- tions des journaux que la princesse Dolgorouki, la veuve morganitique de feu 1'empereur." The publishers' advertisement. W. B.. Rands, better known under the pseu- donyms of " Matthew Browne " and " Henry Holbeach," lately died in his $6th year. Pall Mall gazette. 210 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. [futy-Avg., '82. ILibtatg A SELECTION OF NEW BOOKS, WITH NOTES OF COMMENDATION OR CAUTION. Books mentioned without notes can, as a rulf, be safely purchased for the general reader. The binding, unless otherwise expressed, is generally understood to be in cloth. BUTCHER, S. H. Demosthenes. N. Y., Ap- pleton, 1882. S. (Classical writers.) 60 c. " An admirable little book. Mr. Butcher has brought his finished scholarship to bear on a difficult but most interest- ing chapter of Greek literary history." London Academy. CARRINGTON, Miss Katie. Aschenbroedel. [Anon.] Bost., Roberts, 1882. S. (No name [second] series.) $i. " An American society story, a little improbable in more than one respect, but of decided and well-sustained interest." Congregationalist. CLEMENS, S. L. [ ' Mark Twain."] The stolen white elephant, etc. Bost., Osgood, 1882. S. $1.25. Two of these stories were omitted from "A tramp abroad." The others appeared from time to time in the Atlantic and other magazines. COUES, Elliott. Check-list of North American birds. 2d ed., rev. to date, and entirely re- written, under direction of the author. Bost., Estes & Lauriat, 1882. O. $3. CRAVEN, Mine. A: Eliane ; from the French by Lady Georgiana Fullerton. N. Y., W: S. Gottsberger, 1882. S. 90 c.; pap., 50 c. " The story is pleasantly and quietly told, without any disagreeable exaggeration or" artifice, and with one or two exceptions the translation is smooth and grammatical." Boston A dvertiser. DESMOND hundred (The). Bost., Osgood, 1882, S. (Round-robin ser.) $i. " The story is quite as original as its nomenclature, nearly as ecclesiastical as the prayer-book, and about as natural and probable as apple-blossoms in December. ... Much at- tention is given to the organization of a choir, to holy days and Holy Week ; and the writing throughout is that of a religiously minded woman, who has high and enthusiastic ideas on the subjects of liturgies, vestments, responses, priestly functions, consecrated places, the Christian Year, and the Christian life." Literary "world. EDWARDES, Annie. At the eleventh hour. N. Y., Putnam, 1882. sq. S. (Transatlan- tic novels.) $i ; pap., 60 c. Published in England under title of " A ball-room re- pentance." Mrs. Edwardes shows that strong feeling, if not genuine passion, can be dealt with without outraging pro- priety. ... Mrs. Edwardes lays her scenes at various foreign places Monaco, Nice, Rome and Switzerland. . . . The heroine is well conceived, and the scheming mother is a pleasant variation, with her taste for miscellaneous reading, which, by the way, recalls 'A blue stocking.'" London A thenaum. ELLIS, G: E. The red man and the white man in North America, from its discovery to the present time. Bost., Little, Brown & Co., 1882. O. $3.50. " The fruit of many years' study of the history of the white man's dealings with the native races of this continent; the character, manners and customs of the savages ; the results of missionary labor among them, etc. . . . The book would probably have been better for compression." N. Y. Tribune. FAITHS (The) of the world : St. Giles' lectures. N. Y., Scribner, 1882. D. $1.50. Contents : i, Religions of India : Vedic period ; Brah- nianism, and 2, Religions of India : Buddhism, by Principal Caird, 3, Religion of China : Confucianism, by Rev, Geo. Matheson, D.D. 4, Religion of Persia : Zoroaster and the Zend Avesta, by Rev. John Milne. 5, Religion of ancient Egypt, by Rev. James Dodds, D.D. 6 Religion of ancient Greece, by Prof. Milligan. 7, Religion of ancient Rome, by Rev. James MacGregor, D.D. 8, Teutonic and Scandi- navian religion, by Rev. George Stewart Burns, D.D. 9, Ancient religions of Central America, by Rev. John Mar- shall Lang, D.D. 10, Judaism, by Prof. Malcolm C. Tay- lor, D.D. n, Mohammedanism, by Rev. James Cameron Lees, D. D. 12, Christianity in relation to other religions, by Prof. Flint. " The position taken is that of essential orthodoxy, al- though there is an evident recognition of recent ideas." N. Y. Mail and express. GEIKIE, Archibald. Geological sketches at home and abroad. N. Y., Macmillan, 1882. D. $1.75- " He writes with great clearness and simplicity, and with no more than that agreeable infusion of science which his studies naturally make the scene suggest." Boston Ad- vertiser. GOSSE, Edmund W. Gray. N. Y., Harper, 1882. D. (English men of letters.) 75 c. " This volume can hardly fail to take its place as the best life of Gray that has appeared." London Athenavm. " There is no difficulty in fixing the position of this book it is the fullest and the best life of Gray." London Academy, GREVILLE, Henry. \_Mme. Alice Durand.] Tania's peril ; or, the edge of an abyss : 2. Russian story; tr. by G: D. Cox. Phil., Peterson, [1882]. sq. S. pap., 50 c. " Is not great, like ' The Princess Ogherof ' or * Saveli's Expiation,' but it is good short, sweet and wholesome." Literary ^vorld. HALEVY, Ludovic. Abbe Constantine ; from the 2oth French edition by Emily H. Hazen. N. Y., Putnam, 1882. sq. S. (Transatlantic novels.) $i ; pap., 60 c. 11 One of the authors of that personification of feminine Parisianism, Frou Frou, has now attempted to draw a cous- in of Lydia Blood and Daisy Miller. Strange to say, the attempt is a complete success. Mrs. Scott and her sister, Miss Bettina Percival, are true Americans and they are true ladies. It is perhaps a tribute to the purity of the American character that the story in which these ladies play the principal part is not only altogether delightful, but as innocent as it is interesting. The creator of Madame Cardinal has in ' L'Abbe Constantin ' written the healthiest and most wholesome French novel since M. About's 'Roman d'un brave homme.' " Nation. HEALY, Mary. ["Jeanne Mairet."] A mere ca- price. Chic., Jansen, McClurg & Co., 1882. T. $1.25. " A clever story of Parisian life, intense enough to please the taste of the blase novel-reader, yet showing delicacy and grace in character study, and ready perception of the underlying currents that guide human motives and make or mar a life. Boston Traveller. HOUSEHOLD economy : a manual for use in schools ; published under the direction of the Kitchen Garden Assoc. N. Y. & Chic., Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co., 1882. D. net, 42 c. " So far as such a subject can be taught by questions and answers, the ' School Manual of Household Economy,' pub- lished under the direction of the Kitchen-Garden Associa- tion of this city, ought to accomplish its purpose." Nation. JENKINS, E: A paladin of finance. Bost., Os- good, 1882. S. $i. " A study of contemporary manners in the period par ex- cellence of gigantic mining combinations, corners, panics and crashes. Home journal. KUENEN, Abraham. National religions and universal religions. N. Y., Scribner, 1882. D. (The Hibbert lectures, 1882.) $1.5.0. " The subject is an interesting one, taking in Buddhism, July-Aug., '82.] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. 211 Judaism, Christianity and Islamism, and it is treated with the author's well-known modesty, learning and ability." Boston A dvertiser. LA RAME, Louise de. [""Ouida."] Bimbi : sto- ries for children. Phil., Lippincott, 1882. D. $1.25. "Pure in thought, noble in purpose, rich in pathos and humor, and in general charming in form." Literary world. LEONE. Bost., Osgood, 1882. S. (Round-robin ser.) $i. " Melodramatic." LUBBOCK, Sir J: Ants, bees and wasps: a rec- ord of observations on the habits of the social hymenoptera. N. Y., Appleton, 1882. D. (International sci. sen, no. 42.) $2. " There are few departments of natural history more fas- cinating than that which deals with the habits and instincts of the social insects, and Sir John Lubbock's marvellously patient and minute experiments have placed him at the very head of all observers in this delightful field." Pall Mall Gazette. MCCARTHY, Justin. The epochs of reform, 1830-1850. N. Y., Scribner, [1882]. S. (Epochs of modern history.) $i. " If a man is capable of writing within the compass of two hundred i6mo pages a faithful and readable sketch of the political history of England during the eventful twenty years from 1830 to 1850, that man is Justin McCarthy." Literary world. NADAL, E. S. Essays at home and elsewhere. N. Y., Macmillan, 1882. D. $1.50. ' The book is a very readable one, and has the merit of thoughtfulness much beyond that of the conventional es- say writer. It begins with an agreeable pnper on ' The old Boston Road,' and has articles devoted to'Artemus Ward,' ' Byron, 1 ' Matthew Arnold,' ' William Cullen Bry- ant,' ' The conditions of dandyism,' ' Newspaper literary criticism,' etc." Boston. Gazette. OLIPHANT, Mrs. Margaret O. W. Lady Jane : a novel. N. Y., 1882. Q. (Harper's Frank- lin sq. lib., People's lib., Seaside lib.) pap., IOC. "We do not remember that Mrs. Oliphant has pro- duced anything more felicitous in its way than * Lady Jane.' " Literary world. OLIPHANT, Mrs. Margaret O. W. The literary history of England in the end of the eigh- teenth and beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury. N. Y., Macmillan, 1882. 3 v. D. $3. " Few mere critical students could have vitalized their portraits in the way that hers are vitalized, and her bright insight into character and her knowledge of human life are most refreshing in this department of literature." London Athenaunt. " As a Johnson she has no rank among the historians of literature ; as a Boswell, she is admirable." Critic. POOLE, Reginald Lane. Sebastian Bach. N. Y., Scribner & Welford, 1882. S. (Great musicians.) $i. "Interesting on account of its theme, Mr. Poole's work is noticeable as being the first English memoir of Bach, and as containing not only the substance of what had previously been written about him by Forkel, Helgenfeldt and Bitter, but also the latest recovered facts in the voluminous and exhaustive work of Prof Spitta. . . . Mr. Poole's charm- ing pages are freshly and frankly written." N. Y. Mail and express. RUSSELL, W. Clark. The " Lady Maud," schooner yacht : from the account of a guest on board. N. Y., Harper, 1882. Q. (Har- per's Franklin sq. lib.) pap., 20 c. SANBORN, F. B. Henry D. Thoreau. Bost., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1882. D. (Ameri- can men of letters.) $1.25. SEELEY, J: R. Natural religion. \Anon.~\ Bost., Roberts, 1882. S. $1.25. " Prof. Se_eley, while thoroughly reverential toward Christianity itself, is abreast of the view that refuses to be satisfied with it as a religion resting upon the authority of early teaching, or as authenticated by miracle." Boston Gazette. SETH, Andrew. From Kant to Hegel ; with chapters on the philosophy of religion. Lond., Williams & Norgate, 1882. " We commend this book especially to those who may be still inclined to believe there is something in Hegel, but who quite despair of learning from Hegel himself, or from the inarticulate utterances of his thoroughbred disciples, what that something is." Nation. SHIELDS, C: W. The order of the sciences : an essay on the philosophical classification and organization of human knowledge. N. Y., Scribner, 1882. D. 75 c. SPENCER, Herbert. Political institutions : being pt. 5 of " The principles of sociology" (the concluding portion of v. 2.) N. Y., Apple- ton, 1882. D. $1.50. " To discover what truths may be affirmed of political organizations at large is the problem which the author has undertaken to solve in the present volume." SPOFFORD, Harriet Prescott. The Marquis of Carabas. Bost., Roberts, 1882. S. $i. " Mrs. Spoffbrd's wonderful power of word-painting has lost nothing of its mystic beauty in ' The Marquis of Cara- bas.' " Literary world. STEPHEN, Leslie. The science of ethics. N.Y., Putnam, 1882. O. $4. TAYLOR, G: Antinous: a romance of ancient Rome ; from the German by Mary J. Safford. N. Y., W: S. Gottsberger, 1882. S. 90 c. ; pap., 50 c. " The scene of much of the tale is Egypt. It is written spiritedly, it pictures vividly the relations between the early Christians and the Romans ; the story of Antinous is the thread which forms the link of its several parts." Congre- gationalist. TYNDALL, J: Essays on the floating matter of the air in relation to putrefaction and infection. N. Y., Appleton, 1882. D. $1.50. ' It would, indeed, be difficult to quote a better example of the method and the spirit with which a difficult investiga- tion should be pursued, and of the qualities by which success is ultimately attained." London Spectator. WARD, Adolphus W. Dickens. N. Y., Har- per, 1882. D. (English men of letters.) 75 c. " He follows out the life of Dickens in chronological or- der, examining each of his works in its place in the succes- sion, and closing with a comprehensive chapter of critical comment." Congregaticnalist. WOOLSON, Constance Fenimore. Anne : a novel ; il. by C. S. Reinhart. N. Y., Harper, 1882. S. $1.25. "It is a book to be praised unreservedly in everything but the artistic feature of its construction. There it is lacking, and, unfortunately, the deficiency is felt worst of all as the story approaches its conclusion." Boston Gazette. " A work of genius, and yet disappointing in many ways." Boston Traveller. YONGE, Charlotte M. Unknown to history: a story of the captivity of Mary of Scotland. N. Y., Macmillan, 1882. D. $1.75. " A brilliant picture of the times, and effective sketches of noted characters in striking situations." Boston Trav- eller. 