- UNIVERSITY OF LLINOIS | *- : - ' "ifi Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. University of Illinois Library THE - ffvri rriv rr ii I n.r n Library Journal OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CHIEFLY DEVOTED TO library Economy ant) VOL. 22. No. 10. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE OCTOBER, 1897. For Contents See Next Page. NEW YORK : PUBLICATION OFFICE, 59 DUANE STREET. LONDON: SOLD BY KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & Co., PATERNOSTER HOUSE CHARING CROSS ROAD. YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION, $5.00. MONTHLY NUMBERS, 50 cts. Pricf to Europe, or other countries in. the Union, ms.per annum; single numbers, zs. Entered at the Post-Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter. CONTENTS. 51 travelling iioraries en's library work as determined by | :hildren. I., II j 5-1897 TITLE. Address of the President What of the future ? The librarian and the importer . . . Local supervision of travelling libraries Methods of child re the needs of the child The Fisk Free and Public Library of New Orleans On the literature of library history The selection of books for college libraries The survival of the fittest among books A bit of classification : treatment of Harvard iana by the Harvard Club of New York The care of special collections The care of manuscripts Notes on the government and control of college libraries. The London International Conference on a catalog of / scientific literature ) Index prospects and possibilities Some heresies about cataloging An elementary talk on charging systems Reference work Librarians' aids Book selection Advertising a library . . Aims and personal attitude in library work Report of the Co-operation Committee Report of the A. L. A. Publishing Section Report of Committee on Library Schools, i Report on gifts and bequests Proceedings 94-158 First Session 94 Second Session .'.... 94-102 Secretary's report 94 Report of Trustees of Endowment Fund . . 94-95 Report of Publishing Section 95~97 Report on Public Documents 97-98 Dr. W. F. Poole Memorial Fund 98 Report on State Aid 99 Reports on American Libraries Clearing-house. 99-101 Invitations for conference of 1898 101 Printing of papers and reports 101-102 Third Session : Books of the year 102-112 Report on supplement to "A. L. A. Catalog." 102-103 Fine arts 103-105 Science 105-106 History, Biography, Travel 106-108 Children's books 108-109 Fiction 109-112 Fourth Session : Public meeting 112-120 Address of W. H. Brett 112-113 Address of Prof. Smyth 113-115 Address of Jacob J. Seeds 115-116 Address of W. E. Foster 116-117 Address of Melvil Dewey 117-119 Address of Dr. William Pepper 119-120 Fifth Session : Elementary library work . . . 120-129 Classification and cataloging 120-126 'Book-pockets and book-marks 126-127 Reference work 127-129 Sixth Session 129-143 Treasurer's report and Necrology 129-131 Report of Finance Committee 131 Place of next meeting 132-133 Proposed building for N. Y. Public Library . 133-140 Policy of the A. L. A. with regard to re-incor- poration and representative membership . 140-141 Report on travelling libraries 141-143 AUTHOR. PAGE.. H. Brett f: M. Crunden 5 Ernst Lemcke 12 F. A. Hutchins 17 E. M. Fairchild 19 Emma L. Adams ..... . . ... 28 William Beer . 32 F: J. Teggart 35 A. C. Potter 59 E. C. Richardson 15 C: A. Nelson 47 Wilberforce Eatnes 48 Herbert Friedenwald 52 G: W: Harris 55 Cyrus Adler 58 W: I: Fletcher 61 Dr. G. E. Wire . 62 Helen G. Sheldon ' 63 Eleanor B. Woodruff 65 Virginia R. Dodge 67 Elizabeth P. Andrews 70 Mary Emogene Hazeltine 74 Linda A. Eastman 80 W: H. Tillinghast 81 W: C. Lane 84 A. H. Hof>kins 87 Caroline M. Hewins -90 Seventh Session 143-148 Report on Foreign Documents 143-144 Report of Auditing Committee .... . 144 Appropriation from Endowment Fund to Publishing Section 144-145 Report on Co-operation with Library Depart- ment of N. E. A 145 Report on Library Editions of Popular Books 145-146 "A. L. A. Catalog" Supplement 146-147 Place of next meeting 147 Resolution on election of officers 147-148 Election of officers 148 Eighth Session : Elementary library work . . 148-154 Library advertising 148-150 The Cleveland Children's Library League . 151-153 Ninth Session 154-158 Resolutions adopted 154-155 Amendment to constitution 155 Development of subscription into free li- braries 155-156 Discussion of children's library work . . . 156-157 Report of Committee on Resolutions . . . 158 Tenth Session 158 The College Section of the A. L. A 159-172 First Session 159-168 Discussion on management of college libraries 160-161 Selection of books 161-165 College instruction in bibliography .... 165-168 Second Session 168-172 Co-operative printing of analytical reference lists 168-172 Report on organization 1 72 Trustees' Section of the A. L. A 173-174 The Social Side. Mary P. Farr 175-176 Catalog of Bibliographical Exhibit 177-184 The Post-conference. Mary P. Farr 185-188 Attendance register 189-194 Attendance summaries . . 194 ,,,,,,;,. CONFERENCE OF LIBRARIANS. PHIL A DELPHI A , JUNE 21-25, ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, WILLIAM HOWARD BRETT, LIBRARIAN OF THE CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY. E present meeting of the American Libra- ry Association has not only that interest which attaches to all meetings of the Associa- tion, as forming one of those milestones by which it is accustomed to mark its annual pro- gress and gather up and preserve in its published proceedings a record of the work of the year, but derives great additional interest from the fact that this is the twenty-first year from the founding of the Association, the year in which we attain our majority, and that we come to- gether to celebrate that event as is fitting in this beautiful city, rich with historic memories, which we are proud to claim as the birth- place of our Association. The program as prepared for this meeting appears to be one of unusual fulness, and I shall not detain you from it further than to present briefly to you some of the considerations which were present in the minds of your com- mittee in arranging it. Meeting under such circumstances of time and place, it is but natural thai we should re- call the founding of our Association, and trace the steps of its progress not merely for the sake of recalling pleasant recollections, nor that we may congratulate ourselves upon a cer- tain satisfactory measure of accomplishment, but \/i - that by considering what has been done we may better determine what would best be done in the immediate future, and shape our plans thereto, and that, realizing how much has been accomplished with comparatively slender means, we may look forward with courage and confi- dence upon a greater future. The American Library Association held its first meeting in the rooms of the Philadelphia Historical Society, where we were gathered to- gether again so pleasantly last evening. There were present 104 members, of whom 13 were women. These represented 1-6 states and the District of Columbia. The number of libraries represented was almost 100, and included school and college, proprietary, endowed, and public libraries. The Association was welcomed at its first session by John William Wallace^ president of the Society, in an address in which, after cor- dially greeting them and referring to the cir- cumstances that attended the meeting, he outlined with remarkable prescience those problems which librarians, both individually and in our Association, have since been striv- ing to solve. The papers read were upon such practical subjects as cataloging, indexing, bibliography, book sizes, copyright, the qualifications of the librarian and his relations to readers, and the still broader subject of the status of the library in the community. Before adjourning the Association effected a permanent organiza- tion, elected officers and appointed a committee on finance and one on co-operation; and in naming this last committee it indicated the means of progress and sounded the keynote of success. The second meeting of the Association was in connection with the English librarians in an international gathering in London, in 1877, which resulted in the formation of the Library Association of the United Kingdom. Since that time meetings have been held almost every year. They have been held at various points from the extreme east to the Pacific coast. The 112516 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Association has had upon its rolls since its f ormation over 1 5cc members, and the present membership is almost 800. It includes within its number library trustees, librarians, and those filling other positions in libraries, and some others, who, though not actively engaged in the work of the libraries, are interested in their success. All classes of libraries have con- tinued to be represented. Their essential unity of purpose has been recognized, and the special work of each fairly considered. The year in which our country celebrated the xooth anniversary of its independence marked a distinct epoch in its history. It began an era of progress in the arts and industries, in litera- ture and education, and it marked also a dis- tinct step forward and the beginning of a new era in the libraries of our country. The pro- gress of American libraries during the quarter of a century dating from a little before the centennial year, has consisted first of a wonder- ful increase both in the number of libraries in the country, and in the volume of books con- tained in them, and available for public use; and second, and scarcely less important, in an improvement of library methods, and the reduc- tion of library organization and administration to a system. The report of the United States Commissioner of Education for the year 1876 furnished for the first time statistics of the number of libraries in the country and of the books contained in them, and the successive reports of 1886, 1893, and 1896 enable us to measure their growth. As you all know there were in 1876, or just before, about 12,000,000 volumes in the libraries of the country. There are now over 33,000,000. That is, in 21 years, or a little more, the libraries of our country have increased nearly 200 per cent. , have almost trebled in volume. This growth has been due in part to large and generous gifts for the foundation and endowment of libraries, and even more to a wholesome growth of public appreciation of their value, practically expressed in the willingness of our citizens to tax them- selves for their support. These two instrumen- talities have given to many of our larger cities magnificently equipped libraries in which broad- minded and far-seeing citizens have erected for themselves monuments more enduring than marble. They have dotted the country here and there with smaller memorial libraries, and have largely increased the number of public libraries. During the same period noteworthy devel- opments and improvements of library methods have been carried forward. Although before the centennial year much good work was being done in many libraries, there was little attempt at mutual helpfulness, and each librarian did that which was right in his own eyes without the opportunity of availing himself of the expe- rience of others. The report of the Com- missioner of Education of 1876 gave not only statistics which I have already mentioned, but also published a series of papers by leaders of the library movement treating of the more im- portant questions of library management, and forming collectively a compendium of the sub- ject which was invaluable to the student of li- brary methods. The Library Association, with this as a basis, has continued this interchange of opinion, both at its meetings and through the pages of its of- ficial publication, the Library Journal, and has thus furnished a medium of communication by which the experience of each librarian and the advances and improvements which were made in each library were speedily placed at the ser- vice of all. The result of these years of earnest work is that a body of library knowledge has been formulated which is generally accepted. Library architecture, furniture, and appliances have been studied, and the conclusions are so accessible that the architect who chooses to avail himself of them may plan a building which will be pleasant to use, convenient, and eco- nomical to administer. Schemes of classification have been devised, comprehensive, yet easy to understand and apply. The principles of cata- loging have been studied, and definite rules for its practice prescribed. Formerly, the great catalog was the product of the broad scholar- ship and assiduous work of a master; a magnum opus into which he sometimes put his very life, and which became to him a monument. Now, it simply means trained work according to well- defined rules, producing a certain result; and, speaking broadly, we may say that an adequate catalog is within the reach of every library. Charging systems have been systematized, their principles defined, and the requisites of accu- racy and speed measurably attained. Helpful indexes have been devised, and by co-operation placed within the reach of all. Many practical helps to the estimation and selection of books have also been produced. The need of thorough BRETT. training for the work has been recognized by the establishment of library schools. I have thus briefly indicated the various branches of knowledge and practice which form the body of library science and art as it exists to-day. The practical result has been a marked increase in the efficiency of the library. Trustees and librarians, upon whom devolves the pleasant task of organizing a new library, to-day need not grope in the dark as would those of 25 years ago. They may accept a plan from the architect and feel certain that the building, when completed, will be a library building. They can choose intelligently from the various plans of shelving and show- ing books; they can decide upon plans of classi- fication and cataloging, and feel sure of the re- sult ; they can select a charging system with the certainty that it will work ; and what is of still greater importance, and would better have been placed at the beginning of this category, the trustees may secure at once the services of a competent librarian instead of experiment- ing with the raw material. There is no question but that this increased efficiency of library work has secured for li- braries a higher place in the public estimation, and has directed the attention of the gener- ous minded to them, and has thus been a powerful factor in promoting their extension and increase. This great work has been accomplished by generous and intelligent co-operation, and this co-operation has been mainly brought about through the American Library Association, which has been the bond of union and the means of communication. It is not too much to say that during all these years no important advance has been made in library plans, nor any valuable improvement in library methods and appliances, which was not first proposed by a member of the Association and discussed at its meetings, or in the pages of the Journal. This work of devising appliances, improv- ing methods, and perfecting organization, re- ceived the attention of those librarians who or- ganized the Association and carried it forward during those earlier years simply because it was the most pressing need. It was dictated to them by the circumstances. They gave their thought, their time, their work, ungrudgingly and unsparingly to the improvement of methods even in the most minor details, not as an end but as a means ; building a machine, no detail of which was insignificant, if it made the ma- chine any more perfect; creating an instrument which was to perform a great work. Great as was this task, however, it would be a mistake to suppose that it entirely absorbed the time and thought of the librarians, or that their in- terest was confined to the work which could be done within the walls of their libraries. From these earlier times, and increasingly to the present, efforts have been made to enlarge the scope of the work of the library, and to extend its beneficent influence outside of the walls which contain it. In the larger places the area of its influence has been enlarged, and the num- ber of people which it could reach increased by the establishment of branches and delivery stations, doing practically the same work of issuing books as the main library, and being in effect an attempt to take the library to those who cannot conveniently come to it. Travel- ling libraries bring books temporarily within the reach of such neighborhoods as are without them, with the view not only of supplying an immediate want, but of encouraging the estab- lishment of permanent libraries. All of this work, however, is simply carrying out the older library idea more fully, broadly, and generously. It brings many more good books within easy reach of many more people than ever before, but apparently leaves the choice of their reading in their own hands. The elements of guidance, supervision, direct instruction, are not apparently provided for. These do, however, enter into modern library work quietly and unobtrusively, but largely. The reader is guided in certain lines by the judgment of those who are forming the library and making it specially Tull on the lines which seem to them most useful to the particular com- munity, it is limited by their decision as to the fitness of particular books, and influenced also by the catalogs and indexes which are used. More than in any way, however, is the read- ing of a community moulded for good or for better, by the personal influence of those who have the pleasant duty of meeting those who use our libraries and helping them in the selection of their books. So far as this is done it introduces a new element into library work, making the library no longer a mere reservoir of knowledge, but more distinctly a teaching force. There can be no doubt as to the pro^ PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. priety and value of work in this direction, and no more important question can engage the attention of librarians than the means of doing this work fully, systematically, and efficiently. The future historian of the library move- ment, if he be disposed to generalization, may possibly characterize, as I have already suggested, the quarter of a century through which we have just passed as the period of or- ganization. While it is true that the growth of libraries during this period has been great, it is equally true that this is plainly an increasing growth ; that the movement is an accelerating one. The growth of the later years is greater than that of the earlier ones, and libraries are now increas- ing in number and in size more rapidly than ever before. It seems probable that we are entering upon an era of growth which will ex- ceed that of any previous time, and surpass even the hopes of the most sanguine ; that in the generalization of the same historian of whom I have spoken, the period upon which we are entering will be known as the era of library extension. This great work we can, as libra- rians, promote not only by bringing the work of the library to the highest possible state of efficiency, but also by taking all proper means of calling attention to its value, and letting its good work be known. A notable thing in the growth and develop- ment of the library is the spirit in which it has all been done. It seems natural to trace an analogy between human institutions and the in- dividual man. As we recognize in man the triune nature, body, mind and spirit, so in the institution we may see the trinity of material, method and motive. The library has its body of buildings, appliances and books ; its direct- ing intelligence in method and organization ; and its spirit of good will and helpfulness which calls it into existence and gives it vitality and value. This is the true library spirit. It is this which brings to libraries endowments and noble gifts and a generous public support. It is this which impels men and women to give their time, their thought, their effort, their very selves to the work. And it is only by an ap- peal to this same spirit in those who use the library that it can do its best work. It is a truism that an institution can only attain its fullest development and do its best work on lines consistent with its own genius. To an in- stitution founded as a library is upon generos- ity, and carried on in unselfishness, narrowing rules and hampering regulations are as foreign and repugnant as they are ineffective. The free library can only do its best work by trusting the people who use it, by appealing to their honor and unselfishness, by enlisting their sympathy and securing their help in its work. Our library system thus organized and thus increasing is doing a more definitely educa- tional work, is filling a larger place among those forces which make for uplifting and bet- tering social conditions. Among the most im- portant of these forces we recognize the school, the church, the journal. These years of growth of our libraries have also been years in which these institutions have been broadening their work. The school has been applying itself more definitely to the training of its pupils for productive and remunerative occupations, and for the performance of their civic duties. The church seems to be realizing more than ever before how important a part of its mission it is to save men from the evils of this world, to help them in its difficulties, and to increase the happiness and sweetness and joy of living this present life. The spirit and direction of the best journalism, the best authorship, and all the best institutional and individual work, is the same. The library is not only doing its own work in this direction, a work which no other institution can do, but it presents itself as the most effective helper to all other good work. As the progress and organization of libraries has been accomplished by a close and intelli- gent co-operation of libraries sharing in the movement, so in the larger work which lies be- fore us we may hope for the greatest results by a recognition of the oneness of purpose of all educational and social work, and a close and cordial co-operation on the part of all engaged in it. The library presents a common meeting ground and can do much to bring about such a co-operation. May I venture to take a moment or two more of your time to sum up briefly what I have al- ready said, and in so doing to indicate what appears to be the present status of the library movement ? The work of the past 25 years has effected a systematic library organization which, while it will be still further perfected C RUN DEN. and improved, leaves librarians much freer than formerly for the further extension and broader aspects of the library work. The ten- dency seems definitely towards freer methods, and the greatest hope for the usefulness of the library lies in that direction. We may hope for, and we may do much to promote, a great addi- tional increase of libraries. We are doing ten- tatively in various directions much definitely educational work, and in this as in all of the broader work which lies before the library in the future the road to success lies through co- operation, keeping our own organization com- pact and effective, and lining up together and uniting the efforts of all the forces which make for civilization. In the program of the meeting, from the con- sideration of which I will no longer detain you, in addition to the customary review of the pro- gress of the past year as contained in the re- ports of the officers and committees, we have recognized the need of continuing the discus- sion of library methods by providing certain sessions for the discussion of elementary prob- lems, and others devoted to the more difficult and advanced problems of library work. A meeting of the Trustees' Section has been arranged, which it is hoped will be largely at- tended, and will serve to identify more closely with the Association the members of the govern- ing bodies. We have given a considerable place upon the program to library architecture as exemplified by the plans proposed for the public library of the greatest city on the continent. We have also provided for the discussion of the advan- tages of the free library as compared with the proprietary, and at the request of the local com- mittee have set apart one evening for a popular consideration of the free library. We expect a report of great importance upon the connection of the American Library Asso- ciation with the National Educational Associa- tion, and have also devoted a portion of one session to the discussion of the work of the libraries directly for children. The Association will also have an opportunity to discuss some proposed changes in its own or- ganization, and to consider whether this can be rendered more effective for the purposes for which it is intended that is, to voice the col- lective opinion and carry out the purposes of li- brarians and to promote the interests of the work. While the program is thus an exceedingly full one, I believe it is possible by promptness to give due attention to each portion of it, and to this program I now invite your attention. WHAT OF THE FUTURE? ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE PUBLIC MEETING, TUESDAY, JUNE 22, BY FREDERICK M. CRUNDEN, LIBRARIAN ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY. 'T'HE present Victorian jubilee has naturally brought out a fresh crop of reminiscences comparing conditions at the beginning of the reign with those now existing. The most striking contrast between the two periods lies in the advances made in the material comforts of life improvements in lighting and heating, in locomotion and intercommunication. The progress of applied science has been so rapid that some of its most notable achievements have come within the memory of young persons still at school. Telephonic conversation be- tween New York and St. Louis is only a thing of yesterday; aerial navigation is evidently near at hand; and already daring scientists speak hopefully of electric communication with the planets. But it is not only in this line that the world has advanced. To note great changes in social customs, we need not go back to the last cen- tury. Sir Algernon West in a recent magazine article refers to the matter-of-course manner in which his chief was in the habit of announcing to the head clerk that he would not be at the office the following day, as he was to dine out that evening. As an indication of the social changes brought about in his lifetime, he quotes this significant sentence of Mr. Charles Villiers: PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. " In his young days," said Mr. Villiers, "every young man, even if he was busy, pretended to be idle; now every young man, even if he is idle, pretends to be busy." There is great im- port in this. When every member of society is usefully employed, our social problems will be well on the way to solution. To note progress in another direction we need not turn back to the acts of the I4th cen- tury, which made it a crime to give or receive more than the wretched wage fixed by law. At the beginning of the Victorian era boys and girls as young as six years worked in mines and factories longer hours than are now re- quired of strong men; and the masses of people were compelled to pay an artificially high price for their bread, in order to increase the un- earned wealth of the few. And in our own country we need not go back to the Salem witchcraft or the persecution of the Quakers. There are still eye-witnesses to tell us that men and women in this "land of the free " were lawfully sold like cattle or flogged to death at the will of their owners. It was a few months after Queen Victoria's acces- sion to the throne that Elijah Parish Lovejoy was killed for daring to say that human slavery was wrong for advocating, not forcible aboli- tion, but gradual emancipation as "the free, voluntary act of the master, performed from a conviction of its propriety." For maintaining his right to express his opinions on this or any other public question, he was driven from place to place and finally shot down in cold blood. In the city where 60 years ago he fell, a martyr to the cause of free speech, a stately monu- ment one of the most imposing in the country was the other day dedicated to his memory. No American better deserves a monument. No leader in the Revolution or the Civil War was a greater hero. In my opinion, the unques- tioned courage of the great Union commander is dwarfed and paled by the simple heroism of this young preacher-editor, who gave his life to a greater cause than even the preservation of che Union. Yet for some years after his death, in many cities of this country, it would have been hazardous for a man to utter .his eulogy. Here, then, is a marked advance. But we have not yet obtained entire freedom of speech on live topics. Was it not as late as last year that we heard of two librarians holding oppo- site political views, whose positions were ren- dered insecure by an unfortunate misadjust- ment of longitudes and political opinions ? And not many miles from here a score of good, earn- est men were jailed for advocating, disinterested- ly, and at considerable self-sacrifice, a method of taxation that did not meet the approval of the city authorities. Still we have made great progress toward a broad tolerance. We not only permit the practice of all religious forms, but we even allow a man to deny himself the consolations of religion in any form if he chooses to do so. In science, at least, there is absolute freedom of thought and expression. One may publish arguments to prove that the world is five thou- sand, or five hundred million years old, and no one will molest or denounce him; or he may an- nounce a new theory of the universe with our moon as the stationary centre, and no state or church will anathematize him or compel him to recant. It is not till he enters the field of poli- tics, i.e., the discussion of economic and socio- logical questions with a view to immediate practical results, that the advocate of new ideas reaches the danger-point. Here he finds vested interests self-styled " vested rights," but as often vested wrongs on guard and alert to repel intrusion and resist inquiry. These sum- mon to their aid the legions of unreasoning con- servatism; and the innovator is made to feel the truth of the saying that there is no pain so keen as the pain of a new idea from which, there- fore, mankind has always shrunk, as a child shrinks from the surgeon's knife. We have passed the period of rack and stake; but social and business ostracism are pretty effective, while occasionally there are suggestions of tar-buckets or bullets. For the most part, however, we content ourselves with denouncing the proposer of any marked departure from existing politi- cal or sociological conditions as a "socialist," a "communist," and an "anarchist," using these terms indiscriminately as abusive epithets without any definite knowledge of their mean- ing. From the beginning of time every social advance and until recently every forward step in science or religion has been regarded as menacing the very foundations of society. The Reform Act of 1832, which simply took the first step towards correcting the grossest politi- cal abuses, was looked upon by the Duke of Wellington and other good men as threatening the very existence of the kingdom. The condi- tion of affairs then existing, they considered, if CRUNDEN. not the best possible, at any rate vastly better than the political chaos that would be sure to result from change. Speaking on this blind conservative opposition to the Reform Bill, Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, said : " All that resistance to these natural changes can effect is to derange their operation, and make them act violently and mischievously in- stead of healthfully, or at least harmlessly. The old state of things is gone past recall, and all the efforts of all the tories cannot save it; but they may by their folly, as they did in France, get us a wild democracy or a military despotism in the room of it, instead of letting it change quiet- ly into what it is, merely a new modification of the old state. One would think that people who talk against change were literally as well as metaphorically blind, and really did not see that everything in themselves and around them is changing every hour by the necessary law of its being. " There is nothing so revolutionary, because there is nothing so unnatural and so convulsive to society, as the strain to keep things fixed, when all the world is, by the very law of its creation, in eternal progress; and the cause of all the evils of the world may be traced to that natural but most deadly error of human indo- lence and corruption that our business is to preserve and not to improve." In his retrospect of the Victorian reign, in the June Review of Re-views, W. T. Stead says: " It is to the stoutest conservatives of our time almost inconceivable that rational beings could ever have defended the system that pre- vailed in Britain sixty years ago." I am no more assured of the rising of to-mor- row's sun than I am that to the stoutest con- servatives of 1950, it will appear "almost in- conceivable that rational beings could ever have defended the system that prevails in America to-day." They will, however, resist further progress as doggedly as do the conservatives of to-day, even while these see plainly how absurd was the attitude of their predecessors of sixty years ago. Your genuine conservative ever holds doggedly to things as they are. He clings tenaciously and vainly. He belongs to a party whose defeat all history teaches is fore- doomed. Now he stands for the divine right of kings; and notwithstanding he is a man of ir- reproachable character and able, moreover, to show that he is much less autocratic than most of his predecessors, he loses his crown and his head. Again, he stands for the parent coun- try's unlimited power of taxation, and he for- feits his most flourishing colonies. At another period he urges long sufferance as a justifica- tion for continuing even extending the crime of slavery, and he meets defeat amid slaughter and devastation. No repetition of the lesson will ever teach him to consider what is abstractly right what ought to be without reference to what is. But the conservative has to be, in accordance with the law of nature, so poetically announced in the song of Willis in lolanthe : " That every boy and every gal That's born into this world alive, Is either a little Liberal, Or else a little Conservative ! " Or, as Emerson's prose expresses it "The two parties which divide the state the party of conservatism and that of innova- tion are very old and have disputed the pos- session of the world ever since it was made. This quarrel is the subject of civil history. The conservative party established the rev- erend hierarchies and monarchies of the most ancient world. The battle of patrician and plebeian, of parent state and colony, of old usage and accommodation to new facts, of the rich and the poor, reappears in all countries and times. . . . "There is always a certain meanness in the argument of conservatism, joined with a certain superiority in its fact. It affirms because it holds. Its fingers clutch the fact, and it will not open its eyes to see a better fact. The castle which conservatism is set to defend is the actual state of things, good or bad. The project of in- novation is the best possible state of things. Of course conservatism always has the worst of the argument, is always apologizing, pleading a necessity, pleading that to change would be to deteriorate. It must saddle itself with the mountainous load of the violence and the vice of society, must deny the possibility of good, deny ideas, and suspect and stone the prophets; while innovation is always in the right, trium- phant, attacking, and sure of final success." But though doomed to defeat, conservatism is not to be denounced or condemned. It is not without its uses. It often keeps us from following untried paths that open out alluringly but end in thickets or quagmires. A brake is 8 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. sometimes as necessary to safety as motive power is to progress. But the usual tendency of conservatism is to keep the brakes on all the time, causing either stagnation, retrogression, or a smashup. The real revolutionist is the rock-ribbed conservative. It is the boulder blocking the onward flow of the stream that causes the eddy and the whirlpool. Those who think on this subject and who really desire the improvement of society un- fortunately a very small class are divided over the question whether mankind shall pro- gress by the path of individualism or by that of collectivism. Extremists assure us that these paths go in opposite directions, or traverse each other at right angles. The truth is they run parallel ; and we have been travelling both, now advancing more on one and then on the other, towards the ultimate goal of human- ity the perfection of society through the ele- vation of the individual, the perfection of the individual through the improvement of society. Each helps the other ; neither can be indepen- dent of the other. It often happens that or- ganized society cannot await the slow process of individual perfection. It must accelerate the operation by changing standards and ideals. There is no telling how long it would have re- quired to convince each individual slave-owner of the wrong of human slavery, or each individ- ual mine and factory owner of the wickedness of child-labor. Society had to take the matter in hand and force individual development in one case by law, in the other by the sword. Many thoughtful persons are raising the ques- tion whether society has not more work of this kind ahead of it. There can be no individual perfection or progress under certain social con- ditions. Ceremonious politeness was not to be expected among the victims of the Black Hole of Calcutta. Starvation has often led to canni- balism among men who would shrink with hor- ror from the thought of it under ordinary conditions. Society can create conditions fa- vorable or unfavorable to the improvement of the individual. The inevitable outcome of the struggle be- tween indiyidualism and collectivism is the triumph of each in its own proper field. A line drawn from the past to the present shows the trend of the future. We find this embodying two distinct, and apparently con- tradictory, tendencies one towards greater individual freedom, the other towards a con- stant extension of the principle of co-operation, or collectivism. That is, organized society leaves ever greater freedom to the individual in all those things that concern only him, while at the same time it extends farther and farther its supervision and performance of those things that pertain to the welfare of all, and which society can do for the individual better than he can do for himself. A man may kiss his wife on Sunday without scandal or fear of prosecu- tion ; and he may dress in any manner he pleases within the bounds of convention, which is still an unreasoning tyrant. He is generally glad to avail himself of the more convenient water-supply provided by the community; but he may, if he wishes, have a well in his yard, until, with the growth of the city, this becomes a menace to his neighbors' health ; then it must be closed. He may still mould his own tallow candles and use no other light if he prefers ; but co-operation among consumers supplies him with a much superior illuminant ; and when this co-operation is extended to embrace all the citizens i.e., when gas or electricity is fur- nished by the municipality, the cost is reduced, and he becomes a partner in the profits. Of the benefits of municipal co-operation we had a signal illustration in the introduction of municipal sprinkling in St. Louis. Formerly, the occupant of a fifty-foot lot paid a private contractor from $6 to $12 a season, while he suffered from the dust blown from his neigh- bors' frontage and from unsprinkled streets all over the city. Now the owner of a fifty-foot lot pays about $i a year and enjoys sprinkled streets throughout the whole city. Municipal co-operation in libraries brings the same kind of benefits. The average well-to-do reader, in- stead of a five-dollar subscription fee, pays a dollar tax ; and for that not only he and his family, but also the families of his neighbors, have access to a superior library. And as it is almost as necessary for your comfort that your neighbor's frontage should be sprinkled as your own, so it is almost as important to you for your neighbor's children to have access to a li- brary as for your own. While social evolution tends to relieve the in- dividual of the compulsion of law, and also to lessen the pressure of public opinion, in those affairs that pertain only to his own life, correla- tively his action is more and more restricted in CRUNDEN. so far as it affects his neighbors and society in general though here, too, law and custom tend more and more to individual freedom. It was once regarded as a public scandal not to go to church ; and 50 years ago in St. Louis Uni- tarians were shunned as suspicious characters. But part passu with the growth of individual liberty has grown the recognition of the duty of society to see that all persons have equal liberty to protect the weak against the strong. Nothing in Victoria's reign has done more for the progress of England than the series of acts that have been passed to curb the greed of mine and factory owners, to prevent them from coin- ing the muscle and manhood of Britain into gold in a way that, at one period, threatened to exhaust the vitality of the race to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. The whole history of mankind is a continuous struggle of the weak and ignorant many to secure the rights withheld from them by the superior strength and cunning of the few. The oppression and injustice of the past are ap- parent to all ; but many of us, like the con- servative antagonists of Cobden and Bright, fail to see anything seriously wrong in the present ; and, like them, we fear change. But it is the part of wise men to welcome change as the natural order of the universe to see that it is a change for the better. It does not by any means follow that every new idea is a good one, that every proposed change would be an improvement. But as progress is the law of the universe, it rests with the old order to show why it should be continued. Wisdom, therefore, urges us to give careful consideration to new ideas, how- ever contrary they may be to prevalent opin- ions, bearing in mind the frequent lesson of history that "the stone which the builders re- jected, the same is become the head of the corner," and approaching all questions in the spirit of St. Paul's injunction: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." For all political and social problems, which are the burning questions of to-day, there is, it seems to me, a simple test in Herbert Spencer's " first prin- ciple " : " Every man may claim the fullest liber- ty to exercise his faculties compatible with the possession of like liberty by every other man." Legislation that does not square with the self- evident truth and justice of this dictum is bad legislation, and must prove maleficent to Jhe na- tion, state, or city that enacts it. I need not offer any modern instances. Reasoning in reverse order, i.e., from effect to cause, we may be sure that when we see in a country abounding in natural resources, as ours is, inhabited by the most intelligent, energetic, and resourceful people the world has ever seen when we see in such a country millions of willing workers in enforced idleness; when, to account for this idleness and its attendant want and destitution, we are offered the absurdity of " overproduction" of the very things for which millions are suffering; when we see men and women who toil not revelling in luxury, while others who labor sixteen hours a day are barely able to keep body and soul together, we may know absolutely, without further investigation, that there is something fundamentally wrong in our social organization. This is not the time or place to point out these wrongs specifically, or to advance, even in the most general terms, what, after much thought, I believe to be the remedies. I mere- ly urge the thoughtful study of social problems without bias or prejudice. This state of open- mindedness is not easy to achieve. We think that we think our own thoughts; but, as Tarde, the French psychologist, says: " What the in- dividual hypnotizer is to his sleeping and ab- normally plastic subject, such, almost precisely, is society to the waking and normally plastic man."* On the solution of social problems, Ibsen says: " There is only one thing that avails to revo- lutionize people's minds." This was a difficult task about so plain a matter as the Copernican system, which was opposed by the combined learning and piety of Europe. How much more difficult must it be when the change affects the every-day life of every individual ? As Nitti says: " Had the propositions of Euclid affected economic interests they would still appear a doubtful hypothesis of arduous solution." The public library is destined to play an im- portant part, to exercise an incalculable influ- ence in the solution of the social problems of to- day, and through this on the future of the nation and the race. The wisdom needed for this task is not to be obtained from schools or colleges, * " As, then, in philosophy the first step is to begin by doubting everything, so, in social philosophy, the first step is to throw aside all supposed absolute rights." JEVONS. 10 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. but from the higher education of mature minds the masses of the people which the public library alone can give. The preparation for this higher education of the masses devolves on the schools and colleges. Their curricula should be so arranged as to arouse " historic conscious- ness " in the youngest child, to awaken social conscionsness, and to provide for its continuous development by starting every boy and girl on a career of self-culture by matriculating every child in the People's University, the Public Li- brary. In affairs that concern society as a whole, it is better to trust the well-informed common-sense of the people than the learning of the schoolmen. It is not knowledge of mathematics or physics, or Greek and Latin, or modern languages; it is not the study aca- demic study of history, or philosophy, or even political economy, that will solve the great social problems that now confront us. These will help in various degress, directly or indi- rectly, some more, some less, some, perhaps, not at all. A knowledge of the general course of history is essential; some acquaintance with philosophy is useful; dogmatic theology serves only to confuse, but the true religion that lies in a vital acceptance of Christ's two command- ments as a summary of the law and the proph- ets that is the greatest aid of all. Such, however, is the influence of established order on men's minds that no investigation will avail without a determination to take nothing for granted, to re-examine what have been con- sidered basic principles, to accept no postulates that do not square with reason and justice. This cannot be done by confining our reading to the accepted standards of a generation or a cen- tury ago. We must keep abreast of the thought of the time; we must keep our eyes and ears, and still more our minds, open; we must scorn no aids to enlightenment; but we must do our own thinking ; we must consider the idea, not the source from which it came, remembering that good may come out of Nazareth; we must live up to the motto: " Truth for authority, not authority for truth," and we must "lend a hand." My faith in the efficacy of the education offered by the public library is not without foundation. In more than one case I have seen a course of lectures or the reading of a single book lead to a course of reading in economics and sociology, which has entirely changed points of view. New ideals, higher standards, have made new men with higher lines of action. Their natures have not been changed, but their visions have been clarified. One of the stock arguments which conserva- tism always brings out to give a final quietus to any proposal for social reform, is "Oh, that's impossible; you'd have to change human nature!" This mental attitude, which, I am sorry to say, is the prevailing one with the great majority of mankind, is admirably satir- ized in some verses which I had great pleasure in printing in the April number of the St. Louis Public Library Magazine : There was once a Neolithic Man, an enterprising wight, Who made his simple instruments unusually bright. Unusually clever he, unusually brave, And he sketched delightful mammoths on the border of his cave. To his Neolithic neighbors who were startled and sur- prised, Said he: " My friends, in course of time we shall be civilized ! We are going to live in cities and build churches and make laws ! We are going to eat three times a day without the natural cause ! We're going to turn life upside down about a thing called Gold ! We're going to want the earth, and take as much as we can hold ! We are going to wear a pile of stuff outside our proper skins ; We're going to have Diseases ! and Accomplishments ! ! and Sins ! ! ! Then they all rose up in fury against this boastful friend For prehistoric patience comes quickly to an end. Said one, " This is chimerical ! Utopian ! absurd ! " Said another, " What a stupid life ! Too dull, upon my word ! " Cried all, " Before such things can come, you idiotic child, You must alter Human Nature ! " and they all sat back and smiled ! Thought they, ''An answer to that last it will be hard to find ! " It was a clinching argument to the Neolithic Mind ! Yes, great progress and reform can be accom- plished without changing human nature. The elemental forces in the heart of man are the same now as in the earliest recorded ages, and they are likely to remain the same for all time to come. We cannot change the elements of man's nature; but by changing conditions we can improve the product of reaction. We can elevate conduct by elevating ideals. There was a time when the man who could wield the heaviest battle-axe was the greatest man; and there are still circles in which Corbett and Fitz- CRUNDEN. ii simmons are regarded as the greatest men of the present day. But the men who now excite most general admiration are our "captains of industry," the men who succeed in getting money and the luxury and power it commands. How shall we elevate our national ideals ? Selfishness is a mainspring of human action. A like motive, desire for happiness, sets men to fighting dogs and to founding hospitals. Nero found pleasure in one way, Marcus Aurelius in another. Charles I. and Louis xvi. were not bad men ; but they were controlled by out- grown standards. Elizabeth^ Napoleon, Peter, and Catherine of Russia sought their own pleasure in accordance with their personal char- acters and the standards of their times. But how much higher and purer pleasure the devotion of their talents to the service of their fellow- men brought to Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, Cobden, Bright and Gladstone and John Pounds ! False standards, low ideals, now lead many good men to find their pleasure, not in cruelty, not in sensuality, but in the accumulation of wealth, partly for the luxury, chiefly for the power it brings. " Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer." With the spread of intelligence and thought, and the consequent elevation of popular ideals, men possessed of millions will not seek to add to their large legitimate gains by legalized rob- bery from their fellow - citizens ; and people calling themselves Christians will not rejoice in the distress and starvation of their fellow-men across the ocean. Men will still be selfish ; but the conflict of selfishness will at least be on a higher plane less intense, less destructive of essential rights. How shall we most speedily bring about this desired consummation ? By what agency can we most effectively elevate our national ideals ? By extending and improving our system of popular education, by reversing the usual order and beginning where school curricula now end, by placing our school-children from their ear- liest years into close and familiar contact with the life and thought of the race as expressed in literature, by exciting in every child admiration and emulation of the world's true heroes, by feeding the imagination and cultivating the moral faculties, by putting every child into the way of acquiring a social and a historic per- spective. I suppose I am one of those simple-minded, visionary optimists of whom Prof. Royce speaks. But I do not " dislike " economic facts in the sense of ignoring them, and I am not blind to the persistence of the elemental forces of human nature. But as the abolition of slavery changed men's mental attitude towards this social crime, without at all changing human nature, jnst so I believe that the adoption of other social reforms would in a generation cause all men to look with horror and wonder upon social injustice that nearly every one now ignores or regards as irremediable and inevitable. I share Ruskin's scorn of the word "Utopian." "A thing is either possible or impossible." As Carlyle says, " The actual final rights of man lie in the far deeps of the ideal. Every noble work is at first impossible." In the A. L. A. we have heard the word " Utopian," or its equivalent, on more than one occasion met by the motto, "Hitch your wagon to a star"; and we have seen the impracticable an accomplished fact. If time permitted I might risk ridicule by presenting some features of the vision that I see with the eye of faith in an all-wise and all- powerful Creator and belief in human perfecti- bility as an infinite progress. " Die Zukunft decket Schmerzen und Glucke Schrittweis dem Blicke ; Doch ungeschrecket, Dringen wir vorwarts." " New occasions teach new duties ; Time makes ancient good uncouth ! They must upward still and onward Who would keep abreast with truth." 12 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. THE LIBRARIAN AND THE IMPORTER. BY ERNST LEMCKE, OF LEMCKE & BUECHNER, IMPORTERS, NEW YORK. T RISE to address you, not without a certain ^ feeling of embarrassment, for every man, in Lowell's phrase, is more or less consciously the prisoner of his date ; I may add of his native country, and last but not least, of his profession. It is never wise to eliminate the personal equation entirely from things which concern us, nor do I pretend to speak for any one but myself ; but I would not be understood as making an oratio pro domo when my aim is to voice, as far as it is possible, what I at least assume to be the opinion and experiences of my confreres as well as of myself. My subject being the Librarian and the Im- porter, I need not dwell on the former in this company, composed in overwhelming numbers of librarians who, as a class, devote more time to introspection than does any other pro- fession unless, perhaps, it be to state that the librarian, as a bookbuyer, and the importer, as a bookseller, are opposite, but not necessarily antagonistic poles. The true equator in the shape of discounts is, or might be, somewhere midway between them. If the bookseller could halve the publisher's discounts and the libra- rian be satisfied, chiliasm would be at hand and some on my side of the true divisional line would be enabled to found or endow libraries. How far we are from such a state of affairs you and I know only too well. It is not so generally known what the im- porter is, or aims to be ; namely, your home bookseller, or in Dr. Billings's definition, "a bookseller pure and simple, as all booksellers are supposed to be," doubled with the foreign agent, or several of them, your shipping agent, insurance and customs-house broker, and your banker, all in one. Perhaps Dr. Billings would define the importer as the bookseller impure and double. He really is, in Mr. W. E. Foster's happy phrase, on both sides of the Atlantic at the same time. If you count up singly all the commissions these several intermediaries neces- sarily charge you, you will come to the conclu- sion that the importer saves you much work and much time and much money, and is really your best friend. The importer aims to be the "ideal book- seller" recently referred to in many news- paper discussions on the " Decay of the book- seller." He is what M. Le Soudier, of Paris, in his official report on books and printing in the United States, describes him to be, from actual observation: "Among the retail book- sellers we should name the ' importers,' who are, at the same time, the most important re- tailers of American books. They are the ones who, from a profound knowledge of the trade, give librarians and private customers most varied information on books in general, which the American retailer would find it impossible to give. They study catalogs and circulars and file them methodically. Certain houses, for their own use, keep a card catalog (of American books) so that it is always up to date." Thus far M. Le Soudier. This seems a large contract to take in this time of specialization. But the harder the marble the finer the statue which is chiselled from it. Man grows with his higher aims ; the more you tax your memory, the better work will it do. The question, how to cover so wide a field successfully, is reduced to one of or- ganization. The range of the information asked of the importer in his daily correspond- ence covers the length and breadth of the whole field of human activity as reflected in the printed book, from a grammar of the lan- guage of the Society Islands, or the edition of Ossian in English, published by subscription in Germany, with Goethe and his friend Merck as publishers, some 120 years ago you see that blight of the book trade, subscription- books, is not so new a thing down to lists of the best Bohemian and Polish books, Boni- face book sixth, a treatise on horseless car- riages, or a history of the second person dualis of the lost second aorist of a defective Greek irregular verb. The ideal head of a large importing firm should be, in the first place, a man of busi- ness training and ability, with a sufficiently large capital for every emergency; he should be just as much, what librarians hate to be LEMCKE. called, a " walking cyclopaedia." This he can- not be, any more than the librarian, but he must have learned what German universities aim to teach the knowledge how to learn. His professional library is as extensive and as ex- pensive as that of any one in the learned pro- fessions. How to use it to advantage is his accomplishment. It has been my privilege to assist trained bibliographers and catalogers, and in two minutes to lay before them the informa- tion they had vainly searched for in the largest libraries. The ideal bookseller, it seems tome, is born, not made. Some of the brightest men I have employed never learned the finer points of our art. The departments of the importer's business are periodicals and books. Periodicals, again, are divided into American and foreign. The American part is profitless. For a very small commission the importer supplies American periodicals in a manner satisfactory to libra- rians who want complete files with titles and in- dex. With the cheap agencies that do not pre- tend to do more than book the order with the publisher, he does not wish to compete, but what he agrees to do he carries out, and tries to give satisfaction. To foreign periodicals the importer pays spe- cial attention. As against importation by mail direct, which is more expensive and naturally risky, losses being unavoidable, the importer's method of importation in bales offers great ad- vantages. Whoever has seen the New York post-office when three or four foreign steamers dump their tons of printed matter into it, must become convinced that a great portion of it never can, and never does, reach its destina- tion. The covers and addresses, especially of French periodicals, are torn off in transit. The post-office, in one day, while we used to import by mail ourselves, often sent up a dozen de- tached addresses and requested identification of the contents. In the room where the coverless papers are stored the mass is bewildering and identification is impossible. Except when spe- cially ordered by mail, all foreign periodicals come in weekly bales from London, Paris, and Leipzig, forwarded by special arrangement, in the mail-room of the fleetest steamers afloat. A cabled bill of lading serves to make a so- called " tropical fruit entry," so that these bales are delivered the moment the steamer makes fast, usually earlier than letters can be sorted and delivered. All papers are sent flat, in per- fect shape for ultimate binding, recorded, and re-mailed in New York. Complete files are thus insured. Notwithstanding the expense of this mode of importation, prices are made lower than mail-copies cost. Losses are prevented so far as human care permits. If a steamer found- ers, all of course is lost, but the importer knows what his bale contained, and duplication is or- dered by cable. Many a number, especially of French, and scientific journals generally, can- not be bought separately, but a firm that has a reputation to lose does not shrink from buying afresh a whole year's issue to replace one single number. When the German steamer Elbe went down a couple of years ago in the German Ocean, not a single one of our subscribers was left with a broken file. The foreign agents, the publishers them- selves, cannot furnish German and English periodicals at as low rates as bulk importation enables the New York importer to charge. The case is in so far different with French journals, as the prices which you see printed on the cov- ers are absolutely net prices, for private sub- scribers, libraries, and the trade alike. The im- porter receiving his bales by the most expensive of all, the French line from Havre, cannot pay out of the half franc allowance on a 2o-franc magazine the cost of insurance, freight, packing, cable invoice, handling, and United States bulk rate postage. A library preferring to be its own importer can, seemingly, save a few cents by subscribing direct at the publisher's. Few count the annoyance and minor expenses of doing so, but are promptly undeceived when the first loss in the mails occur. Some foreign agents induce American libraries to subscribe through them to French periodicals, and quote low prices, but render extra bills for postage. In examining such an account, I found that a certain library withdrew its order from the New York importer who charged $6.50 for a paper which the foreign agent offered for $6, but he rendered a separate bill of $i for postage. Be- sides, his service was four weeks behind in time. The correspondence with librarians and boards of trustees about the prices of French periodicals is one of the most unpleasant parts of the importer's business. Every tub must stand on its own bottom, and French or other net magazines cannot be supplied at a loss. A fair price must be charged for competent and PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. satisfactory work. The net price system be- gins to crop up largely in the newspaper field, and the quotation of general rates becomes im- possible. It is very evident that the New York importer cannot be expected to deliver at Chi- cago or San Francisco for $2. 50 a lo-shilling net newspaper, when the average expense of import- ing periodicals comes very near 20 per cent, of the actual outlay. The book departments are the American and the foreign. About the former you heard last year. The importer is not above furnishing the " Bessie books " or " Poor old Roe," or any current novel. The foreign book department is subdivided by countries. A large importer has his branches or his own clerks in London, Paris, or Leipzig. Orders are promptly ac- knowledged from the New York office, and go out by every mail steamer to be filled imme- diately. This makes cancellation, except by cable, impossible. The books come by the fleetest steamers afloat; naturally, also, the most expensive. Further subdivisions are: new books, second-hand books, and serials. Lists are kept of every book coming out in parts; every bibliography is scrutinized to reclaim parts which publishers may overlook sending on standing orders. The book orders go to South and Central America, the Hawaiian Isl- ands, Cape Colony, Australia, Syria, Egypt, and the Indies. With prominent publishing houses everywhere open accounts are kept. This knowledge of, practically, the book-marts of the whole world, gives the importer great ad- vantages, of which he invites the librarian to avail himself. In these days of the breaking down of national boundary lines and of increased international intercourse, even smaller libra- ries have calls for foreign books, and to-day there is an added force in the truth of Dr. Cogs- well's statement, made nearly 40 years ago, when he said : "In collecting books for a library which aims to be a good and great one, the proper question is, What is the merit of a work, not, In what language is it written?" Sucfh knowledge is especially valuable in pro- curing sets of periodicals and serials. An American magazine may often be bought cheap- er in England or Germany than here, and -vice- versa. The foreign dealer knows that the New York importer is well posted as to current prices, and for ready cash prefers to sell to him cheaper than to a travelling librarian, or to a house that comes into the market to try an experiment or fill an occasional order once in a while. The importer employs binderies specially trained for library work, and with large orders and ready cash commands the lowest terms. Work of any description can be done, from a buckram to an extra Turkey morocco gilt-top binding, at low prices. In binding recently some later issues of a French author, I found that my charge for binding in Paris, after a sample furnished, was 50 per cent, cheaper than the price of the foreign agents who had supplied the earlier volumes. Sample bind- ings are kept of all unfinished or serial publica- tions. Rare and out of print books are constantly kept in view on card lists. Advertisements in the several trade organs are tried and lists of desiderata circulated. If unlimited time is given, good bargains can usually be made. One may advertise for a book a whole year without result ; in the first month thereafter several copies may be offered. The importer compiles and edits, often at great expense, catalogs and bulletins, and is gratified to find that his efforts are appreciated. Altogether, the business of the importer is more laborious and painstaking than that of the ordinary bookseller. Every librarian has some idea of the cost of American books, but few orders for foreign books, except from the lar- gest libraries, come without preliminary corre- spondence, which takes up much time. The looking up of data, especially when garbled titles and wrongly-spelled names are given, can seldom be entrusted to clerks. Much ingenuity and book-knowledge are required to correct such mistakes. These are especially annoying when estimates are required before an order is placed. Whenever the librarian has correct and full information as to surname, Christian name, title, and above all, date of publication, he should not fail to give it. The Duponts and Durands, the Meyers and Schultzes, in French and German, are as plentiful as the Browns and Smiths in English, and may take the better part of a day to be traced. The librarian has no idea how his memory is blessed if his letter comes in such shape that it can be used for the necessary notes, with plenty of margin, a line for each title, so that a clean copy can be made from it. It is more easy to fill an order than to make a LEMCKE. correct estimate, especially for American books, as the discounts of publishers, both here and abroad, vary more and more. "Net" books multiply. The dealer who overlooks the dia- critical marks, stars and daggers, in the pub- lishers' catalogs, and ventures on quoting a general discount for a long list, may secure the order as against him who works conscientiously, and with fuller knowledge of facts does not promise a third off on books which the publisher sells with a fifth at best. But the former will either lose money or have to report many " shorts," while the latter can make good his bid. As a general rule, libraries which order with- out previous estimate buy more cheaply. The dealer saves much time and can and does give a liberal customer liberal terms and his full share of extra benefits and bargains. Our ar- rangements with our best friends are such that they can verify prices easily from publishers' lists, librarians reading stars and daggers as readily as booksellers; and this holds good for American as well as for foreign books. The genesis of an estimate for a government library was recently told from my actual ex- perience in the pages of The Publishers' Weekly, so that I need not detain you here with its repetition. Prices and general terms depend upon cir- cumstances. While Dr. Cogswell's remark of 40 years ago, anent the opening of the Astor Library, that it is a real degradation of books to value them by dollars and cents, may be true, even from the librarian's standpoint, no one should pay more than a book is worth in open market, and the dealer who overcharges kills the hen that lays the golden egg which is, at best, a silver egg nowadays. Yet, the craze for cheapness has gone as far as, or perhaps farther than, it should. I know of two once prosperous firms that have failed because they sold too many books to li- braries. In England and Germany also the rage for cheapness is hastening the book trade into bankruptcy. But it is a fact that the Amer- ican library, through the New York importer, buys European books cheaper than does the British Museum, the Royal Library of Berlin, or the Paris National Library. Competition on the one side, and the size of orders on the other, have brought about this state of affairs. But the size of an order has something to do with the rate applied. An occasional order cannot and usually is not expected to 'be filled by fair-minded librarians at rates which pay a small profit only if the order is of consider- able amount. We have been told by two Presi- dents of the United States that cheapness is the cause of all evil, that the demand for a cheap coat involves a cheaper man and woman in the coat, that cheap and nasty go together, and that the cry for cheapness is un-American. The cheapness of the department stores is fast becoming a political issue, and I must say it is enough to sicken the lover of literature to see the books of our most aristocratic publishers which the legitimate dealer buys with one-third or two-fifths off, slaughtered on the bargain- counters at five cents on the dollar. It certain- ly does not seem the right thing for large li- braries to cut estimates into two, four, or ten different orders, and to merely order the cheap- est single books from one firm which, in the aggregate, may have quoted the lowest figure. Let me ask you, ladies and gentlemen, how you would like the idea of our public libraries ad- vertising for bids for the lowest-priced librarian or assistant ? There are times when the libra- rian needs the bookseller who, in turn, is the means of saving the librarian's time and money, and, generally speaking, is satisfied with profits, which in any other calling, requiring a large capital, broad culture and accomplishments in ancient and modern languages, would be scorned as beggarly. As Dr. Billings puts it "The librarian cannot do his work without the aid of the bookseller, but the bookseller can get along very well without the patronage of the librarian. The bookseller knows, or should know, all that the average librarian knows and a number of things besides ; for example, how to make money, which no libra- rian knows much about." But Dr. Billings for- gets to say how well the librarian knows how to prevent the bookseller from profiting by his, in this one respect, supposed superior knowledge. It remains to touch upon the importer's rela- tion with publishers with whom he must needs keep on good terms. He must shoulder losses for returns of duplicates ordered by mistake, which he cannot refuse to a library, while some publishers are very unaccommodating to the bookseller. The publisher should refrain from undersell- ing the dealer. Some publishers are more i6 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. liberal than others and recognize the value of the retailer, the great German firms declining orders from private buyers, and at least one London firm, that of Fisher Unvvin, which I take pleasure in naming, prints on its lists the notice that on application he will furnish the address of the dealer through whom his books can be had. There are others not so disposed. The New York importer, as against the foreign agent for American libraries, is a theme which it would not be becoming in me to en- large upon. Most of you have made your own experiments, but I may say this much, that ac- counts which I have examined, professedly showing foreign net prices with a good com- mission added and all expenses charged to the American library, displayed a great elasticity of discounts. The American importer whom you meet socially and whose character you know, would find such policy ruinous to his business. Mr. Andrews, some years ago, pub- lished his experiences as to the advantages of the New York importer over the foreign agent, with chapter and verse, in the Library Journal, so that I need not go into particulars here. The importer does close figuring in the inter- ests of his library clients to supply the cheaper edition, if there is an American edition in the market, as compared with a London edition im- ported free of duty. His services give to libra- ries the advantages of greater promptness; one single account with one responsible firm within easy reach for correspondence for all purchases, returns, claims, and remittances; prompt ac- knowledgment of all orders ; and the possi- bility of examining new foreign books before purchasing. I claim, naturally, also lower terms. There is one more thing to mention. I be- lieve we shall never attain that state of perfect bliss when Mr. Charles A. Dana's proposition of " Cash down and higher prices," made to the paper-makers at a recent banquet in New York, will have application to librarian and importer. But such terms would not be unreasonable. If I send an order abroad to-day the cash to pay for it must be ready in my European offices, laid down there 60 days ago. The books are bound and the binder expects cash. All ex- penses, packing, freight, insurance, customs brokerage are cash. My clerk-hire and store rent are cash. Yet, it is on an average four to six months before the check for the bill comes back to me, involving a loss of two per cent, or three per cent, interest on so much money. Even for periodical subscriptions, which are invariably paid cash in advance, a couple of months' interest is in most cases lost, and often more. Still, the New York importer is anxious for your trade, small as the profits are, for there is little or none of the element of risk connected with most other business transac- tions, and it flatters his pride to supply large or small libraries and many of them. Let me conclude with Mr. Shaylor's remarks from an article in the December Nineteenth Cen- tury of last year: " I am fully convinced that the bookseller who has a well-informed mind and one always capable of development, who takes an interest in his trade because he loves books, and who has business capabilities worthy of his trade, is bound to make more than a bare living. He will not now, probably, leave a fortune behind him, but he will have the satisfaction of being associated wuth the greatest minds of his age, as well as with that distinguishing characteris- tic of a nation's intelligence its literature. Booksellers may console themselves by being classed with those who follow literature as a profession, and of whom Froude has said, ' It happens to be the only occupation in which wages are not given in proportion to the good- ness of the work done.'" Mr. Froude might just as truthfully have said instead of litte"ra- teurs, the Librarian and the Importer. HUTCH INS. LOCAL SUPERVISION OF TRAVELLING LIBRARIES. BY F. A. HUTCHINS, SECRETARY OF THE WISCONSIN FREE LIBRARY COMMISSION. '"THE travelling libraries in Wisconsin have been managed somewhat differently from others of their kind, and while the peculiar characteristics came by force of circumstances and not from design, it is worth the while to note the peculiarities and some advantages ar- ising from them. To understand them it will be necessary to describe briefly the origin and de- velopment of the libraries. There are now six systems of travelling libra- ries in Wisconsin, and each has a large library as a centre. All but one of these systems con- fines its work to a county. The pioneer system was established by Hon. J. H. Stout in Dunn county, and has been the pattern for all. Dunn county is in the north- western part of the state, and while the first clearing within its limits was made about fifty years ago, large parts of it have been cleared and settled within the last twenty years. It contains two-thirds as many square miles as Rhode Island, and has but 22,000 inhabitants, of whom 7000 live in Menomonie, which is the county town. There is one hamlet of about 400 inhabitants and another of 300, but most of the country people are farmers. In a few town- ships the farmers are fairly well-to-do, in a few they are struggling with a poor soil, and in others they are working out excellent farms on land that has been covered with very heavy timber. There are many Germans and Nor- wegians, but the American spirit is dominant, and the country schools are among the best in the state. Nearly every school has a library of from 10 to 40 volumes. The hamlets have school libraries of from 50 to 200 volumes. Many of the books, however, are somewhat difficult for the children, and the young people who do not attend school and the older people use the school libraries but little. Most of the county is quite hilly, and the farms frequently follow the streams in the valleys. Many of the travelling library sta- tions are not readily accessible to more than 15 or 20 families. There are two railroads running east and west through the county, and one reaching Menomonie from the south, but the most of the post-offices get their mail from stages. Mr. Stout is a trustee of an excellent library in Menomonie, which is maintained by a family who are his friends. Its books are free to all resi- dents of the county. The librarian is not only intelligent, enthusiastic, and well-trained in her profession, but she has a very wide acquaint- ance in the county. Mr. Stout announced his plans for the travelling libraries in January, 1896, and sent out the first 16 in the following May. In March, 1897, he had 37 libraries and 34 travelling library stations. Three of the li- braries have been kept in Menomonie for con- venience in exchanging and repairing books. The first libraries contained 30 volumes each, and included only 10 for children on account of the number of school libraries. The demand from children and people who had read English but little was so great, however, that 10 quite simple juvenile books were added to each li- brary. A large proportion of the latter were volumes upon American history and biography. Of the 34 stations, 22 are in farm-houses, nine in post-offices, two in country stores, and one in a railway station. Two of the post-offices are in small stores and the others are in farm- houses. 26, then, or about two-thirds, are in farm houses, but nearly all are in or near post- offices, and therefore convenient for the people of their neighborhoods. The first 20 libraries sent out were returned to the central library after a summer's use, and showed a total of 732 borrowers and a circulation of 3257. The largest numberx>f borrowers at a station was 76, and the smallest 25. The largest circulation was 272 and the smallest 73. The average circulation at a station was 163. The librarians reported that many of the popular books were read by from two to five persons each time they were drawn, and that in the more remote neighborhoods the books of the library fur- nished much of the material for the common conversation. The statistics for the winter's work are not yet available, but the reports at hand show that the average circulation at the stations increased about 50 per cent. Each sta- i8 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. tion has been supplied with children's periodi- cals, popular magazines, and recent reports of state agricultural societies, but statistics of the circulation of such extra literature are not kept, as the librarians are not paid, and their work is made as light as possible. These facts have been given to show how isolated are the neighborhoods which are cov- ered, how sparse is their population, and how small is the chance for choice in getting libra- rians. The great success of the libraries, and the continuing local enthusiasm in their work, suggests a positive merit in the plan upon which they were founded as applied to such con- ditions. Following Mr. Stout's original plan, the books of the libraries were selected, and the details of the general scheme were worked out, by the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. An officer of the commission made a careful can- vass of the county before the books were bought, and studied the local conditions. He has also visited nearly all the stations, and a number of them twice, since the books were sent out. The commission has also sent the local libra- rians all the circulars of information which it has published, and has treated them as members of the profession. Mr. Stout has found many ways of interesting the leading people of the county in the work, but most of the details have been left in the hands of Miss Stella Lu- cas, the librarian at Menomonie. She has visit- ed the stations and has met the librarians and the readers constantly in her home library, and has interested the local editors, the teachers, and all classes of citizens. She has arranged two librarians' institutes at Menomonie. These were attended by the officers of the state com- mission, and by the county superintendent of schools. At one institute a joint session was held with a teachers' institute. The weather on both occasions was very unfavorable, but the attendance was fair, and the meetings aroused great interest in all parts of the county. The country librarians who attended these meetings were as eager and intent to catch every helpful suggestion as any of their comrades at the state meetings. Their spirit and enthusiasm were a revelation, and inspire hope for great things in the future. The inspiration for this spirit is found largely in the local supervision. The state supervision gives the opportunity to get the best of the experience of other libraries, but no state system can give the benefits grow- ing from local supervision and direct personal contact. In the second system established on a similar plan, that founded by Mr. J. D. Witter in Wood county, there have been similar results. Wood county is one of the least advanced educationally in the state. It has nearly as large a population as Dunn county. Mr. Witter has sent out 27 li- braries. The most remarkable result in the latter case has been the great improvement at the central library. The aggressive missionary spirit of the travelling library movement has seized upon the library trustees and the teach- ers. The central library has nearly doubled its circulation in the last eight months and is using a much better class of books. The officers of the commission expect soon to hold a librarian's institute in the county, and hope for much good as a result of the increasing enthusiasm. This local supervision in Wisconsin grew from circumstances. Our plan of work for the state as a whole is not yet made. Our present problem is this Can we cover the state and still save the great advantages flowing from this local supervision and local interest? The excuse for this paper is that the problem which confronts us will soon confront many of you. FAIRCHILD. METHODS OF CHILDREN'S LIBRARY WORK AS DETERMINED BY THE NEEDS OF THE CHILDREN. I. BY EDWIN MILTON FAIRCHILD, OF THE EDUCATIONAL CHURCH BOARD, ALBANY, N. Y. T TNLESS the light which such institutions as Clark University are now shedding on the philosophy of education produces mirage effects in the distant scenes of the library world, it will sometime appear distinctly visible to many, not simply that a free public library is an essential part of each city's complete educational effort, but that A public libraries system, as complete in its activities as is the public schools system, needs to be established in each city, in order that the educational effects which effort through libraries is capable of producing may actually be secured. This complete city libraries system will include, probably, (i) the central adult li- brary, (2) branch adult libraries, (3) children's neighborhood libraries, (4) home libraries, (5) school libraries, and (6) travelling libraries. A librarian in a city not far from Troy, N. Y., has devised a scheme by which he avoids a per- sonal encounter with those high in authority, and yet prevents the members of the families of the trustees from getting to the shelves and spoiling the orderly arrangement of the books. Whenever books are to be rebound, in- stead of having the titles of the books printed on the new backs, the binder is instructed to print upon the back of each book the name of the library and the call number of the book. The time approaches when each book will bear the title "Free Public Library of ." This shrewd librarian keepeth the catalog carefully in his possession, and the members of the fami- lies of the trustees find themselves unable to discover the old set of Dickens with its new binding and its strange title, "Free Public Library of ," save as they first inquire its whereabouts of the librarian, who considers it his function to see that the books are properly arranged upon the shelves, and carefully kept, each in its assigned place. Many and many a library is a suggestion of an educational insti- tution simply because the dead pages of the books flash forth the intelligence of those who wrote them ; for its librarian no more deserves to be called an educator than does the man who sells you your railroad ticket or the woman who offers you a newspaper at her stand. But these guardians of the book do not belong to the A. L. A. ; their work is not professional. They are earning a living, such as it is, and society has little use for them and less need. Those worthy of honor are the librarians who not only know books and how to arrange books convenient to the hands of the readers, but those who know how to use books for the enrichment and enlargement of the life of their communities. One reads with something of surprise the definition of a librarian given in the up-to-date " Century dictionary" ; " The keeper or custodian of a li- brary; one who has charge of the books and other contents of a library." When the A. L. A. adopted its present motto, "The best read- ing for the largest number at the least cost," a desire for library extension had taken pos- session, and a large circulation was the proof of efficiency. In view of this fact, the " Century dictionary " should have added to its two defini- tions of the librarians, (i) the copyist of mss. and (2) the keeper of a library, a third definition, viz., (3) "one who has charge of the administra- tion of a library and the circulation of its books among the people." But unless the distant scene suffers mirage enlargement in the light of the philosophy of education which such institu- tions as Clark University are now shedding, not only will the city library become the city libra- ries system, but the advance movement already begun by educational librarians will result in making obsolete this suggested definition of a librarian. The science of pedagogics will soon include the questions involved in the subject of library methods. The library schools will fur- nish a course in library pedagogics. The term " librarian " will be applicable only to those who know how to so administer a library as to make its books of greatest educational "value. These edu- cational librarians bring to their librarianship the knowledge and skill that result from read- ing the philosophy of education, and enduring a practice discipline similar to that now given our teachers. One who is not interested in the theories that PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. lie at the foundation of every organized edu- cational effort, but demands something " prac- tical," in ignorance of the fact that theories are the most practical things in existence, will find little of interest presented in this paper. This paper deals chiefly in theory and plan, because when the educational librarian attacks the sub- ject of children's library work, he does not be- gin by asking, What can my library do for the children ? His question is, From the stand- point of sociology, what do the children need ? And this question he settles from his psycholo- gy. Then he asks himself the question, What are the best methods of doing for the children what they need ? and this question he settles from his library pedagogics. Finally he asks the practical question, How shall I succeed in getting my library to do this needed work ? The educational librarian must discover what this human life which he seeks to enrich and enlarge really is What laws govern its growth ? What laws govern the action of one psychic unit upon another? What methods of education are wise in view of these laws of psychic action ? What are the special ends to be secured by the library, when the library is placed in its appropriate position among the educational institutions, the schools, colleges, and churches ? What, theoretically, are the li- brary methods calculated to secure the desired results ? Methods that are theoretically cor- rect must be put to experimental tests. The point of view of this paper is that the city library is to expand into the city libraries sys- tem; the term librarian is to be applicable only to those who have the spirit of the educator, and are thoroughly equipped for their work by a college training, and probably by a three years' professional training, in which is included a thorough course in library pedagogics ; the methods of library work are to be scientifically determined, the ends to be gained being defined by a sociology that takes its start in psychol- ogy. It is to those who have the spirit of the edu. cational librarian that I wish to speak, and it is their questions as to the proper educational methods of children's library work that I wish to discuss. This long introduction to the subject on which I am to speak with definiteness has seemed to me necessary in order that the point of view from which this paper is written may appear. At present, aside from the school libraries, there are six kinds of children's libraries : 1. That represented by the New York Free Circulating Library, in which the children are served with the adults. 2. That by the Utica Public Library, in which the juvenile literature is given a special set of shelves. 3. That by the Pratt Institute Free Library, in which the children have a separate room opening out of the room for adults. 4. That by the Detroit Public Library, in which the children have a room entirely sepa- rate from the part of the building devoted to adults and have access to their room through a separate entrance. 5. That by the Neighborhood Guild Library in the University Settlement, 26 Delancey street, New York City, in which the work is exclusive- ly for children, and considerable effort is made to furnish reading supplementary to the school work. 6. That by the Children's Neighborhood Li- brary, of Troy, N. Y., in which the effort is directed exclusively to enriching and enlarging the life of the children through inspirational literature, the school supplementary reading being excluded for psychological reasons. I have been able to make a personal study of the children's library work done in New York City and in Brooklyn. As a result of two years' experience came the formulation of the plans for the Children's Neighborhood Library, of Troy a library which was the outgrowth of my de- sire to make a children's library ethically inspir- ing. The plans of that library reflect the con- clusions to which I have come in many matters of detail on which it will not be possible to touch in this paper, and those who have the least desire to know my judgment in these matters are referred to the librarian of the Children's Neighborhood Library in Troy, N. Y. But so far as scientific determination of the proper educational methods of conducting the library work for children is concerned, nothing could be more serious than to make the mis- take of starting from a consideration of the library work already being done. The library work already being done is determined in its methods by the peculiar exigencies of the situa- tions in which these particular libraries find themselves. The great ends to be gained must be stated by the science of sociology, and the FAIRCHILD. 21 educational methods must be determined by ref- erence to the psychology of childhood. We are all delighted over the great good resulting from the children's library work now being done, but our delight should not blind us to the fact that library work for children is still in its incipi- ency, and that the proper methods to be used by those worthy of being classed among the educational librarians must be determined by reference to the general sciences, which de- termine the needs of society and of the indi- vidual human being. Thus far I have been able to speak with something of personal confidence in the truth of my words. Now that we enter upon the consideration of the ends to be gained in this children's library work, and the general and special methods, and take into consideration what this city libraries system involves, and the place assigned children's library work, a feeling of fear comes upon me. I am relieved by the certainty that you will not treat with too much seriousness the conclusions which are stated in this paper, for you will recognize, as the author does all too painfully, that these conclusions, in the present state of knowledge of child life and social life, cannot be more than search-lights, determining, perhaps, the lines upon which it is worth while to experiment. Children's library work is simply primary libra- ry work. From the standpoint of sociology, the greater ends to be gained 'are three (i) Enriched life. The child has its circle of acquaintances enlarged by the stories it reads of the boys and girls whom imagination has created, and out o^ this enlarged acquaintance comes an enrich- ment of its experiences and the growth of its soul. Few children can ever have the experi- ence of running into the night, the switch- man's lantern in hand, to stop the train that rushes toward the sunken bridge. The child that has that experience grows out of shallow bravery into the heroic spirit. But many and many an heroic nature swells and bursts its acorn shell, becoming thereafter full-grown to meet the emergencies of its own adult experi- ence, by reason of having read the story of some timid girl who dared the terrors of the night to do her father's duty. A boy's life be- comes strengthened as he reads of the courage and coolness of a Leather-Stocking. Few chil- dren would be without sympathy with the woods full of living creatures, birds and wolves and snakes and bears and tigers, could the charm of Mowgli's boyhood with the Jungle People once lay hold upon them. Not only is there a personal gain from the enrichment of life but there is a social gain. The children have ideals of action set before them, and these ideals will govern them through life. Adult sentiments of what is fair and honorable may be the outgrowth of the feel- ing of what is fair in play, and the story of a baseball game may act powerfully to stimulate the growth of the social spirit, out of which may come the higher-minded business man, mother, teacher, librarian. The story of the Christ has produced many a philanthropist. The spirit of the Christ has entered to abide in many a girlish heart, because she has read the beautiful story of Mary, the mother of the Christ. The anti-social spirit of the day is our social danger. The Kansas populists dared to break the continuity of a college's effort by summarily discharging not only its president but the entire body of professors. Granting, for the sake of argument, that their political views are correct, they are not justified in crip- pling a college and causing the disintegration of its strength. I am proud to be a son of the man who vacated his presidential chair without vin- dictive speech, and begged his associated pro- fessors to be loyal to the new administration if it were possible, for the sake of the college. This unsocial spirit that delights to rip and tear is the menace of our civilization, and it takes possession of those whose life is shallow and poor. There are these grown-up people who are willing to do these unsocial things because there have been thousands and thousands of children whose spirits have not been touched by the spirit of those who write the literature that lives. The second great end of children's library work is (2) The enlargement of knowledge of human and nature life. The girl may grow up in close association with her mother's woman- heart. Her father is tempered and softened by his experiences of the sorrows and weak- nesses of humanity. The young men are seen at a distance, or under the glare of the lights of the drawing-room, or aglow with the pas- sion of love in its nascent strength. The girl's woman-heart is won by the psychic insistence of the man. The girl in her teens, what does she know personally of this masculinity ? Just 22 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. the half truth, which is worse than the lie. One who knows can write a realistic novel of the right sort that will reveal to her a man in his secret heart of hearts. And the one who does not understand the times in which he lives continually runs amuck of the social currents which flow according to the will of that " Greatness which includes us as the ocean holds each drop."* The children of the rich play with the children of the rich, study in the private school with the children of the rich, marry the children of the rich, enter- tain the children of the rich, ride in their car- riages and not in the public carrier. What do they know of the life of the poor? And with- out knowledge it is impossible to sympathize with the children of the poor. Sometimes, when the glare has faded from the ball-room, or it becomes the fashion to do charity work, the men and women of the palace enter the garrets of the people of the street. It is the peo- ple of the palace whose knowledge of human life is scant, and their efforts in reform are as useless as the child's attempt to build a dyke to keep the sea from its play-house on the beach. The realistic novel may reveal to them the meaning of experiences not within their sphere. Let the children's library furnish the children with a knowledge of the experiences of the child life of society ; the youth's library, the young men and young women with a knowl- edge of the experiences of young manhood and womanhood; then let the adult library furnish the full-grown men and women accurate infor- mation of the social conditions prevailing in the different social groups into which society is now divided, and under these conditions the multi- tudes may become socialized and democracy be a success. This work the schools cannot do. Literature alone can, and the children's library has assigned to it a great and important social service. f * From " The song of the soul." t The July number of the American Journal of Soci- ology contains an article, written probably about the same time as the above, in which Dr. E. A. Ross, of Leland Stanford Jr. University, says: "Not slavery alone but the narrow sympathies of a provincial literature caused the South to drift away. East and West became alienated through clash of interests, but the story-writers and play- wrights come in and help the people to understand each other " " An imperial democracy like ours is an experi- ment, and succeeds only because the press and a national literature inspire broad sympathies." The third great end to be accomplished by children's library work is of a different nature, but so important as to deserve equal place with the (i) enrichment of life and the (2) en- largement of knowledge. The children's li- brary must (3) establish tke reading habit. The child must grow up to feel that the library is the continual source of the renewal of its life and of its perpetually enlarging joy. Physio- logical psychology determines that the govern- ing habits of the human being are established by the age of 30. The reading habit must be established in childhood and strengthened as the child becomes adult. A s to the general methods of gaining these great- er ends. Enriched life, the first great end, can be se- cured by associating the children with the chil- dren of the books. The undeveloped sentiments of the child are strengthened by sympathizing with the children of whom it reads. Idealistic fiction is therefore the chief means by -which the librarian educates the soul of the child, I am using the term soul in the psychological sense,* not in the theological. Many of the stories of the St. Nicholas, Youth's Companion, and Harper's Round Table are to be rated of high educational value. Biographical stories differ from ficti- tious in no essential particular. A little more weight attaches in the child's mind to a true story, provided the true story treats the char- acters in the live way characteristic of the fictitious story. Most biographies of the boy- hoods of men who have become distinguished are lacking the impressive movement and spirit of high-class fiction. The story is in the third person. And for inspiration these biographies are of secondary value. Enlargement of knowledge of human life is secured chiefly through the (l) realistic novels, and (2) descriptive fiction. "The bonnie brier- bush " acquaints one with a whole commu- nity. Idealistic fiction brings enrichment of life, the realistic novel brings enlargement of knowledge of human life. When history is well written there is little difference between the history and the realistic novel. The crises of so- ciety, when accurately and skilfully set forth, are seen to be the times when the human soul reveals its full self. History is the description of the social soul in times past, and the realistic * See " Psychic factors of civilization," by Lester F. Ward. FAIRCHILD. 2 3 novel is the history of the social soul in its present life struggle. Through the realistic novel the children of China can be known by the child brought up in the workingtnan's home in Philadelphia. These idealistic and realistic stories of life reveal to the children the meaning of their own experiences. And these stories, if true to life, store the child's mind with knowledge of the ways and means of getting its ambitions accom- plished. Stories of adventure give the success- ful ways of escaping from dangerous situations. The contrivances by which two courageous boys lost on the mountain -side managed to spend the night comfortably and to protect themselves from the wolves and snakes are part of the necessary information of each well- equipped boy and girl. Enlarged knowledge of the life of nature is secured through books of natural history, and these, if they would be most effective, must be descriptive fiction, because fiction allows things to be shown in action and in actual relations to human beings. A story of how Harry used a sumac reed for his pop-gun, and soon suffered from its poison, may introduce an account of Harry's instructive ramble through the woods with a botanist. And if this fiction descriptive of nature could generate the child's love for the fairy spirits of the violets and the Jack-in-the-pulpits, would it not be often true that the adult soul would find the meaning of the mountains, and of the deep blue heaven with its teeming life of myriad suns and worlds, so that it might sing to itself when weary and heavy laden: " A mighty Presence fills the air And meanings through all being thrill ; Infinite Love, my mother, Takes me to Her bosom, Holds me calm and still. " Lying thus space-cradled, yes, I know That Love in heaven wide and deep, Gently as a mother O'er her wee, sweet baby, Lulls my soul to sleep." From " The evensong of those that are weary and heavy laden" The fear of death might pass, and a courage to live be born of which few have knowledge. But the accomplishment of these two greater ends depends upon the success gained in rous- ing the child's enthusiasm for the library, and establishing the reading habit. Our actions are the result of our necessities and our desires. Unless the children grow into a permanent de- sire for the satisfactions to be gained from boots, most of them will never experience the enrichment and enlargement of life which litera- ture furnishes. One might watch in some children's room and find a line of 30 children waiting to be served, and conclude that en- thusiasm for the library was already a reality in the child life of this library's community. But the children take up the library as a fad, read for a few months, and then forget the library. The long line of children waiting for books simply means that for ach library there are thousands of children. A large portion of those who draw do not continue reading more than nine months. At present in the case of 75 per cent, of the children of the community we are failing to establish the reading habit. This enthusiasm for the library, which must be secured, else the children's library work is a failure from the standpoint of education, will grow of itself, provided the needs and desires of the children are accurately known and thoroughly respected. Childhood's sentiments must be re- spected, and the children's library work con- formed to childhood's natural enthusiasms. We now take up the consideration of more defi- nite questions. The methods of children's library work which I am setting forth are so intimately related to this conception of a city libraries system that it will be necessary to state a few details of this system. I wish to call your attention to what is in- volved in the effort to enrich and enlarge the entire life of a community, and to present a plan for the articulation of the different kinds of libra- ries into a city libraries system. According to statistics gathered two years ago, only 20 per cent, of the people of a community enter the public li- brary during the year. In order that the library shall exert educational force upon the entire life of a community, there must be (i) free books, (2) libraries conducted on educational principles, and (3) enough first-class librarians to influence the people. The following plan is devised to in- clude these requisites. The administration of the entire city libraries system is in the hands of the chief librarian, who has his office in the central adult library. This central adult library contains fifty or more thousand titles, is devoted exclusively to adults, PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. and in most respects resembles the established type of city library. A city is divisible into sub-communities. In this city libraries system a branch adult li- brary is placed in each one of these group-cen- tres. Troy, N. Y., would need two branch adult libraries, one in North Troy and one in South Troy. If Lansingburg, Green Island, and Watervliet were consolidated with Troy into the "Greater Troy," five and possibly six branch adult libraries would be needed. In these branch adult libraries are placed the 2000 best titles for averagely intelligent adults. Some variations would be made to suit the character of the dif- ferent localities. Of course the branch adult libraries could draw from the central adult li- brary any book desired. Located between these branch adult libraries are the children's neighborhood libraries, devoted exclusively to the children in their neighbor- hoods, and containing each the best 2000 titles for children, with variation to suit the locality. These children's neighborhood libraries are not burdened with the school supplementary read- ing, which is supplied through school libraries. In the Greater Troy at least ten of these chil- dren's neighborhood libraries would be needed. The children's neighborhood libraries are centres for circles of home libraries. Each part of each neighborhood is won into appreciation of the library by the missionary activity of these home libraries. Each public school building has a school li- brary, containing the necessary books of refer- ence and other books for supplementary read- ing known to be in constant demand. The central library is the centre of travelling library activities. The numerous clubs, fire departments, police stations, hotels, etc., in the city are encouraged to keep going a continual series of travelling libraries. The special needs of the schools those needs not supplied by the school library are met by means of school travelling libraries. The visitors who carry the enthusiasm for the library into every nook and corner of the city get their library sets from the central library. I have not suggested any new kinds of libra- ries. I have simply taken the various kinds of libraries already existing and articulated them PLAN ILLUSTRATING CITY LIBRARIES SYSTEM. * Central adult library. A. Branch adult libraries. C. Children's neighborhood libraries. B.A. Territory covered by a branch adult library. C.N. " " " children's neighborhood library. FA1RCHILD. into a system, so that they may work together to supply the need of an entire community. The_library work done for children under this proposed city libraries system includes five kinds of effort: i. Children's neighborhood libraries. 2. Home libraries. 3. Club travelling libraries. 4. School libraries. 