ABSTRACTS OF LIBRARY REPORTS.

Reports for analysis should be sent to The Publications Committee, Library Association, London School of Economics, Clare Market, E.C. After they have been noticed they will be placed in the Association Library.

1. Decrease in the issues attributed to the improved condition of trade and the fine weather. A consignment of Egyptian Pottery from the twelfth to the twentieth dynasty has been presented to the museum.

2. The building of the Carnegie Library in Lillie Road to be commenced in May. A separate juvenile lending department in connection with the Central Library was opened in June, 1904. The children are permitted to go to the bookshelves to choose their own books. Five lectures given during the year by the courtesy of the Gilchrist Trust; and a series of twelve lectures upon English Literature.

3. Contains four excellent illustrations of the elevation and interior of the York Road Branch Library, opened 11th October, 1904. The necessary power to levy an additional id. rate has received the royal assent, and will become operative next year. New edition of the Central Lending Library catalogue in course of preparation.

4. Card catalogue of local books and pamphlets in preparation. Gives a selection from the additions to the library during 1904-5.

5. Mr. Carnegie has given £3,000 for the erection of a new library.

6. The blacking out of all betting news from the newspapers has been quite satisfactory. Contains an illustration of part of the general reading-room.

7. The Willesden Green Book Club presented 150 volumes to the Public Library in return for facilities provided by the Library Committee. Students' tickets adopted.

9. Subscribers, 691. The Cape Town Public Library receives a special grant of £1,057 from the Government. The Port Elizabeth Public Library, with a much larger circulation, receives only £400.

10. The difficulty of providing further storage will soon be felt acutely. Travelling libraries-nearly 7,000 volumes were lent to Mechanics' Institutes and Free Libraries during the year.

11. The T. B. Blackstone Memorial Branch Library opened. Sixty-nine delivery stations are in operation. The Library for the Blind now contains 825 volumes.

12. Extension of the main library in progress.

The experiment of allowing readers to borrow a number of books of non-fiction on one ticket has proved satisfactory. Children's story hours maintained. There have been 597 stories told in the children's rooms and in the schools.

W. J. H.

LIBRARY ASSOCIATION: PROCEEDINGS AND

OFFICIAL NOTICES.

November Meeting.

THE First Meeting of the Session was held at the London School of Economics and Political Science on Monday, 27th November, 1905,

at 8 P.M.

About twenty members were present at the meeting.

Mr. Lawrence Inkster was voted to the chair. The minutes of the last Monthly Meeting, held on 19th June, 1905, were read and confirmed.

The usual ballot was suspended, and the following candidates, approved by the Council, were elected members of the Association :John Haines, Bookbinder, 137 Islington, Liverpool.

Councillor Reginald Barrett Pope, LL.B., Chairman of the Brighton Library, Museum and Fine Arts Committee, 41 Sussex Square, Brighton.

Arthur Oldham Jennings, LL.B., Chairman of the Brighton Library Sub-Committee, 11 Adelaide Crescent, Hove.

Daniel Hack, J.P., Member of the Brighton Library, Museum and Fine
Arts Committee, Fircroft, Withdean, Brighton.

Miss Eliza Jeffries Davis, Teacher, 86 Lansdowne Road, Croydon.
Gainsborough Public Library.

Edward Holt, J.P., Deputy Chairman, Manchester Public Libraries
Committee.

H. Derwent Simpson, Member of the Manchester Public Libraries Committee.

AS AN ASSOCIATE.

Thomas William Uttley, B.A., Senior Assistant, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Public (Reference) Library, 16 Thornleigh Road, West Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. W. R. B. Prideaux read a paper entitled "Professional Education and Registration: Some Suggestions".

The CHAIRMAN considered they had had an excellent paper, not only in point of length but in point of quality. Mr. Prideaux had certainly taken the trouble to think out his subject, and had put his proposals in a very concise and practical form. He called upon Mr. Savage to open the discussion.

Mr. ERNEST A. SAVAGE (Bromley, Kent) did not think that in one respect Mr. Prideaux's scheme was feasible. The number of volumes in a library could not be considered a qualification for registration. For example, librarians of private libraries, though of proved ability, might not have 20,000 books in their charge. Mr. Prideaux's rule would exclude them. On the other hand, there might be a library, perhaps a Mechanics' Institute Library, which had existed in some

small country town for thirty or forty years, and had in that time heaped up 40,000 volumes. The income of such a library might be small, and the librarian might be paid only £1 or £1 5s. a week. Yet such a librarian would, according to Mr. Prideaux's rule, be entitled to registration, although it was pretty certain he would lack the real qualifications for this honour, if it be an honour. One point occurred to him directly bearing on the subject of the education of assistants. He referred to the Library Association Library. The Library Association Library did not seem to be properly organised, and one could not get access to it. He quite understood there were difficulties in the way of getting the books classified and catalogued. The Library Association would first have to make up its mind on the system by which it should be classified, which would take time, and on the rules by which it should be catalogued which would take still longer. Then again it was not easy to get librarians to volunteer to do the work. But, at least, some means should be taken very quickly to allow members of the Association access to the library.

