"Where patrons desire it, a list of books can be made in accordance with general directions and submitted for approval before the Traveling Library is shipped. "If a list of books desired is sent with the application, it will be furnished as nearly as possible; if only the general subjects are named, books relating to those subjects will be sent. "The Ohio State Library desires a wider circulation for its Traveling Libraries. Those interested are invited to correspond." In a report on this experiment and its results, the writer in February, 1898, said: "The forms for application, agreement of librarian, and guarantor's bond were modeled after those of New York. The books were selected from the shelves of the State Library. Additions were made from the regular book fund. Plain but substantial pine boxes were furnished by the State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. From a small contingent fund our janitor furnished each box with hinges and padlock. Books were selected in response to requests, and the first traveling libraries of Ohio went forth on their mission. "The conditions under which these libraries were issued are very simple. The organizations to which they are sent give bond for their proper use and safe return. Duplicate lists of these books,with condition of each volume carefully noted, are sent to the borrowers. One of these is signed and returned; the other is kept. Both parties are thus protected if a question should arise in regard to the condition of a book when issued and returned. Twenty-five volumes are usually sent in a library. The borrowers pay transportation both ways. "Some difficulty was at first experienced in bringing the system to the attention of the public. The first agency appealed to was the public press. The daily papers of the State, through their representatives at Columbus, made generous mention of the new departure, and did all that could be desired to bring it to public notice. The result at first was not altogether encouraging. The State Federation of Women's Clubs became interested in the movement, and through this organization a number of libraries were sent out. The Ohio Educational Monthly, the official organ of the public schools of the State, published in the August number an article by the writer entitled, "The State Library and the Public Schools,' in which the traveling library feature was explained. This brought a number of applications, most of them from the rural districts. A few weeks later Mr. Freeman, lecturer of the State Grange, visited the State Library to learn upon what conditions books might be borrowed. To him is due the credit of introducing this system to the granges. His efforts have been heartily supprted by the Ohio Farmer, one of the most popular agricultural papers of the Mississippi Valley. "The results may be given in a few words. Since October 9, 1896, 225 traveling libraries have been sent out; 164 of these have been issued since Nov. 15, 1897. They have gone to all parts of the State. The granges have drawn 72, the schools 37; other organizations 106. "Applications for these libraries are steadily increasing in number. Thus far the drain has not seriously crippled the State Library. We are fast approaching the limit, however, at which special provision must be made to meet the popular demand. "The Legislature now in session, we have every reason to believe, will provide ample means for carrying on the work already inaugurated with tangible results and flattering prospects." The hope expressed in this report was not disappointed. The Legislature at its regular session in 1898 appropriated $4,000 for traveling 4 S. OF O. L. |