L I B R.ARY 

OF THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF ILLINOIS 



AM 

1886-89 




The person charging this material is re- 
sponsible for its return on or before 1 
Latest Date stamped below. 

Theft, mutilation, ond underlining of books 
are reasons for disciplinary aet.on and may 
result in dismissal from the Un.vers.ty. 
University of Illinois Library 



7 



P 



L161 O-1096 



PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS 



NINTH GENERAL MEETING 



AMERIGO LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 



ROUND ISLAND PARK THOUSAND ISLANDS 



AUGUST SEPTEMBER 




BOSTON 

LIBRARY BUREAU 32 HAWLEY STREET 
1887 



CONTENTS. 



Title. 



Author. 



President's address W: F: Poole . , 

Action of burning-gas on leather C. J. Woodward 

Lettering books J. Edmands . . 

A notation for small libraries ' C: A. Cutter . . 

Alphabeting J. Edmands . , 

The British Mu!ei'm system of press-marks 

Business methor":- ,n library management 

The British Museum catalog as in use in the library of the Young Men's Christian 

Association of New York City 

Frequency of registrations of book-takers 

A quicker way of measuring books 

Newspaper volumes in a library . . . ' 

Pamphlets and continuations of serials 

How to bind periodicals 

Some thoughts on close classification 

Libraries for specialists 

The Columbia College School of Library Economy from a student's standpoint . . 

The relations of city governments to libraries 

Special collections at Ithaca 

A course of reading for school children 

Report on library architecture 

The possibilities of public libraries in manufacturing communities 

Libraries and schools 

Hours of opening libraries 

Brief review of the libraries of Canada 

Bibliographic bureaus 

Report on catalogues and aids and guides for readers, 1885-87 



. G: W: Harris . . . 
. F: M. Crunden . . . 

. R. B. Poole .... 

. //:/. Carr 

. G: W. CoU .... 
. //: M. Utley .... 

. L. Swift 

. .V. C. Perkins . . . 
. G: W. Cole .... 
. C: A. Nelson .... 
. Miss M. W. Plummer . 

. W: Rice 

. G: L. Burr -. . . . 
. /: C. Sickley .... 
. J. N. Lamed .... 
. Mrs. M. A. Sanders . 
. S: S. Green .... 
. E. C. Richardson . . 

. /. Bain, Jr 

. H. Putnam 

. W: C. Lane . . . . 



Page. 



14 
16 

21 

25 

28 

3 
35 
39 
40 
44 
46 
5i 
53 
54 
59 
62 

6? 
85 
90 
92 
96 
99 
104 



Proceedings 113 

First Session ii3-.i2i 

President's address 113 

Secretary's report 113-114 

Treasurer's report 114-115 

Cooperation committee's report 116 

Report of committee on School of Library Econ- 
omy, with letter of Miss James 116-117 

Action of electric light on paper 118-119 

Report of the committee of arrangements . . . 119-120 

Notation for small libraries 120-121 

Alphabeting 121 

Second Session 122-128 

Alphabeting 122-125 

Jenner's sliding shelf 125 

Business methods in library management . . . 125-126 

Librarian's duty 126 

Manuscript catalogue 126-127 

Auditing committee's report 127-128 

Third Session r28-i32 

Newspaper volumes 128-129 

Adjustable periodical case 129 

Binding periodicals ijo 

Catalogue of sale 'duplicates (30-131 

Seminary work iji 



Fourth Session 132 

Fifth Session 132-137 

Classing and arranging maps and charts . . -132 

Library architecture 132-135 

Distribution of public documents '?5 - '37 

Free access to the shelves ....'.... 137 

Sixth Session 137-140 

Public documents I 37" I 38 

Indexes made by the Patent Office Library . . 138 

Resolution concerning State librarians .... 138 

Schools and libraries 138 

Officers. . .< <39 

Report of the coMniittee on resolutions ... 139 

Place of meeting for 1888 39 

Seventh Session 140-146 



Library assistants ........... "4 

Bibliographic bureau ..... ..... 140-142 

Kansas libraries ........... 142-143 



Place for the next meeting ..... 
Badges 

Ferree's Mutual Library of Philadelphia 
Miscellaneous 
Appendix i : A. L.A. Publishing Section. 



i43~M4 

'44 

t44-'4S 

i45-'4& 

146-147 



Appendix 2 : Excursions ......... I47' r 5 

Attendance register ... ........ '5 1 



CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. 



THOUSAND ISLANDS, AUG., SEPT., 1887. 



ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, 



WILLIAM F. POOLE, LL. D., LIBRARIAN OF THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY, CHICAGO. 



LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE ASSOCIA- 
TION : 

WE meet for our ninth annual conference 
amid these beautiful islands which fringe the 
outer limit of our northern frontier, and near 
the boundaries of our Canadian brethren. 
Some of these brethren we have with us, and 
we welcome them to our conference with sen- 
timents of friendship and esteem. Whether 
the homes of those present be north or south 
of the river St. Lawrence, we are all, in the 
best sense, Americans. Little more than a 
century has passed since the countries which 
are now the Dominion of Canada and the 
United States had a common history; and 
they have to-day common interests and aspira- 
tions. I believe that not many decades of 
years will have passed before they will again 
have a common history and a common des- 
tiny. 

We come from our various fields of labor 
to enjoy the delightful social intercourse which 
these annual reunions afford ; and to be bene- 
fited and strengthened in our^vork by listen- 
ing to the papers and discussions, of which so 
generous a scheme has been provided by the 
committee on programme. The committee 
this year, I think, has distinguished itself in 
giving us a rich, varied, and solid bill of fare, 
and one unsurpassed by that of any previous 
conference. Their wisdom is also conspicu- 
ous in giving us four days for the work they 
have so liberally provided for our profit and 
entertainment 



When our association was organized at Phil- 
adelphia, in October 1876, and it was proposed 
to hold annual conferences, the doubt was ex- 
pressed whether such frequent meetings could 
be sustained. Were there topics in our pro- 
fession of sufficient number and interest, that 
we could write and talk about them as often 
as once a year ? Should we not, after two or 
three meetings, be threshing old straw? An 
inspection of the programme before us and of 
the printed proceedings of recent years will 
show that the apprehension was wholly ground- 
less. Bibliography in itself, and more espe- 
cially in its relations to library administration, 
is a progressive study, and I think we may 
venture to term it a progressive science. Old 
topics require to be discussed in new rela- 
tions, and new subjects come up every year 
which were not thought of when the associa- 
tion was organized. There is every probabil- 
ity that the attendance and the interest in 
these annual conferences will increase; that 
the schemes will expand from year to year ; 
and that the committee on the programme will 
grow in wisdom, and prescribe a week for the 
presentation of papers and their discussion. 

The subject to which I now wish to call 
your attention is : 

The Public Library of our Time. 

I use the term public library with the 
same restricted signification which is attached 
to the term pttblic school, meaning by it a 
municipal institution, established and regu- 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



lated by State laws, supported by local taxa- 
tion, and administered for the benefit of all 
the residents of the municipality which sup- 
ports it. It is unfortunate that we have not 
in our vocabulary a term to express this mean- 
ing without using one which has been and is 
still used, to some extent, with so wide a sig- 
nification that it includes any and every col- 
lection of books which is not the property of 
an individual and a private library. In this 
country there is no ambiguity in the term 
public school, for the people have long been 
familiar with the institution. 

The public library, however, as here de- 
fined, has come into being within the memory 
of some of us here present. Its rapid devel- 
opment during the past thirty-five years in 
the United States and England furnishes an 
interesting indication of the progress which 
characterizes the popular methods of educa- 
tion in our time. 

Public collections of books for the benefit 
of scholars are not new. They are as old as 
civilization. They flourished in Egypt in the 
time of Rameses II., in Athens in the time 
of Pericles, in Rome in the time of the 
Caesars, and all through the middle ages. 
Every country in Europe has its national 
library, and many a continental city has its old 
municipal library of musty books which the 
masses of the people never care to read. 
The universities have their collections, and 
some of them are excellent. The public 
library is not a substitute for, and will never 
supplant, these and other collections which 
are needed for the use of scholars. Its mis- 
sion is among the people at large, to inspire 
a taste for reading, to raise the general stand- 
ard of intelligence, to stimulate literary, his- 
torical, and scientific research ; and, when its 
own resources are exhausted, to send inquir- 
ers to larger collections, if any such be acces- 
sible. In some of our cities, the public library, 
besides providing for the wants of the masses, 
already outranks every other library of the 
vicinity in books of a higher grade, and has 
become the home of the scholar. The more 
we have of large collections of books, whether 
they be circulating or reference libraries, the 
better it will be for the country. If there were 



a public library in every city and town in the 
United States, the National Library at Wash- 
ington, the Astor in New York, and the Library 
of Harvard University would be more con- 
sulted, and be more essential to the public 
than they are at present. 

The enormous increase in the number and 
size of the libraries of the world during the 
present century is remarkable ; and the most 
of this growth has taken place since the 
establishment of the first free public library, 
less than forty years ago. In 1821 the 
British Museum, now with its nearly 2,000,- 
ooo volumes, had only 116,000. Washington 
Irving spoke of it about that time in his 
"Sketch Book" as "an immense collection of 
volumes in all languages, many of which are 
now forgotten, and most of which are never 
read." In 1835, when the first royal com- 
mission was appointed to examine into the 
affairs of the British Museum, it had only 
200,000 volumes and an annual appropriation 
from Parliament for its support of from .200 
to .300 an allowance on which most of 
our town libraries would starve. In 1837 
Antony Panizzi was appointed keeper of the 
printed books in the Museum, and began his 
great work of library administration and re- 
generation. In 1845 he addressed a memoir 
to the trustees, setting forth the deficiencies 
of the library, recommending that they be 
supplied by an adequate appropriation from 
Parliament, and that the books in the library 
be catalogued in a uniform and scientific 
method. The trustees indorsed his recom- 
mendations ; but there was much opposition 
to them in Parliament and prejudice on the 
part of literary men, chiefly on the ground 
that Mr. Panizzi was a foreigner and pre- 
sumed to instruct Englishmen. In 1847 Mr. 
Edward Edwards further called the attention 
of the public to the low condition of libraries 
in England and the United States, in a paper 
which he read before the Statistical Society 
of London, and printed in the Journal of the 
Society in August, 1848. He showed that in 
London the ratio of books to the population 
was less than in Naples and Lisbon, and less, 
even, than in Dublin. Brussels was five 
times better supplied; Paris, seven times: 



POOLE. 



3 



Dresden, twenty-one times ;' Copenhagen, 
twenty-three times ; and Munich, thirty-seven 
times. In the United States the largest 
library he cited was that of Harvard College, 
with 68,500 volumes; and then in order of 
size, the Philadelphia Library Company, 55,- 
ooo; Boston Athenaeum, 35,000; Yale Col- 
lege, 34,500 ; New York Society Library, 
30.000 ; and the Library of Congress, 28,000. 
These were the statistics of American libra- 
ries just forty years ago. Prof. Jewett's 
statistics appeared in 1851, and, although they 
were somewhat higher, they substantially con- 
firm the general accuracy of Mr. Edwards's 
estimates made in 1847. 

From 1847 to 1850 the stupor which had 
settled down upon the library interests of 
England and the United States was rapidly 
breaking up. The prejudice of literary men 
in England against the energetic methods of 
Mr. Panizzi led to the appointment of the 
second royal commission to investigate the 
affairs of the British Museum. The com- 
mission held its first session July 10, 1847, 
and the last June 26, 1849. Every man of 
letters in England who objected to what Mr. 
Panizzi was doing, and who thought he knew 
all there was to know about cataloguing and 
library management, had an opportunity to 
give in his testimony before the commission ; 
and it may be read in two bulky blue-book 
folios. It is now, as it was then, droll read- 
ing. A multitude of persons not especially 
interested in libraries in the United States 
as well as in England read the testimony 
for the entertainment there was in seeing wit- 
ness after witness confused and demolished 
by the wise and sagacious questioning of the 
foreigner whom they had volunteered to con- 
fute. The report of the commission was a 
triumphant vindication of Sir Antony Panizzi 
and his principles. He was knighted soon 
after his notable victory. Since that time lit- 
erary men have not been eager to indulge 
in public criticism on the methods of pro- 
fessional librarians. 

While this investigation was in progress, 
and perhaps inspired by the interest it awak- 
ened, Mr. VVm. Ewart gave notice in Parlia- 
ment that at the coming: session he should 



introduce a resolution for the appointment of 
a select committee to inquire into the best 
means of establishing free libraries, especially 
in large towns. In March, 1849, ^ ie offered 
such a resolution, which, after marked opposi- 
tion from conservative members, was adopted, 
and Mr. Ewart was made chairman of the 
committee. The inquiry began April 19, 1849, 
was continued till June 12, and the evidence, 
with the committee's favorable report, was 
printed in the blue-books. In February, 1850, 
Mr. Ewart introduced a bill enabling town 
councils to establish public libraries and muse- 
ums, limiting the rate of taxation for their sup- 
port to one half penny in the pound; requiring 
the affirmative vote of two thirds of the tax- 
payers ; restricting its operations to towns 
which had at least 10,000 inhabitants, and 
providing that the money so raised should be 
expended only in buildings and contingent 
expenses. Meagre as this bill was, compared 
with the later enactments of Parliament, it 
met with persistent opposition from the con- 
servative benches. Mr. Goulburn, an ex- 
chancellor of the exchequer, objected to the 
bill on the ground that it did not give suffi- 
cient power to form a library; that it made 
no provision for the purchase of books, and 
he should object to it more strongly if it did. 
Who was to select the books ? was every new 
publication to be procured? or was there to 
be a literary censorship set up? Another 
member claimed that the bill would enable a 
few persons to lay a general tax for their own 
benefit, and that the library would degenerate 
into a political club. Mr. Spooner feared 
these free libraries would turn into normal 
schools of agitation. Lord John Manners op- 
posed the bill because it imposed an addi- 
tional tax upon the agricultural interest. Sir 
Roundell Palmer, later lord chancellor of 
England, feared that the moment the com- 
pulsory principle was introduced a positive 
check would be imposed upon the voluntary 
self-supporting desire which existed among 
the people to supply themselves with books. 
Mr. Hume thought it was a scheme to get the 
Daily News and other liberal newspapers on 
file. Three members representing the univer- 
sities spoke and voted against it. The liberal 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



members generally favored the bill. Mr. 
Bright said that one half of the objections to 
it were not fairly put, and the other half did 
not apply. The bill passed, ayes 118, noes 
101. 

The Manchester, Liverpool, and Bolton free 
public libraries were immediately organized 
under this act, the cost of the books being 
defrayed by private subscriptions. In 1854 the 
provisions of the act were extended to Scot- 
land and Ireland. In 1855, the new libraries 
having gone into operation with the most en- 
couraging results, Parliament passed a more 
liberal library bill, by a vote of three to one, 
which raised the rate of taxation from a half- 
penny to a penny in the pound, and allowed 
the income to be expended in books. Provis- 
ion was also made that the act should apply 
to towns, boroughs, parishes, and districts 
having a population of 5,000; and it allowed 
two smaller adjoining parishes to unite in the 
establishment of a library. A public meeting 
of the rate-payers, duly convened, could estab- 
lish a library without a popular vote. 

In 1866 the library act was again enlarged 
by removing the limit of population required, 
and reducing the two-thirds vote on the library 
tax to a bare majority vote. Provision was 
also made for cases in which the overseers of 
parishes refused or neglected to call a meet 
ing of the rate-payers to vote on the question. 
Any ten rate-payers could call and organize 
such a meeting, and the vote there taken 
would be legal and binding. 

The English public-library system is now 
so popular and firmly established, outside of 
London, that it cannot be disturbed. Its 
chief patrons are the middle classes, the arti- 
sans and laborers. The recent extension of 
suffrage in England has strengthened the 
system. No candidate for official position 
could now hope for success who is not a 
friend of the public library. It has been 
found that public libraries have not become 
political clubs and schools of agitation, but 
on the other hand have greatly raised the 
standard of intelligence among the voters. 
No controversy has arisen concerning the 
selection of books. It was at first supposed 
that those relating to politics and religion 



the subjects on which English people quarrel 
most must be excluded. The experiment 
of including these books in the Manchester 
and Liverpool libraries, where they were paid 
for by private subscription, having been tried 
with peaceful results, all apprehension of dan- 
ger from this cause was removed. The adop- 
tion of the compulsory system did not impose 
a check on the voluntary desire of the people 
to possess books, but increased that desire. 
The subscription libraries were better sup- 
ported, and book sellers had an increase in 
their sales in localities where there was a 
public library. 

Thus far I have traced the origin and 
progress of the public library in England. 
There was a corresponding movement going 
on at the same time in the United States. If 
the sole credit of a discovery must be awarded 
to the party who first suggested the idea and 
first put it into operation, the honor of dis- 
covery in this instance must be claimed as 
American. Mr. Ewart, in his Report of the 
Select Committee on Public Libraries, 1849, 
says : " Our younger brethren, the people of 
the United States, have already anticipated 
us in the formation of libraries entirely open 
to the public." No free public library, how- 
ever, was then in operation, in the United 
States, yet one had been authorized by legisla- 
tive action. The movements in the same 
direction in England and the United States 
seem to have gone on independently of each 
other ; and in the public debates and private 
correspondence relating to the subject there 
seems to have been no borrowing of ideas, or 
scarcely an allusion, other liian the one 
quoted, to what was being done elsewhere. 

In October, 1847, Josiah Quincy, Jr., mayor 
of Boston, suggested to the City Council that 
a petition be sent to the State legislature 
asking for authority to lay a tax by which 
the city of Boston could establish a library 
free to all its citizens. The Massachusetts 
legislature, in March, 1848, passed such an 
act, and in 1851 made the act apply to all the 
cities and towns in the State. In 1849 dona- 
tions of books were made to the Boston 
Public Library. Late in the same year Mr. 
Edward Everett made to it the donation of 



POOLE. 



5 



his very complete collection of United States 
documents, and Mayor Bigelow a gift of 
$1,000. In May, 1852, the first Board of 
Trustees, with Mr. Everett as president, was 
organized, and Mr. Joshua Bates, of London, 
made his first donation of $50,000 for the use 
of the library. 

It was fortunate that the public-library 
system started where it did and under the 
supervision of the eminent men who consti- 
tuted the first board of trustees of the 
Boston Public Library. Mr. George Ticknor 
was the person who mapped out the saga- 
cious policy of that library a policy which 
has never been improved, and which has 
been adopted by all the public libraries in 
this country, and. in its main features, by the 
free libraries of England. For fifteen years 
or more Mr. Ticknor gave the subject his 
personal attention. He went to the library 
every day, as regularly as any of the em- 
ploye's, and devoted several hours to the 
minutest details of its administration. Be- 
fore he had any official relations with it, he 
gave profound consideration to, and settled 
in his own mind, the leading principles on 
which the library should be conducted. 

In his biography by Mr. Hillard one of 
the most charming of American books is a 
letter of his, written July 14, 1851, at Bellows 
Falls, Vt. (where he was spending the sum- 
mer), to Mr. Everett, giving his views as to 
what the new Boston library should be. His 
main purpose, he said, would be to encourage 
a love of reading, and to create an appetite 
for it. "I would," he said, "establish a 
library which differs from all free libraries 
yet attempted ; I mean one in which any 
popular books, tending to moral and intellec- 
tual improvement, shall be furnished in such 
numbers of copies that many persons can be 
reading the same book at the same time; in 
short, that not only the best books of all 
sorts, but the pleasant literature of the day 
shall be made accessible to the whole people 
when they most care for it; that is, when it 
is fresh and new. I would therefore continue 
to buy additional books of this class almost 
as long as they are asked for ; and thus, by 
following the popular taste unless it should 



demand something injurious create a real 
appetite for healthy reading. This appetite 
once formed will take care of itself. It will, 
in a great majority of cases, demand better 
and better books." 

These were new ideas ; and they were the 
ideas over which the wise men in the British 
Parliament stumbled when they opposed Mr. 
Ewart's bill. They were new ideas to Mr. 
Everett, and he was not ready to accept 
them. He entertained the opinion, then com- 
monly held by educated men, that libraries 
were for the sole benefit of scholars. Com- 
mon people had enough to do without read- 
ing books. Mr. Ticknor's opinion was that 
the main purpose in the establishment of the 
Boston Public Library was to serve every 
class in the community, but especially to 
benefit the middle^and lower classes of the 
people, who had few or no books of their own, 
or, as he said, " to carry the taste for reading 
as deep as possible into society." To Mr. 
Ticknor's letter Mr. Everett replied July 26, 

1851. He said: " The extensive circulation 
of new and popular books is a feature of a 
public library which I have not hitherto 
much contemplated. It deserves to be well 
weighed, and I shall be happy to confer with 
you on the subject. I cannot deny that my 
views have, since my younger days, under- 
gone some change as to the practicability of 
freely loaning books from large public libra- 
ries. Those who have been connected with 
the administration of such libraries are apt 
to get discouraged by the loss and damage 
resulting from the loan of books. My pres- 
ent impressions are in favor of making the 
amplest provision in the library for the use 
of books there." In other words, he then 
favored the establishment of a public refer- 
ence library. 

In the autumn of 1851, Mr. Ticknor re- 
turned to Boston, and frequently conferred 
with Mr. Everett on the subject considered 
in their late correspondence, and they still 
held opposite opinions. In the spring of 

1852, the mayor tendered to both these gentle- 
men positions as trustees of the new Public 
Library. Mr. Ticknor, in conference with the 
mayor, said that he must decline the position 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



unless the library was to be opened for the 
free circulation of most of its books ; and un- 
less it were to be dedicated, in the first in- 
stance, rather to satisfying the wants of the 
less favored classes of the community than 
like all public libraries then in existence 
to satisfy the wants of scholars, men of 
science, and cultivated men generally. The 
mayor fell in with Mr. Ticknor's views, and 
they became the policy of the library from the 
start. Mr. Everett did not yield his opinions ; 
but accepted, with Mr. Ticknor, the position 
of trustee, and consented that his friend's 
idea's should have a fair trial. When he had 
seen them in operation, he frankly abandoned 
his former views ; and, during his long ser- 
vice as president of the board of trustees, 
gave the new system his earnest approval and 
support. 

Eight years later, Mr. Ticknor, on the oc- 
casion of his presenting 2,000 volumes to the 
Public Library, the larger portion of which he 
wished placed in the circulating department, 
wrote in a letter to the trustees: "In 
this department of the library I have always 
felt the greatest interest. From the earliest 
suggestion of such an institution, it had been 
my prevailing desire that it should be made 
useful to the greatest number of our fellow- 
citizens especially to such of them as may 
be less able to procure pleasant and profit- 
able reading for themselves and their fami- 
lies. This is known to all the trustees with 
whom I have successively served; and our 
president [Mr. Everett] remembers that I 
should never have put my hand to the institu- 
tion at all, except with the understanding as 
to its main object and management. Nor 
has there been any real difference on this 
point among the different persons who have 
controlled its affairs during the eight years of 
its existence." [8th Ann. Report, p. 34, 35.] 

The letter was referred to a committee of 
which Mr. Everett was chairman, .and in his 
report on the subject he says: "The com- 
mittee concur with the views presented by 
Mr. Ticknor in the letter referred to them; 
and it is no more than justice to add that 
he has from the foundation of the institution 
distinguished himself for the efficient inter- 



est he has taken in this branch of the library's 
work." 

Started as the public-library system was on 
such principles, and under the guidance of 
these eminent men, libraries sprang up rapidly 
in Massachusetts, and similar legislation was 
adopted in other States. The first legisla- 
tion in Massachusetts was timid. The initia- 
tive law of 1848 allowed the city of Boston to 
spend only'$5,ooo a year on its Public Library, 
which has since expended $125,000 a year. 
The State soon abolished all limitation to the 
amount which might be raised for library pur- 
poses. New Hampshire, in 1849, anticipated 
Massachusetts, by two years, in the adoption 
of a general library law. Maine followed in 
1854; Vermont in 1865; Ohio in 1867; Colo- 
rado, Illinois, and Wisconsin in 1872 ; Indiana 
and Iowa in 1873; Texas in 1874; Connecti- 
cut and Rhode Island in 1875; Michigan and 
Nebraska in 1877; California in 1878; Mis- 
souri and New Jersey in 1885 ; Kansas in 1886. 
New York in 1872 enacted an impracticable 
statute, under which no public library was 
ever established. No one seemed to have 
heard of the law at the time. It was not 
discovered until 1879, when our associate, 
Dr. Homes, in his antiquarian researches, 
brought it to light. 

The form of legislation in the several States 
is various, as will be seen in the following 
brief sketch of each, and what has been ac- 
complished under it : 

The statute of Maine is a sort of pauper 
law. Any town can raise by taxation $i 
on each ratable poll for the forming of 
a public library; and thereafter 25 cents 
annually for its maintenance. Such a beg- 
garly rate will not establish and maintain 
a public library. The result is seen in the 
fact that there are only twelve such libraries in 
the State, with'an aggregate of 25,409 volumes. 
Some of these have the name of a person in 
their titles, as ''Rice Public Library," "Sears 
Public Library," which means that a public- 
spirited citizen has helped out the alleged 
poverty of the town, and the positive mean- 
ness of the legislation. Bangor has a nomi- 
nally public library, with 23,255 volumes, 
about equal to the number in all the other 



POOLE. 



public libraries in the State. The character 
of this library is both subscription and free, 
which rules it out of the category of public 
libraries, which are necessarily free. 

The statistics which I give have been col- 
lated with some labor from the late and very 
excellent report of the Bureau of Education, 
1886. It is unfortunate, however, that in this 
report no designation is made, other than by 
the terms "free and general," of libraries 
which are supported by local taxation, and 
hence are public libraries. Some assume to 
be public libraries which are maintained by 
subscription, and these I have discarded. On 
the other hand, I have included some which I 
know are maintained by taxation, although 
they bear the name of the benefactor who 
contributed largely to their establishment. 

The law of New Hampshire is very simple. 
Any town may raise and appropriate money 
for the establishment and maintenance of a 
public library. There is no limitation as to 
the amount, and no conditions are prescribed 
for the management of these libraries. There 
are thirty-five public libraries in the State, 
with an aggregate of 129,227 volumes. 

Vermont has a law similar to Maine, except 
that 50 cents instead of 25 cents per poll may 
be expended in their maintenance. There 
are fifteen public libraries in the State, with 
an aggregate of 81,193 volumes. The more 
important of these were established and are 
aided by private individuals. 

Massachusetts has a brief and permissive 
law like that of New Hampshire, but it has 
a noble record in its libraries. It has 192 
public libraries, with an aggregate of 1,770,- 
386 volumes nearly as many as are con- 
tained in all the other public libraries of the 
United States. 

Rhode Island has a creditable record for 
so small a State. It has thirty public libra- 
ries, with an aggregate of 133,834 volumes. 
A city or town may levy a tax of 2.5 mills on 
the valuation for the foundation of a library, 
and subsequently two tenths of a mill annually 
for its support. 

Connecticut is the most backward of all 
the New England States in the matter of 
public libraries. Of its principal cities, 



Hartford, New London, New Britain, and 
Norwich have no public libraries. In New 
Haven, a public library was opened in May 
1887, with 4,000 volumes and an annual tax 
of $12,000. In 1 88 1 a law was passed, allow- 
ing towns to lay a tax of two mills. Previous 
to that time the State law permitted a city or 
town to establish a library, but made no 
provision for its support by taxation. The 
proceeds, however, of fines for breach of any 
penal ordinance may be applied for the sup- 
port of a public library. There are only six- 
teen public libraries in the State, with an 
aggregate of 48,814 volumes, and only those 
of Bridgeport and New Haven are supported 
by direct taxation. The Bronson Library of 
Waterbury is not included in this statement, 
as it was created and endowed by private 
munificence, and the citizens have never been 
taxed a dollar for its support. 

The State of New York stands in an anom- 
alous position in reference to public libraries. 
It has no law for their support, except the 
statute of 1872, which never has been, nor can 
be, applied to the organization of a library. The 
old school-district system, which New York 
adopted in 1835, has been persistently main- 
tained in that State to this day. It long since 
proved to be a failure, and was long since 
abandoned by the other States. Up to 1875 
the State of New York had expended more 
than $2,000,000 in furnishing district li- 
braries with books, which generally disap- 
peared as soon as they were distributed. " In 
four fifths of the districts," said the State 
superintendent of education in 1874, "not 
one in ten of the inhabitants can tell where 
the library can be found; and probably in 
ninety-nine cases out of every hundred the 
libraries are of no practical use whatever." 
The State superintendent in 1875 speaks of 
these books "as constituting part of the 
family library, serving as toys for children, 
crowded into cupboards, thrown into cellars, 
or stowed away in lofts." The State superin- 
tendent in 1886 says : " The amount of money 
appropriated by the State for the support of 
these district libraries, from 1853 to 1885, was 
$1,154,903, and yet they have been steadily 
running down during this period, and the 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



number of books have decreased more than 
one half." This ruinous scheme has stood as 
a barrier to the introduction of the public li- 
brary, which requires no appropriation from the 
State, and provides for the preservation of the 
books which the people themselves have paid 
for. The original purpose of the district sys- 
tem was good ; it was to provide healthful 
reading for the people at large. It was no 
part of the scheme to provide reading simply 
for the school children. The libraries were 
not kept at the schools, nor cared for by the 
teachers ; but were deposited in private 
houses. The statutes always called them 
district libraries and never district-school li- 
braries. The system failed chiefly because the 
books were not cared for, and it did not pro- 
vide enough books to constitute a library in 
which the public had any interest. New 
York, nevertheless, has free libraries, of 
which those at Syracuse, Newburgh, and 
Poughkeepsie are specimens, which, organ- 
ized under the school laws, are indirectly sup- 
ported by taxation, and perform the functions 
of public libraries. There are twenty-two 
such libraries in the State, with an aggregate 
of 125,811 volumes. 

New Jersey has a public-library law pat- 
terned after that of Illinois, which was en- 
acted in 1885. The statistics of the Bureau 
of Education, which were collected in 1885, 
gave to New Jersey three public libraries, with 
an aggregate of 12,804 volumes. She could 
probably make a better report to-day. 

Pennsylvania is the only northern State 
which has no semblance of a public-library 
law, and hence has no statistics on the subject. 

Ohio has a law which enables cities and 
towns to raise money by taxation for the pur- 
chase of books ; provides a board of manag- 
ers for the administration of the library, who 
have only the powers of a committee under 
the control of the board of education, and 
leaves with the board of education the ulti- 
mate control of the library, providing the 
funds for the erection of buildings, and for 
all other expenses, except the purchase of 
books. The system is faulty in that it confers 
so little authority upon the board of managers, 
a -I ao much on the board of education, whose 



proper functions are outside of library manage- 
ment. The Cincinnati Public Library, never- 
theless, is the second largest in the United 
States ; and those of Cleveland, Toledo, Day- 
ton, and Columbus are flourishing institutions. 
There are twenty-one public libraries in the 
State, with an aggregate of 321,071 volumes. 

In Indiana the tax for the support of public 
libraries is levied by the school trustees, and 
the libraries are managed by a committee of 
the school trustees. There are sixty public 
libraries in the State, with an aggregate of 
103,120 volumes. Thirteen of these have 
84,000 volumes, and the remaining forty-seven 
are township libraries, none of them having 
over 1,000 volumes. A school-district sys- 
tem like that of New York was once very 
popular in Indiana; and it was a failure, like 
that of the Empire State, and for the same 
causes. The small libraries of the townships 
are probably the books which were left over 
after the breaking up of the district system, 
with additions since made by the school 
trustees. 

The public-library law of Illinois, adopted 
in 1872, and since enacted by other Western 
States, is more elaborate and complete than 
the library laws of any of the New England 
States. Such a law facilitates the establish- 
ment of libraries, and prescribes how they 
shall be conducted. It makes the board of 
nine directors an independent body, over 
which the mayor, common council, and board 
of education have no control in the disposi- 
tion of the library funds, the appointment of 
librarian and other employe's, and the-general 
administration of the library. There are forty- 
five public libraries in the State of Illinois, 
with an aggregate of 304,584 volumes. 

The law of Wisconsin is similar to that of 
Illinois. The Milwaukee Public Library has a 
special law which enables the library board, 
instead of the common council, as in Illinois 
(where special laws are prohibited by the Con- 
stitution), to fix the amount to be raised for 
the library by taxation. There are nine pub- 
lic libraries in the State, with an aggregate of 
62,748 volumes. 

There is, I believe, a general library law in 
Minnesota; but on searching the revised stat- 



POOLE. 



utes of 1878, and the later annual statutes, I 
have not been able to find it. A generous 
special statute has been enacted for the Pub- 
lic Library of Minneapolis. St. Paul main- 
tains a flourishing Public Library. 

The law of Michigan follows in general 
that of Illinois. The State has 157 public 
libraries, with an aggregate of 23 1 ,365 volumes. 
Of these, thirty-four have 173,944 volumes, 
and the remaining 123 are township libraries, 
none having 1,000 volumes. 

Iowa has a law which enables any city or 
town to levy a tax of one mill on the dollar 
valuation for the support of a public library ; 
and eight municipalities only in the State have 
such libraries, with an aggregate of 26,556 
volumes. 

Nebraska has a library law enacted in 1877, 
and has four public libraries, with 17,227 vol- 
umes. 

Colorado has a good law; but no city or 
town has laid a tax for the support of a 
library. A free library was last year estab- 
lished at Denver by contributions made by 
the Board of Trade, and the librarian, Mr. 
Chas. R. Dudley, is a member of our associa- 
tion, and is with us to-day. It will be remem- 
bered that this same Board of Trade last year 
invited our association to hold its annual 
meeting in Denver. 

Texas enacted a library law in 1874. It 
has two public libraries, and the one at Gal- 
veston has 5,600 volumes. 

California has a library law, enacted in 1880, 
similar to the Illinois statute, and has sixteen 
public libraries, with an aggregate of 131,113 
volumes. 

In the twenty States which have public-li- 
brary laws (including New York) the total num- 
ber of public libraries is 649, with an ag- 
gregate of 3,589,692 volumes. 

Although such large results have been 
reached during the past forty years, the pub- 
lic-library system is still in its infancy. Many 
communities have not yet adopted it, and in 
one half of the States of the Union it is as 
unfamiliar to the popular mind as was the 
common school to the ancestors of these 
people at the beginning of this century. The 
libraries already established will go on in- 



creasing, and, wherever popular education has 
gained a foothold, there will be a public li- 
brary to supplement the work of the public 
schools. No influence, probably, is more 
effective in promoting the increase and effi- 
ciency of public libraries than the work, be- 
gun by this association, and now being car- 
ried on in many of the public schools of the 
country of bringing the public schools and 
public libraries in closer relations ; of teach- 
ing the pupils how to read, and inspiring in 
them a taste for, and .^appreciation of, good 
reading. In communities where there is no 
public library, teachers with advanced ideas 
are demanding one as an essential part of their 
apparatus for teaching^ School committees 
are examining candidates for appointment on 
their knowledge of books which are suitable 
for the reading of young persons. Teachers 
who have lictle or no knowledge of literature 
are finding themselves without appointments. 
The subject of reading, and the best methods 
of teaching it, was one of the most prominent 
topics discussed at the late meeting of the 
National Teachers' Association at Chicago. 

The public mind was never so impressed as 
now with the importance of establishing libra- 
ries, and much private munificence is taking 
that direction. It used to be said that no 
wealthy man or woman in Boston expected to 
to go to Heaven unless there was a generous 
legacy in his or her will to Harvard College 
and the Massachusetts General Hospital. 
Throughout the country much of this longing 
for a blissful hereafter is accruing to the bene- 
fit of libraries. There is no danger of having 
too many and too large libraries, and no con- 
flicting interests can arise between them. An 
incident occurs to me which illustrates this 
point. 

In the spring of 1852, when the Boston 
Public Library was in process of organization, 
it occurred to many of its friends, who were 
proprietors in the Boston Athenaeum, that 
there was no need of two large libraries in 
one city; and that the effect of the Public 
Library, which promised to be a great institu- 
tion, would be to dwarf the Athenaeum. It 
was therefore proposed that the city should 
buy the stock of the Athenaeum, which was 



10 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



then selling at $50 a share, and make its 
books the basis of the Public Library col- 
lection. The city officials and many of the 
Athenaeum proprietors favored the proposi- 
tion, and a meeting of the proprietors was 
called to consider and vote upon it. The 
meeting was held in Freeman Chapel; I was 
present and well remember the discussion. 
The gentlemen who advocated selling the 
stock to the city presented their views very 
ably. Mr. Ticknor, and, I think, Mr. Everett, 
were among the number. The current of the 
discussion was running strongly in that direc- 
tion, when Josiah Ouincy, Senior, then eighty 
years of age, rose and addressed the meeting- 
He was an ex-president of Harvard College 1 
the largest stockholder in the Athenaeum, and 
one of its original founders, nearly fifty years 
before. The venerable man spoke with a 
dignity, impressiveness, and force which I 
never heard surpassed. He sketched the early 
history of the Athenaeum, the crises through 
which it had passed, and the service it had 
rendered in the cause of literature and solid 
learning. Coming down to the question 
before the meeting, he said: " Gentlemen) 
when you say that Boston needs and will sus- 
tain only one large library, you are simply 
mistaken. I have not lived in this community 
for eighty years without knowing something 
of its wants. Boston needs and will support 
two large libraries one a reference and 
scholars' library, which the Athenaeum always 
has been, and I hope will always be ; and 
also a popular circulating library for the use 
of the people at large. The Public Library 
which is to be established will meet this pop- 
ular need, and will be generously supported 
by the people. The two will make a complete 
system. Each will contribute to the pros- 
perity of the other, and each will become 
a great institution, of which we now can hardly 



have a conception. I shall not live to see the 
fulfillment of my prediction, but there are per- 
sons present who will." 

When Mr. Quincy sat down, the entire sen- 
timent of the meeting was changed, and the 
proposition to sell the Athenaeum to the city 
was defeated by an almost unanimous vote. 
When I left the service of the Athenaeum in 
January, 1869, the Public Library had been in 
operation fifteen years, and the price of shares 
in the Athenaeum had advanced from $50 to 
$125. Mr. Cutter informs me, in a note lately 
received, that the present selling-price of shares 
is $265, and the number of volumes in the li- 
brary is 158,000, or more than double the num- 
ber it contained when Mr. Quincy made his pre- 
diction. The Public Library, whose location 
is within a rifle-shot range of the Athenaeum, 
has in the meantime come up from nothing 
to 490,688 volumes and 339,812 pamphlets; 
it spent last year an appropriation of $120,000, 
gave out for home use 713,852 volumes, and 
issued for reference in the library 244,777 
volumes. We have here a practical illustra- 
tion of the support which a popular library 
and a reference library in the same community 
give to each other. 

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE ASSO- 
CIATION : At our meeting last year at Mil- 
waukee, the question of succession in the 
office of president was considered ; and it 
was thought advisable that no person should 
hold the office for more than two years. In 
this recommendation I most heartily con- 
curred. I, therefore, having held the office 
for two years, shall, at the close of the pres- 
ent session, retire from the very honorable 
position which you have assigned to me. I 
take this occasion to express my sincere 
thanks for the compliment of holding this 
position, and for the kind consideration shown 
me in the discharge of its duties. 



WOOD WARD. 



ii 



A PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTAL INQUIRY AS TO THE ACTION 
OF BURNING-GAS ON LEATHER USED FOR BOOK-BINDING. 



BY C. J. WOODWARD, B. 



Finding that there was no record of experi- 
mental evidence as to the action of burning- 
gas on leather, preliminary experiments were 
made to ascertain as far as possible a reply to 
the following inquiries : 

1. Is leather, after exposure to a foul gas 
atmosphere (produced by burning ordinary 
coal gas in an ill ventilated chamber), seriously 
deteriorated ? 

2. If so, is this deterioration due simply to 
the high temperature of the foul atmosphere 
or is it due to the products of gas combustion 
or is it due to both causes combined ? 

3. To what extent is the sulphurous product 
of burning-gas absorbed by leather ? 

Mode of experimenting. 

Strips of brown calf leather, each strip one 
foot long and one inch wide, were cut from a 
skin and numbered in pairs, each pair being 
from corresponding parts of the skin. 

A set of these strips, (those taken from the 
butt end), were divided into two sets of ten 
each, the one set being placed in a fume cham- 
ber with the exit closed and the gas lighted, 
while the other set was put aside in a room 
in which gas was scarcely used. 

The gas in the fume chamber was turned 
down until a fairly constant temperature of 
about 130 F. to 140 F. was obtained f and, 
after exposure to the foul atmosphere for 1,077 
hours, the strips were tested by means of a 
dynamometer and compared with the similar 
strips which had been put aside in the (com- 
paratively) pure atmosphere. The results 
obtained are shown in accompanying table. 

The deterioration due to gas may be ex- 
pressed as 35 : 17 or about 2:1. 

Half pairs of leather strips were placed 
round a steam pipe for 1,000 hours, at a tem- 
perature of 196 F., in an atmosphere free 

* This is an abstract of a paper to be read at Conference of 
Librarians in Birmingham (Eng.) Sept., 1887. 

t A few hours near the close of the experiment the temper- 
ature was inadvertently allowed to rise as high as 162 F. 



from burning-gas, while the other half pairs 
were placed in a room at the ordinary tempera- 
ture. 

The mean breaking strain of the strips 
which had been kept at the ordinary tempera- 
ture was thirty-nine pounds, while that of the 
strips, which had been kept at 196 F. was 
twenty-eight pounds. 



Kept free from gas. 


Kept in a foul gas atmos- 
phere at a temperature of 130" 




F. to 140 F. for 1,077 hours.* 


No. of 
| Strip. 


Stretching 
in per- 
centage of 
original 
length. 


Breaking 
strain 
in Ibs. 


No. of 
Strip. 


Stretching 
expressed 
in per- 
centage of 
original 
length. 


Breaking 
strain 
in 11)8. 


i 


12 


30 


i 


4* 


10* 


2 


7* 


23* 


2 


6 


18 


3 


7t 


35- 5t 


3 


6 


'9 


4 


12 


35 


4 


4 


14 


5 


12 


33 


5 


4t 


ii. St 


6 


7t 


27-5t 


6 


2t 


ii. St 


7 


8t 


34t 


7 


6 


21 


8 


6t 


3t 


8t 


6t 


2of 


9 


lot 


37t 


9 


8 


26 


10 


nt 


6ot 


10 


5 


18 


Mean 


9 


35 




5 


i? 



A similar experiment with strips kept for 
i ,000 hours at 142 F., as compared with 
strips kept at ordinary temperature, did not 
show any marked difference. 

I am not satisfied with this last experiment, 
and propose making a further inquiry before 
the meeting. 

Experiments to determine the amount of 
sulphur absorbed by leather exposed to gas. 

The strips which had been kept free from 
gas were boiled in distilled water, and the de- 
coction tested by sulphuric acid, but only a 
trace was found a portion was afterwards 
dried and deflagrated with pure nitre, and the 
resulting mass examined for sulphuric acid, 
but no appreciable quantity could be detected. 

Several of the strips which had been ex- 
posed to burning-gas for 1,077 hours were 
then examined for sulphuric acid, with the 

* Mean of three expts. 
t Mean of two expts. 



12 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



following results expressed in percentage of 
sulphuric acid (H2 SO4). 



No. i 

" 5 
" 6 

" 7 
" 9 



i-33 

2.92 
1.99 
1.45 
1.97 
i. 06 



orated by the action of a hot atmosphere 
charged with the products of burning-gas. 

2. It is probable (though not as yet proved 
by my experiments) that a heated though 
pure atmosphere is detrimental to leather. 

3. That the sulphur compounds of burning- 
gas are absorbed by leather to the extent of 
i or 2 per cent of sulphuric acid after ex- 
posure for a period of 1,077 hours to the Bir- 
mingham gas when the products are confined 
in an ill ventilated chamber. 



" 10 

Mean 1.78 per cent. 

I conclude from the above experiments : 
i. That, unquestionably, leather is deteri- 

For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper see the PROCEEDINGS (First session)* 



LETTERING OF BOOKS. 



BY JOHN EDMANDS, LIBRARIAN MERCANTILE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA. 



npHE whole subject of binding in a library 
comes under the control of the librarian, 
and he should decide how the books shal be 
lettered, whether they ar bound in the library 
building or at an outside bindery. 

If librarians could come to a rational agree- 
ment on some principal points, and if this 
association would promulgate a few general 
rules on the subject, we might soon look for 
an improvement in this matter. 

The most noticeable thing about the com- 
mon mode of lettering books is its inappro- 
priateness ; fanciful forms of letters, illegible 
letters, bald and obscure titles, and letterings 
so enclosed in ornamentation as not at once 
to strike the eye. Dr. Homes's strong and 
judicious words in the Library journal (5:315) 
seem not to hav received the attention they 
deserve. 

It ought to be, but is not quite, needless to 
say that the chief object of the lettering is to 
indicate the author and the subject of the 
book. I say author and subject with inten- 
tion and with emfasis, because the usual 
practice is to giv the subject or title the con- 
spicuous place, and to put the author some- 
where else or nowhere. Surely a man is 
superior to his work, and the maker of a book 
should hav his name in the place of honor. 

Most libraries ar now classified, and a 
student going to the historical alcove does 



not want his attention constantly distracted 
by the word history on whole rows of books. 
He is looking for Froude or Prescott, and the 
books should be so lettered that these names 
wil strike his eye at once. If, however, he is 
seeking, not for a book by a particular author, 
but for some certain fact, or for whatever the 
library may contain on the subject he has in 
hand, his search wil not be hindered by the 
proposed order; nor wil any order or sub- 
stance of lettering be of much service to him ; 
he must go to title-page and contents and 
index, and keep up his search thru the body 
of book after book. 

The author's name should be used whether 
it stands on the title-page, or is ascertained 
from the preface, or from some other source. 
And the true name should be used, and not 
a false one. This should be done even if the 
author is very little known ; for others may 
know him better than we do, and our succes- 
sors, at any rate, ar likely to know him. 
Author should be used in a wide sense, as 
meaning the maker of the book, as a book; as 
Longfellow's " Poetry of Europe." 

The collection of individual biografies 
may properly be excepted from the operation 
of this rule. It is highly important that all 
the lives of any individual should be placed 
together, and equally so that all the lives of 
all persons of the same name should be 



EDMANDS. 



together; in other words, that all individual 
biografies should be arranged in close alfa- 
betical order by the subject of the life 
instead of the writer. And so best to facili- 
tate the finding of any life, the name of the 
subject should stand first on the back of the 
book. 

So far as practicable the lettering should 
be made up of words that ar on the title- 
page, and in the same order. But no binder, 
as no cataloger, should allow himself to be 
made the slave of a writer who has not the 
genius to giv his book a clear and brief title. 
And so in extreme cases one may be com- 
pelled to change the order of words, or to use 
a word or words that ar not on the title-page. 
It is desirable to giv the title with fulness, 
and with this view words that ar not likely to 
be misunderstood may be used in an abbre- 
viated form. 

Quite general usage, in the case of ful 
bound books, has assigned the second space 
from the top to the title; and there ar good 
reasons for continuing the practice. For 
valid reasons the title should always hav the 
same relative position on the book, and ordi- 
narily nothing should be put on this space 
except the author and the title. If the 
thicknes of the book allows it, and the 
author is one of a multitude, Smith, Jones, 
it is wel to ad the initials of the Christian 
name. 

The somewhat common practice of putting 
the author's name in the possessive case is 
in some cases unobjectionable, especially 
when the title is a single word, as Dryden's 
Poems ; but in many cases this wil lead to 
cacofonous combinations, if the name ends 
. with a sibilant and the title begins with one. 
In other cases it wil suggest unpleasant 
associations, as Brooks's Influence of Jesus. 
It would not be altogether agreeable to the 
secretary of this association to hear one at 
his library calling for " Dewey's Deserted 
Wife," or for the editor of the Library journal 
to be asked if " Cutter's Awful Boy " is in. 

If a book has been edited by another than 
the author, and contains important editorial 
matter; or if it is one that has been edited by 



various persons, the name of the editor 
should be placed, say on the second space 
below the title. And in the case of books 
often edited, as Shakespeare, the date should 
also be given with the editor's name. It is 
wel, also, to put the date in some incon- 
spicuous place on early printed books of any 
note. 

When a book is in several volumes, and 
the special contents of each can be indicated 
by a word or two, or by a date, it is wel to 
giv this directly under the volume designa- 
tion. This is specially important in cyclo- 
pedias; and the lettering should be ful enuf 
to mark the exact range of each volume. 

Periodicals should bear, not only the vol- 
ume, but also the year and the part of the 
year which the volume covers. The volume 
mark should be primarily the whole series 
number, but the various serial designations 
should also be given. If the volume and date 
can both be clearly given on one space, it is 
better to hav it so. The word volume should 
be omitted as being unnecessary and as 
tending to distract attention from the thing 
sought. Arabic figures should always be 
used, on account of being more quickly red 
and taking up les space. 

Lower case letters should always be used 
rather than capitals, for the two very good 
and sufficient reasons that they ar more 
easily red, and that they allow more matter to 
be put on a given space. While lower case 
type has been used to some extent by French 
and German binders, it is surprising how 
stubbornly capitals hav held their place with 
us, not only on book covers, but on title-pages 
and as hedings of newspapers, on sigjjs, and 
in a thousand places where legibility is of the 
first importance. The letters used should not 
be of fancy shapes, nor of very hevy or very 
light face ; but of the style with which we ar 
familiar. As many books must be placed on 
the shelves above and below the line of easy 
vision, it is important that the letters used 
should be of good size. It should not be need- 
ful to add that no ornamentation should be 
allowed that interferes with the legibility of 
the lettering. 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper see the PROCEEDINGS (First session). 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



A NOTATION FOR SMALL LIBRARIES. 



BY C. A. CUTTER, LIBRARIAN BOSTON ATHENAEUM. 



T F I begin with a brief historical and some- 
what egotistical introduction, showing 
how I was led along step by step to make 
this notation, the subsequent description of it 
may be very short, because this introduction 
will have made you acquainted with all of its 
component parts, and will have shown the 
reasons for combining them as I have done. 

When it became necessary some ten years 
ago to rearrange the books in the Boston 
Athenaeum Library, I selected the Amherst 
decimal plan, on account of its simplicity and 
symmetry. But after a brief trial I found 
that its notation would not afford that minute- 
ness of classing which experience had taught 
me to be needed in our library. Moreover, 
I did not like (and I still do not like) Mr. 
Dewey's classification. The ten main classes 
I should not object to, but the subdivisions 
are unsatisfactory in both their selection and 
their arrangement. So I set about devising 
something better. As the chief deficiency of 
the decimal notation is that it is decimal, that 
there can be only ten main classes, and, still 
worse, only ten divisions in each class, and so 
on, I naturally experimented with the next 
larger basis for a notation the alphabet, 
whose characters are as familiar to every one, 
both in their form and their order, as the 
figures one to nine. The alphabet gives 26 
classes. If we use two characters, we have 
26 divisions of each class, or 676 in all classes. 
If we use three, we have again 26 subdivi- 
sions, or 17,606, which is enough and more 
than enough for very minute work. Never- 
theless, there was a use to which the numer- 
als also could be put. Every large class, as 
History, Education, Science, Architecture, 
has in it certain works (such as Dictionaries, 
Periodicals, Handbooks, Atlases, or Tables) 
of a general character, but differing in form 
from the other books. These, for practical 
reasons, it is well to group together ; and it is 
especially desirable to give them the same 



mark in every class, so that they can always be 
found in the same part of the class. It is also 
often convenient to collect in the same neigh- 
borhood the books which treat of certain 
general aspects of the subject, its history, for 
instance, its biography, its philosophy. And, 
finally, it is well to separate from the books 
written by single authors, which are arranged 
alphabetically by their authors' names, those 
that are the work of several persons, in which 
denomination come, of course, periodicals, 
and, in general, society publications. The nine 
digits were just suited for this service. They 
were used as follows : 

1, works on the theory of the subject. 

2, works on the bibliography of the subject. 

3, lives of persons connected with the subject. 

4, works on the history of the subject. 

5, dictionaries. 

6, handbooks, tables, charts, etc. 

7, periodicals. 

8, works of societies. 

9, collections of works by several authors. 
You will notice that periodicals which 

belong to both the form classes and the col- 
lections make the transition from one to the 
other. 

These nine divisions preceded the subject 
divisions in each class. 

While matters were at this point, Mr. 
Dewey suggested that great advantage would 
be gained by mixing the figures and letters 
together indiscriminately to make a base of 
36 characters, with of course 36 subdivisions, 
so that the use of two characters w r ould give 
36x36 = 1,296 classes and three characters 
46,656. I adopted his suggestion, and made 
a classification and notation now in use at the 
Boston Athenaeum. 

In this I introduced what I think had 
never before appeared in any classification 
a geographical list, a set of marks used for 
the various countries of the world (as E for 
England. F for France, G for Germany), and 



CUTTER. 



capable of being used in any part of the 
classification where local subdivisions were 
needed, and always the same wherever used. 

In April 1884 Mr. Larned described in the 
Library journal a very ingenious notation 
which had one admirable feature. He used 
two distinct sets of characters to mark the 
subject and the local divisions of his classes. 
Thus, if zoo had stood for Zoology, one set of 
marks would have been added to it to signify 
Vertebrata, or Mammals, or Horses, and 
another set to signify the Zoology of Europe, 
or of India, or of New Zealand. Moreover,, 
the two kind of marks being easily distin- 
guishable from one another, either could be 
used first ; that is to say, in one part of the 
classification where the subject cohesion was 
strongest, the subject could be made the main 
class, the subdivisions being local ; in another 
part, where the country was more important, 
that could be the main class, the divisions being 
such subjects as History, Geography, Lan- 
guage, and Literature, thus bringing together 
everything relating to any country in these 
aspects. 

The notation which I had adopted for the 
Athenasum satisfied me, and my assistants 
found no difficulty in using it ; they learned it 
quickly and used it with ease. But it soon 
appeared that no other library was likely to 
adopt it. The mixture of letters and figures 
has, as Mr. Larned says, "a cabalistic look 
which is appalling to ordinary minds." People 
do not stop to see whether there is anything 
really difficult about it ; they run away at 
once, and will have nothing to do with it. 
And the trustees of small libraries are 
afraid of a complete and minute scheme of 
classification. But my advice is often asked 
in regard to the arrangement of such libraries. 
My thoughts, therefore, have been led to the 
preparation of a method especially suited to 
libraries of from 1,000 to 99,000 volumes, 
which should avoid the objections made to 
the Athenaeum classification as too minute and 
to its notation as too complex. 

Such a scheme needed to be simple, mne- 
monic, and sufficiently minute, and to have 
short marks. The materials on hand from 
which to construct it were, as you have seen, 



the 26 letters and the nine numbers, the idea 
of a geography list, and Mr. Larned's idea of 
a notation for countries distinct from the sub- 
ject notation, which would make the scheme 
reversible. These materials have been used 
as follows : 

The 26 classes are noted by letters ; subdi- 
visions are noted by a second letter; thus w is 
Fine arts, WE Drawing, WG Painting; wv is 
Architecture. The preliminary form classes 
are noted by the nine single numbers as I 
have already explained. Thus W5 is an Art 
dictionary, w/ an Art periodical. The coun- 
tries are designated by the numbers from 1 1 
to 99, omitting those ending in zero. Thus 
\v41 is English art, w44 French art, w42 
German art. Similarly, wc41 is English 
painting; WG42 German painting; \vc44 is 
French painting, and wv41 is English archi- 
tecture ; wv42 German architecture ; wv44 
French architecture. 

The scheme is reversible ; for if F is 
History and G Geography, then French 
history may be F44 or 44F, the Geog- 
raphy of Germany c42 or 42c. If G 
precedes, the geography of all the countries 
is brought together arranged in the order of 
the local list ; and, if F precedes, the different 
parts of history are brought together. But if, 
on the contrary, the numbers precede, then the 
history and geography of Germany, for ex- 
ample, are brought side by side, 42p, 42c, 
and followed by the geography and history 
of France 44F, 44c. 

It seems to me that this plan fulfills the 
condition of the problem. It is simple, only 
three kinds of characters being used letters, 
single figures, double figures ; and the letters 
and figures are not mixed.* The distinct 
notations for the different objects help the 
comprehension of the scheme greatly. If one 
sees a single letter, one knows that a main 
class is meant; if one sees two letters, it 
means a subordinate class ; if one sees a letter 
followed by a figure, one knows that it is for 
one of the form classes ; if one sees a letter 
followed by two figures, it is for a local sub- 

* This is not absolutely correct. In one class the forms 
Y47B, Y47D, Y47P are used. But it is difficult to conceive 
any so stupid as to be puzzled by this much admixture of let- 
ters and figures. 



i6 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



In another way my tables are mnemonic 
to a slight degree. In the principal classes 
it happens that c is Christianity and G 
Geography. In the sub-classes initialism also 
is sometimes possible, particularly in Eng- 
lish literature, Y, where the initials c, Corres- 
pondence, Letters, D, Drama and Dialogues, 
F, Fiction, p, Poetry, Speeches, Oratory, w,Wit 
and Humor, could be used; and in English 
language x, where D is Dictionaries, and G 
Grammar. 

On these two classes x and Y, by the way, 
a deviation was made from the usual practice. 
Instead of letting Y stand for Literature and 
Y41 for English literature and Y41F for Eng- 
lish fiction, the desire to get a short mark 
for English, which is almost the only literature 
to be found in small libraries, led me to use Y 
for that and (as 11 is the local mark of the 
world) to use Yll for Literature in general. 
Then English drama, fiction, and poetry have 
the short marks YD, YF, YP. 

The notation is short, in the subject part 
seldom using more than two letters, in the 
local part using either one or two letters 
followed by two figures. Indeed, I think 
there is none shorter. It is sufficently min- 
ute, as you will see when you examine the 
tables that will be published as soon as the 
new edition of the "Rules" is out of the 
way. 

r or the discussion which followed the reading of this paper, see the PROCEEDINGS 
first session). 



division of one of the main classes. Two 
letters followed by two figures denote a 
local subdivision of a subordinate class. 

The scheme is mnemonic; the same fig- 
ures stand for the same country under every 
subject ; 41 wherever it occurs always means 
England ; 44 means France and means nothing 
else. You may remember that in the original 
" Decimal Classification," the " correspond- 
ences " correspond imperfectly ; a given 
number does not always denote the same 
country; a given country is not always des- 
ignated by the same figure. In the enlarged 
system there is a complete local notation, 
which does not do away with the confused 
notation of the earlier scheme, but is used in 
addition to it. Even this, however, is inferior 
to the one I am now explaining in two respects : 
First, the marks are long. A local subdivi- 
sion of any subject except history cannot be 
expressed in less than five figures for a coun- 
try, and six figures for a smaller place. His- 
tory may take one or two figures less ; a divi- 
sion of a subject may take one or two figures 
more (e.g., 628.3742, sewage farming in Eng- 
land). Secondly, as the figures which are 
used for countries are also used for subjects, 
they do not suggest anything to the reader, 
and until he is completely familiar with all 
the tables he does not know whether he has 
before him a subject or a local division. 



RULES FOR ALFABETING. 



BY JOHN EDMANDS, LIBRARIAN MERCANTILE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA. 



T T is assumed that the work of the cataloger 
or indexer has been done ; that the titles 
hav all been written as they ar to appear in 
the printed book ; and our present purpose is 
to consider and, if possible, to determine the 
rules that should regulate the proper arrange- 
ment of these titles so as to form the most 
perfect index. 

It is obviously important that this arrange- 
ment be such that any given title can be found 
in the shortest possible time ; that the method 



of arrangement be such as to admit of clear 
explanation and quick apprehension, and such 
as wil commend itself to the general judg- 
ment, so as to be universally adopted. It is 
quite manifest, too, that there has been a wide 
diversity of view as to how such an index or 
catalog should be constructed ; or, what is 
more probable, a lack of careful and thoro 
consideration of the varied details of such 
construction ; because in catalogs that ar held 
in highest estimation there ar marked diver- 



EDMANDS. 



gences of plan, and some of these fail to con- 
form to the rules by which they seem to hav 
been made. 

There is need, therefore, of a new and 
more detailed discussion of the subject. Mr. 
Cutter, in his " Rules for a Dictionary Cata- 
logue," has treated it judiciously ; but he seems 
not to hav attempted to cover the ground in 
all its details. It is not my purpose to criti- 
cise the work of others in this line any further 
than may seem to be necessary to illustrate 
the application of the rules given, and to show 
the need of a reconsideration of the whole 
matter. If such masters in the profession as 
Cutter and Poole ar found to be at serious 
divergence, a valuable service wil be rendered 
if one step can be taken towards a common 
ground on which all can stand. 

It is often useful to hav a short motto or 
axiom as a guide in the adjustment of details. 
In this alfabeting work I hav been much 
helped by this motto, " Something follows 
nothing; or, conversely, Nothing before 
something ; thus in 

Art of living In clover 

Arthur Incas 

the art, in the first case, and the in, in the 
second, ar followed by a space, i. e., by noth- 
ing, and so precede the single word in which 
the t and the n ar followed by a letter ; i. e., 
by something. 

A catalog or an index addresses itself to 
the eye rather than to the ear, altho many 
times the direction to the catalog must be 
given thru the ear, especially in library work ; 
and so in general the written word or frase, 
rather than the spoken, must determine the 
order. In some cases, however, words that 
ar usually written as two, or with a separating 
space, ar pronounced as if written without a 
break, and so ar properly treated as one word. 

A If abet thruout. 

In alfabeting we hav to deal with letters, 
with words, and with groups of words ; and 
we should carry the alfabeting thru the whole 
group of words as well as thru the letters of 
the words. But these groups of words ar not 
to be treated as a mere succession of letters ; 
they ar to be arranged as words. In these 



groups of words the articles ar as really 
words as the prepositions, and ar equally to 
be considered in the arrangement. They ar 
usually so considered. But Merrill, in his 
Cin. Finding-List, very often disregards them ; 
and Poole, in his Index, nearly always omits 
them. Thus he has 

For his country 
For the king 
For king and country 
For ladies 
For the last time 
For life 

Poole takes account of pronouns and 
particles, and sometimes of articles, as in 
At a little dinner 
At his gates 
At sea 
At the bar 

Connected Words. 

We may hav several frases in which the 
first one, two, or three words ar the same ; 
and two titles, the first four or five letters in 
one of which wil form a complete word, and 
in the other wil form a part of a word. Of 
the first we may hav 

How we got away When I was a boarder. 
How we got drunk When I was in Rome. 
How we got sober. 

These, of course, should be placed in this 
order. Of the second sort we may hav 
Home education 
Homeless 
Home rule 
Homesick 
Home side 

If we were to arrange by the letters simply, 
without regard to the separate words, the 
order would be as given ; and this is the 
order of Poole in this and in other cases, as 
Book and Water babies 

Book auction Waterfalls 

Bookbinding Water marks 

Bookplates Watermelons 

Bookstall Waterfowl 

Book thief 

But in some cases, as under Bank, Farm, 
Good, Song, War, he arranges in accordance 
with the rule I hav given. 



i8 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



In the previous example Home is a com- 
plete word, and is followed by a space, i. e. by 
nothing ; the same letters in Homeless are 
followed by another syllable, i. e. by some- 
thing ; and so Homeless should follow Home 
rule. This is the order of Cutter, Noyes, 
Merrill, and Linderfelt, in his catalog of Pub. 
Lib. of Milwaukee. 

Dependent Words. 

A word used independently as a subject 
heding should precede the same word used 
in connection with another. And if this word 
is coupled with another word to form a com- 
pound subject heding, it should follow the 
simple heding. And if this word used as a 
simple heding is also used as a substaiftiv to 
form a different subject heding, and is also 
used adjectivly before a noun, the substan- 
tiv use should precede the adjectiv use. 
And so we hav this order. 
Art 

Art and artists 
Art of conversation 
Art amateur 

This is Poole's order as to the principal 
words in the entry, and the reasons for it ar 
clear and strong. A substantiv should pre- 
cede an adjectiv, as being the more important 
word, and as being less closely connected 
with the following than an adjectiv. In 
uttering the frases Art applied to industry, 
Art of conversation, there is a perceptible 
suspension of the voice after the word Art, 
which does not occur in the case of Art 
journal, Art amateur. 

Poole is in error in placing entries in which 

the leading word forms a part of a compound 

subject or title among those in which that 

word forms the subject-heding. Thus he has 

Heat, cause of History, forces in 

of the sun of the world fore- 

theory of told in Genesis 

Heat motion History of an adventurer 
In the first and third of these examples the 
subject is heat, but in the second the subject 
is not heat, but heat of the sun, the sun's 
heat. 

But it may be sed that this order tho nat- 
ural and filosofical, wil not be redily un- 



derstood by an untrained reader ; and, as Mr. 
Cutter has sed in his Rules (p. 71), " it is 
not well to demand thought from those who 
use the catalogue if it can be avoided." But 
he also says (p. 68) "Arrangement must be 
arbitrary." And also (p. 69) "One cannot 
have a condensed catalogue without obliging 
the reader to learn how to use it." He might 
hav omitted the word condensed and sed any 
catalog. Certainly any reader wil under- 
stand a natural arrangment more redily than 
one that is unnatural and unreasonable. 

New. 

We hav many titles with the initial word new 
used as a proper adjectiv followed by a com- 
mon noun, and others in which it forms a 
part of a compound place-name. All these 
should be arranged in one series, alfabeting 
by the last part. New Amsterdam, new boat, 
New Canaan, new life. Single words begin- 
ning with n. e. w., whether names of persons, 
places, or things, should be arranged in a 
following alfabetical series. This is the 
prevailing usage. 

But Poole makes one group of the entries 
in which new is a proper adjective, and a sub- 
sequent one made up promiscuously of entries 
in which new is used as a compound place- 
name, and of words, both personal and com- 
mon nouns, which begin with n. e. w. And 
so he has this succession; Newark, New Bed- 
ford, Newby, New Grenada, Newsboy, New 
Sharon, Newt, Newton. 

Hyfened Words, 

The use of the hyfen seems not to conform 
to any fixt rule, and, as it does not affect the 
pronunciation, it is best to disregard it and ar- 
range as two words. Most recent catalogs 
ar in accord with this rule. Cutter teaches it 
in his Rules, page 71, and generally conforms 
to it in his catalog; but he has 
Book of Ballads and 
Book of worship Half a million 
Bookbinding Halfcentury 

Book-collector Half-hours 

Booker Halford 

Book-hunter Half-way 

Books 



EDMANDS. 



The Article. 

If an article, which belongs before a word 
used as a heding, is inserted after it, it is not 
to be taken account of in alfabeting. This is 
the usual practice. And the reason for it is 
that its insertion serves no good, grammatical 
or other purpose, and tends to hinder the 
quick finding of a title. Cutter, Merrill, 
Noyes, and Poole usually omit it; but often 
insert it where there is no more need of it 
than in the cases where they omit it. Thus, 
Cutter has Book of Costume, The, and Book 
of Ballads, without the article. The article is 
on the title-page in both cases. Merrill and 
Noyes often make the matter still more con- 
fusing by enclosing the article in ( ). Thus, 
Merrill has these four consecutive entries : 

Question, A 
Question (The) of Cain 
Question (A) of honor 
Quiet heart, The 

The article is properly used after a word 
which represents, not a subject, or a thing be- 
longing to a class, but a noted individual 
thing : The Rhigi, The Tower. 

Plural in s and the Possessiv Case, 
The plural in s should follow the singular. 
The possessiv case singular should follow 
the singular and precede the plural in s. The 
sequence, however, may not in either case be 
immediate. Several entries may intervene. 
Cutter's usual order is, Boy 
Boyd 
Boyne 
Boys 
Boy's 
But he has 

Queen * Spirit world 

Queens Spirits 

Queen's college Spirit's life 

Queens of society Spirits of wine 

and Spiritism. 

Poole usually places the plural immediately 
after the singular, notwithstanding that a 
considerable number of entries alfabetically 
belong between ; giving this succession : 
Bank 
Banks 
Banker 
Banking 
Bankrupt 
Banks, N. P. 



This separates the second Banks more than 
two pages from the first. In some cases, how- 
ever, Poole conforms to the rule ; as in 
Art and Animal 

Artesian Animalcule 

Arthur Animals 

Artisan 
Arts 

But Poole, in company with Linderfelt, 
Merrill, and Noyes, conforms to the rule in 
placing the possessiv case before the plural. 

Plurals in ies. 

Plurals in ies of words ending in y should 

precede the singular, tho not necessarily in 

immediate connection. We do not expect in 

a catalog or index any grammatical relation 

between the several entries. And so there is 

no sufficient reason for taking any words out 

of their proper alfabetical place in order that 

they may precede their plurals. The usual 

practice is in accordance with the rule. Poole 

conforms to this practice in some cases, giving 

Antique Beauties 

Antiquities Beautiful 

Antiquity Beauty 

Academies Biographies 

Academy Biography 

His general practice, however, is to place 
these plurals after the singular, as 

Charity Library 

Charities Libraries 

Charity boy Library aids 

Proper and Common Nouns. 
In the case of words used sometimes as 
common and sometimes as proper nouns, the 
true order is person, place, and thing. This 
is the more usual arrangement. But Billings, 
in his Catal. of Lib. Surg. Gen. Of., and the 
Catal. of the Advocates Lib. Edin. giv the 
thing the first place. Gushing and Noyes 
seem to follow no rule. Poole seems to con- 
form to the rule wherever this does not 
require him to deviate from his rule of putting 
the plural immediately after the singular; 
thus he has 

Law, J. but Bank 

Law Banks 

Laws Banks, N. P. 

His list contains no person named Bank. 



20 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



Surnames. 

Whenever a single name, Charles, Henry, 
William, is used as the sole designation of a 
person, this should precede the same word 
used as a surname. 

Abraham George III. 

Abraham, George George, Henry 

This rule has its reason, not only in the 
eminence of the persons usually so desig- 
nated, but it follows from our primary axiom, 
Nothing before something. Abraham is a 
complete name, and is followed by nothing. 
When used as a surname, it is only a part of a 
name, and is followed by something. If sev- 
eral ranks are represented by one name, 
precedence should be given to those bearing 
the highest rank in this order, pope, emperor, 
king, noble, saint. If these represent differ- 
ent nationalities, they should be groupt in the 
alfabetical order of the countries; and numer- 
ically under each country, as John I., John II. 

In respect to family names that hav the 
same sound, but a different spelling, it were 
greatly to be wisht, for the comfort of makers 
and users of catalogs, that brothers could 
agree, so far at least as to use the same form 
of name. But so lorig as they wil not, we 
must bridg over the difficulty as wel as we 
can, and allow Read, Reade, Reed, and Reid 
to occupy different pages in our catalog, aid- 
ing the reader as much as we can by a free 
use of cross references. 

In names beginning with La, Le, and De 
not French names there is great diversity 
of usage ; and so we hav Lafayette written as 
one word, and La Fayette with a capital F 
following a space. But whichever way these 
names ar written, the pronunciation is the 
same. And so as pronounct, the name De 
Morgan is as really one word as Demos- 
thenes. It is therefore better to disregard 
the separation, and arrange these words as if 
they were written solidly. 

Abbreviations. 

