USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 51
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The high standard established by Mr. Babbitt has been carefully maintained all these years and the Miami Commercial College has been for a long time, recog- nized as one of the most efficient and prominent colleges of its kind in the west, if not in the whole country.
Experienced teachers have always been employed so that its courses of study have been practical and thorough. Its graduates from the bookkeeping depart- ment and in later years from the shorthand department, have taken very promi- nent positions in the business world, as presidents and managers of some of the largest manufacturing corporations, not only in Dayton, but in New York, Chi- cago and many other cities.
Among these in recent years, have been one of the three railroad commis- sioners of the State of Ohio, another, one of the Ohio State Bank Examiners, and two are expert accountants on the State Accountant Board, another was state treasurer of the State of Kansas and many are expert court reporters and are in prominent department positions in Washington. President Wilt has been honored with the presidency of the National Business Educators Association and twice with the presidency of the Ohio State Business Educators Association and has for many years been prominent in the councils of the National Business Educators Association. The college will soon enter upon its fiftieth year of a
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prosperous and influential existence, honored by an alumni of thousands, scat- tered over all parts of the country, and also highly regarded by the citizens of the city in which it has so long rendered efficient service.
JACOBS BUSINESS COLLEGE.
One of the best known business schools of Ohio, is the Jacobs' Business Col- lege, located at Second and Main streets. The school is in session the entire year.
The college is now in its thirteenth year of successful operation. It has grown in this time from a small two-room school with one student, to an insti- tution that is recognized as one of the leading schools of its kind. To the suc- cess of its graduates in the various lines in which they are engaged, is due the reputation which the college has attained. It is modeled after the best commercial schools of the country. Individual instruction is one of the features of the Jacobs' school. The advantage of separate teaching is recognized at every school and at this institution, the plan has had a most successful application.
Many prominent Dayton employers have been supplied with either book- keepers or stenographers by the Jacobs school.
Mr. H. L. Jacobs is the president.
CHAPTER XIII.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
SECTION ONE.
BY W. J. CONKLIN, A. M., M. D.
There is no event in the history of Dayton, which attests more strongly the culture and far-reaching wisdom of the founders, than the establishing of a public library in the first year of its corporate existence.
"Whereas the establishment of public libraries tends to promote useful knowl- edge and is conducive to the good and happiness of society, the subscribers do hereby associate themselves into * The Social Library So- ciety of Dayton." Thus reads the preamble to the constitution of the first library (1805) incorporated under the laws of Ohio. *
The incorporators were Rev. William Robertson, Dr. John Elliott, William Miller, Benjamin Van Cleve, and John Folkerth. Benjamin Van Cleve was the first librarian, and the books were kept in his cabin, which was also the village postoffice, on the southeast corner of First and St. Clair streets. Thus the square in which stands the present splendid library building was dedicated to library uses over a century ago ..
After the death of Mr. Van Cleve in 1821, Squire Folkerth took charge of the books, which were removed to his office on the northeast corner of Main and First streets.
A time-stained copy of the constitution of the society, probably the only one in existence, is preserved in the Dayton public library. From a present-day standpoint, some of the by-laws are peculiar and worthy of special mention. Borrowers were assessed three cents for "a drop of tallow or for folding down a leaf, and in proportion for any other damage" to a book. For loaning a library book to a person who is not a member of the society, or for permitting such book to be carried into a schoolroom, the penalty was "a fine equal to the value of one-
* In the printed volume of Ohio Laws for 1805 and in the original MSS. on file in the Archives of the State, the name of Rev. William Robertson appears as an incorporator, and this has been accepted as correct by local historians. A thorough search of available documents forces the conclusion that the name should be Rev. William Robinson. Rev. Robinson came to Dayton in 1897 or 1898 and located on Mad River near Harshmanville. He ran a grist mill during the week and preached Presbyterian doctrine on Sundays. In the original documents the name of John Folkerth is also misspelled.
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quarter of said book." In drawing books the right of choice was determined by lot- tery, a matter of moment when it is known that their return was optional except "on the first Mondays of January, April, July and October at or before two o'clock in the afternoon."
