LEAGUE OF LIBRARY COMMISSIONS Tenth annual meeting at Kaaterskill, N. Y., June 25-27, 1913

FIRST SESSION (Wednesday, June 25, 2:30 p. m.)

Round Table on Organizing Small Libraries

The meeting was called to order by the President, Mr. Milam. A roll-call by states showed that sixteen were represented: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin. The President then introduced the leader of the discussion, Miss Zaidee Brown, of Massachusetts. The outline of the discussion, as printed on the program, was as follows:

1. Methods suggested by the state organizer for Accessioning Classification Shelf-listing Cataloging Should it be attempted? Should L. C. cards be used? Loan system Mechanical preparation of books 2. Average time required for above processes, and average cost per 1,000 volumes 3. Help from local sources Volunteers, paid workers, trustees Help from neighboring librarians 4. Kinds of supplies and cost 5. How the organizer may interest the people of the town in the library 6. Board meeting: Budget and other administrative problems

It was stated that for this discussion "small library" meant any library with less than 5,000 volumes.

As to the accession book, the general opinion seemed to be that there was more reason for keeping it in a library without trained service than in a larger one, and that the trustees usually liked to have it kept. A very simple entry was recommended. Miss Brown suggested that where, in reorganizing, it was necessary to accession the books already in the library, the quickest way was to number them when the first, or shelf-list, card was written. These cards might be kept in numerical order, and the accession book written from them, thus saving one handling of the books. She said one reason for keeping an accession book in a small library is that the accession number may be used for charging; this led to a discussion of the use of Cutter numbers in a small library; Miss Wright, of Vermont, uses them and has found no trouble. Miss Brown thinks they add considerably to the labor and expense of reorganizing, and she has found them likely to fall into confusion with untrained librarians. No conclusion was reached.

As to classification, the preference was for a simplified form of the D. C., using only three figures in most cases, and combining some classes.

The leader then asked how many organizers favored a dictionary catalog, with an untrained librarian. Miss Hazeltine, of Wisconsin, said that in that state they start only a shelf-list, to be used as a classed catalog, until the librarian can attend summer school, and then a dictionary catalog is made. Miss Askew stated that in New Jersey a dictionary catalog is made even for a small library, if the librarian and trustees wish it. In Vermont, also, the organizer starts a dictionary catalog.

Miss Frances Hobart, librarian at Vergennes, Vt., reported that when she classified she placed a slip in the book giving the class and book number, and the subject headings to be used, for the guidance of the cataloger. These slips are kept, to form a rough shelf-list, and serve the purpose in assigning Cutter numbers. A number of those present said that they thought it not necessary to make a shelf-list simply for taking an inventory, as many libraries do not take inventory, and it is not worth the labor of the shelf-list. Mr. Olin Davis, librarian at Laconia, N. H., described a method of taking inventory from the accession book, thus making a shelf-list for that purpose unnecessary. The discussion showed that in some states the custom of the state organizer is to start a dictionary catalog, and to make a shelf-list only if Cutter numbers are used, or if the additional labor can be easily afforded. Miss Brown, of Massachusetts, said that she preferred, with an untrained librarian, to make an author and title catalog, and to use the shelf-list for a subject catalog. She makes an alphabetic index to the shelf-list, which also serves as a guide for classification, and includes in this index analyticals and secondary subject cards. She feels that this method reduces to a minimum the difficulty of assigning subject headings, and the danger of scattering material through doing this poorly. The objection to her method was made that such a catalog is not so easy for the public to use; she admitted this, but said that in a small library the catalog is mainly a tool for the librarian. Mrs. Budlong, of North Dakota, recommended using the order card for the shelf-list.

The discussion showed that in New Jersey and Vermont the organizer usually starts a dictionary catalog; and in Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin and Massachusetts the shelf-list is used as a subject catalog unless the librarian has at least summer school training.

As to the use of Library of Congress cards, the general testimony seemed to be that the labor of ordering them, and adding numbers and headings, is about equal to that of making simple cards, with a typewriter. Miss Brown stated that the added expense for cards per 1,000 volumes is about $35, if the order is by author and title. Miss Farr, of Maryland, said that she could catalog about 1,000 volumes a month, making a dictionary catalog, if she made her own cards, and about 1,100 if she used Library of Congress cards—showing that the labor is nearly the same.

It was not possible to give definite estimates of the cost of reorganization or the time required, as conditions vary so greatly; but some general averages were obtained. Mr. Milam, of Indiana, stated that the cost of supplies and labor, including the time and expenses of the state organizer, was about $50 to $60 per 1,000 volumes. One organizer said that a cataloger should average 40 volumes a day, assigning Cutter numbers and making a dictionary catalog. Miss Askew, of New Jersey, thought this number too small, and said she expected one person to make a dictionary catalog for 1,000 volumes in two weeks. Miss Brown, of Massachusetts, said that the number of volumes done in a week varied from 500 to 1,000 volumes, according to the amount of local help received. She finds it possible to get volunteer workers for a good deal of the work, including writing the cards, and doing the mechanical work involved by a new charging system. This estimate is not for a dictionary catalog, but for an author and title list, and a shelf-list for non-fiction with subject index—no imprint being given on most of the cards. To show the cost of reorganization where there was practically no volunteer labor, Miss Brown gave the figures for a library at West Bridgewater, Mass., which contained about 6,500 volumes. The state library commission gave about a week of Miss Brown's time, which is not included in the estimate, a cataloger was engaged at $75 a month, and an assistant at $50. Local workers were paid about twelve cents an hour. The books were accessioned, classified, an author and title catalog made, and a shelf-list for non-fiction with subject index. Book-pockets and book-cards were placed in the books. Copy for a printed catalog was made. This catalog was later printed, at a cost of about $125. The entire cost of the work, including printing the catalog, was between $600 and $700, or about ten cents per volume. The time required was about seven weeks.

As to the question of how the organizer might interest the people of the town, there was a discussion on whether the organizer did better work if she stayed at the hotel, or was entertained in a private family. She can, of course, become better acquainted if in a family, but Mr. Milam said that he thought the hotel preferable because there would be no drain on her vitality outside library hours. It developed during the discussion that in several states the commission pays the living expenses of the organizer in the town. In Massachusetts, the library is expected to meet this expense, but the state sometimes helps buy the supplies.

As to the meeting of the Board, Mr. Milam said that he thought the organizer should always meet the Board, and if possible leave with them a suggested budget for a library of that size. Miss Brown said that she carried with her sample copies of a number of selected lists and library aids, and showed them to the Board of Trustees.

A number of organizers spoke of addressing clubs, schools, and other bodies in connection with the work.

After the Round Table, Mr. Milam appointed the following nominating committee: Miss Clara Baldwin, chairman; Mrs. Percival Sneed, Miss Zaidee Brown. The meeting then adjourned.

SECOND SESSION (Wednesday, June 25th, 8:30 p. m.)

The topic of the second session was libraries in state institutions and in federal prisons. Mr. Milam, the president, called the meeting to order. Miss Julia A. Robinson, supervising librarian of the state institutions of Iowa, opened the discussion. Mr. Jenkins, of New York, who was announced on the program, was unable to be present. Miss Robinson spoke first of the need of providing good reading matter in state institutions; and pointed out that such libraries have the advantage of those in the outside world, in that they need not compete with so many conflicting interests in their patrons. Of the two possible kinds of supervision; by an outside authority, such as a state library commission, or by an official of the board controlling the state institutions, the latter is preferable if the appointment of such an official is not dominated by politics. An official appointed by the Board of Control has greater authority, can maintain a closer supervision of the books admitted, and can obtain more help from the inmates of the institutions. As to methods employed, the book selection should be carefully made to suit the various classes in the different institutions; and the organization should be as simple as possible. In Iowa, they use an accession book, the decimal classification, and a simple form of shelf-list. In all the institutions, reading rooms for the use of the inmates under proper supervision add to the usefulness of the libraries. The librarian is usually an officer or employee of the institution, but should possess a knowledge of the books in her own library, and a sympathetic acquaintance with the inmates which will enable her to assist them in selecting the books which will be most helpful to them. She should also have sufficient time to give proper attention to the library. Inmates often make good assistants, but should work under close supervision and should not be allowed to select the books. In the prisons, where the readers do not have access to the shelves, printed finding lists are necessary.

Miss Florence R. Curtis, of the University of Illinois Library School, next spoke on libraries in prisons. She called attention to the fact that nearly eighty per cent of those in prisons will be out of prison in from one to ten years. They should be regarded as citizens in the making, to be helped in every way possible. Of those who enter, about ninety per cent are literate; and over seventy-five per cent have attended school beyond the sixth grade. About fifty per cent of those sent to prison are so-called "accidental criminals," that is, they have yielded to an impulse, but are not habitually criminal. Before they leave prison, however, they have received an education of a sort in crime. They know the criminal class, its leading men, etc., they know the methods of crime, and they have learned to regard the law as more favorable to the rich than to the poor, and how best to evade it. Besides this, they have become acquainted with unclean literature, circulated secretly; and with vice and dissipation. Guards in the prison often peddle drink and drugs to the prisoners. As to what they have learned that is good, she enumerated the following: The prisoner may have learned a trade, but the trades taught often do not help in earning a living outside. The prisoner may have attended a school. Usually the school is held for four months, is taught by a volunteer prisoner, and aims only to teach the elementary subjects. The prisoner has attended the church service. Last, the prisoner may have had the use of the prison library. Miss Curtis examined the catalogs of thirty prisons. Perhaps three-fourths of the books might be regarded as deadwood. Often the libraries contain vicious books, which give wrong ideas of the relations of men and women, and of the family; create a false idea of life; and make dissipation attractive. The works of Chambers, Elinor Glyn, Phillips, Mrs. Southworth, and others of similar grade, are found in large numbers in the prison libraries. The prisoner has so much time to think over what he reads, that especial care should be taken that his reading should be wholesome. Books dealing with shady business methods, religious unrest, race prejudice, the detection of crime, etc., are all bad. All fiction added to the library should first be read by a person of good judgment, with respect to its effect on the prisoners. The selection of suitable books does not represent the whole duty toward the prisoner. Personal guidance in the choice of books is most desirable. The chaplain is not always the best person to give such guidance as he may not be familiar with modern fiction and he has other duties. The superintendent is not always interested in the reading of the prisoners. The superintendent of a reform school stated flatly that the physical care of the girls was the main duty and interest of the institution. A librarian appointed by the Board of Control will make the most careful selection of the books. The librarian should also visit the institutions and give as much personal guidance to the reading as possible. It should be noted, however, that this is not a place for an immature person, nor a sentimental one.

Miss Curtis said that the duty of the state library commission, as to prison libraries, was to try to rouse the superintendents, and bring about a better condition.

Miss Stearns, of Wisconsin, asked about the use of magazines in prisons. She had visited a prison, with the chaplain acting as librarian, where they took dozens of magazines, and had given up buying books because the magazines were so popular. Among those especially in demand were World's Work, Current Events, and Cosmopolitan. Miss Robinson, of Iowa, said that they took magazines for the prisons, but in no case were magazines bought to the exclusion of all books. Where it is regarded as necessary, the magazines are expurgated by clipping out certain articles. Miss Curtis said that in Illinois prisons many magazines are taken, and are very popular. The men are allowed to form magazine clubs, and to take any magazine not positively disreputable; and many of the cheaper lower-grade magazines are taken.

Miss Clarke, librarian of the public library at Auburn, N. Y., where there is a state prison, said that she had investigated prison libraries in New York state, especially in Auburn, in connection with the work of a committee of the New York State Library Association. She regards conditions in New York state as discouraging. In Auburn, the selection is not so bad, but the men are allowed little if any selection. A convict assistant chooses fifty volumes for fifty cells. These are passed out, and each one is kept a week. It is then passed on to the next cell. An educated ex-convict in a letter printed by Richard Harding Davis in the New York Sun, stated that he was unable for a year to get a book he wanted, though nobody else wanted it. They have no printed catalogs or lists. In the women's prison, in Auburn, the prisoners are allowed to select books, and one of the teachers had done some work with reading clubs. Miss Clarke stated that in New York state prisons, the teacher of the prison school is not a convict. The prison school is allowed $50 worth of books a year. The hope for improvement in New York state, in library conditions in the prisons, is through the appointment of a librarian in each prison, or a library supervisor of all state penal institutions.

Mr. Wellman, of Springfield, Mass., asked how to rouse interest in prison libraries in a state where there is no interest. Miss Curtis said that one should avoid rousing general public criticism, as this would antagonize the prison authorities; that it was better to use the slow method of getting the heads of the institutions and the board controlling the prisons interested. The state library commission should do this. A general article in the press on the value of good prison libraries might be desirable, but one should by all means avoid anything approaching a sensational story about special cases. As an example of how to rouse interest, Mr. Wynkoop spoke of the number of New York Libraries, published in February, 1913, which was devoted largely to libraries in state institutions. Copies of this were sent to all trustees of state institutions in New York state, to members of legislative committees dealing with charitable and reformatory institutions, to members of sociological societies, to mayors and sheriffs, to most of the leading newspapers of the state, and to others of influence. About 700 copies were sent out in this way. There have been some evident results. In Syracuse, Rochester, Bath, Jamestown, and some other places, the papers have had notices about the need of better libraries in prisons and jails, and the authorities have in some cases taken steps to improve conditions. In answer to questions, Mr. Wynkoop said that he did not make direct criticism of the present library conditions in prisons, but spoke of the poor economy of spending so little on them. The maximum amount spent on the library of any institution in New York state is $500, though expenditures for other purposes may run into the millions.

It was suggested that public libraries should supply local jails with reading matter. Miss Clarke stated that in the state prison at Auburn, magazines are taken for the officials, but are not loaned to the prisoners. An offer of discarded but usable books from the public library to the jail was refused, because the prisoners would cut out the pictures and put them on the wall.

Miss Charlotte Templeton, secretary of the Nebraska public library commission, next spoke on libraries in reformatories. This is a somewhat more hopeful group than the prisons. The inmates are often below the average physically, somewhat bitter, and frightened, and sobered by their first contact with the law. The reformatory must build them up; physically, mentally, and in the power of self-support. In this the library is a valuable adjunct. It should contain simple books on civics, books to help the foreigner learn English, and books on the technical subjects taught in the prison. There is also a use for books as a means of recreation. These may put the inmate in a better attitude toward life, and may be the entering wedge for more serious reading. They should, therefore, be the first line of attack. Again, a prisoner may accept moral training from a book that he would not from a person. The books on conduct are much read. Jordan's "Self-control," Grenfell's "Men's helpers," and some of the new thought books are much read. One prisoner said, "If I had had that book three years ago I should not be here now." Magazines are generally taken, but as a supplement to the collection of books. They include many on current events and on technical work, and some that are taken mainly for their pictures. Country Life and Baseball are very popular. In conclusion, Miss Templeton said that the reformatory library is much like a public library, and should be administered in a similar way. In this way, the inmates would become familiar with the use of such a library, would form the "library habit," and be more likely to feel at home in the public library on their release.

Miss EDITH KATHLEEN JONES, librarian at McLean Hospital, Waverley, Mass., then read the following paper:

SOME PROBLEMS OF THE INSTITUTION LIBRARY ORGANIZER IN THE STATE HOSPITALS

Last year I had the pleasure of telling you something of library work in one of the large private hospitals for the insane; this year I want to speak of some of the problems the institution organizer will meet when she undertakes to set in order the libraries of the state hospitals.

In the first place, unless she is fortunate enough to be appointed by the State Board of Control or State Board of Insanity or their equivalent, she may at times feel that she is looked upon a little bit as an outsider by the hospital staff, as one who does not understand hospital conditions and who belongs to an entirely different order of things. She may even meet what seems to her indifference or actual antagonism on the part of a few superintendents.

The fact is, the library to librarians is of supreme importance, but the library to the average hospital superintendent is merely one method of providing entertainment or employment for his patients. He is much more interested in the new social service movement and the study of eugenics and heredity than he is in the general library, which, to his mind, is simply a part of the therapeutic system and even as such ranks far below useful employment and arts and crafts work.

This indifference or antagonism does not arise from any personal feeling nor is it confined to the library. It is the natural outcome of the peculiar organization demanded in a hospital for the insane, a general distrust of any outside interference in any department, and a thorough conviction that each hospital is entirely competent to manage its own affairs. In one state the state board refused the offer of the state library committee to organize its institution libraries for these very reasons. In another state, where the possibility of the state board appointing an institution librarian of its own is under discussion, one superintendent remarked that he "could only say this; if it must come he was thankful it was coming from the inside, through the board and from one who knew hospital conditions."

Another reason for this seeming indifference on the part of the superintendents is that, in the East at any rate, a state hospital is always poor. It is poor and it is crowded, and its superintendent is harrassed with having his requests for better accommodations for his patients, a new power house, larger kitchens and laundries, or quarters for his married men nurses turned down; with trying to get larger appropriations from the state legislature; with endeavoring to feed and clothe and house 1,200 patients on an appropriation and in quarters designed for 1,000 at the most. He probably has cut down his expenses in every conceivable direction, and he can not see the use of spending money for books which the majority of his patients will not read. And there is this to be said for his point of view, that while there are many educated and cultivated persons in all the state hospitals, the majority of them are foreigners and illiterates from the mill and factory-hand classes and from the slums of the cities. In New York state alone, in 1906, forty-six per cent of the whole number of patients admitted to the New York hospitals were of foreign birth. And I might add, to show the menace of the class of people we are letting into our country, that forty-six per cent of the insane were aliens, while only twenty-six per cent of the whole population of the state were of foreign birth. Add to these the outcasts from the slums and you have a good idea of the make-up of the state hospitals and asylums, and you will not wonder that many superintendents shake their heads when libraries are mentioned.

