As an individual, the trustee of a public library ought to realize that
he holds a high and sacred trust from the people; that he has been
elected to preserve and extend the privileges and benefits afforded by
the library in its modern development as "The People's University"; that
library science is not to be comprehended by intuition, but can be
learned only by intelligent observation and study; and that he has no
right to accept or hold the position unless he can take a lively
interest in the library, be constant in attendance at meetings and
diligent in committee work, keep himself informed of the current library
ideas by reading every number of the _Library journal_, and, if
possible, by visiting other libraries than his own, and watch keenly the
tastes and requirements of the constituency he represents.
The collective duties of the board includes the care of investments and
funds, the careful and economical supervision of expenditures, the
determination of the policy of the library toward the public and in its
interior administration, the general direction of the choice and
purchase of books, the selection of the librarian and his assistants,
constant and critical observation of their work, occasional reckoning up
of work done and progress made, comparison of results with those reached
in other libraries, as a confirmation of merits and a corrective for
errors, and such active work of detail as will assist the librarian in
performing his duties.