Mr. E. WYNDHAM HULME (Patent Office) said that before he congratulated Mr. Prideaux on his short but very pithy paper, he must answer Mr. Savage. In the first place the Library Association Library was housed in that building (the London School of Economics). Much of it was catalogued. The classification by Mr. Brown had been published in the RECORD and the books were arranged in that class order. The finishing touches remained to be put to the library. Free access to the books could easily be arranged for by writing to Mr. McKillop, and books were being lent out. What they wanted was money for binding and completing their sets of periodicals and gifts of books. He (Mr. Hulme) hoped at some of their Monthly Meetings they would be able to exhibit some of their treasures. He had never listened to so short and well-put-together a paper. Mr. Prideaux had raised a very important question of policy, and on the whole he had made out a very good case. Anybody who was interested in the social side of this country would know that during the last thirty or forty years there had been a revival of the old guild system. The old guilds lost their jurisdiction about a century ago and had become merely dispensers of hospitality and charity, but the country was coming back to the old system. The Association's system of examination to which legal sanction was given by their charter, was only one step in that direction. He quite agreed with Mr. Prideaux that if they went one step further and had registration of librarians they would do something for their own body and also for the benefit of the general public. The existence of the register would get known to the public, and it would become known that the training of registered librarians ensured a higher efficiency in administration than would be obtained by selecting an untrained local candidate. There were many examples of trades and professions which had recently taken this step, from plumbers upwards. He instanced actuaries, auctioneers and patent agents. He had no doubt a great many other bodies would follow suit. The idea of securing a registration fee would be tempting to their Treasurer, but it would be to cover the cost of registration and would not find its way into the coffers of the Association. He would like to congratulate Mr. Prideaux upon his paper, and hoped next time he would give them a longer one.

Mr. SAVAGE (in replying to Mr. Hulme) said he had been refused access to the Library Association Library on the ground that it was a loan collection, to which the school authorities did not feel justified in allowing access. It was unfortunate that no catalogue existed.

Replying to Mr. Savage, Mr. HULME said members had not yet open access to the shelves. The contents of the library could be ascertained by consulting the general catalogue of the School of Economics Library, or the duplicate cards of the Association's Library or their accession book.

This

The HON. SECRETARY said that so far as he understood, Mr. Hulme was not quite correct in regard to the Association Library at the school. There was no complete catalogue. Secondly, it was not classified. Mr. Hulme and Mr. Brown had been appointed a Committee to decide as to the classification and also as to the catalogue. Committee was appointed to draw up rules as to the use of the library, to settle what procedure should be gone through to obtain books for home reading, and these rules were to be printed in the RECORD. There had been considerable doubt as to what was to be done to get books out of the library.

Replying to Mr. Jast, Mr. HULME said that as a matter of fact he went over the collection during the previous week, and he was himself a borrower. He was assured there was a catalogue, and the more important part of the library was already classified.

Mr. W. G. SNOWSILL (Camberwell) said he had listened with pleasure to Mr. Prideaux's paper, that is, what there was of it. He must confess he was just making up his mind for it when it seemed to suddenly collapse. He presumed that it was left to them to fill up the gaps. He was, however, glad that more time had been left for discussion. One point he wished to say something about had reference to assistants taking up the course of lectures arranged by the Association. He did not rely on the experience of other boroughs, but he found that in his own a good deal of indifference existed. Assistants seemed to be perfectly satisfied provided their salaries increased in a satisfactory manner. He thought, with regard to the classes the Association had promoted, one series might with advantage be extended-the correspondence classes. The majority of assistants in libraries found a difficulty in getting time to attend the lectures. Much more could be done through the correspondence classes. Work of this kind had become absolutely necessary, for assistants must first be educated. They ought to establish the register of librarians proposed to which Committees could, in future, look to supply vacancies now filled up by those who had not had technical training. It was really time they commenced; for it would take many years before the Association would be able to form a satisfactory register, so far as the assistants were concerned; but much good would inevitably result from it.

Mr. A. L. CLARKE (Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society) said he much regretted that he had not been able to hear all Mr. Prideaux's paper. If one went into the reasons for the system of registration generally, it would be seen that it existed to place on record certain facts liable at any time to require legal proof. In the case of professions there were two objects in registering the first efficiency, the second remuneration. The first affected the interests of clients, the second those of the individual registered-that was to say, it placed him in a position to recover fees, however much his clients might dispute them. This led them to what might be called the first principles of librarianship. A great deal had been written about the profession of librarianship. Did members of the Association or assistants realise what a profession meant? It differed from other occupations in this respect. Clients came to them and asked them to the best of their ability to carry out their work. Such a person was not dependent upon a certain amount per annum. It might be amongst his duties to perform certain services