Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-04-19

Fifteen months later, in January,
1906, the o-Moorhead Library
club invited all residents of North
Dakota interested in library work
to meet in Fargo for the avowed
purpose of organizing a state assoc
iation, whose efforts were to be di-
rected first and foremost to the es-
adjustment of public library COM
| mission. The day of that meeting
will be memorial one in the his
tory of North Dakota. Though num-
| erically small-about % were in at
tendance-the session was eminently
successful. Interest in the creation
of library commission was aroused
and sooner than the most enthus-
iastic had hoped for it was establish
| ed.
The bill creating the North Dakota
library commission, consisting of the
| president of the North Dakota Lii
brary association, the superintendent
| of public instruction and one suitable
person appointed by the governor,
was passed and approved March 2,
1907. The duties of such a commits
sion are multitudinous, but as the
money appropriated is insufficient for
the director, Miss Zena K. Miller,
with the approval of the commission,
is devoting this year only to the or
ganization of the legislative refer
ence bureau and the travelling librar-
les. The aim of this bureau, intend
ed primarily for the members of the
legislative assembly. is to gather
and index reports, bills, documents,
h1pi
brary on present. day subjects, SO
that the history of legislation and all
possible material on legal and econ
omic problems may be readily avail
able as each question arises" The
travelling libraries, of which about
90 are now available, are sent upon
appliction by any club, school or COM
munity, so that henceforth no rural
list need starve for want of intellect
ua1 food.
A third important line of work
which the commission will undertake
as soon as it's appropriation is in
creased and assistants can be secur-
ed is that of acting as a clearing
house for magazines. AS in other
states, so in North Dakota, individ-
uals, societies and libraries will form
the habit of sending duplicate cop
les of magazines to the commission
at Bismarck, and the commission in
turn will supply, so far as possible,
any desired numbers of magazines
upon application
Without mentioning any other
functions, think it will be evident
to the readers that a library COM
mission is we'll nigh indispensable
nowadays to a progressive commun-
ity.
And lastly, what has Mr. Carnegie
done in furthering library interests
in North Dakota? He has made it
possible for four cities to have public
libraries, which in every case add
beauty and attractiveness to their re-
spective towns, as well as form in
tellectual centers, and for two state
institutions to have college libraries
The Agricultural college, the first of
the benefciaries, moved into it's beau
tiful and commodious building more
than a year ago, and with it's ever
increasing facilities, it's library is
today the best equipped in the state.
1t is one of the designated govern
ment repositories and has therefore
complete sets of federal reports and
documents, fully indexed and easy of
access-a veritable gold mine for the
research student. In addition to
these thousands of volumes, the agri-
cultural college contains not only the
standard but the most recent books
bearing on science and literature. It
subscribes for more than a hundred
leading magazines and journals on all
subjects, the bound volumes of which
for years back are found on it's
shelves. Thus, in this respect, too,
it affords the investigating student an
ample store-house knowledge in
which to carry on his research work
From the foregoing it will be evil
dent beyond the shadow of doubt
that North Dakota is fairly in the
van of progressive states, and that
this new educational force is already
being felt in every community with
in its boundaries. No further proof
of this is needed than the mere men
ton of the fact that such cities as
Minot, Bottineau, Devils Lake and
Dickinson are taking steps leading
to the establishment of public librar-
les in their midst.