Names beginning with M' M c , St, and Ste 
should be arranged as if written out in ful, as 
Mac, Saint, and Sainte, for the reason that 
they ar uniformly so pronounct, and often so 
written. And for the same reason entries be- 



ginning with Dr., M., Mme., Mile., Mr., and 
Mrs. should be treated as if they were written 
in ful, as Doctor, Monsieur, Madame, Made- 
moiselle, Mister, and Mistress. This is in 
accordance with general usage. Cutter teaches 
it in his Rules, but departs from it in his cat- 
alog as to Mr. and Mrs. ; and Poole follows 
his bad example. 

Christian Names. 

When Christian names ar given in ful, the 
arrangement should be in strict alfabetical 
order, following the surname. And use should 
be made of all the helps which the cataloger 
has given for distinguishing two or 'more per- 
sons whose names ar identical. If the Smith 
family ar not eminently literary, they furnish 
the cataloger a great number of names, and 
the most numerous of them ar the Johns. 
And unless he has been very painstaking, and 
noted date and place of birth or deth, or 
title, or given some similar clue, the alfabeter 
wil be in danger of getting them badly mixt. 
Titles, such as Gen., Hon., Sir, ar to be al- 
lowed to stand, but not to affect the arrange- 
ment. 

Initials. 

If the cataloger has simply followed the 
title-page and given only initials of Christian 
names, the only safe course is to treat every 
initial as a name ; and, on the axiom " Nothing 
before something," the initial should precede 
the ful name. Thus J. precedes James even 
tho, as may afterwards be lerned, the J. stands 
for Jehoshaphat. 

A single ful name should precede a double 
initial ; i. e., a surname with one Christian 
name should stand before the same surname 
with two Christian names ; thus, John, J. M., 
not J. M., John. 

A double initial should precede an initial 
and a ful name having the same initial ; thus, 
J. G., and J. Gregory, when the ful names may 
prove to be Josephus Gunter and Jacobus 
Gregory. 

A book written by a single author should 
precede one written by him and another. 

The practice, followed by Billings and 
Noyes, of enclosing initials and Christian 
names in ( ) is to be condemned as unneces- 



HARRIS. 



21 



sary, as hindering the redy finding of entries, 
and as impairing the established significance 
of the ( ). 

If an author wil hide his identity under an 
initial, the cataloger must dig and delv and 
mouse around in the endeavor to discover 
whether " A treatise on the metaphysics of a 
conundrum by J. Smith " was written by 
Jerusha or Jemima or John Smith ; but the 
indexer must take the name as he finds it. 
Numerals. 

Numerals occurring as hedings should be 
treated as if written out in letters. The 
novel " 39 men for one woman " should be 
entered under t. 

Hedings and Insets. 

In order to save space in printing, 'and for 
distinctness to the eye, it is wel to use a dash 
to represent a word or group of words that 
might otherwise hav to be repeated ; or to in- 
set the words that come under the general 
heding. Care should be taken to make clear 
what the dash stands for, and to confine its 
use within proper bounds. 

It may be used when we hav several books 
written by one person; but it should not be 
used to cover another person of the same 
surname. 

It may be used to represent a word or group 
of words that indicate a definite subject, as 
heat, moral science, socialists and Fourierism, 
society for the diffusion of useful knowledge. 
But it should not be used to represent a part 
of a compound subject heding, nor a part of a 
title ; e. g. in the entries Historical portraits, 
Historical reading, the word historical should 
be spelled out in each case. In accordance 
with this Poole has 



Pearl in dark waters 
Pearl of Bruges 
Pearl of Damascus 
Pearl of great price 
Pearl of the ocean 

And under College, he has College, and 
Colleges, as subject hedings, followed by a 
large number of entries with the word College 
spelled out, as 

College boat-clubs 
College education 
College honors 
College studies 

But in very many similar cases he uses the 
dash. Thus in the case of poetry all the 
entries in which this word forms the first 
part of a title ar mixt with those that belong 
under poetry as a subject. And so he gives 
this succession. 

Poetry, art of 

defense of 

in all things 

in prose 

lectures on 

of death 

of September 

of youth 

or prose ? a story 

studies in 

If he had followed our rule and the example 
he had set under college, the order would 
hav been 

Poetry, art of 

defense of 

lectures on 

studies in 

Poetry in all things 

Poetry in prose 

Poetry of death 

Poetry of September 

Poetry of youth 

Poetry or prose ? a story 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper see PROCEEDINGS (First two sessions). 



THE BRITISH MUSEUM SYSTEM OF PRESS-NUMBERING. 

BY G. W. HARRIS, ACTING LIBRARIAN OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. 



'"PHIS paper deals with what many, perhaps, 
will be inclined to consider the antiquated 
system used at the British Museum for nearly 
a half century. May it not be, however, that 
we in America are too apt to neglect the ex- 
perience of older nations, and to believe that 
we must work out, or invent for ourselves 



methods and systems totally different from 
those followed in Europe ? No doubt, in the 
different surroundings and conditions which 
obtain in this country, there is much to justify 
this attitude ; but yet, as Horace puts it, "Vix- 
en fortes ante Agamemnona multi" or, as it 
may be paraphrased for this occasion, " There 



22 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



lived able librarians before the days of the 
A. L. A.," and it is not improbable that, from 
the experience of old-world librarians, we 
in the new world, different as our surround- 
ings and conditions undoubtedly are, may still 
learn some useful lessons. 

Up to the present time few librarians in 
America have been called upon to deal with 
large and rapidly increasing collections of 
books, and even yet our largest libraries are 
but small in comparison with the great libra- 
ries of Europe. It is well, however, occasion- 
ally to look into the future, and to ask 
whether the methods which have proved so 
successful when applied to small collections 
are likely to show themselves adequate and 
satisfactory when these collections shall have 
increased far beyond their present extent, as 
is certain to be the case with many of them 
in this era of munificent library endowments 
and this age of bookmaking. 

The statement was made a year ago, upon 
the highest authority, that during the last 
eight years 250,000 volumes had been added 
to the British Museum Library ; or, in other 
words, more than 30,000 volumes are annually 
received, classified, and arranged upon the 
shelves. These numbers are startling, but 
there is no doubt as to their correctness. 
Now, if this enormous number of books can 
be satisfactorily disposed of every year with- 
out inconvenience and without necessitating 
a continual changing and re-changing of press- 
marks, we must admit that the British Mu- 
seum system fully deserves to be called an 
" elastic " system, and that it has successfully 
withstood a strain far more severe than any to 
which our American systems have thus far 
been subjected. Hence it occurred to me 
that the members of this association might 
be interested in knowing whether this system, 
which seems to unite many of the merits of 
the movable location systems with those of 
the fixed location, had proved equal to the de- 
mand made upon it, and that a brief descrip- 
tion of its working might not be unacceptable. 
Thanks to the courtesy of the Museum au- 
thorities, who afforded me the fullest opportu- 
nity to examine the working of the system, 
and to Mr. Jenner, who has charge of the 



classification and arrangement of the addi- 
tions upon the shelves, I found no difficulty 
in obtaining all the information I desired. I 
found that the system was considered entirely 
satisfactory ; that, so far as the system of press- 
numbering was concerned, no difficulty had 
been found in disposing of an average annual 
addition of 30,000 volumes without making 
any change in the press-marks of the books 
already on the shelves. As the system of 
classification which is followed has been fully 
described by Mr. Garnett, in a paper read be- 
fore the London Conference of Librarians in 
1877, I shall confine myself to a brief account 
of the system of press-numbering. 

When the present Museum building was 
openeo\ and the books removed to it from 
their old quarters in Montague House, the 
presses (or book-cases) were numbered in con- 
secutive order from one onwards, and no 
space was left for the insertion of new presses 
without disturbing the order, or changing the 
press-marks in the books. This series of 
numbers extends from the King's Library on 
through the North wing, and includes the 
presses from one up to about 1,700. Natur- 
ally the inconvenience of this system was soon 
felt; and Mr. Watts, who had been intrusted 
by Mr. Panizzi with the classification and ar- 
rangement of the books on the shelves, de- 
vised what he called the " elastic " system of 
numbering the presses, the object being to 
provide each book with a press-mark which 
should never need to be changed, and at the 
same time to keep all the books on one sub- 
ject together. His plan, which is very simple 
in principle, requires that all the presses shall 
be of the same size, and was first introduced 
when what is known as the Long Room was 
opened. That room contained about 600 
presses, and, instead of numbering them con- 
secutively in continuation of the old numer- 
ation, a range of numbers from 3,000 to 12,990 
was taken. As the Museum classification 
begins with the Bible, the first press was as- 
signed to Hebrew Bibles, and numbered 3,005 ; 
the next contained polyglot Bibles, and was 
numbered 3,015; the next contained Greek 
Bibles, and was numbered 3,020". Then when 
the press of Hebrew Bibles became full, the 



HARRIS. 



polyglot and Greek Bibles were moved on 
one press, carrying the numbering with them ; 
and the press formerly numbered 3,015 became 
3,006, and contained Hebrew Bibles. In this 
way the numbering of the presses changes, but 
not the press-marks of the books. Thus all the 
numbers from 3,000 to 3,990 were allotted to 
General Theology ; with 4,000 began Religious 
Discussions including sermons, followed by 
Church History and Religious Biography. 
Next in order came the division of Jurispru- 
dence, to which were assigned the numbers 
from 6,000 to 6,990; to Natural History and 
Medicine were given the numbers from 7,000 
to 7,690; to Archaeology and Art, 7,700 to 
7,999 ; to Philosophy, 8,000 to 8,990 ; to Geog- 
raphy and Topography, 10,000 to 10,590; to 
Biography, 10,600 to 10,990; to Belles Lettres, 
11,000 to 12,890; and to Philology, 12,900 to 
12,990. 

To each of the minor subdivisions of these 
great subjects, presses varying in number 
were allotted according to importance and 
probable extent of each ; and, in order to 
facilitate the intercalation of numbers, sev- 
eral empty presses were left at intervals, and 
thus much manual labor was avoided. Then 
when the books thus numbered were removed, 
in 1857, to the new libraries which surround 
the great reading room, and spread over a 
far greater area, the removal was effected, as 
Mr. Garnett tells us, without the alteration of 
a single press-mark. The books in the Royal 
Library, the Grenville Library, and those in 
the North Library still retain their separate 
systems of classification and consecutive press- 
numbers, but the great mass of the books in 
the library are arranged in one system of 
classification in the presses whose numbers 
run from 3,005 to 12,990. 

Within the limits of this paper it would be 
impossible to describe in detail the working 
of the system in all its divisions ; and to show 
how it is carried into practice, and what is the 
present state of the numeration, it will suffice 
to take as an example that section of Belles 
Lettres which contains modern poetry. In 
accordance with the classification, Greek and 
Latin poetry come first, and modern poetry 
begins with Italian, as a derivative from Latin. 



Press 11,420 contains collections of Italian 
poetry, press 11,421 is devoted to Dante, 
presses 11,422-27 contain Italian poetry of 
the I5th, i6th, 1 7th, and i8th centuries; and 
next come presses 11,431-36 with Italian 
poetry of the igth century. Next to press 
1 1, 436 are presses 11,450 and 11,451, contain- 
ing Spanish poetry, followed by press 11,454 
with Portuguese poetry. The next press in or- 
der is 11,474, which, with 11,475, contains early 
French poetry, followed by presses 11,481 and 
11,482, containing modern French poetry, the 
next press being 11,498 with Provencal poetry. 
With press 11,501 the division of German 
poetry begins, and the same general arrange- 
ment is pursued as in French poetry. It will 
be evident from this brief statement that in 
this section of the library (and it may be 
taken as a fair specimen of the whole) the 
available numbers are in most cases still very 
far from being exhausted. Modern French 
poetry, for instance, has up to the present 
time occupied only two presses, leaving six- 
teen numbers still unemployed, and it should 
be remembered that each number represents 
a press, two stories in height, which will hold, 
at a rough estimate, about 1,000 octavo vol- 
umes ; so that, even in cases where only two or 
three numbers are assigned to a minor subdi- 
vision, those two or three numbers represent 
shelfroom for some two or three thousand vol- 
umes in that subdivision, so far as the press- 
numbering is concerned. Of course as these 
numbers were originally assigned from esti- 
mates based upon the probable increase of the 
library in various directions, in some instances 
experience has shown that the increase of the 
library has not been closely in accordance 
with the estimates. Thus far, however, no 
inconvenience has arisen from a lack of num- 
bers in any section. Indeed, the inconven- 
ience which is now making itself felt arises, 
not from lack of numbers, but from lack of 
presses ; or, in other words, lack of shelfroom 
to hold the accessions ; for, extensive as are 
the library quarters, the book-storing space is 
being rapidly filled up, and the need for more 
shelfroom has become a very pressing one, 
presenting a problem by no means easy to 
solve. Aside from the question of cost, there 



2 4 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



are serious difficulties in the way of any fur- 
ther extension of the present buildings in the 
direction indicated. In this emergency a very 
ingenious invention of Mr. Jenner promises 
at a comparatively slight cost, to double, if not 
to treble, the book-storing capacity of the libra- 
ries surrounding the reading-room, known as 
the Iron libraries. And if Mr. Jenner's plan be 
adopted, these libraries are likely to store the 
books more compactly than any stackroom 
thus far constructed in America, 

In the libraries surrounding the reading- 
room the uprights, or standards of the presses, 
or book-cases, are of iron and form the sup- 
ports for the open iron floors of the gallery 
avenues, there being no partition walls in the 
interior of this building except those formed 
by the double ranges of books in the presses 
which are all of the same size. The gallery 
avenues between the presses are, as a rule, 
eight feet wide, and the open iron floor rests 
on transverse iron girders which cross the 
gallery from the standard of each press. It 
occurred to Mr. Jenner that in front of each 
of these fixed presses a movable or swinging 
press might be suspended from these girders, 
and at the time of my visit an experimental 
press had recently been completed and placed 
on trial. 

To the lower edges of each of the trans- 
verse iron girders are bolted strips of angle 
iron, forming ledges, from which is suspended 
an iron press, or book-case, of the same di- 
mensions as the fixed press in front of which 
it hangs. The shoulders of this swinging 
press being furnished with small iron wheels 
or rollers, which rest upon the ledges formed 
by the angle irons, it can be pulled forward or 
ushed back against the fixed press very 
asily. The swinging press being about four- 
een or fifteen inches in depth, each shelf will 
contain two rows of books placed fore-edge to 
fore-edge. Ordinarily these swinging presses 
are pushed back close to the fixed presses, 
and the passages between the fixed presses 
being originally eight feet wide, when the 
swinging presses are in place there will still 
remain a passage at least five feet six inches 
in width between the double rows. If a book 
is wanted from the fixed press behind one of 
the swinging presses, the attendant, standing 



in front of the swinging press, takes hold of 
two handles placed at a convenient height on 
the uprights and pulls the press forward two 
or three feet from the fixed press, and thus 
obtains immediate access to the books in the 
latter and to those on the back side of the 
swinging press as well. The book having 
been obtained, a slight push is sufficient to 
slide the swinging press back to its usual po- 
sition ; for, although the swinging press when 
filled with books weighs about half a ton, 
it can be pulled forward two or three feet into 
the avenue, or pushed back against the fixed 
presses with a very slight exertion of strength, 
much less, indeed, than is needed to pull out 
or push back a sliding shelf containing a sin- 
gle large folio volume. 

It will be seen that it is thus proposed to 
place in front of each fixed press, containing 
a single row of books, a press of equal height 
and width, but deep enough to contain two 
rows of books, nearly trebling the book-stor- 
ing capacity of the library without any enlarg- 
ment of the building. Of course in the stack- 
rooms of most of our American libraries, with 
their narrow passages of two and a half feet 
in width, Mr. Jenner's plan could not be 
adopted. But may there not be some advan- 
tages in beginning with passages seven or 
eight feet wide, adding these swinging presses 
as the needs of the library demand them, and 
thus preserving always a passage from four 
and one half to six feet in width between the 
double rows ? If this plan were adopted, the 
girders of the galleries might be made of T 
iron, the flanges of which would afford the nec- 
essary support for the swinging presses when- 
ever they might be needed. At any rate it seems 
to me that the plan is one worthy of consider- 
ation by American librarians and architects ; 
while for the British Museum it supplies a 
perfectly satisfactory solution of the problem 
which confronted them, and does so at the 
smallest possible expense. 

I wish only, in closing, to add my testimony 
to that of many others as to the admirable 
provisions for the comfort of students which 
are afforded in the reading-room of the British 
Museum, and to the courtesy and attention to 
the wants of readers which are displayed by 
the library staff. 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper see PROCEEDINGS (Second session). 



CRUNDEN, 



BUSINESS METHODS IN LIBRARY MANAGEMENT. 1 



BY F: M. CRUNDEN, LIBRARIAN PUBLIC LIBRARY, ST. LOUIS. 



TT is not many years since the popular 
mind pictured the librarian as an elderly 
man of severe and scholarly aspect, with 
scanty gray hair, bent form, and head thrust 
forward from the habit of peering through his 
spectacles along rows of books in search of 
some coveted volume. He was supposed 
always to have led a studious and ascetic life, 
to have had his boyhood and youth in a pre- 
vious state of existence, and, since becoming 
a librarian, to have lived wholly in the world 
of books, without any knowledge, thought, or 
care regarding the world of men and things. 
Nothing more was expected of him than that 
he should be erudite and orderly, know where 
to find his books, and be ready to point out 
sources of information wanted by his first 
cousin, the professor, or by another class of 
individuals, who also stood apart from the 
rest of mankind, and were regarded as gods 
of Parnassus or as imps of Bohemia. Of 
late years authorship has become more com- 
mon. Every one has a friend who writes 
for publication in some form. Authors are, 
perhaps, less exalted but more respectable 
than formerly. The professor has long since 
been recognized as sometimes young and 
athletic and jovial ; and for the last ten years 
the librarian also has been abroad, and is 
now becoming pretty well known. He is 
found to be generally young in years and 
always young in spirit. When librarians 
first came together, each, I believe, was sur- 
prised to see how young the others were. In 
'79, when I attended my first convention at 
Boston, I expected to find myself among a 
body of patriarchs. Dr. Poole, I thought, 
must be a bent and decrepit old man ; and 
Mr. Dewey, though I had only lately heard 
of him, I had pictured as a little, withered, 
bespectacled old Dryasdust, who had given 
his life to the development of his decimal 
system, and was warning young men against 
the dangers of diffusiveness. Subsequent 



observation has sjiown me that librarians 
not only have had a youth, but that they 
find in these conventions the means of con- 
tinually renewing it. There were two or 
three who impressed me in '79 as perhaps 
a little old, who last year were completely 
rejuvenated. 

The librarian, then, of the present day is 
not like his predecessor of a generation ago ; 
and other and different duties are imposed 
upon him, and other offices expected from 
him. There still, however, remains considera- 
ble misconception regarding his proper func- 
tions. When I entered the profession I 
received numerous congratulations on the 
great opportunity afforded me for gratifying 
my taste for reading. Most of my friends, 
one after another, have learned that my duties 
are numerous and varied, and that my read- 
ing for personal improvement' or pleasure 
must be done in the hours common to all for 
rest and recreation. Still in the popular con- 
ception the librarian combines business and 
pleasure by spending a great part, if not the 
greater part, of his time in reading books. 
Very few laymen, even among the better- 
informed, realize how closely the conduct of a 
library resembles the management of a busi- 
ness ; and even among professionals there 
may be occasion for emphasizing the value of 
a more thorough adoption of business meth- 
ods by librarians and by library directors. 

The primary lessons of a library apprentice 
are the same as those of a boy who enters a 
business house. He must learn neatness, 
order, accuracy, punctuality, and despatch. 
And with all these, if he is to succeed in the 
issue department, which to the public repre- 
sents the library, he must cultivate politeness 
and equability of temper. He must treat 
every applicant as a salesman does a cus- 
tomer. He must not let him go away without 
the article he wants if it is in stock ; and if it 
is not, he should show his concern by promis- 



26 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



ing to give notice of the deficiency, and 
supply it later if possible. As the youth goes 
up the ladder of promotion, all these talents 
and acquirements find a wider field for exer- 
cise; and, as subordinates look to him for 
direction, other faculties are brought into 
play, and other qualities are required. One 
of these is a liking, an enthusiasm, for library 
work and a thorough belief in the particular 
institution served. A librarian or an assist- 
ant in a position of any authority who does 
not "swear by " his library cannot do justice 
to his work; and on business principles his 
services had better be dispensed with. The 
head of a St. Louis jobbing firm told me not 
long since that he would keep no one in his 
employ who did not think Blank, Dash & Co. 
the greatest hat and cap house in the West. 
Any salesman known to hold different views 
would be instantly discharged. 

The application of business principles also 
demands a certain degree of loyalty on the 
part of subordinates towards the chief officer, 
as well as to the institution. Disaffection is 
contagious ; ^a house divided against itself 
cannot stand ; and a board of directors is not 
acting in accordance with approved business 
methods if it does not speedily secure har- 
mony of action by removing the disturbing 
element. In one of the large manufacturing 
establishments of St. Louis the rule is that 
any man who cannot get along with the 
foreman of the shops is at once dismissed. 
There is no investigation, no hearing of com- 
plaints. The company look to the foreman 
for results, and recognize that responsibility 
must be accompanied by corresponding au- 
thority; and, as long as their superintendent 
satisfies them, the men must suit him. 

A chief librarian is in a position analogous 
to that occupied by the head of a commercial 
house. He must know his wares, i. e., his 
books ; he must know his customers, the 
community; he must study their wants; 
and, like a merchant of the highest type, he 
will endeavor to develop in them a taste for 
better articles. Like a merchant also, he 
must advertise his business. He must let 
the people know what the library offers to 
them, whether gratis or for a subscription 



fee. All the more is this necessary in the 
latter case. 

To be more exact in my comparison, the 
duties of a chief executive of a library differ 
in no essential from those of a manager of a 
stock company carrying on a commercial 
enterprise. In both cases there is a board 
of directors to dictate the general policy, 
which the manager is to carry out. In both 
cases the details are left to him; and, if he 
occupies a proper position in the esteem and 
confidence of the directors, they rely on him 
largely for suggestions as to measures for 
furthering the objects in view. If he cannot 
be so relied on, he is not fit for the place, and 
another man should be appointed. 

It seems hardly necessary to call attention 
to the librarian's function as purchasing 
agent, in which his judgment, or the lack of 
it, is a direct gain or loss, greater or less ac- 
cording to circumstances. 

The librarian, like the business superin- 
tendent, is expected to organize his subordi- 
nates so as to secure the most efficient 
service at the least outlay for salaries. To 
this end the largest powers should be given 
him in the appointment and removal of 
assistants, especially those upon whom he 
must most immediately depend. Let him 
have assistants of his own choosing, and then 
hold him to a strict accountability for results. 
If from personal favoritism or bad judgment 
he selects lazy or incompetent people, let 
him suffer the consequences. If he posses- 
ses the requisite discernment and powers of 
observation, the innate selfishness of human 
nature may be relied on for the rest. The 
success of the library is his success ; and he 
may be trusted not to jeopardize it by sur- 
rounding himself with incompetent friends. 
The business man who does this ends in 
bankruptcy; and so must the librarian 
bankruptcy of position, reputation, and self 
respect. 

In keeping his institution before the public, 
the librarian may profit by the methods of the 
business man. In the case of a public 
library, he will generally find the local press 
willing to render very valuable assistance by 
publishing news concerning the library ; such 



CRUNDEN, 



as noteworthy gifts or purchases, reports of 
directors' meetings, abstracts of annual re- 
ports, and occasionally an appeal for aid 
or an explanation of some feature of the 
library which may be of public interest. 
Mercantile and other class libraries, though 
not on an equal footing with public libraries 
in this respect, are still in a measure public 
institutions, and may therefore expect a share 
of the notice which a liberal press accords to 
all things that are for the general good. 

How much the press of St. Louis has con- 
tributed to- the building up of the Public 
Library there, it would be difficult to estimate. 
Its willingness to assist in such work is 
attested by four large scrapbooks filled with 
clippings relating to the library, which furnish 
in outline a sketch of the institution from its 
organization to the present day. It goes 
without saying that no public enterprise can 
succeed without the help of the press ; and I 
think the conver.se is true, that no paper can 
achieve great success which ignores public 
interests. 

Library affairs doubtless do not interest 
as many people as a base-ball match or a 
notable burglary or divorce suit ; but it can 
hardly be that, among the mass of readers of 
a great daily, there are not a respectable 
number who would rather hear something 
about the new books added to the libraries 
than to learn that a John Smith, of Wayback 
Corners, Tex., was killed in a drunken brawl, 
or that a William Wilson, of Skrigglesville, 
Me., had his thumb cut off by a circular saw, 
or any of the thousand and one petty inci- 
dents that make up the regular columns of 
Crimes and Casualties. 

As an illustration of immediate results from 
a press notice : Some years ago one of our 
papers published a communication from me 
asking citizens to give to the library old 
directories and other books of no further use 
to them, especially anything relating to St. 
Louis. Within a week or two sixty or 
seventy-five volumes and a number of pam- 
phlets were received. How many subsequent 
gifts this brought, I cannot tell; but nearly 
two years afterwards sixty-eight volumes and 
twenty-four pamphlets, the greater part popu- 



lar novels and juveniles, in excellent condi- 
tion, were received, accompanied by a note 
stating that the donor had sent them in 
response to my request, which she had hap- 
pened to see in an old paper. 

But over and above all this, the librarian 
will find his advantage in the business man's 
use of printer's ink. Four or five years ago 
I distributed through the schools and through- 
out the central portions of the city 75,000 
circulars. During the next six months more 
than three times as many new members were 
added as in the previous year. To these 
circulars the increase was largely due. Last 
December and January the board adopted my 
suggestion to insert regular advertisements 
in the daily papers. An expenditure of 
$100 brought an.addition of at least $200 from 
new subscribers. Some of these probably 
had lived in the city for years and had never 
before heard of this library of 65,000 volumes ; 
and at this day I dare say there are thou- 
sands of old citizens who are in a similar 
benighted condition, despite all our efforts for 
their enlightenment. Others had a vague 
idea that there was such a place ; but it would 
not have occurred to them to become mem- 
bers if they had not seen the suggestion in 
the newspaper. 

An eminently legitimate and proper mode 
of advertising is the distribution of a large 
edition of the annual report; but methods 
must vary with circumstances, and from time 
to time new ones must be devised. 

I have found a personal canvass in the 
schools productive of immediate results. I 
take a book or two with me, or sometimes 
send a package of ten or twelve books. I 
dilate upon the benefit and the pleasure of 
reading, explain at how little cost these may 
be obtained through a membership in the 
library, putting it at the price per week, 
exhibit the books with appropriate comments, 
and end by reading an entertaining extract 
from one of them. In short, I play to the 
best of my ability the role of a commercial 
drummer. 

I have said the librarian is expected to do 
so and so. Expected by whom ? Well, to 
some extent and in some particulars, by the 



28 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



public, whom he has in the last few years 
taught to look for what previous generations 
never thought of. But the highest and 
heaviest demands are those of conscience 
and professional pride. The public is vastly 
more exacting than it used to be; but the 
true librarian keeps always in advance of his 
community, and constantly educates it to 
make greater demands upon him. The body 
of the profession fixes a high and ever 



advancing standard, which each individual 
must strive to reach, or allow himself to be 
shelved among specimens of the antique. 

The modern librarian, then, must be, as of 
old, a scholar and a gentleman ; but, more than 
that, he must be a good business man. And 
with all this, unless he have the industry and 
endurance of a Napoleon and the patience of a 
Job, he shall sometimes fail to satisfy his consti- 
tuents and at all times fall short of his own ideal. 



For the discussion that followed the reading of this paper see PROCEEDINGS (Second session). 



THE CATALOGUE OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, AS IN USE IN THE 

LIBRARY OF THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSO- 

. CIATION OF NEW YORK. 

BY R. B. POOLE, LIBRARIAN YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, NEW YORK. 



T T will be the purpose of this paper to briefly 

describe the mechanical form of this cata- 
logue (the only one in use in this country that we 
are aware of), and direct attention to some of the 
advantages it possesses over the card catalogue. 

The card catalogue has never been used in 
this library, so I do not feel competent to give 
a decisive opinion as to the superiority or 
inferiority of this system over the popular 
card catalogue. 

In 1870, when this library was removed to 
the new building of the Association, it was 
re-catalogued, and, on the recommendation 
of Mr. Robert Hoe, the plan of the British 
Museum Catalogue was adopted. The library 
then numbered 2,000 volumes. 

I had myself never seen the Museum Index, 
and was guided only by general principles. 
That catalogue doubtless differs in certain 
details from this. In my first index the alpha- 
betical arrangement extended only to the 
initial and following letter, as Ab, Ho, etc. 

In 1882 the library numbered over 12,000 
volumes, and had come into possession of the 
Niblo Fund, and a new catalogue was neces- 
sitated. The index now in use was then com- 
menced, with a complete alphabetical arrange- 
ment. 



The books are first catalogued on slips of 
tough bond paper, 5x1 1-2 inches. These 
slips are inserted in the blank books, to be 
described below, by pasting the ends only. 
If properly and carefully pasted, the slip can 
be removed with ease. 

The catalogue consists of 28 folio volumes. 
Each volume contains about 250 leaves of 
heavy white paper, with stubs between the 
leaves to allow for the expansion caused by 
the insertion of the slips. 

The volumes are half bound in heavy mo- 
rocco, thick boards, covered with vellum. 
The foot of the boards is protected from wear 
by brass guards. The books are made in the 
best manner, strong and durable. They were 
made by Mr. Matthews, the bookbinder, at a 
cost of $10.00 per volume exclusive of the 
guards. 

The volumes are placed in compartments 
beneath the desk on which they are con- 
sulted. The floor of these compartments is 
covered with cowhide to resist the action of 
the brass guards. 

The library is catalogued on the Dewey 
system and classified on the shelves. The 
catalogue is arranged on the dictionary plan, 
and the alphabetical order is indicated by let- 



POOLS. 



29 



ters on the backs of the volumes. One volume 
of the 28 is used exclusively for the Bible and 
biblical works, and is lettered " Bible," and an- 
other for government documents and works 
relating to the United States, and is lettered 
" United States." A special book might be 
set apart for any other subject according to 
the requirements of the library, as Great 
Britain, Architecture, etc. 

To preserve a strict alphabetical arrange- 
ment, spaces must be left for additions, and 
the extent of these spaces may be estimated 
by the use of some large printed catalogue, 
counting the titles and making certain allow- 
ances for matters that would not pertain to 
the catalogue in hand. As spaces fill up } 
slips are taken up and moved backwards or 
forwards, and new slips intercalated. 

A page will contain ten (10) slips, a volume } 
5,000; 28 volumes, 140,000 slips; but, as sub- 
jects and authors will not fill up with any 
mathematical uniformity, it will be necessary 
to diminish these figures considerably ; but 
should we reduce them to 100,000, we then 
have capacity for about 50,000 volumes. 

Subjects, authors, and titles are inter- 
mingled in the same alphabetical arrangement. 
In the case of subjects, the subject heading is 
written in a bold hand, on a slip by itself, and 
beneath it the required cross-references. If 
the references are numerous, the slip is 
doubled in width, or the paper can be cut to 
cover the whole page. Beneath this heading 
stand the titles of works on that subject, the 
author's name, written first, and, when the 
subject is a prominent one, in alphabetical 
order, with spaces for additions. 

The slips are indented, and a red dash 
drawn before them to indicate that they are 
subordinate to the general alphabet. Certain 
authors' works are similarly arranged. I will 
here submit some fac-simile pages from this 
catalogue, which will give a more practical 
illustration of the above description. 

This catalogue has the advantage of cards in 
several particulars. In the first place, it can 
be consulted with greater ease and more 
rapidly than cards, as the open book presents 
to the eye from one to twenty titles. Cards 
must be examined one by one. In making 



any extended research, or in any investigation 
to ascertain what the library contains, on any 
subject, or of any author's works, the gain in 
time will be very material. Many of the 
advantages of the printed page are presented 
by the readiness with which this catalogue 
can be used. If the volumes were indexed 
through, greater facility still would be ac- 
quired. 

Again, contents can here be given and dis- 
played to the eye in full, an item of no small 
importance. 

Cross references can be spread before the 
user without limit. In the dictionary cata- 
logue, orations, sermons, works of fiction, 
periodicals, etc., are not brought together, 
except as they form collections ; but lists of 
authors of these classes of works and lists 
of periodicals are supplied instead. Here 
again they can be exhibited at a glance. 
References from historic periods can be made 
to works of fiction and the reverse, and so 
displayed as to attract the reader's attention. 

This catalogue has its limitation, and herein 
lies its weak point. Parts fill up unequally. 
A partial remedy is found by changing the 
slips as before mentioned, and as allotted 
spaces are used, by the insertion of leaves. 

These remedies are temporary, and the 
work of re-construction or the commencement 
of a supplement must next ensue. 

As yet, nothing has been devised to meet 
the difficulties of the case. The perforated 
and laced shelf lists in use, might suit the 
wants of a small library. A large library 
must have strong and durable books. Strength 
and flexibility must be combined in the model 
catalogue. A devise has been invented by a 
gentleman whose name I am unable to give, 
by which leaves can be intercalated, and each 
leaf is supplied with insets for slips, so that 
they can be removed at will. This catalogue 
was on a small scale, and would not supply 
the desideratum, but contains the germ of 
what is required. Cannot some believer in 
evolution evoke from this the coming mov- 
able catalogue ? Cards would then be dis- 
carded, and printed catalogues could be 
properly supplemented. 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper see PROCEEDINGS (Second session). 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



REGISTRATION OF BOOK BORROWERS. 



BY H: J. CARR, PUBLIC LIBRARIAN, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. 



TT may be said that all public libraries 
make some sort of a registration of those 
entitled to draw books therefrom for home 
use ; i. e., those variously termed its members, 
or book-takers, or borrowers. 

The extent and nature of such registration 
will vary according to local practice and rules ; 
with such assurances of fitness, or right to the 
benefits of the library, and corresponding 
safeguards against imposition, as the nature 
of the community or experience may dictate. 

In the simplest form, as used in some 
localities, a written statement or application 
on the part of the would-be taker, made upon 
a simple printed blank or form, is all that is 
required. 

A promise to observe rules, etc., is also 
very frequently included ; or else the same is 
obtained by his or her further signature to a 
formal agreement in a Registration Book. 
If the signature on the application blank be 
the only one taken, then such application or 
promise is usually recorded and numbered in 
regular sequence in a book, which action con- 
stitutes the registration. The separate appli- 
cation, whether on a slip or a card, is then 
free to be filed in alfabetical order, and so 
becomes of further use as an index to the 
Registration Book. 

In smaller places this informal method of 
treating applications may answer sufficiently 
well without further steps. In larger cities 
the aid of the police is often invoked as a 
sort of municipal investigating committee ; 
and with such, as a moral effect, the needed 
purposes are, perhaps, adequately subserved. 

Too often, however, it is found that loss 
and misuse of books occur without satisfac- 
tory remedy ; while other annoying deficien- 
cies of frequent occurrence seem to require 
still further safeguards and means of " moral 
suasion," to say nothing of legal remedies 
for negligence and wilful delinquencies. 

To those ends, then, some personal security 
or guaranty is sought ; and, following English 



custom, the requiring of such, as a prelimi- 
nary to receiving the privileges of the library 
as a book-taker, has become a growing practice 
in this country, and is now so fully established 
that any other course may be considered the 
exception rather than the rule. 

This I find from personal observation at 
many libraries, and study of the rules and 
regulations of many more ; and in a sort of 
representative collection of the working blanks 
of various libraries, east and west, the fre- 
quent use of the surety or guaranty certificate 
(as it is indifferently called), as an application 
and preliminary to registration, stands out in 
strikingly preeminent contrast with the older 
but more occasional use of less stringent forms. 
But in the surety method considerable lati- 
tude prevails. Some libraries requiring its use 
only in case of unknown persons, or for 
minors or youth below .a certain age of sup- 
posed discretion. Others require such for 
each and every one, " regardless of age, sex, 
color, or previous condition of servitude;" 
and this would seem to be a more democratic 
plan, and one less liable to any plea of class 
discriminations. 

Then comes in play a variety of practice as 
to qualifications of the surety, some requiring 
the surety to be a tax-payer or property- 
owner; others simply that the surety be a 
citizen over 21 and known to the library, or 
duly identified. 

This latter variation is in the nature of a 
relaxation of vigilance, and weakens consider- 
ably the legal force of the guaranty. In the 
majority of cases the chief value of having a 
guarantor is its moral effect ; and I believe it 
is that, generally, which is most relied upon 
in case of transgression or delinquency on the 
part of the principal, or book-taker. 

Still, such agreements, when properly drawn 
and executed, have a legal value, and, with 
proper responsibility on the part of the guar- 
antor, it need be no difficult matter to enforce 
them thru the courts as a last resort. 



CARR. 



It will be seen, then, that registration, in 
its broader sense, implies and includes several 
things. 

ist. An application on the part of the 
would-be borrower. 

2d. Compliance with the respective rules, 
as to fitness and right; and, if required, fur 
nishirig adequate security. 

3d. An entry of the borrower's name on- 
the Registration Book; the order or sequence 
of which usually determines the designating 
number assigned to such person, as a book- 
taker, and used on his or her library-card as a 
convenient means for charging books, and the 
like. And also as a ready basis of statistics 
as to number using the library, etc. 

Note. Where a security signer is required, such guaranty 
is usually taken on a special blank or form ; and then the sig- 
nature or promise of the principal (or borrower) is taken on 
the Registration Book (sometimes called the Signature Book). 
Occasionally the signatures of both piincipaland guarantor 
are required to be made on the book at the library; but for 
many reasons this is not so convenient nor acceptable a method 
as having signature of guarantor on a separate blank. 

4th. Information as to residence or ad- 
dress of the borrower and surety respectively. 
This item of residence being really a most 
important matter, and yet, by the very nature 
oi things, an especially difficult one to keep 
"up to date," since removals or changes of 
address on the part of either principal or 
surety are about the last thing that borrowers 
ever think of reporting to the library. 

5th. Due indexing of the registration, with 
reference to both the borrower and the surety. 

6th. Cancellation at expiration of the 
regular term of issue under the rules; or 
sooner for cause, as in case of unsettled delin- 
quencies, removals from the place, surety 
declining to continue, or death, and so on. 

Here a few words concerning the indexing 
of the registration, the fth item mentioned 
above. As said before, if no surety be re- 
quired and the application of the borrower be 
on a separate form, then arrangement of same 
in alfabetical order makes ample index to the 
Registration Book. If a surety be furnished 
which is now the later and ruling practice, a 
double index is needed ; and since the one 
blank cannot be put into two places or order 
of arrangements, it seems better to number 



and file the guaranty certificates in the same 
order as the registration, and provide a special 
index. 

An excellent form for this purpose is a 
card (not less than 10 x 15 cm.), ruled and 
headed on both sides ; on \hefront side is to be 
entered the name and residence of every per- 
son to be indext, whether as principal or 
guarantor, and the card is alfabeted by this 
entry. If a book-taker, then below the head- 
ing and on the same side of the card, follow 
his or her registration number, with date, and 
the name and residence of guarantor, and 
space for remarks. The back of the card is 
reserved for entries of number, date, name 
and residence of those for whom that particu- 
lar party may have become surety. A dis- 
tinction between the two sides and corres- 
ponding classes of entries is readily made, 
not only by varying form, but may be empha- 
sized by colors of ink in ruling or printing. 

Bearing in mind that the same person may 
sooner or later act in a dual capacity and be 
both a borrower and likewise a surety for 
another, often for several others, the advan- 
tage in having all registration entries concern- 
ing that one person concentrated on one 
card is readily seen. With cards of an ad- 
equate size, such an index becomes almost 
perpetual ; and may be made continuous with 
several subsequent registrations. Then, too, 
in case of delinquencies, with default on the 
part of any guarantor it becomes a simple 
matter to record same for a future "black- 
list," and also to cancel at once the rights of 
all other book-takers, if any, depending upon 
the same guarantor; which is a very essential 
matter for the safety of the library. 

So much for the machinery and general 
routine, which, to a greater or less extent, is 
understood and necessitated in the registra- 
tion of borrowers. 

The practice of various libraries as to 
extent, duration, or termination of any one 
registration is not at all uniform. Many (and 
this is seemingly the older practice) run the 
registration on almost interminably, until the 
numbers have become very high and cum- 
brous ; and a general antiquated air is found 
to prevail. And, too, by the growth of the 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



community and the inevitable shifting of 
population, deaths, removals, new-comers, and 
the like, it is eventually found that the 
recorded residences and other data are as un- 
reliable as a ten-year-old directory, to say 
nothing of kindred deficiencies. 

Then a new registration is ordered, in 
which reason or unreason may prevail. The 
latter, where, for sake of uniformity, all 
previous cards are made void, regardless of 
date, whether one day, or one year, or five 
years old; a better practice being to con- 
sider issues of the preceding one year or two 
years as valid, and re-register all of an earlier 
date. In other instances, a new registration 
is required upon filling a certain sized book, 
or upon reaching in number a certain limit ; 
either of which may be a fair basis, if pro- 
vision be made to avoid re-registration of the 
later issues within a certain calendar time, as 
before suggested. 

In the western cities, owing to rapid 
growth in population, varied character and 
shifting circumstances of those who use a 
library most, the need for frequent verification 
of residences and correction of guarantor-lists, 
etc., has been felt more decidedly than in the 
older and more settled communities of the 
eastern States. 

As a consequence, most of the newer li- 
braries, and many of the older, have found it 
best to limit the period of registration, and 
consequent life of the library-card, to terms of 
either three years or two years, usually the 
latter. Some have adopted five years, but, 
I think, will sooner or later find a shorter term 
advisable. 

Where a specific term is adopted, and once 
in full force, re-registration becomes a regular 
and continuous matter; each month calling 
for the re-registration of all cards issued 
in the same month two, three, or five years 
before, as the case may be. This has the far- 
ther advantage of allowing for a regular allot- 
ment of work, and avoids the spasmodic effect 
and over-work or rush consequent upon other 
plans of determining the frequency or period 
of each new registration. 

The advantages of prompt notification in 
case of over-due books (i. e., those kept out 



beyond the loan period provided) have long 
been understood ; and losses to the library 
are greatly mitigated where such practice is 
sharply followed. But a prime requisite to 
effective notice is to have the correct address 
of the delinquent. Long terms of registration 
are not conducive to accuracy in that respect, 
and the defect becomes more evident, when, 
in case of sureties being required, the address 
of two parties for each card outstanding is 
essential. 

So, then, I ask, Is the importance of 
frequent re-registry of those drawing books 
from the public libraries of growing cities and 
towns, and particularly in the larger places, 
duly appreciated ? 

This query has been bro't to my mind more 
forcibly by reason of some personal expe- 
riences during the past eighteen months, 
and again upon noting items in the same 
connection which have come to hand casually 
in reports of some public libraries for 1885 
and 1886, and occasional older instances. 

To be sure frequent registration means 
some work at the library desk, and a certain 
amount of annoyance to the book-takers. But 
under an adequate, continuous system, which 
I have mentioned, neither of those features 
need be in excess, and will, I believe, pay in 
the long run, and save work, annoyance, and 
losses in other directions. 

I doubt if librarians generally comprehend 
as fully as might be how rapidly changes 
take place in the effective force and number 
of those using the library in a growing city ; 
nor how much more satisfactory a comparison 
of the use of different libraries can be made, 
if, in addition to size of the library and num- 
ber of volumes circulated, the number of 
active borrowers can be given more exactly. 
Under similar circumstances as to size of 
library and population, the number of vol- 
umes of home issues divided by number of 
actual takers show a markt regularity of ratio. 

Bearing upon the above statement, and in 
connection with the general plea for a briefer 
term of registration, it is possible that the 
following extracts may prove of interest. It 
must be understood, however, that the same 
are not selected for invidious reasons, but 



CARR. 



33 



because they offer striking or pertinent in- 
stances ; the libraries or parties cited having 
issued valuable reports from which it has 
been possible to obtain the facts quoted. 

About the earliest protest against a long 
continued registration which has come to 
my notice is that of Mr. C: Evans, when 
Librarian at the Indianapolis P. L., in 1878. 
Reporting a registration of some five years, 
numbering 14,600, he says: 

" This number is naturally in excess of act- 
ual number of borrowers. . . . As in other 
large cities, almost all the losses of books can 
be directly traced to changes of residence by 
removal from the city; and our experience 
for the past three years shows that it would 
be for the safety of the property of the library 
if a rule were adopted that hereafter no cer- 
tificate of guarantee shall remain in force 
longer than two, possibly three, years." 

His successor, Mr. A. W. Tyler, repeats 
and confirms this statement in 1879. 

June 30, 1886, the same library reports 
total registration 27,620, the population of 
Indianapolis being perhaps over 90,000. 
And Mr. W. De M. Hooper, the Librarian, 
says: " It is impossible to tell how many of 
these cards ar now in use, since but few per- 
sons, upon ceasing to use the library, ever think 
of resigning their cards. Judging from what 
data we have, it is estimated that at least 
15,000 to 18,000 of these cards must be still 
in use." 

Many other libraries, with a less number of 
volumes and actual takers, report a circulation 
quite equal to that of the Indianapolis library; 
and I judge that his estimate of cards in use 
is much too high. 

In the report of the Toledo Public Library, 
for 1880, similar considerations are bro't out, 
viz: "Anew enrollment of those using the 
library was commenced with the year, as the 
trustees were satisfied that a large number of 
the sureties for book-borrowers were either 
dead or had removed from the city. A public 
library is peculiarly exposed to the loss of 
books. The best safeguard is a responsible 
surety, coupled with vigilant oversight on the 
part of the librarian in sending for over-due 
books. Number of cards issued during the 



year was 3,863. As last report showed over 
9,000 registered members, the necessity of a 
new enrollment is apparent ; and we think the 
best interests of the library demand a new 
enrollment every three or five years." 

The Detroit P. L. in report for 1885 con- 
veys an interesting lesson on this subject, as 
follows : 

"In August last the rules of the library 
were so changed as to require all holders of 
readers' cards whose cards were issued more 
than five years ago, to sign the register anew, 
with their sureties ; and that hereafter a new 
registry should be required every five years. 
This rule applied to 11,440 cardholders, of 
whom 829 have since registered. The fact 
that so small a proportion of persons entitled 
to use the library have come forward to renew 
their signatures, made evident what was be- 
fore supposed, that the great mass of readers' 
cards formerly issued are not now in actual 
use. . . . Notwithstanding the striking 
from the registry of so large a number of 
names, the statistics show that the library 
never had so many users as now." 

The report from the Cleveland P. L. in 
1886, of the immediate results of a new regis- 
tration are equally corroborative, thus : 

"A different system of charging books 
having been decided upon, it was placed in 
operation January I. From September I to 
December 31, 1,395 cards had been issued, 
bringing the entire number of the old series to 
23,340. On January i the issue of a new series 
was begun, and 8,893 had been issued to August 
31, which probably is a fair indication of the 
number at present using the library." 

The report shows that in the new registra- 
tion 4,137 issued in January, and 1675 in Feb- 
ruary ; after which the issues decreased from 
91 1 to 379 in a month, averaging 500 a month, 
which is a fair allowance. 

The Free Public Library of Worcester, 
Mass., a city of some 70,000 population, 
reports for 1886: 

" Total number of names registered (a new 
registry made July i, 1873), 28,535. Regis- 
tered during the year, 1,585. Number of 
notices to delinquents, 6,038, in a circulation 
for home use of 136,745 volumes." The large 



34 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



number of notices and the disproportion of 
registrations in the year, as compared with 
the total, are both striking. 

As a salient instance of a two-year registra- 
tion method, note the following from the 
Chicago Public Library in 1886: 

" Present number of book-borrowers, 27,142. 
These persons hold cards, each secured by 
the certificate of a responsible guarantor, 
which entitle them to draw books from the 
library for home use for the period of two 
years. Each card is canceled at the expira- 
tion of two years from date of issue, when a 
new registration must be made on a new cer- 
tificate of guaranty. Cards issued during the 
year, 13,845; preceding year, 13,297. Circu- 
lation of the year, 608,708 volumes for home 
use. Volumes in the library, 119,500." 

The Registration Clerk at that library in- 
forms me that, according to their experience, 
of a series canceled when each, card has run 
fully two years, but about one quarter are re- 
newed. This accords in the main with my 
own experience under a new registration in 
a smaller city, extending thru one year, and 
in which but 2,330 were renewed out of 7,400 
in previous registration, the proportion of 
renewals in a small city being naturally 
greater than in one of large population. Other 
good effects of a new registration have been 
very noticeable, also, it may be said, as the 
reduction in lost books, and especially in the 
number so delinquent as to need the services 
of a messenger. In 10 months of the present 
library year but 10 volumes have required a 
messenger, against 49 in preceding six 
months of previous year. 

Of books lost without remedy or payment, 
but one in present year, against 12 so lost in 
the year before. 

Like results are apparent as to fines and 
decrease of delinquent notices. 

In conclusion, I subjoin a comparative table 
of items from some 16 libraries, which may 
be of interest in this connection ; and I hope 
other libraries may be led to give like data in 
their annual reports, from which further study 
may be made concerning the subject of fre- 
quent registration, and, possibly, a more just 
basis for comparison of yearly results. 





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35 



A QUICKER METHOD OF MEASURING BOOKS, WITH PRACTICAL 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

BY GEORGE WATSON COLE. 



History of the A.L.A. Size Rules. 
TN 1876, at the Philadelphia conference of 
librarians, Mr. Charles Evans, then of the 
Indianapolis Public Library, read a carefully 
prepared paper giving, at considerable length, 
the reasons why the -old method of measuring 
the sizes of books had become confused and 
misleading. He agreed with Prof. Jewett 
that the difficulty admitted of but one solution, 
and that was "to introduce some new method 
of designating the sizes of books;" and he 
recommended that a committee be chosen to 
take the matter into consideration and fix 
upon some new method that should supersede 
the old one of measuring books by the fold. 
This paper called out, at a later date, an article 
by Mr. J. B. Ruling, written in defence of the 
old practice ; but the appended size titles and 
measurements given in his article did little, if 
anything, toward disproving the arguments 
for a change so carefully stated by Mr. Evans. 
In accordance with the latter gentle man's sug- 
gestion, a committee was appointed, and 
before the close of the conference a report 
was submitted, which opened the way for the 
report of a second committee, formed for the 
purpose of giving the matter more careful 
consideration. This second committee, after 
giving a most thorough examination of the 
subject, published its report in the Library 
journal for Jan. 31, 1877. This report goes 
into the matter with great detail, and recom- 
mends the adoption of an entirely new scheme 
for determining the sizes of books ; one based 
upon the apparent size or measurement of the 
book, rather than upon any accident of its 
construction. The principal departures from 
the old method were these : (i) actual or approx- 
imate size and proportion, instead of fold ; (2) 
the standard of measurement to be the metric 
system, instead of the ordinary standard ; and 
(3) the size to be indicated by letters, the 
initials of the old names employed, rather 
than the symbols formerly used. 



At the New York conference this com 
mittee submitted its report (L. j. 2: 37), which 
was partially adopted ; the question relating 
to the sizes of books smaller than quartos 
being referred to the committee on uniform 
title entries for further consideration. A 
joint report was given in the Library journal, 
(3: 19-20) which is, as far as I can discover, 
the final report on the subject, and which 
must be considered as containing the recom- 
mendations of the Association upon this sub- 
ject, though I fail to find that it has ever 
adopted the report or given it its official sanc- 
tion. This final report embodies the results 
of the deliberations of three distinct com- 
mittees, the members of which are recog- 
nized as among the leading lights of the 
library profession in this country ; and their 
several reports abundantly show that the 
results were arrived at only after the most 
careful and deliberate consideration of the 
question. The reason why no action was 
taken by this Association upon the final 
report of the committee may have been due 
to the fact that, while American librarians 
were attempting to solve this problem, our 
English friends were at work upon the same 
question, and action was deferred in hopes 
that a uniformity of practice might be estab- 
lished upon both sides of the Atlantic. But 
the conservative tendencies of our English 
friends prevented their seeing in the plan 
reported by our committee though it received 
their consideration a satisfactory solution of 
the question. After considering the A.L.A. 
plan, as well as two others proposed by their 
own members, Messrs. Madeley and Wheat- 
ley (L. j. 4: 199-200). they decided to adopt a 
size rule differing essentially from our own. 
Thus all hope of concerted action on this 
question has, at least for a time, ceased. 
Advantages of the A.L.A. Rules. 

The plan reported by the A.L.A. com- 
mittee, seems to be perfectly well adapted to 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



meet the wants of the most exacting bibliog- 
rapher ; and, in order that its advantages may 
be more fully known and appreciated, I would 
recommend that the final report of the com- 
mittee be rewritten, embodying all the points 
mutually agreed upon by the three com- 
mittees, and be adopted as the size rules of 
this Association. I suggest this step, be- 
cause I have been informed by a gentleman 
who was a member of each of the three com- 
mittees that the rule fixing upon the propor- 
tional width which forms the boundary line 
between books of the ordinary proportions 
and books termed sq., has been reconsidered 
by the committee, and that the boundary line 
is now placed at 3-4 the relative width of the 
book, instead of 4-5 the width, as has always 
been given in the reports of the committees. 
I find nowhere in the Library journal any 
other boundary line mentioned for this pur- 
pose than the 4-5 originally suggested in the re- 
port of the second committee. (L. J. i: I78 25 , 
267 13 .) The English have in part adopted 
this proportional width between the regular 
sizes and the stfs. The only places where 
the proportion of 3-4 is employed is in Mr. 
Madeley's plan above referred to, which was 
not adopted by the English librarians, and in 
Mr. Dewey's " Library Abbreviations." The 
original proportional dividing lines reported 
by the committee were the regular ones by 
fifths, 3-5, 4-5, and 5-5, or as wide as high; and 
they have never been departed from nor 
varied, so far as I know, except in the cases 
just mentioned. The final report of the com- 
mittee provides that, where the width of a 
book is less than 3-5 its height, the regular 
size mark shall be preceded by nar. e.g., nar. 
S., nar. D., etc. ; where the width is between 
3-5 and 4-5 its height, it shall receive the reg- 
ular size letters Q., O., D., etc.; where the 
width is more than 4-5 its height and less 
than its height, the regular size mark shall be 
preceded by sq. e.g., sq. D., sq. T., etc. ; and, 
finally, where the width exceeds the height, 
the book shall be called an ob. e.g., ob. D., ob. 
Fe., etc. It is true that books which are 
between 3-4 and 4-5 as wide as high seem 
more naturally, from their general appear- 
ance, to fall among those denominated sq. 



than among the regular sizes; but this is a 
departure from a regularly increasing propor- 
tion, and, as already stated, it does not con- 
form to the English rule on this point. It 
seems desirable, therefore, that this point be 
settled once for all, if for no other purpose 
than to secure uniformity of treatment in such 
cases. 

Actual Size Measurements. 
The importance of giving the actual size 
of the book instead of following the A.L.A. 
rules was brought up for discussion at the 
Lake George conference, and met with some 
little support. There is ample opportunity 
for those who desire to give actual measure- 
ments, to do so under the recommendation of 
the committee, who reported a rule that was 
reiterated at that conference, and that enables 
those desiring great accuracy to " Give the 
outside height in centimeters, using fractions 
(decimals) where extreme accuracy is desired." 
There is no doubt but that in the case of 
book rarities, strict measurement is often 
essential in order to determine their market 
value ; but for ordinary library work the A.L.A. 
rules are far more satisfactory than the old- 
time method, and give the sizes with a defi- 
niteness and certainty that calls for little if 
any change. I shall attempt to show, before 
closing, how the present rules may be made 
to give even still more definite results than 
are now obtained. 

Boxwood Rule. 

During the discussions and in the reports 
upon the size rules, many different methods 
of putting them into practical use were sug- 
gested, the most prominent of which were 
the common boxwood rule and a card with 
the subdivisions carefully marked upon it. 
The more common practice of measuring 
books has been, we believe, with the box- 
wood rule made by the Library Bureau, or by 
simply measuring their height. For most 
books this is sufficient, but the rules regard- 
ing proportions are so formulated, that trouble 
arises if one wishes to apply them accurately. 
Without stopping to make an arithmetical 
computation, those books near the boundary 
lines of nar. and sq. are liable to be placed in 



COLE. 



the wrong class. The A.L.A. rules are so 
much more definite than the old system of 
measurement by fold, that to many it may 
seem of little importance if occasionally a 
book is called a nar. or sq. when strictly 
speaking it is neither, or fails to receive one 
of those designations when entitled to it. If 
we are to have a code of rules, it seems very 
desirable to have them accurately applied in 
every case ; otherwise indefiniteness and con- 
fusion will inevitably follow. Fortunately 
for all concerned, this particular branch of 
library work, unimportant though it may 
seem, can be reduced to a mathematical cer- 
tainty. If the books were not to receive 
different designations to distinguish their 
relative proportions, if, in other words, only 
height was to be considered, the boxwood 
rule would, without doubt, be the best tool to 
use. With the height constantly to be taken 
into account, and the proportions ever vary- 
ing with the height, a card seems preferable. 

The Card and Its Advantages. 

Having given considerable time and thought 
to the construction of a card for this purpose, 
I think I have at last succeeded in getting 
the greatest possible utility from any card of 
a given size. The construction of the card is 
briefly this : Parallel lines are drawn at the 
proper distances, i.e., 10, 12 1-2, 15, 17 1-2, 20, 
25, etc. centimeters, from the bottom, indicat- 
ing the outside limits of the height of each 
size. From the lower left-hand corner, three 
diagonal lines are drawn, which run at a uni- 
form proportion from the edge of the card, 
one of 3-5, one of 3-4, the third forming a 
true diagonal. Every point in the first diag- 
onal is 3-5 of the distance from the left-hand 
edge of the card that it is from the bottom ; 
the second is 3-4 the same distance ; and the 
true diagonal line is at every point equi-dis- 
tant from the left-hand edge and the bottom. 
These diagonal lines therefore as clearly 
indicate the line of demarkation between the 
nar., regular size, sy., and ob. books, as do 
the parallel lines between those of different 
heights. As a result, we have mapped out 
before us the boundaries of all our sizes with 
strict mathematical accuracy. If further sub- 



divisions are desired, they can readily be 
obtained by inserting more parallel or diag- 
onal lines ; and the result will always be 
obtained with certainty. This plan, if car- 
ried out sufficiently, might satisfy those who 
wish to indicate the size with still greater 
minuteness. 

Method of Using the Card. 

Two years' constant use of this card has 
satisfied me that for all practical purposes the 
A.L.A. rules are simplicity exemplified, in- 
stead of being " tiresomely elaborate," as one 
of our English friends has taken occasion to 
call them. A book lies on the cataloguer's 
table ; he has but to pick it up, introduce the 
left-hand edge of the card between the cover 
and the fly leaves on a line with the bottom of 
the cover, and the size of the book appears at 
once on the card, above and at the right of 
the corner. If the top of the cover falls upon 
one of the parallel lines, it takes the designa- 
tion of the size above ; if upon one of the diag- 
onal lines, that of the size at the right. 

It often happens that the book to be meas- 
ured exceeds the card in height or width. 
Extended scales upon the back enable one 
to measure any book that does not exceed 
twice the height of the card, unless it is of 
quite unusual proportions. For ordinary uses 
a card 25 by 20 centimeters is as large as 
necessary. For large books, one 50x40 cen- 
timeters, with extended scales upon the back, 
would be desirable for measuring atlases, 
bound newspapers, elephant folios, and other 
books of exceptional size. A card of this 
size would measure any volume not exceed- 
ing i metre, or about 40 inches, in height or 
width. 

The modus operandi of using the extended 
scales is simple and easily acquired. Insert 
the card as before, and with a pencil, mark 
the fly leaves just enough to show how high 
the card extends ; then take the card by its 
lower left-hand corner, and turn it over in 
such a manner as to bring it at the upper 
right-hand corner. Place the lower edge of 
the card, thus turned, on a line with the 
pencil marks, and close the cover, when the 
size will be ascertained as before. 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



I f the book should now prove to be wider 
than the card, as is apt to be the case, make 
pencil marks at the right-hand edge of the 
card, then take the card by its lower right- 
hand corner and turn it around so as to bring 
it at the upper right-hand corner ; put the 
left-hand edge on a line with the new pencil 
marks, and close the book, and ascertain the 
size as in the first place. Large figures, at 
the lower edge of the card, indicate the cor- 
rect position of the card in each of the three 
positions just explained. The use of pencil 
marks can easily be dispensed with, if two 
cards are used instead of one, or if the large 
sized card is used in the place of the smaller 
one. The directions for measuring books 
larger than the card itself may seem a little 
involved, but the application of the card, in 
measuring such books, is really quite simple 
in practice. 

Further Subdivisions. 

The subdivision of the folio sizes by the 
A.L.A. size rules is such an obvious advan- 
tage over the old system of measurement by 
fold, that it is with some hesitancy that I 
suggest the introduction of further subdivi- 
sions in the rules. I am the more encouraged 
to do so, however, from the discussion upon 
this very point which was called out by Mr. 
Schwartz's article in the Library journal 
(10: 394-96) soon after the Lake George con- 
ference, where the same question had been 
previously discussed. I entirely disapprove 
of Mr. Schwartz's plan, believing that it is 
much wiser to modify existing rules, when- 
ever practicable, than to abandon them for 
new and untried schemes. Great accuracy 
and minute subdivisions can be secured in 
the A.L.A. rules in the ways I am about to 
suggest. 

This may be done, first, by subdividing the 
sizes for the height of books. The present 
octavo size extends from 20 to 25 centimeters 
in height. If this is subdivided by inserting 
a horizontal line at 22 1-2 centimeters, or mid- 
way between the two extremes, we get two 
sizes which may not inappropriately be desig- 
nated as large octavo (/. O.) and small octavo 
(s. O.), or long and short octavo, and so with 



any of the other sizes. We can, in like man- 
ner, subdivide the sizes for the width of 
books by drawing an additional diagonal line 
midway between the regular ones. In this 
way we may subdivide the octavos into 
octavos (O.) and broad octavos (b. O.). By 
employing both forms of subdivision at the 
same time, we get four sizes where we now 
have one ; and we may, if we choose, designate 
them as tall octavos (/. O.), large octavos 
(/. O.), small octavos (s. O.), and broad octavos 
(b. O.), as we now speak of narrow (nar. O.), 
square (sg. O.), and oblong octavos (pb. O.). 

There may be a reasonable doubt enter- 
tained as to whether it is worth while to sub- 
divide any of the sizes below the octavo, but 
I am strongly inclined to favor the subdivi- 
sion of that size and all above it, and possibly 
the duodecimos, for the reason that there now 
seems to be too great a difference in size 
between the largest and smallest octavos, 
quartos, and folios. The greater the height, 
the greater the difference. If it is thought 
wise to make further subdivisions, the size 
notation must be made brief and suggestive. 
It should be self-explanatory rather than 
obscure. As soon, however, as a rule is 
decided upon, a card can readily be prepared 
which will explain itself to any intelligent 
mind. 

But, before the matter of futher subdivision 
is entered into, it would be well to determine 
whether a book 3-4 as wide as high shall 
have the sq. prefixed to its size letter, or not 
until it is 4-5 as wide as high. 

It may be well to state that I have made 
my cards upon the former scale, at the sug- 
gestion of Mr. Dewey, as he has informed me 
that the committee having this matter in hand 
have practically decided upon that propor- 
tion, and as it is the one he has adopted in 
the cataloguing department of Columbia 
College. 

An attempt has been made to still further 
add to the usefulness of the card by using 
the unoccupied spaces for abbreviations and 
other matters that the cataloguer desires to 
have constantly before him. , 

In conclusion, I think it may safely be said 
that if those who have adopted the A.L.A. 



UTLEY. 



39 



size rules, and desire to do exact work, will 
make use of this card for a short time, they 
will find it so convenient and accurate that 
they will not readily consent to dispense with 
its use. 

Any suggestions that will add to its value 



will be most thankfully received. If I have 
failed to make my meaning sufficiently clear, 
or have overlooked any point, I shall be very 
glad to have my attention called to it now, or 
at some future time. 



NEWSPAPER VOLUMES IN A LIBRARY. 



BY H: M. UTLEY, LIBRARIAN PUBLIC LIBRARY, DETROIT, MICH. 



"DERHAPS librarians may think the exam- 
ple of Detroit newspaper publishers 
worth commending to the publishers of their 
own cities. The managers of our four Eng- 
lish dailies have deposited their complete 
bound files in the library " for safe keeping 
and the public convenience." Here they are 
as available to the newspaper employe's them- 
selves as in their own offices, access being 
had to them during the hours when the library 
is closed by application to the janitor. The 
purpose of making the deposit, as stated by 
the managers, is twofold safe keeping and 
the public convenience. Newspaper offices 
seem to be peculiarly exposed to fire, each of 
the leading offices in Detroit having been 
twice burned out within the past ten years. 
The library building is probably as safe from 
danger from fire as any building in the city, 
so that safe keeping was undoubtedly a strong 
motive to induce the managers to accede to 
my request. But I happen to know that the 
benefit the public might gain from having 
these volumes thus accessible had great 
weight in influencing them. The only obliga- 
tion the library authorities are under is to 
care for the volumes, and permit only their 
proper use in the building. 

At the Lake George conference the best 
material for newspaper binding was discussed. 
Mr. Peoples recommended duck, Mr. Schwartz, 
buckram ; and everybody agreed that the sheep, 
so commonly used, is quite unsuitable. It 
soon loses all its vitality and strength, and 
crumbles into dust at the touch. English 
buckram is admirable material for binding. I 
have imported several pieces of it, and used it 
on books which get the hardest and most con- 



tinuous usage, and have found it stand the 
best of anything yet tried. But it costs five 
times as much as duck, and is no better for 
newspaper work. I have put on newspapers 
full binding of common gray duck, 8 ounce 
weight, costing about 10 cents a yard by the 
piece. Volumes of the size of the New York 
Tribune are bound with this material by our 
contractors at $1.50 each. 

These are sewed with the whip stitch in 
sections of a half dozen papers each, the 
whole thus being made strong and flexible. 
Daily papers of eight or more pages I bind 
into quarterly volumes, dividing each year's 
issue into four parts. It is economy in the 
long run to make lighter and more easily 
handled volumes, though, being more numer- 
ous, they may cost a little more at the outset. 
I have tried some of this binding lately on 
Harper's Weekly, Illustrated London News, 
etc., and am well satisfied with it. The titles 
are lettered with black ink on the canvas. 
This reminds me of some of the difficulties of 
putting titles on the buckram. Of this 
material I have used only the flax color, or 
light greenish tint, and the gilt lettering does 
not show well on it. Then the title was put 
on title leather, which was pasted on. But in 
spite of the utmost pains this would peel off. 
Our binder now stains with analine, dark 
green, the space for the title, and the gilt 
lettering shows all right. 

The newspapers are lettered the longest 
way of the back, as they lie flat on the shelves, 
instead of standing on end. And this leads 
me to a description of the cases in which the 
newspaper volumes are placed. 

It happened that the room available for the 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



purpose is a high and well-ventilated base- 
ment, with plenty of windows on two sides. 
Along the wall on the other two sides, and in 
double rows across the room, with ample 
passages between, are ranged the newspaper 
cases. These are 6 feet 6 inches high and 2 
feet 2 inches deep, and are divided into sec- 
tions ranging from 2 feet 4 inches to 2 feet 10 
inches, though mainly 2 feet 7 inches in 
width, these sizes well accommodating the 
various volumes. The upright divisions be- 
tween the sections are panelled to prevent 
warping. The shelves are made of 3-4 stuff, 
with strips dovetailed across each end, to hold 
them level. A half-round section is cut out of 
the front edge at the centre to enable the 
volume to be grasped by the hand. The shelf 
rests upon three screw eyes at each end. If 
it pulls out with the volume, as it probably 
will, being loosely fitted, the centre screw eye 
prevents it from dropping out of place, and 
causes it to run back smoothly to its proper 
bearings when pushed in. Glass doors, with 
lock and key, keep out the dust and the fiend 
with scissors, and permit the reading of the 
titles. Each series of volumes is arranged 
chronologically. 

A word as to indexes. If the cooperative 
indexing scheme could be carried beyond its 
present limits, corresponding advantages 
would result. I do not know that it is practi- 
cable to carry it very far. The New York 
Tribune publishes an index annually, which 
serves in some degree as a general index to 
daily newspapers, because the great topics of 



interest are generally dealt with by the news- 
papers on or about the same dates. 

But there are many important matters 
treated by the leading newspapers of the 
country which are not covered by this index 
of only a single one of them. There are scien- 
tific and literary articles and discussions of 
economic questions by brilliant writers, which 
are quite valuable, and which are practically 
inaccessible without the aid of an index. If 
the public library in each city would undertake 
the task of indexing one or two of the leading 
dailies of its own city, by a system of ex- 
changes, the whole mass of daily newspaper 
literature would become available to all. 

There is another class of papers that de- 
serves some attention also under this head. 
These are the special journals, such as the 
Iron Age, Railroad Gazette, Insurance 
Spectator, Pharmaceutical Journal, Electri- 
cian, etc. The topics treated in these are of 
fresh and lively interest, and the library patron 
looking up one of them is now forced to waste 
much time turning them over to find what an 
index would help him to instantly. 

The Nation has lately set a good example 
by publishing a general index of itself. Per- 
haps others will have sufficient appreciation 
of its merits to follow this good example. -I 
doubt, however, whether any cooperative 
scheme is practicable with this class of jour- 
nals, especially while the indexing of the 
more important scientific and professional 
periodicals is in abeyance. 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper see PROCEEDINGS (Third session.) 



PAMPHLETS AND CONTINUATIONS OF SERIALS. 



BY LINDSAY SWIFT, BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. 



/^vWING to a turn which the general dis- 
cussion on the expense of cataloguing 
took at the Lake George meeting in 1885, I 
have felt moved to say a few things upon one 
of the dullest of subjects. To one reading 
the published account, the impression would 
remain that the absolute worth of pamphlets as 
a class of literature in themselves is not large. 



After some seven years' almost daily experi- 
ence with all sorts of pamphlets, I take a per- 
sonal interest in them, and now wish, in a 
commonplace way enough, to champion their 
cause. 

The terminology of exact bibliography really 
ought not to contain the word "pamphlet," if 
we mean thereby an inferior and little-to-be- 



SWIFT. 



esteemed sort of book, of few pages, and gen- 
erally unbound a kind of bantam in litera- 
ture, or book without its clothes on. The 
fewness of pages has nothing to do with a 
just estimate of them. The reading people 
of this country care more for the latest word, 
in pamphlet or book, on the Inter-State 
commerce act, the Fisheries question, the 
Irish question, or the Chinese puzzle than 
they ever can care for some Universal History 
in I know not how many scores of dull, fat vol- 
umes. The present worth of a pamphlet is 
often immense, but how inadequately do many 
large libraries meet the demand of the day for 
the literature thereof! Furthermore, these 
creatures of an hour sometimes become of 
immense value. We do not marvel when a 
library pays, at the Brinley sale, $80 for a few 
leaves, because they were the first printed in 
the town of Boston on John Foster's press. 
No one dreams of calling such a rarity a 
pamphlet, when it has been clad in its Lon- 
don-made suit by Pratt or Bedford. Some 
harmless maniac in A. D. 2087 may give $100 
for the " absolutely unique " uncut trifle which 
he needs to perfect his precious collection of 
literature on the great Andover heresy case of 
two hundred years back. 

