Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-26

DeiegateS TO the American Library AS
soc.ation Conference separated today to
meet in sectional gatherings and to at
tend meetings of organizations affiliated
with the general association
The sessions today were Joint session
of the League of Library Commissions
and College and Reference Section; Amer
lean Association of Law Libraries and
Professional Training Section and Agri-
cultural Libraries Section.
Opposes Competition.
Pleading for coordination as a substi-
tute for competition, with emphasis upon
the unwisdom of one department of IL
brary activities encroachins upon the
field of another, johnson Brigham, presi-
dent of the Iowa library commission and
state librarian of Iowa, read d paper at
the joint session of the League of Lii
brary Commissions and College and Ref
erence Section. The speaker especially di-
rected attention to the library commits
sions invasion of the field of legislative
reference.
He held it unwise for the commission,
having taken but not fully occupied its
own field, to dissipate its energies and
revenues by reaching out after new
worlds to conquer.
The direct purpose of Mr.. Brigham g
paper was, first, to urge commissions that
already have entered the legislative ref
erence field, without fully counting the
cost of measuring the extent of the I'M
dertaking, to withdraw from that field
and content themselves with close and
mutually helpful coordination with legis-
lative reference libraries; and, second, to
urge commissions at present considering
the desirability of taking on legislative
and municipal reference work, to give no
f,tr% l. yrh% 70 hut 81
the new opportunities for speedily and in
expensively reaching the public through
the parcels post, to redouble their efforts
to cover and persistently occupy thir own
large and growing field.
The writer made an exception of the
Wisconsin commission with the large ap-
preparation for legislative reference, and
the conveniently successful pioneer work
in that field.
Obstacles Are Outlined.
The paper presented the well-nigh in
surmountable obstacles in the way OF
successful competition with the legisla-
tive libraries. The paper concluded with
an appeal to library commission workers
to remove all confusion in their own
minds, in the public mind and in the
legislative mind as to the logical extent
and limitations of their own field and as
to the thoroughness OF their own plans
and methods OF work
]. r. C. Honeyman, librarian of the
public library of Regina, Sask., spoke
on Possibilities of the Travelling Lii
brary Under the New Law Of the Prov
ince of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Other papers given at the session this
morning were: How the State Library
of Tennessee Manages Travelling Lii
braries." Mary Skeffin gton; Reasons
Why Wyoming State University Sends
Out Travelling Libraries" DIR. Grace
Hebard; THE Legislative Reference
John A. Lapp. Indiana. discussion
followed these subjects.
w. r. Watson, chairman OF the COM
mittee on aid to new commissions gave
Oklahoma read paper on Conditions
in States Without Commissions: the
Need and the Opportunity" report
Of the committee on publicity for COM
Baldwin OF ST. Paul. while Asa Wyn-
koop of Albany gave report for the
committee on publications
Standards Held Elastic.
At a meeting of the professional train
ing section this afternoon at New Will
lard Hotel Frank X. Walter. vice direc-
tor of New York State Library School,
spoke on The .Selective Function of Lii
brary Schools.
I'm the absence of any generally ac-
cepted professional code for librarians or
of any organization to establish such a
CODE said Mr.. Walter, "the standards OF
qualifications for librarians are very
elastic AS ibrarianship becomes more
recognized as a profession, the need of
standards becomes more apparent Be-
cause Of the similarity in their organiza-
ton and purpose the library schools have
partly assumed and partly had thrust
upon them the maintenance of at least
approximate standards. This has been
done ~ by insistence on thorough in
strusti6n In certain definite subjects; ~
by limiting admission to those apparently
suited by personality as well as by edu-
cation for some kind of library work
There are indications that libraries when
filling vacancies on their STATS have
pretty generally depended on this elective
work of the schools.
He declared that this attitude is justi.
Ggauunued on Eighth Page.)