212 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. [July- Aug., '82. (General fiotes. MRS. S. RUSSELL, of Middletown, Conn., has left $40,000 to the Russell Free Library. THE new library and art building of Wash- ington and Lee University is completed. It is the gift of Mrs. Josephine L. Newcomb, of New York, the widow of the late Warren Newcomb, of Louisville, Ky. A JOHN BRIGHT ROOM. Messrs. Richard & George Tangye, of Birmingham, propose to fit up a room in the new Free Library of that town, to be called the "John Bright Room," and to stock it with books on history and political economy, and also to provide means of keeping up a supply of works on these subjects. Athenaum. WYCOMBE. Since 1876 Mr. J. O. Griffits, Q.C., Recorder of Reading, has borne the whole expense of the Wycombe Free Library, the money raised by the public accumulating meanwhile as an endowment fund. He has now given buildings for the library on condi- tion that this fund be raised from ^1200 to ^3000 within seven years. RAILROAD LIBRARIES. " One trunk line com- pany is said to have recently placed small but well-assorted libraries on some of its trains. As good books in such places serve the double purpose of keeping out the train-boy and sup- plying better reading matter than he usually selects to inflict upon his victims, the travelling public should be grateful. But why should not the company go further and not only put libraries on all its trains, but supply gum- drops and prize packages also, to be taken only at will ? Then travel, losing half its terrors, will become twice as popular as now." N. Y. Herald. RAILROAD LIBRARIES. Circulating libraries of an entirely new description are about to be started at St. Petersburg. A society has been founded for the purpose of supplying the tram- cars of that city with supplies of daily news- papers and illustrated weeklies. Passengers who avail themselves of these literary stores are to drop into a box a copeck for each paper they read. No watch is to be kept over the box, the payment being left to the honor of the readers. The society trusts that it will be only occa- sionally defrauded. Athentzum. [It is not stated whether this society was started in the interest of the oculists. En.] PEPYS' LIBRARY. The library left by Pepys to Magdalene College, Oxford, stands on its shelves precisely as he left it. It is kept in a room apart (under the terms of his will), and the 3000 books are in the handsome carved mahogany bookcases made for him in August, 1666, just before the fire of London. A few are bound in morocco and vellum, the rest in black and gold. Whenever a volume is shorter than another it is raised upon a small wooden block, painted exactly like the binding. The library is very rich in early printed books, but chiefly famous for five folios of Old Ballads, classified under ten heads. FREE LAW LIBRARY. Lucas Hirst, a Phila- delphia lawyer, left nearly the whole of his fortune, valued at $180,000, for the establish- ment of a free law library for poor lawyers in Philadelphia. Mr. Hirst began his career forty years ago, a penniless errand-boy in At- torney-General Brewster's office, and worked his way to prominence and wealth by the closest application and penurious economy. Never in his life did his food and lodging cost him more than fro per week, and he was always shabbily dressed. Some years ago he asked the use of a volume at the law institution for a few moments, and was told it could only be granted on his payment of $40, a year's subscription to the institution. He flung himself out in a passion, and at once resolved to leave the bulk of his wealth for the foundation of a free law library. FRENCH PUBLIC LIBRARIES. In addition to the public libraries which have been formed in Paris, there are now nearly 50 in the villages of the Department of the Seine which receive grants from the Council-General. Of these 34 are "communal" libraries that is to say, are paid for out of the public funds ; while the others are free libraries that is to say, founded and kept up by private subscription. But as the communal and free libraries are alike open and free for the benefit of the inhabitants at large, the Council-General grants an annual subsidy of ^20 to each library. During the first three months of this year the communal libraries lent 12,695 books, and the free libraries 13,725 ; this total being more than for the whole of last year. Most of these libraries are only circulat- ing, but a few of them are provided with read- ing-rooms, which are open in the evenings. London Literary World. BRUSSELS ROYAL LIBRARY. The Royal Li- brary at Brussels has adopted an electric " lampe- soleil "of MM. Clerc and Bureau, Belgian in- ventors. It is described as being much more steady than other arc-lights, of very agreeable color, not at all trying to the eye, but on the contrary soothing, and costing only one fourth as much as its competitors. The hall is lighted by three of these lamps as well as it would have been by 125 gas jets of sixteen candle power. The difference in the heat evolved is enormous. The light is all thrown up on to the ceiling and thence reflected through the room. In this way the strong lights and shadows, which are usually the worst feature of arc-lights, are avoided ; the light at the reading-table is agreeable, and every alcove is sufficiently lighted to make it easy to find the books. The vestibule and cloak-room are lighted by a dozen incandescent lamps invented by M. L. Nothomb, a Belgian officer ; the Belgians naturally think them superior to Edison's. Nation. July-Aug., '82.] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. 213 NEW BOOKS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY. American Statesmen. VOL. IV. ANDREW JACKSON. By WILLIAM G. SUMKER, Professor of Political and Social Science in Yale College, i vol., i6mo, gilt top, $1.25. It comprises in compact form the leading facts in the life of Andrew Jackson, and describes his connection with pub- lic affairs, and his marked influence upon the history of the country during the stormy years of his political life. Bret Harte's Poems. HOUSEHOLD EDITION. The Complete Poetical Works of BRET HARTB. New House- hold Edition. Uniform in style with the other Household Poets, i vol., izrno, fa. Alice and Phoebe Gary's Poems. HOUSEHOLD EDITION. The Complete Poetical Works of ALICE and PHCEBK GARY. New Household Edition. Uniform with the Household Lowell, Holmes, etc. i vol., 121110, $2. This popular Household Edition will be gladly welcomed by those who wish these charming poems in a compact, legible, and inexpensive form. American Prose. HOLIDAY EDITION. AMERICAN PROSE. Selections from the prose writings of Hawthorne, Irving, Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Thoreau, and Emerson. Illustrated with eight steel por- traits of the above-named authors. 