Report of the city of Somerville 1912, Part 18

Author: Somerville (Mass.)
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Somerville, Mass.
Number of Pages: 528


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1912 > Part 18


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750


1908


7.


Nellie L. Quennell, 24+ Broadway


700


1912


7.


M. Edna Merrill, 228 Broadway


750


1909


6.


Mrs. Mina P. Bickford, 216 Park Street, Medford


750


1903


6.


Elizabeth F. Clement, 29 Kidder Avenue


750


1884


5.


Mary I. Bradish, 112 Magoun Avenue, Medford .


750


1899


5.


Elizabeth S. Brown, 29 Evergreen Avenue


750


1897


4.


Laura R. Cunningham, 62 Highland Avenue


750


1904


4.


Annie S. Gage, 32 Marshall Street


750


1881


3.


Mrs. Annie J. Ireland, Winchester


750


1909


2.


Martha L. Hale, 157 Highland Avenue


750


1899


3, 2. 1.


Cora J. Demond, 146 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston


750


1900


1.


Grace Shorey, 23 Forster Street


750


1892


(NORMAN W.) BINGHAM SCHOOL. Lowell Street, near Vernon Street.


9. 9.


HARRY F. HATHAWAY, Master, 495 Broadway .


$1,900


1890


9, 8. 8.


Elizabeth J. Mooney, 168 Summer Street


750


1904


7.


Mary E. Hughes, Cambridge


750


1911


7.


Mary F. Mead, 35 Kidder Avenue


750


1905


6.


Lucy K. Hatch, 103 Glenwood Road


750


1892


6.


Catherine Heagney, 32 Sewall Street


700


1912


5.


Harriet F. Ward, 202 School Street


750


1895


5, 4.


Helen L. Galvin, Braintree


750


1903


4.


Eva M. Barrows, 469 Broadway


750


1903


4.


Bessie J. Baker, Malden


750


1905


3.


Harriet M. Bell, 34 Bow Street


750


1904


3, 2.


Clara L. Griffiths, 39 Ames Street


750


1902


2.


*Nellie R. Bray, Medford Hillside


750


1897


1.


Priscilla A. Merritt, 96 Oxford Street


750


1885


1.


Mabel E. Mansir, 77 Albion Street


750


1894


Asst.


Mary L. Ennis, 785 Broadway ·


425


1911


MARTIN W. CARR SCHOOL. Beech Street.


9.


CHARLES G. HAM, Master, Watertown


$1,900


1898


9.


May E. Berry, 14 Billingham Street


825


1880


9,8. 8.


Mrs. Mary E. Soule, 39 Walnut Street


750


1901


7.


Harriet A. Hills, 14 Billingham Street .


750


1874


7.


Marie T. Smith, 15 Day Street


750


1898


6.


Susie L. Luce, 21 Francesca Avenue


750


1896


6, 5.


Mary A. Haley, 117 Summer Street


750


1867


5.


Elizabeth S. Foster, 152 Summer Street


750


1895


4,


Katherine Pike, 152 Summer Street


750


1906


4.


Mrs. Lillian M. Wentworth, 248 Highland Avenue


750


1911


2.


Annie B. Russell, 45 Russell Street


750


1901


1.


Pearl F. Dame, 1 Ellsworth Street


700


1906


Asst.


Lena Munroe, 211-A Summer Street


525


1910


Asst.


Mabel Ingham, 27-B Summer Street


275


1912


* Leave of absence.


Leila L. Rand, 87 Raymond Street, Cambridge


750


1908


5.


Grace T. Merritt, 47 Cherry Street.


750


1897


5.


Blanche L. Paine, 11 Landers Street .


750


1905


3.


Mrs. M. Florence Eustis, 9 Monmouth Street


750


1906


6.


Lynda V. Merrill, 26 Brastow Avenue


600


1912


Clara D. Eddy, 71 Central Street .


775


1902


825


1894


Jane Batson, 72 Mountain Avenue, Malden


750


1900


Carrie T. Lincoln, 79 Marshall Street


750


1893


Elizabeth J. O'Neil, 82 Benton Road .


246


ANNUAL REPORTS.


TABLE 29. - Teachers in Service January, 1913 .- Continued.


Grade.


NAME AND RESIDENCE.


