The Columbia evening Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1920-1923, 1922-11-15
LIBRARY BOOKS
ARE DAMAGED
BY STUDENTS
College Libraries Throughout
Country Suffer Because
of ''Moral Reaction
From the War"
MANY VOLUMES STOLEN
Missouri University Furnishes
Those Who Give Fictitious
Names by Expelling
the Offenders.

Since the World War, students have
,een less considerate in their use OF IL
brary books, according to college libra
rians. Books have never been so severely
dealt with as during the last four years.
At the University Of Missouri the great
est difficulty in protecting books from
destructive students has been exper-
fenced in the main reading room of the
general library. About $500 upperclass-
men use this room and their most per.
sistent habit is that of defacing books.
There seems to be fiendish desire on
the part of many of these students TO
make marginal notations regardless OF
the subject treated in the book. Some OF
the notations so egotistically embiazoned
are witty, others sarcastic, and not a
few suggestive.
The habit of indiscriminate marginal
annotations is not confined TO students OF
one sex. A page may frequently be seen
on which an inscription in a bold mas
culine hand is followed by a qualifying
statement in a feminine hand. 1t is not
unusual to see one page soaked with ink
from different fountain pens that have
flowed violet, blue, black, green, or even
red ink.
The more serious, but none the less
thoughtless, bookworm leaves trail OF
ink across the pages scanned by under
scoring words, phrases, clauses, senten-
ces, and whole paragraphs, which for
some reason have appeared to be of spe-
cial importance. Crude pictures, invar-
iably in ink, and meaningless marks Of
pencil and pen add to the Disagreement
of the printed page Of library books. The
sin of cutting out pages and pictures is
oftener discovered in magazines than in
books.
One troublesome specia Of student that
has become a pest all over the United
States during the last four years, is not
satisfied with merely mutilating library
books. He gives a fictitious name and
makes away with the entire book. 4ale's
library did not know this type until af-
ter the World War. The University Of
Missouri has also discovered this pest.
Until March Of this year, the penalty
attached to giving a fictitious name was
a fine amounting to the price of the
book or books, reprimand by the pres
ident, and parole More drastic means to
stop this method of stealing books were
needed, however, and the committee on
discipline has made a new ruling which
has been approved by the president Of
Missouri University, and issued by H.
o. Severance, librarian. The new ruling
states: After March 29, 1922 any stu
dent who is convicted of giving ficti-
tious name when obtaining books from
the library will be dismissed from the
University for at least one term"
A student was found guilty Of giving
a fictitious name and dismissed for the
fall term, October q. There are now
ten books involved and three students
under investigation by the University to
determine if fictitious names were given
at the library.
Students who gave fictitious names in
the past have been upperclassmen. Not
one freshman has ever been found gull
ty of this offense The library in Jesse
Hall is used exclusively by freshmen, and
few infringements Of the library rules
have been discovered. The morale Of
the freshman class this term is regarded
by the librarians as being higher than
for any period since pre-war days.
Not all books are lost through the ef-
forts Of the evil minded students, how.
ever. Many books disappear from the
stacks to which only library employees,
graduate students, and University in
siructors have access. The proverbial
observation-disclosures of the college profess
sor is substantiated frequently by the
discovery that professor forgot to
charge himself with book which he
later mislaid. .-...
Patrons Of the University Library who
fail In return hocks xrhap dine ara fexvor