FIRST SESSION

(Friday afternoon, June 28th)

The first session was held at the Chateau Laurier Friday afternoon, June 28th. The chairman, Miss Mary de Bure McCurdy, presided. The general topic was "Work of special libraries with children."

MISS MARY S. SAXE, of the Westmount public library of Montreal, read a paper on the subject.

WITH THE CHILDREN IN CANADA

Miss Saxe said they had in Westmount the only properly equipped children's room in any library in the province of Quebec, and that the only library work for children in Montreal was done by the McGill university settlement workers in the slums of that city. The best children's work in the province of Ontario is now done by the public libraries of Toronto, Ottawa, London, Collingwood, Berlin, Sarnia and Fort William. Among the smaller libraries the work done at Galt is particularly worthy of mention, the quality being due, as is generally the case, to the unselfish and enthusiastic work of the librarian. At Winnipeg, although they have a handsome library building and a room set apart for the children, activities seemed at a low ebb when the speaker visited the library two years ago.

"The Church of England in Canada has done a good work up there within the Arctic circle with its Sunday school libraries. The Indian children and the half-breed children, of whom there are many, get all their reading from this source.

"Away out on the Pacific coast, a missionary of this same church became interested in the logging camps that he found among the islands of the gulf of Georgia. He returned to the Bishops of Columbia, and of New Westminster, stating that he must have a boat built, which would be a church, and also an ambulatory library. It was a beautiful scheme—it was also an expensive one. But those of you who care to read of its development in a little book entitled "Western Canada" can do so, and you will learn with delight how well the idea has worked out.

"In the past two years the library movement in Canada, especially in the Northwest, has expanded rapidly. Regina has opened a new public library within the past six weeks, and the work for children is to be well looked after. Calgary, New Westminster, Vancouver, Victoria, all tell the same tale of a long struggle in crowded quarters—and now new buildings and splendid promise of good work. It is most unfortunate for us in Canada, that our distances are so great, our ties have to be mostly railway ties.

"In Westmount we opened the Children's room in January, 1911. We began agitating the dire need of such a department fully seven years before the reality came."

The paper on County work with children prepared by Miss ALICE GODDARD, head of children's department, Washington County free library, Hagerstown, Maryland, was read by Miss Gertrude Andrus in Miss Goddard's absence.

COUNTY WORK WITH CHILDREN

My subject, as announced on the program is "County work with children." In the first place let me say that there is little or nothing to be said about county work with children that does not apply equally to work with adults in the same community. The experience of the Washington County free library of Hagerstown, Maryland, during eleven years of rural work, has been that the books that go into the country homes are read by old and young alike. The reason for this is not far to seek; the children are going to school, for a few months of the year, at least, and are receiving an education that was, in many cases, denied the parents. Before the installation of our library, books, other than an occasional religious periodical, perhaps, were an unknown quantity in the average farm house, so that, even if the farmer or his wife had acquired the reading habit as a child, it had lapsed, through disuse. Consequently, when our books were first brought to the door the same books appealed to both parents and children. One mother told us, with tears in her eyes, that we could never know how she enjoyed hearing the children read the books aloud, for neither she nor her husband could read or write.

At a farmers' institute in Ohio, an enlightened farmer once remarked that the three things that had done most for the amelioration of the lot of the farmer's wife were, rural free delivery, rural telephones and Butterick patterns, and to that trilogy we add rural free delivery of books. How to reach the country children, is, of course, the problem that confronts a county library. The methods of the Washington County free library of Hagerstown, Md., are:

First—The children's room of the central library. This is a large, pleasant room, on the second floor, where the usual activities of any children's room are carried on. Two story hours a week are held, Friday nights for the older children, and Saturday mornings for the younger ones; many of our regular Saturday morning visitors are from the outlying districts; there are three little boys who come "four mile," as they express it, nearly every week to hear the stories, they have been known to be led into the extravagance of spending even their return fare on the train—such are the temptations of city life!—and having to walk home. One very small boy who is with us almost every Saturday is the son of a stage driver, his father brings him in, and leaves him with us for the morning, he is known among us as "sonny," because of characteristics similar to those of Ruth McEnery Stuart's hero.

Any child in the county, so soon as he can write his name, may "join liberry," regardless of "race, or previous condition of servitude," a phrase not without meaning still, in Maryland. The same privileges are extended to all, town and country children alike, two books at a time, with privilege of renewal. Country books may, of course, be renewed by telephone or mail, and frequent cards come to "Dear teacher," or even "Dear friend."

The teachers draw to a practically unlimited extent upon the circulating collection, as well as from the school duplicates, of which more a little later. So much for the work of the main library.

Second—Branches throughout the county. These are deposit stations, placed in the country store, the post office, the toll gates or, in some cases, in private houses, the boxes contain about fifty books, and are returned every two or three months for a fresh supply. A custodian is appointed who keeps track of the books by means of an alphabetized blank book, the book slips being kept at the library, filed by the Browne system, under the name of the station, Shady Bower, Black Rock, etc.

Third—The Boonesboro Reading Room. This village began with a deposit station, and became so interested that a permanent reading room was established, maintained entirely by the village, except for the books, which are supplied by the library; a permanent collection was given, which is supplemented by an exchange every ten days. A fortnightly story hour is carried on here; during the past two years it has become necessary to divide the children into two groups, to the older ones the same series of stories is told as to the older group at the library, Norse myths, Iliad and Odyssey, and, this winter, Chaucer, Spencer and Shakespeare. The latter author, by the way, meets with special approbation among our country friends.

Fourth—Schools. The country schools, as well as those in town, are visited, and collections are sent; with the books are sent pictures, prints of the masterpieces, mounted, and annotated with sufficient fullness to serve as a lesson outline, if the teachers wish to use them so.

Fifth—The book wagon, or to be strictly accurate, one must now say book automobile. About six years ago it was discovered that thirty of the stations were off the line of railroad, trolley or stage, and the question of transportation arose; for a year a horse and wagon filled the need, going out simply for the purpose of carrying cases back and forth. Then the book wagon was built, so constructed as to carry several cases for deposit stations, and at the same time, some two hundred books on its shelves; thus began our rural free delivery of books, and the wagon, with its driver, Mr. Joshua Thomas, became one of the features of the county, until about two years ago, when a most unfortunate accident deprived us of both. A stray engine, coming round a curve, struck and completely demolished the wagon; happily, Mr. Thomas and the horses were across the track, the horses escaped uninjured, and Mr. Thomas, though thrown out and stunned, sustained no injuries other than the shock, which, at his age, was naturally very great. Mr. Thomas has now retired from active labors, and the wagon has been succeeded by an automobile.

Perhaps I can best give you an idea of the work of the wagon if you will come with me, in spirit, for a typical day in the country. The new car is constructed very much as the old wagon was, with room for two passengers, besides the chauffeur, one member of the staff goes on the trips now, for our chauffeur is a chauffeur only, nor is he the picturesque figure Mr. Thomas was.

Let us choose a morning in spring, when red bud and dogwood are in bloom, and the fruit trees are fluffy masses of pink and white clouds, and the tender green of new life is showing on hill side and forest, and the "hills of Maryland" stand out like lapis lazuli against a turquoise sky. It is a fair country, and one can understand why the early settlers tarried in this valley in their march westward, over the very National Road that we shall drive over today; a road full of historic meaning, a road that has seen the covered wagons of the emigrant tide, that has resounded to the tread of advancing and retreating armies, and that is now a thoroughfare for motor cars. We see little, or no actual poverty, occasionally the down-at-the-heels farm of a "poor white," but thrift and comfort are the rule.

