Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-07-02

The leaves must be cut. and while it
is sometimes a pleasant occupation
To cut single magazine, when YOU
can talk meanwhile with an inter
esting companion, and play ut work
yet without the tete-a-tete. with
fifty other things to be done in the
same moment and the tantalizing
Haunting before your eyes of ar
ticles you may not stop to read, it
becomes irksome. especially when
like the DISTINGUISHING of the house
keeper, it is continually to be done
over. But, great as is the amount
of labor involved in the proper cir
culation of the books, and | have
given only hint of it. this is in
reality only Il small part of the Ii
brarian'S work, and, if this were all,
the thrifty librarian might i'm time
take To knitting between times.
The labor of properly cataloguiRg
Il library of this size might well re-
quire the continual service of 4
skilled worker. The modern card
catalogue places the entire contents
of library at the finger ends of even
inexperienced scholars. and is of
inestimable value to the student who
must refer to many books. In the
card catalogue in the lettered draw
ers every book in the library is ar
ranged according to the authors
name. subject matter, and title, and
all phabetically. SHOULD you de
sire TO make a special study of some
author. YOU have only to look under
his name. Should you desire to work
on some selected topic. YOU will find
every book bearing on that topic
under its heading. If country is
to he studied. all available books are
given under its name, arranged ac-
cording to subject treated. art. travel.
religion, people, etc. Even casual
thought will show the amount of
close labor required To make and
keep up such Il catalogue. But there
are special subjects that are often
required for reference. Christmas,
Thanksgiving, Flag day, and the like.
TO find all the available books and
magazine articles on these subjects
would require much time ON each oc-
caSion. so special bulletins are pre-
pared. typewritten and usually illus
trated. and here the student may
find everything in prose or poetry.
books, or magazine articles. y wide
and accurate knowledge of books is
a positive necessity for this work,
and the labor required may be esti-
mated from the fact that in the Chi
cago public library it requires the
exclusive services of one assistant
on the cards. aud Il large part of the
time of another on magazine work
alone. while third devotes about
half of the time to portrait articles |
in current periodicals, and the |
special bulletins, without illustra+i
tion, fall to the lot of still another,
and this is for the reference depart |
ment alone.
1t should be Il source of pride to
Rock Island people to know that its
public library is as perfectly cata- |
logued and arranged for reference
as the Bloomington public library, |
which. numbering only about one
third more volumes. has working |
force of one librarian and eight as
sistants. while this city has one Ii |
brarian and one assistant. The |
librarian in a small city where. every |
one knows his neighbOr has Il differ
cnt kind of knowledge of the reading /
public than the librarian in a great /
city. The personal element enters in /
more largely. The work of such Il |
librarian among the children and |
young people will tell greatly on the |
future of a city. and nowhere is there /
more imperative need of leisure to
plan. direct and influence, than right |
here. where the best book chosen at |
the best time may tell on the destiny !
of child, and of the city. She |
should find it possible to so adjust |
the purely mechanical work that /
il may rest upon the shoulders of less |
experienced and cheaper helpers, and |
leave her quiet hours of leisure i'm
which to plan and direct. So may |
she conform with O. w. Holmes adj |
vice to begin with the grandfather in |
educating the child. Liking to read |
comes partly by M tb, partly by |
training. 1t can be 8ANSily acquired
in childhood. and easily directed by |
one who is interested. intelligent. and |
helpful, but such an one must have
behind her years of intimate acquain-
tance with books: no veneer can suf-
flee. The fact that - per cent of
all books issued from the Rock Island
library are drawn from the juvenile |
department tells its own story of the |
patient, steady effort that has been
put forth by its librarian in the
midst of all her other manifold du-
ties. and is. i'm addition. plea for a |
well equipped children's department |
i'm the new building. The per cent of
fiction issued from this library Is |
also below the average, and this |
speaks for the tendency of its readers
toward student work. None of these
things happens in library; they are
toiled for. through long and often
discouraging years.
Every class of people should be
Interested. and actiNelN SO. in the |