To put this a little more harshly, librarians 
have no right to pronounce upon the intrinsic 
value of the wares they handle. Censores 
morum they must at times constitute them- 
selves and there should not be too much of 
this but they are not called to the office of 
inspectors, weighers, or gaugers of public 
property ; the people will attend to that. The 
Force, or Winsor, or McMaster of the future 
cannot use the passing trifles of this decade, 
as he will surely wish to, unless they are 
carefully treasured and most carefully cata- 
logued. Remember the howlings of Carlyle 
while at work on his Cromwell in the British 
Museum, which institution would gladly have 
escaped his tirades. 

But in all this I shall find no one to dispute 
me, and yet allow me to ask nine librarians 
out of ten if more often than not publications 
of great contemporary interest do not get 
pushed aside, shelved, or closeted, anything 
but catalogued, for the simple reason that they 



are " pamphlets ? " Pressure of work and the 
poverty of most libraries have much to do 
with this state of things; but there is a great 
deal of the camel in a librarian. He mourn- 
fully resents having fresh burdens laid upon 
him, yet somehow he always does manage to 
stagger up and ahead under his load. 

How, then, shall this enormous bulk of 
unbound literature, which is the vexation of 
all large libraries, be managed? The un- 
bound condition is, first, a serious problem. 
Pamphlets won't stand up in undress, and 
they are hard to get at, when placed on their 
sides in piles. At the Harvard College 
Library, I learn that pamphlets are arranged 
alphabetically by authors, and if one knows 
his author this arrangement should work 
very well. Certain general subjects, as ser- 
mons and sale catalogues, are placed together. 
I do not know if this admits of as nice a cata- 
logue classification as is thought needful in 
the case of books. 

Decidedly the ideal way is to bind sepa- 
rately each work, great or small, and thus, in 
fact, all rarities in pamphlets are treated. 
Expensively bound dainties for which libraries 
have to pay so well were once three-penny 
pamphlets. The dress makes the book as 
well as the man. Happy the library when 
each publication has its own standing-room. 
If separate binding is out of the question, the 
next best plan is, of course, to bind by sub- 
jects. This is what is doing continually at 
the Boston Public Library, and we are satis- 
fied with the results. In the last Quarterly 
Report of the Librarian I find that up to June, 
1887, 339,520 pamphlets have been added 
from the first. They come in now at the rate 
of from 12,000 to 15,000 a year. For some 
years past they have been arranged by sub- 
jects, as closely defined as so rapid an ac- 
cumulation will allow and then bound. The vol- 
umes,which contain from five to 40 pieces, an 
average perhaps of from 12 to 15, are stoutly 
bound in goat and plainly lettered. A large 
subject, slavery for instance, is allowed to 
accumulate for several years before it is made 
up into volumes. The shelves are then 
cleared, and after several years emptied again. 
This enables a nicer arrangement, in binding, 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



of the subdivisions of a large subject. In a 
lot of newly bound slavery pamphlets, we 
shall have very likely a score of volumes on 
Slavery in the United States ; as many more 
on Slavery in the West Indies, several vol- 
umes respectively on the Slave trade, the 
Fugitive Slave law, Slave narratives, etc., etc. 
No attention is paid in cataloguing to the title 
of the bound volume. It represents to us 
mearly a dozen or more works, each of which 
is numbered and catalogued as Independently 
as if it were a literary monument in 10 folio 
volumes. For instance in a volume backed 
U. S. Politics, there may be pamphlets on the 
Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska 
bill, the Bank of the United States, etc. 
These will be entered under their respective 
headings in the catalogue. We of course are 
very particular as to full author or title 
entries. 

The bound volume, however, must be con- 
sidered as a genuine volume in the" running 
annals of the library ; accordingly, a very brief 
list of contents is made on a card, which is 
filed away by its shelf number in a place kept 
apart for this purpose. We can thus tell 
what is lost, if a pamphlet volume disappears, 
as sometimes, though very rarely, happens. 
The volumes, I may mention, are not allowed 
to be taken from the library. Some years 
ago we used to print the contents of the vol- 
umes, and give an arbitrary title to the whole ; 
a sort of cross reference was then made to 
each author indicated in the contents, and 
each title thus treated was underscored in 
red. This was expensive, and is now useless ; 
the method arose from the now antiquated 
notion that a pamphlet volume should have 
some tangible recognition of its existence. 

Diligently thinning out unbound pamphlet- 
shelves by this painful, expensive, but most 
satisfactory process, we have reduced our 
unbound collection to about 40,000 or 50,000, 
one half of which are probably duplicates. It 
is no easy work to find a desired pamphlet in 
these dusty, roughly arranged heaps. 

In the past ten years, during which our 
latest method has been in practice, the 
progress is encouraging. The number of 
pamphlets newly catalogued during this time 



is as follows: 1877-8, 3,360; 1878-9,5,174; 
1879-80, 2,788; 1880-1, 3,664; 1 88 1-2, 4,695 : 
1882-3, 4,217; 1883-4, 4,257; 1884-5, 7,2575 
1885 (eight months), 3,646; 1886, 5,069; an 
average of nearly 4,500 a year. This would 
not appear to be keeping pace with the rate 
of increase, but more than half of all our 
pamphlet accessions now are duplicates. 
Figures of this sort are at best deceptive, 
for they say nothing of the immense acci- 
dental benefit done to a catalogue by a careful 
treatment of pamphlets. Thousands of old 
pamphlets have been recatalogued in the 
process of work, snags in the card catalogue 
removed, fresh subject references introduced, 
and, above all, the influx of duplicates almost 
wholly stopped. The accumulation of dupli- 
cates is, as you will agree, a perfect curse to 
a library. Without stopping to tell how, I 
can safely say that it costs us nearly three 
times as much to catalogue a duplicate as a 
fresh title. By any system less painstaking 
than ours I don't see how this evil is to be 
broken up. Aside from their expense, dupli- 
cates, when counted into the total number of 
works in a library, make the enumeration 
misleading. When the Boston Public Library 
says that it has 400,000 volumes, it would be 
more accurate to admit that from 20,000 to 
40,000 of this number are duplicates. As a 
fact, however, our actual number of volumes 
is, I doubt not, nearer 600,000 than 400,000, 
if we only would count in our pamphlets 
separately which are now bound in volumes. 
Why not, if we count each separately bound 
pamphlet, as of course we do by thous- 
ands ? These duplicates also take up shelf- 
room, of which we need every inch, if I may 
use before you that archaic expression for 
linear measurement. 

The cause of an over accumulation of these 
pests is curious, and not quite easy to obviate. 
The case of the Boston Public Library well 
illustrates the difficulty. For the past eighty 
years in our city two topics have been upper- 
most the Unitarian and the Anti-slavery con- 
troversies. Our public men have almost with- 
out exception been in the heat of the contest, 
their weapons being orations and pamphlets. 
An immense local literature on these sub- 



SIVIFT. 



43 



jects has been the result. Now every good 
Bostonian intends, though he sometimes 
forgets, at his death to leave a portion of his 
worldly goods to the Public Library. As a 
consequence, nearly every well-meaning citi- 
zen who has died within the past 25 years has 
bequeathed to the library a copy of Sumner's 
True grandeur of nations. The edition must 
have been enormous, although I think that 
the returns for that pamphlet must be nearly 
all in. So of Channing's, Parker's, and 
Phillips' writings. When we added to our 
bibliothecal treasures our ninth duplicate of 
the first edition of Daniel Webster's Address 
at the laying of the corner stone of the Bun- 
ker Hill Monument, it was felt that we must 
order a halt. The fact is, it used to seem a 
sacrilege to break apart these volumes once 
the property of our most esteemed citizens. 
But such volumes were, no doubt, as great 
a nuisance to their former owners as now to 
our library ; accordingly, while everything 
identified with the literary life of our public 
men is held in due reverence, we do not now 
hesitate, acting in this matter of course under 
the instructions of the Librarian,'Judge Cham- 
berlain, to break up certain volumes, and se- 
lect only such pamphlets as we really want. 
A small library, I admit, could not afford to 
break up volumes already bound, but it is 
economy for us. 

While it seems to me a wise general rule to 
treat pamphlets precisely as books, there are 
some classes of printed matter which need 
not make such exactions on time and money. 
Sale-catalogues of all kinds, fashion-books, 
and many guide-books may be done up in 
bundles or cared for in some other way. Easy 
access should, however, be possible in all 
cases. 

Nothing should be destroyed. Now and 
then some demented person proposes to make 
a " selection " of the books in one of our 
immense libraries, and would warm his wits at 
a general conflagration of such matter as he 
deems " unfit " to be passed on to posterity. 
In the Boston Public Library, and I suppose 
in every library of size, all printed matter is 
sacred. Even the advertisements of medical 
magazines are carefully bound apart ; and, if 



the merits of Lamplough's Pyretic Saline or 
Pears' Soap are not appreciated in the next 
century, it will not be the fault of that institu- 
tion. 

By a not too abrupt transition, the vexed 
problem of " continuations " lastly and natu- 
rally suggests itself. How shall the public 
best be informed of recent additions to publi- 
cations on file upon our shelves ? Each 
library must adopt methods peculiar to its 
system, and I may be pardoned for presenting 
ours. It is plainly impossible to note in a 
catalogue the arrival of each weekly, monthly, 
or quarterly part of a volume of a periodical or 
of the " proceedings " of learned bodies. We 
do, however, as soon as a volume is complete 
and bound, make a memorandum to that effect 
on the main catalogue card and on the shelf 
list. Below the printed title on the cards 
cross-reference cards as well as main cards 
is a legend in type, to the effect that whatever 
part of the work is not mentioned on the 
card-title may be applied for. This is espe- 
cially useful in the case of such publications as 
annual and triennial college catalogues, which 
come in so fast that we cannot easily take 
particular note of each accession. When 
possible, works of this sort are bound by 
decades, and then the main cards are made to 
correspond with the facts. When a pile of 
these serial publications is incomplete, or 
title-pages and indexes of periodicals ere 
missing, we never bind until the defects ~re 
made good. It is astonishing, if you will w.iit, 
how these gaps get filled in, at a large library ! 
Everything should be done to help the 
public in its search for desired numbers of 
periodicals or serials. To learn to consult 
periodicals and the like, seems to be as troub- 
lesome a part as any of even the most intelli- 
gent visitor's task. In the Boston Public 
Library there has been for some years in 
operation a most valuable separate catalogue 
on small cards which contain the titles with- 
out cross references of all sorts and con- 
ditions of periodicals, transactions and pro- 
ceedings of societies, and serial publications of 
every kind, complete or incomplete, on file or 
out of file. Its projector, Miss Harriet N. 
Pike, saves hours and days in the course of a 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



year by this economical contrivance. It is for 
library use exclusively. 

As for indexing periodicals on proceedings 
and transactions, it should be done whenever 
possible. We all know what immensely impor- 
tant papers are continually appearing in govern- 
ment works. Whatever has been said of the 
intrinsic value of pamphlets applies here too. 
One person in our library is constantly, as he 
snatches the opportunity, enriching our card 
catalogue by indexing parts of volumes which 
can never, by the nature of the case, be in- 
cluded in future editions of the great Poolers 
Index, or indeed in any system of cooperative 
indexing yet proposed. Mr. Griffin's valu- 
able Index of American local history now pub- 
lishing in our Bulletins is one result of this 
happy use of odd moments. 

If anything of value is. to be drawn from 
what I have said, it is the lesson of experience. 
I know of no library which in 30 years of life 
has had to learn or unlearn more than the one 
which I have the honor to serve. The road 
to the stars was the harder because it was 
new. A library which has been peculiarly the 
architect of its own reputation, it has had to 
reject, as it built, what at one time seemed to 
do well enough. I am convinced, therefore, 
that the wisest plan for a library which ex- 
pects to grow at all is to start with a scheme 
which shall meet the demands of a future in- 
crease. Experimental methods are very 
wasteful, and it is almost impossible to undo 
wholly a bad start. Libraries are like small 
boys, the experience of their elders does not 



much impress them ; they want to learn it all 
for themselves, and they are apt to arrive at 
middle life singing the old refrain : " Oh ! if I 
could begin life over again ! " A library 
which neglects its pamphlets, and does not 
keep up its fag ends of periodicals and serials 
will of necessity regret it. All pamphlets are 
of some worth ; the newer ones must be 
placed promptly before the public. A cheap 
contrivance which we call "novel-covers," 
that is, two boards, without a back, fastened 
to the pamphlet by a temporary thread, will do 
very well for new and interesting works. The 
older and more valuable should be better pre- 
served. In all cases the cataloguing should 
be for all time, each title separately, and no 
grouping of titles under one head. 

I shall admit finally that this care of pam- 
phlets is expensive ; in our case, very expen- 
sive, for past mistakes have added to 
the present cost. It will cost very nearly as 
much to catalogue any pamphlet as any 
book; and perhaps it will cost more, because 
the labor of intelligent cross reference mak- 
ing is increased in this class of literature, 
which often deals with special phases of 
technical or scientific subjects, all of which 
requires more skill and research. But how- 
ever costly it may be, it is wisdom to persist 
in the best of care for pamphlets, for in all 
great libraries the neglect of this duty will 
eventually involve a much larger expense, to 
set things right; otherwise, you will get 
deeper into your perplexities year by year. 



HOW TO BIND PERIODICALS. 



BY NORMAN C. PERKINS, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN PUBLIC LIBRARY, DETROIT, MICH. 



T N a late bookseller's catalogue appeared a 
list of American magazines which were 
especially recommended as being in the orig- 
inal numbers as issued, with all covers and 
advertisements complete ; and the question 
recurred, Why, if these coverings and accom- 
paniments add to the value of a periodical, 
they should not always be preserved. 



The Atlantic and Century, and perhaps the 
older Putnam, with its outer leaves of green 
corn, can still be had uncut and unmutilated ; 
but what should we say to a full set of the 
Gentleman's Magazine, in parts as issued, 
with not a [leaf or publisher's slip missing 
since the days of George II.? In the pos- 
session of any person not a barbarian, such a 



PERKINS. 



45 



series would go into volumes intact, as they 
should, simply for protection and preservation, 
without being dismembered by the binder's 
hand or knife. 

It is easy enough to perceive the proper 
treatment for a magazine running back through 
150 years; but the issues now current will 
grow old with time, and why should we not 
treat every periodical that comes into our 
possession in precisely the same considerate 
way? In other words, why should not all 
serials be bound just as they come from the 
publishers' hands, without the loss of a cover 
or a page of advertisement? 

The quarterly or monthly number, with its 
tinted cover embelished, it may be, with more 
care than the text within, is as much a literary 
entity as a bound volume. It is the charming 
opusculum of our time, giving us much of the 
best that is written through the year; and no 
insignificant part of its attraction lies in the 
advertisements, which are like instantaneous 
photographs, that go to make up the picture of 
the age, and illustrate its life and manners. 
Some of these printed allurements of trade 
seem frivolous, no doubt; and the quality of 
Pear's soap may not, indeed, be of vital inter- 
est to the student of the future ; but neverthe- 
less the unconsidered trifles of to-day become 
the history of- tomorrow, and it may some day 
be quite as important to know what complex- 
ion powder Mrs. Langtry used in 1887 as to 
be told that Mrs. Pepys wore three patches on 
her face, and looked handsomer than the 
Princess Henrietta in 1665, or that Nell 
Gwyn painted her cheeks red, to the scandal 
of the fine ladies of the court. 

It is safe to assume that almost any maga- 
zine advertisement will become interesting 
within 10 years, and curious within 20, and 
likely enough important within 50 ; and, in 
recognition of the permanent value of these 
things of the day, many serials, like the Illus- 
trated London JVetvs, have their advertising 
leaves paged consecutively with the rest; 
and some, like Life and the Library jour- 
nal, page the covers and all. But magazine 
advertisements have also a special literary 
value of their own, from the fact that they 
give an epitome of current literary history in 



the announcement of new books as they are 
published. The second number of the North 
American Review ', for instance, announces 
what must have been the first American edition 
of Scott's " Lord of the Isles " not a literary 
item of the first magnitude, to be sure, but 
one that some student may be very glad to 
find. Between that day and this the Review 
has chronicled the appearance of pretty nearly 
every book that goes to make up what we now 
reckon as American literature ; and the junior 
Atlantic may be counted on to give on its 
advertising leaves much information, not so 
certainly found elsewhere, which the collector 
is sure to want, concerning first editions of 
the New England poets and prose writers of 
the generation that is passing away. 

No one who has undertaken to collate and 
arrange sets of periodicals to determine just 
what belongs to each volume and series, and 
to trace changes in name and in dates .of 
issue, and the steps by which separate publi- 
cations have been merged or submerged 
needs to be told how he misses and longs for 
the little scraps of information which must 
have been given on the covers of the num- 
bers as they came out, but is nowhere to be 
found since they have passed through the 
remorseless fingers of the binder. Questions 
of editorship and authorship are often settled 
upon printed covers, when neither text nor 
title gives any intimation of the fact that is 
wanted. For a long time the names of the 
writers in the Atlantic were given on the 
covers only ; and the first nine volumes, as 
ordinarily bound, give no suggestion of 
authorship whatever. It may truly be said 
that, as a rule, the paper covers of a periodical 
exhibit its own continuous history, explain- 
ing its literary management and workman- 
ship, more clearly than the same is to be found 
in any other place. 

In binding serial publications of all kinds, 
even such as the consular reports from the 
State Department and circulars from the 
Bureau of Education and college catalogues 
and reports, I would put in the covers of blue 
or brown or yellow paper, even though the 
print upon them may be a duplicate of the 
main title; and I would treat pamphlets of 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



whatever kind in the same way. The covers, 
at any rate, serve to show in what shape the 
issue was originally made, and in the bound 
volume they indicate to the eye where each 
number or pamphlet ends ; and occasionally a 
nota bene of two lines on the last tinted page 
will give an interesting fact, which otherwise 
a week's investigation might not reveal. 

There are some periodicals, like the Edin- 
burgh and Quarterly reviews, in which the 
proportion of advertisements is certainly very 
great ; but the cost of binding is not percep- 
tibly increased by including them, and the 
additional shelf-room required can hardly be a 
serious objection. A good rule probably is to 
throw out only those advertisements in the 
shape of thin catalogues, illuminated insurance 
tables, and the like, which are printed else- 
where, and merely stitched inside the covers 



of the periodical at the bindery, but to include 
whatever is printed as a part of the periodical 
itself. 

There are some reading-room devices for 
holding periodicals which are intended o 
serve as permanent bindings when the vol- 
umes are completed, and there is at least one 
thing to be said in their favor : they keep the 
numbers together in their perfect condition, 
and preserve the attractiveness which always 
belongs to a big or little book which has never 
suffered devastation at the hand of man. There 
are at present some grounds for hoping that, 
so far as periodicals at least are concerned, 
the time approaches when bookbinding itself 
will become an art preservative, instead of 
being an agency for the destruction of what- 
ever good work the printer has produced. 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper see PROCEEDINGS (Third session). 



SOME THOUGHTS ON CLOSE CLASSIFICATION. 



BY GEORGE WATSON COLE. 



Broad Classification. 

T F ever library work is to be raised to the 
dignity of a science, it must be done by 
comparative study. The importance of this 
work cannot well be over-estimated. Per- 
haps in no branch of the work, will this 
study result in richer fruit than in the field 
of classification. No little attention has been 
paid to the subject of close classification by 
our profession for the past few years, more 
particularly within the past two years. By 
this term, I understand, is meant the arrange- 
ment of books upon the shelves by specific 
subjects or forms, which follow each other in 
an orderly and systematic sequence. The 
first instinct of the librarian is to divide his 
books into broad classes ; as history, science, 
travels, biography, etc. This has generally 
been done in all libraries ; and, as they have 
increased in size, the tendency has naturally 
been to increase the number of these divi- 
sions, or classes, either by making new ones, 
or by breaking up the old ones. Some form of 



classification is essential, and is recommended 
by all librarians of experience. 

The disadvantages arising from broad clas- 
sification are sought to be overcome in the 
catalogues, where we almost invariably find 
an attempt made to catalogue by subjects, a 
greater number of subjects even than are 
recognized upon the shelves. So that, until 
a recent period, the close classification of the 
library was done, if at all, in its catalogues 
rather than upon the shelves ; and that cata- 
logue was the most excellent, other things 
being equal, which carried close classification 
to the furthest extent. Close classification, 
therefore, I consider to be but the natural 
result of a healthy growth in library work, 
and it may be attributed almost entirely to the 
abandonment of a fixed location for a rela- 
tive one. 

Fixed vs. Relative Location. 

Formerly every library was arranged and 
numbered by a fixed location. The alcoves, 
sections, and shelves were first] numbered, 



COLE. 



47 



and then the books were placed upon the 
shelves, and numbered in regular numerical 
order until the capacity of each shelf was 
exhausted. At first, as we have already indi- 
cated, some attempt was made to keep dif- 
ferent subjects separate by assigning certain 
alcoves or portions of the library to special 
topics. As the library grew, it usually ex- 
panded in unlooked for directions, and as a 
natural result the spaces assigned to some 
subjects were often filled to overflowing, long 
before others were at all crowded. As a 
result the subject, instead of being found in 
the place originally assigned to it, was fre- 
quently found in several different parts of the 
library, it might be at quite a distance from 
each other. The disadvantage of this system 
soon became apparent to evejy one using it. 
Not until within a few years, however, has a 
relative or movable location, or a system of 
assigning a number to a subject or topic, 
instead of to a certain location in the library, 
been generally adopted. This has been found 
so great an advantage over the old method, 
that it is almost entirely used in the arrange- 
ment of new libraries as well as in the re-ar- 
rangement of many old ones. Its great advan- 
tage lies in the fact that by moving the books 
along upon the shelves, or better still by 
leaving spaces at the end of each subject, all 
books upon that subject may be kept together 
by interpolation. 

It has been said, that by the old methods 
the books were usually divided into broad 
classes. It was but natural, therefore, that 
with the adoption of a relative location, the 
old ideas as to the number of subjects em- 
ployed should at first prevail. As a conse- 
quence we find the first libraries arranged by 
the relative location were divided into a small 
number of classes. It soon became apparent 
that more classes could be employed to ad- 
vantage. As the relative location was used 
and better understood, it grew in favor, and 
the question of close classification has since 
come to the front as a natural outgrowth of 
its use. The questions that now most imper- 
atively demand our attention are these : how 
far is it practicable and desirable to carry the 
division of the library by subjects and their 



subdivisions ; what advantages are to be de- 
rived from close classification ; and what ob- 
stacles lie in the way of its general adoption ? 

Close Classification in the Catalogue vs. the 

Shelves. 

It has long been the cataloguer's rule to 
enter each work under its specific subject. 
Without entering into any discussion as to the 
best form of the catalogue, whether classed or 
alphabetical, which is a question that needs 
special time for its treatment, the question 
arises whether, as far as practicable, a corres- 
ponding minuteness shall not be employed in 
shelving the books of a library. Some libra- 
rians acknowledge the necessity of having 
the catalogue minutely subdivided, each topic 
appearing under its most specific head ; but at 
the same time they are unwilling to admit 
that a corresponding minuteness in the arrange- 
ment of the books themselves is to be desired. 
Others see in such an arrangement, not only 
a great advantage in the ease and economy 
with which the library may be administered, 
but also that its usefulness as an educational 
power is increased and that a far-reaching and 
beneficent influence is exerted upon its 
patrons. Its advocates do not and never 
have claimed to accomplish the impossible or 
the impracticable ; but they do claim, as far as 
possible, to transfer the advantages of close 
classification from the catalogue to the 
shelves ; to make the shelves their own cata- 
logue. Close classification seeks to make the 

O 

library more useful and available by arranging 
its resources in minute classes. This is of 
primary value to those who are in the library, 
as it enables them the more readily to ascertain 
the resources of the library upon a specific 
topic. It may be claimed that this is the 
function of the catalogue, which is true. The 
catalogue should give the resources of the 
library more fully than the shelves can possi- 
bly do. It is true that we cannot have the 
entire resources of the library standing side 
by side upon the shelves, unless we can take 
some of our books apart, and in some cases 
perform the impossible feat of making them 
occupy two distinct places at the same time 
but all this does not and never can compen- 



4 8 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



sate for the advantages derived from having 
books which treat of the same specific topic 
grouped together upon the shelves, and these 
groups arranged in some systematic and 
natural order. The catalogue has certain 
functions and advantages that cannot in the 
nature of things be relegated to the shelves. 
Because close classification does not accom- 
plish what it never attempted or because it 
was not used by our grandfathers, is no argu- 
ment against it. Our grandfathers never used 
the telephone nor attempted to light their 
drawing-rooms or libraries by electricity, but 
we do both. The advantages of close classi- 
fication are found to be many, not only by li- 
brarians, but by the users of libraries. The 
idea is based upon practical and economical 
considerations, rather than upon any Utopian 
theories. The advantages are far in excess 
of its cost. Instead of confining itself to the 
narrow views of library management, quite 
generally entertained until within a few years, 
it attempts to reap the reward of comparative 
study. It is progressive as well as aggressive. 
It starts upon the basis of utilizing the best 
and ripest experience of the past, and seeks 
to avoid the errors and obstacles to success, 
that were a constant source of trouble and 
anxiety to our predecessors. Business meth- 
ods are as necessary in the management of a 
library as in any other of the affairs of life ; and 
that library will be the most successful, other 
things being equal, that is conducted in a 
thorough-going business manner. Close clas- 
sification is a step in this direction. It is an 
attempt to do once for all, as far as practica- 
ble, the work of the library. If the work is 
worth doing at all, it is worth doing in a 
thorough and systematic manner, rather than 
in the slip-shod way in which it is too fre- 
quently done. It attempts, first of all, to de- 
termine into how many classes of subjects 
and subordinate divisions it is wise and prac- 
ticable to divide the library, bearing constantly 
in mind the demands of its future growth. 
Library work in the past has consisted too 
much in undoing what has already been clone ; 
a misapplication, if not a positive waste of 
energy, that close classification endeavors to 
avoid, In the end it may safely be questioned 



whether it costs any more than the old meth- 
ods, while the results are far more satisfac- 
tory in every respect. 

Existing Systems of Classification. 
There are several systems of classification 
now in use, and with which you are all more 
or less familiar, among which may be named 
those of Messrs. Cutter, Dewey, Edmands, 
Perkins, Schwartz, and Smith. Whether any 
of these systems will be in use, outside of 
the libraries in which they were developed, 
fifty years hence, time alone will reveal. Of one 
thing we may rest assured that the law of 
the " survival of the fittest " will be inexorably 
and impartially applied. In the discussions of 
these systems we have at times witnessed a 
warmth and censoriousness, begotten more of 
personal interest than of fair and impartial 
criticism. In these discussions much use 
has been made of the terms "natural " order, 
" logical " system, etc., which I think have 
been given an undue prominence. To my 
mind, the terms " practical " order or " orderly 
arrangement " are to be preferred, not so much 
in describing the system as such, as in denot- 
ing their uses and aims. The utmost skill of 
man has failed, as yet, to devise a complete 
circle of knowledge, and until this is done no 
system of classification can be in the fullest 
acceptation of the terms considered either 
" logical " or " natural." The coming system, 
if it has not already been invented, will be the 
one that combines in the best manner the 
logical, natural, practical, and orderly arrange- 
ments of books in the library. 

A Iphabetical Index. 

This system must have an alphabetical 
index to make its application easy and certain. 
This is so obvious, notwithstanding the ob- 
jections of some who are opposed to any 
system that requires an index, that the fact 
has but to be stated to meet with general 
assent. It is further witnessed by the addi- 
tional fact that no system has been printed 
within the past ten years that has not been 
accompanied by such an index. If a care- 
fully prepared system, fully elaborated and 
coordinated in all its parts, were to be pub- 
lished without such an index, the user of it 



COLE. 



49 



would soon find himself supplying the defi- 
ciency by making an index of his own, thus 
showing not only that an index is a conven- 
ience but a necessity. 

Class Notation. 

I come now to speak of two great obstacles 
to be dealt with in the formation and applica- 
tion of the ideal system of classification ; the 
system that is destined, because of its intrin- 
sic merits, to take the precedence of all others 
and attain a general use. The first to be con- 
sidered is class notation. The combined in- 
genuity, and the best talent of the library pro- 
fession has, as yet, failed to devise a class 
notation that is entirely satisfactory. We 
have systems that use letters alone, as Mr. 
Edmands' ; letters and figures, as Mr. Cutter's ; 
letters, figures, and symbols, as Mr. Smith's ; 
and figures alone, as in Messrs. Dewey's, Per- 
kins' and Schwartz's systems. Each of these 
notations has its peculiar advantages, and it 
is greatly to be regretted that some new nota- 
tion cannot be devised that will combine all 
their best points, but this is clearly impossible. 

What is to be sought for, in our ideal nota- 
tion is : 

1. Naturalness and simplicity in its char- 
acters and their combinations ; . 

2. Ease in reading, writing, and remember- 
ing them; and 

3. Brevity, with a great capacity for sub- 
divisions. 

The most natural and available materials 
from which to construct a notation are letters 
and figures. There is little reason to suppose 
that any system, based upon the use of other 
characters, could be successfully or generally 
employed. Between the use of figures and 
letters, used alone, there are reasons to be 
deduced in favor of both, though person- 
ally I am inclined to prefer figures. Let- 
ters are open to two objections: I. They are 
not as easily written or read as figures, besides, 
they require a greater number of strokes of 
the pen in their construction, and are therefore 
more liable to illegibility. 2. They are not 
capable of as great a variety of combina- 
tions, without producing unpleasant effects. 
Figures or letters used alone seem preferable 



to their combined use, which can only be 
justified upon the ground of brevity and a 
greater capacity for subdivisions. The com- 
binations are too complex to be fully under- 
stood by the usual frequenters of libraries. 

Figures alone, seem to answer most fully 
and satisfactorily the requirements we have 
named as essential to an ideal system of 
notation, being most easily written, read, and 
remembered, and being in their combinations 
the simplest forms known to the human mind. 
Figures in all their permutations are perfectly 
natural and simple, and are easily read or 
remembered, which cannot in all cases be said 
of letters. There are two methods of dealing 
with figures as a class notation that call for 
a moment's notice. We may first lay out our 
scheme of classification, and elaborate it to 
any desired extent, and then begin and num- 
ber our classes, sub-classes, and sections in 
regular numerical order, leaving occasional 
gaps for new subjects that may arise in the 
future. While this may seem a more eco- 
nomical use of material than the other method 
which I shall presently mention, I am inclined 
to think that in the end nothing is gained, 
but that much confusion is liable to arise, 
especially if inadequate gaps are left for future 
contingencies. This is the very same objec- 
tion which we saw rendered the fixed location 
objectionable, and led to its abandonment. 
The second method of using figures is that of 
using decimals for purposes of subdivision. 
This method, if we may judge by the favor 
with which it has been received and adopted, 
seems to be the best application of figures, 
when used alone. The great objection to the 
use of decimals lies in the fact that minute 
subdivision necessitates long class numbers ; 
but I think I express the mind of many in 
saying that a class number of not more than 
four, and in exceptional cases of five figures, 
is preferable to one of mixed figures and 
letters, even if the latter were shorter by 
one or two characters. It does not follow 
because a system of classification has been 
carefully elaborated for the use of specialists 
in all its classes, that it must be adopted, with 
all its subdivisions and minute headings, in all 
libraries. The extent to which it is to be 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



adopted is purely a matter of judgment, to 
be determined by the circumstances of each 
particular case. For a library just starting, the 
wisest course seems to be to select some 
system that has been carefully coordinated 
and worked out, and decide how much of it 
shall be adopted, it constantly being borne in 
mind that the future growth and success of 
the library depend much upon its being laid 
out upon a broad and liberal basis, and that 
careful and even elaborate work will, in the 
end, prove most economical. 

Alphabetical Book Numbers. 
The second great obstacle to be dealt with 
in the application of our ideal system is in 
the too persistent use of alphabetical systems 
of book "numbers. Those best known and 
generally used are primarily designed to keep 
large classes of books, as fiction and biog- 
raphy, and even whole libraries, in strict 
alphabetical order. When, however, the 
library is broken up into minute classes, 
under a system of close classification, the 
necessity previously existing for a strict 
alphabetical order, either by authors or works, 
ceases ; and instead of being a great con- 
venience it becomes a disadvantage. This 
may be seen in those libraries that have 
attempted to use close classification, Mr. 
Dewey's for example, in connection with 
Mr. Cutter's system of book numbers. There 
are certain large form divisions, like fiction, 
drama, and poetry, as well as biography, 
which no system of close classification can 
satisfactorily break up. In these and other 
similar classes, an alphabetical order is 
highly desirable, and can in most cases be 
satisfactorily secured by abbreviating the 
usual class number ; but where close class- 
ing is used and small divisions of books 
secured, some other system of book numbers 
should usually be employed. The alphabeti- 
cal arrangement has perhaps more and 
greater advantages than any other, but 
instead of employing an elaborately worked- 
out system, the capacity of which is practically 
unlimited, I would use an approximate 
alphabetical arrangement. This can readily 



be secured by simply using the authors' 
initials, followed, whenever necessary, by 
numerals in the regular order of accession; 
e. g., B, Bi, B2, etc. In many small classes 
of which close classification will give us a 
large number, this will often give us a strict 
alphabetical arrangement and in many others 
it will be so nearly so as to occasion little if 
any inconvenience. 

Object of This Paper. 

This paper has been prepared with especial 
reference to the wants of public libraries that 
circulate their books, instead of those refer- 
ence libraries where the demand for economy 
in call numbers is not so imperative. The 
adoption of close classification, within the 
limitations I have laid down, will enable them 
to do their work once for all, as far as 
practicable, and to put off, as far as possible, 
the evil day of a general re-adjustment, and 
deprive it of most of its terrors. 

Recapitulation. 

To briefly recapitulate ; I have attempted 
to show : 

1. That relative location is a natural out- 
growth in library work ; 

2. That relative location has not only 
made close classification possible, but prac- 
ticable ; 

3. That close classification has inherent 
advantages which we cannot afford to ignore; 
and 

4. That, in its formation and application, 
two difficulties have to be met and over- 
come : 

a. The class notation must be formed of 
such materials and in such a manner as to 
combine the following essential features : 

a. Naturalness and simplicity in its char- 
acters and their combinations ; 

b. Ease in reading, writing, and remem- 
bering them; and 

c. Brevity, with a great capacity for sub- 
divisions ; and 

b. In its application, approximate rather 
than strict alphabetical order should be used, 
except in certain rare cases. 



NELSON. 



LIBRARIES FOR SPECIALISTS. 



BY C: ALEX. NELSON, ASTOR LIBRARY. 



A N issue of Science a few weeks ago con- 
tained the following in an editorial note : 
" The increasing number of series of mono- 
graphs on special topics must have attracted 
the attention of all those who possess any 
acquaintance with current literature. We 
have an American science series, a set of sci- 
ence primers, several sets of literature prim- 
ers, historical monographs, economic papers, 
and so on. The development in this direction 
is a perfectly natural one, and one which 
results from the increasing specialization in 
study. It is impossible any longer for even 
the well-informed man to follow methods and 
details : he must rest content with results, and 
even those concisely stated." Prof. W. O. 
Atwater, in his article on Food in the June 
Century, says : " The experiments of the last 
twenty years are numbered by hundreds and 
even thousands, and the literature of the sub- 
ject is so voluminous that few specialists even 
are able to handle it." 

In connection with this literature of special- 
ization a difficulty has arisen to which it is 
the purpose of this note to call attention, and 
to suggest a possible remedy for the same. It 
is the common experience of the librarians of 
the older and the larger libraries to have spe- 
cialists come to their collections for the pur- 
pose of consulting authorities not accessible 
elsewhere. Dr. Edward Eggleston, in the 
preparation of his valuable monographs for 
the Centttry on the early life of our ancestors 
in the colonies, had to go from his own fine 
library on the shore of Lake George (of pleas- 
ant memory) to the Astor Library and the 
Historical Society Library in New York, to 
the Boston Public and Athenseum, to the 
Massachusetts Historical Society Library, to 
Harvard College Library, to the State Library 
at Albany, to the National Library at Wash- 
ington, and even to the British Museum. 
Prof. H. Carrington Bolton, of Trinity Col- 
lege, Hartford, finds one long looked for 



authority on " musical sands " only at the 
Astor Library, and in the preparation of his 
catalogue of scientific and technical periodi- 
cals has the assistance of the Smithsonian 
Institution and of more than 125 librarians. 
" In a recent discussion, in the main quite an 
idle one," says the Boston Transcript, " as to 
the relative advantages of New York and Bos- 
ton as places of residence for literary men, one 
significant statement was -made by a New 
York man of letters, to the effect that he, in 
his work, not infrequently found it impossible 
to obtain the books he needed in New York, 
and was under the necessity of coming to 
Boston and Cambridge to get at them." 

Much valuable aid has been rendered to 
specialists in ascertaining where the authori- 
ties they wish to consult may be found in the 
liberal exchange of catalogs, bulletins, and 
check lists between libraries, and in the publi- 
cation of cooperative lists and special bibliog- 
raphies. But all these have served to bring 
out more clearly the great but perhaps not 
wholly insurmountable difficulty; viz. that the 
authorities in any and all lines of research are 
widely scattered in libraries far apart from 
each other, and that the specialist is often put 
to an expenditure of time and money from 
10 to 100 times the cost of the book he 
wishes to get at, in traveling to the place 
where it may be examined. 

"When Huxley writes on science in general, 
Walker on political economy, Geikie on 
geology, Martin on biology, and Young on the 
sun, we may rest assured that the results will 
be beyond criticism." 

Some specialists, like Ex-Pres. A. U. 
White, of Cornell University, Von Ranke, and 
Mr. Hubert H. Bancroft, have been able to 
gather to their own libraries needed authori- 
ties in such numbers as to make their collec- 
tions unique and invaluable ; but how very 
seldom during the life-time of the collector, as 
in the first instance, or at his death, as in the 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



case of Von Ranke and a few others, do such 
collections go en masse to some library 
for the free use of students in perpetuum ! 
How often, rather, like that on the history of 
printing made by the late Mr. Richard M. Hoe 
of New York, and in scores of other instances 
that might be named, are the collections of a 
life-time scattered broadcast ! 

Every librarian labors to make a specialty 
of some department of his library, and to 
gather together all he can that bears upon it ; 
but only too often what he manages to get 
barely serves to emphasize the more press- 
ing need of what he does not get. Every 
college librarian can tell us of the efforts 
made by each professor to secure the lion's 
share of the appropriations for his own 
department in the library, and of the loud 
calls from each of these specialists for much 
needed authorities. Other librarians also are 
often indebted to specialists for suggesting or 
requesting the purchase of valuable books, 
but few are able to respond as liberally as did 
the Astor Library in buying scores of books 
asked for by the compilers of the Cyclopaedia 
of Painters and Paintings edited by Champlin 
and Norton. 

There must of necessity be a limit beyond 
which general libraries cannot go in supply- 
ing the demands of the specialists. How, then, 
shall these demands be met? We reply by 
the establishment of libraries for specialists. 
We supplement our public school system with 
the free public library, " the people's univer- 
sity;" we must complement our college and 
university provision for the " higher educa- 
tion," by supplying to its expected and natural 
product, the specialists, fully equipped libra- 
ries tor their several departments, where they 
may pursue their work and complete the circle 
by preparing and publishing the " small books 
on great subjects " for the information and 
instruction of the people. We said by the 
establishment of libraries for specialists ; we 
might have said by the prompt and liberal 
endowment of the scores of such libraries, the 



nuclei of which are already provided, in the 
libraries of the medical, historical and scien- 
tific societies and professional schools all over 
our land. 

What has been done at Washington in col- 
lecting the splendid library at the Surgeon- 
General's office (for the elaborate and incom- 
parable Index catalogue of which the librarf- 
ans of the world are so much indebted to Dr. 
Billings and his painstaking assistants) and 
at the library of the United States Geological 
Survey with its 60,000 volumes and pam- 
phlets, must be done in connection with 
libraries for specialists in all departments, at 
centers where they can be easy of access. 

One profession, the legal, is already amply 
provided for, and perhaps deserves but little 
sympathy on our part. There are hundreds 
of well-equipped law libraries where legal wits 
may be sharpened for the prosecution and 
defence of " boodle aldermen " and bribe-giv- 
ing railroad presidents, and for breaking the 
wills of such liberal and munificent testators 
as Tilden and Mrs. Fiske, and perverting the 
funds intended for library endowment towards 
refilling the depleted pockets of the contest- 
ants in these ill-begotten suits. 

Our general or free public libraries cannot 
be expected to buy works of interest only to 
specialists ; their mission and purpose are ful- 
filled when they provide for the instruction 
and entertainment of the people. Our great 
reference libraries will have all they can do in 
providing the best editions of the best books 
for the use of scholars and those who seek 
more than the free public library provides; 
but our libraries for specialists should each 
contain everything in print on the subject or 
subjects for which it is established. 

Comparatively small endowments thus ap- 
plied will add indefinitely to the positive incre- 
ment of the world's stock of knowledge, in 
saving to specialists much time for the pur- 
suit of original investigations which is now 
wasted in the search for information as to 
what their predecessors have accomplished. 



PLUMMER. 



53 



THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY ECONOMY FROM 
A STUDENT'S STANDPOINT. 



BY MISS MARY WRIGHT PLUMMER OF CHICAGO. 



"DERHAPS no body of instructors ever had a 
more expectant class or one more ignorant 
of the subject to be entered upon than were 
most of the members of the School of Library 
Economy on the 5th of January last. It is 
almost .a wonder that the ferment of energy 
and enthusiasm with which we listened to 
and attempted to follow our instructions did 
not burst out the walls of the superannuated 
building, for it was a clear case of new wine 
in old bottles. 

We began at once on our work under the 
instructors appointed, applying ourselves first 
to the attainment of the library hand. Later 
we were allowed a choice between this and 
a printed hand, and several adopted the 
latter. 

More than one family were astonished in 
these first days to receive letters written and 
superscribed in characters abjured since 
childhood, for the enthusiasm went so far as 
to make this almost a test of class spirit. 

If I remember right, the next step was 
acquaintance with the accession-book, as 
being simplest. We used loose sheets similar 
to those of the condensed accession-book. 
From this we went on to gain a slight knowl- 
edge of the writing of shelf lists and condens- 
ing of titles, giving but a short time to this as 
we were to return to it later. 

The writing of catalogue cards came next. 
For some time this was done on slips of 
author and subject sizes, until we could be 
trusted to take the regular cards. Piles of 
books were brought up to us to be catalogued, 
and we took them as they came without selec- 
tion. Our previous instruction on the slips 
had been in systematic order biographies for 
a few days, then analyticals, then works in 
series, etc., so that we might master the writing 
of one kind of card before going to another. 

During practice hours the instructors 
remained with us, overseeing our work, 



making suggestions, and answering questions 
with almost infinite patience. The time was 
all too short, however, to thoroughly conquer 
the vast amount of detail, and the apprentice- 
ship term was of great value in confirming 
our uncertain impression of what we had 
been taught. From carding we went to 
classification, which proved fascinating but 
difficult. Only a few of the class elected to 
devote themselves to this during the appren- 
ticeship term, the majority preferring to work 
at cataloguing. 

Some weeks were spent in carding accord- 
ing to the dictionary system, and with this the 
term virtually ended. 

It was not merely during the appointed 
hours of practice that we worked, for there 
seemed to be a general disposition to fill up 
the odd moments. Some busied themselves 
with cyclostyling, some with the Hammond 
type-writer, others with reference work and 
the elaboration of their lecture notes. 

For one or two weeks our notes were taken 
down by ear, without much idea of what they 
meant, in the faith that some day we should 
look them over and find that practical experi- 
ence had made them comprehensible. This 
proved true only in a measure, but the plan 
now inaugurated of a short term of practice 
before the lecture course will do away with 
this difficulty. The questions asked will prob- 
ably be more intelligent, and notes can be 
taken with full understanding. 

It is greatly to be hoped that the lecture- 
courses in future may be arranged so as to 
bring together discourses on the same or kin- 
dred topics ; by this means, the mind may 
remain upon one subject until it be examined 
on all sides, avoiding the waste of energy that 
must come from a continual change of the sub- 
ject under consideration. Such an arrange- 
ment would also facilitate the taking of notes 
in topical order. 



54 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



As to our interest in the lectures, I think 
some of the eminent librarians who had hardly 
said their last word before they were sur- 
rounded by eager questioners and greeted 
with individual applause, can answer for that. 
The lectures might be divided into two sorts 
the technical and the inspiring; the former 
aroused practical discussion, the latter enthu- 
siasm, and the combination was a good one. 
It was noticeable that nothing that appealed 
to the missionary spirit appealed in vain. 

When the apprenticeship term began, the 
value of actual and constant practice soon 
became evident. Reference-books and aids to 
cataloguing that had been but names to us 
became a continual need, and we soon learned 
to form a judgment, albeit a crude one, of 
their relative merits. 

There has been expressed by several of the 
class in my hearing, a doubt whether it is 
best for the school to attempt to teach more 
than one system of cataloguing, considering 
the short time during which many of the class 
have the benefit of its instructions. In school 
parlance, we found ourselves " mixed up " by 
the different methods taught, so that when we 
came to be apprentices we had to relearn 
some things in order to do our work cor- 
rectly. 

The convenience of training in languages 
was very apparent, more so, doubtless, than 
if our apprenticeship had been in an ordinary 
library. To meet a want in this direction, a 



class in German was started, under one of the 
staff, and proved helpful. Several of us would 
be glad if the third year's course might include 
a review at least of our studies in languages, 
ancient as well as modern. 

The plans with which many entered the 
school suffered changes and may undergo 
more before the end of the apprenticeship 
year. Our ignorance of the many depart- 
ments, the infinite detail, and the higher aims 
of librarianship, led us to make hasty choice 
of future work, which was modified or reversed 
as we gained insight. Fitness for special 
lines developed itself and seemed almost to 
force a choice in some instances. One feel- 
ing, however, was common to the class, that, 
whatever place and whatever division of labor 
might fall to our lot, we should not be satisfied 
with less than our best work, now that we had 
a standard. With the untried enthusiasm of 
tyros we even yearned for small libraries in 
straitened circumstances, that so we- might 
show how much could be done with a little. 

I have intimated that the class was ambi- 
tious, industrious, conscientious, enthusiastic ; 
all this would sound like self-praise if I had 
not intended all along to account for it in 
great part by the patient painstaking, the 
persevering energy, and contagious zeal of 
the faculty of the school. If the class be 
called a success, it is greatly owing to the 
ability and the generous spirit with which it 
was managed. 



THE RELATIONS OF CITV GOVERNMENTS TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 



BY WILLIAM RICE, D. D., LIBRARIAN CITY LIBRARY, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 



T N discussing the relations of city govern- 
ments or town authorities to public libra- 
ries in this Library Association, I have no 
occasion to urge that free public libraries are 
desirable, or that they should receive encour- 
agement and support in the form of a direct 
tax or by municipal grant. And I am happy 
to know that the importance and value of 
public libraries as factors in the grand scheme 



of popular education is now universally ad- 
mitted by educators, and to such an extent 
by the general public, that provision has been 
made,in many of the States for the appropri- 
ation of public funds for their support. The 
amount which a city or town may appropriate 
is still limited in some of the States ; while in 
Massachusetts, and to a considerable extent 
elsewhere, that amount is left to be deter- 



RICE. 



55 



mined by vote of the town or municipality. 

Very many of the libraries established by 
towns and cities under the laws of the various 
States have originated in the generous gifts 
of individuals or in the bequests of public- 
spirited citizens. Comparatively few, indeed, 
even of the best-established and most flour- 
ishing public libraries of the country, have 
originated in the public action of the town or 
municipality. But whether in their inception 
the result of individual munificence or muni- 
cipal action, the authority which is vested in 
the town or municipality is substantially of 
the same general character, and involves two 
elements ; viz. those of control and support. 

I shall offer a few obvious suggestions on 
both these points. 

To secure the first element in its best type, 
it is necessary that the board of control be 
intrenched beyond the petty strifes of local 
politics, and that the members of such boards 
be selected from the intelligent and cultivated 
classes of the community. Moreover, it is 
exceedingly desirable that these boards of 
control be elected for a considerable term of 
'years, and be so constituted that in no single 
year shall any radical or material change be 
made in their membership. 

The officers in direct charge of the library 
should be wisely chosen, and be rarely 
changed. No institution can attain a healthy 
and symmetrical growth if its immediate 
managers are incompetent, or if they are 
frequently superseded and the general plan 
of the institution is subjected to continual 
modification. But a wise choice of librarians 
is scarcely to be expected unless the trustees 
or directors are intelligent and cultivated 
men; and the permanence of these officials 
can only be secured by the permanence of 
the supervising board. No arrangement can 
be more mischievous than the supervision of 
a public library by a committee of the city 
government annually elected. 

I knew an instance where in a large city 
the library was under the control of such a 
board, some of whom were illiterate men, and 
where the librarian and his assistants were 
changed three times in five years. 

I knew another instance where the chair- 



man of the library board was a keeper of a 
saloon, and more interested in the business 
of rum-selling than in the promotion of the 
moral and intellectual welfare of the city, 
which the library was supposed by its founders 
to subserve. 

It is not to be expected, indeed, that men 
whose prominence in ward politics alone 
raises them to positions of temporary author- 
ity in a city should on this account be espe- 
cially suited to direct in the management of a 
library, either as to the administration of its 
affairs, the choice of its books, or the selec- 
tion of the librarian. 

The second element in the relations of a 
town or city to the library is that of financial 
support. 

This, of course, is a vital factor in the 
growth and usefulness of the institution. 

Given an efficient management, it then fol- 
lows that the more money which is at the 
disposal of the trustees, the greater will be 
the benefits secured. 

Of course, the amount must be regulated to 
a considerable extent by the population and 
wealth of the municipality; but the public 
library deserves, and should receive, a fair 
proportion of the amount which is appropriated 
in a town or city for educational purposes. 

Provision should be made for all current 
expenses which an efficient management of 
its affairs demands, and also for such a supply 
of new books as will secure its healthy and 
vigorous growth. And this supply should be 
broader and more comprehensive than the 
range of a mere circulating library which pro- 
poses to furnish the current literature of the 
day. It should contemplate meeting the more 
earnest and serious needs of the community 
by additions to the departments of the library 
which are best adapted to aid in the acquisi- 
tion of substantial knowledge. 

If we put this claim for liberal appropria- 
tions on no higher ground, we might urge 
that none of the material interests of a city 
can certainly be more important to its well- 
being than the development of its citizens in 
intelligence, in practical knowledge, in culti- 
vated skill, and in power to apply to industrial 
pursuits the constantly increasing discoveries 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



in science and the arts ; that no money 
expended will bring such a rich return as that 
which is devoted to secure this development; 
and that no instrumentality is more effective 
in securing this end than the maintenance of 
a public library, on a broad and generous 
basis. 

But, in addition to these advantages, who 
can doubt that the public library secures to 
the city or town in which it is located a full 
return for all reasonable appropriations in a 
more orderly, intelligent, and useful popula- 
tion? Who can doubt that pauperism and 
crime are lessened by its influence, and that 
every moral and social, as well as material, 
interest is promoted ? 

We have thus very briefly indicated the 
financial claims of the library upon the town 
or city. But we cannot fail to recognize the 
fact that the future of a library is somewhat 
uncertain at best, when the dependence for 
growth and support is entirely contingent 
upon the annual vote of a town or city govern- 
ment, whose members are constantly chang- 
ing, and whose action is affected by so many 
influences which can neither be foreseen nor 
controlled. The cry of retrenchment may at 
any time be raised, and retrenchment often 
begins where it should end ; that is, with the 
appropriations for educational purposes. Or 
the demand for some so-called material im- 
provement may assume disproportionate 
importance, and the more vital interests of a 
city be sacrificed for a time for the attainment 
of those of minor consequence. 

A library thus dependent, is therefore, con- 
stantly in danger of such a reduction in its 
income as will seriously impair its efficiency. 
Moreover, in a free library thus dependent, 
those interests are liable to suffer which are 
in reality the most essential to its welfare and 
usefulness. 

Rarely can an appropriation be expected 
which will do much more than provide for the 
necessary current expenses of the library, and 
supply the constant demands of its readers 
for the popular literature of the day. The 
only assurance which a library can have for 
its stability and for the attainment of its 
highest usefulness is to be found in the 



possession of an endowment fund for its 
reference department, adequate to provide 
for its regular and symmetrical development. 

The history of libraries will show that 
most of those which are of real and acknowl- 
edged value have been supported, in part at 
least, by endowment funds ; while those insti- 
tutions which have been entirely dependent 
upon city or town appropriations have been 
largely libraries of a popular character and 
of less value. 

Though we would not underrate the impor- 
tance of the circulating department of a library, 
nor fail to appreciate the advantages which 
result from the introduction of the popular liter- 
ature of the day into the homes of the people, 
we desire to emphasize the fact that in its ref- 
erence department is found the highest util- 
ity of a public library its greatest efficiency 
in. developing the mental power as well as 
advancing the industrial and commercial in- 
terests of a community. 

We have thus briefly considered the gen- 
eral topic, and it will be seen that the dangers 
arising in the practical working of a library 
controlled and supported by town or city are 
two-fold. 

1. From unwise and unintelligent manage- 
ment, resulting in frequent changes of policy, 
in undiscriminating purchases of books, and 
often in the appointment of incompetent 
librarians. 

2. From insufficient support, crippling the 
library in its most important departments, 
and thus essentially impairing its usefulness. 

The discussion of this subject furnishes me 
with an opportunity to present to you a brief 
history of the City Library Association of 
Springfield an opportunity which I had in 
mind in suggesting to your committee my 
topic on this occasion. 

I desire to give this history of a successful 
experiment, because it suggests a form of 
organization which would be practicable in 
many towns and cities, and which would result 
in the establishment of a library more desira- 
ble in some respects than the public library 
proper, maintained and supported by the city 
or town alone. 

The City Library Association of Springfield 



RICE. 



57 



was organized to supply a great public need. 
In 1855, through the efforts of a few intelli- 
gent and enterprising citizens, a petition was 
circulated and signed by 1,200 people, asking 
for the establishment of a public library. The 
city government considered the subject favor- 
ably, but, as the appropriation bill for the year 
had passed, no action could be had upon the 
subject. 

The next year the City Hall was built, and 
the city government decided that it was inex- 
pedient to make any appropriation for a 
public library, in view of the heavy indebted- 
ness of the city. Disappointed in this 
direction, the friends of the library enterprise 
determined to make a vigorous effort for the 
establishment of a library by means of a 
voluntary association. For this purpose the 
City Library Association was organized Nov. 
2 7> T 857- The members of two existing 
institutions, the Young Men's Literary Asso- 
ciation and the Young Men's Institute, united 
'with other citizens in the new enterprise, and 
their small libraries were made over to the 
new organization. 

A committee was appointed to solicit sub- 
scriptions among the citizens, a considerable 
sum was raised, and accessions were made 
to the library by donations of books. 

In 1859 another appeal was made to the 
city government. The Hon. W. B. Calhoun, 
the Mayor of the city, recommended in his 
inaugural an appropriation for this purpose, 
and argued that, " In view of the benefit of a 
public library as a fruitful source, not of the 
ordinary and acknowledged blessings of 
intelligence merely, but of an efficient and all 
pervading economy, it would be literally an 
institution of saving." But the city govern- 
ment, still feeling the pressure of its debts, 
declined to make any appropriation for a 
library. They consented, however, to pro- 
vide a room in the City Hall for the use of 
the Association, and also to furnish fuel and 
lights. No funds, however, were received 
from the city for the support of the library 
until 1864. 

In 1864 the Association petitioned to the 
city government for an appropriation to 
supplement the yearly subscriptions of $.i, 



which sum was charged for the use of books, 
and, as a consideration to the city, agreed 
that the use of books on the premises should 
be free to all. 

The city government responded favorably 
to this request, and from 1864 to 1870 appro- 
priated an average of about $1,600 a year. 

The library now contained about 17,000 
volumes, and at least $45,000 had been con- 
tributed by citizens to the funds of the Asso- 
ciation. It was, therefore, apparent that the 
library had become an established institution, 
and it was felt that provision must be made 
for its permanent accommodation and con- 
tinued growth. The Association was there- 
fore reorganized under a new charter, which 
constituted it a " corporation for the purpose 
of establishing and maintaining. a library for 
the diffusion of knowledge and the promotion 
of intellectual improvement in the city of 
Springfield." The corporation was authorized 
to "hold real and personal estate to the 
amount of $150,000 (since increased to 
$300,000), exclusive of the books in its library, 
and the collections of natural history and 
works of art in its museum." All its real and 
personal estate was to be held in trust for 
"the uses and purposes appropriate for a 
public and social library and museum, to be 
used and enjoyed by the inhabitants of 
Springfield, under such regulations as the 
corporation might from time to time pre- 
scribe ; " and the city of Springfield was 
authorized to make appropriations for its 
maintenance so long as the corporation 
" allowed the inhabitants of the city free 
access to the library at reasonable hours 
for the purpose of using the same on the 
premises." The officers of the Association, 
consisting of a president, vice-president, and 
ten directors, were invested with the entire 
supervision and control of the library. But 
to give the city government some voice 
directly in the management of the library, 
the by-laws were subsequently changed, so 
that the Mayor of the city, the President of 
the Common Council, and the Superintendent 
of Schools were constituted, ex officio, mem- 
bers of the Board of Directors. 

It was provided that any citizen might be- 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



come a member of the corporation, with the 
right to vote at the meetings, on payment of 
$50. 

The rooms hitherto occupied by the As- 
sociation in the City Hall were now filled to 
overflowing, and the necessity for more com- 
modious quarters was obvious ; and at the 
first meeting of the new organization, a lot of 
land for a new building was donated by Hon. 
George Bliss, with a subscription in addition 
of $10,000; and the directors voted to proceed 
at once to obtain farther subscriptions and 
plans for a building. In the spring of 1871, 
the new building was completed, at an 
expense of $100,000. The Association was 
about $25,000 in debt, at the completion of 
the building ; but this amount was soon 
raised, and, at the annual meeting in 1874, the 
Treasurer reported that the entire debt had 
been paid. 

On the removal of the library to the new 
building, application was made to the city for 
an increase in the annual appropriation, in 
view of the large increase in the current 
expenses of the Association. 

They were able to present as an argument 
to enforce this application, the fact that the 
amount of funds contributed by the Associa- 
tion, and used for expenses, or invested in 
land, buildings, or books, had reached the 
sum of $185,000. The city government res- 
ponded favorably to this appeal, and though 
the annual appropriations varied from year to 
year, with the varying exigencies of the city, 
and the varying moods of the officials, the 
average annual appropriation from 1870 to 
1885 was about $6,000. The Association also 
had an income during this period, from the 
annual subscription fees of $i each from 
the cardholders, and from the interest of 
its invested funds, aggregating about $2,000 a 
year. During this period, the importance of 
additional endowment funds was urged upon 
the public in the annual reports of the direc- 
tors. The desirableness of making the library 
entirely free, by an increased appropriation, 
was also presented, from time to time to the 
city goverment. 

In 1884 a special effort was made to in- 
crease the endowment funds. A plan was 



adopted by which it was provided that all 
subscriptions of $5,000 and upwards might 
at the request of the donors be separately in- 
vested, and the fund thus created be known 
by the name designated by the donor, and 
the annual interest on such fund be expended 
for the benefit of the specific department of 
the library indicated by the donor. Thus the 
contributors to these funds were enabled to 
secure a lasting memorial of themselves or 
their friends, while at the same time they 
provided for a regular and perpetual growth 
of some department of the library. 

This plan met with approval, and $30,000 
was almost immediately subscribed. More- 
over, about $50,000 in addition has been 
given in legacies to the library, contingent 
for the present on the lives of other legatees, 
but which the Association will receive in 
comparatively a few years. 

In connection with this movement for in- 
creased endowment funds a more decided 
effort was made to secure an increase in the 
annual city appropriation, for the purpose of 
making the library entirely free in its circu- 
lating as well as in its reference department. 
The subject was fully presented to the city 
government by the officers of the Associa- 
tion ; and, as the result, an additional appro- 
priation of $3,000 was unanimously voted for 
the new departure. 

The library was opened to the public as a 
free library on the ist of June, 1885. The 
success of the free library was beyond the 
expectations of its most sanguine friends. 
The number of cardholders increased during 
the year from 1,100 to over 7,000, and the 
circulation of books from 41,000 to 154,500. 

This success was so satisfactory that the 
Association easily secured a farther addition 
to the appropriation in 1886, and it now 
receives from the city, including the "dog 
tax," the sum of $15,000 a year. 

We have now in the library 60.000 volumes. 
We have a reading-room, well supplied with 
newspapers, magazines, and reviews, and a 
museum of natural history, which is used in 
connection with the study of natural science 
in our schools. 

In conclusion I would say that the points 



BURR. 



59 



to which I wish to call attention, and which, 
it seems to me, may be suggestive to the 
friends of the library enterprise elsewhere, 
are these : 

i. As to library management and con- 
trol. 

We have, in this somewhat unique enterprise 
of ours, a library supported, as to its current 
expenses and its circulating department, en- 
tirely by public funds, and yet under the 
supervision of a Board of Directors elected 
by the Association (a corporation composed 
of intelligent, cultivated, and enterprising 
men, who are interested in the library, and 
who have shown their interest by contribut- 
ing to its funds), in which body the city is 
represented, ex-officio, through its Mayor, the 
President of the Common Council, and the 
Superintendent of Schools, certainly a wiser 
Board of control than could ordinarily be 
secured through the direct agency of a city 
government. 



2. As to funds. 

We have secured this generous support 
from the city government, because we have 
not only been able to show the value of the 
library to the public welfare, but also to pre- 
sent to them from time to time the fact that 
the liberal appropriations of the city were, 
after all, but a reasonable interest on the 
large amount which the Association had 
already contributed for the public benefit. 

We have also been successful in raising 
endowment funds, because we have been 
able to show to our wealthy and generous 
citizens that our library in its current ex- 
penses and circulating department would 
undoubtedly be liberally supported by public 
funds, and that the amount of their donations 
would be appropriated solely to the building 
up of an increasingly valuable reference de- 
partment, thus placing the library upon a 
stable foundation, and insuring its healthy 
growth and its permanent usefulness. 



SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AT ITHACA. 

BY GEORGE L. BURR, LIBRARIAN OF THE WHITE LIBRARY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 

first collections thus sought were in compara 
tive philology and in the ancient classics. 

1. Franz Bopp, the father of modern com- 
parative philology, died at Berlin in 1867, the 
year before the opening of Cornell. His 
library of 2,500 volumes included nearly the 
whole literature of the infant science up to 
that date. Like that of his equally venerated 
colleague, Leopold von Ranke, on whose heir- 
ship a sister American college has just earned 
our congratulations, it "held no trash." 
Bought from his heirs, it was transferred 
to the shelves of the university before her 
doors were opened to students. Its chief 
wealth, apart from the beginnings of compara- 
tive philology, is in the literatures and gram- 
mar of the Oriental, African, Polynesian, and 
American tongues. A Sanskrit manuscript or 
two are its only curiosa. 

2. Scarcely less thoroughly equipped in 
his own field was that patriarch of American 
classical commentators, Professor Charles 



T^HAT much-quoted philosopher who 
divides education into the two stages of 
learning something about everything and of 
learning everything about something, has un- 
wittingly denned the ideal difference in scope 
and aim between the public and the private 
library the library of reference and the 
library of research. But the university 
library is a nondescript. Standing where 
the two educations join, it must supply tools 
for both ; and, if it may not hope, like those 
rare universal geniuses, the national libraries, 
to know everything about everything, it must 
at least, for training's sake, aim to know 
everything about several somethings. 

It was perhaps some such instinct as this 
which led the founders of Cornell Univer- 
sity at the very outset to combine with broad 
general purchases the acquisition of special 
collections. To those who hold Cornell a 
technical school in danger of forgetting her 
original calling, it may seem strange that the 



6o 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



Anthon, of Columbia College. His death 
occurred in the same year with Bopp's, and 
his library passed with the latter's to the 
shelves of Cornell University. Its 7,000 
volumes were preeminently a "working" col- 
lection the authorities and editions used in 
the preparation of the classical dictionary, 
the dictionary of antiquities, the annotated 
Greek and Latin classics, familiar to so many 
generations of students. Yet Prof. Anthon 
was by no means above bibliographical luxury. 
Not a few such exquisite typographical 
indulgences as the Bodoni Homer and Picart's 
Ovid, such rarities as the Aldine Aristotle, the 
Elzevir Livy, Plautus, Curtius, Vitruvius, be- 
tray the book-lover as well as the scholar. 

3. With these, which swelled its total to 
about 16,000 volumes, the university began 
its work. Among the first to feel the poverty 
of its library was its Professor of English 
History, Goldwin Smith, late Regius Profes- 
sor at the University of Oxford. To the 
gift of his own services he now added that 
of his books; and in 1869 his rich collec- 
tion upon the history and literature of 
Britain was transferred from its English home. 
Among its treasures were rare editions of 
ancient, as well as of English, classics ; but 
its main fullness is in the political and social 
history of the mother-land a department in 
which it has received and still receives 
frequent accessions from the generous donor. 

4. President White at the same time 
placed at the disposal of his students in the 
history of continental Europe several thou- 
sand volumes of his own private library; and 
in 1870 he gave outright to the newly organ- 
ized school of architecture his store of works 
over a thousand in that favorite field, 
with a sum for its increase. The sum has 
multiplied in the using. The collection, 
swollen to several-fold its original size, is 
especially rich in rare and costly illustrated 
works, and has of late years been supple- 
mented, from the same source, by what is 
probably the largest collection of architectural 
photographs yet brought across the Atlantic. 

5. In 1870, too, the Hon. William Kelly, 
one of the trustees of the university, as a 
protest against certain attacks upon it, gave 



a sum in money for the collection of a special 
library in mathematics. About this nucleus 
have gathered some 4,500 volumes, covering 
nearly the whole field of mathematical science, 
both pure and applied. The collection is 
especially rich in mathematical periodicals. 

6. In the same year, Ezra Cornell, the 
founder of the university, whose collection in 
agriculture (he was himself a farmer) had 
found its way to her shelves, added $1,000 for 
increase in this field. 

7. Of the library of Jared Sparks, the 
historian, President of Harvard University, 
which came to Cornell in 1872, it would be a 
work of supererogation for me here to speak. 
Its 5,000 volumes and 4,000 pamphlets 
relate almost wholly to the history of 
America. Many of them are enriched by his 
marginal notes. His manuscripts, as is well 
known, went to Harvard all save one vol- 
ume of autograph documents, among whose 
priceless contents are the interlined and 
blotted original of Franklin's closing speech 
in the Constitutional Convention and the 
sheet written "with a toothpick and a little 
boot-blacking" from Lafayette's dungeon at 
Magdeburg. Of the military maps and plans 
used by Washington during the Revolution, 
which also came to Cornell, we shall all 
doubtless soon learn more through Mr. 
Winsor's history. 

8. From the Rev. Samuel Joseph May, of 
Syracuse, came in 1873 the nucleus of a col- 
lection of which the university is especially 
proud that on slavery and anti-slavery in 
America. Mr. May's gift found generous co- 
operation, and the joint appeal of W T illiam 
Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Gerrit 
Smith to their old co-workers has brought a 
flood of contributions, both from America and 
England. Although the number of titles is 
not definitely known, the collection is believed 
one of the richest existing. 

9. A value out of proportion to its numbers 
belongs to the little group of 600 volumes given 
to Cornell in 1884 by the Hon. Eugene Schuy- 
ler, historian and diplomat. They deal mainly 
with Russian history, literature, and folk-lore, 
and include the printed sources used by him 
in the preparation of his "Peter the Great." 



BURR. 



61 



10. In 1886 was bought for the projected 
law-school of the university the law library of 
Merritt King, of Ithaca, an excellent selec- 
tion of its sort. And not to be overlooked 
is (n) the growing patent collection of 
Cornell, the gift of the American, British, and 
Canadian governments. The British patents 
already fill alone 3,000 quarto volumes. 

12. The only other collection of which I 
have to speak the latest and greatest gift of 
all is the historical library of the university's 
first President and first Professor of history, 
Andrew Dickson White. Broader in its 
scope than most of the other collections 
named, its contents demand a less hurried 
review. In general, it may be said to differ 
also in this, that it is the library as well of a 
teacher as of a writer. The fullness of 
illustrated and illustrative works, the unusual 
number of epoch-making books, the abund- 
ance of all that goes to make history vivid, 
bespeak the lecture-room rather than the 
study. Striking, too, is the preponderance 
of biography and of material bearing upon the 
history of civilization, as against mere political 
and dynastic narrative. In ancient history 
the library is respectable, but by no means 
remarkable. It is only with the Middle Ages, 
and especially with the rise of the modern 
states, that it becomes noteworthy. Its 
mediaeval MSS., classical and ecclesiastical, 
many of them illuminated, have mainly 
illustrative value. Its incunabula, on the 
other hand, though representing most of the 
leading printers of the I5th century, have 
been chosen chiefly for intrinsic historic 
interest. But it is with the period of the 
Reformation that we reach the first of its 
special collections. The thousand or so of 
titles are in large part contemporary impres- 
sions. In Lutherana it is surpassed, indeed, 
by the Beck collection at Hartford; but in 
the works of the minor Reformers, in the 
editions of Erasmus, of Hutten, of Melanch- 
thon, in the anonymous satires and caricatures 
of the period, it has perhaps few American 
rivals. In German history the only other 
collection of note is a body of pamphlets on 
the Thirty Years' War. In the history of 



France the library's special wealth begins with 
the wars of religion ; the Fronde is illustrated 
by several hundred Mazarinades ; but it is 
upon the French Revolution that the collection 
is phenomenal, its contemporary pamphlets 
alone numbering from 5,000 to 7,000. 

Of the other countries of the continent, 
Italy and Russia are covered with greatest 
fullness. In the history of Great Britain it is 
the period of the Stuarts that receives most 
attention, the pamphlets coming largely from 
the library of Macaulay. In American his- 
tory, although there are not a few early 
Americana Ptolemies, Margaritas, the Im- 
ago Mundi of Pierre d'Ailly, the Cosmogra- 
phies Introductio^ the Psalter of Giustiniani, 
among the rest it is the civil war alone that 
is voluminously represented by contemporary 
material. There are, however, considerable 
collections upon Santo Domingo and upon the 
Maximilian episode in Mexico. 

Even richer, on the whole, than these collec- 
tions upon national history are those upon 
certain phases of the general history of civili- 
zation upon monasticismand chivalry, upon 
the Inquisition and the Index, upon the 
Counter-Reformation and the Jesuits, upon 
the struggle beween theology and the natural 
sciences, upon the growth of international 
law, upon judicial torture and its abolition, 
upon the dark history of persecution for 
witchcraft. In the field last named, where its 
titles count by many hundreds, and include 
not a few manuscripts, it is perhaps the 
foremost of its kind. 

Of the White library a complete catalogue 
is approaching publication, whose first section 
that on the Reformation will soon ap- 
pear. A word as to the catalogues of the 
remaining collections. The Bopp and Sparks 
libraries were catalogued for sale, and brought 
these printed catalogues with them. Of the 
Kelly, White Architectural, and Schuyler 
collections, catalogues have been printed in 
the official bulletin of the University Library. 
Of the Anthon, Goldwin Smith, Cornell Agri- 
cultural, May, and King collections, manu- 
script catalogues alone exist. 

Such are the special collections which, with 



62 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



the 30,000 or 40,000 volumes of its own direct 
purchase, make up the library of Cornell 
University. 

