any length of time, should try to buy a few professional books from time to time. For the benefit of those teachers who can not well afford to purchase the books, or for the benefit of those teachers who do not expect to follow the calling for any length of time, it is suggested that some of these books be placed in the school library. Whatever benefits the teacher also benefits the school. The Division of Educational Extension has agreed to include in their traveling libraries some of the books listed so that it will be possible to get some of the books without any cost to the teacher or district. However, it is hoped that so far as possible either the teacher or the district will arrange to get the necessary books. There are, of course, some districts that are not able to do this and they should make use of the traveling libraries.

Pupils' reading courses. It is one thing to build up school libraries and quite another to secure their proper use. The latter is both the more important and the more difficult problem. The School Libraries Division has reached a position in its work in which it will for some years to come probably be more concerned in seeing that the school libraries now in existence are properly used than it will be in securing additions to existing libraries, though the latter is by no means a matter of small importance.

The district superintendents of the State are prepared to cooperate with this division in all possible ways in regard to the upbuilding and use of school libraries. At the meeting of their association at Utica in February, a committee was appointed with power to take such action as seemed best in regard to library work. This committee has recently met and outlined a plan for the use of school libraries. Briefly stated, this is the plan: Whenever any teacher certifies to a district superintendent that a pupil has read during the given school year not fewer than five books of which not more than 50 per cent shall have been fiction, and that those books have been read with a reasonable degree of care, the district superintendent will issue a statement certifying that the pupil named has read such books, giving author and title. He will sign this statement and return it to the teacher who will countersign it and give it to the pupil. The books read must be

those that are in the school library. It is believed that this plan will lead to a larger and better use of the school libraries. It leaves the teachers free to encourage the pupils to read along whatever lines may seem to them best. The whole scheme aims to give the largest possible degree of freedom and the greatest opportunity for initiative on the part of the teacher.

In reaching the conclusion that the books have been read with a fair degree of care the teacher is to use such methods as she deems best, save that there shall be no written examination. The experience of those who have tried it shows that pupils are exceedingly fond of having a statement showing what books they have read and that such a plan leads to more varied and better reading, reading with some other purpose than that of merely being amused, reading with the thought of really getting what the book contains.

It is confidently believed that the working out of this plan will be a great step forward in the school library movement and it has the hearty approval of the School Libraries Division which will cooperate in the matter to the fullest extent in its power.

THE NEW STATE LIBRARY

On April 14, 1913, after two years of partial or total suspension of public service, the State Library was again opened to the public in all its departments, and all its facilities made available to the people of the State. The event was appropriately commemorated by the issue of a well-printed and illustrated handbook, setting forth in detail just what the Library is, what it aims to be, what functions it is designed to serve, what relations it is to sustain to the government of the State, its several institutions and the general public, and the rules for making use of its various privileges. The following are some of the facts and provisions set forth in this handbook of special interest to the libraries, schools and students of the State:

The State Library exists equally for the organized State government, the schools and other cultural institutions and for the private citizens. As a State institution it exists primarily to promote efficiency in government.

As a reference library it aims to promote research. As a part of the educational system of the State it cooperates with libraries, schools and study clubs in the broad work of education. To the citizens of the State it offers books of all kinds, books for entertainment, books for instruction, books for research.

It recognizes as one of its most important functions the assistance it is able to give to local libraries, schools, colleges, study clubs, and individual investigators throughout the State. In its special collections it possesses many books to be found only in the largest libraries; with few exceptions, these are available for use in any "registered" institution. Loans from the State Library, except in the case of traveling libraries for which there are special rules, are made under the following conditions:

I Such books as can be spared for temporary use outside of Albany will be lent to local libraries, schools, study clubs, and other institutions registered by the Education Depart-❘ ment; but rare books and those needed for constant reference at the State Library as well as those that are of a merely popular character or such as local libraries may reasonably be expected to supply, will not be lent.

2 All applications for books should be made through the librarian of a local library, the principal of a school or the secretary of a registered club. Individuals not resident in Albany will be registered as borrowers only when they can not be served through a local library or other registered institution, and when the books are wanted for serious study or research.

3 State officials may borrow for official use such books as are not in frequent demand for use at the Library.

4 Any licensed physician in the State may have material collected for him on any subject, to be used either at the Library or sent to his home.

5 The entire special collection on education is at the service of the teachers and schools of the State, either for use at the Library or through loans.

6 The borrowing library or individual shall defray all transportation charges, take all due precautions in packing and shipping books and make good losses or serious injuries to books loaned.

7 Unless otherwise specified, the maximum period of loan shall be two weeks, subject to renewal for the same period; but all books must be returned at the earliest date consistent with the special study for which they are borrowed.

In addition to its service to inquirers and investigators through the loan of its books, the Library aims through its well-equipped and organized reference section to serve as a bureau of information to all the people of the State. Its reference work carried on by correspondence is scarcely less in volume and importance than that rendered in person at the Library. It encourages and invites inquiries from all serious investigators who can not visit the Library in person, and attempts to answer all reasonable requests no matter whence they come. Naturally some limit has to be set as to the range, scope and conditions of questions to be answered by mail and the amount of work called for by inquirers, so the following rules have been prescribed for this service. The Library will answer questions of the following kinds:

I Inquiries as to its possession of any particular books, manuscripts, newspapers ог periodicals, if the same are accurately listed. Full name of author, date, place and name of publisher should be given if possible.

2 Requests for brief lists of authoritative material in the Library on any subjects within its scope.

3 Requests for references to bibliographies or sources likely to be of use in study of any subject within the scope of the Library.

4 Inquiries concerning particular facts in history, especially the history of the State of New York or concerning the government or administration of the State, provided the inquiry does not involve extended search.

5 Requests for information desired in order to purchase out-of-the-way books; the author of a book of known title; date, publisher or probable cost or value of a specified book, etc.

6 Inquiries as to the source of a given quotation, if it can be readily obtained. Extracts from books in the Library will be furnished only when quite moderate in extent and only from books not readily available through local libraries or through the trade.

7 For genealogical inquiries an examination will be made of the catalog of the Library and of printed indexes, and promising references

selected. If a reference seems obviously to be the one sought, a further examination of the book referred to will be made and the result noted, but no extended genealogical research will be undertaken.

8 Photographs of rare illustrations, maps or other material can be arranged for at the inquirer's expense. Here as in all cases involving outside professional help, the Library will endeavor to refer the inquirer to persons whose charges are believed to be moderate.

In recognition of the growing interest on the part of schools, colleges, literary and political societies in debate work, the Library has recently undertaken the upbuilding of a special debate collection, consisting of material on important social, economic and political questions, on the principles of debating and on the organization and conduct of debating societies. It is ready to give special assistance to debating teams in the selection of subjects, in the suggestion of helpful references and by the loan of material under the regulations governing interlibrary loans.

Through the traveling libraries section, each registered library, school or study club in the State may become in effect a deposit station or branch of the State Library, not merely borrowing individual books under provisions noted above, but receiving on its shelves for periods of six months or more, collections of from 25 volumes upwards, selected to meet the needs of readers along particular lines of study, of a particular grade, or generally to supplement the local collection. Where there is no registered library or school, the same privilege may be secured for the locality through the application of five local taxpayers, the only condition being that the books shall be accessible at reasonable intervals to the public and shall be under the care of a responsible librarian. Where the use of books thus supplied meets the conditions of a free library, collections of 25 are supplied to any community or library in the State for a period of six months, all charges for transportation both to and from the library being borne by the State. At the end of each six months, these collections may be replaced by a fresh collection on the same terms. Thus any registered library or school in the State may have the use of 50 selected books a year from the State Library at no cost whatever. For each additional 25 books sent in a consignment, a

charge of 50 cents is made to cover part of the expressage or freight. Where the traveling collections are for the exclusive use of particular associations or clubs, there is a charge of two dollars for the first collection of 25 books and of one dollar additional for each additional 25.

Where any individual or family in the State has not access to a free library or a traveling library, a collection of 10 books, selected to meet the particular needs or desires expressed by the applicant, will be sent to his home, on the presentation of formal application, proper references and the payment of a fee of one dollar. Such a collection is known as a "House library" and may be kept for three months, with the privilege of renewal for a like period at half the original fee. This service is designed especially to meet the book needs of isolated rural homes.

With these various and generous provisions for bringing its rich resources directly into the lives and homes of the people of the State, it is hoped that the number of its beneficiaries may be largely increased year by year and that the generosity of the State in providing for it such beautiful and noble quarters and such a splendid fund for the restoration of its collections, may be abundantly justified in its practical service to the people.

LIBRARY INSTITUTES, 1913

This issue of New York Libraries appears too late to serve as a means of advance announcement of the program of the year's meetings and too early to contain a report. It will therefore be sufficient here merely to set forth the general scope of the meetings and the ideas that the committee has had in mind in working out its plans. A full and detailed report will appear in the August number of New York Libraries.

In the selection of centers for the meetings and the grouping of libraries into districts, the plan for this year shows many changes from preceding years, the aim of the committee being threefold: to relieve from responsibility as many as possible of the libraries which in former years have borne the burden of hospitality; to bring meetings nearer to those who in preceding years have had farthest to go; and to provide freshness and variety of environ

ment. Of the thirty institutes composing this year's series, only nine are in the same centers as last year, these nine being such natural meeting places and offering so many common advantages that it seemed quite unwise to attempt any change. The most noticeable general feature of the changes made is the substitution of villages and hamlets for cities, this being confessedly in the nature of an experiment. Thus the groups which in former years have met at Utica, Syracuse, Binghamton, Watertown, Mt Vernon, Olean, and Plattsburg have been so redistributed and rearranged as to meet this year at the villages of Richfield Springs, Canastota, Union Springs, Bainbridge, Bronxville, Theresa, Portville, and West Chazy; and the group formerly centering at Rochester while not changing its nominal center has arranged by way of variety, to hold its sessions on board a lake steamboat. The meetings this year have gone, as never before, directly into the country, and it is hoped that they will make a stronger appeal than ever before to country libraries, in whose interest they are primarily designed. It is almost certain that this will reduce somewhat the total attendance, but if it secures a better attendance from those isolated libraries which most need the meetings, the committee will feel that its plan is justified.

Another general change from the plan of last year will be noticed in the arrangement for shorter meetings in many of the larger centers and a more extended meeting and program for the smaller and more remote centers -just the reverse of the plan for 1912. The thought and aim of the committee in making this change was to avoid monotony and to see if a two days' meeting would not appeal more generally and strongly than a shorter one to those librarians who have longer and more difficult journeys to make in attending. It is believed that many who must spend much time and take considerable trouble to get to the place of meeting and who might consider a single session as hardly worth the time and expense, will feel differently when offered the pleasure and profit of a longer, richer and more sustained meeting.

As to the nature of the meetings, the character of the discussions and instruction presented, the committee has aimed to provide something between the informal "round tables" and the formal attempt at technical

instruction. A list of subjects to be discussed has been submitted to every librarian in the State for the expression of choice, and the program at each meeting has been based mainly on these choices. In certain cases, however, where a conductor has been available who was especially qualified to give needed help in a special subject, or where the subjects chosen by the general vote were a repetition of topics treated in those groups in years immediately preceding, the committee has exercised considerable freedom in modifying the local vote. To insure some serious and sustained treatment of each topic on the program, arrangements have been made, so far as possible, to have for each meeting a special leader who should be responsible for each topic considered. This means that at each of the thirty meetings, three or four special conductors have been provided. So far as could be arranged, these conductors have been selected from outside the district where the meeting is held, thus bringing to each group as much as possible of freshness, variety and outside help. This has of course involved much extra expense and a great deal of generous personal service and sacrifice on the part of the leading librarians of the State, but it is hoped that the expense and the sacrifice will be amply repaid in the added life and interest thus imparted to the meetings.

The following is the list of topics submitted by the committee: How neighboring libraries may help one another; Published helps for small libraries; Promoting use of best books; Conditions of library efficiency; Use and proper treatment of magazines; Proper initiative of library in relation to school work; Typical problems of the small library; Developing reference work; Ways of introducing books to readers; Fugitive material and clippings; Some interesting nonfiction; Best of the recent popular novels; Choosing editions of standard books; Selection of books for children; Library rules; What should be expected of a library trustee; Raising money for the library; Mending books; Making the library a factor in public education.

The following is an alphabetical list of the places of meeting: Albany, Bainbridge, Batavia, Bronxville, Buffalo, Cambridge, Canastota, Canton, Corning, Elizabethtown, Garden City, Homer. Hornell, Hudson, Jamestown, Lowville, Mattituck, Middletown, Newark,

Nyack, Portville, Poughkeepsie, Richfield Springs, Rochester, Rockville Center, Southampton, Theresa, Union Springs, Warrensburg and West Chazy.

N. Y. L. A. Committee on Institutes, Asa Wynkoop, Chairman; Emily S. Coit, Mary L. Davis, Elisabeth G. Thorne, F. K. Walter.

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION MEETING AT HOTEL KAATERSKILL The 35th annual conference of the American Library Association will be held at the Hotel Kaaterskill in the Catskills, June 23-28, 1913. The exclusive use of the entire hotel, accommodating over 800 guests, has been given to the association during this week, and provision for an overflow has been made at the Laurel House, about a mile distant, with accommodations for about 300 persons. Free transportation between the two houses will be provided. Other houses in the vicinity will also be available in case of need.

In view of the unique attractions of the place, its nearness and accessibility to the largest library centers of the country, the reductions from its usual rates offered by the hotel and the strong and inviting program that has been prepared, it is confidently expected that the conference will exceed in numbers any that has yet been held in the history of this or of any other library association. It is ten years now since the A. L. A. has met in this State, the last meeting within our borders being at Niagara Falls in 1903, when there was an attendance of 684. Since then meetings have been held at St Louis, Mo., Portland, Ore., Narragansett Pier, R. I., Asheville, N. C., Minnetonka, Minn., Bretton Woods, N. H., Mackinac Island, Mich., Pasadena, Cal., and Ottawa, Canada. The largest meetings thus far held have been those at Boston and Magnolia, 1902, with an attendance of 1018 and the meeting at Narragansett Pier in 1906 with an attendance of 891. As the association has more than doubled in numbers since the meeting of 1902 and has added nearly 2000 names since that of 1906, an attendance this year of from 1200 to 1500 would hardly cause surprise. It is therefore most desirable that all those who wish any special privileges or arrangements in the matter of accommodations, should make prompt decision and application.

Hotel Kaaterskill station is on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, the terminals of which are at Kingston, N. Y., and Oneonta, N. Y. The hotel is also reached by the Catskill Mountain Railroad and the Otis elevator, connecting with boats and trains at Catskill. To those coming from the east, north and west through Albany, the latter way is somewhat cheaper and about two hours quicker, but not quite so convenient. A round trip rate of one fare and three-fifths, on the certificate plan, will be made from all important stations in New York State. Delegates are reminded that they are to buy going ticket paying full fare and secure from the ticket agent a certificate of this amount. At the hotel this certificate will be vised by an agent of the Trunk Line Association, entitling the holder to return the same route at three-fifths of regular rate. The following rates have been named by Hotel Kaaterskill for members of the conference:

Two persons in double room

without private bath....... $3 each a day Two persons in double room