Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1928-1929, Part 22

Author:
Publication date: 1928
Publisher: Town of Plymouth
Number of Pages: 738


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295


28.00


1939


2,600.00


1,315.00


4,440.00


8,355.00


312


26.70


1940


2,675.00


1,360.00


4,440.00


8,475.00


326


26.00


1941


2,750.00


1,410.00


4,440.00


8,600.00


340


25.30


1942


2,825.00


1,455.00


4,440.00


8,720.00


354


24.60


1943


2,900.00


1,500.00


4,440.00


8,840.00


368


24.00


1944


2,975.00


1,550.00


4,440.00


8,965.00


382


23.50


1945


3,050.00


1,610.00


4,440.00


9,100.00


400


22.75


Year


Table IV has been prepared to show the annual cost per consumer from the time of the bond issue until its expir- ation, figuring power, depreciation, interest and serial payments on bonds.


TABLE IV


Year


Labor $2,000.00


Power $935.00


Depreciation $4,440.00


Interest $6,240.00 5,824.00


Serial Pay. $10,400.00


Total $24,015.00


200


Cost Per Consumer $120.00 111.00


1932


2,075.00


985.00


4,440.00


10,400.00


23,724.00


214


1933


2,150.00


1,025.00


4,440.00


5,408.00


10,400.00


23,423.00


228


103.00


1934


2,225.00


1,075.00


4,440.00


4,992.00


10,400.00


23,132.00


242


95.00


1935


2,300.00


1,125.00


4,440.00


4,576.00


10,400.00


22,841.00


256


89.00


1936


2,375.00


1,175.00


4,440.00


4,160.00


10,400.00


22,550.00


270


80.00


1937


2,450.00


1,220.00


4,440.00


3,744.00


10,400.00


22,254.00


284


78.00


1938


2,525.00


1,265.00


4,440.00


3,328.00


10,400.00


21,958.00


298


74.00


1939


2,600.00


1,315.00


4,440.00


2,912.00


10,400.00


21,667.00


312


69.00


1940


2,675.00


1,360.00


4,440.00


2,496.00


10,400.00


21,371.00


326


65.00


1941


2,750.00


1,410.00


4,440.00


2,080.00


10,400.00


21,080.00


340


62.00


1942


2,825.00


1,455.00


4,440.00


1,664.00


10,400.00


20,784.00


354


59.00


1943


2,900.00


1,500.00


4,440.00


1,248.00


10,400.00


20,488.00


368


56.00


1944


2,975.00


1,550.00


4,440.00


832.00


10,400.00


20,197.00


382


53.00


1945


3,050.00


1,610.00


4,440.00


416.00


10,400.00


19,916.00


400


50.00


-93-


No. Consumers


1931


-94-


At the request of a group of Manomet citizens, a sep- arate estimate has been prepared showing the cost of installing a part of the proposed system, namely that part that would be necessary to supply Manomet Bluffs.


We find the estimated cost to be $75,000.00.


Respectfully submitted, WILLIAM R. MORTON, Chairman, JOHN H. DAMON, JOHN L. MORTON, FRANK D. BARTLETT,


RICHARD T. ELDRIDGE,


Board of Water Commissioners.


January 28, 1930.


To the Water Department


Plymouth, Massachusetts.


Mr. Arthur E. Blackmer, Superintendent.


Gentlemen :


The Department of Public Health received from you on January 3, 1930, the following request for advice relative to a system of water supply to be established in those parts of Plymouth known as Manomet and White Horse Beach.


"I am sending under separate cover a blue print of a proposed water supply system for Manomet.


When I talked with you last Tuesday, I understood, that the sample of water which I forwarded to you from a driven well near the shore of Fresh Pond showed, upon analysis, that wells driven in this locality would probably furnish a supply of water of satisfactory quality for domestic use.


It is the opinion of Mr. Emerson Sampson, who drives these wells, that we can obtain an ample supply of water from this source.


-95-


I should be glad to have an expression of opinion from you in regard to this project of the proposed Manomet water supply."


Accompanying the application is a plan showing the area to be served by such a supply and the location of pro- posed test wells near Fresh Pond.


In response to this application, the Department has caused the areas under consideration to be examined by one of its engineers and has considered the plans pre- sented.


