Since its appointment this committee has worked steadily towards the
accomplishment of the object of the handbook. Specifically this object
is the collection of the statistics, history and bibliography of all
libraries in the United States having 10,000 or more volumes on Dec. 31,
1900.
While about 80 per cent. of the circulars sent out in 1899 were
returned, the cases in which the bibliographical and historical data was
supplied were too few in number to be of much assistance. The work which
has therefore fallen on the chairman of this committee is neither more
or less than the preparation of a check list of all the publications of
American libraries. The need of this work must be apparent to any
librarian who considers that there is at present no bibliographical
source in which information regarding library publications may be found.
The "American catalogue," for example, ignores such publications
altogether.
In beginning this work the chairman of your committee indexed the set of
the _Library Journal_ and all available bulletins and catalogs of
libraries for library publications, and cataloged the similar material
existing in the libraries of San Francisco. Approximately the list now
includes between 8000 and 9000 cards.
This large body of material has been reduced to shape, and the greater
part has been typewritten on sheets. What now remains to be done is
that some person conversant with the library literature of a state or
city should take the sheets representing that district and carefully
compare the entries with the books themselves, supplying omissions and
correcting errors. This certainly is no light piece of work, but it is
essential to the success of the undertaking.
The historical notices have been prepared in part, but the statistics
obtained in 1899 must of necessity be renewed to bring the entire work
down to the end of the century.
As the manuscript can be completed by Jan. 1 next, there is every reason
to believe that this large piece of work can be presented in completed
form to the Association in 1902, with one proviso. When the committee
was appointed in 1899 it was given a general authorization to incur
expenditure--in fact, without doing so no work could have been done.
Again, in 1900, an authorization for expenditure was passed by the
Association. Up to the present the chairman of the committee has
expended directly on this work on postage and printing about $150. Owing
apparently to the general terms in which the authorizations for
expenditure were made at previous meetings, the officers of the
Association have not so far made any appropriation towards this amount,
and it would seem proper that some definite provision should be made by
the Association at this meeting to cover a part at least of this
expenditure if the handbook is to be considered an "A. L. A."
undertaking.
FREDERICK J. TEGGART, _Chairman_.
C. W. ANDREWS: As the third member of the committee, I may supplement
this report, and state that the matter of obtaining the consent of the
Bureau of Education to undertake the publication of this handbook was
left to me, and that I have pleasure in informing the Association that
there seems every prospect that at least a portion of this material will
be published by the Bureau of Education, and that we may hope to have
made available in this way a much-needed tool for practical use and a
mass of information which cannot fail to be of value outside of this
country.
W. I. FLETCHER: The matter of the publication of this handbook was
referred to the Publishing Board, but if the plan for its publication by
the government is carried out, the Publishing Board understands that
will take the publication out of its hands. I move that the executive
board be requested to inquire into the matter of the expense incurred by
Mr. Teggart, and provide for meeting it, if this is found possible.
_Voted._
The secretary read the by-laws to the constitution, prepared by special
committee and adopted by the Council, as follows: