USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1939-1941 > Part 15
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Advice re duty of board of health as to requested exhumation of body at Highland Cemetery.
Advice re erection of monument on cemetery lot.
Advice as to filing board of survey plan.
Advice re questions relating to certification of nomination papers, num- ber of signatures required to nominate.
Examination of law for advice re question of advertising notice of voter listing for 1940 by board of registrars.
Temporary Town Accountant
Advice re right to use Plimpton Trust fund for purchase of picture by library trustees.
Advice as to payment of doctor's bill for board of health services where approval by only one member of board is procurable.
Advice re care of cemetery lot expense as to exemption to veteran.
Advice as to vacation status of laborer in public works department in existing situation.
Advice re cemetery lot perpetual care claim situation.
Advice re question raised as to official records.
Conference re set up of segregated budget of law department for 1940 and letter re same.
Advice re telegram from Federal Power Commission as to action on request for certain information.
Advice re appropriation action as to special committee on Peabody Fund.
Conference re retirement questions.
Miscellaneous
Study of Legislative Bulletin re pending legislation and action.
Obtaining data for and preparing town counsel annual report for the year 1938.
Review of recent Supreme Court decisions with particular reference to municipal questions also Appellate Tax Board decisions.
Prepared budget report for 1940 and forwarded to officials with ex- planatory statement.
Preparing data for and draft of Selectmen's annual report for the year 1938.
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Examination of law re town collection proposed by-law and preparation of by-law.
Study of data and attention to preparation of proposed deed of con- veyance to town of land for cemetery purposes.
Attention to revision of and drafting motions under articles in special and annual town meeting warrants.
Advice re emergency storm damage loan situation.
Conferences and drafting special town meeting warrant re re-funding storm damage loan of 1938, as to confirmatory special town meeting action.
Examination of law and advised re fire department jurisdiction of select- men re situation and as to emergency measures and powers of selectmen to act in re Neponset River Meadow Peat Bogs fire situation.
Conferences and attention to papers and approval of P.W.A. water tank project.
Opinion re trunk line sewer extension as to opinion to P.W.A. Adminis- trator as to authority to extend field line sewer under action taken at special town meeting September 6, 1938.
Conclusion
Adopting the language used in the report for 1938 which appears to be appropriate, the situation at the end of the year 1939 with respect to liti- gation and claims involving the town as viewed by this department offers no cause for concern.
The confidence, cooperation and consideration uniformly extended to the Town Counsel by present and former officials of the town with respect to service rendered and to be rendered by the Law Department is deeply appreciated and in this respect mention should be made particularly of Chairman Houghton of the Selectmen who was at all times helpful also of General Manager Kendrick who was ever ready to furnish desired in- formation.
In the nearly twenty-five years in which James E. Pendergast served the town in his various official capacities prior to his active retirement on account of illness and during all of which period this department had almost daily contact with him, his assistance, always available, wide knowledge and great experience in the affairs of the town were invaluable and this department takes this opportunity to pay its tribute to him for his great interest in and general helpfulness to it in its various activities and regrets that illness has caused the retirement of so devoted an official.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES A. HALLORAN, Town Counsel
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MORRILL MEMORIAL LIBRARY
To the Citizens of Norwood:
We transmit herewith the annual narrative and statistical reports of the Morrill Memorial Library, for the year ending December 31, 1939.
Respectfully submitted,
W. W. EVERETT, Chairman, Board of Trustees
MARY E. WILLIAMS, MAUDE A. SHATTUCK, W. L. HYLAND, FRANCIS E. MURPHY, MARION SWAIN (per E. P.)
STATISTICAL REPORT
To the Board of Trustees:
The following is a statistical report of the Morrill Memorial Library for the year 1939, arranged according to the form recommended by the Ameri- can Library Association.
Name of Library
Morrill Memorial Library
Town
Norwood
Name of Librarian
Edna Phillips
Date of Founding
1873
Assessed Valuation
$22,726,530.00
Terms of Use
Free for Lending; Free for Reference
Number of Agencies
5
Number of Days Open in 1939 301
Number of Hours Open Each Week 66
Number of Staff 8
Books
Number of Volumes Added by Purchase 1,416
Number of Volumes Added by Gift
128
Number of Volumes at the End of the Year (By Actual Book Count January 7, 1940.)
29,394
Circulation
Fiction Non-Fiction
Total
(Including Foreign Books)
58,345
19,624
77,969
Adult Intermediate
9,801
1,661
11,462
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Juvenile Balch School Callahan School
8,390 3,702
12,092
2,282
3,135
Shattuck School Winslow School High School
4,022
4,258
400
115,620
Finance
See Report of Town Accountant.
Registration
Adult
Inter.
Juvenile
Total
Number of Borrowers Registered in 1939
213
47
207
467
Total Number of Registered Borrowers
3,375
701
886
4,962
Books Added to the Library
Fiction, by Purchase
823
Non-Fiction, by Purchase
593
Fiction Gifts
76
Non-Fiction Gifts
52
Total
1,544
Respectfully submitted,
EDNA PHILLIPS, Librarian
NARRATIVE REPORT
To the Board of Trustees:
Building a Live Book Collection
In consultation with the Book Committee of the Board of Trustees, the following plan has been made and is in use, for book selection :
Book funds are apportioned among the library's departments, and then within each department, by fiction, non-fiction and reference books.
Both current publications and other needed books are selected not only in relation to the best ones to be had, but in relation to the subjects vital to Norwood readers, and to subjects in need of building up in the library's collection.
To determine these needs, and to learn of the best books, much is done in addition to the librarian's own reading. Readers' reactions and the opinions of experts are constantly sought-both within and outside the Board of Trustees. All of the most important of the many pre-publication
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and post-publication sources of information about new books are studied or examined. Standard booklists are checked continuously with books the library owns. The basic collection should always be in a state of evolution.
At least every few years there should be a book by book inspection of the library's entire collection to weed out books that have become obsolete and hence give misinformation, or are now dead wood. This summer the entire reference collection was so inspected, and later, the first two classes of non-fiction.
While every library needs this periodic inspection and re-evaluation of each book, admiration is felt by the present librarian for the many fine books she finds in this library, bought before she came.
The entire fiction and non-fiction collections were inspected for physical condition only. Only those books in the worst condition were withdrawn. Among these, the ones worth it are being cleaned, mended and rebound.
The reference collection was arranged in numerical order. Many books were labeled. The reference collection now is in shape to be far more useable both by readers and staff.
Both stacks in the Plimpton Wing have been labeled with the class numbers and added subjects.
The independent use of the library by readers has been aided by having a printed card inserted in every catalog drawer to describe how to use the catalog.
A large collection of withdrawn books in the cellar, which awaited de- cisions, have had that work completed.
Miss Martha C. Eaton, assistant librarian, assisted by other staff mem- bers, has taken inventory. She reports no books missing in the Children's Room (a remarkable state of affairs) and but 77 missing in the Adult Department and the Intermediate Room combined.
A shelf of restricted books in the office has each been re-evaluated in the light of present trends. Some of them were returned to the open shelves.
The library's collection has been augmented by the loans constantly used from the Massachusetts Division of Public Libraries both in English and in Arabic, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, and Swedish.
Bringing Book and Reader Together
Increased demands for the Quarterly Book Bulletin have followed its name being changed to "New Books"; bright colored covers replacing white; the word "regulations" being changed to "privileges"; books grouped under subjects related to local reader's interests; and the names of the library assistants added to that of the librarian. To the former mailing list for the bulletin have been added the library trustees and other town officers, the superintendent of schools and the principals of the high schools.
Weekly lists of books added to the library have been started for the two local newspapers.
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The Plimpton Wing was opened to responsible readers on July 1 with no resulting difficulty so far.
At a small charge to the recipient, home delivery of books has been made available. It has been used a number of times in cases of illness.
Over 25 small displays of books were presented relating books to reader's current interests-such as titles by and about Robert Frost, the day of his appointment to the Harvard faculty,-all material related to standard books shown in local moving pictures-and books on ways of settling dis- putes other than war, etc.
Miss Barbara A. Jordan, in charge of statistics, has written many news articles and descriptive notes about books for the local papers, and has assisted in interesting other Norwood residents in sharing their book opinions, in print.
