First Meeting

The first meeting, held June 27th, was called to order by President Elmendorf, with 37 members present. First Vice-President Legler, at request of the president, took the chair.

Voted that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to nominate five members for Council to be elected by council for a term of five years each. The chair appointed George H. Locke, R. G. Thwaites and Mary L. Titcomb.

Mrs. Elmendorf, as chairman of committee on relations of the A. L. A. and certain other national associations, made a report of progress, stating that the committee had formulated a letter setting forth the desire for closer co-operation, which letter had been transmitted by the secretary to 35 associations. Replies had been received from 23, all of which expressed a desire for closer co-operation between their association and the A. L. A. Voted that the report be received as report of progress and the committee continued.

In the absence of Mr. W. C. Lane, chairman of the special committee to promote and co-operate in the development of printed cards in relation with international arrangements, Dr. C. W. Andrews made an informal report on his own work as a member of the committee, stating that the John Crerar library was testing the time required to order printed cards from the Royal Library of Berlin to see whether such orders would reach their destination in time to be filled. He expressed the hope that a majority of such orders would be received in time. Mr. Bowker spoke of the work as seen by him on a recent trip abroad. Dr. Putnam spoke informally of the Leipzig exhibit of book arts planned for two years hence.

The committee on ventilation and lighting reported informally through the chairman, Mr. Samuel H. Ranck, who stated that a formal report had been prepared and would be presented at a later session.

Miss Alice S. Tyler, chairman of the Committee on relation of the A. L. A. and State library associations, presented the following report:

The Committee on relation of the A. L. A. and State library associations reports to the Council the further consideration of the report which was referred back to the Committee at the January meeting of the Council and makes the following recommendation:

That Council recommends that the Executive board consider the advisability of amending Section 14 of the Constitution and Section 3 of the By-laws to include representation of state, territorial and provincial library associations in the Council and the conditions of such membership.

The Committee further suggests that the By-laws be amended to provide that the privileges and advantages of the A. L. A. conferences shall be available only to those holding personal, or representing institutional, membership in the association.

Voted that this report be adopted.

The Committee appointed to consider the government of American libraries and their relation to the municipal authorities, presented a report through the chairman, Dr. A. E. Bostwick, upon which it was voted that the report be recommitted to Committee for consideration as to minor changes and further report.

On motion it was voted that the Committee be continued and that membership be increased to five. The president named M. S. Dudgeon and Adam Strohm as additional members.

Adjourned, subject to call of the chair.

Second Meeting

At the second meeting, held June 29th, 24 members were present. Vice-President Legler presided at the request of President Elmendorf, who was present.

Dr. Andrews, as a member of the Committee on conditions governing affiliation of other than local, state and provincial associations, reported orally, recommending that a by-law be framed to include as one feature that a membership fee of $25.00 a year be assessed on such affiliated organizations, stating that three at least of the already affiliated organizations had expressed their willingness to such fee, and that the remaining association has been received on condition that it accept such terms of affiliation as might be determined by the A. L. A.

On motion of Mr. Bowker it was voted that the report be received and that the Committee be continued but that at the request of Dr. Putnam he be relieved and Mr. J. I. Wyer, Jr., be appointed as a member of the Committee.

At this meeting Council elected the following persons as members of the council for a term of five years each: Josephine A. Rathbone, Mrs. Percival Sneed, Mrs. Harriet P. Sawyer, M. S. Dudgeon and W. O. Carson.

The report of the Committee on government of American libraries, Dr. Bostwick, chairman, which was presented at a previous meeting and recommitted to the Committee for certain minor changes, was again presented and it was voted that the report as amended be received and the resolution adopted. The report, including the resolution referred to, is as follows:

Report of Committee on Relation of the Library to the Municipality

To the American Library Association:

Your special committee to whom was referred the matter of drafting a report on what the association regards as fundamental in the relation of the public library to the municipality, submits herewith its report. This whole subject is of such great importance that your committee believes it should receive further consideration, especially if it is desired that there should be submitted the draft of what may be termed a model library article, chapter, or title in a city charter, particularly a charter in a state operating under a so-called home rule law, whereby each city may make its own charter within the limitations fixed by the state constitution and a general state law.

