USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1963 > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30
One of the problems posed by the new instructional methods and change in curriculum content lies in the field of children's work and was given considerable thought by the librarians during the past year. Seventh and eighth grade boys and girls, as well as sixth grade children, are often given assignments and projects which call for the use of adult books and periodicals as in the topic DISCUSS THE STYLE OF SUCH CONTEMPORARY AND NINETEENTH CENTURY AUTHORS AS STEINBECK, SALINGER, DREISER, O'HENRY, AND K. PORTER. Should these young people be given free access to the adult department as advocated by many parents and teachers ? Should they be given the privilege of wandering at will through the stacks and using the resources of the reference department without restrictions of any kind ? After serious deliberation, all other considerations aside, it seemed to the staff to be unrealistic to increase the problems of the adult department by adding to the already overcrowded and inadequate facilities by allowing hun- dreds of children to freely use these departments. Instead, a compromise was reached. A number of adult encyclopedias and other reference books were duplicated for the Junior Library, the Abridged Readers' Guide was added to its collection, adult books and magazines were collected for specific assignments and transferred to the Junior Library on a temporary basis for "in library" use and, for those boys and girls working on indi- vidual assignments, special permission was granted to use the adult book collection. In this manner, the needs of the children, on the whole, were met to the satisfaction of all.
It was in connection with the students of high school age that a second major decision was made. They, of course, are not restricted to the Young Adult Room. An attempt, however, has been made to meet their requests for more advanced, mature subject matter by adding books of this type to their own book collection with the result that adult titles make up about ninety percent of the Young Adult book collection. In order to accommodate the crowd of high school students who came to the library for reference study in the evenings and for whom there were no seats available either in the Young Adult room or the Reference room, the Junior Library (Children's Room) was opened from seven to nine Monday through Thursday evenings for reference and study, necessitating, of course, additional part-time help. This plan worked very well; evening after evening the room was filled with students quietly studying, using reference books and materials.
A sampling of questions recorded in the Young Adult department reveal the following, taken at random: ELECTROLYSIS OF BRINE, COMPARISON
240
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
OF THE WRITING STYLES OF PATRICK HENRY AND RICHARD NIXON, SUBATOMIC PARTICLES, WEAPONS USED IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, GIBBERELIC ACID, EGYPTIAN ASTRONOMERS, TEN PECULIARITIES OF NEW ENGLAND, ANCIENT HAIR STYLES, GOVERNMENT AID TO FARM- ERS IN NEW ENGLAND, COMPARISON OF THE COURTSHIP CUSTOMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND ENGLAND IN THE 18th CENTURY, EMBRYO- LOGY OF THE SPINAL CORD.
CIRCULATION OF ALL MATERIALS
As has been seen, the use of books within the library surpassed that of any previous year. So, likewise, did the circulation of materials for home use, this despite the fact that the library was open a number of days less than in 1962, including two and one half days at the time of President Ken- nedy's death. The Music Room was closed or partially closed day after day during the heat of the summer and the East Branch lost five additional days when its interior was being redecorated and the branch was closed to the public. A total of 472,455 books, albums, films, and pictures was circulated during the year by the library and 91,290 volumes were issued from the elementary school libraries which are operated by the Robbins Library. The following tables will show circulation details:
CIRCULATION
1963
1962
Gain
Loss
BOOKS & PERIODICALS
Main Library
Adult Dept.
150,002
143,373
6,629
YP Dept.
38,173
35,323
2,850
Junior Library
74,227
77,264
3,037
Dallin Branch
74,937
74,868
69
East Branch
100,802
99,006
1,796
School Dept.
4,317
6,618
2,301
Hospital Dept.
2,398
2,111
289
Adult Deposits
364
1,264
900
TOTALS
445,220
439,827
11,631
6,238
Net Gain
5,393
PHONORECORDS
25,604
23,471
2,133
FILMS
492
412
80
PICTURES
1,139
1,032
107
GRAND TOTAL CIRCULATION 472,455
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL LIBRARIES
1963
1962
Gain
Loss
Bishop
7,910
8,225
356
Brackett
9,199
8,313
886
Crosby
5,862
6,038
176
Cutter
6,779
6,402
377
Dallin
9,148
8,337
811
Hardy
10,796
10,478
318
Locke
8,497
7,532
965
Parmenter
6,695
5,739
956
Peirce
8,840
6,330
2,510
Stratton
9,070
3,769
5,301
Thompson
8,494
9,246
752
TOTALS
91,290
80,450
12,124
1,284
Net Gain
10,840
241
REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN
CHANGES IN PROCEDURAL OPERATIONS
Every increase in circulation brings with it increased work loads. More books have to be prepared for the shelves, more books must be mended and revised to be returned to their proper places on the shelves, more notices have to be sent for overdue books. Over the years, as a courtesy, reminder notices have been sent to the borrowers as soon as a book was a week in arrears. This is a time consuming task, well over 20,000 such notices having to be sent each year. After a serious study of this problem, as an experiment, following a change in the operational method of filing cards for books in circulation, it was decided to send the first notice to the borrower only after a book was overdue one month, this notice to be followed by the usual weekly follow-ups of second notices, letters and bills. As expected, some borrowers were quite disconcerted when this plan was put into effect early in the year, but the results have been gratifying. 4,204 fewer notices have been sent at a saving of over $500 in printing and postage costs to say nothing of the saving in staff time and effort.
