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THE: SUN, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10r 191&,
OOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS, DEMANDED BY OUR FIGHTING MEN
4
American 'Library Asspcition Needs
Mfllions?6folIjfer .Reading "
. '' , J' 1 ,
By FRANK P.-, STOCKBRIDftE,
. i " '. -'iiil"Sf'.u'i,"''.f .
THE Aratmcao a4ursrr;vuMMn
tloa' has ''Wenawigmt&i by
the.. Government oa'; Ihtf
mmcy tor'. aupplylintet.'btooM anttieiid
l-j matter-to-our so1dJr, tsajlor end
marines on. this sldarand oVete,'
In fulfilling th)a -bUjraUojt' ,dr
tinliation, whltW-.iatompps of. th
I'tirte thousand 'Principal publla IN
trifles of toe. UnltediBtates and thilr
librarians, has irtad nccesalbld to our
Cihtlns forces -nearly t, -four i million
'cooks, of which ll1 obtained iiSUUnsr
mors thaa three, .million by solicitation
from tho general public, and, pia dls-
trtbuted something like ten" million
. "V- . .. .
copies or1 magazines. , t -m
It has afcnt overseas more than n
ninion and a quarter books. Jf: baa
established'' on thin sldo nearly, four
hundred camp libraries, forty-three
of them occupying their awn buildings
In the larger- camps, nn lias cstab
liihed branch libraries In some two
hundred hospitals and lied Cross
"houses and nearly two thousand
buildings of the Young Men's Chris
tian Association, Knights of Columbus,
Young Women's Christian Associa
tion, Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare
Board and War Camp Community Ser
vice, as well as In barracks, mess halls
sid officers' quartern. This in addition
to tho Installation of libraries on all
ships of tho navy and tho cargo ves
tals of the Emergency Fleot Corpora
tion, andat many naval stations.
Evjory transport taking American
troops to Franco has Its deck library
frith a Y" or K. of C- secretary .act
ing s librarian; these- books,, as. well
rs tHe fifty tons a tndnth sent as cargo,
supply tho overseas service. This la
1 uadar-Mhe direction of Burton E. Ste
venson, mo noveusi, woo nas caiau-
isSed a great central library In Paris
-.nd.two large library centres at other
lolnta'. The ovjerseas library service
las as Its baso tho 'branch libraries
Maced by Mr. Stevenson tn the huts.
iub- houses and convalescent bouses
f the Red Cross, T, M. C. A.. K. of C
young Women's Christian Asaocia-
ltion: Salvation Army and other organl
tatlcne and soldiers' ciuds neany u
thousand of these are now Installed.
The second layer In the pyramid Is
the ttji'claJ libraries of technical' books
purchased by the American UDrary
Association and grouped In classified
collections and Installed at tho head
quarters of every American military
unit In France, no matter now large
or how small There are special llbra-
4"rls on railway construction and engi
neering, for examp.e; special iiDranes
on aviation and ballooning, on forestry,
on cement work, on motor transport
ind all the-other highly technical sub-
Jects oh which different aetaenmerus
cf UwAmerfcan Expeditionary Force
must ie.'experta, as well as ort general
military topics. Tho books for these'
iPecJar' libraries, of which there or
! unflrlds. Vith from fifty to 500 vol
umes In each collection, have Been se
lected by tho General Staff In Wnsh
uron and the members of Gen. Per
shing's staff overseas.
The capstone of the overseas library
csrvice la the direct mall circulation of
looks from tno Paris central librai-y
io Individual eoldlers. Undor tho
ranking privilege recently granted by
'Ten. Pershing any soldier may wrlto
to the American Library Association
headquarters In Paris for any book ho
i7ants. It Is obtained for him If It has
o bo sent for io England or the United
Htatcs and Is forwarded to him free of
poetage; he may keep It a month and
return It also post tree, eariy n
houtand book requests a day aro
ow being filled In this way.
Soldiers Stoat Have nooks.
It has been surprising even to thoso
rho. anticipated a considerable demand
for reading matter on the part of the
American Army and Navy to discover
the actual extent of the demand. It
ranges' all the way 'from the most olo
mentary subjects to the highest scien
tific and technical works: In Action
from th storios of tho "Deadwood
JMclt" and "Nick Carter" typo to tho
classics of English literature.
