Evening star., 1926-08-09
URGES INSPECTION
OF LIBRARY SITES
Dr.. BoWerman Stresses Need
in Obtaining Land for
Branch Buildings.

The National Capital Park and
Planning Commission today was re-
quested by DIR. George F. Bowerman
librarian OF the District Public Lii
brary, to consider Il sites on which
it is proposed to erect major branches
in separate buildings as part of the
library development program.
The sites advanced by DR.. Bower
man, who explained in formal letter
to the commission that there has
been no opportunity to submit them
to the board OF library trustees for
approval, follow:
Northeastern-Near Eleventh street
and Maryland avenue northeast.
GeorgetOWn-P street near WfScon-
sin avenue.
Southwest - Near Sixth and d
streets southwest. (To replace
branches in jefferson and Cardoza
Junior High School if justified)
Anacostia-Near Nichols avenue and
Good Hope road southeast.
Dupont Circle-Vicinity Of Dupont
Circle.
Connecticut avenue-Near Bureau
of Standards.
Calvert-Near Calvert and Connec.
ticut avenue.
Eckington-Rhode Island avenue
Woodridge-Rhode Island avenue
and Eighteenth street northeast.
Brightwood Park-Georgia avenue
and Hamilton street.
Observation-Disclosures and Massa-
ChuSettS avenues.
Sees Need For Haste.
Major branches in separate build
ings. DR.. Bowerman wrote, SHOULD
hfa ctrfT Tnin to- =; x..:t.
uted as conveniently to serve all of
the population in the thickly built-up
areas. A large fraction Of the District
is already so built up; within 10 or Is
years--that Is, before this plan is
likely to be put into effect in it's en-
all of the District
other than park areas will probably
be built upon and occupied by private
or public buildings.
I'VE now have three jOr branches
in separate buildings. The tabular
statement calls for II more branches
In separate buildings, all Of which are
either justified by present populations
in the areas to he served or will be
fully justified before they are likely to
be built.
Quotes Manual Stand.
'The distribution of these proposed
branches conforms to the principles
laid down In the chapter on Branch
Libraries and Other Distributing
Agencies by Miss Linda A. Eastman.
librarian of the Cleveland Public
Library, forming a chapter in the
Manual Of Library Economy now
being published in parts by the Ameri-
can Library Association, as follows:
I'm general, it may be said that
the city which provides branch libra
rieS not more than a mile apart is not
in danger of OVERRIDING its library
facilities, while in the most densely
populated parts of large cities two or
three times as many may be needed
The working estimate has been made
of one branch to every twenty-five to
forty thousand of the population for
outlying, scattered districts, even the
minimum, twenty-five thousand, may
be too large"
The recent experience in trying
to find a site for the Northea stern
Branch Library. the next to be built" q"
DR.. Bowerman concluded, Shows the
Importance of acquiring library sites
without further delay. Really ade-
quate sites are no longer to be had in
that section: sites inadequate in size
and poorly. located are scarce and high
in price.
There has been no opportunity to
submit these proposals to the board
OF Library trustees for formal ap-
proval; they are therefore my pro-
posals as public librarian"