Growth inevitably brings with it change. For some years it had been apparent that the circulation desks at the Main Library, in the adult depart- ment as well as in the Junior Library, had become inadequate for the ex- panding program. New installations were called for in the renovation plans. Library desks are expensive equipment, however, and with this thought in mind, it was decided to experiment with the old desks before new ones were purchased. Separated and placed in new positions, the staff had ample time during the past year to note the advantages and disadvantages of the new positions in relation to the work load and the changes in operational pro- cedures. By June, needs were pretty well defined and the new desks were ordered. Installation was begun in December and completed early in Jan- uary, 1964.
A POTPOURRI
It was in early 1963 that the Music and Art Department was moved into its new quarters in the gallery to the satisfaction and pleasure of all, judging from the comments. Much to the distress of the trustees and the staff, however, it was soon learned that this beautiful room had a ventilation prob- lem which, according to the experts, only air conditioning will correct. Even so, the room has been heavily used and its collection of 3,827 albums realized a circulation of 25,604 albums during the past year.
In the spring, books and magazines of interest to business people were transferred to the mezzanine area formerly used for the music and art books. In addition to the books and magazines in the various fields of in- dustry and business, such reference books as Moody's Investors Service, the Prentice-Hall Publications on taxes, labor, personnel, etc., the Dun and Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory and other reference materials were moved to this area. It has been gratifying to note the amazing increase in the use of technical and business books since the Business Room was organ- ized.
Through a fortunate purchase, complete sets of the Massachusetts Di- gest, Annotated and Massachusetts Decisions were acquired and placed in the Reference Room with the other law books in a special "law alcove" where they are being used to good advantage.
In April, as has been noted in the Trustees' report, National Library Week included the outstanding library event of the year when the Friends of the Library presented its program at the High School Auditorium with an attendance of about eleven hundred people.
Also in April, the twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Dallin Branch Library Building was observed with the special cooperation of the Arlington Heights
242
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
Study Club. This group was most instrumental in securing the building in 1938.
Children's activities have been many. Saturday morning programs have been presented, reading clubs which attracted almost 1000 children were carried on during the summer months, Children's Spring Book Festival and Children's Book Week were observed with appropriate programs and ex- hibits, schools were visited, and elementary and Junior High classes visited the libraries for library instruction and book talks. Reading lists for chil- dren of grades four through eight were prepared and distributed to all the boys and girls of these grades at the close of school in June and book de- posits were sent to schools, camps and other agencies.
One of the many behind-the-scene activites during the year was com- pletion of an inventory of the non-fiction book collections of the adult and junior libraries, accomplished with the help of college students during the summer months and on Saturdays. The work of replacing missing titles is now under way.
In summarizing the work of the cataloging division for the year, the Supervisor of Technical Services reported that a total of almost twelve thousand books went through the Department, 9,000 of which were for the Robbins Library and its two branches, while approximately three thousand were for the elementary school libraries. Of the 9,000 volumes, 3,937 were new titles and the rest duplicates, replacements and gifts. 3,590 books were withdrawn from the collection and 47,500 cards were typed for the public and official catalogs. At the end of the year the Robbins Library collection totaled 145,282 volumes.
The elementary school library program has been carried on as usual and has attracted the interest of many librarians throughout the state who recognize the need for such libraries. In many instances Arlington has been commended for the spirit of close cooperation which exists between public school and library personnel. The library staff itself is appreciative of this splendid cooperation received from the superintendents, principals, and teachers during the past year.
A growing interest in the book service offered by the Robbins Library to the patients and personnel at Symmes Hospital was noted during 1963. Because of staff shortages, only one call per week was made during the first nine months of the year, but in October, the former schedule of two visits each week was resumed. Even though fewer calls were made, cir- culation of books increased as shown earlier in the circulation tables. Ac- cording to the hospital librarian, there have been many expressions of pleasure and gratitude for this library service and for the use of the video machine available to patients who cannot hold a book in their hands. That the new wing being added to the hospital will increase the bedside work is already anticipated.
Among the many visitors to the library during the year were a group of librarians from England and a librarian from Brazil who briefly did some volunteer work to get the "feel" of American libraries.
Well received by the general public has been the fully automatic, coin operated Docustat Photocopy Machine located in the lobby of the Main Li- brary just outside the entrance to the Reference Room. Students have welcomed its convenience, and its use by them has notably prevented mutilation of reference books and magazines. Business men, too, have made frequent use of the machine and have commented favorably on its availability.
The hall at the Main Library was booked by forty-seven groups and used on three-hundred occasions, while ten groups met at the Dallin Branch hall sixty times.
243
REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN
Library personnel attended many library meetings, national, state and local, during the year and several held offices in these organizations. The Head Librarian delivered the Hewins-Melcher Lecture at the New England Library Association meeting held in Portsmouth, N.H. in September.
Gifts of books and phonorecords, magazines and flowers and other ma- terials, as well, from both individuals and organizations, have been many during the year and all were gratefully received. Acquisition of a piano for the Dallin Branch, through the kindness of a member of the Arlington Heights Study Club, was especially valued. The numerous exhibits and dis- plays, too, loaned and arranged by friends and patrons of the library added much to the library program and were appreciated by both staff and public.
It is not expected that the work will lessen in the coming months. From all indications, demands on the library will increase. And this is well, for the library represents a great investment on the part of the people of Ar- lington who, through the years, have accumulated, and still are making possible, these resources.
To all who have participated in, and supported the library program during the past year, the trustees, the staff, the custodians, and above all, the Town Manager, the librarian expresses her sincere gratitude. For, after all, were it not for these individuals, the library, in 1963, could not have functioned.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith E. Stromdahl Head Librarian
244
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
1963
STATISTICAL REPORT
Population served
49,953
Total Volumes in Book Collection, December 31, 1963
145,282
Total Borrowers, December 31, 1963.
21,052
Total Circulation
472,455
Books & Periodicals . 445,220
Phonorecords
25,604
Pictures
1,139
Films.
,492
Total Circulation - Elementary School Libraries . (not included in above figures)
91,290
APPROPRIATION
Personal Services
$217,966.50
Books, Periodicals and Bindery
39,000.00
Record Albums
2,000.00
All Other
28,670.00
Capital Outlay
7,555.00
Out of State Travel .
300.00
TOTAL
$295,491.50
EXPENDITURES
Personal Services
$215,339.83
Books, Periodicals and Bindery
39,806.41
Record Albums
1,990.05
All Other
29,853.93
Capital Outlay
11,941.00
Out of State Travel .
235.71
TOTAL
$299,166.93
* Balance carried over from previous year.
245
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
Annual Report of the Department of Public Works
Mr. Edward C. Monahan Town Manager Arlington, Mass.
Dear Mr. Monahan:
I herewith submit the Annual Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ending December 31, 1963.
In 1963 the Public Works Department constructed Thesda St. from Wright Street to Dothan Street; Dothan Street from Thesda Street to Win- chester line; Hillside Avenue from George Street to Rhinecliff Street; Day Street from Rhinecliff Street to property line; Lorne Road from Sutherland Road to its end and Lehigh Street from Quincy Street to Park Property. Pheasant Avenue from present end to Dickson Avenue and Acton Street from present end to Appleton Place were constructed by contract.
Under Article 59 of the 1963 Warrant certain Ways were accepted and completed by this Department. Baker Road from Stowecroft Road to its end; Stone Road from Nos. 32 to 55; Mountain Avenue from Overlook Road to Washington Street; Wollaston Avenue from north of Nicod Street to Wil- bur Avenue; Wilbur Avenue from Wollaston Avenue northwesterly; Hemlock Street from Dickson Avenue to Fabyan Street; Ridge Street from Morning- side Drive to Stone Road; Greenwood Road from Ridge Street to Winchester Road; Winchester Road from Ridge Street to Greenwood Road and Hancock Street from Forest Street to Hancock Street.
Under Article 35 of the 1963 Warrant and under the provisions of Chapter 782 of the Acts of 1962 Mill Street from Mass. Avenue to Summer Street was reconstructed; certain sections of Brooks Avenue, Varnum Street, Thorndike Street, Herbert Road, Park Avenue Ext., Hillside Avenue and Claremont Avenue were also reconstructed.
Under Article 32 of the 1963 Warrant new concrete and bituminous sidewalks, drives and new curbstones were installed in various locations throughout the Town. All projects ordered by the Board of Selectmen within the construction season were completed.
Under Article 33 of the 1963 Warrant we continued our program of replacing permanent sidewalks which have become dangerous, upheaved or wornout.
In conjunction with Chapter 90 reconstruction we provided manhole covers and frames; catch basin frames and grates in addition to locating underground structures.
Under Article 27 of the Warrant we installed the new automatic parking gates at the Municipal Parking Area and resurfaced the area. All work will be completed when weather conditions permit in the spring of 1964.
Under Article 64 of the Warrant we constructed an off-street parking area at Railroad Avenue with parking meters.
Starting November 9, 1963 and continuing through November 11, 1963 we had a substained rainfall of 4.88 inches. It was necessary to sandbag land abutting the upper Mystic Lake for precautionary measures. For- tunately no sizeable amount of damage occurred.
246
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
Under Articles 31 and 34 our Storm Drainage System was increased in various locations throughout the Town. Please see Table 3 for detail.
Our Water and Sewer Systems were extended in various locations. Please see Tables 5 and 8 for detail.
In conjunction with the construction of the new High School addition this Department undertook the extension of the Mill Brook culvert. We also moved the outdoor basketball courts to a new location.
Under Article 66 of the Warrant this Department performed much of the trench work, in connection with the installing of traffic light, Mass. Avenue at Lockeland and Churchill Avenue, which will be completed in the spring of 1964.
In 1963 we cleaned and flushed 173,998 feet or 32.95 miles of sewer main. We serviced eight (8) Sewer Pump Chambers which of necessity must be kept in operation at all times. We received the usual number of requests to assist those residents whose particular sewer connections had become clogged for one reason or another. It is to be noted that the excessive use of detergents is the reason for many of these stoppages. This service, is however, a good one and greatly appreciated by those in distress. The great majority pay the nominal charge rendered with no complaint.
Public roads and sidewalks were maintained and 60,347 square yards of roadway sealcoated.
November and December of 1963 provided us with an abnormal amount of snow and ice. We made every effort to effectively plow, sand and salt all of our roadways. Our Snow Blowers were tremendously effective in removing the snow from the main roads such as Mass. Avenue and around churches, places of business, etc.
On our snow program we have contracts with private contractors whom we can call upon when the scope of the storm is such that we need additional trucks and equipment.
During 1963 the complete maintenance of the Robbins Memorial Town Hall and Robbins Houses was placed under the care of this department. Every effort was expended and will continue to be expended to keep these buildings maintained well. The Town Hall roof and cupola should receive extensive repairs in 1964.
In 1963 we performed many services for other Town Departments as follows:
Civil Defense
Picked up, delivered, unloaded and stored supplies in designated shelter areas throughout the Town.
Installed 1000 gallon underground tank and generator at Park Circle Fire Station.
Placed signs at Fallout Shelters.
Elections and Town Meetings
Installed masonite inserts in voting booths.
Repairing voting equipment when requested.
Delivered and picked up voting equipment.
247
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
Engineering Department
Moving and setting up file cabinets.
Installing base for cabinets.
Fire Dept.
Pointing wall and installing parking bumpers at Headquarters.
Extensive carpentry at Park Circle.
Repairs and install new floor at Park Circle.
Park Dept.
Repairing bubblers.
Cleaning water gates.
Various welding at playgrounds.
Constructing and painting various signs.
Grading at High School Field.
Repairing walls at Menotomy Rocks Park.
Complete resurfacing with clay of tennis courts - Spy Pond Field. Robbins Library
Extensive carpentry and painting - Main Library.
Repainting Young People's Room.
Repairing walk outside Jr. Library.
Insulating, plastering and painting.
Cleaning out basement.
Alterations to bookcases, magazine rack, painting ceiling and walls.
East Branch
Installing storm drain connection for roof water.
Painting.
Dallin Branch
Repairing front door and remove screens, etc.
Misc. carpentry - Install protective screening on doors. Fix towel racks. School Department
Painting and lettering various signs.
Relettering instructional van.
248
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
Cutter School
Clean and repair storm drain.
Install new catch basin and drain.
Stratton School
Construction and installing of signs.
Dallin School
Install catch basin and drain.
Bishop School
Install catch basin and drain.
Senior High School
Repairs to toilets.
Cut hole in wall for new bubbler.
Repair washout damage.
Repair catch basin and grate.
