When your letter came I was, I believe, away from home. At least I never had an opportunity to answer it until just now, having been absent a good deal since its date. Although you do not set the time of the coming conference, I assume that it is not too late to answer your question and I am writing now simply to acknowledge receipt of your letter. I will, however, say that I believe that the circulation of fiction by our public libraries does help to enlighten the people on all problems whatsoever, for, in the first place, fiction contains many of the standard novels which certainly have a tendency for good; and secondly, however trashy novels are, in the main they have an educating effect.
Yours very truly,
THOMAS NELSON PAGE.
4 Newbury Street, Boston, Mass.,
April 29, 1913.
I cannot better comply with your request (made on behalf of the American Library Association) than by giving you a leaf from my own experience of twenty-five years, as President or managing director of a rural library, which serves the public in a mountain town where I chiefly reside, and yet is a private institution, receiving no aid whatever from town or state. And my message is to libraries of small means and resources, so situated that trained librarians or assistants are not to be had.
We have by this time about 5,000 volumes, all obtained through gift or purchase, of which less than half are works of fiction; and the list, on the whole, includes most standard works. From one benefactor we have a good stone building, erected last year upon a lot of our own; and by the time the testamentary provision of another benefactor takes effect hereafter we shall have an endowment fund ample enough to place our institution upon a permanent footing of liberal expenditure. Hitherto our annual income has been small and met by life memberships, special entertainments and personal gifts, in which summer visitors and the townspeople combine.
In order that our books should be classified but without too much effort I introduced, some years ago, the following scheme: A, denotes works of fiction; B, biography, history, travels, etc.; C, poetry, essays and miscellaneous; P, periodicals and pamphlets (by bound volumes or in cases); R, books of reference. Juvenile books under these respective heads are marked by an added J.
We have no card catalog and find our patrons served more to their liking, and perhaps more economically, by issuing printed lists, frequently, which give the author and the title simply; the number, and letter, as printed, indicating the subject. About 1905 a pamphlet catalog was brought out which gave our list complete to that date. Since that time, supplement lists have been printed at convenience; while the latest books are always posted in the library on written sheets. When the supplements become sufficiently numerous we expect to issue a second full pamphlet catalog; and so on. We cannot pay for expert assistance to keep up a card catalog properly, with our present means; and what our patrons most want is to have individual printed lists that they can readily consult.
About 90 per cent of our circulation consists of A or AJ books, but we try to increase the demand for the B and C books. So, too, the books most eagerly sought are those last added, but we encourage the reading of standard authors wherever we may.