The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-04-02
SUCCESSFUL YEAR
FOR NO. VILLAGE
FREE LIBRARY
Large Number Of Patrons and
Increased Efficiency
NEW OFFICERS ELECTED
Trustees Say Progress is Largely
Due to Efforts Of the Librarian,
Miss Josephine Keller.
NEW OFFICERS ELECTED

At the close of the annual meeting
on Wednesday, March 26th., the
North Bennington Free Library as
ISOLATION completed the thirteenth,
and by far the most successful, year
of it's management of the North Ben
nington Free Library.
The following officers for the ensu-
ing year were elected: President,
Rev. W l. Coburn secretary. Mrs.
f. d. Ranney, treasurer, r. A. Jones;
members of the board of trustees to
serve for three years, Miss II. s.
yelling W. c. ii Cushman and DR..
L. A. Tobin.
The reports OF the various officers
for the year just ended were read
and adopted and all showed most
encouraging and satisfactory condi-
ton.
The treasurer's report shows the
following receipts Town of Ben.
nington, 5000; village OF North Ben
nington, 800; subscriptions and
membership dues of association mem
bers. $S7; fines, etc, $3.50; total
of $399.50. Disbursements, librarian
salary $177.3S; janitor $36.25; rent
$45; books. $94.9S re-cataloging,
printing, etc, $3445; furniture s10.-
95; insurance $23.93 and fuel. light
and sundries S24.02; a total of $780,
SO. While these figures show an ap-
parent deficite of s37.46 there are un
paid subscriptions and dues which
will go far TO Offset 1t and with the
increased appropriation from the
town. the prospects for the new year
are satisfactory.
The fact that there are member
ship dues among the receipts has led
to some question as to the libraries
being actually a free library. That
this matter may be fully understood
1t may be well at this time TO go in
to little history. For many years
previous to 1900 there existed Lad
les Library association, owning at
that time a thousand or more books,
the use of which was restricted to
members OF the association.
When the Free Library association
was formed these books and all
funds Of the ladies association were
turned over to 1t with the one condi-
ton that there should be a majority
of ladies on the board of trustees Of
the new association. The present IT.
brary association was founded solely
as means of managing and conduct
ing a library which should actually
be absolutely free to all citizens of
the town of Bennington and the
North Bennington Graded School
district. Membership in the associa-
ton entails an annual due of 81, the
sole return for which, aside from the
satisfaction of helping on the good
work of the Library. is the privilege
of voting at the election of the off,
GERS who manage the library.
Following the school for librarians
held in Bennington in May of last
year, Miss yelling. who had served
as librarian since the organization
of the library as free institution,
announced to the trustees that she
felt that the library was not doing
the work for the community which II
should and that circumstances were
such that she felt unable to under
take the amount of study and work
which would be necessary to bring 1t
up to date and put 1t in to shape to
meet modern conditions of library
work and thus enable il to serve its
increasingly large number of patrons
as fully as the means at its command
would seem to warrant Under
these circumstances she felt obliged
to tender her resignation which was
accepted by the trustees with great
| regret.
In October the trustees were so for
tunate as to be able to secure the
services of Miss Josephine Keller,
who had had the benefit of some
months of training in this work In
the Bennington library and under her
enthusiastic and capable manage
ment the library has made great
stridges forward. There Is now we'll
under way a new and complete card
catalogue, arrangement for the com.
| pletion of which under Miss Keeler's
supervision and assistance has been
made. While the library had prac.
tically $500 volumes at the time she
assumed control, many were so bad.
ly worn as to be no longer available
for circulation and there have been
| some three hundred of these dis.
carded. OF those remaining over
three hundred have been thoroughly
repaired and some fifty volumes have
been recovered.
There have been added during the
year seventy-five volumes OF which
forty-seven are classed as adult &c
ton; twenty, as juvenile and the re
mainder under the heads OF travel
history, biography and general liter
AZURE. Orders are now in the hands
OF the dealers for eighty additional
volumes, many Of which. however
/ are requirements of volumes dis
carded on account of wear but fol-
which, especially among the juve
niles. there is a continued demand
In this connection the trustees wish
to express their thanks and appreci
alton to Mrs. J. @. Mccullough fol
her very generous gift Of 500 FOL
the purchase Of books which val
made az this time in order that thiI
necessity for replacement might b.
met without curtailing the usual pur
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