M M II) AK!'HI.AU IffiJWMf! ‘ iMiii'iiT'{1ii"||jf|h-|M (i ])|!^ rW A H iw 'h"ii'p'ii» /a n» Public Document No. 3 SECOND AN N EAL REPORT TRUSTEES OF THE'STATE LIBRARY jE ssc al’ ' EPiX'fr - N o.v ^ m b e k 30, 1911. BOSTON: WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS, 18 P ost Office Square. 1912. fflfl ijwafy ni v^^nPOSSTR, 1-L B 8 1912 STATE MOUSE, >*#*•» ,A*(ji •I-;’’’ Z;'* *' •AST'fiO'fBlj-ftY'- • ■ ’ > ' ■' „ ; T he St^cK B oakd, os' POTiiKfalTON.* 0Z1 V\d S I ' S v w 13 TRUSTEES OF THE STATE LIBRARY on NovemBer 30, 1911. JOSIAH H. BENTON, Chairman. Appointed June 1, 1911. Term expires June 1, 1914. ALLEN T. TREADWAY, Ex officio. JOSEPH WALKER, Ex officio. President of the Senate. Speaker of the House. M ROBERT L. O’BRIEN, W INFIELD S. SLOCUM, Appointed June 1, 1910. Appointed July 9, 1909. Term expires June 1, 1913. Term expires June 1, 1912. OFFICERS OF THE LIBRARY. Charles F. D. B e ld e n , .... Librarian. Miss E l l e n M. S a w y e r, .... First Assistant. Miss M a ria C. S m i t h ,............................................. 1 Miss J e n n ie W . Foster, . [ Miss Susy A. Dickinson, Mrs. A n n ie G. Hopkins, . f Assistants. Miss Sara E. N oyes, ........................................... Miss E. Louise Jones, ........................................... J. F . M unroe, ..................................................... Louis A. P h illip s, ...........................................Reference Assistant. William R. G riffin , ...........................................Messenger. ABraham T ru sty , ...........................................stack Custodian. ®I)C Commonwealtl) of ittassadjusetts. TRUSTEES’ REPORT. To the Honorable The Senate and House o f Representatives in General Court Assembled. The trustees of the State LiBrary make this their second annual report for the year ending Nov. 30, 1911. Chapter 217 of the Acts of the year 1910 made the Presi­ dent of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre­ sentatives ex officiis trustees of the State LiBrary, in addition to the three trustees otherwise appointed, and provided that the Board as thus constituted should have the management and control of the liBrary and of the moneys appropriated therefor. It also provided that they should keep records of their doings and “ annually report to the general court, with such suggestions for the improvement of the liBrary as they may deem proper.” T r u s t e e s ’ M e e t i n g s . The trustees have held regular meetings on the first and third Saturdays of each month at the liBrary in the State House, and kept permanent records of their doings. All pro­ posed expenditures of money have been authorized By them By vote Before such expenses were incurred, and all Bills for expenses thus authorized have been examined and approved By the trustees Before they have been presented to the State Auditor and Treasurer for payment. A statement of the year’s appropriations and expenditures is annexed to this report. P u r c h a s e o e G e n e r a l C o u r t C a r d C a t a l o g u e . By chapter 17 of the Resolves of 1911 the trustees were authorized “ to purchase for the commonwealth, at an expense not exceeding five thousand dollars, the card catalogue of the general court of Massachusetts prepared By the late CaleB B. Tillinghast.” The trustees made the purchase as thus authorized for the sum of $5,000, and received therefor not only the card cata­ logue, But all the letter files and correspondence with regard to the collection of the same, and these are now the property of the Commonwealth in the custody of the LiBrary Depart­ ment. The liBrary assistants are keeping the card index up to date, and so far as practicaBle oBtaining information to perfect the same. We suggest for the consideration of the Legislature whether it may not Be proper at some time to provide for the editing and printing of this unique and valuaBle catalogue, contain­ ing the record so far as oBtainaBle of all past legislators and State officers, which to a large extent is availaBle in no other form. S e l e c t i o n o f B o o k s a n d S c o p e o f L i b e a e y . Books are selected By the trustees on the recommendation of the liBrarian, lists of books so recommended Being sent to each trustee for examination Before the meeting at which their purchase is authorized. In the revision of these lists and the selection of books which are purchased, the trustees endeavor to keep clearly in mind the primary purpose for which the General Court, in the act under which the liBrary was established, declared it was to he maintained, that is, “ for the use of the governor, lieutenant governor, council, general court and such officers of the government and other persons as may be permitted to use it.” Their understanding of the scope of a liBrary established for that purpose is fairly indicated By the following state­ ment : — 1. Statutes and Reports. — The liBrary should possess the laws and the judicial decisions of the United States, the sev­ eral States and the Territories; the laws and the judicial deci­ sions of Great Britain and her colonies and dependencies; and the statute law, at least, of all the other countries of the civilized world. Digests, revisions and compilations of the laws and reports naturally have their place with this collec­ tion, as also the journals and debates of the constitutional conventions. The liBrary’s collection in this line is to-day unique. It should he kept strictly up to date, and gaps and deficiencies supplied whenever opportunity offers. 2. Public Records. — The LiBrary should contain the con­ gressional and puBlic documents of the United States and of the several States; the parliamentary reports, i.e., the ses­ sional papers of Great Britain and selected departmental reports of her colonies and dependencies. The liBrary pos­ sesses most of these. The puBlic records and the legislative journals of the larger foreign countries also have their legiti­ mate place in such a collection. The liBrary possesses a lim­ ited numBer of the foreign journals. Every effort should he made to perfect these puBlic records where incomplete, and they should Be continued as issued. 3. New England. — The liBrary has a large collection of material relating to New England, and especially to Massa­ chusetts as Colony, Province and Commonwealth. This ma­ terial includes history, Biography, genealogy, town reports, maps and newspapers. All possiBle additions should be made to this collection so far as items relating to Massachusetts are concerned, and a careful selection of material relating to the other New England States should Be included as far as prac­ ticaBle within a reasonable limit of expense. 4. Miscellaneous. — The collection under this head should make provision for special, limited libraries for each depart­ ment of government, executive, judicial and legislative; not every Book published, of course, relating to the suBjects which might Be of conceivaBle service, But a carefully made selec­ tion. In addition to the statutes and law reports, there should Be at the service of the Attorney-General’s office, as well as for the General Court, a carefully chosen liBrary of the stand­ ard and universally used legal text-books and law period­ icals. The executive, legislative and other State departments, and the various boards, commissions and committees should find in the liBrary a fair selection of the latest and best mate­ rial relating to government, and to social and political science ; the standard works on finance, taxation and Banking; books relating to agriculture and horticulture; collections relating to pedagogy and education, the literature of penology, chari­ ties, social reform, State industries, civic development and Betterment; the standard histories; books relating to the social and political development of other States and coun­ tries ; puBlications of historical societies of national standing; political Biographies; and the important standard periodicals. The class of books known as “ works of reference ” should Be complete, including encyclopaedias, dictionaries, gazetteers, atlases and the various indexes and guides to the use of books in the fields of State and political activity above indicated. R e p o e t o f t h e L i b b a e i a n . The report of the liBrarian, which is hereto appended, con­ tains detailed statements of the work of the department for the year. We commend it to the careful attention of the General Court. It is concise, though complete, and we think there is nothing in it with which those who are interested in the liBrary, and especially those for whose use it is primarily maintained, should not make themselves reasonaBly familiar. We desire, however, to call special attention to that portion of it which shows the preparation and puBlication of the exten­ sive and unique “ Catalogue of Foreign Laws ” in the liBrary, and also to the work now in progress in the preparation of a much-needed index to the messages of the Governors of the Commonwealth. We Believe the Foreign Law Catalogue is a credit to the liBrarian, and especially to his first assistant, Miss Sawyer, to whom, By reason of her special qualifications, this im­ portant work has Been entrusted. The index to the messages of the Governors will, we think, supply a needed means of reference to much legislative and executive action as to which accurate information is not now readily obtained.