The examination shows that there is a considerable number of houses located in that part of the town of Plymouth extending from White Horse Beach along the shore of Cape Cod Bay to and including the section known as Manomet which have as yet no general water supply. Some of these houses are supplied from the works of a small water company, but this supply has been found at times to be unsatisfactory, and the Department sometime ago advised the Board of Health of the town of Plymouth that an adequate supply of good water should be provid- ed for this section of the town.


The portion of the town which it is now proposed to supply with water is remote from the present sources of water supply and distribution system of the town of Plymouth, and under the circumstances an independent supply appears likely to be more satisfactory and eco- nomical than an attempt to extend the present water supply of Plymouth to this region.


The proposed plan of taking water from the ground in the neighborhood of Fresh Pond appears to be a reason- able one under the circumstances, and a test by a single well near Fresh Pond indicates that the conditions there are favorable for obtaining water freely from the ground.


The Department recommends that further tests be made in that locality and if the conditions are found to be favorable for obtaining water freely from a consider-


-96-


able area that a number of wells in this locality be con- nected to a pump and tests made by pumping from them for a period of from ten days to two weeks in order to ascertain the probable quantity and quality of water that can be obtained in this location. The Department will be pleased to make analyses of water during the test and will be pleased to give you further advice in this matter when the results of the tests are available.


Respectfully, GEORGE H. BIGELOW, M. D.,


Commissioner of Public Health.


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POLICE DEPARTMENT


To the Honorable Board of Selectmen :-


Gentlemen: I have the honor to respectfully submit the annual report of the Police Department for the year ending December 31, 1929.


ROSTER OF DEPARTMENT


John Armstrong, Chief Leo M. Murphy, Captain


Patrolmen


Joseph W. Schilling


Edward A. Smith


Jacob E. Peck


Robert M. Fogarty


John Gault


Lincoln S. Wixon


Lawrence J. Savoy


John H. Barrett


Thomas A. McCormack


Charles A. Packard


Peter W. Winter Constables


Leo M. Murphy


Joseph W. Schilling


Lincoln S. Wixon


John Gault


Jacob E. Peck


Edward A. Smith


Robert M. Fogarty


Lawrence J. Savoy


John H. Barrett


Edwin A. Dunton


Peter W. Winter


Herman W. Tower


John Armstrong


Reserve Officers George E. Ginhold, Jr. John A. Smith William Gault


Plymouth Seven


-98-


Special Officers


William Armstrong


Roscoe A. Jewell


William H. Armstrong


Albion G. Jewell


Leon D. Badger


John A. Kennedy


Robert A. Bartlett


James W. Lewis


Daniel E. Beaton


Fred Longhi


J. Francis Barlow


Manuel Maderios


Guy W. Bunker


Arthur G. Mayo


James Cassidy


Joseph J. Morey


Lee W. Cole


Edward K. Morse


Ralph E. Cook


Neil Mckay


George A. Cowdrey


John Nauman


Nelson Cushing


Charles F. Nickerson


Russell L. Dickson


George Paraschos


Antonio Diegoli


Thomas W. Reagan


Henry P. Dries William Gault


Nicholas Stephan


George E. Ginhold, Jr.


Daniel J. Sullivan


Charles Grandi


Irving C. Valler


Thomas W. Graves


Seth E. Wall


John F. Hollis


Orrin C. Bartlett


Henry F. Holmes


Charles F. H. Harris


Arthur F. Hughes


Special Police for Limited Territory


Edgar A. Higgins, Manomet Highway; Fred Alden, Manomet Highway; Milton R. Howland, State Wharf; Edward L. Dixon, State Reservation; Walter D. Shurt- leff, College Pond; Malcolm Robichau, Old Colony Thea- tre; George T. Wood, Old Colony Theatre; William B. Cameron, Plymouth Theatre; Charles A. Pierce, Plym- outh Theatre; Joseph W. Silvia, Plymouth Theatre; Chester A. Torrance, Nelson St. Playground; Lewis F. Smith. Nelson St. Playground and Training Green; Job H. Standish, Parks and Playgrounds; George F. Barlow, Beach Park; Silvio Pellegrini, Veterans Field; Albertus Williams, Little Pond Grove; Nicholas Keefe, Town Hall;


John A. Smith


-99-


Alexander H. P. Besse, Cemeteries and Burial Hill; Mar- tin W. Holmes, Cemeteries and Burial Hill; Elmer E. Raymond, Long Pond; Abbott A. Raymond, Jr., Fresh Pond; Antone Rossler, Manomet; William S. Fuller, South Pond; William M. O'Connell, Monument Ground; Frank C. Thomas, Symington Estate; John N. Santos, Syming- ton Estate; Robert Meharg, Stearns Estate; David C. Dunford, Liggett Estate; George E. Swift, Elbow Pond; Alfred C. Nickerson, Mabbetts Mill; John J. Goodwin, Mabbetts Mill; Azel W. Harrison, Mabbetts Mill, Wal- lace E. Purrington, Mabbetts Mill; Charles J. Martin, Eel River, (Beach Club).


ARRESTS BY MONTHS


Males


Females


Total


January,


19


5


24


February,


19


19


March,


28


28


April,


38


38


May,


31


1


32


June,


51


3


54


July,


63


2


65


August,


47


47


September,


53


53


October,


16


16


November,


54


54


December,


37


37


-


456


11


467 Grand Total


DISPOSITION OF CASES


Total number of cases,


467


Males,


456


Females,


11


Residents,


286


Non-Residents,


181


Amount of Fines imposed,


$4,640.00


-100-


Number of Fines,


164


Appealed cases,


23


Continued cases,


14


Discharged,


34


Released,


41


Filed,


90


Suspended Sentence,


18


Probation,


25


House of Correction,


20


Arrested for out of town officers,


7


Grand Jury,


22


Taunton State Hospital,


4


Winthrop Army Post,


2


State Welfare Dept.


2


Gurnet Station,


1


Total,


467


CRIMES


Males


Females


Total


Assault,


17


0


17


Adultery,


1


1


2


Assault attempt to rape,


3


0


3


Alien poss. a firearm,


1


0


1


Breaking and Entering,


11


0


11


Bastardy,


5


0


5


Cruelty to animals,


3


0


3


Carrying revolver,


3


0


3


Carrying metallic knuckles,


1


0


1


Carrying dirk knife,


1


0


1


Drunkenness,


111


2


113


Disturbing the peace,


35


0


35


Disorderly house,


0


1


1


Digging clams,


8


0


8


Deserters,


3


0


3


Default,


1


0


1


Employing a minor,


1


0


1


-101-


Fire prevention law,


1


0


1


Fire without permit,


1


0


1


Gambling,


18


0


18


Gunning without license,


1


0


1


Insane,


4


0


4


Intent to defraud,


1


0


1


Improper spark arrester on steam roller,


1


0


1


Injury to personal property,


2


0


2


Larceny,


13


0


13


Lewdness,


2


2


4


Lewd and lacivious cohabitation,


1


1


2


Malicious mischief,


3


0


3


Neglected children,


2


2


4


Non-support,


8


0


8


Out of town officers,


1


0


1


Possession of stolen property,


1


0


1


Rape,


1


0


1


Resisting arrest,


1


0


1


Suspicious person,


2


1


3


Threatening language,


1


0


1


Town By-Laws,


3


0


3


Violation auto laws,


109


1


110


Opp. under Inf. of Liq.,


32


0


32


Violating milk laws,


1


0


1


Violating liquor laws,


29


0


29


Violating clams laws,


6


0


6


Violating probation,


1


0


1


Violating weekly wage law,


3


0


3


Vagrancy,


2


0


2


Grand Total,


456


11


467


MISCELLANEOUS WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT Nights lodging given to,


12


Buildings found unlocked,


107


Lights in stores reported burned out,


38


Beacon lights reported out,


4


-102-


Patrol wagon out,


118


To Jordan Hospital,


8


To Fires, 21


Stray dogs disposed of at station by Dr. Bradley,


29


Accidents investigated,


118


Telephone calls,


5,300


Liquor turned over to State Police (gallons), 276


Complaints investigated,


350


RECOMMENDATIONS


Installation of traffic signals at the junction of Sam- oset Street and North Park Ave. with Court Street; at Shirley Square, at the junction of Leyden Street and Town Square with Main Street, and at the junction of Water Street and Sandwich Street, for which a special appropriation is asked for by the Board of Selectmen.


Also as the painting of traffic lines, parking and other traffic signs has been added to this department it will mean an additional expense for the ensuing year.


As the maximum wage limit has been reached by eight members of the regular force, it necessitates additional expense for the ensuing year.


Earnest consideration should be given the matter of new quarters as the present quarters are in a dilapidated condition.


In anticipation of the above I respectfully recommend the appropriation of $32,702.00 for the year 1930.


Respectfully yours,


LEO M. MURPHY, Captain of Police.


-103-


ASSESSOR'S REPORT


Aggregate Valuation,


$25,237,075.00


Exempt under clause 11, 17, 18, 23,


97,450.00


Available for Revenue,


$25,139,625.00


Valuation Personal,


$3,635,200.00


Valuation Real,


21,504,425.00


To be raised by Taxation :


1927 Overlay,


$353.20


State,


33,915.00


State Highway,


3,856.06


County,


57,771.77


Snow Removal,


272.81


Town,


745,503.32


Overlay,


6,634.09


$848,306.25


Estimated receipts, and free


cash and dog Tax voted by the town to be used by the Assessors, 317,584.45


$530,721.80


April 1. Division of Taxes,


Personal,


$75,428.60


Real,


447,153.20


Moth,


748.60


Dec. 31.


Additional,


324.48


July 1. Polls,


8,140.00


Dec. 31


Add. Polls, 78.00


$531,872.88


Rate of Taxation, $20.80 on $1,000.00.


Warrants to Collector : Property, Polls,


$523,654.88 8,218.00


$531,872.88


-104-


Exempted under Chap. 59, Sec. 5, Gen. Laws : Charitable, Benevolent, Literary, Ed- ucational, $955,425.00


Houses of Religious Worship,


$351,000.00


Commonwealth of Massachusetts,


177,500.00


United States of America,


118,200.00


Town of Plymouth,


1,656,375.00


County of Plymouth,


598,500.00


Table of Aggregates :


Number of persons, Corp. and Firms assessed on property,


4,164


Polls assessed,


4,109


Polls, exempted, Clause 18,


40


Polls, exempted, Clause 23,


11


Horses,


135


Cows,


358


Neat Cattle,


12


Sheep,


30


Fowl,


4,104


Swine,


12


Dwelling Houses,


4,076


Acres of Land, 48,000


Automobiles in the year 1929, were taken from per- sonal property and placed under excise Motor Tax for the privilege of using the highways, which accounts for the loss in personal property valuation.


State Rate on Autos for 1929, $29.65 on $1,000.00


Value of Autos registered in 1929, $1,385,720.00


Warrants to Collector, $36,235.72


ABATEMENT ACCOUNT


Levy of 1928,


Dec. 31, 1928, Balance,


Dec. 31, 1929, Abatements :


Personal,


$309.14


$7,518.05


-105-


Real, 737.76


1,046.90


To Reserve Overlay,


$6,471.15


Levy of 1929,


Sept. 10, 1929, Overlay,


$6,634.09


Dec. 31, 1929, Abatements :


Polls,


$216.00


Personal,


37.44


Real,


1,591.20


1,844.64


$4,789.45


Reserve Overlay


Dec. 31, 1928, Balance,


$9,135.63


Dec. 31, 1929, From Overlay of 1928,


6,471.15


$15,606.78


Transferred to Reserve Account,


1,975.00


$13,631.78


We recommend an appropriation of $7,000.00 for sal- aries and other expenses.


NATHANIEL G. LANMAN


CHARLES H. SHERMAN, THOMAS L. CASSIDY,


Assessors.


-106-


REPORT OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WEL- FARE FOR THE YEAR ENDING DEC. 31, 1929


Number of inmates remaining Jan. 1, 1929, 14 Discharged, 2


12


Admitted during the year,


2


Number remaining Dec. 31, 1929, 14


We have furnished a night's lodging for a woman with her child, at the request of the Police Department, that is not included in the above. Of the two discharged dur- ing the year one, a man, was sent to the Jordan Hospital for treatment last April, and he is still there at an ex- pense of $25.00 per week. We are also paying for the board and care of three men that were committed from other places to the State Infirmary, Tewksbury, but whose settlements are in Plymouth. These men could be re- moved to Plymouth Infirmary if we had accommodations, but as it is of our 14 inmates 11 are men, and as such they have the whole lower floor, there being but one spare room, while upstairs where the women are located are several. However, as the cost per patient at the State Infirmary is but $1.00 per day it is not exorbitant.


