For all subjects, technical, scientific, historical, sociological, covered by the U. S. Government publications, and these subjects are innumerable, a convenient guide to selection is offered by the brief classified price-lists furnished by the Superintendent of Documents. The suggestions in the little weekly Government Publications, published by M. E. Greathouse at 510 12th St., N. W., Washington, at fifty cents a year, are also helpful, as are the notes in the A. L. A. Booklist, which now lists many government documents. The "Interesting Things in Print" column in Public Libraries should be carefully scanned, as should the "Periodical and other literature" department of the Library Journal.
To get upon the regular mailing list of as many organizations as possible saves much time spent in writing for individual publications. And even where there is a membership fee, as of $2.00 per year to the Drama League of America, for example, it will bring far more valuable returns in twelve months than the same amount expended in books.
The first labor of writing for and handling a collection of pamphlet literature seems considerable, but when properly organized its daily up-keep is not difficult and its presence in a library goes far to make possible the scientific management of the queries and problems which come each day to the reference desk.
May I rather say the information desk. We librarians are so at home with our own terminology, have talked so long and familiarly of reference desks, reference work, the reference library, that I doubt if we ever realize the foreignness of our language to the shy visitor within our gates. "Ask in the reference room" means worse than nothing to him, but the simple legend "Information desk" will draw him like the kindly and familiar face of a friend.
The idea that a modern library is, or should be, a central Bureau of Information for its town or city is one that we first have to get thoroughly into our own heads, and then impress upon our public. In the effort to find the simplest and most effective way to present this idea to our Memphis public, we tried running the following card in the street cars:
What do You want to Know?
You have 12,000 Books, Trade Journals, Magazines on all subjects, and an Information Bureau for Your use absolutely Free in Goodwyn Institute Library.
We were able to make specially advantageous terms with the street car advertising company, whose representative had himself made use of the resources of the library, and we have been running this card, or similarly worded ones, for over a year. The results, sometimes direct, sometimes indirect, have been very interesting. The card has brought us many business men, and other street car users, who, seeing our invitation daily, recall it from the depths of their subconsciousness when they do want to know. The card is often taken quite literally, as in the case of the young Russian from Odessa, later from St. Louis, who read the sign in the street car which brought him from the railway station. He came straight to the library and to the information desk, told his story briefly and succinctly, and asked how he could find a position as house boy, for which he was qualified. The Jewish Rabbi happened to be in the library at the moment. He called up the head of the Jewish Charities, who on hearing that the lad was from Odessa, said: "Why, that is my native place! Send him along and I will surely find him something." And he did.
Another bright-eyed youth, who worked with a moving-picture corporation in the daytime, but had his evenings free, came in to ask if we had d'Espuy's "Architecture antique." He was overjoyed when he saw it and other folios on the subject, said he was wanting to go on with the study of architecture at night, and had seen our street car card. "That card's a fine stunt," he added. Then there was the case of the two young men who had come down the river by boat from Iowa, looking for work as extra Christmas clerks. They were sent up to us by a policeman, from whom they asked information. We sent them to the Y. M. C. A. Department of Employment, and one of them afterward came back to tell us they had both gotten a job. We do not at all mind being teased a bit about our "Employment Bureau," so glad are we that the policeman and the man-on-the-street should instantly think of Goodwyn Institute library when asked for any information which he cannot give. We desire to be regarded as a sort of central clearing house for general information, even when the question is of so primitive and vital a nature as how a man shall earn his next meal, and to this end we take as our motto "Nothing human is alien to us."
We think it is within our legitimate field to tell the man not that he has come to the wrong place, but to tell him the address of the right place, and sometimes even to give him a note or do a moment's telephoning that will connect him with the right place, and will make him feel that the library's "What do you want to know?" means him.