8vo, cloth, handsomely stamped, $3 ; half calf, $5.50 ; morocco, or tree calf, $7.50. An attractive edition of a book which contains some of the most interesting stories and essays in American literature. Ballads and Lyrics. HOLIDAY EDITION. Edited by HENRY CABOT LODGE. With 24 full-page illus- trations. 8vo, cloth, handsomely stamped, $3 ; half calf, $5.50 ; morocco, or tree calf, $7.50. This volume, with the excellent illustrations, and the tasteful mechanical execution now given it, forms a very de- sirable and permanently valuable gift-book. Forest Scenes. NEW EDITION. Including poems by Bryant, Longfellow, Halleck, and Street. Illustrated by JOHN A. Hows. 410, full gilt. Cloth, $5 ; morocco, or tree calf, $g. A new and im- proved edition of this standard holiday book. Longfellow Calendar for 1883. Containing selections for each day of the year, carefully chosen from the poetical and prose writings of HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. Mounted on a card beauti- fully decorated by LAMBERT HOLLIS. (In Press.) Emerson Calendar for 1883. Containing selections from Mr. EMERSON'S writings for each day in the year. Mounted on a card designed by Miss MARIE BIGELOW, and beautifully printed in colors. A very attractive and desirable Calendar, and an excel- lent souvenir for the admirers of Mr. Emerson. (In Press.) The Bodley Grandchildren AND THEIR JOURNEY IN HOLLAND. By HORACE E. SCUDDER, author of the Bodley Books. Fully illustrated. Small quarto, with attractive orna- mental covef, $1.50. _ In this new Bodley Book, which will be hailed with de- light by the multitudes who have read the previous Bodley Books, Mr. Scudder takes the Bodley grandchildren to Holland, where they have an exceedingly interesting time, seeing a host of curious and instructive sights, hearing some amusing stories, and listening to thrilling incidents in the history of Holland. (In Press.) First Principles of Household Manage- ment and Cookery. By Miss PARLOA, author of Miss Parloa's Cook-Book. New edition, revised and greatly enlarged. Miss Parloa has made some very important additions to her little book on Household Management and Cookery, by which it is rendered yet more valuable as an elementary work in the important matter of household economy. (In Press.) Gary's Poems. LIBRARY EDITION. Complete Poems of ALICE and PHCEBE CARY. With a memorial of their lives, by MARY CLEMMER. New Illus- trated Library Edition. 8vo. (In Press.) *** For sale by all Booksellers. Sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price by the Publishers, HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY. 214 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. '82. ROBERT CLARKE & Co., Publishers, Cincinnati, HAVE JUST ISSUED : HOUGH'S ELEMENTS OF FORESTRY. The Elements of Forestry. Designed to afford Information concerning the Planting and Care of Forest Trees for Ornament or Profit ; and giving Suggestions upon the Creation and Care of Woodlands, with a view of secur- ing the Greatest Benefit for the Longest Time. Partic- ularly adapted to the Wants and Conditions of the United States. By FRANKLIN B. HOUGH, Ph.D., Chief of the Forestry Division, Department of Agriculture, Washing- ton, D. C. i2mo, with numerous illustrations, $2. HOVEY'S AMERICAN CAVERNS. Celebrated American Caverns, especially Mammoth, Wy- andot, and Luray. Historical, Scientific, and Descriptive. With Notices of Caves and Grottoes in other Lands. By HORACE C. HOVEY. 8vo, with maps and illustrations, $2. THE ST. CLAIR PAPERS. The Life and Public Services of Arthur St. Clair, Soldier of the Revolutionary War, President of the Continental Congress, and Governor of the Northwestern Territory. With his Correspondence and other Papers, arranged and annotated. By Hon. WM. HENRY SMITH, of Chi- cago. 2 vols., 8vo, with two portraits and a map, $6. The author makes conspicuous the genius, ability, pa- triotism, and courage of St. Clair, heretofore unjustly neg- lected by historians ; adds new interest to the brilliant exploits on the Delaware in the winter of 1776-77, and for the first time places before the reader a complete account of the evacuation of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence in July, 1777, which resulted in the capture of Burgoyne and his army. He corrects errors committed by previous historians, and, on controverted points, presents new views drawn from hitherto unpublished materials. MORGAN'S SHAKESPEAREAN MYTH. The Shakespearean Myth ; or, William Shakespeare and Circumstantial Evidence. By APPLETON MORGAN, A.M., LL.B., author of " Law of Literature," Notes to Best's " Principles of Evidence," etc., etc. i2mo, cloth, $2. " The theory certainly has grown in importance of late years. It is no longer flo_uted as impossible. It is ad- mitted as ingenious, as possible, and even as highly prob- able by many persons who have gone carefully into the question. It is one of the many puzzles of history and lit- erature which are full of attraction to certain minds. It is very doubtful whether the question can ever be definitely settled. Those, however, who >eel inclined to make some little investigation for themselves into the matter, will find Mr. Appleton Morgan's volume exceedingly interesting. Whoever takes the trouble of going through it will find practically all the facts necessary to enable him to form his own judgment in the matter." Westminster Review. BUTTERFIELD'S DISCOVERY OF THE NORTHWEST. The Discovery of the Northwest in 1634, by John Nicolet, with a sketch of his life. By C. W. BUTTERFIELD, au- thor of " Crawford's Campaign," etc. i2mo, cloth, $i. " The book is a complete and exhaustive account of the life and explorations of Nicolet, amply fortified by citations from the original authorities and provided with a good in- dex." The Evening Post : , N. Y. HENSHALVS BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. Book of the Black Bass ; comprising its complete Scientific and Life History, together with a Practical Treatise on Angling and. Fly-Fishing, with a full account of Tools, Implements, and Tackle. By Dr. JAMES A. HENSHALL. 121110, illustrated, cloth, $3. " As a practical treatise on black bass, and the mode of capture, style of tackle, an'd all that pertains to the sub- ject, the book may be safely recommended to the angling fraternity of America." Turf, Field, and Farm. THEY ALSO PUBLISH: Alzog's Manual of Church History (Catholic), 3 vols., 8vo, IfS- Dullard (Mrs. J. P.). Insect Lives ; or, Born in Prison. Square I2mo, illustrated, $i. Benner (Sam.). Prophesies of Future Ups and Downs in in Prices. 24mo, $i. Bouquet (H.). Expedition against the Ohio Indians, 1764. 8vo, $3. Burt (Rev. N. C.). The Far East. Letters from Egypt, etc. izmo, $1.75. Butterfield (C. W.). The Washington-Crawford Corre- spondence. 8vo, $r. Clark (G. R.). His .Campaign in the Illinois in 1778-79. 8vo, $2. Coffin (Levi), Reminiscences of, Labors of a Lifetime for the Slave. I2mo, $2. Drake (Dr. D.). Pioneer Life in Kentucky. 8vo, $3. Du Breuil (A.). Vineyard Culture. Ed. by Dr. J. A. Warder. $2. Force (M. F.). Early Notices of the Ohio Indians, etc. 8vo, paper, 50 cents. Gallagher (W. D.). The Miami Woods and other Poems. i2mo, $2. Hall (James). The Legends of the West. 12010, $2. Hall (James). Romance of Western History. i2mo, $2. Hart (J. M.). Syllabus of Anglo-Saxon Literature. 8vo, paper, 50 cents. Hassaurek (F.). The Secret of the Andes. 121110, $1.50. Hassaurek (F.). Four Years Among Spanish Americans. I2H1O, $I.5O. Housekeeping in the Blue Grass. By Ladies of Kentucky. i2mo, $1.50. Jackson (Dr. J. D.). The Black Arts in Medicine. i2mo, $i. Klippart (J. H.). Principles and Practice of Land Drain- age. I2mo, $1.75. McBride (J ). Pioneer Biographies. 2 vols , 8vo, $6.50. McLaughlin (M. Louise). China Painting. Square 121110, fancy boards, 75 cents. McLaughlin (M. Louise). Pottery Decoration. Square I2ino, fancy boards, $i. McLean (J. P ). Mound-Builders. i2mo, $1.50. MacLean (J. P.). Antiquity of Man. i2mo, $t. MacLean (J. P.). Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man. I2mo, 60 cents. Mettenheimer(H. J.). Safety Book-keeping. Book-keepers' Frauds. 24mo, $i. Nerinckx (Rev. Charles), Life of, etc. By Rev. C. P. Maes. 8vo, $2.50. Ohio Valley Historical Miscellanies. 8vo, $2.50. Poole (W. F.). Anti-Slavery Opinions before 1800. 8vo, $I.25._ Reemelin (C.). The Wine-Maker's Manual. I2mo, $1.25. Robert (Karl). Charcoal Drawing without a Master. 8vo, $i. Roy (G.). Generalship ; or, How I Managed my Husband. izmo, $i. Smith (Col. J.). Captivity with the Indians, 1755-59. 8vo, $2.50. Vago (A. L.). Modelling in Clay. Square i2mo, $i. Van Home (T. B.). History Army of the Cumberland. 2 vols., 8vo, and atlas, $8. Walker (C. M.). History of Athens County, Ohio. 8vo, $6. A Liberal Discount to Libraries. ROBERT CLARKE & CO., Publishers. **.] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 21$ CASSELL, FETTER, GALPIN & CO. WILL PUBLISH SEPTEMBER 10: CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. BY SIMON STERNE, OF THE NEW YORK BAR. In presenting this work to the American people, the publishers do so, feeling assured that it will meet with a hearty reception and approval, as filling a want long felt namely, that of a popular, authentic, and well-written History of the Constitutional progress of the United States, from its inception to the present time, suitable alike for the jurist and the student. The author, Mr. Simon Sterne, states in his preface, " It occurred to me that a sketch of the Constitution of the United States as it stands in text, and as it is interpreted by the Supreme Court, accompanied by a history of the political controversies which resulted in the formation of and changes in that instrument, to- gether with the presentation of the actual situation of political parties and questions which in their turn may produce constitutional changes, would, if given within a limited space, present such a view of the institutional conditions of the United States as to justify the book to the student of political history." The work will also contain a full index, and an appendix embracing the Original Articles of Confedera- tion and Perpetual Union between the States, passed July gth, 1778. Also the Constitution of the United States of America, with all the Amendments, i vol., I2mo, over 330 pages. Price, $1.25. NEW EDITION OF LOUIS FIGUIEKS WORKS, AT REDUCED PRICE. THE INSECT WORLD, . . 570 Illustrations. THE OCEAN WORLD, . . 427 REPTILES AND BIRDS, . , 307 Illustrations. THE VEGETABLE WORLD, . 470 " WORLD BEFORE THE DELUGE, 235 Illustrations. This new edition is issued in large I2mo volumes, on good paper, and bound in extra English cloth, gold and ink dies. $1.50 per volume ; per set, 5 volumes, $7.50. A MOONBEAM TANGLE. By SYDNEY SHADBOLT. This beautiful Fairy Tale is illustrated with twenty-three drawings by JOSEPH BLIGHT. Extra cloth, full gilt side, $1.25. 1 If not for sale by your bookseller, will be sent, prepaid, on receipt of the price. CASSELL, FETTER, GALPIN & CO., LONDON. yjp and 141 Broadway, New York. PARIS. THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. INDISPENSABLE TO LIBRARIANS. THE JOHNSON REVOLVING BOOKCASE. WITH INDEPENDENT SHELVES, ADJUSTABLE TO BOOKS OF ANY HEIGHT. FOR LAWYERS, CLERGYMEN, PHYSICIANS, EDITORS, BANKERS, TEACHERS, MERCHANTS, STUDENTS, AND ALL WHO READ BOOKS. In five sizes, handsomely japanned, and finished in black with gilt ornamentation, at the following prices : No. Height. Weight. Weight hoxed. 1, For Table, to hold i tier of books. 2x, " " " 2 tiers " 2, " Floor " 2 " " 3, " " " 3 " 4, 4 .14 ins 36 Ibs 58 Ibs .25 " 50 " .... 82 " .32 " 60 " ....105 " .42 " 76 " 115 " 52 " 93 " ... 140 " ---- $10 oo 15 oo Illustrated Catalogue will be mailed on application, and any order sent us will be promptly filled on receipt ef price. BAKER, PRATT & CO., Manufacturers, Booksellers, Stationers, and Importers, 19 BOND STREET, NEW YORK. July-Aug., '82.] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. 217 The Synthetic Philosophy of Herbert Spencer, i. FIRST PRINCIPLES. Part I. The Unknowable. | Part II. The Knowable. One vol., $2. 2. THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY. Part I. The Data of Biology. Part IV. Morphological Development. II. The Inductions of Biology. " V. Physiological Development. III. The Evolution of Life. Appendix. Two vols., $4. VI. Laws of Multiplication. Part I. The Data of Psychology. IT. The Inductions of Psychology. 3. THE PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY. III. General Synthesis. IV. Special Synthesis. VIII. Corollaries. Part V. Physical Synthesis. Appendix. Part VI. Special Analysis. " VII. General Analysis, iri Two vols.,! 4. THE PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY. Vol. I. $2. I Vol. II. (In Two Parts.) Part I. The Data of Sociology. Part IV. Ceremonial Institutions. $1.25. ' II. The Inductions of Sociology. " V. Political Institutions. $1.50. " III. The Domestic Relations. . Vol. III. In Preparation. 