Z733 B77T2 Tarbell Village Library in Massachusetts THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Hmcrican Xtbrar\> Hssoctation I'U HLISHING BOARD LIBRARY TRACT, No. 8 A VILLAGE LIBRARY IN MASSACHUSETTS The Story of Its Upbuilding BY MARY ANNA TARE ELL Librarian Brimfield Public Library JUL \3N1- . X. B, publisbing 3Boar& 10 1-2 BEACON ST.. HOSTOX 1905 Hmerican %ibrar\> association PUBLISHING BOARD LIBRARY TRACT, No. 8 A VILLAGE LIBRARY IN MASSACHUSETTS The Story of Its Upbuilding BY MARY ANNA TARBELL Librarian Britnfield Public Library H. X. H. publisbino Boarfc 10 1-2 BEACON ST., BOSTON 1905 q A REPRINT OF LEAFLET No. 3 OF THE MASSACHUSETTS Civic LEAGUE ^ I JJ 377T2, THE BRIMFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY TN speaking of the Brimfield public library I am de- scribing, not a model library, but a type, inasmuch as it illustrates development, in some degree, along vari- ous lines of library progress. Some village libraries have gone farther and done better in certain directions. The Brimfield library represents the type that has strug- gled upward and outward with limited means and under many disadvantages. It has had no building of its own ; it has been confined to one room; it is open only during a part of two days each week; it has had no appropria- tion from the town except the dog-tax, by the accumula- tion of which for several years its small beginning was established twenty-seven years ago. At that time the dog- tax averaged less than $100 annually, now it is usu- ally nearly $200. It had no endowment fund until 1896, when it received a bequest of about $2,000 from a woman who had spent her life in school teaching. The town, formerly the most wealthy and influential in its section, has come to be among the poorer" ones, and has suffered a great decrease of population. Its library has had no lavish patrons, and has received few gifts of large amounts. Brimfield lies high among the hills on the eastern bor- der of Western Massachusetts, and has been compara- tively isolated since the time when the Boston and Albany railroad left the center of the town far to one side. The village is reached by a stage-ride of eight miles from Palmer. Thus it will be seen that its life and institu- tions suffer the disadvantages of limited connection with the world, and the lack of conveniences and facilities. 3 701059 For the various reasons that have been mentioned, such progress and expansion as the library has achieved have been by the expenditure of great effort; the power has had to be applied at a disadvantage. But the library has its share in the compensations which this remote and quiet town enjoys in beauty of natural scenery, freedom from distractions, simple and genuine society, and the preservation of a type of life of which the leading charac- teristics have been patriotism, public spirit and hospital- ity; educational, literary and artistic interests. The Hitchcock Free Academy has been the distinc- tion of Brimfield, and has kept up the educational stand- ard of the community since its establishment in 1855. The public library, founded about a quarter of a century later, reflected the literary sentiment of the town, and has kept alive and fostered that interest during a period when it has naturally tended to decline with the decrease of vigorous and stimulating life. The secret of whatever success and influence the li- brary has attained lies in the purpose to keep it a live organism, putting forth buds and shoots by natural de- velopment, and being grafted with new ideas and activi- ties according to the needs of its environment and sugges- tions from without. And perhaps there is compensation for its lack of ways and means, conveniences and tools, in the absence of conventionality, fettering rules and for- malities. There is probably nowhere a freer free public library than the one in Brimfield. I have been describing conditions as they have existed. The library is soon to enter upon a new era in a beauti- ful building, the gift of a native of Brimfield. From its new and more conventional home I hope we shall con- tinue to dispel the institutional feeling. Now I will ask you to go with me into the cheerful 4 library room in the town house where the library has in- creased its collection from a few hundred volumes to nearly five thousand, and where it has gained its present measure of freedom by outgrowing early restrictions, de- veloping new ways of influence, and becoming a power felt to the outermost parts of the community. "How pleasant!" you will be likely to say, as at first glance you see the books ranged around the sides of the room within easy reach, the bright colors of the bind- ings enlivening the walls ; for the books were freed from their dingy wrappers a few years ago. Above the books, on the wall opposite the entrance, is the cast of Michael Angelo's "Holy Family," and facing it, on the side of the entrance, is "Victory Tying on her Sandal." On a third side is a Braun photograph of the "Aurora." These decorations were presented when it was found that we should welcome and appreciate such things. Other decorations are steel engravings of states- men and crayon portraits of former citizens associated with the library. You will be attracted by photographs of scenes in Venice on a home-made screen in the rear of the room, and then you will observe a large print on an easel, to find that it is the new Soldiers and Sailors' monument of New York. Near by is a piece of the pure white marble of which the monument is made. The monument has special interest for Brimfield people, as the town is the ancestral home and beloved Mecca of its designers. The pen-and-ink drawing conspicuous against the librarian's desk is of a Brimfield scene. Such work has a great attractiveness and influence. "Done by hand !" said our local photographer with enthusiasm, as he called the attention of some young people to the sketch. The "done by hand" decorations and all those contributions which have personal associations are of peculiar value. 5 Our first work of art was a rough sketch, on brown paper, of a Brimfield scene which I pinned up on the door. Nothing has ever attracted so much attention and interest as this pencil sketch, not even the finest photo- graphs we have since possessed. Gifts of this nature mean as much to a library as gifts representing ourselves do to a friend. At a time when the pupils of the schools were having unusual advantages in drawing and color work I kept their sketches on exhibition, greatly to the edification of pupils and parents, and the enjoyment of all visitors. As you examine the books you will probably remark, as visitors always do, "What a fine collection!" Yes, the library was started on a high plane and it has been kept there. The per cent, of fiction is not over large, its char- acter is of the best, and the library is especially rich in biography and American history. We mean to get the representative works of all classes, even if but a few vol- umes, and I try to get recommendations of books from those who have especial acquaintance with certain sub- jects. The library has grown from within, outward, ac- cording to needs, and to form a balanced whole. There is a good proportion under Education, purchased to assist the teachers, and under this subject are a num- ber of books relating to child study, quite as valuable to mothers as to teachers. These were discovered through our kindergarten friends. All the children's books are selected with the same care. Under the class Philosophy, which includes Ethics, and under Religion, we have some of the books representing the progressive thought of the day. If such books are read by only a few people, they should be bought for the benefit of these few, and the in- fluence radiating from them. You will excuse me now while I attend to this boy who 6 asks for a good book for his mother, a novel, and to this girl who asks me to pick out a "man's book," which, be- ing interpreted, means a book of travels for her father. Then an academy pupil is waiting for help to find some- thing on "The Passion Play." Yes, I have to select a great many books, and I learn to know people's tastes and also their needs, which are sub-conscious tastes. Sometimes people say that the librarian knows what they want better than they do themselves. This comes by ob- servation, by some anticipation of needs, and by some guessing; all the while putting one's self in another's place. Not to really help would show a great lack of in- telligence and sympathy. But I never mean to be obtru- sive or officious in the matter of opinion and advice. Rather, I often realize my lack of wisdom and knowledge. For some years it was a great problem to get the li- brary classified and catalogued. A collection of over 4,000 volumes unclassified was appalling, but no appro- priation from the town could be looked for. One day a former resident visiting in town gave me a check for $25 to use at my discretion for the library. I then soli- cited twice that sum, and with the expert help that the total secured, supplemented by my less skilled labor afterwards, I succeeded in getting the library classified and one set of cards written. You notice that the people, old and young, are taking the books directly from the shelves. This sensible free- dom has been granted for a long time, the Brimfield li- brary having been among the first to allow this privilege. The opportunity to handle the books is not only of prac- tical help in making selections, but promotes acquaint- ance and friendly intercourse with the books, and puts patrons on terms of affectionate regard and cherished in- timacy with the library. People may take out as 7 many books at a time as they wish. There will then be several thousand left on the shelves. At first, when the library was small, only two books to a family were al- lowed. A few years ago the number limit was entirely removed ; but people never want an unreasonable number of books. You, perhaps, would like to take out some books. You are at perfect liberty to do so. The stranger within our gates for a night, or the sojourner for some weeks, whether road-surveyor or summer boarder, has all the privileges of the inhabitant and native. You look surprised to see that little tot with glistening eyes hugging a book, and say, "Why, that child can't read !" No, but his older brother and sister with him will read the book to him, and he can look at the pictures. There are no books in the library that have done more good than Miss Poulsson's "Finger Plays" and her other books, and Miss Wheelock's little books. As for our copies of the Brownie books and