the book, the teacher and the pupil should be as close to one another as possible.

Last year a two-week summer institute for high school librarians and those intending to become such was held by the State Library School. Thirty four were in attendance. No tuition was charged. The work was very largely done by Mr Frank K. Walter, Vice Director of the school, to whom much credit is due. Various other members of the Department gave one or more talks each. Most of those in attendance have since written, saying that they were greatly helped in their work. It is planned to have another session in 1916.

Use of school libraries. The reports from city, village and district superintendents show quite accurately the use made of the school libraries of the State, as follows:

Volumes from school libraries read at school by elementary pupils:

Volumes taken from school libraries by elementary pupils, to be

Volumes taken from school libraries by residents of the districts, other than pupils:

Volumes from school libraries read at school by secondary school

Volumes taken from school libraries by secondary school pupils,

Some of the cities, some of the villages, and some of the district superintendents failed to report, or reported only in part. If the reports had been complete from all parts of the State the circulation would without doubt have been shown to be in excess of 16,000,000 volumes. We are assured of complete and accurate reports for the coming year. Some noteworthy matters are brought out in the reports. It would have been expected that in cities the general public, being well supplied with public libraries, would make little use of school libraries, but over 78 per cent of the books taken from school libraries and read by those not pupils were taken from city school libraries. On the other hand, only a trifle over 2 per cent of the books taken from school libraries and read by those not pupils in the schools came from the villages, while nearly 20 per cent showed use of libraries under the general control of district superintendents.

The school library possibilities have only just begun to be realized. What is now needed is not so much more reading as better reading, and more effective training in the use of books. Public libraries are putting forth commendable efforts and doing most excellent work, but those whom they can reach effectively are only a very small proportion. The great mass must be reached by the teachers, through the use of school libraries, or not at all. Excellent progress is being made, but on the whole our people are conservative, and progress will be made less rapidly than some of us would like, but it should be remembered that the ground gained with conservative people is usually held. It is confidently believed that the report for the coming year will show good progress in all directions.

Number and size of school libraries by counties, 1915

Excluding school libraries in cities. For other statistics of school libraries see tables in Education Department report for 1915.

Albany
Allegany
Broome

Cattaraugus.

Cayuga.

Chautauqua
Chemung.
Chenango.
Clinton.
Columbia.
Cortland.
Delaware.
Dutchess.

Erie.
Essex

296671

24

67

42

275

21

4

109

6

3

241

12

II

187

II

4

336 II

Of these I had no children, I was newly organized, 4 were very poor and 8 lost their libraries by fire.

During the year 458 districts added to their libraries sufficiently to pass them to the grade above that in which they had been.

PUBLICATIONS AND PRINTING

Aside from the usual office forms and stationery, 15 books, bulletins, handbooks and circulars and I traveling library list were issued by the four library divisions during the year ending September 30, 1915, as listed below.1

STATE LIBRARY

Report of the Director, 1912. 98p. paper

Also bound in cloth with Buying list of books for small libraries (Bibliography Bulletin 52), Best books of 1912 (Bibliography Bulletin 53), Register of New York State Library School (Library School Bulletin 31), and 26th annual report of Library School, 1912 (Library School Bulletin 32), to form the 95th annual report of the New York State Library.

List of books in the library for the blind. 116p. (Bibliography Bulletin 55)

A classified list of books, music and periodicals printed in five different systems: American Braille, English Braille, Line letter, Moon type and New York point.

Suggestions for using the library for the blind. Sp.

Best books of 1914. 58p. (Bibliography Bulletin 56)

This is the usual annotated and classified list of about 250 of the books deemed best worth purchase by the public libraries of the State.

LIBRARY SCHOOL

Fellows, Jennie D. Cataloging rules. 181p. (Library School Bulletin 36)

This code of rules is a revision of the stenciled directions used in the elementary course in cataloging in the New York State Library School, 1911-14.

28th annual report of New York State Library School, 1914. 29p. (Library School Bulletin 37)

Selected national bibliographies. 58p. (Library School Bulletin 38) This list of national bibliographies is a revision of two similar previous lists printed respectively in 1900 and 1908 as Library School Bulletins 7 and 26.

1 For convenience in reference the different numbers of the several series of bulletins (Bibliography, Legislation, Library School) are bound consecutively as supplements to the annual report of the Director of the State Library, the annuals issued in the various series in each year being bound with the annual report of the corresponding year, that is, Best Books for 1913 and the Library School report for 1913 are bound with the Director's report for 1913, though issued in 1914. For this reason the bulletins supplementing the report do not correspond to those issued during the year as here listed.