It would, therefore, seem to be one of the duties of the organizer to prove to the superintendent that even if three-fifths of his patients are illiterate, reading should be provided for the educated two-fifths; that she, from her knowledge of books and editions, can provide a thoroughly readable library which will meet the requirements of all classes, from college professors to the dregs of humanity, for a much less sum than he can do it, and from her experience she can interest the patients in books. For after you have the library, you still have a set of people to deal with who lack initiative and must be aroused to interest in anything. She must also impress upon him that shelf-and-book or even accession numbers mean nothing, and that when, as in one library I know, all the books are covered and there is no hint of author or title on the back, the library is converted into a sort of literary grab-bag which is funny to the librarian but exasperating to the patient. She must convince him that an unclassified library represents a tremendous waste, especially when it is not supplemented by a subject catalog. She must be able to prove to him from the experience of other hospitals that the old-fashioned method of letting a library run itself is not conducive to growth and that there must be some one whose chief duties are to the library. She can assure him from figures that he is not getting out of his library what he should, if out of 1,000 patients only 60 use the library during the year and 50 books a week is a large circulation. She can tell him of one hospital of 220 patients which has from 75 to 100 regular readers, not counting nurses and employees, and averages 25 books a day, or 8,900 a year; of another of about the same size which often gives out 50 books a day; of a third, which, with a population of 2,000 gave out last year 15,862 volumes to 344 persons. She can guarantee him that if he will let her weed out obsolete stuff and fill in with the sort of books the patients want and train some patient, nurse or stenographer to act as librarian in her absence at other hospitals, his library circulation will be doubled or trebled the first year.

Having convinced the superintendent of the utility of the organized, central library, the institution librarian is now free to turn her attention to the patients, getting acquainted with them, learning their tastes in books, interesting them in reading and in pictures. And just here I would say that in the state hospitals the doctors are always glad to have anything new suggested in the way of employment, and that if the organizer can manage it so that the patients can help her in the care of the charging-system, mending and cataloging, her efforts will be much appreciated by all concerned.

The institution organizer will soon find that each hospital differs from every other in construction, management, and especially in the character of illness. The asylums for the chronic insane present the most hopeless feature, yet even here there are enough who read to make it worth while to furnish libraries. Moreover, in the asylums, the nurses have to be taken into account. Their work is so hopeless and uninteresting compared with that in hospitals for acute and recoverable cases that more must be done for them in order to get and keep even ordinarily good attendants. And where, as in many cases, the chronic insane are being transferred to farm colonies way out in the country, far from any city or even large town, the library can, if it will, help very decidedly by offering means of study and education to the nurses and staff as well as diversion to the patients. Therefore, one can venture to buy for an asylum a much better selection of books from the point of view of general culture than for the ordinary hospital.

I have said so often that a hospital library must be formed for entertainment, not for education, that it must be simple in organization and carried along on unconventional lines, that I speak of these points again only to emphasize them. If one looks upon institutional work from the point of view of educative influence it is discouraging work; but if one thinks of it as an adjunct to the therapeutic service of the hospital, as a means of bringing some pleasure or at least forgetfulness of self for a time to an afflicted class and employment for hours which otherwise would be passed in complete idleness and utter dejection, it is inspiring work. But in the selection of books this point of view must be kept always in mind.

Yet this is just what those unaccustomed to hospital conditions fail to grasp. Not three months ago a hospital in a far-off western city sent a representative to see our library and get all the information he could in regard to the sort of books they should put into their beautiful and expensive new buildings. I showed him a list of some 1,200 of our most popular books selected as a basis for the little catalog Miss Carey, Miss Robinson, Miss Waugh and I have made out and annotated, and which is now being printed by the A. L. A. Publishing Board. The first thing he noticed was the omissions. "Why," said he, looking at Science, "you have nothing by Spencer, or Darwin or Huxley on this list. Aren't they the standard thing? Oughtn't I to get them for our library?" "Not if you want a library which will be read," was my prompt reply, and I showed him the records of our sets of these scientists, taken out at the most three or four times in the history of the library.

A year or so ago I attempted to find out from our cards just what was the most popular sort of fiction in our library. Of course the book of the moment is the one read at the moment, so it would be manifestly unfair to include these and I took only those books published prior to 1901. It may interest you to know in their order the 25 most read books, that is, of the old favorites. The date unfortunately excludes Mr. Pratt, the Virginian, Kim, Rex Beach and Oppenheim. They are, The Choir Invisible, Janice Meredith, Saracinesca, Sant' Ilario, Don Orsino, Vanity Fair, The Lilac Sunbonnet, Old Chester Tales, Dr. Lavender's People, When Knighthood was in Flower, The Sowers—taken out 20 times in the last three years; The Seats of the Mighty, The Battle of the Strong, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Treasure Island, Cape Cod Folks and The Right of Way, 22 times; A Little Moorland Princess, Dorothy Vernon, Kidnapped and The Cardinal's Snuff Box 25 times; Richard Carvel 29 times; The Old Ma'amselle's Secret 40 times and The Second Wife by Miss Marlitt 43 times. This shows pretty conclusively that even our people, all of whom belong to the cultivated and educated class, want light, interesting stories of romance and adventure, and the average state hospital reader wants something even lighter than these.

I have been asked again and again if the right reading really cures. One dare not affirm this; its influence is negative rather than positive. But I can say this: I have known of many cases outside as well as in the hospital where persons have been positively harmed by morbid or hysterically sentimental books. Our people are inclined to be pretty emotional anyway, and whatever appeals to that side is to be deplored.

To sum up the qualities which determine the suitability of books for a hospital library, I can do no better than quote from the "Foreword" of the catalog mentioned above:

In making this list the editors have endeavored to keep in mind the following points:

1. Books in a hospital are for recreation, not for instruction, and therefore should consist principally of fiction, picture books, travel, biography, light and popular science and outdoor books.

2. They must be wholesome—not morbid, or gruesome, or depressing. Good detective stories and tales of adventure, however thrilling, if not horrible, and if they do not make vice attractive, are to be recommended, as they, more than almost anything else, hold the attention.

3. Illustrated books and books of pictures are invaluable, as a patient often will look at pictures when he is too ill to read.

4. The newest fiction is called for and read, yet the old favorites remain much in demand. With so much ephemeral stuff among the "best sellers," it is a delicate task to select the really good novels which will last, and there is a great temptation to fall back on the old and tried books to the exclusion of the more modern. The editors have tried to combine the two in just proportion, and also to give a few titles of the better class of the "second rate" which have proved popular.

5. It is not enough to provide books for those who wish to read. There are always many patients who are unable to take any initiative towards selecting any form of entertainment or employment for themselves, and for these should be provided light and simple stories which will not tax the brain or require any concentration of attention, but which will serve to stimulate their interest in things outside themselves. These are not necessarily children's books, but often the simple language and quiet wholesomeness of certain books for young people will bridge a patient over this period of mental inadequacy and pave the way towards a real enjoyment of maturer reading.

