The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-10

papers once a week and notices OF
the library were hung In public
places. A book social, under the
auspices of the Woman's Club, not
only brought many to the library who
We're not in the habit of coming. but
was the means of aiding a number
OF new books to the library and a
considerable sum to the BOOB fund.
The library Sunday proved an excel
lent method OF bringing to the atten-
ton Of the public generally, the OPP
po%rtunities afforded by an Intelligent
use of the library.
A p~erceptible growth of the Green's
boro public library is shown by the
increase Of the use Of the reference
department. The library makes a
specially of pamphlets and govern
ment and State publications-of that
great mass of material which is in
valuable for reference and which may
usually be had for the asking. The
library is also doing splendid work
with the childen During the year,
in addition to the story hour once a
month, there We're special exercises
in the chiidren's room on various oc-
tsions. and a boys exhibition was
held the last of November.
Progress in the school and college
libraries was no less marked. The
University of North Carolina re-
ceived some valuable gifts during the
yea the most notable being the en-
dowment of the Greek department in
honor OF the late DR.. Eben Alexander.
The library, by it's purchase Of books
and periodicals and various indexes
and aids for scholarly work, endeayors
to meet h demands Of it's own stu
dents and faculty and to be OF service
to others who come to it for help from
the outside. The number Of such
isitors IS constantly increasing. and
the privileges Of the Lib rary are freely
extended to them and every attempt
made to assist them In their re-
searches.
College library into it's new building
many improvements were introduced.
The larger part OF the books were re-
c~atalngled last summer an the liz
rary in several respects Tnodernized in
methods OF admin. istration. A fea-
ture introduced for the first time asst
fall was a series of talks on the use
of the library by DR.. Maurice S. Full
ton, chairman OF the library commit
tee.
One Of the best Of the smaller col
lege libraries is hat of the Greens
=. IA. Cole" The E0:ientina +
books is ar unusually good II and
more money has already been spent
for books during the present school
term than during any entire year OF
its history. Meredith College also
has a well equipped and we'll admin
istered library. Last spring it was
completely re-organized and q num-
Der of improvements in methods OF
equal importance in increasing the
efficiency of the library was the ap-
pointment Of a regular librarian.
In no library Of the State was
progress more marked than in the
State library. Last year accession
and shelf list records were started, the
public documents SO arranged that
they would be readily accessible, the
periodicals cata1og1red. and the A~no~i-
a history and the N>rth Carolina
collections ~re-c'aSsified and ~re-cata-
81. TIE en-ira library is gradually
being re-organized and modern lib
ra~v methods ere being substitute
for those which the library has out
grown.
Summarizing library conditions In
North Carolina at the close OF the
year 1910, there are So libraries in
the State, according to the most re-
liable reports obtainable. Only
twenty of these T puDlic libraries,
but ten years ago there were only
three. There Are eleven library
buildings seven of them Carnegie
buildings. North Carolina now has
a summer school for librarians and a
library periodical. a State association
OF librarians. and a library commits
sion. Both the association and the
commission are working for library
extension and cooperation terms
significant of, if not actually synony-
nous with. library progress. Here
and there new libraries are being
established and old ones re-organized.
From all over the State the story is
the same, the story Of the gradual
of town after town to the
Importance Of the public library in an
efficient system of education. In
only one respect has there been re-
progression. In 1905 the public lib
1a1- araS sopaalod La,t Il tho 1oxt