The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-06-05
THE STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
Sixth Annual Meeting Held at Fort
Worth Last Week

otdtt IIiDl dl ASSoCldlloH met III the
spacious club rooms of the Fort
Worth Carnegie library the first and
second of June, and Sims Library of
WaNanachie was ably represented by
Miss Irene d. Galloway, with her
humble assistant thrown in for good
measure. 1t was all new and wonder
fully interesting to the humble as
sistant, fer though she has att dec
many and various conventions IN iler
life--social, religious, and nea.
enough to the political to feel the
heat thereof-yet a convention Of II
brarians was something altogether
new and strange in her experience.
When Mark Twain was airing the
financial basis of Christian Science
he said we could take the facts and
figure it out for ourselves-that he
could easily do the figuring himself
only that he had fall the day be-
fore, hurting his leg, and didn't feel
like it. | had not sustained a fall
or an injury thereby, but to save my
life l couldn't figure out how my
attendance at this convention was to
benefit anything, or anybody, but
the librarian said it would, and what
the librarian says goes-with the as
sistant. And so it came about that
was there early and often, in all the
glory reflected upon me by one IL
brary at home-eager to see, anx-
ious to hear, ready and willing to
learn evrything in range of my lmi-
tied capacity-and as a means to
that end, and as an evidence that
was there to do something, l under
took, the first thing, to get up few
statistics as to the number present.
perhaps, but as the majority were
women, fluttering about like bits OF
glass in a kaleidoscope, the task
was exceedingly difficult of accom-
plishment. However. when the gavel
fell and we all fell with it-into the
waiting chairs-I found there was
all the way from seventeen to TWEEN
ty-five present, including the afore-
said humble assistant, and two gen.
tlemen, who, on account of their
lone minority had no trouble in be-
coming the heroes of the occasion at
once, and getting their lightest
word regarded as law. In fact, so far
as I could understand, everything
written, read, or spoken, was law
library law-and it didn't take me
ten minutes to begin making sudden
and alarming discoveries of things l
didn't know. There have been a few
times in the past three years when
some faint glimmering of library
science has beautifully illuminated
my pathway in life, but as / listened
to these earnest, energetic workers
discussing the probabilities of their
profession-the binding of books,
the shelving of books, the housing of
books, the using of books, especial
ly by the business man Of the day
Il realized overwhelmingly that l
was out of the running, and could
never be in it at all. 1t is the con-
tents of book that I care for, and
not its binding, shelving, or even it's
housing. I wouldn't give a rap for
the binding of book; l have no
choice whatever between the "steel
stacks or the ordinary wooden shell
yes; the books would be just as de-
s!rable to me if they were tumbled
down on the floor somewhere, among
the sofa pillows and rugs; or outside
on the grass under the trees-if the
rain were not pouring down. AS for
getting the business MAJ to use the
library books" So far as l am indi-
vidually concerend, it wouldn't mar
my pleasure in the least If he never
availed himself of that which is as
free to him as it is to me. If he
wants the books he will get the
books. He knows they are within
reach, or if he doesn't know, it is his
own fault, and I'd as soon think of
roping and leading him up to his
daily bread as to try to induce him
to partake of mental food if he didn t
want it. I've met a few am glad
to say only few-men, myself who
have the idea that the library con-
tains only novels, fairy tales and
funny papers for the women and chill
dren. but | must confess their opin-
ions were forgotten as soon as ex-
pressed and ! was not particularly
concerned about what they did, or
did not think-mostly did not be-
lieve the question of How to get
men to use the library" was left by