partments and throughout all knowledge, our boasted departmental libraries will have failed to give them the highest of all education. The questions connected with this problem of departmental libraries are many and perplexing. It is one on which much of the success of the universities and colleges of the future will depend, for I firmly believe the day has already dawned when the student seeking an institution in which to receive his training will be guided and influenced in his choice not so much by the great learning of some professor as by the practical and successful administration of its library. SOME SUCCESSFUL METHODS OF DEVELOPING CHILDREN'S INTEREST IN GOOD LITERATURE. AN ACCOUNT OF THE WORK OF JAMES M. SAWIN, PRESENTED BY W: E. FOSTER,* Librarian Providence (R. I.) Public Library. IT somewhat tempers the disappointment felt at the illness which has made it impossible for Mr. Sawin to be present at this meeting, that I am for that reason able to speak of his work in the terms of emphatic commendation which would not perhaps be fitting if he were here. It certainly appears exceptional in the three particulars of its gradual development, its patient recognition of scientific principles, and its emphasis on the personality of the individual child. 27 years the period of Mr. Sawin's principalship in this single school - is a long, enough period for some teachers to have sunk inextricably into hopeless ruts; long enough, also, as is seen in this instance, for a teacher to have gone on strengthening his hold upon his pupils, and his grip upon the principles underlying their development, to an extent which is noteworthy in its tangible results. Among the earliest steps in the school referred to were the formation of a small school library, afterward very materially enlarged, and the establishment of a weekly "library hour" as a regular feature. When in 1878 the Providence Public Library was opened, no one was more quick to recognize the decided advantage to be gained, in these same directions, through its co-operation, than Mr. Sawin. The successive steps which that library has been enabled to take, in accumulating a collection of more than 1000 volumes, duplicated for use by the schoolchildren, and in granting definite privileges in connection with their use, have been improved by Mr. Sawin to their fullest extent, and with rare intelligence. Both in the case of the books in the separate school library and of those drawn from the public library, it is noteworthy that his choice of a book for a given purpose has been made with as minute care as a surgeon would [*This account of Mr. James M. Sawin's work as principal of the Point Street Grammar School, in Providence, R. I., was presented by William E. Foster at the meeting of the Massachusetts Library Club, on Oct. 2, 1895.] use in selecting his instruments. The weekly exercise referred to is of decided interest, both for its oral and its written features. In its earlier stages the former were apparently more emphasized than the written features. The use, as has already been stated in print,* which the child shall "make of the book placed in his hands is by no means optional with him. He may not return it the next day; but must keep it at least one week, and in certain cases an extra week. He may not return it unread or superficially read, for he knows that he must give a satisfactory account of his reading." At these weekly exercises "the pupils are called upon to state in their own words the substance of some book- not necessarily the last one"- thus read. An instance which the present speaker described in print some time ago† may be here recalled, in which the pupil told in her own words nearly the whole of the story of the 'Vicar of Wakefield." "In language which was plainly her own, bearing every indication of genuineness, sometimes, for a single moment, at a loss for the right word, but never losing the thread of the story, with a manner so interested that it carried with her the interested attention of her classmates who had not read it, this young story-teller went on from the beginning to the close." 46 Where the written feature has been employed, it has been with the purpose of cultivating the pupil's power of stating his impressions of the book with more deliberateness and exactness than in the verbal account. A work such as Scudder's "George Washington,” for instance, is taken home by the pupil. After returning it he writes out from memory his abstract of its contents, in temporary form. After these have all been handed in, a limited number are selected to be read aloud at the weekly library * Green's" Libraries and schools," p. 121. + Ibid., p. 113. standing in his class, and his love for school had nearly faded out. On his teacher's bringing to his attention portions of "Marmion," for reading, he declared that he was not going to give up the stories that were so fascinating. He complied, however, with the teacher's request, and read the poetry. Next the teacher placed before him "Invanhoe." "The thought," he says, " of reading such a large book as Ivanhoe' was frightful, but when I had read these few pages which you selected, I wanted then to read the whole book." From these more exciting scenes which he seemed to crave, he was led, little by little, to read selections from standard historians and books of travel. The entire account of his awakening is full of interest, and the good he himself is doing is far reaching. He adds that he owes his situation, in an important manufacturing firm, to this awakening. hour, by their writers, "and to be criticised by other pupils. Afterward all the pupils rewrite their abstracts in ink, profiting by the verbal criticism received, and generally condensing them about one-third."