The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-07-22
Big TASK FOR WOMAN
Miss A. R. HaSSe Completes
First of Fifty Volumes.
LISTS OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
Los Angeles Girl Has Established
Name for Herself by Compiling IN
dex of Historical Papers-RecOrds
fer Maine Ready According 10 An
nOuneement OF Institution.

The Carnegie Institution is sending out
prosaic little leafet which announces
that the first volume IS ready OF a series
/ OF fifty quarto volumes which viii com
prise an index OF economic material con
/ tained IN the documents published by the
/ States Of the United States. II goes on tc
say that the work is being done under
/ the supervision Of Miss Adelaide r. Hasse
librarian Of the department OF documents
/ in the New York Public Library, which
/ conveys very little to the lay mind Of a
/ unique profession and an unusual achieve
ment. These State document indexes de-
/ scribe the subjects which have engaged
the attention Of the officials and the peo-
4 pie Of the various States since the date
Of the Federal Constitution in 1883, and
even TO an ordinary observer serve to
throw many interesting side-lights upon
the history OF the States.
Maine is the subject OF the first volume
OF this series. and. although admitted 70
the Union in $50. the first book OF col
! lected State documents is dated 1880
This leaves the records Of official acts
for nine years a matter Of conjecture or
depends upon the finding Of a leahet or
pamphlet in some obscure hiding place,
while a few cherished rarities in some
library give hints of information.
Has Worked Eight Years.
To search the collections and cata-
iogues Of libraries Of historical and other
learned societies, records Of book sales.
and private collections, for State docu-
ments. is the foundation OF the work
Of Miss Hasse. For eight years she has
been building ZAP the document depart
ment of the New York Public Library.
until at the present lime 1t contains about
/ 10000 volumes OF official documents OF
I the United States government. Of the
States OF the Union, and OF foreign
1 countries. There is probably no such
and when il is made available IN its
J completeness, in the new. building OF the
| New York Public Library. II will be
/ visited by tho historians. statesmen. and
scholars OF our States and those of other
/ countries. in order 10 have access To "a
/ complete file OF the Official publications
/ Of their own countries. Until very re-
Gently there has been an amazing degree
I OF indifference on the part OF many oi
our States TO the preservation OF the rec
ords of their official history, and the re-
/ ports Of State officers and legislatures
were viewed so indlferently that no one
thought Of preserving them because Of
their future historical value.
Some Unusual Finds.
y. a ~
has had strange examples Of unusual
finds" and is not surprised to and a
governors message az early South Caro-
Ina days listed in hating English in a
Vienna book dealers catalogue. or a Tus-
cany state paper offered for sale in
Omaha. Nebr These state indexes Will
in many cases. furnish State officials with
the first intimation that certain pubIica-
tons have ever been issued by their
departments. while there has probably
never been such a series published OF like
extent and importance bearing the name
of a woman as editor. Miss Hasse S
career has an element Of the romantic
for one dealing with such dull material
as public documents are thought To be
Sixteen years ago she entered a public
library for the first time in her life. "a
apply for the position OF library attend
ant: this was I'm Los Angeles Cal, and
she got the appointment IN the library
that was Just being organized. Within
a year she was made assistant librarian
and in that library began the study of
arrangement and indexing Of the United
States public documents. at the end OF
three years she sent a check list OF
the publications Of the Department Of
Agriculture TO Washington TO have that
department verify 1t.
Surprise TO Them.
The officials wrote that she indexed
some publications that the department
had no record Of, and did not know 1t
had published. The Department of Agri-
culture published Miss Hasse's list as a
special bulletin, with an Introduction
stating that the necessity for such a list
had long been recognized as being a
valuable aid TO students, Librarians, and
TIE department itself
The fact that a girl in Los Angeles had
executed this necessity that the DEPART
ment had not got round to in the ffty-four
years of its existence aroused some COM
ment in Washington, and as the Office Of
the Superintendent Of Documents had just
been created, Miss Hasse was offered tie
position of document librarian, although
she knew no one IN Washington, and had
never been east Of Chicago in her life.
Her work in the document Office was
summed up in q report by the superin-
tendent in which he said that the libra
~ Of the documents Of the United States
government as long as Il shall endure
will remain a monument to the intelli-
gence, zeal, and industry Of Adelaide R.
Hasse-"
Kept Helpers HustIing,
There had never been collected a COM
plete file Of the publications OF the gov
eminent assembled into a library; each
department and the Capitol storehouses
were choked with tons Of government pub
LEGATIONS piled in disorderly heaps Hun
dreds of thousands Of volumes were
moved and inspected until the name Of
Miss Hasse became a terror TO an army
of government helpers" who. under her
leadership, delved into cellars and attics
without air or light, but always docu-
nents and more documents, Miss Hasse
holding a candle, while q line of men
passed the weishty words Of legislators
as ships crew passes coal. Then Dr. Bill
lings, the director Of the New York pub.
lie library, who so thoroughly recognizes
the value of official literature" which Is
the polite term for public documents. got
Miss Hasa RI ooroa n Nm,