But no account of the " special collections 
at Ithaca " would be even approximately com- 
plete which should fail to mention also the rich 
library of Professor Hiram Corson upon the 



earlier periods of English literature, that of 
Professor T. F. Crane upon the folk-lore and 
popular tales of Europe, especially those of 
the Middle Age, that of Mrs. Henry A. 
St. John upon the life and works of Words- 
worth. And still other collections are in the 
making. 



PLAN FOR COURSE OF READING FOR PUPILS OF THE 
POUGHKEEPSIE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



BY J: C. SICKLEY, LIBRARIAN CITY LIBRARY, POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 



" '"T'HE world is full of books ; but there are 
multitudes which are so ill-written, that 
they were never worth any man's reading ; and 
there are thousands more which may be good 
in their kind, yet are worth nothing when the 
month or year or occasion is past for which 
they were written. Others may be valuable 
in themselves for some special purpose, or in 
some peculiar science. . . It is of vast ad- 
vantage for improvement of knowledge, and 
saving time, for a young man to have the 
most proper books for his reading recom- 
mended by a judicious friend." 

So wrote Dr. Watts many years ago, and, if 
true in his day, how important that some 
direction should be given to the reading of 
the young at this time, when the publication 
of books has so greatly increased. 

When a child first begins to use the public 
library, he is like one who, never having 
visited the Thousand Islands, starts out for a 
day's boating trip without a guide. There are 
so many beautiful objects to attract him, he 
has heard of so many more that he wishes to 
see and know, that, gliding to and fro among 
these charming isles, he becomes confused 
and finally loses himself among them. So a 
child, when he first enters the library, sees 
around him thousands of books; he picks up 
one. glances through another, thinks of sev- 
eral that companions have told him to read, 
till he, after a time, becomes confused, and 
unable to decide what he wants or needs. 

Children prefer to read entertaining books. 
They like to read books that have a reputa- 



tion ; books which they have heard about, or 
which have been recommended to them. This 
is shown by the eagerness with which the 
"Arabian Nights" and "Robinson Crusoe" 
are read and re-read. Children are always 
glad to read a book which has been recom- 
mended by their parents. The recommenda- 
tions of companions are of ten relied upon, and 
in this way sensational and trashy books are 
brought to their notice, when otherwise they 
would not hear of them. 

Most parents desire their children to read 
instructive as well as entertaining books, but 
the time and attention required to make suita- 
ble selections render this a difficult task. We 
have several admirable lists of books for chil- 
dren ; Mr. Larned's "Books for Young Read- 
ers" and Miss Hewins' "Books for the 
Young" contain as good selections as can be 
made; and would parents provide themselves 
with copies of these manuals, and select from 
them books for their children, the general 
reading of young people would be vastly 
improved. 

For some time I had thought that a list of 
books adapted for a child's reading for a cer- 
tain time ; one that he could have himself, and 
use and consult and select from, and one that 
the parent could see, would be useful and prac- 
tical. Impressed with this idea, I began early 
in November last to prepare a course of read- 
ing, or list of books, for the pupils of the pub- 
lic schools of Poughkeepsie, wishing to have 
it ready at the beginning of the present year. 
Many other duties prevented my completing 



SICKLE Y. 



it till June. I then presented it to our Board 
of Education, which has the control and super- 
vision of the library as well as the schools, 
and it was approved, and a resolution passed 
that it go into effect at the opening of the 
schools in September. 

The plan proposed is as follows : The 
course at the public schools of Poughkeepsie 
is divided into twelve grades. The first four 
years are called "Primary Grades," the 
fourth being the lowest grade, the next four 
" grammar grades ; " the next year is the 
second department of the High School, and 
the last three years are the High School 
proper. I began with the first primary grade, 
the fourth year of school, the average age of 
the pupil being 10 or II years. This is 
about as soon as a child begins to use the 
library, and is probably as soon as he should 
be permitted to. I selected a list of books for 
the pupil to read for that year, adapting the 
books as far as I could judge to the age. 
This I did for each year of the succeeding 
grammar grades and the high school. Selec- 
tions have been made in science, history, biog- 
raphy, poetry, and general literature as well as 
fiction or story, books. My plan for the 
details of operating the arrangement is to 
notify each teacher, giving her full information 
in reference to the subject. The names of 
those pupils who use the library, and those 
who wish to use it, will be taken, and the list 
sent to the library. A notice will then be sent 
to the parents informing them that a list of 
books suitable for the child's reading has been 
recommended by the Board of Education, and 
requesting that they signify their wishes in 
the matter. This seems to me a method of 
reaching parents and obtaining from them an 
expression of their wishes in reference to their 
children's reading. 

The lists of books will be printed on cards, 
one for each year. The pupil may thus have 
his list with him, and consult and check off 
his books as he reads them. I do not think a 
course of reading for children in history or on 
any special subject would be practicable, nor 
is such my idea; ray object being only to 
provide the child or his parents with some- 
thing from which to make a selection, and to 



bring to the notice of the child the better 
class of books, and, if possible, to keep him 
from reading the silly and sensational ones 
which are often selected, and cultivate his 
taste for wholesome literature, so that he 
shall not acquire a taste for any but the best 
books. 

By this plan the necessity for many dupli- 
cates will be avoided, as no particular order 
need be followed in reading the books. Some 
duplicates will be necessary, but not as many 
as though a regular course on some special 
subject had been arranged for. 

As to the lists of books selected, I do not 
pretend they are the best that could be chosen. 
As stated before, I have endeavored to avoid 
the sensational, and adapt the books to the 
age and acquirements of the several years of 
the course. A test of the plan will undoubt- 
edly suggest many changes. Some books 
may be too much beyond the years in which 
I have placed them ; others may not be far 
enough. Then other and better books may 
be suggested to take the place of some that 
are not so desirable. Valuable suggestions 
can be made by members of the A.L.A., and 
in fact I see no reason why a*course suitable 
for any graded schools or any school could 
not be prepared by cooperation of the Associ- 
ation and used throughout the country. 

FIRST PRIMARY GRADE. FOURTH YEAR 
OF SCHOOL. (Average age of pupil 10 
or n.) 

FICTION. 

Abbott, Jacob. Franconia stories. 
Alcott, L. M. Lulu's library; My boys; 
My girls. . 

Anderson, H. C. Fairy tales. 
Hatuthvrne. Wonder book. 
Lodge, H. C., Editor.- Six popular tales i-. 

" " " 2. 

Molesworth. Cuckoo clock ; Grandmother 
dear ; Tell me a story. 

Stowe. Dog's mission ; Little Pussy Wil- 
low ; Queer little people. 

Swinton &* Cathcart, Editors. Book of 
tales ; Golden book of choice reading. 

Woolsey, S. C. Eyebright; Mischief's 
thanksgiving ; Nine little goslings. 



6 4 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

Abbott, J. Heat. 

Abbott, J. S. C. Columbus and discovery 
of America; De Soto and the Mississippi; 
La Salle and the Northwest. 

Angus, D. The Eastern wonderland. 

Browne, Maggie. Chats about Germany. 

Coffin C. C. Following the flag. 

Conant, Helen S. The butterfly hunters. 

Darwin, C. What Mr. Darwin saw, etc. 

Du Chaillu. Country of the dwarfs ; 
Gorilla country. 

Francis, B. Isles of the Pacific. 

Gray. How plants grow. 

Hawks, F. L. Uncle Phillip's talks about 
New York. 

Heild, Mary. Glimpses of South Amer- 
ica. 

Higginson, T. W. Young folks' history 
of United States. 

Ingersoll, E. Friends worth knowing. 

Phillips, E. C. All the Russias; Peeps 
into China. 

Wonder Library. Intelligence of ani- 
mals ; Wonders of water. 
FOURTH GRAMMAR GRADE. FIFTH YEAR 
/>F SCHOOL. 
FICTION. 

Abbott, Jacob. Rollo's tour in Europe. 10 
vols. 

Alcott, L. M. Old-fashioned Thanksgiv- 
ing ; Proverb stories. 

Anderson. Fairy stories. 

Craik (Miss Mulock.) Fairy book. 

Grimm. Fairy stories. 

Hawthorne. Grandfather's clock ; Tangle- 
wood tales. 

Jerdon, G. Keyhole country. 

Molesworth. Christmas child ; Rosy ; 
Tapestry room. 

Richards, Laura E. Joyous story of 
Toto. 

Woolsey. Cross patch ; Little country 
girl; New Year's bargain. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Abbott, J. Alfred the Great ; Hannibal. 

Abbott,}. S. C Miles Standish and the 
Pilgrims ; Captain Kidd and the buccaneers ; 
Peter Stuyvesant and New York ; Benjamin 
Franklin. 



Brues, C. Round Africa. 

Butterworth. Young folks' history of 
America. 

Chesney,- J. Around France ; Land of the 
pyramids. 

Coffin, C. C. Days and nights on the bat- 
tlefield. 

Drake, S. A. Indian history for young 
folks. 

Goodrich, S. S. The animal kingdom. 

Gray, A. How plants behave. 

Heild, Mary. Land of the Temples. 

Herrick, Mrs. S. B. Plant life. 

Ingersoll, E. Old ocean. 

Macgregor, John. Thousand miles in Rob 
Roy canoe. 

Wonder Library. Thunder and lightning ; 
Wonders of the ocean. 

Yonge. Young folks' history of England ; 
Young folks' history of France. 

THIRD GRAMMAR GRADE. SIXTH YEAR 
OF SCHOOL. 

FICTION. 

Black, William. Four Macnicols. 

Day. Sanford and Merton. 

Diaz. William Henry letters. 

Edgeworth. Harry and Lucy. 

Ewing. Lob-lie-by-the-fire ; Six to six- 
teen ; We and the world. 

Jackson, H. H. Nelly's silver mine. 

Molesworth. Four Winds farm. 

Otis, James. Mr. Stubb's brother; Rais- 
ing the pearl ; Toby Tyler. 

Ruskin. King of the golden river. 

Stoddard, W. O. Dab Kinzer ; The quar- 
tette ; Saltillo boys ; Among the lakes. 

Woolsey. Round dozen ; What Katy did ; 
What Katy did at school; What Katy did 
next. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Abbott, J. Julius Cassar; Alexander the 
Great. 

Abbott, J. S. C. Washington and the 
revolution ; Daniel Boone and Kentucky ; Kit 
Carson and the far West ; Paul Jones and 
the navy ; Davy Crockett and Texas. 

Bert, Paul. First steps in scientific 
knowledge ; Part first, animals ; Part second, 
plants. 



SICKLE Y. 



Bryant. (Selections from Poems.) Death 
of the flowers ; Little people of the snow. 

Coulter, M. Farming for boys. 

Du Chaillu. Apingi kingdom ; Lost in the 
jungle ; Wild life. 

Edwards, Arthur M. Life beneath the 
waters. 

Figuier. Insect world ; Ocean world. 

Longfellow. (Selections.) Children's hour; 
Rain in summer ; Snowflakes. 

Whittier. (Selections.) Barbara Fretchie ; 
Barefoot boy; Flowers in winter. 

Wonder Library. Egypt, 3,300 years ago ; 
Wonders of engraving ; Wonders of the 
heavens. 

Anon. Young Mechanic. 

Yonge. Young folks' Germany ; Young 
folks' Greece ; Young folks' Rome. 

SECOND GRAMMAR GRADE. SEVENTH YEAR 

OF SCHOOL/ 

FICTION. 

jEsop. Fables. 

Alcott. Old-fashioned girl ; Little women ; 
Little men. 

Arabian Nights. 

Burnett. Little Lord Fauntleroy. 

De Foe. Robinson Crusoe. 

Eggleston Hoosier schoolboy. 

Hawthorne. True stories. 

Hoppin. Two Compton boys. 

Porter, Jane. Scottish chiefs. 

Reid. Cliff climbers ; Plant hunters. 

Taylor. Boys of other countries. 

Wyss. Swiss family Robinson. 

M I SCELLANEOUS. 

Beard. American boys' handy book. 

Bert. First steps : Part 3, stones and 
rocks ; Part 4, physics. 

Bryant. (Selections.) Night journey of 
the river ; Planting of the apple tree. 

Coffin. Boys of '76 ; Boys of '61. 

Cowper. John Gihoin's ride ; Winter morn 
ing walk. 

Gibson, W. H. Camp life in the woods. 

Hou^hton, N. Country walks of a natural- 
ist; Seaside walks of a naturalist. 

Longfellow. (Selections.) Flowers in au- 
tumn ; Light of the stars. 



Stokes. Microscopy for beginners. 
Wiggin, E. Lessons in manners. 
Wonder Library. Acoustics ; Glass-mak- 
ing; Human body; Sun. 

Wood, J. G. Popular natural history. 
Wordsworth. The longest day ; The red- 
breast. 

FIRST GRAMMAR GRADE. EIGHTH YEAR 
OF SCHOOL. 

FICTION. 

Alcott, L. M. Eight cousins ; Jo's boys; 
Rose in bloom ; Silver pitchers ; Under the 
lilacs. 

Aldrich. Story of a bad boy. 
Biart, L. Adventures of a young natural- 
ist. 

Carroll. Alice's adventures in wonder- 
land ; Through the looking-glass. 
Ewing. Story of a short life ; Jackanapes. 
Hale. Mrs. Miriam's scholars; Ten times 
one is ten. 

Porter. Thaddeus of Warsaw. 
Trowbrtdge. Lawrence's adventures. 
Warner. Being a boy. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Adams, W. H. D. Secret of success. 

Blaikie. How to get strong. 

Bert, Paul. Part 5, chemistry ; Part 6, ani- 
mal physiology ; Part 7, vegetable physiology. 

Byron. (Selection.) The ocean (from 
Childe Harold.) 

Coffin. Old times in the colonies. 

Coulter, M. Ten acres enough. 

Davies. T. How to make money and how 
to keep it. 

Lossing. United States navy for boys. 

Mace, Jean. History of a mouthful of 
bread. 

Nordhoff. Politics for young Americans. 

Pepper, J. H. Play book of science. 

Proctor, R. A. Flowers of the sky. 

Scott. Lady of the lake. 

Shelly. The cloud. 

Thompson, M. Witchery of archery. 

Thurstan, R. History of the steam engine. 

Wonder Library. Heat; Pompeii; Sub- 
lime in nature. 

Wordsworth. Influence of natural ob- 
jects ; The green linnet. 



66 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



HIGH SCHOOL SECOND DEPARTMENT. 

NINTH YEAR OF SCHOOL. 

FICTION. 

Aldrich. Marjorie Daw. 

Baldwin, J. Story of Siegfred. 

Bunyan. Pilgrim's progress. 

Cooper. Deerslayer ; Last of the Mohicans ; 
Pathfinder; Pioneers; Prairie. 

Dickens. Christmas stories ; Old curiosity 
shop. 

Hale. Man without a country; Christmas 
eve ; Crusoe in New York. 

Hawthorne. House of the seven gables ; 
Marble faun. 

Hughes. School days at Rugby; Tom 
Brown at Oxford. 

Irving. Sketch book. 

Scott. Kenilworth ; Ivanhoe. 

Stowe. Oldtown folks ; Uncle Tom's 
cabin. 

Thackeray. Christmas books, etc. 

Whitney. Faith Gartney's girlhood ; Les- 
lie Goldthwaite. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Alcott, W. A. Young housekeeper. 

Burroughs. Wake robin ; Winter sunshine. 

Butler, N. F. The wild north land. 

Burns. The Cotter's Saturday night. 

Campbell. Lord Ullin's daughter. 

Cheney, Mrs. Young folks' history of 
America. 

Coleridge. Youth and age. 

Craik, G. L. Pursuit of knowledge under 
difficulties. 

Hale. How to do it. 

Harrison, Mrs. C. C. Woman's handi- 
work in modern homes. 

Irving. Condensed life of Washington. 

Jackson (H. H.}. Bits of Talk. 

Lockyer. Elements of astronomy. 

Moore. The Mohawk. 

Pittinger. Capturing a locomotive. 

Proctor, B. W. 1\\& sea. 

Stanley. Through the dark continent. 

Thompson, James. Sheepwashing (from 
Summer) ; The snow storm (from Winter). 

Thoreau. Week on the Concord and Mer- 
rimac. 

Wonder Library. Meteors, aerolites, etc. ; 
Sculpture. 



HIGH SCHOOL FIRST DEPARTMENT. (JUNIOR 
CLASS.) TENTH YEAR OF SCHOOL. 

FICTION. 

Aldrich. Continued. 
Buliver. " 
Cooper. < '' 

Dodge, Mary M. Donald and Dorothy. 
Dickens. Continued. 
Ewing. " 

Hale',E.E. " 
Hawthorne. " 

Irving. Alhambra ; Knickerbocker, N. Y. 
Lamb. Tales from Shakespeare. 
Scott. Continued. 
Thackeray. " 
Whitney. " 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Ay res, A. The mentor. 

Butterworth, H. Zigzag journeys in Eu- 
rope. 

Coffin. Our new way round the world. 

Coultas, H. What may be learned from a 
tree. 

Cowper. England. (From the Timepiece.) 

Dole. Young folks' history of Russia. 

Geddie. Lake regions of Central Africa. 

Gilman. History of the American people. 

Holland, J. G. Letters to young people. 

Lowell. Fireside travels. 

Ober, F. A. Young folks history of Mex- 
ico. 

Parton. Captains of industry. 

Ruskin. Sesame and lilies. 

Shakspeare. Julius Caesar; Macbeth. 

Smiles. Self-help. 

Southey. (Selections.) 

Taylor. Views afoot. 

Ttrhune, Mrs. Cottage kitchen. (Chap- 
ters on " Familiar Talks.") 

Tyndall. Heat as a mode of motion. 

Warner. My summer in a garden. 

Wonder Library. Bodily strength and 
skill ; European art. 

Wordsworth. Continued. 
HIGH SCHOOL FIRST DEPARTMENT. (SUB- 
SENIOR CLASS.) ELEVENTH YEAR OF 
SCHOOL. 

FICTION. 

Bulwer. Continued. 



LARNED. 



67 






Cooper. Continued. 
Dickens. " 
Goldsmith. Vicar of Wakefield. 
Irving. Bracebridge Hall ; Tales of a 
traveler. 

Kingsley, C. Alton Locke ; Hypatia. 
Scott. Continued. 
Thackeray. Continued. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Blackie, J. Self-culture. 

Burroughs. Birds and poets ; Locusts 
and wild honey. 

Croll, P. Climate and time. 

Daives, Anna M. How we are gov- 
erned. 

Emerson. Behavior (from Conduct of 
Life) ; Books (from Society and Solitude). 

Goldsmith. Deserted village. 

Gray. Elegy. 

Howitt, W. The country year book. 

Huxley. Science and culture. 

Mackenzie, K. America. 

Mathews. Getting on in the world. 

Mitchell. My farm of Edgewood. 

Munger. On the threshold. 

Parloa. Household management, etc. 
Chapters I to 12. 

Ruskin. Work (in Crown of wild 
olives); Unto this last. 

Smiles. Duty ; Thrift. 

Shakespeare. Continued. 

Stickney. True republic. 

Tyndall. Forms of water. 

Warner. Back log studies. 



HIGH SCHOOL FIRST DEPARTMENT. (SENIOR 

CLASS.) TWELFTH YEAR OF SCHOOL. 

FICTION. 

Austen. Pride and prejudice ; Sense and 
sensibility. 

Bulwer. Continued. 

Cooper. " 

Dickens. " 

Hawthorne. " 

Irving. Woolfert's Roost ; Crayon mis- 
cellany. 

MacDonald. Annals of a quiet neighbor- 
hood ; Seaboard parish. 

Mitford. Our village. 

Scott. Continued. 

Thackeray. Continued. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Amicis. Holland ; Spain. 

Atkinson. The right use of books. 

Fields. Yesterdays with authors. 

Green. Short history of English people. 

Hamerton. Intellectual life. 

Holmes. Autocrat. 

Lowell. Among my books. 

Lubbock. Ants, bees, and wasps. 

Mackenzie. Nineteenth century. 

Miller, H. My schools and schoo Imas- 
ters ; Old red sandstone. 

Porter. Books and reading. 

Rennie, J. Insect architecture. 

Shelley. Selections. 

Southey. The Inchcape rock ; Battle of 
Blenheim. 

White. Natural history of Selborne. 

Williams, W. M. Science in short chapters. 

Wilson, W. Congressional government 



REPORT ON LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE. 



BY J. N. LARNED, SUPERINTENDENT BUFFALO LIBRARY. 



'"THE chief object, as it seems to me, of 
these successive reports which we have 
planned for our meetings, on certain matters 
of permanent interest in the library field, is 
the record of ideas and experiments, of 
movements and developments, that may thus 



of that object demands more of regularity 
and continuity in the reports than we have 
realized as yet. I find on looking back that 
only one of the six topics with which we 
opened the scheme, at our Cincinnati meet- 
ing, in 1882, has been reported on at each 



be preserved. But a satisfactory attainment meeting since, and that is the important 



68 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



topic of "Aids and Guides for Readers." 
On " Charging Systems " we have had no 
report since ; on " Classification " but one. 
On " Cataloguing " and on " Reading for the 
Young" there have been two reports pre- 
sented, but we missed them last year. On 
" Library Architecture " there have also been 
two excellent reports, but one of them was 
unwritten and very little of it appears in the 
printed transactions of the Association. So 
the continuity of the record which we hoped 
to have preserved is being unfortunately 
broken on several of the lines along which 
we intended to trace it. Some new lines of 
importance have been taken up, in reports on 
the subject of " Libraries and Schools," for 
example, and on " Fiction in Public Li- 
braries," but none of them has been pursued. 
In fact, the scheme of yearly topical reports 
seems likely to lose the greater part of its 
worth unless we resolve to carry it out with 
more consistency and regularity. The high 
value attaching to it in my mind is the excuse 
I must offer for going somewhat out of my 
way to speak a little urgently of the matter. 
My own present report on Library Archi- 
tecture has been prepared to cover as far as 
practicable the two years that have passed 
since the preceding report was made. I have 
endeavored to list the new library buildings 
in this country which have been finished with- 
in the two years, or that are now in progress, 
or that are definitely in contemplation, and to 
gather the essential particulars of information 
concerning them. No doubt there are omis- 
sions that will be discovered in the list, but I 
trust they are not numerous. The following 
is a summary of the facts I have gathered: 
Number of new buildings finished within 
two years past, 18. 

Number now in progress, 23. 
Number in contemplation (plans being con- 
sidered), 9. 
Total, 50. 

Eleven of the finished buildings and 12 
of the buildings in progress, being 23 out of 
41, or more than one half, are gifts from 
private individuals to the public. I have 
reports of the cost of 14 of these gift-build- 
ings, and it aggregates $916,000. A reason- 



able estimate for the remaining five will raise 
the generous total to $1,250,000. And the 
stream of bounty is still flowing; for five of 
the new buildings in contemplation which I 
have in my list will be gifts, and their cost is 
not likely to be less than half a million more. 
The reported cost of 32 among the 41 
buildings finished or now in progress is 
$2,617,000. This does not include the great 
building just begun at Washington for the 
Library of Congress, the expenditure on 
which is sure to run far into the millions. 

The reported capacity of 23 among the 
same 41 buildings is for 1,378,000 volumes. 
From the descriptions that are given of them, 
I estimate that the remaining 18 buildings will 
store some 375,000 volumes. 

Three of the finished buildings and eight 
of those now in progress are of fire-proof 
construction. Three are of the method of 
construction called slow-burning. 

In ten of the new buildings, including 
nearly all of the largest class, the shelving 
of books is in iron stacks, or intended to be. 
In several others that mode of construction 
will probably be introduced, but is not yet 
determined. In the Library of Congress, it 
is understood that the arrangement of books 
will be in alcoves, at first, with an ultimate 
addition of stacks. In four other libraries, 
the reported arrangement is in alcoves, with 
a single gallery in two of them, and with no 
gallery in the other two. 

Twenty of the 41 buildings finished or in 
progress are for library uses exclusively; 21 
are 'designed in part for other uses. 

The buildings which I enumerate as being 
in immediate contemplation are for the Boston 
Public Library; the Yale College Library; the 
Library of the University of Pennsylvania ; 
the Newberry Library, Chicago ; the Howard 
Library, New Orleans ; the Cambridge (Mass.) 
Public Library ; the Quincy (111.) Public 
Library; the Library of Northfield Seminary; 
and the Library of Syracuse University. 

The notable features of this record are: 
(i) The remarkable number of new building 
enterprises which two years have initiated or 
brought to completion : (2) the great sum 
expended in them or appropriated for them; 



LARNED. 



69 



(3) the large proportion of that expenditure 
which has been a gift to the public from 
generous private hands; (4) the extent of 
fire-proof construction that is placing so many 
libraries out of danger of all ordinary casual- 
ties; (5) the manifest great improvement in 
architectural forms and arrangements. Touch- 
ing this latter point, the exhibit is a very 
striking one. The old type of library build- 
ing, which Mr. Poole has denominated the 
Cathedral or Gothic Church type, with its 
wall-scaffolding of book-shelves, in galleries 
of alcoves, with its profligate waste of inner 
space, and with its many zones of tempera- 
ture from floor to ceiling, has nearly disap- 
peared. Except as it may appear in the new 
building for the Library of Congress, its only 
important survival, among the new construc- 
tions of this list appears to be in the build- 
ing which the Library Association of Newark, 
N. J., has now under way. It is approached, 
perhaps, also, in two or three of the smaller 
edifices described here. But, speaking gen- 
erally, we need not hesitate to say that 
American library architecture has distinctly 
taken a new departure, the departure from 
mediaeval to modern conditions, which we 
joined our voices to the strong voice of Mr. 
Poole in demanding six years ago, at the 
Washington Conference. The notable paper 
read at that meeting by Mr. Poole, emphasized 
by the warm endorsement which was given 
to it, has unquestionably exercised a remaik- 
able influence. If all that has resulted from 
it, in the disseminating of rational ideas of 
library construction and arrangement, derived 
from the experience of librarians, were taken 
out, we should certainly find the exhibit that 
I am bringing to you to-day a very different 
one, and much less satisfactory than it is. 

The fundamental principles of library con- 
struction which were formulated first by Mr. 
Poole, are affirmed by the common experience 
of librarians, and have been accepted almost 
without dispute. But some features of the 
application of them which he recommended 
have seemed more questionable ; and the 
tendency of opinion, I think, is against his 
views. We are all in agreement with him 
that no book-shelf should be built above 



hand-reach, or 7 to 7 1-2 feet, from a floor. 
But here starts a difference. If we call this 
hand-high arrangement of -books the strati- 
fication of a library, then Mr. Poole's plan 
makes each stratum of the library determine 
a story of its building. He would give one 
full story of 1 6 feet height to each range of 
7-feet cases, believing the 9 feet of vacancy 
above them to be a necessary heated-air 
space. On the other hand, there are many 
among us who find this concession to atmos- 
pheric demands excessive, involving too 
much of the very extravagance of building- 
room which Mr. Poole has condemned. We 
would have a wholesome air-space above our 
books, keeping the topmost shelf of them 
some proper distance below the ceiling of 
their room ; but, doing that, we feel safe in 
piling two or three ranges or strata of books 
upon one another, in a compact stack. For 
my own part, I should object to more than 
three tiers in the stack, and my preference is 
for two ; but within those limits I believe that 
the stack, by its compactness, economizes 
labor immensely, while the air at its top-level 
may be as cool and as pure as the air at the 
floor. 

In the stacks which I planned for the 
library under my own charge, there are two 
tiers of 7 feet each in a room 22 feet 
high. To reach the farthest books in the 
lower tier there are 140 feet of level distance 
to travel. To reach the nearest books in the 
upper tier there are 7 feet of stairway to 
climb. Which is to be preferred, for econ- 
omy of time and muscle ? If the same books 
were spread out on one floor-level, those now 
nearest in the upper tier would be put farther 
away than the farthest of the present lower 
tier ; and, whatever plan the arrangement of 
stacks or cases may be made upon, the rela- 
tions of distance, as between one level and 
two, will vary little from the ratio that appears 
in this case. Which, then, shall we prefer 
the 140 feet of floor-passage, or the 7 feet 
of stairs ? Which journey is the less labori- 
ous ? If we decide to prefer the stairway, 
we have decided against one story of Mr. 
Poole's plan, so far as concerns economy of 
library work. But when a second story is 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



added to Mr. Poole's structure, then the 
question changes. Then it is he who re- 
trenches longitudinal distances and moves 
vertically; but, instead of climbing 7 feet to 
his second stratum of books, he would make 
us climb 1 6. The objection has now become 
very heavy, indeed, and it outweighs, in my 
judgment, all the advantages of the plan. A 
book-stack of two or three tiers is almost 
sure to be preferred to it, even though the 
high stack of five or six tiers is condemned. 



It has occurred to me that these principles 
of construction may be applied with advan- 
tage to small library buildings, and I have 
given some study to the subject. The result 
is submitted in the accompanying sketch of a 
suggested floor plan for a library building 
which may be shelved in the first instance 
for about 20,000 volumes, with a provision in 
reserve for 20,000 volumes more. It is 
important, of course, in such a library to so 
arrange that books, delivery desk, and read- 




A, Reading-room. 

B, C, Rail. 

D, Delivery Desk. 

E, F, Book-stacks. 

G, Library Working-space. 

PLAN FOR SMALL LIBRARY. 

I would offer an amendment, therefore, to 
Mr. Poole's scheme of library-building, rais- 
ing his bookrooms to a height of 20 or 21 
feet between floor and ceiling, and introduc- 
ing stacks of two tiers in each, which will 
leave 6 to 7 feet of air space above the books. 
The addition of but 5 feet of height to 
each story will thus double the capacity of 
the building, economizing cost, room, labor, 
and making the whole arrangement more 
convenient. 



ing-room may be under the supervision, if 
necessary, of one person. That is perfectly 
accomplished by the plan here proposed. 
One large room, 70 x 42 feet in interior 
dimensions, contains the whole. It affords 
an unusually spacious reading-room, 42 feet by 
29 feet 6 inches, divided from the books by a 
light open railing. It gives the librarian ample 
space, 30 x 1 6 feet, for his work, and exposes to 
him at all times every part of the reading- 
room, when he looks into it through the open 



LARNED. 



passages between the stacks of books. The 
latter may be book-cases instead of stacks, 
made of wood, 21 feet long, 7 feet high, and 
limited to the 20,000 volumes which that 
shelving will contain. Or they may be cases 
of the same height framed of gas pipe and 
cast iron, on top of which another stage of 
similar cases may at some time be added, to 
produce stacks for 40,000 volumes. If the 
latter is contemplated, the height of the room 
should be 21 feet, we will say ; otherwise, it 
may be less. An experienced architect 
has estimated for me that such a building as 
the one sketched here may be constructed, 
fire proof, with a pretty porch and without 
scantiness of architectural ornamentation, 
for $20,000 to $25,000. 

These suggestions and observations are 
rather obtrusive perhaps, and I have en- 
deavored to be brief in them. I return now 
to my stricter duties as a reporter. The 
following is a succinct account of the new 
library buildings projected or now in prog- 
ress, or completed within two years past, 
concerning which I have been able to pro- 
cure information : 

ALLEGHENY, PA. Carnegie Free Library. 
The Free Library and Music Hall building 
which Mr. Andrew Carnegie will build and 
present to the city of Allegheny, Pa., is now 
at the point of being commenced, as I am 
informed by the architects, Messrs. Smith- 
meyer & Pelz, of Washington, and is to be 
finished in about 14 months. The cost of 
the structure will be $260,000. Its style 
of architecture is the Rhenish Romanesque ; 
the materials used will be granite for 
the street facades, red brick for the court 
facades, and the whole construction will be 
fire proof. The library part of the building 
is its westerly part, and embraces, besides 
the library, two picture galleries, a lecture 
room seating 400 people, trustees' room, etc. 
The Music Hall, to which the eastern part is 
appropriated, will seat 1,200 people. The 
dimensions of the whole building are 140x160 
feet; library portion, 90x140, not including 
projecting parts, in two stories, with a 
memorial tower ; reading-room, 50 x 40 feet, 



with annex to same for ladies, 15x35 feet, 
both seating 100 readers ; catalogue-room, 
36x40 feet; "bibliographing-room," 25x46 
feet; collating-room, 19x24 feet; one book mag- 
azine, 36 x 40 feet ; one book magazine, 24 x 30 
feet. The shelving will be in stacks of two 
tiers, each 7 feet high, with cast-iron per- 
forated floors between tiers, which will be 
lighted from two sides, with direct light in 
each passage. The arrangement for daylight 
in the larger book magazine and the adjacent 
"bibliographing-room" is similar to the sys- 
tem employed by the Harvard College Library 
since its extension. The book-stacks will be 
made of iron, with hard-wood shelves. The 
capacity of the two magazines is estimated to 
be for 98,000 books, while 6,000 additional 
will be contained in cases in the reading- 
room. The building will be heated by low- 
pressure steam, and ventilated by induction 
through the fire stack. 

I am indebted for these descriptive particu- 
lars to a communication courteously made to 
me by the architects, who have also placed in 
my hands a perspective view of the edifice, with 
ground plans, which appeared in the Inland 
Architect of last April. The building will 
undoubtedly be a very beautiful one, and there 
are some excellent features in its plan; but in 
several particulars it seems likely to prove 
disappointing. The provision of room for 
dealing with the public at the delivery coun- 
ter is exceedingly restricted ; the book maga- 
zines are small for the probable growth of 
such a library, within the period which so 
costly a building ought to be calculated for ; 
and the light in the reading-room promises 
to be scant, though possibly it may suffice. 

AURORA, ILL. Public Library. An addi- 
tion to the original library building, to accom- 
modate growth, costing about $7,000, and 
affording room for about 25,000 books, was 
completed and opened Jan. I, 1886. 

BALTIMORE, MD. Enoch Pratt Free Li- 
brary. The Enoch Pratt Free Library, 
founded by Enoch Pratt, of that city, with 
an endowment fund of $833,333.33 and a 
noble building, which cost $225,000 more, 
was opened with formal ceremonies on the 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



4th of January, 1886. I have abridged the 
following description of the building from an 
elaborate account published, with illustra- 
tions, in one of the Baltimore newspapers, 
on the day following the dedication : 

It has a frontage of 8r feet 10 inches on 
Mulberry street, with a depth of 140 feet. 
The style of the architecture is bold Roman- 
esque. A tower in the middle of the front 
rises to the height of 98 feet. The delivery 
room, at the right of the entrance, is some- 
what small, being but 30 feet square. The 
registrar's room, at the left of the entrance, is 
the same in size. Behind these rooms, and 
communicating with each of them, are two 
bookrooms, one above the other, in half 
stories of nine feet each. These are 75 feet 
long and 37 feet wide, having an open space 
of 20 feet wide on each side for light and air. 
The low ceiling means, of course, low cases, 
or stacks, and no book out of reach from the 
floor. The two rooms are estimated to be 
capable of storing 210,000 volumes. 

Above the bookrooms, in the second story 
of the building, is a notably fine reading- 
room, 75 %35 feet, and 25 feet high. It is a 
handsomely wainscoted and decorated apart- 
ment, excellently lighted on two sides, and 
capable of seating 250 readers. A reference 
room adjoins it, and the librarian's office, with 
other administration rooms, are on the same 
floor, in the front part of the building. The 
broad stairway to that floor is of marble and 
very fine. 

BARRE, MASS. Woods Memorial Li- 
brary. H: Woods, a native of Barre, Mass., 
but resident in Boston, has erected a 
library building in the former town, which he 
gives to the public. The building is reported 
to be finished, but waits the return of Mr. 
Woods from Europe for its dedication and 
formal opening. It is a square, substantial 
edifice, of brick, with Longmeadow brown 
sandstone trimmings, 40x60 feet in dimen- 
sions, and two stories high. A cut of it 
appeared in the Library journal i July, 1887. 
The library reading-room, directors' room, 
and waiting-room take up the first floor, while 
the second is divided between a lecture hall 



and a museum of antiquities and curiositise. 
The books of the library are shelved in cases 
of ash, which are intended to contain 6,000 
volumes. The cost of the building has been 
about $20,000. A son of Mr. Woods is the 
architect. 

BATAVIA, N. Y. Richmond Library. Mrs. 
Dean Richmond, of Batavia, N. Y., is erect- 
ing at that place a fine library building which 
will be presented to the village when finished. 
It was commenced in July last. The archi- 
tect of the building is Mr. James G. Cutler, 
of Rochester, who has supplied the following 
information : " The building will cost, com- 
plete, about $25,000. The front building, 
which shows from the street, contains the 
reading-room, librarian's room, and toilet- 
rooms, and is entirely of cut stone, with a 
tile roof. The stackroom at right angles 
with the main building is built of brick and 
is entirely fire proof. The stackroom is 
14 feet high, and as the present cases will be 
only 7 feet, you will see that we can double 
the capacity of the library by putting in 
another tier of cases. I have not yet 
designed these cases, but expect to make 
them of gas pipe, with wooden shelves. The 
reading-room is about 24x42 feet. It has a 
large open fire-place at the end of it, over 
which we shall place a bronze memorial 
tablet. The part of the front building 
occupied by the hall, toilet-room, and libra- 
rian's room will have a second story which 
will be available for extra workrooms. Has 
a good cellar under the whole building, of 
course provided with an outside entrance. 
The capacity of the stackroom, as at present 
fitted up, will be from 12,000 to 14,000 
volumes." 

BELCHERTOWN, MASS. Clapp Memorial 
Library. A fine library building erected at 
Belchertown, Mass., in accordance with the 
bequest of John F. Clapp, was dedicated on 
the 3oth of June last. It is an edifice of the 
Norman order, in Greek-cross form, 102 feet 
long by 50 feet wide, constructed of Long- 
meadow stone, with granite base. The apart- 
ment distinctly called the Library is 40 feet 
square, and 27 feet high. Adjoining it is a 






LARNED. 



73 



reading-room, from which it is separated only 
by a screen of carved cherry wood. The 
books are arranged in alcoves, estimated to 
hold 15,000 volumes, with possibilities, it is 
thought, equal to 50,000 volumes. The fund 
bequeathed by Mr. Clapp five years ago was 
$40,000, three quarters of which was to be 
expended on the building. 

BLOOMINGTON, ILL. Library Association. 
The Library Association of Bloomington, 111., 
is erecting a building which is promised to be 
finished by the first of the coming October. 
Mr. Charles L. Capen, of the Board of 
Trustees, has kindly supplied the following 
notes of information : " The estimated cost 
of the building is $17,000. The lot, worth 
$5,000, was given us, making the entire value 
$22,000. The money is raised and to be 
raised by public subscription. We receive 
nothing from public funds. The architect is 
George H. Miller, Bloomington. The style of 
architecture is composite. Materials of con- 
struction, pressed brick and stone trimmings. 
The building is 6ox 80, maximum dimensions. 
The principal floor has rooms of the following 
dimensions : Library room, 30 x 57 ; reading- 
room,22X36; directors' room, i6x 12 ; recep- 
tion hall, 13x20; librarian's office, 16x9; 
waiting room, 15x25. The upper floor is 
divided up into rooms of nearly the same size 
and proportions. This upper floor is to be 
rented, for "the purpose of aiding in raising a 
revenue for the library. It is now rented to 
Th e Bloomington Club ' for a term of years. 
The mode of shelving is in rows of book- 
stands, through the room, separated by aisles 
none against the wall; material and size 
not fully determined upon. The building is 
to be heated by steam, with numerous grates. 
These grates are the only means of ventila- 
tion provided." 

BOSTON, MASS. Boston Athenceum. 
Plans are under consideration for raising the 
walls, putting on a mill roof, and filling the 
third story so heightened with stacks having 
a capacity of 280,000 volumes. The rest of 
the building has a capacity somewhat exceed- 
ing 100,000 volumes. The architects are 
Messrs. Cabot Chandler. 



BOSTON. Public Library, The present 
situation of the building project for the Boston 
Public Library is explained in the following 
note from the Librarian, Judge Chamberlain : 
" By act of the Massachusetts Legislature the 
plans and construction of the new building 
for the Boston Public Library were placed in 
the hands of the Trustees, and recently they 
employed McKim, Mead & White to prepare 
plans and estimates. They have submitted 
sketch plans of the interior, and it is expected 
that the Trustees during the summer will 
suggest such modifications as occur to them. 
No work will be done on the erection this 
season, but it is hoped to go forward in the 
spring of 1888." 

BRADDOCK, PA. Carnegie Library. The 
munificent Mr. Andrew Carnegie is said to be 
erecting a beautiful library and lecture-hall 
building at Braddock, Pa., which he will give 
to the town when it is finished. The building 
is expected to cost $80,000. The library room 
in it is 86x30 feet in size, and is intended 
for 5,000 volumes. 

BRATTLEBORO, VT. Brooks Library. 
The Brooks Library at Brattleboro, Vt., 
erected and presented to the town by George 
J. Brooks, who died two days before the 
formal inauguration of the building took place, 
was opened and dedicated on the 25th of 
January last, Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, of 
the Boston Public Library, delivering an 
admirable address upon the occasion. The 
building is of pressed brick and Longmeadow 
brown stone, on a foundation of granite, one 
story in height. The bookroom, projecting 
at the rear, 33 1-2x40 feet in dimensions, 
contains eight double cases of oak, with a 
capacity for shelving 13,000 volumes. The 
main building, 50 x 28 feet, contains two fine 
reading-rooms, finished in California redwood. 
Committee room and other apartments are in 
the basement. The building is illustrated and 
fully described in the Library journal of 
March, 1887. 

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Public Library. Mrs. 
Hills, Librarian of the Bridgeport Public 
Library, writes under date of May 21, with 
reference to the commodious building that is 



74 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



now being made ready for that institution: 
" The work upon which we are engaged is 
the alteration of an already existing building 
which was bequeathed to us several years 
ago for library purposes. As originally 
erected it was intended for stores and offices; 
it is admirably located, and is valued at up- 
wards of $100,000. It is estimated that the 
alterations will cost about $30,000. We shall 
retain the stores for the present, as the rent 
makes a welcome addition to our scanty 
income. On the floor above the stores, we 
shall have a book and delivery room for the 
circulating department, shelved for about 
50,000 volumes, a catalogue room, and a 
pleasant parlor which will serve the double 
purpose of director's room and librarian's 
office. Upon the next floor we shall have a 
large, well-lighted reading-room, the reference 
collection, a room for quiet study, and a room 
in which chess and other games may be 
played. Above this is a large hall which will 
be ultimately used as an art gallery and 
museum. We have a vacant lot at the back, 
so that, as the library grows, an extension can 
be easily built. The main details of the 
furniture and other interior arrangements will 
be copied from the Buffalo Library. 

BUFFALO, N. Y. Buffalo Library. The 
new building of the Buffalo Library, designed 
and erected for joint occupation by the 
Library and by the Buffalo Fine Arts Acad- 
emy, the Buffalo Historical Society, and the 
Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, was 
begun in October, 1884, and finished in the 
spring of 1887. The formal dedication and 
opening of the building took place on the 7th 
of February, 1887, the library having been in 
occupation of it since the beginning of the 
year. 

The building may be called Romanesque in 
style of architecture, and is peculiarly effective 
in color, offering none of the strong contrasts 
that are common in the architecture of the 
day. The materials are a warm brown sand- 
stone, Trenton pressed red brick, and red 
terra-cotta, with red slate upon the roofs. It 
is of fire-proof construction throughout. The 



library occupies its main floor, with parts of 
the second floor and the basement. 

The delivery room, to which the entrance 
from the lobby leads, is a large apartment, 
irregular in form, 40 x 60 feet in dimensions. 
Behind it, in the northeasterly wing of the 
building, is the book room, or rooms, divided 
by heavy walls, with large open arches, into 
what may be called three rooms or three 
sections of one room. As a whole, it is 47 
feet wide and 132 feet long, about one fourth 
of the total length being in each of the end 
sections, and one half of it in the middle 
section. All these sections may be filled 
with book-stacks when needed. At present 
there are book-stacks erected in the middle 
and westerly sections only. The book-slacks 
are but two stages of 7 feet each in 
height. The room having a height of 22 feet, 
from floor to ceiling, it is possible, at any 
time, to add a third tier to the stacks, but that 
is not to be recommended. As now con- 
structed, their capacity is for something more 
than 150,000 volumes. When extended into 
the easterly section of the room, they will 
store 200,000 volumes. Supporting nothing 
but their own weight, with that of the books 
which they carry, the stacks are of a simple 
and light construction. Thin cast-iron cross- 
pieces, or bearings, slide upon standarcis of 
one-inch gas pipe, being adjustably fixed in 
place by steel set-screws, and these are flanged 
for holding the shelves. The platform which 
constitutes the floor to the second stage is of 
light iron gratings and rough glass in about 
equal proportions. The stacks are 15 feet 
long, each divided into five shelf-sections of 
3 feet each. They are 18 inches in depth, 
from face to face, thus giving a shelf 9 inches 
wide on each face, and there is no partition 
between these two opposed shelves. The 
passage between the stacks is 32 inches 
wide, and this is found to be quite sufficient. 
There are two rows of these stacks, with a 
broad passage inclosed within iron railings 
carried down through the middle of the room 
between them. The passage is bridged to 
establish easy communication from one row 
of book-stacks to the other. The purpose of 




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75 



this passageway is to give public entrance to 
the large room at the easterly end of the book- 
stacks, which will not be needed for book 
storage until many years hence, and which 
is assigned meantime to class studies and 
similar special uses. 

To the right of the delivery room, on enter- 
ing, and separated from it only by the piers 
of three large arches, is the catalogue-room, 
containing the card catalogues and bibliog- 
raphy of the library. A door from this 
room leads into "the study," or reference 
reading-room, which is an apartment S 2x 33/4 
feet in size, well lighted with windows on two 
sides. In the opposite direction are the 
librarian's office and the reading-room for 
periodicals, the latter occupying the large 
bow front of the building, 54x38 feet, with 
windows on three sides. 

On the second floor are the ladies' reading- 
room, 54x38 feet, the Board of Managers' 
room, 21x40 feet, a chessroom, 21 x28 feet, 
and a lecture-room, 33 x 52 feet, with seats for 
225 people. Packing and storage -rooms and 
a prospective bindery are in the basement. 

The Society of Natural Sciences occupies 
the greater part of the basement, which is 
high and light. The Fine Arts Academy has 
its picture galleries and classroom on the 
second floor, and the third floor is occupied 
by the Historical Society. The engine and 
boiler house is at the rear, and entirely 
detached. 

BUFFALO, N. Y. German Young Men's 
Association. The German Young Men's 
Association, of Buffalo, have nearly completed 
a large and costly Music Hall and library 
building to replace an inferior building of the 
same character which burned some two years 
and a half ago. In the main, the fine edifice 
is for musical uses ; but the Association 
which builds and owns it is essentially a 
library organization, and the maintenance of 
its library is the primary object with which 
it is concerned. The library is provided for 
in an apartment 38 x 67 feet in dimensions, 
occupying the northeasterly corner of the 
building, with an independent entrance at the 
side. The books will be placed in iron stacks 



constructed on the plan of those in the 
Buffalo Library. A committee-room adjoins 
this. 

The building as a whole has a fine fagade 
of 190 feet on the main street of the city and 
a depth of 260 feet. It is four stories in 
height, with a massive and picturesque tower, 
and is of the Romanesque style of archi- 
tecture. The materials are brown sandstone 
and red brick. The great Music Hall on its 
main floor has capacity for seating an audi- 
ence of 3,000 people and more, with a stage 
on which a chorus nearly equal to that in 
numbers can be placed. On the second floor 
is a smaller hall for minor concert occasions, 
66 feet square and seating 1,176 people. In 
other parts of the building, apartments are 
provided for several of the German musical 
societies of the city, with a large banquet 
hall, reception-rooms, etc. The building is 
to be opened with an important musical 
festival in October, and will be entirely 
finished somewhat later. Its cost will be 
$200,000 to $225,000. The architect is Mr. 
Richard A. Waite of Buffalo. 

BURLINGTON, VT. Billings Library . The 
Billings Library of the University of Vermont 
is now being enlarged by the addition of a 
room about 30 feet square, at a cost of perhaps 
$15,000. The room is to hold the 12,000 vol- 
umes of the library of Geo. P. Marsh, given 
to the University by F. Billings, who also 
provided the building. 

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. Harvard Divinity 
School Library. I am indebted to Prof.J. H. 
Thayer for the following description of the 
new library building which is being erected 
at Cambridge for the Harvard Divinity 
School. Prof. Thayer wrote last week while 
absent from Cambridge, and could not give 
precise dimensions: 

"The architects are Messrs. Peabody & 
Stearns; the builders, the Messrs. Norcross, 
of Boston. The cost of building and furniture 
will be between $35,000 and $40,000. The 
building is of face-brick, with free-stone trim- 
mings ; not absolutely fire proof, but of what 
the architects call ' slow combustion.' The 
main building is occupied by a spacious hall 



7 6 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



or passageway, on the right of which are two 
lecture-rooms accommodating each say 25 
students ; two similar rooms occupy the 
second story. From the left of the hall the 
reading-room is entered ; it is lighted mainly 
from the top. At the east and west ends of 
it are alcoves, three on a side, for books 
' reserved ' for the common use of students 
and for works of reference. The shelving in 
these alcoves is of wood, and runs only head 
high. At the end of each alcove is a narrow, 
high window, beneath which there is no 
shelving. To the north of the reading-room 
and entered by an iron door from the librari- 
an's room, is a fire-proof ' stack ' lighted by 
slit-windows in its northern wall and from 
above ; built of brick, flooring and shelving of 
perforated iron, as in the University library ; 
capacity about 30,000 volumes. The building 
is heated by steam, although the reading-room 
is provided with a large and ornamented open 
fire-place." 

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. Public Library. Mr. 
F. H. Rindge, formerly of Cambridge, Mass., 
but resident lately in California, has promised 
a building site and $70,000 to $80,000 in 
money to the city in Cambridge for a building 
in which to house the public library of 20,000 
volumes known as the Dana Library, which 
Cambridge already possesses. 

CHELSEA, MASS. Public Library. On 
the 22d of December, 1885, the Public Library 
at Chelsea, Mass., was opened in a new 
building, the gift of which to the city was 
made at the same time by Mr. Eustace C. 
Fitz. The dedicatory address, delivered on 
the occasion by James Russell Lowell, has 
been widely read and admired. The building 
was originally a private residence, of solid 
and costly character. It was remodeled by 
Mr. Fitz for its library use, and affords room 
for 50,000 volumes. It is surrounded by 
spacious grounds, which are made part of the 
gift. The first cost of the property is said to 
have been $60,000. The cost to Mr. Fitz, 
alterations included, was $25,000. 

CHICAGO, ILL. Newberry Library. The 
appointment of Dr. Wm. F. Poole, lately at 
the head of the Public Library in Chicago, to 



be the Librarian of the nascent Newberry 
Library, in the same city, is the first step 
taken toward realizingthe magnificent bequest 
of Walter L. Newberry. It is understood 
that the settlement of the estate will probably 
produce an endowment for the library of more 
than $2,000,000. That a worthy building for 
it will be erected in due time is a matter of 
course; and what is known as the "old New 
berry homestead " in the north division of the 
city of Chicago, being a block bounded by 
Pine, Rush, Erie, and Ontario streets, has 
already been fixed upon for the site. But 
there will be no haste, I am told, in building. 
Ample time will be taken for the studying and 
maturing of plans, while a collection of books 
is being formed, and we may be sure that 
under Mr. Poole the studying of plans will lie 
wisely and carefully done. It is extremely 
fortunate that so important a library building 
is to be designed and constructed under the 
eye of a gentleman who has given more 
attention to the problems of library architect- 
ure than any other librarian has done, perhaps, 
and who has brought a very wide experi- 
ence to bear upon them. It is extremely fort- 
unate that Mr. Poole has been given the 
opportunity to produce a conspicuous model 
of library construction on the large scale, 
according to the well-determined and excel- 
lent principles that are matured in his mind. 

CONCORD, N. H. Fowler Library Build- 
ing. The Library journal 'of June, 1 887, reports 
the purchase of a house which is to be fitted 
for the City Library of Concord, N. H., by 
William P. Fowler and his sister, Miss Clara 
M. Fowler, of Boston, and which will be 
presented to the town when finished. The 
cost of the building was $12,000, and $10,000 
more will be expended upon it. The gift is 
for a memorial of Judge Asa Fowler and wife, 
by their children. 

CORTLAXD, N. Y. Hatch Library. A 
new library building, erected at Cortland, 
N. Y., by Mr. Franklin Hatch, to be a gift to 
the Franklin Hatch Library Association, will 
be completed this fall. The cost of the build- 
ing, exclusive of ground, will be about $8,000. 
It is constructed of Trenton pressed brick, 



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77 



with terra-cotta and gray limestone trimmings. 
The library room proper, occupying the whole 
front of the structure, is 50 feet long by 25 
feet wide and 26 feet high. The arrangement 
of books will be in alcoves around the walls, 
with a gallery. At the rear is a reading-room. 
The building is a handsome and attractive 
one. 

DAYTON, O. Public School Library. At 
Dayton, O., a fine new building is being 
erected for the Public School Library. The 
architects, Messrs. Peters & Burns, of Day- 
ton, have supplied the following notes of 
description and information : 

The cost of the building, so far as con- 
tracted, which includes everthing but gas 
fixtures, furniture, and the finishing of second 
story, will be about $90,000, including the 
architects' fees of 5 per cent. It is con- 
structed as nearly fire-proof as practicable, 
by the use of stone, brick, terra cotta, and 
iron. The exterior walls are laid up in rock- 
faced " broken ashlar " of native blue-gray 
limestone, trimmed freely with Lake Superior 
red sandstone of very fine quality and color. 
The roof is of heavy red slates, with terra 
cotta crestings, finials, etc. In style it is a 
free treatment of the Romanesque. The 
general dimensions of building are 40x120 
feet, with two wings, 20 x 52 feet each. 

The architects sent a rough sketch of the 
first floor plan, with dimensions, also a print 
of the architects' perspective view. A better 
idea of the appearance of the building may be 
had, it is said, by reference to The American 
Architect, of February 6, 1886. It is being 
built at the cost of the Dayton Board of Edu- 
cation, upon ground owned by the city and 
heretofore used as a small park, the tract 
being about 300x375 feet. Work was begun 
in November, 1885, and the building will be 
completed, as far as intended at present, some 
time during the coming autumn. The shelving 
will be in alcoves, without galleries at present. 
Details of cases are not yet decided upon. 
Provision is made for both gas and incandes- 
cent electric lighting. Heating will be done 
by steam ; ventilation by means of heated 
ducts. 



Provision is made at present for the accom- 
modation of 65,000 volumes, and the second 
story unappropriated. The books now in the 
library number 24,775 volumes. 

EAST SAGINAW, MICH. Hoyt Public 
Library. A new building at East Saginaw, 
Mich., for the Public Library founded by 
bequest of the late Jesse Hoyt, of New York, 
was begun last May, with the intention that it 
shall be finished in June next. The material 
of which it is being built is a bluish gray lime- 
stone, from Bay Port, Mich., trimmed with 
Lake Superior red sandstone. The architects 
are Messrs. Van Brunt & Howe, of Boston. 
Mr. Poole, then of the Chicago Public 
Library, was consulted in the preparation of 
plans, and of course they are admirable. I 
have sketches of them, which I owe to the 
kindness of Mr. James B. Peter, Secretary of 
the Board of Trustees, who has also supplied 
the information which I summarize'. The en- 
trance to the building is in its southerly wing, 
through a fine porch, vestibule, and hall lead- 
ing to a large delivery-room, 32 feet 4 inches x 
47 feet 10 inches in dimensions. Behind the 
delivery counter (easterly) is the bookroom, 52 
feet x 31 feet 4 inches, filling the whole width 
of the main building, and well lighted on both 
sides. What form and arrangement of shelving 
will be adopted is still a question. The inten- 
tion is to provide at present for 40,000 volumes, 
and the building is planned to permit future 
extensions. The northerly wing contains a 
nobly lighted reading-room, 27 feetio inches x 
47 feet 10 inches, with a large projecting bay, 
and the librarian's office. On the second floor 
are a lecture-room, 47 feet 10 inches x 32 feet 
4 inches, trustees' room, a room for special col- 
lections, etc. The estimated cost of the build- 
ing" is $50,000. 

GARDNER, MASS. Levi Heywood Me- 
morial Library. A fine new building, erected 
- at a cost of $30,000, was presented to the 
town on the 4th of February, 1886, by the 
children of Levi Heywood, who have since 
given additionally a fund of $25,000 to the 
library. In compliance with their wish, the 
institution is now known as the Levi Heywood 
Memorial Library. The following account of 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



the building is condensed for the most part 
from a description prepared by the architects, 
Messrs. Fuller & Delano, of Worcester, 
Mass., and published in the Gardner Weekly 
News of June 27, 1885. I am indebted for it 
to Miss Osgood, the Librarian : The building 
is in the Romanesque style of architecture, 
70 x 58 feet in size, two stories in height, with 
large gables on front and east side. The 
basement is built 5 feet above the sidewalk, 
of rock-face granite ashlar. Above the granite, 
the first story is of pressed brick, with brown 
stone and terra cotta trimmings. The ap- 
proach to the main entrance is by two flights 
of broad granite steps, leading up to an open 
porch, px 16 feet. This porch is the striking 
feature of the front. The first floor is occu- 
pied with the library proper and the rooms 
appertaining to it, including a waiting hall, 
reading-room, 20x25 f eet > reference-room, 
12x14 feet; trustees' room, librarian's office, 
delivery desk, and bookroom, 38x25 feet. 
The bookroom is built in a half-circular form. 
It is 18 feet in height, to allow of a gallery 
being built when it becomes necessary to have 
more bookroom. It is lighted with frequent 
windows in the circular wall and a light in the 
ceiling. The forms for the books are set in 
the floor of the bookroom, radiating from the 
centre, and on the inside walls. There will 
be shelfroom for about 17,000 volumes, and 
there can be shelves added which would 
double the capacity. The second floor will 
have a waiting-room, 10x20 feet, with a fire- 
place, and a hall, 24 x 36 feet. In the trustees' 
room and reading-room are handsome memo- 
rial fire-places, in brown stone and terra cotta, 
to be surmounted with busts of Levi Heywood 
and Charles Heywood. The heirs of Charles 
Heywood have given a fund of $5,000 to the 
library reading-room. There are also two 
memorial windows in the trustees' room, 
representing Art and Science. 

KXOXVILLE, TENN. Public Library. The 
Library journal of July, 1887, announced the 
completion and occupation of an elegant 
building erected for the Knoxville Library, at 
a cost of $40,000, by Col. C. M. McGhee, in 
memory of his daughter. It is 5ox 100 feet in 



dimensions, and is constructed of pressed 
brick, terra cotta, and marble. The first floor 
is designed for business uses, and contributes 
its rental to the support of the library. The 
second and third floors contain the library 
rooms and a pretty lecture hall. The books, 
about 4,000 in present number, are shelved in 
cases of cherry wood. 

LITTLETON, MASS. Town Hall and Reu- 
ben Hoar Library. The August, 1887, issue of 
the Library Journal reports at length the dedi- 
cation, on the 28th of July last, of a new build- 
ing at Littleton, Mass., designed for the Town 
Hall and for the Reuben Hoar Library. Its 
cost was $11,000. It was built by the town, 
but the undertaking was stimulated by a gift 
of $10,000 to the library from Mr. W. S. 
Houghton, of Boston, who stipulated that the 
name of Reuben Hoar, a former resident of 
Littleton, should be perpetuated in it. Hon. 
John D. Long delivered the dedicatory 
address. 

LIVERMORE, ME. Public Library. A 
Gothic library building, of granite, erected by 
surviving members of the Washburn family in 
memory of their father and mother, Israel 
Washburn and wife, was presented, together 
with 2,000 volumes of books, to the town of 
Livermore, and dedicated with suitable cere- 
monies on the 5th of August, 1885. The 
building is 32x48 feet in dimensions, with a 
porch. It is handsome in design, with high 
slated roof and stained windows. 

LUDLOW, MILLS, MASS. Hubbard Memo- 
rial. The Library journal of May, 1887, 
describes a beautiful memorial library and 
lecture-room building which is being erected 
at Ludlow Mills by the children of the late 
Charles T. Hubbard, of Weston. It was 
designed by W. R. Emerson, of Boston, and 
is to be a Gothic structure, built of Long- 
meadow brownstone and pressed brick. The 
library will contain about 8,000 volumes, 
arranged in alcoves. If expectations are 
realized, the building will be finished during 
the coming winter. 

MALDEN, MASS. Converse Memorial Li- 
brary. The Converse Memorial Library, 



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79 



erected at Maiden, Mass., by Hon. Elisha S. 
Converse and Mary D. Converse to the 
memory of their son, was finished and dedi- 
cated on the ist of October, 1885. It was 
designed by the late H. H. Richardson, and 
built richly of Longmeadow brown sandstone, 
at a cost not made known. The main library 
room, 50x36 feet in dimensions on the floor, 
has a high vaulted ceiling, and is beautifully 
finished in polished white oak, with elaborate 
carving. The books are in alcoves, with one 
gallery ; and the present provision is for 
35,000 volumes, but the ultimate capacity is 
estimated at 60,000 volumes. The delivery- 
room is 25 feet square. An art gallery, 
24x37 feet in size, and other apartments are 
contained in the building. 

MANSFIELD, O. Sailors and Soldiers 
Memorial Library. At Mansfield, O., the 
tax which a State law permits to be levied and 
applied to the building of a monument to the 
dead of the civil war has been appropriated, 
on petition of the surviving soldiers, to the 
erection of a public library building, named 
" The Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Library." 
The sum to be expended on it is $50,000, and 
the building will be one of considerable char- 
acter. For the maintaining of the library, a 
Ladies' Library Association has been organ- 
ized, and is actively engaged in the raising of 
funds. Mrs. J. E. Dixson has been employed 
to select books for purchase. The basement 
and the upper floor of the building are 
assigned to the use of the G. A. R. The 
hook-stack room and the reading-room of the 
library will be on the main floor. 

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. Public Library. I 
am indebted to Mr. Herbert Putnam, of the 
Athenaeum Library, Minneapolis, for the fol- 
lowing description of the magnificent building 
that is being erected for the Public Library of 
that city, and in which the books of the Ath- 
enasnum are to be placed, under a lease of 
99 years to the city : 

"Land was purchased for our Public 
Library building in the winter of 1885 ; a cor- 
ner 132 feet on one of our principal avenues 
(Hennepin), with 190 feet of depth on abroad 
cross street. The plans were arrived at by a 



competition, in which six local and two non- 
resident architects took part. After various 
modifications, the present design was decided 
upon, and Messrs. Long & Kees, a Minneap- 
olis firm, put in charge. Ground was broken 
last July, and the building has nearly reached 
its second story. The contract calls for its 
enclosure by November. It should in that 
case be ready for occupancy by next summer. 

"The design contemplates a quadrangle, of 
which the elevation exhibits the two outer 
wings. These alone are to be built for the 
present. The building is for the use, not 
merely of the library, but also of the Minn. 
Academy of Natural Science and a Society of 
Fine Arts. Making allowance for the differ- 
ences in site, you will see that the general 
arrangement of the interior is similar to that 
of your own Buffalo Library, except that with 
us the Museum is to occupy the second (main) 
floor, the library taking the high basement, as 
well as the first floor. The Art Gallery and 
the stack-room are placed exactly as yours. 

"The building is no feet in front and 142 
feet on the side street. The entrance is 
about midway down the side facing upon the 
avenue. Directly within the doorway is the 
main staircase hall (32 feet square), lighted 
from above and from the long windows over 
the entrance door. Back of the hall is the 
delivery-room, 24 x 52 feet. The main reading- 
room occupies 40 feet square of the corner. 
The newspaper reading-room is directly below 
this, of like dimensions, and reached by a 
separate entrance direct from the street. A 
third reading-room is to the right of the hall 
on the main floor. Back of this, and adjacent 
to the delivery-room, are the administration- 
rooms, occupying also a small magazine story. 
Their area is about 24x48 feet. 

" The bookroom (that section at present 
building) runs back on the side street too 
feet. It is 28 feet deep to the court. On the 
street side are to be alcoves for student 
reference. Along the court the books are to 
be stacked as closely as practicable. The 
room (as well as the whole of this floor) is to 
be 1 8 feet high, and will admit of a double 
tier of shelves. The exact system of stack to 
be used has not yet been determined. We 



8o 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



are at present inclined to some such economic 
material as you have used at Buffalo. A 
second bookroom will be available in the 
basement whenever necessary. In the base- 
ment also are to be the patent-room, storage, 
dressing, and directors' rooms. 

" The second floor will contain meeting- 
rooms and museum-rooms. The third will be 
given up to classrooms and the art gallery. 
The two remaining wings, when built, will 
nearly double the present capacity, and fur- 
nish in addition a lecture hall to seat 600 
people. The building will have a clear space 
on every side of not less than 20 feet, on 
three sides of 50 feet, besides the inner court 
of 50 feet square. The material of the exte- 
rior is to be Bayfield (brown) sandstone. The 
whole building is to be fire proof throughout. 
" The cost is being defrayed as follows : 
Bonds issued by the city . $100,000 
City tax, 1886 .... 23,000 
do 1887 .... 37,000 
Private subscription (to date) . 70,000 



$230,000 

" Of this amount $63,000 was paid for the 
site. The cost of the building (the two wings 
already in process of construction) will be 
about $190,000. This leaves about $25,000 
still lacking, which it is hoped to raise by 
further private subscription. The constitu- 
tion of the new library was described in the 
Library journal of April, 1885." 

MONTPELIER, Vx. Vermont State Library. 
A new building for the State Library and the 
Supreme Court was erected in 1886, as an 
annex to the west wing of the State House. 
The library-room is on the second floor, 
45 by 50 feet in size, and 28 feet 6 inches in 
height. There is an estimated capacity for 
70,000 volumes, upon shelves in iron frames 
or stacks. The building is of fire-proof con- 
struction. The architects were Messrs. J. R. 
& W. P. Richards, of Boston. The sum 
appropriated for the building was $36,000. 

MORGAN PARK (!LL.) Library. "A build- 
ing costing $10,000 has been erected for the 
valuable collection of books gathered at 
the Theological Seminary." Library journal, 
May, 1887. 



MX. VERNON, O. Public Library. A move- 
ment toward the collecting of money for the 
purchase of books to form a small public 
library was started at Mt. Vernon, O., not 
long ago, among some of the citizens whose 
circumstances are narrow and who could only 
contribute very moderate sums. This action 
opened the eyes of a wealthier class to the 
needs of the town, and they promptly sub- 
scribed a library endowment fund of $20,000, 
besides buying and remodeling a pretty 
church, which serves excellently for a library 
building. The building is just finished, and 
the initial collection of books is being gotten 
ready for it. 

NEWARK, N. J. Library Association. 
The Newark (N. J.) Library Association is 
now engaged in reconstructing for its use a 
building in that city which was lately the 
Park Theatre, having previously been a church. 
The front half of the old building is to be 
entirely razed and a new edifice erected on 
the site. The rear portion will remain stand- 
ing, and is to be ready for the removal of the 
books of the library into it by November next. 
In the new part of the building, forming its 
front, are to be placed the reading-rooms and 
administration offices of the library, together 
with a small lecture hall and other apartments. 
This new section of the edifice will be 75 1-2 
feet front, extending back 46 feet, and 
rising to three stories in height, with a central 
tower 65 feet high. It will be of Newark 
stone, the facade in Romanesque style, the 
entrance round-arched, with considerable carv- 
ing. The construction will be on what is 
called the slow-burning system, with open- 
timbered ceilings, showing the full depth of 
the beams. The bookroom, or library proper, 
in the old section of the building at the rear, 
will be 60 x 63 feet in floor dimensions, and 
45 feet high to a cove ceiling. It will be 
lighted by four cathedral windows on each 
side. The books will be shelved in alcoves, 
with one gallery above the floor. Contracts 
for the entire work upon the building were 
lately given out, and it is now being carried on 
with vigor. The completion of the building 
early next spring is expected. 



LARNED. 



81 



These particulars have been derived from 
newspaper reports kindly supplied to me by 
the librarian, Mr. J. E. Layton. 

NEW HAVEN, CONN. Yale College Li- 
brary. Concerning the intended new library 
building at Yale, which is to be a gift to the 
college from the Hon. Simeon B. Chittenden, 
Mr. Van Name writes, Aug. 19, as follows : 
" We have made slower progress than we an- 
ticipated with our plans, and have not yet 
arrived at anything definite enough for publica- 
tion. The plan which we are at present con- 
sidering may prove too costly, and something 
quite different may be substituted. We shall 
begin work as soon as our plans are ready, 
I hope this fall ; if not, early in the spring ; 
and the building, I suppose, may be completed 
in a year from that time. The only state- 
ments which can be safely made at present 
are that we have $100,000 for the building, 
which is to be of stone (brownstone, though 
of what quarry is yet undecided) ; that, while 
it will have a temporary connection with the 
present library building, which is still to re- 
main in use, it will be a part rather of the future 
building than an annex to the present ; that 
we expect it to contain administration-rooms, 
a reading-room which will seat not far from 
100 readers, and shelf-room for 200,000 vol- 
umes, and that we hope to make it fire-proof 
or nearly so." 

NEW ORLEANS LA. Howard Library. 
In March last, the Library journal contained 
a statement to the effect that Miss Annie F. 
Howard had determined to carry out the in- 
tentions of her father, Mr. Charles T. How- 
ard, who, for many years before his death, 
contemplated the erection of a great public 
library in New Orleans ; that a site for the 
building had been purchased, and that it would 
be constructed at once, in accordance with 
designs prepared some years ago for Mr. 
Howard by the late H. H. Richardson, and 
which had in view the accommodating of a 
collection of 150,000 books. I wrote lately to 
New Orleans for fuller information, but have 
been told in reply that Miss Howard and her 
brother are abroad, and that nothing can be 
learned at present, except that Mr. Richard- 
son's plans have been accepted. 



NEWTON, MASS. Free Library. Exten- 
sive additions to the library building, and 
changes remodeling several parts of its 
interior, have been recently completed, at a 
cost of $24,000. The result is said to be 
remarkably satisfactory in every view. The 
library-rooms are strikingly beautiful, and the 
convenience of the working arrangements of 
the library is unsurpassed. The bookroom, 
the delivery-room, the reference-room, the 
newspaper-room, the document-room, and the 
librarian's room are all reported to be of 
liberal dimensions, well lighted, and hand- 
somely finished. 

NEW YORK CITY. Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association. It is announced that the 
Young Men's Christian Association will erect, 
further up town, a new central building, and 
that its library will be transferred to it. 

NEW YORK CITY. Free Circulating Li- 
brary. Two new buildings for branches of 
the New York Free Circulating Library are 
being erected. The George Bruce Branch, 
for which a fund of $50,000 has been fur- 
nished by Miss Katherine Bruce, will be 
ready for occupation, it is hoped, early in the 
coming winter. For the Vanderbilt Branch, 
ground has just been cleared, and the work 
of building is to go forward at once. 

NORTHFIELD, MASS. Seminary Library. 
A fire-proof library building of granite and 
brown stone, with capacity for 40,000 vol- 
umes, is about to be erected on the Northfield 
Seminary grounds, at a cost of $25,000. It 
is to be the gift of James Talcott, of New 
York. 