5. THE PRINCIPLES OF MORALITY. Vol. I. j Vol. II. Part I. The Data of Ethics. $1.25. In Preparation. The Miscellaneous Works of Herbert Spencer, i. EDUCATION: INTELLECTUAL, MORAL, AND PHYSICAL. One vol., $1.25. 2. SOCIAL STATICS; Or, The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness Specified, and the First of them Developed. One vol., $2. 3. THE STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY. One vol., $1.50. 4. ILLUSTRATIONS OF UNIVERSAL PROGRESS. One vol., $2. 5. ESSAYS : MORAL, POLITICAL, AND ./ESTHETIC. One vol., $2. 6. RECENT DISCUSSIONS IN SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND MORALS. One vol., $2. 7. DESCRIPTIVE SOCIOLOGY; Or, Groups of Sociological Facts, classified and arranged by HERBERT SPENCER. Compiled and abstracted by David Duncan, M.A., Professor of Logic, etc., in the Presidency College, Madras ; Richard Scheppig, Ph.D. ; and James Collier. Seven Parts, in royal folio, $4 each. (Part eight, double number, $7.) D. APPLETON & CO., I, 3, and 5 Bond Street, N. Y. 218 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. [July- Aug., '82. A REFERENCE BOOK FOR THE LIBRARIAN. THE Publishers' Trade-List Annual For 1882 (Tenth Year) WILL BE A LARGE OCTAVO OF ABOUT 2000 PAGES, CONTAINING, AS USUAL : The Publishers' Trade-Lists for 1882. These are the latest Catalogues of Amer- ican Publishers, arranged alphabetically by the names of the publishers. The Educational Catalogue for 1882 (thirteenth year). This Catalogue, which is used by the entire trade and educational interest as the most complete and reliable reference-list of School-Books, is prepared on the same plan as last year, viz. : (i) arrangement on the "dictionary plan," combining a Finding-List for the trade and a Subject Catalogue for the use of schools ; (2) Trade-list or wholesale price, and mailing or retail price, in parallel columns. THE ADDITIONAL REFERENCE FEATURES, THIS YEAR, WILL BE Annotated List of the Books of the Year. A complete reprint of the PUB- LISHERS' WEEKLY full title Records (inclusive of all the descriptive notes) from July 2, 1881, to June 30, 1882. Complete Index to the Books Of the Year. In order to facilitate reference to the above list, it will be accompanied by a full index by which every book on record can be found, whether it is looked for under author, title, or subject. Numerous oross-references will also be added to facilitate the finding of books on similar subjects. The substitution of the above lists, in place of the former short title reference lists, cannot but prove profitable both to publishers and booksellers. For every reference will place the bookseller or consulting bookbuyer in immediate pos- session not only of the full title, inclusive of the full name of the publisher, place of publication, size, number of pages, binding, etc., but in most cases also of the data relating to the character or contents of the book. In fact, all this infor- mation being within easy reach, and actually being forced upon any one who is consulting the list, this plan will materially add to the knowledge of books, particularly among those who directly deal with the public. On the other hand, the bookbuyer receiving much more satisfactory information than could be given from the former short title refer- ence lists, is surer to make his purchase than when, as is so often the case, his mind is left in doubt, for want of data. The original record of THE PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY being thus made permanently accessible, an annual catalogue is presented to the trade, the practical value of which can scarcely be over-estimated. The above Lists, all requiring unusual labor and expense, present in their combination so perfect a working tool as has never been presented to the trade of any other country. It maybe justly claimed that these special trade helps alone will make the ANNUAL indispensable to every one who has any interest in the purchase and sale of books. One volume, octavo, cloth, $1.50, net ; postpaid $2, net. Remittances should be made by money order on New York, or registered letter, as we can- not be responsible for any losses. Receipt for remittance will be sent by return mail. Unless special shipping directions are received, copies ready for delivery will be dispatched by express unpaid. F. LEYPOLDT, Publisher, 13 and 15 PARK ROW, or P. O. Box 943, NEW YORK, Ju ly-A i#. , '8 2 . ] THE LIBRAR Y JO URNAL. 2 1 9 Messrs. ROBERTS BROTHERS HA VE JUST PUBLISHED NEW EDITIONS OF WALTER -SAVAGE LANDOR'S IMAGINARY CONVERSATIONS. 5 vols., cloth, Oxford style, $5 o 5 vols, imitation half calf, 6 25 LAN DOR. From the New Volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica. " From nineteen almost to ninety his intellectual and literary activity was indefatigably incessant ; but herein, at least, like Charles Lamb, whose cordial he so cordially returned, he could not write a note of three lines which did not bear the mark of his 'Roman hand' in its matchless and inimitable command of a style at once the most powerful and the purest of his age. . . . The very first flower of his immortal dialogues is probably to be found in the single volume comprising only ' Imaginary Conversations of Greeks and Romans ;' his utmost command of passion and pnthos may be tested by the transcendent success in this distilled and concentrated tragedy of ' Tiberia-i and Vipsania,' where for once he shows a quality more proper to romantic than classical imagination, the subtle and sublime and terrible power to enter the dark vestibule of distraction, to throw the whole force of his fancy, the whole fire of his spirit into the 'shadowing passion' (as Shakespeare calls it) of gradually imminent insanity. Yet, if this and all other studies from ancient history or legend could be subtracted from the volume of his work, enough would be left whereon to rest the foundation of a fame which time could not sensibly impair." RICHARD HENRY STODDARD. (From a review.) " No one who has read ' The Imaginary Conversations,' or, ' Pericles and Aspasia.' need be told that Landor is the great English prose writer of the century, if indeed he be not the great English prose writer of all time. His prose is as nearly per- fect as any human writing can be. It is faultless in construction, massive, flexible, dignified, beautiful, packed with thought, weighty with reflection, impressive with imagery, radiant with imagination, reminding one in its largeness, and freedom, and harmony, of the sky, and the wind, and the ocean. Style in prose is nowhere found in greater, nowhere in such perfection as in Landor." . PHILIP GILBERT HAMERTON'S WORKS. A PAINTER'S CAMP. THOUGHTS ABOUT ART. THE SYLVAN YEAR, AND THE UNKNOWN RIVER. WENDERHOLME. THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE. MODERN FRENCHMEN. CHAPTERS ON ANIMALS. THE LIFE OF J. W. M. TURNER, R.A. ROUND MY HOUSE. THE GRAPHIC ARTS. 10 vols., cloth, Oxford style, . . ' . . . $12 50 10 vols., imitation half calf, ... . . . 