USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1905 > Part 18
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63 Preston rd.
2
Ethel F. Morang,
157 Lowell st.
1
Gertrude Friend,
6 Park ave.
1 Annie B. Russell,
45 Russell st.
MORSE.
9 9
MINA J. WENDELL, Master,
211-A Summer st.
*Alice E. Jones,
53 Laurel st. Boston.
8 Minnie A. Day,
( helnisford, Mass.
7
Minnie E. Haas,
Preston rd.
7 Lennie W. Bartlett,
99 Summer st.
6 Emma A. Gilman,
130 Huntington ave., Boston
6 Anna E. Sawyer, 5 Lizzie E. Hill,
35 Norway st., Boston.
4 Alice B. Hazelton,
124 Summer st.
3 Agnes C. Rice,
20 Spring Hill terrace.
2 Ardelle Abbott,
71 Craigie st.
1 Alice M. Emerson,
146 Highland ave.
1
Grace S. Russell,
1097 Broadway.
6
Marie T. Smith,
87 Orchard st.
5 Mary A. Haley,
117 Summer st.
Anne E. Bragdon,
53 Laurel st.
Alice R. Lincoln,
885 Mass. ave., Cambridge.
6 Naomi E. Stevens,
14 Stickney ave.
Elizabeth J. Mooney,
3 Lee st.
9 Lina M. Hooper,
26 Bow st.
*Leave of absence for one year.
233
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
TABLE 29 .- Teachers in Service January, 1906 .- Continued.
Grade.
NAME.
Residence.
GEORGE O. PROCTOR.
Nora F. Byard,
101-A Fayerweather st., Cambridge. 58 Pinckney st.
Margaret D. Jack,
28 Bonner ave.
4,3 3
Ella P. McLeod,
32 Charnwood ŕd.
Clara L. Hammond,
62 Chandler st.
Edith L. Hunnewell,
23 Milton st.
2,1 1
Inez Dill, Elizabeth T. Burrage,
20 Dartmouth st.
GEORGE W. DURELL.
4 3 2 1 Mary Winslow,
124 Summer st. 1 Forest pk., Cambridge. 24 Brastow ave. 38 Spring st.
BURNS.
7 6
Cara M. Johnson,
147 Park ave., Arlington. 153 Lowell st.
5 4
Minnie S. Turner,
230 Morrison ave.
3
A. L. Brown,
281 Summer st.
2 Mary E. Lacy,
63 Cherry st.
1,2 1
Alice E. Morang,
157 Lowell st.
BENJAMIN G. BROWN.
24 Florence st., Malden.
Grace J. Alexander,
60 College ave. 93 Revere st., Boston.
3 Lucy M. Curtis,
2
Grace M. Bliss,
78 Summer st.
1 Ida M. Record,
29 Browning rd.
HIGHLAND.
9 9
AARON B. PALMER, MASTER,
18 Bay State rd. 122 Orchard st.
9 Edna F. Grant,
18 Hall ave.
9 P. E. Mathews,
201 Morrison ave.
8
N. Irene Ellis,
15 Kidder ave.
8 Grace M. Clark, Jennie P. Chapman,
23 Pleasant st., Woburn.
8 7 Edith G. Watts,
201 Morrison ave.
7 * Jennie C. Frazier,
561 Columbus ave., Boston.
Frances A. Darrah,
7 6 Mary L. Bryant,
6 Sarah E. Pray,
Mary H. Joyce,
38 Chandler st. 28 Quincy st. 76 Boston st.
5 5 Lillian F. Richardson,
33 Wallace st.
*Leave of absence till June 30, 1906.
6 5 4 Abbie A Gurney,
ABIGAIL P. HAZELTON, Principal, Etta C. Rochefort,
Ethel Worcester,
LAURA J. BROOKS, Principal,
31 Stevens st., Stoneham.
18 Sargent ave.
Emma B. Jones,
ANNIE G. SMITH, Principal,
6 5 4 Edna M. Proctor,
77 Walnut st.
M. Alice Paul,
10 Vernon st., West Medford.
Elizabeth A. Davies,
34 Chauncey ave.
234
ANNUAL REPORTS. .
TABLE 29 .- Teachers in Service January, 1906 .- Continued.
Grade.
NAME.
Residence.
WM. H. HODGKINS.
9
ARTHUR L. DOE, Master,
86 Chandler st.
9
Alice M. Winslow,
16 Park ave.
9
Etta M. Miller,
151 Walnut st.
8
Edith W. Emerson,
135 Central st.
8
Alice S. Hall,
135 Central st.
7
Lilla E. Mann,
15 Day st., Cambridge.
7
Josephine T. Field,
62 Chandler st.
6
Gertrude W. Leighton,
56 College ave.
6
Beatrice A. Randall,
96 College ave.
5
Flora A. Burgess,
Arlington Heights.
5
Catherine A. Burden,
404 Highland ave.
4 4 3
Katherine M. Fox,
Stoneham.
Jennie M. Patterson,
17 Avon st.
1
Marion I. Noyes,
22 Dover st.
2 3 2
Charlotte F. Mott,
154 Charles st., Boston.
Almena J. Mansir,
77 Albion st.
1
Annie H. Hall,
97 College ave.
MARTHA PERRY LOWE.
4 4 3 3
MAY E. SMALL, Principal,
7 Kingston st.
Stella M. Holland,
46 Chester st.
Alice M. Dorman,
201 Morrison ave.
Maude C. Valentine,
1098 Broadway.
2
Jane M. Taaffe,
159 Morrison ave.
2 Katherine E. Hourahan,
12 Grove st.
1
Clara G. Hegan,
100 School st.
1
Martha A. Jencks,
153 Powder House b'l'v'd.
EVENING SCHOOL PRINCIPALS.
JOHN A. AVERY, High.
CHARLES T. MURRAY, Prescott.
JOHN S. EMERSON, Bell. *FRED C. BALDWIN, Forster.
HARRY F. HATHAWAY, Forster.
CHARLES E. BRAINARD, Highland.
*Leave of absence.
LINCOLN.
ELIZA H. LUNT, Principal,
50 Curtis st.
Genieve R. Barrows,
Woburn, Mass.
235
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
TABLE 29 .- Teachers in Service January, 1906 .- Concluded.
Grade.
NAME.
Residence.
SPECIAL TEACHERS. .
MUSIC.
7-13 6-1
S. Henry Hadley, Charlotte D. Lawton,
46 Pearl st. 68 Warrenton st., Boston.
DRAWING.
9-1
Mary L. Patrick,
Newtonville.
SEWING.
8-5 8-5
Mary L. Boyd,
Emma J. Ellis,
8-5
Bertha P. Paul,
PENMANSHIP.
9-1
Wm. A. Whitehouse,
25 Greene st.
TABLE 30 .- OFFICERS IN SERVICE JANUARY, 1906.
NAME.
· Residence.
SUPERINTENDENT.
Gordon A. Southworth,
40 Greenville st.
CLERK.
Cora S. Fitch,
82 Munroe st.
TRUANT OFFICERS.
Lemuel H. Snow, Jairus Mann,
75 Benton road. 80 Porter st.
43 Thurston st. 54 Marshall st. 23 Monmouth st.
236
i ANNUAL REPORTS.
TABLE 31 .- SCHOOL JANITORS, JANUARY, 1906.
School.
Name.
Residence.
Latin High, S
·
Joseph Young
51 Oxford St.
English High. S
Lewis G. Keene
30 Berkeley St.
Prescott. S, 12
George A. McGunnigle
50 Pearl St.
Hanscom, S, 6
Warren Hallett
153 Walnut St.
Davis, F, 4
N. L. Pennock
54 Putnam St.
Bennett. S. 12
.
Daniel T. Campbell
140 Medford St.
Baxter, S, 6
.
Israel Winterbottom
2 Bolton St.
Knapp, S. 12
John C. Sampson
40 School St.
Perry. S. 6
Henry C. Bradford
72 Boston St.
Pope. F, 12
Hiram A. Turner
16 Gibbens St.
Bell. S, 12 .
F. S. Dickinson
1 Putnam St.
Cummings, F, 4
William T. Higgins
53 Prescott St.
Edgerly, S. 12
Charles P. Horton
22 Everett Ave.
Glines, S, 14
Roy C. Burckes
249 School St.
Forster, S, 18
John H. Kelley
19 Sycamore St.
Forster .
James L. Whitaker
146-R Sycamore St.
Bingham, S, 16
John F. O'Brien
347 Lowell St.
Carr, S, 16 .
James W. Rich
206 Highland Ave.
Morse, F, 12
Edwin B. Price
67 Church St.
Proctor S, 8
.
George H. Clapp
Burns, S, 8
Charles Gallaway
160 Hudson St. 23 Howe St. 398 Highland Ave.
Highland, F. 12
E. Parker Cook
Hodgkins, S, 14
Andrew B. Colesworthy
Lowe, S, 8
John F. Richardson
Lincoln, S, 4
.
.
Thomas C. Dame
104 Highland Ave. 35-A Franklin St.
Durell. S, 4
.
Thomas A. Galbraith
Brown, S, 6
.
O. M. Pote
33 Simpson Ave. 190 Morrison Ave. 1 Ellsworth St.
Buildings heated by steam are marked "S," by furnace "F." The numbers show the number of rooms.
The high schools are heated by a single plant in Latin building.
·
.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS.
OF THE SOMERVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1905.
Trustees.
CHARLES A. WEST.
EDWARD C. BOOTH, M. D.
GEORGE W. PERKINS.
HOWARD D. MOORE.
IRVING G. HALL. FREDERICK W. PARKER. JOHN B. VIALL. J. FRANK WELLINGTON. CHARLES S. SOULE.
Officers.
CHARLES A. WEST
President.
SAM WALTER FOSS
. Secretary.
Committees.
Building and Grounds -Viall, Perkins, and Hall.
Administration -Wellington, Soule, and Parker.
Books and Catalogues -West, Viall, Booth, Wellington, Moore, and Hall. Finance - Perkins, Hall, and Parker.
Librarian. SAM WALTER FOSS.
Assistant Librarian.
ADELE SMITH.
Cataloguer. ESTHER M. MAYHEW.
Assistant Cataloguer.
EDITH B. HAYES.
Children's Librarian.
ANNA L. STONE.
School Librarian.
MARY S. WOODMAN.
Reference and Art Librarian. MABEL E. BUNKER.
Assistants.
FLORENCE D. HURTER. BESSIE L. DUDDY. NELLIE M. WHIPPLE. ALICE W. SEARS. FLORENCE M. BARBER.
CHARLOTTE R. LOWELL. CHARLES A. PERRY. F. STUART DEAN. TRUMAN CUSHING. SAXTON C. Foss.
Janitor.
CHARLES A. SOUTHWICK.
PUBLIC LIBRARY ACCOUNT.
Receipts and Expenditures [for[1905.
CREDIT.
Appropriation
$14,500 00,
Dog tax
4,105 14
Commissioner public buildings
7 00
Fines, etc.
746 08
Total
$19,358 22
Books and periodicals
$6,158 45.
Binding
Cards
76 40
Printing
475 75
Stationery
61 03
Salaries
9,388 72
Agencies
465 65
Repairs
17 77
Express
414 63.
Postage
30 00
Telephone
49 46
Binders
4 90
Pictures
6 75
Insurance
135 00
Ice
30
Chart
15 00
Chair
00
Book case
8 18
Signs
18 00
Total
$19,358 22
Isaac Pitman Art Fund.
CREDIT.
Balance from 1904
$5 61
Interest February 1, West End Road Bonds
·
80 00
66 Dec. 31,
66
80 00
Total
$245 61
DEBIT.
Books and pictures purchased in 1905
$161 16
Balance carried to 1906
84 45
Total
$245 61
Isaac Pitman Poetry :Fund.
CREDIT.
Balance from 1904 · ·
$44 12
Interest February 1, West End Road Bonds
20 00
66
July 1, American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
20 00
66 Dec. 31,
20 00
Total
$104 12
Books purchased in 1905 .
45 73
Balance carried to 1906
58 39
Total
$104 12
·
80 00
66 July 1, American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
.
.
·
.
.
.
DEBIT.
.
Supplies
21 27
DEBIT.
1,996 96
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-third annual report.
It has been the pleasure almost uniformly of this board to record in their annual report an increase in the number of books delivered for home use, and it is again their pleasure to record a substantial increase during the present year of over 40,000 volumes, or a total circulation of upwards of 391,000 as against 353,286 during the year 1904.
The Somerville public library still retains its position in the matter of circulation as second only to the city of Boston in the New England states. As near as can be ascertained by the librarian of congress, it is the twentieth in the United States in this respect, although the sixtieth in point of population. As stated in our previous report, such figures and comparisons are gratifying.
It is also a source of satisfaction that, notwithstanding the increase in circulation during the past year, the business of the library has been conducted without an increase in appropriation, but it must not be expected that this continual growth in the library can go on without a proportionate amount of funds are placed at its disposal.
The general support given to the library by the public must not in any way be discouraged, but, on the contrary, every facility should be given to our citizens, and every encouragement should be offered to them to increase the use of the library. As "the commonwealth requires the education of the people as a safe- guard of order and liberty," this municipality should not be in the least backward in supplying suitable literature for the use of its citizens in sustaining and supporting the requirements of our commonwealth.
The public schools are among the foremost of the patrons of the library, and the circulation to the pupils is constantly and steadily increasing. The value of the reference books at their command cannot be overestimated, and during the past year the number of reference works has been materially increased in re- sponse to urgent demands. There has been distributed to the various schoolrooms in the city 89,998 books, as against 82,714 books in the previous year. The library supplies 157 school- rooms with small libraries of usually forty volumes each, which is a very material aid in the general circulation.
240
ANNUAL REPORTS.
There are also supplied 100 books each to ten different Sun- day schools, which are gratefully appreciated.
The business done at the six different general agencies shows a very gratifying increase, on the whole; the agencies at West Somerville have increased in greater proportion, in conse- quence of the large increase in population in that section of the city. Your attention is again called to the importance of con- sidering at no distant date the subject of providing more suitable accommodations to the citizens of West Somerville for the easier access to the privileges of the library. This matter has been frequently considered by the board, who are not only willing, but anxious to do something for the citizens of this section when- ever the funds are placed at their disposal. We therefore again recommend the proposition for your serious consideration.
Our house-to-house delivery of books to the homes of people is still continued, to the usual satisfaction of the patrons.
The report of the librarian submitted herewith will furnish a complete record of the business of the library, which speaks for itself, and is an evidence of the faithful work performed by him and his able corps of assistants.
Respectfully submitted,
CHARLES A. WEST, President.
December 26, 1905.
REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN.
To the Trustees of the Somerville Public Library :-
I herewith submit the librarian's thirty-third annual report. Below is a statement in detail relative to the various depart- ments :-
The Cataloguing Department.
The cataloguing department, under the supervision of Mis's Esther M. Mayhew, has had another busy year. In order to still further simplify the cataloguing system and to gain much addi- tional time, the accession book has been abandoned, all the data preserved in this book now being transferred to the cards of the shelf list. Considerable time and labor have been saved by this device, and no disadvantage is apparent.
A shelf list for the children's room has been prepared during the past year. All the departments of the library are now equipped with special shelf lists.
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 :-
Books Added.
Accession number January 1, 1905
75,173
66 1906
81,519
Total number of books added during 1905
6,346
Books new to library
3,086
Duplicates
3,260
Total number withdrawn
9,280
Total number of books in library .
72,239
Binding.
Volumes rebound
4,319
Periodicals bound
452
Paper-covered books bound .
59
Pamphlets
40
Total
4,870
Books Withdrawn.
Number of books worn out . 796
66
66 lost by general readers 38
burned on account of infectious exposure . 20
Total number withdrawn 854
Total number of books withdrawn to January 1, 1905 8,426
66 66 66 during 1905
854
Total
9,280
242
ANNUAL REPORTS.
School Department.
The school department, under the supervision of Miss Mary S. Woodman, has done an increased amount of work. The rela- tions between the library and the schools are very pleasant and, it is hoped, mutually helpful. Below are the statistics for the year :--
Libraries out
151
Volumes out
5,742
Volumes delivered during year
7,384
Circulation during year :-
Fiction
43,923
Non-fiction
46,075
Total
89,998
These figures represent only a part of the work done by this department. The school librarian makes many visits to the schools, and by consultation with the teachers becomes better in- formed as to the needs of the schools. Some exhibit of work done by the school pupils is placed on view in the library every year. This year an exhibit of penmanship was held in the library for several weeks, under the supervision of Mr. Whitehouse, the supervisor of penmanship, who gave daily lectures. The various teachers of all the schools, with their scholars, visited the library in regular order. In this way the library aimed to come in direct contact with every pupil in the public schools. At this time- every pupil was offered a library card; and thus the library per- sonally tendered its good services to upwards of 10,000 pupils. In this way it reached many hundreds who had never before been brought in contact with the library. The amount of good done in this way is not easily calculated. If some scheme equally effective could be devised to bring all the adults of the city in direct contact with the library, it would be worthy of consid- eration.
Reference and Art Department.
The reference and art department, under the supervision of. Miss Mabel E. Bunker, has done an increased amount of work .. Below is given the monthly attendance for the year :-
January
1,499
February
1,552
March
1,440
April
792
May
871
June
1,021
July
465
August
748
October
1,243
November
1,217
December
853
Total
12,338
637
September
243
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
During the year there have been fifteen art exhibits, as. follows :-
. Rome, No. 3.
Rome, No. 4. Switzerland, No. 2. Birds of New England.
Amiens.
Switzerland, No. 2. (Penmanship of Somerville pupils.) Assisi.
Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, No. 1.
Modern German Sculpture, Pt. 2.
New Brunswick.
Florence, No. 5.
Local views-Beverly, Medford, Westford, Mass., Pawtucket, R. I.,. and St. Johnsbury, Vt.
Yachts.
Venice, No. 4.
Some works of importance have been purchased during the year, among which may be mentioned :-
Alexandre's Puvis de Chavannes.
Beach's and Thorne's American Business and Accounting Encyclo- paedia.
Bell's Nuremberg.
Ditchfield's Picturesque English Cottages and Their Doorway Gardens.
Foster's Miniature Painters.
Great Events by Famous Historians.
Hodgson's and Eaton's Royal Academy and Its Members.
Jungman's Norway.
Klassiker Kunst, 4v.
Lippincott's New Gazetteer of the World.
Mason's Indian Basketry, 2v.
Mitton's Scenery of London.
Moore's Lace Book.
Palmer's English Lakes.
Ricci's Pintorrichio, His Life, Work, and Times.
Again the reference room is becoming painfully over- crowded. To relieve the pressure for a few years, low shelves might be built around the exhibit room, reserving space enough above them for the exhibition of pictures.
The Children's Department.
The children's department, under the supervision of Miss Anna L. Stone, still continues one of the most important depart- ments of the library. Every effort has been made to beautify and enliven the children's room. Several attractive pictures have been purchased for the walls, and during the year. many pleasant and educative picture bulletins have been exhibited.
The removal of the newspaper room from the proximity of the children's room has been a good thing in every respect. Much better order can be maintained in the children's room, and' the newspapers, in their new quarters, are much more generally. read than formerly.
244
ANNUAL REPORTS.
A large number of duplicate books have been purchased during the year, and a large number should be purchased in the immediate future. The Sunday schools, in their selection of books, draw more largely from the children's room than from the rest of the library, and this necessitates a large purchase of juve- nile works.
The circulation of the children's room during the year has been 70,184, of which 54,746 have been fiction and 15,438 other works. This of course does not represent the aggregate of juve- nile circulation. It is probably not an exaggeration to say that the children take as many books from other parts of the library as from the children's room.
Agencies.
The agencies continue to do good service, though from the nature of the case their work cannot be entirely satisfactory to the public. Of course, it is impossible for the stores where these agencies are installed to give up a very large space to books from the public library. Although an increasing number of books are furnished the agencies, the public complains at the meagreness of our collections. More complaints come from the West Som- erville agencies than elsewhere. A branch library in this section of the city would remedy many difficulties.
-
245
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Below is a table of circulation of the different agencies dur- ing the year :-
Agencies.
Teele
· Square.
West
Somerville.
East
Somerville.
South
Somerville.
Union
Square.
Highland.
January
700
387
58
268
54 389
Shelves
1,126
1,790
684
205
17
45
February Shelves
997
1,547
590
€18
March
649
333
43 584
272
25 509
808
April
642
303
39
315
16
32
Shelves
1,061
1,472
400
149
848
May
784
359
48 644
344
21 348
623
June
530
298
24
217
19
26
Shelves
1,263
1,267
520
496
704
July
494
256
32
214
8
29
Shelves
1,058
1,276
477
385
639
August
405
322
22
294
21 467
1,239
September Shelves .
323
264
16 455
227
15
8
October Shelves
508
412
18
266
33
8
1,311
1 680
575
422
1,015
November
463
368
32
212
25
9
Shelves
1,167
1,319
607
389
1,284
December
428
323 1,140
38 664
230
19 196
18 869
Totals .
·
·
·
20,217
21,704
7,436
3,064
4,355
10,056
Shelves
1,247
1,537
8:20
1,044
1,367
332
1,105
Shelves
1,213
1,788
52
Shelves
1,180
1,521
46
667
375
47
General Work.
The general work of the library, under the immediate super- vision of Miss Adele Smith, the assistant librarian, shows a con- tinued development and increase.
30
Shelves
957
246
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The general circulation figures of the year are as follows :-
January
36,904
February
34,102
March
37,037
April
33,563
May
39,761
June
29,072
July
22,707
August
25,648
September
20,730
October
38,943
November
37,787
December
35,529
Total
391,783
Last year the circulation was 353,286. There is conse- quently a net increase the current year of 38,497, or about eleven per cent.
