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CITY LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 



The library's books are available at 405 distributing points through- 

 out the city, the great majority of which are school class-rooms; while 

 the remainder comprise factories, offices, stores, Sunday schools, fire 

 stations, and various institutions. Deposits of books are in this way 

 sent freely wherever they will be of use to a group of readers, the only 

 formality being the filing of a guarantee to protect the library against 

 loss. Six thousand one hundred and seven persons have taken out 

 library cards during the year. Eighty-four pictures and 289 books have 

 been lent to other libraries, the greatest number being borrowed by the 

 library at Camp Devens for the use of officers and men seeking special 

 information. Fifty-eight books have been borrowed from other libra- 

 ries all the way from Boston and Cambridge on the east, to Washington 

 on the south, and Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago to the west, for the use 

 of research workers in Springfield requiring unusual publications not 

 to be found in our own collection. Through this system of reciprocal 

 lending among libraries, almost any desired book, however rare or 

 special, can be obtained for use by scholars in our own community. Twen- 

 ty thousand four hundred and sixty-five volumes have been added by 

 gift or purchase, while 5,075 volumes have been withdrawn because worn 

 out or otherwise useless, making a net gain of 15,390 volumes, with a 

 total of 260,035 volumes available in the collections at the main library 

 and branches. 



Publications 



Among the publications of the year have been two lists of delightful 

 autobiographies, one entitled ''Self Revelation" and the other ''Memo- 

 ries of Childhood and Youth; " a supplement to the " Fiction Catalogue; " 

 a reading list on Russia; a selection of "Nonsense and Humor;" a 

 list on "Outdoor Sports;" a folder on the foreign people in the United 

 States; vacation reading lists for children; a slip entitled "Helps for 

 the New Citizen;" a reading list on "The League of Nations;" and a 

 pamphlet containing the text of " The President's Fourteen Peace Points " 

 with references for reading under each point. This last publication 

 proved so popular that a second supply had to be printed within a few 

 weeks. Four of the lists, and an earlier one containing "Books on the 

 Great War", were reprinted by the American Library Association to the 

 number of more than ninety thousand copies for the use of other libra- 

 ries. Such lists excite interest in good books and stimulate reading 

 on current questions. For the same purpose, special collections of books 

 have been grouped in the delivery room, and exhibitions of photographs, 

 engravings, and other pictures have been held at frequent intervals 

 in the art room, the dehvery room, and the periodical reading room. 

 One of the exhibits that was very popular consisted of a collection of 

 stamps issued in various countries as a consequence of the war, lent 

 by Mr. WiUiam C. Stone, which revealed a surprising amount of history. 



The Children's Department 



Beginning February 1st, the fee for the overdetention of children's 

 books was reduced from two cents to one cent a dsiy. A cent means much 