The annual dues of the society were three dollars. Popular entertainments were often given to relieve the chronic depletion of the book fund. In 1822, "The Gridiron" announced a farce to be staged by the "Thespian Society," of which in his youth the great tragedian, Edwin Forest, is said to have been a member.
The significant advertisement of a "Library at Auction," signed by Henry Stoddard, John W. Van Cleve, and William Bomberger, committee, which ap- peared in the Dayton Journal of September 8th, 1835, announced the passing of the Social library, which for thirty years had been a potent factor in the intel- lectual life of the town.
The next decade was one of unusual literary activity in Dayton, and not less than six distinct libraries are reputed to have been formed. These were, in all instances, associated with organizations like the Dayton Lyceum (1832), the Mechanic's Institute ( 1833), the Adelphic Society of the Dayton Academy (1837), in which books competed with essays, discussions, and lectures as means of mental culture. These book collections were probably small and available only to the members of the several organizations, but, in the aggregate, they served a wide circle of readers.
The Dayton Library Association, broader in scope and more ambitious in every way than its predecessors, was formed in 1847. The annual membership fee was five dollars, a life membership thirty dollars, and a membership in per- petuity fifty dollars. The organization was completed January 12th, 1847, by electing : President, Milo G. Williams ; Vice-President, Dr. John Steele; Treas- urer, Valentine Winters; Secretary, R. W. Steele; Directors: C. G. Swain, E. Thresher, James McDaniel, John G. Lowe, and Daniel Beckel.
The first purchase of books numbered over one thousand volumes. They were carefully selected and were shelved in the second story of the Steele build- ing, near the corner of Third and Main streets.
In 1854, the library occupied rooms in the new Phillips building on the south- east corner of Main and Second streets, which had been expressly designed for it and are said to have been the most ornate and convenient library rooms in the state. The main hall was large with lofty ceilings supported through the cen- ter by handsome Corinthian columns, and furnished by special subscription at a cost of about two thousand dollars. The reading room was well supplied with current literature and the lyceum features, so popular in that day, had due recog- nition. M. E. Curwen, Dayton's first historian, was the first librarian. For un- known but supposedly financial reasons, librarians followed each other in rapid succession, and during the year 1858, the names of four: Sam B. Smith, W. C. Butterfield, S. J. Henderson and H. J. Graves, appear in the annual report.
In due time, as humorously set forth in the reports of the last secretary, Mr. I. H. Kiersted, the association encountered the monetary troubles usual to sub- scription libraries. It continued in operation until 1860, when the books and fixtures were transferred, by gift, to the free public school library which, under
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PUBLIC LIBRARY , DAYTON
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the control of the board of education, had come to be a rival so formidable as to defy competition from a pay library.
The committees which adjusted the details of this union, were: Messrs. Wil- bur Conover, Bruen and Gunckel, from the library association, and Messrs. Elliott, Miller and Boltin from the school board.
This fortunate fusion, which brought into existence the present "Dayton Public Library and Museum" was, perhaps, due more to the efforts of Mr. R. W. Steele, than to any one individual. For many years, he served as president of the library association and of the board of education, and his whole life was largely given to public school and library work.
The public school library was organized in 1855. The legislature of 1853 passed an excellent school law, modeled after the New York law, which author- ized the levying of a tax of one-tenth of a mill on the dollar valuation, the pro- ceeds of which were to be expended by the state superintendent of instruction in establishing free libraries in the school districts of the state. This was the- beginning in Ohio of the present free, tax-supported library system.
Instead of distributing Dayton's quota of books to the several school dis- tricts, as provided by the statute, the board of education wisely decided to keep the collection intact and make it the nucleus of a strong central library. After such books had been selected from the state list as were deemed suitable, the state superintendent agreed to pay in money the balance due the city. The amount. received was fourteen hundred dollars, with which 1,250 volumes were purchased.
