The Evening post. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1888-1889, 1889-01-01
MAKING THE MOST oF HER PAPERS.
How Mrs, Professor Parker Is Building
Up Library of Newspaper Clippings

mhhANu ilb WOtl VT ill1h AZ IhOs
How Mrs. Professor Parker Is Building
UP Library of Newspaper Clippings.
From the chicago 1ri5une.
1--WE make good use OF the newspapers
here at the Normal School,, said Mrs.
Parker to a Tribune representative. eve
are not unmindful of the fact that trained
writers are employed on our daily papers,
and that when anything of importance to
the country or people occurs this trained
intelligence seizes upon 1t and presents it
to the public in a clear light.
Beginning our science work as we do
in the primary schools, and the reading
books not containing enough in that di
rection, newspapers, childrens papers
and magazines furnished great deal of
collateral reading This proved exceed.
ingly useful in the school, and in search.
ing for that class of article / found so
many good things it seems pity should
be wasted that unconsciously / found
myself adding to my pile of clippings
good articles upon almost every subject.
Soon | found it necessary to devise some
means of properly classifying them, and
this have reduced to a system / al
ways read paper with pencil in hand to
mark what | wish TO save, and then in
some odd moment cut them out The
clippings are thrown into large box
ready for use, and l make point of cut
ting the article out all in one piece, after
which they are pasted to MANILA slips
These slips that | use are four by ten, and
| have just ordered 5000.
81 paste the article 10 the centre of the
slip, as near the top as possible, and if
short the article will be all on one side,
but if long it will Of course be continued
upon the opposite side of the slip and so
on through a succession of slips until the
article is finished.
81 always place the articles between
the slips, and any odd moment | have
utilize with the aid of the sponge .mu-
cilage bottle in sticking them on, for it is
kind of patchwork and takes the place
of the ordinary crotcheting and knitting.
always dry the slips between the leaves
of heavy book, for | find that the
children pay much more attention to
them If nicely done"
'But do the scholars take any care of
them?"
AT first they thought nothing of care
| lessly throwing around what had taken
so much trouble with, for they were
only newspaper scraps but now they
are returned to the library MS regularly
! as the books Indeed. have been teach.
| ing them reverence for the newspaper.
And it is astonishing how religiously my
| girls save papers. They would not think
of making fire with one or in any other
way destroying one until have marked
! it.
But after all this is done how can you
! find what you want?'
II have catalogue made out, and
everything is classified. 1t has made it.
| self, and may be added to indefinitely in
| the way of new heads and sub-heads."
| Mrs. Parker's catalogue is under the
following general heads, which are in
| turn divided into many classes: First
comes ancient history, followed by
modern and American history. Litera-
! ture, art and religion are well repre-
sented, as are likewise the "oologies''-
zoology, physiology, geology, mineral
ogy, psychology, mythology and soci-
ology. Under each head Mrs Parker
has room for children's S stories. Then
follow physics, ethics, chemistry, botany,
medicine, astronomy, biography and
geography. Political economy has a
prominent place, and is followed by
articles on socialism, customs of people,
education, and interesting things on days,
seasons, games, etc.
81 have everything on home rule that
has been printed in the last three years -
said Mrs. Parker. when my slips are
done / place them in files in q large case
such as all business men use and put in
the school library. ,.,,u.
"When the eighth grade was studying
the civil war | had over 200 articles OF
that subject in relation to the causes
battles, generals and the like-and the
teachers testified to the avidity witt
which they were read. Newspaper mems
way of presenting things is and must bC
readable, for people nowadays have
neither the time nor inclination to reaC
and write as people used to in years past
As soon as my friends began to find ou
what was doing, they sent me papers
from all over the country, with articles
they had marked, or merely files of pa
pers they had saved.
"In connection with the slips on whicl
we save the articles we have smalle
cards on which we save quotations
They are alphabetically arranged, ac
cording to the sentiment expressed; love
joy, charity, life, perseverance, etc,
and placed in boxes ready for use. AL
the pictures of interest, geographical o
historical, | have mounted upon paste
board. Indeed, until one has had ey
perience, one does not know what yalu
able things the so-called ordinary pape
| contains -