1. 1. Consult the indexes of poems by Holmes, and give the pages on which you find the following: (a) Poem beginning, “Listen, young heroes! Your country is calling.” (b) Poem entitled, “Dorothy Q.” 2. Between what streets in our city does 870 Lafayette Street come?
  2. 1. Look up the “Seven Wonders of the World” in two different books. Do not copy them. Name the books in which you found them. 2. In what work of literature does the “Old Man of the Sea” appear? In what reference book did you find it?
  3. 1. Find the allusion to “Field of the Cloth of Gold” in two different books. In what books did you find it? 2. Use the card catalogue and give a reference for the life of John Greenleaf Whittier.
  4. 1. (a) Who was governor of Iowa in 1906? (b) Where was he born? 2. (a) Name two good recent encyclopædias, (b) Name two good older encyclopædias.
  5. 1. (a) What is the general index to Government publications? (b) How often is it published? 2. (a) What is the Congressional directory? (b) Examine it and name any one reference point which interested you. (c) What is the Congressional record?
  6. Name good reference books under the following heads: (a) Classical dictionary. (b) Gazetteer of the world. (c) Atlas of the world. (d) Year-book for current history.

There is an almost endless variety of questions which can be put to the students to bring out points in connection with reference books. They can be asked to name the various kinds of dictionaries in the library, to tell which is the latest issue, to look up the same word in each, and tell the differences noted in the treatment of the word in question. See whether they can define a gazetteer, a glossary, and a concordance. Ask them where they would go to find a picture of the human skeleton, or colored plates of coats of arms and flags of various nations. See whether the word copyright means anything to them.

The Teacher and the Library.—“The position of a modern librarian in a high school,” says Principal McAndrew,[[5]] of the Washington Irving High School, New York, “seems to me like that of a missionary in a heathen country. No one but a librarian can realize what an astounding amount of ignorance we high school teachers exhibit regarding the purpose and operation of a library. Time and again in my library experience I have observed teachers searching through reference books who were too poorly trained to look in the table of contents and too proud to ask for help.” A frank confession from the teacher is good for the soul of both the teacher and the librarian. Certainly the classroom teacher must inform herself more thoroughly on the rudiments of library methods if she is to work in successful co-operation with the school librarian. Normal schools are now giving instruction in library economy. The Oregon Library Commission has published a broadside listing under forty-three heads, “Some things a teacher should know about books and libraries.” The list has been reprinted by the Michigan State Library Commission with slight revision. As specimens the following may be cited:

1. What are the best cyclopedias?

2. What dictionaries are best for school use and how do they differ?

3. What books can you consult to find out whether certain subscription sets urged upon the district by agents have any value?

4. What is the best printed aid to the formation of a teacher’s professional library?

5. Where will you find annual summaries of the books on education, with notes as to their value?

6. What U. S. public documents would be of value to you in your school work and how may they be obtained?

7. What are the best printed lists of books for children and how much will they cost?