The library was opened in the fall of 1855, in the old United Brethren build- ing on the corner of Main and Fourth streets, with W. H. Butterfield, principal of the Second District school, for librarian. It was available to the public only on Saturdays. Three years later, it went to the Central High School building, where now stands the Central District house, and remained there until the fusion with the library association gave possession of the latter's fine quarters. At this time, Mrs. Mary Hiley Davies was elected librarian and an all-day service established. In 1867, the library was moved to the old city building, and when this was torn down to make room for the present one, it occupied improvised quarters in the building next north of the courthouse. On the completion of the new city build- ing in 1876, the library was returned to its old station above the market and re- mained until the present permanent home in Cooper Park put an end to its wandering.
The law under which the library was formed and operated was repealed in 1856, and until 1860, the only source of maintenance was the annual voluntary ap- propriations made by the board of education. The library law of 1860 was a decided advance on previous legislation. Under its provisions, the Dayton library was managed by a committee of three members of the board of education, appointed annually by the president, and a special tax of one-tenth of a mill on the dollar valuation provided for its support.
In the meantime, the necessity for better accommodations had been long recognized and many successive committees had urged the immediate erection of a fireproof library building. However, nothing was done until 1884, when the favorable report of a special committee of the board of education, composed.
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of Messrs. Conklin, Neder, Junikl and Thompson, appointed to consider the feasibility of building led to decisive action.
The consent of the city council to place the building in Cooper Park was obtained, the design submitted in competition by Messrs. Peters & Burns was chosen, and in the following June ( 1885) the contracts for construction were let. The building, which is thoroughly fireproof, is a free treatment of the French Gothic or Romanesque style of architecture and built of Dayton limestone, with Marquette red sandstone trimmings, harmonizes perfectly with its fine natural surroundings. Fully completed and furnished, it cost about $1 10,000.
The books were transferred in January, 1888, and on the 24th of the month the building was dedicated with the following exercises interspersed with music by the orchestra of the Young Men's Christian Association; Invocation, Rev. W. A. Hale; addresses : "The New Library Building," C. H. Kumler, president of the board of education; "The Public Libraries of Dayton," Robert W. Steele; "The Public Library and the General Public," J. C. Reeve, M. D .; "The Public Library and the Public Schools," J. J. Burns, superintendent of instruction.
In preparing for the occupancy of the new building the school board obtained from the legislature the power to create an independent, non-partisan library board, thus giving to the management greater stability and continuity of purpose than could possibly come from the method in use.
The library board under the law was made up of seven persons, not neces- sarily members of the board of education, but with the president of the latter the ex-officio presiding officer. After the initial organization two members of op- posite political convictions were elected annually for a term of three years. The first board, composed of Messrs. Charles Kumler, ex-officio, R. M. Allen, James A. Marlay, George Neder, J. Harrison Hall, J. A. McMahon and W. J. Conklin, met for organization on April 23d, 1887.
This statute was amended by the general assembly in 1892 and in 1893, en- larging the powers of library boards, withdrawing er-officio representation from boards of education, and providing for the establishing and maintaining of free public museums. The Dayton board was the first in the state to avail itself of this privilege (1893). The museum, which in a liberal sense bears the same relation to the library as a whole that the illustration does to the individual book, has had a phenomenal growth and has come to be a most valuable adjunct to the library.
The law under which the library is now managed was passed in 1902. It increased the members of the board to seven and raised the maximum levy to one mill on the dollar. The Dayton board has not availed itself of this latter privilege. ;
In April, 1888, shortly after the removal into the new building, the library had on the shelves 25,421 books, the annual total circulation of which was about 71,000 times, and a reference use of 6,362 volumes.
The librarian's report for the year ending August 31st, 1909, gives 82,000 volumes in the library with a yearly circulation of over 355,000 volumes. Stat- istical tables give a very inadequate idea of the work done in a library or of its value from an educational view-point, but the figures above quoted show commendable progress.
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In the last two decades, there has been a widening and broadening of the function of the library which is without a parallel in the history of educational development. Before this renaissance the average public library was little more than a storehouse of books available only to him who sought them. The modern idea is to get books into the hands of the people, not to cloister them, and, in the development of this policy, the library has come to be a bustling intellectual workshop, in which the master workmen are filled with the spirit of aggressive helpfulness rather than of inactive guardianship.
