Education: Librarians

Last fortnight, some 2,500 of the quiet, precise persons whose natural element is card catalogs, rubber stamps, sharpened pencils and orderly multitudes of books, gazed out of the windows of special railroad trains at the Rocky Mountains. At Lake Louise, Banff, Glacier National Park and other places they had located in bold print on the atlas, the travelers emerged from their cars, sighed with admiration, took snapshots, bought and addressed post-cards—”Dear Harriet: Just dandy out here. Wish you were with us. Arrived at 4:37 and leave tomorrow morning at 9:22. Love to all. Edith”—and went to dine in a body at the biggest hotel. When the train moved on, games of double canfield began again; diaries were brought up to date, magazines were fished out, idle moments were devoted to picturing in advance the wonders of Seattle, where all were going; the excitement of the 47th Annual Convention of the American Library Asociation, which all would attend; the further grandeurs and marvels of Alaska, whither 250 of the more adventurous librarians would journey after the convention.

Speakers who addressed their less prominent fellows during the five days of sessions at the Olympic Hotel: Chief Bibliographer Herman H. B. Meyer of the Library of Congress, President of the Association; Director Charles F. D. Belden of the Boston Public Library, sole nominee for next Association President; Librarian Arthur E. Bostwick of the St. Louis Public Library, just back from examining China’s library system and making recommendations to that Government; City Librarian Matthew S. Dudgeon of Milwaukee; Librarian Charles E. Rush of Indianapolis; Director George S. Godard of the Connecticut State Library; State Librarian Milton J. Ferguson of California.

Librarian Judson T. Jennings of the Seattle Public Library, onetime (1923) Association President, who had brought the convention to his city, looked busily to all details. Some points made: 60 million U. S. citizens have no library facilities; librarians must go into politics properly to serve the .public; library wagons and traveling libraries help educate the populace ; adult education should begin with antievolutionists; the old library idea was “culture,” the new is “information”—let libraries enlarge that part of their service which furnishes printed matter dealing chiefly with downright fact, i.e., newspapers, magazines, commercial and scientific books.

The Association elected Director Charles F. D. Belden of the Boston Pub-lic Library its new President.

The Newberry Medal, established by one Frederic G. Melcher of Manhattan and awarded annually by the Association “for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children,” was presented to Charles J. Finger, author-explorer-sheepraiser of Fayetteville, Ark., for his Talcs from Silver Lands.