Your committee believes that the association is practically unanimous in its conviction that the public library should be regarded as a part of the educational machinery of the community, and that the functions of the educational organization are generally separate and distinct from those of the local government organization. In the very nature of things it is therefore impossible for the public library to get the kind of administration it deserves when it is administrated as a part of the city's system of parks, or under the supervision of its board of public works. It may be stated that in some of our states the state constitution recognizes this distinction by providing for two corporations with the same geographical boundaries, the one dealing with the questions of local government and the other with education,—the public schools. This constitutional distinction is based on the principle that education is a matter of state concern, that the interests of the state in education are paramount, and therefore that the state should exercise greater control in educational affairs than in local government affairs. In line with this thought, your committee submits the following resolution, which it recommends to the association for adoption at this time:

RESOLVED: That the American Library Association calls the attention of municipal governments, and of public bodies engaged in the preparation of new or amended charters for such governments, to the necessity for securing independence of action of the public library as an educational agency co-ordinate with the schools. Radical changes in forms of municipal government have sometimes left the library's position insecure or doubtful, and charters providing the so-called "commission form" of government have in particular often failed to define adequately the position of public libraries and their governing boards. Where there is classification of municipal functions, this association feels very strongly that the public library should be grouped with educative agencies such as the public schools rather than with departments that have little or nothing to do with its work. While it is desirable to keep the control of the library in independent hands and not to place it and the schools under the same direct management, we believe that a city charter should contain no provision grouping the library otherwise than with educative agencies.

If the foregoing resolution is adopted, we recommend that a committee be appointed to study this subject further and to submit the draft of what might be termed a library chapter for a city charter.

For the purpose of discussion and to clarify the thought of the association on this subject your committee submits the following tentative points which it believes should be considered for such proposed model library chapter.

First, the charter should provide for a library board which should have power to administer and control the public library of the city, and at the same time administer all libraries municipally owned in the city. This would include the municipal legislative reference library in the city hall, libraries in public schools, high schools, and possibly such others as libraries in municipal art galleries, museums, etc. This board should consist of not less than five or more than nine members, excluding ex-officio members, the number of which should not exceed one half of the appointive or elected members. A sufficiently small proportion of the board should be elected or appointed each year to make its membership fairly continuous so that it may develop a constructive policy, something that is impossible where the membership is likely to change materially at brief intervals. In no case should the terms of more than half of the members expire at one time.

In our smaller cities or towns it would seem advisable to consider whether the municipal art gallery and museum should be administered by the same board which administers the library. It has been suggested that in such places it would be possible to carry on this work with very much less expense under one management than under several managements, and experience apparently demonstrates that having the library, art gallery, and museum interests in the city in the same building, or in a group of related buildings, adds immensely to the public service of each at a minimum expenditure of money. In other words, having all these interests under one roof or in buildings closely adjoining each other makes it possible for each institution to strengthen the other, and at the same time makes it possible for the best coÖperation and coÖrdination; and furthermore many more people will use each of these institutions when they are together than when they are widely separated. In larger cities where it may seem desirable to have the art and museum interests under separate boards the charter should provide for official (ex-officio) representatives of each of these institutions on the boards of the others as well as with the board of education of the city, so as to insure the greatest amount of coÖperation and coÖrdination. It is the conviction of this committee that the educational interests of the community in many of our cities today should be coÖrdination to a greater extent than they are now, not only for the purpose of eliminating duplication of work and effort but also for the mutual strengthening of the work and effort of each.