Just here will be found the distinguishing characteristics of the Dayton library. Under the aggressive leadership of Misses Doren and Clatworthy, it has not only kept abreast of modern library development, but, in some lines, has forged ahead of its compeers of like size and resources.
It is plainly impossible to give here more than a brief chronological record of the most important events in its evolution. Passing, with this brief mention, the thorough reorganization of the book-collection on modern lines of classifying and cataloging, which has occupied attention for several years, we note the print- ing of an exhaustive dictionary catalog (1884) ; the adoption of the open shelves (1896) ; the forming of a training class for applicants and employees (1896) ; the beginning of the systematic extension work in the schools (1897) ; and of the children's department in the main library (1898) ; the establishing of branch deposit stations (1903) ; the building of the east study and reference room (1905) ; and the placing of a mezzanine gallery in the stack room with shelving capacity for 15,000 volumes ( 1909).
A word more may be said of the extension service. Last year book collec- tions were sent into 343 schoolrooms, into four widely separated deposit stations, into shops, factories, clubs-in short, into every center where few or many have organized for mutual improvement. Every section of the city has been directly benefited by this policy, and the per capita circulation has been raised to three books for every man, woman and child dwelling therein, thus giving the library second place among those of the state.
Recognizing that the school children of today will be the citizens and library users of tomorrow, especial effort is made to strengthen the union between school and library and to create in every child that knowledge of and fondness for books, which is a source of pleasure and instruction for all the years of life. In an effort to make this concept practical, the Dayton library was one of the first in the state to offer library training as a regular course in the Normal school. During the year just ended there were sent into the schoolhouses of the city 7,000 volumes, the total circulation of which was 145,000 times, and of which the equivalent of 47,000 volumes went into the hands of the youngest children.
Dayton is pre-eminently an industrial community with fully 16,000 people employed in its varied manufactories. The old time apprentice training of the industrial worker has been largely replaced by special schools and the private study of technical books. The management has made a close study of the local needs and, by the liberal purchasing of technical books, the issuing of shop lists and by personal visitation to factories, has begun a work which will, in the near future, be of incalculable benefit to the city at large as well as to the industrial classes.
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But the splendid growth of the Dayton library, as recounted, brings with it obligations. The radical change in library ideals and methods, lias made insuffi- cient a building which, when planned, was far in advance of immediate needs and was deemed amply large for a century of growthi. Every available foot of floor and wall space has been utilized and the children's rooms, public documents, the medical and other departments have been forced into a basement which is badly lighted and ventilated and never was intended for such use. If the Dayton library is to continue its growth, an additional building must be soon provided. Not to do so means retrogression and the abandonment of lines of work already opened, a contingency which will not be kindly received by the descendants of an- cestors whose first action after founding a city was to establish a public library.
In the half century which has passed since the formation of the Dayton public library, there have been only four librarians: Mrs. Mary Hiley Davies (1860-1874) ; Misses Minta I. Dryden (1874-1896), Electra C. Doren (1896- 1905), and the present incumbent, Linda M. Clatworthy. Where all have served meritoriously, it may seem like unjust discrimination to make special mention of any; but undoubtedly, the success of the library is due more to the intelli- gence and broad foresight with which Miss Doren laid the foundations during her service than to any other single agency.
During the period from 1860 to 1887 the library was managed by committees of the board of education. The following gentlemen served on such committees : Henry L. Brown, E. J. Forsyth, John Lawrence, W. Bomberger, S. Boltin, H. Elliott, J. V. Miller, John Howard, B. F. Ayres, R. W. Steele, D. A. Houk, E. M. Wood, Wilbur Conover, E. S. Young, W. J. Shuey, W. F. Heikes, I. H. Kiersted, G. P. Clarke, G. M. Lane, W. L. Winchell, George L. Phillips, J. R. Andrews, J. G. Soulsby, C. L. Bauman, C. N. Vallandigham, D. G. Breidenbach, W. J. Conklin, A. Junikl, S. W. Davies, J. A. Marlay, G. Neder, A. D. Wilt.
