Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-02

nolitical issue in any place. l should fancy
that If 1t were, IT would be popular oae.
1t is hard to estimate the whole NUMBER
oe patrons in this country, or the percent
age. of the populat on, that take advantage
of library facilities. 1t is not unusual lor
from 20 to 40 per cent of the entire popu-
la ton of city to be represented on Inc
lists of the public library cardholders. l
on, familiar with many small cities in the
middle west where the number OF cafd-
holders has equaled 80 per cent of the en-
fire population, and / presume there are
instances where it has run even more than
Profession of Librarian.
"Js library keeping becoming profess
sion?'' 1 asked
"rbe education of public sentiment IN
fayor of the employment of skilled work
ers specially prepared at professional
schools. has naturally been somewhat SLOW
and has followed very largely the lines OF
a battle fought in the same connection ny
the teachers of the country schools LOT the
last twenty or thirty years. Time was
whom IL was felt that anybody could teach
school Normal schools were unheard or
teachers colleges non-existent ana the spe-
cial training now considered lnolspenSapie
For such separate branches of the work as
kindergarten was scoffed at as nonsense
s'The library movement following some
quarter of a century later has had. about
the same opposition to contena S VIII; "f
the frnportant libraries of the country are
now in the hands of trained workers ana
that the proportion is constantly increasihs
There are also many cases where the heao
~ the library has had long tenure OF
office dating back beyond the time wnen
IT was considered that trained WORKERS
were necessary. Many OF these librarians
are without technical training, neVer1ne-
Iess are firm believers in 1t, and they re-
cr,1it the assistants for their own stan from
the ranks of those who are specially pre-
nared There can be no doubt as 10 the
effect that the trained librarians nave hao
ora can have on the usefulness OF any
library. A library in the hands OF untrain,
ed people may appear to be doing soou
work and las often happens) II Is not until
such a library has passed into Thoroughly
comnetent hands that a community wakes
nm to find what really well administered
Iihrarv means and to discover how many
opportunities have never been realized OF
lived up to by the old administration.
Range Of Salaries.
How about salariesT'
1.-The highest salaries paid range from
s7 600 to $40, COO and are paid, as rule, 10
the heads Of our largest municipal library
systems-a class of libraries that pays bel
ter salaries generally than the university,
college or reference libraries. Among the
large Libraries the salaries of men may De
said to range from 5000 to S0oo and IN
the same libraries the highest salary palo
to a woman is 81 100 though that is not
the highest salary paid to woman IN
American libraries The average salary
paid to men occupying responsive suoo.
dinate positions in the larger libraries Is
about 81 200 and to women about $5oo'
while in the lower grades of assistants IN
these libraries the salaries of the men ana
women are more nearly equal averaging
about $500 for each. Among smaller
Libraries the salaries to men range from
81 900 to $1,000 and to women $500 to 5000.
Women greatly outnumber the men IN