The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-07-10
Reports
On Annual Meet
Miss Barrett Describes Work Done at Five-Day Session
in New Haven

Miss Emelyn M. Barrett, who rep
resented the Silas Bronson Library
of this city at the annual conference
of the American Library association
in New Haven gives the following
report of that important session:
Some 5000 librarians from all
parts of the United States, as we'll
as a few from Canada and Mexico,
attended the annual conference of
the American Library association
held in New Haven from June %
81. Yale university with its magni-
ficent new Sterling Memorial Library
was really the host for this occasion
but the city of New Haven and the
Free Public Library Joined in help
ing to make the conference a
memorable one. Eighteen of the
famous Yale dormitories were
thrown open to guests and excellent
meals were served at the Commons.
An opportunity was given to inspect
the new Sterling Library under the
guidance of members of the Yale
library staff who conducted groups
at each hour of the day.
Various publishers, book-binders
and library supply houses had
booths at the convention, thus CIV
ing an opportunity to examine new
books, inspect the work of various
binders and acquaint oneself with
the new tools and methods which
are being used in library work to-
day.
Large general sessions or smaller
round tables, for the discussion of
every phase and aspect of current
library problems, were held on prac-
tically every morning, afternoon
and evening throughout the week.
The twenty-one members of the
Bronson Library staff who attended
the conference have reported to me
in detail on those particular sec
tons of the conference which they
attended; people who are doing chill
dren's work reporting on the chill
dren's section, those doing reference
work, on the reference section, etc,
so that I feel sure that the stimula-
ton resulting from their listening
to some of the outstanding people
in the library profession will more
than repay US for the expense Of
sending these people to the confer
ence.
/ myself attended as many and as
great a variety of the sessions as
the program of the conference
would permit. AS at all conferences,
two or three equally interesting ses-
sions were frequently scheduled for
the same time. The papers and dis
cussions which interested me most
and which I think might also be of
interest to the executive committee,
were those on the causes OF OBJ
solescence in library buildings and
the selection of the site for a branch
library building. The leaders OF
these discussions were men at the
head of some of the most progress
sive library systems of the country.
DR. Bowerman of the Washington, D.
c, Public Library, c. f. Sherman Of
Providence, o. S. Davis of Bridge
port and others, who spoke from &C
tual experience.
1t was very encouraging to hear
that the obsolescence of library
buildings is thing which cannot
be avoided. If building is planned
to serve the needs of community
as visualized 35 years into the fu-
ture, it may fall far wide of the
mark since no one to-day can tell
how far Libraries will progress in
35 years. Certainly no one 35 years
ago v;zualizcd the up-to-date public
library building of to-day. The
greatest factor In a building out
growing it's usefulness seems to be
permanent partitions. The new
buildings going up to-day have as
few permanent partitions as posi-
BILE. The public library at Whining
ton, Delaware, which I have seen,
comes to my mind as the outstand-
ing example of a library most Of
whose inside walls are movable and
rearrangeable.
1t seemed to be the very general
opinion that a system of branch
Libraries does not lessen the volume
of work at the central library. that
from IS to 90 per cent of the
patrons of library branch were DIT
no time ever registered as borrow