z €mntH Wimvmii^ §ihxM^ THE GIFT OF 97H The date shows when this volume was tr ken. To renew this bpok copy i.he call No. and give to the libtarian { !AN 13 HOME USE RULES, All Books subject" to Recall- 7.M yff All books must be re- ■ turned at end of college year for inppection and repairs. , Students must ■ re- • turn all; books before leaving ixjwn. Officers should arrange for the return of books wanted during their absence from town. Books needed by more than one person are held on the reserve list. Volumes of periodi- cals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For' special purposes they are given out for a limited cime. Borrowers should not use their library privileges for the bene- fit of other persons. Books of special value and gift books, when the giver wishes •^ it, are not allowed to circulate. Readers are asked to report all cases of books marked or mutilated. Do not deface books by marks and writing. .?*#t! Cornell University Library Z718 .H26 Public library: its place in our educati olin 1924 029 529 827 WXMmn Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029529827 REPORT OF THE EXAMINERS To the Registrar of the University of Toronto : We beg to report that tlie thesis of Mr. E. A. Hardy, together with his discussions of the ques- tions set in the History of Philosophy and Ethics, the Principles of Psychology and Ethics, the Science of Education and the History and Criticism of Educational Systems, qualify him for the Degree of Doctor of Pedagogy. O. J. Stevenson-. W. Pakewham. H. T. J. Coleman. W. S. Ellis. Sinclair Laied. The Public Library ITS PLACE IN OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM BY E. A. HARDY, B.A. " To make good books of the highest order freely and easily accessible throughout the length and breadth of the land were surely to give no mean furtherance to the efforts of the schoolmaster, and of the Christian minis- ter, to produce under God's blessing a tranquil, a cul- tivated and a religious people." — Edward Edwards. TORONTO WILLIAM BRIGGS 1912 ^•^niM-^'? Copyrieht, Canada, 1912, by WiLLIAU 6 BIGGS. PREFACE The thesis is lierein maintained that the public library in Ontario , is historically and logically a part of the educational system of the Province. The historical phase is full of in- terest and suggestion, not only to those imme- diately concerned, but to the library worker elsewhere. The experiments of three-quarters of a century have been given in considerable detail, that students of library administration might trace, step by step, the advance from the Niagara library of 1800 and the two early Mechanics' Institutes of 1835 to the well organ- ized public library system, of 1911. This accounts also for the inclusion of the appendices A and B (prepared largely by the author). Grateful adknowledgment is made to Professor A. H. Abbott, Professor F. Tracy, and Professor James Mavor, of the University of Toronto, for many suggestions, and to Mr. E. F. Stevens, Pratt Institute Library, Brooklyn, IST.Y., and Mr. S. H. Eanck, The Public Library, Grand Rapids, Mich., for permission to use the valu- able papers given as appendices C and D. Toronto, January, 1912. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Historical Sketch — Ancient Libraries ... 5 Libraries in Europe - - - 7 Public Libraries in Great Britain: Scotland 8 : England 11 Public Libraries in the United States - 21 Public Libraries in Canada 26 Previous to Free Libraries' Act - 40 Subsequent to Free Libraries' Act 41 CHAPTER II. The Purposes of the Pueuo Libbabt — To Provide General Literature 56 To Provide Fiction - 62 To Provide for the Children 65 To Provide Periodicals 69 CHAPTER III. The General Activities of the Libbabt — Classification and Cataloguing 72 Free Access - 76 Publicity - - - • ■ 78 ii CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER IV. The Special Activities op the Libbabt in Relation to Education — Technical Education 81 Commercial and Agricultural Education 84 Musical Education 87 Art Education 89 Domestic Education 93 Political Education 93 Medical and Legal Education 95 Teachers' Institutes 95 Local Clubs and Societies - 96 Travelling Libraries - - 96 Lecture Rooms in the Library 97 The Library and the School 98 CHAPTER V. Some Essentials in the Success of the Libbabt — Library Boards • - 103 Finances - 105 Public Library Buildings - - 108 The Librarian - 109 The Training of the Librarian - 110 Legislative Assistance and Supervision 116 Public Sentiment: Library Organization - 119 Bibliography - 125 Appendices — A. — Report of Special Committee on Technical Education In Public Libraries - - 129 Report of Sub-Committee - - - 133 CONTENTS iii Paob Reports, Bulletins and Other Material in the Hands of the Committee 146 B. — Excerpts from Report of the Committee on Public Library Institutes, 1909-1910 - 149 Excerpts Report of the Committee on Public Library Institutes, 1910-1911 162 C. — Technical Education Through the Public Library. By Mr. Edward F. Stevens, Librarian Pratt Institute Free Library, Brooklyn, N.Y. 171 D. — The Relation of the Public Library to Technical Education. By Mr. Samuel H. Ranck, Librarian, The Public Library, Grand Rapids, Mich. 199 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Reading Room, Reference Library, Public Library, Toronto ...... Frontispiece Harriston, Oni, Public Library .... 26 Ottawa, Ont., Public Library, Main Stairway . 26 Fergus, Out., Public Library ... 38 BuckfleJd, Maine, Public Library .... 84 Lindsay, Ont, Public Library . . . .108 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL SKETCH The story of the public library is a chapter in a long story that goes back to the world's "dark antiquity." The patient explorer with his pick and spade has brought to light the treasures of ancient libraries buried beneath the drift of mdilenniuniB. These brick taljlets of an early civilization in their pictures of the life of the time, with its commerce and politics, its wars and strategy, its ambitions and ideals, reveal those touches of nature that make us all of kin. The merchant, the warrior, the legisla- tor, the king, the siciholiar of this remote anti- quity have left their messages to the ages. Through all the generations succeeding men have inscribed their thoughts and feelings on many kinds of material, brick, parchment, papy- rus, and other men have gathered into libraries these records of activity and thought. The libraries of Egypt, Greece and Rome were famous in their day. "One of the earliest 6 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY national libraries that the world ever heard of was that formed by the Ptolemies in Egypt. The far-famed library of Alexandria was the work of several monarchs, and so great was the veneration of the Egyptians foi- it that they looked on it almost as sacred, going so far as to inscribe over its portals these words: "The nourishment of the soul." The ends of the earth were ransacked to enrich its shelves and as was the custom of the times, the would-be possessors were not too particular how they came by their literary treasures. It is related that one of the Ptolemies absolutely refused to supply the famine-stricken Athenians with corn until they furnished him with certain original manuscripts which he coveted." The Alexandria library was really two libraries, a larger and a smaller, the two containing about half a million rolls or volumes. Private libraries were numerous am^ong the Romans of wealth and culture, but public libraries were not established in Pome until a oomparatively la.te date. Julius Caesar " had it in mind to present Rome with public libraries, but it does not seem probable diiat he actually did much to carry out his plam. Augus- tus, however, erected tWo libraries, the Octavian, founded B.C. 33 in honor of his sister, and the Palatine. Tiberius and Vespasian also estab- lished libraries, but the most famous of the Imperial libraries was that of Ulpius Trajanus, HISTORICAL SKETCH 7 known as the Ulpian library and first established in the forum of Trajan." Altogether in the fourth century there are said to have been twenty-eight public libraries in Rome and a hundred years later was founded one of the world's greatest libraries, that of the Vatican, which has been adding to its treasures through all the intervening centuries, until now it pos- sesses priceless collections, especially in manu- scripts, housed in magnificent fashion. The "dark ages" following the disruption of the Roman Empire, and occupied with the strife of founding new Kingdoms in Western Europe, were not favorable to literature and libraries. Learning was at a low ebb during these cen- turies, ceaseless struggle among men and nations claiming first place. LiBEAEiES IN Europe. From the middle ages, however, Europe has had libraries of note. The National Library of Paris, one of the oldest in Europe, was founded in 1350, and the library of the University of Prague is claimed to date from the same year. The renaissance created a great demand for the classics, met largely by the invention of print- ing. But "the appetite grows with what it feeds on," and printing led naturally to a wide- spread desire for books, a desire that has deep- 8 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY ened and broadened through the centuries till it compasses all phases of human thought and deed. The great libraries of Europe are the responses to this desire and are mounments to their founders and patrons, notably such lib- raries as La Bibliotheque N"ationale with its three million volumes, the British Museum with a million and a half, the Royal Libraries at Berlin and Mimich and the Imperial Library at Moscow with a million each. All the countries of Europe have felt this same desire and have established libraries of all kinds, national, uni- versity, cathedral, and public, Germany alone having at least fifty libraries of over 200,000 volumes. The public library has been the last to develop in each country, but France, Ifor- way, Germany and other countries have now public library systems, that of Norway being especially noteworthy. Public Libeaeies in Geeat Beitain. In Great Britain the history of the library is much the same as on the continent. Kings, prelates and scholars founded libraries for the wealthy and the educated, but not until recent years was anything done for the mass of the people. Two centuries ago, however, a vision came to Rev. James Kirkwood, Minister of Minto, of a system of public libraries for every parish and his "Overture for establishing of HISTORICAL SKETCH 9 Bitliotheks in Every Paroch throughout this Kingdom" (Scotland), published in 1699, is one of tihe most interesting documeiits in the Khrary wiorld. The chief features of his sdheme were: 1. A convenient place in every Paroch must be set apart and fitted for keeping of books. 2. Every present minister must give in all his books to the Bibliothek of his owm' Piaroch — four exact alphabetical catalogues to be made, one for the minister, another to be kept in a little chist in the Bibliothek (as a check upon the librarian), another in the Bibliothek openly and the fourth sent to the principal library at Edinburgh. 3 & 4. Clauses relating to payment of the minister for his books. 5. Where the Kirks are vacant, the ministers of the Presbyterie v?ith the Heretors of the Paroch shall have power to bestow all the vacant stipends of that kirk upon such books as they shall see most fit and necessary for the Bibliothek of that kirk. 6. Clause providing for the supervision of these Parish libraries by the Presbytery to prevent unnecessary duplication of books, to secure judicious book selection and the Presby- tery to act as clearing house for exchange of any duplicates on hand. 7. 'Clause provides for the librarian, prefer- 10 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY ably tlie schoolmaster, who must give security before appointment, must properly prepare the books for lending and take great care of the books. 8. " It will be convenient that there be a bookbinder in every Presbyterie to bind all the books that belong to that Presbyterie, for which end he must be provided with a house and all the instruments fit for his trade and with some small stipend yearly to maintain him, and then whatsoever books he shall bind he shall be paid only for the materials and nothing for his work." 9. Clause providing for uniform cataloguing. 10. Clause providing for a tax on land owners and ministers for purchase of all such books, new and old, as shall be judged suitable. 11. Clause providing for applying this tax to the establishment of a printing house and paper manufactory which shall correspond with all the printing houses throughout Europe and shall re- print and distribute to every Bibliothek such books as were judged suitable. 12. Clause providing for the appointing of a Commission of the General Assembly to revise or oause to be revised by experts all old and new books and to determine what books shall be printed every month. This most remarkable document, which anti- cipates by almost two centuries such modern ideas as support of libraries by public taxation. HISTORICAL SKETCH 11 supervision by central authority, lists of best books, uniform system of classification, suitable and cbeap 'binding, was followed in 1702 by a second pamphlet, " An Account of a Design about Erecting Some Libraries in the Highlands of Scotland." In this pamphlet Kirkwood out- lines a scheme to place a library in each county in the Highlands under the supervision of the Presbytery, which is to provide semi-annual visits of inspection to the libraries, and of the Synod, which is to investigate them every two or three years. The General Assembly sanctioned at least the latter idea, and by 1705 and 1706 "the scheme of presbyterian libraries was realized to the extent of nineteen, in addition to which fifty-eight local libraries were established." Many of these died out, however, and Kirkwood and his' tracts were forgotten till 1889, when copies of the pamphlets were discovered. Doubtless his influence was a factor in establishing local public libraries later, for we find snch libraries establis'hed in Scotland a century afterwards, e.g., in Falkeith, 1792, and by 1840 parochial and subscription libraries seem to be common in Scotland. Iw Ekglai^d. In England the first public libraries were probably the library in London, founded by Richard Whittington and William Bury as early 12 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY as 1425, a library in Bristol dating back to 1464, the Kedwood library in Bristol, 1615, and the Cbetham library in Manchester, 1655. But these and similar institutions were founded and maintained by private beneficence. The origin of the public library movement probably be- longs to the first half of the nineteenth century. Such men as Dr. Birkbeck in connection with the Mechanics' Institutes; Charles Kingsley and Kev. F. D. Maurice in their labors' for the education of the workingmen and the founding of the Working Men's College ; Mr. (afterwards Lord) Brougham in connection with the found- ing of the London University, 1826-28, and the origin of the " Society for the Diffusion of Use- ful Knowledge " in 1826, were doing great ser- vice in popularizing books and education. The Mechanics' Institute movement, begun by Dr. Birkbeck, opened its first institutions in London, 1823, and Glasgow, 1823. The pur- poses of these Mechanics' Institutes are set forth in the following preamble of the Manchester Mechanics' Institute (1825). " The Manchester Mechanics' Institution is formed for the purpose of enabling mechanics and artisans, whatever trade they may be of, to become acquainted with such branches of science as are of practical application in the exercise of that trade; that they may possess a more thor- ough knowledge of their business, acquire a HISTORICAL SKETCH 13 greater degree of skill in tlie practice of it, and be qualified to make improvements, and even new inventions, in the arts vrhich they respec- tively profess. It is not intended to teach the trade of the machine-maker, the dyer, the car- penter, the mason, or any other particular busi- ness ; but there is no art which does' not depend, more or less, on scientific principles, and to teach what these are, and to point out their practical application to the arts, will form the chief objects of this Institution. Of these lec- tures, mechanical philosophy and chemistry will, of course, be leading subjects; and when their general principles and those of other im- portant sciences have been made known, more minute and detailed instruction upon particular branches of art will form the subjects of sub- sequent lectures. It is intended that a suitable library shall be formed for circulation and reference, and that there shall be a collection of models and instruments', together with a chemi- cal laboratory. It is hoped, also, that instruc- tion may be given in the elements of geometry, in the higher branches of arithmetic, and in mechanical and architectural drawing." — Special Report (1881) on Mechanics' Institutes, p. 2. These institutes developed so rapidly throughout England and Scotland that in 1853 there were upwards of 700 institutes in opera- tion, with over 120,000 members and about 14 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 18,000 in attendance at evening classes. Thou- sands of lectures were given and the circulation of the volumes from their libraries had become very large. It must always be remembered that these Mechanics' Institutes were proprietary institutions and not publicly owned and sup- ported. All these movements, however, were really only the general preparation of the soil. To three men belongs the honor of planting and nourishing the public library, as we now under- stand the term. Edward Edwards gave prac- tically his life to this work. By day and by night he toiled for many years, studying the question of free libraries for the people, investigating what had been done throughout the world and planning what could be done for Great Britain. He may be termed very truly the father of public libraries in England. Associated with him were two members of Parliament, who brought to realization his free library plans, William Ewart and Joseph Brotherton. Ewart was a Universiity man, wealthy and travelled, and he " longed to see his country possess equal advantages " with those he had seen on the con- tinent. He piloted through the House the famous Ewart Bill of 1850, which is the Magna Charta of public libraries. Joseph Brotherton, who assisted him so ably, "was essentially a man of the people, and he was proud of being HISTORICAL SKETCH 15 the son of a LancasMre manufaoturer." He was one of the few men in the House of Com- mons at that time in touch with the masses of workers. " He knew the Lancashire operative from a long experience. Nowhere in the country were there more readers, more hard-headed men with an honest desire for knowledge than in the thickly populated districts around Manchester." Edwards came into notice iu 1835, in his 23rd year, by addressing to Mr. Benjamin Hawes, M.P., chairman of a Select Committee of Parliament to inquire into the condition, management and affairs of the British Museum, a pamphlet of great ability, setting forth his views of the evidence presented before the com- mittee, by Sir Henry Ellis, Chief of the Museum, and others. He followed this up by his evidence before t!he committee in 1836, show- ing his mastery of the questions in hand. From 1839 to 1850 he was on the staff of the British Museum, and in 1847, 1848 and 1849 he labored incessantly iu the cause of public libraries. He contributed to the British Quarterly Review, August, 184Y, a 42-page article on " Public Libraries in London and Paris." He read before the Statistical Society of London, March, 1848, a 31-page paper giving "A Statistical View of the Principal Public Libraries in Europe and the United States of North America," sihowing " a masterly grasp of 16 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY library statistics." In April, 1848, he ad- dressed to the Earl of EUesmere a 38-page printed letter on " The Paucity of Libraries freely open to the Public ia the Briti&h Empire," in which he notes a total of 30 libraries of any considerable size in the United Kingdom, of which twenty were university libraries, and some of the remaining ten very doubtfully classed as public in any true sense of the word. In this letter occurs the following passage, very significant of Edwards' spirit and vision. " In the attempt to extend libraries through- out the country upon whatever system, there will doubtless be some opposition to be overcome, and more indifference to be transformed into sym- pathy and co-operation. But the ground once broken, co-workers will soon be met with. A measure which should at once invite voluntary subscriptions, confer the power of levying a library rate by consent of a certain proportion of rate-payers in any district, and also provide for some amount of parliamentary aid at the outset, would probably be that best calculated to attain the object ia view. A public provision of schools, without a public provision of libraries, would evince small regard for logical sequence. Those who can read will never be without reading of some sort. To place good literature within everybody's reach is certainly the best HISTORICAL SKETCH 17 way to counteract tlie empty frivolity, the crude scepticistn and the low morality of a portion . . of the current popular literature of the day. To make good books of the highest order freely and easily accessible throughout the length and breadth of the land were surely to give no mean furtherance to the efforts of the schoolmaster, and of the Christian minister, to produce under God's blessing a tranquil, a cul- tivated and a religious people." In March, 1849, a Select Committee of Par- liament was appointed on the best means of extending the establishment of libraries freely open to the public, especially in large towns in Great Britain and Ireland. The committee was continued in 1850, holding in all 23 meet- ings, and presenting very valuable reports each year. A mass of evidence was accumulated showing the backward condition of England, especially as compared with other countries'. In 1850 a bill was introduced into the House to provide for the establishment of public libraries and museums in all municipal towns, and after considerable opposition, it passed the Commons, the Lords offering no opposition, but rather assistance. The chief provisions of the Ewart Act as finally passed were: 1. Town councils were permitted, if they thought it well to do so, to put to their bur- 2 18 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY gesses the question — "Will you have a library rate levied for providing a Public Library," and to poll them on that question. The pro- posal was, however, limited to a population of not less than 10,000 within the municipal limits. 2. In the event of the ratepayers deciding that question in the affirmative, the rate so lev- ied was limited to a halfpenny in the pound on the rateable property. 3. The product of any rate so levied was to be applied (1) to the erection or adaptation of buildings, together with contingent expenses, if any, for the site; (2) to current charges of management and maintenance. 4. Town councils were then empowered to borrow money on the security of the rates of any city or borough which shall have adopted the Act. This Act was very much improved in 1855 and amendments followed e.g. in the acts of 1866, 1871, 1877, 1884, 1887, 1889. These amendments reduced the vote from two-thirds to a simple majority, increased the possible library from a halfpenny to a penny in the povmd and granted permission to use the pro- ceeds of the tax for the purchase of books, the original Act directing that it be spent on build- ings and maintenance. Manchester was the first place to adopt the HISTORICAL SKETCH 19 Ewart Act and it opened its new library Thursday, Sept. 2, 1852, witli great ceremon- ies. "A more brilliant and intellectual as- semblage was seldom seen tban that which filled every nook and cranny of the reference room of the Campfield Library, where the meet- ings were held." Among those present were Bulwer Lytton, Monckton Milnes, W. M. Thack- eray, John Bright, Charles Knight, the Earl of Shaftesbury, Charles Dickens, Joseph Brother- ton, Sir James Stephen. Many speeches were made by these and other distinguished men in praise of the Manchester Library and public libraries in general. Three sentences are es- pecially worthy of quotation, the first from Bul- wer Lytton, the second from Dickens, the third from Thackeray. "But, gentlemen, education does not cease when we leave school ; education rightly consid- ered, is the work of a life, and libraries are the school books of grown-up men." "It is this great free school inviting the hum- blest workman to come in and be its student; this great free school, most munificently en- dowed by voluntary subscription in an incred- ibly short space of time — starting upon its glor- ious career with 20,000 volumes of books — knowing no sect, no party, no distinction^ — knowing but the public want and the public good." 20 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY "Of course, amongst the many sanitary and social reforms which every man interested in the public welfare is now anxious to push for- ward, the great measure of books will not be neglected; and we look to those as much as we look to air, or to light, or to water. If boolcs do soothe, cheer and console; if books do en- lighten, enliven, and fortify; if they do make sorrow bearable to us, or teach us to forget or to endure it; if they do create in us harmless tears or happy laughter, if they do bring forth in us that peace and that feeling of good will of which Mr. Dickens spoke, and which any- body who has read his books must have felt has come from them — surely we will not grudge these estimable blessings to the poorest of our friends, but will try with all our might to dispense these cheap but precious benefits over all." The Act was not at first adopted very rapidly but, after some years, there was a more wide- spread movement and, by 1890, 207 places in Great Britain had availed themselves of its provisions. The past twenty years show a' re- markable increase to some 700 libraries in Great Britain and Ireland, the donations of Mr. Carnegie having stimulated many communities either to accept his proposed aid or to provide their own buildings. HISTORICAL SKETCH 21 Public Libeaeies iw the United States. "Putlic Libraries, in the sense of collections of books purchased, and maintained by public taxation for the free use of the people, are a development of the last half of the nineteenth century. As far back as 1803, the town of Salisbury, Connecticut, received by bequest the private library of Caleb Bingham and made some additions to it by town grant, but the collection of books is no longer in existence and can hardly be said to have figured at all prom- inently in the general library movement. The town of Peterborough, N.H., lays claims, and perhaps with some justice, to having been the birthplace of the public library. In 1833 that town voted to use a certain sum of money re- ceived from the State as the proceeds of a general taxation of banks, for the purchase of books for a town library to be free to the people of the town. Since this was sixteen years be- fore a law was passed in any state providing for a library tax, it is probable that it was not only the first publicly supported library in the country, but also in the world." — Dexter, " His- tory of Education in the United States." Earlier than this there were semi-public lib- raries, such as that of the American Philoso- phical Society in Philadelphia, with" which Benjamin Franklin was so intimately associated. 22 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY This library received its first Tjooks from London, 1732. An lattendant was on duty one hour on Wednesdays and two hours on Saturdays and was allowed to permit "any civil gentleman to peruse the books of the library in the library room, but not to lend or suffer to be taken out of the library, by any person who is not a subscribing member, any of the said books, Mr. James Logan only excepted." Libraries of this kind and college libraries sprang up in all parts of the country, as did many private collections, but they were at the disposal of and used by practically only the few, and not till more than two centuries after the founding of Har- vard library and one century after the founding of the American Philosophical Society library in Philadelphia was there any considerable movement to provide libraries for the general public. The causes which brought about the public library movement in the United States during the middle of the nineteentlh century are prob- ably numerous, though investigation has not yet searched them all out. The great educational- movement in Massachusetts under Horace Mann, Secretary of the State Board of Education, 1837-1849, was imdoubtedly one of the main factors. The American Lyceum movement, be- ginning in Milbury, Massachusetts, about 1826, HISTORICAL SKETCH 28 and sweeping so rapidly througli New England and to the West and South that in 1831 there were "not less than eight or ten hundred town lyceums, fifty or sixty county societies, and sev- eral State lyceums," was another potent reason. These lyceums were town (township) debating clubs, freely participated in, and inunensely pop- ular. The preparation of speeches and papers by the thousands who took part must have devel- oped the need for libraries of reference, and the general quickening of the intellectual life of the community through these meetings joined with the influence of the public school move- ment in creating a sense of need for public lib- raries. Another cause was the growing wealth and prosperity of the country which naturally sought for means to gratify its intellectual and artistic tastes. The firs~t form of the public library promoted by legislation was that of district school lib- raries. The State of New York in 1835 inaug- uraited this movement, G-ovemor DeWitt Clinton having first publicly advocated it in his message for 1826. This example was followed by twenty- one other states. New York State spent large sums of money on these libraries (from 1839, $55,000 annually), as did Ohio and some of the other States, but though New York State re- ported in 1853 that these school libraries posses- sed 1,604,210 volumes, the plan proved a failure. 24 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Three defects were (a) the unit was too small, (6) the librarian (i.e. the teacher) was too fre- quently changed to preserve any continuity of responsibility for the books and (c) there was a lack of supervision on the part of the State. After years of costly experimenting this method was clearly perceived to be inadequate. These libraries had one especially good result, how- ever, that they familiarized the people with the idea of libraries for the general public and so paved the way for the town (tovwiship) public library. New Hampshire, as has been notedj has the honor of leading the way in the establishment of an individual town library, by founding the Peterborough library in 1833. In 1849 the legislature passed a law enabling municipalities to establish and maintain public libraries; the first of such laws in United States and probably the first in any country, (antedating the Ewart Act in Great Britain by one year), though Mas- sachusetts had passed similar legislation for the city of Boston in the previous year. "The IS'ew Hampshire law of 1849 was very simple in form and its main features remain unchanged. Under its authority any town may raise and appropri- ate money for establishing and maintaining a library, without limitation as to amount, the money to be raised by ordinary taxation." Massachusetts followed with a similar law in HISTORICAL SKETCH 26 1851, Maine in 1854, Vermont in 1865, Ohio in 1867, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin and Colorado in 1872 and to-day practically aU tlie United States is covered by library legislation. New Hampshire in 1893 again "took the Jead in library legislation by enacting the law that each town shall assess annually a sum to be computed at the rate of thirty dollars for every dollar of the State tax apportioned to each town . . . to be appropriated to the sole purpose of estab- lishing and maintaining a free public library within the said tovsm. It also provided that in case the sum be less than $100, the state should make it up to that amount." Massacbusetts, in 1890, had made another move of great import- ance by the appointment of a State Library Commission to look after the libraries of the state and promote their establishment and growth and this act was copied, in the following ten years, by sixteen other States. The State of New York was also making some radical experi- ments in library legislation and development, e.g., in establishing a library training school and a system of travelling libraries. The effect of the leadership of these States and others, such as Ohio and Wisconsin, has been a wide diffusion of public libraries throughout the United States and the enactment of many kws to protect and promote their interests. Private beneficence has co-operated in providing 26 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY many handsome and well equipped buildings, (Dr. Thwaites' estimate of private donations for buildings, maintenance and books during the decade, 1890-1900, being over twenty-five millions of dollars), until to-day the public lib- rary is an established institution in practically every American city and town and in thousands of villages and country places. Public Libeaeies est Canada. So far as public libraries are concerned, Can- ada and Ontario are almost synonymous terms, for, at the present moment, there are probably not twenty-five public libraries in Canada out- side of Ontario and most of these are of very recent date. Individual libraries in Quelbec and the other provinces have interesting his- tories, in one or two cases covering long periods, but their story lies outside the scope of the pres- ent work. The earliest library in Ontario, was organized in Niagara in 1800, by forty-one men called tihe "proprietors," who paid an annual fee of four dollars. The opening words of their reg- ister of membersihip ore worth quoting, espe- cially when we remember that the first English settlement in Ontario was made in 1783, that is, only seventeen years before. HARRISTON, ONT., PUBLIC LIBRARY. $10,^ 000 A FRONT VIEW HISTORICAL SKETCH 27 "Niagara Library, 8th June, 1800. "Sensible how much we are at a loss in this new and remote country for every kind of useful knowledge, and convinced that nothing would be of more use to diffuse knowledge amongst us and our offspring than a library, supported by subscription in this town, we whose names are hereunto subscribed, hereby associate our- selves together for that purpose, and promise to pay annually a sum not exceeding four dollars, to be laid out on books, as agreed upon by a majority of votes at a yearly meeting to be held by us at this town on the 15th of August annually, when everything respecting the lib- rary will be regulated by the majority of votes." This library continued until at least 1832. In 1848, however, a Mechanics' Institute was or- ganized, which is in operation to-day as the Niagara Public Library. In 1835 Parliament granted aid by special acts to the Mechanics' Institutes of Toronto and Kingston, the former receiving $800, and the latter $400. These are the first official notices of Mechanics' Institutes in Upper Canada. In 1836 the Brantford Mechanics' Institute was incorporated. In 1839, Hamilton organized a Mechanics' Institute, which was incorporated in 1849. Dundas Mechanics' Institute was incorporated in 1841, and London in 1842. In 28 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 1851 an Act was passed for the better manage- ment of Library Associations and Mecbanics' Institutes, providing for tbeir establishment and incorporation. The two institutions were recognized by the Act as different organizations, but curiously enough while the organizations effected under the Act were called Mechanics' Institutes, they were really Library Associa- tions. Grants were paid that year of $200 each to the following Mechanics' Institutes: Brockrille. Belleville. Guelph. Hamilton. London. iN^iagara. Picton. Perth. Simcoe. Toronto. In 1857 grants of $200 were paid to 58 Mechanics' Institutes, indicating a rapid spread of this movement through Upper Canada, and a Board of Arts and Manufacturers was incor- porated to foster and promote the growth and usefulness of the Institutes. The aims of the Board are thus set forth: " Whereas it is desirable to promote the development of mechanical talent among the HISTORICAL SKETCH 29 people of this province, ty disseminating in- struction in mechanics and kindred sciences, and by affording increased facilities for the study of models and apparatus ; " There shall be and there is hereby created and established in and for Upper Canada, one corporation or body corporate, to be composed as hereinafter provided, and to be and be called ' The Board of Arts and Manufacturers for Upper Canada.' (Similar provision vras made for Lower Canada.). "Each incorporated Mechanics' Institute in Upper and Lower Canada, respectively, shall elect and accredit to the Board of Arts and Manufacturers one delegate for every twenty members on its roll, being actual working mechanics or manufacturers, and having paid a subscription of at least five shillings each to its funds for the year then last past. "It shall be the duty of the said Board of Arts and Manufacturers to collect and establish at Toronto, for the instruction of practical mechanics and artisans, museums of minerals and other material substances and chemical compositions, susceptible of being used in mechanical arts and manufactures, with model- rooms appropriately stocked and supplied with models of works of art, and of implements and machines other than implements of husbandry and machines adapted to facilitate agricultural 30 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY operations, and free litraries of reference, con- taining books, plans and drawings, selected with a view to the imparting of useful informa- tion in connection with mechanical arts and manufactures, and also to found schools or col- leges for mechanics', and to employ competent persons to deliver lectures on subjects connected with the mechanical arts and sciences or with manufactures; and the said Boards shall keep records of their respective Itransactions, and shall from time to time publish, in such manner and form as to secure the widest circulation among the Mechanics' Institutes, and among mechanics, artisans and manufacturers genct- ally, all such reports, essays, lectures and other literary compositions conveying useful informa- tion as the said Boards, respectively, may be able to procure and judge to be suitable for publication." In 1858 the Minister of Agriculture, under whose jurisdiction the Mechanics' Institutes were placed, made an investigation into the condition of the Mechanics' Institutes in Upper and Lower Canada, no previous effort of the kind apparently having been made. He states in his report that " the number of Mechanics' Institutes and Library Associations receiving aid is 143 (including Upper and Lower Can- ada). Of these only 49 have, as yet, returned any answer to the circular." The Minister HISTORICAL SKETCH 31 recoimneiided withiholdiiig tihe grant from Insti- tutes and Associations that did not reply. " The total annual grant to Mechanics' Institutes and Library Associations is' $36,500, and it is desir- able that this amount should be expended for the purpose for which it was designed by the Legis- lature." This is the last year in which any grants were paid to the Mechanics' Institutes of Upper Canada, the grants being resumed in 1868, lamd Upper Canada having been changed in 1867 to Ontario. The institutes existed during these ten lean years as best they could. Complaints were made to the government and efforts were put forth to secure amendments to the Act apd a renewal of the grants. In 1864 only six institutes were represented on the Board of Arts and Manufac- turers, viz. : Cobourg, Dundas, Hamilton, London, Toronto, "Whitby. A committee of the Board presented a report recommending the estalblishment of a School of Design in three divisions : The first division for the study of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry. The second division for Drawing, Designing and Modelling. The third division for Practical Mathe- matics. The course outlined was to be thoroughly practical, evening sessions' were to be held and 32 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY popular lectures on practical scientific subjects to be arranged. The school was to be free and open to both sexes. A couple of paragraphs in this report of 1864 are worth quoting here nearly fifty years later: " Your committee deem it highly desirable, and conducive to the interests of the community, that every facility should be afforded the indus- trial classes to make themselves more intimately acquainted with the physical, artistic, and mathematical principles they are daily calling into action, thereby enabling them to economize raw material, shorten the processes of produc- tion, and produce more elegance of design and accuracy of workmanship in whatever they exe- cute. Artizans so instructed, both as to the science and practice of their respective arts, would be more likely to establish manufactures amongst us, employing the idle youth of our cities and towns, and adding to the wealth of our country. " Your committee cannot but remark, that w'hile liberal public provision is made for the education of persons intending to follow the various learned professions, they cannot see that it is no less important that the working classes should be provided for." In 1865 the Minister of Agriculture points out in his report the lack of results from the HISTORICAL SKETCH 33 Board of Arts and Manufacturers, but remarks that in the opinion of the Board and the public " tlie main impediment to their usefulness lies not so much in their legal organization as in the insufficiency of the annual grants voted by Par- liament for these purposes. The course marked for the Board by the Statute (20 Vic, Cap. 32) was certainly a most extensive one — ^including industrial museums, schools of design, evening schools for apprentices and adults, free libraries of mechanical works, etc. It is now apparent that witli $2,000 per year, not even one of the objects, not to speak of all, could be fully car- ried out." The Minister goes on to say that he believes the Government " ought unquestionably to do much more than it has done to promote similar objects and interests, but without liberal and continuous local co-operation, the desirable results never can foe reached." In 1868 the Board of Arts and Manufacturers was abolished and its valuable reference library transferred to the Department of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works. At the close of the last meeting of the Board the members present organized an Association of Mechanics' Institutes of Ontario in conform- ity with a Statute just enacted (31 Vic, Cap. 29, Sec. 24). This association was organized in Toronto January 21, 1868, and its first meet- 34 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY ing was held in the Hamilton Mechanics' Insti- tute September 23 of the same year. The objects were set forth by the Secretary thus : "1st. The establishment of a centre of action, or bond of union, for the various' (now) iso- lated Mechanics' Institutes. " 2nd. The preparation of and continued completeness of a catalogue of books suitable for Mechanics' Institute libraries, especially of books of a technical or practical character. " 3rd. To have arrangements at all times open for the procurement of such works by the Association, for the Institutes, at the lowest wholesale prices. " 4th. The imparting and receiving of in- formation, by discussion or otherwise, on the questions of Institute evening class instruction, lectures, libraries, reading-rooms, exhibitions, and other operations." The Association met regularly from 1868 to about 1880, and was then discontinued. Among the topics considered at the annual meetings' were the following: Supplying of The Bookseller (English) and The Publishers' Circular (Ameri- can) to Institutes belonging to the Asso- ciation to assist in book selection. The preparation of and continued com- pleteness of a catalogue of books suitable HISTORICAL SKETCH 35 for Mechanics' Institute libraries, es- pecially of books of a technical or prac- tical cbaracter. Purchase of books at large discounts by co-operating through the Association. Establishment and encouragement of even- ing classes by appeals to Institutes, and by offering prizes. Appeals to government for larger grants. The annual inspection of libraries, serious complaints being made as to its insuffi- ciency. On February 11th, 1879, a convention of Mechanics' Institutes was held in Toronto at which 49 delegates were present, representing 23 Mechanics' Institutes. Various amend- ments to the Act were suggested, one of them being the following: " That 20 per cent, of the Government grants be applied for fiction." From 1880 till 1900 no organized effort at co-operation seems to have been made by the Mechanics' Institutes in Ontario. The latter year saw the organization of the Ontario Lib- rary Association, of whose many activities a full account will be given in a later chapter. In 1868, i.e., immediately after Confedera- tion, the Mechanics' Institutes were placed under the supervision of the Department of the Oonunissioner of Agriculture and Public 36 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Works. A clause was inserted in the Agricul- ture and Arts Act (31 Vic, Cap. 29, Sec. 25) authorizing a grant of one dollar for every dol- lar from local sources up to two hundred dol- lars. This grant was originally intended for evening class instruction, but on the represen- tations of a committee representing the Board of Arts and Manufacturers the purchase of tech- nical works was also recognized, a classified catalogue of such books being prepared by the Department. Thirteen Institutes received grants during this year, and 26 in the following year. In 1869 an amendment was made to the Act, recognizing the purchase of general literature, other than fiction, in addition to technical books. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts in his report for 1869 and 1870 notes wider inter- est in evening classes, but deplores the small result yet attained. He adds' : " If, in the wisdom of the Legislature, means should be pro- vided for the eflBcient teaching of science in its practical application to the various industries of life, the encouragement of class instruction in Mechanics' Institutes would assume a yet more serious form, constituting a means for sup- porting, in great measure, a Scientific School with pupils." In 1871 an amendment was passed (34 Vic, Cap. 23, Sec. 6) increasing the maximum HISTORICAL SKETCH 37 grant from $200 to $400, and changing the basis so as to give two dollars for every dollar from local sources. In the report of the Com- missioner of Agriculture and Arts occurs the following passage: " The majority of the Institutes have devoted their funds principally to the improvement of their libraries. It should not, however, be lost sight of that among the objects sought to be promoted by Mechanics' Institutes, class in- struction specially adapted to the wants and circumstances of working men occupies' a promi- nent position. As these Institutions increase in age and resources, it is hoped that but few will be found without the teaching functions being largely developed. It is true that as our public system of education improves and ramifies throughout the country, the necessity of even- ing classes for teaching adults the rudimentary branches of learning will diminish. But it is the characteristic work of Mechanics' Institutes to teach the application of laiowledge acquired in ordinary schools to the practical purposes of life, including such technical subjects as relate to the every-day pursuits of the various classes of the working population." In 1872 amendments to the Act were passed (35 Vic, (Cap. 32, Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) pro- viding for the semi-annual inspection of Mechanics' Instituteis by the County Inspector 38 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY of Schools, forbidding any payment of grants until such inspection had been reported to the Department, and restricting Mechanics' Insti- tutes, entitled to share in Government grants, to such as should be organized in cities, towns and incorporated villages. In 18Y3 an amendment vs^as passed to the Agriculture and Arts Act (clause 25), "Per- mitting the Government grant to be expended in works of history, travel, poetry, biography and philosophy, in addition to the subjects allowed in the Act of 1871 " and restricting the expenditure for the purpose of a reading- room to not more than one-fourth of the Govern- ment grant and local contribution. In 1874 the Commissioner sounds a note of warning (as he had done in 1872) hoping that they " will continue to maintain and develop their dis- tinctive characteristics, that of promoting the education of working men of the various indus- tries of life, and that they will not degenerate into mere reading-rooms for the reception of the sensational literature of the day." In 1880 an Act to amend the Agriculture and Arts Act was passed (43 Vic, Cap. 5) by which the Mechanics' Institutes were trans- ferred from the Department of the Commis- sioner of Agriculture and Arts' to the Depart- ment of the Minister of Education. Thus the Mechanics' Institutes passed directly into the FERGUS, ONT., PUBLIC LIBRARY. $10,000. FRONT VIEW. BASEMENT PLAN. An admirable plan: heating plant at side, and an auditorium secured of all available space. HISTORICAL SKETCH 39 educational system of the province. Tlie wis- dom of thus identifying these Institutes with the educational system was soon apparent both in the legislation affecting thean and in their rapid growth during the next decade and a half, and the developiments of the past ten years !have furnished strong confirmation of the soundness of thus officially linking the library system with the general educational system of the province. On taking over the Institutes the Minister of Education provided for a thorough inspec- tion of their standing and history and the report covering this inspection was prepared by the late Dr. S. P. May and submitted in 1881. It is a valuable historical document. One notable paragraph is that recommending the reduction of the maximum grant, as its generous amount ($400) was proving a detriment to smaller libraries. In 1882 the Legislature passed the Free Lib- raries' Act (45 Vic, Cap. 22), probably the most important event in the history of libraries in Ontario. This Act was evidently modelled on the Ewart Act (1850) of the Imperial Par- liament. It provided for (a) the establishment of Free Libraries by vote of the ratepayers ; (&) for their administration by a Board of Man- agement appointed by the Board of Education or Public School Board, by the Council and by the Separate School Board, the Mayor being a 40 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY member ex-officio ; (c) for their maintenaiice by taxation to the maximum amoTint of a half- mill rate; and (d) for the transformation of the Mechanics' Institutes into Free Libraries. The Toronto Public Library was the first free library under the Act, the city adopting its pro- visions in 1882. The great importance of this Act may be seen from the following table: Peeviotts to Feee Libeaeies' Act. No. of Institutes No. with receiving Total Amount Evening Government Grant. of Grant. Classes. 1850 3 $ 600.00 * 1851 10 $ 2,000.00 1853 22 $ 7,400.00 1855 36 $10,000.00 1856 49 $12,400.00 1857 58 $11,600.00 1858 67 $10,220.00 * statistics not available. Presumably most of the Insti tutes had evening classes. (1859-1867 period in which grants were discontinued). 1868 1869 1870 1871 1875 1877 1879 13 26 24 43 45 58 74 $ 1,610.00 $ 3,307.41 $ 2,947.70 $12,598.04 $18,146.34 $18,157.58 $22,885.26 6 22 23 19 HISTORICAL SKETCH 41 O o EH H U a H OQ n < & o 6h Ot^THL:^00C0IH^»OCM005D Olt^i— l<£)h-CDOOI>.OrHCM i-( lO -<*rHOi CD COtOOO CO iHO lOCClOCZJlOCD'S^Or-IOlCC'OO NOOOt^eOCDCMOOlOCDOliO CM-^COOOOJOJOOi— IWCMIO 1— 1 r-( rH rH CM N OCDt^Oi-t-^i— i-^oooincM CMCDCD**CrSOi— (C0 3JCM^-as os-^ooi— ii— lost^comcMoocrt 1— l-«*lO00t^CM-^0000-^r-(CD l0"5jCDCM^*CMOI>-C^^fOli^CO 05T*MOO-<*CMlOrH<3it^trDG5 OOCOOOOOiHCYDLnoOCO ■^ rH O 05 CM OO Ol CO O-^ 00 CO lOi— (rHOOCOi— (OOCD'=i-'^ r-iCiOU3t^OOC»OiC=5THr-lCMeO rHrHrHiHr-l =.2i lis 0> -«# CO O O OO CD •«* i-I CD -CM lOOW 000000050300 • OO T— 1 rH CM CM 1— 1 fH r-l 1— ( 1— ( t^ -Si OO CM t^ 05 lO c- in> 05 .... U3 O iH fr^ CO ■* CY3 1-H .... JO -ON 00 T—l 1-1 CM CM CM CM i-( .... CM-<*-<* .... No. of Members or Holders of Tickets. CM CO OO OO (>• CO OO 1-1 CV3 O • t^ t^ T-( OO O 05 »H Oi CO OS ^# -OS CO O O CM CO t^ CM CO (>. 05 • »0 CVS CM ** 1— 1 rH C» ^- in C^J CO 'O 1— 1 CO OO i-I CM CM -* lO l>- t^ "CM iH iH 1-1 1-( 1— 1 1— 1 1— 1 'C^a •3ai;io(j8a sgu'BiqiT: cob-wt^'^iHomTicDoomi-t ^= = --§= = = = = = COOOCOOOOiOJOi— ICMCOOOOi OOOOCJSOiOlOiOO'OiO'OO 000O00000000O5O5O5O5OSO5 > O Q I .a ^i^ Sf ffl Ji " "2 =« S M ^ « ^ tsr3 o > JLj O 0) :§ :g £ >- M c« "^-^ o.S'^ ^ m P. «J-^ ^ cS o ^ .a rQ^ CD -^^ " fi^ ^ 3 2f tD 0.9 'J'^S EH O 42 THE-^ PUBLIC LIBRARY In 1887 the provisions' regarding legislative grants were changed to read as follows': (a) Every Mechanics' Institute with a mem- bership of 50 persons, and contributing in annual subscriptions the sum of $25, shall re- ceive $25 annually. (&) Every Mechanics' Institute with a mem- bership of 100 or over, and contributing in annual subscriptions not less than $50, shall receive $50 annually. (c) In addition to sums in the preceding sub-sections mentioned dollar for dollar to be given for books up to $150, but not more than twenty per cent, to be expended on fiction, and dollar for doUair tbose who wish either to buy for themselves or to borrow from larger libraries. It should be in constant use in every library. The library should possess also a carefully selected section of reference books, avoiding encyclopedias, anthologies, etc., sold by sub- scription. The section should comprise sucli works as: Kpoeger, A. B. — Guide to the Study and Use ot Referenioe Books. Revised amid emlargad Edition. 1909 $1 50 Mudge, Isadore G. — ^^Suippdement to Kroeger's Guide to Beferenoe Books (includes 1909- 1910 pulblicatiions) . 1911 25 lieypoldt, A. H., amid lies, George — Lnst of Books for Giirls and Woinen and Their Clubs. 1895 1 00 New York State L/itorary — Class Inst of a $500 Library Recommended for Schools. 1901. 15 *A new edition, covcrinK 1904-1911, will be ■ earlr in 1913. (A. L, A. PnblishinB Board, Ohicaeo, $1.00.) 60 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Peck, H. T.— Harper's Dactioeiary of Classicall Literature and Antiquities. 1897 ?6 00 D'Ooge, B. L.— Helips to the Study of Classical Myrtihology. 1899 45 Sturg^s, RusseiU, and Krebdel, H. B. — Anaoitated Bilbllograpliy of Pine Arts. 1897 1 CO Baker, E. A. — A Deeoriiptave Guide ita itlie Besit F^icitioin. 1903 2 50 Hodigkims, L. M. — Guide to ithe Study of the 19th Century Authors. 1898 60 Adiaans, C. K. — Manual of Historical OLitesrature. 1903 2 50 Hadym's Diotionary of Dates. 25ith edition. 1910 21s. Gardiner, S. R., and Mullimger, J. B. — Introduc- tion to the Stedy of English History. 4th edition. 1903 7b. 6d. Daam, J. C. — Jjllbiary Primer. 4ith edition. 1908 1 20 Plumaner, M. W. — Hiiiuts to Small lAbraries. 1902 75 Koiopmam, H. L. — ^The Mastery of Books; Hinte on Beading and the Use of Librairdea 1896 90 Whitaker's Almanac — annually 60 'World, Almanac iJN. T. WorlS,) 25 Caniadaan Almanac — annually 75 Statistical Year Book of Canada — Published by Dominion of Canada Free Chamhers's Encyclopedia — last edition 7 50 CJhambers's Goncise Gazetteer of the World 2 00 Century Cyclopedia of Names. 1899 10 00 Statesman's Year Book — ammually 3 00 Canadian Annual Review 3 00 A good dictionary, Imperiial or Standard or Webster's PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 61 Th© Ontario Library Aissociatiion's Selected Lilst of Books, Vol. X., Part IV., wlilcli contains an extemsive list of the best works of refer- ence, Tvitih. publisher and price Free Who's Who? |2 50 Who's Who in Amenica? 1905 3 50 Morgan- — Camadian Men and Women. New edl- ition 3 00 With sucli an equipment as a basis a library can add from time to time of those books that have been proved by constant service to be the most valuable in every department of litera- ture, and can avoid the waste of its funds in buying inferior books. What has just been said applies to standard works. In the selection of current books, there is abundant help as may be seen from the fol- lowing list: Aimei^loan Library Association Book -List — ^A Guide to the Best New Books (annotated), (published monthly. A. L. A. Publishing Boapd, 78 East Waslhlngton St., Chicago. . . $1 00 Ontario Library Association — Quarterly Selected List of Books. Department of Education, ToTonito Free New York State Lbrary — Best Books of the Tear. Puhlisihed annmally ITree There are valuable, though more expensive, guides also, such as the Book Review Digest, H. W. Wilson Co., Minneapolis ($5.00). 62 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY To Peovide Fiction. The public library has a recreative function, as well as the more strictly informational or teaxduing function. Fiction is a necessary part of the library's equipment. The demand for recreation through fiction is perfectly legiti- mate, and can be made to serve in the best development, not only of the library itself, but also of the reader and the community. What the drama was in the golden age of Elizabeth, fiction is to-day, the natural expression of life in its multitude of phases. Politics, war, finance, high life, the lower strata, school and church, are all portrayed by the skilful pen of the novelist. In his pages one may escape from the routine of daily life and visit far-away lands or move in distant centuries, refreshing the spirit and finding new stimulus for the tasks of the next day. At the same time there comes a heightening of literary standards, an increase in general knowledge, a broader out- look upon men and affairs, and a deeper sym- pathy with humanity. Scott, Dickens, Thack- eray, Stevenson and a host of others are to be counted among the benefactors of the human race. There is no sound objection to good fiction, and there is every reason why the public lib- rary should be generously supplied. One es- pecially strong reason is, that it popularizes PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 63 the library, and creates a favorable spirit in the community, making possible the further de- velopment of the library in its more strictly educational features. It is manifestly difficult for a public institution to grow, if that insti- tution does not find favor with the people, and the mass of the people will be quite willing to help the library in its more serious work, if they can find within its walls that which minis- ters to both their enjoyment and their profit. The fact that such a large percentage of the circulation is fiction is not necessarily a dis- credit; on the other hand, it may be often counted as highly meritorious. The quality of the fiction will determine this. There is no excuse, however, at the present time for libra- ries to waste their funds on inferior fiction. The monthly, quarterly and annual booklists already referred to, supplemented 'by such papers or periodicals as the Bookman (English edition) and the Saturday edition of the ISTew York Times, facilitate the selection of lihe best, and care on the part of the library com- mittee will be rewarded with a growing col- lection of the choicest fiction. There need be no strenuous effort put forth to decrease the circulation of fiction, provided it is the circu- lation of good, wholesome literature, but stress may well be laid on increasing the circulation of the other departments of the library. 64 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY James Kussell Lowell may be quoted here. " I know that there are many excellent people who object to the reading of novels as a waste of time, if not as otherwise harmful. But I think they are trying to outwit nature, who is sure to prove cunninger than they. Look at children. One boy shall want a chest of tools, and one a book, and of those who want books, one shall ask for a botany, another for a ro- mance. They will be sure to get what they want, and we are doing a grave wrong to their morals by driving them to do things on the sly, to steal that food which their constitii- tion craves, and which is wholesome for them, instead of having it freely and frankly given them as the wisest possible diet. If we cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, so, neither can we hope to succeed with the opposite experi- ment. But we may spoil the silk for its legiti- mate uses. I can conceive of no healthier read- ing for a boy, or girl either, than Scott's novels, or Cooper's, to speak only of the dead. I have found them very good reading at least for one young man, for one middle-aged man, and for one who is growing old. ITo, no — ^banish the ' Antiquary,' banish ' Leather Stocking,' and banish all the world! Let us not go about to make life duller than it is. . . ." — Books and the Public Library, 1885. PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 65 To Peovide foe the Children. The third purpose of the library is to pro- vide for the children. A generation ago this was hardly thought of as part of the library's duty, but to-day it is so well recognized that it enters into library legislation. The Public Libraries' Act (Section 25), provides, that " where a Board makes a rule under which an age limit is established for children taking books from the library . . the rule shall not take effect until it has been approved by the Minister." ISTew library buildings everywhere provide for children's rooms, suitably equipped, or sections of the main room, and in the larger libraries, cihildren's librarians are especially designated for this work. The Carnegie Lib- rary of Pittsburgh, Pa., provides a special course of training for children's librarians, extending over two years. The results every- where attest the value of this activity of the library. As in the other departments, there is an abundance of good material with which to stock the shelves. Authors and publishers are de- voting themselves to meet this new and greatly increasing demand, and books of all grades of literary and mechanical merit are pouring forth, but there is plenty of expert assistance for the librarian to make wise selections, e.g. : 5 66 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Stairgeiilt, M. E. amicl A. L.— (Reading for the Yoiumg. 1896. A. L. A. Puiblisihiiiiig Board. . $1 20 Hewlns, Oaoxvline M. — Books floir Boiye and GiPls. A. L. A. Publlahiimig Board 16 Ohiilldreii's Reading, anmioltaited catalogue, pre- pared toy the Chlildren's Department 04 tihe Cajnuegie liibrary, PiiititsbuTg, Pa. A. L. A. PuWiBlhing Boardi 25 Omtario Latarary Assocfiiation — Quanterly Dist of Selected BdO'kis. Vol. X., Part II. Dept. of Ediuioarttlom, Torooito. Oonitlaliiia (la) Msts oif Bok® for Boyis and Girls, pulbliished 1906- 1:910, and (h) a list of Ithe toest general llisits of Books ifoT Boys aaid Girils BVee Note also the lists of books for boys and girls, prepared by such firms as D. C. Heath & Co., McCIurg, Baker & Taylor, American Book Co., Blackie & 'Co., Thos. Nelson & Sons, and sent on application. " The interests of the child should be one of the chief concerns of the librarian. Children's departments should be established in the larger libraries, in charge of trained assistants ; while even the smallest library would have its ' chil- dren's corner.' This should be made bright and attractive by the use of pictures and flowers. All of the books should be within easy reach of the children, the picture books being placed on the lower shelves. The children's room should be open in the afternoon until 6.30 or 7 o'clock, but should not be made a means of attracting children from their homes at night PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 67 Arrangements should be made, even in the small libirary, for a 'special attendant in this de- partment from the close of school hours until 6 o'clock. The children need help in selecting their books, and someone who knows the books and has sympathy with the children should be assigned to this work. Volunteer service can often be employed here with good results. The children should be taught the proper care of books, how to turn the leaves of dainty volumes without soiling them, and how, through the use of temporary covers, to protect the binding. They should also be taught the proper order of books on the shelves. There should be no age limit in the library, but even the youngest should have cards in their own name, under proper guarantee; and picture books should be provided for their use, so that in after life ' there will be no distinction in the child's mind between reading as an art learned and reading as a delig'ht discovered.' The greatest care must be exercised in selecting books for young folks, and only the best of the great range of dhildren's literature should be dhosen. It is better to have duplicates of l3ie best, rather than a variety of the mediocre in children's books. Fortunately, there are so many books for them that are both wholesome and intensely interesting that a small library need have no third-rate volumes on its shelves. Libraries 68 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY should have a good supply of the hooks for the young, hy such writers as Howard Pyle, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Edward Eggleston, Sara Orme Jewett, Louisa M. Alcott. It is better to choose only the best hooks and to have plenty of duplicates. Boys love and read stories of adventure, but when we have good biograj-liies, stirring narratives, like those of Treasure Island and Men of Iron, it is not necessary to place indifferent books in the very small library, and in the larger ones, even the best of such writers as Stoddard and Munroe may be used spar- ingly. An occasional book of an author who de- pends largely upon very exciting incidents to maintain interest may do no harm, may even serve a useful purpose, but a liberal course of such reading is detrimental. Personal interest should be taken in the children's needs by the librarian, and every effort made to supply them, even bearing in mind that ' it is always through the children that the best work is to be done for the uplifting of any community.' " — Miss L. E. Stearns, in A.L.A. Library Tract No. 6 : " Essentials in Library Administration." Such Canadian writers as Ralph Connor, Gilbert Parker, J. Macdonald Oxley, Miss L. M. Montgomery, Ernest Thompson Seton, W. A. Eraser, Chas. G. D. Roberts, "W. H. Drum- mond, E. R. Young, Mrs. Nellie McClung, should be well represented in our collections of juveniles. PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 69 An interesting outgrowth of this department is the 'Children's Hour. To the groups of chil- dren who assemble at the library the attendant tells the stories of myths, legends, histories, biographies, great poems, great events, etc., kindling the imagination, increasing the store of knowledge and developing a love of literature that will lead the hearers to look upon books and libraries as integral parts of life. The success of the story hour, not only in the Ameri- can libraries, but also in those in Ontario, where it has been carried on, is exceedingly gratify- ing, especially as it provides one of the strong- est ties between the library and the school. lu small libraries' the ■assistance of the sohool teaoheir or of persons interested in the library and possessing the gift of story-telling or read- ing stories well may often be secured. To Peovide Periodicals. The selection of periodical literature must receive due attention. The daily newspapei' and the local paper, if the library be in a place too small to sustain a daily, must of course be provided. Then comes the question of maga- zines and periodicals. There should be a generous supply of this literature, for several reasons, (a) because of the brightness and at- tractiveness of the contents; {h) because periodicals deal vidth current questions; and 70 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY (c) because a magazine like McClure's or Har- per's provides some reading for all tihe members of the family, junior as well as adult, and if they are circulated like the books (especially in bound volumes), they are very much sought for. It may Ije noted also, that this periodical literature contains many valuable articles on timely topics, carefully prepared by recognized authorities, which are never put into book form. In the selection of periodical literature the public library ought to provide for a variety of interests. The story lover, the political student, the artisan and the child have each a claim. The Strand, The Review of Reviews, The Scientific American and St. Nicholas may meet their needs. The Ladies Home Journal appeals to many readers of both sexes. Punch and The Spectator afford a liberal education. There is an abundance of good material, and inferior magazines should have no place in the library. As to the binding of periodicals, there is room for serious difference of opinion. If funds permit, however, bound volumes of the best magazines, that is, those that contain ser- ious, trustworthy articles, may very wisely be placed on the shelves. If that be done, an index to periodical literature should be provided, e.g., Poole's Index (abridged edition covering 37 periodioals, 1815-1899, Hooighton-Mifflin, 1901, $12) and the Reader's Gtiide to Periodi- PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 71 cal Literature (H. W. Wilson Co., Minneapolis, $12 a year, monthly), or Wilson's Eclectic Library Catalogue (50c. a year, quarterly). If funds are not to be bad for binding, cbeap pasteboard boxes might be used to bold a year's numbers. Tbiis would make peri'odioaJs avail- able for use with an index, and the cost would be slight. The value of the library for refer- ence purposes is very greatly increased by pre- serving these periodicals and making them ac- cessible by the index. CHAPTER III. THE GENERAL ACTIVITIES OF THE LIBRARY Classification and Cataloguing. Of very great importance to the usefulness of the library is the matter of classification and, akin to that, of cataloguing. It is not necessary to discuss systems of classification at any length, especially as the Decimal system is the one favored hy both the Department of Education and the Ontario Library Association. All sys- tems of classification supposedly rest on some logical basis, and yet all are more or less arbi- trary. Doubtless every possible system would have some serious defects. It is the opinion of the majority of librarians that a system that has been adopted by a large number of libraries and tested by actual every- day practice and amended year by year by ex- pert service is decidedly preferable to a new system as yet untried, however logically sound that new system may appear to 'be. Hence, the Decimal (Dewey) and the Expansive (Cutter) systems have been very widely adopted on this 72 THE GENERAL ACTIVITIES 73 continent and the Decimal system has consider- ate vogue in Europe. By the Decimal system " the field of knowledge is divided into nine main classes and these are numbered by the digits 1 to 9. 'Cyclopedias, periodicals, etc., so general in character as to belong to wo one of these classes are marked and form a tenth class. Each class is similarly separated into nine divisions, general works belonging to wo division having in the division number. Di- visions are similarly divided into nine sections and the process is repeated as often as neces- sary." Tie main classes in the Decimal system are : General Works, 1 Philosophy, 2 Religion, 3 Sociology, 4 Philology, 5 Natural Science. 6 ITseful Arts, 7 Pine Arts, 8 Literature, 9 History. One result of a carefully wrought out system is the training of the reader. He is compelled to study relationships and his mental processes become more orderly. Much more is this the ease with ithe librarian whose duty it is to 74 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY classify very carefully each book as it comes, on the logical hasis of the nature of its contents. This frequently requires considerable study of the contents of the book. Such study tends to improve the intellectual equipment of the lib- rarian, and constitutes a process in the education of the community. The more competent the librarian, the more effective becomes the library as an educative influence. As to cataloguing, the card catalogue is in vogue everywhere. Whether there be a printed catalogue or not, the card catalogue is indis- pensaWe. Its greateelt advantages are its flex- ibility and its possibility of being always com- plete. The smaller the library, the more read- ily can its completeness be secured. The card catalogue should contain author and title cards first and as rapidly as possible subject headings should be added. "The smaller the library, the more complete and analytic that catalogue should be. All the resources of the library, to the smallest and seemingly most trifling, should be made avail- able for the public. Every book should be an- alyzed; for, though the library may contain but a chapter on a certain subject, the fact should be made evident. In short, the less ma- terial you have, the more you want to exploit that little and make every bit of it available for the use of your public. If, as in a large THE GENERAL ACTIVITIES 75 liWary, you have from 20 to 100 and more entire boobs bearing on a given subject, yo\i can afford to ignore all small mention of that subject which may be found incorporated in other works. A great deal has been said about a good librarian being bet+'- ...n the best cata- logue. That is not iso. Ini Ae first place, the best librarian, iJiough she may have a marvelous, never-yet-met - with - in-my-exiperiende memory, cannot know or remember the contents of every work in the library. If she is asked for a list of titles on, let us suppose, William Dean Howells, vidll she be able to say, without con- sulting her catalogue, that articles may be f outid in Bolton's ' Famous American Authors,' page 258-285, and in Eideing's ' Boyhood of Living Authors,' page 14-85 respectively? If she is asked for some book on Constantinople, and her library contains nothing but the mention made of it in Bayard Taylor's ' Lands of the Saracen,' page 324^354, will she find the information ready on the tip of her tongue ? Will she not rather be apt to say, 'We have no book on that subject,' unless her catalogue is such as will supply her with that fact? "In the second place, the librarian is not al- ways in the library and cannot be in all parts of it at the same time. In the third place, the librarian may become ill or even die or get married before she has had time to pass on her 76 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY wonderful memory to her assistant or successor." — Miss L. E. Steams, A.L.A. Tract. The trend of opinion is against the printed catalogue, the chief objections being that it is so expensive and that it is never up to date. Be- fore it can be put through the printer's hands new books have been added, or old books lost or withdrawn On the other hand, printed lists of books on special topics, lists of new books, etc., are not only excellent means of popularizing the library, but are useful to the readers, in saving time and in encouraging further reading on this or that topic. Feee Access. When the library is stocked with books and periodicals properly classified and catalogued it must face its next prciblem : How shall the book and the reader come together most easily and effectively? In past generations the librarian was the guardian of treasures that must be ap- proached with circumspection; liberties must not be taken ; the books were more in considera- tion than the reader. The viewpoint is changed to-day ; the reader is vastly more impor- tanit than the book, and, as in a public library the readers own the books, the great problem is how to make the books most readily accessible. The answer in Canada and the United States is open access. The new library buildings, e.g., THE GENERAL ACTIVITIES 7V at Lindsay, Sarnia, Chatham, Wallaceburg, Niagara Falls, Guelph, and the Toronto branch libraries, provide for absolutely free access to the book stacks as well as to the reading-rooms. The same is true of such large libraries in the United States as Newark, N.J. A modifica- tion of free access is seen in the Toronto Reference Library Heading Room, w'here some thousands of works of reference are shelved around the walls. A similar arrangement may be seen in Buffalo and Boston Public Libraries. The great advantages of free access are the saving of time of both reader and libriarian, the satisfaction to the reader of being able to browse among the books at will, the introduction to the reader of many books he would otherwise have never seen and the consequent encourage- ment to read more widely and more thought- fully. It is urged against the system that readers continually misplace books and so create disorder on the shelves and that books may be so much more easily stolen. Experience, however, shows that the number of stolen books is not much larger, if any, than under former condi- tions and that the public can be trained to leave the books on tables or ledges so as not seriously to disarrange the shelves. Even granting some losses and some disorder, free access is without doubt the best arrangement, except where the layout of the building or certain local conditions 78 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY prevent, and even in these cases stack permits answer somewhat the same purpose. This is recognized in the Public Libraries' Act (Sec- tion 25) : " Where a Board makes a rule . . prohibiting the public (in the case of a free library) or the members of the association (in the case of any other library) from having free access to the books of the library, the rule shall not take effect until it has been approved by the Minister." PUBLIOITT. Closely akin to free access as a means of bringing a library and the public together is the employment of effective means to secure publicity. If the public library is an institution for the education and the recreation of all classes of the community, old and young, rich and poor, without distinction as to race, color, creed, social standing or educational attainmenit, the matter of publicity must be given great con- sideration. The newspapers should be used freely not only for lists of new books from time to time, but for brief accounts of some of the more important and timely volumes for selected lists on this or that topic, and for interesting paragraphs about the library and the library world. The example of Collingwood might well be followed generally. Not only do the Board publish the lists of their new books, etc.. THE GENERAL ACTIVITIES 79 but their annual report is given in full, with cuts of the Chairman and other memhers of the Board. The report of their delegates to the Ontario Library Association also finds a place in the local paper. Such publicity not only advertises the library, but it honors membership on the Board and tends to secure a type of library trustee who takes his trusteeship seri- ously. A very suggestive study of library pub- licity by Mr. Geo. E. Scroggie, Advertising- Manager of the Mail and Empire, Toronto, will be found in the proceedings of the Ontario Library Association, 1911, or Public Libraries, June, 1911. Bulletin boards, with attractive notices of new books, guides to reading on' current topics, illustrated book posters and covers, announce- ments of forthcoming books, etc., are of great service in securing the public attention. Every such evidence of life on the part of the library awakens a response in the community and begets the valuable asset, civic pride. Many things become posisilble tlo a library, w^hen this civic pride is awakened and is fostered. A succession of leaflets (one or more small pages), containing suggestive lists of books, e.g., 50 Boys' Books, 10 Books on Gardening, What to read about Airships, Out of Door's Books, Books about England, The Newest Books about Home-making, etc., can be made very useful. 80 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Their distribution should t)e made as wide as possible, e.g., by inserting them in books as they leave the library, by sending them to the schools or factories, or clubs, or lodges, or Sunday Schools, and by noting them in the newspapers. They can be made in the library by the common manifolding processes. This matter of publicity cannot easily be over-emphasized. The public must be made to know and to feel that the library belongs to them and not to the librarian or the Board and that it is at their service for education and for pleasure. The home-like atmosphere created by a librarian conscious of the high mission of the library goes very far to create this feeling of ownership on the part of the ratepayer that is essential to the best develop- ment of the library. Publicity, free access and home-likeness should characterize every library, and no library can come to its own without this triple alliance. CHAPTEE IV. THE SPECIAL ACTIVITIES OF THE LIBRARY IN RELATION TO EDUCATION On its strictly educatiye side there are certain functions the library must discharge in order to measure up to its duty. These may he consid- ered in relation to various movements, needs and institutions in the community. Technical Education. Technical Education: This has been for years the subject of study on the part of legis- lators, manufacturers, labor leaders, and educa- tors. During the past five years especially public interest has been very much aroused and commissions and associations of all kinds have been studying the^ question. The literature on the 'Subject is very extensive and reveals a general dissatisfaction with our educational system and a feeling after such adjustments and improvements as vcill meet the growing needs of the nation. The public library has a place to fill in this movement for better industrial education. Whether the library can ever succeed in organ- 6 81 82 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY izing evening classes or not is very problemati- cal. There are strong theoretical objections against attempting class work and the history of Mechanics' Institutes in Canada is very dis- couraging on this point. But the library can help, as experience shows, in supplying the artisan, who wants to know, with the books that answer his questions and open up before him new fields of knowledge and paths of oppor- tunity. In a paper prepared for a recent meeting of the Ontario Library Association by Mr. Edward F. Stevens, Librarian, Pratt Institute Free Library, this subject was dealt with very care- fully. Mr. Stevens was for three years in charge of the Applied Science Reference Room in that library and is recognized as one of the leading authorities on this question, and the bib- liograpliical material in his paper is especially valuable. One paragraph is quoted here and the whole paper is given in the appendices. "The public library, with its manifold func- tions, of course cannot directly operate as a school, nor even as a department of a school system. It is an educational institution, orig- inal, unique, distinct, and yet not separate from those institutions of learning devoted to sys- tematized teaching. The library's contribution to technical education must be by methods of its own, quite apart from the curriculum methods IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 83 of a training school, else the library becomes itself a school, and should have to be rated as such. The dissemination of knowledge by the simple distribution of books is the library's function; to make this apply to the promotion of engineering and industrial training is its newest problem. The furnishing of texts, by which men shall learn a trade, to those who have no previous knowledge of the trade will never be wholly effectual. Trades are learned in the doing and text-books and reference-books can only be supplementary to the tool and the machine. The industrial education carried on at Pratt Institute and in the technical schools now established and establishing throughout America is through the medium of shops and laboratories, and books play only a very subor- dinate part in it. Yet whereas it has hitherto been contended that 'book-learning' had nothing whatever in common with industrial eflSciency, the libraries have begun to insist in turn that books can contribute to the skill of a man's hand, and are beginning to convince manual workers that books may ibecome tools after all." A detailed study of this question so far as it applies to Ontario is found in the report of the Ontario Library Association Committee on Technical Education in Public Libraries. This report is appended, as is a masterly paper read 84 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY at this year's meeting by Mr. S. H. Kanck, Librarian, of Grand Eapids, Michigan, deal- ing with the Public Library and the Workman. Commercial and Ageicultueal EDircATioif. iCommercial and Agricultural education must be provided for in somewhat the same manner as technical education In our larger centres of population business is active and there are many employers and employed who would be glad to avail themselves of opportunities of studying tiheir line oif business, if snioh opportunities were provided. Prof. Joseph French Johnson, Dean of the School of Commerce, Accounts and Pinance of New York >University, recently informed the writer of the success attending the publication of a new series of text-books under his supervision. This series is after the fashion of the International Text Book Co. (Scranton, Pa.), technological books. The books are intended for correspondence courses and are of a very high grade. The demand for these books, dealing with all questions of business, e.g., bookkeeping, accounting, banking, transportation, etc., has been very considerable and an especially gratifying 'feature is the interest of the employers and heads of large departments. The rule seems to be, the more skilled the worker the greater his desire for more skill. The series has demonstrated the BUCKFIELD, MAINE, PUBLIC LIBRARY. A modeJ exterior and interior of a village library to cost about $2,500. IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 85 practicability of commercial education through the study of books by those who are already pos- sessed of some training. The public library should follow on this same line and appeal to men and women in business pursuits to avail themselves of the library's facilities, not only for the study of the business and financial conditions of the country or countries in which which they are doing or wish to do business, but for the better training of themselves and their employees in business technique. The same may be said of agricultural educa- tion. Thanks to the system of agricultural education in Ontario centering in the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, and radiating throughout the province through the system of Farmers' Institutes, Woman's Institutes, agri- cultural education in selected high schools and the short courses connected therewith, farmers' excursions to the Ontario Agricultural College, issuing of bulletins, etc., an increasing ntimber of farmers are being interested in the scientific side of their work. This activity of the Depart- ment of Agriculture is supplemented by the agricultural journals which circulate very exten- sively in Ontario. Wot only the farmer, but his wife and family, are being more and more interested in what others are doing and in what can be done by improved methods and careful study. 86 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Here lies a great opportunity for the public library, especially in the small places. The Public Libraries' Act anticipated in 1897 the possiblities in this direction by these two clauses : " 16. Every Farmers' Institute or Woman's Institute may affiliate with any public library on terms to be agreed upon with the board, and in the event of such affiliation every mem- ber of such Farmers' Institute or Woman's Institute shall be entitled to use the library on the same terms as residents of the municipality in which the library is situated. " 14. Any municipality or school section contiguous or near to a city, town, village, or township, in which a public library is situated, may enter into an agreement with the board for the use of such library and for such representa- tion on the board as may be deemed expedient." These clauses not only make it possible for the Farmers' Institute and the Woman's Insti- tute to join forces with the public library, but suggest a method by which financial aid may be secured. The township may make a grant (see also Municipal Act, 55 Vic. c. 42, s. 479 (9) part) to the library of its own or an adjoin- ing municipality and this grant might well be used largely for the purposes of agricultural education. There is an abundance of literature, a large amount of the best of it being sent free IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 87 in the form of bulletins, not only from the Ontario and Dominion Governments, but from other provinces and the United States, and these bulletins should be catalogued and made avail- able for constant use. In the selection of books and periodicals skilled assistance can be secured from the Department of Agriculture, and local conditions as to soil, crops, transportation, etc., must receive careful consideration. The study of publicity must obtain here as in the other departments of the library, and will be rewarded by the increase of the library's value to the community. Mtjsicai, Education'. Musical Education. The Boston Public Lib- rary possesses one of the finest collections of music in the world through the generous interest of one man, who not only presented a very com- prehensive collection of music beautifully boTind, but who keeps constantly adding to it. The whole collection is available through a card index and is in constant use. Similar collections are found in Providence, ISfewark and other libraries. The average public library can do something in this department. It can at least have a good musical dictionary, a few of the best works on musical technique, a history of music and the lives of some of the great musicians. Louisa 88 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY M. Hooper's Selected List of Music and Books about Music for Public Libraries (A.L.A. Pub- lishing Board, 25 cents) could be available to all inquirers. If it has funds, it could provide either bound or in sheet form, some of the prin- cipal works of the leading composers. It could without any expense provide annually the calen- dars of the principal conservatories of music througfhouft the world, and itlhe catalogues of the leading dealers in music and musical instru- ments and merchandise. In every community there is a large and growing section who are interested in music, either as situdents or music lovers. The library should minister to their needs and do its share in the elevation of the musical taste of the community. It is altogether probable ithlat if the music teachers and music lovers of the commimity (and this applies especially to towns ajid sm^all cities) were carefully caird-indexed by the librarian, and specially niotified from time to time oni the arrival of new books, calendars or cataloguesi, tihey would respond by a constant use of the library and a grateful appreciation of its service's, and possibly in a more tangible form by presentaitiom from time to time of music and musical litenature. The library might in this way acquire in a few years a large amount of music 'and musical literaiture at almost no cost, especially if the library made this material IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 89 availaWe to all by careful card-indexing and by preservation, either by binding or in pamphlet cases or some other satisfactory fashion. Aet Edtjcation. Art Education. Similarly the public library has a duty in the education of the community in art. Histories of art, guides to the under- standing of pictures, buildings, statuary, etc., catalogues of art exhibitions and of some of the world's great galleries, (see pp. 91-92) calendars of leading art schools, biographies of the world's leaders in art, ought to find a place in the library shelves. Expert assistance can be had here in the selection of books as in every other department and is especially needed in this section. A few good reproductions of great pictures, biiildings and statues should be on the walls of the library. These should be very carefully chosen, but fortunately they need not be very expensive. Volumes of photographic reproduc- tions of the works of the great masters can be added as funds permit. Picture exhibitions can be arranged in the larger libraries, and in the smaller libraries exhibitions of the Copley prints, for example, might be undertaken. The New York State Library provides travelling pic- ture collectionB, sent on application to amy iib- rairy, and MJaissiajdhujseltts has a system of inter- 90 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY loaning trf picture dolleotions among a league of libraries'. MoGill University ibas also a sciheme of travelling picture collections, and doubtless the Department of Education of Ontario will add this to its library activities. In relation ito arts and crafts the public lib- rary can be very useful. In addition to its books in this department, many methods can be devised to assist the worker and to develop the public taste. For example, in the Provi- dence Public Library there is a large collection of pictures gathered for the purpose of illus- trating floral design from books, magazines, seed catalogues, etc. As floral design is common in jewelry, and jewelry is one 'cf tShe principal indusifcries of that city and district, the value of such a oollectiton is quite apparent. In l^ewark a fine collection of saonples of printing was rec- ently exhibited, and in Toronto a few months ago there was an exhibition of book bindings. Each library must consult its own resources and the nature of its community before making picture collections or undertaking such exhibi- tions, but as no very great expense is involved in either undertaking, there seems to be no reason why many of our libraries should not do liheir duty in this matter of art education. There are now some 75 public library buildings in this province and the recognition in these oeDJtreis of their duty in this regard and some IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 91 systematic effort to meet it will mean a very considerable elevation of tlie art standards of Ontario and a decided improvement in our arts and crafts. The following list of catalogues will be found useful. These catalogues are prepared with great care and are consequently authoritative. The .annotations and illustrations really make these catalogues small art encyclopedias. They are inexpensive and can be had on application to the galleries named. In many cases doubtless they would be sent free. They should be bound and their contents made available through a card index, as soon as possible. National Gallery (Foreign Schools), Lon- don, 6d., annotated. National Portrait Gallery, Londoni, 6d., anno- tated. National Gallery of British Art, London, 6d., annotated. Wallace Collection, Manchester Square, Lon- dom, (a) Pictures, (b) Works' of Art, 6d. eacih, annotated. ■South Kensington Museum Catalogues (var- ous subjects). South Kensington, London, S.W., Id. and upwards, annoltated. [British Museum Catalogues (various sub- jects), London 6d. and Is. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Bir- mingham, 6d., annotated and illustrated. 92 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Walker Ant Galery, Liverpool, Is., aimoitjated and illustrated. National Gallery, Edinburgh, Is., annotated and illustrated. Scottish ISTationial Portrait GaUei-y, Edin- burgh, Is., annotated and illustrated. Glasgow Art Gallery, Museum, Glasgow, Is., annotated and illustrated. Royal Museum, Amsterdam, 50c., annotated and illustrated. Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 50c., annotated and illustrajted. Buffalo Albright Art Gallery (Catalogues), Buffalo, free, annotated and illustrated. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 20c., annotated. Catalogues of exhibitions, e.g., Art Museum, Toronto, 1909, Exhibition Loan collection, English and Foreign Painters, 25c., are very valuable, especially in their location of the best pictures in the country. Catalogues of m^akers and dealers in lantern- slides would add materially to the valiie of this section of the library. Some of lihe leading firms are: E. G. Wood, 2 Queen St., Cheap- side, London, E.G. ; ]S"ewton & Co., 3 Fleet St., Temple Bar, London, E.C. ; Wm. H. Ray, De Long Building, Chestnut and 13th St., Philadelphia, Pa. ; Levy et ses Fils, 44 Rue Letellier, Paris, France; Wilson Bros., Looh Head House, Aberdeen, Scotland. IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 93 Domestic Education. Domestic Education. Let this term stand for all that applies to the home, its furnishing and maintenance and health. The homes of a com- munity are the sources of its life. The im- provement or the degeneration of the community depends upon the condition of the home life, and this applies not only to the physical and the moral, but equally to the intellectual. What- ever ministers to the health, the comfort and the intelligence of the people through the home is of greatest importance. The public library can be an effective instrument in all these direc- tions. By its books on hygiene and sanitation, on the arohiteciture of various types of homes, on furnishings, on cooking and on domestic economy generally, it can play a part in the uplifting of the standard in these matters. The very fact that there are books in the library on these subjects will quicken the intelligence of many who had not previously thoug'ht that such miatters were treated in 'books. The energetic anid tactful librarian may make good friends for the library through this departmenlt. Political Education-. There are other special interests in the com- munity which the public library may serve. For example, the student of politics, municipal 94 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY or national, ought to find in the piiblic library itihe municipal reports of his town or city, care- fully fyled and available for use and the public documents of his province and of the Dominion of Canada. These are sent regularly to the library by the provincial and federal authorities and should be made to serve their purpose. The statutes, provincial and federal, and the journals of parliament should also be on the shelves of the library. Sets of these public documents can be made up in many ooonmunities' by dona'tions from the local members and justices of the peace. All such donations should be accepted, as duplicates can be exchanged for missing vol- umes. The posisessioa of such material is an incenitive to you'ng men entering the field of public life to give some serious study to first hand authorities and is a contribution to that independence of judgment vrhich every nation needs. Fyles of the local papers and of one or two dailies should be kept. Every librarian of experience knows the practical value of such fyles, especially to lawyers and students of poli- tics. Exhibitions such as the recent exhibition in the Toronto Keference Library of political posters used in the recent election in Great Britain are of great educational value and serve to attract many people to the library who do not usually frequent its precincts. IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 95 Medical and Legal Edttcatiok. Medical and legal books are usually provided by the members of these professions for them- selves and the county law libraries are placed in the court house. But sometimes, as in Sarnia, the medical library finds a home in one of the rooms of the public library and consti- tutes another tie to bind the library and the community together. The attention of the medical men in the community might be called to the annual additions to the library of the Toronto Academy of Medicine, as given each year in Part I. of the O. L. A. Selected List of Books. Teachees'' Institutes. Affiliation with the Teachers' Institute of the inspectorate is provided for by the following clause in the Public Libraries Act. 15. " Thie iteacihieirs' institute of any inlspecf- torate in which a public library is situate may place the books held by such institute in the custody of the board, and on so doing shall be entitled to appoint one member of the board, and in such cases every member of such teachers' institute shall be entitled to use the public library on the same terms as residents of the municipality in whicth the libra'ry is situ'ate." Tliere are several advamitages in such affilia- tion, (a) it brings the body of the teadhers into 96 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY closer touch with the public library, its benefits and its needs, (&) it places the collection of books on education at the disposal of the public, (c) it makes these books much more readily accessible to the teachers than they could be in any other way, (J) it adds to the public library board a member who possesses considerable literary and educational qualifications. Local Clubs and Societies. The public library may also provide facilities for historical societies, women's clubs, study clubs, athletic organizations, etc. This work is being done in such centres as Berlin, Lindsay, and elsewhere. It may provide for a museum, as in Brantford. Donations and loans rapidly accumulate, when once the community knows a safe place is providied and the colleetionis are made available to the public. Brantford is a notable example of this. Travelling Libraeies. The library may also serve as a centre for the distribution of travelling libraries. The De- partment of Education has now some 8,000 volumes made up into 200 travelling libraries. While these are intended primarily for the smaller places, any library may have one sent on request, the cost being only the express charges. Study clubs may request through their local library special libraries on their special JN RELATION TO EDUCATION 97 line of study. This places the resources of the Department of Education at the disposal of the study clubs and relieves them and the local library of the expense of books for which the local demand would be very little after the study clubs had moved on to their next topic. Here is an especially fine opportunity for the public library to minister to the intellectual growth of its community, and this same iise of special travelMng libraries may be extended through the local public library to individuals pursuing a course of study, e.g., teachers or ministers proceeding to a degree, or doing post- graduate work. Leotitee Kooms in the LiBeaet. The library should possess a lecture room of some kind, either in the basement or on the second floor. St. Catharines and Ottawa have such rooms upstairs, and Guelph, St. Thomas, Windsor, Collingwood and other centres have provided excellent lecture roioms in the base- ment. A good lecture room greatly increases the power of the library to come into touch with the wihoie' community. Lecture douTses, debat- ing societies, library institutes, and all such in- telleotual -activities, find themselves in a con- genial atmosphere in library buildings. A good lantern would fur'ther increase the usefulness of such rooms. An active library board can do a great deal through the lecture room to add to 7 98 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY the library's effectiveness as an educational fac- tor. The Libeaet and the School. The relation of the public library to the school has been the theme of a vast amount of discussion. Parts of our educational ma- chinery, they should work in harmony and should duplicate effort and expense as little as possible. The average community has neither money nor energy to waste in any unnecessary duplication. A summary may be given of sev- eral plans that have stood the test of experience. (a) Send the school to the library. (1) The teacher announces a subject for composition and tells the class to ask at the public library for the books on the subject. (2) The iteacher may request every member of the class to be provided with tickets at the library and then from time to time request the class to provide themselves with books from the library on some special subject, e.g., Canadian poetry or biography. The teacher spends a few lessons on the books, noting how they should be read, their chief characteristics, etc. This method has been found very satisfaiotory with high sdhodl' pupils. (3) The teacher may announce a topic, e.g., in history or in geography, and ask the class to find the names of any books or magazine articles dealing with the subject and to quote a para- graph from any one of them. IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 99 (6) Send Ulie library ta the sdhiool. This is the plan in BufPaliO'. The annual grants for school libraries are paid to the library board, and the board undertakes to provide libraries for the schools. 40 schools, distributed through- out the city, were supplied in 1910 by the Buffalo Public Library. 40,000 volumes are in use for this purpose and from this stock a small library is placed in every room of the 40 schools and books are daily sent to each school in re- sponse to requests or to keep the libraries fresh. The circulation in the schools of that city in 1909 was over 400,000. Clevel'amd, Pittsburgh and otiher Aimerican cities are working in similar fashion and St. Thomas has for some years done excellent work of this kind. The "Catalogue of Books, anno- tated and arranged and provided by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for the use of the first eight grades in the Pittsburgh schools," 1907, is a volume of 330 pages and is the most com- plete catalogue of its kind yet issued, and is invaluable to both teachers and librarians. The Principals' ■*■ Association of Pittsburgh express their estimate of its value as follows : " This catalogue of books for children is especially appreciated by the school workers, because it indioates definitely anid fully the literature so essential in the development of intelligence, character and general culture. The careful grading of the books listed, the com- 100 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY plete annotation for ready and convenient refer- ence, and withal, the high character of the reading matter recommended for the several grades, make this publication the most valu- able schoolroom guide. A copy of it should be found on every teacher's desk, and from its proper use should be developed the habit and inclination on the part of the pupils to read the books of genuine worth in elementary educa- tion." (c) Instruct the school in the use of the library. A librarian of Western Ontario, by arrangement with the teachers, visited the schools, room by room, explained the purposes and mel^hods of the library, and gave a cordial invitation to all the pupils to come to the library, use it freely and feel that it was theirs to use and enjoy. Occasional talks on the use of the catalogue, new books or books on selected topics, and use of reference books could well follow up. Such visits and, as a matter of fact, such talks are being given in some librar- ies, e.g. in London, Ontario, and in some of the American cities. Lists of new books, or books in the library on topics of special in- terest, may be sent to the schools from time to time and special invitations and privileges oilered to the teachers. (cZ) Provide a reference and study room in the library, especially for teachers and pupils. This is done in Pittsburgh and in Newark, wiith IN RELATION TO EDUCATION 101 a trained attendant in charge. Such an at- tendant might also have charge of the Story Hour (see page 69). It is unnecessary to dwell on the value of such aid from the library to the school. (e) Provide an illustrative picture collection. The most extensive collection of pictures of this kind is in the Newark Public Library. The pictures are gathered from every possible source, either placed in large manilla wrappers or mounted, the name written on the wrapper or the mount, and fyled alphabetically. New- ark has 15,000 mounted and 85,000 unmounted pictures. There are frequently many copies of one picture and many pictures to illustrate one subject. For example, on or about the birthday of Lincoln, newspapers, magazines, catalogues, etc., contain many Lincoln pictures, not only of the man himself, at different periods of his life, but of his homes, and relatives and sur- roundings, and of people associated with him, and incidents in his career. These are cut from the papers and magazines and fyled for reference as needed. A year later the library can begin to meet the schools' demand for illus- trative material on this topic and each year the collection is increased till it meets all demands. Publishers' announcements are full of material of this kind, and for the teaching of history and geiograp'hy the annoumeements of eJducational publishersi are especially useful. 102 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Announcements of new novels frequently con- tain the author's picture; the Saturday illus- trated supplements of our daily papers are fuU of suitable material; duplicate and womout volumes add their share, and with the expendi- ture of oonisiderable time and labor, but of very little money, any public library can collect a store of pictures that will illustrate almost any topic a teacher wishes to take up in class. History, geography and literature are especially adapted for the use of such illustrative material. (/) Co-operate in the buying of books. It would seem very unwise for the school and the public library to duplicate their oolledtions. If the purchasing committees in each case would exchange lisits of seleotionis or pujdti'ases', it would save waste, especially by avoiding dupli- cation of expensive books. There are so many exceedingly desirable books, and so few dollars at the disposal of each committee, that co-opera- tion seems the only wise course. Other methods are being continually worked out for the co-operation of the library and the school, but the main factors are the clear recog- nition by the authorities of both institutions, that they are supplementary parts of our educa- tional system and a real desire to work harmon- iously in the promotion) of popul'air eduoation. Methods can be readily found, if these two factors are present. CHAPTER V. SOME ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS OF THE LIBRARY The fulfilment of the mission of the public library in 'any adequate fashion can be possible only through the co-operation of several factors : (a) a board interested and open-minded; (&) well managed finances; (c) suitable rooms or buildings; (d) an efficient librarian ; (e) proper government aid and supervision ; (/) an enlight- ened and active public interest. It is not easy to secure such co-operation, but it may be noted that each one of these agencies helps to secure the other, e.g., a good board means sooner or later a good librarian, and a good librarian helps to develop an active public interest. LlBEAET BOABDS. In Ontario the administration of the public library is provided for by the Public Libraries' Act. In the case of libraries not free, the Board of Management " shall be composed of not less than five, nor more than nine persons," elected by the members of the Association, on the second Monday of January in each year. 103 104 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY In the case of free libraries the Public Library Board " shall be composed of the Mayor of the city or town, or the Eeeve of the village or township, and three other persons to be ap- pointed by the Council, three by the public school board, or the board of education of the municipality and two by the separate school board, if any." These appointments are good for three years, except the separate school repre- sentatives, who have a term of two years, and an " appointing " body oanmot select one of its own members. The aim of the statute, especially in the case of free libraries, is evidently to secure repre- sentative citizens and to provide for continuity of office. The actual working out of the statute someitimee results in good appointmemts, some- times the reverse. Whether it would be better to constitute the Public Library Board by elec- tion, as in the case of council, or partly by election and partly by appointment, as in the case of boards of education, is a debatable ques- tion. In any case the Ontario law provides amply for the administration of the library interests of a municipality by a body of trustees repre- sentative of the community. Just as the council manages the general affairs of the corporation in respect to roads, sidewalks, lighting, police and fire protection, etc., and the Board of Edu- ESSENTIALS fJV THE SUCCESS 105 e;ilioii in respect to the schools, and the Board of Plealth in respect to the safety of the public liealth, so the Library Board manages the librairy laffairs of tihe corporation. Council, Boiami of Ediuoation, Board of Heialth and Public Library Board are quite distinct from each other in their jurisdiction, and may not trespass upon each other's duties and privileges, and yet each is a trustee board for the whole corporation. The Library Board alone, is em- powered to " procure, erect or rent the neces- sary buildings for the purposes of the library and the reading room, and for all other purposes authorized by this Act," and to perform any other necessary duties in establishing and main- taining a library and reading room. Hence a seat at the Library Board is one of dignity and importance. The responsibility for the management of the library affairs of the community is very conside'rable and should attract the best classes of citizens. Finances. The chief sources of the funds of the public library have been (a) local taxation, if library is free, or members' fees, if library is not free ; (6) legislative grants ; (c) miscellaneous, includ- ing fine?, sale of periodicals, concerts and other entertainmnts. For many of our libraries these sources are very inadequate, and additions 106 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY must be souglit elsewhere. Two possibilities are open, further legislative aid, and aid from the municipal counci'lis. It is quite possibla that the legislature may make grants for mainten- ance to the smaller libraries and a little aid in this direction would be very useful. The sup- plying of travelling libraries is also a consider- able measure of assistance, relieving the local funds in the matter of purchase of books. Some of the county councils have for years made grants of $25 to $50 to each of the libraries in the county. There seems to be a possibility that this good custom may extend, and it has been proposed to make these grants compulsory. Village and township councils should also make grants to the libraries within their jurisdiction. If these additions to the revenues of the library become general, a brighter day will have davened for the libraries of the province. In the ma-tter of expenditure, though little need be said, a few suggesti'onB may not be out of pla^je. A budget should be prepared early in the year, showing in detail the estimated re- ceipts and expenditures. The appropriation for books and periodicals should be then gone over and carefully assigned, so as to cover the different needs of the library. TTnless this is done, the probabilities are that some depart- ments will receive more than their share, and ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 107 some will be completely neglected. As the activities of the library are so many sided, it is very unfortunate if some departments are starved through the neglect of the librarian or the book committee. Then, at leajst onoe a quarter the expenditures for books and periodi- cals should be checked, so as to make sure the appropriation for the year is actually spent. The penality for laxity here is financial loss, inasmuch as the government grant is half of what the local library spends for its books and periodicals, up to a fixed amount. It seeans a pity that libraries should have to pay this penalty for their remissness', but such has been the case. Co-operative book buying, i.e., a number of small libraries joining with a larger one in their purchases, can effect considerable reduc- tions. Samia and several of the smaller libraries in Lambton are doing this, especially in fiction. The purchase of publishers' re- mainders often provides the library with the best books of travel, biography, history, and general literature at greatly reduced rates. The purclhase of books that may have a large circulation, e.g., juveniles, in special library binding, is an economy, though the first cost is slightly greater. The secondhand bookseller might receive some patronage, for all the funds should not go to the purchase of current books, 108 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY and standard books can usiially be bought at large reductions in the secondhand book shops. By such careful methods the funds can be made to go farther than is usually the case. Public Libeaet Btjildiwgs. For the carrying ouit of the functions of the public library, buildings must be properly planned and equipped. Large sums of money have been wasted in buildings, badly laid out, over decorated and, in general, not suited to their purpose. Not much need be said here about buildings, but some of the lessons of ex- perience may be summarized, the smaller lib- rary costing from $10,000 to $25,000 being especially in mind. Such a library should be a one-roomed building, as spacious as possible, with bookcases all around the walls and a fire- place and cosy comer somewhere to give a toudh of homelikenees, and the librarian's desk to give another touch of the same kind. The room could be separated, if need be, into sec- tions by low railings and should be equipped with plain, but ^tlhorougUy beautiful furniture, such as quarter-cut oak, and the floor should be covered with cork matting or something equally quiet and sanitary. There should be a few good pictures on the walls. The basement should be high and dry with the furnace and other neces- LINDSAY, ONT., PUBLIC LIBRARY. $13,500. FRONT VIEW. OlBRARV AT ItllVOSAY pLJtN or cfouND rLoojt MAIN FLOOR PLAN. Constructed with idea of perfect supervision from delivery desk and complete open access. Radial stack. Only one entrance to building, the front door. ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 109 sary apparatus in one corner, and the rest of the space used for a club room of some kind, and a lecture room to hold say, a couple of hundred people. The exterior architecture should be very simple and yet chaste in design. Buildings of this type are being erected in Ontario and elsewhere, and a new $50,000 branch library, built after this fashion, was recently opened in Philadelphia. There is now no excuse for library boards or architects to spend money in perpetuating mistakes that have been discovered and remedied. The essen- tial qualities to be aimed at are simplicity, oonvenience, facility and econioany of adminis- tration. Several cuts of library plans and exteriors are given by way of illustration. The LiBEARIAlT. The mainspring of the whole system is the librarian. An efficient librarian can do more with a thousand books in unfavorable quarters than a poor librarian with ten thousand in a thoroughly satisfactory building. Efficiency here does not mean knowledge of books and skill in library methods alone ; it implies a right spirit; a spirit of service, of tact, of open- minded alertness, of zeal and of sympathy. Given a librarian of that spirit, trained in some adequate fashion and the public library be- comes not only the handmaid of the schools, 110 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY but it becomes in a very true sense " the people's university." It not only meets tbe wants which the community now feels, but re- veals to it new wants to be supplied. Only with a trained librarian can the library fulfil its general mission or undertake its special duties in relation to technical, art, music, domes- tic and q.ther kindsi of educatdion. The Training of the Libeaeian. The training of the librarian is a fundamenital question. The beautiful library building, well equipped, well stocked with books and maga- zines, generously supported by the municipality, in charge of an unskilled, untrained librarian means only a fraction of efficiency. An un- skilled cook in the midsit of plenty produces poor diet and waste and general discomfort; a rich farm in the hands of a poor farmer means loss and ruin; a good library under an ineffi- cient librarian spells neglected opportunity and a great failure to meet the needs of the com- munity. This is too general a condition in Ontario. We have good legislation, good muni- cipal support and good buildings in many cases ; there are large numbers of men and women of culture on our Library B'oards ; the crying need now is for trained librarians. Public opinion declares that no ore can ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 111 enter the ranks of dentistry, law, medicine or teacihing without long and careful training and a government diploma. But anyhody at all can take the people's money and with it provide them and their children with reading, good, bad and indiffefremt. This seems to he an un- justifiaihle oonditi'on. The tremendoruis force of books for good and evil, especially in the case of children and young people, is generally recog- nized, and surely those who spend the public money in this way ought to be directed by some- one who can choose right books and avoid the dangeroiis and the trashy. Surely, too, someone should be in charge of the books, who can place their contents at our disposal, inviting us effec- tively to oome and know the riohes of the library and directing us wisely in our search for what we wish to know. Wlisdom in the cihoiee 'and help in the use of books may rightly be de- manded of a librarian by the public who piays the bills of the library. But how should the libra- rian be trained without a school for training? There have been training schools of various kinds in Ontario for many years, rendering excellent service, and it has been apparent for years that there should be a similar institution in our library work ? The McGill University Slimmer School demomstrated the place such a sdhool could fill. It has just completed its sixth year, and has drawn students from lailmost every 112 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY province, and has been of great value to library work in Canada. Some arrangement for library training was absolutely necessary for this province. The course of training at such a library school must be 'tihoroughly practical, and yet as comprehensive as possible, but for the present the course must be brief, say four to six weeks. The outline of work to be covered might be something as follows : Selection of books: (a) Study of general literature. (&) Study of current literature. (c) Study of local needs of various com- munities. (d) Study of guides to the selection of books. (e) Psychology of reading. Purchase of books: (a) Canadian, British and American pu'blisihers and booksdHers. (b) Methods of purchase. Preparation of books far distribution: (a) Accessioning. (6) Classification. (c) Cataloguing. ((f) Labelling. (e) Publicity by bulletins, newspaper and other announcements. ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 113 Binding and repairing. Ciiarging syistemsi. Use of reference books. OMldrem's bcoks. Magazines and periodicals — selection and use. The library's usefulness in its community. In sucih a "brief course the AW>rk must neces- sarily be elementary, but it could be on right lines land such as to lead to more advanced -work at a later date. Such an elementary course must be of immense advantage to our libraries and will so increase their efficiency that the whole library movement in Ontario will make a most decided advance. The province is spending about $5,000 a year to provide agriculltuTia] training for its public school teachers in ad- dition to scores of thousands for their profes- sional training in the normal and model schools. It is mot too much to request a few hundreds of dollars for the training of those who serve the public in our libraries. For let it never be for- gotten the public library is the one institution that ministers to the whole community without distinction as to age, sex, race, creed or position ; it is the college of all the people and ought to be administered for everybody in the very best possible way, so as to make tlhe miost of ©very dollar of the people's money. Another kind of training might be provided 114 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY for those smaller libraries, which could not afford to send tbedr librarians' to attend >a siim- mer school. The Minister of Education might establish a reading course on library science, covering the most essential parts of the summer school course and prescribing good text books. Examinations could be provided at suitable times and certificates granted. ISTo doubt such a reading course vrould appeal to a good many, especially in rural communities. As an inducement to librarians to avail them- selves of the offered training, it might be ad- visable to make a small extra grant for a certifi- cated librarian. This would be in line with the distribution of other grants, not only in our province but elsewhere. A small grant of this kind is a great encouragement to wide-awake boards and a stimulus 'bo the lethargic. There are a great many men and women of oulture in Ontiario on our library boards anxious to be led into better service for the community, and the providing of this elementary library train- ing and a small pecuniary recognition of the libraries that take advantage of it would work very great results. A glance at our American neighbors will show how far ahead of us they are. Such states as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Iowa have for years provided a summer course of four to eight weeks, in most cases as one of the ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 115 courses at the State University Summer School. Illinois provides in her State University for a four years' course, leading to the degree of Bachelor of Library Science. iN'ew York State has a very fine library school in connection with the State Library, and admits to the scihool only students who have a degree in Arts. Pratt Institute Free Library, Brooldyn, IT.Y., and Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, have good library schools, and there are other library schools in various states. The view of the Inspector of Public Libraries (1909 report), is added: " The vital need for competent librarians in the furtherance of library work, the foundations of which have been well laid by the Govern- ment, the Legislature and Ontario Library As- sociation, were never more speakingly demon- strated than in the conditions, in this respect, th'at to-day confront us. As these tihreaten the life of the public library, every librarian stirred with a desire for progress and personal better- ment — -whether a competent or incompetent — should welcome any opportunity that spells improvement. These comments are made in kindness, the object being to arouse the incon- sequent librarian and casual library board to a sense of their respective responsibilities." The holding of the first library school in 116 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Ontario this summer, June 14t]i to July 12th, after years of anticipation, was an event of great importance in the library development of the province. Some thirty students took the course, which was given in the iN^ormal School building, under the direction of the Inspector of Public Libraries. The Department of Edu- cation paid all the expenses of the school, includ- ing the travelling expenses of the students and the cost of books, stationery, etc., required. In- asmuch as the Public Libraries' Act provides for this school, and a good beginning has been thus made, it may be confidently expected that its progress will be continued until every library in the province is affected by it. Legislative Assistance and Supebvision. As to government aid and supervision, much might be said. The history of the library move- ment in this province reveals distinctly the pro- vision by the legislature of generous amounts for library purposes, and an appalling waste of a large portion of these grants. Probably no legislature ever surpassed thait of OiDtario in generous appropriations, and yet for lack of supervision and proper regulation many thou- sands of dollars were squandered. The diver- sion of a portion of the grant far purposes of more adequate supervision would have im- ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS HT mensely benefited the whole of the public library system. The situation to-day is greatly improved, and the attitude of the library authorities of the province is wholly sympathetic to the best de- velopment of the library system. The difficulty at present is the inadequacy of the staff of the Inspector of Public Libraries to cope with the multifarious duties of the office. Some idea of these duties may be had from studying the list given by the Inspector in pages 333-4 of the Minister of Education's Eeport for 1909. The list occupies nearly two pages, and enumerates 30 duties. A few of them are here noted : " Inspection of Libraries. " Tabulating the Public Libraries' Annual report. " The apportionment of the Legislative grants for Public Libraries, Historical Societies, etc. " Arranging for and attending Library Insti- tutes, and the disbursement of money to pay the expenses of same. " The correspondence of the office. " Preparing Annotated Catalogues and Find- ing Lists of 8,000 books, comprising Travelling Libraries, classified under the Dewey-Decimal system. " Eeceiving and recording applications for the circulation of nearly 200 Travelling Library cases. 118 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY " The work of re-binding and repairing damaged volumes. " The selection and purchase of books for Travelling Libraries and special technological collections. " Preparing ' special cases,' suitable for Juveniles, Woman's and Farmers' Institutes and for Libraries in industrial centres, calling for Technological collections. " Arranging for the writing and publication of the books comprising the ' Canadian Heroes Series.' " The steps to be taken for the salvation of email and decadent libraries, eniaiiing the study of how to revive the quick and resuscitate lie dead. " Active encouragement and instruction in establishing Children's Departments in local libraries, with the proper classifying and cata- loguing of children's books. " The encouragement of all incompetent librarians to qualify for the proper discharge of their duties, which can only be brought about by a true appreciation of the high responsi- bilities, the great opportunities and the honour- able character of their calling. " The devising of some plan, acceptable to the Minister of Education, for opening a summer school for librarians in the Province of Ontario. ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 119 " The encouragement of Study Clubs." The adequiate stJaffing of lihe Inspector's De- partment will be one of the most important steps in the library history of Ontario, and will go far towiaride bringing to efficiency scores of our smaller or backward libraries, and will give an impetus to lall the libraries of the province. Public Sentimeitt: Libeart Oeganization. The greatest possible aid to all these, agencies is an enlightened and active public sentiment. Nothing can permanently stand before the on- ward sweep of public opinion. Suitable build- ings, trained librarians, adequate government aid and ' inspection, must come in response to public demand. History is full of examples of the power of the voice of the people, and un- qu«9tionalMy the duty of every library worker is to cj^eate and develop popular favor for lihe library, utilizing, for example, systematic, attractive and continuous advertising to ensure the vsddest publicity for its work and needs. Herein is found the value of organization. No one library or library worker, not even the best provincial library officer, can create and mould the public sentiment in any large degree. But the combining of the forces of all interested in the library movement means power to ac- 120 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY eomplish results. This is the hasis of the Ontario Library Association, whose story may be told briefly. The first meeting to discuss such an association was held in Montreal, at the office of Mr. Gould, librarian, of McGill Uni- versity, on the occasion of the meeting of the American Library Association in Montreal in June, 1900. Those present at the meeting were : Mr. James Bain, Toronto ; Mr. H. J. T. Lee, Toronto ; Mr. C. H. Gould, Montreal ; Mr. McLachlan, Montreal; Mr. R. J. Blackwell, London; Mr. E. A. Geiger, Brockville; Miss Brock, Montreal; Miss Fairbaim, Montreal; Mr. E. A. Har*dy, Lindsay. The unanimous opinion was that an organization should be formed and a committee consisting of Messrs. Bain (Chairman) ; Hardy (Secretary) ; Gould, Blackwell and Lanoefield, was appointed to pro- ceed with the organization. The committee met in the Toronto Public Library, October 19th, 1900, and drafted a constitution, selected provisional officers and planned for the first annual meeting for Easter Monday and Tues- day, 1901. The organization thus laundhed has gone on steadily increasing in usefulness and extent during all the following years. The purpose of 1)he proposed association was set forth in a paper by the Secretary, on " An Outline Programme of the Work of the O.L.A." ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 121 This was publislied in full in " Public Libraries," July, 1901, and treated the subject under the following heads: I. Assistance to Libraries: (1) In the selection of books by quarterly bulletins and special bibliographies, etc. (2) In the introduction of modern library methods, e.g., charging systems, bind- ing, book shelving, etc. (3) In classification and cataloguing, by scientific classification and catalogu- ing. (4) In the training of librarians, by a library school, study courses, etc. (5) In the use and collection of periodi- cals. (6) In co-operation, e.g., interloans and selections of sets to prevent duplica- tion. (7) In the matter of public documents. II. Assistance to General Public: (l)i By stimulating general interest in public libraries. (2) By issuing special bibliographies, e.g. on' Tedhnioal Education. (3) By publishing a Canadian biblio- graphy. (4) In regard to local history. 122 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY III. Assistance to schools. IV. Assistance to Sunday School Libraries. At the firsit meeting thirty delegates regis- teired represeoi'ting twenty-five li'bparies, while in 1910 iseventy delegattes were registered repre- senting about sixty libraries, and during the years 1909-1911, the Association, through the Public Library Institutes touched almost two- thirds of the libraries really alive in Ontario. Workers have come to know each other all over the pnovince instead of working in isolation, indifference has given place to interest and self- complacency to open-mindedness, new sources of income have been tapped, buildings wisely planned and legislation shaped through the work of the Association. The old systems (or lax;k of system) of classification have given place to modern methods, and so mth charging systems and other library methods. Growing out of the activity of the Ontario Library Association there has developed a sys- tem of Public Library Institutes. These are modelled after the teachers' insititutes and ajre especially for the benefit of smaller and back- ward libraries. The first Library Institute was held in Brantford, in 1907, three were held in 1908, at BrantfoT'd, Chatham and Niagara Palls, eleven during the year 1909-1910 and twelve in 1910-1911, covering aill the province ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 123 but the northern sections. The current year finds even these remote libraries cared for. A report of these institutes is appended, and it may be added that these meetings are among the important and encouraging factors in library progress. Another form of library organization is the library journal. Coming monthly with its hairvest of news from the field, with its word of inspiration or of rdbuke, Uhe journal finds its way to many a worker and makes him ifhe better for its coming. The Library Journal, !N'ew York ($4), Public Libraries, Chicago ($1), Library Work, Minneapolis (quarterly, 50c.), are very valualble aids, indispensable to the progress of our libraries, and eimiilair journals are published in Great Britain, e.g.. The Library Association Eecord, 12s. ; The Library Assistant, 4s,. ; and The Library World, 6s. 6d. Here the story must rest. The public library everywhere is one of the educational institutions of the community; in Ontario it is more than that, it has been an integral part of our educa- tional system for a generation. Its possibilities are only now being a-ecognized by our legislative and educational authorities and by the public, in fact, even by library workers themselves. But it is coming to its own, slowly at first, but gathering force and speed daily, and the near future vdll see the public library system of 124 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Ontario as eflBcient as her primary and second- ary school system. " The opening of a free public library, then, is a most important event in the history of any town. A college training is an excellent thing; but after all, the better part of every man's education is that which he gives himself, and it is for this that a good library should furnish the opportunity and the means. I have some- times thought that our public schools undertook to teach too much, and that the older system, which taught merely lihe three E's, and taught them well, leaving natural selection to decide who should go farther, was the better. How- ever this may be, all ithat is primarily needful in order to use a library is the ability to read. I say primarily, for there must also be the inclination, and after that, some guidance in reading well. " But have you ever rightly considered what the mere ability to read means ? That it is the key which admits us to the whole world of thought and fancy and imagination; to the company of saint and sage, of the wisest and the wittiest at their wisest and wittiest moment ? That it enables us to see with the keenest eyes, hear with the finest ears, and listen to the sweetest voices of all time. More than that, it anmihilates time and space for usi; it revives for us without a miracle tihe Age of Wonder, endowing us with the shoes of swift- ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 126 ness and the cap of darkness, so that we walk invisible, like fern-seed, and witness unharmed tihe plague at Athens or Florence or London; accompany Caesar on his marches, or look in on Catiline in council with his fellow-conspira- tors, or Guy Fawkes in the cellar of Sli Stephen's. We often hear of people who will descend to any servility, submit to any insult, for the sake of getting themselves, or their children into what is euphemistically called good society. Did it ever occur to them that there is a select society of all the centuries to which they and theirs can be admitted for the asking, a society, too, which will not involve them in ruinous expense, and still more ruin- ous waste of time and health and faculties?" — James Russell Lowell. BIBLIOGEAPHY. Gexeeal. Encyclopedia Britannica, Article on Lib- raries. 9th and 11th Editions. Eugene Morel, Bibliotheques ; Essai sur le developpement des bibliotheques publiques et de la librairie dans les deux mondes. 1909. Cannons, H. G. T., Bibliography of Library Economy. 1910. J. D. Brovm, Guide to Librarianship. 1909. J. W. Clark, The Care of Books. 1909. 126 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Great BEiTAns". Kirkwood, An Overture for EstablisMng of BibKotiheckB in every PaTooh thiroughout this Kingdom. An Account of a Design about Erecting Some Libraries in the Highlands of Scotland. (Reprints edited by J. C. Dana). E.. Chambers, Domestic Annals of Scotland from the Revolution to tihe Rebellion of 1745. Statistical Account of Scotland by Shires, Blackwood. Chas. Knight, History of England. F. D. Maurice, The Representation and Edu- cation of the People. Thomas Greenwood, Public Libraries. 1891. Thomas Greenwood, Edward Edwards. 1901. Edward Edwards, Memoirs of Libraries. 1859. Edward Edwards, Eree Town Libraries in Britain, Eranoe, Germany and Ameirioa : Their Eormation, Management and History. 1869. J. J. Ogle, The Free Library: Its History and Present Condition. 1897. E. A. Savage, The Story of Libraries and Book Collectors. 1909. H. W. Eovargue, Summary of Library Law. Chambers and Eovargue, Law Relating to Public Libraries and Museums. 4th Ed. 1899. ESSENTIALS IN THE SUCCESS 127 United States. Libraries in the State of New York — Third Annual Eeport of the New York State Edu- cation Department, 1907. E. G. Dexter, History of Education in the United States, 190-1. K. G. Thwaites, Ten Years of American Library Progress. Proceedings of American Library Association, 1900. O. K. Bolton, American Library History. 1911. (A. L. A. Manual of Library Economy.) W. J. Rheeis, Manual of Public Libraries, Institutions and Societies in the United States and Britisii Provinces of Nortb America. 1859. W. I. Fletcher, Public Libraries in America. 2nd Ed. 1895. H. B. Adaims, Public Libraries and Popular Education. 1900 (Home Education Bulletin, No. 31, of University of State of New York). Contains valuable bibliography. Ninth Eeport of tbe Free Public Library Commission of Massachusetts. 1899. U. S. Bureau of Education. Public Libraries in the United States, tiheir History, Condition and Management. 1876. One of the most authoritative and valuable works on the public librairy. Library Legislation in the United States. Eeport of U. S. Commissioner of Education. 1895-6. Vol. I. Chapter IX. 128 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY C. A. Cutter. The Development of Public Libraries. Keport of U. S. Commissioner of Libraries. 1899-1900. Vol. II. Chapter XXV. (Keprinted from New York Evening Post.) M. C. Tyler. The Historic Evolution of the Free Public Library in America. Library Journal, March, 1884. J. L. Harrison. The Public Library Move- ment in the United States. New England Magazine, August, 1894. J. N. Larned. Libraries in the United States in History for Ready References. 3:2017-2023. Canada. Statutes of the Province of Canada, 1857 (cap. 32). The CoosoHdaited Statutes of Canada, 1859 (cap. 72). Statutes of Ontario: Consolidations of 1887 and 1897; various years, especially 1868 and 1909. Sessional Papers, Ontario, 1881. Report on Mechanics' Institutes, by Dr. S. P. May. Report of the Minister of Education ; various years, especially 1903 and 1909. APPENDICES A ONTAKIO LIBEARY ASSOCIATION. Repoet of Special Committee on Teohwical Education in Public Libeaeies. Presented to the Ontario Library Association, Easter, 1910. Tlie question of Teclinical Education in Pub- lic Libraries was brought before the Ontario Library Association by Rev. W. A. Bradley, B.A., Berlin, in his presidential address last year, and by the late Inspector Leavitt in a paper dealing with the subject. As a result of the discussion that followed a special committee was appointed to consider the matter carefully and report at the 1910 meet- ing of the Association. This committee consists of D. M. Grant, Sarnia, Chairman ; L. K. Mur- ton, Oshiawa ; W. Tytler, Guelph ; R. Alexander, Gait; E. A. Hardy, Toronto, and His Hon. Judge Hardy, Brantford, ex officio. As a result of the consideration of this ques- tion by the Executive Committee at its meeting 9 129 130 APPENDICES in Brantford in November, it was decided to request t!he Minister of Education to bear the expenses of the meeting of this committee in Toronto. The Minister assented and the com- mittee met in Toronto, January 8th, 1910, and after discussion instmdted the SiCica-etary to address the following letter to the Minister of Education : Januaet 14th, 1910. Hon. R a. Pyne, M.D., LL.D, M.P.P., Minister of Education, Education Department, Toronto. Deae Db. Pyke: — Pursuant to authorization by the Deputy Minister, the Special Committee of the Ontario Library Association on Technical Education in the Public Library, met Saturday, 8th inst., in the Normal School, Inspector Nursey having recommended to yourself that in order to " facilitate and assist the deliberations of the Committee, the expenses of said Committee be borne by the Department." There were present Messrs. D. M. Grant, Chairman, Sarnia; L. K. Murton, K.C., Oshawa; W. Tytler, Guelph; E. Alexander, Gait; His Hon. Judge Hardy, Brantford; Eev. W. A. Bradley, Berlin, and E. A. Hardy, Secre- REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 131 tary. The Inspector of Public Libraries was present by invitation. After a lengthy discussion of Mr. Leavitt's paper read at the meeting of the Ontario Library Association last April, it was agreed that the Committee endorse the first six propo- sitions of the paper, which were as follows : (1) Commence with a small league of lib- raries located in industrial centres. (2) Each library in the league to raise not less than $100.00 for the purchase of techno- logical books and magazines, covering as far as possible the principal trades of the town. (3) Divert $1,000 for the purpose of tech- nical books from the $3,000 grant made for Travelling Libraries. (4) The Education Department to loan to each library in the league technical books to the value of not less' th:an $100. (5) In many instances the books loaned, after six months, could be transferred to another town. This would practically double the loan. (6) Have each library prepare a list s.how- ing the trades to be covered. Inspector i^Tursey having stated that he had recommended to yourself that " precedent to any action being taken or any further expense being incurred by the Department that a care- ful examination of the situation in the United States be made in order to see what has really 132 APPENDICES been accomplished there, and that a sub-com- mittee of the special committee of the Ontario Library Association be selected to visit certain convenient institutions in the United States, and have utilized in this connection the Tech- nical Sections of their libraries, and that you were in general sympathy with the idea," it was agreed by the Committee that it would be m'ost advantageous to do so. After further discussion the following motion was passed: That a sub-committee of this committee be appointed to gather all possible information and to make as exJhaustiVe report as possible, said report to be made to this committee prior to the next meeting of the Ontario Library As- sociation; the sub-committee to consist of the Chairman, Mr. Grant; the President of the Association, His Hon. Judge Hardy, and Mr. E. A. Hardy, Secretary of the Ontario Library Association. The Inspector further stated that in the event of such a visit of inspection being undertaken he believed that in view of the importance of the subject you would favoxirably consider the question of the expense of the suggested visit of this sub-committee being borne by the Govern- ment. It was, therefore, further agreed that if deemed advisable by yourself the sub-committee named visit such centres as the State Library, REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 133 Albany, JST.Y. ; the Pratt Institute, Brooiklyn, ]Sr.Y. ; the Drexel Institute, POiiliadelpliia ; the Oarnegie Institute, Pittisiburgh, or others', wi(bh the Inspector of Public Libraries, who would in- troduce the Committee and participate in the investigations as the reprebentative of the De- partment of Education. Such a visit would occupy about a week and if this is deemed ad- visable and acceptable to yourself, the Com- mittee would like to leave Toronto at an early day, the date to be yet arranged. Yours respectfully, (Signed) E. A. Haedy, Secretary. The Minister's reply being favourable, the special committee appointed to investigate American Libraries left on Eebruary 10th for this visit of inspection. Their report is as follows : Report of Sub-Committee. The special committee consisted of D. M. Grant, Samia. Chairman; His Hon. Judge Hardy, President, Ontario Library Association, and E. A. Hardy, Secretary, Ontario Library Association. This committee, accompanied by Inspector Ifursey, left Toronto Thursday evening, Feb- 134 APPENDICES ruary lOtlii. The first place visited was the State Library at Albany. W.Y., where the com- mittee had interviews with Mr. J. I. Wyer, Jr., Director of the State Library ; Mr. "W. E. East- man, Ohief of Division of Educational Exten- sion; Mr. Asa Wynkoop, Inspector of Public Libraries, and Mr. E. L. Tolman, Reference Librarian. These gentlemen discussed the ac- tivities of their library at considerable length, and pointed out how the State Library was aiding in this matter of Technical Education in two ways: (a) By travelling libraries sent to local libraries or study clu'bs on subjects imder discussion by them, and (6) by providing a large collection of technical reference books for members of the civil service, especially those engaged in engineering and construction work, such as building of canals, highways, installa- tion of electric plants, etc. The State of ISTew York has authorized the formation, in oomnecitiani vfitih the Public Schools, of Industrial Schools for boys of 14, and Trade Schools for those of 16 years of age, assisted by the State to the extent of $500 for the first teacher and $200 for each subsequent teacher in any department, and duplicates the amounts for each department established. (See pamphlet, "General Industrial and Trades Schools.") The committee spent Saturday, Sunday and part of Monday in and around Boston, and REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 135 initerviewed several officials in the office of thie State LibraTian, and in the office of the Staite Commissioner of Education, the h-eads of *hese ix^itutioms no-t being avail- able. MasBiaidhxisetts isome years 'ago .a,ppoin)ted a ooimniission oni Industrial Education. Tbe re- ports of tliis conmiission arie at (the disposal of your oonunittee, but they relate more particu- larly to trade anid industrial sidhools. Tihere is evidently la great deai' of interest in tihe State of Massaoliusetts in the matter of industrial educa- tion, an interest which extends widely through- out the United States, as is evidenced by the fact that legislation on Industrial Education has been obtained in 48 States. Ontario must take up the question of Industrial Education unless we wish to be hopelessly in the rear in manufacturing. We spent Saturday afternoon in a careful inspection of the Boston Public Library, famous as an institution) creditable to the culture of the l^ew England metropolis, and are indebted to Mr. Otto Fleischner, Assistant Librarian, for kindness shown our delegation and for his interesting interview on Technical EducaJtion thnougih the Libnary. We found alsio that the Massachusetts Library Association had devoted one of their meetings recently to a con- sideration of the question we were studying. One of the most valuable suggestions in connec- tion with the library was the possibilities of the 186 APPENDICES music section, as illustrated in the Boston Public Library. Monday afternoon was spent in Worcester, Mass. Tlie activity of the former librarian of Worcester, Mr. S. S. Green, in the direction of helping the artisan through the library has made this library rather famous. We had the good fortune to have a lengthy interview with Mr. Green, who is now librarian emeritus. We also initeTviewed the present librairian, Mr. K. K. Shaw, the General Secretary, and the Educa- tional Director of the Y. M. C. A., and were fortunate in meeting Mr. Milton P. Higgins and Mr. W. M. Spaulding, two leading manu- facturers of Worcester. Mr. Higgins is on the Executive Committee of the ^National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education and was a mem.ber of tihe Massachusetts State Com- mission on Industrial Education. The Wor- cester Library has been able to accomplish con- siderable in the direction of Technical Education of the working men for two reasons, (a) The active sympathy and personal interest of its librarian with those who go to consult books of a technical sort. This spirit of welcome and sympathy pervaded the wtole staff of the insti- tution. (6) Through a large and carefully chosen collection of books dealing with the indus- tries of the town, which were made easily avail- able to all concerned. We also inspected the REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 137 newly opened Trade School in Worcester for wood and iron industries, and tlie Superinten- dent told us that they expected to use the tech- nical 'books in the Public Library almost wholly for their theoretical instruction, and that he, himself, had got t!he whole of his theoretical training from a public library. In Providence, E.I., where we spent Monday evening, we were fortunate enough to be shown through the technical department by the Assist- ant Librarian in charge of that section, Mr. Wheeler. We were extremely sorry to have missed Mr. Foster, who has done so much to make Providence one of the outstanding lib- raries of tihe United States. The collection of technical books in Providence was housed in a large room with facilities for study, the whole ooUectiiOTi Ibeing carefully catalogiied and in- dexed, and judging by appearances the books appear to be mucfh used. Two of the valuable sections of tihis itedbnioal collection were the TOO trade oatatogues (sexut gratiB' by the various manufacturing ooncems) , and tIhe 'bound vol- uimes of trade and technical journals and peri- odicals, ithe library also oonitaining some 2,000 other books on tecihnical subjeabs. Anothor part of tJae library of great interest and value was the collection of floral designs for the us© of art classeis or artisans who had any work in design- ing. These designs were gaithered from maga- 138 APPENDICES zimes, "vioil-uin'es of pdJoturee, seed oatelogues and many oiHier sources. We found that tliis idea liafi toeen woirked out in other derpartmente' of desigu in other libnaa-ies. Providence is well known las a cenitre of silverwiare and jewellery miannfacturing, and lanything thait may assist the workers in these indiositries has special atteni- tion in the technical section. Tuesday was spent in a visit to the Newark Public Library. Here we were received by Mr. J. C. Dana, one of the most active and infl'uential libnarians on the oontiment. The activities of this library are many-sided. For- tunate in its exceedingly well planned and well equipped library building, and still more for- tunate in its energetic and resourceful librarian, Newark has certainly achieved a high degree of efficiency as a public library. The technical collection of this library comprises at least 10,000 volumes and is. housed in a very fine roam, lilberally supplied with all facilities for study. A special librarian who is an expert in this matter presides over this department. The open shelf system is in vogue here as almost everywihere, the books in stacks at one side of the room and tables for study at the opposite side. W!hen we visijted the room, a)bou)t 40 men, mostly mechanics, were busy reading technical books, and the librarian informed us that this was about the slackest hour of the d&y, 12 noon. REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 139 wMle in the evening the whole capacity, about 150, was usually filled. This sysitem is, in 'Our opinion, the best and most helpful to the artisan that can be devised. The Board of Education, from time to time, provides lectures on suitable subjects, many of which are illustrated, the library possessing a fine auditorium and a first-class lantern. Mr. Dana proved a perfect mine of information to the committee, not only on this but on other library matters, and he was accompanied through the whole interview by Mr. Kichard C. Jenkinson, one of the leading manufacturers of Newark, and one of the most active members of the Library Board. In this library we noted two things of very special interest. One was the series of ooilections to illustrate the pro- cesses in differemt lines of arts and handicrafts. For insitance, in the matter of oartoonis th'eire was the original drawing by the artist and a copy of the cartoon in the newspaper and the various stages through wOiich the cartoon passed in tho printing office. Similar illustrations were given of half-tones and etchings, in the latter instance all the tools being added. The other item -if interest was a collection of pictures on all sorts of topics of interest. Possibly some thousands of subjects were illustrated in this way, the col- lection comprising about 15,000 mounted on cards and 85,000 unmounted. The method was 140 APPENDICES simply to gather pictures from every conceivable source, newspapers, magazines, books, catalogues, etc., and put tbem in a large manilla holder, writing the sbject on the upper left-hand corner of the cover and filing them alphabetically. These collections were invaluable to teachers, d^esigners, students and many others. This library runs its own printing plant and prints many texts, mottoes and extracts from famous authors, which are framed and hung throughout the library, and freely supplied to the schools and other public institutions. The collection in the Art room of copies of the old masters and miany handsomely bound volumes of the world's famous pictures do much to develop a taste for art, and have a most refining influence. On Wedneslay the committee visited the Pratt Institute and Free Library, Brooklyn, !N".Y., where we had an informing interview with Mr. Edward F. Stevens, the Librarian of Pratt Free Library, and Miss Mary W. Plummer, Director of the Pratt Library School. Pratt Library has for years paid special >a)ttention to its coliieotiou of technical books, and Mr. Stevens was for three years in charge of that department. His bibliographies of technical books are esteemed so highly that they are circulated by the ilTew York State Library as their official lists. Mr. Stevens is an enthusiast on the matter, but places great emphasis on the personal interest of the REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 141 li'braria'n! in the individual borrower. Here, ass in otJher places, we found that the trade and technical periodicals and the catalogues and manuals issued by the great manufacturing con- cerns were all of highest value. Inasmuch as a good deal of this literature can be obtained gratis this point is especially worthy of note by our librarians. Owing to the unsettled conditions in the New York Pulblic Library as well ais to the limita- tions of time we were not able to visit this lib- rary. We visited Buffalo Public Library on Thurs- day morning, being isihown ibhrough the library by Mr. H. L. Brown, the Librarian. Buffalo's chief claims to distinction are the open shelf rooms, the exceedingly effective system of school libraries, and iihe large annual circulation of all classes of books. All of these points were noted with interest and here again we found that an efficient librarian paid great attention to the matter of technical books for working men, and that the atmosphere of welcome in the library was a factor of importance. Thursday afternoon we had the pleasure of visiting Niagara Falls, IST.T., Public Library, of which Miss Witmer is the efficient librarian. The spaciousness of the rooms, the absolutely open access to all parts of the library, and the beautiful children's room were the outstanding 142 APPENDICES fea'tures of this library. The Librarian informed us th'at from time to time oollodtions of 'books were sent to the employees of the largest manu- facturing ooncerns in the city, a oustom which we h;ad noted in Buffalo and elsewhere. Summing up the results of our investigations we might state them as follows: (1) That the results of our observations strengthen our conviction that the suggestions in Mr. Leavitt's paper were along tihe right lines and that we concur more heartily than ever with the suggestions already adopted by the full committee. (2) That the selection of technical books, both those purchased by the local library and those supplied by the Department of Education, should be made by thoroughly competent per- sons. (3) Thait every legitimate means should be used for publicity in oonneotion -vvitih .these 'books and that continuous effor't should be made in this direction. (4) That a separate room, if possible, should be set aside for the artisan, with the books in shelves around him. (5) Reading Clubs of workmen should be formed to meet on stated nights. (6) Foremen and others should be invited to meet the workmen and discuss matter in books. REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 143 (7) Lists of books on various subjects should be publisbed frequently and repeated, from time to time, in the local press. Tbe first insertion may not catcli ithe artisan's eye, or ait first sight laipp^ial to him. (8) Lists of books and articles on individual trades or .subjects should be sent to the managerg of factories with a request that they be posted in a conspicuous place. (9) That leaflets or booklets containing brief outline reading oouinses on various snbjecits care- fully prep'ared by expents familiar with our Oanadian local conditions should be sent to fac- tories, and that employers be requested tO' plaxae such ismall leaflets in pay envelbpes of em- ployees. (10) Trade journals should be 'Bound at end of year and placed in shelves. (11) Trade catalogues should be secured. (12) That the attitude of the library through its staff s'hould be entirely sympatheibic and cor- dial to this movement and to all who wish to use technical books, if the best results are to be obtained in this department; and further, that a great deal of the success of this movement depends upon the ability of the librarian to render this section of the library useful to the inquirer. (13) That the Library Board should take up the matter of Technical Education in the 144 APPENDICES Lilsrary witili ibhe mianiufacturens of the cities and towns and enlist liheir sympaitiiy and sup- port in inaugurating the local iruoveinent and that ifihe foremen of shops Tje also oalfed to meet ait the local 'library and the aims and oibjeots of the Tedhnical Seotion explained and their sup- port and co-operation obtained. (14) That picture oollectionB should be made where possible to assist those engaged in trades where designing is valuable, and also that some good photograph reproductions of great pictures, statues an.d buildings be hung upon the walls of the library to foster true artistic standards. (15) From correspondence with such centres as Binghamifcon, !N".Y. ; Dayton, Ohio ; and Grand Rapids, Mich., we would recommend also the establishment of lecture courses on practical trade topics by competent practical people. The lectures in lihe places above men- tioned have been exceedingly useful and very much appreciated. (16) Evening classes should be established, where practicable. As to the matter of instruction through the puiblic library by any eudh scheme as Carres- pondence courses and examinations and recog- nition of such work by Government certificate or diploma, the committee do not feel at present able to offer any definite suggestions. They quite realize the possibilities of such a scheme, but they also realize the difficulties and feel that REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 145 a great deal of consideration would need to be given to such a matter before it should be pronounced upon. Respectfully submitted, D. M. Grant. A. D. Haedt. E. A. Haedt. The committee in presenting this report to Hhe Ontario Library Association desires to record its appreciation of the assistance of Mr. W. R. ISTursey, Inspector of Public Libraries. His deep interest in the subject and his readi- ness to assist in every possible way have been constantly apparent and have done much to make this report possible. To the Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister also we desire to express our appreciation of their sympathy and financial assistance. The committee trusts that in many of our libraries this matter may be taken up in earnest. Technical education is to the fore everywhere among nations desirous of maintaining their present standing or making any substantial progress. National governments, manufac- turers' associations, trades unions, educational associations and public spirited individuals throughout the world are grappling with the question aoiid itibe ipuWic library must mat fail to take its share of the problem. Technical High 10 146 APPENDICES Schools and trade scliools can be established in only a comparatively few centres and the needs of the workingman in our small cities and towns, who is desiroius of self improvement, must be met in some other way. The public library should provide this other way. It is the people's institution, Ifhe educational centre for all dhe people of the ooammunity, and our lib- rariams and library boards should realize their responsibility as custodians of a public trust and gladly do their best to make the public library a centre of technical education. From what we saw in most of the libraries, we are more than ever convinced tfhat this purpose of the Public Library is entirely feasible. (Signed), D. M. Geant. L. K. MUETON. W. Tytlee. E. Alexawdee. E. A. Haedt. A. D. Haedy. Eepoets, Bulletins and Othee Mateel4.l in THE Hands op the Committee. Library Periodicals — Public Libraries, Jan., 1910. Library Journal, March, 1908, March, 1909, Dec., 1909. REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION 147 Universities — University of Wisconsin. Report of tihe Direotoir of the University Esltemision Division and some fifty syllabi of oonrses. Ohio State University. Bulletin on Indus- trial Education. State Publications — New York. General Industrial and Trades Schools. New York. Annual Report of Bureau of Labour Statistics, 1908, containing good Bibliography on Industrial Education. Massaobusetts. Reports of the Commission on Industrial Education, 1906, 1907, 1908. Address by Dr. Hanus, on Industrial Educa- tion, under State auspices in Mass. New Jersey. Report of tihe Committee on Industrial Education. United States. I7th Annual Report of Com- missioner of Labour on Trades and Tech- nioal Education, 1902. Bureau of Education — Elimination of pupils from school. Instruction in Eine and Manual Arts. Agricultural Education in the U.S. German Views of American Education with particular reference to Industrial Development. Manual of Industrial and Technical Edu- cation in the U. S., 1906. 148 APPENDICES President Roosevelt's Address — The Man "Who "Works With His Hands. Public Library Reports and Bulletins — Buffalo, KY. Boston, Mass. "Worcester, Mass. Providence, E.I. Pratt Libnary, Brooklyn, IsT.Y. Dayton, O. Binghamton, N.Y. Newark, N.J". Pittsburgh, Pa. Grand Rapids, Midh. Menomonie, Wis., Stout Institute. Miscellaneous — Brooklyn Institute, Art and Sciences, Pros- pectus, 1909-10. New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. Announcements, 1909-10. National Society for the Promotion of Indus- trial Education. Proceedings, 1908. Report New York State Branch, 1908. Legislative Summary No. 1, American Association for Labor Legislation. Industrial Education in Public, Ele- mentary and Secondary Schools. Report of the Moseley Educational Commis- sion to the "United States, 1903. REPORT ON LIBRARY INSTITUTES 149 B ONTAEIO LIBEAEY ASSOCIATION. EXCEEPTS FEOM EePOET OF THE COMMITTEE ON Public Libeaey Institutes, 1909-1910. The Committee on Library Institutes in pre- senting the record of the past year's achievement is graitified to know that its "Work hais covered the Province with Institutes, as the details to follow will show. The value of these Institutes will be indicated in the remarks and sugges- tions of the representatives of the O.L.A., who attended the meetings and of the delegates of many of the libraries represented and in the resolutions adopted. It is hoped that the pres- ence at this O.L.A. meeting of a good many delegates from the smaller libraries may be another evidence of the good work accomplished: iPefore going into the details of lihe past year's Institutes it m'ay 'be intea-esitimg to give a brief historical sketch of the growth of this form of library activity in Ontario. The idea of Public Library Institutes, similar in character to the teacher's institutes of each inspectorate in the Province, was brought be- fore the Ontario Library Association in a paper on the subject by the Secretary at the 1903 meeting. On motion the matter was referred 150 APPENDICES to the irucoming Executive Committee, who appointed a suh-committee to deal with it. ISTothing was done for some years, however, though the suh-oouimittee was appointed each year. In 1907 the committee, consisting of Messrs. ItTorman Gurd, President, O.L.A. ; E. A. Hardy, Secretary 0. L. A. ; and A. W. Cam- eron, took hold of the matter in earnest and througli the courtesy of the Brantford Public Library Board and aided by a small grant from the Department of Education, the committee was able to arrange for the first Institute at Brantford, Thursday, July 11th, 1907. This first Institute was so successful that the committee were encouraged to map out the Province into ten districts and to plan for some additional Institutes the following year. The same committee was continued for 1908-09 and by dint of hard work three Institutes were held during the year at Brantford, August 11th, Chatham, August 12t.h, and Niagara Falls, November 5th, 1908. The Brantford meeting was again a decided success, both in attendance and interest. The other two were very much hampered by local conditions and yet were suiRciently encouraging to induce the committee to recommend their continuance another year. In 1909 the committee was enlarged to con- sist of Messrs. A. W. Cameron, Norman Gurd, E. A: Hardy, David Williams, L. J. Burpee. The matter of having an Institute in each dis- REPORT ON LIBRARY INSTITUTES 151 trict was made possible by the changes in the Public Libraries Act of 1909, which authorized the Minister of Education to provide for the holding of these Institutes and also provided for the payment of the expenses of one repre- sentative from each library. The clauses dealing with the matter are bere quoted : 26. (1) Subject to the regulations the Minis- ter may (a) Provide for the establishment of library institutes and for the holding of the meetings thereof; (c) The Minister may pay the travelling and other necessary expenses of one delegate from each board in attending a meeting of the institute. (2) If a board, after having received notice of the date for holding a meeting of the Library Institute does not send a delegate to such meeting the Minister may withhold a sum not exceeding $5 from the next Government grant pay- able to the Board. The committee were thus able to arrange for 11 institutes covering the libraries of the entire Province except Algoma, ITipissing, Parry Sound, Eainy River, and Thunder Bay. The following table shows the district, date of meeting, place, number of libraries represented and number unrepresented. 162 APPENDICES I»?oj, {)on B«|j«jqFi p8^n9B9Jd9J ssLivjqFx a! "21 !3 n = W r— 4 , •—' CO .^ £3 t^ , . %t i-H CQOJtBomeq i-:io ce Pi 3 Q 05 0»i-lr-l22 SO>.-ItHOT ►^iS^SiSt^*^-^ V A cd REPORT ON LIBRARY INSTITUTES 153 Of these 213 libraries reported as having representatives at these Institutes, probably not more than 60 have ever sent any delegates to the Ontario Library Association meetings. That means that at least 150 libraries in Ontario have oome into personal contact for the first time witlh the organized modern library movement and the results must be a very considerable awakening of these libraries into new activity. As to lihe libraries that sent no representatives this year several things may be said. Some of them are among our good libraries and pre- sumably local reasons interfered with their hav- ing no delegates. It may be that others a/ppointed delegates w'ho at the last moment found themselves unable to attend or to get substitutes. But probably a larger number failed throughi indifference or neglect. It is to be hoped that they will arouse to a sense of their responsibilities during the coming year. A study of the programmes- shows that the interests of tJhe small library were kept to the front. This was especially the case where the programme was largely in the hands of this com- mittee. The small library's problems, especially in finance, administration and the selection and purchase of books, were given very careful dis- cussion and a most encouraging feature was the general readiness to participate in the dis- 154 APPENDICES cussion. An occasional paper or address on teelinical or library matters and some general addresses on the mission and possiMlities of the puhlic library added variety to the pro- gnamjme and broadened die ontlook of the dele- giates present. In the lists of officers the number of clergy- men, doctors, and ladies is worthy of note. It seems quite natural that these classes, along with the teachers, should be especially inter- ested in the public library movement. Another notable fact is that of the 81 persons just elected only some 21 have attended a meeting of the Ontario Library Association. The importance of enlisting all this new force in our work is obvious. At several of the Institutes resolutions were passed dealing with matters of lively interest. These resolutions are as follows: Stratford — 1. "That we ask the Ontario Gov- ernment to prepare and publish for free distri- bution, a model Canadian Public Library book list, say of 5,000 vols., fully classified, num- bered and annotated, as a help to the smaller libraries in their selection of shelf literature." 2. "To so amend the Department rules and conditions that the small struggling libraries who most need assistance may get more money help or grant tihan they can ordinarily qualify for under present rules." REPORT ON LIBRARY INSTITUTES 155 Georgian. — 1. "That this Library Institute views with regret the high annual rate of mor- tality amongst the smaller libraries (viz., above ten per cent, of the total number of libi-aries in the Province), although at the same time from $7,000 to $8,000 of the sum voted by the Legis- lature annually remains unexpended ; it is there- fore our opinion that a change in the system of maMng Legislative grants is necessary, and that every library, however small, should receive a minimum annual grant of $25 to aid in its maintenance." 2. "That having realized the impossibility of an adequate inspection of public libraries by only one official, we are of the opinion that assis- tants to the Inspector should be appointed by the Department of Education with the hope of rendering the smaller libraries more efficient help." 3. "That in the opinion of this Library Insti- tute the County Councils should be asked to contribute to the support of public libraries, and that Eev. F. W. Gilmour (Penetan- guishene). Rev. E. J. Sturgeon (Angus P.O.), and A. P. Hunter (Barrie) , be a ooanmittee fox Simcoe County to lay the matter before the County Council (the delegates present from Grey County undertaking to act in concert with the oBhers from the remaining parts of the county in laying the miatter before the Grey C^raety Ooimcil.)" 156 APPENDICES 4. "That in view of the fact that much money is wasted in purchasing useless books, this Geor- gian Library Institute urge the Government to take immediate steps in providing the fol- lowing: (1) Some place or places where the small libraries may obtain information in regard to the selection of books, and (2) the publishing of a model library annotated catalogue of 5,000 volumes every five years." Ouelph. — "That the Ontario Government be asked to secure the services of Lawrence J. Burpee, F.R.G.S., of the Ottawa Carnegie Lib- rary, or some other such eminent authority on Canadian Literature, to prepare for tihe use of Librarians a bibliography of Canadian works, giving names, a description and approximate prices." Correspondence with the representatives of the O.L.A. who attended the Library Institutes, and with some of the delegates present, shows the following as among the practical results. 1. A large correspondence from the delegates, one of our speakers receiving almost 40 letters. These inquiries relate to increasing the library's revenues, the securing of a Carnegie grant, the selection and purchase of books and general library administration. This correspondence is a sure indioation of the greatly awakened inter- est of many libraries. The follovnng is a typical letter : REPORT ON LIBRARY INSTITUTES 157 Dear Sir, — After having attended the District Annual Library Meeting in Berlin two weeks ago I am trying to get our Library here in town on good footing again. For the last three years we have not been able to send in a report as it took all the money we could raise to pay Librarian and rent and consequently there have been no books purchased. Since the meeting in Berlin I have canvassed considerable and expect to soon have the fifty names, and our township council here have promised us ten dollars, so we expect to have a report ready for another year. Will you please let me know if there will be any chance of the Association helping us this year or can you tell me what steps to take in order to geit a little Ihelp, and can you also tell me what steps to take that I may obtain lihe Trav- elling Library, as I think by getting it and advertising a little it will be easier to get sub- scriptions. Please give me any information you can that would be of help to me in the advance of our Library and in securing the Travelling Library. 2. In several counties the libraries have combined in sending a deputation to their County Council to ast for a grant. The example of Kent and Victoria counties in this matter was judged a good precedent. At least four of the Institutes have resulted in some 168 APPENDICES such movement and one County Council at least lias responded favorably. Where the other dep'urtati'oos were not snceessful they are pre- paring to try again shortly. Here is a good source of revenue which should be utilized by all our libraries. 3. The Board of Trade has been persuaded to join forces with the friends of the Library and to call public meetings to discuss the library situation. 4. The Inspector of Public Libraries has been asked to visit a community and give his assist- ance in some matter of importance. 5. Co-operative bookbuying. In Lambton County several of the libraries have decided to place the orders for some of their books (es- pecially novels) through the Samia Public Library. This vnll cut the price of these books in half, and is one of the best possible ways of aiding the small library. 6. Here is a group of inquiries following one Institute (the Eastern District). Librarian : Asked for information on mending materials that had been exhibited at the Insti- tute. Librarian: Asked for names of various selected catalogues and lists ; how to get library bulletins, public documents, etc., that had been exhibited at the Institute. Also got help on cataloguing. Librarian ; Asked for names of a few library REPORT ON LIBRARY INSTITUTES 159 'bulletins that had. been shown at the Institute — New York Libraries, and Wisconsin Library Bulletin. Also asked for helpful literature on how to reduce her fiction circulation and in- crease her non-fiction figures. Member Library Board: Did not attend the Institute, but heard of it through the President who did. Asked for books of practical use in cataloguing, and also asked questions about the work itself. Meniber Library Board: Asked for book of charades and recitations. Member Library Board: Asked for list of books for the Pakenham Library. Librarian : Asked for methods of disinfecting books that had circulated in families having contagious diseases. 7. The following extract from a newspaper report of the opeming of the new Ridgeway Library in 1909 (ooist about $1,200) shows wihat one Institute (JSTiagara District) did in 1908. (From Mr. A. H. Gillan's address at the opening of the new library building in Ridge- way) : " It happened that about the time the board beoasme .aware that new quanters would have to be found for our books. Dr. Snyder and Mr. CoUard were sent as delegates from Eidgeway to attend a Library convention in Niagara Falls. They came back to us filled with the enthusiasm 160 APPENDICES that brings results. This contagion spread from one to another until we all felt its effects, and I believe the position we happily occupy to- nigtit is traceable in a large measure to the visit of these gentlemen as delegates to the convention. " Institutions of this kind are prone to become sleepy at times and we were dormant but not quite dead. Now, however, we are very much alive and as a measure of precaution let us try to remain so." Some suggestions for the Institutes during the coming year have grown naturally out of this year's experiments. 1. The programme shoaild ceaitre around the small library's interests. These Institutes are designed largely for the assistance of the smaller libraries and great care should be taken in the preparation of the programme. The local execu- tives should go into the maitter at as early a date as possible and select their topics and speakers and notify the Secretary of the O.L.A. of their selections in plenty of time to complete arrangements. '2. The date of the Institutes should be care- fully considered by the local executives. The majority have been held in January and Febru- ary, but it is a question worth consideration as to whether the summer would not be more suitable for several of the Institutes. REPORT ON LIBRARY INSTITUTES 161 3. In the selection of officers it would seem highly advisahle that the smaller libraries should have a large share of the important offices. The placing of responsibility upon their shoulders would naturally lead to a deeper interest in library matters and the missionary spirit in library matters has similar results for the worker as in any other sphere, that is, a growth at home. In view of the work of the past year pre- sented above and the suggestions for tlie coming year, the committee have pleasure in presenting this report. The outlook for a general lifting up of our li'bDairiee seems very bright. Witib the admirable library legislation now in force, with the very considerable legislative grants to our libraries, with a sympathetic and active administration on the part of Mr. Nursey, the Inspector of Public Libraries, who was present at ten of the eleven Institutes, and imparted much practical information, those interested in the public library may confidently look to a day in l3ie near future wfcen the library system of Ontario may take rank vsdth her school sys- tem. In realizing that condition ifche library institute will play no inconsiderate part. A. W. Oameeobt. NOEMAIT GuED. Davh) Williams. L. J. BtTEPEE. E. A. "FTabdy. 162 APPENDICES Excerpts Report of the Committee on Public Library Institutes, 1910-1911. The Committee on PuWic Library Institutes take much pleasure in presenting their annual report. The past year has seen the carrying on of tihe eleven institutes of the previous year and the addition of a new institute, viz., that of York County. The whole of older Ontario is now covered, and it is hoped that during the year 1911-12 provision may be made for Algoma and Iforthern and ISTorth-Westem Ontario. The statistical table appended will show an increase in the number of libraries represented at the institutes, 64 having sent delegates for the first time. This means that 280 libraries have been touched by the organized library movement during the past two years, at least 200 of them for the first time. This is most encouraging, and tbe result will be enhanced activity in 280 communities in the matter of making the public library live up to its privilege and responsibility. Unfortunately 51 libraries that sent representatives last year sent none this year, and, still more unfortunately, 98 have sent none either year, in spite of the Department's payment of all the expense. Such apathy is difiicul't to understand, but further investigation may throw some light on the causes of this apparent lifelessness. REPORT OF LIBRARY INSTITUTES 163 •ivaS. B\m ^on !}nq 33 aou'Bpda}}V '\s\ •I'^oj, ■painosajdaj 'P3()aa8ejd3j BatJ'BJqiT •i«;oi, 'pa^iiasQjddJ 50a sauBJqiT •paquasajdaj sauBjqil ^l050'<*rH • ■<* t^ t^ t* cvj •«* l^fOO5'*O50OCOCO'*t*U3«M m ■«* 03 00 »H ** oot^ocvjoo^a^cra^-ot^t^CM ■"5 -ts hi SI gjiz; V . be ^5 -tJ Mi M 'Tj'^ fj 3 o o u a> ajJSJSiS a fe:3 fe ^-S S M c3 J ^53 am 5 rj ^H rt at-;-' O O -»^ {^"^^ 164 APPENDICES It is interesting to note that some seventy-* two speakers are listed, and, coiunting presiden- tial addresses, nearly one hundred speakers have appeared on the twelve institute programmes of the past year. Of these over forty are new to our programmes. It is evident that there is a host of a'ble men and women eager to help in this good work and to give freely of their time and culture to its best development, and that the institutes are linking up these people in a co-operative effort that must mean much to the future of the library movement. It is also worthy of note how closely the pro- grammes have kept to the small library and its problems. So much discussion can have but one result, the awakening of the small library to its possibilities in spite of all its difficulties. The pleasure of so many delegates at learning through Inspector ISTursey what the Department of Education has already done and is planning to do, has been a marked feature at more than one institute. The lists of officers and committees contain some 120 names, representing over 110 libraries, the majority being small libraries. The spirit of activity evidenced both at the institutes and in the correspondence with the Inspector of Public Libraries and tfhe Secretary of the O.L. A. is a token of progress in the near future. REPORT OF LIBRARY INSTITUTES 165 KESOLUTIONS. Chatham. 1. "That the matter of the readjustment of the territory of the Chatham and Middlesex Institutes be referred to the new Executive and that they communicate with the O.L.A. so as to have the two 'districts amalgamated if prac- ticable." 2. "That the Education Department be requested to have printed a quarterly, giving a list of the besit boobs for library use." Beawtfoed. 1. "That the Government be requested to publish its laws and regulations for the use of Public Libraries in bound book form, rather than in pamphlet form, so that they may occupy shelf room in the library, and thus be of more permanent use for the mem:bers of the Library Boards." 2. "That in view of the greatly increasing demands upooi' the Imspeetor of Public Libraries, we respectfully urge upon the Hon. the Minister of Education to priovide such ajseistance to the Inspeofcor as will adequately provide for the inspection of ithe small libraries and the grfowth of the Travelling and Technical Libraries, and thus leave the Inspector free to care for the 166 APPENDICES general work of his department, and that the Secretary he instructed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Hon. the Minister of Educa- tion." Geoegian. 1. "That the Education Department he urged to make provision in the Normal Schools for the training of Public School teachers in Public Library work, especially in the selection and use of books for public school children to be read in connection with their courses of study." 2. "That we hereby request the Ontario Gov- ernment to make an appropriation toward the Canadian meeting of the A.L.A., to be held at Ottawa in 1912, as the work of libraries falls within the jurisdiction of the Provincial gov- ernments, thie approprialtion being necessary to have a representative from each library present at the meeting." 3. "That the Executive Committee of this Georgian Institute be authorized to consider the small libraries in the district that are lan- guishing and to urge the revival of the lagging ones wherever possible." 4. "That this Institute is of the opinion the Education Department should provide a reading course and summer school for Librarians, and that a memorial be sent to the Department urging this request." REPORT OF LIBRARY INSTITUTES 167 5. "That as the members of this Institute believe tlhat more frequent visits of inspection would have a beneficial effect upon libraries, the Education Department 'be hereby memorial- ized to employ a staff for this purpose larger than is at present employed, and appoint suffic- ient assistants to the present Inspector to accom- plish this work of inspection." 6. "That the Committee re County Council Aid, appointed in January, be continued as a committee of promotion and agitation for getting aid from the County Council', anid that (they see that a ipetitioo friom every Board be forwarded to tlhe 'County Council ttio effect this end; and also that every member of the County Council be interviewed and the Council be ap- pealed to by a delegation of this Georgian dis- trict." ISTlAGAEA. 1. "Whereas now the Government gives a grant to schools maintaining a school library, and whereas the expense of maintaining both a public school library and a puJblic library under Part 1 of the Public Library Act, in a small, unincorporated community or school sec- tion, is heavy and umiecessary, and whereas a pu'blic school library detracts from and makes the public library harder to maintain. Therefore be it and it is hereby resolved by 168 APPENDICES tins Magara District Library Institute, that wtere a public library having the proper books is maintained in such a rural community or school section and the school in same section does not maintain a school library, the GovemH ment should credit that school section as if it had a school library and accordingly not with- hold the regular grant due that school for a school library, the books of said public library being subject to the approval of the School Inspector of that county." Belleville. 1. "That the date of the annual O. L. A. meeting be changed from Easter Monday to Tuesday." London. 1. "That this Institute resolve that, for the future financial support of the Public Libraries of this Province as an educational Institution of the highest importance, they be placed on the same footing as to financial support as the Higher Schools. "That is, that each County be required by statute to duplicate the Government grant paid to each Library in its territory." 2. "That this Institute resolve: That we recommend to the Ontario Government to pub- REPORT OF LIBRARY INSTITUTES 169 lish a model annotated classed catalogue of 5,000 books to assist the small libraries in the selec- tion of books." 3. "Tliat the Department be asked to have lihe bulletin, if possible, prepared by some one who, being a qualified purchaser of books, can be of assistance to the smaller libraries in the way of [helping the local committees in the pur&hase as well as the selection of books." •TOEK. "That in the opinion of tihe York District Public Library Institute it would be advan- tageous to have all Public School Libraries con- nected with the nearest Public Library as circu- lating branches of the said Public Library, and that the Legislative grants of said Public School Libraries be given to said Public Libraries." CONFEEENCE OP INSTITUTE SeCEETAEIES. One of the most important steps in connection with the Institutes will be taken in the meeting of the Secretaries of tlhese twelve Institutes on Tuesday, April 18tih, immediaftely following our 0. L. A. amraal meeting. The Minister of Education is providing for the expense of this meeting and the whole of the afternoon will bo devoted to a conference vsdth the O. L. A. Institutes Committee on the work for 1911- 170 APPENDICES 1912. A number of important topics will be considered, suelh as dates, programmes, investi- gation of languisliing libraries, etc. The com- mittee will not be satisfied witb its work until every library in Ontario has been brought into touch with its neighboring libraries and made to feel the quickening spirit of library progress. In closing this report the Committee wishes to express its appreciation of the services of Mr. W. R ]Srursey,Inspector of Public Libraries for Ontario, an appreciation not only for his services but for his sympathy with every phase of library progress. The committee wishes also to thank the Minis- ter of Ediication and the Deputy Minister for their response to the claims of the Library Insti- tutes, the success of the Institutes being largely due to the sympathetic attitude of the Depart- ment of Education. L. J. BUEPEE. A. W. Cameeon. NoEMAJsr Gtjeb. E. A. Haedy. David Williams. TECHNICAL EDUCATION, STEVENS 171 C. TECHNICAL EDUCATION THEOUGII THE PUBLIC LIBEAEY. By Me. Edwaed E. Stevens^ Libeaeian Peatt Institute Eeee Libeaet^ Beooklyk, N.Y. A -paper read at the 1910 Annual Meeting of the Ontario Library Association. A year ago I was asked to read a brief paper before the Long Island Library Club in Brook- lyn, describing tbe efforts of the Pratt Institute Free Library in bebalf of the industrial public. Early in that paper I made reference to an interesting item which I !had just chanced to ob- serve in a copy of the Canadian Machinist which had been put into my hands by a young machin- ery worker, wbo, proud of his contributions to it, wished me to see what he had written. That item, more inspiring far than the random shop notes of our friend, related to tbe activity of the Province of Ontario in bringing the public library into line with technical education by advancing a policy more progressive than any hitherto attempted, certainly much ahead of anything we were /venturing in the United States. This was my reference : — " Already Canada has taken steps in recogni- tion of the natural relationship of the library 172 APPENDICES to education. In Ontario a message is expected to be introduced at the next legislative session by the Minister of Education whidh will establish a league of libraries in industrial centres for providing the text books of the principal trades of those centres for distribution to mechanics earnest for self -improvement. After completing a specified course of reading the men are to be examined, and those who pass will receive certi- ficates of work done. This is only one phase of activity across the border." And now I have been asked by your com- mittee to suggest here in Toronto some things that the public library may do to promote tech- nical education, and this, though I have been looking for a year to the Province of Ontario as the direction whence mu