OAK PARK, ILL. Sco-ville Institute Li- 
brary. The Scoville Institute Library build- 
ing at Oak Park, 111., plans of which were 
exhibited at the Lake George meeting of the 
A.L.A. in 1885, is now far advanced toward 
completion. Work upon it was begun in the 
spring of 1886; the exterior is finished, and 
the building is expected to be ready for 
occupation next spring, or early in the summer. 
The architects are Messrs. Patton & Fisher, 
of Chicago, 111., who have made a special study 
of library architecture, and who have intro- 
duced the most approved ideas of arrange- 



82 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



ment. The building (of which a view, with 
floor plans, has been published in the Inland 
Architect) is in the modern Romanesque style. 
The outer material is a hard bluish white 
limestone, laid with a bold rock face, and 
with trimmings of Buff Bedford limestone. 
The construction is fire proof throughout. On 
the main floor, the proper library apartments 
are grouped around a spacious octagonal 
rotunda, which is the delivery-room. They 
include a bookroom, 33 x 40 feet, well lighted, 
with a compact and judicious arrangement of 
cases capable of containing 30,000 volumes ; a 
reference library-room, 21 x 33 feet ; a reading- 
room, 17x19 feet, with toilet-rooms, etc. In 
the second story is a lecture-room, also in- 
tended to be made an art gallery, and there 
are several smaller apartments for various 
purposes. The attic will afford room for a 
gymnasium. The estimated cost of the 
building was $60,000; but it is said by the 
architects that the actual cost will somewhat 
exceed that sum. It will be a gift to the 
public by Mr. James W. Scoville, of Oak 
Park, who intends to place the property under 
the care of 15 trustees. 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. Library Company. 
The annual report of the Library Company 
of Philadelphia, made in May last, urges the 
need of an enlargement of the present library 
building, and states that the Directors have 
issued an appeal to the members and the 
community generally for contributions to a 
building fund. It is believed that $75,000 
will be required for the purpose, and it is pro- 
posed to raise that sum by annual subscrip- 
tions running for five years, in amounts 
varying from $12.50 to $100 per year. 
"Already," says the report, "a number of 
subscriptions have been secured ; notably one 
from Henry C. Lea, of $5,000, payable when 
$50,000 shall have been obtained from other 
sources; but the response to their circular 
has not been sufficiently general to justify the 
expectation that the addition can be made in 
the course of the current year." 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. Library of the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania. The University of 
Pennsylvania is contemplating the erection of a 



worthy fire-proof building for its library, on 
the university grounds, east of the college 
building, in Philadelphia. Plans are already 
under consideration, but nothing has yet been 
decided. The Provost of the university, Dr. 
Pepper, lately visited a number of the im- 
portant libraries of the country, to study their 
arrangements ; and it is intended that the 
new building shall represent the best that 
have yet been evolved, in all respects. 
According to present purposes, the building 
will contain, besides the library, a large and 
beautiful theatre for commencement exercises 
and for the performance of Greek plays. 
About $300,000 is the sum proposed to be 
expended ; and Mr. Wharton Barker, of the 
Board of Trustees, is engaged in gathering a 
fund for the undertaking. Dr. Pepper, in a 
letter received lately, writes : " The fund is 
increasing rapidly, but we shall not build 
until we have matured our plans thoroughly. 
Our project is to erect a library for 300,000 to 
500,000 volumes ; free for reference to the 
community, though, of course, specially 
adapted to needs of students. We have 
ample space, and I trust shall have the build- 
ing completed in three years." I learn from 
the Librarian of the university, Mr. Gregory 
B. Keen, that' there are now about 40,000 
volumes of books and 65,000 pamphlets and 
unbound periodicals in its library. 

PITTSBURG, PA. Keystone Bridge Works, 
Workmen's Library. A library building 
which cost $28,000, with $1,000 for the pur- 
chase of books, was presented last year by 
Mr. Andrew Carnegie. The building, nearly 
new, is adapted from one which formerly con- 
stituted two dwelling-houses. 

QUINCY, ILL. Public Library. Prepara- 
tions are being made at Quincy, 111., for the 
erection of a Public Library building, intended 
to cost about $20,000. But the plans have 
not yet been definitely determined upon. 

ST. Louis, Mo. Mercantile Library. 
Concerning the new fire-proof building of the 
St. Louis Mercantile Library, Mr. Dyer wrote 
in May last : " We have secured $ 1 20,000 from 
the sale of perpetual memberships, at $100, 
and will borrow the balance that may be nee- 



LARNED. 



essary to complete the building say $250,- 
ooo. We broke ground on the 22d of March ; 
the foundations are in, and we hope to have 
the roof on by the ist of November, and to 
occupy our new home by or before the ist of 
May next. The building will be as near fire- 
proof as it is possible to construct ; the esti- 
mated cost is $300,000. The issue-room will 
be on the first floor, reading and stack rooms 
on the sixth, reached by two modern elevators ; 
the reading-room finished in antique oak, 
and furnished with every convenience. When 
the A.L.A. meets here in the fall of 1888, I 
hope to show you a model library building." 

SOMERVILLE, MASS. Public Library. A 
new building, erected by the city, was occu- 
pied by the library in the autumn of 1885. It 
is a handsome brick structure, with Rockport 
underpining, Longmeadow freestone sills, 
belts, and trimmings, and slated roof. It is 
made fairly safe from fire by slow-burning or 
mill-construction floors. The area covered by 
the building is 3,650 square feet, of which one 
half is carried to the height of two stories. 
According to the architect's description, " the 
height of bookroom is about 17 feet, and 
admits very high cases ; but as planned 
to meet the present requirements, half that 
height suffices. Should the future demand 
more bookroom, the height of the cases can 
be raised." It is to be hoped that some other 
method of meeting the demands of the future 
can be found. The cases in the bookroom 
will contain, it is said, 3 5,000 volumes. There 
are now 13,550 volumes in the library. Mr. 
Geo. F. Loring, of Somerville, was the archi- 
tect of the building. Its cost was $30,740. 

TORONTO, ONT. Legislative Library. The 
Legislature of the Province of Ontario has 
begun the erection of new legislative build- 
ings, including a room of about 40 x 70 for 
the library. The site is in the Queen's Park, 
Toronto, close to that of the University of 
Toronto, which has an excellent library. 

WARREN, R. 1. Geo. Hail Free Library. 
The Library journal announces the laying of 
the corner-stone of a new building for this 
library on the 24th of June last. The build- 
ing is to be of rock-faced granite, in the Ro- 



manesque style of architecture, two stories in 
height, with a square tower carried up to 
three stories. It is expected to cost $15,000. 
The library proper is evidently to be of the 
old Gothic-church fashion, which Mr. Poole 
has so vigorously condemned, giving much 
room to few books. The books are to be in 
cases under stained-glass windows, which 
will be raised 7 feet above the floor to 
make wall space for them. 

WASHINGTON, D. C. Library of Congress. 
Mr. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, informs 
me that work preliminary to the laying of the 
foundations of the great building planned for 
the National Library is in progress. The act 
of Congress making provision for the con- 
struction of the building and appointing the 
commission to be in charge of the work 
became a law on the I5th of April, 1886. 
Some six months were then consumed by the 
proceedings necessary to acquire title to the 
land purchased for its site, which is 8 acres 
in extent, facing on ist street and adjoining 
East Capitol Park. The buildings on the 
grounds were sold and demolished, which 
involved some further delay. The whole site_ 
required then to be brought to one level, by 
much cutting and excavation, and that has 
been done. Contracts for the excavation of 
the trenches which surround the building, for 
the extensive system of sewerage or drainage 
pipes, and for the excavation of the basement 
have since been let, and are, in fact, approach- 
ing completion. The question of a building- 
stone for the superstructure is now before the 
commission, which will test samples of every 
variety in the great collection it has gathered ; 
but the choice is expected to lie between 
granite and white marble. The enormous 
building will cover about 3 1-4 acres of 
ground. The front on ist street will be 
460 feet long. The plan of the building, 
designed by J. L. Smithmeyer, of Washington, 
is familiar to librarians from many publica- 
tions of it. 

WASHINGTON, D. C. United States Medi- 
cal Museum and Library, Surgeon-General's 
Office. The new building in which the Medi- 
cal Museum and the Medical Library of the 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



Surgeon-General's Office of the United States 
Army are to be accommodated together, at 
Washington, is approaching completion. The 
Librarian, Dr. Billings, writes : " I hope the 
building will be finished next fall, so that it 
can be occupied, but am rather doubtful 
about it." 

The floor plans of the building were pre- 
pared by Dr. Billings, while the elevations 
were designed by Messrs. Cluss and Schulze, 
architects, of Washington. It is of brick and 
iron, and to cost $200,000, exclusive of stacks 
and furniture. The work of construction is 
being done by contract, under superintend- 
ence of a Colonel in the Engineer Depart- 
ment, acting under the orders of the Secretary 
of War. A brief description of the edifice, 
with a cut, appeared in the Medical News of 
Philadelphia Sept. 18, 1886, and it was also 
illustrated in the American Architect of 
Jan. 16, 1886. I am indebted to Dr. Billings 
for a lithograph view, with plan of main 
floor. Dr. B. has also sent to me a copy 
of the specifications for the book-stacks, 
from which I condense the following descrip- 
tion : 

The second story of the west wing of the 
building is allotted to the library ; it is 55 x 130 
feet in size, has an open roof construction, is 
32 feet high to the eaves, illuminated by three 
tiers of windows in the side walls, and by a 
continuous lantern light over the roof ; it is 
warmed by steam-heated hot air, and ventil- 
ated through registers near the floor, com- 
municating with a heated ventilation shaft. 
The book-stack is three stories, of 7 feet 9 
inches in height, and composed of cast-iron 
open book-cases, parted and surrounded by 
passages, with floors of perforated cast-iron on 
the galleries. Nine open cast-iron frames of 
2 feet in width at the base, and 7 feet 9 inches 
in height on each tier, are placed at distances 
of 34 inches ; they are connected by 64 light, 
flanged cast-iron girders oh the level of the 
main floor, galleries, and ceiling, and form one 
book case. The lower part of each story is 
dimensioned for folios and quarto volumes, 
and is parted from the narrower upper part, 
of proper width for ordinary sized books, by 
fixed oak shelves, resting on ledges cast to the 



sides of the frames, and bolted to lugs at- 
tached to the latter. Besides this fixed shelf, 
there must be provided two movable shelves 
on the upper part of the frames. One shelf 
extends along the space between the frames 
(2 feet 9 1-2 inches), and their ends are sup- 
ported by Z shaped shelfholders of No. 14 
ductile steel. These in turn rest in indenta- 
tions of the frames, spaced all the way up, one 
inch between centres, so as to facilitate the 
adjustment for different sizes of books. The 
oak shelves for the book-stacks are 33 1-4x8 
X7-8 inches for the upper tiers, and 33 r-4x 
12 1-2 x i inches for the lower tiers. 

The estimated capacity of the 22 stacks is 
about 150,000 volumes, or about 6,800 volumes 
per stack, closely packed, or about 130,000 
volumes loosely packed, as I wish them to be. 
Sufficient space has been reserved on the 
library floor to place at least 11 additional 
stacks for future growth. A large reading- 
room adjoins the stackroom. 

WASHINGTONVILLE, N. Y. Moffatt Li- 
brary. At Washingtonville, Orange County, 
N. Y., a library and public hall building, erected 
at a cost of $25,000, has recently been presented 
to the village (his native place) by David H. 
Moffatt, of Denver, Col. The building is 
of brick, with brown stone ornamentation, 
and has a fine fagade of 100 feet, with a clock 
tower. The style of architecture is Eliz- 
abethan. It was designed by J. Hearney, of 
New York. The main portion of the build- 
ing, at the rear, is designed for a public hall. 
The front, on either side of the entrance lobby, 
is assigned to library and reading room. Mr. 
J. Owen Moore, the Secretary of the library, 
writes me that a fund is in hand for the pur- 
chase of about 1,000 volumes of books for the 
beginning of the library collection. It is to be 
free for consultation, but books will be loaned 
out only to members paying $2 per year. At 
present there is no provision for the mainte- 
nance of the library except these dues and the 
rental of the hall; but it is believed that Mr. 
Moffatt contemplates an endowment. 

WILKESBARRE, PA. Osterhout Library. 
The Osterhout Library, founded at Wilkes- 
barre, Pa., by the bequest of Isaac Osterhout, 



SANDERS. 



with an endowment fund of nearly $400,000, 
is to be placed during the present month in a 
building remodeled from a church. Miss 
James, formerly of the Newton Free Library, 
has been appointed Librarian. 

WINCHESTER, MASS. Town Library. 

or the discussion which followed the reading 



$10,000 has been appropriated to add a wing 
for the library to the town hall now building. 
It is to be partially fire proof, to contain a 
reading-room and a bookroom with a capac- 
ity of 30,000 volumes. It will be ready for 
occupancy early in 1888. Messrs. Rand & 
Taylor are the architects, 
of this paper, see PROCEEDINGS (Fifth session). 



THE POSSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN MANUFACTURING 

COMMUNITIES. 



BY MRS. M. A. SANDERS, LIBRARIAN PUBLIC LIBRARY, PAWTUCKET, R. I. 



CIR JOHN HERSCHEL, in an address 
to the working people of Windsor and 
Eton upon the occasion of opening a public 
library for their use in 1839, sa 'd : 

" If I were to pray for a taste, which should 
stand me in stead under every variety of cir- 
cumstances, and be a source of happiness and 
cheerfulness to me through life, and a shield 
against its ills however things might go amiss 
and the world frown upon me, it would be a 
taste for reading. 

" Give a man this taste and a means of grat- 
ifying it, and you can hardly fail of making a 
happy man, unless, indeed, you put into his 
hands a most perverse selection of books. 

"You place him in contact with the best 
society in every period of history; with the 
wisest, the wittiest, with the tenderest, the 
bravest, and the purest characters who have 
adorned humanity. 

" You make him a denizen of all nations, a 
contemporary of all ages. The world has 
been created for him. It is hardly possible 
but the character should take a higher and 
better tone from the constant habit of asso- 
ciating in thought with a class of thinkers, to 
say the least of it, above the average of 
humanity. 

" It is morally impossible but that the man- 
ners should take a tinge of good breeding and 
civilization from having constantly before 
one's eyes the way in which the best-bred 
and the best-informed men have talked and 



conducted themselves in their intercourse 
with each other. 

" There is a gentle but perfectly irresistible 
coercion in a habit of reading well directed, 
over the whole tenor of a man's character 
and conduct, which is not the less effect- 
ual because it is really the last thing he 
dreams of. 

" It cannot, in short, be better summed up 
than in these few words : It civilizes the 
conduct of men, and suffers them not to 
remain barbarians." 

Recognizing this love of reading as the 
keynote to broader culture and a higher 
standard of morals, one by one, during the 
last half-century, libraries have been thrown 
open to the public that were before only 
accessible to the scholar (and often grudg- 
ingly even to him), and new libraries estab- 
lished, till, in every community, a free public 
library is as much a necessity to-day as its 
churches or its schools. 

Even in the troublous days of the Revolu- 
tion our forefathers were awaking to this 
demand, for in 1776 there were 29 "partially 
public libraries in the colonies;" in 1800 
there were 49; in 1876 the number had 
increased to over 3,000; while to-day we 
number between 5,000 and 6,000 public libra- 
ries, comprising a total of over 20,000,000 
volumes. 

The influence of a public library is contin- 
gent upon many circumstances its com- 



86 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



munity, its finances, and largely upon its 
management. Possibilities which may be 
developed in one library, in another remain 
unnoticed; while something of equal import- 
ance is made of incalculable benefit to its 
own community. Thus, though working on 
a general principle, each library independ- 
ently works out the problem of the greatest 
good to the greatest number of its own 
patrons. Happily, therefore, there is no 
cause for the rivalry and jealousies that dis- 
turb the harmony of so many fraternities. 

It is my pleasure and privilege to live in a 
manufacturing community; to watch the 
development of practical ideas; to follow the 
progress of mechanical improvement, and 
witness with pride their results, for the dis- 
tinctive feature of Pawtucket is the variety 
of its industries. 

We remember with pride our parentage 
and the honor due to it ; but surely when 
Samuel Slater, after a weary time oi toil and 
discouragement, perfected the first power 
machinery for cotton spinning in this country, 
and with a pardonable pride saw it in success- 
ful operation in the first bona fide cotton 
mill in the United States, which still 
stands in the centre of our city (I 
speak with authority, though I am fully 
aware that this is a case parallel to the 
" Seven Grecian cities striving for Homer 
dead.") when, as I said, this was accom- 
plished in 1791, there was no power of the 
imagination that could have foreseen the 
change from the little mill village on the 
Blackstone River, with its few hundred 
inhabitants, to the present city of 25,000, 
13,000 of whom are engaged in industrial 
pursuits, its 70 schools, its 600 manufacturing 
establishments, embracing the greatest variety 
of industries. 

But Pawtucket is only one of many thriv- 
ing manufacturing communities. 

Waltham, Mass., the adoptive parent of the 
American Watch Co., which had in 1865 a 
population of but 7,000, now numbers over 
16,000, with not less than 7,000 employe's, 
2,500 of whom alone are employed by the 
American Watch Co. 

Lowell, Mass., according to the census of 



1883, had a population of 66,000, one third of 
whom were employed in its 300 manufactories. 

Manchester, N. H., with a population of 
40,000, employs 15.000 persons in its 102 
manufactories. 

And so I might go on enumerating special 
statistics, but these are simply representative 
communities. It is sufficient for my purpose 
to say that there are in the United States 
about 254,000 manufacturing establishments, 
employing nearly 3,000,000 persons, at an 
average wage of $1.15 per working day. 

It is to this great class that we look for 
much of the prosperity of our country ; for 
we find that the value of the product of the 
manufactures of the United States for the 
last ten years was $5,400,000,000. 

It is also an important factor in our govern- 
ment, for the pride and principle of our 
country is "Vox popidi, vox Dei" 

In these days when skilled labor is at a 
premium, when issues are constantly arising 
requiring the best legislative ability, and the 
demand for both is far greater than the supply, 
how are we to meet it? The reply comes 
from far and near, " Educate the people." 
Yes, educate the people ! for they are very 
ready to be educated, many of them striving 
with a self-denial known only to themselves 
to give to their children the education that 
was denied them : our schools of to-day are 
showing good work from the sons and daugh- 
ters of these parents, and its influence is 
blessing their homes. 

But many are denied that privilege, and 
cannot afford to spare their children's wages 
for even the three months covering the com- 
pulsory law of education. 

.At the average wage a private library 
though small is unattainable ; a newspaper 
may be a luxury indulged in. Where, then, is 
the royal road to learning ? We do not hesi- 
tate to say the free public library is that long- 
sought highway. Then open wide the doors; 
let us stock our shelves with the best mechan- 
ical and scientific works ; see that each craft 
is especially represented ; supply the works 
on the leading questions of the day, also 
works pertaining to the civil government. In 
this we must not be partisan ; these subjects 



SANDERS. 



must be considered in all their bearings, and 
in the broadest manner. 

The biographies of working men who have 
attained honor by their practical worth and 
preseverance either in mechanical, civil, or 
military service must have a prominent place ; 
history and travel will receive their share of 
attention; while we will not forget that 
the working man and woman must have 
some amusement and recreation, and that 
" strong meat " is not always desirable ; 
our fiction department must be supplied 
with all that is bright, fresh, inspiring, and 
helpful, but nothing that will create a craving 
for greater stimulant, or tend in the least 
degree to weaken the moral character; for the 
office of a public library is to develop to its 
fullest capacity the best powers of a 
community. The extent of such develop- 
ment must depend largely upon the manner 
of its use. 

Believing that the first entrance into a 
library should bring with it that most 
delightful sensation, the companionship of 
books, we have at our own library, contrary to 
the custom which now obtains, thrown open 
our shelves to the public, with the title and 
name of author plainly printed on each vol- 
ume, so that literally "he who runs may 
read." 

An old man said to me a few days since : 
" I get little time for reading now, but I love 
to come in and look at the books ; they bring 
to mind many a thing that I read long ago, 
and I carry it with me all the day through ; 
't is an education just to be with them." You 
say, How can this be done without loss of 
books ? 

Ten years of experience has taught us that 
there is a point of honor in these working 
people in this regard, with which we must 
come in contact to fully appreciate ; we have 
lost no more books with our open system 
than other libraries with their closed shelves. 

Understanding fully the value of a cata- 
logue, especially a closely classified one, to 
the scholar, to an uneducated man it is a 
labyrinth through which he gropes till in 
despair he either lays it aside or appeals for 
help. What is a catalogue to a man who 



asks for "a book on birds," and when we 
direct an attendant to give him a certain work 
on ornithology, quickly replies, " 'T is not that 
I want; 't is a book on birds ;" or the girl 
who wants an "adequate book" to furbish 
up her society manners. Not one in ten 
persons comes to a library with a definite 
object. 

Roaming at will among the books, the sight 
of Blaikie's "How to get strong" has 
been the first step toward the recovery 
of health otherwise lost; John B. Cough's 
" Darkness and daylight " has brought in the 
same way happiness to a wretched household ; 
while Andrew Carneigie's " Triumphant De- 
mocracy " has awakened in more than one citi- 
zen an interest and pride in his native or 
adopted country heretofore unknown. 

There are the contents of the shelves to 
select from ; no fear of any one leaving the 
library without a book; whereas, after pre- 
senting from the catalogue a list of books to 
be returned as "not in," he either " has n't 
time," or " will make no further trouble," and 
passes out unsatisfied. 

I have already said that a possibility in one 
community may be impracticable in another ; 
with us this open system has proved an un- 
qualified success. 

A community of this class is not aggres- 
sive ; on the contrary they are in a library 
rather shy. They should be met with prompt 
service, and the courtesy of the drawing- 
room. Make them welcome as they enter the 
library ; it is their own ; help them to cultivate 
a personal pride in it ; ascertain their tastes, 
(many of them will surprise us), and call their 
attention to such works as will gratify them, 
gradually leading them to higher standards 
when it is necessary. 

If they are seeking special subjects and 
need our help, let us exhaust our references. 
To "give to him that asketh " and "the Lord 
loveth a cheerful giver" should be a librarian's 
watchword. 

What does it matter if half of the pleasures, 
and all of the ills of our patrons be poured 
into our ears? It only brings us nearer to 
them, and shows us how to be more helpful, 
and widens the influence of our work. 



88 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



'Tis a wise community that enables its 
trustees to give to their librarian sufficient 
clerical assistance to allow him to mingle 
with the people, to learn their habits and 
tastes, to direct their reading (especially of 
the young), and to assist them in their 
researches ; for we all know that peculiarly 
inherent weakness of human nature, to seek 
for information from the highest source, and 
to be better satisfied, even though the same 
help may be rendered us by a subordinate. 

The reading-room in connection with a 
public library may be made an important 
agent in the education of a community, 
especially of its young men and children. 

After a day of hard work, what are the 
homes to which many of these young men 
return? The acccommodations of a cheap 
boarding-house, which means a room generally 
occupied by two or more, with barely furni- 
ture for necessity, to say nothing of comfort. 

What inducement has he to spend his 
evenings at home ? Where, then, will he go ? 
Into the street, to drift into the place offering 
the most attraction for the least money ; 
alas ! too often at the bitter cost of misery 
to himself and sorrow for his friends hereafter. 

This, then, is our work, to make our read- 
ing-rooms so attractive that they will be 
drawn hither. Have them well lighted, well 
heated and ventilated, supplied with the daily 
papers of our own and other cities, also the 
current magazines. We cannot afford to be 
niggardly in this work. Let us supply our 
tables with illustrated mechanical and art 
works, also the best literature of the day. 
The more freedom that we can give, 
the better the results. The young man 
will pass in and out at his pleasure, 
spending an hour or two with whatever 
pleases him best, till the reading-room largely 
takes the place of home, and reading becomes 
a part of his daily existence, the beneficent 
effect of which he will carry through life. 

There are lying on our tables week after 
week by actual count 600 papers, magazines, 
and books, from " Baby Days " to " The Cathe- 
drals of the World," free to the public. This 
has ceased to be an experiment, for during 
the ten years our losses have not amounted 



to $10 ; and there are days when nearly if not 
quite 500 persons sit at our tables. 

The greater possibilities, however, are with 
our children, the future parents and guar- 
dians of our commonwealth. What are we 
doing for them as public libraries as educa- 
tors? Working hand in hand with the 
schools faithfully and well, as shown by the 
valuable and interesting reports published in 
the Library journal, without which we would 
know as little of the library work outside our 
own as we would know of the outside world 
without our newspaper. Long may it live ! 

Does our responsibility rest here? What 
of the multitude of waifs worse than homeless, 
without restraining or guiding influence, to be 
thrown into the community to swell the num- 
bers of paupers and criminals, many of whom, 
yes, the majority of whom, have the same 
gentle instincts and latent ability as our own 
little ones so tenderly nurtured. 

We may say this is the work of charitable 
institutions and humane societies ; not so; this 
is essentially our work. We call ourselves 
educators, and have the honor to be recog- 
nized as such ; the work of a public library is 
to teach, to elevate, to ennoble; there is no 
limit to its possible influence. 

Must we wait, then, until our children (for 
they are all ours as a community) are four- 
teen years of age or upwards before we begin 
to teach them the first principles of right liv- 
ing, of mental growth, of love to their neigh- 
bor? 

We maintain that we cannot begin too 
early, and that this is a part of library work 
from which we get the greatest percentage of 
reward. Again I ask, What are we doing for 
these children, the future pride or dishonor 
of our communities ? 

Brockton, Mass., has a reading-room to 
which children are admitted, and which they 
are encouraged to visit, so well patronized 
that it will soon double its seating capacity. 

Waltham, Mass., has taken a step in the 
right direction. The trustees of the public 
library have supplied two tables in their 
waiting-room with Wide awake and St. 
Nicholas for the children. 

Lowell, Mass., admits children during the 



SANDERS. 



89 



day, and supplies them with juvenile 
magazines. Manchester, N. H., admits 
children to the reading-room ; but unfor- 
tunately, from various causes, they are unable 
to offer the necessary attractions, and few 
visit it. 

Newport, R. I., can only furnish St. Nicho- 
las for want of money, but children may 
come and go at their pleasure. 

Olneyville, R. I., is offering every induce- 
ment that their means will allow to draw 
children to their reading-room ; and to interest 
and instruct them seems to be the object of 
those in charge. 

Willimantic, Conn., admits children at the 
age of 12 years. 

Somerville, Mass., supplies juvenile maga- 
zines, and has no limit to age. 

Springfield, Mass., also admits children at 
all ages. 

The Boston Public Library, the parent of 
the public libraries of New England, true to 
its paternal instinct, begins to exert its 
influence over the children at the earliest 
years. 

There are doubtless others from whom we 
would be glad to hear, but I confess that, after 
visiting and inquiring among public libraries 
concerning this work, I became disheartened 
and ceased investigation, for the popular ver- 
dict seems to be "Children and Dogs not 
allowed." 

With our experience in this work with the 
children since the opening of our library in 
1876, and knowing the possibilities only wait- 
ing for development, I am emboldened to 
speak earnestly. 

Let us gather the children in ; give " milk 
for babes," in the illustrated books which 
they may understand though they cannot 
read; juvenile magazines and literature of a 
healthy nature to counteract the pernicious 
trash that is flooding our communities. 

It is only necessary to refer you to the spec- 
imens of flash literature which our boys have 
relinquished to us, with pale faces and tremb- 
ling hands, after reading from the scrap- 
book here on exhibition the cuttings from 
the newspapers of the day showing the 
bad influence of the dime novel. It tells 



its own story far better than I can tell 
it, and the one in whose mind this great 
remedial agent originated is daily blest in 
seeing the good results of his experiment. 

Help the children to begin early to under- 
stand that even they are of use in a com- 
munity ; awaken their pride and ambition in 
the right direction, and their future is 
assured. 

If there are those who doubt the practi- 
cability of this work, and, like Hosea Biglow, 
would 

" Give more for one live bobolink 
Than a square mile of larks in printer's ink," 

come and see our " Flower Band," numbering 
200 children, gathered from the little girls and 
boys who frequent our library and reading- 
room, from five years of age to 14 ; from the 
little fellow who brings three wilted daisies, 
or a rose without a stem, to the dainty miss 
with a bouquet from the greenhouse. 

Their badges signify a pledge to bring 
flowers once a week (if possible), and to 
respond to a call to distribute them in any 
place where they will add a bit of brightness 
to a shadowed household; also to seek out 
such homes and report them. Several names 
have been already stricken from our list, of 
those who have died leaving a blessing for 
these little missionaries. 

The influence of this work upon the chil- 
dren and the community cannot be told. It 
must be seen to be appreciated. 

I have endeavored to show that upon the 
influence of the public library working in 
harmony with the spirit of the churches and 
the schools, with - the single object of the 
highest welfare of the people, depends much 
of the prosperity, morality, and culture of our 
industrial communities I might also say of 
our country ; but when we consider that there 
are less than 6,000 public libraries in the 
United States, are we not tempted to say in 
the words of old, " What are they among so 
many?" 

But let us remember that the same spirit 
that gave power to feed the multitude from 
the " five loaves and fishes " still lives in the 
hearts of men to animate them to good works, 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



as shown by Messrs. Ames, Hail, Pratt, as public benefactors on the tablets of public 

Carneigie, Osterhout, Newberry, and a host libraries. 

of others whose names are yet to be engraved May God speed the work ! 

For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper, see PROCEEDINGS (Fifth session). 



LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLS. 

THE RESULTS OF A NEW EXPERIMENT IN WORCESTER, MASS. 
BY SAMUEL SWETT GREEN, LIBRARIAN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 



T WROTE an article for the number of the 
Library journal issued in March, 1887, for 
the purpose of giving an account of the results 
of some new experiments which had been re- 
cently tried in the Free Public Library in 
Worcester in adding to the facilities, which, 
up to the time of the trial of those experi- 
ments, had been afforded to the schools of 
that city. 

It was stated in the article that, during the 
first library year in which statistics of the 
regular school work were kept for a full 
year, namely 1880-81, 7,501 volumes were 
given out to teachers on the two kinds of 
cards which they are allowed to have in 
the Worcester library, and that the use of 
these cards had been growing steadily until 
298 teachers (that is to say, nearly all those 
then in the city) had availed themselves of the 
privilege of having teachers' cards ; and 210, 
or three quarters of the whole number of in- 
structors, had also taken out pupils' cards, 
and until 12,511 volumes, the record of the 
last complete library year, were being annually 
drawn out of the library on cards of these 
kinds. That is to say, 875 volumes drawn 
out on cards of the kinds specified were in 
use by pupils and teachers, on the average, 
every day that schools were in session during 
the library year last closed at the time when 
the article was written. 

An account was also given in the article of 
several successful experiments that had re- 
cently been tried by the library. 

It was written, however, mainly with the 
purpose of showing what results had followed 
the use of little libraries that had been placed 
in the rooms of schools of the 6th, 7th, 



8th, and Qth grades occupying one of the 
grammar school buildings in Worcester dur- 
ing the two months and a half that had passed 
by since they had been placed in the school- 
rooms. 

This paper is written principally for the pur- 
pose of announcing the results of the last- 
named experiment as shown by the records of 
a whole school year. 

There have been 156 pupils in the four 
rooms in which the libraries have been placed 
53, 43, 29, and 31 in those respectively of 
the pth, 8th, 7th, and 6th grades. 

The books from the libraries have been 
taken out to be used by the teachers and 
pupils at home 2,696 times, and have been con- 
sulted for purposes of reference, when suffi- 
cient time was consumed in the use to make it 
seem desirable to record the fact, 6,027 times. 
That is to say, during the last school year, 
reckoned as 40 weeks of five days each or 
as 200 days, 13^ volumes were taken home 
from the school libraries every day the schools 
were in session, and more than 30 volumes 
on the average were used within the school 
building every day for purposes of reference. 
The use was divided among the four rooms 
as follows : 

Grade IX. Home use 856 Reference use 2522. 
" VIII. " " 595 " " 1565. 
" VII. " " 650 " " 1032. 
" VI. " " 595 " " 908. 
As appears from these statistics, books have 
been taken out freely to use at home. The 
principal of the school informs me that the 
scholars in the rooms containing the libraries 
have been so continuously employed in read- 
ing books taken from them, or suggested by 



GREEN. 



their use, as to have been kept almost wholly 
from poor books, which would otherwise have 
been read in large numbers. 

The books have, he says, been in constant 
use for purposes of reference and of great as- 
sistance in prosecuting studies in different 
departments of school work. 

He would find it difficult, he tells me, to 
over-estimate the value of the results that 
have come from their use by the scholars and 
teachers in the Qth grade. They have been 
in constant use in learning lessons in geog- 
raphy and American history and in preparing 
for the reading exercise. It has been very 
noticeable that a taste for reading has been 
growing in the schools, especially among the 
boys, and that scholars are learning how to 
use books in order to get from them what 
they want. These benefits have been secured 
without any exercise of force. In using 
books for purposes of reference, the plan has 
been for a teacher to look up for himself the 
fact sought for or for him to send a scholar 
to a book to look it up, care having been 
taken to have the pupil conduct the inquiry 
himself when it has been one that he was 
capable of prosecuting without assistance. 
Scholars started in this way have soon come 
of their own accord to look up facts which 
they thought would be required in class 
exercises. 

An interest has not infrequently been 
awakened by a teacher in some useful and en- 
tertaining book by giving a description of it to 
the scholars in a class. Thus, for example, 
the principal of the school when preparing on 
a certain occasion for a lesson in history read 
for his own information a volume published 
in Harper's Half-hour Series entitled " Six 
Months in a Slaver " and, when the hour for 
recitation came, told the boys and girls in the 
class about it. One of the boys asked him to 
lend it to him to read. Then others wanted 
to take it home, and in the course of four 
weeks many of them had read it fourteen 
whose names the teacher remembered. An- 
other instance of the same kind is that sixty 
out of sixty-four children read a book in 
which they had become interested through 
remarks by a teacher. 



A few of the books in the little libraries 
have been read by nearly every scholar in the 
four rooms. Books from the libraries have 
frequently been read by other members of 
families than the scholars who took them 
home and sometimes by pupils belonging to 
other schools. 

An increased direct use of the Public 
Library has been made by the scholars of the 
schools in which the libraries have been 
placed since their introduction into the school- 
rooms. Pupils, for example, have often gone 
there to get other copies of a book in general 
demand among members of a school, and to 
get information not obtainable from the books 
in the school libraries. 

It will be understood, of course, that the 
use of the books in the school libraries is ad- 
ditional to that of such as have been taken 
out from the Public Library on teachers' and 
pupils' cards and on cards held or used by 
individual pupils, and to that of the immense 
number of books used by instructors and 
school children within the building of the 
general library. 

Such beneficial results have followed the 
plan of having little libraries at hand in school- 
rooms of one building, that two or three 
months ago I invited teachers in four other 
grammar school buildings to hand to me lists 
of such books as they would like to have in 
libraries in their schools. 

The teachers in Worcester have now used 
the books of the Public Library freely for 
several years, and many of them Have found 
out what kinds of books and what especial 
works are the most useful for their purposes ; 
and the lists which have been sent to me in 
response to the invitation have, therefore, 
been selected with great intelligence. 

It is interesting to note, also, that they 
reflect the individuality of the teachers who 
have made them out. It is apparent that, 
while all the teachers have been careful to 
ask for books that would be of service in pur- 
suing the studies of the regular school course, 
and most of them to provide for the general 
reading of the children, some have manifested 
an especial taste for geography, others a pre- 
dilection for history, and two principals 



9 2 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



a decided interest in the study of natural 
history. 

I have bought this summer $1,600 worth of 
duplicates for use during the coming school 
year. 

The little libraries were placed in the school- 
rooms by agreement with the Superintendent 
of Schools. Now that we have had a year's 
experience in their use, it is my plan to bring 
the work that has been done to the attention 
of the School Committee or, at least, to that of 
a sub-committee of the School Committee. If 
obstacles prevent librarians from placing li- 
braries in schoolrooms, similar advantages to 
those which follow their presence there may 
be- secured by letting teachers take out large 
numbers of books at a time, and keep them for 
longer or shorter periods as they may desire. 

It must be understood, of course, that if 
libraries are placed in schoolrooms, the books 
in them will have to be changed from time to 
time as new desirable books appear and some 
of the old ones become comparatively undesir- 
able and as exigencies arise. 

I would add that our experience in Worces- 



ter is in harmony with convictions which have 
been showing themselves in New York City 
and elsewhere in regard to providing reading 
for children that are quite young, and I am 
sure that it is wise to begin to cultivate the 
taste for good literature among scholars in the 
lower grades of schools. 

I mean soon to try some experiments with 
young school children ; little children certainly 
get hold of poor papers containing unwhole- 
some stories, and often read them with avidity. 

Considerable testimony has been collected 
from dealers in blood-and-thunder literature 
in Worcester to the effect that books of that 
class are not sold there nearly so much to 
boys as to men. May we not congratulate 
ourselves that the efforts at the library and 
in our schools to provide children with whole- 
some and at the same time interesting books 
have had no inconsiderable influence in satis- 
fying the craving in the young for stories and 
kept them from debasing literature, which, if 
the right kind of books had not been furnished, 
would have been sought for, purchased, and 
read ? 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper, see PROCEEDINGS (Sixth session). 



HOURS OF OPENING LIBRARIES. 



BY ERNEST C. RICHARDSON, LIBRARIAN OF HARTFORD THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 



HP HE June number of // Bibliqfilo 1885 con- 
tained an article by G. Signorini entitled 
1'Orario. 

Starting from the fact that the libraries of 
London and Brussels are open the greater 
part of the day, he complains of the short 
open hours of Italian libraries (those of 
Florence e. g. being uniformly, except the 
Marucelliana, 9 A. M.-3 p. M.), and, after a little 
discussion of the users and needs, concludes 
that libraries should be opened in the early 
morning and in the evening, say from 7-10 
A. M. and 3-10 P. M. 10 hours. 

The editor of the Neuer Anzeiger in the 
August number of the same year gives an analy- 
sis of this article with further observations, re- 
marking that this topic is so important and so 



interesting to librarians in every part of the 
world, that the contents of the article deserve 
to have the attention of all directed to them 
in order to bring light upon this much neg- 
lected matter. In his article he mentions 
the petition of the Hessian Medical Associa- 
tion to the Grand-ducal Minister of the In- 
terior, that the library at Darmstadt should be 
open to readers 10 hours each day in summer 
and at least seven in winter instead of five 
(9-12; 2-4) as at that time. 

The two complaints fairly represent the 
general state of continental libraries as to 
hours of opening. 

American scholars who are anxious to do 
original work, in many lines are more and 
more compelled to use these libraries during 



RICHARDSON. 



93 



their brief vacations, and it is with much re- 
gret that they find themselves able to work 
only four to six hours a day. 

My own interest in this subject was started 
by a bit of personal experience, roused again 
by these two articles, and stimulated by the 
experience of a friend who spent last year 
among the MSS. of German libraries. 

I make no apology for introducing personal 
experience beyond remarking that it is under- 
stood to be permitted and encouraged in this 
Association. I shall introduce nothing but 
what I hope to have make a line in the picture 
of the present state of libraries in this regard. 

The year before the above articles appeared 
I used a four months' vacation to get a little 
glimpse of European libraries ; to see espe- 
cially what hints could be gotten on library 
economy, but taking advantage of the oppor- 
tunity also to obtain a little familiarity with 
the art of manuscripts. 

To this end I chose a work which needed 
much a new edition, and hunted out and col- 
lated MSS. for it as I went along. Being anx- 
ious to see as many libraries as possible and 
also to get as many collations as pos- 
sible, it was with surprise, which deepened 
into vexation and pretty nearly to despair, 
that I found instead of ten or a dozen 
hours to work in, only five to six on the 
average. 

It seems ungracious to criticise those who 
have exercised hospitality towards one, and if 
it were any reflection on the librarians whose 
almost universal politeness helped to get the 
most out of the hours, and sometimes extended 
them, I should stop short, and keep my impa- 
tience and chagrin to myself ; but it is not, and 
as these papers have opened the way to a, to 
me, very interesting subject, after suppressing 
myself for two years more, I venture to 
express the feelings which the fact that they 
embodied roused, and the comparisons which 
they suggested. 

In reviewing the condition of European 
libraries, a very brief statement will dispose 
of unique and peculiar hours of opening, and 
clear the way for some groupings and gener- 
alizations. I mention ; 

I. The British Museum, open (in 1884) 10 



A. M.-6.55 P.M. 8 h. 55 m. The rules say 
10-7, but this is not true. 

Stinted for time, and wishing to make cer- 
tain necessary collations, I carefully noted 
one day the readings which I considered 
most necessary, and kept careful watch of 
time to get the most possible of the most 
necessary in the given time. At five minutes 
before seven, with half a dozen more readings 
to note, I was startled by a bell, followed by 
the peremptory suggestion, and still more 
peremptory look, of the attendant, demanding 
that I put up books and evacuate. " But, my 
good friend, you advertise 7 o'clock. I will be 
out of the reading-room by that time ; I have only 
half a dozen readings to note." He would n't 
help it. It was the rule five minutes before 
seven. I could come next day. "But I start 
to-morrow morning at half past four for Oxford 
on my way to Liverpool." He was inexorable. 
I looked about for Dr. Garnett, but he was 
gone. I snatched a few more readings, saw all 
excepting the last two or three lines, deposited 
my books politely, and in spite of delays got 
out of the reading-room before 7 o'clock. I 
value the blank in these readings as an illus- 
tration of red tape. 

Its only parallel in the seventy or so libra- 
ries that I visited was at Vienna, and here 
again I bear witness to the politeness of the 
librarians, while admiring with a sort of won- 
der the red tape which seemed an inextricable 
part of the system. I had but two days, and 
three rather unimportant, to be sure, MSS. to 
examine. Being summer, the library was only 
open three hours any way, and with a curious 
democratic wonderment at monarchical institu- 
tions I waited two mortal hours chatting with a 
very well-posted assistant, as one person after 
another from the " court " took precedence of 
my little request. At last the assistant saw the 
chief, and in five minutes I was buried in the 
MSS. which five assistants, including the chiefs 
of two departments, could n't let me see, until 
one of them had gone through the form of 
asking the chief, who knew nothing of me but 
what he told him. 

These were of course accidents, but were 
in distinct contrast to the volunteered and 
marked politeness in extending time, espe- 



94 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



daily at the Bodleian, at the Bibliotheque 
Nationale, in Paris, and at Carlsruhe, where 
they volunteered permission to work as long 
as the attendants were there. 

The second example of curious openings 
is that of a valuable French library of 30 to 
40,000 volumes in a well-known though not 
large city, which is open two days in the week 
for three hours in the day. Contrast this 
with Springfield, Mass., if you like, 1 1 hours 
in the day, or Woburn, Mass., 12,000 inhabi- 
tants, 20 odd thousand volumes, and open 
10 hours in the day, and you have a perfectly 
fair contrast of the average French provincial 
library and a corresponding American one. 

A third library was to me of all unique ones 
the uniquest so to speak. A French city 
has a capital library in an elegant building, 
but the hours of opening depend on the libra- 
rian's health. 

After traveling a good many miles out of 
my way to see a very unimportant MS. I 
found myself at the library, and interviewed 
the janitor. " When was the library open ? " 
He didn't know; the librarian was sick. He 
supposed it would be opened when he' got 
well. " But could you show me the MS. ? " 
Impossible. Then I took M. le Bibliothe- 
caire's address, and wandered off to see when 
he expected to get well or die. After wrest- 
ling with various gamins, and finding it as 
difficult to understand their patois as they 
mine, I gathered directions enough to get 
there. " Yes. Monsieur would see me." I 
was ushered into the presence of a very com- 
fortable looking convalescent a very intelli- 
gent man, I take it, as he seemed to under- 
stand my French with no great difficulty. 
" Would it be possible for me to see the MS.?" 
No, he was sick, and could n't go. " But 
might the janitor let me see it?" Impossible. 
" Was there no one in the city director, trus- 
tee, or mayor, or policemen, or any one who 
for love or any amount of compensation could 
let me look at the MS. for half an hour if no 
more ? " There was no one. But if I should 
return on next week. (This would take me 
many miles out of my way again.) He could n't 
tell. It might be I would find it open, and 
might not. I gave it up. 



I have a suspicion not verified, I may 
say that that librarian has died, and with 
him all access to the library has perished. 
I fancy I see the janitor waiting for the Res- 
urrection day, when his Bibliothe'caire shall 
return to open his library. I see but one 
way of reaching the MS. If I should hear of 
his demise I might venture to suggest it to 
the authorities of his city, perplexed as they 
must then be as to means of access to the 
books. As in the favorite story of the organ 
builder, his wonderful organ bursts spontane- 
ously into strains of fullest and sweetest 
music when the body of the fair Samaritan is 
borne up the aisle of the cathedral, so, I 
fancy, were the remains of the defunct Bib- 
liothe'caire carried for sepulture to his library, 
the gates would swing open to receive him. 

Almost equally remarkable in the other 
direction were the Bodleian, where I was able 
to get in 12 hours work in the day, and the 
library of St. Gall in Switzerland, where the 
librarian, world renowned among students 
for his courtesy, more than sustained his 
reputation by saying that the library was open 
8-12 and 2-6 and as much more of the day as 
desired. 

But these are exceptions. 

It took me six weeks in Paris the first one 
at the library and the last to leave, and allowing 
only 10 minutes for lunch to do what I could 
easily have done at the Bodleian or a dozen 
American libraries in three. It was even harder 
at Munich, where one works from 8 to I, and 
then has to waste all the rest of the day sight- 
seeing a very delightful sort of waste to 
be sure, not like giving a stone when one 
asks for bread, but much like substituting 
sugar plums for good roast beef. And it was 
much the same everywhere. 

The general spirit in respect of the matter 
is well represented by the circular of M. 
Goblet, the French Minister of Instruction, 
concerning the regulations of university 
libraries, in which he fixes the hours of 
opening at six, regretting that the funds for 
assistance do not permit of longer hours, and 
increasing the borrowing facilities as a partial 
compensation. This, it should be said, applies 
less forcibly to English libraries, which, since 



RICHARDSON. 



95 



the Public Libraries Act, have steadily im- 
proved in this regard. 

The average hours of opening of the 38 
European libraries of which I happen to have 
figures is 6.1 hours. 

If I had the figures of more English public 
libraries, the average would be raised; but a 
real comparison ought to be restricted to con- 
tinental libraries, as the English ones are cer- 
tainly "on the move" that of Mr. Yates 
(Leeds P. L.) and the London Corporation 
e. g. being open 1 1 hours, and the British 
Museum say 9 or 10. 

Summarizing briefly the hours of the coun- 
tries from which our two complaints came, 
Italy and Germany : 

Seventeen representative Italian libraries 
average 6j hours and 15 similar German ones, 

4#. 

Contrast with this American libraries, the 
average of the 41 from which I received answers 
to my circular is ioi-2hours. I sent a little arbi- 
trarily, but in general to all the largest, whether 
reference, public, institutional, or state, with a 
few smaller for sake of contrast with the pro- 
vincial foreign libraries. I chose about the 
same number, and of corresponding classes, 
as what I had of the foreign libraries. 10 1-2 
hours is the average of all. 

Selecting all the general libraries and all 
the university libraries at hand, we find that 
the general libraries average n 1-2 hours, and 
the university libraries 9 1-2, or together aver- 
age 1 1 hours. 

In brief, the hours of opening of conti- 
nental libraries are not much more that 1-2 
those of American. 

But the question of hours of opening in- 
volves two kindred topics ; 

I, Library vacations (not librarians') and 2, 
Hours of service, including the subject of 
librarians' vacation. 

i. Here among us the sentiment against 
any such thing as library vacations is very 
strong, and libraries which close for any 
considerable time are few and far between. 
The only holiday recognized by Columbia e. g. 
is Good Friday. 

The number of libraries which open on 
Sunday is very largely increasing ; and one 



must recognize, although he may have serious 
doubts, as I do, about opening Sunday just 
the same as other days, that the tendency is 
to the abolition of all holidays. 

2. The question of hours of opening is 
very closely linked in most of our minds with 
the hours of service. " Open all the day, but 
not with the same force of attendants," is the 
motto. You remember the man of whom Mr. 
Yates spoke, earlier in the session, who 
wanted libraries open all night not a new 
idea, by the way, as Mr. Nelson reminds me 
that Charles v. (I suppose of France) is said 
to have ordered his libraries to be kept open 
and lighted all night. 

A little questioning of librarians this week 
has brought the following answers to the 
question, What do you consider a day's work 
in your library : 6 hours, two ; 6% h., one ; 
7j h., three; 8 h., two; 8j4 h., one; 9 h., 
three. The prevailing opinion is that in real- 
ity these hours are too much, but necessary 
in order to keep the libraries open as they 
ought to be, and so the experience of Ameri- 
can librarians seems to agree with that of M. 
Goblet, that six hours of opening is about all 
that ought to be demanded of one set of 
librarians, and that twelve or fourteen hours 
of opening requires two sets of workers in the 
lending department at least. 

The verdict of the Prussian Minister of 
Education, as expressed in an official notice 
to the chief librarians of the universities con- 
cerning hours of service, seems very apropos. 
It is given in the Centralblatt of Jan. 1887, p. 
31-2. 

The following distinctions are made: 

I. The chief is not confined to set hours, 
but will be expected to spend as many hours 
in the library work as the "scientific " (wis- 
senschaftliche) librarians, as directed in II. 

II. Thirty-four hours per week is required 
of the other "scientific" librarians. 

The chief has authority to increase hours 
in special pressure of work, or to diminish 
them in vacation time. 

III. Forty-eight hours is required of the 
subordinate librarians (unterbeamten). 

The state of the case as to hours of open- 
ing is this : abroad a vigorous and partly sue- 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



cessful demand for increased hours of open- formation through papers in the A.L.A. Pro- 



ing, and here a more successful and constantly 
enlarging demand, (i) for increased hours in 
the day, (2) the abolishment of all " library " 
vacations and holidays, but withal, not at 
the cost of overworking the librarians. 
I should like in this connection to see in- 



ceedings or Library journal, concerning : 

(1) Sunday opening (information, not dis- 
cussion). 

(2) Hours of service. 

(3) Library vacations. 



BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LIBRARIES OF CANADA. 



BY JAMES BAIN, JR., CHIEF LIBRARIAN TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY. 



HTHE history of the different library sys- 
tems of Canada is largely a history of the 
origens of the people. 

Up to the time of the conquest in 1760 the 
circumstances of French Canada were such 
that learning, even of the humblest character, 
was almost entirely neglected, and the reader 
of Parkman will easily understand that the 
sole representatives of culture were the two 
seminaries at Quebec. 

Four years later the first Canadian news- 
paper, the Quebec Gazette, was published and 
the first book, a church catechism. 

The war of 1776 led however to the influx 
of a population different from the purely French 
one which occupied the land. The Loyalists 
brought with them into the wilds all that love 
of reading and culture which distinguished 
the best families of Massachusetts, New York, 
and Virginia. Their little stores of books were 
very carefully guarded, and, while they them- 
selves were too widely scattered and too few 
in number to form public libraries, theirimme- 
diate descendants were able to effect what their 
fathers had found impossible. I had the pleas- 
ure recently of examining such a collection of 
books, which were brought from Boston in 
1 777 ; and among other volumes noted a copy 
of the history of Virginia by R. B. Gent, from 
the library, and containing the autograph of, 
the Rev. Thomas Prince. 

In 1779 a number of the officers stationed 
at Quebec, and of the leading merchants, 
undertook the formation of a subscription 
library. The Governor, General Haldimand, 



took an active part in the work, and ordered 
on behalf of the subscribers ^500 worth of 
books from London. The selection was en- 
trusted to Richard Cumberland, the dramatist ; 
and an interesting letter from the Governor 
addressed to him, describing the literary wants 
of the town and the class of books to be sent, 
is now in the Public Archives. A room for their 
reception was granted in the Bishop's Palace ; 
and as late as 1806, we learn from Lambert's 
Travels that it was the only library in Canada. 
Removed several times, it slowly increased, 
until in 1822 it numbered 4,000 volumes. 
The list of subscribers having become very 
much reduced, it was leased to the Quebec 
Literary Association in 1843. In 1854 a por- 
tion of it was burnt with the Parliament Build- 
ings, where it was then quartered ; and finally 
in 1866 the entire library, consisting of 6,990 
volumes, were sold, subject to conditions, to 
the Literary and Historical Society for a nom- 
inal sum of $500. 

The fire was not, however, an unmixed evil ; 
for the partial destruction of the library, to- 
gether with the Parliamentary library, called 
attention to the danger which existed of the 
total loss of many valuable books referring to 
the early history of the country ; and it was re- 
solved, in consequence, by the Canadian gov- 
ernment to reprint the entire series of the 
Relations des Jesuites in three 8vo volumes, a 
book for which librarians have been grateful 
everywhere. This was supplemented in 1871 
by the Journal des Jesuites in one volume 4to. 

Naturally on the organization of each of the 



BAIN. 



97 



provinces, libraries were established in con- 
nection with the Parliaments. We have 
therefore the following : 

Nova Scotia. Halifax, . . . 25,319 
New Brunswick. Fredericton, 10,850 
Prince Ed. Island. Charlottetown, 4,000 

Quebec. Quebec. I7)4OO 

Ontario. Toronto, .... 40,000 
Manitoba. Winnipeg, . . . 10,000 
Northwest Territory. Regina, 1,480 
British Columbia. Victoria, . 1,200 
Dominion of Canada. Ottawa, 120,000 

Total volumes in Parliamentary 

libraries, 230,249 

By far the most important of our Canadian 
libraries is the Dominion Library of Parlia- 
ment at Ottawa. Almost corresponding with 
the Congressional Library at Washington in 
its sources of income and work, it has grown 
rapidly during the past ten years, and now 
numbers 120,000 volumes. Originally estab- 
lished on the union of the provinces of 
Upper and Lower Canada in 1841, it was 
successively removed with the seat of gov 
ernment from Kingston to Montreal, to Que- 
bec, to Toronto, again to Quebec, and finally 
to Ottawa a wandering life which effectually 
prevented its attaining large proportions. 
The unfortunate fires in Montreal and Quebec 
still further injured it, robbing it of much that 
was very valuable ; for, as was to be expected 
it contained many of the early books relating 
to the history of, and travel in, the northern 
part of this continent. On the federation of 
the different provinces in 1865, the library of 
the two provinces only, passed into the hands 
of the Federal government, and was removed 
to Ottawa. Placed in a beautiful building be- 
hind the Houses of Parliament, it presents a 
prominent feature in the magnificent pile of 
buildings which crown the heights overlook- 
ing the Ottawa River ; and from the windows 
the spectator gazes across the rocky gorge, over 
the Chandiere Falls, toward the Laurentide 
hills, which form one of the most picturesque 
scenes on the continent. 

On the confederation, in 1865, of the prov- 
inces which now form the Dominion, the 
union which existed between the provinces of 
Upper and Lower Canada was dissolved, and, 



as we have seen, the library passed into the 
hands of the Federal government. Each of 
these provinces, now known as Ontario and 
Quebec, established new libraries at Toronto 
and Quebec City, which, by the last returns, 
number respectively 40,000 and 17,400 vol- 
umes. 

In 1872 the Canadian government instituted 
an Archives Branch for the preservation 
and collation of MSS. documents relating to 
Canada. Large numbers of these have been 
copied at the Public Records office and other 
national repositories in England. A prelimi- 
nary examination of others in the Colonial 
Archives, Department de la Marine, Paris, has 
' been made, and many valuable records and 
papers have been secured in the country. 

I would refer, for a list of these, to the an- 
nual reports, commenced in 1881, by the able 
archivist, Mr. Douglas Brymner ; and when I 
add that the War office transferred their en- 
tire Canadian military correspondences for 
nearly 100 years, amounting to upwards of 
200,000 documents, you will see that I do not 
exaggerate its value. The library contains 
about 4,000 printed books and pamphlets and 
i, 800 volumes of MSS. 

The 38 colleges in Canada are provided 
with libraries containing 429,470 volumes, or 
an average of 11,302. The senior of these, 
Laval College, Quebec, is famous as being, 
after Harvard, the oldest on the continent, 
being founded by Bishop Laval in 1663. 
During the dark days which witnessed the 
long struggle, first with the Iroquois, and after- 
wards with the English and Americans, little 
progress was made in the collection of books, 
and it was not until it was converted into a 
university, in 1852, that it commenced to in- 
crease rapidly. On the suppression of the 
Jesuit order and seminary, their books were 
transfered to it. It now numbers 100,000 vol- 
umes, and is unrivaled for the extent and 
character of its French collection and its 
many scarce books in early French Canadian 
literature and history. The student of the 
history of New France is always under deep 
obligations to it. Their collection of the suc- 
cessive volumes of the relations or reports 
written by the early Jesuit missionaries is, I 



9 8 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



believe, the most complete in existence. Un- 
fortunately the library has never issued a 
printed catalogue. Under the patronage of 
the university was published in 1870 a com- 
plete edition of the various voyages of Cham- 
plain, in six volumes, edited by L'Abbe" Laver- 
diere, librarian and professor of history, 
which, like the originals, is fast becoming 
scarce. 

The wealthy province of Ontario, settled 
almost entirely by an English speaking popu- 
lation, is, however, the only one which has 
attempted to grapple with the question of 
public libraries. 

In 1848 the late Dr. Ryerson, Superinten- 
dent of Education from 1844-1876, drafted a 
school bill which contained provisions for 
school and township libraries, and succeeded 
in awakening a deep interest in the subject. 
Ever anxious to impress on his hearers the 
importance of libraries as the key-stone to a 
free educational system, he urged it on every op- 
portunity. Lord Elgin, at that time Governor- 
General, was so strongly impressed with the 
importance of the movement that he styled it. 
the "crown and glory of the institutions of this 
province." In 1854 Parliament passed the 
requisite act and granted him the necessary 
funds to carry out his views in the matter. 
The regulations of the department authorized 
each county council to establish four classes 
of libraries 

1. An ordinary common school library in 
each schoolhouse for the use of the children 
and ratepayers. 

2. A general public lending library avail- 
able to all the ratepayers in the municipality. 

3. A professional library of books on teach- 
ing, school organization, language, and kindred 
subjects, available for teachers only. 

4. A library in any public institution under 
the control of the municipality, for the use of 
the inmates, or in any county jail, for the use 
of the prisoners. 

To aid this work, a book depository was 
established in the Education office to enable 
the smaller libraries to obtain readily good 
literature. The books were supplied at cost, 
and a grant of 100 per cent on the amount re- 
mitted was added in books by the depart- 



ment. During the 30 years of its existence 
1,407,140 volumes were so supplied. 

The proposal to establish the second class 
was however premature ; and accordingly, find- 
ing that mechanics institutes were being de- 
veloped throughout the towns and villages, 
the Educational Department wisely aided the 
movement by giving a small grant proportionate 
to the amount contributed by the members 
and reaching a maximum of $200, after- 
wards increased to $400 annually. In 1869 
these had grown to number 26, in 1880, 74, 
and in 1886, 125. The number of volumes 
possessed by these 125 is 206,146, or an aver- 
age of 1,650. In the Library List, however, 
only 80 appears as containing over 1,000 vol- 
umes, the remaining 45 containing from 500 to 
950 volumes. 

With a total membership of 13,701 the 
circulation for 1885-86 amounts to 296,830, 
or an average of 21.6 books to each 
member, which is a very creditable return, 
considering that only 49 per cent of it is 
fiction. The subscription is generally $i a 
year, and additional grants are usually re- 
ceived from the town or village councils. 

In the cities, however, the mechanics in- 
stitute, with its limited number of subscribers, 
has been found unequal to the task assigned 
it, and accordingly in 1882, the Free Libra- 
ries Act was passed, based upon similar en- 
actments in Britain and the United States. 
Six cities and towns have availed themselves 
of it. 

Berlin, 2,255 

Brantford, 5.442 

Guelph, 4,171 

Simcoe, 2,822 

St. Thomas, 2,677 

Toronto, 48,000 



Total number of volumes, 65,367 
By the Free Libraries Act, the maximum of 
taxation is fixed at 1-2 a mill on the annual 
assessment ; and while in Toronto, this is 
sufficient to produce $48,000 per annum, in 
the towns and villages where the assessment 
is low, it rarely produces as much as the vol- 
untary contributions to the mechanics' insti- 
tute. These latter lack the element of stabil- 



PUTNAM. 



99 



ity, they owe their existence in most cases 
to the energy and faith of two or three 
members ; and, when these men cease to take 
an active part, the institute barely exists. 
The problem therefore before us is to convert 
these institute libraries into free public libraries 
with sufficient income to pay a regular 
librarian. Two courses lie before us either 
by giving them a larger area from which to 
draw a share of the taxation or by altering the 
act so as to increase the maximum. To this 
later proposition serious opposition would 
arise in the cities, where the feeling exists 
that it would be dangerous to permit a body 
not directly elected, power to enforce a higher 
taxation. 

As I have said, none of the other provinces 
have followed Ontario in this matter ; but the 
generosity of the late Mr. Fraser and of a 
number of gentlemen in Montreal has pro- 
vided a fund for the establishment of a free 
library in that city, which was opened 
in October, 1885, under the title of the 
Fraser Institute. The Mercantile Library 
Association transferred to it 5,500 Eng- 
lish books and L'Institut Canadien, 7,000 
French. 

In St. John, N. B., a free library was founded 
in June, 1883, to commemorate the landing of 
the loyalists a century previous. 

In the more recent province of Manitoba 
the energy of the Literary and Historical 
Society has provided a library which contains, 
including the Isbister collection loaned to 
them by the university, 12,000 volumes; and, 
though a subscription fee is demanded, yet the 
liberal donation towards it made by the City 



Council enables the Board to act with great 
liberality. 

The fact that Halifax is largely a military 
and naval centre, is marked by an Officers' 
Garrison Library, numbering 12,260 volumes, 
which was founded in 1847 by Lord Dalhousie. 
Having thus taken a hurried survey of our 
Canadian libraries, let me briefly glance at the 
tale told by the figures, as set forth in the 
Library list. 

Estimating the population at 4,757,288, and 
having a total number of 1,103,000 volumes, we 
have an average of one book to every 4.3 persons 
throughout the Dominion. But when we look 
at the individual provinces, very varied results 
are found. In Prince Edward Island the rate 
is one book to every 21.2 persons ; 

BritishColumbia, r to every 16 persons. 
New Brunswick, i " 10.6 " 
Nova Scotia, i " 5.7 " 

Ontario, i " 4.7 " 

Manitoba, i " 4.4 " 

Quebec, i " 4.1 " 

The latter alone possessing more than the 
general average of the Dominion. 

It is curious to notice on closely examining 
the latter, however, that no less than 72.8 per 
cent of the whole books in libraries of the 
province of Quebec are contained in colleges 
a fact which speaks more for the education of 
the clergy than for that of the people, while 
in Ontario only 24.2 of the books are thus 
placed. In making these calculations it should 
be noted that I have excluded the Parliament- 
ary Library, the Archives, the Geological Sur- 
vey, and the Supreme Court, as being com- 
mon to the whole Dominion. 



BIBLIOGRAPHIC BUREAUS. 



BY HERBERT PUTNAM, LIBRARIAN MINNEAPOLIS ATHENAEUM. 

A NOVICE glancing over the Proceedings notation, registration every other detail of 
of the Library Conventions, or the more .library management receives devoted, at 



miscellaneous discussions in the Library 
journal, must be struck with their persistent 
silence upon two questions: The selection 
and the purchase of books. Classification, 



times belligerent, attention. With catalogues, 
with reference lists, with familiar talks, the 
most engaging methods are discussed for 
rendering the captured hare popular, palatable, 



IOO 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



and nutritious ; but for capturing the hare 
or even for determining it to be a hare and 
not a rabbit, or less savory quarry he will 
find hardly a suggestion. He will be the 
more surprised at this, as he would have 
thought this very preliminary the selection 
of the books themselves to be the most 
difficult, as well as the most essential, of a 
librarian's duties ; one that he would be most 
anxious to systematize as far as possible ; 
one at any rate too responsible to be left to 
mere caprice. 

It may be that the topic has been avoided 
intentionally ; that a methodical system has 
been deemed impracticable in a matter vary- 
ing so much with the needs of the individual 
library; or, if practicable, that its very sugges- 
tion would affront the discretion of the indi" 
vidual librarian. I trust the latter may not 
be the real cause. If it is, I must shift the 
responsibility of my own misdoing upon your 
committee, who have themselves invited the 
impertinence. 

For the eastern libraries within easy reach 
of the book centres, the problem of choice is 
not so difficult a one. In most cases they 
can make their selection from volumes act- 
ually before them sent in by the publishers 
for inspection or at least open to examina- 
tion on the shelves of the book stores. It is 
the libraries of the West, however, whose 
difficulties I would more particularly suggest 
for discussion. In the larger cities of the 
West there is no lack of book stores. But 
the editions which they find most profitable to 
keep in stock are not always those most 
serviceable for library use. They will send 
for any book published ; but, for purposes of 
examination merely, they can in many cases 
offer only cheap reprints gdod enough for 
the household, but by no means economical 
for the public library. And even with this 
stock they are beyond the reach of most of 
the smaller libraries, distances being so great 
and transportation so expensive in the West. 
For the libraries of Minnesota, for instance, 
Chicago would be the natural reservoir. But 
the majority of the libraries in Minnesota are 
small and poor; they cannot afford to send 
their librarians to Chicago to make their 



selections. They are thus reduced to merely 
descriptive information, all at second hand, 
and in some cases merely inferential. They 
must rely upon (i) publishers' catalogues; (2) 
catalogues of other libraries ; (3) biblio- 
graphic manuals such as Hall's bibliogra- 
phy of Education or Adams' Historical 
Manual ; and (4) book reviews. 

The latter class covers, of course, only 
current literature. Of the others it may be 
said, in brief, that the catalogues of individual 
publishers, while exact enough as to prices, 
show small light as to the relative worth of 
different editions, and no light at all as to the 
best work on a given topic. And the same 
may be said of the general trade lists. The 
bibliographic manuals are indeed most useful 
as far as they go ; but they cover, as yet, only 
a few of the topics on which information is 
needed. Of course the works of Dibdin, 
Watts, Ebert, Graesse, and the like are for 
large libraries priceless. But their cost puts 
them beyond the reach of the smaller libra- 
ries, to which, indeed, the curios of which 
they largely treat are equally unattainable. 
At the other extreme are the lists in the Best 
Reading the most useful compilation, per- 
haps, for small libraries. Their very merit 
of brevity and compactness prevents the full- 
ness of detail necessary to a choice. They 
undertake to indicate the best work and the 
best cheap work on every topic. Even were 
such exact discrimination practicable, it is too 
bald, too dogmatic, to content a conscientious 
librarian. He must know something of the 
comparative merits that go to determine this 
graded scale of excellence. He must know 
what works are mutually exclusive. He must 
assure himself that the standard of desir- 
ability laid down in a work of general appli- 
cation is exactly the standard for the very 
particular institution which he represents. 
He may, indeed, get much light from the 
experience of other libraries similar to his 
own. He may take it for granted that their 
librarians have investigated thoroughly, ac- 
cept their choice as his own, and make up 
his lists from their catalogues. But he can- 
not always feel safe in this. The volumes in 
the catalogues do not always represent the 



PUTNAM. 



101 



judgment of the librarians. They may have 
been presented; they may have been pur- 
chased with bequest funds hampered by 
special conditions ; they may have been pur- 
chased (as in some college libraries) at the 
request of professors, ordering recklessly 
from foreign catalogues tangential works 
that touch nobody's circle on more than one 
point ; they may have been purchased at the 
application of any reader, ordering vagari- 
ously from book reviews ; they may have 
been purchased at the bidding of trustees, 
ordering sentimentally under importunity from 
book agents. In none of these cases would 
the catalogue indicate the librarian's own 
preferences. 

Such being the limitations of each partic- 
ular authority, it is evident that only by a care- 
ful collation of them all can a conscientious 
decision be arrived at. And this process of 
collation grows daily more laborious. The 
American Trade List Annual alone includes the 
names of 200 publishers. The publications 
of a single year in the English language 
alone amount to nearly 10,000; while of the 
standard authors there will be sometimes a 
dozen, and quite commonly half a dozen edi- 
tions to choose from. Perplexed at the 
immense mass of undigested bibliography lying 
before him, perplexed still more at the pos- 
sible revelations of bibliographies which he 
cannot get access to, it is small wonder that 
the librarian concludes to shirk the responsi- 
bility altogether. He writes to the bookseller 
to make the choice for him. 

This has accordingly become quite the 
fashion among the smaller libraries ; and not 
merely in the case of isolated volumes, but 
of large lots purchased at one time, the book- 
sellers being willing to compile the lists for 
the profit of supplying the books. 

This method of disposing of the problem 
has no doubt some features of advantage, pre- 
suming a firm to be selected whose candor 
may be relied upon. On the other hand, it 
must occasionally cost the library dear. An 
experienced bookseller may know more about 
editions than the average librarian ; that is 
his business. But the librarian knows more 
about books ; or should, for that is his busi- 



ness. The endeavor of a bookseller is to 
supply people with what they want to read; 
the duty of a librarian is in many cases to 
supply people with what they ought to read. 
A bookstore must cater to the taste of the 
public ; a library hopes to direct it. And 
the higher the claim of the library to be con- 
sidered an educational institution the nearer 
it approaches to a university of learning 
the less seemly to have its books selected on 
a trade basis. 

I am sure, however, that there is no need 
of urging upon a convention of librarians that 
the selection of books should belong to the 
library profession, nor of demonstrating in 
detail the looseness and the heterogeneity of 
the methods of selection now in use. It 
remains to suggest a remedy. 

The ills (it will be remembered that I am 
speaking particularly of the western libraries), 
the ills are : 

(1) Remoteness from book centres. 

(2) Poverty in bibliographic material. 

(3) Repetition on the part of each library of 
the investigation gone through with by its 
neighbors. 

(4) The impropriety of calling upon other 
librarians for the information needed ; and 

(5) The necessity of relying for this informa- 
tion upon correspondence with distant pub- 
lishers. 

To obviate this, we need the cooperation of 
neighboring libraries, the concentration of 
their bibliographic material, its classification 
into a ready working system, easy reference 
facilities to this of all desiring bibliographic 
information. And what I would propose is 
for each State a Bibliographic Bureau, which 
should undertake to do methodically, syste- 
matically, and on business principles for the 
whole district the work which any one library 
of its district is too feeble to accomplish 
properly by itself. 

Let me take Minnesota as an instance. 
There are now in the State upwards of 90 
public libraries. The largest of them has 
less than 25,000 volumes ; the rest vary from 
300 to 14,000 volumes. Only one of them is 
endowed. All of them must practice close 
economy ; and in all of them economy must 



IO2 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



tell first upon the department that affects the 
public least the library tools, the bibliog- 
raphy. Few of them can afford $40 for 
the English catalogue. Fewer still are within 
reach of the large general bibliographies. 
Only six of them out of 60 find it practicable 
to buy their books from local dealers. The 
most, not being able to send their librarians 
to Chicago or New York to make their selec- 
tions, must depend for their lists upon stray 
catalogues and distant correspondence. 