Books to help totally Illiterate eol
fliers to learn how to read and write
tho English language, and bfoks to
Ifcvorklng for his' doctor's degree, both
' I coma" .within tho scope of Library War
Service. Books In forty different Ion
bkin6ing books to hospitals
. ;
V tOTHING less than a service of
PsJ mercy" Is ono description
x N that has been given of the
work of the American Library Associa
tion in supplying dooks ana magazines
to irttlents In tho camp base hospital.
More and moro do 'the men in thb
baw hospital depend on the librarian
to til them over tho lphg hours' they-
Mi mustvlie in bed br;-slt about ln'oathT.
Jfobes tfntil the"dayof discharge. In
tno kUTglcal wards especially, wnero
men aro confined to' bed Hveeks at a'
'me. tho visits of tho hospital librarian
wth her fresh supply of books and
ifiMzInes aro eagerly awaited, and if
v chance her call lrt a particular ward
i iIiyed a vigorous protest Is ma'do.
Aaked to "Preserlbe" DAoka.
T' i value of carrying camp library
Kicice to thoso who aro confined to the
Al.oipital is rcc6gnlzed by members of
yo hospital staff. The librarian Is
"'ten asked by a doctor or nurse to
Prescribe" for ft patle'nt who is Jn need
the stimulation 'which can como
,rom a gopd book.
On ono occasion, such a patient was
approached by the hospital librarian.
l'Ut her offer to leave a, bpokm0 wthJ
'"'y a s-iort rerusai. jvevcrtneicss ano
Li' 'Wfrt..'.
BUea .hayg hto to bo auppUed to
;;neet thtf reading-needs of our polrgot.'
inny. fori tfie motto of Library War ,
service laL.'OWe o'venr man th bonk .
JJ5'wh' ho.wadta it."
''l'tho',Tnmtnt a young man on-
ttra th 'arnljt right up- to his tour ot
' lllfv In hr. I.nl ' ft. . . . .t
.r-rf f, umvuoA.uo us never oui oi
ntaVfcrtth books and reading. Oooka' j
'nlagfous; men who never had ,
1Kb i,rcdjng'(hablt am acquiring Jt by.
?'undreda of, thousands. To ft
inrtIngiy,,iarKo- proportion of our
oldJefgMthe'.tree circulating library is
a new and' iinheard of Institution, and
"waljbBomethln; ntmoat pathetic' in
tnelfdfljght and exprosaloni of dp
preclAMoa 'of tho service which tn
American Library Association, with lt
hundreds of uniformed librarians in
war'serrloe, .stands ready at all times'
to. offer' thejtj,
;Th irop'librar' i frequently Uio
most popular gathering place. Tlitro
are no regulations and no restrictions.
Men may smoke, they may talk if they
like, although instinctively thoy recog
nize that It Is no placo for loud talk
ing. The books aro for the most part
on open shelves, ao the men can help
MEM READING on PORCH of HOSPITAL 1 IRRAP
(NURSE and LIBRARIAN
UtlNtKML MUiKl IAL (N"i I
American Library Association.
"THE American soldier wants good books. He does not necessarily
want goody goody books, but he wants entertaining; books; books
that nil in the idle hour, books that cheer, and so this organization
came into the big seven because it had its work cut out and was a
part of the whole. Hundreds of books have gone to the camps and
still the cry is for more. The time Is coming when books will be in
greater demand than ever. This institution deserves Its share of the
fund to be raised to care for our' boys abroad.
.themselves; If ono wishes to take a
book out to read In barracks, or In
Intervals of duty, the simplest kind of
a card rocelpt is tnken by tho librarian.
The foldlors' reading is about equally
divided between recreational and edu
cational books. In dugouts at the
front, and even In tho trenches, books
help them keep up their nerve and for
get the discomforts of their immediate
surroundings. In the hospitals, whero
tho librarians aro women, the little
rubber wheeled cart that brings books
right to the bedsides of the 111 and
wounded men Is the most welcome vis
itor they have. In the long periods of
convalescence books ore absolutely os
sentlal. Our fighting men aro reading with
avidity books of history, travel, geog
raphy, biography; books about the war
and Us causes; books that help them
master tho manifold phases of their
military dutios. It Is almost literally
truo that whenever an American sbl
dler Is detailed to kitchen pollco he
looks for a book from which he can
learn how better to peel potatoes.
Thero aro many military operations,
such as range finding. In which trig
onometcry and logarithms are of great
service, and the Library War Service
supplies this class of books also. Re
ports of camp and field librarians are
full of records of men who liavo won
promotion, many of them commis
sion!!, through tho btudy of tho hun
dreds of books on military science
furnished by Library War Service.
CALLED A SERVICE OF MERCY
slipped a copy of Tarklngton'a Penrod,
on a. shelf of the bedslre table. On her
next -visit she was hailed from down
the ward by tho taciturn borrower.
"Say." ho grinned, "I'd like to choke
over this book. Got another ono
like It?"
The-, nurso In chargo also reported a
miraculous chango in tho man's condi
tion. oad temperament.
'Discoveries as to the reading taeto
of mon in tho hoapltal liavo been made
by tho base .hospital librarian which
might well" provide a scientific basis
for caring for tho reading needs of
theee men. It has boon found that
in cases In the first week after an op
eration tho majority xf requests are
for short stories In large typo. This
la accounted for by the fact that the
typo does not tiro the eyo n'nd a man
can read through n page quiCKiy, gain
ing it certain satisfaction thereby In
fueling he la Vovcrlng Jots of territory.
Pictorial magazines aro alto popular.
Ah strength returns so returns tho
doslro for heavier reading. Typical of
this fecond atago arc books' containing
favorlto poema, tho works of favorltei
authors and sometimes works of a
moral or ethical nature.
In the final period of convalescence
comes tho desire for text and educa
PRESENT WITH BOOK WAGON)
- fcjUN Ml UU KUAU N .T .
That is really tho most striking
phenomenon about Library War Ser
vice the eager, insistent demand of
our soldiers and sailors who are of
course only average young Americans
in uniform for books that will help
them In the work that thoy are doing,
help them to understand better what
they ore fighting for, help them to
succeed in the civil life to which they
expect to return after tho war is over.
It is to meet demands of this kind for
books which must bo bought, because,
no matter how generous the o,wncrs of
private libraries may be, tholr book
shelves do not contain these special
and technical works, that the Ameri
can Library Association requires the
additional J3.500.000 which the Presi
dent and the War Department have
authorized It to ask from the public.
Even should the war end to-morrow
library service must go on until the
last American soldier has been re
turned to civil life. A port of the Gov
ernment's plan Is the establishment of
schools of every kind and for every
sort of trade and technical profession,
In order better to fit our soldiers to
become civilians again.
The reference and technical libraries
and to a largo extent tho text books
of this "khaki college" must bo sup
plied by and through tho American
Library Association, whose distinct
and definite contribution to this war
is Its work In helping not only to sus
tain tho moralo but to stimulate tho
ambition of our fighting men and help
them to como back better educated
than when they donned tho khaki.
tional books. The man from the ma
chine gun company wants machine
guns, the truck company corporal
wants a book on automobile repairing
and tho artilleryman Vanta to brush
up on algebra and geometry.
Aided by the lied Cross '
Books for tho base hospital are cir
culated from the base hospital library,
which is situated In n wing of the con
valescent houso of tho American lied
Cross. Here tho librarian has her oTTlco
and also living quarters. Comfortable
reading quarters are at hand for pa
tients who aro well enough to walk.
The greater part of tho librarian's
work is to mako personal visits to the
hospital wards to Irnr-i what the men
who are not fortunate enough to move
wish to read. Hooks aro carried along
to be given out and books requested
aro delivered later by an orderly. A
request box is placed In each wnrd
where special requests for books can
bo placed.
If the book desired by n patient is
not In the baao hospital library a re
quest is fccnt to the central camp li
brary, which forwards the book, or If
It Is not in stock ana .is a worn or non-
'fVttnn a reouest Is 'forwarded to the
nnrnat ttlihlle llhrarv. I
AiraHcan library Assc ct oii
ft.
vun iea war worn-
jalstn
CAMP LIBRARIES
ARE BUSY PLACES
THERE is nothing dormant about
a camp library; It is as ag
gressive ns an army corpi us
dynnmlo as war It-selt. The library at
Camp Funston out on tho bottoms ot
the Kaw HIver is typical. If you can
visualize that you will have grasped
tho spirit and tho character of uny
cantonment library organization.
Thoro Is a building, of course, hut
It doos not colncldo with your old
Idea of n library. It Is merely tho
headquarters and centro, tho heart of
an elaborate circulatory system (hat
extends at least thirteen mllos In one
direction and Is prepared to nourish
tho minds of soldiers at twenty-eight
major branched and 'mora thun a hun
dred points and stations in and about
tho cantonment zone.
It la a plain wooden structure, con
forming to tho general typo of canton,
inent building u big, rough shack
beautifully adapted to its Job. The
slto Is near thp residential centro of
tho camp and convenient to tho trans
portation lino. Thirty-six such library
buildings havo been built In as many
camps from funds advanced by the
Carnegie Corporation.
11ns 300 Kar Cbntrs,
These buildings oost about J10.000
each. Tho one nt Camp Funston Is 40
feet wtdo nnd 120 feet long. It con
talna ono large room lined with book
stacks which project from the walle,
forming alcoves. Upon thu shelves
are 16,000 books, about or approxi
mately half the number totalled by the
entire camp system.
This building performs two func-
: 'i'iV:e
tlon. that of a circulating library
hcadtiUtirttrs ami uf a distributing bta-
tlon for branch libraries mid a ref
croneo and reading room for utllcvrs
and men. Two hundred comfortuble
cany chairo contribute to mako tho
reading room one of tho most popular
places in camp. Krom early In the
morning until lato at night thero Is a
constant procession of hoUlleri coming
to read or to draw books. In tho
afternoon and evening generally every
clmlr Is occupied, with men sitting on
the floor and Mainline.
.Smoking la not only permitted but
encouraged, providing the most notice
able difference between the main read
ing room of a city library and that of
a camp establishment. And hats aro
worn. Tho traditional rule of silence
requires no discipline to enforce
Inside the camp are twelve Y. M.
C A. huts, scattered about the three
sciuaro miles Included In tho cartton
mont proper. Hach of these, including
tho ono for negro soldiers, Is provided
with a branch library, Just as every
Y. M. C. A. hut at every other camp
and cantonment is ruppllcd with, alt
of lti books nnd library equipment by
the American Library Association. On
tho shelves of the Y M. C. A. branches
uro on an average (100 volumes. These
I branches are gradually being enlarged.
Calls for special books aro forwarded
to thu main library and filled there If
possible. In case tho book Is not nt
War Library Headquarters at Wash-
Ington, or elso tho book Is borrowed
from the library of some nearby city.
The rule is that whatever Nok a
soldier wants to read, this tide of der-
- vesK
A CORNER vn BOOKS"
FUNSTON ,
Iman propaganda, tho American as
sociation stands ready to furnish him.
! Inside tho camp, too, are the three
huts of tho IC of C, one of which also
i la for negro soldiers. Their libraries
aro supplied by the American Library
I Association as brandies of the central
camp library. ,
Also In (Camp Funston aro uio two
hostess houses of tho Y. W. C. A., one
for whites, tho other for negroes, each
of which contains a 200 book ranch
of the central llbrarj'. The selection of
volumes In the hostess houses is cal
culated mainly to interest nnd enter
tain transient women visitor?.
At numerous points there aro smaller
collections known as deposits, or sta
tions, of perhaps only thirty or forty
volumes, sometimes selected only for
temporary ufo for a special purpose;
and sometimes they comprise smalt
reference collections on a particular
subject for ofllccrs and men.
Thero aro stations In the regimental
infirmaries thirteen altogether. There
are stations and deposits In tho olllcers'
quarters, such, for example, as a col
lection of onglneeiinif books for the
convenience of elifirlneerlng ofllccrs; or
It mny bo a collection of looks on au
tomobllo engines and truck operation
and repairing for enlisted men er.raerd
In tlii. t-tudy of automobllo mechanics.
There are often as muny as fifteen
such collections skittered about the
amp at ono time, nnd these, Ilkn the
branch libraries, ore. constantly being
supplemented or shifted.
Only Part of the Work.
Many largo and busy city libraries
havo slighter demand made upon their
circulatory systems than the Camp
Funston establishment; and this Is
only tho beginning of the camp li
brary's work.
Tho bnso hospital of Camp Funston
nt Fort Ill'.ey, tho famous post that
lies between Junction City and Iup
ston. Here library stations aro estab
lished In sixty-six of tho ninety-five
wnrds tn every ward except those re
served for contagious diseases with
an average of fifty books in each sta
tion. Circulation of .books In hospitals
is a iart of tho War Library Scrvlco
that Is becoming specialized under the
direction of trained women librarians
who aro selected and usstgned by the
American Library Association to this
exacting service.
Dally automobllo delivery is made
from Camp Funston library to tho base
hospital, f.o that uny soldier who wants
a particular book to read seldom has
long to wait for It.
What assortment of books does a
camp library contain? What do the
men read? '
Funston's 30,000 volumes are divided
between fiction. non-ncton and refer
enco books in about the same propor
tion as the city library. But while tho
calls for fiction In an ordinary library
nmount to "0 per cent, of tho total. In
camp libraries tho demand for fiction
Is less than SO per cent. This ratio Is
partly accounted for by the fact that the
clientele of tho camp library is inmost
exclusively masculine, and not only
mascullno but tho typo that la anxious
for improvement the fighting type.
Demand Text Hooks,
And this Is true not only nt Funston,
but at every one of tho war libraries
maintained and operated by tho Ameri
can Library Association. Tho demand
for educational worki- text books and
technical books of all rorts Is aston
ishing. In camps tho proportion of library
users to population reaches an average
Much Already Accomplished, but More
to Be Done Technical Works and
Light Literature Both Wanted
of 8ft per cent,.whcn;a tho usual city,'
llbra'rytreachf 'only SB rper,cent. ,Tp
sUtlstlcs aro misleading, ho wvdr, ioj
city, population,' includo. Infant,, in-,
vallda ond Hlltc'rateA ."'JiV.',
'"'THo-.iion-ncHon, Wolw ha-wubten;
' much moTOLcnrefully-'OTlectc'itnVda.
eyo to' tHjsl needs', df'tholr proipecjlyq,
usorsAlhan'', 'lh'oto'"ot' tho cItx,ylbrar?J
Thl.was madjpbsslble because. tW x
act class oCtjsorsvWas known; jl?);
branch' ot military activity Is fcepre
aentod and included in the collejetlon'a
of nonrllction volumes. (
; It bos. astqnla'he'd many army, men
to find liow.extcnulvo Is the literature
on such subjects' as machine guns, ord
nance, ammunition', .map reading and
sketching veterinary, medicine, tedinlc
of aviation, . radlotelegrnphy and tot
cphony, quartermasters' supply, recla
mation, road .engineering and' chemis
try In its' numerous military appltca
tlons. , ' '
And there! aro demands cA-cn more
specialized than those. When a ldlcr
asked for a copy of the "Discourses of
Eplctetus." It was obtained fov him M
oncol Another request for a box)k on
A.L.A. CAMP LIBRARY
KANSAS .
municipal house cleaning and salvngo
was greeted with equally prompt re
spouse,. It must be ndmlttcd, though
that the librarian found himself rather
short of breath when he was nsked for
a book that would enable a CJreek to
teach an Italian English.
Forelicu Work In Ilrmaiiil.
"We havo books In French, German,
Spanish, modern Greek, Yiddish, Nor
wegian, Hwedlsh. Polish, Rumanian,
Russian and Bulgarian." reports the
librarian In charpe, "and they aro In
constant circulation."
Somo of these books aro by native
authors and others am translations
from Kngllsh, for It Is desirable that
our foreign born soldiers become fa
miliar with ISnglish and American
books. TIhj other day a Greek boy
brought u book to the librarian'! desk
to bo changed. The librarian, not be
ing able to read Greek, asked tho boy
what the book was
"Why, don't you know?" exclaimed
the soldier. "H'a Sicrlwfc Holmes."
The greatest demand for foreign
language books nru from Foles
French, Spanish, Jewish, Itussian and
Italian soldiers. About tho stlffest re
quest tho Library Assoclntlon has had
so far was for the Arubiuii yiahta In
tho original Arabic. A professor in
Columbia University was appealed to,
and before long tho homesick soldier
from tho Hast got tho precious book
of stories.
It is tho hope and nlm of the Gov
ernment, In which tho American Li
brary Association Is cooperating, that
when our soldiers get back from over
there every ono of them will be speak
ing English fluently. There la no de
sire to make him forget the language
ho learned nt his mother's knee. Above
all there Is no desire to wean him
from hbl family or his neighbors. In
all of the camp libraries. In this coun
try at least, foreign language news
papers are provided.
