The Washington herald., 1915-03-31

the sehesl.Tr.i,eA Or self-Trai,ed
Yeu,x wsnan-The Densna fer LIZ
brsris,s New Greater than the Sup
| ply.
~ MARY MARSHALL %
OF course, you would be willing to
work in q library. where. il anywhere.
YOU can enjoy quiet. good ventilation,
protection, and harmonious surround
| inrs. But, nowadays. with all the IL
| brary schools and colleges, people are
apt to think that no woman who hasn
1 spent years in training can get start
| in this line of work. That is what you
may think, but, as matter OF iact' II
is perfectly possible to start work In a
library as soon as the law allows you
to work. and to rise. through your own
pluck and perseverance. TO the top
notch of your profession.
| Many of the most successful libra
rtans of today started as pages and
errand girls. and. although mucn
HIGHER standard of efficiency is required
for library employees now than was the
case ten or fifteen years ago. stu the
plucky little page who starts To-Day
can, through self-education and perse
yerance, climb high on the ladder OF
success. ,...,-
| A few of the big libraries employ little
girls. fourteen and over, as pages and
ONCE girls. They must. IN most cases
| have completed grammar schooi- 10 oe-
sin with. they usually are paid out SIX
| teen dollars a month and have TO Work
from in the morning to or o:3e IN
the afternoon. with a half holiday one
6sy Of the six. The duties of these little.
1 na ees are somewhat monotonous. FROM
| morning till night they have to fetch
and carry books but before long. II they
4 show progress they are allowed 10 heip
1 with the cataloeuing and may oS the
| time they are Is years old be earning as
much as $40 month
Upon application at a library employ
ing girl pages you could prooaDS 30.
| most immediate employment, since these
| libraries. as a rule, have trouble In nna-
ing enough clever. intelligent ana we'll
bred girls to do the work:
The ouick-witted girl while at work as
| a mage may keep pace with schooisIis
| her own age If. during the Intervals tna'
| she has to sit waiting to be called sne
has her head in a book instead OF so
siping with the other pages moreover.
Inv conservation and experience. the hnrary
mage gets a fairly good training IN
| library methods.
such training as the bright page
might secure in four or five years IN inc
| library would qualify her for position
a. assistant librarian in crcuia,ihe
| library in one OF the smaller clues
where a. vet there are no DEFINITE eN-
! aminations or requirements SCI
brary employees. The salary In pos
! tion NJ this sort would probably range
, from $40 to $50 month
This is not merely a fairy tale OF wnat
might be done by an AMBITIOUS pdse' !
is what actually has been done dozens
~ times by Young women all over the
country, One young woman VINO oesH
as a PAGE at 81 week. now hoIos q
nosition as head Of the loan desk IN
~ circulating department In one of the
largest college libraries in the country.
She got her start before the days OF
snecial lY,rary training schools ana she
worked, without having to take examina-
ton. from the bottom up to tine posi-
tion she now holds Then. when the
college library for which she worked re-
ouired a library school diploma from It's
employes, she took a winter OF, anu
from the money she had managed to
seve Maid for a winter at the library
school and came back full OF new ideas
and enthusiasm, and was appointed TO
the position she had held before.
So YOU see, it is perfectly possible for
=. girl TODAY to start in library ana
work I'D from the bottom, but. IT pos
sible. YOU should have the advantage OF
a regular library school training Wheh
YOU have reached the prescribed age
which. generally speaking, Is twenty
years.
There are many library sehoois scat
tered throughout the country. In most
cases connected with a large library
and here it is that the majority OF the
successful librarians of the future are
being trained. Admission to these
schools in most cases depends on salts
factorily passing written examination.
In some schools this examination Is not
required Of college graduates, but In
other schools. for instance the Pratt
Library School in Brooklyn. no conces-
sion is made to holders Of degrees. APP
plicants are advised not to attempt the
examination unless they have finished
high school, or acquired the equivalent
of a high school course through self
training The examination are usually
exceedingly broad in $685. and aim to
make a fair test Of the general informa-
ton of the applicant by means of ques-
lions from history current events, and
general information. as well as her abil
ity to translate French and German.
specimen set OF examination questions
will be sent from most of the library
schools upon application.
The course i'm a school usually covers
eight or nine months, beginning with the
middle OF September or the first Of Oc-
tober. In some schools there is a second
years work open to those who have
completed the first year. and in one or
two instances the student receives pay
for the practical work done during the
second year.
The tuition ranges from $40 to So a year
with an extra So or $50 for supplies
Board in the vicinity Of the schools
can usually be secured for IS week.
Practice in book selecting, visits to pub
fishing houses and binderies study of
printing. library buildings, and supplies
and current events, besides the regular
training in cataloguinS, indexing. ana