I would propose the establishment of a 
Bibliographic Bureau, in connection with 
the chief Public Library of the State. By 
the chief library I mean the library purchas- 
ing most books, so having most interest 
in the introduction of a methodical system, 
and willing to take the initiative in establish- 
ing it. Let this library announce that it 
intends to pay special attention to building 
up a department of bibliography, not merely 
for its own use, but for the benefit of all the 
libraries in the State ; that it will be the aim 
of this department to render unnecessary the 
ownership of expensive bibliographic material 
by those various smaller libraries ; that to 
this end it will not merely be made as com- 
plete as possible, but will be so classified and 
systematized as to furnish the readiest in- 
formation, not merely as to the history of a 
given book, but as to the best books on a 
given topic, the special merits of different 
works on the same topic, and all other mat- 
ters of bibliographic interest; that this col- 
lection will, of course, be open for purposes 
of consultation like the rest of the library; 
but that, in addition, the special assistant in 
charge of it will be prepared to furnish by 
letter any information desired, and especially 
that he (the Bureau, that is to say) will, upon 
application, prepare purchase lists of books 
to comprehend any desired expenditure ; that 
no preliminary subscription will be asked of 
any library, but that, besides the actual 
expense of the work, a small fee will be 
charged for such special services, which 
shall go solely towards the improvement of 
the collection. 

Presuming the Bureau established, any 
town in the State (Duluth, for example, with 



25,000 inhabitants and no public library) 
wishing to establish a library, and ready to 
purchase the books, need only send to the 
Bureau, and in a fortnight, perhaps, receive 
back the lists, the prices, editions, and pub- 
lishers specified, and the various classes 
proportioned to the needs, not of Boston or 
Cincinnati or St. Louis, but of the railway 
centre and chief shipping port on Lake 
Superior. It would have to pay something 
for the service, but the fee would be a trifle 
compared with the indirect saving. The 
money would be spent in building up the 
central collection of bibliography, and thus 
yield a perpetual return for itself. 

There can be little doubt, I think, that the 
various smaller libraries would soon see the 
advantage of using the Bureau. It is only 
the central library itself whose gain would 
be at first doubtful. The Bureau would 
have to be started, and the department of 
bibliography built up out of its own funds. 
But the ultimate profit of having the Bureau" 
under its own roof should justify this outlay. 
The Bureau must be above suspicion. It 
must not be an independent trade concern. It 
must not be a money-making concern. It 
must emanate from the libraries themselves 
as a money-saving concern. It should not 
undertake to purchase books. Its work 
should be simply to inform. Above all, to 
keep itself informed. With the cooperation 
of other libraries this would be easy ; combin- 
ing the money now spent in purchasing frag- 
ments of bibliography, it could gather in one 
mass the best bibliographic aids attainable ; it 
could afford to send a representative East 
once or twice a year to explore and to verify. 
It would be welcomed by the publishers as 
saving them an immense amount of scattered 
and repeated inquiry. It might induce in time 
what is so desirable uniformity in trade 
catalogues. In short, instead of being a pas- 
sive recipient of the advertisements of the 
publishers, it would itself be active and aggres- 
sive in prying out the best of the market. 

It is probable that the libraries already 
established would at first make use of the 
Bureau only for reference. The librarians 
might be loth to relinquish the office of 



PUTNAM. 



103 



selecting their books ; they would repair in 
person to the central collection and make up 
the lists themselves. Even in this way they 
would get the benefit of the concentration of 
the material and of suggestions from the 
official in charge. In case the use of the 
Bureau never went beyond this personal refer- 
ence, it might be proper to invite a regular 
subscription from all those wishing such 
access to it. But I am confident that its use 
would be far more general ; that its methodi- 
cal system would be found so exact, so 
speedy, and so economical that it would be reg- 
ularly employed to make up the purchase lists, 
and that the graded fees for this work should 
suffice to pay its expenses. Nor do I see 
why the various librarians should be loth to 
avail themselves of this service any more than 
they should be loth to avail themselves of the 
various labor-saving devices of the Library 
Bureau. The selection of books is a high func- 
tion of library work, but not the highest func- 
tion ; for that is to interpret those books to the 
public. Cataloguing is also a high function ; 
but cooperation in cataloguing is esteemed no 
indignity. And, however much good sense 
be ascribed to the individual librarian, he 
cannot be expected to do with poor tools what 
can be done well only with the best of tools. 

If the Bureau would be an economy for 
Minnesota, it would be as much so for any 
other of the Western States. Among these 
Minnesota is by no means backward in the 
matter of libraries ; in proportion to her 
population her libraries sum up as many 
volumes as those of any State west of Ohio 
California alone excepted. But they share 
with all the others in their remoteness from 
book centres and their need of organization 
for bibliographic work. 



I have suggested the State as an appropri- 
ate district, because the work of the Bureau 
could be done more thoroughly in a small 
area, because the sense of a common interest 
and of a common proprietorship easily at- 
taches to such a line of division. And for 
one further reason the possibility that in 
time the Bureau might come to have the 
name and the character of a State institution. 
I am not yet clear that such an event would 
be desirable. I am certain that its biblio- 
graphic work would be done no better in that 
capacity. But it cannot be denied that its 
benefits might be incalculably extended. In 
California the libraries of the district schools 
have been most successful. Their books are 
selected by the State Board of Education. 
Our own Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion is urging upon the Legislature to build 
up the school libraries of Minnesota in a like 
manner. It is true that the selection of the 
books by the State is in these cases part of 
the State control, and justified by the appro- 
priation of State funds for the part support 
of the libraries. But there is a tendency 
towards the enlargement of the educational 
functions of the State visible in many direc- 
tions. It is the least to be regretted, perhaps, 
of all phases of centralization. Quite in 
harmony with this educational function would 
be a State Library Bureau, which should in 
no wise constrain or control local and indi- 
vidual effort, but should furnish free of 
charge to free libraries the best practical 
information about books and reading. Such 
an institution would assuredly be grateful. 
But the libraries must first prove themselves 
that it would be practicable. 



For the discussion which followed the reading of this paper, see PROCEEDINGS (Seventh session). 



IO4 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



REPORT ON CATALOGUES AND AIDS AND GUIDES FOR READERS. 

1885-87. 

BY W: C. LANE, ASSISTANT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. 



/ "pHE report made by Mr. Crunden on Aids 
and Guides at the meeting of the Asso- 
ciation in 1886 was principally devoted to a 
detailed statement of what means were taken 
to help readers in the various more important 
libraries of the country. The information 
was obtained directly from the libraries by 
means of circulars sent out by the com- 
piler, and was so full and exact that no further 
work in the same line is needed at the present 
time. This report will, therefore, be confined 
to a consideration of the bibliographical 
works which have appeared since 1885, not 
including any which were mentioned by Mr. 
Crunden in a list appended to his report 
which was brought down to June, 1885, and 
omitting also all which were described in a 
report on catalogues made by Mr. Nelson at 
the meeting of the Association in 1885 
(Library journal, p. 263 ; Papers and Proc. of 
the A.L.A., p. 69). 

A list of titles with occasional notes must 
therefore form the main portion of this paper ; 
but a few introductory remarks will not be 
out of place to sum up some of the results, 
and to call attention to a few points not 
noticed below. 

In the first place I have included in the fol- 
lowing list only independent separate publica- 
tions. The titles of the numerous special bib- 
liographies and reference lists which have 
appeared in periodicals or in books have 
already been indexed, as far as they have come 
under my observation, in two numbers of the 
Harvard University Bulletin for October, 1885, 
and January, 1887, and have been issued sep- 
arately as Bibliographical Contributions, Nos. 
20 and 24. These will shortly be consolidated 
into one alphabet, and combined with the 
" Index to notes about books " in the Boston 
Public Library's Handbook for readers, 1883, 
and published by the A.L.A. Publishing Sec- 
tion, so that I consider it unnecessary to 



repeat here any of the information contained 
in those lists. I have also omitted all men- 
tion of the great biographical dictionaries now 
in progress or recently completed, though they 
are closely related to the subject of this report. 
There is in the first place the great Diction- 
ary of National (British) Biography, edited by 
Leslie Stephen, of which eleven volumes have 
been received, bringing the work down to Con. 
Two volumes of a Cyclopcedia of American 
Biography, edited by J. G. Wilson and John 
Fiske, and published by the Appletons, have 
appeared during the current year, including 
names from A. to Grim. 

The eighth volume of the Belgian Bio- 
graphie Nationale, begun in 1866, bears the 
imprint 1886, and brings the work down to Hel. 
In Italy Prof. Attilio Brunialti has begun 
the publication of an Annuario Biografico 
Universale, of which two volumes have 
appeared for the years 1884-85 and 1885-86. 
Its articles are for the most part on men who 
have just died, but others living or dead are 
also included who have been brought into 
prominence by the erection of a statue, the 
publication of a biography, or in any other 
way. 

A Nou-velle Biographic Normande, by 
N. N. Oursel, in two volumes, was published 
in 1886, and a Lexikon der Schleswi^-Holstein- 
Lauenburgischen und Eutinischen Schrifl- 
steller von 1866-82 by Ed. Alberti was 
published at Kiel in two volumes in 1885 in 
continuation of an earlier work by the same 
author, covering the period from 1829 to 1866. 
Four volumes, the 5ist to 54th, of Wurz- 
bach's Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiser- 
thums Oesterreich appeared in 1885 and 1886, 
which nearly completes the work. 

Owners of Vapereau's last (5th) edition of 
his Dictionnaire Universel des Contempo- 
rains should not fail to notice that a supple- 
ment of 129 pages was published in 1886. 



LANE. 



105 



The recently (1887) published supplement 
to Vallde's Bibliographie des Bibliographies, 
which supplies some of the many deficiencies 
of that work, should also be obtained by 
those who possess the original. 

As a contribution to a solution of that 
problem with many anwers, Which are the 
best books? the Pall Mall Gazette's "Extra, 
No. 24, The Best Hundred Books " is inter- 
esting. The discussion started with a list 
made out by Sir John Lubbock, and this 
" Extra " contains the whole controversy as 
carried on in the columns of the Pall Mall by 
many distinguished writers. 

The literature of pseudonyms has been en- 
riched by four notable works : Cushing's 
Initials and Pseudonyms, 1885; a second 
edition of Weller's great Lexicon Pseudonim- 
orum, 1886: a second edition of Doorninck's 
work on Dutch and Flemish pseudonyms, and 
an Italian work by G. B. Passano, a supple- 
ment to Melzi's well-known Dizionario, 1848- 
59. The third volume of Halkett and Laing's 
Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudony- 
mous Literature of Great Britain should also 
be added to the number. The fourth volume, 
which will complete the work, is still lacking. 

Indexes to Harper's, the last series of 
Notes and Queries, the Revue des Deux 
Mondes, and the Deutsche Rundschau are the 
more important contributions in this special 
class of Aids and Guides. An extensive 
index to Littell's Living Age and an index to 
the obituary notices in the Gentleman's Maga- 
zine from 1731-80 are also under way, but 
still far from completion. The New York 
Daily Tribune has followed the lead of the 
London Times in issuing an annual index to 
its contents. 

The records of current literature have been 
enriched by the publication of an Annual 
American Catalogue for 1886 ; the first volume 
of a continuation of Lorenz' Catalogue Glne- 
rale de la Librairie Franqaise, for 1876-1885, 
and an additional volume to each of the three 
great German records, the i8th volume of 
Heinsius, 1880-84 the 7th volume of Hinrichs, 
1881-85, an d the 23d and 24th volumes of 
Kayser, 1883-86. The latter still lacks a little 
of completion, but has been published with 



extraordinary rapidity. The valuable monthly 
index to current periodical literature given in 
Book Chat should not pass unmentioned. The 
July number indexed the principal contents of 
240 different magazines, including 29 French, 
German, Italian, and Spanish periodicals. 
Book Chat also gives lists of the new serials 
begun in magazines and a title index of 
current poetry in magazines. 

Of special bibliographies of places, persons, 
or subjects a very large number have been 
recently published, but no special mention 
beyond the notes appended to many titles in 
the list below is necessary. Some of these 
are vast and trackless wastes in which no 
guiding paths can be found, but by far the 
larger part are well classified or provided with 
subject indexes. The prevailing form for 
such publications seems to be an alphabetical 
author list with index of subjects, but from 
Germany come some excellent specimens of 
a systematic arrangement by subjects with 
author index. 

Several important catalogues have been 
published within the last two years. The first 
two volumes of the Astor Library catalogue 
have been often mentioned in the pages of the 
Library journal, and require no further com- 
ment. The second and third volumes of the 
great catalogue of the Peabody Institute bear 
the dates 1885 and 1887, and open up a vast 
mass of material not hitherto accessible by 
means of any one instrument. 

The British Museum has issued a catalogue 
of its printed maps, charts, and plans, which 
shows that library to be infinitely richer even 
in maps of our own country than any library 
here except, perhaps, the government libraries. 
The Museum has also printed a subject index 
to the modern works added to the library in 
the years 1884-85, which forms, as it claims to 
be, " a nearer approximation to a general index 
of current literature than has yet been 
attempted elsewhere." 

The catalogue of the Milwaukee Public 
Library requires special mention, as its author, 
Mr. Linderfelt, has not been content to follow 
blindly in beaten tracks, but has introduced 
ideas of his own. 

The system of arrangement is in the main 



io6 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



Mr. Dewey's decimal system, with more or less 
complete change in the sub-divisions of politi- 
cal science, law, sermons, Africa, and North 
America, and minor changes in many other 
places. A synopsis of classification with an 
alphabetical index of subjects is given at the 
end of the volume, with the Dewey numbers. 
These numbers are printed at the head of the 
page throughout the body of the catalogue, and 
are used in references ; but the arrangement of 
the titles on the page is to a considerable 
extent independent of them, different head- 
ings, either more or less numerous than the 
divisions of the synopsis, being used, and num- 
bered or lettered independently. In some 
cases, as under geography and history, the 
arrangement of the titles is directly at variance 
with the succession of the numbers. The 
change is doubtless an improvement in the 
arrangement of the catalogue, inasmuch as it 
brings together the history and description of 
the same place ; but it is a little puzzling to be 
referred in the index to 948 for the history of 
Scandinavia, only to find that 929 is the high- 
est number in regular succession on the page- 
headings, and that 948 is back with 914. If I 
am looking for the description of Scandinavia 
on the other hand, I am referred to 914.8, and 
unless I am fortunate, or familiar with the cat- 
alogue, have to run through 45 pages headed 
914 in order to find Scandinavia, which is 
headed "12 Europe. h. Scandinavia, 2 
Description," when I find it, and not 914.8 at 
all, which only appears in the shelf-marks. 
Of course one learns how to handle such mat- 
ters in a short time, but it tempts one to wish 
that Mr. Linderfelt had thrown aside the 
Dewey notation altogether, or else adapted it 
more completely to his wants. An index of 
authors (including also anonymous, striking, 
and indefinite titles) stands at the beginning 
of the volume, and refers by page (or rather 
column) numbers (but without shelf-mark) to 
the full entry in the systematic catalogue. An 
alphabetical index of biography completes the 
volume. In this reference is not made to the 
full title, but simply the shelf-marks are given. 
In looking over a new catalogue, especially 
when it strikes out on a somewhat new plan, 
one always notices first its deficiencies, the 



kinds of information it does not undertake to 
give; so, in examining the Milwaukee cata- 
logue, one is struck first of all with the fact 
that one cannot find all of an author's works 
together in one place, but must hunt them 
down in succession from the references in the 
author index, which does not give shelf- 
marks. Neither can one find the titles of all 
the works about a person in one place, except 
the strictly biographical ones ; and in order to 
find these, one has to find first in the biography 
index the author of some work on the subject, 
then look for the author's name in the author 
index, which will refer to the page of the 
systematic catalogue, where that and other 
titles will be found. The references to ana- 
lyzed articles on the other hand cannot be 
looked up at all, except by sending for the 
books, which, it must be confessed, is the 
essential point, and Mr. Linderfelt is perhaps 
wise in not attempting anything further. What 
the catalogue attempts to do is to group its 
titles systematically in such a way as to give 
all that the library has on a special topic in 
one place, and all that it has on closely related 
topics side by side, and in connection with 
general works which cover the whole ground. 
This it succeeds in doing perhaps better than 
any catalogue yet printed, unless it be the 
Brooklyn Library Catalogue ; every librarian 
knows that the problem is incapable of a 
wholly satisfactory solution, and that each 
attempt has its peculiar weaknesses and its 
special advantages. Mr. Linderfelt has worked 
out on some new lines, and has succeeded in 
overcoming some old difficulties. No one 
else starting over again would follow in just 
the same paths, so every one finds something 
to criticise ; but the Milwaukee catalogue is 
one which I know from experience is practi- 
cally useful in other libraries besides the one 
which has made it. 

Notes on other library catalogues recently 
published are given with the titles below. 

GENERAL. 

BIRMINGHAM, ENG. FREE LIBRARIES. Books 
for a reference library. London, 1885. 192 p. 
O. 

Lectures on books on law and jurisprudence, books on legal 
and constitutional history, the Greek and Latin classics, books 



LANE. 



107 



on Shakespeare, botanical books, botanical books of the nine- 
teenth century, some art books ; with bibliographical appen- 
dices to each lecture. Reviewed in Library journal, 1887, 
p. 69. 

The BEST hundred books. London, 1886. 
32 p. Q. (Pall Mall Gazette " Extra," no. 24.) 
Sir J: Lubbock's list, with criticisms and other lists by 
many writers. 

VALLEE, L. Bibliographic des bibliographies. 
Supplement. Paris, 1887. 354 p. L. O. 

Alphabetical by authors, with alphabetical index of sub- 
jects, like the original work. It supplies many of the defects 
noticeable in the latter, and includes recent publications. 

BOOK-PRICES current. A monthly record of 
the prices at which books have been sold at 
auction. London, January, 1887-. O. 
It is to be hoped that the volume will be concluded by an 
alphabetical index, as the titles are now given in short separate 
lists according to the sales. 

LIBRARY notes. Improved methods and labor- 
savers for librarians, readers, and writers ; 
edited by Melvil Dewey. Vol. i. June, 1886- 
March, 1887. Boston, Library Bureau. O. 

Quarterly. 

PSEUDONYMS AND ANONYMS. 

GUSHING, W. Initials and pseudonyms, a dic- 
tionary of literary disguises. N. Y., 1885. 
603 p. L. O. 

DOORNINCK, J. I. VAN. Vermomde en naamlooze 
schrijvers opgespoord op het gebied der neder- 
landsche en vlaamsche letteren. 2 e uitg. der 
"Bibliothek van anonymen en pseudonymen." 
2 pt. Leiden, 1883-85. O. 

The first part is devoted to initials and pseudonyms, the 
second to anonyms. 

PASSANO, G. B. Dizionario di opere anonime 
e pseudonime in supplemento a quello di 
Gaetano Melzi. Ancona, 1887. 514 p. L. O. 

WELLER, E. Lexicon pseudonymorum. Wor- 
terbuch der Pseudonymen. aller Zeiten und 
Volker. 2 e aufl. Regensb., 1886. 627 p. O. 

INDEXES. 

General Register zur DEUTSCHEN RUNDSCHAU 
Band 1-40 (i-io jahrgang). Nebst system- 
atischer Uebersicht der Hauptartikel. Berlin, 
1885. 160 p. O. 

Index to the obituary and biographical notices 
in the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, 1731-80; by 
R. H. Farrar. Part I. A-Gi. London, Index 
Society, 1886. O. 

Index to HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 
alphabetical, analytical, and classified. Vols. 
1-70. 1850-85. N. Y., 1886. 783 p. O. 

Printed on one side of the leaf only. Very full and elaborate. 



A complete index to LITTELL'S LIVING AGE; by 
E: Roth. Vol. i (first too volumes). Nos. 
i-io. Phila., 1883-86. O. 

Nos. 7-10 were issued in 1885 and '86. 

Index to the NEW YORK DAILY TRIBUNE for 

1886; J: L. Weinheimer, compiler. N. Y., 

1887. 95 p. S. 
NOTES AND QUERIES. General index to series 

6th (1880-85). Vols. 1-12. London, 1886. 

147 p. Sq. O. 

REVUE DES DEUX MONDES. Suite de la table 

generate, 1874-86. Paris, 1886. 204 p. O. 
A threefold index, alphabetical by authors, analytical 
(systematic) and geographical. 

NATIONAL, Etc. 
American. 
The ANNUAL American Catalogue. 1886. 

N. Y., Publishers' Weekly, 1887. L. O. 
This is made up from the titles printed in the Publistiers 1 
Weekly thrown into a single alphabet. All notes, etc. , are 
reproduced. An author, title, and subject index follows. 

LEON AND BROTHER. Catalogue of the first edi- 
tions of American authors. N. Y., 1885. 58 
p. O. 

A priced catalogue. 

American (Government). 

POORE, B. P. Descriptive catalogue of the 
government publications of the United States, 
1774-1881. Washington, 1885. 1,392 p. O. 
A strictly chronological arrangement is followed ; with an 
index of subjects somewhat deficient in cross-references. The 
list comes down to March 3, 1881. For later publications see 
the American catalogue (supplement), which covers the term 
from Jan. i, iSSi, to June 30, 1884. Hickox's monthly cata- 
logue begins with Jan. i, 1885. The best complete index is 
on the cards of the Boston Public Library. See review in 
Library journal, 1886, p. 4. 

American (Pennsylvania). 

HILDEBURN, C: R. A century of printing ; 
the issues of the press in Pennsylvania, 1685- 
1784. 2 vols. Phila., 1885-86. Q. 
Arranged chronologically, with index of authors and titles. 
Compiled with great care and exactness. 

American Poetry. 

STOCKBRIDGE, J. C. The Anthony memorial ; 
a catalogue of the Harris collection of Ameri- 
can poetry, with biographical and biblio- 
graphical notes. Prov., 1886. 320 p. O. 
Reviewed in the Nation December 30, 1886 ; Library 
journal, 1887, p. 69. Unsatisfactory, grossly inaccurate, and 
disappointing. 

Belgian. 

BIBLIOGRAPHIE nationale. Dictionnaire des 
ecrivains beiges et catalogue de leurs publica- 



io8 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



tions, 1830-80. Livr. 1-7 (A-Dye). Bruxelles, 
1882-86. L. O. 
Livr. 5, 6, and 7 in 1886. 

Dutch. 

BRINKMAN. Repertorium op Brinkman's cata- 
logussen, 1850-82. Bewerkt door R. van der 
Meulen. Amst., 1886. O. 

A subject index to Brinkman's Catalogus (1883-84), which 
includes all works published in the Netherlands, 1850-82. 

English (Aberdeen). 
EDMOND, J. P. The Aberdeen printers, 1620- 

1736. Aberdeen, 1886. 274 p. O. 
Franciscans. 

DIRKS, S. Histoire litteraire et bibliographique 
des Freres Mineurs de 1'observance de St. 
Fran9ois en Belgique et dans les Pays-Bas. 
Anvers, 1886. 456 p. O. 
French. 

LAPORTE, A. Bibliographic contemporaine ; his- 
toire litteraire du 19* siecle; supplement de 
Brunei, de Querard, de Barbier, etc. Tom. 
1-3. A-Dre. Paris, 1884-87. O. 
LORENZ, O. Catalogue general de la librairie 
fran9aise depuis 1840. Tom. 9. 1876-85 
(A-H). Paris, 1886. O. 

German. 
HEINSIUS, W. Allgemeine Biicher-Lexikon 

17" Bd. 1880-84. Lpz., 1886 ['85-87]. Q. 
HINRICHS' fiinfjahriger Biicher-Catalog. 7 er Bd. 

1881-85. Lpz., 1886. O. 

KAYSER'S vollstandiges Bucher-Lexikon. Bd. 
23, 24, lief. 1-3. 1883-86 (A-S). Lpz., 
1887. Q. 
Greek. 

LEGRAND, E. Bibliographic hellenique ou De- 
scription raisonnee des ouvrages pub. en 
grec par des grecs aux 15* et 16* siecles. 2 
vols. Paris, 1885. L. O. 

With extensive literary, historical, and critical notes, and 
a valuable introduction on the history of Greek literature in 
the middle ages. 

Icelandic. 

BRITISH MUSEUM. Catalogue of the books 
printed in Iceland, 1578 to 1880, in the library 
of the Museum. London, 1885. ^ v P- F. 

FISKE, W. Books printed in Iceland, 1578- 
1844; supplement to the British Museum 
catalogue. [Florence, 1886.] O. (Bibliog. 
notices, i.) 

A list of 139 titles not in the British Museum. 
Mexican. 

ICAZBALCETA, J. G. Bibliografia mexicana del 
siglo 16, I" parte. Catalogo razonado de 



libros impresos en Mexico, 1539-1600. Con 
biografias, etc. Mexico, 1886. 419 p. Q. 
Spanish (Aragon). 

LATASSA, F. de. Bibliotecas antiqua y nueva 
de escritores aragoneses, aumentadas y refun- 
didas en forma de diccionario bibliog.-biog. 
por M. Gomez Uriel. 3 vols. Zaragoza, 
1884-86. Q. 

SPECIAL CLASSES. 

Academic Dissertations. 
JAHRESVERZEICHNISS der an den deutschen 
Universitaten erschienenen Schriften. I. 15 
Aug., 1885-14 Aug., 1886. Berlin, 1887. O. 
MOURIER, ATH., and DELTOUR, F. Catalogue et 
analyse des theses fran9aises et latines admises 
par les facultes des lettres. Annee scolaire 
1885-86. Paris, 1886. 40 p. O. 
A continuation of the authors' " Notice sur le doctoral es 
lettres, 46 d. 1880," which contains a catalogue of theses 
from 1810 to 1880, and has been followed by annual supple- 
ments. Full table of contents of each thesis is given, and at 
the end an index of authors and subjects. 

FRANCE. Mm. DE L'!NSTRUC. PUBLIQUE. Cata- 
logue des theses et ecrits academiques. Fasc. 
i, 2. Annees 1884-85, 1885-86. Paris, 
i88s-6. O. 

A much more comprehensive list than the last (which in- 
cludes only the faculte's des lettres). Titles very brief and no 
index. 

Societies and Periodicals. 
ITALY. Mm. BELLA ISTRUZIONE PUBBLICA. 
Elenco delle pubblicazioni periodiche rice- 
vute dalle biblioteche pubbliche governative 
d'ltalia nel 1884. Roma, 1885. 8. (Indici 
e cataloghi. I.) 
Of especial value for Italian publications. Arrangement 

alphabetical by titles (including publications of societies). The 

current volume only is recorded. Noticed and described in 

Library journal, 1886, p. 61. 

LASTEYRIE R. DE, and LEFEVRE-PONTALIS, E. 
Bibliographic des travaux historiques et 
archeo). pub. par les societes de la France. 
Livr. i, 2. Paris, 1885-^6. Q. 

Arranged alphabetically by towns under departments. The 
work, when complete, is to be furnished with an index of 
authors and of subjects. The contents of the different pub- 
lications is given with great detail. 

MULLER, J. Die wissenschaftlichen Vereine und 
Gesellschaften Deutschlands im 19 Jahrhun- 
dert ; Bibliographic ihrer Veroffentlichungen 
seit ihrer Begriindung bis auf die Gegenwart. 
i e -9 e Lief. Berl., 1883-36. Q. 
Gives contents of the publications in many cases. Arranged 
by cities. 



LANE. 



109 



YEAR-BOOK of the scientific and learned societies 
of Gr. Brit, and Ireland; an account of their 
origin, constitution, and working; from official 
sources. ist-3d annual issue. 3 vols. L., 
1884-86. O. 

The first volume gave historical and descriptive particulars 
in regard to each society. Succeeding volumes have given the 
titles of papers read or published during the preceding year. 

SPECIAL PLACES. 
Agenais. 

ANDRIEU, J. Bibliographic generale de 1'Age- 
nais et des parties du Condomois et du Baza- 
dais incorporees dans le dep. de Lot-et- 
Garonne. Tom. i. A.-K. Paris, 1886. O. 
An alphabetical list of works pub. in or relating to Agenais, 
with biog. notes on the authors. 
America. 

CLARKE (ROBERT) AND Co. Bibliotheca Ameri- 
cana, 1886. Catalogue of a valuable collec- 
tion of books and pamphlets relating to 
America. Cincinnati, 1886. 280 p. O. 
Belgium. 

LAHAYE, L., and others. Bibliographic de 1'his- 
toire de la Belgique ; ouvrages parus en Bel- 
gique et a 1'etranger de 1830 a 1882. Fasc. I. 
Liege, 1886. O. 

Promises to be one of the most valuable and complete 
historical bibliographies. 

Dorset. 

MAYO, C. H. Bibliotheca Dorsetiensis. Ac- 
count of printed books and pamphlets relating 
to the history and topography of Dorset. 
London, 1885. 296 p. Sq. O. 
Egypt and Soudan. 

IBRAHIM-HILMY, Prince. The literature' of 
Egypt and the Soudan from the earliest 
times to 1885. Vol. i. A-L. London, 1886. 
398 p. Q. 
Extended notes and contents freely given. 

England. 

AIRY, O. Books on English history (Birming- 
ham reference library lectures). London, 
1886. 41, xv. p. O. 

A lecture, with list of books of reference. 

Frankfort. 

GROTEFEND, H. Verzeichniss von Abhand- 
lungen und Notizen zur Geschichte Frank- 
furt's ; aus Zeitschrif ten und Sammelwerken. 
Frankf. a. M., 1885. 95 p. O. 
Gaul. 

RUELLE, C. E. Bibliographic generale des 
Gaules jusqu'k la fin du 5 e siecle. Paris, 1886. 
1732 col. O. 



An elaborate bibliography brought down to 1870, arranged 
in two parts, systematically by subjects, and alphabetically by 
authors, with a topical index. 

Germany. 

WEISE, A. Bibliotheca germanica; Verzeich- 
niss aller auf Deutschland und Deutsch- 
Oesterreich beziiglichen Origin al-Werker die 
1880-85 i m gesammten Auslande erschienen 
sind. Paris und Lpz., 1886. 142 p. S. 
Includes also the more important magazine literature. 
Alphabetical catalogue, with subject index. 

Italy. 

BLANC, J. Bibliographic italico-franjaise uni- 
verselle, ou Catalogue methodique de tous les 
imprimes en langue fran9aise sur 1' Italic 
ancienne et moderne, 1475-1885. 2 vol. Milan, 
1886. L. O. 

The first volume contains works on the history of Rome, 
the Church, and Italy; the second gives the French trans- 
lations of Latin and Italian works, articles in French reviews, 
a supplement for the first half of 1886, and indexes of places, 
persons, authors, and translators. 

Kassel. 

ACKERMANN, K. Bibliotheca Hassiaca; Reper- 
torium der landeskundlichen Litteratur fiir 
den k. preussischen Regierungsbezirk Kassel. 
Nachtrag i. Kassel, 1886. 60 p. O. 

A supplement of 700 titles to an earlier bibliography. 

Madagascar. 

SIB REE, J. A Madagascar bibliography [with] 
a list of publications in the Malagasy language, 
and a list of maps of Madagascar. Antana- 
rivo, 1885. 92 p. O. 

In two parts alphabetically by authors, and chronologi- 
cally under topics. 

Steiermark. 

SCHLOSSAR, A. Die Literatur der Steiermark 
in historischer, geog. und ethnog. Beziehung. 
Graz, 1886. 171 p. O. 

United States. 

ABBOT, G. M. Contributions towards a bibli- 
ography of the civil war in the United States. 
I. Regimental histories. Phila., 1886. 34 
p. O. 

Reprinted from the Jan. Bulletin of the Library Company 
of Philadelphia. 

ALLEN, J. G. Topical studies in American 

history. Rochester, N. Y., 1885. Sq. S. 
For grammar school use. A topical outline of the subject, 
with a few references for parallel reading. 

DUNBAR, C. F. Political Economy 8 [topics and 
references on the history of financial legisla- 
tion in the United States]. Camb., 1886. 

12 p. O. 



IIO 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



FOSTER, W. E. References to the history of 
presidential administrations, 1789-1885. N. Y., 

1885. T. (Economic tract, No. 17.) 
TAUSSIG, F. W. Topics and references in 

Political Economy 6 [in Harvard College : 
Tariff history of the United States]. Camb., 

1886. 31 p. O. 

A synopsis of lectures, with current references to authori- 
ties. 

WILLIAMS, G. A. Topics and references in 
American history. Syracuse, N. Y., 1886. 
50 p. S. 

Intended for use in schools. 
Venice. 

SORANZO, G. Bibliografia veneziana. Venezia, 
1885. 938 p. - Q. 

Intended as a continuation and supplement to E. A. 
Cicogna's Saggio della bibliog. ven. 

Classed. Extremely full and extensive. 

Worcester, Mass. 

PAINE, N. Bibliography of Worcester history. 
Worcester, 1885. 18 p. O. 

SPECIAL PERSONS. 
Dickens. 

JOHNSON, C. P. Hints to coi'ectors of original 
editions of the works of Charles Dickens. 
London, 1885. 56 p. S. 

With careful bibliographical notes. 

KITTON, F. G. Dickensiana. Bibliography of 
the literature relating to C. Dickens and his 
writings. London, 1886. xxxii., 510 p. O. 

Contains some 570 titles, and quotes frequent and extensive 
extracts from the articles named. 

Eliot, George. 

WOOLLEY, C. P. George Eliot. Suggestions 
for clubs and private reading. Chicago, 1886. 
10 p. S. 
Hamilton. 

FORD, P. L. Bibliotheca Hamiltoniana. List of 
books by or relating to Alexander Hamilton. 
N. Y., 1886. 159 p. O. 

Full titles and critical notes. Printed on one side of the 
leaf only. 

Lipsius. 

VAN DER HAEGHEN, F. Bibliographic Lip- 
sienne ; CEuvres de Juste Lipse. 2 vol. 
Gand, 1886. S. 

Reprinted from his Bibliotheca Belgica, now in course of 
publication. An elaborately annotated bibliography. 
Longfellow. 

BENJAMIN, W. E. Longfellow collector's 
handbook. Bibliography of first editions. 
N. Y., 1885. 55 p. D. 



Petrarch. 

FISKE, W. Hand-list of Petrarch editions in 
the Florentine public libraries. Florence, 
1886. O. (Bibliog. notices, 2.) 

Raleigh. 

BRUSHFIELD, T. N. The bibliography of Sir 
Walter Raleigh, with notes. Plymouth; Exe- 
ter, 1886. 36 p. Q. 
Reprinted from the Western A ntiquary. 

Schiller. 

HETTLER, A. Schiller's Dramen ; eine Bibliog- 
raphic, nebst einem Verzeichniss der Aus- 
gaben saemmtl. Werke Schiller's. Berlin, 
1885. 57 p. O. 

Shakespeare. 

MORGAN, Appleton. Digesta Shakespeareana. 
Topical index of printed matter (other than 
literary or aesthetic commentary or criticism) 
rel. to S. or the S. plays and poems, printed 
in English to 1887. N. Y., Shakespeare So- 
ciety, 1887. 224 p. S. 
Arrangement alphabetical by topics. An addenda of foreign 

titles is in preparation, and the society intends to issue annual 

supplements. Not intended to be exhaustive. 

Shelley. 

FORMAN, H. B. The Shelley library. An essay 
in bibliography. Parti. London, 1886. 127 
p. O. 

With extended bibliographical and historical notes. 

Thackeray. 

JOHNSON, C. P. Hints to collectors of original 
editions of the works of Thackeray. London, 
1885. 48 p. S. 
With careful bibliographical notes. 

Waitz. 

STEINDORFF, E. Bibliographische Ubersicht 
iiber Georg Waitz' Werke. Gott., 1886. 
34 p. O. 

SPECIAL SUBJECTS. 

Chemistry (Explosives). 
MUNROE, C. E. Index to the literature of 

explosives. Pt. i. Bait., 1886. O. 
Contains the titles in 442 volumes of periodicals, arranged 
in the order of the periodicals referred to. To be followed by 
a subject and author's index. The periodicals indexed in the 
first part are : Amer. J. of Sci. ; Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. ; 
Proc. U. S. Naval Inst. ; Revue d'Artillerie ; Journ. Roy. 
Unit. Serv. Inst. ; Reports of H. M. Inspectors of Explo- 
sives. 

Chemistry (Uranium). 

BOLTON, H. C. Index to the literature of 
uranium. Wash., 1885. 36 p. O. 

From the Smithsonian report for 1885. 



LANE. 



in 



An earlier index was printed in the A nnals of the lyceum 
of natural history, Feb. 1870. 

Church History. 

FISHER, J. A. A select bibliography of ecclesi- 
astical history. Boston, 1885. 55 p. S. 

Reprinted from " Methods of teaching and studying his- 
tory," edited by G. S. Hall. 

Education. 

HALL, G. S., and MANSFIELD, J. M. Hints 
toward a select and descriptive bibliography 
of education, arranged by topics and indexed 
by authors. Boston, 1886. 309 p. O. 
SCHULZE, C. Systematische Uebersicht der 
veroffentlichten wertvollen Aufsatze iiber 
Padagogik, 1880-86. Hannover, 1887. 276 
p. O. 

Carefully classified, and giving extracts from or summaries 
of the most important books and articles. The contents of 
65 German educational periodicals are included. 

English Literature. 

BLISS, R. Reference list. "English poets and 
dramatists." Unity Club, Newport, R. I., 
[1886.] 8 p. Q. 
Faust. 

ENGEL, K. Zusammenstellung der Faust-Schrif- 
ten vom 16. Jahrh. bis Mitte 1884. Olden- 
burg, 1885. xii., 764 p. O. 
A very complete and elaborate compilation. 

Franco- German war. 

SCHULZ, A. Bibliographic de la guerre franco- 
allemande (1870-71) et de la commune de 
1871. Paris, 1886. 128 p. O. 
Alphabetical catalogue, with index of subjects. 
Genealogy- (American). 

DURRIE, D. S. Bibliographia genealogica ameri- 
cana; alphabetical index to American gene- 
alogies and pedigrees contained in state, 
county, and town histories, printed genealogies, 
and kindred works. 3d ed. Albany, N. Y., 
1886. 245 p. O.' 

Indexes the genealogical information in over 400 separate 
works, amounting to some 20,000 references. 

Genealogy (English). 

MARSHALL, G. W. The genealogist's guide. 2d 
ed. London, 1885. 682 p. O. 

An index to the English pedigrees in every important gene- 
alogical and topographical work, as well as to those in many 
of minor importance. 

History. 
ALLEN, W. F. History topics for high schools 

and colleges. Boston, 1886. S. 
With list of books of reference in English. 

History (Mediaeval). 

CHEVALIER, U. Repertoire des sources his- 



toriques du Moyen Age. [Vol. i.] Bio- 
bibliographie. P., 1877-86. L. O. 

This first volume is an extremely full list of mediaeval 
names, with copious references to the works from which 
information can be obtained. The second vol. is to be devoted 
to places, the third to literary works. 

OESTERLEY, H. Wegweiser durch die Literatui 
der Urkundensammlungen. 2 Theile. Berlin, 
1885-86. O. 

Of the greatest importance in the study of mediaeval history 
when any considerable collection of original records is at hand 
for consultation. 

Hunting. 

SOUHART, R. Bibliographic generale des ouvrages 
sur la chasse, la venerie et la fauconnerie, 
depuis le 150 siecle jusqu'a ce jour. Paris, 
1886. 750 col. O. 

With critical notes on value and prices. 

Jewish question. 

JACOBS, Joseph. The Jewish question, 1875-84. 
London, 1885. 96 p. S. 

A list of 1,230 items. Reprinted from Trilbner? Oriental 
record. 

Local institutions. 

GOMME, G. L. The literature of local institu- 
tions. London, 1886. 248 p. S. 

This is an essay on local institutions, with a review of the 
literature of the subject and bibliographical references. 

Natural history and Mathematics. 
FRIEDLANDER, R., & SOHN. Bibliotheca his- 
torico-naturalis et mathematica; Lager-cata- 
log. Berlin, 1886. O. 

Unites in a volume of about 1,000 pages the separate classed 
catalogues of the firm for the last three years. 

Political economy. 

DUNBAR, C. F. Topics and references in 
Political economy 4 [Economic history of 
Europe and America since the Seven-years' 
war]. Cambridge, 1885. S. 

Politics. 

Fox, G. L. The study of politics. Chicago, 
111., 1885. 16 p. S. (Unity leaflets, no. 10.) 
Printing. 

BIGMORE, E. C., and WYMAN, C. W. H. A 
bibliography of printing, with notes and illus- 
trations. 3 vol. London, 1880-86. O. 
Reprinted from the Printing times and lithographer. An 
alphabetical list without index. 
Protozoa, etc. 

THOMPSON, D. W. A bibliography of proto- 
zoa, sponges, ccelenterata, and worms for 1861- 
83. Camb., Eng., 1885. O. 
Trades unions, etc. 

BLANC, H. Bibliographic des corporations 
ouvrieres avant 1789. Paris, 1885. 102 p. O. 



112 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



CATALOGUES. 

ASTOR LIBRARY, New York. Catalogue. (Con- 
tinuation.) Authors and books. Vol. 1-2 
A-K. Camb., 1886-87. O- 

A supplement to the earlier catalogue of the Library pub- 
lished in 1857-61. An author catalogue,' with scattering 
subject entries, for the most part under names of persons. 
Reviewed in the Library journal, 1886, pp. 160, 215; 1887, 
P- 253- 

BRITISH MUSEUM. Catalogue of the printed 
maps, plans, and charts. London, 1885. 4648 
col. F. 

Strictly alphabetical by places and not classed. The ar- 
rangement under a place is chronological. Entries are made 
under authors as well as under places. 

Catalogue of books placed in the gal- 
leries in the reading-room. London, 1886. 
6np. O. 

A brief-title author-catalogue of the books most frequently 
called for in the Museum. A useful index of subjects follows. 

A subject index to the modern works 

added to the library 1880-85. B Y G. K. For- 
tescue. London, 1886. 1044 p. O. 
This is intended only to supplement the general catalogue 
of the Museum, hence no personal names will be found among 
the headings, and the heading Bible has been omitted. 
Novels, tales, plays, and poems have also been omitted. 

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. TRINITY COLLEGE. 
Catalogue of the English books printed before 
1601 now in the library; by Robert Sinker. 
Camb., 1885. 488 p. O. 

Arranged by towns and printers, with index of authors. 

FITCHBURG, Mass. PUBLIC LIBRARY. Classi- 
fied catalogue, compiled by G. W. Cole. 
Fitchb., 1886. 758 p. Q. 

An author and title catalogue (including also biographical 
entries) is followed by a subject catalogue on the Dewey- 
decimal plan, with a synopsis of classification and subject- 
index. The library contains over 16,000 volumes. 

FONDATION TEYLER. Catalogue de la biblio- 
theque; par C. Ekama. Livr. 1-4. Harlem, 
1885-86. Q. 
A classed catalogue of a library devoted to natural history. 

GLASGOW. FACULTY OF PHYSICIANS AN-D SUR- 
GEONS. Alphabetical catalogue of the li- 
brary; preceded by an index of subjects; by 
Alex. Duncan. Glasgow, 1885. ccxlii., 828 
p. Q. 

The alphabetical index of subjects covers 242 pages. Peri- 
odicals, reports, and society transactions are catalogued 
separately. The library contains 25,000 volumes. 

LEIPZIG. BORSENVEREIN DER DEUTSCHEN 

BUCHHANDLER. Katalog der Bibliothek. 
Lpz., 1885. 708 p. O. 

A carefully classified catalogue (7,564 titles) of a library de- 
voted to works on bookmaking, bookselling, and bookkeeping. 
Index of authors. 



MANCHESTER PUBLIC FREE LIBRARIES. Cata- 
logue 'of the Hulme branch. 4th ed. Man- 
chester, 1885. 196 p. O. 

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC LIBRARY. Systematic 
catalogue of the library, with alphabetical 
author, title, and subject indexes. Milwaukee, 
1885-86. O. 

NEVINS MEMORIAL LIBRARY, Methuen, Mass. 
Catalogue of the library; by Harriet H. Ames. 
2 vols. Boston, 1887. O. 

A library of 10,000 volumes, which were selected, arranged, 
and catalogued by Miss Ames. The catalogue is on the ordi- 
nary dictionary plan, and seems to be carefully compiled, and 
a good amount of analytical work done. It is noticeable that 
no class-lists of fiction, essays, or poetry are given, but a list 
of dramas is included. 

NEW YORK. UNION LEAGUE. Catalogue of 
the library ; by Ellsworth Totten. 1886. O. 
An author-title-subject alphabetical catalogue. 

PRINCETON, (N.J.) THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 
Catalogue of the library. Part I. Religious 
literature. Princeton, 1886. O. 
Rio DE JANEIRO. BIBLIOTHECA NACIONAL. 
Catalogo da exposisao permanente dos cime- 
lios. Rio de Janeiro, 1885. O. 
A careful and elaborate catalogue of a collection of rare or 
representative works designed to illustrate the history of 
printing and of letters, and arranged according to places of 
publication. The collection includes MSS. as well as printed 
books. 

ROCKFORD (///.) PUBLIC LIBRARY. Catalogue. 

Rockford, 1886. 275 p. O. 
A dictionary catalogue of a library of 13,000 volumes. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. A list of books 
received at the library of the department; 
with references to international treaties and 
articles on subjects relative to the law of 
nations and diplomacy in magazines. 

Published at intervals of a month or more, beginning July 
i, 1886. 

BARLOW, S. L. M. A rough list designed as 
the basis of a more complete catalogue of [his] 
library; by J. O. Wright. Americana, 1477- 
1799. N. Y., 1885. 220 p. O. 

HAWKINS, Rush C. The library of Gen. R. C. 
Hawkins. N. Y., G: A. Leavitt & Co. 
March, 1887. O. 

Remarkable as containing a large number of black-letter 
and other rare works. Generously annotated. 

LoCKER-LAMPSON, F. The Rowfant library; 
catalogue of the printed books, manuscripts, 
autograph letters, etc., collected by L. Lon 
don, 1886. O. 

A remarkable collection of English literature, and specially 
rich in first editions. 



PROCEEDINGS.. 



THE PROCEEDINGS. 

ROUND ISLAND HOUSE, THOUSAND ISLANDS, JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK, TUESDAY 
TO FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 TO SEPTEMBER 2, 1887. 



FIRST SESSION. 
(TUESDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 30.) 
WILLIAM F: POOLE, LL.D., President, in the 
chair. 

The meeting was called to order at 2.40 P. M. 
President Poole read the 

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 

(Seep, i.) 

MELVIL DEWEY, Secretary, gave extempo- 
raneously the 

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 

In a ten-minute speech he pointed out that the 
year has been markt by greater interest in libraries 
than ever before ; that new libraries were starting 
in all directions ; that old ones were waking to 
new life and improving their methods and increas- 
ing their efficiency ; that the place of the library 
had been recognized by the leaders of public 
thought, and that year by year the great body of 
thinkers were coming to respect heartily the new 
profession ; and, in brief, that the air was full of 
hope. 

At the end he said : There are many other 
things of which I should like to speak to this 
body ; but the shortness of time and the length 
of program submitted by our committee con- 
strain me to use the time for some general 
announcements, and hope for opportunity later. 

It is specially necessary this year that members 
be promptly in place at the hour of opening. We 
are forced to adjourn every day sharply at noon, 
and no minutes can be lost in getting business 
started promptly at 9.30. 

The question box on my table is open for any- 
thing pertinent to our sessions. Group your 
queries about that general topic on the program, 
if there be any. If not, put them in early, and they 
will be taken up at the first opportunity. If you 
fail to put them in, do not go home and say that 
the wants of your special kind of library were not 
sufficiently considered. 

There are some interesting new devices, blanks, 
catalogs, etc., here. There are others in trunks or 
bundles. Bring them in at the early sessions, and 
give all a chance to examin them at odd moments 



during the week. If left till the last day, no one 
will have time or opportunity. As is usual, any 
contributions of this kind unclaimed by the 
owners will be added to the A.L.A. Bibliothecal 
Museum, which is at last arranged and displayed 
at the Library School where it will do the greatest 
good to the largest number. Time is precious, 
but we want no member to carry home any good 
new idea which he intended to divide with us. 
Give us the points in five minutes if there is not 
the half hour you would like for elaborating them. 
The A.L.A. has won the reputation of doing its 
business with an unusually small amount of talk- 
ing against time. If each will make his points 
crisply and promptly, we shall get thru. 

Our able Assistant Secretary, Mr. Richardson, 
will again take entire charge of the records. Papers 
are to be handed to him as soon as read. Speak- 
ers will be furnisht with tablets and pencils when 
they sit down, and are expected to give a correct 
abstract of their remarks for the minutes, as this 
year there is but one stenografer present, and she 
is private property. Do not defer writing out 
your remarks till later or till you get home. You 
will forget either to do it or what you really said. 

There are a growing number of details requiring 
the attention of the Secretary, which title is, as you 
know, a euphemism for "maid of all work." There 
are mail, telegrams, excursion tickets, etc., to be 
attended to. I move that Arthur N. Brown be 
appointed Second Assistant Secretary for this 
meeting. Voted. 

It is our pleasure this year to have three dele- 
gates from England : Rev. W: H: Milman, 
Librarian of Sion College, London; James Yates, 
Chief Librarian of Leeds, England where he has 
twenty-seven branches, and Edward G. Allen, the 
well-known agent for American libraries in Lon- 
don. Mr. Yates was with us in '76 when the 
A.L.A. was organized. To Mr. Milman the 
American delegates to the London Conference of 
1877 were indebted for perhaps the most charm- 
ing of many delightful dinners in our honor. 

It also happens that the Chairman of one of our 
committees will attend the English meeting, but 
I was about to say two. I have just learned that 
Mr. Bowker has reached New York, and is on 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



his way to this meeting. I move that the Secre- 
tary be directed to forward to the Secretary of the 
L.A.U.K. the credentials of Miss E. M. Coe, 
Librarian of the N. Y. Free Circulating Library, as 
our delegate to its meeting in Birmingham on 
September 20. Voted. 

A later letter informed the Secretary that 
another member, Mr. Gardner M. ' Jones, one of 
the pupils in the Columbia College Library 
School, would also attend the English meeting. 

Mr. S: S. GREEN. I move that the record of 
the proceedings of the last meeting of this asso- 
ciation be amended by striking out the word 
" committee " in the third line of the second col- 
umn of the 378th page of the eleventh volume of 
the Library journal, and putting in its place the 
word " community." Voted. 

H: J. CARR, Treasurer, read the 

TREASURER'S REPORT. 

A. 

Mr. James L. Whitney, Treasurer for 
previous year, reported at the Milwaukee 
Conference to July I, 1886, showing a 
balance on hand to new account amount- 
ing to $422 08 

To which should be added sundry 
membership fees received by him after 
that date up to Oct. 5, 1886 196 oo 

Also correction in bill of Publishers' 
Weekly, as entered Dec. 22, 1885 (see 
note in Milwaukee Conf. report) ... 4 oo 

Total $622 08 

The Treasurer's books show payments 
to his credit, subsequent to report of 
July i, 1886, and prior to transfer, as 
follows : 
1886. 
July 10. Paid stamps, $3.00; express, 

5 $35 

Sept. 2. Paid express to E. Magnusson, 75 

" 2. " Custom-house fees on E. 

Magnusson package ... i oo 

" 24. Paid J. P. Murphy & Co. en- 
gravings for E. Magnusson's 
article in Transactions . . 20 oo 
Oct. 4. Paid Library Bureau, printing 

circulars, July, 1886 ... 9 oo 
" 4. Paid Same, postage on circu- 
lars 6 50 



Payments $40 75 

Balance transferred to H: J. 
Carr, Treasurer, Grand Ra- 
pids, Mich $581 33 



B. 
HENRY J. CARR, Treasurer. In account with the 

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION: 
1886. DR. 

Oct. 9. To balance received from Jas. 
L. Whitney, Treasurer, per 

report A $581 33 

Oct. 5 to Aug. 26, 1887. 

To 198 annual membership 

fees, viz. : 

For year 1884, i .... 2 oo 
" 1885, 4 .... 8 oo 
" 1886, 37 .... 74 oo 
" 1887, 155 .... 310 oo 

" 1888, I .... 2 00 



$396 oo 
To i life membership Mrs. 

Louisa C. F. Mann, to date 

from 1885 $25 oo 

To interest, viz. Concord . . $6 85 

Grand Rapids 4 98 

$11 83 



1886. 



Total $622 08 



Total $1,014 16 

CR. 

Oct. 12 to Aug. 26, 1887. 

By freight ($2.85) and postage 

($22.03) on Proceedings (275 

copies rec'd, 255 distrib.) . $24 88 

By supplies for Treasurer's 

office, viz. mailing stamp and 

pad and blanks 2 75 

By postage, express, and ex- 
change 10 52 

1886. 

Oct. 12. By W. F. Poole, bill Aug. 5, 
expenses on account Mil- 
waukee Conference and pro- 
gram 3 60 

1887. 

Feb. 23. By W: I. Fletcher, bill Nov. 2, 
for Cooperation Committee 
expenses, 1885-86 .... 19 25 

March 2. By Rockwell & Churchill, bill 
Oct. 1 6, 1886, for 275 cop- 
ies Proceedings Milwaukee 
Conference (196 pp.) . . . 489 66 

Jan. 31. By Library Bureau, bill Dec. 
17, 1886, ads., etc., for Mil- 
waukee Conference in Li- 
brary Notes, No. i .... 50 oo 
" 31. By Library Bureau, bill Jan. 14, 
1887, stationery and print- 
ing for Secretary's office . . 13 oo 

April 12. By Rockwell & Churchill, bill 
March 31, 1887, for 50 copies 
E. Magnusson's article on 
spiral building, Oct. 12, 1886, 3 50 

$617 16 

Aug. 27. Balance on hand to be ac- 
counted for $397 oo 

Total $1,014 16 



PROCEEDINGS. 



1887. DR. 

Aug. 27. To balance to new account . . $397 oo 
Account examined with vouchers, and found 
correct. 

SAMUEL S. GREEN, 
J. N. LARNED, 
CHARLES C. SOULE, 
Committee on Treasurer's Account. 

C. 

A few details from the Treasurer concerning 
the Proceedings and membership of the A.L.A. 
may not be untimely with view to the future. 

Of the last four published Proceedings, the 
editions and cost were as follows : 
Cincinnati Conference (1882), 86 p., 750 

copies, cost $260 96 

Buffalo Conference (1883), 146 p., 350 

copies, cost 418 20 

Lake George Conference (1885), 160 p., 

300 copies, cost 461 97 

Milwaukee Conference (1886), 196 p., 275 

copies, cost 493 16 

(Expenses of $25.25 on account of E. Magnus* 
son's article, not included in cost of 1886 Pro" 
ceedings.) 

It is not found that the amounts stated above 
include anything for editorial services or other than 
regular cost of manufacture, properly speaking. 

Each year, it will be observed, the number of 
copies has been less; but, owing to larger number 
of pages, the expenditures have increased. 

The charges made for the last year's Proceed' 
ings (Milwaukee Conference, 1886) were on a 
lower basis for work and material, however, than 
those of any year previous. It is also understood 
that 300 copies were really ordered of said 1886 
Proceedings, which quantity would not have cost 
more than for 275. By mistake of the printers 
the lesser number only was issued, and is the 
total number received for distribution, of which 
15 copies were delivered thru the office of Mr. 
Dewey, Secretary, and 240 by the Treasurer, leav- 
ing a balance of 20 copies yet on hand. 

Of the above 255 distributed, 35 went to tem- 
porary members of 1886, 5 to special use (compli- 
mentary, etc.), and 215 to regular members. 

As against the 20 copies on hand, there are 19 
members owing for 1886, and 6 for 1885 and 1886, 
making 25 entitled to copies of the 1886 Proceed- 
ings, if they pay arrears. All of whom have been 
"cordially invited" so to do; but it is doubtful 
now if more than 10 or 12 will finally comply. 

Including postage, these last Proceedings cost 



quite $1.90 a copy. Therefore, the Treasurer has 
not felt warranted in putting a nominal price upon 
the few which might be spared, and hence has not 
disposed of any by sale, altho two or three parties 
have expressed a desire to obtain extra copies. 
He submits it to the Association. The 20 copies 
of 1886 are all that remain in the present Treas- 
urer's hands. If any copies of prior years remain 
undisposed of, he does not know who has them, 
nor where. 

Since the Milwaukee Conference the list of regu- 
lar membership has been reduced as follows : 

Death, i ; resigned, 4; dropt under by-law, over 
three years in arrears, 17; total decrease, 22. 

And has been increased by new members up to 
the date of this report, 19. 

The membership status is now as follows : 

Life members 22 

Paid to 1888, inclusive i 

" 1887, " 154 

Owing for 1887 only 52 

" 1887 and 1886 19 

" 1887, 1886, and 1885 6 

Total 254 

With $397 in the treasury, as reported (of 
which $25 is for a new life membership, and 
awaits disposal in accordance with prospective 
action taken at Milwaukee, looking to funding 
such items), the prospective additional revenue 
for 1887 is from the number in arrears, as above, 
viz. : 

52 for i year, 19 for 2 years, and 6 for 3 years. 

Presumably from $90 to $100 may be received 
from the same, which, with such fees as new and 
temporary members will contribute, may be likely 
to carry the avails for 1887 to quite #500. 

At the same time the prospect, in connection 
with other current expenses, is not such as to 
warrant other than a conservative outlay upon 
the Proceedings of the 1887 Conference. 
Respectfully submitted, 

H: J. CARR, 

Treasurer. 

Mr. GREEN. As no member of the Finance 
Committee is present, I move that a committee 
of three be appointed by the chair to audit 
the Treasurer's accounts, and to take into consider- 
ation the suggestions which he has made. 

Voted, and Messrs. S: S. Green, J. N. Lamed 
and C: G. Soule appointed. 

Mr. DEWEY. The state of our finances suggests 
that we were overwhelmed last year with matter, 
so many permissions to print were given, and some 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



of the papers were so long. There ought to be 
some authority to edit or condense any or all 
papers so as to bring the printing within the limits 
of our funds. 

Mr. GREEN. I move that this matter also be 
referred to the committee just appointed. Voted. 

Mr. W: I. FLETCHER, Chairman, gave the 

COOPERATION COMMITTEE'S REPORT. 

I accepted the position of Chairman of this com- 
mittee last year under protest, having hoped that 
some one else might have been found for it who 
would be more free from other duties in connec- 
tion with our cooperative work. Having the 
Publishing Section to look after, as well as the 
Cooperative Index to Periodicals, and, in the last 
few months, the forthcoming five-year supplement 
to Poole's Index, I have found it impossible to 
give attention to the development of any new 
work. Fully satisfied, however, that there is yet 
a large field for such work, I had hoped to secure 
a meeting of the committee early in the present 
season, with a view to getting something on foot 
before the present conference, so that we could 
give a report showing at least the semblance of 
life. 

The absence of one member of the committee in 
Europe and other circumstances have conspired 
to prevent such a meeting. Consequently, there is 
nothing left for the committee but to confess that 
nothing has been done by the committee as such, 
and to emphasize the demand thus indicated for 
the appointment of a new committee, or at least 
one with a new head, for the ensuing year. 

Mr. Fletcher called on Mr. W. S. Biscoe to give 
an account of the cooperation work of the New 
York Library Club. 

MR. BISCOE. The main task we attempted this 
year was the publication of a list of all the periodi- 
cals currently received by the New York and 
Brooklyn libraries. To this we added such other 
magazines as are included in Poole's Index and its 
supplements. By four varieties of type we have 
indicated what magazines are received by each 
library, and how complete a set it has : complete 
and current; partial and current; partial and not 
current; and current numbers only, not preserved 
after a few weeks or months. 

The lists of half a dozen of the larger libraries 
were first printed in proof, and these were sent to 
the cooperating libraries for them to add such 
other magazines as they received, and to place their 
initials against those already on the list. These 30 
or 40 lists were then consolidated, and the final 



copy made. The expense of the undertaking is 
paid by subscriptions on the part of the different 
libraries who have taken such number of copies as 
each desired some only two or three, others 100 
or more. A library contributing lists did not 
thereby incur any responsibility for expense of 
publication. In this way we have printed a pam- 
phlet of about 60 pages, each library giving the 
needed work and paying in addition such money 
as it chooses. It has cost a good deal of labor, 
but will be of great value, enabling us to direct 
inquirers after our periodical literature to the 
library best able to satisfy them. I hope this may 
lead to a more extensive work, which shall give us 
for the whole country a list of the non-scientific 
magazines similar to Bolton's Catalogue of Scien- 
tific Periodicals. 

Mr. FLETCHER asked that the Report of the 
Publishing Section might be postponed until later 
in the meeting, to allow another meeting of its 
Executive Board. 

Mr. S. S. GREEN read the 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE SCHOOL 
OF LIIiRARY ECONOMY. 

Hearty thanks from the librarians of the United 
States and from all friends of libraries and of 
education in this country are due to Mr. Melvil 
Dewey for the strenuous efforts which he has 
made to establish a school of library economy. 

Before he entered upon that undertaking, we 
had incurred a heavy weight of obligation because 
of his enthusiastic and well-directed efforts to 
bring about an organization of the librarians of 
the United States, and to found the Library 
journal, and for numerous and fruitful suggestions 
in regard to the management of libraries. 

The American Library Association, as the re- 
sult of his skill and energy, has become firmly 
established several years before it would other- 
wise have come into existence. 

The Library journal, in consequence of his 
exertions, and through the self-sacrificing labors 
of Frederick Leypoldt and the wise management 
of its business affairs and admirable conduct from 
an editorial point of view by Mr. Bowker and 
Mr. Cutter, has become one of the few really 
good sources of information on the subject of 
Library Economy, and the best expositor of cur- 
rent opinions, as well as purveyor of news that is 
of interest to librarians and other persons who 
have a taste for library pursuits. 

Finally, a School of Library Economy has been 
established, and, during a year's existence, has 



PROCEEDINGS. 



117 



fully justified the opinions of those persons who 
favored its establishment. 

Let us with the utmost cordiality, and gratefully, 
express our thanks to Mr. Dewey for taking this 
additional step in advance, and for inaugurating 
and carrying to a successful issue a movement 
that is of the greatest importance when regarded 
in the light of the influence which it will exert in 
raising the standard of librarianship among us, 
and in the education of the people of the country. 

We ought also to express to Columbia College 
the thanks of this Association for its readiness to 
allow its well-informed and energetic Librarian to 
carry out his plans for the benefit of education, 
and our admiration of the faith which made it 
willing to second a new movement by lending its 
name, affording its support, and giving from its 
resources to make it successful. 

I had the pleasure of visiting the School of 
Library Economy during the season of the in- 
tensest work going on in it, and was delighted 
with what I saw there. 

The Director of the school, the teachers, and 
pupils, all of them engaged in the work of the 
school with manifest enthusiasm. 

Energy and wisdom were apparent in adminis- 
tration. The instruction given was thorough, 
liberal, and profuse. The devotion of the scholars 
was remarkable, and their intelligence, capacity, 
and preliminary general education very noticeable. 

Were it important to criticise keenly and to 
point out defects in the school, the task of the 
critic would be a hard one. Any slight short- 
comings that appeared during the first year of its 
existence will be removed another year, and, under 
the watchful eye of its Director, improvements will 
be introduced into it. 

Perhaps it would be proper to say that it seemed 
to me that something of that quality which is 
known in art as repose was lacking in the conduct 
of the exercises of the school. I seemed to be, 
while there, in an atmosphere that was slightly 
feverish. 

There are certain dangers to which a school of 
the kind under consideration is liable, which may 
be mentioned, but which I feel sure this one will 
steer clear of. One of these is provincialism. 

It seems to me to be a matter of prime impor- 
tance that, in respect to the subjects in Library 
Economy upon which there exists a difference of 
opinion among thoughtful and practical librarians, 
those subjects should be studied in all their 
aspects; and that Columbia College would do 
well, in the interests of breadth in education, to 



offer inducements to experts of assured reputation 
who entertain different views from those held by 
the officers of its own library to go from other 
parts of the country to New York to present those 
views. This does not mean merely that com- 
pensation in money should be offered for services 
to be rendered, but also that lecturers who go to 
the college to aid it in its undertaking should 
receive their appointments from the corporation of 
the college, be regarded as a part of its regularly 
established corps of instructors, and be received, 
when they visit New York, with such attentions 
from the higher officers of the institution as would 
show that gratitude is felt for their presence and 
assistance. 

Another danger to which a school of library 
economy is subjected is the exaggeration of the 
importance of instrumentalities by its pupils, and 
a failure on their part to catch the spirit of help- 
fulness which is essential in libraries, and to 
acquire the disposition to serve all men faithfully, 
and make of the institutions to which they are to 
belong great centres of educational influence in 
which enthusiasm for the dissemination of knowl- 
edge and wisdom, the choicest fruits of study, 
ability and culture, is to provide the motive power 
and make manifest the spirit which, only, can 
justify the labor expended in becoming acquainted 
with the approved appliances and methods which 
are taught in a school of library economy. 

I presume that it is unnecessary even to allude 
to the last danger which occurs to me. No 
graduate of the School of Library Economy of 
Columbia College will become a conceited prig, 
or believe, as some of the graduates of other 
educational institutions do, that the knowledge 
obtained in school or college is adequate in any 
calling or profession until supplemented by the 
teachings of experience. 

For the Committee. 

SAMUEL SWETT GREKN. 

Mr. W. E. FOSTER being called upon by the 
President, as a member with Mr. Green of the 
committee on the Library School reporting in 
1885, stated that he wished only to add to the 
report presented by Mr. Green the fact that the 
school had in its very first year so closely approxi- 
mated to the conception presented as desirable in 
advance, and was also greatly impressed on visiting 
the school during the winter with what might be 
called its " spirit." This was not merely one of 
enthusiasm, but of complete devotion to the work, 
as shown in many ways ; notably in the refusal by 
some of the pupils of offers of library positions in 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



order to complete their course at the school, in the 
petition by the pupils to have the length of the 
term extended, and in their evident preference of 
the school and its discipline over the attractions of 
various entertainments in the city. The whole 
aspect is very promising for the future. 

The report by Miss H. P. James, a third mem- 
ber of the same committee, was received at a later 
session, but is inserted here. 

I am glad of an opportunity to make a report 
upon the School of Library Economy, because of 
my special advantages in observing its methods 
during a two weeks' visit to it, and also because I 
am having a daily proof of the excellence and 
thoroughness of its practical outcome in the work 
of two of its pupils. 

What especially impressed me at the school, 
apart from the enthusiasm of the students, which 
was almost phenomenal, was the breadth of the 
teaching which was aimed at. Not only was 
library work of every description, from the minut- 
est detail to the broadest generalization, carefully 
considered, but the utmost pains were taken that 
no one system should be taught exclusively. 

The Dewey System was taught as a matter of 
course, but all other systems had a fair and candid 
hearing, and the students were constantly obliged 
to do their own thinking, and arrive at their own 
conclusions after a fair exposition and discussion 
of other methods had been presented by different 
visiting librarians. 

No more delightful task ever fell to me, than to 
speak upon library work to a class of such eager, 
interested listeners, and I know I only voice the 
experience of others in saying so. The many 
questions asked concerning the methods I had 
touched upon were so direct and practical as to 
show the excellence of the training and the ear- 
nestness of the students. 

I felt that a grand and needed work was well 
begun, and that the aim of the school was in the 
right direction. 

I am not competent to go into any detail upon 
the methods of the school. Doubtless many 
improvements will be made this year and in 
future years, but I know I am right in saying that 
the school will continue to be of the utmost 
practical value, and its establishment marks the 
beginning of new life and zeal in library adminis- 
tration. 

HANNAH P. JAMES, 
Librarian Osterhout Free Library. 
Wilkes Barre, Pa., Aug. 1887. 



ACTION OF BURNING-GAS ON LEATHER. 

Mr. B. P. MANN read the paper of C. S. WOOD- 
WARD, B. Sc., entitled 

A PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTAL INQUIRY AS TO 
THE ACTION OF BURNING-GAS ON LEATHER 
USED FOR BOOK-BINDING. ABSTRACT OF A 
PAPER TO BE READ AT THE CONFERENCE OF 
LIBRARIANS IN BIRMINGHAM, ENG., SEPTEM- 
BER, 1887. 

(Seep. II.) 
ACTION OF ELECTRIC LIGHT ON PAPER. 

Mr. Woodward, in a letter accompanying the 
paper, said : " I should particularly point out that 
I regard the experiments as preliminary only. 
There has not been time to make an exhaustive 
enquiry. A variety of leather should be examined. 
I have tried but one. Again, a very great number 
of strips should be tried ; as the two, though prob- 
ably of equal strength, cannot with any confidence 
be said to be so." 

Mr. CRUNDEN. In accordance with the 
request that kindred matters be brought up in 
their relation, I should like to speak of a letter 
which I have received from Mr. Dyer, of the St. 
Louis Mercantile Library, enclosing a communica- 
tion to him relating to certain alleged dangers 
resulting from the use of electric light. The writer 
had read in Public Opinion, of London, an extract 
from some foreign periodical, which stated that 
electric light changed paper to a yellow color. Mr. 
Dyer asks me to bring the matter before the con- 
vention and secure a thorough discussion of the 
subject. He is naturally anxious to get all the 
information obtainable on this subject, as they are 
erecting a $300,000 building and want to have the 
very best light in existence. If the detrimental 
effects of gas are matched or exceeded by new 
dangers from electricity, it is important to all that 
it should be known. I should be glad to hear 
from those who can speak from personal observa- 
tion on this point. 

Mr. DEWEY. Half a dozen people have sent 
me this same cutting. It has come in original, 
copies, and translations with a persistence that 
suggests a wealthy gas company behind its circula- 
tion. It must refer to the old arc light. The 
same thing was said about the injurious effect of 
the electric light on the complexion it would 
produce freckles. But I see no increase in 
freckles nor reduction in the number of ladies who 
use our reading-rooms. 

One who cares for his eyes will surely use the 
incandescent electric light. We use the Edison 



PROCEEDINGS. 



119 



system, which is infinitely better than any use of 
gas. 

Mr. GREEN. I had to look into this matter. 
The paragraph referred to related to books in a 
library in Vienna. The point made seemed to be 
that intense light like the electric changes the 
color of paper made of wood pulp. Why would 
not it be possible, supposing this to be a fact, to 
place curtains before the books of the library, and 
still avail ourselves of the advantages of unvitiated 
air to books, library attendants, and readers ? I 
showed the paragraph referred to to a prominent 
manager of a large industrial institution in Wor- 
cester. He has agreed to send a copy of it to a 
distinguished expert in electic lighting for consid- 
eration. If I receive an answer of importance, I 
will send it to the Library journal. 

President POOLE. This same clipping has been 
sent to me in various forms, and I assure you there 
is nothing in it. It does not prove nor even tend 
to prove that the electric light is injurious. I 
have had experience of Edison's. There is noth- 
ing better in the world except sunlight. I have 
been surprised that that paragraph should attract 
so much notice. It only proves that certain 
papers made of wood pulp will change color in a 
strong light. 

Mr. MANN. Then any light will change it. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. I have seen the experiment 
tried in sunlight, with the same result of changing, 
so that whatever will apply to the electric light in 
this respect will also apply to sunlight. 

Mr. DEWEY gave the 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGE- 
MENTS 

After careful consideration your committee 
selected Round Island as best for this year's meet- 
ing. Your programs and itinerary give details, 
which I need not repeat, for the post-conference 
excursion. The elaborate program posted in the 
main hall shows what good things the cottagers 
here have prepared for us. To-night a comedy, 
with music and recitations, in the dining-room ; 
to-morrow night an Adirondack camp-fire at Shady 
Ledge, with glee club, orchestra, brass band, 
humorous entertainment, and land and marine fire- 
works ; Thursday afternoon athletic games of 
various kinds, including a base-ball match between 
the librarians and the cottagers. As to this I 
assured the committee that only two of our mem- 
bers were sure which end of the bat was for the 
hands, and the committee promist a cottage nine 
equally proficient. I move that Messrs. Crunden 



and Hild be put in charge of the A.L.A. ball team, 
with power to appoint associates. Voted. 

