Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-12-13
WHO is TO BLAME?
important Work That Is Lag.
ging Sadly.
NO SUITABLE LIBRARY LISTS
Only Io4 Pages Of the New Catalogue
Printed After Six Months Of Work
Devoted 10 IL.

The frat of last April the committee
on library of the board Of education
submitted a report setting forth the
urgent need Of . proper catalogue OF
the books in the public library and
urged that the work be pushed Al onee.
The committee in lite report stated that
the first catalogue was printed 10 1878
when the library contained but 5000
volumes. In 1889 . Mas Demo MAS
employed 10 CATALOGUES the entire
library. There were then %. 900 books
the library with no other catalogue
than the one of 1878. There are today
about 80. 900 volumes in the library and
the public still uses the catalogue OF
1878 to ind the books.
The search after reading matter is
somewhat aided by the cards and lists
d sted on the walls. The committee
in its report estimated that the cards
made by Mles Demo could be printed
in catalogue for $500 and recon-
mended that the work be begun AZ once.
The report Was adopted. Trustee Fisher
the chairman of the committee on
library consulted with Miss Ball. the
librarian, and 1t WAS decided TO raise
the wages of Miss Chase from $35 70
$50 to aid In the work of preparing the
catalogue for the printers hands and
to AID Miss Ball is reading the proofs.
Slow Work C&taloguing.
The works seems TO have moved
wonderfully slow. 1t 10 six months
=.
pages of the 1000 page catalogue in
type. At the present rate OF progress
1t will take tive years to compete the
contract and the reading public will re-
quire q supplement TO cover the books
that have been added whiie the cat
alogue Was preparing.
The attention of Justice FitzGerald
of the library COMMITTEES WAS called to
10 the catalogue. Evidently he was not
acquainted with the manner IN which
the work WAS progressing for he invited
the reporter up to the library to IN
spect the work and see how nice it
would be when completed. Miss Ball
showed the l04 pages now In type ana
remarked IS she did so that the work
was moving very slowly. She said the
printer had sent no proofs for long
time, and she had done all she could
to hurry them. She asked Mr.. Fitz-
Gerald to see whether the printer
could not hurry the work along faster.
Sac said the work Was begun Ia July,
and should have been nearly COM
pleted.
At the Printing Office.
The reporter next visited the printer
who eaid he had been somewhat slow
but the copy furnished had been slow
t O. The work was stopped one month
In the summer when Miss Ball Was on
her vacation, and it had been delayed
some by sickness among the printers.
He eald the matter WAS hard to
set up and it took . c0mpOsltOr
two weeks to learn the style. He had
taken two OF his book compositOrs to
work on the catalogue, but they had
been sick and had just got back to
work. At this point in his explanation
Miss Ball and Mr.. Fitzgerald appeared
at the Office door ready for . session
with HIM on tho same subject. The
printer said he did not suppose there
was any hurry for the catalogue or ne
would nave put more compositors at
work on it. He promised to hurry the
work along At the rate of fifty pages
per week until the catalogue 10 conf
pleted. Aside from the extra SIS per
month which the city has been paying
Miss Chase, patrons of the library give
numerous reasons why it should have
. catalogue and have 1t speedily.