In addition to these five simple rules for selecting the reading for a hospital library, the editors would emphasize another very important point: Many of the readers will be elderly persons with failing eyesight, who demand large, clear type. This is hard to procure in cheap editions of standard authors and old favorites, but it is suggested that it is well worth while to take a little pains in selection and even to pay a higher price, in order to get an edition of convenient size, shape and weight, in serviceable binding, with large, clear type. Such an edition will last longer and will invite, not repel the reader.

Complete sets of the works of standard authors, with the exception of Shakespeare, Scott, Dickens, and possibly George Eliot, are not recommended for hospitals. Only a few of the more popular stories of each will be read.

I want to say just a word in regard to the housing of hospital libraries. Of course the ideal arrangement is a separate building which is open all the time, but I know of only three or four such in the country. In most state hospitals the library was an afterthought and the books are crowded into one or two more or less inaccessible rooms to which the patients can come only once or twice a week and which can not possibly be made attractive. Often there is absolutely no other room to be had in the hospital and the librarian must make the most of it and do her utmost to beautify it with rugs and baskets made by the patients and flowers from the hospital greenhouses. But sometimes a little ingenuity will solve the problem in some such unique way as in the State Infirmary at Tewksbury, Mass., where the superintendent conceived the idea of moving their very good little library (classified and cataloged too) from its one small dark, inaccessible room in the administration house to the large, light chapel which hitherto stood idle six days in the week. Here low shelves have been built in between the windows on the wide side aisles and stacks fitted into the alcove rooms each side the chancel. Long narrow tables with plenty of books and magazines have been placed in these aisles and the library is now open practically all the time.

The Hospital for Epileptics at Monson, Mass., has met its problem somewhat differently. The superintendent here is having two large sunny rooms fitted up with bookshelves, one for the men where they can smoke and one for the women where they can sew. These shelves will be kept filled with books from the central library (in an office in the administration house which it shares with the medical library) administered by the stenographer-librarian, but under the direct supervision of a patient for each room. The patients themselves are very enthusiastic over the proposed change and have made out lists of books they want.

In Massachusetts, the ideal so far as use of the library goes, is found at the Foxborough Hospital for Inebriates, where only men patients are admitted. Here they have a separate building containing one large room with low bookcases all around it and two tables covered with periodicals and newspapers in the center. Here the men can come when their day's work is over or at the noon hour and read and smoke.

I wish I had time to speak of the importance of interesting the nurses in the library and getting their co-operation, and of the possibility of holding classes on books and reading for them. I know of no hospital where they have time for such classes at present, but there is a movement on foot towards requiring better education as a condition for entering the training schools for the general hospitals, and some day some hospital will inaugurate classes in literature.

Miss Jones agreed with Miss Robinson's statement that the libraries in state institutions should be administered by an official appointed by the Board of Control.

Miss Flexner, of the Louisville free public library, then spoke of an experience in placing books in a county jail. Within the last six months, the public library offered to place a deposit in the county jail, and found that the jailer was willing. Permission was also obtained from the Fiscal Court. In November, about 100 volumes, all fiction, were sent, to be retained four months. On their return, it was found that over 1,800 issues had been made—a heavy circulation. In the next lot, was placed about 15 per cent of non-fiction, carefully selected. On their return, it was found that books by Marden and Grenfell had been popular. Mrs. Sangster's "Sweetest story ever told," a life of Christ, had been well used, while Mrs. Wharton's "House of mirth" had been read but twice. "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," "Kim," and Mrs. Whitney's "Ascutney street" were each read 26 times in 6 weeks. Books on useful arts were so much in demand that they were renewed. The books are charged by the chaplain. When a suspicious looking gathering of the men was investigated by the jailor, it was found that one who could read was reading aloud to those who could not.

In the discussion, it was stated that a list of books for use in insane hospitals is to be published soon and that copies are to be on sale by the A. L. A. Publishing Board. Several speakers mentioned a union catalog for prison libraries, with annotations to guide the prisoners in the selection of books.

The committee on libraries in federal prisons made a report, in which they stated that an earnest attempt had been made to secure an appropriation of at least $2,500 for the establishment of a library in the penitentiary at Atlanta and a like amount for Leavenworth, and $500 for books for McNeil Island, but that the effort had been unsuccessful. The attempt will be renewed this coming year. The committee was continued.

THIRD SESSION (Friday, June 27, 1913; 8:30 p. m.)

A third adjourned session of the League was held for the transaction of remaining business. The meeting was called to order by the President.

Miss Martha Wilson, supervisor of school libraries in Minnesota, spoke on co-operation between library commissions and state boards of education. Miss Mendenhall then gave a summary of the work done by the library committee of the N. E. A. on library instruction in normal schools. She stated that a questionnaire was sent to 200 normal schools, and the results show that most of the normal school libraries need reorganization. In the 200, about 50 have trained librarians. These are mainly in the far West. The Committee makes the following recommendations: 1, that library organizations try to have the subject of library training in normal schools presented at educational meetings; 2, that trained librarians be appointed in all normal schools, with the faculty and salary rank of heads of departments; 3, the publication of a manual for normal school librarians by the U. S. Bureau of Education; 4, the publication in educational periodicals of articles on the greater use of libraries by schools, and on related topics. It was suggested that the library commissions might help in carrying out the last recommendation. Miss Mendenhall was asked whether she favored putting the school libraries under the state library commissions, or under the state boards of education. She said that she believed the function of the school library to be distinct from that of the public library; that the two should co-operate but not combine. Miss Stearns of Wisconsin said that the question of the relation of the state library commission to the state board of education should be discussed and more clearly defined; that there is a decided tendency to place the library commission under the state board of education, or to merge it with it, as has already been done in one state. There was not time for adequate discussion of this subject, and the suggestion was made that it be taken up at a future League meeting.

Mrs. Minnie Clarke Budlong, director of the North Dakota public library commission, read the following report of the committee on the establishment of new commissions:

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONS

This committee has been requested to report on two topics—"a plan for the League to follow in giving aid in the organization of commissions in states now without them," and also a draft of "tentative provisions for a model library law to be used with the model commission law."

An A. L. A. committee of which Dr. Arthur E. Bostwick is chairman, has made a valuable report on points to be covered by a model law relating library to municipality, printed in the 1912 proceedings. The same committee has under consideration the drafting of the points covered into a model charter, and the League committee decided that action on its own part was unnecessary at present.

The other topic assigned this committee cannot be disposed of in so brief a manner. It is a question of theory and of insight, of sympathetic understanding and action.

There are eleven states without library commissions: West Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Montana and Wyoming. These states contain one-eighth of the population of the country, and have only one-twentieth of the libraries.

The first step toward aid is to learn how library commissions have been established in other states. Letters sent to 36 states elicited 22 replies. Perhaps a distinction should be made between library commissions and state libraries, or boards of education, such as New York, California and Oregon. But there have been included in this report all states doing extension work, regardless of name or title of organization.

The questions asked were:

1. How did the demand for a commission arise?

The answers received are practically unanimous. There was a need felt and provided for by a few far-sighted library workers. Eight give the credit of the initiative to library workers or associations. Seven give it to women's clubs or the state federation. Five say librarians and women's clubs were co-partners in the work, and three, Maryland, Wisconsin and Nebraska, include teachers in this partnership.

2. Who drew the law?

The law has usually been drawn by or under the supervision of a few interested workers, such as president of state library association, superintendent of public instruction, president of university, or legislative committee of state federation. In Kentucky use was made of the model commission law.

3. What was done to secure its passage?

One would expect a wider range in replies than this question elicited. "A friendly legislator took it in charge" sums up the story in most states. Personal letters and interviews of library workers and club women with members of the legislature, and particularly with members of committees, seem the usual methods. In some states the measure was defeated one or more times before influence enough was brought to bear to secure its passage. In Nebraska, the measure failed twice until pushed by the federation and teachers. Even if no general demand is formulated, there must be a desire expressed by organizations strong enough to impress legislators.

4. What literature was used?

At first, there was no literature available and the majority report "none used" or "nothing special." Idaho, Minnesota and Kentucky mention the Wisconsin publications particularly, also some from Iowa. Five speak of special leaflets prepared or statistics used from traveling library reports or from the League Handbook.

5. How long did it take?

The time required varies from "a few weeks" to fourteen years. Nine secured the desired legislation in one session. Six used two to four years. Nebraska required five years; Minnesota, six years; Tennessee, eight years, and Illinois, fourteen.

6. When was your law passed?

Massachusetts passed the first library commission law in 1890. Since then similar laws have been enacted in 36 states, concluding with South Dakota and Arkansas in 1913.

7. Has it been amended—if so, when and how?

It is interesting to note how few amendments except increase in appropriation have been made in library laws. This emphasizes the importance of careful framing of the law in the beginning. A study of the chief points of the law in other states with such changes as will adapt them to the conditions in the new state should always be made.

Five states report no amendment. Two report increase in membership of commission. Ten report increase in appropriation, or minor changes. Missouri and North Dakota have had their annual appropriation repealed on the theory that it is not constitutional to bind succeeding legislatures. Oregon has made the most radical amendment, changing this year from library commission to state library.

The conclusion of the matter seems to be that the initiative is with a few interested people, working through library associations, women's clubs and teachers, on the legislators, and that it may often be accomplished in one session after public opinion is sufficiently formed to bring the necessary pressure to bear.

These summaries lead to the following suggestions for aid:

1. A collection of material should be made which would include all pamphlets and articles on the practical establishment of library commissions. Effort should be made to include the special leaflets prepared in each state during its campaign. Some states, notably Kentucky, have prepared maps for circulation to arouse interest. A collection of all such special material kept for loan would be found suggestive and helpful in other states.

2. If possible some one should be sent by the League as an organizer to assist for a short time in the establishment of new commissions. This organizer should understand conditions in that section of the country, and should be able to advise wisely, talk with legislators persuasively, and address library meetings and state federations enthusiastically. Something may be accomplished by correspondence and by leaflets, but much more is possible to the trained observer on the field. Conditions even in neighboring states differ widely, and require study on the field for helpful understanding.

3. Special training for library commission workers. There is need of electives in the lines in which commission work differs from public library work.

4. Discussion of practical questions at League meetings. This is already being done and should be continued so long as there is need of a place where workers may discuss their individual problems.

5. It is suggested a committee be appointed to look after the needs of new commissions after their organization, as well as before the law is passed. There are many problems arising at home and abroad in which new workers would be glad of assistance, were there some particular committee to which they could apply.

Respectfully submitted,

MINNIE C. BUDLONG, Chairman, ELIZABETH B. WALES, ASA WYNKOOP, WILLIAM FREDERICK YUST.

June 23, 1913.

The report was accepted and the committee continued.

Miss Elizabeth B. Wales, secretary of the Missouri library commission, read the following report of the committee on charter provisions:

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CHARTER PROVISIONS

Since the meeting at Ottawa your committee has somewhat awaited the action of the council committee, which had been working on the library law of the state from the standpoint of its relation to the free will and initiative of the municipality. It was thought that the work of these committees might duplicate each other. As the report of this committee covering statute law does not seem to meet the point at issue, namely, safeguarding the interests of the library under the adoption of a new form of municipal government, your committee would make two suggestions concerning such safeguard:

1st. That it may be done by interesting the legislation of the charter bill in a definite provision establishing the public library as a city department.

2nd. That it may be done by inserting phrases in such bill, practically accepting the existing state law.

In the first case the essential points to be covered are: the provision of a proper fund, the appointment of a competent board. If all the duties of said board are settled and all its powers defined, the section will be a long and involved one. Your committee therefore recommends safeguarding the state library law as the better plan.

To do this, care must be taken to insert the proper phrases under sections which (a) define the general duties of commissioners wherever inclusive terms are used. For instance, "and have power to administer and control all other departments or activities of said city," the clause "except such as are already provided for in the statutes" would guard the library law existing; (b) under the rulings on civil service, the same clause would be effective in protecting library service, "except officers whose appointment is already otherwise provided for in the statutes"; (c) under the section concerning establishment and care of public institutions and buildings the exception must be more definite, e. g., "except that nothing in this law shall be construed to affect the existing state library law."

The chairman of your committee was not successful in securing these amendments to the commission government bill in Missouri, but found the fathers of the bill willing to consider them, and entirely ignorant of any possible disturbance of the existing library law under the new charter provisions. Moreover, good lawyers claim that a partially excepting phrase under the general definition of powers in this case makes it probable that no such disturbance need result. This opinion can not be confirmed, however, until a test case gives us a Supreme Court decision.

Briefly, then, your committee recommends protection on the charter law of existing statutory provisions for libraries, rather than a special charter provision.

Respectfully submitted,

ELIZABETH B. WALES, Chairman, A. L. BAILEY, A. E. BOSTWICK, Committee on charter provisions.

June 27, 1913.

In the absence of the Chairman, the Secretary read the following

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY POST

The committee appointed by the League to assist in obtaining favorable postal rates for library books reports as follows:

As the members of the League are aware, the provisions of the general parcel post law were so changed immediately before its enactment that printed matter was excluded from the privileges of the parcel post rates. Consequently the long-distance lobbying which the committee and the profession indulged in, favoring the parcel post law, went for naught.

Since that time the committee has been in correspondence with a number of members of Congress favorable to the admission of library books to parcel post rates. During the winter the committee communicated with all of the library commissions and with many state and city libraries asking their co-operation in interesting their representatives in so changing the law as to admit books. While reports indicate that this co-operation was furnished, and several Congressmen stand ready to favor a change, the results have been nil. This failure to get any results whatsoever is partly due to the fact that special legislation had entirely engaged the attention of Congress.

The committee desires to call the attention of the League to the fact that it is not at all certain that to be included in this original parcel post law would be a great assistance to the libraries in circulating books. For practical library use the changed rates would be of little or no advantage, except for points within the fifty mile zone. Take, for example, a book weighing a trifle over one pound (and this is a very ordinary-sized book). It can be sent anywhere within the postal union for nine cents under the present third class rates. By parcel post rate it would cost six cents to send this book to a point in the city or along any rural route centering in the city. It will cost eight cents to send this book anywhere within the fifty mile zone. Above the fifty mile zone the parcel post rate will exceed the third class rate as indicated below.

150 mile zone—ten cents—1 cent excess over existing 3rd class.

300 mile zone—twelve cents—3 cents excess over existing 3rd class.

600 mile zone—fourteen cents—5 cents excess over existing 3rd class.

1,000 mile zone—sixteen cents—7 cents excess over existing 3rd class.

and so on, until it will cost twenty-four cents to send the book more than 1,800 miles by parcel post as against the nine cents under existing third class rates—an excess of 15 cents.

These facts are the occasion for, and justify the opposition which some publishing houses and other commercial houses sending out books or catalogs exhibited to including printed matter within the parcel post law. In some ways it would be unfortunate at this time to admit books to the parcel post rates, since accepting these unsatisfactory rates might prevent further re-adjustments for some time to come. It might be wiser to make an effort to get better rates.

It is the committee's judgment that there is much in common between the library authorities and some of the commercial forces which opposed admitting printed matter to the parcel post, that we have all much in common.

It is therefore recommended that the committee be directed to use every effort to get into communication with the forces which have opposed the admission of printed matter to the parcel post rates in order that these forces may be united with library authorities in an effort so to adjust rates as to be more advantageous to all than the present parcel post rates would be.

In conclusion, the committee reports that it seems unlikely that any further legislation will be immediately enacted.

Respectfully submitted,

M. S. DUDGEON, Chairman, ZAIDEE BROWN, MARY E. DOWNEY.

June 25, 1913.

The report was accepted, and the committee continued and directed to carry out the recommendation contained in the report.

The following reports of the publication committee and the committee on study outlines were read:

REPORT OF PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

The publication committee of the League respectfully reports:

That they have had under consideration during the past year two publications, neither of which the committee has found necessary to publish, but both of which are to be published elsewhere.

Application was made to the committee for a new edition of Mrs. McDonald-Jones' "Magazines for the small library." At about the time this request was received it was learned that Mr. F. K. Walter had prepared a manuscript for publication which was substantially such a revision. The committee held a meeting at the mid-winter meeting of the Western Section of the League and recommended to the A. L. A. Publishing Board that this be published. We are informed that the Publishing Board has issued this and that it is now obtainable.

The committee has also had under consideration during the year the publication of a "Reading list for the insane" prepared with great care by Miss Miriam E. Carey of the Minnesota public library commission. The committee hesitated to recommend the publication of this since it seemed that the demand for it would be so limited that it would be difficult to obtain returns for the money expended. The committee is informed, however, that the list will be printed by the A. L. A. Publishing Board and that suitable arrangements for its distribution to libraries will be made.

The committee reports that the committee on study outlines, which was originally a subcommittee of the publication committee, has, as shown by their report submitted herewith, arrived at a satisfactory form of study-club outline.

It is therefore recommended that immediate steps be taken to secure the preparation of study outlines to be printed at once. If no other procedure can be found the committee suggests that after a list of the most desirable subjects to be covered is made up, a limited number of subjects be assigned to each active commission, with agreement on their part to prepare at as early a date as possible suitable outlines on these subjects, conforming each as nearly as may be to the form adopted by the League; that all these outlines be submitted to some one person to be edited in order to secure substantial uniformity of form and to insure that the outline will be useful in other states and that the committee be authorized to secure the immediate printing of these if this can be done on a basis which is financially sound.

Informal discussion of this plan with several of the commissions indicates that the work can be done in this way. It is strongly urged that this work should be inaugurated at once.

Respectfully submitted,

MATTHEW S. DUDGEON, Chairman, FANNIE RAWSON, CAROLINE WEBSTER, CARL H. MILAM.

June 25, 1913.

REPORT OF THE STUDY OUTLINE COMMITTEE

Those who were in attendance at the meeting of the League of Library Commissions in Chicago in January, 1911, will recall the general discussion of the need of study outlines to be used in traveling library work in connection with study clubs, and that the publication committee was asked to investigate and report as to the feasibility of the League's undertaking the preparation of such outlines, to be utilized by the various traveling libraries. Mr. M. S. Dudgeon, as Chairman, reported progress at the Pasadena meeting in May, 1911, and submitted suggestions toward a uniform plan. Later Miss Margaret W. Brown of Iowa, who had been active in club work in her own state, as Chairman of the Literature and Library Extension Committee of the State Federation of Women's Clubs, was made Chairman of the special committee on study outlines.

In view of the possibility of the various library commissions contributing one or more study outlines for League use, it seemed important that a general scheme for preparing these should be agreed upon, and Miss Brown presented such a scheme for discussion at the Chicago mid-winter League meeting in January, 1912, relating to the basis and form for preparing these outlines, based on a single text with a small group of collateral references. This was worked out very carefully, and tested by preparing a few outlines according to the proposed scheme, which had proved very acceptable; and it was suggested that the various commissions use the plan in preparing outlines, with the thought of securing uniformity in preparation and printing. The Chairman conferred with such thorough students of literature as Mrs. Francis Squire Potter and Mrs. H. A. Davidson, both having practical experience in study club work, the former being Chairman of the Literature and Library Extension Committee of the General Federation of Woman's Clubs, and the latter well known as the editor of the Study Guide series.

At the annual meeting of the League at Ottawa in June, 1912, definite recommendations were made to the League conforming to the plan presented at the Chicago meeting the January preceding, and the League voted to authorize an expenditure not exceeding $100 for the preparation and printing of a few outlines. The scheme commended itself to certain publishers to such an extent that the League was assured that there would be no financial risk in having these printed, as it seemed reasonably sure there would be a demand for them not only on the part of traveling library systems, but public libraries generally, and the General Federation of Women's Clubs and the various state federations.

These plans would doubtless have been consummated before this, had not the Chairman, Miss Brown, found it necessary to give up her work on account of the condition of her health, thus making it impossible to pursue the matter further, involving as it did many details and careful editorial supervision of the material to be put in print. Your present Acting Chairman consented to carry on the work until the time of this annual meeting, hoping to carry out Miss Brown's plans as to printing a few outlines, as a visible result of the long period of investigation by the committee; she regrets that many things have conspired to make this impossible. Hence, this report is made chiefly with the desire of "keeping history straight" up to this point, and transmitting to your next committee a statement of progress up to this time.

This report is made with the firm belief that no more important project is under consideration by the League than this, and that if it is kept clearly in mind that these outlines are to meet a real need of a large class of intelligent, ambitious women of this country who have not college preparation, but are eager students, the outlines will be utilized in a very resultful way.

Before the Chicago meeting in January, 1913, a request was made by this committee for a list of subjects for which study outlines were most in demand by the various state traveling libraries, and a summary of the answers received showed an increasing demand for aids in the study of public questions rather than literary or cultural subjects. Definite statements were made by several library commissions as to the need of outlines on civic improvement for small towns, civics, conservation, household economics, municipal housekeeping, etc.

The plan submitted by Miss Brown as Chairman of this committee as a part of her report at the Ottawa meeting is attached hereto.

Respectfully submitted,

ALICE S. TYLER, Acting Chairman, M. S. DUDGEON, CARL H. MILAM.

Plan for Preparation of Study Outlines

Basis

A. One book selected as foundation for Outline.

If a single book suitable for text can not be found, outline to be based on fewest number of books necessary for the purpose.

Text selected to be authoritative, reasonable in price, readable and stimulating.

B. Five to ten books as collateral reference.

Selected to cover subject matter in study outline and amplify the text.

Publisher and price given for all books included, for use in purchase.

Note: A more extended list of books can easily be prepared by any library where additional material is available.

Lessons Should Be Outlined By:

C. Question method.

Five to ten definite questions on each lesson.

D. Or, Topical method.

Topics assigned under each lesson should be those which present special phases of the general subject.

The two methods may sometimes be satisfactorily combined.

Written papers, if included under either question or topical form of study outline, should be assigned only for subjects which require some degree of original thought; all information to be derived from textbooks and encyclopedias should be covered by the regular lesson for oral discussion.

Note:—Number of meetings of study clubs vary. Probably not less than sixteen or more than twenty-six lessons. Many average two meetings per month, October to May.

Explanatory Notes on the Plan of Preparation of Study Outlines

A. The use of a few designated books (or a single book) as a basis for common study of the same subject, or closely related topics, provides the means by which the unity and co-ordination is secured, which is essential for effective and satisfactory results.

Each member may, if she so desires, provide herself at nominal cost, with the source references necessary to cover the essential points contained in the outline.

B. The books for collateral reading should be carefully evaluated and selection based upon their real value in supplementing text, from the standpoint of reliability, readableness and stimulative quality, also that the price shall not be prohibitive of purchase by clubs, local public libraries and duplication by traveling libraries of large number of copies for use in supplying many different clubs.

Any local or traveling library may easily provide additional books for collateral reading whenever the collection permits. It is not, however, deemed advisable to have such extended lists incorporated in the outlines; as a demand would thus be created which could not be supplied by the small library, and therefore would become a handicap and embarrassment.

C. In outlining lessons by the Question method the questions should be so formulated as to stimulate discussion, not simply to be answered in the affirmative or negative.

The Question method permits a free expression of individual opinions based on personal reading. Such "discussion awakens the keenest interest through the activity of different minds upon the same fact or idea," as each member is expected to prepare herself to answer all questions.

The Question method is indorsed by many educational experts as a desirable method for the conduct of study classes, and has been found to be practical and satisfactory by many study clubs.

D. In outlining lessons by Topical method, care should be taken to include no more topics than can be thoroughly discussed, and such phases of the subject assigned as topics as will amplify the general subject which has been studied in common by all members from text upon which the outline is based.

The reports were accepted, and it was voted that the publication committee be instructed to secure the preparation of study outlines, as suggested in their report.

The Secretary then read her report on the year's work, noting the publication of the 1912 Yearbook of the League, and the preparation by the President of an exhibit for the meeting of the N. E. A.

Following is the financial statement for the year.

Balance on hand, Aug. 1, 1912 $180.08

Received from dues 115.00

Received from sale of Handbook and Yearbook 28.50

Total $323.58

Expenditures.

Printing Yearbook and programs $175.25

Stationery and postage 36.43

Clerical help and multigraphs 26.55

N. E. A. exhibit, supplies and clerical help 31.00

Miscellaneous 5.26

Total $274.49

Balance on hand, June 30, 1913 $49.09

Miss Baldwin of Minnesota, suggested that the League send to Miss Tyler, of Iowa, a telegram expressing regret for her withdrawal from active commission work, and appreciation of her services to the League. It was voted that Miss Baldwin be directed to send such a telegram. The following telegram was sent:

"Congratulations and best wishes from the League of library commissions, with sincere regret that you were absent from this meeting, and the hope that you will consider yourself a life member of the League, to which you have rendered such valuable service."

The meeting then adjourned.