We spin gaily along in our motor wagon, stopping at the farm houses along the way; occasionally horses shy at us, and children stick their fingers in their mouths and stare, for automobiles are still somewhat of a novelty on cross roads and lanes, and country horses and children are not so sophisticated as their city brethren. Sometimes we go a mile or more off the main road, to reach one house; we are rewarded in one such case, for we find a girl of sixteen, who has never read Miss Alcott, and we leave her with Little Women in her arms. A swarm of "sunbonnet babies" greets us here, too, and we find a picture book for the older sister to read to them.

At one house we have some difficulty in enticing the farmer's wife out to look at our wares. "He" is out on the farm, and there is not much time for reading. We discover a boy of twelve or thirteen, however, lurking in the background, with a dog at his heels, the dog is a convenient topic of conversation, and Beautiful Joe happens to be in the wagon. An inquiry as to the family elicits the information that this boy is all, except an "orphant boy we took." After some difficulty the "orphant boy" is brought forth from the recesses of the barn, where, we strongly suspect, he has had an eye at a crack all the time, and proves to be the regulation "bound boy" of Mary E. Wilkins, tattered straw hat, patched overalls and all; he, too, has a fondness for animals, and so we drive away, leaving boys and dog looking after us, with Seton-Thompson as a companion.

One wide detour, up a hilly lane, brings us to a house, commanding a wonderful view of hills and valleys, and the Potomac, a winding silver thread in the distance. Here we find the mistress of the house, and a girl of sixteen or eighteen, who "lives there;" they used to get books from the old wagon, they tell us, and it has seemed a long time since they had any. Accordingly, we bid them help themselves, and as we are preparing to drive away, one of them, hugging a huge pile of heterogeneous literature, says to the other, "Law, Bess, we'll fergit to listen on the 'phone!" an unconscious tribute both to us and the rural telephone system.

And now we find that the dinner hour has arrived; sometimes there is a country hotel at hand, but more often we have dinner at some hospitable farm house, which gives us a golden opportunity to make friends with our people. It is noticeable that the conversation is confined almost entirely to us women, the men attending strictly to the business in hand; the women, however, make the most of an unusual event, and between serving and conversation, it often seems to us as though their own wants must be entirely forgotten.

There is a country school on our way, and we stop there to get the key to a church a little farther on, where we are to pick up a case of books; the temptation to a story teller is too great to be resisted, the wagon goes on, to come back a little later, the two rooms are put together, and I have the pleasure of telling "Johnny Cake" and "Seven little kids" to children who have never heard them before. When the wagon appears we suggest a picture, and a grand stampede follows, all the school commissioners and truant officers on earth could not have kept a child in that building—the charm of the Pied Piper was no greater!

"And what do your country children read?" We are often asked, and we like to reply, with considerable pride, that they read good books. When the wagon is being loaded for a trip a large proportion of the books is from the shelves of the children's room, and of the fiction fully 75% bears the mystic symbol "J," showing, as I have said, that the same books are read by parents and children; war stories are always in demand, particularly of the Civil War; Henty is a prime favorite, and of the better Hentys, With Clive in India, Beric the Briton, for instance, we duplicate quite freely. Novels of a religious character, such as Ben Hur are popular, and Pilgrim's progress is always in demand.

And so our day slips by, and before we know it evening is upon us; by four o'clock we see preparations for the night going on in the barn yard. We go home, tired, but with depleted shelves, and the consciousness of a good day's work. May there be many more to come, and may each one of you fare forth with us one day, on some such happy library adventure.

Mr. Henry E. Legler read a paper prepared by Miss JEAN McLEOD, house librarian, Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, on

AN EMPLOYEES' LIBRARY—ITS SCOPE AND ITS POSSIBILITIES

I have been advised that there is only one thing more ruinous to one's reputation than an absent debut to the American Library Association conference, and that is to inflict a maiden paper upon someone else to read. But after absorbing some of Mr. Legler's courage and optimism, I cannot refrain from treading upon this dangerous ground and setting forth a few pet theories. I do not know that Sears, Roebuck & Company needs an introduction or an explanation, but as the character, combined with the magnitude of the house, is quite unique, and is such a vital part of the library work, the foundation of this paper, as well as of the work itself, must of necessity be predicated upon some knowledge of the house machinery.

We are dealing with a mail order retail house, and this paper will be based upon the central plant only. The existence of the outlying factories, not only in Chicago but throughout the country, all under the control of one corporation, opens up a new field in commercial library work, which to my knowledge has never been touched.

The house handles everything—that does not mean the usual stock of a department store, but everything that can be bought and sold. New opportunities arise as your eye wanders down the list of the various departments. Our house directory lists over 200 departments, including jewelry, baby clothes, and farm implements. In fact, a home can be furnished complete from parlor to stables.

Besides the merchandise, we have the various administration and utility departments, which include press rooms, bindery, machine shops, shipping rooms, employment department, restaurant, green house, hospital, barber shop, chemical laboratory, etc. With this cosmopolitan center, condensed under one management, there is no limit to library possibilities. My experience so far has been that everything in print can find a congenial resting place somewhere in the house.

The central plant occupies three square blocks, including five buildings and a sixth in the process of construction. The largest of these, the merchandise building, is nine stories high and two blocks long, and is a condensed village in population and activity. The library is located next to one of the most popular sections in this building, the employees' and house sales department. In this section employees are obliged to call for their personal purchases. This is an added convenience and a time saving arrangement. The printing building, administration building, power house and paint factory complete the group of this seething little city, and make one wish that a branch library might be established in every corner.

Our library is primarily a deposit branch of the Chicago public library. We have about 1600 books on deposit, which give us a circulation of about 4000 a month. In addition to that, our daily express service gives us the resources of the main library stock, and makes it possible to send individual cards with specific requests through the station department. This is a great help in making out lists on special topics, as 25 or 30 books on a subject may be listed and drawn one after the other without further reference. Our circulation for these books runs from between 75 to 100 a day.

In addition to our public library books, we have about a thousand of our own. About 75 per cent. of this collection is light fiction and juvenile books; that is, stories for both boys and girls of the intermediate age. Books of this character are, of course, in the greatest demand, and it is for the right kind of this material that we are constantly searching. This supplementary collection of our own does not in any way detract from our public library books, but rather serves as added bait and leads to the better books of the public library, upon whose resources we depend for our existence.

We subscribe for about 40 monthly and weekly periodicals, both technical and popular. In addition to these, we have several shelves of miscellaneous magazines, composed of month-old copies sent out from the main library, as well as our own old copies, and donations from the employees. All of these magazines we circulate. In fact, we are in no sense a reading room, as the very nature of a busy 8-hour day and 45-minute lunch period will prove. Our charging tray and a few pieces of furniture are the only things we refuse to let go to the homes or departments.

In taking charge of the library last fall, I realized that there were two distinct phases of the work: the commercial or economic, and the social—the first to be established, the second to be developed—both sides equally interesting and offering equal possibilities.

The commercial value must be established not only by becoming familiar with the policy of the house, but by co-operating with the heads of departments and making the library felt as a live agent throughout the house.