Salary.


Began Service.


GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. 41 Atherton Street.


Mary Henleigh Brown, Director, Everett St., Cambridge


$1,600


1911


Cornelia B. Rodman, 15 Ellery Street, Cambridge


500


1911


Helen C. French, 60 Adams Street


400


1912


Mary Donoghue, 21 St. James Avenue


800


1911


Julia Haley, 88 Prospect Street .


700


1911


Theresa Morrison, 8 Johnson Avenue, Charlestown


400


1912


Lucy Dorr, 56 Westland Avenue, Boston


700


1911


Marion P. Crawford, 124 Summer Street


800


1911


(ENOCH R.) MORSE SCHOOL. Summer and Craigie Streets.


9.


MINA J. WENDELL, Master, 211-A Summer Street


$1,900


1882


9.


Mrs. Harriette C. Hamilton, 219 Summer Street .


825


1900


8.


Mrs. Clara A. Ball, 2 St. Paul Street, Cambridge.


750


1906


7.


Lennie W. Bartlett, 152 Summer Street


750


1893


6.


Blanche E. Thompson, 33 Hudson Street


750


1906


6,5.


Mrs. Jennie E. Stevens, 9 Bradford Avenue


600


1912


5, 4.


Lizzie E. Hill, 40 Magnolia Street, Dorchester


750


1890


4.


Mrs. Elva A. Cutler, 12 Billingham Street


700


1911


4, 3.


Helen O. Locke, Everett


700


1912


3, 2.


Mrs. Agnes C. Rice, 9 Bradford Avenue


750


1900


2,1.


*Grace S. Russell, 1097 Broadway


700


1900


1.


Helen L. Tuck, Revere


700


1912


GEORGE O. PROCTOR SCHOOL. Hudson Street.


HARRY F. HATHAWAY, Master, 495 Broadway


1912


7.


NORA F. BYARD, Principal, 27 College Avenue .


$950


1884


6.


Alice G. Hosmer, 42 Boston Street


750


1966


5.


Abbie A. Gurney, 4 Ossipee Road


750


1888


4.


Ella P. McLeod, Cambridge


750


1888


3.


Edith L. Hunnewell, 23 Milton Street .


750


1894


2.


Mary S. Richardson, 13 Bartlett Street


750


1906


1.


L. Margaret Potter, 56 Norfolk Street, Cambridge


750


1905


4.


ABIGAIL P. HAZELTON, Principal, West Roxbury


$825


1902


3.


Grace E. Packard, Cambridge


700


1912


2.


Mary Winslow, 23 Hall Street


750


1887


1.


Alice M. Dicker, East Boston


600


1912


MARK F. BURNS SCHOOL. Cherry Street, near Highland Avenue.


Asst. 7.


LAURA J. BROOKS, Principal, 31 Stevens Street, Stoneham


$950


1883


Mrs. Mary C. Buck. 12 Powder House Terrace


375


1899


6.


Edith A. Maxwell, 17 Pleasant Avenue


750


1906


5.


Eva E. Perkins, 54 Benton Road


650


1911


4.


Mrs. Margaret D. Hellyar, Oak Street, Greenwood


700


1909


3.


Annie L. Brown, 283 Summer Street


750


1885


2.


Mary E. Lacy, 63 Cherry Street .


750


1890


2, 1.


Ardelle Abbott, 71 Craigie Street .


750


1896


1.


Alice E. Morang, 38 Cambria Street


750


1893


* Leave of absence.


*Cara M. Johnson, Nantucket


750


1897


Elizabeth V. Frame, 84 Lincoln Street, Melrose


600


1912


GEORGE W. DURELL SCHOOL. Beacon and Kent Streets.


247


SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.


TABLE 29 .- Teachers in Service January, 1913 .- Continued.


Grade.


NAME AND RESIDENCE.


Salary.


Began Service.


BENJAMIN G. BROWN SCHOOL. Willow Avenue and Josephine Avenue.


9.


GEORGE I. BOWDEN, Master, 92 Monument St., West Medford


$1,850


1908


9.


Annie G. Smith, 59 Maple Street, Malden


825


1901


8.


Mrs. Phebe E. Mathews, 159 Morrison Avenue


750


1897


7.


Frances D. Way, Roxbury


650


1911


6.


Alice R. Gould, 12 Fosket Street .


650


1911


5.


Annie Sanburn, 20 Ashburton Place, Boston


750


1906


5, 4.


Mary T. Ford, 26 Gibbens Street .


750


1911


4, 3.


Ida M. Record, 5 Westwood Road.


750


1899


3, 2.


Alice M. Dorman, 159 Morrison Avenue


750


1903


2,1.


Mrs. Grace H. Bliss, 180 Powder House Boulevard


750


1900


1.


Rena H. Wiley, 148 Boston Avenue


750


1906


HIGHLAND SCHOOL. Highland Avenue and Grove Street.


9. 9. 19. 9,8. 8.


Marguerite Burns, 15 Kidder Avenue


775


1907


8.


Mrs. Nellie G. Stewart,1105 Broadway .


750


1908


7.


Elsie M. Ross, 14 Irving Street


750


1908


7.


Elizabeth S. Smith, 58 Lowden Avenue


750


1912


6.


Lillian F. Richardson, 33 Wallace Street


750


1904


6.


Marie Clifford, 10 Mellen Street, Cambridge


750


1907


5.


Marion Allen, Danvers .


700


1911


5.


Mary H. Joyce, 76 Boston Street


750


1891


5.


Marion A. Viets, 20 Windsor Road


650


1912


WILLIAM H. HODGKINS SCHOOL. Holland Street.


9.


ARTHUR L. DOE, Master, 108 Packard Avenue


$1,900


1896


9.


Edith W. Emerson, 135 Central Street


825


1896


8.


Alice S. Hall, 135 Central Street


750


1896


7.


Mrs. Gertrude W. Leighton, 26 Gibbens Street


750


1895


6.


*Beatrice A. Randall, 14 Oxford Street, Cambridge


750


1905


5.


Flora A. Burgess, Arlington Heights


750


1894


5.


Genieve R. Barrows, 52 Westland Avenue, Boston


750


1905


4.


Katherine M. Fox, Stoneham


750


1896


3.


Inez Prentiss, 27 Hall Avenue


650


1913


2.


Jennie M. Patterson, Mattapan


750


1903


1.


May V. Powell, 47 Centre Street, Malden .


700


1913


1


Nellie F. Wright, 897 Broadway


700


1912


CUTLER SCHOOL.


Powder House Boulevard, near Raymond Avenue.


9.


HARLAN P. KNIGHT, Master, 61 Putnam Street


$1,900


1897


9.


N. Irene Ellis, 29 Newbury Street


825


1903


8, 7,


Elizabeth R. Henderson, 93 Ossipee Road


700


1912


7.


Katherine A. Breen, 471 Medford Street


700


1912


7.


Lilla E. Mann, 96 Wallace Street


750


1902


6.


Cora E. Crawford, 100 Huntington Avenue, Boston


650


1912


5.


Elinor Neilon, 14 Cambria Street


600


1912


5, 4.


Anna L. Brown, 14 Irving Street .


700


1912


4.


Olevia M. Woods, 116 Powder House Boulevard


650


1908


3.


Eliza H. Lunt, 50 Curtis Street


750


1889


2.


Almena J. Mansir, 77 Albion Street


750


1899


1.


Annie H. Hall, 97 College Avenue


750


1906


1.


Edna F. Gordon, 10 Locke Street .


700


1912


FRANK W. SEABURY, Master, 18 Winslow Avenue


$1,800


1911


Grace M. Clark, 10 Vernon Street, West Medford


825


1893


Sarah E. Pray, 126 Orchard Street


750


1877


Mary L. Bryant, 24 Hall Avenue .


750


1903



Isabel M. Brunton, 19 Hanson Street


600


1910


Catherine A. Burden, 28 College Avenue


750


1902


4.


*Elizabeth L. Hersey, 4 Concord Sq., Boston


750


1896


*Leave of absence.


2448


ANNUAL REPORTS.


TABLE 29. - Teachers in Service January, 1913. - Concluded.


Grade.


NAME AND RESIDENCE.


Salary.


Began Service.


MARTHA PERRY LOWE SCHOOL. Morrison Avenue, near Grove Street.


FRANK W. SEABURY, Master


1912


4.