15 oo " The style of this writer is a truly admirable one, light and picturesque, without being shallow, and dealing with all subjects in a charming way. Whenever our readers see or hear of one of Mr. Hamerton's books, we advise them to read it." Springfield Republican. " We wonder how many readers this noble volume [' The Intellectual Life '] , under a sense of personal gratitude, have stopped to exclaim with its author, in a similar position, ' Now the only Croesus that I envy is he who is reading a better book than this.' " From the Children 1 ! Friend. JEAN INGE LOW'S NOVELS. OFF THE SKELLIGS. FATED TO BE FREE. SARAH DE BERENGER. DON JOHN. 4 vols., imitation half calf, $5 oo "Jean Ingelow's writings have obtained a firm hold upon the affections of the people, both of her own country and of this, and she is one of the most widely read English poets of the time." Chicago Evening Journal. Sold by all Booksellers. Mailed, postpaid, by the Publishers, ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON. 220 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. {July- Aug., '82. THE REMINGTON TYPE-WRITER Will do your writing in a better manner and in half the time. Adopted for correspondence and Literary work by thousands of the best-known writers of the World, and ENDORSED BY ALL OF THEM. Send for Circulars with names and testimonials of recent patrons. E. REMINGTON & SONS, 281 AND 283 BROADWAY, N.Y. 38 MADISON STREET, CHICAGO. TO BOOKBUYERS, LIBRARIANS, Etc. JAMES THIN, Bookseller, 55 South Bridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, issues periodically Catalogues of Standard and Useful Books' in all departments of Literature, Ancient and Modern, which he will be happy to send, post-free, on application. *** Books not in stock sought after and collected. Gen- tlemen having lists of books wanted are respectfully re- quested to send same, and prices, etc., will be reported without delay. P.S. 200,000 volumes of New and Second-Hand Books always on hand. F. W. CHRISTERN, FOREIGN BOOKSELLER AND IMPORTER, 37 WEST TWENTY-THIRD ST., NEW YORK. The principal publications of Charpentier, Didier, Didot, Hachette, Levy, etc., on hand ; also, complete sets of Tauch- nitz's collection of British Authors and Teubner's Greek and Roman Classics. Catalogues mailed on demand. Euro- pean Periodicals received weekly. Now complete, in 2 vols., 410, cloth, price 2. Catalogue of the Library of the Society of Writers to H.M. Signet in Scotland. Vol. I., 616 pages. Vol. II., 676 pages. Edinburgh, 1871- 82. Vol. II. (M Z, and SUPPLEMENT), to complete Sets, zos. LONDON: DAVID NUTT, 270 STRAND, W. C. CHEAPEST BOOK-STORE IN THE WORLD. Immense Miscellaneous Catalogue Free. LEGGAT BROS., 81 Chambers St., west of City Hall Park, N. Y. Useful to Editors, Writers, Teach- ers, Booksellers, and Librarians. Librarians will find the Monthly Reference Lists a time-saving desk companion for the purpose of directing readers to the best sources of infor- mation, particularly on current topics. Terms, $i per year, 10 cents a copy. Send for sample copies. Address Providence Public Library, Providence, R.I. " Admirable resumes of the authorities on subjects of cur- rent interest. Any teacher with advanced pupils, desirous July- Aug., '82.] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. 221 NEW EDITION JUST READY: A Reverend Idol. A novel, i vol., 121110, $1.50. " About ' The Reverend Idol ' there is this latest news of its popularity. On the loth of July the fifth edition was struck off; on the I4th, the sixth edition. The publishers told me that they were bringing forth a fresh edition every week, and even at that rate they can't supply the demand." NORA PERRY, in Providence Press. " The story is told with remarkable vivacity and pict- uresqueness of style, and iu relation is accompanied with a running commentary of reflection upon society, and par- ticularly upon the 'woman question,' which is so discreetly and artfully introduced as never to seem obtrusive or to become in the least wearisome." N. Y. Tribune. " It is read by the intensely cultured Bostonians with a sort of furore." St. Louis Globe-Democrat. "The book is a strong one and thoroughly noble. It will be read, re-read, and discussed, as few novels are." Congregationalfst. "The best novels are like a flash of lightning in a clear day. For example, 'A Reverend Idol.' " Christian Union. TENTH THOUSAND NOW READY: THE Stolen White Elephant, Etc. By MARK TWAIN, i vol., i6mo, $1.25. A collection of many of the best of the stories and sketches recently written by the most famous of American hu- morists. " There is a world of fun in this book." Brooklyn Union and Argus. " Wine as it gets older grows more sparkling, oily, and delicious. In analogy Mark increases in unctuousness, dry drollery, and exaggerated humor as time progresses. The stories in this little volume are exceedingly funny, and will be enjoyed by all fond of a good, hearty laugh." Balti- more Item. " It it a capital book to take into the country for vacation time, and would prove a most enjoyable companion on a journey." N. Y. Star. " The book is characteristic in all its parts, and will be not only necessary to those who desire a complete collection of the writings of this unique humorist, but will be valuable as representing him in all the versatility of his literary work." Boston Gazette. " In this last volume the reader will find much that shows Twain at his best, and there is not a dull page in the book. It is a most agreeable companion, and will be found a very welcome one at seashore or mountain." Indianapolis Herald. " For clever satire and burlesque, for broad exaggeration, and for certain na'ive and apparently unconscious ignorance that becomes perforce the most absurd humor, these stories must be regarded as without rivals in the literature of the day." Boston Post. FOR SALE BY YOUR BOOKSELLER. JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO., BOSTON. TYPICALJOVELS. American Life by Native Authors.^ ALBION IV. TOURGEE. A Royal Gentleman. (Originally published as Toinette.) Illustrated. Cloth, $2. {Master and Slave.} A Fool's Errand. By One of the Fools. CI oth, | r . [ The Reconstructed Era. ] Bricks without Straw. 521 pp. Frontis- piece. Cloth, $1.50. {The Bondage of thi' Freedman.~\ Figs and Thistles. 536 pp. Garfield Front- ispiece. Cloth, $1.50. {An American Career} John Eax. Cloth, $i. {The New South.} WM. A. WILKINS. The Cleverdale Mystery ; or, The Machine and its Wheels. Cloth, $i. [ Ways, Means, and Results of American Politics.