The Washington herald., 1920-11-30
G.P.O. EFFORTS
GOINGTO WASTE
Small Distribution Made of
Valuable Government
Literature.
CLEARING HOUSE URGED
Bills in Congress Call for
Intelligent System Of
Dissemination.
CLEARING HOUSE URGED

A national clearing house to pro-
vide for the intelligent distribution
of government publications through
American libraries probably will be
one of the results OF the proposed
reorganization of government de-
partments after the Republicans as
sumo control of all branches Of the
government on March 4. 1t was indi-
Gated here yesterday.
Bills pending in both the House
and Senate since September. 1918.
make provision for such a service
through the creation of a Division
of Library Service in the Bureau OF
Education. These bills were intro
duced as the result of efforts on the
part of Edith Guerrier of the Boston
Public Library who was formerly in
charge of a library Information ser
vice of the United States Food Ad-
ministration.
Hearings were. held on the mea-
sure by the House Committee on Ed
ucation and Miss Guerrier made a
Comprehensive appeal in support OF
the proposed bureau.
Little Benent DERIVED
The government spends millions
of dollars annually in salaries paid
to men employed in research work,
but because of the lack of an intel
ligent distribution service. Miss
Guerrier points out, the publications
containing the results of this work,
reach but a small proportion of the
people.
Instead of being used as propa-
ganda to increase the popularity OF
Individual representatives" Miss
Guerrier said. this printed matter
should be so distributed that each
pamphlet will serve as many persons
as possible"
An indication of what such a dis
tributing bureau could accomplish
is provided in the Boston Public
Library where Miss Guerrier, taking
advantage of knowledge gained
through her connection with the
Food Administration, has instituted
a department where current govern
ment publications are assembled
public
The collection is continually re-
ferred to by students in many
widely varying fields, according to
. recent bulletin OF the Boston Lii
brary, and constitutes one Of the
treasures of the institution.
Miss Guerrier's Big Task.
To accomplish this work and to
assemble literature from the yari-
Gus government departments. it was
necessary for Miss Guerrier to get
in touch with more than 200 govern
4r r|A IL
only through her connection In
Washington and could not be 'dono
by other Libraries throughout the
country.
The Boston Library. in its bulletin
on the subject, says that, as an in
direct result of the war, both the
public libraries and the national
government awoke to a new sense
of the part which the publications
of the government might and should
play in the life of the people.
The Boston Library" the bulletir
says, 'thereupon set about a study
of the vast publishing business
known as the Government Printing
Ohice, with a view to bringing the
people of Boston and the United
States government closer together
through a more effective use of the
publications which issue from the
presses at Washington in a steady
stream for the use of the people.
Literature Covers Wide Field.
m the process of this study a
number OF points became clear:
First, that the publications of the
government cover a far wider field
and touch the life Of the people al
many more points, than is generally
realized; second, that a large pro-
portion of this valuable material
issued at the public expense, and in
tended as an aid to the national life
\ never reaches those who need II
most, through ineffective and often
wasteful methods of distribution
third, that a great deal of this ma
terial is stale before it Is made
available for use, owing to the fact
that IL Is sent out to Libraries only
once a month; fourth, that the pub
lie is largely ignorant of the i'm
portance and live interest of these
publications from the lack of any
proper means of advertising them"
Discussing the results of the new
bureau in the Boston library, thl
bulletin says:
Tt is astonishing how many ques-
tions can be answered from the
documents on file. Not merely que
ries about the doings of the govern
ment or the conduct of American
public life, but the widest range of
economic, scientific. domestic, agri.
cultural and industrial questions
are speedily disposed of with the