The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1898-01-13
OUR PUBLIC LIBRARY
NEW DIRECTORS ELECTED FOR
THE COMING YEAR.
rHE LIBRARIANS REPORT
Showing THAT the Public Library has
Been Great Educational Instt-
tuition During the Past
Year.

fl The Kenosha City Library associa-
ton met Monday evening at the library
rooms for the purpose of choosing three
directors for the coming three years.
The following were chosen, Joseph
Bendr, Ed Theirs and G.. w John
w ston These directors will meet in
short time and elect officers for the
year. The reports of various officers
were read and referred to the proper
committees. The main topic discussed
at the meeting was the question OF
financial assistance for the library.
More money is needed in order to keep
90 up the work of the library as it should
be done. For this reason it was
thought best to ask the city to make a
reasonable appropriation for this pur-
pose. The report of the librarian was
90 as follows.
To the members of the Kenosha Public
Library Association:
Herewith is submitted the annual
report of the Kenosha Public Library
90 for the year ending December 81, 1897.
public library should be largely an
educational institution. and it is upon
this basis that we have tried to CO.
operate with the work of the. public
90 schools, the various literary societies
and clubs, and individual patrons of
the library. During the past year the
results of this effort have been very
satisfactory, in the greatly increased
usefulness of the library, and will act
90 as an added stimulus to still further
efforts in the future. No statistics
have been kept of the number of
reference books used, as access to the
shelves prevents an exact record, but
growth in this line of usefulness is I'M
0n mistakable, and we hope our patrons
will make more and more use of such
books in the time to come. In this
connection, the dictionary catalogue
(now nearly completely enables the
librarian at once to bring before the
patron any material in the library per-
m tanning to a specified subject. Such a
~ catalogue increases the usefulness of a
library in the same way that an index
increases the value of good book.
To give an idea of the amount of
work involved in preparing dictionary
catalogue, we will illustrate, for in
W stance, with book by j. /. Mombert,
entitled "Great Lives" The title
conveys only vague idea of the con-
tents, which consists of the lives of
thirty two men, making a course of
history in biographies. Each one of
these men is represented in the cata-
w logue by card, alphabetically ar
ranged with all the other cards, and
these taken together with the author
and title cards, make the total number
w of cards thirty four to bring this one
book and its contents before the pub
lie. Repeating this process for every
book in library of only three or four
thousand volumes, requires great
deal of time and patience, but the
90 librarian is amply rewarded by the
efficiency with which she can thus
assist those in quest of knowledge on
some special subject.
An inventory of the books was taken
last July, with the gratifying result
90 that not one book was lost or unac
counted for. Perhaps it will be of in
terest to mention in this connection,
that one Of the most troublesome, but
necessary duties of the librarian is, to
90 watch the books carefully and keep in
repair such as are IN poor condition,
until it becomes necessary to turn them
over to the bookbinder From fifteen
to thirty books are thus repaired each
week.
Considerable attention has been paid
M during the past year to increasing The
- number of juvenile books, as the chill
dren form so large proportion of the
readers; but it is OF great Importance
that parents should interest themselves
in this branch of their children's de-
velopment and education, as without
w this cooperation in the homes, the best
work Of the library will be largely de-
-, feated.
The following statistical report will
show the actual work accomplished
DuV during the year:
Number OF books added to the library
:: by purchase during the year. .... 406
III Books donated during the year.. 40
the
30 Total. .......... SIS
- Books burned on account OF contagious
Hdl diseases. s................ ..........
ieh Books injured or lost by borrower and
The replaced ............
to II
the Actual accessions on hand ......... $50
80 Books on the shelves at the beginning
enG OF the Observation-Disclosures. 1894
ZEE. -
md Total books in library ................. 1888
Value of books at the beginning of the
vas year. ............ .............. s4O84. 80
ers value of books added during year.. 7O8.27
'er Total value of books in library. .84788o7
but Books and magazines rebound during
her the year. .................,...... 124
80; Entire circulation for year. ........... 24l01