Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-02-28
WILL PRESENT
LIBRARY PLAN
Miss Mary Downey Will
Tell Towns How to Pro
vide Own Libraries.

Bismarck, N. D., Feb. 2s.-Miss
Mary E. Downey, director of the
North Dakota library commission will
appear before the teachers Of the To-
cal schools to explain to them the
plan which she expects to use in many
of the towns and cities of North Da-
kota in inducing the people of the
The plan has been worked by Miss
Downey with great success in other
and less promising fields than North
Dakota and the head Of the states lib
rary activities is anxious to begin the
work in this state.
Practically every town, according
to Miss Downey, has, large numbers of
books that are unused. They have
been of use at some time in the past.
In many cases they are standard
works, but the individuals who used
them has left the home and they
have been packed away. Miss
Downey's experience is that a book
drive will bring into the central point,
In different bits of literature, from
magazines to books. about two and a
half times the population of the town.
Some of it is worthless, some of it is
indifferent material, but much of it is
Of the best, one drive conducted by
Miss RDowney, bringing to the city lib
rary encyclopedias that filled more
than fifty feet of book cases.
To Start at Bismarck.
1t is planned to put the drive on in
Bismarck through a. series of contests
between the high school and grade
schools of the city. This Is especially
the part of the plan that Miss Downey
will discuss with the teachers who
will be the active marshals as we'll as
tho hN0Il T.. ne
ferent divisions. Small prizes are
usually given to the individuals bring
Ing in the largest number IF books
and also to the classes or groups or
grades as the competition may be di-
vided.
Intense rivalry develops in this plan
and the canvass becomes so thorough
that few unused books are left in the
city at the end of one week of inten-
s1ve search. So thoroughly did one
town in Montana where Miss Downey
was entered into this that every rural
home within the territory of the
by the students and one little girl
ended the contest by triumphantly
bringing in the big center table family
bible because she explained cit was
not read any more at home anyway
vii Divide Spells.
When all the books have been gath
cred they are sorted and listed. In
the local drive, the Bismarck library
will be given all of the material it
desires The local high school will
have it's desires filled and the dupli-
Gates in certain classes will be passed
On to the state library. The works of
reference. will as far as possible be
placed where they will be of service
to students and to representatives Of
women's clubs. Magazines will be
used to fill u the volumes already on
hand in part and to add to the num-
bers of volumes at hand. In this way
1t Is quite frequently possible to add
the volumes of several years to we'll
known magazines through the miscel-
laneous giving of many homes.
n exact date of the drive here,
which will be followed by drives in
other towns of the state for which
plans already have been. has not been
definitely set, but probably will be in
a few days.