High School Addition and Reconstruction Committee
Grade, roll and oil Parking Area - southside of Mill Brook Drive.
Dallin School Building Committee
Regrade and clean up area.
Tree Department
Repair underground drain on Town Hall grounds.
Repair pool - Town Hall grounds.
Automotive
Our repair shop maintains and services all departments with the ex- ception of Fire and Police. We maintain a stock room which all departments are allowed to draw upon. Our equipment is of necessity heavy duty and the repair work is laborious in nature.
The following are the next expenditures made by the Department of Public Works:
General Administration . $ 104,321.01 Highway, Maintenance and General, including
Snow and Ice
483,965.78
Highway, Capital Outlay.
66,948.92
Maintenance of Public Sidewalks 24,072.77
Construction of Ways (1963)
109,851.55
Construction of Ways (1963)
5,550.28
Construction of Ways (1962)
5,575.86
Construction of Ways (1962) 32.36
Construction of Ways (1961) 318.44
249
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
Construction of Ways (1961) ..
$ 299.52
Reconstruction of Certain Streets, Chapter 782 (1963).
38,105.12
Reconstruction of Certain Streets, Chapter 90 (1962)
62,821.21
Reconstruction of Certain Streets, Chapter 90 (1961)
7,853.98
Service Roadway, Spy Pond Field
2,054.05
Storm Drains.
21,314.72
Improvement of Drainage System
40,360.66 217,000.77
Garbage Disposal.
115,000.00
Sewer Extensions
21,068.89
Sewer Maintenance
39,342.30
Water Maintenance .
177,085.76
Water-House Connections
9,850.42
Water Maintenance-Capital Outlay.
16,412.99
Water Extensions .
32,571.89
Sidewalks & Edgestones.
23,534.10
Alteration, Improvements, etc. of Buildings in
New Town Yard .
4,733.49
Headquarters for Arlington Post 1775 Veterans of Foreign Wars Inc. of the United States .
47.89
Robbins Memorial Town Hall
42,938.88
Maintenance of Houses owned by the Town
9,439.65
Ida Robbins Trust Fund .
194.58
Pave Municipal Parking Area
11,910.24
Parking Area rear of Railroad Avenue
4,902.20
Construction of Ways (1959)
896.51
$1,700,376.79
TABLE 1
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
$ 101,227.00
Balance brought forward . 511.80
Credit from Article 6, 14 and 15.
3,611.00
$ 105,349.80
(Personal Services
$96,213.00
Expenses . .
7,600.00
Expenses Outside of Commonwealth
300.00
Capital Outlay.
1,236.80)
Expenditures, (Including Accounts Payable).
104,321.01
Balance, December 31, 1963.
$ 1,028.79*
Expenditure
Personal Services
$ 97,466.17
Credit from Town Hall Account (Partial Switchboard
Operator) .
1,278.00
Expenses, Office Maintenance and Supplies .
7,113.79
Accounts Payable .
400.05
Capital Outlay
619.00
$ 104,321.01
*Capital Outlay carried forward - $617.80
Sanitation .
Appropriation
250
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
TABLE II
HIGHWAY DIVISION (Maintenance of Highways and Bridges) including Snow and Ice)
Appropriation
$453,017.29
Credit from Articles 6, 7 and 11 . 10,771.45
Transfer from Finance Committee
33,229.22
$497,017.96
(Maintenance and General Accounts -
Labor
$259,007.45
Expenses .
45,000.00
Snow and Ice, including Maintenance of Equipment and Supplies. 193,010.51)
Expenditure (including Accounts Payable)
483,965.78
Balance, December 31, 1963.
$ 13,052.18
Expenditure
*Maintenance and General Accounts .
$282,144.37
*Accounts Payable
8,849.65
Snow and Ice.
184,018.62
** Accounts Payable
8,953.14
$483,965.78
*Street Cleaning and Maintenance, $71,151.93; Maintenance and Repair of Catch Basins and Storm Drains, $18,921.00; Maintenance and Repair of Sidewalks, $9,615.97; Automotive and Equipment Maintenance, including Accounts Payable, (Automobiles, Trucks, Compressors, Cranes, Graders, Power Shovels, Rollers Tractors) $17,107.23; Tools and Equipment, in- cluding Accounts Payable, $27,147.60; Town Yard and Buildings, $32, 469.59; Stock, including Accounts Payable, $17,843.26; Street Signs, including Accounts Payable, $22,985.20; Miscellaneous, $16,090.68; Sick Leave, $22,358.91; Vacations and Holidays, $35,302.65.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.