Library Essays; Papers Related to the Work of Public Libraries


This 1920 collection of essays gathers together 25 years of papers, articles, and presentations given by Arthur E. Bostwick. The ideas in many of the essays still hold true today: he advocates for such things as an expanded mission of the public library, professionalism in librarianship, and the keeping of statistics. The essays cover such topics as “The Library as the Educational Center of the Town,” “The Future of Library Work,” and “Three Kinds of Librarians.” Spoiler alert, Bostwick believes that the third kind of librarian, the “librarian of to-day,” should be proactive in offering materials wanted by their patrons, should work to spread library services to excluded populations, and should be “always looking for trouble.” Bostwick was a Yale-educated librarian who during his career headed up the New York Public Library and the St. Louis Public Library. He was the president of the American Library Association 1907-1908. - Summary by Verla Viera (13 hr 30 min)

Chapters

Preface 1:08
Pains and Penalties in Library Work 24:47
How Librarians Choose Books 21:43
The Work of the Small Public Library 22:41
Lay Control in Libraries and Elsewhere 20:03
The Whole Duty of a Library Trustee: From a Librarian's Standpoint 22:26
The Day's Work: Some Conditions and Some Ideals 16:13
Library Statistics 18:41
Old Probabilities in the Library: His Modest Vaticinations, Part 1 21:25
Old Probabilities in the Library: His Modest Vaticinations, Part 2 16:14
The Love of Books as a Basis for Librarianship 26:24
The Library as the Educational Center of the Town 15:54
The Librarian as a Censor, Part 1 16:34
The Librarian as a Censor, Part 2 17:00
How to Raise the Standard of Book Selection 21:21
System in the Library, Part 1 14:49
System in the Library, Part 2 14:29
The Exploitation of the Public Library 21:01
Service Systems in Libraries 25:20
Efficiency Records in Libraries 13:42
Mal-Employment in the Library 30:38
Cost of Administration 9:03
Library Circulation at Long Range 16:21
Conflicts of Jurisdiction in Library Systems 17:30
Three Kinds of Librarians 30:23
School Libraries and Mental Training 29:39
The Library and the Business Man 25:45
Poets, Libraries and Realities, Part 1 16:35
Poets, Libraries and Realities, Part 2 17:06
The Church and the Public Library 17:08
The Future of Library Work, Part 1 16:08
The Future of Library Work, Part 2 14:17
Popularizing Music Through the Library, Part 1 15:18
Popularizing Music Through the Library, Part 2 13:57
Two Cardinal Sins 28:30
A Message to Beginners 30:56
Luck in the Library, Part 1 19:27
Luck in the Library, Part 2 18:53
The Library as a Museum, Part 1 16:02
The Library as a Museum, Part 2 15:59
The Library and the Locality, Part 1 20:32
The Library and the Locality, Part 2 18:13