USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Inaugural address of the mayor, with the annual report of the officers of the city of Quincy for the year 1911 > Part 20
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It is with an abiding sense of loss that with the changes of the year must be recorded the deaths of two members of the Trustees whose invaluable services to the library will never be forgotten. It is painful also to miss for half the year the wise counsel of the Chairman of the Board, debarred from service through illness.
In closing my report for the year I wish to thank your honorable Board for the eight weeks' additional vacation for a trip to Europe, commending Miss Baxter for the discharge of added responsibility.
Respectfully submitted,
ALICE G. WHITE,
Librarian.
483
STATISTICS. 1
Accessions.
Added by purchase, new books 1,412
Added by purchase, to replace old copies
387
Added by gift 153
Added by binding periodicals
144
Added by return of missing books
15
Total gain
2,111
Discarded and replaced
286
Discarded and not replaced
58
Discarded from contagious diseases 50
Lost and paid for
13
Charged and not returned
13
Missing from outside shelves, Main hall
29
Missing from open shelves, Children's room
6
Missing from open shelves, West
Quincy reading room
6
Total loss
461
Net gain
1,650
In the library, Dec. 31, 1910
30,115
In the library, Dec. 31, 1911
31,765
Number of books bought from City Appropriation
1.789
Number of books bought from Cotton Center Johnson Fund 10
.
484
Size and Growth by Classes
No. of Vols.
in Library,
Dec. 31, 1911.
Added by
purchase,
Added by gift,
1911
Added by
binding peri-
odicals, 1911.
General Works
149
12
Philosophy and Religion
1,136
33
16
Sociology
1,012
93
18
Science
1,095
50
Useful and Fine Arts
1,253
169
16
Literature and Philology
2,385
93
3
History
2,350
29
4
Travel
1,324
65
1
Biography
2,430
31
15
Fiction
5,641
354
9
Unclassified bound periodicals
4,020
132
Reference
968
66
7
Document Room
3,172
57
Children's Room
Fiction
2,343
205
5
Non-fiction
2,292
205
1
12
West Quincy Reading Room
195
7
1
Total
31,765
1,412
153
144
Vols. replaced, 1911
286
1911.
485
Circulation by Classes 1911
Main Hall
Children's
Room
West Quincy
Reading Room
Schools
Total
General Works
736
760
1,518
3,014
Philosophy and Religion
774
113
20
15
922
Sociology
715
81
89
18
903
Science
1,050
604
589
149
2,392
Useful and Fine Arts
1,958
675
309
89
3,031
Literature and Philology
2,596
1,339
658
143
4,736
History
1,493
894
850
241
3,478
Travel
1,701
1,245
734
369
4,049
Biography
1,278
808
228
234
2,548
Fiction
39,415
12,209
12,203
1,597
65,424
Periodicals (unbound)
13,548
2,097
1,740
17,385
Total
65,264 20,825 18,938
2,855
107,882
Days the Central library was open .
303
Days the West Quincy reading room was open
301
Largest day's cireulation, Main hall, Mar. 11 .
442
188
Largest day's circulation, Children's room, Dec. 4. Largest day's circulation, West Quincy reading room, Nov. 20 .
158
Average daily circulation, Main hall
215
Average daily circulation, Children's room
69
Average daily circulation, West Quincy reading room
63
Largest day's attendance, West Quincy reading room, Dec. 2 .
264
Recorded library use, Main hall
2,678
Recorded library use, children's room
2,778
Stereographs loaned, Main hall
13,218
Stereographs used in Central library
27,095
Stereographs used in West Quincy reading room
58,635
486
REGISTRATION
New Registrations
Cancelled by Death or Removal
Whole No. of Borrowers Dec. 31., 1911
Main hall
745
71
3,920
Children's room
380
11
960
West Quincy reading room
293
18
995
*1,418
100
5,875
Increase in number of borrowers, 1911, 1,318 *Includes 183 re-registered
MISCELLANEOUS
Books bound
30
Books rebound
1,804
Books repaired by binder
32
Periodicals bound .
157
Periodicals rebound
57
Total
2,080
Books mended at Central library
5,282
Books mended at West Quincy reading
room
1,364
Total 6,646
Periodicals mended at Central library 276
Periodicals mended at West Quincy reading room 88
Total . 364
Periodicals subscribed for, 1911-12
109
Periodicals received by gift, 1911-12
22
Library Art Club exhibits ยท 13
Books borrowed, Inter-library loan I4
487
QUINCY DONORS TO THE THOMAS CRANE PUBLIC LIBRARY DURING THE YEAR 1911
Babcock, Mrs. Frederica C.