5. School travelling libra- ries. There is no question as to the success of each of these different kinds of children's li- brary efforts, and this combination of various successful efforts into one naturally articulated system ought to be decidedly effective. There is not time to elaborate the work as- signed each of the five kinds of children's li- brary efforts. The remainder of the paper has to do with the considerations involved in the children's neighbor hood library. This kind of li- brary is demanded by the needs of the children, and is the main channel for library education of the children. My thesis is stated as follows: In order that the librarian may have the chance to be a personal inspiration to the children, and that each child may find the books that appeal to it, in order that the library as an institution may win the continued devotion out of which will grow the reading habit, it is necessary that there be a children's library that is a distinct and unique institution, disassociated from the adult library and from the school supplementary reading a place where the children are led by the librarian into a grand revel in books. The schools have a distinct task, viz., to strengthen the intelligence of the children. It is a sad mistake to expect the schools to take up library work save as this assists them in their special task. The library work appropriate to the schools is distinct from that appropriate to the children's neighborhood library. I do not underestimate the library work appropriate to the schools; I do not slight it in this paper; I simply omit the elaboration of school library methods out of consideration for my audience. I make the following argument for the sepa- ration of the children's neighborhood library from the adult library : It is a fact with a reasonable explanation that the child does not like to be continually under the parents' guid- ance. The boy likes to try being his own master. When he and his Indian troopers are in the woods, or exploring the mysteries of some new alley, what cares he for the things of his elders ? The boy wants to find his secret world where, in the language of the poet, "There aren't no ten commandments, and a man can raise a thirst." It is not wrong but right and necessary that the children should feel thus, and be anxious to have their own possessions. The infant is dependent on its parents, the adult is independent, and the strug- gle of childhood and youth is, not to wrest its independence from its parents, but to accomplish growth into the strength which makes it com- fortable to standalone. It is by wisely satisfying this desire for independence that children are enabled to become, when full-grown, worthy of their independence. It is a szA pedagogical mis- take for the children's library not to utilize this childhood's natural enthusiasm for independent organizations devoted exclusively to the chil- dren. And the best results will be secured by making use of this enthusiasm to the full. I have carefully considered all the arguments for associating the children with the adults, and these weigh very light against this argument for separate children's libraries. From this point this paper deals with the question of methods without considering the inconveniences involved in a close association between the adult's and children's libraries. The building, the methods, the librarian, the books and magazines are all for the children, and the children feel the sense of possession. And this is for the sake of establishing in the hearts of the children of the community a continued library enthusiasm out of which may grow the reading habit. Continued enthusiasm depends also for its establishment upon the disassociation of the children's library from the school supplementary reading. The reading habit cannot be created in the ordinary child by forcing it to go to the library for its school supplementary reading. The trouble is that the school work has to be hard drill. Intellectual fibre toughens under long-continued, thorough discipline. The chil- dren submit to this because they appreciate somewhat its necessity. I do not mean to say that school work is not at all pleasurable, but I do mean to say that as long as the world lasts the hour when school is out will be more wel- come than that at which school is called. There is no good reason why the city libraries sys- tem should not furnish supplementary reading directly to the school through the school libra- ry. The children's neighborhood library should not be obliged to carry in its race for the child's PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. love this -weight of the child's distaste for as- signed, forced reading. Continued enthusiasm and the establishment of the reading habit depend also on the estab- lishment among the children of a sentiment that it is the thing to be well read in the literature of childhood. The boy who does not know the "Jungle book" should be despised by his peers. Judicious talking on the part of the librarian, continued for ten years, will establish this senti- ment among the children of a community, and when once established it will prove a strong educational motive. The chief source of enthusiasm for the children's library is the librarian. I have chosen to dis- cuss the function of the librarian in this con- nection rather than under a separate head in order that it may appear that her personality and ability as an educator are vitally related to the library's success in maintaining enthusiasm and establishing the reading habit. The libra- rian needs to be not a careful clerk that tends the loan-desk, collects fines, and preserves order, but a woman grown, herself the realiza- tion of the educational ideal, which by the way is not the smart, but the intelligent, great- souled woman. The woman, whether married or unmarried, who, because of her singular character, deserves the title "old-maid," is un- fit for the position of the children's librarian. The woman who takes the children of the com- munity to her heart as a mother her own, is best fitted by nature for this position. Not only must the children's librarian be well fitted by natural personal qualities for her position, but intellectually she must be thoroughly and specially trained for children's library work. The government of the children's library should be that of the home. The policeman and janitor are not wanted, and the librarian that needs them lacks the required tact and force and human sympathy. If worse comes to the worst, let one of the big boys of the library thrash the scamp who makes trouble and in- sults the librarian. The source of control should be the loyalty and love of the children for the library and the librarian. The etiquette of the library may be elevated by judicious talks on library ethics. Children are quick to see what is to the advan- tage of the group-life, and to punish one who offends against the interests of all. These mat- ters are easily taken care of if the librarian be of good courage, ambitious for herself and her library children, possessed of real enthusiasm to live. In the ideal children's library there will be strong friendships between the librarian and the children, and on the part of the chil- dren a sort of heroine worship. The books of the children' s library are simply the librarian's tools. Quality, not quantity, is the chief consideration. Two thousand select- ed titles is a sufficient kit. If games are in- cluded in the outfit, those selected should con- tribute to the library's success in establishing the reading habit. The library books and games are to the librarian what the text-book is to the teacher. From the standpoint of educa- tion the children's librarian is an instructor at large. In library phrase she is, in her more im- portant function, a reference librarian. She does not belong at the loan-desk. Her time belongs to the children who wish to select the books that fit their needs. The educational value of the children's libra- ry and its success in maintaining enthusiasm and establishing the reading habit depend upon the children being furnished the literature that fits them. I found a girl of thirteen rushing through "The ships that pass in the night." Of course she did not like it, and a few such experiences would produce serious results. She followed this by "The scarlet letter." What did she know of the adult passions and their social values, and of the justice and injustice of severe punishment for transgression against established custom ? And at thirteen what revelation could such a book as this make to her? Nothing but a distorted and unreal and fascinating glimpse of a realm in which the tragic thrill which her girlish nature craves is gotten by social transgression. She drew both books from a library that prides itself on its children's work. "The scarlet letter" could not explain to her her own experience. Some story dealing with the real and sacred loves of girls and boys would solve for her the meaning of her own mysterious feelings. It will take all the insight of the intelligent mother-spirit, this insight deepened by the thorough discipline of the library school, to select for the children from the books upon the shelves those that suit their needs. The children's librarian can never serve the children properly unless she can go -with the children to the books upon the shelves. You can FAIRCHILD. 27 sell railroad tickets, but you cannot educate the children through a hole in a grating. The chil- dren cannot know exactly what they need, and the librarian must try on various sorts of books and have a chance to study temperaments be- fore she can fit closely. The task of fitting the children with books is so difficult that it cannot be accomplished save by adopting the policy of helping the children to fit themselves. The books of the children's library may be separated into four or five grades, but, under any ar- rangement, the children must be allowed to get to the shelves. The children's library needs to have a literary atmosphere. "Have you read Eugene Field's poems ? " is the kind of question the children should ask each other. The librarian, of course, will be the centre from which this sparkling interest in definite poems, stories, in- cidents, characters, and natural phenomena arises. She may well prepare herself care- fully for each day's literary chat with the children. But more thorough enlightenment should be given the children if their interest in books is to become vital. The need demands that there be children's library clubs, into which the new readers are enlisted and to which the librarian and her friends give short illuminating talks on the important books. I can imagine the fun and power of a talk on Robinson Crusoe to such a children's library club. It is by disassociation from the adult library and the school supplementary reading, and by thorough work on the part of the librarian, that the children's neighborhood library can succeed in establishing itself in the children's love, and becoming of greatest educational value. The primary teacher is to-day assigned a place as important as that of the high-school principal. The children's librarian should rank with the chief of the adult library, and the children's li- brary itself should rank with the library for grown-up people. The churches are not alone in their efforts to save the people. The churches too often seek to restrict life, rather than to enrich and en- large. The library cannot do otherwise than enrich and enlarge. And perhaps there is a hell from which the library saves people as trying as that from which the orthodox church restrains. So many people are uninterested. No enthusiasms inspire them. Only those activities that may result in a little larger busi- ness or shorter hours and more pay are to them the activities in which it seems worth while to indulge themselves. There are always the dead to bury their dead. Fifty years of library work in each large city of the United States, after the thorough manner outlined in this city libraries system, would do wonders to save the multitude from their commonplace tiresome lives. There seems to be life enough in the A. L. A. to bring these thing to pass. BOOKS FOR CHILDREN ABOUT 13-16 YEARS LOAN-ROOM OF THE CHILDREN'S NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY, PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. METHODS OF CHILDREN'S LIBRARY WORK AS DETERMINED BY THE NEEDS OF THE CHILDREN. II. BY EMMA LOUISE ADAMS, LIBRARIAN OF THE PLAINFIELD (N. J.) PUBLIC LIBRARY. TT is a truism, the significance of which we realize more and more fully as we strive to make ourselves really useful to an individual, or group of individuals, that to render any real service we must know both their needs and their environments, so that our efforts in their behalf may be guided by a sympathy which is both intelligent and zealous. The needs of children are almost as various as the children themselves, and we can learn these individual needs only by coming into direct contact with the children, and in enlisting the aid of teacher and parent whose opportuni- ties of knowing the children individually are so much greater than ours. A knowledge of child-nature will, however, be of the greatest assistance in enabling us to better understand and appreciate these individual needs, and this we can partially gain by a little attention to what teachers are doing in the line of child- study. After their minutely recorded observa- tions physical, mental, and moral shall have proceeded sufficiently far to warrant generaliza- tion, the teacher will have become even more powerful an ally to the librarian than at present. We shall gain a more appreciative and intelli- gent sympathy with childhood which will enable us to turn back the pages of our own lives, and stand once more upon the threshold of conscious life, surrounded by its mystery and its beauty. Among all who come to our libraries there is none more interesting than this little being with the infinite possibilities before him, none we can help more, for none are so willing to be helped. While we can learn special needs only through knowledge of individuals, there is one general need which is common to all children, whether they are city or country bred, rich or poor, of foreign or American parentage, and that is the need of personal aid. This is the key to the whole situation, and the degree to which we can supply it will be the measure of our suc- cess in helping the child. It is the test by which every experiment in work with children may be tried. To the librarian of the small town this hardly comes as a problem ; she can know all her small borrowers and their individ- ual needs. Gradually as the town grows, and the work of the library in proportion, she re- gretfully realizes that this work must of neces- sity pass into other hands. Then the more difficult task becomes hers of transmitting her own love and enthusiasm for this work to assistants, and where it is lacking in teachers, to them also, and so furnishing by proxy the per- sonal contact which it is no longer possible for her to supply. Co-operation with schools, then, is the result of the librarian's- effort to supply to large numbers that personal contact which it is no longer practicable for the library to give. The librarian's most natural and effective helpers are the teachers, and without their aid the rapid advance made in recent years in work with children would have been impossible. How cordially the librarian's advances have been met by the teacher is shown by the out- ward sign of the new library section of the National Educational Association. It is true that there are still discouragements, that not all teachers are willing, nor all able to effectively co-operate with librarians, nor are all librarians able to co-operate with teachers, but, of course, we think this a rare instance. Perhaps the influence of the new section will be sufficient to place in every normal school a person qualified to give instruction in methods of using books in the class-room, in the use of bib- liographic tools, with if possible a little element- ary instruction in library work, and who will be able to impart a keener love and appreciation of good literature and a special knowledge of the best juvenile books. This is already done in Wisconsin, whence comes so much that is good in library methods, and New Jersey's normal school has a librarian who does a similar work, although not on so large a scale. The advantages which would result if such a plan were more extensively followed are obvious. The methods of enlisting the child's interest, ADAMS. 29 and effecting a co-operation with schools, and the degree to which they are used, depend largely upon the needs of localities, and the im- portance with which work with children is re- garded by librarians in charge. Among the most effective are, the abandon- ment of an age restriction the outcome of the general belief that this work cannot be begun too early -the limitation of the number of books that may be borrowed within a given time, lest the children read too much, and the institution of the "children's room." These rooms are ordinarily used only as reading-rooms, but there is a growing tendency to make them serve also as delivery-rooms, thus bringing to- gether all work with children, and insuring personal oversight to a greater extent. Very at- tractive places are these, with their pictures and plants, and low wall cases, in which are kept the best of all kinds of children's books, and to all of these the little visitors have free access. Miniature tables and chairs graduated to the size of the small readers give one the impression on entering that he is decidedly out of proportion and uncomfortably large. Buffalo's well-known room provides even for the tiniest with games, scrap-books, dissected maps, etc. In the new library at Providence, the idea will be very fully carried out, and quite the happiest children will be tho^ for whom Mr. Foster has so thoughtfully planned. No better argument is needed to convince one that this movement is in the right direction than a glance at the statistics showing the use of these rooms, and a glance, too, at the happy faces of those who frequent them. The success of such a room necessarily depends upon the assistant to whom this important work is en- trusted, who needs both special fitness and spe- cial training for it. It is the universal practice to indicate by some sign in the catalogs or finding lists books that are adapted to young people. Some libraries go further than this, and issue special lists of such books ; some few annotate these, and if this can be done thoroughly it will add greatly to their value, but if not, such lists are worse than useless, and it is far better to content one- self with the occasional issue of short lists of best books for boys and girls. In work with schools it is all but universal to issue special cards to teachers of the public schools, on which from six to 50 books may be drawn at a time. Some give this privilege to private and parochial as well as to public school teachers. Where a library is located at a con- siderable distance from the schools, that modifi- cation of the travelling library idea, known as the "special library system," can be used with excellent results. This puts it in the power of teacher or librarian to determine largely what the pupils shall read, and it is wonderfully in- teresting and suggestive to see how much used are these carefully selected and frequently changed books. This is work which is not yet done to as nearly large an extent as it probably will be in the future, as it does not necessarily call for the large duplication of books, which other forms of work with schools require, and is therefore practicable for the medium-sized as well as for the larger libraries. Only the very large libraries can send a sufficient number of copies to enable an entire class to read the same book at the same time, although even this is not now so expensive a system, since many of the books desired for class reading are issued at a moderate price, in good type and paper, and durable binding, by several of the leading publishers. It may be said in passing, that it is unfortunate that a more attractive exterior is not given to some of these, as children are so prone to think the exterior of a book a suf- ficient criterion by which to judge of its con- tents. In several towns it is the custom for whole classes to visit the library, and in company with teacher or librarian examine books which treat of the subject being studied by them. This is done to so large an extent in some places as to demand a special room or rooms for the pur- pose. The Worcester library we know has a class-room for each subject, and at the new library at Providence, by an admirable arrange- ment, the class-room is to be directly adjoining the children's room. It is the custom of some librarians to visit schools occasionally and talk to the pupils about their reading, or invite letters from them, in which the pupils give some account of books they have read; these letters are returned with helpful suggestions, and so a friendly relation is established between pupil and librarian. A very good way to become acquainted with teach- ers and to get at their point of view is to attend teachers' meetings and explain the privileges which the library extends to them, and suggest PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. methods of using books in the class-room. If teachers and librarians could more often meet together for discussion of methods, doubtless we should be better able to devise methods more in accordance with the needs of the child. Occasional lists on subjects in the school course, reference lists on holidays, etc., are of great value, but no printed list, however cor- rectly made, can take- the place of personal relationship. The school may be used also as a medium through which to circulate pictures as well as books picture scrap-books for the very little ones, pictures of places, events, etc., as illus- trative of geography, history, and other studies, photographic reproductions of famous pictures, pieces of sculpture or notable buildings for art classes. Grown people and children alike love pictures, and this would seem an excellent way of reaching those whom it is difficult to reach by means of books. One problem which confronts the schools of the larger towns and cities is, how to in- spire its pupils with a true patriotism which does not exhaust all its energy in boast- ing of its country on every occasion, but does all in its power to serve that country, not only by a scorn of all bribery and political corruption, but by a willingness to do its part to make such bribery and corruption impos- sible. If political life is anything like as corrupt as we are told by those who ought to know, this is one of the most important responsibilities which educators have to face. And here the thoughtful teacher will find in the library his greatest help, in the examples in all ages, of men, and women, too, who have done noble deeds and made great sacrifices for their country. Not only history and biography, but the literature of poetry and romance maybe made to do service in bringing before the future citizen stimulating examples which will arouse his enthusiasm and desire of emulation. For it is a fallacy to suppose that the education of the mind alone can ever supply high motives, or lofty purpose, or strength of will. It is the "literature of power" which the teacher must call in to his aid, and here the librarian can be of the greatest assistance to the teacher, both by the ample provision of such literature and by its timely suggestion. A close co-operation with the schools having been established, the librarian will find as one result that his reference work will be greatly increased, and the range of questions which he will be asked by these young searchers will be almost limitless, and to supply the answers to these his ingenuity and knowledge of books will be often taxed to the utmost. The special qualifications needed for this work are those of the reference librarian and the teacher. The librarian will not then be satisfied with opening a book at the exact page containing the de- sired information, but will strive, wherever pos- sible, to tactfully impart some knowledge of the book containing it. These are some of the ways that librarians and teachers are co-operating, and in them all we find the librarian striving to supply, through the medium of others, the human touch, the personal element, which we believe to be the greatest need of the child. The choice of books hardly belongs to my subject, yet in passing I may speak of the im- portance of this, for in selecting books for children their needs must be carefully studied, as upon the success with which the selection is adapted to these needs will depend the future usefulness and popularity of the juve- nile department. The various published guides can only supplement, they can never take the place of a knowledge of children's books acquired by one's own reading, and this is absolutely necessary if we are to make the books of their greatest service after they are on the shelves. If the work of testing and "evaluating" children's books can be sys- tematized, and the results made of general bene- fit, we shall be able to choose our juvenile books more wisely, and to recommend them more in- telligently. Provision must be made for all classes and sizes of children, for those of the most ignorant, and for the very' young. The needs of these last are but scantily met; unfortunately, most books suited to these mites are considered un- worthy of a place on our shelves. Often, how- ever, these are the children we want most to reach, and as they leave school very early the time for this is all too short. If despised little Dotty Dimple can teach them the enjoyment that may be gotten from books, by all means let them follow her to her grandmother's, or out West, or remain at home with her, as they choose. While all departments of literature must find a place in our juvenile collection, we must not fall into the error of thinking*that^children are to be educated every moment. We'certainly ADAMS. shouldn't want that sort of treatment ourselves, and we are not adding to our experience at any- thing like the rate at which they are adding to theirs. Wholesome stories should be provided, and by all means an abundance of the tales of mythology and fairy-lore, which every child loves. In Sully's charming "Studies of child- hood " he speaks of the child instinct which per- sonifies inanimate objects. Early in the history of the race we know that man did this same thing, so that when the child hears these beau- tiful old tales they are not to him merely beau- tiful stories, as to us, but something which comes within the range of his own beliefs and imagination, and we know that his imaginings are often more real to him than actual happen- ings. So in providing him with fairy-lore, we shall be giving him not only the intense pleas- ure of losing himself in the fairy-world, but a future pleasure in the recollection of the vivid- ness of his childish belief. Without exaggerating unduly the impor- tance of work with the young, it is evident that it is not the least important of our func- tions, and there are indications that as in the future this becomes more widely recognized, provision more adequate to the magnitude of the task may be made. It might be practicable for the members of the staff peculiarly fitted for this work to be set aside under a competent head into whose charge the entire responsi- bility of work with children might be committed. The duties of this chief might include the selec- tion and care of all juvenile books, and the se- curing the co-operation of teachers and others having charge of children. The employment of such a person imbued with a sense of the ends to be attained, with tact, a love for and sympathy with children, a broad knowledge and love of good literature, as well as a special knowledge of juvenile literature, and having the executive ability to plan and carry on the work, would go far toward solving the problem of the greater libraries of how to provide that which all admit to be of the utmost importance personal contact. While schools are naturally the most effec- tive way of providing the personal element, there are various other agencies through which the library can act. The home library is pecul- iarly fitted for it, missions, reading-rooms, boys' and girls' clubs, juvenile branches of Young Men's Christian Associations, children's hospitals, industrial schools, Sunday-schools, as in St. Louis, and lastly there is the much- abused parent. In Mr. Dana's Cleveland ad- dress he brought a severe charge against this very large and very remiss part of the commu- nity, when he said that "the American parent is indifferent to the character of the education of his children." Quite the worst. thing about this statement is that it is perfectly true, if we may judge by the lack of interest the average parent shows in the reading of his children, for the lament does not come from east or west, north or south, but arises very impartially from all parts of the country. It is understood that this charge is made against those only who have both opportunity and ability to guide the reading of their children. Surely if such par- ents would realize the power for good, or for evil, which books have in the formation of char- acter, would not many, who now find "no time " to notice what their children read, find that there are other things which can be more safely passed by than this ? There can be no one who has the opportunity or the authority of the parent for controlling the child's reading, nor is there any one who can make this tactful oversight and reading together of books more delightful to the child, either in the present or in the future, by its grateful and happy recollec- tion. At the Lake Placid conference at the close of Miss Steam's paper on " Reading for the young" she asked, " How can we induce parents to oversee their children's reading?" But this question has as yet been unanswered, either because of its being a difficult and deli- cate one, or because of the multitude of other questions which claim the librarian's attention. It is to be hoped that in the not far distant future its turn may come for discussion. Are methods of work with children as we have found them proportioned to the child's needs ? In reviewing the many phases of this work we have seen in them all the librarian striving to surround the child with personal in- fluence, and if our theory be true, that this is the chief need of the child, then our efforts are at least in the right direction. And when the principle is more fully recognized, to quote from a well-known worker with schools and children, "that it is of prime importance to study the needs and capabilities of the individu- al child, rather than the child in the mass," the work will doubtless be conducted on a larger scale, and one more adequate to its importance. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. THE FISK FREE AND PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW ORLEANS. BY WILLIAM BEER, LIBRARIAN. / T*HE Fisk Free and Public Library of New * Orleans, which exists by virtue of an ordi- nance of the city, dated April 15, 1896, was formed from two collections of books which had been the property of the city since 1845 and 1847 respectively. The earlier in point of date has been known by a great many names. It had its origin as the Public School Library of Municipality No. 2, which received the official recognition of the city by ordinance of Decem- ber 3, 1844. Private donations and collections from the scholars were the sources from which additions to the library were made. It made such progress that in 1848 the library had in- creased from 340010 7516 volumes. In 1849 the collection was transferred to the spacious room on the first floor of the city hall, which it occupied until its removal in 1897. Up to 1853 there had been 504 life members and 23 annual subscrib- ers. In 1859 were consolidated with this libra- ry those of the ist, 3d, and 4th school districts; the title was changed to that of the Lyceum and Library Society; the feature of occasional lect- ures justified the addition to the name. ' At this time there were necessary a librarian and assistant librarian; the latter was dropped from 1873. In 1897 the collection consisted of about 16,000 volumes. The Fisk Library was the gift of two broth- ers, Abijah and Alvarez Fisk. The former, by will dated 1843, gave the city of New Orleans his house on the corner of Customhouse and Bourbon streets, to be applied to the keeping of a library for the use and benefit of the citizens of said city. Mr. Alvarez Fisk, in 1847, purchased from Mr. B. F. French, the author of the " His- torical collection of Louisiana," an extensive private library, which he presented to the city, in order that use might be made of his brother's legacy. The library in question comprised 6000 volumes, relating principally to history, commerce, and biography. On the petition of the members of the Mechanics' Society the Fisk Library, which up to 1853 had remained in the building donated by Mr. Fisk, was transferred to the building of the Mechanics' Institute, to be held and used by said society for the same uses and trusts under which the building and library were held by the city of New Orleans. Little progress was made by the library during its possession by the Mechanics' Society, which was dissolved in the year 1882. The library was then placed in the custody of the University of Louisiana. When that university, with its fran- chise, was ceded by the state to the Tulane University, the library entered upon an era of prosperity and usefulness. The magnificent donation of Paul Tulane brought into action ed- ucational forces which attracted a large number of the intellectual youth of the state, to whom the Fisk Library for many years supplied the need of a university library. Owing to the kindness of Prof. Ordway, the students were allowed the use of his magnificent scientific li- brary, consequently the growth of the Fisk Library in this later period was in the direction of English history and literature. Between the years 1884 and 1895 there was expended from the Fisk Library the sum of $8500 for books, periodicals, and magazines. The first official action to the end of estab- lishing the present Fisk Free and Public Library was the message of the mayor of New Orleans of January 9, 1896, recommending that the building formerly occupied by the Criminal District Court be devoted to the use of a public library. This was adopted by the council on January 29 of the same year. On April 15, 1896, an ordinance establishing a public library was adopted. Among other clauses it stated that the management of said Fisk Free and Public Library shall be in the charge of a board of directors, who shall be appointed by the mayor, and be styled the board of directors of the Fisk Free and Public Library of the city of New Orleans. The said board shall be com- posed of seven directors, together with the mayor of the city of New Orleans, who shall be cx-officio chairman of the said board of directors. That the mayors of the city of New Orleans upon the expiration of their office shall not vacate the office of director of said Fisk Free BEER. 33 and Public Library, but shall continue life directors of same, and in this manner and in no other shall said board of directors be in- creased. The said board of directors shall have authority to fill vacancies arising in said board, from death, resignation, or otherwise, and shall adopt all rules for the government of said library, subject, however, to the approval of the mayor. On the 2ist of April, 1896, the mayor named a board of directors, in which the financial and commercial interests of the city were well represented. Mr. Frank T. Howard, to whose care the city of New Orleans had already been indebted for the development of the Howard Memorial Library, was chosen president, and Mr. Ernest Kruttschnitt, presi- dent of the school board, was elected vice-presi- dent. From this board were named executive and library committees, who work with great zeal. The building in which, by a happy accident, the Public Library has found a home, is singu- larly well situated. It is about five blocks from Canal street, the principal business street of the city, and the dividing line between the French and American quarters. The extension of the city southward makes this a very central posi- tion. In the near future branch libraries will accommodate the demand of the inhabitants of the outskirts. The building may be said to consist of three stories, of which that on the ground floor is divided into large rooms. The rental from these will, unless they are occupied for library purposes, be a source of considerable revenue. The two upper stories have been thrown into one. The ascent of two flights of broad stairs brings the visitor to the entrance, which faces a broad gallery rising in the centre of the hall. The library-room is 185x85, and over 40 feet high. On the north side are two tiers of large windows. On the other three sides the windows are all on the upper story, the result is light and air, a provision un- equalled in any library. Fourteen feet from the floor there runs around three sides of the room a gallery 20 feet broad, giving an opportunity for the erection of numerous small special read- ing-rooms. The delivery-desk is about 20 feet from the entrance. The eastern half of the library is devoted to the storage of books; the double book shelves stand five rows of 10 each, three feet six inches apart, and divided by alleys of two feet six inches; the unit of shelving is a double book- case 10 feet long and seven feet high, divided into three spaces, and having seven or eight shelves, according to the dimensions of the books. The shelves are grooved and slide on the iron supports suggested by Mr. Baker, of Columbia University. Good ventilation is se- cured by having the ends constructed of two pieces, n| inches wide; this shelving, of cypress, oil finished, cost $20.70 per unit. The arrange- ment of books has been to suit as much as possible the location of the delivery -desk. The row of 10 stacks near the desk is devoted to fiction, having American fiction on the front shelf ; the second row begins with American history, and runs back to German literature; the next row of stack contains literature to philosophy. The front stack of the fourth row is used for storing the accumulating current periodicals ; behind this are the bound periodi- cals in alphabetical order; the fifth row contains the public documents, Congressional Record, and publications of the bureaus. The lighting of the shelving occupied by fiction is by means of one i6-candle light, with a good glass circular reflector. The 40 other stacks of shelving are provided with portable hanging lights, protected by wire and furnished with reflectors; these are attached to conductors 10 feet long, which roll up on differential pulleys. Facing the delivery- desk are long narrow tables, on which are placed catalogs and call-slips. The western half of the room is devoted to the reference-desk, periodicals, and news- papers. The reference-desk, 15 feet long, contains on each side three rows of books, in- cluding the valuable dictionaries and encyclo- paedias, also reports of the last census and the latest bound volumes of the Congresssonal Record. There are 14 tables, 6x3 feet, each supplied with two electric lights with green shades, 16 inches from the tables, so that the light does not fall outside the edge of the tables. The newspapers are arranged on 10 racks, six feet high and 10 feet long, with double, sloping, sides. On each there are six papers and four lights. The periodicals stand in upright racks placed against the wall of the western end of the room. They are mostly in covers, on which have been pasted one of the original covers of the magazines published. Comfortable chairs provided at the tables, and stools at the news- paper racks accommodate about 200 readers. 34 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. The present composition of the library is ap- proximately as follows: Bound periodicals, dictionaries, and encyclopaedias . . 3250 Philosophy . . . 800 Theology .... 1500 Sociology and public documents 9500 Philology .... 100 Natural sciences . . 500 Useful arts .... 500 Fine arts .... TOO Literature .... 3500 Fiction .... 3$oo History. .... 5500 Total .... 28750 Of the 800 public documents about one-half are duplicates. The books of the Lyceum or City Library were mostly published before 1850. A few books of fiction that have been added since are worn out, and will have to be rejected. The Fisk Library, as has been mentioned, has made considerable purchases within the last 12 years, but these include few or no books of science; in fact, in the classes of sciences, useful and fine arts, the field is almost clear for the formation of a library fit to meet the demand for useful modern books. The Lyceum Library was classified on the Dewey system, and needed lit- tle if any alteration. The Lyceum has no ac- cession-book ; it was therefore resolved to ac- cept the Fisk numbers, and newly accession all the Lyceum books. This, of course, involved considerable time and labor, especially since the assistants of the new library were without ex- perience. It was desirable to interest the public as soon as possible. Therefore the periodical reading-room was opened on the i8th of Jan- uary, 1897, with periodicals classified as fol- lows: daily newspapers, six local, 20 representa- tive of the great centres of the United States, and four European; in addition to these were 175 weeklies and monthlies, covering the gen- eral field of literature, science, and art. 200 persons a day have availed themselves of the information provided in the reading-room. On March 15 there was ready a finding-list of about 2800 books of fiction, all of which had been newly accessioned and labelled. The circula- tion, which began on that date, has rapidly risen to an average of 180 daily. The situation of the Howard Memorial Li- brary within five blocks relieves the Public Library of the necessity of duplicating the large number of valuable reference-books which exist in that collection. After a time the catalog cards of the Howard Memorial which refer to books duplicated in the Public Library will have the sign Howard Memorial Library placed against every book which is in both libraries, so that the reader who desires a book in the Public Library will be able, when it is in circu- lation, to find it with certainty in the Howard Memorial Library. The fact that the president of the Public Library is the secretary of the Howard Memorial Library is an assurance that there will be no wasteful competition between the two institutions. The circulation of the fiction before that of the more serious branches of literature gives satisfaction to the greatest number of readers and allows the staff to become gradually ac- customed to the charging system and Dewey classification. It also gives time for the prep- aration of the Lyceum books for circulation and for the large accessions necessary to bring up the entire collection to the necessities of the day. By the first of October it is hoped that the en- tire library will be in shape for circulation, with a classified catalog of 24,000 books. In the month of December, by which time the library will have proved its usefulness to every member of the community, the budget of the city will be prepared. The library will then submit its claim for support in the same propor- tion to the wealth and condition of finances of the city as in other American cities. Should the council find it possible to afford an annual appropriation of $25,000, immediate steps will be taken to enlarge the scope of the work of the library. Branches will be established in the more distant districts, and sufficient books will be added to ensure constant co-operation with the schools, many of which have already pro- vided themselves with respectable collections of books. To these the monthly supply of 50 circulating books from the Public Library will be of great service. TEG G ART. 35 ON THE LITERATURE OF LIBRARY HISTORY. BY FREDERICK J. TEGGART, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN LELAND STANFORD JR. UNIVERSITY. TT speaks well for the modesty of librarians, as a class, that living in a chronic state of temptation, they seldom either make books themselves, or read those produced by others ; and that the accessions to their private collec- tions are mostly confined to certain volumes which have been supplied by the liberality of the Bureau of Education and the periodical publications presented gratuitously by second- hand booksellers. Some reason for the inadequate literary treat- ment which libraries have received is undoubt- edly to be found in the peculiar nature of the subject, which does not yield readily to a flow- ing style. Being rooted to a definite spot, there is no going forth of the library to seek adventure and of the librarian but once a year. As a rule, librarians with an overmastering desire to write, have shirked the difficulty of making a table of statistics readable by limiting the figures to the known or imagined growth of a particular institution, the more timorous con- fining their efforts to the preparation of an improved system for the classification of human knowledge as displayed in books. I might say that the most extensive and readable literature is always devoted to the history of libraries which may never have existed save in the histories as for example that of Osymandyas. Not long since I made acquaintance with the work of "A Gentleman of the Temple," who in the early part of the iSth century produced a work entitled "A critical and historical ac- count of all the celebrated libraries in foreign countries, as well ancient as modern" (London, J 739)' The author, in his preface, states that " this is, perhaps, the first essay on the subject in pur language " ; and further affirms that ' ' no species of history furnishes us with such a va- riety of instructive and delightful incidents as that of books and libraries, which some of the renowned princes and sages of antiquity valued at a higher rate than any of their other pos- sessions." Much of the interest of this little volume attaches to the scientific method of its author. Singularly enough his best accounts are of libraries which all subsequent writers have entirely neglected to mention. It must be also acknowledged that the nearer home he comes the less detailed becomes his information. Of the 200 pages of this " first essay," 100 are de- voted to the libraries of antiquity: "Hebrew, Chaldean, Egyptian," etc.; in 70 more the au- thor treats "critically and historically" the European libraries of his own day, and lapses back in the concluding 30 pages to China and Ethiopia. An example of his treatment might be of in- terest. He thus describes the libraries of the Netherlands: " The Jesuits Library at Antwerp, and that of the Franciscan monks, are very curious." "The monks of St. Peter have a library at Ghent, as have also the Dominicans and the Carmelites." " There is a library at a monastery between Dunkirk and Newport which is said to be very famous for its great number of manuscripts," etc., etc., 'etc. As I have hinted, distance in time and space are rather an advantage to him, as may be in- ferred from the opening account " of the Ethio- pian libraries ": " But all this [which has gone before] is very inconsiderable when it is placed in opposition to the Library which is reported to be deposited in the Monastery of the Holy Cross upon Mount Amara in Ethiopia. " History informs us that Anthony Brieus and Lawrence of Cremona, were sent by Greg- ory XIII. into that Kingdom, to see that famous Collection, which is divided into three Parts, containing together ten Millions and an hundred Thousand Volumes, all wrote upon fine Parch- ment, and kept in silk Cases. We are told besides, that it owes its Original to the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, from whom she received a Present of a great many Books, par- ticularly those of Enoch upon the Elements, and other Philosophical Subjects, with those of Noah, upon Mathematical Topicks and sacred Rites, and those which Abraham composed in PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. the Valley of Memra, where he taught Phi- losophy to those who assisted him in conquer- ing the Five Kings who had taken his Nephew Lot Prisoner, and likewise those of Job and others, which some assure us, are to be seen in that Library with the Books of Esdras, the Sybils, the Prophets, and the High Priests of the Jews besides such as are- supposed to have been wrote by that Queen and her Son Memi- lech." The interest of this performance of " A Gen- tleman of the Temple " is not appreciably di- minished, when we discover that the author was inspired to write in English a work on the same subject, and couched in terms identical with one written in French 60 years before him, by Le Sieur Le Gallois. So close is the translation, that were it not for the credit of " this first es- say " on the history of libraries in the English language it would be necessary to dub the book as having been "borrowed." This story, however, does not end here, for if the " Gentleman " who translated Le Gallois's book into English did not intimate the possibili- ty of there being any origin for his work other than his own imagination, he was surpassed in frankness by Le Gallois himself. In his preface the noble Frenchman avers that he has been aided in the preparation of the contents by certain persons and publications ; " but," he continues, " it cannot concern you, my dear reader, whence I have taken the con- tents of this book." Piqued by this want of due respect for the citation of " authorities," I set about discover- ing the " quelques M6moires " in question. The source of Le Gallois's information was, in fact, the Latin work of Johannes Lomeier, " On li- braries," published at Zutphen in 1669 a very monument of misdirected energy and want of discrimination, but of so fascinating a character as to be honored with three French editions in a few years; and as I have stated, the compliment of another gentleman, even though not a poet, finding in it "his own." Lomeier's book is one of a singular group of works on library history, collected and published by Joachim Joannes Mader, and re-edited in three volumes between 1702 and 1705 by a priest named Schmidt. These volumes represent the starting-point of library science in modern times. I say modern, for the literature of library his- tory in ancient Greece and Rome was not in- significant, as the titles of the works of Artemon of Cassandra, Herennios Philon, Telephos of Pergamon, and M. Terentius Varro bear ample witness, and we are looking forward with ex- pectancy to the translation of the bibliographic treasures of Tello and Nippur ! Of no other subject, probably, than " library history " is it true that no history of it has been written in the German language. Not that Germans are not interested in libraries, or in writing about them, since they have published a new manual of library economy on an average every three years for the last three-quarters of a century. But as regards library history, they seem not yet to have emerged from the monographic period, as the 30 publications on the library of Alexandria alone attest. To the present moment the only work in gen- eral library history worthy of consideration is Edwards's "Memoirs of libraries," published in London, 1859, in two volumes, which to- gether contain 2010 octavo pages. The " Memoirs" is a noble monument of dis- interested zeal ; and while the lack of perspec- tive has been criticised, which devotes isopages of the first volume to printing some early cata- logs in extenso, I would hesitate to deny the value of these pages as they stand, though I seem to hear distant murmurs as of a pub- lisher's anathemas still lingering about them. Four hundred pages treating of "the libra- ries of the ancients" and of "the Middle Ages" brings the work down to "the modern libraries of Great Britain and Ireland," under which head 120 pages are devoted to the Li- brary of the British Museum. In the second volume the discussion of the British libraries is concluded, the 600 pages devoted to this sub- ject bringing it down so as to include a con- sideration of the acts of 1850 and 1855, and a brief account of the libraries established under them. "The libraries of the United States of America" are appreciatively treated in 80 pages. If this appears a small number, re- member that it was written over 35 years ago. Subse_quently the libraries of each of the countries of Europe receive consideration. Notes in the eighth and ninth volumes of the Library Jottrnal announced that a new edition of the "Memoirs" was under way, and its publication expected in 1884. But in 1886, when the author died, it had not appeared. For such a store-house we are all under a TEGGART. 37 debt of lasting gratitude to the indefatigable but somewhat ill-starred author. Among half a dozen other works which Edwards published on libraries, perhaps his "Free town libraries" only need be mentioned. It remains the first as well as the only attempt to treat connectedly of the "formation, management, and history" of what we usually term "public libraries," in Britain, France, Germany, and America. (Lond., 1869.) Of the libraries of the United States, the earliest account appeared in the Serapeum (Leipzig) in 1845-46. The seven articles which appeared under the title " Bibliographic und Bibliotheken in den Vereinigtenstaaten von Nord-Amerika " were contributed by H. Lude- wig, of New York. In 1849 tne British House of Commons ap- pointed a commission to make inquiries con- cerning public libraries. In the course of its investigation the commission requested infor- mation from foreign governments concerning the public libraries in their dominions. To this request answers were readily sent in except by the United States, the Secretary of State reply- ing, under date of July 18, 1850, "That, with every disposition to do so, the Department finds that it has no means of gratifying the wishes of Her Majesty's government in this respect." The editors of the Libraries Report of 1876 draw the inference from this statement (p. 759) "that one of the reasons of the attempt to gather the statistics of public libraries in the United States census of 1850 was the discovery of our inability to answer the inquiry." By these comments one's curiosity is considerably aroused, for on Jan. i, 1850, Chas. C. Jewett, librarian of the Smithsonian Institution, had re- ported to the secretary of the Institution his " Notices of public libraries in America," which contains exactly the information the English government desired to obtain. Morover, for some unassigned reason the printing of this re- port of Jewett's was held over for a year, the title-page bearing the date 1851. Such items furnish food for speculations into which I will not enter. Jewett explains his object in preparing the "Notices" as follows: "Of these [public] li- braries I have endeavored to collect such his- torical, statistical, and descriptive notices as would be of general interest; together with such special details as would be beneficial to those who are engaged in the organization and care of similar establishments " (p. 4). To accomplish the end in view a circular letter was sent out, and in addition to the in- formation derived from the answers received, quotations were given from local histories, newspapers, and other similar sources. The only query in the circular which perhaps would not be quite familiar to us is, " Have the books been injured at any time by insects?" Those insects seem to have had a happy exist- ence in the early days of the century. One bold librarian, whose library was open "every day from 4 p.m. till 9," and to whose library " eight or ten" persons "resorted daily," states that the books may be saved from insects " by tak- ing them out every week or two and striking the backs together, also by clippings of Russia leather scattered about on the shelves." The Smithsonian Institution continued for some years to accumulate material in emenda- tion and extension of Jewett's report. When, however, this new material was prepared by W. J. Rhees and "presented to the secretary of the Institution, he found it so extended with matter not within the original design, that he did not think himself authorized to adopt it as a Smithsonian report on libraries." Conse- quently the Institution issued in 1859 a report of 84 pages, coming within the required scope, and Lippincott in the same year published for Rhees a volume of 715 pages, entitled " Manual of public libraries, institutions, and societies in the United States and British Provinces of North America." Statistics of libraries have been included in the census reports since 1850, but as remarked by Gen. Walker in 1872, " the statistics of libra- ries have never been very creditable to the United States." Since the establishment of the U. S. Bureau of Education the subject of libraries has re- ceived ever-increasing consideration as being a branch of the educational system of the country. Thus the two pages of statistics on libraries contained in the annual report for 1869 had grown in 1893 to a separate volume of 226 pages. Statistics were contained also in the special report issued by the Bureau of Education in 1876 on "The public libraries of the United States of America : their history, condition, and management." This report was the first co- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. operative effort of the libraries of this country, and was edited by Samuel R. Warren and MajorS. H. Clark, who were appointed by the Commissioner of Education. About two-thirds of its 1200 pages are taken up with historical, descriptive, and statistical matter, the remainder with papers on library economy. The Library Journal 'has for the most part ab- sorbed all the energy of those librarians who during the last 20 years have felt inclined to compose literary-wise on professional themes. Professor Justin Winsor seems to have been one who, at a time, had dreams of being the historian of American libraries. At a time when no reliable information was available, he collected statistics of libraries in this country and in Europe, and published them as an ap- pendix to the iyth annual report (1869) of the Boston Public Library. A decade later he made a readable contribution to the subject in a series of articles which were published in the Literary World (1879-80). Without laying too much emphasis on the comparison, our compatriot seems to have made about the same discovery as his predecessor of whom I have made mention that it is easier to write the history of libraries in pre library days than afterwards. In this case the author leads off strongly with " The beginnings of our public library system: 1672- 1838," hovers over M. Vattemare for a couple of papers, and ultimately sinks out of sight with " Bookbuying 30 years ago." The two opening chapters in Fletcher's " Pub- lic libraries in America" are a valuable histori- cal contribution, although brief. Much has been said from time to time before the conferences as to the need and value of a library handbook, which would embody the bibliothecal wisdom of our day. Doubtless such a work would be appreciated, but it is evident that the difficulties in the way of its production have been too great. There is, however, another means by which the men who 20 years ago founded this Asso- ciation, and have since been its stay and sup- port, could additionally inspire and stimulate the younger generation upon whom in time their mantle must fall, and that is by recording the library history of their own time. It is not a means which would entail upon any single person too great an amount of labor, yet it is one which would preserve its stimulus and value to every generation of librarians yet to come. What would not the world at large give for the personal recollections or memoirs of the men to whose inspiration was due the building of the great cathedrals and the great universi- ties of Europe ? And yet the democratization of the libraries of our country within the 20 years just passed is in every sense as important an event in the his- tory of our race as those other more ancient foundations. As important, too, in the devel- opment of republican ideals as they were per- manent factors in religion and education. The men to whom we, the younger generation of librarians, look up, are great men of our day, and it will be infinitely deplored in the time to come if we do not, by every form of induce- ment which can be brought to bear, prevail upon them to give to us an account of the personal aspirations, experiences, recollections, of the men to whom is due the foundation and estab- lishment of the American Library Association and its work. POTTER. 39 THE SELECTION OF BOOKS FOR COLLEGE LIBRARIES. BY ALFRED C. POTTER, ORDERING DEPARTMENT HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY. ~C*OR the purposes of the present discussion it is not necessary to differentiate the col- lege and the university library. Both may be considered as essential parts of institutions of the higher learning, and as such their functions are identical, namely, to educate, by every means in their power, the readers that come to them. That the readers that frequent the uni- versity library include in general more ad- vanced students than those that go to the college library need not concern us here. Nor need we dwell on the fact that the university library often includes the special libraries of the various schools the theological, the medical, the law school, etc. The wants of these are generally so special and are so often looked after by a separate librarian that we need not consider them. Our attention may for the present be confined to the central library of the university, which for practical purposes does not differ essentially from the college library. The readers of both may be conveniently divided into two main classes teachers and students. It is the needs of these two classes and the best way of supplying them that we are to con- sider in this paper. It is obvious that the freshman, still in his teens and with mind crude and unused to books, will require very differ- ent kinds of books from those that may rightly be demanded by the professor, past-master of the most intricate problems of science or litera- ture. The wants of the students are comparatively simple and easy to satisfy. In the main their principal demands will be for books to be used in connection with the courses of study not indeed text-books, for those at least the student should be encouraged to own, but the works that are recommended for reading by the in- structors as supplementary to the courses. For the average student, elementary works rather than advanced treatises are needed. Then, too, he needs all the reference-books we can provide for him. But our duty to the student is not ended when we have placed before him the necessary tools for his classwork. It is not enough if we supply him with the material needed for his theses or for his part at com- mencement. Perhaps the highest duty of the college towards its students is to give them general culture, and in this the library can do a large share. The standard works of litera- ture the writings of the great poets, novel- ists, essayists, and historians may or may not be treated in the college curriculum. Never- theless, the library should have them on its shelves and should encourage the students to read them. In this way can the library aid the college in sending out on commencement day men who are more than mere scholars, who are well-read, who know the world of books and how to use it, who, in short, have attained not only scholarship but culture. For the prbfessors we must provide wholly different books. They may be presumed, each in his own subject, already to be acquainted with both the elementary and standard books. They will want new books giving the latest theories, the results of the most advanced re- search. They will need also the older works as showing perhaps the rise and early develop- ment of their subjects. While for the student it is wise to provide, only the best, for the pro- fessor, surveying his field in its widest extent, everything is necessary good, bad, and in- different. While the books for the students will be in general inexpensive, those needed by the professors will oftentimes be rare and costly. But when we regret the fact that for the price given for a book that will perhaps be used by a single professor, we could buy 50 books that would be used by a hundred stu- dents, we must remember that the furthering of research is a part of our function. If I have dwelt somewhat at length on this analysis of the kinds of books required, it is because in it I find the key to my main subject "The selection of books for college libra- ries." No library, I suppose, has money enough to buy all the books needed for its work ; and the college librarian is always greatly hampered in his operations by the college treasurer. In some way, then, a selec- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. tion must be made of the most necessary books. Now, if we examine the various kinds of books wanted, we shall see that they fall into practi- cally the same lines as the college courses that is, the students want books on the sub- jects of the courses they are studying, and the professors on those they are teaching. Thus it is natural that we should turn to the in- structors in the various departments of study for aid in the choice of books. Theoretically a college library is in a most advantageous position in this matter of select- ing books and is far better off in this respect than the public library; for it has a body of trained specialists whose privilege it is and duty it should be to select the books for its shelves. Not only are these specialists familiar with the literatures both past and current of their various departments, but they may fairly be supposed to know better than the librarian can what gaps exist in the present collections and what is most needed to fill them. In short, the theoretical position of the college library is nearly ideal. But in practice the ideal is apt to be somewhat shattered ; it has sometimes seemed to me that almost any other system of selecting books would be better than that usually followed by college libraries. Let us examine for a moment their general mode of procedure. In most colleges there is appointed a commitee consisting of perhaps the president, half a dozen professors, and the li- brarian, to have the general oversight of the library. Commonly the most important and sometimes the only duty of this committee is to apportion at the beginning of the year the in- come available for books among the different departments of study. Each of the appropria- tions thus made is then to be expended under the direction of the professor or professors of that department. An allowance is usually left to be spent by the librarian for general works and for books in subjects not taught in the col- lege. Under such a system it is the duty of the professors to see that the money allowed them is all properly expended, and it is the duty of the librarian to see that no professor exceeds the amount allotted him. To the librarian should be assigned at least an advisory and preferably a veto power. When, for example, a guileless pro- fessor of English literature with an appropria- tion of $200 orders the first edition of Robert Burns, a copy of which sold lately for ,T.2i, it is time for the librarian to cry halt. And in general he must by judicious advice endeavor to check the unwise expenditure of appropria- tions. He must see that the books bought are of a useful character; that extravagant pur- chases are not made. The income of a college library should not be spent for bibliographical curiosities for large-paper copies, fine bind- ings, or other "collectors'" books. But the librarian's duty has more than a negative side; he must not only see that the most important general works are purchased out of the money reserved for that purpose, but he should con- stantly bring to the attention of the professors the titles of books that he fears they may have overlooked. Thus with a wide-awake librarian, ready both to check and drive forward the pro- fessors, this plan of selecting books ought to be most successful. But for many causes it falls far short of what might reasonably be ex- pected of it. In the first place the professors are not ma- chines all built in the same shop and warranted each to order every year a given amount of books and no more. On the contrary they are very human and their varying personal equa- tions enter largely into the problem. Some are too busy, some, I fear, too lazy, to order their full quota of books, and some, on the other hand, are always inclined to order more than their fair share. The only trouble with the men in the last class is that it is sometimes hard to convince them that their money really is all gone. In excuse for those that do not or- der enough we ought to remember that to select with judicious care several hundred dollars' worth of books in any subject every year re- quires no small amount of time and labor, and that the average college professor is a very busy man. Yet it is a most serious matter for the library to be falling behind in any subject; not only is it a present evil, but its effects will be felt for years to come. It may be said that in a long series of years this evil will rectify itself, that the inactive professor who orders few or no books will in time be succeeded by a more energetic man who will fill up the gaps. And in the long run this is true at the end of a century the neglected subject probably would be filled up and the balance of the library re- stored. But it is small consolation to know that at the close of the 2Oth century the defi- POTTER. ciencies caused by the negligence of one of the professors of to-day will have been made good. And it is a heavy burden that the negligent professor is leaving for his successors. Sup- pose, to take an illustration at random, that the members of^he mathematical department do not care whether the library buys any mathematical books or not and hand in almost no orders. This goes on perhaps for ten years, when new members enter the department, and the new blood infused begets new activity and the de- sire to order books once more. The new in- structors will find that they have not only to buy the important current publications but to make up the arrears of a decade. While the sci- ence of mathematics has been advancing the library has been stagnant, and it will be years before it can recover from the temporary paraly- sis. Thus the iniquity of the professor of to- day shall be visited on his successors unto the third and fourth generation. Then there is the professor who orders by fits and starts, who one year orders everything that appears on his subject and the next year almost nothing, and who is sure to fail to order the most im- portant book. This danger of important publi- cations being overlooked by the professors is a serious matter that can only be guarded against by watchfulness on the part of the librarian. The danger increases where there are several instructors ordering on one appropriation, or when a book might fall under any one of sev- eral appropriations. But if the negligent professor is an injury to the library, so in but slightly less a degree is the hobby-horsical professor the man who allows his hobby to gallop away with the whole of his appropriation, leaving nothing for the riders of other and perhaps better horses. But to drop the metaphor, which to tell the truth is almost running away with me, the professor with a specialty may do decided harm to the li- brary, or at least to the portion of it under his direction. He will almost invariably develop its resources on this specialty at the expense of the other sides of his subject. Perhaps the French professor is an enthusiastic Molierist, and has gathered many editions of Moliere, sup- plemented by a great mass of biographical and critical material. The collection is of undoubted value, and contains everything needed for a most profound study of the master of French comedy; but the student of modern French lit- erature and criticism will find that his wants have been scantily provided for. Or again it is the professor of history whose hobby is the history of the Slavic countries ; he has stocked the library well with histories of Russia and Bulgaria in all sorts of unreadable languages, but left England and France and Germany to look out for themselves. Or perhaps the pro- fessor of physics is engaged in investigating the velocity and length of light waves, and orders only books that will help him in his own re- searches; the students anxious to explore other fields of physics, the whole realm of electricity for instance, must go away unsatisfied. These imaginary cases are perhaps somewhat exag- gerated, although I have in mind one at Har- vard that furnishes a fairly close parallel. Yet they do serve to illustrate the grave danger of leaving the matter of ordering too much in the hands of the professors. The specialties men- tioned above are all valuable in themselves, but if allowed to develop without due regard to other branches of the same subjects, the in- evitable result will be a lamentably one-sided library. Another serious defect of this system is the failure to provide sufficiently for subjects not covered by the college curriculum. To a cer- tain extent the librarian can purchase the more important of such books out of the reserve fund under his control; but that sum, usually small, is apt to be pretty well exhausted by the de- mands upon it for general works and reference- books. The result is that when, as not infre- quently happens, a new subject is introduced among the college courses, the new instructor finds the library contains few of the books that he needs. But before we consider the remedies for this undesirable state of things, it is but just that we should glance at the other side of the picture. Too much cannot be said in praise of the priceless aid that the conscientious and scholarly professor often gives in the selection of books. Busy with a thousand other things, he devotes his time and his skill to advancing the interests of the library in ways that are beyond the reach of the librarian, no matter how accomplished he may be. For the latter cannot have the special knowledge that the professor has attained by a lifetime of study in one line. Thus in the course of years of earnest effort may the professor create special collections that shall be unrivalled PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. and shall make the library a Mecca for scholars. The recompense for his unstinted labors will be the pleasure of seeing the gradual completion of his ideals, and of having his own knowledge increased by the use of the books he has helped to gather. And in passing I cannot refrain from paying a tribute to the late Professor Child, of Harvard. No one outside of the Harvard Li- brary can realize the great service he did tow- ards building up its collections. A student of the highest rank and profoundest knowledge, he gave to the library for many years the bene- fit of his ripe scholarship and wide acquaintance with books. The amount of time and energy that he devoted to this work of selecting books can hardly be appreciated; its value cannot be over-stated. The result of his labors is that the Harvard collection of folklore is probably second to none in the world, while in the other subjects in which he took especial interest ballads, mediaeval literature and romances, and Scandinavian and Slavic literature the col- lections certainly equal any in this country. Nor were these books gathered by any exces- sive or lavish expenditure of money, but rather by careful purchasing and patient waiting. It is when one considers what such a man as Pro- fessor Child can do for a college library that one hesitates to condemn utterly this system of allowing the professors to choose the books. However serious one may deem its defects, the possibilities of the plan stand out so clearly that one is inclined to find modifications rather than to seek a substitute. In the way of modifications and improvements much can be done by the librarian without making any radical change in the system. By personal interviews with the professors who are not doing their part in the ordering or who are ordering books too largely on one subject, he may bring them to see the error of their ways and (perhaps) to reform. He can frequently send them for approval titles of books that he thinks ought to be in the library in their de- partment. At Harvard we have a printed re- turn envelope that we send with such sugges- tions. I have found one obstacle to the use of this scheme in that the very professors that we wish to reach that is, those who do not order enough books are the very ones who fail to approve the suggested title. Either they ignore the hint entirely or they decline to sign the order for one or another reason usually be- cause they have a list of books they mean to order when they have time, but that time never comes. On the other hand, the men who al- ways order more than their appropriations will pay for and whose orders are always waiting on the deferred list for better times or a new year these men are ready to approve every order sent them. A friendly hint from the librarian that an appropriation is not being used up and is therefore in danger of being reduced by the committee another year on the ground that it is unnecessarily large is often effectual. Even the most indifferent professor is disturbed at that prospect ; he likes to have his full allow- ance whether he uses it or not. If the librarian can ask the professor to examine the book itself instead of merely sending him the title of it, it is often a great gain. Arrangements can be made with the booksellers to send packages of new books from time to time on approval; these can be kept open to the inspection of the pro- fessors for a week or so, and it is surprising how much they will be looked over and how many good books will be bought from them that would not otherwise be ordered. Encourage the professors to order by using as little red-tape as possible at least keep it out of their sight. Do not insist on their writing out a regular order-card for every book they want. Take the orders gratefully in whatever way they prefer to give them checked in a publisher's or bookseller's catalogue, written in a letter or scrawled on a page torn from a pocket diary, or delivered by word of mouth take them in any form; the librarian and his assist- ants can copy them on the order-cards and tie them up with as much red-tape as the ordering system may require. Even when the absent- minded professor comes in and says he wants a book he saw noticed a few weeks ago, he has forgotten the author's name and can't recall the title, but he is sure it is a good book because the Nation or the Saturday Review, he really can't remember which, said so, try to find out what he wants and get it for him. Make him and all the rest of the faculty understand that they are doing the library a favor when they order books. A remedy that I should like to see tried perhaps some of you may have tried it ? is to allow the librarian to fill up the order lists under such appropriations as are not nearly exhausted by a given time, say two months before the end POTTER. 43 of the year. This would throw a heavy task on the librarian, but would tend toward a more even development of the library than if the ap- propriations were allowed to lapse, or than if the unused balance, as has sometimes been sug- gested, were turned over to some other depart- ment where it would be more appreciated. A similar remedy, and one that we have tried sev- eral times at Harvard, is to give the librarian a share in appropriations that experience had shown were not used up by the professors in charge. The evil of injudicious and one-sided order- ing is harder to cope with than insufficient ordering. Moral suasion is about the only means available, and that is often of little use in stopping the mad gallop of the professional hobby-horse. The professor accustomed to this system is apt to resent any interference with his full freedom of ordering, and to think himself a better judge of the needs of the library in his particular department than the librarian. Still with a little diplomacy much may be done to change the current of ordering into better and wider channels. If there are other and espe- cially younger men in the affected department induce them to take their share in the work of ordering. And let the librarian himself con- tinually exert his influence to counteract the evil. A more radical remedy would be to grant the professors only the right of suggestion instead of a practically absolute control over the appro- priations. Let their orders be considered on their individual merits by the librarian or a book committee, as would those asked for by the patrons of any other library. But if the pro- fessors found their orders were liable to rejec- tion they would be likely to take less interest than they do now, and the library would thus lose much of the benefit derived from their special knowledge. While the growth of the library as a whole would undoubtedly be more systematic and even, I cannot but think that in many departments the books would be chosen with less skill and good judgment. In other words, in spite of the many drawbacks which I have pointed out, it seems pretty clear that the best interests of the college library are promoted by depending largely on the aid of the profes- sors in selecting the books. But in order to .secure the best results the librarian must not feel that he is relieved of the responsibility for the proper increase of the library. His duties are rather added to, for he must see that each member of the faculty does his proper share of the ordering and does it well. He must urge Prof. This to order more books, must keep Prof. That from ordering too many, and must make Prof. The Other dismount from his hob- by-horse. And all the while he is managing this staff of specialists he must spend wisely his own appropriation for general books. Thus with constant watchfulness and ready action the librarian can do much toward bringing this system nearer to its ideal perfection. I have not tried to distinguish between the needs of the large and the small college libra- ry. The principle of selection must be the same for both; the details will differ in every library. No matter how ample the income may appear, the demand for books will always exceed the supply of money. The larger the library the greater its needs. No professor in a college with an annual income of perhaps $1000 for books would think of suggesting that $700 of it be spent for Wadding's Annales Ordi- nis Minorum, or $200 for Bulaeus' Historia Universitatis Parisiensis; but his fellow in the university with its annual expenditure for books of $15,000 or $20,000 may demand such works as a right. What particular books to buy will be a different problem in each libra- ry, and the solution of it will depend on the amount of income, the class of readers, the presence of a considerable body of graduate students and professors doing special work, the proximity of other libraries, and many other varying factors. In short, generalization would be futile. For this reason I have preferred to consider the methods of selection which in principle do not differ materially for great or small libraries. There are several other matters which I hope will be discussed in connection with the gen- eral topic of the selection of books. In the few minutes left at my disposal I can only suggest them in the hope that you will take them up for discussion. The first is the question of periodicals. How large a portion of its funds is the college library justified in spending for periodicals ? Should we allow a professor to use the whole or a great part of his appropriation for them ? The demands of the professors in this direction are almost insatiable. In order to keep abreast of 44 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. the advance of any science it is necessary to have the costly and constantly increasing peri- odical literature of that science. The aggre- gate expense of providing these indispensable tools of the professor's trade is enormous, and the value of them is often in the main tempo- rary, for the more important results are sure to appear sooner or later in the form of mono- graphs, and the original tentative form will retain mainly an historical interest. Every periodical subscribed to constitutes a per- manent liability against our funds, and crip- ples the library's purchasing power in other and more lasting directions. At Harvard we are constantly resisting the pressure to add new ones to our lists, yet in spite of ourselves we are spending over a third of our income for periodicals and the publications of learned so- cieties, and the burden is growing from year to year. Another question is the matter of providing duplicates of books in special demand. A pro- fessor recommends his class of 50 or a 100 men to read a certain book before the next lecture. Even if the book is on our reserve shelves it is impossible for the whole class to read it in two or three days. Shall we buy a second copy? a third ? or even more ? The Har- vard practice has been against this duplication, although we have made an occasional excep- tion. The need is usually a comparatively temporary one, and it has not been thought a wise policy to spend our funds in gratifying it. The most important exceptions have been in the class-room libraries, where sometimes a dozen copies of a much-used book are provided. And this brings me to my last point for discus- ion the selection of books for class-room li- braries. Class-room or seminary libraries have now become a prominent feature in most colleges and universities. Should the choice of books for them be left entirely to the professors in charge of the particular department ? Should the books in them be duplicates of those in the central library or should the aim be to supple- ment the main collection ? My own opinion is very strong that if a college owns but one copy of a book it should be in the main library, and that these subordinate libraries should con- tain merely a working collection of the more necessary books, duplicating those in the col- lege library proper. Yet I find some class-room libraries managed on precisely the opposite theory of providing only books that are not in the college library, while others are run hap- hazard without any theory at all, the books being purchased by the professor in charge without regard to whether or not they are du- plicates. Let me sum up in a few words my main con- clusions on this subject of selecting books for college libraries. The system usually in vogue of leaving the matter chiefly in the hands of the members of the faculty is by no means ideal; and I have tried to indicate some ways of avoid- ing its principal defects. No system can be perfect, and on the whole the advantages of this one outweigh its faults. With a few slight modifications, and most important of all with a librarian alive to his responsibilities and ready to amend by every means in his power the recognized shortcomings of the system, the books of the library under this plan will be well and wisely selected, and the library will thus be helped to do its proper share in the further- ance of the higher education for which our col- leges and universities stand. RICHARDSON. 45 THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST AMONG BOOKS. BY ERNEST C. RICHARDSON, LIBRARIAN OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. TN considering this subject let me remark, in the first place, that the paper has nothing whatever to do directly with the question of moral fitness of books, but relates to that fit- ness to survive in the struggle for life which may or may not be affected by the question of moral, intellectual, or imaginative worthiness. Again, and in a similar line, let me say that this paper does not concern primarily the ques- tion of the evolution of the ideas themselves, or their relative fitness to survive. No doubt there is a struggle for life among ideas, -but this paper has to do with the idea in the definite form of a book, and the thesis is this : That among books as among men, animals, and plants, there is a struggle for life in which the fittest survive by reason of some favorable variation which gives them some advantage in the struggle, and the aim of the paper is to in- dicate some of the factors which tend to sur- vival. When the paper was first outlined it was discouraging, the facts seemed so obvious that it appeared as if the paper would not be inter- esting even to its author, but since then I have come across the following, signed J. E. in Mr. Aflalo's " Literary year-book " : " But our point here," he says, "speaking calmly, is that in the propagation of books alone of Nature's crea- tions, we can discover no tendencies at work to insure the survival of the fittest through the extermination of the unfit." Here, at least, was some one to whom the matter was not obvious. In fact something quite otherwise was obvious. The issue could hardly be more clear-cut. It is a concrete ex- example of the struggle for life among ideas. These two ideas of J. E. and E. C. R. are mu- tually exclusive. They cannot both survive, and yet in the long run the fittest will survive because it is the fittest, and then they will know which is the fittest because it has survived. In the meantime I beg to state the reasons for thinking that the fittest survive in this struggle for life in the race of books, and that there are definite tendencies at work to insure this survival. The fact of the struggle and perishing is clear enough. All books do not live forever. We see moth and rust, weather and pet dogs at their destructive work all the time. There are, in fact, practically no autographs of the ancients not a ms. of the New Testament earlier than the fourth century. Some of the ancients have utterly disappeared ; but though so many copies of each have perished, Plato and St. Paul, for example, do survive. Why is it, then, that one book survives while another perishes ? Is it the result of chance or law ? I answer law in both cases. It is clear in the first place that, apart from accidental causes, there is a direct tendency to cause the extermination of some books in the very fact of multiplication of books. The reading public does not provide food enough, so- to speak, to support an indefinite book pop- ulation. When this feeding-ground is over- stocked some of the population must perish, and the less strong, the less beautiful, the less clever, fail to get the needed dollars, or readers, on which they feed, and so they perish ; and books once strong are continually elbowed out of their natural feeding-ground by stronger ones with more favorable variations. Metaphor aside, we know that few books are long lived; that the number of books which can keep human attention at any given time is so small that there must be a continual tendency of the less valuable to fall away, and if it is said that three books are written to every one that finds a publisher, and that three out of four among books published fail to pay, we know- that large numbers actually are exterminated through the action of their enemies, the pub- lishers, the critics, and pre-eminently the indif- ferent public, who, however, do not slaughter but only fail to nourish. This makes the analogy with animal survival the more striking, for, as Mr. Darwin had to keep constantly pointing out, the struggle among plants and animals does not so often mean slaughter as starvation, the weaker is not destroyed by the stronger, but the stronger is better able to secure food and escape fire and flood, and therefore sur- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. vives, and the same is true of books. It is clear, therefore, that there is a strong tendency to extermination in the mere increase in pro- duction. But while this is true of books themselves, the converse is true respecting the copies of any one book. The more editions and the more copies there are the greater the technical fit- ness to survive. The first factor in the survival of the fittest among books we may describe as, (r) Mere numbers. Suppose, e.g., alarge num- ber of copies of a single edition of a popular book. It is clear that in dangers of war, fire, vandalism, mould, insects, hard reading, etc., the mere fact of numbers increases the proba- bility that some member or members of the fam- ily will escape being worn to death or otherwise destroyed. A second factor is of similar char- acter and may be called, (2) Wide distribution. Under wide distribution the probability which comes from mere numbers is greatly increased. An edition of some volumes of Migne's " Pa- trology," and in the same way an Oxford edi- tion of "Lucretius," were almost wholly de- stroyed by fires which took place before they had left the warehouse. This represents a minimum of distribution, and the same thing might have happened if they had been dis- tributed through a thousand houses in any one city, while it could not have happened if they had been distributed in a hundred cities in a score of countries. A third factor may be found in (3) Durability of material. It is hardly necessary to enlarge on this. Very few of the papyri of Egypt have been preserved to us, while on the other hand the Assyrian and Babylonian tablets, although they suffer from breaking and disintegration, are yet preserved to us in much greater quan- tities. It has been said that the reason why the paper copies of some books are more valu- able than the vellum copies is because they are rarer, and that this rareness is because they are printed on perishable material. One can well believe this on considering how rare an unworn, unmutilated copy of some early editions of the English Bible are. Again, a fourth and most important factor is found in (4) Beauty of material. Many of the copies of the early printed books which we have are not merely in good condition, but very per- fect. This is because they have been kept with peculiar care and little use, the very fact, e.g., that a book is printed on vellum and more handsome leading to its being used and kept more carefully. In this way all that which is embraced under the term " luxury of books " contributes to survival. The early New Testa- ment codices are for the most part magnificent specimens, and date from a peculiarly favored time when the production of a sumptuous edi- tion was subsidized by the emperor. It is natural that in times of war and confiscation and prohibition that copies which from their fine workmanship or fine binding were peculi- arly dear to the heart of the owner, or were peculiarly valuable financially, should be hid- den with especial pains, should be rescued first from fire, should be saved as spoils by victors when other things were burned or thrown into the river, and so excellence in this regard has actually been a prime factor in survival. The same principle certainly holds in every-day use, in that in the family and in the public library the choice edition with fine, print, margin, and illustration is cherished with peculiar care, and to such a degree that it often happens that a book of very indiffer- ent merit as to literary quality is preserved simply on account of the conditions of its get- up, or some condition of environment which makes its preservation reasonable. The value, e.g., which comes to a book at the present time simply from the fact of its having been one of the publications of the Grolier Club is a totally artificial matter, but it is one which puts men into competition for the privilege of safeguarding it, and makes it worth while to care for it on account of its financial value. And so it may happen that a book sumptuous- ly gotten up and which men hesitate to destroy on that account, may survive even a better book. It is not so fit to be read but fitter to be kept ! Once more, and finally among what may be called the exterpal factors, any quality which tends to induce care, even known rarity and fra- gility which seem tendencies to extermination, or such accidental circumstances as extra illustra- tions, autographs, and the like, tends to survival. Some single unpublished ms. in the British Museum has a better chance of surviving the next one hundred years than hundreds of books now extant in hundreds of copies. These external factors are the direct occa- sions of survival. The exercise of any one is a favorable variation which tends to survival, and NELSON. 47 all survival is effected chiefly through them. This, however, is not all the story, for these favorable variations themselves are the direct product of the literary quality of the book it- self, or what we may call the internal factors of survival. The chief internal factors of survival are two in number: (i) vitality of idea, and (2) style, or beauty of form ; that is to say, (i) strength, and (2) beauty. If two books are equal in liter- ary skill then the one with the best ideas is best fitted to survive; if they are the same in idea then the one with style will tend to sur- vive. Even if one is weak or wrong in idea it may, perhaps, through grace and charm of presentation, be better fitted to survive as a book than one which, though right in idea, is presented in a stiff, harsh, involved, and sesque- pedalian style, and vice versa. In each instance there is something in common, and in one in- stance a favorable variation which tends to survival, and the works survive because of this favorable variation. Now, if (to make the matter more clear) the better ideas be united with the more artful presentation, there is then a combination of favorable variations which make survival sure, not again be it noted, by any aggression, but because the one is less fitted to survive in the struggle for readers than the other. These internal factors are the di- rect occasion of the external ones. It is the ideas and style of a book, e.g., which cause mul- tiplication and distribution of editions and copies. Perpendicular ones often overtake horizontal ones by virtue of this fact. Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare did not probably begin with as large initial editions as Marie Corelli or Lew Wallace, but there are probably more copies of Homer to-day than there will be of the " Sor- rows of Satan " 3000 years from now. In the same way it is esteem for the ideas and style which leads to the use of desirable and beautiful material aid to care. Nevertheless it is not the internal but the external factors through which the survival is actually effected. They are the direct fac- tors. It is therefore a natural selection.. The books do not survive by any esoteric tendency of the really worthy to survive, but by rea- son of definite material circumstances which give one book an advantage over another in the struggle for life, and by definite historical steps do cause it so to survive. The internal factors of ideas and style pro- duce the external factors of number distribu- tion, durability of material, beauty of material, and inducements to care. It is not necessary to call the attention of this audience to the close relation of these terms to the terms of scientific evolution. If you say that it is still a matter of chance whether a book survives or not, I say that it is only chance in the same sense that it is in the case of plants and animals. Whether Provi- dence lies back of a definite form of ideas or a definite form of animal or plant life it is not within the province of this paper to examine. A BIT OF CLASSIFICATION: TREATMENT OF HARVARDIANA BY THE HARVARD CLUB OF NEW YORK. BY C: ALEX. NELSON, DEPUTY LIBRARIAN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. '"PHIS account of the classification which has been adopted for the library of the Har- vard Club of New York City is given simply as a memorandum or note of what may be done for a special collection relating to a single uni- versity or college. It is the aim of the Harvard Club to gather into its collection, to the fullest possible ex- tent, whatever has been published by or con- cerning Harvard College or University since its foundation, as well as all that has been written by or about the officers and graduates of the university. With the exception of a few of the more useful and important books for general reference, the annual and triennial catalogs of other colleges, and annual club books, no effort will be made to procure books outside of the special field of Harvardiana. The official publications will be classified under the several departments of the univer- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. sity by which they are issued ; e.g., corpora- tion, board of overseers, president, treasurer, etc., and those of the Phi Beta Kappa and other societies as society publications. The special feature of the plan is that adopted for the pub- lications of graduates. These are arranged by the year of graduation of the authors, that is by the college classes, the authors in each class and biographies of members of the class being arranged in alphabetical order under the year of the class, preceded by the class books or secretary's reports when these have been pub- lished. This brings all the publications of each author together, no matter in how many different departments of literature or science he may have written. It also shows upon the shelves the literary history of each class that has been graduated from the university. Graduates of the Law, Medical, Divinity and Lawrence Scientific Schools and Bussey Insti- tute will be arranged by their classes in the several schools, except when they have been previously graduated as regular alumni, in which case the year of graduation from the col- lege takes the preference. In the case of pamphlet publications, of which several thousand have already been collected and bound, it is not expected that strictly exact classification can be observed, especially with those published in the earliest years of the col- lege. It is held to be close enough if a single volume contain pamphlets written by members of several classes in the latter part of the I7th century, the years covered by the volume being lettered on the back. In later years more than one volume is often needed for the pamphlet publications of a single author. In a similar way articles contributed to magazines and periodicals are collected and bound up by classes (of authors). The peculiarity of this classification springs from the peculiar demand made upon this spe- cial collection. The members of a club com- posed of the alumni of an institution of learn- ing do not seek in a collection of its ana for information on science or general topics, but the most natural query in the mind of each is ' ' What have the fellows been doing ? " " What is the literary record of my classmates ?" And the more exact and complete the answer to these queries, the more valuable the collection whence the answer is drawn. In a club of col- lege graduates where the library shelves are open and free of access to all the members, ar- rangement by college classes as above indicated seems to be the best that can be adopted. THE CARE OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS. BY WILBERFORCE EAMES, LIBRARIAN OF THE LENOX LIBRARY, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. TV/TY remarks on the care of special collec- tions will be restricted chiefly to the methods in use, or in contemplation for use, at the Lenox branch of the New York Public Li- brary. RARE BOOKS. I find that one of the subjects assigned to me is the treatment of rare books. For that matter it is well to state, at the outset, that in the ar- rangement of the Lenox collections no books are classed as rare or curious. They are treated, in fact, from a practical standpoint only, and are arranged according to their subjects and periods, with regard to the purposes for which they can best be used. One of the specialties of the library being early American history, the books relating to that subject which were printed before 1800, are, with some few exceptions, shelved by themselves in chronological order, under the dates of publication, and in this way they form a sort of reserved group, in which the rarer and more valuable editions are included. When they are called into use, the reader is invited into a section of the reading-room set apart for the purpose, and the books are placed before him on cloth-covered tables, where they are used under supervision. Publications of early date in English literature and in other subjects are arranged in a similar way, and are treated with equal care. Many of the more valuable books are re- served for the exhibition-room, where they are placed open in glass show-cases, which are made as nearly dust-tight as possible. Here, again, nothing is admitted merely because it is rare or curious. As the exhibition is mainly for educational purposes, the exhibits are selected with that end in view, and they are arranged in a systematic order. I believe that this feature of the library is one of the most practical uses to which rare books can be put. It certainly attracts people, and if we may judge by the thousands who EAMES. 49 visit the place every year, in increasing num- bers, it must be appreciated by book-lovers and educators. There is a good deal to be learned from an exhibition of this kind. Among those who come are teachers with their classes and library schools with their instructors ; visi- tors from out of town and tourists from abroad; and many with their note-books, jotting down the things they wish to remember. Indeed, those who come once generally come again and bring their friends with them. He who is interested in the origin and history of printing will find the record fully laid out before him, beginning with the earliest products of the art in all parts of the world ; the student of Eng- lish literature can trace here its growth from the first book ever printed in the English tongue down to the days of Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton ; the biblical scholar will see the ancient text and versions of the scriptures, in their primitive rolls, parchments, and most famous editions; and the specialist in American history will meet with the most important original ma- terial from the time of Columbus to the forma- tion of our national government. Some come to see the first printed book, or the first Homer, or the first English Bible ; and others to look on the handwriting of Milton, or on Jefferson's autograph manuscript of the Declaration of In- dependence, or on the original manuscript of Washington's Farewell Address. In this way we aim to encourage and satisfy the desire of many to see the most famous land- marks of history and literature, and at the same time to save the volumes from unnecessary handling. As it may interest others to know what subjects we have chosen for illustration by means of rare books, in the manner de- scribed, I will name the principal of them here: ist, ancient manuscripts; 2d, book illumination and miniature painting ; 3d, artistic bookbind- ing, principally of early date; 4th, block-books, or printing before the invention of movable type; 5th, the origin of typographic printing in Europe, Asia, and Africa; 6th, early printing in North and South America; 7th, early wood- engraving, copper-engraving, and book illustra- tions; 8th, early educational literature, and books for the instruction of children, from 1450 to 1800; gth, early editions of the Bible in vari- ous languages; loth, old English literature ; nth, early voyages and'travels to India and the East; I2th, early maps and the progress of geographical discovery; isth, the discovery, settlement, and early history of America; i4th, the Indian wars of New England; i5th, Ameri- can newspapers of the i8th century; i6th, the American stamp act and Revolution; I7th, nota- ble publications of early date on the arts and sciences; and i8th, autographs of famous per- sons. There is in preparation a hand-list of this material, for the ute of visitors, which will contain brief historical and explanatory notes. We are sometimes asked whether exposure to light does not injure the books and manu- scripts which lie open in the show-cases. I do not believe that it does, if the sunlight is avoided, and if the dust is not allowed to get on the open pages. Some of our volumes and manuscripts have been on exhibition, in one position, for nearly 20 years, and I doubt if many persons could pick out the pages that have been so exposed without a very close ex- amination. Rare books, like other books, should have air. It is a mistake to shut them up behind glass doors, or in close closets, where the air cannot circulate behind and around them. If they must be locked up it is better to have open wire doors. Where the shelves are not well ventilated the books will mould or grow musty. At the Lenox building we formerly used glass doors on some of the wall-cases, where the early printed books are kept, but the glass frames were all removed some years ago, and now we have wire screens in their stead. Another mistake, I think, is the general belief that dust will injure rare books. Ordinarily it will not, for where there is plenty of dust there is likely to be air also. I have no doubt that many books have been preserved in good con- dition merely by being well covered with dust for a long period. There is much more danger from heat and change in temperature. During the winter season the hot air with which our building is heated causes the vellum bindings to curl out and spread so much that many of the volumes have to be tied shut in order to keep them on the shelves. I believe that stack- rooms should be kept moderately cool or at an even temperature all the year round. Not many months ago the librarian of one of our large New York libraries discovered a rare book in a volume of iyth century pamphlets. It was a fine copy of the first English publica- tion on New York, a pamphlet that is worth in the market about $1000. Now this volume had been for a long time in the possession of the in- stitution referred to, but having been put among the "rare" or "curious" books in the libra- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. rian's office, it had not been cataloged; and being only a volume of pamphlets it was proba- bly not considered worth cataloging. I have here several volumes which show the skill with which rare books can be mended. One is a copy of the " Pilgrim's progress," saved from the fire at Sotheby's auction-rooms in London, in June, 1865. The back of the vol- ume was burned entirely away, but each leaf has been pieced out with a new back margin and the book made whole again. Another vol- ume has been remargined so skilfully, and the lost reading-matter supplied in manuscript so nearly like the print, that it will take sharp eyes to discover where the original ends and the fac- simile begins. A third volume has one leaf in pen-and-ink facsimile so well done that it would easily escape detection. You all know how a leaf of printed matter can be split, pre- serving both sides intact. The repairers of rare books go still further. They will take the reading-matter from the surface of an old title- page, or from a page of text, and transfer it in good shape to another sheet of paper, making it appear like the original page in good con- dition. Samples of this kind of work may be seen in our library at New York. Before leaving the subject of rare books, I will call your attention to a modern forgery of Columbus's letter, in Spanish, on the discovery of America, consisting of four leaves. The paper on which it is printed was evidently made for the purpose, in order to imitate the water- mark of the original edition of 1493, a figure of a hand and star. The book was got up abroad about four years ago, at the time of the Colum- bus celebration in this country, and after being bound in Paris in full morocco it was sent to America in search of a victim. It was offered for sale as an original, to the Lenox Library, at three different times, by as many different per- sons, and each time it was pronounced to be a forgery. On the last occasion the owner, an Italian bookseller, came himself, and at the close of our interview he pulled the leaves out of the covers, tore them into small bits, and then threw the pieces into the waste-basket. After he had gone away I took some pains to gather up the 60 or 70 fragments, and sent them to a skilled binder, who carefully pieced them to- gether, and here the volume now is, a unique specimen of how rare books should not be made. NEWSPAPERS. Bound files of newspapers usually get a pretty rough handling, and they are likely to suffer much from mutilation by dishonest read- ers. We have made a specialty of collecting early American newspapers, and particularly of those printed in the i8th century. A list of this collection was printed at the end of our 25th annual report, two years ago, and this list tells, under each year, from 1704 to 1800, how many numbers of each paper were on hand, and what months they cover. I mention it now because it illustrates the chronological method of listing old newspapers. One can see at a glance just what kind of material there is for any one year. We have found the plan very useful. Since the list was printed large additions have been made to the collection, which com- prises now about 25,000 numbers for the period named. Many of the papers are in poor con- dition; some have been through fire and water, others are so worn by former use that they have to be handled with great care, and all of them are expensive. After consulting the wise men of Philadelphia and New York, we decided to bind each newspaper file in yearly volumes, mounting each leaf on guards, and interleaving each number with a sheet of stiff paper. In the course of binding different lots we hit upon some improvements, and the sample volume I have here to-day exhibits the result of our latest ex- periments. The binding is of half morocco, and the guards on which the leaves are mounted are of thin yet tough paper, set out far enough to let the leaves lay nearly flat. The stiff paper between each number is half an inch larger all the way around than the newspaper it protects, so that in turning over the leaves it is not necessary to touch the newspaper at all. Wherever numbers happen to be lacking, space is reserved in each case by putting in the guards as full leaves, any one of which can be cut down to a stub for mounting on whenever a missing number is found. This arrangement is the best we have been able to devise for pre- serving and protecting the oldest and most val- uable class of newspapers. The cost of the binding (Stikeman's) is about $4 for each volume. To treat newspapers of the present century in the same way would not be advisable, be- EAMES. cause it would be too expensive. A moderate amount of interleaving with stiff manila paper could be recommended in some cases, when the newspapers are not in good condition. In our classification we have placed the early printed newspapers in a room by themselves, apart from the files of modern newspapers, and when they are needed for reference, extra care is en- joined. Our usage would favor a separate catalog for the newspapers. BROADSIDES. Printed broadsides, leaflets, and single sheets of early date are laid each one in a paper wrap- per, which is lettered on the side and placed flat with others in its proper drawer or box. For the early printed broadsides we prefer the chronological arrangement under groups; for those of later date, the classification of ordinary books, treating theth with reference to their local interest in many cases; and we would catalog each piece as if it were a book. Loose maps and plans are treated in a manner like the broadsides. Dividing them into two sizes, those under and those over 2% by 2 feet, our usual plan is to place each map by itself in a paper wrapper, of one or the other size, on the back margin of which is written its title and distinctive mark. They are then arranged in geographical or alphabetical order, in case- drawers made for the purpose, which we prefer to portfolios. Folded maps in covers, and maps on rollers, should in most cases be pre- served as they are, and be arranged by them- selves. We would recommend a separate cata- log for maps and atlases, indexing each map of the atlases. ENGRAVINGS. Where there is a large number of engravings it is advisable to have a separate room for their accommodation. They will naturally divide into distinct groups, which will require differ- ent treatment, suited to their character and size. Portraits will have one order of arrangement; views will have another; works of certain en- gravers and artists will need to be kept together; and other groups will be necessary according to the size of the collection. Strong flat pasteboard boxes are excellent for engravings of medium and small size. Where portfolios are used for large engravings, sepa- rate wrappers of stiff paper will be found a good protection. Many of the engraved portraits in the Emmet collection, belonging to the New York Public Library, are bound together in volumes, according to their sizes, and in alpha- betical order. It is a good plan to catalog all prints and drawings by themselves. Collections of books that have been brought together for the purpose of illustrating the work of some particular engraver, like Hollar, Ver- tue, Bewick, and Cruikshank, or our own An- derson and Darley, should be kept intact and in a place by themselves, as far as possible. ANNOTATED BOOKS. Books which are made valuable by the au- tographs or manuscript annotations of famous persons, or even by their book-plates, should be given a place of their own, if it is desired to have them treated with care. We have put books of this kind in our manuscript depart- ment. EXTRA ILLUSTRATED BOOKS. Another class requiring special treatment con- sists of books that have been extended beyond their original form by the insertion of extrane- ous matter in the shape of autograph letters, portraits, views, and other engravings. This class we have also placed in the manuscript de- partment. The method which we follow in in- dexing the inserted material will be described under the next division. MANUSCRIPTS. I can add but little of interest to Mr. Frieden- wald's remarks on the care of manuscripts. We have in our collection at the Lenox build- ing somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 manu- scripts, mostly relating to American and Eng- lish history, and a separate department has been organized for this portion of the library. Four rooms are set apart for the purpose, one of which is used for cataloging manuscripts. The bound manuscripts fill from 700 to 800 volumes. The loose material, which comprises several thousand pieces, is arranged in drawer cases. Groups of manuscripts which are bound to- gether, or which belong together, are given some distinctive mark, like the Emmet Manu- scripts, the Adams Papers, the Gates Papers, the Madison Papers, etc. The other loose letters PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. and documents are arranged alphabetically un- der the names of the writers, or under the head- ings by which they would be cataloged. Some of the manuscripts are inlaid on uniform sheets of paper, and those which are not are placed in paper wrappers, to be lettered on the outside. In speaking of the extra illustrated books, I mentioned our method of indexing the material. Those of you who have seen the New York Public Library Bulletin may have noticed the analytical indexes of the Emmet volumes. In each recent number of the Btilletin is a descrip- tion of the contents of one of these volumes. There are about 70 of them in all, large folios and quartos, relating to American history be- fore 1800. Each volume contains from 50 to 100 manuscripts, and about the same number of portraits, views, or other illustrative documents, arranged in a systematic order. For instance, in the volume on the members of the Continent- al Congress from Pennsylvania, under each member will be found his portrait in one or more varieties, then perhaps a view of his res- idence, and finally one or two or three letters in his handwriting. In indexing this material, form-headings in italic are prefixed to most of the catalog headings, which are in heavy- faced type. These form-headings indicate at once whether the title following is of a letter, or portrait, or view, or something else. At the end of each title is the number of that particu- lar document in the Emmet collection. Each other special collection of manuscripts has its own series of numbers. These titles are cut and mounted on cards for the general cata- log of manuscripts. I have thus attempted to give an outline of the treatment of some special collections under our care. Many of the problems of this nature have to be decided according to the means at hand, and each one must, to a certain degree, work them out for himself. I know that we will gladly welcome any method or device that will simplify our work in this line, and if others think they can benefit in any way by our ex- perience, we shall certainly be glad to give all the information in our power. THE CARE OF MANUSCRIPTS. BY HERBERT FRIEDENWALD, PH.D. XT O object that has ever had connection with the life of a man of renown bears so personal a relation to him as a piece of his manuscript. No treasures that come to a li- brary are so precious as its manuscript collec- tions. They are usually unique, and in but few instances have ever seen the light of the printer's day. Even where that has happened their value is not decreased, in that the manu- script must ever remain the final authority, the ultimate appeal, in cases of disputed rendering of the originals. In the case of scientific works of great importance they are often of inestima- ble value for indicating the development of the author's ideas, and of the method of their ex- pression, while the work as printed gives but a presentation of the completed thought. RESTORATION. It is proper and necessary, therefore, that manuscripts should be given a special and differ- ent care from that accorded even the rarest books. The latter, by means of substantial or extravagant bindings, may readily be put in a way to last for all time. Far more attention, however, must be bestowed upon manuscripts. Where they are received already restored, mounted and bound, the problem of their care is much simplified, and resolves itself into the elements of stamping, cataloging, and shelving. But when manuscripts are purchased or donated jn a condition that means increased injury after every handling, they must be restored, as near- ly as may be, to their original state and made proof against further damage. For, in view of the constantly increasing estimate put upon the value of original material, it must be expected that a manuscript will be called for and con- sulted with as great frequency as one of the rarer books. They should, therefore, be so put in order that access to them is obtainable when- ever properly in demand, and that they may be used without injury. The first step, consequently, is the restora- tion of the manuscript. For it is no longer thought proper to simply paste it in a book, FRIEDENWALD. 53 without regard to whether the edges be ragged and the body be stained and crease-marked or not. Nor does the process of restoration mere- ly mean piecing out the torn edges by pasting on bits of paper, nor yet filling up the holes in similar manner. The work is begun by selecting from a stock of old paper a piece of the color, and, as nearly as possible, of the texture of the paper of the document itself. It is then placed on a lithog- rapher's stone and moistened, when necessary, in order to remove the creases. The pieces that are to be attached are cut of the proper size, and, with an instrument resembling a shoe- maker's awl, have their edges shaved down to their thinnest proportions. They are then skil- fully fitted and pasted to the manuscript, with a paste the chief ingredient of which is rice flour. The unnecessary paste is then washed off, the manuscript is put between sheets of paper, which in turn are placed between other sheets of blotting-paper to absorb the moisture, and thus surrounded, it is put under great pressure in a letterpress, where it is allowed to remain for several days. Without calling the latter into requisition all the other work would count for nothing. Had the manuscript been otherwise weak, a more vigorous treatment would have been requisite. Were the paper exceptionally thin and almost brittle, it would have been necessary to strengthen it by attaching either transparent linen tracing-cloth or ordinary paraffine paper used by florists, to the whole of the manu- script. To prevent curling the material in- tended to strengthen should in any event be attached to both sides of the sheets. The paraffine paper gives as satisfactory results as the heavier linen cloth, and is much less clumsy in appearance. I have seen documents that before restoration in this manner were so fragile as to almost crumble at a touch, yet which bore the appearance of having been treated to a coat of shellac rather than having been put through any other process. The letterpress must in any event be used, since it acts as a splint in cases of fracture, enabling the parts to knit in as nearly normal a manner as possible, with no shrinking or dislocation. STAMPING. The manuscript must now be stamped, hav- ing thus been restored to its youthful appear- ance by the application of this elixir of life. A diversity of opinion still exists respecting the advisability of stamping valuable manu- scripts. As the object' to be attained, however, is the prevention of the theft or disposal of the manuscripts, this can best be brought about by the use of a stamp. For various reasons, not the least of which is the little injury it does the manuscript, the embossing stamp is to be pre- ferred. The size should not be too great ; it should, of course, contain the name of the in- stitution to which it belongs, and where possi- ble, for convenience' sake, the designation of the series or collection of which it forms a part. Room should also be left for the addition of the number of the manuscript. MOUNTING AND BINDING. The next proceeding is that of mounting and binding. The first question that looms into prominence here is that of the proportions of the volumes. The sheets upon which the man- uscripts are to be mounted must have ample but not too large margins ; and as manuscripts vary in size even when belonging to the same collection, each volume should be sufficiently- large to hold the largest manuscripts without folding. Uniformity of size where documents belong to the same series must also be main- tained wherever possible. Great care should be taken to have the volumes of light weight even at the risk of increasing the number rather than few and consequently heavy and bulky. For the amount of abuse a volume re- ceives is in proportion to the effort required in order to handle it. If the document forms part of a collection that is constantly on the increase, some form of binding should be utilized that is out of the ordinary. A flexible binder of the nature of that devised by the lamented Dr. Stone, late librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, should be used. This, while giving stability to the collection, yet permits of the extraction or addition of individual sheets whenever the occasion requires it. When it is found necessary to remove old bindings, that have at one time been put about manuscripts, they should not be destroyed, but should be carefully preserved for purposes of reference. And when taken apart the backs of the old bindings should be carefully examined, for occasions are not infrequent when valuable manuscript or printed material has thus been found. The question of caring for individual manu- 54 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE, scripts, such as letters and documents of that nature, having but a slight connection with the rest of the collections, is one that also requires attention. When not suitable for purposes of exhibition (to which by reason of their detached nature they often particularly well lend them- selves) they should be put away in cardboard boxes or in heavy envelopes made of manila paper. These should be of convenient size and should be suitably labelled. The manu- scripts must, of course, first have been restored and mounted, and they may then safely remain thus cared for until the opportunity arises for binding them with other manuscripts. CLASSIFICATION. The classification of manuscripts permits of development somewhat on the lines of that of books. But as no two collections are ever alike, each keeper must necessarily devise a system of classification suitable to the conditions under which he is working. An alphabetical designa- tion may prove convenient, or else, as is often done, some special distinctive symbol may be utilized to characterize the individual collec- tions. The enumeration of the pieces may be by series or may embrace the collection as a whole. The latter mode has much to recommend it, in that it gives a convenient means of reference in supplement to the alphabetical or special designation. For each piece is thus given an individuality of its own and at the same time a definite place in the collection. In the shelving and storing of manuscripts too great care cannot be exercised. They should of course be put in a fireproof vault or chamber, or where the building is fireproof in a section or department by themselves. As an extra precaution against dust and other destruc- tive processes, they should be kept under glass or in dust-proof drawers, and always under lock and key. CATALOGING. In cataloging some distinctive mark or sym- bol must be used to indicate at a glance that the reference is to a volume or a document in the manuscript department. For this purpose the ordinary mss. symbol will answer as well as any other. The cards should be kept separated from the book-cards in order that the distinc- tion may be all the more marked. As the col- lections are so entirely different from the others in the library there is no need to com- plicate matters by distributing the manuscript cards among the other cards. The title upon the card should consist of the name of the collection of which the document forms a part. If the document be a letter, as is often the case, there should follow the name of the writer and the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed, with the date and place of writing. Then should come a descrip- tion of the size and the number of pages. If in a foreign language, the language should be in- dicated, as also the character of the material upon which the manuscript is written. If a signed letter or an autograph letter, the com- monly used abbreviation L. S. or A. L. S. should be added. The cross-references should be to the name of the writer and that of the re- cipient. In the case of literary or scientific manuscripts of considerable bulk (most often of books al- ready published) the ordinary method of book cataloging with the manuscript department symbol added may be resorted to. In the mar- gin of the card should be put the designation of the series with the number of the document, and as well, if the document cataloged be one in a large number of volumes of that series, the number of the volume and the page on which it may be found, when the latter is nec- essary. EXHIBITION. No part of the care of manuscripts is more interesting and at the same time more valuable from the point of view of attracting gifts and deposits than that of their exhibition. The glass cases to be used for this purpose should be specially designed and constructed to meet the conditions of light and size, etc., of the ex- hibition-room. But too little attention has been paid to this important branch of the care of manuscripts. And by reason of the special knowledge required in order that manuscripts may be exhibited to the best advantage, the question of their installation should not be en- tered upon until after careful consultation with museum experts. For the many points of ad- vantageous light, of height, and depth, and width of the cases, can best be looked after by those who have been specially trained for this work. Whenever manuscripts are exhibited they HARRIS. 55 should be accompanied by carefully-prepared labels printed on cards and in a clearly legible type. CALENDARING. With his collections well bound and cared for, no keeper should rest satisfied until a calendar of them, at least, is in print. This holds particularly true in our country and of the manuscripts relating to its history. Its vast extent and the consequent wide distribu- tion of collections makes it impossible that the historical student can have access to more than a small portion of those he desires to consult. If anything can be accomplished, therefore, by this means, to lighten his labors and enable him to perfect his work, it should be done. The calendar form need not be adhered to too vigorously, for the dull page may occasion- ally be enlivened by a brief quotation from an important manuscript. A few words thus taken from the original document often express the idea it is desired to convey far better than an abstract. Nor will the calendar be complete unless the language in which the manuscript is written and its size and number of pages be indicated. For convenience in reference to the original the designating mark belonging to the manuscript should be appended. Nor should an index be overlooked. CONCLUSION. None but persons known to the one in charge of the manuscripts, or those who come to him well accredited, should be permitted to have access to them. And if copies are allowed to be made, it were best that by reason of the carelessness of some, all be put to a slight in- convenience, and that no ink be allowed to be used. When it is known that collections are thus carefully guarded and preserved in so pains- taking a manner, their increase will result from the diffusion of this information. For persons who have manuscripts to dispose of, and who desire to give or deposit them where they will be put beyond the range of injury, will natu- rally give them into the care of such institutions as best care for them, as best exhibit them, and where they can be made of the greatest use by the greatest number. NOTES ON THE GOVERNMENT AND CONTROL OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES. BY GEORGE WILLIAM HARRIS, LIBRARIAN OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY. T DO not design to make an extended re- ^ port on this subject, but rather some brief remarks that may serve as a means of pro- moting discussion. Accordingly, I will not attempt to trace the great development in col- lege libraries that has taken place in the last 30 years, or the influence that development has had upon the methods of government and con- trol. Neither have I any general theory for the management and control of college libra- ries. I simply purpose to take the college li- brary as it is to-day, and ask you to bear in mind the fact that primarily and chiefly the col- lege library is intended for the use and conven- ience of the professors and students of the col- lege with which it is connected. However desirable and praiseworthy it may be to open wide its doors to the general public and to give free access to books, such access and such use of the college library by the public must be considered as a matter of favor and courtesy, to be granted only in so far as it does not inter- fere with the convenience of those who are primarily entitled to the use of the library. As I said, I have no general theory to pro- pose. What I do propose to lay before you is simply the concrete example of the method of government and control which is in force at the library of Cornell University. I do not think I can bring the matter before you in any better way than by quoting that section of the statutes of Cornell University which deals with the university library. The section is as follows: " i. The general care and supervision of the University Library is entrusted to a Library Council. This council consists of the presi- dent of the University, who shall be ex officio chairman of the council, and librarian, or, in his absence, the acting librarian, and five elected members, one of whom shall be elected by the executive committee and four by the PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. general faculty. The election of members shall take place annually as near the beginning of the collegiate year as may be practicable. Persons elected shall hold office till their suc- cessors are chosen. "2. For the election of members from the faculty, that body shall be divided into two groups, and each group at the first election after the adoption of this statute shall elect two members, one of whom shall hold office for one year and one for two years, the term of each being determined by lot. Each year thereafter one member shall be elected annually by each group for two years. " 3. The two groups for the election of members shall be constituted as follows, viz.: i. the group of science; 2. the group of let- ters. The group of science for the purposes of this act shall be deemed to include those members of the general faculty who give in- struction in the departments of agriculture, architecture, civil engineering, mechanical and' electrical engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, physical culture, military tactics, and the several branches of natural history. The group of letters shall be deemed to in- clude those members of the faculty who give instruction in the departments of the several languages, of history and political science, and of philosophy and ethics. In each of the groups the election shall be by ballot, and the result of the ballot shall be communicated to the executive committee by the secretary of the faculty. In case a member of the faculty should be a member of both groups, he may choose the group in which he will act, and he may vote and be voted for in that group and not in the other. "4. It shall be the duty of "the Library Council to apportion the book funds between the various departments of instruction as may best accord with the interests of the University, and to rec- ommend and submit to the trustees for their approval all questions pertaining to the appor- tionment of the funds, binding, cataloguing, and in general, to all accommodations, arrange- ments and rules for the administration of the library. After the apportionment of the book funds each year shall have been approved by the executive committee, the treasurer shall be authorized, unless otherwise instructed, to purchase books approved by the council, not exceeding the amount of the appropriation ; but no subordinate shall be employed, salaries paid, or expenses of any kind incurred which shall not first have been approved by the executive committee, and after an appropriation duly made by them. All business of a financial character shall be transacted through the treas- urer of the University. "5. The duties of the librarian shall be to take charge of the internal administration of the library, and, with his subordinates, to keep it in complete working order for the use of pro- fessors, students, and others entitled to it ; to conduct its correspondence ; to make an annual report to the president of its condition, and of all additions to it ; and to perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him from time to time by the trustees. " 6. The librarian and president have power to approve orders, signed by the professors at the head of the departments, for ordinary working books, but shall refer to the council all orders for costly or otherwise exceptional books." In regard to the election of members of the council from the faculty, the original statute provided the faculty should be divided into four groups and each group should elect a member each year ; natural and physical science and technical science forming the two groups of what is now the group of science : philology and literature one group, and history and polit- ical science and philosophy the other. The re- sult of that plan was that there was no continu- ity in the council. Every year, as a rule, four new members were elected by the faculty in these groups. These came into the council quite new to the work, and it involved some loss of time in explaining to them what had been the principles governing the action of the council in the past. So this modification was made, the faculty was divided into two groups, and members elected hold office for two years, one member for each group being elected in alternate years. By that means we do attain a certain continuity in the policy of the coun- cil. This council is a representative body ; the trustees of the university are represented by one member elected from their number, and by the president of the university, who is, ex officio a member of the board of trustees. The facul- ty are represented by four members, and the li- brary is represented by the librarian. You will perceive that while the immediate care and management of the library affairs is entrusted to the library council, all their action is subject to the approval of the executive committee of the board of trustees, the board of trustees being supreme authority in all matters of uni- versity administration, and the university trus- tees holding the strings of the purse. One of the principal functions of the library council is to apportion the book funds among the various departments. In 1891 a plan of dis- tribution of the book fund was adopted by the council, based upon the principle of giving recognition, in the general list of departments, to all subjects taught, and adding a few sub- jects not thus cared for ; thus recognizing all HARRIS. 57 subjects by a small appropriation, and yet maintaining the principle of keeping the ex- penditure for this list within about one-third of the total expenditure. The need for books, however, is not in proportion to the officers of instruction, nor is it possible to state justly the relative importance of subjects to each other. Weak or neglected departments must be treated on different grounds from some others. There- fore it was believed that this could be best managed by leaving the reserve fund large, to be assigned at the wisdom of the council to the departments making the strongest requests. It was resolved that this system should be ex- plained by a statement sent to each officer at the beginning of the year, and that no grants should be made from the reserve fund before November 15 of each year. The funds at the disposal of the council for the purchase of books and periodicals amount to about $15,000 or $16,000 a year. For the year 1896-97 the sum available was $16,729 as the income of the Sage Endowment Fund for the increase of the library. For this year the sum distributed among the departments is $5675. The sum as- signed to the periodical list for the current year was increased from $2800 to a sum not to ex- ceed $3000. Then in recognition of the need of supplementing the grants to specific de- partments by a fund from which purchases of works not properly falling within any one of these departments, but important and necessary for the general usefulness and symmetrical de- velopment of the library might be made, it was voted that a discretionary fund of $1000 be placed at the disposition of the librarian for the purchase of such works. Another fund of $1000 was placed at the disposition of the li- brarian for the purpose of filling up incom- plete sets of periodicals, which, in a new library which has reached its 25th or 26th year, are considerable in number. After making these various appropriations there remained at the disposal of the council a reserve fund of $6074 for strengthening weak or neglected depart- ments. The first meeting of the council in the year is held usually about the beginning of October, but by this provision no grants are made from the reserve fund before the isth of November, in order that the departments may look over the ground and see what their needs are for the year and present their statement to the council. And in that way no one department is likely to get an advantage over another. Worth noting is another modification intro- duced after the original statute was passed. The original statute provided the list of works approved by'the council should also be submit- ted to the trustees. That was done once, but the trustees said: "We know nothing about these lists ; we cannot judge ; if the council approves them that is sufficient." So it was modified by providing in the statute that, after the council had apportioned these funds and that apportionment had been approved by the executive committee, the treasurer was authorized to purchase books approved by the council. Then at first, the council thought it wise to look over -the list of books submitted by the various departments, but that was soon found to be a laborious undertaking which consumed a great deal of time; so that was modified by the insertion of the provision that orders from the heads of departments for books might be approved by the president and librarian and that was sufficient for ordinary books. Exceptional cases arise. For instance, I have one in mind where the head of a depart- ment asked for the purchase of 50 copies of a text-book for reference for a class. That I considered not an ordinary work, and it was referred to the council and promptly disallowed. Very few cases of that sort have occurred. The relations of the librarian with the coun- cil have always been of the pleasantest and most cordial character, and any matter in rea- son which the librarian recommends is pretty sure to meet with the approval and support of the council. And in dealing with the board of trustees, and especially with regard to ques- tions which involve expenditures of money, it is a great help and a satisfaction for the libra- rian to be able to go to the trustees with a report which has the endorsement and approval of the library council which contains representatives from the board of trustees itself as well as members of the faculty. So far as the appointment of subordinates is concerned, in my experience I have been left a perfectly free hand and have made my own selections, and those selections have always been approved and ratified by the council and by the trustees. The system certainly has this merit: that it works smoothly and satisfactorily, and has now been in use for 16 or 17 years. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. THE LONDON INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON A CATALOG OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.* BY CYRUS ADLER, LIBRARIAN OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 'T'HERE was held in London last summer, from the I4th to the lyth of July, a con- ference known as the International Biblio- graphical Conference. I am sorry that I can- not speak of that meeting from personal knowl- edge, as I was not present. In the preparation of this statement I have had to aid me the two official publications of the conference together with all the antecedent documents. I have also had some personal information from Dr. Bil- ings and Professor Newcomb, the gentlemen who represented the United States at the con- ference, and I have had access to the official files of the Smithsonian Institution. Before taking up the question itself, it may be well to say a word or two in regard to the his- tory of indexing scientific literature. It is no small satisfaction to us that the first impulse toward this work came from the United States. In 1854 or 1855 Professor Henry, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, suggested such a scheme to the British Association for the Ad- vancement of Science, and the Association ap- pointed for its consideration a committee con- sisting entirely of fellows of the Royal Society. Ten years afterwards the Royal Society took up the cataloging of scientific papers from the year 1800. You know that the result of this work has been n splendid volumes, giving a catalog or index by authors only, and includ- ing only papers in periodicals and transactions of learned societies. These volumes have been much criticised for what they do not do, but they are very helpful for what they do. In March, 1894, the Royal Society issued a circular addressed to learned societies all over the world, calling attention to the fact that this catalog was a costly piece of work, that it was only an author catalog, and that it was admit- tedly incomplete. The development of scientific literature had been so great that some better arrangement was needed, and the president and council appointed a committee to consider the subject and report on the feasibility of such a * A fuller account will be found in Science, Aug. 6, 1897. catalog being compiled through international co-operation. The correspondence which re- sulted was favorable, American institutions being most cordial. The councils of the various uni- versities in this country responded favorably, and many oCour scientific men and some libra- rians made suggestions to the Royal Society through the medium of the journals. There was an interesting discussion in Science on the subject, in which Dr. Billings, the late Dr. Goode, and others took part. There was a similar discussion in Nature, and in the Library Journal. The committee reported to the Royal Society that they thought the plan feasible, and the Royal Society moved the British govern- ment to call an international convention. In the United States the course of action was for the Secretary of State to refer the matter to the Smithsonian institution. The secretary of the Institution reported that he thought the mat- ter of great moment, recommended that the government of the United States take part, and suggested that Dr. Billings and Professor New- comb be named to represent the government on that occasion. This suggestion was adopted, and brings us down to the conference proper. I will name the coustries taking part: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands,, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland United King- dom, United States, Cape Colony, Canada, In- dia, Natal New South Wales, New Zealand, and Queensland. You will notice in this list that, with the exception of Canada, the only country on the American continent represented besides the United States is Mexico; that is important, because it may result in the necessity of the United States taking a very active part in the matter. The verbatim report of the proceedings of the conference is most interesting. There were three secretaries; one for French, one for Ger- man, and one for English, and those three languages were used interchangeably, with sometimes one delegate speaking, now in one language and now in another. The position of .IDLER. 59 the Royal Society was stated at the outset by Prof. Armstrong, who said that the society had felt for a number of years that it was not doing enough to supply the needs of scientific workers ; that the production of catalogs arranged only according to authors' names was altogether in- sufficient, and it was essential that much more should be done, and that the work should be done much more quickly. A number of ques- tions were raised, such as whether a vote should be taken by nations or not. That ques- tion created a good deal of discussion. One of the matters that was bound to come up was the relation of the Belgian Bibliographical Bureau to this movement. Very early in the course of the discussion the Belgian representatives pre- sented a joint note, setting forth what the Bel- gian Bibliographical Bureau had done. The reception accorded it was not enthusiastic. Reading between the lines, I should say that the conference practically decided not to avail itself of the Belgian bureau or of the Belgian system, though there is, perhaps, a possibility that at some future time these two movements may be united. One of the questions which created a great deal of discussion and interest was regarding the division of science: first, the division of sci- ence into pure and applied, and it being practi- cally settled that the applied sciences were to be excluded, the further question of what sort of classification of science should be made. One very acute remark was made by a delegate who said: " If you make a hard and fast division of pure physics and pure chemistry, you will miss the most interesting books and papers pub- lished, because it is just between physics and Chemistry that the most important discoveries are now being made." Another interesting sub- ject was the definition of what the catalog should include. It was originally proposed that the catalog should comprise all published original contributions to science, whether ap- pearing in periodicals or in publications of soci- eties or as independent pamphlets, memoirs, or books. That proposition practically prevailed, so that the future catalog will differ from the past work of the Royal Society by including independent books and memoirs. Much time was spent on the question of the method get- ting these independent publications. Several delegates said while it would be easy enough to arrange for the exchange of the transactions of learned societies, it would not be possible to get independent books and memoirs. That statement brought out a discussion which showed that some countries do not make com- pulsory any deposit of books registered for copyright, and it is possible that one of the out- comes of this conference may be an agitation in such countries which will bring about the com- pulsory deposit of books, and therefore enable persons who have access to the national libra- ries to see all the books. If I remember rightly, so important a state as Saxony, which includes Leipsic, does not require deposits of books for copyright. The conference finally adopted a scheme something as follows : In preparing the catalog regard shall be had in the first instance to the requirements of scientific investigators, to the end that they may find most easily what is pub- lished concerning any particular subject. The ' administration of the catalog is to be en- trusted to a representative body called the In- ternational Council. The final editing and pub- lication of the catalog is to be entrusted to an organization called the Central International Bureau, under the direction of the International Council. Any country which shall declare its willingness to undertake the task shall be en- trusted with the duty of collecting and provis- ionally classifying and transmitting to the Cen- tral Bureau, according to the rules laid down, all the entries belonging to the scientific works of that country. In indexing according to sub- ject-matter regard shall be had not only to the title of the paper or book, but also to the nat- ure of the contents. In judging whether a publication shall be considered a contribution to science, regard shall be had to its contents, irrespective of the channel through which it is published. This subject, by the way, brought out a very interesting discussion and the ex- pression of some extremely liberal views on the part of more than one member. The Ger- man delegates, for instance, pointed out that such a journal as the Allgemeine Zeitung often contained original articles. We know that in this country important scientific articles appear in our popular magazines and sometimes even in our newspapers. Another provision is that the Central Bureau shall issue a catalog in the form of slips or cards, the details of the cards to be hereafter determined, and the issue to take place as 6o PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. promptly as possible. Cards corresponding to any one or more branches of sciences, or to sec- tions of such science, shall be supplied sepa- rately and under the direction of the Central Bureau. The Central Bureau shall also issue a catalog in book form from time to time, the entries being classified according to the rules to be hereafter determined ; that the issue in book form shall be in parts corresponding to the sev- eral branches of the science, the several parts being supplied separately at the discretion and under the direction of the Central Bureau. The Central Bureau is to be located in London. There was absolute unanimity on that point. The discussion on the classification of science was very interesting and important, and I ex- pect to give a rather full account of that shortly in Science.* The conference being unable to accept any of the systems of classification recently proposed, refers the choice of a system to the committee on organization. That decision was the result of an interesting discussion. It was a substi- tute for the original proposition that the Dewey system be not adopted as it stands. The Bel- gian representatives were the supporters of the Dewey system. The vote on this was unani- mous, but the Belgians did not vote, and had the fact they did not vote recorded. The gen- eral considerations which prompted this con- clusion were that the conference was not study- ing the question of the usefulness of any given system of placing books on shelves. That they thought outside of their province. They assert by this resolution, most positively, that the system of classification on shelves has no real relation to the system of classification in a scientific catalog. English was adopted as the language of the catalog, and that with unanimity. An Aus- trian delegate, when some slight objection was raised, rose and said that English was a lan- guage now so widespread that it might be said * See Science, Aug. 6, 1897. to be more understood than any other, and however much pride one might have in his na- tionality, he must have a greater interest in the general welfare of mankind. The beginning of the catalog was fixed for January i, 1900, and it was stated as desirable that the Royal Society should be informed of the adherence of the different countries by 1897 or 1898. It is understood that the International Council will provide for the cataloging of the literature of such countries as are not willing to undertake the work themselves. When the conference, adjourned the dele- gates departed to their homes and made reports to their governments. In the United States a report was presented by Dr. Billings and Pro- fessor Newcomb to the Secretary of State. That report was presented on October 15, 1896. On the next day the Secretary of State referred it to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- tion for his advice, together with a request for a statement of the probable cost to the United States of entering into this scheme. This was estimated to be about $10,000 a year, and a letter to this effect was sent to the Secretary of State, who transmitted it, together with the documents, to both houses of Congress. These papers were laid before Congress December 17, 1896, but it was then too late to get any action by the last Congress, nor, indeed, was there real necessity for doing so. I understand that between this time and January i, 1898, there should be made to the Royal Society an expres- sion of the willingness of this country to adhere to the scheme, and that for the year 1899-1900 some appropriation should be made to enable the United States government to take its share of the work. In conclusion, I would say that this appears to me to be the most important matter that can possibly be undertaken for scientific men, and I believe it also to be the largest co-operative scheme of indexing ever set on foot. I think, too, we should be gratified by the honorable part thus far taken by the United States. FLETCHER. 61 INDEX PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES. BY WILLIAM I. FLETCHER, LIBRARIAN AMHERST COLLEGE. TN speaking of the prospects and possibilities in index work I mean, of course, co-op- erative work in the advancement of the cause of indexing I do not wish to have it regarded as presented at all as a matter of enthusiastic anticipation; nor as the riding of a rose-colored hobby ; but rather as a matter of calculation and estimation of real and reasonable probabilities. By way of introduction, I wish to speak for a moment of this general idea of co-operative work among libraries. I have been closely connected with it now for a long while, and it has been constantly brought to my notice that it excites some suspicion and question among some of our best and ablest librarians. Such suspicion is reasonable, and I have never been at all sur- prised by it. In conversation recently with Dr- Billings he expressed, as Dr. Poole used to ex- press, that rather conservative view as to this co-operative library work. It is a question of whether our libraries are to be run, each one as part of a great machine; whether there is to be for this and that a great central bureau, with the individual library and librarians left to be nothing but a little part of a great machine. That is a crude and perhaps not very fair way of stating this suspicion, but I think it may an- swer the purpose. I do not think any one shares this general view more than I, or has more decided views on the subject. For you will find in the Library Journal that I said, quite a number of years ago at one of our meetings, that it seemed as if there was a disposition to drive from libraries the genius of learning and culture and substitute a set of cog-wheels [L.J., II : 21 1]. Making all the allowance that need be made for the doubtfulness of the work of bringing libraries into co-operation, I am not prepared to admit this as any argument against what we have done or are trying to do along these lines. That view of the matter suggested the danger that our libraries might be deprived of that at- mosphere of literary and bibliographic cult- ure for which no substitute can be fur- nished in making them what they ought to be as ministers of literature to the public. It seems to me any such objection is hardly worth considering. Supposing that all the work we now do in our libraries, as cataloging in all its branches and indexing, be taken away ; does it not remain true that there would be an abun- dance of work left for every librarian and every assistant in providing for the indi- vidual wants, the temporary and immediate wants of users of the library ? It seems to me there is an opening left to meet all the demands for the culture of the librarian and assistants and to give the library the atmosphere of an individual institution of learning. Coming to the question of the prospects and the possibilities of this work as it stands now, I would naturally speak first of " Poole's in- dex," which was the first of these co-operative index undertakings, and I take pleasure in saying that I have proof pages nearly half way through the five-year supplement for the years 1892 to 1896 inclusive, up to the first of January, 1897. As to the "A. L. A. index," I would like to say frankly that I was never at all satisfied with the "A. L. A. index" and have always felt apologetic towards it. But material is being collected for a supplement to that work, which may be published as a supplement, or the whole work may be made over into a new edition in- corporating the old matter and the new. One feature intended to be made prominent in the new edition or supplement is to include in it all available reference lists, so that on turning to a subject the first thing seen would be a refer- ence perhaps printed in different type, so as to be at once recognized to some place where a special list to that subject can be found. No adequate "A. L. A. index" can be made with- out a collection of such reference lists. That is to say, if you look in the index for Carlyle, for instance, you cannot expect to find in it any such work on Carlyle as in Anderson's bibliogra- phy. The best treatment, perhaps, of Carlyle for such an index would be to say See Ander- son's bibliography. The book can hardly go into the printer's hands much inside of a year, and it will, of course, incorporate all the references 62 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. that have been made in the second portion of the "Annual literary index" since the "A. L. A. index " was first published. It is a little doubtful as to where we pass from prospects to possibilities. What I have been speaking of is fairly within reach. There is also a project before us for an international catalog of scientific papers, and there is the scheme of which Dr. Billings is to speak. I wish, however, to refer to a matter which came to my notice only the other day. On my visit to the Commercial Museums in Phila- delphia, I found there a card catalog index for the trade journals during the last two years. It is made on standard size cards and kept in a case already numbering some hundreds of drawers. It illustrates this general subject of the need of co-operation when we find in the city of Philadelphia, unknown to nearly all 'the librarians in the country, a work in the same direction as ours by persons who knew little if anything of our attempts. I can take but a moment to refer to the pros- pects as to the indexing of portraits. It is pleas- ant to speak here of the extended work already done in that direction by Mr. Bunford Samuel, of the Ridgway Branch Library. He has en- tered heartily into the co-operative plan, fur- nishing us his material without any compensa- tion to himself for the great labor that he has expended upon it. His material is being placed on cards prepared under the direction of Mr. Lane, of the Boston Athenaeum, who has as- sumed editorial charge of the portrait index. As most of you have read in the Library Jour- nal, much additional work is being done and it is planned to make the index cover a pretty complete list of books containing good collected portraits. You will see that though I undertook to speak of index prospects and possibilities, these are all prospects, and I will, with your permission, let the possibilities be omitted, and ask you to understand that I prefer to speak of accom- plished facts and facts that are in a fair way to be accomplished. SOME HERESIES ABOUT CATALOGING. BY DR. G. E. WIRE, EVANSTON, ILL. '"THE definition of a catalog, according to the dictionary, is "an orderly arrangement of titles." Passing to the definition of its pur- pose, we ask: What is a catalog for? It is supposed to be for the purpose of helping to find information. We hope, or are supposed to hope- that it will help people to find books. But does it ? It is only a means to an end, and no reader is foolish enough to waste his time over a cata- log if he can get his books in any easier way. It is of no earthly use to suppose that a reader is going to worship your catalog for your glori- fication. And yet that is the idea that some catalogers have. I heard one of this kind say once: " We must go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in." It is more likely that that particular catalog would compel the reader to go out, and that right speedily. Of what use is a catalog filled with Sees, See alsos, and analyticals ? These only aggra- vate the reader. What he wants is information, not snubs and invitations to look elsewhere. It is cold comfort to come up against this item: Birds. See Ornithology. Why not put birds under birds ? No wonder readers are disap- pointed and the librarian blamed the latter rightly. It is not to be supposed that persons will poke over the cards of a catalog for the fun of chasing the so elusive entries from one place to another. What they want is their books, and if by some subtle process of mental tele- pathy these could be handed them the minute they came within the door, that would be all they wanted. It is no use to suppose that fic- tion habitufes will pore over a card catalog. Print some sort of a finding list for them as soon as possible. About subjects: Avoid those miserable entries taken from some word or words on the title- page. Use a double subject frequently, as Fractures and dislocations. I direct always that in cases where a close relationship does not occur between words found on a title-page that two cards or more, as the case may be, be made for the work. These should be simply SHELDON. made. Time and strength should not be sacri- ficed to absolute mathematical accuracy in all headings of a similar class. Suppose there are slight differences ? Let them go, and put in your time on something more valuable. I have known some examples of egregious blunders. One of these concerned a reprint of one of the Cramoisy Jesuit Relations. In checking up an auction catalog I came to an item which I knew was a reprint of a Jesuit letter. In looking the matter up in our card catalog I found that ac- cording to the card it appeared that we had a genuine Jesuit relation. You know that these are very rare, and I knew that we had no genu- ine one in the library, but for certainty went to the shelves and got the book indicated. The title-page read correctly, and the cataloger had faithfully followed rules and copied it literatim, but I knew from the paper, type, and general appearance, that the book was a reprint,- and, turning the leaf, found that it had been repro- duced at the charges of Mr. Lenox, of New York. I called the attention of the cataloger to it and stated the case. The card was re- moved and consulted upon, but there was no provision in the rules for a note on the bottom of the card simply stating that it was a reprint, and it finally found its way back to the cabinet as false and misleading as before. Now this was a flat lie, and an example of what cataloging should not be. About rules: Be not bound to them, but after getting the principle, make variations to fit the case. The main thing is to get the idea of cata- loging what it is for and then adapt your rules to the size and scope of your library, to the grasp of your public, and, if necessary, to the minds of your attendants. AN ELEMENTARY TALK ON CHARGING SYSTEMS. BY HELEN G. SHELDON, DREXEL INSTITUTE LIBRARY. T T is my purpose to-day to speak to those mem- bers of the A. L. A. who have neither studied the subject of charging systems nor had much experience in their manipulation. In so doing my words cannot fail to be to many as a tale that has been many times told. Probably fore- seeing this, our chairman wrote to me: "We want original ideas." My dear Mr. Chairman and ladies and gentlemen, to supply anything whatever from a field which has never lain fal- low, but has, on the contrary, yielded yearly to the Library Journal and other storehouses crop after crop of value, is almost more than common clay can do. To the beginner in library science I would therefore say that most original thing, "read the Library Journal." Everything which is ever likely to be said has already there been said, and all the most approved systems have been described. Read the Journal, then, always re- membering that the ledger, indicator, and dum- my systems are relics of the dark ages, and bearing in mind that the kind of library should influence one in the selection of a charging sys- tem, that one suited to a college library is not the one for a public library with a large circu- lation, and that it is better to adopt a system to which your library will grow than one which it will outgrow. A few small points, not new, but which help to make a charging system what it should be, may be suggested here. (1) If for any reason a reader is debarred the use of the library, place among the registration blanks in front of his blank, a yellow card (the initiated will recognize the criticism card). On the top line write his name and below the reason for the withdrawal of his privilege. (2) When pasting a pocket in a book, put it on the last page of the book, not on the cover, as continued stamping of the cover loosens the binding. (3) Write the book number on the pocket. This obviates the necessity of turning the book to look at the book-plate. (4) Put a, b, c, etc., at the left of the call num- ber, instead of the usual cop. i, cop. 2, etc. It is easier, shorter, and answers the same purpose. (5) Stamp on the reader's card, etc., the date when the book is due; not, as is often done, the date of issue. (6) If your circulation is small enough to ad- mit of it, put the book number, as well as the date, on the reader's card. It is often of use. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. (7) Fasten a reader's call slip to his card with a utility paper slip, or some other device. This prevents its loss. (8) If your staff of charging clerks is large, incorporate an initial of each clerk in his dating- stamp. Errors can thus be traced and it makes clerks careful. (9) If you put the reader's card in the pocket of the book when the book card is taken out, this will save stamping the date on the pocket, since it always appears on the reader's card. Of course this necessitates discharging a book as soon as it comes in, and could not be done if the circulation were large. (10) If your collection of books is not too small, follow the example of most of your fel- low-librarians and use the two-book system. I have appended to this paper a list of the articles on charging systems which have ap- peared since Mr. Carr's list, printed in the Li- brary Journal in 1889 ; I shall be glad to answer any questions, and we are prepared to charge and discharge books by four different systems as follows: 1. The Philadelphia Free Library system, which is a slight modification of the famous Newark system, the one generally accepted as the best for a large public library. 2. The Drexel Institute charging system, which is similar to that used in most college li- braries. 3. The N. E. Browne system, the newest de- velopment in charging systems, and one bound to grow in favor, because by it books can be charged by merely stamping a date. 4. The Albany Y. W. C. A. system, a tempo- rary slip system in which slips of various colors are used to indicate different days of the week, and which is suited to a very small library. REFERENCE LIST ON CHARGING SYSTEMS. 1. Carr, H: J. Report on charging systems. Lib.j. 14:203-214(1889). (Historical treatment of charging systems and statistics of their use in America, with a bibli- ography of the subject, 1876 - 1888.) 2. Schwartz, J. Apprentices' Library charging system. Lib. j. 14 : 468 - 469 (1889). 3. Davis, O. S. Y. M. C. A. Library, Albany, charging system. Lib.j. 16 : 232(1891). 4. Cutler, M. S. Charging systems. (In Im- pressions in foreign libraries.) Lib.j. 16: C5i (1891). 5. Circular of the Board of Library Commis- sioners, state of New Hampshire. Lib. j. 18 : 42 (1893). (Circular letter relating to library methods, cop- ies of which were sent to the trustees of each libra- ry in N. H. Recommends slip-charging system and gives specific directions for using it.) 6. Jones, G. M. Delivery -desk difficulties. Lib. j. 1 8 : 86(1893). (Synopsis of a paper delivered before the Mass. Lib. Club.) 7. Plummer, M. W. Loan systems. {See A. L. A. World's Lib. Congress Papers, 1893, p. 898 - 906.) (Gives advantages and disadvantages of the ledger, temporary slip, card, dummy and indicator systems.) An abstract of this paper also appeared in Lib. /., 18 : 242-246 (1893). 8. Fletcher, W: I. Public libraries in America (1894), p. 66. 9. Plummer, M. W. Hints to small libraries (1894), p. 32-41- (Describes the ordinary double-entry charging system, suggesting several modifications for vary- ing conditions.) 10. Dana, J: C. Public library handbook (1895), p. 46 - 90. (Gives explicit directions as to a charging clerk's duties, and warns of many points which long ex- perience has shown need especial care.) 12. Bolton, C: K. Charging systems and sta- tistics. Lib.j. 19: 225-226 (1894). (A plea for the single-entry system, at the sacri- fice of foolish statistics, since all necessary ques- tions can be answered by that system.) 13. Browne, N. E. Another charging system. Lib. j. 20 : 168 (1895). (Reader's jacket instead of reader's card used.) For discussion of - this system, see Lib. /., 2i : Ci27-i28 and p. 300. 14. Jones, G. M. Cards for the "Two-book" system. Lib.j. 20: 168-172(1895). (Letters from prominent librarians, giving usage in their libraries. No definite conclusion as to the best method is arrived at.) 15. Hill, F. P. Preparing a book for issue; and charging systems. Lib. j. 21 : 051 - 56 (1896). (Contains also a description of the Newark charg- ing system, il. by sample blanks.) For discussion following this paper, see Lib.j., 21 : 0147-149. 16. A. L. A. Primer. Charging system. Pub. libs., v. I, p. 79-80(1896). 17. Pennock, B. W. The Browne charging system. Lib. j. 22 : 294 - 296 (1897). WOODR UFF. REFERENCE WORK. BY ELEANOR B. WOODRUFF, PRATT INSTITUTE FREE LIBRARY, BROOKLYN, N. Y. HP HE aim of the reference department is, as you all know, to afford to readers the sim- plest, easiest, and quickest access to the re- sources of the library on any subject in which they may be interested or desire information. This may be accomplished by either introduc- ing the inquirer directly to the books where his questions will be answered, or helping him to an understanding of the mysteries of the catalog, or explaining the use of indexes, bibli- ographies, and other library tools, or compiling lists for him in short, by doing anything and everything which will conduce to getting him the right book at the right moment. In a library where this work must be per- formed with a very limited number of books, the importance of the selection of the books and the skill of the attendant in handling them can hardly be overestimated. Whether or no the books will do all the work of which they are capable, will depend upon the expertness of the attendant. The complete knowledge of the books requisite for a ready and effective handling can be gained only by long experience in their use, but as aids toward acquiring this familiarity with the books I would suggest a study of what they have to say of themselves, their scope and limitations as set forth in the preface or intro- duction, the title-page, or the table of contents. If, for example, the title-page of a biographical dictionary claims to treat only of English con- temporaries, you may be saved the time and trouble of searching that book for a German who died in the i8th century. Where definite information cannot be drawn from these sources, test the book for yourselves, propose questions that have been brought in or that you may origi- nate, look up subjects under various headings, observe what departments of knowledge are most fully and satisfactorily treated, notice whether there are illustrations, and whether these are explanatory or merely ornamental. Before you are'thoroughly familiar with a work, and sometimes after you think you know it pretty well, make free use of the index. Even though it seem to put you one step farther from the matter you seek, it will often prove the shortest way in the end. In the index you will frequently find names and subjects not brought out in the body of the work, and by its help will avoid the risk of material evading you because the particular heading used did not suggest it- self. In addition to the usual reference-books, by all means have the sets of bound periodicals stacked in the reference-room. This plan has been tried for years in the Pratt Institute Li- brary and has proved most satisfactory in its working. Even should loss or injury occur in a few cases, it is not too great a price to pay for the increased usefulness of the books. When there is free access to the shelves, very little as- sistance from the person in charge will enable visitors to use the indexes compiled by Dr. Poole, Mr. Fletcher, and the Cleveland Library, and with these as guides, teachers and students, members of clubs and debating societies, schol- ars and newspaper reporters will be able to find 4 for themselves the latest word of the best authority on their respective subjects. Several of the magazines that every library is sure to possess Harper's Monthly, the At- lantic, Popular Science Monthly, etc. have published invaluable indexes of their own. The field covered is so much narrower that the work has gone deeper than is possible with the general indexes, and the same article appears under several headings with numerous cross- references, while portraits and engravings are also brought out. From the nature of the case it is impossible for any index to be absolutely up to date. Not to be unprepared for requests for articles ap- pearing in the interim, the reference librarian should spend a few moments each day in run- ning through the periodicals, including news- papers. With the multifarious duties that fall to the lot of each worker in a library, no one can af- ford the time for a thorough perusal of the papers, but if he take time for nothing more than a glance at the tables of contents and the headlines he will, by this means, keep posted 66 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. on what is going on in the world, will be able to anticipate the needs of the public, and, when some event of unusual importance or some hap- pening of local interest directs the attention of the reading community in one direction, instead of being overwhelmed by a sudden and unex- pected run on his resources, he will be prepared for the emergency and will have the satisfac- tion of referring the very first inquirer to a list already prepared and awaiting his use. Courses of local lectures, series of readings, the appear- ance of a noted musician, topics of discussion which are filling people's minds, the approach of a holiday, should all be heralded by the li- brarian with bulletins of references. The death of a great man may in the same way be made the occasion of calling attention to his work and what has been written concerning him. In the case of an author, a large demand for his books will almost inevitably follow as the result of a reading list of his works and biographies, criti- cal essays, and poems to his memory. Besides these lists which the librarian pre- pares without warning, and largely as a matter of self-defence, he should expect and invite re- quests from literary and study clubs for out- lines of courses and lists of material on the subject selected for the winter's work. In all list-making let the principle of selec- tion be the prevailing rule. While every list should fairly represent the full resources of the library, do not, except in rare cases, for the sake of exhaustiveness, include material only indirectly bearing on the subject in hand. A really exhaustive list may be a satisfaction to the professional pride of the compiler, but it will generally produce disappointment to the reader in the present and distrust for the future. In compiling lists make use of every possible aid, your own catalog and finding lists, catalogs, lists, and bulletins of other libraries, annotated lists of books and bibliographies, and indexes to periodicals and general literature. Some li- braries, however, make it the rule to exclude entries from magazines indexed by Poole as an unnecessary duplication of work. Some of the lists most useful for this work are the Phila- delphia Mercantile Library bulletins, the Boston Public Library chronological index to historical fiction, the San Francisco Library annotated list of English prose fiction, the Providence Public Library monthly bulletins, and the bulletins published from time to time by Cornell Uni- versity Library, the Boston and Salem public libraries. Among select lists of books, Bowker and lies' "Reader's guide in economic, so- cial and political science," Adams' "Manual of historical literature," Griswold's "Select list of novels and tales," Sargent's " Reading for the young," and the two lists recently prepared under the supervision of Mr. lies and published by the A. L. A., the " Bibliography of fine arts," by Sturgis and Krehbiel, and the " List of books for girls and women and their clubs." All lists, of course, are to be filed in some convenient way, and kept carefully up to date by the systematic addition of items found in your running through magazines and new books. An alphabetical list of lists will greatly facilitate reference to the lists on hand. All material, in fact, which has been found with difficulty and after long search should be recorded in some permanent form. Experience has shown that certain questions come around with the regularity of the seasons, and the ref- erences to them once found and noted are avail- able for all time. A convenient form in which to keep such material not calculated to take shape as reading lists, is to enter it on cards (the backs of spoiled catalog cards will do), and to file them alphabetically in boxes. In this in- dex, references are in place to all sorts of odds and ends of information that you pick up in your reading, or attract your attention in going through the magazines, clippings from newspa- pers, and items that no index, however complete, will bring out, which you will surely need and would otherwise be at a loss to know where to find. In his desire to be of service to the eager searcher for knowledge, the reference librarian should not be satisfied with the posting of bul- letins and directing visitors to sources of infor- mation on the shelves, but should be willing in certain cases to gather material on a given sub- ject in one place where it may conveniently be consulted and different works weighed side by side. To carry this idea still further, it may be of service to a club doing serious work to have a small collection of books withdrawn from cir- culation and reserved for a time for their ex- clusive use. To have this plan work to advan- tage, the readers must do their small share of sending timely notice to the librarian, that he may search out the desired material or call in the books from circulation. DODGE. 67 The famous dictum, "Speech was given to man to conceal thought," is often forcibly brought to mind by the ingenuity with which visitors to the reference-room succeed in hiding their desires behind their questions. And right here lies the opportunity for the exercise of one of the greatest gifts of the successful librarian the ability by skilful questioning, without appearance of curiosity or impertinence, to ex- tract from the vaguest, most general requests, a clear idea of what the inquirer really needs. This faculty a facility in reducing large, ab- stract demands to concrete terms, as, for ex- ample, in resolving a request for a book that will tell everything about all kinds of birds into a demand for a book on the diseases of chick- ens; the sort of second sight that recognizes books under all sorts of indefinite, misleading descriptions, from the color of the covers or the positions on the shelves to the date when this particular person last used it, and readily inter- prets " that book of St. Anthony's on the Ameri- can Eagle " to mean an article on the stars and stripes which appeared in St. Nicholas stands in the equipment of a reference librarian only second in importance to the complete mastery of his tools. In fact, so important are the re- lations of the reference librarian to his public that I am almost prepared to put tact in meet- ing strangers and making them feel at home in the library, in knowing how far assistance will be a help and when it will become a bore, in impressing each visitor with personal interest in meeting his particular need, to put this, I re- peat, in the same category which includes the largest possible knowledge of literature and of books about books, the broadest culture, a store of general information sometimes having no connection with books, and a memory that not only treasures up items of interest but instinc- tively pigeon-holes them ready to be called to light at a moment's notice. The demands of the work are great, but the interest of the work itself and the opportunities it affords of meet- ing people and seeing what interests them while helping them to satisfy their needs are sufficient compensation for all one may give out in en- ergy and enthusiasm. LIBRARIANS' AIDS. BY VIRGINIA R. DODGE, LIBRARIAN OF THE CEDAR RAPIDS (lA.) PUBLIC LIBRARY. T N taking up the subject of librarians' aids, it is my aim to call attention to a "string of generalities," which some one has said " can be of no special use to anyone," to show that these same generalities comprise opportunities for all. The librarian must take his aids as they come, from the " four corners of the world," " Not chaos-like, together crushed and bruised, But as a world, harmoniously confus'd, Where order in variety we see, And where, though all things differ, all agree." The librarian draws his resources from the whole world. People, places, associations, books, magazines, stray scraps of information, all have their place among the librarian's tools; and each day with its meetings, its greetings, its continual rubbings, should make the li- brarian the richer in aids towards a means for the end. And it is of this gift of turning into gold all things he touches that I wish to speak. Of all people the librarian has the greatest opportunity of knowing good and for doing good, because all avenues alike are open to him; he has the key to all knowledge; it passes through his hands for good or ill to be dis- pensed to its seekers. The librarian aware of his power and his weakness has made for him- self this splendid Association, than which noth- ing could be of greater help, encouragement and inspiration; as a smaller part of the great whole comes the state association, with the aid to be gained by comparing methods and ex- changing ideas. Through the state library commissions all sorts of help may be obtained, and their bureaus of information contain inex- haustible funds of advice and counsel, with an enthusiasm which does not flag even under the poser of a question how to arouse interest which has been long dead in a library; there might be a weakening of enthusiasm if, as in one case, the cause of dying had been traced to a little habit of the librarian, of closing up shop in order to attend baseball games. To the teacher the librarian looks for many 68 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE, helpful suggestions, and not least among these are the outlines of courses of study that supple- mentary reading lists may be prepared; and we hope soon to see the time when not only the teacher as an individual may make it easier for the library to get children into her storehouse of wisdom, but the school as a whole will rec- ognize the expediency of sending children to the library, and will also prepare them in the use of short cuts to books those reading and refer- ence lists with which every ^library is more or less generously supplied. Coming nearer home, the librarian ought to look upon his trustees as his greatest support. His trustees ! I am reminded of many humor- ously pathetic instances "humorous" be- cause, in the words of a popular song, "the punishment did not fit the crime "; " pathetic," because of the added note that the librarian knew better, but his trustees overruled him. That sort of thing we are rapidly putting in the past, and I think it is mainly due to the Ameri- can Library Association. For with a board of representative men and women who are made acquainted through library publications with the keen, active spirit which is dominating the li- brary movement, the cry of old fogyism will be no more. Nor is it a case of " a little learning is a dangerous thing"; rather is it a case of nice adjustment; the librarian knows library methods and is imbued with library spirit; his trustees know the town to which he is called, can give him valuable hints about reaching the people, and can open the avenue toward local history and special collections, besides being keenly alive to the needs of the community, and ready to give the librarian the backing which at times is restful, at least. Now we come to the assistant and the aid which comes to the librarian through her I believe a foreign visitor described the American assistant as of the feminine gender. In writing of her some one has said, and rather aptly I fear, that the librarian's trials with her were probably " as water unto wine " compared to her trials with the librarian. To make the assistant what her name implies she should be a consistent part of the whole, and should be drilled to fill her post in the library accurately; it seems to me that this can best be done by apprenticeship; in the small library she serves directly under the librarian, and in the large li- brary I would have apprentices in each depart- ment; in either case, by personal contact and by practical application, she learns methods and un- consciously acquires the spirit of the institution; she has time and means to perfect herself and to understand how given instructions are to be carried out before she is called upon officially to comply. Above all things, let her be trained gradually in the various departments through her apprenticeship before she is put in the po- sition of assistant, so that when made assistant she may at any time temporarily fill any posi- tion; and in case of an absence or rush in one department, the work may go on smoothly. For assistance in sympathetic co-operation from patrons in the library, everything depends upon the intelligence of the community, and anything that can raise its standard is of the greatest aid to the librarian. I would suggest, besides general university extension courses, and any other lectures of high standard to which the librarian should give his support, the advisability of introducing library courses in university extension, and I would make the movement as widespread as possible. This would eventually lift a great load from the li- brarian's shoulders. I refer to the amount of energy and tact which he must expend in explaining the pros and cons to the recently elected librarian who has to know it all in a day or two. Coming to aids which are technically con- sidered as the librarian's, is the advisability of joining clubs for the sake of their publications. This is especially valuable for local history, as in the Parkman Club of Wisconsin, which makes a study of northwestern history with especial reference to Wisconsin. Look into your own state and if there is a club which can help you, join it; begin at home and in- crease the circle outward as far as is expedient. The joining of local clubs is, of course, a great aid in coming into closer relations with the townspeople, and also affords a greater opportunity of working up club programs and directing the reading of the clubs. This brings me to a short list which is not meant to be comprehensive but is merely suggestive and useful'in opening the way to all sorts of hints, instructions, reference lists, and bibliographical aids. This will be most helpful as a start to save unnecessary work, and as the needs of the library become greater, and its resources in- crease, it will sugget more extensive aids. DODGE. 69 First come those books with which we are all familiar, but which as old friends we are always glad to see, for they are rich in suggestion and their spirit is most helpful. I refer to Dana's " Public library handbook," published by Car- son, Harper & Co., Denver, 1895, a little book which fills many needs. It has an annotated list of magazines which is helpful, and a list of books for schools, and under the subject of book selec- tion reference is made to critical periodicals. Miss Plummer's " Hints to small libraries," published by the Pratt Institute Free Library of Brooklyn, gives valuable suggestions in the organizing of a library and in its administra- tion, and is of great value to librarians who have not had opportunity for training. W. H. Wheatley's "How to catalogue a li- library," published by Armstrong in the " Book lover's library," gives the first principles of cataloging and a discussion of different catalog- ing rules; and Mr. Fletcher's " Public libraries in America," published by Roberts Bros, in !895, gives a history of the library movement, details of library management, etc. These books, together with the Library Jour- nal and Public Libraries, contain the essentials of public library management, with lists and ref- erences leading to specialization. As a beginning in school-work I suggest Channing and Hart's "Guide to the study of American history," published in Boston by Ginn, 1896, because we want to stimulate the interest in history, and first and foremost in American history. This book takes up meth- ods, books, bibliography, and topics with refer- ences. There are also lists of books which are of great aid in working with children, as: Miss Hewins's "Selected list of books for boys and girls," Library Bureau, 1897, 10 c. Leypoldt and Iles's "List of books for girls and women and their clubs," Library Bureau, 1895, 75 c. This contains a list, with full anno- tations, of 250 American, British, and Canadian authors. The "Supplement to Sargent's ' Reading for the young,' " Library Bureau, 1896, $1.00. This includes books for 1890-95, and it contains a subject-index of the whole work. There are many lists of books for children published by different libraries, which may be had for the asking ; also in the " Regents' bulletin," no. 6, of the University of the State of New York, are valuable supplemental read- ing lists for schools. Almost equal in interest to the work with the schools is that of getting a strong hold on the public through the local clubs, in getting as much of their work into the library as possible; not only in preparing their reference lists, but in being equipped to help in the preparation of their programs. To this end I would be on the lookout for outlines of club work such as are published in the Michigan State Library Bulle- tin, no. i, which gives a list of club programs of Michigan. There were very valuable outlines published also in the annual report for 1894 of the New York State Library, extension depart- ment, under " Outlines of approved work in New York "; these have been printed separate- ly in pamphlet form. There are also outlines for club work pub- lished in the different magazines; some valuable ones have appeared in The Arts, The Outlook, The Bookbuyer, and The Lotus. Also, the syllabi of courses in university ex- tension are rich in suggestion ; these are all toward the making of programs ; after the pro- grams are in form it is admissible to go through the list, making references for each meeting, and putting them on file, where the club people can freely consult them, and when the tempo- rary use is over arranging them with the refer- ence lists for future use. For most of us it is necessary to work grad- ually up from one grade of fiction to a higher grade, and from that to a systematic study of literature, history, religion, science, or the arts. To this end we must have a comprehensive knowledge of what fiction contains. While there are many lists which are very helpful, we look forward with interest to one book which will be a comprehensive subject index to fic- tion.* There are lists of fiction published by different libraries which are easily obtained and very helpful, such as the excellent catalog of historical fiction published by the Brookline (Mass.) Public Library, 1897. There is a very valuable list of the books which first appeared in magazine form in the Bulletin of Bibliography, published by the Bos- ton Book Co. This is by E. D. Tucker, is uni- form with Poole, and refers by volume to serial * " Comprehensive subject index to universal prose fic- tion," by Mrs. Zella Allen Dixson ; to be published by Dodd, Mead & Co. in the fall of 1897. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. issue. In a small library it is especially help- ful to be able to find a story in magazines which could not be afforded in book form, and often it is gratifying to be able to duplicate a popular book ; and it goes a long way toward making friends for the library. The Bulletin of Bibliography brings us to another class of easily obtained aids in refer- ence work : the bulletins published by differ- ent libraries are either free, as that of Salem, or cost a nominal sum, as the Providence bulletin, which is soc. per year. They contain reference lists, bibliographical aids, etc., and often, as in that of Providence, publish quar- terly, or at regular intervals, an index to all the reference lists which are published by dif- ferent libraries. This is a great saving of time, for any reference list which is indexed may be had by asking the library which publishes it. As to contemporary work in periodicals, if a small library cannot afford the " Cumulative in- dex," it can do good work with the Review of Reviews. These few suggestions are not meant in any way as iron-clad rules. But let the impression be, to use wisely and well the resources which are available to each, for if a few good things are made much of, others will be the more easily obtained, and there will never be the danger of helplessly waiting for a printed formula to ap- ply to each emergency. As a warning against such apathy I quote a pathetic little verse which carries with it a strong moral : " The centipede was happy quite Until a toad for fun Said ' Pray which leg comes after which ? ' This worked her mind to such a pitch, She lay distracted in a ditch Considering how to run." BOOK SELECTION. BY ELIZABETH P. ANDREWS, N. Y. STATE LIBRARY SCHOOL, ALBANY. 'T'HE old definition of the library as a collec- tion of books does not fully describe the modern library ; we are learning to regard the library as something more than four walls en- closing a collection of books of all kinds and description, purchased or given. It should be a selection of the best books for the individual library. Conditions will vary greatly, and the test of the book is its suitability and fitness in the particular place in which it is found. Few libraries are so large as to attempt to include all books, even all of value, and every library, large or small, needs to exercise care and discretion in the selection of books; but it is the small library, with its very limited in- come, of, which we are speaking to-day, and it is in this library that it is most necessary that the selection be made carefully and wisely. The principle of selection applies not only in buying books, but also in the care and dis- position of them, however acquired. Gifts make their way to the library from individuals or from the government, and it is as important to select from these what the library really re- quires as to make a careful choice of the new books for the library to buy. A more generous spirit of co-operation between the large and small library is beginning to show itself, and it is in the disposition of gifts that the co-oper- ative spirit can be of the greatest service. The old pamphlet which the small library does not want, and cannot use, may complete a valuable collection in some large library making a spe- cialty of the subject, while the duplicate of a modern popular book which the large library will gladly exchange may fill a real want in the village library. The application of this principle will result in placing books where they will be most useful regardless of selfish considerations. In the- zeal to establish free libraries in every city and town, indiscriminate haste is sometimes shown, on the supposition that to procure a room or building and fill it with books is all that is necessary. Books are bought hurriedly, without sufficient thought of their appropriate- ness to the needs of the community, and gifts from old attics are welcomed, regardless of the fact that they are often of little or no value. It seems to add impressiveness to the annual report to say that 500 volumes have been given to the library, and to evidence its prosperity. But such prosperity is in appearance only ; each book is an expense to the library, even if ANDREWS. there is no original cost. It must be cared for, accessioned and cataloged, labelled and kept in repair, and in circulation a dull or out-of- date book may do actual harm, repelling the very person one desires most to attract. A step which seems almost radical has been taken in Quincy, Mass., where the library had outgrown its new limits, and a new build- ing, or addition to the old one, seemed a neces- sity. Unwilling to incur the expense, it has been decided, as you all know, to withdraw the least useful books from the library, keeping the number of volumes within the limits of 15,000, which the trustees consider a working library for a small town. Public documents, books of only ephemeral value, old school- books, etc., have been removed, and either sent to libraries, where they will be really use- ful, or sold to the second-hand dealer, and it is intended to continue this practice, so that the library shall be in every sense a selected li- brary, containing only actually needed books. Such a method, however, requires constant changes in the records ; printed catalogs be- come inaccurate as soon as published, the ex- pense of getting rid of the books is almost as great as of keeping them upon the shelves, and much care and thought on the part of the libra- rian or trustee is involved, if the selection is a judicious one. This may, however, be the best thing to do under the circumstances, and it is always necessary to look out for the changing values of books, to rid oneself to-day of the book which was the best to be had yesterday; but as far as possible the selection should take place at the beginning. The more careful one is in ad- mitting to the shelves, the less danger will there be of an accumulation of worthless and useless books to make trouble later. In the selection of the first books to form a new library, there is always a Scylla and Charybdis awaiting the unwary librarian or trustee. On one side is the great temptation to have the library represent the best thought and culture of the world in all ages. In the desire to fill the library with the very best, one fact is lost sight of, i.e., that it is not the abstract value of the book, but its adaptability to the needs of the reader, that makes it the right book in the right place. What can be more elevating and inspiring than the thoughts of Marcus Aurelius, the words of wisdom from Socrates and Plato, the poetry of Dante or Milton, or the essays of a Carlyle or an Emerson ; but if they stand idle upon the shelves, if there are no lighter and more popular books to lead up to them, they are of little service in the library, and are render- ing the library less useful than it otherwise would be. Some years ago a subscription library was started in a small town, and the subscribers ap- pointed as a book committee the three most scholarly, thoughtful, and intelligent men of the village, who expended much care and labor upon the choice of books for the little library taking infinite pains to procure the best litera- ture that the world could afford. The standard authors in prose and verse were all upon the shelves ; translations of the classic writers and full editions of the English authors. History was represented by Gibbon's " Decline and fall of the Roman empire," Mommsen's "Rome," Grote's "History of Greece," Ali- son's "Modern Europe," Bancroft's "United States," to say nothing of Neander's "Church history," in a number of volumes. The library has been struggling ever since to lift its head, weighed down by these ponderous vol- umes, and its usefulness was crippled for years by the injudicious selection of material, good in itself, but not good for the place it was to fill. But having escaped Scylla, we have to beware of Charybdis, and also of the person who is anxious to get as many books as possible for every dollar, regardless of their contents. Such a person will eagerly watch the second- hand stores, and if one of the large department stores advertises a list of books at 19 cents a volume, it is hard to convince him that it is not advisable to send for the whole list, and so pro- cure five books for one bought in the regular way. This method has nothing to recommend it, for it is extravagant rather than economical ; the books are cheaply made and do not last ; they are generally poor books, or at best in- ferior translations or editions of really good ones. No general rules can be laid down for every library to follow ; each must study its own needs and conditions. The town devoted to manufactures, with a large foreign population, will need a very different class of books from that required for the farming com- munity, or for the suburb of some city with a large number of cultured readers. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. There is one class which is found in every town and village the children; and their cor- ner of the library should be a large one in every case. School courses should be examined and books to be used in connection with them provided, supplementary reading furnished, and also a good supply of books for general read- ing ; books that will tell the boy how to make an electric dynamo or a water wheel ; for the collector, books upon bugs and butterflies, with directions as to their care and treatment, as well as descriptions of the different varieties possible for him to collect. The girl should have her share of such books; she maybe a young naturalist, too, perhaps would be oftener than she is, with the right book to stir up the budding interest. Indoor games for the long winter evenings and out-of-door sports for spring and summer will find plenty of use. American history should occupy a large place upon the shelves ; not only general histories, such as Eggleston and Higginson, but stories connected with persons and places of historic interest. Coffin's books are admirable; Lodge's "Hero tales from American history," Drake's " Watch-fires of '76," Scudder's " Life of Washington," Brooks' " Story of Abraham Lin- coln," will make the dead bones of "hist'ry," cordially hated by the school boy and girl, alive with interest. Perhaps there is danger of making the chil- dren's corner too prominent, and of allowing the younger readers to monopolize attention; others besides children have rights, but if the children's room and the children's books may receive too large a share of thought, the fad is a wholesome one, and we need not have much fear of carrying it too far. The departments need not be widely separated, and old and young will use them both. The immature mind of older growth will find the child's book of science just what it needs to furnish new thoughts and interests, while the wise librarian will watch every opportunity to lead the boy from Henty to Scott, from the verse of St. Nicholas to that of the poets. If the village library is not supplemented by a college library, or is not in close proximity to a large town, reference-books should be bought as freely as possible, but with the greatest care. The library with an income of a few hundred dollars cannot afford to spend a large part of it on the " Encyclopaedia Britannica," or the " Century dictionary," much as it would like to own those standard authorities. The new edition of Webster, and Johnson's "Universal cyclopaedia," in eight volumes, will prove satis- factory substitutes, and the money saved can be more usefully expended upon some of the many handbooks, books of quotations and general information and cyclopaedias or dic- tionaries of literature. The small library will hardly be able to buy Smith's " Classical dic- tionaries," but will find that Harper or Seyffert, in one volume, will take the place of the larger and more valuable works. Tables have been made to show the propor- tions to be allotted to the different classes, and a good general guide can be found in Public Libraries for May, 1896, as well as in the "Catalog of the A. L. A. Library." These must be modified to suit different needs, but would be helpful in forming a basis. In the very general remarks to which this paper is limited, it can only be recommended to begin near the level of the average reader, but keeping always a little in advance. In history it is better to buy the short one- volume history, which is readable, and yet sufficiently accurate, rather than the long stand- ard histories, which will stand upon the shelves only to gather dust. It is better to buy fuller histories for specially important periods than the long general histories which discourage the reader at the beginning. Fiske's " History of the American Revolution" and the "Critical period of American history " give the reader an instructive, and at the same time fascinating picture of the beginnings of our history as a nation. A short, interesting history of the French Revolution is harder to find, but Mig- net, Stephen, or Gardiner will prove more satisfactory than that in any of the long gen- eral histories. The series entitled " Epochs of history " give very good accounts of many of the important periods, Gardiner's " Thirty years' war" being one of the best of these. History naturally leads to biography ; as much of American history can be learned through biography as in any other way, and lives of Napoleon will give one the best picture of France during its most interesting and im- portant period. In general, brief rather than exhaustive lives should be sought for ; the "American statesmen" series, the "Men of letters " for both England and America, are too ANDREWS. 73 well known to need mentioning, and these short- er biographies, studies rather than portraits, as Mr. Larned calls them, may all be included with profit, though a selection might well be made, for even in the best series the books vary and are of unequal value. Books of travel which bring into narrow lives glimpses of wider surroundings and dif- ferent aspects of thought, perhaps appeal first to the uncultured reader, and if brought to their notice, Miss Bacon's "Japanese girls and women," Parsons' " Notes on Japan," Davis's '.' About Paris," " The west from a car win- dow," or " Rulers of the Mediterranean," will often tempt them to leave the novel usually asked for in its place upon the shelves. It is even more important in the fields of lit- erature to beware of complete sets. Few authors have written so evenly that all their work is on the same high level with their mas- terpieces, and when the inclusion of a complete set of one author means the entire exclusion of another, the loss to the library is great. A large proportion of fiction may be included, but great care must be taken to select only that which is good and pure and of some literary value. The small library will find that it has not money enough to buy all the good novels, and that it can supply literature light enough for any need, and yet neither worthless nor vicious. These books will fill, to a large extent, the shelves of the smaller libraries. Philosophy will need but little room. In religion, sectarian books should as far as possible be avoided, but some sermons breathing a broad spirit of Christianity will be appreciated, and Washing- ton Gladden's "Who wrote the Bible?" many of Lyman Abbott's books, and Van Dyke's " Gospel for an age of doubt," will never be out of place. Sociology will tempt the modern librarian interested in the problems and perplexities of a complex civilization, and there is a greater call for books bearing upon such questions as time goes on, which should be encouraged, but a library in a small town should not be stocked with a large collection of books upon theories of political, economic, and social problems, in which the reader would only flounder without gaining any clear idea of the subject. Books upon practical philanthropy, and short, clear expositions of the most important questions may be bought. With very little money to expend for books, it may seem impossible to include periodicals in the list, and the library will sometimes depend for the most 6f its magazines upon the gener- osity of friends who promise to send Harper, Century, or the Review of Re-views, when they have finished reading them. This may serve for a while, but at best is very uncertain, and some numbers will never reach the library, while others will come so late as to do no good An attractive reading-room is an important adjunct to the library, and no money is more usefully expended than that used for the maga- zines, which appeal alike to old and young, which give current news, items of interest in the scientific world, as well as short stories, pictures for the children, and household infor- mation for the mothers. In making practical applications of these principles, the librarian will find bibliographical aids on every side, which the library of 10 years ago had to do without, and there is much less excuse for an ill-assorted, poorly selected library to-day than at that time. There seems to be no need of speaking even for 10 minutes upon the subject of the selection of books for the small library. It has all been said in the "Catalog of the A. L. A. Library." There is the principle and the model, and the town or village establishing a new library can do no better than use it as a basis for all purchases. Its supplements will bring it down to date, and together give a complete guide to the best liter- ature for the working library. The "List of books for girls and women," compiled by Leypoldt and lies, gives critical notes upon books and authors and is almost in- valuable. Sargeant and Whishaw's "Guide- book to books " furnishes 6000 titles in a classi- fied arrangement, but is an English publication, and not as useful to the American library desir- ing American editions. In buying children's books, Miss He*wins' annotated list, just pub- lished by the Publishing Section of the Associa- tion, is the first thing, but may be supplemented by Mr. Hardy's "500 books for the young," published by Scribner, and also by the various lists recommended for school libraries. After the library is started, the librarian will find it a more difficult k task to decide upon the current literature, particularly if the income is very small, and each book must be weighed and considered. 74 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. The method used in the New York State Li- brary School for noting the new books and as- certaining their value might, I think, be used with value by the small library. Each week the books which it is thought would be desira- ble are checked in the Publisher? Weekly, and then the entries are cut out and mounted on slips, while the critical periodicals are in- dexed for reviews ; the references to the re- views being given in abbreviated form on the slip. The librarian might use a double check mark for books about which there was no doubt, or which the library could afford to buy at once, and the entries could be put into the hands of the book committee for approval without delay. The others arranged in alphabetical order would form a basis for the purchases of the library from time to time. The fiction lists published by the Massachu- setts Library Club, with critical notes on each book, were a great help, and it is hoped that some way will be found of continuing them. The New York list of the 50 best books of the year for the village library aids greatly in sift- ing the wheat from the chaff, and the longer list from which the 50 are selected is useful to the larger library. Advice should be asked from competent critics and from those interested in some special sub- ject, and the librarian with a small income will do well to make haste slowly ; it is better to wait for the help gained from reviews, from such lists as I have mentioned and trust- worthy opinion, and most important of all from personal examination, than to be ambitious to have a new book upon the shelves as soon as it is published. ADVERTISING A LIBRARY. BY MARY EMOGENE HAZELTINE, LIBRARIAN OF THE JAMES PRENDERGAST FREE LIBRARY, JAMESTOWN, N. Y. TOURING the Crimean war, a French soldier, dying, gave to the nurse who attended him a gift, something to be preserved as a memento, she thought. After the war she re- turned to France, carefully keeping the gift. Charmed with its singular beauty and fineness, as soon as she was able she had it framed and hung over the fireplace in her humble dwell- ing, that it might be constantly before her, something to enjoy, and for many years it cheered her. One day, some one entering her abode noticed the little ornament so honored in the cottage, and inquired concerning it. Then did she learn that the beautiful token was a note on the Bank of France of the highest de- nomination, and that during all her years of poverty and hardship she had been rich but had not known it. The free libraries in our cities and towns adorn them, in truth, as the framed bank-note adorned the cottage of the French woman; but far too many in every community regard the library merely as a decoration, an orna- ment, a very proper and " nice " thing to have in the town, and fail entirely to understand that it is for their enrichment. To spread abroad a knowledge of the riches of the library, helping the people to understand and appreciate that its wealth is for their use and profit and enjoyment, and not merely an ornament, is the duty of the librarian. So we will agree at the beginning that the object of library advertising is to convey to all the com- munity a knowledge of the whole library. This can be accomplished in several ways, chief among which are newspaper advertising, posters and cards in public places and mills, work for clubs and schools, and personal work on the part of the librarian. The local newspaper is doubtless the best ad- vertising medium, for it goes into the homes, and the messages from the library gain an audi- ence at any rate. Whether the people read the library article, for library advertising is reading matter, not display form, depends largely on the article itself and its place in the paper. In advertising through the newspapers, it is well at the very start to have a thorough busi- ness understanding with the manager of the paper. Ascertain what will be published for you as news that is, free of charge, and what HAZEL TINE. 75 must be paid for at regular advertising rates. In general, all articles and items concerning a library are published free of charge, being con- sidered as news and of especial interest to those who read the paper. But if you advertise a money-making entertainment to raise funds for your library, it must be paid for, as newspapers do not consider such things as news for free publication, even in behalf of a free library. Then, as a matter of courtesy, arrange with the editor on what days he would prefer to re- ceive copy from the library. We have found that on certain days of the week special mat- ter fills the columns of the leading paper, while there is. only chance news for the other days. Know the days that the paper has copy assured it, and plan your articles for the days that are less crowded, so winning the good will and special regard of the editor. Saturday is generally a day of much news, and it is also the day that the paper is best read, for there is more leisure. Yet it is advisable to have an occasional short, pithy article from the library in the Saturday issue, even though the columns may be crowded with other matter, for it will reach more people and be read more carefully than other days. Then it is satisfactory to have an understand- ing with the editor concerning the space to be given library articles. Our leading local paper has eight pages; the first page gives the impor- tant telegraphic news and local events of great- est interest, the fifth and eighth pages give the locals, the fourth the editorials, and these four pages are glanced over, at least, by all who pick up the paper. The second and third pages are plate matter, while the sixth and seventh are scattering, with some plate matter, neighborhood correspondence, council proceed- ings, and a few local matters crowded off the other pages. It can be seen from this single example that certain pages of every newspaper are more sure of a reading than others, from the very nature of their contents, and whenever it is possible news from the library should ap- pear on these pages. The merchant, in advertising, recognizes the importance of preferred space, and has the privilege of buying whatever he desires. But since library advertising is published free of charge as reading matter, you cannot dictate as to space. Generally we say nothing about the space that the library item shall occupy, but occasionally when we have something of un- usual importance or interest, we ask as a favor that the article may be well placed, and our re- quest is always granted. I feel especially com- plimented when the library is given space on the first page, for an article there will attract attention and its headlines will be read at any rate. Last fall our list of books on the money question was published on the first page, while an editorial accorded on the fourth page advised all to read the books suggested in the list. We have never had so many calls for books pub- lished in a reading list, as we had for books on the money question on the days immediately following the appearance of the list on the first page of the paper. We notice also that when lists of new books are published, the demand for them is greater or less depending on the place where the list appeared. Perhaps you wonder that I dwell at such length on what is apparently a small part of li- brary advertising, but my experience has been that success waits on careful attention to these details, and a full understanding of existing conditions. After the arrangements of business and courtesy have been adjusted, the next impor- tant consideration is, who shall write the arti- cles that appear in the papers concerning the library. You will find that you must do the most of the writing yourself, if you wish the library adequately kept before the public, thus adding the work of a reporter to the many things that have come to be part of the libra- rian's profession. It is true that the library is not yet on the assignment book of the news- paper office ; places of amusement, the police court and the trains are visited regularly by the reporters, but the library is only occasionally honored by them ; when other news fails, they remember it. So the library would have only spasmodic mention if the reporters were de- pended upon for all of its notices. Whatever appears in our papers concerning the library we prepare ourselves, for the most part, thus gaining not only a frequent notice in the columns of the paper, but the statements made as we wish them, for however well inten- tioned the average reporter may be, he can not write an article that involves professional knowl- edge technically correct ; since he is not of the order. For the end of correct representation, ministers often report their own sermons for the PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. local papers, and lawyers would do well if the court proceedings that find a place in the news- papers were at least revised by them. Not long since a reporter gave a very wrong impression of a trial in one of our county papers, because he did not understand the technicalities of the case. At the suggestion of the editor, all of the articles that are supplied by the library are signed, to prove them official. I use simply the signature, The Librarian, and three years and more of communicating with the public over this signature have proved to me the wisdom of its use, for the community has learned that it speaks with authority concerning the ways and means of the library. But library news that comes always from one source has a sameness that is monotonous, so let the reporter help in the work all that he will, or all that you can persuade him to. Do not send him away with- out some news whenever he calls ; suggest various items that can be written up briefly under the leader, Library Notes, or let him wander about the building as he pleases, to gain material by observation for " a story." If there is more than one paper in your com- munity furnish library news for all of them. Probably one journal will be superior to all the others and read by more people; the bulk of your news will doubtless go to this, perhaps for the very reason that it is a larger sheet and can give you more space. But do not slight any of the papers, rather, make them all the friends of the library; this can be done not only by pro- viding copy for them all, but by dividing your job printing among them. The newspapers are very glad to grant favors, and it is but fair to patronize them when there is paid work to be done. Having decided and arranged to communicate with the public through the newspapers, the great questions are, what shall be advertised, and how can advertising matter for frequent notices be assured. Lists of new books published at short inter- vals have served most effectually in increasing and keeping our patronage. To explain how we arrange for the frequent publication of new books I shall be obliged to let you into a secret regarding our buying. We have no book-store in our town large enough or sufficiently well organized to supply a library, except to meet the demand for books of the day, so we buy direct- ly from New York, and to save shipping charges and freight buy a large invoice several times during the year. If we placed in circulation at one time all the books purchased in an invoice we would have new books only two or three times in the course of a year, which would not serve to sustain a living interest in the library. We make a selection of those that are most in demand the popular novels, books of travel, the latest scientific works, or books that are needed by some study or reading club enough to make a list of 20 or 30, and after cataloging, we place them on an open shelf in the reading- room for general inspection before publishing a list of them in the daily paper. The understand- ing is that at nine o'clock on the morning fol- lowing the publication of the list the books can be drawn for home reading, and patrons will often come half an hour early to secure a de- sired book. I have found by experience that it is wise to issue books from our store-house with some method, perhaps choosing all the travel for one issue, the biography for another, United States history for a third, with some books in minor classes and always a little fiction to give the necessary variety. My object in issuing books of a kind together is two-fold. First, the pub- lished list has the continuity of a catalog, for it is printed, even in the newspaper, in regular catalog form, with author, title, and call-num- ber, and serves the public in lieu of a regular bulletin, for many cut the lists from the paper and paste them in their finding lists, so keeping their printed catalog up to date. Secondly, it is our custom to publish some notes or reviews concerning the new books, and these are more effective when there is a continuity of subject. Generally these remarks introduce the list of books, being a case of placing the moral first, that it may surely be read. I refer to the different books in the list "below," saying a certain one is " especially in- teresting," while another will be found "very timely " ; that all have heard of " this " book, and will be glad to know that it can be found in the library; that of a certain author we have such and such books, but his latest book has been added, and will be found more interesting per- haps than any of his others; sometimes I write a short review of a book, the purpose of it all being to call attention to the books, especially to those that might be overlooked because their titles are not suggestive or attractive. I do not HAZELTINE. 77 print long notices, as they would not be read, and as too much information leads the people to think that we consider that they know nothing about the new publications for themselves, or do not keep in touch with the times. Head lines are of the greatest consideration in connection with any matter for publication. The word new serves as a magnet always New Books of Travel at the Library ; Invoice of Books on United States History ; The Latest Books on Electricity Ready for Circulation at the Library, etc., etc. for headlines suggest themselves if the subject matter is well ar- ranged. I find that besides writing the articles for pub- lication it is well to look to the proof-reading also ; in fact, it is very important, especially in lists of new books, because the compositors do not understand the algebra (as they call it) of the Dewey system, and make woeful work of call numbers, the snarl 'of which the proof- reader does not always untangle. Besides, if writing for the newspapers is new to you, it is advisable to see your copy in cold print, for often it seems very different than it did in your own writing, and a few changes may greatly improve it. I make it a point to leave my copy with the city editor a day in advance of its pub- lication, so it is early in type, which gives me ample time to read the revise carefully. Two years ago our leading paper introduced linotype machines, and we have arranged to have all the type of the new book lists saved ; when we are ready to issue a supplement much of our work is done. We pay interest to the printing com- pany on their investment in metal for the type, and will pay for paper and press work when the supplement is printed. In this way we save not only time, but money. And yet another point regarding the publica- tion of new books is in relation to the internal economy of the library. We have found it wise to advertise the circulation of new books for days that we are less busy, which is the middle of the week. Creating a demand for new books on dull days equalizes the work, which is essen- tial in a library with a small force. Once I made the serious mistake of placing a notice in the paper that an invoice of books had arrived from New York and would soon be issued. I regretted that statement, and re- solved never again to advertise merely for the sake of having something appear about the li- brary. Patrons would ask daily, "When will the new books be ready"? "What are some of the new books"? "Can't I have a new book to-day"? so magnetic is anything new! So much time was consumed answering questions that it took much longer to catalog the books than it otherwise would have done. But we profit by mistakes, and out of an annoying ex- perience I warn you, do not let the public know that you have received new books until they are ready for inspection. While new books serve to advertise a library and make it popular, other things are necessary to make its full value known and appreciated. Reference lists on timely topics always bring their share of patronage. I remember the first reference list that we published was on James Anthony Froude, at the time of his death ; not a popular subject, but it was a topic of the day, and we were endeavoring at the time to make known the wealth of the library in all its de- partments. The paper containing the list was issued at five o'clock in the afternoon and be- fore the library closed that evening there were four calls from the list by students who were delighted to know that they could secure those books. In publishing reference lists the one thing to remember is to have them timely, and this I can not make too emphatic. If your list is not ready and must follow rather than lead a move- ment, save it until next time. It is not so much the article as its being well timed. We find that our regular patrons watch for the reference lists ; their interest in the library is maintained as its possibilities are revealed to them, and it is as necessary to keep patronage as to gain it. But new books, and reading lists of attractive books and articles on current topics are not enough to reach all in a community, by any means; there will still be a goodly proportion that know nothing and seem to care nothing about the library. As merchants have bargain- days, which they advertise extensively to bring out the people, so libraries can arrange special attractions to win the unknowing and unap- preciative public. Special attractions have aided materially in spreading abroad a knowl- edge of our library and have brought us the most returns for advertising. A year ago we had thirty water-colors of F. Hopkinson Smith on exhibition in our art gallery for two weeks. I learned from Mr. Smith in February that we 7 8 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. could have the pictures the last of April or first of May, on their way back from western cities to New York. From that date in February until the pictures came in May, something ap- peared in the papers on an average of every ten days, about Hopkinson Smith or his pictures. One week it would be a press notice of his pict- ures, the next a review of his latest book, then another art criticism from the press, and so the notices alternated. Marked copies of the pa- pers were sent to the several newspapers in surrounding towns, with a note accompanying, asking the editor to copy or at least make note of the date and place of the exhibition of the Hopkinson Smith water-colors. During the two weeks that the pictures hung in our gal- lery 3000 people viewed them as many as we could well accommodate. Of those 3000 visi- tors, most of them residents of the city, many told me, " This is the first time I have been in the library, but I do not mean it shall be the last ; " and in truth they have become regular patrons. During the exhibition we published lists of books on art and architecture, also on Constantinople, Venice, and Holland, for the pictures were painted in these places. There are many special attractions that can be arranged for libraries. Poster exhibitions have been popular both in large and small libra- ries, also exhibitions of art-works and photo- graphs. Amateur photographs proved very popular in one library after vacation days were over, while some have been fortunate enough to have loan exhibitions of books and pictures, or both. Something can be arranged in every library, but it is always to be remembered that the success of any special attraction depends on the advertising. Talk about it in the papers, not so much as to appear ridiculous, but enough to let all know about it and remember it long enough to come. I know for a fact that we gain many regular patrons from those who come at such times. We found that few in our community under- stood the use of ' ' Poole's index" or of our diction- ary card catalog. A "magazine day" was advertised, and to all that came I explained the use of the different indexes, letting all work out some references for themselves, and I never saw people more astonished and delighted than were those who thus learned that there was a key to unlock the stored wealth of the maga- zines. In like manner the card catalog was explained, to the wonder of all, who thought that it required a course of study to use it. Of course we are constantly explaining the use of these helps, but I have found it not a bad idea to have a day devoted to each of them once a year, that their names at least shall be heard in the land and their existence known. This spring our special attraction was " travel day," which grew into several days to accom- modate all that came. It developed from the demand for books of travel, which in turn was created by the departure for Europe of a party of 20 or more of the townsfolk. All their friends immediately desired to read about the sights of the other continent and follow them by proxy. It occurred to us at the library that it would be pleasant for the stay-at-homes if they could see and handle our books of travel and make their selections for summer reading from the books themselves. We cannot give the public access to the shelves because of the plan of our building, so on the tables in the reading-room, giving a table to each country, we spread all of our books on European travel, together with magazine articles, and pictures from our collection of mounted prints. We made the room as attractive as possible, posted leaders to indicate the route from table to table, furnished paper and pencils for notes, and gave personal attention to all who came. Those who travelled with us and we had several hundred passengers not only enjoyed the books and pictures during the few hours that they stayed, but made note of books that they wished to read. I am glad to report that many lists of books of travel, made on our library paper dur- ing those few days, appeared as call slips at the delivery-desk. We advertised this " travel day " extensively, though not long in advance, for it was a sudden thought and had to be car- ried out quickly. Because of short notice, we did not explain fully what it would be, but aroused the curiosity of the public, which offered a variety in our advertising form. It is well to arrange special attractions for dull seasons, for the same reason that it is best to advertise new books for the less busy days of the week, namely, it equalizes the work at the library, and keeps up the interest of the com- munity in the library. But new books, timely reference lists, and special attractions are not the only things that will interest the public. The chief facts of the HAZELTINE. monthly report will prove the worth of the li- brary, especially if a statement is made compar- ing the circulation, use of reference-books, attendance in the reading-rooms, etc., with the same month of the previous year, provided, of course, that the comparison shows an increase. My annual report to the trustees is published in full in the papers, also the leading facts of the quarterly reports. Gifts to the library should not fail of proper mention in the daily papers ; but so many things occur in every library to furnish advertising matter that it is needless to discuss this point further. Though we depend on the newspapers very largely to herald the library in the community, we do not neglect other agencies, and among these are posters in public places. We have factories in our city employing many hundred operatives, whom we wished should know about the library. We had several hundred posters printed as attractively as possible, with a cut of the library at the top of the card and capital let- ters in red. We endeavored above all to make it plain that the library was free. One of the trustees suggested that the following sentences be given a prominent place : " Books may be taken home. There are no dues or charges except for books kept over time." " Tell them honestly," he said, " just when a charge will be made, even though they may never be obliged to pay a fine ; you will find people a little suspicious of anything free, because they have learned from experience that 'free* often has a string to it in some way to catch their nickels and dimes." No doubt you have noticed the truth of this, that it is difficult for all the people to conceive that the library is really free to them, without any cost. These posters were placed, by permission of the proprietors, in the different factories, where the employes in pass- ing in and out would be sure to see them. I am convinced that they have brought the library much patronage, for whenever an applicant has given his occupation as " Employed in factory," we have asked if the card telling of the library had been read, and almost without exception it had served as the introduction to the library. We also have framed notices con- cerning the library in the post-office and hotels. After all this communication with the public, there still remains personal work, which is one of the surest ways of bringing people to the li- brary. This means that as a librarian you must give your whole self to the work. There is not a community now, I believe, that has not a study or reading club. Attend one of the meetings of the club, and if you are not a mem- ber you can secure an invitation to attend a meeting, and offer the co-operation of the li- brary. Offer to help them with reference lists, and to place a certain shelf or section of the reading-room at their disposal, where the books that their program calls for can be kept togeth- er and renewed when necessary. If some of the club members cannot come to the library let the books be sent to them. The patronage of a study club creates a demand for better reading. Go to the schools and tell the young people about the library and its treasures, many of which are especially designed for them. Be willing to be questioned about the library at any and all times. At first I mentally objected when I was stopped on the street, questioned in stores, at church, at receptions, wherever I happened to be, about the library, but I soon found that people were sincere and really want- ed to know, so long since I willingly give infor- mation at any time and place, but I make it a point never to broach the topic of the library myself. Then you can help others to advertise. A merchant came to the library seeking the pict- ure of a May-pole for a May-day advertisement. After the picture had been found his attention was called to Chambers's "Book of days," which so delighted him that he ordered the volumes for his own library, saying that the books would give him many hints for timely advertisements. The same merchant was so greatly pleased with one of our books on the tartans of Scotland that he advertised an in- voice of plaid woollen dress goods by the names of the plaids, which he found by comparing the goods with the colored plates in the book. With all this advertising outside the library to gain patronage, and to create a demand for the best reading, advertising inside the library must not be overlooked. This includes bulletin- boards, black-boards, and other devices, men- tion and description of which exceed the limit of this paper. The secret of library advertising, as Miss Stearns said last year, is ' ' keeping everlastingly at it," or as the proprietor of a great factory in New York believes, and has constantly be- fore him on his desk, " S. T. I. and W.," which he translates to all who inquire as "Stick to it and win." 8o PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. AIMS AND PERSONAL ATTITUDE IN LIBRARY WORK. BY LINDA A. EASTMAN, CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY. TT is probable that most of us attended our first conference because there had already come to us something of the A. L. A. spirit ; there is no one of us, I venture to say, but found this same first conference a revelation of ideas and ideals. But to analyze this spirit, to put the ideals into words, to search out the elementary and underlying purposes of our work, is not an easy task. It is as yet but a little time since libraries were shrines whose portals opened to scholars only, shrines toward which the wayfaring man presumed not to lift his eyes. To-day, the doors are not only open wide to all, but we go out into the highways and byways, and com- pel men to come in. The^library, which was a luxury for the rich man and the student, has become a necessity to the community at large, and the community must be taught its two great uses, as a means for recreation and for study. The librarian, who was guardian of the books, is becoming also the guardian of the thought-life of the people, but tradition lives with the people, and because of the old idea of the exclusiveness of the library, the librarian must labor with them to bring them unto their own. The library, in its influence, is whatever the librarian makes it : it seems destined to be- come an all-pervading force, stimulating public thought, moulding public opinion, educating to all of the higher possibilities of human thought and action ; to become a means for enriching, beautifying, and making fruitful the barren places in human life. If this be true, librarians have an important part to play in the history of civilization and in the conservation of the race. Is it necessary to have a broad and clear con- ception of the work for such accomplishment ? Is it necessary to come to it well equipped and prepared ? We are rather inclined to question our own temerity in daring to enter upon the work with anything short of the maximum of preparation, than to question its need. In our attitude toward the work, it is all-im- portant that we should start right, and then that we keep in the line o progress one never reaches the place, in library work, where he has " learned it all." And whether he be li- brarian, or the lowest assistant on the staff, it it is possible in greater or less degree to fur- ther the work, or to block it by incompetency. First, let us get the main purpose of the li- brary definitely in mind, then set ourselves with all the intelligence and skill which we can command, to its realization. To the end that all may profit by the best thought of the world, books are furnished at the public cost ; it is our part to see that these books are se- lected wisely, cared for properly and used prof- itably, that the administration is economical and effective, and that the library reaches the people who need its influence. All or any part of this work may fall to our share. There are innumerable technical details, but not one among them is so small that it needs not to be done with accuracy and precision ; the great possibilities before librarians to-day have been made by the patient, careful study of detail by which, during the last quarter century, library methods have been worked out. To quote Mr. Dewey : "In library w.ork, as in all other technical work, the ' spirit ' is the all-important thing. If one has become filled with the spirit of the work, has grasped the broad ideas of how and why library work exists, has shared in the enthusiasm as to its future, the purely technical work will be mastered through this ' spirit.' " As to the contact with readers, a winning or a forbidding presence in the presiding genius will of itself make the library popular or un- popular with the community ; that part of the public who most need the influence of good books, and who know them least, are not likely to find what they need except through a medi- ator the librarian or the assistant must often supply that live personal element which is their necessary support during their first explora- tions in the world of books. And along with the gracious winsomeness and the tact un- limited, there must be the strength and the knowledge which will compel confidence and respect. TILLINGHAST. 81 In extending the use of the library, there must be constant and careful study of the con- ditions and needs of the community, with the keen insight and ability which can see and seize opportunities for arousing interest. With this reaching out into the lives of the people, the responsibility of the librarian is increased many-fold; he is not only, as in the past, the adviser and helper of the student and the in- quirer, he is an educator who creates and stimulates a desire for knowledge and who directs its use ; his work begins with the child and goes side by side with the work of the school, and the importance of co-operation with the latter can hardly be overstated, as the li- brary alone has the work of education to carry on from whatever point the school leaves off. Does this work, weighted with responsibili- ties, exacting in its demands and difficult in their fulfilment, broad as the field of human knowledge, altruistic in its efforts toward the bettering of mankind does this work, you ask, receive the recognition that it merits ? Not always not often, perhaps, as yet. But there are rewards in the work itself; there is joy in achievement; and so long as the aims keep so far ahead of the accomplishment, it will be far more to some workers to know that progress is being made, than to hear praise of the work done. REPORT OF THE CO-OPERATION COMMITTEE. BY WILLIAM H. TILLINGHAST, CHAIRMAN, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. 'T'HE event of the year in the field of local co-operative bibliography is the publica- tion in May, by the Boston Public Library, of " A list of periodicals, newspapers, transactions, and other serial publications currently received in the principal libraries of Boston and vicinity." It covers 143 pages in brevier type, represents about 35 libraries, and contains over 5000 titles. The list is alphabetical, with a subject index. Periodicals indexed in the " Annual literary in- dex" and in the " Cumulative index" are marked. In the case of a few very special journals the names of individuals are given, at whose residences or offices they can be seen. This list is the successor to one issued by Har- vard College library in 1878.* Copies may be had by written application to the librarian of the Boston Public Library. A similar list has been published in the April bulletin of the Providence Public Library, for Providence and vicinity, and the Chicago Library Club has undertaken the preparation of one for that city. The latter will give information as to back sets, a very useful feature. A noteworthy result of the union of library forces in New York City was the appearance of a bulletin of the united libraries, in January, * A list of serial publications now taken in the principal libraries of Boston and Cambridge, ist ed., December, 1878. Cambridge, 1878, 30 p. which gives bibliographies, special catalogs, documents, and various matter of much in- terest.* In turning to bibliographical work of a wider scope, mention must be made of the "Cumu- lative index," now in its second year. It is not co-operative in method, but is prepared and published by the Cleveland Public Library. It now indexes 100 periodicals, and gives occa- sional special bibliographies besides, but it is the cumulative feature which gives it its great value as a library tool, each month's issue con- taining in one alphabet all the titles of the preceding months until the December issue, which includes the titles for the year. The Cleveland Public Library is making an interest- ing experiment in thus testing the availability of the linotype for this peculiar kind of library work, and deserves thanks for its public spirit, in assuming the labor and expense. All who have used it will hope that it may prove a financial success. It is much to be desired that the leading French, German, and Italian peri- odicals might be added to the list of those in- dexed, but this feature would not be likely to extend the subscription list, though it would * Bulletin of the New York Public Library Astor, Le- nox, and Tilden foundations. Published monthly by the New York Public Library, 40 Lafayette Place, New York City. Subscription $i a year. 82 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. add much to the usefulness of the index in the large libraries, and would be welcomed in a large proportion of the smaller cities and towns. In the last report it was pointed out that an exceptionally good opportunity for co-operation was to be found in cataloging the articles in the publications of various learned societies. The idea had occurred to others, and has been ac- tively debated by the New York Public Library, Columbia University Library, the John Crerar, the Boston Public, and Harvard University li- braries. Investigations into the cost of printing the titles in such work have been made in New York and Boston, and a report upon the matter will be submitted to the Association at Phila- delphia. The committee believe that co-op- erative work along this line has promise of success, and hope that the subject will be care- fully considered by the Association, with a view to the issuing of cards for such titles being undertaken by the Publishing Section. This work is not indexing but cataloging, largely analytical cataloging, of a class of books which are received by the libraries interested at about the same time. Much of the work is already done by those libraries that receive the serials; the object is, first, to do this work more eco- nomically, then to increase, if possible, the number of serials cataloged, and to give other libraries the chance of profiting by the work to such extent as they wish. It is clear there is here a large field for work without intrenching upon that reserved for the operations of the Royal Society. The interest in general bibliography which has prevailed for the last few years increases. The absolute necessity for some means of knowing what is being printed in the various branches of knowledge is even more apparent to scholars than to librarians. To various scien- tific organizations we owe not only attempts to shorten the titles of scientific papers, and to economize the labor of the indexer by a typo- graphical emphasis of important words, but the actual preparation of catalogs in botany, mathe- matics, zoology. An international conference of bibliographers at London last year, with the aid and advice of the Royal Society, laid the foundations for a general catalog of the litera- ture of pure science from 1900 on. The Insti- tut International de Bibliographic, established under government patronage at Brussels, pro- poses an even wider field of service. In this country, in England, in Belgium, in Austria, etc., general catalogs of national literature are actively debated, if not formally undertaken. These, and like matters, will claim a large place in the deliberations of the International Library Conference of this summer. If the next century is to be the age of electricity, and of aerodromes, it will be no less the age of bibliography.* The Publishing Section will report upon the result of their first year's experience in issuing printed cards. There is no other co-operative undertaking in the library field in which success means so much to every library in the land. We hope that the Association will make an earnest and enduring effort to obtain success. The Library Bureau in London is making a similar experiment, and the Bibliographical In- stitute at Brussels has tried to induce pub- lishers on the Continent to issue cards, or at least separable titles for catalog use, with their books, and several firms in Leipzig, Berlin, and elsewhere, have made the experi- ment.f The preparation of indexes to books issued without them is a good field for labor, and it appears from the continued publication of such books that the Association would do well to remonstrate vigorously against this evil. It is a pleasure and a duty to express the gratification which we feel at the establishment of the Public Documents Office at Washington, at the amount and quality of bibliographical * The discussion upon this subject in Europe has been mainly occupied with the Decimal classification, which has been strongly supported by the Institut Interna- tional de Bibliographic. It has not been confined to library journals, but has broken out in various scientific periodicals. Its course may be traced, however, by re- ports in the Library Journal, and in the files of The Library, Revue des Bibliothtques, Centralblatt fur J3z m bliotheksivesen, Revue Internationale des Archives, etc. There is, however, opposition to the theory of a universal catalog apart from any special scheme of classification, as impracticable and unwieldy and an imperfect substitute for special bibliographies and catalogs of national litera- ture. See the article, " Die Bewegungen auf dem Gebiete der internationalen Bibliothekswesen," by Otto Hartwig, in Cosmopolis, for May, 1897. tSee Centralblatt fur Bibliotkekswesen,la.Ti., 1897, p. 48, and other passages. See also, Centralblatt, May, 1897, p. 238, for mention of a prize offered by the " Brus- seler Austellung " for an improved process for econom- ical reproduction of titles in small numbers. TILLINGHAST. work already accomplished by that office, and at the comprehension of library needs and the willingness to satisfy them shown by the pres- ent superintendent, Mr. Crandall. The second International Library Conference, which is to be held in London, July 13-16, naturally takes the first place in any considera- tion of the organization and association of li- brary interests, but it is so much in our minds, and is sure of the attendance of so many from this Association, that it needs but to be men- tioned here. It will be a notable gathering, and many and weighty are the subjects for its consideration. The organization of the Library Association of Australasia does not fall within this year, but the publication of the proceedings of the conference at which it was founded must not be passed over.* The committee had hoped to submit a spe- cial paper on local library associations, for the consideration of the Association, but can only offer their regret at their inability to do so ; our loss, however, is the gain of the conference across the water, and in the transactions of that body we may hope to read what we would have gladly heard here.f A paper read by Mr. Arthur H. Chase, state librarian of New Hampshire, before the library association of that state, 2gth Jan., 1891, bears * Account of the proceedings of the first Australasian Library Conference, held at Melbourne, on the 2ist,22d, 23d, and 24th April, 1896 ; together with the papers read, lists of delegates, etc., and the constitution and office bearers of the Library Association of Australasia. Melbourne. [1896.] 410, 65 p. The " Oesterreichischer Verein fur Bibliothekswesen," founded in December, 1895, intends to issue " Mittheilun- gen," but none have as yet appeared. Brief notices of its meetings are given in the Centralblatt fiir Biblio- thekswesen. t Mr. Putnam sketched in outline the different nature of the work of a national and a local association in his re- marks at the union meeting at Hartford. 'An apprecia- tion of the importance of the work that can be best done by local bodies underlies much of the recent discussion about the future of the A. L. A. directly upon this subject, and has a number of interesting and valuable suggestions.* In 1895 -96 the Massachusetts Library Club published monthly lists of works of fiction se- lected by a committee of readers. An inquiry into the usefulness of the lists undertaken at the close of the year showed that, while there was not an immediate probability of subscrip- tions sufficient to enable the club to carry on the work, the lists had been of material ser- vice in many parts of the country, so that there was a possibility that if continued they might win their way to a paying basis. A committee was therefore appointed to find out whether a trial of the lists for three years could be secured by co-operation. The final report of this commit- tee has not yet appeared. Such lists have ap- parent potentialities of usefulness along several lines, and it is to be desired that the experiment of issuing them should have a satisfactory trial. The discussion of books of the year by local associations is much to be commended. It has been successful where tried, and might well be a feature in the program of each association. Certainly it is to be hoped that no association will avoid it because the same books have been already discussed by other associations. Such an objection ignores the larger part of the good to be derived from these discussions, which will be found to lie in the mental attitude and the habits of thought induced and trained thereby. Another field for good work has been opened by the Indiana Library Association. A prac- tical demonstration of the details of library work, such as was given at their Library Insti- tute, would be of great value in every state, working to the advantage of librarians in small towns and assistants who otherwise might get no benefit from the experience of the profession, and therefore working greatly to the benefit of the associations. * Co-operation among the libraries of New Hampshire : paper read before the New Hampshire Library Associa- tion at its annual meeting, Jan. 29, 1891; by Arthur H. Chase. Concord. 1896. 13 p. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. REPORT OF THE A. L. A. PUBLISHING SECTION. BY WILLIAM C. LANE, CHAIRMAN, LIBRARIAN OF THE ATHENAEUM, BOSTON. *T*HE most important thing which the Publish- ing Section has to report is the enlargement of its work and of its power to handle new en- terprises by the continuous employment of an assistant secretary whose whole time is given to its service. This involves a continuous ex- pense, but was made necessary by the Section's undertaking to issue printed cards for current publications, and, once done, places it in a posi- tion to assume additional new activities in the future as they may be required. Since the last report was made in September, 1896, the "Supplement to Sargent's 'Reading for the young ' " has been published a list about equal in length to the original catalog and ac- companied by a new subject-index covering both the original volume and the supplement. Over 3500 copies of the original edition were sold, and an equal or larger number of the new edi- tion (original and supplement combined) ought to be required. It is a book which every library, large or small, ought to have on its reference shelf, and which every school teacher ought to find useful. The second publication of the year has been the "Annotated bibliography of fine art," by Russell Sturgis and H. E. Krehbiel, edited by Mr. George lies. This is the first of a pro- jected series of special bibliographies, to be prepared by competent experts, with critical and comparative notes. It has been well re- ceived by the press, but it is still too soon to say how good a sale it will find, and upon some measure of financial success, that is, some evi- dence that the book is really wanted, must de- pend the decision whether the series can wisely be continued. The Section is established for the express purpose of publishing works useful to libraries which publishers cannot undertake in the ordinary course of business. It can afford to publish without a profit and in some cases at a loss, but it must necessarily judge of the usefulness of its publications in part by the number of copies sold. Miss Hewins' short " List of books for boys and girls," with brief notes, has also seen the light. The expense of printing has been small, and the little pamphlet is sold at 10 cents apiece, and at a very much lower price in quantities. It is hoped that many libraries will want large numbers for distribution among their readers. The most considerable undertaking of the year, however, is the assuming of the work carried on previously for three years by the Li- brary Bureau, namely, the issue of printed cards for current publications. The work has been continued on practically the same lines as under the Library Bureau, several proposed changes having been found either impracticable or undesirable. The number of subscribers has remained the same through the year (about 60 sets are taken), and this seems to be about the number that can be depended upon under the present conditions. A few large libraries print their own cards and for that reason do not buy ours. Many small libraries and some larger ones consider that they cannot afford the expense of printed cards, either because they use too small a proportion of those issued or because they find that even if they use a third or more of them the expense is higher than for cards written in the usual way. It should be remembered, however, in judging of the rela- tive advantages of the two kinds of cards, that the printed cards are distinctly better than any written ones, that there is a saving of time in using them, though it may or may not amount to as much as the expense of the cards, and that the cards, having particulars of publisher and price, are of use in the administration of the library whether put into the catalog or not. The work must still be considered as an experi- ment, and its permanent success as uncertain. The receipts of the past year, from subscrip- tions and from the sale cf books sent by pub- lishers, has paid the expense of manufacture and distribution, and a fair proportion of the assistant secretary's salary, but any falling off in the number of subscriptions or any increased difficulty in getting books from the publishers would probably stop the work. To the pub- lishers who have sent their books the Section would express its gratitude, but there is still in LANE. many cases constant difficulty in persuading them to send their books early, in advance of publication or even in advance of the copies they send out for review, yet the usefulness of the cards depends very largely on the prompt- ness of their issue. Many publishers are with difficulty persuaded that it is worth while for them to send us their books free, doubting the value of the adver- tisement, yet the Section considers that in dis- tributing cards to libraries it does render the publisher a service, and that each card as it ap- pears in the catalog drawer, standing out sharply from the written ones around it, is a continual advertisement of the book and its publisher. If our subscription list were larger, or if the proposition made in the course of the last win- ter had been carried out, we could appeal to publishers more successfully. This proposition was to issue advance lists with single-line titles of the books to be cataloged, and allow libra- rians to check on these the books they had bought or were likely to buy, and return them within two weeks, after which the cards were to be printed and distributed. It was expected that these advance lists might have a large cir- culation, so that no publisher could afford not to have his books included in them, and that by making it possible for a library to buy only the cards it was likely to use, the principal objec- tion to the present general subscription plan would be obviated. But the responses to the circular sent out were so few that the scheme had to be dropped. We still believe that a plan substantially on these lines can sometime be carried out with success ; but for the present, if our subscrip- tion list remains constant and our relations with publishers continue the same, it is evident that what we are now doing is worth carrying on along the same lines. The conditions under which the work is done are, on the whole, as favorable as we could find. The Boston Athe- naeum has given us office-room and free access to its collections and reference-books. In Miss Nina E. Browne, the assistant secretary, we have a rapid and efficient worker, who has had charge of the printed cards since their issue was begun by the Library Bureau. We have no ex- pense for rent, light or heat, and the general superintendence of the work is gratuitous. The most encouraging direction for an en- larged use of printed cards is for articles in serial publications, especially such as are not in- cluded in any of the general indexes to literature of this kind. Five of the large libraries of the country have been considering the interchange of cards among themselves for such titles, and the Publishing Section hopes it may be able to make an arrangement with these libraries, under which it can undertake to print these titles, furnish them to the libraries at a lower cost than they could do the work for them- selves, and at the same time distribute such as might be wanted to other libraries at a moderate price, and so allow them to share in the advan- tages of the work done co-operatively by the five large ones. It is too soon to make any final statement in regard to this plan, but it is one of the most interesting and useful directions in which the work of the Publishing Section can develop. Of other work before us there remains the " Index to portraits," so long talked of and so much wanted, upon which a substantial be- ginning has now been made, the copying of Mr. Samuel's material being under way, and constant work being done by the assistant secretary in the intervals of other demands upon her time. A preliminary list of works to be indexed has been printed in the Library Journal^ short paper of instructions compiled, and several offers of co-operation have already been received. The work will necessarily be an extensive one, and we shall be called upon to sink a good deal of money in it before we can get any return. The " Supplement to the A. L. A. index," or the new edition, as we hope it may be, cannot be completed this year, but we may expect to see it in 1898. A new edition of the "List of subject head- ings for dictionary catalogs " is called for, the first one being exhausted, and will be taken up as soon as we judge that we can prudently do so. An " Annotated bibliography of American history" is likely to be the next in our series of annotated lists, if the success of the fine art bibliography justifies an extension of the plan. A list of French fiction suitable for general circulation has been kindly submitted by Mr. William Beer, of New Orleans, but its publica- tion was necessarily postponed for a time on account of the other undertakings on hand. 86 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. It is expected, however, that it may be taken up again during the coming winter. The ' ' Library primer," which has been printed in tentative form in the pages of Public Libra- ries, was referred at the last meeting of the Association to a special committee for revision, after which it was to come to this Section for publication, but we have as yet received no communication in regard to it from the com- mittee. Finally, in speaking of the financial condition of the Section, we wish first of all to place on record our grateful appreciation of the gener- osity of the trustees of the Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pa., who have sent a gift of $100 to be used to advance the work which the Sec- tion is doing. Such a gift brings with it more than the cash which is added to our bank ac- count. To know that the work which the American Library Association has undertaken to do through its Publishing Section, is appre- ciated as valuable and important to library in- terests in general, strengthens our hands and encourages our efforts. Financially, it is to be said that while we have no cause for discouragement, yet it is evident that we cannot properly do the work we have on hand without a larger capital. The Trustees of the Endowment Fund have lent us within a little more than a year $1000. This is from their accrued income, not from their principal, which they think, and rightly, must be invested in other ways, like other trust funds. The $1000 is nominally a loan, yet we understand that if necessary the interest may be remitted or returned to us, and the loan itself become an appropriation if circumstances require it. The publications of the Section have so far been fairly successful. The "A. L. A. in- dex " has paid for itself and has yielded a small sum for several years to its compiler under the agreement between him and the Section. The "Subject headings" considerably more than paid for itself. The original edition of "Reading for the young" has never quite brought back what has been spent on it, but the deficit is a small one and may possibly be wiped out by the supplement. The "Books for girls and women " was not printed at the expense of the Section, and the receipts from its sale do not swell our income, but are paid over for the present to its sponsor, Mr. lies. The "Fine art" list will probably not pay for itself. The printed cards fortunately bring in, with the help of money received from the sale of books, just about what they cost us. But it will be seen that with funds recently locked up in paying for the " Supplement to ' Reading for the young,'" the " Fine art bibliography," the " List of books for boys and girls," the work on the "Portrait index," and the continuous ex- pense of the assistant secretary's salary, with the new edition of the " A. L. A. index " before us, further expense on the preparation of the " Portrait index," with the ultimate very heavy expense of its publication, and the other occa- sions for expenditure which have been men- tioned above, we. distinctly need and must have more money to use. The Executive Board of the Association last year appropriated $200 toward the running expenses of the Section, and we hope that it may be able to give us a still larger appropria- tion for the coming year, the Publishing Sec- tion 'having become distinctly a committee of the Association charged with carrying out cer- tain important functions. We would also suggest that the example of the trustees of the Carnegie Library is a good one for either individuals or boards of trustees to follow, and that from $1000 to $5000 placed in the treasury of the Publishing Section would bear good fruit in the library cause. HOPKINS. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY SCHOOLS, 1896-1897. BY ANDERSON H. HOPKINS, JOHN CRERAR LIBRARY, CHICAGO. NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY SCHOOL. / T*HE Library School took possession in Feb- ^ ruary of its new rooms, on the fifth floor of the capitol. These are directly over the old quarters, 60 feet higher. They are reached by three elevators, and besides the finer view, the quiet and freedom from dust because so much further from the street they have a much bet- ter ventilation and light and more abundant room. Instead of the tables heretofore used the students are supplied with standard desks, each with an electric student -lamp. Large new coat and toilet rooms have been provided, and otherwise the school begins its second decade by occupying quarters vastly better adapted to its work than it has ever before en- joyed. On account of the American Library Associa- tion's trip to Europe this summer, and also be- cause of the extra labor involved in moving the Library School from the third to the fifth floors of the capitol, the second session of the summer school will be postponed till July and August, 1898. Much disappointment has been expressed by the librarians and assistants of the smaller libraries of the state at the omission of the summer school, thus showing that the work met a real want. During the first session of the summer school the number of students was limited to 20, but two others took part of the work. Of these 22, all but one were engaged in library work, and 10 were in New York libraries. At the ex- aminations 14 passed, four of these with honor, i.e., with a marking above 90 per cent. The class of 1897 is the first to graduate since the change of policy in regard to the senior class went into effect. According to this change the completion of junior work does not neces- sarily admit to the senior class. Class work, examinations and personal qualifications are weighed, and only those who seem likely to render important service to the library pro- fession are admitted. It is gratifying to note that the demand for the graduates of the school continues. Nearly all of the members of the senior class have se- cured positions which they will assume as soon as the work of the school is finished. The bibliographies and theses presented this year as a requirement for graduation show un- usually good work, and the subjects seem to be of special interest. A list of these subjects is given in the Library Journal for June, supple- menting the list which was printed in the March number. The New York State Library bibliographic bulletins nos. 2-4 are almost ready for issue. These numbers contain the following bibliog- raphies, compiled by Library School students : M. C. Wilson. Reading list on colonial New England, 1620-1754. C. W. Plympton. Select bibliography on travel in North America. G. F. Leonard. Reading list on the history of the 1 7th century. A register of the New York State Library School, covering the first 10 years of its his- tory, from January, 1887, through December, 1896, has been compiled, and will be printed in the New York State Library report for 1896. This register includes the names of all matricu- lated students with the positions which they have held and are now holding in the library profession. Since its opening in 1887, the New York State Library School has had 74 students from New York, and has also drawn 137 from 29 other states, and six from England and Germany and Sweden. From January, 1887, through December, 1896, its students have filled 243 positions in New York, 284 in 24 other states, and two in two foreign countries. The visit to the libraries of New York and vicinity occurred April 13-23. The yearly visit of the school to New York or Boston li- braries proves increasingly valuable. A marked improvement was noted this year in the written reports of the chairmen of the various student committees who reported on the visit. Special mention should be made of the col- 88 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. lections of notes and samples which are a part of the requirement for graduation. The ma- terial collected during these annual visits and throughout the two years of the course is most admirably arranged. Mr. F. M. Crunden was chosen by the New York State Library School Association its alumni lecturer for 1897, but on account of the International Library Congress in London, he was obliged to postpone his lectures. Owing to the most generous response to its request the Library School has, during the past year, added very largely to its collection of printed matter, issued by American and foreign libraries. English librarians especially have sent extremely interesting collections illustrat- ing their methods. The school is making a special collection of material in regard to national, state, and local library associations, and also to library train- ing, and earnestly invites the co-operation of all interested. It has also a large and valuable collection of clippings relative to libraries, which it desires to make as complete as possible. The catalog of the collection on library architecture, which was prepared for the com- parative library exhibit at Chicago, has been in- creased in value this year by indexing the pictures of library buildings which are found in books and periodicals. All the illustrations in the Library Journal have been brought out in this way. It is a great satisfaction to find that the vari- ous collections of the school are proving most useful, not only to its own students, but to outsiders as well. Numerous calls come from librarians all over the country for material which can be found nowhere else. A special exhibit will be sent to the Interna- tional Bibliographic Conference at Brussels. PRATT INSTITUTE LIBRARY SCHOOL. The work of the first-year class has been changed but little this year, except that more time has been given to reference work and bib- liography. The first-year class had the advantage dur- ing the past year of a course of lectures on printing and bookmaking, the reproductive processes, history of bookbinding, and special lectures on subject bibliography given to the second-year class. The annual visit to libraries at a distance was made to Washington and Baltimore. During the third term one afternoon a week was de- voted to visiting the libraries in the vicinity of New York. A second-year course has been offered this year for the first time. The interest of the students, the courtesy and kindness of the di- rector, Lenox librarian, and staff of the New York Public Library, and the good-will of the Grolier Club, have insured its success. It is a matter of great regret that the absence of the librarian makes it necessary to omit the course during the coming year. The number of students enrolled has been: First year, 22; second year, 3; total, 25. Not a member of the class has been obliged to give up the course during the year, this being the first class of which the whole number entering remained to graduate. Reports have recently been received from 82 of the former graduates of the school. All but two of this number have held library positions. Of these there are 15 librarians and 24 cata- logers, six are doing reference work, two are in charge of children's rooms, and the rest are general library workers. There are a few corrections to be made to the report on Library Schools, published in the proceedings of the Cleveland conference. A very natural misunderstanding of the nomencla- ture used in the class schedule led to a mis- statement of the amount of time given to some of the subjects studied. From the report it would be supposed that only the " three clos- ing lectures of the year are devoted to bibli- ography," whereas trade bibliography is given in connection with the order department work, the more important indexes and subject bibli- ographies are taken up in the reference lectures, and a number of lists are compiled by the class, thus acquainting them practically with the bib- liography of many subjects. To the loan systems our school is credited with devoting but two per cent, of time in the second term, as it was not understood that in the hours marked "Desk" the class had in- struction and practice in all the routine work of the circulating department of the library, about nine per cent, being given to that in the first and second terms, and three hours a week of practical work in the third term. It is this ex- HOPKINS. 89 perience which is especially helpful in prepar- ing the students for public library work. It is to be noted as a matter of no slight inter- est that the examinations have been set and marked by the lecturers themselves in the sec- ond-year course, and a distinct step forward has been taken in the training of catalogers to ade- quately treat incunabula, manuscripts, and early Americana. DREXEL INSTITUTE LIBRARY SCHOOL. The course of instruction during the past year has been very similar to that of the preceding year. It is still found necessary to give attention to literature, owing to the relative ignorance of the candidates in this branch, which is so im- portant to library assistants as well as to libra- rians. A very interesting feature of the course has been the discussion by subjects of the books contained in "The list of books for girls and women," comparing the selections with the A. L. A. catalog in the same subjects. The notes have been very instructive, and have given the students some knowledge of the most impor- tant and popular books in several classes. It is impossible in one year, with the study of the technical phases of library work, to devote much time to this side of a librarian's education, essential as it is. The lectures on the " History of books and libraries," given by President MacAlister, of the Institute, were most enjoyable, and were illustrated with lantern slides representing styles of writing and printing, various forms of books, and noted libraries. The class of 1896-97 began work on October i, 1896, with 16 students enrolled. In addition there were eight special students (assistants in the Free Library) who attended the lectures on reference work and bibliography. The stu- dents came from the following states: Pennsyl- vania, New York, Michigan, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The graduating class in June numbered 13, of whom two have accepted positions in libraries. Of former classes, graduates are to a large ex- tent engaged in practical work. Some stu- dents have taken the course without intending to use it as a means of livelihood. During the year visits have been made to several of the Philadelphia libraries. The usual New York visit was omitted. This spring the number of inquiries regard- ing the course, as well as the number of appli- cants for entrance examinations, has been larger than ever before, showing the evident spread of interest in the profession. ILLINOIS STATE LIBRARY SCHOOL. Perhaps the greatest change which has taken place among the library schools this year is that which occurs at Armour Insti- tute. This school has been formally transferred to the University of Illinois at Champaign, 111., and the course has been both lengthened and broadened. Miss Katharine Sharp, formerly director of the school at Armour Institute, has been appointed professor of library economy and director of the Library School in the Uni- versity of Illinois. Miss Mary L. Jones, for- merly of the University of Nebraska, has been appointed assistant professor of library econ- omy. Miss Margaret Mann, who was last year an instructor in Armour Institute Library School, has been engaged as cataloger. The course of instruction is to cover the ordinary four years of university study, but only the last two years of the course are to be devoted to purely technical library work, the first two years consisting of the usual college course, with some general lectures and reference work. In other words, practically two years of college work will be required for entrance upon the course in library science. The change to the University of Illinois has been made after mature consideration, and it is believed that the step is a wise one. The library is not yet large, but a very liberal appropriation for the purchase of books has lately been made, and the state has just built for the university at a cost of $160,000 a beauti- ful new library building. The various libraries of the university now include about 40,000 volumes. The degree of Bachelor of Library Science (B.L.S.) is to be conferred on those who com- plete the entire course. The work of the past year at Armour Insti- tute has been similar to that of previous years. The students numbered 21, of whom three were seniors and 18 juniors. The usual routine of the previous year has been followed, and visits to libraries in Chicago were made a short time ago. Before the school year had closed the PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. arrangement for transferring the school to the University or Illinois had been completed, and the announcement made in such manner that the continuity of the school is not in any way interrupted. The sole difference is that the school has been transferred to another place, and the same work is to be pursued as hereto- fore, except that it is to be more extended and complete than has been possible up to this time. At the dedication of the new building of the University of Illinois Mr. Dewey gave the ad- dress, and he is able to speak with certainty of the bright prospects for the new Illinois State Library School. OTHER TRAINING SCHOOLS. The training class heretofore instructed by Mr. Dana, at Denver, has been given up, be- cause there positively was not sufficient space in the library to accommodate the pupils. The Amherst Summer School, conducted by Mr. Fletcher, is to have its session of six weeks this summer, beginning July 5, and run- ning to August 13. There is no special report to be made, because the session of last year had been held before the meeting of the Cleveland conference, and was covered by that report. The third session of the Wisconsin Summer School is to be held at Madison under the aus- pices of the University of Wisconsin Summer School, beginning July 5 and closing August 13, a six weeks' term. The work of previous years has been so successful that the demand for this summer term has been constantly grow- ing. The course this year is to be under the direction of Miss Cornelia Marvin, who was last year instructor in reference work and bibliog- raphy in the Library School of Armour Insti- tute. The course will follow the same plan as heretofore. There have been conducted a number of classes within the past year according to uni- versity extension methods by various persons interested in the advancement of modern li- brary economy. It does not seem best to make an inexact statement concerning this work. It is to be hoped that future reports may take cog- nizance of these features of library work, so recently developed. It has not been possible to make any adequate statement of them in this report. Your committeeman greatly wished to revise and add to the tabular statement made by the Committee on Library Schools last year, and printed in the Library Journal, 21 : Cg6, so that it might be brought completely up to date ; but the time allowed him for making this report has been so limited that it has been impossible to compile the necessary statistics for this table. REPORT ON GIFTS AND BEQUESTS. BY CAROLINE M. HEWINS, LIBRARIAN OF THE HARTFORD (CT.) PUBLIC LIBRARY. 'T'HE gifts and bequests reported since July of last year amount to more than $400,000 in money, nearly 50,000 volumes of books and pamphlets, buildings valued at more than $200,000, and manuscripts, books, and pict- ures worth nearly half a million, together with many other gifts whose value is not stated. The gifts to travelling libraries in Wisconsin are worthy of notice, and will do in- calculable good in the thinly-settled parts of the state. The tabulated statement of the gifts and be- quests for the period covered is given in the same form as last year. It should be remem- bered that the report made to the Cleveland Conference covered two years, a fact that ex- plains the difference in extent between that report and the present one. CONDITIONS OR REMARKS. j Semitic library of the late Rabbi 1 Greenbaum. ( House on " Nob Hill," San Fran- 1 cisco. For nucleus of endowment fund. 1 On condition of $500 a year from < the town to himself or his wife for ( life. $500 for books. For public library and museum. 1 i 111 i s m - : >-t ^ : o '-5 2 g 1 : a.S : D* o .S . be-O'z; >> * iu 3-j; li! Hft [ jj J 1 ri f fl %? 1 1 1 nr II i aBfi-8 i 2 8 2 1%, = S :.|itf : o * |J1||| o 1 " : : a-" 14 : 13 >. S o * ajtS "glr^Bl-S : 1 Illlgl INI ! Pll (0 g ~ OiB (I g Music. ( Landscape architecture, in memory < of Henry Sargent Codman and Philip | Codman. Numbers of " Patentschrift." j 1,100 photographs of works of art : | memorial to Harriet H. Graupner. " The Hiland Lockwood Gift." j Charles Mead Trust Fund, prefera 1 bly for the South Boston Branch. j Memorial of her father, Hon. Jon- { athan Bourne. j " Galatea Library," books and ( pamphlets on the history of woman. : : : : : : x"S : : ; : : : : : c : : 10 PUB sjjoog u; -SIOA 'ON : : 1 : i i il|^ll| ! i il U J*" 1 S S 8! m so 10 1 9 ui junoiu v" : H o" 1 IO O M O~ MO M o" i & : SOURCE. . Mr. Greenbaum . Mrs. Leland Stanford.. . Olivia E. P. Stokes . Egbert Marsh . Mrs, L. C. Whitney.... . Not stated . . ^^A + *r cc *- "* to >^ C **Q I il ! 1 !l ) ^ | J3 -g^ 1 c e u. ' f-i ' C r u S S W rt ^ fe U!w <; O ffi QS e 1 p i ! i " .^tTC C*jO M ,2 > cfl 13 r^ d w - ^CQ > u rt c j a -. M '3 rt rt CONDITIONS OR REMARKS. . Books valued at $10,000. . Income to be used. I Residue of the estate for new li- . < brary building on expiration of life | interests. o o Addition to building. . Bust of Mrs. Converse. o Memorial of Sarah Bond Morrill. j Will receive one-fifth of the residue 1 of her estate when settled. ( $1,000 towards a new library build- . < ing ; $500 for a soldiers' memorial /tablet. . For the purchase of books. o For the purchase of books. Vj O a || ., be .2 : i| i ill . . . . o TJ ; * " " ^ . From library of Col. Wright. j Memorial of A. C. Coxe, jr., c ' 1 1897- '.3 " .O ") i ;s ; o-g,; i ; t :J : ^J3 : : " 'C'uvu '. ' ~ ..O.C tn '^ -. t . E : '"'js vi ; '. ? . . i> . o n . . j : : :S : -S : : fc . . . . . . . JB pani^A Suipjing * o" . .3. \ \ "rgi si: |*H : : 8 : 1 sjaiudurej PUB S3(OOg u; 'SIOA 'ON 55 ~v S * * II"" : : : : : : : fj, ::::?: : : 1 .... ox ; ; ; " i 1 C * '. ui junouiy : : : : > to O O 10 O < ; N , i 3 Q 5 o U1V . O O O O O f^ 10 IO to Q Q MM M q^ q^ '. m . . 10 | M 10 M r . * o : M 8 * M m 10 m SOURCE. td ^ tC ui tJ *^c ^ S. A. Hall Henry L. Pierce (Children of JosiahJ. 1 j Fiske { G. F. Shiedley Tamps K Nirhnls . . II ; | c : P lols ^.2 E^CT' y eS^s ^ It's ga 5&8 1 0^ ^,J5^t ^ .' en oi "g ' C rt JS :g S : S^ u :g 5 ^ . s" 3 . O3:S'S 3 ^ -JJ rt^ rt u . rtjT 1 3 5 J 03 u v '.'.'. u 33 ... g 5 c {. i '> ' 03 reinSL 3 C 5 '. U 4) < i v S fi ! P5 03 O 03 L ! I I I . o cj 4> "J.J.J.W 33 J3 55353 03 03 5 c 03 03 333o) 3 3 03 030 NAME OF LIBRARY. : :-::: : : : : : : : : : J> : :::::? : : j : : : ^ b< < li i ||| s | i fift f u u u a* S S 5 z O eu d 35 & Wu u " Lyndeboiough Public Li- brary New Hampton Free Library. Langdon Library Wakefield Public Library.... Weare Free Library Whitefield Public Library. . . . Wilton Town Library Newark Public Library Rutherford Free Library As- sociation Albion Public Library Cambridge Union School Li- brarv . . . Canandaigua Public Library. New York Military Academy Librarv... Hobart College Library CITY OR TOWN. : j : : : : j : :::::::::::! e :::::: i: i i Canandaigua Cornwall-on Hud- son . . . Geneva ll 1 \L pi fill i fill : 1 J5J3 x -200 OX ffi S ^ a , u u u S3 S S 55 o cuo, oA !> Wu jj New Hampto Newington. . Calorr, jj!= : l || jl I 4-1 S -8. 1 '! s II u O V 52 52 IMemorial of Henry May, class of 1897. From library of Zenas Kurd. Building, books, and endowment. Women of Mt. Vernon. 000,000 Alex. J. Cotheal fund for oriental books For books. For library fund. Valuable Hebrew mss. T. Addis Emmet collection of mss. engravings, and books on Am. Revo- lution ; valued at $200,000. Medical books. Land valued at $6,000. f rom graduates, j Also an unbound set of " Pictu- j resque Europe." For completing the card catalog. Endowment fund. Not stated. ( $5,000 for a building; $5,000 for -(books and furnishing; memorial to { her husband. j Also land for park and public li- | brary on the death of her sister. j An endowment for the purchase of . rt -6 3 V a o o D echnical library of her husba o complete library building, iiscellaneous and art books, or endowment. To purchase books ; as a i of his silver wedding. H 1 ; i M HJJMJt" ;::|ii|ii;M:ni! :: !! | i i I i ; ills o 6 o o g" o~ c j C '! i- : ' ilill rti 88 10 -^ ef ! vc I " i i : : : _ w : . . Peter Richards . DeLancey Floyd-Jone ' V : 3 : b a > o3 O ''^ ( >J**S c (Mrs. James Swords . . Nnt stated . . J t c ^ . J. S. Kennedy . J. S. Billings . Citizens . . . Various sources . . John D. Rockefeller. . , William Ryder . . Not stated . . Irving Grinnell . . Charles Head Phrphe Ferris . . Mrs. C. W. Lepper... . . Mrs. Jane Bayne Teec . . Lewis Cuzer. . . i :S : : : i httO'O*** , -J5 6 go) 22|'S-i|B3 . : . . : .< . . : 1 : :^ it- : ilJIUEM igi^5?|ll V ?t2 u -^ Offl C OOOO C . 9 C C C O O 35 5 o e . . . . tn '. at a .... 01 . 1)4 ^j-j a : a i .t! .T3 ."S .t3 u t> i OOOO en : ffl ff 33 *J*J*JJ 3 4J i J ^J J 3 *J*J4J J *J*J fflfflOOOOOO O OOOO O OC . . iHobart College Library ..Genesee Wesleyan Seminar T.ihrarv . . DeLancey Floyd-Jones Fre Library.. . . Mt. Vernon Public Library. . . Columbia University Library :>> : : :-B J : : "o U :x : : : : & : : : : Is : . . New York Public Librar ft!P,uiJ! \ i l|al|||l|| | I liiliffiftrl 1 s*>3 e c o *3 '-,?','' ">! ir "3 Franklin and Marshall ' lege . . Apprentices' Library Co . . Mercantile Library Co . . n. Lehigh University . . Providence Public Libra . . University of Texas . . Williams Free Library. . . . Travelling Libraries .... . . Menasha Public Library . . Milwaukee Public Librai . . Racine Public Library. . . . Stevens Point Public Lib . . Travelling Libraries. . . . . Travelling Libraries. . . Geneva : g a : : : . S l|. . . "i M j v s. ? 1 : V : : : : S : : ' c c 1 C >>a-o h a H ! ; Is ^ -a : Silfljfifl J 1? !>>O' C ^ 3-- rt l> 1) _C _; "3 J: )O(X(/5 iH (flD^!^:^ J J ffl C Lancaster . . Philadelphi 2 ' v g ' ' v '. ' I i ' : 1 r = 11] ' " S c y> H^ '- .2 ; I : "x o : 1 .1 7i._e 94 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. THE PROCEEDINGS. PHILADELPHIA, PA., MONDAY -FRIDAY, JUNE 21-25, FIRST SESSION. (PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 21, 8.30 P.M.) A RECEPTION was held in the rooms of the Historical Society, where the members of the Association were received with the most cor- dial hospitality, and where a delightful time was passed in social intercourse and in examin- ing the many treasures of books, autographs, and manuscripts, displayed for the inspection of the visitors. The meeting was called to order by President Brett at 9.10, and a short address of welcome was made by Judge Sam- uel W. Pennypacker, vice-president of the His- torical Society. Other short addresses were made by President Brett, S: S. Green, who spoke as a representative of the first A. L. A. conference, and Dr. William A. Pepper, who closed the session with a few words of cordial greeting. A supper was then served in the main hall, and the rest of the evening was spent in enjoyment of the social, bibliographi- cal and hospitable delights of a delightful gathering. SECOND SESSION. (AUDITORIUM OF THE DREXEL INSTITUTE, TUESDAY MORNING, JUNE 22.) The meeting was called to order at 9.30 by President W. H. BRETT, who, after a brief word of greeting, read THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. (Seep. I.) Mr. R. P. HAYES then read his SECRETARY'S REPORT. Early in December a number of the members of the A. L. A. were invited to Washington to appear before the committee on the Library of Congress. The object of the investigation was to pre- sent to the committee the ideas of the librarians as to the future of the Library of Congress. A special meeting of the Association was called at New York on Feb. '6, to consider the reincorporation of the A. L. A. under the laws of the United States. The meeting did not take any final action, but referred the matter to the regular meeting. Mr. G. W. Cole resigned as treasurer, and the Executive Board elected Mr. C. K. Bolton to that office. The Executive Board took prompt action with regard to the proposed tariff on books, protest- ing against the bill as presented, and suggest- ing changes which have been almost entirely incorporated in the bill now before the Senate. Pres. BRETT. The question of reincorpora- tion, referred to at the special meeting men- tioned in the secretary's report, will be.discussed at a later session of the Association. The secretary then read the REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE ENDOWMENT FUND. Herewith I submit the annual report of the Trustees of the Endowment Fund. No subscriptions have been received since that of Hon. P. T. Sexton, announced at the last conference, nor any other additions to the fund, except from interest on loans and de- posits. Allow me to suggest that the relations be- tween the fund and the Publishing Section need further definition. Under 8 of the A. L. A. constitution the principal of the fund must be "invested and kept forever in- violate." In 16 it is stated that the Associa- tion is not liable for debts incurred by the Pub- lishing Section. Without such liability it is doubtful whether the trustees can consider a loan to the Publishing Section as an investment within the provisions of the constitution, and they are, therefore, limited in making such loans to the amount of accrued interest. Mr. Whitney, for the Finance Committee has examined the securities and vouchers of the trustees, on file here. CHARLES C. SOULE, Treasurer of the Endowment Fund. SECOND SESSION. 95 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ENDOWMENT FUND CASH ACCOUNT. Sept. Jan. July Sept. Oct. Dec. Feb. March i, i, i, 4- 12, 2, 19, If), 9, 29, 1896. 1897. April 2, Nov. 20, 1896. April 16, 1897. May 14, " June 8, " " 15, " RECEIVED. From E. C. Hovey, treasurer, Interest at bank | nQt previously creditedj " on loan, v Contribution, P. T. Sexton, Interest on loan, .... " at bank, . " on loans . Principal of loan, repaid. Interest on loan, PAID. Loan to Publishing Section, Safe for securities, Loan to Publishing Section, Loan on mortgage 3 years, 6 per cent., Cash in bank, ASSETS. Mortgage notes bearing 6 per cent, interest, ' 7 " Amount. $4300.00 lioo.oo . $1518.67 j 6.14 \ 5-75 30.00 100. OO 24,50 12.99 68.00 30.00 4-33 IOOO.OO 24.50 $2824.88 $250.00 IO.OO 500.00 2000.00 64.88 $2824.88 Annual Income. Loans to A. L. A. Publishing Section bearing 6 per cent, interest, rooo.oo Cash in International Trust Co., Boston, . . . 64.88 77.oo $335.oo 6o.oo LIABILITIES: None. Annual expenses : $10 for safe-deposit drawer. [Other incidental expenses defrayed by trustees.] BOSTON, June 15, 1897. $6464.88 At the request of Mr. Charles C. Soule, Chairman of the Endowment Fund of the American Library Association, I have examined his accounts and securities, and find $64.88 on deposit in the International Trust Co., of Bos- ton, with evidences of investments of five thou- sand four hundred dollars ($5400) in mortgage loans, and one thousand dollars ($1000) lent to the Publishing Section of the Association. I also find that the securities are properly kept in the Third National Bank Safe Deposit Co., Boston, in the name of the Trustees of the En- dowment Fund of the American Library Asso- ciation. JAMES L. WHITNEY, Chairman of Finance Committee. Voted. That the report of the Trustees of the Endowment Fund be accepted and laid over for further consideration. W: I. FLETCHER, chairman of the Publishing Section, read Mr. W: C. LANE'S REPORT OF THE PUBLISHING SECTION. (See p. 84.) W: I. FLETCHER. I do not think I violate any confidence when I tell you that in a private letter of Mr. lies, he states that he is willing to pay $1000 toward the publication of an annotated bibliography of American history, the book to contain 1000 titles or thereabouts. Perhaps I had better not read the rest of his letter, in which he states whom he expects to do the work of general editor of the History list ; but I think if I did tell you upon whom he was depending, you would agree with me that he is the right man in exactly the right place. I think we ought not to overlook Mr. lies' 9 6 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE, generous offer to contribute $1000 out of his own pocket to see this work done. There seems to be some little difference be- tween Mr. Lane's report and the report of the Endowment Fund Trustees as to the loan made by the Endowment Fund Trustees to the Pub- lishing Section. I think there ought to be a better definition in our constitution with regard to this matter. Mr. Lane understood that the loan to the Publishing Section was made from income, but Mr. Soule in the report states that it is made from principal. That is a very seri- ous difference ; partly a difference of judgment, however, as to how it should be counted. Reference has been made in Mr. Lane's re- port to the change in the constitution of the Publishing Section, by which it is made more strictly than before a section of the Associa- tion ; that is to say, the amendment presented last year and voted upon favorably without any opposition, only awaits favorable action this year in order to become a part of our constitu- tion. It is necessary that favorable action should be taken two years in succession in order to amend the constitution, and we ought to take action upon that amendment at this meet- ing. H: L. ELMENDORF. In moving that this very interesting report be received and filed, I can but express my sorrow that it is not in print and in the hands of every member of the Association, as was the plan last year. We have listened with pleasure to the interesting details of this report, but I do not think there is anybody in the room that grasps at present the importance of it. This brings to our notice the question as to whether such reports as this should not in future be printed before the meet- ing of the Association, so that we may have them before us for discussion. Voted. That the report of the Publishing Section be accepted. The secretary read the amendment to the constitution of the Publishing Section : "The Publishing Section shall consist of five members appointed by the Executive Board for terms of not more than three years. Its ob- ject shall be to secure the preparation and pub- lication of such catalogs, indexes and other bib- liographic and library aids as it may approve. " The Section shall annually appoint from its own number a chairman, secretary, and treas- urer. " No moneys shall be paid by the treasurer except with the written approval of three other members of the Section, and no work shall be undertaken except by a vote of a majority of the whole Section. " The treasury of the Section is entirely distinct from that of the Association, and the Association is not liable for any debts in- curred by the Section. With the approval of the Finance Committee money may be appropri- ated from the treasury of the Association for the running expenses, but the Section depends on the endowment fund as the financial basis of its undertakings. "The Section shall report in writing at each annual meeting of the American Library Asso- ciation." Pres. BRETT. This section as read is the amendment adopted a year ago? W: I. FLETCHER. Yes, sir ; and in order to make it a part of the constitution, an amend- ment must receive a favorable vote of the As- sociation at two successive regular meetings. That amendment was passed at the annual ses- sion a year ago, and I move its final passage now. Voted. Dr. CYRUS ABLER. I move that the Ameri- can Library Association gratefully recognizes the generous action of Mr. lies in forwarding the work of the Publishing Section. H: L. ELMENDORF. I second the motion of Dr. Adler, and wish to say "that although the value of the two bibliographies may be equal, undoubtedly the sale of the historical bibliog- raphy will be largely in excess of that covering the fine arts. And in seconding the motion, I would like to have it amended, that the gen- erous offer of Mr. lies be accepted as soon as the Publishing Section feel themselves in a po- sition to take up the work. I believe that this historical bibliography is going to be of great value and great use to the Association. Mr. lies is, to my personal knowledge, making every effort to get the most accomplished edit- ors and the most efficient help in making it, and is prepared to push it as soon as the Section feels itself in a position to take up the work. Mr. lies, as you all know, is deeply interested in this annotation of literature, and he is will- ing to take it up and push it to the advantage of us all. The amendment was accepted, and it was Voted. That the American Library Association SECOND SESSION. 97 gratefully recognizes the generous action of Mr. lies in forwarding the work of the Publishing Section, and that his offer be accepted, to be carried into effect as soon as the Publishing Sec- tion shall think best to do so. PRINTING OF PAPERS AND REPORTS. H: L. ELMENDORF. I move that the secre- tary be instructed to have this report printed immediately and placed in the hands of the members of the Association before this confer- ence adjourns. Voted. G. M. JONES. I do not see what can be gained by having this report printed. We shall be obliged to leave all the details that are brought up in it entirely to the Publishing Sec- tion. They are the best judges as to what ought to be done, and what is practicable to be done. T. GUILFORD SMITH. I am very glad that the motion to have it printed is made. I thought that the action of the Cleveland con- ference was that the reports should be printed, and that they should be in the hands of mem- bers so that we could follow the chairman in reading the report. As that has not been done, and was not so understood, the motion to have it printed at once for the use of this con- ference seems to be the proper thing. I call for the question which I think was passed and not yet announced. W: I. FLETCHER. It seems to me highly proper that the officers of the Section should be heard from, for, I am sure, they would all agree with me in saying that nobody could wish that this report should be printed and placed in your hands as soon as possible more than we do, for if there is anything that we want as a com- mittee it is that you should know all about it and understand it and back it up. How you are going to back it without understanding it, 1 do not know ; how you are going to understand it without reading it, I cannot see. The president announced that the vote was passed. A motion to reconsider was lost ; and it was Voted. That further action on the re- port be deferred until the report should be printed and in the hands of members. THORVALD SOLBERG. If further discussion of the report is out of order, is it out of order to bring up the general proposition to have these reports ordered printed, so that when we meet in conference we shall have them in our hands ? That seems to be an ordinary proceed- ing in all other conferences, so that the mem- bers shall have time to digest the reports. I would like to know whether it is in order now to move that all reports be printed in advance of the meeting ? Pres. BRETT. I think this is an important matter, and it would be well to carefully prepare a motion expressing exactly what the Association wants to have done. It is quite necessary that some reports should be printed, while many others need not be printed. I would be very glad if those who are interested in the matter would prepare and present to this Association a resolution that would express ex- actly their opinion on that matter. The secretary read the REPORT OF THE CO-OPERATION COMMITTEE. (See p. 81.) Voted. That the report of the Co-operation Committee be accepted and recorded. ENDOWMENT FUND. S: S. GREEN. It has seemed to me that, as we have an endowment fund, of which I know very little, some action is necessary in regard thereto. I move that the Trustees of the En- dowment Fund be requested to present an item- ized list of the investments of the fund in their annual report. The motion of Mr. Green was carried. The secretary read the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. The Committee on Public Documents has this year but little to report as to legislation. The supplementary bill prepared by Superin- tendent Crandall to complete the work of the Public Documents Act of 1895, referred to in the last report of this committee, and approved by the Association at the Cleveland conference, failed to become a law. It passed the House of Representatives, but was never reported from the Printing Committee of the Senate. It must, therefore, be introduced as a new bill in the present Congress. Of 10 bills referring to public documents, introduced at the last session of the 54th Con- gress, including that aboved noted, but one became a law. This was the bill providing for the preparation by Dr. J. G. Ames, who is named in the bill, of a "comprehensive index" like that prepared by him for 1889-93, cover- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. ing the publications of the government from 1881, the date of the Poore catalog, to 1893. This was not entirely approved by the library profession, as Mr. Crandall's catalog had mean- time set a much higher standard, but it passed both houses and was approved by the President on March 3. Since the last conference two important vol- umes have been published, in accordance with the provisions of the new law, from Superin- tendent Crandall's office. The first is the "com- prehensive catalog " of publications, both con- gressional and departmental, during the period of the 53d Congress; the second is the " consoli- dated index " for the first session of the 54th Congress. The first-named has been received as so far the best model of cataloging for government publications, and the second is a vast improvement over the previous cumbrous and costly system of indexing. Mr. Crandall's second annual report, for the year ending June 30, 1896, was issued in January last, and is also an important contribution to the literature of the subject. It gives a very careful statistical statement as to depository libraries and govern- ment publications. The bill proposed by the Congressional Li- brary Committee with reference to the Library of Congress was not passed, but the Appropria- tions bill covered provision for the removal of the Library of Congress, and, happily, for the separation of the Copyright Bureau as a distinct division of the library. The report of the Joint Committee on Library, issued as Senate report 1573, 54th Congress, second session, includes a verbatim statement of the evidence at the several hearings, at which librarians were rep- resented, and a tabular comparison of the force and expenditure in the Library of Congress, compared with those in other national libraries. There is little further to report for the present year as to state publications. A list of state publications for the period July I, 1890 to June 30, 1895, has been printed as an appendix to the "American catalogue" for that period and also separately issued, and a copy is appended to this report. R. R. BOWKER, \ W. A. BARDWELL, > Committee. F. B. GAY, The report was accepted and ordered re- corded. W: I. FLETCHER. I wish to give notice of my intention a little later, when it can be done with due form, to present a resolution expres- sive of the attitude of the American Library Association towards the work of the Public Documents Office. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON THE DR. WILLIAM F. POOLE MEMORIAL FUND. Dr. G. E. WIRE, secretary, made the follow- ing verbal statement: We have succeeded in collecting about $465, and expect to raise at this session of the conference sufficient to make the fund $500. We have had plans submitted for the Me- morial, but did not want to close the contract until we had the money in sight. The ex- pectation was that a considerable part of the sum would be raised in Chicago, and I did a good deal of personal work this winter on that line, but it was after the election and before prosperity came, and the consequence was that although I got some money I did not get as much as I expected. I thought I would be able to show you a picture of the Memorial at this meeting, but it was impossible to do so in the condition of affairs. The report was accepted and the committee continued. J. N. WING. This movement started at Lake Placid, and I think it has been going on quite long enough. The committee have tried time and time again sending out circulars, and we still lack the sum of $35. I move that we take a recess of five minutes, and that four tellers be appointed to go around this meeting to collect the money needed. The motion of Mr. Wing was carried, and the president appointed as tellers Mr. Wing, Mr. Stevenson, Miss Lord, and Miss Sharp'. At the end of the recess of five minutes Dr. Wire an- nounced that the collection amounted to $44. The following is an itemized statement of the fund : In bank, .... $435.00 Received cash, . . . 8.00 Subscriptions, . . . 10.00 Employes' fund of Chicago Public Library, . . . 20.00 Amount raised by collection, $473-00 44.80 $517.80 SECOND SESSION. 99 J: C. DANA, in the absence of the chairman, J. G. WHITTIER, read the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON STATE AID. Few changes have been made in library legis- lation in the United States in the last 10 months, but public interest in libraries as a part of the educational system of every state is increasing. No bills establishing library commissions or travelling libraries, or offering state aid, have ever been reported from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Caro- lina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vir- ginia, West Virginia, or Washington. Connec- ticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, had before last year's report (L. J. 21: C68) a library com- mission, travelling libraries or some form of state aid. Bills providing for the establishment of lib- rary commissions or travelling libraries have been under discussion or brought before this year's legislature in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Ken- tucky, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania. A bill was before the Colorado legislature providing for a commission, but was lost. The Minnesota bill was recommended in the Senate, but op- posed in the House by an enlightened repre- sentative, who thought that " it was not within the province of the legislature to supply the people with books any more than it was with boots ; that circulation of travelling libraries would be a slow process ; that they could not easily be sent from one part of the state to another; and that the whole thing was really a scheme for some dealer to job off a lot of books." In Nebraska a bill was presented providing for travelling libraries and a library commission, but failed. In New Jersey, a similar bill passed the legislature, but was vetoed by the governor. Wisconsin has made a greater advance than any other state, adding $240,000 to the $180,000 voted two years ago for the State Historical Society and State University Library. The annual ap- propriation to the State Historical Society is also increased by $10,000, and the general law in regard to free public libraries amended until a common council or village board may establish a library without a popular vote, but the money appropriated must be expended by a library board. City superintendents of schools are made ex-officio members of public library boards, which make contracts with town or county boards regarding the lending of library books. A bill has been passed extending the work of the library commission, appropriating $4000 a year for its work, and authorizing the appoint- ment of a paid secretary and assistant. Through the generosity of Senator Stout and other friends the commission has received more than $4000 for travelling libraries. Massachusetts has established 85 free libra- ries since the Public Library Commission was appointed in 1890, Connecticut 40 since 1891, New Hampshire 130 since the same year, Ver- mont 59 since 1894. The report was accepted and ordered re- corded. The secretary read the summary of the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON GIFTS AND BEQUESTS. {See p. 90.) The report was accepted and ordered re- corded. The secretary read the REPORTS OF THE COMMITTEE ON AMERICAN LIBRARIES CLEARING-HOUSE. Majority report. Your committee beg leave to report that after communicating with the Bureau of Education and the Superintendent of Public Documents at Washington, it is found that neither office is desirous of adding to its present heavy burdens the task of establishing and conducting a sys- tem of clearance and exchange between the libraries of the country. Such being their at- titude, the committee deemed it inexpedient for the Association to further urge the matter, so far as they are concerned. Your committee, however, are of the opinion that such a system of exchange is highly desira- ble. It has been suggested that such systems be established in each state, upon a state basis, with the state library as the centre, as is done in New York ; but it is evident that there are few state libraries so conducted or so equipped that they can or will carry on this work, which is essentially of a missionary character, with little apparent or immediate benefit to the state library itself. Your committee are of the opin- ion that although working admirably in New 100 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. York, successful state systems would be few in number and ordinarily of limited scope. Even were they in general operation, there would soon be a demand for a national clearing-house for the various state systems. In the opinion of the committee, the work appertaining to the work of a national clearing- house for libraries, as suggested, could best be undertaken by the national library, when that library is fully reorganized. It ought to be possible, through such a system, for the author of a pamphlet or monograph to send a con- siderable number of his publication to the national library by freight or express, with the assurance that persons expert in such matters will distribute these by government frank to those libraries throughout the country where they will be most welcome and where they will do the most good. Many public institutions and associations issuing reports or papers, would be glad, in addition to their own mailing lists, to send several copies of each report or paper to the national library, and thus take advantage of its clearing-house system. It would be feasible for such institutions and associations as collect files of the publications of similar enterprises, to arrange, through the clearing-house, for a fair exchange from the duplicate stock of the clearing-house. Individ- uals and libraries possessing duplicates could readily send to the clearing-house such as they might wish to spare for exchange, and be as- sured of equitable treatment at the hands of the latter. Lists could be published, monthly or quarterly, of such accumulations as have been made ; and, under the principle of " first come, first served," exchanges could be arranged upon the basis of similar lists issued by individ- uals or libraries desiring to exchange. This last-mentioned method is one already in actual use between some of the largest libraries in the country, and their experience could freely be drawn upon for the details of a more elaborate system. The need of a national clearing-house is evi- dent to the managers of reference libraries v, ho have given any thought to the matter ; the methods of spasmodic exchange are well estab- lished through long practice, and need but slight modification and expansion to meet the proposed national system ; that many of the authors, organizations, libraries, and miscel- laneous institutions of the United States, and possibly of Canada and Mexico, would be glad, as soon as they were confident of its being skilfully managed, to take advantage of such a system is evident ; the points remaining are only of detail. The new national library ap- pears to your committee as the logical centre of such a movement ; it has abundant room, and doubtless will have abundant service. The system will fail if allowed to sink into the ruts of perfunctory officialism ; it must be managed by an expert reference librarian, who has a broad range of knowledge, who is possessed of detailed information relative to the needs of the several libraries of the country, who has the enthusiasm of the collector, and the rare gift of what we call " executive ability." With such a man or woman at its head, a library clearing- house bureau could and should be established at the national library, which will be a blessing to every reference librarian in America. REUBEN G. THWAITES, Chairman. J. F. LANGTON. MAY, 1897. Minority report. I am not sufficiently agreed upon the subject itself to endorse the report of the Committee on American Libraries Clearing-House, advocating the management of a clearing-house by the Li- brary of Congress, in spite of the good argu- ment presented by the committee in so seductive a light. It has not been possible for me to convince myself that it is any part of the function of the government to assist the librarian to the knowl- edge of ephemeral private publications, much less to supply him with such publications gratuitously. The government is already car- rying on a large clearing-house plant in its in- ternational exchange system, the office of the Superintendent of Documents, the exchange system of the Geological Survey, etc. With the Library of Congress already over- burdened with difficulties, the copyright system inadequately provided for, the document problem yet in chaos all matters of greater moment to libraries than the free distribution of private pamphlets the futility of any recom- mendation at the present time involving addi- tional labor in any of these departments, forces itself upon me, and prevents agreement with the report of the committee. ADELAIDE R. HASSE. SECOND SESSION. 101 Col. WESTON FLINT. Before these reports are received, placed on file and published, I think proper to state, as all may not fully un- derstand, that one part of the last report I should hardly think would be taken in full, namely, what is said about the provisions about the new Library of Congress. After the first of July, it may be said that almost certainly there will be full provision of force to do almost any work that will be required of the library in the future. With regard to the question of diffi- culties, preparation may be required, but there is a large force and large preparation for carrying on the work of the library. Dr. J: S. BILLINGS. The force provided for the Congressional Library will be fully occupied for at least five years in cataloging and arrang- ing the documents packed away in boxes and which have never been opened. I am very much more in sympathy with the views ex- pressed in the minority report than those of the majority report. The recommendations in the form made appear to me to be entirely impracti- cable, and I should regret seeing the American Library Association making recommendations to any government department which would on the face of them, and to those who are familiar with the workings of the department, be seen to be impracticable. If, however, it is desired merely that these reports be printed and not be considered as endorsed by the Association, I see no objection to that action. Both reports of the Committee on American Libraries Clearing-House were received and ordered recorded, and the committee was con- tinued for further report at next meeting. INVITATIONS FOR CONFERENCE OF 1898. The secretary announced that invitations for the next meeting of the Association had been re- ceived from Omaha, Neb., Lincoln, Neb., James- town, N. Y., and Pine Bluff, N. C. EXPENSES OF EXECUTIVE BOARD. Sec. HAYES. At a meeting of the Executive Board held in December, the following resolu- tion was adopted That it is the opinion of the members of this board that the American Library Association, at its meeting in June, 1897, should arrange for the payment in the future of the expenses of the members of the board in attending meetings, and should make a proper allowance for the expenses of the sec- retary. I think that would be proper business for our meeting on Thursday. PRINTING OF PAPERS AND REPORTS. Pres. BRETT. If any one has a resolution ready on the question of printing certain papers in advance of the assembling of the meeting in the future, I should be pleased to entertain it. S: H. RANCK. I desire to offer the follow- ing resolution Resolved, That in future there shall be printed in advance and placed in the hands of the members at the annual conference all such reports and papers as the Program Com- mittee may deem advisable. W: W. BISHOP. Is there any understanding as to who is to print these reports ? The reso- lution does not provide for that. Is there any- thing in the constitution to provide by whom they shall be printed ? This resolution does not oblige any committee to present a written report. It leaves the thing wholly in the hands of the Program Committee. It seems to me that all the reports presented this morning by committees might as well have been in print- ed form for our consideration and adoption be- fore we came here. The Program Committee must be burdened with work, and it would seem that a resolution providing that standing com- mittees shall have their reports printed would answer the purpose better than the one read. H: L. ELMENDORF. I would like to speak in favor of the original motion. It seems to me that this must be in the hands of the Program Committee. It is very difficult to secure written reports from committees, as I have realized, and to secure printed ones would be much more dif- ficult. I want to insist further upon the neces- sity of printing these reports in advance. As an instance of that I would cite the Gifts and Bequests report of this morning. We are all interested in the gifts and bequests to libraries, and in presenting the report It was requested that if there were any omissions they would be properly reported. We are thus asked to sup- ply omissions in a report which we have neither seen, nor heard read, and in which at the same time we are very much interested. That report is a very important one, and when it appears in print it should be a complete and perfect one. If the preliminary paper as presented to our Association were given to us before the meet- ing each year, it would give every member of PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. the Association the necessary opportunity to supply deficiencies, and to make this report what it should be when it is published in the final proceedings. S: S. GREEN. I move as a substitute for the resolution before us, that the Executive Board see to it that such reports as they may deem desirable be printed and placed in the hands of the members before the meeting of the Association. H. J. CARR. I think I can safely say that no harm can come from the adoption of this resolution. It will be an advantage to us for another reason 2 of our by-laws says : " No paper shall be read before a meeting of the Association till it has been examined by the board or a Program Committee appointed by it, which shall decide whether it is to be read en- tire or by abstract, or to be submitted for print- ing in full or abstract, or rejected." The adoption of this resolution will tend to enforce and expedite the enforcement of this article, and will enable the Program Committee or Executive Board to carry out the terms of that by-law more effectively. The substitute offered by Mr. Green was ac- cepted by Mr. Ranck, and it was Voted That in the future there shall be printed in advance, to be placed in the hands of the members at the annual conference, all such reports and papers as the Executive Board may deem advisable. COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS. The president appointed as a Committee on Resolutions : W: T. Peoples, Miss Hannah P. James, and Arthur W. Tyler. Adjourned at 12, noon. THIRD SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 22.) The meeting 'was called to order at 2 p.m., Vice-president J. K. HOSMER in the chair. J. K. HOSMER. The president has devolved his functions upon me for this afternoon. From the programs which you hold in your hands, you will notice that the business of the afternoon is the discussion of " Books of the year." Before, however, we proceed to the discussion, we will hear the report of the chair- man of the committee in charge of the subject, Miss Mary S. Cutler. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON SUPPLEMENT TO "CATALOG OF A. L. A. LIBRARY." Your committee have carried on the work of the year with enthusiasm for the importance and increasing faith in the possibilities of the task assigned us. A growing sense of the magnitude and delicate nature of the task im- presses us with the necessity of viewing the work critically, and of planning wisely and definitely for its future development. The ex- perience of three years leads the present com- mittee to form the following judgments : 1. The value of its decisions will be increased by enlarging the responsibility of the commit- tee. From the nature of the case, the Associa- tion as a whole is not competent to prepare a book-list which would be of any special value. If the democratic principle is followed in the se- lection of books, my vote on a work in chemical technology, a subject of which I am totally igno- rant, counts equal to the vote of the librarian of the John Crerar Library, an acknowledged ex- pert in this line. A list of fiction, a class more familiar than any other to the members, select- ed by show of hands in open meeting, when each vote is unduly influenced by the magnet- ism or prestige of the latest speaker, would command respect neither within nor without the Association. The preparation of the Supple- ment must be entrusted to a committee of librarians, each member of which is willing to give time and thought to personal examination of books and to consultation with the other judges. 2. This committee must specialize. In order to select books wisely on a given subject, one must have a fair knowledge of the subject. It is impossible, therefore, that each member of the committee'should be competent to judge of the merit of books in all departments. This was recognized last year, and the entire choice of books in useful arts, electricity, and medicine was delegated to individuals. This year, only fiction, literature, and general works were judged by the entire committee. 3. The committee must be assisted by many other librarians and by specialists. The names of those who have rendered such assistance this year will be found on page 2 of the Sup- plement, which you hold in your hand. It is much to have secured the co-operation of such men as Prof. J. W. Jenks of Cornell, Prof. C. THIRD SESSION. 103 M. Andrews of Bryn Mawr, Prof. H. B. Adams of Johns Hopkins. The present con- ception of the library as a part of the educa- tional system of the state makes the work of this committee of such importance as to give us a right to ask and expect help from the best educators. This plan of gaining assistance from other li- brarians involves the development, on the part of many librarians, of ail expert judgment in some one subject. The students of the New York State Library School are encouraged to be ambitious and to hope that several years' hard work along some line of study which they have pursued in college, and for which they have a natural fitness, may earn for them places as ex- pert advisers of the A. L. A. selection commit- tee. 4. Individuals must acknowledge responsi- bility for their votes. To illustrate : The sub- jects of history and travel were assigned this year to Mr. Lamed and Mr. Thwaites, of the committee. Prof. Andrews, Prof. Adams, and Prof. Hosmer were associated with them. In their independent vote, suppose these judges agree on seven- eighths of the books. Suppose that, after correspondence and full consultation, they agree on one-half of the remainder, but that on the remaining one-sixteenth, say eight books, there is still a decided disagreement. If, for example, Mr. Larned stands alone in disap- proval of a single book, his initials should ap- pear after the title to signify this fact. It should be understood that every book on the history list has the full approval of the five his- tory experts, except as initials after individual titles indicate individual disapproval. This plan would involve more thorough work than has ever yet been done in co-operative selec- tion. 5. A basis of selection should be decided upon and carefully stated. This should be the special work of the next few months, and it should form an introduction to the coming five- year Supplement. There should be a statement of the general principles of selection, and also a statement of those that underlie the selection in particular subjects. The principles of selec- tion of children's books would inevitably, be- cause of the nature of the books and the read- ers, differ materially from the principles gov- erning in sociology or philosophy. The appli- cation of principles that have been fully stated will result in clearer thinking and a more careful scrutiny of books. The committee will be able to justify their choice in special cases, and to forestall criticism on the part of authors, pub- lishers, or classes of readers. To state again these five points : 1. The responsibility of the committee must be enlarged. 2. The committee must specialize. 3. The committee must be assisted by other librarians and specialists. 4. Individuals must acknowledge responsi- bility for their votes. 5. A basis of selection must be decided upon and carefully stated. We submit to the Association these judg- ments as to the best means of increasing the efficiency of this work. We believe that co- operative selection by the A. L. A. will become a more and more important feature of its work, that it will win the respect and help of educa- tors and specialists, and that it will in the future not only eliminate worthless literature from our public libraries and substitute the best, but that it will act powerfully toward the suppression of what is crude and mean and vicious in book production. Respectfully submitted, MARY S. CUTLER, Chairman, 1 J. N. LARNED, \Committee. FREDERICK M. CRUNDEN, GARDNER M. JONES, Voted. That the report of the committee be received and recorded. The discussion of the various classes of lit- erature was opened by the presentation of FINE ARTS. Miss HANNAH P. JAMES. Walter Crane's "Decorative illustration of books "is one of the first books on the list. Crane's name is sufficient to guarantee that it is a good book, and he has treated the subject very well. The first part is historical, the rest descriptive and critical ; there are many illustrations. Fletcher and Banister's " History of archi- tecture" is a most excellent book for students ; it is comparative, taking each country and giving a review of the geography, religion and state of society, and then giving the history of the architecture of the successive periods. In describing the Gothic buttresses, for instance, three illustrations are shown of the different IO4 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. modes of its use in different buildings, and de- tails are given with full illustrations. Holden's "Audiences" is a suggestive and stimulating book, challenging thought and suggesting to immature or prejudiced minds the wisdom of looking and listening intelli- gently and fairly. Hoppin's "Greek art on Greek soil" is a book of exceptional interest and value, treat- ing of the present condition of Greece, with a full knowledge of its past, its history, art, games, social life and literature. Mathews' " Story of architecture" is an ex- cellent work for the beginner, as it gives a bird's-eye view of the whole subject, including China, India and Japan, Western Asia, Egypt, Europe, Mexico, Central and South America, and finally the United States ; it is fully illus- trated and a well written and reliable book. Muther's " History of modern painting," in three large volumes, covers a great deal of ground, and is trustworthy and accurate. The first part is philosophical and historical, tracing sources and influences, and laying the founda- tion for the specific and practical treatment given in the later volumes. Santayana's " Sense of beauty" is a course of lectures delivered at Harvard. They are marked by a rare insight and aesthetic feeling, and are a valuable contribution to the literature of sesthetics, being one of the best books on the subject this year. Russell Sturgis's " European architecture"" is a valuable book, going into details and treating the science of architecture. It is fully illus- trated, and is readable as well as carefully sci- entific. Tarbell's " History of Greek art, " t one of the Chautauqua series, is considered an excellent text-book on architecture, sculpture and paint- ing, and an admirable work for beginners ; it has nearly 200 illustrations. There are two other titles that I wish to suggest for the list. It is only within a year or two that I happened to discover the "Art an- nuals," published by the Art Journal, one at Easter and one at Christmas. They are mono- graphs on celebrated painters, similar in shape and size to the Art Journal, and they cost 50 cents apiece. Some of the artists treated are Mil- lais, Alma-Tadema, Leighton, Breton, Watts, Fildes, Herkimer, Hunt, Burne-Jones, Rossetti, and a dozen more. There must be at least 50 or 75 illustrations, and the monographs are very interesting and valuable. Then there is Henry Holiday's "Stained glass as an art," published by Macmillan at $6.50. This is one of the best books on the subject, treating of the art practically and aesthetically, covering design, style, the influ- ence of form and space, and illustrated by 64 plates and cuts. It is written by a practical worker who is thoroughly posted. GARDNER M. JONES. I have marked four books that I think ought not to go into this list. The first is Du Maurier's "English society"; the second Gibson's "Pictures of people." These are mere picture-books, and I do not be- lieve in putting mere picture-books on this list. Leighton's " Addresses delivered to the stu- dents of the Royal Academy " seems tome very limited in its interest, excepting to those inter- ested in Leighton. Thompson's "Hand-in-hand figure skating " is rather an English book, and more exhaustive than is needed on so small a subject. I have quite a list of books that I think ought to go into this list, and that for some unaccounta- ble reasons have dropped out. I will name a few of them. There is a very handsome book by Rose, " Lawns and gardens," one of the hand- somest books on landscape-gardening lately published. The next one is " Sculptured tombs of Hellas," by Gardiner, an eminent author and one of the assistants in the British Museum, I believe. The next is Meyer's ' ' Handbook of art- smithing," a German work, dealing with all kinds of ornamental metal-work, published by Hess- ling. The next is a very good little manual on "China-painting," by Mrs. N. di R.Monachesi. Holiday's "Stained glass" has already been spoken of ; -Jackson's "Mechanical drawing" seems to be a practical little book ; it contains a great many plates, and is inexpensive. In Amusements, Boardman's "Winning whist" seems to be a book that should be on the list, because it combines the old-fashioned long-suit play with the new short-suit play which is coming into use. I cannot understand why a book on foot-ball, by the two great experts, has not been put on the list, namely Camp and Deland's "Foot-ball"; so also McPherson's "Hare and red deer," and Sharp's "Bicycles and tricycles," which I believe is the only book treating of the design and construction of bi- cycles, should be included. THIRD SESSION. J. K. HOSMER. It seems to me quite worth while to mention the remarkable munificence of an East Indian potentate by which many Ameri- can libraries have profited during the last year. It became known throughout America that the Maharajah of Jeypore was prepared to present portfolios of architectural details to libraries all through the civilized world. Applications, I think, were quite numerously made from Ameri- ca. My own library made application, and a few months ago these portfolios came. Each one contains some hundreds of plates of archi- tectural details, bringing out the most beautiful features of East Indian architecture, prepared by native pupils in Hindostan. We felt that it was the most considerable gift that we received during the last year. I think other libraries have profited in the same way. Mr. T: L. MONTGOMERY then introduced books in SCIENCE. T: L. MONTGOMERY. I call your attention in the first place to a mistake in the report of the Cleveland conference. On page 136 of the re- port it is stated that the " Text-book of geolo- gy," by Geikie, was put in the "A. L. A. catalog." I had not mentioned the " Text- book, "but the " Class-book of geology," which is an adaptation, of course, from the " Text-book," but rather shorter, and is, I think, a very much more profitable book for a small library. The report is also in error as to Koehner's "Sys- tematic botany"; that should be Kerner von Marilaun's " Natural history of plants." With regard to the books on the present list: Abbott's " Birdland echoes " is not a scientific book, but is much more orderly in its arrange- ment than is usually the case with this author. The illustrations, however, give rather the idea of stuffed birds than of the natural species. Bonney's "Ice work, past and present" is suitable for advanced students, but covers only ice work in Great Britain, only 10 pages being given to America. It is well written but poorly illustrated. Dana's "Plants and their children" is a very excellent book for children and young per- sons; interesting and accurate. Furneaux's " Life in ponds and streams" is a most excellent book, admirably illustrated. Mathews' "Familiar trees and their leaves " is a most useful book. It has very good illus- trations, drawn from nature by the author, and the text reveals the aesthetic as well as the sci- entific side of the subject. Thompson's " Roentgen rays " is the best book on that subject issued during the year. Witchell's " Evolution of bird-song " treats of a subject not hitherto handled systematically, by an author who has been 15 years collecting his data; the plates are poor. Of other books mentioned, Bates's " Game birds of North America" is useful only as a check list; Howe's " Every bird " is useful for the beginner; it gives outline drawings of the head and foot of each genus and a general de- scription of the plumage. Merriam's " A-birding on a bronco," being notes on birds taken in Southern California, is well written, but not of much use scientifically. Lubbock's " Scenery of Switzerland and causes to which it is due " is a well illustrated book by a scientifically disposed man. It is a geological treatise on the region, and has a very good map. Geikie's "Ancient volcanoes of Great Bri- tain " appears to be about the best book on the subject. It is a splendid work, most gratifying as to printing, illustrations and maps, giving an historical account of the scientific treatment of the subject of volcanoes, and has a most use- ful preface. I should judge that of this list it would not be worth while to put upon the permanent list any- thing more than Bonney's " Ice work," Britton's "Illustrated flora," Abbott's "Birdland ech- oes," Dana's " Plants and their children," Fur- neaux's " Life in ponds and streams," Geikie's "Ancient volcanoes of Great Britain," Mathews' " Familiar trees and their leaves," Thompson's " Roentgen rays," and Witchell's " Evolution of bird-song." I should like to call to your atten- tion, as an addition to this list, W. B. Scott's " Introduction to geology," published by Mac - millan. It is based on Geikie, but is a much more useful book for American students, on ac- count of the very excellent American illustra- tions and the care with which it has been pre- pared for a manual or a text-book. Miss M. S. CUTLER. I would like to ask Mr. Montgomery if he is criticising this list with the idea that it is made on the basis of the original "A. L. A. catalog"? T: L. MONTGOMERY. Undoubtedly. J. N. LARNED. I think that is not the basis for criticism. The idea that has controlled the io6 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. committee in making up the supplemental list last year and this year was a different one. It was explained at the meeting last year, but probably needs explanation here. It is not the intention to simply make the selection of books for a small library, but to make, if possible, a check-list of books for all libraries a list from which the books that librarians need pay no attention to could be excluded; and it seems to me on that basis several of the books you have ruled out would possibly belong in the list. T: L. MONTGOMERY. That might be so, in that case; but I should think it would be very much easier, from a general point of view, to hold to the plan of the original A. L. A. list, which was so good. I think we make a mistake in not drawing the line very close and keeping out books that do not properly belong in the list. J. N. LARNED. That was a very different matter; there we were selecting from books of all time, here we are selecting from current publications, and it seems to me that the basis should be broader in this case. T: L. MONTGOMERY. I would take issue on that. If you go back and pick out certain books from the books of all time, we want, from the books that are now published, only those that will compare with the books of all time. J. N. LARNED. There are very many rea- sons for buying books of the day that would not apply when they cease to be books of the day; and every library is buying books pub- lished this year on a given subject that it would not buy 10 years hence. T: L. MONTGOMERY. But, in adding to this list, we have to compare each book that we add to it with the literature that is past, and there may be a great many that were omitted from the original selection that were a great deal better than any on this list. Therefore, I think, if the line is not drawn very close you are going to make a mistake in regard to additions to the list. J. K. HOSMER. There is a book by Edward Clodd, " Pioneers of evolution from Thales to Huxley," which I think is well worth buying. The fact that scientific information is put in the form of biographies makes it exceedingly in- teresting reading. We will now take up the next topic, History, and Mr. J. N. Lamed will open the discussion. HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, TRAVEL. J. N. LARNED. I understand that History, as we consider it in this matter, is taken in the broad meaning that would include Biography and Travel also. This makes a large list to be considered, and it will have to be gone through very rapidly. I am glad that the subject does include Biography and Travel, because otherwise it would certainly be a very slender list for the year. There has not been, I think, the usual extent of important production of his- torical writing during the last year. There have not been very many notable books; and if we should exclude those on biography and travel we should have but a brief list. The first book under History on our list is Lecky's " Political value of history," a lecture given at Birmingham, which is distinctly of great value. It presents very clearly and ac- curately some important ideas with regard to the influence which the study of history should have upon our views and our opinions; it com- bats, on the one hand, the Carlylean hero-wor- ship, which would make everything of personal influence in history, and, on the other hand, the Buckle theories, which would reduce per- sonal influence to nothing, and make all his- torical movements a matter of mechanics and mathematics. This book is -a valuable and important correction of those extremely wrong theories in two directions. Mahaffy's " Survey of Greek civilization " is a compend of his larger works on those subjects, and a very useful one. Maspero's " Struggle of the nations," pre- sumably the second volume of his " Ancient history," may be considered the best summary now to be had of the results of later research and study in the history of ancient times and ancient nations. Adams' " Growth of the French nation," in the " Chautauqua Reading circle series," is an admirable little book. C. M. Andrews' "Historical development of modern Europe " is a valuable book for the rea- son that it goes over the ground which Fyffe traversed in a different way, and a way which is both interesting and instructive, dealing with the history of Europe as a whole, and gathering up into one large view the events which influenced Europe at large during the important first half of the present century, instead of following THIRD SESSION. 107 them chronologically in the history of each distinct nation. E. B. Andrews' " History of the last quarter century in the United States" is distinctly a bet- ter work, I should say, than his two-volume his- tory of the United States, although this also rather partakes of the character of journalism than of permanent history. Arber's "Story of the Pilgrim fathers" is a very interesting book, in the nature of a cal- endar of all the documentary material of the history of the Pilgrim fathers in England, the Netherlands, and in New England, presenting, quite fully, documents and other interesting matter ; it is the most important book of recent times, I should say, connected with that early New England history. Burgess' " Middle period, 1817-1858," in the "American history series," is a difficult book to read, because the style is bad ; but the matter of the history is, generally speaking, very good. It is open, perhaps, to the criticism that there is a little leaning backward in the attempt to be impartial as between North and South, as between slavery and anti-slavery, al- most to the prejudice of the anti-slavery view, sometimes ; but it is an honest attempt to deal fairly with those great questions; and I believe, on the whole, it deals with them more fairly, more thoughtfully, more fully and instructively than any other work I know of. Eggleston's "Beginners of a nation " is the first volume of a general history, or what prom- ises to be a general history, of the United States, which will be of very considerable value if it is completed, although I do not think that it quite comes up to the proclamation made of it on its appearance. The chapter dealing with Roger Williams and the early history of Rhode Island seems to me to be the best treatment of that subject that I know of. Under Biography come a number of works that seem to belong distinctly to History, not in the general way in which all biography be- longs to history, but in the particular way in which I would assign very many so-called biographies to the historical class, because they present the lives of men which have really no personal interest, but which are mixed up with public events and are inseparable from them. I place many such works under the title of his- tory in my own .library classification, and I should not consider it rational to make a mere matter of title control the classification. For example, it is not rational to make a difference between the life of Queen Elizabeth and a his- tory of England during the life of Queen Eliza- beth ; I think that the life of a sovereign or the life of a ruler should be placed with history, and I would place many others there. Hogarth's " Philip and Alexander of Mace- don " I regard as an excellent work, because it brings out with great distinctness the superior greatness of Philip over Alexander. Mandell Creighton's " Queen Elizabeth" is a somewhat sumptuous and costly work, but one of very distinct value. The two biographies in the " Foreign states- men series," by J. F. Bright, "Joseph n." and " Maria Theresa," are both of them excellent. Sloane's "Life of Napoleon," and Mahan's " Life of Lord Nelson," I should rank as almost the two most important historical books of the year, and they certainly belong to history rather than biography. In Travel some of the books listed belong more distinctly to history; for example, Dickin- son's "Greek view of life," Tsountas' "The Mycenaean age," and Roberts' " Forty-one years in India," which is one of the important histori- cal works of the year on India. CYRUS ADLER. There is one book in the history of Asia and Africa which has not been mentioned and that I wish particularly to call attention to " The fall of the Congo Arabs," by S. L. Hinde. It is one of the most interest- ing of recent books about Africa, and combines thorough scientific knowledge with great nar- rative interest. Miss HELEN E. HAINES. I am glad Dr- Adler has called attention to " The fall of the Congo Arabs," and in the same class history of Asia and Africa I should like to mention Captain Baden- Powell's " Downfall of Prempeh." It is the story of the English ex- pedition of 1896 against the Ashantis, in which Prince Henry of Battenberg died, and it is very interesting because of the vividness of its pict- ures of 'savage Africa, and as a contribution to very recent history. J. K. HOSMER. There are three works I think it well to mention on this occasion. The great work of Mr. Thwaites, the translation of the "Jesuit relations," is going to be a work of the very first historical importance, recognized, I think, as such all over the civilized world. io8 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. The next is Professor Moses Coit Tyler's " Lit- erary history of the American Revolution," a continuation of his great " History of American literature " and " History of the American Rev- olution." The facsimile edition of the Brad- ford history, published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., should also be recommended. It is an expensive work, costing $25, but it gives in sat- isfactory shape one of the most precious docu- ments of American history. Generally speaking, it seems to me a little questionable to make fac- similes. I doubt the expediency of such a work as that undertaken by Mr. B. F. Stevens, who is producing in facsimile a vast amount of dip- lomatic correspondence by not very distin- guished statesmen; but in the case of a work like the Bradford manuscript a facsimile is well worth while. J. N. LARNED. I fully intended to speak of the " Jesuit relations," edited by Mr. Thwaites, but overlooked it. It is one of the works I should certainly wish to bring forward among the important publications of the year. I think we would all agree that nothing more important has been undertaken in a historical way than the translation and publication of this great se- ries of relations, which includes not only the original Jesuit relations, but many collateral documents bearing on the same early American history and early life among the Indians. It is a work of astonishing labor, and certainly a work that the A. L. A. can be very proud of as having been undertaken and carried through by one of its members. Miss LINDA A. EASTMAN read a paper by Miss C. M. HEWINS on CHILDREN'S BOOKS. Before giving an opinion on individual books it is well to keep in mind that the children who take books from public libraries are of all grades of intelligence, a few from homes full of books where fathers and mothers read the best from English literature, and many from houses where there are no books and the father cannot read enough to vote. The first have a large vocabulary and are familiar with historical al- lusions and the names of poets and artists be- fore they go to school. The second have a meagre choice of words, but pick up with sur- prising quickness crumbs of information about historical characters or the poets whose verses they read in class. Between these two extremes is a large number of boys and girls whose fa- thers and mothers read newspapers and poor nov- els. What books should a library buy to meet the wants of these three classes of children ? First, books should be written in good English which they all could understand. A recent re- viewer defines a good style for children as that which Andrew Lang has adopted in his fairy- books, a little old-fashioned and abounding in such expressions as "Vastly well, madam!" The abridgments of his fairy-books are models for the children to whom English is an unfamiliar tongue, and who find Hawthorne's " Wonder- book " and " Tanglewood tales" full of long words and involved sentences. It is, however, a fatal mistake to simplify Hawthorne, as the writer of a little book called " In Mythland " has done, into such chopped sentences as " This made Pandora cross. " She would not play. "The dear boy felt sad. " He went out to play alone. " Pandora looked at the box. " How pretty, is it not ? "Flowers and men were carved upon it, leaves, too, and children." If a book is in an easy flowing style the child- reader becomes interested in it and goes on just as you and I read a French story, occasionally meeting an unfamiliar word, but guessing it by the context. Second, children's books should be imagina- tive in the best sense, or give information " to be understanded of the people." Children like history in story-form, but once in a while there is a boy or girl who prefers it undiluted. One class in history that I know, of children from 12 to 15 years old, reads and enjoys Parkman's histories. Third, books should appeal to the best in- stincts of children. There are two which al- ways touch the chord that vibrates to tales of suffering bravely endured. These two are "Uncle Tom's cabin" and "Black Beauty." Stories of children who are cruelly treated should not, I think, be placed in children's li- braries, and with the exception of these two books there should be little on the shelves to excite their tears. Stories of happy, sunny childhood in shel- tered homes, of simple country pleasures, or home life in cities where the father and mother rule the household gently but firmly and the THIRD SESSION. 109 children do not decide important questions for themselves, are still to be found. So are whole- some tales of school life, stories of animals, lives of great men, books teaching handicrafts or resources for vacation and rainy days, and selections of poetry. On reading several hundred letters from chil- dren about their favorite books, I find that none of them care for books about music or art, and few for out-of-door writers, books of games and sports, or poetry, unless they use it as supple- mentary reading in school. Most of them like fairy-tales, if they speak of them at all. One thinks "Gulliver's travels" silly, but another writes: " A year or two ago I found in reading fairy stories that what seemed to me to be rather silly corresponded to what was real facts and might have happened." J. K. HOSMER. The next topic is the Fic- tion of the year, by Miss Haines. FICTION. Miss HELEN E. HAINES. In arranging for the discussion of Fiction this year, it is very doubtful if Miss Cutler has considered the fact that a person who reads a great many more novels for mere enjoyment than is wise, and who confesses a long-established affection for their kind, is at all the proper person to present the subject of fiction to librarians. A disap- proving, or, at least, a deprecatory attitude would be more in keeping with library tra- ditions. And yet much of the woe occasioned by a high percentage of fiction circulation, and much of the perennial lamentation as to the evils of novel-reading seem unnecessary when we think how great a force for good, good novels are, and how much that is best and noblest in literature has come to us through the medium of fiction. It is, of course, in the one word good that the whole difficulty lies. Many books that from a literary point of view are unreservedly good, are morally questionable; many others quite devoid of literary quality have endeared themselves to a multitude of readers, whose lack of intellectual perception is not criminal, even though it be regrettable. If a library ex- clude too rigidly the former, it is not representa- tive of literature; if the latter be absolutely banned, it is limiting its privileges to the intel- lectual few and discriminating against the un- cultured many. But, of course, in any selection of fiction there must be the question how far to go, and where to draw the line between what is and what is not admissible. The matter centres in the questions of quantity and quality. The former limitation needs no emphasis; it is ever present and ever insistent; the second crystal- lizes into the question of morals. A library must have some books suited for readers of mature intelligence but undesirable for young people. It must have others that are not desirable for general circulation at all. It is in deciding just how far to go that the difficulty lies. Within the past year or so there has been a slackening in the tide of erotic fiction; but at the same time there have developed two dis- tinct classes of novels, which cannot be ignored in the literature of the day but which are none the less harmful in their influence. The first may be called, from the books that most thoroughly represent it, "keynote" fic- tion. These are the analyses of diseased souls, the studies of distorted lives, of which Flet- cher's "God's failures" and Moore's "Celi- bates " are examples. The second consists of the ' ' slum stories '' that have sprung into such astonishing vogue within the past year or so the " Maggies," " Arties," and other children of the Jago, who reveal to us the vice, misery, and wretchedness that ex- ist in all great cities, with the hard clearness of the camera, unsoftened by the tints of art. But we say, "These things are true; dis- eased souls exist, and there are plague-spots in great cities." That is so; but we do not choose treatises on psychomania for family reading, nor do we send our sons and daughters to stale- beer dives or opium joints that they may learn what life is; and when a novelist devotes him- self solely to the exploitation of what is mor- bid, vulgar, ugly and repulsive, it becomes the right and duty of those who are to have charge of those novels to exercise a censorship in their selection. In this present list I do not think that there are any books that come definitely within either of these two classes; but there are several that have been suggested for discussion, and there are a few, not on the list, that it has been sug- gested to bring before this meeting. This list includes 100 novels, excluding juve- nile books, chosen from. a total of about 1000 published during the year. Of this number, I no PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. absolutely refuse to say how many I have read. A VOICE. Oh, do tell ! Miss HAINES. The list represents, there- fore, but about 10 per cent, of the novels of the year; but it certainly represents the best of them. We say and truly enough that there are no great books nowadays; but that within one twelvemonth we should have been given such novels as " Quo Vadis ?" " Weir of Hermis- ton " though it is only a fragment "Sir George Tressady," "Sentimental Tommy," ' ' On the face of the waters," and ' ' The choir in- visible," should make us " remember our marcies." In the fiction of the present year, two books stand head and shoulders over all others. There have been before this some good novels on the stupendous subject of the Indian mutiny perhaps Sir George Chesney's "Dilemma" is the best but no one has ever attempted to show the native side, the Indian point of view, as Mrs. Steel shows it in "On the face of the waters." To all intents and pur- poses she has here taken on the very nature of the native, and she shows him, Moham- medan or Hindoo, in his childishness, his faithfulness and greater guile, his race prej- udice and religious fanaticism, as he is, not as the usual Anglo-Indian novel pictures him. The book is impartial too impartial; and wholly true to historical fact. Mrs. Steel's sympathies with the natives, however, have in- fluenced her to judge too harshly and a little unfairly the English course before and during the relief of Delhi, though her narrative his- torically is absolutely correct. This unfairness lies simply in implication, not in definite state- ment of fact. The dominant note of the whole book is "Kismet"; fate, not Mrs. Steel, holds the threads of the lives caught up in the fierce tangle of Delhi, and you feel that she could not, if she would, change the pattern that they weave. In one library it has been asked whether " On the face of the waters " was de- sirable for general circulation. I do not see how that question can be raised, or how the book can hurt any one. It is not written for children, but for men and women. It is about men and women in a time of fierce conflict and unnatural conditions ; but I do not see how it can hurt any one, or how its stern teaching can be misinterpreted. Nothing could be more different from " On the face of the waters" than "The choir in- visible." Coming to it prejudiced, perhaps, from its precursor, " Summer in Arcady," one is at first held spellbound by the sheer witchery of its descriptive beauty, its pictures of nature and of scenery ; to that spell there is added the deeper charm of its spirituality; and it is be- cause it combines so perfectly these two charms the spell of nature and the spell of the spirit that it is so wholly beautiful. In its picture of the Kentucky of a century ago, it recalls Irving's " Ralph Ringwood "; but it is a gentler picture, and one of the most pleasant things about it is that it shows not only the rough un- couthness of the pioneer days, but the gentle- hood, the culture and the talent that were represented there, and that we are too apt to overlook or to ignore in our ideas of the pio- neers of America. Taking the books in their order in the list, we come to Bangs' " Mr. Bonaparte of Cor- sica." That is almost as painful as his " Bicy- clers and other farces," and it shows how sad a thing it is when a writer sets out to be "as funny as he can." His " Rebellious heroine," who really was an attractive and whimsically amusing young person, is not here; but she was a much more agreeable acquaintance than Mr. Bonaparte. James Barnes' " Princetonian " is a first-rate story of the polishing of a rough diamond who goes to Princeton from a small western farming town; it is more wholesome than some other re- cent stories of college life, and has a blunt straightforwardness that is attractive. Both of Mrs. Barr's stories are excellent tales of North Sea fisherfolk. " Prisoners of conscience " is remarkable in its unrelieved pict- ures of souls bound and stifled in the rigid folds of sternest Calvinism. " Sentimental Tommy " needs no comment ; in its varying play of humor and pathos, its absolutely "human" element, it has found a place in the hearts of most of us. Bourdillon's " Nephele " I thought one of the most charming books of last year. It has not had very much recognition. Its author wrote the song " The night has a thousand eyes, the day but one," and the book is really more a prose poem than a novel. It is a story of spiritual affinities, recalling Du Maurier's " Peter Ibbet- son " and Kipling's " Brush-wood boy." It is THIRD SESSION. in permeated by an intense love of music, and has a grace of expression and delicacy of sentiment that are wholly delightful. Alice Brown's "The day of his youth" might be called a tragic pastoral. It is told in the form of letters, which is always a danger- ous experiment. It is pleasantly written, but fails in attempting too much. Bunner is always delightful, and the stories gathered under the title " Love in old cloathes " show him at his best. Mrs. Burnham's "Miss Archer Archer" is something like ice-cream soda. I am not ashamed to say I liked it. It is not in the least "strong," neither is it a "study." There are two young men and two young women ; every one misunderstands the sentiments of every one else, and they are all comfortably miserable but not too miserable together; then all things are smoothed out in a most delightful fashion, and, as Kipling says of the beloved " three-decker," " every one is married, and we go ashore at last." "Miss Archer Archer" is sentimental in a vivacious and attractive manner ; but the senti- mentality of Crockett's "Lad's love" is sim- ply overwhelming. It has been said that one of the most extraordinary things about the pro- ductions of Mr. Crockett and his school is the overwhelming emotion that is awakened in strong men and women at the sight of an or- dinary every-day infant. "Lad's love" sim- ply brims over with that sort of sentimentality that, and dialect. Either, separately, I could have tackled ; together, they were too much. "An elephant's track," by Mrs. M. E. M. Davis, is a collection of striking southern stories, most of them in darky dialect, and all of them showing originality, force and much poetic feeling. Mrs. Deland's "Wisdom of fools" consists of four short stories, each one presenting some problem of ethics or conscience in a way that, while offering no solution, makes one think, and haunts one with its perplexing insistence. They are natural, gracefully written, and each one touches the riddle, "When is right wrong and wrong right ? " Doyle's " Rodney Stone" is not so good as its predecessors, but gives a fair picture of English life in the first days of the century, in- troduces a number of historic persons, and is interesting, though there is a little too much glorification of the noble art of prize-fighting. Miss Dougall's "Madonna of a day" is a study in the influence of a false ideal. It is original, not to say astonishing, in its concep- tion and development, and its climax is simply haunting. "The cat and the cherub," by Chester Bailey Fernald, is probably the best collection of short stories published last year. In originality, verve, wit and force, they are remarkable. Grant's "Stories of Naples and the Cam- orra" is one of the best books of the year. These tales of Naples fisherfolk, and of the strange secret society called the Camorra that permeates all lower-class Naples life, have a fidelity, a kindliness of tone, and a minutiae of detail that make them more like actual experi- ences than stories. They are the result of the author's long residence in Italy ; and I doubt if there is any other book in English that so well depicts Neapolitan fisherfolk life. Both of Anthony Hope's books have the claim of popularity, and no other. " Phroso" is the best ; but both are miles below the " Prisoner of Zenda." The "Princess Osra " stories are so artificial, padded and superficial, that it is hard to see in them any lasting quali- ties. Howells and James we have always with us ; and as antidotes to a too cheerful view of life, or as discouragers of a belief in "the hu- man spark divine," any one of the four books listed should prove thoroughly effective. Keightley's "Last recruit of Clare's" and O'Grady's " In the wake of King James " do not seem to me to belong in this list. Both are in- ferior historical novels. The former is after along way after Doyle's "Brigadier Ge- rard," but the writer has not learned that it takes more than a lay figure equipped with spurs, a cloak and a plumed hat, and supplied with a fine quota of phrases, such as " I'faith, 1 ' " By're Lady," and an ever-ready sword, to make a good historical story. The other is gloriously " bluggy," with wicked earls, im- prisoned maidens, over-matched but ever-con- quering heroes, and frowning castle-keeps galore ; but it is a shilling shocker rather than an historical novel. Roberts' " Forge in the forest" is a novel of Acadia during the French and English strug- gles in Canada. It has many beautiful de- 112 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. scriptions of nature, but these are its chief charm, and it is inferior to his volume of short stories called " Earth's enigmas." Of the two books by Miss Yonge, "The cook and the captive " was published two or three years ago. It is a story of Gaul in the time of Attila. "The pilgrimage of the Ben Beriah " is the story of the wanderings of the Children of. Israel made into an historical tale rather a remarkable subject to weave into a story, but it has been done very well. There are three or four books not on the list that I should like to present, and see if it is thought that they belong there. One is Robert Barr's " The mutable many," published about two months ago. It is a story of capital and labor, and gives both sides of a long strike with common-sense fairness. The central idea seems to be that, no matter what the right of the cause of labor, and though the cause of capital may have injustice on its side, labor will generally lose in the struggle on account of qualities inherent in itself. The " mutable many" the mob lose on account of their very mutability; because they have not the co- herence or organization to carry through their work and gain their ends. The story is crude and has the trail of the journalist all of Barr's books have; but it is forcible, gives both sides, and I thought it good. The next is "The descendant." That was suggested for the list, but was not included. It was published anonymously by Harper about two months ago, and has just been discovered to be by a young southern woman, Miss Ellen Glasgow. It is very strong, unpleasant in parts, but deeply interesting and possessing a wonderful force in its teaching. It is the story of a man whose bitter outcast childhood has made him determine, with all the strength of his intense nature, that he will carve a way in the world and make himself envied, not de- spised. And he does it. He tramples over all obstacles, disregards most laws, human or divine, and then at the end he finds that his strength is, after all, but weakness, and that he has made himself pitied, not envied. The whole teaching is that strength rooted in self is weakness, and that weakness animated by love is strength. It is strong teaching, often disagreeable, as I said, but very forcible. H. G. Wells has published four or five books during the year. One of them is a bicycle romance, and I think even an A. L. A. list to be up to date should include a bicycle novel. It is called "The wheels of chance"; I have not read it, but would like to hear from some one who has. G.M.JONES. I have; it is delightful. I dis- like most of Wells' stories very much, but that I think is capital. Miss HAINES. It seems to me it might be well to put it in if we want to make the list representative of present-day subjects. Another book that was questioned is Olive Schreiner's " Trooper Peter Halket, of Mashon- aland." I think it should go on the list, as certainly belonging in a library. It is a bitter arraignment and denunciation of British cruel- ties in South Africa, and is really a politico- religious tract rather than a novel. The in- cidents described are harrowing and horrible in the extreme, but it is written with all the in- tensity and much of the mystical beauty so characteristic of Olive Schreiner. Personally I found it most interesting, and do not see how it can hurt any one. It might, however, be questioned whether Brander Matthews' " Tales of fantasy and fact " are worth inclusion. They do not amount to anything. One recalls, when reading them, what the New York Sun said of Brander Mat- thews' literary essays that he " walked in the grove of literature and gently gathered chest- nuts from among the rustling leaves." Adjourned at 5.05. FOURTH SESSION. (HORTICULTURAL HALL, TUESDAY EVENING, JUNE 23, 8.30 P.M.) THE PUBLIC MEETING. The meeting was called to order by President BRETT, at 8.45, in the following words: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIA- TION: This is an unusual meeting of the Asso- ciation; unusual in that we have so large an at- tendance, evincing an interest in this movement far wider than the membership of the Associa- tion. We are met, also, not to consider, as we usually do at our meetings, the perfecting of methods of library work, nor even to consider an extension of the work, but to consider new fields of labor; how we can make the library more useful; how we can reach through it more FOURTH SESSION. people. We are met to-night to consider the place of the library in the community; to in- quire as to the value of the work which the li- brary is doing; to see whether as librarians we can justify our work; to see whether as citizens the library is an institution which it pays to support; to consider whether the work of the li- brary tends to uplift and to better individual lives; whether it helps to make the task of earning a living easier; whether it tends to help to business success, to professional success; whether it helps to make better citizens; wheth- er as a whole it is tending to better our munici- pality, to make a better state, a better nation. And surely in no place in this country can that question be more readily answered than here, in this city which has furnished so many distin- guished names to our American literature, which is identified with progress, which is the home of the first and oldest library, and which also boasts of the youngest and greatest of American pub- lic libraries a public library which is doing more work, which is placing more books in the hands of the people, than any other library, per- haps, on the face of the globe. In this city there is certainly an object lesson in that library which would enable the questions we ask to be answered. The progress of the last 25 years has not only trebled the volume of books available in libraries of this kind, but it has, through in- creased efficiency in the work, many times more than trebled the use of the library. Nevertheless, in spite of this great increase, we see that we are only at the beginning of library possibilities; that, compared with those educa- tional institutions, the schools with which we may fairly compare the library while there are facilities for acquiring at least a common- school education for almost every child in the country, library facilities are still, in spite of this great increase, limited to a minority of the citizens of our country. If we can answer favorably the question as to the value of the library, if we can see that the library is an institution that pays, the im- portant and further question with us is : What is it our duty to do, as citizens, to promote the library movement and to increase the extent and efficiency of our library ? We shall consider this question to-night. We shall ask not only the testimony of librarians, but we shall con- sider it from the standpoints of the scholar, of the educator, of the professional man. But whether as librarian, or scholar, or professional man, we shall consider it first and foremost from the standpoint of the citizen. I have the pleasure of presenting to you as the first speaker of the evening a gentleman who, though still young, has been a pioneer of the library movement; one who took a small li- brary in a western city where library work was little known and little appreciated, and in so do- ing abandoned a professional career in another direction that promised much greater things, and who, taking that small library, has de- veloped it, and made it one of our largest and most efficient public libraries, one which so far as organization and method, and so far as the spirit of its work, is a model and an inspiration. I have the pleasure of introducing the librarian of the St. Louis Public Library, Mr. -Cruhden. F: M. CRUNDEN read his address WHAT OF THE FUTURE ? (Seep. 5.) Pres. BRETT. There are other more definite aspects of library work, and we will now have the pleasure of listening to a gentleman whose connection with organized academic instruction, and whose broader work in the field of library extension has fitted him to express an opinion as to the educational value of the library which carries much weight, and who can speak to us as a book-lover, author, and critic. I have the pleasure of introducing Professor Smyth. ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR ALBERT H. SMYTH. Mr. CHAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : Matthew Arnold, a skilful phrase-maker as well as a keenly analytic critic, won some of his most signal victories by the dexterous repetition of certain phrases, believing, probably, with Chal- mers, who, when he was charged with repeating himself cried out: " Iteration ! Why, all I am in the world I am by iteration." And there was one thought in particular that Matthew Arnold was fond of repeating, for he was profoundly convinced of the truth that lay in it. It was couched in these words: " Culture is indispensa- bly necessary, and culture is reading reading with a purpose to guide and assist us. Who- ever does anything to help this does a good work, in fact it is the one essential service now to be rendered to the world." And that essen- tial service, ladies and gentlemen of the Ameri- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. can Library Association, you are now rendering to the world. It is your task to form and to direct the reading habit; to kindle that inex- tinguishable love for literature which Gibbon, in words that are burned into the memory, said he would not exchange for the wealth of the Indies. True it is, the librarian in unselfishly per- forming his duties effaces himself. He lives only in the published works and the gratitude of those whom he helps. The superb culture and astonishing erudition of Henry Bradshaw gave stimulus and suggestion to scholars, but left no original monument to his own unique worth. Only in the preface of great and per- manent contributions to literature, where men of learned minds have confessed their obliga- tions and professed their deep gratitude to Henry Bradshaw, does the world gain some brief insight, some little glimpse of the immense service that was rendered by the librarian of Cambridge University. It is my conviction that the theologians have all looked for Paradise in the wrong direction; it is to be found in Bloomsbury, London. It is in that reading-room where Richard Garnett, the Keeper of the Printed Books, patiently and with self-sacrifice devotes himself to aiding scholars in their researches. Not only is the librarian's influence indirectly felt through the minds and works of scholars aided by him, but his influence is directly great upon the social culture of the community that feeds upon his library. The librarian registers the intellectual and spiritual culture of the peo- ple. He not only directs taste, but It is the li- brarian's task, as is so eloquently pointed out by Mr. Foster in his recent pamphlet, to create that taste and what a taste it is ! To distribute the riches and open the regions of literature to a starving community is the superb and splendid task of the librarian. New England led, It is true, in the struggle for free libraries, but Sir Stafford Northcote took up the work which resulted in the free libraries of England. In the city, which was the headquar- ters of liberalism, George Dawson and Samuel Timmins created that free public library over which Mr. Mullins presides with such skill and energy. When that public library was opened and the people of Birmingham, before unac- quainted with libraries, came to know what a potent force in the community a free library is, such a crisis was reached that to-day no man can hold public office in the city of Birmingham unless he pledges himself to support free libra- ries. And so, from that far-off corner of Eng- land, which is almost a country by itself, from Cornwall unpenetrated for a long time by railways, and then only circuitously by the Great Western Railroad the G. W. R. and the London & South Western Railway the L. & S. W. R. popularly known as the "great way round," and the "long and slow way round," there went forth to the great metrop- olis one who was destined to win fortune, to re- turn to Cornwall with his hands open, and with the wealth he had acquired in London, to found throughout the length and breadth of Cornwall free libraries for his fellow-countrymen, so that now troops of pensive students find their way into buildings that have been beautifully con- structed throughout all Cornwall, there to find knowledge that flows forth in streams of be- neficence through Great Britain. There is still another side to the matter: A dis- tinguished Philadelphian, Mr. Horace Binney, said that one of the chief things he gained at college was his love for study. And indeed it is not the knowledge that is obtained from books, but it is the love for study that is the better hing. Books fall into the night and are left in its shade, but there is one thing that does not pass away, and that is the spirit of love for learning. At the time when Horace Binney was a student, and at a time within the distinct recollection of some of us, there was room in the curriculum for reading; for desul- tory reading; for that browsing in the library that has been so beneficial in all literary lives. But it would seem now that in the schools and colleges the spare moments are given to athletic sports; or the strain of the college work is so great that there is no time for desul- tory reading, to say nothing of heroic reading. It would seem that we are becoming less and less a reading people. We read books about books, or we read magazine articles on books about books, or we are content with the sum- maries in newspapers of magazine articles on books about books. All this seems to be carry- ing us further from reality into a mere com- merce of ideas upon which no healthy soul can live. I am perpetually amazed when I question a class of boys of 16 or 17 years of age, coming up from the public schools of our great city, to FOURTH SESSION. find that no inconsiderable number of the class have never read a book. I am amazed that there should exist boys of 16 or 17 years of age in this city, surrounded by all the splendid apparatus for education that Philadelphia possesses, who have never read a book I do not mean the reading- matter that masquerades in book-clothing, but books that are books, in the sense of literature who do not know that in Philadelphia there is such a thing in existence as a public library, who do not know where to get books. One of the most important problems that free libraries have to face is how to reach the students of the schools. Already the Free Library of Philadel- phia has approached that problem, as it has been approached before in New England. It is how to hold forth a helping hand to those who are at- tempting the arduous task of drawing the youth- ful soul into the " substantial world " of books. A whole world of subjects is opened to the teachers of the schools if they are only in co- operation with the librarians of the free libra- ries. The richest of public collections may be put at their disposal. This is, therefore, a threefold service : a service to the scholar, to the public, and to the schools. And it is my profound conviction that this library association is but entering now upon a career of boundless influence, and that it has yet to introduce many a rising genera- tion into the unspeakable delights of literature and to the manifold enjoyments of this bright world. Pres. BRETT. We are fortunate in having with us this evening a gentleman who has de- voted a large part of his public life to the efficient support of public libraries; who, as a business man, is in the very centre of the business life and financial activity of this great city; and, as a member of the committee which has charge of the expenditures of public money, has found it his duty to make a careful study of such expenditure and to determine the value received for each dollar expended. I have the pleasure of presenting to you the chairman of the Finance Committee of the Common Councils of Philadelphia Mr. Seeds. ADDRESS OF MR. JACOB J. SEEDS. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I have but a word to say, and that is upon the local aspect of our Philadelphia Free Library and its relations to the Councils of the city. I can say that in my capacity as chairman of the Finance Committee in disbursing some millions of dollars for the various bureaus of Philadelphia, that this bu- reau in particular the board of managers of the Free Library of Philadelphia is held up as a model for other departments in the city. In this department, much as we hear of the extravagance of the city of Philadelphia, no such charge of extravagance has been brought. Economy reigns there, and the work that has been performed by this board is beyond ques- tion. I might say that the Councils of the city of Philadelphia are thoroughly in accord with this work, and are committed to carry it on to a suc- cessful issue. And I feel that it is my duty on behalf of the Councils and of the people of the city of which I am a representative, to thank the 'representatives of the library board and the rank and file of the staff of the Philadelphia Free Library for the grand work that has been performed in the city since the inception of this institution. There is one question in relation to the li- brary that we ought to settle. We thought that we had it settled, but the Supreme Court of the state has taken issue with us upon that matter, and has decided that we have not the right to go on and build our free library, the central building which we were all sure we would soon be able to put up. I have" but a word to say to this audience : I want to enlist the active work and sympathy of every man and woman here in the question that is about to be settled. This autumn the question is to be submitted to the people whether we shall have a magnifi- cent and centrally located library in the city of Philadelphia, in which not only to carry out the work that has been begun but to extend that work. That question will be submitted to the people this fall, and, strange as it may seem, there is considerable opposition to this project in the city. It is because of this opposi- tion that it becomes the duty of every person who is conversant with this work, who is a believer and a sincere sympathizer in it, to constitute himself an active supporter of it in canvassing this question before the peo- ple. Now, how can this be done ? It is not the rich who derive the benefits of the library. It is those in moderate circumstances and the poorer people who appreciate this great work. And I feel, on the part of Councils, PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. where this opposition exists, that the work is not thoroughly understood, and if those who oppose it would go down among the masses and find out how they appreciate the libraries, the opposition would soon be wiped out. The words of the preceding speaker touched me, and I feel that if the boys and girls of the public schools in Philadelphia had the question of settling whether we shall have such a library, that the question would be settled beyond per- adventure; but I regret to say the boys and girls have not the settling of the question. Now, how can you assist in this work ? Think of the reflection upon the city of Philadelphia and its people, a people who can put $20,000,000 in the city hall for housing our municipal de- partments, if they should deny the sum of $1,000,000 to erect a centrally located library. All that will be necessary, I feel, is to spread the good news of what the library is doing and can do; to spread it so that the men who have the power to vote shall be fully alive to the city's necessity, and then Philadelphia will have her central library, to which she is entitled, and which her people will appreciate no grand institution, no magnificent monument, no luxu- rious building that shall be noted principally for its architectural effects and beauty; but a substantial warehouse, I will call it, where the books can be stored, and which may be used as a centrally located building where the people can come and have the benefit of the library to which our city is entitled. Pres. BRETT. We shall now have the pleas- ure of listening to a gentleman who has been a member of the American Library Associa- tion from its foundation, whose work in biblio- graphy has been of use to libraries on both sides of the Atlantic, and who in these last few years has been making a study of library architecture for the benefit of his own library directly, which will, I am sure, produce a li- brary that, when completed, will be just such a practical and convenient building as that desired by the gentleman who has just spoken. I have the pleasure of introducing to you as the next speaker the librarian of the Providence Public Library, Mr. Foster. ADDRESS OF MR. W: E. FOSTER. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : After the stirring words of the speakers who have preceded me, you can perhaps have little doubt left in your minds as to the educational quality which be- longs to the work of public libraries. But there is something more. I wish to maintain this proposition : that you can advance a stage further and ascribe to the work of public libra- ries a positively civilizing influence. Your president has asked me to speak this evening on a subject which he knows has very much engaged my attention and my interest for a considerable time past; and he probably has done this from the supposition that the sugges- tion which would so effectually kindle the en- thusiasm of one member of the Association would probably communicate itself to a wider circle, and I believe that he is more than half right. Jt is, in brief, this : the very great service which the public library renders to its community by counselling and protesting against "the ephemeral." How great a hold the ephemeral has in our modern life the ephemeral in literature, the ephemeral in thought no one needs to be in- formed. We see it in the appetite which our public has for the new books, as new books, not- withstanding we have been so wisely reminded, in a well-known counsel of Mr. Emerson, how greatly we gain by feeding on those books which are at least a year old. We see it in the appetite for periodicals; and, as one of the previous speakers has said, "in newspaper summaries of the magazine articles on books about books " ; and we hear comments on the indisposition shown by many readers for any connected or sustained thought. Public libraries can perform a great service in reducing the inequality between the litera- ture of knowledge and the literature of power, so far as regards the attention which they receive, for this is a disproportion which can undoubtedly be corrected. There are four suggestions upon which I shall touch, which have been found effectual in this direction. The first of these is, that we can make a great deal more in future than we have made in the past, of the opportunity for personal contact between the library reader and the library officer. The "information-desk" in my own library (as it is called) was established half a dozen years ago almost exclusively from the point of view, as indicated by its name, of supplying information, and of helping the reader find what he wants in the literature of knowledge; but in the past few years it has FOURTH SESSION. 117 been used almost as much in awakening the reader's mind to that which the library con- tains in the literature of power. Secondly, it is to develop, even more than is now developed, in the immense work which can be done with the pupils of the schools, a desire for good literature. In our own com- munity these efforts have been going on for a long series of years, so that now we have the pleasure of having in our community many who have a passion for good literature, which has been acquired in the schools. The third suggestion is the use of reference lists and bulletins. Of the fourth measure I will speak very briefly. We are looking forward to this with the greatest interest in our new building, but we have not as yet been able to put it into operation under any favorable conditions in our present quarters. It may be briefly described as an attempt to create an "atmosphere" of literature. Every artist knows how vital is this matter of atmosphere, in the growth of an artistic spirit and in the education of his eye. We wish to establish a series of rooms express- ly equipped for this purpose, and expressly planned for this purpose with a collection of books wholly within the field of the literature of power, to which we can point the reader and say: " Here are the best books by the best au- thors, in the best editions, representing in every way the idea of the best in literature." The books would be under the eyes and in the hands of an intelligent and sympathetic and tactful library officer. No one of these copies can be taken from the building, since that would de- feat the essential purpose of the collection, but in each volume will be placed a printed slip, reading as follows: "In order to take a copy of this book for home use, apply for number so and so, from the stack." We look for an improvement in the quality of the books that go from the building and into the homes of the readers; and this will manifest itself not only in an improvement of the intel- lectual condition but in the building up of libra- ries in their own homes and upon their own shelves. What basis have we for such an expec- tation ? Our past experience. It is no uncom- mon thing for readers to return even books of the highest literature and to say : " This is a book I must have," and they are then furnished with data which enable 'them to purchase that book. A library is like a great organ, and its great number of books may be compared to the organ's almost countless number of stops and keys. Bearing in mind this tendency which there is always, to an undue emphasis on that which is of lesser value, and the great danger of allowing it to exist, the librarian should see to it, that in touching this or that stop or key, he does not neglect those which will uplift, and inspire, and develop the minds of the commu- nity making use of his library. Pres. BRETT. Thirteen years ago I was called to take charge of a public library a work about which I knew nothing and for which I was not ready. After a little prelimi- nary experimenting which was not very suc- cessful, I went about the country to see what I could learn in regard to this work. I came to the library of one of our great universities, looked around for an hour or two, and then asked if I could see the librarian. I was taken into his inner office, expecting to stay there a few moments; but for two hours I was kept there, and in those two hours I received such an inspiration towards library work, such a glimpse of its possibilities, that if there is any good in the work that I have been able to do since then, I date it all from that afternoon when I visited that library. And what that librarian has done for me he has done for scores of other librarians in the country. We will now have the pleasure of listening to the man I listened to that February afternoon. I need hardly introduce Mr. Dewey. ADDRESS OF MR. MELVIL DEWEY. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I cannot help look- ing back 21 years to the time when we came to Philadelphia to organize the American Library Association. Since then, year by year, and by little groups of years, we have taken up one work after another, but none of them have been finished. Yet we have had distinct periods when the library associations and library journals and state and local associations dotted the country all over. We have had meetings of state asso- ciations and city associations where the attend- ance was larger than at our national meetings. There was in the very beginning, in 1876, a movement for library extension. It was a so- ciety of propaganda; we all went out with the idea of spreading the library movement. The old idea of the library as a reservoir was giving u8 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. way to that of the fountain; we were to have a fountain where each one might go. And then it was a question of piping the water from the fountain to almost every house and every room jn a city. And step by step we had the differ- erent kinds of libraries: the reference library, and the branches, and the travelling library carrying books to all who wished to use them. Then there was a development from the very first library methods the development of the science of library economy. And some said we were threshing over old straw and learning the lessons that older men had already learned. But that was not true, for we were laying the foundations for the new science. If we study the proceedings of the American Library Association in those early years it will be seen that we were laying foundations. That work has been largely done. We shall improve upon it from time to time, but when the history of the Association is written it will read that from 1876 for nearly 10 years was the time when most was done for the development of library methods and toward making it possible to do a larger amount of good work with the time and money at disposal. Then came the work with the library in the schools. And we only understand the a, b, c, of that at the present time. For 20 years different branches of that work have been going on, but it was not until the organization last year of the Library Depart- ment of the National Educational Association that the library was recognized as an essential part of education. I say essential, for the library is now looked upon as a useful adjunct of the school. We have been compelled to do like a man who puts a building on an insufficent foundation and when it begins to settle down repairs it and makes it a little stronger; and still it sinks, and he repairs it again and again until it gets down to bed rock. That is what we are doing in this igth century; we are finding bed rock on which our educational fabric will stand. Mr. Seeds said that if only the boys and girls of Philadelphia had the settling of this question of whether Philadelphia should have a central library, that the question would be settled be- yond peradventure, but he said the boys and girls have not the settling of the question. I contend the boys and girls of Philadelphia are going to settle this question in a very few years. The boys in a very few years are going to be the voters who will decide this question. A prominent politician in one of our great cities said to me he had the power and the votes to overturn the work that was done in our free li- braries. I said : " You have the votes perhaps, and if you dared you might do this thing, but let me tell you, you will be surprised how many men in the city of New York favor free libraries and, if need be, will carry a gun before they will give up this part of their educational system." And I say to you here that the boys and girls of Philadelphia will settle this question, and their fathers and mothers will settle it in the same way when they come to realize the benefit of the free library system. Following the period of specific co-operation in library work, came the relation of the library to the state and nation. That was the hitching of the wagon to the star. It is no more possible to build up a satisfactory system of libraries for supplying reading-matter to the people without aid, both state and national, than it would be to carry on our schools in that way. Then most important of all comes this period upon which we are just entering, which I like to call the filtration period. We had the res- ervoir and we changed it to the fountain. We not only went on from that and piped the books to every house and every room, but that was not enough and we must go farther. I remem- ber a few years ago there was an appropriation of five or six hundred thousand dollars made in the city of Albany to get a greater water sup- ply for the city, and the money was spent in bringing the water of the Hudson and distribut- ing it by pipes throughout the city, and it was piped into every room. But we discovered the faster the water was piped to the city the faster our citizens went to the cemetery, so we appro- priated another million of dollars to take up the subject of filtration. No city expects to send poisoned water to its citizens ; neither does a library desire to furnish bad reading, but the public library is at fault, in my judgment, in not doing more for quality in all it is doing for quantity. It is a necessary work to get books to the people, but we should constantly en- deavor to improve the quality of the books, for the library must be the library militant before it can become the library triumphant. The "yellow journalism" of to-day is the most serious problem that confronts us. We would do well in dealing with it if we followed out the plan of the little girl who complained FOURTH SESSION. 119 that her brother had set a trap to catch the pretty birds. She said she had prayed real hard that the birds would not get caught in the trap. She was asked what else she did. She said : " I went out and kicked that trap all to pieces." Possibly there is a lesson for us here, because some of our libraries have been content with a great circulation of books to record, but they have thoroughly seized upon the idea of having the books used without having before them this problem that comes under the head of filtra- tion, and this is a work that can be done only through the public library system and not through book-stores. The idea in my mind is that by and by the library is to take almost en- tirely the place of the book-store ; it will be a place where the reader will be shown a book and be interested in it and will buy it. Philadelphia was the place where we met first in organizing the American Library Aassocia- tion. Philadelphia has the honor of leading in many high educational works. Her great uni- versity is a surprise to those who come to it for the first time after a number of years. In uni- versity extension work she sets the example to all the country, and in all this work there has been one man in Philadelphia so prominent that when we hear of new educational and new philanthropic work we know almost in advance who the man will be who leads in its organization. That man is here to-night and intends not to speak. I am sure, even late as it is, if I relieve you of the many things I would like to say, we will enjoy hearing him and that we will insist on having a few words from him. Personally I have been inspired and delighted with the magnificent work done by Dr. Pepper, and I am sure the members of the Association share with me my feeling in insisting that we have a word or two from him now. I am in- clined, Dr. Pepper, to paraphrase the words of Eugene Field and say : Bless you, Dr. Pepper, may you live a thousand years, To sort of keep things lively in this vale of human tears, And may I live a thousand too a thousand less a day, For I should not like to be on earth and hear you'd passed away. ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAM PEPPER. MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I only have this to say : that the great success of the Free Library of Philadelphia has been due chiefly to one thing, and that is an influence that has pervaded it from the beginning, that has carried it from the centre to the very peri- phery of this great town, in every direction the feeling that this library is yours ; that there is nothing about it money, buildings, the time and the services of the officers, the books on the shelves that is not yours. It is a part of the city'government. It is yours to use as is the water supply and any other thing that the municipality supplies to its inhabitants. And it has been successful because we have turned it over to the people, and the people have taken hold of it to use it in a way that ex- ceeds the extent to which a free library is used in any other city of the world. This has come in three years, and not from any special method ; only from freedom ; only from trust- ing you ; only by returning to you that which you gave us to use for you. We have a central station, a building that is liable to burn down while we are talking to- night. It is a disgrace to this city, that that central station and every branch that we have opened is crowded from the moment the doors are opened until the crowds are driven out at the last minute at night, crowded by our fellow- citizens who throng to these branches as I have never seen human beings throng after any single article desired. Do you suppose that this city is going to allow an institution that is an in- tegral part of its life to languish or pause in its growth ? It has been a surprise to us all. I am glad to hear Mr. Seeds bear testimony to the efficiency of the service. That is John Thom- son's work. It spreads through the whole of that system and comes from the single-minded, whole-hearted devotedness of that man to you. It is a pleasure to have this Association meet in Philadelphia. It is an honor to the place where it was founded. I am glad you have come back to us on this 2ist anniversary of the Association, and it is good for us all to have been here to-night. Let us, however, take to heart the words that have been said and go out from here pledged to carry on the work, not only in our own homes but into all circles which we can control or influence, until the free library here is placed upon the most permanent basis that can be desired. New York has just transferred to its consolidated library a build- ing site which our friend Dr. Billings states is worth many millions of dollars, and that city has appropriated two and a half millions of dol- 120 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. lars towards the use of that library. I know that the library movement of Philadelphia is going on to its completion. It has not begun to be what it is going to be : we are going to carry this library into every ward in this city; we are going to have every section of this city sup- plied with the best reading in the most attrac- tive way and made convenient to the people, so that the education of this city, we hope, shall be better organized and shall be more thorough than that of any community in the world. We Philadelphians say to you, visiting members of the American Library Association, we are very proud of our city. We love it. We believe there is no community where good work can be better promoted than it can be in this city, and we count this work of establishing a free library for the entire people, and spreading it until it reaches the home of every member of this com- munity, among the best works that we have undertaken. It is necessary for the stability of society and it is necessary for the happiness of our people, and I hope that every man and woman who is here to-night and has heard the inspiring words that have been spoken from this platform by men from widely different places, will go away determined to labor for this cause until it is fully successful. Pres. BRETT closed the meeting with a few words of acknowledgment at 10.30, and im- mediately upon adjournment, a reception, with music, was held in the hall. Dancing followed until a late hour. FIFTH SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, WEDNESDAY MORNING, JUNE 23.) The fifth session was held simultaneously with the separate session of the College Section, which met in one of the class-rooms of the In- stitute. It was devoted to a consideration of ELEMENTARY LIBRARY WORK. The meeting was called to order at 9.30, in the library of Drexel Institute, by Dr. G. E. WIRE, chairman. CLASSIFICATION AND CATALOGING. Dr. G. E. WIRE. The idea of the present session, as we intend to carry it out, is that we are to have short papers or talks, preferably about 10 minutes each, and after each speaker is done you are at liberty to assault him with all the questions you wish to ask. To that end we have arranged this rather negligee appear- ance, so that you may feel quite at ease and at home, as though in your own library. The part that falls to me is to talk on classifi- cation and on cataloging, and in doing so I will start with the general ideas of classification. Of course we know that when we speak of clas- sification, we generally mean the D. C. ; but there were classifications before the D. C., and we hope there will be after it. The main idea of a classification, as I understand it, is to have an orderly arrangement of ideas and of knowl- edge. The trouble is that most classifications have been rather arbitrarily made. They are classifications of ideas and of knowledge rather than of books, and it is sometimes impossible to make the classification of ideas and knowl- edge coincide with the classification of books. You see that fact most prominently in college libraries where there are professors with omniv- orous tastes, who want the books that are in any way related to their department in that de- partment. But the main idea of a classification should be to keep books on a subject together, and to keep them together in a classification which will allow of extension, and, if necessary, of re- moving the books. There is no fixed law and gospel about clas- sification. If a book will be used more in one class than another, and is somewhat related to that first class, or if it is bought for a particular purpose or by a particular fund, put it in that place, and don't feel that you are bound by the laws of the Medes and Persians, or any other laws, to put it where you don't want it. Another idea about classification has special reference to the Decimal classification. You will be often puzzled by some books. They seem to cover certain subjects, and yet some of them don't seem to cover much of anything; in that case it is a good rule to put the books somewhere and let them_'go. I always work on the plan that a book that does not tell much about anything is not good for much of anything. The classification of books should be done as rapidly as is consistent with a measurable amount of accuracy. Accuracy is a relative term. What would be a superlative of ac- curacy in a small circulating library would not approach anything like accuracy in a profes- sional library, or where a library is divided up FIFTH SESSION. 121 into very close classes. You must judge the amount of accuracy and the fineness of your classification by your circumstances, and my. rule for beginners in library work always is to be independent, and to do in their library as they think should be done ; not to be gov- erned always or in any way by what another library does. Last year this question came up in the classification of Field's " Love-affairs of a bibliomaniac." Some people bought the book and put it into bibliography. It is a pleasant little book, and has as much bibliography in it as anything else. Others put it in literature, and then both seemed to be in doubt as to whether they had done the right thing. I told them to put it where they wanted it, where people looked for it, and where they would be most liable to find it in the shelves. Another thing about fineness of classification. As I said before, I am not in favor of fine points in classification in small libraries or those just started. Use a rough classification and get your books massed together. That is espe- cially desirable in these days of open shelves. Now that the public can get to the books, I think we have passed, as a general thing, in our public libraries, the days when we need very minute classification and cataloging. As to the question how classification should not be done, it should not be done by a library according to its own particular fad or to suit its own purposes. Sometimes classifications are badly strained to suit the librarian, because he likes to get all books that relate to the same thing together. I don't think we have very many of those librarians in this country, but they do exist. They fill the whole library full of spiritualism, for instance, and they put every- thing that has any spirits in that class. W: R. EASTMAN. What would you say of a library that did not have a classification at all? Dr. WIRE. In that case I don't know what you would do with the librarian. The best thing would be to let him go on until he saw the error of his ways. Sooner or later the li- brarian will see the necessity of some sort of a classification. The worst evils of classifica- tion are where the librarian is hide-bound to an old system, and can't see the necessity of turn- ing it into a living system. W: R. EASTMAN. But say they had 500 books, and asked what would be the advantage to them of putting those books in five or 10 classes, what would be the argument to use ? Dr. WIRE If they had only two books by one author, they would be able to find those two books better classified than if they were in accession order. Of course, the difficulty is to find the books on the shelves as they stand; it is easy enough to find them in a catalog or a classification. I know one librarian who used to say: "Well, it doesn't make much difference how books stand on the shelves. They are to- gether in the catalog." The result is that in libraries classified on that plan it sometimes takes five minutes for the attendants to get a dozen books that are in the same classification, because they are scattered in different parts of the library. W: R. EASTMAN. Suppose the librarian says : "I know every book in the library, and I can put my hand on it in the dark." . Dr. WIRE. In a small library like that you can't do very much with the librarian until the library grows. In a library of 500 or 2000 vol- umes the librarian finds the books in that way, and if they are standing on the shelves in ac- cession order, let them stay there. It does seem to be a good deal of red tape to have four or five hundred books scattered around in different classes, with perhaps one book in a class ; but of course we are used to it, and it is our method of working. Miss L. E. STEARNS. Would you start a small library on the D. C. plan? Dr. WIRE. I think I should, with the three- figure system. It is preferable to leaving them to their own vagaries, because you don't know where they will bring up, and we have the force of example where this system is used in a great many cities. I should advise the use of the D. C. by small libraries in starting. Miss M. Z. CRUICE. Have there been many objections to the Decimal classification when used in philosophical and scientific libraries? Dr. WIRE. There are a great many criti- cisms, chiefly among professors, who cannot agree on the Decimal classification. The sci- ences are constantly changing, and in some of the natural and physical sciences, such as the developments in electricity, you cannot begin to keep up with the changes ; but I know that the Decimal classification is used in some large li- braries, and if I am not mistaken it is still fol- lowed quite closely in Columbia. They have 122 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. discontinued it in some of the departments, but I think it still obtains in the department of science. Miss CRUICE. In the library to which I be- long they want to change their system, and they want to know the best. I want to know of any scientific library that has used the Dewey system and found it successful. Dr. WIRE. I can't now think of any large scientific library that is using the Decimal sys- tem. The Academy of Sciences in this city I believe has a classification of its own. The E. C. will be very full in sciences, but it will be some time before it is out. It will be fine enough to use in a large scientific library. I have just had a letter from Mr. Cutter, who has got down as far as H, and is on the seventh classification. I should advise using the Deci- mal classification in natural sciences, for I think it is the best. I wish I could tell you of some large society library that is classified by it. The objections in many cases come not so much from anything against the classification as from some other point. I think I may safely recommend it as being the best for the purpose. Miss CRUICE. I know the Franklin Institute is changing to the Dewey. Dr. WIRE. That would be a very good voucher for you. In that you have the example of one of the best scientific libraries in the United States. Miss CRUICE. The Franklin Institute is just trying it ; they have not experienced whether it is going to be successful or not. If I knew some library that had found it to be successful, it would be better. Dr. WIRE. Mr. Eastman, do you know of any scientific library that is using the D. C.? W: R. EASTMAN. No; the scientific libra- ries are older than the classifications. Dr. WIRE. Yes; they think they have the superiority of age, and are loath to change, and in some cases cannot change because they have not the money to do it with. Miss J. S. HEYDRICK. What would you advise as to the number of decimals to be used in a library of 15,000 or 20,000 volumes as to the number of places beyond the decimal point, and in what classes to use these larger num- bers? Dr. WIRE. I do not generally approve of using more than three figures beyond the deci- mal point for a library of that size, and the three figures I only use as a general thing in the physical sciences and in some places in litera- ture. The amount of philosophy and theology that you would have in a library of that size could easily go inside of three figures. In so- ciology and in classifying some of the govern- ment publications, you will have to use in some cases the full three figures. You will not, as a general thing, have anything in philology that will necessitate a number beyond the decimal point, but in the 5005 and 6oos you will proba- bly have to use the full three figures. In liter- ature you may have to use some of the three figures. Of course, if you should have quite a little Ibsen literature, for example, you will have to go down into the finer figures, but it is then a question whether you cannot put "I" after the number and let it go. Mrs. SANDERS. For a person beginning work in a library of 16,000 books, would you recom- mend the abridged D. C.? Dr. WIRE. I should. Mrs. SANDERS. And you would continue it ? Dr. WIRE. Most certainly. You can build on it, and eventually you can re-classify. You won't use it in fiction or juvenile anyway, and you can build on it afterwards. A MEMBER. In the classification in history do you advise not to go beyond the three deci- mal figures ? Dr. WIRE. I don't generally go beyond that, even in a library of 15,000 or 20,000 volumes, if I can help it. Of course if you go into some of the minor European states, you have to use some of the smaller figures. You won't have enough French or English history to have to use many of the finer sub-divis- ions. Mrs. SANDERS. I have found in a library of 16,000 books that ordinarily two figures beyond a decimal is enough. A MEMBER. In a very small library would you have less than the original three figures ? Would you have 92 for biography, or 91 for travel, for instance ? Dr. WIRE. I don't think so. In biography I don't use the numbers at all. I simply put biography in an alphabetical arrangement. A MEMBER. But in collective biography ? Dr. WIRE. For a small library I would use 920. For a library of 15,000 or 20,000 volumes, FIFTH SESSION. 123 in collective biography, I have to use two or three figures beyond the decimal point, in, for instance, Stephens' " National biography," and to bring it down to the country sub-division, because you will have Stephens, Rose, and some others, and you want all your English biographies to stand together, so you would have to use three figures there. Miss VAN HOEVENBERG. Do you advise in classifying or re-classifying, instead of using the D. C., to consult other catalogs, such as the Osterhout, Jersey City, or others, and adopt their classifications bodily, without spending your time looking at the books ? Dr. WIRE. I don't do that myself, because I can use the D. C. very well. Of course, after one has become a little expert in ,it, he can write a good many numbers without using the D. C. at all. Miss VAN HOEVENBERG. But at the same time you are looking up the names, and it is often a good deal of help, particularly to be- ginners. Dr. WIRE. I suppose it is so, but I don't do any classification in connection with catalog- ing. Where you are cataloging and classifying together it would be a help, but I would not lean too much on the other catalogs, because they are classified according to some other per- son's ideas, and I want to go in my own way. Miss VAN HOEVENBERG. If you are doubt- ful about it, wouldn't you want to look up the book ? Dr. WIRE. I never look up a book when I am doubtful about it, because you never know where to end if you begin that process. Miss VAN HOEVENBERG. In the classifica- tion of administration why can't we change 350 to 330 ? Dr. WIRE. I think if I had much adminis- tration that I wanted to put in political economy, I would certainly put it there. Miss VAN HOEVENBERG. But it follows very closely after the books on political science. Dr. WIRE. That is one trouble. I don't know any one who is satisfied with the 350 part of the D. C., but in many small libraries there will not be many books intervening. Miss VAN HOEVENBERG. Would there be much difficulty in changing 350 to 330? Dr. WIRE. There would not, but if you once begin to change you get into trouble. I generally advise following the D. C. If you can't do that, then I advise taking the E. C., or making up a classification of your own. Miss T. L. KELSO. It is a very fatal mis- take to be guided only by the D. C. in all classes. In pedagogics, for instance, the D. C. will carry many of the books on pedagogical psychology and other related topics into the loos. Dr. WIRE. I put such books into 300. Miss KELSO. But not if you follow the D. C. Dr. WIRE. The question asked was whether we could push 330 forward and put the 3505 into 330, and that I don't advise. But in psy- chology of education I simply put psychology of education into education. I don't like psychology anyway. Some of you may know why psychology was so large a division in the D. C. They had a large library on psychology in Amherst, and it and religion were given a full 200 numbers, when they ought to have gone into 100. Law and medicine are put into 100. We will now pass to cataloging, and I will read some notes I wrote a while ago entitled, SOME HERESIES IN CATALOGING. (See p. 62.) Miss LINDA A. EASTMAN. There is one point that I think should be sufficiently considered, and that is in the large libraries where there are a great many attendants, and often new peo- ple coming in who have to take hold and wait on the public, I do believe most heartily in ana- lyticals and in cross-references. Dr. WIRE. I think so, in a large library. In the Cleveland Public Library there are a num- ber of attendants, but I am speaking more par- ticularly about the small libraries. Even in a large library I believe in taking my attendants in hand so that they don't have to use a catalog. Miss EASTMAN. It takes some time to train an attendant to know 100,000 books and their contents. Dr. WIRE. No one attendant is supposed to know them all. They are divided into sections. Miss EASTMAN. But they are liable to be changed around, and my experience has been that the analytical has been as helpful as any- thing in the whole work in making the assist- ants really helpful to the public, even where we have free access. 124 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Dr. WIRE. Of course there is a good deal in that, but there is also another point against analyticals. The work we are doing in print throws out those analyticals largely. " Poole's index" throws out the analytical work that used to be done in the Peabody Library. Miss KELSO. Take the case of a small li- brary where there is only one librarian who carries the catalog in his head, and suppose that librarian dies, what will you do ? Dr. WIRE. The next librarian will come in and make a catalog for himself. Mrs. SANDERS. I went without a catalog for a long time. I knew something about all the books, because I began work with the library when it began, and as the books came in I knew them. There came a time when the library began to grow larger, and if I was not there the books could not be found very readily, so I suggested that it would be a good thing to have a catalog. We immediately classified our books, arranged them on the shelves, and made a card catalog. We found that ordinarily people didn't care for the catalog, but after be- ing shown it they seemed to like it, and they are using it much more than formerly. We have open shelves and the books classified on the shelves, but I think a certain amount of analysis is necessary in a catalog, not only for the librarian, but for the readers, and especially for the public school children. Miss N. E. BROWNE. May I say that Mrs. Sanders' is not a dictionary catalog, but a classed catalog ? Mrs. SANDERS. Yes ; ours is a classed cata- log, and I would like to know how many here have classed catalogs, and how many dictionary catalogs ? (A show of hands was had, which indicated that 12 of those present had classed catalogs, and 32 had dictionary catalogs.) Mrs. SANDERS. I should like a good opinion of the preference for the classed catalog ex- pressed. W: R. EASTMAN. The classed catalog gives everybody an idea of what there is in the li- brary and just what the books are, and cor- responds exactly with the books on the shelves. A MEMBER. Don't you have a shelf list anyway, and doesn't that take the place of a classed catalog ? S. H. BERRY. The shelf list must be ar- ranged as the books are on the shelves. Most people have not the time to find out the arrange- ment of the books on the shelves. The dic- tionary catalog is arranged like a dictionary, and everybody knows where to find a book. I believe if I were making a thousand new cata- logs I would use the dictionary form. W: R. EASTMAN. The best thing for the reader is to go to the shelves and the books. The next best thing is to have a reproduction of the shelves. The educational value of a classification is another point. Young persons in the schools, particularly, see the various classes of history, travel, and biography, and those are arranged in their minds. Let the class list reproduce the same thing, and they very soon look at the headings, and know under which heading the desired book is to be found, and so they have a classified mind as well as a classified library. Miss BROWNE. I personally do not like to use a dictionary catalog. Every one says that people can use a dictionary catalog, but I find, as the sequence of the alphabet is not taught in the public schools, ability to use the dictionary is somewhat lessened. But, granted that read- ers can use a dictionary catalog, what I would like to see would be a class catalog which in- cludes not only the books as they are on the shelves, but analytically arranged in class order. Then have a subject index, mixing in alphabeti- cal order authors and titles, so that when you look at the catalog for a certain subject you can look in the mixed catalog for those details. In this form you have the advantage of the dic- tionary catalog, if there is an advantage, and you have the advantage of the class catalog without its disadvantages. A MEMBER. I would like to know if libra- rians have ever made any effort to teach the se- quence of the alphabet in the public schools, and give a little idea of how to use a dictionary and how to use reference books. Mrs. SANDERS. I am doing that always. I find there is just as much need of teachers learning about the use of catalogs as there is for pupils. Miss EASTMAN. The need we all realize so fully of having the use of the dictionary taught will be accomplished more completely if libra- rians take hold of it and enforce the teaching FIFTH SESSION. in every way possible. We must bring teachers to realize the need of teaching the use of the dictionary and the catalog. Miss HELEN E. HAINES. If I may speak from long experience as a user of a library, and not as a librarian and I don't think this stand- point is out of place here, because you are all looking at the subject as librarians as a user of a library, I do not think there is any compari- son in convenience or comfort or adaptability between a dictionary and a classed catalog. With a dictionary catalog you can find what you look for promptly and without trouble. When you come to explore a classification, you may just about as well give it up, if you are not pretty well versed in library technicalities. As to a card catalog, it does not seem to me that there can be any question, in the mind of the reader, as to the superiority of a printed cata- log for the public. A card catalog causes more profanity, suffering, and distress among users of a public library than almost any other de- vice, if there is not a printed catalog to supple- ment it. People do not understand how to use it. Not long ago a woman came into a library, went to the librarian, and asked, " Where can I look for a book ?" The librarian said, "Look in the cabinets over there, and you can find any book you want." The reader went to the card catalog ; she lingered over it painfully for a long time ; she opened all the drawers, and looked very unhappy. Finally the librarian went to her and said, " Haven't you found a book yet?" "No," she answered; "they aren't here. There is nothing in these drawers but cards." Dr. WIRE. I think myself that it is more or less a waste of time and money in these days of open shelves to pay so much attention to the catalog. However, this is not a hard and fast rule, and I am speaking more particularly about the catalogs in some of the large libraries where they have become fearful and wonderful things that no one could understand. A catalog should be for the purpose of finding books and telling what is in the library. The idea that a card in a cabinet represents a book does not enter the heads of a good many readers until they have had some experience. Some of them think the cards are call-slips. All that must betaken into consideration, and in educating people up to using a card catalog I think there is a good deal of waste of time and labor. As Miss Haines said, I think the card catalog is responsible for more iniquity and hardness of the public heart than anything else I know of. I wanted to say one thing more about rules. I don't believe in having a cataloger just start- ing in tied by rules. It is the blind following of rules that makes the trouble in card catalogs. It is only within a few years that the A. L. A. would permit the use of the names of George Eliot and George Sand and Charles Dickens, for instance, in the catalog. We were tied up to a rigid lot of rules, and the public were sup- posed to take a great deal of delight, when they wanted to find "Nicholas Nickleby," for in- stance, in chasing for it from "Dickens, Charles," to "Dickens, J: C: Huffam." S. H. BERRY. That is very well, but some of us remember when we had to do our catalog- ing without any rules, and it was an endless confusion. It is now a great delight that we have rules, even though one has to make a new rule every few days. It is quite important that we should have our book of printed rules and a note -book of manuscript rules added to it. Sup- pose we reach a book that we are in doubt about cataloging, we want to know, when we come to another one of the same sort, what we did with the first one. It is well to have on record everything we do in these peculiar cases, because all these cases are going to be dupli- cated some day. Miss M. E. AHERN. It occurs to me that a. great deal of the confusion in which the public are with regard to the card catalog, is in a meas- ure due to the librarian. Generally the post of honor in a large library is in the cataloging- room. If you are in the cataloging department you are part of the machinery that moves the whole institution. The librarian, in talking to the people of a small town about the importance of the public library and the great help it is going to be to them, never fails to mention the fine card catalog they are going to have, and gives a few mystifying touches with regard to it that mislead the public, so that when they come to the card catalog they are just a little afraid to open those drawers, for fear something will come out that they never saw before. And it seems to me that we have been a little harder on the schools than we ought to be. I don't believe there is a school in the United States to-day that doesn't make copious use of a dic- tionary, nor do I believe that people generally 126 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. are so ignorant about what a dictionary is as has been said. Miss KELSO. One important point that has been overlooked is that in most small libra- ries the cataloger and the librarian are one and the same person, who has just about as much as she can do in attending to the library. Then when she has a few odd moments she writes cards. My advice to the beginner is to make an author and title list, to have a few simple rules, and to follow those. It is very easy to plan largely if you have a dozen or so people to carry out the plans, but the librarian of a small library must wait until the good time comes, and she can send for one of the people who have mastered cataloging. It is, you know, possible to hire such a person. You can then go to your board and say, " We do not under- stand this mysterious science, but here is a crea- ture that does know it. She is to be bought ; let us buy her. Let us not worry in the least over these strange details, because we can buy the knowledge of what to do and how to do it." Miss HELEN G. SHELDON then read a paper on CHARGING SYSTEMS. (See p. 63.) Miss L. E. STEARNS. In the two-book sys- tem, if you use but one card and stamp the dates on the card, how are you going to tell whether the fiction is returned or the non-fic- tion ? Miss SHELDON. There are a number of dif- ferent methods used in the two-book system. The Philadelphia Free Library has but one card ; they stamp the date, and just after that, if the book is a classified book and not from fic- tion, they put a letter C in pencil. If a novel was taken out at the same time, the date would simply be stamped and nothing would appear opposite it. It is thus easy to see when the reader returns his book whether he has brought back the novel or the other, and which one is to be stamped off. Miss STEARNS. That is, if the assistant re- members to put on the letter C. Miss SHELDON. The assistant should re- member to put on the letter C. Of course mis- takes will occur. There is an article by Mr. Jones in the Library Journal [1895 : 168-172] on that subject, in which he gives communica- tions from a number of librarians, some advo- cating two cards, some advocating only one card, and I believe it is not yet decided which is better. I have sometimes used different inks for stamping the class-books and fiction, and various other devices. Some libraries write a call-number opposite the date-stamp. BOOK-POCKETS AND BOOK MARKS. S. H. BERRY. Some years ago we put the date on the reader's card and put the card in the book-pocket, and we found that the reader forgot all about the date, as he did not see it. I then had a book-mark printed, stating, in the centre of the book-mark, that the book drawn on the first date would be due on the second date, and I put a few of those on the delivery- desk and let the readers help themselves when they drew books. The book-mark is in the right place when they are reading the book, and they are likely to see the date once in a while and be reminded when the book is due. This is a good scheme to let readers know when their books are due at the library, and it can be done with little cost, because we have used it for advertising. We furnished the ma- terial for the one side of the mark, and the ad- vertisers supplied it for the other, and they paid the bill. Miss KELSO. I would like to ask, does any- body use a book-mark nowadays ? We have talked a good deal about book-marks for library books lately, but I never met anybody who used one. I was fortunate enough to meet Miss James, of the People's Palace, some years ago, and she told me of a book-pocket device she used. It is a thin slip of manila paper, pasted in the front part of the book. This device, which I adopted and by which we were able to circulate 300 books an hour, is simple. It can be handled in about the ratio of five to one times more speedily than the book-pocket. I used it in Los Angeles, and many other people used it afterwards, and I do not think you can get one who has used it to go back to the book- pocket, which is clumsy and difficult to insert. Mrs. SANDERS. We have a book-mark which was evolved from the information-desk. I have in front of my desk a notice, "Ask for any- thing you want to know," and one day it seemed to me that it was quite as important to draw people to the library to ask for things as it was to have them ask when they got there. I could think of no better way to do this than by a book-mark, not to tell them when their books were due, but to tell them what they would find when they got to the library and one of our prominent merchants co-operated with me in making it up. We had a book-mark printed, FIFTH SESSION. 