Issued on the occasion of the 61st annual meeting of theMichigan State Teachers’ Association, Ann Arbor, October30-November 1, 1913.
| Page | ||
| I. | The library movement in the United States | 7-15 |
| II. | Organization of a library | 16-19 |
| III. | Book selection and buying | 20-24 |
| IV. | Classification | 25-32 |
| V. | Cataloging | 33-38 |
| VI. | Reference work and circulation | 39-50 |
| VII. | The binding and care of library books | 51-53 |
| VIII. | Work with children | 54-58 |
| IX. | The high school library | 59-66 |
| X. | Suggested readings in the Encyclopaedia Britannica | 67-78 |
The forerunner of the American public library of todayis found in the subscription or stock company librariesof Philadelphia, Boston and other cities. The oldest ofthese is the Philadelphia Library Company, founded in1731 by Benjamin Franklin who later referred to it as“the mother of all subscription libraries in America.”The Rev. Jacob Duché, a director of the Library Company,wrote in 1774: “Literary accomplishments here meet withdeserved applause. But such is the taste for books thatalmost every man is a reader.” The Library Company’sauthority on book selection was James Logan (the friendof William Penn) who was esteemed “to be a gentlemanof universal learning and the best judge of books in theseparts.” In 1783 the Library Committee instructed itsLondon agent that “though not averse to mingling thedulce with the utile, they did not care to have him buyany more novels.”
In 1869 the Library Company was made the beneficiaryunder the will of Dr. James Rush, who left $1,500,000 toestablish the Ridgeway Branch.