Babcock, Miss Corinne
Bale, Mrs. Albert G.
City Hospital of Quincy
Civic Committee of the Quincy Women's Club
Faxon, Miss Florence R.
First Church of Christ Scientist
Gow, Capt. John L.
Home Economics Committee of the Quincy Women's Club Manchester, Rev. L. C. Melendy, A. Edward Parker, Warren S. Prescott, George W., Publishing Co.
Quincy, City of
Quincy, City of, School Department
Quincy Branch National Alliance Spargo Print Spear, Mrs. Charles A.
Tobey, Rev. Rufus B. Wainwright, Miss Belinda E. Waterhouse, George S.
488
PERIODICALS AT WEST QUINCY READING ROOM, 1911-12
American Boy Boston Herald
Century Magazine
Delineator
Good Housekeeping
Harper's Monthly
Harper's Weekly
L'Illustrazione Popolare
Ladies' Home Journal
Lippincott's Magazine
#National Geographic Magazine
Outing
Popular Mechanics *Quincy Daily Ledger *Quincy Telegram St. Nicholas Scientific American
Scientific American Supplement
Youth's Companion *Gift #Added for 1912
Annual Report
OF THE 1
School Department
OF THE
City of Quincy
Massachusetts
For the Fiscal year ending December 31, 1911
NWEMANETUN
& QUINCY
QUINCY: The Advertiser Print
3
School Committee for 1911
At Large.
DR. NATHANIEL S. HUNTING,
TERM EXPIRES Dec. 31, 1913
1136 Hancock Street, Quincy.
MR. ARTHUR W .- NEWCOMB, Dec. 31, 1911 98 East Howard Street, Quincy Neck.
DR. EDWARD H. BUSHNELL, Dec. 31, 1912 566 Washington Street, Quincy Point.
By Wards.
WARD 1 .- MR. JOHN D. MACKAY, Dec. 31, 1912 64 Merrymount Road, Quincy. -
WARD 2 .- MR. ARTHUR B. FOSTER, Dec. 31, 1913 18 Bay View, Quincy Point.
WARD 3 .- MR. JOHN L. MILLER, Dec. 31, 1913
211 Franklin Street, South Quincy.
WARD 4 .- MR. JAMES F. BURKE, Dec. 31, 1911 11 Cross Street, West Quincy.
WARD 5 .- DR. WILLIAM G. CURTIS, Dec. 31, 1912 10 Grand View Avenue, Wollaston.
WARD 6 .- MR. HERBERT S. BARKER, Dec. 31, 1911 365 Hancock Street, Atlantic.
4
Chairman.
MR. JOHN L. MILLER.
Superintendent of Schools.
MR. ALBERT LESLIE BARBOUR.
Office, 8 Washington Street. Office hours; Mondays and Fridays from 8 to 9 A. M., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5 P. M.
Clerk.
MISS LUCY M. HALLOWELL-
Office, 8 Washington Street. Office hours: 8 to 12 A. M. 2 to 5 P. M., Saturdays, from 8 to 12 A. M.
Truant Officer.
MR. CHARLES H. JOHNSON.
Office, 7 Temple Street, Room 3. Office hours for issuing abor Certificates: 8 to 10 A. M., 1:30 to 2 P. M., and from to 9, all evenings except Thursday.
The regular meetings of the School Board are held at eight o'clock P. M., the last Tuesday in each month.
5
Standing Sub-Committees for 1911
Books, Supplies and Sundries. Messrs. Newcomb, Curtis, Mackay. Text Books. Messrs. Hunting, Bushnell, Mackay. Transportation. Messrs. Burke, Foster, Barker.
Evening Schools. Messrs. Bushnell, Mackay, Burke. Special Subjects. Messrs. Barker, Miller, Newcomb. Rules and Regulations. Messrs. Curtis, Barker, Bushnell.
Teachers. The Chairman, Messrs. Hunting, Mackay. Finance and Salaries. The Chairman, Messrs. Barker, Burke.
FOR THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.