Thursday night is set apart for a general illumi- 
nation of all the cottages on the island, with fire- 
works and music by the Clayton Brass Band, end- 
ing with a hop in these parlors. Friday afternoon 
is filled with a marine parade, amateur and profes- 
sional sailing and rowing races, tub races, etc. 

Besides all this we have chartered the large side- 
wheel steamer John Thorn, for the famous forty- 
mile trip among the Thousand Islands. We leave 
promptly at i.oo P. M. Wednesday, and will be 
back by 6.30. The total expense for this, as for 
the Thursday trip to Kingston on the same boat, 
is 50 cents each. Tickets can be had from Assist- 
ant Secretary Brown. If you do nothing else while 
here, take this trip among the islands. We shall 
land at the Thousand Island Park, go over to 
Gananoque, Can., through the Lost Channel and 
the famous Lake of the Islands, where no other 
steamer goes, and land at Westminster Park and 
at Alexandria Bay for a brief inspection of their 
attractions. 

On Thursday we go in the opposite direction to 
the edge of Lake Ontario, and have time in Kings- 
ton to see Fort Henry and the various objects of 
interest in that ancient city, getting back before 
7.00 P. M. 

On Friday night, the full of the moon, the large 
side-wheel steamer St. Lawrence will take us 
through the islands to see the illuminations, stop- 
ping an hour at Alexandria Bay, where we are 
invited to inspect the large hotels. 

To those wishing to row, sail, or fish ample 
facilities are provided at the dock in front of the 
hotel at very reasonable rates. 

Evidently no one need stagnate in the four days 
allowed to Round Island. 

Now a word about rooms. We have with us 
this first day double the number we have ever had 
at hotel headquarters before. The unexpected 
success of this meeting is our only embarrassment. 
We learned at seven o'clock last night of the size 
of the party coming. The hotel manager, Mr. 
Davis, has done everything in his power that we 
could possibly ask, and will continue to do so. He 
has declined guests paying nearly double, to save 
rooms for us. When we found that these were 
insufficient he at once offered to run a free steamer 
to Clayton and furnish needed extra rooms at the 
best hotels there at his own expense. He and I 
took the steamer due before the A.L.A. train to 
give this notice, so that those who were unwilling 
to " double up " here might go at once to rooms 



I2O 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



alone in Clayton. Our boat was late. The size 
of the party led to the firing up of another steamer, 
and, before our boat had touched the dock, yours 
had left it with all on board. Mr. Davis and I 
came down with you only by making two danger- 
ous jumps across clear water. He had his own 
boat, the Farrington, fired up, and took back a load 
to Clayton; and during the week she will run, after 
the close of the exercises here, to the large hotel 
at the Thousand Island Park, two miles below, 
carrying both ways free any who prefer the extra 
room to be had only in this way. 

For fear that more excursions have been pro- 
vided than the members care to make, I will take 
a show of hands as to the number wishing to go. 
We thought that on these large steamers specially 
chartered for us, there would be ample room and 
as good opportunity for committee meetings and 
our little 7x9 conferences as at the hotel. The 
result showed that the majority wisht to include 
all the excursions. 

Mr. BROWN reminded members that the return- 
trip certificates must be used within three days of 
final adjournment. 

Mr. DEWEY moved that the final adjournment 
of this conference be on Saturday, September 10, 
till which time we should still be together in a 
kind of traveling conference. Voted. 

Mr. EDMANDS read a paper on 

LETTERING BOOKS. 

(Seep. 12.) 

Mr. NELSON, after expressing the author's regret 
at not being present, read 

Mr. FREDERICK SAUNDERS'S paper 

A SKETCH OF DR. J. G. COGSWELL, FIRST LIBRA- 
RIAN OF THE ASTOR LIBRARY. 

( This will l>e published hereafter in the Library 
journal.) 

President POOLE. It has been thought best 
by our sagacious Secretary, seconded by myself, on 
account of the crowded program, to continue this 
session till six o'clock. Voted. 

Mr. CUTTER gave his paper 

A NOTATION FOR SMALL LIBRARIES. 

(Seep. 14.) 

Mr. S. S. GREEN. How does that differ dis- 
tinctively from your classification for a large 
library ? 

Mr. CUTTER. The classing is in the main the 
same. The difference lies in the marking. I have 
26 principal classes instead of 29, and, using for 
the sub-classes 25 letters only, instead of 36 letters 



and figures, I was obliged to reduce by a quarter 
the divisions in each class. But as, on the other 
hand, I gained two places in many classes by the 
improved local list, I found that I seldom lost 
much that was important by the change. 

Mr. FLETCHER. Do I understand that if you 
were to make your large classification over again 
you would use only the 26 characters rather 
than the 36? 

Mr. CUTTER. lam not prepared to say that. 
The chief difficulties of classification come when 
one gets down into the details, and I have not 
worked this out in detail yet. Some advantages 
over the Athenaeum scheme it certainly has, but I 
think I discern some dangers in the dim distance. 
There will be, I fear, an incapacity in a few places 
for a subdivision minute enough to meet the 
wants of a very large library, unless it shall aban- 
don its simplicity of notation in classes like local 
history and geography, and permit in them a slight 
mixture of letters and figures. But if that is made, 
should think that the points in which the new plan 
is inferior to the old will be fewer and less impor- 
tant than the points in which it is superior. 

Mr. GREEN. Are you willing to make an index 
to it, as Mr. Dewey has done to his, so that it can 
be used as readily ? 

Mr. CUTTER. Yes. I consider an index abso- 
lutely necessary to the easy use of any classifica- 
tion. I have at the Athenaeum an index to the 
larger classification used there ; it is kept on cards 
at present, but is to be printed as soon as I have 
worked out that scheme into all its details. 

Mr. MANN. As a library grows, will it be 
necessary to change the notation ? 

Mr. CUTTER. I began with the idea of making 
several notations for libraries of different sizes, 
the list of which would have read as follows : 

No. i. For a library of 1,000 volumes. (N. B. 
I do not recommend any library to use so little 
classification as this. The smallest library will 
find No. 2 better.) 

No. 2. For a library of 1,000-5,000 volumes. 
(N. B. For a library of this size having a pros- 
pect of considerable increase, I recommend No. 
3 or No. 4.) 

No. 3. For a library of 5,000-10,000 volumes. 
(N. B. A rapidly growing library of this size will 
put off the necessity of changing for a longer time 
by using No. 4 or No. 5). 

No. 4. For a library of 10,000-20,000 volumes. 
(N. B. No. 5 is but little fuller, and will last 
longer). 

No. 5. For a library of 20,000-100,000 volumes. 



PROCEEDINGS. 



121 



These several notations would have been sub- 
stantially the same, except that No. 2 would have 
had more divisions than No. I, and No. 3 more 
than No. 2, and so on. 

No. I perhaps would have had only the 26 main 
classes, possibly not even so many. No. 2 would 
have divided some of these classes, using, however, 
the same notation as No. i, but adding to it. For 
instance, No. I might have had a class English liter- 
ature marked Y. No. 2 would certainly find it 
necessary to take out English fiction and make 
a separate place for it, say YF. No. 3 would no 
doubt differentiate English poetry YP, and No. 4 
English drama, YD. Whether I shall publish 
these as separate lists, I do not know. Perhaps 
variety of printing would accomplish the same end ; 
subjects and marks that were to be used by the 
smallest library (corresponding to list No. i) being 
put in the largest type ; the additional subjects 
recommended for No. 2 to be in the next size of 
type, and so on. 

A small and slowly growing library may be 
arranged in this way, with few subdivisions ; and 
when it has grown large, if it has a card catalogue, 
any subject can be rearranged at any time ; but, if 
its catalogue is printed, the opportunity may be 
taken when it reprints (as all libraries do from 
time to time, if they print at all), to rearrange 
those parts which need subdivision. Note, ist, 
that these parts can be subdivided without touch- 
ing at all the rest of the library, and, 2d, that 
even in the part that is rearranged the general 
works remain as they were, and, 3d, that even in 
that part of the subject which is not general, and 
so requires subdivision, only the class-marks have 
to be altered (by adding one or more characters 
to them). There is no need whatever of altering 
the author-marks. For example, if we wanted to 
divide English history F 41 into nine parts, and we 
had already the marks 

F4I. A24 

F4i. B79 
F4i. 084 

F4I. Dl6 

of which the first is to go into the ninth period, the 
second to remain among the general works, the 
third to the second period, and the fourth to the 
fifth, we should have 

F4i. B79 

F4I2. 84 

- Di6 

A24 

the whole change consisting in adding the 2, 5, 
and 9 to the class-marks, the whole mark of the 



second work remaining untouched, and the 
author-marks of all the rest. 

This elasticity, common to all alfabetic and 
decimal systems, by which an entire rearrangement 
is avoided, is a very great advantage. 

Mr. EDMANDS read his paper on 

ALPHABETING. 

(Seep. 16, 122.) 

Mr. PHINNEY. The principles of arrangement 
set forth by Mr. Edmands I find to be in general 
those that I have worked out myself and have 
followed in arranging the cards in the Library of 
the University of Rochester. Of course the differ- 
ence between glancing down a printed page and 
turning over cards one at a time modifies the appli- 
cation of those principles. I have here a code of 
short rules which show how the general principles 
have been applied to our card catalogue, which 
embraces authors, title-subjects (not systematic 
subjects), and in part titles. I will read them. 

Cards are to be arranged alphabetically by words 
and by sentences, except 

1. The initial of a title is disregarded, however 
transposed. 

2. Personal names precede other words spelled 
like them. 

3. Names of sovereigns distinguished by num- 
bers precede the same names without numbers. 

4. Several cards headed by the name of the same 
person are arranged thus : (a) books by him ; (b) 
books compiled, edited, or translated by him; (c) 
books written or edited in conjunction with others ; 
(d) lives, memoirs, etc., about him ; (e) others. 

5. Several titles alike are arranged by authors' 
surnames. 

6. Several titles alike as far as a numeral are 
arranged in the natural order of the numeral. 

7. Reference cards follow all other cards headed 
by the same word or phrase. 

8. Various spellings of the same person's name 
are disregarded. 

President POOLE announced the 

Committee on Resolutions, Mellen Chamberlin of 
Boston, W: E. Foster of Providence, C: C. Soule 
of Boston. 

Committee on Nominations, J. N. Larned of 
Buffalo, C: A. Nelson of New York, R. B. Poole 
of New York, F: M. Crunden of St. Louis, W: I. 
Fletcher of Amherst. 

Mr. DEWEY moved to begin the morning session 
at 9.00 A.M., because of extent of program. Voted 



122 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



SECOND SESSION. 
(WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 31.) 
President POOLE called the meeting to order at 

President POOLE. Yesterday we had the mat- 
ter of alphabeting brought up, with strictures on 
various indexes Mr. Cutter's catalogue, Poole's 
Index, etc. I am glad the matter has been 
brought up. So far as Poole's Index is concerned, 
I would say that the nucleus is now more than 
40 years old, and is not as scientifically arranged 
as it would be if done now. The new edition is 
largely the work of Mr. Fletcher, and, for my 
part, I think it is admirably done. I shall call on 
Mr. Fletcher, who will have something to say on 
the subject of the alphabeting. I will just say that 
there will be a five year supplement to the Poole's 
Index. [Applause.] It will be made up in the 
same way as the Index, so that the volumes, as 
they come out, can be numbered 2, 3, etc. They 
will cost the same rate per page as the Index. 
It is not yet known how many pages there will be. 

We hope to make the Supplement pay the 
expenses of printing, and that is all we ask. That 
is more than the Index has done, as yet. I may 
say that I am still $3,000 out of pocket on it. 
The plates are my own property. I have been 
trying to get the remaining copies of the edition 
from the publishers, but have not succeeded as 
yet, although my check has been in Mr. Soule's 
hands for some time. I will call on Mr. Fletcher 
now for some remarks on 

ALPHABETING. 

Mr. FLETCHER. I was much interested yestet- 
day in Mr. Edmands's most judicious discussion of 
this subject, especially as the alphabeting of the 
titles in Poole's Index, to which he made frequent 
reference, in the main commendatory, was mostly 
my own work. With nearly all his decisions of 
questions connected with alphabeting I agreed, 
and most of the variations in Poole from his 
principles must be set down as accidental slips. 
But there are a few points on which there is yet 
room for discussion ; and Mr. Edmands has kindly 
placed his MS. in my hands, to enable me to 
touch briefly upon some of them in order. 

Mr. Edmands favors considering the article in 
alphabeting titles where it occurs after the first 
word, and criticises the practice of Poole in such 
cases as: 

For his country 
For the king 



For king and country 
For ladies 

For the last time, etc. 

My own impression is that the wisest rule is that 
the articles should never be given weight as factors 
in alphabeting. This is the only rule which can be 
given of equal simplicity, and this seems to me a 
sufficient reason for it. 

Under his heading, " Connected words," Mr. 
Edmands cites from Poole : 
Book 

Book auction (2 words) 
Bookbinding (i word) 
Book plates (2 words) 
Book stall 
Book thief 

This is one of the most difficult points I have met 
in the whole matter of alphabeting. Mr. Edmands's 
rule is the one which I think has generally been 
followed, namely, that those titles in which the 
word Book, for instance, is a separate word should 
all stand (alphabeted by the next word) before all 
those in which Book is but a part of a word, 
This would give us : 

Book auction 
Book plates 
Book stall 
Book thief 
Bookbinding, etc. 

But there comes in this prime difficulty that the 
same combination is, by equally good authorities, 
treated sometimes as one word and sometimes as 
two. This is the case with Book worm, which, if 
treated as two words, would be before Bookbinding, 
if as one, a considerable distance after it. After 
considerable backing and filling on this point, I 
have decided that the only safe rule is to treat all 
adjective use of nouns as constituting them a part 
of a compound, to be alphabeted as a consolidated 
word, whether printed as one or as two, with or 
without the hyphen. 

Variations from this rule in Poole or in the 
Cooperative Index under my charge must be 
ascribed to the hesitation with which I have come 
to this conclusion. 

Another point in which I differ from Mr. Ed- 
mands is where he attempts to make a distinction 
between a word used as a subject-heading and the 
same word used as part of a compound title. He 
instances 

Heat, causes of 

of the sun 

Theory of 

as an example of confusion resulting from the 



PROCEEDINGS. 



123 






failure to observe this distinction. 1 have not 
found sucn a distinction necessary or desirable. 

The distinction I have made is the simple one 
between a word used in its real or natural sense 
and the same word used in a fanciful or arbitrary 
sense,- as 

History, abstract of 

in modern education 

History of an adventurer 

the last title belonging to the class of fanciful uses, 
and the word History being repeated instead of 
being replaced by the dash. 

As to plurals I have wavered considerably, but 
am still disposed to adhere to the practice of plac- 
ing the plurals after the singulars, though strict 
alphabetical order may be violated. This is a prin- 
ciple, however, which I would apply to a printed 
index or a written one in which many titles are 
before the eye at one time, but would hesitate to 
apply to a card or a dictionary catalogue. 

The question of placing the article after titles 
was touched upon by Mr. Edmands. My prac- 
tice has been to use the article in this way when 
it seems necessary in order to preserve the full 
understanding of the meaning. When used at all, 
I am satisfied that it should always be placed 
after the whole phrase to which it belongs, rather 
than after the first word, either with commas or 
parentheses. 

Mr. GRISWOLD. How have you distinguished 
Bookworm in the real sense and in the artificial ? 

Mr. FLETCHER. By repeating the word in- 
stead of using the dash. 

Mr. SWIFT. I should like to ask some one 
who is more familiar with the German usage than 
I am about the transposition of " ein " and " eine " 
in alphabeting. 

Mr. LINDERFELT. Strictly speaking, there are 
cases where " ein " would not be transposed ; but, 
as a matter of usage in alphabeting, it is safe to say 
that there are no exceptions that all should be 
transposed. I can see no good reason why any 
exceptions should be made in alphabetical ar- 
rangement, why, e. g., the " the " should be dis- 
regarded. I find that the German catalogs and 
Lorenz have introduced this confusion, but see 
no reason why Americans should bother with 
them. As to compounds, I think with Mr. 
Fletcher that the only way to consider compounds 
is as compounds. 

Mr. GREEN. There is another thing which 
ought to be considered the use of the umlaut in 
German. I incline to stick to the old method, 



arranging a, 6, ii as if spelled ae, oc, uc, but I see 
Mr. Dewey adopts the new plan. 

Mr. LINDERFELT. The Germans themselves 
are changing over. The tendency in works for 
general circulation is to use the e as if it were 
written out. Against this, however, is the custom 
which is becoming universal of printing all um- 
lauted vowels with the two dots rather than 
written out. 

Mr. TYLER. Hinrichs puts vEschylus after 
Aschbach. I should like to know if this is the 
usage of other catalogues, or if there is any kind of 
reason, even in German, for putting a latinized 
word in this order. 

Mr. VAN NAME. There is another considera- 
tion which is not unlikely to finally decide this 
question of usage in Germany, and that is the 
philological. The e does not belong there. It is 
only a sign of the modification of the vowel caused 
by an e or / in the following syllables, and the 
authority of scholars will be naturally against the 
writing of it. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. I don't think we ought to go 
into philology a great deal. The matter is prac- 
tical, and lies just here. The Germans distin- 
guish between the names Moller and Moeller (M61- 
ler). Now in alphabeting, if the e is not regarded, 
it mixes up names which are really different.* 

Mr. LINDERFELT. I don't see as that will 
make any difference in the arrangement. Ten to 
one Miiller or Muller, Moller or Moller, will be 
Miller when he gets over here anyway. [Laughter.] 

Mr. CRUNDEN. But I don't think we are 
called on to naturalize a man before he has ap- 
plied for papers. 

Mr. VAN NAME. It might happen that Muller 
(Mueller) would be separated from Muller by inter- 
vening names, e. g., Muff. The better plan would 
be to treat them as distinct vowel-letters (which they 
really are) and place u in alphabetic order imme- 
diately .after or before u; and follow the same 
course with the other umlaut-vowels. 

Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Crunden's point is 

* e.g. In the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographic, v. 22 : 122, 
there are n Mollers and 13 Mollers grouped. Now a strict 
disregard of the e would result in a series, Moller, A; Moller, 
Bartold; Moller, Bernhard; Moller, C. F. A.; Moller, 
Daniel; Moller,- Daniel W. ; Moller, Ed.; Moller, Gustav; 
Moller, Heinr. ; Moller, Heinr. Ferd ; Moller, Joach. ; Mol- 
ler, Joach ; Moller, Johann; Moller, Johannes; Moller, J. 
G. ; Moller, J. G. P., etc. Now, Moller, J. G.P., and Moller, 
Gustav, are father and son, but have interposed between them 
in the alphabet three men of different stock and different 
names, interposed simply because their names happen to be 
spelled somewhere near alike. E. C. R. 



124 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



well taken. It is the same problem that we have 
in English with Smith and Smyth and Smythe. 
If these were regarded as the same word, it would 
mix up families un pardonably. There would be 
just as much reason for putting Smollet in the 
midst of the Smiths as in putting Smyth. We 
would ri't think in American usage of mixing A. A. 
Muller among the Millers. O is a discrimination 
recognized both in writing and in pronunciation, 
and no logic which finds no place for an addi- 
tional discrimination, but simply neglects it, as if 
what is there were not there, can stand. 

In preparing a bibliography which I have just 
finished and which has a very large proportion of 
German titles, I examined a large number of Ger- 
man bibliographies, and, while the usage was about 
half and half, I concluded that on the whole the 
weight of usage was toward the recognition of the 
umlaut as if it included an e. 

Mr. DEWEY. If we look at a little history of 
language and alf abets and printing, we shall get 
some important side light on this question. The 
use of the e seems to be a blunderbus method of 
indicating the umlaut which has attained a wide 
currency and is now going out of use. No scholar 
claims that tttere is any e there. There was a 
sound with no independent letter to indicate it. It 
was allied to a, and a markt a was adopted. In 
capitals the face of the letter fills the whole body 
of the type, and there is no space above for the 
two dots, which could only be put on with kerns. 
As a rule the printers had no umlaut caps. 
When the letter occurred it had to be represented 
by the simple a or by adding something to it, and 
the e was added. In the Roman alphabet when a 
tail is wanted for any luckless kite, e is apt to be 
chosen. We use constantly what scholars call the 
" servil e," to indicate that a preceding vowel is 
long, as in pin, pine, pan, pane, etc. We have a 
similar case in our ng, which is of course not an n 
followed by a g, but a distinct sound represented 
by tacking on the diacritic letter to n to which it is 
allied. Now, so long as there is only this two-let- 
ter way to represent the sound, there is no question 
that we ought to follow both letters in alfabeting. 
But we thought we had already passed that time 
with the umlauts, and that a few years later a cata- 
log arranged as if the e were written would be de- 
cidedly old fashioned. The new letter has taken 
its place as a distinct letter. Printers have it in 
their box, and the best offices now have umlauts 
on caps as well as on lower case. This is done 
by cutting down the body slightly to allow space 
for the dots. The same evolution went on with i 



and j and u and v till they won their places as dis- 
tinct letters, and it seems rather quaint to us 
already to read the catalogs where they are mixt 
up as one letter. Examination of the trend of 
alphabetic science for the past dozen years, in 
which great advances have been made, convinces 
me that the umlauts are to take their places after 
the a, o, and u in the alphabet as distinct letters, 
as much as j and v, and that there is not the 
slightest chance that these sounds will long be 
written ae oe ue. To continue to alphabet a as ae 
seems to be trying to revolve the wheel of time 
backward. 

This would make it clear that the umlauts ought 
to be kept together after the plain letter, just as 
the j and v follow i and u. This course gives the 
minimum of confusion, avoiding the evils of both 
the other plans. 

In our arrangement at Columbia we have not 
yet ventured farther than to keep all the umlauted 
names after the same without umlauts, putting 
Muller, A., after Muller, W., thus getting all of 
each family together. 

Mr. GREEN. I should like to know what Mr. 
Cutter intends to do about this matter in his re- 
vised rules. 

Mr. CUTTER. In the first edition I advised 
arranging umlaut vowels as if written ae, oe, ue. 
Afterwards I was dissatisfied with this. The a is 
an a modified in sound, and therefore accented 
(compare the French e and e and e). The accent 
(umlaut) is often written, and was formerly often 
printed as a quirl much resembling a small e over 
the a. Printers who had not the letter a with dots 
or a little e over it, represented the accent by put- 
ting an e after the a. This they did especially 
with capitals, because there is not usually room on 
the body of the type for accents over a capital ; 
but the practice was in time extended to lower- 
case letters. The e therefore is not in its origin a 
letter but an accent, and it should not have the 
rights of a letter. I don't think this is a very 
strong argument, but it moved me (as I found the 
Germans nearly equally divided in their practice) 
to recommend to the A.L.A. Committee on Con- 
densed Cataloging rules the rule that " The Ger- 
man ae, oe, ue are always to be written a, 6, ii, and 
arranged as a, o, u." The committee assented, and 
this is now the A.L.A. rule. As I said, I do not 
think the etymological argument of much weight in 
deciding this practical question. Well-established 
usage would be of much more importance; but, 
since the German custom does not decide the 
matter for us, I am inclined to let the linguistic ar- 



PROCEEDINGS. 



125 



gument have the casting vote, and I have in the 
new edition of my Rules reversed the directions 
given in the first edition. 

As to the objection drawn from mixing up fami- 
lies, it is not to the point. A catalog is not a 
genealogical dictionary. Moreover, families are 
already mixed up and separated on every page of 
every catalog printed. 

Allow me to add, in regard to the inconsistencies 
of arrangement which Mr. Edmands points out in 
the Boston Athenasum catalog, that when I began 
printing that catalog there were no rules for arrange- 
ment, or indeed for cataloging, that went at all 
into minutiae. I had to work out a system for 
myself; and it was my experience in carrying the 
first two volumes of the catalog through the press 
that led to the compilation and publication of the 
" Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue." It is not to 
be wondered at, therefore, that there are traces, 
principally in the earlier volumes, of considerable 
wavering of opinion, especially as the attention of 
all concerned in that work had to be closely fixed 
on weightier matters of the law. 

Mr. POOLE. I suggest a committee to consider 
this whole matter and to report next year. 

Mr. CUTTER. I hope it will rather be in time 
for the new edition of my Rules. 

Mr. DEWEY. I move that the Cooperation 
Committee be requested to report a code of rules 
for alphabeting in the Library journal. Voted. 

Mr. FLINT. I hope we shall not make too 
great haste. The matter is important. We should 
take steps to secure uniformity. 

Mr. SWIFT read Mr. HARRIS' paper 

THE BRITISH MUSEUM SYSTEM OF PRESS-MARKS. 

(See p. 21.) 

Mr. DEWEY. This ingenious skeme will hardly 
be clear to those who have not seen a model or 
studied the diagrams sent with the paper. This 
wide doorway between these parlors happily illus- 
trates. The Museum aisles are about this width 
and are much lighter and roomier than our 
narrower, compacter plan. With a six-foot aisle 
we should insert a i6-inch double-face case in the 
center and have a 28-inch aisle left on each side 
without having to move the suspended cases. A 
28-inch aisle works very well if lighted by elec- 
tricity. But if the i6-inch case were suspended, it 
would give a s6-inch aisle on its free side, if only 
one case were suspended. 

President POOLE. I don't see any advantage in 
the plan. It is better to build wide enough to put 
in another case of shelves if necessary. 



Mr. SWIFT. But take the case of the Boston 
Public Library. We have a narrow space between 
the cases, not enough for another case, but wide 
enough for this plan. 

A little misunderstanding and talk at cross pur- 
poses was cleared by 

Mr. DEWEY. Mr. Swift's point is that if you 
have a narrow aisle you must have some such 
system, in order to utilize a building which cannot 
be built over on the wiser plan. 

President POOLE. But if you are building, get 
the room some way, and, if you want more room, 
take it. 

Mr. DEWEY. No one questions the wisdom of 
this advice to " take all the land you want" for 
those who live on the prairies where land can be 
had for 50 cents or so an acre. But I am just now 
the victim of the other circumstances that our Presi- 
dent seems to forget exist. Land in our vicinity is 
worth about $500,000 per acre. Add to that item 
the second, that on all sides we are surrounded by 
very costly buildings that only a millionaire could 
demolish. Our campus is a vest-pocket edition 
of a fit size to frame and hang in a dining-room. 
In our case the only possibility is to go well toward 
the stars (my plan is for 10 stories of book stacks) 
and to get every aid from mechanical devices for 
economizing room two things which our able 
President insists are never necessary. In our 
case the abolition of the library seems the only 
alternativ. 

In justice to this Museum plan I must point out 
that if we could get along with a narrower aisle 
four eight-inch faces of books could be suspended, 
leaving a 4O-inch aisle out of the 72-inch space, 
while we should put in only two faces and have 
only a 28-inch aisle. 

Mr. CRUNDEN read his paper 

BUSINESS METHODS IN LIBRARY MANAGEMENT. 

(See p. 25.} 

President POOLE introduced Mr. James Yates, 
of Leeds, Eng., reminding the Association that 
Mr. Yates was present at the original meeting of 
the A.L.A. in 1876, speaking of his kind recep- 
tion of the American deputation on their visit to 
Great Britain in 1877, and welcoming him in behalf 
of the Association. 

Mr. YATES. I have listened with great pleasure 
to the paper read by Mr. Crunden, and I think he 
might have laid greater stress upon his illustra- 
tion of the necessity of the chief librarian having 
full control over his staff. If we take an ordinary 
work shop, the employer is bound in his own 



126 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



interest to see that his employees are provided 
with true and good work tools, and that when 
they flinch they must be replaced. 

Another point should be pressed home ; that is, 
the cooperation of the press in our work. There 
is no doubt that the members of the press are 
under great obligations to our libraries. Recently 
the Editor of the Yorkshire Post remarked that he 
sometimes would find it an advantage to have the 
library to use throughout the night. 

It is a fact that the librarian must possess and 
exercise all the qualities of a business man. . 

Mr. CRUNDEN. About the way to get this help 
from the press : Reporters like it if you have 
items sketched out in such a way that they can 
take them, and present them as news which they 
have gathered. 

President POOLE. Mr. Crunden, you under- 
stand, is from St. Louis, where enterprise has to be 
worked up in this way. [Laughter.] 

Now, in Chicago we have about a dozen re- 
porters in the library every day, and if we give 
them one item they make a column of it. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. You see there is so little stir- 
ring in Chicago that they are ready to pick up any- 
thing for news. [Laughter.] 

Mr. VAN NAME gave his paper 
THE LIBRARIAN'S DUTY TO HIS SUCCESSOR. 
(This has not been furnished for publication.} 

Mr. DEWEY. I supposed that Mr. Van Name 
was going to say, in closing, that the librarian's dutv 
is to leave on record what he carries in his head, 
so that there can gradually be gathered a collection 
of subject helps, greater than any one head could 
ever hold. By the old skeme, if the librarian is at 
dinner, or on vacation, or engaged, or in heaven, 
you are utterly destitute of all the priceless infor- 
mation which he has acquired in his lifetime among 
these books. Is there any duty to his successor so 
great as leaving clearly arranged notes of all this, 
so that the new incumbent may begin approxi- 
mately where the old one left off, and go on with 
the great and good work ? All my experience and 
observation tend strongly to this conclusion the 
libraries (witness Harvard) where most of this is 
done are the ones that are doing most for Ameri- 
can scholarship and letters. 

I yield to none in appreciating the cost of such 
work, and the necessity of cooperation in bringing 
out subject bibliographies. But after we have got 
all we hope to get, there remains an enormous 
amount which the librarian may record for the 
benefit of his successors. To do this I believe, so 



far #s time and strength allows, is his bounden 
duty. I am surprised that a paper so utterly at 
variance with our common library orthodoxy, 
should be passed without question. 

Mr. MANN. And yet Mr. Van Name is right. 
Much of such work is supplanted by bibliographies. 

President POOLE. I believe in subject cata- 
logs. I have never found at Chicago that we 
carried the subject cataloging too far. We go 
very much into such matters, and I hope that next 
year we shall have a paper on the value of subject 
catalogs. 

Mr. FLETCHER. Perhaps I may offer a few 
words by way of an irenicon on this subject. I 
certainly agree in the main with both Mr. Van 
Name and Dr. Poole. Few of us would fail to 
recognize the necessity of such a subject catalog 
as Dr. Poole describes, at least until something 
better is offered to take its place. But on the 
other hand, there is certainly no duty of a librarian 
to his successors more important than that he shall 
not undertake and bequeath to them elaborate 
undertakings in the line of cataloging work, which 
will become a burden and nothing else. It is to 
be hoped that through our present cooperative 
work we shall soon have the means of relieving the 
individual libraries from the necessity of keeping 
up a great deal of the close analytical work which 
forms so large a part of our present subject 
catalogs. 

Mr. R. B. POOLE read his paper 

THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOG AS IN USE IN THE 

LIBRARY OF THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN 

ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY. 

(Seep. 28.) 

Mr. TYLER. When I went into the Y.M.C.A. 
library and saw this system in use, I .could hardly 
believe my eyes. 

Mr. CARR. The suggestions in Mr. Poole's 
paper, and the work shown by him, are especially 
interesting to me, and encourage the continued 
hope that sooner or later some form of a manus- 
cript catalog will be devised which, for certain 
uses, will prove more satisfactory than one upon 
cards. For, while the many and undeniable ad- 
vantages of the usual card catalog are well recog- 
nized, yet, considered from the standpoint of the 
public, or as a continual user, it proves very 
unsatisfactory, and at times almost a nuisance, 
and always extremely slow to consult. Hence I 
do not take at all kindly to a card catalog. After 
some eight years' search and study upon this gen- 
eral question of a better form, or of a substitute 



PROCEEDINGS. 



127 



for it, either by some sort of sheet form, as in the 
British Museum practiced, or that now shown by 
Mr. Poole, or the Leyden form as shown at the 
Lake George meeting, or else one of the many 
other devices from various minds working in the 
same direction (some more and some less well 
known), I have finally come to almost despair of 
its accomplishment, chiefly for lack of an adequate 
temporary binder. 

Out of several .dozen variations known to the 
stationery trade or found in the files of the patent 
office (of the majority of which I have obtained 
samples or patent copies), while some answer well 
for other varied applications, none " fill the bill " 
completely for this purpose; that is, to prove of 
easy use ; be readily filled, changed, or replenisht ; 
admit of freedom in access to the leaves and all 
parts of the leaves ; and, speaking generally, ap- 
proximate sufficiently to the usual flexibility of a 
bound book, and yet admit of change and interpo- 
lation without too much machinery and bulk. 

The same thing is wanted for many commercial 
purposes ; and I am told of a person in Chicago 
who for several years has made a standing offer 
of $500 for a suitable binder of that character to 
hold salesmen's price lists and the like. I fully 
believe that what is sought there is the one thing 
needful in this library connection. 

Mr. MANN. What objection do you find to 
such temporary binders as allow the passage of a 
cord through holes in the sheets ? 

Mr. CARR. Such binders are sufficiently flexi- 
ble when they contain few sheets, but when they 
get thick they cannot be opened to the hinge. 

Mr. MANN. I find that two hundred manila 
sheets can be opened conveniently, but, if in any 
case they cannot, it is only necessary to make two 
books of one. As to the objection urged to the use 
of cords that it is difficult to reinsert the cords 
when new sheets are inserted, if holes are made at a 
definite distance from the front edge, and from the 
bottom of the sheets, the sheets can be shaken 
down upon a smooth surface, and needles can be 
passed through the holes without difficulty. 

Mr. FLETCHER. I would like to ask Mr. 
Dewey if he knows Mr. Burr's new idea of a 
binder. A sample was in the room, and by request 

Mr. BROWN exhibited the binder, and explained 
its workings. 

Mr. DEWEY also described some other devices, 
and came to the conclusion that the " Common- 
sense binder " is on the whole the most practical 
thus far, but referred to his discussion of this very 



point with several cuts in the last Library notes, 
no. 5, p. 31-37. 

Mr. DEWEY exhibited 

BURR'S PATENT LOCKED CARD ROD FOR CARD 
CATALOGS. 

Long experiments have proved the great supe- 
riority of the rod that fastens cards at the bottom 
but many have been dissatisfied with even the 
best devices for keeping it in place and manipu- 
lating it. This device, made plain by the two 
working models before you, is simple, effectiv, con- 
venient, and the Library Bureau says it will apply 
it cheaply to card cases. 

The rod, instead of passing out through the 
back of the drawer, is put in thru the front. It 
has this small ornamental knob, in which is the 
slot for a Yale key. A spring catches it and holds 
it firmly in place. The key prest in and given 
a half turn relieves the rod from the spring. Of 
course one key fits all the cases in any one library, 
so that each cataloger entitled to add or remove 
cards may have it, and all others are prevented 
from tampering with them. The device seems 
worthy general adoption. 

Mr. CARR read his paper 

FREQUENCY OF REGISTRATIONS OF BOOK-TAKERS. 

(See p. 30.) 

Mr. EDMANDS reported for the Committee on 
Nominations the Executive Committee for the 
coming year : Messrs. Van Name, Lamed, Dewey, 
Foster, and Cutter, who were elected. 
Mr. S: S. GREEN gave the 

AUDITING COMMITTEE'S REPORT. 
The report of the Treasurer has been examined, 
with vouchers, and found correct. Entries in his 
books were shown to the committee, covering 
transactions of the previous Treasurer subsequent 
to the date of his report. Vouchers for those 
entries were not seen by the committee, but the 
entries seemed to be correct. The balance in the 
hands of the Treasurer is invested as follows : 
Middlesex Institution of Savings, Con- 
cord, Mass $78 93 

Grand Rapids (Michigan) Savings Bank . 260 07 
Temporary loan, for which the Treasurer 

holds himself responsible 58 oo 



The committee recommends that the Proceed- 
ings be printed as hitherto, and that Mr. Cutter, 
who edits them, shall have intrusted to him the 



128 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



power of making such abridgments in the reports 
of the papers and Proceedings as it seems to him 
wise to make. 

SAMUEL S. GREEN, } 

J. N. LARNED, Committee. 

C. C. SOULE, 

The report was accepted. 

President POOLE proposed that several hundred 
extra copies of the Proceedings be struck off and 
sold to members at cost price. 

Mr. CRUNDEN moved that 500 extra copies be 
printed and sold to members at cost price. 

Mr. GREEN. The committee considered this, 
but thought it best to go on as heretofore, without 
change. I move to amend by adding " if in the 
opinion of the Finance Committee the cost will 
permit." 

Several rose to speak, and, as the hour was late, 
the whole matter was laid on the table. On motion 
of Mr. Green the session was declared adjourned 
at 11.50. 

THIRD SESSION. 
(THURSDAY, SEPT. i, 9.15 A.M.) 

President Poole in the chair. 

Mr. VAN NAME for the Executive Committee 
moved that the Executive Commiitee lie requested 
not to nominate the same person for president two 
consecutive years. Voted. The committee also 
asked that an informal ballot be taken and put in 
the hands of the committee without announcement, 
as a guide to the preferences for president. 

Mr. DEWEY. The committee do not consider 
this in any sense an election, but simply as the 
quickest way of asking members who they would 
like for president next year. 

Mr. DEWEY. On account of the limited time, 
papers need to be given in as brief a form as 
possible. 

Mr. COLE read his paper 

A QUICKER WAY OF MEASURING BOOKS. 

(See p. jj-.) 
Mr. UTLEY gave orally his paper on 

NEWSPAPER VOLUMES IN A LIBRARY. 
(See p. 39.) 

Mr. CRUNDEN. Mr. Utley's plan of binding 
newspapers in quarterly volumes is unquestionably 
the best one. Such volumes are as thick as can be 
securely bound or conveniently handled. 

As to shelving newspapers, the folios must 
necessarily lie flat. Several may, without serious 
inconvenience, be placed on one shelf, and thus 
save space. Quartos can, I think, stand on edge 



without damage. Our old cases, made in the days 
of blanket sheets, were arranged for laying vol- 
umes flat. Our later cases are made in square 
sections of the size of a quarto paper, so that the 
volumes may be shelved either way. I prefer to 
place them upright, as making them more acces- 
sible and saving space, and also preventing damage 
to binding caused by dragging heavy volumes along 
the shelves. This, of course, can be avoided by 
using sliding shelves or the roller shelves which I 
described at Milwaukee, and which we use for 
heavy folios with perfect satisfaction. 

I wish opinions on the relative durability of 
leather and cloth for books little used. I have 
concluded that cloth is decidedly more durable as 
well as cheaper on first cost, and so have deter- 
mined to bind all reference copies of periodicals 
and other books not much used in cloth. I have 
found old reference books in original cloth bind- 
ing in much better condition than others which 
were rebound in leather some years later. I tried 
buckram, but did n't find it a success, as the letter- 
ing was illegible. 

Mr. UTLEY. As to buckram, I first tried 
pasting on labels, but now our binder stains the 
place with a dark green aniline dye, and the let- 
ters are legible enough. There is no trouble. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. I am glad to hear this, because 
that was the only objection to buckram. 

Mr. R. B. POOLE. I have come to the same 
conclusion to bind a good many books in cloth. 
We bind newspapers in cloth or % sheep. 

Mr. SWIFT. The trouble in getting a volume 
out if kept flat would be obviated by inserting a 
thin shelf between the books. 

Mr. LARNED. If you bind in duck, I don't 
think you will have the difficulty about wearing 
in pulling out. I don't see how newspapers, except 
the smaller ones, can be stood on end. 

Mr. NELSON. We might take a lesson from 
the mercantile houses. There duck is universally 
used to cover ledgers as we cover our acces- 
sions catalogs. 

Mr. UTLEY. Our newspapers are in constant 
use. Those bound in duck show very little signs 
of wear. 

Mr. NELSON. At the Astor Library, news- 
papers are, next to Patent Office reports, the most 
used. 

Mr. R. B. POOLE. In our library, too, they are 
very much used. 

Mr. WESTON FLINT. In the Patent Office 
Library we bind large folio drawings of patents 
in strong half morocco, and place on end, but 



PROCEEDINGS. 



129 



protect the volumes from rubbing by lining the 
top of the shelves with soft leather, and inserting 
thin wooden partitions every two or three vol- 
umes, to keep them from falling down. These 
books are in constant use and wear well. I think 
if there were a separate partition for each volume 
they would last fully as long as if placed hori- 
zontally, and are much more convenient for 
reference, as we have the text arranged above the 
drawings in corresponding order. 

ADJUSTABLE PERIODICAL CASES. 

As there may be no better opportunity, I will 
explain the present plan of arranging unbound 
periodicals in the Patent Office Library, where we 
have nearly 500 at present. In order to have 
them together by classes, and for immediate 
reference by any one, I planned, with the aid of 
one of my assistants at the time, a periodical case, 
which has proven quite valuable to us. All our 
files of periodicals have to be kept in order for 
reference, so we use Hutchinson's Strap and File 
Binder, as the most convenient, having each binder 
fully lettered on back and side. These file bind- 
ers are placed in the case as shown by the photo- 
graph and drawing. This case may be briefly de- 
scribed as an ordinary book case, with thin ad- 
justable or movable shelves, but rather short, not 
over two feet long. Through these shelves about 
one-third distant from the front edge are bored 
one-quarter inch holes an inch apart, or arranged 
as desired, but all the shelves in one case must be 
perforated precisely alike. Through these shelves 
pass galvanized iron rods from top to bottom as 
shown in the drawing, the rods dropping into 
holes in the bottom of the case and passing 
through a board at the top of the case, so that 
each rod can be taken out or changed separately 
without disturbing the rest, by simply dropping 
all the shelves in the case to the bottom. The 
shelves are easily moved and set at any distance 
apart up and down on the rods without difficulty, 
to fit large or small sizes of files, as desired, thus 
permitting files of various sizes to be arranged 
close together, as seen in the photograph. One 
great advantage of these rods is the separation of 
each periodical file, so that there is no falling 
down in removing; besides their being back from 
the front and nearly out of sight, permits the file 
to be taken out and replaced easily; and, if a peri- 
odical happens to have no file, it can just as well 
be put in its place without falling down, the rods 
being a sufficient support. I think this case might 
be used for pamphlets and other collections that 
are needed for constant reference, or for classes of 



them that must be kept together. I regret that 
the hurried drawing and photograph do not show 
more fully this case, which has solved the difficul- 
ties we had to contend with in arranging our peri- 
odical files for use. They are so simple that any 
messenger can keep them in order by having the 
files numbered and lettered to correspond with the 
spaces in the cases between the rods and shelves. 
Mr. BASSETT. I found that we had some books 
which were being injured by being drawn out. I 
pasted strips of ordinary listing across the shelves, 
and it has worked admirably to prevent wear. I 
don't think we could find anything better. 

Mr. EDMANDS. What kind of cloth is used 
for the binding commended ? Ordinary cloth has 
little strength. Is there a suitable cloth ? 

Mr. CRUNDEN. I think buckram would serve. 
We rebind well-worn books that are hardly worth 
leather binding, in cloth. This costs 25 cents as 
against 45 cents for one-half morocco; and the 
binding lasts as long as the book. Every lot sent 
to the bindery contains a number of such books. 

Mr. BAIN. We bind books that are much used 
in one-half roan, with satisfactory results. Refer- 
ence books I bind in buckram ; if intended for 
permanency, in one-half morocco. Newspapers 
are in continual use with us. The roller system 
has been in use, and I am much pleased with it. 

Mr. GREEN asked to hear from Mr. E. G. Allen 
of London on the subject of binding. 

President POOLE introduced Mr. Allen, who had 
just come in. 

Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President of the A.L. A. and 
members of the same : I wish to thank you for a 
kind welcome to me, a stranger. Technically 
speaking, I am, perhaps, a foreigner, but the 
greatest creative intellect of all time and the great- 
est master of humanity has said that " one touch 
of nature makes the whole world kin." I am 
satisfied with this kinship of humanity, but more 
so with the kinship of your country and mine. I 
am not myself a librarian, but rather the essence 
of one, supplying the raw material for the librarian 
to work up into that condition which Shakespeare 
describes as "order which gives each thing view." 
It is generally admitted that the American people 
are distinguished for their high intelligence, for the 
number of books they possess ; are distinguished 
for the number of their libraries, and distinguished 
for the number of their librarians. Hence I con- 
clude that librarians are distinguished. I am 
happy to find myself in the company of distin- 
guished men, and, let me add, of women, also. 
Privately I may say that I look upon myself as a 



130 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



second Columbus, having only this week dis- 
covered America a second time on my own 
account. 

The question of binding is a wide subject, and, if 
a little time were allowed, I should be happy to 
prepare a paper on the subject in its general bear- 
ings ; as it is, I shall be very glad to answer any 
questions. 

The latest thing in binding is the reintroduction 
of pigskin. It is very durable, looks very well, 
and is likely to supersede all others. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. We have been asking for in- 
formation as to the relative merits of cloth and 
leather for books not much used. Don't you 
think the cloth will last as long ? 

Mr. ALLEN. I think the cloth will last quite 
as long in the case of little-used books. 

Mr. RICHARDSON. You know you seldom find 
an old book bound in pig skin where covers are 
not badly warped. The binding lasts forever, 
but won't it warp just as badly now as it used to ? 

Mr. ALLEN. That warping was, I think, be- 
cause it was put on while it was green. 

Mr. S. F. WHITNEY. I learned at Glasgow 
that it was used almost exclusively there. It was 
thought that in America, as we have a few pig- 
skins here, it might be found a cheap material 
when our tanners have learned how to prepare it. 

Mr. ALLEN. We sent some volumes bound in 
pigskin to Mr. Van Name. He did n't quite ap- 
prove the looks, but I only claim advantage for 
their durability. 

Mr. SOULE. Pigskin has been used in this 
country for several years in binding the law 
reports of some of the states. Librarians might 
get information as to its value in standing wear 
and tear from the experience of those who have 
used them. 

Mr. SWIFT read his paper. 

PAMPHLETS AND CONTINUATIONS OF SERIALS. 
(Seep. 40.) 

Mr. FLETCHER. I move, in view of the 
crowded program, that for the rest of the session 
we listen only to the reading of papers and omit 
all discussion. 

Mr. GRISWOLD. I would rather hear the dis- 
cussions. The papers will be printed and can be 
read anyway, while the discussions cannot if they 
are not had. 

Mr. DEWEY reinforced this idea. 

Mr. CUTTER. I move, as an amendment to Mr. 
Fletcher's motion, that only such papers as are 
likely to provoke discussion be read, and others 
passed. Voted as amended. 



Mr. NORMAN C. PERKINS read his paper 

HOW TO BIND PERIODICALS. 
(Seep. 44.) 

Mr. LARNED. Is the value of a sewing machine 
in the preparation of periodicals generally under- 
stood ? I find it of the greatest use. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. What is the custom as to bind- 
ing more than one copy of general periodicals, such 
as the Ninteenth Century or Quarterly Review ? 
If you bind only one copy, do you let it circulate ? 
We keep one copy for reference and generally 
circulate three copies. 

Prest. POOLE. You are about right. That is 
the way to do. 

Mr. BAIN. I found in my library that novels 
were too much used. I introduced 20 copies of 
the Nineteenth Century and put them into circula- 
tion. It worked admirably. They are much 
taken. I look to the periodical part of a library as 
most important. 

Mrs. SANDERS. We bind all we can get. 
When half worn they are retired to reading- 
tables. 

Mr. SWIFT. Our rule is the ten-year limit. 

Mr. CRUNDEN askt how many took more than 
one copy of any excepting the strictly popular peri- 
odicals. I mean more than one copy of the Nine- 
teenth Century, the North American and the 
like. Six hands were raised. 

Of those who only took one copy, 15 let it circu- 
late and 8 kept the one copy strictly for reference. 

Mr. DEWEY moved that Mr. Crunden be askt to 
collect full data and prepare a paper on this 
subject for next year. Voted. 

Mr. DEWEY spoke of 

OUR CHEAP AND EFFECTIV CATALOG OF SALE 
DUPLICATES. 

The duplicate question is one of the most puz- 
zling with which librarians deal. To print a 
catalog of duplicates is too costly. One in ms 
is annoying, for when wanted it is usually in the 
hands of some one at a distance who is patiently 
reading it thru (or promising to do so" to-morrow ") 
to see if there is anything in his line that he will buy 
or exchange for. After considerable study I pro- 
pose adopting this plan. First, we class all our 
duplicates, putting in the number of the subject in 
pencil and arranging them in the duplicate room. 
Then for the catalog we use these new small 
standard catalog slips recently put on the list by 
the Library Bureau and only two fifths the length 
of the P sixe; i. e., 5 x 7.5 cm. On the Hammond 
typewriter 20 letters will go on the short way and 



PROCEEDINGS. 



30 the long, thus giving ample room for a brief 
heading, and the catalog is very compact for mail- 
ing. These cards are, like the books, arranged by 
subject numbers. Now, if a man comes to the li- 
brary, we take him to the books themselves as the 
best catalog and let him look over the subjects in 
which he is interested. A botanist will take time 
to look over 300 duplicates in botany when he 
could not be induced to go over our 6,000 v. finding 
only one in 20 in his subject. Exchanges are greatly 
facilitated by this grouping. If it is not practi- 
cable to examin the books personally, the cards 
for the topics in which the buyer is interested can 
be sent him by mail or in large quantities by ex- 
press. He lays out the cards of those he wishes, 
and his list is already made up ; and either he or 
we both can enter on the margin or back the price 
askt or offered. With the books when exchanged 
the cards can be sent, or they can be kept stampt 
with date and name of person buying, and ar- 
ranged in an alfabet, thus making a complete in- 
dex to books sold, which serves as a check on ir- 
regularities. We have also compact and ingen- 
ious blanks in which we have the record, with 
little labor, of the number of duplicates in each 
subject, and also the number added and sold from 
that subject during the year. The balance must 
of course agree with the number on hand, or some 
one has been carrying off our duplicates. A com- 
mon adoption of this plan would add wonderfully 
to the facility with which exchanges could be 
made. 

I wish here to put on record my surprise at the 
short-sightedness of the founders of new libraries 
and of the librarians who buy for them but neg- 
lect the large duplicate collections of our large li- 
braries. I have e. g. about 6,000 duplicates. 
Among them are many books in good editions and 
in good condition, that any respectable library must 
have. We would gladly sell them for less than 
they can otherwise be had, as we need the room 
and also the money to buy new books. And yet 
men who ought to know better will ignore the 
duplicates and pay a higher price to pick up the 
identical editions from second-hand catatogs. Of 
the duplicates preserved till they crumble because 
no one will give them shelf room, I have nothing 
to say ; but I speak of really valuable books suit- 
able in every way to form part of a reputable 
library. We are making many extensiv ex- 
changes, but wish to do still more. 

Mr. COLE, by permission, passed to the Printing 
Committee his paper on 



SOME THOUGHTS ON CLOSE CLASSIFICATION. 
(Seep. 46.) 

Prof. H. B. ADAMS gave an oral abstract of his 
paper 

LIBRARIES AS FACTORS IN SEMINARY WORK. 
This paper will be published in the Johns Hop- 
kins University Studies. 

Mr. BURR. The seminary method was in 
operation at Cornell University as early as 1877, 
caried on very vigorously under Prof. C. K. Russell. 
In our new library building we shall have not less 
than a dozen seminary rooms, just as each depart- 
ment of natural science has its laboratory. 

Mr. BAIN. I found the want of some such 
thing as this for a public library. I went to the 
heads of various corporations, and got them to 
invite their men. I had a part of the library 
opened and lit up. I had men who were engaged 
in a special branch of manufacture come on a 
given evening, and had all the things relating to 
that branch gathered and spread out for use. 
Then I had one of their number read a paper on 
the subject. I found it a very profitable method. 

Mr. NELSON read his paper, 

LIBRARIES FOR SPECIALISTS. 

(See p. si.) 
Miss PLUMMER read her paper 

THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY 
ECONOMY FROM A STUDENT'S STAND-POINT. 

. (See p. S3-) 

The informal ballot for President of the A.L.A. 
was taken and the votes put in the hands of the 
Executive Committee without counting. 

On call Mr. CRUNDEN reported for the Base-ball 
Committee. 

The managers were given the power to appoint 
the nine, and after careful consideration have made 
out the list : 

pitcher Poole. 

catcher Winsor. 

ib Chamberlain. 

2 b Poole, R. B. 

3 b Rice. 

s. s Dewey. 

1. f Cutter. 

c. f Lamed. 

r. f Green. 

Umpire to be agreed on by the two sides. 



132 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



Dr. RICE read his paper 

THE RELATIONS OF CITY GOVERNMENTS TO 
LIBRARIES. 

(See p. 54.} 

Mr. CRUNDEN, in behalf of the Mercantile and 
Public libraries of St. Louis, invited the A.L.A. to 
meet there next year. Referred to a special Com- 
mittee on Invitations : Messrs. Edmands, Larned 
and Linderfelt. 

FOURTH SESSION. 
(THURSDAY EVENING, September i.) 
Meeting called to order at 8.40, President Poole 
in the chair. 

Mr. BURR gave his paper 

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AT ITHACA. 

(See p. 59.) 
Dr. GUILD read his paper 

NOTICE OF CHARLES C. JEWETT, 

FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF THE BOSTON PUB- 
LIC LIBRARY. 
( This will be printed hereafter in the Library 

journal.) 
Mr. J. C. SICKLEY gave his paper 

A COURSE OF READING FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. 

(Seep. 62.) 
A recess was taken at 9.40. 

FIFTH SESSIOA\ 
(FRIDAY MORNING, September 2.) 
The meeting was called to order at 9.15, Presi- 
dent Poole in the chair, who resigned the chair to 
Mr. Fletcher for a meeting of the A.L.A. Pub- 
lishing Section. 

(For proceedings see Appendix.) 
CLASSING AND ARRANGING MAPS AND CHARTS. 

Mr. WINSOR gave some particulars of the way 
in which the 20,000 book maps in the library of 
Harvard University are kept, in folds of tough 
card-board, laid four or five deep on sliding 
shelves. The arrangement of the maps is a pro- 
gressive geographical one, and a label on the 
outer edge of each fold gives the character of the 
contents. The folds are numbered with gaps, to 
allow of intercalated folds. The maps are num- 
bered in each fold. Two catalogues have been 
made one showing the geographical progression 
in which the maps are arranged ; the other is a 
topical index to the place or region covered by each 
map. Mr. Winsor closed with giving some in- 



stances of the value of maps, as historical docu- 
ments.* 
Mr. LARNED gave the 

REPORT ON LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE. 

(Seep. 67.) 

Mr. FLETCHER. Has iron any advantage over 
wood with only two stories in a stack? Wood is 
cheaper. 

Mr. CARR. An iron contractor at Grand 
Rapids offered to put in cases cheaper than the 
wood contractor. 

Mr. DEWEY. You mean the sheet-iron cases 
of course. The cast-iron form commonly used 
costs vastly more than wood. 

Mr. EDMANDS mentioned a building at Dan- 
ville, Pa. 

Mr. DEWEY spoke of the new library buildings 
at Madison, of Syracuse University, the Osterhout 
at Wilkes Barre, Pa., and at Mansfield, O. 

Mr. BOWKER. It may interest the conference, 
though it is going far afield, to know how much 
is being done in London in this direction of pro- 
viding for the people, largely as the result of a 
book which many of you have read, Walter 
Besant's "All sorts and conditions of men." I 
found this summer that the People's Palace is 
already a fixed fact, the great Queen's Hall being 
now open for the use of the East End public. 
When the scheme is completed, there will be in 
front of it an enormous circular or part circular 
room, welcoming all comers to the advantages of 
a finely fitted reading and conversation room, 
while at the back will be an enormous octagonal 
bookroom, second only to the reading-room of the 
British Museum. 

Mr. WINSOR. I wish to enter a protest against 
the sacrifice of any of the cubical contents of a 
library. Mr. Larned puts only 16 feet of stack in 
a 2ofoot room. The President of this Association 
and I, even if we do not have the game of base 
ball which was proposed, are at least to run a race 
in this matter of library building ; I mounted on a 
little, shaggy polo pony, and President Poole on 
a great elephant, for he has the great Newberry 
library, and I the oversight of the building to be 
erected for the Cambridge Public Library. 

Prest. POOLE. Mr. Larned has made -a very 
instructive and entertaining report ; and, after the 
complimentary mention he has made of my contri- 
butions to the reform of library construction, it 

* The Secretary greatly regrets his inability to secure a 
report of this speech, which was received with great interest. 
It is hoped that it may later be printed as having great interest 
historically, and illustrating the importance in international 
relations of old maps with MS. additions. 



PROCEEDINGS. 



133 



may seem ungracious in me to indulge in criticism 
on his paper. I will do so only on a single point, 
where I think he has not understood my meaning, 
and where he has not fully explained his own 
meaning. Mr. Larned says : " The fundamental 
principles of library construction, which were first 
formulated by Mr. Poole, are affirmed by the 
common experience of librarians, and have been 
accepted almost without dispute." One of these 
fundamental principles was, that the climbing of 
galleries is unnecessary, and that galleries them- 
selves are nuisances. Hence galleries are wholly 
eliminated from my theory of construction. Mr. 
Larned thinks that, in the form of a stack, one or 
two tiers of galleries are rather desirable ; but he 
will not tolerate the idea of having more than two. 
If two are desirable, why not three or four ? If a 
person finds it refreshing to climb two pair of 
stairs, when there was no need of climbing at all, 
it is not easy to see why this delectation should 
end at the top of the second flight. 

At the Lake George Conference I had some- 
thing to say about the felicities of climbing stairs ; 
and, as the printed volume is before me, I will read 
an extract (see Library journal 10: 329). 

In the Chicago Public Library about 120,000 v. 
are shelved on a level floor, and their average 
distance from the delivery desk is about 45 feet. 
Suppose one half of the book-cases be taken from 
their present position and placed on the top of the 
other half. Will Mr. Larned say that the books 
in the cases removed to a second story in the air 
are more accessible than before they were 
removed ? He is a candid man, and will acknowl- 
edge that they are less accessible. The whole ques- 
tion, as to principles, between Mr. Larned and 
myself lies just here, and I shall nominate him as 
my referee. He will further admit that, if he could 
take the second tier of his stack from its present 
position and place it on the floor alongside of the 
first tier, he would greatly improve the administra- 
tive facilities of his library. This is the precise 
thing he could not do, for he had not the space at 
his disposal. The very elegant building which his 
library occupies is the home of several other insti- 
tutions, and in the division of space his storage 
room for books is restricted in size. Hence he is 
obliged to place his books in a stack of two stories, 
which, in his case, was proper; for it is the best 
thing he could do. My only criticism on this part 
of his report is, that he seems to claim as an 
advantage what was really an inconvenience, which 
necessity obliged him to submit to. I should 
probably have done, under the same conditions, 



what Mr. Larned did; but I should not have 
boasted of it as a better arrangement than shelv- 
ing the books on one floor. If iron was to have 
been used in the stack, Mr. Larned's device of 
using gas pipe is much better than cast iron, which 
is constitutionally treacherous. I think, however, 
I should use wood in a stack. If we have fire- 
proof buildings, I see no sense in shelving books 
on iron. 

I wish to speak of one other point on which I 
think Mr. Larned has misunderstood me. He 
says that I " would give one full story of 16 feet 
height to each range of 7 feet cases, believing the 
9 feet of vacancy above them to be a necessary 
heated-air space." For a large structure, where 
the rooms 50 feet in depth were to be lighted, I 
would give 16 feet stud; but I never gave the 
height of the bookcases less than 8 feet. In 
smaller libraries, with narrower depth, a height of 
14 or 15 feet is enough for the story. Mr. Larned 
thinks so much height is " excessive, involving too 
much of the very extravagance which Mr. Poole 
has condemned." I cannot agree with him on this 
point. It is all needed for the distribution of light, 
which is mainly done above the bookcases. I have 
no doubt but that we shall substantially agree upon 
principles when we come to understand each 
other. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. I think your argument about 
going around an obstacle depends on the time at 
one's disposal. If one was in a hurry to get to a 
place he would choose to go up 7 feet (the 
height of a library gallery) rather than a block 
around. 

Mr. YATES. The President has proved that 
Mr. Larned, like the fox having his tail cut off, 
wishes the rest of us to follow suit. We in Leeds 
unfortunately have had ours cut off by the architect 
of our new building. 

Mr. BOWKER. The question has to be dis- 
cussed with a strong sense of practical limitations. 
What will be best in one set of circumstances will 
not be in another. 

Mr. LARNED. It is certain that there must 
come a time in every library when a man is obliged 
to decide whether he will travel 140 feet on a 
level, or 7 feet up. 

Mr. FLETCHER. I don't see that the 6 feet of 
unused space is any objection. I notice in visiting 
in some of the New York flats, that the tallest 
flats have the highest rooms. If you are to use 
an elevator, it makes little difference whether 
there are a few feet more or less. 

Mr. TYLER. I am sorry that all of our tall 



134 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



libraries don't have elevators. As to going 140 
feet on a level, or climbing 7, the question is 
who is to do the climbing. I think any one of the 
10 young lady assistants that I had when I was in 
Indianapolis would have rather gone round a 
block than up the stairs. 

Prof. CLARK of Syracuse How would you 
light the lower floors of such a building as Mr. 
Lamed or President Poole suggest ? 

Prest. POOLE. You ought to have light on 
both sides. Experiment shows that light is not 
available more than 25 feet away, and so no room 
should be more than 50 feet wide. 

Mr. FLETCHER. That is true where the cases 
run to the top of the room, but I am under the im- 
pression that if a space were left above for the diffu- 
sion of light, a room might be made 80 feet wide. 

Mr. GRISWOLD. Why not make an elevator 
unnecessary by having a boy on each story with a 
simple " lift " for the books ? 

Mr. DEWEY. Mr. President, what is your ex- 
perience of being on the top floor of a tall building 
with quick elevators? Do you find any incon- 
venience or disadvantage ? 

Prest. POOLE. Not the least. It is better be- 
cause it is quieter. The elevators make it just as 
convenient as being lower. 

Mr. DEWEY. I am especially glad to hear this 
testimony from a source so high, from the top of 
a very tall building, and of a very able profession. 
As some of you may remember, it has been for 
many years my theory that in cities where land is 
costly, and streets are dark and noisy, the quick 
elevator was the solution of the library building 
difficulty. The library needs to be central and 
accessible to the last degree, and that means the 
most costly land. My plan was to have the de- 
livery on the ground floor, so that a book could be 
returned or drawn with the fewest steps. Then to 
run quick elevators to the top of tall buildings, 
where it was quieter and lighter, and space was 
cheaper, and to have there reading and reference 
and other needed rooms. I understand that it is 
substantially this plan adopted for the fine new 
building of the St. Louis Mercantile. This en- 
ables the valuable lower stories to be rented, thus 
securing a most satisfactory source of income. 

The result of no little study of this question 
leads me to prefer for a large building a con- 
struction combining the opposit theories of Mr. 
Winsor and Mr. Poole. I would have fire- 
proof floors, cutting the tall building into floors 
with i6-foot ceilings, thus avoiding the danger in 
the common stack plan of water, smoke, dust, 



and heat going thru the floors. But as soon 
as growth required it, I would put on the first 
8-foot stack a second running to the ceiling, 
thus utilizing all the space. Assume that such a 
room can be ventilated so to keep pure air and 
not too hot at the ceiling, since modern methods 
make this feasible. 

With these 1 6-foot fire-proof rooms, I should 
spend no extra money in cast-iron uprights. The 
danger of fire is almost infinitly small in such a 
room containing only stacks of books ; and the iron, 
beside costing so much, warps badly and is less 
pleasing in appearance than wood. 

Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Dewey says that his 
statement that ventilation can be secured if the 
stack runs to the top of the room is an assumption. 
I should call it presumption. All experience is to 
the contrary. 

Mr. LARKED. I am sure Mr. Dewey in pre- 
ferring wood to iron in a stack does n't know of 
the gas-pipe stack. This doesn't warp. 

Mr. BOWKER. As to ventilation, the British 
Museum has an ingenious and interesting system 
of ventilating through the gas-pipe supports of the 
readers' desks. 

Mr. DEWEY. They have a system some- 
thing like this in Australia, where the air is 
conducted back of the shelves, so one goes to the 
shelf, and gets at once a fresh volume and some 
fresh air. 

My strictures on the cost and bad warping of 
iron were directed wholly to the common construc- 
tion as used in nearly every library that has 
adopted iron. The sheet-iron shelving made in 
Milwaukee gives excellent promise. I have now 
in my office working models of them. The gas- 
pipe construction I have seen only twice, but 
Mr. Larned's good opinion should be conclusive 
to any of us who know the thoroughness with 
which he examines methods. 

As to my assumption about ventilation, my 
critics are talking of the old efforts at ventilating 
without proper appliances. By the down draft, 
or by a direct fan run by a steam-engine (both of 
which plans we use at Columbia) you can change 
the air clear to the ceiling as often as you wish. 
It is a mere question of coal. 

Mr. EDMANDS. If iron book-cases are more 
costly than wood, it is certainly useless to incur 
the additional expense, because if a fire gets 
started in a library the water used in extinguish- 
ing it will do more damage than the fire. There- 
fore the chief care should be to make the exterior 
of the building fire-proof, and also the floorings. 



PROCEEDINGS. 



135 



In the fire at the Mercantile Library of Phila- 
delphia the amount paid by the insurance com- 
panies was over $40,000, and not five books were 
burned. 

Mr. BOWKER. I would like to hear next year 
a thorough report on fires in libraries, including 
practical lessons, rates of insurance, etc., and move 
that a special reporter be appointed for the next 
conference. 

Mr. LARNED. I should like to have him treat 
especially of the scheduling of insurance policies. 

Voted. 

Mr. GREEN read the 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRIBU- 
TION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 

At one of the meetings of this Association held 
at Milwaukee, a report of this committee was ac- 
cepted which recommended the renewal of efforts 
to secure the passage by Congress of the last joint 
resolution, introduced at our request into the pro- 
ceedings of that body by Senator Hoar of Massa- 
chusetts. 

The resolution reads as follows : 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States of America in Con- 
gress assembled; That the public printer shall de- 
liver to the Interior Department a sufficient num- 
ber of copies of the Congressional Record (bound), 
Statutes-at-Large, and of every other government 
publication, not already supplied for this purpose, 
printed at the government printing-office, includ- 
ing the publications of all bureaus and offices of 
the government, excepting bills, resolutions, docu- 
ments printed for the special use of committees of 
Congress, and circulars designed, net for communi- 
cating information to the public, but for use within 
the several executive departments and offices of 
the government, to enable said department to sup- 
ply a copy to every depository of public docu- 
ments designated according to law. 

The committee went promptly to work to try 
to carry out the wishes of the Association. At the 
last session of Congress, before our Milwaukee 
meetings, the Senate Committee on Printing had 
been directed to look into the matter of the 
printing and distribution of public documents, 
and make a report on the subject at the following 
session ; that is to say, at the session which closed 
its sittings March 4, 1887. 

I sought for an interview with the late Mr. Ben: 
Perley Poore, Secretary of the Senate Committee 
on Printing, secured it, and had a pleasant talk 
with him in regard to the wishes of librarians in 
respect to the distribution of public documents. 
He readily promised us his assistance, and asked 
me to make a formal statement of our wishes to 
be addressed to Senator Manderson, Chairman of 



the Committee on Printing, and sent to the Sec- 
retary. I made out such a statement, had it 
signed by the four members of our committee, 
and endorsed by the present and past higher offi- 
cers of the American Library Association, and 
sent it to Mr. Poore, accompanied by a letter of 
some length addressed to Mr. Poore himself.* I 
received from him a cordial response to my com- 
munications, and a renewal of his promise to do 
for us all that he could. He asked for the infor- 
mation, which I gave him in writing, in order that 
he might embody a statement of our wishes in the 
report which Congress had ordered the Printing 
Committee to prepare, and which that committee 
had asked its Secretary, Mr. Poore, to write. For 
some reason which I have not been able to find 
out, the report was not presented to Congress ; 
probably it was never written out fully by Major 
Poore, who, as we all know, has died since the 
adjournment of Congress. 

The recommendation of the members of the 
committee of the Library Association, who are 
present at this meeting, is that we take steps to 
have the joint resolution recited above introduced 
again into Congress at the next session. 

This course is recommended after consultation 
with Senator Hoar, who has been an enthusiastic 
and efficient advocate of legislation desired by 
this Association, and who can always be relied 
upon to do everything in his power to further the 
interests of the libraries of the country. 

It has long been apparent to the Chairman of 
this committee that the quality particularly needed 
by its members and by librarians generally, when 
seeking for the passage of laws by Congress 
calculated to effect a wise distribution of public 
documents to libraries, is patience. 

Our prayer is that patience may do its perfect 
work, and our hope is that by persistence we shall 
obtain the legislation which is demanded by the 
obvious interests of the community. 
For the Committee, 

SAMUEL S. GREEN, 

Chairman. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ) 
WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 1887. ) 
MY DEAR MR. GREEN : 

I find, much to my regret, that it will be imprac- 
ticable for me to be present at the meeting of the 
American Library Association. I have been de- 
layed in getting the Blue Book in hand by failure 
of the Treasury Department to make prompt re- 

* The statement and letter were pnnted in Library jour- 
nal, 2: 482-3. 



136 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



turns ; and to be absent now, would, I fear, delay 
the work still more. I am anxious to issue the 
first volume, if possible, early in December, and so 
must press the work. 

I hope your committee, or the Association in 
general, will not lose interest or grow discouraged 
in the matter of public documents. I think some- 
thing is being accomplished each year, and persist- 
ent effort will in the end bring about most of the 
reforms desired. 

Little was done by Congress last year, as the 
Senate is waiting for its Committee on Printing to 
make a full report in the premises. 

Major Poorehad been, at the time of his death, 
for several months engaged, to some extent at 
least, upon an exhaustive and voluminous report 
touching the printing and distribution of docu- 
ments, but what progress he had made I have not 
learned. I suppose his successor will take up the 
work and endeavor to have something ready in the 
way of a report when Congress meets. 

He will labor of course under some disadvan- 
tages, as it is not easy for one unfamiliar with the 
subject to ascertain what is being done under 
existing laws and regulations, or to determine 
what recommendations to make in the interest of 
wise reform. On the other hand, it may be well 
for all concerned to have a " new hand " at the 
work who will not be influenced by old conceits or 
prejudice, or by the convictions of superior 
knowledge which long service is likely to en- 
gender. What I fear is that any attempt to revise 
the entire subject of printing and distributing docu- 
ments will fail in Congress, because of its extent 
and complexity. In my judgment this matter will 
have to be dealt with piece-meal, if anything satis- 
factory is to be accomplished. 

I think if one or two points are pressed each 
Congress, something may during each Congress 
be achieved. 

The first thing to aim at is to secure for deposi- 
tories all documents issued by the government 
additional to those now sent them, and the next 
thing to provide for the regular supply to our 
principal libraries, not depositories, of the most 
valuable publications of the government. 

Senator Hoar is a good man through whom to 
work, and if the western librarians would see or 
communicate with Senator Manderson, Chairman 
of the Committee on Printing, it would be a good 
thing. 

In the House I don't know of a man who could 
do better service than Gov. Long if he were 
thoroughly interested in the matter. 



I was able, at the last session, to secure some 
legislation providing for the sale of documents at 
cost price, which will be found a great convenience 
to many, and will to some extent regulate the price 
of documents in the hands of dealers, and prevent 
exorbitant charges. 

