,,library ,,essays ,,papers ,,related ,,to ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,public ,,libraries ,,library ,,essays ,,papers ,,related ,,to ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,public ,,libraries ,,arthur ,e4 ,,bostwick1 ,,ph4 ,d4 ,,the ,h4 ,w4 ,,wilson ,,company ,,new ,,york #aibj ,,preface ,the author of these papers began his service in librarianship in ,april1 #ahie4 ,he celebrates his silver jubilee by gathering them into a single volume4 ,before becoming a librarian he had worked for many years as teacher1 editor and journalist1 and the use of the pen having become second nature1 he took it up in behalf of libraries and librarians1 somewhat sooner1 perhaps1 than experience would warrant4 ,however1 the papers reflect to a certain extent the progress of library work during the past quarter century4 ,a4 ,e4 ,b4 ,,contents ,,pains ,,and ,,penalties ,,in ,,library ,,work #c ,read at the ,magnolia ,conference of the ,american ,library ,association1 ,june1 #aijb4 7,a4 ,l4 ,a4 ,proceedings1 #aijb1 p4 #bi-cd7 ,,how ,,librarians ,,choose ,,books #ag 7,public ,libraries1 ,april1 #aijc1 p4 #acg-da7 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,small ,,public ,,library #bi 7,library ,journal1 ,august1 #aijc1 p4 #eif-fjj7 ,,lay ,,control ,,in ,,libraries ,,and ,,elsewhere #ci ,read before the ,trustees' ,section of the ,american ,library ,association1 at the ,niagara ,conference4 7,a4 ,l4 ,a4 ,proceedings1 #aijc1 p4 #aii-bjb7 ,,the ,,whole ,,duty ,,of ,a ,,library ,,trustee3 ,,from ,a ,,librarian',s ,,standpoint #di ,an address before the ,trustees' ,section of the ,american ,library ,association 7,a4 ,l4 ,a4 ,proceedings1 #aijf1 p4 #dj-d7 ,,the ,,day',s ,,work3 ,,some ,,conditions ,,and ,,some ,,ideals #ei ,presidential address before the ,new ,york ,library ,association1 ,lake ,placid1 ,september #ba1 #aijc4 7,library ,journal1 ,october1 #aijc1 p4 #gjd-g7 ,,library ,,statistics #fi 7,library ,journal1 ,january1 #aijd1 p4 #e-h7 ,,old ,,probabilities ,,in ,,the ,,library--,,his ,,modest ,,vaticinations #gi ,read before the ,pennsylvania ,library ,club1 ,philadelphia1 ,may #i1 #aijd4 7,library ,journal1 ,october1 #aijd1 p4 #eag-bc7 ,,the ,,love ,,of ,,books ,,as ,a ,,basis ,,for ,,librarianship #ig ,read before the ,new ,york ,library ,association1 ,twilight ,park1 ,september1 #aijf4 7,library ,journal1 ,february1 #aijg1 p4 #ea-e7 ,,the ,,library ,,as ,,the ,,educational ,,center ,,of ,a ,,town #aaa 7,public ,libraries1 ,may1 #aijg1 p4 #aga-d7 ,,the ,,librarian ,,as ,a ,,censor #aba ,presidential address before the ,american ,library ,association1 ,lake ,minnetonka ,conference1 ,june1 #aijh4 7,library ,journal1 ,july1 #aijh1 p4 #beg-fd7 ,,how ,,to ,,raise ,,the ,,standard ,,of ,,book ,,selection #ada ,read at the meeting of the ,library commissions of the ,new ,england ,states1 ,hartford1 ,conn41 ,february #aa1 #aiji4 7,public ,libraries1 ,may1 #aiji1 p4 #afc-g7 ,,library ,,circulation ,,at ,,long ,,range #bba 7,library ,journal1 ,july1 #aiac1 p4 #cia-d7 ,,conflicts ,,of ,,jurisdiction ,,in ,,library ,,systems #bca ,read before the round table of branch librarians at the ,washington conference1 ,may #bh1 #aiad4 7,library ,journal1 ,august1 #aiad1 p4 #ehh-ia7 ,,three ,,kinds ,,of ,,librarians #bda ,read before the ,missouri ,library ,association1 ,sedalia1 ,november #ah1 #aiad4 7,public ,libraries1 ,january1 #aiae1 p4 #a-d2 ,february1 #aiae1 p4 #dg-ej7 ,,school ,,libraries ,,and ,,mental ,,training #bee 7,school ,review1 ,june1 #aiae1 p4 #cie-dje7 ,,the ,,library ,,and ,,the ,,business ,,man #bfi ,a luncheon address to the ,advertising ,club of ,st4 ,louis4 7,library ,journal1 ,april1 #aiag1 p4 #bei-fd7 ,,system ,,in ,,the ,,library #aec ,read before the ,missouri ,state ,library ,association1 ,columbia1 ,mo41 ,october #bh1 #aiji4 7,library ,journal1 ,november1 #aiji1 p4 #dgf-hb7 ,,the ,,exploitation ,,of ,,the ,,public ,,library #aga ,address before the ,american ,library ,association at the ,pasadena ,conference1 ,may #ai1 #aiaa4 7,a4 ,l4 ,a4 ,proceedings1 #aiaa1 p4 #fj-e7 ,,service ,,systems ,,in ,,libraries #ahc 7,library ,journal1 ,june1 #aiab1 p4 #bii-cjd7 ,,efficiency ,,records ,,in ,,libraries #aii 7,library ,journal1 ,march1 #aiac1 p4 #aca-c7 ,,mal-,,employment ,,in ,,the ,,library #bje ,read before the ,iowa ,library ,association4 7,iowa ,library ,quarterly1 ,october1 #aiab1 p4 #bdg-eb7 ,,cost ,,of ,,administration #bag ,report to the ,american ,library ,institute4 7,public ,libraries1 ,december1 #aiab1 p4 #daf-ah7 ,,poets1 ,,libraries ,,and ,,realities #bhc ,an address at the opening of the new building of the ,indianapolis ,public ,library4 7,library ,journal1 ,december1 #aiag1 p4 #idd-ej7 ,,the ,,church ,,and ,,the ,,public ,,library #bii 7,homiletic ,review1 ,june1 #aiah1 p4 #dce-i7 ,,the ,,future ,,of ,,library ,,work #cji 7,a4 ,l4 ,a4 ,bulletin1 ,september1 #aiai1 p4 #ej-g7 ,,popularizing ,,music ,,through ,,the ,,library #cbe ,read before the ,national ,association of ,music ,teachers and reprinted from the published ,proceedings for #aiah4 ,,two ,,cardinal ,,sins #cda ,a ,,message ,,to ,,beginners #ceg ,,luck ,,in ,,the ,,library #cgc ,,the ,,library ,,as ,a ,,museum #cic ,,the ,,library ,,and ,,the ,,locality #dji ,,index #dbi ,,library ,,essays ,,papers ,,related ,,to ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,public ,,libraries ,,pains ,,and ,,penalties ,,in ,,library ,,work#a ,in somewhat the same way as ,irving makes ,diedrich ,knickerbocker begin his history of ,new ,york with the creation of the world1 so we may open a discussion of this subject with a word on the theory of punishment4 ,we all know that neither moral philosophers nor penologists are agreed in this matter4 ,do we inflict punishment to satisfy our eternal sense of justice1 to prevent further wrong-doing on the part of the person punished1 as an example to others1 or to reform the delinquent8 ,so far as the justicial theory goes1 it is unnecessary here to discuss whether it is founded merely on the old savage feeling of revenge1 which having done its part in ensuring punishment to the wrong-doer in the uncivilized past1 should now be put aside4 ,as a matter of fact the rule1 8,let no guilty man escape10 is a very good one for practical purposes1 whatever its theoretical implications4 ,why should it be necessary to proceed according to any one theory in administering punishment8 ,practically in the home1 at school1 and in the courtroom the simple administration of justice does very well for us1 and when we go a little farther into the matter we see that each of the other elements enters into consideration4 ,certainly it is so in the library4 ,penalties for the infraction of our rules should be so inflicted that future wrong-doing both on the part of the culprit and on that of the remainder of the public becomes less likely than before4 ,whether we always do this in the most satisfactory way may be queried4 ,punishable acts committed in a library may be divided1 according to the old ecclesiastical classification1 into mala prohibita and mala in se2 in other words1 into acts that are simply contrary to library regulations and those that are absolutely wrong4 ,to steal a book is wrong anywhere and does not become so merely because the act is committed in a library2 but the retention of a borrowed book for fifteen instead of fourteen days is not absolutely wrong1 but simply contrary to library regulations4 ,the keeping of books overtime is a purely library offence1 committed against the library and to be punished by the library2 and with it may be classed such infractions of the rules as failure to charge or discharge a book1 loud talking or misbehavior below the rank of really disorderly conduct1 such injury to books as does not constitute wilful mutilation1 the giving of a fictitious name at the application desk1 etc4 ,for all these strictly library offences the favorite penalties seem to be two in number--the exaction of a fine and exclusion from library privileges--temporary or permanent4 ,the former is more used than the latter1 and ,i venture to think unjustly so4 ,from the sole standpoint of punishment the great advantage of a fine is that it touches people in their most sensitive point--the pocket4 ,but this is a ganglion whose sensitiveness is in inverse proportion to its size2 in one case the exaction of a cent means the confiscation of the possessor's entire fortune2 in another the delinquent could part with a hundred dollars without depriving himself of a necessity or a pleasure4 ,of course this lack of adaptability to the conditions of the person to be punished is not confined to this one method4 ,imprisonment1 for instance1 may be the ruin of a life to the hitherto respectable person1 while to the tramp it may simply mean a month's shelter and food4 ,but in the case of a money penalty the lack of adaptability is particularly noticeable1 and hence wherever it is exacted a large portion of the public comes to forget that it is a penalty at all4 ,instead of a punishment exacted in return for the commission of a misdemeanor and intended to discourage the repetition thereof1 it is looked upon as payment for the privilege of committing the misdemeanor1 and it in fact becomes this very thing4 ,thus1 in states where there is a prohibitory law1 and periodical raids are made on saloons with the resulting fines1 these fines often become in effect license fees1 and are so regarded by both delinquents and authorities4 ,where a municipality provides that automobiles shall not be speeded in its streets under penalty of a heavy fine1 the wealthy owners of motor-carriages too often regard this as permission to speed on payment of a stated amount1 and act accordingly4 ,so in the library1 the fine for keeping books overtime is widely regarded as a charge for the privilege of keeping the books longer than the formal rules allow4 ,being so regarded1 the fine loses a great part of its punitive effect1 and largely becomes in fact what it is popularly thought to be4 ,thus we have a free public library granting extra privileges to those who can afford to pay for them and withholding the same from those who cannot afford to pay--an extremely objectional state of things4 ,in making this characterization ,i am aware that the sale of additional facilities and privileges by a free library is regarded as proper by a large number of librarians1 and that the extension of systems of which it is a feature is widely urged4 ,it is found in the ,st ,louis plan for fiction1 which has been so successful1 and still more in ,mr4 ,dewey's proposed library bookstore4 ,that all these plans are admirable in many ways may be freely acknowledged4 ,in so far as they may be adopted by endowed libraries they are certainly unobjectionable4 ,but in spite of their advantages1 it seems to me that their use in an institution supported from the public funds is a mistake4 ,the direct payment of money to any institution so supported1 even if such payment is logically justifiable1 is open to so much misconstruction and is so commonly misunderstood or misinterpreted1 that ,i would hold up as an ideal the total abolition of all money transactions between the individual members of a public and institutions supported by that public as a whole4 ,the present subject evidently does not justify further discussion of this point1 but its mention here is proper because if library fines have become in many cases payments for a privilege1 that very fact should lead those who agree with what has been said above to strive for their abolition4 ,another objection to the fine1 which is1 curiously enough1 also the chief reason why it is almost hopeless to look for its abolition1 is the fact that wherever fines have been applied they have become a source of revenue that cannot well be neglected4 ,in a village not far from ,new ,york the receipts from bicycle fines at one time nearly paid the running expenses of the place4 ,agitation in favor of substituting other methods of punishing the cyclists who ride on the sidewalks and fail to light their lamps at sundown would evidently be hopeless here4 ,in the same way receipts from fines have become a very considerable source of income in large libraries1 and are not to be neglected even in small ones4 ,this is apparent in the following table#b3 ,income ,fines ,boston #cji1dag4eb #d1fba4de ,chicago #bhe1iea4bb #g1aca4ai ,philadelphia #ada1ied4de #b1che4eb ,brooklyn #aje1jha4ai #d1jac4bf ,n4 ,y4 ,c4 ,f4 ,l #ia1fac4ab #d1fdh4ih ,buffalo #hg1idf4he #b1iea4ba ,milwaukee #ga1cbh4hj #a1bie4ii ,san ,francisco #fd1iff4ca #b1bej4he ,newark #dc1gjf4cf #a1ije4ag ,evidently the abolition of fines in these cases would mean a reduction of income that would make itself felt at once4 ,now1 of course1 the knowledge that the detection of wrongdoing is financially profitable to the detector results in increased vigilance4 ,so far1 that is a good thing4 ,but it goes farther than this3 it makes the authorities strict regarding technicalities2 it may even lead to the encouragement of infraction of the law in order that the penalties may reach a larger amount4 ,in the town that is supported by bicycle fines we may fairly conclude that no resident calls the attention of the unwary cyclist to the warning sign1 past which he wheels toward the sidewalk4 ,to do so would decrease the village revenue and raise taxes4 ,so too1 what librarian would wish to adopt any course that will certainly reduce the money at his disposal for salaries and books8 ,supposing1 however1 that this loss can be made up in some way1 is there anything that can be substituted for the fine8 ,it has already been stated that suspension from library privileges is in use as a penalty to a considerable extent1 and there seems to be no reason why this should not be extended to the case of overdue books4 ,there might1 for instance1 be a rule that for every day of illegal retention of a book the holder should be suspended from library privileges for one week4 ,the date of expiration of the suspension would be noted on the holder's card1 and the card would not be returned to him before that date4 ,this plan would probably have interesting results which there is not time to anticipate here4 ,but as long as books cost money and librarians refuse to work altogether for love1 financial considerations must play a large part in library changes4 ,the only way in which fines can be abolished without decreasing income is to make the abolition a condition of an increased appropriation1 which1 of course1 could be done by the appropriating body4 ,the making of such a condition is extremely unlikely4 ,hence1 if we agree that fines are undesirable we must regard their abolition as an unattainable ideal4 ,we may1 however1 treat them so as to minimize their bad effect1 and this1 ,i believe1 may be done in either or both of the following two ways3 7#a7 ,we may emphasize the punitive value of the fine and at the same time increase its value as a source of revenue by making it larger4 ,this would doubtless decrease the number of overdue books1 and the exact point where the increase should stop would be the point where this decrease should so balance the increase of fines as to make the total receipts a maximum2 or1 if this maximum should greatly exceed the revenue received from fines under the old arrangement1 then the rate could be still farther increased until the total receipts fell to the old amount4 ,the practical method would be to increase the fines by a fraction of a cent per day at intervals of several months1 comparing the total receipts for each interval with that of the corresponding period under the old arrangement2 and stopping when this sum showed signs of decrease4 7#b7 ,we may give the librarian the option of substituting suspension for the fine whenever1 in his judgment1 this is advisable4 ,this is the course pursued by the law when it gives to the trial judge the option of fining or imprisoning an offender4 ,in cases where a fine is no punishment at all1 and where books are kept overtime deliberately1 suspension from library privileges would probably prove salutary4 ,a variant of the second plan would be to allow the culprit himself to substitute suspension for his fine4 ,this in effect is what the offender in the police court does when he avows that he has not the money to pay his fine and is sent to jail to work it off4 ,at present when a library offender is manifestly unable to pay his fine there is usually no alternative but to remit it or to deny the culprit access to the library until it is paid--in many cases an unreasonably heavy punishment4 ,of course there is no reason why all these modifications of existing rules should not be made together4 ,according to this plan fines would be raised and suspension would be substituted in any case at the librarian's option and in all cases where the person fined avows that he is unable to pay his fine4 ,the rates can be so adjusted that under this plan there is no decrease of revenue1 but rather a net increase4 ,of course the adoption of such rules would be regarded by a large portion of the public as a curtailment of privileges1 but such an outcry as it would probably raise ought not to be objectionable as it is a necessary step in the instruction of the users of a library regarding the proper function of penalties for infraction of its rules4 ,these rules are for the benefit of the majority and the good sense of that majority ought to1 and doubtless would1 come to the rescue of the library authorities on short notice4 ,as long as the library fine is a recognized penalty1 numerous petty questions will continue to arise regarding its collection1 registration1 and use4 ,any exhaustive treatment of these is impossible in the limits of a single paper and ,i have chosen to neglect most of them in order to dwell on the question in its larger aspects4 ,it is the exaction of the fine1 after all1 that is the library penalty--the money is part of the library income and its collection and disposition are properly questions of finance4 ,one point1 however1 regarding the disposition of the fines bears directly on what has been said4 ,in municipal public libraries like that of ,boston1 where the city requires that the fines shall be turned directly into the public treasury and not retained for library use1 the substitution of a different penalty would presumably involve no diminution of income4 ,from ordinary considerations of equity1 however1 it seems to me that this disposition of the fines is objectionable4 ,if the fines are to be turned into the city treasury they should be placed to the credit of the library appropriation as they are in ,brooklyn4 ,regarding the collection of fines there are one or two points that bear directly on their efficiency as a punitive measure4 ,first1 shall fines be charged8 ,it seems a hardship to refuse a well-known member a book because he does not happen to have with him the change to pay a #ae cent fine4 ,this point of view1 however1 loses sight again of the element of punishment4 ,when the delinquent who is fined a dollar in the police court does not have the money with him1 does he request the magistrate to charge it and send in a bill for the month's penalties all at once8 ,the true method1 ,i am convinced1 is to insist on cash payment of fines1 and if this is done promptly their character as penalties will be more generally recognized4 ,another point in regard to the collection of fines is their effect on the assistants themselves4 ,in every library a stream of money passes in at the desk in very small amounts4 ,this must all be accounted for1 and we have the alternative of requiring vouchers for every cent or of simply keeping a memorandum account and seeing that the cash corresponds with it at the close of the day4 ,this latter plan1 in some form1 is usually adopted4 ,to misappropriate funds under these circumstances is not difficult1 and ,i submit that it is not right to place a large number of young girls in a situation where such misappropriation is easy and safe4 ,in spite of ,mark ,twain1 who prays that he may be led into temptation early and often1 that he may get accustomed to it1 ,i do not believe that this is a good general policy to pursue4 ,we all know of cases where assistants have fallen into temptation1 and we should not hold the library altogether blameless in the matter4 ,but on general principles such a plan is not good business4 ,every one who is responsible for money collected must show vouchers that he turns over every cent that has been given to him4 ,why should the library assistant be an exception8 ,i look to see some form of cash register on every charging desk in the ideal library of the future1 nor can ,i see that its use would be a reflection on the honesty of the assistants any more than the refusal of a bank to cash an improperly endorsed check is a reflection on the honesty of the holder4 ,this is on the supposition that we are to retain the fine as a penalty4 ,such considerations1 of course1 weigh down the balance still more strongly in favor of its abolition4 ,i have devoted so much space to the penalty for keeping books overtime because the rule on this subject is the one that is chiefly broken in a free public library4 ,other offences are usually dealt with by suspension1 and very properly so4 ,for the loss or accidental injury of a book1 however1 a fine is again the penalty1 and here1 as the offence is the causing of a definite money loss to the library1 there is more reason for it ,the money in this case1 indeed1 is to be regarded as damages1 and its payment is rather restitution than punishment4 ,even here1 however1 the argument against money transactions with a free institution seems to hold good4 ,there is no reason in the majority of cases why he who loses or destroys a book should not give to the library a new copy instead of the price thereof1 and for minor injury suspension is surely an adequate penalty4 ,here we may pause for a moment to ask3 ,what right has a library to inflict any penalties at all8 ,i must leave the full discussion of this question to the lawyers1 but ,i am quite sure that libraries1 like some other corporations1 often enact and enforce rules that they have no legal right to make4 ,to cite an instance that came under my own observation1 the ,brooklyn ,public ,library's rules were for more than a year1 according to good authority1 absolutely invalid because they had not been enacted by the ,municipal ,assembly1 and that library had no right to collect a single fine4 ,yet during this time it did collect fines amounting to several thousand dollars1 and not a word of protest was heard from the public4 ,in this and similar cases we are getting down to first principles--the consent of the governed2 which1 whether based on ignorance or knowledge1 is what we must rely on in the end for the enforcement of law in self-governing communities4 ,i am afraid that it is this general consent1 in a good many instances1 that is enabling us to enforce our regulations1 rather than any right derived from positive law4 ,to take a related instance1 it is by no means certain that libraries are not breaking the law of libel every time they send out an overdue postal notice4 ,the courts have held that a dun on a postal is libellous1 and our overdue cards specifically inform the person to whom they are addressed that he owes money to the library1 and threaten him with punishment if the debt is not paid4 ,yet although occasional delinquents remark that the law is violated by these postals1 public libraries in all parts of the ,united ,states continue to send them out by thousands daily with few protests4 ,this seems clearly a case where the public consents to a punitive measure of doubtful legality1 and approves it for the public good4 ,the second of the two classes into which we have divided infractions of library rules consists of those that are also contrary to statute law or municipal regulation4 ,how far shall these be dealt with purely from the library standpoint1 and when shall they be turned over to the public authorities8 ,if a small boy yells at the desk-assistant through door or window he is a disturber of the peace2 if he throws at her some handy missile1 such as a vegetable or a tin can1 as occasionally happens in certain sections of unregenerate ,new ,york1 he is technically committing an assault2 shall he be handed over to the police8 ,of course one must not treat trifles too seriously4 ,yet probably libraries have been somewhat too timid about dealing with petty offences4 ,there is an unwillingness to drag the libraries into the police reports that seems to be a relic of the days when all libraries were haunts of scholarly seclusion4 ,the modern public library cannot afford to be considered an 8easy mark0 by those who wish to indulge in horse play or commit petty misdemeanors1 and in some cases it is in danger of getting this reputation4 ,when we come to more serious offences1 the library's duty is clearer4 ,theft1 wilful mutilation of books1 or grave disorder must of course be punished4 ,in many cases1 however1 the detection of the first two offences is very difficult4 ,theft from open shelves is easy4 ,for the thousands of books lost yearly in this way hardly a culprit meets punishment4 ,i have known a professional detective to confess that the open shelf baffled him4 8,if you will only shut the books up10 he said1 8,i can find out who takes 'em2 but here everybody is taking out books and walking around with them40 ,when the professional acknowledges himself beaten1 what shall the librarian do8 ,mutilation is even harder to detect4 ,in both these cases the offender has simply to wait his opportunity4 ,sooner or later there will be a second or two when no assistant is looking1 even if the man is under long-standing suspicion1 and in that brief time the book is slipped into the pocket or the leaf is torn out4 ,even when the offender is caught in the act1 the magistrate may not hold1 or the jury may fail to convict4 ,a persistent mutilator of books in one of our branch libraries escaped punishment last winter because the custodian of the reading-room where he was caught did not wait until the leaf on which he was working was actually severed4 ,the man asserted that the sharp lead pencil that he was using to separate the leaf was merely being employed to mark a place1 and thus by confessing to a minor defacement he escaped the penalty of the more serious offence4 ,for a library that is thus forced to appeal continually to the law to protect its assistants1 its users1 and its collections1 a manual of library law would be useful1 and ,i am not sure that the appointment of a committee of this ,association to take the matter in charge would not be eminently justified4 ,it is the misfortune of this paper that it has been obliged to dwell on the darker side of library work4 ,it is hardly necessary to remind an audience of librarians that this is not the prominent side4 ,all users of a library are not delinquents or law-breakers1 and the assistants have other and better work than to act as fine-collectors and detectives4 ,the sombre effect of what you have just heard should have been dispelled by a paper on 8,rewards and delights of library work10 but this the ,program ,committee has seen fit to omit1 probably because it is not necessary to emphasize the obvious4 ,,how ,,librarians ,,choose ,,books ,the form in which this subject is stated removes it from the region of ethics and brings it down to the hard realms of fact ,i am not to tell you how librarians ought to select books1 but how they do select them4 ,i shall assume1 however1 that you do not care to have this paper filled with instances of abnormal and unprofitable selection1 but that you wish to hear of the normal and the unobjectionable4 ,booksellers tell us that many buyers of books are governed in their choice by the color of the covers1 and ,i have suspected that some librarians are influenced in the same way4 ,some librarians appear to object to works that are less than one century old2 others are on record as discouraging the purchase of fiction less than one year of age4 ,some librarians have a prejudice against certain classes of books and an inordinate love for others4 ,the only things that should be considered by the librarian in buying books for his library are the needs of the community that he serves1 the capability of the various books under consideration to satisfy those needs1 and the financial ability of the library to secure what is needed4 ,i shall take up these points in order4 ,first1 the needs of the community4 ,these are not necessarily to be measured by its demands1 otherwise the librarian's labor would be considerably lightened4 ,unfortunately1 when a community needs a given class of books very desperately it is often serenely unconscious of the fact4 ,to the librarian falls the task not only of determining what the need is and of filling it1 but also of arousing a wholesome consciousness of it4 ,in this educational work he may be1 and often is1 aided by the teacher1 the clergyman1 or even by the users of the library themselves4 ,hence the importance of getting in touch with all the agencies that may do work along this line4 ,there is nothing that calls for more tact4 ,with the children it is comparatively easy to point out a deficiency1 but a direct attempt with a self-respecting adult may end in disaster1 and a season or two of well-meant effort may result in weakening the librarian's influence or even in losing him his position4 ,but one can rarely teach tact to the tactless1 and tact is something that every librarian must have1 so that this lopping-off process1 after all1 may simply be regarded as a phase of nature's elimination of the unfit4 ,one way of ascertaining the proportional demand for various classes of literature in a community1 is by examining the class-percentage of circulation4 ,by comparing these with the corresponding volume percentages we may see whether the demands of the community are being met1 and by comparison with the percentages of an ideal library we may see whether such demand ought to be met or not4 ,of course1 the ideal is somewhat indefinite4 ,one may accept the suggested proportions in the ,a4,l4,a4 catalog1 or average those of several libraries of high class2 or one may construct an ideal of one's own4 ,in any case1 the ideal proportions will evidently vary with conditions of place and time4 ,to show how this test may be applied1 consider the percentage of science circulated last year in the ,new ,york ,public library4 ,this varied from #c to #bh per cent in the various branches1 and was #i per cent for the whole library4 ,the percentage of science on the shelves similarly varied from #f to #ah per cent1 and was also #i for the whole library4 ,in our library sociology and philology are included in the science report1 and the percentage of these three classes combined in the old ,a4,l4,a4 catalog is #ag4 ,if this is to be taken as the standard1 therefore1 the library as a whole falls below it1 though individual branches approach or even exceed it4 ,as a whole1 however1 the demand and the supply balance pretty well4 ,there is no doubt1 however1 that in this and most other libraries the demand in this class is too small and needs stimulation4 ,of course1 this is brought up merely as an instance of how fertile this comparison of percentages is in information1 and how valuable in ascertaining whether the demands of a community are supplied1 and whether they ought to be supplied1 along any given line4 ,we will assume that either in the ways indicated1 or in some other1 the librarian has satisfied himself that he understands what his community needs4 ,how shall he find the books that will satisfy that need1 and when they are found 7or1 still more1 when they obtrude themselves on his notice7 how shall he know that they are what they claim to be8 ,in order to find what he wants1 the librarian naturally turns at first to such classed bibliographies as he has at hand1 including publishers' trade lists4 ,unfortunately1 books very rapidly become out of print1 and if his bibliography or list is even two or three years old he cannot be sure that his work of selection is not in vain4 ,the value of the ,a4,l4,a4 catalog has been much impaired by its inclusion of out-of-print books1 and as1 now that it is several years old1 the number of these is increasing daily1 its use has become more and more vexatious1 both to librarians and publishers4 ,it is to be hoped that in the new edition now preparing the out-of-print books will be omitted4 ,fortunately we now have at our disposal yearly alphabetical lists of in-print books4 ,such are the index to the ,trade list annual and the ,united ,states catalog for ,american editions1 and the ,index to the reference catalog of current literature for ,british books4 ,if the needs of your library require that some one class should be largely replenished1 you may call in expert knowledge4 ,some teacher or student who is a specialist in that subject is generally not hard to find1 and his advice will be of the greatest value4 ,special bibliographies are valuable in inverse ratio to their length--a complete list of works on ,egyptology1 for instance1 is hardly more valuable to the ordinary small library than a full1 unclassified list of books in-print on all subjects4 ,the majority of the small library's purchases are books as currently issued4 ,for these the ,publishers' weekly is indispensable4 ,some librarians prefer to look at every book before purchasing1 and arrange with publishers or booksellers to send large numbers of books weekly or even daily on approval4 ,this1 if there is sufficient time1 is a good plan1 but it is certainly wasteful4 ,there are many books which we can surely reject or accept from the author and title entry in the ,publishers' weekly as well as if the actual book were in hand4 ,if a mistake is made it will be1 or should be1 discovered as soon as the book is received1 and the volume can then be exchanged4 ,only the doubtful books need be asked for on approval1 and these will generally be found to constitute a relatively small percentage of the whole4 ,the data on which the librarian may rely to accept or reject from a mere list of books are3 #a7 the author's name2 #b7 the title1 with such brief annotation as may follow it2 #c7 notices in the book magazines2 #d7 the publisher's name4 ,the author stands for much--the style1 method of treatment1 the fitness to print of what he has to say1 the readableness of his book1 and so on4 ,we all know that there are authors whom we can absolutely rely on in these respects1 either for acceptance or rejection4 ,it is thus necessary that the librarian may know the uniformly good author and the uniformly bad ones2 but experience must be his guide1 as this lies somewhat without the scope of the present paper4 ,the title should tell us something about the contents of the book1 but1 unfortunately1 the aim of the title-maker is too often not to give information but to stimulate curiosity4 ,in some cases this is carried so far that the title of a book leaves us in absolute ignorance as to whether it is sociology1 travel1 or fiction4 ,one is1 therefore1 generally obliged to refer to some kind of descriptive note to get the desired information4 ,such notes are often appended to lists and the librarian does well to remember that they are generally not intended to be critical4 ,for criticism we must go to the reviews1 and here ,i have always felt1 and still feel1 that the librarian has a real grievance4 ,the book periodicals are many1 and every daily paper has its critical page4 ,this mass of matter is made accessible through the recently issued ,index to books reviewed4 ,yet with it all there is not one place where the librarian may look for brief notes on current books1 telling him just what he wants to know and no more1 and with the confidence that the information is quite free from bias4 ,in saying this ,i am quite ready to give credit to our best book reviews for their many good qualities4 ,what ,i mean is1 that the reviews are written for the reader or the bookseller1 never for the librarian4 ,in making use of those at his disposal the librarian must learn to discriminate1 to weigh authorities1 and to pick out the occasional sharp needle of valuable criticism from the haystack of discursive talk4 ,lastly1 the selector may rely on the name of the publisher4 ,this may tell him much or little1 but it may at any rate guarantee good paper and type1 and it may also assure him that the book contains no improprieties4 ,unfortunately1 it cannot insure against dullness--publisher's readers are but mortal1 and the best will occasionally reject a pearl and take in a pebble4 ,when all is said and done1 of course the intelligent man who has read a book carefully knows more about it than he could have found out by reading all the annotations and reviews in the world4 ,the librarian of a small library can read every book under consideration4 ,the head of a large library cannot do this2 the larger his daily or weekly order1 the more he must rely on the recommendations and opinions of others1 and even the books that he orders on approval he cannot read himself4 ,here1 perhaps1 is the place to note that not every librarian is his own selector4 ,the responsible decision in these matters rests1 of course1 in most libraries1 with a committee of some sort2 but if the librarian is one in whose judgment this committee has confidence 7and no other should hold the position at all7 he will have a practically free hand4 ,for decision in regard to doubtful books1 especially current fiction1 some libraries have special reading committees1 often composed of ladies1 but it can hardly be said that the results arrived at in this way are satisfactory4 ,it is vastly better for the librarian to select a few persons1 either on his staff or outside of it1 on whom he can rely to give him information1 after reading a book1 on specific points regarding which he may require it4 ,especially in considering current fiction should the reader be able to distinguish between mere outspokenness1 such as we find in the ,bible or ,shakespeare1 and immoral or degrading tendency4 ,the ordinary woman reader1 especially the young woman1 will often condemn a book for frankness when its tendency is decidedly good1 and pass a clever1 pleasant tale whose influence on many persons is bad1 though conveyed entirely by indirection4 ,of course the librarian or the committee may make a general rule to exclude frankness1 which1 personally1 ,i think is a mistake1 though ,i am free to acknowledge that there are boundaries beyond which even a well-meaning writer should not be allowed to go4 ,of course1 ,i can say but a word here on the trash question in fiction4 ,but be not1 ,i pray1 too stern a censor4 ,when selecting for a free public library judge books largely by their fruits4 ,if a story sends a boy out with a pistol to play robber--somewhat too much in earnest--it is surely bad2 if it makes him love justice and incline to pity1 it cannot be altogether out of place in a library though it may be unreal and inane4 ,its characters may be wooden puppets to you1 while to the young reader they are heroes1 full of the divine qualities of courage1 sympathy1 and tenderness4 ,as the reader thinketh so is the book--not as you1 wise critic1 in your plentitude of knowledge1 would have it to be4 ,the third consideration that must govern us in our choice1 though ,i have put it last1 is really the controlling one4 ,unless there is something in the treasury we may choose books all day1 and our selection is as unavailing as the street child's choice of jewels in a shop window2 and the more money one has at one's disposal1 the easier it is to spend it4 ,i must speak of the library's finances here1 however1 only as they affect the librarian's choice of books4 ,given a specified book appropriation1 the librarian must often have to decide upon the best way to spend it1 and upon the proper distribution of expenditure over the year4 ,all these things influence his choice more or less4 ,from one point of view it seems well to expend the greater part of the amount as soon as it becomes available1 especially if a large number of pressing needs have been waiting for satisfaction4 ,the trouble is that one cannot foresee what needs will also press for satisfaction during the coming year4 ,another plan is to distribute the expenditure pretty evenly without making any too strict rule in the matter4 ,with the first arrangement the librarian will be apt to buy a good many of the larger and more expensive works--and1 perhaps1 be sorry for it afterward4 ,with the latter he will purchase more current literature and satisfy his readers better1 though the general quality of his purchases may not be so high4 ,perhaps a compromise may bring the best results4 ,he who decides at the outset what reference works he can afford to buy during the year1 and how much he must spend at once on replacements and duplicates1 and after deducting these fixed charges from his appropriation divides the remainder into weekly or monthly portions for current purchases1 will not go far wrong4 ,to the financial section of this discussion belongs also the question of editions4 ,shall the librarian choose the best or the cheapest8 ,which is the best and which is the cheapest for his purpose8 ,in the first place1 we may exclude the extremes4 ,editions de luxe have no place in the ordinary free library1 and1 on the other hand1 we should not think of offering to a self-respecting reader books printed on bad paper with worse type1 simply because they can be purchased at a phenomenally low figure4 ,but between these two there are many grades of beauty and durability4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 there is safety in the golden mean4 ,as far as bindings of exceptional durability go1 the question of paying extra for them depends on the use that is to be made of the book4 ,if it will circulate so little that the ordinary binding will last twenty years1 why spend money for anything stronger8 ,again1 if it get such hard treatment that it must be replaced in a year's time1 why put on it a binding that would outlive ten years of such vicissitudes8 ,still again1 with current books of popular interest1 the library cannot wait to have them put into special bindings1 but for standard1 popular works1 which will have steady but not hard use1 and which can be ordered three months before they are to be used1 money spent on special bindings may be economy in the end4 ,here1 however1 we are drifting a little way from our subject4 ,the three points that we must take into consideration in selecting books1 namely1 the community's need1 the determination of what books will satisfy it1 and the consideration of how far the library's financial condition will allow it to go in that direction1 have been treated separately1 but it must be evident that they are in reality so closely connected that they act and react on each other4 ,no one of them can in practice be considered apart from the others4 ,thus the first necessity of the library may be books on music1 and a secondary need may be books on water supply4 ,it may so happen1 however1 that a complete and up-to-date work on the latter subject1 we will say1 has just been issued at a moderate price1 while the works on music most needed are expensive4 ,the result would be quite different from that reached by a consideration of the first point alone4 ,again1 we will take the case of a large library with a book appropriation large enough to buy practically all that it wants in current literature4 ,this fact drops point third out of consideration entirely and modifies both the others considerably4 ,if the library wants both music and hydraulics1 and has money enough for only one1 we must consider carefully which can best be spared2 but if the funds are at hand for both1 all this thought is not needed4 ,in like manner1 even if there are funds for both1 but only for one or two books on each subject1 we must select the books we need most1 which we need to do if we have money to buy all we want on both subjects4 ,in short1 the work of selecting is more difficult1 as has been said1 with a few books than with many1 but the consolation must be that the result is better4 ,the temptation1 when one has plenty of money1 is to let selection go by the board altogether and to garner in wheat and tares alike1 trusting to the public to do the sorting4 ,we may be almost alarmed to learn from the physiologist of the complicated vital processes that go on within us1 of which the cessation means death1 and yet of which we remain in daily ignorance4 ,these things often regulate themselves4 ,the selection of books1 like the inflation of the lungs1 may be performed almost automatically1 yet with substantial success4 ,it is instructive to see how nearly the class percentages in the ordinary library approximate to the average without any conscious regulation by the librarian4 ,the community is apt to get about what it needs in fairly good quality and without running its library into debt4 ,yet there can surely be no harm in analyzing a little the work of selection1 nor can there be any objection to supplementing by conscious action work that has gone on1 however well1 chiefly in the combined subconsciousness of a librarian and the community4 ,especially is this desirable in making the distinction1 already emphasized at the opening of this paper1 between what the community wants and what it needs4 ,the fever patient who needs acid sometimes cries for a pickle1 and thus cures himself in spite of his nurse2 but it is more commonly the case that the patient's need is masked by some abnormal desire1 and that he cries for pork-chops or lobster1 or something else that would kill him4 ,we can hardly give up the nurse1 therefore1 provided she knows her business1 and part of that business is to realize the difference between a mere want and a vital need4 ,so with the librarian1 the nurse of the reading public4 ,left altogether to themselves her patients may kill themselves with pork or lobster2 it is her business to see that such an untoward event does not occur4 ,those of us to whom this duty has been intrusted1 whether we are librarians1 trustees1 or the members of book-committees1 deserve both the good-will and the sympathy of the public2 and1 like the western organist1 ,i pray that we may not be shot4 ,we are doing our best4 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,small ,,public ,,library ,we cannot too often remind ourselves of the fact that a circulating library is a distributing agency1 and as such has points in common with other such agencies4 ,the whole progress of civilization is dependent on distribution--the bringing to the individual of the thing he wants or needs4 ,the library's activities are1 therefore1 in the same class with commerce1 and the tendency of modern changes in the library is to make the analogy closer and closer4 ,to recognize this fact is by no means to degrade library work4 ,all workers fall into the two great classes of producers and distributors4 ,civilization can get along without neither2 we must have the farmer to grow the wheat and the railway to market it2 we must have the author to write the book and the publisher and the bookseller and the librarian to place it in the hands of those who can use it4 ,the librarian is not a producer2 he takes the product of other people's brains and distributes it2 and his problem is how to do this most effectively4 ,do not misunderstand me4 ,there have been some recent protests against treating the library as a commercial instead of an educational institution4 ,the free library is not a commercial institution1 but it is an agency for distributing something1 and there are also hundreds of other agencies for distributing other things4 ,the objects and the methods of distribution are various1 but certain laws apply to all kinds of distribution4 ,hence we may learn a good deal about library work by examining to see what it has in common with other kinds of distribution and in what respect it differs from them4 ,now1 the prime factors in any kind of distribution are3 #a1 the products to be distributed2 #b1 the persons to whom they are to be distributed2 #c1 the distributors and methods of distribution4 ,i know no better way of laying the basis of an efficient and successful distribution than the brief study1 in order1 of these three factors4 ,first let us consider the things that we are to distribute1 namely1 books4 ,and at the outset let us remember that although these things are apparently material1 as much so as butter or hats1 they are much more than this4 ,they are the vehicles for conveying ideas1 so that a library is a concern for the dissemination of ideas4 ,this brings it in line with another great intellectual and moral distributing agency--the school4 ,in the school the distributor is more often a producer than in the library1 especially in the universities1 where the discoverer of new facts or laws himself imparts them to his students4 ,yet the school is essentially a distributing rather than a producing agency4 ,in the school1 however the means of distribution are not limited1 while in the library they are pretty strictly confined to the printed book4 ,i know that there are some people who believe that the library is growing out of such restrictions1 and that its mission is to be the distribution of ideas through any and all mediums--the spoken word1 in lectures2 the pictures1 in exhibitions of art2 the museum specimen2 and so on4 ,we should welcome all these as adjuncts to our own business1 and when we have mastered that business thoroughly perhaps we may take them up each on its own account4 ,those who love books1 however1 will want to see the distribution of books always at the head of the library's activities4 ,and it may be kept there1 provided we make everything else in the library serve as guide-posts to the printed records on the shelves4 ,a picture bulletin1 for instance1 may be both beautiful and useful1 but it should never be an end in itself4 ,it is the bait1 if we may so speak1 for the list of books that accompanies it4 ,the pictures excite the interest of a child who sees them and he wants to know more about them4 ,the list tells him where he can find out1 and the result is increased use of the library4 ,in like manner if you have a lecture course1 or a loan exhibition in your library1 see that it is made a means of stimulating interest in your books4 ,i have said that in distribution we bring to the individual what he wants or what he needs4 ,that sounds a little tautological1 but it is not4 ,a man often wants whiskey when he doesn't need it at all1 and conversely a boy sometimes needs a whipping--but he doesn't want it4 ,so with the reading public4 ,they often want fiction of a class that they do not need1 and have no longing for books that would really benefit them4 ,here we may mote a difference between the free library and all merely commercial systems of distribution4 ,as the purpose of the latter is to make money1 wants are regarded rather than needs4 ,but even with a store there are limitations4 ,if any one wants an injurious article--for instance1 a poison or an explosive--the law steps in to prohibit or regulate4 ,and even outside the limits of such regulation1 the personal sense of responsibility to the community that governs the actions of an honest merchant will prevent his attempting to satisfy certain wants that he believes would better remain unsatisfied4 ,so1 too1 certain books are without the pale of the law--they would be confiscated and the librarian would be punished if they were circulated4 ,beyond these there are many books that we do not circulate simply from our sense of general responsibility to the community4 ,the difference between our work and that of the merchant in this regard lies chiefly in the more extended scope left for our own judgment4 ,no librarian thinks of circulating illegal literature2 his only care is to exclude such of the allowable books as he believes should not1 for any reason1 be placed on his shelves4 ,here1 sometimes1 popularity and usefulness part company4 ,the librarian may yield entirely too much to the wants--the demands--of the community and neglect its needs4 ,his aim should be to bring the wants and the needs into harmony so far as possible1 to make his people want what will do them good4 ,this might be dubbed 8the whole duty of a librarian40 ,few1 ,i am afraid1 attain to the full measure of it1 and too many fail even to realize its desirability4 ,of course if you can bring the full force of a reader's conscience to bear on his reading--if you can make him feel that it is his duty to read some good book that strikes him as stupid1 you may make him stick to it to the bitter end1 but such perfunctory reading does little good4 ,the pleasure one gets in reading is a sign of benefits received4 ,even the smile of the boy who reads ,george ,ade is a sign that the book is furnishing him with needed recreation4 ,the pleasure experienced1 we will say1 in reading ,shakespeare is of course of a far higher type2 yet ,i venture to say that if that pleasure is absent1 the benefit is absent too4 ,nine-tenths of the distaste felt for good standard books by the average reader is the result of the mistaken efforts of some one to force him to read one of these books by something in the nature of an appeal to duty4 ,there is no moral obligation to read ,shakespeare if you do not like it1 and if a friend persuades you of such an obligation you are apt to end by rightly concluding that he is wrong4 ,but with this conclusion comes an unfortunate distaste for good literature2 a conviction that standard works are all dull1 and that the only kind of pleasure to be had from reading is the most superficial kind4 ,the moral for librarians is3 cultivate in your readers a taste for good literature2 get them into the frame of mind and the grade of culture where they like ,shakespeare and then turn them loose4 ,no injunctions will be necessary2 they will not cease to read until they have devoured the utmost sentence4 ,but how shall this taste be cultivated8 ,i wish ,i knew4 ,i wish ,i could give you a formula for causing the flower of literary appreciation to unfold4 ,the rule is different in every case4 ,first and foremost there must be something to cultivate4 ,you cannot go out into the desert with watering-pot and raise strawberries or asparagus4 ,but you can take a poor little spindling plant and dig about it and fertilize it until it waxes into a robust tree whose branches are laden with big1 juicy ideas4 ,if you are skilful enough to find out what intellectual germs there are in your reader's mind you can cultivate them little by little1 but if you throw ,shakespeare and ,milton at the heads of all alike they will be likely to fall on barren ground4 ,the golden rule for making your library both attractive and useful 7the two things go hand in hand7 is to adapt your books to those aptitudes of your readers that need and will bear cultivation4 ,this means that in selecting books for your library you must not disregard the demands and requests of your readers4 ,it also means that you must have the acuteness to detect what they ought to request4 ,it may be1 for instance1 that near your library is the home of some great industry employing large numbers of intelligent mechanics who would gain both enjoyment and benefit by reading some of the technical literature bearing on their work4 ,only it has never occurred to them to think that this literature1 much of it perhaps expensive or inaccessible1 can be obtained at the public library4 ,it is your business to get it1 if you can1 and to let them know that you have it and that they are welcome to read it4 ,remember1 too1 that he gives twice who gives quickly4 ,much of the ephemeral literature of the day1 which is purchased for recreative purposes1 is rightly and properly read for curiosity4 ,people like to read the latest book and talk to each other about it4 ,we are all embryo critics4 ,this desire to read the last thing out1 just because it is the last1 has had anathemas piled on it until it ought to be crushed1 but it is still lively4 ,i confess ,i have it myself and ,i cannot blame my neighbor if he has it too4 ,unless we are wholly to reject the recreative use of the library or to accept it with a mental reservation that the public shall enjoy itself according to a prescribed formula or not at all--we shall have to buy some of these books4 ,i am afraid that otherwise some future historian of literature may say of us in parody of ,macaulay's celebrated epigram on the ,puritans and bearbaiting1 that the twentieth-century librarian condemned the twentieth-century novel1 not because it did harm to the library1 but because it gave pleasure to the reader4 ,now1 if we are going to buy this ephemeral literature1 we must get it quickly or not at all4 ,the latest novel must go on your shelves hot from the presses1 or stay off4 ,and this is true of much other literature that is not ephemeral but that depends for its effect on its timeliness4 ,it will certainly lose readers if it is not on your shelves promptly1 and if it deserves readers1 as much of it does1 the net result is a loss to the community4 ,so we come next to the question of readers4 ,how shall we get them8 ,what kind do we want1 and how shall we reach that kind8 ,in commercial systems of distribution the merchant gets customers in two ways3 by giving good quality and good measure and by advertising4 ,some kind of advertising is generally essential4 ,even if your community is a very small one it is right that you should occasionally remind it of your existence and of what you have to offer4 ,legitimate advertising is simply informing people where they can obtain something that they are likely to want4 ,the address of your library should be in your railway station2 in the schools2 in the drug store4 ,your latest accessions should be announced in the local papers and bulletined in the same places4 ,when you have an item about your library that would interest the reader send it yourself to the paper4 ,there is nothing undignified about this4 ,do not forget that you are in charge of certain articles that the public needs and desires and that it is your business to let the public know it4 ,the new-comer to your town cannot know intuitively that your library is at such and such an address2 the old resident who likes to read ,howells cannot ascertain by telepathy that you have just received the last volume by his favorite author4 ,you may even send a special card of information to a reader who you know will be glad to get it4 ,one would think that if there was anything distinctive about our systems of distribution1 commercial or otherwise1 it was the great degree to which we advertise and the money that we spend in so doing4 ,but with it all1 this feature in its misdirected energy and lack of method is the weak point of the whole system4 ,much of the money spent in advertising is devoted to attempts to get people to buy what they do not want4 ,any one knows that when he desires a very special or definite thing it is often impossible to find it1 though it may be next door4 ,in our library work1 so far as readers are concerned1 our weak points are two3 first1 failure to make known our presence and our work to all who might use the library2 second1 failure to hold our readers4 ,these things are both serious4 ,we ourselves see so much of libraries that we find it difficult to understand how large a proportion of any community is ignorant of them and their work4 ,in large cities1 of course1 this is more likely to be the case than in small towns4 ,yet if you will compare the number of names on your registration list with the population you serve1 even making allowance for the fact that each book withdrawn may be read by several persons1 and deducting young children who cannot read1 you will be surprised at the discrepancy4 ,there are many people who do not know of your library's existence or who do not realize what it means4 ,your first duty is to find some way of giving them the information and of seeing that they shall not forget it4 ,regarding the second failure1 you may get some idea of that if you will compare the growth of your registration list with that of your circulation4 ,the circulation never grows as fast as the membership4 ,it may even be stationary or decreasing while new users are coming in daily4 ,the fact is1 of course1 that former users are all the time dropping off4 ,why do they drop off8 ,it is your business to find out and to keep them if you can4 ,the librarian in a small community has a great advantage in this respect1 for she can know her constituency personally and keep track of them individually4 ,but the personal relations of the librarian and her assistants with the public belong as much in the third section of our subject as in the second4 ,the importance of them cannot be exaggerated4 ,i am not sure that ,i should not prefer a sunny-faced1 pleasant-voiced1 intelligent1 good-tempered assistant in a tumble-down building with a lot of second-hand1 badly arranged books1 rather than the latest ,carnegie library stocked with literary treasures if these had to be dispensed by a haughty young lady with monosyllabic answers and a fatigued expression4 ,i know of no more exasperating duty than that of continually meeting a library public--and ,i know of no pleasanter one4 ,for the public is just you and me and some other people1 and like you and me it is various in its moods4 ,the mood of the public in a library is often a reflection of that of the librarian4 ,the golden rule here is direct personal contact2 and don't forget the last syllable--tact4 ,don't force your services or your advice on people that neither wish nor require them1 but don't forget that you may have pleasant1 intellectual intercourse without offering either aid or advice4 ,when an aged man who knows more of literature than you dreamed of in your wildest visions wants 8,the ,dolly dialogues10 don't try to get him to take 8,marius the ,epicurean0 instead4 ,but if you get into the habit of talking with him it may make the library seem pleasant and homelike to him1 and1 besides1 he may tell you something that you do not know--that is a not remote and certainly fascinating possibility4 ,i need not say that no library can be useful or attractive unless it is properly arranged and cataloged1 and unless it has a simple and effective charging system2 and unless the public is admitted directly to the shelves and allowed to handle and select the books4 ,but ,i do need to say--because some of us are apt to forget it--that these things are not ends in themselves1 but means to an end1 namely1 the bringing together of the man and the book1 the distribution of ideas4 ,do not assume that for some occult reason you must classify and catalog your library precisely like some large public library with which you are familiar4 ,do not assume1 if you are a trained cataloger1 that there is any virtue1 for instance1 in subject cards4 ,one subject heading that brings the book in touch with your public outweighs a dozen that do not affect it4 ,to bring together man and book break all rules and strike out in all kinds of new directions4 ,your particular locality and your particular public may have special requirements that are present nowhere else4 ,rules were made for the aid and comfort of the public1 not for their confusion and hindrance4 ,methods are the librarian's tools1 not his handcuffs and shackles4 ,to do anything well we must do it with method and system2 but these1 like a growing boy's clothes1 need frequent renewal4 ,if your library has stopped growing and has reached senility1 then the same suit will fit it year after year1 but premature old age is not a good goal to strive for4 ,,lay ,,control ,,in ,,libraries ,,and ,,elsewhere#c ,the system by which the control of a concern is vested in a person or a body having no expert technical knowledge of its workings has become so common that it may be regarded as characteristic of modern civilization4 ,if this seems to any one an extreme statement1 a little reflection will convince him to the contrary4 ,to cite only a few examples1 the boards of directors of commercial or financial institutions like our manufacturing corporations1 our railways and our banks1 of charitable foundations like our hospitals and our asylums1 of educational establishments like our schools and colleges1 are now not expected to understand the detail of the institutions under their charge4 ,their first duty is to put at the head of their work an expert with a staff of competent assistants to see to that part of it4 ,even in most of our churches the minister or pastor--the expert head--is employed and practically controlled by a lay body of some kind--a vestry1 a session or the like4 ,government itself is similarly conducted4 ,neither the legislative nor the executive branch is expected to be made up of experts who understand the technical detail of departmental work2 all this is left to subordinates4 ,even the heads of departments often know nothing at all of the particular work over which they have been set until they have held their position for some time4 ,it is hardly necessary to say that this system of lay control is of interest to us here and now1 because it obtains in most libraries1 where the governing body is a board of trustees or directors who are generally not experts1 but who employ a librarian to superintend their work4 ,to multiply examples would be superflous4 ,lay control1 as above illustrated1 is not universal1 but ,i postpone for the present a consideration of its antitheses and its exceptions4 ,it looks illogical1 and when the ordinary citizen's attention is brought to the matter in any way he generally so considers it4 ,in certain cases it is even a familiar object of satire4 ,the general public is apt1 ,i think1 to regard lay control as improper or absurd4 ,with the expert and his staff1 who are concerned directly with the management of the institution in question1 the feeling is a little different4 ,it is more like that of ,president ,cleveland when he 8had ,congress on his hands0--a sort of anxious tolerance4 ,they bear with the board that employs them because it has the power of the purse1 but they are glad when it adjourns without interfering unduly with them4 ,are either of these points of view justified8 ,should lay boards of directors be abolished8 ,or1 if retained1 should those without expert knowledge be barred8 ,now at first sight it certainly seems as if the ultimate control of every business or operation should be in the hands of those who thoroughly understand it1 and this would certainly bar out lay control4 ,i believe that this view is superficial and will not bear close analysis4 ,the idea that those who control an institution should be familiar with its details appears to originate in an analogy with a man's control of his own private affairs1 when his occupation and income make it necessary that he should attend to all those affairs personally4 ,the citizen who digs and plants his own garden must understand some of the details of gardening4 ,the man who does his own 8odd jobs0 about the house must be able to drive a nail and handle a paint brush4 ,this necessity vanishes1 however1 as the man's interests become more varied and his financial ability to care for them becomes greater4 ,at a certain point personal attention to detail becomes not only unnecessary but impossible4 ,to expect the master of a great estate to understand the details of his garden1 his stable1 his kennels1 as well as the experts to whom he entrusts them1 is absurd4 ,he may1 of course1 as a matter of amusement1 busy himself in some one department1 but if he tries to superintend everything personally1 still more to understand and regulate matters of detail1 he is wasting his time4 ,we must seek our analogy1 then1 both for lay control and for the attitude of the ordinary citizen toward it in that citizen's management of his private affairs4 ,he knows his own business--or thinks he does--and he finds it hard to realize that the details of that business could ever grow beyond his personal control4 ,but1 after all1 this progress is one towards the normal4 ,attention to details in the case of the poor man is forced upon him4 ,except in rare cases1 he does not really care to shovel his own snow2 he would prefer to hire a man to do it1 and as soon as he can he does do so4 ,so long as his sidewalk is properly cleared he is willing to leave the details to the man who clears it4 ,he does not care whether that man begins at the north or the south end1 or whether his shovelfuls are small or large4 ,here1 if we examine1 we shall find a common characteristic of those kinds of work where laymen are in control--the persons for whom the work is done care very much about results2 they are careless of methods so long as those results are attained4 ,and in a very large number of cases the persons for whom the work is done will be found to be the public1 or so large a section of it that it is practically a group of laymen so far as the particular work in question may be concerned4 ,a lay board of directors or a lay departmental head1 then1 is simply and properly a representative of a greater lay body that is particularly anxious for results and not particularly anxious about methods4 ,lay control is thus not illogical1 but is the outcome of a regular and very proper development4 ,but1 as has been said1 it is not the only method of controlling a great institution4 ,an institution may be managed by a graded body of experts4 ,so were the old guilds of craftsmen managed4 ,so are many ecclesiastical bodies1 notably the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,we may call this method of control hierarchical4 ,it has some advantages over lay control and some disadvantages4 ,we may imagine such a system applied to libraries4 ,all the libraries in a state1 we will say1 would then be managed by the state librarian1 and all these officers would be subject to the orders of the librarian of the national library1 who would be supreme and accountable to no one4 ,without going into detailed discussion of this extremely supposititious case1 we may say that the objection to it would be that the persons who are especially interested in the results of the work done are not represented in the controlling hierarchy4 ,where the persons interested are all experts1 as in a guild of craftsmen1 there can perhaps be no objection to control by experts2 though even in this case we are leaving out of consideration the persons1 generally laymen1 for whom the craftsmen do their work4 ,in fact1 any trouble that may arise from the lay control of a body of expert workers lies just here--in the failure either of the controlling authority or the trained subordinates to recognize and keep within their limitations4 ,it should be the function of the supreme lay authority to decide what results it wants and then to see that it gets them--to call attention to any deviation from them and to replace those who cannot achieve them by others who can4 ,it should be the part of the expert staff of subordinates to discover by what methods these results can best be reached and then to follow out these methods4 ,when the lay head attempts to direct the details of method1 or when the trained subordinate thinks it his duty to influence the policy of the institution1 then there is apt to be trouble4 ,such results are apt to follow1 on the one hand1 the inclusion in a board of trustees of a man with a passion for detail and a great personal interest in the work under him1 but without a keen realization of the necessity for strict organization and discipline in his expert staff2 or1 on the other hand1 from the presence in that staff of a masterful man who cannot rest until he is in virtual control of whatever he concerns himself about4 ,i say trouble is apt to follow in such cases4 ,it does not always follow1 for the organization may adapt itself to circumstances4 ,the interested trustee may play with ease his two roles1 fitting into his board as a lay member and becoming practically also a part of the expert staff4 ,the masterful subordinate may dominate his board so as to become its dictator1 and thus do away for a time with his lay control4 ,we have all seen both these things happen1 not only in libraries1 but in banks1 in hospitals1 in charitable institutions4 ,in some cases it has been well that they have happened4 ,but although an occasional stick is flexible enough to be tied into a knot1 it would be hazardous to try the experiment with all sticks4 ,some may bend but more will break4 ,is it not better to accept frankly the division of labor that seems to have been pointed out by the development of our institutions for the guidance of their management8 ,boards of trustees in this case would find it necessary to decide first on the desirable results to be reached in their work4 ,this is a phase of library discussion that has been somewhat neglected4 ,what is the public library trying to get at8 ,not stated in vague terms1 but in concrete form1 so that the trustees can call the librarian to account if he fails to accomplish it8 ,it is only fair to the librarian that he should be informed at the outset precisely what he is expected to do1 and then it is only fair that he should be left to do it in his own way4 ,this is an unoccupied field1 and it would be an eminently proper one for the ,trustees' ,section of the ,american ,library ,association4 ,we librarians should be very glad to know just what you expect us to accomplish1 for on that depends our manner of setting to work4 ,do you wish us to aim at decreasing the percentage of illiteracy in the community8 or the arrests for drunkenness8 ,are we to strive for an increased circulation8 ,and will an absolute increase be satisfactory1 or must it be an increase proportionate to population8 ,is it definitely demanded of us to decrease our fiction percentage8 ,shall we1 in any given case1 devote our attention chiefly to the home use or the reference use of the library8 ,shall we favor the student or the ordinary citizen8 ,these questions1 of course1 cannot receive a general answer2 they must be decided differently in different cases1 but at least we may agree on the type of question that it is admissible to answer at all and on the degree of detail to which it is permissible to go in stating a requirement4 ,for instance1 is it admissible for a board to say to its librarian1 8,the results that we require you to show include the following3 ,a well-ordered collection of books classified according to the ,dewey system1 bound in half duck and distributed with the aid of the ,browne charging system80 ,i think it will be granted that this would be an attempt to control the details of method in the guise of a statement of desired results4 ,but where shall we draw the line8 ,how specific may be the things that a board may properly require of its expert staff8 ,that is the question whose solution by this ,section would be an inestimable benefit to all libraries and librarians4 ,at present there is wide difference of opinion and of practice on this point4 ,many people would not agree at all with the limitations that have just been laid down2 even those who do agree would differ widely over their interpretation4 ,there is hardly time to anticipate and meet criticism4 ,i shall be reminded1 ,i suppose1 that the funds for carrying on the library's work are in the hands of the trustees1 and that one of the main objects of their existence is to see that the money is honestly spent1 not stolen or wasted4 ,how can they do this without close oversight of methods8 ,to this ,i would reply that this important function of the board is distinctly the requirement of a result1 that result being the honest administration of the library4 ,the method by which it may be administered most honestly is best left to the expert head4 ,naturally1 if evidence of peculation or waste comes before the board the librarian will be held to account as having failed to achieve the required result of honest administration4 ,in this and in other respects the necessity that the board should know whether or not the desired results are being attained means that the work of the executive officer should be followed with attention4 ,it must be evident1 however1 that this does not involve control and dictation of methods4 ,it must also be remembered that what has been said refers only to the administrative control of the institution4 ,the duties of trustees as custodians of an endowment fund1 if such there be1 or in soliciting and receiving contributions as well as other financial considerations1 are separate from this and have not been considered4 ,again1 ,i shall be told that the head of the executive staff is not only a subordinate but also an expert adviser of his board4 ,this is true2 and as a consulting expert it is his duty to give advice outside of his own administrative field if he is asked for it4 ,it may even be his duty to give it unasked occasionally1 but this comes very near to the interference that ,i have deprecated4 ,he who would tread this borderland must tread softly4 ,on the other hand1 the expert may and should ask the advice of members of his board as individuals or of the board as a whole when he needs it and when he feels that it would give him confidence or strengthen his hand4 ,in this whole matter there is a clear distinction between the advisory and executive function on one hand and on the other4 ,in short1 the view taken in this paper may be briefly summed up as follows3 ,lay control in libraries and elsewhere is a logical and proper development4 ,it would not1 on the whole1 be well for one who should wish to endow a library to make an expert librarian sole trustee for life with power to select his successor4 ,that would be a fine thing for the librarian1 but it would be neither desirable nor proper4 ,it is well that the trustees should be responsible representatives of the lay public1 for whose benefit the library is to be conducted4 ,but as the public is interested chiefly in results1 the trustees should confine themselves largely to the indication and requirement of these results1 leaving methods in the hand of their expert staff of subordinates4 ,and it is eminently desirable that librarians should hear from a representative body of trustees some expression of opinion regarding the extent of this limitation4 ,,the ,,whole ,,duty ,,of ,a ,,library ,,trustee3 ,,from ,a ,,librarian',s ,,standpoint#d ,at a former meeting of this section the present writer had the honor of reading a paper in which he made an attempt to show that the trustee of the public library is the representative of the public and1 as such1 interested especially in results as distinguished from methods1 which are the business of the librarian as an expert administrator4 ,in making this distinction ,i urged trustees to give particular attention to the formulation of such results as they should consider desirable1 that librarians on their part might confine themselves more to the consideration of appropriate methods for the attainment of these results4 ,so far as ,i know1 however1 this work remains to be accomplished1 and it is because ,i still think it desirable that ,i welcome this opportunity of restating the situation and making some attempt to illustrate it and to indicate what may and should be done in the premises4 ,according to this view it is not only the duty of a board of trustees to consider what should be the results aimed at by its library1 to formulate its conclusions1 to communicate them to the librarian and then to hold him responsible for their attainment1 but everything that the board may properly do may be brought under this head2 and to state it broadly is therefore to set forth comprehensively the 8whole duty of a trustee10 which may serve as the justification of my somewhat ambitious title4 ,the layman's influence1 control exercised by and through the viewpoint of the general public1 is a most excellent thing1 however much the expert may chafe under it4 ,this is apparent in every art and craft4 ,the expert1 the man who has made a study of technique1 of the way to do it1 comes more and more to think of the method rather than the result--to elaborate detail and manner and to take keen joy in their recognition and comparison4 ,so it is with the worker in art or in literature1 and thus we have what are called painter's pictures and musician's music and poet's poems--works that interest and delight those whose business it is to produce them1 but which leave the general reader or hearer cold4 ,it is evident that these1 no matter how valuable or interesting they may be from one standpoint1 are not the highest examples of their class4 ,better are the crude attempts of native genius which kindle enthusiasm and arouse the best impulses while breaking every canon of art4 ,best of all1 of course1 are the works where the technique and the result are both admirable and where the technical resources of the workers are brought to bear consciously1 directly and successfully upon the attainment of the result4 ,and to produce such works two forces must generally co-operate--the trained skill and enthusiasm of the artist and the requirement of the general public that his work must appeal to them1 interest them1 take them a message4 ,now this is of interest to us here and now1 because1 just as we occasionally have 8composer's music0 and 8architect's buildings10 so1 it is 8to be feared1 we may have librarian's libraries--institutions that are carried on with the highest degree of technical skill and with enthusiasm and interest and yet fail of adequate achievement because the librarian makes the mistake of regarding the technique as an end instead of as a means--of thinking that if his methods be precise1 systematic and correct1 good results must needs follow1 instead of aiming directly at his results and adapting his methods to their attainment4 ,it is here that the trustee1 as the official representative of the general public1 may apply a corrective influence4 ,in the case of the artist or the writer this influence is brought to bear generally in a financial way--by a wealthy patron who will order a picture or statue provided it accords with his own ideas--by hostile criticism1 public or private1 that drives away purchasers4 ,in a public library1 public opinion rarely makes itself felt in this way2 indeed1 it could do so only in cases where disregard of the public amounted to mismanagement and led to the reduction of appropriations or the discharge of the librarian4 ,public criticism1 as in the press1 might also affect a librarian's course2 it undoubtedly often does1 but it need not2 and he may safely disregard it as a general thing4 ,when1 however1 his board of trustees calls him to account1 he must listen1 and when it tells him what he is expected to do1 it is then his business to devise the best way to do it4 ,a rough classification and analysis of the results that a librarian may be expected to accomplish may not be out of place here4 ,we may treat them under four heads3 financial1 educational1 recreational and social4 ,financial results4--,a library must show a good material return for money expended4 ,by this is meant that its books and supplies must be purchased at fair rates1 its salaries reasonably proportioned to quantity and quality of services rendered1 its property economically administered4 ,a board of trustees is derelict in its duty if it does not require all this1 and also hold its librarian rigidly to such requirement4 ,this means that it must1 along the broadest lines1 know the ratio of expenditure to return in these various departments2 it does not mean that the librarian should be hampered by the prescription of details4 ,it means1 for example1 that the expert administrator should be called to account if his bills for lighting and heating are excessive1 and that he should be asked to show cause why they should not be kept within bounds2 it does not mean that he should be required to use lights of a certain candle-power or turn off the light in a particular room at a given hour4 ,in most libraries1 the making of annual appropriations under designated heads and the requirement that cause shall be shown for a transfer from one of these categories to another1 are sufficient measures of financial control4 ,among the financial results that have already attracted the attention of the public and hence engaged the interest of boards of trustees is the attainment of a proper ratio of expenditure for books to the expense of administration4 ,this ratio is generally regarded by the lay critic as abnormally small1 but trustees have generally acquiesced in the librarian's explanation of the causes that seem to him to make it necessarily so4 ,it is undoubtedly the trustee's duty to call his expert administrator's attention to this and all other seeming discrepancies in expenditure1 and to make sure that they are not carrying the library too far toward technical perfection at the expense of practical efficiency4 ,educational results4--,it is only right to require that a library should be able to show that it is increasing the educational content of the community1 or raising its educational standard1 or at least that it is exerting itself to do so1 both directly and by co-operation with other agencies1 especially with the public schools4 ,a board of trustees is certainly justified in ascertaining by any means in its power whether this is being done1 and if not1 in asking an explanation of its librarian4 ,does everyone in the community know where the library is8 ,is everyone who would be benefited by it making use of it8 ,is it a help to the schools1 and do the teachers recognize this fact8 ,does the community in general regard it as a place where material for the acquisition of knowledge is stored and discriminatingly given out8 ,these are questions that can be settled not so much by the examination of statistics as by ascertaining the general feeling of the community4 ,it is much easier for a trustee to find this out than it is for a librarian2 and trustees1 both individually and as a body1 should continually bear in mind the value to them of information along this line4 ,librarians are apt to talk a good deal about the educational function of the library as an adjunct and supplement to the school4 ,it is to their credit that they have made it an educational force not under pressure but voluntarily1 as a recognition of the necessities of the situation4 ,but where such necessities have not yet been recognized or where their full import has been slow of realization1 the educational side of library work remains undeveloped4 ,let the board of trustees notify its executive officer that it expects him to look to this feature of his work as thoroughly as to the condition of his building or the economical expenditure of his lighting appropriation1 and all such institutions will experience a change of heart4 ,recreational results4--,nothing is more important to the physical and moral health of a community1 as of an individual1 than the quality of the recreation that it takes4 ,the question of whether recreation is or is not taken need not be considered4 ,everyone takes recreation2 if means for the healthy normal variety are not provided1 the other kind will occupy its place4 ,and the healthy normal individual--child or adult--prefers the first kind if he can get it4 ,with the physical variety the library has nothing to do2 but to purvey proper intellectual recreation is one of its most important provinces4 ,is this adequately done8 ,is it done at all8 ,does the librarian exalt other functions of his great machine and neglect this one8 ,the large amount of fiction circulated in most public libraries is generally taken as an indication that the quantity of its recreational content is considerable1 whatever may be said of the quality2 but this is a very superficial way of looking at the matter4 ,there is educational material of the highest value in fiction and nearly every non-fiction class contains books of value for recreation4 ,moreover1 what may be recreation to one man may be the hardest kind of study to another4 ,the enthusiast in higher mathematics may extract as pure amusement from a book on the theory of functions as his neighbor would from the works of 8,john ,henry40 ,in short1 it is very difficult to separate education and recreation4 ,good work presupposes good play4 ,it is simply our duty to view the library as a whole and to decide whether it contains the means of satisfying so much of the community's demand for recreation as is wholesome and proper4 ,whether it does this may be judged from the freedom with which the library is used for recreational purposes compared with other agencies4 ,a proper admixture of physical and intellectual amusement is required by