PUBLIC LIBRARY ART CALLERY. Y EA R EN D ED 3 1 st MARCH, Published by O rder of th e. Public L ibrary and A rt Gallery C o m m it t e e.

Transcription

1 T W E N T Y - F I R S T OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ART CALLERY. Y EA R EN D ED 3 1 st MARCH, Publshed by O rder of th e Publc L brary and A rt Gallery C o m m t t e e. ALFRED JUBB A 8 0 N, LTD.

2 3 To the Commttee of the Publc Lbrary and Art Gallery, Huddersfeld. Mr. Charman and Gentlemen, I have pleasure n submttng the 21st Annual Report, coverng the 12 months ended March 31st, SUMMARY OF TOTALS. The Combned Total of books ssued and consulted at the Central Lendng, Reference, and Patent Lbrares, and at the Almondbury Branch Lbrary for the year was 274,311, an ncrease of 34,934. (See Table III., page 14). The Total Issues from all departments snce the openng of the Lbrares, 21 years ago, amount to 4,118,155. The Total Stock of books n all departments (exclusve of Patent Lbrary) s now 43,681, an ncrease of 1,275. (See Table I., page 12). CENTRAL LIB R A R Y. LENDING DEPARTMENT. The Number of Volumes n stock s now 32,172, an ncrease of 689. Worn out volumes, to the number of 220, have been replaced, makng the total number acqured durng the year 909. There are stll about 1,500 worn out books awatng replacement. Great dffculty s beng experenced n obtanng the copes requred. The Issues from the Central Lendng Lbrary were 256,436, an ncrease of 30,602. These are both the hghest ssue and the greatest ncrease th at have been recorded. The daly average works out at 968, as aganst 863 last year. (See Table II.. page 13).

3 4 All classes shew ncreases, the largest beng n Socal Scence, 757 or 32% ; Natural Scence, 863 or 20.5% ; Fne and Useful Arts, 2,724 or 23.7% ; Hstory and Travel, or 22% ; Bography, 648 or 19% ; Lterature and Poetry, 1,636 or 28% ; Fcton, 13,155 or 8.7% ; Juvenle, 8.5(H) or 24%. The Juvenle Non-fcton ssues were 6,740, as aganst 4,777. The percentage of Fcton ssued was Last year, Ths s the lowest yet recorded. It should be noted n ths connecton that the percentage s calculated on Lendng Lbrary ssues onlv. The ncrease n the number of books ssued to chldren s a very satsfactory feature, followng as t does on a slght decrease last vear. The followng ssues may be noted : they are the hghest recorded snce the openng of the Lbrary. On Saturday, March 30th, 1918, the ssue from the Lendng Lbrary was 2,115. The ssues from the Lendng and Reference Lbrares for the week endng Jan. 11th, 1919, were 6,078, gvng a daly average of 1,157. From the Lendng Lbrary only, for the week endng March 15th last, 5,745 vols. were ssued. The number of books n embossed type ssued to blnd readers was 611. Last vear, 619. Durng the year 1,715 applcatons for the return of overdue books were sent out, as aganst 1,327 last year ; and 1,986 Bespoken Books post cards were dealt wth, the number last year beng 1,484. The number of Borrowers Cards n force (Table IV., page 15) s 10,265, as aganst 8,437, an ncrease of 1,828. Non-fcton (extra) Cards are held by 2,050 borrowers, as aganst 1,020, or just over double the number last year. Ths s undoubtedly due to the alteraton n method of applyng for these cards, arrangement havng been made for the desre

4 5 for them beng expressed on the ordnary applcaton form, whereas prevously a second form had to be flled n. For the Camps Lbrary 58 books and magaznes were receved, makng a total of 190 books and 2,000 magaznes % dealt wth snce the work was frst undertaken n Aprl, Very lttle use was made by wounded solders statoned n the town of the facltes offered for borrowng books. Only 19 such cards were taken out. * SPECIAL LISTS. The lst of books relatng to Commerce and Trade, whch t was decded to ssue, s n the press, but great dffculty s beng experenced n gettng the work along. The applcaton for a grant of Government Publcatons of ths character, whch was renewed n March 1918 on the request of H.M. Statonery Offce, has not yet brought any result. Nether has an applcaton sent n through the Lbrary Assocaton, at the request of the Board of Trade Commercal Intellgence Department, resulted n anythng tangble, and no nformaton on the m atter s forthcomng. In response to a request from the Huddersfeld Branch of the Natonal Councl for Combatng Venereal Dseases for specal facltes for the dsplay of lterature, a lst of books n the Lbrares bearng on the subject n all ts aspects was prepared and dsplayed n the Lendng and Reference Lbrares. RECLASSIFICATION. The books n the Lendng Lbrary beng classfed on the lnes of the Dewey Classfcaton, but wth the applcaton of a dfferent notaton, whch latter has led to congeston and unweldness n certan sectons and the adopton of varous expedents to overcome ts nelastc propertes, t was decded n January last, followng on a report by the Lbraran,