Magazines
Current numbers of magazines have been reinforced at points of wear. Back numbers have been brought up from storage and placed on the lowest shelves of the fiction section where readers can see them. Their circulation has jumped upward. For example, 48 magazines were lent for home use in September 1938, and 218 in September 1939.
A beginning has been made in sorting old magazines by year, weeding out those no longer needed, and taking means to protect others from dust.
The flood of newspapers and magazines arriving every day necessitates making good plans for deciding which are to be kept permanently, which temporarily, and how long.
Administration
In a suburban library, as in the government of a country, power kept is stultifying, and power shared is a blessing.
Responsibilities have been assigned that have augmented the service and added to the staff's professional development.
Miss Eaton is adding to her duties certain phases of cataloging formerly done for her. Together with Miss Edna Phillips, librarian, she has done much to make the cataloging conform to modern practiccs.
Miss Jordan has been put in charge of all the statistical work. Together with Miss Phillips a system for handling all records in the most effective way is being devised. This includes records for : circulation, book additions and discards, all financial work connected with purchases receipts and budget standing; and quarterly and annual statistical reports.
Miss N. Dorothy Shumaker, in charge of the Junior Department, has added school library work and recommendations for book purchase for boys and girls, to her responsibilities.
Miss Minnie J. Greig, in charge of circulation, is working into cataloging, and does secretarial work with the librarian. Together with Miss Phillips, she has reorganized many procedures at the charging desk in the interest of the best, and quickest service to readers.
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Miss Annie V. Smolski, junior assistant, has been placed in charge of library typing and does or directs much work of that nature.
Miss Dorothy R. Henry, junior assistant, is in charge of book repair and teaching this work to beginners. She will instruct the Works Progress Administration workers expected for a project of this kind.
Miss Eleanor E. Probert, junior assistant, is in charge of nine National Youth Administration workers who have recently started doing non- professional tasks.
All three of the junior assistants have added various other new duties, such as filing, and withdrawing catalog cards, under the cataloger's super- vision.
Economies have been effected and time saved in rearranging work centers and working procedures. These have in turn made it possible to add new services with the same number on the staff. Also, without changing the total number of working hours, reorganization of work has made it possible to reduce staff members' evenings on duty from four to three.
Staff Development
The better to enable staff members to carry out the policies of the trustees and to understand their wishes, a staff meeting is called directly after the monthly board meetings to acquaint the staff with action taken by the board.
A collection of the best books and pamphlets on library science was bought for staff study.
Miss Grieg, Miss Henry and Miss Probert are taking for credit a 16 weeks evening course in reference work at Harvard, sponsored jointly by the Massachusetts Division of Public Libraries and Massachusetts Division of University Extension.
The other staff members joined the librarian in giving a week's instruction to Miss Dorothy W. Sanborn and Miss Eileen McDonough in the sub- stitutes' duties.
The library was represented at all meetings of the Old Colony Library Club, the Massachusetts Library Association, the Children's Librarians' meetings; and the Boston Group of Catalogers; and until recently, the Book Review Club of Greater Boston. Membership in this was reluctantly discontinued because it was not found possible to take the time for it in addition to the book selection work outlined at the beginning of the report.
When not on duty the librarian has visited four nearby libraries and three in other states, for professional observation.
Library Service Outside Library Walls
Monthly and annual narrative reports describing library activities have been more fully presented than heretofore, for the Board of Trustees, and then released to the local papers.
Quarterly statistical reports for the trustees have been started.
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The leaflet entitled "What Is a Good Library" was written to try to interpret professional goals to the man on the street who foots the library bills; to try to make certain intangible things more realistic; and to try to add to the reasons for friends of the library giving it their support.
Miss Phillips has accepted service on the American Library Association Special Membership Committee; the Massachusetts Library Association Nominating Committee; the Education Committee and the International Relations Committee of the Norwood Woman's Club; the Norwood Com- mittee of the Camp Fire Girls; membership in the Norwood Historical Society and the Literary Society. Miss Jordan has been chosen by her class at Wheaton College to represent them on alumnae affairs.
