The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-10-19
LIBRARIANS NOW
AT ASBURY PARK
State Association Holds Its
Annual Meeting at the
City by the Sea.
GREAT INCREASE OF INTEREST
PRESIDENT DANA IN HIS AD-
DRESS ADVOCATES BCoN0MI-
CAL MANAGEMENT T-AsSoCIA-
TION PAMPHLETS.
Special to ''The Jersey city News p

Special TO THE Jersey City News."l
ASBURY PARK, Oct 19, 1906
The annual meeting of the New Jersey
Library association, of which john Cot
ton Dana, librarian at Newark, is presi-
dent, was begun here yesterday after
noon.
President Dana, in his opening re-
marks, called special attention to the
growth of library interest in the state
during the last year. This has been
shown in several ways.
The public library commission, he ex-
planned, engaged early last winter Miss
Sarah B Askew as travelling agent and
organizer This is the first time New
Jersey has had such an official, though
many of the western states have pro-
NOTED their library interests by such
means for several years Miss Askew,
after a reception given in her honor by
the New Jersey Library association, in
the Newark library. in January imme-
diately began to make herself acquainted
| with library conditions in New Jersey
by visiting nearly all its libraries, and,
during the year has visited many of them
more than once. Being graduate of
library school and skilled in modern
library methods, she has been able to
be of great assistance to many Librarians
and trustees in the smaller towns.
The last session of the Legislature,
Mr. Dana said, gave to the public IL
brary commission the management of
AZ nj rtv
in number, containing several thousand
volumes. These had formerly been under
/ the control of the commission of the
! State library. Miss Askew, in accord
ance with the commissions IDEAS, has
| advertised these libraries more widely,
and has succeeded in creating so great
a demand for them throughout the State
that the supply is very gratifying to the
State Federation of Women's Clubs,
which was largely instrumental in estab-
fishing the travelling library system in
| New Jersey
1t is very important. Mr.. Dana de-
| clared, that even the smallest library be
well and economically administered.
They cannot. be so administered unless
! the person in charge of them is familiar
with modern library methods, and is ac-
| quainted with some of the details of
book purchasing. The public library
commission concluded that. in the fight
of its own observation, and of the re-
ports made by Miss Askew as to the
conditions in many of the small libraries
| of the State, it could make no better use
of part of its appropriation than by
establishing and maintaining next year
q short library summer school.
Miss Askew reported that the school
will be continued for four weeks in June
or July; that the teachers, the material
and the books on which to work will be
| furnished by the commission, the only
expense for those who attend it being
cost of board, which can be obtained for
| So per week
The years work of the New Jersey
Library association has been nearly
/ along the same lines as that of the com
mission and its organizer At the time
of the regular joint meeting with the
/ Philadelphia Library club, at Atlantic
/ City in March, a special meeting of the
association was held to discuss the pro
/ posed summer school. On March Ii an
interesting meeting, with 100 in attend
/ ance, was held in the Newark library.
| This was particularly devoted to the
! problems of the assistants in libraries.
large and small. Two other special meet
ings for library assistants have been
| held during the year-one at Englewood
on June II and one at Madison, October
4 These were arranged for and carried
| through by the assistants themselves.
and gave them an opportunity to discuss
/ question of particular interest to them.
During the year the association has
published three pamphlets Last of
Members. and the Constitution and BY
| laws; Talk to Librarians" by Mr..
Garrison, editor of the New York Ma
tion, being the address delivered by him
at the annual meeting in Orange, last
October; and "List Of Aids in Book
Selection" booklet compiled by Miss
! Winser, of the Newark library, later re-
printed by the American Library asso-
ciation and distributed TO several thou
sand smaller libraries of the country.
4 Y. Lansing Collins. reference librarian
at Princeton University, has recently re-
turned from year in England and Eu-
rope He spent much of his time while
abroad in libraries. The chief object of
his visit to these libraries was to make
investigations into the life of John With
erspoon. He told Of his adventures in
foreign libraries.
John Witherspoon, as most Jerseyrner
know, was a Presbyterian clergyman
and college president in the early days
Of New Jersey. He was born, in Had
dingtonshire. Scotland, February Is,
/ 1874. He was parish minister of Beth,
1745-57; pastor of Paisley, 1757-6S;
/ president of the College of New Jersey
(now ealleS Princeton university in
/ 1T6S. He was delegate for six years
from New Jersey to the Continental
congress. and was signer of the Declar-
alton of Independence
Mr.. Collins proposes to make his study
OF John Witherspoon's life careful. and.
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