The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-10-07

SlNc membership IL II eouiu ~ - 20
enough to afford us an income when
would pay our current expenses the
would be simple matter
For this purpose we need about SIN
hundred paying members. IL 49, OIL
course, plain that we are raplaly pe-
coming d "Women's Institute instead
of one for young men, ana our haiiie
by and by may be a misnomer' ~
seems to me that the time has come
when measures must be taken 10 IN
terest more young men in the manage
ment of our affairs. The men VINO nave
made sacrifices for the establishment
of the institute on the present firm loot
ing are rapidly dropping from our
ranks, and others must be trained 10
the same loyal feeling. otherwise the
public library might swallow the insti-
tute at one gulp, and the city would not
even pass vote of thanks for the PRIV
ilege of possession.
In financial way we have maze
substantial progress. All our curreht
bills have been met promptly, and we
have reduced the debt of $4,000, incurred
when the last addition was made 10
the building, to less than $500 with
some accumulated interest. This we
have done by the payment of 500 every
month from the monthly rentals, ana
reducing the monthly appropriation Tor
the purchase of books by this amount.
When this debt is cancelled 1t Is plain
that an appropriation must be made
for necessary repairs upon the build
ing. A moderate sum expended upon
painting, papering and frescoing would
add greatly to our rooms and make
them exceedingly attractive.
During the summer the upper room,
formerly occupied by the Camera club,
was leased to the City Medical associ-
alton. They have decorated it, estab-
lished a library, and expect to be per-
manent tenants. The advantage of
securing such an organization is very
manifest, as it's influence will be used
in our behalf, and it's use Of the room
is mainly confined to monthly meetings
which are held in the evening after the
institute is closed.
The management of the library and
reading room has been In the same
hands, and the prompt service seems to
be satisfactory to our patrons. We
are very fortunate in retaining the
services of our efficient ladies' commit
tee. They devote great deal of time
to the critical examination and selec-
ton of books, thus relieving our book
committee of a great responsibility. No
unfit book passes into the library
through their hands, and we are under
great obligation to them for their faith
full work, as we'll as for their successful
| ~, f,.ia 30
join the institute. During the year
they prepared an excellent circular for
distribution, which brought us several
new members. BY their advice, we
have placed two new cases in the la
dies parlor and filled them with the
French and German books and the mis-
cellaneous essays. This means that the
parlor is now open regularly to all our
patrons, and will no longer be an eX-
elusive corner. ! think we may well
add, in the near future, another case for
all books of reference which are fire.
quently used, such as the Century Die
| tionary aliases, etc. al
The increase of our number Of books,
now numbering over 10000, will soon
make it necessary to add to our shelf
room, and 1 recommend that a new
case be built on the east side similar to
the one used for Juvenile books, and the
newspaper rack, if needed, be transfer
red to the southeast corner. Our spec
ial loan" library continues to be popu-
lar feature, and furnishes many i'm
portant patrons with the new and pop
ular novels Immediately upon their
publication. We have been obliged to
keep on hand fifteen to twenty copies of
the popular "Quo Vadis," and have not
been able to keep pace with the de-
mand. This branch of our library is
carried on without any expense to the
institute, being so managed as to pay
for itself. / believe that little addi-
tional enterprise in it's management
would make it fruitful source of reve-
nue., besides being the means of bring
ing in many new members.
The circulation of magazines contin-
ues to be a popular feature, and is
really one of our most liberal provi-
sions. 1t seems to me that it would be
wise to devise some means to make
this branch of our service a little less
expensive. We now spend $500 annual
ly on newspapers and periodicals, all of
which are thrown away with the ex-
ception of the one copy of each of the
more important magazines which we
bind and preserve. Thus we have every
month nearly fifty magazines to throw
or give away for which we cannot real
ize anything. If some system could be
organized by which all those magazines
could be sold at the end of each month
for "a moderate sum, our periodical bill
would be materially lessened. Ten
cents for magazines only a month old
ought to offer an inducement to some
subscribers who now pay three dollars
a year for one on time. Hereafter we
shall not try to store any of our old
magazines, and some method of prompt
disposal of them must be devised.
During the year catalogue of fictior
has been frequently called for by pa.
irons who send for their books by mes
sengers. Such an one as we need coul6
be published for 500, and it might be
well to prepare it IL the near future
This branch of our library is more usec
than any other, and new members al
ways ask first for a catalogue of this
department. 1t seems to me also wise
! to issue, at least three or four times 6
year, a list of all books added for the
previous two months. This would b.
an inexpensive way of advertising, ant