The VICE-PRESIDENT: The next speaker is Miss MARGARET E. MURRAY, librarian of Wm. Filene's Sons, Boston, who will address us on the subject
THE EARNING POWER OF A SPECIAL REFERENCE LIBRARY ON RETAIL DISTRIBUTION
The Wm. Filene's Sons Company of Boston are retailers of men's, women's, children's and infants' wearing apparel and employ at present about 900, but in a few months will employ 2000 employees. Among other innovations they have made provision for a Business Reference Library in their new building, which they are to occupy this coming fall, and which is, so far as we know, the first in this line of business.
It is planned to have on file all information relating to the business and such other information as may be helpful to the management and all other employees in the discharge of their duties, such as daily papers, technical and general reference books, trade journals, newspaper clippings, and typewritten material.
The library was created because there was a definite need for a central clearing house of information on the latest and best in retail distribution and because it was urgent that one department should be responsible to care for safely and mobilize the valuable information, books and pamphlets scattered throughout the various offices of the organization.
Now what will the earning power of this special reference library be? It will be in exact proportion to its use and efficiency, based on just how well and how often it can make or save a dollar for the business. It will depend largely on how aggressive the library policy will be in creating needs and meeting the needs for its material, and although it may not be able to show quite as tangible a profit and loss statement as a merchandise department, still there should be the same effort and desire to know the stock on hand the first of the month, the purchases, the expenses of the department, the stock on hand at the end of the month (having in mind depreciation) and the sales, which would be services rendered.
The more efficiently and oftener the reference library serves the organization, the more time it saves high-priced executives, and helps the rank and file, the more certain it will become a permanent paying department of the business and make itself indispensable. This is in general how the earning value will be determined. However, if the library is to succeed, such general statements will not be sufficient.
The chances for service and making definite contributions toward business efficiency in a large retail establishment are innumerable, and especially in a progressive house like the one with which I have the honor to be associated.
But such service and such contribution must be made very definite, must be made very specific and must be applied to every member of the organization.
For some years past our company has been experimenting with profit sharing agreements, and one of the difficulties has been for general profit sharers, men and women in non-selling departments, working for the whole store, to show what has been his or her contribution toward profits.