The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-11
YOUNG MEMS INSTITUTE.
YEARS WORK REVIEWED BY
 PRESIDENT FRENCH
At the Annual Meeting of the Organi- zatiOn Held October sth-Changes and Imprnvements-The New Fea- lures Added.

To the Members of the Young Mems Institute:
 At the close of it's seventy-six year the institute finds itself in an extreme ly healthy condition The additions to the library have been unusually large. The general public has been more in eV- idence, and the membership has steadi- ly increased. A much needed improve ment has been made by the construc- tiOn of modern doors at the entrance and putting up of attractive signs, which no longer leave the passer-by in doubt as to the identity of our location. The appearance of the alcove has also been greatly improved by the removal to the upper room of a large number of books that were rarely called for and loaned. This change removes the books from the upper and lower shelves, and renders the remaining ones much more accessible to our patrons. This culling process is one that should go on regu- larly. The time has gone by when an up-to-date library will necessarily keep it's entire stock of books massed togeth- CT in its room of circulation. If the shelves are open to the public the books that are most in demand may we'll be placed so that they can be found by their users with the least possible de- lay.
 During the year an increased number of applicants have offerer themselves for training in library work and fitting for permanent sservfce. Two years of training'is required for knowledge of the various branches of the work, and even this can only be superficial training for the arduous work of a skilled librarian. Two of our graduates have already found positions in the Public Library, and the pressing needs of this great institution will undoubted- ly call for more helpers from year to year, The four young ladies who have | been nAtraining during the past year have evinced great aptitude for the work, and their aid has been invalua- ble in increasing the efficiency and promptitude of our service.
 DELIVERY DEPARTMENT, . i More than year ago the directors de- cided to undertake the delivery of books at the homes of subscribing patrons who applied for this privilege. This was done in response to an apparent de- mand. and because such system was already in use ifi the city An 3attrac- i tive prospectus was issued, and a lini-. ted amount of advertising was done for 1 the information of possible patrons. Our offer was very liberal one and attract ed general attention bringing to us a fair number of subscribers. The | system involved a great amount of ex- 1 tra care and labor, but 1t was carried on by our librarian with such skill and efficiency as to provoke not single just complaint We placed no limit on the selection of books, except that they should not be technical or on subscrip- ton lists. The offer was too liberal, for it compelled us to purchase many costly books that were not on the shelveasof the Public or university libraries. Though not strictly technical, they were upon special subjects, would inly circu- late once or twice, and hence brought no adequate pecuniary returns. We were therefore obliged to limit the price of books that might be selected, and use OuE pWi uISClCLlOtt III IAiC pulSbiesSS cA costly ones Even so the system is not a great success, and is hardly likely to be a source of much profit. Recently, as contracts have expired, we have limi- 1 ted our subscribers to books that we would purchase in any event, and have advanced the subscription price to cov- CT the expense of delivery. Moreover, we are only making our contracts for brief periods. It is certain that the op- portunity to read once week new or popular book is very attractive to some people, many of whom are too busy to go regularly to the library for the pur- pose of selection. But we cannot afford to do the business at loss, and the whole question of the management of this department must receive prompt attention from the directors
 SPECIAL LOAN DEPARTMENT.
 The special loan system grew out of the inordinate desire for the immediate reading of every new book that attains unusual popularity. Such books are re- served upon request, and often there will be waiting list of thirty or more for a single book. No library can af- fOfQ 10 puTCudSe all tue uupllCdLSS needed to satisfy this demand, for these books usually have"a brief popularity and are then unstable. To relieve the congested waiting list we offer dupli- cates of regular books at ten cents a week, and sometimes have bought as many as forty copies of one book. As soon as the book has earned nearly it's value it is offered for sale at some price, the purpose being to avoid any accumu- lation of these duplicates.
 During the past year we have made this department the outlet for many of the delivery" books that were not ap- proved for the regular library, and have thus been enabled to redeem the loss in the delivery. This branch of our library is conducted precisely like q private circulating library, and is very popular with many patrons. Some of kthenl secure all their books in this way, and do not take out a membership ticket, though the latter is much more economical, While we do not aim to make this department a source of pro- fit, we try to keep on hand enough cop ies of the most popular books to enable any one who will pay the regular fee to read book at once. The privilege is not restricted to members, but is open to every resident of New Haven or vicinl- ty.
 PERIODICALS.
 Few of our members realize the large