library is found in the offer, with which all of you are familiar, of valuable money prizes for essays on economic subjects, by a firm of clothiers. The committee in charge of the awards is composed of eminent economists and publicists; the competitors are members of college faculties and advanced graduate students; the essays brought out are of permanent value and are generally published in book form. Under these circumstances many libraries have not hesitated to post the announcements of the committee on their bulletin boards. Others regard the whole thing as purely commercial advertisement and refuse to recognize it. One library at least posted the announcement of the competition for 1910, but refused to post the result. It would be hard to tell just how much altruism and how much selfishness we have here and the instance shows how subtle are the gradations from one motive to the other. Advertising by securing condemnatory action of some sort, such as exclusion from the shelves, has also not been uncommon. This requires the aid of the press to condemn, abuse or ridicule the library for its action, and so exploit the book. The press, I grieve to say, has fallen a victim to this scheme more than once and has thereby given free use of advertising space ordinarily worth thousands of dollars. A flagrant instance of this kind occurred in one of our greatest cities about ten years ago. The work of a much-discussed playwright was about to be put upon the boards. A wily press agent, in conversation with an unsuspecting librarian, obtained an adverse opinion. The aiding and abetting newspaper, which was one of ostensible high character, proceeded at once to heap ridicule and contumely on the library and the librarian for their condemnation and exclusion of the play (which really wasn't excluded at all). The matter, having reached the dignity of news, was taken up by other papers and for a week or more the metropolitan press resounded with accusation, explanation, recrimination and comment. The gleeful playwright cabled objurgations from London, and the press agent, retiring modestly into the background, saw advertising that would have cost him $100,000, at the lowest estimate, poured into his willing lap by the yellow, but easy, press of his native burg. It is possibly unfair to cite this as an attempt to "work" the library-it was the public press that was ingeniously and successfully exploited through the library. The fact that the mere presence of a public library is an advantage to the neighborhood in which it stands has led to numerous attempts to locate library buildings, especially branches, in some particular place. These are often accompanied by offers of building-lots, which, it is sad to say, have occasionally appealed to trustees not fully informed of the situation. I recall several offers of lots in barren and unoccupied spots-one in an undeveloped region whose owner hoped to make it a residence park and another in the middle of a flourishing cornfield, whose owner considered it an ideal spot for a branch library-at least after he had sold off a sufficient number of building lots on the strength of his generous gift. These particular offers were declined with thanks, but in some instances members of boards of trustees themselves, being only human, have not been entirely free from suspicion of personal or business interest in sites. Here it is difficult to draw the line between the legitimate efforts of a particular locality to capture a branch site and those that have their origin in commercial cupidity. Both of course have nothing to do with the larger considerations that should govern in such location, but both are not exploitation as we are now using the word. A curious instance of the advertising value of the mere presence of a public library and of business shrewdness in tak ing advantage of it, comes from a library that calls itself a "shining example of efforts to 'work' public libraries for commercial purposes." This library rents rooms for various objects connected with its work, and finds that it is in great demand as a tenant. Great effort is made by property owners both to retain and to move quarters occupied for library pur poses. The board has recently refused to make selection of localities on this basis. of There is another respect in which the public library offers an attractive field for exploitation. In its registration files it has a valuable selected list of names and addresses which may be of service in various ways either as a mailing-list or as a directory. Probably there are no two opinions regarding the impropriety allowing the list to be used for commercial purposes along either line. The use as a directory may occasionally be legitimate and is allowable after investigation and report to some one in authority. I have known of recourse to library registration lists by the police, to find a fugitive from justice; by private detectives, ostensibly on the same errand; by a wife, looking for her runaway husband; by persons searching for lost relatives; and by creditors on the trail of debtors in hiding. Where there is any doubt, the matter can usually be adjusted by offering to forward a letter to the person sought, or to communicate to that person the seeker's desire and let him respond if he wishes to do so. One thing is certain: except in obedience to an order of court, it is not only unjust, but entirely inexpedient from the library's standpoint to betray to anyone a user's whereabouts against that user's wishes or even where there is a mere possibility of his objection. If it were clearly understood that such consequences might follow the holding of a library card, we should doubtless lose many readers that we especially desire to attract and hold. Of course the public library is not the only institution whose reputation has exposed it to the assaults of advertisers. The Christian ministry has for years been exposed to this sort of thing, and it is the belief of Reverend William A. Lee, who writes on the subject in "The Standard," a Baptist paper published in Chicago, that in this case also increased activity is to be noted of late. Persons desire to present the minister with a picture on condition that he mentions the artist to his friends; to give him a set of books or a building lot that his name may be used to lure other purchasers; they even ask him for mailinglists of his parishioners' names. "I am constantly being besieged," says Mr. Lee, "by agents of divers sorts, and of divers degrees of persistency, for indorsements of patent mops, of 'wholesome plays,' of current periodicals, of so-called religious books, of "helps" almost innumerable for church-workers and of scores of other things which time has charitably carried out of memory." It is refreshing to find that the kind of library exploitation most to be feared seems not yet to have been attempted on any considerable scale or in any objectionable direction. I refer to