Report of the city of Somerville 1903, Part 18

Author: Somerville (Mass.)
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Somerville, Mass.
Number of Pages: 492


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1903 > Part 18


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CREDIT.


Balance from 1902


$16 56


Interest


160 00


Total


$176 56


DEBIT.


Books and pictures purchased in 1903


89 41


Balance carried to 1904


87 15


Total


$176 56


Isaac Pitman Poetry Fund.


CREDIT.


Balance from 1902


88 52


Interest


40 00


Total


$128 52


DEBIT.


Books purchased in 1903


47 14


Balance carried to 1904


81 38


Total


$128 52


7 18


Labor


DEBIT.


REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.


To His Honor, the Mayor, and Board of Aldermen of the City of Somerville :---


The trustees of the public library beg to submit herewith their thirty-first annual report.


It is gratifying to the trustees to be able to report a steady and rapid gain in circulation, which is in itself an evidence that the library is doing good work, and beyond all, that the opportun- ities offered to our citizens are appreciated.


The number of volumes delivered for home use during the past year exceeds that of the year previous about thirty-eight thousand, which is, indeed, a very substantial gain.


The public schools have made more than the usual demands upon the resources of the library this year. It is estimated that nearly fifteen hundred books, mostly duplicates, have been pur- chased for the use of the schools. One hundred and sixty-three schoolrooms are now supplied with these books. Considering the fact that it is only a very few years since the schools were offered the privileges of the library, it is remarkable to what ex- tent the library is used in this particular line of education. Our resources and our facilities are often taxed to the utmost to satisfy the demands of the teachers and scholars for works of reference and scientific research. These demands are met with every means in our power, but with a limited amount available for this class of works it is impossible to furnish everything desired. The board feel that these demands should be answered more fully, and realize more and more each year that the city cannot make a better in- vestment than by furnishing the schools with every possible as- sistance in the work of education.


A new registration of the library was commenced during the summer vacation, and although it is not yet entirely completed, nearly eight thousand names have been registered. The labor of the new registration has been considerable, but contrary to ex- pectation was accompanied by no remonstrance on the part of the public.


Our plan of supplying books to the Sunday schools works to the utmost satisfaction of the Sunday schools as well as to the library. Seven Sunday schools now avail themselves of the privi- lege, most of them taking out the maximum number of one hundred books.


238


ANNUAL REPORTS.


The several agencies have done their usual work, but with increasing difficulty. The new plan of giving out books directly from the agencies, although greatly appreciated by the public, adds a new burden to the general work, under which some of the agencies are justly restive, as the moderate compensation paid to them is certainly not commensurate with the labor involved.


In November a long petition signed by a large number of the residents of West Somerville was presented to the board asking that a reading room and a distributing station should be estab- lished in that section of the city, but this it was impossible to grant with the means at hand. The justice of the request was readily recognized and the subject was carefully considered. After looking the ground over and estimating the expense of the undertaking, it was decided to bring the matter forcibly to the attention of his honor, the mayor, who, having served on the board of library trustees, was quick to recognize the importance of establishing such a reading room and distributing station. A suitable location was found and a request was made by him to the honorable board of aldermen for authority to execute a lease, which after consideration was referred to the incoming city gov- ernment. If in their opinion such a move is desirable in the near future, which has the hearty approval of this board, no pains or effort in their power will be spared to make it a success. It must be understood definitely, however, that such an expense cannot be incurred without a necessary appropriation to meet the added outlay. It is estimated that the expense of such a reading room and distributing station will be about two thousand dollars annually. The circulation of books at the West Somerville agency is constantly increasing, and with the necessarily very in- adequate means of supplying the residents of this section with books, your board can but feel that some means should be devised to meet this demand. Surely every opportunity should be given to our citizens to enable them to enjoy the treasures which should be theirs for the asking. We commend the subject, therefore, to your favorable consideration.


The rapidly increasing business of the library from year to year demands a gradual increase of appropriation, and for the ensuing year it will be necessary for a small increase over that for the past year.


Free access to all the books under the regulations established previously has been more and more appreciated by the card holders, and has very largely been the means of satisfying the public when unable to obtain just the books desired. One very satisfactory result has been the circulation of books which have hitherto been little used.


Exhibitions of art work by the scholars in the public schools have been continued with interest to all.


The relations that exist among the employees at the library are of the pleasantest kind ; the public as a whole seems grateful


239


PUBLIC LIBRARY.


for the many efforts put forth in its behalf; the growth and devel- opment of the whole library system is gratifying, and the outlook for the future is very hopeful.


In justice to our faithful librarian it must be said that we appreciate his services for the interest of the library in every de- tail, and it is a pleasure to the board to know that the value of his work is recognized by the association of librarians.


Respectfully submitted, CHARLES A. WEST,


December 29, 1903.


President.


REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN.


To the Trustees of the Somerville Public Library :-


I herewith submit the librarian's thirty-first annual report. Below is a statement in detail relative to the various depart- ments :-


The Cataloguing Department.


With the beginning of February, Miss F. Mabel Norcross resigned as head of the cataloguing department, a position she had held with great acceptance since 1893. Her assistant for many years, Miss Esther M. Mayhew, was at once promoted to her place, and has since conducted the work of this rapidly-grow- ing department of the library with entire satisfaction. Miss Edith B. Hayes, at her own request, was transferred from the school department and assumed the work of cataloguer's assistant.


The work of this department has grown to such proportions that were it not for the printed cards furnished by the library of congress, it would be impossible to accomplish the work with our present force. During the past twelve months we have pur- chased 8,306 of these printed cards at a cost of $57.84. This is a remarkably small expenditure for the service rendered. It is anticipated that the time will come when practically all the cards needed for a public library can be furnished in this way by the library of congress and thus every library will be able to secure the most expert work in this line the country can furnish at an expenditure within its reach.


A new card cabinet has lately been installed at the Teele- square agency and supplied with these printed cards of the li- brary of congress. These cards cover all the new books that have been purchased since January 1, 1901. Of course such a catalogue is very incomplete when compared with the general card catalogue in the central library. But it contains a list of the new books purchased for the past three years; and it is safe to say that such a list supplies the needs of ninety per cent. of the readers of a public library. I would recommend that these new card catalogues be gradually installed in all the successful agencies. Such catalogues are now in use in both West Somer- ville agencies and we are now purchasing extra cards from the library of congress with a view to starting a new one in a few years in the agency which shows itself most deserving of it.


Below are the statistics of books withdrawn from the library, books added to the library, and books bound by the library dur- ing the year :-


241


PUBLIC LIBRARY.


Books Withdrawn.


Number of books worn out


695


66


lost by general readers 10


66 66


in schools 15


66 burned on account of infectious exposure


7


Total number withdrawn


727


Total number of books withdrawn to January, 1903


6,463


66


during 1903 .


727


Total


7,190


Books Added.


Accession number January 1, 1903


63,002


January 1, 1904


69,244


Total number of books added during 1903


6,242


Books new to the library


3,071


Duplicates


3,171


Total number withdrawn


7,190


Total number of books in the library


62,054


Binding.


Volumes rebound


2,393


Periodicals bound


379


Paper-covered books bound


30


Pamphlets


34


Total


2,836


The School Department.


The school department since February 1 has been under the direction of Miss Mary J. Warren. Perhaps no department of the library has grown more during the current year. Since the beginning of the year 9,042 books have been sent to the schools. Of these 4,480 were fiction and 4,562 were other works. Out of the 227 schoolrooms in the city, 163 are supplied with special libraries. Formerly twenty-five books was the maximum num- ber sent in these school libraries ; but since the beginning of the present school year a maximum of forty books has been per- mitted. In most instances this number is sufficient. But if the number of pupils in a schoolroom happens to exceed forty in number I think it advisable to send to such a room a number of books equal to its number of pupils.


The books sent out in these school libraries we count as circulating once in every two weeks. It is probable that they do circulate much more frequently than this. But it would add new burdens to the service to ask the teachers, already overworked, to keep an exact count of all the books circulated. So we con- tent ourselves with this arbitrary system, which is sufficiently accurate for practical purposes, although in my judgment some- what conservative. Counting the school circulation on this basis it amounts for the current year to 27,396 fiction and 38,250 other works, making a total of 65,646.


242


ANNUAL REPORTS.


1


Many new books have been purchased for these school libraries during the past year but I know not how an equal ex- penditure of money could have been made to greater advantage.


Reference and Art Department.


The reference and art department under the supervision of , Miss Mabel E. Bunker has continued to do useful work. Below is given the monthly attendance for the year :-


January


1,036


February


1,716


March


1,896


April


1,077


May


1,683


June


1,525


July


531


August


739


September


822


October


1,203


November


1,580


December


1,577


Total


15,385


During the year there have been fifteen art exhibits, as fol- lows :-


Photogravures of Gerome's paintings.


Nuremberg.


Russia.


Cathedral series.


Venice, No. 1.


National Gallery.


Manual training exhibit from Somerville high school.


China.


Paris, No. 2.


American parks.


Scotland, No. 1.


Ovieto.


Art in Italy, Part 1.


Art in Italy, Part 2.


Canterbury and Salisbury cathedrals.


Many works of permanent value have been purchased for this department during the year, among which may be men- tioned :---


Encyclopedia Americana.


New volumes of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Anglo-American encyclopedia and dictionary.


Helmholst's history of the world-4v.


Photographs-100 views of American parks.


Photogravures of Gerome's paintings.


Forty-six of Soule's photographs of works of art.


Our art room is small, but there is ample room on its walls for good pictures. Visitors are naturally enough disappointed upon being shown into an art room, to find its walls entirely


243


PUBLIC LIBRARY.


bare of pictures. In fact, the whole library is singularly destitute of pictorial adornment. Our supply of wall space is very meagre; but we have no pictures of real merit with which to adorn the little wall-space we do have. This is one of the pal- pable needs of the library. We are trying to purchase photo- graphs, stereoscopic views and temporary picture exhibits to foster the growing love of art so perceptible in this community. But the library should be adorned with a few original paintings of a high order of merit. These would be expensive, and, of course, cannot be purchased from the regular appropriation al- lowed by the city to the library. In many other localities these gifts have come through the private munificence of citizens or natives. The Somerville library is hopeful of similar donations.


The Children's Department.


The children's department, under the supervision of Miss Anna L. Stone, has done an excellent work. Great care is ex- ercised in purchasing books for the children's room, and this de- partment of the library should do much to foster a love of read- ing among young people. The circulation from the children's room by months is herewith appended :-


January


5,568


February


6,784


March


8,535


April


6,279


May


4,983


June


4,506


July ..


4,540


August


4,008


September


4,827


October


5,147


November


6,444


December


7,237


Total


68,858


Of this circulation 77.8 per cent. is fiction and 22.6 per cent. other works.


The walls of the children's room are very plain and bare. A few interesting pictures, suited to juvenile comprehension, would greatly enhance the appearance and add to the usefulness of this room.


General Work.


The general work of the library under the immediate super- vision of Miss Adele Smith, the assistant librarian, has increased to a gratifying extent. Our vacation card system has been con- tinued and has been increasingly appreciated by people who spend their summer out of town. The past summer 323 vacation cards were issued, on which 1,811 books were taken out, as against 1,371 last year.


The general circulation figures of the year are as follows :-


244


ANNUAL REPORTS.


January


22,927


February


26,296


March


32,587


April


27,369


May


27,110


June


30,172


July


18,598


August


17,136


September


22,018


October


24,384


November


29,998


December


35,611


Total


314,206


Last year the circulation was 277,075, consequently there is a net increase the current year of 37,131 or a gain of .134 per cent. Of this circulation 703 per cent. was fiction, and 292 per cent. other works. Last year our percentage of fiction was 722 per cent. and 273 per cent. other works.


Below is given our circulation by classes exclusive of fiction :-


General works


6,730


Philosophy


1,335


Religion


3,537


Sociology


8,224


Philology


964


Natural science


6,749


Useful arts


3,856


Fine arts


7,987


Literature


13,034


History


23,792 .


Children's room


15,584


Schools, specials, etc.


1,186


Total


92,978


Below is the statistical statement of the general work of the year :-


Accession number January 1, 1904


69,244


Accessions in 1903


6,242


Total circulation


314,206


Delivered from children's room


68,948


66


66


66


shelves


2,489


66


66


East Somerville


2,960


66


66


66


66 shelves


1,013


66


66


West Somerville


7,716


66


66


66 shelves


5,035


66


South Somerville


3,104


60


66


Union square


345


66


66


Beacon street


1,165


66


66


Magoun square


142


66


grammar schools


830


Volumes out in Sunday schools


1,511


school libraries


9,042


Visitors in reference room


15,385


Cards issued


9,114


Books covered


2,014


66 Teele square


5,417


245


PUBLIC LIBRARY.


Cash, fines


$529 23


books


41 28


telephone


6 12


Total


$576 63


Sunday Schools.


Our policy, inaugurated last year, of furnishing all Sunday schools that desire the service with books to the maximum number of 100, has been continued without any serious trouble on the part of the library and to the general satisfaction of the Sunday schools. The Bow-street Methodist, the Broadway Congregational, the Prospect-hill Congregational, the Second Unitarian, the Winter-hill Congregational, the Winter-hill Uni- versalist, and the Flint-street Methodist churches are now using these libraries. These churches send up representatives who se- lect the books deemed desirable. These representatives are given a free range through the entire library. In every instance they have been permitted to select the books desired. If they select books for which the library feels an urgent pressing need we per- mit them even then to retain their selections and immediately pur- chase new copies of the book in question. If the library has such pressing need of a book that it cannot spare a copy for a Sunday school it is time to buy additional copies of that book.


During the year there have been delivered to the various Sunday schools and the Y. M. C. A. 1,129 books of fiction and 382 other works, making a total of 1,511.


New Registration.


During the year a new registration has been begun and is now practically completed. At the present date 7,699 names have been registered, and 7,699 new cards given out. Accord- ing to our old registration 23,496 were registered as card-hold- ers. It can now be seen that 15,797 of these have either died, moved away, or ceased to use the library. Our previous regis- tration was made in 1895. In a period of eight years it is probable that only a moderate proportion of these 15,000 have dlied or moved away. The conclusion is inevitable that they have ceased to use the library. This is in accord with experience and observation. Many card-holders cease to use their cards after a short trial, and many use them only fitfully and occa- sionally. An inference to be drawn from this is that a large proportion of people fail to form a permanent habit of book- reading. Estimating the population of Somerville as 68,000, only one person in about nine is a card-holder, and it is safe to say that not more than 60 per cent. of our card-holders take out books with regularity. This leaves but a small percentage of the entire population. Even in Somerville, where we are inclined to be proud of our circulation, a limited number of the total aggregate of the people use the public library. I am more and more convinced of this truth every year. The public library


246


ANNUAL REPORTS.


does not reach the people as a whole. Of course no compulsion Or over-strenuous missionary work should be done to force the library upon the people. But the great problem of library man- agement is to get its books generally read.


Agencies.


During most of the year the library has circulated books through seven different agencies. Early in November the library reluctantly abandoned its Beacon-street agency. The store at 287 Beacon street, where the library agency was located, was closed, and no other store in the vicinity could be secured to do the work. This agency was well patronized by its local com- ยท munity, and it is a matter of great regret that no means of open .. ing a new one in that vicinity is as yet apparent.


There is so much work at present connected with the care of our agencies that it is a matter of growing difficulty to obtain suitable persons to conduct them. The time is drawing near when some other method of carrying on the agencies of the library must be devised.


Below is a table of circulation of the different agencies during the year :---


West


Somerville.


Teele


Square.


East


Somerville.


South


Somerville.


Magoun


Square.


Beacon


Street.


Union


Square.


January


773


371


279


11


135


February


849


411


280


10


130


March


1,194


538


330


15


165


April


862


109


360


260


11


126


31


May


732


528


285


279


20


107


38


June


952


698


262


301


16


138


46


July


534


670


185


226


9


92


35


August


454


549


99


226


8


119


30


September


310


671


125


266


7


73


39


Shelves


1,124


924


80


October


317


606


109


191


12


52


44


Shelves


1,303


520


247


November


326


654


102


285


8


28


34


Shelves


1,442


555


363


December


413


932


113


261


15


. .


48


Shelves


1,166


490


323


12,751


7,906


3,973


3,104


142


1,165


345


247


PUBLIC LIBRARY.


The library has received the following donations of books, pamphlets, and periodicals during the past year :


List of Donations.


Vols.


Pamph.


Period.


Aguilar Free Library Society


Amherst College


American New Church Tract & Publication Society


1


Associated Charities


Audubon Society


Avery, John .


Beveridge, Albert J. .


Boston Atheneum


1


1


Chace, Anna H.


1


Children's Institutions


1


Davis, Walter A.


1


Dodd, Mead & Co.


1


Eldridge, E. D.


2


Ellis, George H. Co.


1


Elliot, Charles D.


2


2


Folsom, A. A. .


1


Foss, Sam Walter


1


Frye, George E.


1


Gardner, Chester R.


Harvard University .


1 1


7


Hollander, Jacob H.


1


Home Market Club .


1


Iowa College


2


Johns Hopkins University


1


Library of Congress


2


350


Massachusetts .


2


Massachusetts Institute of Technology


1


Massachusetts Single Tax League .


1


Middlesex County


1


Montville, T. B. de .


5


Mount Auburn Cemetery


2


O'Connell, Rt. Rev. William


Peabody Institute


Perkins Institute


1


Pratt Institute .


Pillsbury, Albert E. .


2


Providence Atheneum


Public Libraries : -


Allegheny, Pa. (Carnegie Library) .


Arlington ( Robbins Library ) .


1


Carried forward


148


391


14


1


1


1


1


1


1


Boston Transit Commission


Burrill, Ellen Mudge


1


Flanagan, Mary R.


Fletcher Memorial Library


14


Hayes, Lydia Y.


Hillside Club .


Lincoln, Mrs. George A.


81 40


Massachusetts Abstinence Society


1


National Sound Money League


11221 1 1 2 1


2


2


248


ANNUAL REPORTS.


LIST OF DONATIONS .- Continued.


Vols.


Pamph.


Period.


Brought forward


148


391


14


Public Libraries (Continued) : -


Atlanta, Ga. ( Carnegie Library )


Baltimore ( Enoch Pratt Library )


Beverly


Boston


3


1


Bradford, Pa. ( Carnegie Library )


Brockton


Brookline


1


Brooklyn, N. Y.


1


Burlington, Vt.


1


Cambridge


1


Chelsea


1


Cleveland, Ohio


1


Concord, Mass.


2


Concord, N. H. .


1


Dayton, Ohio


1


Detroit, Mich.


1


Dover, N. H.


1 1


Erie, Pa.


Everett ( Parlin Library ) .


1


Everett ( Shute Memorial Library )


Fitchburg


1


Groton


1


Haverhill


Hyde Park


1 1 1 1 1


Lowell


1


Lynn .


1 1


Manchester, N. H.


1


Marblehead ( Abbot Library ) .


Medford


Melrose


Milwaukee, Wis.


1


Natick


2


New Bedford


.


1 1


Newington, N. H.


1 1


Newark, N. J.


North Adams


Northampton


Northampton ( Forbes Library )


Paterson, N. J.


1


Philadelphia, Pa.


1


Pittsburg, Pa. ( Carnegie Library )


2


Portland, Me.


1


Portland, Ore. .


2


Carried forward .


154


447


14


1 1 1 1 3


Minneapolis, Minn.


Nashville, Tenn. ( Carnegie Library )


New London, Conn.


1


Newton


1 1 1 1


New Haven, Conn.


1


Jersey City, N. J.


Lancaster, Mass.


Lawrence, Mass.


Madison, Wis. .


1


1


1


1


1


249


PUBLIC LIBRARY.


LIST OF DONATIONS. - Concluded.


Vols.


Pamph.


Period.


Brought forward .


154


447


14


Public Libraries ( Continued ) : -


Providence, R. I.


Quincy (Thos. Crane Library )


Rochester, N. H.


1


Salem


2


Scranton, Pa.


1


1


Springfield


1


Syracuse, N. Y.


1


Taunton


1


Waltham


10


Watertown


1


Westborough, Mass.


1


1


Read, William .


2


Roeder, Adolph


1


Root, Emery


1


St. Louis Mercantile Library Association


1


Sanborn, Mrs. Carrie A. .


2


Sargent, Aaron


1 1


2


Smith, Ralph K.


1


Smith, Stephen


1


1


Socialist Labor Party


9


19


Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests Soldiers' Home


1


Somerville


1


Somerville Journal .


2


Southworth, Gordon A.


2


1


Spaulding, Abner C.


1


Storey, Moorfield


1


Swedenborgian Society


1


Thompson, C. W. & Co.


1


Tufts College .


2


United States


8


3


Universalist Publishing House


1


University of Illinois


1


Valentine, H. E.


3


24


Vincent, George I. .


1


1


West, Charles A.


56


Whitman, Edmund A.


1


Whitinan, William


2


Wilbur


571


Wilmington Institute


1


Totals


190


515


691


Remarks.


The present year, for the first time in the history of the library, we have purchased more duplicate than new books. This is in accordance with a deliberate purpose. It is believed that, outside the domain of fiction, a public library should have a


25


Story, Isaac M.


1


Thayer, John Eliot .


1


Weymouth ( Tufts Library ) Woburn


1


Scott, W. B.


Simmons College


1


Smithsonian Institute


1


2


250


ANNUAL REPORTS.


sufficient number of all the standard works to supply all legiti- mate public demands. The standard and great works in litera- ture, history, science, music and the arts, in an ideal library, ideally conducted, should never be "out." There should always be duplicates enough to supply the demand. This ideal library can probably never be wholly realized, but it should be our aim to arrive at as close an approximation as possible. The library, for instance, that cannot furnish, upon demand, Tennyson's Poems, Spencer's "First Principles," Emerson's Essays, Plato's Dialogues, Fiske's Histories, or any of the works of the repre- sentative English or American authors, is not a thoroughly equipped library. To be sure the proper place for a public library book is "out." But an equally proper thing is for an- other book, just like it, to be "in." It should be the first aim of a library to get its books "out," and a second and equal aim to have other books "in" to supply their places. To this end a systematic effort has been made to purchase, as rapidly as the funds at our disposal will permit, an adequate number of dupli- cate copies of such works. This is an end that can be substan- tially accomplished in a period of three or four years, if a grad- uated increase of appropriation commensurate with our growing needs is secured. Very much has already been done along this line, and most standard books, outside of fiction and new books in great current demand, are usually "in" when asked for. It is a matter of chagrin that they are not always "in," and it is the aim of the library, in as short a time as it is feasible, to make it possible for such books always to be "in."




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