bound volumes of St. Nicholas, they are almost worn out. It makes the little folks so happy to carry the books themselves, and it is a pleasure to put them into their hands. Besides, it is open- ing a path to the library for them which they will follow in the years to come. So we have become free from the age limit. It has passed silently and by degrees. The first move in this direction was made by allowing the teachers to be responsible for books taken by their pupils. The collection of books for young people and children includes no volume, I believe, that is not desirable in its character. I wonder if you are enjoying the sight of the children putting their heads together over a book with pictures, and the older ones discussing and recommending books, as they take them from the shelves, or perchance chat- ting about other matters. For we allow conversation, and the happy youths and maidens are in good company 8 amid such surroundings. On Saturday evenings we seem to be holding a reception, especially in the summer, when those who have been away teaching or studying greet one another here, and when the former resident, now a summer boarder, drops in to renew old acquaintances. It is a good place to get acquainted. Patrons introduce their friends to me and I introduce strangers to the townspeople. The children often say, "Good-bye," when they go out, and sometimes an academy boy will give a friendly bow. The extension cases and satchels in the corner are used for sending books to outlying districts. The smaller ones are used by teachers and the larger ones are sent to East Brimfield and West Brimfield. We get books to the people of these places in a very free way. For four or five years a former teacher has distributed books from her home in East Brimfield. The expense of transporting the books by stage has been paid from a sum contributed for that purpose by a Boston woman whose early home was in East Brimfield. For two years a young woman employed at the railroad station at West Brimfield has given out books from the station. The work of each of these women is voluntary, and inspired by personal inter- est. It was a great problem to get the books to West Brimfield, as that section is not connected with the Center in any way. For all practical purposes it is a suburb of Palmer. The present plan finally developed. The books are sent by stage to a Palmer grocery store, whence they are carried by the delivery team to West Brimfield. So the books travel out of town and back again, making a journey of twelve to thirteen miles to cover an actual distance of six miles. We have an excellent plan for letting people all over town know what books the library contains, by printing 9 a catalogue of the yearly additions in the town reports, appending this to the librarian's report. This costs the library nothing, the expense of printing being borne by the town. A full account of all the library's activities and developments is given in the librarian's report. It is a great pity that so many of the books contain an unsightly yellow label on the fly leaf, giving the original rules and regulations. Could the founders of the library have thought that these would be always in force? We are now rejoicing in a new book-plate which will look these yellow labels out of countenance if they cannot be removed. The design on the book-plate is Steerage Rock, an immense boulder resting on the highest point of land in Brimfield and in the original Bay Path, the route taken by the settlers of the Connecticut Valley in their journey from the Bay. From this lofty view-point, the Indians and the white travellers alike steered their course on their journey. The motto accompanying the design is "Books give the far view." We are urged by the Free Public Library Commission to collect historical material in the library. I have ob- tained a good many ancient books from attics and a num- ber of documents and papers relating to the history of the town. Accounts of more recent events and biographi- cal sketches of citizens who have died, I have written for the Springfield Republican, and thus preserved historical material. I am trying to get photographs of houses for their historical value. In speaking of the State Library Commission, I must acknowledge its assistance. We have not only received gifts of books from the state through its agency, but have had the benefit of personal advice and have been stimulated to progress by its recommendations and counsel. Here is a collection of books on Italian art, loaned by 10 the Woman's Education Association of Boston, with 140 pictures accompanying the books. This is the seventh of the special travelling libraries which have greatly added to our resources. The Woman's Education Association, through its library committee, has been a great blessing to us. Too much cannot be said of the benefit derived from the loans of books and pictures, and of the encour- agement and help coming from the personal interest of the committee. Most of the travelling libraries sent out by the Association, now over forty in number, are mixed collections of books to supplement the smallest libraries in Western Massachusetts. The first travelling library consisting of books on a single subject was prepared for the Brimfield library. The subject was American his- tory during certain periods, and the volumes were found to be such an important supplement to the already excel- lent collection on American history contained in the li- brary that, at the close of the year, the set was not al- lowed to proceed farther, but found a permanent place on the shelves, by purchase from the Association. The fol- lowing year, in response to our request for art books, we received a set of seventeen books and forty-nine photo- graphs with Venice as the subject. This was the first travelling art library the Education Association sent out, and its possession was the distinction of the year in the Brimfield library. The photographs were the first our library had possessed, and they were received with de- light. They were carried many times to my home, so that I could become well enough acquainted with them to show them with some intelligence. I carried them to neighbors' homes when I was invited out, as people used to take their knitting. Every visitor to the library looked at them with great interest, and I was especially happy to have them keep some of the boys in the library dur- ii ing Saturday evenings, and away from the neighboring stores. As for the books, I offered them wherever I thought they would be read, or partially read, my method being to show the pictures and then recommend a book. Probably no photographs could have been selected that would have been so generally enjoyed as those of Venice, or to form a better introduction to the study of Italian art. In the summer a group of women, ten in all, formed a circle for the study of the pictures and books. A class in such a subject was more feasible in summer, as it was composed partly of teachers and others who return to Brimfield for the vacation. None of us were art students, and none of us had been to Italy; but we received great enjoyment, inspiration and instruction from that sum- mer's communion with the art of Venice. These pictures had so entered into the life of the library that I felt we could not give them up, so a collection was taken of twenty-five cents apiece from members of the "Venetian Club" to replace some of the pictures when the travelling library should depart. This was the nucleus of what I have named the "picture fund," for which about $25 has now been collected. The next year we had a travelling library on Florence consisting of twenty-one books and nearly two hundred pictures. Such books as those of the Florence library would not be likely to attract readers in general, and it was necessary to call attention to them even more care- fully than to the Venice books. There are some people who want such reading, but who, without its being called to their attention, would not be conscious of the want. Said one man, when he brought back Villari's life of Sa- vonarola, "I have found a new hero." The subject of the next travelling library was English architecture. There were twenty volumes and sixty- 12 three pictures, the pictures of especial interest being those of English cathedrals. As my contribution to the pro- gram of the local grange I chose "An Evening in Eng- land and Scotland," and exhibited the pictures of the travelling library, supplemented by some of my own, as- signing descriptive sketches of the subjects represented to various members. The pictures were hung in the town hall, where the meetings of the grange were held, and. the exhibition was afterwards visited by other towns- people and by school pupils. The next year we had a travelling library on Rome consisting of twenty-three books and one hundred and forty-five pictures. That year we had a winter study- circle composed of people of all ages and both sexes, and we took up the study of Roman history as illustrated by the photographs. Several people from the adjoining town of Wales attended some of these meetings. One of these friends, then a grammar-school teacher, afterwards received an appointment to teach Roman history in a city high school, and he has spoken of those un-academic evenings in Rome as of great advantage to him in his teaching. The next travelling library had Shakespeare for its subject, and consisted of a number of edited plays and some of the best critical works, with about a dozen pic- tures. A group of people in Wales, stimulated partly by our meetings of the previous winter, took up the study of Shakespeare, pursuing it more faithfully and pro- foundly than we did, and we sub-loaned some of the books of our travelling library to them. At the close of the winter the Wales Shakespeare Club held a banquet at the Brimfield hotel, which a number of our members attended as invited guests. It was a most delightful oc- casion. The hotel parlors were decorated with photo- 13 graphs belonging to our travelling library, and tables here and there held its choice volumes to be looked over. The feast was preceded by the reading of appropriate quotations from Shakespeare placed at each plate. Mention should be made of the benefit derived one summer from photographs of Nuremberg, loaned by a member of the Woman's Education Association. Meet- ings were held in different homes, and some acquaint- ance with Nuremberg led to a study of the artist Durer, for which reproductions of his work were borrowed from Forbes library, Northampton, and books and more pic- tures from another source. Not only have pictures been used for study in the ways described, but they have been taken from the library into homes where they have been especially appreciated in the case of shut-in lives. They have afforded enjoyable and profitable entertainment for our socials held at private houses by the Village Improvement Society. At the library they are placed on tables and hung about the room. An interesting exhibition of pictures suggested by the use of those loaned by the Education Association was held at my home as the attraction of a Village Improve- ment Social. A clergyman in an adjoining town had of- fered to give a talk on his trip in England and Scot- land in the town hall for the benefit of the Improvement Society. He could not bring a stereopticon but would loan a hundred photographs which he had collected, to be shown in the library previous to the lecture. I thought of an additional scheme and had a social appointed at my home. Then I hung the photographs on the walls of three rooms, so that the house was transformed into a gallery of foreign scenes. The names of the scenes were written by school pupils in the clear vertical hand, and 14 the pictures were grouped under headings such as, "The Lake District," "English Cathedrals," "University Col- leges," "London," "Shakespeare's Home," "The Sir Walter Scott Country," "The Abbeys of Scotland." The effect was magical in its transporting power. Eighty people were present on the appointed evening, and studied the pictures with great enjoyment. It may be mentioned here that ice-cream was served during the evening, which netted the Improvement Society $8.00, The exhibition was kept open the remainder of the week and was visited by pupils of the Academy and the town schools and by old people and invalids, who enjoyed the pictures at their leisure, spending several hours with them. In common with many other libraries, we have received from the Education Association travelling sets of pic- tures without books, to be kept two weeks or more. Special exhibitions of these have been held and they have been visited by townspeople and delegations from schools. When we had pictures of the Library of Congress for a few weeks the library was turned into a picture gallery, and was opened for extra periods, afternoon and evening. The exhibition was very generally announced throughout the town and brought many visitors. People were in- vited to give such sums as they chose for the purchase of pictures and contributions from five cents (from chil- dren) upward, were made. Several old residents visiting in town gave a dollar apiece, and one out-of-town friend, partly in recognition of the use of the library by herself and children, gave five dollars. Since then the contribu- tions from patrons of the library have continued, the sum suggested by me being twenty-five cents. Each summer visitors in town say, "Do we not have to pay something for the use of the library?" "O no," I reply, "the library 15 is free to all, but a contribution to the picture fund will be welcome." From this so-called fund we have bought thirty-one photographs of Venetian scenes and art and other pictures, have subscribed for the Perry Magazine, and have an unexpended balance. From this source we are making a very fine collection of photographs of Brimfield, whose scenes are unusually picturesque. Pic- tures seem to have unusual attraction for Brimfield peo- ple, old and young, and all those we possess and have had loaned to us have become familiar to them. The local scenes are especially prized by townspeople and are shown with pride to their out-of-town friends. Besides having started a picture collection of our own, we have made the beginning of a choice collection of books on art subjects by purchasing some of the books of each of the travelling art libraries and adding a num- ber of volumes to them. A few years ago the library contained only one volume on art, Mrs. Jameson's "Early Italian Painters." Like attracts like. The possession of a number of pictures, the interest shown in them, and the evident desire to increase the advantages of the li- brary in that direction must tend naturally to bring ad- ditions. Beautiful photographs of Paris, Rome and Florence have been sent to the library by a former resi- dent of the town travelling abroad. Gifts of art books having choice illustrations, some new and some old, have come from various sources. So far the benefit of books and pictures obtained from without, which have stimulated and assisted interest within the library and town, has been dwelt upon. There is another means of help, another need. The speaking voice as well as the printed page and pictures is needed to increase the influence for which a library stands. Every time we have had a travelling library I have longed for 16 lectures on that subject. The first loan, that of a set of books on American history, was the result of a call for certain books on colonial history at some informal meet- ings held for local history research, and these meetings followed a loan exhibition of antiquities. An ideal com- bination of advantages, if offered at the same time, would be such an exhibition or pictures, according to the chosen subject, a special library, a study circle and lectures. In accordance with this idea, Miss Elizabeth Perkins, chair- man of the art committee of