High Adams
Atherton Hough
Messrs. Miller, Curtis, Bushnell Messrs. Newcomb, Burke, Miller Messrs. Foster, Mackay, Hunting
Coddington Messrs. Hunting, Mackay, Newcomb
Cranch Messrs. Newcomb, Bushnell, Hunting Messrs. Burke, Foster, Miller
Gridley Bryant John Hancock . . Messrs. Mackay, Bushnell, Newcomb Lincoln Massachusetts Fields Quincy . Messrs. Mackay, Burke, Hunting Messrs. Curtis, Barker, Foster Messrs. Barker, Curtis, Newcomb Washington Willard Messrs. Bushnell, Foster, Burke Messrs. Burke, Hunting, Foster Messrs. Curtis, Miller, Barker
Wollaston
Report of the School Committee
To the Citizens of Quincy:
It is the duty of every municipality to impart to every child such instruction as shall enable him to the more fully enjoy life and equip him to solve the individual problems which he will encounter. This duty, being by law, is im- perative. Quincy has always been mindful of her obligation and has, from year to year, furnished adequate means where- with to equip and maintain a system of public schools where- in are taught the things that are useful and of good report. We take pleasure in submitting the following account of our stewardship in this connection for the year 1911.
All the schools have been under the superintendence of Albert L. Barbour. We should be lacking in candor did we fail to make public acknowledgment of his ability and loy- alty to his trust. His counsels, born of ripe experience and discriminating judgment, have been of great value to the committee in dealing with the various matters that have come before it, especially the selection of teachers and the adoption of text books. Despite the fact that the salaries paid in Quincy are lower than those paid in other near-by cities, Mr. Barbour has surrounded himself with masters and teachers of proved ability, thereby insuring efficiency in the conduct of the school work.
The Atherton Hough School was completed at the be- ginning of the year' and turned over to the school depart-
7
8
ment. Any doubts which may have existed as to the need of this building have been dispelled by the conditions which now exist. The population at Houghs Neck is increasing rapidly and with it the school attendance. An addition must soon be made to the building in order that the accommoda- tions may be adequate.
The Wollaston School, which is in process of construction, will be ready for occupancy at an early date. Its capacity is such as to meet the demands that are likely to be made upon it for some time. Its use will also relieve the congestion existing at the Massachusetts Fields School.
The Montclair School also is expected to be completed before long. Besides serving its main purpose, it will draw pupils from the Quincy School. There will then be accommo- dations, for a time at least, at the latter school for the rapidly increasing number of pupils at Squantum. The problem which confronted us of furnishing school accommodations for the rapid growth in the north end of the city is thus solved for the present.
Careful consideration is being given the question of the proposed new Adams School. The need of a new building is apparent, and its erection with larger capacity will serve also the needs of children in the Bigelow district. In the discussions and deliberations which have taken place relative to a site, the Parents Association has manifested a commendable interest, and its practical unanimity; in favor of a certain location is receiving due weight. Paren- thetically, we might observe that a Parents Association in every district, if conducted intelligently and unselfishly, can contribute much toward the success of the public school sys- tem.
The High School has been in charge of a strong man and has done exceptionally good work during the past year. The classes in domestic science and manual training have been in a measure experimental, but their success has exceeded ex- pectation.
The evening instruction in drafting has been extended
9
and made broader in service, and the wisdom of the course is proved by the fact that a petition has been received from the pupils, asking twenty more lessons. The petition has been granted. Classes in elementary subjects have been conducted in the Adams and the Willard evening schools with increased attendance over that of last year.
The increased cost of living for our teaching force has been met by an increase in the scale of salaries. In the re- tirement of Miss Julia E. Underwood and Miss Eliza C. Shea- han, Quincy loses two of her most loyal teachers. When our schools under Colonel Parker were the Mecca of visiting teachers from all parts of the country, Miss Underwood and Miss Sheahan had established reputations for efficiency and they chose to remain here, declining many offers of larger remuneration elsewhere.
The City of Quincy has already expended much money in the erection of school buildings and large amounts are be- ing expended at the present time. When the new Adams School is built, we shall have a set of modern, expensive build- ings, and the wisdom of keeping such buildings in repair is obvious. We are of the opinion that the repair, improvement and general care of school buildings are matters that should be entrusted to the school committee, and we respectfully urge that the requisite authority be secured for us. There is not at present enough attention given the buildings in this respect.
The school committee indulges in a feeling of pardonable pride over the fact that it has not exceeded its appropriations. It has striven for results, but has been ever mindful of the fact that public office is a public trust and has endeavored to govern itself accordingly by the adoption of the same princi- ples that are indispensable for the success of a private under- taking.