Co-operation is best established by the reference work which can to a large extent be created. For instance: One of the buyers in the supply department is dealing with two agents for rubber bands. The contract is a big one. There is much discussion as to which make of rubber band will live the longer. In self-defence, the buyer telephones the library for any information on rubber. Right here is the librarian's chance to make or mar. Perhaps this buyer has no library card, but at the eleventh hour has thought of the library as a last resource. There is one sure way to cure him of ever using the library again, and to persuade this time-pressed business man that the library is a plaything done up in red tape, and that is to send word to him that he must come personally to the library, sign an application, and wait for the book according to our library law. He will probably decide to take a chance on the merits of the rubber bands, and condemn the library as an agent of too slow blood for his purposes.

The point is to get the information and to get it at once to the right man. If we can find something on our own shelves, a boy is sent with the book at once, even if he carries an encyclopaedia with him. If, as often happens, we are not so fortunate, a signal of distress is sent over the 'phone to the reference librarian at the main library, and she sends out material on the next delivery. Not only does this apply to the buyer of rubber bands, but to the chemist who wants material on fabrics, textiles, and lubricating oils; to the manager of the grocery department, on the blending of coffee; to the furniture buyer, on cabinet making and period furniture; to the head of the agricultural department on the silo and the traction engine; to the clerk in the shipping department, on parcels post; to the girl in the correspondence department, on punctuation; to the boy in the automobile repair shop, on the gas engine; and so on indefinitely. A memorandum of these requests makes a busy day for the weekly visit to the reference room at the main library. Books of interest on each particular subject are listed, even to government bulletins. We have even had intrusted to our care material from the public document department, and Mr. Legler's liberality has given us an economic value that will be the stepping stone to a new work, and make the library a factor to be reckoned with by the progressive commercial house.

In our library, as well as in any other, the reference work is not confined to the books alone. The value of magazine material is an old story, but its worth is self-evident in a progressive business house whose aim is to anticipate future contingencies as well as to meet present needs. Before discarding magazines, all the usable material is appropriated and sent to the man or woman interested. Not only does this apply to the man's business, but to his hobbies—a little article for instance, on poultry raising or photographic chemistry will often create public opinion very favorable to the library. So far we have not kept a clipping file of these articles, but that is one of the next steps that could be made quite an important feature.

To keep in touch with the buyers and department heads, the newest books on subjects of special interest stimulate not only the men in charge, who are always ready to respond to new ideas, but arouse new interest among all employees and indirectly lead to promotion through more efficient work. These books are sent right to the department, either to be examined with a view to buying, or, if already purchased, to be circulated in the department. We find that in this way we lose few if any books and our time-honored statistics do not suffer.

And so in many little ways it is possible to creep into the commercial life of an immense concern; to develop gradually from a convenience to a necessity.

The social side of our work is perhaps a misnomer. At least, it is an intangible sort of thing that has no name. Our reason for existence is the same as for any other public library—that is, for the common good. To do any grade of work other than simply handing the books over the counter, it is necessary first of all to become familiar with the personnel of our employees. We have about 8500 employees, and to become personally acquainted with each is, of course, impossible. However, a surprisingly large number can be reached on this footing, and the rest is a question of time combined with a sane democratic attitude. We do not want our people to feel that reform through the library is one of the rules on the application blank, or that the librarian's stamp of approval must go out with every book. Advice, so labeled, is never given.

Of our 8500 employees, one-half are girls varying in education from grammar school to college graduates. One-fifth of this number are under 18 years of age. The work with this last group is intensely interesting, and can be developed in many ways. We have, of course, the usual problem, in trying to direct from Mary J. Holmes and Southworth to a better grade of reading. However, we are not working in the dark to the same extent as is the usual public library. Our girls are all banded together with a common interest, and we are at once on the same big plane. We have access to them at any time of the day. We are a part of the thing most vital to them—their daily work and means of support. They come to the library during the noon hour for a change of scene and to see the other girls, as well as to exchange their books. We give them books for their parties and books for their night school classes. A girl is told by her employer that she will lose her position unless she learns to use good English. In desperation, she comes to the library, and we give her a book, yes, even three books, if she needs them, to help her keep her position. Another girl must be transferred to a less desirable position unless she can increase her vocabulary in order to take dictation more intelligently. She is advised to come to the library, and we are there to see that she gets the right books. The next time she may come without being sent. The girls come to us to find out when the lake boats begin their trips, as well as to find desirable places in which to spend vacations. And so we welcome them each time they come, regardless of what their errand may be, for we want them to feel that the library is theirs, and is a convenience as well as a pleasure.

The work with the girls is so varied, and is such a study in itself, that I have only touched upon its possibilities. However, a book on the subject would not cover the field, but lack of time and consideration for your feelings will prevent further comment, and I will simply outline just a few of the ways in which we try to reach the boys, one-third of whom are under 21 years of age. Aside from the eternal vigilance to blot out all Alger traces, we have many really interesting phases of the work with the boys. We first of all can and do have confidence in the boys. We can get necessary information as to their home conditions, if we wish it. We have, in common with them, as with the girls, their vital interest, the beginning of their career. The influence that can be exerted over these young boys, many of whom are leaving home for the first time, and are, so to speak, "men among men," is tremendous. Often a wavering ambition can be reinforced and a chance for "making good" saved by showing a little unasked interest. We try to give the boys material for both work and play. We post lists of books on the bulletin boards in various departments, and so call attention to books on "choosing a career," or "business efficiency." Then we make up lists on athletic sports, interest in which is stimulated by our athletic association, whose membership includes both boys and girls.

Many times a department is discovered where little or no interest is taken in the library. We find that the boys and girls from there never come to the library, and so we take the library to them. In every case the managers are very anxious to co-operate and are willing to have us send a small collection of light fiction to the time clerk's desk. She circulates these as she wishes. So far, we have lost no books in this way, and in every instance new borrowers have been the direct result.

Many of the boys have been obliged to leave school before entering high school or even the upper grades, and in many ways we can supplement their lack of school training—especially if we can discover a gleam of interest in any one subject, such as mechanics, electricity or history.

All our work, our aims, and our possibilities are crystalized in our Library Bulletin, a home product in every sense of the word. The direct object of this little publication is to attract all ages and all classes of our employees. It is sent to every department, and from there distributed personally. We try to have in each issue a section to appeal to popular demand, as well as to promote some special feature. We hope to make this bulletin a strong factor in our work, a lever that will gauge not only the circulation of our books, but will be the connecting link between the library and the employees, and make it the medium of a new energy and a new enthusiasm radiating from our small quarters to every activity of the plant.

And so, in these few pages, I have tried to show that the commercial house library, although in its infancy, has come to stay. And as the pioneering becomes more and more an established fact in library work, more commercial houses will recognize the need. They will be more than ready to respond to the progressive public libraries, whose efforts to expand and to bring their resources to the very centers of civic activity will thus establish a more intelligent relationship and efficient co-operation with their very means of support.

Miss Grace A. Whare, of the Houghton, Mich., public library, was present at the meeting and asked the privilege of presenting a very attractive exhibit of colored slides and illustrations which she used in telling Miss LagerlÖf's Story of Nils. Each of twenty-six illustrations depicted an adventure of Nils.

Business Meeting

The regular business meeting of the section was held at Chateau Laurier, June 29th at 9:30 a. m. Miss McCurdy presided.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and adopted. The chairman announced that the terms of two of the five members on the advisory board had expired and that only one member was appointed at the last meeting, instead of two. This raised the question as to the advisability of having an advisory board since none of the other sections had such boards. It was urged that an executive committee be formed consisting of the three officers of the section and two other members to be appointed by the chairman, and that all the members of this executive committee be actually engaged in some phase of library work with children. It was finally decided, however, to continue the advisory board as heretofore and the chairman was requested to appoint members to fill the vacancies. Mr. Hill and Miss Titcomb were appointed to serve for three years each. The chairman appointed the following committee on nomination for officers: Annie S. Cutter, Gertrude Andrus and Adah Whitcomb. The meeting then adjourned.

SECOND SESSION

(Monday afternoon, July 1st)

The second session of the section was held July 1, at 2 o'clock. The general subject was "Work with high schools." Mr. FRANK K. WALTER, vice director of the N. Y. State library school, read a paper on

TEACHING LIBRARY USE IN NORMAL AND HIGH SCHOOLS

Within the past few years the literature of this subject has become so copious that any original discussion of basic principle has become nearly out of the question. The excuse for papers like this one, which is mostly mere reiteration, lies in the fact that outside of library circles the matter has not been very seriously considered in spite of the constant repetition, and relatively few teachers have as yet attempted to give definite instruction in the use of books.

It is one of the characteristics of the present that we are learning the necessity of saving time and effort by doing better the things we can already do passably well. To this end vocational schools and vocational courses are being established everywhere. If the use of the tools of the trades must be taught in the interests of greater individual development and greater efficiency, there certainly is need of teaching the efficient use of books which are the already recognized tools of the professions and which are more and more coming to be recognized as necessary supplements to the tools of the handicrafts.

So far, it must be admitted, the response on the part of teachers has not been very general or very enthusiastic when courses of instruction in the use of books are advocated. At first sight this may seem strange. The primary purpose of both school and library is educational and many of the principles on which each line of work is based are equally familiar to teachers and to librarians. Let me instance but a few.

1. Education is a continuous process, started but not concluded in school. This is generally accepted and correspondence schools, study clubs, and similar activities are recognitions of its truth.

2. The complexity of modern life is lengthening the period of formal school instruction and the rapid rise of new industrial processes and the social problems arising in consequence, make after-school reliance on either past instruction or individual personal experience unsafe.

3. Education is not confined to books but books of the right kind are the best single aid to education.

4. Modern methods of teaching demand the comparative use of books, not reliance on a single text-book. Modern courses of study emphasize this by their lists of references to material for the use of teacher and pupil. In a pamphlet of 40 pages on "The high school course in agriculture," issued by the University of Wisconsin, 17½ pages are devoted to references to suggested reading. Children now study a subject, not a single text-book or series of text-books.

5. The library is the only continuation school really practicable for all the people at all times and for all subjects, and like any other institution, its value increases in proportion to the intelligence shown in its use.

Contrary to a rather hazy though somewhat general impression, there are only a few choice spirits to whom it is given to love books instinctively and to know them intimately without instruction. The multitude, whatever their rank or fortune, handle them more or less all the time without knowing much about them or caring much about them. It is true that a knowledge of books comes more readily to some than to others, but training will do much for even unpromising people who, without training, would be practically helpless. The need of this training was shown very clearly a decade or two ago when the method of teaching changed rather generally from text-book mastery to the so-called laboratory method. There were few more pathetic sights than many of the older teachers, almost totally untrained in the comparative use of books which the new method involved, and yet forced to give up their reliance on the catechetical method and memorized text-book which could be kept open by the teacher while the pupil recited.

If the library and the school have so much common doctrine and if both recognize in their precept and their practice the importance of books, it seems obvious that some instruction along this line should be given in the high school and, indeed, much earlier. Again, if pupils are to be taught to use books, it seems equally obvious that the intelligent use of books must first be learned by the teacher. That is, there should be a "library course" in the normal school.

If library and school agree so far as to recognize the need of such a course there still remain several general methods of attempting to get the desired results.

(1) By experiment. This is the customary way; the empirical method or, under certain conditions, the inductive method. "We learn to do by doing" was a pedagogical maxim to conjure with some years ago and it has not yet lost its siren's charm. Teachers are still assuming that pupils will learn to use books well by using them without direction, even though an excess of the experimental method has confessedly failed in other directions. We do not often learn to do things in the best way without some direction nor does mere handling of an object teach us much about it. Infinitely more biology can be learned from two or three angle worms studied in a laboratory than from quarts of them used for fish bait. The laissez-faire method and the experimental method without a competent teacher to make it really inductive are both uncertain in result and costly of time and effort.

(2) By sending pupils to the nearest library for all aid outside the text-book and by handing over to the nearest librarian all responsibility for teaching the use of books. Librarians often advocate this method. It is only an application of the specialization which is so common in high schools and by which each subject has its own teacher who may or may not try to correlate his own work with that of his colleagues. The librarian, who at least ought to know about books, is the logical person to plan courses and to give formal instruction and in any school which can possibly have a librarian who devotes her entire time to the library this is the proper course to follow. It happens, however, that many schools which greatly need such a course have no one but the regular teachers to administer the library and to teach its use. In such an emergency no school faculty is complete without at least one teacher who can show the pupils—and her fellow-teachers, if need be—something of the best methods of using books. Moreover, teachers need to know how to use the books connected with their own courses even if they need do little or nothing in the way of general library work.

(3) A third general method remains: systematic training in regularly scheduled classes in the high school and a systematic course in the normal school for the future teachers of elementary and of high schools. This is the plan generally adopted for other subjects and the failure of the schools to provide in their curricula a place for library training can reasonably be attributed only to the fact that librarians have failed to impress on teachers the necessity for such instruction. There are several reasons for the failure. One of the fundamental principles of successful advertising is that the prospective customer must be convinced that the value of the advertised article exceeds its cost. Perhaps we librarians have not always recognized the value of this principle in our own campaigns. We use our library jargon and speak learnedly of "library methods," and "the library world" as though our work were based on some occult secret (which it is not) and as though we who carry it on were a peculiar people (which we sometimes are), and we plan elaborate courses in "library economy" which would strike terror to the heart of any teacher, were any teacher interested enough to look at them.

It is well to remember that, as far as its place in the school is concerned, the library must always be an auxiliary, not an independent affair—an auxiliary of the greatest importance which aids all courses but interferes with none. This is what it is in the increasing number of schools in which the use of the library is being successfully taught and whenever teachers are shown that librarians are urging something that is a time-saver, not a time-consumer, and that the course they suggest is not an independent affair but something which, even in its own lessons and problems can be made to bear directly on the daily work of the school, there will not be much trouble in getting periods in which to teach the use of the library. As we too often present the matter, in the form of courses planned with little reference to actual conditions in the school and with problems compiled from our library-school note-books, or our training-class notes and not from material selected for its direct relation to the subject matter of any course in the school, we are seemingly asking the teacher to become interested in our work, not in a subject that is of importance to teacher as well as to librarian.

No general can plan a successful campaign of invasion without a knowledge of the topography and people of the country to be invaded and no course of study can be successful unless based on sound pedagogy and visibly related to the cultural or vocational need of the persons for whom it is intended. It is also well to remember that in strategy an officer counts for more than a private and that if official recognition is to be secured for any subject, the interest of principals and superintendents, who plan the curricula, is absolutely necessary. Work with subordinate teachers alone will make slow progress.

Another point which we are just beginning to emphasize is the necessity of getting articles in which we desire teachers to be interested, into periodicals intended for teachers instead of confining them to the columns of library periodicals. The advertiser who wants to reach engineers will not send his advertisements exclusively to the "American journal of theology."

Although the high school and the normal school are usually mentioned together in discussions on the general subject of library instruction in schools, there should be decided differences both in content and in general purpose between the courses in the two kinds of schools. In the high school, the purpose should be to teach the pupils to use books efficiently in solving problems arising in their individual experiences. The care and management of libraries can legitimately be taught only in so far as such knowledge helps the pupil to use libraries of all kinds more intelligently. There is no need of detailed instruction in technique, though some elements of method are necessary. The use of the catalog must be taught in order to overcome the prejudices of most readers against card catalogs by teaching the youth before he arrives at obstinate and benighted manhood, that red headings, indentions and other conventions of the catalog are as sensible and necessary as black ruling, red ruling and other conventions of day-book and ledger. A little attention also to the theory of the charging system will help later in preventing honest but inaccurate thrusts at "red tape in libraries."

The general characteristics of reference books should be discussed with the meaning and significance of those universal but little known elements of all modern books, the title page, table of contents and index. The growing popularity of bibliographies of all kinds suggests instruction in their make-up and use while the growing importance of periodicals of all kinds shows the need of knowing how to use the general periodical indexes. In all this work there can be and should be the closest relation to the other work of the school course and the various teachers can easily suggest material of direct use to them which will be quite as interesting and valuable for illustrating the use of the library as set problems compiled exclusively by the librarians. Moreover, such procedure will demonstrate conclusively both to teacher and to pupil the direct value of the library in helping school work to be done better and quicker. Though any teacher can be of help in this way, English, geography, civics and history are particularly good subjects with which to begin this co-operation.

It is doubtful whether the librarian should attempt much formal instruction in book selection in the high school unless it is done with the full knowledge and with the assistance of the other teachers. Otherwise, such instruction will almost inevitably lead to duplication and to conflict with the work regularly given in other courses. Tactful suggestions to teachers on the value of material which they overlook or know nothing about and personal attention to the voluntary reading done by pupils outside the school-room and not connected with the regular work of the school will furnish any school librarian plenty of opportunity for missionary work.

Some description of the anatomy of a book will probably help cultivate a greater respect for books as books and may lessen the tendency to use books badly which is now so prevalent among school children furnished with books paid for by the school board and not directly bought by their parents.

All of this teaching should be very simple. What is perhaps the most successful manual of the present on the subject of teaching the use of books in schools (Ward's Practical use of books and libraries), owes its success largely to its attention to the small details which everybody, large and small, is supposed to know but of which nearly everybody is quite ignorant.

No high school course of this kind is complete unless it cultivates friendly relations with the public library and promotes the use of the library after the pupils have left school, by calling on it for aid while they are still in school. The best school librarians make every possible use of the public library while they are at the same time using to the utmost the resources of their own school libraries.

The amount of time required for such a course as that outlined here and which is substantially the same as dozens of other courses outlined elsewhere, depends considerably on whether any preliminary work of the kind has been given in the lower grades, and, to some extent, on the size and general character of the school's collection of books. Something worth while has been done in five or six lessons, though not much can be done in less than ten or twelve, and the twenty to thirty periods which interested principals have sometimes granted are none too many. The general plan will also depend partly on whether the instruction is all given in one year or throughout the entire high school course.

In the normal school the purpose of the library course should be not only to teach the use of books, but to teach, in addition, the principles of their proper selection and enough of the essentials of library technique to enable the teacher to administer successfully a small school library and to understand the methods used in larger libraries. It should be not only for individual improvement, as in the high school, but designed also to give skill in teaching others how to use the library. It is necessary, of course, to supply any deficiencies in training of the kind that was suggested for the high school, before the administrative side of the work can profitably be taken up.

The technical side of the work, therefore, will be more in evidence in the normal school course. The preparation, adaptation and use of the important records such as the accession book, the shelflist, the catalog and the charging system are necessary parts of the equipment of any teacher who is likely to be put in charge of a school or class-room library. A study of the most common trade lists and a few typical booksellers' catalogs with some comment on trade discounts and the purchase of second-hand books will save much time and trouble later when the teacher is expected to advise as to what and where to buy.

Instruction in simple methods of book repair will yield large dividends in the shape of better cared for and longer lived books.

Simplicity and direct relation to school work are the two things to be insisted upon throughout. Though the subjects and, to some extent, the treatment should be the same as that of the library school, there is neither opportunity nor need of the same variety and extent of instruction and practice which should characterize schools for the professional training of librarians, nor should any school which can afford special teachers in other subjects thrust technical library work upon its regular teachers. To the teacher, the library is auxiliary to her main work and insistence on elaborate administrative methods will defeat its purpose.

This instruction in technique should be simple, but it does not follow that a teacher who has learned merely these elements of technique is fitted in turn to give satisfactory instruction to other teachers or even to administer a school library in the best way. To do this a librarian of wide training and experience is necessary,—one whose knowledge of library theory and practice is wide enough to give the perspective necessary to judge what is essential, and intimate enough to determine what adaptations should be made to fit either general library conditions or special contingencies of individual libraries. Efficient simplicity is the result not of ignorance but of trained judgment and the apparent simplicity obtained by reckless or ignorant amputation of library manuals may be worse than none at all. A well managed school must have a well-administered library and a well-administered library implies a competent librarian, not merely the regular presence of a teacher with rather fewer classes and consequently more leisure than her colleagues.

Indeed, though considerable technique has been suggested as advisable, I am very strongly of the opinion that technique, if by this term is meant the processes of keeping library records, should be thrust upon teachers only as a necessity, not as a desirability. In a school so small that one teacher or a very few teachers at most must do all kinds of work, it will be necessary and therefore it must be taught to these teachers. In larger and better equipped schools there is no more reason for teacher-librarians with a mere smattering of library training than there is logic or justice in compelling the teacher of English or of history to be the principal's secretary.

Of even more importance than technique is a careful study of important reference books. Only a small proportion of the books which would be useful can possibly be obtained and it is very important that the teacher be able to use to the utmost such books as the school may possess. The compilation of reading lists and lists of references, whether for the use of the teacher or the guidance of the pupil, implies the use of bibliographies, footnotes and appendixes and a consideration of the bibliographic aids which are so common in modern text-books and so little used by teachers.

Moreover, the teacher must know some of the principles of book selection, must know a fair number of the best aids to book selection and must know where to find and how to use good book reviews. No approved list of library, library commission, or state department of public instruction can take the place of independent knowledge, though these approved lists are indispensable aids.

The proper relations of school and public library certainly must be taught if any closer and more general co-operation of the two is to be brought about. Both teacher and librarian must be parties to such co-operation and each needs to know the point of view of the other.

There is no general agreement as to the amount of time which the normal school ought to devote to library instruction. In a summary compiled in 1909 by the Newark free public library (Public libraries 14:147), the number of hours devoted to such work in 28 normal schools varied from one lesson to 60. Most of the schools which are recognized as leaders in this work gave about 20 lessons. There is reason to believe that the general situation has not materially changed except that the shorter courses are being lengthened and more normal schools are offering courses in library methods. The small number of lessons in even the good courses makes directness and emphasis on essentials imperative. If all normal school students had been taught to use books before entering the normal school, considerable time which is now used in teaching things which should already be known could be devoted to the methodic and pedagogic side of the subject.

More and more normal schools are putting instruction in library methods on a par with other subjects by giving credits for it. This is only what all ought to do. No normal school is doing its work well if it sends its students out unskilled in the use of the tools of their own trade. A course in the use of books and libraries is no more of a luxury in the general training of any teacher than a gas range and a kitchen sink are luxuries in the equipment of a domestic science department or planes and chisels in a manual training room.

It is not merely altruism that urges librarians to encourage this work. It is highly commendable to increase the good feeling between two members of the so-called "educational trinity," the church, the school and the library, but the benefits to the library will be more direct than mere pleasure in promoting the success of another line of social welfare. To ensure its own permanence, the library must have a reading public in the future as it has in the present and the adult reader of the future is the child of the present. To ensure the further development of the library, not only readers but more readers are needed and the library will be sure of getting them only when school room and children's room work together, and when not only those who come to the library from choice, but all the children whom the community entrusts to the school are taught in the school the latent power in the books the library offers for their use and are taught by trained teachers how best to make that latent power dynamic.

The discussion of this paper was led by Mr. W. J. Sykes, librarian of the Ottawa public library, and formerly head of the English department of the Collegiate institute of Ottawa, who read a paper prepared by Dr. L. B. Sinclair, dean of the school for teachers, Macdonald college.

MISS MARY E. HALL, librarian of the Girl's high school, Brooklyn, N. Y., read a paper on

THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY

Miss Hall said in part:

To those of us who are interested in the problem of guiding the reading of boys and girls one of the most important recent developments of the modern library movement is the new life which is coming into the high school libraries throughout the country.

The high school library, although an old institution, is just beginning to "find itself" in the library world of today. It not only has a right to exist but has possibilities for doing important work in the future which will fully justify its existence. It must serve not only as a great laboratory for the work of all departments in the high school but as an important experiment station for all our work with young people of high school age and aid us in the public library's solution of the problem of helping the thousands of boys and girls who leave grammar school and the children's room and go out into the adult room of the large public library with no one to guide them in their explorations among the books, and no one to take the friendly personal interest in them that the teacher and librarian of the children's room always felt. Through the high school library and the public libraries' young people's department of which we dream, we must undertake to "follow up" the work begun in the children's room and build upon the foundations which librarian and teacher have already laid.

What are some of the revelations which have been made to those of us who reluctantly undertook this work some eight or ten years ago? In the first place we are, as our high school debaters would say "firmly convinced" of the need of a large carefully selected collection of books within the high school building where they may be had at a moment's notice for reference and reading. We are convinced that we were wrong when in our first enthusiasm over the public library we decreed that the high school library should be limited to books of reference and "required" reading, and that all books to be read for the pure joy of reading should be given over to the public library.

For four reasons I would plead today for a large, well equipped library in every city high school, a library managed according to modern library methods and in charge of a trained and experienced librarian who shall be the equal of the high school teachers in broad education and thorough professional training. This librarian must be able to win the confidence and friendship of pupils and teachers and to enter sympathetically into the life of the school. This library may be under the control of the Board of Education or a joint undertaking of Board of Education and public library as in Cleveland, Newark, Passaic, Madison, Wis., and Portland, Oregon.

My first reason for this new high school library is found in the aims and ideals of the modern high school. It is no longer content to serve merely as a preparatory school for college. It realizes that for the great majority of pupils it must be a preparation for life. As these four years end their formal school education it must make the most of the time. These four wonderful years of high school age are the time when ideals are being formed, when boys and girls are hero worshippers, and the personal contact with teacher and librarian or the reading of good biography may do marvelous things in moulding character and setting up standards. In aiming for social efficiency the modern high school endeavors to prepare for intelligent citizenship, for interest in and service for the various movements for social betterment.

My second reason for this larger and more efficient library in the high school is the need created by modern methods of teaching. The text book today is only a guide,—with its footnotes and bibliographies it is a vade mecum to the interested student to the best books in school and public library on the subject covered. The efficient teacher today uses books, magazines, daily paper, pictures and lantern slides to supplement the text book. Many of these must be at hand in the school building and so classified and cataloged that they are available at short notice. Unexpected questions arise in class discussions and must be settled before the close of the recitation period by a student being delegated to "look it up" in the school library and report to the class while interest is keen. This could not be done in a library even five minutes' walk from the school. There are odd minutes at the close of a recitation when a book from the school library can be borrowed and enough read to make the student eager to finish it. Pictures are wanted to illustrate some topic and are loaned from one class-room to another for every forty minutes of a school day when the teacher finds they help to awaken interest. The whole method of the recitation has changed. "It becomes," says one, "the social clearing house where experiences and ideas are exchanged and new lines of thought and inquiry are set up." One of the most interesting things in the school library work is the use of books and magazines for the three minute talks pupils have to give in English, French, German and Latin as cultivation in the art of oral expression. They may chose anything that interests them or would interest the class,—some interesting bit of news in the morning's paper, some anecdote about a famous person, an account in the Survey of the Camp-fire girls, etc.

The search for material for these three minute talks makes the school library a busy place at times. Students vie with one another to bring to class the most interesting contribution from history, biography, literature, current events, etc. So interested are the students in this kind of library work that some of them began making a rough index of material in newspapers, magazines and books that would be good for such talks. The use of the library depends not so much upon the subject as upon the teacher,—a teacher of mathematics who is a constant reader will get the students to make a better use of the library than the English teacher who prides herself that she has taught Shakespeare's "As you like it" so thoroughly "inch by inch" that her pupils cannot possibly fail in the final examination. The biology teacher whose one cry a few years ago was the need of cultivating the powers of observation now acknowledges that the books in the school library or public library are needed to make the laboratory and field work of greatest value. Even the instructors in the gymnasium feel that books may help. Interesting books such as Mrs. Richards' "Art of living," Dr. Gulick's "Mind and work," Woods Hutchinson's practical talks on the subject of health, etc., are placed on reserve shelves or tables and read by pupils not as "required" reading but because they find them interesting. Students interested in problems in chemistry or in the work of physics come up to the school library for a free study period to look over the books on the library shelves and to read them on the suggestion of the teacher. School library reading is coming more and more to be the result of suggestion rather than compulsion.

History teachers add to the interest of the recitation by suggesting collateral reading which will appeal to the students,—biography, historical fiction, orations, poetry, and drama are all called into play, attention is called to articles in current periodicals and a wise use of the daily paper is made in order to interest students in history in the making. The history teacher posts on the bulletin board interesting subjects for "special topics," brief oral reports to the class on interesting material outside the text book and students eagerly volunteer to look them up in the library and report to the class. "How did the Romans tell the time of day?" "Describe the daily life of a monk," "Methods of travel in the middle ages," etc. Debates also are an important feature of the history recitation: "Which contributed most to civilization, the Greeks or the Romans?"

In English there has been a great revolution recently. Aside from the interesting work in oral expression already mentioned teachers are beginning to realize that training in the power of expression and the cultivation of taste and appreciation must come from extensive reading of good books, rather than intensive reading of a few. Supplementary reading is no longer an "assignment" of a standard work of literature to be taken as a dose of medicine by the pupil with the comforting assurance of the teacher that it "will do him good." With the best English teachers supplementary reading is really an introduction to the best books in school library and public library, books to be read not for marks but for pleasure with the hope that it may mean a permanent interest in good reading, a wise use of the public library and the building up of home libraries. The supplementary reading list of today is a list of many different kinds of interesting books, old and new, which ought to appeal to the average high school boy or girl. There is ample opportunity for each to find something which he will really like and he may take his choice.

The skillful English teacher no longer spoils this reading by requiring an examination as to plot, character development, climax, etc. Instead of this dreaded written report which was warranted to dull the interest in the most exciting novel as it haunted the reader all the way through the book the recitation is occasionally given up to an informal talk about the books the pupils have read and enjoyed—very much such a book symposium as we librarians delight in. The enthusiasm of a pupil in his report on a book will create an immediate demand for it. "I want that book you talked about in class, it must be a dandy one," the librarian hears one student say to another as they browse at noon among the books of fiction. In the more intensive study of the masterpieces of English literature the best English teachers make the study one of training in appreciation and not an "exercise in mental gymnastics" or a process of vivisection. They realize with Burroughs that "if you tear a thing all into bits you haven't the thing itself any more." They have the pupils read other works for comparison,—the Alcestis and Medea and compare them with some of Shakespeare's plays they have been studying. If reading Lycidas, then Theocritus, Shelley's Adonais, Arnold's Thyrsis are read and discussed. In studying Burke, orations by Lord Chatham and Mansfield are read and compared. Students find in this comparative work a great delight and in this work as well as in the debates which English teachers encourage some of them surprise us with their powers of discrimination and their deep thinking. All of this calls for the use of many kinds of books in school and public library.

My third plea for a school library is in the needs of individual students for a guidance in their reading which can be better given by the librarian in the school library than in the busy public library. The school librarian has the teacher always close at hand and can know the problems of these teachers in their work with pupils. Through attendance at the teachers' meeting she can keep in close touch with the school's methods of work and its ideals. She can unify the library work which the school is urging upon the pupils as twenty branch librarians working with groups of these same students cannot do. She comes to know each of these hundreds or thousands of pupils better even than some of the teachers in these large schools who have them in their classes for only six months or a year while she has them in the library every day for four years and comes in close personal touch with them. She knows them through their parents, their teachers, and their friends and can sometimes find the point of contact which certain teachers have failed to find. We must make the school library do for the pupils what the little home library used to do for many of us. In these days of apartment houses and tenements, when families move about so constantly there is little chance for the home library.

My fourth plea for a library within the high school building is that it is absolutely necessary as a connecting link between the high school and public library in our large cities. Wonderful things may be accomplished by the high school librarian, who believes the most important work of the school library is preparation for the best use of the public library and who encourages the use of the public library through all the four years. She can be an excellent "go between" not only for pupils who do not use the public library, but between public library and principals and teachers who have no idea what it can do for them. She can enlighten them on the functions of this institution of the people,—show them how much more it is than what they suppose it to be, "a collection of fiction for those too poor to buy their own books." She can enlighten teachers as to the necessity for giving the reference librarian due notice when material is to be needed by classes on a special topic, and the need for ascertaining whether there really is any available material before requiring reports from students on impossible subjects. She can bring about a personal acquaintance of high school teachers and librarians in public libraries and invite the library workers in public libraries to conferences with teachers in the school library.

She can take a census of each entering class at high school and find how many are not using the public library and why. Such a census shows usually 30% who have no library cards. Some have their cards taken from them by parents when they enter high school lest they read so many books it interferes with their studies. This is a frequent occurrence. In other cases a heavy fine has made a drain upon the purse of some poor mother and she has vowed that not one of her children should have a card in the public library. Many of this 30% have never cared enough for books to have a card in the public library. The librarian who finds these conditions early in the term explains to parents by personal notes and interviews that library cards in the public library will be an absolute necessity for high school work. Students who have never had cards are urged to apply for them at once and they are sent to just the right person in the public library who will take an interest in them, often a personal note of introduction being given to the pupil to make that first visit to the public library easy and pleasant.

In addition to the possibilities in high school library work already mentioned the librarian has opportunities for doing many things not possible or not done so easily in the public library.

1. Creating the right attitude towards the library reading called for by the modern high school.

The old time school library was not a pleasant place. She can introduce public library methods,—an attractive room, plants, pictures, bulletin board, etc. Let them feel an atmosphere of friendliness from the start and bring in the spirit of joy rather than stern duty by making the first visit a delight. An informal "library reception" to each entering class or to groups of 40 or more as they enter the school until all have had this meeting with the librarian, makes a good start. Here the students are shown the beautiful illustrated books, pictures, etc., and librarian and pupils talk over the books they have read and liked. Teacher and librarian call attention to books they may like to read during free study periods and pupils are made to feel that the library reading is one of the pleasures of high school life.

2. The study period.

This has marvelous opportunities for the librarian. Here, every 40 minutes come from 60 to 100 pupils, filling every available seat. Many come for definite reference work, special topics, required reading,—many just to spend a free period in browsing. In our best high school libraries there is as little red tape as possible, even "library passes" being dispensed with at times. Pupils are free to use books as they choose. They crowd around the library bulletin boards for suggestions as to good books to read, interesting magazine articles, a glimpse of the day's news as it had been clipped by seniors and posted in the form of a "model newspaper" under heading, "Foreign affairs, National, State, City, Art, Civic and social betterment, etc." The bulletin boards call attention to special art exhibits in the city, to musical opportunities in the way of opera and concerts, etc. Teachers in the various departments make the department bulletin boards in the library a constant means of awakening interest. The French department posts post cards showing views of places mentioned in their reading. Latin teachers post reading lists on life in the time of Cicero, and pictures of Pompeian houses, furniture, cooking utensils, etc., to make the life real. Often at the close of a study period if all are through their regular work the librarian gives an informal three minute talk on some interesting thing on the bulletin boards, urges the reading of some poem or essay or new book of biography, such as Mary Antin, calls attention to some unusually good magazine article, or to some good edition of a book to buy and own,—Hugh Thomson's illustrated Silas Marner in the Cranford series, Pride and Prejudice in Everyman's series, library binding, as a good edition to take out into the country for summer reading.

3. Instruction in use of books.

In the school library far better than by sending classes out to the public library definite and systematic instruction can be given by librarian on the uses of books. A regular schedule for this work is prepared by principal or head of English department and lessons, lectures, quizzes and problems are given by teacher or librarian as a part of the school work. By working in this close touch with teachers, problems will relate directly to their every day class work.

4. The library as a social center.

Here the librarian in the school finds boundless opportunities not possible in public library work. Parents' receptions are held in the evenings in the large and beautiful library room and the librarian acts as hostess. Here come rich and poor of all nationalities,—learned and unlearned and the librarian meets them all, talk over with them, the boys and girls, shows them what the library tries to do for them and goes over the parents' problems with those who read too much or those who are reading trash,—and last but not least those who do not like to read. The librarian suggests good books and good editions for parents to buy and the number of note books and pencils at work show how eager many are for this help—they delight in the beautiful illustrated books almost as much as the boys and girls.

The noon hour offers great possibilities to the school librarian. Here she is "at home" to all students who want to talk about books. Around her desk is held a daily "book symposium." Absolute freedom and frankness is encouraged. She is aided in her recommendations by the pupils' own comments of approval and their word goes farther with a doubting soul than any word of hers. If a pupil returns a book with "I don't like it," the librarian tries to find where the trouble was. If it was the first page or chapter which seemed uninteresting she points out the place just ahead where it begins to be most interesting, gets a student nearby who read and liked the book to tell just enough to show the doubting pupil what he is missing by not reading it. Or, if on talking with the pupil it seems he would not like that particular book she assures him it is nothing to be ashamed of if one does not like all great books,—that we have to grow up to some, that some may never be interesting to us while absorbingly interesting to others. The personal equation has to be considered.

Library reading clubs are a great power for influencing the reading of high school pupils. It is the age of clubs and organizations. In the books the pupils choose while browsing the librarian finds a point of contact and by the reading clubs can direct the voluntary reading. Interests unsuspected by teachers are revealed to the school librarian. An interest in art by a pupil thought hopeless in mathematics and physics and only a fair student in other things. The librarian in the school has expert aid in this club work. For the library reading club on art she selects the most inspiring and sympathetic art teacher on the faculty. For those who are reading Darwin and Spencer and Huxley, the finest teacher in biology who thoroughly knows the literature and can make the reading mean much. For those interested in civic and social questions, clubs for discussion and debate are formed with English and history teachers for advisers, but all center in the school library and meet there after school. After school, also where the library is large or there are two rooms, students may stay to study,—tenement homes and apartments are often difficult places for quiet work. For our own school a biography reading club has been a great success, the students reading interesting biographies of famous women, Alice Freeman Palmer, Carla Wenckebach, Jane Addams, Florence Nightingale, etc. Also lives of great explorers, artists, musicians, statesmen, etc.

5. Vocational guidance.

This is coming to mean great possibilities. If the librarian is sympathetic and has won the hearts of the students they will come naturally to her as a source of information on what a boy or girl can do to earn a living. It is a serious problem to the high school pupil,—often there is no one at home to help. The librarian must be ready with books, pamphlets, clippings to lay before the student the many possibilities in choosing a vocation. The books on these subjects are the most popular books in the library of a large boys high school. Catalogs of technical and trade schools, etc., should be on file for reference for students desiring to plan special courses in high school to meet their entrance requirements. Where there is a committee of teachers on vocational direction the librarian can be of great service in aiding in collections of books, magazines and pamphlet material.

These possibilities of the high school library make it a most tempting field for any one interested in work with the older boys and girls. The librarian has the opportunity of making the school library: (1) A great working laboratory for all departments which will meet their needs for reference and serve to stimulate interest or awaken interest in the work of class room or laboratory. (2) A preparatory school for the best use of college or public library by training students in the use of a library during the four years in school. (3) Compensation to the students for the lack of a home library. Carefully selected, largely a collection of the best books on the subjects which high school pupils would be interested in and containing all the really great things in the world's literature it affords a browsing place which should mean that inspiring and stimulating contact with books which many have felt in their home libraries, and it should mean also that personal guidance of the reading of the individual which in more fortunate homes parents give to their children. And perhaps quite as important as any other is the possibility of opening up to the high school students and teachers the great resources of the public library. The success of the high school library of the future will depend largely upon its relation to the public library. We are just at the beginning of things today in this matter of co-operation and shall probably see important developments along this line during the next five years.

Mr. Gilbert O. Ward, supervisor of high school branches, Cleveland public library, led the discussion on Miss Hall's paper. He said in part:

High school pupils after all are a very small proportion of the school community. Why should a public library put an expensive assistant into a high school, where, after all, the actual numbers affected are small? One answer is this: High school students like college students, though in a less degree, are a chosen few. They are in a position to become naturally leaders in the community. And it seems to me that public libraries which have the chance to establish high school branches should consider the possibilities of the indirect influence on the community as well as the direct influence on the limited number of high school students.

In considering now the relation between high school library and public library, let us first sum up the needs of the high school, the points in which the public library fails to meet the situation, and the points in which the independent high school library is liable to failure:

The high school needs:

1. Books, freely duplicated, including general reference books, books relating to school work and selected general reading adapted to the abilities and appreciation of high school students.

2. A trained librarian.

The progressive high school needs these in the building as it needs a chemical laboratory in the building. There is no better reason for making a student go to the public library for an ordinary bit of class work, than for sending him to the Y. M. C. A. for his gymnasium work.

The public library fails with the high schools as follows:

1. It generally lacks official standing in the school plan, hence it has to work with the individual teacher or principal as chance offers.

2. Teachers are often too indifferent, careless, or over-pressed by work to come to the public library.

3. Visits to the public library for reference work, inside or outside of school hours, takes up pupils' time, even if the school is convenient to the public library. This difficulty gets worse as reference work increases.

4. Library instruction should cover a number of periods, and if given in the public library, the necessary number of visits deranges schedules, wastes time and raises questions of discipline.

5. The public library is sometimes unable or unwilling to duplicate books freely enough to meet school needs.

6. The public library is not on the spot to answer instant needs.

The independent high school library meets peculiar difficulties and dangers in fulfilling its duty. It is right to say here that the highest point of development in high school libraries has, to the best of my knowledge, been reached in certain high schools in which the library has no connection with the public library, but where it is managed by a well-paid, trained and experienced librarian. Generally speaking, however, especially in the case of high schools which do not employ a trained librarian, I think I may say that the independent high school library at present is likely to be narrow in scope, badly administered, self centered and neglectful of co-operation with the public library, and hampered by red tape getting books promptly through boards of education.

Neither school library nor public library, it seems to me, can alone meet high school needs. The school library needs the public library because of the broadening influence of the usually larger institution. It needs the resources of the usually larger collection. It can often benefit by suggestion and aid in administrative details, especially when in untrained hands.

The public library needs the school library, among other reasons, to bring it into closer contact with the school system officially. The public library, it seems to me, should require the high school librarian to attend its regular staff meetings if she be a public library official or invite her to attend them if she is not. The high school librarian in many cases attends school faculty meetings, and by regularly attending public library staff meetings she can intelligently interpret school to public library and vice versa. The public library needs the high school library so as to get earlier and more certain information of books needed for class use, for the purpose of reserving in the public library or of concentrating them in the school library. Six copies of a title concentrated at call in the high school library and lent from there for short loans, prevent a few students from monopolizing books, and so do much more satisfactory work than twice the number lent from the public library in the usual way. In general, the public library by working through the high school library should work more effectively by meeting the school on its own ground.

It is pretty clear, I think, that the school library and the public library need each other. The questions remaining are: What kind of co-operation is most effective? How can that co-operation be brought about?

I doubt if there is a universal answer for either question. I think that local conditions will have to be studied in each case, and under local conditions I include the school situation, the public library situation, personalities, local politics, etc.

Miss Hall has found a satisfactory answer for the library controlled by the school. The solution which has come under my observation is the administration of the school library by the public library, with a division between school and public library, of the expense.

This plan in one form or another is now being tried with the high school libraries in five cities—Cleveland, O.; Madison, Wis.; Newark, N. J.; Passaic, N. J.; and Portland, Ore. This includes eleven libraries actually in operation, and five others in contemplation. The plan has also been adopted, I am informed, by a number of towns in New Jersey.

In bringing about co-operation, the first step is to make a careful, thorough study of conditions, not forgetting the questions, "What is the attitude of the principal?" and, "Which can pay the higher salary—public library or high school?"

The results under any plan, may we add, depend on the high school librarian. She should have a college education to put her on a par with the teaching staff. She must be adaptable. She must have solid book knowledge, especially of English and history. She must be able to manage a room full of students without fuss or strain. A raw high school graduate with a smattering of technique will not do.

Finally, whatever the public library's part in the scheme of co-operation, the public library must be willing to view the subject from the school side, and be willing to adapt its methods to school needs.

A short business session of the active members of the session followed this meeting. Upon recommendation of the Nominating Committee the following officers were elected: Chairman, Miss Effie L. Power, supervisor of children's work, St. Louis public library; vice-chairman, Miss Alice Goddard, head of children's department, Washington County free library, Hagerstown, Md., and secretary, Miss Hannah M. Lawrence, children's librarian, Buffalo public library.