interference with our stock and its distribution-an effort to divert either purchases or circulation into a particular channel. My attention has been called to the efforts of religious bodies to place their theological or controversial works on the shelves of public libraries. When the books are offered as donations, as is usually the case, this is hardly exploitation in the sense in which we are considering it, unless the library is so small that other more desirable books are excluded. A large library welcomes accessions of this kind, just as it does trade catalogs or railroad literature. Attempts to push circulation are occasionally made, but usually without success. But up to the present time it is the glory of the public library that it knows neither North nor South, Catholic nor Protestant, Democrat, Republican nor Socialist. It shelves and circulates books on both sides of very possible scientific, economic, religious and sectional controversy, and no one has raised a hand to make it do otherwise. We should be proud of this and very jealous of it. As we have seen, there is some reason to think that newly awakened interest in the public library as a public utility has led to increased effort to gain its aid for purely personal and commercial ends. Naturally these interests have moved first. It is comparatively easy to steer clear of them and to defeat them. But attempts to interfere with the strict neutrality of the public library and to turn it into partisan ship in any direction, if they ever come, should be at the earliest betrayal of their purpose be sternly repressed and at the same time be given wide publicity, that we may all be on our guard. We may legitimately and properly adopt a once famous and much ridiculed slogan as our own, in this regard, and write over the doors of our public libraries "All that we ask is, let us alone!" The CHAIRMAN: Now, I hope you will remain a few moments to listen to the reports of the Secretary and of the Committees. Most of the committee reports have been distributed by placing them upon the chairs in the hall and will not be read. It falls to my pleasant lot to introduce Mr. George B. Utley, a worthy successor in the line of A. L. A. secretaries, who will now present the Secretary's report. SECRETARY'S REPORT The report which is here presented covers so far as a written statement can the work of the Executive office since the report made by Mr. Hadley at the Mackinac conference. Mr. Chalmers Hadley, who became Secretary on October 1st, 1909, resigned in January of the present year to accept the librarianship of the Denver public library, and the present occupant began his work at the Executive office on February 13th. The Executive office finds itself still in possession of the roomy and commodious quarters generously given by the trustees of the Chicago public library and of the excellent equipment donated by the Chicago library club, and the year's tenure has only deepened our feelings of gratitude and obligation for these beneficent acts which have gone so far toward making possible an Executive office for the Association. We are also the recipient of many other courtesies; from the Chicago public library, light, heat, excellent janitor service, and many acts of kindness on the part of the staff which help the work very materially; from Mr. C. W. Andrews the free services of his treasurer's assistant when the service of a notary public is needed, which happens at least once a month; from Mr. Henry E. Legler, the personal loan of pictures and furniture; and free clerical assistance from a number of friends of the work, which has enabled us at rush times to do more than our limited appropriation would have permitted. The present Secretary, as did, I am sure. his predecessor, feels that certain phases of the work are materially assisted by the fortunate location of the offices in the same building with a library of no mean reference facilities and in close proximity also to two of the choicest reference libraries in the country. During the past year Mr. Hadley succeeded in organizing much more perfectly the routine of the office than was possible the first few months, and the work is now moving forward with considerable smoothness. It is not necessary to remind the membership that the ordinary business routine of the office, about which little needs to be said in an annual report, is nevertheless the part that takes the most time, that which must be attended to before excursions are made into fields of new activities, and which increases steadily in proportion to the success of the work accomplished. The editing of the Bulletin and various publications of the Publishing board, the reading of large quantities of proof, the sale of publications with the attendant mailing, billing and bookkeeping, the distribution of the Bulletin and the Booklist, the necessary bookkeeping of membership dues, changes of addresses of members, attending to a correspondence averaging 35 to 40 letters per day, preparing copy for advertisements, arranging contracts with printers, and making the business arrangements for the annual conference and mid-winter meetings; all these and many other matters must be regularly looked after each month as they come up. The remaining margin of time has been filled with a variety of activities of which it is only possible to give a suggestion, as work of this character is not easily classified, or reduced to statistics. The Secretary feels that the work of the Executive office is intensely interesting and responsible and fully deserving of the very best thought and brain and business acumen that can be brought to bear upon it, and earnestly hopes that the efforts of the headquarters office are contributing in some measure at least to the increase of efficiency in modern library development. The Executive office receives an immense amount of correspondence from library workers in all parts of this country, of the continent of Europe and of the world, letters not only coming to us from every state of the union and every province of Canada, but from Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico, South America, England, Germany, France, Norway, Russia, Bulgaria, China, Australia, Hawaii and Straits Settlements. This correspondence is an able argument for the service that an Executive office can render to a very wide circle of workers. In most instances the Secretary has been able either to give the desired information or to direct the inquirer to the proper source for obtaining it. It can readily be seen that such a mass of correspondence occupies necessarily a considerable amount of the Secretary's time. As the Secretary pointed out in his last annual address, frequently the advice sought was of sufficient importance to require considerable thought and preparation in replying. Among the many items of information which have been asked from the present occupant in the past two months it may be of interest to show their trend and scope by recalling the following: Assistance on book purchases from a library in Mexico; how to start a free library in a town of 800 people; establishment of a library school in Russia; information on library laws for use in Norway; particulars on our civil service system from a govern. ment official of Bulgaria; how one may learn to become an expert indexer; whether it would be well for a small village library and a small college library to combine; assistance in establishing a library commission in a state now without one; suggestions for a reading list for a boy's summer camp; opinion regarding the value of certain designated juvenile books for library use; correspondence and personal conference with several persons regarding proposed additions to their library buildings; etc. In his report last year the Secretary outlined the publicity work of the Executive office, calling attention to the various articles written for newspapers and other periodicals, for encyclopedias and annuals and for convention bureaus and commercial clubs. Mention was also made of the publicity given through library school lectures, through the sale of publications to non-members, as well as through official representation at various state meetings and through other agencies. As very much the same policy has been carried out the past year it is unnecessary to repeat in detail these employed methods. Along some lines the office has been enabled to do more publicity work than last year, but, as pointed out by Mr. Hadley, more money is needed for this work, though a certain amount can be accomplished on the present income. During the year the Secretary has recommended about thirty librarians to positions, about half of whom received appointments; has been consulted regarding building plans by nearly twenty librarians or library trustees; has sent plans of buildings and photographs to eleven different cities; secured a valuable lot of magazines for one library; helped to select books for purchase by one of the three U. S. penitentiary libraries; and sent exhibits of library publications to Germany and to Russia. These exhibits were sent at the request of Hugo Münsterburg and Count John Tolstoi, respectively. Library building plans are proving very useful. Many requests are received for loans. We wish we might receive plans of all libraries erected in the past eight or ten years. Such a donation would be a real help to the cause of greater efficiency in library administration, and would not be a very great expense to the contributing libraries. About one-fourth of the time of the Secretary, and about three-fourths of the time of the other staff members are occupied in work connected with the Publishing board. It is not necessary, however, to speak further of this feature of the Secretary's activities as the report of the A. L. A. Publishing board covers this with sufficient fulness. The office has sold 10,273 copies of its various publications at an aggregate cost of $4,778.12. Membership. The Association needs more members, institutional and individual, and I believe just as firmly that the individuals and the libraries need the Association. Throughout the year a systematic and continuous campaign for new members has been conducted, and although our efforts have gained a fair addition of new names the number is woefully small compared with the total number of library workers in the country. Every library that has an income of at least $5,000 a year ought to belong to the A. L. A. both for its own good and for the help it can render the Association by its membership fee, and every librarian and library assistant whose salary is not less than $60 a month would find it a personal asset and an advantage to be allied with the national association. Many a library board who have decided they could not afford to have their institution placed on the membership roll would unhesitatingly vote five dollars a year for periodicals which are of far less service than the A. L. A. Bulletin and Booklist, which are secured free through membership, to say nothing of the other very substantial benefits derived. In addition to our desire to enroll a large number of libraries as institutional members, and entirely in addition to the pecuniary profit which membership brings to the work of the Executive office, we would like to welcome to the Association a host of library workers, in order that they may have the feeling of being a part of a great organized professional movement, of being one in a vast fraternity working for the uplift of their respective communities. We earnestly request librarians to recommend membership in the Association to their staff members. This, we are confident, can be tactfully done in a way to preclude any suspicion of duress on the part of the chief and to impress the assistants that it is solely for their good and advantage that the suggestion is made. A number of trus tees are already members of the Association, several having recently joined. We recommend to librarians that they extend a cordial invitation to join the A. L. A. to members of their boards, explaining to them the advantages accruing, and the opportunity, on their part, by a very small outlay, of aiding in library development beyond the confines of their own community. The library horizon of the average trustee would be considerably broadened by the perusal of the papers of such a conference as we are now holding, and he might look at things thereafter more nearly from the same point of view as his librarian. The membership is far more than national, it is world-wide. Besides having our members in every state in the union, and in nearly every province of Canada, our Bulletin goes to members in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Philippine Isl'ands and Porto Rico. If the Secretary could find the time for the necessary correspondence our membership could undoubtedly be widely extended among the libraries of Great Britain, as only two of the English libraries are now institutional members. The Secretary hopes to take up this matter in the near future and suggests that as a return courtesy some of our large libraries join the British library association and receive their official publications. For the year 1910 only fourteen members of the Association were registered from Canada. The Secretary hopes to induce more of our Canadian cousins to take an active part in the association. Here too he can be greatly assisted if Canadian librarians who are interested in the Association will urge membership to their friends when attending local meetings or writing other librarians. If an official representative of the A. L. A. could attend some of the provincial library association meetings, good returns in membership would probably result. There are at the present time 284 institutional members in the Association. The Secretary has recently addressed a special letter to the boards of about 350 libraries |