YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION, $5.00. PAGE 233 THE NEW HAMPSHIRE LIBRARY LAW. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. . Seventeenth Conference, Denver, Aug. 12-18, Contents 234 235 239 241 242 243 244 245 STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS. LIBRARY CLUBS. Washington Library Association. LIBRARY SCHOOLS AND TRAINING Classes. Library Department of Drexel Institute. REVIEWS. Brookline P. L. Catalogue. LIBRARY ECONOMY AND HISTORY. GIFTS AND BEQUESTS.. LIBRARIANS. Cataloging and Classification. ANONYMS AND PSEUDONYMS. Price to Europe, or other countries in the Union, 20s. per annum ; single numbers, 28. Entered at the Post-Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter. PAGE 246 MONTHLY NUMBERS 50 cts. 247 247 248 249 NEW YORK: PUBLICATION OFFICE, 59 Duane Street. LONDON: SOLD BY KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & Co., PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD. 254 254 255 256 256 WRITE FOR CATALOGUE. of HE above cut is a reduced photograph of the upper end of two card holders hinged together. These holders are 41⁄2 x 16 inches, full size. In the Bibliography column the work was first typewritten on thin paper, five to eight copies at once. One of these copies was pasted on cardboard, and by the use of a RUDOLPH CARD CUTTER, cut apart, each book separately; yet the cards are easily separated for the insertion of new books, each in its proper place. In the Biography column the printed matter is simply a leaf from an ordinary catalogue, pasted on cardboard and then treated in the same way. The card holders are hinged alike at both ends, producing an ENDLESS INDEX CHAIN which is revolved by a crank under the glass lid of the case, showing five pages at once. The size of Indexer Case is 34 inches long by 24 inches wide, 42 inches high. About the only practical difference in use between the RUDOLPH INDEXER and an Unabridged Dictionary is that you turn the Dictionary leaves by hand, while in the Indexer an endless succession of leaves is revolved by a crank. It will accommodate equally a library of 1000, 10,000 or 20,000 volumes. It takes the place of the old style card finding list, is accessible to the public, yet cannot be tampered with, and renders the publication of supplements unnecessary. If the problem of a World's Central Cataloguing Bureau is ever solved it will be done by the use of the RUDOLPH INDEXER. Time saved over the card system, say three-fourths. Patience saved over the card system, beyond computation. Compare looking for a word and its meaning in an Unabridged Dictionary, and for the same word in the latest card index drawer, and you have about the difference between the old card system and the RUDOLPH INDEXER. THOMAS KANE & COMPANY, Sole Manufacturers, 137-139 Wabash Avenue, CHICAGO, ILL. VOL. 20. THE LIBRARY JOURNAL JULY, 1895. Now that the A. L. A. Conference of 1895 has emerged from the dim future into the living present, it behooves every librarian to take to heart the advice bestowed upon the lamented Mrs. Dombey and "make an effort" to go to Denver in August. Such advice should be superfluous to all who know of their own knowledge what the conference means as a stimulus to renewed effort and as a refreshment to drooping energies. Those who do not yet know, should determine this year to join the ranks of the enlightened. Present indications point to a falling off in the Eastern contingent, as was perhaps to be expected; but this will probably be more than made up from the Western end of the line, and there is no reason to doubt that the Conference of 1895 will be as successful, as enjoyable, and as inspiring as its 16 predeces sors. THIS Western conference, indeed, appeals with special force to every member of the A. L. A. on account of the opportunity it offers to aid in the library movement in the West and to bring the principles and methods of the Association clearly before the public. The program for the meetings has not been given in detail, but the brief outline presented in the June JOURNAL shows that the executive committee has kept these objects closely in view. Prominence is given to practical questions of general interest rather than to those of purely technical detail, and the meetings, as planned, promise to be full of help and interest, not only to the "leading librarian "— whose wants are always attended to-but to the custodians of small libraries, to assistants, and to special workers. It is difficult to estimate the help and inspiration that the conference imparts - it is a storage battery of energy and enthusiasm for a year to come. The personal interchange of question and answer, the intercourse on kindred subjects, the community of interests, and the variety of methods discussed are, taken altogether, of more immediate benefit than the cut-and-dried program. The papers and the pith of the discussions may be read in print; but those who miss the conference itself cannot gain what they have lost by studying the " Proceedings "valuable No. 7 as these are. The conference spirit is not transferable to paper - and it is the spirit that is the life of the body. NEW HAMPSHIRE has in its new library legislation gone a step further than any of the sister states in providing for what may be called compulsory libraries. It is interesting to note this development as evidence of the continued march of library progress; but it is fairly open to discussion whether a library can wisely be forced upon a community until it has shown by its own voluntary action in taxing itself that it is ready to use that privilege wisely and well. The New Hampshire law provides various safeguards, to be sure, and permits a town by its deliberate act to postpone the establishment of a library from year to year. The compulsory library method was tried, in a sense, in New York half a century ago, and, as every student of the school district The system knows, with anything but success. conditions of to-day in New Hampshire and those of half a century ago in New York are not the same, and it is probably not fair to draw a close parallel; but the question is one admitting of very wide differences of opinion, and should be carefully thought out before the example of New Hampshire is followed. It is interesting to note the continued progress of library legislation, not only in this, one of the pioneer states, but in other states as well, during the current year. MISS HASSE'S papers on the training of library employes answer many of the questions that perplex librarians who have to deal with the question of instruction of assistants. So far as the practical details of organization and administration are concerned, the methods and suggestions outlined are timely and useful; but her remarks as to the advantages of the system itself call for some comment. Miss Hasse contends that the "training class" is a desideratum in every library, and instances as an example a certain library "where the librarian was the only employe, and the experiment proved a decided advantage to both library and pupil." This is a reductio ad absurdum upon which comment is superfluous; but we are moved to enter a demurrer to the theory which "9 Communications. The loss (in time) to the library is represented by one person's absence one day each week; while the public is given just as good service. It is only a question of arranging the hours. SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY. ON June 8, the Newark, N. J., Free Public library began the experiment of a weekly halfholiday. plies the library, at slight cost, with assistants The work done by the contestants in these debates is of exceptionally high order, embracing a large amount of personal investigation, in addition to systematic study in the libraries of Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago. The verbatim reports as published annually in the Ægis, the college paper, are therefore distinct contri cover Among the topics debated we note the followin 1889, Labor organizations; 1891, Restriction of immigration; 1892, Bimetallism; 1894, Government ownership of railroads; 1895, Our present banking system and independent treasury. The last two debates are supplemented by selected topical bibliographies of wide scope and scholarly research. Copies of the above debates may be obtained at 25 cents each on application to the Ægis, Lock Box 424, Madison, Wis. CAROLINE F. PIERCE. Without closing the library, it would not be possible to give the whole force a half-day every week, so it was arranged to divide the working force -one section remaining on duty from 8.30 a.m. to I p.m., and the other from I p.m. to 8 p.m., alternating every Saturday. In this way every attendant gets at least four extra half-days (besides vacation) during the summer months. I am interested to know what other libraries have tried the experiment. And now that we are on the subject, it might be well to ascertain, what, if any, measures are taken to shorten the hours during the summer months. With that end in view, I would request answers 1. Have you ever tried the Saturday half-holiday experiment? 2. Have you ever tried one day or half-day off during the week or month? 3. Have you ever closed earlier during the summer months? 4. Have you ever taken any course to shorten the working hours during summer? 5. What objections have you to offer? A report will be made in a later number of the LIBRARY JOURNAL. FRANK P. HILL. SFREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, LITERARY DEBATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. MAY I call attention through the LIBRARY JOURNAL to the reports of the annual debates between the literary societies of the University of Wisconsin? THE PUBLIC USE OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES. BY SAMUEL H. RANCK, of The Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore. By way of introduction, it may be in order to state the origin and purpose of the investigation of which this paper is one of the results. A college in one of the smaller Eastern cities is planning the enlargement of its library and a new library building. The writer, in a conversation with the president on the proposed library, suggested that the library and building be planned to serve as a reference library for the general public, as well as a library for the college; and in consequence of this conversation the investigation was made. A college is a centre of culture and a quickening power in the community. From the community the college must receive much of its moral and financial support, and the closer the relations between them the better for both. There is no better way to bring them nearer to each other, so as more fully to know and understand each other, than through the college library. In the modern library books are tools, not idols-a fact that has been repeatedly emphasized by college librarians in writing to me; and a college will promote its own and the welfare of the community by offering every inducement to their use, always keeping in mind, however, that the first duty of a college library is to serve the officers and students of the college. All the large colleges, in one way or another, allow the public to use the library; but it seems to me that there is even more reason for the small than for the large college to do this. Mr. Bryce has told us what the small colleges do for the rural districts of the country. "They get hold of a multitude of poor men, who might never resort to a distant place of education. They set learning in a visible form, plain, indeed, and humble, but dignified even in her humility, before the eyes of a rustic people, in whom the love of knowledge, naturally strong, might never break from the bud into the flower but for the care of some zealous gardener." In pursuance of the investigation before alluded to, the following circular was sent to 153 of the leading colleges and universities of the United States. They were selected from the list given in the "World Almanac " for 1895, and it is believed that every type of institution and community is represented. Nearly all the libraries of 10,000 volumes and over were included in the selection. 9. Do you encourage the public use of the library and in what way? 10. Approximately, what is the proportion of the public to the total use of the library? 11. Judging by your experience, is it desirable to have a college library accessible to the general public? 12. General remarks, your opinion, and special observations not included in the above. 1. Replies to the above circular were received from 115 institutions. From 38 no replies were received. 2. The libraries represented contain from 3000 to 450,000 volumes; and nearly all report from a few hundred to several thousand exclusively for reference. Ten report that no books whatever circulate, and only one that all circulate. It is the practice of many to let reference books be taken out in the evening, or over Sunday, to be returned the next day at the opening of the library. In many libraries the number of books for reference and for circulation is constantly varying. A professor may reserve for reference in his department any number of books at any time and the librarian may send for any book in the hands of the borrower at any time, if the book is one that is reserved. This practice is especially common in the large university libraries. 3. This question was answered by all the institutions except three. 86 report that they charge the students no library fee, and 26 |