} Just out. HENRY WARD BEECHER. Norwood ; or, Village Life in New England. (New Edition.) i vol., 12010, extra cloth. Illustrated, $2. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. My Wife and I ; or, Harry Henderson's His- tory. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.50. (63d thou- sand.) Pink and White Tyranny. A Society Novel. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.50. We and Our Neighbors : The Records of an Unfashionable Street. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.50. (53d thousand.) Poganuc People : Their Loves and Lives. Illustrated.. Cloth, $1.50. (Recent.) In Mrs. Stowe's inimitable style of early New Eng- land scene and character. The Set, 4 Volumes, $5, in a Box. MRS. A. G. PADDOCK. The Fate of Madame La Tour. A Story of Great Salt Lake. i6mo, cloth, $i. {Mormons and Mormondom.} INSHTA THEAMBA (BRIGHT EYES). Ploughed Under. The Story of an Indian Chief, Told by Himself. With an Intro- duction by INSHTA THEAMBA (" Bright Eyes"). i6mo, cloth, $r. FORDS, HOWARD, & HULBERT, 27 Park Place, New York. 222 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. \July-Aug., '82. ELEVEN NEWEST AND BEST JUVENILES BY AMERICAN AUTHORS. LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON. 30,000 of the First Series Sold ! OUR LITTLE ONES. (Second Series.) Edited by OLIVER OPTIC. Elegantly illuminated Cover, 1.75; cloth gilt, $250. With nearly 400 illustrations from original designs by the best American Artists. Everything in this volume story, poem, illustrations is original, and written, designed, and engraved for it. The volume of last year took the foremost rank among the quarto books for children, and was pronounced to be " the best specimen of bookmaking of the XlXth Cen- tury." This will be, if possible, an advance upon the first series. THE WONDERFUL CITY OF TOKIO ; Or, Further Adventures of the Jewett Family and their Friend Oto Nambo, By EDWARD GREEY, author of " Young Americans in Japan," " The Golden Lotus," etc. Large quarto, with 169 illustrations, bound in Jap- anesque gold and colors, $1.75 ; cloth, full gilt, $2.50. Uniform with The Great Success of Last Year, YOUNG AMERICANS IN JAPAN. By the same Author. Emblematic colored covers, $1.75; cloth, full gilt, $2.50. With these two books on Japan, either being complete in itself, the reader has gained wide information concerning that "wonderful land." Mr. Greey's Pen-pictures of Japanese Scenery and Customs are graphic, and by the introduction of spicy conversations are made dramatic. In the great city of Tokio our young friends find new cause for wonder at the marvellous sights and strange customs. OUR BOYS IN INDIA. The Wanderings of two Young Americans, with their Ad- ventures on the Sacred Rivers and Wild Mountains of India. By HARRY W. FRENCH, the celebrated Lecturer on India. With 145 illustrations. Superb typical covers in oriental gold and colors, $1.75 ; cloth, full gilt, $2.50. This work contains a most interesting description of ad- ventures in that mysterious country, told in so delightful a manner as to win the attention of old as well as young. Many of the illustrations are engraved from photographs taken for Mr. French while he was travelling in India. Uniform in Size and Style with " DRIFTING ROUND THE WORLD." A BOY'S ADVENTURES BY SEA AND LAND. By Capt. CHAS. W. HALL, author of " Adrift in the Ice Fields," " The Great Bonanza," etc. With 200 illustra- tions. Elegant cover, in many colors. Cloth, $1.75 ; full gilt, $2.50. An absorbing story of a boy who was shipwrecked, reach- es Iceland, then passes through Scotland, England, France, Holland, Russia, Asia, crosses Siberia, sails for Alaska, and finally reaches home via San Francisco. With his accidents, incidents, sights, and hair-breadth escapes. J. T. Trowbridge's New Book. THE JOLLY ROVER. By J. T. TROWBRIDGE. i6mo, illustrated, $1.25. The story of a boy who was led by the reading of Dime Novels to run away from home with the expectation of exterminating the Red Men of the Forest, and what became of him. A healthy, hearty book. Completing " THE SILVER MEDAL SERIES." Oliver Optic's New Book. ALL ADRIFT ; Or, The Gold Wing Club. By OLIVER OPTIC, ibmo, illustrated, $1.25. In this New Series, to be entitled " THE BoAT-BuiLDER SERIES," "the most popular writer for the young" will combine the interest of a story with the fascination of learn- ing to build a Boat, a Boat-house, rig a Boat, sail it, etc., etc., thus making them the delight for all bright boys. Elijah Kellogg's New Book. THE LIVE OAK BOYS. The Adventures of Richard Constable Afloat and Ashore. i6mo, illustrated, 1.25. These boys were sailors during the Embargo of 1812, and this story is the graphic account of their Adventures by Sea and Land. It is true history and an exciting story. Being the fourth of the " GOOD OLD TIME SERIES. George Makepeace Towle's New Volume. DRAKE : The Sea-King of Devon. i6mo, illustrated, $1.25. Sir Francis Drake's career, startling, adventurous, and bold, from early youth to age, makes a remarkably interest- ing book for the young, on a strictly historical record. Completing the Series of " YOUNG FOLKS' HEROES OF HIS- TORY." Judge Cozzen's Series Completed. THE YOUNG SILVER-SEEKERS; Or, Hal and Phil in the Marvellous Country. i6mo, illus- trated, $i. Completing " THE YOUNG TRAIL HUNTER'S SERIES." An admirably told story, full of adventure in and knowl- edge of Arizona and the Far West. A Hundred Years and more Ago. PAUL AND PER SIS; Or, The Revolutionery Struggle in the Mohawk Valley. By MARY E. BRUSH. $1.25. A thrilling story of the early settlement in the Mohawk Valley. The fierce encounters of the Patriots with the Eng- lish and their wily confederates the Indians. New England Life of To-day. RUTH ELIOT'S DREAM. By MARY LAKEMAN. i vol., ifimo, cloth, $1.25. A story for girls, in which, says arritic who has read the manuscript, the descriptions and characterizations of New England life are nearly perfect." Sophie May's New Book. THE ODD ONE. i6mo, cloth, illustrated, $1.50. Sophie May is equally successful whether writing for the Little Folks or for the "Girls" of a larger growth. This is a companion volume to " The Asbury Twins," and the larger " Girls' " books. Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price. Catalogues mailed free. LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers, 47 Franklin St., Boston. PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS SIXTH GENERAL MEETING AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION HELD AT BUFFALO, AUGUST 14 TO 17, BOSTON: PRESS OF ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL, 39 ARCH STREET. 1883. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBAN/!