everybody2 is the library doing its share toward the purveying of the latter form8 ,i do not know any better way of finding out than for the library trustees to use their eyes and ears1 nor any more effective remedy for inadequate results along this line than the pressure that they can bring to bear on their librarian4 ,social results4--,under this head we may group a very large number of results that are apt to be overlooked or taken for granted4 ,they may perhaps be summarized in the statement that the library should take its proper place in the institutional life of the community4 ,what this is will depend largely on the community's size and its social content4 ,in many small towns the library naturally assumes great social importance2 in a city it may be relatively of less weight1 though perhaps its influence in the aggregate may be even greater4 ,whether it is doing this part of its work properly may probably be best ascertained by comparison with the work of other institutions that go to build up the social fabric--the church1 the home1 the club1 the social assembly4 ,does the dweller in the community turn as naturally to the library for intellectual help as he does to the church for religious consolation8 ,does he seek intellectual recreation there as he seeks physical recreation at his athletic club or social entertainment at a dance8 ,and so seeking1 does he find8 ,does he come to regard the library as his intellectual home and the librarian and his assistants as friends8 ,what1 on the other hand1 is the attitude of the library staff toward the public8 ,is it inviting or repellent1 friendly or coldly hostile1 helpful or indifferent8 ,here is a whole body of results that are1 in a way1 the most important that a library can produce1 and yet it is impossible to set them down in figures2 they can scarcely even be expressed in words4 ,the social status of a library is like a man's reputation or his credit2 it is built up by thousands of separate acts and by an attitude maintained consistently for years2 yet a breath may blast it ,of this position a board of trustees should be particularly proud and its members should do their best to uphold it4 ,if they realize by those many delicate indications that we all recognize but cannot formulate1 that the library is failing to maintain it1 the librarian should hear from them4 ,they should let him know that something is wrong and that they expect him to right it4 ,if he does not know how1 that is an indication that his personality and ability are parts of the failure4 ,this1 then from the writer's standpoint1 is the whole duty of a trustee--or rather of a board of trustees--to see clearly what it wants1 to give the librarian his orders1 and to require an accounting4 ,i am frequently struck with the attitude of librarians toward their boards of trustees1 not as shown in their public acts1 but as revealed in conversation among themselves4 ,a board is apt to be adjudged good or bad1 satisfactory or unsatisfactory1 as it takes a more or less passive part in the administration of the library4 ,if it acts simply to approve what the librarian does and to see that he gets the necessary funds1 it is regarded as ideal4 ,all that most librarians seem to want is to be given plenty of money and then to be let alone4 ,this is a view of the whole duty of a trustee with which ,i do not sympathize4 ,on the other hand1 it is not to be denied that boards of trustees have done much to encourage this attitude because when they are really active in their interest their activity looks too closely to detail4 ,they are then apt to interfere in the regulation of methods rather than to require results and afterward ascertain whether and in what degree these results have been reached4 ,a board of trustees is the supreme authority in a library4 ,i would have this fact realized in its fullest meaning by both trustees and librarian4 ,and ,i would have the board exercise its supremity in what may be called the ,american manner4 ,the people constitute the supreme authority both in ,great ,britain and in the ,united ,states4 ,in the former country1 however1 this authority is symbolized by the person of a monarch1 who reigns but does not govern2 and the minutest details of administration are attended to by the people in the persons of their parliamentary representatives and of the cabinet1 which is1 in effect1 a parliamentary committee4 ,in this country1 on the other hand1 we entrust administrative details very largely to our chief magistrate and his personally appointed advisers4 ,we tell him what to do and leave him to do it as he thinks best2 and though ,congress is disposed at times to interfere in the details of administration1 these usually consist more largely of departmental decisions and rulings than of definite provisions of a legislative act4 ,the ,president of the ,united ,states is the people's general executive officer and administrative expert in precisely the same sense that the librarian occupies that office in his own library4 ,congress and the board of trustees bear similar relations to these officers4 ,and although this may be carrying the comparison of small things with great to the point of absurdity1 it shows clearly that the ,american idea of delegated authority is to make the authority great and the corresponding responsibility strict4 ,that the best results have been attained in this country by following out this plan in all fields1 from the highest government positions to the humblest commercial posts1 seems to be undoubted2 and ,i believe that the library has been a conspicuous example4 ,appoint a good man1 then1 as your administrative expert2 give him a free rein1 but not in the sense of following him to dictate the whole policy of your library4 ,decide for yourselves the broad lines of that policy1 relying on your own common sense together with his expert advice2 require him to follow out those lines to a successful issue1 and hold him responsible for the outcome4 ,so doing you shall fulfil1 so far as the limited vision of one librarian enables him to see1 the whole duty of a trustee4 ,,the ,,day',s ,,work3 ,,some ,,conditions ,,and ,,some ,,ideals#e ,what is the library for8 ,what are we1 who are in charge of it1 to do with it8 ,what point are we striving to reach1 and how shall we get there8 ,first of all1 the library is a collection of books4 ,books are to be used by reading them4 ,the whole machinery of the library1 its buildings1 its departments1 its regulations1 its disciplined staff1 are to bring together the reader and the books4 ,whatever auxiliary work the library may undertake1 this must be its first task4 ,now to what end is this done8 ,a book from the material point of view is so much leather1 paper and printer's ink1 but on the intellectual and spiritual side it is a storage battery of ideas4 ,to put a book into a reader's hand is to complete a mysterious circuit between the writer's and the reader's mind4 ,this charging of the mind with ideas is what we call education4 ,to the physiologist it is a mere modification of brain structure2 to the economist and the historian it spreads further out2 it is a modification of the individual's action toward the whole world2 it is the alteration of the world's present status and future history4 ,education cannot be accomplished by books alone2 it can even be accomplished wholly without them2 but if they are used properly1 there is no one agent that can do more for education than these devices for the storage and transmission of ideas4 ,that the library is an educational institution is now generally recognized4 ,it is common to call it an adjunct to the school1 or to speak of it as continuing the work of the school4 ,that the school and the library should work hand in hand where it is possible1 goes without saying4 ,but ,i think we may properly object to any phraseology that implies the subordination of the library to the school4 ,the library stores books and makes them available4 ,part of the school's work also is to make available the contents of books4 ,the library may continue the work of the school2 but so in some cases may the school merely complete the work of the library4 ,many a student has received his first inspiration and instruction in the library and has been thereby stimulated to enter a regular course of study4 ,it is better to let the library stand on its own merits as an instructional agent4 ,the difference between it and the school1 fundamentally1 is that the library's educational energy is chiefly potential while that of the school is1 or should be1 dynamic4 ,yet though the library is only a potential force--energy in storage--the library plus the librarian may and should be dynamic too4 ,we then have in both school and library the book and the teacher1 with the difference that in the school the book is only the teacher's tool1 while in the library the librarian exists to care for the book1 to place it in his hands who needs it1 and to make it effective4 ,but when we have emphasized the educational side of the library's activity we have by no means exhausted its field4 ,its recreative function is hardly less important4 ,a very large proportion of the library's users go to it for recreation or relaxation4 ,they obtain this1 of course1 in the same way that they obtain education from books1 namely1 by the acquisition of new ideas or mental images4 ,the recreation comes in from the fact that these ideas temporarily distract the attention from other ideas connected with daily work and worry1 and that they ease the brain in the same way that a strained muscle may be eased by gentle exercise4 ,evidently it is impossible to draw a line between these two classes of a library's activity4 ,a zoological or a botanical garden is an educational institution1 so is an art museum4 ,yet the large majority of those who go to them do so for amusement1 and the educational benefits obtained are incidental4 ,those benefits1 however1 are none the less real1 and it would evidently be impossible to give separate statistics of those who have made educational and recreative use of the institution4 ,yet we find people trying to do this very thing in the case of the public library1 which case is quite comparable with those stated above4 ,it is assumed1 in the first place1 that the use of fiction is purely recreative1 while that of non-fiction is educational2 and1 in the second place1 that the recreative use of the library is to be condemned or at least discouraged1 in comparison with the other4 ,that either of these can be sustained is very doubtful4 ,the attempted subordination of the recreative work of the library to the educational is at best invidious4 ,each has its place in the scheme of things and comparison in this case is worse than odious1 it is misleading4 ,further1 it is positively impossible to draw a line between educational and recreative books4 ,so far as motives go1 one may read ,gibbon for entertainment and ,madame de ,stael's 8,corinne0 as an ,italian guide book4 ,so far as results are concerned1 the intelligent reader always acquires new ideas as he reads2 and in most cases the very same idea may and does have both an educational and a recreative function4 ,but although we can draw no line1 it is quite possible to pick out books on the one side and on the other1 and to assert that these are read chiefly for educational purposes and those for recreation4 ,on which side shall the library throw its influence8 ,there are many good librarians who feel that the popular tendency is too strong towards recreation and that the library should restore the balance by throwing its weight on the other side4 ,others see in the popular desire for recreative reading only a hopeful reaction from the mental tension and overwork with which1 as a nation1 we are doubtless chargeable4 ,between these two points of view ,i believe that the equilibrium of the public library is safe1 and that it is in no danger of developing unduly either on the recreative or on the educational side4 ,personally ,i have never felt that the user of libraries or any other type of the average ,american was in danger from too much recreation4 ,if there is any use of a library that may have a vicious tendency it is its use for pure pastime in the etymological sense--the reading of books with absolutely no aim at all save to make the time pass4 ,now to make time pass pleasantly or profitably may be a most legitimate object4 ,not that1 and not any lawful aim is objectionable4 ,but aimlessness--the lack of an aim--the taking out of books to skim or to glance at1 or to look at the pictures1 with no desire for amusement1 or profit1 or anything else--that is certainly worthy of condemnation4 ,there is more of it than we know1 and it constitutes a menace to our intellectual future4 ,newspaper reading fosters it1 but not necessarily4 ,newspaper reading with an aim is far better than aimless skimming and skipping of a literary classic1 and ,i should rather see a boy of mine reading the most sensational dime novel he could lay hands on1 with the definite desire and intention of finding out how ,bloody ,bill got his revenge1 than lazily turning over the pages of ,scott with no idea of what the story was about4 ,the first would be the case of a good reader and a bad book2 the second that of a good book and a bad reader4 ,the library can easily deal with the book2 it cannot so easily manage the reader1 though it may try to do so4 ,in the case of the bad reader the storage battery of ideas has lost its connection4 ,it would be well for some of us if we should forget for the moment the difference between fiction and non-fiction and should try to mend this broken link4 ,and now a word about ourselves4 ,what are we1 who are engaged in this work1 laboring for8 ,why are we working1 and what do we expect to accomplish8 ,in answering this question it will be better for us to free ourselves entirely from the bondage of words that mean nothing4 ,some of us--,i hope very many of us--are in the library work solely because we love it and cannot keep out of it4 ,others are trying with more or less success to persuade themselves that this is their reason4 ,still others cannot truthfully say that they have had a 8call to library work10 and some of these are conscientious enough to fear that they are in the wrong place and that the work is suffering thereby4 ,to these ,i desire to address a word of consolation and encouragement4 ,the impression is very general that the greatest work of the greatest minds had no motive but the productive impulse4 ,the poet1 according to this view1 sings because he cannot help singing2 the artist paints solely to satisfy the creative longing within him2 the musician composes for the same reason4 ,now the fact is that a man who is capable of great work1 or of ordinarily good work1 may produce it under a variety of impulses4 ,some act more strongly on one man2 others on another2 or the same man may be more susceptible to a given impulse at one time or place than at another4 ,without a doubt1 many of our immortal works were the result of simple inability to keep from producing them4 ,but just as certainly1 others were the work of men who had to school themselves by long practice and then to hold themselves to the work with iron determination4 8,genius0 says ,carlyle1 8is nothing but an infinite capacity for taking pains40 ,to which a modern critic replies1 8,on the contrary1 genius is an infinite capacity for doing things without taking any pains at all40 ,both are right4 ,there are both these kinds of genius--and many others4 ,the writer who attempts to bind down genius to rules and formulae will have a hard task4 ,and what is true of genius is also true of ordinarily good work--the work that you and ,i are trying to do in our libraries4 ,some of us do it easily because we cannot help it2 others do it with more or less difficulty under the pressure of one or another need4 ,one1 though the work itself comes hard to him1 loves the result to be accomplished2 another1 perhaps1 is toiling primarily to support himself and those dependent on him4 ,what of that8 ,we have been placed where we are1 to secure certain results4 ,we want the help of every one who can contribute a share of honest1 intelligent work toward the attainment of these results1 and we shall not ask for motives or inquire into the exact amount of effort that was necessary1 provided the work has been done and done well4 ,i have the greatest sympathy for the conscientious library assistant who feels that she ought to love her work in the same way perhaps that she loves music or skating1 or a walk through the autumn woods1 and who1 because she does not sit down to paste labels or stand up to wait on the desk with the feeling of exhilaration that accompanies these other acts1 is afraid that library work is not her mtier4 ,such workers should possess their souls in peace4 ,it is very common for routine work to pall upon him who does it1 and we are all apt to think that no work but ours has any routine4 ,our weary eyes see only the glorious moments of success in the lives of other toilers2 we are blind to the years of drudgery that led to them4 ,the remedy is to look forward4 ,you may not enjoy climbing the mountain step by step1 but the view from the summit is glorious4 ,and if to sustain yourself on the climb you think of the bread and cheese that you have in your lunch basket1 ,i cannot see that there is aught to complain of4 ,all over the world there are workers who feel that they are not worthy of their work4 ,it is dull2 it palls on them4 ,but if their lot had only been different6 ,if their work had been that of the musician or the artist6 ,then toil would become pleasure1 and the hours that now drag heavily would flit on wings4 ,very little of this feeling is justifiable1 and these dissatisfied workers will do better work if they are made to realize that it is only the favored few who can bring enthusiasm to the daily routine4 ,the most that we can ask of the average worker is a conviction of the usefulness of his work and a determination to make it as useful as possible4 ,more3 such a determination honestly lived up to is sure to beget interest--that concrete interest in one's work that is worth much more1 practically1 than an ideal love for it4 ,the woman who goes into slum work impelled only by a vague love for humanity is apt to give up after a little when she discerns that humanity in the concrete is offensive in so many ways4 ,but if she forces herself to keep on1 and to make herself as useful as possible1 there comes the personal interest that will bind her to her task and that will increase its usefulness4 ,so it is with library work2 you need not love it ideally to succeed in it2 you need only buckle down to it until you feel the personal interest that will carry you through triumphantly4 ,and what is it all about8 ,in the broadest sense1 as ,i have already said1 we librarians are the purveyors of ideas stored up in books4 ,these ideas are more to man than mere education--they are life itself4 ,life is growth1 not stagnation--it involves change and acquisition4 8,life is change10 says ,cardinal ,newman1 8and to be perfect1 one must have changed many times40 ,to contribute the opportunity and the stimulus for such change is our business4 ,the child cries out to his environment--8,give me ideas and experiences2 good and pleasurable if you can1 bad or painful1 if you must1 but give me ideas and experiences40 ,part of this craving it is the duty of the public library to satisfy4 ,the craving may grow less keen as we grow older1 but it never really ceases to exist4 ,to satisfy that craving in legitimate ways and to guide and control it if we can is our business1 stated in the broadest possible terms4 ,that is what we are aiming at4 ,the librarian should be the broadest minded of mortals4 ,he should be a man in the widest sense--to him nothing human should be alien4 ,this is decidedly broad and correspondingly vague4 ,being so1 it may be interpreted by every worker in the way that appeals to him most4 ,to one1 the educational work of the library will make the strongest appeal2 to another its recreational function4 ,one may prefer to lay stress on the guidance of children's reading2 another on reference work with adults4 ,these are all phases of one and the same general class of acts--the imparting of ideas by means of books--and there is no reason why each worker should not gain interest in that work by and through the particular phase that appeals to him4 8,i wish10 says one of ,james ,lane ,allen's characters1 8that some virtue--say the virtue of truthfulness--could be known throughout the world as the unfailing mark of the ,american4 ,suppose the rest of mankind would agree that this virtue constituted the characteristic of the ,american6 ,that would be fame for ages40 ,we librarians1 in like manner1 not only wish but strive to make some one virtue characteristic of our work--say the virtue of usefulness4 8,as useful as a librarian10 8,as indispensable as the public library0--these are not yet1 ,i am afraid1 household phrases4 ,but why should we not make them so8 ,,library ,,statistics ,it is a valuable exercise to examine into the origin and uses of the things that we have been accustomed to take for granted and to regard almost as part of the accepted order of nature4 ,the result will often be startling and it will always be salutary1 if the examiner be sane and conservative4 ,therefore a very good way to begin a discussion of statistics is to query whether they are of present value at all1 or whether they are old fashioned rubbish and had better be discarded4 ,statistics are the numerical statements of results or facts4 ,now thousands of individuals and thousands of bodies--families1 clans1 associations1 that accomplish much in this world1 go on very well without keeping any record at all of what they do4 ,this is indisputable4 ,on the other hand we shall see that as work is done well and carefully there is an increasing disposition to make and keep a record of results2 and as the work extends in scope and complexity1 the record1 too1 becomes more complex4 ,take1 for instance1 the record of so apparently simple a transaction as the payment and receipt of money4 ,the individual who has little of it to receive and disburse may go all his life without keeping so much as a cash account1 much less a set of books4 ,he may even spend a considerable income in the same way1 including the maintenance of a household and the support of a family1 and he may1 on the whole1 do it wisely and well4 ,yet of two men of the same means1 one of whom should conduct his affairs thus1 while the other kept a rational system of household and personal accounts1 the latter would universally be regarded as pursuing the better course4 ,and as we pass from this to the conduct of a business we recognize that the man who engages in commerce without keeping proper accounts is a fool and courts failure1 and that the larger the business and the more widespread the interests1 the more complicated and extensive must be the bookkeeping4 ,a large commercial concern may thus employ a special department with a large staff of men simply to keep record of its financial transactions4 ,this is probably the most ancient kind of statistical record and the one whose usefulness is most generally recognized4 ,in like manner another common and useful statistical record--the inventory1 or list of articles on hand--although not commonly and regularly taken by the individual1 becomes absolutely necessary in the smallest kind of business1 and without it the merchant can have absolutely no idea1 of whether he is conducting his business at a profit or a loss4 ,when we go on further and examine1 the conduct of great commercial or manufacturing concerns we find that the statistical department becomes of increasing importance1 the details collected by it multiply and the staff of persons whose sole duty it is to collect and to discuss them may be very considerable4 ,that a great manufacturing company would waste time and money on a task of no value is inconceivable1 and there is thus a very strong presumption that statistics are worth something4 ,even where bodies of men have so little power or corporate action that they cannot collect statistics for themselves1 it is generally deemed a proper expenditure of the public money to do so at the common cost1 hence governments maintain great census bureaus1 whose duty it is not only to count heads every few years but to tell the farmer how much he raises1 the merchant how much merchandise he exports1 and so on4 ,is the free public library an institution that will be benefited by the collection1 tabulation and discussion of the results of its work1 so far as they can be numerically expressed8 ,what are the objects of such collection in the instances above enumerated8 ,in the first place1 they are to satisfy mere curiosity4 ,if such curiosity is trivial1 the collection of statistics is evidently useless1 and ,i am afraid that more than a little of it1 public and private1 falls under this head4 ,but curiosity1 even when it goes no further1 may be perfectly legitimate4 ,especially is this so about one's own affairs4 ,when a man is attempting anything he is naturally curious to know whether he has succeeded or not2 and to find out1 if possible1 precisely how far he has gone in the desired direction4 ,he may have property enough to support him beyond all doubt1 but it is quite right that he should want to keep a list of his stocks and bonds and to know whether they have risen or fallen in value during the year4 ,still further1 curiosity about other people's affairs may be legitimate1 as1 for instance1 when one is responsible for their proper conduct in greater or less degree4 ,in the same way the trustees of a free public library1 representing the public at large1 by whom the library is supported and carried on1 have a right to know all possible particulars regarding the way in which their librarian has carried on his work and the results he has reached in it1 and the municipality in turn should require of the trustees a strict account of the funds that they have administered4 ,all this information1 as far as it can be stated numerically1 constitutes a mass of statistics1 and this one reason amply justifies its collection and would justify a much larger number of tables than is usually given in a library report1 provided only that the information is to the point and is or should be in public demand4 ,but we cannot stop here4 ,a free library1 it is true1 is not a money-making concern1 but it certainly should be run on business principles4 ,the public puts into it a large sum of money and has a right to expect certain returns1 which are none the less definite that they cannot themselves be represented in dollars and cents4 ,the library statistic books are therefore1 in a way1 the records of the business2 they show whether it is being conducted conservatively or wastefully1 at a profit or at a loss4 ,and as all these record books are open1 they enable us1 or should enable us to make instructive comparisons between the methods and results of one institution and those of another4 ,but even this is not all4 ,it is a maxim of this strenuous age that all things are good or bad according to the results to which they lead1 not in the narrow sense that 8the end justifies the means10 but in the broader sense that we must know things by their fruits4 ,the man who said 8,i go1 sir10 and went not1 was judged by his acts1 not by his words2 and no matter how much knowledge we store up and how many tables of data we collect we shall be derelict in our duty if we regard this as an end in itself4 ,the state of mind in which the ,mahatma spends his life in impassivity1 contemplating inward things and making no outward motion1 may have certain advantages1 but it is not consonant with the spirit of this age and this land4 ,by which ,i mean that when we have found out something from our statistics we must do something with it4 ,more2 we must so direct our statistical investigations that they bear directly on a possible course of action4 ,this is done by the great manufacturing concerns that maintain statistical departments2 but we all use statistics in this way4 ,if a boy wants to go to the circus he first looks through his pockets to see whether he has enough cash4 ,here is the germ of a statistical investigation conducted for the specific purpose of getting information on which future action is to be based4 ,here sometimes1 where the opportunity of collecting statistics is very great1 and expense is no object1 is a good excuse for gathering a great deal that would seem to be useless1 with the expectation that some of it may turn out to be interesting and may suggest some line of work that had not previously been thought of4 ,to go as far as this1 the institution must be large and rich4 ,but how many of us do anything with our statistics8 ,how many collect statistics along special lines to assist in deciding what we shall do along those lines8 ,how many of us1 rather1 consider that1 when our statistics have been collected a disagreeable task has been done1 and put them behind us till the year rolls round again8 ,perhaps we have had enough now of the philosophy of statistics4 ,let us see what concrete kinds of statistics are necessary and in what order of importance4 ,first comes an itemized account of receipts and expenditures4 ,this is so obvious that it is not generally considered as library statistics at all4 ,but it may and should be extended a little4 ,look at all your other tables of statistics through financial spectacles4 ,compare your receipts with your population4 ,how much does your town give per capita for library work8 ,compare this figure with the same for other towns4 ,compare your expenditures with your circulation4 ,how much has your library cost you per book circulated8 ,compare your expenditure for books with the number purchased and tell us the average cost of a book and how this compares with the cost in former years4 ,do this for a half-dozen other phases of your work and put the result in as many brief1 crisp sentences4 ,if you haven't room in your report1 cut out some of the platitudes2 we all insert them in moments of weakness and1 once in1 it sometimes requires an earnest search to detect and expunge them4 ,next in importance comes an account of your books--how many there are in the library1 on what subjects1 and how many have been added during the year in each subject2 how many gifts you have had2 how many books have been lost4 ,this involves taking a careful inventory at least once a year4 ,you see ,i am putting this before any account of circulation4 ,a good many libraries take no inventory or take it at too infrequent intervals1 because they have no time4 ,you might as well say you have no time to keep a cash account4 ,this is business and comes first4 ,leave off counting your circulation if you must1 but keep count of the public property in your care as conscientiously as you keep count of the money in your cash drawer4 ,if you can do nothing else make a simple enumeration of volumes without taking account of classes1 but do it thoroughly4 ,the trouble with the inventory is that1 like the old-fashioned housecleaning1 it is usually done all at once and becomes an annual bugbear4 ,one way of making it easier is to spread it over the year1 counting and reporting one class every month and treating it as a part of the regular routine4 ,in this category of statistical records comes the list of your books1 which you must surely have in some form1 even though you may not have accession book1 shelf list and dictionary catalog4 ,for statistical purposes indeed1 the last-named may be left out of account4 ,next in order of importance come statistics of circulation4 ,you should know how many books are given out for home use every day and how these are distributed among the classes4 ,do not adhere too strictly to your classification4 ,subdivide and combine your classes so that the results will be of interest to your particular public4 ,always remember in discussing these statistics that they are not so much a record of work done as a rough proportional indication of that work1 and are therefore of relative1 not of absolute interest4 ,you are not to attach any meaning to the fact1 taken by itself1 that your circulation was #ebhj for the month of ,may1 but if you find that it was only #cabj in the previous ,may you may justly conclude that the work of your library is increasing4 ,in the circulation category comes the record of the hall or library use of books1 the reference use1 and the books outstanding at any particular time4 ,hall use is very difficult to keep in a free access library1 but an attempt should be made to do so4 ,it is not quite synonymous with reference use4 ,if a man sits down in your library and actually reads a novel without taking it home1 that is hall or library use1 but not reference use4 ,if he merely refers to the same book to find out about some character1 that is reference use4 ,it is evidently hard to separate these and many libraries do not attempt to do so4 ,in others1 where there is a separate reference room1 any use of books in this room is recorded as 8reference use40 ,the number of books outstanding should be taken at least once a month1 simply by counting the cards in the circulation tray4 ,this item is very easy to ascertain1 very accurate1 and is interesting and useful in more than one way4 ,last in the list of the necessary items of statistics comes that of readers or users of the library--the most interesting in some ways1 and the most disappointingly vague4 ,presumably your users fill out some kind of blank form of application and have their names entered in a book4 ,it is therefore easy to give1 as is usually done1 the total registration and its annual increase4 ,but this is evidently not the number of actual users of the library4 ,who are the 8actual users08 ,the expression itself is vague4 ,to be complete you should have the numbers of those who have used the library within one1 two1 and three days1 and so on back indefinitely4 ,there is no place where the line may be drawn between 8live0 and 8dead0 cards4 ,but such statistics are too elaborate to collect regularly1 so that the ordinary library leaves this subject in its pristine mistiness4 ,there are some pretty variations of it1 however1 which may be gone into if there is time4 ,for instance1 how are your users divided1 according to occupation8 ,this you can ascertain from your applications provided the applicant is required to state his occupation4 ,here again the result is for registered users1 not actual users4 ,again1 how are your users distributed topographically8 ,the result of this inquiry may be shown graphically on a map1 and it is particularly valuable when one is thinking of moving or of establishing a branch2 but it takes more time than is at the disposal of most librarians4 ,here1 ,i believe1 ends the enumeration of necessary kinds of statistics4 ,in each kind the collection may be reduced to a minimum2 but the librarian must1 if the library is to be maintained at all1 keep a cash account1 count the books1 and make some kind of a list of them4 ,also1 if at all possible she or he must be able to tell how many books are circulated and how many users' names are on the books4 ,this is the minimum2 the maximum is fixed only by considerations of time and usefulness4 ,first among the kinds of statistics that are not absolutely necessary1 but interesting and often useful1 is that of routine work done--letters written1 visits made1 cards written4 ,this may easily be carried to excess4 ,then there is the enormous class in which the data are obtained not directly1 but by comparison of other data4 ,to this class belong the financial comparisons already noted4 ,for instance1 by comparing the circulation of separate classes with the total we get class percentages--a very useful type of statistics2 by comparing circulation with books on shelves we get the average circulation of each book1 etc4 ,there is no end to the varieties of this class of statistics1 and they may be rated all the way from 8very valuable0 to 8useless0 or even 8nonsensical04 ,the whole class would require a separate paper to discuss4 ,let all these statistics tell the truth4 ,let them be clear4 ,tell exactly what they mean4 ,otherwise they will certainly mislead and are worse than useless4 ,it is well to accompany every table with an explanatory note telling exactly how the data were obtained and whether they are of a high or a low degree of accuracy4 ,in case you do not know1 for instance1 whether the word 8juvenile0 as generally used means the entire circulation among children1 or the circulation in the children's room1 or is merely short for 8juvenile fiction10 decide what it shall mean in your case and then state distinctly what it means4 ,read over other library reports critically and when you find any statistics that are vague1 see to it that that particular kind of vagueness does not occur in your own tables4 ,and after it is all over1 ask yourself1 ,now what shall ,i do with all this8 ,in this paper only a few suggestions can be made4 ,take first1 the financial data4 ,if you find that your town is giving less per capita or less per book circulated than the average1 let it be your business to make it give more4 ,there is a task that will fill up your spare moments4 ,if you are paying for books more per book than other libraries1 try to buy more cheaply4 ,if your inventory shows a great loss of books by theft1 try to reduce it next year by greater vigilance4 ,if your circulation is decreasing ask the reason why4 ,get at it if you can and remedy it if possible4 ,if your circulation shows a sudden increase in a particular class1 investigate that and meet it1 if proper1 by increased purchases in that class4 ,if a class that should circulate well has fallen1 try to find out why4 ,is your collection in this class small and poor8 ,make it richer and larger4 ,has interest in the subject fallen off8 ,try to stimulate it4 ,in short1 instead of regarding your work in connection with statistics as done when they have been collected1 think that it has not yet begun4 ,so far as your own work is concerned1 let them serve only as an indication of the weak spots that must be strengthened and of the promising growths that must be encouraged4 ,there are statistics and statistics4 ,some are dead2 some are alive--vitalised and vitalizing4 ,not all of the library's work can be stated in figures4 ,the largest part1 the best part1 you cannot put into statistical tables at all4 ,yet rightly used1 your statistics may so guide and direct you along the lines of least resistance1 even in this broader and finer work1 that your energies may be put forth in it to the best effect--that you may aim right and that your shots may not go astray4 ,,old ,,probabilities ,,in ,,the ,,library--,,his ,,modest ,,vaticinations#f 8,don't never prophsey onles ye know10 says ,hosea ,bigelow4 ,i beg to call attention to the fact that this means 8,don't prophesy at all0--perhaps it was so meant by the shrewd ,hosea4 ,we never can know--and yet we continue to prophesy4 ,the best we can do1 of course1 is to estimate probabilities4 ,probabilities6 ,that is a good word4 ,they have dropped it from the weather reports and call their estimate a 8forecast40 ,i like the old word better4 ,let us see1 then1 what some of the probabilities are in library work4 8,everything flows10 said the ,greek philosopher4 ,nothing in the world is stable2 change is the order of the day4 ,but note the word he uses4 ,that which flows is in a state of orderly change in a definite direction4 ,everything progresses2 and the library and its work are being borne along in the general current4 ,now the writers on hydro-dynamics1 who are experts on blow1 tell us that there are two ways of studying a current1 which they name the 8historical0 and the 8statistical03 ,in the former the attention is fixed on a definite particle of the moving fluid whose change of velocity and direction is noted as it passes along2 in the latter a definite locality of the stream is selected and the fluid's changes of form and density at that particular place are observed4 ,in like manner we may study the library movement historically or we can select a definite point in its course--the present time--and note the conditions and their alteration4 ,the latter plan1 ,i venture to think1 is the more favorable one for the would-be prophet4 ,let us1 then1 take a few of the salient features of library work as they exist to-day and inquire3 7#a7 ,what is the present situation with regard to each2 7#b7 ,is that situation changing2 and whither and how fast2 7#c7 ,is its rate of change altering1 and 7#d7 are the conditions that affect it and its alteration1 likely to remain as they are4 ,if we can answer all these questions we can at least make an attempt at estimating the probable situation at a given future time4 ,we must bear in mind1 however1 that in the library world1 as elsewhere1 there are sudden or abrupt changes1 or catastrophes1 and that these generally defy prediction4 ,and this is equally true of unexpected aids or beneficient influences4 ,the library benefactions of ,mr4 ,carnegie would have upset the most careful and logical estimate of library progress made twenty years ago4 ,first let us take up the status of our stock in trade--our supply of books4 ,president ,eliot warned us two years ago that our books are piling up too fast4 ,his warning has met with scant heed because experience has not brought it home to most of us4 ,malthus warned us long ago that the progress of population was toward overcrowding the world4 ,we laugh at him because there is still plenty of room and means of utilizing it unknown in his time4 ,yet population increases1 and it will overcrowd the world some day unless something occurs to prevent4 ,in like manner our stock of books increases faster and faster4 ,the ordinary ,american public library is a thing of yesterday2 small wonder that it does not yet begin to feel plethoric4 ,our oldest large libraries are those of our universities1 and ,harvard's president has told us that to them the evil day is within sight4 ,librarians have not received with favor ,president ,eliot's plea for getting us out of our future difficulty but this is neither here nor there4 ,to judge by our present attitude either our library buildings must increase indefinitely in size or our stock must be weeded out4 ,it must be remembered1 however1 that our books are perishable1 and are growing more so4 ,i do not regard this as an unmixed evil4 ,rather than to make our books unwieldy for the purpose of preserving them we prefer to make them usable and to rely on reprinting for their perpetuation4 ,thus what is not wanted will pass away4 ,perhaps this will solve our problem for us4 ,but in any case it looks as if the future library building and its contents were to be greatly larger than those of to-day4 ,what are to be the style and arrangement of the future library building8 ,the present situation can hardly be described in general terms4 ,as in all building operations1 there is a strife between the architect1 representing aesthetics1 and the administrator1 representing utility4 ,at present the architect seems to be having his way outside and the librarian his way inside4 ,but why this contest8 ,is it not the architect's business to make utility more beautiful but not less useful8 ,and should not the administrator wish his surroundings to please the eye8 ,apparently the two are drawing a little closer together of late4 ,we are having fewer temples of art that have to be made over to fit them for use as libraries and fewer buildings that are workable but offensive to the eye4 ,the tendency seems to be toward simple dignity1 although we certainly have some surprising departures from it4 ,probably the library of the future will be a simple and massive structure of much greater size than at present1 with its decorations largely structural1 and combining ample open-shelf and reading facilities with greatly increased capacity for book-storage4 ,there is one particular in which the architect has been specially out of touch with the administrator4 ,the open-shelf is now all but universal1 but many architects seem not to have heard of it4 ,many buildings1 actually intended for administration on the free access system1 seem yet to have been planned as closed-shelf libraries and opened to the public as an afterthought4 ,a library without a special stack-room for book-storage is an unthinkable thing to most architects4 ,and yet in many small libraries book-storage is not necessary1 and in most branch libraries1 where only books in general use are to be placed1 it will never be necessary4 ,to get the maximum advantage from open shelves1 with a minimum of risk1 the books should be placed on the walls as far as possible and such book-cases as stand on the floor should be as low as an ordinary table1 so as to be easily overseen4 ,a stack-room1 it seems to me1 is distinctly a closed-shelf arrangement4 ,i believe this is coming to be recognized and that in the future library the books will be on or near the walls4 ,but how about the open-shelf system itself8 ,at present there are few libraries that do not have it in some form1 and some of these are libraries that continued strongly to disapprove of it even after it had become well and widely established4 ,the indications are nearly all that it has come to stay4 ,i say nearly all2 for there is still a feeling among many people that it is not good administration to abandon so large a percentage of our books to thieves4 ,in libraries in small communities where the loss is small1 this question does not arise2 but in ,new ,york1 for instance1 where we lost #ejjj books last year1 it is serious4 ,we librarians may say and believe that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages1 but trustees and municipal authorities are hard to convince4 ,in ,new ,york we have taken what many will consider a backward step1 by partially closing1 as an experiment1 the shelves of two of our branches4 ,so that although we may safely say that free access has come to stay1 ,i do not look to see it applied very generally to large collections4 ,one thing seems to me clear4 ,library administration is becoming increasingly business-like1 and it is not business-like to accept a large annual loss without an attempt to minimize it4 ,we must at least investigate regularly and rigidly the sources and character of this loss4 ,as for the other features that we have become accustomed to regard as distinguishing the new library era from the old--special work with children1 co-operation with schools1 travelling libraries1 etc4--it is evident that these1 too1 have come to stay4 ,their spheres are widening and their aims are diversifying1 however1 so that he who should venture to predict their precise status in the future would be rash4 ,in fact1 the library idea itself is beginning to suffer a sort of restless change that is quite distinct from its orderly progress4 ,the activities of the library are at present a good deal like those of the amoeba--stretching out a tentacle here1 withdrawing one there2 improvising a mouth and then turning it into a stomach2 shifting and stretching about2 somewhat vague and formless1 yet instinct with life1 appetite and caution1 and vitalized with at least the germ and promise of intelligence4 ,such a state is an unpromising one for prophecy4 ,is this or that new development of activity the beginning of an orderly march in a straight line1 or is it to be withdrawn or reversed to-morrow8 ,is our work with children to include much that now seems to belong to the kindergarten1 the museum1 and the art gallery8 ,are our travelling library departments to sell books in the future as well as lend them8 ,are we to deliver books free at our user's homes8 ,are our ,boards of ,education to turn over to us the superintendence of all such work as deals with books and their use8 ,many questions like these would have been answered in the affirmative yesterday but in the negative to-day4 ,i might be inclined to say 8yes0 to some of them now1 when to-morrow would prove them out of the question4 ,but there is one assertion that we can make boldly4 ,whatever the library has tried to do or to be1 whether success or failure has attended it1 it has never ceased to be a library--a keeper and purveyor of books4 ,whatever else it may undertake1 we may be sure that this will continue to be its chief reason for existence1 and that its other activities1 if such there be1 will grow out of this and group themselves around it4 ,is the library to grow into a bookstore8 ,i do not know1 but if so its commercial functions are likely to be subsidiary4 ,certain libraries have already added to their duties as free institutions the functions of pay-libraries1 and the commercial feature has thus been introduced4 ,it seems to be spreading1 and it may prove an entering wedge for a system of actual sales to supplement that of paid loans4 ,a powerful deterrent1 however1 will be the influence of the book-trade4 ,following the line of least resistance1 the activity of the library as an aid to the ownership as well as the reading of books is perhaps more likely to manifest itself in advice than in actual trade4 ,some libraries are now making special effort to give their readers information about book-prices1 and about places and methods of purchase2 and it seems likely that this kind of aid1 since it can arouse no opposition1 will increase4 ,the position in which we find ourselves1 of opposition to those who make and sell books1 is unfortunate4 ,the situation has been growing more and more tense and it may continue so to grow1 perhaps up to the point where all discount will be withheld from libraries and where new legislation may discourage importation1 but ,i do not believe that it will keep on indefinitely4 ,no one who looks into the matter closely can help believing that in the long run libraries advertise the book-trade and help it by promoting general interest in literature4 ,this view of the matter was taken by a majority of the ,new ,york ,booksellers' ,league at a recent dinner at which the question was discussed4 ,even purely as a matter of business1 the library deserves special privileges and it will doubtless continue in some measure to receive them4 ,it does not1 however1 seem probable that the average cost of books to a public library will ever be as low again as it was1 say1 ten years ago4 ,in fact this may be said of all library expenses4 ,salaries are rising and ought to rise higher2 our buildings are larger and finer and demand more expensive care4 ,we are heating them with more costly apparatus and lighting them with electricity4 ,the library of the future will doubtless cost more to maintain in every item than the library of the past--but the public will receive more than the difference4 ,as regards children's work there seem to be at present two tendencies--one toward complete isolation and one in the opposite direction4 ,will our grandchildren1 when they go to the public library1 be segregated in a separate room1 perhaps in a separate building2 or will they be treated as a distinct class only so far as may be absolutely necessary for good administration8 ,probably complete separation is best for the library and best for the adults2 ,i hesitate to say that it is best for the children4 ,after all1 childhood is but a stage and not a resting state at that--rather restless and progressive4 ,any special conditions that we provide for it must themselves be subject to constant change4 ,in our schools the child passes from grade to grade4 ,in our libraries the grades are only two2 let us not make the leap from one to the other too great4 ,i look to see special library work for children increase in importance1 but with due recognition of the fact that some of the needs and aspirations of a 8grown-up0 are present in many a twelve-year-old and that it is better that the clothes of a growing child should be a size too large than an exact fit4 ,the travelling library deserves a special word1 because its success is indicative of the tendency to bring the book and its user into closer contact4 ,in ,new ,york we began1 only seven years ago1 to circulate a few hundred books monthly in this way among half a dozen schools4 ,now we give out nearly half a million a year from nearly #ejj different points4 ,we hear the same tale from all sides4 ,and the cost of circulation per book is surprisingly small4 ,in ,new ,york the circulation through travelling libraries is equal to that of three branches of the first class1 while the number of assistants employed is about half the number required in one of those branches4 ,the cost of operating three large branches in ,carnegie buildings is about #dj1jjj yearly1 whereas our travelling libraries for the last fiscal year cost us but #fdjj4 ,of course it must be remembered that a very large amount of the work of circulation in this case is done by volunteer assistants and that the users of the books have not the facilities and resources of a branch library--the number and variety of books1 the pleasant surroundings1 the trained aid4 ,of course the travelling library can never take the place of the fully equipped branch1 but in supplementing branch work and in reaching those who live in sparsely settled communities its capabilities are great and it may be expected that its use will increase4 ,the broadening of library work illustrated by the successive appearance of the reference library1 the circulating library1 the delivery station1 the branch and the travelling library suggests the thought that this series may be carried further in the future by the addition of some working plan that will bring the book still closer to its user4 ,such a plan would be the system in which books are delivered free of charge at the houses of those who use them1 or the provision of a real library on wheels--a van supplied with shelving for a thousand books or more from which selection can be made as it moves about from house to house4 ,it does not seem probable that any such device as this will be generally adopted for districts adequately provided with regular libraries1 but for thinly settled regions they may supplement or take the place of our present travelling or home libraries4 ,i believe for instance1 that a moving library of #ajjj books1 calling once a week at each house in a farming district would be preferable to four travelling libraries of #bej books each1 stationed at points in the same district1 although1 of course1 the cost would be correspondingly greater4 ,the library's status as an educational institution seems now to be well established4 ,no one disputes it1 and as this appears to be the chief ground on which its support by public funds is justified we may regard it as settled that the library is to continue to play its part in public instruction4 ,this part1 though not so definite and positive as that of the school1 extends over a far longer period4 ,while the library's work is parallel and supplementary to that of the school in the case of those of school age1 it must continue its work alone after its users have left school4 ,here it may settle its methods for itself1 but in its earlier work when it deals with pupils1 it has the teacher to reckon with4 ,the necessity for constant consultation and co-operation between the authorities of two public institutions1 whose work is so similar and can so easily result in wasteful duplication or still more wasteful conflict1 is obvious4 ,we need not be surprised that librarians and teachers are getting nearer together and we may confidently predict that the rapprochement will be closer in the future4 ,but although the school is ceasing to look upon its younger sister as an interloper in the pedagogical family1 there is still plenty of room for the definition of their respective spheres4 ,and we have no right to complain that the school is still doing much library work1 when we have ourselves sometimes tried to do school work4 ,i look in the future for the definition of two clearly separated spheres of activity1 one filled by the library and the other by the school1 and for the closest co-operation between the two that is consistent with confining each to its own work4 ,it is probably too much to expect that the school will give up the custodianship of books4 ,it must at least control its own text books1 and its collection of reference works should be complete enough to constitute a thorough guide and aid to proper study4 ,but the distribution of supplementary reading should be the part of the public library4 ,this and other related points are to be settled1 if at all1 in the future by two kinds of mutual understandings2 namely1 between the governing boards of library and school and between librarian and teacher4 ,the due definition of spheres of work can come only from an official agreement between library board and school board2 helpful aid on both sides can come only from an official agreement between library board and school board2 helpful aid on both sides can come only from personal contact and acquaintance between teachers and library assistants--such a degree of acquaintance between teachers and library assistants--such a degree of acquaintance that each comes to have a practical knowledge of the other's problems1 trials and limitations4 ,most librarians have made more or less effort in this direction2 some have met with distinguished success4 ,we may safely predict further progress along this line4 ,the lessons of the past and of the present all point to the increasing use of the library as a great engine of popular education1 using the noun in its broadest sense and emphasizing the adjective4 ,the library is more and more a great humanizing influence2 if this is so1 nothing human must be alien to it4 ,and much that is human and humanizing is nevertheless ephemeral4 ,with some the implications of this word are wholly contemptuous4 ,of a day6 ,does nothing valuable pass quickly away1 having done its little work8 ,the day itself is a day only and vanishes with the evening and the morning2 yet it has its part in the record of the years4 ,so with 8ephemeral0 literature4 ,as we have seen1 a great deal of what we are wont to consider as standard and permanent will ultimately perish4 ,yet be its life that of a year or a century1 a book may play its little part in the mental development of those who read it4 ,just at present the favorite vehicle of literary expression is fiction4 ,people put into stories what they have to say of history1 sociology and ethics2 they embody in romance their theories of aesthetics1 economics and politics4 ,there is good doctrine with a poor literary setting and there are paste jewels in pure gold4 ,but taking it by and large the much decried deluge of modern fiction has undoubtedly been educative in its tendency4 ,this is why ,i cannot yield to logic and predict the gradual disappearance of all but a small residuum of fiction from the public library4 ,there is a tendency in that direction but there are some signs of a reaction4 ,the seer may hope1 even if he dare not predict1 that the great public library that can afford to do so will continue to purchase such fiction as will interest or entertain the average person of education1 even if it is to stay on the shelves but a few months4 ,what will be the future distribution of libraries in this country8 ,at present their numbers are large in the northern states and comparatively small in the southern4 ,growth has been unexampled in its rapidity and has been stimulated by large benefactions4 ,so far as this growth may be looked upon as the direct result of ,mr4 ,carnegie's gifts it may doubtless be regarded as abnormal1 although it should be noted that every ,carnegie building means a present and future outlay on the part of the community in which it stands1 of many times the amount given by the donor4 ,primarily1 library expansion is the result of a popular conviction that the public library is a public necessity4 ,expansion has proceeded in proportion to the spread of that conviction and along the lines of its progress4 ,if there are fewer public libraries in the ,south than in the ,north it is because the need for them is not felt there1 even if it exists4 ,doubtless the race problem is a powerful inhibitory influence4 ,two things are certain2 that library expansion is to go on for some time1 and that a time will come when it must stop4 ,when that time arrives1 the library will have attained its majority and we shall have an opportunity to address ourselves to problems that can not be attended to during our period of growth4 ,who will use our great library of the future8 ,who uses the library of to-day8 ,i have been asked that question by reporters and have been puzzled to answer it4 ,for whose use is the public library intended8 ,it will be logical to answer 8the ,public1 of course10 but there are a great many people who will give this answer with mental reservations4 ,with them 8the ,public0 means some particular part of the public4 ,some think that the libraries are for the poor1 or at any rate for those who cannot afford to buy books for themselves4 ,this is a survival of the origin of some of our circulating libraries1 which were originally charities4 ,but a public foundation and a charitable foundation are two different things4 ,our parks are free1 yet we do not object to their free use by the wealthy1 nor do the wealthy classes themselves seem to shrink from it4 ,some again would limit the use of a library to students1 or at all events to those who do not care to withdraw books for home use4 ,these are people who do not believe in the circulating library--and there are still such4 ,others again would have the public library cater only to those of educated literary taste4 ,for these reasons and for others it is a fact that our public libraries1 even those with the largest circulations1 are not used by the entire public4 ,probably1 however1 they are being used more and more freely4 ,in a library that uses the two-book system it is impossible to tell exactly from statistics1 how many persons are drawing from the library at one time4 ,assuming1 however1 that the number is proportional to the number of books outstanding1 we find in the ,new ,york ,public ,library that it has been increasing a little faster of late years than the circulation4 ,in other words1 individual reading has not increased1 and the great recent increase of circulation in our library and presumably in others also1 is due to an increase of readers4 ,the size of the library's public is therefore increasing and there is no reason to suppose that it will not continue to do so4 ,of course there must be a limit4 ,for instance1 certain sections of the public will not use a library--as they will not use a school--in conjunction with other sections4 ,this may be because of social or racial feeling1 or personal uncleanliness or offensiveness1 even when the latter is not carried to the point where the librarian can properly object to it4 ,in such cases the lower element will drive out the higher4 ,the remedy seems to be sought in segregation4 ,this may be either open and acknowledged as in those southern cities where the library has a separate department for colored people1 or it may be virtual1 as where a convenient lounging room with newspapers is provided for the tramp element1 sometimes with the privilege of smoking4 ,in large cities the branch library system acts in the same way4 ,the character of the card-holders is determined by that of the surrounding district and we thus get practically separate libraries for separate sections of the community4 ,i look to see this separation proceed to a somewhat greater degree1 not perhaps systematically but automatically and almost involuntarily4 ,in spite of the apparent concession to class feeling1 it will certainly increase the aggregate use of the library and thus make it more truly a public institution4 ,so far as the branch system is concerned1 of course1 this is only one of the ways in which it increases the size of the library's public4 ,even in a section where the population is perfectly homogeneous1 more people will always be served by two libraries than by one4 ,the number of branch library systems is rapidly increasing and the prospects are that the greatest possible use is to be made of them in the future4 ,and they will be made up of true branches4 ,delivery stations have their uses1 but they can never take the place of buildings with permanent stocks of books and all the conveniences of a separate library4 ,where a branch building is also a delivery station1 as it always should be1 that is1 where the users of a branch are allowed to draw on the stock of the ,central ,library or of the other branches1 it is found that the branch use vastly exceeds the station use4 ,in our own library a branch that circulates #ejj to #ajjj of its own books daily will give out only two or three from other branches4 ,this is sufficiently indicative of the preferences of the public1 and in a matter of this kind public preference will ultimately govern4 ,these branch libraries will have limited stocks of books1 mostly1 though not entirely1 on open shelves1 and will include small reference collections which will be more important as the branch is farther removed from the central library4 ,these predictions1 it seems to me1 are all warranted by present tendencies4 ,how will the future library be governed and administered8 ,the governing body at present is almost universally a board of trustees who are men of standing and responsibility but usually without expert knowledge4 ,these are sometimes semi-independent and sometimes under the direct control of their municipal government4 ,the present tendency seems to be to minimize municipal control but to increase the number of governing bodies subject to it4 ,in other words private libraries are doing more public work than formerly under contract with municipalities1 becoming thereby subject to the control of the city or town but not so closely as to bring politics into the management4 ,this state of things is so desirable that we may expect it to be multiplied in the future4 ,as regards the lay or inexpert character of the governing board1 though it is looked upon by some as objectionable1 it is shared by the library with great numbers of other public and semi-public institutions4 ,such a board may be regarded as representative of the great lay public1 on whose behalf the institution must be operated1 and whose members are interested in results rather than in the special methods by which these results may be obtained4 ,that the members of such a board should be mere figure-heads is certainly not to be desired2 that they should1 either as individuals or collectively1 take part in the details of administration is equally undesirable4 ,there are boards that are doing the one or the other of these things1 but the tendency is to lean neither in the direction of laxity nor of undue interference--to require definite results and to hold the librarian strictly responsible for the attainment of those results1 leaving him to employ his own methods4 ,and the librarian of the future2 who and what will he be8 ,the difference between the modern librarian and him of the old school has often been the subject of comment4 ,the librarian nowadays is less the scholar and more the man of affairs4 ,is change to go on in this direction8 ,there are rather1 it seems to me1 signs of a reaction4 ,perhaps reaction is hardly the word4 ,the librarian1 while keeping in touch with the times1 is reaching back for a little of the spirit of the old-time custodian and incorporating it with his own4 ,is it too much to hope that the heads of our future libraries1 will keep in the forefront of library progress1 alert to appreciate the popular need and to respond to it1 may yet have something of the sweet and gentle spirit of the old scholars who used to preside over our storehouses of books8 ,who are to be the assistants in our library of the future8 ,at present our staffs are recruited from the following sources3 7#a7 ,the library schools4 ,the best of these have supplied chiefly the heads of the smaller libraries1 and heads of departments or assistants of the higher grades in the larger libraries4 ,few heads of the large libraries are school-graduates and few lower-grade assistants4 ,there are1 however1 schools of the second class whose graduates have gone into the lower grades both in small and large institutions4 7#b7 ,apprentice classes1 generally formed to instruct untrained persons in the work of a particular library1 so that those who enter its lower grades may be at least partially fitted for their work4 ,the best of these rise by promotion to the upper grades4 7#c7 ,appointment of totally untrained persons4 ,if such persons are thoroughly well educated they may enter the work in the higher grades or even as the heads of libraries4 ,b ,if not they generally enter at the bottom1 although of course some obtain higher positions through political or local influence4 ,this1 ,i believe1 states the situation fairly4 ,what are the tendencies8 ,there can be no doubt that the library school is growing in favor4 ,the increasing numbers of those who apply for school courses1 the raising of requirements1 both for entrance and for graduation1 the second class schools that have sprung up in limitation of those of higher grade1 making necessary the appointment of committees by various library bodies to examine and report on them--all point in this direction4 ,at the same time we have had numerous instances1 of late1 of the selection of non-graduates to fill high library positions and at least one instance of frank statement on the part of a librarian of acknowledged eminence1 in favor of taking college men of ability into the library immediately on graduation1 instead of putting them through a library school4 ,the library schools aim1 and very properly so1 at occupying the same position toward the library profession that the medical and law schools do toward the medical and legal professions4 ,statistics show that they have not yet reached that position4 ,still1 it is probable that they will continue to approximate to it as a limit4 ,in the future1 more and more of the higher library positions will doubtless be filled by library-school graduates--and so also will more of the lower positions4 ,when the demand for assistants in the higher grades begins to slacken1 proportionately to the supply1 as it is sure to do some day1 the library school graduates will be willing to enter the library force in the lower grade1 and will thus crowd out the untrained or partially trained applicants to some extent4 ,they may even make the apprentice class a superfluity1 in which case ,i am sure librarians will abandon it without a sigh4 ,in these somewhat desultory forecasts the object of the prophet has been not so much to impress upon others his own beliefs as to stimulate a taste for prophecy--a desire to glance over the rail and see which way the current is setting4 ,without being fatalists1 we may hold that there are certain great tendencies in human affairs1 vast social currents1 against which it is well-nigh hopeless to struggle4 ,those who desire to accomplish results must work with these currents1 not against them4 ,success has almost always been won in this way4 ,even when a few bold spirits have seemed to stem and turn back the whole tide1 it will generally be found that an unseen undercurrent was in their favor4 ,learn therefore to judge of the currents2 so shall we avoid the rocks and shoals and bring our craft safely to port4 ,,the ,,love ,,of ,,books ,,as ,a ,,basis ,,for ,,librarianship#g ,is the love of books a proper or necessary qualification for one who is to care for books and to see that they do the work for which they were made8 ,first1 let us ask a question or two4 ,what is the love of books2 and what is there in books that one may love8 ,the same question might be asked and answered of the love of human beings2 for between it and the love of books there are curious analogies4 ,of what1 then1 do man and book severally consist as objects of interest and affection8 ,first of all there is the man himself1 the ego1 the soul--which cannot indeed exist on this earth without its material embodiment1 but which most of us realize is in some way distinct from that embodiment4 ,so the book has its soul4 ,the ideas or facts that it sets forth1 though dependent for their influence on the printed page1 exist independently of that page and make the book what it is4 ,next we have the material embodiment2 that without which the man or the book could not exist for us2 which is a necessary part of him or it1 but necessary only because it is the vehicle through which man or book may be known by the senses4 ,the body of the book is thus so much1 and only so much1 of its material part1 its paper and its ink1 as is necessary to present the contents properly to the eye4 ,lastly1 we have the clothing of man and of book1 having the function of protection or of decoration1 or both2 in the case of the book the protective cover1 often highly decorated1 and so much of interior elaboration as cannot be said to be strictly necessary to the presentation of the idea4 ,the 8body0 and the clothing of the book1 let it be noted1 are not strictly separable as are those of the man4 ,the line between them may be drawn in different places by different people4 ,the same illustration1 we will say1 may be considered by one reader an absolutely necessary part of the book--an organ of its body--while to another it is but an ornamental embellishment--a decorative gewgaw4 ,in spite of this vagueness1 however1 there is here an undeniable distinction between those material parts of the book that are necessary to its existence and those that merely embellish it or protect it4 ,the book therefore1 like the man1 is made up of soul1 body and clothes4 ,which of these is the entity that may be loved8 ,now there are many kinds of lovers and many kinds of love4 ,the belle of the ball may be surrounded with admirers1 but if clad in rags and seated in a gutter she might excite no favorable notice4 ,still more may a pretty face be loved when it has no mental or spiritual qualities behind it4 ,yet these types of affection are inferior--no one would deny it4 ,in like manner those who love the book merely for its fine clothes1 who rejoice in luxurious binding and artistic illumination1 and even those who dwell chiefly on its fine paper and careful typography1 are but inferior lovers of books4 ,the one loves his book for its clothes1 and the other for its bodily perfection2 neither cares primarily for its contents1 its soul4 ,now the true lover is he who loves the soul--who sees beyond clothes and bodily attributes1 and cherishes nobility of character1 strength of intellect1 loftiness of purpose1 sweetness of disposition1 steadfastness of attachment--those thousand qualities that go to make up personality4 ,all these the book has1 like the man or the woman--for is it not the essence of its writer8 ,your true book-lover would rather have a little old dog's-eared copy of his favorite author1 soiled and torn by use1 with binding gone1 and printed on bad paper with poorer type and worse ink1 than a mediocre production that is a typographic and artistic masterpiece4 ,and yet we call the collector of fine bindings and rare editions a 8book-lover10 to the exclusion of the one who loves truly and devotedly4 ,the true book-lover wants to get at the soul of his book2 the false one may never see it4 ,he may even refrain from cutting the leaves of the rare first edition that he has just bought1 in doing which he is like the ignorant mother who sews her child up in his clothes for the winter--nay1 worse2 for you cannot sew up the child's soul4 ,now let there be no misunderstanding4 ,as the true lover would have his mistress beautiful--nay1 as she is beautiful to his eyes1 whatever she may be to others1 and as he would1 if he could1 clothe her in silks and adorn her with gems1 so the true book-lover need not be and is not adverse to having his favorite author sumptuously set forth2 he would rather than not see his books properly and strongly printed and bound2 his love for the soul need not interfere with proper regard for the body and its raiment4 ,and here is where the love of the book has an advantage over the affection whose object is a person4 ,in spite of the advertisements of the beauty doctors1 a homely face can rarely be made beautiful2 but the book may be embodied and clothed as we will2 it is the same1 however printed and bound1 to him who loves it for its contents4 ,thus it will be seen that when ,i speak in general of 8a love of books0 ,i mean not a love of their typography1 their illustration1 or their bindings1 but of their contents2 a love of the universal mind of humanity as enshrined in print2 a love of the method of recording ideas in written speech1 as contrasted with their presentation in the spoken tongue--a love of ideas and ideals as so recorded4 ,such a love of books is pre-eminently a characteristic of civilized man4 ,it is not synonymous with a love of knowledge--the savage who never saw a book may have that2 it is not even the same as a love of recorded knowledge1 for knowledge may be recorded in other ways--in the brain by oral repetition1 in sculptured memorials1 in mere piles of stone4 ,it is a love of the ideas of men recorded in a particular way1 in the particular way that has commended itself to civilized man as best4 ,the very existence of a library presupposes such a love of books4 ,no one who had not an affection for the printed records of his race would care to possess them1 much less to collect and preserve them4 ,it would seem1 then1 that a love of books should be not only a qualification but an absolute prerequisite for entrance upon librarianship4 ,by inquiring how and why it has come to be regarded as a non-essential or as of secondary importance1 we may perhaps learn something4 ,a young woman comes to me to ask for library work2 and when ,i demand sternly1 8,have you training or experience80 she timidly answers1 8,no2 but ,i'm very fond of books40 ,i smile2 you all smile in like case4 ,why do we smile8 ,what business have we to underrate such a fundamental qualification and exalt above it mere technicalities8 ,the ability to acquire these technicalities exists in ten persons where the ability to love books as they should be loved is found in one4 ,if the love so avowed is real1 even if it is only potential1 not actual1 our feeling in its presence should be one of reverence1 not amusement4 ,it should prove the candidate fit1 perhaps not for immediate appointment1 but for preliminary training with a view to appointment in the future4 ,if it is real6 ,candor compels me to confess that1 like some other avowals of love1 that of a love for books does not always ring true4 8,what have you read80 ,i once asked one of these self-styled book-lovers4 ,she fixed me with her eye and after a moment's impressive pause she replied 8,deep thought60 ,i mentally marked her as a false lover4 ,proud parents relate how their progeny in childhood would rather peruse ,e4 ,s4 ,ellis than play and pore over ,alger than eat--this as irrefragable proof of fitness for a library career4 ,consideration of cases like these makes us wonder whether the smile is so much out of the way after all4 ,does the true book-lover publicly announce her affection in the hope of gain8 ,does she not rather1 like ,shakespeare's maid1 8never tell her love80 ,it is to be feared that some of these people are confusing a love of books with a love of reading4 ,they are not the same thing4 ,some persons enjoy the gentle mental exercise of letting a stream of more or less harmless ideas flow through their brains--continuously in and continuously out again--apprehending them one after another in lazy fashion1 and then dismissing them4 ,the result is a degree of mental friction1 but no permanent intellectual acquisition4 ,how much of our own reading is of this kind ,i shudder to contemplate4 ,far be it from me to condemn it2 it has its uses2 it is an excellent cure for wakefulness after a busy day2 but it no more indicates or stimulates a love for books than shaking hands with a thousand callers makes it possible for the ,governor or the ,president to claim them all as intimate friends4 ,a real love for books1 after all1 is betrayed rather than announced2 it shows itself in the chance remark1 the careless action1 just as another kind of love may show itself in a glance or a word4 ,i believe this to be the reason why a love for books is so little considered among the modern qualifications of librarianship2 it appears in acts1 not in words2 it cannot be ascertained by asking questions4 ,he who protests that he has it must needs be an object of suspicion4 ,and yet ,i venture to say that if any librarian has made a conspicuous success of his work1 apart from the mere mechanics of it1 he has achieved that success primarily and notably through love of books4 ,this ,i assert to be the case down to the assistant of lowest grade4 ,to be good1 work must be ungrudging4 ,and though other things than love for one's task may make one willing to do it and able to do it well1 intelligent interest is always a prime factor in securing the best results4 ,and love of one's work becomes a very simple matter when there is love of the subject matter of that work4 ,those who lament that they are doomed to drudgery should remember that drudgery is subjective4 ,all work consists of a series of acts which taken apart from their relationships are unimportant and uninteresting1 but which acquire importance and interest from those relationships4 ,it is so also with sports4 ,think how childish are the mere acts of striking a ball with a racket or of kicking an inflated leather sphere over a cross-bar6 ,yet in their proper sequence with other acts they may be the object of the breathless interest or enthusiasm of thousands of spectators4 ,and if this may be the case with a mere game1 how much more so with an occupation that is part of the world's life6 ,to dip a brush in color and draw it across a canvas is a simple act1 yet such acts in their sequence may produce a work of art4 ,here the workman understands the position and value of each act in the sequence2 hence he is not apt to feel it as drudgery4 ,drudgery is work in which the elementary acts are performed unintelligently1 with little or no appreciation of their position in the scheme of things1 as when a day laborer toils at digging a hole in the ground without the slightest knowledge of its purpose1 not caring1 indeed1 whether it is to be a post-hole or a grave4 ,but to the man who is searching for buried treasure the digging ceases to be drudgery2 he knows what he is about1 and every shovelful as it is lifted brings him nearer to possible gold and gems4 ,to change drudgery into interested labor1 therefore1 realize what you are doing2 know its relation to what has gone before and what is to come2 understand what it is you are working on and what you are working for4 ,learn to love that something2 and all that you can do to shape it1 to increase its usefulness and to bring it into new relationships will have a vivid interest to you4 ,what could be duller than the act of writing in a book1 hour after hour1 certain particulars regarding other books1 the author's name1 the title1 the publisher1 the size1 the price8 ,but if you love those volumes1 individually or generically1 and if you realize that what you are doing is a necessary step in the work of making their contents accessible and useful--of leading others to love them as you have learned to do--then and only then1 it seems to me1 does such a task as accessioning become full of interest4 ,and so it is with every one of the thousand acts that make up the daily work of a library assistant4 ,i am saying nothing new2 you know and we all know that the laborer who does his work well is he who does it con amore4 ,the wage-earner may labor primarily to support himself and his family1 but he will never really earn his living unless his work is of a kind that can command his whole-hearted interest--unless he likes it and takes pride in doing it well4 ,this is why the love of books--an intelligent interest in literature and in the world's written records--is so fundamental a necessity for a librarian4 ,it should be emphasized that one may love books even if some of the great masterpieces leave him cold1 just as one may love humanity though ,alexander and ,csar1 we will say1 do not happen to stir his enthusiasm4 ,one may even1 in a way1 love books when that love is expended on what is by nature ephemeral1 so long as it is lovable and excellent4 ,perishability and excellence are not contraries by any means4 ,indeed1 ,i heard a painter once1 indignant because his art had been characterized as less permanent than sculpture1 with implied derogation1 assert that all beauty is of its nature perishable4 ,if this be so1 a thing of beauty1 instead of being a joy forever1 is a passing pleasure and the more evanescent as it nears perfection4 ,this thesis could hardly be successfully maintained1 and yet ,i conceive that it has in it an element of truth4 ,there are critics who refuse to admire anything in art that has not in it the elements of permanency4 ,a sunset they will acknowledge to be beautiful1 though fleeting1 but its artistic portrayal1 they say1 must be lasting4 ,an idea1 a passion1 may be fine1 even when forgotten in a moment1 but if enshrined in literary form it must be worth preserving forever or they regard it as without value4 ,these people are confusing mere durability with beauty4 8,is anything that doesn't last three years a book80 asks ,mr4 ,carnegie4 ,we might as well refuse to admire a flower because it fades over night1 or turn from our daily food because it is incapable of retaining indefinitely its savor and nutritious qualities4 ,it cannot be too strongly emphasized that a thing may possess beauty and usefulness in a high degree to-day and lose them both to-morrow4 ,that is an excellent reason for discarding it then1 but not for spurning it now4 ,what is cast into the oven of oblivion to-morrow may to-day be arrayed1 beyond all the glories of ,solomon1 in aptness of allusion and in fitness of application4 ,much of the best that appears in the daily press is of this kind4 ,along with a good deal that is worthy of long life1 there is a host of admirable material in the ephemeral paragraphs that we are accustomed to despise4 ,we may despise them1 but still we read2 and nothing that is read with interested attention by fifty millions of people is really despicable4 ,the average newspaper writer may well be content to toss off paragraphs for us2 he need not care who constructs our leading editorials4 ,the influence of the paragraph is incomparably the greater2 it has the raciness of the soil1 shrewd wit driven home with our native exaggeration and the sting of the epigram4 ,and much of that which is bound between covers has this peculiar aroma of journalism--its fitness to-day1 its staleness to-morrow4 ,this sort of thing may be badly done or it may be well done--inconceivably apt1 dainty and well-flavored4 ,if it is of the best1 why may we not love it1 though it be to-morrow as flat as the sparkling wine without its gaseous brilliancy8 ,to those who have been accustomed to books from childhood1 who have lived with them and among them1 who constantly read them and read about them1 they seem to be a part of the natural order of things4 ,it is something of a shock then when we awake1 as we all must occasionally1 to the realization that to a very large proportion of our population1 supposedly educated1 they are a thing apart--pedantic1 useless1 silly2 to be borne with during a few years of schooling and then cast aside2 to be studied perfunctorily but never to be read4 ,when the statistics of reading are analyzed ,i believe we shall be startled1 not by the great increase in it1 notable and indubitable as this is1 but at the enormous amount of progress that still remains to be made before the use of books by our people indicates any real general interest in them and appreciation of them4 ,an attitude toward books that is very general is indicated by a series of cartoons which has now been running for several years in a ,new ,york evening paper--a proof that its subject must strike a responsive chord1 for the execution of the pictures is beneath contempt4 ,it is entitled 8,book-,taught ,bilkins10 and it sets forth how on one occasion after another ,bilkins relies on the information that he finds in a book--and meets with a disaster4 ,this is a trifle1 but it is one of those straws that tell which way the wind blows4 ,a presumably intelligent man1 a graduate of the