The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-07-10
THE WORK Of
THE LIBRARIES
The Great Library Association
and Its Varied
Enterprises.
advertiser Correspondence, Copyright
by Frederic j. Haskin)


by Frederic j. Haskin.)
MINNETONKA, Mimi, June 25.-
"The best reading for the greatest
number at the least COST is the motto
of the American Library Association,
which will assemble tomorrow at Min
netonka, Mimi, this being the thir-
teenth annual meeting of that progress
sive body The convention will last
until July ,, and the discussions, led
by men and women who have made a
life work of library keeping, library
building and education in general, as
.exemplifed in ibary work, will touch
on every branch of the woodwork
that grows broader and more compre
hensive every year. To secure the full
realization of this aim, its activities
include state library commissions, IL
brary schools and training classes, IL
brary advertising, rooms for children
and for the blind, cooperation with
teachers, interlibrary loans, library
architecture and various other like in
terests pertaining to the development
of the work.
Affiliated with the association in its
active life are the League of Library
Commissions, the National Association
of State Libraries, and the American
Association of Law Libraries. Two
other associations that the association
hopes to have affiliated with it soon
are the photographed Society of
America and the American Association
of Medical Libraries. Membership Is
open to library workers and others in
terested in the work, the latest roster
of members showing a little over 1000,
Of whom twenty-three are not connect
I'd directly with libraries in any way.
Permanent headquarters for the asso-
citation were established in Boston in
1906.
Public libraries have become one of
the most important factors in the gen.
eral educational movement of the eoun
try. Professor William P. Trent of
Columbia recently stated that four
things support the nation-the church,
the court of law, the school and the
library. In the thirty-two years of its
existence the American Library Asso
citation has done much to raise the edu-
cational standard of the nation. The
association was one of the many pro-
yressive movements that found its be-
ginning in the Philadelphia Centen-
NAL of 1876. 1t came as a result of a
three days conference of librarians.
1t stated its purpose to be the promo
tion of library interests, the inter
change of experience and opinion, the
obtaining of best results with the least
of money and labor, and
the advancement of the profession of
Since the Centennial the
has, with the exception of
two years, held annual meetings in va
rious cities.
The earliest libraries were those con.
nected with educational institutions,
establishing the first in 1878.
Charleston had public library in 100.
1t was not long after the opening of
this one that public library began
its existence in North Carolina. The
North Carolina General Assembly,
sitting in biennial session at the
home of Captain Richard Saunders
at Little River in the winter of
passed an act "for Sc
curing the public library belonging to
st. Thomas parish in Pamlico." The
first Harvard library was not especi-
ally rich in books, the number in the
Pamlico library or the Charleston one,
is unknown. These were the small be-
ginnings, but from such and from the
private libraries of early Americans
has grown up the comprehensive free
library of today.
There are now about 1000 public, So
umes and over These have over
100000 volumes. This allows a Ii
brary to about 10000 people, even
when the village and travelling libraries
are not included, and every group of
eighteen people may have free, eleven
books to read as they please. In the
North Atlantic States there are 1875
books to every 100 person, and the
proportion varies with the population,
the wealth or the standard of literaey
in each State. In the District of CO.
lumbia there are 925 books to every
100 persons; in Massachusetts $50, in
California 1871, and in Florida and
West Virginia only fifteen. The num-
Der of libraries shows as great a di-
versity of figures, the states being led
by New York. which has nearly 1000
libraries, one-seventh of all in the
United States, and about 100000
volumes. over a fifth of all the library
books. Massachusetts, ranks next with