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which a town thus left out may if it wishes enter the system. It may by action of its board of city trustees become an integral part in event of which, notices of intention must be published, and the town is taxed as a part of the system; or it may contract with the county free library for any or complete service, in which event the town is not taxed, but it pays whatever sum is agreed upon by the contract. Under either plan a town may withdraw from the system.

Counties may also contract with each other for joint service-a plan which will undoubtedly work out with advantage and economy, as in cases of a small and a large county close together, or two comparatively small counties, or an interchange of service along the dividing line, or for particular service of various kinds such as the use of a special collection of books.

The new law also provides for a board of library examiners, made up of three members, the state librarian, the librarian of the San Francisco public library, and the librarian of the Los Angeles public library. This board will issue certificates to any desiring to become county librarians, whom they consider capable of filling the position. It is perhaps unnecessary to explain this provision of the law, as its wholesome intent is clearly manifest. It forestalls the appointment of any but those qualified for the position, and thus insures the carrying on of the county work along efficient and professional lines. The suggestion has been made by the board of library examiners to prospective candidates that they spend a short time at the state library, since it is the clearing house, so to speak, for records and for information of the county free libraries already started, which will prove helpful to those coming new into the work; on the same general principle that progressive teachers gather as often as possible for the summer session at the University, which in turn becomes a clearing house of good ideas for the schools all over the state.

The power to make rules for general

supervision over the county free libraries is vested in the board of supervisors, an arrangement necessary to insure the library sufficient attention from those who fix the income; but maximum power is given to the county librarian, who determines what books and other library equipment shall be purchased, recommends where branches are to be established, the persons to be employed, and approves all bills against the county free library fund. Salaries are fixed according to the class of the county, and range from $2,400 to $500.

The state librarian is authorized to cooperate with the counties, by sending a representative to visit them, and by calling an annual meeting of county librarians, just as the state superintendent of public instruction convenes the county superintendents of schools. An annual report is required to be sent to the state library, just as at present municipal libraries send one. A tax of not more than one mill on the dollar can be levied for the county free library on that part of the county receiving service from it, and the county is authorized to issue bonds for any part of its support. County law libraries, county teachers' libraries, and school libraries may be made a part of the county free library. The law also includes the contract section from the former law, in case any county should prefer that plan.

Such are the salient features of the new law. It became operative less than a month ago, but already two counties have taken the first step in establishment. The growth is bound to be rapid, as has been evidenced by the enthusiastic but sober, serious way the work has so far been taken up. In the short time that county free libraries have been in operation, over $70,000 has been appropriated by the different counties, 114 branches have been established, and over 12,000 people are reading county books. Compare that support with the $7,000 that the state library was able to spend this last year on traveling libraries! At the end of seven months one county librarian sent in the triumphant note that her card

holders topped the thousand mark. Another reported a circulation of over 37,000 for the first year. The work is already spreading itself into every branch of activity and industry. School libraries are being co-ordinated with the county work, women's clubs have their special study books, some fruit-packing houses have been made branches, a collection of books has been put into a jail, another at the agricultural farm, county teachers' libraries have in two instances been turned over to the county free library, and home libraries are being sent out in some counties.

This is the merest beginning. It furnishes, however, some basis for prophecy; too often there is too much talk, too little done, and California does not covet such a stigma; but in the light of what has already been accomplished I look forward to the time when our ideal shall have been realized; when the annual appropriations for library work by the counties shall aggregate half a million dollars; when in each of the 58 counties of this state there shall be a library centre with branches reaching out to every community needing them; when in every county seat there shall be a servanttrained, indeed, in the technique of library work-but beyond this and above it and first of all, fired with the inspiration of a mighty ambition to make his library a living, pulsing power to broaden and deepen and sweeten the whole life of his county; when in every little community there shall be a branch custodian, set on fire by the county leader, with vision wide enough to see that care of the branch library is a minor incident-that to know all the people and their needs, to quicken the desire to read, to direct that desire when awakened, and to furnish the books for the satisfaction of the desire -that this is the real work. I love to dream of the time when library organization and equipment and service shall be so complete and efficient that every resident of this coast state, whether in the congestion of the cities, or the solitude of the farm distant on the mountain side

shall have not only the opportunity, but the persuasion to read wisely and well.

This was the vision seen by those who launched the plan. This is the daydream that has quickened the zeal and strengthened the arms of those who have made the beginnings. In the gleam of this vision, under the inspiration of this dream, have we not the right to hope that the work will continue till our ideal shall become real, and the people shall enter into their true heritage of a home university.

The CHAIRMAN: We have time for a very brief discussion of the library systems in other states. Miss MARY F. ISOM, of Portland, will give us a little discussion on

COUNTY LIBRARIES IN OREGON

Library development is still in its beginning in the state of Oregon. The Portland library has been a public institution only nine years, and for four or five years enjoyed the distinction, joyfully given up, however, of being the only public library in the state. It has been a county library for seven years. Consequently, with library work slowly a-building and fairly well centralized, we do not meet the complications existing in California and other older and more fully developed states, and it has been an easy matter to prepare and adopt a law simple in itself, but covering existing conditions and providing for future growth and extension.

The Oregon library law as first enacted authorized any county containing a population of 50,000 or more to take advantage of its provisions, and limited the special tax for library purposes to 1-5 of a mill. This was passed primarily for the benefit of Multnomah County, the only county in the state whose population exceeded or equaled 50,000, and to enable the Portland library to extend its activities through the county, which it was exceedingly anxious to do.

The Portland library was so eager for this privilege that an emergency clause was added and the bill became a law at once. The Library Association of Portland

is a private corporation. A contract was made with the county court similar to the one already existing between the city and the Library Association. Under these two contracts the county library was organized. Its work may now be summarized as follows:

The central library containing the administration offices and the usual "departments, reference, children's, circulating, etc.; four branches in the city with daily delivery from the central library; 406 classroom libraries in the city schools; traveling libraries in the engine houses and in the club houses of the street railroad men; then, through the suburbs of the city, where the population does not justify the maintaining of a branch, and in several of the small towns of the county, there are reading rooms, each open five hours a day, afternoon and evening, and containing a deposit for circulation of from 500 to 1,000 volumes. These have weekly deliveries from the central library. One of these reading rooms is a reference library of agricultural books and periodicals, with perhaps 75 volumes of general reading for circulation.

In the country districts there are 16 deposit stations of from 50 to 100 volumes each placed in the post-office, the general store, the hospitable farmhouse, the grange nall, occasionally the school house, in one instance in a barber shop, and in another in a church. These are practically traveling libraries, but a shifting collection and under elastic rules, for the interested custodian often brings in an armful of books for exchange to freshen up his collection, as he comes into town on his weekly or monthly errands. These deposit stations consist of adult books entirely. The juvenile libraries are placed in the country schools. There were over 60 of these libraries sent out last fall and placed in 89 class rooms. Does a county library pay? In the last ten years Multnomah County gained 119 per cent in population. In six years the circulation of the library increased 212 per cent.

To meet the changing conditions, at the session of the Oregon legislature last win

ter, the county law was amended, removing the clause specifying the amount of population, and increasing the library tax to 1-2 a mill, so that now any county in Oregon can avail itself of this law. The section specifies that the tax shall be assessed, levied and collected in the same manner as other taxes for county purposes, the proceeds to be known as the "library fund" to be expended solely for the purpose of establishing and maintaining, or the assisting in the establishment and maintenance of a public library within the county.

The second section of the law provides that the county court for any county which has levied this special tax may use the library fund to establish, equip, maintain and operate at the county seat of the county, a public library, including branch libraries, reading rooms, lectures and museums and may do any and all things necessary or desirable to carry out this purpose. A clause follows which permits the county to contract for public library service with any corporation maintaining a public library at the county seat. This of course is equally applicable to a city library or to a private corporation giving public service, as is the case with the Library Association of Portland.

The third and fourth sections cover the usual provisions that no money can be expended except upon warrant drawn by the order of the county court and that every library so maintained by the county library fund must be entirely free to the inhabitants of the county, subject to such rules and regulations as are prescribed by the county court or the management of the library were not amended. These bills became laws on Thursday, the 18th of May, and Wasco County has already signified its intention of establishing a county library and Hood River County is considering the matter. The Library Association of Portland will henceforth enter into contract with the county alone, as the 1⁄2 mill tax will provide sufficient maintenance. In order to provide for the housing of libraries under this act, a county library building law was adopted. The first section of this law permits any county of the state

containing a population of 50,000 inhabitants or more, to assess, levy and collect in the usual manner a special tax not to exceed 11⁄2 mills on a dollar for the purpose of erecting a public library building. The Library Association of Portland is immediately taking advantage of this new law, and has plans under consideration for the much needed new building. The second section provides that this tax may be divided and may be assessed, levied and collected in not more than two successive years, but it shall never aggregate more than the 12 mills. The third section provides that this tax shall be used solely for the erection of a public library building at the county seat upon a site approved by the county and conveyed to the county by any person, firm or corporation. The county court is also authorized to contract for the use and occupation of this building with any corporation maintaining and operating a public library at the county seat. This contract may be upon such terms and conditions and extend for such a period as may seem advisable to the county court, but in the contract it is provided that the plans for the county library building are to be in accordance with the plans prepared by architects to be selected and under the control of the management of the library, subject to the approval of the county court. A fourth section reiterates the command that the library shall be free to all the inhabitants of the county.

In addition to the amended county library law and the new law relating to county library buildings, the Oregon legislature also passed a bill concerning farm libraries. This bill was introduced by a legislator who quoted J. J. Hill that "every farmer should have a library of agricultural books." This law provides that the county commissioners may appropritate $200 of the general fund of the county for the purpose of establishing farm libraries. The value of the Oregon law, it seems to me, is its extreme simplicity. No new elements are introduced; no new boards are established. The contracts are made with the county court which consists of the county judge and two commissioners. This is the

governing body of the county with whom all contracts are made. The power, the responsibility, are left where they should be, with the librarian and directors of each county library.

The CHAIRMAN: We will have a very brief presentation of an older library system, by Miss CORINNE A. METZ, of the Brumback library, Van Wert County, Ohio.

AN OHIO COUNTY LIBRARY

The Brumback library of Van Wert County, Ohio, is the result of the liberality of a former citizen of Van Wert, John Sanford Brumback, who in his will directed that a sufficient sum from his estate be expended in the erection of a library building, on condition that the county equip and maintain it. The conditions of the will were accepted by the County Commissioners, who entered into a contract with the heirs of Mr. Brumback to name the library in his honor and forever maintain it by levying a tax on all taxable property of the county for its support.

In 1899 there was no county library to accept as a model, no county librarians with whom to compare notes, so the library of Van Wert County has gradually worked out its own county library system.

The library is situated in the county seat, Van Wert, a city of 8,000 inhabitants and the center of a prosperous agricultural district, the only town of considerable size in the county, with the exception of Delphos, a city of 5,000 situated partly in Van Wert County and partly in an adjoining county. There are, in addition to Delphos, five towns with a population of 500 or over and each of these we have utilized as a distributing center. In addition we have selected other points of vantage, often the village post-office or the cross-roads store, from which the surrounding country can be served. Fixed collections of books are sent from the central library, according to a regular schedule, so that the stations receive four times a year new collections of 125 books. Extra collections varying from 50 to 100 volumes are sent

to the stations requesting these and we urge the caretakers of the stations to send us titles of all books requested by their patrons. The branch librarians, as we call them, in most cases the postmaster, clerk or owner of the store, receive $50 a year for their services, in return for which we require of them monthly reports of circulation, careful attention to the packing and return of the boxes, and as much interest in the work as we are able to get, sometimes not a very large amount.

Our school collection, though a separate department, continues the work of rural extension, since we loan to any teacher of the country schools, collections of books for school room use, to be changed as often or as seldom as the individual teacher wishes to make the exchange. Our greatest development during the past year has been in this department, due partly, I think, to the fact that there are in several townships of the county school supervisors, whose co-operation we have been able to secure, and partly because we have this year placed a trained assistant in charge of the work, her duty being to aid the teachers in their selection of books, make up collections when these are called for, and compile lists of books for given grades. I have also attended a number of teachers' meetings and township institutes, sometimes merely calling attention to the school collection, but more often talking about books themselves. We find that the teachers need not so much to have their interest awakened as to have their knowledge of children's books increased. We have no settled plan of distribution, but consider each case an individual one, even though extra time is consumed in doing so. In one town of 800, the superintendent of the town schools is also superintendent of the township schools and we have sent to him a collection sufficiently large to supply each of the seven teachers under his direction. The teachers go to him to make their selection and when one collection is used up, he is promptly supplied with another. In another township the school supervisor in his visits of inspection, changes from one school to another the seventeen fixed

collections sent out from the library. Both plans work admirably and the rivalry resulting further stimulates the work.

We keep no separate record of town and country borrowers, since the library exists impartially for all, and we have placed the emphasis on the personal side of the work rather than on the compilation of statistics. During the past year, I have visited each of the fifteen branch stations at least once and many of them several times, but in the future I hope to make a round of the stations at least three times a year. Last year we held a meeting of the branch librarians at the central library and although the attendance was small, we considered it worth while. We shall make it an annual event and shall also have, this year, a teachers' day, when the county teachers will be made welcome and an unobtrusive effort made to interest them in the school collection.

With the impetus recently given in Ohio to the teaching of agriculture in the country schools, we shall be enabled to reach many teachers and individuals who have thus far been skeptical of the practical help to be gained from the library. We are also gradually accumulating a comprehensive agricultural reference collection which we hope in time to make effective. With a state institute speaker on our library board we are able to keep in close touch with the granges and farmers' institutes and have secured from him invaluable aid in the selection of agricultural books. County fair is in Van Wert County an event looked forward to from one year to the next and we have utilized this opportunity to exploit the library. We have had, at various times, exhibits of bulletins and lists, model children's collections, recent books on agriculture, etc. The direct results are not always easy to see but our endeavor is to relate the library to every activity of the county.

In a sense I believe that the rural problem is bigger than the city problem. As Liberty Hyde Bailey puts it: "We must do constructive work. We must inspire the reading habit, direct it and then satisfy it." Because of this we must, I think, devote

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