Evening star., 1926-12-05
general locations approximately as fol-

general locations approximately as fol-
lows:
Northea stern-Near Eleventh street
and Maryland avenue northeast.
Georgetown-P street near WiscOn.
sin avenue.
Southwest-Near Sixth and ID streets
southwest.
Anacostia--Near Nichols avenue and
Good Hope road southeast.
Dupont Circle-Vicinity Of Dupont
Circle.
Connecticut Avenue-Eear Bureau
of sta andards.
Calvert-Near Calvert and Connec-
ticut avenues.
nue. and North Capitol street north
east.
Woodridge-Near Rhode Island ave.
nue. and Eighteenth street northeast
Brightwood Park--G~rgia avenue
and Hamilton street.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES and AIassa.
chusetts avenues.
Plan Downtown Branches.
The branch library program also
provides for one or two downtown II.
braries. located either in Federal pub
lie buildings, or. better. in the pro.
posed new building for the District
government. Such q branch is de-
signed to furnish library service con.
venient to the Offices Of Government
employees and to business men. A rec
commended feature is a municipal ref
erence. library to furnish expert infor
nation to District government officers
and to the general public in search of
facts about the best municipal govern
ment practice.
The program for branch library de-
velopment also provides for the es-
more branch libraries in suburban
school buildings, to serve outlying
communities remote from a branch
library in a separate building. The
new library law has a section grant
ing specific authority to the library
and school boards to establish branch
libra ries in school buildings to supple.
ment the separate branch libraries.
The library authorities have been
sratified that recently the Wa shing
ton Board of Trade included in its
recommendations of needed improve
ments. which 1t sent to the Gibson sub
committee investigating the District
government. an item providing for a
five-year building program for branch
librarie for the District. The Mon
day Evening Club has since passed
similar resolutions indorsing a devel-
opment program for the Public Lii
brary similar to the five-year school
program. Following the receipt of
these resolutions. Representative Err
nest w. Gibson, chairman Of the sub
committee, has signified to DR.. Bow
erman his intention to hear the IL
program.
Library Proven Necessity.
The four public libraries already
erected in Washington have proven, in
their own neighborhoods. that a public
library is not a luxury, but is, on the
contrary, an educational necessity in
any type Of community. 1t must be
adequately supported. The time has
come when neishborhood is no more
O. desirable place to live If it be with
out a library than it is without ade.
quate sanitation, schools or play
spaces. Thousands of would-be read.
ers living in the District are now
miles distant from a public library
Judge Wendall p. Stafford, vice
president of the library trustees,
stated officially for the board Of trus.
tees: washington is still long way
from supplying the community with
adequate library facilities. An over
crowded central library, three bra inches
in separate buildings and two sub
branches in the Chevy Chase and Ten
ley public school buildings. are not
sufficient to furnish library service
easily accessible to the homes and Of
fees of all residents Of Washington.
Nationwide statistics demonstrate that
the use OF libraries depends directly
upon the number Of branches and their
accessibility"
The statistics referred to by Judge
Stafford show that among the Amer
lean cities above 100000 population
Washington stands next to the bottom
in branch library provision, and that
in per capita library maintainance
Washington occupies an unenviably
low position. Only by a large exten.
sion of it's branch library system and
through largely increased maintenance
can this situation be corrected.