The exchange of documents through my office 
continues, greatly, I venture to think, to the 
advantage of our libraries. 

I have written quite fully to Mr. Barton on this 
matter, and so will not enlarge here. I am about 
to send out five other lists in the interest of 
exchange, copies of which I send herewith. I 
wish the Association would urge all libraries to co- 
operate in this effort, as the larger the number 
the greater the good accomplished. Besides, it is 
not probable that any other opportunity of this 
kind will ever be offered our libraries to supply 
deficiencies in these series of documents. 

I would like to see some action taken by the 
Association advising and urging the preparation 
by the government of a thoroughly good index of 
public documents, a continuation of Maj. Poore's 
work, but under quite a different method. The 
publications of the government should be indexed 
day by day as issued, and an index published 
yearly, and these annual indexes combined. But 
some system should be adopted, approved by the 
best indexers amongst our librarians, and then the 
work be steadily prosecuted, leaving no breaks, 
such as now exists between the date of Maj. 
Poore's work and the present. 

I began the preparation of such an index of the 
documents of the 4Qth Congress, but had time 
only to prepare a few sample pages, and those not 
entirely to my satisfaction. 

I have talked of this matter, and of others relat- 
ing to documents, with Col. Flint, who will repre- 
sent the Patent Office at your meeting. He can 
speak more at large on the subject, and I hope 
will have an opportunity of doing so. 

I sent you, I think, my last annual and special 
reports, but take the liberty of inclosing another 
copy, calling attention especially to what I say 
regarding the titles of public documents, another 
thing in which reform based upon common sense 
should be introduced. 

Excuse the length of this epistle, and attribute 
it to my interest in the work. 

With best wishes for a successful meeting of 
the Association, 

I remain very sincerely yours, 

JOHN G. AMES, 
Superintendent of Documents. 



PROCEEDINGS. 



137 



" WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 1887. 

" I hope you and others will not get discouraged 
by the slow progress being made in the matter of 
reform in printing, distributing, indexing, redis- 
tributing, etc., etc. of public documents. 

" I think we are gaining something every year, 
and have only to keep on in the same line to 
accomplish decided results at an early day. 

"As you are specially interested as to the dis- 
position of duplicates in our public libraries, I 
wish to say that exchanges through my office are 
going on all the time. I suppose I have received 
at least 32,000 volumes, most of which have been 
again sent out to supply deficiencies. 

" A large number, however, of prominent libra- 
ries have not yet begun cooperation in the work. 
The best results cannot be realized until all do 
this. 

" If I am not at the convention, I wish you 
would urge upon all the importance of joining in 
this effort, and for this purpose of putting them- 
selves in communication with this office. 

"I have already sent to all our prominent 
libraries five lists of documents suggesting ex- 
changes, and have prepared five more which I 
shall send as soon as my other work will permit. 

" This work, you know, is all extra volunteer 
work, and can be taken up only when I have 
leisure from other duties. 

"JOHN G. AMES, 

" Sup' t of Docs," 

Mrs. SANDERS read her paper 

THE POSSIBILITIES OF LIBRARIES IN MANUFAC- 
TURING COMMUNITIES. 

(Seep. 83.} 

Mr. YATES. I listened with deep interest to the 
able paper read by Mrs. Sanders, but regret that I 
should have to appear to criticise adversely one 
subject touched upon in it; viz. the admissi- 
bility of allowing borrowers to go to the shelves 
and help themselves. This plan might be possible 
in a small village library where everybody was 
known to everybody else, but in a large town li- 
brary the catering must be on the principle that 
your chain is only so strong as its weakest link. 
The power of borrowers to help themselves in our 
library would mean such an abuse of the privi- 
lege that it would have to be discontinued directly. 
Our aim is to make the contents of our library as 
well known and accessible as possible without 
risking undue responsibility of loss to the town. 

Mr. SWIFT. It ought to be said of that class 
of papers to which Mrs. Sanders refers that they 



are not, strictly speaking, immoral. They are 
trash and nonsense and of course injurious. To 
satisfy myself as to their real character, I got some 
copies and read them for myself. 

Judge CHAMBERLAIN. Few matters of library 
administration are more difficult, or more impor- 
tant, than to determine what freedom of access to 
the books and periodicals in a library should" be 
accorded to the public ; and for that reason I 
have listened with great interest to the paper of 
Mrs. Sanders. The lateness of the hour prevents 
any extended remarks, but I am unwilling that 
the matter should pass without a single observa- 
tion. Mrs. Sanders' paper has shown that the 
question is a practical one, one to be settled 
by actual experiment. I hope, therefore, that 
the government will arrange for one or more 
papers on this subject to be presented at the next 
annual meeting, setting forth the practice in dif- 
ferent libraries, and suggesting expedients by 
which the contents of a library can be made 
more accessible to the public, and at the same 
time be secured from spoliation or misuse. 

Mr. DEWEY announced that there would be an 
extra meeting at 2 o'clock. Adjourned. 

SIXTH SESSION. 
(FRIDAY AFTERNOON, September 2.) 
Meeting called to order at 2.15, President 
POOLE in the chair. 

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 

Mr. BAIN. -*- Public documents are really the 
life of the history of a country. In Canada the 
government prints and binds a certain number of 
sets which are presented to members of Parlia- 
ment. I think I could a'rrange to have such sets 
sent to, say 25, representative libraries in the 
United States. All that I ask in return is that 
you will help me to get the U. S. Documents, 
about which I have had the greatest difficulty. I 
tried to get some Patent Office reports, but they 
told us we were neither a State library nor a uni- 
versity library nor anything else, and they could 
find no authority to send. 

Mr. FLINT. On the other hand we, at the 
Patent Office, have had the greatest difficulty in 
getting Canadian documents. We have now at 
the office the MS. of one which we actually had" to 
have transcribed in order to get access to it. 

Few of you would think of searching for book 
rarities among Patent Office reports, but I can 
assure you that there are certain of these volumes 
that are now so scarce that several dollars 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



each will not secure a copy. It is well known 
that the average public document is out of print, 
and cannot be had after three years ; hence the im- 
portance of the subject of Mr. Green's report. I 
had a conversation with Dr. Ames just before I 
left Washington in which he stated that the ex- 
changes with libraries had brought back 32,000 
volumes the past year, and the plan was to be ex- 
tended to other sets published by the government, 
by other circulars. The plan of indexing all gov- 
ernment publications in a thorough and intelligible 
manner would be a great boon to all libraries as 
well as the public. I would suggest a complete 
title and subject-matter index to the publications 
of each Congress at least, and as soon as possible 
an index of the publications to date, with, say ten- 
year supplements. This may in time be secured, 
tho' it is difficult to get such matters before Con- 
gress for action amid the press of other business ; 
but this Association can do much to further the 
work. 

INDEXES MADE BY THE PATENT OFFICE 
LIBRARY. 

While upon this topic of indexing I may state 
briefly what has been done by the Patent Office 
Library of late. A complete subject-matter index 
of French patents in English to date, has been 
compiled and printed as you know, and lately the 
French government sent for copies of it, as they 
have only annual indexes. A new edition of the 
complete Subject-matter Index of Italian Patents 
to date, will be issued from the press in a few 
days, which has also been translated and arranged 
in the Patent Office Library. It is proposed to 
make similar indexes, in English, of the Belgian, 
German, Austrian, Swedish, and other patents 
in due time and keep them indexed to date. We 
have nearly ready a complete subject and title 
index of the Scientific American and Supplement 
from its commencement to date, of course some- 
what imperfect, but which will, we hope, be valua- 
ble for reference in many libraries, especially for 
inventors, mechanics, and general readers. I am 
sorry to say that Dingier 's Polytechnisches Journal 
is not yet fully indexed ; but as a compensation I 
will hint at a plan we have in contemplation for 
making a complete subject-matter index of current 
scientific and technical periodicals, of which we have 
"about 500 on file. The plan suggested is to index 
these periodicals monthly, like the cooperative 
index plan, and have this printed, and then as fast 
as possible take up whole sets of the various tech- 
nical periodicals not found in Poole's index. This 
may seem a long work, and it is ; but since I came 



here librarians have suggested the cooperative 
plan, which might aid very much in carrying on the 
work, and would add but a little labor to a large 
number of libraries, if they would join in making 
the cards, leaving the Patent Office Library to 
do its part also, and print the index. If this work 
can be done, it will be a supplement to Poole's 
index on the practical 'and technical side of great 
value, which, though not yet fully decided upon, 
is one of the possibilities, and I hope will soon be 
a reality. 

Mr. LINDERFELT, with brief remarks, submitted 
his paper on 

HERESIES. 
( This was not furnished for publication.) 

Mr. CUTTER praised Murray's English diction- 
ary, and made some remarks on the words begin- 
ning with Biblio. 

Mr. CUTTER introduced resolutions concerning 
postage on library books. 

Resolved, That the bill introduced hi the last 
session of Congress, through the instrumentality 
of the committee appointed by this Association, re- 
ducing the postage on books sent through the 
mails to one cent per pound, meets with our ap- 
proval. 

Resolved, That the committee be continued and 
requested to renew their efforts to accomplish the 
object for which they were named at the coming 
session of congress. Voted. 

Mr. FLETCHER introduced 

RESOLUTION CONCERNING STATE LIBRARIANS. 

On information that the State librarians of the 
United States are corresponding in regard to the 
formation of a State Librarians' Association, 

Resolved, That the American Library Associa- 
tion extends to the State Librarians a cordial 
invitation to join in its next conference ; and, in 
case there are subjects which they may wish to 
discuss, not of special interest to general libraries, 
the formation of a separate section of the Asso- 
ciation for State and law libraries is suggested. 

Mr. MANN moved the reappointment of the 
Committee on Public Documents. Voted. 
Mr. GREEN read his paper on 

SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES. 

(Seep, go.) 

Mr. CRUNDEN. At every meeting of our Li- 
brary Committee it is said that more copies of 
Alger and like works are wanted. The question 
always comes up as to whether we should have 
only one copy or more or none. 

Mr. GREEN. When we issued a new printed 
catalog I brought up the question of dropping 



PROCEEDINGS. 



Alger, but found the same difference of opinion. 
I have had but one copy of such works. 
Mr. FLETCHER read Miss BURT'S paper 

THE RELATION OF STANDARD LITERATURE TO 
PUBLIC SCHOOL WORK. 

( This has been accepted for publication by the 
Bureau of Education.) 

Dr. POOLE. Miss Burt hoped to be here her- 
self to read her paper, but was prevented. I may 
say that she has a book in preparation which will 
express something of this same line of thought. 

Mr. MANN. I move that the U. S. Bureau of 
Education be requested to print this paper as one 
of its circulars. 

Mr. RICHARDSON read his paper on 

HOURS OF OPENING LIBRARIES. 

(Seep. 92.) 
Mr. SOULE did not read his paper on 

CLASSES OF LAW BOOKS SUITABLE FOR GENERAL 

LIBRARIES 

and it is held for the next conference. 
Mr. VAN NAME read the report of the Executive 
Board appointing the 

OFFICERS OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSO- 
CIATION FOR 1887-88. 

President. 
<3: A. Cutter, Boston Athenaeum. 

Vice- Presidents. 

S: S. Green, Free Public Library, Worcester, 
Mass. 

Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, Boston Public Li- 
brary. 

J. N. Lamed, Buffalo Library. 

F: M. Crunden, St. Louis Public Library. 

Secretary. 
Melvil Dewey, Columbia College Library. 

Assistant Secretaries. 

H. E. Davidson, Library Bureau, Boston. 
A. N. Brown, United States Naval Academy, 
Annapolis. 

Recorder. 

E. C. Richardson, Hartford Theological Semi- 
nary. 

Treasurer. 

H: J. Carr, Public Library Grand Rapids, 
Mich. 

Finance Committee. 

W: E. Foster, Providence Public Library. 
C: C. Soule, Boston. 
A. Van Name, Yale College Library. 



Cooperation Committee. 

W. S. Biscoe, Columbia College Library. 

C: A. Nelson, Astor Library, New York. 

R. B. Poole, Y. M. C. A., New York. 
Standing Committee (with power to appoint Sub- 
committees). 

The President, ex officio. 

The Secretary, ex officio. 

R. R. Bowker, Publisher Library journal. 
Councillors. 

Justin Winsor, 1876-1885, Harvard University, 
Ex-President. 

W: F. Poole, 1885-1887, Newberry Library, 
Chicago, Ex-President. 

James Bain, Toronto Public Library. 

E. M. Barton, American Antiquarian Society, 
Worcester. 

W : H. Brett, Cleveland Public Library. 

R. C. Davis, University of Michigan. 

C. R. Dudley, Denver Public Library. 

J : N. Dyer, St. Louis Mercantile Library. 

R. A. Guild, Brown University. 

Miss C. M. Hewins, Hartford Library. 

H: A. Homes, New York State Library. 

K: A. Linderfelt, Milwaukee Public Library. 

Mrs. M. A. Sanders, Pawtucket Public Library. 

A. R. Spofford, Library of Congress. 

H : M. Utley, Detroit Public Library. 

Miss T. H. West, Milwaukee Public Library. 

A. W. Whelpley, Cincinnati Public Library. 

Judge CHAMBERLAIN read the 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Association be 
extended to the various railroad and steamboat 
lines which have offered greatly reduced rates on 
this occasion ; to the newspapers which have re- 
ported its proceedings ; and to the proprietors of 
the Round Island House, not only for their re- 
duced charges, but for the use of their parlors 
during the meetings. 

Resolved, That we gratefully acknowledge the 
courtesy of Mr. F. H. Taylor and of the other 
gentlemen and ladies on this island, who have 
done so much to render our stay an agreeable one 
by their comprehensive, varied, and most successful 
series of entertainments; and that we especially 
appreciate the kindness of some of them in open- 
ing their houses for our accommodation. 

Resolved, That this Association has observed 
with pleasure and gratification the first year's 
workings of the School of Library Economy at 
Columbia College, and that it regards the work 
there initiated as of great promise for the future. 

Mr. EDMANDS reported on 

PLACE OF MEETING FOR l888. 

He introduced an invitation from Mr. Dyer on 
behalf of the libraries of St. Louis, remarking that 



140 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



we were " sure of a warm reception there at any 
time of year " and mentioned an informal invi- 
tation from Boston. 

An animated discussion as to time and place of 
meeting was cut short by postponement. 

A recess was taken till 8 p. M. 

SEVENTH SESSION. 
(FRIDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 2) 
The meeting was called to order at 8.20, Presi- 
dent POOLE in the chair. 

Mr. BAIN presented his paper 

BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LIBRARIES OF CANADA 

(Seep. 96) 

and said that instead of reading it he would prefer 
to bring up a subject for practical discussion ; viz. 
reform in method of appointing library assistants. 
They come to us, he said, with an ordinary school 
education, can read and write (often very poorly), 
and expect to get positions by the influence of some 
trustee. I have succeeded in getting permission 
from the trustees to hold an examination for 
junior assistants. The Association should take 
strong ground upon this subject. The English 
have already begun to do so. The examination 
should be equivalent to that of a third-class assist- 
ant in the civil service. I recall an instance where 
a gentleman in our library sought for something 
on the history of the corn-laws in England, and 
was given by an assistant Froude and Macaulay. 
We want assistants who are trained to help the 
readers. We can only get this by preliminary 
examinations. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. The Buffalo conference adopted 
a resolution pledging this Association to civil ser- 
vice reform ; appointments to be made only on defi- 
nitely ascertained fitness, and if possible by promo- 
tion and retention during good behavior. In my 
library all the higher positions have been filled 
by promotion, except one where I obtained an 
assistant on Mr. Dewey's recommendation. They 
usually begin as messenger boys. I advertise for 
a boy and get perhaps 40 answers. I select from 
these 12 or 15 for personal examination, and sift 
them down to four or five. Then I bring it before 
the committee, and generally get the one I want. 

Mr. BAIN. You are fortunate in advertising. 
We have the applications shoved upon us. 

Mr. UTLEY. I have applications nearly every 
day. A few years ago the board adopted a system 
of examinations, and about 200 presented them- 
selves. The examinations are written, two or three 
hours long. From those who do best, temporary 



assistants are appointed for extra duty. As they 
show adaptation to the work, and vacancies occur, 
they are promoted to the regular staff. We are get- 
ting a much better grade of talent than formerly. 

Mr. FLINT. In the civil service rules there is 
a form for applicants to the Patent Office Library. 
They might be better applied than they are, but 
they serve to keep out some incompetent persons. 
An applicant must know two modern languages, 
and we have even required three or four. 

Mr. PUTNAM'S paper 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC BUREAU 

(Seep. 99) 

was read in his absence by Mr. Biscoe, and pref- 
aced by an extract from Mr. Putnam's letter ac- 
companying the paper, as follows : 

" I had occasion last winter to make up a pur- 
chase list of 10,000 volumes for our new library. 
They were to be added to the 14,000 already in 
the Athenaeum. I went east for the work, and 
did most of it in connection with the libraries 
about Boston and New York. It is needless to 
say that I had every facility, as well as every 
courtesy, offered me ; and I availed myself of both 
with a shameless liberality that I trust may not be 
laid up against me by my victims. At the end of 
my inquiry I began to wonder whether some 
method couldn't be devised for rendering other 
such inquiries simpler, more systematic, and less 
of an imposition upon one's fellow-librarians, 
whence these presents. 

I hope to see the Bureau started in Minnesota 
in Minneapolis ; for our library will be best 
able to afford the experiment of any in the State. 
But we shall not be in condition to undertake it 
for over a year. Were it fair to our own tax-pay- 
ers, I should consider it the duty of the richest 
library in the State to furnish gratuitously this 
bibliographic assistance to its feebler brethren. As 
it is, it seems only right to have the work paid for 
on a business basis, but only at its actual cost. A 
State Bureau at present may seem chimerical; it 
may, one of these days, seem less so. Free public 
libraries are on the eve of a hard struggle with the 
free public taste. Even now it is hard to keep out 
vicious books that people want to read; and very 
few librarians have the courage or the power to 
withstand the pressure. The most are, at any 
rate, glad to compromise by admitting the vapid 
books, if they can keep out the vicious ones. But 
with the authority of the State to back their 
choice (even though this be not mandatory, but 
merely advisory), they could feel far bolder in 



PROCEEDINGS. 



141 



excluding the relatively as well as the absolutely 
bad. But there are cons as well as pros. 

Mr. BAIN. In Ontario, several years ago, the 
experiment was tried of establishing a number of 
libraries and a central office, for supplying them 
with books. For the first ten years it worked very 
well. Then a stock of old books had accumulated 
at the central office, and the libraries became dis- 
satisfied at receiving so few new books. I have 
persuaded the minister of education to prepare a 
quarterly list of 250 volumes, designate by stars 
their relative value, and have offered to supply 
brief notes characterizing the works. 

President POOLE. A State bureau, such as Mr. 
Putnam suggests, is impracticable. It would not 
meet the exigencies of the case. Small libraries 
must inquire and every large library receive many 
such questions. A bibliographical collection to 
which they should come would not work. They 
could not use it, any more than one could make a 
watch if the tools were given to him. I never had a 
librarian come to Chicago to use our bibliographi- 
cal collection, which is large. A country librarian 
has usually not learned the alphabet of bibliography. 
Mr. Putnam has made a good collection of 
books, and wishes to aid others. But I can 
tell him a better way. Get the Boston Public 
Library catalogue (an admirable collection of 
books largely selected by Mr. George Ticknor) and 
go through this and select the books he needs. 
Use the Chicago lists. He has the thing already 
in his hand in these catalogues. The scheme is 
ingenious, but impracticable. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. Again in accordance with the 
suggestion of the Secretary, that miscellaneous 
topics be brought up in connection with papers on 
allied subjects, I wish to ask the custom of libra- 
rians on this point. I assume that you all, like 
myself, have frequent applications for information 
on all sorts of things. These come to me, not 
only from my own constituents, but from people 
all over the country. A person from Iowa or 
Texas writes to ask about a legal advertisement 
that appeared in a St. Louis paper, or wants to 
know the best book on house-building or the 
manufacture of vinegar. I have always answered 
these questions to the best of my ability, and have 
never made any charge or had any offer of pay- 
ment until a few months ago, when a real-estate 
firm wrote to inquire about two men who were 
said to have lived in St. Louis between 1870 and 
1875. The request that a bill be rendered rather 
took me by surprise. I charged 50 cents, and 
received a letter inclosing a postal note for that 



amount, thanking me for the information, and 
hoping we might have further business relations. 
I should like to know whether other librarians 
make any charge for such services. 

Mr. TYLER. The Astor Library used to charge 
for work of this kind. It was done by the assist- 
ants outside of library hours. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. Large jobs are always charged 
with us, and are given to an assistant as outside 
work. 

Mr. CUTTER. We have the same practice. 

Mr. NELSON. Mr. Putnam's plan is simply the 
A.L.A. catalogue in another shape. Mr. Saunders, 
of the Astor Library, is constantly receiving in- 
quiries of all sorts, on the market value of books, 
about a coat-of-arms, etc., and these are answered 
without charge. 

Mr. MANN. Libraries for their own protection 
should refuse to do this work gratuitously, except 
for their own constituency. There is a bureau in 
Washington undertaking to answer just such 
inquiries with the facilities of the large libraries, 
and at moderate cost, and such work should be 
sent there. 

Mr. SWIFT. Do you encourage the asking of 
trivial questions by the readers ? We endeavor to 
answer all inquiries brought to us, giving a great 
deal of time, even to unimportant things. I 
spent a long time looking up for some one the 
author of " Mary had a Little Lamb." 

Mr. CARR. I wish to show to the Association 
how not to do it ; viz. the Michigan way of buy- 
ing books. A printed list is prepared and pub- 
lished in the daily paper. This one just issued by 
us makes 24 columns. It is then made up in 
pamphlet form and printed in the proceedings of 
the boards and lies over for 30 days. This list 
cost us $60, and as the only way to get any good 
from it I have had it triple leaded, so that we can add 
our library numbers and use it for bulletin pur- 
poses as the books are received. 

Mr. FLINT. Mr. Poole's remarks remind me 
of the difficulty I have had in reading the reports of 
the A.L.A., because when I had read a paper about 
which I doubted much whether the librarians agreed 
with it, I had to turn over several pages to find 
the antidote for the paper. Could not the papers 
and the discussions upon them come in their con- 
secutive order ? It would certainly be much more 
convenient. As to Mr. Crunden's question of 
charges for questions to be answered, I would say 
that in the Library of the Patent Office some years 
ago I had a rule made charging regular rates for 
work done by assistants in searches or translations, 



142 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



generally at the rate of $i per hour. The great 
point gained was this, that the calls made to 
answer questions or render services has been 
greatly lessened. 

Mr. LARNED. I want to correct a misappre- 
hension of our President. Mr. Putnam proposes 
not to give them the tools and have them make a 
watch, but to make a watch and sell it to them. 
In this connection I would inquire also for the 
A.L. A. catalog : Where is it ? 

Mr. DEWEY. It is almost a reality, as Mr. 
Larned will find from Mr. Fletcher's report from 
the Publishing Section. 

The forthcoming works are nearly all simply sec- 
tions of the A. L. A. catalog as was planned from 
the first. As fast as these are ready they will be 
printed and later gathered into a volume. 

As to answering inquiries, the rule we adopt at 
Colombia is a good one. Local libraries should 
not use the money of tax payers for such purposes. 
We publish in our circular that we are willing to 
do the work and charge exactly what it costs us. 
Any call for investigation, translation, copying, 
typewriter or stenographic work I look at and 
turn over to the lowest salaried officer that can 
do the work satisfactorily. The library facilities 
are all free. We charge at rate of annual salary, 
counting 2,000 hours as a year, or 200 hours as a 
month. If a $500 clerk can do the work, the 
charge is only 25 cents per hour for time actually 
used, or for copying and duplicating we charge the 
fixt prices per folio of too words 6 cents for one 
copy, with reductions for duplicates. The time 
given by the staff is in regular hours, and is de- 
ducted from the pay roll. If certified copies are 
wanted, one of our officers is a notary public and 
has a seal for use in the building. Every one 
then feels free to come and ask for help, where 
'otherwise they might feel delicate about applying 
for it. Mr. Putnam's idea of bibliografic bu- 
reaus is admirable. The mistake is in limiting it 
to a single State. Let us get one before we 
try to establish 30 or 40. One good bureau is 
all and perhaps more than the country will support 
at present. To try to make several will result in 
none of them being good enough to command 
patronage. 

A discussion participated in by Messrs. NELSON, 
CUTTER, DEWEY, and others, followed on the 
best method of making a closer connection in 
the printed proceedings of the A.L. A. between 
the papers and the discussion thereon ; either by 
exact reference to pages both ways or by inserting 
the discussion immediately after the paper as is 



done by many scientific societies. All were agreed 
that it was desirable, and it was left to the secreta- 
ries and the editors to devise the best practical way 
of accomplishing it. 

Mr. TYLER asked whether Miss Hewins' list of 
" Reading for the young," to be published as part 
of the A.L.A. catalog, was to include books 
which could not now be obtained ; a third of her 
last list are now out of print. 

Mr. LINDERFELT. We cannot even find the 
existence of some of them. 

Mr. BOWKER. We hope to make the record 
number of the Library journal a permanent feature. 
We propose for next year a list of valuable private 
libraries, giving the specialty of each collection, 
and hope this may be a means of interesting pri- 
vate owners in the public libraries and the work of 
the A.L.A. and Library journal. This list can 
be prepared only by cooperation, and the 
librarians in the cities especially must give us all 
the information hi their power if it is to succeed. 

Mr. DEWEY. That is certainly part of the 
work of the A.L.A. ; and in the same way we must 
have the cooperation of every one on the A.L.A. 
catalog. All criticisms and suggestions on Miss 
Hewins' "Reading for the young" should be sent 
at once either to her or to Mr. Fletcher, so they 
may be considered. Don't wait till we print, and 
then criticise, but help make it as it ought to be. 

Mr. CUTTER read portions of Mr. LANE'S 

REPORT ON CATALOGUES AND AIDS AND GUIDES 
FOR READERS, 1885-87. 

(See p. 104.) 
Mr. DEWEY read by title Mr. ABBOT'S paper, 

SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF LLOYD P. SMITH, 

which will be printed hereafter in the Library 

journal ; 

also part of a letter from Mr. SPONABDK : 
" PAOLA, MIAMI Co., KAN., Aug. 24, 1887. 

" I find that it looks now as if I cannot be with 
you this year. I regret it very much. 

" I send you a list of Kansas libraries so far as 
I could learn; also the laws of Kansas relating 
to free libraries. Also I hope that the draft of 
an association I sent you last year may be con- 
sidered. I am inclined to think that there are 
people in the United States that would like to 
join an organization to promote and organize 
libraries where needed. I think Kansas is about 
the only State that has made a lawful free 
library law by act of Legislature. This law is 



PROCEEDINGS. 



very new, and to put it in full force it needs some 
good missionaries. 



Name of Library. 


Place. 


Kind. 


No. 

Vols. 


Firth 


Atchison 


Free.. 


1,800 


Public 


Atchison . ...... 


Sub. . . 


2,894 


St. Benedict's College 


Atchison 


Free.. 


4,600 








1,100 


Baker University 
Ladies' 


Baldwin 
Blue Rapids. . . . 


Free.. 
Sub. . . 


1, 600 

1.917 


Citv 


Emporia 


Free.. 


2,500 


College of Emporia 


Emporia 


Free.. 


1,000 


State Normal School 


Emporia 


Free.. 


2,738 


U. S. Inf. and Cav. School. 


Ft. Leavenw'th. 


Free.. 


1.854 


Paola City 


Paola 


Free.. 


6,000 


Highland University 


Highland 




5,000 


Public School 


Holton .... 


'Free. ! 


',237 


Trott's Select 


Junction City. . . 


Sub. . . 


1,200 


State Penitentiary 
City. 


Lansing 
Lawrence 


Free.. 
Sub... 


4,66s 
4,000 


University of Kansas 


Lawrence 


Free.. 


7,700 


Bethany Normal Institute.. 


Lindsborg 




2,000 


State Agricultural College. . . 


Manhattan 


Free.. 


5.559 


Public School... ; 


Marysville 


Free. . 


1, 060 


Library Association 


Olathe 


Sub... 


1,200 






Free . 


I 1OO 


City 


Ottawa 


Sub. . - 




Ottawa University 


Ottawa 


Free. . 


1,000 


Memorial and Historical. . . . 


Parsons 




4,780 


Library Association 


Peabody 


Free.. 


1,822 


St. Mary's College... 


St. Mary's 




8,000 


Reading-rooms Association. 


St Mary's. . . . 




fW} 


Sodality of the Blessed Vir- 






1 


gin Mary 


St. Mary's 




I.OOO 


Salina Normal University .. 
Coll. of Sisters of Bethany. 


Salina 
Topeka 


Free . . 


1,000 

1,028 


Kansas State 


Topeka 


Free*. 




Topeka Free 


Topeka 


Free.. 


12,000 


Washburn College 
City 


Topeka 
Wichita 


Free.. 
Sub... 


5,000 








2,500 



" I send you draft of bill that will be submitted 
to the next Congress of the United States, for 
making post-office buildings in the smaller towns. 
I think librarians will appreciate the change." 

Mr. DEWEY moved that the Standing Com- 
mittee be authorized to appoint each year corre- 
sponding members from England, France, 
Germany, etc., who should send reports of 
library progress in their respective countries, and 
that Mr. Yates be appointed the corresponding 
member from England for next year. Voted. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. We have had too good a 
feast prepared this year. We want more discus- 
sions. It is very awkward for the presiding officer 
to rule out a paper or to restrict discussion, and I 
submit the following resolution : 

Resolved, That at all future conferences the 
Standing Committee be authorized and requested 
to examine the papers to be presented, and 
decide with regard to each whether it is to be read 
entire or by abstract, or to be submitted for 
printing. 

Mr. NELSON. I suggest that they give us a 
smaller number. 

* Railroad. 



Mr. CRUNDEN. This is hardly necessary after 
the experience of this year. I do not mean that 
all papers are be submitted complete beforehand, 
for many of us do not prepare them till the last 
minute ; but their character and length should be 
made known to the committee. 

Mr. MANN. The American Association for 
the Advancement of Science requires a written 
abstract of all papers to be presented to the Pro- 
gram Committee, and under no circumstances will 
admit a paper till so submitted. 

Mr. NELSON. If we print papers that are not 
read, are we not in danger of getting our proceed- 
ings so long that we cannot afford to print them ? 

Mr. BAIN. That may be left to common sense 
and the law of evolution. 

Mr. DEWEY. Evolution has already largely 
settled it. The Program Committee has been 
abolished, and the Standing Committee has the 
matter in charge. I like Mr. Crunden's resolu- 
tion. Many papers are very valuable, but it is not 
desirable for us to listen to them when we can 
read them at home as well. 

Mr. GREEN. Can the matter not be left to the 
committee now without a vote? 

Mr. DEWEY. Some people might think the 
committee autocratic. 

Mr. CRUNDEN'S resolution was then voted. 

The motion on the 

PLACE FOR THE NEXT MEETING 

was taken from the table. 

Mr. CRUNDEN. I did not say as much as I 
wished in regard to St. Louis this afternoon. I 
desire to second most heartily Mr. Dyer's invita- 
tion. Most of our large cities have been visited 
already. It would be good for you to go to St. 
Louis, and it would be good for our city to have 
you come. Every city where the Association has 
met has been benefited by it. But I don't want to 
have you come if the members cannot turn out 
and make the meeting a success. St. Louis has 
the reputation of being hospitable, and I can 
assure you that she will not fail to maintain it if 
you come there for your next meeting. 

Mr. PERKINS. A large city is the last place 
for us to meet in. We need a quiet place to read 
our everlasting program. I amend that our next 
meeting be on the Atlantic coast at a place to be 
selected hereafter. We want the smell of salt 
water and a taste of quahaug. 

Mr. DEWEY. The place and time must be se- 
lected beforehand, and not left to the committee. 
Many people complained two years ago about 



144 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



Lake George. Last year we decided at Milwaukee 
to come here at this time, and we have much the 
largest attendance in our history. If we go .to a 
city, I advocate St. Louis. For a summer resort 
the White Mountains, Catskills, Mount Desert, 
and Old Point Comfort have been named. At 
these we might cultivate the spirit of repose for 
which Mr. Green yearns. 

No three men should be asked to decide a ques- 
tion on which every member has a preference. 
Let us decide before adjournment, and begin now 
to plan for the meeting. 

Mr. GRISWOLD. I don't want to go to a city; 
but the Atlantic coast has no place cheap and 
desirable. The Catskills are good. 

Mr. LARNED. Is there not danger in going- to 
summer resorts that the meeting becomes, at least 
in the view of outsiders, a picnic ? 

Mr. NELSON. In a city we separate and lose 
our common feeling. I am more disposed now to 
go to St. Louis than I was earlier in the session. 

Mr. GREEN. I should like to take again the 
expression of opinion on St. Louis. If enough 
cannot go there, I would prefer either Bar Harbor 
or the White Mountains. I move to lay the pres- 
ent motion on the table. Voted. 

I move that the meeting of the Association next 
year be at St. Louis in October. Voted. 
BADGES, 

Mr. MANN. One of the most agreeable and 
profitable portions of our meetings is the social. 
When we are coming to the meetings it is often 
difficult to tell on the train who are our fellow- 
members, and also to remember the names of those 
we have met before. I therefore move the follow- 
ing resolution : 

Resolved, That in order to facilitate recognition 
and to promote social intercourse, the Committee 
of Arrangements for the next meeting be requested 
to provide badges of appropriate design to be worn 
by the members and to bear the names of the wear- 
ers respectively. 

Some think this will be too expensive, and it is 
suggested to print numbers instead of names. 
The badge would be a permanent one, however, 
and I will guarantee that the expense of printing 
names shall be met. 

Mr. BOWKER moved that the part in regard to 
names be stricken out, and various members 
objected to wearing the name so prominently. 

Mr. DEWEY. It has been already decided that 
there should be a badge. A committee was ap- 
pointed at Milwaukee to prepare one ; but Miss Coe, 
the Chairman, is in Europe as our delegate to the 



L.A.U.K. If wished, the name might be detach- 
able and put on only after getting to the place of 
meeting. 

Mr. BOWKER' s amendment was voted, and then 
Mr. Mann substituted "number" in place of 
"name," and the resolution was passed. 
THANKS. 

MR. MANN also moved the following. Voted. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the A.L.A. be 
tendered to Messrs. H. E. Davidson and A. N. 
Brown for their arduous, courteous, and prompt 
services in facilitating our travels. 

MUTUAL LIBRARY. 

Mr. CARR read a letter from Mr. S. P. Ferree, 
of the Mutual Library of Philadelphia, a sub- 
scription library resembling Mudie's. 

"PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 29, 1887. 
" H. J. CARR ESQ., TREASURER, 

"My Dear Sir: I am very much disappointed 
to find at the last moment that it will be impossi- 
ble for me to leave for the Thousand Islands, as 
the representative of the Mutual Library of this 
city. I have always taken the greatest interest in 
the published proceedings of your Association, 
and have never finished reading the papers and 
accounts of your meetings without a sigh of regret 
that I had not been present. This year I had 
fully determined to go, but must content myself by 
giving you a sketch of the growth and success of 
the Mutual Library, believing it will interest you 
and some of your co-laborers. 

"In the spring of 1879 I found myself 'stuck,' 
through the failure of an advertising scheme, with 
some 500 copies of Franklin Square and Seaside 
Library issues, bound in cloth covers. Being 
unable to sustain the loss, I devised the check 
register system, and, having secured as librarian 
a young lady familiar with the business, on May 
i, 1879, we announced the opening of the Mutual 
Library on its new system of 100 books for $i, 
with no fines. In addition to the cloth-bound 
issues above named, we did not have a dozen 
regular bound books.. 

" It was more than amusing to have the old 
patrons of my lady librarian, after their usual con- 
gratulations, look around the room at the empty 
shelves, and ask, ' Well, Emily, where is the 
library?' and hear her smilingly explain, as she 
pointed to the shelf of tall Seaside & Franklin 
Square issues, ' These are all the books we have 
at present. We were disappointed in getting a lot 
of books, but they will be here shortly.' And so 
confidingly they paid their dollar, which was 



PROCEEDINGS. 



quickly turned into books; and in a little while we 
really looked like a library, and were soon com- 
pelled to add new cases for books, and in a few 
years seek our present enlarged quarters, where 
we have been for five years, but are now negotiat- 
ing for permanent quarters to give us greater 
facilities. 

"The register of additions now numbers, includ- 
ing duplicates, upwards of 40,000 volumes. We 
seek to keep our books in circulation. We loan 
more books than any other library in the city, for 
our terms are more liberal. We allow two books 
at a time on a $i check register, or three at a time 
on a $i subscription for three months., 

" We are frequently asked what security we have 
for the books loaned, as a dollar hardly covers the 
cost of two or three bound books. We believe in 
the honesty of the community, and trust our sub- 
scribers as such. We have lost a few books, but 
doubt if a single instance reflects on the integrity 
of the subscriber. Hundreds have paid the value 
of lost books. Each subscriber is treated as 
though he was our only patron, and his taste in 
reading so closely consulted that a large number 
rely entirely on the librarian for the selection of 
their books. 

" We loan current issues of all the leading maga- 
zines and reviews as books, but do not bind them 
into volumes. You would be surprised to know 
the extent to which magazines, and especially the 
heavy monthly and quarterly reviews, are bor- 
rowed. 

" The library is run on purely business principles 
to make money; and while it has been claimed 
that the cheap issues of books has ruined the 
library business, and many of the old circulating 
libraries relinquished business in consequence, it 
is a fact that the Mutual Library successfully 
built up its business on the cheap issues. They 
have made a host of readers ; and, when America 
and England justly acknowledge the claims of 
authors to international copyright, it will be found 
that the tastes formed from the present glut of 
cheap issues will make a demand for books, no 
matter what their cost may be, that no other 
medium could have secured. 

" I believe the possibilities of library influence 
and extension in this country are not appreciated. 
Not only should every town have its circulating 
or public library, but every neighborhood should 
be united by its local institution. Every bank, 
insurance, trust, and manufacturing company 
should have its library of standard books and 
journals devoted to its special interest, as well as 



all the leading magazines and reviews, as issued ; 
for they all contain articles of vital interest to the 
intelligent clerk or workman. It pays to give 
brain food to your employes. It elevates and 
stimulates them to higher excellence in their 
lives and duties. 

" Very truly yours, 

"SAMUEL P. FERREE, 

" Treasurer." 

Mr. CRUNDEN. At Milwaukee we received a 
very cordial invitation to meet at Denver, to which 
they have received no answer. If none has been 
made, the invitation should receive now a formal 
recognition, and an explanation and hearty 
acknowledgment be sent to them. 

Mr. DEWEY. I think such a resolution was 
passed, and have a pretty clear recollection of 
signing the type-written copy to mail to Denver. 
I will, however, send a duplicate when I get home. 

Mr. DEWEY then read by title Miss James' 

REPORT ON THE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY ECONOMY 

(See p. 118) 
and part of a letter from Mr. W: C. LANE: 

" I hope for the next conference the various re- 
porters will be appointed at your meeting now. If 
I had been appointed to do this a year or two years 
ago (the report covers two years), I should have 
made notes for it right along, and could have pre- 
sented something much more complete and valu- 
able than the present production. I shall be glad 
to try it again (if it is desired), as it lies quite 
within my line ; but I should like to know it now, 
and not be called on a month or two before the 
next meeting, when it will be impossible to go over 
the ground thoroughly." 

Mr. DEWEY called attention to the " Uebersicht 
der systematischen Ordnung der Stadtbibliothek 
zu Hamburg, 1885," and the "Classified catalogue 
of the Public Library of Fitchburg, Mass., com- 
piled by G : Watson Cole," which were on exhi- 
bition. 

Mr. DEWEY offered the following resolution, 
with a brief introductory tribute, saying that 
almost the last work of Mr. Jackson was his efforts 
in welcoming the Association to the Northwest and 
to St. Paul : 

Whereas, In the death of Frederick Jackson, 
of St. Paul, the American Library Association has 
lost one of its original members, for many years 
one of its most active and efficient officers, en- 
deared to all who knew him by his rare qualities 
of head and heart; therefore 

Resolved, That we unite with the family and 
friends of our late associate in a keen sense of our 



146 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



common deep bereavement, which has left us only 
a memory in which there is nothing we would 
forget in place of the generous, unselfish, modest 
spirit, whose worth grew more and more apparent 
every year to all who had the happy lot to know 
him. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be 
sent to his family. 

Mr. GREEN. Mr. Jackson was one of our 
most useful associates, and most dear to the early 
members. I move the passage of the resolutions 
by a rising vote. The resolution was passed by 
a unanimous rising vote. 

Mr. DEWEY moved to refer to the Standing Com- 
mittee the binding of a part of the copies of the 
Proceedings. 

Mr. GREEN inquired if this was not in the 
province of the Finance Committee, and after 
some discussion the following by-law was moved 
by Mr. Dewey and voted : 



Resolved, That no bills against this Association 
be incurred by any officer or committee in excess 
of the appropriation allowed for the purpose by 
the Finance Committee. 

The whole question of printing and binding the 
Proceedings was by vote referred to the Standing 
Committee with power. 

Mr. LINDERFELT offered the following : 

Moved, That the Finance Committee be author- 
ized and instructed to collect and manage all the 
rules, regulations, by-laws, or resolutions, which 
have been passed from time to time by the Associ- 
ation for the regulation of its business transactions, 
and to cause them to be printed in pamphlet form 
before the next regular meeting of the Association 
and distributed among its members. Voted. 

Mr. DEWEY moved to take a recess for the 
excursion to Quebec. Voted. 

By the vote of Aug. 30 (see p. 120) the Conven- 
tion finally adjourned on Sept. 10. 



'( 



APPENDIX 1. 



The A.L.A. Publishing Section met at the open- 
ing of the session on Friday, September 2. 

In the absence of the President, Mr. C. Alex. 
Nelson was chosen President pro tent. 

Messrs. W: E. Foster, R. B. Poole, and H. L. 
Koopman were appointed a committee on nomi- 
nations. 

The report of the Executive Board was read by 
the Chairman, W: I. Fletcher, and also the Treas- 
urer's report. 

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD FOR 1886-87. 

Following the lines indicated at the meeting last 
year, your Executive Board have gone forward to 
carry out, as far as possible in the first year, the 
work of the section. 

38 persons joined as provisional members 
at the last meeting, paying $i each; and, with 
the funds thus provided, circulars were prepared 
and sent to all the considerable libraries in the 
country, setting forth the plans of the section, and 
asking for annual subscriptions of $10 to consti- 
tute regular membership. 

42 libraries have responded with these sub- 
scriptions. The report of the Treasurer is re- 
ferred to for a statement of the receipts and dis- 
bursements. It will be seen that the total receipts 
have been $458, the total expenditures $85.67, 
leaving a balance of $372.83. 

As to the use of the funds of the Section, it has 
been decided by the Executive Board that this 
money should be divided between two purposes, 



that of employing clerical assistance in the prepara- 
tion of matter for publication, and that of the actual 
publication of such material, in so far as it cannot 
be secured without cost to the Section as such. 

With regard to the several undertakings outlined 
in our preliminary circular, we report progress as 
follows : 

1. The Index to General Literature: Its scope 
and plan have been more closely defined, and a 
list of the works to be covered by it has been 
begun, and carried well towards completion. 

2. The Handbook for Readers : It has been 
outlined by Mr. Soldan of Peoria, to whom it was 
entrusted for preparation. His outline has been 
submitted to us, and he informs us that he has 
written out a considerable part of it, and hopes to 
have it finished in a short time. 

[Mr. Soldan 's " Outline " was here read.] 

3. Catalog of Bibliographical Reference Lists : 
Mr. Lane reports this as nearly ready for issue. 
This and the Handbook for Readers will prob- 
ably be the first and second issues of the section. 

4. Printed catalog cards : Subscribers to the 
section were asked to state their choice between 
three classes of cards on which the work of fur- 
nishing printed cards might be commenced. AH 
but one of those who expressed a preference 
voted for the third class named ; viz. cards of bib- 
liographical reference under topics. Two consid- 
erations have prevented us from following at once 
this indication of preference. 



APPENDIX. 



147 



First, the fact that Mr. Lane's forthcoming list 
will, to some extent, cover the same ground ; and, 
second, that special facilities are now offered for 
printing author-cards of new books through the 
offer of Mr. Bowker to give the use of the electro- 
typed titles now being prepared for the Annual 
American Catalog. The Board have decided to 
commence immediately the printing of cards, of 
both standard sizes (postal and index), from these 
electrotypes and their distribution to the members 
of the section, and to others who may subscribe 
for them. This is an experiment, but one which 
can be tried with slight expense, and which we 
believe may lead to important good results. 

5. The A.L.A. Catalog: Your Board have 
made arrangements with Hon. -N. H. R. Dawson, 
the U. S. Commissioner of Education, for the 
publication by the Bureau of Education of the 
sections of this proposed catalog. The Bureau 
will assume the expense of the publication and 
distribution of these sections, and it only remains 
for us to submit the material ready for publication 
to the Bureau. It is proposed to bring out a new 
edition (with some changes in form) of Miss 
Hewins' "Reading for the Young" as the first of 
these sections. A list of works in the department 
of Travels which has been partly prepared by Mrs. 
Dewey, and one in Political Science by Mr. Bow- 
ker may follow. 



Your Board note with encouragement the spread 
of dissatisfaction with the results of the old sys- 
tem of absolute individualism among the libraries 
in cataloging work, and the increasing readiness 
to join in cooperative work for the common good. 

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS, AUG. 24, 1887. 

Receipts. 

38 Preliminary subscriptions of $ I. oo . . $38.00 
42 Regular subscriptions for 1887 of $10 . 420.00 



Expenses. 

Stationery, printing, and postage . . . $31.67 
Clerical labor on " Essay Index "... 54.00 

85-67 
Balance 372-33 

$458.00 

The Nominating Committee reported the follow- 
ing names of officers for the ensuing year, and they 
were duly elected : 

President, J. L. Whitney. 

Secretary, W: I. Fletcher. 

Treasurer, W: C. Lane. 

Executive Board, W: I. Fletcher, M. Dewey, 
C: A. Cutter, R: R. Bowker, and Miss E. M. Coe. 

Adjourned. 



APPENDIX 2. 



THE ATTENDANCE AND THE EXCUR- 
SIONS. 

BY MELVIL DEWEY. 
[From the Critic^ 

The attendance has grown from 60 or 70 till 
this year it numbered 175. They came from 
23 States, from Eastern Maine to Western 
California; and Great Britain sent three dele- 
gates ; while two members of the American 
Association were in attendance on the Library 
Association of the United Kingdom in session at 
Birmingham, the senior delegate being the lady 
(Miss Ellen M. Coe) who has accomplished so 
great a work at the head of the New York Free 
Circulating Library. Two interesting facts are to 
be observed in the registration this year. Except 
in Boston, the number of women up to 1885 never 
exceeded 20. In '85 it rose to 25, in '86 to 54, 
and this year to 90, as against 85 men. A part 



of these are wives, sisters, and daughters of mem- 
bers, drawn by the social features ; but 19 lady 
chief librarians and 23 assistants were present ; 
and of the other 48, some were ex-librarians, or 
assistants, or trustees actively interested, as shown 
by their faithful attendance on all sessions. Of the 
85 men, 42 were chief librarians, 13 assistants, five 
other officers, five publishers or booksellers (regu- 
lar members and attendants on the meetings), and 
20 ex-librarians, editors, clergymen, and others 
interested in the work. Geographically, the regis- 
ter is noteworthy. The North Atlantic States 
were all represented ; of the South Atlantic, there 
were only Maryland, Virginia, and the District of 
Columbia. None of the seven Gulf States ap- 
peared. The Lake States came next to the North 
Atlantic. For the past three years the largest 
single delegation has come from Columbia College 
Library. 

The New England party alone numbered 70, 



148 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



while New York sent half as many more. At 
Clayton a special steamer took them to Round 
Island, where the four days' session was held. 
The commodious steamer John Thorn was char- 
tered for two afternoons to make the trips around 
the Islands and to Kingston, and the St. Lawrence 
for the moonlight trip to Alexandria Bay. A 
stroller about the boat on any of these trips was 
sure to find committees at work here and there, 
and animated little groups discussing matters of 
common interest ; and yet there was always present 
the atmosphere of a thoroughly enjoyable outing. 
The cottagers on Round Island showed many 
courtesies. An Adirondack camp-fire at Shady 
Ledge, with brass band, orchestra, glee club, fine 
land and marine fireworks, and an exceedingly 
clever humorous entertainment, filled one enjoy- 
able evening; a comedy in the hotel dining-room 
another ; and a general illumination and fireworks, 
with a band, occupied a third. 

On Saturday morning about 125 took the 
steamer Corsican, shooting the famous rapids, 
and arriving at the Windsor Hotel, Montreal, for 
an admirable late dinner, which the hungry libra- 
rians will long remember. The Canadian Pacific 
sent up special cars for those who wished to hurry 
on to Quebec on Sunday and Monday ; but the 
main party enjoyed Montreal, and went on to 
Quebec by moonlight on the Monday night 
steamer, devoting all day Tuesday to that quaintest 
of American cities. Here four parties broke off. 
One went up the Saguenay, another to Ottawa 
and Toronto, where various courtesies were ex- 
tended by local committees; another returned via 
Lakes Champlain and George ; and a fourth via the 
St. Lawrence and the Thousand Islands. The 
main party, however, took the side-wheel steamer 
Miramichi for Pictou. 

THE WESTERN PARTY. 

BY WM. F. POOLE. 

A section of members residing at the West (with 
the addition to their number of Prof. Van Name, 
of Yale College Library, and Mrs. Van Name) 
accompanied the eastern section to Quebec, and 
shared with them the pleasures of sight-seeing in 
that interesting city. Parting with them at 
Quebec, the Western party returned via Montreal, 
Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara, and Buffalo. Spending 
a day at sight-seeing at Montreal, they left on the 
morning of September 7th for Ottawa, and were 
met at the station by a committee consisting of 
Messrs. Douglas Brymner, the Dominion Archi- 



vist, A. D. De Celles and M. J. Griffin, the libra- 
rians of Parliament, and others, with carriages, 
and were driven through that enterprising and 
picturesque city. They were conducted through 
the splendid Parliament buildings and its gem of 
a library ; also through the building where, under 
the care of Mr. Brymner, the Canadian Archives 
are kept the most valuable collection of manu- 
scripts for historical purposes to be found on this 
continent, and to the museums of geology and 
natural history. The party then drove to Chaudiere 
Falls, and to Hull which gave an idea of the 
immense lumber interests of Ottawa and later 
to the Russell House to dine. Nothing could 
exceed the cordial and generous hospitality which 
was extended to the party in Ottawa. 

. In the evening Pullman sleeping-cars were taken, 
and the party arrived at Toronto in the morning, 
where similar hospitalities awaited them. After 
they had taken breakfast at the Rossin House, 
Mayor Howland and the Public Library Board 
appeared at the hotel with carriages and took 
them to the principal points of interest in the city 
the Public Library, the educational headquar- 
ters and museum, the Wellesley public school, 
Osgoode Hall and law library, University of 
Toronto and library, Rosedale, bringing up for 
lunch at the elegant residence of Ex-Alderman 
John Hallam, the first President of the Library 
Board. Plates were laid for about 50 guests; 
and Capt. James Mason, the President of the 
present Board, presided. At the conclusion of 
the banquet, he tendered the visitors a cordial 
welcome, and called up Mayor Howland, who 
made a graceful speech. Dr. Poole and other 
members of the visiting party responded to com- 
plimentary toasts; and finally Mr. Hallam, the 
generous host, and Mr. James Bain, Jr., the 
accomplished librarian of the Public Library, were 
brought upon their feet. To Mr. Bain the visiting 
librarians were greatly indebted for constant 
attentions during the whole trip. 

The party were then conveyed to the elegant 
steam yacht " Vivid," which had been placed at 
the disposal of the committee by Mr. Frank 
Poison, who had joined the party. The yacht 
steamed to the exhibition grounds, where an hour 
was spent in viewing the display of natural pro- 
ducts, arts, and manufactures of Canada. Then 
followed a harbor excursion, a sail around " the 
Island," and a collation of solid and liquid re- 
freshments in the cabin, which, with brief parting 
speeches, closed the day's delightful entertain- 
ment. The regret was frequently expressed by 




APPENDIX. 



149 



the committee that they had not the pleasure of 
entertaining all the librarians who met at Round 
Island. Taking a steamer the next morning, the 
party had a pleasant sail across Lake Ontario, 
and, arriving at Niagara, proceeded on to Buffalo, 
where Mr. Larned was in waiting with carriages 
to convey the party to the Genessee House. Here' 
an elegant dinner, with Mr. Larned as the host, 
awaited the visitors. Mr. Eidlitz, the architect 
of the new library building, joined the party at 
dinner. The afternoon was spent in examining, 
under Mr. Larned's guidance, the new library 
building, of which he may well be proud. In the 
evening the party separated, and took trains for 
their homes. 

THE NOVA SCOTIA EXCURSION. 

BY MELVIL DEWEY. 

[From " THE LIBRARIANS' HOLIDAY " in the 
Critic^ 

The Miramichi was held from Tuesday noon till 
night to accommodate the librarians who wished 
to see more of Quebec, and steamed down the 
great river on one of the most enjoyable thousand- 
miles trips conceivable. The scenery on the right 
for four days was picturesque in the highest degree, 
and the night stops at Mt. St. Louis, Madeleine, 
and other points where the French boatmen came 
off to the steamer for freight, and talked faster 
than they worked, gave a flavor of a foreign land. 
Stops of three to five hours each at Gaspe, Perce 
Summerside, Charlottetown, and Pictou gave 
delightful breaks in the voyage, which combined 
in a rare degree the bracing salt air of the ocean 
with the romantic scenery of a tourist's paradise. 
The feelings of the party on leaving the steamer 
were expressed in hearty resolutions which assured 
Captain Raquet that the trip had more than met 
all the sanguine expectations with which it was 
undertaken. 

A special car met the steamer at Pictou and 
carried the librarians across Nova Scotia to Hali- 
fax, where the two days were filled to overflowing. 
Besides the ordinary drives and sight-seeing, there 
was a general attendance at the garrison church to 
hear the military band and several hundred soldiers 
render the Anglican service with a volume not to 
be forgotten ; a special yacht trip through the 
Northwest Arm, to the Dingle and Melville 
Island, through the harbor, and into the wonderful 
basin; and on Monday night a delightful evening 
at the Waverley Hotel, where the literary Hali- 
ms welcomed the Americans. Tuesday was 
i to the Evangeline country, and, as through- 



out the trip, there was perfect weather ; and special 
courtesies were extended which are neither asked 
by nor granted to an ordinary excusion. At Grand 
Pre the train was stopped opposite the site of the 
old church, the 52 excursionists were smuggled 
ingeniously through the barbed-wire fence, which 
proved more formidable than any custom-house 
officers, and a photograph of the party was secured 
at Evangeline's church. Another feature of the 
day was a railroad lunch extemporized by the 
secretaries. Instead of the expected mad rush for 
the lone doughnut and muddy coffee of a country 
lunch-counter during a ten-minutes' stop, all hands 
were warned to sit still, while from the rear car 
came white paper napkins, tin cups, big baskets of 
delicious fruits, sandwiches, eggs, cakes, biscuits, 
etc., and more ginger ale and fresh milk than the 
car-load could drink. 

When the train stopped at stations, a favorite 
episode was a song or a full chorus, which even the 
noise of the train had little effect in stilling, or a 
speech, the happiest efforts being by Mr. J. T. 
Buhner, of Halifax, and Judge Chamberlain, of the 
Boston Public Library. Altogether it was a red- 
letter day among a series ; and as the bookmen 
lunched while passing the basin of Minas, where 
the tides rise from 60 to 70 feet, the spirits of 
the party kept pace with the salt water. Captain 
Colby held the steamer New York to allow a 
short visit to the old fort, and then the last day on 
board ship began in the beautiful Annapolis Basin. 
By invitation of the captain, the whole party took 
the pilot's deck, and with sea-chairs and rugs went 
into camp for a last "old-fashioned sing." The 
Bay of Fundy had no terrors on this trip, which 
was varied from the straight course to Boston, 
going round the Grand Manan in the early evening, 
past Mt. Desert, and down the New England 
coast. The program called for separation at 
Halifax into three parties one for New York 
direct, another through St. John; but the days 
were so full of good fellowship that no one could 
be found willing to break away, so that there 
landed at the dock in Boston every one who had 
started eight days before from the dock at Quebec. 
On leaving the steamer, the Association was 
called to order, and passed unanimously votes of 
thanks (i) "to Capt. A. Raquet for the success- 
ful efforts of himself and his associates in making 
our trip enjoyable beyond our anticipations," and 
(2) "that we bear our united testimony to the 
unexpected pleasure of the trip down the St. 
Lawrence, as combining great variety of beautiful 
scenery on land with the enjoyment, without the 



ISO 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



discomforts, of the ocean voyage, and that we 
gladly commend it as one of the pleasantest 
excursions on the North Atlantic Coast." 

THE SAGUENAY TRIP. 
BY GREGORY B. KEEN, Librarian of the University 

of Pennsylvania. 

Wednesday, Sept. 7, at j% A. M., the members 
of the Association who had decided to take the 
trip up the Saguenay River started down the St. 
Lawrence upon the steamboat Union. The day 
opened unpropitiously with showers of rain, but 
we soon realized that fleeting clouds and inter- 
mittent sunshine afforded finer effects of light and 
shade than are obtained in clearer weather. After 
gazing awhile in admiration at the distant Falls of 
Montmorenci, which some of us had seen the day 
before and others hoped to visit on returning to 
Quebec, we skirted the southern shore of the large 
Isle of Orleans, pleased with its constant succes- 
sion of old French villages, cultivated farms, and 
wood-crowned cliffs. The mountain promontory 
of Cape Tourmente next met us, and was followed 
by the lofty granite peaks of Cape Rouge and 
Cape Gribaune. About noon we entered the 
exquisite St. Paul's Bay, and passed the charming 
Isle aux Coudres; a little later touched at the 
village of Les Eboulements, remembered for its 
high mountain, and at 4 o'clock stopped a few 
minutes at the well-known summer resort of 
Canadians, Murray Bay. Here we left the north- 
ern bank of the St. Lawrence, and began to cross 
the river. Nearing Riviere du Loup, we enjoyed a 
superb sunset, and, turning back toward the Sague- 
nay in the twilight, arrived at Tadousac soon after 
dark. The transition was very marked from the 
broad expanse of the lake-like stream we had been 
navigating all day to the narrower waters and 
gloomy heights which now surrounded us, a con- 
trast rendered the more striking when the moon 
rose in great beauty just after 9. The stars 
seemed very bright for so light a night, and it was 
pleasing to note the clear reflection of them in the 
dark river near our bow. We were loth to leave 



such beauty for the needed repose of our state- 
rooms, and when we fell asleep it was to the 
music of rich Canadian voices singing French 
choruses below our deck. We were roused be- 
times next morning, for at 5^ we had reached the 
limit of our journey, the town of Chicoutimi. We 
went ashore in a shower of rain, some visiting the 
large cathedral, others driving to the falls. Re- 
turning to our boat, we began the descent of the 
river, the captain indicating points of interest on 
our way. Ha-ha Bay especially charmed us, where 
we climbed a hill to the parish church, and sat 
down to rest at a hotel which commanded a 
particularly fine view of the Saguenay. Proceed- 
ing thence, we noted many curious rocks and 
chasms, among others " Le Tableau," with its 
broad limestone face, and the gothic cave of 
" Statue Point." We were more and more fasci- 
nated with the grandeur of the scene until we 
reached the acme of sublimity at Cape Trinity and 
Eternity Bay. St. John's Bay next impressed us 
with its beauty, and the prospect up the Saguenay 
at the Island of ' St. Louis. Farther down the 
stream we observed its abrupt turning, after 
pursuing short, straight courses between palisade- 
like banks, which came very close together at 
Pointe la Boule. On arriving again at Tadousac 
we saw the fish-ponds and the old chapel of the 
Jesuit mission founded 200 years ago. The place 
itself, too, pleased us by its picturesque situation 
at the juncture of two rivers so utterly dissimilar 
in character and effect upon the mind. As we re- 
entered the St. Lawrence we were struck with the 
green color of its waters as contrasted with the 
black Saguenay, as well as their difference in level, 
producing a long ridge of waves where their tides 
met. At the same time we saw a school of white 
porpoises, which abound at this point. On leaving 
Riviere du Loup we beheld a brilliant rainbow, 
followed by a golden sunset. Reaching Murray 
Bay in the evening, we remained there a couple 
of hours, interested in the work of some Indians, 
and watching the mode of catching smelts. We 
enjoyed another moonlight night, and soon after 
daybreak Friday morning arrived -at Quebec. 



ATTENDANCE REGISTER. 



ATTENDANCE REGISTER. 

THOUSAND ISLANDS MEETING. 



ABBREVIATIONS. A., Assistant; C., Cataloger; F., Free; L., Library; Ln., Librarian; P., Public. 

The letter after the address shows on which of the Post Conference excursions each went. Blank means only the Thou- 
sand Islands and return ; Mtl., Montreal; Q., Quebec; M., Miramichi ocean trip Quebec to Boston; S., Saguenay River; O., 
Ottawa and Toronto. 

All Q.includes Mtl., and all M., O., and S. include both Mtl. and Q., as all went via Montreal and Quebec. 



Adams, Prof. Herbert B., Johns Hopkins Univ., 
Baltimore. Q. 

Adams, Harriet A., P. Ln. Somerville, Mass. M. 

Allan, Mrs. J. T., Omaha, Neb. Q. 

Allan, Jessie, P. Ln. Omaha, Neb. Q. 

Allen, E: G., L. Agent, 28 Henrietta St., Covent 
Garden, London. Q. 

Allen, J. W., Worcester, Mass. . M. 

Ames, Harriet H., C. Brookline, Mass. Q. 

Atwater, Jennie S., Chicago, 111. M. 

Bain, Ja., Jr., P. Ln. Toronto. O. 

Baldwin, H.. S., A. Normal Inst., Hampton, Va. 

Bassett, H. F., Ln. Silas Bronson L., Water- 
bury, Conn. 

Bassett, Mrs. H. F., Waterbury, Conn. 

Bean, M.. A., P. Ln. Brookline, Mass. Q. 

Beatty, Ella O., A. Ottendorfer L., N. Y. City. 

Biscoe, Walter S., A. Columbia College L., N. Y. 

M. 

Bovvker, R: R., Ed. L. journal, N. Y. Mtl. 

Brown, Arthur N., Ln. U. S. Naval Acad., Annap- 
olis, Md. S. 

Brown, Walter L., Bookseller (Peter Paul & Co.), 
Buffalo, N. Y. 

Bullard, Martha A., Ln. Seymour L., Auburn, 
N. Y. 

Burr, G: L., Ln. White L., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, 
N. Y. 

Carr, Mrs. Edith Wallbridge, Grand Rapids, 
Mich. O. 

Carr, H: J., P. School Ln. Grand Rapids, Mich., 

O. 

Chamberlain, Hon. Mellen, P. Ln., Boston. M. 

Chase, Alice, Worcester, Mass. M. 

Chase, C: Augustus, Worcester, Mass. M. 

Clark, G: T., A. Univ. of Cal. L., Berkeley, Cal. 
Prof. J. Scott, Syracuse Univ., N. Y. 
G: W., A. Columbia Col. L., N. Y. M. 

;, Mrs. G: W., Columbia College L., N. Y. 

M. 



Cooke, H. H., Bookseller (McClurg & Co.), Chica- 
go, 111. Q. 

Crunden, F: M., P. Ln. St. Louis, Mo. M 

Curran, Mrs. M.. H., P. Ln. Bangor, Me. M. 

Cutler, Louise S., Florence, Mass. (Columbia 
L. School.) M. 

Cutler, M.. Salome, C. Columbia College L., 
N. Y. M. 

Cutter, C: A., Ln. Boston Athenaeum, Boston. S. 

Cutter, Roland Norcross, Winchester, Mass. S. 

Daniels, Prof. Jos. L., Ln. Olivet College, Mich. 

Davidson, H. E., Manager Library Bureau, Bos- 
ton, Mass. M. 

Davidson, Mrs. S.. Coolidge, Melrose, Mass. M. 

Denio, Lilian, A. Columbia College L., N. Y. 

Dewey, Mrs. C.. A., Oneida, N. Y. Q. 

Dewey, Joel, Oneida, N. Y. 

Dewey, Melvil, Chief Ln. Columbia College L., 
N. Y. M. 

Dixson, Mrs. J. E .,C. Columbia College L., N.Y. O 

Dorr, H: S., Fremont, O. M. 

Dorr, Mrs. M.., Fremont, O. Q. 

Dudley, C: R., Mercantile Ln. Denver, Col. Mtl. 

Dunton, C. A.., P. Ln., N. Adams, Mass. 

Eddy, M.. A., F. P. Ln. Coldwater, Mich. O. 

Edmands, J:, Ln. Mercantile L. Co., Philadel- 
phia. Q. 

Ellison, F: P., Waltham, Mass. M. 

Ellison, S.. E., A. P. L., Bangor, Me. M. 

Fletcher, W: L, Ln. Amherst College, Mass. 

Flint, Weston, A. Scientific L., U. S. Patent, 
Office, Washington. M. 

Flint, Mrs. Weston, 1101 K St., Washington. M. 

Foote, Harriet S., Buffalo, N. Y. 

Foster, W: E., P. Ln. Providence, R. I. 

Garland, C. H., P. Ln. Dover, N. H. Q. 

Cast, Mrs. Harriet A., Ln. Birchard L., Fremont, 
O. Q. 

Godbold, S.. C., Ln. East Boston Branch P. L. 
Mass. 



152 



THOUSAND ISLANDS CONFERENCE. 



Green, S: S., F. P. Ln. Worcester, Mass. M. 

Greene, Caroline S., Boston, Mass. 

Griswold, Mrs. H. S., Bangor, Me. Q. 

Griswold, W: M., A. Congressional L., Washing- 
ton, D. C. Q. 

Griswold, Mrs. W. M., Washington, D. C. Q. 

Guild, Olive L., Providence, R. I. 

Guild, Reuben A., Ln. Brown Univ. L., Provi- 
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Hagar, Miss K.., 323 College St., Burlington, Vt. 

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Hagar, M.. L., Burlington, Vt. Mtl. 

Hagar, S.. C., Ln. Fletcher F. L., Burlington, Vt. 

Mtl. 

Hall, Lizza H., A. Library Bureau, Boston, Mass. 

Harding, Julia, C. Wellesley College, Wellesley, 
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Harris, Grace, Fremont, O. Q. 

Hayes, Rutherford P., Trustee Birchard L., Fre- 
mont, O. M. 

Higgins, Mrs. A. R., Bangor, Me. Q. 

Hild, F: H., P. Ln., Chicago 111. Q. 

Hill, Frank P., Lowell, Mass. 

Hills, G: W., Bridgeport, Conn. 

Hills, W. ]., Supt. P. L., Bridgeport, Conn. 

Houghton, Alice E., C. Elyria, O. 

Howard, Julia M., Boston, Mass. M. 

Jaquith, Mrs. O. B., Ln. Norman Williams P. L., 
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Jencks, C: W., Providence, R. I. Q. 

Jencks, Ella M., Providence, R. I. M. 

Jenkins, M.. A., A. Lower Hall P. L., Boston, 
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Jenks, Rev. H: F., Canton, Mass. M. 

Johnson, Miss Sumner, P. Ln., Waltham, Mass. S. 

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Koopman, H. L., C. Univ. of Vt. L., Burlington, 
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Lamed, J. N., Supt. Buffalo L., N. Y. 

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Linderfelt, Mrs. Margie E., Milwaukee, Wis. O. 

Lockwood, J: S., Purchaser for P. L., 82 Equita- 
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Mann, Mrs. L.. C. F., Ass't Bibliographer, 1918 
Sunderland PL, Washington, D. C. M. 



Miller, Eulora, A. P. Ln. Lafayette, Ind. M. 

Miller, Maude, Lafayette, Ind. M. 

Milman, Rev. W: H., Ln. Sion College, Victoria 
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* Died Sept. 37, 1887. Succeeded by his predecessor, Frank P. Hill, of Lowell 



ATTENDANCE REGISTER. 



153 



Sickley, Mrs. J: C., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Mtl. Winsor, Constance, Cambridge, Mass. Q. 

Simpson, Medora J., P. Ln. Chelsea, Mass. Winsor, Justin, Ln. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, 

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Wis. 
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Southworth, Myra F., P. Ln. Brockton, Mass. M. 

c IT / r, T ii7 /- SUMMARIES BY SECRETARY. 

Sperry, H.., C. Bronson L-., Waterbury, Conn. 

S- BY POSITIONS AND SEX. 

Stechert, G. E., Foreign Bookseller, 828 Broadway, Men Women. 

N - Y - Chiefs 43 19 

Stevens, Lucy, C., 495 Summit St., Toledo, O. M. Assistants 13 23 

Stott, Janet E., A. F. Circulating L., N. Y. M. Officers S 

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Truesdall, Mrs. Nette, Fremont, O. Q. Others 21 48 

Tuttle, E.., A. L. I. Hist. Soc. L., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Q. 87 90 

Tuttle, G:, Brooklyn, N. Y. BY G EOGRAFICAL SECTIONS. 

Tuttle, Mrs. W. S, Brooklyn, N. Y. 9 of the 9 No. Atlantic States . . . . ir 9 

Tyler, 'Arthur W., Ln. Job Male L. ( Plainfield, g g Lake ^^ ^ 

Mg -? " 9 So. Atlantic States ... 13 

Utley, H:M, P. Ln. Detroit, Mich. I u * Mountain States 3 

Utley, Mrs. H: M., Detroit, Mich. M. , g Pacific States i 

Van Name, Addison, Ln. Yale Univ., New Haven, Q ,r g tates 

Conn. O. 

England 3 

Van Name, Mrs. Addison, New Haven, Conn r d 2 

Van Zandt, Margaret, A. Columbia College, N. Y. 177 

Q- BY STATES. 

Waldo, Prof. Clarence A., Ln. Rose Polytechnic M ^ & ^ Carried forward, 157 

Inst, Terra Haute, Ind. N Y 34 Ind 3 

Ward, Rev. Julius H., Boston Herald, 23 Linwood , . n N T 2 

St., Boston, Mass. M. ~ , f , 

Conn 12 Md 2 

\\ard, Mrs. Olive E., 23 Linwood St., Boston, ~r\ r q Va 2 

Mass " M - 111. 8 Neb.' ' ! 2 

West, Theresa H., A. P. L. Milwaukee, Wis. . 7 N H i 

Whelpley, A. W., P. Ln. Cincinnati, O. M. y ' ^ l^ o x 

Whelpley, Mrs. A. W., Clifton, Cincinnati, O. R 'j 6 Col j 

M> Mich. ... 6 Cal I 

White, Sophia E., A. City L. Springfield, Mass. Wig England 3 

Whitney, Solon F., F. P. Ln. Watertown, Mass. penn 4 Canada \ \ \ / 2 

'Wing, J. N., Bookseller (C: Scribner's Sons), 743 

Broadway, N. Y. 157 177 



ERRATUM. Page 118-21 for C. S. Woodward read C. J. Woodward. 



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