Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-01
FORMER EMPLoYE TELLS OF
LIBRARY MIsMANAGEMENT


the Public Letter Box of The Herald
and in Editorials from the People of
the Record, 1 am also in receipt of
numerous private letters, all of much
the same purport, wanting to know
why it is impossible to get books from
the public library; criticising, and just
ly the service provided at the delivery
desks, the money expenditures of the
board, etc, etc.
It seems we'll to answer these col
lectively in an open letter which Will
be of interest to the many people, as
we'll as the letter writer's, who have
told me over long period, Il never go
to the public library any more; you
can't get anything or any attention
these days" Here are a few extracts
from some of the letters l shall an
swer on the subject of the mismanage-
ment of the public library at the pres
emit time:
"I have tried for, year to get
Heckefs riddle of the Universe. -
E. L.
Il passed nearly a whole morning
hunting the numbers of six books on
sociology, and was told each time,
Not in.'''--MRS. S. E. B.
rs the library able to get only one
copy of a book? It seems impossible to
get any new publication without pay
WANTS TO KNOW.
II have tried for about fifteen months
to get Jack London's Sea Wolf" I'm
der the previous management one could
requisition a book with reasonable
chance of getting t."-ANOTHER
TAXPAYER.
I myself, as a reader in the public
library before I made a business con-
nection with it, had the same expert
ence as the readers quoted above. 1t
seemed to me at that time that by the
law of chance book l asked for should
now and then fall to me, particularly
as 1 was not reading new fiction or the
so-called popular books; but 1t never
did. Invariably I had to take what I
could get. not what I had asked for
Here, then, is what I later came to
know, and the reasons for the present
general lameness;
First-The public library is support
ing and attempting to operate ten
branch libraries and fifteen deposit sta
lions. This means that they have cut
the Los Angeles public library into
twenty-siX parts, and the particular
book you call for al the desk of the
main library may be standing on a
shelf at any one of these twenty-siX
points, when you wait some ten
or fifteen minutes To have 1t brought
you, after having spent another ten or
fifteen minutes in choosing and finding
its number in the catalogue.
1t is only within the last two years
there has been any buying of books eX-
clusively for branch use; these twenty
five branches and deposits depend for
their existence on the main library
stock, excepting the handful I secured
for branches during my superintend-
ency. In the annual report for 1907 the
librarian boasts: I'VE are far better
supplied with branches than New York
or Boston," and he tells in the same
report they have added five deposit
stations that year. and in the 1908 re-
port they have added seven more and
one branch. This pursuant of the IL
brarian's policy In the face of report
after report from me as superintendent
of branches that the branch Libraries
and deposit stations were sapping the
life of the main library and were kill
ing rather than making an efficient
service for the people
The New York public library never
dreamed of q system of branches until
the gift of 100000 was made by ]. P.
Morgan, and another $S,0000O0 was APP
propriated by the city for branch pur-
poses exclusively.
Can any one see any wisdom in split
ting up the books about the town in
small lots? Why should public library
books stand on the shelves of the Y.
NJ. c. A. library or the Y. w. c. A.
library, instead of in their proper place,
where every one would have the same
chance of getting them? Even the
Home Telephone company and the
Bishop & Co. factory have little libra
ries set up out of public library stock.
Is It any wonder you can't get books
from the public library?
Deposit stations-Los Angeles high
school library Los Angeles Polytechnic
I, forI,r aTig n
church, Hollenbeck Home, Los Angeles
public school library Home Telephone
company, Barlow Medical library, Play
ground No. 1 (Violet street,, Jewish
Women's Foreign Relief association,
Playground No. 2 echo park, Play
ground No. 8 (Recreation Center), New
man Methodist Episcopal church, Young
Mems Christian association, Young
Women's Christian association, the
Bishop & Co. factories.
Second-As to the card catalogue in
use. The library is offering to the
public through this catalogue books
they do not now own and which by
their own inventories they have not had
for years. One of the first things a
true business person in authority would
do would be to revise and recast the
catalogue, making 1t represent, as it
purports to, the contents of the library
to date. AS 1t is, if 1t were cut one
fourth it would perhaps come some
what near the truth.
Year after year inventories are taken
and hundreds of books reported lost,
and the catalogue is never touched.
One wonders why they take an inven-
tory. Is it to satisfy their curiosity
merely? With most libraries it is for
the purpose of closing their books, writ
ing off profit and loss" as they do in
commercial houses.
Third-With the immense use the
books have it will be easily understood
how necessary is a uniform and steady
purchase for the circulating depart
ments Then, if all buying stops for
seven months at a time and all binding
stops for the same time, ask you to
imagine the condition of the stock at
the end of that period. If this sort of
thing is tolerated indefinitely there will
soon be no public library-the books
through wear and tear and theft, are
gradually melting away. To keep up
with this requires. vigilance and careful
buying and good business judgment
everywhere There is no vigilance, no
careful buying, no good business judg-
ment in the present administration.
Fourth-The Los Angeles public
library is primarily a free public cir
culating library, with a reference de-
partment This fact has long been lost
sight of, and a reference library is be
ing built within and at the expense Of
the circulating library
While all the patrons at the delivery
desks are being turned away without
books. or with books they don't want
or with books so ragged and dirty they