Miss Phillips has spoken before parents and pupils of the Shattuck School on "Reading Interests and Habits of a Few Well-Known Norwood People"; at the assemblies of Senior High School and of Junior High School, on "Youth and the Library"; the Literary Society on "Books That Interpret the News"; the Girl Scouts, on "The Library"; she gave 13 of the 19 lectures for groups of high school teachers and pupils on the "Use of the Library". The other 6 were given by the Misses Shumaker, Greig, and Jordan.
Friends of The Library
Through the active work of Miss Gertrude Williams, the president and members of the Norwood Garden Club undertook a weekly service of bringing and arranging flowers. This gave untold pleasure to all users of the library. At the holiday season Miss Williams was again the leader in the club's arranging beautiful Christmas decorations. In one, readers entering the library were greeted by seeing a madonna with lighted candles, surrounded by greens, and a blue silk background. In the other, reading- room patrons were cheered by a wreath and decorative greens.
The Honorable and Mrs. Frank G. Allen gave 41 modern books of live interest.
Through the interest and efforts of William Hyland the Norwood Council of the Knights of Columbus votes $25 for a year's subscription to the Catholic Book of the Month Club.
Miss Martha Willett, a leader of the Girl Scouts, came to express interest in the library's effort to learn of and serve the reading needs of the handi- capped and to offer Scout cooperation, in case of need.
Highly valued gifts of books have come from Oscar Bogge; the Norwood Catholic Women's Club; the Friday Reading Club; Miss Carol Everett; James H. Shumaker; Philip Lozier; Mrs. L. C. Marshall of Walpole; the American Legion Auxiliary; William T. Whedon; Edward L. Under- wood of Canton; Mrs. John S. Martin; Miss Dorothy R. Henry; Miss Isabel Russell of Dedham; Miss Madeleine Appleby; Miss Edna Phillips; and two donors who asked to be anonymous. A total of 128 gift books have been accepted for use in 1939.
Numerous friends have thoughtfully sent flowers as individuals-in
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particular Mahlon R. Perry who many times shared bouquets of handsome gladioli by sending them where so many would benefit, at the library.
Among the library's best friends are the two local newspapers, who by their constant use of library news, bring book resources of the town to the attention of library readers and potential readers.
A friend of the library gave money to be used on the purchase of a mirror for the staff room.
Youth and the Library
Organized work with the schools and an effort to win the good will and cooperation of young people has been the main activity of the year.
Through the help of Lincoln D. Lynch, superintendent of schools; Leighton S. Thompson, principal of Senior High School; and Robert J. Newbury, principal of Junior High School, the following plans have been completed :
After the talks at high school assemblies elsewhere mentioned, faculty, representative students, and members of the library staff met. First such a group from Senior High School came to the library and then such a group received the library staff at Junior High School. In each case problems of young people's use of the library were frankly discussed and remedies suggested by the boys and girls themselves.
Thanks to this concerted effort, a definite improvement in the way young people use the library is observed in both the Adult and Junior Departments. Individual problems arise from time to time and an effort is made to let any infringement of proper use of the library be not only the occasion for prompt and effective disciplinary action but for finding out the root causes of the trouble-thus to be able to give the boy or girl help that really will help.
The Sophomore class of Senior High School has come to the Adult Department in 11 sections, each section with a faculty member, for a talk on the use of the catalog, the classification of books, and the rudiments of reference book use.
The Freshman class of the Junior High School has come to the Inter- mediate Room for the same instruction.
(Similar service will be offered in 1940 to the Parochial School and the public grammar schools.)
Service was started on a modest scale at four playground centers: Pleasant Park, Shattuck, White Mike's and Civic. As this is not a usual library activity, Miss Phillips, Miss Shumaker and John Donovan, super- visor of playgrounds, had to improvise methods. The use of the books and the children's joyous shouts of "Here comes the library!", were proof that it worked.
Beginning November 1 an average of four Camp Fire Girls have been coming to the Junior Department each week to help with certain non- professional tasks they can do with careful supervision. Their troop leaders have undertaken this as a useful civic service. The Camp Fire
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Girls clean books and do simple mending and make bookmarks for the little children. Two of these girls were invited to demonstrate what they are doing here, at a state Camp Fire reception in Boston.
