Dr. Bostwick said that those libraries that have pay collections of duplicates ought to state whether their reports include the pay collections of duplicates or not and what relation this collection bears to the original copies. In St. Louis it is the tendency to buy rather a small number of copies of each work of fiction for regular use and put these books as far as possible into duplicate collections. The pay collection of duplicates in St. Louis varies very much. In three of the branches it has not even been begun, the librarians of these branches reporting that there is no demand for it. In two branches it is very popular and in the central library fairly so.
Dr. Hill thought it was not wise to give a smaller number of copies to the public for free use than to the department where pay is requested. It seemed to him that the public should have just as many copies of a book as those who can afford to pay one or two cents a day. In Brooklyn they give the same number of copies to the free circulating department as to the duplicate pay department. Dr. Hill said the Brooklyn public library last year spent for replacement, juvenile and adult, $50,000 out of the $80,000 which was spent for books, or something like 60 per cent for fiction both new and replacements.
The chairman said he was much interested in a statement printed in Collier's about two or three years ago in which was enumerated the result of the publishing activities of the father of the present publisher, who started the line of inexpensive editions of Dickens, Scott and others of a similar character. It was noted in that summary that the firm had sold in this country seven million copies of the works of Charles Dickens and four or five million copies of Scott's works, not individual titles, but the complete works of those authors. This means of course that a surprisingly large number of the best novels by these writers must be in the homes of the people who use the public libraries and that these people use the libraries to supplement their own private collections. Consequently, no particular conclusions can be drawn as to the actual character of the reading done by these people from the fact that books they get from the public libraries are mostly the quality of fiction which is put out at the present time.
Mrs. Sneed said there was one rule for the selection of fiction which she generally gave to her library school class every year. This was the rule of Henry van Dyke: A book of fiction is really worthy to be bought if it has not given an untrue picture of life, if it has not made vice attractive or separated an act from its consequences. The speaker thought that if this rule was applied in reading one would not go so very far astray.
Mr. Bishop said he had been greatly interested in the last five years in the selections made by the public itself. The Library of Congress receives, of course, all the copyrighted fiction and places one copy at least of practically every book of permanent value upon its shelves. After the temporary agitation of the immediate advertising is over the public itself goes back to lines that are surprisingly good in every way.
Mr. Gould said that Mr. Dutton, the publisher of Everyman's Library, recently told him that he had now sold over one and a half million copies of the books in Everyman's Library, which was a good indication of the market found for standard works.
Mr. Jast, the English delegate, being called upon by the chair, contributed also to the general discussion, after which the session adjourned.
Meeting of June 28th
A meeting of the Council was called to order by President Anderson immediately after adjournment of the conference.
The following resolutions were received from the Government Documents Round Table and were read and adopted by unanimous vote.