By reference to the appended financial report as fur- nished by the Accountant, Mr. Harlow, it will be seen that the total cost of the Infirmary was $9,224.69, while last year it was $7,541.70, a difference of $1,683.00 more for this year, but, looking at the item "Other Salaries and Wages" and comparing with the same item in 1928 we find $1,500.00 more in 1929, as this is the heading under which the earnings of the men that we furnish with part


-107-


time work is entered we must conclude that this $1,500.00 represents the amount of work we paid for in 1929 and that it largely accounts for the excess of expenditure at the Infirmary for 1929. As nearly all of the work done at the Infirmary by these additional men consists of wheeling sand into a low place in the meadow near the pond it is a form of beautifying that that we would not ordinarily undertake, and it would be more sensible for the Town to provide some other form of work that would furnish part time to such labor as may need it, something that would produce rather better results than we are able to do. We have had more applications for aid for the winter 1929-30 than ever before, what with the general let up of seasonal work with the advent of winter, the change in method at the woolen mills whereby one man now runs two where previously he had but one loom, thus allowing more or less help to find something else to do, and the closing and removal of one concern from Town we have been besieged with applications for work first but aid of some kind immediately, this we have filled to the best of our ability. At the last week in the year we had 16 men working with the pay roll $137.50 : we could have had twice that number if we could have handled them.


The Julia P. Robinson Fund income amounting to $13.64 was distributed to the inmates about Christmas time by the Matron, Mrs. Dickson.


Outside Aid


Aside from the number of men that were given work and who are not included in those aided, provided they earn all that they have given them from the start, we have aided, roughly, some three hundred and 15 people including those few that are in other places. We have spent in all during the year, $34,412.99. Received from various sources - not including $797.16 - Mother's Aid, $4,122.63, leaving as the net cost for the year, $30,290.36,


-108-


an amount larger than last year by $1,510.96 - practi- cally the amount we expended for labor at the Infirmary.


Mother's Aid


Our report of last year showing the three mothers with the 11 children is good also for this year, 1929. The expense has been $1,924.00, less amount of reimburse- ment received from the State, $797.16. Net cost to Plym- outh for this kind of aid, $1,126.84.


We recommend an appropriation of $35,000.00 for the ensuing year of 1930, and we recommend an appropri- ation of $1,201.56 to cover the overdraft in 1929.


Board of Public Welfare, Town of Plymouth, Mass.


WILLIAM T. ELDRIDGE, GEORGE L. GOODING, HERBERT W. BARTLETT,


1


-


-109-


DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE


Appropriation Mar. 23, $32,000.00


Appropriation Dec. 28 (from sale of Archer property),


1,100.00 111.43


Income from Trust Funds,


$33,211.43


Payments


General Administration -


Salary of Chairman,


$50.00


Salary of Secretary,


350.00


Stationery and Postage,


21.95


All Other,


5.33


$427.28


Infirmary -


Salary of Superintendent,


$708.00


Other Salaries and Wages,


2,753.10


Groceries and Provisions,


2,615.63


Dry Goods and Clothing,


442.45


Building,


358.80


Fuel and Light,


985.90


Equipment,


321.95


Hay and Grain,


229.15


Ice,


111.61


All Other,


698.10


9,224.69


Outside Relief by Town -


Cash,


$8,361.50


Rent,


2,801.00


Groceries and Provisions,


6,554.88


Coal and Wood,


1,211.63


Dry Goods : Clothing,


5.25


Medical Attendance,


116.50


Burials,


90.00


State Institutions,


970.00


Other Institutions,


951.00


Care and Nursing,


797.21


21,858.97


-110-


Relief Given by Other Cities and Towns -


Cities,


Towns,


$660.30 317.75


978.05


MOTHERS' AID Payments


Cash,


1,924.00


Total Payments, 34,412.99


Balance Overdrawn to be Appropriated by Town,


$1,201.56


INCOME FROM JULIA P. ROBINSON FUND Expended by the Board of Public Wel- fare for Inmates of Infirmary, $13.64


COMMERCIAL REVENUE, DEPARTMENTAL Public Welfare Department


Sale of Produce,


$246.71


Board in Infirmary,


467.14


Miscellaneous,


6.00


Individuals,


65.00


Cities and Towns,


2,642.03


State,


695.75


State (Mother's Aid),


797.16


$4,919.79


-111-


PLYMOUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY CORPORATION


REPORT OF DIRECTORS


The following report of the Directors of the Plymouth Public Library Corporation and the report of the libra- rian are hereby submitted for the convenience of the tax- payers of the Town of Plymouth.


The measures which have been taken by the directors in previous years to preserve the remaining lindens in front of the library building have proved successful, and these splendid trees have never been more beautiful or in better foliage than during the past summer.