* Some of these written abstracts are of great interest as showing the appeal which some work of the highest order has made to the child's interest. During the year each child in the room presents four such abstracts in historical and biographical works, and two in other classes, such as literature or science. Since the direct motive which originally led to the undertaking of this series of measures was not so much a positive one as the negative one of diverting the attention of the pupils from a pernicious class of reading then prevalent, it would be a marked occasion for gratitude even if nothing more than the accomplishment of this purpose could be reported. But it is a significant fact that the positive side of the subject has now for many years been the predominant one; and a long succession of tangible instances of individual pupils brought to take a vital interest in literature, and to experience to the full | the enjoyment which noble prose or matchless verse can awaken, testifies to the remarkable effectiveness of these measures. In any such undertaking it is the instances where the conditions were most unpromising which have the greatest significance. One such instance may be cited, where there was a most determined resistance on the part of the boy to giving his attention to any but the most worthless reading. By patient study the teacher possessed himself of the key to the boy's tastes and interests," school reader," text-book though it is, which, and led him steadily upward, until the boy formed the habit of coming to him for suggestions of books to buy for himself. He is now somewhere very near the head of his profession in his own city, has been able to render the state marked services, and is altogether a man of so inbred a taste for the best that it is hard to think of him as ever otherwise. This was a case where the boy was reached, along one of the lines of the literature of knowledge"-to use De Quincey's expression. Let me cite a significant instance where the same result was reached; in this case through the medium of the "literature of power." The boy, to use his own language, had been reading "dime detective stories." "These," he says, "were to my mind at that time glorious views of a life full of exciting adventure." He had already lost his * As described in the Journal of Education, Nov. 30, 1893, V. 38, p. 348. It is time to touch upon some of the objections most likely to be met with, as, for example, the doubt expressed as to the relation of work of this nature to the prescribed school curriculum; the extreme materialistic view, always to be reckoned with, and the limited time at the disposal of the teacher for any purpose. Not only has it been the aim of Mr. Sawin to make these exercises grow naturally out of the school curriculum, in every instance, but the "avenues," says Mr. Scudder, "to a child's imagination and love of beauty are more in number than our experience can count."* One such avenue is the study of geography. Another is the study of history. Another is the to quote Mr. Sawin, furnishes "good examples, in variety, of the best prose and poetry," and forms "a fair basis for instilling a love for the masterpieces of literature"- and of making a skilful transition to the wholes of which the extracts are a part. While it is true that Mr. Sawin's aim has been to link the reading above referred to with the school curriculum, so far as possible, he has by no means aimed to have the child's interest stop with the text-book; and if any one should take the ground that the text-book, and nothing but the text-book, must engage the attention of the pupil, then this teacher must certainly plead guilty to not conforming to this standard. As regards the question of time, Mr. Sawin occupies a strikingly unassailable position when he puts the necessity for these measures on the broad ground that reading of some kind on the * Atlantic Monthly, V. 73, P. 255. part of the pupil is inevitable; and that it is simply a question whether the teacher shall use the unequalled opportunity in his hands, for diverting the stream of reading into the channels of the best literature or not. The attitude | of such a school as this toward the daily newspaper is typical in this respect; and when it is remembered how great a cause of perplexity the | newspaper has formed in relation to the reading of the children in a household, one cannot too much admire the practical sagacity of the plan pursued in connection with the exercise on current events. Criticism invariably follows the presentation of any materials under this head which are to be described as "scandal," "gossip," "personalities," "chaff," or "rubbish." "The time of the child being limited, he naturally learns to devote his moments of newspaper perusal to those items only which are sure of a welcome reception at the school. Seldom, indeed, has the principle of parsimony' been more intelligently directed than in this instance;' "* and this is equally true of the course which the children's reading follows in the matter of books. They approach the school's influence, in a large number of instances, with a strong interest in "nickel stories" and the like, and under the influence of measures like these are found not merely reading, but acquiring the taste for reading, such works as Scott's "Marmion," Franklin's "Autobiography," Parkman's 'Montcalm and Wolfe," John Burroughs's "Winter sunshine," Dr. John Brown's "Rab and his friends," and Tennyson's "Idylls of the king." 44 Some of the methods of a teacher like Mr. Sawin are of noteworthy interest, and leave no room for wonder when we find that they have proved most inspiring to those of his pupils who, during this long period of time, have themselves become teachers and, from the starting-point of their own individuality, are reproducing the results in their teaching. One peculiarly interesting instance is that of a young girl who had had assigned to her for recitation a selection from William Ware's “Zenobia,” a book of which it is pleasant to record that in my library at least it has never yet fallen into an undisturbed repose on the shelves. Several times in succession she returned it to her teacher, assuring him that there was nothing in it which appealed to her interest, and asking that something different be