Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-17
LIBRARIANS VISIT
CITY SHOW PLACES
Important Group Confer
enCes Scheduled This After
noon and Tonight.

The American Library Association de-
clared a recess this morning and the
show places of the National Capital,
which appear to particular advantage
at this time of the year, became the
goal of some 2,70O visiting delegates.
Although important group confer
ences are scheduled this afternoon and
turned to the closing session tomor-
row morning, when the committees on
elections and resolutions will report.
The principal address at the general
session tomorrow, which will be called
to order at 10 O'Clock, will be made by
F.. p. Keppel, president of the Car
negie Corporation OF New York. An
other important speech will be delivered
by Everett Dean Martin Of the Peoples
Institute. New York City. Mr.. Martin
will speak on "A Liberal Education"
while Mr.. Keppel is to discuss Adult
Education and Reading Courses"
Reports to Be Heard.
Immediately following the speaking
program the committee reports will be
heard and the officers-elect presented
to the membership. None of the Off
GERS In nomination is opposed this
year.
Some Of the idiosyncraties Of library
patrons were discussed informally this
morning by librarians at the exhibit of
books and publications on display at
the Washington Auditorium.
Vivid colors of book covers are
bigger boon to circulation than the
publishers notices they contain, accord
ing to supervisors of binding In. the Chi
cago and New York public libraries.
Both authorities, Miss Rose c.. Murray
OF New York and j. r. Patterson OF
Chicago, agreed that books in bright
colored binders are more In demand
than those with sedate covers.
Perhaps the most important of the
group meetings this afternoon was that
OF the school libraries section, which was
addressed by Joseph Auslander. poet
and joint author Of THE Winged
Horse" The speaker deplored what he
considered public indifference to
poetry, and corresponding decline
In the prestige of modern poets.
Divided Into Several Groups.
After a brief general meeting of the
section, those in attendance were d.
vided into several groups for the dis
cussion Of separate phases Of school IL
brary work.
other meetings this afternoon in
cluded a meeting Of the lending section
in the auditorium of the Red Cross
Building, Of the Radio Broadcasting
Round Table at the Washington Hotel,
OF the American Association of Law
Libraries at the Washington Hotel and
the League of Library Commissions at
the Corcoran Art Gallery auditorium.
Tonight the Biographical Society Of
| the American Library Association will
q fl1a hi MT Infn al lNtl
council meeting has been called at the
Washington Auditorium.
Radical changes in the method of
distributing Government publications to
libraries were recommended last night
by L. F. Schmeckebier of the Institute
for Government Research, Washington
in an address before a round-table
meeting of the public documents group
at the Washington Hotel.
The law provides" the speaker said,
that one library can be designated by
each congressional representative as a
depository to receive Government publ
cations If so desired. This places the
distribution essentially on population
basis, which is not a true guide to IL
brary needs, as library development is
the result of all the social economic
forces at work in the community.
The present distribution of deposit
portant centers have no repositories, in
many States the repositories are not
well distributed geographically, and
college libraries are designated in places
where public libraries are in existence.
ITO remedy this condition 1t Is pro-
posed TO establish three classes of de-
pository libraries, as follows:
81. Twenty central depository librar-
les which shall agree to keep two copies
of each publication-one for the use of
readers and one to be circulated as
needed through other libraries.
% Five hundred general repositories
which shall have the right to select in
advance the classes of publications to
be received.
80. One thousand restricted deposit
tory libraries which shall be entitled to
receive publications on application.
Recommend Requirements.
Definite requirements are recon-
mended for each class as regards the
budget for professional services and
hours of opening. Libraries OF educa-
tional institutions of the grade OF col
leges and lower should be omitted, as 1t
Is assumed that the purpose of deposit
tory libraries Is to ms Ike books available
to the general public. If 1t is deemed
desirable to SubsidiZe scholastic educa-
ton to the extent of allowing colleges
to select Government publications foI
their libraries, that purpose should be
frankly recognized in the law, and there
should be set up separate class known
as educational repositories
| Another group session last night, helo
by foreign-born members of the Ameri-
can Library Association, was addressed
by a second Washtngtonsan, Florencs