reference are concerned, but only subscribers may take out books. Having secured the room, we next obtained possession of nine hundred volumes of well selected standard works, which had been the property of a library organized some thirty-five years ago, but which had run down, because new books were not added often enough to give freshness and variety to the collection. These nine hundred volumes had been given into the care of the I. O. O. F. lodge and were not accessible to the public. Soon after we received the books they were classified by the Dewey sytem, State Librarian C. B. Galbreath assisting in the work. A printed catalogue has since been issued.

From membership fees we furnished our rooms and bought a few new books. We announced our opening for December 3, 1897. On that day we held a reception at the library rooms to which the public were invited to come and, if possible, to bring one or more books for the library. About three hundred volumes were added in this way. Since the opening, we have been steadily adding to our number of books, till we have 1,809.

The care of the reading room, which is open every evening and Saturday afternoon, is entirely taken by the members of our Executive Board. The librarian and assistant also serve without pay. We do not feel that we can afford a paid librarian until we are established in a building of our own; and it is for that that we are now working, with a prospect of success at an early date.

We have had many donations from individuals of books and money, and different societies have given benefit entertainments. Though we probably make a small showing among the libraries of the state, we have accomplished enough to make us certain that only courage and perseverance are needed to give us our heart's desire.

CHARLOTTE HENDERSON.

MENTOR.

MENTOR VILLAGE LIBRARY.

Mentor* is a village of about 500 people; therefore we are somewhat limited in our ability to raise funds for carrying on library work. But some six years ago fifteen of us got together and began holding a series of meetings every month, something in the nature of the old New England township meeting, for the purpose of stirring up an interest in township affairs, and in doing what we considered it necessary to have some central point of interest around which we could all work, and we chose as that the library. There had never been a library in the village excepting a small circulating library. We all believed that the use of

Address at American Library Association, Cleveland, O., Oct. 2, 1896.

books and the greater knowledge of books would be a common center of interest around which we could all work and toward which we would all be glad to give work. The result of five years' work in this way was that we now have a library of about 1,600 volumes, and two years ago, acting under a general law of the state, we became incorporated and requested the village council to levy a tax for the work of the library. We at that time had about 1,000 volumes. The council very readily saw the advantage of this kind of work. They appreciated what was being done for the citizens and schools of the state, and therefore they levied a tax and turned the proceeds of the tax over to the library board. In this way, you will see, the library board is kept entirely aloof from politics. There are no elections by the people, nor is the board appointed by any political party. It is a self constituted body, a corportate body under the laws of the state, and as long as we maintain our corporate existence the village may turn over the funds to the library. We settled this difficulty of women's rights by having an equal number of both men and women on the board, and then in order to avoid the question of disruption of families, we made the other member of the family who was not on, an honorary member of, the board. In this way we increased the number of workers and at the same time satisfied the desire of many people to hold office.

But we found that fifteen, together with the supernumerary and honorary members, were unwieldy, and the work practically devolved upon very few of the members. Therefore when we were incorporated, we made an executive board consisting of five members, and they had absolute management of the library proper. They are elected every year from the members of the association, the fifteen and these others, and they have absolute control of the library. In this way we have found it very easy to accomplish the work we have set out to do.

I have stated this result of our work to show what can be done. I believe that one of the best and easiest methods of education is through the library; that we reach all classes, all ages and all kinds of people, and that by making the library an adjunct of the public school system, we add materially to the advantages that may be afforded to the pupils. Although our library is supported by the village, we make it absolutely free to any one who desires to use it. Those outside the village or township are required to put up a nominal deposit, merely for the safe return of the book. We made this the ideal toward which we were working that the friendship of books is like the friendship of men, it is worth nothing and avails nothing unless it is used constantly and improved constantly.

JAMES R. GARFIELD.

NEWARK.

NEWARK CIRCULATING LIBRARY.

A lady who has for years been interested in this library writes substantially as follows in regard to it:

I cannot give very accurately answers to some of your questions, and really our library is such a small one that I think it hardly worth while to mention it at all. It is the only one in town except the school library which is also small. Our library was started by a few ladies who formed a little society, bought a few books, and exchanged them among themselves. When the books had accumulated, they kept them in a small room and issued them to any one paying a small subscription. After nearly twenty-five years we have reached the number of only sixty subscribers. We have made efforts to get some help in various ways but have not succeeded. We think, in a city of nearly 20,000 inhabitants, it is rather a poor showing that there are only sixty subscribers. We pay no rent and no salaries, so all our money is spent for books.

OBERLIN.

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF OBERLIN COLLEGE LIBRARY.

Immediately after an
The soliciting agent,

Oberlin College was established in 1833. attempt was made to gather together a library. Rev. John J. Shipherd, in a tour trough New England secured from the libraries of New England clergymen such books as could be spared, and these formed the nucleus of the College Library. Occasionally a publisher was found who would contribute his publications and more rarely still money was given for the purchase of books. In this way the collection gradually increased until in 1849 it numbered four thousand volumes. A short time prior to this, in 1846, the Library seemed of enough importance so that one of the professors of the institution, Mr. Henry E. Whipple, was made librarian, which position he held until 1853. It was then placed in charge of Professor James Dascomb, who retained the position until 1873. The Library received in the years '51 and '52 a large addition of valuable books, the result of solicitation by a deputation which had gone to England to solicit aid for the College from anti-slavery friends in that country. Therefore, in 1858 the Library was able to report 6,908 volumes as being in its possession. During the remainder of Professor Dascomb's administration as Librarian, the only event of note was the transfer of the Library from the quarters which it originally occupied, a large room at the west of the first floor of the Chapel, to newer and more commodious rooms in the newly erected Society Hall. This transfer occurred in the year 1867. In the year 1873 Dr. Dascomb sought relief from the library, and for the first time a Librarian was apponinted whose entire time was given to the work of the Library. For this place the

choice fitly fell upon the Rev. Henry Matson, a man of marked literary tastes and of wide experience. At this time the Library was opened every afternoon in the week for the use of the students, and on two afternoons of the week for drawing books for home use. The class of 1870 about this time presented many valuable sets of the later literature to the Library, including complete sets of Irving, Scott and other popular novelists. A small charge was added to the college term bills which provided for the payment of salaries and necessary expenses, and left a few hundred dollarseach year available for the purchase of new books. From these sources, and from gifts, the Library increased during the administration of Mr. Matson from about ten thousand volumes to sixteen thousand. In 1885 Mr. Charles V. Spear, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, presented the College a beautiful building containing on the upper floor a large reading room, 75 by 40, fitted with adjoining stack rooms, and upon the first floor rooms designed for the storage of books, but which have, thus far, been temporarily occupied by the museum and the Geological and Zoological Departments. Mr. Spear also presented the Library the Relief L. Holbrook Fund of over eleven thousand dollars, the income of which was to be spent for the purchase of books. At about the same time, under the leadership of Professor William G. Frost, now more widely known as President Frost, of Berea, Kentucky, a movement was made by the Alumni which resulted in the raising of sixteen thousand dollars, which was spent in carefully cataloging the Library and classifying it on the Dewey system, and in the purchase of new books. Mr. Azariah S. Root, a graduate of the class of 1884, was employed for this work, and in 1887 was appointed Librarian, which position he still occupies. Since 1887 the Library has grown very rapidly, reaching 21,628 volumes in 1890, 33,136 books in 1895 and 44,705 books in 1900. Its use grew even more rapidly, and the number of books drawn increased from about 3,600 per year to more than 13,000, while the use of the books within the building increased in far greater proportion. In 1900 from the legacy of Rev. E. K. Alden, D. D., of Boston, Massachusetts, a fund of more than $5,000 was added to the endowment of the Library, which, with other smaller sums, make a total endowment, the income of which is spent for the purchase of books, of nearly $21,000. In addition to this, special gifts are received from time to time, and, as the finances of the College permit, special appropriations are made by the Board of Trustees. In 1901, upon the death of General Jacob D. Cox, his valuable private library, numbering about twenty-seven hundred volumes came into the possession of the Library. This valuable Library is especially strong in the history of our late Civil War. The last report of the Library showed 51,405 bound volumes in the possession of the Library and 52,422 unbound volumes, or an aggregate of 103,827.