Evening star., 1947-12-12
Library and Auchincloss Plan
Former Librarian Fears 1t Will Be Submerged If Placed
Under Board of Education
To the Editor Of The Star:

olldSl a DOd
To the Editor Of The Star:
As citizen of the United States and as a
longtime disfranchised resident of the District
OF Columbia. wish to be counted as hearty
supporter, in the MAN, of the Auchincloss
plan for home rule and reorganization of the
District Government as embodied in its pre-
lninary report. I suppose there are few
who will approve and support the plan in
all its details. T desire to outline my objec-
tions to one very important feature.
I believe 1t would be a serious handicap to
the continued progress of the Public Library
system OF the District to abolish It's present
Board OF Library Trustees and to place the
Library under the proposed Board of Public
Education. base this opinion partly on my
own experience as Chief Librarian of the Pub
lie Library for So years G904 to 194O) and
partly on the sad experience of the few mu-
nicipal public libraries elsewhere which have
suffered by being under Boards of Education,
notably that of Kansas City, Mo.
believe that the District Public Library
system would not have achieved more than
a minor fraction Of its present development
since the library law was enacted in 1896, had
1t all these years been under the Districts pres
ent Board Of Education, where its interests
would always have been subordinated to those
OF the schools. I further believe that its ad-
vancement would be hampered and retarded If
it were to be put under the proposed Board of
Public Education. In current newspaper ar
ticles about the Auchincloss plan, when refer
ence is made to the proposed Board of Public
Education, it is usually Immediately after re-
ferred to as the School Board" thus indicating
that the schools would practically be its sole
interest, and the Public Library would be no.
where in sight That, am convinced, would
almost inevitably be the case. The school
system is 50 much larger than the Library sys-
tenn, its needs bulk so much greater, public
pressure Is so much more intense for schools
than for libraries, that any Board of Public Ed
ucation would inevitably center its major at
tention on school needs, with the result that,
In case Of the usual insufhciency Of public
funds for maintenance and extensions, the
library would be the first to suffer, and, when
funds are more ample the last to participate
Cincinnati Sets Example.
At this point wish to quote from recent
letter by Carl Vitz chief librarian Of the Public
Library Of Cincinnati Nhe largest city manager
city. by the way) and former president of
the American Library Association
1T would be serious mistake to merge pub
lie libraries In any way with the public schools.
They are both educational to be sure but the
public schools provide formal class room COM
pulsory education, the library, informal volun-
tary self education, form Of education which
school men rarely understand, and appreciate
In q long experience and in great variety
Of situations have always found that when
school authorities are able to determine public
library appropriations and policies, that the
public library service suffers either because its
financial needs are not adequately recognized
or because its service is warped into being
school library service. Usually BOTH happen"
The Public Library Of Cincinnati has its own
Board Of Trustees. It is, however, the county
library Of Hamilton County, and not part Of
the city government.
AS the Board of Library Trustees pointed
out in their hearing before the Auchincloss
Subcommittee, out OF $40 cities with public
library systems in 1885, only 10 are without
library boards. From correspondence with
DR.. Clarence E. Ridley director Of the Inter-
national City Managers Association, it appears
that there has been no later movement in city
manager cities to give up library boards and
put libraries directly under their city managers.
Why then should Washington be forced to
give up its separate Board Of Library Trustees
which has meant 50 much for public library
NSNSAoPAAAOAAo A1C3Sf <A41u Willy OQI puUlC
library system be subjected to an associa-
board, where its interests would almost Ger
tainly be harmfully subordinated to those of
the public schools?
The present proposal seeks to incorporate
the professional employees Of the public
libraries into the merit system Of the present
Board of Education; also to incorporate them
into the present retirement system Of the
schools. These proposals would, believe, be
harmful. Under present law the Board Of
Library Trustees appoints the chief librarian
and then he has full power Of appointment of
his staff. High standards Of education and
professional training for appointments In the
library system have always been maintained.
Most public library systems still retain their
Independent merit systems and believe this
policy should be continued here. It should be
pointed out that all library positions are
covered under civil service regulations as to
classification and pay scales and automatic
promotions under the Ramspeck law. Public
library personnel is likewise now under the
Federal retirement system and should 50 con-
tinue.
Systems Not Antagonistic.
Nothing that has been said should be taken
library system and the public school system.
Quite the contrary. There has always been
completely cordial cooperation between the
library and the schools. For many years one
member Of the School Board has also been
valued member of the Library Board Chief
librarians and school superintendents here
have always pulled together harmoniously.
There is no reason, why libraries and schools
should not continue voluntarily to supplement
each other educationally, without being tied
together under one board, wherein they would
be rivals, with the Junior partner (the library
hopelessly outclassed Let each have its own
board and each independently make its repre-
sentations to the district manager and district
council.
My specific recommendations are as follows,
in the order Of their desirability from the point
of view of the maintenance and development of
the public library system, still far from ade-
quate for the District of Columbia, whose high