public schools1 occupying a position under the city1 recently remarked to one of our library people that he spent his holidays usually at one of the nearby recreation parks4 8,why don't you go sometimes to one of the branches of the public library80 he was asked4 ,he laughed and said1 8,i've never read a book yet1 and ,i don't think ,i'll start now40 ,how many are there like him8 ,we are educating them by thousands4 ,they leave school with no interest in books1 without the slightest appreciation of what books mean--certainly with no love for them4 ,to these people books are but the vehicles and symbols of a hateful servitude4 ,perhaps this is inevitable2 if it is1 all that we can say is that far from 8continuing the work of the schools10 as we are often told is our function1 we may often have to undo a part of it1 which consists in creating an attitude of hostility toward books and reading4 ,can this be done by those who do not appreciate and care for literature8 ,i do not want to be considered pessimistic4 ,this lack of interest in books ,i believe to be noticeable largely because we have changed our whole attitude toward the relationship of literature to the people4 ,love for books used to be regarded as properly confined to a class2 that the bulk of people did not care for literature was no more significant than the fact that they had never tasted pat de foie gras4 ,now we consider that every one ought to love books--and the fact that vast numbers of people do not1 no longer seems natural to us4 ,that these people are beginning to show an interest1 and that the ranks of the indifferent are growing slowly less1 ,i firmly believe2 and it is my opinion that the public library is no inconsiderable factor in the change4 ,some1 it is true1 are beginning to care for books by caring for poor and trashy books4 ,these1 however1 are on the right road2 they are on their way up2 it is our business not to despise them1 but to help them up further4 ,can we do it without having ourselves a proper appreciation of what is good in books8 ,but can a love for books be taught8 ,to those who have the aptitude for it1 it certainly can4 ,in other cases it cannot4 ,to those who have it in them1 however1 appreciation for the beautiful may certainly be awakened by precept and example4 ,i have in mind a farmer in the ,virginia mountains1 dwelling in a lovely region1 but among a rural population without the slightest appreciation of the beauties of nature4 ,this particular man had worked for years in and about a summer camp and had thus associated with people from the city whose appreciation of the fine prospects from cliff and summit was unusually keen4 ,in time he actually came to feel such appreciation himself1 and he would spend the whole of his rare holidays on a rocky peak #djjj feet above the sea1 drinking in the beauties of the scene and eagerly pointing them out to his tousle-headed children1 all of whom he took with him4 ,none of that brood will cease to love nature1 ,i am sure1 and their lives will be sweeter and better for it4 ,in like fashion1 association with people who appreciate good books will awaken a similar love in many an unpromising mind4 ,mere contact with the books themselves may do it1 and so our open shelves have brought it to thousands1 but the additional influence of a sympathetic human mind will hasten it wonderfully4 ,the busy assistant at the desk may have a chance to say but a single word4 ,shall that word relate to the mechanics of librarianship--the charging system1 the application form1 the shelf-arrangement--or shall it convey in some indefinable way the fact that here is a body of workers1 personally interested in books and eager to arouse or foster such an interest in others8 ,but how may one tell whether the true love of books is in him8 ,to detect it in another1 as already noted1 requires more than a brief acquaintance4 ,but to test oneself is easier4 ,what would the world be to you without books8 ,could you go on living your life1 physically and mentally1 even as you do now1 if the whole great series1 from big to little1 from old to new1 from the ,bible and ,shakespeare down to the latest novel1 were utterly wiped away8 ,if you can truthfully say that such a cataclysm would make no difference to you1 then you certainly do not love books4 ,if the loss of them1 or of some part of them--even the least--would leave a void in your life1 then you have that love in greater or less degree1 in finer or coarser quality4 ,let us pity those who have it not4 ,and as for you who have it1 you surely have not only a fundamental qualification for librarianship1 but that which will make1 and does make1 of you better men and women4 ,let us perfect ourselves in all the minuti of our profession1 let us study how to elevate it and make it more effective1 but let us not forget the book1 without which it would have no existence4 ,possibly the librarian who reads is lost1 but the librarian who has never read1 or who1 having read1 has imbibed from reading no feeling toward books but those of dislike or indifference1 is surely worse than lost--he has1 so far as true librarianship goes1 never existed4 ,,the ,,library ,,as ,,the ,,educational ,,center ,,of ,a ,,town ,in using this expression it is not intended to imply that the library is1 or should be1 the only place in a town where educational processes are going on--perhaps not even the principal place4 ,the center of a circle is not the whole circle2 its area is zero1 it is simply a point so related to other parts of the figure as to give it supreme importance4 ,the center of a wheel1 through which the axle passes1 is not the whole wheel1 but around it the whole wheel turns4 ,so the educational functions of a town library1 while they may not bulk large in a catalog1 should be so related to those of other institutions in the community as to give it peculiar importance and authority4 ,it is not necessary here to remark that education is what its name implies--a drawing out1 a development of potentialities4 ,because it is this1 and only this1 it will never make a ,shakespeare or a ,newton out of one who has it not 8in him10 as the idiom so well runs1 to become one or the other4 ,because it is this1 there are men who do have in them potentialities of usefulness1 perhaps even of greatness1 but who for lack of it1 die undeveloped2 8mute0 and 8inglorious40 ,from the moment when the new-born babe feels the contact of the outer world1 through his organs of sense1 that contact begins to develop his possibilities4 ,here education begins1 and it ceases only with the stoppage of all functions at death4 ,when it has gone on so far that a contact is established with other human minds1 this development takes a special turn that differentiates it from any training that the lower animals receive--that makes it a link in the education of the race4 ,still further is this accentuated when the child begins to have access to the printed records of the race in the shape of books4 ,books1 or no books1 his educational development goes on1 at home1 among his playmates1 in his chosen work in shop1 farm or office1 but the use of books gives it a wider relationship--a broader outlook4 ,this relation of our formal intellectual records to education which is emphasized especially during the period of attendance at school or college1 makes a storehouse of books of peculiar value and importance to a community4 ,especially should the existence of such a collection direct the attention of every person in the community to the fact that the use of books to develop the mind and broaden the possibilities does not properly end with the close of the school life4 ,it is the misfortune of the school1 in too many instances1 that its work engenders a hatred of books instead of a love for them4 ,play1 we are told1 is 8work that you don't have to do40 ,it is the merit of the library that there is no compulsion about its use4 ,we dislike what is forced upon us1 but the study which is the hardest of work in a school may become recreation when one is free to follow the line of inclination among the books of a well-made collection4 ,in this way the post-scholastic education1 if we may call it so1 which lasts as long as the life1 is kept in touch with the written records1 instead of casting those records aside and proceeding haphazard wholly on so-called 8practical0 lines4 ,the teachers express this1 when they admit the public library at all into the educational pantheon1 by saying that it may 8continue the work of the school40 ,this is a one-sided way of looking at the matter--as one-sided as it would be to say that the function of the school is to prepare people for the use of the public library--a statement no less and no more true than the other4 ,the proper way to put it is that the school and the library have closely related educational functions1 both employing largely the written records of previous attainment1 but the school concentrating its influence on a short period of peculiar susceptibility1 with the aid of enforced personal discipline and exposition1 while the library works without such opportunities1 but also freed from these limitations4 ,thus the library uses books as a means of development1 not with the aid of personal influence1 but without taskmasters2 not without discipline1 but without compulsion4 ,during the years of school attendance1 it works with the school1 and it recognizes the fact that its use is a habit best acquired early4 ,this is the reason for our separate rooms for children1 with their special collections and trained assistants1 and also for our efforts to co-ordinate the child's reading with his school work4 ,we are not trying to set up a rival educational system1 which by its superior attractiveness may divert the attention of the child from school2 we are merely seeing that our young people may become accustomed to use books properly1 to love them dearly and to look upon the place where they are housed as in some sense an intellectual refuge through life4 ,this closeness of contact with a public collection of books is largely a modern idea4 ,in ancient times the safeguarding and preservation of the individual book was far more important than it is today4 ,greater public security1 and especially the improvement in methods of duplication1 have now made such care unnecessary1 except in the case of volumes kept as curiosities1 or for occasional use4 ,the book that does the most for popular education is not kept behind bars1 but sent out broadcast for free use1 shortly perishing in the flesh to be reincarnated in fresh paper1 type and binding4 ,sending out books for home use has added enormously to the educational value of the library and to the good done by books--to the number of points of contact of mind with mind4 ,along the same line has been the development of subsidiary centers of distribution--branch libraries1 traveling libraries1 delivery stations4 ,all these have added to the tendency to look upon the public library as a center of municipal education4 ,in many communities it is being looked to now as such a center in matters having no direct connection with books4 ,it is a museum on a small scale2 a lecture bureau2 the maker1 sometimes the publisher1 of lists and bibliographies4 ,in old times the local collector of minerals or of prints turned over his crystals or his pictures to the school2 now1 as likely as not1 he gives them to the library4 ,it is better that he should2 for in the educational life of the individual1 the school comes and goes1 but the library goes on forever4 ,it is this capacity of the modern library to reach out beyond its own walls in many different directions that makes it proper for us to speak of it as a center4 ,in a similar way the physicist speaks of centers of force4 ,and as a body exerting attraction or repulsion--a magnetic pole1 an electrified sphere1 a gravitating particle--is surrounded by a field of force which is very real1 though invisible1 so there are invisible lines that connect such an intellectual center as the library with every interest in the community4 ,we recognize this in our colloquial speech4 ,did you never hear of a network of branch libraries8 ,yet on a map they show merely a system of dots4 ,the network is formed of the commingling fields of force1 which together enmesh the community in a web of intellectual influences4 ,and as an ordinary force has two aspects1 so the influences radiating from our library centers are directed both from and toward them4 ,the up-to-date library strikes out toward every member of the community and it strives to draw each one to itself4 ,it sends its books into every home1 its helpful aids to reading and to study1 its library news and gossip in the local paper3 but on the other hand1 its cozy rooms1 its well-stocked reference shelves1 its willing and pleasant attendants exert on every man1 woman and child in the community an intellectual attraction1 and having let them taste of the delights it has to offer sends him out again as a willing missionary to lure in others4 ,by such methods should the library strive to be a center of mental development in a community2 by such methods is it succeeding1 for no other center can vie with it in the universality of its appeal1 whether we follow the individual from birth to death1 or regard the various members of a community as they exist at one specified time4 ,but there is another sense in which the library should be and is able to serve as the intellectual center of a community4 ,a community's moral and intellectual status is not simply the sum of that of its component members4 ,this is true of all aggregates where the components are interrelated in any way4 ,in all such cases the properties of the whole depend1 it is true1 on the properties of the components1 but not by simple addition4 ,the taste of common salt is not the taste of sodium added to that of chlorine2 the feelings1 thoughts and acts of any aggregate of men may be quite different from those of the men taken individually4 ,this is true whether the aggregate be simply a body of spectators in a theater1 mutually related only by the fact of their common presence in the place1 or an association1 or the members of a municipal community4 ,the human aggregate is in all cases less advanced than the individual2 it is more primitive in its emotions1 its morals1 its acts4 ,this might be expected1 since the formal group1 of whatever kind1 began its evolution later than the individual4 ,a community's moral sense is thus less advanced than that of its members2 it will lie1 swindle and steal1 when they would hesitate to do so2 it will resort to violence sooner than they4 ,its intellectual ability is also less2 its business transactions are looser2 its appreciation of artistic values is inferior4 ,the education of a group of men1 as a group1 is thus something different from the education of its individual members4 ,in the case of a loose group1 such as an audience1 it could not be attempted2 with a group dwelling together and bound by ties of blood and common interest it is not only possible but quite worth while4 ,of course it must be understood that whatever educates the individual also helps to educate the community2 but when1 as is almost always the case1 the community lags behind1 something may be done to bring its ideals1 feelings and acts nearer to the individual standard1 even without altering the latter4 ,now we have already been reminded by ,prof4 ,vincent of ,chicago university that the library may act as the social memory2 the town library should therefore be emphatically the municipal memory4 ,and as memory is the basis of our intellectual life1 so a communal memory of this kind will serve as the basis of the community's intellectual life and as a means through which it may be fostered and advanced4 ,as the individual looks back with interest on his own personal history and refreshes his recollection by means of family portraits1 old letters1 diaries1 scrapbooks and material of all kinds1 so the community should retain consciousness of the continuity of its own history by keeping in the public library full records of similar import--files of all local publications1 printed memorabilia of all kinds1 material for local history1 even to the point of imagined triviality2 even private letters1 when these bear in any way on the community life4 ,the legal and political history1 or1 at last1 its dry bones1 is locked up in the official archives or the town or city2 we need1 in addition1 an intellectual and social hall of records out of which the delver in local history may clothe this skeleton with flesh and blood4 ,a man with a memory has the basis for a mind and a conscience2 so a community with this kind of a collective memory is much more 'apt than another to develop collective intelligence and collective morality4 ,it may be asserted1 not as a figure of speech1 but as a cold fact1 that a community whose citizens look back upon an honorable history with records preserved in an accessible place1 ought to be much less likely to sanction a trolley steal or to wink-at official graft4 ,in a recent striking address1 ,prof4 ,william ,james has called attention to the importance of the things that may serve to unlock stores of reserve energy4 ,when the runner's fatigue has increased up to a certain point he all at once gets1 as we say1 his 8second wind0--something to enable him to draw on a reserve energy4 ,these reserves1 ,prof4 ,james tells us1 we all possess1 especially in matters of the intellect and morals2 they may be unlocked by ideas1 sentiments or objects4 ,the ideas represented by such phrases--catchwords1 if you choose to call them so--as love1 mother1 home1 liberty1 church1 the old flag2 righteousness1 civic duty--have had a power in setting energy free and accomplishing results1 that is beyond estimation4 ,in regarding the library as a center of municipal education we make it a storehouse of objects and records1 with their associated ideas and sentiments1 that are competent to act in just this way4 ,a man who feels that he is a 8citizen of no mean city10 who has been made to realize it from earliest childhood1 whose mind turns habitually to the storehouse that has done most to make him realize it1 is a nobler man1 and the community of which he is a part is a nobler community1 than if such a place were non-existent1 or if its records and associations were scattered and unheeded4 ,this is a most cogent reason for making the library the intellectual center of the town1 as the town hall is the political and the church the religious center2 for seeing in it not alone a collection of books1 however good1 that are given out to those who ask for them but a means for guiding and leading the town's intellectual progress1 for turning it from trivialities to what is worth while1 caring for the children's reading1 stimulating public thought by lectures1 endeavoring by every legitimate means to attract toward it the public eye in regard to all things that contribute to individual and civic development4 ,the most important part of our education1 says ,emil ,reich1 we gain after we are twenty-five years old4 ,we cannot prevent the acquisition of such a post-graduate education by every young man and young woman in the town4 ,the question is not3 ,shall the mind be trained8 ,shall character be developed8 ,it is rather1 ,how and by what means shall the development go on8 ,under what auspices shall it take place and toward what end shall it point8 ,shall it deal in trivialities and end in vacuity8 ,shall it impart insincerity1 dishonesty1 uncleanliness8 ,shall its product be a useless citizen1 an indifferent one1 a positively harmful one8 ,the answers to these questions depend on the home1 the church1 the school--a score1 perhaps1 of minor civic societies4 ,let us at the very center of the town's mental and moral life erect an institution1 which1 having as its basal object the collection1 preservation and popularization of the records of what has been worth while in the past1 may serve also as a support to what is good in the present1 and a ladder on which the community may mount to still better things in the future4 ,is this too large1 too serious a view to take of the importance of the public library8 ,that will depend on what we choose to make of it--a mere pile of books to be turned over by the passerby1 or a true center of municipal education4 ,,the ,,librarian ,,as ,a ,,censor#h 8,some are born great2 some achieve greatness2 some have greatness thrust upon them40 ,it is in this last way that the librarian has become a censor of literature4 ,originally the custodian of volumes placed in his care by others1 he has ended by becoming in these latter days much else1 including a selector and a distributor1 his duties in the former capacity being greatly influenced and modified by the expansion of his field in the latter4 ,as the library's audience becomes larger1 as its educational functions spread and are brought to bear on more of the young and immature1 the duty of sifting its material becomes more imperative4 ,i am not referring now to the necessity of selection imposed upon us by lack of funds4 ,a man with five dollars to spend can buy only five dollars' worth from a stock worth a hundred1 and it is unfair to say that he has 8rejected0 the unbought ninety-five dollars' worth4 ,such a selection scarcely involves censorship1 and we may cheerfully agree with those who say that from this point of view the librarian is not called upon to be a censor at all4 ,but there is another point of view4 ,a man1 we will say1 is black-balled at a club because of some unsavory incident in his life4 ,is it fair to class him simply with the fifty million people who still remain outside of the club8 ,he would1 we will say1 have been elected but for the incident that was the definite cause of his rejection4 ,so there are books that would have been welcome on our library shelves but for some one objectionable feature1 whose appearance on examination ensures their exclusion--some glaring misstatement1 some immoral tendency1 some offensive matter or manner4 ,these are distinctly rejected candidates4 ,and when the library authority1 whether librarian1 book committee1 or paid expert1 points out the objectionable feature that bars out an otherwise acceptable book the function exercised is surely censorship4 ,may any general laws be laid down on this subject8 ,let us admit at the outset that there is absolutely no book that may not find its place on the shelves of some library and perform there its appointed function4 ,from this point of view every printed page is a document1 a record of something1 material1 as the ,french say1 pour servir2 from a mass of such material neither falsity1 immorality nor indecency can exclude it4 ,i do not speak at this time1 therefore1 of the library as a storehouse of data for the scholar and the investigator1 but rather of the collection for the free use of the general public and especially of collections intended for circulation4 ,it is to these that the censorship to which ,i have alluded may properly apply and upon these it is generally exercised4 ,i know of no more desirable classification of books for our present purpose than the old three categories--the ,good1 the ,true1 and the ,beautiful4 ,those books that we desire1 we want because they fall under one or more of these three heads--they must be morally beneficial1 contain accurate information or satisfy the esthetic sense in its broadest meaning4 ,conversely we may exclude a book because it lacks goodness1 truth or beauty4 ,we may thus reject it on one or more of the three following grounds2 badness--that is undesirable moral teaching or effect2 falsity--that is1 mistakes1 errors or misstatements of fact2 and ugliness--matter or manner offensive to our sense of beauty1 fitness or decency4 ,the first and third qualities1 badness and ugliness1 are often wrongly confounded1 and as ,i desire therefore to speak of them together1 we will now take up the second1 namely1 falsity or lack of truth4 ,strangely enough1 among all reasons for excluding books this is perhaps least often heard4 ,possibly this is because it applies only to non-fiction1 and apparently in the minds of many non-fiction is desirable simply because it is what it is4 ,again1 the application of this test to any particular book can generally be made only by an expert4 ,the librarian needs no adviser to tell him whether or not a book is immoral or indecent1 but he cannot so easily ascertain whether the statements in a work on history1 science or travel are accurate4 ,this lack of expert knowledge is bad enough when inaccuracy or falsity of statement is involuntary on the author's part4 ,but of late we have in increasing numbers a class of books whose authors desire to deceive the public--to make the reader take for authentic history1 biography or description what is at best historical fiction4 ,again1 the increasing desire to provide information for children and to interest the large class of adults who are intellectually young but who still prefer truth to fictitious narrative1 has produced countless books in which the writer has attempted to state facts1 historical1 scientific or otherwise1 in as simple1 and at the same time as striking1 language as possible4 ,unfortunately1 with some noteworthy exceptions1 persons with comprehensive knowledge of a subject are generally not able to present it in the desired way4 ,co-operation is therefore necessary1 and it is not always properly or thoroughly carried out1 even where the necessity for it is realized4 ,proper co-operation between the expert and the popularizer involves 7#a7 the selection and statement of the facts by the former2 7#b7 their restatement and arrangement of the latter2 and 7#c7 the revision of this arrangement by the former4 ,it is this third process that is often omitted even in serious cyclopedic work1 and the result is inaccuracy4 ,often1 however1 there is no cooperation at all2 the writer picks up his facts from what he considers reliable sources1 puts them into eminently readable shape1 dwelling on what seem to him striking features1 heightening contrasts here and slurring over distinctions or transitions there4 ,this process produces what scientific men call contemptuously 8newspaper science10 and we have as well newspaper history1 newspaper sociology and so on4 ,they fill the pages not only of our daily press1 but of our monthly magazines and of too many of the books that stand on our library shelves4 ,it is unfair to blame the newspapers alone for their existence2 in fact1 some of the best simple presentations of valuable information that we have appear in the daily press4 ,then there are the text books4 ,any librarian who has ever tried to select a few of the best of one kind--say elementary arithmetics--to place on his shelves1 knows that their name is legion and that differences between them are largely confined to compilers' names and publishers' imprints4 ,in part they are subject to the same sources of error as the popularized works and in addition to the temptation to hasty1 scamped or stolen work due to some publisher's or teacher's cupidity4 ,this catalog might be extended indefinitely1 but even now we begin to see the possibilities of rejection on the ground of falsity and inaccuracy4 ,i believe that the chief menace to the usefulness of the public libraries lies1 not as some believe in the reading of frankly fictitious narrative1 but in the use of false or misleading history1 biography1 science and art4 ,not the crude or inartistic printing of toy money1 but the counterfeiting of real money1 is a menace to the circulating medium4 ,against such debasement of the sterling coin of literature it is the duty of the librarian to fight2 and he cannot do it single-handed4 ,some things he should and does know2 he is able to tell whether the subject matter is presented in such a way as to be of value to his readers2 he can tell whether the simple and better known facts of history and science are correctly stated2 he is often an authority in one or more subjects in which he is competent to advise as an expert2 but only the ideal paragon1 sometimes described but never yet incarnated1 can qualify simultaneously as an expert in all branches of science1 philosophy1 art and literature4 ,the librarian must have expert advisers4 ,nor are these so difficult to obtain4 ,the men who know are the very ones that are interested in the library's welfare and are likely to help it without compensation4 ,and in the smaller places where the variety and extent of special knowledge is less comprehensive the ground covered by the library's collection is also less1 and the advice that it needs is simpler4 ,the advice should if possible be personal and definite4 ,no amount of lists1 ,i care not who prepares or annotates them1 can take the place of the friend at one's elbow who is able and willing to give aid just when and exactly where it is needed4 ,as well might the world's rulers dismiss all their cabinet ministers and govern from textbooks on law and ethics4 ,the formula1 the treatise1 the bibliography--we must still have all these1 but they must be supplemented by personal advice4 ,and competent advisers exist1 as ,i have said1 in almost every place4 ,the local clergy on questions of religion1 and often on others1 too2 the school principal on history and economics1 the organist on music1 the village doctor on science--some such men will always be found able and glad to give advice on these subjects or some others2 and the place is small indeed that does not include one or two enthusiasts1 collectors of insects or minerals or antiquities1 who have made themselves little authorities on their pet hobbies and may possibly be the greatest or the only living authorities on those local phases that particularly interest the local librarian4 ,it will do the librarian no harm to hunt these men out and ask their aid2 possibly his own horizon will broaden a little with the task and his respect for the community in which he works will grow as he performs it4 ,but what if two of our doctors disagree8 ,then follow the advice of both4 ,it might be disastrous for a patient to take two kinds of medicine1 but it can never hurt a library to contain books on both sides of a question1 whether it be one of historical fact1 of religious dogma1 or of scientific theory4 ,this may not be pressed too far2 the following of one side may be beneath our notice4 ,it is not absolutely necessary1 for instance1 for a small popular circulating library to contain works in advocacy of the flatness of the earth or of the tenets of the angel dancers of ,hackensack2 but it is essential that such a library should make accessible to its readers the facts of the ,reformation as stated by both ,catholic and ,protestant writers1 histories of the ,american ,civil ,war written from both the southern and northern standpoints1 geological works both asserting and denying the existence of a molten core in the earth's interior4 ,an impartial book is hard to find2 it is a thing of value1 but ,i am not sure that two partisan books1 one on each side1 with the reader as judge1 do not constitute a winning combination4 ,against violent and personal polemics1 of course1 the librarian must set his face4 ,all such are candidates for rejection4 ,it is fortunate for us in this regard that we are supplying the needs of all creeds1 all classes and all schools4 ,each must and should have its own literature while each protests against violent attacks on its own tenets4 ,such protests1 while often unjustified1 are helping us to weed out our collections4 ,so much for deficiency in truth as a cause for rejection4 ,now let us consider deficiency in goodness and deficiency in beauty2 or stated positively1 badness and ugliness4 ,these two things are confounded by many of us4 ,is this because the great majority of librarians to-day are of the sex that judges largely by intuition and often by instinctive notions of beauty and fitness8 ,to most women1 ,i believe all ugliness is sinful1 and all sin is ugly4 ,now sin is morally ugly1 without doubt1 but it may not be esthetically so4 ,and goodness may be esthetically repulsive4 ,badness and ugliness in books are both adequate grounds for rejection1 but they need not coexist4 ,some of the worst books are artistically praiseworthy and would be well worth a place of honor on our shelves if their beauty alone were to move us4 ,on the other hand1 some books that are full of impropriety or even of indecency are absolutely unimpeachable from a moral standpoint4 ,shakespeare and the ,bible are often indecent without being in the least immoral4 8,raffles0 is in no wise indecent1 but is dangerously immoral4 ,bernard ,shaw is often both indecent and immoral while at the same time so astoundingly clever that we stand gaping at him with our mouths wide open while he tosses down our throats the most unsavory things4 ,what1 then1 is the distinction between badness and ugliness8 ,for our present purpose ,i believe it to be this3 badness depends on immutable laws1 while ugliness1 at any rate that of the kind which concerns us here1 is a matter of convention4 ,virtue1 with all due apologies to ,mr4 ,lecky and to many other eminent scholars1 has certain standards that do not vary with place or time4 ,let us grant that a given act may be good to-day and bad to-morrow1 good in ,tasmania and bad in ,pennsylvania2 this is beside the question4 ,we have here to do with the classification of this particular act in certain fixed categories that of themselves remain bad or good4 ,the act of cutting off a man's head may be good if the cutter is the public executioner1 and bad if he be a private citizen2 one may shoot an attacking highwayman but not an innocent friend4 ,the reason for these differences1 however1 is that in one case the killing is murder while in the other it is not2 murder itself always was and always will be bad4 ,impropriety or indecency1 on the other hand1 is purely arbitrary4 ,personally ,i am inclined to think this true of all beauty1 but it is unnecessary to obtrude this view here4 ,impropriety is a violation of certain social customs1 and although ,i should be the last to question the observance of those customs1 we must grant1 ,i think1 that they rest on foundations quite other than those of right and wrong4 ,in fact decency1 instead of being on the same plane with morality1 comes nearer to being properly ranked with those fixed categories mentioned above1 which are themselves always good or bad1 but which may or may not include a given act1 according to circumstances4 ,murder is always bad1 but whether the taking of life is or is not murder depends on the circumstances2 it may depend entirely on motive4 ,so indecency is always bad1 but whether a given act or object is or is not indecent depends on circumstances2 it may depend not only on motive but on locality or environment4 ,objects and acts of the highest sanctity in one country may be regarded as low and vulgar in another--the standard varies from class to class1 from one occupation to another2 almost from family to family4 ,one may mention1 in all innocence1 that which may bring a blush to the cheek of some listener1 simply because of this instability of standard in the matter of impropriety4 ,to this class of things particularly refers the celebrated dictum3 8,there is no thing in heaven or earth1 ,horatio1 but thinking makes it so40 ,this is unexceptionable ,christian ,science1 but it is not quite true4 ,a higher authority than ,shakespeare has asserted that by thinking one cannot make a single hair white or black2 and this surely accords with the results of experience4 ,likewise no one by thinking can make badness goodness or the reverse4 ,but whether a thing be improper or not depends entirely on thinking4 ,thinking makes it so4 ,it is improper for a ,mohammedan woman to expose her face in public because she thinks it is1 and because that thought is an ingrained part of her existence4 ,but although the ,persian sect of ,assassins thought with all their hearts that murder was good1 it was still very evil4 ,are we getting too far away from the censorship of books8 ,i think not4 ,see the bearing of all this4 ,if a book is really bad--if it teaches that evil is good or that it makes no difference--it ought to be rejected uncompromisingly1 despite the fact that it is void of impropriety or even artistically admirable4 ,but if it is morally unobjectionable and yet contains that which is improper or indecent1 it is then proper to inquire whether the degree and kind of this indecency is such as to condemn it1 particularly taking into account the condition1 the intelligence and the age of those who would be likely to read it1 and also the time and the readers for whom1 if it is an old book1 its author originally wrote it4 ,with increasing civilization there are certain things that become more and more indecent1 and others that become less and less so1 owing to the shifting of points of view4 ,let us now take up more specifically moral badness as a cause for rejection4 ,we occasionally meet people who hold that the mention of anything morally bad in a book condemns it2 while1 on the other hand1 some would admit books whose atmosphere reeks with evil2 whose bad characters live bad lives and speak bad thoughts1 so long as the writer in his own person does not commend evil or teach that it is good4 ,both these extremes are to be avoided4 ,surely we have outlived the idea that innocence and ignorance are the same thing4 8,you can't touch pitch10 says the proverb1 8and not be defiled40 ,granted2 yet we may look at pitch1 or any other dirt1 and locate it1 without harm2 nay1 we must do so if we want to keep out of it4 ,this is not saying that it is well to seek out descriptions of evil1 or to dwell on them1 in a work of fiction4 ,things necessary in the study of medicine1 folk-lore or law may be abhorrent in a narrative intended for amusement1 although the advent of the 8problem0 novel--the type of fiction in which the narrative form is often merely the sugar coating for the pill--introduces confusion here into any rule that we may lay down4 ,but however foolish it is to insist that the very existence of evil be concealed from readers of fiction1 since evil is a normal constituent of the world as we find it1 it is certainly fair to object to a dwelling upon evil phases of life to such an extent that the resulting impression is a distortion of the truth4 ,this distortion may be so great as to make it proper to reject the book wholly on the ground of falsity4 ,a filling of the canvas with lurid tints is apt to convey--or at any rate is often so done as to convey--the idea that the existence of the evil that the writer depicts is a matter of indifference4 ,a man need not stop to assert his belief that theft is wrong whenever he tells the story of a robbery1 but it is quite possible to tell a tale of theft in such a way as to leave an impression that it is a venial offense and to weaken in the reader the moral inhibition that must be his chief reliance in time of temptation4 ,and for 8theft0 here we may substitute any form of moral dereliction that you may desire4 ,one of the most potent vehicles of moral downfall of any kind is the impression that 8everybody does it0--that some particular form of wrongdoing is well-nigh universal and is looked upon with leniency by society in general4 ,the man who steals from his employer or who elopes with his neighbor's wife is nine times out of ten a willing convert to this view4 ,a book that conveys such an idea is really more dangerous than one which openly advocates wrong doing4 ,there can be little difference of opinion here4 ,there may be more in regard to the policy of telling the whole truth regarding a state of things that is morally very bad4 ,it may be fatal to a patient to let him know how ill he is4 ,and may it not also be injurious to a young man or a young woman to expose the amount of evil that really lies before them in this world8 ,there is plausibility in this argument1 but it is out of date4 ,there is much philosophy in the modern paradoxical slang phrase3 8,cheer up6 the worst is yet to come60 ,and indeed if there is any superlative badness ahead of us1 it is better that we should know it1 rather than cultivate a false cheerfulness1 based on misinformation1 with the certainty of disillusionment4 ,the ,egyptians were right when they set a skeleton at their feasts4 ,it was not to make the feasts gloomy1 but to make the skeleton a familiar object by association2 to accustom the feasters to think about death1 how to avoid it as long as possible and how to meet it when inevitable4 ,we should therefore welcome the truth in any book1 unless it is that 8half truth10 which the poet tells us is 8ever the blackest of lies10 or unless it is so stated as to violate the canons of decency1 in which case1 as we have already seen1 its rejection must be based on different considerations entirely4 ,it is these canons of decency1 after all1 that give the librarian his sleepless nights1 not only because they are so frequently confounded with canons of morality1 but because1 as we have already seen1 they are arbitrary and variable4 ,consider the one case of ,french fiction4 ,mr4 ,wister has told librarians that all subjects are 8fit for fiction40 ,this is interesting as an academic thesis1 but when the ,french proceed to act upon it1 the ,anglo-,saxon catches his breath4 ,books1 like men1 when they are in ,rome must do as the ,romans do1 and whatever may be proper in ,paris1 an ,american public library is justified in requiring its books to respect ,american prejudices4 ,this is true1 at any rate1 of books in the ,english language1 even if they are translations from a tongue whose users have other customs and other prejudices4 ,but how about these books in the original8 ,can we assume that books in the ,french language are for ,frenchmen and that our censorship of them is to be from the ,french and not the ,american point of view8 ,or shall we hold that they are to be read wholly or in part by persons whose mother-tongue is ,english and whose ideas of the proprieties are ,anglo-,saxon8 ,and shall we bear in mind also that the reading public of a work of ,french fiction excludes in ,france the 8young person0 of whom the ,american library public is largely made up8 ,this is only one of the perplexing questions that confront the ,american librarian in this field4 ,every one must struggle with it for himself1 having in mind the force and direction of his own local sentiment2 but few public libraries are treating it consistently and systematically4 ,probably1 however1 many librarians are placing on open shelves books in foreign languages1 whose translations into ,english they would be inclined to restrict4 ,in some cases1 of course1 appeal to a wholly foreign group of readers1 with their foreign point of view1 may be assumed1 as in the case of a ,russian collection on the ,east ,side of ,new ,york2 though even here it is a question of whether this is not a good place to prepare these readers for a change in library 8folkways0--to use ,professor ,sumner's expressive word4 ,nor must we forget that our own ideas of propriety are constantly changing4 ,take the single instance of the use1 in literature1 of words regarded as profane or vulgar4 ,most of us can recollect a time when our acquaintances were likely to be shocked by the occurrence in a book of the expletive 8damn0--that is1 if it were spelled out4 ,it was generally held to be unobjectionable1 or at least less objectionable1 if the second and third letters were replaced by a dash4 ,evidently this is the purest convention4 ,this and worse words appear now1 not without shocking some persons1 to be sure1 but certainly without shocking many of those who formerly would not have tolerated them4 ,on the other hand1 it would not be difficult to instance words formerly common in good literature whose use would now cause something of a sensation4 ,there are also good people who will read unmoved surprising words and expressions when put into the mouth of a cowboy or a ,klondike miner1 but whose gorge would rise if the same words were employed by a writer in propria persona4 ,what is true of words is true also of subjects4 ,that which could not be touched upon yesterday is discussed freely to-day1 and vice-versa4 ,no way of dealing with the situation will fail to offend some one1 and the only approximation to satisfaction will be gained by the use of common sense applied to each case as it comes up4 ,indecency1 of course1 is not the only offense against beauty that a book may commit4 ,it may be trashy1 that is1 its subject matter or the manner in which it is treated may be trivial and worthless4 ,the dust of the street is neither beautiful nor valuable1 although it may contain nothing injurious to health or repulsive to the senses4 ,the diction of the book may offend against beauty and order by its incorrectness2 its paper1 its typography1 its binding1 its illustrations may all be offensive to the eye4 ,these last are mere matters of outward show1 to be sure2 it may be necessary to disregard them4 ,they are usually reasons for excluding an edition rather than a book1 though sometimes the only obtainable edition offends in so many of these ways as to make it unpurchasable1 even if otherwise desirable4 ,so far as they militate against the usefulness of the book rather than its beauty1 as in the case of the badly sewed binding or paper that is comely but flimsy1 they fall under the head of badness rather than that of ugliness--they are offenses against the ,good and not against the ,beautiful4 ,such material grounds for rejection1 however1 are not peculiar to books1 and ,i do not dwell on them here4 ,ugliness that consists in mere triviality or in incorrectness of diction has this in common with impropriety--it is arbitrary and conventional4 ,with regard to language1 this is obvious4 ,the fact that a certain combination of sounds means one thing in ,france and another in ,england and is quite unintelligible perhaps in ,spain1 is a matter of pure convention1 though the convention is sanctioned by long usage4 ,the fact that the double negative is very good ,greek and very vulgar ,english is equally arbitrary4 ,these conventions have become serious things with us2 they are of prime importance in the consideration of books1 but it is desirable that we should classify them correctly4 ,with regard to triviality the case is not so clear1 yet ,i feel strongly that it is a relative1 not an absolute1 quality4 ,the term should be classed with that other misused word--superficiality4 ,no book1 of course1 and no mind is absolutely thorough1 and the lesser grades of knowledge are as important in their place as the higher4 ,what we should condemn is not that a man1 or a book1 possesses a certain slight degree of knowledge or of ability1 but the fact that1 possessing it1 he believes or represents it to be a higher degree4 ,a man desires1 we will say1 to memorize the ,russian alphabet1 so that he may read the proper names on book titles4 ,is he to be condemned because he knows no more of ,russian8 ,another wishes to wield a hammer dextrously enough to drive a nail without smashing his fingers4 ,is he 8superficial0 because he is not an expert cabinet-maker8 ,still another has learned to play the piano well enough to amuse himself in his idle hours4 ,does his lack of skill lay him open to the charge of 8superficiality80 ,these people may1 it is true1 think that they are respectively a ,russian scholar1 a skilled carpenter1 and a good pianist2 then and then only are they culpable4 ,the 8superficiality10 in other words1 consists in mistaking a lesser degree of knowledge for a higher or in thinking that the lesser degree suffices for something that requires the higher--not in the mere limitation of the possessor4 ,a superficial book is that which1 skimming the surface of the subject1 persuades the reader that he has gone into its depths2 as for the skimming itself1 that might be quite adequate and sufficient for some purposes4 ,so with 8triviality40 ,nothing is trivial that has an aim and accomplishes it2 as for the gradation of aims from unimportant up to important1 ,i leave that to others4 ,who shall say whether the passing of an idle hour or the addition of a few facts to one's store of knowledge is the more important8 ,the idle hour may be the recreation period of a hard-working mind1 without which it might break down from over-pressure1 leaving to less competent minds the completion of its useful labor4 ,the few facts might be quite unfruitful4 ,this is why we should hesitate to condemn a trivial book that has beauty of form or some other positive virtue to commend it4 ,triviality is objectionable only when it masquerades as importance4 ,perhaps it would be better to say3 a book that pretends to excellence along any line where it is really valueless is a dangerous book4 ,this brings us back to ,truth as a criterion of excellence1 for such a book is a hypocritical or false book1 as much as if it definitely asserted as a fact that which is untrue4 ,when a book1 therefore1 comes up as a candidate for omission from the purchasing list1 or perhaps for exclusion after it has actually been placed on the shelves1 the librarian's first duty is to inquire whether it is objectionable because of falsity1 of evil morality or of impropriety4 ,the first question may be determinable only by reference to an expert4 ,if the second is alleged1 it is well to inquire whether the supposed immorality of the book be not in fact simply impropriety1 and if impropriety is the only objection1 whether it is of kind and amount likely to be properly offensive4 ,if the charge of immorality is sustained ,i see no place for the book on the shelves of a public circulating library4 ,what has been said may seem to need rounding out with specific illustrations and instances1 but it is particularly desirable to avoid here anything in the nature of purely personal opinion and prejudice4 ,it might be possible of course to define the content of certain well-known works by their conformity or non-conformity with the canons above laid down1 without attempting to settle the question1 at the moment1 whether the degree of non-conformity1 if it exists1 is high enough to make exclusion from a public library desirable or necessary4 ,from this point of view ,othello1 we will say1 is a play teaching a moral lesson1 in doing which it discusses sin1 but never with approval1 expressed or implied4 ,the author uses words and expressions not in accordance with modern standards of propriety1 although not contrary to those of his own time4 ,in like manner ,boccacio's 8,decameron0 may be characterized as a collection of short stories connected by thin narrative1 often telling of wrongdoing in a manner clearly implying that it is usual and unobjectionable1 with use of words and incidents frequently contrary not only to modern ideas of propriety1 but also to those of the author's time1 except in the dissolute circles for which the tales were originally written4 ,some of the stories1 however1 teach morality1 and the literary style and method are beautiful and commendable1 while the pictures of society are truthful4 ,the implications of customary vice are simply reflections of life as the author knew it4 8,gil ,blas10 by ,le ,sage1 continuing in this vein1 we may call a tale of adventure in which everything is set down as it happens1 good1 bad and indifferent2 important and trivial1 with a hero who is somewhat of a rogue1 although the wickedness is incidental and is described in such a way that the reader never mistakes it for virtue even when the writer tells it with a relish4 ,the implication that wrongdoing is common1 though undoubtedly conveyed1 leaves the impression only that it is common among the people and under the circumstances of the tale1 which is undoubtedly correct4 ,it would greatly aid the library censor if he could have annotations of this sort on all books intended for promiscuous public circulation4 ,for this purpose1 in fact1 all literature should be evaluated by the light of this one color of the critical spectrum4 ,the two or three books just noted possess at least some of the elements of greatness2 yet good people differ regarding the extent to which they should be made freely accessible to the general public4 ,i have tried to set down regarding them data on which all may agree1 for the purpose of impressing upon you the fact that disagreement is not so much regarding the data as regarding the application to them of principles which1 if they have been stated correctly1 are few1 simple and readily accepted4 ,we have been lightly skimming the surface of a subject vital to all who have to do with the production and distribution of books--to authors1 editors1 publishers1 booksellers1 and above all to us librarians4 ,the ranks of readers are swelling to-day2 it is our boast that we are doing our best to swell them4 ,they are recruited from classes whose literature--if we may so extend the term--has been oral rather than written1 whose standards of propriety are sometimes those of an earlier and grosser age1 whose ideas of right and wrong are beclouded by ignorance and distorted by prejudice4 ,and at the same time hosts of our people1 with little background of hereditary refinement to steady them1 have become suddenly rich1 8beyond the dreams of avarice40 ,the shock has upset their ideas and their standards4 ,riches have come so suddenly and so vastly even to the educated1 to those whose culture dates back for generations1 that it has overturned their ideals also4 ,our literature is menaced both from below and from above4 ,books that distinctly commend what is wrong1 that teach how to sin and tell how pleasant sin is1 sometimes with and sometimes without the added sauce of impropriety1 are increasingly popular1 tempting the author to imitate them1 the publishers to produce1 the booksellers to exploit4 ,thank heaven they do not tempt the librarian4 ,here at last is a purveyor of books who has no interest in distributing what is not clean1 honest1 and true4 ,the librarian may1 if he will--and he does--say to this menacing tide1 8,thus far shalt thou go and no farther40 ,,how ,,to ,,raise ,,the ,,standard ,,of ,,book ,,selection#i ,if a man is to improve himself1 he must first realize his own deficiencies2 in other words1 he must know what he ought to be1 and how and in what degree he falls short of it4 ,first1 then1 what are the best books2 and do we get them8 8,best0 here as always is a relative term2 what is best for one may not be best for another1 or for all4 ,we hear 8good books0 gravely recommended to people who will not read them1 and who could not extract the good from them if they did read them4 ,when the book fits the man1 provided he is a good man1 it is a good book1 ipso facto4 ,you remember the tale of the rural parish priest at dinner with his bishop4 ,the host1 desiring to poke a little quiet fun1 asked him whether it were lawful to baptize a man in soup4 8,i should make a distinction10 calmly answered the priest2 8if it were good thick soup1 ,i should say not2 if it were wishy-washy stuff like this we are eating1 it would be quite proper40 ,so long as we do not realize that the same literary consistency is not adapted both to nutrition and to immersion we shall not be able to decide on what are the best books4 ,but is there no general line of division between bad and good books8 ,i can give but a few1 but ,i venture to lay down one or two simple rules for testing4 ,my tests would be-- 7#a7 ,the test of language4 ,no book can be good that is not written in correct ,english4 ,by this ,i mean1 of course1 that the author himself must speak correctly2 his characters may be ignorant persons and he will naturally make them talk accordingly4 7#b7 ,the test of simplicity and clearness4 ,no book can be good whose author expresses himself in words that are too large for his subject or in sentences that are so involved that they cannot be easily understood4 7#c7 ,the best of good taste4 ,no book can be good whose author uses words or expressions that would not be used by cultivated people4 7#d7 ,the test of truth4 ,no book can be good whose subject matter is false2 or1 in case of fiction1 whose manner of telling is such as to make it seem absurdly improbable4 ,the plot of the book may1 it is true1 lack probability4 ,it may be frankly improbable like a fairy tale1 but the author must not seem to lose faith in it himself1 and no matter how impossible his foundation the structure that he builds on it must hold together4 ,i venture to say that if a book survives these tests--if it is simply and clearly expressed in good ,english and in the best taste and is consistently put together--it cannot be a bad book so far as style goes4 ,so far as the subject matter of the book is concerned1 my test would be simply that of its effect on the reader4 ,if a book makes the reader want to be mischievous1 foolish or criminal--to be a silly or bad man or woman1 or if it tends to make him do his daily work badly1 it is a bad book and all the worse in this case if it is interesting and fascinating in style4 ,but even here the trouble is largely in the manner of treatment4 ,a book may tell of crime and criminals in such a way as to make the reader detest both or feel an attraction toward both4 ,in this case1 as the scripture says1 8,ye shall know them by their fruits40 ,if a book sends a boy out to be a burglar1 it is bad2 if it impels him to take a crying child by the hand and lead it home1 it is good4 ,and here let me say that this compelling power1 this effective result of a book should speak in its favor though all other tests be against it4 ,musicians tell us that a great composer may write a work that breaks every rule of harmony and yet be a work of genius4 ,genius knows no rules4 ,so much for the general line of cleavage4 ,but the special may for the moment exclude all the claims of the general4 ,a community may be in crying need of books on a given subject--pottery or rowboats or hygiene4 ,this need may or may not be realized by the community1 but its existence makes a special class of books the best1 for the moment1 for that community4 ,to buy a good collection of minor poets for a town that clamors1 or ought to clamor1 for books on the electric industries1 is to get bad books4 ,now do we1 under our present system1 or lack of system1 in selection1 get these best books--best both in the general and in the special sense8 ,what is the matter with the books in the average small library8 ,the trouble is not generally that the books are bad1 but that they might easily be better1 and by 8better0 it must be borne in mind that ,i mean more closely adapted to the legitimate needs of the community4 ,if we go over the shelves of the average small library we shall generally be able to note the following facts3 7#a7 ,a considerable portion of the books have not been taken out in long periods4 ,this can easily be ascertained by examining the book-cards or dating-slips4 ,of course1 the non-use of a book does not mean that it should not be in the library4 ,the fault may be with the readers1 not with the book4 ,non-use1 however1 does mean that something is the matter4 ,either the library public has had taste or is not properly guided1 or else a mistake was made in providing it with this particular book4 7#b7 ,a considerable number of standard books whose reading should be encouraged will not be found on the shelves4 ,these books are almost always part of the collection1 but there are not enough duplicates to supply the demand4 ,at the same time it will be found that the library is adding current books of doubtful value4 7#c7 ,books on large local industries--shoemaking1 pottery1 agriculture--are often lacking4 ,in such cases there is generally a lack of demand2 but this is because the persons who would read such books have learned by experience not to look for them in a public library4 7#d7 ,books in the languages spoken by industrial colonies of foreigners in the neighborhood are usually conspicuous by their absence4 7#e7 ,the collections in classes where some technical knowledge is necessary for selection1 such1 for instance1 as the sciences1 the arts1 or history1 often show a lack of intelligence1 or1 at any rate1 a lack of system4 ,there are badly written books and books full of errors2 there is lack of uniformity in grade--an advanced mathematical work on electricity1 for instance1 and very elementary ones on light and sound4 7#f7 ,in particular1 controverted subjects are represented in a one-sided way2 there may be no way for a reader to get at the ,catholic story of the ,protestant reformation1 or the southern view of the civil war1 or both sides of the spelling reform or the woman-suffrage movements4 ,socialism1 vivisection1 anti-vaccination1 the negro question1 prohibition1 the tariff--all these and a hundred others are represented only in a partisan sense4 7#g7 ,there is too much care about the outward garb of decency and too little about the pervading atmosphere of morality4 ,books that describe in decorous language ingenious methods of shop-lifting are given place1 but you look in vain for works of lofty moral tone couched in diction that is occasionally coarse4 ,how far are these faults due to methods of book selection8 ,one of the troubles seems to be that the book-selecting body does not avail itself of expert advice as much as it ought4 ,the librarian is learning1 to be sure1 to use lists and printed aids more and more1 though they are rarely used with discrimination2 but supplementary to such lists as these1 especially since they so largely lack the personal element1 we need the personal advice of experts4 ,if the lists and reviews will leave us in the dark about the man who advises us to buy books on engineering or art1 we must go to someone who we know understands these subjects1 at least knows a little more of them than we do ourselves4 ,there are1 in general1 two grades of expert advice4 ,the first is that received from the man who is personally familiar with the current literature of his specialty1 who watches the books as they appear and who sends to the library the titles that he thinks it ought to have4 ,this grade of expert service is very difficult to obtain4 ,i have found few men in my experience who are able and willing to give it4 ,those who have the good-will and the time have usually not the knowledge2 those who have the knowledge are busy men who cannot give the time4 ,the second grade of expert aid is that which pronounces on concrete cases1 which decides whether a given book 7either from inspection of the mere title or of the volume itself7 is suitable for the library4 ,this kind of aid is not difficult to obtain1 and there are persons in almost every place qualified in some degree to give it4 ,it requires1 however1 a preliminary selection and generally the obtaining of books on approval1 which is easier in a large place than a small one4 ,the library is only one of various institutions that must use expert aid of this kind4 ,the same limitations apply to all4 ,take1 for instance1 the work of reference1 the cyclopedia1 we will say4 ,its editor cannot write of his own knowledge the articles on ,venezuela1 and open-hearth steel1 and ,plato4 ,he must rely on the information1 direct or secondhand1 of experts4 ,but he cannot allow his experts to write his cyclopedia4 ,some cyclopedias are written very nearly in that way1 and they are not the best4 ,the expert must be coached before he does his work and the work must be edited when finished4 ,it is on the proper combination of expert and editorial work that the value of the finished volumes will depend4 ,so it is with library selection4 ,the librarian is the editor of a big cyclopedia of thousands of volumes4 ,he must have expert aid in selection1 but he must not allow his experts to select the library uncontrolled4 ,they must be instructed beforehand1 and their advice must be carefully considered after it has been given4 ,it must1 in short1 be edited4 ,this brings us to the consideration that we have ultimately to face in discussing any phase of human activity--the question of personality4 ,if the librarian and the book committee are incompetent and believe themselves to be competent--then the collection1 in spite of all efforts1 will reflect their faults--it will be intolerant1 or trivial or ill-balanced4 ,much1 therefore1 depends upon the actual book selector for the library4 ,should this be the librarian1 or a committee of the trustees1 or the board itself1 or an advisory committee of outsiders8 ,probably the best results are obtained through a preliminary selection made by the librarian with the aid of lists and the advice of individual experts--not committees--as suggested above1 and then submitted to some person or committee representing the ,board of trustees4 ,this places the final responsibility where it belongs--on the trustees2 but with a satisfactory librarian1 the duties of the reviewing committee would consist chiefly of deciding on matters of policy--rarely of considering individual titles4 ,it would decide1 for instance1 on how closely fiction is to be censored1 on how far the library is to go in the purchase of recent fiction1 on the extent to which foreign languages are to be recognized1 on the purchase and duplication of text-books1 on the policy of the library with regard to denominational religious works or of controversial books generally--and so on4 ,going back for a moment to the question of experts1 probably the most difficult advice to procure1 with any degree of satisfaction1 is regarding fiction1 whether in ,english or in foreign languages4 ,it has been said that one may approve a book simply on the author's name1 or even on that of the publisher1 and this is still true in isolated cases1 but in these days1 when both author and publisher are continually trying experiments1 continually varying standards and style1 each book must be dealt with individually4 ,i do not see how one can decide whether a given novel should or should not be bought for a library without reading it through from cover to cover or hearing a report from someone who has so read it and who understands the wants and limitations of the ,american public library4 ,this is a line1 it seems to me1 along which great improvement in our selection is possible2 but ,i confess ,i do not see my way to an immediate solution of the problem4 ,possibly this is a good opportunity to say a word for a method of testing the adequacy of one's collection which has scarcely been used as it deserves4 ,one of the most difficult things for a librarian to ascertain is whether his collection is properly distributed among the different classes1 and by this ,i mean1 as before1 distributed in accordance with the legitimate requirements of the community4 ,it is not possible to find by a statistical method exactly what people need1 but it is possible to find out what they want1 as indicated by the kind of books that they read4 ,the statistical record of this will be found in the class percentages of circulation4 ,whether or not the library is equipped to supply this need is indicated by the class percentages of books on the shelves4 ,a comparison of these two percentage tables is always most interesting to the book selector4 ,it does not enable him automatically to select books1 but it does indicate points for fruitful investigation4 ,to take some actual cases1 ,i find a library with four per cent of history and six per cent of literature on the shelves1 whereas the corresponding circulation percentages are five and seven4 ,this is prima facie evidence that the collections in those two subjects are used rather more than the others and could well be increased4 ,in cases where it is not desirable to encourage circulation in a given class1 such an indication should evidently meet with no response4 ,the circulation of fiction always runs far beyond its proportion1 and it is neither proper nor desirable for the library to try to keep up4 ,thus in three libraries where the percentage of adult fiction on the shelves is #bj1 #ai and #ag1 respectively1 ,i find the corresponding circulation percentages to be #cd1 #ce and #bg4 ,what1 let us ask ourselves1 are library statistics for8 ,is all the labor concerned in their collection and assemblage to result simply in a table that is to be glanced at for a moment with more or less interested curiosity1 or do we intend to do something with them8 ,it sometimes seems that the foreign reproach that we ,americans care only for money1 which we are properly disposed to resent1 is partly justified by the fact that the only statistics that appear to mean anything to us are financial4 ,when a man learns that he is living beyond his income or that he is getting a smaller per cent for his investments than his neighbor1 or that the man at the desk next to him is receiving a larger salary for doing the same work1 he does not sit still and say1 8,ah6 how interesting60 ,he gets up and does something about it4 ,but statistics that convict him of all sorts of incompetency and foolishness along lines other than monetary ones1 he regards simply as objects for intellectual absorption4 ,these percentages1 of course1 are not the only indications by which a librarian may adjust the proportions of the classes in his collection4 ,if his library has the reserve system1 for instance1 the call for books in circulation is an unfailing index of the popular demand4 ,if that demand is one that should be heeded1 the number of copies in the library may well be proportionate to the number of names on the reserve list4 ,but a librarian who keeps in continual touch with the public by contact with users at the desk needs none of these somewhat mechanical indications4 ,it is the inestimable privilege of the librarian of a small library in a small community to know her public1 its wants1 its needs1 its abilities and its limitations in a way that is denied to custodians of huge collections4 ,in closing1 let me suggest the following 8,don'ts0 for selectors of library books3 7#a7 ,don't buy books that are intellectually far above your readers1 in the hope of improving their minds2 a man may walk up stairs1 but he can't jump from the sidewalk to the roof4 7#b7 ,don't buy fine editions of books that need rather to be extensively duplicated2 better two good souls than one fine body4 7#c7 ,don't buy ,mc,grath and ,mc,cutcheon when you have reserves on file for ,dickens and ,george ,eliot4 7#d7 ,don't buy biography in excess because you are fond of it yourself1 when a comparison of percentages shows that your supply of travel or applied science is not up to the demand4 7#e7 ,don't buy books in flimsy bindings that will give out after the first issue2 work should not be done in gauzy garments4 7#f7 ,don't buy books in very strong bindings when their use is to be light and small2 overalls are not suitable for an afternoon tea4 7#g7 ,don't buy 8sets0 and 8libraries20 they are adulterated literature1 coffee mixed with chicory4 7#h7 ,don't buy subscription books of an agent at a personal interview2 it is the agent's game not to let you think2 stand up for your rights and think it over4 7#i7 ,don't estimate public demand by its effect on your own patience2 one persistent old gentleman often bulks larger than a crowd of quiet but deserving persons without either push or pull4 7#aj7 ,don't buy books of which you are not in immediate need1 when you are morally certain that copies in good condition will be thrown on the markets as remainders at one-quarter the original list price4 7#aa7 ,don't buy costly 8new editions0 of reference books without assuring yourself that the newness is more than nominal4 7#ab7 ,don't buy novels because you see them advertised in the trolley cars4 7#ac7 ,lastly--and this is the most important thing of all--don't get discouraged4 ,our methods of selecting books1 and their results1 doubtless need improvement1 but so do those of all the other libraries we know4 ,let us try to realize our deficiencies1 and then try to make this year's book list just a little better than the last4 ,if we can succeed in this1 the standard will take care of itself4 ,,system ,,in ,,the ,,library#aj ,it has been said by ,mr4 ,w4,h4 ,mallock that what we call labor-organizations are mis-named1 because their object is1 in most cases1 the organization not of labor1 but of idleness4 ,this somewhat cryptic statement may be understood to mean that trade unions have endeavored usually not to improve the methods and results of labor1 nor to make its output larger and more satisfactory1 but rather to improve the condition of the laboring man2 to make his life more comfortable and his task easier1 to shorten hours and lessen output1 and often1 as a result1 to make that output of lower grade4 ,this will be regarded as a base slander by many people1 and it is doubtless exaggerated2 yet there is an amount of truth in it that cannot be overlooked by any worker or any combinations of workers--which is the same as saying that it interests almost all of us in this country2 for the only ,americans able to work who do not work are tramps and a very few millionaires4 ,we shall try to consider its bearing on library workers1 but before doing so1 it will be well to look at it a little longer in its more general aspect4 ,those who desire to improve the worker's condition will justify themselves very properly on economic grounds by saying that to do this is also to improve the methods of work and the quality of the product4 ,no one can do good work who is ill-housed1 underfed1 improperly clothed or overworked4 ,this is true2 but it is not also true that if we make it our primary aim to see that the worker is as comfortable as possible1 to lift from him all the difficulties and burdens of his task1 we shall also improve his output proportionally4 ,rather should we do away with that output altogether4 ,we should simply be 8organizing idleness40 ,we may consider1 as an analogy1 the difference between a tariff for revenue and one for protection4 ,the total abolition of import duties is impossible1 we are told4 ,they are necessary for revenue4 ,even ,england1 the world's greatest free-trade country1 has import duties4 ,very true1 but the amount of the duty and the objects on which it is laid will differ absolutely according to its purpose4 ,again1 we will suppose that the same company owns an elevated railway and a surface trolley line4 ,they will naturally1 if left to themselves1 adjust fares1 speed and stops on the former so as to induce a larger proportion of people to travel by the slower surface line1 which is less expensive to operate4 ,if the surface line were owned by a rival company1 there would be an entirely different schedule of fares1 speed and stops on the elevated road1 intended to crowd it with passengers and to derive the largest possible revenue from it alone4 ,in like manner1 we must doubtless look out for the worker2 and he must doubtless look out for himself4 ,his conditions of life and work must be made such that he will perform his task as well as possible4 ,but those conditions will be adjusted quite differently if we regard the comfort of the worker as the prime object from what they will be if we regard the excellence of the output as the prime object and the worker's comfort as a means to that end4 ,this will bear statement in still another way4 ,we are put into this world to do our appointed tasks1 and it is our business to do them as well as we possibly can4 ,this means that we must take the proper amount of rest1 eat good food1 keep happy and contented1 and all the rest of it4 ,but he who regards his work simply as a means of furnishing him the wherewithal to be happy1 to take expensive vacations1 live in a fine house1 and so on1 will neither do his best work1 nor will he enjoy the good things of life as he ought4 ,our friends1 the ,socialists1 whose propaganda is receiving more attention from thoughtful men to-day than it did a few years ago1 both because of the truths that it presents and the menace that it offers to our present civilization1 are making the mistake of dwelling upon the importance of the worker's comfort rather than that of the worker's improvement4 ,they promise us that we shall all be in comfortable circumstances and will have to work only three hours a day4 ,incidentally1 the output is to be better4 ,but by putting the matter thus1 instead of the other way about1 they have appealed to the element of laziness that exists in all men--they have held out the prospect of idleness instead of labor4 ,i have not lived west of the ,mississippi long enough to know whether the same conditions obtain here as in the ,east2 but there1 comparing things to-day with what ,i remember of my boyhood1 ,i seem to see an increasing tendency among all workers to put self first and work second4 ,the policy of 8ca' canny10 as they call it in ,scotland--of 8go easy0--doing as little as one can and still keep his job--is creeping in and has secured a firm foothold4 ,it is increasingly difficult to get any kind of work1 manual or mental1 done really well--so well that one feels like saying1 8,well done1 thou faithful servant40 ,and yet the shirkers are all anxious to get to the top2 and they wonder why they do not4 ,they comfort themselves by saying that success nowadays is solely a matter of pull4 ,but it is not so4 ,look around you and you will see1 for the most part1 men in charge of large enterprises who are efficient1 and who have put work before self--men who are engrossed in what they are doing1 who love it and therefore do it effectively4 ,there never was a baser slander than the common assertion that we ,americans love money4 ,if we loved the dollar for itself alone1 we should never sling it about as we do4 ,we love the excitement and the fun of making money4 ,look at our working millionaires6 ,they want no more money2 they can not use what they have4 ,they enjoy the task of owning and running a great railway system1 of organizing and managing some great industrial combination4 ,we may find it necessary to clip their wings a little1 but we can not call them lazy and inefficient--they make the job too hard for us4 ,there is no 8go easy0 policy here1 and those who favor it will never get to the top4 ,let us hope that this pernicious idea that self is worth more than work will never find a foothold in the library4 ,we see it here and there1 but ,i believe that1 taken by and large1 library workers love their tasks and that they are efficient in proportion to that love4 ,as our libraries are growing larger1 our organizations more complex1 it is1 ,i know1 growing harder to take a live personal interest in the work1 so much of it is specialized routine2 one feels like a mere cogwheel in a great machine4 ,the assistant who pastes labels or addresses postal cards in a big library1 finds it harder to realize that she is doing something interesting and useful than the librarian of a small library who not only performs these tasks but all the others--meets her public1 selects and buys her books1 plans in one way and another for the extension and betterment of her work4 ,yet the rapid1 accurate and efficient performance of the lesser task is as important as that of the greater4 ,a label pasted awry may ruin the library's reputation in the eye of a casual user2 a mis-sent card may cause trouble to dozens of one's fellow assistants4 ,routine work is dull only when one does not understand its purport4 ,dullness is in the worker1 not in the work4 ,are libraries1 indeed1 introducing too much organization into the work--is it becoming too machine-like8 ,now1 it should not be forgotten that there is in a machine something akin to personality--individuality1 at any rate1 is not too strong a word4 ,every locomotive has tricks and characteristics that its engineer knows and sometimes loves4 ,he pats its back affectionately and speaks of it as 8she40 ,the idea that to be part of a machine excludes personality and individual work is all wrong4 ,one can not go careering about eccentrically and unsystematically2 the very purpose of organization is to stop all that2 but within the limits of motion and action assigned to a person as his part in the larger motion and action of the machine1 there is still room for moving well or ill1 for helping on the greater work or antagonizing it and throwing it out of order4 ,if a cog-wheel thinks that it is manifesting its originality in some meritorious way by making the whole machine creak and wobble and turn out an inferior product1 that cog-wheel has power to do just this2 but it should not complain if the machinist throws it into the scrap heap4 ,now1 in the library1 the parts of our machine are workers of all kinds2 their connection and relationship are conditioned and limited by customs1 rules and orders4 ,to test the desirability of these or of any change in them there is just one question to be asked2 first1 last and all the time1 namely--is this for ourselves or for our work8 ,is it merely to make things easier for the assistants or will it improve the work and benefit the public8 ,the asking of this question and its thoughtful consideration will puncture many a bubble4 ,we will take1 if you please1 the question of vacations4 ,any one who has tried to make out a vacation schedule in a large library knows that1 next to making out a recitation schedule in a large school or college1 it is the most vexatious task of the kind that is given to man to do4 ,everyone must have a vacation1 and everyone wants to have it at some time when the efficiency of the library will be impaired by it4 ,everyone wants to go away at once1 and there are times when no one wants to be absent4 ,any possible arrangement means dissatisfaction1 heartburnings1 a feeling that favoritism or prejudice has been at work4 ,into the mind of most librarians has1 ,i am sure1 crept the suggestion3 ,what is the use of all this8 ,why not close the library for a month8 ,is not that done by the schools3 and are not we1 too1 an educational institution8 ,the fact that librarians do not yield1 in this case1 to the suggestion of a change that would benefit them and all their assistants1 is1 of course1 due to the obviousness of the other fact that it would be bad for the public4 ,this test of the public advantage may be applied to the whole question of system in the library--of how much system is good1 and what kind and how it shall be determined and applied4 ,when a man comes in contact with a library rule that incommodes him personally1 he is apt to deride it impatiently as 8red tape40 ,when he finds absence of a rule where he would have benefited by it1 he concludes that the library is in 8chaos0 or 8confusion40 ,now1 there should evidently be neither one nor the other of these1 although we cannot allow the personal convenience of a single user to be the test--our system should not exist for itself alone1 nor should we try to get along without system altogether4 ,there should be just so much and of just such a kind as will result in the maximum degree of service rendered to the public4 ,the individual user is quite wrong1 of course1 in condemning a regulation that annoys him personally1 for this reason alone2 but if we should find that it annoyed all other users as well without other advantage than the saving of some trouble to the library assistant1 he would1 ,i conceive1 be quite right in calling it 8red tape40 ,this term is applied primarily to annoying official restrictions that have no use whatever1 but we may well extend it to restrictions that benefit the administrator without improving the administration4 ,rules1 customs and manners of procedure in a library1 whether they say 8thou shalt0 or 8thou shalt not0 are of two kinds--those addressed to the library staff and those addressed to the public4 ,both1 however1 are intended to enable the public to get more good out of the library4 ,the members of the staff are told to do certain things and not to do others1 because this will make it easier for the users of the library to get what they want4 ,the latter in turn are bidden to do this and forbidden to do that--not1 as some of them seem to think1 to make the librarian's work easier or to save him trouble--but to throw the library open wider to their fellows4 ,system of this kind may bear very hard on the individual user2 he may chafe1 for instance1 at any restriction in the number of books that he is allowed to borrow--but if no such restriction existed1 the privileges of his fellow borrowers would be curtailed thereby4 ,he may grumble because the time limit on his book has expired before he has finished reading it1 unmindful of the fact that some of his fellow readers are anxiously waiting for it4 ,but if the book in his possession is not wanted by anybody2 if there are other such unused books in the library that he wants1 should he not have and keep them8 ,assuredly4 ,every library should make arrangements whereby none of its books should be kept from use to stand idly on the shelves4 ,our test of public usefulness declares as decisively for this as it does for the partition of privilege in the case of more than one anxious borrower4 ,to return to that part of the library machine that affects the library staff1 ,i have many times heard assistants complain of incidents of organization and systematization that seemed to them too much like those in vogue in commercial institutions4 ,now it may be freely admitted that there is a difference between the library and the store or the factory1 or more generally between any institution for the public good and one for private gain4 ,in the former the public advantage is the prime object1 and to attain it we must often consult the comfort or convenience of the administrators4 ,in the latter1 the advantage of the administrators is the prime object1 and to gain it they are generally forced to consult the comfort and convenience of the public4 ,the primary and secondary elements are reversed1 but they exist in each4 ,both the department store and the library must look out for the public4 ,it is the library's business to do so1 and it is in the store's business advantage to do the same4 ,it is hard to see1 therefore1 why any kind of system that will make a store work better is not worth looking into by a librarian4 ,the systematization in the staff of an up-to-date1 modern business organization1 and in its work1 is a continual surprise to him who has not looked into such things for a score of years4 ,the stores and the factories are ahead of librarians in this respect1 and we may as well admit it4 ,after all1 this is natural4 ,what is to one's business advantage is always done better than what is merely one's business4 ,but there is no reason why we should not study these better methods and imitate those that are worth copying4 ,take one little example4 ,in a factory the raw material is followed statistically from its purchase to its sale as a finished product2 and even after its sale its performances are watched4 ,the owner can find out1 when he wants to do so1 whether that particular article made or lost money for the firm1 and how much1 and why2 whether it gave satisfaction to the purchaser1 and if not1 why not2 to what its excellence or deficiencies were due1 whether to the qualities of the raw material or the methods of manufacture4 ,how many librarians can similarly ascertain whether the purchase of a given invoice of books was profitable to the library or not1 taking into account the number and duration of their issues1 the time lost and the money spent in mending and re-binding them1 and so on8 ,how many can tell you whether those books gave satisfaction to the users1 in their bindery1 typography1 and paper2 whether the reader found them hard on his eyes1 easily soiled1 difficult to hold open--and whose fault it was1 the publisher's1 the binder's or the mender's8 ,this1 too1 is merely the material and physical side of the question--all that the manufacturer or the merchant needs to consider4 ,we librarians say we are on a loftier plane2 we purvey ideas4 ,so we do4 ,how many of us then can say what was the mental and moral effect on our community of the books added last year1 as compared with those added the year before8 ,how many of us know even whether the readers liked the books of one year better than those of another8 ,again2 the individual worker in a good factory1 the travelling salesman in a good mercantile house1 is watched statistically4 ,his employers can tell just how profitable his work is to them4 ,if the failure of an operation1 or the loss of custom in a town1 is due to him1 they know it1 and if his service continues unprofitable1 he is replaced4 ,how many librarians watch the work of individual members of the staff with such detail8 ,suppose at the end of six months' service1 an assistant were confronted with statistical evidence that she had mischarged ten books1 made eight bad mistakes in accessioning1 written twenty