127 which said on one side, "When in doubt on any subject consult the Public Library." The merchant's advertisement was on the other side. After using it for a time some of our readers thought it was not quite dignified, and in place of it we had new marks printed, with "When in doubt on any subject consult the Public Library" on one side, and on the other, "The library is a great kingdom." We put those in our books, and I judge of their use by the very great increase in the number of questions asked at the desk. Miss M. B. LINDSAY. We have just adopted a book-mark. On one side we have placed the rules in regard to soiling books and turning down leaves, and we find that useful. On the other side we have a small space reserved for calling attention to some special books. The first one stated, " Read the history of your own town," and we gave what books we had on our own city. We then followed it with, " Read the books on your own state." We expect to have this book-mark stereotyped. Miss M. S. R. JAMES. I should be glad to know if anybody who has used book-marks has found that the thumb-marks and the turning down of the leaves have diminished. E. S. WILLCOX. In order to arrive at a definite answer to that question we would have to have a committee to investigate the matter for about a year and examine the books as they came in. I don't believe it is possible to give a satisfactory answer to the question. Books will get worn and thumb-marked and dog-eared more or less. Whether or not the use of the book-mark will diminish that to a certain extent, say five or 10 per cent., is be- yond the power of any of us to tell at present. Miss M. E. AHERN. At a library meeting in Illinois this year I was told that the use of book-marks caused less wear of the books, and that fewer stray articles were found in them. E. S. WILLCOX. My idea in getting up a book-mark really related to two things: first, the advantage of putting our rules on the side of the mark; and, second, the stimulus to read- ing by putting on other side a few of the great sayings of great men about the value of books. JAMES WARRINGTON. I have seen all sorts of things used as book-marks, from parcels to curling-irons and fans. People will use a book- mark of some kind or other, and the one they will use will depend upon the article which is handiest and which can be carried. Miss EASTMAN. Miss James maybe inter- ested to know how the book-mark has been working in Cleveland with the children. We began this winter using the Maxson book-mark, which is a little thin slip of paper. We had an instance in regard to its effect a few weeks ago. A lady was being interviewed at the receiving- desk as to the condition in which she returned a book. She was asked whether it was in that condition when she received it. She said that it was, and that a book was very sure to be re- turned by her in the same condition in which she got it, as her little boy was a member of the Library League and was using our book-mark. She said that a few days before he had seen her turning down a leaf, or about to turn it down, and had said, "Mamma, I shall have to report you at the library if you do that." He then- got her a little thin slip of paper to mark her place with. Our children are learning from the little story on the book-mark that it does make a difference how a book is handled, and we believe that the mark is going to be of ad- vantage. Miss STEARNS. If any one wants a descrip- tion of the Maxson book-mark it may be found in the Library Journal for May. Miss ELEANOR H. WOODRUFF read a paper on REFERENCE WORK. (See p. 65.) Miss STEARNS. During the run of puzzles in Milwaukee we adopted the plan of putting on reference tables works that would be of assist- ance to people in solving them. But we drew the line at giving individual assistance. Some librarians adopted the method of putting to- gether one of the puzzles and posting it up with the solution underneath, but occasional- ly these librarians erred, and then there was trouble and sorrow in the hearts of those who had had confidence in them. Mrs. SANDERS. I have enjoyed immensely helping people put together or solve such things. Miss STEARNS. Ought there not, however, to be a line drawn distinctly in libraries between puzzles which are gotten out purely for prizes, and questions that demand information ? When people come to the library for real information, that is one thing ; but when they come for the sake of getting a year's subscription to a maga- zine or a dollar and a half, that is quite another. How far ought the already over-worked refer- ence librarian to go in the matter of looking up prize puzzles ? 128 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. S. H. BERRY. The recent popular puzzles gotten up by Jud%e are nothing but puns on the names of cities, on well-known books, etc., and there is no information about them. I have had a good many people come to me about them, and of course I gave books out to them, but I wouldn't give them any time in help. I told them I was busy and that they would have to look things up for themselves. Dr. WIRE. This is largely a question of quantity. Mrs. Sanders comes from a compar- atively small library where she has but little of this sort of application, but in Chicago or Mil- waukee you would be simply overwhelmed. I do not think a reference library is intended to help people in this way, but where it is only a small item, as in Mrs. Sanders' case, it is all right. Miss LETITIA S. ALLEN. If we put a book- mark in our books inviting people to come to the public library for anything they wish to know, and the first time they come it is for some such information, will they come again ? Dr. WIRE. That danger exists with all peo- ple. They are likely to interpret such an in- vitation too literally, but you have to run your chances of that. In some cases they will be overwhelmed if you only spend a minute on them. I have found in reference work that it is a good way to gauge the amount of atten- tion by the amount a person will hold, and the majority of them won't hold very much. The point that Miss Woodruff made about the ref- erence librarian having a certain amount of what Yankees call "gumption," and being able to find facts and the books on the shelves, I think should rank above everything else. A person going into a library, with a fair amount of education, should learn the books and learn how to handle them, but if she has not that one gift she cannot learn. That gift is simply something which cannot be acquired, though the persons lacking it may get a certain formula which enables them to answer questions and do a certain amount of work. W: R. EASTMAN. Our rule in Albany is that if a question takes the time of an assistant for more than a few minutes, the charge is a dollar a name. Of course, everybody is at liberty to consult the books themselves. JAMES WARRINGTON. Isn't that a question for the individual ? I don't think it needs much argument that information given on such sub- jects as puzzles is utterly worthless. Of course librarians must discriminate between those who do deserve help and those who do not. If a li- brarian is approached by a person who is earnestly seeking for information, I think he owes it to the institution with which he is con- nected to place every facility in the way of that person. I know when a student has come to ' me for information on a given question, or a scientific man has come to me stating that he had to give a lecture and he was rather rusty on the subject, I have sometimes had as many as 40 or 50 books laid out for him, and I never had to regret any trouble taken in that direc- tion. For a student in a certain line of research, all the help and all the information which a li- brarian can give will not only benefit the person to whom it is given, but the giver also more than he thinks. I always found that in search- ing for information for others, I was largely benefited myself, and hence I never hesitated to even spend days hunting up subjects for those who were really deserving of such help. Miss M. W. PLUMMER. I think there is one point that has been overlooked. It is some- times a kinder thing to teach people how to look for themselves, although it may take longer, than it is to find information for them. Children learn very quickly how to use a li- brary, and they do it because if you give them a hint they will go on along those lines. I think very often that to give a searcher a hint as to how to go to work is really the most educative thing you can do, and in a very short time those people will come with more pleasure to the reference department, because they know how to use it. Dr. WIRE. Miss Plummer's point is well taken, and also Mr. Warrington's. It is, as he says, a question for the individual. In the public libraries the reference work is largely for school children, and in many cases you can start them, and they can go on themselves. Certain individuals always want everything laid out for them, and in certain reference li- braries there is more to be done than in some of the other libraries. I have had experience with lawyers and with college men and with physicians, and of course that is entirely out- side of the experience of a public library with children. The reference worker, like every other worker in the library, will have to use judgment and discretion, and you must know your individual and how to take him. As a nation we ought to pay more attention to refer- ence work than we do. Our English brothers and sisters are doing good work in the refer- SIXTH SESSION. 129 ence library better work and more of it than we are. We are so engaged in getting a large circulation that in a good many libraries we are neglecting reference work. JAMES WARRINGTON. In speaking of helping people, I do not wish my words to convey the meaning that I believe in finding everything for everybody. Not at all. The most deserv- ing students will be perfectly satisfied if you put them on the track of their subject. I did not hunt up the subjects, but I found the books containing the material, and then the users had to search for themselves. I think in reference libraries in this country a great mistake is made in keeping the books away from the peo- ple. I have had libraries of 100,000 volumes in my charge, and I never lost one book a year, nor can I recall more than one case of mutila- tion ; but I had a habit which I do not find adopted in libraries here, and in neglecting which a great mistake is made. That is, the charging-desk should be at the entrance to the library. I consider this of vital importance. Instead of having the charging-desk in the middle of the library or at the far end, so that you do not see the people going in and out, my charging-desk was always at the entrance of the library, so that persons going in deposited their books, and persons going out were sure to get their books registered. W: R. EASTMAN. Speaking of the location of the charging-desk, I was much interested in a branch of the Cleveland Public Library that we visited last year. Coming into the room you could see the books on each side. You passed down about 20 or 30 feet between two rails, passing into the middle of the room. You could then go behind the rails and consult the books with freedom. You then returned to the middle of the room, where the charging- desk was, and passed again through that long space before leaving the room. Miss EASTMAN. The first year we circu- lated something over 60,000 volumes from that branch. The yearly report showed a loss of one book. W: R. EASTMAN. More than that, I think the public appreciate the privilege of going behind the railing; the mere fact that you have a rail there showing that they were permitted to enjoy the privilege of going behind it. Adjournment was taken at 12.10. SIXTH SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 24.) President BRETT called the meeting to order at 9.20 a.m. In the absence of C: K. BOLTON, treasurer, Miss NINA E. BROWNE, assistant treasurer, read the TREASURER'S REPORT. C: K. BOLTON, Treasurer, in account with the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. 1896. DR. Sept. i. To balance reported (Cleveland conference, p. 91) $1558 14 Sept. i. 1896, to May, 31, 1897 : To fees for 528 annual memberships, at $2 each : For 1893, i $2 bo For 1894, 4 8 oo For 1895, ii 22 oo For 1896, 143 286 oo For 1897, 366 (incl. $2.03 from England) 732 03 For 1898, 3 6 oo To fees for 40 annual payments, at $5 each : For 1896, 4 $20 oo For 1897, 36 180 oo $1056 03 To check returned, entered on Cr. side $25 oo To sale of conference proceedings 3 oo To interest on deposits 4 20 $200 oo $32 20 $2846 37 1 30 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. 1896. CR. Sept. 3. By C : A. Nelson, recorder's expenses, Cleveland conference $ 6 97 Sept. 4. By Bost. Bk. Co., circulars to trustees 26 03 Sept. 4. By Library Bureau, circulars, etc n 86 Sept. 4. By E. H . Merriman, typewriting and stenographic work 7 25 Sept. 4. By Library Bureau, circulars and cuts 42 42 Sept. 4. By J. C. Dana, stamps, circulars, and telegrams 12 25 Sept. 4. By H. L. Elmendorf , postage, telegrams, expressage 35 60 Sept. 4. By F. T. Boland, stenographic work and expenses Cleveland conference 61 15 Sept. 9. By Carson-Harper Co. , stationery for J. C. Dana 475 Sept. 19. By H. L. Elmendorf, expenses at Cleveland 35 oo Sept. 19. By Miss Hewins, postals 12 50 Oct. 3. By Miss M. S. Cutler, postage, etc 1700 Oct. 3. By C. F. Williams, printing 71 35 Oct. 20. By Langford and Thompson, typewriting 10 oo 1897. Jan . i . By R. R. Bo wker , programs i oo Jan. i. By F. T. Boland, 2 copies proceedings Cleveland conference 61 20 Jan. i. By Library Bureau, index cards and oak outfit. 13 65 Jan. 20. By C. K. Bolton, treasurer, postage i oo Jan. 20. By G. W. Cole, Burr index, express, telegrams 7 60 Feb. 3. By C. A. W. Spencer, envelopes and paper 6 75 Feb. 6. By 800 2-cent stamps .... 1600 Feb. 8. By 700 postal cards and address 8 75 Feb. 8. By R. P. Hayes, 5000 handbooks 98 35 Feb. 15. By C. K. Bolton, postage i 50 Feb. 24. By W. C. Lane, for Publishing Section 200 oo Mch. 3. By R. P. Hayes, additionaHor handbook, found to be included in charge of Feb. 8, and check returned. See Dr. side of account 25 oo Mch. 3. By C. A. W. Spencer, return postals, address 5 10 Mch. 29. By Lizzie S. Allen, clerical work 13 oo Apr. 10. By C. K. Bolton, postage 2 oo Apr. 12. By Chase's Express Co., box from Pittsburgh i 85 Apr. 21. By Kay Printing House, proceedings, 1896 657 89 Apr. 21. By R. P. Hayes, secretary, sundries 57 75 Apr. 26. By stamped envelopes for Finance Committee i 35 Apr. 26. By C. K. Bolton, stamps 2 oo Apr. 26. By R. P. Hayes, express 50 Apr. 30. By C. A. Nelson, for proceedings, 1896, and mailing 16830 Apr. 30. By C. A. Nelson, index to proceedings, 1896. 40 oo Aggregate payments to June i, 1896 $1744 67 Check no. 18, not yet presented 50 Total amount withdrawn $1744 17 June i. Balance on deposit : At New England Trust Co. , Bost $1002 47 At Brookline Nat'l Bank 99 73 $1102 20 $2846 37 SIXTH SESSION. The present status of membership (June i, 1897) is : Honorary members 2 Life fellows 2 Life members 28 Annual members (paid for 1897) 366 Annual fellows and library members 36 Total 434 This is not a fair estimate, as the early date set for the annual meeting this year makes the financial year shorter than usual, and because many who have recently paid for 1896 will pay for 1897 later in the year. The annual fellowship plan, with its fee of $5, was instituted at a time when the Associa- tion needed money. Now that the immediate occasion for the increase of funds has gone by, many of the fellows have preferred to be trans- ferred to the annual membership rolls. During the period covered by this report, 138 new members have been added to the rolls, 101 have resigned, and i has died. There are now on hand the following publi- cations : 2 copies of Milwaukee conference (li 32 " " Thousand Islands conference (1887). 79 " " St. Louis conference (1889). 17 " " White Mountains conference (1890). 24 " " San Francisco conference (1891). 6 " " Lakewood conference (1892). 10 " " Chicago conference (1893). 74 " " Lake Placid conference (1894). 147 " " Denver conference (1895). 99 " " Cleveland conference (1896). 59 " " Cleveland conference, Trustees' Section. Necrology. Miss Mary J. Doolittle, (no. 1442,) for 10 years librarian of the Williams Free Library Beaver Dam, Wis.. died at her home in Beaver Dam, on Friday, April 2, 1897. She gave an enthusiastic and unselfish devotion to the library with which she was so long asso- ciated ; her work was a labor of love, and the growth and usefulness of the library were at once her strongest ambition and her greatest pride. One who knew her work says: "She was tenderly loved by all the children of her home town, and she watched the reading of each one with an almost maternal solicitude. The boys and girls came to it as the book-loving child to its own library." She continued her work at the library until within a few weeks of her death. About five weeks since, she ac- cepted a vacation, to see if rest and medical treatment in another city would not benefit her fast-failing health. The intention to seek rest and change elsewhere was not realized, for with the cessation of work came a quick decline of health, and it was found impossible to carry out the plan. Miss Doolittle was a member of the A. L. A., and was also a member of the Wisconsin Library Association, in which she took an active interest. Library Journal. Voted. That the treasurer's report be re- ferred to the Finance Committee for audit. In the absence of JAMES L. WHITNEY, chair- man, W: E. FOSTER read the REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. Mr. George W. Cole, who was elected treas- urer of the American Library Association at the Cleveland meeting, felt compelled to resign his position. The funds of the Association were lodged temporarily in the hands of this com- mittee. On the election of Mr. Charles K. Bolton as treasurer the sum received, with ac- crued interest, was turned over to him. The payments which have been made by the two treasurers have been authorized by the committee and in all cases have met with their approval. Although the expenses of the Asso- ciation have been large, a generous balance ($i 102.20) remains to its credit. For this thanks are due to the persistent efforts of the treas- urer. In the opinion of the committee the time has come for the consideration by the Associa- tion whether such officers as secretary, treas- urer, and recorder might not appropriately receive a moderate salary as a partial return for services rendered. Respectfully submitted, JAMBS L. WHITNEY, A. W. WHELPLEY, WILLIAM E. FOSTER, JUNE i, 1897. The report was received and ordered recorded, and, on motion of S: S. GREEN, it was Voted, That two members be appointed by the chair to co-operate with the Finance Com- mittee in any work that may be laid before Finance Committee. I 3 2 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. it. The president later appointed as additional members of this committee H. J. Carr and E. H. Anderson. PLACE OF NEXT MEETING. The secretary announced again that invita- tions for the 1898 conference of the Association had been received from Omaha, Neb.; Lincoln, Neb.; Jamestown, N. Y. ; Pine Bluff, N. C., and Atlanta, Ga. J. K. HOSMER. I received last evening from Minneapolis a telegram signed by the Mayor, the Library Board, and by the Commercial Club, which is our principal club, extending a cordial invitation to come to Minneapolis next year. Pres. BRETT. The secretary will add that invitation from Minneapolis to the list. The first thing for the Association to decide will be whether they will themselves determine upon the place of meeting or whether they will refer it to the Executive Board for decision. A MEMBER. I move it be referred to the Executive Board. MELVIL DEWEY. This question has come up for a great many years. As a board of eight persons coming together, the Executive Board do not know the general wish of the Association without a canvass, and I move to amend that motion by referring the matter to the Executive Board with the power to select, expressing the preference of the Association for Chautauqua Lake early in July. In regard to the invitation from Jamestown: I favor going there because we have never been to Chautauqua Lake. Chautauqua is one the great educational homes of the age, and of the results of the work there will be of greater interest to us as librarians than any other edu- cational work in the world. It seems to me it is exceedingly desirable the Association should go there early in the season and yet after the work has been done, and see with our own eyes what has been accomplished, and receive a rev- elation and an inspiration. The place is new to us, and, in itself, it is a beautiful place, very central and easily accessible by the railroads. J. N. LARNED. I second the amendment, and in doing so I would like to say that it really means, as I understand it, neither Jamestown literally, nor the Chautauqua Assembly Grounds literally. It means a point of meeting that will be between those two. Chautauqua Lake is surrounded with summer resorts and hotels, and it is the intention of those, I believe, who extend the invitation to the Association, to have the meeting held where it will be con- venient of access to the Assembly Grounds and to Jamestown. Miss ANNE WALLACE. I wish I was a great big man like Mr. Dewey, for then I think what I have to say would have more weight in the presentation of an invitation to this Association from the Mayor and Council of Atlanta, from the press of the state, and from our own officers of our local library association. I base my claim on a wide field when you remember there is no state support for a public library in most of the southern states. In regard to the time of meeting : I know that there is a prejudice against coming south in summer, but when you remember the altitude of Atlanta noo feet you will concede that that is in its favor. As to its temperature, I think, on comparison with other capitals of the country, the climate of Atlanta is very cool. In regard to the pub- lic condition of affairs in the south, I feel that a word of explanation is necessary. To begin with, a people living out of doors nine months in the year do not feel the need of literary rec- reation like people in colder climates ; there- fore, the library movement there has not re- ceived the impulse that it has in other sections of the country. Another reason is, in the south we are all Democrats, and the idea sug- gested by Mr. Jefferson, that the individual must not look to the state for aid in educational matters as these do not concern the department of government in any way, has rather made it a new feature for the people of the south to ex- pect help from the state or municipality. Now that library work is so thoroughly identified with educational matters is the time to push this question. As to the social features of our meeting in the south : The south is proverbi- ally hospitable, and while I do not think that we can ever quite meet the hospitality that you have received in the northern cities, where there are so many hard dollars to back hospitality, I do think it would be a treat to a great many people to visit the south and see the other part of the American people there. The invitation to Atlanta presented by Miss WALLACE was supported by Dr. CYRUS ADLER, A. W. TYLER, W: I. FLETCHER, and C: A. NELSON. SIXTH SESSION. '33 MELVIL DEWEY. As the discussion seems to have narrowed to deciding between Chautau- qua and Atlanta, it strikes me it would be only courteous to allow Miss Hazeltine, who is not now present, to present her invitation to Chau- tauqua, as she came here from Chautauqua for that purpose. I therefore move that this matter be laid on the table until this afternoon's ses- sion. Voted. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. MELVIL DEWEY. I move that the election of officers be postponed until the close of this session, and that the polls be open from 12 to three o'clock, so those here this morning can vote and those who come this afternoon can vote. Voted. C: A. NELSON. I move that the judges be instructed to tally the votes by the register of those that are registered at this meeting, so people will know they are members of this Association, and also in order to secure a more complete register than we have at present. Lost. MELVIL DEWEY. I move at the opening of the polls an opportunity be given for other nominations, and that nominating speeches be made at the opening of the polls. Voted. The next order of business was introduced by Dr. J: S. BILLINGS, who described THE PROPOSED BUILDING FOR THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, WITH PLANS. Dr. BILLINGS. On the igth of May last the governor of the state of New York signed an act by virtue of which the authorities of the city of New York had to furnish a site on Bry- ant Park, running from 4Oth to 42d street, be- tween 5th and 6th avenues, in the city of New York, and to erect thereon a building from plans which are to be prepared and furnished by the trustees of the New York Public Library, to be approved by the Board of Apportion- ment; the total cost not to exceed two and a half millions of dollars. The trustees of the Public Library first caused to be prepared a schedule list of the accommodations which would be desirable in such a library. Then they appointed a special committee of advisors, consisting of Professor Ware, professor of architecture in Columbia College, Mr. Ber- nard Green, a skilled engineer, and constructor of the new Congressional Library, and myself, as the director of the library, to prepare terms to obtain plans by competition among archi- tects. The first question was as to whether there should be one or two competitions. It was de- termined that there had better be two. The first or preliminary competition is open to all architects in Greater New .York, and calls simply for sketch plans or general designs for the building. From the plans sent in on this sketch competition, 12 are to be selected by the committee of advisors. From those 12, the names being then known to the executive com- mittee of the board of trustees, they are to select not more than six, and then they are to invite those six and six other architects not necessarily all from the city of New York to enter into the second or final competition. So, there would be not more than 12 in the second competition, and an unlimited number in the first perhaps 160. I know that at least 240 architects have applied for the specifications and general directions for the first competi- tion. The object of the first competition is partly to make sure that there shall be no great genius in New York who shall not have an opportunity to present his ideas ; that among the young men who have just graduated there shall be nobody who has not had a chance to present what he has got to present as the best possible scheme. Another object is to enable the executive com- mittee to decide two or three questions as to the general plan : the general arrangement of the building. After that has been settled, then for the second competition the specifications may be somewhat detailed as to the arrange- ment and size of rooms, arrangement of win- dows in certain rooms, and so on. In presenting the list of rooms and accommo- dations which were considered desirable, two or three rough sketches were made showing how that amount of space might be included in a building at a reasonable cost and carry out certain definite ideas as to what is desired in the library. At first, it seemed to be consid- ered a little doubtful as to whether it was expe- dient to publish any such sketches as these, lest they might limit the genius of the architect ; that the architects might feel bound by that particular plan and would not branch out as they would if they were given no directions whatever. But it was concluded as a whole, after conferring with several of our architects. '34 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. that it would be well to give some definite di- rections of this kind. Now as to the schedule of rooms, I need not read it as it has all been printed in the last number of the Library Journal, with a repro- duction of the rough sketch plans which were furnished.* I will simply refer to some points by the aid of this blackboard. The stack-room calls for 1,200,000 volumes, which, at eight volumes per lineal foot, would require 150,000 lineal feet of shelving arranged in about seven shelves to each stack floor. That of course does not include the books put in the free reference shelves and reading-rooms. As to the large public reading-rooms, it is estimated that space for 800 readers should be furnished, allowing 30 square feet to each, with space for catalogs, and so on, which gives a total of 26,800 square feet. It is considered that it is not desirable to attempt to provide for all in one room ; that it will be better to divide that space into two or three rooms. In the first place we would not have 800 readers, probably, at one time ; it may be five years before we have so many as that at one time, and we need not care for the whole group of rooms with a limited number of readers : only so much space need be heated and lighted as is required for the number of readers at that time. There is a demand for a periodical-room, 4000 square feet, with 1000 lineal feet of shelving. There is to be a newspaper-room of about 4000 square feet in area, and that should be on the first floor as well as the periodical-room. There is a newspaper store-room for storing files of older newspapers which we are endeavoring to secure, with an area of 5000 square feet. On the drawings that is shown on the third floor next the reading-rooms. That is a mistake : it should be down below at the base of the stacks, for the space where it is indicated on the draw- ing is needed for reference-rooms. The patents-room is to contain 2500 feet of shelving and about 3000 square feet of space. On the diagram that is put on the first floor, but it should be on the second. The same is true for the public documents room. There is a children's room, which is on the first floor near the entrance. It is too small, I think, but when you move the public documents room and the patents-room upstairs, you get ample space for it. * L. /., June, 1897, p. 296-301. There is a library for the blind which should be on the first floor. There are five or six spe- cial reading-rooms, each with about looo feet of shelving, capable of storing 7000 or 8000 vol- umes of special books, and provision for 40 or 50 readers in each room. There is a special manuscript department. We have already a valuable collection of manu- scripts, and the space provided is probably too' small. It is just about right for what we have now, and it will have to be increased somewhat for future use. There are special work-rooms for special students; a small room, about 10 by 15 feet, with shelving for 200 or 300 volumes, where a man can go and have a stenographer and typewriter and be entirely free from noise and dust and confusion. So much for the reference department; for the provision for scholars. Under the terms of the act, the New York Public Library is to furnish a free lending department, and it is to be open every day in the year, and evenings as well as day time. The specifications call for 5000 square feet in this room. It must be close or contiguous to the stacks, and there must be at least one delivery-counter not less than 40 feet, and seats for at least 100 waiting. Then we have in the New York Public Library special collections that have to be provided for. We have to provide for the Lenox picture gallery ; for the Stuart collection, which contains a large number of pictures and bric-a-brac of different kinds, besides several thousand volumes of il- lustrated books. We shall want a photograph- room, which, of course, will be on the top floor. Then, coming to the administrative depart- ment, we have the trustees'-room, the directors'- room, an order and checking room, a catalog- ing-room, which must connect easily with the order-room and the receiving-room ; a receiv- ing-room, a packing-room, an accession depart- ment, which must connect with the stacks on the one hand and the cataloging department on the other; a duplicate and exchange room; a bindery and a printing room, superintendent's office; reception-rooms, one for members of the staff, one for visitors, and one for the women's department; a public comfort department and lunch-room; one for boys and junior attendants, and one for the librarians and assistant librari- ans. It is not thought well to provide a lunch- room for the public. There will be eight or 10 small rooms containing about 200 square feet SIXTH SESSION. 135 each for store-rooms; a telephone-room, public telephone, and probably also a house telephone exchange office, which rooms should communi- cate with each other. Then the engineer's de- partment will contain the dynamos, boilers, workshop-rooms, engineer's-room, etc. There will be a large lecture-room seating about 600 ; a class-room seating about 150 ; lavatories, and so forth; elevators, lifts, and other necessary mechanism of the building. In suggesting the arrangement of all these rooms indicated on the diagrams, I had two main points in view. One was the readiest pos- sible accessibility to the main store of books in the stacks, while providing for a considerable quantity of books in separate reading-rooms. The second was the capacity for the extension of this library without interfering with what had already been constructed. The general principle of the scheme which is proposed con- sists of a system of stacks 250 feet long by 75 feet wide, built up from the ground, facing to the west, on the free side of the building, which is towards the open park. Around those stacks and in contact with them at each end, in front, and on the top, are the rooms which are to be supplied with books from those stacks, getting access to the stacks on each face ex- cept the outside looking towards Bryant Park. When we come to make an extension of this building, we simply take in two more open courts of the same size and go between the courts and build another set of stacks and rooms. We then have two more open courts exactly like these. The reading-rooms in this plan are on the top of the stacks and are served by a well going down into the stack, with the simplest possible form of machinery for announcing down into the stack what is to be brought up, and for bringing it up. The lending delivery room is 50 feet wide and 75 feet long. The delivery-counter will go straight across and be 50 feet in length, and would naturally be divided into about five parts. Whether that is large enough to accom- modate the number of people and to accommo- date the number of books for those who wish to borrow and select books is a question. I think there ought to be at least 10,000 selected books out there. What the trustees and those who are charged with the duty of preparing these specifications and details for the second competition desire is, first the opinion of librarians as to the best means of making these arrangements ; whether it is unnecessary to call for so much space; whether it would be better to have a somewhat smaller building it can be reduced somewhat, leaving a little more money for decoration and in particular, whether this general principle of arrangement is more or less satisfactory than some other plans of arrangement. We may say nowadays that there are three general schemes for the arrangement of a large library. The first is that of the convent, built around courts, passing from one room through other rooms in order to get at any room you wish. That plan nowadays practi- cally is not considered at all. Then comes the general scheme of one large reading-room on the first floor, having the walls lined with books, making a very impressive appearance, offering inducements to sightseers and to everybody to come in and see what a magnifi- cent thing it is. The large central room may be circular or octagonal, and surmounted by a dome, with tier upon tier of books rising one above the other. The great impulse to that style of arrangement was given by the reading- room of the British Museum, which was an after-thought and an expedient. They roofed over the central square in the quadrilateral, making a circular reading-room and filling up the corners left between the walls of the circle and the square with stacks. That reading- room is certainly an impressive one to enter. It is not open to the public. The general crowd cannot stray in and out; you must enter by a special card. Following that design is the new Congressional Library, the main feat- ure of which is the central reading-room crowned by a dome, and from this reading- room the stacks radiate in the form of a cross. Another variation is to make the central room an octagon and carry a parallelogram out from each face of the octagon, devoting some of these to stacks. Another plan or general scheme of structure for a library is that advocated by Mr. Poole and exemplified in the Newberry Library, of which floor plans are here shown. Here also is the plan of the Chicago Public Library, which is a rectangular building three stories in height, the general shape being like that of the Boston Public Library. It is not necessary i 3 6 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. for my purpose to go into the details of those plans. Now, the trustees of the New York Public Library desire to obtain the opinions of libra- rians who have given some consideration to this subject and who have had some experience in building or in the management of large libraries. They desire such opinions upon three or four questions. First, is it desirable to put the main reading-rooms on the upper floor, giving access by elevators, the under- standing being that you will have to go up two nights at least, but you will have large passen- ger elevators as well ? Will a certain number of people, old or infirm, perhaps, be deterred from coming and making use of those reading- rooms by the fact that they are up two nights of stairs and it is necessary to go up by eleva- tor, and will it therefore be advisable that some sacrifice be made to get those reading-rooms down on the lower floor ? It is unnecessary for me to set forth the par- ticular advantages of these plans. I shall rather point out some of the defects. The con- trolling reasons which led to putting the main reading-rooms on the upper floor were: to get as far away from the noise and from the dust of the street as possible; to get light from above, so as to have the walls free for book-shelving; to get the most central possible delivery of books on the shortest line from the stacks with the least complication of machinery; to keep the loaning part of the business on the first floor, as easy as possible of access; to have the pe- riodical-room and the newspaper-room also on the first floor with the easiest possible access, but to have the special reading-rooms for spe- cial scholars, and the private rooms which re- quire special cards for admission, on the second floor, away from sightseers as far as possible and away from the general crowd. Those are the reasons in favor of this particular arrange- ment. The objections to it were, first, that it may not be possible to make as imposing an archi- tectural feature of the building on this plan as might be possible by some other plan; second, that with a stack as wide as that, arranged like that, artificial light in the centre will be a necessity at all times. In almost all large stacks now, as in the Boston Public Library, and in libraries without stacks, such as the Astor Library, we have to use electric light to find books during a considerable portion of the day, and some days all day. Very often you cannot read the titles of books in the back part of the stack without the aid of electric light. But I do not think that is any serious objection. Then as to the general size of the room. Is the building too big ? Is it unnecessarily large ? Eight hundred readers seems a very large number to provide space for at once. Some of our people are a little doubtful as to whether we are going to reach 800 in 20 years. Then we are certainly going to extend this building, so far as human foresight can judge, because this building is not going to hold the books coming in for more than 25 years; the books by accession, by gift, by legacy, and by pur- chase. Now, we want a plan by which, when the time comes, we can double the capacity of the library, or the stack capacity, or increase its reading-room capacity without interfering with the daily work of the library or with the administration part which is already completed. It can be done under this plan very readily. If you extend it by taking in two more courts 75 by 100 feet and getting another stack 350 feet long with a reading-room on top, adding stack-room at the present height for another 1,500,000 volumes, or, by carrying your stacks up higher, for 2,500,000 or 3,000,000 volumes, then you have just covered the reservoir. Then you have the whole of Bryant Park to ex- tend into in the middle and latter part of the next century if you desire to. You can very readily put in 8,000,000 volumes in storage stacks, with reading-rooms, going upon this general plan. The trustees also desire the views of ar- chitects, and hope to get them through this first system of free and open competition, in which the architects are told that these plans are given merely as suggestions, and that they can suggest any other possible way they like. It is even suggested to them that the trustees would like to see some designs showing the large reading-room on the first floor. And with the combination of what they get from archi- tects, and what I hope they will obtain from the librarians here in this discussion, and from a number of librarians whom I have asked to furnish suggestions and criticisms, I hope it will be possible to prepare a set of specifications for the second competition which will yield fairly satisfactory results. SIXTH SESSION. '37 JOHN EDMANDS. I am very glad that Dr. Billings has no idea of making a great show reading-room, and I am very much pleased with the general outline of his plan. J. .N. LARNED. I think we will all agree that these plans present a remarkably careful study of the conditions and the demands in this great building, which, in some respects, may almost be said to be the most important under- taking in library architecture'that we have ever had in this country, second, at least, only to that of the Congressional Library at Wash- ington. There are one or two suggestions that I would like to make with regard to the questions raised by Dr. Billings, and the first is as to the size of some of the accommodations provided. It looks to me as though the most important department of library work in the future is to be on the two lines of the travelling library and the children's department. When I first ex- amined these plans the first question that oc- curred to me was with regard to the accommoda- tions provided in the future for those two lines of work: the travelling library with the de- livery station, perhaps, in connection with it and the children's department. The pro- vision suggested for the children's department is limited to 50 readers. If it is the intention in New York to popularize this work as it is being popularized elsewhere in the country, I think the children's department should be pro- vided with accommodations for 500 readers rather than 50. In the children's room in the Buffalo Library, which has not yet been open a year, and has been carried on under rather adverse circumstances, we have had on many occasions, on Saturdays and on Sundays, more than 500 readers, and certainly in the city of New York if this work is to be developed on the line which seems to be the line for the future, I think a far greater provision will be needed than has been proposed so far. With regard to travelling libraries, I do not find in the plans the accommodation that will be necessary for that great undertaking, which I should suppose would become in New York, as it is becoming elsewhere, a very important matter. There is a general receiving and delivery room provided in the basement of the building, but I think Dr. Billings would probably find it neces- sary to revise that considerably and arrange for a future of very large work in the matter of sending books outside of the library for free use, and bringing them back. With regard to readers, the general inten- tion of these rooms is an admirable one. The plan of this library is for work and not for show, and these large rooms on the upper floor are going to present a very great advantage. So far as a great number of the readers and students who will visit those rooms are con- cerned, the use of an elevator to reach the upper floors will be a matter of no importance; but, on the other hand, there is a considerable class of people who ought to be considered these are the people who run hastily into the library at the noon hour or during a visit down- town just on some small matter of reference. They want to use the library for 10 minutes or half an hour, and it is a serious matter for them to be obliged to go to the upper floor of the building. I should think there might be a modification of the plans so as to keep at least one reading-room on the main floor for just that class of readers. E. C. RICHARDSON. It seems to me that the plans here are admirable, all the way through. In the first place, I do not think there is any objection whatever to a reading-room on the top floor. I do not think that anybody living in New York, where elevators are so constantly used, would find it any trouble at all to reach the reading-room on the upper floor. There is one partial criticism in respect to the location of the special students' reading-room. If it was an ordinary room for instruction the matter might be overlooked almost entirely, but I have found that the books desirable to use in special research branch out into almost all parts of a general reference library, whatever the special subject of the research may be. If the suite of rooms for the special student could be placed in a little closer proximity to the general read- ing-room, and still keep their quietness, it would be of advantage to those who use them in con- nection with special work. MELVIL DEWEY. It occurred to me when Dr. Billings was speaking about this plan for his library and remarking on its growth for the next century, that there was another thing to be reckoned with, and that was the possibility the park might be used for something else, and the desirability of securing as much as possible of that park now. Instead of building these courts in this compact form, I would be better PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. pleased if you would build around the outside of the park and leave Bryant Park in the cen- tre of the library. It would be a little less com- pact in some matters of administration, but by the distribution of the circulating library in one place and the various reading-rooms in others, very little extra service in the building would be required, and it would be much more satis- factory. The library will do well to procure the park while public sentiment is in favor of its procurement, and get as large a part of the park as possible. As to the reading-room on the top floor : 20 years ago I made the same suggestion, and I am glad to hear testimony so uniformly in its favor. There are many people who are afflicted with worn-out and exhausted nerves the American disease and who cannot do good work where the noise is distracting, and on that account they prefer being on an upper floor where quiet may be had. When we moved the library school in Albany from the third to the fifth floor, it was almost beyond belief to find what a difference there was in the noises of the city in that matter of 60 feet in height. I do not agree with the suggestion that the public should not have access to the lunch-room. Students who go to New York and want a little lunch ought not to be compelled to go out for it. It is a great nuisance for a student to be compelled to go outside of the building where he is at work in order to get the little lunch he requires, and if it could be had in the build- ing it would certainly be a great convenience. Another thing is that it would be desirable to have a general public entrance not only on Fifth ave- nue, but at the southwest corner of the build- ing, because a great many people have to go in that direction to reach the elevated railroads, and would find it a considerable saving if they could pass out in that direction. I feel that these plans have been more care- fully studied over than any others, and we are therefore likely to get a building that will be satisfactory. The new Congressional Library building is magnificent, yet when one comes to look it over one sees that, while the reading- room is there, a great many of the details are left to be worked out. The space is there; the building has been built wisely enough to allow for plans to be worked out; but there is no ade- quate plan for the administration department. Dr. Billings spoke as if he was fearful the trus- tees might criticise the amount of space devoted to the administration department. In our little club-house in the Adirondacks, our kitchen was too small one year and we doubled the size of it; the next year we doubled it again; finally we devoted to this administrative department of the club one of the largest rooms of the club- house; and this year when we came to see the kitchen, the first comment that was made was it would be necessary to double its size. Now, that is about the way it will be in regard to this library, when it comes to the administrative de- partment. It is sometimes difficult at first to realize how much space is a necessity in eco- nomical administration. Dr. B. C. STEINER. I rise to give my hearty support to the idea of the upper and central reading-room. A reading-room on the upper floor will have better ventilation and more cool breezes in summer than a ground-floor reading- room, and will take up much less space. As to the other question, in our modern life a high building ought not to disturb any of us. All of us go up and down in elevators in buildings two or three times a day, sometimes as far up as the loth floor, and if we do that we certainly should not hesitate to do the same thing if we want to se- lect a book. Most readers do not go up for three or four minutes. My experience with li- brary readers is that most of them come for at least half an hour. The only criticism I have to make on the reading-room is that I would like to see the special rooms a little closer to the reference library room. The special students want to be fairly close to the main source of supply. If the special rooms are to be away from the main source of supply, though it may not be a very great inconvenience, still, if a book is wanted in a hurry it involves a little de- lay. And it also seems to me that the compact- ness of the building is one of its main advan- tages; that a building spread out would be a serious mistake. We may put it down as one of the principles of economics which govern li- brary administration that the efficiency of the service diminishes directly with the square of the distance; that the further off you have to go from the centre of supply the more time you must take, and the closer you have everything together the better and much more desirable the plan will be. J. K. HOSMER. Although Minneapolis is a small city of about 200,000 population our SIXTH SESSION. library has a circulation of 600,000, which gives us, of course, a very large per capita circulation. We have attained this circulation to a large ex- tent by having branches, and stations, and sub- stations in the public schools. It seems to me that a public library in order to attain its fullest usefulness must have all possible apparatus for distribution, and I should say that in a great public library like that of the city of New York there should be exceedingly ample provision made for the sending out of books from the centre to branches and stations and sub-sta- tions; and with the exposition given us by Dr. Billings it does not appear that such provision has been fully made. C: C. SOULE. I take great pleasure in en- dorsing very heartily from the standpoint of library administration and common sense the plans for the building of this library. And I think we ought to emphasize not so much dif- ferences of opinion and our criticisms on minor points as the fact that we approve the course and the result so far as it is arrived at. Dr. Billings asked for criticisms on one or two spe- cific points, and one was in regard to the read- ing-room. It seems to me the merits of the plan he sketched out have not been quite elabo- rated enough. We all know there are differ- ences in large libraries in regard to the method of arranging the rooms. We have newspaper- rooms and a reading-room for magazines, where people drop in for half an hour or so, and these ought to be near the entrance. But the main use of the main reading-room of a large library is by students who want particu- larly two things: one, to be free from noise or interruption, and the other to be as near as possible to the books they want, so that the fewest possible attendants can bring the largest number of books. The plan of putting the reading-room directly over the stacks is an ad- mirable one in two or three particulars: it gives an admirable room, quiet and cosey, and more than that, it puts the readers right near the stacks where they can get the books in the shortest possible time. Another excellent point in the plan is that the reading-room may be enlarged in the same proportion as the stacks are enlarged. When there are addi- tional books with additional use for them, the stacks may be built right out and the reading- room extended without any difficulty. The question was asked as to whether the building was unnecessarily large. Any one who has had any experience in the matter will say: no, you should get as large a building as you can for the money you have to pay for it. So long as you can leave room for expansion in build- ing and provide for rearrangement, you should make the building as large as you possibly can. It seems to me that we can give very hearty commendation to the general characteristics of the plan, as against a showy plan having large and lofty rooms and stacks placed so that they take up room from the readers. We can give our most hearty commendation to the methods pursued in its preparation. Dr. Billings has inquired among those who have had experience as to the needs of his library; he has consulted architects; he has got an excellent committee; and before he allows for ornament or for lavish expense for decoration, he has considered what is necessary for the administration of a great library and for the convenience of the public. From that point of view this Association can give the plans its most hearty commendation. S: S. GREEN. We ought to bear in mind that this is a great reference library and not dwell too much upon the provisions for circulation. There should of course be ample room in the library for providing a place and means by which books may be distributed from the cen- tral building to the branches all over the city, but a great deal has been said about there not being room enough for the children. You may remember that Dr. Billings said that the room provided for the children could be enlarged by having the room for public documents and another room, moved up another story, and that the capacity of the children's room could then be doubled. But as I understand the plan, it is to have children's rooms all over the city in connection with the different branches. Of course there are very few branches now com- pared with the number which will be estab- lished eventually in New York, and it seems to me that the proper place to provide these rooms for children is in connection with the circulating libraries all over the city, as well as in the main building. There are, of course, different kinds of plans for a library. There is Mr. Winsor's plan of copying the Providence railroad station in Boston, for example. It is a plan which he has always advocated and which, I understand, he Still advocates. There is the one which Mr. 140 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Dewey proposes, namely, to build around the park and have large grounds in the centre, as in the case of the Boston Public Library. There are certain advantages in those plans ; but this plan presented to us by Dr. Billings is one of the finest plans for a great reference li- brary that has ever been submitted in any coun- try of the world. I think we should say this with the greatest stress to the people interested in the library for New York, and add that the effort to secure the convenience of the people, which has been made by this plan, is very ap- parent and most commendable. I rejoice in one thing that has not been mentioned here, and that is, that the gentleman who has been active in making these plans is the expert of the whole country in regard to ventilation and hygiene. W. F. STEVENS. There is one thought brought out by Mr. Dewey in the suggestion of a library restaurant. In New York as well as in other large cities, in the great department stores we have restaurants for the convenience of the public. In the New York West Side Branch of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion there is a restaurant for people who use that building ; and in the Y. M. C. A. Railroad Branch we have a similar restaurant. In the case of a railroad corporation, the first question in connection with a new idea is, does it pay ? The second is, is it practicable ? The restaurant idea has been tried in the institutions that I have named, and has also been tried in great firms ; it certainly pays, and it has proved prac- ticable. H: L. ELMENDORF. The approval of the general idea of Dr. Billings' plans here is al- most unanimous. I do not think we should al- low this to be a mere discussion, but the Asso- ciation as an Association should signify by formal resolution its approval of this general plan. I move, therefore, that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to report this afternoon a suitable resolution of appro- val of the general plans of the New York Public Library as explained by Dr. Billings. Voted. Dr. BILLINGS. I simply wish to return thanks for the criticisms that have been made, to express my very high appreciation of the general approval of the general scheme, and to say that I think that that approval will have a very important influence upon the committee which is charged with the selection of the plans; and I hope it will have a very consider- able influence on the 200 and odd architects who, I suppose, are busy now preparing sketches for the first competition. INVITATION FROM THE INSTITUT INTERNATIONAL DE BIBLIOGRAPHIE. Secretary HAYES announced that an invita- tion had been received from the Institut Inter- national de Bibliographic of Brussels, request- ing the participation of the American Library Association in the Second Bibliographical Con- ference, to be held at Brussels, Aug. 2-4, 1897, inviting the attendance of American librarians, and asking that the Association be also repre- sented at the conference by some of its publi- cations. F. Richmond Fletcher had taken charge of the matter and had replied to the invitation in the following letter: " SECRETARY INSTITUT INTERNATIONAL DE BI- BLIOGRAPHIE: " I am instructed by the American Library Association to forward to you all publications of its Publishing Section, together with such material as is directly allied though not actually published by it. " The American Library Association desires that these volumes may be used as an example of the bibliographical work accomplished by this Association, and also desires you to accept the same as a gift to your Institut. I take pleasure, therefore, in sending by express this day such material as it has been possible to ac- cumulate, and trust you will receive the ship- ment in good condition. Believe me, sir, " Very truly yours, " F. RICHMOND FLETCHER, " Asst. Secy. American Library Ass' it." The president then appointed, as judge of election, W. F. STEVENS; as tellers of election, S: H. RANCK and J. N. WING. POLICY OF THE A. L. A. WITH REGARD TO RE- INCORPORATION UNDER THE LAWS OF THE U. S., AND WITH REGARD TO REPRE- SENTATIVE MEMBERSHIP. Pres. BRETT. The question of the policy of re-incorporating the American Library Associa- tion under the laws of the United States, with headquarters in the District of Columbia, has been mentioned in the secretary's report. It was taken up at a special meeting of the Asso- ciation held in New York in February, and by SIXTH SESSION. 141 that meeting the question was referred to this general meeting. It was thought best to con- sider together with that question, the question which has been discussed in the library periodi- cals, of a representative membership. Mr. Dewey's name is down on the program to pre- sent this matter to the conference. MELVIL DEWEY. Last December a number of members of the Association were telegraphed for to go to Washington to appear before the Joint Committee of the Congressional Library. That committee held sessions for several days and inquired closely into what should be done in the organization of the national library in its new building. In the course of that discussion the point was made in regard to the American Library Association that, as the Association was a Massachusetts corporation it was rather awkward to ask a state corporation to make a report on the national library. The suggestion was made by a member of the committee that the Association be re-incorporated in the Dis- rict of Columbia, giving to it for the first time a national character and significance, and bring- ing it in close relations to the national library. It was suggested that the four or five members then present in Washington should prepare a presentation of this suggestion, to be submitted to the Executive Board, which was then about to meet in Philadelphia. This was done, and a special meeting to consider the matter was called in New York, with the result with which you are familiar. We have been at work 21 years in develop- ing what may be called a national library sys- tem. No man can study the history of the li- brary movement and the work of the last 20 years and not see that we shall never accom- plish our purpose fully until we have a national head to this movement at Washington. One might as well expect to have the United States army without having the head of that army a department in the national capital. There is a great deal of work that could be done through headquarters at the national capital more cheap- ly than in any other way ; it could be carried on by the general government at an expense so small as not to be burdensome, and in a way that would make it infinitely more valuable. With the government printing office and its machin- ery there, it would be of infinite value to the li- brarians of this country to have provision for bibliographic work and indexing in Washington. I need not go into details in regard to that. The practical question is briefly, Are we to have a national headquarters for this national asso- ciation ? We are certainly going to have them some day; it may be next year, it may not be for 10 years, or it may not be for 20 years; but until it is brought about we must look steadily in that direction. My own suggestion as to the policy of the Association in regard to this matter is, that we should authorize the Executive Board, when they deem it expedient, to take the steps which would accomplish this re-incorporation. I do not think the present time is opportune to do anything in the matter, but when it shall seem expedient to the Executive Board, they should be authorized to secure a re-incorporation of the Association by Congress, thus giving it a distinctively national character instead of the corporate power it now holds from individual states. Miss T. L. KELSO. This is an important subject, and if we are going to give the Execu- tive Board final authority to take action in this matter, now is the time to discuss it and to give the Association an opportunity of expressing fully the views it holds on the subject. There are two sides to the question, and I think that as good an argument can be made against it as for it. J. N. LARKED. If this is an inopportune time for taking action on the matter, it seems to me it is an inopportune time for discussing it. I move that the whole subject be postponed until a more opportune time for its consideration. Voted. NOMINATIONS. The president announced that the polls were open, and Mr. Dewey nominated for vice-presi- dent John Thomson. Mr. Thomson's name was added to the ballot by the secretary. JOHN THOMSON, chairman of the committee, presented a verbal REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON TRAVELLING LIBRARIES. JOHN THOMSON. The subject of travelling libraries is one of very great importance, and to meet the wants of the people we must carry the books to the homes of the people. This is the very essence of the travelling libraries system. The movement has been tried in a tentative manner in Philadelphia, and whilst 142 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. we are suprised at the success attained and the rapidity with which the people showed their appreciation of the movement, we must not forget that rapid growth is by no means always accompanied by weakness. While, of course, the travelling library system as found in New York state has had a very considera- ble number of years' experience in the work, the other states which have adopted it since and now have travelling libraries have had a remarkable development in that work. The work that was done in New York state showed the importance of the movement, and other states, as opportunity served, were induced to avail themselves of the example and experience which had been there set forth. In five or six states the work has been started; for instance, in Wisconsin, Illinois, and elsewhere. We had hoped to have added Pennsylvania to the list, but our state is poor; we can't even pay for our schools, and so we have not yet received an appropriation. But I am never discouraged. It is always darkest before dawn, and I am looking everyday to see that we have received, as I hope we may, some appropriation, however small, to start the work in Pennsylvania. One great point to be solved in connection with travelling libraries is as to the best method that can be adopted to make them a concomitant part of every large free public library. The larger the town or the city in which the public library is established, the greater is the need of the members of the community for the library. Every large town and every large city has various outside districts and small places which cannot be reached by the most carefully worked out system of a central library with however large a number of branches. Take, for instance, Philadelphia, which is a remarkably widely scattered city. I could name many places which could not be reached by the work done by libraries in the centre of the city or by the work of the branches. Therefore it is of the greatest moment that a travelling library move- ment should be adopted not only in out-of-the- way parts of the state, but also in the out-of- the-way parts of cities and towns. We have in Philadelphia the very best argument that could be produced, and one which should have good effect upon the appropriation committee, and that is, we are able to say we are not asking for an appropriation for an experiment, but have already taken the matter in hand and have achieved something. A certain number of trav- elling libraries have already been established within the limits of the city of Philadelphia and are carried on from the institution that I have the honor to work in. I think, if I give you an account of those figures, I shall probably do the most and the best that can be done to stimulate every librarian in every large town and city to try to encourage the movement, which is one of the largest hearted and best movements in li- brary work. We first found, through that active institution in our city known as the Civic Club, that there were many elderly people and persons in the city, who were not able for some reason or other to avail themselves of the free libra- ries, and the club was proposing to start an in- dependent travelling library movement. I sug- gested that it would be better to concentrate the work, and it was entrusted to us. First, it was ascertained that there were many boys engaged at the telegraph stations who, by reason of their business, have very long hours, and who are not very apt to do much walking in order to obtain books; but that they had an abun- dance of time during their business hours which could be better occupied in reading good books than in playing "tag" or in getting fined for disobedience. We therefore determined upon taking a small collection of books, called a travelling library, putting it in a box, and giv- ing the boys an opportunity of reading good matter and thus keeping themselves out of mis- chief. We have supplied 19 of the Western Union Telegraph stations with books in this way. First we supplied them with 10 books, and we are now increasing the number to 25 books at each station. The books are changed every two or three months as the boys are ready for a new supply. We have supplied two of the American District Telegraph stations in the same way, and they have regularly been the re- cipients of 35 books apiece in a very short time. But we have to cut our coat according to our cloth, and the supply of books is a very im- portant consideration. There is another class of men in the city who are far less able to avail themselves of the priv- ileges of the free library or of any subscription library, and those are the men engaged in the fire-engine stations. They have no hours at all, because they must be there at call at a moment's notice to go to their work. They SEVENTH SESSION. are not men who can go to libraries and make selections of books, and we thought they would be a very good class of persons on whom to try the effect of reading. We have supplied 38 fire stations with books. Thirty-seven of those stations we have supplied with libraries of 25 books each. The books are well .read. We make as reasonable a selection as possible, and try to give them good matter. Then come the police stations, and we have been asked by the Director of Public Safety, who is extremely interested in the matter, to make this a part of our work. He has person- ally subscribed to the movement, and has re- quested the lieutenants at the stations to take the greatest care they can of the books en- trusted to them. While we hope to have about 30 of these libraries out before the end of the fall, we have only been able up to this time to supply three stations, partly for want of time and partly for want of books. Later, we re- ceived a batch of applications from outside districts in the suburbs. Then came another class of men, the hard- working, industrious men in the large machine- shops. To one of these shops 100 books were sent as a start. At the request of the owner of the works, the secretary of the institution, acting as the custodian of the books, distributed them. We found that these men reside chiefly (proba- bly for financial reasons) at Camden and other points far distant from their work. They have to be at their work at seven o'clock in the morn- ing and leave it at five or six in the afternoon, and when they get home, have had their wash and their supper, they are not likely to get on a wheel and go down to the library to get a book. We have found that this movement as started with them promises to be of the greatest importance. This is only an object lesson within the limits of the city, and is mainly used as a lesson to our legislators in order to induce them to ap- propriate some money, so that we may carry on the movement with success. I had a letter about two weeks ago from a place about 20 miles out of the city, saying: " We must, if possible, get a travelling library." I said that we could spend no money outside of the city limits. The people then set to work to see what they could do, and afterwards I re- ceived word from them saying : "We have got a thousand dollars to start with, but for pity's sake send the books as quickly as possible." You may imagine how disappointed I was to be unable to forward euch a noble movement. I cannot, of course, work outside of the city limits till I get a state appropriation. We have also received written agreements from three places, one in Clearfield county, saying .if we would start the movement they would put up a little building and pay the salary of some one to take charge of the library movement. The lesson to be learned from all this is that the travelling library has an end to accomplish. The travelling library is a means to an end. It is a means of teaching these outside places the value and necessity of a library. And where the travelling library gets a good foothold, there before long we shall find a large free public li- brary. F. A. HUTCHINS being absent, his paper on LOCAL SUPERVISION OF TRAVELLING LIBRARIES was read by title and ordered printed. (Seef. 17.) Announcement was made by the president that instead of holding an evening session, as originally planned, it had been decided to con- sider at the afternoon session all the business given in the program to the afternoon and even- ing sessions. A recess was taken at 12.05. SEVENTH SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, THURSDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 24.) The meeting was called to order at 2.25 p.m. by President BRETT. C. W. ANDREWS, in the absence of C: H. GOULD, chairman, read the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN DOCUMENTS. To the President and Council of the American Library Association. GENTLEMEN : The Committee on Foreign Documents begs leave to make the following report on Canadian public documents, supple- menting its reports of last year. ONTARIO. The chief documents are: Public accounts. Department of Agriculture. Asylums. Department of crown lands. 144 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Minister of Education. Public health. Mines. Sessional papers. Statutes. A complete list of these -documents is pub- lished with the sessional papers for each year. NEWFOUNDLAND. The chief documents are : Acts of the Legislature. Consolidated statutes. Journal of the House of Assembly. Fishery report. Education reports. Geological report. The Queen's Printer at Ottawa and the Pro- vincial Secretary of the several provincial gov- ernments should be applied to if documents are desired. The committee regrets that no re- port from the province of Manitoba is yet to hand. The committee further reports that they have undertaken to prepare a list of the serial publi- cations of the French government, and they have at present 133 titles divided among the departments and bureaus as follows: General 3 Affaires etrangeres . . . . i Agriculture 7 Assemblee Nationale .... 6 Colonies 4 Commerce 18 Finances 8 Guerre *. . 14 Instruction publique .... 28 Interieur 9 Justice 3 Bureau des Longitudes ... 4 Marine 8 Bureau Meteorologique . . 2 Salut publique i Travaux publiques . . . .17 Total 133 The difficulties met with in this work were considerable. There is, so^far as is known to the committee, no such list published in any available form. The " Almanach National," which might be expected to furnish the titles, does not give them, although clues to several were found there. The list issued by the Im- primerie Nationale cannot pretend to be com- plete even for what is printed there, and of course does not give what is printed elsewhere. The largest number was obtained by careful examination of the " Bibliographic Frangaise," but this, was very considerably supplemented from several other sources. The list is at present in card form and needs revision and completion, which will be made if possible by one of the members of the commit- tee while in Paris this summer. . The committee, therefore, begs leave to make this report as a report of progress on the subject. Respectfully submitted, C. H. GOULD, Chairman. By C. W. ANDREWS. W: E. FOSTER presented the REPORT OF AUDITING COMMITTEE. The undersigned have examined the ac- counts from September i, 1896 to June I, 1897, of Mr. George W. Cole and Mr. Charles K. Bolton, treasurers of the American Library Association, and find them correctly kept, with vouchers for all payments. The balance re- ported as on hand ($1102.20) agrees with the pass-books of the New England Trust Co. and the Brookline National Bank. f JAMES L. WHITNEY, Chairman of the Finance Committee. WILLIAM E. FOSTER, Member of Auditing } ^ e Finance Committee. Committee, \ HENRY J. CARR, Member of Auditing Committee. E. H. ANDERSON, Member of Auditing Committee. JUNE 24, 1897. The report was received and ordered re- corded. APPROPRIATION FROM ENDOWMENT FUND TO PUBLISHING SECTION. W: E. FOSTER. The Council have the fol- lowing communication to present: The Council having considered the question of transfer of funds from the Endowment Fund to the Publishing Section, as referred to in the printed report of the latter, voted unanimously " that the Trustees of the Endowment Fund be directed to apply such portion of the interest of the Endowment Fund as may be necessary for that purpose, to the extinguishment of the notes of the Publishing Section now held." SEVENTH SESSION. 145 This proposition has been submitted to Mr. Soule, the only member of the Trustees of the Endowment Fund present at this meeting, and has his approval. WILLIAM E. FOSTER, Secretary of the A, L. A. Council. ERNST LEMCKE read his paper on THE LIBRARIAN AND THE IMPORTER. (See p. 12.) J. N. WING. If all librarians, when send- ing a list to a bookseller, will use ink that will copy, they will save the bookseller a great deal of labor and trouble. Do not use stylographic ink ; it will not copy. As to the question of books returned. A great many librarians forget how the return of books affects the bookseller, and some of them do not consider how small the profits are. They order perhaps forty or fifty dollars' worth of books. The profit on that list of books at library rates is about three or four dollars at the outside. If they return a five-dollar book the whole profit is lost. G: A. MACBETH presented an announcement from THE TRUSTEES' SECTION. At a prolonged session of the Trustees' Sec- tion we have thought best to call a meeting of trustees in New York in the winter. Let us try the plan of flocking by ourselves without librarians. Mr. T. Guilford Smith, of Buffalo, has been appointed chairman of the Section, and we have mapped out a program of topics, for discussion at this trustees' meeting. If the librarians can lend their aid in announcing this meeting to their trustees, and asking these to aid in having as large a meeting of trustees as possible, they will help us very much, and it is altogether likely that that meeting will deter- mine much as to future events. In the absence of Mr. DANA, chairman, Miss M. E. AHERN made the following verbal REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CO-OPERATION WITH LIBRARY DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL EDU- CATIONAL ASSOCIATION. Miss M. E. AHERN. The report of this com- mittee can all be embodied in one word, and that is progress. The committee of the A. L. A. which was to work with the officers of the Library Department of the N. E. A., were a little late in being appointed, so that work was not begun until a short time ago. A circular letter was sent out to a number of librarians and to every mem- ber of the committee, asking for suggestions to be made regarding the line of work to be taken up at the Milwaukee meeting of the N. E. A. ; but up to to-day I have not received any sug- gestions as to what either the librarians or the teachers would like taken up. However, the executive board of the Library Department have prepared a plan and made arrangements for the meeting of the Department in July. I can say, therefore, that those who attend the meeting will have a very interesting time, and that a large part of the program will probably be devoted to the work almost entirely from the standpoint of the teacher. Since I have come here some librarians have said to me they thought this was a mistake. It is possibly so, but in the judgment of those who had the matter in charge it seemed the best course to pursue at that time, and I can only say that if librarians will make an effort to attend that meeting, and give of the knowledge which they have accumulated in regard to the matter, it may be that it will modify the opinion of the committee who have the program in charge. The report was received and ordered re- corded. C: R. DUDLEY, chairman, presented the re- port of the COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY EDITIONS OF POPULAR BOOKS. In some respects it was unfortunate that the members of the Committee on Library Editions of Popular Books were so widely scattered that it was impossible for them to hold meetings, and particularly unfortunate that no member of the committee was in the city of New York. From correspondence and such interviews with publishers, as have been possible, your com- mittee begs leave to report that they believe the scheme as briefly considered at the Lake Placid and Cleveland meetings is feasible. It is sim- ply a business proposition. Publishers will make any kind of a book the librarians ask for, provided they will agree to buy it. It is only necessary for the members of this Association to say that they want the popular novels printed on a tough rag paper, sewed on tapes and cov- ered in a substantial manner, and that they will buy only such editions when they are made. It is believed that such an edition can be made 146 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. for about 25 per cent, more than is charged for the ordinary editions, and that it will stand at least three times as much wear. This committee would suggest that a new committee be named, with a chairman, living in New York City, with the other members in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, or other publishing centres. We further suggest that members of the As- sociation send to the committee during the en- suing year a list of such popular books as they cannot find in good editions, so that the com- mittee may be able to prepare a list of such books for submission to publishers. Dr. B. C. STRIKER. The great difficulty in reference to books is not so much, it seems to me, with regard to the books published this year, but as to the books which have been pub- lished in previous years, and which the original publishers have not kept in stock, but which are still asked for by the public. In many such cases the original publisher has sold the worn- out plates to some corporation or firm which issues the book in very poor paper and binding, and it seems to me it would be a very advanta- geous thing for each librarian to inform the committee of such books. I can make quite a list from my own experience. I replace 5000 or 6000 volumes a year, and there are some au- thors extremely difficult to get. The publish- ers say it does not pay them to keep publishing the older novels, because there is no special de- mand for them. But even if a popular author is not in demand by people who are buying books for private libraries, there ought to be an edition in print, and there would be if publishers knew librarians wanted it, and if librarians were willing to buy a sufficient number to make it worth while to publish an edition, and it seems to me that is one of the things we can accom- plish by having librarians send a list to this committee in the ensuing year. Another thing which would be useful would be for any libra- rian who wishes to do so, to make any sugges- tions as to the quality of paper, type, size of book and kind of binding that ought to be pro- vided. This committee has really done very little more than report progress, but it seems to me it has reported progress in such a way as to expect that something practical will be done during the coming year. If every one bears the matter in mind and is anxious to help, next year the committee will be able to make a de- cided report a report which can be used in a definite way with publishers. The report was received and ordered recorded. APPROPRIATION FOR PUBLISHING SECTION. W: I. FLETCHER. It should be borne in mind by the Association that as the Publishing Section under its new constitution is merely a committee of the Association, the Association is entirely at liberty to direct in any way the operations of the Section. As we have a Coun- cil under whose direction such matters can be arranged for a vote by the Association, it is per- haps the better way, unless some one has some special point to bring up to be acted on, that the Section go on with its work under the di- rection of the Council. W. H. AUSTIN. I move that the Association appropriate $500 out of its general fund for the use of the Publishing Section, subject to the approval of the Council. Voted. "A. L. A. CATALOG" SUPPLEMENT. J. N. LARNED. The chairman of the com- mittee who had the publication of the supple- ment to the "A. L. A. catalog" in charge has been in correspondence with publishers and with the government, and it seems to be a matter of doubt whether the government can undertake that publication or not. I under- stand in case it is decided by the Bureau of Education that it cannot do the work the Pub- lishing Section is probably prepared to under- take it, and, therefore, I move that the Asso- ciation express to the Publishing Section its approval of the publication of the supplement to the "A. L. A. catalog," coming down to the end of the present month from the close of the original "A. L. A. catalog," provided the work cannot be done by the Bureau of Education within a reasonable time. H: L. ELMENDORF. The lists published, as I understand it, have been preliminary lists lists that are largely tentative. The Associa- tion has a number of times criticised those lists as not containing the names of various books that have been suggested as belonging in them, and suggestions have been made in regard to others that do not belong there, and I think that the lists are decidedly not in any condition for the Publishing Section or any one else to take hold of. I think the proper action would be to have those lists revised, brought down to SEVENTH SESSION. '47 a given date, and again submitted to either the committee, the Executive Board, or the Associa- tion itself. W: I. FLETCHER. If those lists are not in proper shape we have very little hope of getting them so. They have been in the hands of an efficient committee, and that committee, out of their wish to get all the help possible, has referred the lists to the Association, and has exercised its best judgment in carrying out the suggestions received. J. N. LARNED. My suggestion had refer- ence to the list as a tentative list presented here for the criticism of the Association. That list is to be revised by the committee, in the same way as the list of last year was examined and criticised at Cleveland. My motion had refer- ence to the lists as they will be ready finally. H: L. ELMENDORF. I do not think the As- sociation has had a chance to give fair criticism of that list. I do not think the list was in the hands of the members of the committee them- selves until three or four days before this meet- ing. When the list is made as a tentative list and presented to the Association for its criti- cism, I think an opportunity for intelligent criticism should be given the Association. Mr. LARNED'S motion was adopted. PLACE OF NEXT MEETING. MELVIL DEWEY. Personally I would favor going to Atlanta at some future time. If we are going to Atlanta I should favor going in May rather than in July or August, or I would suggest meeting there in October. But I had supposed that the invitation to go to Atlanta was coming a year or two later. I will repeat my motion of this morning, That the matter of place of next meeting be left with the Executive Board with power to select, with the preference for Chautauqua Lake early in July. Miss M. E. HAZELTINE. Lake Chautauqua extends a greeting to the American Library As- sociation; a cordial greeting and a cordial invi- tation to meet on its shores in 1898. We offer you the pleasures of a summer resort; a beau- tiful lake surrounded by hills 1200 feet above the Atlantic and 700 feet above Lake Erie. It is cool and delightful, with pleasant drives and boating and fishing and bathing. We do not ask you to have your meeting right in James- town, a small city at the foot of the lake, nor do we ask you to go to the great Chautauqua at the head of the lake; but to come to some of the resorts between these two places Lake- wood, perhaps, for there are two large summer hotels there. The place is easy of access. It is half way between New York and Chicago on the Erie Railroad, and is easily reached from those two cities. I talked with some of the rail- road men before I left, and they promised me a fare and a third, and hoped to be able to make it a one-fare rate. I have seen the hotel men at Lakewood, and they say you can own the whole lake if you come early in July or in Sep- tember; the summer boarders will not come until July, and will be gone by September. Lakewood extends a cordial greeting and will be glad to receive you. The Library Board of Jamestown extends a cordial invitation to you, and all the people around are as anxious to re- ceive you as I am and as the Library Board are. We hope that you will come. The invitation to Jamestown presented by Miss Hazeltine was supported by H: L. ELMEN- DORF and Col. WESTON FLINT. Dr. J. K. HOSMER. In view of the presen- tation of these claims on us, and the invitation given to visit Chautauqua, I waive, for the pres- ent, the project of having the Association come to Minneapolis to hold its next meeting. H: L. ELMENDORF. I move as a substitute to Mr. Dewey's motion, that the conference meet next year in Chautauqua. A vote was taken and division called; a rising vote was then had, and the substitute motion was carried by 73 to 53. RESOLUTION ON ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Dr. B. C. STEINER. This morning when we came to the election of officers it seemed that we had no definite list by which we could be sure that the voting would be properly carried on. This seems too lax a method of transacting business. Of course it has produced no inconvenience yet, and may not for some time to come, but it can- not go on in such a careless way without lead- ing us into difficulty. I wish to propose the fol- lowing : " Resolved, That the treasurer of the Associa- tion prepare and furnish to the secretary yearly, at the beginning of the annual conference, a list of the members entitled to vote, in accord- ance with the provisions of the constitution." The constitution is ve*ry clear. A member has a right to vote, and if the treasurer, who 148 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. is the person able to do so, furnishes such a list to the secretary, there will be no trouble in having that list prepared so as to avoid any pos- sible difficulty. Voted. In the absence of A. H. HOPKINS, chairman, the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY SCHOOLS was read by title and ordered printed. (Seep. 87.) Papers on METHODS OF CHILDREN'S LIBRARY WORK AS DE- TERMINED BY THE NEEDS OF THE CHILDREN were read by the Rev. E. M. FAIRCHILD (see p. 19.) and Miss EMMA L. ADAMS (seep. 28.). ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The tellers of the election reported the result of the balloting as follows : President : Justin Winsor, 108; scattering, 60. Vice-presidents: Rutherford P. Hayes, 72; Hannah P. James, 67; F: M. Crunden, 65 (seven others received votes varying from 32 to 60). Secretary: Melvil Dewey, 132; scattering, 35. Treasurer: Gardner M. Jones, 131; scatter- ing, 33- Recorder: Helen E. Haines, 65 (two others received respectively 46 and 51). Trustee of Endowment Fund : George W. Will- iams, 72 (two others received respectively 21 and 67). A. L. A. Council: W: I. Fletcher, 125; W: E. Foster, 115; R. R. Bowker, 105; C: A. Cutter, 102 (four others received respectively 68, 39, 37, and 34). APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE ON N. Y. PUBLIC LIBRARY. President BRETT announced the committee on resolutions in regard to the New York Public Library building "as follows : H : L. Elmendorf , J. N. Larned, C: C. Soule. The meeting was adjourned at 5.07 until the next morning. EIGHTH SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, FRIDAY MORNING, JUNE 25.) The eighth session, held simultaneously with the separate meeting of the College Section, continued the subject of ELEMENTARY LIBRARY WORK. The meeting was called to order in the library of Drexel Institute, at 9.20 a.m., by Miss Linda A. Eastman, chairman. Miss VIRGINIA DODGE read a paper on LIBRARIANS' AIDS. (Seep. 67.) Miss L. E. STEARNS. Among the many good points of the paper, I note one that is not generally known; that is, with reference to the obtaining of a plethora of documents and his- torical matter from historical societies, without paying the high prices that are often asked by second-hand dealers. Our experience in Mil- waukee has been that we can join the State Historical Society by paying a membership fee of $2, and with that membership go invalua- ble books which would in any other way be $5 or $6 a volume. This is an important point for the small library. Miss MARY EMOGENB HAZELTINE followed with a talk on ADVERTISING A LIBRARY. (Seep. 74-) Miss EASTMAN. We have to advertise our library on a wholesale scale, as is true in many of the larger libraries, and it may be interesting and possibly helpful to some of you to know how we get space in papers that are not willing to give it to us. This difficulty in getting space applies, I think, to a much greater extent in a large city than in a small town. We have for years had the new books of the week advertised regularly in the two most important papers of the city ; the smaller and more popular penny papers refused to give space for the lists of new books, and the attitude of all the papers was that they would pick up items about the library occasionally, which were very apt to be items that we didn't want published, while anything that we particularly wished to have made public was overlooked. We began by suiting ourselves to the circumstances, and, as a rule, found we could have about an inch of space. We instituted a sort of bargain- counter, and from week to week we studied to keep something continually going. As Miss Hazeltine says, the ball must be kept rolling all the time. We get the brightest little announce- ments we can. Sometimes the reporters will write them; more often we have to write them ourselves, and the assistants take turns in so doing. One may have a special inspiration on a special week, and some of the very brightest things we have had have come from some of EIGHTH SESSION. 149 the younger and newer assistants. We sent to all of the papers, weeklies and dailies, a letter asking if they would insert short notices such as the enclosed, and on what day they would prefer to have them; they nearly all replied that they would be glad to take them. We made a card catalog, as it were, of the addresses of the papers, the days on which they go to press, etc., and we plan a week or so ahead the sub- ject we are going to advertise, and get our announcements ready. In order that there shall not be a sameness in the items for a paper objects to publishing just what every other paper has published sometimes differ- ent members of the staff write to different papers the announcement of the books of the week. In the middle of the winter, when people were thinking of winter resorts, we advertised a collection of books suited to them. The first one last fall was on the subject of the horse, at the time when the horse fair was being held. We had a list on Scotland at the time "Ian Maclaren " was in the city, and our "Irish week " brought a great many people who had not been in the library, they said, for years, .and some of whom never had been there. We adver- tised " Art " the week that we began the circula- tion of pictures, and the subject proved so suc- cessful that we carried it on the second week with an exhibit of book-cover designs, which were shown for a week, and then sent to the schools in sets for design work in drawing. Children's books made a vacation subject, when we sent nvitations to "the schools, besides advertising through the papers. Books on nature have been advertised in different ways during several weeks of this spring, and each week the adver- tising has brought a great many people who are anxious for the books. One week we advertised a "little book" show, picking out all the little books that were easy to carry in one's pocket, and that brought bicyclers ; we are publishing also a bicycle reading list which we will post in every bicycle store in town, as well as in the Y. M. C. A. reading-rooms. The subjects of " historical romance " and " romantic history " brought many people. We have also a daily exhibit of special books, in the fiction alcove, where we bring from all of the other alcoves a miscellaneous collection of bright books on every subject, changed from day to day; in this alcove, at the point nearest the door, where the people are most apt to go during the noon rush, we have a rack filled with these "books for busy people." In the hall is a bulletin-board containing a list of the important events of the day, taken from the daily papers, with the announcement that ma- terial on these subjects will be found in the reference and reading rooms. la assisting others to advertise, we have had some co-oper- ation with the city art schools; they have been having prize contests, and have been glad to lend us the prize pictures. We have no room in which to show any large collection, but we had a screen made and put in one of the al- coves, and on it we put these, pictures. Bret Harte's " Cressy " and two or three of Miss Wilkins' stories have been illustrated by the art class, and of course showing those illustrations made a demand for the books. These special exhibits have brought not only an individual, but a wholesale use of the books, by suggesting to more than one person the idea that they could get for class work, club work, etc., collections of books such as they saw. It was the means, for instance, of starting what we were most anxious for co-operation in a very close way with the Normal School. It happened that they were taking up geography by countries in the Normal School just at the time when we began our " country " exhibits. The Normal School principal came and asked if she could have pictures of Scotland. We had no pictures of Scotland, aside from the il- lustrations in books, but suggested immediately that we would be glad to furnish the books and would also send some of the better illus- trated works for a short time from the refer- ence-room. We sent some 75 books. The re- sult was that the school had 'books on one subject after another, and this is leading rapidly to a systematic study of juvenile literature in the Normal School; we accomplished this by simply taking it for granted that they wanted the best children's books on every subject they were to teach, and it has led to a serious study of juvenile books. Last week this was the announcement in one of the papers : "PLANS FOR THE SUMMER. HAVE YOU MADE THEM ? "See the books on Summer Resorts, Summer Outings, Camping and Fishing, and, above all, the books suggesting ways for summer comfort and pleasure at home. PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. " These books will be the special feature at the Public Library during the week beginning June 14, and also at the West Side, Woodland, Miles Park, and South Side branches." On one of our bulletin-boards we had the fol- lowing : " When all thy soul with city dust is dry, Seek some green spot where a brook tinkles by ; But, if thy lot denies both nook and brook, Turn to green thoughts in a fresh leafy book." I think Mr. Wright can give us suggestions regarding what he has done in advertising the St. Joseph Public Library. P. B. WRIGHT. As a beginner in the work, I did not expect to be asked to say anything at this session, but anticipated learning much through listening. In this latter respect I have not been disappointed. However, as to adver- tising, a number of plans are followed in ad- vertising the St. Joseph Library. We rely principally upon a large blackboard (4x8 feet) to keep up the interest of casual visitors. Upon this is written or posted lists of new books, pictures, and announcements of all kinds. In writing these so-called "ads," colored chalks are used, which gives life to the board. The daily newspapers come first in bringing in new patrons to the library. The two morning newspapers publish such library notes as we can furnish, together with lists of new books. These notes and book lists are always pub- lished in the Sunday morning editions, as more attention is paid to them by the public than if published in one of the week-day issues. Copy is furnished not later than the middle of the week, giving the printers ample time to get it set up and corrected. It also avoids the Satur- day night rush, common in all printing offices. Through a recent arrangement with the busi- ness offices, the metal slugs for the book lists (linotype machines being used) are supplied to the library at the cost of the metal, about five or six cents a pound. These slugs, or lines of type, are preserved, and when 250 or 300 titles have accumulated, a bulletin is published, averaging 10 a year. Credit is given on the bulletin for the newspaper furnishing the type therein. Other uses found for the type or metal thus obtained is in getting up supplements and in publishing select or special lists, books of the year, etc. These slugs of course finally wear out, and are then traded in as metal for new type lists, pound for pound. The expense is therefore the purchase in the first instance. We expect the original purchase of 500 or 600 pounds of metal to run the library for years through this system of interchanging. Another thing that has increased the use of the library is the telephone. Every encourage- ment is given to use the telephone for legiti- mate library purposes. Business men who are too busy to come to us are encouraged to ask over the 'phone such questions as a library is supposed to be able to answer. In furnishing such answers, the authority quoted is always given. The library was recently of value to one of the large jobbing houses in furnishing information speedily as to how goods had to be packed for shipment to an Alaska mining camp, the means of transportation as found in a government publication furnishing the clue. People are notified (by 'phone) when books for which cards have been left or requests made have come in, answers are given as to whether certain books are on the shelves and may be obtained in fact, everything is done to make the libra- ry popular that a private concern would do to increase its business, in so far as our means will allow. Anything that will attract the attention of people and encourage them to use the library is legitimate advertising. These things are watched for and tried, and if it is found that the results pay they are continued. No oppor- tunity is lost by the staff to make friends among all classes. People who come to the library are cheerfully helped in all ways possible, so that, in addition to the several ways of advertising mentioned briefly, we can say, with the manu- facturer of a well-known infant's food, " we are advertised by our loving friends" a most de- lightful way of being advertised. These are some of the means which were used in the St. Joseph Public Library to show a home use of over 120,000 volumes for the year ending April 30, with but 10,500 volumes in the circulating department. THE MAXSON BOOK-MARK. Dr. J. K. HOSMER. I would like to hear something about the library guild of children recently established in Cleveland. I would also inquire whether you use the Maxson book-mark, published in the April Library Journal. It is intended especially for children, but it seems to me it would answer excellently for grown peo- EIGHTH SESSION. pie, and would advertise the fact that they are expected to take good care of the library books. I expect to have 5000 or 10,000 copies of that book-mark printed and put in the books for adults as well as for children, for the very fact that it is adapted to children will give it a rather humorous turn when a grown-up person comes to read it that will help to make it effective. Miss EASTMAN. We use the Maxson book- mark, and it was, in a measure, this book-mark which suggested to us the Library League; that is, the League worked out from the effect that we observed the book-mark produced. We had 5000 or 10,000 copies of the book-mark printed as soon as we saw it and had obtained permission to use it. Those were exhausted before long, and then we had 50,000 more printed. We expect to keep them in use, as the children like them greatly. We sent them to the schools with the books, and at first they were read as a school exercise, which the children enjoyed very much. Dr. J. K. HOSMER. Do you use them at all for grown-up people ? THE CLEVELAND CHILDREN'S LIBRARY LEAGUE. Miss EASTMAN. We have not so far, but we see the results, to some extent, reacting on the parents. It was this book-mark largely which led to the idea of the Children's Library League, though the Children's Street-cleaning League of New York had also a good deal to do with it. It was begun at the time of the spring vacation. We were just putting into circulation over looonew juvenile books, and we had added a great many other juvenile books very recently, and it seemed as though it was the most opportune time to impress the need of good care of the books on the children. We posted a bulletin in the juvenile alcove, asking the children to join the Library League, speaking of what New York children were doing toward keeping the streets clean, asking if Cleveland children couldn't do as much for clean books as New York children were doing for clean streets, and referring them to the assistant in the alcove. As soon as possible we printed a little certifi- cate, which was given to the children. We ruled a blank-book and headed it THE HONOR ROLL OF THE LIBRARY LEAGUE, and the chil- dren, feeling that they were doing a very great thing in joining the League, signed their names, with address and card number, in the book, and then we gave them these certificates. We started without waiting for the certificates, tell- ing the first children who joined that their cer- tificates would be ready for them the next time they came in. It was the 2gth of March when the League was started, and when I left Cleve- land in the latter part of June the membership was over 3500, and we expect a great accession immediately at the close of school, because of announcements that we sent to the schools, and because of the Library League letter we issued. The little certificate reads on one side : LIBRARY LEAGUE HONOR CARD. " This certifies that living at , has signed the agree- ment of the Library League, in the Honor Roll Book of the League, and hereby becomes a member in good standing. " A copy of the League agreement is given on the opposite side. " Card no " The League agreement, given on the oppo- site side, is as follows : HONOR ROLL OF THE LIBRARY LEAGUE. "We, the undersigned, members of THE LIBRARY LEAGUE, agree to do all in our power to assist the Librarian in keeping the books in good condition. "We promise to remember that good books contain the living thoughts of good and great men and women, and are therefore entitled to respect. "We will not handle any library book rough- ly or carelessly, will not mark it, turn down leaves, nor put anything into it thicker than a slip of paper. " We will also do all in our power to interest other boys and girls in the right care of books, and will report all which we find in bad con- dition." It would seem as though that were a very slim thread by which to hold the association together, but we do not mean that it shall be so. We had planned to call a meeting of the League before the schools closed, to get hold of the children for the summer, but it proved im- possible. So we have planned, and have the permission of the board, to hold a meeting in October, which will be held in the largest audi- torium in the town. The stage will be filled, we hope, with influential people with philan- thropic tendencies, whom we wish to interest in '52 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. the library. We have thus a double cause to work for. There will be a program designed especially to interest the children in better reading. Finding that we were not able to call this meeting before the schools closed, we saw the importance of gaining a strong enough hold on the children to keep up their interest and make them feel that they really were doing something worth while. We therefore issued this little letter to them : " BOYS AND GIRLS OF THE LIBRARY LEAGUE: We wish to thank you for the help you are giv- ing the library in reporting marked or soiled books, and in keeping the new books clean. " The League now numbers over 3000. And it is only two months old. Think what we shall do if we go" on growing at that rate what a power we shall be for a good cause. We ex- pect, in October, to call a grand mass meeting of the League at Music Hall, and we want, by that time, to have members enough to fill it. We can do this with your help in getting new members. " You will be glad to know that some other cities have already thought our League worth copying, and are beginning to start Leagues of their own modelled after it. "As it is not possible to call the League meeting before school closes, this letter is writ- ten to tell of the work planned for the League for this summer, and to ask you to help in doing your share of it. This work will be as follows: "first. The work for clean books. Of course all League members will keep the agreement which they signed, and a copy of which is print- ed on the back of your League certificate. It is well to read this agreement over very often, or better still, learn it by heart, so that you can repeat it to your playmates in interesting them in the League. Your work is going to show most in the care of the newer books, which have not become badly soiled. Make up your minds that every book which you have from the libra- ry will go back to it in as good or better condi- tion than you found it ; if there is a mark or soiled spot in it which you can take out carefully with an eraser, do so, and if leaves or cover are loose, report it at the desk where you return the book. It is always well to cover your book with paper as soon as you get it home; you will find at the Library some paper covers folded to show you how to go to work to cover your books. " In keeping books from being soiled, the principal thing to remember is that they must never be touched excepting with very clean hands. ' Secona. Get just as many new members for the League as you can. Do your brothers and sisters, schoolmates and playmates all be- long to the League ? If not, tell them about it, and ask them to join. We want 10,000 children in the League, and we shall have them if you will bring in your young friends. " Third. Make an important part of your summer's work the inviting children who do not use the Library to do so. A great many boys and girls have to spend their vacations in the city, and often do not know what to do with themselves all day long. Tell them of all the pleasure they can get from the stories, the books of adventure, the histories, and the books telling how to do and make things which will add to their vacation good times; tell them of the best books you have read, and explain to them how they can get library cards and draw books themselves. "Fourth. Hunt up a good motto for the League to adopt. " Fifth. Keep a record of the number of books you report, the number of children you interest in the library who have not been using it, and the number of new members you get for the League, so as to be able to report what you have done. "Sixth. All members of the League are in- vited to make out a list of six or more of the best books they have read. These lists are to be neatly written, giving your name and age, and are to be handed in at the Library on or before July isth. The best of these lists will then be posted in the Library to help other boys and girls in choosing books which they will be sure to enjoy. "W. H. BRETT, " Librarian." The lists of books are beginning to come in and some of them are very interesting. The mottoes are beginning to come in also. We are planning to have a badge for the League, which will consist of a little open book with "Cleve- land Library League " on it; one firm has offered to furnish silver pins for five cents each. We do not expect to be able to furnish these to the children free of cost, but our object is to get them as low as we can, so that each child can afford to buy his own badge. Another firm has offered to furnish a very pretty white metal badge, which I think will do very well indeed, for two and a half cents apiece. These badges will of course please the children, and will give us a means of knowing, as the children come in, who are and who are not members of the League; of course we can't know them all. This is simply the beginning of the possibili- ties that we see in this Library League. The branches are working in this and several of the schools ; the 180 members of the Central High School senior graduating class joined the League in a body, and presented the Central High School Library, which is run as a branch EIGHTH SESSION. of our library, with a large card, ornament- ally printed by one of the members of the class, giving the League agreement with a resolution by the class telling how much they appreciate what the library has been to them, and their wish to show this appreciation by joining the League. The assistant in charge of the High School Library declares that next year she will have every single member of the Central High School belong to the League, and there are over 1700 pupils; you can see the dignity that adds to the Children's League. The card has been framed for the purpose of being kept in the Central High School Library, but during vacation we shall have it in the juvenile alcove of the main library. The League is certainly going to accomplish much that will be worth while in training the children, and, indirectly through them, in reach- ing out to others. I think it was President Eliot of Harvard who said, "If you want to work any reform, begin with the children." We are going to begin with them in training people to care properly for books, which are public property. We feel that that is only a small part of the work, and that there are in- finite possibilities in it in giving us a hold on the children which will enable us in many in- direct ways to direct and guide their read- ing. We hope to have each branch work up a special division of the League, and then perhaps sub-divide each division into reading clubs, and get the people of the neighborhood to help us in programs, etc., for the children. We do not know what it is all going to lead to, but we do know that there are very great pos- sibilities, and there is already before us a great deal more than we can find time to go ahead with. Miss T. L. KELSO. The possibilities of chil- dren's leagues is the most important subject that has ever been brought before us. We have skated around this subject in the Journal and in meetings for 10 years past; I have given a great deal of thought to it myself, and have been in constant consultation with librarians and professors who are interested in it; but I believe that to-day Miss Eastman has given to us the first glimmer of light that will lead to practical results. The fad for children's rooms I have been always opposed to, on the score that nine-tenths of that work was a superficial adaptation of the kindergarten method without the first knowledge of its real principles by the persons putting it in execution; but it was an effort to accomplish what Miss Eastman has now presented a plan to do in a proper and logical way. We have all talked about reaching the children and about the influence of the sym- pathetic person at the delivery-desk, and much of this talk is rubbish, because we know that when one is at a busy desk she does not get much chance to be sympathetic; we have at- tacked the teachers until we have driven them into rebellion, because we have forced them to come to meetings when they were tired and had more than they could attend to in their own professional line, and we have dictated to them about children's reading; but I think that Miss Eastman has now touched the right chord. I know something of Col. Waring's work in New York, and have again and again attended the meetings of the Street-cleaning League on the East Side; they are the most interesting meet- ings I ever attended in my life, and they show what can be done with children. As to the books selected for children, look at our ordi- nary juvenile lists; they are convulsing; they are absurd. Miss Hewins has done the sensible thing in trying to view this book question from the children's point of view. It would be a fatal thing in this league work to merely stop at the taking care of books; that is just a begin- ning. I hope that Miss Eastman will from time to time in the Journal state what modifica- tions and extensions have been made in her plans, because there cannot be a library too small to use them, though many people have not, perhaps, th'e opportunities that the Cleve- land Public Library has; its staff must be a dynamo consisting of many coils. We are all indebted to Miss Eastman for having presented this plan to us, and for having thought of it. Miss ELIZABETH P. ANDREWS read a paper on BOOK SELECTION. (Seep. 70.) Miss LINDA A. EASTMAN made a short ad- dress on AIMS AND PERSONAL ATTITUDE IN LIBRARY WORK. (Seep. 80.) Pres. BRETT. The Library League was started in the Cleveland library at the sugges- tion of two of the assistants Miss Eastman, the '54 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. assistant librarian, who has just given an ac- count of it, and Miss Pierce, who has charge of the issue of books. It was suggested by both of them, independently of each other, and was based on the work done in New York in keep- ing clean streets. When my attention was called to it, it struck me as the best thing that had been thought of, and I heartily approved of it, and they have put it into operation with the success of which you have heard. This is just one of those instances, of which we have a great many, in which intelligent and enthusi- astic and devoted women are doing great things which the heads of libraries, who get the credit for them, have very little to do with. I wish also to say a word about the "Cumulative in- dex." A great share of the credit of that index belongs to Miss Eliot, who manages the work, and whom many of you have met. Adjournment was taken at 11.45 a.m. NINTH SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, FRIDAY MORNING, JUNE 25.) The meeting was called to order at 11.50 in the auditorium of the Institute by President BRETT. H: L. ELMENDORF submitted, from the special committee appointed for the purpose, a RESOLUTION ON THE PROPOSED PLANS FOR THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. Resolved, That the American Library Associ- ation expresses its hearty approval of the meth- ods adopted by those in charge of the selection of plans for the New York Public Library build- ing, both as to the general requirements sub- mitted and the manner of competition. We rejoice that the needs of the library for administration and public service are to be con- sidered before questions of architectural style and ornament. We find in the arrangement of a central stack with reading-room above, an excellent provision for ample light, freedom from noise, ready and quick delivery of books, and opportunity for extension as the growth of the library may re- quire. H. L. ELMENDORF, } CHARLES C. SOULE, >- Committee. J. N. LARNED, ) The resolution was adopted by a rising vote. Dr. J. S. BILLINGS offered the following RESOLUTION ON TARIFF ON BOOKS. Resolved, I. That this Association learns with great pleasure that the United States Senate has modified the provisions of the tariff bill in ac- cordance with the recommendations of the Council of this body relating to the free impor- tation of books. II. That this Association offers thanks to the Senate for this action, and respectfully urges that the position thus taken be maintained in the Committee of Conference on the tariff bill. Voted. W: I. FLETCHER presented a RESOLUTION ON THE U. S. SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. The American Library Association wishes to place on record its continued and increasing ap- preciation of the work of the United States Su- perintendent of Documents, Mr. F. A. Crandall, and the assistants in his office, especially in the following particulars : 1. In the distribution of documents to libra- ries. While improvement is still desirable in this matter, which can be secured only through additional legislation, the libraries are at present being served with a promptness and regularity not before attained or approached. 