Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1918-03-08


which is destined to become one Of the
most powerful factors in winning the
fight for liberty. Already the efforts
OF the association have been crowned
by signal success and this. in spite OF
the fact that as late as the end Of last
summer it had nothing but concrete
plan and determination to put that
idea into operation
Since the association set for itself
the task of putting into the hands of
the soldiers and sailors the books it
felt they needed and would appreciate
It has, by an intensive campaign car
ried on last autumn, raised a million
and half dollars; has procured.
through donation and by purchase,
more than half million books which
IL Inns assorted aud sent out; with the
100000 donated By the Carnegie cor
porutlon for the purpose, has erected
camp library buildings in "a camps
aud has others In the course of con-
struction; has opened a dispatch sta
ton at one of the points of embarka-
ton from which books are being
shipped to France and has got to-
gether a force of trained workers to
carry out its plans on a gigantic scale.
The headquarters of the American
Library Association War Service are
at the library of congress. Or. Herbert
Putnam, librarian Of congress. is the
director. Assistants to the director
are Carl II. Milan librarian OF the pub
lie library of Birmingham, Ala. and Jo-
seph L. Wheeler, librarian of the pub
lie library of Youngstown. O. George
i. Utley of Chicago, secretary of the
American Library association, Is exec
utlYe secretary of the war service. Will
liam A. Slade, head of the periodical
division of the library of congress. and
+. l.. Windsor, director of the library
school OF the University of Illinois, are
also on the headquarters staff.
Keep Down Expense.
1t has been the determination of Doc
tor Putnam and his associates in the
war work to keep overhead expenses
down to a minimum. Much of the most
important work of the service is being
done by volunteers and experts drawn
from libraries all over the country
who are working only for the salaries
they receive from their regular occu-
pations. The standard salary of the
camp librarians is 500 month, and
by obtaining board at the Y. NJ. G. A..
or at the camp mess the cost of sub
sistence Is held to a low figure.
To the war service the most crafty
ing result of Its work so far Is the
tremendous demand for books, a de-
mand so great and so wide in Its range
rs to, prove conclusively to the asso-
citation that 1t has definite field of
endeavor and one which Is bringing un-
told happiness to thousands of men.
AT all the camp libraries a system Of
book requests has been Installed and
1t is giving accurate information on
what the men want to read.
To the great surprise of the older
army officers the draft men are call
ing continuously for serious books.
Fiction naturally leads, but not by so
wide margin az one who gave hut
casual thought to the matter might sur
mise. For example. days record at
the camp library at Camp Meade. Md,
the following subjects We're represent
ed:
French history. mechanics and
strategy in war. self-propelled vehicles,
hand grenades. field entertainments,
bridges, chemistry, physics, astronomy,
geology, hydraulics, electricity, medi-
eva history, calculus, civil engineering,
geography, American history, survey
ing, materials of construction, general
history, masonry. concrete.