davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
u enehts of Scientific
~ Arrangement

before entering the general reading
room, where all these treasures are placed
immediately at the readers disposal, one
enters the spacious catalogue room, and,
If he is Bostonian, is at once amazed at
the service which is placed at his disposal.
Not only does he find complete card
catalogue under one alphabet of the New
York Public Library's reference collection.
but on the opposite wall he discovers an
equally complete catalogue of the resources
of the Library of Congress. This catalogue
has photographed Importance greater
than at first appears. When it is remem-
bered that as a condition of American
copyright, one copy of each book published
IN this country must be deposited in the
Library of Congress, the tremendous bibli
ographical value Of this catalogue will be
at once perceived
But to return to the catalogue of your
own Public Library. A Bostonian at once
recognizes several startling features in
which your catalogue is superior Not only
does 1t contain complete record by author
and title of every book in the library. but
II indexes by subject under the same alpha-
bet every magazine article in the library's
vast files, and this magazine index is SO
recent that it Includes last months peri
odlcais. Moreover, the special subject divi-
slons are exhaustvey catalogued and
grouped much more fully under main divi-
slons than in our Boston Library For ex-
ample, the reader who wishes to know tn.
precise resources Of the New York Public
Library in French fiction, Spanish poetry or
Gaelic folk lore will find all the individual
works on these subjects separately grouped
as unit of the main catalogue. The ad-
vantage of this thoughtfulness to the reader
who is not already an expert in the SUBJ
ject which he is looking up will be at once
apparent The scholar may also discover
at once by quickly running over the cards
what special resources the New York
Public Library has to offer which his own
library in Boston, Chicago or Brooklyn
does not offer him.
Having selected the books which he needs,
he writes out on call slips furnished to
him the shelf mark, author and title of the
book, and signs the slip with his name
and address. If the library has several edi-
tions Of the book and he has special
preference for one of them he may indi-
cate this fact on the slip.
When he has filled out the slips, he takes
them to a desk in the same room, where
they carefully examined by the at
tendant in charge, who is specially trained
for this purpose, and if there are any OBJ
vlous errors on slip they are pointed out
to him for correction. Such forethought as
this in the Boston Public Library would
save much time and friction not only to
the reader, but to the library staff
If no obvious errors appear on the call
slips, they are filed and sent at once by
pneumatic tube to the correct book stack,
and the reader is given a card with num-
ber on it. Half of these cards have even
numbers, and half have odd numbers These
numbers bear no relation to seat numbers
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

picture suddenly changed. Cheers I'm tho
street announce the approaching sound ~
horses feet, followed by the steady tramn
OF our infantry marching four abreast.
Oflcers and men alike carried flowers as
the gayest part of their make-up Soi}ed
somore, Khaki uniforms told Of hard battles
and as they passed doughboy hand ap
peared, stopped in side street and played
as the men marched
lhls was the 18th Infantry, whose SOL
olers put their feet on the soil Of France
lor lhe hrst time at St. Nazaire on June &c,
1Sl'. saw them there, saw them march
through Paris, so per cent raw recruits.
sa" them enter the Toul sector for emer-
gency training and emerge in March, 1918,
hardened soldiers, when in the 1st Brigade
DIVISION they paraded before Secretary of
War Baker and General pershing with
bulldog swing to their shoulders
These were the backest Allied davs. when
BAKER rushed back word to the War De-
partment that red tape must be eliminated
american troops were to reach France
IN suff1clent time to save the Allied cause.
To-day these veterans are marching vic
torlously through Luxembourg to Germany.
but since March, 1918, they have taken
Nantlgny, have made history for our army
III the Chateau Thierry sector. then at 81
Mlhlel, again at Verdun and then OF No
yember l III the drive toward Sedan which
broke the hinge of the German armv,s
grasp on France and sent it reeling back
toward Germany, leading to the Kaiser,s
abject capituation.
Americas lst Division, whereof the 18th
infantry ls part, missed no blow for vic.
tory IN the entire war, and it was in its
nonor that the 18th was cheered through
ohe Luxembourg streets to-day.
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
\ Catalogue
~ Of Library Merits

mere are many more points which !
should like to take up, but as q pilgrim
from Boston | must not begin TO preach.
and I think the best thing I can do in
closing is to summarize briefly some Of the
many advantages which New York enjoys
over other cities sn this respect, and par
elcularly over Boston. Your library has
no amateur reading committee of unculti-
waited ladies who serve without paw for the
privilege of seeing the new books q fort
night before you do you have reference
collection on open shelves in your main
reading room beside which the Bates Hall
collection in the Boston Public Library is
MEDIEVAL; you have access to a much
larger collection Of current periodicals:
you may the important new books i'm
mediately, and have them delivered to you
IN half the time taken by other Libraries:
you have good ventilation, restful lights
and scholarly atmosphere; your books
are seldom reported as not available for
use; you have q much larger purchasing
fund for new books than most libraries;
you have expert advisers to guide you and
no censorship to hinder your intellectual
development, and the spirit of service is
strong IN the staff which administers to
your wants. Your library represents the
best standards of the American Library AS
sociation, to which the rank and hle Of
the staff in Boston Public Library ss
actively hostile; you have no highly de-
veloped library union to commercialize the
standards OF your service, and to trail
them in the mud of city politics; and, best
OF all, the director of your library is as
sumed by his trustees to be a competent
executive with freedom TO act as he thinks
best and TO develop the utmost potential
ties Of library service. Such as it is to
day, the administration of the New YORK
Public Library is the norm of excellence
for the United States. if not for the world
That is. proud distinction which Bos-
tonian can only envy and seek to emulsbs
by comparison which is surely not in-
vidious.
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
0es New York Know New Y0rk?-s Library for Instance

special fields watch this collection from
day to day and are quick to add to it the
latest contributions to knowledge in every
branch of human activity. 1t is in refresh
ing contrast to the reference collection in
the Boston Public Library, which was Sc
lected more than twenty-five years ago and
is now largely obsolete
But there are also many special libraries
in the building freely open to the public,
and in these, Mr.. Anderson pointed out
to me, it has been "a point of honor TO see
that the librarians in charge have at least
the same standing in their particular fields
as an assistant professor in such a univer-
slty as Columbia or Harvard. | know OF no
other library in the United States of which
this could be said truthfuly. 1t carries
on honorably in this respect the great tra-
dition of the British Museum, whose de-
partment custodians are. for the most part,
men of letters whom England is thus proud
70 honor.
Did space permit | should like TO enlarge
on the unique special collections Of the
New York Public Library, but I must con-
tent myself with calling attention to the
fact that in the central building the
scholar will find the largest and richest
collection of Americana in the world
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

But he decided that the adventure would
not end here. He wanted to. know why
such wonderful things should happen to
him, and he decided to stay over in New
York two days longer to find out. And he
found strangely enough the library was
still glad to help him. He saw everything
but the boiler plant, and he compared it
with Boston. AS q result he has almost
decided to move to New York
Before going further l wish to express
my gratitude to Mr. Anderson, the director;
Mr.. Lydenoerg, chief of the reference de-
partment; Mr. Harper, acting chief OF the
Abranch library department and the circula-
3tion department, and to Mr.. McComb, chief
Of the reference reading room, for their
cordial and painstakng cooperation in max
ing this article success
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

made at cost, and by means OF it many Of
the lbrary's treasures are rendered acces-
sible to libraries and scholars at great dis
lance from New York, with a great saving
Of travelling expenses and laborious re-
search
AS the library is one of the largest book
buyers in the world, its method of selecting
books should prove of interest. Contrary to
the practice Of the Boston Public Library,
all books are selected by noted experts in
their field. The purchase of books pub
ished in America is not limited to one book
seller or jobber, but distributed equally
throughout the New York book trade The
library has an arrangement with the chief
booksellers by which one copy Of every book
published in America, when procurable
through ordinary channels, is automatically
submitted to the library for approval on tho
date Of publication. These books are in,
stantly classified by subject and allotted to
experts in the library service for quick de-
cision. Such decisions are usually made
within couple Of days and are final.
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
Cobb 1s1aud Qystera

sheathed, waiting the moment Of the arrival
OF the American commander in chief
Crowds line both sides of the street, talk
ing volubly in French, German, Italian
Flemish or whatever mother tongue pleases
most.
Some one shouts "Vive!" and from the
narrow side street through scattering spec
tators emcrges warsoiled American can
tain astride an American Western cow nonv
with one white eye. Then big automo-
bile half filled with flowers, showing four
stars on the windshield, follows. Behind
them another, and General Pershing amid
cheers steps out and with long salute re-
views Luxemburgs army General Hines
and several colonels accompanying Perish
ing pass inside the driveway of the palace
"hlle Luxemburgs elaborately uniformed
band plays Yankee Doodle" The music
has that soothing flow which brings bacI,
the opera stage setting.
Then she appears on the balcony slim,
young, pretty, talking rapidly to broad
shouldered, erect-hgured Persh;ne Who
might well be the hero of the niece u;s
smart army cap hides his silver gray hair:
ms soldlerly bearing bespeaks youth. Cen
eral hines is standing near by, talking to
another young woman, possibly sister OF
the wenty-year-old Duchess, and staff of
hcers conversing with uniformed Luxem-
ourg army officials up there complete the
gallery picture.
To have seen the pretty young Luxen1-
burg girls separate themselves from
the crowd and trip gayly singing along the
pavements would have startled no Ameri-
can present who has seen on our stage the
conception Of small European nations with
their gayly dressed soldiers and the heroine
mixed with plenty Of waltzy music; but shs
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

When it finished passing the palace local
boy drills and scouts followed, and then the
beautiful Duchess, the broad -shouldered
generals and their retnue disappeared from
the gallery and Luxemburg's army marched
away and the crowd dispersed through the
streets, cheering every French or American
officer who remained among them
while representatives of the great repub-
lies of France and America were enthusi-
nstically welcomed, only faint cheers wera
heard for the beautiful Duchess. whose a1-
leged apathy toward the popular movement
Tor q break in diplomatic relations wis,
the Germans violated Luxemburg's neutral
'ty in 1914 is said to have minimized ber
popularity among the people. From the
raik heard in the streets to-day one would
De led TO believe that little Iu.emburo
leans toward republicanism. This theory
- strengthened by posters conspicuouslv
piaced throughout the city disclaiminp anv
responsibility on the part of the populace
1or AuXemourgs apparent passiveness tow
ara German occupation during the war. The
posters were put in place by the I,uxemhury
Citizens Union.
ne nrs' Americans in the city of Lux
emDurg included Brigadier General Frank
farker OF the lst Division, who came on
Wednesday, before the enemy had wholly
evacuated the city
The dining room at the Grand Brasseur
motel contained the German and American
generals simultaneously at dinner time. An
attitude of strict frigdity maintained be-
tween the tables was the only result.
Parker returned to-day. accompanied By
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. ir
out the German general had departed
French and American officers were in full
possession Of the dirxng room.
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

IN the matter of popular fiction, for
which there seems likely to be a general
demand, even though the books are Of
somewhat ephemeral literary character,
the library is less conservative than most
other large metropolitan Libraries. The
books are bought in suitable numbers, but
not replaced when they are worn out The
library is also less conservative in the
matter Of censorship than many othe2
libraries, though special care Is taken to
avoid purchasing books Of q destructive
and immoral tendency for general circuls-
ton. The problem is usually solved By
purchasing reference copies, if the book il
Of literary value, and imposing suitable
limitations on their consultation by read-
ers.
Wisely, think, the library makes no at
tempt to duplicate the special collections
of the ColumbiA University Library, the
American Museum of Natural History and
other special Libraries which are open 70
the serious student
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
Every Branch Combined Popular University and
Centre of Good American Citizenship i'm
True Democracy of Learning

IN the hall, but simply direct the reader to
central issue desk. The advantage of this
system, whom the hall is crowded, is to
direct the flow Of readers evenly either to
the left or right hand sido of the great
room, according to the congestion problem
which arises. If, however, q reader cx-
presses preference as to which end of the
hall he wishes to work in, or if he wishes
to be near certain open reference shelves,
his request is honored at once
Should he wish to have his books delivered
by page to a special seat in the hall he
may write the number of the seat on his
slips, but as delivery is more prompt if he
valves this service, the great majority of
readers probably prefer to do so.
Before sending the readers slips to the
appropriate stacks, the attendant in the
catalogue room who files them writes on
each slip the number of the card with
which the reader has been provided, and
also the total number of slips which the
reader has fled. The reader then enters
either the left or right section of the gem
cral reading room, as his card may Indicate
and sits down in front of an electric indi-
Gator. When his books are ready the num-
Der OF his card is flashed on the electric
Indicator, and the books are delivered to
him Immediately, whereupon he may take
them to any vacant seat in the hall, on con-
dition that he returns them to the desk
before leaving the room
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
On the Heels of the Hun in Luxemb,,r6

passing first neat residences in the ont
skirts with a sense of amazement after
many months in a country shattered bv
wars devastation. Brownstone fronts that
would credit Fifth Avenue greet the eve
Then you enter business thoroughfares with
gayly decorated store windows juttng onto
the sidewalks and streets too immaculate
to be true. Great fags-horizontal bars of
red, white and light blue-of the Grand
Ouchy hang from every window and festoon
themselves across the streets Here and
there American and French flags, the for
mer handmade, with from five to fifty stars
according to the makers conception, hang
out. Pictures of the Kaiser, Crown Prince.
Ludendorff and Hindenburg are conspicuous
by their absence from the store windows.
while Pershing, Joffre, Foch and Petain
and Wilson smile forth with victorious
countenances. Luxembourg artists are most
~ responsible for the pictures, because Ger
mans controlled incoming Autographs of
these Allied notables until yesterday.
Block after block had so dressed itself
to-day when the Americans began to arrive.
tasslng down the main thoroughfare, which
"ldens occasionally to accommodate small
squares, each with a statue of some ma
t1onai hero, you arrive at the National Pal
ace, brownstone structure with slate tur-
reted roof and fronted with second floor
galleries whose decorative iron scroll bal
ustrades jut out trifie over the street.
Below in the street is Luxemburgs little
army-every man in blue dress parade uni
form, ample red striped trousers. braided
tunics, hats similar to those of our West
Point understanding at rigid attention.
with polished bayonets scntllatine in the
afternoon sun; officers dressed even more
elaborately, with shining swords nm
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

Furthermore, experts continually read all
foreign book catalogues, trade journals and
photographed lists, and make their selec-
tions instantly. If the book is already
bound, as is the case with most English and
American books, the volume is carefully
catalogued, and is available for public use
from ten to fourteen days after publication.
If it requires binding, this is done by the
lbrary's special binding service with re-
markable promptitude, and the book is avail
able for public use, general rule, about
one month after its purchase by the library.
The question of amateur censorship, which
is SO unfortunate influence in most
large public libraries, does not enter here.
1t book is a contribution to knowledge or
to creative literature or the arts, it is at
once added to the reference collection,
though if its influence is likely to be harm
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

who had just come to New York and
he needed quickly photograph of Ma
poleon's house of exile at ST. Helena. The
Bostonian who knew the New York Public
Library said that was easy and that he
could have gelatin print of the picture
delivered Immediately to the engraver 1t
was q challenge which the editor accepted.
To drop the third person, for it was a
personal matter, we checked our coats and
rode upstairs to the general reading room,
walked Immediately to the open reference
shelves and picked out q rare book with
the very picture we sought. 1t was Won
derful, for in the city we came from such
book would have been locked up Sor fear
OF theft We were rather surprised of
course, to find the Public Library open on
such night of jubilation, and even more
surprised when we walked with some timid-
ity up to the delivery desk and inquired
II there was any method by which we could
have the desired picture photographed
Three experts Immediately sprang up out
OF the ground and gave US competent
lecture on the most efficient way OF pre-
pairing q print for rotogravure promised
to have gelatine print made by the library
photostat and to deliver it to the engraver
before IL o'clock the next morning, al
though it was then close to library closing
time. AS GROWING evidence of their
faith in human nature they agreed to send
the editor bill for services rendered
1t was really most Instructive We
learned more about the mysteries of tech
nical processes connected with rotogravure
supplements than we had ever known be-
fore, and at slack hour in the greatest
holiday night New York had seen since the
close of the Civil War there were three
experts ready and eager to assist the pub
lie with highly specialized information.
One of US was glad that he was settling in
New York, the other went ruefully back to
Boston, and is occasionally heard even now
murmurng ''photostat" in his sleep.
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
livery Branch a
~ Public University

OF your branch library service l am hesi-
tant to speak. The sense of leadership
necessary to weld together into an organic
whole the vast number of small Independent
circulating libraries and reference collec-
tlons previously scattered over the various
boroughs of New York must have been ire
mendous To resolve local differences Of
opinion, to study the social problems pre-
sented by such g vast and unorganized
welter OF communities and to bring new
and unframed immigrant pubics to such
public Libraries was feat which would
have taxed the energies of the greatest
administrative leaders. Even as it is, it
requires the active cooperation of men and
New-York tribune., 1918-12-01
\ lert Where Boston
a Is Medieval

1t should be clearly understood at the
outset that the New York Public Library
Is an organization uniting two equally i'm
portant departments. The central refer
ence library, in which the books are not
available for outside circulation, is sepa-
rate unit from the circulation department
and branch library system in which books
circulate freely outside the building The
two departments present very different ad-
ministrative problems. The central refer
ence library is a scholars library in which
the old Astor, Lenox and Tilden Founda-
tions are now united for the first time
This library is supported by endowment
and occupies its present magnificent build
ing simply as perpetual tenant of the
City of New York, The city is its kindly
landlord. The branch Libraries and their
books are now one system mainly support
ed by the city, which appropriates annu-
ally about 100000 for that purpose. Here
too many local libraries have been fused
into one admins trative system. shall
consider the two systems separately, al
ways remembering that in practice they
are to be regarded as a single unit OF ser
vice, not only to the citizens of New York,
but to the whole country.
Tie main reference collection, which IS
second only to the Library of Congress in
the number of books, and which surpasses
the Library of Congress in many fields, Is
freely open for consultation and general
reading to any reader without an ntroduc-
tion. To those who know the restrictions
which obtain in the British Museum, the
Bibliotheque Rationale, the Bodleian
Library, the Harvard College Library and
most other great collections with which the
New York Public Library may otherwise be
fittingly compared, this will seem remark
able. But the New York idea Of democ-
racy has obtained long that most citi-
zens of New York probably take it for
granted. A large part of this collection is
ranged on open shelves for direct consul
tation by the reader. The visitor from
Boston is at once impressed not only by
the large extent of this collection and the
catholicity of choice which it reveals. but
by the fact that it is kept up to date,
Inspection of single range of books i'm
mediately shows that experts in their own