MAY E. SMALL, Principal, 12 Day Street, Cambridge


$950


1900


4.


Stella M. Holland, 46 Chester Street .


750


1903


3.


Maude C. Valentine, 1098 Broadway


750


1901


3.


Mrs. Jane M. Taaffe, 159 Morrison Avenue


750


1888


2.


Clara G. Hegan, 100 School Street


750


1897


2,1. 1.


Martha A. Jencks, 96 Orchard Street


.


750


1898


EVENING SCHOOL PRINCIPALS.


WILLIAM D. SPRAGUE, High


$6.00


JOHN S. EMERSON, Bell


4.00


CHARLES E. BRAINARD, Highland


3.00


SPECIAL TEACHERS.


MUSIC.


13-7. 6-1.


S. Henry Hadley, 46 Pearl Street .


$1,700


1868


Charlotte D. Lawton, 11 East Newton Street, Boston


1,000


1898


9-1.


Clara M. Gale, 5 Westwood Road


1,000


1911


SEWING.


8-5.


Mary L. Boyd, 74 Heath Street


750


1888


8-5.


Emma J. Ellis, Kenneson Road


750


1900


8-5.


Bertha P. Paul, 23 Monmouth Street


750


1900


9-1.


William A. Whitehouse, 182 Highland Avenue . .


1,500


1895


MANUAL TRAINING.


*300


1911


9,8.


Kathinka Fessman, 40 Warrenton Street, Boston


800


1912


9, 8.


E. Christabel Ruggles, 268 Humboldt Avenue, Roxbury


800


1912


9, 8.


Eva G. Hardy, 64 Avon Street ·


800


1912


A TYPICAL.


Mary A. Holt, 72 Boston Street


825


1910


.


.


.


1


*Additional to salary as High School sub-master.


.


750


1892


Katherine E. Hourahan, 27 Hall Avenue


.


DRAWING.


PENMANSHIP.


Harry L. Jones, 137 Powder House Boulevard .


249


SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.


TABLE 30 .- OFFICERS, ETC., IN SERVICE JANUARY, 1913.


NAME AND ADDRESS.


Salary.


SUPERINTENDENT AND SECRETARY.


Charles S. Clark, 82 Munroe Street .


$3,500


CLERKS.


Justin W. Lovett, 13 Hudson Street


.


.


1,300


Mary A. Clark, 42 Highland Avenue


800


Mildred A. Merrill, 26 Cambria Street


650


TRUANT OFFICER.


Benjamin R. Jones, 25 Loring Street .


1,350


TABLE 31 .- SCHOOL JANITORS, JANUARY, 1913.


School.


Name.


Residence.


Weekly Salary.


High School, S


John H. Kelley


7 Madison St.


$25.00


High School, assistant


Joseph Young


47 Oxford St.


19.50


High School, assistant


William H. Kelley


10 Lee St.


16.00


High School, assistant


Lewis G. Keen


56 Prescott St.


20.00


High School, fireman


Edwin Adler


22 Robinson St.


16.00


Prescott, S, 12


George A. McGunnigle


50 Pearl St.


17.00


Hanscom, S, 10


Thomas C. Dame


1 Ellsworth St.


15.00


Boys' Industrial, F, 4


.


Michael Mullaney


467 Somerville Ave.


17.00


Baxter, S, 6


Israel Winterbottom


2 Bolton St.


12.00


Knapp, S, 12


John H. Lane


5-A Belmont St.


16.00


Perry, S, 6


.


John J. Kilty


662 Somerville Ave.


17.00


Bell, S, 12


.


William Meskill


53 Partridge Ave.


17.00


Cummings, F, 4


George W. Libby


215 Pearl St.


12.00


Edgerly, S, 12 .


.


Charles P. Horton


22 Everett Ave.


16.00


Glines, S, 14


Roy C. Burckes


34 Tufts St. 249 School St.


18,00


Forster, assistant


Jerry M. Brennan


9 Pembroke St.


14.00


Bingham, S, 16


John F. O'Brien


347 Lowell St.


21.00


Carr, S, 16


James W. Rich


206 Highland Ave.


23.00


Morse, F, 12


John W. Cremen


69 Oxford St.


17.00


Proctor, S, 8


George Q. Marshall


19 Wesley St.


13.50


Durell, S, 4


Ellsworth C. Lundgren


50 Harrison St.


12.00


Burns, S, 8


Charles Gallaway


160 Hudson St.


13.50


Brown, S, 10


O. M. Pote


23 Howe St.


15.00


Highland, S, 12


E. Parker Cook


398 Highland Ave.


16.00


Hodgkins, S, 14


John Shea


22 Thorndike St.


17.00


Cutler,


Daniel Campbell


85 Lexington Ave.


20.00


Lowe, S, 8


John F. Richardson


190 Morrison Ave.


13.50


Girls' Industrial


.


George H. Griffin


25 Virginia St.


15.00


Buildings heated by steam are marked "S," by furnace "F." The numbers show the number of rooms.


The high school is heated by a single plant in the East building.


.


.


George H. Clapp


35-A Franklin St.


12.00


Bennett, S, 12


Henry C. Bradford


72 Boston St.


12.00


Pope, S, 12


18.25


Forster, S, 18 .


· George W. Coombs


.


·


PUBLIC LIBRARY.


BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS.


Trustees.


THOMAS M. DURELL, M. D.


FREDERICK W. HAMILTON, D. D.


J. FRANK WELLINGTON. CHARLES M. AMBROSE.


FREDERICK W. PARKER. GEORGE WHITING.


WILLIAM L. BARBER. WILLIAM H. DOLBEN.


CHARLES L. NOYES, D. D.


Officers.


THOMAS M. DURELL, M. D. .


.


DREW B. HALL. .


.


President Secretary


Committees.


Administration-Wellington, Parker, Noyes; the President. Books and Catalogues-Barber, Hamilton, Ambrose; the President. Buildings and Grounds-Whiting, Dolben: the President.


REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.


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


Gentlemen,-The fortieth annual report of the trustees of the public library is herewith respectfully submitted.


The year has been marked by great activity and the attain- ment of excellent results for our entire library system.


The great need of a new and modern central plant for the successful operation of this large and ever growing educational activity is being met by the erection of the new Central Library building. This building was made possible by the generous gift of Mr. Andrew Carnegie-$80,000-together with $45,000, an allowance made by the city as the cost of the old building. The new building will be ready for occupancy in the fall of 1913.


During the year 4,700 new borrowers' cards have been issued and $11,670 spent for books. We are glad to note that there has been an increase of eight per cent. in the circulation of non-fiction, and a much greater use of the reference works in the whole system.


During the year there has been reorganization of the staff, with the addition of many valuable heads of departments, strengthening the force very appreciably. A long contemplated extension of the classification of the books of the library is in process, under the direction of an expert cataloguer, and in connection with this the selection of the forty thousand volumes to be placed in the book room of the new building is being made.


The branch at West Somerville is doing, we believe, in- creasingly effective work; its staff has been much strengthened by the employment of an experienced head and assistant. The need is such that the hallroom has been used as a quiet read- ing room. With comparatively little expense this might be made a very desirable room, dormer windows would give light and the needed ventilation, now impossible. In the near future the stack room should be extended in the rear of the building, as was provided for in the original plans.


The new branches at East Somerville and at Union Square have been most successful and useful. At East the circulation the first eleven months was 52,000, and at Union 35,000 volumes in ten months. Both of these branches are so overcrowded that it is evident more space must be provided in the near future. Union is doing especially good work in reaching the young men, and East has developed a large con-


252


ANNUAL REPORTS.


stituency in its neighborhood. Both of these branches have good executive heads.


The criticism is sometimes made that a large percentage of books taken from a public library are works of fiction. This is true, but certainly the reading of good fiction is at least a harmless amusement. Now, if this is all the reading of fiction does, the library system has furnished over $400,000 worth of amusement to the people of Somerville during the past year. or ten times the amount of money spent on the whole library system. Further than all this the reading of good fiction does much more than amuse. To see that nothing but good fiction reaches the public through the library is the constant care of the board.


We wish to express our thanks to the librarian, Mr. Hall, for the excellence of his work, and also to the other members of the staff for their hearty co-operation.


Respectfully submitted,


T. M. DURELL, President.


THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.


Central Building, Highland Avenue.


Week days, holidays excepted, 9 a. m. to 9 p. m. Sundays, reading and reference only, 3 to 6 p. m. Children's room, school days, 3 to 8 p. m .; other week days, 9 a. m. to 8 p. m .; Sundays, 3 to 6 p. m.


Branches. Week days only, holidays excepted.


WEST SOMERVILLE, 40 College Avenue-1 to 9 p. m. Saturdays, 9 a. m. to 1 p. m., also.


EAST SOMERVILLE, 153 Perkins Street, 2 to 9 p. m.


UNION SQUARE, Washington Street and Bouner Avenue-2 to 9 p. m .; after 6 p. m. children under fourteen admitted only for exchange of books.


SOUTH AGENCY, 518 Somerville Avenue.


THE STAFF.


DREW B. HALL, Librarian. NELLIE M. WHIPPLE, Assistant Librarian.


EXECUTIVE AND DEPARTMENT HEADS.


Lucy B. Crain, Branch Librarian, West Somerville.


Edith B. Hayes, Branch Librarian, East Somerville.


Esther M. Mayhew, Cataloguer.


Gertrude F. Root, Second Assistant Librarian.


Lucinda F. Spofford, Branch Librarian, Union Square.


Mabel E. Bunker, Reference and Art Librarian.


Bessie L. Duddy, Stenographer and Bookkeeper.


Anna L. Stone, Children's Librarian.


Mabel Williams, Assistant Branch Librarian, West Somerville.


Mary S. Woodman, School Librarian.


ON SPECIAL, TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS.


Frances Rathbone Coe, in charge of extension of classification and catalogues. Ruth B. McLean, Cataloguing.


SENIOR ASSISTANTS.


Bessie S. Cobb, West Somerville. Ethel M. Nute, Union Square. Marion Lovis, Cataloguing. Ruby G. White, East Somerville. A. Myrtle Merrill, Cataloguing.


Susan W. Curtis. Juliana Donovan. Ruth S. Fales. Zoe E. Nelson.


JUNIOR ASSISTANTS.


Myrtle Nicholson. A. Lisette Parker. Helen Spear. Anna B. Truesdale.


Edna C. Woodbury.


MESSENGERS.


Joseph K. Kelleher.


Hugh E. Maguire.


254


ANNUAL REPORTS.


HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANTS AND PAGES ON PART TIME.


Elsie Abrams.


Ruth Alexander.


Beulah C. Church.


Edgar L. Kaula.


Arline Maxwell.


Ronald Moore.


Alice A. Meehan.


Harold Ruggles.


Marion Parker.


Frank C. Stackpole.


Marion Towle.


Robert L. Stevenson.


Velma Ziegler.


Richard J. Trum.


JANITORS.


Under the Commissioner of Public Buildings.


Charles A. Southwick, Central. Thomas F. O'Day, West Somerville Branch.


George A. McGunnigle, East Somerville Branch. James Wall, Union Square Branch.


1


Richard Barlow.


Gordon Hall.


REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN.


To the Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Somer- ville :-


Gentlemen,-The fortieth annual report of the librarian is herewith submitted, being that for the year 1912.


The Ministry of Libraries.


The service rendered the people of a city by its public library is a ministry of comfort, knowledge, and inspiration. Its possibilities are yearly becoming greater as all people are increasingly accustomed to use printed matter, and as all subjects of human interest are more and more treated in books. To-day everyone must be able to read, and must read if he would succeed. To-day practical everyday interests are set forth in magazines and books, so that the mechanic and work- man who would be at the top of his trade must use them. In matters of the spirit the great thinkers of the past are continually appearing in new editions, and every modern student and investigator is immediately put into print. So numerous have become books that no individual of ordinary means can own all he needs and sometimes uses, nor does he know which hundred of the thousands in print are of value and authority.


To meet this situation the public library was created, and in the last thirty years has grown marvelously. Yet this growth and the present service rendered, great as they are, seem but beginnings to those most intimately acquainted with the work and its possibilities. For the progress of the people of a city or state is dependent upon their taking advantage of the experiences of others and learning by their failures and successes, and nowhere are successes to be found and their causes to be learned as in books.


The present generation of adults was not in its youth accustomed to this great and practical use of books, and the rising generation is not yet well instructed, still the demands upon active public libraries are greater than they can meet. As soon as suitable books and assistants capable of answering questions promptly and wisely are provided, such a room is overwhelmed. And this demand is not by any means only for the comfort and recreation to be had from good novels ; better opportunities to use serious books always result in an unexpected increase in their use. For no other institution to-day is so much concerned with the "transmission among the people of our intellectual and spiritual inheritance, which is education." The schools do nothing for adult citizens, and "to the great majority of juvenile citizens who early go to work, the best they give is the ability to read-the means to


256


ANNUAL REPORTS.


self-education." The incentives to, and the subject-matter for, self-education lie largely within the field of the people's library.


A certain shrewd Scotsman believes his native ability was stimulated during his poor youth by the reading of books in the private library of a Pittsburgh gentleman opened to him. Believing this he also believes that in no way can he serve the world so wisely as by giving buildings as public libraries wherein all people may freely read and their genius be stimu- lated by the thoughts and experiences of other minds. His gifts are bringing nearer the vision of another far-seeing Scotsman who said :-


"It depends on what we read after all manner of professors have done their best for us. The true university is a collec- tion of books."


The fully developed public library will be, for adult as well as for youth, the culmination of public education. When it is noted that it is the youngest of public institutions, and that its growth during the single generation of its wide ac- ceptance has been wonderful, it seems not unreasonable to hope for the realization of this vision within another generation.


The Somerville Public Library.


The particular library so long watched over by your honorable board is an instance of these statements. It has upon its rolls the names of 35,000 citizens, appearing in this to reach most intimately and completely the people of the city. It has in its various collections of books about 110,000 volumes, any one of which is at the service of any borrower. By these borrowers there were taken home last year half a million volumes. By these citizens thousands of questions were asked, and from these books answers were given. What the influence upon the city of all this was no one can tell, except that it was very great. That the people appreciate the greatness of this service is evidenced by their demand for it and their willingness to support it.


Its Efficiency and Economy.


For instance, the branches at East Somerville and Union Square, opened this year, have from the first been hardly able to meet all applicants in the way your board desires, and not at all able to meet all of their requests. That the $4,400 appropriated for these two branches by the city was a wise expenditure of the people's money and an instance of the value of the co-operative principle of public libraries is evident from the following facts: The people of these districts are borrowing and receiving the use of 100,000 volumes a year ; the average book costs now over one dollar. The reading of 100,000 volumes on the basis of private ownership would


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therefore have cost these citizens $100,000. But through the public library they received this service, and more, for $4,400. Or, reckoning on another basis, there are in this part of the city about 4,500 registered voters, so that the expenditure which gave their families the use of 100,000 volumes was less than a dollar per voter.


Testing the library system as a whole on the basis of a total population of 80,000 the expenditure is less than fifty cents per annum per capita; the home use is over 500,000 volumes ; the result, less than one cent per inhabitant per 10,000 volumes circulated. And beyond this there is the great mass of un- enumerated services in reference work and personal assistance.


On a commercial basis, therefore, it would seem that a public library is a city's best paying institution. For it takes a dollar and increases its effectiveness ten, or twenty, or thirty fold.


The Three Requirements.


The educational and practical necessity of the public library and its financial economy have been pointed out, and must be admitted. To attain these ends in the best and most economical manner there are required three things: First, suitable buildings and apparatus to do work efficiently. And since a library is the one institution of a city representing matters of the mind and of the spirit, which all the citizens, young and old, use continually and feel to be their own, it is universally admitted that the building should be beautiful as well as "practical."


Second, more important than buildings are the books. For centuries books have been written and published until their number is legion, the greatest libraries containing millions of volumes, and never was the output greater than to-day, approaching in a year 30,000 titles of bound books in the English language by prominent publishers alone, besides as many more in foreign languages. Of this vast number of new and old, a comparatively small number are of constant interest to the users of a public library. Selecting and preparing and making available by catalogues this smaller number has come to be an exact science and their skilful use a profession. Inaccurate books and out-of-date editions are worse than none ; duplication of matter already owned in one volume is wasteful and confusing : lack of the best book upon a subject is sure to cause delay, disappointment, and sometimes loss to both in- quirer and library. Libraries, therefore, must be chosen and arranged with such care as never before.




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