In many small cities and some larger ones it has been the practice for the public library to be managed by the board of education. The disadvantage of this, however, is that the library interests are usually turned over to a committee and that the membership of this committee is likely to change from year to year, so that there is no constructive policy; and where there is no constructive policy the interests in the library on the part of other members of the board is likely to be small. However, many of the difficulties with the management of a public library by a board of education have frequently grown out of the method of appointment or election of the school board. If the school board is in politics and therefore more or less partisan, the library is apt to suffer by this arrangement even more than the schools themselves. Possibly, where public opinion is sufficiently alive to the value and importance of education a single board might manage all the educational interests of a city, just as the board of regents of one of our large state universities administers its varied activities.

Another point to be considered is whether the library board should be elected by the citizens at large, or appointed by the mayor or selected by the board of education. Election by the citizens of members to such a board should be absolutely non-partisan. Women should have the right to vote and should be eligible to the board. The board should have power to fill vacancies which may occur by death or resignation, until the next general election, in case the board is elected by the citizens at large. Of course, if the members are elected by the board of education, vacancies could be filled at any time by that board, and if they are appointed by the mayor he could fill a vacancy.

Your committee believes that it is unwise for a public library to be governed by a board which elects its own members, or a majority of its own members: in other words, a "close corporation" is not the form of governing board that is best for a library belonging to all the people of the community. This would not apply where cities make a terminable contract with an existing institution. It is generally unwise for the corporate name of a municipal public library to bear the name of an individual. It should bear the name of the city, and the charter should fix its name.

The charter should provide for the organization of the library board by the election of a president and vice-president, with the city treasurer as the ex-officio treasurer of the board and the city comptroller as the auditor of the board's accounts. It should also provide for a secretary or clerk, who should be an employee of the board rather than a member of the board, and it is highly desirable that this officer should be the librarian. In any case his powers should not conflict with those of the librarian.

The charter should give the library board full power to hold trust funds which may be placed in its hands, to administer the same, and to accept and to hold gifts of real and personal property for the general purposes for which the board was created. The charter should provide, if the state law does not do so, that the library should not receive less than a minimum fund for its maintenance, based on the assessed valuation of the city. It ought never to be possible for a council so to cut a library's budget that it is necessary to close branch libraries or abandon established work for a year or more, thereby cutting off for the time being all normal growth and sometimes crippling the library so that it takes years to recover. This has happened in more than one American city. The whole idea of a minimum tax for the maintenance of a library is in line with the thought expressed in many of our state constitutions: namely, that the educational interests of the community are paramount.

The library board should have full legal rights for defense in the courts, etc. The charter should provide that the chief law officer of the city should be its legal representative.

The library board should be given the power to render library service by contract to communities outside of the city limits, such as towns, townships, or counties. In short, it should be given liberal powers for extending its usefulness into similar or related unoccupied fields.

The library board should be given absolute power and responsibility over its employees, their appointment, promotion, salaries, removal, etc., within the general limitations of the charter. It should provide that all employment should be given on the basis of merit alone, but that a civil service system should not be imposed upon it from the outside any more than a municipal civil service should be imposed upon a board of education in the employment of teachers in the public schools. Your committee has yet to learn of a single American city where a municipal civil service commission, which deals mainly with the employment of clerks in offices, policemen, firemen, etc., has been able satisfactorily to select or promote employees for educational work.

The library board should also have power to draft and enforce regulations governing the reasonable use of the library under the general limitations of the city charter or state law.

And, finally, the charter should provide that the library board should submit annually to the mayor or the legislative or tax levying body of the city a report of its receipts and expenditures together with a general account of its work and trusts.

As stated above, your committee offers all of this to serve as a basis for discussion if it is desired that a model library section for a charter should be drafted.

All of which is,

Respectfully submitted,

ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chairman,
JUDSON T. JENNINGS,
SAMUEL H. RANCK.

The Committee on ventilation and lighting of library buildings, Samuel H. Ranck, chairman, made a verbal report of progress, stating that a lengthy written report covering the investigations and results of correspondence had been prepared. The Committee stated that certain commercial companies proposed to make experiments along the lines of the Committee's investigation and it was taken by consent that the Council express its gratification that these experiments are to be undertaken by the respective companies and that the results will be watched with interest. On motion of Dr. Steiner it was voted that the report be accepted as a report of progress and Committee continued.

Mr. Charles S. Greene informed Council that the California library association had unanimously passed a resolution to invite the A. L. A. to meet in California in 1915. The statement was received as information and ordered transmitted to the Executive board.

Adjourned, subject to call of the chair.

The PRESIDENT: You have heard the reports. If there is no objection they will be received, but there are certain recommendations incorporated in them that need action. Will the secretary please read once more the recommendations from the report of the Executive board?

The secretary read again the proposed amendment to Section 14 of the Constitution.

The PRESIDENT: What is your pleasure? It should be remembered that this amendment to the Constitution will require an affirmative vote for two successive sessions of the association.

On motion of Mr. Samuel H. Ranck, duly seconded, the amendment received an affirmative vote.

The secretary read again the proposed Section 11 of the By-laws, recommended by the Council, and on motion of Dr. Bostwick, seconded by Dr. Andrews, this amendment to the By-laws was adopted.

The secretary here read again the resolution incorporated in the report of the Committee on government of American libraries and their relation to the municipal authorities.

Dr. BOSTWICK: Madam President, in moving the adoption of this resolution, I would suggest that opportunity be given for its discussion by the association.

Mr. RANCK: I second the motion for the adoption of that resolution, Madam President.

The resolution was adopted.

The PRESIDENT: Here is a matter of news from the outside world. The bulletins have announced that Governor Woodrow Wilson has been nominated on the forty-sixth ballot by acclamation. I think this is the first time that a woman ever made that kind of an announcement.

There is a matter of business from the Public documents committee, on which we should like to hear from Mr. Godard.

Mr. GODARD: This resolution which comes from the Committee on public documents, comes before you in a little irregular manner, because the government documents round table was not held until yesterday afternoon, and there has been no meeting of the Council since, and will not be to the end of the conference; but the purpose of the resolution is simply to convey to the Congressional committee on printing, at Washington, the thanks of this association for the efforts that committee has made to embody in the bill which has been passed by the Senate the several recommendations made from time to time during the seven years' existence of the committee, relating to the printing, binding and distribution of documents. The bill as a whole has met with the approval of the various librarians, as manifested at the government documents round table yesterday afternoon. While some minor suggestions were made, it was thought best that these suggestions should go to the committee in the form of suggestions rather than be embodied in the resolutions.

If in order, I should be pleased to read the resolutions.

WHEREAS the Congressional Committee on printing, appointed under an Act passed March 3, 1905, has after seven years of investigations and hearings, formulated and presented to Congress a new bill relating to public printing, binding and distribution of government publications, which embodies so many of the suggestions and recommendations upon these subjects, made from time to time by this association and its several committees,

RESOLVED, that we, the members of the American Library Association, assembled at our Thirty-fourth Annual Conference at Ottawa, Canada, June 26th to July 2nd, 1912, express our appreciation to the Senate and House Committees on Printing, and to the Superintendent of Documents, for the uniform courtesy and careful consideration extended, and the hope that the Bill (S 4339) may be enacted into law substantially as passed by the Senate.

The PRESIDENT: You have heard the resolution as presented from the public documents committee. What is your pleasure?

Dr. ANDREWS: I hope the association will by three-fourths vote approve this resolution. I can testify that Mr. Godard did not understate the approval which the draft of the bill met with at the government documents round table.

The resolution was adopted unanimously.

The PRESIDENT: The next business in order is the report of the Resolutions committee, of which Dr. Thwaites is chairman. I want to say just one word before those formal resolutions are read, to express my own personal appreciation of the efforts of our Canadian hosts. It seems to me that in their welcome to us, in their kindly courtesy, in every attitude which they have taken toward us, they have made an atmosphere of good cheer and hospitality in which all our business has been done; it has been an atmosphere of the greatest acceptance and delight, and has been like the sunshine out of doors. We will hear the report of the Resolutions committee.

Dr. Thwaites, chairman of the committee, read the following report: