Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-09-15
GIRL IS LIBRARY GENIUS
Great Book Collection at Washington
Managed by Bay State Young
Woman.

place among the country's great store
houses of literature.
It's librarian in chief. Miss Josephine
Adelaide Clark, is woman Of mark
Ell ability and literary culture who
has done much to bring the library t.
its present state of completeness
st.;-es the Star.
Unlike many of the so-called depart
ment libraries in the capital, the col
lection Of the agricultural dc ,2rtment
is devoted almost entirely 20 scientific
anG technical publications.
In one corner are few old and
Wolh looks that indicate the early eX
jsttnce of miscellaneous assortment
OF fiction, poetry and history, similar
to that which makes up the average
library of the departments. But these
are simply the collection o. what
once was and in no way reflect the
wonderful character of that magniti-
cent collection of works that stands
today without peer in the world,
dealing exclusively with agriculture,
and kindred indsutrial subjects
There are on the shelves toJay S2,-
c75 volumes, the largest collection of
agricultural works ever gathered TO-
gether in any country. There are
larger collections Of some specific
branch of scientific inquiry, such as
the chronological library in Philade]-
phia, but nowhere such generous
array covering the whole field of in
dustrial and agricultural literature.
The current periodicals alone kept on
file aggregate 1,450.
The institution is free to the pub
lie, and its shelves are constantly WIS.,
tied by students and persons making
research on scientific and technical
topics.
Miss Clark. whose genius as IL
brarian has developed this library TO
the present limits of usefulness, has
had a long and thorough training for
her task. She is a native of Massa-
having been born in Weston
30 years ago. Graduating from Smith
college in 1880, Miss Clark took up
the occupation of teaching. accepting
position in Prospect Hill school,
Greenfield, where she remained from
1880 to 1888, when she became associ-
ate principal of a private school at
Rutland, VT. from 1884 to 1888.
Library work, however, seems to
have attracted her more than teach
ing, for in the last-named year she
abandoned teaching and took course
as student in the New York library
school. fros1 which she graduated to
accept position as assistant in the
Gray herbarium at Harvard, where
she remained during 1S90-91.
Miss Clark's next advancement was
to the library Of the agriculture de-
where she was assistant IL
brarian until 1891. when she was ap-
pointed likrarian-in-c chief.
Miss Clark is an authority on botan-
lcal photography. Several years ago
she published an elaborate index to
all new species of plants Her duties
at the head of the government libral7
are so Onerous, however. and exact
so much of her time, that Miss Clark
was compelled to foreeo the work of
the index, and it is now
added to from year to year at the
Gray Eerbarinm. The work was so
thorough in its character that the
scientists in that field would not per-
NIT it 10 he abandoned
Will" Miss Clark is not lineust
IN the usual meaning of the word. she
is able to read Gel:na and French flu
entity. Many Of the most valuable
G. nNltUtiCGS TO scientific literature
come from France and Germany. anil
Miss Clark has done much in the wav
of translatina such works as are es-
sential to tbe purposes of the experts
of the department.
Although her time IS occupied to
the utmost, Miss Clark has prepared
land keeps current a card system in
deX 10 all the department puhica
lions circulated among the libraries
IT The country. These cards are plinjci
al the library OF n@yess for the de
partmCnt and sent to the various Ii
H"aries, with the result that their in
dieos are up to date. instead of havins
TO wait the leisure of the librarians