, ; RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY Russell Sage Foundation Building RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY BY FREDERICK WARREN JENKINS HISTORY ORGANIZATION SCOPE OF COLLECTION BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT METHODS AND RESULTS OTHER COLLECTIONS NEW YORK RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION MCMX VI I RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY 130 EAST TWENTY-SECOND STREET NEW YORK CITY T HE library is free to the public upon presentation of proper credentials. A membership card from other libraries is accepted as sufficient identification to enable a person to borrow books. Inquiries from those who cannot visit the library in person, or reach it by telephone, are encouraged, for it is possible to answer many requests by correspondence. Selected lists of books on current social topics are compiled without charge. From October i to May 31 the library is open from 8.45 a. m. to 6 p. m. on week days, except Saturdays and holidays; Saturdays, 9 a. m. to 1 p. m. During June, July, August, and September the library is open from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. on week days, except Satur¬ days and holidays; Saturdays, 9 a. m. to 12 m. It is closed Sun¬ days and on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Washing¬ ton's Birthday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas. The rules governing the borrowing of books provide that no volume may be retained longer than two weeks without renewal, and that no borrower may transfer his privilege or borrow books for the use of others, except on written order. Books are not sent out of the city. Renewals for a period of two weeks each may be secured by applying in person at the loan desk, or by letter or telephone. No book will be renewed if there is an application from another reader on file for it. Books reserved for reading required of students in the New York School of Philanthropy are for use in the library only, except as provided for by overnight loans. Encyclopedias, bound periodicals, and current numbers, publica¬ tions in sets, dictionaries, and general works of reference are not to be taken from the library. Unbound magazines previous to the current month may be borrowed for one week. 5 I HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION J I HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION MALL collection of books has furnished often the power of suggestion that has resulted in a great institution. A li- i ^ brary—perhaps in a minister’s study—has been the real origin of more than one college and university. If, however, the first demand was for the institution, the second was for the library as a necessary corollary, so that it is not surprising to find again and again that a library is as old or older than the institution which it serves. The Russell Sage Foundation Library, as a collection of books on various phases of social work and allied subjects, dates back to 1882. The first meeting of the Committee on the Organization of Charities of the city of New York, through whose efforts the Char¬ ity Organization Society was formed, was held early in that year, and that the need of a library was realized before the twelve months had come to a close is shown by the records of October, 1882, which state that “the nucleus of a library” had been collected for the use of workers in the society. The library is, therefore, practically as old as the Charity Organization Society, to which it owes its origin, and twenty-five years older than the institution of which it is now a part. Of its early history, little is recorded; the second and third annual reports of the Charity Organization Society make brief comment on the new library and its usefulness, but from that time on, for ten years or more, no mention whatever is made of it; support was needed evidently for other efforts of the society. Its early history is thus but that of many another worthy en¬ deavor—launched with enthusiasm and left to live or die according to the exigencies of the time. The appointment of Samuel Macauley Jackson as a member of 9 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY the library committee gave a new lease of life and usefulness to the meager collection of books, and any history of the library, no matter how brief, would be incomplete did it not pay tribute to his endeav¬ ors. In his report for 1897-98 there is a certain grim humor, even if unintentional, in the statement that "the library has been much neglected in the past, and no member of the society has yet been found who was sufficiently enthusiastic and intelligent to give it voluntary care/' Needless to say, he set about remedying these defects, and help came from a donation of gems. That the dis¬ covery of America was made possible by the sale of Queen Isa¬ bella’s jewels may be romance; that the first real start given to this library was brought about by the sale of jewels is history, for Mr. Jackson continues his report in these words: "It (the library) was until this year entirely dependent upon the gifts of its very few friends. Now, however, it has a small endowment from the sale of the gems given to the society by a donor who with a modesty matching his generosity requested that his name be not publicly disclosed. The interest of the fund thus accumulated will enable us to add a few books every year.” At this time, fifteen years after it had been started, the library consisted of about 2,000 books. The founding of the New York School of Philanthropy and its growth during the seven years that followed increased the demands made upon the library and consequently widened its field of usefulness. A report by Paul M. Warburg, who succeeded Mr. Jackson as chairman of the library committee, contains much interesting history.* The chairman says: "Notable advance was made by the library during the past year by the acceptance of the offer of the State Charities Aid Associa¬ tion to combine their valuable library with that of the Charity Organization Society, thus increasing the usefulness of both li¬ braries. This addition, now installed in new stacks, contains hundreds of rare old books and pamphlets, both foreign and Ameri¬ can, which are available in no other place. Many of these are historically valuable as the sources of inspiration for the many social reform activities started in this city by the State Charities Aid Association.” * This report of the library committee is a part of the twenty-third annual report of the New York Charity Organization Society for the year 1904-05, p. 100. 10 -r Entrance Hall of Building HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION The library of the State Charities Aid Association at this time numbered about 500 bound volumes and perhaps 2,000 pamphlets, but its value was far in excess of what these figures might indicate. It represented the careful gathering of data relating to movements in which the Association had been interested from its beginning. For example, mention is made in the second annual report issued March, 1874, of the collecting of material on the subject of hospital construction in connection with the efforts of the Association to improve Bellevue Hospital. At this time the inquirer on hospital construction looked to Germany for advice, so that it is not sur¬ prising to read that the Association addressed its queries to that country. Books and pamphlets from the Empress was the result, and these formed the nucleus of the library of the State Charities Aid Association. Such was the collection turned over to the al¬ ready strong library of the Charity Organization Society, and students of to-day owe much to these early collectors and to their care in preserving material now of priceless value. The combining of these two libraries gave the Charity Organiza¬ tion Society an opportunity for service which it fully realized, as is indicated by Mr. Warburg in his report, which continues: “ Recognizing the value of this unique collection of 5,000 books, reports, and pamphlets, as well as the increasing use made of them both by the students in the N. Y. School of Philanthropy and those taking the courses in social economy at Columbia University, the Charity Organization Society combined with the School of Philan¬ thropy to appoint in May [1905] a librarian of college training and practical experience in philanthropic work to give her entire time to reorganizing and making available the resources of the library. “The committee has arranged for binding together the pam¬ phlets of both collections, as much of the best thought in philan¬ thropy has been and still is published in this form. . . • “ In the spring of 1905, Dr. S. M. Lindsay, professor in the Uni¬ versity of Pennsylvania, and lecturer in the School of Philanthropy, who planned to spend the summer in England, was commissioned by the school to purchase books for the library. He has for¬ tunately succeeded in bringing back to us a collection of valuable English books, some new, some old and rare. “ The general magazines and papers as well as all special socio¬ logical publications, home and foreign, may be consulted in the library, which has also a separate clipping service, aiming to keep RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY on file those clippings which are of pertinent or permanent value to the various philanthropic interests of the day. “The object of the committee is to make this library the best place in the country for the study of practical social problems, and it is now equipped to keep abreast of all really valuable material published in its particular field. At present the School of Philan¬ thropy occupies the library during the morning hours, but on any afternoon except Saturday the librarian will be glad to assist students or interested readers in special branches of social inquiry, it is especially desired that the library be increasingly utilized by all the social workers of the community, professional and volunteer/' This interesting report states truthfully the value of the “unique collection of 5,000 books, reports and pamphlets," but it says nothing of their condition when “a librarian of college training and practical experience in philanthropic work" was appointed on May 1, 1905. The books were for the most part uncatalogued and inaccessible, closets were filled to overflowing, duplicates were shelved to the displacement of books of real value—the library was unique in more ways than one. Out of this chaos was order made, and the foundations laid for a real library. Duplicates were ex¬ changed, the beginnings of valuable sets of proceedings and peri¬ odical publications acquired, important pamphlets and periodical literature catalogued and preserved, new books of value to round out certain collections added; in short, the library was put first on a good working basis so that wider usefulness for it might later be assured. At this time it was first opened to the public daily for reference purposes, except on Sundays and legal holidays. The next four years were spent in the development and re¬ organization of the collection. During the year 1909-10 it was enlarged materially by additions made by the Russell Sage Founda¬ tion, which at this time began to meet its administrative expenses. Circulation privileges were given to a limited number of social workers engaged in research and investigation, which resulted in a steady increase of readers and borrowers. In May, 1911, reference and circulating privileges were extended to all who cared to make use of the books, and closer relations established with other libraries of the city, so that the collection might become an integral part of the library resources of the city of New York. A wider use was the immediate result. 12 HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION Desirous of increasing the field of usefulness of the library ad¬ vantage was taken of the only effective means by which such a collection may be of service to those who cannot come to it, the bibliography. The first bulletin in its series of bibliographies on social topics, that on Farm Colonies, was issued in October, 1911; the second series is now published bi-monthly. The constantly increasing use of these selected bibliographies is proof of their need. Late in 1912 the Russell Sage Foundation began the erection of its building at 130 East Twenty-second Street, and space was pro¬ vided for ample library facilities. Realizing the duplication of effort involved in maintaining several libraries on social problems, the various organizations concerned unanimously decided to pre¬ sent to the Foundation their respective collections to be owned and administered as one library in the new building. The present library is therefore a consolidation of the collections formerly maintained by the New York Charity Organization Society, As¬ sociation for Improving the Condition of the Poor, State Charities Aid Association, New York School of Philanthropy, and the Russell Sage Foundation. This union of the various collections was an especially opportune time to reclassify and recatalogue the entire library. This work was begun on November 1, 1913, and is now nearing completion. The catalogue is in itself a valuable piece of social bibliography. 13 II SCOPE OF COLLECTION II SCOPE OF COLLECTION M ORE than twenty-five years ago, Mr. Paul Leicester Ford, in an article in the Library Journal* deprecated the indis¬ criminate duplication of book purchases by New York li¬ braries, and suggested as a possible remedy some agreement be¬ tween librarians whereby each library should have assigned to it a specific and definite field for its activity. Ten years later Dr. Billings, in defining the policy of the New York Public Library, stated among other things his intention “to buy comparatively little in departments which are well covered by other professional or technical libraries in the city.” The wisdom of that policy is realized to-day, especially in a city where inter-library relations are as mutually profitable as they are in New York. To the student, the question is not “Where is the library?” but “Where is the collection?” A summary of the material available in the Russell Sage Foundation Library is, therefore, of interest to all who would use it. First of all, it is a special collection, so called in that it files and makes available the literature of a special field, and omits entirely whole classes of books to be found in a more general type of library such as the ordinary free public library. Its purpose necessitating this specialization has been expressed admirably by the custodian of a similar collectionf “whose aim is to bring to the service of every social enterprise the knowledge and wisdom of the leaders in social effort; and the recorded experience of other such enter¬ prises and other communities.” The library is intended to be of service as a laboratory for social workers, either professional or volunteer, who wish to analyze and study methods for ameliorating social problems. With this object in view the need of correlation of library resources at * Vol. 15, pp. 7-9. t Social Service Library, Boston, Mass. 2 17 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY once becomes evident. Opportunities furnished by other special collections for the advanced student of public health, sex hygiene, socialism or city planning for instance, are too well known to need comment, and yet all these subjects, being problems of the social worker, must be represented at least by a selected number of the best books on the subject. This fact may explain the need for breadth of selection even in a special library like that of the Rus¬ sell Sage Foundation Library. For convenience of description the resources may be divided into five classes: I, General books; II, Periodicals; III, Reports, federal, state, municipal, and institu¬ tional; IV, Conference proceedings; and V, Vertical file. I. General Books. New books of value relating to social problems are, so far as possible, added as soon as published. The collection on charities, including books on poverty, administration of relief, history of charitable institutions, child-saving and medical charities, is especially strong and comprehensive, containing not only the most recent material on these subjects, but through years of careful collecting, representing the history of modern charitable endeavor, contains naturally a large amount of material on crime, criminology, and correctional institutions. The socialization of church work, the institutional city church and the problem of the rural church are subjects well represented by recent literature. The library of the Union Theological Semi¬ nary contains many additional titles made available to our readers by inter-library loan privileges. Again, effort has been made to procure the best books possible on vocational and industrial train¬ ing in the schools, on social centers, school feeding, medical inspec¬ tion, and continuation schools. Another field well represented by a large number of books relates to city problems, civic improvement and civic welfare. The laws, charters and ordinances of various cities may be found readily in the division of documents of the New York Public Library, while a very fine collection on civic art and city planning may be consulted in the Avery Library, Colum¬ bia University. Nevertheless, a selection of the best books on all these subjects can be found in the Russell Sage Foundation Li¬ brary. On the subjects of public baths, comfort stations, mu¬ nicipal recreation and recreation centers, and the administration of parks, the material is unusually complete. 18 Doorway, Periodical Room SCOPE OF COLLECTION One of the finest collections in the library is on public health. This contains a large number of the best books, old and new, on tuberculosis and its prevention, on the housing question, housing sanitation, improved housing, model villages, and garden cities. In addition, by special arrangement readers have access to the li¬ brary of the New York Academy of Medicine, with its exceptionally fine file of medical reports and periodicals. Labor conditions and problems such as employment, child labor, women in industry, wages, hours of labor, industrial betterment, welfare work, remedial loans, co-operation, unemployment, in¬ surance, employers’ liability, old age pensions and other forms of social insurance are richly represented. Still another field in which the library has gathered carefully and extensively is in the literature of social surveys. These are but examples of the in¬ tensive character of the collection. Other representative subjects taken at random from the cata¬ logue on which the library has collected much material are immi¬ gration, race problems, profit sharing, strikes and lockouts and in¬ dustrial arbitration, farm and labor colonies, dangerous occupations and industrial diseases, vagrancy, charity organization, family re¬ habilitation, feeble-minded and defective classes. The total num¬ ber of such books or treatises is about 15,000 volumes. II. Periodicals. The periodical list represents several years of careful study and consideration of the various demands made upon periodical literature as a source of information on social progress. Periodicals are of strategic importance in a special library. They give the latest results, a matter of moment at a time when so much is being accomplished in the social world. The li¬ brary is fortunate in having complete sets of several technical magazines which are no longer published but which contain articles of the greatest value in tracing the history of certain charitable endeavors. Two hundred and fifty periodicals are received regu¬ larly, the technical magazines being bound, while articles of value from the others are clipped and filed. Magazines not indexed by the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature and its Supplement are indexed by the library, such entries appearing in the general catalogue. The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, Readers’ Guide Supplement, Book Review Digest, Cumulative Index, In- 19 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY dustrial Arts Index, Index to Dates of Current Events, New York Times Index, and Index Medicus are on file. III. Reports. The collection of reports—local, federal, state and institutional—relating in any way to social work, is very com¬ prehensive and numbers about 40,000 volumes. In many cases the long files of reports represent the history of some important social endeavor, and are therefore of the greatest historical value. Among such may be mentioned the reports of park and playground commissions, of state boards of charity, of state boards of health and prison commissions, and current reports of over 3,000 miscel¬ laneous institutions, both American and foreign. For the entire collection, a check list has been made, making its contents readily accessible. IV. Conference Proceedings. The library has especially val¬ uable files of the proceedings of national and international confer¬ ences related in any way to social work which are for the most part complete from the beginning. V. Vertical File. Much valuable material for a sociological library appears in pamphlets. The reports of the majority of in¬ vestigating commissions appear originally in this form. These, because of their permanent value, are bound in boards and treated as books, making them more readily available and capable of wider use. The pamphlets of ephemeral service, but of real value tem¬ porarily, the articles clipped from some popular magazine which may later appear in book form, a collection of pamphlets on the current year’s legislation, to be supplanted by the following year’s cumulation, newspaper clippings, programs of conferences, advance papers included later in the proceedings of the conference, plans and platforms, circulars of information, and such elusive literature, are all kept in the vertical file. Frequent examination and the elimination from time to time of material which has been sup¬ planted keep the number of pieces fairly permanent—about 3,000. Such in brief is the Russell Sage Foundation Library. These notes show also how closely correlated are the various libraries of the city and how easy it is to use the combined library resources when exhaustive study requires. 20 Ill BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT Ill BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT I N SEPTEMBER, 1913, the library was moved into its present quarters in the Russell Sage Foundation Building, at 130 East Twenty-second Street. In planning the floor space for the library, three definite aims were kept in mind: to furnish accommodations ample, well lighted and well ventilated for readers; to provide adequate storage space for books not only for the present but for years to come, and to make the entire collection readily accessible; and finally to so arrange books and readers that the library might be a quiet place for serious study. The location of the library at the top of the building made sure, at the outset, of an abundance of light and the elimination of street noise, while the following brief description will show how the various needs have been realized. The library is reached by electric elevators, which open into the main public corridor on the upper floor. This hall, with its vaulted ceiling and oak wainscote, is a pleasing bit of Florentine work. At the east end of it is the main entrance to the library. At the left of the elevators is a well-lighted workroom, 16 feet x 23 feet, with seven large windows; the corridor and stairway being be¬ tween this and the public rooms, the noise of typewriters never reaches the readers. Directly in front of the elevators, extending half across the front of the building, is the periodical room, containing bound files and current numbers of the magazines. Five great windows glazed after the Florentine manner, with copper rondels, open on to a loggia, extending the full length of the room. The barrelled ceil¬ ing is supported by Kingwood stone columns and pilasters, with carved caps symbolizing some of the activities of the Foundation. The wood in this room is Colima oak, a Mexican product, and the floor of red Welsh quarry tile. At the west end of the periodical room is a door opening into a 23 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY small study, to be used by people who may wish to converse about their work. This provision keeps the reading rooms more quiet. Beyond this room is that of the librarian. The main reading room with the stack occupies the entire Lex¬ ington Avenue side of the building and is 65 x 24 feet. The ceiling is vaulted and supported by columns and corbels of Tennessee marble, the general color scheme being a warm gray-blue with blue and gold harmoniously blended in walls and ceiling. By day the light comes through eight large windows, while at night the lighting by the indirect method is at once abundant and peculiarly restful to the eye. The present arrangement in this room provides for 50 readers, two at a table, arranged so that every reader has the light over his left shoulder and sits next to an aisle, no reader facing another. The public catalogue is placed in an alcove on the west side of the room, a position which allows free conversation without disturbing those at work at the tables. The main charging desk is at the south end of this room, back of which is the three-story open steel stack with a capacity of 50,000 volumes. The arrangement is such that the reference librarian and the readers have the entire resources of the library, together with the key to the collection, the catalogue, close at hand. Around the walls of the reading room are general reference books, annuals, dictionaries, and en¬ cyclopedias. Opening from the west side of this room is a comfortable study used largely by the students of the New York School of Philan¬ thropy. Here are books reserved for required readings, and the vertical file for clippings. The main reading room, as well as this study, has cork tile floors, which make them noiseless. The woodwork and furniture are of white oak finished in silver gray. The heating of the library is ample and well distributed from radiators concealed by bronze grilles, and controlled by thermo¬ stats. Artificial ventilation also has been provided, arranged so that air may be supplied to the rooms at the floor and exhausted at the ceilings, or vice versa, as conditions of temperature and humidity may require. Thus, splendidly housed, the library is in a better position than ever before to render effective service. 24 Periodical Room IV METHODS AND RESULTS IV METHODS AND RESULTS T HE phenomenal growth in the number of special libraries throughout the country is not without reason. One of the fundamental differences between them and the public li¬ brary is in their origin. The latter more often than otherwise anticipates a hoped-for field of service, while the latter is established because of a real and definite demand. There are over ioo special libraries in New York City,—in mercantile establishments for the improvement of salesmanship and consequently, sales,—in the factory as adjuncts ot social welfare—in the field of engineering, medicine, banking, sociology, insurance, for the investigator or student—all established because of a demand for definite and spe¬ cialized information. The special libraries in New York are very advantageously placed because of easy intercommunication and because of the size and value of the public library whose collections they supplement rather than duplicate. To have once realized the demand and provided an adequate collection is not, however, to have completed the work. A large number of books on a given subject does not make a special library, —there must be special interest and knowledge as well as library technique,—material must be added not simply for the present but in anticipation of demands. Moreover, the method of ac¬ quiring data for the public library differs from that of the special library; the former buys the major part of its material, the latter secures it in the form of federal, state, or municipal documents more often without charge but at the expense of alertness and patience. The methods of classification, too, must be adapted to the intensive nature of the collection—the subject headings and cross-references being of necessity in the language of the investigator who uses it. Even with a good collection readily available through a modern 27 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY up-to-date catalogue, and through the service of intelligent and trained library workers, efforts still are needed to make the re¬ sources of the library known to a larger circle than those who must use it perforce, or who happen to know about it. The library, like any other institution, must decide upon the breadth of its field. Naturally that field is first of all local. The Russell Sage Founda¬ tion Library is used by the students of the New York School of Philanthropy and by special students of other city institutions of learning. In addition it offers unusual opportunities for study for the large number of social workers of the city, and through its close relations with other libraries may often direct to other col¬ lections the investigator whom it cannot serve, and thus save him or her untold loss of time and trouble.* Since the collection is too valuable to be merely local in its service, efforts have been made to extend its usefulness by: (i) exchange relations with other libra¬ ries, (2) the typewritten bibliography made on request, either in person or by letter, and (3) the printed bulletin to which reference has been made. The idea of exchanges was the result of large donations of books and pamphlets, many of which often valuable were duplicates. Through the generosity of the Library Journal lists of such ma¬ terial are published from time to time and through this medium reach practically all American libraries. Books and pamphlets are thus redistributed, so that no really valuable material is wasted. The eagerness with which valuable state documents, for instance, are often secured by state librarians has been gratifying. In one instance nine volumes thus secured made a state file of documents complete from 1867 to date. In return, many out-of-print reports and especially conference proceedings have been received, making this collection more nearly complete and consequently of more value. But more important than the books given or received has been the contact gained with librarians everywhere, and the op¬ portunities to extend our service. To those who cannot visit the library in person, bibliographical help is furnished. These lists range from two or three titles em¬ bodied in a letter suggesting the particular organizations with * The last chapter of this Handbook gives some data concerning other collec¬ tions of interest to social workers. 28 Main Reading Room METHODS AND RESULTS which the inquirer should get in touch, to a comprehensive bibliog¬ raphy of many pages. Doctors, nurses, teachers, college pro¬ fessors, and their students, and many social workers in various parts of the country receive such help regularly.* Records are available for tracing the growth of this service for five years only, but they give striking proof that such help is needed and appreci¬ ated, For the year ending September 30, 1911,61 bibliographies were made, a number actually less than that often made now per month, while during the year ending September 30, 1916, 223 separate typewritten bibliographies were made for individuals and institutions in 30 different states. Starting when the first number appeared in September, 1911, with a few requests for “printed bibliographies on social ques¬ tions/’ the permanent mailing list for the bi-monthly bulletin now numbers over 1,000. In addition to this list an increasing number of bulletins are sent out every month in answer to letters request¬ ing them, as well as in answer to requests for books on the subjects covered by the printed bibliography. About 1,000 copies are thus distributed annually.f One reason for the wide use of these lists is that they are selective rather than comprehensive, all bibliog¬ raphies being approved before publication by experts in the field. The printed bibliographies cover the following subjects to date: American Foundations. Church in Social Life. Co-operative Credit. Emergency Relief. Eugenics. Farm Colonies for Vagrants and Convicts. Feeblemindedness, 2 editions. Hospital Social Service. Improved Housing. Infant Welfare. Juvenile Delinquency—Causes and Treatment. List of Russell Sage Foundation Department Pamphlets. Penal Farms and Farm Colonies. School Nurse. * It has not seemed best to send books out of the city except in rare cases, the belief being that it is better for the local library to furnish the books needed by its community. Librarians are as a rule glad to add valuable books on suggestion. f A nominal charge of 25 cents for six copies and 5 cents for a single copy is made to cover the cost of printing. 29 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY Selected List of Books on Social Subjects issued annually. Social Aspects of Town Planning. Social Survey, 2 editions. Tuberculosis. Vocational Guidance. Welfare Work. And the result? The use of a library is, after all, the proof of the value of its methods and its ideals. Rounding out the collection has been and always will be necessary, the cataloguing of books and pam¬ phlets, the installation of a charging system, the insertion of book plates in all books, their classification and arrangement on the shelves, the making of a check list—all have been important and nec¬ essary pieces of work, but only so many means to a very definite end— to increase the usefulness of the library up to the limit of its power. A few figures may prove of interest as showing the growth of this usefulness. For the year ending September 30, 1911, 4,470 books were circulated; for the year ending September 30, 1916, 8,958. But this increase is the smallest of gains of the library. The li¬ brary, from its special nature, will never have a large circulation. It is primarily a library for study, for reference, and for investiga¬ tion, where people will come and read and use reports and reference material in great quantities, many of whom may seldom take a book for use outside the building. And the true test of a special library, after all, is not in its circulation—it is in its use. Measured in terms of service the gain has been most striking. The average number of readers per month for the year ending September 30, 1911, was about 300; the average number for the year ending September 30, 1916, was 1,347, or a total of 16,170 for the year. It is particularly encouraging to note that this wider field of usefulness has come, not from any form of library publicity, but through those who have used the library to their profit—individ¬ uals, nurses, doctors, social workers or students of nearby schools and colleges, and institutions for whose directors data has been furnished. These, satisfied with assistance received, have recom¬ mended such service to others. This has made the library from the outset of more than local value, for it is free to the public irre¬ spective of locality, and its resources are available to all who have need of the kind of assistance it is able to give. 30 V COLLECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY OF INTEREST TO SOCIAL WORKERS V COLLECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY OF INTEREST TO SOCIAL WORKERS I N ANY city, and especially in a large city like New York, it is well for the student to know something about the combined book resources available for any definite piece of work. There are about 150 public and private libraries in Greater New York and Newark, so near as to be almost equally within reach, contain¬ ing approximately five and one-half millions of volumes, the com¬ bined resources of which offer unusual opportunities. To simplify the effort for those who would read widely and exhaustively on any particular phase of social work, the following brief mention is made of certain of the collections in New York City. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Fifth Avenue at Forty-second Street Hours: 9 a. m.-io p. m. week days, including holidays. Sun¬ days, from 1 p. m-10 p. m. The central building at Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street contains the administrative offices for the entire city system, the chief reference department of the library, a circulating department for adults and children, all the books for the blind and those that are supplied to traveling libraries. There are 43 other circulation branches, many of them containing good reference departments located in various parts of the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Richmond, a detailed list of which may be found in any di¬ rectory. All branches have good collections on sociology and in many cases special attention has been paid to works on the labor problem, social welfare, civil service and government. The ref¬ erence collections which are for consultation within the building 3 33 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY only and do not circulate are free for the use of all, whether resi¬ dents of New York City or not. The privilege of drawing out books is free to any person with a home or business address in the city. The main reading room in the central building contains about 25,000 reference books, chosen with a view of providing a good general survey of the whole book world, and placed on shelves freely accessible. In addition there are 17 special reading rooms— which likewise contain selections for ready reference. In the cur¬ rent periodicals room are filed over 4,500 periodicals; in the tech¬ nology room, 400; in the division of public documents and eco¬ nomics, 1,500; in the newspaper room, 300 newspapers; all are useful to students and many are indispensable to the student of economic or social problems. In addition to 70,956 volumes for reference, the circulation de¬ partment has available for distribution 1,030,000 volumes, of which nearly 100,000 treat of the social sciences. One of the most important features of the reference department is its files of periodicals and publications. Particular efforts are made to secure promptly the current bills when Congress or the state legislature is in session. The library is also a subscriber to several of the information services. Among the special collections in the reference department are the following: Criminology. In memory of Richard L. Dugdale, the library received a fund for the purchase of books on criminology. It printed in its bulletin (Vol. 10, p. 279-289) a list of works on the subjects of beggars, mendicants, tramps, vagrants, etc., and in its bulletin (Vol. 15, p. 259-317, 350-371, 379-446, 463-501, 5 i 5 ~ 557 > 567-621, 635-714,—May to November, 1911) a list of works on criminology. These compose a very comprehensive and valuable bibliography on the subject. Economics and Economic Theory. For the student of eco¬ nomic theory and history, 8,000 volumes are available. With the Simon Sterne, the Ford, and other collections, the library received important contributions of sources for the study of these subjects. It has a notable collection of the various editions of Smith’s '‘Wealth of Nations.” 34 COLLECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY FOR SOCIAL WORKERS The index of economic material to be found in documents of the various states of the United States now being compiled by Miss A. R. Basse (Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1907-1912, etc., 12 vols.) gives students the location of such material as the library does not possess. Indexes for the following states have appeared: California, 1908; Delaware, 1910; Illinois, 1909; Kentucky, 1910; Maine, 1907; Massachusetts, 1908; New Hampshire, 1908; New Jersey, 1915; New York, 1908; Ohio, 1912; Rhode Island, 1908; Vermont, 1908. Municipal Government. The library has 50,000 volumes of municipal reports from over 2,000 cities in various countries; and in the Public Documents Division a useful collection of clippings and pamphlets on municipal subjects. A beginning has also been made in collecting maps of cities. These are located in the map room. Newspapers. Files of newspapers are often of the greatest importance to the student who would trace the progress of social endeavor. The library is rich in early newspapers, particularly those published in New York City before 1800. The presses of New England and Pennsylvania are also well represented. New York History. The library has as one of its specialties the history of New York City and state, and its collection is par¬ ticularly complete. A list of works relating to the state was printed in its bulletin, Vol. 4, p. 163-178, 199-220, 359-378; Vol. 7, p. 51-79, 95-116, 129-151, while a list of works relating to the history of the city of New York is found in its bulletin, Vol. 5, and to that of Brooklyn, Vol. 6. Social Sciences. Nearly 100,000 volumes and about 40,000 pamphlets relate to the social sciences. A list of periodicals re¬ lating to sociology and economics was printed in its bulletin, Vol. 4, p. 128-142. Socialism. The library contains the collection of the late F. A. Sorge, relating to social movements during the second half of the nineteenth century, mainly in Germany and France, amounting to some 2,000 volumes. Included in the collection are some 250 manuscript letters to and from Sorge, Marx, Engels, and others, between 1867 and 1895. Statistics. Formal statistics represented by American and 35 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY foreign government reports with a large collection of allied material in society publications, etc., number about 20,000 volumes. In addition to the bibliographies already mentioned, two others compiled by the library are of special interest, that on city plan¬ ning and allied subjects in the bulletin for November, 1913 (Vol. 17, No. 11, p. 930-96), and that on minimum wage, appearing in the bulletin for August, 1913, No. 8, p. 665-671. Social workers are urged to consult the monthly bulletin regularly at the various branches or at the main library for helpful lists of books on current questions. MUNICIPAL REFERENCE LIBRARY 512 Municipal Building Hours: 9 a. m-5 p. m.; Saturdays, 9 a. m.-i p. m. Not open on Sundays and holidays. This library is a branch of the New York Public Library, and is designed primarily for the use of the officials of New York City. While individuals interested in municipal problems, as well as civic organizations, are invited to make free use of its resources, its material is loaned only to employes of the city. The library has a very good collection of New York City docu¬ ments. Federal documents and the reports of New York and other states are kept on file only when they bear directly on municipal problems. About 250 periodicals of special use to city officials are regularly received. The collection has been developed to a considerable extent along the line of municipal engineering. A Public Health Division is maintained on the fifth floor of the Health Department Building at 139 Centre Street. This division specializes on subjects of importance to the various bureaus of the Health Department and is open to the general public for reference purposes. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Broadway at ii6th Street Hours: The General Library is open every week day except Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, and Independence Day, from 8.30 a. m. until 11 p. m., October- May; and until 10 p. m., June-September. 36 COLLECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY FOR SOCIAL WORKERS The use of the library for reference purposes is extended to per¬ sons having a letter of introduction from the librarians of the public or special libraries in New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Newark, and Jersey City; and to other persons properly introduced who wish to do research work which cannot be done elsewhere in the city. The general reading room is the central point of the readers’ di¬ vision of the library service, where readers use the books which they have called for at the loan desk, or consult volumes from the refer¬ ence and reserve collections shelved in the room itself. It is also the place where readers should apply for information about the location of books in study or seminar rooms of the library, general library rules, instruction in the use of the catalogue, and help in the use of reference books and in research work. On the open shelves around the sides of the room are available about 10,000 volumes, comprising reference books, such as general and special dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies and indexes, standard manuals, treatises, and so forth, in their latest editions, on the subjects most called for by readers; also a selection of the works of standard English and foreign authors. The periodical literature is shelved in Room 207 immediately adjoining the general reading room. Some of the special subjects of interest to social workers on which the University Library has rich collections are: Labor, with 4,070 volumes, including 730 volumes of newspapers; Municipal Government, 4,537 volumes; Socialism, 2,056 volumes, with about 350 on Anarchism. In addition to the books in the General Library, there are many located in other buildings. Teachers College has a valuable educational collection number¬ ing about 63,000 volumes, and is particularly rich in material on secondary and higher education, industrial schools, school hygiene, and physical education. Valuable source material for the social worker may be found at the Law Library in Kent Hall. For especial convenience in look¬ ing up recent legislation the law librarian has assembled in one room a collection of the latest revisions of the laws of the various states and the subsequent session laws in each state. In addition to the usual collections of American and English codes, statutes, 37 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY session laws, reports, text-books, and periodicals, there is an ex¬ tensive collection of works on criminal law in all countries. A classified collection of compilations of laws on special subjects, such as labor, workmen’s compensation, social insurance, is being made. The Avery collection in Avery Hall is the standard library on archi¬ tecture in the United States. Its extensive collection of park reports and material on city planning is one of the best in the country. BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY—MONTAGUE BRANCH 197 Montague Street t Hours: 9 a. m-9 p. m. except Sundays and holidays. The Department of Sociology of the Brooklyn Public Library is centered at the Montague Branch, where is housed the main refer¬ ence collection of the library. In the immediate collection of Sociology there are some 18,000 volumes and over 2,000 pamphlets, the latter including many special reports of societies and institu¬ tions working along lines of social service. Every effort is made to obtain material of present value to students and official workers; the pamphlet collection contains current reports of undertak¬ ings in the various parts of this country and foreign countries whenever it is possible to secure them. The library is also well equipped with files of the transactions and proceedings of associa¬ tions whose special interests lie in the social sciences. The cata¬ logue of the Department of Sociology is an index to allied material of importance in whatever department of the general collection it may be shelved. Some 200 current periodicals and bulletins afford popular, technical, and professional sources of information concerning the historical or present aspect of social conditions and social movements: these include publications of municipal interest from various cities as well as magazines devoted to social, educa¬ tional, and general civic interests. A vertical file of clippings and ephemeral matter brings the current record up to date as far as possible; this file is not large, however, as it is kept well in hand for immediate information only, while practically all of the pamphlet material is regularly catalogued. One particularly valuable guide is an index to the City Record from 1898 to date, 38 COLLECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY FOR SOCIAL WORKERS which facilitates the locating of reports of departments, which would otherwise be lost because of their irregular issue. A be¬ ginning has also been made at indexing some special ordinances in this publication. The combination of a municipal reference col¬ lection with that of a sociological collection gives a broad scope to the value of the department for the social worker. SPECIAL LIBRARIES AMERICAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION LIBRARY 5 Nassau Street Hours: 9 a. m-5 p. m., daily except Saturdays. Saturdays, 9 a. m.-i p. m. Closed on Sundays and holidays. This library contains 3,000 volumes and about 40,000 clippings. It is not open to the public, but students will be allowed to make use of it on presentation of a card from the Russell Sage Founda¬ tion Library. Subjects in which the collection is unusually com¬ plete and in which social workers are interested are: cooperative banks, juvenile savings banks, school savings banks, loan banks, savings plans and societies, municipal banks, negro banks, agricul¬ tural extension by bankers, remedial loans, agricultural credit, cooperation, pawn shops, bank pensions, and profit-sharing plans, immigrant banks, postal savings banks, building and loan associa¬ tions. AMERICAN SOCIAL HYGIENE ASSOCIATION LIBRARY 105 West Fortieth Street Hours: 9 a. m-5 p. m. Saturdays, 9 a. m-12 m. Closed on Sundays and holidays. This library is designed primarily for the use of students and in¬ vestigators, but any one interested in the subject of social hygiene is invited to make free use of the books. The library contains a very complete collection of material deal¬ ing with prostitution, vice investigations, social hygiene legisla- 39 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY tion, venereal diseases, marriage, sex ethics, sex instruction, and re¬ lated subjects. Files of periodicals dealing with the above sub¬ jects include Social Hygiene, American Social Hygiene Association Bulletin, Eugenics Review, Social Diseases, and various state and municipal publications. A number of traveling libraries containing representative books on the subject of social hygiene are sent out at the request of clubs, libraries, and study groups. EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE LIBRARY 165 Broadway Hours: Open to the public for reference from 9 a. m-4 p. m. except on Saturdays, when it is open from 9 a. m-12 m. Closed on Sundays and holidays. The library has much material dealing with Social Insurance, Pensions and Annuities, some of it consisting of general discussion, but the larger part dealing with actuarial questions. On file are the publications of the Actuarial Society of America, the Institute of Actuaries of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland; also books showing results of Mortality Investigations, such as Specialized Mortality Investigation, Medico- Actuarial Mortality Investigation, British Offices Life Tables, the amount of Sickness and Mortality experienced in Friendly Societies (Sutton), etc. All publications are well indexed, so that their contents are readily accessible. GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LIBRARY Chelsea Square Hours: 9 a. m-5 p. m.; 7.15 p. m-10.30 p. m. from October to May. June, July, and September from 9 a. m-4 p. m. Closed during August. The library has a large collection upon subjects pertaining to social and philanthropic work, and especially those which treat of the relations between the church and such lines of effort. The 40 COLLECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY FOR SOCIAL WORKERS Rural Church, Christian Sociology, Christian Socialism, and Insti¬ tutional Church Work may be mentioned as subjects on which this library specializes. The current English and American periodicals on these subjects are on file. Readers are always welcome and full access to the shelves is permitted. LIBRARY OF THE ENGINEERING SOCIETIES 29 West Thirty-Ninth Street Hours: Open daily to the public for reference from 9 a. m. until 10 p. m., except Sundays, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christ¬ mas, and New Year's. The Library is one of the largest engineering libraries in the world, covering electrical, mechanical, mining and civil engineer¬ ing and chemical technology. It receives currently over a thou¬ sand periodicals and society publications, representing 32 different countries and written in 13 different languages. It has published a catalogue of the technical periodicals as found in seven technical libraries in New York City and vicinity. A Library Service Bureau has been established, which is pre¬ pared to furnish reference lists, make translations, and prepare photoprints of any articles found in the files of the Library. Many valuable bibliographies have been made, including such subjects as water supply, sanitary engineering, sewerage, city planning, lighting, heating and ventilations accidents in industries, dis¬ eases and living conditions among miners. METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIBRARY Madison Avenue at Twenty-third Street Hours: 9 a. m-5 p. m. Saturdays, 9 a. m.-i p. m. Closed on Sundays and holidays. This valuable collection on insurance is open to the public. Of especial interest is the material, both books and pamphlets, on social insurance, and such allied subjects as industrial hygiene, mortality, accident prevention, etc. 4i RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIBRARY NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE LIBRARY 17-21 West Forty-third Street Hours: 9 a. m.-2 p. m. daily. Closed on Sundays and holidays. Open by special permission to readers and students of the Rus¬ sell Sage Foundation Library. The collection numbers nearly 105,000 volumes and receives currently more than 1400 medical journals. It embraces the well-known library of the New York Hospital, numbering about 25,000 volumes, and the Dr. Valentine Mott Memorial Medical Library of 10,000 volumes. Among the special collections of interest to social workers are the Dr. Samuel S. Purple collection of American medical periodicals; Dr. Freeman J. Bumstead collection on social diseases; Dr. Elisha Harris col¬ lection on sanitary science; and the Dr. Rudolph A. Witthaus col¬ lection of medical jurisprudence and toxicology. UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LIBRARY Broadway at 120TH Street Hours: 8.45 a. m.-6 p. m. daily except Sundays and holidays. Closed from August 15 to September 15. In addition to a large collection on religion and theology, the library has a considerable number of books on the Church and So¬ cial Problems, as well as on religion as a social force. The refer¬ ence library is open to any person interested. 42 V L, \ <9 \ wMBy: V- ■ ■ L V '• • - : ^: v: ’■ . 'fm ■Mmm >r;' * **. • . C . . <(-.■• •-•••; ..V;:,: ‘ ‘ . • *• ’.■ ! «• »-\,t r,V ■ .