22 The American Museum of Natural History 



ence catalogues and order forms for the use of teachers. We realized 

 that, with the numerous demands upon the teachers, many would 

 not have time to prepare lectures from miscellaneous slides. Accord- 

 ingly, the staff of the Department undertook the preparation of 

 several lectures on topics connected with school work. Each set of 

 slides was accompanied with a manuscript, so that teachers could 

 prepare their own lectures with a minimum of effort. These lecture 

 sets are greatly appreciated by the teachers and are in almost con- 

 stant use. At first, five sets were prepared. They have now been 

 increased to twenty-seven. Announcements of the plan for loaning 

 slides, together with reference catalogues and order blanks, were sent 

 to all the schools in the City. Museum messengers deliver the slides 

 and call for them at the end of the loan period. 



At first, the use of the slides was somewhat limited by the 

 fact that many schools were not equipped with classrooms which 

 could be darkened, or did not possess stereopticons. In spite of these 

 handicaps, the growth of this work has been most encouraging, as 

 the following statistics show : 



1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 



(9 months) 

 Number of Loans of Slides 



to Public Schools 146 491 935 992 1,470 



Number of Public Schools 



Borrowing Slides 35 63 84 102 92 



Number of Slides Circulated 11,929 38,912 63,111 72,287 80,468 



Since 1915, the City has provided annually, through the Board 

 of Education, $2,000 for this work. While this appropriation was 

 ample for the first two years, it is not now sufficient to cover the cost 

 of distributing the slides and the expenses incident to the preparation 

 of lecture sets, manuscripts, and catalogues. Owing to the demand 

 for this material, the work has increased more than 500 per cent, 

 since the first year, and larger appropriations must be provided if this 

 service to the schools is to be maintained. 



Although the City did not financially support the Museum's plan 



to open Local Lecture Centers, in connection with the proposed 



extension in 1914, the need of this kind of educational 



local work was so apparent that the Trustees authorized 



lecture the Curator of Public Education to arrange for 



centers courses of lectures in two of the public schools, as a 



practical demonstration of the effectiveness of this 



method of instruction. These were given in the Washington Irving 



High School, in cooperation with Miss Rosemary F. Mullen, and in 



Public School No. 64, in cooperation with Mr. William F. Grady. 



