Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-13
LIBRARY WORKERS
|. FIND LIVING COST
EXCEEDS SALARIES
Assistant, College Graduate,
Spends SAT More Than
Her Pay for Year.
CONVENTION WILL HEAR
INVESTIGATORS REPORT
2,0O0 Delegates Are Expected to
Attend Sessions of National
Body This Week.

The typical library assistant, woman
with two years of college and eight
years of practical experience, spends
81, 644 a year to sustain herself, or just
SAT more than she is paid for her
services.
Figures corroborating this assertion
will be laid before the fifty-f1rst annual
convention of the American Library
Association this afternoon by its COM
mittee on salaries, insurance and an
nuities.
The salary question took first impor-
lance at the conventions opening ses-
sion this morning at the Washington
Auditorium. Early registration tnd1-
Gated an attendance of well over 1000
delegates, who will close their meeting
Saturday with the annual election Of
officers.
Report Made After Long Study.
The committee report represents a
two-year investigation of living condi-
tions among 685 library assistants in 90
public, university and college libraries
over the country. It was compiled I'M
der supervision of the chairman, Charles
H. Compton of the st. Louis Public
Library, assisted by Dorsey w. Hyde,
jr, of Washington, and 10 other COM
mittee members.
Items listed as the average outlay for
living costs on a modest scale were
Board and room, 1854; clothing, $28l !;
laundry and dry cleaning. $42; health,
S45; carfare, $50; recreation, including
G0Gs
alter and music, SAT; benevolences, $55;
miscellaneous expenses, 1912. The dis
crepancy between the total living cost
and the salary scale was explained by
the fact that 141 of the librarians had
an outside income of 1924.
The first general session of the con-
vention will be called to order at $50
o'clock tonight in the Washington Audi
torium where all four general meetings
will be held. Speakers include Judge
Wendell Philips Stafford, associate
justice of the District Supreme Court,
who will deliver the address of well
come: william j. Cooper, United States
commissioner of education; Linda A.
Eastman, president of the association.
and r. r. Bowker. editor, Library Jour-
nal New York City,
Will Honor DIR. Putnam.
Mr. Bowker will make a testimonial
talk in honor of DR.. Herbert Putnam,
librarian of Congress and dean of his
profession, on the occasion of the thir-
tieth anniversary OF his appointment to
the post.
Unopposed officers placed in NOM
ination for election at the closing meet
ing are: President, Andrew Keogh,
librarian, Yale University Library, New
Haven. Conn; first vice president,
Everett r. Perry, librarian, public
library, Los Angeles, Calf; second vice
president, Jennie M. FleXner, public
library, New York, N. Y; treasurer,
Matthew S. Dudgeon, librarian, public
library, Milwaukee; trustee of endow-
Chicago Trust Co., Chicago, Ill.
Members of the executive board:
Linda A. Eastman, librarian, public
library Cleveland, Ohio, and Judson T.
Jennings. librarian, public library
Seattle, Wash.
The ground floor of the auditorium
was a scene of activity this morning,
as arrangements were completed for
numerous displays of books and library
accessories. Approximately 100 booths
will be open during the convention.
''BookmobiIe" Is Exhibited.
Delegates showed particular interest
in the "bookmobile," an inclosed motor
truck equipped with cooperative dis
play of the working tools of the library
profession, which is also used in various
parts of the country to demonstrate
how the vehicle can be useful to rural
county library service.
The exhibit Is in charge OF Charles
r, Brockmann, representing the Ma
tional Association of Book Publishers,
the American Booksellers Association
and several publishers.
The twenty-first annual meeting OF
the Special Libraries Association, to be
held at the Mayflower Hotel today, to-
morrow and Wednesday in connection
with the general meeting, opened at 8
o'clock this morning with a breakfast
conference on newspaper questions as
they relate to libraries, followed at 10
o'clock by a general session. The spe-
cial association is composed of affiliated
groups of the American Library Asso-
citation, including civil-social, CONNER
cial-technical, financial, insurance, mu-
scum and newspaper workers.
Special features of this conference
include a Joint session with the general
association tomorrow night at the Au-
ditorium, another meeting tomorrow
morning at the Music Auditorium OF
the Library of Congress and meeting
at the Washington Hotel Wednesday for
members of the New York State Library
School and graduates of the Columbia
School for Library Science.