At the Christmas season a small tree in the Children's Room was kept lighted each evening. The creche made by Miss Shumaker giving a pano- rama of the wise men, manger, and shepherds was the center of attraction for little folks.
In the Intermediate Room silvered branches and cotton sprinkled with artificial snow created a wintery effect. A shadowgraph of the Wise Men made by Miss Jordan aroused much interest among a group of boys who immediately poured over books telling how to construct one.
The regular story-hour periods have been conducted during the year by Miss Shumaker assisted by Miss Jordan and Miss Smolski. The final story hour of the spring season drew an attendance of 80 when Master William Hurney kindly brought his toy projector to the library and enter- tained the boys and girls with "movies" of favorite books and poems. Total attendance for the season was 697.
The New York World's Fair was the theme around which the annual summer reading club was developed. Forty-seven enthusiastic readers from grades two through nine registered for membership. Twenty-seven of these read from five to 20 books each and were presented with diplomas by Miss Phillips at a meeting of the club held for that purpose.
The twenty-first anniversary of Children's Book Week was observed by exhibitions of new books and appropriate displays, one of which was photographed.
State Certificate reading has proved popular in the schools. Miss Jessie Webster's class of the Shattuck school read 610 approved books. Near the close of the school year Miss Phillips and Miss Shumaker were invited to a book program prepared by the boys and girls, at which they presented the certificates awarded by the Massachusetts Division of Public Libraries to those eligible.
April 15 Miss Jane A. Hewett retired, becoming Librarian Emeritus after 41 years in the office. The good standing of the library in the town is in no small measure due to Miss Hewett. She has a permanent place in Norwood's affection.
The progressive and comprehending attitude of the Board of Trustees and the sense of being as one with each member of the staff; and the agree- able working relations with town officers ;- all help give the incoming librarian a felicitous start in her first nine months as the "servant of the people".
EDNA PHILLIPS,
Librarian
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BOARD OF PUBLIC WELFARE
The Norwood Board of Public Welfare submits its annual report for the year ending December 31, 1939.
On May 16, 1939 the Selectmen appointed the following persons to act as the Board of Public Welfare. Harry F. Howard, Eileen J. Folan and Francis J. Doran. At a Welfare meeting on May 18, 1939 this newly appointed Board organized as follows: Harry F. Howard, Chairman, Eileen J. Folan, Secretary and Francis J. Doran.
During the year the Welfare Board was appointed as the official referral agency for the Works Progress Administration employment and this duty was delegated to Mr. Thomas A. Rorke as Sponsors Agent.
The Board of Public Welfare continued to act as selecting agency for the Civilian Conservation Corps and during the year four quotas were sent, totaling twenty-five young men between the ages of seventeen and twenty-three. These boys allotted $22.00 of their monthly pay to their parents and enrolled for a period of six months with the opportunity to serve eighteen months as a maximum enrollment.
In administrating relief during the past year the Board of Public Welfare has tried to meet the problem of those temporarily unemployed because of economic conditions, those temporarily unable to work through ill health, or other causes, and those who are unemployable. The individual cases have all been investigated to establish the eligibility of the applicant and the need for relief and have been re-checked periodically. The amount of aid rendered has been determined by carefully calculated budgets based on studies made by the State Department of Public Welfare and adjusted to fit the need of the individual cases.
A summary of the active General Relief cases with the number of people as of the last day of each month in 1939 is listed on page 90.
There was a decrease in the number of cases during the spring months due to increased industrial activity. The total cases dropped from 197 on February 28, 1939 to 170 on July 31, 1939. In July the eighteen (18) months service lay-off of the Works Progress Administration ordered by an Act of Congress became effective and up to November 30, 1939 had added forty-six (46) cases, affecting 141 people, to the Welfare rolls. In addition to these forty-six (46) cases thirteen (13) Works Progress Adminis- tration cases affecting seventy-two (72) persons receiving supplementary aid from the Welfare Department were laid off. These cases now had to be wholly supported by Welfare funds. The number of Norwood men on Works Progress Administration dropped from 209 in January to 104 in November. The average number on Works Progress Administration was 43 less for the year 1939 than 1938. This increased Welfare load added to the expense anticipated for 1939 and necessitated an additional appro- priation at a Special Town meeting on December 15, 1939.
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