given her. The teacher's insight into the "capabilities" of this short extract took this *New England Journal of Education, v. 38, p. 348. unusual direction. Standing at the black-board, with his back to the pupil, he said to her: "Imagine that I am a painter, and that you are to give me the necessary details for reproducing Zenobia's portrait, drawn from Mr. Ware's language before you. How shall I represent her? Of what height? Of dignified bearing, or not? How dressed? When speaking, is her body at rest or in motion? What about her countenance?" In the act of answering questions like these, the coating of unattractiveness which this extract had hitherto had for the pupil was completely broken through, with the result not only of an enthusiastic appreciation of this one selection on her part, but of the opening of her eyes intellectually to what is vivid and incisive in literature in general. It is characteristic of Mr. Sawin's intelligent procedure that he has moved gradually in the extension of these methods to all the school grades. So completely have they permeated the upper grades that for years it has been the exceedingly rare exception, rather than the rule, to find any pupil without a public library card, although the applying for such a card is wholly voluntary. The last few years have witnessed an effort to extend these same influences to the lower grades of the school (which has a total of about 480 pupils), and here the difficulty chiefly encountered has been the great variety of books which, while brought down to the level of the child's apprehension, so far as regards the language employed, do not also descend unpardonably as regards their literary quality. In conclusion, let me say that the work and influence of this teacher-paralleled, no doubt, in the communities of many libraries, and certainly paralleled in no slight degree in other schools in my own community - presents at once an instructive example to us as librarians, and a most striking exemplification of what Mr. Charles Francis Adams urged upon teachers as an aim, now nearly 20 years ago, in the following language: * "If you, during your lives as teachers, can, among all your mass of pupils, find out and develop through your own personal contact only a few say half a dozen - remarkable men and women, who but for you and your observation and watchfulness and guidance would have lived and died not knowing what they could do, then, if you do nothing more than this, you have done an immense work in life." * Address at Quincy, Mass., May 19, 1876. (Green's "Libraries and schools," p. 14.) WORK ACCOMPLISHED BY THE VARIOUS STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS.* BY EMMA LOUISE ADAMS, Librarian Plainfield (N. J.) Public Library. After increasing its force by a larger membership this club threw the weight of its influence against the intrusion of politics in library mat SELDOM does it happen that library workers meet with such hearty appreciation as did the New York Library Club at a meeting in Jersey City, when they were addressed by Dr. Gor-ters, pledging itself (at its 3d annual meeting, don with the words: "We are indebted to you in large measure for the present advanced state of library knowledge. We have reaped advantage from your study and researches." 1893) "to prevent the state library from again becoming a political plum," and in the present year we learn that "the state library has been brought under new legislation, which will result in taking the office and its organization out of politics. One of the last bills passed authorized the establishment of a state library board, providing for the administration of the state library, the election of a state librarian, and the appointment of his assistants and prescribing of their duties." Broadly, that is the aim of every library association or club, a higher and more advanced state of library knowledge, to be attained by the study and researches, and I may add, the untiring industry and devotion of its members. And these are the notes characterizing every successful library club-industry and devotion. Overworked as most librarians are, it is no A paper read by the state librarian before the small thing to give their carefully hoarded leis-Michigan association on "The state library in ure to serving on committees, preparing programs for meetings, and to the preparation of papers. Yet all these are necessary if the club is to make its influence felt outside of its own little circle of members. A library club must be aggressive, especially in a state where there is much missionary work to be done. The work of a library club may be divided into two parts the extension of library interest, or its aggressive work, and its aid to individual members, or its home work. its relation to people in the state" comprehended a bill which it was proposed to submit to the state legislature, providing for a distribution of state documents, for making the other libraries in the state associate libraries with the state library, enabling them to send to Lansing for books needed, and also making the state library in a measure an intelligence bureau, to which librarians in the state might apply for information in the details of library economy. Some of these ends at least have been attained, for the Michigan state legislature has since passed a bill providing for the travelling library system, and for a very fair annual appropriation for its support. This association has also taken a practical way of interesting teachers in its work by having its reports printed with those of the state teachers' association, thus securing for them a wider reading and a recognition of the library's claim upon the people for support in common with those of the public school, and so advancing a step the much-to-be-desired union of school and library. As in a short paper it is impossible to touch upon the good work being done all over the country, by the state associations, only those will here be taken up which may be considered representative as