2. In the cataloging of documents. The monthly list, now regularly issued, leaves little to be desired in this regard, while the general catalog, of which the volume covering the 53d Congress is a beginning, bids fair to be much the most satisfactory key to the government documents yet furnished. 3. In the procuring of improved legislation. The present law governing the printing and distribution of documents represents a decided advance beyond preceding laws, but still leaves room for improvement. The Association ex- presses the earnest hope that a law may soon be enacted embodying the principles of the bill which was passed unanimously by the House in the first session of the 54th Congress, the provi- sions of which received the hearty endorsement of the leading librarians of the country. Voted. APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION OF TITLE-PAGES, ETC. W: I. FLETCHER. The Connecticut Library Association in a meeting to which delegates were invited from all the state library associa- tions of New England, and in which they all took part, appointed a committee of two W. I. Fletcher and T. Solberg to consider a sug- gestion being made by librarians to publishers of periodicals, urging reforms in the arrangements usually made as to title-pages, indexes, tables of contents, etc. That committee was to report a recommendation to this Association, and it now recommends that the matter be continued in the hands of a committee of the Association, and that that committee be empowered to draw up a circular to be addressed to the publishers of periodicals, urging the reforms indicated. NINTH SESSION. 155 A motion to this effect was made, and it was Voted that such a committee be appointed. The president later named W: I. Fletcher and Thorvald Solberg as the committee. MELVIL DEWEY submitted the following reso- lutions : CO-OPERATION WITH NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL. ASSOCIATION. Resolved, That the American Library Asso- ciation pledges its hearty co-operation to the new Library Department of the National Educational Association, and appoints as its official delegates for 1897, W. H. Brett, Mrs. Theresa West El- mendorf, and Rev. W. R. Eastman, with such other members as may be able to attend the Milwaukee meeting. Voted. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF INVITATION FROM ATLANTA. Resolved, That the thanks of the American Library Association be extended to the official representatives of Atlanta for their cordial in- vitation to meet in their city, with regret that its acceptance must be postponed another year. Voted. AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION.; MELVIL DEWEY. I desire to bring up , a matter for consideration during the year, so that we can act upon it next year after a full consideration of the question. I refer to the question of the limitation of our membership. I am totally and utterly opposed to any plan of limiting the membership of this Association. We have tried for 21 years to build up a large association, and if men, women, and children choose to give $2 a year toward the advancement of library work we ought to give them the most cordial encouragement. On the other hand, it is true that we cannot, at large meetings of this sort, give detailed explanations as to many matters, or vote intelligently on many ques- tions. I believe the true solution of this ques- tion is an amendment to the constitution. It might be well for us at this meeting to show by a vote that we favor some such amendment, and then the matter will be kept before us dur- ing this year, and at the Chautauqua meeting we can discuss it and decide. We should pass this vote to-day, because we cannot amend the con- stitution except by a three-fourths vote at two successive meetings of the Association. I there- fore offer the following : Resolved, That in 17 of the constitution the councillors at large be increased from 20 to 25 by altering the numbers 20, 4, and 8, to 25, 5, and 10, and by adding these words : " In addition to the 25 members above provided for, each state or local library association recognized for this purpose by the council shall be entitled to one councillor of its own selection, and to one additional for each full 100 members." Voted. In the absence of F. J. TEGGART, his paper on THE LITERATURE OF LIBRARIES was read by title and ordered printed. (Seep. 35.) Four speakers WILLIAM BEER, E. S. WILL- COX, F: M. CRUNDEN, and J. N. LARNED had been appointed to discuss THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUBSCRIPTION INTO FREE LIBRARIES. In the absence of Mr. BEER, his contribution to the subject, THE FISK FREE AND PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW ORLEANS, was read by title and ordered printed. (Seep. 32.) Owing to lack of time, it was found impossi- ble to present the subject with the fulness an- ticipated. E. S. WILLCOX. The astonishing growth of free public libraries in our day, the sunshine of our prosperity, should not blind us to the fact that for more than 140 years it was the sub- scription library, sustained by much self-deny- ing labor on the part of a few public-spirited men and women in each community, that kept the torch burning that provided at least a little good literature at small cost to souls hungry for books. In those early days we had three kinds of li- braries the private library, the college library, and the subscription library. Those of us young people who now and then got a peep at the very small and generally very dry library of some doctor of divinity or doctor of medicine, or stole a sip out of Scott or Dumas from the confused conglomeration on some lawyer's table, consid- ered ourselves very fortunate, but happy be- yond measure when a few leading citizens clubbed together and started a subscription li- brary in the town with a thousand or two choice books, the backbone of which was for the most part Bohn with an " h," and the annual dues to which were two or three dollars. '56 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. The subscription library was a priceless bless- ing in its day ; its memory is dear to many of us still. It ought to have a monument. But why did it not have a larger clientage ? Why did not the women and children who throng our delivery-rooms to-day patronize the sub- scription library? For the very good reason that they had not the money. The thirst for knowledge which their husbands and fathers may have felt in youth had been dulled by time, or perhaps beguiled into a wilder thirst, which no two dollars a year could appease, and the women and children who still hungered and thirsted for books did not hold the purse- strings. Our experience in Peoria was, I have no doubt, the same as that of other towns. We had, little by little, built up a well - selected library of 10,000 volumes, with annual dues of $4- We labored and struggled, ran lecture courses, concerts, dramatic entertainments, spelling bees, and occasionally passed round the hat, but, do our best, could barely keep our heads above water, and add a few hundred books to our col- lection each year. We never had an average of more than 275 paying members in a popula- tion of 25,000, while now, as a free library, in a population of 50,000, our membership exceeds 6000. We raised the question of supporting the li- brary like our schools, by taxation, but were told very emphatically that the people of Peoria or of Illinois would never, never, NEVER tax themselves to support libraries. But our friends had not yet become acquaint- ed with what now, at the end of this igth cen- tury, is almost a truism, that what never has been done, and never can be done, is the very thing that has got to be done and is going to be done. At last we grew tired of the uphill work. We said : "If books are good for our wives and children, then the wives and children of our mechanics and laborers in the lower end of town certainly ought to have a taste of them; and if the men will have their tobacco and beer, the women shall have their Mary J. Holmes if they want her. And from that piratical resolve of a few des- perate fellows in Peoria came the free public library law of Illinois in 1872 the first practi- cal and comprehensive free public library law on the statute-book of any state in the Union. F: M. CRUNDEN. I understand New Hamp- shire passed a law either in 1849 or 1850 estab- lishing public libraries. E. S. WILLCOX. The Massachusetts Library law authorized towns to devote certain sums of money to the support of libraries, but I ven- ture to say there were no free libraries to be found in that section ; they were subscription libraries, and there was not at that time one general free library law in any of the states of the United States. J. N. LARNED. All I intended to add to this subject was to give a brief statement of what we are doing in Buffalo, but I have told the whole story fully in the last annual report of the Buffalo Library, and I would very much rather give the time that I might take for that purpose to a discussion of the elaborate and interesting paper we had yesterday on chil- dren's library work. DISCUSSION ON CHILDREN'S LIBRARY WORK. J. N. LARNED. The paper read by Mr. Fair- child yesterday on this subject seems to me to be one of the most important that we have ever had in this Association, as well as one of the most interesting. It is important because it has in- troduced the suggestion at least of a scientific way of looking at a very important part of our work ; a methodical, systematic, scientific, and especially a psychological study of it. It has introduced, for the first time, I think, into our ideas the thought of that kind of psychological study which is doing so much in other educa- tional fields and making such changes in educa- tional work in schools and colleges. And per- haps it was made more interesting to me be- cause I had seen in the work in the children's room at Buffalo the practical outcropping of just that idea, in the mind of Miss Fernald, the young lady who has charge of that room. She has by her work been practically led into the psychological study of the child's mind. In or- der to understand her children she has found it necessary to go to their schools and learn some- thing of their feeling toward their teachers, see whether it was friendly or unfriendly, and learn what created that feeling in the minds of the children so she could gain suggestions from that knowledge. In one case she found a NINTH SESSION. 157 number of street children who had come into the room in a warm discussion of the merits of some play of adventure that was running at one of the cheap theatres of the city, and she persuaded a friend to take her to that theatre so that she might see that play and know what it was that had taken this hold on the minds of those children. Mr. Fairchild's paper has led me to con- sider one important matter, and that is the greater influence libraries would exercise over children if they were made distinctively for the children. The separation of children's libraries not merely the adoption of chil- dren's rooms in libraries, but the establishment of children's libraries separate from other li- braries seems to me to be a very impor- tant suggestion. It is a fact that children like to have ownership in things themselves ; they like to be recognized as what they feel they are a sort of distinct community. Children are a distinct community, and they have the feel- ing of a community among themselves ; they do not like to be dealt with as a mere attach- ment to the older folks, and I think that this is a very important matter, and that we can work out a system in the matter of dealing with children's libraries, in the line suggested by Mr. Fairchild, that will accomplish wonderful results. Pres. BRETT. The thing in Mr. Fairchild's paper, with which I am most heartily in accord, is that he suggests an entirely different point of view from that which we ordinarily use in li- braries. Mr. Fairchild wants us to look at the child and see what the child needs, what the child wants; while we are apt to look at the child from the librarian's point of view and say what we can do for him. There is a great dif- ference in these points of view. F: M. CRUNDEN. We have recently had ex- perience in St. Louis that points to the urgent necessity of carrying out some such plan as Mr. Fairchild suggests. Before I left home a lady who was a former teacher, and who has charge of the juvenile department of our library, asked me if we could not get some more "Mother Goose" rhymes. I asked how many were wanted, and she said, " I want 50." We had, I suppose, about 20 in the library, but the shelves were stripped, and she said it was quite pathetic to have the children come in, look at the empty shelves, and say: " Haven't you got any more ' Mother Gooses ' ?" We ordered the 50, and also got an appropriation from the book committee of $2000 to supply " Mother Goose " books and simple fairy tales with illustrations, to be sent out to the first four grades of the schools next fall. Since I have been here I find three or four members are working on the same .lines, and it has occurred to me that the place to begin is right at the beginning, when the children are first learning to read. Miss EMMA L. ADAMS. I do not understand by Mr. Fairchild's paper whether Mr. Fairchild's intention is that the separate children's library shall be under the control of the public library or not. He seemed to think it would be better, as I understand it, to have an entirely separate library. I think that the same result could be attained, and in a better way, by having the separate children's library under the charge of the public library, which is already so much better equipped than any place else for this work. The importance of this work is not sufficiently realized by the public to have it sup- port a separate library for children. The point we aim at is to bring the children into the larger library from the children's library, and that point would be lost if we have a children's li- brary entirely separate in management from our own libraries. E. M. FAIRCHILD. I cannot say yes or no to this question. I did not intend a separate management in one sense, and yet in another sense I did. It was the intention that the con- trol of the whole library system should be in the hands of a central library, and the chil- dren's libraries in the neighborhood were to be part of the whole library system and be under the charge of a chief librarian. .Miss ANNIE C. MOORE. The statement has been made that a few children take up the libra- ry as a fad. I would like to bring evidence on the other side. During the month of May there were issued 150 examination papers to the chil- dren who had been coming to the children's de- partment of the Pratt Institute Library since October of the year before. One hundred of these papers have been examined, and the an- swers to the first question: "How long have you been taking books from this library ?" re- sult as follows: 25 per cent, of the children have taken books for less than a year, but most of PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. them from between six and nine months; 75 per cent, have taken books forever a year, over two years, three years, and four years, and some for six years. The fact that these children have been coming regularly since last October gives pretty strong proof that they do not use the li- brary as a fad. E. M. FAIRCHILD. What I mean is to take the whole body of children and bring out the statistics of library use for the entire child-life of the city. In the instance just given us, only those who have been most faithful to the libra- ry are analyzed, and of course there are many children do not take up the library as a fad. A. W. TYLER presented the REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS. Resolved, That the thanks of the A. L. A. are due and are cordially extended to The officers and members of the Pennsylvania Historical Society for their very courteous wel- come and entertainment; To the President and Board of Trustees of the Drexel Institute for the use of their rooms and the many other courtesies so graciously given, and To Miss Kroeger, the librarian of the Insti- tute, for her untiring efforts in our behalf; To Mr. Justus C. Strawbridge for his hos- pitality and welcome at his beautiful resi- dence; To the library owners who so kindly placed portions of their rare and unique collections on exhibition for the benefit of the Association; To the Committee on Temple and to Brother Wyckoff, Chairman of the Committee of Li- brary, for their invitation to visit the Masonic Temple; To the J. B. Lippincott Co. for the oppor- tunity offered to witness the workings of their bookmaking department; To the Messrs. Strawbridge & Clothier for the reception at their Poster Exhibition; To the management and librarians of the libraries of Philadelphia who so cordially in- vited the Association to meet in that city on this occasion, and for the opportunity to visit their libraries during the convention; To the members of the local Committee of Arrangements, whose thoughtful consideration for our pleasure and comfort has made our visit exceedingly enjoyable and one long to be re- membered; and To the proprietors and managers of the news- papers of the city of Philadelphia for their very full reports of our proceedings. W. T. PEOPLES, ) A. W. TYLER, > Committee. HANNAH P. JAMES, ) The report was adopted by a rising vote. CORRECTION TO PROCEEDINGS OF CLEVELAND CONFERENCE. Sec. HAYES. I move that the report of the proceedings of the Cleveland conference, as published in the Library Journal, be adopted, with an amendment, at the request of Mr. S. S. Green, so that a remark by Mr. Green on p. 139, second column "I wrote many of the ar- ticles on Massachusetts cities " should read " I wrote the article on the city of Worcester." Voted. Adjournment was taken at one o'clock p.m., until Tuesday, June 29, at the Kittatinny House, Delaware Water Gap, when an informal meeting was had, and it was announced that the final session would be held on Thursday, July i, at the same place. TENTH SESSION. (KITTATINNY HOUSE, DELAWARE WATER GAP, THURSDAY MORNING, JULY i.) The Association was called to order at 10.30 a.m. by JAMES G. BARNWELL, chairman, who made a short talk on various matters connected with library economy. A vote of thanks was unanimously accorded to the chairman, and no further business being reported, it was duly moved and seconded that the conference stand adjourned, to meet at Chautauqua at such time and place as should be duly appointed by the Executive Board. Adjourned. COLLEGE SECTION. '59 THE COLLEGE SECTION OF THE A. L. A. 'T'HE College Section field two sessions, which were joint meetings with the Ameri- can Library Association, and were largely at- tended. They were held in one of the class- rooms of the Drexel Institute, and were de- voted to the consideration of COLLEGE AND REFERENCE LIBRARY WORK. FIRST SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, WEDNESDAY MORNING, JUNE 23.) The Section was called to order at 9.15 a.m. by W: I. FLETCHER, chairman, and Dr. CYRUS ADLER was appointed secretary of the meet- ing. W: I. FLETCHER. We are to be congratu- lated this morning on the auspicious beginning of what may almost be called a new era in the history of the Association. Having reached our 2 ist birthday there is naturally a disposition to see wherein we may as an Association put away childish things and enter upon the func- tions which belong to maturity. This disposi- tion manifests itself in the suggestions that the Association be re-incorporated and that it be- come a representative body, suggestions which are to be presented to us at a later session, and which I will not now discuss. But we must all be agreed that the maturity of the Association is fittingly marked by this beginning of our work by sections. I speak of it as a beginning, for, although we are familiar with the idea of sections, we have not hereto- fore really made a good beginning in carrying it out. Our meetings of sections have hitherto been mere hurried conferences of those inter- ested in a special part or phase of library work crowded in (or rather crowded out) between regular sessions of the Association. For the first time the Association itself meets this morn- ing in real sectional meetings, and for the first time we have a clear two hours' session, in which we may discuss themes connected with the high- er departments of library work without the fear that injustice will be done to the many whose needs and wishes are for help in the ele- mentary part of the calling. Having made this start with the sectional plan of meetings, it remains for us to provide a proper method of arranging for its carrying out in the future. To what extent the division into sections shall be carried is a question which may better be left to be determined by evident demand than be made a matter for theoretical arrangement. By the judicious foresight of the Executive Board of the Association we have two sessions at this conference the one on Friday morn- ing and the present one devoted to advanced library work. The programs of these two ses- sions have been so arranged that the meeting of to-day will consider questions especially relat- ing to college and university libraries, and that of Friday those common to reference libraries and the advanced work of public libraries in gen- eral. Two matters of detail should receive our attention. First the question of nomenclature. On right definition everywhere depends correct and lucid thought. And our work as a section will be decidedly advantaged if we can choose a name for this Section that shall be simple and perspicacious. The second matter of detail to which I would refer is also one of importance. The Section must have a continuous organization. There may be differing views as to what form this or- ganization should take. Simplicity is rightly regarded as the chief merit in such matters of organization, and it would seem quite sufficient that we should each year choose a chairman and a secretary of the Section for the ensuing year. Their chief duty would be the arrange- ment, in consultation with the Executive Board of the Association, of the program for the Sec- tion's meetings. How these officers shall be chosen is another question of some importance. It is desirable that it should not be done in a purely haphazard manner, and the best results will follow from the adoption of a few simple regulations for the conduct of their election. The first of these should perhaps provide for an annual change in the personnel of these offices. I am not prepared to make any opening ad- dress at this session, even were such an address seemly for the occasion. I may be allowed a sentence in which to express my growing con- viction, in which I feel sure you all share, that the librarians of the college, university, and school libraries of the country occupy a posi- i6o PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. tion, in the felicity of our surroundings, in the congeniality of our work, and in the possibili- ties of good which await its faithful perform- ance, second to that of no other class of libra- rians. In the development of these possibili- ties into actual results we can but find great advantage in mutual conference, and I take pleasure in asking your attention now to the program before us, and in declaring this session open for business. G: W: HARRIS then gave informally his NOTES ON THE GOVERNMENT AND CONTROL OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES. (See p. 55.) APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZATION. On motion of Mr. AUSTIN, a Committee on Organization of the Section was appointed as follows : WILLARD H. AUSTIN, Miss OLIVE B. JONES, CLEMENT W. ANDREWS. The committee was also directed to report on an adequate name for the Section, which should include in its meaning that of the advanced and higher part of the work done by the Section, and to bring in nominations for chairman and secretary. DISCUSSION ON MANAGEMENT OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES. Dr. ADLER. I should like to ask Mr. Harris what he thinks of the relations between the work of the librarian and the work of the pub- lication department in a university or library which publishes its own publications. G: W: HARRIS. I have not had much ex- perience with that at Cornell. We have as yet no definite system for our publications, some of which are published by outside publishers. The " Studies in philology " are published under the supervision of the professors of the classi- cal department. There is no general scheme for university publications. I think it would be wise to have a separate officer in charge of all the publications of the university, and, person- ally, I am not inclined to favor that officer being the librarian. Dr. ADLER. The reason I asked the ques- tion was because I think the universities in this country which have now become their own pub- lishers many of them have become, practi- cally, publishing societies are not reaping the benefit to their libraries which they might. Most of these publications, I take it, are not financial successes ; they are run at a loss. If, therefore, they were managed in some way in relation to the library, and a system of exchange was instituted and kept up, I believe any uni- versity in this country that publishes anything of value would get more in return for exchanges, for its library, than the outlay in publication. That is an experience which I have had in other directions ; it requires work to do this, and it means the keeping up of a pretty active corre- spondence, but I think it is worthy of a trial. E. C. RICHARDSON then took the chair. G: W: HARRIS. We get philosophical ex- changes for our library, but the plan is not altogether satisfactory. Some of those ex- changes go first to the editorial-room, and they are used by the persons appointed to make the abstracts for the Philosophical Review, so they are very late in getting to the library. To be sure, they concern chiefly one department, and are not so late for it as some others might be, but that is one of the objections we find to such a system. E. C. RICHARDSON. I stand at the opposite pole from Mr. Harris in my attitude toward the subject, in that while he has no theory and a good deal of government, I have a distinct theory and very little government in my library. The theory that I have is distinctly opposed to the plan of government as exercised in Mr. Harris' library. That is to say, as I under- stand it, the best method of control for a college library would not allow any representative from the different departments and faculty on the governing council, if there was a council. Or, if it were proposed to us to have a council in which there was a representative from each of the departments of the university, I would say: "Very well ; but you will naturally allow us a representative from every department of the library on each of the governing boards of the university." I do not see any advantage in the discrimination which allows the faculty to direct or control in the library council. Theoretically I would say, clearly and succinctly, I have per- fect willingness to be overruled by our own board, but it seems to me, in the proper organi- zation of things, the library council ought to be organized in such a way that it shall be a board, of itself, responsible to the trustees for its own doings as any other department of the university would be. The president, of course, would be the head of the council under that theory, and the council would bear to the board COLLEGE SECTION. 161 of trustees exactly the same relation that any other department of an organized university would. C. W. ANDREWS. I would like to insist on the point Mr. Harris brought out on the appro- priation of the library book fund even where that appropriation is made in gross and it rests with the sub-committee on books to make a di- vision. I have given this advice to one or two libraries starting, and it seems to me the best way obtainable with the growth of the library, and really, with the increase of subjects about which books are written, it is about the only way by which we can secure a fairly representa- tive growth. It does not seem to me unnec- essarily detailed work for any library any reference library as well as a college library to determine beforehand about what proportion of book money should go to the different classes of literature, and I think that anybody who tries it, if they would look back into their orders before having such a scheme, would be surprised to find how their own personal bias or the wishes of certain heads of the book com- munity had twisted the appropriation of book money. It is this point which I think one of the most important in the management of ref- erence libraries. V. LANSING COLLINS read a paper by ALFRED C. POTTER on SELECTION OF BOOKS FOR THE COLLEGE LIBRARY. (Seep. 39-) W. W. BISHOP. I should like to take brief issue with the author of the paper on the mat- ter of periodicals. It seems to me that his statement that the technical periodicals are largely of temporary value is far from correct. I know certainly there is nothing in my own work that I go to with more interest than pe- riodical literature of even 50 years ago, to say nothing of that of to-day, and I do not believe it is of a temporary character. Although the demand for books as books is heavy, it seems to me the transactions of learned societies and information on technical subjects being fre- quently found in periodicals, that such periodi- cals must come to have a very much larger place in the library of the university than they have had in the past or even have at the present time. W. J. JAMES. My own experience is that, in general, the professors in chemistry, for in- stance, have very little use for periodicals more than 10 years old. They consult current num- bers, while the professors in philosophy and his- tory, and what is called the more liberal de- partments, constantly make use of the older periodicals, and probably such periodicals are of practical use at the present time. But still, I do not believe in the cutting off of periodicals. The fact Mr. Potter points out has some bear- ing, but unfortunately we cannot discriminate; there may be 10 volumes or 50 volumes in suc- cession that contain little that is wanted, but the odd volume is the one that contains the im- portant paper, and one must go back to that be- cause that paper is not republished. C. W. ANDREWS. I would like to say as a librarian and as a chemist my training for 15 years before I went into the library was that of a specialist in chemistry that the statement that the chemist does not care for books or peri- odicals that are over 10 years old seems to me so far from true that I must contradict it. My work at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology was largely bibliographic, and the prob- lems presented were certainly those which re- quired the seeking of bibliographic information. The people seeking such information went back to all sources, and they found almost invariably that the makers of the present books had over- looked statements and expressions; they would find in the older periodicals statements of fact which were afterwards reproduced as new discoveries. And I think I have, for one, by doing such bibliographic work, acquired a bet- ter knowledge of the subject than could have been obtained in any other way. As to the practical side of the question, the librarian is concerned in the rather large ex- penditure in starting a new library. I asked the committee to set aside one-half the funds for the purchase of back sets of periodicals and one-half the current funds for subscriptions to new periodicals. The demand of my readers has been for more sets rather than more books. In reference work, periodicals are the bone of the library, and furnish probably two-thirds of the really serious work done in it. W. H. AUSTIN. I cannot speak from the standpoint of a chemist, but if the experience of a librarian counts, I want to say you cannot draw any line as to time in periodicals; they go as far back as you can get them and come down to the present time, and are use- 162 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. ful, especially in advanced work in the uni- versity. A man cannot do a piece of advanced work unless he gets at the literature on that subject, and if he stops short of everything that has been written on the subject he feels he is on dangerous ground. And I know from ex- perience that men do go back just as far as they can on every subject they have to inves- tigate, and everything short of complete sets of periodicals running back would cripple a university library. I want to say one word in reference to the point Mr. Richardson raised in reference to the library council. Mr. Richardson, I take it, would try to put a library on the same basis as every other department of the university. I do not believe it can be put there, because each department in the university is, in a measure, distinct. The work of each department is car- ried on by its own members, and does not in- terfere with another department. But the work of the university library embraces all departments, and I do not think you can clas- sify a university library as you classify the other departments of the university, because its interests are so much more diversified, and it is therefore necessary to provide some means, as has been outlined in Mr. Harris' remarks, and outlined in the paper from Mr. Potter, of getting the other departments interested and building it .up, and then if the library is thus supplemented you have a most perfect division of the work. W. J. JAMES. There is one point that has not been brought out very prominently in the consideration of the subject of purchasing pe- riodicals : that is, the fact that you can buy al- most any book at any time, while the question of purchasing periodicals is a very different one, and a much more troublesome and expensive one, because you cannot supply at will parts of sets. So, I think I would buy chemical periodi- cals even for the ungrateful chemist. Dr. ADLER. I am glad to see the impor- tance of the subject is so fully recognized. The publication of a scientific paper in a periodical, or in the transactions of a learned society, is the only proper way in which to issue it. The printing of separate papers is nothing but a nuisance, and it gives the bibliographer more trouble than anything else that is done. There is no need of emphasizing the statement that the scientific man, the historian, or the theolo- gian must work with periodicals and with trans- actions of societies. I am going to advise again what I advised before, and what the librarian of Cornell Uni- versity seemed to turn aside as not an impor- tant matter. Every university of any size in this country is becoming a publishing society ; the publications are issued haphazard by cer- tain professors ; they are given over to firms that have to be paid substantially for publishing them, and nobody gets any money out of it for the college. If the publication of these works was centralized and the publications were sent out under the control of the librarian for the regulation of exchanges, the whole problem of expense for current subscriptions to transac- tions of societies and periodicals would be a much easier one. I feel quite certain of that, because I have seen it tried in two places with great success. In Johns Hopkins University the publication work and library work have gone hand in hand from the first day, and, for a new university library it is only 20 or 21 years old they have a remarkably good col- lection. In the library of the Smithsonian In- stitution the whole endeavor has been from the outset to make it a library of transactions of so- cieties and periodicals. That is also true in the Royal Society. Almost everything that comes in is in exchange for publications sent out. I believe, and I think I said last year, that the Smithsonian Institution has received books for its library, through exchanges, of greater value than all the money it has expended in publica- tion, which is something over a million of dol- lars. I do not say that the librarian should be charged with the publications'; there ought to be a publication agent of the university; but I do say nothing should be sent out by the uni- versity that the librarian does not get some- thing for. That can be done. JAMES C. HANSON. Having encouraged the faculty as much as possible towards securing transactions of societies and periodicals, I hope to see, in the first part of the next century at least, some index that will take the place of the present cumbersome ones. I think if the inter- national scientific index is a success, others of that nature will follow it. E. C. RICHARDSON. I hope we shall discuss a little further the practical matter of the method and distribution of funds among the departments. Our own method at Princeton COLLEGE SECTION. '63 is limited. A committee of the faculty decide amongst themselves what each one shall spend on that account, and that is supplemented in the general departments by the librarian. W. P. CUTTER. When I took charge of the library of the Department of Agriculture which is a reference library and where the scientific divisions correspond to the different schools in a university I found there had been a certain arrangement similar to the one indicated. I found also that about March of each year our fiscal year ending the 3Oth of June probably half of the divisions would have spent all their money and the other half of the divisions would have spent none of the money that was allotted to them. Our pur- chases were made from funds where two-thirds or three-fourths of the money is spent in buy- ing sets of periodicals, and this has been so for the last three or four years. Our library is un- der the disadvantage that our appropriation on the 3Oth of June goes back into the United States Treasury and cannot be spent after that. Under such circumstances it was absolutely necessary that the former plan be abandoned, because in March or April it is too late to buy books, for they cannot be paid for un- der the law. We have no board of trustees, and have practically no oversight except the head of the department. The plan at present is "that each scientific worker in the depart- ment not the head of the division, but each scientific worker shall present titles of books as he desires them, with written reasons for their purchase, and special reasons, in case of works of large value. I have found that plan to work very well. Of course one condition exists with us that is not always true of other libraries, and that is we have more money than we can spend. E. C. RICHARDSON. I would like to say a word myself, on the matter of distribution of funds, because I find myself in somewhat of a quandary as to the advisability of continuing our plan of distribution of funds. One thought that Mr. Potter has brought out in his paper, and that has been commonly noted, is that of the great irregularity of professors in opposite departments taking up their appropriations. After an experience of a dozen years with that system, which seems to be theoretically very good, I find it works so irregularly, and the re- sults attained are so far from being what they theoretically should be, that I am doubtful whether such a plan as has been referred to as being in use in the Department of Agriculture might not be a good plan for us the plan of having the professors send titles of books that they would recommend, and that they be from time to time informed when and to what extent they, in the judgment of the committee, are ex- ceeding the proper amount to be spent in that department. I am not prepared to say that would be better, but I am prepared to say that our experience with the other plan has not been wholly satisfactory. G: W: HARRIS. Some of Mr. Potter's strict- ures are not quite true. I think he slightly ex- aggerated some instances. In our own case our fiscal year ends on July 30. The appro- priations to the different departments must be taken up by orders for the different amounts by June i. Any amount not taken up by that date reverts to the library council and may be used for general works. It is my prac- tice to send out, about the first of May and a month before the last orders are due, a notice to- the head of each department that he has a balance remaining of so much, and unless or- ders are handed in to that amount before the first of June the orders will be cancelled and the amount turned over to the library council. And as a result, very few allowances are per- mitted to lapse. In very few cases have I had difficulty with professors who do not order their amount. W. H. AUSTIN. I would like to hear some- thing upon the point raised by Mr. Potter in regard to the duplication of books. E. C. RICHARDSON. I understand Mr. Potter referred to the wishes of some professors to have books multiplied 10 or 50 copies of cer- tain books added to the library of the institution. Is it proper if the professor is allowed $100 to spend for books in a limited time, for him to say he would much rather have the library get 30 copies of one book and spend the $100 on that than spend it any other way ? Is that a prop- er interpretation to put upon the liberty he has to recommend books ? G: W: HARRIS. I should say it is not. And, frequently, we do deposit from the general li- brary sets of periodicals in the different semi- nary rooms, but those periodicals are still availa- ble for use in the general reading-room, and can be drawn out by the general users of the 164 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. library as any other library book can be drawn. It is our general practice to allow each professor to order the book he chooses for his collection, but each seminary library gets an appropriation from the funds of the university for the build- ing up of its seminary collection, and the his- torical and literary professors apply on the ground that large appropriations were made to the scientific department for apparatus, and these books are to be considered as the appa- ratus of the historical and literary departments. E. C. RICHARDSON. It was said of library ad- ministration that all departments are interested in the library in a way in which they are interested in no one single department else- where. I want to call attention to the fact that there is one department in which we are all in- terested; in which we are more interested than any other, and that is the treasury department. But no one would think, as a matter of discre- tion, of appointing a committee from each de- partment of the faculty to run that department. I say the selection of books can be done with perfect ease by an organization separate from the other departments. A professor should be allowed all the books he wants, but they could be obtained for him in a much better way than by giving the amateur as the professor usual- ly is an absolute voting voice in the con- sideration of technical matters, in which the skilled person is only competent to have a voice. H. W. GATES. In regard to this matter of duplicates, I can give simply the testimony of a comparatively small library, the library of the Chicago Theological Seminary. Previous to the last two years the faculty had full swing, each professor ordering all the books he wanted for his department. I find in a very large number of cases that different professors have had need for a work on special lines and have ordered duplicates. With the single exception of works on Assyrian texts and in the depart- ments of histology and Egyptology, which class of books are too expensive to get for the stu- dents themselves, in every instance where du- plicates have been ordered they have proved of temporary value only. We have a choice selec- tion of duplicates which we would be glad to get rid of to the highest bidder, and it seems to me this plan of duplicating a work for temporary use is not a wise one. V. LANSING COLLINS. On the other hand, I can speak of one course in Princeton where we duplicate in the library to the number of three or four copies at least, year after year. G: H. BAKER. I do not think there is much occasion for duplicating books for graduating students. Ordinarily, all this matter of dupli- cation represents material needed for the soph- omores and juniors and seniors in a college course. In our library we have not, thus far, duplicated very largely. Of course, there are some historical and literary works of which we have duplicate copies of the same issue, but we content ourselves by getting different edi- tions of the same work. But of course, when you come to economics and social sciences and history, and you have a class of undergrad- uates required to read certain books, we feel more strongly the need of supplying those. Just at present I have on my desk a list of works in American history, of which two or three or four copies are desired by the depart- ment of history. On the other hand, as far as our needs are concerned, no such large dupli- cation as I fear takes place sometimes of 10, 20, or 30 copies would be necessary. Of course, we have not so large a body of graduates to provide for. My impression is that, as a rule, the librarian, if he has author- ity as he should have, ought to hedge in and restrain this enthusiasm, especially of the younger instructors, to get text-books which they need. I might say a word concerning this matter of periodicals and the distribution of funds. We felt a good many years ago that what a uni- versity library needed was original records, and just as far as it has been possible with the funds at hand to get those, it has been our ef- fort to put the money into such sets. There is one thought in this connection, as a mere mat- ter of economy in buying, that has not yet been alluded to, and that is this: Not a few of the recommendations which come to us are for papers, monographs on scientific subjects, which are nothing but extracts and reprints. I suppose the number of reprints and extracts rec- ommended to our library for purchase would amount to a great many hundreds of dollars. Now, these are recommended usually without any special knowledge on the part of the officer that they are extracts. Of course, if the money is limited and he happens to want a paper that was issued in 1870 in such a periodical, or is- sued as a monograph separately', what he par- COLLEGE SECTION. 165 ticularly wants at that time is that paper, and he dislikes to have his money put into a series of volumes of any of those societies which may contain much more than he wants, or which he does not want as badly as he needs this part. I have had some trouble in the past in persuading these officers that they should not spend their money for these separate extracts, and sometimes they complain because the or- ders for these are laid aside and they do not get them. But I think most of them soon learn the wisdom of what is done. Now we have taken pains to catalog the sets we have at hand and make them available, so far as cataloging is concerned. I think you will find in building up a library the matter of buying extracts is a great waste of money. On the other hand, those extracts when they come to us by ex- change or gift, on a specific subject, we bind together. Coming back to the matter of distribution of funds and buying periodicals: the things clash. If your funds are all distributed around among the departments and unfortunately it is a small sum when we come to divide it up when you come to distribute the sum total available among a dozen or 15 or 20 departments, there is very little available for a single periodical. We have had a varied experience in that matter, and while I think we divide up the money as much as we have to, we avoid dividing it as much as we can. We have on our books at present credits to some departments that have been there for two years. Then, on the other hand, in other departments the money has been expended in three months. As a rule, we have tried to ignore this division and have put the money, where a department left its money un- spent for a year or more, in buying something which comes reasonably within the scope of that department, and by that means get what we need. W: I. FLETCHER then resumed the chair, and C: ALEX. NELSON read his paper on A BIT OF CLASSIFICATION : TREATMENT OF HAR- VARDIANA BY THE HARVARD CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY. (Seep. 61.) W: I. FLETCHER. This bit of classification will interest us all as being an example of en- tire freedom in classifying for a special pur- pose. It occurred to me when this subject was first brought up that it might be useful as sug- gesting how we might arrange the publications connected with our own institutions, but I think we all see at a glance it is almost impossible to arrange publications of our graduates on this plan unless you have two copies of each, because you must feel as I do, that the publi- cations of our graduates form an essential part of the literature in the library, and we have adopted the plan of always putting the first copy there. W. H. AUSTIN. I would like to ask why you adopt the class instead of the alphabetical or- der? C. A. NELSON. In order to bring out the his- torical record. If that was not done you would get them out of place historically. By arrang- ing by classes, a man coming in 1855, for in- stance, wants to know what has been published by his classmates, and he goes right to the shelves and finds everything connected with his class on one shelf. W: I. FLETCHER. I have to present a letter addressed to myself, personally, from Mr. H. L. KOOPMAN, who kindly consented at the last moment to give us a few words on COLLEGE INSTRUCTION IN BIBLIOGRAPHY. I have never tried anything but the most ele- mentary instruction, though what I offer is called a seminary course. Next year I expect to give a course of three hours a week during the last term, which will make about 30 lectures. For the last two years I have given a course of one hour a week during the last two terms of the year, but the trouble was that a one-hour course did not fit into the general scheme, and my classes have been too small, never more than five. The change of method will give me more pupils, I hope, as well as afford me more time to treat the subjects taken up. My sub- jects next year will be something as follows : Books. 1. Bibliography Introductory. 2. Books before printing. 3. Classic books. 4. Transmission of ancient books. 5. Mediaeval books. 6. Evolution of printing. 7. Printing. 8. Binding. 9. Publishing. i66 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. 10. Bookselling and Bookbuying. 11. Authorship. 12. Reading. Preserving the results of reading. Reference books. Periodicals. 13. 14. 15. Libraries. 1. Ancient libraries. 2. Mediaeval libraries. 3. English (Modern). 4. European (Modern). 5. American (Modern). 6. Boston Public Library. 7. Harvard University Library. 8. Library of Congress. 9. Providence Public Library. 10. The public library movement. 11. Classification. 12. Cataloging. 13. Administration. 14. Library buildings. 15. Library's place in education. The British Museum Library, or the Bibli- otheque Nationale, may be substituted for two American libraries. The arrangement of my class hour is as fol- lows : I first give the titles of the books on the subject, showing the books and talking about them. As far as possible I confine my list to English books. Then I lecture for half an hour. Then we have one or two brief topical reports from students. Every student is ex- pected to write one extended paper, or thesis, during the term, and at the close of the term there is the regular examination, as in all the college classes. I have generally had good students, and I can say that I have enjoyed giving the course. I cannot say how much the students have profited by it, but I think they have learned something. What I have had in mind is not the training of men to be librarians, but to have such a general knowledge of books and libra- ries as shall help them as students, and be of service to themselves and the public if they are ever called upon to serve as trustees or on book committees of libraries. Miss KATHARINE L. SHARP. Instruction in library work was taken up by the University of Chicago in December, 1896, and several classes have been conducted : one class was given at Cleveland in December, one class in Geneva, 111., and another in Aurora. The intention of this course was to supply general information to outsiders. It was not at all the idea to train the librarian or train the assistants. A course of 12 lessons was provided: one on library pub- lications ; one on library training ; one on the American Library Association ; one on state and local associations; and it is proposed to follow that by three or four lessons on the scope and use of reference-books, docketing, indexing, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and practical hand- books; and perhaps a talk on bookbinding, etc. The methods of the work are those of Uni- versity Extension. While the University Ex- tension in the University of Chicago is carried out in two ways, the class lecture and the class study, we have chosen the class study, because the lecture plan will take large classes, while the class study work will be given if six people will support it; that is, by each one paying six dollars for the course of 12 lessons, and a share of the lecturer's travelling expenses. With a class varying from six to 40 in num- ber, as we have had, it is quite possible for the teacher to come into close class relations with the students, and so far as I have heard, the results have been satisfactory. The first classes were given at Cleveland, and the 40 members were all members of Mr. Brett's library, but other classes have been made up of members of women's clubs and representatives of teach- ers, as well as the local librarians and trustees. We hope in future that we may be able to re- port more progress. W: I. FLETCHER. May I ask as a matter of information, if there were 40 students in Cleve- land who paid six dollars apiece for this instruc- tion ? Miss SHARP. Yes, sir. W: I. FLETCHER. It was very much to their credit. Miss SHARP. It certainly was. It is also a matter of congratulation for Mr. Brett. They not only paid the six dollars, but each one paid her share of the teacher's travelling expenses. The teacher came from Chicago and boarded at an expensive hotel, and her expenses were paid in this way. It being Christmas week, you may understand the students made a sacri- fice at that time. Dr. ABLER. Inasmuch as both professors COLLEGE SECTION. 167 and students are absent from this meeting we can talk with a little freedom about them. I was glad to notice that Mr. Koopman had writ- ten a word on the subject of teaching bibliog- raphy in universities and colleges, because I think it is a very important one. I believe that a great many college students do not know how to use the books that will help them in their work, and I think that some sort of instruction ought to be given to them. It would not need to be very much; it would not need to be three hours a week, by any means. I should think that one course in one year, sophomore or junior, of 12 hours, would be enough. And I think that all post-graduate students I will not speak of professors would be very much assisted if they were given some instruction in what I would consider bibliography in the nar- row sense, namely: how to prove when they are writing anything, that they had consulted the proper .authorities. We all know that many publications are lumbered up with unnecessary citations. We all know many publications are rendered less valuable by the absence of essen- tial citations, and we all know to our sorrow that most people cite things inaccurately. My notion is that the teaching of bibliography should have no reference to training librarians or librarian assistants, but should teach under- graduate students how to learn the resources of the library and then teach graduate students how to prevent other people from being worried by improper citations. Mrs. FRANCES H. HESS. I should hope these lesser aids could be given in the public schools before the boys go into college. If a little instruction of this kind could be given in the high schools, the freshman and sophomore would know about these helps when they en- tered college. A superintendent whom I know used a little pamphlet published in 1888 on the college library as an aid to instruction, and I am sure it was of the greatest value to the class and in the after-lives of the pupils. G: W: HARRIS. In my own work I get the class together immediately after they are regis- tered in the fall term, and give them a talk on the reference library and some of the more im- portant reference-books and the way in which to use them. That talk occupies about an hour. Then in the winter and spring terms they have a course of elementary lectures on bibliography, which is given for the benefit of those who chose to take the course. W. W. BISHOP. It appears to me a good deal of emphasis has been laid on this matter from a wrong point of view. If an instructor is good for anything he certainly ought to teach his elementary pupils and see that his advanced pupils follow out the instructions given them in regard to making a citation and how to use ad- vanced books with accuracy. It may be that a number of instructors in our colleges are not keeping up with their duty in this matter, but I know in my college course it was one of the earliest things laid before me, even as early as the freshman year. Dr. B. C. STEINER. Even if the instructors are competent, I do not think it is their duty to give this instruction. For instance, I do not think it is the duty of an instructor in history or chemistry to call the attention of students to the fact of the existence of " Poole's index," or that there is such a book in existence as the " Encyclopaedia Britannica." I do not exagge- rate when I say that three-fourths of each class coming to college never heard of " Poole's in- dex," and do not know much about the " En- cyclopaedia Britannica " beyond the fact they see sets of it in store windows, or see advertise- ments offering it for sale. There are a few general principles for using a library and for the characterization of reference-books which ought to be made clear by the librarian at the beginning of the college course. I know if such instruction had been given to me the first year I was at college it would have been a very valuable thing. I only gained such information early in my college course because I prowled around the library before the first term was over; those that did not prowl around did not gain it. It seems to me that no instructor in any special branch ought to be forced to bother with this general book instruction. After two or three general lines of inquiry have been in- dicated to the students, however, then comes the special case of how to use books in their own special line, and here the instructor in any line ought to give the men in his class an idea of what books, they ought to use, how to get at them, and how to use them. W. J. JAMES. I have taken our freshmen in sections through the library, in the past two years, and have talked to each section for one i68 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. hour. But I noticed last year from the sta- tistics of the use of the library, that that single hour of instruction in the use of reference- books and the use of the library brought about a decided increase in the use of the library by the freshmen. Of course, I do not mean that it takes the place of the present instruction of the individual. But from recollection of my own college days I can say that scarcely one man out of 10 has any conception of the use of the library, and I think such instruction ought to be given to the whole class. I was assisted in this matter by the instructor who had charge of the freshmen's compositions. He would put down as one of the subjects to write about "The college library and its use," and of course the freshmen were obliged to come in and get the raw material for their productions. This had the result of encouraging a large number of them to make some use of the library. G: H. BAKER. Almost every year since I have been connected with the Columbia Uni- versity Library there has been something at- tempted toward the instruction of students in the use of the library. I think we all agree on how important and necessary it is for the stu- dents to know something about the library and its use, for their own sakes. But the diffi- culty is in imparting that knowledge to them. If you gave all the freshmen in college a lecture of an hour they would come away with a re- markably small amount of actual information. The subject is too new for them and you are obliged to present it too abstractly. I think the best thing you can do in the course of an hour's talk is to impress on those men that there is a good deal that it is important to them to know, and that they had better come to you or to your assistants in the library and find out the details that have been hinted at. From my own experience, I think the way to teach young men something about bibliography and libraries is not so much by lectures as by what is termed in other sciences "laboratory work." Get them to the library and show them the books and the catalog. It is a great deal more practical. I could give one man or two or three men more information in 15 minutes about how to use the library, in the library itself, where there are books and catalogs and helps to be shown to them, than I could give in half a dozen lectures in the class-room. Adjournment was taken at 11.50 a.m. SECOND SESSION. (DREXEL INSTITUTE, FRIDAY MORNING, JUNE 25.) The College Section was called to order at 9.10 a.m. by ERNEST C. RICHARDSON, chairman, who delivered his address on THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST AMONG BOOKS. (See p. 45.) W: I. FLETCHER then took the chair and de- livered his remarks on INDEX PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES. (Seep. 61.) Dr. CYRUS ADLER spoke on THE LONDON INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON A CATALOG OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. (Seep. 58.) W: I. FLETCHER. One important matter has not been mentioned by Dr. Adler. The Royal Society in working towards this date, 1900, for the beginning of the new index, has undertaken not only to bring its present catalog up to that date but to produce an alphabetical sub- ject index up to that date. Mr. Foster, secre- tary of the Society, assures me of this. Four speakers Dr. J: S. BILLINGS, G: H. BAKER, C. W. ANDREWS, and Miss NINA E. BROWNE had been appointed to speak upon the next subject, CO-OPERATIVE PRINTING OF ANALYTICAL REFER- ENCES. Dr. BILLINGS. The immediate proposition which brings me before you is an arrange- ment, which has been practically completed, between the library of Columbia University, New York, the John Crerar Library, Chicago, the Boston Public Library, and the New York Public Library, with the general understanding that the library of Harvard University would join, to prepare an analytical catalog indexing certain serials, including periodicals, transac- tions of societies, papers issued by societies, etc. , such as are not covered by ' ' Poole's index ," and which are not likely to be covered by the international scientific index, concerning which Dr. Adler has spoken. As the scheme was elaborated between the librarians of these different libraries, it was provided that each library should select certain journals or seri- als, which it would analyze or index for COLLEGE SECTION. 169 itself in any case, and should furnish to the other libraries participating, copies of the in- dex cards or slips. It was agreed that these should be printed and that an arrangement should be made for their exchange, either by having them all printed at one place and the cost divided, or having an exchange of a certain number of slips between the libraries. The details have been deferred until we could obtain estimates as to the cost of doing the work in the different ways. It was then sug- gested that there were other libraries that would be glad to obtain copies of these index slips, and that some arrangement ought to be made by which they could obtain them. I have received a letter from Miss Browne, written at the request of Mr. Lane, of the Boston Athenae- um, saying that this work is valuable, and that, should it be extended to a larger number of libraries, the Publishing Section of the A. L. A. would like to undertake the publication of the cards in order to make it possible for other libraries, unable to co-operate in cataloging, to purchase them to a limited extent. As to the character of the literature which is to be analyzed or indexed by the four or five libraries that have thus far agreed to co-op- erate in the work, I have indicated in a general way the class of publications not indexed by Poole or any such index as that of the Review of Reviews. But publications relating to the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences, such as are distinctly taken up by the interna- tional co-operative index under the direction of the Royal Society, will not be included. There remains, however, a very considerable mass of publications which are of great interest and value, including for example a large part of phi- lology the inclusion of which will depend upon the decision of the organizing committee for the international scientific index as to wheth- er or not they will include philology or what portion of philology they will include in their index periodicals relating to philology and history, historical societies for example, and genealogical publications and papers ; also so- ciology, economics, transportation, statistics relating thereto, finance and so on, all of which are matters on which it is very desirable a large library should be able to inform its readers as to the latest discussions and papers contained in periodicals or the transactions of societies specially devoted to those subjects. As a preliminary matter, Mr. Andrews, of the John Crerar Library, prepared a memorandum of those publications which it was proposed to index or analyze in that library. Mr. Baker, of Columbia University, prepared a similar list of those which he analyzed, and Mr. Putnam pre- pared a list of those which the Boston Public Library was prepared to take, the latter desir- ing especially to cover the subject of geogra- phy. Altogether, it seems that we may start in a modest way by each library taking about 30 journals, the indexing of which is not very much work. Each library will undoubtedly want to index or analyze certain details which the other libraries will not care about, and this plan is not in the slightest degree calculated to interfere with their doing so. It does not seem worth while to go into finan- cial details now nor to read the list of journals proposed to be indexed. When ready we shall publish, through the Library Journal or by special circular, a list of the journals we are proposing to have indexed, and also such in- formation as we can obtain as to the cost of obtaining this service. I presume that if 15 or 20 libraries wanted all these titles, the cost would certainly not exceed one cent per card. Some libraries would want two cards for each article, in order to arrange one under the name of the author and one under the subject. Most libraries, I think, would only want one card. But suppose only 10 libraries want all the titles, "and that several other libraries do not want all but want selections ; that will involve raising the cost, so that it may possibly reach a cent and a half. For the five libraries that have gone into this plan, if they provide for them- selves alone, it would cost probably between a cent and a half and a cent and a quarter per card. This brings up the question which each librarian and board of trustees will do well to consider. It is for them to say to what extent they will receive index cards of certain jour- nals, and whether they wish to obtain index cards for serials which they do not receive. They must decide, for instance, whether they wish to pay $60 a year for a set of cards index- ing a number of serials on banking, statistics, sociology, philology, etc., of which they are getting perhaps but half a dozen volumes, simply to show those who consult their cata- logs where this information might be had. How far it is well to spend your money in fur- PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. nishing a list of what you have not got, instead of attempting to furnish readers with satisfac- tory information on what you have, is a ques- tion of management for each library. The libraries of the great universities and the great libraries of large cities are the places to which investigators and scholars come for informa- tion in special research, and I think it is quite clear it will be important to those libraries to take just as many of these series of index cards as possible. Is it worth while for other libraries to make these subscriptions ? That is a question to be left to each individual library. All I can say is my own individual opinion, that if I were in charge of a library in a small town a lending library of about 16,000 volumes and if I wanted to keep up the interest of my people in that library, I would do the very best I could for it. I would take the principal journals, selecting them as carefully as I could with ref- erence to the wants and needs of the community, and I would have those journals indexed within 24 hours of the time of their arrival at the li- brary. I would not wait for " Poole's in- dex " to come five or six or seven years after- wards. It is urged in favor of co-operation and of putting matters into the hands of a central body or bureau, that you can diminish the expense to the individual libraries. Trustees are told that if they will subscribe to a publication fund or subscribe liberally for an index they will not need so many catalogers and will be able to cut down their force. That is a kind of argument that I object to. But I believe it is a very good thing to do work that will be for the benefit not only of your individual library or yourself, but for the benefit of other libraries and other people. E. C. RICHARDSON. The question of the di- vision of the field between the index planned by the Royal Society and that of which Dr. Billings speaks is as yet entirely open and must be studied with care. In regard to what Dr. Billings has said of libraries smaller than 40,000 or 50,000 volumes, it would be a question with us whether we could afford to pay $60 for these cards. But suppose we had also to pay $50 to the Royal Society, I would expect to go before our board of trustees and urge that this be paid from the fund given to the college for the purpose of paying for the cataloging work of the library. This fund, of about $300, was left as an endow- ment for that purpose, and the gentleman who gave it knew of no way of furnishing readers with a guide except by the old way of catalog- ing employing some one to catalog. It would be perfectly legitimate that some of that money should be appropriated, if needed, to purchas- ing these cards. G: H. BAKER. After what Dr. Billings has said about the general scope of this undertak- ing, very little remains for me to say. In our library we look upon periodical articles and the publications of learned societies in the same way we look upon individual books or pam- phlets ; that is, each must be treated from a library standpoint and cataloged as a biblio- graphic entry. As it stands, it must be indexed with as much care as if it were a book, and the entries, such as they are, must be prepared so that they can be put into our catalog with its hundreds of thousands of cards and take their place without lack of harmony. This we do because these publications are of much impor- tance as bibliographic items, outside of their existence as part of a periodical publication. If we can do this by co-operation it is a most desirable thing to do. One reason why so many co-operative schemes have failed is owing to the cards themselves. They suited some ideal scheme, perhaps, but did not suit any par- ticular library, or where they suited one library they did not suit others. If a card is not fairly uniform with our other cards in size, and above all in mechanical execution, it is of no use to us ; it must be a card that will go into our general catalog and be serviceable. There are a large body of institutions hav- ing substantially the same material to catalog month by month and week by week, and therefore the material to be cataloged is uni- form. There must be, then, first, uniformity in size, and then general uniformity in the plan of the catalog and in the accuracy and detail of the cataloging. If we fail in those particu- lars the work will not be satisfactory. If we can agree on making a high grade of catalog, the financial details, I am sure, can be settled through the Publishing Section. But without referring to details, I want to emphasize the thought that those who are engaged in co- operating with us, by purchase or otherwise, must insist that thoroughly good work be done in this indexing. COLLEGE SECTION. 171 C. W. ANDREWS. As to the question of economy, we will agree with Dr. Billings in rep- rehending any attempt to cut down individual library cataloging, yet we can also look on the question of economy from the other side and say that with the same expenditure of money, which may be the maximum of the funds of the library, we can do five or 10 times as much work in this way as we could separately, and that point I think Mr. Baker did not sufficiently dwell upon. The fact is, all these five libra- ries are doing more or less many of them a great deal more of this work already than they could do separately. It is a question of doing more work, and perhaps doing it in rather prompter and more systematic fashion. In regard to the question of the selection of the sets to be cataloged and the character of the entries to be made, there is some little differ- ence of opinion. My own opinion is more in line with that of Mr. Baker : that the entries should contain full bibliographical information ; that they should be available to perfect the or- dering of reprints ; and that in general they should take up all those serial publications which have separate title-pages. Dr. Billings has given you his figures in very brief form. I may say they are almost identi- cal with those obtained by me from carefully prepared estimates submitted by the printer of the John Crerar Library and by the branch of the Library Bureau in Chicago, which has ex- pressed a desire to be allowed to compete. Both agree in putting the charge for printing, arranging, and mailing but not for postage or express charges at 15 cents per title. The cards are almost the same ; one asks four cents ; the other four and seven-tenths cents for two cards for each title of 10 lines. The postage may be estimated at one cent. It would seem better to begin with a small num- ber of periodicals and work up ; to take those which are strictly analytical and add to them such periodicals as are afterwards found to be desired by the libraries co-operating. Three separate suggestions have been made for the printing. The original suggestion was that we should each employ our own printer and simply exchange cards. That would be simple, but there would be some danger of con- fusion of type, and of possible discrepancies in arrangement, so we decided to try to find some central printing office. The Boston Public Li- brary is considering at present whether it will offer us facilities in its printing-room. Should it undertake the work for us, it would be in place of furnishing titles, and the cost to it is estimated at a very much lower sum than has been stated here, the work being done by lino- type. The third proposition, which has only recently come up and of which Miss Browne will speak, is that the Publishing Section should do the work for us. If they do it, there will have to be some alterations made in the plan. They would want to make some compensation for the libraries which furnish titles, as against those which simply subscribe. However, I agree with Mr. Baker that this part of the sub- ject is the one offering the fewest difficulties. The real question comes on the point whether the libraries are willing to sink minor differ- ences; to waive minor points of opinion as to what is desirable; and, in this way, to secure a very much larger use of their periodical sets, and a very desirable increase in the efficiency of their cataloging work. Miss N. E. BROWNE. Dr. Billings stated in reply to a letter I wrote to him some time ago in regard to the Publishing Section's taking up this work, that he wished it to undertake the work so that other libraries might have the benefit of it. Mr. Lane, before leaving for Eu- rope, obtained some estimates which were not satisfactory to him, although they do not vary much from those already given. Since his de- parture I have not been able to make any defi- nite arrangement, but I have a letter from him, saying that when he returns he feels sure he will be able to make some arrangement by which the Publishing Section can do this work satisfactorily for the five libraries, and at the same time offer other libraries the privilege of selecting cards for the publications each libra- ry desires. THORVALD SOLBERG. If this work is done by the Publishing Section, has it taken into con- sideration how far private students will be al- lowed to subscribe for all titles relating to any particular subject or any particular number of subjects ? E. C. RICHARDSON. That is a question that seems quite important in connection with how this work should be done. If it is done by exchanging among the different libraries them- selves, it would be very difficult to take sub- scriptions from individuals or from other libra- 172 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. ries, as there would be new subscriptions coming in all the time. The Publishing Section would manage it in such a way that subscriptions could be received from any one, individual or library, for any number of the cards at reasona- ble cost. W. J. JAMES. Is it understood that these titles shall be printed on cards of a uniform size, or are they of various sizes, and will any copies be printed on thin paper? C. W. ANDREWS. The Boston Public Li- brary is willing to waive its peculiar needs and accept the full-sized card of the A. L. A. We should print them in such a way that it would be perfectly possible to cut off the lower third and allow libraries that use that size to do so. HERBERT FRIEDENWALD then delivered his remarks on THE CARE OF MANUSCRIPTS. (Seep. 52.) The Committee on Organization submitted the following : REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZATION OF COLLEGE SECTION. After consultation with the president of the Association, your Committee on Organization and Nomination beg leave to submit the follow- ing report : To secure the best results in this branch of our discussions, it is deemed best to keep this branch organization of such a character that any member of the Association, who feels his work comes in this division, shall have the full privi- lege of taking part in the discussions of this Section. To this end we have decided to nominate for your consideration a committee of three, whose duty it shall be to provide a suitable program for the next conference and to confer with the Executive Board or Program Committee of the Association to arrange for a proportionate place on the general program of the conference. We would nominate for such a committee E. C. Richardson, G. W. Harris, W. E. Foster. Also, since the committee has been requested to suggest a name for this Section, we would report that we can find no better name, which seems comprehensive enough to define the character of the topics to be discussed by this Section, than that already in use, viz., College and Reference Library Work. WILLARD AUSTIN, OLIVE B. JON.ES, . - CLEMENT W. ANDREWS. The report was adopted. Owing to lack of time the paper by WILBER- FORCE EAMES on THE CARE OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS was read by title and ordered printed. (Seep. 48.) Adjournment was taken at 11.40 a.m. TRUSTEES' SECTION. 173 TRUSTEES' SECTION OF THE A. L. A. 'T'HE Trustees' Section held two meetings in connection with the Philadelphia confer- ence. The first meeting was called to order in the auditorium of the Drexel Institute at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 23, by George A. Mac- beth, chairman, E. H. Anderson being ap- pointed secretary. There were present the fol- lowing trustees : Col. Weston Flint, Public Library, Washing- ton, D. C. ; J: M. Glenn, Mercantile Library, Baltimore, Md. ; F. J. Hoag, Public Library, Toledo, O. ; A. F. Hostetter, Normal School Library, Lancaster, Pa. ; Hugh T. Kelly, Public Library, Toronto, Ont. ; W. C. Kimball, Free Public Library, Passaic, N. J. ; G. A. Mac- beth, Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pa. ; T. Guilford Smith, University of the State of New York, Buffalo, N. Y.; Charles C. Soule, Public Library, Brookline, Mass. ; C. W. Vandervort, Public Library, Peoria, 111. The following were present as librarians as well as trustees : E. H. Anderson, Carnegie Free Library, Pittsburgh, Pa. ; Miss E. G. Browning, Public Library, Indianapolis, Ind. ; A. C. Herzog, Free Public Library, Bayonne, N. J. ; T. L. Montgomery, Free Libraries of Philadelphia. On account of their experience and knowledge of A. L. A. affairs, and as representing the main body of the Association, the following were present at the invitation of the chairman : W. H. Brett, president; H. L. Elmendorf, vice- president; R. P. Hayes, secretary; Dr. J. S. Billings, F. M. Crunden, Melvil Dewey, W. I. Fletcher, and J. N. Larned. The chairman briefly outlined the shadowy basis on which the Trustees' Section had been or- ganized, with no definite purpose and no definite relation to the general Association. He stated that there was no use trying to get trustees, who were largely business men, to take an interest in and attend meetings of the Trustees' Section un- less there was a definite object in view, and unless they could be, in some way, of real service in aiding the work of the general Association. It had occurred to him that there was one thing which the Trustees' Section could appropriately do, viz., raise money to carry on the work of the Publishing Section. He thought there ought to be a definite relation between these two sec- tions, and that the Trustees' Section should be authorized by the A. L. A. to organize for some such specific purpose. Mr. Soule began his remarks by emphasizing the fact that trustees ought to send their libra- rians to the A. L. A. meetings. He did not think trustees generally realized how important it was to a library that its librarian should at- tend these annual meetings, listen to the dis- cussions and compare methods. He said that money was certainly needed for the Publishing Section, and the Trustees' Section could not do better than turn its energies in this direction. He thought money was also needed for a paid secretary of the A. L. A. The chairman then called upon Mr. Fletcher, as representing the Publishing Section, to give an account of the work of that Section. Mr. Fletcher stated that the work consisted chiefly of co-operative cataloging and indexing, and men- tioned the indexes and annotated catalogs which had been issued by the Section. He stated that the sales from publications did not cover the ex- pense of issuing them, and it was necessary, if the work of the Section should go on, that they should have financial assistance from some quar- ter. He estimated that these catalogs and in- dexes saved at least two-thirds of the expense which would be involved if each library under- took to make them for its own use on cards, or otherwise. In other words, the Publishing Sec- tion saved a large amount of money for every library which bought its publications. He thought that its work should be subsidized by libraries or their trustees. Mr. Smith suggested subscriptions, classified according to the size of the libraries. Mr. Elmendorf said that libraries could aid the Publishing Section by taking more copies of its publications. Mr. Larned spoke in favor of the establishing of a publication society, distinct from the A. L. A., somewhat after the manner of the publica- tion societies in England. Mr. Dewey advocated getting subscriptions from libraries, which he said was the method used for raising money for the Publishing Sec- tion in the beginning. 174 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Mr. Flint spoke of the great saving to libra- ries from the co-operative work of the Publish- ing Section. Whenever you can show a trustee that he can save $ro by subscribing $i, he will do it every time. Trustees only need to know what is done and what can be done. Mr. Kimball said that if you wanted money from trustees you must tell them exactly what it was wanted for. Mr. Kelly also spoke for definiteness; he said he was present as the rep- resentative of his board, and was expected to report what the Trustees' Section stood for. Mr. Brett thought that next year each library should be urged to send a trustee as delegate to the A. L. A. conference. Mr. Crunden spoke for a special trustees' meeting, distinct from the A. L. A. meeting ; he thought that trustees could raise money as librarians cannot. Mr. Elmendorf thought that more trustees ought to become members of the A. L. A. Dr. Billings suggested that the practical thing to do was to call a special meeting of trustees say in New York next winter. Many of the trustees are away during the summer and can- not attend the regular A. L. A. meetings. He suggested that a committee be appointed at this meeting to arrange for a winter meeting. Mr. Glenn said he wanted to meet when the librarians met, for he did not get much inspira- tion from the meetings of the Trustees' Section. The chairman said we could not get trustees to meet without a specific purpose. Mr. Soule moved that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to report a plan of action at a special meeting to be called the fol- lowing afternoon. The motion was carried, and the chair appointed C. C. Soule, T. G. Smith, and J. M. Glenn. Mr. Kimball then moved that adjournment be taken, the Section to meet the following afternoon at two o'clock, at the Aldine Hotel. Voted. The adjourned meeting of the Section was held in one of the parlors of the Aldine Hotel, at two o'clock p.m., June 24. There were present G. A. Macbeth, J. S. Bil- lings, Weston Flint, C. C. Soule, W. C. Kimball, C. R. Vandervort, T. J. Hoag, H. T. Kelly, and Miss E. G. Browning. Mr. Macbeth occupied the chair, and Mr. Kelly was appointed secretary of the meeting. Mr. Soule presented to the meeting the re- port of the sub-committee appointed on the previous day, and in accordance with the rec- ommendation contained in that report it was decided to elect now a chairman of the Trus- tees' Section. It was moved by Mr. Soule and seconded by Mr. Hoag that the Hon. T. Guilford Smith, of Buffalo, be chairman of this Section, and that he have power to appoint an executive commit- tee of three or five persons (in his discretion) and a secretary. Voted. It was moved by Mr. Soule and seconded by Mr. Kimball that a meeting of trustees be called by the chairman, to be held in New York in the coming winter. Voted. The meeting then adjourned. FARR. THE SOCIAL SIDE OF THE CONFERENCE. BY MARY P. FARR. PHILADELPHIA was decked in her gayest attire on Monday, June 21, 1897; flags were flying from all her public buildings, and red, white, and blue bunting hung in festoons from the windows. Whether this was in honor of the A. L. A. or of the Saengerfesters, who arrived the same day, we do not say. The whole city was a whirl of bustle and excitement ; stran- gers poured in from all parts of the country and scattered to all parts of the city. The Aldine Hotel was monopolized by the members of the A. L. A., who straggled in from early in the morning until the last minute before the recep- tion of the evening. Monday evening was one of those rare occa- sions on which the presence of ladies was per- mitted in the rooms of the exclusive Historical Society. The crowd soon filled the rooms to their utmost and overflowed into the small but quaint garden, radiant with Japanese lanterns hung in every conceivable spot. Here at every turn, in sheltered nooks and in corners of the piazza, one came upon groups of twos and threes, all chatting most energetically. New acquaintances were formed and old ones re- newed. In vain we tried to remember the names, faces, and cities of every one we met. After a few brief addresses of welcome we were ushered into the library, where the high, mas- sive bookcases made an impressive back- ground for the resplendent feast set forth. Here tongues were let loose once again and the talking became more vigorous. In the wee sma' hours we parted with the feeling that we would see much of one another during the week, but alas! in the busy days that followed, in spite of the numerous social affairs, we met again only for a hurried word, but the remem- brance of that first night will always be with us. Tuesday evening's program was introduced with music at Horticultural Hall. As soon as the speeches of the evening were over, the floor was rapidly cleared for the dancing which fol- lowed. Much to our disappointment, however, that delightful two-step, " El Capitan," was played when the crowd was passing out, and there was no chance to dance; nevertheless, " a great deal of dancing was accomplished in a very small space." Wednesday afternoon Chestnut street was the scene of a strange spectacle coaches and ve- hicles of all sizes and description filled the street for blocks and blocks below the Aldine. People feared that a new show had come to invade the quiet of Chestnut street, and were relieved to find it was only "those librarians" going on a coaching party. We were aristo- cratic enough to boast three tally-hos, with bugles, gayly-colored parasols, and everything complete. Old omnibuses and picnic coaches were called into use. Two old horse-cars set on high wheels were borrowed from the Union Traction Company for the occasion. This motley caravan wended its way through the streets of Philadelphia, followed by vocifer- ous cheers from the urchins on the sidewalk. Along the River Drive of East Fairmount Park we passed and by the side of the Wissahickon Creek. Words are not needed to describe that drive when one sees the pictures the photog- raphers took upon the occasion. Mr. Straw- bridge had kindly invited us to take tea at his delightful home in Germantown. One of the drivers stupidly supposed that we wished to take the shortest cut there and led seven or eight coaches out of their way. Had it not been for the guidance of a member on a bicycle who discovered the mistake, a number of our party would have missed the prettiest parts of the Wissahickon drive. The whole caravan was soon drawn up before the Indian Rock Hotel, viewing the Indian but failing to see the rock. They were not together long, however, for again, owing to the stupidity of the driver, or perhaps the slowness of the horses this time, two portions of the party were lost in entirely different directions. One took a long circuit through Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. To tell where the other portion wandered will be im- possible, for they did not know themselves. Meantime the leaders of the van went on the right road, stopped at Wissahickon Inn by the way, and reached Mr. Strawbridge's residence in due season. Finally the two lost parties found i 7 6 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. each other and reached Mr. Strawbridge's some time after the others arrived and too late to grace the picture for the frontispiece of the Library Journal. An appetizing supper was spread on the lawn in the most delightful and picturesque manner. The members of the A. L. A. put the finishing touches to this scene, a few glimpses of which our photographer has saved for us. A stroll was made through the grounds, and a visit was paid to the spotless stables where not a wisp of hay was out of place. After thanking Mr. and Mrs. Straw- bridge for their hospitality we sought our car- riages for the homeward journey, the highest seats being secured first. A circuit of West Fairmount Park was made on the way home, passing through picturesque Chamounix and around Belmont Mansion. A pause was made in front of the mansion to view the park and city, which stretched out in a long vista beneath us. The coaches wound around Horticultural Hall and Memorial Hall, that all the party might have the pleasure of seeing the gardens there laid out. A card was found in one of the tally-hos we will not say whose name it bore lest the owner should claim it with this inscription on the back : " Hip Hoo Ray Phil-a-del-phi-a ! Twenty-first Annual A. L. A." Eight o'clock was the time set for the concert of Wednesday evening. As the coaching party did not break up until that hour, no one reached the Drexel Institute until nine, and many much later. The music furnished by Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Moulton, and Mr. Kroeger was most en- joyable. A reception, with dancing in the central court, followed. These dissipations proved almost too much for one day's pleasure, and the festivities of the evening ceased at the early hour of II. The entire program of Thursday which should have extended into the evening was crowded into the day, so that the dignified A. L. A. might indulge in a trolley ride to Wil- low Grove Park. Staid and sober Chestnut street witnessed another gay scene on Thurs- day evening. The curbstone on either side of the street was lined with librarians patiently awaiting the arrival of the cars. A shout of joy went up from the crowd when " America," radi- ant within and without with red, white, and blue lights, turned the corner. Three other cars followed with no mark of distinction but the little sign " Special car." " Monitor," all decked in white, brought up the rear. It was a jolly party that whirled along the old York Road, causing much consternation among the horses and furnishing much amusement to the picnic parties that were on the return. A rush was made to the merry-go-round on our arrival at the park. The " shoot-the-chutes," the biograph, the scenic railway soon held none but librarians. One young lady asked if some one would not please go in the biograph first and tell her if the pictures were proper for an A. L. A. member to gaze upon. We never heard whether that young lady saw the bio- graph afterwards, but we hope she did. A small but select few preferred the music of Damrosch to these frivolities. The electrical fountain assumed all sorts of fantastic shapes and variegated colors at the most unexpected intervals. Here and there a tree appeared dotted with many-colored lights, giving a fairy- like appearance to the scene. Everywhere the librarians found something new to enjoy until the arrival of our cars, which came all too soon. Nonsense verses and college songs thoroughly enlivened the journey home. Of jingles like the following, one car seemed to have a never- ending supply : " There was a young lady named Nell, Who considered herself quite a belle, She sat on the sand And squeezed her own hand And never discovered the sell." Could the reading public but see that impos- ing organization, the American Library Associa- tion, on an occasion like this, they might be able to realize that librarians really know how to throw themselves into enjoyment with as much freedom and abandon as boys or girls. Whenever we pass the Aldine we think of that too short happy week when the A. L. A. were our guests. The remembrance of those days, and the lively chats we held with libra- rians from the other end of the country, make us feel that Georgia and Louisiana, Montana and Colorado, are not so far away after all, while the "Librarians" corner of the Library Journal, and the " Notes by the way" of Public Libraries, still keep us in touch with them all. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL EXHIBIT. 177 CATALOG OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL EXHIBIT, PHILADELPHIA, JUNE 21-25, l8 97- A SPECIAL collection of rare bindings, il- ~^^ luminated manuscripts, and other biblio- graphical treasures was gathered together under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Library Club. The exhibit was displayed by permission of the trustees of the Drexel Institute in the spacious rooms of that institution. A list of the interest- ing rarities thus collected by the officers of the library club is given below, as it is believed that a permanent record of the pieces displayed on that occasion will be of general interest. AMERICANA. From the Collection of the Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker. BARLOW, JOEL. The Columbiad : a poem. Philadelphia : Fry & Kammerer. 1807. 410. The finest specimen of American bookmaking up to that time. BIBLIA, das ist : Die Heilige Schrift Altes und Neues Testaments. Germantown : Gedruckt bey Christoph Saur. 1743. 4to. The first Bible printed in America in a European language. BIBLE, The Holy, containing the Old and New Testaments. Philadelphia : Printed by R. Aitken. 1782. 2 vols., I2mo. The first English Bible printed in America. BRAGHT, T. J. van. Der Blutige Schau-Platz, oder Martyrer Spiegel der Tauffs-Gesinnten. Ephrata : Drucks und Verlags der Brueder- schaft. 1748. Folio. This is the celebrated Ephrata Martyr Book, "the greatest literary production of America," and the largest book issued from the Ephrata press. CATALOGUE of all the books printed in the United States up to 1804. I2mo. A very rare pamphlet. Of the titles here given, 335 were published at Philadelphia, 313 at Boston, and 189 at New York. Ein CHRISTLICHES Gesang-Buch. Manuscript. 1760. Folio. The hymn-book of the Schwenkfelders is the best specimen of their manuscripts known to those familiar with the subject. It was written by one of their minis- ters, Hoffman, between 1758 and 1760, in Pennsylvania, and was bound there. Ein GEISTLICHES Magazien. Germantown : Gedruckt bey Christoph Saur. 1764. 8vo. Nos. i to 50 of the earliest American religious maga- zine, containing the earliest American essay upon school teaching. HvMN-Book from the Ephrata Cloister. Man- uscript. 1745. Folio. A beautifully written and illuminated manuscript volume, containing the music to the " Weyrauchs- Hugelj" infra. One of the latest specimens of manu- script illumination. LAWS of the Province of Pennsylvania. Phila- delphia : Printed by Andrew Bradford. 1728. Folio. The second compilation of the Laws of Pennsylvania. The interest of this book is enhanced by the blank leaves inserted by the original owner, which are of paper made at the Rittenhouse paper-mill on the Wissa- hickon, the first in America. LINCOLN, Abraham. Ms. fee-book of the firm of Lincoln & Herndon, 1847. MUHLENBERG, Frederick Augustus. Original ms. of an unpublished book. Folio. F. A. Muhlenberg was President of the First Con- gress of the U. S. PAMPHLETS on Electricity. Collection of four pamphlets on electricity. 8vo. This is Benjamin Franklin's own collection, and the titles are indexed on the fly-leaf in his own handwriting. The pamphlets are filled with references to Franklin s discoveries, and one of the pamphlets was presented to him by the author, who calls him Father of electricity. ' PARADISISCHES Wunder-Spiel. Ephratae: Sump- tibus Societatis. 1754. Folio. This Paradisiacal Wonder Play is a hymn-book of the Ephrata cloister, containing 726 hymns of a very mystical character, of which 441 were written by Johann Conrad Beissel (1690-1768), who organized the sect of Seventh-day Baptists, and subsequently the semi-mo- nastic " Order of the Solitary," at Ephrata, about twenty miles from Reading, Pennsylvania. The text begins on the reverse of the title, each page containing' usually six lines of type, every two lines being divided by spaces of three inches, which are occupied by manu- script musical notes for four voices. The end of each musical phrase is marked by more or less elaborate penwork in two or three colors, amounting sometimes to an illumination, generally in the shape of a floral de- sign. This was the work of sisters of the society specially appointed for that duty. See the Weyrauchs- Hiigel, in/r*. PASTORIUS, Franz Daniel. Disputatio inaugu- ralis de Rasura Documentorum pro Licen- tia Summos in utroque jure Honores ac Privilegia Doctoralia more Majorum rite capessendi d. 23, Nov. 1676. Altorffi. 8vo. Thesis submitted by Pastorius, the founder of Ger- mantown, in order to obtain the degree of "Juris Utrusque.Licentiatus." This is the only copy known to exist. PLOCKHOY, PIETER CORNELISZ. Kort en klaer ontwerp dienende tot een onderling Accoort, om den arbeyd, onrust en moeyelijckheyt, van Alderley-hand-wercxs-luyden te verlich- ten door een onderlinge Compagnie ofte Volck-planting . . . aen de Zuyt-revier in Nieu-neder-land op te rechten. . . . 'tAms- terdam, 1662. 410, 8 leaves. " A short and clear project of a mutual agreement in order to relieve the colony to be founded on the , South River in New Netherland." The only copy in this country of this very rare tract, which is the first book written by a colonist on the Delaware. Plock- hoy's colony was destroyed by the English in 1664. WASHINGTON, George. Autograph and book- plate, on Some observations on the Indian natives of this continent, Philadelphia, 1784, (with other pamphlets.) i 7 8 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. WEYRAUCHS-HUGEL, Zionitischer. German- town : Gedruckt bey Christoph Saur, 1739. i6mo. The first book printed in German type in America, and the first book from Saur's press. It is the largest and most important collection of the Ephrata Cloister hymns, and is dedicated " To all solitary Turtle-doves cooing in the wilderness, as a spiritual harp, playing in the many tunes of divine visitation." This was the author's own copy. For the music to these hymns see Paradisisches Wunder-Spiel, suprb. Lent by Samuel P. Avery, Esq., of New York. Dichtkundige ALMANACH voor het jaar 1781. Te Amsterdam. 32010. A fine example of needlework binding of the end of the i8th century. Nieuwe Nederlandsche ALMANACK, 1795. Ut- recht. 