Early in the summer it was discovered that the copper gutter which entirely surrounds the building was giving way in places. Investigation showed that the galvanized iron strips which held the gutter in place were so badly rusted that they were practically useless. New strips have been put in, connecting drains cleaned out and repaired and broken slate on the roof replaced so that no further repairs should be required for fifteen or twenty years.


While investigating the condition of the gutter it was found that the large stack on the westerly side of the building was cracked from the top nearly down to the roof. It was felt that any temporary patching would be unwise and the chimney was taken down to a point where it was firm and sound and then entirely rebuilt.


Attention is called to the report of the librarian which indicates the extent to which the community is taking advantage of the service the library is prepared to give.


The fact that 19,449 children visited the Children's Room alone during the year and that 23,807 children's


-112-


books were issued is gratifying evidence of the use that is being made of this newer addition to the library. The deposits of books loaned to the schools, the answering of reference questions, sending books to the Jordan Hos- pital and to rural communities, supplying books in for- eign languages and borrowing technical and professional books which we can not afford to own, for our patrons from great libraries like the Boston Public Library and the Boston Medical Library, are special kinds of service which broaden the field of our usefulness.


We appreciate the thoroughly efficient manner in which the business of the library is carried on by the staff and realize that its popularity is in large measure due to their diligence and uniform courtesy.


In asking for an appropriation from the town for the coming year there are many things to be considered. Owing to the cost of the repairs already mentioned and purchase of a filing cabinet which the librarian felt was indispensable we were obliged to spend something like $800.00 which cut down the number of books we were able to purchase this year and even then left us with an operating deficit of over $400.00.


Moreover the time has come when some sort of pro- vision should be made for the comfort and convenience of our staff in the way of adequate lavatory and coat room facilities. At present there is a small set bowl behind a door in a dark closet with no warm water available and the outside clothing of the staff is hung in the narrow passage way about the book stacks. There is a little used room in the basement which could be made into a suit- able staff room. The cost including the installation of a hot water tank connected with the boiler would be ap- proximately $400.00 which would have to be met out of invested funds which would cut down our income from that source. Furthermore we anticipate a moderate in- crease in some salaries.


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The library finance committee has prepared a budget which represents the minimum of expenditures necessary to maintain the library on its present high plane of ef- ficiency.


This budget calls for an appropriation from the town of $10,000.00, the Directors therefore are asking for this amount to meet the needs of the coming year.


For the Directors,


(Signed) J. HOLBROOK SHAW,


President.


Plymouth Eight


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REPORT OF LIBRARIAN


To the Directors of the Plymouth Public Library :


The following Annual Report of the work done by the Library during the year 1929 once more records a year of further growth and development of the Library's activities.


Circulation


The total circulation of 110,830 is the largest in the history of the Library in spite of the scarlet-fever epi- demic which necessitated the closing of the Library for 10 days in March and which resulted in a fear of con- tagion, lasting long after the doors were re-opened to the public. The table below shows the steady increase in the use of the Library for the past six years, by a town in which the population has remained about the same since 1924. Our desk circulation alone is 19,480 more than it was in 1927.


1924- 54,943


Yearly Gain


1925- 67,081


12,138


1926- 76,309 9,228


1927- 90,149 13,840


1928-104,879


14,640


1929-110,830 6,041


The circulation at the main desks, Adult and Chil- dren's, was 102,639, an increase of 8,662 over that of 1928. 78,832 of this was at the adult desk; 23,807 at the * Children's. The total non-fiction circulation was 23,457, 16,307 of which was adult, and 7,150 was juvenile. 5,536 books were circulated by the schools, 652 at Long Pond, 1,239 at the Jordan Hospital and 764 at Ellisville, making a total of 110,830. Of this total 4,681 were prints, 2,037 were current periodicals, 322 were books in modern Greek, Chinese, Yiddish, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French and Italian.


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Reference Work


During 1929, 53,126 used the Library for reading study alone. Of this number, 33,677 used the Adult Reading Room, and 19,449 the Children's. 13,099 reference ques- tions were listed during the year, 1,642 more than in 1928. The majority of these reference problems are those in which the school children from the Grammar School through the High School are engaged, and this is a very important part of the Library's curriculum. Every pos- sible help is also accorded to the patrons who need and wish advice about what to read, extension courses, read- ing lists, etc.




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