long discussion it was decided by a majority of four to advise the Urban District Council not to accept Mr. Carnegie's offer.

The Vicar of Ilford, the Rev. H. W. E. Molony, has written the following letter in reference to Mr. Andrew Carnegie's offer : "Let Ilford have the proud distinction of being a town without a public library. People read too much and think too little. We need public bonfires in which to destroy most of the books which are published rather than public libraries in which to preserve them."

In spite of the foregoing, the Council have accepted Mr. Carnegie's offer, and have asked for a further gift of £5,000 for the erection of another library at Seven Kings. The Act has already been adopted, and the full penny rate will be levied.

66

Liberty Review." -We notice an amusing article in the September issue of this smile-provoking publication on "The Value of Free Libraries."

Liverpool. An illustration of the memorial tablet to record the opening of the Toxteth Branch Library by Mr. Carnegie appears in the September issue of the "Studio." The tablet a fine piece of workmanship-is of beaten copper and enamels, designed and executed by C. E. Thompson.

Tottenham. The annual report of the Librarian of the Tottenham Free Libraries shows that the demand for fiction, proportionate to the total number of volumes issued, has been gradually diminishing. During the year following the opening of the Central Library in 1896 the percentage of works of fiction lent was 86.8, whilst during the last twelve months it had fallen to 71.5.

APPOINTMENTS.

*JONES, Mr. G. P., Third Assistant at Whitechapel, Stepney, to be Second Assistant at St. George, Stepney.

*LONEY, Mr. R. H., Junior Assistant at St. George, Stepney, to be Third Assistant at Whitechapel, Stepney.

PARKER, Mr. W. H., of Brasenose College, Oxford, to be Senior Assistant at the Woolwich Public Library.

VALE, Mr. G., to be Junior Assistant at St. George, Stepney.

*Members of the L,A.A,

The Library Assistant:

The Official Organ of the Library Assistants' Association.

No. 71.

NOVEMBER, 1903.

Published Monthly

NOVEMBER MONTHLY MEETING.

The next ordinary meeting of the Association will be held on Wednesday, November 11th, at the Patent Office Library, 25 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C. Through the kind offices of Mr. E. Wyndham Hulme, the ComptrollerGeneral has granted permission to look over the library, the points of interest in which are bound to be many and various.

Members are requested to assemble at 7.30 p.m. The proceedings will be opened by Mr. Hulme with a paper on "Classification in the Patent Office Library," after which the members will be shown round the library.

NOTE.-At this meeting five vacancies on the London Committee will be filled. Nominations should reach the Hon. Sec. not later than the evening before the meeting.

NORTH-WESTERN BRANCH.

OCTOBER Meeting.

This meeting was arranged to be held in the Central Library, Oldham, on Tuesday, October 20th. Owing, however, to the late arrival of some of the members, there was not sufficient time for Mr. W. H. Berry to read his paper, so the evening was occupied in viewing the library and to hearing a short description of the delivery stations, as worked at Oldham.

A table, giving the various libraries working delivery stations, with the number, location, cost, etc., in connection with each, was shown by the kindness of Mr. J. Duff Brown, Borough Librarian, Finsbury, to whom the branch extend their hearty thanks for the privilege so courteously conferred.

Any subscriptions still owing to the N.W. Branch should be paid before the December meeting to the Treasurer (Mr. Wm. Crompton), Y.M.C.A., 56 Peter Street, Manchester.

NOVEMBER MEETING.

The next meeting will be held at Salford on Wednesday, November 18th, by the kind invitation of Mr. Ben H. Mullen, M.A., Chief Librarian and Curator.

Members and friends please assemble at the Irlam o' th' Height Branch Library at 7 p.m., journeying thither by Swinton Car from Blackfriars Street and Deansgate, or from Victoria Station, Manchester, No. 5 Platform at 6.45 p.m. After a short address by Mr. Mullen and Mr. Hargreaves, Librarian, an inspection of this new branch will be made, and then the party will return to Peel Park at 8 p.m., where, for discussion, the American Library Association's Presidential address, "Some things that are uppermost," by J. K. Hosmer, will be read. This paper will be found in the American Library Journal for July, 1903. After the meeting Mr. Mullen will entertain the visitors to light refreshments.

SIXTH ANNUAL DINNER.

The sixth annual L.A.A. Dinner will be held at Anderton's Hotel, Fleet Street, E.C., on Wednesday, November 18th, at 7.30 p.m. Endeavours have been made to ensure a repeated success on this occasion, and a good musical programme is in course of arrangement. Mr. G. E. Roebuck, Organizing Secretary, appeals to all members to attend, bringing friends with them, and such of the members who are musically inclined and who intend to be present are respectfully requested to send to the Secretary their offers of assistance in the evening's musical programme. Librarians are cordially invited. Morning dress. Tickets, 3s. 6d. each, can be obtained by post from the Secretary, and early application should be made in order that definite guarantee can be given. The Entertainments Committee wish to impress upon juniors and others who have not previously attended the dinners, that these events are purely social and that all members attending will be heartily welcomed.

INAUGURAL MEETING AT STEPNEY.

In spite of the late appearance of the Journal and consequent short notice given, an exceptional number of members and friends gathered to take part in the excellent programme arranged by Mr. Cawthorne on the 7th ultimo. Soon after three o'clock the party were being conducted round certain special portions of His Majesty's Tower by a jovial and portly warder, who apparently had English History, at any rate so far as the Tower was concerned, at his finger-tips. The ordinary sights, such as the Regalia, were not inspected, but the generally reserved portions, i.e., the Dungeon, the Armoury and the St. Peter's Church, were viewed with much interest.

From the Tower, the party wended its way, via the Minories, to the Whitechapel Art Gallery, where an instructive exhibition of ships and shipping was seen under guidance of the Director.

The museum was next visited and its aims and working explained by the Curator, Miss Hall. Probably this is one of the most practical and useful museums in existence. From here the party proceeded to Toynbee Hall, and was received in the Drawing Room by Canon Barnett, the Warden. The Canon gave a few warm words of welcome, in the course of which he said: "This place, Toynbee Hall, has been existing now for the last twenty years; it was a sort of college, club, and centre of education. Every man who lived in the house took part in some one or other of the sections of work connected with the Hall. It is the object of all who teach to come into personal contact, as far as possible, with the learner, and it is thought that better results are gained thereby. Librarians are educationalists, and under the new Act they would realise this more and more. He envied the youth of those present for the opportunities they would have as educationalists. All that had been done was not what might have been done, and what remained to be done in the future must be

In

largely accomplished by the librarian. He believed in personally conducted tours in Bookland by librarians. He urged the fostering of humanities which must make men realise that each individual was one of a great association, and not a separate unit to live for himself alone. conclusion he bid the Library Assistants' Association heartily welcome." Tea was next served in the Lecture Hall, to which fifty members and friends sat down. After tea Mr. Cawthorne, seconded by Mr. Rees, voiced the thanks of the Association to the Canon for his welcome and hospitality. This was acknowledged by the Under-Warden, Mr. Beveridge.

Under the guidance of Mr. Councillor Douglas, one of the residents, the Dining Room, Library, Lawn Tennis Grounds, Men's Apartments and Invalid School were visited and items of interest connected with each were dwelt upon. Finally Mr. Douglas gave a short sketch of the history of the settlement.

Shortly afterwards the party bid adieu to Toynbee Hall, carrying away many pleasant recollections, and proceeded to the St. George's Library, Cable Street. Here several other members joined, and it was a full room that Mr. F. C. Mills, Chairman of the Stepney Libraries Committee presided over. The Chairman addressed a few warm words of welcome, and briefly commented on the success of the Stepney Libraries, which he said was due in no small degree to their excellent Librarian and his staff. Mr. Cawthorne then gave an address on "Recent Adverse Criticism of Municipal Libraries," which, together with the discussion, appears elsewhere in this number.

A vote of thanks to Mr. Cawthorne was moved by Mr. Vellenoweth, seconded by Mr. Thorne, and a similar vote, proposed by Mr. Rees, seconded by Mr. Hatcher, was accorded to the Chairman. This terminated one of the most successful, enjoyable and instructive inaugural meetings ever arranged.

RECENT ADVERSE CRITICISM OF MUNICIPAL LIBRARIES.

BY A. CAWTHORNE (Borough Librarian of Stepney).

Owing to our limited space, Mr. Cawthorne's introductory remarks have, by his consent, been deleted. In his introduction he drew attention to the vital importance of his subject to all who were connected with Public Libraries; suggested that it should not be dealt with in any spirit of alarm or antagonism, but coolly and collectedly, and that the questions involved should be dealt with by Librarians collectively and not individually. He said that we ought to welcome honest outspoken criticism as an indication of public interest, and for the opportunities which it afforded us of "seeing ourselves as others see us," and for the kindly warning which it frequently gives of "the rocks ahead!" He emphasized the point that criticism read in the right light was often very suggestive and helpful. He remarked that he had noticed in particular the absence of an official reply, and that the Library Association had allowed our critics to have it all their own way without protesting.

In his opinion the parent Association should take an active part in the defence of our institutions; and he said that he believed that such criticism would never be dealt with effectively unless the Library Associations recognised and accepted it as part of their work. "They could organize counter-campaigns whenever necessary; collect, verify, and furnish reliable information on Library questions which happened to be in the air at any time; could voice with authority the views of Librarians as a body; and could educate the people on the value of Municipal Libraries, and in many other ways help on and co-ordinate the movement.

*

The following are the more important questions which Mr.

Cawthorne dealt with in his address:

It is said that" Municipal Libraries encourage habits of reading for the mere purpose of killing time."

Why this argument should be used specifically against our Libraries, I cannot understand. If people choose to kill time, how can we prevent them? We, as free subjects, are at liberty to do as we please, providing we abide by the laws of the land and pay our way.

Should we be justified in condemning our parks, our museums, our art galleries, our churches, our theatres, because they are frequently used for the purpose of killing time? Could we convince any sane person that our streets are failures because thousands daily choose to kill their spare time by walking up and down them? In my opinion, people who can afford to kill time, need no encouragement; and they would kill it whenever they felt so disposed, if public libraries were not in existence.

In days gone by, the working classes killed time in public houses, and at the street corners, to a much greater extent than they do now-a-days; and we read that they largely patronised cock-fights, prizefights and similar edifying exhibitions.

At the present time the wealthy classes kill time at the Royal Academy and other picture galleries, at the theatres, the clubs, and swell subscription libraries and concerts; by golfing, motoring, boating, fishing, hunting, shooting, etc., whilst their poorer brethren promenade our thoroughfares; visit the free museums and art galleries; listen to the orators and the bands in the parks; patronize the musical halls; attend cricket and football matches, etc.

All these ways of killing time are allowed to pass unquestioned; the only one which is objectionable is the use of the most convenient public library to while away an hour or so, Because most things are