USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Town of Newton annual report 1885 > Part 16
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Among the valuable donations which have been received are all the volumes, with the exception of two, necessary to complete a full set of the Congressional Globe. We have also a complete file of the Congressional Record. Our thanks are due to the Secretary of the Interior, who has given spe-
12
cial attention to the completion of sets of public documents in the large libraries of the country. Ex-Mayor Pulsifer, not for the first time, has placed us under special obligations by the gift of a full set of Hunt's Merchants' Magazine. There are other valuable sets of bound periodicals that our citizens possibly find crowding their home shelves, that will be most gratefully welcomed in the ampler accommodations of the li- brary. We have hoped to receive a set of the Gentleman's Magazine, now so expensive and difficult to obtain in a com- plete series.
There are now in the library 23,309 volumes. The very full and instructive tables given at the close of the report will show the care with which the different classes of literature have received additions during the year, and the growing demand for substantial and improving reading in the commu- nity. Of fiction and juvenile books, 188 volumes have been added; of travel and geography, 149; of biography, 139; of history, 184; of natural and social science, 254; of theology, 35; of essays, poetry and drama, 126. Two hundred and seventeen volumes have been added to the reference library. The circulation of books has enjoyed a wholesome increase during the past year. In the last three months 1761 volumes over the number sent out during the same period of the pre- vious year, were distributed. The largest daily circulation was 541, March 14th, and the smallest, 71, on August 8th, when a very violent storm occurred. There have been in all 13,533 names registered to draw books from the library. Last year a new register was opened and the registration of all the patrons was required. The object of the registration was not at once understood, and some little embarrassment and tem- porary decrease in circulation was occasioned. The new reg- ulation commenced June 8th, and the signatures reached 3,444 at the close of the year.
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There have been, during the year, 83,938 volumes deliv- ered from the library for home use, while constantly the inconvenient accommodations of Edmands' Hall have been used, with much discomfort, by many persons examining a large number of authorities for special purposes. All these will bear emphatic testimony to the urgency of the call for the additional rooms in the rear of the present buildings, for which, we are grateful to know, that a favorable report has been made to the City Council, by the Committee on Public Property of last year.
This growing and important use of the library for refer- ence, suggests also the occasion for the annual increase of other than the current publications of the day. It is to the Public Library that our citizens come for any special and extended line of study and investigation. Few private libraries can meet these necessities. In his inimitable discourse, deliv- ered at the opening of the new Public Library building in Chelsea, Hon. James Russell Lowell said: "A public libra- ry, of course, must be far wider in its scope. It should con- tain something for all tastes, as well as the material for a thorough grounding in all branches of knowledge. It should be rich in books of reference, in encyclopedia, * *% * it should contain stores of history, which, if it do not always deserve the pompous title which Bolingbroke gave it,-of philosophy teaching by example-certainly teaches many things profitable for us to know and lay to heart." It is just here, even with our present quite large collection, that we feel our limitations as a consulting and educating library for the people. Mr. Lowell says in the same address, "the open- ing of a free library is a most important event in the history of a town. A college training is an excellent thing, but after all, the better part of every man's education is that which he gives himself, and it is for this that a good library should fur-
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nish the opportunity and the means." It is becoming more and more the excellent custom in our community to take up courses of study and reading in history, philosophy, belles lettres, or science. Particular eras of history are carefully studied. We are endeavoring to fill up our catalogue with the standard works in these various lines, but even in the his- torical literature of our own country there are many ungrate- ful gaps that we are seeking to close.
It is this higher office of the library that we are glad to know is becoming more and better appreciated. Mr. Lowell says :- "Formerly the duty of the librarian was considered too much that of a watch dog, to keep people as much as possi- ble away from the books, and to hand them over to his suc- cessor as little worn by use as he could. Librarians now, it is pleasant to see, have a different notion of their trust, and are in the habit of preparing lists of such books as they think best worth reading." A very important branch of such a work as this, with no ordinary zeal, labor and intelligence, has been undertaken by the Librarian of this institution.
