Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1911-02-03

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gress, or the number of murders COM
mitted in Chicago last year, or Presi-
dent Roosevelt's speech in San Fran
cinso, it is the attendants business to
know just what book or newspaper or
magazine contains it and get it for
him at once. He must not send the
inquirer to an encyclopedia; for the
reader has already looked there. OF
course, library workers are not ex-
pected to be ominiscient; but the near.
er they approximate to this the more
promising is their outlook.
1t would be incorrect to say that
there are regular steps of advance
ment year by year; but generally
speaking, after a year as half-attend-
ant. your boy may become full at
tendant, at $50 a month, providing a
vacancy has occurred; then, in anoth-
er year third assistant, at $50: then
second assistant at $50 to $50; then
first assistant at 500.
Before he goes on up to first assist
ant, however, he must have acquired
what might be known as a full H.
brary education, which means that he
must be able to answer substantially
the following specimen questions,
taken from an entrance examination
to one of the leading library schools:
Intentional nationality and century
and characterize briefly an important
work by ten of the following: Tasso
Marlowe, Ibsen, Maurice Hewlett, Lee
Sage, Balzac, Sir Francis Bacon, Mon
taigne, Sir Thomas Mallory, Leasing.
Walter Pater. Taine, Swinburne, Ian
dor, James Bryce.
State briefly what you know of the
literary work of the following: Saint
Beuve, Turgenieff, Dante Gabriel Ro-
setti, Heine, Thomas DeQuincy.
Write an account of the poets and
poetry of England at the end of the
eighteenth and the beginning OF the
nineteenth centuries.
Name five important writer's Of an
cient Greece, and specify in what de-
partment each is famous. OF ancient
Rome.
Describe (only about five lines each)
the character of the following: The
Faerie Queene," The Rubaiyat,"
'Idylls of the King"
Name five of the greatest American
essayists; characterize briefly the lit
erary work of each. and mention the
title Of their greatest works
Name two famous allegories; three
famous histories of the United States;
five great world epics; two famous
satires; five children's classics.
Write criticism of one Of the fol-
lowing; Thomas Carlyle, Victor Hugo,
Robert Browning.
Then followed other questions on
the Donkhobors, radium, Henry Clay,
the Hauseatic league, PestalozZi, etc,
and reading in German and French.
One thing that enables your boy to
do this is that he is encouraged by his
superiors to read good literature dur
ing every moment he can spare from
his work; and he should also attend
night school, and absorb everything
possible that he can concerning stand
ard and other literature. He must
also have a good reading knowledge
of French and German, and he will
find it to his advantage If he acquires
other languages. He must know how
to analyze and index new books,
whether In his own or in another
language. In the New York public
library, for example, from $4,000 to
10000 cards a month are added to
the index, and It may be necessary to
have as many as 20 cards on one vol
ume to cover the contents adequately.
He must know the shelves where new
books should be placed.
Your boy also must know the i'm
portant characteristics of new vol
umes that are issued, and be able to
forecast the probable popular demand
for them. Considering that there are
10000 new volumes published in the
world every year, and that the 10000
Libraries of the United States have
100,000,000 volumes in them, the mag
nitude of this task may appear APP
palling; but the nearer your boy ap-
proximates to it the better librarian
he will be. 1t is up to him to make
good as in everything else, and he
has ahead of him the important posi-
ton Of librarian in a large city at
salary of from $4,000 to $1,000 year,
or even that of librarian of congress,
who draws $4,000. Far more import
ant than the salary, however, is the
honor and comfort and mental devel-
opment and general satisfaction TO be
obtained in his calling, which is prob
ably not excelled in any branch Of
lifework
Copyright, 1910. by the Associated LIT.
erary Press)