agressive workers or whose line of work seems especially worthy of our study. Two clubs prominent in aggressive work are those of Indiana and Michigan. In 1893 the former issued an appeal to all librarians in the state, enclosing their constitution and objects, with the happy result of doubling their membership and hence their force. To quote from their report: "We have aroused and are stimulating library interest in the state, we are help-club has decided to hold its next meeting during ing the new libraries and encouraging the old." That these efforts are appreciated is shown by the fact, that at this third annual meeting 16 more libraries were represented than at any previous meeting. With the same object in view the Nebraska the conference of the state teachers' association. Iowa also, at its fifth annual meeting, met for the first time as a section of the state teachers' association. This method certainly seems a practical way of popularizing the idea that the *Part of a paper read before the New Jersey Library library and the school should go hand in hand, Association, Oct. 20, 1895. and it would be interesting to know how far it has been successful, where the experiment has club in an address by Mr. Olin S. Davis [1893] been tried, in interesting the teachers. Somewhat out of the usual line is the system adopted by this club for raising the standard of library work by “a plan for library instruction in the state," which was proposed by Miss Crawford, and adopted with a few changes, and was outlined in the LIBRARY JOURNAL for May, 1895. Montana and Minnesota now also have the travelling library system. The library association of the latter state as a preliminary step issued a circular calling attention to "a plan by which every town and village in the state may be supplied with a circulating library." Beside the full reports of the Wisconsin club with its two days' conference, the reports of some of our eastern associations seem somewhat meagre. We note with pleasure the passing of a law in April of this year providing for a library commission for that state-doubtless the result of the association's work. Looking eastward, we find among the most energetic of library associations those of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York. There being but 31 towns without libraries out of the 352 towns and cities in the first-named state, one naturally expects to find the members of the Massachusetts club discussing questions as to library management rather than the extension of library interest. But while it is true that their papers and discussions are of the greatest practical value to librarians, nevertheless we find the active library commission of that state bending its energies to bring those 31 lost sheep into the library fold, and the prospects are that Massachusetts will soon be the only state in the union having a library in every city, town, and village. New Hampshire is, however, a close rival to Massachusetts. In 1894, as the result of the work of the state commission, 60 new libraries were organized. Doubtless those 30 New Hampshire towns which at the Lake Placid conference were reported as without libraries will not long remain so under the new law, which makes the establishment of libraries compulsory in this state. This law, which is, I believe, unique in library legislation, was endorsed and the propriety of its passage urged by the association. The more conservative position taken | by Massachusetts in esteeming it better to urge rather than force towns to establish libraries would seem wiser. Among the recommendations made to this are the following: That the state library should secure and record information as to the work and equipment of the libraries in the state, that the state should adopt the travelling library system, and that circulars should be prepared and distributed giving information as to improved methods of library administration." After so notable a record of library progress, it is a sorry thing to have to record the interruption of the good work by the removal of the state librarian for political reasons. Like Indiana, New Hampshire will be obliged to set its face against the intrusion of politics and efface this stain from its otherwise fair record. The association of the state of New York has caught the enthusiam of its leader, and its policy, like his, is an aggressive one. This association has issued a handbook giving information as to its purpose and scope, but knowing that there were a number of librarians in the state unconnected with it, a circular letter, stating briefly the means by which it is planned to extend the usefulness of the organization was sent to the librarians in the state and enrolment urged. Two additional meetings yearly have been decided upon, and among the plans of the association are an occasional library canvass of the state and the publication of select lists of books. Papers of the greatest value to librarians are read and discussed in this club, and these occasionally find their way into the columns of the LIBRARY JOURNAL, thus becoming a more permanent contribution to library science. There being no general library law in Pennsylvania, the state library club is addressing itself to the subject of library legislation, and in the placing of a bill for the enactment of a library law before the legislature has had the assistance of the trustees of the Free Library of Philadelphia, who are further to co-operate in securing its passage. A notable feature in the methods of the Pennsylvania club is its plan of publishing some of its more important papers in a series called "Occasional papers." Connecticut is another of the many associations which is able to add to its record of work performed the formation of a state library committee. Of the newer state associations, as of Vermont and Ohio, I have not spoken, though in the former state a library commission has already been formed, which is very probably the work of the state association. Reviewing hastily the work accomplished by |