At Camp Sherman, Clilillcotho. Ill
there arc many Syrians. On day a
Syrian soldier .timidly entered the
camp library, not really expecting to
find anything to Interest him. To his
delight ho found n Syrian newspaper
published In New York. He sat down
and rend it through, advertisements
and all. Tho next day ho came back
with two more Syrians, The news
'spread through nil the regiments and
now, the librarian says, there la a dele
gation of Syrians waiting every eve
ning to read their newspaper, which Is
donated to the camp by the publishers.
Tlinuiundfi of Incidents.
Tho.reco'rds of Library War Service
both on this side and overseas contain
literally thousands of incidents and ex
amples Illustrating tho desire for
knowledge on the part of tho men and
the value, of books to them. Perhaps
an Idea ot tho variety of non-fiction
lltoraturo may bo best obtained by a
glance at the record of a slnglo day's
non-lletlon circulation In the main II
brary building at Cnmp Aleade. on Fri
day, August io:
lllliu TVjnslortal America.
BfUiill-MoiVrii Artillery In th IiM.
Drown The Everyday lite of Abrhra "Un.
coin
nUhop-FleM Artlllerr.
Ciprtiine-l'if Inr SnrrlilcnU.
Cloiifh lMutareh't VIf.
CUmuIi Crri'd uf th Cowiuerinr Chlf.
Usili Nolen ot a War Correiondent.
I)lon-Irlll Kffulatlonn for Sliul Troori.
Dion Tuuk, Ga, llomlitnr. Uuulil Klre.
Karitf Sua Ilia!, aiul Uom-i oj Ycilerdiy.
Edmuml -ftmU'r' Itainlboiil'.
E'lli & Carey r'atlitiun Manual.
Knnl -FlrM Artillery Urltcr ami Cannonerr.
Enult Field (vnlce IWulntlnni.
Koilr Knriclm1U of Oinv
IPwborough & Kanklri-.:i,c Opnini,
French-Melklejolm EMntUU ot Lclieiinr.
Garofa'o Crlmlno'ory.
(I'll Oar, and Fui'l AnalriU
Oowln-The Exeeuthe nnd Hit Control of
Mru
'Ismmond Caaner'a Handbook tor Field At-
'lAiila. Kttti!h tiittona. .
Ti9 lla
IIbbbiM-1
lltatiW IndsrlM. and Filler.
intaoz-Pate 0, Gaaolwie and Oil Earlnu.
Hltcticocli--Etiih cowpotlUon.
HltcbciViti tnlanlry Drill Retaliation (!.
JMernattonal tibrsrjr Areocy, Bailment, 'Pen.
ancj.. ,
Jdsi)atu(Weoeral Foch.
Klnlisr rMl.l Vam.
Klmlt-Jtlmn'arr nilfib 12).
urnnr AiiacK.
(.ormuaiv Knillih Oram mar.
MeOlur Sfaft'a TTnrn Ttaib
McClura XlannAl al tLivoact Flshtlnx.
14utonl tt FromiMl Rpoai.
Mania una unman uooy.
XaUiewjAtv-Fllchinr In a tincb.
Miller-nutifi to Lire For.
M(m-Army Paper, Work.
MM-Artny Itesulallona.
xota Non-cotnrnjaaionw ornrcrs Jisnuan
i ' Oxford'Book of Knrllth Vrrw.
Paae Ifodarto aaaolan AutomobUe.
Pare-Motor Crrle.
rmuj ino iiearx. oi uiacitaioiw.
Plncro Tralawne ot tba Well.
PlniiMT'Fatrao! A Seal ol Perform finer
Taala, Pratt AutomoWUJ Tnatrnctor.
nemten Vrctnta Cbcmlatrr.
ttobtrit Oat TCnrltM Handbook.
noeouco ooone ooa ivactica or I'auior;
raptay.
Krrtrfl 111 I ! art I n? & ClieSilia.
Shur tlie Derll' Utt-lpla.
Rlahl Wbat a Tou-x Nan Ouiht to Know.
Sterr Field TeJjl.cM and Telcrraph cr)
mory or las ureii war.
Hln.-1lrv--tntraif lonAt rnrnhmMari Erurlnp.
Snruooe LaaOna In Sr9ctlcAl KlertrlHtY
Thorp-Indui trial Chemlatrr.
a noreau amiuar jueuera.
Train Tba Irionr at the Bar.
Taehappit Ordnance and Gunnery
nuMfliy-Airman Ol lofic
It was a soldier engaged In camou
flage painting at a base In France who
asked Dr. M. Llewellyn nancy, th:
Johns Hopkins librarian who organ
lied the Library Association's overseas
service, for a book on the psychology
of color. The private who asked for an
up to date book on motors and re
jected ilie one which the librarian of
fered him with the comment, "1 did
the drawings for that booU; haven'
you anything later?" wan accommo
dated with a still more t-srent wori .
Instances In which tho study of nuclei
subjects has won men's promotion
from the ranks nr.d enabled them tt
obtain commissions through the aid of
books furnished by the Library Wat
Service are almost Innumerable.
Fine Itefcrcucr Works TJaed.
A camp library is course equipped
with nil tho standard reference book. -oven
moro completely than the aver'
age public library, a.id in each of the
branches there are puch reference col
lections as n standard atlas, a good
dictionary, a French dictionary, a war
map and an adequate encyclopedia.
Uut tho telephone rings; all day with
requostrt for specific bILs of Informa
tion which covers ui; fields, from rail
road train schedules to dellnltlons of
such words aa "snbntnge,"
The librarian Is supposed to be well
acquainted not only rith tho outside
but with the Insldo of all books, and
'the man in th'.a position who carries to
tho work educational equipment lesr
comprehonslvo than that of a univer
sity faculty find'! himself ttumped lots
of times every day.
The magazines subscribed for in the
main libraries include nil of the lead
ing rclentlflc nnd technical Journal, a
well as periodicals of a more popular
nature. Tho American Library As
sociation distributes tho so-called
"Burleson" magazines tho kind that
you stick a l cent stamp on without
specifying the post office.
At Camp Funston tho average de
livery of "Ilurleson" magazines Is nior
than 100 aaeks a week. These are
culled and sorted and distributed to
tho branches and stations, und a quan
tit j of them is always held In reserve,
awaiting tho frequent calls from a
"V" branch, such oa "Five hundred
men arc going out to-night, fc'end
somo magazines to tho train." Every
trulnload of troops moving from camp
to seaboard Is supplied from thcs
sources.
Aboard Trnnaporta Tno.
On the transport there Is a deck
library, boxes which stood on cdge
becomo crude bookcases ; tho librarian
who travels on tbo transport issue?
books on our regular city library cant
system and collects them from the men
before port Is reached. In this wav
large numbers of books are sent t"
Franco without encroaching upor
cargo space beyond thy titty tons
month allotted by Ocn. Pershing for
books.
In Paris thu overseas headquarters.
In the building erected for the Papal
Delegate to tho French Kepitblle, ar
In uliargo of Burton n. Stevenson,
known to the public as a popular
novelist and compiler of books of
verse, but to librarians as th mat'
who for twenty years has made th
public library at Chllllcothe, Ohio, on
of the most useful Institutions in Its
community. Overseas distribution is
principally through branch libraries
established In Itfd Crots canteens.
Y. M, C. A. nnd Knights of Columbu
huts, and similar agencies. Mr. Ste
venson's latest cable reports 3."i0 such
branches and distributing points es
tablished elnco lost iprlng.
AMERICAN FOYERS HELP
FRENCH WOMEN WORKERS.
AFKENC
Engll
-i.i.
1U3NCH girl writes In her bes
English to a Young Women'
Christian Association worker
in
this country:
"1 ''on't know well your language,
but I will try to tell you all what your
good countrymen are doing for us.
"While your brave soldiers flcht with
ours and prove their heart, kind Amoi
lean ladles founded somo foyers, where
war women can read and spend a
good time. I am only coming hcrr
since a week, but I am very' happy in
find here so good pertons.
"I remain from 12 to 2, and Home
times at 6, when I have a lesson, for
we can learn English, singing and
drawing. It Is very pleasant. I listen
the piano, I read or look at pictures
about tho war, Tho whole apartment
Is very nlco and gay, the furnltur
are made of clear wood, and all seemi
comfortablo and pretty,
"Everybody Is kind to us and
feol ourselves In family. We also have
our lunch and coffee, tea or chocolate.
At lact, we are the most hnppy, und '
should wish of all my heart thero an
many foyers for all young girls which
work and don't know how often spiMH
their time between the hours of work '
It la among other purposes to cor
tlnuo this work, moro Important in
the readjustment and reconstru,,,",
period following the war than ddri'V
the conflict Itaelf, that the Younc
Women's Christian Association nsk
laid In tho present campaign
r,
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