ed table, thus securing to the student all possible advantage, while guaranteeing long life to the maps themselves. On no account should they be rolled-even loosely-the process having proved detrimental in many ways; noticeably, in giving them a tendency to curl, which no subsequent pains or care can eradicate.

In extreme cases you may be obliged to fold some maps, as their sizes will range anywhere from that of a visiting card to six feet (or more) square. They are constructed upon many materials, but usually upon paper, and if from any reason it prove to be either brittle or fragile, the map should be mounted upon strong paper or cloth - preferably the latter. The utmost care is required to guard against distorting the map, as a change in scale in one direction only will falsify it, and render it inaccurate. Paper, when moistened by paste, will stretch more easily with its grain than across it, and none but an expert who will give conscientious care to the manipulation should be entrusted with such an important process.

On small maps margins may be added with great advantage; not only in bringing them to a uniform size, but in supplying a space for ms. notes regarding the history of the map, its date, or information concerning other editions from the same plate, not recorded on this particular print. Should the maps be very small indeed, yet depict the same localities, several can be mounted upon one back. Some geographers recommend the use of neutral tinted papers for these margins, as serving to bring out the colors and delineations, while an expanse of white is often blinding.

After the division into classes and subjects, the next and probably most important point for consideration will be a method of storing which will secure their preservation yet leave them accessible. This is the great problem confronting librarians, of which, according to the opinion quoted at the head of this paper, no satisfactory solution has been found. I can only describe some of the plans which have been adopted, stating their advantages and drawbacks, and adding, perhaps, notes of a few of the mechanical details which will aid in the use of the various systems.

For small collections the general plan is to keep them in drawers; while shelving, either with or without portfolios, seems preferable for large ones.

In their present, form, the superiority of drawers for storage chiefly consists in affording

protection from dust, but when weighed against inaccessibility, this may be considered an insufficient reason for their use. Drawers such as those used in the U. S. Patent Office for filing drawings recommend themselves to my judgment as subject to fewer objections than any I have seen. The body of them rests upon two supports which pull out with the movement of opening the drawer, and when clear of the case it pivots to any desired angle, so that the sheets can be turned for inspection. These drawers are very expensive, and I have never seen them exceed dimensions of about 22 x 28 inches.

For large maps drawers should never be over three inches in depth, nor would I advise making them more than 42 inches wide by 36 inches from front to back. The lightest wood obtainable should be used for their construction, held together with screws; for, when heavily laden, and in constant use, they soon break away if depending upon dove-tailing, glue, or nails. The front face should be hinged to let down, enabling one to readily glance over the distinguishing numbers on the edge of the sheets, in order to select the one desired without being obliged to consult each title. At the back the drawer should have a top at least six inches wide, to protect the edges of the maps in opening and closing the drawer; a light guard used at the front is also of great service for the same purpose. Even drawers of this size, when filled with maps, will be found very heavy, and will require anti-friction devices, lubricated with soap. It may be well to add that drawers for a large collection of maps will entail a carpenter's bill of no inconsiderable dimensions.

The most economical plan of storage, both in cost and room, is to have cases 36 inches deep, with partitions 42 inches apart, and on these cleats, between which the shelves will slide. This prevents the shelves from warping, and at the same time makes it possible to omit a shelf if it becomes desirable to double the height between any two of them. False bottoms of heavý binder's board greatly facilitate handling the maps. Don't let a mistaken desire for beauty nor any other reason lead you to permit "facers" being placed on the perpendicular divisions. Have the cleats fill the sides from shelf to shelf, otherwise the edges of the maps will suffer while running them in and out.

To all devices, within my cognizance, for covering the front of these cases there can be urged serious objections. Hinged fronts for each compartment are a nuisance; doors either

entire or in sections are troublesome, and apt to injure the edges of the maps; sliding doors prove awkward and inclined to stick; while even the blind doors, made like the sliding tops of office desks, and wound around a roller worked with a spring, have been tried at the Hydrographic Office without much success. The roller and its machinery occupy space at the top which could be utilized for shelves, and, like the ordinary self-rolling window-shade, it is continually getting out of order. For myself, I prefer cases without fronts, believing that in rooms of moderate size, with bare floors, they will not need mechanical contrivances for protection. Possibly it would be well to place sheets of heavy wrapping paper on top of each pile to catch the dust.