catalog cards that had to be replaced and caused four complaints by her bearing at the desk8 ,suppose she were thereupon given notice that she must do better or go2 what would she say8 ,i think ,i know4 ,she would say that the library was run just like a department store4 ,and she would be quite right2 only1 instead of being derogatory to the library as it would be intended1 her remark would be a compliment4 ,it is time that we should carefully discriminate between what is commercial1 in commercial institutions1 and what simply makes for orderliness and efficiency4 ,now1 we may consider three things1 belonging to a given institution1 that every employee of that institution has in his care4 ,if they are properly conserved the institution will be efficiently administered1 and the visible machinery for conserving them constitutes system4 ,they are time1 property and reputation4 ,a large part of the system under which any institution is conducted has for its object the utilization of every bit of time4 ,we ,americans1 with all our hustling are great wasters of time4 ,workers do nothing1 not so much in periods of actually shirking or laziness as in getting started1 in passing from one task to another1 in fruitless pottering about1 in endeavoring to decide some unimportant question of detail and in one or another of a thousand different ways when they seem to themselves to be at work1 while they really are doing nothing useful4 ,as for talking1 it is the bane of many different kinds of work4 ,i am inclined to think that all work should be done in silence4 ,possibly1 however1 this would be a mistake1 for an occasional word keeps workers alive and in good humor where absolute silence is not necessary4 ,it is1 however1 difficult to stop with a word4 ,words group themselves into phrases1 phrases into sentences and sentences into conversation1 and the workers who assert convincingly that they get on exactly as well while they are talking1 succeed in cutting in half1 not only their own sum total of useful achievement1 but that of the annoyed toilers anywhere within earshot4 ,system surely requires close conservation of valuable time2 by promptness1 by quickness1 by keeping the cobwebs from one's brain1 and above all1 by silence1 relative if not absolute4 ,the property that the librarian is expected to conserve consists of books--the material in which he works and with which he is expected to produce his effects1 and of money and objects--buildings1 furniture and utensils--intended to aid him in handling the books properly and in getting them and the users together4 ,the ,philadelphia alderman who proposed to do away with the buildings1 furniture and staff of the library altogether1 spend the money for books1 dump these on the city-hall floor1 and let the public choose1 may have been somewhat crude in his ideas2 but he at least understood that books are the basis of a library and that librarians and buildings are but subsidiary4 ,his attitude was vastly more intelligent than that of some persons who appear to think that a good librarian in a fine building ought to produce satisfactory results without any books at all4 ,the librarian1 then1 must provide above all for the care and preservation of the books4 ,if his library is on open shelves it must assure careful watch against thievery2 it must insure1 by an adequate charging system1 the due return of borrowed volumes2 it must see that the physical structure of the book is protected1 and repaired when needful2 it must watch and count the books at intervals to see that they are all on the shelves4 ,this last means the taking of a regular and careful inventory--the bane of the average librarian4 ,yet how can he shirk it8 ,books are valuable property entrusted to his care4 ,if he were custodian of money or funds he would not be let off year after year with the statement that the labor of ascertaining how much remained in his possession was greater than it was worth4 ,one may omit to inventory his private collection1 just as he may omit to count the money in his purse1 if he chooses1 not that of others4 ,and if it is his duty to see that the quantity of his collection remains unimpaired1 it is equally so to see to the quality4 ,a library system that counts the books carefully1 but esteems a torn and filthy volume as good a unit as one in proper condition1 will no longer pass muster4 ,there are dirty books on too many library shelves4 ,such libraries are deficient in the kind of system that preserves property efficiently4 ,as for the mechanical plant of the library1 the building that houses it1 with its fittings and furniture1 a proper system1 of course1 requires that these be kept constantly in good condition4 ,now1 we ,americans are impatient of detail3 we like to do things in a large way and then let them take care of themselves4 ,while the ,frenchman or the ,englishman watches his roads or pavements day by day and never allows them to get out of repair1 we build expensive roadways and leave them alone until they are in disgraceful condition--whereupon we tear them up and rebuild them4 ,while the foreigner builds his cities1 stone by stone and street by street1 so that they are picturesque and beautiful1 we let ours spring up as they will1 slum jostling palace1 and factory elbowing church1 until finally we form grandiose projects of reconstruction1 cutting avenues here and making parts there--projects which may be carried out and may remain on paper4 ,so ,i have seen tasteful and expensive library buildings allowed to grow grimy and dilapidated day by day through lack of a systematic plan for renovation and repair4 ,some day the authorities will wake up and there will be reconstruction and redecoration in plenty--to be followed by another era of slow decay4 ,the third entity that an efficient system must enable the librarian to conserve is evanescent and almost indefinable4 ,it is difficult to bring system to bear upon it at all1 and yet its preservation is of the very highest importance of all1 because without it the librarian cannot do the work in his community that every good librarian is trying to do4 ,reputation is a fickle thing1 indeed4 ,gained sometimes in a happy moment1 it may persist for long years1 successfully defying all assaults2 achieved elsewhere by decades of strenuous application and scrupulous observance1 it may vanish in a day as the result of some petty act of forgetfulness or of the stupidity of a passing moment4 ,none the less is it the duty of the head of every great institution to strive continually to attain and maintain it2 to increase it if possible and to guard it jealously4 ,there he is in the hands of his subordinates and such system as he may bring to bear may and should be directed toward creating and keeping alive within them a proper esprit de corps4 ,the library that succeeds in creating a public impression that it and all connected with it are honestly trying to be of public service1 to win public esteem1 and to gain a place in the public heart1 has two-thirds of its work done already4 ,its burden is rolled down hill instead of up4 ,we boast that in our country public opinion is all powerful2 but we are often apt to regard public opinion as we do the weather4 ,its balmy gales and its destructive vortices1 its gentle dews and its devastating torrents1 are alike1 we think1 beyond our power to regulate4 ,yet1 though public opinion may be unjust or capricious1 it is usually level-headed4 ,so the library that covets that good reputation which public opinion alone can give it1 must so act as to deserve that good opinion4 ,and as one broken cog will throw a whole machine out of gear1 so one assistant who does not realize his or her responsibilities in this matter may mar a library's reputation1 otherwise well-earned4 ,it is hard luck1 indeed1 that a librarian1 who with the majority of his staff has striven long and well to earn the public good-will1 should see it forfeited by the thoughtlessness or ill-temper of some one of his staff4 ,this1 however1 is the way of our world with its multiple connections4 ,none of us may live for himself alone2 we stand or fall with others1 and the smallest bit of orange peel may bring down the mightiest athlete to the pavement4 ,how may the librarian1 or anyone else1 bring system to bear on such an evanescent thing as this8 ,it is a hard matter1 indeed4 ,but can it be denied that a well-oiled library machine1 one that is quickly responsive to direction and control1 one whose parts are as perfect in themselves and as perfectly connected as may be1 is least likely to suffer from unfortunate accidents8 ,a librarian whose bad judgment--or whose kindness of heart1 perhaps--has misled him into admitting into his machine one false cog may find to his sorrow that this will slip at the critical time1 betraying both him and the whole engine that he had hoped to wield for good4 ,here no one kind of system1 no particular detail1 alone suffices1 but every detail1 every series1 every combination renders the whole fabric of reputation more solid and more secure4 ,i sometimes think that we ,anglo-,saxons are in greater need of the inspiration and aid that we get from records of past intellectual achievement than are some other races4 ,for our intellectual heritage does not come at all from our physical ancestry4 ,we are the intellectual heirs of the ,greeks1 the ,romans and the ,hebrews1 not of our own ,teutonic fathers4 ,we can1 therefore1 not only rely on heredity to maintain our intellectual level2 we must continually drink from the same fountains through which our fathers drew inspiration4 ,we sometimes think a little contemptuously of what we call the veneer of modern civilization that the ,japanese have put on1 forgetting that our own civilization is in great part also acquired1 although the acquisition is of earlier date4 ,moreover1 the ,japanese have1 and retain1 intellectual ideals and achievements of their own1 having learned from the ,west hardly more than its mechanics and engineering4 ,on the other hand1 our mechanical achievements are our own1 our intellectual and esthetic standards are borrowed4 ,our intellectual status may thus be compared to the electrical condition of the trolley wire1 which in order that it may furnish its useful energy to the motor below must itself be supplied at intervals with this energy from an adjacent feed wire communicating directly with the source of electrical power4 ,the feed wire in our case is the library--a collection representing the intellectual energy of all past ages1 springing directly from the powerful brains of the masters of mental achievement throughout the centuries4 ,unless we supply our minds from this1 we shall not maintain our intellectual position4 ,is this the reason why the popular library has attained with us a development that it has never reached in ,latin countries1 whose inhabitants possess through heredity many of the mental standards of value that our ancestors borrowed and that we must borrow ever and again from the records of the past8 ,we may be sure that this is at least a possibility2 and we may be equally sure that the adoption of system1 both external and internal1 will facilitate both this and all other functions of the library4 ,the statement that 8the letter killeth and the spirit giveth life0 was never intended to mean that we are to neglect formal and systematic methods of work4 ,the letter kills only when it is spiritless1 with the spirit to give it life it does well its part1 ensuring that the institution to which it applies shall produce its results1 surely1 quietly and effectively1 with a minimum of noise and effort and with a maximum of output4 ,let no one1 then1 deride or decry the formation or the operation of a library machine2 we live in an age of machinery--of machines formed by effective human co-operation1 as well as by interlocking gears and interacting parts4 ,rudyard ,kipling makes his ,scotch engineer see in the relentless motion of his links and pistons something of that 8foreknowledge infinite0 in which his ,calvinistic training had taught him to believe and trust4 ,so may we see in library machinery an aid to the accomplishment of that 8far-off divine event0 toward which our whole modern library creation has been and is still silently1 but no less powerfully moving--the bringing into intellectual relationship of each living human brain within our reach with every other companionable or helpful human brain1 though physically inaccessible through death or absence4 ,this is the comprehensive ideal of the librarian2 no machinery that may work toward its attainment is superfluous or inept4 ,,the ,,exploitation ,,of ,,the ,,public ,,library#aa ,two and a half years ago2 or1 to be more exact1 on ,january #bb1 #aiji1 in an address at the dedication of the ,chestnut ,hill ,branch of the ,free library of ,philadelphia1 the present writer used the following words3 8,i confess that ,i feel uneasy when ,i realize how little the influence of the public library is understood by those who might try to wield that influence1 either for good or for evil4444 ,so far there has been no concerted1 systematic effort on the part of classes or bodies of men to capture the public library1 to dictate its policy1 to utilize its great opportunities for influencing the public mind4 ,when this ever comes1 as it must1 we must look out6444 8,organizations 444 civil1 religious1 scientific1 political1 artistic 444 have usually let us severely alone1 where their influence1 if they should come into touch with the library1 would surely be for good 444 would be exerted along the line of morality1 of more careful book selection1 of judicial mindedness instead of one-sidedness4 8,let us trust that influences along this line 444 if we are to have influences at all 444 may gain a foothold before the opposite forces 444 those of sordid commercialism1 of absurdities1 of falsities1 of all kinds of self-seeking 444 find out that we are worth their exploitation40 ,there have been indications of late that the public1 both as individuals and in organized bodies1 is beginning to appreciate the influence1 actual and potential1 of the public library4 ,with this dawning appreciation1 as predicted in the lines just quoted1 has come increased effort to turn this influence into the channels of personal or of business advantage1 and it may be well to call the attention of librarians to this and to warn them against what they must doubtless expect to meet1 in increasing measure1 as the years go by4 ,attempts of this kind can hope for success only when they are concealed and come in innocent guise4 ,it is extremely hard to classify them1 and this fact in itself would indicate that libraries and librarians have to deal with that most ingenious and plausible of sophists1 the modern advertiser4 ,but in the first place ,i would not have it understood that the use of the library for advertising purposes is necessarily illegitimate or reprehensible4 ,if it is open and above board and the library receives proper compensation1 the question resolves itself into one of good taste4 ,the taste of such use may be beyond question1 or it may be very questionable indeed4 ,few would defend the use of the library's walls or windows for the display of commercial advertising2 although the money received therefor might be sorely needed4 ,on the other hand1 the issuing of a bulletin paid for wholly or in part by advertisements inserted therein is approved by all1 though most librarians doubtless prefer to omit these if the expense can be met by other means4 ,under this head come also the reception and placing on the shelves of advertising circulars or catalogs containing valuable material of any kind4 ,here the library gets considerably more than its quid pro quo1 and no librarian has any doubt of the propriety of such a proceeding4 ,again1 where the advertising takes the form of a benevolent sort of 8log-rolling10 the thing advertised being educational and the quid pro quo simply the impulse given to library use by anything of this nature1 it is generally regarded as proper4 ,thus most libraries display without hesitation advertisements of free courses of lectures and the like4 ,when the thing advertised is not free1 this procedure is more open to doubt4 ,personally ,i should draw the line here1 and should allow the library to advertise nothing that requires a fee or payment of any kind1 no matter how trifling or nominal and no matter how good the cause4 ,these things are mentioned only to exclude them from consideration here4 ,the library is really exploited only where it is used to further someone's personal or business ends without adequate return1 generally with more or less concealment of purpose1 so that the library is without due realization of what it is really doing4 ,attempts at such exploitation have by no means been lacking in the past4 ,take if you please this case1 dating back about a dozen years3 ,an enterprising firm1 operating a department store1 offered to give to a branch library a collection of several thousand historical works on condition that these should be kept in a separate alcove plainly labeled 8,the gift of ,blank ,brothers40 ,nothing so unusual about this4 ,such gifts1 though the objections to the conditions are familiar to you all1 are frequently offered and accepted4 ,in this instance1 however the name of the branch happened to be also the name of the enterprising firm4 ,the inference would have been overpowering that the branch had been named after the firm4 ,the offer was accepted on condition that the books should be shelved each in its proper place with a gift label1 to be of special form if desired1 and that the donation should be acknowledged on the bulletin board4 ,these conditions were not acceptable--a sufficient indication of the real object of the gift4 ,other cases might be cited1 to say nothing of the usual efforts to induce the library to display commercial notices or to give official commendation to some book4 ,several cases of the more ingenious attempts at exploitation having come to my notice during the past few months ,i set myself to find out whether anything of the kind had also been noted by others4 ,letters to some of the principal libraries in the country elicited a variety of replies4 ,some librarians had noted nothing2 others nothing more than usual4 ,one said frankly that if the people had been 8working0 him he had been too stupid to know it4 ,but others responded with interesting instances1 and one or two1 in whose judgment ,i have special confidence agreed with me in noticing an increase in the number of attempts at this kind of exploitation of late4 ,i may make my meaning more clear1 perhaps1 by proceeding at once to cite specific instances which must be anonymous1 of course1 in accordance with a promise to my informants4 ,a photographer offered to a public library a fine collection of portraits of deceased citizens of the town4 ,this was accepted4 ,the photographer then proceeded to send out circulars in a way that rendered it very probable that he was simply using the library's name to increase his business4 ,a commercial firm1 which had issued a good book on a subject connected with its business1 offered to print for various libraries1 at its own expense1 a good list of works on this subject on condition that it should be allowed to advertise its own book on the last page4 ,submission of a proof revealed the fact that this advertisement was to be printed in precisely the same form and with the same kind of heading as information about the library given on the preceding page4 ,the reader's inference would have been that the matter on the last page was an official library note4 ,of the libraries approached1 some accepted the offer without finding any fault with the feature just noted2 others refused to have anything at all to do with the plan2 still others accepted on condition that the last page should be so altered that the reader could see clearly that it contained advertising matter4 ,a lecturer gained permission to distribute through a library complimentary tickets to a free lecture on an educational subject4 ,when these arrived1 the librarian discovered that the announcement of the free lecture was on the same folder with advertisements of a pay course4 ,the free tickets were given out1 but the advertisement was suppressed4 ,efforts of this kind are perhaps particularly noticeable in connection with the use of library assembly-rooms4 ,there is no reason1 of course1 why libraries should not rent out these rooms in the same way as other public rooms1 but it is usual to limit their use to educational purposes and generally to free public entertainments4 ,some efforts to circumvent rules of this kind are interesting4 ,application was made to a library for the use of an assembly-room for a free lecture on stenography4 ,on cross-examination the lecturer admitted that he was a teacher of stenography who desired to form a class1 and that at the close of his lecture he intended to make announcement of his courses1 prices1 etc4 ,he was told that this must be done outside the library4 ,it is very common1 where the exaction of an admission fee is forbidden1 to take up a collection before or after the lecture4 ,when told that this is inadmissible1 the lecturer sometimes takes up his collection on the sidewalk outside4 ,there have been cases where employees of a library have embraced this opportunity to gather contributions4 ,a colored janitor of a branch library was recently admonished for standing outside his own assembly-room door and soliciting money for a pet charity4 ,another janitor made a pilgrimage to the central library to collect from the staff4 ,a classic instance of this kind is that of the street gamin who for several hours stood at a branch library door and collected an admission fee of one cent from each user4 ,the branch was newly opened and its neighbors were unused to the ways of free libraries4 ,an example of the difficulty of deciding1 in matters of this kind1 whether an undoubted advertising scheme may or may not legitimately be aided by the public library is found in the offer1 with which all of you are familiar1 of valuable money prizes for essays on economic subjects1 by a firm of clothiers4 ,the committee in charge of the awards is composed of eminent economists and publicists2 the competitors are members of college faculties and advanced graduate students2 the essays brought out are of permanent value and are generally published in book form4 ,under these circumstances many libraries have not hesitated to post the announcements of the committee on their bulletin boards4 ,others regard the whole thing as purely commercial advertisement and refuse to recognize it4 ,one library at least posted the announcement of the competition for #aiaj1 but refused to post the result4 ,it would be hard to tell just how much altruism and how much selfishness we have here and the instance shows how subtle are the gradations from one motive to the other4 ,advertising by securing condemnatory action of some sort1 such as exclusion from the shelves1 has also not been uncommon4 ,this requires the aid of the press to condemn1 abuse or ridicule the library for its action1 and so exploit the book4 ,the press1 ,i grieve to say1 has fallen a victim to this scheme more than once and has thereby given free use of advertising space ordinarily worth thousands of dollars4 ,a flagrant instance of this kind occurred in one of our greatest cities about ten years ago4 ,the work of a much-discussed playwright was about to be put upon the boards4 ,a wily press agent1 in conversation with an unsuspecting librarian1 obtained an adverse opinion4 ,the aiding and abetting newspaper1 which was one of ostensible high character1 proceeded at once to heap ridicule and contumely on the library and the librarian for their condemnation and exclusion of the play 7which really wasn't excluded at all74 ,the matter1 having reached the dignity of news1 was taken up by other papers and for a week or more the metropolitan press resounded with accusation1 explanation1 recrimination and comment4 ,the gleeful playwright cabled objurgations from ,london1 and the press agent1 retiring modestly into the background1 saw advertising that would have cost him #ajj1jjj1 at the lowest estimate1 poured into his willing lap by the yellow1 but easy1 press of his native burg4 ,it is possibly unfair to cite this as an attempt to 8work0 the library--it was the public press that was ingeniously and successfully exploited through the library4 ,the fact that the mere presence of a public library is an advantage to the neighborhood in which it stands has led to numerous attempts to locate library buildings1 especially branches1 in some particular place4 ,these are often accompanied by offers of building-lots1 which1 it is sad to say1 have occasionally appealed to trustees not fully informed of the situation4 ,i recall several offers of lots in barren and unoccupied spots--one in an undeveloped region whose owner hoped to make it a residence park and another in the middle of a flourishing cornfield1 whose owner considered it an ideal spot for a branch library--at least after he had sold off a sufficient number of building lots on the strength of his generous gift4 ,these particular offers were declined with thanks1 but in some instances members of boards of trustees themselves1 being only human1 have not been entirely free from suspicion of personal or business interest in sites4 ,here it is difficult to draw the line between the legitimate efforts of a particular locality to capture a branch site and those that have their origin in commercial cupidity4 ,both of course have nothing to do with the larger considerations that should govern in such location1 but both are not exploitation as we are now using the word4 ,a curious instance of the advertising value of the mere presence of a public library and of business shrewdness in taking advantage of it1 comes from a library that calls itself a 8shining example of efforts to #8work' public libraries for commercial purposes40 ,this library rents rooms for various objects connected with its work1 and finds that it is in great demand as a tenant4 ,great effort is made by property owners both to retain and to move quarters occupied for library purposes4 ,the board has recently refused to make selection of localities on this basis4 ,there is another respect in which the public library offers an attractive field for exploitation4 ,in its registration files it has a valuable selected list of names and addresses which may be of service in various ways either as a mailing-list or as a directory4 ,probably there are no two opinions regarding the impropriety of allowing the list to be used for commercial purposes along either line4 ,the use as a directory may occasionally be legitimate and is allowable after investigation and report to some one in authority4 ,i have known of recourse to library registration lists by the police1 to find a fugitive from justice2 by private detectives1 ostensibly on the same errand2 by a wife1 looking for her runaway husband2 by persons searching for lost relatives2 and by creditors on the trail of debtors in hiding4 ,where there is any doubt1 the matter can usually be adjusted by offering to forward a letter to the person sought1 or to communicate to that person the seeker's desire and let him respond if he wishes to do so4 ,one thing is certain3 except in obedience to an order of court1 it is not only unjust1 but entirely inexpedient from the library's standpoint to betray to anyone a user's whereabouts against that user's wishes or even where there is a mere possibility of his objection4 ,if it were clearly understood that such consequences might follow the holding of a library card1 we should doubtless lose many readers that we especially desire to attract and hold4 ,of course the public library is not the only institution whose reputation has exposed it to the assaults of advertisers4 ,the ,christian ministry has for years been exposed to this sort of thing1 and it is the belief of ,reverend ,william ,a4 ,lee1 who writes on the subject in 8,the ,standard10 a ,baptist paper published in ,chicago1 that in this case also increased activity is to be noted of late4 ,persons desire to present the minister with a picture on condition that he mentions the artist to his friends2 to give him a set of books or a building-lot that his name may be used to lure other purchasers2 they even ask him for mailing-lists of his parishioners' names4 8,i am constantly being besieged10 says ,mr4 ,lee1 8by agents of divers sorts1 and of divers degrees of persistency1 for indorsements of patent mops1 of #8wholesome plays1' of current periodicals1 of so-called religious books1 of #8helps' almost innumerable for church-workers and of scores of other things which time has charitably carried out of memory40 ,it is refreshing to find that the kind of library exploitation most to be feared seems not yet to have been attempted on any considerable scale or in any objectionable direction4 ,i refer to interference with our stock and its distribution--an effort to divert either purchases or circulation into a particular channel4 ,my attention has been called to the efforts of religious bodies to place their theological or controversial works on the shelves of public libraries4 ,when the books are offered as donations1 as is usually the case1 this is hardly exploitation in the sense in which we are considering it1 unless the library is so small that other more desirable books are excluded4 ,a large library welcomes accessions of this kind1 just as it does trade catalogs or railroad literature4 ,attempts to push circulation are occasionally made1 but usually without success4 ,but up to the present time it is the glory of the public library that it knows neither ,north nor ,south1 ,catholic nor ,protestant1 ,democrat1 ,republican nor ,socialist4 ,it shelves and circulates books on both sides of every possible scientific1 economic1 religious and sectional controversy1 and no one has raised a hand to make it do otherwise4 ,we should be proud of this and very jealous of it4 ,as we have seen1 there is some reason to think that newly awakened interest in the public library as a public utility has led to increased effort to gain its aid for purely personal and commercial ends4 ,naturally these interests have moved first4 ,it is comparatively easy to steer clear of them and to defeat them4 ,but attempts to interfere with the strict neutrality of the public library and to turn it into partisanship in any direction1 if they ever come1 should at the earliest betrayal of their purpose be sternly repressed and at the same time be given wide publicity1 that we may all be on our guard4 ,we may legitimately and properly adopt a once famous and much ridiculed slogan as our own1 in this regard1 and write over the doors of our public libraries 8,all that we ask is1 let us alone60 ,,service ,,systems ,,in ,,libraries ,i should be understood better1 perhaps1 if ,i said 8,civil service in the library02 but the civil service is so called merely in distinction to the military service1 and there can be no military service in the library1 although the uniform of certain janitors and messengers may appear1 at first sight1 to give me the lie4 ,every library1 of course1 must have some plan of service1 more or less systematic4 ,this may or may not be subject to the regulations of the state or city civil service4 ,i have no desire to dwell here on the question of the desirability of such connection2 but ,i cannot refrain from saying1 at the risk of losing all of my civil service-reform friends1 that ,i regard the present methods of bringing about appointment for merit only as makeshifts1 well designed to defeat the efforts of politicians and others who wish to see appointments made for other reasons1 but necessary only so long as those efforts are likely to continue4 ,i shall doubtless be told that they are likely to continue indefinitely1 and therefore that ,i have given away my whole case4 ,to show that this is not so1 we have only to point to a large number of libraries in connection with which there is no such effort1 and in which safeguards against it are absolutely unnecessary4 ,i do not know why politics has not invaded these institutions1 but ,i know that it has not4 ,during the past sixteen years ,i have been connected with four large libraries1 and ,i am in a position to say not only that no political appointment was made in them during my connection1 but that no such appointment was ever attempted or suggested4 ,there is absolutely no reason why the protection of 8civil-service0 regulation should be thrown over these libraries1 and every reason why they should be free from the harassing and embarrassing petty annoyances and restrictions that are inseparable from such regulation4 ,much as ,i honor the advocates of civil-service reform1 and applaud what they have accomplished in the way of furthering a real merit system1 ,i submit that a further step in advance may be taken when we have heads of municipal departments as unlikely to make political appointments as the average librarian is1 and as free from pressure to make such appointments as are the librarians of a large number of our best institutions4 ,i regard that as the best system1 therefore1 in which an appointing officer or body1 sincerely desirous of making appointments for merit only1 is perfectly free to make such appointments in any way that seems proper2 and as only the second-best system that in which the appointing power1 unwilling to make appointments for merit1 is forced to do so1 as far as may be1 by the supervision and control of a body created for the purpose4 ,so long as we have unwilling municipal officers1 we must endure this second-best plan1 of course2 but librarians are rarely of this kind1 though they may be unfortunately in the power of those who are4 ,it has been my good fortune to formulate a scheme of service for each of the four libraries to which ,i have referred1 and these schemes1 with necessary modifications1 are still in satisfactory use4 ,the first1 for the ,new ,york ,free ,circulating ,library1 was made in #ahif2 the last1 for the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library1 in #aiaj4 ,some were hampered by the necessity of adapting them to municipal regulation1 while others were quite free2 and other local conditions imposed differences upon them1 but they depended1 in the main1 on the same principles and were carried out in much the same way4 ,i have numerous requests for information on this subject and for advice upon methods of grading library staffs1 with regulation of promotions1 increases of salary1 etc4 ,possibly the best way to answer these may be to give a brief account of the way in which the work was done in these four cases4 ,it has been assumed by some that1 as every good librarian desires to have these matters systematically regulated1 regulation by a city civil service commission will be as good as any1 and that a man who wishes to have a system of his own and keep it under his own control is unreasonable and foolish4 ,a non-professional body1 however1 cannot1 even with professional expert advice1 satisfactorily regulate the employment of professionals for professional work4 ,this point has been so often insisted upon and elaborated that those1 who do not now appreciate its validity will never do so4 ,every good librarian will wish to create machinery to put the right man in the right place in his force1 and to drop him out if he goes wrong2 but it must be his own machinery1 not that of someone else1 and must be designed to aid him1 not to hamper him4 ,my attention was drawn to the necessity of a more systematic plan of service in the ,new ,york ,free ,circulating ,library on assuming charge in #ahie4 ,the library had been hampered by insufficiency of funds and had been obliged to supplement assistants of ability and experience with others who had been employed simply because they could be obtained at low salaries4 ,promotion1 where it was distinctly indicated1 was for merit1 ascertained simply by the librarian's opinion2 and salary increases were made very largely for length of service4 ,an effort was made at the outset to regulate admission to the force and advancement within it4 ,the features of examination and of grades distinguished by letters were borrowed from the ,boston ,public ,library4 ,a department head1 who had been giving private instruction1 had by the board's permission placed some of her pupils in the library for practice work4 ,this seemed an excellent opportunity to train future assistants2 so the private class was turned into a library training class and the pupils into apprentices1 their teacher being retained as such and properly compensated4 ,the library force was divided into three grades1 ,a1 ,b and ,c2 to which a fourth1 ,d was afterwards added4 ,the first two were indicated by the fact that the library consisted of six coordinate branches1 each with its librarian-in-charge and her first assistant4 ,all the former were graded as ,a and the latter as ,b4 ,class ,a thus necessarily became limited in number1 depending on the number of branches1 and ,b would have been similarly limited if it had not been made to include also all the high-grade assistants--all capable of assignment at any time to the work of a deputy librarian of a branch4 ,class ,c was then a remainder class1 including all other members of the library staff4 ,it soon appeared1 however1 that the line of demarkation between those members of ,class ,b who were first assistant librarians and those who were not was much more distinct than that between ,b and ,c4 ,b was accordingly limited to first assistants2 the remnant was called ,c1 and the old ,c became ,d4 ,the old feeling that seniority should be considered was deferred to by arranging for automatic increases of salary within the grades at specified intervals4 ,janitors and messengers remained quite outside this arrangement4 ,it was provided that no one should be promoted from grade to grade without the passage of an examination2 but that passage simply placed the successful candidate on a list of eligibles1 and promotion from this list was made by considering personal fitness1 character of work and immediate conditions4 ,qualifications for the different grades differed1 but in quantity and advancement1 rather than in quality1 all coming under the heads of literature1 language1 general information and library economy4 ,this plan was formulated in consultation with the library committee1 and was adopted as part of the rules of the library by the board4 ,the committee differed somewhat on the seniority increases within grades1 which were finally retained1 and considered it of great importance to emphasize work and personal fitness4 ,methods of including marks for these in the final standing of the candidate were considered1 but the difficulty of doing so led to the adoption of the plan as stated4 ,it was decided to give every member of the staff the right to demand an examination for promotion on the expiration of three years' service in one grade1 and to admit others by special order4 ,advancement proved to be necessarily so rapid1 however1 that no one who had any chance of passing the examination ever remained three years in a grade1 and this clause proved practically inoperative4 ,of course1 many passed and were placed on the eligible list for promotion who had no chance of advancement for reasons connected with work or personality4 ,this caused dissatisfaction which it was sought to mitigate by recognizing presence on the eligible list by increase of salary to the grade limit1 provided this had not been already attained4 ,even so1 however1 it continued to exist4 ,the alternative was considered of examining only those selected for promotion and of making promotion conditional on the passage of such examination1 but was rejected1 although a perfectly possible and logical plan4 ,but objectionable in many ways as all examinations are1 they foster a feeling that everyone is having a chance1 and previous selection1 no matter how good1 is open to the same objection as the selection alone would be1 without any test at all4 ,it would also have been possible to make the examination competitive1 placing the names on the list in the order of passage and promoting in that order1 or grading the names in order of seniority1 as in most city systems4 ,but both these plans are open to obvious objections1 and ,i still think it best to form an eligible list whose names shall not be considered in any order at all1 the appointing officer being quite free to make his choice among them4 ,the application of this system of grading to the staff1 as it existed1 involved discrimination at only one point--that separating ,classes ,b and ,c1 or as renamed later1 ,c and ,d4 ,the line was drawn partly on the basis of the salary list as it stood1 and partly by duties1 and there was little dissatisfaction4 ,i have said that this system was formally adopted by the board4 ,this is not necessary1 nor is it the best plan4 ,a system of this kind is best regarded simply as an aid to the librarian in making recommendations for appointment or promotion4 ,in making such recommendation1 the librarian must1 of course1 satisfy himself that his candidates are fit1 and it is proper that he should adopt any system that commends itself to him for ascertaining that they are so4 ,the board is1 of course1 the final authority4 ,it could override any system that it might adopt1 just as easily as it could go over the head of the librarian's recommendation2 and it is better for its own dignity that a departure from the system should take the latter form1 rather than the former4 ,i regard it as quite sufficient1 therefore1 when a librarian grades his staff1 that he should simply report to his board that he is about to make certain dispositions and require certain tests to aid him in making proper recommendations for appointment and promotion1 and that his recommendations in future will be guided by these arrangements4 ,the authority of the board and its ability to reject his recommendations have not been touched1 and its disposition to trust him and accept his advice will be surely increased as it sees that he is adopting plans to improve that advice and give it force4 ,this grading of the ,new ,york ,free ,circulating staff has been dwelt on at length1 although very simple1 because it formed the basis of the other gradings1 now to be described4 ,the application of a similar system to the staff of the ,brooklyn ,public ,library took place early in #ahii1 at a time when1 owing to a crisis in the affairs of the library1 it had temporarily ceased to do work4 ,it had only four library assistants1 and yet the probabilities were strongly in favor of an immediate and rapid expansion1 such as actually did take place not long after4 ,expediency1 therefore1 pointed to the organization of the staff on the supposition that it would soon be of considerable size4 ,the grading was precisely similar to that just described1 except that ,classes ,c and ,d were combined and called ,class ,c1 and the letter ,d was used to designate members of the training class4 ,the principal interest in the scheme as then adopted lies in its relations with the city civil service4 ,the ,new ,york ,free ,circulating ,library was a private institution1 charitable in its origin1 but broadening rapidly out into real public work4 ,it had no relations with the city1 except to apply annually for its subsidy and receipt for the monthly instalments thereof as paid over4 ,there could be no question therefore of city civil service jurisdiction4 ,the case in ,brooklyn was different4 ,the members of the ,board were appointed by the ,mayor1 and the library was recognized as a city institution1 although exactly what this meant had not yet been definitely determined4 ,the scheme of service was adopted at first on the supposition that the board was to be as free in the matter as though it had been an entirely independent body4 ,the question might never have arisen1 but was precipitated by the city auditor's holding up the payroll on the ground that it had not been certified by the municipal ,civil ,service ,commission4 ,the question went at once to the ,corporation ,counsel for an opinion1 and after he had decided that the city civil service regulations covered the library force1 there was a further dispute with the state ,civil ,service ,commission1 exacerbated by a difference in political complexion between the two bodies4 ,this held up the payroll for some time1 and did not tend to reconcile any member of the staff to its new status4 ,matters having been settled1 the commission promptly certified the payroll as it stood1 in order to terminate the embarrassing situation1 and then ensued a series of conferences with the librarian on permanent grading4 ,it was decided that the librarian and assistant librarian fell within the exempt class1 and that other members of the staff could be divided into senior and junior assistants1 the latter including only members of the training class until properly appointed to permanent positions4 ,whatever grading the library might choose to make within the senior assistant class 7,a1 ,b and ,c7 was therefore its own affair1 the commission taking cognizance of it only so far as it involved increase of salary4 ,the point of conflict came at entrance to ,class ,c1 or on appointment to permanent position in the library4 ,the commission at first insisted that it should make its own eligible list1 graded in accordance with its own examinations1 although it agreed to admit no others except members of the training class to such examinations4 ,at least one examination of the kind was held1 the questions evidently being written by some outside librarian on general principles1 and with little reference to our needs and conditions4 ,ultimately1 however1 the commission agreed to let us hold the examinations and to accept our rating1 although1 when the eligible list had once been formed1 we were bound by it rigidly4 ,in regard to persons outside our graded force1 such as janitors and messengers1 we were held strictly to civil service rules1 selecting our men from the first three on the list submitted to us by the commission4 ,an unsatisfactory person could be summarily rejected after trial for a specified period1 and as many such were on the list1 there was rapid rotation in office in this part of the force4 ,in the graded staff1 also1 although it might seem that the commission had almost abdicated its powers in our favor1 we felt the restriction that bound us to select from the top of the list4 ,even though we had originally made the ratings1 it often happened that for the particular vacancy in question the sixth name might be that of the best-qualified person1 and we had the disagreeable alternative of taking one who was not our first choice1 or of appointing on trial and rejecting until the proper name had been reached--a process much in vogue in city departments1 but tiresome to the appointing authority and ignominious to those who were thus rejected and who might be better qualified than the person desired for another kind of position4 ,in #aija the ,new ,york ,free ,circulating ,library became the ,circulation ,department of the ,new ,york ,public ,library1 under circumstances that gave it a separate governing body1 responsible to the trustees of the ,public ,library1 and a separate staff1 whose organization was not necessarily the same as that of the reference staff4 ,the annexed staff1 of course1 brought its own organization with it1 and this1 with some modifications1 became that of the present ,circulation ,department4 ,the principal changes were the limitation of ,class ,c to three times the number of branch libraries and the almost total abolition of salary increases for length of service within grades4 ,the former prevented unlimited promotion from ,d to ,c1 and made necessary a selection from the waiting list to fill actual vacancies1 and the latter1 while not doing away with a difference of salaries in the same grade1 made it possible to give the increases as a reward for good work4 ,the designation of the grades by letters was objected to by some members of the board1 on the ground that it meant nothing1 so that alternative names were adopted for ,c1 ,d and ,e1 the two upper grades having already the names of librarian-in-charge and first assistant4 ,members of ,c were named second assistant librarians2 ,d1 assistants1 and ,e1 attendants4 ,when the ,free ,circulating ,library grading was made1 there were neither children's rooms nor children's librarians in ,new ,york1 and very few anywhere4 ,the former arose first and were served by persons assigned for the purpose1 usually from ,grade ,c4 ,the organization1 later1 of a separate children's department1 with jurisdiction over all children's rooms1 made it necessary to place children's librarians in a separate class2 but that they might not feel 8out of the running0 for branch librarianships1 they were allowed to take examinations and advance from one regular grade to another1 in addition1 if they so desired4 ,catalogers were still graded regularly1 however1 although these might have been easily treated in a similar way4 ,the special nature of their work1 however1 was recognized by a variation in the examination4 ,the test for the children's grade was not an examination1 but a series of periods of practical work in selected branch libraries1 with observation and report and a final thesis4 ,candidates were specially selected by the supervisor of children's work1 and so jealously has entrance into this grade been guarded that even now not more than half of the forty or more assistants in charge of ,new ,york's children's rooms are members of it4 ,in later years a thesis also has formed part of the examination for ,class ,a4 ,this is written on an assigned subject1 and the successful ones are sometimes1 although not always1 printed4 ,one of the difficulties connected with the grading in the ,circulation ,department of the ,new ,york ,public library was the assignment to proper grades of the staffs of the different institutions that consolidated with that library from time to time4 ,there were altogether about half a dozen of these1 with staffs varying in number perhaps from five to forty or fifty persons4 ,it was decided to leave the assignment entirely to the authorities of these libraries1 who practically graded their staffs on a plan corresponding with ours before consolidation1 so that there was no change of grade afterward4 ,the responsibility was thus thrown upon bodies of men with whose authority the new staffs were familiar and which they would be inclined to accept4 ,the assignments were made with varying degrees of care and validity1 but were1 on the whole1 just1 and there was little complaint with them4 ,too low an assignment was corrected by the next examinations for promotion1 and a person graded too high never at all events1 rose any higher4 ,the smoothness with which these consolidations took place1 even sometimes against the will and with the dismal foreboding of the dispossessed authorities1 and the rapidity with which the entire staff became homogeneous1 both in feeling and in quality of work1 are sufficient justification of this particular policy1 which was typical of that of the library in regard to other features of these consolidations4 ,in the year #aiaj it was decided to grade the staff of the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library4 ,the principal differences between the problem here and that in the cases that have been described depended on the fact that this was an old library1 with a comparatively large staff1 having traditions of its own and justly proud of its achievements and of its library reputation4 ,there had even been a feeling1 at some time in the past1 on the part of some members of the board1 that a graded staff was not a good thing1 as it would hamper freedom of control4 ,the staff1 however1 had reached such a size that some kind of classification appeared inevitable1 and the proper method of handling it seemed to be that indicated above as preferable1 namely1 as purely an administrative matter under the librarian's control1 to aid him in making recommendations for appointment1 promotion and increase of salary4 ,this was explained to the board1 and there being no objection1 a notice was at once inserted in ,staff ,notes1 the medium of communication between the librarian and the staff1 that the force would be shortly divided into grades1 8the object being to represent definitely the exact position occupied by each one1 and to fix the maximum salary belonging to each grade40 ,there was some additional preliminary explanation and a request for suggestions and opinions4 ,after a lapse of about six months1 during which the plan became familiar to all by discussion1 both informal and in the weekly meetings of the heads of departments1 the grading was announced by the publication in ,staff ,notes of the principles on which it had been made1 with explanations in considerable detail4 ,the names of those assigned to the different grades were not given1 but each member of the staff was notified separately of his own grading1 unless this was obvious from the published explanation1 as in case of branch librarians4 ,it was announced that the grading was not an act of the ,board1 but 8simply a schedule expressing the formal manner in which 444 recommendations will hereafter be made to the board40 ,this scheme was more thoroughgoing than any of those previously noted1 in that it provided a place and designation for everyone in the library's employ4 ,the force was divided into three sections--regular grades1 special grades and ungraded occupations4 ,the former were classified practically as in ,new ,york2 the special grades were made to include catalogers and children's librarians1 with any special positions of enough importance to be placed there2 the 8ungraded occupations0 were those of janitors and their assistants1 messengers1 elevator men1 binders and other miscellaneous employees4 ,in the regular grades ,a and ,b were limited1 and while ,c and ,d were not formally so1 it was announced that they would not be indefinitely increased4 ,it was provided that those in special grades might qualify also for regular grades and might also be transferred thereto if desired4 ,in assignment of members of the staff to grades1 existing conditions were recognized as far as possible1 with no immediate attempt to remedy faults that might exist therein4 ,statement was made that all persons who might consider themselves wrongly graded would have early opportunity to show their fitness for the grade above1 either in the regular way or in some other1 if it could be devised4 ,it was stated that the qualifications that would gain the librarian's recommendation for promotion from grade to grade 7which1 it will be remembered1 consists merely in an increase of salary1 so far as the board takes cognizance thereof7 would in general be of three kinds--educational1 to be ascertained by certificate or diploma1 or failing these1 by examination2 special1 to be ascertained in some cases by examination1 in others by mail1 in others by certified experience2 and personal1 to be ascertained by personal knowledge4 ,in connection with the scheme1 the training class was much extended in scope and its course broadened and made to cover an educational year4 ,here1 as in ,new ,york1 the scheme is entirely distinct from the municipal civil service1 but for a different reason4 ,in ,new ,york the library is a private institution1 occupying city property and doing public work by provision of a contract which does not provide for extension of the city civil-service rules over the library force2 in ,st4 ,louis1 the merit system has not been introduced at all among city employees4 ,should it be introduced in the future1 and should it be decided that the members of the library staff are strictly employees of the city1 we might have here the ,brooklyn experience over again1 as detailed above4 ,for purely selfish reasons1 therefore1 the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library should be well satisfied with the status quo4 ,in concluding1 it may be well to call attention again to the fact that such schemes as these are designed to aid an appointing body or officer1 not to control him4 ,they would be of little value to a municipality desiring to limit a political mayor's power for evil1 or to a mayor wishing to keep his board of library trustees within bounds1 or to a board anxious to curb its librarian's propensity to appoint personal favorites4 ,such a plan pre-supposes that appointment and promotion for the good of the service are desired1 and it serves to bring this about so far as it may4 ,a board1 or a librarian1 could depart from it or violate its provisions in a dozen ways4 ,what1 then1 is the use of it8 ,in a small staff1 it has no uses4 ,it would be as silly to grade such a staff and make rules for its promotion as it would be for a housekeeper with a cook and one maid to call the former ,class ,a and the latter ,class ,b1 and draw up rules for their appointment and promotion4 ,but as soon as the size of the staff exceeds that at which the officer in charge can know each member and her work with intimate personal knowledge1 then something of the kind becomes imperative4 ,the members of such a staff are better satisfied that they are being treated with uniform justice1 and that merit is properly recognized1 if it is done in some systematic way like this1 and the officer on whose recommendation appointments and promotions are made runs much less risk of making mistakes4 ,every librarian should1 ,i believe1 examine himself to make sure that his present scheme of service1 whatever it may be1 is sufficient for these purposes and adapted to secure their attainment smoothly and satisfactorily4 ,,efficiency ,,records ,,in ,,libraries ,in the foregoing article the present writer gave the result of his experience in formulating and establishing systems of service in four large libraries1 and1 incidentally1 stated his conclusion that such systems should always remain in the control of the library authorities4 ,while the plans therein described work satisfactorily from an inside standpoint1 they are defective in one particular--that of complete record4 ,this is most important in case of investigation by competent authority4 ,while direct control of a library service system by an outside body1 such as a municipal or other civil service board1 is objectionable1 there can certainly be no objection to the requirement1 by municipal charter or state law1 that the library service be organized and operated on the merit system1 which requirement presupposes occasional inquiry to ascertain whether1 and in what degree and form1 this is the case4 ,now1 in the event of such investigation1 it will usually be easy to produce the records of examinations1 with marked papers1 tabulated marks1 and the action based thereon4 ,when it comes to personality and efficiency1 such records are not easy to get4 ,even where libraries assign marks in these subjects and combine them with the results of the written tests to obtain a final mark on which promotion is based1 there is nothing to show how the marks were obtained1 and the investigating authority might not unnaturally conclude that here was an opportunity to nullify the merit system4 ,evidently all data on which appointment or promotion is based should be matters of record1 otherwise a perfectly well-ordered merit system cannot be demonstrated to be such to one who has a right to know2 and1 of course1 in the last analysis1 every citizen has this right in the case of a public institution4 ,what appeared to be needed was some regular report on the efficiency of every employee1 which should be taken into account in assigning marks or in some other way1 in making promotions1 made in such permanent form that it could be filed as a record4 ,such reports are1 of course1 constantly made orally and acted upon1 without any record being preserved4 ,they are occasionally made in recordable form1 perhaps most often in the case of apprentices or members of training classes4 ,in some cases derelictions or unfavorable reports alone have been recorded1 but a complete report on personality and work made regularly and filed permanently is a thing that has not come under my observation1 although1 of course1 it may exist4 ,having decided to adopt some such form of report in the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library1 the librarian laid the matter before the weekly conference of department heads and branch librarians4 ,had the question been the advisability of the adoption of such a form1 the sentiment of the meeting would probably have been against it1 but the announcement was simply that the librarian had decided to require regularly thereafter1 in shape suitable for filing1 information regarding the efficiency of assistants that had hitherto been received irregularly and by word of mouth4 ,a staff committee was appointed to draft a form of report1 and the reports of progress of this committee1 with the incidental discussions and conferences1 occupied nearly a year1 during which time everyone on the staff became thoroughly familiar with the plan and either agreed with the librarian regarding its advisability or had some reasonable and well-considered ground of opposition4 ,the librarian had in mind a short form1 containing a few important data4 ,the committee brought in a long one--somewhat longer than that finally adopted1 which is given below4 ,their reason1 as stated1 was that it is easier to answer a large number of questions that require hardly more than the words 8yes0 and 8no0 in reply than a few1 each of which calls for the writing of an essay1 however brief4 ,this reason appealed to all and finally prevailed4 ,it means practically the presentation of the information required1 ready-made1 and its adoption or rejection by the person making the report4 ,discussion in the meeting was chiefly on the more personal items of information1 such as those about neatness of dress1 etc42 also about others whose propriety or clearness was questioned1 such as that regarding loyalty to the library4 ,some of these were finally stricken out1 but most were retained4 ,it was also noted that in many cases the information asked for could not ordinarily be obtained4 ,a department head1 for instance1 may be intimate enough with one of her assistants to know whether she has a real appreciation for literature1 but in most instances this would not be the case4 ,many such questions were retained on the ground that answers1 if possible1 would be of value1 and1 if not1 could simply be omitted4 ,after the forms had thus been put into shape they were duplicated and a copy was given to each department head1 with instructions to show it to all her assistants1 discuss it with them and report at the next meeting4 ,the reports showed that the reception of the form had depended chiefly on the department head1 either through manner of presentation or through personal influence4 ,in some departments the plan seemed to be viewed with equanimity1 while in others there was a considerable amount of suspicion1 distrust and dislike of the whole scheme4 ,it was next announced that anyone on the staff desiring to discuss the matter with a librarian would be given an opportunity to do so at a specified meeting4 ,this was well attended1 and it appeared that much of the feeling was due to misunderstanding4 ,it was explained that no new method of making promotions was contemplated1 and that personality and efficiency would be taken into account neither more nor less than before1 but that the reports from which the librarian derived his information on these points would be required in writing1 thus safeguarding both the appointing officer and the appointees4 ,there seemed to be a strong feeling on the part of some that personal feeling might actuate some department head to make a false report1 and that while1 of course1 such report might be made even more effectively if rendered orally1 it would be a pity to have it permanently on record4 ,there was no answer to this except that the likelihood of such a misleading report would probably become known to the librarian1 who could reject or modify it4 ,in due course of time1 a sufficient number of blanks were distributed1 filled and handed in4 ,they were then discussed again at a meeting1 and questions that had come up in the practical rendition of the reports were brought up and settled4 ,a filled report regarding the work of every classified assistant in this library is now on file in the librarian's office4 ,the conditions under which these reports are made and held are as follows3 ,every question must be answered or the reason for not doing so must be stated4 ,the reports are to be made out regularly on the first of each year1 or oftener at the librarian's request4 ,each is accessible only to the librarian1 to the reporting officer and to the assistant reported on1 except when a transfer is to be made1 when the head of the department to which the assistant is to be transferred may also consult the record4 ,since the reports were made out only about half a dozen assistants have requested to be shown their records4 ,some others were allowed to see them before they were handed in4 ,such excitement as there was regarding the matter has now abated1 and the matter has been relegated to its proper plane in the scheme of library things4 ,this is due1 probably1 very largely to the plan of conducting the whole matter on a free and open basis1 in consultation with the staff at every point1 and also to the length of time that was allowed to elapse between steps4 ,publicity and deliberation are the two necessary things in a procedure of this kind1 and both are commended to librarians wishing to adopt this kind of record4 ,there is no doubt in my mind that some efficiency record is necessary and valuable1 and that a full record1 including the usual high percentage of good things with the possible proportion of bad ones1 is preferable to a mere blacklist1 on which only the bad is recorded4 ,the blank1 as finally adopted1 is reproduced herewith4 ,,st4 ,,louis ,,public ,,library ,,record ,,of ,,efficiency ,name 7,inverted1 in full7 ,branch or ,department4 ,length of service in dept4 or branch4 ,present grade of assistant4 ,entered the library4 ,a4 ,personal qualities4 #a4 ,physically strong enough for the work8 ,how much time lost while in department and why8 #b4 ,knowledge of books4 ,improving in this8 #c4 ,all around information8 #d4 ,appreciation for real literature4 #e4 ,resourceful8 ,systematic8 #f4 ,self-possessed in a rush or emergency8 #g4 ,executive ability8 ,decision8 #h4 ,accurate8 ,quick8 ,adaptable8 #i4 ,industrious8 ,careless8 #aj4 ,obliging to fellow-workers8 #aa4 ,punctual8 ,times tardy8 ,excusable8 #ab4 ,forgetful8 ,inclined to gossip8 #ac4 ,neat and appropriate in dress8 ,b4 ,relations with the public4 #a4 ,uniformly courteous8 ,dignified8 #b4 ,inclined to entertain personal visitors8 #c4 ,effective in work with adults8 #d4 ,effective in work with children8 ,c4 ,grade as excellent1 good1 fair1 or poor4 #a4 ,library hand4 #b4 ,printing4 #c4 ,typewriting4 #d4 ,shorthand4 ,d4 ,did the assistant improve while with you8 ,in what way8 ,in what did she fall short8 ,e4 ,if the assistant had weak points1 did you call her attention to them8 ,f4 ,what did you especially like about the assistant8 ,g4 ,do you consider the assistant fitted or unfitted by personality1 education and practical efficiency to work in any one of the following departments8 ,grade her work as excellent1 good1 fair or poor1 stating also length of service at each kind of work4 #a4 ,an all-around branch assistant in this library8 #b4 ,a children's librarian8 #c4 ,a reference department assistant8 #d4 ,a catalog department assistant8 #e4 ,a desk assistant8 #f4 ,a clerical assistant8 #g4 ,an assistant in other lines8 7specify7 ,if you do not consider the assistant so fitted1 give particular reasons4 ,h4 ,is the assistant loyal to the library8 ,i4 ,has the assistant enthusiasm in her work8 ,j4 ,would you be satisfied to have the assistant in your 7,branch7 7,dept471 not considering the fact that you might prefer some one else8 ,l4 ,remarks4 ,date ,signature ,title ,,mal-,,employment ,,in ,,the ,,library#ab ,students of the labor problem have given a vast amount of attention to the unemployed1 but comparatively little to the mal-employed4 ,it troubles them--and very properly--that there should be large numbers of persons who are doing no work1 who are contributing nothing toward the operation of the world's machinery2 they do not seem to be so greatly bothered that there are persons hard at work to no purpose or with evil result--whose efforts either do not help the world along or actually impede it or hold it back4 ,serious as is the case of those who are not employed at all1 it is as nothing compared with those who are employed badly4 ,one reason for this neglect--which is at the same time a reason why it should no longer exist--is that the burden of unemployment bears most conspicuously on the individual1 while that of mal-employment is predominantly civic4 ,it is true that unemployment works civic injury1 and that mal-employment1 especially if it be criminal1 is recognized at once as a possible harm to the individual4 ,but what ,i mean is that the unemployed person1 unless he is one of the idle rich1 is greatly concerned about his lack of employment1 which touches his pocket directly4 ,he does all that he can to get back into the ranks of the employed1 but once there it does not occur to him to ask whether what he is doing benefits society1 or is of no value to it1 or actually harms it4 ,even if he does so inquire1 he is not likely to give up a job that pays him well simply because what he is doing is injurious to the world's progress4 ,the injury done is social and civic and we must look to increased social and civic consciousness for its abatement4 ,i owe this word mal-employment1 in its contrasted use with unemployment1 to ,william ,kent1 a member of ,congress from the city of ,chicago4 ,in a recent interview1 ,mr4 ,kent gives it as his opinion that the sin of the day is waste--the expenditure of effort for naught or for positive ill4 ,of course1 when we get down to details there is difficulty or even impossibility in deciding whether or not a given man is mal-employed--we may leave out of consideration here all persons engaged in criminal occupations4 ,for instance1 ,mr4 ,kent considers that the small army of men engaged in the manufacture of champagne are all mal-employed4 ,whether we agree with him or not depends somewhat on our predispositions and our points of view4 ,many parents1 in earlier days1 thought that when children were at play they were mal-employed2 most persons now regard this form of employment as necessary and beneficial1 although ,dr4 ,boris ,sidis thinks that the same interest now employed in aimless play may be used to carry the child onward in the path of individual progress and development4 ,how about the vast number of persons occupied in amusing or trying to amuse the public--employees of theatres1 recreation parks1 and so on8 ,many are well employed2 some are doubtless mal-employed4 ,among persons that we should all agree are mal-employed are all those writing books or plays that are morally harmful1 as well as those concerned in publishing such books or producing such plays1 and1 for the moment1 all who are reading or witnessing them2 persons engaged in manufacturing or distributing useless or harmful products2 all who do work of any kind so badly that inconvenience or harm results2 unnecessary middlemen whose intervention in the process of distribution only impedes it and adds to its expense4 ,anyone may add to the list by taking thought a little4 ,if all these mal-employed persons should suddenly lose their positions the result would be beneficial to society1 even if society had to support them in idleness2 if they should all turn their attention from mal-employment to beneficial uses1 how incalculably great a blessing they would bestow upon mankind6 ,it is every man's business1 it seems to me1 to inquire whether he is well employed or mal-employed1 and if the occupation in which he is engaged is generally beneficial to society1 then whether all those under his orders are well employed in carrying out its purpose4 ,let us1 as librarians1 take up this civic task for a few moments4 ,and first1 let us not hastily conclude that we are necessarily well employed simply because we are librarians4 ,a library may do harm2 ,i have personally known of harm done by libraries4 ,a group can be no better than its constituents2 a collection of harmful books is assuredly itself harmful4 ,more1 a chain is no stronger than its weakest link2 a fleet is no faster than its slowest ship2 and we may almost say that a library is no better than its worst book4 ,and we must not forget that a book may be bad in three ways3 it may give incorrect information1 teach what is morally wrong1 or use language that is unfitting4 ,it may be necessary that a library should contain any or all of these1 but if they give it its atmosphere and control its influence as an educational institution1 even unwittingly1 it is anti-social and those who administer it are mal-employed4 ,i have in mind a pseudo-scientific book for children that abounds in misstatements combined with beautiful illustrations2 a book of travel full of ludicrous misinformation2 a work intended to teach ,italians ,english1 whose ,english is screamingly funny4 ,the library assistant who hands one of these to a reader is mal-employed4 ,i can make a list 7and so can you7 of books that teach1 directly or by implication1 that what is universally acknowledged to be wrong is right--at least under certain circumstances2 that theft is smart and that swindling is unobjectionable4 ,the library assistant who circulates these is mal-employed4 ,all of us can easily also place our hands on books whose only fault is that their language is objectionable--incorrect1 silly or vulgar4 ,they may be otherwise unobjectionable1 yet ,i venture to say that the distribution of these books is also mal-employment4 ,how about the librarian who administers such a library1 and the staff who assist him8 ,they are all mal-employed4 ,no matter how well and how conscientiously the cataloguer may perform her task1 no matter how clean the janitor may keep the front steps1 they are only aiding to keep up an institution that disseminates falsehood1 teaches unrighteousness1 encourages vulgarity2 and they are all mal-employed4 ,this is what ,i mean when ,i say that a library may be no better than its worst book4 ,if its output is bad1 all exertion to accomplish that output is also bad4 ,and as for the output itself1 it may be that the good done by a thousand good books may not outweigh the ill done by a few bad ones4 ,a person is always mal-employed when he is leaving a more important thing undone1 to do a less important one4 ,the degree of mal-employment in this case is measured1 of course1 by the difference in value between the two things4 ,mr4 ,e4,l4 ,pearson1 in one of his library articles in the ,boston ,transcript1 calls attention to what he names 8side-shows0 in libraries1 and asserts that the chief business of a library1 the proper care and distribution of books1 is often neglected that other things may be attended to1 and that money needed for books is often diverted to these other uses4 ,this is undoubtedly true in many cases1 and in so far as it is true some librarians and library assistants are mal-employed4 ,the scope of library work has broadened out enormously of late and libraries are doing all sorts of things that are subsidiary to their main work--things that will make that work easier and more effective4 ,this is as it should be1 provided that these numerous tails do not wag the dog4 ,to take an extreme instance we will assume that a small library is in great need of books and that a small gift of money1 instead of being expended for these is put into material for picture bulletins4 ,we should have no difficulty in concluding that the person who makes the bulletins is mal-employed2 and in so doing we should not be condemning picture bulletins at all or saying that money spent for them is wasted4 ,take again a case specially noted by ,mr4 ,pearson1 which is bothering the heads of some of our library trustees at this moment--the acceptance and preservation of full sets of the printed catalogue cards of the ,library of ,congress4 ,there can be no doubt of the value of such depository sets to certain libraries1 and as they are given free of charge the only expense connected with them is the cost of an assistant's time in filing them1 amounting perhaps to an hour or two a day1 and that of cabinets in which to keep them4 ,whether this cost is far outweighed by the usefulness of the collection to the library and its patrons1 or whether that usefulness is practically nil1 making the outlay wasteful1 no matter how small it may be1 must be answered by each library for itself4 ,in some cases1 labor expended on the filing of ,l4,c4 cards is undoubtedly mal-employment4 ,certain kinds of work which were either not mal-employment when they were adopted1 or were not recognized as such1 have become so by reason of a change1 either in the conditions of the work itself or in the way in which it is regarded by those who are doing it and by the public that benefits by it4 ,take1 for instance1 labor performed under an age-limit rule for children1 such as nearly all libraries once possessed1 and such as is still enforced in some places4 ,if it is true that the library ought not to be used by children below a specified age1 work done in ascertaining their ages and in excluding those barred out by the rule is necessary and valuable4 ,if this is not true2 if the exclusion of such children may be actually harmful to the community1 it follows that all such work is the most flagrant kind of mal-employment4 ,but there may also be mal-employment in the course of work of undoubted advantage to the library and its public4 ,if in the course of such work something is done that sets it back instead of helping it on1 or that injures the library in some other way more than it helps by what it directly effects1 labor expended on that thing is mal-employment4 ,this is a more fundamental and elementary thing than lack of efficiency4 ,if an assistant is cataloguing books well1 but much more slowly than she ought1 she is not efficiently employed1 but neither is she mal-employed1 for she is doing nothing that directly injures the work4 ,if she were to stop1 the library would be injured1 not benefited4 ,but if she is making egregious blunders in her work1 causing undue labor in revision or making the catalogue confused or misleading in case her cards should get into it1 it might be better for the library if she were to stop work1 and she is surely mal-employed4 ,the public is apt to generalize from insufficient data4 ,the user who is treated rudely or sullenly at the desk just once does not say1 8,i will make a record of this and of my subsequent experiences and see whether it is a usual thing or an abnormal one40 ,not at all4 ,he or she at once reports in conversation that the public library assistants are continuously rude and disagreeable1 and the machinery is forthwith set in motion that makes or mars reputation4 ,we may chafe at this2 we may try to disregard it1 but in the end we shall have to accept it as a fact of human nature4 ,the public institution that wants to acquire that valuable asset1 reputation1 whether it is a reputation for kindliness1 for helpfulness1 for common sense1 for scholarly acquirements1 will have to make up its mind to be kind1 helpful1 sensible1 and scholarly1 not fifty per cent or seventy-five per cent of the time1 but one hundred per cent of the time4 ,but entirely apart from such serious intervals of mal-employment as this1 is it not probable that all of us are mal-employed for some little part of our time8 ,is it not probable1 in other words1 that our work would be improved if we should omit certain parts of it and do nothing at all instead8 ,it is certain1 for one thing1 that no one could work continuously1 day and night1 without serious or fatal mal-employment4 ,that is the reason why our working hours are limited to seven or eight in the twenty-four4 ,doubtless some workers are over worked and thus mal-employed in their hours of overwork--the sleepy railroad engineer1 for instance1 who misses a signal and sends a hundred passengers to eternity4 ,we are doubtless free in the library from just this kind of mal-employment1 except so far as it is forced upon us by assistants who work or play too strenuously outside of working hours4 ,to go back to the assistant who is cross or careless for an hour every day2 it is quite possible that she is in no condition for working during that hour2 and this is not because the library hours of work are too long1 but because she does not take needed rest outside of those hours4 ,sometimes this cannot be helped2 often it is distinctly the worker's fault1 and it is surely putting the library in a false position to make it overwork its staff to their detriment and its own1 just because the assistant puts in her best and freshest hours in work1 or more often in amusement1 outside the library4 ,let me pause here to say that the reason we take vacations is to avoid the chance of this kind of mal-employment4 ,the theory of the vacation is widely misunderstood4 ,some take it to be a period of amusement granted for services rendered4 8,i think ,i have earned a vacation10 they say4 ,others look upon it as play-time wrung from an unwilling employer--the more they can get the better off they are4 ,few realize that it is1 or ought to be1 simply an incident in the year's work1 an assignment to special duty1 without which mal-employment would be more apt to result4 ,the mal-employed intervals of an otherwise valuable worker are often due to ignorance of conditions or sheer inability to meet them4 ,in an interesting study of bricklaying one of the modern school of efficiency engineers found that most bricklayers kept their bricks too far from the point on the wall where they were to be laid1 and that a long and wasteful carrying movement resulted4 ,if the time occupied by this lost motion could have been eliminated and simply given to resting1 even without doing any work1 good would have resulted2 these periods were hence intervals of mal-employment ,the engineer eliminated them easily and simply by bringing the pile of bricks within a few inches of the wall4 ,it is easy to say1 8,why1 of course1 any one would think of that60 ,only no one ever did think of it4 ,a large proportion of the most valuable inventions and discoveries have been of this character4 ,some one has remarked that in the earliest stage of an invention people say1 8,it won't work20 later they say1 8,it may work1 but it won't be of any use40 ,finally2 when it is usefully running1 they say1 8,what of it8 ,everybody has always known about it60 ,we don't do these obvious things because they are elements in a series of acts that have grown to be habitual4 ,we take care of them subconsciously4 ,also1 they take up so little time individually that at first thought it seems foolish to try to improve or eliminate them4 ,suppose one does a useless1 or even an injurious thing that lasts but three seconds8 ,if he does it just once and then stops1 it would doubtless be folly to change it4 ,if1 however1 like the bricklayer's useless and tiresome motions1 it is repeated hundreds and thousands of times1 the matter stands on quite a different footing4 ,it is probable that all of us are habitually doing certain things in ways that involve1 without our realizing it1 elements of this kind1 either mechanical or mental4 ,many things that we are doing by laborious repetition1 wearying ourselves and using up valuable material1 might be made to 8do themselves0 if we only knew how to utilize tendencies and forces that are all about us1 unsuspected4 ,one of the forces1 for instance1 is the desire of every person to do that which will give him pleasure4 ,if the things we want done can be done in accordance with that desire1 we can get others to do them for us4 ,the classical example of the boys who whitewashed ,tom ,sawyer's fence for him will occur to all4 ,there is deep philosophy in this4 ,i have known librarians to exhaust themselves by trying to get newspapers to publish what newspapers never would publish1 while the reporters besiege others for items which they know will be just what they want4 ,the rules of some libraries--both those for their public and those for their own assistants--all seem to run up hill--to 8rub everyone the wrong way10 while those of others seem to get themselves obeyed without any trouble4 ,sometimes the substitution of a mechanical appliance for brain-work is what we want4 ,what1 for instance1 is the use of tiring one's brain and impairing its usefulness for other needed work by forcing it to perform such a mechanical operation as adding a column of figures8 ,every library that can afford to own an adding machine ought to have one4 ,the ones that can not afford it usually do not need it4 ,while we are discussing the mal-employment that does its harm by tiring out the worker1 physically or mentally1 and making him unfit for other work1 we must not neglect to say a word about unnecessary talk4 ,nothing is so tiring to the brain as talk4 ,i sometimes think that if we were all forced to do our work in silence we would get along more rapidly even if we had to communicate with each other in writing4 ,if a man were in charge of a piece of complicated machinery1 and if he feared that something had got into it to clog it1 while his knowledge of its elementary parts was still so slight that he could not tell which particular bit in all the moving mass was helping it on and which was hindering it1 what would he do8 ,he could remove the pieces1 one by one1 and watch the effect4 ,if the machine refused to run without a certain piece1 he would conclude that it was an absolutely necessary part2 if it still ran1 though with difficulty1 he would conclude that the part1 though not necessary1 still promoted efficient operation2 if removal resulted in no change at all1 the piece was evidently either an unnecessary part1 or an alien piece not so placed as to interfere with action4 ,if the machine worked decidedly better after removal1 the removed element must have been a clog--was1 in fact1 mal-employed4 ,how many of us feel like submitting to this test8 ,if you should stop your work1 would the library machine run along quite as usual8 ,or would it limp8 ,or would it refuse to run at all8 ,or would it--,o distasteful thought6--would it jump ahead and function with greater speed and smoothness8 ,i believe in vacations2 and yet ,i rather like to feel that the absence of an assistant on vacation makes a difference4 ,and if every one in her department looks forward with fond expectation to her return and greets her with looks of satisfaction and sighs of relief1 ,i cannot help feeling that she is a more integral part of the library machinery than if her return were generally regarded with indifference or were dreaded as a sort of calamity4 ,when every one feels that she can work much better when ,miss ,blank is away1 ,i am forced to inquire whether in truth ,miss ,blank is not a clog in the wheels instead of a cog1 and whether a permanent vacation would not be the proper thing for her4 ,and how about your library as a whole8 ,suppose it should be leveled by a tornado1 or swallowed up by an earthquake1 or swept away by a flood8 ,what effect would this have on the life of your town8 ,would the passer-by point to the ruins1 or to the hole in the ground where once your library stood1 with the same kind and amount of interest that he would show when viewing the stump of an old tree or the fragments of a blasted boulder8 ,or would every man1 woman and child feel the loss8 ,would the teachers seek in vain for aid1 the merchants for information1 the workmen for data of use to them in their daily tasks8 ,in other words1 is your library of such definite use in the community that it would feel your loss as it would that of a school house1 a church1 the railroad station1 the principal retail store8 ,or would its loss affect that community only like the destruction of the monument on the green1 or the fence around ,deacon ,jones' pasture8 ,if we are to make the library a vital influence in the community we must so conduct it that its loss would be felt as a calamity--that it could be spared no more than the postoffice could be spared1 or the doctor1 or the school4 ,and we must do our best so to carry on every