The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-06
How Books Are Circulated
for Home Reading From
the Public Library.
LOCATION OF STATIONS
Placed in Close Proximity to
Schools and Public Insti-
MISUNDERSTANDING of
Reading Growing
Better.

be gone through every m a BOOK is
drawn. RED tape the borrower is too
apt to term 1t in his hasty criticism,
sometimes growing because just the
volume he wants happens to be out. And
yet at the same time that same borrower
often wonders what the Library does with
so many girls to keep them all busy. All
he sees is the long rows of books sys-
tematieally arranged, from which the
number on his slip may be found at sight.
A peep behind the screens, however,
might make him a little less impatient In
his ssred tape" comment. In fact, unless
he was real stubborn he would realize the
utter faIlacy Of any such comment at all,
substituting for the words, red tape
system"
of course, the whole Library Is, and has
to be conducted upon the most systematic
| Of plans, but looking into that system
which governs delivery alone, where there
are between two and three hundred
thousand books yearly passing through
the outside stations alone, it sim
ply ecomes incomprehensibae to the
unobservant outsider why a great
proportion of the books are not lost
Inside. however, it is easy enough, and
the keynote to the whole is system"
The books leave the Library for the
! various stations, of which there are
| fifteen. about three o'clock each after
noon. and this keeps Miss Burdick's neip-
| ers hustling from about noon, when the
| books arrive at the Library until the nour
when the wagon starts out again on Its
| round Of deliveries, and just here 1t might
| he as well to remark that the Jersey city
| Library is one of the very few institutions
| of the kind. where the station borrowers
| card can be filed prior to the day follow
ing that of its reception at the main
| Library.
To begin with, the Library wagons start
ont on their tour of collection about seven
| O'Clock each morning. and on their tour OF
delivery at three every afternoon, arriv-
| ing at the various stations according to
the following schedule
An. F. Woolsey, 34 Communipaw ave
me. collect. 7.45 A. M. deliver. $3.50 p. M.
B-Miss Georgne F. Dillaway, GAO Ocean
avenue; collect, $40 A. M; deliver, 4.lo
P. NJ.
C-John Craig, 1891 Jackson avenue;
| collect. $40 A. M: deliver, 1855 p. M.
D-George johnson, 452 Bergen avenue;
collect. 9:25 A. NJ; deliver, 5.15 P. M.
E-GeOTRe BOWER, 200 4NCWoAh
collect $50 A. NJ; deliver, 5:45 p. M
F-Katherine Merz, 1886 Central avenue;
collect. 1918 A. M: deliver, SEQ P. NJ
G-John S. Broas, 172 Pavonia avenue;
collect. 100 A. NJ; deliver, $40 p M.
H-Mrs. Francis Rickerick, 35S1a Palisade
avenue; collect. 1925 A. M; deliver. $40
P. M.
K-F. H. stiles, IA Monticello avenue;
collect, 900 A. M; deliver, 4:55 P. NJ.
L-Jaeob skillman, Al West Side avenue;
collect, 500 A. NJ; deliver, 500 P. M
M-Arthur Gold, $50 Newark avenue; col
lect. $40 A. NJ; deliver, 5:s5 P. NJ.
N-Frederick ramsey, 491 C-ommunipaw
avenue; collect, 1855 A. M; deliver, S:40
P. M.
o-wilIiam A. Beardmore, sS4 Summit
avenues; collect, s:S5 A. M; deliver, 525
P. NJ.
R-Mrs. Christina Corkett, S62 Ocean av-
enue;. collect, $50 A. M; deliver, 500 p. M.
S-Miss Margaret Hackett, 1893 West Side
avenue; collect, 900 A. M; deliver, $50
P. M.
whittier House also has a station.
When these books arrive at the Library,
every girl who can possibly be spared
from the general delivery room, at once
sets to work sorting, marking and check
ing off the various books. This work is
all done in a large room back OF the gen
eral delivery room, where there are eight
groups of girls. among whom the various
stations are divided according to size.
Then each book is taken, checked OFF on a
list kept for the purpose, in duplicate, one
copy for the Library people and one
for zach respective station. After this the
slips are taken and the cards filed, II not
with the book called for. that being out at
the moment. with one of the same char
acter. usually by the same author. All
this takes time, but the work is so sys-
Dramatically and hence quickly dispatched
on the while you watt basis, that by the
time driver and horses have unched the
books are all ready to go on the road once
more.
Not only is there system in the mere de-
livery of the books, but also in the ar
rangeanent and location of the stations.
Fer instance, there is a station in close
proximity to nearly every school and one
in close proximity to the Court House,
while the residential parts of the city are
stationed according to their number of
residents. OF these stations &c" has the
largest ClTcuidtlOlt tfuAhoc4 ans LOVE- a
total of 90,639 books. "F' comes next, and
sHv in third in numerical line
The-c class of books read varies according
to the location of each station. Station
NJ, In the vicinity OF the Court House, of
course, has a large circulation of law
books. while those stations situated in the
Women's Club portion of the Heights
come in for the classics. and the Green
Vile and other stations where clubs are
few. come In for the fiction. Whether or
not it Is owing to the formation OF Wom-
ems Clubs In the last few years, the fact
remains that the class of literature read
throughout the city is gaining a higher
standard each year.
Besides the wagon delivery. there are
several methods of special delivery. most
" through courtesy. One Of these is the
delivery of books to the blind. Oh course,
In most Instances, the blind borrowers are
unable to come to the Library themselves
and often even to send a messenger. In
these cases the books are either delivered
by the girls themselves on their way home
at night, or by messengers sent at the ex-
pense of the Library. Then there Is the
system Of school delivery where a speci-
fed number of books are sent to the var
fous schools where they are allowed to re-
main four instead OF two weeks.
rrbo erctoxs ~ The brrroxy.rtc oo~5 a.