Introduction |
INDEX
TO
L I B R A R Y R E P O R T S
BY
KATHARINE TWINING MOODY
American Library Association Publishing Board
78 E. Washington St., Chicago
1913
{2}
Copyright 1913
by
American Library Association Publishing Board
INTRODUCTION
The following table shows that this index is intended to cover reportsof library commissions, state libraries, university libraries and thepublic libraries of the United States and Canada.
When reports of a library were found to contain material of generalinterest, sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the index, all theyears examined were listed in the table, although, as in some instances,a number of reports in the series are not represented by references inthe index.
Several small yet exceedingly live libraries are not included, becausethe activities of these libraries appeared in short paragraph reports,no subject being fully treated; and the plan of this work did not allowminute indexing.
The object has not been to provide an exhaustive index of any onelibrary—one for the benefit of the library indexed—but to makeavailable matter of general interest.
The person seeking references, we will say, to work with children, willpossibly find only one or two in the reports of a particular library,but it has been presupposed that one desiring a thorough acquaintancewould not limit his study to the entries appearing in the index.
Financial statements, lists of donors, routine reports upon the work ofa library have not been included, nor have lists of books purchased,unless these were of bibliographical importance or formed regularsupplements of a catalogue.
The index aims to include legislation, historical sketches, monographsupon any subject, bibliographies, biographical sketches, memorialtributes, addresses, dedication ceremonies, plans and descriptions oflibrary buildings, by-laws, rules and regulations, names of librarians,maps, portraits, illustrations, all divisions of library economy whenfully treated, many features of library work, original or unique, andcurious items; in short, all unusual material and all matter not commonto all reports.
With reference to donations an explanation may be necessary. Theindexing in one instance of a donor of $10,000 and the failure to recorda similar gift in another may appear inconsistent, but it{4} wasimpossible to note every gift or legacy mentioned in reports, hencegifts have been indexed, as a rule, when they were treated in thereports as matters of importance.
For brevity’s sake many references are not bibliographically precise.For instance, in the case of illustrations and maps references are madeto the pages which they face, omitting the word facing.
A prophetic knowledge of the fut