Report of the Librarian 



The Great War has naturally been the overshadowing influence in 

 the activities of the library, as may be seen from the following r^sum^; 

 and the khaki uniform is a common sight in the reading rooms, for one 

 part of the library's work is directly with officers and men. Drill 

 manuals, guides for soldiers, French textbooks, books on aeroplanes, 

 machine guns, and many other branches of military science have been 

 liberally supplied. Personal letters have been sent officers stationed at 

 the Armory, inviting them to use the library's resources; and many 

 important technical works have been furnished, some of which were 

 not otherwise obtainable. Men of draft age have been given publica- 

 tions describing the conditions of military life; and men who had taken 

 the training at Plattsburg have been provided with officer's manuals, 

 works on military map-making, and the like. The library early printed 

 a list of its books on military subjects which has been widely used. 



Civilians engaged in the manufacture of munitions resort to the library 

 for all sorts of information, often involving considerable research. A 

 manufacturer of aeroplanes, for example, asks for tests showing the 

 qualities of hickory; a maker of saddlery looks up pubhcations on 

 leather; a Government silk inspector refers to books on silk culture and 

 spinning; a teacher in a school of aeronautics asks for the latest infor- 

 mation in print; an army officer uses special dictionaries in translating 

 an important military work; men from the factories consult all sorts 

 of books on machinery, fuel oils, aeroplane motors, and a host of similar 

 topics. In fact, no day passes without many calls for technical books 

 directly or indirectly bearing on the war. 



Last fall the library conducted a campaign to raise money for the 

 national fund to provide libraries for our soldiers and sailors. The 

 work was carried on by a committee of seventy patriotic women under 

 the chairmanship of Mrs. Henry M. Phillips. Springfield quickly over- 

 subscribed its quota, contributing $8,107.76. For the same purpose, our 

 citizens gave this spring more than 34,000 books — an extraordinary 

 number in proportion to the size of the city — which were energetically 

 solicited and gathered by the high school pupils. Members of the 

 Woman's Club lent their automobiles; the F. M. West Company gave 

 ninety-five packing cases; various expresses furnished transportation; 

 and the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense helped 

 in sorting and preparing for circulation this huge accumulation. The 

 library has supplied the soldiers at the Armory, the Watershops, and 

 other nearby places, while the American Library Association is dis- 

 tributing the majority of the books to our soldiers and sailors at home 

 and overseas. 



The library has been active in the movement for food conservation. 

 It promptly printed lists of books to help the housekeeper make the 

 best use of food supplies, and has displayed charts and posters showing 

 the nutritive value of different foods. It affords an admirable channel 



