=First Meeting=
The first meeting, held June 27th, was called to order by President
Elmendorf, with 37 members present. First Vice-President Legler, at
request of the president, took the chair.
Voted that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to nominate
five members for Council to be elected by council for a term of five
years each. The chair appointed George H. Locke, R. G. Thwaites and
Mary L. Titcomb.
Mrs. Elmendorf, as chairman of committee on relations of the A. L. A.
and certain other national associations, made a report of progress,
stating that the committee had formulated a letter setting forth the
desire for closer co-operation, which letter had been transmitted by
the secretary to 35 associations. Replies had been received from 23,
all of which expressed a desire for closer co-operation between their
association and the A. L. A. Voted that the report be received as
report of progress and the committee continued.
In the absence of Mr. W. C. Lane, chairman of the special committee to
promote and co-operate in the development of printed cards in relation
with international arrangements, Dr. C. W. Andrews made an informal
report on his own work as a member of the committee, stating that the
John Crerar library was testing the time required to order printed
cards from the Royal Library of Berlin to see whether such orders would
reach their destination in time to be filled. He expressed the hope
that a majority of such orders would be received in time. Mr. Bowker
spoke of the work as seen by him on a recent trip abroad. Dr. Putnam
spoke informally of the Leipzig exhibit of book arts planned for two
years hence.
The committee on ventilation and lighting reported informally through
the chairman, Mr. Samuel H. Ranck, who stated that a formal report had
been prepared and would be presented at a later session.
Miss Alice S. Tyler, chairman of the Committee on relation of the A. L.
A. and State library associations, presented the following report:
The Committee on relation of the A. L. A. and State library
associations reports to the Council the further consideration of
the report which was referred back to the Committee at the January
meeting of the Council and makes the following recommendation:
That Council recommends that the Executive board consider the
advisability of amending Section 14 of the Constitution and
Section 3 of the By-laws to include representation of state,
territorial and provincial library associations in the Council and
the conditions of such membership.
The Committee further suggests that the By-laws be amended to
provide that the privileges and advantages of the A. L. A.
conferences shall be available only to those holding personal, or
representing institutional, membership in the association.
Voted that this report be adopted.
The Committee appointed to consider the government of American
libraries and their relation to the municipal authorities, presented
a report through the chairman, Dr. A. E. Bostwick, upon which it was
voted that the report be recommitted to Committee for consideration as
to minor changes and further report.
On motion it was voted that the Committee be continued and that
membership be increased to five. The president named M. S. Dudgeon and
Adam Strohm as additional members.
Adjourned, subject to call of the chair.
=Second Meeting=
At the second meeting, held June 29th, 24 members were present.
Vice-President Legler presided at the request of President Elmendorf,
who was present.
Dr. Andrews, as a member of the Committee on conditions governing
affiliation of other than local, state and provincial associations,
reported orally, recommending that a by-law be framed to include as
one feature that a membership fee of $25.00 a year be assessed on such
affiliated organizations, stating that three at least of the already
affiliated organizations had expressed their willingness to such fee,
and that the remaining association has been received on condition that
it accept such terms of affiliation as might be determined by the A. L.
A.
On motion of Mr. Bowker it was voted that the report be received and
that the Committee be continued but that at the request of Dr. Putnam
he be relieved and Mr. J. I. Wyer, Jr., be appointed as a member of the
Committee.
At this meeting Council elected the following persons as members of
the council for a term of five years each: Josephine A. Rathbone, Mrs.
Percival Sneed, Mrs. Harriet P. Sawyer, M. S. Dudgeon and W. O. Carson.
The report of the Committee on government of American libraries, Dr.
Bostwick, chairman, which was presented at a previous meeting and
recommitted to the Committee for certain minor changes, was again
presented and it was voted that the report as amended be received and
the resolution adopted. The report, including the resolution referred
to, is as follows:
=Report of Committee on Relation of the Library to the Municipality=
To the American Library Association:
Your special committee to whom was referred the matter of drafting a
report on what the association regards as fundamental in the relation
of the public library to the municipality, submits herewith its report.
This whole subject is of such great importance that your committee
believes it should receive further consideration, especially if it
is desired that there should be submitted the draft of what may be
termed a model library article, chapter, or title in a city charter,
particularly a charter in a state operating under a so-called home rule
law, whereby each city may make its own charter within the limitations
fixed by the state constitution and a general state law.
Your committee believes that the association is practically unanimous
in its conviction that the public library should be regarded as a part
of the educational machinery of the community, and that the functions
of the educational organization are generally separate and distinct
from those of the local government organization. In the very nature
of things it is therefore impossible for the public library to get
the kind of administration it deserves when it is administrated as a
part of the city's system of parks, or under the supervision of its
board of public works. It may be stated that in some of our states
the state constitution recognizes this distinction by providing for
two corporations with the same geographical boundaries, the one
dealing with the questions of local government and the other with
education,--the public schools. This constitutional distinction is
based on the principle that education is a matter of state concern,
that the interests of the state in education are paramount, and
therefore that the state should exercise greater control in educational
affairs than in local government affairs. In line with this thought,
your committee submits the following resolution, which it recommends to
the association for adoption at this time:
RESOLVED: That the American Library Association calls the
attention of municipal governments, and of public bodies
engaged in the preparation of new or amended charters for such
governments, to the necessity for securing independence of action
of the public library as an educational agency co-ordinate with
the schools. Radical changes in forms of municipal government have
sometimes left the library's position insecure or doubtful, and
charters providing the so-called "commission form" of government
have in particular often failed to define adequately the position
of public libraries and their governing boards. Where there is
classification of municipal functions, this association feels
very strongly that the public library should be grouped with
educative agencies such as the public schools rather than with
departments that have little or nothing to do with its work. While
it is desirable to keep the control of the library in independent
hands and not to place it and the schools under the same direct
management, we believe that a city charter should contain no
provision grouping the library otherwise than with educative
agencies.
If the foregoing resolution is adopted, we recommend that a committee
be appointed to study this subject further and to submit the draft of
what might be termed a library chapter for a city charter.
For the purpose of discussion and to clarify the thought of the
association on this subject your committee submits the following
tentative points which it believes should be considered for such
proposed model library chapter.
First, the charter should provide for a library board which should have
power to administer and control the public library of the city, and at
the same time administer all libraries municipally owned in the city.
This would include the municipal legislative reference library in the
city hall, libraries in public schools, high schools, and possibly
such others as libraries in municipal art galleries, museums, etc.
This board should consist of not less than five or more than nine
members, excluding ex-officio members, the number of which should not
exceed one half of the appointive or elected members. A sufficiently
small proportion of the board should be elected or appointed each year
to make its membership fairly continuous so that it may develop a
constructive policy, something that is impossible where the membership
is likely to change materially at brief intervals. In no case should
the terms of more than half of the members expire at one time.
In our smaller cities or towns it would seem advisable to consider
whether the municipal art gallery and museum should be administered by
the same board which administers the library. It has been suggested
that in such places it would be possible to carry on this work with
very much less expense under one management than under several
managements, and experience apparently demonstrates that having the
library, art gallery, and museum interests in the city in the same
building, or in a group of related buildings, adds immensely to the
public service of each at a minimum expenditure of money. In other
words, having all these interests under one roof or in buildings
closely adjoining each other makes it possible for each institution to
strengthen the other, and at the same time makes it possible for the
best coöperation and coördination; and furthermore many more people
will use each of these institutions when they are together than when
they are widely separated. In larger cities where it may seem desirable
to have the art and museum interests under separate boards the charter
should provide for official (ex-officio) representatives of each of
these institutions on the boards of the others as well as with the
board of education of the city, so as to insure the greatest amount of
coöperation and coördination. It is the conviction of this committee
that the educational interests of the community in many of our cities
today should be coördination to a greater extent than they are now, not
only for the purpose of eliminating duplication of work and effort but
also for the mutual strengthening of the work and effort of each.
In many small cities and some larger ones it has been the practice
for the public library to be managed by the board of education. The
disadvantage of this, however, is that the library interests are
usually turned over to a committee and that the membership of this
committee is likely to change from year to year, so that there is no
constructive policy; and where there is no constructive policy the
interests in the library on the part of other members of the board
is likely to be small. However, many of the difficulties with the
management of a public library by a board of education have frequently
grown out of the method of appointment or election of the school board.
If the school board is in politics and therefore more or less partisan,
the library is apt to suffer by this arrangement even more than the
schools themselves. Possibly, where public opinion is sufficiently
alive to the value and importance of education a single board might
manage all the educational interests of a city, just as the board of
regents of one of our large state universities administers its varied
activities.
Another point to be considered is whether the library board should be
elected by the citizens at large, or appointed by the mayor or selected
by the board of education. Election by the citizens of members to
such a board should be absolutely non-partisan. Women should have the
right to vote and should be eligible to the board. The board should
have power to fill vacancies which may occur by death or resignation,
until the next general election, in case the board is elected by the
citizens at large. Of course, if the members are elected by the board
of education, vacancies could be filled at any time by that board, and
if they are appointed by the mayor he could fill a vacancy.
Your committee believes that it is unwise for a public library to be
governed by a board which elects its own members, or a majority of its
own members: in other words, a "close corporation" is not the form of
governing board that is best for a library belonging to all the people
of the community. This would not apply where cities make a terminable
contract with an existing institution. It is generally unwise for the
corporate name of a municipal public library to bear the name of an
individual. It should bear the name of the city, and the charter should
fix its name.
The charter should provide for the organization of the library board by
the election of a president and vice-president, with the city treasurer
as the ex-officio treasurer of the board and the city comptroller as
the auditor of the board's accounts. It should also provide for a
secretary or clerk, who should be an employee of the board rather than
a member of the board, and it is highly desirable that this officer
should be the librarian. In any case his powers should not conflict
with those of the librarian.
The charter should give the library board full power to hold trust
funds which may be placed in its hands, to administer the same, and
to accept and to hold gifts of real and personal property for the
general purposes for which the board was created. The charter should
provide, if the state law does not do so, that the library should
not receive less than a minimum fund for its maintenance, based on
the assessed valuation of the city. It ought never to be possible
for a council so to cut a library's budget that it is necessary to
close branch libraries or abandon established work for a year or
more, thereby cutting off for the time being all normal growth and
sometimes crippling the library so that it takes years to recover.
This has happened in more than one American city. The whole idea of
a minimum tax for the maintenance of a library is in line with the
thought expressed in many of our state constitutions: namely, that the
educational interests of the community are paramount.
The library board should have full legal rights for defense in the
courts, etc. The charter should provide that the chief law officer of
the city should be its legal representative.
The library board should be given the power to render library service
by contract to communities outside of the city limits, such as towns,
townships, or counties. In short, it should be given liberal powers for
extending its usefulness into similar or related unoccupied fields.
The library board should be given absolute power and responsibility
over its employees, their appointment, promotion, salaries, removal,
etc., within the general limitations of the charter. It should provide
that all employment should be given on the basis of merit alone, but
that a civil service system should not be imposed upon it from the
outside any more than a municipal civil service should be imposed
upon a board of education in the employment of teachers in the public
schools. Your committee has yet to learn of a single American city
where a municipal civil service commission, which deals mainly with the
employment of clerks in offices, policemen, firemen, etc., has been
able satisfactorily to select or promote employees for educational work.
The library board should also have power to draft and enforce
regulations governing the reasonable use of the library under the
general limitations of the city charter or state law.
And, finally, the charter should provide that the library board should
submit annually to the mayor or the legislative or tax levying body
of the city a report of its receipts and expenditures together with a
general account of its work and trusts.
As stated above, your committee offers all of this to serve as a basis
for discussion if it is desired that a model library section for a
charter should be drafted.
All of which is,
Respectfully submitted,
ARTHUR E. BOSTWICK, Chairman,
JUDSON T. JENNINGS,
SAMUEL H. RANCK.
The Committee on ventilation and lighting of library buildings, Samuel
H. Ranck, chairman, made a verbal report of progress, stating that
a lengthy written report covering the investigations and results of
correspondence had been prepared. The Committee stated that certain
commercial companies proposed to make experiments along the lines of
the Committee's investigation and it was taken by consent that the
Council express its gratification that these experiments are to be
undertaken by the respective companies and that the results will be
watched with interest. On motion of Dr. Steiner it was voted that the
report be accepted as a report of progress and Committee continued.
Mr. Charles S. Greene informed Council that the California library
association had unanimously passed a resolution to invite the A.
L. A. to meet in California in 1915. The statement was received as
information and ordered transmitted to the Executive board.
Adjourned, subject to call of the chair.
The PRESIDENT: You have heard the reports. If there is no objection
they will be received, but there are certain recommendations
incorporated in them that need action. Will the secretary please read
once more the recommendations from the report of the Executive board?
The secretary read again the proposed amendment to Section 14 of the
Constitution.
The PRESIDENT: What is your pleasure? It should be remembered that this
amendment to the Constitution will require an affirmative vote for two
successive sessions of the association.
On motion of Mr. Samuel H. Ranck, duly seconded, the amendment received
an affirmative vote.
The secretary read again the proposed Section 11 of the By-laws,
recommended by the Council, and on motion of Dr. Bostwick, seconded by
Dr. Andrews, this amendment to the By-laws was adopted.
The secretary here read again the resolution incorporated in the report
of the Committee on government of American libraries and their relation
to the municipal authorities.
Dr. BOSTWICK: Madam President, in moving the adoption of this
resolution, I would suggest that opportunity be given for its
discussion by the association.
Mr. RANCK: I second the motion for the adoption of that resolution,
Madam President.
The resolution was adopted.
The PRESIDENT: Here is a matter of news from the outside world.
The bulletins have announced that Governor Woodrow Wilson has been
nominated on the forty-sixth ballot by acclamation. I think this is the
first time that a woman ever made that kind of an announcement.
There is a matter of business from the Public documents committee, on
which we should like to hear from Mr. Godard.
Mr. GODARD: This resolution which comes from the Committee on public
documents, comes before you in a little irregular manner, because
the government documents round table was not held until yesterday
afternoon, and there has been no meeting of the Council since, and will
not be to the end of the conference; but the purpose of the resolution
is simply to convey to the Congressional committee on printing, at
Washington, the thanks of this association for the efforts that
committee has made to embody in the bill which has been passed by the
Senate the several recommendations made from time to time during the
seven years' existence of the committee, relating to the printing,
binding and distribution of documents. The bill as a whole has met with
the approval of the various librarians, as manifested at the government
documents round table yesterday afternoon. While some minor suggestions
were made, it was thought best that these suggestions should go to the
committee in the form of suggestions rather than be embodied in the
resolutions.
If in order, I should be pleased to read the resolutions.
WHEREAS the Congressional Committee on printing, appointed
under an Act passed March 3, 1905, has after seven years of
investigations and hearings, formulated and presented to Congress
a new bill relating to public printing, binding and distribution
of government publications, which embodies so many of the
suggestions and recommendations upon these subjects, made from
time to time by this association and its several committees,
RESOLVED, that we, the members of the American Library
Association, assembled at our Thirty-fourth Annual Conference
at Ottawa, Canada, June 26th to July 2nd, 1912, express our
appreciation to the Senate and House Committees on Printing, and
to the Superintendent of Documents, for the uniform courtesy
and careful consideration extended, and the hope that the Bill
(S 4339) may be enacted into law substantially as passed by the
Senate.
The PRESIDENT: You have heard the resolution as presented from the
public documents committee. What is your pleasure?
Dr. ANDREWS: I hope the association will by three-fourths vote approve
this resolution. I can testify that Mr. Godard did not understate
the approval which the draft of the bill met with at the government
documents round table.
The resolution was adopted unanimously.
The PRESIDENT: The next business in order is the report of the
Resolutions committee, of which Dr. Thwaites is chairman. I want to
say just one word before those formal resolutions are read, to express
my own personal appreciation of the efforts of our Canadian hosts. It
seems to me that in their welcome to us, in their kindly courtesy,
in every attitude which they have taken toward us, they have made an
atmosphere of good cheer and hospitality in which all our business has
been done; it has been an atmosphere of the greatest acceptance and
delight, and has been like the sunshine out of doors. We will hear the
report of the Resolutions committee.
Dr. Thwaites, chairman of the committee, read the following report: