The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-02-05
Report Of Librarian
 Reviews Activities
 Of Eventful Period
l34.327 Volumes On Hand January 1, l94l-Largest Book Appropriation In History Made To Meet De-
 mands- s-Miss Barrett Librarian, ReappOinted

me6Glnp or the DOdTQ Ol dSSllto VI the Silas Bronson Library. Bernarc 1T. Fitzpatrick was chosen presiden' of the board another highlight oi his 49 years of service as a mem Der. MT. Fitzpatrick, retired prin- cipal of the Croft grammar schoo was prevented by illness from at- tending yesterdays meeting. HiE associates expressed wishes for g speedy recovery. He has been as- sociated with the library as assist ant librarian and as member ot the board of agents for more than half 8 century.
 Atty. John L. Gaffney was choS- en again as secretary at yesterday meeting and E. c. Northrop was re- elected treasurer. Tn the absence oi MT. Fitzpatrick, John A. Coe, ST. presided.
 The financial statement included in reports showed that an appro- priation of $64.388 had been made for books for the current year, rep resenting the largest in history.
 The scholarship committee con- sisting of B. H. Fitzpatrick, E. Vim cent Maloney and Judge John L. Gaffney reported that five scholar ships to Yale University had beer awarded during the year as pro- vided by the will of Samuel Holmes i The awards have been made an- nually since 1869.
 i This years recipients are: Fran cis Kehhher, academic 1914; An son Stocking, academic 1943; James Bowling, academic 1942; Reuben Fucker, academic, 1941; and Nelson Daly, Sheffield 1941. Reports of all committees were accepted and Miss Barrett was appointed for another years service as librarian.
 Members of the board In at- tendance were: Frederick s. Chase, Elton s. Wayland, E. Vim cent Maloney, John G. Gilmartin and Charles H. Swenson. Others on the board of agents are William 6. Jones. John M. Hutchinson anc John P. Elton.
 LIBRARIANS REPORT
 Thre following is the report oi Miss Emelyn M. Barrett, to the Board of Agents of the Silas Bron- son Library:
 A brief summary of the facilities of the Library and their use during the year reads as follows:
 Number of volumes in the Library January 1, 1940 .......... 13496(
 Number of volumes added by pur- chase, gift, etc. .......... 7'OOl
 Number of volumes withdrawn worn out or lost .......... 7,63E
 Number of volumes in the Library January 1, 1941 ..... 134,32'
 Number of volumes lent for home 11se 348, ,68(
 This circulation was distributed a! follows:
 45qo to adults
 55To to children
 54eS from the Central Library Sqo from Brooklyn Branch
 6eo from Rose Hill Branch
 4Go from Waterville Branch
 28Go from school libraries ano
 school deposit collections.
 Population Served ....... 99, ,15S
 Registered borrowers ...... 16,45s
 Per cent of population regis tered ....... 1t
 Circulation per capita of popula- tion 3.5 volumes
 Circulation per registered bor- roWer ................. lo VoluIhes
 The following conclusions have been drawn from the above figures
 For the tenth consecutive year khe number of books added did no offset the number withdrawn al obsolete, worn out or lost. Int cumulative effect of curtailed bool purchases over 8 period of ten year: resulted in shortage Of book! which has become more and more acute each year.
 An inadequate supply of nev books, whether important curren titles or clean copies of old stan dard titles, resulted in an alarming decline in book circulation. It is no surprising that book circulation to the past five or six years averaged but 350,000 volumes per year, whll' circulation for the preceding fiv, or six years averaged over 500,00O volumes per year. Reduced book ap propriations in the early 1930's dit not immediately result in declinint circulations. With reduced book ap propriations prolonged over periot of ten years, however, declining book circulations were inevitable.
 The number of registered bor' rowers, 16 per cent of the popula tion, is deplorably low. A registration of 30 to 35 per cent of the popula tion is considered a minimum stan dard for a city of this size. It ha been convincingly demonstrated il other cities that this standard i reached only when library servic is brought to all sections of a cit. through system of branch libraries The per capita book circulation 10 a city this size should be between and volumes per year. The yarl. per capita circulation for the Bron son Library is between and 4 vol umes. The number of books read b. each registered borrower, however is IS per cent. This fact ln Som measure supports a belief tha Waterbury is not necessarily a non reading city.
 One outstanding achievement o the year was the completion of tn remodelling of the Brooklyn Brancl undertaken as a W. P. A. projec during 1899. The building was open ed for inspection on the 24th O June and on the 26th of June com munity program was given to cele brate the formal opening of tn branch to the public. An address O welcome was given by Judge Johl L. Gaffney, Secretary of the Boar of Agents. Mayor Vincent A. Scull then traced the history of tn branch from It's earliest years, re calling the days when, as boy, h worked as Q shelf attendant Q Brooklyn Branch. Irish, Italian an LAthuanlan programs followed. Il the order given to commemorate On settling Of these national groups | their cultural contributions 10 th Brooklyn community,
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