the Woman's Education As- sociation, gave a talk upon Rome before our study circle, using the travelling library on that subject. Miss Per- kins took a journey of over eighty miles by rail and a drive of eight miles in the dead of winter for our benefit ; while we were transported from Brimfield to Rome by her vivid descriptions and illuminating answers to our questions. Lectures in the small country towns need not be wholly gratuitous, although some aid from outside would be necessary to secure such speakers as are most to be desired. And why cannot there be established a systematic plan of after-school education, a modified form of the principle of university extension, under the aus- pices of public libraries? The growing connection of small and remote towns with one another and with larger places by trolleys makes such a plan feasible. The co-operation of the city is needed to increase the advantages of country life. The country has given of its best, it is still giving in many ways, and some good things should flow back. There is little realization of the heroic effort, devotion and self-sacrifice of the few who are left to keep up the institutions and administer the affairs of the old town. The Woman's Education Association has set a shining example of assistance to the small towns and remote communities on the part of those who enjoy 17 the advantages of city life. A generous expenditure of time, money, labor, expert knowledge and friendly inter- est by the members of its library committee has gone into the assistance given, and this has been furthered by per- sonal visits. The example of these women should lead people to find ways of helping country life. Assistance need not be on a large scale, and if the country library is the object of interest, it should be realized that it is not by large gifts alone that it can be helped. Personal inter- est, an act of service, a single book, a magazine subscrip- tion, a dollar, will be of value far exceeding the apparent size of the contribution. No small part of the value to the Brimfield library of such remembrances is the stronger bond with outside friends created by them. It is true that sometimes contributions are forthcoming only as needs are spoken of; but suggestions are usually wel- come, and the recipients of such benefits are not to be looked upon as pensioners, but as sharers in a co-opera- tive work and life. Co-operation has a broader meaning than the combin- ing of assistance from outside with effort at home to im- prove the country. A condition much to be desired is the closer interweaving of the life and interests of country and city for the welfare of both, and the country library is peculiarly adapted to be an influence in this direction. No institution is less local by nature, and it forms a com- mon meeting ground for the higher order of interests. It is a means of stimulating and broadening life in the country, and it may be a source of inspiration and re- freshment, in experience and memory, as has been said of the Brimfield library, to those who are leading the crowded and overwrought existence of the city. There is an added influence reaching out from the good things of the country because of their setting and associations, 18 their connection with permanent values and sources. The substance of the library, literary, educational, artistic, social, is gradually being incorporated into the life of the home town, but cannot be conhned within its limits; so that whatever increases the library's resources and scope is a contribution to a larger community. Such a contribution is the new building in Brimneld, and it is no less a general blessing because it is re- markably in keeping, in its character and spirit, with the genius and traditions of the life of the town as well as of the library for which it is to form the fitting abode. A memorial to the giver's mother, it is set among the apple trees of the ancestral homestead, and is built of stones from the fields of the town. There is a homelike feeling within, centering in the broad hearthstone before the great fire-place, brought from the farm's hillside ledge to become the village hearthstone; and this inviting, hos- pitable spirit will enhance the social enjoyment that has before existed. The books will be ranged on the walls within easy reach and taken with all possible freedom, without bar or barrier to shut them in ; while the power of books and hearthstone will be extended by the fine yet simple art of the design and furnishings of the interior, with their appeal to the sense of beauty and fitness, and their education of the taste. In the new building the library is to find its truer em- bodiment and means of development. The free public library in Brimfield will mean the freedom of the books, with their wide distribution, combined with the hospital- ity of the public hearthstone in its environment of artistic beauty and interest ; and cherished by outside friends and sending out its influence beyond the hill boundaries that encircle the town, it will be more and more a power for uniting interests within and without, to form one com- munity. 19 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-50wi-ll,'50 (2554)444 THE LIBRAHT LfNJVEL AK B77T2 A village libra- LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 837 481 Z733 B77T2