The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-18
LOCAL LIBRARIAN
URGES PUBLICITY
Mrs. Bernhard Tells State
Librarians Need o.
s- Advertising
URGES Cooperation
URGES COOPERATION
Declares Newspaper and Ii
brary Are Interested in
Developing Community

Mrs. Ada l.. Bernhard, of the Rich
mond library, and Prof. Harlow Lind
ley, Earlham college librarian, return
ed last evening from Marion, where
they attended the sessions or the In
diana Library association, held in that
city three days, starting Wednesday.
Mrs. Bernhard talked before the
association on the subject, publicity
as a Library Problem" To illustrate
her talk she had a number OF EXHIBITS
of newspaper advertising and readers
which had appeared in the Richmond
newspapers during the year. Notices
of new books, library purchases, DOCK
comments, and Il hundred other small
but valuable, articles gave concrete
example Of the GcODe OF what news
papers can do to aid the public in OBJ
tanning knowledge OF TIC pubic edu-
Cational institution.
MANY Interesting and instructive
sessions we're held, but non" or Which
impressed the local representatives
more than Thursday evenings session
in which the publicity question was
discussed.
The address OH the subject, Sell
ing q Library Service" Was delivered
by Merle Sidener. vino, for a
number of years was city editor OF
the indianapolis Star, and now mem
ber of the publicity counsel firm or
Sidener and Van Ripper. The subject
was later discussed by George b.
Lockwood. OF the Muncie Press. A. e.
Gibson, of the Marion Leader, and
George Lindsay, Of the Marion Chron-
icle, besides Miss Henriotte l. Scran-
ton, OF FlWood. and Mrs. Adah l.. Bern
bar1f of Richmond -.
Mr.. Sidener took the stand that the
public library should be advertised
and that the librarian who has not rec
ognized this fact is as much behind
the times as the merchant who stocks
his store and then waits for custom
ers to find it out as best they can. He
said that the library has a produce to
dispose of, just as has the manufac-
turer or merchant, and that because
this product is free to the public 1t
ought to be a much simpler matter to
cultivate the market
~ Analyses Service.
Mr.. Sidener analysed the service
which the library offers 20 the public
just as he would a commercial pro,
duct He found that the production
end of the library business had been
cultivated but that the selling end
had been seriously neglected-~in 9th
er words, that the librarians as whole
have been dili9ent III providing the
books and magazines, but have not
been as active in informing the public
of the existence Of these good things
within their reach
This is in no wise a charge of i'll
competence said Mr.. Sidener. For
the business man himself is only now
beginning to realize the wonderful op
portunities of intelligent and persist
emit publicity. And the librarian prob
ably has made greater progress pro
portionately, than the business man.
The newspaper offers the most di
rect means of publicity for the library
said the speaker, and he declared that
he did not mean merely the news col
umns.
THE day is not far distant" said
Mr. Sidener, when every progressive
library will have it's advertising ap
preparation, and will spend this along
lines which will most effectively bring
the public into closer relationship with
the library. And the newspaper ad
vertising columns will be the mediums
through which the message will be
distributed. The library, the school
the government-these are institu
lions transacting the public's business
and the sooner they adopt business
methods for interesting those people
they seek to reach, the more efficient
will they become"
Library Contains News.
In the meantime, however, the
speaker suggested that the library re
ally contains a great amount of news
which the newspapers would be GLAD
to obtain. The library is naturally 6
bN coli ,-,I Ixro II
study the librarian can learn what is
news and no VITO prepare it, thereby
being a real assistance to the newspa
pers. He suggested that the main OBJ
ject should be TO keep the library fav
orably before the public and that it is
not at all necessary for the librarian
to insist upon the newspaper repeat
eddy printing an item saying, The Ii
brary is open from 8 a. m to 5 D. m
and the public is welcome any time.
For as a matter of fact the newspaper
will not print such an item, as it il
not news. But let the librarian senC
the papers a short story abou the in
creased number of children that have
asked for marine stories since the
sinking of the Volturno, and how they
have been at the library before il
opened at o'clock and wanted tc
stay after closing time at o'clock
and the editor will gladly give it space
He offered many other examples O.
stories that he suggested would bt
good for both the library and the
newspaper
"The librarian and the newspaper
editor ought to become better &C
auainted," said the speaker. They
have much in common but in many
cases they have not found this out
They are both interested in develop
ing their community and by co-opera
ton they can the better accomplish
this end