Evening star., 1901-10-17
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Report of the President of Board
of Trustees.
BUILDING 10 Be COMPLETED ON TIME
The Need for increase of the
Force Shown.
ESTIMATES BMITTE E D

| The report of the president of the board
| of trustees of the public library, Mr.. Theo-
| dore w. Noyes, has been submitted to the
| District Commissioners. Its chief points OF
| interest are as follows:
| Within the twelve months since the sub
| mission of the last annual report the work
upon the new building for the public IL
| brary has been vigorously pushed. and
| the beautiful lines of the structure as
designed are fast taking concrete shape
| In marble and granite. The contract for
| the erection of the building. which wds
signed August %, 1900. by Richardson &
| Burgess of Washington, required compile
| ton of the work by March 1, 1902. In
| spite of certain obstacles, indicated else
| where In this report, which threaten some
| delay, assurance Is given that the superin-
tendent of construction CMr. Bernard X.
| Green) and the library commission will be
| able to report that their task Is finished
| shortly after that date and two or three
! months before the beginning of the next
| fiscal year.
| A detailed statement of the progress of
| the work upon the building is given. and
| a plea for the Improvement OF the ap-
proaches and the park environment Is
made. the estimate for the latter work be-
| ing $4,000.
The architects of the library in considering
| the effect upon the building of its approaches
and environment have designed plan of
treatment of Mt. Vernon Square adapted to
the architectural character and practical
purpose of the structure, while preserving
the characteristics of the reservation as a
public park. 1t is hoped and confidently
| anticipated that Congress will provide by
| appropriation for the prompt execution of
| this plan, or one similar in general effect,
| as an item in the improvement and care of
| the parks of the city, under the supervision
| and control of Col T. A. Bingham, the
| superintendent of public buildings and
grounds who is also by law a member of
| the public library commission and is thus
| in dual capacity familiar with and in
| terested in the proper treatment of the
| library and its environment
In pursuance of the general policy of
| park development in Washington the loca-
| tion of the library building in Mount Yer
| non Square is to be permitted to withdraw
| an absolute minimum of park surface from
| public use, and the attfactiveness of the
| remainder of the park is to be enhanced
| and its puplic benefits increased in COM
pensation, with the result of furnishing an
attractive setting of green for the marble
| of the library and of returning to the peo-
| pie a more beautiful and beneficial, If les
sened, park area.
Mount Vernon Square contains 1929
square feet. The area to be occupied by
| the library building is II ,307 square feet.
| The location of the library upon less than
one-seventh of the area may be and should
six-sevenths care and attention and wise
expenditure which will render this remain
der more valuable for public use and rec
reation than the comparatively neglected
original Mount Vernon Square. The Ii
brary, the center of the reservation.
| will also enjoy in quiet and in healthful
| freshness and GOODNESS the full benefit of
| it's park surroundings.
| Wanted: Books and an Adequate Lii
brary Force.
Il >aI
with furniture and embellished to its
| approaches and surroundings, is thus dedi-
| Gated to the public use, a library skeleton
| is provided which must be clothed with
| flesh and blood and animated into useful
activity. The building is a mockery for
| library purposes without books and an ade-
quate force to render the books quickly
accessible to the public.
| The acceptance of MIR. Carnegie's gift of
| a library building carries with it the pledge
| of suitable maintenance of the library by
4 Congress, upon which the donation was
| conditioned. In what does suitable MAIN
1 tenance'' consist?
| The factors recognized by librarians as
| affecting the cost of such maintenance are
/ the size of the building to be cared for, the
| number of separate reading places to be
| supervised, the number of active readers
| and borrowers and in general the activity
| of the library. To the cost of current
| maintenance must be added in the case of
| library IN process Oh ORGANIZATION or
4 adaptation to a new building and larger
| constituency a special expenditure for new
1 apparatus in the way of catalogues. &c,
| and for the preparation of new books for
use, in addition. of course, to an expendi-
| ture for the acquisition of new books to
| meet the suddenly enlarged demand.
1 The maintenance requirements both for
4 library supervision and general care of the
| building that are based on the size and ar
| rangement of the structure may be most
| intelligently estimated through considera-
ton of these actual conditions in the case
| of the library building. -
| These ample and conveniently related
| floor areas supply very satisfactory library
] facilities. but involve considerable neces-
| sary expenditure for supervision. care and
| maintenance, for which the conditions and
| provisions in the present crowded rented
| quarters furnish no precedent whatsoever.
| Activity and Usefulness of Washing
| toms Library.
| The activity Of the public library in its
| new building as a factor IN the cost of
| maintenance is, of course, only family in
| dicated by the showing low made in re-
| spect to the existing library. which consists
| almost exclusively of miscellaneous donat-
| ed volumes. many of which are not of i'm
| mediate popular interest The small per-
| centage of books for which there is general
demand is soon swept from the Shelves and
| applicants are continuously disappointed,
with the result of discouraging in many
4
| Notwithstanding all the drawbacks Of
| haphazard library. inadequate handling
| force and small and inconvenientty ar
| ranged quarters. the showing of the popular
| use of the public library conciusively dem
| onstrates the widespread and constantly in
| creasing demand at the capital for public
| circulating library facilities, and strongly
| suggests the vastly increased library ac-
] tivity which viii follow when in the new
| building the specified obstacles to prompt
qualification of the public desire for books
| are very largely removed Between July l.
| 1900, and July /, 1901, the number of books
, in the library has increased from 1890 to
| 22.Si1, q gain of 3,SI1. The number of reg
| istered borrowers has grown to 13.32S, a
| gain Of 2.S71. The average daily circulation
| previously extraordinarily large in the light
| of the small number Of desirable circulate
| ing books. has slightly increased AMI for
| the year was 404- The total issue of books
| for the year was 123.5 $50, and as the aver
! age number of books in the library during
this period was 20. S55. the circulation dur
| ing the year aggregated nearly six times
the whole library.
| The most obvious and urgent special
| maintenance need Of the library for 1901 1-'O2
| is that of books and catalogues.
The Plea for Books.