10 



CITY LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 



Broadcasting and Other Methods of Reaching the Public 



Various methods have been followed to let the public know what the 

 library has to offer. Ten-minute radio talks about new books have been 

 given through Station WBZ by the head of the circulating department 

 each Monday night since November. These reviews have brought letters 

 from all over the country as well as numberless personal requests for 

 the books from Springfield people. The interest has seemed to increase 

 with each succeeding month. 



A large window on the ground floor of the library was fitted up as a 

 display case where posters and collections of books on different subjects 

 have been placed each week, revealing to passers-by the scope of the 

 library's resources. The library also sent posters, lists, and collections 

 of books from the different departments for the educational exhibition 

 at the Gilbert and Barker Manufacturing Co., in which fifteen institu- 

 tions providing education for employed men and women participated. 

 Circulars or lists calling attention to special classes of books were sent 

 to teachers, ministers, and others; library news was furnished to business 

 concerns which publish house organs; and an offer was made to furnish 

 printed lists of the Italian books to all the Italian societies that would 

 distribute them to their members. And of course, the weekly book re- 

 views have been continued in the newspapers. 



Small collections of books gathered in the delivery room bearing on 

 matters of current news have been very popular. The death of a noted 

 man, a contemporaneous event here or abroad, or some magazine article 

 such as William Lyon Phelps' selection of the fifteen best novels, James 

 Harvey Robinson's choice of the seven greatest Americans, or the voting 

 contest for the ten best books since 1900, aroused unfailing interest in 

 the books displayed. 



Numerous special lists were printed by the hbrary or procured from 

 other sources and distributed. ''Books for Tired Eyes" hsting good 

 reading in large print made a wide appeal. A smaller leaflet described 

 the notable treasures in the art room. "Some Books of Interest to 

 Printers" was generously printed by the Loring-Axtell Co. for distribu- 

 tion at the lectures arranged by the Publicity Club. A fit tie list called 

 ''Nonsense and Humor" is in constant request. A catalogue entitled 

 "Knowing Your Goods" was compiled by the library and printed and 

 distributed by the Chamber of Commerce to the salespeople of the city, 

 who in the larger stores are to be given "credits" by their employers for 

 studying up their subjects. To many readers a fist like this is something 

 of a revelation, for few realize how extensive is the service of a modern 

 library in strictly utilitarian fields. Here in this twenty-page pamphlet, 

 for example, are books on scores and scores of articles sold in Spring- 

 field, describing the raw materials, methods of manufacture, tests for 

 adulteration, inferior workmanship, material, etc. Some of the subjects 

 covered - to mention only a few - are : flavoring extracts, ink, leather, 

 notions, carpets, brushes, furs, spices, shoes, hardware, mangles, per- 

 fumery, wall paper, sporting goods, awnings, lace, hnoleum, glassware. 

 Some of the other lists distributed were entitled "Art and Aesthetics", 

 "Cheerful Books", "The Bookshelf for Boys", "Reading Course in Home 



