Evening star., 1943-11-07
$3 900, 900 Spent on Books
For Navy Libraries in Year
Miss lsubeI Du Bois
Tells of Work to
Hold Mems Interest
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS,

Next to letters from home, books
are the most important factors in
keeping up the morale of our Navy's
fighting men, according to Miss
Isabel Du Bois, head of the library
section of the Bureau of Navy Per-
sonnet
For this reason the Navy tries to
have the books in its ship libraries
and at its naval stations so varied
the interest in them will help hold
the line when the longed for letters
don't reach the men.
An effort is made to provide every
Navy ship with books, even to the
little craft helping with landing
operations.
Last year Miss Du Bois spent So
100000 on books for these Navy
libraries.
Staff of 450 Librarians.
The dominating factor in this
large scale purchase of reading mat
ter for the Navy's personnel, Miss
Du Bois sees that no book is ever
added to the Navy libraries, no mat
ter how favorable its reviews, unless
it has first been read and passed on
by committee selected from her
staff of $50 librarians and their as
sistants. She herself has the last
word, although she prefers to let
the final judgment be by the COM
mittee.
The Navy" says Miss Du Bois,
reads good books. OF course its
reading appetites and tastes are as
varied as its personnel"
A sailor Willing away time in a
shore base library alter a long
stretch OF patrol and convoy duty
made his first acquaintance with
Hamlets soliloquy, To Be or Not
to Be" He proceeded to memorlze
it with the remark: This might
come in handy for me to remember
when I ship out again, and I can't
have this Shakespeare fellow within
elbow reach
Letters Praise Work.
On Miss Du Bois busy desk the
morning we interviewed her at the
Navy Annex in Arlington County
Va, were numerous letters telling
Of the service Of Navy libraries tC
Navy officers and crews on distant
oceans and in the far corners Of the
earth. This one, from 1t. Arthur r
Chatten, Navy chaplain, in the
southwest Pacific, is typical:
Our library is one Of the fore
most elements responsible for the
good morale of our outfit. Despite
a heavy usage it is still as a whole
IN good shape. Only one book has
been destroyed in our frequent rush
Tor fox holes. The rats have the
toll of another by chewing off its
cover TO get the paste in its binding
Since our men are under con-
slant strain Of work and worry, with
always blackouts at night, they are
physically so tired. any recreation
which involves eXertion is out of the
question. But they find such COM
fort and relaxation in reading, each
mans Workday, wherever this is
possible. IS SO arranged, as to give
some time to read during daylight
hours"
Westerns, according to Miss Du
Bois, still hold first place over all
corners in the field of fiction. with
pocket-sized editions universal fay
oriteS.
Good dictionaries and ALIASES are
consulted so frequently they have to
be replaced more often than anv
other type Of books. There is a con-
stantly increasing demand for books
on postwar planning. There also
are frequent requests for all man
ner OF selt-improVement types of
books and specific text books looking
toward advanced ratings in the
corps.
Securing interesting, well-writ-
ten new books isn't an easv prob