Evening journal., 1902-01-11

ldnL Wd6
"His remarks took root, but for
some time there appeared but little
growth from them. and not until 1879
three years later-was the matter
publicly discussed again. Then Mr..
Foster. OF Providence. one of our ablest
librarians STILL read an interesting
paper on the School and the Library
and Their Mutual Relations the pur-
pose of it being to cite reasons for CO.
operation, which. to be effective. he
said, presupposed mutual understand
ing. mutual acquaintance and mutual
action. These points were emphasized
at the same meeting by Mr.. Metcalf,
master Of the Wells School. Boston,
who remarked that having indicated
how he would cultivate the taste and
direct THE choice Of a pupil, it remain
ed to suggest how, in his opinion,
public library could be made a great
public benefit rather than what 1t too
frequently was a great public nuisance.
| SO long as children were allowed free
access to a public library without di-
irection as to choice, either by parent,
teacher or librarian. one could look for
no good results. and he said, some
]
! Icipal or teacher could draw from the
/ library such books as his pupils might
need. to have them at his desk when
ever the school work suggested their
use. This meeting aroused much in
terest and in another year we learn Of
active experiments being tried in Wor-
cester. by a board consisting Of the
superintendent Of public schools, a
member of the School Committee, who
was also one of the directors of the
public library. and the principal of the
normal school. and the librarian of the
public library. They held confer
ence in the fall of 1879, and decided
that the school studies might be made
more interesting and profitable by the
aid of the library, and they selected
geography as the first subject of ex-
pertinent. Then the teachers of sew
eral of the grades were asked what
country they would like to have IL
Illuminated by the use of group of
books of travel in connection with the
Geography of the country The libra
lrian then desired to be kept informed
from time to time Of the countries to
be studied that he might have the
suitable books on hand for the schools
luse. and so the work was at once be-
gun. The classes were brought TO the
library from time to time for the pur-
pose Of seeing large collections OF
books. pictures and other objects bear
ling on the subjects being studied, and
books were loaned the children freely
THE article describing this experiment
was read by the librarian, S. 5
lGreen. who had himself devised the
whole scheme. at a meeting OF the
American Society Library Association
and it stimulated similar efforts II
Iother libraries. so that two years later
1.-The movement was we'll under way anc
has but gained impetus with time
Meanwhile what had the schools
1 done with their part of the co-opera
tive scheme?
,, 1T must be confessed that as BODY
they have been too quiescent--a littl'
! too like the mollusz we hav
, loften been warned by advertisement
I mot to be. and in this connection
NAV mention an extraordinary fact
4 THAT of all the learned professions
! that of teaching has been the last I
recognize the necessity Of specla
. training for its most successful result
/, to be attained in library work. Up to
- comparatively recent date they sat ant
: took what came to them too placidly
+. land their special journals, like edu
cation. merely noted The fact that, j.
the current slang of today, 'somethin
: was doing, but even that observatio
! was not made until about seven year
> latter the movement to help their wor
: was we'll under way. AT last schoo
y superintendent. / know not Of wha
:, Iplace. but it is safe to assume that
= was somewhere in Massachusetts, sug
u gested in an article on teaching tha
" il would be we'll for teachers to Wis
. libraries with their pupils. and in III
1, same journal, Education of 1892 on
= lof Melvil Deweys articles on the hell
= lfulness of such mutual relation wa
T. favorably commented upon in an ed
o torial.
n "The whole subject received its fir'
complete treatment before the Nations
n Library Association in 1892, at Cley'
n LAND. when Mr.. Brett, the librarian {
n lthe Cleveland Public Library, read
n lpaper upon it, He gave a brief sun
re- mary of the history of what had bee
If done elsewhere. and detailed aecoul
,v of what he was doing and spoke
es having been impelled to his own a
40 ton by having overheard a RENAL
10 made by a supervising principal upC
40 the marked superiority in general Il
formation shown by the pupils OF
is school situated near the library, ov
m that by those of another furth
\ removed from it. He naturally DIRE
III the inference that use Of the libra
nd accounted for the difference, and
y began to send books to the more di
of tant schools. which developed so maj
unexpected good results that he d
A. olared himself in favor Of this meth
ts Of inducing reading among seho
Is slchildren. even we're the library to
Ii next door.
. His account Of the work. endors
IA by the teachers he had helped. arous
iall genuine enthusiasm among the teac
Ali ers and at last in 1897 the Natioi
mo Library Association created libra
no department to cooperate with
Of fhn Ar1rrir