active members. The opinion now practically universal among the members was confirmed that the most successful meetings must be held away from the distractions of cities. We come together chiefly to see each other. There is more pleasure and profit in meeting old members in the same profession with many common interests, than in meeting the best city's choicest society for the first time. A round of social functions takes time and distracts attention from the main business, but we have learned that some of the most profitable hours are those spent together in walking, driving or visiting places of interest. The result is a practical decision that meetings shall be held at some summer resort where there are ample and good accommodations for a large company and where both in sessions and social functions, in business and pleasure, the librarians will mingle with each other rather than with those whom most of them will never see again and with whom they have comparatively little in common. The system of state and club meetings has finally worked itself out very satisfactorily. At the close of the heavy year's work, at the natural time for rounding out the season, the A. L. A. holds the great annual meeting of the year. This comes just before the full season at the resorts, when everything is fresh and attractive. It is of course impossible to find accommodations for 500 people at one place in the hight of the season and we must go there before the crowd or after. The state associations seem to have found the early fall, before the active year's work begins, the best time for their annual meeting. In midwinter the New York and other large city library clubs hold their chief meeting of the year with a cordial invitation to country members so to time their city visits as to be present. And finally, about Easter there are one or more meetings like that held for several years at Atlantic City, in which the librarians of a half dozen neighboring cities join with the Pennsylvania and New Jersey library associations for three or four days, including one Sunday, at the seashore. With national and state associations, city clubs and some interstate meetings. there is danger that even a good thing may be overdone. Librarians are as a rule much too busy with their local work to attend too many meetings. The system which has worked itself out gives practically about once a quarter a chance to get

fresh inspiration and enthusiasm from conference with one's fellows. For more than this there is hardly time.

Subjects considered at Waukesha before the entire conference were: Aid to Libraries by the City, the State, the Nation; Book and Picture Selection; Book Copyright; Trusteeship of Literature; Relationship of Publishers, Booksellers and Librarians.

The following topics were discussed in the various sections: College and reference section. Some 20th Century Problems; Departmental Libraries; Theses.

Children's library section. Book Reviews, Lists and Articles on Children's Reading; Fiction, Fairy Tales, Science; Reference Work; Opening a Children's Room; Bulletin Work; The School and the Library.

State library commissions, round tables. The Best Method of Getting Traveling Libraries before the People; County Libraries as Units in a State Library System.

The catalogue section discussed numerous questions sug gested by members interested.

At a round table for state library associations and women's clubs papers were read on What the Work of the State Library Association should be; How a Library Commission was secured in Idaho; How to secure a Library Commission; What Women's Clubs can do to further the Work of the Library.

The trustees section considered Library Buildings and the Relation of the Architect to the Librarian.

The round table on professional instruction in bibliography listened to papers on a Postgraduate School of Bibliography; Courses in Bibliography offered by Prof. Dziatzko at the University of Göttingen; A Desideratum for Library Schools. Outlines were presented of the lectures and work on bibliography in various universities and library schools.

A. L. A. officers for 1901-2:

President, John S. Billings

First vice president, J. K. Hosmer

Second vice president, Electra C. Doren

Secretary, Frederick W. Faxon

Treasurer, Gardner M. Jones

Recorder, Helen E. Haines

For papers and proceedings see Library Journal, August 1901 and Public Libraries, October 1901, p. 459-97

National Educational Association. The library department held its fifth annual meeting in Detroit July 11 and 12. Subjects:. The Library Movement and What it Means; The Public Libraries and the Public Schools; Condition of Educational Institutions. in the South; What Normal Schools can do for Teachers from the Library Side; The A B C of Reference Work; How shall Children be led to love Good Books; The Library and the School as Coordinate Forces in Education.

The director of the New York State Library gave an address on the Place of the Library in Education, setting forth the views. exemplified in our organization and aims, which met with cordial approval as educationally sound and practically possible. Officers:

President, James H. Canfield

Vice president, Reuben P. Halleck
Secretary, M. E. Ahern

Reports are in the Library Journal, July 1901, p. 395-97 and Public Libraries, October 1901, p. 499-503.

National Association of State Librarians. The third annual meeting was held at Harrisburg Pa. Nov. 20-22, 1900. Subjects: What Books should the State Library aim to get; To what Extent should a State Library keep Files of Newspapers published outside the State; Relation of State Libraries to the Library of Congress; Bibliographic Work by State Librarians; How Government Documents may be made more useful to the Public; To what Extent should the Books of a State Library be lent to the Citizens of the State [by Melvil Dewey]; Printed Catalogues for the State Library; The Library Commission of the State should be Identical with the Governing Board of the State Library; To what Extent should a State Library enter the Field of a State Museum; Relations of State Library, State Law Library, and State Historical Society.

The fourth annual meeting was held at Waukesha Wis. July 5, 1901. Subjects: Early Newspaper Literature in Ohio; The Decimal Classification in Cataloguing Public Documents; Free Distribution of State Documents and its Limits; Gathering of Local History Material; State Librarians, their Duties and Powers Relative to Library Commissions and Free Libraries;

Should the State lend Books from its Reference Library and on what Terms; Uniformity in the Publication of State Session Laws.

Officers:

President, W. E. Henry, Indiana

Vice presidents, George S. Godard, Ct.

Johnson Brigham, Iowa

Secretary, Maude Thayer, Ill.

Reports of these meetings are in the Library Journal, December 1900, p. 739-41, July 1901, p. 397-98 and Public Libraries, January 1901, p. 17-45.

December 1901

Respectfully submitted

MELVIL DEWEY Director

The superior figures tell the exact place on the page in ninths; e. g. 1923
means page 192, beginning in the third ninth of the page, i, e. about one
third of the way down.

Delaware, library legislation, 188'; Libraries, charters, 161-627, 164';