5 that ths method be dropped, and the Dewey notaton appled. The change, whch nvolves a good deal of detal work, wll be effected as soon as crcumstances permt. FACILITIES TO TEACHERS. The Teachers Specal Cards n force s now 161, as aganst 150 last year ; the ssues on these beng 716, as aganst At Almondbury the numbers are : Cards, 3, same as last year ; ssues, 9 ; last year, 10. COMPARATIVE TABLE. The followng table shews (Lendng Lbrary only) the number of books n stock, the total ssues, daly averages, and number of borrowers each year snce the openng of the Lbrar}' Books n Stock. Books Issued. Daly Av. Issue. No. of Borrowers Aprl 22nd, March 31st, Total ssues 0 9 tt*

6 1 R EFER EN C E LIB R A R Y. The number of volumes s now 8,653, an ncrease of 534. The number of works consulted was 10,090, as aganst 7,254, an ncrease of 2,836, by far the largest ncrease noted snce the openng of the Lbrary. COMPARATIVE TABLE. Aprl Stock. Issues. March Stock, Issues. 22nd st March st > PATENT LIBRARY. The number of Specfcatons and Journals consulted was 870. as aganst 572 ; the number of persons usng ths department beng 107, as aganst 77. ALMONDBURY BRANCH. The number of volumes n stock at ths Branch s 2,856, an ncrease of 52. The Issues durng the year were 6,915, as aganst 5,717, an ncrease of 1,198. The number of Borrowers also shews an ncrease, beng 219 (as aganst 178), of whom 12 hold Non-fcton cards. BINDING AND REPAIRS. 1,394 volumes have been re-bound durng the year, the number last year beng 1,675. Many thousands of mnor repars have, n addton, been carred out by the staff.

7 8 SCHOOL LIB R A R IES. The ssues from these boxes, 37 n number, whch are suppled by the Educaton Commttee to 28 Elementary Schools n the Borough, are shewn n a Table on page 16. The Total Issue was , as aganst 30,888 last year. The decrease s due to the long perod durng whch the schools were closed durng the prevalence of the Influenza epdemc. It was not found possble to have the boxes called n for the annual overhaul ths year. V ART G A LLER Y. Exhbtons and attendances durng the 12 months Huddersfeld Art Socety, Aprl 18th to May 25th, 6 weeks Amercan Lberty Loan Posters ; and Permanent Collecton, June 22nd to July 18th (estmated)... Permanent Collecton, July 22nd to Nov. 19th (estmated)... Brtsh Artsts at the Front : and Permanent Collecton, Nov. 21st to Feb. 1st (estmated) Huddersfeld Art Socety. Feb. 19th to March 29th The 21 Amercan Lberty Loan Posters were lent by Mr. Frankln D. Hale, late Amercan Consul n Huddersfeld I and proved a most nterestng exhbt. The Brtsh Artsts at the Front Exhbton conssted of the prnts from a publcaton of th at ttle, broken up, and shewn n the temporary exhbt frames, wth the accompanyng descrptve letterpress. The artsts whose work s th u s reproduced are Sr John Lavery, A.R.A., C. R. W. Nevnson, Erc Kennngton, and Paul Nash. Falng the pctures themselves, ths proved to be a satsfactory method of brngng ther work to the publc notce.