It has been for a number of years a question of interest- ing discussion among the managers and officers of public libraries, especially during the sessions of the American Lib- rary Association, how, not simply to keep the free library from becoming an embarrassment and injury to school chil- dren, but how, with the cooperation of the teachers, to make it a positive aid and to create, if possible, among them a taste for improving literature.
A very successful experiment of this character has been tried for the last three months in connection with the Newton Free Library. The plan, as yet, has been introduced into but a portion of the schools, but will be at once into the others. Masters and teachers offer us their heartiest cooper- ation and are warm in their expressions of interest and confi-
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dence in the undertaking. The principal of the Bigelow School, Mr. H. C. Sawin, writes, in a note to the Superinten- dent, "I am very glad to welcome the Public Library as an ally to the Public School. In years past I have considered it antagonistic to the interests of the pupils, believing, with Dr. Taylor, of Andover, that 'scholars, while attending school, have no time for desultory reading,' but the efforts of the friends both of the library and the school, in Worcester, Prov- idence, Boston, and more recently in our own city, are mak- ing the library one of the most efficient aids in the mental development of the young. The plan recently adopted and put in practice, of furnishing the teachers with a number of books relating to the subjects taught in the schools, will accomplish the two-fold object of illustrating and giving inter- est to the regular school work, and of guiding the pupil in the art of reading well. Mr. James Russell Lowell says, in his recent address, 'I sometimes think that our public schools undertake to teach too much, and that the older systems, which taught the three R's and taught them well, leaving natural selection to decide who should go farther, is better.' In educational work there is no sign more hopeful than the new relation of the public library to the public school, making it possible for the instructor of youth to teach the first and most important of the three R's more successfully. Hoping that the results of your efforts to aid the schools in their work will be all that can be desired, so that you will be encouraged to devise yet more liberal things for them, I remain sincerely yours. '
Each public school teacher receives ten cards upon which to draw books for his class from the library. The teacher sends to the library a list of topics which are being studied in the class, and asks that some works suited to the grade of the pupils may be sent to the school. The following list was
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received from a grammar school master: "Please send me books on Mound Builders, Early Discoveries, Columbus, North American Indians, Colonial History, U. S. Constitu- tion, U. S. Coinage, John Smith, Insects, China and Japan." Another teacher asks for books upon South America, as that is the portion of the globe which they have reached in their geography; and still another seeks for books upon Asia. Books are especially desired upon animals, particularly sto- ries about them, for the younger classes. Works upon phys- ics, geology, mineralogy, poetry, history, biography, in short any possible helps which the library can afford, are freely offered and zealously used. To give some idea of the character of the new reading among our school children, we append, at the close of the report, a list of the books which have already been placed in circulation among them. There have been many books of travel, science, history and biography, written and compiled within a short period, especially for the read- ing of young people and children. These works are finely illustrated and are calculated to arrest the attention of young readers, and to lend fresh interest and value to the study of their text-books. Many of the books are used by the teach- ers as rewards for good lessons, the children being permitted to take them home, or to read them in school after the lessons are completed. The librarian makes a personal visit to the schools, invites a short meeting with the teachers and explains the method of working with the library. This has never failed to awaken the interest of the teachers, and often arouses enthusiasm in the work. The immediate good accom- plished in quickening the interest of pupils in their school studies, is but a small part of the beneficial results that must follow such an effort, if perseveringly continued. More than in any other way will a generation be trained up to relish and demand something besides a fictitious and sensational liter ?-
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ture. The children discover what interesting books there are in the library, they copy the numbers upon their own cards, and we find them selecting these for their home reading. The teachers eagerly avail themselves of the opportunities afforded by their additional cards. One teacher tells us of a lad who had never accomplished anything in school until aroused by the inspiration of the illustrative books, in which he became greatly interested. Superintendent Emerson assures us of the enthusiasm awakened among the teachers of the schools over the new plan of reference books from the library. During the year the arrangement which has been so suc- cessfully effected in a few of the schools, will be introduced throughout the city.
In the three months in which the delivery to the schools has been made, 568 books have been issued to them. But six of the schools have as yet been visited, and some of those not until November, showing that the teachers generally have availed themselves of the privilege.
