Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-29

ing as high as % per cent. The need OF
the sui appropriation of $4,000 for the
| Iakoma branch is unmiStakable, and q
Gripping of the useful and effective work
of the branch is certain If the cut OF
over 30 per cent in this appropriation Is
perpetuated. The present appropriation
for the TakOma branch makes no prOvi-
sion for contingent fund, book purchase.
or binding expenses. 1t involves draft
of over $500 for the Takoma branch on
the main library's contingent fund and
| compelling its already inadequate book
appropriation. $500, and binding appro-
priation. $500. to be spread over the
Takoma branch. making it impossible to
do justice to the needs of either. The
provision for service at Takoma is in
adequate both as to numbers and as to
pay"
| Duties of a Library.
| George F. Bowerman. public librarian.
explained to the subcommittee that it Is
possible now to keep the Takoma branch
open only three days a week. He also
told the subcommittee that modern free
library business is something more than
| keeping a record of books loaned. The
| work with children's books was interest
| ing and instructive to generation of
| coming readers, he said.
| The story hour is feature that all
modern progressive public libraries have
| certain definite periods. The work with
| the adult consists not simply in handing
| out given book and making record Of
| it. 1t includes also careful, painstaking
attention to getting the right material
| for them. Part of the time of the branch
| librarian is spent at the main library.
because she, for example, has been given
| a dozen or fifteen problems that men ana
She will come back to the main library
and will spend q part Of her time in find
| ing good material with reference to those
particular problems. In other words. We
are developing the study side OF the IL
brary. 1t is not more or less perfume
! Tory matter of handing out a given book.
which is the case of course, in a law IL
brary. where trained people come in and
know exactly the thing they want
Mr. Bowerman said that by developing
the study side of the Public Library the
percentage of fiction in circulation here
has been reduced from 81 per cent to %
per cent. his ideal being 30 per cent.
Summary of Reasons.
A statement showing a summary of the
reasons of the board of trustees for ask
ing for an increased force in the main
library was introduced by Mr.. Noyes as
follows:
"Keenly impressed with the need of a
radical readjustment of the basic library
of force and employees compensation, the
library trustees last year urged an eX-
traortiinary increase OF AZ per cent in the
library appropriations and showed by
comparisons with library expenditures in
other cities that this allotment for library
uses would be less per capita than in a
large majority of American cities over
2O,OD population. In view of the law
fOrbidding their estimate TO exceed the
probable revenues and of the pressure
of other municipal needs the Commits
siOners estimated for the library an in
crease over the preceding year of only
$1,000 in the appropriation, proposing
three slight salary increases and three
new positions
THE House refused all the Increases
asked and in effect reduced the 1912 ap-
preparation by cutting down the four
thousanddOliar provision for the Takoma
branch tmade in conformity with Mr..
CarnegieS maintenance condition. to
$1,000. thus Gripping the Takoma branch
and throwing further burden on the al
ready inadequate maintenance resources of
the main library. The Senate inserted in
the bill most of the increases proposed
in the Commissioners estimates but they
We're all dropped from the bill in con-
ference and with them a five-hundred-
dollar addition to the contingent fund
which the House had provided to meet
the contingent expenses of the Takoma
branch in lieu of separate provision. By
this ineXplicable action the separate
maintenance Oh tile L dkOIlld DTancn Was
reduced to S1.56O. The total appropria-
ton for 1872 has been $61,14O: the total
appropriation for 1913. $4,000.
Work Has Increased.
within five years the work of the Ii
brary has tremendously increased. Dur
ing that period there has been no cor
responding increase Of those who are to
do the work. We find the force Of today
both overworked and underpaid. The
working force for five years has been
practically at a standstill, while the work
has increased in book stock to be cata-
losued and circulated 40 per cent and in
home circulation. 30 per cent. AS re-
suit of these conditions of overwOrk and
underpay and as an evidence of the eX-
istence of these conditions, the library
force has suffered a constant shifting in
personnel. losing by designations 35 per
cent of it's entire force in the fiscal Year
1905, % per cent in 1909. 26 per cent in
1910, :'5 l 3 per cent in 1911 and 20 per
cent in 1912.
THE percentage of library appropria-
tons out of the total expenditures for
local municipal needs has always been
meager and Inadequate compared with
library appropriations in cities of the
same class as Washington, and even that
percentage has of late years been de-
creasing. Our appropriation for 1910 was
O.6 per cent of the total appropriation
for that year; that of 1911 was only O4
per cent of 1915 total, and that of 1912
was further reduced to O.53 per cent of
the whole.
Expenses Elsewhere.
"A table giving the per capita MAIN
tenance expenditures for free public IL
braries IN 1910 in cities having over 200
600 population shows that out of twenty
six cities in this class other than Wash
ingtop twenty have higher per capita
expenditure for public libraries than the
capital. The same table shows that our
library is economically managed. In
comparison of the cost per volume OF
circulation it appears that it cost our Ii
brary Gin 1910 IL cents per volume TO
circulate 6O3, O61 volumes in the homes of
it's readers; that out of the twenty-six
other American cities having over 100000
population two cities only had lower
cost per volume circulated. and that the
average cost per volume circulated Of all
these cities was 1914 cents.
LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE NEWS.