32mo. Full silver binding, with the number of days in each month, times of rising and setting of the sun, etc., en- graved on the sides, and a dial with movable hand to show the day of the month. Vita, e Miracoli di S. ANTONIO di Padova. Gen- ova, 1646. I2mo. A good example of panelled binding on solid wooden boards. Speculum bead BERNHARDI Abbatis de hones- tate vite. [Probably printed by Fust & Schoeffer, circa 1465.] I2mo. The binding of this rare tract is a very good speci- men of modern blind-tooling, by Pagnant, full brown crushed morocco. BURTY, Philippe. Les emaux cloisonnes. Par- is, 1868. I2mo. Bound by Ch. Meunier in full brown morocco, in the covers of which have been inlaid two cloisonn^ medallions by the author. The margins and blank leaves are decorated with many original water-colors by Felix Re'gamey. CHRONIQUES francoises de Jacques Gondar. Paris, n. d. [circa 1830.] I2mo. A charming reprint of a i$th century ms., with col- ored illustrations in imitation of the manuscript dec- orations of the time. The binding is stamped velvet, " romantique," of the same date as the book. CICERO. Cato Major. Lutetiae, 1758. 32mo. Bound by Stikeman & Co., New York. A beautiful specimen of American mosaic work in red and blue, with white vellum double", gilt tooling throughout. A HELPE vnto Deuotion. London, 1613. i6mo. Full calf binding of the time, gauffred edges. HUMPHREYS, H. N. Sentiments and similes of Shakespeare. London, 1857. 8yo. A curious moulded composition-binding, first made in England about this date. LA FRESNAIE Vavqvelin, Les Diverses Poesies du Sievr de. Caen, 1612. A fine example of this edition. Bound by Trautz- Bauzonnet in full crushed morocco, blue, with red double 4 , gilt tooling. LUCRETIUS. De rerum natura. Lugduni, 1546. i6mo. Inlaid binding of the period. LUTHER, Martin. Von den Jiiden und jren Liigen. Wittemberg, 1543. Etc. Sm. 410. A collection of tracts by Martin Luther. In binding of the time, with solid wooden boards, blind-tooling. Ms. case, metal, for prayer-books, etc., Byzan- tine. 4x3 inches. With repousse 1 figures of St. George and another Saint, the double-headed eagle of the em- pire with globe and cross above, etc. MELISANDER, Caspar. Christliches Beicht- und Communion- Biichlein Niirnberg, 1689. I2mo. A beautiful example of German needlework binding of the end of the i^th century, with two clasps formed of small silver crucifixes. MELLIN de S. Gelais. Oevvres Poetiqves. A Lyon, 1574. I2mo. Bound by Cape 1 in full red crushed morocco, hand- tooling in gilt. MEMORANDUM-BOOK, blank. 321110. Engraved silver perforated binding, with miniature inserted in one cover. Das ganze NEUE TESTAMENT. Zurich, 1752. I2mo. Silver open-work binding, engraved, with clasps. Das ganze NEUE TESTAMENT. Ztirich, 1778. i2mo. Another silver binding, gilt, with clasps, engraved and repouss^ work throughout. POLZMANN, Balthasar. Compendium vitae, miraculorum S. Leopardi, sexti Marchionis Austrise. 1591. 8yo. In the original binding, with the arms of the Mar- graves of Austria on one cover and the double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire on the other. The Whole Booke of PSALMES. London, 1643. 32mo. Embroidered in silk and gold by the Nuns of Little Gidding, so well known to all students of King Charles I.'s reign. The Protestant Nunnery of Little Gidding was founded by Mr. Nicholas Ferrar ; see Shorthouse's "John Inglesant." This is an uncommonly fine speci- men of their needlework. SAlNT-Pierre, Bernardin de. Paul et Virginie. Paris, 1876. I2mo. Bound by Marius Michel in mosaic of three colors, blue, red, and yellow, gilt tooling, with double of crushed blue levant. The SEA Book : a nautical repository. London, [circa 1840.] 8vo. With many illustrations by Turner, engraved on steel. A most curious mosaic binding by Bedford, in long narrow strips extending from cover to cover, of about eight distinct colors or shades, elaborately hand-tooled in gilt. TENNYSON, Alfred. Poems. London, 1833. I2mo. The third published volume of Tennyson's poems. In a beautiful and characteristic binding by Cobden- Sanderson, in full brown crushed levant, gilt tooling. TREMELLIUS, Immanuel. In Hoseam inter- pretatio. Heidelberg, 1563. I2mo. Tooled binding of the period, with the arms of Frederick, Duke Palatine. Catalogue of editions of WALTON & Cotton's Angler. New York : The Grolier Club. 1893. I2mo. Bound in green Japanese shark-skin, with border of the skin of the Florida gar-pike, with a very hard and highly-polished surface like enamel. Bound by Tiffany & Co., New York. The book-mark has a jade-stone fish for pendant. WOHLRIECHENDES Rozengartl. Kempten, 1699. i6mo. A silver binding, with one clasp, by Thellot, of Augsburg. CRUIKSHANKIANA. From the Collection of the Rittenhouse Club. BOMBASTES furioso : a burlesque tragic opera, by William Barnes Rhodes ; with designs by Cruikshank. London, 1830. i6mo. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL EXHIBIT. 179 The BOTTLE, in eight plates, by George Cruik- shank. London, 1847. Folio. The first of his temperance series. The CAT'S tail : being the history of Childe Merlin. By the Baroness de Katzleben. Edinburgh, 1831. i6mo. Etchings by Cruikshank. The COMIC Almanac, 1835-1853. London. 6 vols. I2mo. Profusely illustrated by Cruikshank. The COMIC Alphabet. London, n. d. CRUIKSHANKIANA : an assemblage of the most celebrated works of George Cruikshank. London, n. d. Folio. Caricatures in his earlier, Gillray style. The DRUNKARD'S Children : a sequel to The Bottle, in eight plates. London, 1848. EGAN, Pierce. Life in London. London, 1822. 8vo. With many colored plates " drawn and engraved by I. R. and G. Cruikshank." Sir John FALSTAFF : 20 etchings by Cruikshank. London, 1857. 8vo. Der FREISCHUTZ Travestie ; with 12 etchings by Cruikshank. London, 1824. 8vo. GREENWICH Hospital : a series of naval sketches descriptive of the life of ? man-of- war's man ; with coloured illustrations by George Cruikshank. London, 1826. 410. GRIMM'S Popular Stories ; with etchings by Cruikshank. London, 1823. 410. GUY Fawkes : 19 etchings by Cruikshank. The HoRSF,-shoe : the true legend of St. Dun- stan and the Devil, by Edward G. Flight ; with drawings by Cruikshank. London, n. d. i2mo. ILLUSTRATIONS of Time. London, 1827. Obi. folio. JERROLD, Blanchard. Life of George Cruik- shank. New York, 1882. 2 vols. I2mo. The LOVING Ballad of Lord Bateman. London, 1851. With etchings by Cruikshank. The ballad was written by Charles Dickens. The MISER'S Daughter, by Cruikshank. Lon- don, 1842. A series of 19 etched plates. MORNINGS at Bow Street, by J. Wright, with 21 illustrations by George Cruikshank. London, 1838. I2mo. ODDS and Ends : a collection of Cruikshank's drawings. 15 plates, folio, n. d. The POLITICAL house that Jack built. With 13 cuts. 50th ed. London, 1820. A political satire of the day by Cruikshank. George Cruikshank's OMNIBUS. London, 1842. 8vo. PETER Schlemihl : from the German of Adal- bert von Chamisso by Sir John Bowring ; with plates by Cruikshank. London, 1861. I2mo. A Pop-gun fired off by George Cruikshank in defence of the British Volunteers of 1803. London, n. d. 8vo. PUNCH and Judy ; with illustrations drawn and engraved by George Cruikshank. London, 1828. i2mo. The QUEEN'S Matrimonial Ladder. London, 1820. 8vo. A satire on the trial of Queen Caroline, published on her side and against the King. REID, George Wm. Descriptive catalogue of the works of George Cruikshank. London, 1871. 3 vols., 4to. SCRAPS and Sketches of George Cruikshank. London, 1827. Obi. folio. TOM Thumb : a burletta, altered from Henry Fielding by Kane O'Hara ; with designs by George Cruikshank. London, 1837. i6mo. The TOOTHACHE, imagined by Horace Mayhew and realized by George Cruikshank. London, n. d. i2mo. GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS. From the Collection of Ashhurst Bowie, deed, now the property of R. H. Bayard Bowie, Esq. , Claudius. Variae Historiae. Romae, 1545. 4to. A large-paper copy of the editio princeps. Accord- ing to Dr. Harwood, " This first edition contains sev- eral Greek authors that were never reprinted." Harles calls it "A rare edition and not to be despised." Tacticus. De militaribus ordinibus instituendis more Graecorum. Venetiis, apud Spinellos, 1552. Sm. 410. The first separate edition, although printed in 1532 at Paris by Vascosan at the end of Thomas Magister. This 1552 edition is much the better, and has many curious woodcuts. Socraticus. Dialog! tres. Amstelo- dami, 1711. These dialogues " are not genuine remains." Athe- nseus in the Deipnosophists (book xiii., c. 94) gives JEschines a terribly bad character, and charges that Xantippe, after the death of Socrates, gave some of her husband's writings to ^Eschines, who coolly put them forth under his own name. AESCHYLUS. Tragoediae. Paris : Henricus Stephanus. 1557. 4to. The fourth edition of ^Eschylus, but Dibdin calls it "An excellent and beautiful edition, and much more valuable than any of the preceding." As many as 1275 verses of the " Agamemnon " were printed for the first time in this edition from a manuscript. JLSOPUS. Fabulae. Basileae : Frobenius. 1518. Froben was a learned German printer and warm personal friend of Erasmus, all of whose works he this same year, 1518. ^EsoPUS. Fabulae. Parmae. 1547. This copy belonged to the celebrated Libri, and was sold with the choicer portion of his library in London in 1859. jEsorus. Fabulae ; with reflections by M. le Chevalier Lestrange. Amstelodami : Roger. 1714. AGAPETUS, St. Letter (in Greek and Latin) to the Emperor Justinian. Basileae : Frobenius. 1518. The title-page and colophon are engraved by Hol- bein. See the same designs in ^Esop, 1518. This is a rare book. It is one of two extant letters from St. Agapetus before he became Pope in 535 A.D. He re- fused to acknowledge the orders of the Arians. i8o PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. AGATHIAS. Historia Justiniani Imperatoris ; accesserunt Agathiae Epigrammata. Lugdu- ni Batavorum : Plantin. 1594. This unfinished history contains many important facts concerning one of the most eventful periods of Roman history. This copy has a Latin translation and is the editio princeps in Greek. APPIANUS. Romanae Historiae. Paris : Carolus Stephanus. 1551. Folio. Editio princeps in Greek ; from two mss. in the li- brary of the King of France. "According to Che- villier, C. Stephens published but two works in the Greek language the present edition of Appian and a 410 Greek testament. The name of Charles Stephens does not often occur in bibliography, and those who cherish scarce works will do well to treasure the pro- ductions of this elegant scholar and printer." Dibdin, Gr. and Lat. Class. APULEIUS. Commentary on the Metamorphoses or Golden Ass of Apuleius of Madaura. De- venter : Richard Paffraet. 1511. ARISTOPHANES. Comoediae. Florentiae : Junta. 1515. The second edition of Aristophanes, but the first to contain Lysistrata and Thesmophoriazusa^ which were omitted in the editio princeps by Aldus, 1498. ARISTOTELES. Cyromancia. Ulm, 1490. A treatise on chiromancy, or divination by the hand. ATHEN^EUS. Deipnosophistae. Venetiis: Aldus. 1514. Folio. Editio princeps. A beautiful book and one of the scarcest of the Aldine classics, although with many errors and imperfections from a critical point of view. BELLUM et excidium Trojanum. Lipsiae: Mi- chael Rudiger. 1699. This " war and destruction of Troy " is curiously illustrated, as may be seen from an inspection of the plate concerning the wooden horse, and Sinon the Greek who deluded the Trojans into drawing the horse into the city. Cassandra, whose prophecies were dis- regarded, and Priam looking on ner as a mad woman and causing her to be locked up in prison, should be considered. BCETHIUS. De Arithmetica. Augsburg, 1488. Editio princeps, and a book of extreme scarcity. It is generally described as printed at Venice, but the colophon explains that the printing was by Ratdolt, formerly of Venice and later of Augsburg. Dibdin gives the date as 1487. CATO, Dionysius. Moralissimus Cato cum ele- gantissimo commento. Basileae, 1486. This work has been attributed to various great authors, Seneca, Boethius, etc. It is quoted by Chaucer, was translated by Caxton, and if it may be called a " classic " Franklin's edition, 1735, Englished by Logan, must be regarded as the first translation of a classic which was both made and printed in the American Colonies. HORATIUS. Opera ; cum commentario Landini. Venetiis, 1486. Land inus was a learned critic, and his commentary on Horace is highly esteemed. The editio princeps is sup- posed to have been printed at Milan by Zarotus in 1740. JOSTINUS Frontinus. Des Hochberumptesten Geschicht Schreybers Justini. Augsburg, The earliest German version of Justinus. JUVENALIS et Persius. Satyrae. Mediolani : A. Zarothus. 1474. Folio. A very large copy of this extremely rare edition, with ms. notes, and bound in old gilt russia, with the Wodhull arms in gold on the side. NEPOS, Cornelius. De vita excellentium im- peratorum. Venetiis: Nicolaus Jenson. 1471. 4to. Editio princeps, published under the name of 4mili- us Probus. A very scarce and curious edition, accord- ing to Dibdin. PETRONIUS Arbiter. Satyrici fragmenta quae extant. Venetiis : Bernardinus de Vitalibus. 1499. Very rare, but not the first edition, although former- ly supposed to be so. The real editio princeps is at the end of the Panegyricus of Pliny the younger, 1476. PHALARIS, Tyrant of Agrigentum. Epistolae. Oxonii, 1695. These Epistles have been proved spurious, but their publication by Boyle* led to a literary battle royal, splendidly described in Disraeli's "Quarrels of au- thors." Bentley denied their authenticity, and had some personal feelings besides, although Boyle never himself asserted their genuineness and repudiated Bentley's denial as an insult. PHALARIS. Epistole. [Parma,] 1471. The Epistles translated into Italian by B. Fontio. A rare and beautiful copy, with rubricated capitals. PINDARUS. Olympia, Pythia, Nemea, Isthmia; Callimachi Hymni; Dionysius de Situ Orbis, etc. Venetiis: Aldus Manutius. 1513. Editio princeps. The preface by Aldus is very in- teresting, giving a sketch of the war that ravaged Italy and suspended his typographical labors, with a review of what he had already done and a sketch of his proba- ble future efforts. He says he had already exercised the art of printing twenty years, which would show that he began about 1493. The pagination of this book is unusual, being on right-hand corners of the verso pages. PLAUTUS. Comici classici comediae . . . [Paris: printed by G. Le Rouge for] D. Roce. n. d. 2 vols. in I. 8vo. This edition is "of extraordinary rarity." Besides the device of D. Roce each volume bears the red fleur- de-lis of the Giuntas. It is the rarest of the Aldine and Giunta counterfeits, and is not mentioned by Renouard. PLAUTUS. Comcediae. Mediolani: Uldericus Scinzenzeler. 1490. PLAUTUS. The " Menaechmi " and " Bacchides " translated into German. Augsburg, 1518. PLINIUS Caecilius Secundus. Epistolae. Medi- olani: P. de Lavagna. 1478. Folio. The fourth edition, according to Dibdin, and one of very few printed in the isth century. SALLUSTIUS. Opera. Venetiis : Aldus. 1521. The second and best of the Aldine editions of Sal- lust. This copy came from the library of the crusty satirical poet Du Lorens (1583-1655), and contains his autograph. He was renowned for his reckless extrav- agance, fine library, collection of pictures, satirical verses, and quarrels with his wife, for whom, on her death, he composed the well-known epitaph : " Ci git ma femme. Ah ! qu'elle est bien Pour son repos et pour le mien ! " TERENTIUS. Comoediee. Venetiis : ' Lazarus Soardus. 1511. A very scarce edition, "A book which," Dr. Askew says, " may be numbered among the most rare." Be- sides the comedies of Terence it contains " Viet. Faus- tus de Comcedia; et Benedict Philologus de Terentii Comcediis." GROLIER CLUB PUBLICATIONS. Lent by Carl Edelheim, Esq. BURY, Richard de. Philobiblon. 3 vols. New York: The Grolier Club. CONTRIBUTIONS to English bibliography: Cata- logue of original and early editions of some of the poetical and prose works of English writers from Langland to Wither. Printed at New York for The Grolier Club. 1893. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL EXHIBIT. 181 CONWAY, Moncure Daniel. Barons of the Po- tomack and the Rappahannock. New York: The Grolier Club. 1892. CURTIS, George William. Washington Irving: a sketch. New York: The Grolier Club. 1891. DECREE of the Starre-Chamber concerning print- ing made the eleventh day of July, 1637. Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, 1637. Reprinted by The Grolier Club. 1884. A DESCRIPTION of the early printed books owned by The Grolier Club ; with a brief account of their printers and the history of typography in the fifteenth century. New York: The Grolier Club. 1895. DONNE, John. Poems, from the text of the edition of 1633. Revised by James Russell Lowell, with introduction and notes by Charles Eliot Norton. DURER, Albert. Chronological catalogue of the engravings, dry-points and etchings of, as exhibited by The Grolier Club. New York : The Grolier Club. 1897. IRVING, Washington. Knickerbocker's History of New York. Printed for The Grolier Club, New York. 1886. MASON'S Mechanical Exercises : the doctrine of handy-works applied to the art of printing. 2 vols. New York : The Typothetae of the City of New York. 1896. MILTON, John. Areopagitica : a speech of Mr. John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England ; with an introduction by James Russell Lowell. New York : printed by The Grolier Club. 1890. NEW YORK. Laws and Acts of the General Assembly for their Majesties' Province of New York. Printed and sold by William Bradford at New York. 1694. Reprinted for The Grolier Club. READE, Charles. Peg Woffington. 2 vols. Printed for The Grolier Club. 1887. RUBAIYAT of Omar Khayyam, the astronomer- poet of Persia. Printed for The Grolier Club. 1885. KELMSCOTT PRESS ISSUES. Lent by Carl Edelheim, Esq. CAXTON, William. The History of Godfrey of Boloyne and of the Conquest of Jerusalem. Kelmscott Press. April, 1893. CAXTON, William. The History of Reynard the Foxe. Printed at the Kelmscott Press. December, 1892. CHAUCER. Printed at the Kelmscott Press. 1896. Bound in full vellum, blind-tooling, at the Doves Bindery, 1897. The FLOURE and the Leaf, and the Boke of Cupide, God of Love, and the Cuckow and the Nightingale. Printed at the Kelmscott Press by William Morris. August, 1896. The GOLDEN Legend. Kelmscott Press. HERRICK, Robert. Poems chosen from the works of ; edited by F. S. Ellis from the text of the edition of 1648. Printed at the Kelm- scott Press. November, 1895. KEATS, John. Poems. Printed at the Kelm- scott Press. March, 1894. MEINHOLD, William. Sidonia the Sorceress ; translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde. Kelmscott Press. September, 1893. MORRIS, William. Child Christopher and Goldi- ling the fair. Kelmscott Press. The Defence of Guenevere, and other poems. Kelmscott Press. April, 1892. A Dream of John Ball and A King's lesson. Printed on vellum at the Kelmscott Press. May, 1892. The Earthly Paradise. Printed at the Kelm- scott Press. May, 1896. Life and death of Jason, Kelmscott Press. May, 1895. News from nowhere ; or, an epoch of rest. Printed at the Kelmscott Press by the author. November, 1892. Poems by the way. Printed at the Kelm- scott Press. September, 1891. The Story of the glittering plain which has also been called the Land of living men or the Acre of the undying. Kelmscott Press. January, 1894. The Well at the world's end. Kelmscott Press. March, 1896. The Wood beyond the world. Printed at the Kelmscott Press. May, 1894. The RECUYELL of the Historyes of Troye. Kelmscott Press. ROSSETTI, Dante Gabriel. Sonnets and lyrical poems. Printed at the Kelmscott Press. February, 1894. SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe. Poetical works. Printed at the Kelmscott Press. SWINBURNE, Algernon Charles. Atalanta in Calydon : a tragedy. Kelmscott Press. May, 1894. The TALE of Beowulf. Printed at the Kelm- scott Press. January, 1895. MEDICAL INCUNABULA AND RARITIES. From the Collection of J. Stockton Hough, M.D., Trenton, New Jersey. Macer. De Virtutibus Herbarum. 1477- BRUNSCHWIG. Liber pestilentialis de venenis epidemic. Das buch der vergift der pestiletz das da genat ist der gemein sterbent der Trii- sen Blatren. von Jeronimo bruswig. Strass- burg, 1500. Small folio, with 23 woodcuts. A very rare book. CANDIDUS, Petrus. Degeniturahominis. Rome [circa 1490]. One of the first, if not the first, work of the Middle Ages on generation, 182 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. CAULIAC. Chirurgia. 1500. With 211 cuts of surgical instruments of Albucasis. The earliest book with plates on surgical instruments. CHAMFER, Symphorien of Lyons. 1506. First edition of the first medical biography and bibliography, and the only known copy in this country. Champer was author of 125 treatises on medicine, chivalry, and history, 105 of which were printed 1498- 1534- The GOUERNAYLE of Helthe; reprinted from Caxton's edition of circa 1491, by William Blades. London, 1858. Sm. 8vo. Facsimile reprint of the first English medical book. [GRAPHEUS, or] Grassis, Benevenutus. De oculis. [Colophon:] Sever[inus] Ferrar[ien- sisl F[eliciter] Ffinitur] [rncccclxx] iiii. A first edition of the first independent treatise on the eye. An extremely rare book, much sought after by collectors. GRUENPECK, Josephus. [Not later than 1497.] Mainly copied from Sebastian Brandt, to whom a Eulogium is prefixed. The title-page shows a cadaver with pustular eruption. The disease is described from the writer's experience. Gruenpeck was Secretary to Maximilian I., who is shown in attitude of intercession to B. V. M- [H]ORTUS Sanitatis de herbis et plantis. [Circa 1490.] The first edition; one of several undated editions. This is one of the two great picture-books of the ijth century, containing nearly 1000 woodcuts. It was fre- quently reprinted but seldom in good condition. It contains one of the earliest illustrations of the human skeleton. ISAAC, Judaeus. De particularibus diaetis. Printed by Cerdonis de Windischgratz, 1487. An exceedingly rare book, the first edition of the first book printed on diet. The author was an Egyptian Israelite, an eye-doctor, who lived 830-941 A.D. JUNG, Ambrosius. De pestilentia. Printed by Johannes Schonsperger, 1494. KAMIUTUS. Regimen contra pestilentiam. Sm. 8vo. n.p. n.d. KETHAM, Johannes de. Fasciculus de Medi- cina. 1508. This is a collection of treatises brought together by Ketham, and is the most sought after of any medical work of the isth century. The only known copy of the first edition (1491) is in the Boston Medical Library, and of this edition, the sixth, but one other copy is known to exist, in the Public Library of Venice. It is the first book with anatomical plates, which are by Mantegna or one of his pupils. MALDURUS, Petrus Ludovicus. Vita Sancti Rochi. ' _St. Roch, who lived about 1300 A.D., is the patron saint of the sick in hospitals or sufferers from the plague. The frontispiece shows St. Roch in the wilder- ness attended by the angel who daily dressed his wounds, and met by his dog who brought him every day a loaf of bread from the city. NICOLAUS Leonicensis. De epidemia, etc. Venice : Aldus Manutius. 1497. An important treatise, and one of a number of medi- cal books published by Aldus in 1497. PEYLIGK, Johannes. Phiiosophia Nat. comp. et decl. Printed by M. Letter, Lipsiae, 1499. First edition of the first book published with ana- tomical plates of individual organs of the body. A very curious, little known, and most rare work. There is but one other copy known in this country, which is in the Surgeon-General's Library at Washington. QUESTIONES naturales antiquorum philosopho- rum. Colonia : impressum per Cornelium de Zyrychzee. n. d. REISCH, Gregorovius. Margarita philosophica. Printed by J. Schottus. Friburg, 1503. First edition. A handbook of natural and moral philosophy in dialogue form, largely illustrated. The notes of music are among the earliest of musical typog- raphy. SERENUS Sammonicus. Carmen medicinee. [circa 1486.] The only extant poem of this voluminous and very early writer. In it is found the first mention of the amulet charm Abracadabra as a remedy against inter- mittent fever. From the Sunderland library, and the only copy in this country. SIMON Genuensis. Synonyma. Printed by Zarotus : Milan, 1473. First edition of the first medical dictionary. RARE VOLUMES. Lent by Clarence H. Clark, Esq. BIBLE. The Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel I. and II., together with commentary of Don Isaak Ahravanel. Printed in Hebrew on parchment at Pesaro, 1521. BIVERO, Juan Salvador de. Phelippe II. and III. Carta executoria de hidalguia a pedi- mente de Juan Salvador de Bivero : (1593- 1603). Small folio. Very choice ms. charter of nobility, on vellum written within borders of gold. It contains fifty-one sheets of vellum and has twenty-seven large initial let- ters, variously illuminated, with four full-page illu- minations, besides numerous, capital letters. BLANC, Le Sieur. Histoire de Baviere. Paris : Chez la Veuve Mille de Beaujeu. 1680. 4 vols. i2mo. This work comes from the Cre"cy library. Each volume bears the Pompadour arms on the upper and ' lower covers. The curious frontispiece to Vol. I. is the Baptism of Theodore, Prince of Bavaria, by St. Rupert. BREVIARVM Antiqvvm. An illuminated quarto manuscript breviary, written in the isth century. Many of the large illuminated capital letters are historiated, and include figures of the saints, etc. This manuscript formerly belonged to one of the Popes, but his arms have been defaced on the covers. BURY, Richard de. The Philobiblon. New York : The Grolier Club. 1889. 3 vols. Small 4to. This is the earliest book on bibliography by an Eng- lish writer, the first printed edition of which was published in 1473. This reprint is one of an edition of 300 copies only, and the three volumes have been bound by different binders. Vol. I., containing the original Latin text, is in whole brown levant morocco, blind-tooled with a i6th century pattern, with doubte in garnet morocco with gold tooling in the Grolier style ; bound by Marius Michel. Vol. II. contains the English text and is bound in red morocco, with the arms of the Grolier Club ; the doubl^ of blue morocco, with border of leaves in gold. The binders were Lortic freres. Vol. III., containing the notes, etc., is in whole brown levant morocco, with double in garnet morocco, and decorated with old tools found at the palace of San Donate. Bound by Gruel and Engelmann. CUNNINGHAM, Peter. The story of Nell Gwynn. New York, 1883. At page 122 is inserted an original autograph of Nell Gwynn; not more than ten or twelve of her autographs are known. She could not sign her name in full, but was content with " E. G." It is attached to a power of attorney granted by Ellinor Gwyn to James Frazier, duly sealed and delivered by the famous beauty, and dated June i, 1680. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL EXHIBIT. 183 DIBDIN, Thomas Frognall. Reminiscences of a literary life. London, 1836. 2 vols. in 3. This is a large-paper copy of the first edition, of which only 39 copies were printed of this size. It has been extra illustrated, and is opened where in Vol. III. there has been inserted an original ms. covering ten sides of letter-paper, by Robert Southey, describing the genealogy and characteristics of those family pets., " The Cats of Greta Hall." This is dated Keswick, June 18, 1824, and is written to his daughter, Edith May, who afterwards married the Rev. John Wood Waiter, who published them in the appendix to his last volume of " Southey's Life and Letters" from a rough draft found by Mr. Warter. DRYDEN, John. Fables. London, 1797. Folio. A unique volume, being the only copy of this edi- tion printed on vellum. It it illustrated by numerous engravings, after designs by Lady Diana Beauclerc, executed oy'Bartolozzi, and printed on satin, of which the impressions in this book are the proofs. It was acquired from the library of Prince Galitzin, of Russia. DUMAS, Alexandre. L'invitation a la valse: comdie en un acte et en prose. Original manuscript of Alex. Dumas, fere, with autograph letter of Alex. Dumas, fits. DURER, Albert. Passio Christi. 1511. This series of 37 engravings, first published in book form in 1511, is known as " The Little Passion," to distinguish it from the series of larger size on the same subject called the " Great Passion." All the plates are signed "A. D." and four are dated, two 1510 and two 1509. This set of the prints, which is unbound, is from two editions, but mainly from that of 1511, the most sought after. A complete set is of rare occurrence. FIRDAUSI, Abu'l Casim Mansur. Shah Nameh. 541 leaves. Folio. A fine illuminated Persian manuscript copy of the " Book of Kings," transcribed in four columns on yel- low paper, within lines of gold. It is a history of Per- sia, composed about 950 A.D., in nearly 60,000 verses, and was thirty years in composition. At page in is an illustration ot the game of polo. The poem contains a very full account of this "game of ball," which seems to have had a very early adoption in Persia. This copy was written by Alijan Ibni Haidar Vili of Hurr in A.H. ion (1603 A.D.). It is considered a splendid speci- men of Persian writing. GRAMMONT, Comte de. Memoires du Comte de Grammont par le C. Antoine Hamilton. Lon- don, 1794. Extended from i to 3 vols. Folio. This is an extra-illustrated copy of these memoirs. Only five copies were printed, on atlas-size paper, two of which have been destroyed and two are in the British Museum and Bodleian libraries. The extra- illustrations were collected by Mr. Richard Bull, of the Isle of Wight, to whose family many autograph letters of King Charles II. were bequeathed by a friend and descendant " of Mr. Secretary Morice, the confidant of the king. There are two holograph let- ters of Charles II. inserted, one (on three pages of small letter paper) dated Bruxelles, April 8, 1660, which is referred to in Thurloe's State Papers, vol. 7, p. 858 ; and th e other, a celebrated one (on five pages of small letter paper), dated Breda, May 20, 1660, written by the king only nine days before the Restoration. Both are signed "Charles R." and detail the steps to be taken by General Monk and others to help forward Charles' return to his kingdom. Entry of HENRI II. of France into the city of Rouen. Rouen: Robert le Hoy, 1551. Small 4to. This curious book is rarely found complete. This copy is bound by Trautz-Bauzonnet in dark blue mo- rocco, with doubld of red morocco, panelled borders, having the fleur-de-lis at each corner and an "H" in the centre of each side and end of the panelling. KORAN. Illuminated manuscript. Folio. Copies of the Koran of this size and beauty of writ- ing are almost unknown, except in the large mosques and mausoleums. This is one of two copies written about the year 1600 by a celebrated calligraphist. The Surahs, or chapters, are separated by decorated inter- spaces. LIVRE d'heures. A quarto-sized illuminated manuscript, written in the fourteenth century. LIVRE d'offices. Paris, 1885. 8vo. A beautiful example of modern inlaid binding by Zaehnsdorf. LONGFELLOW, Henry Wadsworth. The Birds of Killingworth. 4to. This book was designed and executed in water-col- ors by Mrs. H. J. [J. Pauline] Sunter, of Auburn, N. Y., but was never published. The illustrated pages are thirty-three in number. MALPIGHI, Marcellus. Opera. London, 1687. 2 vols. in i. Folio. A good specimen of i7th century binding. NEW Laws of the Indies for the good treatment and preservation of the Indians promulgated by the Emperor Charles the fifth, 1542- 1543. A reprint of the original Spanish edition, together with a literal translation into Eng- lish ; to which is prefixed an historical intro- duction by the late Henry Stevens of Ver- mont and F. W. Lucas. London : The Chis- wick Press. 1893. PALISSOT, Charles. CEuvres completes. Paris, 1788. 4 vols. 8vo. From the library of Marie-Antoinette, at the Tuile- ries, and later from the collection of M. Eugene Paillet. The binding, in red morocco, bears the Queen's arms on each cover of each volume. PALUSTRE, Leon. La renaissance en France. Paris, 1879-85. 3 vols. Folio. No. 37 of forty copies on China paper. Bound by Marius Michel in rich red morocco, with a broad panel of light brown ; the whole choicely tooled. It has an elaborate centre ornament, in which the letter " H " is twice given, the same letter being incorporated in the top and bottom ends of the brown panel. The centre is further decorated with fleurs-de-lis and St. George and the Dragon pendant. PASSIO Domini Nostri. U. Graf. Argentorati, 1507. Folio. Le PASTISSIER, Francois. A Amsterdam, chez Louys et Daniel Elzevier. 1655. I2mo. This is the " King of the Elzeviers" and nearly the rarest of the Elzevier collection. There are not above thirty yolumes known to exist. The binding is by Cuzin, in red morocco, with double of blue morocco, with elaborate and minute tooled decoration. A copy of this work sold in Paris at auction for 10,000 francs. PFINZING, Melchior. Tewrdanncks. Augs- burg, 1519. Folio. A copy of the second edition, acquired from the li- brary of the Hon. Frederick North. The first and sec- ond editions were not, as generally supposed, printed from the same types and plates. The variations are very numerous. The types were specially made for this work from designs executed by Albert Dtirer, ac- cording to his own taste, at the special request of the Emperor Maximilian. They imitate, in a marvellous manner, a beautiful German writing. PONTANUS, Joannes Jovianus. Opera. Venice, 1533. 2 vols. 8vo. This is a fine Aldine, bound by Cap in olive-brown levant, with Grolier ornaments. It is printed in the italic type which Aldus invented and thought so highly of that many volumes were printed wholly in that character. 1 84 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. PREVOST, L'Abbe. Histoire de Manon Lescaut. Paris, 1797. 2 vols. I2mo. A beautiful specimen of binding by Lortic fils in blue crushed levant, with double of green morocco. REDI, Francesco. Esperienze. Florence, 1671. Small folio. The binding is Italian, in hogskin, of the same period. The figures of persons, in Italian costumes, shown in the elaborate vaulted chamber with pillars and a tesselated pavement, are done in various colored inlaid leathers, polished and hand-tooled. RARITIES. Lent by Various Owners. BRETT, Edwin J. Pictorial and descriptive record of arms and armour. London, 1894. Folio. \TheRittenhouse Club.~\ FERDINAND III. of Germany. Autograph and seal of the Emperor, countersigned by his Minister Questenberg ; a relic of the thirty years' war. [Julius F. Sachse, Esq.] GASTON d'Orleans, brother of the King Louis. Autograph on parchment, dated 1646. [James G. Barnivell, Esq.] GEORGE III. of England. Manuscript letter to the Dey of Algiers, showing the autograph "George R." [James G. Barn-well, Esq.] Louis XIII., King of France. Signature to doc- ument on parchment, dated 1629, " Lettres d'honneur pour M. de Fienbot, Secretaire du Roi." [James G. Barnwell, Esq.] Louis XIV., King of France. Document on parchment, dated 1704, with autograph sig- nature. [James G. Barnwell, Esq.] [MAGNA Charta.] The Excellent Priviledge of Liberty and Property. [Philadelphia : print- ed by William Bradford, 1687.] 63 pp. i6mo. [ The Meeting of the Friends of Suffering.] The first American edition of Magna Charta ; with William Penn's Patent and his " Charter of Liberties." For reprint by the Philobiblon Club see the next ex- hibit. [MAGNA Charta.] The Excellent Priviledge of Liberty and Property. Philadelphia : The Philobiblon Club, 1897. [The Philobiblon Club.] A reprint of the preceding exhibit. The first publi- cation of the Philobiblon Club, of which only 150 copies were printed, five being on vellum. MAZARIN Bible. One leaf of this renowned Bible, on vellum. Only nineteen copies exist of this edition of the Bible on paper, and seven on vellum. PAPAL Indulgence. Bull of 100 days' Indul- gence by the Cardinal Patriarch of Aquilya, Papal Nuncio, dated March, 1471, in the first years of the Pontificate of P. P. Sixtus IV. [James G. Barnwell, Esq.] PAPAL Indulgence. An original Indulgence, dated Feb. 5, 1479, issued by Sixtus IV., for the purpose of rebuilding the church of Marie de Mont Carmelo, in Nordlingen. [Julius F. Sachse, Esq.] It is dated February 5, 1479, and is the only copy of an Indulgence of that period known to be in America. TAYLOR, Bayard. Original Manuscript of Bay- ard Taylor's translation of Faust. [James Monaghan, Esq.] THACKERAYIANA. Original mss. and first editions of Thackeray, Lent by Major W. H. Lambert. The ADVENTURES of Philip. The original ms., with pen-and-ink drawings and water-colour sketches by Thackeray. 3 vols. 4to. Bound by Rivifere & Son. The first time this ms. has ever been on exhibition. The CORSAIR. New York : March, 1839, to March, 1840. 410. In the number for Aug. 24, 1839, is the first of the "Letters from London. Paris, etc.," dated July 25, 1839, and signed "T. T." some of Thackeray's earliest printed work. FLO RE et Zephyre : ballet mythologique, par Theophile Wagstaff. London, 1836. 410. Consists of eight lithographed plates by Thackeray, without letter-press. The GUARDIAN. London, 1795. 2 vols. i2mo. With many marginal pencil sketches and notes by Thackeray. HEROIC adventures of M. Boudin. 410. Twelve original drawings by Thackeray, probably intended for a burlesque life of an imaginary hero of the French Revolution and Empire, but never pub- lished. See Harper's Magazine for February, 1891. LOVEL the widower. London, 1861. 8vo. First edition, with a portion of the original ms. in- serted. Bound by Riviere. The NEWCOMES. 2 vols. London, 1855. 8vo. First edition, with the original wrappers, and with portions of the ms. inserted. The History of PENDENNIS. 2 vols. London, 1850. 8vo. First edition, in the original paper wrappers, and with portions of the ms. inserted. REED, William B. Haud immemor: a few per- sonal recollections of Mr. Thackeray in Phila- delphia. Philadelphia, 1864. 8vo. With original letters of Thackeray inserted. Original SKETCH-BOOK of Thackeray's. 37 leaves. Oblong 4to. Containing the celebrated pen-and-ink sketch of Dickens as " Captain Bobadil." The SNOB: a literary and scientific journal not conducted by "Members of the University." Cambridge, 1829. I2mo. Only eleven numbers' were issued, each consisting of six pages, printed on paper of different colors green, pink, and yellow. It was for No. 4 of this periodi- cal that Thackeray wrote, while an undergraduate at Cambridge, " Timbuctoo " (a burlesque of Tennyson's prize poem), the earliest known writing of Thackeray's published in his lifetime. The GOWNSMAN, formerly called The Snob. Cambridge, 1830. i2mo. Continuation of "The Snob." It contains several pieces by Thackeray, and was probably edited by him. The VIRGINIANS. 2 vols. London, 1859. 8vo. First edition, with the original paper wrappers, and with portions of the ms. inserted. The YELLOWPLUSH correspondence. Philadel- phia, 1838. I2mo. The first volume of Thackeray's writings published in separate form, either in Europe or America. It was a reprint of the anonymous articles which had just appeared in Fraser's Magazine, and appeared two years before the " Sketch Book " was published in London. Portrait of THACKERAY: original autograph and pen-and-ink sketch by himself, reading his Lecture on the Four Georges. [From the G. W. Childs collection in the Drexel Institute.] FARR. 185 THE AMERICAN POST-CONFERENCE. BY MARY P. FARR. TT is rather amusing to read the program mapped out for the Delaware Water Gap trip, and to then recall what we actually did. In the first place, there were only 21 of us to- gether over Sunday. Monday brought three more arrivals, but also saw the departure of others. The fact that there were so few made it easier for us to become well acquainted with one another; the only thing to be regretted was the short stay of so many. Scarcely a meal passed that we did not find one more empty place, and by Friday there were only nine left. Four frivolous members resolved themselves into what they called " the sub-committee of the A. L. A.," and assumed the duty of recording every night the doings of the day. Should this chronicle drift occasionally into nonsense, we trust that it will be understood as merely a quotation from the log-book. On Saturday, June 26, strict injunctions were given to meet at Broad street station in time for the 12. 01 train. These were not obeyed, as the wild state of confusion at the last minute proved; hasty lunches were swallowed, baggage was frantically checked, and such scurrying and scampering for the train can easily be im- agined. Just as the gates were closing two li- brarians dashed madly through, dropping their tickets in the excitement, while it is unnecessary to mention the one who appeared upon the scene at 12. 01 with a trunk and bicycle, demanding that they should be checked at once, while the baggage-master calmly informed her that she must wait for the 3.52. The four hours' ride seemed nothing to that, jolly party in the special car. No time was lost when the Kittatinny was reached. The photog- raphers began work at once, taking snap-shots of every nook and grotto. An exploring party climbed the hill to the Water Gap House to take in the view. Coming back through the woods they paused to rest in the rustic arbor of Lake Lenape, but the appearance of a toad was too much for the nerves of one of the party, and they quickly vacated that cool little spot. The itinerary reads: "dinner and a social evening, with music until midnight, will pre- pare for the enjoyment of a quiet Sunday." In reality another expedition to the Water Gap House was undertaken in the dense blackness of the night. An attempt was made to return by the route of the afternoon. Each one was sure of the way, and as many different routes were taken as there were members in the party. The situation became exciting when the objects in the path and the path itself could not longer be distinguished. Had it not been for the matches of a bicycle maiden we fear a number of our best members would have come to an untimely end in the abyss, on whose brink they found themselves when the light was produced. Happily the hotel was reached without serious accident. The entire party were soon gathered together laughing and talking over their ex- periences of the past week. Be it herewith recorded that the dissipations on this trip invariably ceased several hours be- fore midnight, as an early hour for retiring had been unanimously voted. The conference was broken up in small groups on Sunday morning. Some rowed down the river to the Gap itself, and sounded the echo all along the mountain; others tried fresh-water bathing; still others ventured on a little mountain-climbing. According to the log-book, they would have gone to church, but they did not know the way and would not ask. Two members sped off on their wheels and took the Cherry Valley circuit, going over Fox Hill, frorn which height a glorious view of the valley beneath them was obtained. The town of Stroudsburg was included in the return trip. A camera accompanied them, and could we but exhibit the pictures taken, there would be no need to describe the points of interest. They paused to rest by a little creek, over whose stones they scrambled and refreshed them- selves with clear water drunk from leafy cups. The excursion on Sunday afternoon was the only one in which all took part. Four carriages drove us round the Jersey circuit. The road lay over the Shawnee hills, and at every turn we caught new glimpses of the Delaware river in the valley below and of the hills on the Jersey shore. Looking back, the tops of Mount Tammany and Mount Minsi were just visible above Blockade 1 86 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. mountain, which cuts off the view of the Gap from the north. At Walker's Ferry we had the novel experi- ence of crossing in an old-fashioned flat-bot- tomed scow, which held but one carriage at a time. We left our carriages and crowded on the scow for the first trip, with the exception of the photographer, who remained on shore to snap us as we were going over. On the grassy banks of the Jersey shore we amused ourselves until all the carriages were towed across. The road in Jersey ran through dense woods, where only the sound of the voices and the thud of the horses' hoofs could be heard. Again we were out in open fields, but always high above the river. At other times we were driving along a narrow ridge path, with a steep precipice on one side and the high wood- ed hills towering above us on the other. The laurel was blooming in profusion everywhere, and it was not long before every one was laden with huge bunches of it. Recrossing the river at the foot of Mount Tammany, where all hands turned in to help tow across, we returned to the hotel round the base of Mount Minsi. "On Monday an excursion is planned for Dingham's Ferry," the program says. But on Monday it is needless to state no one saw Ding- ham's Ferry. A bicycle party of four was or- ganized to visit the slate quarries. Owing to the rocky and sandy condition o^the roads, and the inadaptability of hired wheels, two were dis- couraged and turned back to find some tamer form of amusement. The other more advent- urous ones pushed on, but failed to find the slate quarries. The path wound around the foot of Mount Minsi and Mount Tammany reared its rugged head on the opposite side of the river. This imposing scenery was entirely lost on the cyclers, for every effort on their part to look elsewhere than in the straight and narrow path was promptly discouraged by the frantic actions of their wheels. One of them turned to view the south side of Mount Minsi and soon found herself in an ignominious heap in the dust. To record the number of times they dis- mounted in any but a graceful manner, or plunged headlong in the bushes, would in itself fill a volume " Purring of the rubber, Ringing of the steel, Bless me, this is pleasant Riding on a wheel ! " Through the village of Portland they went. They climbed to the heights of Mount Bethel, from whose summit they surveyed the sur- rounding hills and vales, and regaled them- selves with ginger ale in the country store and post-office. Unfortunately, no road could be found around the other side of the mountain, and they were obliged to take the same sandy journey home. A carriage drive was taken in the afternoon through the Cherry valley, with a detour through Stroudsburg. A bicycle party of three visited Buttermilk Falls. " They were disap- pointed," the log-book says, "in finding the Falls only plain water." Great was their sor- row, however, after climbing across the stones of the creek, at considerable risk, to find the Falls shut off with a barbed-wire fence. To console themselves they raided a wayside candy shop and reappeared with a dozen lemon-sticks. A mountain climb was planned for Tuesday. Nine started bravely from the hotel, but only five reached the summit of Mount Minsi. The way to Lover's Leap was smooth enough, and we began to think mountain-climbing was noth- ing after all. The Promontory, Prospect Point, and other points of interest were rapidly left in the rear. Occasionally we stopped to rest and regaled ourselves with funny stories. Weary members dropped by the wayside in shady nooks to await the return of the others. The heat was intense, but the party was too jolly to give much thought of it. The views at every turn repaid us for all the heat and fatigue we en- dured. As we mounted higher and higher the scene became ever more impressive. The hills lay in the distance, with farm-houses scattered here and there upon them; villages were barely visible in the valleys; long stretches of culti- vated fields were relieved by dense woodlands, and the river making its way between the mountains added to the grandeur and beauty of the view. As we neared the top the path became more rocky and almost impassable, but the five kept boldly on, and Eagle's Nest, the highest point, was finally reached. Here the view was en- tirely different from any we had seen on the other side of the mountain. Looking south through New Jersey and Pennsylvania, long, flat stretches of country appeared, with the Delaware river clearly marking the boundary line. The houses were mere dots upon the FARR. 187 scene from the distance at which we viewed them. The hills up which we had laboriously pushed our wheels the day before appeared as ant-hills now. We spied the slate quarries sev- eral miles distant from the road which we had taken. The descent was found more difficult than the climb to the summit, and the resting- places became more frequent. Upon the return to the hotel the little steam- boat Kittatinny was chartered, and the party sped down to the river to the bath-houses. A plunge in the "stilly deep" refreshed the weary ones and sharpened their appetites for dinner. The A. L. A. had diminished so rapidly that it required but two carriages to drive us over the Jersey circuit on Tuesday afternoon. We crossed the river at Dimmick's Ferry and re- turned by way of Walker's, laden with rhodo- dendrons. A drizzling rain set in before the end of the drive, and the heavy shower which followed in the evening warned us that A. L. A. conferences cannot be all sunshine as this one had been heretofore. Plans were made for a rainy day on Wednesday, but were thrown aside when Wednesday dawned clear and hotter than ever. A drive was taken by the main portion of the A. L. A. to Marshall's Falls, and Bradlee Falls were also visited by the way. A second moun- tain tramp was attempted by four. Their route lay around Lake Lenape. As there were no toads in the summer-house they were able to rest there without fear of alarm. Along the sylvan way they wandered to Caldeno Falls, striking off in the wrong path frequently, but this had become a feature of mountain-climbing and needs no mention. Likewise the gnats which continually beset their path need only be spoken of. It was delightfully refreshing after the ex- ertion of the walk to stand on the broad mossy rocks beneath the Falls and feel the spray dashing in one's face. They stopped by Diana's Bath, that little pool which remains so calm and serene while the waters dash by it from the Moss Cataract to the Falls below. Crossing the mountain to Eureka Glen they climbed slowly down the rickety stairway leading to Childs' Arbor. At almost every landing a pause was made to rest and gaze upon the cooling wa- ters as they splashed over the moss-grown rocks. The dogs which had accompanied the mountain-climbers plunged in at once and refreshed themselves while the unfortunate four remained as hot as ever. The return home was made by the picturesque Moss Ledge path. The danger of the narrow and crumbling pathway was greatly increased by the dogs, who insisted upon taking the inside track as they rushed backward and forward in their antics. Up and down the path wound around the side of the mountain, great rocks hanging high overhead in many places, or jutting out in huge columns or forming solid walls; here and there a miniature cave opened on the path- way, and dense foliage was everywhere, Great bunches of maidenhair were carried back to the hotel as mementos of the occasion. The morning was completed with a row down the river and another plunge, which had now become a part of each day's program. Wednesday afternoon was marked by the departure of one of the most important mem- bers of the "sub-committee." Owing to this sad fact no great project was on foot. The more dignified portion of the A. L. A. skirted up and down the river in the steamboat Kitta- tinny, but the doings of the others the log-book can best relate. "The sub-committee mounted to the arbor of the Water Gap house, where they held a farewell concert tendered to the late departed member. The concert was a great success, as it was accompanied by a delightful breeze and view. On the departure of the aforesaid mem- ber on the 4.44 train, the three remaining shed many bitter tears as they waved their handkerchiefs over the railing of the Kitta- tinny. For consolation they sojourned to the village and sallied into a nondescript establish- ment, whose proprietor claimed to be a purveyor of ice-cream. But subsequent investigation proved that there was neither ice nor cream in the hideous concoction, though he assured them he had used at least two flavors in its prepara- tion. After this the sub-committee will eat neither vanilla nor chocolate. A few slight purchases were made at the local Wanamaker's and the party returned to the hotel, to enable one to get a snooze, a second a shave, and the third a ride in the elevator." An excursion to Bushkill Falls was on the gen- eral program. Only two members, however, undertook the journey to these falls, which boast of being the largest and most beautiful in the district. They started out early Thurs- i88 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. day morning on their wheels, with the intention of visiting only Marshall's Falls and returning in time to drive with the others in the afternoon to Wolf Hollow. On leaving Marshall's Falls they found a good road with comparatively few hills, which was so unusual in that region that they kept on merely for the pleasure of riding. The village of Bushkill was reached without any effort. Upon inquiry they discovered the Falls to be two miles and a half further on, and up hill, as they found to their sorrow; but they were not to be discouraged. They began to think the Falls must lie somewhere in the clouds, for at every turn a new hill appeared and riding was impossible. Finally the spot was reached, and the sight that greeted their eyes well repaid them for pushing their wheels all the way. That mighty volume of water as it plunged over the steep wall of rock, and the rainbow hues of the spray as it dashed out be- neath, were a spectacle well worth walking or riding any number of miles in the heat and dust to see. A rustic path and bridge extended down through the ravine, crossing and recross- ing the creek. The weary ones did not venture farther than the foot of the Falls, and of course were afterwards told they failed to see the pret- tiest part of the scene. "They came down those hills like a house afire," the log-book reads, " pigs, chickens, and cows scattered in all directions. Peter's House in Bushkill furnished them shelter from the burning sun and a luke-warm dinner of mutton and cherry pie." Great was their amazement to find, in the course of conversation with the proprietor, that the nearest railway station was 13 miles away, and they inwardly prayed that neither rain nor accident would visit them until they were safely within the pale of civilization. The ride home was merely child's play, with the exception of three or four miles, which lay over a mountain somewhere in the vicinity of Buttermilk Falls. Meantime the other portion of the A. L. A. Were amusing themselves with risking their lives in rowboats with inexperienced oarsmen, or on the Moss Ledge with guides who took no thought of the treacherous footing. On the non-arrival of the two who had started for Marshall's Falls, great anxiety spread through the party. Pictures of one cycler carrying the mangled remains of another, or of the two shouldering the pieces of a shattered wheel or walking with punctured tires, loomed up in their minds. The advisability of organizing a searching party was discussed, but this idea was abandoned, and with these cheerful thoughts for companions a slim portion of the A. L. A. drove to Wolf Hollow and returned laden as usual with ferns, laurel, and rhododendrons. They found the cyclers calmly seated on the piazza, utterly regardless of the trouble they had caused. The only sympathy the worried ones received for the distress and anxiety they had suffered, was the assurance that they had missed one of the grandest sights in the whole vicinity of the Gap. A final row on the river was taken at sunset, and the echo sent back the merry songs and laughter. A farewell visit was tendered to Lake Lenape, Caldeno Falls, and the Moss Ledge path on Friday morning. This journey was taken for the sole purpose of displaying the beauties of the place to one who had failed to visit these spots, but who loudly protested all the way against undertaking such an expedition in the burning heat of the day. One young lady who had experienced several narrow escapes on the Moss Ledge path the day before positively re- fused to venture there again, and preferred to walk home by the dusty road instead. When the path was found more slippery than ever, and the gnats flew into our eyes, we began to think the young lady in the road the wisest after all, and we wondered if it were any cooler down there. A rest in Lovers' retreat was gladly welcomed; an occasional "Oh, but it is hot!" constituted the entire con- versation. The steamboat Kittatinny for the last time carried us down for our refreshing bath. Six members reluctantly took their departure on the 4.44 train, leaving but three to wave tender adieux over the railing of the Kittatinny. Exciting games of "old maid" and "hearts" greatly enlivened the journey to Philadelphia. It was unanimously voted by the six members present : That a post-conference trip, consisting of fly- ing trips from place to place, cannot be as enjoyable and satisfactory as one spent in some attractive spot where the members have time to turn around and become acquainted with one another, as the thorough enjoyment of this post-conference has shown. ATTENDANCE REGISTER. 189 ATTENDANCE REGISTER. ABBREVIATIONS : F., Free; L., Library; Ln., Librarian; P., Public; As., Assistant. Abbott, G: M., Treas. and As. Ln. Library Co. of Phila., Philadelphia, Pa. Adams, Emma L., Ln. P. L., Plainfield, N. J. Adler, Cyrus, Ln. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Ahern, Mary E., Editor Public Libraries, Chi- cago, 111. Aldrich, Elizabeth W., Winnetka, 111. Allen, Letitia S., Ln. F. L., Attleboro, Mass. Allen, Mary S., Ln. Friends' L., Philadelphia, Pa. Almy, Ida B., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Ames, Anne S., N. Y. State Library School, Al- bany, N. Y. Anderson, Edwin H., Ln. Carnegie L., Pitts- burgh, Pa. Andrews, Clement W., Ln. John Crerar L., Chicago, 111. Andrews, Elizabeth P., N. Y. State Library School, Albany, N. Y. Angell, Eleanor A., Montclair, N. J. Ashhurst, John (3d), Ln. West Phila. Branch F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Austin, Willard, Ref. Ln. Cornell Univ., Itha- ca, N. Y. Avery, Myrtilla, Director's As. P. JL. Division, University of the State of New York, Al- bany, N. Y. Bailey, May, Munhall, Pa., Library student Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Baker, G: H., Ln. Columbia University, New York City. Barber, Mrs. Margaret C., Ln. Union Library, Trenton, N. J. Barnes, Elizabeth L., As. Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pa. Barnett, Claribel R., Cataloger Department of Agriculture Library, Washington, D. C. Barnum, T. R., Ln. University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt. Barnwell, James G., Ln. Library Co, of Phila., Philadelphia, Pa. Beardsley, Arthur, Ln. Friends' Historical Li- brary, Swarthmore, Pa. Bechtel, Mary E. , Germantown, Pa., Library student Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Berry, Silas H., Ln. Y. M. C. A., Brooklyn, N. Y. Bidwell, Clara L., As. Ln. P. L., Somerville, Mass. Bigelow, F. B., Ln. N. Y. Society Library, New York City. Billings, Dr. J: S., Director N. Y. P. L., New York City. Bishop, W: W., As. Ln. Garrett Biblical Insti- tute, Evanston, 111. Blanchard, Caroline A., Ln. Tufts Library, Weymouth, Mass. Blandy, Julia W., New York City, Library stu- dent Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Bliss, Robert P., Ln. Bucknell L. of Crozer Theological Seminary, Chester, Pa. Blodget, Lorin, jr., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Boardman, Alice, As. Ln. State L., Columbus, Ohio. Bradley, Helen M., Ln. State College, Centre Co., Pa. Bradley, I: S., Ln. State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Bradley, Mrs. I: S., Madison, Wis. Brett, W: H., Ln. P. L., Cleveland, Ohio. Brinkmann, Edith, Chief Dept. of Circulation F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Brobst, S: J., Trustee L. Fund, Allentown, Pa. Brown, Arthur N., Professor U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. Brownback, Reba E., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Browne, Nina E., Ln. Library Bureau, As. Sec'y A. L. A. Publishing Section, Boston, Mass. Browning, Eliza G., Ln. P. L., Indianapolis, Ind. Burdick, Esther E., Ln. F. P. L., Jersey City, N.J. Burnite, Caroline, Ln. Jacob Tome Institute, Port Deposit, Md. Burns, Wylie C., Literary editor W. A. Wilde Co., Boston, Mass. Burtch, Almon, Library Dept. A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 111. Caffrey, Miss K. K., As. Apprentices' L., Phil- adelphia, Pa. Campbell, J: H., jr., Deputy Ln. Wilson's L., Philadelphia, Pa. 190 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Carr, Henry J., Ln. P. L., Scranton, Pa. Carr, Mrs. Henry J., Scranton, Pa. Carroll, Anna B., Ln. L. Association of Friends, Philadelphia, Pa. Cathcart, W. H., Burrows Bros. Co., Cleve- land, Ohio. Cattell, Sarah W., ex-Ln., Philadelphia, Pa. Chapell, Cornelia W., jr., Trustee P. L., New London, Ct. Charlton, Mary R., As. Ln. Medical L. McGill Univ., Montreal, Canada. Child, W: B., Ln. Union League Club, New York City. Churchman, Mrs. F. M., Indianapolis, Ind. Clarke, Edith E., Chief Cataloger Public Docu- ments L., Washington, D. C. Clarke, Elizabeth- B., As. Mercantile L., Phila- delphia, Pa. Clayton, Violet M., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Clemens, Elizabeth V., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Clonney, Mrs. Josephine W., Ln. City School L., Binghamton, N. Y. Coe, Alice J., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Cole, T. L., Bookseller, Washington, D. C. Collins, V. L., Ref. Ln. Princeton Univ., Princeton, N. J. Cooper, Louise B., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Cope, Grace E., Des Moines, la. Cope, Jessie E., Des Moines, la. Cope, Mrs. Lana H., Ln. State L., Des Moines, la. Crandall, F. A., Supt. Public Documents Dept., Washington, D. C. Crew, Florence B. , Cataloger F. L., Philadel- phia, Pa. Cromarty, Robert R. , Manager Canada Law Journal, Toronto, Canada. Crunden, F: M., Ln. P. L., St. Louis, Mo. Cuspin, M. L., As. Wagner Institute Branch F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Cutler, Mary S., Vice-Director N. Y. State Li- brary School, Albany, N. Y. Cutter, W: P., Ln. Dept. of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C. Dana, J: C., Ln. P. L., Denver, Col. Davidson, Herbert E., Vice-Pres. Library Bu- reau, Boston, Mass. Davie, Eleanor E. , Harper & Bros., New York City. Decker, Cora M., As. Ln. P. L., Scranton, Pa. Dennis, Carrie C., Ln. City L., Lincoln, Neb. Dewey, Melvil, Director N. Y. State Library, Albany, N. Y. Dill, Minnie A., As. Ln. P. L., Decatur, 111. Dinmore, Julia C., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Dodge, Virginia, Ln. F. P. L., Cedar Rapids, la. Doerksen, Anna M., Chief of Delivery, Enoch Pratt F. L., Baltimore, Md. Dougherty, Anna R., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Draper, Miriam S., As. Ln. Long Island Branch Pratt Institute F. L., Brooklyn, N. Y. Dudley, C: R., Ln. City L., Denver, Col. Dyer, Mary C., As. U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. Eames, Wilberforce, Ln. Lenox L., N. Y. P. L., New York City. Eastman, Linda A., 1st As. Ln. P. L., Cleveland, Ohio. Eastman, W: R., Inspector Public Libraries, N. Y. State Library, Albany, N. Y. Edmands, John, Ln. Mercantile Library, Phila- delphia, Pa. Eilbeck, Florence M., Germantown, Pa., Libra- ry student Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Elliott, Julia E., "Cumulative Index," P. L., Cleveland, Ohio. Elmendorf, H: L., Supt. P. L., Buffalo, N. Y. Elmendorf, Mrs. H: L., Buffalo, N. Y. Evans, Alda T., Malvern, Pa. Evans, Alice G., Ln. F. P. L., Decatur, 111. Fairchild, Rev. E. M., Educational Church Board, Albany, N. Y. Farr, Mary P., Ln. Philadelphia Normal School, Philadelphia, Pa. Faxon, F: W., Library Dept. Boston Book Co., Boston, Mass. Fell, Marion D., As. Philadelphia City Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Fell, Mrs. MaryA.,Ln. Philadelphia City Insti- tute, Philadelphia, Pa. Fisher, Susanne, As. P. L., Milwaukee, Wis. Fletcher, F. Richmond, Library Bureau, Boston, Mass. Fletcher, W: L, Ln. Amherst College, Amherst, Mass. Flint, Weston, ex-Ln. Patent Office, Trustee F. L., Washington, D. C. Foster, W: E., Ln. P. L., Providence, R. I. Gabel, J: C., Philadelphia, Pa. Galbreath, C. B., Ln. State Library, Columbus, Ohio. ATTENDANCE REGISTER. 191 Gallaher, Kate A., As. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Gates, Herbert W., Ln. Hammond Library of Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111. Gay, Helen K., Ln. P. L., Mount Vernon, N. V. Gibson, Anne L. , Ln. St. Agnes F. L., New York City. Gibson, Irene, Cataloger Public Documents Li- brary, Washington, D. C. Glenn, J: M., Director New Mercantile Library, Baltimore, Md. Goding, Sarah E., As. F. L. , Philadelphia, Pa. Goodison, Alice D., As. Mercantile Library, Philadelphia, Pa. . Graffen, Jean E., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Green, S: S., Ln. F. P. L., Worcester, Mass. Griswold, Alice S., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Hadley, Anna, Ln. Ansonia Library, Ansonia, Ct. Hagar, Sarah C., Ln. Fletcher F. L., Burlington, Vt. Hagginbotham, May, Library student Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Haines, Helen E. , As. Library Journal, New York City. Hanson, James C. M., Chief cataloger, Con- gressional Library, Washington, D. C. Hanson, Laura E., Merion, Pa., Library stu- dent Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Harris, G: W., Ln. Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. Harris, Isabella, Philadelphia, Pa. Hartman, Laura M., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Hartwell, Mary A., Catalog Clerk Public Docu- ments L., Washington, D. C. Hasse, Adelaide R., As. N. Y. P. L., New York City. Hastings, C. H., As. Departmental Libraries, Chicago University, Chicago, 111. Hawes, Clara S., Cataloger Library Co. of Philadelphia, Pa. Hawley, Frances B., As. P. L., Milwaukee, Wis. Hayes, J: S., Ln. P. L., Somerville, Mass. Hayes, Rutherford P., State L. Commissioner, Columbus, O. Hazeltine, Mary E., Ln. James Prendergast F. L., Jamestown, N. Y. Henderson, Miss L. T., Jamestown, N. Y., Library student Drexel Institute, Philadel- phia, Pa. Henderson, Maude R., Cataloger N. Y. P. L., New York City. Hensel, Martin, Ln. P. School L., Columbus, O. Herzog, AlfredC., Ln. F. P. L., Bayonne, N. J. Hess, Mrs. Frances H., As. N. Y. P. L., New York City. Heydrick, Josephine S., Ln. Pequot L., South- port, Ct. Hillegas, Irene D., As. F. L., Wilmington, Del. Hinsdale, Leonora J., As. Cathedral F. Circu- lating L. , New York City. Hoag, F. J., Trustee P. L., Toledo, O. Hosmer, James K., Ln. P. L., Minneapolis, Minn. Imhoff, Ono M., Lincoln, Neb., N. Y. State Li- brary School, Albany, N. Y. Jackson, Anna, Ln. George School, Newtown, Pa. James, Hannah P., Ln. Osterhout F. L., Wilkes- Barre, Pa. James, Miss M. S. R., Library Bureau, London and Boston. James, W: J., Ln. Wesleyan University, Mid- dletown, Ct. Jaquith, A. B., Woodstock, Vt. Jaquith, Mrs. A. B., Ln. Norman Williams P. L., Woodstock, Vt. Jones, Gardner M., Ln. P. L., Salem, Mass. Jones, Olive, Ln. Ohio State University, Co- lumbus, O. Jones, Rilla S., As. Mercantile L., Philadelphia, Pa. Kaighn, Anna M., Ln. F. L., Moorestown, N. J. Kates, Clarence S., ex-Ln., Philadelphia, Pa. Kelly, H. T., Chairman P. L. Board, Toronto, Canada. Kelso, Alice C., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Kelso, Tessa L., Model Libraries, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City. Kieffer, Prof. J: B., Ln. Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa. Kimball, W. C., Trustee P. L., Passaic, N. J. King, Ellen, As. Germantown Branch F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Kite, Agnes C., As. West Philadelphia Branch F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Kite, Anna W., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Kroeger, Alice B., Ln. Drexel Institute, Phila- delphia, Pa. Lambert, Cecelia C., Ln. P. L., Passaic, N. J. Lane, Lucius P., Boston, N. Y. State Library School, Albany, N. Y. Lamed, J. N., ex-Ln., Buffalo, N. Y. 192 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Le Crone, Anna L., Ln. P. L., Champaign, 111. Lemcke, Ernst, Bookseller, New York City. Lemcke, Mrs. Ernst, Astoria, L. I. Lester, Lizzie, As. F. L., Philadelphia. Lindsay, Mary B., Ln. F. P. L., Evanston, 111. Lippincott, Anna H., As. F. L., Philadelphia. Loane, Margaret, As. F. L., Philadelphia. Lockhead, James S., As. F. L., Philadelphia. London, Bessie A., Cataloger F. L., Phila- delphia. Lord, Isabel E., As. N. Y. State L., Albany, N. Y. Macbeth, G: A., Trustee Carnegie L., Pitts- burgh, Pa. McBride, Jennie C., As. F. L., Philadelphia. McKenna, Sarah H., Cataloger F. L., Philadel- phia. Martins, Charlotte, As. Princeton University L., Princeton, N. J. Matlack, Anna M., As. Mercantile L., Phila- delphia. Maule, John C., Trustee Apprentices' L., Phila- delphia. Middleton, Jennie Y., Ln. Apprentices' L., Philadelphia. Milsted, Millie J., As. F. L., Philadelphia. Montgomery, T: L., Ln. Wagner Institute, Trustee F. L. , Philadelphia. Moore, Annie C., Children's Room, Pratt Insti- tute, Brooklyn, N. Y. Morningstern, W: B., Reference Ln. F. P. L., Newark, N. J. Morrill, Minnie P., As. P. L., Dover, N. H. Morris, Helen R. , Instructor Drexel Institute L., Philadelphia. Mumford, Miss St. A., Brooklyn, N. Y., Li- brary student Drexel Institute, Phila- delphia. Mundy, Ezekiel W., Ln. Central L., Syracuse, N. Y. Mundy, Helen H., Philadelphia. Murphy, Almira R., Ln. Evening Home Branch F. L., Philadelphia. Nagle, Katharine E., As. F. L., Philadelphia. Neisser, Emma R., Travelling Libraries F. L., Philadelphia. Neisser, Marian, As. Apprentices' L., Phila- delphia. Nelson, C: A., Deputy Ln. Columbia University L., New York City. Neville, A. Mae, As. F. L., Philadelphia. Nolan, E: J., Ln. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. Norris, A. E., Library Bureau, Chicago, 111. Norris, G: G., Library Bureau, Philadelphia. Norton, Mrs. Mary C., As. N. Y. P. L., New York City. O'Brien, Margaret A., As. Ln. P. L., Omaha, Neb. Palen, Ruth, Cataloger F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Parsons, F. H., ex-Ln., Sec'y L. Association, Washington, D. C. Patten, Frank C., Ln. P. L., Helena, Mont. Peckham, G: W., Ln. P. L., Milwaukee, Wis. Peoples, W. T., Ln. Mercantile L., New York City. Petty, Katharine M., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Pinneo, Dotha S., Ln. P. L., Norwalk, Ct. Plummer, Mary W., Director and Ln. Pratt Institute F. L., Brooklyn, N. Y. Poesche, Herman, Library Bureau, Chicago, 111. Pomeroy, Edith M., As. Pratt Institute, Brook- lyn, N. Y. Power, Effie L., As. Children's Dept. P. L., Cleveland, Ohio. Prescott, Harriet B., Cataloger Columbia Uni- versity L., New York City. Pusey, Leora, As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Ranck, S: H., As. Enoch Pratt F. L., Balti- more, Md. Randall, Susan W., Library student Drexel In- stitute, Philadelphia, Pa. Rathbone, Josephine A., Instructor in Library School, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. Read, M. Therese, ex-Cataloger Publishers' Weekly, New York City. Reinick, W:, As. to the Actuary, Wagner Insti- tute, Philadelphia, Pa. Richardson, Ernest C., Ln. Princeton Univer- sity, Princeton, N. J. Richardson, Mary A., Ln. P. L. , New London, Ct. Ridgway, Edith, Chief Cataloger of Branches F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Rigling, Alfred, Ln. Franklin Institute, Phila- delphia, Pa. Rogers, Florence S., New London, Ct., N. Y. State Library School, Albany, N. Y. Rowland, Carrie V., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Rupp, G: P., Ln. Girard College, Philadelphia, Pa. Sanders, Mrs. Minerva A., Ln. F. P. L., Paw- tucket, R. I. ATTENDANCE REGISTER. Sartain, Helen M., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Sayers, Anna M., As. F. L., Wilmington, Del. See, Cornelia A., Ln. F. P. L., New Bruns- wick, N. J. Seither, Albert B., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Sewall, Willis F., Ln. Institute F. L., Wilming- ton, Del. Shaffner, Mary H., As. Ln. Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Shandelle, H: J., Ln. Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. Sharp, Katharine L., Director State Library School, University of Illinois, Champaign, 111. Sheldon, Helen G., As. Ln. Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Sickley, J: C., Ln. City L., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Smith, Bessie S., Wellesley, Mass., N. Y. State Library School, Albany, N. Y. Smith, T. Guilford, Buffalo, N. Y., Regent of University of the State of N. Y., Albany, N. Y. Snyder, Helen M., As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Solberg, Thorvald, Register of Copyrights, Washington, D. C. Soule, C: C., Trustee P. L., Brookline, Mass. Spencer, Mrs. Mary C., Ln. State L., Lansing, Mich. Stearns, Miss L. E., Ln. Wisconsin F. L. Com- mission, Milwaukee, Wis. Steiner, Bernard C., Ln. Enoch Pratt F. L., Baltimore, Md. Stetson, Willis K., Ln. F. P. L., New Haven, Ct. Stevens, W: F., Ln. Railroad Branch Y. M. C. A., N. Y. City. Stevenson, W: M., Ln. Carnegie F. L., Alle- gheny, Pa. Stewart, Rose G., Cataloger F. L., Philadel- phia, Pa. Stone, W: C., in charge of Delivery Dept. City L. , Springfield, Mass. Stonelake, Isola P., Reference Dept. P. L., Newark, N. J. Stuart, W: H., Leary, Stuart & Co., Philadel- phia, Pa. Sturges, Julia C., Circulating Dept. Pratt Insti- tute, Brooklyn, N. Y. Swan, Elizabeth D., Ln. Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind. Swayne, Alice W., Ln. Bayard Taylor Memo- rial L. , Kennett Square, Philadelphia, Pa. Tatum, Sarah M., Philadelphia, Pa. Temple, Mabel, Cataloger Brown University L., Providence, R. I. Thomas, Joseph C., Ln. Methodist L., N. Y. City. Thompson, J: B., Pres. N. J. L. Association, Trenton, N. J. Thompson, J. W., Trustee P. L., Evanston, 111. Thomson, John, Ln. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Thorn, Annie, Plainfield, N. J. Thurston, Anna L., Pittsburgh, Pa., Library student Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Tobitt, Edith, As. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. Trowbridge, Elise B., Astoria, L. I. Tuttle, Elizabeth, As. L. I. Historical Society, Brooklyn, N. Y. Tyler, Arthur M., Ln. Blackstone P. L. , Bran- ford, Ct. Underdown, Mildred A., As. F. L., Philadel- phia, Pa. Underbill, Adelaide, As. Ln. Vassar College L., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Underhill, Caroline M., Ln. P. L., Utica, N. Y. Upton, Mary H., Salem, Mass., Library student Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Utley, H: M., Ln. P. L., Detroit, Mich. Utley, Mrs H: M., Detroit, Mich. Vandervort, C: R., P. L. Board, Peoria, 111. Van Hoevenberg, Alma R., Ln. Washington Heights L., New York City. Van Hoevenberg, Elizabeth, Ln. Ferguson L., Stamford, Ct. Van Valkenburgh, Agnes, Cataloger P. L., Mil- waukee, Wis. Wallace, Anna M., As. Cathedral F. Circulat- ing L., New York City. Wallace, Anne, Ln. Young Men's L., Atlanta, Ga. Walton, Charles, with Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City. Warner, Mary G., As. Ln. P. L., Toledo, O. Warrington, James, Public Accountant, Phila- delphia, Pa. Waterman, Lucy D., Gorham, Me., N. Y. State Library School, Albany, N. Y. Weitenkampf, F., Chief of Shelf Dept. N. Y. P. L., New York City. Weston, Lydia, Ln. Burlington L., Burlington, N.J. Wetzell, Bertha, Reference Ln. F. L., Phila- delphia, Pa. Whitall, Mary L., Ln. Deptford Institute, Wood- bury, N. J. 194 PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE. Willcox. E. S., Ln. P. L., Peoria, 111. Williams, Lizzie A., Ln. P. L., Maiden, Mass. Wilson, Minnie C., St. Louis, Mo. Wilson, R: E., Ln. in charge Kensington Branch F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Wilson, Ruth, Indianapolis, Ind. Winchester, G: F., Ln. F. P. L., Paterson, N. J. Wing, J. N., Library Dept. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City. WSnser, Beatrice, As. Ln. F. P. L., Newark, N. J. Winser, Nathalie, Newark, N. J. Wire, G: E., M.D., ex-Medical Ln., Evanston, 111. Wolf, Lillian, As. F. L., Philadelphia, Pa. Woodruff, Eleanor B., Reference Ln. Pratt In- stitute, Brooklyn, N. Y. Wright, Purd B., Ln. P. L., St. Joseph, Mo. Wyer, J. O., jr., N. Y. State Library School, Albany, N. Y. Zimmerman, Margaret E., Chicago, 111. ATTENDANCE SUMMARIES. BY ASSISTANT RECORDER NINA E. BROWNE, LIBRARIAN OF LIBRARY BUREAU, BOSTON ; ASSISTANT SECRETARY, A. L. A. PUBLISHING SECTION. BY POSITION AND SEX. BY STATES. Trustees, commissioners, etc. 14 Chief librarians 64 Assistants 19 Library Bureau, booksell- ers, educators 18 Library schools 2 Others 4 Men. Women. Total. I 53 95 6 19 20 194 BY GEOGRAPHICAL SECTIONS. 9 of the 9 No. Atlantic states sent ......... 229 4 " 9 So. Atlantic states 8 8 Lake states 3 " 8 Mountain states Canada Me i Ind A 15 N. H i Ill IQ 117 Vt Mich 3 114 Mass 20 Wis .... 7 R. I a Minn .... i 24 Ct ii la 4 N. Y 62 Mo .... 3 24 Penn . . . . 106 Neb .... 3 us N. T.. 21 Mont .... .... i Del 3 Col .... 2 Md 6 Canada .... .... 3 220 D. C 14 2J. Ga i Total 3IC f.1, O.. 12 Total 315 October, '97] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 195 THE BOSTON BOOK HJjnPfWY, (CHARLES C. SOULE, President,) BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. [- Fred?ricl{ W. Faxon. j Specialty: Periodical Sets. 7THE BOSTON BOOK COMPANY does not make a practice of adver- tising sets not in stock on the chance of securing orders, but it actu- ally does carry a larger stock of periodicals than any other one dealer. More- over, conscientious efforts are made to perfect every set before it leaves the house, collators being kept steadily at work for that purpose, and the sets are not simply "guaranteed" perfect, but they are made perfect before shipment. The advantages offered by THE BOSTON BOOK COMPANY are jCargest Stock of Sets to Select from, ffiest Worth for Jffoney Sxpencted . . . THE BOSTON BOOK COMPANY has begun the publication of a BULLETIN OF BIBLIOGRAPHY, of which the third number is now in press. This journal is not for sale but is sent to a selected list of libraries. Librarians who have not received a copy are requested to write us for one. ADDRESS THE BOSTON BOOK COflPANY, BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 196 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL {October, '97 EDW. G. ALLEN'S Bonbon ($erg Class. " We have been, for the last twenty years, personally cognizant of Mr. Allen's faithfulness to the interests of his American customers. When a resident in Washington, ten years ago, we found that the immense Congressional Library largely supplied its shelves through Mr. Allen's London Agency. Many of the extensive libraries belonging to the Universities and Colleges in the East have also secured their Foreign Books from the same source, and we have heard from the officers of these Institutions frequent testimony to the scrupulous exactness with which their orders were always filled. "We cannot, therefore, do a greater service to the Colleges and Universities of the West, to which these presents shall come, than to advise that they employ this inexpensive agency for replenishing their Libraries with English Books." PRESIDENT WELCH, Iowa State Agri- cultural College. " No better endorsement of Mr. Allen's Agency is possible than the list of leading libraries that continue to use it. For 30 years, strict integrity and unexcelled facilities have held the old and made new patrons. The very large business built up demands only a small commission. A library can safely entrust all its London orders to Mr. Allen without getting other estimates and feel sure that it is not making a mistake." MELVIL DEWEV, State Library, Ne-w York, EDW. G. ALLEN'S AMERICAN LIBRARY AGENCY 28 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, LONDON. Member American Library Association. SPECIAL TERMS FOR LARGE ORDERS. October, '97] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 197 H. WELTER, 59 Rue Bonaparte, Paris NKW PUBLICATIONS: Revue Internationale des Archives, i895-i896. One Vol., 8vo, xo Francs. Revue Internationale des Bibliotheques, i895-i896. One Vol., 8vo, 12 Francs, soc. Revue Internationale des flusees, i895-i896. One Vol., &vo, - 7 Francs, soc. The above three volumes are separate issues of the Revue des Archives, des Bibliotheques et des Muse'es, the publication of which has been discontinued by me. Libraries that did not subscribe to the Revue now have an opportunity to subscribe to such portions only as may have particular interest for them. Each volume has a special title-page and an index. flanuel de Bibliotheconomie. By Dr. ARNIM GRAESEL, Librarian-in-Chief of the Berlin University. Translated into French By Dr. JULES LAUDE, Bibliothtcaire Uni- versitaire. One Vol., Small 8vo, Cloth, 15 Francs. This French edition has been thoroughly revised by the author. The bibliographical references are brought down to May, 1807, and in other respects, also, the author and translator have made additions and improvements, so that the volume is practically a new work a French origi- nal edition which will be found valuable even by those who possess the German edition (Leipzig, 1890) and the Italian translation (Turin, 1803). In illustrations the French edition is much richer than its predecessors. BIBLIOGRAPHIE DES CHANSONS DE QESTE. By LEON GAUTIER, Membre de flnstitut, FORMING THE FIFTH AND CONCLUDING VOLUME OF Les Epopees Frangaises Etudes sur les origines et 1'histoire de la litte'rature nationale, (which received three prizes from the Paris Academic.) One Volume, 8vo, ------ ao Francs. Subscribers to the second edition of the first four volumes of the " Epopees" will receive the concluding part at the price of 15 francs. The " Bibliographic des Chansons de Geste"will also be furnished separately but only at the advanced price of xo FraiiCH. IN PREPARATION : Dictionnaire Petit de 1'Ancienne Langue FranSaise du IX e au XV Siecle. By FREDERIC GODEFROY. The publication in parts of this edition (which will contain all the words of the author's unabridged work, with the necessary additions and improvements, but without examples and references) will be begun in October, 1897. The price for the complete work (large 8, 3 columns to the page, 80 lines in a column=24o lines or i2oowords= circa 7000 letters to a page) will probably not exceed 15 Francs to Subscribers who place their orders before October 30. The publisher reserves the right to increase the price to 20 francs even to subscribers should the cost of production make it necessary. Considering the high price which the author's large dictionary of the old French language commands (500 Francs), and the fact that a handy and inexpensive edition of such a work has become a necessity to the student of romanic philology, as well as to the teacher of French, the paleographer, the historian and the educated laity who read French, the publisher trusts that this edition will recommend itself to a large circle of subscribers. H. WELTER, Publisher and Bookseller, 59 Rue Ronaparte, Paris. 198 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL [October, '97 TO THE LIBRARIAN: The benefit of co-operative cataloging is that it gives the smallest library the advantage of the best methods of the largest libraries at nominal cost. The American Catalogue is practically an example of co-operative cataloging, and is almost a necessity in every library the smallest as well as the largest. Its value as an investment, since it is a limited edi- tion, is shown by the fact that most of the volumes are out of print, and cost to-day double their original price 7*he new volume covers the period from 189095, and in- cludes author, subject, and title entries of all books recorded during this period, about 32,000 entries of over 25,000 vol- umes, with appendixes covering Government and State publi- cations, issues of publishing societies, etc. This volume answers more questions and saves more time than almost any that can be put upon the library shelves ; it is, in fact, a key to the treasures of the library as to books within that period. The only other volumes now in print are the original subject volume, of which but 83 copies, and the volume for 1884-90, of which only 87 copies remain unsold. The price of the new volume and of each of the volumes above named is $12.50 in paper ; $15.00 in American Library Association half-leather binding ; but the price in each case will be in- creased, as heretofore, when the stock is reduced to fifty vol- umes. In case any library should so prefer, a first payment of five dollars may be made now, and succeeding payments at later periods. We shall be pleased to send full particulars to those who may not be fully informed about the work. Address THE AMERICAN CATALOGUE, 59 Duane Street, (P. O. Sox 943,) NEW TORK. THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 199 JOSEPH BAER & CO., DEALERS IN New and Second-hand Books, and Library Agents, FRANKFORT-O.-MAIN (GERMANY). (ESTABLISHED, 1785.) Our special Library Department enables us to fill orders for Libraries with care and diligence, in small matters as well as in those of greater importance. Most liberal terms. Exceptional facilities for obtaining scarce books. Permanent stock of over 4OO,OOO second-hand books in all languages and classes of literature. Classified Catalogues issued regularly and sent free on application. Latest catalogues, just out : German History in the Middle Ages, 1438 items ; Zoology (Library of the late Carl Vogt, of Geneva), 1358 items; Botany, 554 items. ABSTRACT OF THESE CATALOGUES. MARKS. Akademie, Konlgl. d. Wissenschaften in Berlin (1710-1891). All published. Together 141 vols. bound in calf, vellum and boards. Com- plete set, extremely scarce 4000 Anualeii d. Chemie (u. Pharmacia) hrsg-. v. Lle- blg. Vols. 1-268; 8 suppls., a gen. index lor vols. 1-220. Together 281 vols. Heidelb., 1832-92. Fine copy, uniformly bound in 141 vols., half mor. 2600 Annales des sciences naturelles. Series I., II. compr. Botany and Zoology, series III. -VII. and series VIII. vol. i compr. only the zoolog. part. 144 vols. Paris, 1824-93. Half bound 2000 Annals of Botany. Vols. i-io. Oxf., 1887-96. (Publ. at ^241-16.) Swd., unc., Vol. V., VI., hf. mor., top gilt 380 Arcniv f. Anatomic, Physiologic n. wlsseuschaftl. lUedioin, 43 vols. (1834-76), with the continuation: Arcliivfur Anatomle u. Physiologic (1877-92). Together 75 vols., with all supplements. Complete series. Half bound 1600 Archiv fur Naturgescbichte. Year 1-57 and 58, I., II., a, 3 (a year 2 vols.). Berl., 1835-92. (Publ at Mi678.) Half bound, 4 vols., swd., unc.. 980 Archlvlo Veneto. With general index, 39 vols. With the continuation: Nuovo Archlvlo, vols. 1-12. Together 51 vols. Venezia, 1871-96. (Publ. at frcs. 624.) Half cloth, unc , 6 vols., swd. Com- plete set 400 BaroiiliiK, Annales ecclesiastici, 19 vols. With the continuation of Kayiialdus, 15 vols. Ap- paratus annal. eccles., i vol. Indices, 3 vols. To- gether 38 vols. Lucae, 1738-59. Gr. folio, vellum. Best edition. (Baronius on large-pap?) 600 Fontes rerum Austriacarum. I. session, vols. 1-8 and II. session, vols. 1-47. Together 55 vols. Wien, 1855-94. Boards 300 MARKS. Forschungen z. deutschen Geschichte, 26 vols. With general index. Gott., 1862-86. (Pub. at M254.50.) Half cloth, several of the titles slightly stamped 180 Jahrbnch, morphologisches. Vols. 1-20 and Suppl. Leipz., 1875-93. (Publ. at Mga<).) Half bound 725 Jahresberlcht, botanischer. Year 1-20 (1873- 92). Berlin, 1874-94. (Publ. at M842.) I.-V. boards, remainder swd 500 Pertz, Monumenta Germaniae historica. Scrip- tor, vols. I.-XXIX. et XXX. i. Leges, vols. I.-V. Dlplomata, vol. I. Together 36 vols. Hann., 1826-96. Folio, half roan, uniform 4000 Siebmaclier, Wappenbuch. New edition. Fasc. 1-368 (as far as published till April in 1894). NUrnb., 1854-94. (Publ. at M207S.) Bound in 45 vols., half roan, remainder swd 1500 Silvestre, PaWographie universelle. 4 vols. Paris, 1841. Best and most complete edition, bound in 4 vols., half mor., top gilt 1200 Silvestre, Universal paleography. 2 vols., 8, and 2 vols. , large folio, cloth , uncut 300 Zeltschrift, historische v. Sybel. Year 1-25 (18=9-83). 50 vols. and index of vols. 1-36 Munch. Vols. 1-22 bound, remainder swd 300 Zeitschrlft, Jenaische fiir Naturwissenschaften. Vols. 1-28, with all suppl. Leipz., 1864-94. Half bound, complete set, very scarce 1080 Zeitschrlff, Numismatische v. Huberu. Ka- rabacck. Vols. 1-26. Wien, 1869-94. Half cloth a. swd 225 Zeitschrift fiir d. gesammte Staatswissenschaft. 47 vols. Tilb., 1844-91. Vols. i-ag, half cloth, re- mainder swd 600 Zeitschrift fur wissenschaftl. Zoologie. Vol. 1-58, with 3 suppl. and 3 indexes. Leipz., 1848-94. V.ols. 1-56 uniformly half roan remainder swd 3200 IMPERFECT SETS COMPLETED. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS: GUTENBERG FRANKFORTMAIN. THE LIBRARY JOURNAL \October, '97 HIGGINS' PHOT (PATENTED.) MOUNTER. The best adhesive for mounting photographs, maps, engravings, posters, etc., and for scrap-book, tissue work, and general use as a sub- stitute for mucilage. For a hundred and one purposes where an adhesive is needed a world of satisfaction will be yours if HIGGINS' PHOTO MOUNTER is at your elbow. It is not a Starch or Flour Paste, but a "Vegetable Glue," semi-fluid, and always ready for use without preparation. A true solution, absolutely uniform and free from lumps, of soft and unctuous consistency and pure white color, and never spoils or changes. Spreads very smoothly and easily, adheres at once, and dries quickly. Does not warp, cockle, or strike through the mount, and warranted not to injure the tone or color of any mount. Unsurpassed for either dry or wet mountings. An excellent novel brush (see cut) goes with each jar. SOLD BY DEALERS IN ARTISTS' MATERIALS, PHOTO SUPPLIES, AND STATIONERY. A. 3-oz. jar prepaid by mail for thirty cents, or circulars free from CHAS. M. HIGGINS & CO., Originators and Manufacturers, INKS AND ADHESIVES. 168-172 Eighth Street, Krookljn, N. Y., U. S. A, London Office : 106 Charing Cross Road. The Binding of Books for Learned Societies, Colleges and Libraries. Single Volumes or in Quantities. NEUMANN BROTHERS, ESTABLISHED 1879. 7 EAST I6th STREET, Near Fifth Avenue, NEW YORK. We make a specialty of the correct arranging and lettering of 'works in foreign languages. October, '97] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 201 LIBRARY DEPARTMENT OF : : : : : LEHCKE & BUECHNER, (LONDON. LEIPZIG. PARIS.) =812 Broadway, New York. WE invite Librarians to correspond with us before placing orders. Our facili- ties for supplying books in all languages are unsurpassed. OLargest Stock of German ant) ffrencb Boofts. Hmerlcan Boofes at jobbers' TRates ..... Brttisb Booftg Umportefr 3Dut*3free ..... Our firm offers all the advantages of foreign agencies as to terms and prompter service, receiving weekly shipments from England, Germany, and France. Our Monthly Bulletin, besides a bibliography of the leading languages of the world, supplies in a supplement critical notes on books especially valuable for Libraries, and has become the purchasing guide for German and French books in many Libraries. ii FOREIGN PERIODICALS AT LOWEST RA TES APPLETONS' LIBRARY LISTS. YJtOR more than fifty years Messrs. D. APPLETON & Co. have been engaged in the publica- Jf tion of the choicest productions from the pens of distinguished authors of the past and present, of both Europe and America, and their catalogue of books now comprises several thousand volumes, embracing every department of knowledge. Classified lists of these publications have been prepared, affording facilities for a judicious selection of books covering the whole range of LITERATURE, SCIENCE, and ART, for individual bookbuyers or for a thorough equipment of any library. Lists A, B, and C are of books selected especially for School and College Libraries. The other lists are of books grouped according to subjects, and include the above. LIST D. History. " E. Biography. F. Physical Science. G. Mental and Moral Science. H Political and Social Science. I. Finance and Economics K. - Hygiene and Sanitary Science. L. Philosophy and Metaphysics. M. Technology and Industrial Arts. N. Anthropology, Ethno'ogy, Archaeology, Palaeontology. O. Language, Literature, and Art. P. Reference Books. LIST Q. Poetry and Essay. R. Travel and Adventure. S. Pedagogy and Education. T. Fiction. U. Amusements and Recreations. V. Evolution. W. Religion. X. Law. Y. Medicine Z. Juvenile Books. AA. Unclassified. BB. School and College Text-Books. CC. Spanish Publications. Single lists mailed free. Complete set, ten sections, 1 8 cents, to cover postage. 340 pages, %vo, 30 cents. Free to librarians. Bound in one volume, D. APPLETON & CO., Publishers, 243 Wabash Avenue, CHICAGO. 72 Fifth Avenue, NEW YORK. THE LIBRARY JOURNAL \October, '97 EM. TERQUEM, Paris Agency for American Libraries, ESTABLISHED 1877, 31 Bis BOULEVARD HAUSSMANN 31 Bis PARIS. French and Continental Books purchased at the lowest terms. Orders carefully executed for out-of-print and new books. Binding for books in constant use a specialty of the firm. Estimates given on application on all orders. The " Catalogue de la Librairie Francaise " mailed free monthly as well as catalogues of second-hand book- dealers of every locality. Auction sales orders attended to, also orders for private libraries offered en bloc before auction. Mr. Em. Terquem, being the appointed agent in Paris of many libraries, colleges, and universities, can furnish references in almost every city in the United States. Correspondence and trial orders solicited. Small or large shipments every week either direct or through his agent in New York. KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Ltd., PUBLISHERS AND LIBRART AGENTS, Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road, London, Eng., Having extensive experience in supplying PUBLIC LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS, GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS, etc., at Home and Abroad, with Miscellaneous Requisites, Books (New and Second-hand), or Periodicals in all Languages, offer their Services to LIBRARIANS, SECRE- TARIES, AND OTHERS. Careful attention given to every detail. Exceptional Facilities for obtaining Foreign and Scarce Books. BINDING OF EVERY DESCRIPTION UNDERTAKEN. Periodicals and Newspapers Promptly Supplied as issued. Books Shipped to all parts of the World at Lowest Rates. TERMS ON APPLICATION, ALSO LIST OF LIBRARV APPLIANCES, HANDBOOKS, ETC. Telegraphic Address : BOOKMEN, LONDON. H. 5OTHERAN & CO., Code in Use : UNICODE. Booksellers, Bookbinders, and Publishers, and General Agents in Europe for Private Bookbuyers and Public Institutions in America. With exceptionally long experience in Library Agency, they can promise the best care, diligence, and discretion in everything relating to it, and in small matters as well as great. Established 1816. A Monthly Catalogue of Second-Hand Books. Specimen Number post free. 14O Strand, \V. C., and 37 Piccadilly, \V. : London- J1BRAR1ES, ftRT_ AND MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOLS I am prepared to offer special terms and inducements. Write for list of Works on Drawing, in all its branches and grades ; Painting in water colors and oil ; Planning, Designing, and application of Ornament, Architectural Styles ; Interior and Exterior Decorations, Wood-Carving, Clay noddling, Sculpture, Wrought Iron ; Designs for Metal Work, etc. sent for inspection, if desired, free of charge.'fgS Large stock always on hand. BRUNO HESSLING. 64 EAST I2th STREET, NEW YORK. PUBLISHER AND IMPORTER OF ARCHITECTURAL AND ART INDUSTRIAL WORKS, October, '97] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 203 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, I53 = i57 Fifth Avenue, New York. Librarians and others will do well to communicate with us before placing their orders. The latest publications of all the leading American and English publishers are kept in stock, thereby enabling us to fill orders with utmost despatch. Special attention is asked to our facilities for importing books free of duty. Correspondence solicited. Send for catalogues and specimen copy of THE BOOK BUYER, a monthly magazine devoted to books, authors, and literary affairs. LIBRARY DEPARTflENT OF A. C. McClurg & Co., CHICAGO. ORDERS for libraries public, university, college, or school filled with promptness and the greatest care. Our stock of miscellaneous books is very large and complete, and our special Library De- partment with a corps of trained assistants enables us to give the best attention to the peculiar demands of libraries. We are continually receiving large consignments of foreign books those for public libraries coming free of duty and we make a specialty of picking up both domestic and foreign books which are out of print or which for other reasons are difficult to secure. Our prices are very low and we shall be glad to correspond with librarians regarding their wants. LIBRARIES. WE solicit correspondence with bookbuyers for private and other LIBRARIES and desire to submit figures on proposed lists. Our topically arranged LIBRARY LIST (mailed gratis on application) will be found useful by those selecting titles. THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO., WH B O L O E K S S * LE 5 and 7 Bast i61Ii Street, New York. LIBRARY REBINDING DEPARTMENT OF THE BOSTON BOOKBINDING COHPANY, BOSTON, MASS. beg to inform Librarians that we are doing rebinding work of every description for public libraries throughout the United States and Canada. Our flexible sewing insures strength, and perfect opening of old volumes. Our prices are low, and we shall be glad to correspond with Libra- rians regarding their wants. 204 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL \Octobtr, '97 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK: 27 and 29 West 23d Street. LONDON : 24 Bedford Street, Strand. LIBRARY AGENTS. MESSRS. PUTNAH have peculiar facilities for handling all library business in- telligently and to the best advantage of their customers. Their Branch House in London (through which they receive English orders for American books) enables them to supply, promptly, English books, without the com- mission usually paid by American dealers. Their extensive miscellaneous and retail business makes it practicable to buy all books at the lowest prices, to carry a large stock of standard books in every depart- ment of literature, and to keep in touch with the current publications of the day. Their business experience covers more than half a century. Adhesive Parchment Paper For repairing torn leaves of Books, Magazines, etc. Circular for the ashing. " We know of nothing to equal your Adhesive Parchment Paper." WM. MOST, Librarian of Normal School, Edinboro, "It Doesn't Curl." Pa GAYLORD BROS., Syracuse, N. Y. "that if you have tried in I WISH TO REPEAT, vain to secure a missing number or vol- ume of a magazine, if your list has come back repeatedly, marked ' O. P.,' 'can't find,' etc , etc., then the time has arrived when my services may avail." A, S, CLARK, Bookseller and Newsdealer, 174 Fulton Street, New York. BOOKS WANTED. The Boston Book Co., Freeman Place Chapel, Boston, Mass. National Magazine, Jan.-June, 1858. Chicago, Dial, set or v. 3, or odd nos. Good price. Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, O. Poor's Manual of Railroads, from 1890 to '97 incl. Free Public Library, Basonne, N. J. Prime's Pottery and Porcelain of All Times and Nations. Lemcke & Buechner, 8l2 B'way, N. Y. Memoirs of General Sherman, 2 v. , Woods and Byways of New England. 1872. G. P. Putnam's Son*. Continued. Wylie, Hospitals. Brown, History of the American Stage. Charles Scribner's Sons, 167 5th Ave., N. Y. Reuter's Seed-Time and Harvest. Lippincott. Gisler, Text-Book of Church History. Perkins, Raphael and Michelangelo. Harper. Graham's Message Hall, American Navigation. Appleton, 1878. Hill, Our Merchant Marine. Appleton, 1878. BOOKS FOR SALE. Library Co. of Phi la., cor. Locust and Juniper Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. Waters of Hercules. N. Y., 1885. Chap-Book, v. t and 2. Library, State University of Iowa, Iowa City. Title and Index to vols. i and 2 of Review of Reviews, American ed. Q. P. Putnam's Sons, 27 W. 23d St., N. Y. Lanman, Japanese in America. Oliphant, Elgin's Mission to China and Japan. Watts, Japan and Japanese. Hamilton, J. A., Reminiscences. King, French Political Leaders. Matthews, Hundred Years of Music in America. Wilkes, Shakespeare from American Point of View. Reed, Lectures on English History. Gould Genius of J. B. Booth. Wilson, J., Memoirs by Gordon. Griffin, Mexico of To- Day. Belzoni, Novels in Egypt- Nubia. Lenormant, C., Manual of Ancient History. Young, Concise History of Netherlands. Lossing, The Hudson. Moore, Women of War. A. S. Clark, 174 Fulton St.. N. Y. Magazine / American History, a set in numbers, clean, unused. $75.00. SPECIAL NOTICE. GALE of the duplicates belonging to the Royal Library ^ Victor Emanuel of Rome. 12,000 volumes. The- ology, Philosophy, History, Sciences, Literature, Arts, Curiosities and Bibliographic rarities. The sale will take place in Rome at the Galleria Sangiorgi in No- vember next. By sending p. o. o. of 3 francs to the Galleria Sangiorgi, Palazzo Borghese, Rome (Italy), the catalogue will be forwarded free. Purchasers of books to the amount of not less than TO francs will be re- funded the price of the catalogue. flonthly Cumulative Index to Periodicals. Indexes subjects, authors, titles, book reviews and portraits. Specimen copy free. PUBLIC LIBRARY, Cleveland, Ohio. October, '97] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 205 BiMooiapMcal Publications. For all American books as they appear, take THE PUBLISHERS- WEEKLY; for an hour's glance each month at the important books and magazine papers, take THE LITERARY NEWS; for library matters take THE LIBRARY JOURNAL; for magazine articles in general, consult THE ANNUAL LITERARY INDEX; for books in print or issued of late years, see the AMERI- CAN and ANNUAL CATALOGUES. THE PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY. Estab- lished in 1872, with which was incorporated the Ameri- can Literary Gaxette and Publishers' Circular (estab- lished in 1852), by purchase from Mr. George W. Childs. Recognized as the representative of the pub- lishing and bookselling interests in the United States, Contains full weekly record of American publications, with monthly indexes, etc. Subscription, $3.00 per an- num, postpaid ; single nos., 10 cts., postpaid. THE LITERARY NEWS. An Eclectic Re- view of Current Literature. Published monthly, and containing the freshest news concerning books and authors ; lists of new publications ; reviews and critical comments ; characteristic extracts ; sketches and anec- dotes of authors ; courses of reading ; bibliographical references ; prominent topics of the magazines ; portraits of authors, and illustrations from the newest books, etc., etc. Subscription, fi.oo per annum, postpaid; single nos., 10 cts. THE LIBRARY JOURNAL. Monthly. Of- ficial Organ of the American Library Association. Established in 1876. Subscription, $5.00 per annum, postpaid ; single nos., 50 cents. (THE LITERARY NEWS it sent free to subscribers of THE LIBRARY JOUR- NAL.) Teachers may be interested in the " School Number " published in the spring of each year. THE AMERICAN CATALOGUE of books in print and for sale (including reprints and importations) July i, 1876. Compiled (under the direction of F. LEYPOLDT) by LYNDS E. JONES. Subject-volume, 410, half morocco, $15.00. [Author-and-title volume is out of print^\ THE AMERICAN CATALOGUE, 1876- 1884. Books recorded (including reprints and impor- tations) July i, i876-June 30, 1884. Compiled, under the editorial direction of R. R. BOWKER, by Miss A. I. APPLETON. 410, half morocco. \Out of print.] AMERICAN CATALOGUE, i884-9o. Com- piled, under the editorial direction of R. R. BOWKER, by Miss A. I. APPLETON and others. 410, half leather, $15.00. AflERICAN CATALOGUE, 1890 4to, half morocco, $15.00. 1895. THE ANNUAL AMERICAN CATALOGUE. Being the full titles, with descriptive notes, of all books recorded in THE PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY during the cal- endar year, with author, title and subject index, pub- lishers' annual lists and directory of publishers. Pub- lished annually since 1886. 8vo, nei, sheets, $3.00; half morocco, $3.50. THE ANNUAL LITERARY INDEX, includ- ing Periodicals, American and English Essays, Book- Chapters, etc., Special Bibliographies, Necrology of Au- thors, and Index to Dates of Principal Events. Edited by W. I. FLETCHER and R. R. BOWKER, with the co- operation of members of the American Library Associa- tion and of the Library Journal staff. 8", cloth, $3.50. THE PUBLISHERS' TRADE LIST AN- NUAL. Large 8vo, with "Duplex Index," net, $2.00. Contains: The latest CATALOGUES OF AMERICAN PUB- LISHERS, contributed by themselves and arranged al- phabetically by the firm-names and smaller lists at the end of the volume. These Lists, all bound in one vol- ume, present in their combination so convenient and time-saving a working-tool as to make it indispensable to every one who has any interest in the purchase or sale of books. THE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL CATA- LOGUE includes a price-list of all the text- books in use in the United States, arranged alphabeticaly by author's or editor's name, and a detailed subject- index, referring from each specific subject to authors of books on that subject. 8vo, leatherette, 50 cts. THE ENGLISH CATALOGUE [Annual] con- taining a complete list of all the books published in Great Britain and Ireland in the calendar year, with in- dex to subjects. A continuation of the London and British Catalogues. [London : Sampson Low, Marston & Co.] 8vo, paper, net, $1.50. THE ENGLISH CATA- LOGUE and THE ANNUAL AMERICAN CATALOGUE bound in one volume, half leather, $5.00. HANDY LIST OF AMERICAN PUBLISH- ERS. The street address is given in nearly every case, and the abbreviation under which the firm's books are entered in the "American Catalogue," 1890-95. 4to, pap., $2.00. A CATALOGUE OF U. S. GOVERNnENT PUBLICATIONS. July i, 1890, to June 30, 1895. Compiled, under the editorial direction of R. R. BOW- KER, by J. H. HICKCOX. 60 pp., 410, pap., $1.50. THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL LIBRARY. By Rev. A. E. DUNNING. i6mo, cloth, 60 cts. CASPAR'S DIRECTORY of the Book, News, and Stationery Trades, Wholesale and Retail. 1450 pp., 8, hf. bd., $8.00, net. THE PROFESSION OF BOOKSELLING: a handbook of practical hints for the apprentice and bookseller. By A. GROWOLL, managing editor of TH PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY and author of " A Bookseller's Library." Pts. i and 2, 8, bds., each, $2.00. (Con- cluding fart in preparation.) Address the OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY, P. O> Box 943. 59 Duane Street, New York. 206 THE LIBRARY JOURNAL {October, ' LONDON: 2 Star Yard, Carey St. W. C. LEIPZIG: Hospital Str. 10. PARIS: 76 Rue de Rennes. QUSTAV E. STECHERT is the only importer in America, who employs no Agents, but has his own offices at : LONDON : . 2 Star Yard, Carey St. W. C. PARIS: . . . .76 Rue de Rennes. LEIPZIG : . . . . Hospital Str. 10. where experienced clerks and assistants attend carefully to the orders from New York. That such orders can be filled better, cheaper, and quicker and with less trouble and work to the Librarian than if the books were ordered from European Agents, can easily be seen for the following reasons : I. I am in direct communication and account with all European publishers and dealers. II. Therefore I need not pay any commission to Agents, but always get the bottom price and often an extra discount. III. The Librarian saves the correspondence to various European firms and has to keep only one account. IV. As shipments are received Weekly: "Mondays from England and France and Thursdays from Germany" no order, large or small, needs to wait for accumulation of material. V. If books from England, France, and Germany are ordered, these books will congregate at New York from where they will be sent in one shipment, thereby saving the expense of packing, freight, consular fees, Custom House charges, cartage, etc. VI. Of all publications, appearing in consecutive volumes or parts, a list is kept here and abroad and continuations are sent as soon as published, without a reminder from the Librarian. VII. Being provided with a large Bibliographical material of all European countries and with a collection of Catalogues of second-hand books, I am enabled to give quotations on nearly all European and American publications, new or old. VIII. Special attention is given to the procuring of second-hand books and Sets of Periodicals, of which I keep a large stock on hand, constantly refilling by buying whole Libraries and by attending auction sales. IX. Binding is done carefully in Europe under supervision of my clerks, and pattern is kept of the binding of every first volume, so as to insure a uniformity of the succeeding volumes. X. Periodicals supplied cheaper, quicker, and in better shape than if ordered by mail from Europe. XI. American Publications at lowest rates. The following is a list of some Sets of Periodicals on hand : Academic royale des inscriptions et belles- lettres : Histoire depuis son establissement et Memoirs de Litterature. Vols. 1-51. Paris, 1736-1808. 410, full calf, gilt edges. The Academy. A monthly record of literature, science, and art. Vols. 1-36, 38-42. London, 1869-92. 4to, cloth. American Chemical Journal. Ed. by Remsen. Vols. 1-16 and Index to Vols. i-io. Baltimore, 1878-94. 8vo, half cloth, new. American Journal of Science. Cond. by Silli- man, Dana, etc. Serie I., II., III., and IV., vols. i and 2. New Haven, 1819-96. 8vo, and Index to vols. I-IOO. Archivio per le scienze mediche. Pubbl. da G. Bizzozero. Vols. 1-19. Torino, 1876-95. 8vo, bound. Art Union and Art Journal. From the com- mencement in 1839 to 1888. Elegantly bound half mo- rocco, gilt ornamented back, gilt top. 46 vols. London, 1839-88. Folio, sides uncut. The Anthropological Review. Vols. I.-VIII. London, 1863-71. 8vo, cloth. Astronomische Nachrichten. Hrsg. v. Schu- macher, fortges. v. Hansen, Petersen, Peters, and Krue- ger. Bd. 1-141, und General-Register zu Bd. 1-120. Altona, 1823-96. 410, boards and half cloth. Berichte d. Deutschen Chemischen Gesell- schaft zu Berlin. I.-XXIV. Jahrg. Berlin 1868-91. 8vo, half morocco, fine set, and General Index. Bijdragen tot de dierkunde, nitgegeven door het genoptschap, Natura Artis Magistra. 16 parts and 3 vols. Folio. Amsterdam, 1848-88. Complete set. Scarce. Chemisches Centralblatt. 1863, Neue Folge, Bd. 8 bis 1883; III. Folge, Bd. 14 und General Register zu Bd. 1-12 der III. Folge. Leipzig, 1870-81. Bds. The Chatham Society. Remains, historical and literary, connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester. 147 vols. Small 410. Man- chester, 1844-95. Cloth, fine set. The Church Quarterly Review. Vols. 1-34. London, 1876-92. 8vo, half roan, fine set. Parties going abroad will find it in their interest to make their headquarters at my offices at London, Paris, or Leipzig and make use of the services of my repre- sentatives. Books may thus be bought in any part of Europe and charged and sent to the New York firm, according to special arrangement. QUSTAV E. STECHERT, 9 East i6th Street, New York. ' sfc I - H^v .- f I T * .- UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBAN*