Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-10-13
Library
Continued From Page BID

library system are so CONSTRUCTED
that efforts to give good service are
and will continue to be seriously i'm
peded till the library occupies the
new central building in the Munich
pal Center, which Is assured by leglS-
lation and appropriations providing
for the first unit.
At the beginning there were no
branch libraries. This autumn there
will be IL branch libraries, seven
major branches housed in specially
constructed buildings, with the five
minor branches in somewhat tenn
porary quarters. These should be
more adequately housed and several
more branches are needed to give
ADEQUATE and District-wide library
service.
Growth In Library Use.
In 1904 the library's book collec-
ton numbered 64,473 volumes, 1t
now consists of 6l3,756 volumes.
The home circulation of books in
1904 was 27S,188 volumes, in 1910
the total was 3.383,927 volumes. In
addition 241,e71 mounted pictures
and 29.608 music scores were lent
the past year.
In 1904 when the population OF
the District was less than 100000
(278,7l8, census of 1900, but 33,988
persons were registered as library
users; last year with the Districts
population grown to 663 ,153 Census
Bureaus preliminary figures, the
library's registered borrowers num-
bered 1858. If to the latter figure
are added the $1,000 to 10000 ele-
mentary and junior high school pu-
pills who live too far from any IL
brary agency to have library cards
but who secure during the school
year Public Library books from the
collections sent to the schools, prob
ably q total of 165 900 or more per-
sons now avail themselves Of library
service.
In 1904 library employees of all
classes numbered IS; the library
now employs 300 persons "a few OF
whom are part-time workers.: with
the opening of the Southwestern
branch the number will be increased
to 800.
Work With Children.
The forward march of the library
since 1904 may also be shown by
an enumeration Of some of the new
services and improvements IN serv-
ices that have been put into effect
during this period. The steady pur-
pose has been that the library should
be "a supplement of the public edu-
cational system" as declared in the
creative act, and "a university OF
the people," according to the motto
carved on the exedra of the CEN
trail buildings.
First, because it is fundamental,
Is the library's work for children.
At the beginning of the period the
library had only one trained chill
dren's librarian and the children's
books circulated formed but II per
cent of the total. 1t has long since
been developed under director OF
work with children, readers ad-
wiser to adults on children's Gtera-
ture, trained children's librarians
in every agency and a school d1-
vision which sends out carefully
chosen collections to classrooms In
public. elementary and Junior high,
private and parochial schools, so
that now the circulation of chill
dren's books constitutes IS per cent
Of the total. The purpose OF all
this work is to catch them young"
in the hope that they will become
lifelong readers and library users.
Gives Advice to Adults.
More recently the library's service
to mature readers has been organ
lied under a co-ordinator of adult
work. who advises the trained work.
ers in the central library and
branches to the end that the edu-
cational service rendered by refer
ence librarians and readers adj
visers shall be kept on a high level
Of efficiency. 1t is expected that
when the new central library is
completed service to adults will be
fully departmentalized by subjects,
each subject in charge of a we'll
informed specialist. In the mean
time there have already been or
ganized in the present central
library divisions of technology, fine
arts, music, sociology and local his
tory, each in charge of q specialist
md with q consultant in adult edu-