IRLF WAR SERVICE ^ OF THE -* AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BOOKS FOR THE MEN IN CAMP &" OVERSEAS p I WAR SERVICE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BY THEODORE WESLEY KOCH Chief, Order Division, Library of Congress A. L. A. WAR SERVICE Library of Congress Washington, D. C. 1918 Full Permission to Reprint is Given to the Press Issued February, 1918 L. C. Printed Card, 18-26084 PRESS OF JUDD & DETWEII,ER, INC. WASHINGTON, D. C. The War Service of the American Library Association THE social side of the Great War presents some new topics which certainly were not prominent in previous conflicts. One of these is the provision of food for the minds of the fighting men. Previous wars had shown us how to equip and administer commissary departments and can- teens, but they taught us little of present-day value as to what the men now called to the colors would need in the way of literary or intellectual equipment. The mere suggestion that libraries should be provided for the camps would have been derided during our Civil War. Mr. J. S. Lockwood, a Civil War veteran, says that he can recall no incident of books being available to the soldiers of the '60's with the exception of the few which were sent to hospitals in or near Washington and in a few of the Northern cities. The men relied almost entirely on Harper's and Frank Leslie's Weekly; but in addition to these magazines they longed for interesting books to read. Major George Haven Putnam in a recent address in New York City said that two English grammars were eagerly read and passed along among the men shut up in Libby prison. But times have changed; the methods of warfare have been revolutionized and more is expected of the soldiers of today than of their fathers. Innumerable technical subjects must be studied; highly specialized branches must be mastered. Books must be within reach. Not only do the students in khaki call for more than did the old soldiers in blue and gray, but more is demanded of them in return. "The training camp of today is not essentially different from a big university," Mr. Raymond B. Fosdick tells us. "The fel- lows work and study a good deal harder in the training camps than they would in a university. This war is a highly specialized A. L. A. WAR SERVICE affair. It's a modern science which the men must learn by studious application to the problems of drill and trench. They acquire the habit of study, of application, in the training camp of today." A camp librarian recently told me a story that bears out the comparison and contrast between a camp and a university. A young reserve officer on returning a book to the camp library remarked that it was the first book he had read in four years. When asked what he had been doing in that period, he replied: "Going to the University of Mississippi." Life in the camps and cantonments lacks many of the pleasures or diversions to which the average new-coming soldier has been accustomed. To a great extent the cantonments are isolated, and sometimes far distant from the home states of the troops there assembled. To take away some of the dreariness of this isolation, varied provision has been made for the leisure hours of the boys in khaki. A novel and effective effort along this line has been the establishment of the American Library Association Camp Libraries. Upon the entrance of the United States into the war, the presi- dent of the A. L. A. appointed a War Service Committee which made its first report at the annual conference of the Library Association at Louisville in June. The committee was at that time further organized and its work formulated. Sub-committees on finance, publicity, and book collecting (among others) were appointed. On learning of these plans, the Commission on Training Camp Activities by an unanimous vote invited the A. L. A. to assume the responsibility for providing adequate library facilities in the camps and cantonments. It seemed natural to ask the Associa- tion to handle this problem for the government because as an organization it could call to its services the necessary trained help. The Secretary of War having appointed ten nationally known men and women as a Library War Council to aid in an appeal for funds, it was decided to raise by private subscription a million dollars with which to carry on the work. It was felt that this I CM 5 M I 1 s 5 1 : 5 1 g .2 T3 .S2 library automob S ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL was the least amount for which the needed buildings could be erected, equipped and administered, the soldiers supplied at the front, in the field, in cantonments and training camps, and on board the troop ships. The financial campaign was successful in raising the money asked for and half as much again. A campaign for books was conducted at the same time as the campaign for funds, result- ing in the receipt of over 200,000 volumes for immediate service. These were collected at central points and delivered, either at the camps or at designated depots for transportation abroad. It was planned to use the funds largely for books of a serious nature, as it was anticipated that the lighter books would be largely supplied by gift. The campaign for books was to con- tinue as long as the war lasted, as would also the need for funds if the war were to last as long as some people predict. The Carnegie Corporation made a grant of $10,000 for each of the proposed thirty-two camp libraries, and a similar sum was re- ceived from another source for a library building at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Administration and Personnel In October, at the request of the War Service Committee of the American Library Association, Dr. Herbert Putnam, Libra- rian of Congress, took over the direction and control of the War Service work. Headquarters were established in the Library of Congress. Here there is competent oversight of the work at the camps, careful administration of the Fund, with a scrutinizing accounting of all expenditures. Prompt attention is paid to the needs and opportunities for service as reported by the librarians in charge at the camps. Considerate attention is paid to the relations with other organizations and branches of the govern- ment service. An earnest appeal for material is being sent out and its distribution properly looked after. The headquarters also serve as a clearing house for information, experiences of camp librarians, and a place for conferences between workers themselves. A. L. A. WAR SERVICE An earnest and successful effort has been made to keep ad- ministrative expenses down to a minimum. Every dollar saved means another book bought. The headquarters in the Library of Congress are supplied without cost to the Fund. The per- sonnel consists largely of volunteers. Much of the assembling and despatching of material at local points is done by the local librarians, volunteering for this special war service. Expensive formalities in the way of complicated classification and catalog- ing have been avoided; only such as are deemed necessary is done at the Library of Congress before the books are sent to the camps. There is ordinarily no catalogue record of fiction. Non- fiction, which represents the expenditure of much money, is being roughly classified, just enough to bring the large groups of kindred books together. The charging system used is so simple that the men themselves can charge the books they take out. At Camp Devens the outside front cover of the book is treated with white shellac, thinned with wood alcohol. This treatment protects the label on the outside of the book and keeps the cover clean. In a book pocket, pasted in the inside of the back cover, is a "book card" bearing author and title for fiction, with the class number added for non-fiction. Blue book cards are found to be good in dusty camps. Many varieties of book-plates for the outside of the volumes as well as for use on the inside of the front cover are used. Marking the source of gifts has more than a sentimental value. Two months' resident service was asked of the library organ- izers. For this work men were lent by their library trustees, given leave with pay, their expenses being met by the Association. A number of high-grade men were secured for this form of service. The Camp Librarian Some of the camp librarians are volunteers; others are paid a small salary, $1,200 per year, in addition to subsistence, an amount less than a second lieutenant receives. There is also a paid assistant provided with subsistence. Some provision is THE CAMP LIBRARIAN likewise made for janitor service and the expenses of the local volunteers, making a total cost of about $250 per month for each camp library. Multiplying this by thirty-one brings the amount up to about $8,000 per month, less than $100,000 per year for this branch of the service. Although the work has been simplified as far as possible at headquarters, additional men are still needed for this Camp Library service, since the employment of women is not permitted by the rules of the War Department. Women are, however, per- mitted to do volunteer work in connection with library service. Where the camp is adjacent to a town the supervision of the camp library has in some cases been entrusted to the woman who is chief librarian of the local public library. Women libra- rians desiring to proffer volunteer service of this permitted type are requested to communicate with the camp librarian. In Camp Sherman the technical work of getting the books ready for the library was placed under the direction of the daughter of the Commanding Officer. She is a graduate of Pratt Institute Library School. Her volunteer assistants were recruited mainly from the wives of officers at the camp, many of whom welcomed the opportunity to help. This volunteer staff does its work at tne Chillicothe Public Library and is capable of preparing about 300 books a day. Books are sent to the camp librarian from libraries which have been collecting books from citizens. All books must be delivered at storehouses of the Quartermaster's Corps, and must be taken from platforms every day. No assistance can be given in the matter of delivery to the library building either by the Quarter- master or the express companies. It has been found expedient to supply each camp library with a low-priced automobile with delivery box attached. One camp librarian requesting aid had two Italians who could neither write nor speak English detailed to assist him, despite the fact that there was a trained Library of Congress assistant among the drafted men in camp. Another camp librarian dis- covered that the sturdy enlisted man chosen by the Division A. L. A. WAR SERVICE Adjutant to be his library assistant could neither read nor write. The librarian at Camp Dodge was more fortunate, for four men were found there who were previously engaged in library work, and were permitted to help in the Camp Library. It is necessary for the camp librarian to pay an official visit on the Commanding General, though he does well if he gets beyond the chief of staff. The general must know that the A. L. A. is on the grounds and at work. His official sanction is required. One camp librarian says that he has learned from experience the value of the axiom current in his camp: "Go to the highest official possible, and to headquarters for everything." The Buildings The library buildings are plain wooden structures, conforming to the general type adopted for the cantonments, but admirably suited to their special use. They were designed by E. L. Tilton, a well-known library architect, who contributed his services. The libraries are all built after the one plan, differing only in length. The original drawings called for a building 120 x 40 feet, but in some cases the length was cut down to 93 feet. The sites are near the residential center of the camps and convenient to the transportation lines. The interior is one large room with two bedrooms located at one end. There are open shelves ac- commodating about 10,000 volumes. In some of the buildings an alcove has been assigned for the use of officers. Tables and chairs for about 200 readers are provided. The aim is to have the buildings equipped for service, health and such comfort as may be justified by the character and purpose of an emergency building for war time service. The librarian at Camp Sherman succeeded in getting authorization to build a fireplace, eight feet wide, with a four-foot opening. Touches of home are at a premium in a soldier's camp. The end of December saw the library buildings in all the cantonments completed except one and that was delayed by local conditions. The majority were built on a basis of cost plus six per cent. The first at Camp Lewis was opened on November 8 I cu- GO. fc. Q. fc. g. S3 THE CALL FOR BOOKS 28th. The delay in opening the others is attributable to the delay in the arrival of furniture and equipment ; but in the mean- time the buildings were used for the storage and preparation of the books for the shelves. They were doing business even with- out furniture. In some cases makeshift furniture was rented; in others, crude benches and tables were made out of rough lumber. At Camp Devens temporary quarters were found in a mess hall formerly used by officers of the Quartermaster's Corps, with tables for about seventy readers. Books were accommodated on makeshift wall shelving under the windows and in six-foot sec- tions of shelving so constructed that they could be used elsewhere if needed. Boxes turned on sides were also used for shelving. The buildings for the National Guard Camps were deliberately deferred because of the uncertainty as to how long these tent camps would be maintained, and because of the likelihood that the already seasoned occupants would be sent abroad before the buildings could be made available for them. Epidemics were a deterring factor in other cases. But in all of the camps, save Beauregard (quarantined), library, buildings are now either under way or completed. Additional buildings have been contracted for at Fort Oglethorpe and at Camp Johnston. One is being arranged for at Camp Merritt, the embarkation Camp at Tenafly. In erecting these buildings, many obstacles were met. Wages and prices for materials had risen, freight was seriously congested and contractors were leaving the camps with their laborers. Much of the equipment in these libraries can be used after the war in the establishment of new public libraries. The Call for Books Do the men in the camps read ? When do they find time for it ? Some people have been raising the one question, and others have been doubtful about the second point. Major-General Glenn, the commanding officer at Camp Sherman, wrote to Mr. W. H. Brett, librarian of the Cleveland Public Library, asking him to take steps to correct the erroneous impression that had 9 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE gone abroad that the men did not have time for reading on ac- count of the demands of military training. He wished to have it known that there is no one thing that will be of greater value to the men in his cantonment in producing contentment with their surroundings than properly selected reading matter. One officer wrote to headquarters that he needed books for his men so badly that he was quite willing to pay for them himself. Another officer said that if the A. L. A. would supply his regi- ment with books, he would see to it that a room and a competent man to take care of the books would be provided, for all seem agreed that the men in the new American army are very eager to read. Even before the regular camp libraries were opened a hundred books placed in a Y. M. C. A. building of an evening would usually be borrowed before the building closed for the night. That men who have been drilling, marching and digging trenches all day are liable to be too tired in the evening to wish to walk any great distance for books has been recognized in efforts to bring the* books as near to the soldiers' barracks as possible. In some instances traveling libraries have been resorted to with very great success. In some camps, books are sent to the barracks where they are placed in the social room under the direction of the "top sergeant" upon the request of the commanding officer of the company, the captain or the lieutenant. The handling of books so deposited is left to the sergeant, with no instructions except a request that he look after the books as carefully as possible. Regimental libraries are found at the headquarters of the officers of a regiment. These are used by from 75 to 100 officers. A lieutenant is usually detailed to look after the library, which is treated as a branch of the A. L. A. library. The books are exchanged from time to time as needed. The expectation is that as the men become more hardened and accustomed to their work and hours they will not tire so quickly and consequently will be better able to read and study. As the 10 THE SUPPLY OF BOOKS men will have little but the recreation halls to occupy their leisure, many who are not naturally studious will be glad to turn to the libraries during the stormy days and long evenings. The Supply of Books It became apparent quite early that at least 350,000 new books would have to be purchased immediately for the larger canton- ments. While it was recognized that many desirable books would be presented and similar volumes would continue to come in as gifts, yet there would be innumerable titles asked for that could only be secured by purchase. It would be obviously impossible to rely upon donations to meet the specific needs of officers in charge of military instruction and ambitious soldiers following definite lines of study. It would be futile to hope that the special books on wireless telegraphy most in demand would come in by chance gifts. Ample funds must be in hand so that all needs could be met as they became known. Text books must be sup- plied in considerable quantities. Expensive up-to-date reference books must be provided generously. The problem of transpor- tation and freight congestion must be faced. All books, whether purchased or donated, must be made ready for use. Volumes must be replaced as they become worn out or lost. Thanks to the "speeding up" of this work by Dr. Putnam, the General Director, the first of January found 310,000 books in the larger training camps and 34,000 in the smaller posts, with about 220,000 additional volumes on the way. Thus a total of over half a million books have already been provided. Had it not been for transportation difficulties all of these books would have been in place much earlier. Before the end of February an additional half million books are likely to be shipped. The purchases have been made cautiously, and thus far are almost entirely serious books on technology, the mechanic arts, military science, history, travel. Credit is due many publishing houses for their generous co- operation. Discounts of from forty-five to fifty per cent from publication prices were by no means uncommon. Some university 11 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE presses and correspondence schools offered to donate such of their publications as could be used. The books have not been chosen by librarians closeted in their offices. The list ordered from headquarters is the result of con- sultation with numerous experts in the different fields of the service. Many titles have been requisitioned by officers, educa- tional secretaries and men in the camps who have felt the need for a specific book. "We are having repeated calls for technical handbooks and textbooks/' writes a librarian from Camp Meade. "We want all kinds of engineering handbooks,, mechanics handbooks, books on sanitary engineering, and books on all branches of the service. They cannot be too technical to suit the men. You will be in- terested to know how quickly the newly purchased books are snapped up. Of the six copies of Thompson's Electricity, four are now out and were out within a week after they were ready." Gifts The sources of gift material have scarcely been tapped. A vigorous campaign for books will be conducted. This will be national as well as local. The first books received in the camps by gift were mainly fiction, as might be expected. One camp librarian reports a steady stream of gifts, which keeps pace fairly well with the demands for new branches and of the replenishing of the shelves of branches already open. The quality continues good, says he, and he has been able to lay aside the nucleus for a reference collection and a section of specially readable books. Nine sets of early editions of a good encyclo- pedia were donated. Many authors have presented several hundred copies of their own works, one example being Dr. Hornaday's "The Man who became a Savage." To Camp Upton the Lotus Club presented a choice selection from their shelves for an officers' library. 12 GIFTS "Many clean, second-hand books can be used, but let us not insult our devoted brothers by offering them what no one else can use," wrote Mr. W. E. Henry. "They wear the best of wool clothing, much of which will be blood stained. They wear the best of leather shoes, many of which will be worn out, but they will have done their service. Give the soldier good clean books and late magazines whatever may ultimately be the fate of this material." That the gift horse must be inspected is being demonstrated anew in various centers. To one Camp Library were sent copies of Zola's "L'Assomoir," Daudet's "Sapho" and De Maupassant's "Bel-Ami." From the reading room of a church in a town that we shall not name came copies of Snappy Stories. To the as- sistant in charge of the sorting station in the New York Public Library it seemed as if at least one copy of every improper book that was ever written was sent in for the soldiers and sailors. At the other end of the long range of rejected offers was that of a shelf-full of Elsie books, with scattering volumes of Alger's juvenile stories. An offer of a file of the Undertaker's Review was graciously declined at headquarters. Unusable were some school readers antedating the Civil War, out-of-date text books and much soiled editions of the classical authors given by people who wished to clear their shelves and had no idea of what our soldiers are like. Among other rejected addresses are: Paley's "Moral Philos- ophy," with the not much more modern manual on the same sub- ject by Andrew P. Peabody; Sunday School books of fifty years ago; annual reports of the Bureau of Ethnology; proceedings of the American Breeders' Association; a broken file of a German periodical devoted to natural history, dating from 1860; the Postal and Telegraphic Code of the Argentine Republic; annual reports of the Episcopal Eye and Ear Hospital, twenty years old; odd volumes of the official Records of the War of the Re- bellion ; and volume seven of the collected works of Sir Humphry Davy. Special mention should be made of Ruskin's "Letters to young girls," and Miss Leslie's "American girl's book, or oc- 13 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE cupations for play hours" (1866), and copies of the Housewife and Home Needlework. The prize gift, however, was a Diary for 1916, partly filled in by the donor. Attempts have been made to use the camp libraries for German propagandist publications. "The Vampire of the Continent" and other pro-German works have had to be refused. Educational Opportunities As a camp librarian was looking at a "First reader in English" and trying to decide what to do with it, a Y. M. C. A. man saw the questioning look and said : "If you want to keep that book for your library better not put it on the open shelves." "Why?" asked the librarian. "Well, there are a good many men here who do not know the rudiments of English but are ashamed of the fact. They would take a book like that off the shelves without leaving any card because they would not want to have it known that they were so ignorant of the common tongue." There are in the cantonments many foreign-speaking men who must learn how to understand, read and give orders in English. To each camp library there have now gone ten copies of a book on elementary English intended for adults. The English lessons given by the Y. M. C. A. are largely conversational and are planned as far as possible to center around the daily duties of the men. The Massachusetts Free Public Library Commission has sent to Camp Devens copies of Field's "English for new Americans" and Plass's "Civics for Americans in the making" to be used as text books in the Y. M. C. A. classes in English for foreign- speaking men. This touches on an important phase of the work of the libraries and suggests some of the great opportunities opening up to them. Many men who lack all formal education will now come in con- 14 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES tact with books for the first time. They will have to be taught how to use them. Others will need directing in the choice of books. All will need the intelligent and sympathetic assistance of trained library workers interested in the men, their intellectual progress and their every day problems. Among the "squatters" in Florida are many families in which not only are the children unable to read, but the parents do not wish to have them learn. Periodicals that have been sent to these families have been returned to the senders. The parents argued that if their children read these magazines and looked at the alluring illustrations, they would become dissatisfied with their surroundings. Then along came the draft and took the young men out of their satisfied, but wretched state, and gave them their first glimpse of the outside world. To such the libraries and the educational opportunities are a priceless boon. Some of the Georgia "crackers" when asked on being regis- tered what their names were, would say "Sonny" or "Bobby." In reply to further prodding as to family names they pleaded ignorance of a knowledge of anything but the family nickname. In the cantonments there are many illiterate whites, blacks, Indians and half-breeds who are there taught how to read and write. Big strapping fellows as they are, they must be treated as school children in matters of intelligence. Think of what the new military life means to such as these! The draft takes them suddenly out of their old surroundings and in place of civil liberty surrounds them with military restraint, but at the same time opens up vast new fields of opportunity for education and development. The camp libraries are a great help to the educational work of the Y. M. C. A. They are valuable auxiliaries to the courses in English, in arithmetic, in camp sanitation, in local and general geography, in personal hygiene, in modern civics and govern- ment, and in camp morale. Many of the men who are using the camp libraries have never before had the privilege of access to books and know nothing of 15 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE the liberality of library service. A mountaineer from an isolated district in the southeastern part of Kentucky said, after having been given a book at Camp Zachary Taylor, "How much do I owe you?" A question constantly put to the camp librarians is "How much does it cost to borrow books?" The idea of free library service is new to many. The reverse of the picture is equally interesting. There are estimated to be 45,000 students from the 576 colleges of the country in the new American army. In Camp Devens alone there were 695 college men, representing 27 New England higher institutions of learning. From the start these were drafted men and they exerted a marked influence upon their messmates, some of whom were former mill operatives from the textile centers of New England. The presence of these academically trained men means a call for specialized classes of books in the camp libraries. Some colleges are giving credits for studying done in the camps and, needless to say, the War Service administration is desirous of supplying the books needed. Magazines and Newspapers A new postal regulation permits the public to send current magazines through the mail to the camps by affixing a one-cent stamp to the outside cover. Neither address nor wrapper is needed. The result has been a vast influx of periodicals of vary- ing degrees of suitability for this purpose. Some well-inten- tioned people seem to have no idea as to the subjects in which the men are interested. Others fail to distinguish between the literary tastes of men and women. The librarian at Camp Funston reports that the number of sacks of magazines of all ages and conditions received through the postal authorities has grown from about 20 per week in the beginning of October to five times the -number, more than they can use to advantage. The librarian at Camp Beauregard has had the same experience, adding that he had been receiving mostly such as were undeliverable to the addressees, though some 16 MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS were specifically for the camp. "It is not a choice lot," says he, "and latest numbers are few and far between. Very few are the more expensive monthlies." This camp librarian says he has more than enough of back numbers, excepting the best popular magazines. What he needs is from ten to twenty subscriptions to a dozen different magazines, so that they can be sure to receive the numbers regularly. There seems to have been a deluge of Socks and sardines And old magazines over all our camps, which brings to mind the remark of one of the soldiers in the trenches: "We are up to the knees in mud and mufflers." Magazines might now be added. It is true that some of the smaller posts lack a sufficient supply, but arrange- ments are being made to meet this need. Yet the oversupply can be used to advantage at times. When Camp Bowie was quarantined for three weeks before Christmas, there were as many as 1,700 patients in the base hospital at one time. The soldiers were not allowed to use library books during this period and the great store of back magazines which had previously seemed almost a nightmare to the camp librarian, came into an unexpected usefulness. All available copies, except those reserved for reference, were used up, even down to the latest Saturday Evening Post. One camp librarian, deluged with tons of magazines, sent quantities of them, without sorting, to the Y. M. C. A. and K. of C. buildings, to barracks, to officers' clubs and base hospitals hoping to give the men a variety of reading. He endeavored to sort by titles and then group chronologically, but gave it up in despair. The demand is rather for the current month or the weekly issue, or simply for a "bunch of magazines." Neither of these calls is served the better by elaborate sorting. One group of readers will ask for magazines of a general nature, because they are quickly glanced through and thrown aside, while another will ask for books frequently definite titles the reading of which takes considerable time. One of the most welcome gifts received at Camp Devens was contributed by the Wellesley College Undergraduate Periodical 17 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE League. It consisted of subscriptions for twelve copies of six monthly magazines and six weeklies. These are distributed be- tween the main library, the Y. M. C. A. huts and the Y. W. C. A. hostess house. Magazines in French are in constant demand by the men who are studying the language. Subscriptions have been placed for the Courier des Etats Unis to be sent to all camp libraries. Early last fall the librarian at Camp Sherman wrote to the editor of every paper published in Ohio and western Pennsyl- vania asking that five complimentary copies of each issue be sent for the use of the men at that camp. There was a hearty re- sponse and for over three months three hundred dailies and as many semi-weeklies have been received at the camp. It is im- possible to describe what this meant to the men. We all know that what the soldier wants above everything else is news from home. It's the same with books: the boys like best those that recall home scenes. The Indiana men give a hearty welcome to James VVhitcomb Riley's poems, and to Booth Tarkington's "Gentleman from Indiana." The Kentucky boys ask for John Fox, Jr.'s "Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come," "Trail of the Lonesome Pine," and "Christmas Eve on Lonesome." Popular Authors At Camp Beauregard the writers that seem to be the most popular are O. Henry, Harold Bell Wright, G. B. McCutcheon, Jack London, Chambers, Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, E. P. Op- penheim, Kipling, Poe, Booth Tarkington, Rider Haggard, Dumas, and H. G. Wells. This is probably a typical list of authors who are favorites in the camps. At Camp Zachary Taylor a soldier came in to renew Mrs. Barclay's "Rosary," remarking that it was the finest book he had ever read, but that he couldn't get through with it in four- teen days to save his life. The book was renewed and his chums, who also wanted it, had to wait their turn. Some of the enlisted men, on the other hand, show a remark- able capacity for rapid reading. There are those who come in 18 POPULAR AUTHORS practically every day for a fresh book. One patron took out and read regularly three books a day, until a soldier in another company began to do the same. The first man then dropped down to two books a day, feeling that the effort to maintain his supremacy among camp book-worms was too great a tax upon his endurance. At Camp Gordon one copy of Ralph Connor's "The Doctor" circulated forty -eight times in one month. There is an amusing rivalry between the different units as to which is the best educated. Some of the men try to display their erudition in the library. Said a soldier to a camp librarian: "A fellow told me about a book to read by Porter, called The Thresher." Gene Stratton Porter's "The Harvester" was given him and found to be what he was in search of. There is, as might be expected, a loud call for detective stories and tales of adventure. The men want books of that sort which they have read before. They find relaxation in going back over the books of Conan Doyle, Stevenson, and Weyman. Time being at a premium, some don't care to risk new things that they are not sure of, but prefer to go back to the old authors with whom they are familiar. Books describing the war are naturally in great demand. So, too, are books on vocational training, and technical treatises on military science, telegraphy, gasoline engines, signalling, trans- portation, and other subjects which are eagerly studied by the ambitious officers. Surprises are sometimes in store for the librarian who thinks that the men care only for fiction. A librarian starting in at a new post expected that the first call would be for some book by G. B. McCutcheon or Jack London. He was somewhat taken aback when the first patron asked for Shakespeare's "Pericles." A private asked for a late book on electric motors and was shown what the camp librarian considered his best book on the subject. "Oh, I did the drawings for that book," said he. "I want something better than that !" 19 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE Types of Service Evidences of the appreciation of the efforts of the camp libra- rian are beginning to come in from many sides. When a machine gun company went into quarantine on account of measles, the major was pleased to have a hundred books and a lot of maga- zines sent over to him. The camp librarian was aware of the fact that the medical officer might not permit the return of this material, but he was willing to stand the loss. A soldier detailed to call for a box of books at a public library, said: "Gee, Lady, you mean to give us all those books ! Say, you people know what to do for a soldier! Some people just talk an* talk about entertainin' soldiers, but say, you have just hit the nail right on the head without sayin' a word, too!" The librarian at Camp Upton reports that officers have come to the library for help in the technical aspects of their particular branch of the service and have expressed appreciation of the value of good propaganda material in building up the morale of the men. A man at Camp Devens said that what he wanted was a place where he could sit down in peace and quiet, with a book or two and a chance to read and dream. "Your alcoves are godsends," said he to the librarian. "The barrack's social room in which 75 to 125 men are talking and playing cards, where a piano and phonograph are rivaling one another, and where at any moment a basketball may knock your head sideways, is certainly no decent place to read, let alone trying to do any studying." The librarian at Camp Logan, Texas, writes that there is im- mediate need for books of live present day interest, bearing on all phases; books of travel and histories of France, England, and the United States; mathematics (arithmetic, geometry) French conversation; automobiles; army engineering; manuals of army organization; the poetry of Service, Noyes, Masefield, Whittier, Longfellow, collections of war poetry; and inspirational books on modern, social and religious questions. He adds that he would 20 Underwood Underwood, N. Y. HOSPITAL TRAIN A Convalescent Soldier and a Sympathetic Reader Underwood & Underwood, N. Y. GUIDING THE READER Many of the Men Need Aid in Book Selection TYPES OF SERVICE be glad to receive a consignment of books of this character, with titles duplicated from five to fifteen times. He is of the opinion that there should also be eight or ten good war atlases. From other sources comes the word that maps are studied and handled until they are in shreds. A group of a dozen men is frequently seen around one map. The men not only want maps of their home district, but of the place where they are and the places where they have reason to believe they are going, in- cluding the maps of the scene of conflict. Good atlases and wall maps have now been supplied to all the camp libraries. The post route maps of the various States in which the different camps are located, and the topographic survey maps of the im- mediate vicinity are very helpful and popular with the men. Another camp librarian writes that French manuals, military manuals not published by the Government, aviation, physical training, sanitation, book-keeping, simple textbooks of English, histories, and books about the stars are much needed, while from another camp comes the request for French magazines and French songs. A special interest is manifested in books of travel and description about France. The men want to know about the customs of the country they expect to visit, the kind of money used and the mode of life. The first requisition slips for books filled out at Camp Sherman were for books on the valuation of public utilities, two Dutch books wanted by a Hollander, books on the conservation of national resources, and a Roumanian-English dictionary. The librarian was able to supply all but the last, and this has now been ordered by headquarters. A stableman in the Field Hospital Train visited the library at Camp Devens, with some fellow muleteers, and discovered a set of Brady's "Photographs of the Civil War." This became the subject of animated discussion. The men had seen sets at home and were eager to show one another pictures which had previously interested them. A private in the Engineers' Corps at Camp Devens asked for books which would explain the psychology of camouflage. He 21 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE was something of an artist and had been successful with color photography. He wanted to know, for example, why the eye fails to recognize a shadow when light patches have been painted where the shadow would naturally fall. Mateiial was found for him and he succeeded in hiding guns so well with paint that he deceived his own captain. At the Great Lakes Naval Training Station the men are pur- suing systematic studies and are in need of special books in mathematics, engineering, history and the languages. One libra- rian reports that 90 per cent of his circulation is non-fiction, mostly technical books in French, historical works and "war stuff/' "When I started this work/' writes Mr. Burton E. Stevenson, the novelist who is librarian at Camp Sherman, "I had some very plausible theories about the kinds of books the men would want; but I soon discarded them. We have had requests here for every sort of book, from some books by Gene Stratton Porter to Bos- well's 'Life of Johnson' and Bergson's 'Creative Evolution.' We have had requests for Ibsen's plays; for books on sewage dis- posal; and so many requests for 'A Message to Garcia' that I had a supply mimeographed. In one building there were so many requests for books on religion and ethics that we set up a small reference collection. Broadly speaking, of course, most of the men read fiction ; exciting, red-blooded fiction-detective stories, adventure stories, and so on. But there is also a steady demand for Conrad, and Wells, and Hardy, and Meredith. Poetry is also in demand, and good books of travel go well. The only kind of books we don't want is the salacious, risqu6 sort for they have no place in our camp libraries. And we don't care for unattractive, cheap editions, with yellow, muddy paper and flimsy binding. We want attractive books nice, clean copies of good editions and the more of these we get the better service we can give the men." Relation to Affiliated Organizations The American Library Association works in close connection with kindred organizations. It was originally proposed that the 22 RELATION TO AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS book service should be largely through the Y. M. C. A., the Knights of Columbus, and other agencies. At the beginning, while some books were deposited in the temporary camp library quarters, others were distributed in mess halls, and among the Y. M. C. A. huts, field hospitals, and clubs of the Commission on Training Camp Activities. The Y. M. C. A. buildings (of which there are from six to ten in each camp) and Knights of Columbus buildings are now being utilized as branch libraries or distributing stations. A Y. M. C. A. building is provided for each brigade, a unit of six or seven thousand men, and this use of their buildings by the library shortens the distance between the book and the prospective reader. It helps to get hold of many men who are not in the habit of reading. In each Y. M. C. A. hut there is provision for shelving from 350 to 500 or 600 volumes in these buildings and also some read- ing room space. "Quiet rooms" are provided, and also two large class rooms that can be converted into four smaller rooms and made available for the use of soldiers for reading and study. To each building are attached four or five secretaries, one of whom has special charge of the educational work, including the supervision of the library for which men in the camp, familiar with library work, are sometimes found. Until the A. L. A. buildings became available the books re- sulting from gift were generally handed over to the Y. M. C. A., the K. of C., and other agencies, yet they form part of the col- lection for which the A. L. A. is responsible and for the supply of which it should have credit. Despite the fact that the book plates show the source, their service is popularly credited to the Y. M. C. A. a natural result of the cooperation. When a quarantine was declared at Camp Beauregard and the Camp Library had to cease its activities and the circulation of books was temporarily stopped, the Y. M. C. A. distributed many thousands of camp library magazines among the infected troops. The camp libraries have been called upon to furnish books for the Knights of Columbus buildings, and to the various army chaplains, one of whom planned to have a reading tent. Other chaplains expect to have shelves in the officers' mess-hall. 23 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE While the Red Cross distributed some books with the soldiers' kits, it does not maintain libraries or lending collections. Such library service as it does in Great Britain is limited to the men in the military hospitals. To help win the war, and to help in the great work of re- construction after the war, are the two great objects of all these affiliated organizations. The camp libraries contribute their share to both these ends. They help to keep the man more fit physi- cally, mentally and spiritually, and prepare such as shall be spared for greater usefulness after the war. Good reading has helped to keep many a soldier up to his highest level; it has aided in the recovery of many a wounded man. It has helped to keep him cheerful, and to send him back to the firing line with renewed determination to win or die bravely in the attempt. The Work Overseas We have many concrete illustrations of the need and urgent call for books by the men at the Front. I have printed else- where a variety of anecdotes and extracts from letters showing what reading has meant to men in the camps, trenches and hospitals.* Let me add a few here. Clive Holland writes that British soldiers returning home have said that but for the solace of reading they would indeed have been badly off for recreation and amusement in the gloomy dug- outs, in the trenches, and the huts which afforded them some sort of shelter. There, often by the light of a candle stuck in a bottle, or upon a piece of wood with a nail driven through it, the war is happily driven from the mind by the "magic carpet" of some book of travel or romance. The day after a great advance, one soldier wrote: "On such a day as this, one wishes to read well-expressed words which deal with eternal things." The published letters of the late Arthur George Heath, fellow of New College, Oxford, and lieutenant in the Royal West Kent *See the Library Journal, July, August and October, 1917. 