Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-01-15

work during the winter, was given
leave of absence in May to attend
the New Jersey Library school. Her
resignation in the latter part of the
summer necessitated getting a new
assistant We have had two appren-
tees during the fall, and the help
of these young ladies has made 1t
possible for the staff to handle eff
iciently the increased work of the
library.
Circulation.
The library has kept up its record
for a circulation unusual in proper
ton to its size. The total number
Of books loaned in 1912 was H.
265 The books in the library num-
Der ISIS: hence, the circulation Is
the same as If each book had been
loaned TO times. or, as the number
of borrowers registered is 7,147,
it Is the same as If each borrower
had taken out 80 books.
The library has continued its lib
eral policy of allowing out of town
borrowers equal privileges with citi-
zens of the town. In the fall, an
appeal was made to us by the Y. M.
C. A. in South Amboy, and We have
found 1t possible, by choosing books
of which we have duplicates. to al
low them to become a Deposit sta
ton.
The vacation privilege was e1-
tended this year so as to allow each
borrower ten books on a card, four
of which might be fiction. We found
that this interfered in no instance
with our daily requests, and hat 1t
secured the use of books which
| otherwise would have been idle dur
ing the summer months.
The duplicate pay system has been
continued to the satisfaction of those
wishing e fiction.
A weekly list of additions has
been sent to the papers during the
year. For the publication of this
and other library items, we CRATE
fully acknowledge our idebtedness
to the newspapers OF the city.
The total number of borrowers
now registered at the library is
7.147, 904 having been added dur
ing 1912. Every effort has been
made to grant the request Of u
borrowers. When our collection has
failed to satisfy the demand, we
have either ordered the books need
ed, or, when that was inadvisable,
we have borrowed them through
the couprtesy of other libraries.
Children's Room
OF the new borrowers registered
during 1912, 5S5 were children.
The circulation Of children's books
during the year was 1851, q gain
Of 4,057 over 1911. Or this cir
culation, IS per cent fiction.
The Importance Of influencing the
children's reading in every way pos
sibIe has become more and more ap-
the library. AS much as possible
ia done in helping the children select
their books. AS an additional
means of directing their interest to
the best literature, we have lnsti-
tuted a Story Hour, which is held
every Friday afternoon. This is
for smaller boys and girls, and as
many as TWENTY-FIVE are admitted at
one time. In order to reach the
older children. a boys reading club
has been organized, which meets
weekly under the dictatorship of the
librarian. From the eagerness of
the children to attend these meet
ings, and the increasing demand for
the books containing the stories, We
feel that both the experiments are
proving very successful.
The annual exhibit Of Christmas
books was held in December, and
was much enjoyed by the children.
Reading and Reference Room.
It Is a satisfaction to report that
the use of the library for reference
and quiet reading is steadily In
creasing. The telephone facilities
consulting the library. and 1t Is used
freely by our patrons for reference
purposes. We have ~endeavored to
aid teachers, clubs and study classes
BY furnishing them with books and
magazine articles on special topics,
and by compiling reading lists and
study plans.
The librarian gave four talks to
the seniors Of the High School In the
fall, two at the High school and two
in the Reference Room at the Ii
brary, on the use OF books and libra
ries.
We now receive regularly 70 mag
azines and newspapers, which may
be obtained In the reading room. A
new magazine rack has recently
been bouht, which makes the maya
zines more readily accessible than
they were on the crowded wall