part of its work1 every element that goes to make up its service to the public1 that this part or element is contributing toward that service and not injuring it or delaying it4 ,it is better for the community that we should be unemployed than mal-employed1 and if the community should ever find out that we are the latter1 we may be assured that unemployment will shortly be our condition1 whether we like it or not4 ,,cost ,,of ,,administration#ac ,the possibility of deducing a general method for calculating the probable cost of operation of a library4 ,the problem of ascertaining how the cost of administration of a library is related to the various conditions and factors that affect it is the problem of finding a formula in which1 by simple substitution of numbers representing or corresponding to these conditions1 a reasonable or approximate cost may be obtained4 ,the data obtainable are the conditions and actual cost in a limited number of cases4 ,the obstacles are the difficulty of stating certain of the conditions numerically and the difficulty of deciding on the form of the formula1 which must be done in advance4 ,we must first agree1 of course1 that the legitimate cost of administration of a library should bear some relation to its conditions of work4 ,probably no one would quarrel with this1 but the first thought of one who considers the subject is generally that a large number of the conditions could1 by their very nature1 not be susceptible of numerical statement4 ,such factors as size of circulation1 number of cardholders1 size of building1 and so on1 may be stated directly in figures1 and many such influence the cost of administration2 but how1 for instance1 shall be stated numerically the character of the locality--whether foreign or native-born1 wealthy or poor1 etc41 which also indubitably affects the cost8 ,in this particular case this factor exerts its influence through others that may be numerically stated4 ,so far as it necessitates purchase of foreign books1 a foreign population acts to increase cost2 so far as the demand for certain classes of books is concerned1 cost might be increased or decreased2 but size of book collections and circulation are both numerically determinable4 ,it is possible that all conditions which would seem at first sight not to be numerical might reduce in this way1 to various numerical factors4 ,regarding the form of the function to be used for the formula1 mathematicians tell me that its determination might prove a great obstacle4 ,personally1 it seems to me that it is probably 8linear10 that is1 involving only the first powers of the quantities concerned1 never their squares1 cubes1 etc4 ,thus1 all other things being equal1 increase of book collection increase of circulation1 increase of staff1 etc41 would approximately mean increase of cost in direct proportion2 or1 at any rate1 not in any way involving powers above the first4 ,i should try at the outset therefore1 a simple linear formula1 such as ,ax plus ,by plus ,cz plus ,du 444 equals ,r in which x might be circulation1 y number of books1 z number in the staff1 u cubic feet in the building1 and so on4 ,it would then be required to find values for ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 ,d1 etc4 ,this would require1 of course1 as many equations as there are of these coefficients4 ,to get each equation we select a library that we are willing to accept as being conservatively and properly operated1 and substitute for x1 y1 etc41 its reported circulation1 number of books1 and so on1 putting in place of ,r its total cost of administration4 ,solution of this system of equations gives the coefficients1 ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 etc41 and furnishes the working formula required4 ,thereafter when we wish to see whether a library is run as conservatively as the typical ones selected1 its statistics would be used to substitute for x1 y1 z1 etc41 and the value of ,r thus obtained would be compared with the actual cost4 ,the labor of reducing the system of equations would depend on their number1 which must equal that of the conditions4 ,this would doubtless be great--possibly twenty or twenty-five1 but the work amounts simply to doing a great deal of figuring4 ,i believe that this thing is worth trying1 and ,i intend to try it myself as soon as ,i can secure the necessary help in doing the work of figuring1 which in any case would not be nearly as great as that done to calculate a comet's orbit4 ,physicists and astronomers are daily doing work of this kind1 and doing it1 too1 on subjects regarding which there is quite as much reason to doubt the applicability of the method as in the present case4 ,why not try it8 ,it admits of satisfactory 8proving10 for if applied to two groups of libraries with absurdly different results1 it would at once be shown to be faulty as so applied4 ,i believe that we librarians use the experimental method too infrequently4 ,when it is proposed to make some change or other1 ,i constantly hear the objection1 8,that wouldn't result at all as you expect2 it would do so-and-so40 ,but why not try it8 ,try it and see what happens4 ,that is the only real test ,of course1 if trying will cost a large sum1 or involve some serious risk1 we must count the cost1 but in nine cases out of ten nothing is involved but a little extra work4 ,in this case we are trying our experiments daily--we can't help it4 ,we have libraries running under all kinds of conditions and we have statistical reports of those conditions and of the resulting cost4 ,it is surely worth while to see if we can not connect these costs and these conditions in some useful way4 ,i venture to close with a parable4 ,at a national meeting of civil engineers there was a discussion of the advisability--and possibility--of ascertaining the exact distance between ,new ,york and ,chicago4 ,in the course of the discussion it appeared that numerous measurements had already been made for various purposes by different parties and under divers conditions4 ,no two of the results agreed precisely4 ,it was suggested by a speaker that some method of combining the results might be found so as to arrive at a practical working estimate of the distance4 ,objection was at once made by various members4 ,to many the very idea of such a proposal seemed a bit of pleasantry1 and they greeted it with smiles4 ,one speaker poked fun at the idea of treating so practical a question by abstract mathematical methods4 ,another pointed out that the measurements had been made with various objects in view2 some for railroad purposes1 others by government topographers2 that instruments of varying makes had been employed and that the surveyors possessed differing grades of ability4 ,he did not see1 therefore1 how there was any possibility of taking all these into account4 ,still another thought that the best way to get at the real distance was to send out a questionnaire to persons who had traveled from ,new ,york to ,chicago and find out their opinions4 ,it seemed to be the consensus of belief that we should never ascertain the exact distance from ,new ,york to ,chicago1 and that it was extremely doubtful whether there really was any such distance4 ,probably it varied from time to time1 which would account for the varying measurements4 ,is it conceivable that engineers would ever talk in this way8 ,it is not4 ,but we have all heard librarians do so4 ,why8 ,,library ,,circulation ,,at ,,long ,,range ,is there still a place for the delivery station in the scheme of distribution adopted by libraries1 large or small8 ,this question is pertinent not so much because the use of the delivery station is being discontinued1 but because of a general feeling that any system of book distribution that does not admit of seeing and handling the books is inferior to a system in which this is possible4 ,it will thus be noted that the question of the delivery station pure and simple1 as opposed to the deposit station and the branch--a question once hotly debated--is at bottom simply that of the closed shelf versus the open shelf4 ,the branch has won out as against the delivery station1 and the open as against the closed shelf4 ,it will also be noted1 however1 that none but small libraries find it good policy to place all their books on open shelves4 ,there is and always will be a use for the closed shelf in its place1 and the larger the library the more obvious does that place become4 ,now circulation through a delivery station is nothing but long-distance closed-shelf issue--circulation in which the distance between charging-desk and stack has been greatly multiplied4 ,and a legitimate reason for closed-shelf issue of this kind is that it is carried on under conditions where open-shelf issue is impossible--about the only excuse for the closed shelf in any case4 ,now no matter how many books may be in branches or in deposit stations1 it is obviously impossible for the whole central stock to be at any one of them1 still less to be at all of them at the same time4 ,and there are cases where it is impracticable to use any deposit at all1 while delivery from the central library is feasible and reasonably satisfactory4 ,there will always continue to be1 therefore1 some circulation from a distant reservoir of books that cannot be seen and handled by the reader for purposes of selection4 ,under these circumstances it is interesting to inquire whether this type of service has any good points to offset its obvious disadvantages2 and it is consoling to find that there are such--not enough to cause us to select an unsupported delivery station deliberately where a deposit or a branch would be possible1 but enough to satisfy us that a delivery station is worth while if we can use nothing better and to induce us to lay stress1 if we can1 on the particular features that make it satisfactory4 ,for myself1 after three years in a library with a large station system1 following an experience in institutions where there was nothing of the kind1 ,i may say that it has gratified and surprised me to find that personal contact between librarian and reader is possible in such a system1 to almost the same extent as in an open-shelf library1 although the contact is of quite a different quality4 ,the quality of the contact is related to that possible with the open-shelf precisely as mental contact by letter writing is always related to that by conversation4 ,it is superior1 if anything1 to that usually obtained in short-distance closed-shelf circulation1 although possibly not to that obtainable under ideal conditions4 ,the establishment of more or less personal relations of confidence between library assistant and reader takes longer and is less complete when the sole intermediary is written language4 ,it is always harder and requires more time to become intimate by letter than by personal intercourse4 ,in the former case the contact is purely mental1 in the latter it is affected by personal appearance and conduct1 by facial expression and manner4 ,all this is one of the chief factors in the success of the open shelf4 ,but the advantages are not all on the side of the direct personal contact1 as the correspondence schools have been astute enough to find out4 ,in the first place1 litera scripta manet2 one may read the same written communication several times1 whereas the same spoken communication is of and for the moment4 ,then the very fact that the written message is purely intellectual and has no physical accompaniments may lend force to its intellectual appeal1 when that appeal has once gained a foothold4 ,when this is the case the writer may take his time and may plan his campaign of influence more carefully than the speaker4 ,the effect of trivial circumstances1 of unfavorable personal elements1 of momentary moods1 is obviated4 ,it may be1 then1 that if personal relations between librarian and reader can be set up through the written word1 there may be something of this kind even in long-distance1 closed-shelf circulation4 ,this relation may be lacking1 even when the circulation is at short range4 ,it is usually lacking at the closed-shelf delivery desk1 necessarily so in a rush1 although at quieter times there is no good reason why it should not exist4 ,i know that it sometimes does exist under these conditions1 though a counter between two human beings1 whether in a store1 an office or a library1 is not conducive to relations of confidence4 ,it may even be lacking in the open-shelf room1 when assistants on floor duty have not the proper spirit and a due conception of their own responsibilities and opportunities4 ,it may exist at long range4 ,but does it8 ,i can answer for only one library2 but ,i have no reason to believe that our experience is by any means exceptional4 ,here are some instances1 reported at my request from our own ,station ,department by ,miss ,elsie ,miller1 the department chief3 87#a7 ,a short time ago one of the patrons of ,station #bg sent in a slip asking to have his book renewed1 and requested that we send him information on peace conferences4 ,the latter was duly sent1 but through some error the renewal was overlooked4 ,consequently six days later an overdue postal was mailed4 ,this gentleman is always quite prompt in returning his books1 and evidently had never before received a notice4 ,so he was most perturbed1 and wrote us a very long letter explaining the mistake4 ,he said that he felt that the librarian should know that he was not at fault1 had not broken the rules1 and had a clear record4 ,but in imparting this fact to the librarian1 he wanted it understood that the assistant committing the error should not in any way be punished for it1 because she had helped him greatly in his work1 by sending the very facts on peace conferences that he was looking for4 ,he asked that the assistant be praised for her good work rather than blamed for her error4 87#b7 ,celia ,r----1 whom we have never seen but all feel well acquainted with1 tried in vain for some time to borrow a certain little volume of ,eskimo stories1 but succeeded only in getting substitutes4 ,about the middle of ,december she sent in with her card the following request3 #8,please give me 8,eskimo stories10 because it is ,christmas and you never send the right book4' 87#c7 ,the cards of ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,m----1 of ,station #ed1 come in with a slip1 #8,please send a novel4' ,we know that the books must be #g-;day adventure stories1 and must have publishers' binding and an interesting frontispiece or they will come back to us on the next delivery unread4 87#d7 ,at least one of the ,s---- family's cards is reported lost each week4 ,we immediately recognize ,mrs4 ,s----'s voice when she telephones1 and ask whether it is ,ralph's or ,walter's card that is missing this time4 ,in a tone of despair she probably says1 #8,no2 it is ,morris's4' ,we promise to look the matter up thoroughly4 ,then we do no more about it4 ,after two days we call up and tell her we are very sorry we have been unable to trace the card4 #8,oh1 we've found it here at home2 thank you so much for your trouble1' she answers4 #8,and1 by the way1 we have not been able to find ,nicholas' card all day4' ,so we look up ,nicholas' card in the same way4 ,no ,s---- card was ever known to be lost outside of the ,s---- household4 87#e7 ,c#ci of ,station #f has this note clipped to her readers' index3 #8,give overdue notices to ,stations ,department4' ,we hold her notices a few days to give the books a chance to come in1 because she uses a bi-weekly station4 ,each time that she receives an overdue notice1 it costs her ten cents carfare to come to the library to investigate1 and it costs the library a half hour of an assistant's time to pacify her4 ,our new method works beautifully1 and both library and reader find it economical4 87#f7 ,an old gentleman of ,station #ae 7at least we have pictured him as old1 for it is a trembling hand that writes the titles7 for a long time sent in a long list of ,german novels which we marked1 #8,not in catalog3'4 ,we were out of printed ,german lists at the time1 so selected a good ,german novel and sent it to him4 ,it was immediately returned4 ,we tried again--in vain4 ,then again6 ,we sent him everything that the average ,german finds intensely interesting4 ,but the books always came back to us on the next delivery4 ,one day we substituted #8,im ,busch1' by ,gerstaecker4 ,he kept it two weeks1 and then his card came in with a list of ,gerstaecker novels1 copied from the title-page of 8,im ,busch40 ,he read all our ,gerstaecker books and then wanted more4 ,we wrote him that he had read all the books of this author and again substituted4 ,then a fresh list of ,gerstaecker came in1 and now he is reading all those books a second time4 87#g7 ,one of the station men watches our substitutions and looks over them to get ideas for his own reading4 ,once when we had substituted ,leroux's #8,mystery of the yellow room' the station man ordered a copy of that book for himself1 and finding it interesting read all the ,leroux books in the library4 87#h7 ,here is a letter from a youthful station patron3 8#8,please send me the ,,iii ,grade1 ,the golden goose book6 ,please do4 ,kisses4 ,,xxx4'0 ,these incidents1 which of course might be multiplied indefinitely1 show at least that the service rendered by a delivery station is not1 or at any rate need not be1 a mere mechanical sending of books in answer to a written demand4 ,so much for the element of personal contact and influence4 ,next let us consider for a moment that of actual contact with the books from which selection can be made4 ,this of course does not take place in any closed-shelf system--least of all in one at long range4 ,but in certain cases this contact is of no special advantage4 ,in particular1 if a reader wants one definite book and no other1 he may get it as surely1 or be informed as reliably that he cannot get it1 and why1 at a delivery station as at a set of open shelves4 ,the only drawback in 8long-range0 work is that the user must wait longer before he can get his book1 provided it is on the shelves4 ,against this wait must be set the time and cost of a personal visit to the distant library building4 ,of the 8browsing0 contact there can be none1 of course4 ,this seems a more serious matter to me than it would be to those who deprecate 8browsing10 or at any rate discourage it4 ,but there is no question that the alternative between library and delivery station1 if squarely presented1 should always be answered by choosing the library4 ,here the alternative is between the delivery station and no use at all4 ,this brings up another point3 ,may it not be1 in some cases1 that we really are offering the reader an alternative between delivery station and library and that through indolence he takes the former8 ,doubtless this is often the case1 and it should not be so4 ,the location of every delivery station should be studied from this standpoint1 and its continuance should be made a matter of serious question4 ,when all is said and done1 there will remain some stations where a minority of users would go to the library if the station were discontinued1 and would be benefited thereby at the expense of a little more exertion4 ,the fact that there are some real advantages in long-range circulation should enable the librarian1 in such a case1 to strike some kind of a balance1 satisfy himself that this particular station is or is not of resultant benefit to the community1 and act accordingly4 ,it is also possible1 in some cases1 to combine the deposit feature with the delivery station1 and it goes without saying that this should be done just as the delivery feature should be added to every deposit and every branch1 where it is feasible4 ,finally1 the long range circulation may be adapted to the use of the busy by enabling them to kill two birds with one stone4 ,libraries are always trying1 with doubtful success1 to get hold of persons who are busy about something else--factory workers1 shoppers1 and so on4 ,a residential district is a better place for a branch library than a shopping district1 although the number of different persons who pass the door daily is larger in the latter1 because there is more leisure in the residence street--less preoccupation and bustle4 ,but if it is made possible for the shopper to use the library with practically no delay1 while he is shopping1 will he not take advantage of the opportunity8 ,a recent experiment in the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library convinces me that he will4 ,we are now operating a downtown branch in the book department of a large department store1 and we have an hourly messenger service between the library and this station4 ,i believe this is the first time that such frequent delivery service has been tried4 ,this makes it possible to leave an order at the beginning of a shopping trip and to find the book ready at the close of the trip4 ,the interval would never be much over an hour1 and might be as little as fifteen or twenty minutes4 ,there are two favorable factors here which it might be difficult to secure elsewhere3 ,the shopping district here is near enough to the central library to make frequent delivery possible1 and the management of the store where our station is located is broad enough to see that the possibility of borrowing a book free1 from the library1 even when presented as an immediate alternative to the purchase of the same book from the counters of the store1 does not1 in the long run1 injure sales4 ,it is not absolutely necessary1 of course1 to operate this scheme from a department store1 neither is greater distance an absolute bar to frequent deliveries4 ,i believe that this kind of long-distance service is well worth the attention of librarians4 ,and1 in general1 ,i believe that a realization that all long-distance service has its good points may do good by inducing us to dwell on those points and to try to make them of more influence in our work4 ,,conflicts ,,of ,,jurisdiction ,,in ,,library ,,systems#ad ,at bottom1 a departmental system in a large institution is simply an outcome of the fact that its head requires aid in administration4 ,at first1 perhaps1 he can actually do everything with his own hand2 next he requires helpers1 but he can oversee them all2 finally1 he must have overseers1 who are the only ones with whom he deals directly and for whom he naturally classifies the work and divides it among them accordingly4 ,this is not merely a symbolical or fanciful account of such a development4 ,there are plenty of heads of institutions1 educational1 commercial and industrial1 who have personally seen every stage of it--who are now administering a complicated system of departments where they once did everything themselves4 ,in particular1 there are now librarians1 at the head of great libraries1 who began library work by performing1 or at least overseeing directly1 the elementary acts of which library operation may be taken to consist1 and who have watched such a simple system of superintendence develop year by year into something complex4 ,such a development1 as ,i have said1 is naturally based on some kind of classification4 ,if one could sit down and1 foreseeing the growth of his institution for years to come1 settle upon the way in which that growth should be cared for1 his classification might possibly be more logical and workable than most classifications now are4 ,the best of them are wofully imperfect1 as no one knows better than we librarians4 ,and when division into classes proceeds pari passu with growth1 we are necessarily bothered with that troublesome thing--cross-classification4 ,as our institution grows1 one direction of growth and a corresponding set of conditions and needs comes into the foreground after another1 and our basis of classification is apt to change accordingly4 ,in the library1 for instance1 territorial expansion has frequently claimed the right of way4 ,it has been evident that wide regions within the municipality were not reached by the library's activities2 hence the establishment of branches--practically classification on a regional or territorial basis4 ,next1 perhaps1 some other need is pushed forward--say1 the necessity for special care given to the children of the community4 ,here is a non-territorial basis for classification1 founded only upon the age of the library's users4 ,these are not classes and sub-classes1 but are entirely different primary systems of classification1 whose dividing lines cross and do not run parallel4 ,a man who should sit down and try to evolve1 at first hand1 some sort of classification of library work1 might adopt one or the other1 but not both4 ,in one case he might divide his city into districts1 with district superintendents and local librarians under each2 in the other1 he might divide his users by ages and tastes and have a superintendent for each4 ,in neither case would there be cross-classification1 with its over-lapping classes and consequent interferences of jurisdiction4 ,but this is not the way that things work out4 ,the librarian finds it necessary to have his geographical subdivisions and also those based on age1 and he adopts others also as they appear desirable1 without much regard for the logic of classification4 ,if he does take it into account1 he feels that the troubles resulting from conflicts of jurisdiction will be more easily dealt with than those consequent upon a refusal to respond to the present demands of the work4 ,also--and this is an important factor--conflicts of jurisdiction1 no matter how inevitable1 are in the future1 and the present demands of the work look vastly larger and press with insistence4 ,is there any wonder that he does what lies immediately before him and lets the future take care of itself8 ,unfortunately1 the future always does take care of itself very well indeed1 and presents itself to demand a reckoning at the appointed time4 ,the library1 for instance1 that has its branches for different regions and its children's room in each gets along well enough so long as its cross-classification of work exists only on paper4 ,but the time comes when departmental organization must begin1 and this must be based on the classification4 ,there may be a superintendent of branches and a superintendent of children's work1 or the branch librarians may report to the librarian directly1 or there may be other dispositions with other duties and names4 ,in any case1 a children's room at a branch library necessarily finds itself in two departments1 under two jurisdictions and under two heads4 ,if the branch librarian and the children's superintendent are both yielding in disposition1 the librarian may never have the conflict of jurisdiction brought to his attention4 ,if either is yielding while the other is masterful1 there will also be no trouble4 ,in one case the branch librarian will run the adult end of her branch and leave the other to the children's department2 in the other there will be one branch1 at least1 where the children's supervisor has little to say--a condition of things that may be tolerated1 but is surely undesirable4 ,but suppose that both heads are conscientious1 assertive and anxious to push the work1 fond of organizing administrative details and impatient of interference4 ,here we have the possibilities of trouble at once4 ,the first rumblings of the storm come usually in the form of complaints of interference1 on the one side or the other4 ,then we have a demand from both sides for a definition of their respective rights and responsibilities4 ,the librarian is asked1 for instance1 in just what respects the children's librarian shall take her orders from the branch librarian and in what from the supervisor4 ,this is a good deal like petitioning the legislature to pass a law specifying exactly when a child shall obey his father and when the mayor of the city4 ,the librarian who enters on this plausible path will sooner or later be lost in the jungle4 ,he has only himself to thank4 ,either he or his predecessor started the game and he must play it out to the end4 ,we librarians are all responsible for each other's faults4 ,let us see how he may play it4 ,in the first place1 his is the power4 ,what is done in any department is done by his orders or by the orders of some one endowed by him with authority to give orders4 ,he has given two persons authority over the same field at one point1 and it is his business to straighten things out4 ,here are some possible ways3 #a4 ,the authority of one head may be absolutely extinguished in the field where conflict exists4 ,here we have legalized the state of things described above as existing with a combination of one spineless department-head and one very spiny one4 ,it works1 but at the expense of everything that tends to the efficiency of the extinguished authority1 and ,i do not recommend it4 #b4 ,an attempt may be made1 as noted above1 to draw a line between the two spheres of authority and keep each in its place4 ,this appeals to those who are fond of detail1 for it can be done only by considering and ticketing details4 ,a line1 defined by some one clear principle1 cannot be drawn in a field of this kind between two things both of which logically cover that field4 ,it is logical that the children's librarian in a branch should be wholly under the authority of the branch librarian1 since she is a branch employee like the others4 ,it is just as logical that she should be wholly under the authority of the supervisor1 of whose department she is a part4 ,if we are to define the things in which she is to obey the one and the other1 they must be enumerated one by one4 ,and then other things will turn up that have not been thus enumerated1 and we are in trouble again4 ,this plan1 as ,i have said1 appeals to those who revel in regulations and specifications1 but ,i can recommend it no more than the other4 #c4 ,one department may formally and distinctly be set above the other4 ,or1 what is the same thing1 the librarian may resolve1 when a conflict arises1 always to decide the matter in favor of one particular department4 ,this means1 in the special case that we have been using as an illustration1 either that the children's department shall be allowed to do nothing in a branch library without the consent of the branch librarian1 or of the supervisor of branches1 if there is one2 or that all questions involving the administration of a branch children's room must depend ultimately on the chief of the children's department4 ,this may seem to be the same as the plan by which the authority of one department is absolutely done away in the disputed sphere4 ,it is of the same type1 but not so drastic4 ,in the other plan one has not authority to do anything2 in this1 one must ask permission--not the same thing by any means4 ,this plan is practically in effect at some libraries2 it would probably be regarded as equitable by most department heads--provided their own department were put ahead of the other4 ,the trouble is that it involves an arbitrary subordination--one that does not exist in the nature of the classification4 ,and this subordination is local and partial2 it cannot hold good for the whole department4 ,no one would think of placing the branch department1 as a whole1 under the children's department1 or vice versa4 ,and the objections1 although not so strong as those to the extinguishment plan1 are of the same kind4 ,the efficiency of one department or the other is bound to suffer1 and for this reason ,i do not consider this the best plan4 #d4 ,all department heads in conflicting spheres1 may be regarded simply as advisers of the librarian and not as possessing authority in themselves to give orders4 ,a conflict is thus reduced to contradictory advice from two sources4 ,the librarian then pursues whatever course seems good to him4 ,this plan has attractive features1 especially to administrators of the type that like to keep a finger in every pie4 ,there is doubtless danger in aloofness4 ,the librarian must know what is going on1 but ,i see no advantage in requiring him to decide questions of trivial detail at frequent intervals1 as he must do under this plan2 for conflicts generally begin in questions of detail and it is at the beginning or even earlier1 in anticipation1 that they must be caught and adjusted4 ,this plan works1 but it reduces the department head to a consulting expert and burdens the librarian with detail4 ,it does not appeal to me at all4 #e4 ,the two conflicting departments may co-operate1 intelligently and courteously without sacrifice of authority or self-respect1 under the advice and orders of the librarian4 ,this is the plan that ,i recommend4 ,it is the most difficult of all1 and no regulations or specifications can be formulated for carrying it out4 ,for this reason it will never be widely in favor4 ,a wicked and rebellious generation demands a sign1 and in this plan there is neither sign nor formula except that general principle of helpfulness and willingness to place the common whole above the selfish part that is at the antipodes of both wickedness and rebellion4 ,it is a personal matter and it adds one important qualification to those already necessary in department heads--the ability to do team work4 ,this qualification1 however1 is so important1 quite apart from its necessity in connection with this plan1 that we may consider it an advantage1 rather than otherwise1 that the plan puts it forward and insists upon it4 ,on the whole ,i think that a library with mediocre department heads having this qualification is better manned1 and will do more satisfactory work than one with a staff of supremely able experts1 cranky1 self-centered and all pulling different ways4 ,the efforts of members of a body like a library staff are not to be measured arithmetically--they are what mathematicians call 8vectors0--directed quantities1 like force1 velocity or acceleration4 ,to know where a man will bring up one must have not only his speed1 but its direction4 ,the sum of two equal forces may be anything from zero up to their double1 depending on their relative directions1 and if the sum is zero1 no matter how large the components may be1 the result is precisely the same as if those components are small1 or as if neither existed4 ,it is this sort of thing that an eminent employer of labor had in mind when he advised1 8,if two of your subordinates don't get along together1 discharge both of them1 no matter how good they are40 ,in this man's estimation the relative value of team work evidently stands pretty high4 ,i should not follow his advice1 however1 without giving everyone a fair chance4 ,i have known the opinions of one department head about another and their ability to work together to improve greatly on acquaintance4 ,the part necessarily played by the librarian in this scheme may be regarded by some as an objection4 ,i have already referred to administrators who1 like the late ,czar of ,russia1 prefer to regulate all the details of the kingdom by personal supervision4 ,there is also the precisely opposite type1 who like to make a good machine1 set it going1 and then let it alone4 ,the trouble is that machines will not run of themselves4 ,they need oversight1 oiling1 cleaning and repairing4 ,the best require a minimum of all this1 but all must have some of it4 ,and such machinery as there is in this plan requires a maximum of oversight4 ,it is1 however1 not the control of details but rather the watching of general methods and results4 ,is everything running smoothly1 without 8lost motion0 or 8backlash10 and turning out a satisfactory finished product8 ,if not can the trouble be located8 ,yes2 these two cogs do not work smoothly together4 ,let us find out which is at fault and adjust or replace it2 but if our investigation is fruitless1 possibly the best plan is to discard both4 ,i trust ,i have misled no one by treating here specifically of two departments4 ,i might have substituted the names of a dozen others4 ,all through library administration1 and especially in the administration of a system of branch libraries1 these possibilities of conflict occur4 ,in branches they are generally between the branch administration and the central departments--finance1 supplies1 cataloging1 book-orders1 reference and circulation4 ,the handling of this whole matter depends1 of course1 on the librarian4 ,he it must be who is to decide on general policies or go to his ,board for a decision in cases so important that he feels their action necessary4 ,if the work of departments overlaps in some field where the library's policy has not yet been decided upon and defined1 he has no one to blame but himself if the adjustment is difficult4 ,and if policies are defined in advance and pains taken to inform department heads thoroughly of their existence and import1 the likelihood of serious disagreement will be considerably lessened4 ,it must not be forgotten1 also1 that the success of any plan may be increased or diminished by skill1 or lack of skill1 in handling it4 ,i am confident that any of the plans about which ,i have spoken unfavorably above would work better under a good librarian than the best would work under a bad one4 ,but ,i forget myself2 we librarians are like ,kentucky whiskey--some are better than others1 but there are no bad ones6 ,,three ,,kinds ,,of ,,librarians#ae ,the human eye is so constituted that it can see clearly but a small part of the field of vision at one time4 ,we have learned by habit to move it about quickly and comprehensively1 so that unless our attention is called to the fact we do not realize this limitation2 but it exists4 ,in like manner1 it is difficult for the human mind to take a comprehensive view of a subject4 ,we are apt to fix upon some one feature and ignore the rest4 ,in recent times we have been devoting our attention to the personal element4 ,we talk about the 8man behind the gun10 a good deal4 ,i would not underrate him or what he can do2 but it is surely necessary to have the gun itself before the man behind it can be effective4 ,in fact the man per se is about the most helpless of animals4 ,his superiority to the mere brute lies in his ability to use tools2 his inferiority in the fact that he can do almost nothing without them4 ,a man with a gun is indeed formidable2 a wildcat can do nothing with such a tool1 but then he is reasonably formidable without it4 ,i have yielded thus to the temptation to depreciate the personal element somewhat1 at the beginning of an address in which it is to be discussed1 because this defect of the human mind1 that tends to fix it upon one feature to the exclusion of others1 has of late apparently led many to think that a man is valuable in himself and by himself1 without anything to work with or anything to work on4 ,a man is making a failure of his job2 the first thought is that he must be replaced4 ,nine persons out of ten fail to inquire whether anyone at all could have succeeded under the same conditions4 ,your cook prepares an inedible meal2 you rage and call loudly for a new regime in the kitchen2 whereas all the time your competent servant has been struggling with a faulty range1 tough meat and bad flour4 ,shall we1 then1 sit down and refuse to do anything at all unless our tools and our materials are of the best8 ,by no means2 one of the chief distinctions between a capable and an inefficient worker lies in the ability of the former to make the best of unpromising conditions4 ,no one can do as well with poor tools and materials as with good ones2 but the good worker will turn out a better job with the former than the inefficient one will4 ,these things apply of course to the library worker as to all others1 especially to librarians in small towns where tools and materials are apt to be not of the best4 ,among tools we may reckon buildings1 books1 and all kinds of library appliances4 ,the material is the community on which the librarian by proper use of her tools aims to produce a certain effect4 ,now it is open to such a worker to view her task from any one of three different standpoints--to choose1 we will say1 from three different kinds of librarianship4 ,she may be a librarian of the day before yesterday1 of yesterday1 or of to-day4 ,the librarian of the day before yesterday is the librarian of a part of the community4 ,not only does she make no effort to encourage the use of her library1 but she distinctly discourages certain persons1 and certain classes of persons1 from entering it4 ,this grade of librarian includes as many kinds as there are persons or classes of the community that may be discouraged4 ,some1 for instance1 exclude all the poorly-dressed1 or all of inferior social status2 others welcome just these and exclude the well-dressed and well-to-do4 ,the philanthropic donor of a city branch library building once waxed very wroth when she saw a carriage standing in front of the building4 ,her library1 she said1 was for the poor1 not for 8carriage people40 ,these ways of looking at things are sometimes an inheritance from former conditions4 ,a subscription library turned into a free public library hesitates to welcome1 all at once1 the lower strata that have so long been banished from its doors4 ,on the other hand1 a public library that has developed from a charitable foundation regards these as its proper users and looks askance at the well-to-do1 as in the case of the good lady with her 8carriage people40 ,when ,i speak of the exclusion of a class of persons1 ,i do not mean that they are formally kept out or even consciously discouraged2 this is why it is so easy to be a librarian of the day before yesterday4 ,that day was a comfortable day2 an easy day to be self-satisfied in2 it had its libraries for the rich and its libraries for the poor4 ,some class was always named1 even if some were always left out4 ,it may be that the exclusion operates through features that are in themselves excellent4 ,i have seen1 in a small community1 a library building so fine1 with such an atmosphere of quiet good-taste and so lady-like a librarian1 that the great public no more dared to enter therein than if a fierce lion had stood in the doorway4 ,i have known libraries1 too1 in which the books were too good4 ,certain classes in the community where not intellectually up to them4 ,i have also known libraries that were never used by the foreigners in their communities1 or by the colored people4 ,these latter1 strange to say1 were largely in the ,north4 ,the ,south recognizes the ,negro and pays him much attention--in its way4 ,it settles his status and sees that it is observed4 ,he has the last four seats on the trolley car and he has his separate library accommodations4 ,in the ,north he is on an equality with the white man--in everything but reality4 ,he is welcomed to the library in theory and he does not use it in practice4 ,i fear that in this respect too many of us belong to the day before yesterday4 ,i trust that ,i have made it clear that the librarian of day-before-yesterday is not a bad librarian4 ,he or she is just a librarian of day before yesterday--that is all4 ,now we will step into one of ,mr4 ,h4,g4 ,wells' 8,time machines0 and take a short spin ahead into yesterday4 ,the librarian of yesterday excludes no one at all from his library2 for he is within one step of being up-to-date4 ,he discourages no person nor any class of persons4 ,he stands in his doors with outstretched arms and announces that his library is free to all1 that it has books for all--rich and poor1 old and young1 barbarian1 ,scythian1 bond and free4 ,the selection of books is well thought-out and adapted to the community in which it is4 ,the accommodations are ample and fitting4 ,everyone is welcome4 ,what more could you ask8 ,nothing at all2 provided you are still in yesterday4 ,yesterday this sort of library was regarded as the last word in the popularization of the book1 and it is indeed a long step in advance of day-before-yesterday4 ,the librarian's material is before him2 he has good books2 is more needed than this8 ,yea1 verily4 ,one may have a nail and a hammer to drive it2 also an egg1 and a pan to fry it1 yet one cannot fry the egg with the hammer4 ,some selective action is necessary before we can attain the result that we want4 ,a minister1 presiding at a wedding1 in which several couples were to be united at once1 read the marriage service and then exclaimed3 8,i pronounce you men and wives2 now you can sort yourselves40 ,the trouble is that things will not 8sort themselves02 they must have some one to sort them--and this is what is the matter with the library and the librarian of yesterday4 ,they fail to make connection between the man and the book1 so that part of the fine collection remains wholly or relatively unused1 and part of the community that it ought to serve remains apart from the library1 despite the librarian's outstretched arms and his words of welcome4 ,if he had read his ,bible as his great-grandparents used to do1 he would have realized that to fill the table at the wedding feast of literature and life a simple invitation sufficeth not4 ,we must go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in4 ,the attitude of passive expectancy1 of ability and willingness to serve those who come1 was well enough for yesterday1 but not for the new library day that has dawned in these ,united ,states of ,america4 ,apparently the library dawn moves eastward as the physical day moves westward1 for over in the mother country only a few lofty peaks are yet gilded by its sunshine4 ,even in our own land there are gorges where the dusk lingers2 there are even grottoes where darkness will always be4 ,but we are mostly in the light4 ,we realize that if we have a book on the dyeing of textile fabrics and if there is an unheeding man in our community who would be helped by that book1 all the complacent receptivity that we can muster will not suffice to bring them together4 ,and with this knowledge comes an awakening of conscience4 ,long ago we stopped crying out 8,am ,i my brother's keeper80 ,we realize that as members of the community we must bear our share of responsibility for what is done in the community and that collectively we must take measures for the community's welfare4 ,each of us is a ,roman dictator1 in that it is our business to see that the ,republic suffers no harm4 ,thus the community appoints special officers to look out for the interests of its members in certain directions4 ,we public librarians are such officers4 ,we are proud of saying that we stand on the same plane as the teachers in our schools and the professors in our colleges2 nay1 even a little higher1 for the facilities for education over which we preside are offered long after school and college years are over4 ,now the teacher does not stand in the doorway and announce that she is willing and ready to instruct all who may so desire in reading1 writing and arithmetic--that she has a well-equipped schoolroom1 blackboards1 globes and textbooks for all who will take advantage of them4 ,not so2 the community goes out and compels its members to take advantage of all these things4 ,in like manner1 also1 the community makes all sorts of laws for its own preservation and betterment2 it does not say 8,see1 here are good laws2 come ye who will and obey them40 ,on the contrary it goes out into highways and hedges and sees that all its members obey4 ,i would not push this analogy too far4 ,no one expects that the community will require that every one within its borders shall use the public library so many times a month1 or1 indeed that it shall be used at all4 ,the nature of the institution precludes such compulsion4 ,but it should require that every effort be made to see that no section of the books on the library shelves shall lie idle and that no section of the community shall fail to use books1 either through ignorance or through doubt of a welcome4 ,the librarian should say3 ,here is an unused book4 ,is it without value in this community8 ,then let it make place for a better4 ,has it value8 ,then why is it not used8 ,somewhere1 in this community1 is the man1 woman or child1 who1 whether realizing it or not1 would derive pleasure or profit1 or both from reading it4 ,it is my business to seek out that person4 ,again3 ,here is a man who does not read books4 ,is this because no book would appeal to him8 ,impossible6 ,he may think so1 but there lives no one to whom the soul of some fellow man1 speaking through the printed page1 will not bring a welcome message4 ,is there such a book on my shelves8 ,if so1 it is my business to get it into that man's hands2 if not1 ,i must buy1 beg or borrow it as soon as ,i may4 ,when the librarian has begun to talk in this fashion1 lo6 the dawn is shining1 he is a librarian of to-day4 ,the librarian of to-day frowns on no one1 discourages no one2 and he stands not passively at his door with open arms4 ,he walks through his library2 he walks through his town4 ,he knows the books in one and the dwellers in the other1 and he knows both in their relationships1 actual and possible4 ,if there are disused books on his shelves or non-readers in his community1 it is not because he has made no effort to bring them together2 his failures are not those of negligence4 ,the other day1 sitting in a stalled trolley car1 my eye fell upon a street-cleaner1 and ,i began to watch him with interest4 ,he was busy--apparently1 ,i was going to say1 but that does him injustice4 ,he was really busy4 ,while ,i watched him--and the car was delayed for some little time--he was constantly at work1 pushing over the asphalt the broad scraper that was intended to rid it of dust and refuse4 ,and yet he did not clean the street1 for he took no account of the inequalities of its surface4 ,these required intelligent adaptation of his movements at every instant1 and to this he paid no attention4 ,he went through the motions2 his actual expenditure of physical energy was probably as great as if he had mixed a little brain-work with it1 but it failed to accomplish what it ought1 simply from that lack4 ,and yet it would have been difficult for any overseer to give him orders that would have bettered the matter4 ,it would have been hard to point out at any given instant1 his errors of commission or of omission4 ,the only way in which one could tell that he was not doing his work properly was by the result4 ,he was put there to clean the street--and the street was not cleaned4 ,so with the librarians of yesterday and the day before4 ,they are hard workers1 not idlers4 ,they have the tools1 and they go through the motions4 ,they may tire themselves out with their labor4 ,their library buildings may be attractive and clean2 their technique perfect1 their books well selected and in good order1 their catalogs excellent4 ,it is hard to point to any one thing that they are doing incorrectly or that they are omitting4 ,and yet we must judge their work by its fruits2 they are put into a community of actual or potential readers in charge of a collection of books4 ,what are these for1 if not to be read8 ,yet many remain untouched4 ,for what purpose have the schools taught the townspeople to read8 ,thousands of them make no good use of that knowledge4 ,to the librarian of to-day the non-realization of this and the lack of effort to remedy it mean failure4 ,in order to make a little more definite our ideas of these three kinds of librarians1 let us consider one or two very practical problems and see how each would probably view them and act upon them4 ,first4 ,the library circulates no books on plumbing4 ,for the librarian of the day before yesterday1 this is no problem at all4 ,probably his library has no books on plumbing4 ,his library is not for plumbers1 and he has never suspected that it could be4 ,as for the plumbers in his community1 they too have never considered the possibility that they might learn something of their work from books in a public library4 ,they are therefore silent and uncomplaining4 ,peace reigns and there is a general state of satisfaction all around--the satisfaction of blissful ignorance and of the day before yesterday4 ,the librarian of yesterday1 on the other hand1 sees the problem clearly and is concerned about it4 ,he has good books on plumbing and nobody reads them4 ,evidently the more advanced grade of the librarian has not affected the plumbers--they still remain in ignorance of the public library4 ,but what is he to do8 ,here is the library2 here are the books2 here is the librarian1 ready and willing to distribute them to all who may come4 ,if the generation--or any part of it--is so wicked and perverse that it comes not1 what is there to do8 ,what1 indeed6 ,and so library and community remain in the twilight of yesterday just before the dawn4 ,the librarian of to-day not only sees the problem and is concerned about it1 but he proceeds to do something4 ,just what he does or how he does it is of far less consequence than the fact that he sees action in the matter to be necessary and possible4 ,he may go personally and interview the plumbers2 he may send them lists2 he may get permission to address the plumbers' union2 he may do one or many of a thousand things to remedy matters1 and although it is certain that what he does will not be completely effective1 it is equally certain that it will have some good effect1 which is the main thing4 ,problem ,second4 ,examination of the registry list shows that there are practically no card holders in a certain part of the town4 ,as in the former case1 this is no problem at all to the day before yesterday librarian4 ,its existence would in general not appear to him1 certainly not as the result of any kind of statistical investigation4 ,if he were informed of it he would regard the fact with complacency4 ,the library is for readers1 and if certain persons are non-readers they had better keep away4 ,nothing could be simpler4 ,the librarian of yesterday1 on the other hand1 feels that all is not right4 ,it is certainly too bad that when library privileges are offered free to all1 so large a portion of the community should fail to take advantage of them4 ,the library stands ready to help these people1 if they will only come4 ,why don't they8 ,the librarian of yesterday thus stops with a question2 the librarian of to-day proceeds to answer it4 ,he finds out why they don't come4 ,he may discover one or more of any number of things2 whatever may be the causes1 they are sure to be interesting1 at least to him1 for the to-day librarian is a born investigator4 ,it may be that the non-readers are literate1 but take no interest in books2 perhaps they say they have no time to read2 possibly the library has not the kind of books that they like2 they may be foreigners1 reading no ,english1 and the library may have no books in their tongue4 ,whatever the trouble may be1 the librarian of to-day sets about to remedy it4 ,he may not succeed2 but it is the diagnosis and the attempt at treatment1 not its success1 that constitute him what he is4 ,problem ,third4 ,the reading done through the library is trivial and inconsequential4 ,the fiction drawn is of low order1 and there is little else read4 ,the way in which this will affect the three types of librarian may be predicted at once4 ,the librarian of the day-before-yesterday heeds it not2 the librarian of yesterday heeds and perhaps worries1 but does nothing4 ,the librarian of to-day finds out the trouble and then tries to remedy it4 ,and so it goes3 you may construct other problems for yourselves and imagine their solution1 or lack of solution4 ,now1 it is obvious that there are great and evident objections to being a librarian of to-day and corresponding advantages in being one of the other kinds4 ,in the first place the to-day variety of librarianship involves brainwork and it is always difficult to use one's brain--we saw that in the case of the street-cleaner4 ,then this kind of librarian must be always looking for trouble4 ,instead of congratulating himself that all is going smoothly1 he must set out with the premise that all cannot be going smoothly4 ,there must be some way in which his books can be made to serve more people and serve them better2 and it is his business to find out that way4 ,then the to-day librarian must use his statistics4 ,the librarian of the day before yesterday probably takes none at all4 ,the librarian of yesterday collects them with diligence1 but regards any suggestion that they might be of use somewhat as the lazy wood-sawyer did the advice that he should sharpen his saw4 8,i should think ,i had a big enough job to cut up all this wood10 he replied petulantly1 8without stopping to sharpen saws40 ,the librarian of yesterday has trouble enough in collecting and tabulating his statistics without stopping to use them--to make any deductions from them--to learn where the library machine is failing and where he should use the wrench or the oil can4 ,all these things and many others make it easier for the overworked librarian to drop back into yesterday1 or the day before4 ,it should be borne in mind1 however1 that the difference between the three types of librarian is not so much difference in the amount of work done as it is in attitude of mind4 ,the librarian of to-day does not necessarily expend more energy than the librarian of day before yesterday--but it is expended in a different direction and with a different object4 ,it is to be feared that some librarians of small libraries allow themselves to become discouraged after reading of the great things that have been accomplished by large institutions with plenty of money to spend--the circulation of millions of books yearly1 the purchase of additions by the tens of thousands1 the provision of exhibitions for the children1 the story-telling by professionals1 the huge collections on special subjects1 technology1 art or history4 ,it almost seems as if success were simply a matter of spending and as if without money to spend1 failure should be expected as a matter of course4 ,on the contrary1 all that the money does is to make possible success on a large and sensational scale--without the proper spirit and the proper workers the result might be failure on a scale quite as sensational4 ,and an enthusiastic spirit1 a high aim and unflagging energy--these are things that no money can buy and that will bring success on the small scale as on the large one4 ,we are fortunate--we who have charge of libraries and are trying to do something worth while with them--that there is perhaps less of the spirit of pure commercialism among us than among some other classes of workers4 ,for this1 in part1 we have to thank our inadequate salaries4 ,persons who desire to work simply for the material reward will select some other field4 ,we are glad to get our reward--we certainly earn it2 but ,i venture to say that in the case of most of us there is also something in the work that appeals to us4 ,and that something is the thing that1 pushed to its furthest extent1 will bring the dawn of to-day into the most backward library4 ,it is not a very inspiring thing simply to sit down and watch a pile of books--hardly more so1 ,i should think1 than to take care of a pile of bricks or a load of turnips4 ,interest1 enthusiasm1 inspiration1 come with realization of the fact that every one of those books has a mission and that it is the librarian's business to find what it is and to see that it is performed4 ,in the large1 wealthy institution this duty may be accompanied by the expenditure of vast sums1 and may be performed with the aid of things that only large sums of money can buy2 in the small library there may be but a single librarian and only a few dollars to spend4 ,but1 just as in the case of a city librarian with an ample salary1 she has open to her the choice of those three types of librarianship--the day before yesterday1 yesterday and to-day4 ,and how about the librarian of to-morrow8 ,perhaps it may be as well to leave him or her for future consideration2 but ,i cannot help saying just a word4 ,may it not be that in the days to come we shall have enough civic pride to do whatever we may find to do--in our libraries or anywhere else1 not with our eyes fixed only upon the work itself1 important as that may be1 but with the broader viewpoint of its effect upon the whole community8 ,may it not be that this librarian of to-morrow will ask not1 8,will it raise my circulation80 or even 8,will it improve the quality of my reading80 but 8,will it better the reading that is done in this community80 ,that librarian will not rejoice that his library circulation of good novels has dropped1 when he realizes that twice as many bad novels are bought and read outside4 ,he will be pleased that the children in his library have learned to wash their hands1 but chiefly because he hopes that what they have learned may react upon the physical cleanliness--and perhaps on the moral cleanliness1 too--of the community4 ,much as he will love the library1 he will love it as an agency for the improvement of the community in which he lives and works1 and he will do nothing for its aggrandizement1 expansion or improvement that involves a change of the community in the opposite direction4 ,we shall not see one library rejoicing because it has enticed away the users of some other library2 we may even see a library rejoicing that it has lost its readers in ,polish history1 we will say1 when it becomes known that they have gone to another library with a better collection in that subject4 ,i confess that ,i am looking forward to the day when we shall take this view--when the adage 8,every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost0 may be forgotten among institutions in the same town4 ,the policy that it represents makes for high speed1 perhaps1 but not for solidarity4 ,in a fight such as we are waging with the forces of ignorance and indifference we should all keep shoulder to shoulder4 ,this is why the librarian should say3 8,i am a citizen2 nothing in this city is without interest to me40 ,that is why he should be a librarian of to-day1 and why he may even look forward with hopefulness to the dawn of a still better to-morrow4 ,,school ,,libraries ,,and ,,mental ,,training ,is it more important in education to impart definite items of information or to train the mind so that it will know how to acquire and wish to acquire8 ,to ask the question is to answer it2 yet we do not always live up to our lights4 ,in the older methods the teacher1 or rather his predecessors1 decided what it would be necessary for the child to memorize1 and then he was made to memorize1 while still without appreciation of the need of so doing4 ,we are perhaps in danger today of going to the other extreme4 ,we require so little memorization by the student that the memory1 as a practical tool of everyday life1 is in danger of falling into disuse4 ,it is surely possible for us to exercise our pupils' memories1 to develop them1 and to control them1 without giving them the fatal idea that memory is a substitute for thought1 or that the assimilation of others' ideas1 perfect though it may be1 will altogether take the place of the development of one's own4 ,there are still things that one must learn by heart1 but since they must be retained below the threshold of consciousness1 it is well that if possible they should also be acquired below that threshold4 ,the problem of consciously learning a quantity of items of any kind and then relegating them to one's subconsciousness in such a way that they will be available at any given time is not1 of course1 impossible4 ,most of us have at our disposal many facts that we have learned in this way2 but ,i venture to assert that most of us have lost a large proportion of what we thus acquired4 ,now a man never learns by rote the names of his relations1 the positions of the rooms in his house1 the names of the streets in his town4 ,he has acquired them subconsciously as he needs them4 ,when the human mind becomes convinced of the need of information of this kind 8in its business10 the acquiring comes as a matter of course4 ,in a language1 the paradigms may be learned unconsciously when the pupil sees that they are necessary in order to understand an interesting passage2 the multiplication table and tables of weights and measures require no conscious memorization2 or at least such memorization may be undertaken voluntarily as a recognized means to a desired end4 ,i say these things may be done2 ,i am sure that they are in many schools2 ,i am equally sure that they were unheard of in my own boyhood2 that is1 as recognized methods in teaching4 ,of course1 in spite of schools and teachers and methods1 a vast amount of information and training has always been acquired in this way4 ,i do not remember ever 8learning to read0 as a set task4 ,i am sure that none of my children ever did so4 ,we recognized the desirability of knowing how4 ,we wanted to learn1 and so we learned2 that is all4 ,of course our teachers and parents and friends helped us along4 ,is not this what the school is for--to make the pupil anxious to learn and then to help him8 ,when all schools are conducted on this principle1 we shall be very happy1 but apparently it is not so simple as it would appear4 ,what we should try to approximate1 at all events1 is an emancipation from the thraldom of unwillingness on the part of the pupil--to bring it about that he shall desire to learn and will take what measures he can to do so1 gladly availing himself of what help we can offer him4 ,i have said that what we need is to stimulate the pupil's desire and then to satisfy it4 ,i have known teachers who were competent to do both--who could take an ignorant1 unwilling pupil and make of him an enthusiast1 thirsting for knowledge1 in a few weeks4 ,we all know of the ideal university whose faculty consisted of ,mark ,hopkins on one end of a log4 ,i am sorry the creator of that epigram put his teacher on a log4 ,there are plenty of logs1 and1 from this fact1 too many persons1 ,i am afraid1 have leaped to the conclusion that there are also plenty of ,mark ,hopkinses4 ,i fear that one trouble with educators is that1 hitching their wagons to stars1 they have assumed the possibility that terrestrial luminaries also are able to raise us to the skies4 ,if we had a million ,mark ,hopkinses and a million boys for them to educate1 we should need only a sufficient quantity of logs2 we should be forever absolved from planning school-houses and making out schedules1 from writing textbooks and establishing libraries4 ,as it is1 we must do all these things4 ,we must adopt any and all devices to arouse and hold the pupil's interest1 and we must similarly seek out and use all kinds of machinery to satisfy that interest when once aroused4 ,of these devices and machines1 the individual teacher1 with or without his textbooks1 lectures1 recitations1 laboratory work1 and formal courses1 is only one1 and perhaps in some cases not the one to be preferred as the primary agent4 ,among such devices ,i believe that a collection of books1 properly selected1 disposed1 and used can be made to play a very important part1 both in arousing interest in a subject and in satisfying it--in other words in teaching it properly4 ,and first let us see what it may do to stimulate a general interest in knowledge4 ,of late ,i have seen cropping out here and there what seems to me a pedagogical heresy--the thesis that no kind of training is of value in fitting the pupil for anything but the definite object that it has in view4 ,we can1 according to this view1 teach a boy to argue about triangles1 but this will not help him in a legal or business discussion4 ,we may teach him to solve equations1 and he will then be an equation-solver--nothing else4 ,we may teach him to read ,greek and he will then be some sort of a ,greek scholar1 but his reaction to other attempts to teach him will not be affected4 ,anything like a general training is a contradiction in terms4 ,if this is true1 a great part of what ,i am saying is foolish1 but ,i do not believe it4 ,doubtless we have exaggerated the effect of certain kinds of training4 ,the old college graduate who1 having been through four years of ,latin1 ,greek1 and mathematics1 considered himself able with slight additional training1 to undertake to practice law or medicine or manage a parish1 was probably too sanguine4 ,yet ,i refuse to believe that a man's brain is so shut off in knowledge-tight compartments that one may exercise one part of it without the slightest effect on the others4 ,i cannot now write with my toes1 but ,i am sure that ,i could learn to do so much more quickly because ,i know how to use my fingers for the purpose4 ,and it is indubitable1 ,i think1 that the best general preparation for mental activity of whatever kind is contact with the minds of others--early1 late1 and often4 ,it tones up all one's reactions--makes him mentally stronger1 quicker1 and more accurate4 ,some children get this at home1 where there is a numerous family of persons who are both thoughtful and mentally alert4 ,some meet at home1 besides members of the family1 visitors who add to the variety of their contacts4 ,few get it in school1 with much variety4 ,and it is futile to expect most of our children to get it anywhere directly from persons4 ,this being the case1 it is wonderfully fortunate that we have so many of the recorded souls of human beings between the covers of books4 ,with them mental contacts may be numerous1 wide1 and easy4 ,to interest a man in a stretch of country take him up to a height whence he may overlook it4 ,there is a patch of woods1 there a hill1 there is a winding stream4 ,he will see in imagination the wild flowers under the trees1 the windswept rocks behind the hill1 the trout in the stream4 ,he will wonder1 too1 what unimagined things there may be and he will long to find out4 ,to interest a pupil in a subject turn him loose in a room containing a hundred books about it4 ,he will browse about1 finding a dozen things that he understands and a hundred that he does not4 ,he will get such a bird's-eye view that his stimulated imagination will long for closer acquaintance4 ,and if you want to interest him in the world of ideas in general1 turn him loose in a general library4 ,the things that he will get are not to be ascertained by an examination4 ,they are intangible1 but their results are not4 ,in an illuminating article on the events just preceding the present ,european war1 ,professor ,munroe ,smith holds that it was precipitated chiefly by bringing to the front at every step military rather than diplomatic considerations4 ,the trouble with military men1 he says1 is that they take no account of 8imponderables0--by which he means public opinion1 national feeling1 injured pride1 joy1 grief--all those things1 intellectual and emotional1 that cannot be expressed in terms of men1 guns1 supplies1 and military position4 ,i have been wondering whether some other technically trained persons--educators1 for instance1 do not tend toward a similar neglect of imponderables1 measuring educational values solely in terms of hours1 and units1 and the passing of examinations4 ,it is a fault common to all highly trained specialists4 ,the ,scripture has a phrase for it1 as for most things--8ye neglect the weightier matters of the law--judgment and faith40 ,these1 you will note1 are to be classed with ,professor ,munroe ,smith's 8imponderables10 whereas mint1 anise1 and cummin are commercial products4 ,at least one noted educator1 ,william ,james1 did not make this error1 for he bids us note that the emotional 8imponderable0--though he does not use this word--possesses the priceless property of unlocking within us unsuspected stores of energy and placing them at our disposal4 8,i thank thee1 ,roderick1 for the word10 says ,fitz-,james in 8,the ,lady of the ,lake03 8it nerves my heart2 it steels my sword40 ,one would hardly expect to find educational psychology in ,scott's verse1 but here it is4 ,the word that ,roderick ,dhu spoke 7,i forget just what it was1 but ,i think he called his rival a bad name7 unlocked in ,fitz-,james an unexpected store of reserve energy1 and the result1 as ,i recall it1 was quite unfortunate from the ,gaelic point of view4 ,we cannot afford to neglect the imponderables2 and it is their presence and their influence that are fostered by a collection of books4 ,if you will add together the weight of leather1 paper1 glue1 thread1 and ink in a book you will get the whole weight of the volume4 ,there is naught ponderable left2 and yet what is left is all that makes the thing a book--all that has power to influence the lives and souls of men--the imponderable part1 fit for the unlocking of energies4 ,i would not have you think1 although ,i believe this to be at bottom a matter of principles1 that it is not possible to apply these principles very directly and concretely in the daily practice of an educational institution4 ,i desire to call your attention for a moment to the testimony of one who has had great experience and practice in the administration of a collection of books in such an institution and in their use for the purposes already outlined--,mr4 ,frederick ,c4 ,hicks1 assistant librarian of ,columbia ,university1 ,new ,york ,city1 from whose recent review article on this subject ,i propose to quote a few paragraphs4 ,mr4 ,hicks is writing primarily of college instruction1 but1 as he notes in the first paragraph that ,i shall quote1 what he says applies with equal cogency to the secondary school4 ,he writes3 ,the general tendency in all instruction today1 including even that in preparatory and high schools1 is from what may be called the few-book method to the many-book method--a recognition of the power of the printed page for which librarians have always stood sponsor4 ,the lecture1 note-taking1 text-book and quiz method of instruction is fast passing away in undergraduate as well as in graduate study4 ,textbooks are still in use in undergraduate and ,master of ,arts courses1 but they have been relegated to a subordinate position4 ,emphasis is laid on work done and the assimilation of ideas gathered from many sources rather than upon memorizing the treatise of one author4 ,necessarily1 references are chiefly to easily accessible works of secondary authority1 and reading instead of research is the objective4 ,from the library point of view1 the growth of the laboratory or case method of instruction appears to be an independent phenomenon4 ,it should be noticed1 however1 that coincident with it is the general tendency to adopt a policy of teaching each subject with emphasis on its relations to other subjects4 ,most universities now give courses for which no textbook is available4 ,for instance1 ,professor ,frederick ,j4 ,turner1 of ,harvard ,university1 announces in a syllabus of #aaf pages that there is no textbook suitable for use in his course on the ,history of the ,west in the ,united ,states4 ,he thereupon gives citations to about #b1ajj separate readings contained in #a1cjj volumes1 and says that his course requires not less than #abj pages of reading per week in these books4 ,professor ,james ,harvey ,robinson's course in ,columbia ,university on the ,history of the ,intellectual ,class in ,western ,europe has no textbook2 and the reading for a class of #aef students is indicated in a pamphlet of #ec pages1 containing references to #cja books4 ,illustrations could be taken from almost any subject in the university curriculum4 ,this is essentially a teacher's view4 ,listen now to that of a public librarian1 ,mr4 ,john ,cotton ,dana1 of ,newark1 ,new ,jersey4 ,he says3 ,in our high schools we spend literally millions of dollars to equip laboratories1 kitchens1 carpenter shops1 machine shops1 and what not1 to be used by a small part of the pupils for a small part of the short school day4 ,this is partly because so to do is the fashion of the hour1 partly also because the products of work in those shops1 kitchens1 and laboratories can be seen1 touched1 and handled1 are real things even to the most unintelligent4 ,for books1 the essential tools of every form of acquisition1 we spend1 outside of textbooks1 a few paltry thousands4 ,the things a child makes we can see1 and we are impressed by them2 the knowledge he gains1 the power of thought he acquires--these cannot be made visible and are not appreciated by the ignorant2 they can only be certified to by the teacher and demonstrated by the student's words and deeds as he goes through life4 ,mastery of print is mastery of world-knowledge4 ,our young people do not have it4 ,surely they should be led to acquire it1 and where better than in the high schools8 ,to aid them in this acquisition the high schools1 should have ample collections of books1 and these collections of books should become active teaching organisms through the ministrations of competent librarians4 ,of all teaching laboratories1 there is one which is plainly of supreme importance--that of books4 ,i trust that you are with me so far2 for ,i am about to make a further advance that experience teaches me is very difficult1 except for librarians4 ,i am going to urge that your collection of books1 when you have made it1 be put in charge of one who has studied the methods of making the contents of books available to the reader--their shelving1 physical preparation1 classification1 cataloguing2 the ways in which to fit them to their users1 to record their use1 and to prevent their abuse4 ,this means a trained librarian4 ,in all departments where expert knowledge and skill are necessary it is difficult to explain to a non-expert the reasons for this necessity and exactly in what the expert knowledge consists4 ,we are so accustomed to accept the fact in certain departments that it passes there without question4 ,unfortunately that is not the case with the selection and administration of a library4 ,most persons understand quite well that special training is necessary before one can practice law1 or medicine1 or engineering4 ,no one would undertake to drive a motor car or even ride a bicycle without some previous experience2 but it is quite usual to believe that a collection of books may be administered and its use controlled by totally untrained and inexperienced persons--a retired clergyman1 a broken-down clerk1 a janitor1 perhaps4 ,i once asked a young woman who came for advice about taking up library work what had inclined her toward that particular occupation4 ,she was quite frank with me2 she said3 8,why1 my father and mother didn't think ,i was good for anything else40 ,this estimate of the library is by no means confined to the parents of would-be library workers4 ,and even where it is recognized that some training and experience are necessary in administering a large public institution1 there is a lingering feeling that a comparatively small collection1 like that in a school1 needs no expert supervision4 ,the fact that there are in a school plenty of experts in other lines seems to have been not without its effect on this attitude4 8,why1 ,professor ,smith is one of the best chemists in the state2 ,miss ,jones is an acknowledged authority on oriental history2 do you mean to tell me that either of them would not make a perfectly satisfactory librarian80 ,which is something like saying1 8,mr4 ,robinson is our foremost banker2 should he not be able to superintend the dyeing department in a textile mill80 ,or1 8,rev4 ,mr4 ,jenkins is our most eloquent pulpit orator2 he can surely run the #b3ae express60 ,are my metaphors too violent8 ,i think not4 ,we are dealing here with imponderables1 as ,i have said1 but the most imponderable thing of all1 and the most potent1 is the human mind4 ,to wield1 concentrate1 and control our battery of energies we want a correlated energy--one whose relations to them all are close and one who knows how to pull all the throttles1 turn all the valves1 and operate all the mechanism that brings them into play4 ,it takes two years of hard work1 nowadays1 for a college graduate to get through a library school1 and it should not be necessary to argue that during these two years he is working hard on essentials and is assimilating material that the untrained man however able1 cannot possibly acquire in a few month's casual association with a library or from mere association with books1 no matter how long or how intimate4 ,you will pardon me1 ,i am sure1 some further quotation from ,mr4 ,hicks's illuminating article4 ,after calling our attention to the fact that the effort to meet changing conditions in instruction is purely technical1 he goes on3 ,the librarian stands in the position of an engineer to whom is presented a task which by the methods of his profession he must perform4 ,numerical growth1 expansion1 addition of new schools and new subjects1 and the introduction of the laboratory method by which books are made actual tools for use1 all mean to the librarian more books1 larger reading-rooms and more of them1 a large staff specialized and grouped into departments1 the supervision of a complicated system1 and capable business administration4 ,these are all technical matters and are of sufficient magnitude to require all of the time and strength of those to whom they are entrusted4444 ,in a reference library1 open shelves1 whether in department libraries or in the general library1 require much high-grade library service4 ,the reference librarian becomes a direct teacher in the use of books and gives constant assistance not merely in finding separate books but in dealing with the whole literature of a subject4444 ,the whole development from the few-book method to the many-book method presupposes a system of reserve books4 ,by this expression is meant the placing of a collection of books behind an enclosure of some kind from which they are given out by a library assistant for use in the room4 ,the reserve collections1 continually changing in accordance with the directions of instructors1 are in reality composite textbooks4444 ,the mere clerical work of maintaining an efficient reserve system is large1 its success being dependent upon intelligent co-operation between the teaching faculty and the library1 but it involves also a technical problem to be solved by the librarian4 ,what relation does the number of copies of a given reserve book bear to its use8 ,to put the question concretely1 how many copies of a book are required to supply a class of #bjj students1 all of whom must read thirty pages of the book within two weeks8 ,i like so much one of ,mr4 ,hicks's expressions that ,i desire to emphasize it at the close of what ,i am saying4 ,a library1 used for teaching purposes in a school1 is indeed1 8a composite textbook40 ,it insures contact with a composite instead of a single mind4 ,the old idea was that contact of this kind always resulted in confusion--in mental instability4 ,there was a time when the effort was to protect the mind through life from any such unbalancing contact4 ,the individual was protected from familiarity with more than one set of opinions--religious1 political1 social1 philosophical1 scientific4 ,he was taught facts as facts and no emphasis was placed on the more important fact that there are degrees of certainty and points of view4 ,the next step was to give the individual a free head after the formal processes of education had terminated4 ,getting out of college was like escaping from a box1 where one had been shut up with ,presbyterians and ,free ,traders and ,catastrophists and ,hegelians--or their opposites1 for the contents of all the boxes were not alike4 ,now1 we set the boy free when he enters college and we are beginning to give him a little fresh air in the high school4 ,why not go back to the beginning8 ,why not1 at any rate1 avoid the implication that there is the same backing behind all that we teach or tell8 ,some teachers1 and some parents1 have made this plan succeed4 ,one of them is ,mr4 ,h4,r4 ,walmsley1 who writes in the ,volta ,review 7,washington1 ,april1 #aiae71 on 8,how ,i ,taught ,my ,boy the ,truth40 ,says he3 ,i pondered over these things1 and determined that ,i would never tell a falsehood to my child2 that ,i would tell him the truth upon every subject1 and that ,i would not evade or refuse to answer any question4 ,i kept my resolution and have obtained most excellent results4 ,the child doubted nothing ,i told him4 ,he knew that as far as ,i was able ,i would reply truthfully to any question he might care to ask4 ,in answering him ,i was always careful to qualify my statements thus3 8,this is so10 8,i believe so10 8,it is believed to be10 8,it is claimed to be10 8,those who should know say10 etc4 ,so he knew the basis from which ,i spoke4 ,throughout his life1 when he was told anything that looked doubtful1 he would say1 8,i will ask father40 ,this plan is practicable from the child's earliest years4 ,as soon as he learns to read we may begin to supplement it by reference to original documents4 ,this means a library at the very beginning1 and at high school age it means a large library4 ,it need not all be in the school4 ,in the smallest towns there are now respectable public collections2 the school may confine itself to the subjects in its own curriculum4 ,but whatever we do1 let us not teach the child1 with the implication of equal authority1 that twice two is is four1 that material bodies are composed of molecules1 and that the ,tories in the ,revolution were all bad4 ,tell him that there are other aspects1 if they exist1 and as soon as he is able let him examine those aspects4 ,he will be able far sooner than some of us are willing to admit4 ,we librarians feel somewhat strongly on this matter because our own institutions possess by their very nature that form of neutrality that exposes both sides without advocating either4 ,it seems to be assumed by some persons that neutrality means ignorance4 ,of course1 ignorance is one method of insuring it4 ,if a fairy story opens with the announcement that the ,king of ,nowaria is at war with the ,prince of ,sumboddia1 you cannot take sides until you know something about the quarrel4 ,the trouble is that we do not live in fairyland4 ,in my home city the school authorities have been trying to cultivate this kind of neutrality by cautioning principals not to discuss the ,european war with their pupils4 ,what is the result8 ,one of my branch librarians says in a recent report3 8,i have been greatly interested by the fact that the high-school boys and girls never ask for anything about the war4 ,not once during the winter have ,i seen in one of them a spark of interest in the subject4 ,it seems so strange that it should be necessary to keep them officially ignorant of this great war because the grandfather of one spoke ,french and of another1 ,german40 ,with this ,i thoroughly agree4 ,i am not sure that ,i do not prefer a thorough and bigoted partisanship to this neutrality of ignorance4 ,better than both is the opportunity for free investigation with enlightened guidance4 ,the public library offers the opportunity for the fullest and freest contact with the minds of the world4 ,we try to give guidance1 also1 as we can2 but we have not the opportunities of you teachers4 ,guidance is your business and your high privilege2 and if some of you have in the past guided as the jailer guides his prisoners--for a walk around the prison yard with ball and chain--let us be thankful that this oppressive view is giving place to the freer idea of a guide as a counselor and friend4 ,such guidance means intellectual freedom4 ,freedom means choice1 and choice implies a collection from which to choose4 ,this means a library and the school library is thus an indispensable tool in the hands of those teachers to whom education signifies neutral training1 the arousing of neutral energies1 and a control of the imponderables of life--those things without physical weight which yet count more in the end than all the masses with which molecular physics has to deal4 ,,the ,,library ,,and ,,the ,,business ,,man#af ,the electricians have a word that has always interested me--the word and the thing it signifies4 ,it is 8hysteresis10 and it means that quality in a mass of iron that resists magnetization1 so that if the magnetizing force is a moving one the magnetism always lags a little behind it4 ,we see this quality in many other places besides magnetic bodies--the almost universal tendency of effects to lag behind their causes4 ,i like to watch it in the popular mind--the failure to 8catch on0 quickly--the appreciation that comes just a little after the thing to be appreciated4 ,lag everywhere1 in apprehension1 in knowledge1 in the realization of a situation4 ,everywhere hysteresis4 ,of course1 sometimes the lag is great and sometimes it is slight4 ,it may be affected by physical distance1 as when the ,european thinks that ,indians camp in the suburbs of ,pittsburg and that the citizens of ,indianapolis hunt the buffalo of an evening2 or it may be a function of mental distance1 as when the ,wall ,street financier fondly imagines that this country is still populated chiefly by lambs1 as it undoubtedly was fifty years ago4 ,i like to watch it as it affects the idea of the public library as some people hold it4 ,now of course1 without progress1 change1 motion of some kind1 there could be no lag4 ,in a permanent magnet there is no hysteresis4 ,if the ,indians and the buffalo were still with us1 the ,european would be thinking the truth4 ,if we had not learned that the gold-brick and the green goods were frauds1 we could still be fleeced4 ,and if libraries were still what they were fifty years ago1 there would be no lag in the ideas that some people hold about them4 ,libraries have changed4 ,some of you know it and some of you do not4 ,libraries have changed in the kind of printed matter that they collect and preserve2 in the kind of people to whom they make their appeal2 in the way in which they try to make the former available to the latter4 ,they have utterly changed in their own conception of their status in the community1 of what they owe to the community and how they ought to go about it1 to pay the debt4 ,the old library was first and foremost a collection of material for scholars2 the new is for the busy citizen1 to help him in what he is busy about1 to make it possible for him to do more work in less time4 ,it has taken some time for the library to see itself in this light1 but it has taken the great body of our citizens still longer to recognize and act on the change--else ,i should not be talking to you to-day about the library and the business man4 ,the modern library is concerned1 much more largely than the old1 with contemporary relations1 with what is happening and what is just going to happen4 ,it sympathizes with the men who do things4 ,it tries to let them know what is going on about them1 and to assist them in what they are attempting--whether it be to achieve a world-wide peace or to devise a new non-refillable bottle4 ,the library has placed itself in a position where it can do this better than any other institution1 for it is essentially non-partisan4 ,probably it is our only non-partisan institution4 ,mr4 ,bryan's impartial government newspaper has not yet printed its first number4 ,the school must take sides1 for its deals solely with children4 ,the library alone can store up material on all sides of every mooted question and offer it to him who reads1 without in any way taking sides itself4 ,it may run the risk of misconception4 ,we had a big exhibit of war pictures last year4 ,the ,pacifists protested4 ,it was very dreadful1 they said1 to see a library encouraging the militaristic spirit4 ,this year we have a peace exhibit--prepared by the ,union ,against ,militarism4 ,the ,preparedness people are horrified4 ,they hate to see a library siding with those who would drag our country in the dust of humiliation4 ,the trouble with all these good people is just hysteresis--lag4 ,it may have been fifty years ago that a portrait of a monarch in a library meant that the institution was for him1 body and soul4 ,now it means simply that he is an interesting contemporary thing4 ,display of a cartoon representing ,woodrow ,wilson doing something disgraceful does not imply on our part detestation of the president1 but only a willingness to let the public see a good bit of drawing or perhaps to show them how some part of the community is thinking and feeling4 ,it is all a part of our efforts at up-to-dateness--our struggles to brush off the dust and sweep away the cobwebs of medievalism4 ,as an incident of these struggles1 we have discovered the existence of the ,business ,man4 ,we have tried to find out what he is driving at and to help a little--to stock the kind of information that he wants and to help him get at it4 ,an obstacle in the way has been the fact that much of what he wants is to be obtained best from material that the older libraries knew nothing of and would have despised had they known it--partly1 printed matter that had no existence in those days1 like the huge trade catalog and the informative railway folder2 partly material that was ignored because it had no connection with scholarly pursuits--time tables1 statistical schedules1 directories1 lists of names and addresses1 commercial publications1 maps1 information regarding trade-routes and conditions4 ,if the scholar of fifty years ago wanted to be set right about a ,greek preposition or to find the color of ,henry ,,vii's hair1 he knew where to go3 the library was the proper and inevitable place for such data4 ,he brushed the dust from a pile of books and proceeded to look them up4 ,but if he wanted to know the quickest way to ship goods to ,colombo1 ,ceylon1 or the comparative exports of cereals from ,russia during the last decade1 or the design of the latest machine for effecting a given result1 did he go to the library8 ,remember that this is supposed to be fifty years ago4 ,i am afraid ,i must confess that ,i don't know where he went4 ,i fear that in most cases he didn't go at all1 for business men as well as libraries have grown in the last half century--but ,i am quite sure that he went nowhere near the library4 ,the reason was that printed information of this kind either did not then exist or was thought improper for collection by a scholarly institution4 ,if anyone had asked for it ,i know what the librarian would have said1 for the same thing is occasionally still said by librarians1 and ,i hear it at department stores and everywhere else where there is distribution of objects necessary to our lives4 ,they would have said--8,there has been no demand for it1 so we don't need to keep it40 ,demand for it6 ,of course not4 ,is there any demand for fish in a sand-bank or for free-trade arguments in a stand-pat ,republican newspaper8 ,people go for things where they know the things are to be found2 and they knew well fifty years ago that none of these things were to be found in a library4 ,the sad thing is that altho the libraries have reformed1 hysteresis is still getting in its deadly work4 ,there is a lag of apprehension and appreciation among our business men1 many of whom think the library is still the same old dusty1 cobwebby institution of #ahej4 ,take my word for it1 it is not4 ,it stocks all the things that the librarian used contemptuously to call biblia abiblia--books that are no books--city directories by the hundred1 trade maps1 commercial information1 trade catalogs1 advertising folders1 railway announcements1 hundreds of things that will answer the questions that every business man wants1 or ought to want1 to know4 ,we1 or any other library1 may not have precisely what you want4 ,we are not yet perfect and we have much to learn4 ,but we are buying and putting at the business man's disposal the kind of material that will help him in his business4 ,the modern library is democratic1 not autocratic4 ,it does not hand you down a volume from a very high shelf and tell you that is exactly what you want and you mustn't ask for anything else4 ,it says3 we are the agents of a co-operative concern4 ,for convenience sake1 just as in the case of the public schools1 you conclude to tax yourselves to maintain a public collection of books1 instead of having to form private collections of your own1 smaller and vastly more expensive4 ,we are in communication with every one of you by telephone4 ,the machine for which you have paid is all ready to work--stoked and cleaned and oiled4 ,why don't you press the button8 ,those who don't are just suffering from hysteresis--lag of apprehension4 ,they think the library is what it was in #ahej4 ,they are behind the times4 ,am ,i not afraid that if all the business men should press the button at once1 the library would be swamped8 ,there would be a little swearing at first1 ,i fear4 ,but ultimately there would be a realization that a library built and stocked and manned to serve perhaps #ej business men at once cannot serve #ejj or #ejjj4 ,there would be pressure on the legislature2 we should have the necessary funds and in short order we should be serving our #ejjj as smoothly as we served our #ej4 ,now let us get down to something concrete4 ,just what information are we prepared to give to business and industrial houses8 ,here are some actual questions asked lately and answered in our reference departments--many of them by telephone3 ,the uses of lye in baking powder4 ,history and development of the plow4 ,substitute for such commercial products as dyes1 sealskin1 fertilizers1 etc4 ,receipts for preparing in the wholesale manner mustard and salad-dressing1 and for bottling olives4 ,methods of installing a refrigerating plant4 ,addresses of the manufacturers of toys in the ,united ,states4 ,how far from the curb may vehicles be parked in ,st4 ,louis4 ,names of manufacturers of bottled buttermilk4 ,dates of traffic legislation in ,england4 ,names of the officers of the ,wabash ,r4,r4 ,how to calculate the depreciation in shop fittings in taking inventory4 ,change in prices in ,wall ,street for the last year4 ,history of speculation in the #afth century4 ,examination of the ,state ,board of ,pharmacy relating to the laws of the ,state of ,missouri on the sale of narcotics4 ,pictures for advertising posters1 such as 8a ,pullman porter10 8,hops10 used in a ,bevo ad4 8,two dogs playing0 for the title-page of a piece of music entitled 8,puppy love40 ,designs for book-covers1 posters1 letter-heads1 by the million4 ,i think ,i hear someone say--8,do you call that library work8 ,one man at a telephone and a pile of circulars at the other end80 ,yes4 ,i do2 didn't ,i tell you that libraries had changed8 ,when ,archbishop ,glennon first visited our new building1 he walked into the magnificent central hall and1 looking around him said3 8,where are the books80 ,the books were all in their places1 but they were not in the delivery hall4 ,the books in a library are quite as important as ever4 ,there could be no library without them4 ,they are the library4 ,but we are laying more and more emphasis on the man behind the book4 ,in nine cases out of ten he is a woman1 and increasingly often he is at the end of a telephone wire4 ,we find that information slips over a telephone wire quite easily4 ,it saves the business man an annoying trip and sometimes it saves our assistant from hearing all about the business man's last attack of sciatica4 ,not always2 for sufferers have been known to seek sympathy even by telephone4 ,the more they do it1 the more trunk lines we have to pay for1 so the telephone company doesn't mind4 ,but it is true that in meeting the business man's needs the library is assimilating itself more and more to a huge information bureau4 ,this is the case especially at our ,municipal ,reference ,branch in the ,city ,hall1 where we have few books1 properly so called1 many reports1 pamphlets and clippings1 properly indexed1 and a great deal of manuscript material1 gathered by correspondence in answer to queries and waiting for more queries on the same subject4 ,it matters little whether what you want is bound between covers1 or slipped into a pamphlet case1 or slipped into a manila envelope2 it really matters little whether it is printed at all1 so long as it is indexed so that it can be found quickly4 ,we may perhaps look forward to the day when all the bound books in the library will be for home use1 and will give information at second hand1 too late for the business man to act promptly on it4 ,the real sources of up to date knowledge will be1 as they often are now1 manuscript letters1 circulars1 newspaper clippings and trade catalogs4 ,with their inevitable index they form a huge encyclopedia1 absolutely up to date4 ,the printed cyclopedia in umpty-seven volumes is lucky if it catches up with year before last2 it may do for your private library where the skilful agent has induced you to put it1 but it is worthless in the ,business ,man's collection1 except on the rare occasions when he wants the life of ,epictetus or the location of the ,dobrudja4 ,for the ,business ,man we want this morning's material4 ,shall we deny it1 collectively1 the name of a library just because the book-binder has not been at work on it1 and in many cases will never get the chance8 ,not that the ,business ,man may not read books if he wants them--books on commerce1 the industries1 transportation1 salesmanship1 advertising1 accounting4 ,he may have them sent to his home if he likes1 with no more trouble than sitting down again to his telephone4 ,we use ,uncle ,sam's messenger service--his parcel post4 ,the only annoying thing about it is that he will not deliver ,c4,o4,d4 and we are accordingly forced to ask for a postage deposit in advance--anything you choose1 from the postage on one book one way to several dollars4 ,we will notify you when the money is used up4 ,this combination of telephone and parcel post seems to me the ideal of library service when you can name the book you want and don't care to be merely browsing along the shelves4 ,if the book is out1 you will be put on the waiting list and will get it automatically when your turn comes4 ,why does not every citizen of ,st4 ,louis avail himself of this easy service8 ,hysteresis1 ,i suppose2 thinking of the old library of #ahej and neglecting that of #aiag4 ,or perhaps it is that provoking little advance payment4 ,pay beforehand may be a poor paymaster1 but those who work with ,uncle ,sam have to make his acquaintance4 ,so much for the information to be obtained from the library by business men4 ,you are advertising men4 ,your business is the dissemination of information4 ,your boast is that it is your business to tell the truth1 and ,i believe it4 ,how can the ,library help you tell it8 ,well--,i believe the ,library to be the greatest publicity field in the world--largely a virgin field1 for you men1 like everybody else1 have got the hysteresis--you are suffering from brain lag--not brain fag4 ,you think the library is back where it was in #ahej1 when it was the last place in the world where any sane man would go for publicity4 ,it was a good place to hide4 ,they tell the story of a library in ,philadelphia1 a beautiful old mausoleum1 where an escaped criminal once stayed in its public reading room for three days before the police found him4 ,we don't covet that reputation4 ,the modern library1 ,i repeat1 is the very best publicity field in the world4 ,first1 as we have seen1 it is absolutely non-partisan4 ,if you get your publicity material into the library it is because the library thinks it is good for something1 not because you have some kind of a pull4 ,next1 the people who frequent the library are intelligent4 ,publicity there is like that obtained from a high-class periodical3 it is gilt-edged4 ,last and not least1 the publicity given by the library is incidental4 ,it accepts your publicity material and makes it available1 not because it wants to boom your product at the expense of some other1 but because it thinks that your material contains something of value to the business man4 ,in most cases its publicity is general1 not specific4 ,you know that splendid ,eastman ad--8,there's a photographer in your town40 ,that makes a thrill run down my spine whenever ,i see it1 just as ,tschaikovsky's ,sixth symphony does or ,homer's description of ,ulysses fighting the ,cyclops2 and for the same reason--it is a product of genius4 ,advertising is more and more bending this way4 ,why couldn't we have seen it before8 ,for the same reason that we can't all write plays like ,shakespeare's or compose ,wagner's operas4 ,when two shoemakers1 ,smith and ,jones1 had little shops opposite each other1 ,smith's chief idea of advertising was to tell what trash ,jones was making1 and ,jones's to assure people that nothing good could come out of ,smith's store4 ,what was the result8 ,the same that induced the darky to say after he had heard the political orators3 8,if bofe dese fellers tells de trufe1 what a pair of rascals they must be60 ,the net effect was to put people's minds on the worthlessness of the product1 instead of its excellence4 ,nowadays ,smith and ,jones are getting together1 even if they haven't been gobbled up by the ,trust1 and are assuring people that shoes are good things to have--that we ought to wear more of them2 more kinds and better quality4 ,the result is to fix the public mind on the excellence of shoes and both ,smith and ,jones sell more of them than under the old method4 ,the library is willing to boom shoes for you1 and labor-saving machinery1 and food-products1 and textiles and seeds1 and lighting and heating devices4 ,it does this to some extent without your co-operation1 by the books that it places on the shelves2 but no one who knows will go to a book for up-to-date information of this sort4 ,if you want a description of the very latest device for any purpose1 go to the publicity material of the concern that makes it4 ,we trust to you ad-men and your campaign for truth in advertising1 that it is no fake4 ,here is where you can help us and help your clients by so doing4 ,we stock every bit of good1 informative publicity that we can find4 ,we miss much of it4 ,you can help us get it all4 ,your clients will get more publicity and better publicity for nothing than they have often bought for hundreds of dollars4 ,perhaps it is another effect of hysteresis that makes us afraid of anything that is offered free4 ,you remember the story of the man who all day long1 on a bet1 offered sovereigns unsuccessfully in exchange for shillings on ,london ,bridge4 ,if we were allowed to charge for our privileges ,i believe we could turn ourselves into a money-making institution on this count of publicity alone4 ,i believe that it would be profitable for publishers to pay us for putting their books on our shelves4 ,if we charged for the space we are giving to trade catalogs1 circulars and other publicity material the issuers1 ,i am sure1 would not wait for us to ask for what they print4 ,we have been trying for several years to get framed pictures of ,st4 ,louis industries to hang in our ,business and ,industrial ,room4 ,if we had asked #ej per1 for the privilege of using space on the walls of a public institution ,i am sure we could have had it4 ,but since we offer that space absolutely free of charge--a sovereign for a shilling--we can't get what we want4 ,this is special publicity too1 not general4 ,there are some other cases where something about a piece of special publicity makes it so valuable to us that we display it1 letting the advertiser get his advantage as a side issue4 ,within the last few years we have put up boldly in our art room1 big glaring poster ads of beer1 cigars and breakfast foods4 ,how much could one of you have extorted from an advertiser if you had made him believe that you had some kind of a pull that would enable you to placard his wares not on ,smith's fence or ,jones's barn1 but actually on the inside of the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library8 ,now these posters were displayed1 of course1 not as inducements to smoke ,fatimas or to drink ,satanet1 but because they were good and interesting commercial art4 ,we believe that more people see the art on the fences than that in the ,art ,museum1 and we want to do our part toward making it good4 ,it has made great strides of late1 as ,i think you will acknowledge4 ,but answer me this3 was not that valuable publicity for these products8 ,will not the knowledge that similar publicity may await the manufacturer who gets out a good poster1 work out to the advantage of all concerned8 ,you know those articles in ,system1 of course1 telling what the writer would do if he were an undertaker1 or a druggist1 or a farmer4 ,well1 if ,i were an ad-man ,i would get up an exhibition of ,st4 ,louis-made commercial art1 advertising ,st4 ,louis products1 and offer it to the ,public ,library4 ,we will display it1 our only condition in each case being that it is artistically worth display4 ,your clients will have their products advertised gratis1 in a place where space could not be bought for a million dollars a square foot4 ,you will gain in reputation as a man who puts over big things3 we shall get an interesting display of commercial art1 and better than all else1 an impulse will have been given toward improved quality in the poster art of ,st4 ,louis4 ,this is only one instance of the fact1 which ,i believe to be a fact1 that there is almost no kind of advertising that cannot be done in a live1 modern public library1 if one only goes the right way about it4 ,many go about it quite the wrong way1 and do not succeed4 ,we do not assist ,mrs4 ,smith to get piano pupils by placing on our bulletin boards a scrawled announcement4 ,we are not willing to distribute by the million1 small dodgers announcing that ,jones's clothes-wringers are the best4 ,we do not allow ,robinson to lecture in one of our assembly rooms in order to form a class in divine healing from which he1 and he alone1 will profit4 ,publicity furnished by us must be incidental1 as ,i have said2 or it must be general1 but ,i believe it to be all the more effective for this1 and ,i invite your attempts to make more frequent and better use of it in such ways as ,i have suggested4 ,study the business and industrial material in our ,applied ,science ,room1 or the commercial art material in our ,art ,room4 ,examine the collection of travel folders on display in our delivery hall4 ,see our bulletin of daily attractions in ,st ,louis1 entered months ahead when we can get the information--and see whether you do not agree with me4 ,now let me remind you that you are paying for all this service1 whether you make use of it or not4 ,you are members of the best club in ,st4 ,louis4 ,i don't mean the ,advertising ,men's ,club1 good as that is2 ,i mean the ,library ,club4 ,the taxgatherer collects the dues3 if you are not a taxpayer you pay just the same1 the burden being passed along to you in some of the many ways familiar to economists4 ,the dues amount to about three cents a month for each inhabitant of ,st4 ,louis--not excessive4 ,the club has the finest club house in the city1 the most comfortable reading and study rooms1 the finest and most useful books1 the most intelligent and helpful attendants4 ,you may have to belong to other clubs that you do not use2 this1 at least it would be folly to neglect4 ,,poets1 ,,libraries ,,and ,,realities#ag ,we are met to dedicate a temple of the ,book on the birthday of a man who did more than any other ,american1 perhaps1 to bring the book to the hearts of the masses4 ,all poetry1 all song1 begins with the people1 in the mouths of humble singers4 ,elaboration1 refinement1 unintelligent imitation1 carry them both away from popular appreciation1 until finally someone like ,james ,whitcomb ,riley brings them back4 ,great poetry is always about familiar things4 ,homeric epics tell of the kind of fighting that every ,greek knew at first hand4 ,the shepherds and shepherdesses of the earliest pastorals were the everyday workers of the fields4 ,it was only at a later day the epic and pastoral grew artificial because the poets did their best to keep them unchanged while the things of which they told had passed away4 ,only when the poets forget the stilted symbols which once were real and discover that they themselves are surrounded by realities worthy of verse does poetry again become popular4 ,it is this phenomenon that we are witnessing today4 ,everyone who has had occasion to keep in touch with popular taste will tell you that the increased love for poetry shown in the publication of verse1 the purchase of it1 the study of it1 the demand for it at public libraries1 is nothing less than astounding4 ,that this represents any sudden change in the public1 ,i cannot believe4 ,the public has always loved verse4 ,the child chants it in his games2 he drinks it in greedily at his mother's knee4 ,he begs for it1 even when he cannot understand it1 just for the joy of its rhythm1 its lilt4 ,but when the great poets go to the abodes of the gods1 or to regions as far away in esthetics or metaphysics1 for their subjects1 they carry their product beyond public appeal4 ,when our great verse is all remote and the familiar things are left to folk-lore and rag-time1 then folk-lore and rag-time will monopolize public attention and fill the heart of the people4 ,it is this feeling1 on the part of many poets1 that the familiar things of life are beneath their notice1 that has made poetry so long unpopular4 ,the feeling is quite unjustified4 ,all the great elemental things are also among the most familiar--birth1 death1 love1 grief1 joy1 in human experience3 in the outer world1 day and night1 winter and summer1 storm1 wind and flood4 ,and affiliated with these are all the little everyday things of which ,riley sings--the bathing urchins1 the ragged farm hand1 the old tramp1 the little orphan girl with her tales of fright1 the rabbit under the railroad ties4 ,when the modern reader first read in verse about such things there was a rush of red blood to the heart1 with a recognition of the fact that verse had come down from ,olympus to earth1 and that after all1 earth is where we live and that life and its emotions and events are both important and poetical4 ,i am not denying the poetry of romance1 but we should remember that this too1 has its roots in reality4 ,even the most imaginative works must be based1 in the last analysis1 on the real4 ,take for instance such works as ,poe's4 ,poe despised realism4 ,his best work is about half imagination and half form4 ,yet when he succeeds in rousing in us the mingled emotions of fear and horror on which so many of his effects depend he is using for his purposes what was once a defensive mechanism of the human organism1 causing it to shrink from and avoid the real things--wild beasts1 enemies1 the forces of nature--that were striving continually to overwhelm and destroy it4 ,without the survival of this defensive mechanism of fear and horror1 ,poe's tales would have no dominion over the human mind4 ,in fact1 the main difference between what we call realism and romanticism is that while both have their relations with the real facts of life1 the facts on which romanticism depends are unfamiliar1 distant and distorted1 while realism deals with that which is near at hand and familiar4 ,knights in armor1 distressed damsels1 donjon keeps and forests of spears were once as everyday affairs as aeroplanes are now1 or gas attacks1 or the ,british tanks4 ,these all have in them the elements of romance2 and when they too have passed1 as ,god grant they may1 they will doubtless take their place in the equipment of the poetical romanticist4 ,not these realities that pass1 but those that are with us always1 are the ones that inspire verse like ,riley's4 ,those who love to study group-psychology1 and who realize that we have in the motion-picture audience one of the most wonderful places to observe it that ever has been vouchsafed to mortals1 may see every night the hold that this kind of realism has over the popular mind4 ,armed hosts may surge across the screen1 volcanoes may belch and catastrophe may be piled on catastrophe4 ,the eyes of the spectators may bulge and their mouths may gape1 but they remain untouched4 ,but let a little dog appear with his tongue out and his tail awag2 let a small babe lie in its cradle and double up its tiny fists and yell1 and at once you have evidence that the picture has penetrated the skin of the house and got down to the quick4 ,homely realities make an appeal that neither the knights in armor of the fourteenth century nor the tanks in armor of the twentieth are able to exert4 ,gilbert1 who wrote many a truth in the guise of jest1 never said a truer thing than when he made ,bunthorne proclaim that in all ,nature's works 8something poetic lurks0-- ,even in ,colocynth and ,calomel4 ,that is the poet's mission--to show us the poetry in the things that we had never looked upon as within poetry's sphere4 ,they are all doing it now--,noyes1 ,masefield and all the rest1 and the public has risen at them as one man4 ,if ,james ,whitcomb ,riley were here today ,i should take him by the hand and say1 8,beloved poet1 you have known how to touch the great heart of the people quickly and deeply4 ,that is what we must all do1 if we are to succeed4 ,we librarians must do it if our libraries are to be more than paper and glue and leather4 ,teach us the way40 ,our libraries are closer1 far closer1 to the people today than they were fifty years ago4 ,they can never get as close as an individual voice like ,riley's1 for they are a combination1 not even a harmonious chorus1 but a jumble of sounds from all regions and all ages4 ,yet we must not forget that in every instrument of music there is a potential mass of discord4 ,the skilled player selects his tones and produces them in proper sequence and rhythm2 and lo6 a sweet melody6 ,so the librarian may play upon his mass of books1 selecting and grouping and bringing into correspondence his own tones and the receptive minds of his community1 until every man sees in the library not a jumble but a harmony1 not a promoter of intellectual confusion but a clarifier of ideas4 ,in some such fashion it is allowed him to get close to the minds and hearts of his community as ,riley did to his readers4 ,we are realizing today1 we of the library world1 that it is a poor instrument that yields but one tune1 and a poor player who is able to produce only one4 ,the librarians of the early days were of this kind2 so were their libraries4 ,the time they played was the tune of scholarship--a grand old melody enough1 and yet with the right keyboard one may play not only fugues and chorals but the waltz and even the one-step4 ,the scholar will find his refuge in this great building1 but here also will be a multitude of functions undreamt of in the early library day--the selection of literature for children and their supervision while they use it1 co-operation with the schools1 the training of library workers1 the publication of lists and other library aids1 helpful cataloging and indexing1 the provision of books and assistance for special classes1 such as engineers1 business men or teachers1 a staff and facilities for all kinds of extension work1 filling the space around the library as a magnet's field of force surrounds its material body4 ,a modern library is a city's headquarters in its strife against ignorance and inefficiency2 its working force is a general staff--books1 ammunition for the fighter and food for the worker4 ,of the poet ,i have said that his ability to gain the public ear and to reach the public heart is closely bound up with the portrayal of realities4 ,this is true also of the library4 ,every step of its progress from a merely scholarly institution to a widely popular one has been marked by the introduction of more red blood1 more real life1 into its organism4 ,the frequenter of the older library went there to find books on the pure sciences1 on philosophy1 in the drama1 in poetry4 ,these we of today in no wise neglect1 but we entertain also those who look for books on plumbing1 on the manufacture of hats1 shoes and clothing1 on salesmanship and cost accounting1 on camping and fishing1 on first aid to the injured1 on the products of ,sonoma county1 ,california4 ,our assistants take over the telephone requests to furnish the population of ,bulgaria1 the average temperature of ,nebraska in the month of ,june1 plans for bungalows not to cost more than #agej1 pictures of the ,winter ,palace in ,petrograd1 sixty picture postals of ,baltimore for a reflectoscope lecture1 a copy of a poem beginning 8,o beauteous day60 the address of the speaker's uncle who left ,salem1 ,massachusetts1 for the ,west twenty-six years ago4 ,everyone of these queries throbs with the red blood of reality4 ,few of them would have been considered within the library's scope fifty years ago4 ,books are written nowadays about all such subjects1 whereas in the earlier day the knowledge of these things and the ability to write of them did not reside in the same person4 ,so the library's progress toward the realities is but the expression of that same progress in literature1 using the word in its widest sense to signify all that may lurk between the covers of a book4 ,the contemptuous name of biblia abiblia--books that are no books--which the earlier writers bestowed upon dictionaries1 directories1 indexes1 lists and the like1 is disregarded by the modern librarian4 ,he prizes a list of all the grocers in the ,united ,states2 he points with pride to his collection of hundreds of telephone directories2 he has names galore in alphabetical array--indexes to places1 persons1 pictures1 events and books4 ,all these things are as much a part of his library as the ,iliad of ,homer or the dramas of ,calderon4 ,but the librarian does not stop here4 ,he conceives that it is his duty to deal not only with books but with what we may call adjuncts to books--things which may lead to books those who do not read--things that may interpret books to those who read but do not read understandingly or appreciatively4 ,some of our brothers beyond the sea have criticized us ,american librarians for the freedom--nay1 the abandon--with which we have thrown ourselves into the search for such adjuncts and the zeal with which we have striven to make use of them4 ,it has been our aim of late years1 for instance1 to make of the library a community center--to do everything that will cause its neighbors to feel that it is a place where they will be welcome1 for whatever cause and that they may look to it for aid1 sympathy and appreciation in whatever emergency4 ,if the life of the community thus centers in the library1 we have felt that the community cannot fail ultimately to take an interest in the library's contents and in its primary function4 ,the branch libraries in many of our cities are such local centers4 ,here one may find the neighbors round about holding an exhibition of needlework1 the children dancing1 the young men debating questions of the day1 the women's clubs discussing their programs1 the local musical society rehearsing a cantata1 ,sunday schools preparing for a festival1 the ward meeting of a political party4 ,in one of our own branch libraries1 in a well-to-do neighborhood1 the librarian said to one of the young men at a social meeting1 8,i am curious to know why you come here4 ,you could all afford1 ,i know1 to rent a larger and better hall2 or you could meet in your own homes40 ,the young man looked at her with surprise1 8,why10 he said1 8we like this place4 ,we all grew up in this library40 ,i confess that this anecdote sends a little thrill of satisfaction thru me every time ,i tell it4 ,what could a librarian desire more than to have his neighborhood 8grow up0 in his library--to have the books as their roommates--to feel that they would rather be in that one spot than any other8 ,on what a point of vantage does this place him6 ,how much more readily will his neighbors listen to the good genius of a much-loved spot than to the keeper of a jail6 ,just here1 of course1 is the strong point of the so-called ,gary system1 which has so much in common with our modern library ideas4 ,whatever may be its faults1 it at least makes of the school what we librarians have long sought to make of the library--a place that will be loved by its inmates instead of loathed4 ,this once gained there is hardly any result that we may not bring about4 ,and now let us consider at least one thing more that we may gain from this intimate contact with the life of the community around us4 ,formalism has been the death of art1 of literature1 of science1 in many an age4 ,it has atrophied an entire civilization1 as it did in ,china4 ,it paralyzed ,egyptian art2 it would have paralyzed ,greek art1 if the ,greeks had not had the vitality to throw it off4 ,art1 literature and science are never sufficient unto themselves4 ,they must all drink continually at the fresh springs of reality4 ,to move up to date with our metaphor1 they must all get fresh current from the feeders of nature if the trolley wire is to be kept 8live0 and the motor running4 ,those perennial currents that ,ampere conceived of as chasing themselves round and round the molecules of matter could keep going only in the absence of resistance1 and that is something that we may imagine or talk about1 but that does not really exist4 ,every electric current will stop unless a continuous electro-motive force is behind it2 every river will dry up unless fed by living springs4 ,all art1 all literature1 all science1 will shrivel out of existence1 or at any rate out of usefulness1 if those who practice it think that all they have to do is to copy some trick1 some method1 some symptom perhaps of real genius1 of their predecessors4 ,aristotle was a real scientist1 tho his outlook was not ours4 ,but those who kept on copying ,aristotle for centuries and would not believe what they saw with their own eyes unless they could confirm it with a passage from his writings--they were no scientists at all4 ,we have recovered from their formalism as ,greek art recovered from the formalism of the lions of ,mycenae4 ,who shall say that ,james ,whitcomb ,riley did not do just this when he chose to abandon the stock in trade of the standard poets and put into verse what he saw about him here in ,indiana8 ,it is not beyond the possibilities1 of course1 that his own fresh point of view may one day succumb to formalism--that his little ,orphant ,annies and his raggedy men may become familiar to posterity through the work of a school of copyists who prefer to write about an ,indiana that they never saw in a period when they never lived1 instead of going themselves to the fresh inspiration of the realities about them4 ,now1 of course1 the current or the river of art or poetry must run a little while by itself2 it cannot be all spring4 ,only1 the fresh inspiration must not be delayed too long1 lest the current or the river be dried4 ,in a recent article on current ,british novelists1 one of our own most gifted writers1 ,mrs4 ,gerould1 says with some truth that the stories of the younger realists in ,england--,compton ,mackenzie1 ,oliver ,onions1 ,hugh ,walpole1 ,gilbert ,cannan and their kin--are so similar in subject1 treatment and style1 that they might almost be interchangeable4 ,she wittily develops the idea of a syndicate--the ,british ,novelists1 ,limited--in which one writer is told to do the descriptions1 another the character-drawing and a third the thrills4 ,mrs4 ,gerould is hardly fair here4 ,these young men are almost the first writers in the ,english language to do just what they are accomplishing4 ,they are by turns engrossing and boresome1 but they are like the boy who has1 all by himself1 picked out a succession of chords on the piano4 ,the harmony thrills him1 but he is in danger of keeping it up so long that he will drive his hearers daft4 ,when our ,british realists have over-worked their new vein1 their sales will fall off and their publishers will see that fresh ore is brought to light ere more of their work reaches the public4 ,how shall we ensure that this new ore shall be at hand--the jungle cleared so that there may be a fresh vista8 ,i may be taking too much upon my chosen profession2 but ,i cannot help thinking that this is one of the tasks with which we librarians shall have to grapple4 ,we have ourselves1 as we have seen1 come lately into more intimate touch with the realities about us4 ,can we not put into literature what we are taking from life and so act as the feeders that shall keep civilization from drying up or turning to stone8 ,this is perhaps a startling idea4 ,a book is a record4 ,in the nature of things there is no progress in a record4 ,and we are the keepers of the records of civilization2 how then shall we be also founts of inspiration8 ,in this way2 records stand1 but the things that they record progress4 ,we must go to the library to find out where humanity stands on the road and what lies before us4 ,if our public comes to us naturally to read these records and if our writers know this and write for a public interested in reality1 the library has done its part4 ,before this linkage can function truly1 we must have authors who realize that there is a special library public and who write for it4 ,we are told that the ,english publishers1 before they accept a manuscript ask1 8,how many will the circulating libraries take80 ,they mean the great commercial subscription libraries like ,mudie's and ,smith's4 ,the patronage of these libraries is more important to them than that of the public at large1 or at any rate1 they feel that they can rely upon it as an indication of what that of the public at large will be4 ,there is a library public that they recognize and respect4 ,we have nothing in the ,united ,states to correspond to ,mudie's and ,smith's4 ,our great circulating libraries are our free public libraries4 ,do authors or publishers or booksellers recognize the public library as a force to be reckoned with1 either apart from other readers or as indicative of what other readers will think or do8 ,i once made an investigation of this question and ,i was compelled to acknowledge1 as ,i am still forced to admit1 that there is no such recognition4 ,neither author nor publisher consciously does anything different1 because there are public library readers1 from what he would do1 if all our public libraries were wiped off the face of the earth4 ,my hope for the future lies in a justified suspicion that though neither is consciously affected1 both do recognize the library public unconsciously and indirectly4 ,both would admit that their output has been affected by the great extension of the reading public and its consequent alteration in quality4 ,a discussion of the exact effect would lead us too far afield4 ,the point is that the literary product has been changed by a change in the numbers and quality of the reading public1 and that this change has been brought about in no small degree by the establishment and popularity of public libraries4 ,possibly it is not too much to expect that this unconscious recognition will give place to a conscious one1 and that the producers' mutual influence bring each other into more frequent contact with reality4 ,now1 there may be some here who1 wondering at my classification of the ,hoosier poet1 are saying to themselves1 8,was ,riley also among the ,realists80 ,and ,i ask in turn1 why has ,realism come to connote a proportion of things that do not enter at all into the lives of most of us8 ,we have all known and loved the old swimmin' hole2 how many of us are familiar with the man who commits suicide1 not to end an intolerable situation1 not in a frenzy of grief or remorse1 but just to see what will happen8 ,yet when a ,russian writes about such anomalies as this our critics say1 8,what wonderful realism60 ,if realism is anything1 it must surely be real4 ,there is morbidity in life2 we cannot avoid it or overlook it4 ,but is there anything in life that corresponds to ninety-nine per cent of morbidity8 ,not in my life1 nor in yours4 ,for you and for me1 ,riley is a realist4 ,god forbid that he may ever be anything else4 ,there is something in the situation of this city in which we are assembled1 that encourages men to look life straight in the face4 ,those who dwell amid rocky heights and caverns may be excused for looking behind them when they walk and for trembling at shadows4 ,the sailor between whom and eternity there stands only a two-inch plank may live largely among unrealities4 ,but the man of the open prairie1 with ,god's solid earth stretching away north1 south1 east and west1 and ,god's free air above and about him1 stands firmly and sees clearly4 ,what interests him is the present and its necessary relationships with the future1 with only so much of the past as is able to consolidate these relationships and illumine them4 ,here1 as one would expect1 is growing up a school of representative artists1 working some with the pen and others with the brush1 whose aim and whose high privilege it is to record those relationships on canvas and on the printed page1 each in his own fashion1 of course1 for a love for the outer realities can never do away with that supreme inner reality1 a man's own self that which looks out upon the world and sees that world through its own spectacles4 ,it is the triumph of all art that faithfully as it may represent what it sees1 its representations will still be1 in large part1 functions of the artist's own mood1 so that the same scene1 the same event1 portrayed by different writers or different painters1 may arouse in us emotions as varied as joy1 grief or mere restfulness4 ,and of course1 although we may praise ,james ,whitcomb ,riley portraying what he saw about him there would be little to praise if he were not at the same time portraying ,james ,whitcomb ,riley and if that portrayal were not worth while4 ,i like to think that what we librarians are doing is in some measure akin to the work of the artists of pen or brush1 though perhaps in a secondary way4 ,the writer interprets reality2 we interpret the writers themselves4 ,here is a case where we cannot have too many middlemen1 for each1 instead of piling up cost to the consumer1 piles up the value of the product4 ,how many men could sit in a country churchyard at evening and see unaided what ,gray saw8 ,gray in his ,elegy records that churchyard and himself as well4 ,but how many men does ,gray fail to reach8 ,how many1 whom he would rejoice or comfort1 never heard him8 ,and to ,gray1 in this query1 let us add the names of all the good and great in literature4 ,here is where the librarian steps in4 ,he presents ,gray and ,gray's fellow artists in words1 to his public4 ,years ago the library was merely a storehouse and the librarian the custodian thereof4 ,today the library is a magazine of dynamic force and the librarian is the man who exerts and directs it--who persuades the community that it needs books and then satisfies that need1 instead of waiting for the self-realization which too often will never come4 ,does not the librarian in some fashion interpret life and nature to his public1 through books in general1 even as the writer interprets them through one particular book8 ,this may seem fantastic1 but ,i like to think that it is true4 ,the ,october air in these autumn days is full of megaphonic voices1 each insisting on its right to be heard above all the others4 ,we are urged to enlist in the ,british army1 to buy ,liberty bonds1 to build huts for the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 and the ,knights of ,columbus1 to work for the ,red ,cross1 to buy tobacco for the soldiers1 and at the same time to support all our local charities and pay our club dues as usual1 not neglecting to respond to the calls of the tax collector4 ,we librarians have ourselves used the megaphone to some purpose1 having as you know1 raised a million dollars to establish and maintain camp libraries1 giving our soldiers the same public library facilities that they enjoy at home4 ,but in the midst of all this distracting chorus let us not forget that our normal lives must function as usual1 despite the abnormalities that surround and interpenetrate them4 ,the opening of this noble library building and the character of this assembly are proofs that we intend to live as usual1 even amid so much that is unusual4 ,i see no limit to the usefulness of this building and of the institution whose home it is to be4 ,the house is new but its occupant has been long and favorably known to your citizens4 ,indianapolis has library traditions1 and is what we librarians call a 8good library town40 ,your library has had good leadership and it is to continue1 adding the force and freshness of the new to the strength and experience of the old4 ,the memory of your dearly loved poet will be brought to the mind of each library user--by the children's room that bears his name1 by the land that he gave to enlarge its site1 by this enduring portraiture--by a thousand and one things1 none the less cogent for being intangible4 ,i look to see this library1 in the home city of ,james ,whitcomb ,riley1 grow into a place in the public heart comparable with that which was attained by ,riley himself4 ,it should be loved for its broad minded humanity1 for its sympathy with mankind1 especially with little children1 for its readiness to 8rejoice with those that do rejoice and weep with those that weep10 for its quick response to the personal and spiritual needs of every reader1 and above all for its firm hold on the realities of life and its appreciation of life as something that is lived on the farm1 in the city street1 in the office1 the school and the club1 not in the clouds1 not in fog and mist1 not with the improbable or the impossible4 ,that it will do and be all these things we may be confident4 ,riley the well beloved is gone4 ,his memory lives on2 let it live with peculiar force and vividness in this library1 in its attitude toward those whom it serves--in the affection which they in turn feel toward an institution that has long been1 and will long continue to be a center of literary1 civic and intellectual force in the city where ,riley lived and wrote4 ,,the ,,church ,,and ,,the ,,public ,,library ,the years immediately succeeding the great war are to witness great progress in team-work4 ,the war is teaching us to get together1 and it is impossible to believe that the lessons we are now learning will be suddenly and totally forgotten with the advent of peace4 ,the world is full of institutions1 associations1 corporate bodies of all kinds1 founded on a knowledge of what may be accomplished by the cooperation of individuals2 but the cooperation of these bodies themselves1 one with another1 has been faulty until recently4 ,the public library is cooperative in its very essence4 ,its business is to help others4 ,were there no public for it to serve1 its very necessity for existence would go4 ,in the older days it merely sat with folded hands1 ready to serve4 ,of later years it has become a compelling force1 reaching out into the community by a thousand tendrils and attaching them to whatever individual1 or body of individuals1 seems to be in need--often without knowing it--of library service4 ,the public library's relations with the schools1 with the business man1 with the industries1 with the military service--you will find these all discust over and over again1 not only in the technical magazines devoted to library work1 but in the public press4 ,and yet we look in vain for a discussion of the public library's relations with the ,church4 ,why is this8 ,the ,church itself is in the cooperative class with the library4 ,it exists to help mankind4 ,without a humanity to help1 and a humanity weak and fallible enough to need help1 its mission would be over4 ,in studying this question ,i find an unaccountable timidity on both sides4 ,on the one hand1 librarians and libraries seem to be shy of religion4 ,they rarely purchase religious books in any systematic way4 ,they are afraid of denominational literature1 both books and periodicals1 apparently on the ground that those presenting the view of one religious body might be objected to by other bodies4 ,some libraries refuse to subscribe for any denominational papers1 but will accept them as gifts4 ,many libraries refuse to allow the holding of religious meetings in their buildings1 probably for a similar reason4 ,on the other hand1 the churches1 as churches1 seem often to ignore the existence of the public library1 even when their members use it constantly4 ,they maintain libraries of their own in their ,sunday-schools1 for their young people1 and these libraries1 ,i am sorry to say1 are often far below standard6 ,they rarely show interest in the public library's collection of books1 not seeming to care whether the library does or does not contain their own denominational literature4 ,there are some noteworthy exceptions4 ,the ,roman ,catholics are aware of the library and seem to appreciate its value as a publicity agent and an educator4 ,they are concerned when it contains books of which they disapprove1 and are anxious to put on its shelves works that will interest their own people4 ,of late they have published in several of our large cities lists of books in the public library written by their coreligionists1 or1 for some reason of special interest to them4 ,these lists have usually been prepared with the assistance of the library staff and paid for and distributed either by a special committee or by some denominational body such as the ,knights of ,columbus4 ,that they have a sympathetic attitude toward the library is shown not only by these facts1 but by the fact that libraries in several cities1 organized specifically as church libraries1 have been turned over to the local public library as branches4 ,another religious body that appreciates the aid of the public library is that of the ,christian ,scientists4 ,this ,church has committees specially charged with seeing that public libraries are supplied1 free of charge1 with its literature4 ,during the present ,luther anniversary there has been some activity on the part of the ,lutheran churches to see that libraries are supplied with material bearing on their organization and doctrines4 ,with these exceptions ,i have not met1 during my library experience of a quarter of a century with the slightest interest on the part of religious bodies regarding the book-collection of a public library--either about what it contained or what it did not contain4 ,occasionally1 however1 a church library has been transformed into a public library branch4 ,in ,new ,york there are three branches that began their existence as parish libraries of ,protestant ,episcopal churches4 ,doubtless there are instances in other cities of which ,i have no knowledge4 ,i am sure that more active cooperation between the public library and the various religious bodies would benefit both and1 through them1 the public4 ,in the first place1 the library should devote more attention to its collection of religious books1 and it would do so if those interested showed their interest actively4 ,there is much material of great value to teachers in ,sunday-schools that should find a resting-place in the library4 ,in a town where there are1 say1 a dozen ,sunday-schools1 it may be quite impossible for each to buy several sets of commentaries1 concordances1 works of travel and description1 c41 but they might well club together for the purchase of this material and give it to the library or deposit it there1 where it would be at the service of all4 ,in larger towns1 where the library fund is greater1 united effort on the part of the churches would doubtless result in the expenditure of part of the book-money for this purpose4 ,librarians are anxious to serve the public4 ,if they can be shown that the public wants books of one kind rather than another they are only too glad to respond4 ,they do not like to buy books in the dark1 but the apparent indifference of the public often forces them to do so4 ,such works as these are of common interest to all ,christians4 ,but in addition every library ought to contain a certain amount of denominational material4 ,the library is not1 except possibly for some occasional reason1 interested in propaganda1 but facts about the ,methodists or the ,baptists are surely of as much value1 and should be preserved with as much care1 as facts about a constitutional convention in ,nebraska or the proceedings of a plumbers' association in ,salem1 ,mass4 ,every good library should have one standard work on the history of each of the prominent religious denominations1 especially those that are strong in its home town4 ,it should include the biographies of its principal divines and laymen4 ,there should be also its year-book1 renewed annually1 its official confession of faith and statement of organization1 its liturgy1 if it has one1 its official collection of hymns4 ,its chief periodical should be on file4 ,i do not know of any library that makes a specialty of obtaining this material and seeing that it is all up-to-date4 ,most librarians would exclaim that their meager funds would not stand the strain1 and that1 besides1 there has never been the slightest demand for such material4 ,there is a demand for all the latest novels by ,harold ,bell ,wright1 ,robert ,w4 ,chambers1 and ,marie ,corelli1 and so these are purchased4 ,here is where the indifference of most of our religious bodies toward what the library does or does not contain is bearing legitimate fruit4 ,does your public library contain reference-material that is of interest1 or ought to be of interest1 to your co-religionists8 ,if not1 whose fault is it8 ,extending our inquiry beyond reference-material1 we may next assert that there are many semipopular books of a denominational character1 sermons by a favorite divine1 advice to young people1 words of comfort to those in trouble1 which it is to the interest of ,christian people to see more widely read4 ,the libraries will never waste their money in the purchase of these if they are to remain idly on the shelves4 ,they will buy freely in response to a demand4 ,whose fault is it that the demand does not materialize8 ,i have said that such a demand might easily divert part of the library's book-fund now devoted to other purchases4 ,but the churches could afford to buy these books and present them to the library if they would cease to duplicate the library's work in directions where such duplication is useless4 ,why should a ,sunday-school library buy stories1 for old or young8 ,there was good reason for it in the day1 now far distant1 when the public library was non-existent and the ,sunday-school was the only general source of decent books4 ,even in that day the ,sunday-school library largely bought trash--the kind of wishy-washy1 mock-pious stuff turned out by hack-writers at the rate of several volumes per day4 ,the rapid rise of the public library is doubtless due1 in part1 to the neglect of its early opportunities by the ,sunday-school library4 ,but no one can say that the public library has not risen to the occasion4 ,the very best part of its collection1 the most carefully selected1 the most conscientiously distributed1 is that which contains its books for children4 ,we have schools for the training of children's librarians1 and we give their graduates special charge of rooms for children in our library buildings4 ,there is no reason now why any church should maintain a library of general literature for any purpose whatever4 ,i have alluded above to the library's value as a publicity agent4 ,as a matter of fact1 both the ,church and the library are the greatest and most valuable means of publicity that we have4 ,both are unpurchasable4 ,both reach selected elements of the community1 partly the same1 partly different4 ,to have an event announced from the pulpit1 especially with commendation1 gives it a prestige that it could attain in no other way4 ,similarly1 to have something published on the library's bulletin-boards1 or on slips inserted in each circulated book1 or in any one of a dozen ways that have been practised by libraries gives publicity of high value4 ,both the pulpit and the library utilize these methods for themselves and often for outside bodies1 but not often for each other4 ,it is rare for a clergyman to mention the public library from his pulpit1 altho it is occasionally done4 ,it is also rare1 tho not totally unknown1 for a library to give publicity to a church in any of the ways that are proper for this to be done4 ,in particular1 every library1 especially in a small city where there is no local guide-book1 should be a repository of local religious information4 ,any one should be able1 not only to ascertain there the location of any particular church1 but to consult its literature1 if it issues any2 if not1 to find on file authentic information about it corresponding to that usually put into print--the names of officers1 a list of parish organizations1 c4 ,such things can be had for the asking1 and there is usually no one place in a town where they are all assembled4 ,there should be such a place1 and that place may well be the public library4 ,large libraries quite generally collect this material2 the smaller ones should follow suit4 ,they will be apt to do so if the church people manifest an interest4 ,if the collection and continual 8following up0 of the material involve more work than the smaller staff of the library can do1 it ought to be easy to divide it among volunteers from the different congregations1 this being the church's part of this particular item of cooperation4 ,it is safe to say that the ,church and the public library may help each other in at least six ways3 #a4 ,the substitution of the library's children's room for the ,sunday-school library in the purveying of general literature4 #b4 ,the more careful and more generous provision of religious books in the library1 with increased interest on the part of the church in the character of this part of the collection4 #c4 ,the offer by the library of facilities for religious meetings4 #d4 ,utilization of religious gatherings in the church to call attention to the library and its willingness to aid and advise4 #e4 ,publicity given in and by the library to the churches and their work4 #f4 ,publicity given in and by the ,church to the library and its work4 ,as a basis on which cooperation of these and other kinds is to rest there must be personal acquaintance and confidence between the clergy and the librarian4 ,this is something of which increase will bring further increase1 as in the accretions to a rolling snowball4 ,for instance1 the pastor of a church must have a certain degree of confidence in the librarian's good-will and ability to venture to recommend the purchase of a book2 the librarian must have the same to be willing to entertain and act upon such a recommendation4 ,but the contact once made1 the book once bought1 there is ground for increased confidence and acquaintance and for additional advice1 and so it goes4 ,it will be noted that this counsel lays a greater burden on the librarian than on the clergy4 ,it is no great task for any clergyman to make the acquaintance of the librarian2 it is quite another thing for the librarian to do the same by each and every clergyman in his city4 ,if the city is large and the clergy of various denominations are numbered by thousands1 it is practically impossible4 ,recognizing this fact1 the clergy should take some steps toward making collective take the place of individual acquaintance4 ,they should invite the librarian to their meetings and he on his part should be ready to attend and to address them if requested to do so4 ,it should hardly be necessary to warn both parties to such cooperation as this1 that the obtrusion of considerations of personal advantage1 where this conflicts with public service1 will be fatal to its success4 ,for instance1 a clergyman who is preparing an address on some rather unusual subject must not expect the librarian of a small city to expend public money for books which will aid him1 and him alone1 in his work4 ,fortunately1 this particular issue can generally be avoided1 owing to the growth of facilities for inter-library loans4 ,altho the librarian might properly refuse to buy these particular books1 he would doubtless offer to attempt to borrow them from some larger library1 and this attempt would have a good chance of success4 ,interlibrary service of this kind is bound to increase largely in the future and offers a most promising field for the rendering of aid by the smaller libraries to the scholar1 literary worker1 and investigator1 including1 of course1 the clergyman4 ,the getting-together of public library and church has possibly been hampered in the past by an idea1 common to both librarian and clergyman1 that religious bodies and their work ought to be ignored by all public bodies1 and that this is in some way a part of our ,american system of government and public administration4 ,it is1 of course1 a feature of that administration to treat all religious bodies with absolute impartiality2 but that does not involve ignoring their existence any more than treating all citizens with impartiality involves the ignoring of the individual4 ,one way of being impartial1 of course1 is to turn one's back equally upon all1 but that is not the only way4 ,one may treat one's children alike by starving all of them equally1 but our idea of impartial treatment would be better satisfied by an equality of adequate supplies4 ,it is time that the public library and the ,church stopt the starvation treatment and began to mete out to each other a supply of the aid and good-will that each has at its disposal4 ,each has its fight to make against the forces of darkness2 neither is in a position to neglect an ally4 ,,the ,,future ,,of ,,library ,,work ,when a railroad train is on its way1 its future history depends on which way it is heading1 on its speed1 and on whether its direction and its speed will remain unchanged4 ,with these premises1 one may confidently predict that a train which left ,chicago at a given hour on one day will reach ,new ,york at a given hour on the next4 ,of course1 something may happen to slow the train1 or to wreck it1 or even to send it back to ,chicago1 in which cases our predictions will come to naught4 ,this is what the weather man finds4 ,his predictions are based on very similar data4 ,our weather conditions travel usually across the continent from west to east at a fairly uniform rate4 ,if that rate is maintained1 and the direction does not change1 and nothing happens to dissipate or alter the conditions1 we can predict their arrival at a given place with a fair degree of accuracy4 ,those who rail at the weather man's mistakes are simply finding fault with our present inability to ascertain the causes that slow up storm centers1 or swerve them in their course1 or dissipate them4 ,when we know these things1 and know in addition what starts them1 we can give up making forecasts and write out a pretty definite weather time-table--as definite and as little subject to change1 at any rate1 as those issued by the railroads4 ,my business at this moment is that of a forecaster4 ,we know just where and what the library situation is at present1 and some of us think we know where it is headed4 ,if it should keep on in the same direction and at the same rate1 we ought to be able to describe it as it will be1 say1 in #aiej4 ,of course1 it may get headed in some other direction4 ,it may slow down or speed up2 it may melt away or strike a rock and be irrecoverably wrecked4 ,if ,i see any chances of any of these things1 it is my business to mention them4 ,if my forecast should turn out a failure no one can prove it until #aiej arrives1 and then ,i shall not care4 ,to begin with the necessary preliminaries of our forecast--what and where are we now8 ,i have said that ,i know2 probably you think that you do2 but as a matter of fact our knowledge is neither comprehensive nor accurate4 ,we need a general library survey4 ,we have1 as a sort of statistical framework1 the figures now printed annually in tabular form in the ,a4,l4,a4 ,proceedings1 but probably no one would maintain that these do1 or possibly could1 give an adequate idea of the character or extent of the work that our libraries are doing4 ,those of us who think we know something of it have gained our knowledge by experience and observation and neither is extensive enough in most cases to take the place of a well-considered and properly-managed survey of existing conditions and methods4 ,in default of a survey1 we must1 as ,i have said1 fall back upon observation and experience4 ,i can certainly claim no monopoly of these1 and what ,i say in this regard is1 of course1 largely personal4 ,but it seems to me that the distinguishing marks of library work1 as at present conducted1 include the following4 ,as you will see1 they are all connected and overlap more or less4 ,they are all growth-products4 ,they are3 #a ,size and expense4 #b ,socialization4 #c ,professionalization4 #d ,popularization4 #e ,nationalization4 ,first1 library work in our country to-day is large and costly4 ,extensively it covers a great territory and reaches a huge population4 ,intensively it embraces a large variety of activities--many that one would hesitate1 on general principles1 to class as 8library work40 ,secondly1 a large amount of this increase of activity has been of a kind that we are now apt to call 8social40 ,it deals with bodies or classes of people1 and it tends to treat these people as the direct objects of the library's attention1 instead of dealing primarily with books1 as formerly1 and only indirectly with their readers4 ,in fact1 the persons with whom the library now deals may not be readers at all1 except potentially1 as when they are users of club or assembly rooms4 ,thirdly1 librarians are beginning to think of themselves as members of a profession4 ,at first sight this may seem to be a fact of interest only to library workers1 and not at all to the public4 ,its significance may appear if we compare it to the emergence of the modern surgeon with his professional skill1 traditions and pride1 from the medieval barber who simply followed blood-letting as an avocation4 ,professionalism is a symptom of a great many things--of achievement and of consciousness of it and pride in it2 of a desire to do teamwork and to maintain standards2 to make sure that one's work is to be carried on and advanced by worthy successors4 ,fourthly1 libraries are now conducted for the many2 not for the few4 ,it is our aim to provide something for every one who can read1 no matter of what age1 sex1 or condition4 ,we do not even limit ourselves to readers1 for we provide picture books for those who are too young to read4 ,we are transferring the emphasis of our work from books to people4 ,this characteristic is closely connected with what ,i have called 8socialization10 but it is not the same thing4 ,an institution may deal with all the people without dealing with them socially or in groups2 and it may deal entirely with groups without dealing with everybody4 ,the library now does both4 ,fifthly1 the library is now a national institution1 at least in the same sense as is the public school4 ,it is national in extent1 national in consciousness1 if not national in administration4 ,our own association has played its part in this development2 the present war has given it a great stimulus4 ,those who see no nationalism without complete centralization and who say that we are not yet a nation because all our governmental powers are not centered at ,washington1 will doubtless deny the nationalization of the library4 ,they take too narrow a view4 ,we may now combine two or more lines of inquiry4 ,in what direction is the library moving in each of these respects8 ,is it speeding or slowing up8 ,is there any reason to look for speeding or slowing up in the future8 ,as regards size and cost1 our development has been swift4 ,we cannot1 it seems to me1 keep up the rate4 ,twenty years ago the institutions now constituting the ,new ,york ,public ,library circulated a million books4 ,they now circulate ten million4 ,does anyone believe that twenty years hence they will circulate one hundred million8 ,there must be further increase1 because we are not now reaching every person and every class in the community1 but it will not and cannot be a mere increase of quantity4 ,we must do our work better and make every item and element in it tell4 ,we must substitute one book well read for ten books skimmed4 ,in place of ten worthless books we must put one that as worth while4 ,there are already signs of this substitution of quality for quantity in our ideals4 ,extension1 as opposed to intension1 has appealed to many enthusiastic librarians as 8missionary work40 ,perhaps the term is well chosen4 ,some of it is akin to the missionary fervor that sends funds to convert the distant heathen when nominal ,christians around the corner are vainly demanding succor1 material1 mental and spiritual4 ,we have too much of this in the library2 attempts to form boys' clubs with artificial aims and qualifications when clubs already formed to promote objects that are very real in the members' minds are ignored or neglected2 the provision of boresome talks on 8,rubber-culture in ,peru0 and on 8,how ,i climbed ,long's ,peak10 when members of the community would be genuinely interested in hearing an expert explain the income tax2 the purchase of new books that nobody wants when an insistent demand for old standards of sterling worth has never been adequately met2 all sorts of forcing from the outside instead of developing from the inside4 ,this kind of thing1 like charity1 begins properly at home1 and the real missionary takes care to set his own house in order before he goes far afield--to fill the nearby demand1 when it is good1 before attempting to force something on those who do not want it4 ,it is in this direction that our promise of continued progress lies when we cannot see grounds for expecting great future increase of income4 ,this leads us naturally to discuss what ,i have called our socialization1 which is just beginning4 ,it is running strong1 but there is room for a long course1 and that course1 ,i believe1 it will take4 ,in the first place1 we are functioning more and more as community centers1 but there is enormous room for advance4 ,we are straggling all along the line1 which is one sign of an early stage4 ,some of us have not yet awakened to the fact that we are destined to play a great part in community development and community education4 ,others are reluctantly yielding to pressure4 ,others have gone so fast that they are in advance of their communities4 ,take1 if you please1 the one item of the provision of space for community meetings1 regarded by some as the be-all and the end-all of the community center idea4 ,it is really but one element1 but it may serve as a straw to show which way the wind blows4 ,some libraries are giving no space for this purpose2 some give it grudgingly1 with all sorts of limitations2 others give quite freely4 ,none of us give with perfect freedom4 ,i suppose we in ,st4 ,louis are as free as any4 ,in #ae assembly and clubrooms we house #d1jjj meetings yearly4 ,our only limitations are order and the absence of an admission fee4 ,i incline to think that the maintenance of order should be the only condition4 ,if an admission fee is charged1 part of it should go to the library1 to be devoted to caring for the assembly and clubrooms and improving them4 ,there are many community gatherings that can be best administered on the plan of a paid admission4 ,these ought not to be excluded4 ,most of our restrictions are simply exhibits of our reluctance to place ourselves at the complete social disposal of the community4 ,a community is not a community unless it has political and religious interests4 ,if we are going to become socialized at all1 why balk at these any more than we should exclude from our shelves books on politics and religion8 ,i look to see socialization1 in this and other directions1 proceed to such lengths that the older library ideals may have to go entirely by the board4 ,some of them are tottering now4 ,i have said that ,i consider this matter of the use of assembly rooms only one item in what ,i have called socialization4 ,it may all be summed up by saying that we are coming to consider the library somewhat in the light of a community club1 of which all well-behaved citizens are members4 ,our buildings are clubhouses1 with books and magazines1 meeting rooms1 toilet facilities1 kitchens--almost everything1 in fact1 that a good1 small club would contain4 ,if you say 8then they have ceased to be libraries and are something else10 that does not affect me any more than when you show that we are no longer speaking ,chaucer's language or wearing the clothes of ,alfred the ,great4 ,when we were trying to explain to the architects of the ,new ,york branch buildings exactly what we wanted in those structures and met with the usual misconception based on medieval ideas of a library1 one of the most eminent architects in the ,united ,states suddenly sat up and took notice4 8,why1 these buildings are not to be libraries at all10 he said1 8they are to be reading clubs40 ,he had learned in a few minutes what many of us still see through a glass darkly4 ,an even more important manifestation of what ,i have called socialization is the extension of occupation groups to which the library is giving special attention and special service4 ,the library has always had in mind one or more of these groups4 ,once it catered almost entirely to a group of scholars1 at first belonging predominantly to the clergy4 ,in later years it added the teachers in schools and their pupils1 also the children of the community4 ,these are definite groups1 and their recognition in the rendition of service is a social act4 ,other groups are now being added with rapidity1 and we are recognizing in our service industrial workers1 business men1 artists of various kinds1 musicians and so on4 ,the recognition of new groups and the extension of definite library service to them is progress in socialization1 and it is going on steadily at the present time4 ,just now the most conspicuous group that we are taking in is that of business men4 ,in adjusting our resources and methods to the needs of this group we are changing our whole conception of the scope of a library's collection4 ,as ,mr4 ,dana has pointed out1 we now collect1 preserve and distribute not books alone1 but printed matter of all kinds1 and in addition records of other types1 such as manuscripts1 pictures1 slides1 films1 phonograph discs and piano rolls4 ,some of these of course are needed to adapt our collection to others than the business group--to educators1 artists or musicians4 ,we shall doubtless continue to discover new groups and undergo change in the course of adaptation to their needs4 ,the recognition of special groups and the effort to do them service has proceeded to a certain extent outside the pubic library1 owing to the slowness of its reaction to this particular need4 ,the result has been the special library4 ,i am one of those who are sorry that the neglect of its opportunity by the public library has brought this about1 and ,i hope for a reduction in the number of independent special libraries by a process of gradual absorption and consolidation4 ,the recent acquisition of some formerly independent municipal reference libraries by the local libraries is a case in point4 ,there must always be special libraries4 ,the library business of independent industrial and commercial institutions is best cared for in this way4 ,but every group that is merely a section of the general public1 set apart from the rest by special needs and tastes1 may be cared for most economically by the public library4 ,if its service is not adapted to give such care1 rapid and efficient adjustment is called for4 ,in a library forecast made several years ago1 ,mr4 ,john ,c4 ,dana stated his opinion that the library1 as it is1 8an unimportant by-product10 is to be of importance in the future1 but will then have departed from the 8present prevailing type40 ,without necessarily agreeing to our present insignificance1 we may well accept1 ,i think1 this forecast of future growth and change4 ,professionalization1 too1 has by no means reached its limit4 ,as has been pointed out1 it is a symptom1 rather than the thing itself4 ,it is like a man's clothes1 by which you can often trace the growth or decay of his self-respect4 ,pride in one's work and a tendency to exalt it is a healthy sign1 provided there is something back of it4 ,the formation of staff associations like that recently organized in ,new ,york is a good sign1 so is the multiplication of professional bodies4 ,the establishment of the ,a4,l4,a4 in #ahgf was the beginning of the whole library advance in this country4 ,it was only a symptom1 of course1 but with the healthy growth of libraries ,i look for more signs of our pride in what we are doing1 of our unwillingness to lower it or to alter its ideals4 ,the familiar question1 8,is librarianship a profession80 reduces to a matter of definition4 ,we are being professionalized for the purposes of this discussion if we are growing sufficiently in group consciousness to let it react favorably on our work4 ,one of the earliest developments of a feeling of professional pride in one's work is an insistence on the adequate training of the workers and on the establishment of standards of efficiency both for workers and work4 ,here belongs a forecast not only of library school training1 but of official inspection and certification1 of systems of service1 etc4 ,standardization of this kind is on the increase and is bound to be enforced with greater strictness in the future4 ,in our professional training as in other professions the tendency is toward specialization4 ,with us1 this specialization will doubtless proceed on the lines of facilities for practice4 ,an engineering school cannot turn out electrical engineers if the only laboratories that it has are devoted to civil and mechanical engineering4 ,a specialist in abdominal surgery is not produced by experience in a contagious disease ward4 ,similarly we ought not to expect a school remote from public library facilities to specialize in public library work1 or a school in close connection with a public library to produce assistants for the work of a university library4 ,increasing professional spirit among us will demand specialization according to equipment4 ,popularization1 some may think1 has already gone to the limit4 ,how can we be more of the people than we are to-day8 ,are we not1 in sooth1 a little too democratic1 perhaps8 ,personally ,i feel that a good deal of the library's social democracy is on the surface4 ,any member of a privileged class will assure you that his own class constitutes 8the people0 and that the rest do not matter4 ,the ,athenians honestly thought that their country was a democracy1 when it was really an oligarchy of the most limited kind4 ,england honestly thought she had 8popular0 government when those entitled to vote were a very small part of the population4 ,a library in a city of half a million inhabitants honestly thinks that a record of #ajj1jjj cardholders entitles it to boast that its use extends to the whole population4 ,we cannot say that we reach the whole number of citizens until we really do reach them4 ,the school authorities can go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in2 we cannot4 ,herein doubtless lies one of our advantages4 ,our buildings are filled with willing users4 ,it is our business to universalize the desire to read as the schools are universalizing the ability4 ,but we have not yet done so1 and popularization proceeds slowly4 ,i cannot say that ,i see many indications of speeding up in the rate1 although our increase in the recognition of groups1 noted above1 may have an influence here in future4 ,as groups develop among that part of the population that uses the library least1 our opportunity to extend our influence over that part will present itself4 ,one such group is ready for us but we have never reached it--that of union labor4 ,the recognition of the unions by the library and of the library by the unions has been unaccountably delayed1 despite sporadic1 well-meant1 but ineffective efforts on both sides4 ,no more important step for the intellectual future of the community can be taken than this extension of service4 ,nationalization has just begun4 ,it is speeding up and will go far1 ,i am sure1 in the next twenty years4 ,our libraries are getting used to acting as a unit4 ,we should not like administrative nationalization and ,i see no signs of it2 but nationalization in the sense of improved opportunities for team work and greater willingness to avail ourselves of them we shall get in increasing measure4 ,for instance1 one of our greatest opportunities lies before us in the inter-library loan4 ,it knocks at our door1 but we do not heed it because in this respect we have not begun yet to think nationally4 ,but having begun national service in the various activities brought to the front by the war1 we shall not1 ,i am sure1 lag behind much longer4 ,the national organization of the ,a4,l4,a4 has long provided us with a framework on which to build our national thoughts and our national deeds1 but hitherto it has remained a mere scaffolding1 conspicuous through the absence of any corresponding structure4 ,the war is teaching us both to think and to act nationally1 and after it is over ,i shall be astonished if we are longer content to do each his own work4 ,our work is nationwide1 in peace as in war and our tardy realization of this fact may be one of the satisfactory by-products of this world conflict4 ,now it is not beyond the possibilities that the library movement1 headed right and running free1 may still fall because it meets some obstacle and goes to pieces4 ,are there any such in sight8 ,i seem to see several1 but ,i believe that we can steer clear4 ,if we split on anything it will be on an unseen rock1 and of such1 of course1 we can say nothing4 ,one rock is political interference4 ,the library has had trouble with it of old and some of us are still struggling with it4 ,it is assumed by those who put their trust in paper civil service that it has now been minimized4 ,this overlooks the undoubted fact that in a great number of cases the civil service machinery has been captured by politicians1 and now works to aid them1 not to control them4 ,the greatest danger of political interference in public libraries1 now lies in well-meant efforts to turn them over to some local commission established to further the merit system1 but actually working in harmony with a political machine4 ,another rock on which we may possibly split is that of formalism4 ,machinery must be continually scrapped and replaced if progress is to be made4 ,it will not grow and change like an organism4 ,the library itself is subject to organic growth and change1 but its machinery will not change automatically with it4 ,if we foster in any way an idea that our machinery is sacred1 that it is of permanent value and that conditions should conform to it instead of its conforming to them1 our whole progress may come to an end4 ,i have called this a rock1 but it is rather a sort of ,sargasso ,sea where the library may whirl about in an eternity of seaweed4 ,another obstacle1 somewhat allied to this of formalism1 is the 8big head0--none the less dangerous because it is common and as detrimental to an institution as it is to an individual4 ,just as soon as a person1 or an institution1 sits down and begins to appreciate himself or itself1 to take stock of the services he or it is rendering the community1 to wonder at their extent and value1 those services are in a fair way to become valueless4 ,the proper attitude is rather that of investigation to discover further possible kinds of service1 with the exercise of ingenuity in devising ways to render them effectively4 ,we have occasionally been accused of taking the attitude of self-laudation1 but ,i really do not think there is great danger of an epidemic of this malady4 ,we do not receive enough encouragement4 ,once in a while1 to be sure1 someone tells us1 or tells the public1 what a great and valuable institution the public library is but the treatment that we receive is generally mildly humorous when it is not characterized by downright indifference and neglect4 ,whenever a book comes into my hands telling of some movement in which ,i know that the library has borne an honorable part ,i always turn first to the index and search for recognition under the letter ,l4 ,generally it is not there2 when it is1 it is almost always inadequate4 ,if we are attacked by the 8big head10 it will have to be a case of auto-intoxication4 ,exploitation is another possible rock4 ,i have already alluded to the danger of capture by a political machine1 but there are other interests more subtle and quite as dangerous4 ,many a useful institution1 intended to be nonpartisan1 has been captured and used by some interest or other while remaining non-partisan on the surface4 ,our safety1 so far1 has resided in the inability of most interests to see that we are worth capture4 ,when the drive comes1 as ,i believe it will1 our continued safety will lie1 not in resistance1 but in an equal yielding to all--a willingness to act as the agent for all isms1 religious1 economic1 political and industrial without exalting one above another or emphasizing one at another's expense4 ,something of this we are already doing1 and in so far as we succeed in it we are placing ourselves in a position of vantage from which it will be very difficult to dislodge us4 ,assuming the truth of all this--and it is something of an assumption1 ,i grant you--what then1 is our library of #aiej to be8 ,an institution