8 9 One addton has been made to the Permanent Collecton, a copy n ols of a self-portrat of Gerard Dou, presented by Mr. F. W. Robnson. It s hoped th at durng the comng year t wll be possble to run a larger number of exhbtons than condtons have allowed durng the past few years. STAFF. I am glad to report th at Mr. H. Gouden, Sub-Lbraran, and Mr. F. J. Boardman were demoblsed and returned to ther posts on January 16th and Feb. 21st last respectvely. H. Townend s stll retaned n the Army of the Rhne. Mss Stone resgned her poston n May, 1918, owng to ll-health, a m atter for regret. LIBRARY RATE. Followng on recept of a communcaton from the Lbrary Assocaton on the urgency of the present fnancal poston of Publc Lbrares, t was resolved th at the local Members of Parlament be asked to support the applcaton of the Lbrary Assocaton for the abolton of the present lmtaton on the Lbrary Rate. Further, t was decded that as the ncome from the Id. rate would be nadequate to meet our requrements for the comng year, the estmate should be framed on the bass of a ld. rate, whch estmate later receved the approval of the Councl. HUDDERSFIELD ROLL OF HONOUR. Ths m atter was brought to the notce of the Commttee, who passed a resoluton authorsng the Lbraran to comple a lst of all local men who joned the Colours durng the war. GENERAL. A Lbrary Conference, arranged by the North Central Lbrary Assocaton, was held at Manchester, on October 23rd

9 10 am 24th. Ths was attended by the Charman, Vce-Charman, and myself. The subjects under consderaton were The Publc Techncal Lbrary ; The Relaton of the Works Lbrary to the Publc Techncal Lbrary ; The Commercal Lbrary ; kklbrary Work wth Chldren ; and The Fnancal Poston of Publc Lbrares. The Conference was most nterestng and successful, and was attended by delegates from all parts of the Country. A report on the proceedngs was gven at the followng meetng of the Commttee. The congratulatons of the Commttee were extended to the Lbraran and Curator at the meetng on Jan. 31st, on hs completon of 21 years servce wth the Commttee. The usual Lsts of Perodcals and of Donors of Books, etc., have been agan omtted from ths report, owng to the need for compresson. 456 volumes, 235 pamphlets, a small parcel of engravngs, comprsng book llustratons by Brket Foster and Portrats from the Hstory of the Franco-German war, and a framed reproducton of an engravng shewng the converson of wool from the sheep s back to the fnshed sut n 1811, have been receved. To all the donors the thanks of the Commttee have been conveyed. Owng to the restrctons mposed by the Household Fuel and Lghtng Order, 1918, steps had to be taken to reduce the consumpton of fuel and electrcty. By closng the Readng Rooms one hour earler at nght and by the replacement of practcally all lamps by others of smaller candle power, the necessary reducton was secured. So far as the Lbrary was concerned, no further alteraton n hours was made. Earler closng of ths departm ent came nto operaton n January, 1916, the reducton becomng necessary owng to the need for economy n expendture. The restrcton has not had any adverse effect, on the contrary n fact, as s evdenced by the returns of ssues.

10 11 SITE FOR NEW BUILDINGS. At a meetng of the Commttee, held on Feb. 14th last, a letter from Sr John F. Ramsden was read, offerng as a gft a ste for the new Publc Lbrary and Art Gallery, comprsng some 1,322 square yards, stuate at the North end of the Parsh Church Bural Ground. Ths offer was accepted and the grateful thanks of the Corporaton conveyed to Sr John for hs generous gft. The ste s an excellent one n all respects. It s large enough to meet all our antcpated needs for Central Lbrary and Art Gallery purposes ; s centrally stuated, beng close to the Market Place (the tow n s centre), and the Ralway Staton ; has most excellent lght ; s not only readly accessble, but (a requrement whch s not generally recognsed) s n a quet poston, off, though near to, the man streets wth ther heavy traffc and nose. The estmated requrements of all departments of the Lbrary and Art Gallery have been carefully consdered n vew of ths gft, and a sketch plan embodyng these, whch I drew up and had the pleasure of submttng, has been approved by the Commttee as a bass on whch to work when the tme for preparng to buld arrves. The prospect of adequate and sutable premses, and release from the congested and restrcted condtons whch have for so long hampered the full development of the Lbrary servce s one for sncere congratulaton. I am, Gentlemen, Yours obedently, FRED K. C. COLE, Lbraran and Curator.

