[STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS AND TRAVELLING LIBRARIES: ROUND TABLE MEETING.]
An informal "round table" meeting for the consideration of the work of state library commissions, including travelling libraries, was held in the assembly room of the Fountain House on Tuesday afternoon, July 9. The chairman, Melvil Dewey, called the meeting to order at three o'clock, and in a few introductory remarks outlined the subjects to be discussed.
Mr. Dewey: We have on our program this afternoon two of the most interesting things in library work. The travelling library is reaching out in its manifold forms with wonderful rapidity and gives very great promise of usefulness for the future; organized work under the state commissions is showing every year better and better results and indicating that just as our schools increased their efficiency so immensely by having state departments to look after them, we are repeating the history of that evolution in our state library commissions. We have only a single session this afternoon to discuss these two subjects. If we were to give them one quarter of the time that they ought to have, we would not get one quarter through, and I propose therefore to deal only with questions and answers, and utilize one another's experience or thought along these lines of state commission work and work of administering travelling libraries.
I have noted down some of the topics that have been given to me by persons who wanted to have them discussed briefly; we will first take up some of these. So much has been done in travelling libraries, that perhaps we should clear the floor of that subject, and then consider the work of the state commissions—and in that I mean all the work done by the state in its official capacity—chartering libraries, library legislation, inspection, travelling libraries—whatever the state may do for public libraries.
The first topic is, "What is the best method of getting travelling libraries before the people?" Who has any experience or suggestion to offer on that point—either of difficulties or successes?
A Member: Go to the pastors and school houses.
Mr. Hostetter: Does the gentleman mean to put the travelling libraries into school houses? Last Sunday I visited a man who had never heard of such a thing as travelling libraries; he was a German pastor; and probably that accounted for it.
Mr. Hutchins: Is there not objection to having travelling libraries in school houses, for the reason that so many of the hours during which the children have leisure to read, and their parents could read, the school houses are closed? Another difficulty is the long summer vacation; and still another is that to place the library in the school house makes the travelling library merely a side issue.
Mr. Dewey: Where would you put it?