Last September the American Library Association held a very interesting and practical conference at Lake George, extending through several days, with representatives from libraries from all portions of the country, from the Dominion of Canada, and from Great Britain. The Superintendent and Librarian of the Newton Library enjoyed the profitable op- portunity of attending these sessions. The reports of papers read and of the proceedings, fill one hundred and sixty quarto pages of the Library Journal. The discussions covers almost every point of interest in the construction and adminis- tration of libraries. No educational movement of the hour is attracting more attention. Immense sums, as of late in Chi- cago, and for the Pratt Library in Baltimore, are being devoted to the construction of public libraries, and soon hardly a considerable town will be without one. The college is local
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and from its requirement of large endowments is not, and need not be, established except in accessible centres for large dis- tricts. But the library, like the public school, is becoming the necessity rather than the luxury of every town, and will necessarily have a large share in the advanced and practical education of the people. In the United States there are more than 5,000 public libraries, numbering over 300 volumes each. In them are collected more than 13,000,000 volumes of books. Over 500,000 are annually added to the number, more than 10,000,000 are distributed annually, with an expense of admin- istration of over $1,500,000.
Our city is fortunate, without any large outlay, to have a good foundation for a library that will easily keep pace with the wants of a rapidly growing and cultivated commu- nity. With the appropriation which the City Council has made this year, we shall be able to show good progress in every department.
Our library force remains the same as heretofore, and we trust it may continue through the year. Having had the charge of the books from the opening of the library, the lady _ assistants have an intelligent knowledge of its contents, and are eager to aid our patrons in availing themselves of all its facilities.
With the exception of the additional structure, which we trust will not be delayed beyond the opening of the sea- son, there are no extraordinary outlays required for the cur- rent year.
We submit, in connection with this report, the usual tables and general estimate of expenses for the coming twelve months, and remain respectfully,
BRADFORD K. PEIRCE, Superintendent
APPENDIX.
A.
RECEIPTS.
1885.
1884.
1883.
Dec. 31.
Municipal appropriation
$7,500 00
$8,000 00
$8,500 00
Fines, bulletins, etc.
348 64
336 57
329 32
Cash on hand at last report
38
3 65
49 07
$7,849 02
$8,340 22
$8,878 39
B.
EXPENDITURES.
1885.
1884.
1883.
Dec. 31.
Salaries
$3,333 33
$3,599 61
$3,611 94
Reading-room
400 46
383 39
345 12
Incidentals .
247 13
267 43
300 22
Repairs
41 96
69 90
22 00
Furniture and fixtures
61 75
12 41
53 19
Printing and advertising
129 37
35 25
306 50
Binding
127 55
246 52
252 11
Light and fuel
765 03
709 81
696 15
Distributing agencies and express
1,204 25
1,177 00
1,140 99
Blanks and stationery
32 06
153 55
110 93
Postage account .
13 77
11 21
22 14
Total expenditure
$7,847 47
$8,339 79
$8,874 73
Bal. with City Treasurer $ 02
at the Library .
1 53
Total balance
1 55
43
3 66
$7,849 02
$8,340 22
$8,878 39
Books .
1,490 81
1,673 71
2,013 44
20
C.
CIRCULATION.
1885.
1884.
1883.
Number of days the Library was open of holidays the Library was closed . of other week-days the Library was closed . . of volumes delivered for home use
306
307
306
7
7
7
Average daily use
274.3
271.2
272.7
March 1, 1884, Mar.17&31,1883,
71
144
144
of books lost and paid for
1
1
4
of books worn out and withdrawn .
114
62
46
of notices to delinquents,
424
797
787
of volumes re-covered . of volumes bound
10,829
8,945
11,047
of names registered dur- ing the year
3,834
885
850
Total number of names registered to June 8 *.
13,533
13,146
12,261
Total number of names registered since June 8,*
3,447
.
.
83,938
83,261
83,430
Largest daily use, March 14, 1885,
541
544
.
505 ·
Smallest daily use, Aug. 8. 1885, Nov. 19, 1884, Aug. 16, 1883, Number of books lost and not paid for
.