not very much larger or more expensively operated than our present maximum1 although with a higher minimum1 carried on with a more careful eye to economy and watching more jealously the quality of its output4 ,it will have two units of service1 as at present1 the book and the citizen1 but it will tend to regard the latter as primary1 rather than the former and will shrink from no form of service that it can render him4 ,the higher quality of its work will be reflected in the greater pride of the worker--in a spirit of professionalism that will insist on adequate training and proper compensation and possibly will use organization to enforce these ideals4 ,it will reach out somewhat further among the people than it does now1 although not so much that the difference will be notable4 ,finally the teamwork between different libraries will be more frequent and effective1 assistants will be exchanged freely1 readers' cards used interchangeably and inter-library loans will take place easily and often4 ,what effect will these changes have on the desirability of library work as a profession8 ,the only conclusion can be that it will be greatly increased4 ,by this ,i mean that it will be more interesting1 more likely to give pleasure to the worker as a by-product4 ,i do not mean that it will necessarily pay very much better4 ,the most interesting and pleasurable occupations are generally1 ,i think1 those that do not pay well in money4 ,one should not expect full payment in both cash and pleasure4 ,the exception is where the acquisition of money is itself the feature of the occupation that gives the pleasure4 ,i do not quarrel with those who pursue this form of pleasure1 but they certainly have no business to be librarians or teachers1 or artists or authors1 or to engage in any occupation which in itself constitutes to the worker the fullness of life and its illumination4 ,the library profession will make its appeal in #aiej1 as it does today1 to men and women who like to work with and among and through books2 who also like to work with and among and through people2 who enjoy watching the interplay of relations between the man and the book and using them for the advancement of civilization4 ,this is an intellectual and spiritual appeal1 and it is not likely to be replaced by that which glitters on the metallic face of the dollar4 ,in taking leave of our subject we may go back to our opening simile of the railroad train4 ,the flier that reaches ,new ,york is the same train that left ,chicago2 its passengers have not greatly changed1 and yet its environment is wholly different1 so that the outlook of those within it has totally altered4 ,it is in some such fashion that the library of #aiej will differ from that of today4 ,it will be the same institution with the same staff1 but it will have traveled far on the rails of time4 ,its environment1 its outlook will be different1 and in its response to that variation it must needs do different things and render a different service4 ,may its motive power never fail1 its machinery be kept well oiled1 and the crew maintain their strength1 intelligence and sanity6 ,,popularizing ,,music ,,through ,,the ,,library#ah ,the purchase of music by a public library is justified by the assumption that its use is to be somewhat analogous to that of printed speech4 ,the analogy is1 in fact1 somewhat closer than most persons realize1 and its consideration reveals some mistaken ideas about the use of music in a library and may give rise to suggestions for the improvement of that use4 ,a page of music1 like a page of written language1 is a record of something whose primary expression is obtained through sound4 ,anyone who understands the notation in either case may reproduce the sounds4 ,in one case this is 8reading aloud02 in the other it is a performance of the music4 ,in the case of the music the sounds may be made with the voice1 or with an instrument or with one or several of both at once1 but this is only an apparent complication and does not affect the principle4 ,the reader1 of course1 may learn the language1 or the music1 by heart and then dispense with the written record4 ,in practise there are important differences between the treatment of records of speech and music4 ,as sound is readily imagined as well as actually produced1 both speech and music may be enjoyed by a reader without making a sound4 ,if the reader of a book cannot do this1 he is not regarded as at all skilled4 ,most of us1 ,i think1 do not consider that a person knows completely how to read when he is not able to read 8to himself01 but finds it necessary to make the actual sounds of speech1 whether loudly1 or only under his breath4 ,in the case of music1 however1 only the skilled musician1 as a general thing1 is able to read a page of music 8to himself01 as he would read a page of written language4 ,this is especially the case with instrumental music and with music where there are several parts4 ,an accomplished musician1 however1 may run over an orchestral score and hear the performance 8in his mind01 with the quality of each instrument brought out1 the harmonies and the shading of intensity4 ,we may go a step further as a matter of curious interest4 ,language is not necessarily connected with sounds at all4 ,a deaf mute1 who has never heard a sound1 and is incapable of understanding what sound is1 may nevertheless learn to read4 ,he is1 however unable to appreciate a page of written music1 and ,i do not know how it would be possible to explain to him what it is like1 except the rhythm of it1 which may be made to appeal to the senses of sight and touch1 as well as to that of sound4 ,in general1 however1 the reader of music must at least imagine the sounds represented by the notation before him4 ,this is not the case with the reader of speech4 ,anyone who can read fast and well enough may1 like the deaf mute1 understand what he reads without even imaging the sound of the words4 ,one may even read so fast that the mere speed forbids any thought of the corresponding oral language4 ,skilled readers may take in a sentence1 a paragraph1 almost a page1 at a glance4 ,this is the sole point of difference between reading language and reading music2 and it does not greatly concern us here because all that it practically affects is speed of appreciation4 ,something that is of greater importance is the difference of purpose usually found between those who read words and those who read musical notes4 ,when we say of a child that he is studying music we usually mean that he is learning how to sing or to play on some instrument with the special view of being able to perform before some kind of audience4 ,a music-teacher in like manner is one who teaches his pupils how to play on the piano or the violin1 or how to sing4 ,but when we teach a child to read we are not primarily concerned with his future ability to read aloud or to recite so as to give pleasure to an audience1 what we are thinking of is his ability to read rapidly to himself so as to understand what is in books4 ,looked at in the same way the main thing in musical instruction would be to teach rapid sight-reading so that the reader should get the ability to become acquainted with as large a number of musical masterpieces as possible4 ,one learns to talk by talking2 one learns to read by reading2 and the same is true of reading music4 ,and as the omnivorous reader of books always wants to express his own thoughts in writing1 so the omnivorous reader of music will want to compose4 ,neither the one nor the other may produce anything great1 but the effort will aid in mental development4 ,as a matter of fact1 the child begins to put his thoughts into words before he knows how to read4 ,he is encouraged to do so4 ,no mother ever tried to stop her baby from learning to talk because its first efforts were feeble1 halting and unintelligible4 ,how differently we treat the child's attempts at musical expression--for that is the explanation of many of the crude baby noises that we hear4 ,as the child grows1 its expression in this direction is discouraged1 and seldom is any effort made at encouragement or development4 ,is it not a wonder that anyone succeeds in composing original music8 ,how many great poets or novelists should we have if every baby were discouraged in its efforts to express itself in words2 if it were never taught to talk and never to read8 ,by the time we librarians are able to exert an influence on the reader1 this period is past1 but it is still possible to do something4 ,our first job is to disabuse the public of the idea that enjoyment of music has necessarily something to do with mastering the technique of some musical instrument4 ,the phonograph has done good work in removing this impression1 but we should never be content with the phonograph any more than we should consent to do away with all printed books and rely wholly on works 8read aloud0 on the victrola4 ,there will always be pleasure and profit in doing one's own reading1 whether in speech or in music4 ,one must understand musical notation of course1 just as one must know the notation of written speech before he can read books4 ,he must also understand a little of some instrument1 preferably the piano2 though only enough for sight-reading1 his object being to understand and appreciate the music himself1 not necessarily to bring understanding and appreciation to others4 ,i think ,i have gone far enough along this train of thought to show the principle on which ,i should select the music for a public library collection4 ,i should form such a collection in precisely the same way as my collection of books4 ,a very large proportion of the books in a public library are properly intended for those who will read them for their own delectation1 enjoying and appreciating and profiting personally by what they read4 ,a much smaller proportion are books for study and research4 ,a still smaller number are dramatic or other selections intended principally for recitation or declamation4 ,so1 in selecting my music ,i would acquire chiefly selections for reading4 ,i do not mean elementary reading--one does not limit his language books to primers4 ,i should buy works of all grades of difficulty1 but ,i should have always in mind the primary use of these for sight reading4 ,comparatively few would be pieces written solely for display--to dazzle the hearer or to show off technique4 ,few would be pieces whose interest is chiefly historical or academic4 ,i do not say that ,i should exclude either of these kinds1 but ,i certainly should not include them in greater degree than ,i should include analogous material in buying ordinary books4 ,bear in mind also that ,i am speaking of an ordinary public library1 of average size1 not of a university library nor that of a music school2 nor a public library so large that it may properly have some of the functions of both of these4 ,just as it is a conspicuous duty of the library to raise and maintain the level of literary taste in its community and to keep this fact in mind in the selection of its books1 so it is the business of its musical collection to raise and maintain the level of musical taste4 ,my own opinion1 which some may regard as heretical1 is that taste can not be cultivated1 in literature1 or art1 or music1 to any considerable extent by study4 ,the study of these things must have to do largely with history and technique1 and while a knowledge of these is desirable it can not affect taste1 although we may imagine that it does4 ,we may reduce this matter to its lowest terms by thinking for a moment of something that depends on the uncomplicated action of an elementary sense--physical taste4 ,if one does not like an olive when he eats one for the first time1 that judgment can not be reversed by studying the history of olive culture4 ,if he dislikes cheese1 it will be useless to take him into a cheese factory and explain to him1 or teach him the technical processes of manufacture4 ,the only way to make him change his mind is to induce him to keep on eating olives1 when one of two things will take place--either his dislike of olives will be confirmed1 or it will disappear4 ,as most people like olives when they become accustomed to the taste1 the latter result is to be expected4 ,now suppose that someone does not care for ,beethoven's 8,moonlight ,sonata04 ,my contention is that he cannot be made to like it by studying the history of music1 or that of this particular selection1 nor by analyzing its structure1 but that he may be led to do it by listening to it repeatedly4 ,as persons familiar with good music do generally enjoy this piece1 it is probable that this result will follow4 ,i know that ,i must now justify this comparison4 ,when ,i make it ,i am accustomed to indignant protest on the part of some of my students4 ,is it not unworthy to compare the music of the ,moonlight ,sonata to a mere physical sensation like the taste of an olive8 ,only as it may be considered unworthy to compare the great and the small2 the complex and the simple4 ,both the taste of the olive and the sound of the sonata1 have a physical origin and impress the brain through the agency of the sense organs4 ,and as a matter of fact ,i doubt whether the sensation of the music is much more complicated than that of the taste4 ,we know that an acoustic sensation is a unit4 ,when a chorus is singing with orchestral accompaniment the result is not a hundred sound waves1 but one2 it strikes the ear drum as a unit1 and that vibrates as a unit1 so that the impression on the brain1 about whose mechanism we are ignorant1 must also be a unit4 ,the popularity of the phonograph enables us to illustrate this familiarly4 ,examine with a microscope a record of a complicated musical performance1 with many voices and many different kinds of instruments1 and you will find a single wavy line4 ,when the needle causes the disk to vibrate by following this line1 it vibrates as a unit1 just as the ear-drum does4 ,there is but one disk1 yet its vibration enables us to pick out separately the different voice parts1 and to recognize the separate quality of the stringed instruments1 the woodwinds and the brasses1 with the drums1 bells1 and what not4 ,when we taste the olive1 we get a sort of chemical effect4 ,we do not know what happens as definitely as we do in the case of a musical sound1 but the various atoms1 each vibrating in its own way1 act upon the taste-buds of the tongue so that a sensation is transmitted to the brain--transmitted as a unit1 just as the sound is4 ,i want to be fair1 so ,i will acknowledge that instead of comparing a single sensation of taste to a sequence of sounds1 ,i should have likened it to a musical chord4 ,to get a taste analogy with a sonata we should have to use a sequence of taste sensations1 possibly that presented by a course dinner4 ,i submit1 however1 that this does not affect my argument4 ,let me repeat my conviction1 then1 that art is primarily a matter of the heart and not of the head--of the feelings and not of the intellect1 and that the feelings are trained by personal experience1 not by study4 ,one cannot learn to appreciate a poem1 or a picture or a piece of music by examining it historically or structurally1 only by experiencing it and others like it again and again1 and also by experiencing in life the emotions that the art is intended to arouse4 ,of course ,i do not mean to say that knowledge of history and technique is not interesting and valuable4 ,it is highly interesting to know the recipe for the pie and to watch the cook make it2 but this does not affect the taste4 ,knowledge obtained by study does affect ability to reproduce or create4 ,one must know how the pie is made before he can make one himself4 ,one can not write a poem or paint a picture or compose a song1 without preliminary study4 ,this should be understood1 but it is outside the pale of our present discussion1 which relates to the chief purpose of the music collection in a library and of its chief uses4 ,my contention1 to repeat1 is that it is related to musical art precisely as the purpose of the book-collection is related to the art of literature4 ,now the present status of the music collection is precisely what that of the book collection would be in a community where the percentage of literacy was small1 where a considerable number of persons did not understand the language of the books1 even when spoken or read aloud1 where those who knew the language understood it only when spoken or read and where readers were obliged to read aloud before they could appreciate what they were reading4 ,a community1 moreover1 where teaching generally meant solely teaching how to recite or read aloud acceptably to others1 with only enough ability to read to get the sense of an extract and enable the reader to commit it to memory4 ,a librarian set down with a collection of books in such a community would not be true to his vocation if he did not attempt to better this state of things1 while admitting the elements of good that it contained4 ,for instance1 the imaginary situation that ,i have described would be quite comparable with a real appreciation and love of good literature4 ,in the first place1 the librarian would wish to see that all the members of his community were able to understand the language of his books1 if not to read it4 ,to remember our analogy for a moment1 he would practically fit his books to his people4 ,if they were predominantly ,french1 for instance1 he would buy many ,french books4 ,but one can not do this with music1 for music is a language by itself1 for the most part untranslatable into any other4 ,we must assume that in the world to which our imaginary community belongs there is but one language1 and that to understand the books those who do not know that language must be taught it4 ,school instruction in language is largely limited to reading4 ,children who go to school understand and talk their language already1 having been taught it at home4 ,it is to the homes1 therefore1 that the librarian would have to look for this instruction and he would have to bring to bear on parents whatever influence might be at his disposal to make them see its value and uses4 ,secondly1 he would have to see that as many as possible were taught to read the language4 ,this would be the function of the schools4 ,thirdly1 it would be necessary to see that facility in reading proceeded so far that readers would not find it necessary to read aloud1 but could when they desired1 read rapidly 8to themselves04 ,it would be necessary1 of course1 to show many of the teachers and almost all of their pupils1 that reading is primarily not to enable the reader to recite to others1 but to make an impression on his own mental equipment4 ,it is quite possible for one to learn to read out loud after a fashion1 in a foreign tongue1 without understanding a word of it1 but so that listeners may get a fair idea of it4 ,the effect on the reader in this case is absolutely zero4 ,musically1 this kind of community is precisely the one that public libraries have to deal with4 ,many of our clients do not like or understand music at all1 or they care for only the most elementary melodies1 harmonies and rythms--comparable to the literature that one gets in a child's primer4 ,of those whose range of appreciation and love is fairly wide1 comparatively few are familiar with musical notation1 and can not read music4 ,of those who can read1 few can read rapidly and with assurance1 and fewer still can read without audible utterance2 that is1 they can not read to themselves4 ,it is common to hear persons who can sing or play on some instrument with a fair degree of success and taste say 8,oh1 ,i can't read2 ,i have to pick out the notes and get my teacher to help me40 ,this is exactly as if someone who had just recited an oration or a poem with some feeling should proclaim complacently3 8,oh1 ,i can't really read4 ,i had to pick out that piece word for word1 with my teacher at my elbow to help me out40 ,in the face of such a situation the librarian should feel and act precisely as he would feel and act if the situation existed with regard to books1 as it has already been imagined and described4 ,first1 he should try to influence the growth of musical appreciation through the home1 so that all the children in a family shall come to understand and use musical language as they do the language of the spoken word4 ,secondly1 he should try to influence the schools so that they shall teach the reading of musical notation as thoroughly as they do the reading of the printed word1 and to persuade teachers of music to teach music really and not simply the art of performing on some musical instrument4 ,thirdly1 he should point out to his musical clients that music may be read 8to oneself01 just as language can1 and encourage them to try it1 beginning with easy examples4 ,note that reading to oneself can be done only by those who already know how to read aloud1 and only by practise4 ,there is no way in which it can be taught4 ,fourthly1 he should have in his library a selection of music picked out to a great extent to further the ends outlined above4 ,much of it should be for readers1 not for performers4 ,his lists should be made for readers and the comments on individual titles should be for readers4 ,moreover1 they should at present be such as will help the beginner2 for a very large proportion of our musical readers are beginners although they may be in the anomalous position of the reader who knows and appreciates his subject matter very thoroughly1 while he can read about it only hesitatingly and haltingly4 ,imagine a well-informed and intelligent student of history who has completely forgotten to read1 owing to some concussion of the brain which has not impaired his knowledge in any other way1 and you have the situation of many music-lovers4 ,there were doubtless poets before the invention of alphabets1 and one may appreciate a symphony concert without knowing his musical alphabet or being able to use it2 but we are accustomed now to considering thorough ability to read as a prerequisite to the requirement of a general education2 and ,i do not see why as complete an ability to read music should not be a prerequisite for such a musical education as all persons ought to possess4 ,the analogy between the reading of music and that of language is very close1 as we have seen1 and we may be guided by it largely2 but there is one respect in which it fails4 ,music and poetry may both be bad in the sense that they are ugly1 of faulty construction1 or trivial4 ,but poetry may also be bad because it conveys a bad moral lesson or causes one to accept what is false4 ,i can not see that it is possible for music to do this1 except by association4 ,a tune that has always been associated with improper words may in time come to be considered as itself improper1 but there can be nothing objectionable about the music in itself4 ,again1 music may be improperly used4 ,anyone would say that a largo in a minor key was out of place at a wedding1 or a jig at a funeral4 ,association may have1 but does not necessarily have anything to do with this2 but here again the music in itself is not objectionable4 ,this simplifies the selection of music for a library2 for it excludes at the outset almost all the problems of censorship4 ,music is rejected usually for negative reasons--because it is not worth buying2 not for any active evil influence that it is likely to exert4 ,this question comes up especially in connection with certain adjuncts to a music collection--pianola rolls and phonograph records4 ,these are both of great aid in assisting the public to understand the language of music1 which they must do before they learn to read it4 ,they may be profitably used1 of course in connection with reading1 and yet the pleasure of following a piano player or a phonograph with the printed score seems to be known to few4 ,every library must judge for itself whether it can afford to put money into these adjuncts but in most cases it is unnecessary to do so1 it being easy to get the rolls and records by donation4 ,in doing this at my own library ,i have been struck with the trivial or so-called 8popular0 character of most of the rolls received4 ,i am told1 also that those who borrow them 7and they have gone out 8like hot cakes07 are largely persons who have not visited the library before4 ,i believe that this sort of music is popular not because it is trivial or 8trashy01 but because it is easy to understand4 ,there is some music that is both good and easy--easy to understand and easy to read4 ,schumann's ,album for the young will occur to anyone4 ,the compositions of ,ludwig ,schytte are modern examples4 ,but the general impression that good music is difficult both to read and appreciate--is 8high-brow01 in fact2 and that easy music is always trivial and poor1 is a deduction1 ,i am afraid from experience4 ,it is certainly not in the nature of things4 ,however1 so long as we want easy music1 both to hear and to read1 and a good deal of it is trashy1 ,i can see nothing to do but to use the trashy music4 ,with the music rolls triviality is all we have to object to--the ceaseless repetition of the same phrases and harmonies4 ,we must remember1 however1 that these are not boresome to the beginner4 ,it takes a good deal of repetition to make one tired of a musical phrase4 ,and there is absolutely no question of active badness here--only of worthlessness4 ,when we come to phonograph records1 however1 we encounter something different4 ,so far as these are purely musical1 what has been said of the music rolls applies to them also1 but many of them are vocal1 and the words are often far below library standard4 ,when a record is rejected for its words1 the music1 of course1 must go with it1 although as music it may be quite unexceptionable4 ,the location of the music collection is affected by the purpose for which it is maintained4 ,a collection for scholars alone should certainly be in a separate room1 with an expert custodian4 ,but when we regard the collection as a means of popularizing music and of improving popular musical taste1 the matter takes on another aspect4 ,a person who comes to the library for the purpose of visiting the music room will find it1 no matter where it may be1 but the reader who needs to have his attention called to it or in whose case it must compete for use with other books1 will never do so4 ,going back to our analogy with general literature we may note that when a librarian wishes to promote the circulation of some special class of literature or call attention to some particular book or books1 the last thing he would think of doing would be to set them apart in a special room4 ,what he does do is to place them conspicuously in the most frequented spot in his library4 ,this is1 of course1 only one side of the question4 ,no one can browse in a collection of books unless he knows how to read2 and so long as music readers can not read 8to themselves01 the reading of instrumental pieces can not be done without the aid of the actual instrument4 ,even when one can read music to himself well enough to pick out what he wants it may aid him to be able to perform the piece on the instrument for which it was written4 ,now the most frequented spot in the library1 where ,i recommend that the music collection shall be displayed1 is not the place for a piano or for its use4 ,this must necessarily be in a separate room4 ,these are not1 however1 absolutely irreconcilable requirements4 ,it is not necessary that the music and the instrument should be in the same room4 ,a sound-proof or a distantly-located room1 for the instruments1 may be used by those who wish to perform pieces before selecting them1 even if no music at all is shelved in the room4 ,this room should preferably be as near as possible to the music shelves1 and if it is it must of course be sound proof4 ,going back again for a moment to our analogy1 the provision of a sound proof music room corresponds to the creation of a similar room for the ordinary reader1 where he may take his books and read them aloud to see how they sound4 ,the mere statement shows us how far behind our ability to read language is our ability to read music4 ,when ,i first began to present these ideas1 which seemed to me to be absurdly self-evident1 it was gradually borne in upon me that most people considered them new and strange1 both those who agreed with me and those who disagreed4 ,but without going into the question of what music can and can not convey to the human mind1 it seems clear to me that both music and language succeed in conveying something to the human organism1 and do it principally by sound-waves4 ,in the case of both1 there is a way of writing down what is to be conveyed1 so that the record may be used by another person who wishes to convey it by sound1 or so that a person1 sufficiently skilled1 may convey it to himself1 without making an audible sound4 ,these facts seem to me to establish so complete an analogy that we may treat music in a library precisely as we treat ordinary books1 both in selection1 distribution and use4 ,if to complete the analogy we must insist on certain changes in the attitude toward music of both educators and readers1 this kind of missionary work is after all no more and no other than that which the modern librarian1 especially in ,america1 is often called upon to do4 ,i am a believer in the mission of music4 ,the public library can do no more helpful thing to our modern life than to assist the public to understand and love it4 ,the fact that it is not a representative art makes it all the more valuable as a means of detaching the mind from the things of this earth and transporting it to a separate world4 ,a beautiful picture or statue or poem is anchored to the ground by the necessary associations of its subject matter4 ,music has no such anchor4 ,it is free to soar1 and soar it does1 bearing with it the listening soul into regions that have no relations with the things of every day life4 ,it may rest or it may stimulate2 it may gladden or depress2 but it does so by means of its own1 not by reminding us of the stimulating or depressing things of our own past experience4 ,in the multifarious mission of the ,public ,library1 as we ,americans see it1 surely the popularization of good music is to assume no unimportant place4 ,,two ,,cardinal ,,sins ,the sins of which ,i purpose to speak are ,duplication and ,omission4 ,they are peculiar to no one class of persons1 to no one business1 profession or institution4 ,they are ubiquitous and omnipresent4 ,those who use the ,book of ,common ,prayer acknowledge them when they confess that they have done those things that they ought not to have done and have left undone those things that they ought to have done4 ,this statement covers other sins1 both of commission and omission1 than those that ,i have specified above1 but it includes both of them4 ,the peculiarity of ,duplication and ,omission is that they are complementary so far as the labor and expense involved in them is concerned4 ,their existence is like that of a surplus and a debt in the same purse4 ,to bewail them is like complaining because you have a thousand dollars that you know not how to invest and at the same time because you owe a thousand that you can not pay4 ,the whole world is out of joint because it is doing twice things that need to be done only once1 and at the same time is not doing at all things that ought to be done4 ,the man with the thousand-dollar surplus and the debt of the same amount may obtain quick relief by paying his indebtedness with his balance4 ,the world will be relieved when it takes the energy and the money now expended in wasteful duplication and puts it into the doing of those things that are now left undone because the energy and money necessary to do them are expended wastefully4 ,it is very easy1 is it not8 ,as easy as adding plus #aj to minus #aj and getting zero4 ,the surplus and the debt1 the duplications and the omissions1 extinguish each other and neither of them bothers us any more4 ,unfortunately there are practical obstacles that do not present themselves in the case of the algebraic sum4 ,these difficulties might occur in the case of the man with the surplus who owed money1 if he could be supposed ignorant both of his balance and of his debt1 while suffering the inconveniences due to both4 ,this ignorance is the rule1 rather than the exception1 in the case of ordinary duplications and omissions4 ,either the duplication is not noticed1 because at first sight it does not appear to be a duplication1 or when recognized as such1 its existence does not seem to be of any consequence4 ,besides this1 both duplications and omissions seem to some to be part of the natural order of things ordained for us and not to be disturbed by the hand of impiety4 ,one hardly knows when to begin with illustrations where there is such a wealth of material1 whether we seek it in civics1 or history1 or science1 or business or in domestic economy4 ,as you have doubtless surmised ,i intend to take the ,public ,library as my chief field of research1 but ,i must maintain or at least justify my thesis of universality by a preliminary trip through a much broader field4 ,first let us take the age-old universal grievance1 the unequal distribution of wealth1 which from our present standpoint we may simplify by saying that one man has two dollars where he needs only one and another has no dollars at all--omission in his case where there is duplication in the other4 ,i know there are some people who fail to see two sins in these simple and well-known facts1 but most of us nowadays are recognizing that it is at least an unsatisfactory state of affairs4 ,where we disagree is that some feel that however unsatisfactory it may be there is nothing to be done about it2 that others who agree that it is unsatisfactory are unable to agree on what they would consider satisfactory2 and that even those who think they know this are unable to get together on a method of attaining what they desire4 ,these various kinds and degrees of disagreement constitute the reason why these two particular sins of duplication and omission continue to be committed4 ,now let us take a very big jump1 from the general theory of socialism down to the golf-clubs of ,middlefield1 ,mass4--a real place1 though ,i have taken the liberty to change its name4 ,with a population of about a thousand1 this model village supported until recently two of these institutions for no other reason than the general tendency to wasteful duplication1 already noted4 ,the links on the ,west ,side and those on the ,east ,side had both their ardent partisans4 ,each club considered the existence of the other a shame and an outrage and each was only too willing to abolish duplication by consolidation1 always provided its own particular links should be the ones to survive4 ,for years this small place supported these two clubs1 each with its club-house1 grounds1 dues and assessments4 ,those who were not partisans had to belong to both1 to keep the peace4 ,meanwhile1 the town greatly needed a small social club where the retired city merchants1 professional men and artists who largely made up its population could assemble occasionally1 have a game of pool or bridge and drink a cup of tea4 ,but their incomes were not large and they had to keep up those two golf clubs4 ,the situation is so typical that ,i am enlarging on it a little4 ,i wish that the outcome were typical too4 ,that outcome was that after years of discussion the clubs were merged1 one of the links was discontinued1 and the village now enjoys the little social club that it needed4 ,an omission has been filled by doing away with a duplication4 ,the church history of many a small place is very much to the point4 ,we see three or four denominational bodies struggling with small congregations1 inadequate buildings and general poverty when by uniting they might fill all these lacks simply by saving what they are now spending on duplication4 ,doctrinal differences are said to keep them apart2 but to the non-theological mind these differences are not greater than these that must always exist between thoughtful men in the same religious body4 ,it is pleasant to see an occasional lapse into sanity1 shown by the union of such churches and the consequent strengthening and growth of a town's religious life4 ,probably it is not too much to say that the whole problem of ,christian ,unity is but a phase of this general question of duplication and omission4 ,in the business world our two sins flourish like green bay trees4 ,small villages have two groceries and no hardware store2 large cities may be overrun with one trade while there is lack of another4 ,these things ought to adjust themselves1 but they do not4 ,one can pick out duplication and omission in the stock of a single institution4 ,on asking for something at a department store recently ,i was met with the remark1 8,isn't that funny8 ,you are the fifteenth person who has asked for that in the last three days60 ,the fact was noted as merely curious and interesting and there was apparently no intention of remedying the omission1 even by cutting out some of the superfluous styles of neckties4 ,the most flagrant example ,i know of duplication in the business and industrial world is the duplicate telephone company4 ,a telephone company is a good example of a mutual enterprise2 its value to any subscriber depends on the existence of all the other subscribers4 ,if a man could afford to buy up the company and discontinue all the telephones but his own1 the value would disappear4 ,two companies are simply a nuisance1 involving duplication of plant with no resulting convenience4 ,the same is not true of gas or water companies1 because here one user does not depend on the others4 ,you would get just as good service if the electric company concluded to serve you1 and you alone4 ,there is1 to be sure1 wasteful duplication in these cases also1 but in the instance of the telephone it is accompanied with necessary deterioration of service4 ,i suppose ,i need say little about the existence of our two sins in the household4 ,we are honeycombed with them from the rural dinner table where there are no soup and three kinds of pie1 to the housewife who yields to the temptation to buy another evening dress and 8can not afford0 an outing costume4 ,what we need everywhere is some kind of a ,board of ,equalization1 with autocratic powers1 that will rigourously suppress all our duplication and with the money saved supply our omissions for us4 ,we may learn something from the efforts that have recently been made to minimize these two sins in charitable work and social service4 ,every city contains numerous charitable bodies1 all trying to relieve want and alleviate suffering4 ,they are frequently the prey of unscrupulous persons who manage to get their wants alleviated by three or four societies at once--by each1 of course1 without the knowledge of the others4 ,the result is that there are no funds to relieve many worthy persons who accordingly suffer4 ,the two sins in this case are being avoided by the simple establishment of a card-index at a central point4 ,when an application is made for relief the index-office is informed by telephone1 the index is consulted1 and if it is found that the applicant is already receiving aid from some other source his request is politely but firmly refused4 ,the present production of books gives us an instructive example of the existence of duplications and omissions on a large scale2 and the elucidation of these will bring us a little nearer to the application of our principles to the library1 toward which we are tending4 ,i know not which is the more striking fact in connection with the publishing business--the continual issue of useless books--fiction and non-fiction1 or the non-existence of works on vital subjects regarding which we need information4 ,of course this is due partly to the fact that the men who know things are also the men who do things4 ,they are too busy to write them down4 ,it is also due to the abnormal appetites of the semi-educated1 which create a demand for the trivial and fatuous4 ,the semi-educated person is intellectually young2 he has the peculiarities of the child4 ,foremost among these is the love of repetition4 ,the little one would rather hear his favorite fairy tale for the hundredth time than risk an adventure into stranger fields of narrative4 ,there is something admirable about this when it leads to the adult's love of re-reading great literature4 ,but in the semi-educated it appears as an unlimited capacity for assimilating unreal fiction with the same plots1 the same characters1 the same adventures and the same emotions1 depicted time after time with slight changes in names and attendant circumstances4 ,an ,african explorer told me recently that the events attending the southward progress of the ,french through the ,sahara and down into ,central ,africa were the most thrilling and the most important1 from the standpoint of world history1 among those of recent times4 ,the story of them remains unwritten1 except for a few episodes in ,french that have not been thought worthy of translation into other tongues4 ,yet in this period how much trivial incident1 how much banal reminiscence1 has been thought worthy of enshrinement in bulky octavos1 selling at four dollars each6 ,the money spent in putting forth the same idle stuff that has oppressed the world for centuries would have supplied great gaps in our catalogues of history1 travel and science and have given us vital literature that we may now have lost forever4 ,in fiction1 the sin of repetition is largely due to the substitution of imagination for observation4 ,no two actual things are alike and no two events happen in the same way4 ,observation and accurate description will never result in duplication4 ,but the semi-educated imagination sees always the same things and sees them in the same way2 and its use in the writing of fiction results as we have seen4 ,would that we had1 to-day and here1 realism like that of ,turgenief in his 8,memoirs of a ,sportsman0--the detailed account of every-day happenings2 the hardest thing in the world to write interestingly4 ,when we try it1 which we seldom do1 we seem to revert at once to the dreary side of life1 which doubtless exists but surely not to the exclusion of other things4 ,turgenief's book helped toward the emancipation of the serfs4 ,i will not dwell on that1 for ,mrs4 ,stowe's ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin--a very different sort of book1 performed a like office for us4 ,i will rather insist that ,turgenief wrote simple1 vital descriptive literature2 something that you will look far to find in our modern fiction4 ,our books of reference are full of duplications and omissions4 ,search the commoner dictionaries and cyclopedias on the library shelves and you will find countless instances of items of information given twice or thrice and others left out altogether--of words entered under more than one form and completely defined under each1 while cross-references lead the seeker to nothing at all4 ,after working a good many years on books of this kind ,i am convinced that the art of making a perfect dictionary or cyclopedia is the art of avoiding duplication and omission4 ,this can not be done until publishers are willing to allow sufficient time to elaborate a plan before beginning work on one of these books4 ,this1 so far1 has never been done1 and the two sins continue to be committed1 here as elsewhere4 ,it is doubtless time for our application of these principles to the library4 ,we have not to look far to begin4 ,take any city of average size and inquire how many libraries it supports4 ,is there any necessity in a town for more than one library8 ,i am open to conviction1 but ,i doubt4 ,there are excellent reasons for the duplication in each case1 ,i know1 just as there were for the two golf clubs in our little town4 ,the duplication in buildings1 staff and books is very costly1 and the service1 no matter how good it may be1 is not bettered by this duplication4 ,the trouble may be minimized by co-operation1 but it still exists4 ,take1 if you please1 the one item of book-purchase4 ,i shall not speak here of private owners1 though they must bear their share of blame and of punishment for our two sins2 but add together the book funds of the two or three large libraries--public or subscription--and of the dozen small ones--special1 denominational1 associational--in a community1 and see to what a considerable sum it amounts4 ,if it could be administered and expended as a unit1 is there any one who will maintain that the precise books would be bought that actually are bought8 ,we find all these libraries buying copies of the same book when one copy is all that the community needs1 each ignoring the others and each lamenting the insufficiency of its funds4 ,i have not forgotten such conspicuous instances of co-operation in book-purchase as that of the three large libraries in ,chicago1 but ,i also do not forget that it is rare1 and that even in ,chicago it has been found difficult to carry it out in the perfection in which it is to be found on paper4 ,if we add private purchasers to the libraries ,i have little hesitation in saying that the money spent on books in any community is quite enough to buy all that the community needs4 ,the lacks are due to the fact that the sum needed to supply them is spent on useless duplicates4 ,i am not proposing plans1 here or elsewhere1 to perform the addition of plus and minus quantities that is so easy in pure algebra2 ,i am merely pointing out their existence4 ,from my point of view the ideal situation in a community is the administration by a single body of all its library activities1 even private owners co-operating to a certain extent4 ,let us refresh our memories with a bit of library history4 ,there are at present a great many separate libraries in greater ,new ,york4 ,that is1 from my point of view1 a bad thing4 ,but there were once a great many more4 ,new ,york and ,brooklyn were full of small circulating libraries--denominational1 charitable and associational2 and many of them had succeeded in obtaining small subsidies from the city4 ,the sum of these was considerable--or would have been considerable had it been administered as a sum1 instead of in separate driblets4 ,all the considerations noted above applied in this case1 but the ,board of ,equalization for which we have been sighing actually existed here4 ,it was the city government1 which bestowed and controlled a large part of these institutional incomes4 ,a city comptroller with a business-like mind saw all this and proceeded to act upon it4 ,the small libraries became branches of the public libraries of ,new ,york and ,brooklyn4 ,the city subsidy1 in a lump sum went to those institutions4 ,if there is any one who now wishes to return to the old system of separate control and duplication of effort1 ,i am unacquainted with him2 notwithstanding the fact that ,i know many trustees of the consolidated institutions who were filled with rage at the summary action of the city4 ,that action was in the nature of both a threat and a bribe--a threat to discontinue the appropriation of city funds for a library that should refuse to consolidate and a bribe in the shape of a hint of additional favors to come if it should not refuse4 ,mr4 ,andrew ,carnegie's offer to build branch libraries1 coming at about this time1 made it possible to reinforce this hint very effectively4 ,our federal government is being held up as the model for a future world federation1 and its successful operation confutes the fears of those who doubt the workability of any such plan4 ,in like manner ,i beg to point to the library consolidations in ,new ,york and ,brooklyn as an evidence that such removal of duplication elsewhere would enable us to supply omissions in library service4 ,all we need is a motive--if not the threats and bribes that forced the ,new ,york consolidation1 then something of equal effect4 ,but as ,i have said ,i am not proposing plans4 ,the abolition of this kind of duplication requires pressure from an outside body or agreement among those concerned2 no one of us1 acting alone1 can do away with it4 ,but there are duplications and omissions in the work of every library that it is in the power of the librarian to remedy4 ,many of these are the result of growth4 ,i know of no profession whose members are more continually and consistently looking for more work to do than that of librarianship4 ,this quest is rarely carried on cooperatively in a library4 ,the head of each department grasps every opportunity to enlarge her sphere of influence1 with the result that her sphere first touches that of another department and then intersects it1 so that they possess certain parts of the field of service in common4 ,the departments concerned may not know of this duplication1 or they may realize that it is going on and be unwilling to stop it for various reasons4 ,each department-head1 like the golf-clubs mentioned above1 may be willing to abolish duplication by driving her fellow-worker out of the field1 but not otherwise2 and her fear lest she herself may have to be the one to retire may induce her to keep silence4 ,sometimes the librarian himself1 observing the interference1 contents himself with seeing that individual items of service are not duplicated1 leaving the two departments to do1 in part1 the same kind of work1 though not in precisely the same items4 ,this is but a partial atonement for our two sins4 ,although there is1 perhaps1 no longer actual duplication of work1 there is duplication of administration1 duplication of thought and planning4 ,all this is waste of effort that should be devoted to doing some of the things that every library leaves undone4 ,i have elsewhere treated of what ,i call 8conflicts of jurisdiction0 in libraries4 ,this comes under the same head1 though there may be no actual clash of authorities4 ,sometimes we have cases resembling those of the applicants for charitable aid from various sources4 ,members of the public entitled to library service1 the amount of which has been limited by the rules to ensure proper distribution and to prevent monopoly1 manage to get two or three times as much as they should get1 by applying to different departments1 or to the same department under different names4 ,there has been much removal of restrictions of late1 in libraries1 with the intent to give fuller and freer service to the public4 ,there should be no restriction that interferes with such service4 ,but many restrictions are intended merely to check those whose tendency is to hamper service2 and removal of these will evidently injure the public1 not benefit it4 ,traffic regulations are a great bother1 but their removal would not be in the public interest4 ,neither would the removal of necessary regulation of library traffic--the free distribution of books through the appointed public agencies4 ,i sympathize with our modern desire to let ,mr4 ,a have as many books as he wants and to keep them as long as he wants2 but this sympathy changes to indignation when ,mr4 ,a proves to be a library hog1 taking advantage of his privileges simply to keep away from ,mr4 ,b and ,miss ,c the books that they want4 ,now and again we find a reader who understands increase of library privileges to mean taking a book away from someone else and giving it to him4 ,there could be no more flagrant example of the double sin of duplication and omission--giving ,a more than he can use and thereby depriving ,b of what he needs4 ,the expenditure of time is a domain in which our two sins become especially noticeable4 ,if one has plenty of money he may waste a good deal without serious effects2 but waste of time is different4 ,the total extent of time is doubtless infinite1 but not its extent as available to the individual4 ,he has only his three-score years and ten1 and astronomical happenings have chopped this up for him into years1 months1 weeks and days1 any one of which is largely a repetition of those that have gone before4 ,so many of our duties1 for instance1 are daily that the average man has only a few hours out of the twenty-four to deal with emergency work1 8hurry calls0 and all sorts of exceptional demands on his time4 ,if he gives ten minutes to something that requires but five1 he must often neglect a duty1 and this constitutes duplication and omission of time1 to be remedied by taking the unnecessary five minutes from one task and bestowing it on another4 ,here again1 however1 our algebraic addition is simple only on paper4 ,we are hindered not only by our own propensity to waste time but by those whose own is of no value and who therefore insist on wasting ours for us4 ,this is a subject on which most executive officers can speak feelingly4 ,such officers are troubled with two kinds of lieutenants--those who keep them in ignorance of what is going on and those who insist on putting them in continual possession of trivial details--more omission and duplication1 you see4 ,one special kind of time-waster is the assistant who comes to her chief with a request4 ,foreseeing refusal she has primed herself with all sorts of arguments and is ready to smash all opposition in a logical presentation of the subject calculated to occupy thirty minutes or so4 ,but the request1 as stated1 appeals to her chief as reasonable1 and he grants it at once without hearing the argument4 ,do you think the petitioner is going to waste all that valuable logic8 ,not she6 ,she stands her ground and pours it all out1 the whole half hour of it2 and when the victim has granted a second time what he had already granted without argument1 she retires flushed with triumph at her success4 ,and while this duplicator was duplicating1 the other sinner1 the 8omittor01 was performing some innocent and valuable administrative act without her chief's knowledge1 causing him to give wrong information to a caller and convict himself of ignorance of what is going on in his own institution4 ,time-wasting1 of course1 is by no means confined to the library staff4 ,much of every one's time1 in a library1 is consumed in fruitless conversations with the public--the answering of trivial questions1 the search for data that can do no one any good1 efforts to appease the wrath of someone who ought never to have been angry at all1 attempts to explain things verbally when adequate explanations in print are at hand4 ,all these things consume valuable time and thereby force the omission of public services that would otherwise be performed4 ,some of them are unavoidable4 ,we must always change up a little time to the account of courtesy1 the avoidance of brusqueness1 the maintenance in the community of that tradition of library helpfulness that is perhaps the library's chief asset4 ,this we can not afford to lose4 ,but without sacrificing it1 can we not eliminate some of the bores1 cut down our useless services for the sake of performing a few more useful ones1 and increase the amount of library energy usefully employed without enlarging the total sum expended8 ,this is one of our most vital problems1 did we but realize it4 ,we have gone far enough1 perhaps1 to realize that our two sins are indeed cardinal and fundamental4 ,the authors of the ,prayer ,book were right4 ,we have done those things that we ought not to have done and we have left undone those things that we ought to have done2 and we are all miserable sinners4 ,if ,i had nerve enough to add a new society to the thousand and one that carry on their multifarious activities about us1 ,i should found a ,league to ,suppress ,duplications and ,supply ,omissions4 ,a ,,message ,,to ,,beginners ,history may be described as an account of the conflict between the tendency of things to move and efforts to fasten them down so that they will keep still4 ,where they have been moving in the wrong direction these efforts have been praiseworthy2 but in too many instances motion has been resisted simply because it is motion1 quiescence being looked upon as the supreme good4 ,in his interesting 8,history of ,fiji01 ,dr4 ,alfred ,goldsborough ,mayer notes that the difference between the savage and the civilized man is not one of content of knowledge1 for the savage often knows far more than we do1 but is due to the fact that the savage is bound hand and foot by tradition--he is a slave to his imagination1 and to that of his forefathers4 ,the conflict in his case has ended definitely with the triumph of the fastening down process4 ,there is no more motion4 ,he can not fall back1 but neither can he move forward4 ,he is locked in one position--that of the particular generation1 five1 fifty or five hundred years ago1 when his fight for progress was lost4 ,with the civilized man the fight still goes on4 ,it is not yet won nor lost and the story of it1 as ,i have said1 is history4 ,read it in this light and it will assume for you new significance4 ,wars1 revolutions1 changes of dynasty1 racial migrations1 linguistic changes1 the achievements of art1 the triumphs of science1 the evolution of social systems1 the development of justice1 the rise of literature and the drama--everything that marks the story of what has been going on in the world--is but a phase of this age-long struggle between forces and obstacles of whose origins1 at bottom1 we know little4 ,so far as the obstacles have won1 there are still savage elements lurking in us2 so far as we have thrust them aside1 we are advancing further toward civilization4 ,the one title that we have to call ourselves civilized is the fact that no set of traditions or customs--no institution--has yet become crystallized into the fixity that obtains with the savage races2--not the ,church1 not government1 not science1 nor art nor literature4 ,all these are changing1 despite efforts to pin them down4 ,our language1 our social customs are altering2 our fashions of dress change from year to year4 ,our old people1 for a man often reverts to savagery in his old age1 pass away with words of regret on their lips for the good old days of their youth1 when things were different4 ,a savage has never to do this1 for the days of his youth and his age are precisely the same--custom1 speech1 habit1 observance1 tradition1 all are locked up into fixity4 ,the education of the savage is directed toward perpetuating this fixity2 that of the civilized man should be a force in the opposite direction4 ,recognizing that change is the life-blood of civilization1 it should be devoted to controlling and directing that change1 leading the mind of the pupil to anticipating and welcoming it and bracing that mind against all feeling of shock due to the mere starting of the machinery of progress4 ,i say this is what education should be4 ,i believe that it is tending in this way4 ,but a large part of it is still savage--an effort to keep our customs1 thoughts and actions to standards set up by our ancestors4 ,the ,public ,library1 we are fond of saying1 is an educational institution2 which kind of education shall it dispense8 ,shall it be a motor or a brake8 ,shall it look back into the past or forward into the future8 ,to many persons1 the idea of a forward-looking library seems absurd4 ,it is essentially a repository of records1 and records are of the past4 ,you will find somewhere1 unless oblivion has overtaken it1 an address by your lecturer on 8,the ,public ,library as a ,conservative ,force04 ,such it doubtless is and such it should be--but its conservatism is that of control1 not of stagnation4 ,it is the skilled driver who keeps the car in the road--not the ignoramus who stalls it in the ditch4 ,records are assuredly of the past2 but the past and its records may be looked upon in either of two ways--as standards for all time1 or as foundations on which to build for the future4 ,the civilized man rejoices in foundations--he builds them deep and strong1 and erects upon them some noble superstructure4 ,the savage puts up his great stone circle1 mighty and wonderful perhaps1 but complete in itself and of no manner of use4 ,so ,i ask you1 what is our collection of records to be--a stone circle or a foundation8 ,now the records themselves--the books--can never determine this any more than the great monolith can determine whether it is going into a ,stonehenge or into the foundation of a ,parthenon4 ,it is what we do to the books--to and with them--that matters4 ,the world would never move on without records of the progress that had already been made4 ,just as surely1 it would never move on by reliance on those records alone4 ,what we have accomplished brings us merely to a mile stone in the path of progress4 ,to reach a given point1 one must pass the mile stones on the way2 but they must be passed and left behind4 ,we shall never get anywhere merely by sitting down upon any of them4 ,to make a personal application to yourselves1 you will never make good librarians unless you master what good librarians before you have learned and taught4 ,but just as certainly1 you will never be good librarians if you regard this as a definite stopping point4 ,the trouble with most of our education is that it is static and not dynamic2 it looks backward1 not forward2 it teaches what has already been accomplished and fails to equip the student for devising and accomplishing something further1 on his own account4 ,i am warning you in the midst of a course intended to fit you for librarianship that the course alone will not so fit you4 ,but it will start you--and a start in the right direction is of great value--nay1 it is indispensable4 ,when the fielder throws the ball directly into the baseman's hands there is a preliminary motion of his arm4 ,at the end of that motion the ball begins its flight2 its start has enabled it to go straight4 ,your library course will be the throw that enables you to go straight to the mark1 but you must not forget that the whole flight remains to be made4 ,my metaphor is a bad one4 ,the ball has no power to adjust or alter its course4 ,you have that power2 you can better a good start1 or you can nullify it4 ,you may even hit the mark after you have been started in the wrong direction2 but to say this is by no means to recommend a wrong start4 ,all this is a series of platitudes2 but to insist on the obvious is often useful4 ,there are so many obvious things that we are apt to neglect some of the most necessary1 just as we may fail to see a sign on a building because it is all plastered with signs4 ,nothing is more common than to assume that a period of formal education1 general or special1 makes its subject 8fit01 either for life or for a vocation4 ,some never get over this idea and fail in consequence2 some discover their mistake and blame their training because it does not do what it can not do and was not intended to do4 ,formal training trains one to start2 it makes one fit to run the race4 ,the race is not won when the training has ended2 it has not even begun4 ,the man with a ,b4,a4 degree is not ready to tackle the problems of life and vanquish them4 ,the graduate in law or medicine is not a trained lawyer or physician1 and when you have completed your library course you will not be trained librarians4 ,you will have been started right1 the rest of your training will depend on your reaction to the forces1 the stimuli1 that surround you on all sides4 ,what the executive officer is looking for all over the world is initiative1 guided by common sense2 but it is rare4 ,possibly our education fails to develop it2 possibly no system of education could develop it4 ,but it exists2 and we are all happy when we find it4 ,throwing out of consideration the really lazy1 ignorant or incompetent assistant1 competent subordinates may be of three kinds--first1 he who has been trained to do certain things in certain ways and continues to do only those things in only those ways1 not realizing the possibility of change or improvement2 secondly1 he who does realize this possibility but has been taught1 or at any rate believes1 that it is not his place1 but only his superior's1 to take active steps toward something more or better2 and thirdly he who both realizes and acts1 who does what he can to see that such steps as he can properly take to improve matters are taken and that such as he can not take of his own accord are suggested1 in a proper manner1 to his superior4 ,if ,i were asked to sum up1 in a few words1 the things that differentiate a well run from a poorly run institution ,i should say1 first1 the existence of a staff composed of persons of this third variety1 and secondly a chief executive who appreciates and uses them4 ,a progressive executive with a staff of assistants who faithfully obey orders and do nothing more will not go far4 ,his institution may make no mistakes2 it may run like a machine1 but it will have the faults of a machine--its product will be machine made4 ,with a live staff and a poor executive there will be a maximum of mistakes1 absurd and ill-judged plans--a failure to co-ordinate effort in different lines4 ,with plenty of initiative in the staff1 and with an executive to select1 restrain1 encourage and control1 we have an approach to the work of a single living organism1 the most perfect tool of evolution4 ,while this means the encouragement of suggestion it also means rejection and selection4 ,it means that while the staff will have to bear disappointment with good nature and without diminution of initiative1 the executive1 on his part1 must realize that a hundred impractical suggestions do not disprove the possibility1 or even the probability1 that the assistant who makes them may ultimately offer some plan1 method1 or device of great value4 ,some of the greatest improvements in library service are due to persons with an imagination and an initiative especially prone to run wild in impractical suggestions4 ,i realize that ,i may be regarded as tossing a firebrand among you when ,i tell you to develop your initiative4 ,an unwise or uncontrolled initiative may do harm1 but ,i fervently believe that greater harm is done every day by the lack of all initiative4 ,better than any stagnant pool is a running stream1 though it break bounds and waste itself in foam and spray4 ,there may be those who will say3 ,let the student first learn to obey without question2 when he has done this it will be time to talk to him about initiative4 ,alas6 that will also be the time when he has lost the chance to develop it intelligently4 ,no1 the accepted standards and the ways of progress must be assimilated at one time4 ,rather than unquestioning obedience to an order1 a rule or a formula1 let us have appreciation of the reason for it and disobedience whenever a breaking of the letter may keep us more closely to the spirit4 ,i can assure you that you will make better assistants if this is your temperament1 that librarians are looking earnestly for more of this kind1 rejoicing when they see the spark of life among the dead wheels and cogs of the library machinery1 determined to give any one who shows it an opportunity to show more of it1 by promoting him to a place of greater effort and of higher responsibility and service4 ,when such a promotion comes1 perhaps over the heads of others with better training and longer experience1 there is often wonder and a disposition to explain it all by 8favoritism04 ,and viewed from the proper angle1 this is correct2 every chief librarian has his favorites2 they are those on whom he has learned that he can depend1 not only for solid and accurate knowledge of facts and methods but also for quick and ready response to the slightest change of conditions--for appreciation of what is needed in a given set of unusual circumstances and resourcefulness in devising new methods or modifying old ones to meet the emergency--what ,i have already summed up in the one word initiative4 ,every teacher1 and every student knows that a good arithmetician may fail utterly when he comes to state and solve problems in algebra4 ,his success has been due to the memorizing of rules and their application4 ,when he is confronted with the necessity of putting into mathematical symbols the fact that ,a1 ,b and ,c can do a piece of work in #c1 #d and #e days1 respectively1 he is stumped because an entirely different sort of demand is made on his intelligence4 ,and when his teacher explains how the statement may be made1 although he has learned how to state that particular class of problems1 he is just as much at sea when he is confronted with the question of how soon after #ab o'clock the hands of a watch will again be together on the dial4 ,in other words1 he has left the land of rules and entered the region of common sense4 ,if he is bright1 he very soon realizes that all mathematics is common sense2 that rules are very useful indeed1 but only as short cuts to mechanical processes4 ,so1 at least so ,i trust1 all the methods and tools of library work are based on common sense--catalogues and charging systems and classifications are very useful indeed1 but only as short cuts to certain results that would otherwise not be achieved or would be arrived at too late or too confusedly4 ,we must learn all about these1 but the time will come when we shall leave the library school and enter the library4 ,here no sort of rule1 formula1 method or process will suffice for us1 essential though they all are2 if we are to make good we must add common sense1 adaptability1 resourcefulness1 initiative4 ,possibly you think that ,i have been applying the principle of conflict between progression and stagnation somewhat carelessly--now to your own training as librarians and again to the service rendered by the library itself4 ,in truth these are intimately connected4 ,progressive assistants make a progressive library4 ,a staff that does its work mechanically will operate a library without initiative4 ,if your habit of mind has grown to be a habit of regarding all the technical detail of library work as part of nature's law1 you will be shocked at a suggestion that the library of which you are a part should undertake some public service that a library never undertook before4 ,you may know already--you certainly will know soon--that this question of the extension or limitation of library service is still a burning one in many minds4 ,libraries to-day are doing a thousand things that no one of them would have thought of doing fifty years ago4 ,that some of these things are foolish or ill advised ,i have no doubt4 ,we now occasionally hear it said that there should be some authoritative statement or agreement on what public libraries1 at any rate1 ought to do and what they ought not to do4 ,but we ,americans do not take kindly to limitations of this sort1 although they are familiar in countries where service of all kinds is more standardized4 ,we read in a recent magazine article of the trials of ,mrs4 ,james ,russell ,lowell with ,english servants1 when her husband was ,american minister in ,london4 ,wishing to have a loose corner of carpet nailed down1 she called on one after another of her domestic staff1 only to be told that the clearly-defined duties of each did not admit of that particular item of service4 ,she finally lined them up on one side of the room1 tacked down the carpet herself and then discharged every one of them4 ,this sort of thing does not seem to ,americans like efficiency4 ,if some needed bit of service in an ,american town remains undone1 and church and school and library all look the other way because it does not fall within a carefully-limited sphere of duty which each has assigned to itself1 we shall count them all blameworthy1 especially if it shall appear that one of them is equipped to perform that particular service easily1 cheaply and well4 ,the church and the school have both taken this view1 and the modern extension of the library's functions shows that it has been doing likewise4 ,it has gone further than either of the others1 probably1 because it finds itself in many ways better equipped for the doing of civic odd jobs4 ,it is related of a railway manager that an employee whose work was over once asked him for a free ticket home4 ,the manager refused1 saying3 8,if you had been working for a farmer you would hardly expect him to hitch up and drive you home1 would you80 8,no01 said the man1 8but if he had a rig already hitched up and ready to start1 and he was going my way1 ,i should call him darned mean if he didn't take me along40 ,in many cases the library has been hitched up and standing at the door when the necessity has arisen1 and it has been 8going the same way0--in other words1 the need of the community is nearly related to the work that the community's support has already enabled it to do4 ,under these circumstances it is in the position of ,coleridge's ,wedding ,guest--it 8can not chuse but hear04 ,when we look at the library's recent history1 we shall see that it is in precisely this way that it has taken on all its additional functions4 ,the old libraries lent no books4 ,but home use of books seemed presently desirable4 ,after experimenting with separate institutions for this kind of service1 we have all come around to considering it a legitimate function of the ,public ,library4 ,libraries gave no attention to children4 ,when this became necessary1 another function was added4 ,these and other duties were very closely related to the library's older functions4 ,soon there was a further step1 in making which the library took over services whose connection with its primary business was not so clear4 ,to draw an example from what is most familiar to me at present1 in the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library you will find a room for art exhibits1 collections of post-cards and textile fabrics1 a card index to current lectures1 exhibitions and concerts1 a public writing-room with free note-paper and envelopes1 a class of young women1 studying1 like yourselves1 to be librarians2 meeting-places for all sorts of clubs and groups1 civic1 educational1 social1 political and religious2 a photographic copying machine1 placed at public disposal at the cost of operation2 lunch-rooms and rest-rooms for the staff2 a garage1 with automobiles in it1 not to speak of an extensive telephone switchboard1 a paint-shop1 a carpenter shop1 and a power-plant4 ,not one of these things1 ,i believe1 would you have found in a large library fifty years ago1 and yet they are probably all1 in one shape or another1 to be found in all large modern ,american libraries4 ,they are extensions of function2 in many cases it would be hard to justify them on general principles4 ,why should a library allow young people to dance1 or men to hold a political meeting or the neighbors to exhibit local products1 in its building8 ,our ,english friends hold that it is the height of absurdity to do so4 ,doubtless we should be absurd if we should attempt to formulate a principle about what cognate activities might properly be admitted to the library and should include such things as these4 ,but that is not the way in which it all came about4 ,there was some group of citizens1 anxious to engage in some activity1 beneficial to themselves and to the community4 ,they wanted a place to meet4 ,church and school1 for one reason or another1 real or imaginary1 were out of the question1 and they came to the library4 ,the ,library had an unoccupied room1 heated and lighted4 ,it had the choice of locking out citizens of the community that were supporting it out of the public funds1 or of admitting them4 ,put in this way the library's duty seems clear enough4 ,but there is a step further still4 ,some demands for help are so old that the knocking at the door has passed out of the consciousness of both those who knock and those who hear4 ,in this case it becomes necessary for the library to undertake what a recent scientific writer calls the 8re-education of its attentive control04 ,when an institution reaches the conclusion that it is doing all that it can1 or all that the community can properly ask of it1 the chances are that it is losing its ability to concentrate4 ,its duty is to fix its attention on one element of community life after another and ask itself whether it is not overlooking some really insistent demand for help4 ,i well remember when1 in the ,new ,york ,public ,library we used complacently to explain our failure to purchase ,hungarian books for circulation by saying that there was no demand for them4 ,but the time came when we put in a few hundred books in that tongue4 ,at once it became evident that we needed not hundreds but thousands4 ,hungarians came to us from far distant parts of the city only to find empty shelves4 ,this overwhelming demand had been present all the time2 only it was latent4 ,it lacked active expression1 simply because our lack of ,hungarian books was a well known fact4 ,since then when librarians tell me that their libraries have no books in ,ruthenian1 or on sanitary plumbing1 no out-of-town directories or no prints for circulation1 because 8there is no demand for them01 ,i am inclined to smile4 ,no matter how near you may be to dying of thirst1 you will not be likely to visit an obviously dry sand-bank in search of water4 ,the intelligent search for these latent demands requires the kind of interested ability that ,i have already spoken of as one of the library's chief needs4 ,the library must keep on growing if it is to live4 ,it must take on new functions1 and when it assumes some new duty1 some group in the community must exclaim 8,of course6 that is just what we have been wanting all the time04 ,and at the same time there will always be some outworn function that may be dropped off quietly to make room for the new4 ,only the librarian must not mistake unintelligent imitation for initiative4 ,imitation in itself is unobjectionable4 ,if what someone else has devised is obviously the very thing you have been looking for to solve your problem1 you would only waste energy in trying to devise something else4 ,but if you think you can create in your community a library as good1 we will say1 as ,mr4 ,dana's in ,newark1 or ,mr4 ,brett's in ,cleveland or ,mr4 ,jennings' in ,seattle1 simply by copying every detail of those institutions1 you are as foolish as if you thought you could make yourself look like your well-dressed friend simply by borrowing his clothes4 ,the library must fit the community2 also1 in some respects1 the librarian4 ,i have recently visited ,miss ,hewins' office in the ,hartford ,public ,library4 ,i think it is the most fascinating office a librarian ever occupied4 ,but ,i certainly shall not go home to ,st4 ,louis and try to make mine look like it4 ,this warning applies particularly to the added functions of which we have been speaking above4 ,they should be assumed in response to a demand--expressed or latent4 ,the demand may be obvious and insistent in one library and non-existent in another4 ,if you suspect a latent demand1 experiment will generally reveal or disprove its existence1 just as those few hundreds of ,hungarian books brought out the demand for the present thousands4 ,we have on the east side of our library a broad terrace1 balustraded1 elevated above the street1 paved with brick and stone4 ,it is shady on summer afternoons1 and swept by the south breeze4 ,what an ideal place to read in the open air1 instead of in the stuffy building6 ,we equipped it with tables and chairs1 relaxed the rules to make it easy to take books and magazines there1 did everything in our power to encourage terrace readers4 ,the public press saw and approved4 ,everything worked well1 except that nobody came6 ,a failure1 do you say8 ,not at all4 ,we had tried our experiment1 tested for our possible latent demand and found that there was none4 ,we had asked our question and received our answer4 ,there are no tables and chairs on that terrace to-day1 but we are not discouraged3 why should we be8 ,a real experiment never fails3 you always get your answer--yes or no4 ,of course if your experiment is a sham1 and you have assumed that the answer is to be the one that you want1 you may be disappointed4 ,it is always a pleasure to watch things grow1 to be able to keep them on and guide their growth in useful directions4 ,a library is no exception to the rule4 ,even growth in size--the simplest kind--has its satisfactions1 but extension of service is still more interesting4 ,it is well that there should be a little mystery between the librarian and his public--a consciousness of problems yet to solve1 of service yet to be rendered4 ,it is well that he should be on the lookout for latent demands--those hungers and thirsts that he knows must exist somewhere and that he is eager to satisfy2 it is well that his community should regard the library as a place with opportunity and willingness for service yet unrevealed as a reservoir of favors yet unbestowed4 ,this is a living relation1 not one of mere juxtaposition4 ,i never envied the kind of service that old ,atlas did the world1 in standing eternally with it on his shoulders4 ,that was an image of dull1 burdensome despair4 ,how much better our modern vision of a spinning globe1 circling through space1 with all its brother and sister globes dancing around it6 ,and however miraculous it seems1 we know that whenever we get up and walk across the room there is a tiny adjustment of balance throughout the whole vast system4 ,there are social balances1 too1 as well as celestial1 and when the library puts out its foot to take a forward step1 ,i believe that they all respond4 ,these things that libraries are doing have their part in the vast social adjustments in the midst of which we live4 ,some day a social historian will arise to describe them and set them in their place4 ,i am frequently disappointed when ,i take up some book describing a movement or an application of energy in which ,i know that the library has borne a part1 to find that its share has been absolutely without recognition2 that the word 8library0 is not even in the copious index4 ,we have been busy doing things--here in the seclusion of the library family we may say that they have been things worth the doing4 ,some day we1 too1 shall have our ,homer or our ,milton4 ,let me remind you that this has all been illustrative of my principle that library service1 like every other kind of mundane activity1 is a phase of the eternal struggle between keeping still and getting somewhere else4 ,at the close of a recent novel one of the most thoughtful of current ,english writers1 ,mr4 ,j4,d4 ,beresford1 states the issue thus 7,i quote from memory73 8,virtue is only continued effort2 a boast of success is really a confession of failure04 ,of course1 continuance of effort1 virtuous though it may be1 will be of little avail without ability1 intelligence1 common-sense--at least a modicum of those qualities whose complete combination makes up that wholly impossible creature1 the ,perfect ,librarian4 ,training will not give you these--the ,almighty bestows them at our birth--but it will develop such as you have already--and none of us lacks all of them4 ,keep on moving1 then1 and when you score a point1 rejoice only because it proves that scoring is one of your possibilities1 and that you are likely to score many others before your race is run4 ,,luck ,,in ,,the ,,library 8,it is better to be born lucky than rich01 says the old proverb4 8,is he lucky80 ,napoleon used to ask when anyone was recommended to him4 ,literature is full of allusions to luck2 history is full of the belief in it and of the influence of that belief on the course of events4 ,do ,i believe in luck8 ,most assuredly1 if you will allow me to frame my own definition4 ,one of the most important and fascinating branches of modern mathematics--the theory of chances or probabilities1 deals with what may be called luck1 and with its laws4 ,chance1 we are told1 is 8the totality of unconsidered causes04 ,when an event is conditioned entirely by chance we say that it came about by 8luck01 though the unconsidered causes are there just the same4 ,a tyrant1 we will say1 stakes his victim's life on the cast of a die4 ,whether he perishes or not is solely a matter of good or bad 8luck04 ,when a basket contains ten marbles1 of which five are black and five are white we know that in the long run the number of black and white marbles drawn at random tends toward equality1 and we express this by saying that the chance of drawing either black or white is one in two1 or 4 ,whether black or white appears at any single drawing is purely a matter of luck4 ,in this sense1 luck confronts us at every turn1 and no one can deny its existence4 ,now let us go a little further4 ,may chance happenings be affected by circumstances that have no apparent connection with them8 ,doubtless2 but so far as they are they are no longer subject to the laws of chance4 ,it is because we know this that we are able to study nature by experiment4 ,if in a long series of drawings1 from a basket containing an equal number of black and white marbles1 we draw chiefly black1 we recognize at once the fact that some cause1 distinct from the mass of slight and unconsidered causes whose combined action we know as 8chance01 is acting4 ,we try at once to get at that cause by varying the conditions4 ,if we find1 for instance1 that by plunging the hand deeper into the basket we get white balls as well as black1 we conclude that the white balls were heavier and so settled to the bottom when the mass was shaken4 ,so it may be that a particular series of happenings may be affected by locality1 by personality or by season4 ,so far as this is true1 chance or 8luck0 has ceased to act and we must look for the cause4 ,these1 however1 are precisely the circumstances in which many persons are accustomed to invoke a luck of higher grade and more potent qualities1 a luck that clings to person1 place1 or time4 ,if in a series of happenings more turn out to the advantage of a particular person than pure chance would warrant1 he is said to be 8lucky04 ,in other words1 the necessity of assigning a cause is recognized1 and it is easier to call this cause 8luck0 than to search for it and to identify it4 ,i am not sure that we are right in objecting to this procedure4 ,we do not object to lumping together the totality of unconsidered causes and calling them 8chance04 ,it is legitimate to do so when it is impossible to discover and treat them separately4 ,in like manner it may be considered proper to call a man 8lucky0 when the causes of his success evade detection1 though we may be sure that they exist4 ,it is in this sense that it is better to be born lucky than rich4 ,this was what ,napoleon meant1 ,i have no doubt1 by his question1 8,is he lucky80 ,he might have said1 8,is he uniformly successful1 for reasons that do not lie on the surface8 ,if so1 we must assume the existence of causes1 though we cannot detect them4 ,doubtless he will continue to succeed1 even if we can not always tell why4 ,that is the kind of man that ,i prefer40 ,just a little philology here may throw additional light on our subject4 ,i have said that ,napoleon's question was1 8,is he lucky80 ,now of course ,napoleon did not use these words1 because they are ,english words1 and he spoke in ,french4 ,what he said1 doubtless1 was 8,est-il heureux80 ,we translate heureux in two ways1 8happy0 and 8fortunate01 but they are really the same1 for happy means 8of good hap01 or good fortune4 ,when we say 8by a happy chance01 we go back to this primitive meaning4 ,the word heureux is derived by the ,french lexicographers from the ,latin augurium1 so that its basic meaning is 8of good augury40 ,i think you will agree with me that there is something more here than mere chance4 ,the augur's business was to ascertain the will of the gods1 and all through we have the idea of some impelling force that makes things turn out as they do4 ,if this force1 whatever it was1 was on the side of the candidate1 ,napoleon wanted him4 ,as for our word 8luck0 itself1 it is purely ,teutonic and our lexicographers do not trace it beyond its earlier forms4 ,it should be noted1 however1 that in many of these1 as in the modern ,german glck1 it means happiness as well as chance4 ,this wide association of ideas may be taken to mean that happiness was regarded by our forefathers as always the sport of chance2 but ,i prefer to regard it as an evidence that a life in which everything is for the best--where no mistakes are made and where all is fair sailing and successful outcome1 is dependent on some fundamental cause4 ,these 8lucky devils01 that we see all about us--the ones who 8always fall right-side-up0--the men whose touch turns everything into gold--the college students who pass examinations because the questions happened to be the very ones they knew--all these are people whose 8luck0 can usually be depended on to last4 ,it is all right to explain their success by calling them 8lucky01 so long as we do not forget that this is merely a word to cloak our ignorance of the real causes4 ,the trouble is that this is what we do often forget4 ,we have been forgetting it since the dawn of civilization1 and we inherit our forgetfulness from the twilight of ignorance that preceded it4 ,if the cause of a man's success was not immediately apparent1 he must1 it was concluded1 have effected it by magic or sorcery1 or he was in league with the ,devil1 or ,fortuna or some other goddess guided his hand4 ,if he was a consistent failure1 someone had hoodooed him1 or blasted him with the evil eye1 or worked upon him some magical charm1 or the fickle goddess had turned her back on him4 ,nowadays we simply say 8lucky dog60 or 8unlucky dog60 and let it go at that2 but the words carry with them the meaning that something occult is at work--a meaning quite as unreasonable as the specific supernatural causes assigned in earlier days1 and possibly still more objectionable4 ,i am quite willing to recognize that ,jones is 8lucky04 ,his success is due to something that ,i can not detect2 in fact1 he seems to me rather an ordinary young man4 ,he may possibly not understand1 himself1 why he gets ahead so fast4 ,he may believe that there is something occult about it4 ,plenty of successful men have believed in their 8stars0 and trusted them1 and this worked well until it encouraged them to be reckless4 ,luck and stars are all very well as symbols1 but they will not perform impossibilities4 ,so far ,i have not openly mentioned the public library1 but ,i have been thinking of it a good deal1 and ,i hope that you have also4 ,it is one of the beauties of public library work that the points at which it touches life in general are many4 ,he who is given the honor of addressing librarians1 as ,i am doing at present1 may talk about pretty much what he pleases1 when he begins1 serene in the confidence that its application to library work will not only be reached in good time1 but will even obtrude itself prematurely on his hearers4 ,in the first place1 ,i believe we librarians should ponder that question of ,napoleon's--8,is he lucky80 and should make it part of our tests for employment and promotion1 asking it in substance of the candidates themselves1 of their sponsors and of the institutions where they gained their training and experience4 ,extending ,shakespeare a little1 we may say with ,csar1 8,let me have men about me who are fat0--fat with achievement4 ,those who are lean and hungry with failure are not for me4 ,where the cause of achievement or failure is obvious1 this attitude needs no defense4 ,i believe that it is justifiable where the success or failure is generally attributed to 8luck04 ,the general feeling that an 8unlucky devil0 will probably continue to be unlucky is founded on the idea that his ill luck is due to something more than chance4 ,whatever it is1 it is something that we must and should reckon with1 whether it is visible or not1 even whether it is thinkable or not--certainly whether the person concerned is responsible for it or not4 ,he may be in no sense responsible for his 8bad luck0 any more than he is for a physical defect such as blindness or one-leggedness2 but all these things must be weighed in estimating the probable value of his work4 ,i am conscious that such an attitude as this may1 in theory1 do serious injustice to the man whose 8ill luck0 is really due to pure chance1 just as in the case of the man who throws tails ten times in succession after betting on heads4 ,such a run as this may happen2 it does happen in fact on an average once in #ajbd trials4 ,the fact that there are #ajbc chances against it justifies us in neglecting to take it into account very seriously4 ,i suppose that the chances against a man's persistent 8bad luck0 being due to pure hazard are very many millions to one4 ,i am not going to waste any tears over the injustice that ,i or you or anyone else might do in this way4 ,i once heard a man of great intelligence1 the ex-president of a small college1 firmly maintain that if one had a basketful of letters of the alphabet1 written on cards1 and dumped them all out on the floor1 it was absolutely impossible that they should be found so arranged1 we will say1 as to spell out ,milton's 8,paradise ,lost04 ,now such a happening is extremely unlikely1 but the chance that it should occur can be calculated mathematically and expressed in figures4 ,the arrangement in which 8,paradise ,lost0 is spelled out1 however1 is no more unlikely than any other possible arrangement1 and some one of these arrangements is bound to occur1 no matter how unlikely any particular one is beforehand4 ,no one of them1 therefore is impossible1 including ,paradise ,lost4 ,but ,i admit that where chances are so adverse1 we may use the word 8impossibility0 in a rough sense1 and so ,i use it in asserting that it is impossible for persistent 8bad luck0 to be due to pure chance4 ,just here we may consider whether a man may rise above ill-luck1 may conquer it1 may turn it into good fortune4 ,the ancients evidently believed that he could2 that is why they represented ,fortuna's wheel as turning4 ,its rotation may not only 8lower the proud01 as ,tennyson puts it1 but may also elevate the humble--change a run of ill-luck into a 8lucky strike04 ,the ,psalmist ascribes both these functions to the ,almighty himself4 8,deposuit potentes de sede1 et exaltavit humiles04 ,all this was occult to them of old time2 it need be so to us only in the sense that occult means 8hidden04 ,if the hidden causes of a man's ill luck may be revealed to him1 wholly or partially1 by study1 or even if he can make a plausible guess at them1 and if he finds that they are within his control1 he can of course mitigate them or perhaps abolish them4 ,i greatly fear that in most cases of this kind they are beyond his regulation1 either because they are congenital or because they are due to habits so ingrained that changing them is impossible4 ,the very fact that he attributes his failures to 8luck0 shows that he has made some effort to get at the cause and has failed in that1 as in other things4 ,the use of the word 8luck0 enables him to keep his self-respect4 ,it does not1 however1 make him a more valuable assistant1 and his superiors must not fail to take it into account in an estimate of his work4 ,i believe that some inquiry into possible physical causes may repay us4 ,teachers tell us of cases where incredible stupidity turned out on examination to be due to deafness4 ,i personally knew of a maid servant whose apparently idiotic actions were caused by near-sightedness4 ,she did not know--poor girl--that her eyes were not perfectly normal4 ,in all such cases treatment of the physical cause1 if it is treatable--alters the 8run of luck0 at once4 ,all of our libraries should have medical officers1 as the ,new ,york ,public ,library has1 and the members of the staff should be periodically inspected4 ,there should be a rigid physical examination on entrance4 ,i ask you to consider1 in this connection1 the career of ,ulysses ,s4 ,grant1 which has always seemed to me one of the most remarkable in our history4 ,as ,i walked down the ,gravois ,road in ,st4 ,louis the other day1 along which ,grant used to drive his loads of wood from the farm1 to sell in the city1 it seemed as if ,i could see the stumpy figure clad in its faded army overcoat seated on the load and urging his slow-going mules toward ,st4 ,louis1 then far away4 ,if there ever was a man who was 8down and out01 it was ,grant at this time4 ,he had been uniformly 8unlucky04 ,he had had his chance--a good one--and had passed it by4 ,opportunity1 which we are falsely told knocks only once at a man's door1 had sounded her call and he had made no adequate response4 ,a graduate of ,west ,point1 with creditable service in the ,mexican ,war1 with good connections by birth and marriage1 here he was1 living in a log cabin on a small farm1 hauling wood to city customers4 ,yet just three years later this man's name was the best known in the country and had gone around the world4 ,he was a victorious general in command of armies4 ,a few years more and he was ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,he was uniformly 8lucky04 ,his 8luck had changed04 ,what made it change8 ,i can not find that ,grant the successful military commander was a different man in any way from ,grant the farmer and teamster4 ,he was supremely fitted for military command under a particular set of conditions4 ,when those conditions arose1 his genius took the line of least resistance4 ,such a career is not unique4 ,we learn from it that ill luck may be simply negative--due1 not to active causes that force one back1 but simply to the absence of the conditions under which alone one may move forward4 ,vocational guidance may help us here--or it may not4 ,it would not have helped ,grant4 ,if he could have been subjected to some miraculous series of tests that would have brought out the fact that1 failure as he was1 he could achieve brilliant success at the head of an army what would that have availed8 ,there was no army for him1 and there was no war in which it could fight4 ,if the question 8,is he lucky80 is to be answered 8,no--but he might become so1 if he were at the head of the ,u4 ,s4 ,steel ,corporation04 ,i am afraid that the result would be the same as without that qualifying statement4 ,when a librarian was leaving a large field of endeavor to enter upon a still larger one1 his office-boy1 hearing some speculation regarding his successor1 was heard to say1 8,i could hold down that job myself4 ,i've watched everything he does and there isn't a thing ,i couldn't do04 ,what he had watched were the motions and they looked easy4 ,but we should not laugh at this kind of confidence4 ,an old stager said to me once 8,oh1 these young men6 ,they think they can do it all2 and the trouble is that sometimes they are right40 ,a young man is a neutral in luck4 ,his good or bad fortune is yet to be revealed4 ,the complete vocational test would be one that could tell whether the office boy were really fitted to be librarian1 and if he were1 would see that he ultimately became librarian4 ,now we must rely not only on the boy's own ability to estimate his powers but on his fighting strength to realize his vision4 ,and there is more to it than this4 ,a worker may have the ability and may know that he has it1 and yet he may distrust his own estimate and so fail to follow it up4 ,this is one of the saddest varieties of 8ill-luck04 ,we often hear it said 8,he can do that1 if he would only realize it04 ,too often1 however1 the man or the woman does realize it perfectly well2 his self estimate of his powers may be quite high enough2 it may even be too high4 ,talk with him and you may discover to your surprise that he thinks highly of himself4 ,but at the critical moment he loses his nerve4 ,doubts arise in his mind4 ,is he1 after all1 as able to rise to the emergency as he has always thought himself8 ,he hesitates2 and he is lost4 ,his 8ill luck0 has again been too much for him4 ,somewhat similar to failures of this sort are those that arise from lack of initiative4 ,here ,i think our training is somewhat at fault4 ,i can almost pick out at sight the library assistants whose training has been in schools where obedience has been the chief thing inculcated1 the following of rules and formulas1 the reverence for standards and authority4 ,they are of the greatest value in certain positions1 but they can not advance far4 ,they are afraid to go beyond the beaten path--to take chances1 not1 as in the case just considered1 because they distrust themselves or their judgment1 but because they have been trained not to adventure4 ,now adventuring is the only way in which mankind has ever got anywhere4 ,there are conditions in which chance-taking is criminal1 as it usually is when much is staked for little4 ,the engineer who risks the lives of a train-load of passengers in order that he may avoid losing a minute on schedule time1 is a criminal chance-taker4 ,he may have done it once before with success1 and the belief that he is 8lucky0 may induce him to do it again4 ,the trouble with the over-cautious worker is that because he feels that this kind of adventuring is wrong1 it is also wrong for him to stake his personal comfort against a possible great advance in the quality of service that he is doing4 ,perhaps ,i have put it awkwardly4 ,it is not so much personal comfort that is at stake1 though that is an element1 as the feeling that doing things well 8in the way that we have always done them0 is better than disorganizing them for the purpose of shuffling them into a better combination4 ,i have on more than one occasion1 in ,library ,school lectures1 urged this point of view1 and ,i have advised more stimulation to venturesomeness1 less pointing out of old paths and more opportunities to break new ones4 ,no one ever reached a new place by following an old path4 ,the path-breakers may be 8lucky0 or 8unlucky04 ,i agree that the 8unlucky0--the congenital blunderers--ought to be kept out of the adventuring class--but how shall we tell who they are except by trying8 ,i have thought1 possibly without justification--that ,i have detected a slight attitude of disapproval on the part of ,library ,school authorities when such advice as this has been given4 8,let the student first learn the standards1 to do things by rule1 to obey authority--then he can branch out into initiative40 ,but can he8 ,my fear1 somewhat justified by experience1 is that he can not4 ,the standards must be taught4 ,the rules must be known and followed1 but if along with this there is no stimulation to initiative and the continual instilment of a feeling that progress depends on the divine curiosity of the explorer--we shall be training only routine workers and for our advances we shall have to depend on those whom we stigmatize as untrained4 ,they will be the 8lucky ones04 ,here are cases where luck is a function of attitudes of mind and may be reversed if a change can be made in that attitude4 ,there are other such4 ,take for instance the case of the grouchy man--the man who has a quarrel with the world4 ,he is sure that he is unlucky--and sure enough1 he is6 ,he does not expect to be advanced1 and no one would think of advancing him4 ,his attitude and its natural results react on each other until he becomes a confirmed misanthrope4 ,then there is the man without interest in what he is doing4 ,who would be so foolish as to intrust an important task to a man who1 it is quite evident1 does not care whether it is done well or ill1 or whether it is done at all8 ,these persons betray their lack of interest in ways that are familiar to us all4 ,they utterly lack initiative1 but for other reasons than the persons whose cases have been discussed above4 ,they have no objections to adventure1 but a venture presupposes interest4 ,no one ever set out to find the ,north ,pole who was utterly indifferent to its location or the character of its surroundings4 ,all true success is built on a foundation of lively interest4 ,hence persons of this sort are peculiarly unlucky4 ,they watch subordinates and newcomers pass them in the race1 and they are perfectly certain that this is due to favoritism1 or to luck4 ,they themselves are unlucky1 and of course they will always remain so1 unless they can alter their neutral attitude4 ,in thinking over the lack of initiative of which ,i have complained above and the failure of our training to supply it1 it occurs to me that we carry this lack over into our work4 ,we are apt to complain of the difficulty of finding persons who are fitted for positions of command and responsibility4 ,what do we do to elicit the qualities that make one fit for such posts8 ,we have in our own library a system of efficiency reports1 which are filled out by department-heads yearly1 one for each assistant4 ,these give needed information about the work of members of the staff1 and they also sometimes reveal quite clearly the state of mind of those who make them out4 ,two of the questions are1 8,in what did the assistant fall short80 ,and 8,what did you like most about the assistant80 ,it strikes me1 on running over these reports1 as ,i have just done1 that the qualities most valued when present and most lamented when absent1 are those of a good subordinate--the assistant who goes quietly1 efficiently and quickly about doing what she is told to do1 is pleasant about it and does not shirk4 ,here are some of the things that our department-heads like best3 8earnestness1 industry and intelligence0 8alertness2 readiness to take suggestion0 8excellent standards of work0 8close application to business0 8absolute dependability0 8persistence0 8excellent worker2 steady2 reliable0 8enthusiasm and eagerness to learn0 8close attention to business0 8tenacity and faith in herself0 8minds her own business0 8fine spirit in work0 8obliging1 willing and ready service0 8industry and intelligence0 8general information0 8calm1 cheerful nature0 8honesty of purpose0 8patience under criticism0 8politeness and willingness to oblige0 8loyalty1 faithfulness and goodness0 8accuracy and systematic methods0 8neat and ambitious0 ,all these things are fine1 ,i agree1 but there is not one of them that suggests the possibility of advancement to a position of command where administrative ability and initiative will count4 ,i do not suggest that these qualities are absent1 but ,i think the record shows that we are not on the lookout for them and possibly do not value them as we ought4 ,only once in a while do ,i find a suggestion that a tendency toward such qualities is of interest1 as when1 one assistant is commended for 8independence and good judgment0 and another for 8resourcefulness04 ,and when we come to the 8weak points0 reported1 the same facts stand out4 ,here are some of them3 8lack of accuracy and system0 8too sensitive0 8too reserved0 8often thoughtless0 8not sufficiently painstaking0 8too deliberate0 8tries to work too fast0 8lack of poise0 8rather slow0 8hesitates to ask for needed help0 8lack of system0 8impractical and idealistic0 8not very responsive0 8so eager that she is a bit aggressive at times0 ,here1 too1 the deficiencies reported are predominantly those that would make a bad subordinate2 although here and there we may detect one of the other kind2 for instance1 8does not know how to find and develop the best in her assistants0 8not self-reliant0 8disinclined to assume responsibility0 ,these are all faults of poor executives4 ,we shall never be able to pick good officers if we do not know how to detect in our privates the qualities that would fit them to command and how to encourage the development of such qualities when there is anything on which to base it4 ,luck may not only be 8in0 but 8of0 the library4 ,the whole institution may be in the lucky or unlucky class4 ,i think you have known both kinds4 ,the former seem to prosper1 to do good work and to win golden opinions by the very fact of their existence4 ,the latter have small appropriations1 a poor standing in the community1 and are finally destroyed by fire4 ,now personal ill-luck is and remains personal1 but the ill-luck of an institution may be of various kinds4 ,it may reside in a person or persons1 or in a system1 or in a building--or in all three4 ,if the ,jonestown ,public ,library is unlucky1 the ill-luck may be that of its librarian1 or of his staff1 or he may be operating an unlucky system1 or his building may be unlucky4 ,i am an especial believer in unlucky buildings4 ,some there are in which it appears to be as impossible to run a successful library as it would be to grow vegetables in an ash-bin4 ,sometimes one can pick out the trouble with half an eye1 although the same degree of astuteness seems to have been beyond the architect1 or the board1 or the librarian who co-operated to produce it4 ,but in many cases we know the trouble only by its fruits2 its roots are hidden1 and the best we can do is to recognize that the library's ill-luck comes from an unlucky building1 and leave it at that4 ,there are so many sources of this kind of general library ill-luck1 that it is a wonder we do not see more unlucky libraries4 ,there are not so very many lucky ones either1 except so far as this proceeds from the possession of a staff whose members are individually lucky4 ,the statistician knows that the way to eliminate chance is to multiply instances4 ,the insurance actuary does not know when you will die1 but he knows that of a million men of your age1 very nearly so many will die within the next year4 ,it is because he deals with a large number of cases that he can put his system on a business footing4 ,there may be only one white ball in a bushel of black ones2 you might conceivably draw that white ball at the first trial1 but if you did you would properly refer to it as 8luck04 ,if1 however1 you could multiply the number of trials1 you would bring up the white ball sooner or later4 ,there may be only one good way of accomplishing a result among thousands of bad ones4 ,if you should hit on the right one at the first trial you would be 8lucky01 but1 luck or no luck1 you will get it if you keep on long enough4 ,patience is always a winner in the long run4 ,this is the way in which much of our knowledge is collected4 ,edison found the right substance for his first carbon filament by sending for all sorts of materials from all over the world1 carbonizing them1 and trying them out4 ,the right one proved to be a kind of bamboo4 ,if ,edison had hit on this at the first trial it would have been so 8lucky0 a chance as almost to be counted a miracle2 as it was1 he eliminated chance by multiplication4 ,nothing annoys an executive so much as to be told that the adoption of this or that course will result in a specified way1 when no one has ever tried it4 ,this was a common attitude in the time of ,galileo1 when the idea that anything could be found out by observation or experiment was regarded as a public scandal4 ,that was the time when a man refused to look through the newly-invented telescope for fear that he might see something contrary to the teachings of ,aristotle4 ,these people are not all dead by any means4 ,i have heard them assert that a proposed change would ruin the library and then object to trying it because they were afraid the result would be contrary to their own predictions4 ,the medieval philosophers at least had ,aristotle to fall back on2 their modern successors would appear to be posing as ,aristotles themselves4 ,a housemaid recently said to her mistress 8,i've told everybody to-day ye weren't at home2 now don't sit in the window and make me a liar40 ,no discovery2 no falsehood1 you see4 ,so if we librarians can be prevented from trying experiments1 the false predictions of some of our advisers will not be false in their own eyes1 simply because they will not be exposed4 ,my advice to librarians1 and to everyone else is to keep on trying experiments4 ,if you get a satisfactory result the first time1 you may stop1 and ascribe it1 if you please1 to your good luck4 ,if the result is unsatisfactory1 however1 you need not stand pat on your ill luck4 8,if at first you don't succeed ,try1 try again04 ,there is more philosophy in that than in all ,aristotle4 ,it is also a practical exposition of the doctrine of chances4 ,somewhere is the combination that you want4 ,you will find it1 if you only keep on long enough4 ,libraries that are afraid of being victimized by chance1 or1 as we may put it1 becoming martyrs to bad luck1 should ponder somewhat more closely the possibilities of relief from insurance4 ,of course here ,i am using the word 8luck0 in its simpler meaning of unforeseen occurrence4 ,take the case of the library that suffers from the fact that an influential member of the committee that fixes the amount of its annual appropriation has eaten something indigestible for breakfast4 ,such an unforeseeable occurrence1 such a 8piece of bad luck01 might cost a library anywhere from two to twenty thousand dollars1 according to the usual size of its appropriation4 ,equally injurious might be the illness of the president of the ,board1 throwing upon an incompetent member the duty of presenting the library's claims and needs4 ,it is surely unjust that a public-service institution should be at the mercy of such trivial chances4 ,in some states1 including my own1 the library is removed from such ill-luck as this by a statutory provision fixing its public income1 subject to proper checks and taking away the ability of an individual's illness or indisposition to lower it4 ,but where this ill-chance is still in its baleful working order1 why should not the library be protected against it by insurance8 ,such protection would be analogous to the corporation insurance taken out by large industrial companies to offset the loss likely to result from the death of an officer on whose administrative ability much of the company's earning power depends1 or to the payment of death duties by insurance1 now being advocated by many companies1 and adopted on a huge scale by ,mr4 ,j4,p4 ,morgan4 ,insurance is the great equalizer2 it multiplies instances1 enlarges the field of possibilities and abolishes ill-luck4 ,we are availing ourselves of it in case of possible damage by fire or storm1 or of loss through our liability as employers4 ,we may in future use it to cut out chance and luck in other fields also and to make our resources so dependable that we may devote to the extension and betterment of service the ingenuity now often spent solely in devising means 8to get along04 ,i am afraid that you will compare this address very unfavorably with the celebrated chapter on snakes in ,iceland1 because whereas the author of that was able to announce the non-existence of his subject in six words1 it has taken me a good many thousand4 ,you will do me an injustice1 however1 if you think that ,i have simply been demonstrating the non-existence of luck4 ,i believe that when we say a man is lucky1 we mean something definite1 and that thing surely has an existence4 ,it may not be the ,goddess ,fortuna1 or her modern successor1 but it is very real and it is worth investigating and taking into account4 ,if you are told that one of your assistants is 8lucky01 do not laugh it away4 ,find out the facts1 and if they indicate that she is unusually successful in what she undertakes1 be thankful that you have a lucky person on your staff4 ,cherish her and promote her4 ,and if you can find such a person outside of your library1 with the other necessary qualifications1 prefer him1 or her1 in making an appointment1 to one of the 8unlucky0 variety4 ,it is of the lucky kind that the world's geniuses are made--inventors like ,bell1 ,edison and ,marconi1 captains of industry like ,carnegie1 ,rockefeller and ,henry ,ford1 soldiers like ,napoleon1 ,grant1 and ,moltke1 statesmen like ,lincoln1 ,gladstone and ,bismarck1 poets like ,shakespeare1 ,dante and ,goethe4 ,we have had too few of these in the library profession4 ,they were all lucky and what we need1 especially in the present emergency1 is plenty of 8,luck in the ,library04 ,,the ,,library ,,as ,a ,,museum ,boundary regions are always interesting4 ,close to the line separating two regions of fact or of thought cluster the examples that fascinate us4 ,kipling's stories of ,india are so interesting because they tell of the meeting points of two civilizations--the boundary along which they come into contact1 interact and fuse4 ,the same is true of all tales of the white man and the red ,indian1 of the stories of early explorers1 of the narratives of ,spanish conquistadores in the south and ,french ,jesuits in the north4 ,the student of mathematical physics will tell you that it is not in homogeneous regions1 but along boundary lines that the application of his equations becomes difficult1 and at the same time interesting4 ,our whole human life is conditioned by boundaries4 ,it is possible only on a surface separating the earth's mass from its atmosphere4 ,it is limited by narrow conditions of temperature1 nourishment1 light1 and so on4 ,so we need not be astonished when we find that two related subjects of any kind acquire new vitality and new interest when we study the region along the line where they touch4 ,this is especially true of the library and the museum4 ,i do not intend to dwell on the case where the books in a library are themselves treated as museum objects1 although possibly this is the one that may first occur to the mind in this connection4 ,books that are curiosities on account of their rarity or for other reasons are limited usually to very large libraries4 ,the ,lenox ,library in ,new ,york1 now part of the ,public ,library1 was almost entirely a book-museum and was so intended by its founder4 ,the private libraries of great collectors1 such as ,j4 ,pierpont ,morgan1 or the ,huntingtons1 are often largely book-museums1 and in general1 a book that brings a high price1 brings it for its value as a curiosity1 not as a book4 ,the freer a book is the more value it has as a book2 the more restricted it is the greater its value as a curiosity4 ,of course1 even a small library may have one or two books that are worth display as curiosities1 because they are old1 or rare1 or have interesting local associations either through the author1 or the owner1 or in some other way4 ,the ,hawthorne and ,longfellow room in the ,bowdoin ,college ,library is an example of this latter case4 ,but a book1 or anything else1 owned and displayed as a mere curiosity1 is of not much real value1 no matter what price it may bring at auction4 ,the things that make a good museum what it is are not curiosities at all1 in the vulgar sense4 ,they illustrate some science or art and make its study easier and more interesting2 they throw light on geology or history or sculpture4 ,once in a while we see a museum collection of books made for this object1 to illustrate the art of binding or the history of printing1 or the depredations of book-eating insects4 ,the value of specimens like these has nothing to do with their rarity4 ,sometimes the smallest library may have books or pamphlets that may be displayed with this object1 especially where the subject is local4 ,it may for instance gather a collection of early pamphlets from local printing offices1 or of books once the property of some eminent citizen4 ,these things belong to a museum pure and simple1 which is the reason why ,i am mentioning them at first1 to get them out of the way before treating my real subject1 which is the debateable ground between library and museum4 ,there is nothing debateable about a book-museum any more than about any other kind of a museum--a collection of historical or geological specimens1 for instance1 that often finds place in a library building1 not because it is a library1 but because it is a convenient place1 or because it has been thought best to build a library and a museum under one roof1 as has been done in ,pittsburgh4 ,there is however a real debateable ground between library and museum1 with somewhat hazy boundaries which ,i believe that either is justified in overstepping whenever such an act supplies an omission and does not duplicate4 ,in other words1 there is a boundary region between library and museum that may be occupied by either1 but should not be occupied by both4 ,i shall try briefly to define this region and indicate how the library may occupy parts of it without legitimate criticism when the necessity arises4 ,descriptive and illustrative material is to be found in both library and museum4 ,speaking generally1 the former is of primary importance in the library and the latter in the museum4 ,many books consist of descriptive text alone1 without pictures or diagrams1 and on the other hand a museum might contain specimens without labels1 although they would not be of much use4 ,in general1 text with illustrations belongs in a library and specimens with labels in a museum4 ,the mere statement of the distinction as it has just been given1 however1 shows that it may be very difficult to draw a line between the two kinds of collections4 ,a museum has been defined as 8a collection of good labels accompanied by illustrative specimens40 ,here the value of the descriptive text is emphasized1 even in the museum collection4 ,when descriptive treatises are shelved in connection with the specimens1 as in some modern museums1 we have an expansion of the label into the book2 and the museum1 in this one particular at least1 crosses the dividing line between it and the library4 ,no one would blame it for so doing4 ,similarly the library may occasionally cross the line in the other direction without incurring blame4 ,let me repeat that both library and museum may contain descriptive and explanatory text and illustrative material4 ,in the museum the text is usually in the form of labels1 attached to the specimens1 and these are generally material objects4 ,in the library the text is in book form and the 8specimens10 if we may so call them1 are plates bound into the book4 ,the first step taken by the library toward the line that separates it from the museum is when the plates1 instead of being bound into a book1 are kept separately in a portfolio4 ,the accompanying text1 corresponding to the 8labels0 of museum collections1 may be on the same sheet as the plates 7often on the reverse side7 or on separate sheets1 which may be bound into a book even when the plates are separate4 ,in the ,st4 ,louis ,public ,library about a thousand volumes1 forming one third of the collection kept regularly in our art room1 have separate plates4 ,these are of course not usually on display but are in the cases ready to be used in the room on demand4 ,they thus correspond1 not with museum material displayed in cases1 but with specimens packed away in such manner that they may easily be secured for study by those who want them4 ,one may imagine a whole museum equipped for students in this way1 with nothing on display at all--no popular exhibition features4 ,probably no museum was ever so administered1 as an entirety2 and as you know the large museums are making more and more of features adding to the attractiveness of the collection as a popular spectacle4 ,the public visits the ,museum of ,natural ,history in ,new ,york1 much as it turns the pages of the ,national ,geographic ,magazine--just to look at the pictures4 ,this treatment of material is justified because it increases popular interest in the subject-matter and brings people to the museum who would not otherwise enter it4 ,also1 it predisposes public bodies to more generous support of the museum4 ,this is true again of such institutions as botanical and zoological gardens1 which have always been show-places for the public as well as laboratories for the student4 ,the library can not afford to neglect such an opportunity of attracting the public and of stimulating interest in its own subject-matter--books4 ,it can not continuously display any great part of its separate prints1 as a museum does with its specimens1 but it can exhibit them from time to time1 so that one or another of them is always displayed in this way4 ,simple screens can be cheaply made and the prints fastened thereto with thumb-pins1 taking care not to injure them by perforating with the pin1 but letting the edge of the head lap over the edge of the print to hold it1 and using sheets of transparent celluloid for protection1 where necessary4 ,after beginning such displays in our own library1 we found them so popular with our readers and so helpful in our own work that we are now holding thirty or forty yearly1 sometimes two or three at once in different parts of the library1 supplementing our own material with loans from interested friends4 ,the value of exhibitions of plates is so highly estimated by some librarians that they are breaking up valuable volumes so that the plates may be used separately4 ,this is a second step toward the museum use of the library4 ,i have heard a well-known librarian assert that if permitted by his ,board he would dismember every art book in his library1 in this way4 ,most of us1 especially if we are interested in the exhibition side of library work--which is distinctly a museum side--will be inclined to sympathize with him4 ,but although we hesitate1 perhaps1 to tear to pieces good books1 even for such a good purpose as this1 there is much material that can be so treated with a clear conscience4 ,many duplicates of art works can be thus used1 and there is hardly an illustrated book which when the librarian is ready to throw it away does not contain plates or maps which can be saved and used4 ,in ,st4 ,louis when we condemn books they are never destroyed and consigned to the old-paper dealer before passing through the hands and before the eyes of all those who might use still usable fragments of this kind4 ,taking the item of maps alone1 some of the best special maps are attached to volumes of travel or history1 as folders or in pockets4 ,so long as the book is usable1 the map1 of course1 must go with it1 but if the map has been reinforced with linen when the book is purchased1 as it ought to be1 it will probably be in usable condition when the book is worn out1 and may at once be transferred to the map collection4 ,the same is true of other plate than pictures--fac-similes of handwriting1 for instance4 ,a very fair autograph collection may be made of such detached plates--not originals of course1 but originals are valuable merely as curiosities1 in the way that we have already noted4 ,fac-similes are as good for any other purpose4 ,of course all such torn up or detached material is very convenient also for reference use--easily filed and quickly consulted4 ,it may be kept in vertical file cases1 in loose-leaf binders or in ordinary portfolios4 ,one of the interesting things about it is the facility of assembling it in different ways4 ,in our own library we sometimes tear apart the leaves of an art book simply to group the plates in an order that will make them more valuable for reference purposes4 ,this leads us to another nearly related1 though ,i should call it a still further1 step toward the museum region1 which is taken when we deliberately create specimens by clipping and mounting4 ,most libraries are now doing this freely1 both for reference work and for circulation4 ,in many cases there are no separate labels here except a brief descriptive title1 the material being classified according to its subject or its intended use4 ,the similarity to the school museum or circulating museum--a very recent development of museum work--is striking4 ,in this field the library has been ahead of the regular museums4 ,the material clipped and mounted is usually book material--largely plates from books1 magazines or papers4 ,there is much other material that can be so mounted and used--the kind of thing that is familiar in memorabilia scrapbooks--theatre and concert programs1 announcements1 invitations1 tickets of admission1 badges1 menus1 photographs1 advertising material1 etc4 ,it is usually a mistake to make permanent scrap-books of such material4 ,when they need to be assembled in book form the separate mounts can be brought together in a loose-leaf binder4 ,a permanent scrap-book ties the material together in a way that may prove embarassing4 ,suppose1 for instance1 that you are keeping printed material from three clubs in your town1 as you ought4 ,clubs seldom do this for themselves4 ,several ,st4 ,louis women's clubs have told us that they visit the library when they want to indulge in research into their own past doings4 ,it might be natural to keep a scrap-book for each club and insert the material as it comes4 ,but suppose you desire to display all your material on war activities and that some of the material in these scrap-books falls under this head4 ,you will have to leave it out or tear out your scrap-book leaves4 ,mounting takes time1 and it is not necessary to mount everything4 ,material used only occasionally may be left unmounted4 ,for instance1 much newspaper-clipped material may be kept loosely in heavy manila envelopes4 ,again1 some material may be made more accessible if not mounted1 especially if in card form and in standard sizes4 ,such is the postal card4 ,the amount of valuable material obtainable in postal-card form will astonish those who have not looked into the matter4 ,besides the usual views of localities1 embracing buildings1 monuments and scenery1 good collections of sculpture1 architecture1 portraits and many other things may be made in postal-card form4 ,postal cards are all of the same size and very compact1 so that they may be filed in trays and treated very much like catalogue cards1 guides being used with them as in an ordinary catalogue4 ,the amount of usable material that can be stored to the square foot in this form is probably greater than any other4 ,in all material of this sort1 the similarity of collection1 treatment and use may be so close that the passage from the picture to the object seems almost negligible2 yet many persons apparently consider that here we must draw the definite boundary line between the collections of the library and those of the museum4 ,they would say for instance that it is perfectly legitimate for a library to acquire1 preserve and use a plate bearing a printed fac-simile in natural colors1 of a piece of textile goods1 but not a card mount bearing an actual piece of the same goods1 although the two were so similar in appearance that at a little distance it would be impossible to tell the colored print from the actual piece of textile4 ,librarians will not be apt to attach much importance to this distinction1 and those whose collections include treatises on textiles with colored plates will not hesitate to supplement them with mounted specimens of the actual textile with typewritten descriptions4 ,generally manufacturers are only too happy to furnish samples of their current output1 and older specimens1 sometimes of historical interest1 can be bought from dealers4 ,there are precedents for the treatment of this sort of thing as library material4 ,probably ,hough's well-known work on ,american ,woods will occur to everyone4 ,no library1 so far as ,i know1 has ever thought of barring this from its shelves because it contains actual thin sections of the various woods instead of pictures thereof4 ,the peculiar adaptability of this kind of material to library use is a physical one1 and is shared by every flat specimen that may be mounted on sheets4 ,instances will occur to every one4 ,an actual flower or leaf1 for example1 is generally cheaper than a color reproduction of it1 and takes up little more room when mounted4 ,a good descriptive botany with inadequate pictures may well be supplemented by a herbarium of this kind4 ,historical material is quite generally flat--often written or printed on card or paper--old programs1 menus1 railroad tickets1 dancecards1 timetables1 cards of admission1 souvenirs of all kinds4 ,one of the most interesting exhibitions ,i ever saw was of foreign railway material--timetables1 tickets1 dining-car menus1 etc4 ,many ,chinese and ,japanese specimens were included4 ,a treatise on forms of railway tickets1 with fac-simile illustrations1 would be eagerly sought by libraries2 why should not the objects themselves be equally valuable8 ,librarians were glad to have ,miss ,kate ,sanborn's book on old wall papers1 with its realistic reproductions1 but how many of them thought of the possibility of making their own books of specimens1 using the papers themselves1 instead of photographic facsimiles thereof8 ,this point of view may be commended to the makers of decorated bulletins in libraries4 ,much laborious hand-work is often done in the preparation of these1 and the results are seldom worth the trouble4 ,even when a work of art has been produced it may be questioned whether the time withdrawn from other library work has been employed to the best purpose4 ,by the use of what has been called above 8museum material0 time may be saved and better results reached4 ,for instance1 ,i once saw1 in an exhibition of picture bulletins one bearing a list of books and articles on lace4 ,it was made in white ink on black cardboard1 and bore a most realistic representation of lace1 done with the pen1 probably at a vast expenditure of time4 ,the most that could be said for this really clever bit of work was that it looked enough like a real piece of lace1 mounted on the cardboard1 to deceive the elect at a short distance4 ,why then did not the maker mount a real bit of inexpensive lace on the board1 at an expenditure of a few minutes' time8 ,it should not require much thought to see that bulletins prepared in this way are usually better and more effective than elaborate decoration with pencil and brush4 ,another point of resemblance between this kind of library material and that utilized by museums is the fact that its value is so often a group-value--possessed by the combination of objects of a certain kind1 rather than by any one in itself4 ,for instance1 a common earthenware jar designed by ,john ,jones in the ,trenton potteries may have little value1 but if you add to it a thousand other earthenware jars1 or a thousand pieces of any kind designed by ,john ,jones1 or a thousand other specimens made in ,trenton1 the collection acquires a value which far exceeds the average value of its elements multiplied by thousands4 ,the former may be five cents--the latter five thousand dollars4 ,in the same way an illustration by ,mary ,smith1 clipped from a trashy story in a ten-cent magazine1 has little value--zero value1 perhaps4 ,but a thousand such illustrations showing the published work of ,mary ,smith from the time she began until she acquired standing as an illustrator1 is worth while4 ,it should not be necessary to tell librarians that the best way to make such a collection as this is not to search for each element by itself but to gather miscellaneous related material in quantity and then sort it4 ,if you have a pile of slips to alphabetize1 you do not go through the whole mass to pick out the ,a's1 and then again for the ,b's and so on4 ,you sort the whole mass at once1 so that while you are segregating the ,a's you are at the same time collecting the ,b's and all the rest of the alphabet4 ,likewise1 if you want the illustration work of ,jessie ,wilcox ,smith1 for instance1 you need not hunt separately for bits from her pen2 you need only clip all the illustrations from magazines and papers that would be otherwise discarded4 ,then you sort these by the names of the illustrators1 and you have at once collections not only of ,miss ,smith's current work but of that of dozens of other illustrators4 ,this is applicable in a hundred other fields4 ,it should be noted that this group value is potentially present in many large collections of material1 whether classified or not into the particular groups in question4 ,for instance1 we have a large collection of locality post-cards1 filed by cities and towns4 ,here are groups ready for use4 ,if anyone wants views of ,cedar ,rapids1 ,iowa1 or ,stockton1 ,cal41 to show to a class1 or for use with a reflectograph1 or to copy for newspaper work1 they are already assembled4 ,but also if someone is going to lecture on court houses1 it is the work of only a few moments to assemble from the file a temporary collection of fifty or sixty examples4 ,the same is true of buildings of any other type1 say college dormitories1 railway stations1 libraries or warehouses1 of parks1 mountain scenery and industrial processes and of a hundred other things4 ,the value here is a true group value2 it is created by assemblage and becomes dormant again when the items are distributed to their proper places in the file4 ,the same is true of lantern-slides to an even greater degree1 for slides are practically never used except in groups4 ,as a collection of slides may be grouped in scores of ways1 it is better to file them in some order that will admit of quick selection1 than to form groups arbitrarily at the outset and keep these together4 ,a slide in such a group is practically withdrawn from the possibility of assemblage in some other group4 ,for instance1 a view of ,michael ,angelo's 8,moses0 might find a place in a group to illustrate a talk on ,michael ,angelo1 or ,renaissance ,sculpture1 or ,the ,art ,treasures of ,rome1 or ,old ,testament ,worthies1 or any one of a dozen others4 ,if we place it arbitrarily in any one of these and keep the group together1 we shall of course spare ourselves a little trouble if anyone wants that particular assemblage of slides1 but we shall not only make it more difficult to assemble the other groups1 but practically put them out of the running4 ,several years ago we had a valuable gift of a collection of slides illustrating phases of city-planning1 given by the ,civic ,league of our city4 ,they included many foreign views now difficult or impossible to obtain4 ,the donors had assembled them in groups to go with lectures prepared in advance and we maintained this arrangement for a time1 although it was not in accord with our general plan4 ,but we soon found that persons who asked for slides on ,london or ,munich or ,milan were missing some of our best material1 simply because we could not always remember to look through the city-planning groups for something that might be there4 ,consequently we broke up these groups and distributed their slides to the proper places in our file1 which is in trays arranged precisely as if the slides were catalogue cards1 with proper guides and cross-references on cardboard slips4 ,we have memoranda of the slides that belong in each lecture group and these can be quickly assembled if wanted4 ,of course we allow the public to go directly to the trays if they desire and assemble for themselves any group that they choose4 ,this is all borderland material between library and museum4 ,there is much of it analogous to the lantern slide that libraries have not taken up yet1 but that they might handle to good advantage4 ,i do not see why we should not1 for instance1 circulate microscope slides or photographic negatives4 ,stereoscopic pictures are now commonly handled by libraries owing to skilful and perfectly legitimate exploitation4 ,there is perhaps some doubt whether we should include in this sort of material musical records1 either for the mechanical organ and piano or for the phonograph4 ,these should possibly be considered as books containing music written in a kind of notation that admits of sound-reproduction4 ,the fact that there is this doubt should perhaps suffice to throw these records into the borderland of which we are speaking4 ,they are to some extent capable of the group arrangement spoken of above1 as where a library patron asks to take out half a dozen records from one opera or eight old ,french dances4 ,they are also capable of a kind of correlation with other library material that is quite unique4 ,thus a reader may take out at the same time ,chopin's military polonaise in ordinary notation and in music-roll form4 ,the pianola reproduction serves as a guide to his own reading of the piece1 or he may simply follow the musical notation as he operates the mechanical player4 ,similarly1 he may take out the miniature orchestral score of a selection and the phonograph record of the same as played by an actual orchestra4 ,here he can not play the piece himself but he can follow the reproduction with score in hand1 much to his own musical pleasure and profit4 ,an exactly similar correspondence exists between an ordinary book and a phonograph record of it read aloud4 ,such records are not often available1 but ,i see no reason why they should not become so1 at any rate in the case of poetical and oratorical selections4 ,our means of popular instruction in spoken language are deficient and these might prove useful4 ,at present we teach children in the schools to read and write1 but not to speak4 ,if they do not learn good colloquial spoken ,english at home1 they are apt to remain uneducated in this respect4 ,this plan has worked well in the teaching of foreign languages and it is now possible to buy small phonographs with cylinder records in ,french1 ,german or ,italian corresponding to printed passages in the accompanying manuals4 ,i certainly think it legitimate of libraries to purchase these1 and they would be 8border-land0 material1 ,i suppose1 in the same sense as the musical records4 ,i may say before closing1 in regard to this sort of museum material1 that the largest circulation of music rolls that ,i know of is that of the ,cincinnati ,public ,library1 which distributes them at the rate of #fj1jjj per year4 ,we have #cfha rolls and circulated #af1had in the year #aiag4 ,neither the ,cincinnati library nor our own pays out money for this material4 ,it is all donated4 ,the status of phonograph records of all kinds as museum material is hardly as high in this country as abroad4 ,in the ,sorbonne1 in ,paris1 records of ,french dialect speech have long been acquired and stored4 ,records of this kind and moving-picture films1 made of permanent material and carefully prepared to show existing conditions would have very high future value4 ,i do not know of any systematic effort to collect them in the ,united ,states4 ,possibly it might be difficult to find permanent films4 ,a moving picture man told me that only perishable ones were being made1 as it was not for the interests of the trade that they should last long4 ,there is too much of this spirit in modern industry and trade1 and it is responsible for poor materials of all sorts--paint1 textiles1 dyes and furniture4 ,permanent carbon photo-prints on paper can be made and doubtless the process can be applied to transparent films if desired4 ,this is really museum material1 but if no museum takes it up1 ,i should like to see the ,public ,library begin the work4 ,we already have the films of our great ,st ,louis ,pageant of #aiae1 which may serve as a beginning4 ,it has been said above that museum material adaptable to library use is so for physical reasons4 ,we may go further and say that the whole difference between a library and a museum is a physical difference rather than one of either object or method4 ,the difference is one of material and of the manner of its display1 and these are conditioned by physical facts4 ,the difference between an object and a picture of it is physical4 ,it should not astonish us1 then1 that when this physical difference is abolished1 as it is when the object itself is a picture1 or is minimized1 as when the object is flat like the picture and resembles it closely1 like a textile specimen1 the boundary between the museum and the library practically disappears4 ,,the ,,library ,,and ,,the ,,locality ,there is nothing more important than standardization1 unless it is a knowledge of its proper limits4 ,probably no more important step has ever been taken than the introduction of standardization into the industries2 the making of nails1 screws1 nuts and bolts of standard sizes1 the manufacture of watches1 firearms and machines of all sorts1 with standard interchangeable parts4 ,if you take apart a thousand ,ford automobiles and mix up the parts a thousand automobiles may be at once assembled from those parts1 without any effort at selecting the particular ones associated with each other at first4 ,you know that this principle is now being applied to what are known as 8fabricated0 ships where certain types of freight-carriers are made standard and then twenty or thirty of a kind are built at once in the same yard1 being assembled from steel parts cut out and punched in what are called 8fabricating ships04 ,now ,i need not waste time in arguing here that this process can not be made to apply universally or be used indefinitely4 ,to standardize a work of art would be to kill it4 ,standardization is valuable where interchangeability is necessary rather than adaptation to local conditions4 ,portable houses1 for instance1 with interchangeable parts1 have been standardized to a certain extent1 but only within the bounds of uniform climatic conditions4 ,the standard houses for ,michigan and ,alabama would have to be different4 ,it is important1 therefore1 as ,i have said1 to know1 when standardization is being carried out1 the limits of its advisability and the conditions under which it becomes useless or injurious4 ,this is of interest to us librarians because our methods and processes1 our buildings1 our book collections and the use of both have long been undergoing this very process4 ,and it is surely desirable that almost all the routine processes of library work1 and the others to some extent1 should be standardized4 ,this standardization has been going on ever since librarians began to meet together and began to issue their own professional literature2 in other words1 ever since the formation of the ,a4,l4,a4 in #ahgf and the establishment of ,the ,library ,journal about the same time4 ,the subsequent formation of ,state ,library ,associations and local library clubs1 as well as the establishment of other library periodicals1 has greatly multiplied the opportunities for librarians to talk over their work with each other1 to learn of other and better ways of doing things1 to compare existing methods and to determine1 if possible1 which of them best serves the purpose for which it was devised4 ,these things having in some measure been decided1 they were then crystallized and fixed by the rise and success of ,library ,schools1 summer-schools and training classes1 which selected the methods that had stood the test of time and had emerged from the crucible of discussion and formulated them into standards which were thenceforth taught to their students4 ,this1 ,i think1 is a fair statement of the way in which our present library standards came to be standards4 ,it is a good way to select the best and to ensure that the best shall not be departed from4 ,if the best always remained best1 we should have no quarrel with it4 ,unfortunately there is flux and change all about us4 ,a method is best when it best corresponds to the conditions4 ,we can ensure that the method shall not be changed1 but we have no control over a large proportion of the conditions4 ,they change1 in spite of us2 and then the methods ought to change with them4 ,in some instances we have erred1 possibly1 by making it a little hard to change them4 ,we are now ready to consider some of the cases where standards ought not to obtain--where one library ought to try to be different from another instead of exactly like it4 ,it is evident from what was said above about portable houses1 that difference of locality is apt to introduce important exceptions into any rule of this kind2 and it is on these exceptions that we are to dwell particularly to-day4 ,there are thousands of particulars in which it is desirable that a library in one town should be conducted exactly like one in another town4 ,what are the particulars in which the library must or should be different8 ,first1 let us consider the stock of books4 ,if these have been selected properly1 differences between the two towns will perhaps be first reflected in these1 for a library's ability to serve its community depends primarily on certain correspondences between the books and the readers4 ,these correspondences may be summarized by saying that the books in a library must represent a combination of the readers' wants and their needs4 ,these might always coincide in an ideal community1 but in practice no librarian thinks of paying attention to the one to the exclusion of the other4 ,at the same time the demands of the readers should always be known and always considered even if they want what is unnecessary2 and we must likewise try to ascertain what they need1 even if they have no desire for it4 ,the extremes in a community without library taste would be a library of trashy fiction and one of serious standard works at which no one ever looked4 ,a book-selector who uses good judgment will of course steer between this ,scylla and this ,charybdis1 and the result will be a collection that the community can use with both pleasure and profit4 ,moreover1 as time goes on1 the readers' taste and the quality of their library will both slowly but surely rise4 ,no two towns are alike4 ,where the books have been thus selected1 the collections will reflect the character of the communities1 not only in literary taste but in many other things4 ,the industries of the towns are likely to differ4 ,in one1 perhaps1 there are potteries2 in the other1 shoe factories4 ,the workers in the industries and even outsiders interested in them for local reasons1 should have an opportunity to consult their literature4 ,the natural resources of the regions doubtless differ--their crops1 their mineral output1 their attractiveness to the summer tourist4 ,transportation facilities vary4 ,all these things have their reflection in books and the differences of the towns have their corresponding reflections in their libraries4 ,many years ago1 your lecturer called the attention of librarians to the fact that they have in their own statistical tables a means of ascertaining whether they are keeping up with the reading-tendencies of their communities in book-purchase4 ,nearly every library classifies both its stock and its circulation1 and tabulates both for the year1 giving also the percentage of each class to the whole4 ,now suppose1 for instance1 that his tables show nine per cent4 of history on the shelves1 we will say1 whereas the circulation of the same class is eleven per cent4 ,evidently his readers are fonder of history than he is4 ,they read it in greater degree than he buys it4 ,moral3 buy more history4 ,of course this would be the moral only where the tendency shown was to be encouraged4 ,for instance the average percentage of fiction on the shelves in a public library is probably about thirty1 whereas its circulation runs from sixty to sixty-five4 ,we do not say here 8,buy more fiction01 because fiction reading needs no encouragement1 but rather judicious restraint1 although ,i certainly am not one of those who condemn it4 ,i wish1 however1 that we could divide our novels into three classes1 good1 indifferent and bad1 and then test the public demand by the method outlined above4 ,i am convinced that some surprises might be in store for us4 ,among the subjects that differ totally in two localities1 local history and biography are conspicuous4 ,both citizens and visitors are often interested in them4 ,there are features of each that are of more than local interest1 but the purely local side must generally be taken care of by the library or not at all4 ,sometimes there is a local historical society whose work1 of course1 the library will not try to duplicate2 but there is always room for co-operation1 stimulation and aid4 ,a moribund historical body may often be galvanized into life by an interested librarian4 ,the library may offer such a body the hospitality of its building and shelf-room for its collections with mutual benefit4 ,but in scores of towns there is only languid interest in local history or local worthies1 and the library itself must do all that is done4 ,material bearing on these local matters rarely consists of books4 ,it will include local newspapers1 clippings1 a pamphlet or two1 menus1 leaflets1 programs--all sorts of printed things issued by churches1 schools1 clubs and societies1 and lost as soon as issued unless caught at once and preserved4 ,here is the library's chance to possess a collection that is the only one of its kind in the world2 for outside the home town no one would think of getting it together4 ,supplementing these printed records may be all sorts of manuscript material--letters1 diaries1 reminiscences or narratives written or dictated especially for the library by persons who have something locally interesting to tell4 ,if there are maps showing the growth of the town or anything else of interest about it1 the library is the place for it4 ,the collection and arrangement need take none of the busy librarian's time1 for there is always someone in the town whose interest and labor can be enlisted4 ,if nothing else can be done1 at least a file of the local newspaper can be kept and indexed on cards1 especially for names of localities and persons4 ,work of this kind done currently and not allowed to accumulate1 does not take much time4 ,in these days of universal snapshots1 local photographs are easy to get4 ,the librarian may take a few herself and the library may well defray the expense4 ,a hundred years from now1 twenty views of your main street1 taken at five-year intervals from the same point and showing the progressive changes1 would be worth their weight in gold4 ,groups taken 8just for fun0 or for family reasons1 are often worth keeping because they show the fashions of the day4 ,these are of no particular interest to us now1 but any of us would be glad to have in our libraries a collection of groups showing prevalent modes of dress in our towns during each year in the last century4 ,old buildings are often torn down to make room for new4 ,these should be photographed before they go4 ,all material of this kind is peculiar to the library where it is preserved and helps to make that library's collections a departure from standardization whose importance we need1 perhaps1 insist on no further4 ,it may not be possible to collect in the library all of the interesting local material in the town4 ,much of it may be in the hands of private owners who will not part with it4 ,some of it may be owned by clubs1 churches or public bodies4 ,in this case there should be an index somewhere to indicate where it is1 and there is no more appropriate place for this index than the library4 ,i have elsewhere suggested that where this privately-owned material consists of books1 cards for them may be inserted also in the library's public catalogue4 ,but1 in addition1 there is no limit to the extent to which the library may go in indexing material1 and this work may well enlist the interest and efforts of volunteers4 ,there may be an index to old furniture1 one of colonial houses1 possibly illustrated and annotated like the fine one prepared by ,mr4 ,godard for the ,connecticut ,state ,library1 one of soldiers sent by the town to various wars1 one of noteworthy storms or of very high or low temperatures1 one to local organizations1 past and present4 ,the special interests of the community will guide those efforts1 and here too the library of one town will differ materially from that of another4 ,possibly library standardization has affected buildings more than anything else about a library4 ,there was a time where its absence was doing a great deal of harm1 especially in the case of small or medium-sized libraries put up under the ,carnegie gift4 ,every board and every local architect had a different idea1 but all seemed to agree that the building1 no matter how small1 was to be a monument1 with a rotunda and a dome2 and a good deal of waste resulted4 ,there was a loud call for some kind of a standard plan1 and small library buildings1 whether for branches or independent libraries1 are now a good deal alike1 so much so that we can often pick out a library building by its outward guise1 and that we will sometimes say of a post-office or an art gallery1 8,that looks exactly like a library04 ,this ease of identification is of course good as far as it goes2 but it should not interfere with a certain degree of adaptation to local conditions4 ,this is obvious in the case of sites offering local peculiarities4 ,for instance1 the ,high ,bridge ,branch of the ,new ,york ,public ,library is built on a steep hillside4 ,the architect has taken advantage of this fact to arrange an entrance on the ground level on each of the three floors4 ,the lowest is a service entrance1 the next above leads to the children's room and the upper-most to the adult department4 ,each door opens on a different street and the three facades are respectively three1 two and one story high4 ,evidently no standard plan would have been of use here4 ,the building1 inside and out1 had to be planned for this site and this alone4 ,and although not many sites require such special treatment as this there are many that do not lend themselves to the erection of a rigid standard building4 ,in ,detroit the ,carnegie ,committee1 ,i am told1 were inclined to insist on a basement assembly room in branches to be built on ground where any basement at all would involve wasteful expense of construction4 ,the proposed contents of a building should often affect its plan4 ,some architects have not yet learned the difference between an independent library and a branch of the same size and probable circulation4 ,an independent library may have to house treasures1 and should be of fire-proof construction4 ,a branch rarely houses anything that can not easily be replaced and it may be waste of money to make it fire-proof4 ,the architectural style of a library building is often properly made to conform with some style peculiar to the locality or regarded as suitable for it4 ,the ,riverside ,public ,library in ,california is properly in the ,spanish colonial or ,mission style2 that of ,new ,haven1 ,conn41 is a modified ,new ,england ,colonial1 the ,jackson ,square ,branch in ,new ,york is ,dutch1 the ,chestnut ,hill ,branch in ,philadelphia and the ,public ,library in ,harrisburg are of the irregular stone masonry so familiar in many parts of ,pennsylvania4 ,some of the branches in ,portland1 ,ore41 used to be and perhaps still are of wood1 built of the ,douglas fir of the surrounding region4 ,the power of the purse is an important thing in libraries as elsewhere1 and possibly we should have taken up earlier the variations of library income with locality4 ,not only are some communities better able to support a library than others1 but of two with equal ability one will excel in interest and willingness to give4 ,an attempt to regulate income by rule is the requirement of the ,carnegie ,committee that a municipality shall appropriate for the support of a library in a ,carnegie ,building1 not less than ten per cent4 of its cost4 ,i know that the condition is primarily stated the other way around4 ,the town is supposed to decide what it can give to support a library and then the ,carnegie ,committee is willing to capitalize this at ten per cent4 ,but the library once built1 its cost becomes the fixed item and the appropriation the variable one1 and in many cases it has varied so far downward as to constitute a violation of the town's library contract4 ,of late the ,committee is making an effort to detect and tabulate these violations and to use them as a basis for withholding donations in neighborhoods where they have been frequent4 ,a man is known by the company he keeps1 and it may be just to regard with some suspicion one who lives in a neighborhood where dishonest persons congregate4 ,still1 towns are unlike men1 since their locations are fairly permanent1 and it scarcely seems right to turn down ,jonesville's request for a ,carnegie library because ,smithtown1 #ce miles away1 has been unable to appropriate the ten per cent4 that it promised4 ,the ,committee has also made what ,i regard as the mistake of finding fault with the library that suffers from an unduly reduced appropriation1 instead of with the city or town government that is responsible for the reduction4 ,to throw blame on the head of an institution that has just been robbed of its birthright would seem to be adding insult to injury4 ,but despite the failure of this particular effort at standardization1 there seems to be a feeling that library incomes should be so far standardized as to be calculable from the particular set of circumstances under which the library is working4 ,the ,state of ,new ,york once attempted to regulate its library appropriation by home-use alone--so many cents per volume circulated4 ,this was a very crude attempt1 but possibly we ought to be able to say just how many dollars ought to support a library in a building of specified size with so many books1 and a circulation of so many per year4 ,this matter was the subject of earnest discussion for a year or more in the ,american ,library ,institute1 but no definite conclusion was reached4 ,it has always been my belief that some sort of formula could be deduced by mathematical methods from a large number of observed data1 that is1 the statistics of a series of normally-conducted libraries4 ,observe that this is not so much standardization as an attempt to systematize the recognition of differences4 ,with the average librarian the practical question is not so much what sum he ought to have to run his library1 as how he can and shall run it with what he has4 ,limitation of income invariably limits service1 and unfortunately the kind of service on which it bears most sharply is that which is the library's specialty--namely the provision of books4 ,the purchase of books should be the last thing in which the library ought to economize but in practice it is generally the first4 ,the building must be cared for--lighted and heated2 the public must be served4 ,but it is easy to stop buying books1 and it is in book-purchase that the library with small income differs from its neighbor with plenty of money4 ,there are some curious exceptions where the library can not wholly control the expenditure of its money1 which is regulated by the dead hand of a testator4 ,thus the ,forbes ,library of ,northampton1 ,mass41 now sensibly consolidated with the ,public ,library of that city1 was obliged for years to expend most of its income for the purchase of books1 leaving practically nothing for keeping up its building or paying its staff4 ,it was thus rich where a library is usually poor and vice versa4 ,the earliest efforts at standardization among librarians were directed toward cataloguing2 and probably cataloguers are our greatest sticklers for a rigid adherence to rules4 ,those who read ,mr4 ,e4 ,l4 ,pearson's column in ,the ,boston ,transcript realize that there are some librarians who consider this fact a legitimate target for ridicule4 ,and it is clear1 ,i think1 that both the methods and results of cataloguing ought not to be immune from modification to adopt them to local peculiarities4 ,some public libraries are used so much for scholarly or antiquarian research that their catalogues need to approximate that of a university library2 others are of so popular a nature that they hardly need a catalogue at all4 ,the needs of a certain community may require the very full analysis of certain books1 whereas elsewhere these could do very well with less analysis1 or possibly none at all4 ,the selection of subject headings may have to be made with due regard to the use that a catalogue is likely to receive4 ,books on open shelves do not need precisely the same kind of cataloguing as those to which access is not allowed4 ,a library's public1 too1 sometimes gets into habits1 and if these are unobjectionable1 it may be better to humor them than to try to change them4 ,some bodies of readers like as many printed lists as possible2 others rarely use them4 ,in some places there is great demand for a monthly bulletin2 elsewhere it is little used4 ,any librarian who does not stand ready to adapt his catalogue in some respects to the character and needs of his readers runs the risk of limiting his field of service4 ,methods of distribution may require selection or modification to suit local peculiarities4 ,take1 for instance1 the choice of a charging system4 8,which is the best charging system80 is a question frequently asked of experienced librarians or library school instructors4 ,this query is on a par with 8,what is the best material for clothes801 or 8,is paregoric or ipecac the best medicine80 ,a librarian who finds in her new job a charging-system that she dislikes1 which has been used without complaint for years1 should investigate before changing4 ,acceptance of the system may be simply due to habit4 ,even then1 as we have seen1 there may be reason for retaining it4 ,and there is a fair chance that it may have held its ground because it is in some way better adapted to the community4 ,of course the adaptation may be to something else--size1 for example4 ,a rapid rise in the circulation may take a library out of the small-library class and necessitate changes not only in charging system but in many other things4 ,some day an industrious student of library economy will tabulate these things that are independent of local conditions1 or so nearly so that it is better to standardize them1 and tell how the others should be varied with local topography1 climate and population4 ,there is no time for that in a single lecture2 and if ,i can leave firmly fixed in your minds the idea that some things are better standardized1 while others should be functions of variable local conditions1 ,i shall have accomplished all that ,i set out to do4 ,i have already noted some of the differences between a branch library and a central library4 ,possibly these deserve further mention as an instance of the adaptation of methods of distribution to locality4 ,i have frequently had occasion to deal with complaints which on investigation proved to be due to the fact that the complaining reader expected to find at a branch library all the facilities of a central library4 ,he had lived near the central library in one city1 and had moved to another where it was more convenient for him to use a branch4 ,the first thing that strikes him is that the reference collection is inadequate4 ,he does not realize that the central reference collection can not possibly be duplicated at branch libraries4 ,such complaints1 however1 may often give the librarian a hint4 ,he may have equipped all his branches with the same small1 good reference collection1 forgetting that reference work varies with locality4 ,several complaints of this sort from the same branch may indicate the necessity of enlarging the reference collection there or perhaps of adopting some such scheme as we are trying in ,st ,louis of a central reference collection of duplicates for supplying temporary branch needs4 ,it is not always realized that the character of the book-collection in a branch library is influenced by the mere fact that it is a branch1 apart from considerations of size1 circulation and character of readers4 ,there are many standard books1 in small demand1 that no library should be without4 ,one copy will serve the needs of the whole town4 ,if there is but one library there the book must form part of that library's collection1 whereas if there are a central building and branches1 it should be in the central library--not in the branches4 ,it is for this reason that the ,a4,l4,a4 catalogue should not be used for stocking a branch4 ,i know of cases where numbers of books lie idle on the shelves of every branch in a city system1 because they are not branch books at all4 ,one or two copies at ,central would have been sufficient1 and to place them in branches has been waste of money4 ,when the ,new ,york ,public ,library took in a considerable number of small independent libraries as branches ,i had the opportunity1 a year or so after the event1 of ascertaining from the librarians1 what difference to them and to their readers the change of status had made4 ,they were unanimous in saying that although they1 as librarians1 felt less independent1 the service to readers was vastly improved1 owing to the fact that the library now formed part of a large system4 ,this is always the result of any kind of union of effort1 whether by consolidation or co-operation4 ,the individual is somewhat hampered but the community is benefited4 ,this1 of course1 is something of a departure from our subject4 ,sometimes the chief difference between two localities is in the character and temper of the readers4 ,the whole scheme of relations between library and public needs often to be altered in moving from one place to another4 ,this is perhaps most noticeable in a city where there is a system of branch libraries4 ,the assistant who has been transferred from a ,jewish to a ,scandinavian district and then to one occupied by well-to-do ,americans will understand what ,i mean without further explanation4 ,but this difference in readers is of course much wider than mere racial difference4 ,it may be a difference in social status4 ,we ,americans are too apt to pretend that this sort of thing does not affect a public educational institution1 but it decidedly does4 ,some librarians make the mistake of thinking that these differences are racial also4 ,it is a matter of common knowledge among city librarians that in a 8slum0 library the problem of discipline is simplicity itself compared with a library where the readers are nearly all well-to-do4 ,this is often asserted to depend merely on the racial difference between the newly arrived immigrant--,russian ,jew1 ,italian or ,pole--and the native ,american4 ,but we find that when the immigrant has learned the customs of the country and has made enough money to raise him in the social scale and enable him to move from his slum surroundings1 he quickly takes his place with the well-to-do library patrons4 ,he is more exacting and his children are harder to manage4 ,the difference is really a social one4 ,the immigrant is accustomed to being looked down on in his native country1 to living on little and having few principles4 ,he is humble and thankful for small favors4 ,what he gets at the library fills him with amazement and gratitude4 ,mary ,antin has told us all about it4 ,but the well-to-do citizen1 whether by birth or recent acquirement1 realizes that the library is being supported by his taxes4 ,he realizes it1 in fact1 so keenly1 that he gives it somewhat undue prominence in his mind and sometimes shows this in his treatment of the library staff4 ,knowing that the library belongs in part to him1 he may often forget that it belongs in equal degree to others4 ,he is impatient or even resentful of rules intended to maintain equality of service4 ,his children unconsciously absorb this same attitude4 ,they resent control and are hard to keep in order4 ,much of the librarians' time must be given to smoothing down ruffled feathers and maintaining discipline--time which ought to be given to bettering the quality of service4 ,evidently these two kinds of communities must be handled differently4 ,they call for different training on the part of the staff--a different stock of books--almost for different buildings4 ,then there is the indifferent community1 which may be anywhere in the social scale and which requires special handling4 ,it is even difficult to tell at times whether or not a community is really indifferent4 ,their reaction to the library is often a phase of the local feeling that is the subject of this lecture4 ,it is present in some communities and absent in others1 but its presence does not always mean real appreciation of library privileges1 nor does its absence mean lack of such appreciation4 ,not more than a few months apart1 about ten years ago1 two branch libraries were opened in ,new ,york4 ,one was in ,greenwich ,village1 a district of strong local peculiarities1 which ,i fear it is about to lose because writers have taken to describing them in the magazines4 ,the other was on #ifth street1 which was a part of ,new ,york like any other4 ,the 8,village0 took the greatest interest in the library from the moment when its site was selected4 ,the building was watched from its foundation up4 ,bad little boys annoyed the workmen4 ,local politicians and merchants congratulated the neighborhood and told us how fine they thought it was all going to be4 ,everybody wanted to take part in the opening exercises and nearly everybody did4 ,there were floods of oratory and crowds of visitors4 ,but having obtained the library and done what it considered its whole duty in the premises1 ,greenwich ,village1 not being a community of readers1 proceeded to leave us to our own devices and it was only after months of up-hill work that the ,branch succeeded in getting anything like a respectable circulation4 ,on the other hand the establishment1 construction and opening of the #ifth ,street ,branch were treated by the surrounding residents with supreme indifference4 ,no one had asked to have a branch located at this point1 which had been selected solely for reasons of topography and population4 ,as the building went up1 no one asked whether it was a school or a bank4 ,nobody came to the opening exercises4 ,and yet when the library began to circulate books the community responded to such an extent that in a short time the branch was giving them out at the rate of #dj1jjj a month4 ,here the interest and pride of a community in the possession of a library building and its disposition to make use of the library are clearly shown to be two different things4 ,in this case the two communities were parts of the same city1 but separate towns often show the same phenomenon4 ,some of the most indifferent library towns1 for instance1 are the ones where superhuman efforts were put forth to secure a ,carnegie building4 ,a kind of standardization of which we can not have too little is that controlled by the man who takes himself as the standard--his own ideas1 prejudices and habits4 ,this kind of standardizer is not always aware of what he is doing4 ,he believes that his methods are the best4 ,they may be best for him and possibly for the particular environment in which he has been working4 ,i am not sure that some of our most cherished library habits did not originate in this way--were not originally simply the personal whims of some able and forceful library administrator who was in a position1 in the formative stage of library progress1 to impress them on the fabric of our work4 ,fortunately for us1 the men of this kind1 in the early history of the library movement1 were not only men of force but generally of common-sense as well4 ,possibly their habits and customs were as good as any others that we might have adopted4 ,i am sure that they were better than some4 ,but individual points of view may in some cases prove disastrous4 ,i remember an ,english novel in which a local librarian personally interested in the history of the ,french ,revolution1 uses all the available funds of his institution for years to buy books on the subject1 building up a fine collection1 but making his library useless for its ordinary purposes4 ,his successor1 a man with other interests1 threw out the whole collection4 ,i have often wondered which of these two librarians one ought to condemn most4 ,both are examples of the injury that may be done by what we may call auto-standardization4 ,i am preparing this whole lecture with a fear that some one of this kind may think he is adapting his library to his locality when he is only standardizing it by himself4 ,self-deception may go far in matters of this kind1 and there is something to be said in favor of hard and fast standardization without departure of any kind1 in that it prevents aberrations such as ,i have just hinted at4 ,i trust that no self-standardizer is in my present audience4 ,our conclusion from all this should be1 ,i think1 that a library should not only assimilate its methods to those of other libraries--which is standardization1 but should react to the needs and conditions of its own surroundings1 which is localization4 ,if you would know the extent of this local reaction and the character of its results1 ask the members of the library's community1 especially if that community is small4 ,and we must remember that no library community is large1 so far as its direct popular use is concerned4 ,whether it is in a village or a city1 whether it is a central library or a branch1 it is effective as a community centre only within a small circle1 of perhaps half a mile radius4 ,the residents of this circle are in a position to give testimony regarding the library's local services4 ,if it has succeeded in adapting itself to local needs its reputation will be that of a valuable1 helpful1 well-disposed institution2 if not1 the neighbors will be hostile1 or at least indifferent4 ,libraries that are in constant trouble with their readers--the object of continual complaint and controversy1 generally have the feeling that the fault is with the public4 ,sometimes it is2 for a maladjustment is seldom on one side alone4 ,but more often it is chiefly due to the fact that the library has overlooked its purely local functions1 while possibly at the same time conforming most admirably to what are considered the best library standards4 ,no library can afford to neglect its special duties to its locality and if these conflict with standardization1 it should be the general standards and not the local adjustments1 that should go by the board4 ,,index ,administration1 ,cost of1 #bag ,advertising4 ,general1 #bgg2 ,in the library1 #ce1 #agb ,age limit for children1 #baj 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