The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-11
LIBRARY BOARD ID ASK $2O,OOO OF CITY COMMISSION Annual Report of Carl H. Milan, Library Director,
 Made Public LARGE INCREASE
 IN CIRCULATION Over 10000 New Books Added to Li- brary During Past Year-179,434 Books Issued for Home Use.
 Details of Branches

An appropriation of S2o.eo0 for the fiscal year will be asked from the city in the near future by the Birmingham library board. This announcement was made yes terday at the time the annaul report of Library Director Carl H. Milan was made public. The library's share of the budget last year was s12,0oo.
 The library board is composed as fol- lows:
 James w. Donnelly, president; term ex- pires December S1, 1915. D. M Lewis, vice president term expires December 3i. 1915 Mrs D. M. Hankins. term expires term expires December 3l, 1916. Dr. Thomas D. Parke. term expires December 31, 1917. E. E. Smith, term expires De- cember sl, 1918. Mrs. R. Dupont Thomp- son, term expires December Sl, 1916.
 Following are extracts giving some of the more important paragraphs from the annaul report of Director Milan:
 "The total number of accessioned vol umes in the library September s0 1914, less discards, was 37,991. There were also about 15o0 unaccessioned books, largely United States patent office publications. some 20o0 volumes in the Terrell collection that has been deposited with the library for an indefinite length of time, and 1117 volumes of medical books housed at the library. This brings the total number of books owned by the library up to 3e, 49l and the total number at our disposal up to 42,66S.
 "The classified pamphlets enumber 259S and the unclassified probably 6000.
 ''rhe 37, ,991 accessioned volumes are dis tributed as follows: Central, 252co Avon dale 25O0: East Lake, 1875; Ensley, 3S5l; West End 2s67; Woodlawn, 2i9s.
 1O,125 New Volumes
 'The number of new books added dur ing the year was 10125, the number dis carded. 7fs. During the preceding year the number added was 47S4.
 ''The total number of books issued for home use during the year was 179,434. This Is an increase over the previous year of 52, ,3s2 volumes, or 41 per cent. During June July, August and September the in- crease over last year has been respec- lively CT per cent. 6S per cent, S1 per cent and S1 per cent.
 ''Of the total number of books issued, 122. .305 volumes were issued to adult read CTS and 57,129 volumes to juvenile readers. The percentage of fiction, including rent books, was 75.3. The six most popular classes, other than fiction, in the order of their popluarity, were sociology, lftera- ture history. travel, biography and use- full arts.
 ''There are now 20,63S borrowers cards in force The new registrations during the year numbered 5539-3362 adults and 2177 children under IA years of age.
 "The new registrations at the differ ent libraries in the system were as fol- lows: Central, 233i; Avondale, 624; East Lake. 9S5; Ensley, 532; West End, 567; Woodlawn, 500
 Reference Department
 Tt is not possible to give accurate sta tistical reports of the use of books and magazines in the library or use of the library by telephone for reference. Many people come to the library for informa- ton which in few moments thay secure with or without help from members of the staff Others come to read or study and remain for hours. Their number is not known, for they visit all departments and cannot be distinguished from the ordinary borrower or casual visitor.
 "A discouraging feature has been the small attendance In the evenings both summer and winter. The number of peo- pie who come into the central referepce and reading room after o'clock is some-l times as low as half a dozen. Doubtless this is largely due to the inadequate lighting of the room. 1t is perhaps even more largely due to the fact that many people who might be expected to use the reading room after o'clock are still un- aware of it's existence. The lighting will probably be improved soon, and special efforts will be made during the coming year to inform the public that the library maintains such a department and that the room is open from to every week way, including holidays. and from to G on Sundays, and that it contains much of interest.
 The central library now receives 150 magazines and p newspapers. This is an increase of 50 magazines and IA news papers over the number on our list a year ago. The magazines now received classify roughly as follows: Technical and scientific, 55; business, 8, art and musc 8; education, '; woman's magazines, g; religious, s. juvenile, .; bibliographical. 10 and general, 54
 "Of the newspapers. ' are from Ala bama cities, IT from cities in America
 Pamphlets and Clippings
 "In the reference department are shelved more than 2500 pamphlets. which are being constantly added 10. and weed ed out. This collection is largely com 
 tions. and includes such other material as college catalogs. reports of commits sicns, of associations and of municipali- ties. These are classified and shelved in light pamphlet cases, and :,n index for the collection is we'll under way Pamph- lets are occasionally circulated for brief periods.
 "The six or eight most valuable news- papers received at the library are clipped, and this clipping collection representinv a wide variety of subjects, is arranged in folders in vertical file. It is found to be of growing value espe- cially to debaters on current topics
 "A deposit station of 100 volumes was throughout the year in the club reading room of the Southern Bell Telephone company. The books were ex- changed each month.
 "A small collection of books was lent to the Terminal club, a social club for boys and young men in the boarding house district, and the officers have in- dicated their desire to borrow other col- lections during the coming winter.
 The meagre collection of books at the Boys club office has been supplemented from time to time by loans from the library.
 ''The Alabama Power company has, on several occasions, borrowed books for it's employees.
 The East Lake library maintained two deposit stations in East Lake There IS almost no limit to the amount of work that could be done by an extensive sys- tenn of deposit stations in the schools, Tn shops. and factories. in stores or off, fices in outlying districts and elsewhere, and the library hopes that 1t will be the coming year. Birmingham is spread mir oyer m much ferrfforv tbuf if r,rnh-