11 TABLE I. Shewng the number of volumes n the Lbrares at March 30th, 1918, the number added durng the year, the numbers wthdrawn and transferred, and the total at March 31st, LENDING LIBRARIES. CENTRAL. ALMONDBURY. Class. A. Relgon and Phlosophy B. Socal Scence C. Natural Scence.. D. Fne and Useful Arts E. Hstory, Geography, and Travel F. Bography G. Language, Lterature, and Poetry March 30th, ; No. of Trans, to No. added. ; Wthdrawals! jalmondbury. Total at 31st, 1 March L919. March 30th, No. added nc transfers. Total at March 31st, 1919.! Percntg Percntg ; ! 107 3* ; ! l 82 2* * * ; *7, * *1 H. Fcton J. Juvenle K. Magaznes and Bblography Totals j * * * *3 l» * *0 REFEREN CE LIBRARY # 8653

12 t CENTRAL LENDING LIBRARY. Aprl May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, A B C D E F G H J K Totals D.Av Totals * Class per centage 1*6 1* *5 4*1 1* * Last year j * * *0 3*9 1*5 2*6 66*7 15* M Almondbury 22 T 38~ Last year Central Lbrary open 265 days. Last year, 262 days. *Note Juv. Non-fcton (6740) s now Almondbury Branch open on 100 days. Last year, on 100 days, counted n under respectve class headngs REFERENCE LIBRARY. In the Reference Lbrary volumes were consulted durng the same perod. Last year In the Patent Lbrary 870 Specfcatons and Journals were consulted. Last year 572.

13 TABLE III. Shewng the Total Annual Issues n each Class, and each Department. Year ended Mar. 31st. CENTRAL LENDING LIBRARY. Alm nd- Uefcrbury ' 1 ence Branch. Lbrary A B C D 1 E F G H J 1 K 1 Total. D.A v Patent Lbrary l , t ! J : ' ! : 21204' ! j * ! ! I ] * Almondbury Branch opened February, t Patent Lbrary transferred from the Town Hall, July, 1902.

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15 TABLE IV. Shewng the Sex and Ages of Borrowers. CENTRAL. ALMONDBURY. Ordnary Non-Fcton Ordnary Non-Fcton Cards. Cards. Cards. Cards. (A.) Number of Ratepayers Number of Non-Ratepayers Totals.... (For Totals n prevous years see Compar. Table p. 6). Total number of Tckets n force (B.) Number of Males Number of Females Totals « % (C.) Ages of Borrowers (Non-Ratepayers only) : 11 to to to to to to and over 37 3 Not stated * Totals

16 SCHOOL LIBRARIES ISSUES, Aprl 1st, 1918, to March 31st, SCHOOLS. ISSUES. MIXED. No. of Boxes. Non- Fcton. Fcton. Totals. Bradley Natonal Crosland Moor Councl Crosland Moor N atonal1 Deghton Councl Lndley Natonal Lockwood Natonal Longwood Natonal2 Lowerhouses C. E. Moldgreen C. E.3 Newsome Natonal Outlane Councl4 Paddock Councl5 Sprng Grove Councl6.. Woodhouse N atonal7.. l ' BOYS. Berry Brow Councl Gotfeld Councl Moldgreen Councl Mount Pleasant Councl Oakes Councl Paddock Natonal Stle Common Councl ! I GIRLS. Berry Brow Councl9.. Moldgreen Councl10 Mount Pleasant Councl11 Oakes Councl Paddock N atonal12 Spark Hall Councl13.. Stle Common Councl Totals NOTE. November and December and porton of March, 1919, owng to Influenza. c* 00^ o No reports for Oct, 1918, Feb. and March, 1919 Only fve reports receved. No reports for Sept , & Mar., 1919 Do. Sept, and Oct., 1918 Do. Feb. and March, 1919 Only three reports receved, No reports for Sept, and Oct., No reports for Oct., 1918; Jan., Feb., and March, Only three reports receved. 10. No reports for March, Only fve reports receved. 12. Only three reports receved. 18. No ssue for Jan.. Feb., & March, 1919

17 17 A P P E N D IX. TA B LE 1. GEN ERAL. Populaton (estmated) 115,000 Amount of R a t e Id. Cost of Lbrary Servce per nhabtant t ncludng *Total cost of Lbrary per nhabtant j Branch 3.5d. 5.5d. No. of Branches... 1 No. of Staff (Whole Tme) : Male (3 on actve servce)... 5 Female No. of Staff (Part Tme) : 1 F emale ## *«1 * Includes Art Gallery expendture. TA B LE 2. INCOME AND EXPEN D ITU RE. INCOME : Percentage of Total. From Rate Lbrary Recepts (Fnes, Catalogues, ^ * Other s o u rc e s T otal * Includes Credt Balance, 1917, and Bank Interest. LIBRARY SERVICE EXPENDITURE : Books Bndng and Reparng Newspapers and P ero d cals Fttngs and Furnture Prntng and Statonery S alares Total «