Below is given our circulation by classes, exclusive of fiction :-
General works .
7,493
Philosophy
1,608
Religion
3,419
Sociology
13,822
Philology
517
Natural science
10,218
Useful arts
3,699
Fine arts
7,077
Literature
15,398
History
32,862
Total of general delivery .
96,113
Total of children's room
15,438
Total of specials
1,273
Total of other works
112,824
Fiction
278,959
Other works
112,824
Total
391,783
Percentage:
Fiction
71 1-3%
Other works
28 2-3%
Below is the statistical statement of the general work of the year :--
81,519
Volumes in ·library
6,346
Volumes added
391,783
Total circulation
70,184
Delivered from children's room
6,593
66 66 Teele square
shelves
.
13,624
.
247
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Delivered from
West Somerville
4,000
66
shelves
17,704
66
66
East Somerville 66
shelves
7,020
South Somerville
3,064
66
Union square 66 shelves
4,082
66
66 Highland
66 shelves
1,246
66
Knapp school
1,233
Volumes out in Sunday schools
7,384
66
66
66 school libraries
12,338
Visitors in reference room
4,902
Cards issued
$665 65
Fines
Books
65 97
Telephone
13 46
Total
$745 08
During the year 328 vacation cards were issued, upon which 1,947 books were taken out; 3,284 books were delivered to the homes of the people by our delivery boys. The following Sun- day schools take books from the library, most of them in lots of 100 each : Bow-street Methodist, Park-avenue Methodist, Flint- street Methodist, Perkins-street Baptist, Prospect-hill Congrega- tional, the Second Adventist, the Second Unitarian, the Spring- hill Baptist, the West Somerville Baptist, and the Winter-hill Universalist. Seventy-five books are also sent to the police sta- tion. The Somerville Boys' club has lately begun to receive books from the library.
Inventory.
During the year a thorough inventory of the entire library has been taken. Under our present conditions this is an under- taking that involves much more labor than a person unfamiliar with the library could realize. First it is determined how nearly the shelves correspond to the shelf list. When the shelves and the shelf list are first compared, of course a very large number of books are apparently missing. Then the discharging tray is examined to ascertain how many of these books are regularly charged to readers. After that the special list is examined to learn how many of the books are out with the holders of special cards. Then the agency list is examined to ascertain if the book is charged to any of our agencies. In the same way "To-day's Slips," the "Starred" books, the bindery slips, the bindery books, the reading room, the school libraries, the new book shelves, etc., have to be thoroughly examined before a book can be pro- nounced missing. It would be interesting, if possible, to know how long it takes to "run down" a book and ascertain whether it is lost or not. After all this process, the work is only begun. A second and a third inventory is taken, when the same process
416
273
304
9,752
66
248
ANNUAL REPORTS.
is again repeated. During these subsequent inventories fully fifty per cent. of the books charged as lost are discovered, and if the inventories should be indefinitely continued, it is probable that we should indefinitely continue to find books.
Below is the statement by classes of the number of books missing in 1905 :-
Magazines
· 12
French
5
German
2
General
0
Philosophy
4
Theology
5
Sociology
9
Natural science
14
Useful arts
9
Literature
26
Biography
11
Travel
14
History
4
Music
5
Fiction
172
Children's room
173
Reference, art, and Americana rooms .
7
Total .
490
In common with many librarians, I believe that the most careful inventory is sure to make an overstatement of the books lost. So many books are found months, and sometimes even years, after they have been declared lost that all inventory figures must be taken with much allowance. Considering the great number of books handled, the Somerville library's record of lost books is not a large one. None of the books lost are of much market value, and I do not believe that any professional thief is operating. There is no doubt that formerly books were some- times taken from the library without being charged. Of course these books had to be counted as missing. A few months ago two sets of turnstiles were installed in the library. These turn- stiles will make it much more difficult for a person to leave the library without having his books properly charged. It is hoped that they may practically break up the practice.
Growth.
The taking of the regular five-year census during the present year furnishes an occasion to compare the growth of the library and the growth of our population. Somerville is reckoned among the rapidly-growing cities of the commonwealth. In 1895 the population of the city was 52,200; in 1905 the popula- tion is 69,272, an increase of about thirty-two per cent. In 1895 the public library was closed for four months, in order to install
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