·
. .
7
8
10
237
335
465
* A new registry was commenced June 8.
21
D.
ACCESSIONS.
1885.
1884.
1883.
Increase by purchase
1,240
1,183
1,073
by gift
220
111
93
by binding pamphlets
9
1
by binding periodicals
116
76
79
Number of missing volumes re- stored since last report
1
Total accessions for the year Number of volumes missing or withdrawn since last report
1,576
1,380
1,246
122
71
60
Actual increase
1,454
1,309
1,186
Number of volumes in the Library as last reported
21,855
20,546
19,360
Total number of volumes in the Library .
23,309
21,855
20,546
Number of pamphlets bound since last report
49
5
Number of newspapers subscribed for .
39
42
42
of newspapers given
1
19
20
of magazines subscribed for
54
33
36
of magazines given
7
4
2
Total number received
94
98
100
22
E.
CLASSIFICATION, GROWTH, SIZE, AND USE.
Increase during
the Year.
Total number
of Volumes.
Volumes issued
during the
Year.
1885.
1884.
1883.
Literature. Prose, fiction and juve- nile reading
188
5,220
56,576 5,773
67.4 6.88
67.25
68.1 6.4
Periodicals .
151
1,659
1,703
2.03 .34
2.
2.03
Foreign literature
11
474
281
History.
Geography and travels
149
2,132
5,997
7.14
7.33
6.9
Biography
139
2,207
3,209
3.82
3.76
3.7
History
184
2,166
4,009
4.78
4.63
4.4
Arts and Sciences.
Natural science and in- dustrial arts
179
2,226
4,921
5.86
5.77
5.9
Political and social sci- ence
75
1,177
577
.69
.6
.5
Theology
35
1,039
697
.83
1.
.83
Reference library
217
2,201
195
.23
.16
.12
Accessions for the year
1,454
.
. ·
.
.
.
.
Circulation
for
the
year
83,938
.
.
.
-
.
Essays, poetry and drama
126
2,808
6.95
.35
3.
Number of volumes in the Library .
. .
23,309
PER CENT. OF CIRCULATION.
23
F.
Received for catalogues sold in 1885
$13 00
Paid City Treasurer
$13 00
G.
ESTIMATED EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR ENDING DEC. 31, 1886.
Salaries .
$3,612
Reading-room
350
Incidentals
200
Repairs .
50
Furniture and fixtures
50
Printing and advertising 66 bulletin
100
Binding
100
Books
2,000
Light and fuel
700
Distributing agencies and express
1,200
Blanks and stationery
70
Postage account
25
Probable amount of fines
$300 00
Cash on hand
1 53
Required appropriation
. 8,415 47
260
$8,717
$8,717
LIST OF BOOKS
Issued to some of the Schools of Newton during the last three months of 1885.
Harper's Magazine. 2 vols. Smithsonian Institute. Report.
TRAVELS AND DESCRIPTION.
Adventure in Apache Country. Andes and Amazon. J. Orton.
Arctic Heroes. Z. A. Mudge.
Around and About Old England. C. L. Mateaux,
Astoria. W. Irving. Australia. J. F. V. Fitzgerald.
Bits of Travel at Home. H. H. Jackson.
Boy Travellers in China and Japan. T. W. Knox.
Boy Travellers in India and Ceylon. T. W. Knox. Boy Travellers in South America. T. W. Knox. Boy's Book about Indians. E. B. Tuttle.
Boys in the Mountains, etc. W. H. Rideing.
California and Oregon Trail. F. Parkman.
Child Life in Italy. E. Watson.
Children of All Nations.
Constantinople. R. Walsh.
Cook's Voyages. J. Barrow.