December 30, 1911.
The foregoing report presented by a special commit- tee, consisting of Mr. John D. Mackay, Dr. Edward H. Bush- nell, and Mr. Herbert S. Barker was adopted as the annual report of the School Committee of 1911.
ALBERT L. BARBOUR,
Secretary.
Report of the Superintendent
"To the School Committee of Quincy:
Gentlemen: I have the honor to submit herewith my third annual report as superintendent of schools, which is the thirty-seventh in the series of such reports and the six- ty-second of the printed reports of the School Committee of Quincy.
The Year's Work
The year has been one of quiet progress and achievement, marked by more than the usual number of noteworthy fea- tures. The new building at Houghs Neck, named the Ather- ton Hough School, was completed and occupied early in the year. A new building containing twelve rooms and an as- sembly hall is almost ready for occupancy at Wollaston. An eight room building at Norfolk Downs, to be known as the Montclair School, is approaching completion and the purchase of a school lot for a new Adams School is under con- sideration.
The system of semi-annual promotions went into effect during the year and the plan of admitting beginners to the first grade in January was also given its first trial.
The high school curriculum has been broadened and improved. The school has been well organized into depart- ments, with one department head as sub-master. The man- ual training department has been equipped with lathes and
11
12
other woodworking machinery. The gymnasium has been provided with apparatus and the stenography equipment has been renewed.
The evening drawing school has been developed, its courses made more specific and the school has been definitely approved by the State Board of Education as a state aided industrial evening school with recommendations, which if carried out, will lead to a much more complete development in the future.
Committees appointed by the school committee are now at work and will soon report recommendations and plans for providing more adequate and specific vocational training for the boys and the girls of the city, both for those who are now in school and for the workers already employed.
The school athletic interest has been evidenced by the addition of a grammar school football league to our other activities.
A new system of records and reports has been adopted and introduced into the schools for the purpose of securing greater uniformity and a better knowledge of the individual pupil, and this has been supplemented by a careful study of cases of pupils leaving school and failing of promotion. An increased interest of an encouraging nature has been shown by the public in matters educational, as evidenced by the formation of two active parents and teachers associations in the Adams and the Cranch districts and others are now in contemplation.
The teaching force has received a much deserved increase in salaries,
The School Plant
An intelligent supervision of the school activities of the city must begin with a consideration of the adequacy of the school accommodations for future as well as for present needs. Especially in a city which is rapidly increasing in population is this necessary if uncomfortable congestion is to be avoided.
No doubt it will surprise many to learn that the city is rapidly approaching the limit of its secondary school facili-
13
ties. The Woodward Institute will probably reach its ca- pacity next year and thereafter will find it necessary to turn some pupils back upon the High School. The High School, while in theory planned for one thousand pupils seats but nine hundred twenty-two, and under present conditions with its manual training and household arts departments would be uncomfortably crowded if its attendance were more than nine hundred. As the enrolment this year has been eight hun- dred twenty-eight it will be seen how near at hand the time is when the facilities of the school will be over burdened, es- pecially as the graduating classes from the grammar schools are increasing in size each year and will soon be supplemented by classes from the St. John's parochial school. Perhaps it is conservative to estimate that in three years time at the present rate of growth, the capacity of the secondary schools of the city will be reached. For this reason it is well to be- gin now to forecast the wisest ways of increasing our accom- modations, and it is not too much to hope that the right so- lution will be reached in conjunction with a development along the line of industrial education, which will give the pres- ent buildings the relief that they will soon need.
The Atherton Hough School, completed and opened in January and fully occupied in all of the rooms in less than twelve months, will need an addition within two years. For- tunately this building was so planned as to provide an oppor- tunity for this addition without sacrificing architectural lines.
In the north end of the city the completion and occupa- tion of the new schools at Wollaston and Norfolk Downs should relieve all the present congestion at the Wollaston and Massachusetts Fields schools and to some extent at the Quincy school. The increase in building and in population is so rapid about the last named school, however, that a new building in the district near-by will undoubtedly be necessary within three years.
The most urgent need at present is for proper and san- itary accommodations for the pupils in the Adams district. There can be little disagreement as to the unsuitability of
14
the present building and site. Action should be taken as speedily as possible to provide in a location which will be central to future growth, a building which shall be ample for many years to come.
Our buildings taken as a whole are of relatively modern construction. It should be emphasized that it is not good business policy to allow them to deteriorate as they are now doing quite generally for lack of adequate appropriation and expenditure. in that department which is responsible for their upkeep. A consideration of the amount annually ex- pended on the repair of these buildings will show how inade- quate a percentage of their real value this sum is.
Finances
The school department is the most important part of the city government from every point of view. It has a greater amount of money invested in its plant. It necessitates the expenditure of more money for its maintenance. The mate- rial with which its activities are concerned is far more precious; the success of its operations is vital to more individuals and families. Inasmuch as it requires the expenditure of more money than any other city department, it is desirable that. its fiscal operations should be so arranged and stated that, put in the light of publicity for study and for comparison, they may be definitely understood. It is with this in view that the financial statistical tables have been arranged in the appendix of this report and it is to make these tables more in- structive, that this brief comment is made. It will be ob- served that the cost of school maintenance in this city is steadily rising with the increase of school population and together with the gross increase there has been a consistent per capita increase. That this per capita increase should go steadily forward is not at all strange in view of the growing expense of administering all kinds of business operations in- cluding schools.
It should be stated frankly too that there is little pros-
15
pect that the expense of school maintenance will ever be diminished. The school life of the average child is gradually being lengthened and these added years in the upper grades and in the high school are the most costly. The demand of the public for ornate, well heated and ventilated and well furnished buildings brings with it a corresponding expense The salaries of school teachers have risen and will undoubt- edly rise again soon in accordance with the law of supply and demand, because the public of this city understand the folly of maintaining a poorly paid teaching corps.
All this time too a growing recognition of the necessity of individual instruction and help is leading to a gradual de- crease in the number of pupils per teacher, which will entail a greater number of teachers on the pay roll. Whatever has been incorporated into the school system, from time to time, in the way of development and broadening has been the result of an intelligent public demand, and this demand, hap- pily never content is now responsible for the new move- ments like physical and vocational education, play grounds, summer schools, and evening courses and is confidently urg- ing their extension. Such development and the accompany- ing financial cost needs no apology with an intelligent public.
Itought, however, to be of interest for the public to know that for some years the school department has been receiving for its annual maintenance a gradually diminishing ratio of the total amount raised by the city in the tax levy. Moreover a comparative study of the city's expenditure with other cities of the state indicates a standing on the side of per capita ex- penditure so low as to arouse interrogation rather than self- complacency. A number of cities by their charter provisions allow for their school budget five dollars per thousand valu- ation. Some cities have recently found this sum inadequate. Our own city has for some years expended a sum considerable below this allowance. Even this past year when the per cap- ita expenditure in Quincy showed some increase, it was lower than the corresponding expenditure in the county and
.
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16
state, and with two exceptions, lower than that of any other Massachusetts city. It is intended with a new financial year to re-organize the system of accounting in this department to conform with the classification called for by the state and by the United States educational departments and to make the annual summaries sufficiently specific and complete as to meet all possible query.
What the Schools Do
There probably has never been a time when the public schools received so much thought and attention from sym- pathetic and intelligent observers as they do at the present. The present is pre-eminently a period of re-adjustment in the world of society, industry and economics. In such a period of transition and constant seeking for better things it is scarcely possible for educational matters to stand still and as a matter of fact the education al world is now facing, the most difficult and involved problems. In the attempt to solve them, thoughtful educators in all parts of the coun- try and of Europe are exchanging views and experiences with a keenness of desire and purpose which augurs well for fu- ture achievement. Co-operating with them and aiding with resources and advice are organizations both civic and social, composed of individuals who realize as men have never real- ized before, the prime importance of keeping the school sys- tem up to the task which lies before it, that of preparing ade- quately for the future citizenship.
There is first of all a tendency and effort to interest the public in school statistics and finance by making such depart- ments of sufficient interest to attract attention. Always accurately and honestly and frankly accounted for, there is the further effort now to classify and compare finances in such a way as to show just where the expenditure of funds is made and to reduce them to such terms as to be of interest to the average citizen. In these days of growing expenditures and higher costs the effort should be made to show clearly
-
17
how those expenditures are made and divided and how the costs compare. In other words, there is necessity for the application of the work of efficiency engineer to the busi- ness side of school administration.
There is further, the effort to carry these same principles that obtain in successful business administration into the ad- ministration and supervision of the school system on its purely educational side. This leads the school authorities to look with scrupulous care upon every candidate for a teacher's position to see if she is properly trained for her work, not simply well educated.
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