As to the question of how the organizer might interest the people of the town, there was a discussion on whether the organizer did better work if she stayed at the hotel, or was entertained in a private family. She can, of course, become better acquainted if in a family, but Mr. Milam said that he thought the hotel preferable because there would be no drain on her vitality outside library hours. It developed during the discussion that in several states the commission pays the living expenses of the organizer in the town. In Massachusetts, the library is expected to meet this expense, but the state sometimes helps buy the supplies.
As to the meeting of the Board, Mr. Milam said that he thought the organizer should always meet the Board, and if possible leave with them a suggested budget for a library of that size. Miss Brown said that she carried with her sample copies of a number of selected lists and library aids, and showed them to the Board of Trustees.
A number of organizers spoke of addressing clubs, schools, and other bodies in connection with the work.
After the Round Table, Mr. Milam appointed the following nominating committee: Miss Clara Baldwin, chairman; Mrs. Percival Sneed, Miss Zaidee Brown. The meeting then adjourned.
SECOND SESSION
(Wednesday, June 25th, 8:30 p. m.)
The topic of the second session was libraries in state institutions and in federal prisons. Mr. Milam, the president, called the meeting to order. Miss Julia A. Robinson, supervising librarian of the state institutions of Iowa, opened the discussion. Mr. Jenkins, of New York, who was announced on the program, was unable to be present. Miss Robinson spoke first of the need of providing good reading matter in state institutions; and pointed out that such libraries have the advantage of those in the outside world, in that they need not compete with so many conflicting interests in their patrons. Of the two possible kinds of supervision; by an outside authority, such as a state library commission, or by an official of the board controlling the state institutions, the latter is preferable if the appointment of such an official is not dominated by politics. An official appointed by the Board of Control has greater authority, can maintain a closer supervision of the books admitted, and can obtain more help from the inmates of the institutions. As to methods employed, the book selection should be carefully made to suit the various classes in the different institutions; and the organization should be as simple as possible. In Iowa, they use an accession book, the decimal classification, and a simple form of shelf-list. In all the institutions, reading rooms for the use of the inmates under proper supervision add to the usefulness of the libraries. The librarian is usually an officer or employee of the institution, but should possess a knowledge of the books in her own library, and a sympathetic acquaintance with the inmates which will enable her to assist them in selecting the books which will be most helpful to them. She should also have sufficient time to give proper attention to the library. Inmates often make good assistants, but should work under close supervision and should not be allowed to select the books. In the prisons, where the readers do not have access to the shelves, printed finding lists are necessary.
Miss Florence R. Curtis, of the University of Illinois Library School, next spoke on libraries in prisons. She called attention to the fact that nearly eighty per cent of those in prisons will be out of prison in from one to ten years. They should be regarded as citizens in the making, to be helped in every way possible. Of those who enter, about ninety per cent are literate; and over seventy-five per cent have attended school beyond the sixth grade. About fifty per cent of those sent to prison are so-called "accidental criminals," that is, they have yielded to an impulse, but are not habitually criminal. Before they leave prison, however, they have received an education of a sort in crime. They know the criminal class, its leading men, etc., they know the methods of crime, and they have learned to regard the law as more favorable to the rich than to the poor, and how best to evade it. Besides this, they have become acquainted with unclean literature, circulated secretly; and with vice and dissipation. Guards in the prison often peddle drink and drugs to the prisoners. As to what they have learned that is good, she enumerated the following: The prisoner may have learned a trade, but the trades taught often do not help in earning a living outside. The prisoner may have attended a school. Usually the school is held for four months, is taught by a volunteer prisoner, and aims only to teach the elementary subjects. The prisoner has attended the church service. Last, the prisoner may have had the use of the prison library. Miss Curtis examined the catalogs of thirty prisons. Perhaps three-fourths of the books might be regarded as deadwood. Often the libraries contain vicious books, which give wrong ideas of the relations of men and women, and of the family; create a false idea of life; and make dissipation attractive. The works of Chambers, Elinor Glyn, Phillips, Mrs. Southworth, and others of similar grade, are found in large numbers in the prison libraries. The prisoner has so much time to think over what he reads, that especial care should be taken that his reading should be wholesome. Books dealing with shady business methods, religious unrest, race prejudice, the detection of crime, etc., are all bad. All fiction added to the library should first be read by a person of good judgment, with respect to its effect on the prisoners. The selection of suitable books does not represent the whole duty toward the prisoner. Personal guidance in the choice of books is most desirable. The chaplain is not always the best person to give such guidance as he may not be familiar with modern fiction and he has other duties. The superintendent is not always interested in the reading of the prisoners. The superintendent of a reform school stated flatly that the physical care of the girls was the main duty and interest of the institution. A librarian appointed by the Board of Control will make the most careful selection of the books. The librarian should also visit the institutions and give as much personal guidance to the reading as possible. It should be noted, however, that this is not a place for an immature person, nor a sentimental one.
Miss Curtis said that the duty of the state library commission, as to prison libraries, was to try to rouse the superintendents, and bring about a better condition.
Miss Stearns, of Wisconsin, asked about the use of magazines in prisons. She had visited a prison, with the chaplain acting as librarian, where they took dozens of magazines, and had given up buying books because the magazines were so popular. Among those especially in demand were World's Work, Current Events, and Cosmopolitan. Miss Robinson, of Iowa, said that they took magazines for the prisons, but in no case were magazines bought to the exclusion of all books. Where it is regarded as necessary, the magazines are expurgated by clipping out certain articles. Miss Curtis said that in Illinois prisons many magazines are taken, and are very popular. The men are allowed to form magazine clubs, and to take any magazine not positively disreputable; and many of the cheaper lower-grade magazines are taken.
Miss Clarke, librarian of the public library at Auburn, N. Y., where there is a state prison, said that she had investigated prison libraries in New York state, especially in Auburn, in connection with the work of a committee of the New York State Library Association. She regards conditions in New York state as discouraging. In Auburn, the selection is not so bad, but the men are allowed little if any selection. A convict assistant chooses fifty volumes for fifty cells. These are passed out, and each one is kept a week. It is then passed on to the next cell. An educated ex-convict in a letter printed by Richard Harding Davis in the New York Sun, stated that he was unable for a year to get a book he wanted, though nobody else wanted it. They have no printed catalogs or lists. In the women's prison, in Auburn, the prisoners are allowed to select books, and one of the teachers had done some work with reading clubs. Miss Clarke stated that in New York state prisons, the teacher of the prison school is not a convict. The prison school is allowed $50 worth of books a year. The hope for improvement in New York state, in library conditions in the prisons, is through the appointment of a librarian in each prison, or a library supervisor of all state penal institutions.