The commercial value must be established not only by becoming familiar with the policy of the house, but by co-operating with the heads of departments and making the library felt as a live agent throughout the house.
Co-operation is best established by the reference work which can to a large extent be created. For instance: One of the buyers in the supply department is dealing with two agents for rubber bands. The contract is a big one. There is much discussion as to which make of rubber band will live the longer. In self-defence, the buyer telephones the library for any information on rubber. Right here is the librarian's chance to make or mar. Perhaps this buyer has no library card, but at the eleventh hour has thought of the library as a last resource. There is one sure way to cure him of ever using the library again, and to persuade this time-pressed business man that the library is a plaything done up in red tape, and that is to send word to him that he must come personally to the library, sign an application, and wait for the book according to our library law. He will probably decide to take a chance on the merits of the rubber bands, and condemn the library as an agent of too slow blood for his purposes.
The point is to get the information and to get it at once to the right man. If we can find something on our own shelves, a boy is sent with the book at once, even if he carries an encyclopaedia with him. If, as often happens, we are not so fortunate, a signal of distress is sent over the 'phone to the reference librarian at the main library, and she sends out material on the next delivery. Not only does this apply to the buyer of rubber bands, but to the chemist who wants material on fabrics, textiles, and lubricating oils; to the manager of the grocery department, on the blending of coffee; to the furniture buyer, on cabinet making and period furniture; to the head of the agricultural department on the silo and the traction engine; to the clerk in the shipping department, on parcels post; to the girl in the correspondence department, on punctuation; to the boy in the automobile repair shop, on the gas engine; and so on indefinitely. A memorandum of these requests makes a busy day for the weekly visit to the reference room at the main library. Books of interest on each particular subject are listed, even to government bulletins. We have even had intrusted to our care material from the public document department, and Mr. Legler's liberality has given us an economic value that will be the stepping stone to a new work, and make the library a factor to be reckoned with by the progressive commercial house.
In our library, as well as in any other, the reference work is not confined to the books alone. The value of magazine material is an old story, but its worth is self-evident in a progressive business house whose aim is to anticipate future contingencies as well as to meet present needs. Before discarding magazines, all the usable material is appropriated and sent to the man or woman interested. Not only does this apply to the man's business, but to his hobbies—a little article for instance, on poultry raising or photographic chemistry will often create public opinion very favorable to the library. So far we have not kept a clipping file of these articles, but that is one of the next steps that could be made quite an important feature.
To keep in touch with the buyers and department heads, the newest books on subjects of special interest stimulate not only the men in charge, who are always ready to respond to new ideas, but arouse new interest among all employees and indirectly lead to promotion through more efficient work. These books are sent right to the department, either to be examined with a view to buying, or, if already purchased, to be circulated in the department. We find that in this way we lose few if any books and our time-honored statistics do not suffer.
And so in many little ways it is possible to creep into the commercial life of an immense concern; to develop gradually from a convenience to a necessity.
The social side of our work is perhaps a misnomer. At least, it is an intangible sort of thing that has no name. Our reason for existence is the same as for any other public library—that is, for the common good. To do any grade of work other than simply handing the books over the counter, it is necessary first of all to become familiar with the personnel of our employees. We have about 8500 employees, and to become personally acquainted with each is, of course, impossible. However, a surprisingly large number can be reached on this footing, and the rest is a question of time combined with a sane democratic attitude. We do not want our people to feel that reform through the library is one of the rules on the application blank, or that the librarian's stamp of approval must go out with every book. Advice, so labeled, is never given.
Of our 8500 employees, one-half are girls varying in education from grammar school to college graduates. One-fifth of this number are under 18 years of age. The work with this last group is intensely interesting, and can be developed in many ways. We have, of course, the usual problem, in trying to direct from Mary J. Holmes and Southworth to a better grade of reading. However, we are not working in the dark to the same extent as is the usual public library. Our girls are all banded together with a common interest, and we are at once on the same big plane. We have access to them at any time of the day. We are a part of the thing most vital to them—their daily work and means of support. They come to the library during the noon hour for a change of scene and to see the other girls, as well as to exchange their books. We give them books for their parties and books for their night school classes. A girl is told by her employer that she will lose her position unless she learns to use good English. In desperation, she comes to the library, and we give her a book, yes, even three books, if she needs them, to help her keep her position. Another girl must be transferred to a less desirable position unless she can increase her vocabulary in order to take dictation more intelligently. She is advised to come to the library, and we are there to see that she gets the right books. The next time she may come without being sent. The girls come to us to find out when the lake boats begin their trips, as well as to find desirable places in which to spend vacations. And so we welcome them each time they come, regardless of what their errand may be, for we want them to feel that the library is theirs, and is a convenience as well as a pleasure.
The work with the girls is so varied, and is such a study in itself, that I have only touched upon its possibilities. However, a book on the subject would not cover the field, but lack of time and consideration for your feelings will prevent further comment, and I will simply outline just a few of the ways in which we try to reach the boys, one-third of whom are under 21 years of age. Aside from the eternal vigilance to blot out all Alger traces, we have many really interesting phases of the work with the boys. We first of all can and do have confidence in the boys. We can get necessary information as to their home conditions, if we wish it. We have, in common with them, as with the girls, their vital interest, the beginning of their career. The influence that can be exerted over these young boys, many of whom are leaving home for the first time, and are, so to speak, "men among men," is tremendous. Often a wavering ambition can be reinforced and a chance for "making good" saved by showing a little unasked interest. We try to give the boys material for both work and play. We post lists of books on the bulletin boards in various departments, and so call attention to books on "choosing a career," or "business efficiency." Then we make up lists on athletic sports, interest in which is stimulated by our athletic association, whose membership includes both boys and girls.
Many times a department is discovered where little or no interest is taken in the library. We find that the boys and girls from there never come to the library, and so we take the library to them. In every case the managers are very anxious to co-operate and are willing to have us send a small collection of light fiction to the time clerk's desk. She circulates these as she wishes. So far, we have lost no books in this way, and in every instance new borrowers have been the direct result.