24 THE WORK OVERSEAS Regiment, show that there was a good deal of the bookworm about him, as he himself recognized. He writes from France that he is quite comfortable, but would really like a little litera- ture. "If we are in for trench work, it will come in handy," says he. "I would like Belloc's 'General Sketch of the European War,' and, if you would not mind my being so luxurious, the Oxford 'Book of English Verse' in as small a size as you can get it. * * * I've found time here to read quite a lot of novels, mostly very bad ones. I wonder if Turgenev would be good for the trenches? * * * Don't suggest that I should read 'War and Peace.' If one makes ambitious plans like that, one certainly gets killed in the midst of them. * * * "I have ploughed through Buchan's 'History of the War,' six volumes, and no end of names you cannot remember! This will give you an idea of the leisure we get here [in reserve] compared with what was, and, perhaps, with what will be. The Oxford Book of Verse has been such a pleasure in the trenches. I don't get time there to read anything long, and a little poem now and then warms the vitals, as the old lady said of her gin and water." In a letter written by Harold Chapin, the dramatist, to his mother and found in his pocketbook after his death, occurs this paragraph : "Books yes, I want a pocket Browning with everything in it ! Is such a thing to be had, I wonder ? Of course, I've got sizable pockets. Still it's a tall order. Anyway, I want 'Paracelsus' and 'Men and Women' particularly." In an earlier letter to his wife he had asked for "The Revenge" and King Henry's speeches "the one about England and the one beginning 'Upon the King' and the charioteer's speech from Euripides in Gilbert Murray's translation. Oh Lord, what is the play? I suppose I must do without it. Send the others at once though. This is really important." A British soldier was displaying a copy of a novel by Anthony Trollope with a hole the size of a lead pencil four-fifths of the way through it. "This saved my life," he said fondly. "That Jiole is a German Mauser bullet-hole. When I received the book 25 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE and commenced reading it, I wrote home: 'Thanks for the novel by Trollope. It's a bit hard reading and plenty of it.' Luckily for me there was." Some British soldiers stationed in Flanders became interested in gardening. Someone mentioned that there was a book called "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" and one of the enthusiastic soldiers was asked to write home for it. "It must have something about other things than cabbage in it," said one of the company, who had visions of a book with timely hints for timely crops. When the book came it was a disappointment in one way, but all the men enjoyed reading it and the mere title became a standing joke. Books will be sent to our troops in France by the American Library Association, and its representatives will be there to see that the books reach their destination. After the books have arrived, their use will be directed by the Y. M. C. A., the Knights of Columbus and the Red Cross, for the A. L. A. does not feel justified in erecting buildings in France and incurring the ex- pense of a special overseas library staff. The same amount of money spent on books will go farther to meet the needs of our men. Foreign universities are proposing to offer courses for injured soldiers, and doubtless the A. L. A. overseas book service will be of value to such of our men as remain there for study. Books for Prisoners of War "One of the greatest miseries of prison life, and one of the most demoralizing aspects of it," says Professor Gilbert Murray, "is the aimlessness and emptiness of existence from day to day. The reports which I have heard both from escaped prisoners and from those who have visited the prison camps have almost always the same burden: the men who fill their days with some purposeful occupation come through safely; the men who cannot do so, in one way or another, break or fail. The occupation must be purposeful; it must not merely while away the time, like playing cards or walking up and down a prison yard; it must 26 BOOKS FOR PRISONERS OF WAR have in it some element of hope, of progress, of preparation for the future. A man who works at learning a foreign language in order to talk to a fellow-prisoner is saved from the worst dangers of prison life: an electrician who goes on studying electricity is saved; a student who sets himself to pass his examinations, an artisan who works to better himself in his trade, an artist who works on his drawing or painting, a teacher who works at the further mastering of his subject all these are protected against the infectious poison of their captivity." Rear-Admiral Parry, of the British Navy, says that large numbers of prisoners of war have been saved from serious mental deterioration by having access to interesting works on nautical astronomy, navigation, seamanship, and allied subjects in which they are specially interested. Professor Sir Henry Jones of Glasgow University writes that his son, who was interned at Yozgad, in Asiatic Turkey, since the fall of Kut-el-Amarah, was trying to make the best of his condition by writing songs, an amateur drama, and a juvenile book, in collaboration with another officer. The arrival of some law books sent from the headquarters of the British Prisoners of War Book Scheme (Educational) helped him to continue his preparation for the English Bar. A teacher in the Italian section of the prison camp school at Ruhleben is of the opinion that more Italian is being studied there than at the Universities of London, Oxford and Cambridge in normal times. A British company sergeant-major, imprisoned at Minden, was furnished with a Russian grammar and dictionary and reports that he can now read, write and speak Russian fairly well. He mentions various books which might prove helpful to him, but is quite content to leave the selection to those at the headquarters of the British Prisoners of War Book Scheme. In the event of some of our own boys falling into the hands of the enemy the A. L. A. War Service wants to be prepared to supply the books which will save them from the slow demoraliza- tion of prison life. 27 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE Books Needed in Military Hospitals In the shell shock ward of a huge military hospital outside of London, I came across a young fellow doing a bit of wood carv- ing. There was a look in his face which invited a chat. Pausing foeside him I asked, "How long have you been here?" "Oh-h, a-about a-a y-year," he stuttered. "W-when I c-came, I c-couldn't t-talk at all. N-now I c-can t-talk p-pretty w-well." "Indeed you can/' said I with cheerful mendacity. "Tell me, are you married ?" "N-no," said he. "I w-was g-going b-back to Da-akota t-to m-marry a g-girl t-there, b-but a N-norwegian c-cut m-me out." "That was too bad," I sympathized, "but you must remember that every cloud has its silver lining." "O-hh," he replied with the utmost serenity, "I d-don't mind. I t-think h-he d-did m-me a jolly good t-turn!" My attention was arrested a few minutes later by a young man, the very personification of gloom, who held his head in both hands and stared at the floor. After a little hesitation I went up to him and offered him a smoke. There was a slight flicker of animation as he accepted it. "How long have you been here ?" I inquired. "I don't know," he replied listlessly. With the hope of penetrating his apathy I ventured further, "What is the last thing you remember before you came here?" His face lighted up instantly and he gave me an interesting and graphic account of the advance in which he was knocked out. As I listened I wondered if his were not the kind of case which would respond to the cheering influence of good illustrated maga- zines. Books that take the mind off the war are frequently pre- scribed by the physicians, and selected reading of a crisp bright variety should prove helpful. 28 ^ s ^2 *-C o I 25 faO O .5 BOOKS NEEDED IN MILITARY HOSPITALS To these poor broken lads some author may be able to say: You will hardly know who I am, or what I mean; But I will be health to you nevertheless And filter and fiber your blood. A badly wounded man in a large base hospital in France on hearing of the visit of a woman whose novel he had read in a popular English magazine, asked the favor of a chat with her. "I don't think I'm likely to pull through this bout, ma'am," said he. "I've had two turns before in hospital but I'd like to thank you for writing that jolly yarn. It's cheered me up a bit and shown me that there's some good in suffering." Cheerful endings are desirable in fiction for the wounded. A British nurse tells of a serial story that had been read by two of her patients, one of whom was depressed for a whole day because the heroine died. "I wish, Sister, I had never read it," he ex- claimed. "I got to like that girl and if I could have found one something the same when I got out and about again, I should have married her if she would have had me." In Montreal's Military Convalescent Home, there is a quiet little room where the returned soldiers love to congregate. Maga- zines are scattered on its center table and books of every sort are on its shelves. In comfortable easy chairs the men sit reading or writing. The room is maintained by the McGill Alumnae Society. The books on its shelves are all too few to satisfy the hourly demands made upon them. Old and new favorites vie with each other in popularity. Ivanhoe, Waverly, The New- comes and Oliver Twist have become dog-eared to an almost pathetic degree of shabbiness. One irreproachably kilted Scot was keenly disappointed that "some wee poems o' Bobbie Burns" were not forthcoming. The great demand for every sort of technical books, especially on mechanics, engineering, navigation, architecture, aviation and astronomy, often taxes the library's resources beyond its limit. The convalescent soldiers who are under training in the voca- tional schools show a great desire to supplement their text books by further reading. 29 A. L. A. WAR SERVICE Books are also distributed in the wards at Grey Nunnery, Montreal, to patients confined to their beds. One poor fellow, brought over on a hospital ship from England, had started while on shipboard a lurid tale of adventure. The desire to know how it ended so tormented him that his general feverish state was greatly augmented. The Montreal bookshops were scoured in vain. It was found necessary to send to New York for the book. It cheered him greatly to know that the book was at last on its way. But he died the morning the book was received. A discharged Russian soldier brought to a librarian a torn and battered Russian magazine. "They gave it to me at the Grey Nunnery," he said, "and I was so glad to get something written in Russian that I want to leave it here for some other Russian fellow." "My first Sunday in camp was spent at the Base Hospital," writes the librarian at Camp Upton. "We received from Major Whitham permission to distribute books in the wards and in the barracks of the men in hospital service. This involved the carry- ing of the books for a distance of about three blocks, over lumber piles and rough ground. We made a stretcher-box by nailing two long handlepieces to the sides of a packing box. On enter- ing a ward we were generally mistaken for ambulance men with a new 'case.' But when the ward master would call out that we had books free for the use of all who wished them, there followed a general stampede of bathrobed men in our direction. Our wares proved popular as the men were anxious for some- thing to read. We expect to establish an exchange station at the hospital post when completed." Mrs. Alice Hegan Rice, who heads one of the library com- mittees at Camp Zachary Taylor, made a request for books for the base hospital there which met with a generous response. The books were well selected. "We carried them in baskets from bed to bed, letting the men select what they liked," wrote Mrs. Rice. "I wish you could have seen the eagerness with which they were received. When we left only five books remained on the table and the two wards presented a picture that would have 30 GIVE A BOOK. //-. I ..::" '...* K '.' /.% amused you. Every soldier who was able to sit up was absorbed in his particular volume." As we all know, our own boys are not going to be immune from wounds and shell shock, trench feet, and fever. If you wish to help them in their weary hospital days and in their convalescence you can reach them best through the medium of some good book. Look over your bookshelves ; pick out such volumes as you think would interest the boy you know the best books with good red blood in them and send them to the nearest public library. The librarian will be glad to see that they are started on their way, and you will also be glad for having done your bit. Do it now. Anticipating the inevitable needs of the near future the Me- chanical Department of the Erie Railroad has designed and standardized a special hospital car. The comfort of the wounded men when travelling over this line is assured. We shall hope to cooperate in supplying desirable books for the men and the nurses. Give a Book The War Service administration hopes that for every book purchased., at least five will be presented to the libraries. It has been done in England ; it can be done here. Mobilize your idle books. Give the book you prize the most ; not the one you care for least. Give your favorite author; the novel that interested you last summer; the volume of poems with a meaning and message for you. Give the book that causes a pang at parting, like saying good- bye to an old friend. Ten chances to one it will mean more to some soldier boy. Give the book that is still alive but which you and your family have outgrown. It is the one which should be passed on to the Camp Libraries. Give your latest war book; you will probably not read it again. The boy in khaki is waiting for it. Reading it will prepare him for conditions "over there." 31 ;; ; A. L. A r WAR SERVICE Give books on technical subjects; there is an insistent call for works on aeroplanes,, automobiles, gas engines and engineering topics generally. Don't think that the boys are interested only in fiction. Write your name and a message on the fly leaf; it will make the bond seem closer. Remember that he gives twice who gives quickly. But don't give thoughtlessly. We are judged by what we give. :>) ; 32 ETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 202 Main Library )AN PERIOD 1 HOME USE 2 3 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW LC71982 \JCiA UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY DRM NO. DD6, 60m, 12/80 BERKELEY CA 94720