The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-11-01
LIBRARY STATS
The Requisite Qualifications Of . Libra
rian and His Assistants.

QueSu0n OF tnelr administration one
to be carefully considered. The trus-
tees or directors Of such libraries have
but an indirect voice in their manage
ment, the actual administrative head
being the librarian, while the routine
work is done by his staff of, assistants.
If the librarian is fitted for the posi-
ton and the assistants have been care
fully selected, the work Of the library
will 60 on smoothly and regularly,
and no reasonable person will be likely
to find cause for complaint. But the
governing boards of many public IL
braries seem to have a very shadowy
idea of the qualifications required to
make a good librarian, while in the
selection of his. assistants, who are
usually young women, the curious
pseudo-chivalry of America plays by
far too large a part. A young girl
may smile with the studied sweetness
of a soubrette, facing q large and ap-
proving audience, and yet be profound.
~ ignorant of books; an elderly maiden
may wear spectacles and'a perpetual
frown, and still share in the ignorance
Of her more youthful and attractive
sisters. Probably the directors and
trustees of public Libraries have not
yet learned the truth of the old French.
proverb: Femme ct melon a pierre
les cOnnait-on."
Precisely what constitutes a good.
librarian Is a much-disputed question.
He should, of course, be a good admin.
istrative officer; he should possess at
least a general knowledge Of the
worlds literature; he should be tact
full, considerate, long-suffering, diplo-
matte. A knowledge Of at least two
foreign languages, namely, French and
German, is almost Indispensable, and
it is difficult to carry on the work OF
arranging and cataloguing a large col
lection Of books without q knowledge
ofHLatin.. The librarian who does not
understand several languages will be
continually at a loss in his daily work.
If he depends on the learning of 9TH
ers, his position will be far from agree
able or satisfactory. In the case Of as
s%istants, at least an elementary knowl-
edge Of Latin, French and German
should be required. The stats of the
great libraries Of Europe are SO or
gained that no question Of language,
either modern or classic, can possibly
interfere with the routine work Of the
day.
: 1t need scarcely be said that the man
who has charge of several hundred
thousand books should be. a man of
system. The librarian who is without
a system, who does not know how to.
economic time, is lost. Each days
business should be SO organized as
to show a distinct advance at the end.
Every assistant should have well-de-
fined duties, and should be required to
learn all the. methods peculiar to IL
brary economy including, above all
things, the economy of time. Firm
ness, too, should characterize the gov
eminent of all public libraries, and
there should be no discrimination in
favor of any one. All disputed ques-
tons as to the observance of any rule
or regulation should be decided at once
and in as few words as possible. The
decision should be at once courteous
and firm, and it should be made known
that it was final. Of course this means
that the librarian should have an We
temper, and the resources Of a trained.
diplomat at his command. Eccentric
and wrong-headed people seem to drift
naturally through the doors of public
Libraries, and it is with these that the
librarian and his assistants must learn
to deal in such a way that the usual
routine of the days work shall not be
interrupted:
"A librarian who takes a real interest
in the books placed under his charge
will see that his assistants are neat
and orderly in, their habits. This does
not mean neatness in their own person
so much as in the performance Of their
daily duties. A hairpin, for instance,
is q useful article when a young
woman is making her toilet; but it
should not be used to cut the leaves Of
a book or magazine. Neither does it
make a good bookmark while searching
for quotations. dates or historical allu-
sions. The assistant librarians should
be taught that the welfare Of the ii:
brary is largely in their hands, and
that any neglect or carelessness will
result in confusion and add both to
their own labor and that Of others.
Dust and disordered shelves, and a
slovenly air of neglect, are sure to
excite public criticism and bring a Ii
brary into disrepute. On the other
hand, q well-kept carefully arranged
collection Of books calls forth favor
able comment and makes a direct DIP
peal to all true lovers of literature.
A famous old Philadelphia library be-
came at n time notorious for it's un-
cleanliness. When a book was taken
from the shelves the dust of unnum-
bered years arose in binding, suffo.
eating clouds. Stray leaves from di-
lapidated volumes drifted about the
unswept floors. Indeed, the rooms of
this ancient foundation finally became
so unkempt in appearance that they
seemed to be q fit abiding place for
the man all tattered and torn, who
kissed the maiden all f~orlorn, who
MIXED the COW with the crumplad