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Discovery and Adventure in Africa. Jameson, and others. Discovery of Yo-Semite. L. H. Bunnell. Eastern Archipelago. W. H. D. Adams. El Dorado. B. Taylor. Exploration of the World. J. Verne. Family Flight around Home. E. E. and S. Hale. Family Flight in Egypt and Syria. E. E. and S. Hale. Family Flight through France, Germany, etc. E. E. and S. Hale. Farmer's Vacation. G. J. Waring. Glimpses of South America. M. Hield. Great Canal of Suez. P. Fitzgerald. Great Cities of the World. II. Shepard. Great Fur Land. HI. M. Robinson. Homes and Haunts of our Elder Poets. Homes of America. M. J. Lamb. Homes of American Statesmen.
How I Found Livingston. H. M. Stanley. Illustrated Description of the Russian Empire. R. Sears. Indian Pictures. W. Urwick. Japan and the Japanese. A. Humbert. Land and Sea; the Ocean. Land of the Moose, etc. A. Daunt. Land of Temples, India. M. Hield. Little People of Asia. O. T. Miller. Madagascar. J. Sibree. Men and Things Russian. J. Christie. Mountains and Mountain Climbing. My Apingi Kingdom. P. B. DuChaillu. Normandy Picturesque. H. Blackburn. North and South. J. S. C. Abbott. Old England. C. Knight. One Thousand Miles' Walk in South America. N. H. Bishop. Our Boys in China. H. W. French.
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Our Boys in India. H. W. French. Our Own Country. [England.] S. Manning and S. B. Green. Our Young Folks Abroad. J. D. McCabe. Peeps Abroad. C. L. Mateaux.
Peeps into China. E. C. Phillips. Russian Journey. E. D. Proctor. Stanford's Compendium ; Asia.
Stanford's Compendium ; Central America.
Suez Canal. F. de Lesseps.
Three Vassar Girls in Italy. L. W. Champney.
Through Normandy. K. S. Macquoid. Through the Dark Continent. H. M. Stanley.
Travels in South America. P. Marcoy.
Travels of Marco Polo. T. W. Knox. Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts. G. B. Emerson. Views in India. G. F. White. Western Pacific. W. Coote.
What Darwin Saw in his Voyage round the World. Wild North Land. F. W. Butler. Winter in Russia. T. Gautier. Young Americans in Japan. E. Greey.
Zigzag Journeys in Classic Lands. H. Butterworth. Zigzag Journeys in Europe. H. Butterworth. Zigzag Journeys in the Levant. H. Butterworth. Zigzag Journeys in the Orient. H. Butterworth.
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POETRY AND ESSAYS.
Ballads for Little Folks. A. and P. Cary.
Birds and Flowers. M. Howitt. Chambers' Miscellany. Child's Garden of Verses. R. L. Stevenson. Chinese Stories. A. E. Moule.
Essays on Educational Reformers. R. H. Quick.
Games and Songs of American Children. W. W. Newell. Grammar Land. M. L. Nesbitt.
Handy Dictionary of Synonyms. H. C. Faulkner.
How to Educate Yourself. G. C. Eggleston. Little Maid and her Moods. E. S. Phelps. Mother Play. F. Froebel. New England Tragedies. H. W. Longfellow. Our Children's Songs.
Poems. W. C. Bryant. Poems. R. Burns.
Poems. H. W. Longfellow. Poems. J. G. Whittier.
Underbrush. J. T. Fields.
What Shall we do To-night? W. B. Dick.
FICTION.
About Old Story Tellers. D. G. Mitchell. Adventures in Vermont. J. Abbott. All Aboard for Sunrise Land. E. A. Rand. Aunt Martha's Corner Cupboard. M. and E. Kirby. Autobiography of a Lump of Coal. A. Carey. Bear Worshippers. E. Greey. Bodleys Afoot. H. E. Scudder.
29
Country of the Dwarfs. P. B. DuChaillu. Delightful Days.
Each and All. J. Andrews.
English Bodley Family. H. E. Scudder. Farmer Boy. [G. Washington.] W. M. Thayer.
Guernsey Lily. S. C. Woolsey.
Hans. Brinker. M. E. Dodge.
Harper's Story Book; Franklin. J. Abbott. Heidi. J. Spyri. Hudson's Bay. R. M. Ballantyne.
Hunter Cats of Connorloa. H. H. Jackson.
Jack and Jill. L. M. Alcott.
John Chinaman. W. G. Dalton. Jolly Good Times at School. M. P. W. Smith. Life of a Bear. Life of an Elephant. Little Folks' Reader.
Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe. C. M. Yonge.
Little Women. L. M. Alcott.
Mamma's Stories; Domestic Pets. Mrs. G. Cupples. Mary Bell. J. Abbott. Mercedes of Castile. J. F. Cooper. Merry Times for Boys and Girls.
Our Little Ones and the Nursery. Our Little Men and Women.
Pioneer Boy. [A. Lincoln.] W. M. Thayer. Pioneers. J. F. Cooper.
Plucky Boys. D. M. M. Craik. Prairie. J. F. Cooper. Rollo on the Rhine. J. Abbott. Rollo in London. J. Abbott. Seven Historic Ages. A. Gilman.
Seven Little People and their Friends. H. E. Scudder.
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Seven Little Sisters. J. Andrews.
Singular Creatures. Mrs. G. Cupples.
Stories about Cats. Mrs. Surr.
Stories of Animal Sagacity. W. H. G. Kingston.
Story Book for Children. A. M. Diaz.
Story of Our Country. Mrs. L. B. Monroe.
Swan and her Crew. G. C. Davies.
Talks with Uncle Richard; Wild Animals. Mrs G. Cupples
Ten Boys from Long Ago to Now. J. Andrews.
True Stories in History and Biography. N. Hawthorne.
Uncle Tom's Cabin. H. B. Stowe.
Up Hill and Down Dale. L. D. Nichols.
Vignettes of American History. M. Howitt.
What They Did. E. C. Geikie.
William Henry Letters. A. M. Diaz.
Wonder Book. N. Hawthorne.
Work. L. M. Alcott.
Young Folks' Ideas. Uncle Lawrence.
Young Folks' Queries. Uncle Lawrence.
HISTORY.
America not discovered by Columbus. R. B. Anderson. American Histories. 4 vols. J. Abbott. American History for Schools. G. P. Quackenbos. Book of the Indians. S. G. Drake. Boys of '76. C. C. Coffin. Boys of '61. C. C. Coffin. Children's Stories in American History. H. C. Wright. Discoveries of America to 1525. A. J. Weise. Discovery of the Great West. F. Parkman. Ferdinand and Isabella. W. H. Prescott. France and England in North America. F. Parkman.
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Historic Fields and Mansions of Middlesex. S. A. Drake. Historic Mansions of Philadelphia. T. Westcott. Historic Personages and Old Landmarks of Boston. S. A.Drake. History of American People. A. Gilman. History of French War. R. Johnson. History of the United States. Bryant and Gay. History of United States. B. J. Lossing.
History of United States. H. E. Scudder. Indian History for Young Folks. F. J. Drake.
Jesuits in North America. F. Parkman.
King Philip. J. Abbott. King Philip's War. W. J. Ashley.
Larger History of United States. T. W. Higginson. Life of Cortes. J. Abbott.
Nonantum and Natick. S. S. Jacobs.
Old Times in the Colonies. C. C. Coffin. Our Country. B. J. Lossing.
Our First Century. R. M. Devens.
Peter the Great. J. Abbott.
Pilgrim Fathers. W. H. Bartlett.
Plymouth and the Pilgrims. J. Banvard.
Remarkable Events in Hist. of Old World and New. J. Frost.
Romance of American History. J. Banvard.
Russia. J. S. C. Abbott.
Salem Witchcraft. C. W. Upham. Story of Liberty. C. C. Coffin.
Story of Rome. A. Gilman.
Tea Leaves of 1775. F. S. Drake. War of Revolution. B. J. Lossing. Young Folks' Civil War. E. D. Townsend.
Young Folks' History of Boston. H. Butterworth.
Young Folks' History of London. W. H. Rideing.
Young Folks' History of Mexico. F. A. Ober. Young Folks' History of Russia. N. H. Dole.
32
POLITICAL SCIENCE.
American Eloquence. F. Moore.
American Orations. A. Johnston. Our Business Boys. F. E. Clark. Politics for Young America. C. Nordhoff.
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