Thus far I have not spoken of portfolios. These, if used, should have cloth flaps to fold over the edges of the maps; are to be treated as atlases and kept on shelves; and when large require horizontal rolls for supports, with perpendicular roller partitions. Their expense is too great to permit many librarians indulging in them extensively. However, a few can be used most advantageously where certain collections are much handled, and are, of necessity, carried from room to room.

And now we approach the one illuminated point in the murky atmosphere of perplexities surrounding the harassed map librarian-the cataloging.

The same general catalog rules that apply to books apply equally to maps, the following being the essentials to be noted: locality; title; date; scale; projection; author; if compiled, the authorities; if great accuracy is desired, the engraver; and if a reproduction, the particular character of the process. The size of the neat line and the geographical limits of the sheet, in latitude and longitude, should always be given, for these will determine oftener than any other items whether a sheet must be consulted.

Maps can, however, be most effectively cataloged by the use of key charts, which, on a single map of large scale, show at once all a library possesses relative to any given locality. And the fact that it has nothing can be ascertained with a much smaller expenditure of time and patience than is required to read many cards about which the seeker cares nothing. By introducing schemes of color and similar devices in the limits of maps, as shown upon the "key," a great deal of information may be graphically imparted, as, for example, national

ity of authorities, where maps of exploration are concerned; or the approximate date of maps around cities, where resurveys are frequent; or any other class of information especially needed by the librarian. In this one respect maps hold an advantage over and above all other treasures of the library.

Series of maps, like those of the British Admiralty, should be kept together, and their own serial numbers used in finding them. Such series have their own catalogs, which are as complete as can be made. When a series of maps, like the 16-sheet map of Switzerland, constitute the entire map of a country, they can be bound and used as an atlas, thereby lessening the possibility of losing any of the sheets. Of course there still remain such disadvantages as the awkwardness of handling, etc., which may overweigh any advantages gained by this form. These details each librarian must decide for himself.

Taking it altogether, however, the work of the map librarian is far from drawing to a close. More is known of the world, and although that information has been better charted in the 19th than in any preceding century, it will be long before the task is completed. African maps and the polar regions also give us examples which illustrate our ignorance of even the physical features of our globe. New islands are constantly being raised to view, while the coasts of the continents are crumbling away. All these changes are of the utmost importance to the navigator-as to many others. As long as the forces of nature war with each other, or man seeks to subjugate man, the maps will bear record of the results. Even an eternal peace, while it might prevent the boundaries of nations from changing — were purchase not resorted to for that purpose—would only vary the character of the new data appearing upon the maps; for new cities, railroads, canals, and other innovations would multiply in proportion as calm and prosperity reigned upon the earth.

American librarians should, of all others, show a zealous interest in collecting carefully all existing maps of their own country; for the rapid settling and development still in progress render many maps antiquated and comparatively inaccurate as to cadastral features often before they are ready for issue. Nowhere can history be more readily seen or so quickly apprehended as in a comparison of maps of one locality made at short intervals.

Carr, H: J.

The reader will observe that the earliest American recorded mention of the matter of training library assistants is met with in the LIBRARY JOURNAL of 1882 (v. 7: 136 -9), one year after the L. A. U. K. Committee of Examinations had been formed.

Mr. Whitney, then speaking for the Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, said: “We are determined to admit to our ranks only such as are worthy to become members of the highest professions, realizing as we do that there are few positions where the difference between an educated and an uneducated assistant is so marked as in a library, and where poor work is so fatal... it has been suggested that classes be formed for instruction, and that lessons and lectures be given by the librarian and others in the various branches of knowledge."

Mr. Vinton at that time, 1882, believed cataloging to be the king-pin of the library system, and after descanting upon the acquirements and requirements of catalogers, he says: "He who has done these things well, and who readily remembers what he has done, is the fittest man to assist inquirers after knowledge.

"This is the service of highest usefulness in a library. The public cannot [italics not mine] be admitted to the alcoves. In a great collection, the cataloger and arranger of a section is the proper intermediary between the public and the shelves.

"It cannot be expected that one person can render this service in respect to many large departments. Specialists must be thoroughly

of training library employes. And yet there is seldom a day, never a week, whose mail does not bring to the library conducting a training class a query from some perplexed librarian or trustee soliciting aid in the matter of employes.

The usual form of such queries, alluding to the training classes in my own experience: "How can we start such classes? How much room do we need? How do you arrange for instructors? etc.," clearly proves that the modus operandi has been thoroughly misunderstood.

So perhaps the first illusion to be dispelled is as to the nature of training classes.

Plainly, they are nothing more or less than the old-fashioned apprentice system, with a competitive examination before admission, and another when the required term of apprenticeship has been completed. The relative standard obtained by the pupil in the second examination determines the pupil's chance for employment.

Such classes have not for their object the giving of general instruction, therefore it should be required of all candidates that they have at least a high-school education, show a serious inclination for the work, and are physically able to cope with it.

A library undertaking the organization of training classes should make it a rule to employ only graduates of its classes, in the order of their rank in the final examinations. Nor should pupils, no matter how many credits they may have received in the examination, be allowed to begin service in any but the lowest positions, thus permitting the older members to work up in regular order.

Whenever a vacancy occurs in the staff, the

that it could least afford to do without a training class during its busiest seasons.

In this way a civil service system could be grafted on an already established system with no inconvenience whatever.

Before formally organizing a class, the board should formulate definite rules for its government, the maximum number of pupils to be taken at one time, the required standard of pupils at entrance, the length of service, character of examinations, percentage required to pass, and finally rules governing the relation of the class to the regular staff.

Upon ratification of the above, either the librarian assumes charge of the class, or a capable assistant is detailed for the work. To

It will be seen that while the training class system is particularly adaptable to new and growing libraries, the age or stability of a library need not debar it from conducting classes. No library is secure from incursions of some kind upon its staff.

It may be urged by a sceptical trustee, "In a few words, just of what benefit would such a class be to our library?" to which it may be replied that such a class, aside from establishing a graded system of employment, would always place at the disposal of the librarian a trained number of persons in case of emergency; and, in case of a vacancy occurring, the library, by employing a graduate pupil, would not have to pay a salary to an unqualified person.

Again, the effect of such training classes upon the regular staff is one of constant alertness, and the many opportunities for supervision and explanation give to every regular attendant a continued interest in and appreciation of her work.

The system may be successfully tried by a library of any size, no matter how small; in fact, in a certain library where the librarian was the only employe, the experiment proved a decided advantage to both library and pupil.

As to the compensation, it is mutual. The library imparts to the pupil a certain amount of experience marketable in other than the library profession, should the latter for some reason not be adhered to. In this way the pupil receives ample acknowledgment for her outlay of time. The library, on the other hand, during the session of the class, receives the services of six or eight intelligent young women for a period varying from six to twelve months, and it has

outline of the scope of the course from beginning to end, before any further steps are taken.

The applications of all candidates should be in the handwriting of the candidate, giving at least name, address, place and date of birth; educational advantages; what business experience, if any; knowledge of languages, if any; state of health; and references.

To these items may be added such as local boards may determine, and a blank form provided for candidates for this purpose will greatly facilitate future reference and ease in filing.

LIBRARY TRACTS.

THE Denver Public Library has made interesting and successful use of library lists, leaflets, announcements, and similar "tracts," as a means of stimulating public interest in the library. A collection of these, recently received from that library, comprises lists of books, magazine articles, etc., on Memorial Day, Washington's Birthday, Arbor Day, and similar occasions; and lists on special subjects and questions of the day, each giving call numbers and serving as a check-list if desired. Most of these are sent to the local public schools, with friendly letters to the teachers, urging their usefulness and interest to the children. Various publishers' catalogs, such as the A. L. A. catalog issued by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., the "science lists" of Heath and the American Book Co., and similar good special lists, are also distributed among the teachers, with letters stating that the books listed are contained in the library and will be found useful in school work. Another of the "tracts" is an attractive little oblong folder, asking for old magazines or similar contributions. Of these, 5000 copies were sent through the teachers to the pupils of the various schools. The folders were made up in bunches of 50-about the number of pupils in each room and with each package was sent a letter to the teacher, asking her to put the circulars in the hands of her pupils. The result, while not adding greatly to the stock of the library, brought it some new readers and increased the general interest in its work.