The membership of the library and museum board since its organization in 1887, has been as follows : Charles H. Kumler ( 1887-1890) and John E. Byrne (1890-1892), er-officio members; W. J. Conklin ( 1887-1909) ; Robert M. Allen* (1887-1899) ; James A. Marlay (1887-1896) ; J. Harrison Hall* (1887-1888) ; John A. McMahon ( 1887-1888) ; George Neder* (1887-1893) ; Robert W. Steele* (1888-1891) ; Henry C. Marshall* (1888-1898) ; Frank Conover (1891-1897) ; J. S. McMahon ( 1893-1896) ; Albert Kern (1896-1909) ; S. W. Davies ( 1896- 1909) ; E. L. Shuey ( 1897-1909), Harry Weidner * ( 1899-1900) ; Sigmund Metz- ler ( 1901-1909) ; B. B. Thresher ( 1902-1909).
The present ( 1909) organization is as follows :
Board of Trustees-President, Dr. W. J. Conklin ; Vice-President, S. W. Da- vies ; Secretary, Albert Kern; E. L. Shuey, J. C. Ely, Sigmund Metzler, B. B. Thresher.
Library Staff-Librarian, Linda M. Clatworthy ; Accountant Assistant, Minta I. Dryden ; Office Clerk. Nellie E. Maginnis ; Head of Loan Department, Minnie E. Althoff ; Reference and Shelf Department, Fred H. Koch; Head Cataloger, Matilda M. Light ; In Charge School Library and Children's Work, Mary L. Ely ; Assistant Catalogers, Magdalene Newman, Elizabeth B. Doren; Accession Clerk,
* Deceased.
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Carrie S. Bench ; Loan Clerk, E. C. Colby; Loan and Shelf Clerk, Herbert May; Supervisor of Binding Department, Theresa C. Walter; Henry Street Branch, Irma Uhlig; West Branch, Maud Weller ; East Branch, Vera Codding ; Riverdale, Lucie Shank; Custodian of Museum, Lyman Simonton ; Janitor Edward Y. Har- vey. Four senior messengers and two junior messengers.
CATHOLIC FREE CIRCULATING LIBRARY.
The Gesellen Verein maintained a library in St. Joseph's Institute on Mont- gomery street, for the use of its members. It was afterwards opened to the public, but the location interfered with its popularity. To remove this objection, the society in 1888, fitted up rooms for the library on the corner of Fifth and Pine streets, and in connection opened a store for the sale of religious objects, the profits of which were to be applied to the support of the library. This plan did not prove satisfactory and the library would have been taken back to the insti- tute, had not Mr. Philip A. Kemper and Joseph P. Neumann guaranteed the Gesellen Verein against loss. The library was removed to 411 East Fifth street and in 1904, the rights to the store were acquired by Messrs. Kemper and Neu- man, who care for the library and apply a percentage of the sales to its main- tenance. This agreement is to continue in force for nine years, when the books and fittings revert to the society. Personal and society contributions are other sources of income. The library now contains 3,800 volumes and is free to every- body without regard to religious convictions.
SECTION TWO. LAW LIPRARY. J
BY D. W. IDDINGS.
After many days of thought and work on the 15th day of April, 1868, a company of lawyers met in the office of Young & Gottschall, six of whom there- upon appended their names to a certificate of incorporation of the Dayton Bar Association, a body corporate whose purposes were defined in the instrument "to be the advancement of legal knowledge and the better and more convenient dis- charge of professional duties connected therewith, to purchase, hold and acquire a library and books, for the purposes, uses and objects of said corporation, &c." The capital stock of the association was fixed at $12,000, divided into fifty dollar shares. The signatories were: A. Cahill, John A. McMahon, E. S. Young, Thomas O. Lowe, S. Craighead, and John Howard, but two of whom, Messrs. McMahon and Lowe, are still in life. Thomas O. Lowe, afterwards a judge of the superior court, later retired from the practice of law and went into the min- istry. Hon. John A. McMahon is still active before the courts and in the coun- sels of his office, recognized as the Nestor of the local bar.
The first election of directors occurred at the call of the commissioners on December 24, 1868, who certified to the meeting that the sum of $3,000 had been subscribed to the capital stock. At this stockholders' meeting, J. A. Jordan
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