Oklahoma Librarian.

              THE OKLAHOMA LIBRARIAN
Official Journal of the Oklahoma Library Association
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY
Volume 1 SPRING 1950 Number 1
CONTENTS
ARTICLES   PAGE
Literature on the Ceiling-Projected Books. . Elizabeth Cooper  4
Using the Long-Distance Loan Service. . . . Betty Austin  5
The Librarian-Curator of Local History. . . .Gaston Litton  6
Planning a Children's Vacation Reading Club. . . .Louise Townsend  7
Librarians to See O. U. Treasure Room. . . . .  12
The Library and the Local Newspaper. . . .  17
FEATURES
A Message from the OLA President. . . . 2
As the Editor Sees It. . . . . 3
From the Four Corners. . . . .8
Who's Where. . . . 11
Meet the Authors. . . .18
NEAL F . AUSTIN, Editor
Journalism Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman
Associates
VIRGINIA OWENS, Public Library, Oklahoma City
ALLIE BETH MARTIN, Public Library, Tulsa
[pencil] OK-S-LIB [bar code]A15303783188


Lee Spencer
A Message from The OLA President
I join with all members of the Oklahoma
Library Association in welcoming this new
professional organ. We Oklahoma librar­ians
have been inarticulate for quite some
time now, but this promising journal
should enable us to speak out on library
issues and items of importance. Even
though most of us will still tend to favor
the oral as opposed to the printed form of
communication, having our own magazine
should stimulate all of us to some critical
and creative thinking about our own pro­grams
and activities. (The word 'problem'
has been banned in many quarters, I'm
told, so its use will be avoided here.)
If it is possible to adopt our revised
constitution at the 1950 convention we will
be poised for a new epoch in association
affairs-an epoch without precedent in
our state. A new committee system, more
adequate revenues, and this publication
itself, will make the OLA a more effective
organization in every sense of the word.
However, we cannot rely on constitu­tional
revision alone to bring us out of the
doldrums. We must foster a keener sense
of personal responsibility on the part of
the individual member. We should at all
times attempt to "make a go of it" with
the tools at hand. A prominent state librar­ian
recently criticized the American Li­brary
Association as being eternally con­cerned
with reorganization. The "reor­ganizers"
will probably always have some
basis for their work in the OLA, but it
is my hope that such a high degree of
personal morale will develop in our num­ber
that good library service and success­ful
cooperative activity will become as
prevalent in Oklahoma as personal hospi­tality.
As we consider our library situation dur­ing
this mid-century year of stock-taking,
I think Oklahoma can congratulate herself
on the fine progress being made.
Quite a number of state colleges are now
occupying handsome and functional new
buildings. The larger library systems are
either developing greater book collections
at an excellent rate, or are modernizing
their entire array of services. The hu­mane
and fascinating projected books program is being given intelligent and aggres
sive leadership, and courses in library sci
ence are being kept scrupulously up to
date. There are many other examples of
library vitality that could be cited if space
permitted.
As significant to me as any other library
development is the establishment, during
the past few months, of several public
libraries in smaller communities, and t he
information that plans for similar action
are being perfected in other localities as
well.
This is convincing proof that there is
demand for extended library service. De
spite momentary delay, the struggle to se­cure
adequate legislation is bound to suc
ceed because of this spontaneous demand
and the intelligent efforts of those who
know the possibilities of libraries.
We hope for these smaller places that
random gifts and book "showers" will soon
be superseded by an efficient program of
book selection.
And now-the mantle of a seer and
prophet hangs heavy on my shoulders. To
have had the privilege of speaking my
piece in this brave new publication has
dazzled me. Before I, as an Oklahoma
librarian, sing again that quaint old west­ern
ballad, "Give me my books and riddle
. . ." and revert to the peace of a " tome
on the range" I would thank all of yoU
who have so generously and capably re­sounded
to my "feverish" calls for help (as
that arch archivist, Gaston Litton de­scribed
them.) And to Neal Austin and
his committee of indefatigables - thanks
for pulling a near-miracle!
"Feverishly" yours,
Lee Spencer, a 105 degree specimen  2

[pencil]020.6 Ok41 v.1-3/cop.2
As the Editor Sees It
This first issue of The Oklahoma
Librarian marks the beginning of a new
program of public relations for the Okla­homa
Library Association. The editor
hopes that this issue will be the first of
hundreds, and he sees no reason why
the bulletin should not succeed.
Perhaps something should be saiq about
how this publication came into being. A­bout
two years ago, when the editor had
first become a member of the Oklahoma
Library Association, he started hoping
and planning for a quarterly journal. He,
and others, felt that it was almost a neces­sity.
Nothing was done, however, except
a few plans which were made at that
time.
Then, in the fall of 1949, Lee Spencer,
President of the Association, appointed a
Committee on Publications, and instructe­d
it to investigate the problems and pos­sibilities
of publication.
At the A.L.A. Conference in Fort Worth
in November, 1949, the plans and recom­mendations
of that committee were re­jected.
Perhaps the rejection was justi­fiable.
It was said that the Association
could not finance such a venture. The
editor, however, was of the opinion that
advertising would provide sufficient in­come.
On the 25th of February, 1950, the editor
again presented his plans to the Executive
Committee of the Association, and they
were approved. With a very early dead­line
facing the committee, a great deal
of red-tape had to be cut through. Mrs.
Allie Beth Martin of the Tulsa Public
Library, agreed to collect and edit the
news notes. Miss Virginia Owens, of the
Oklahoma City system took care of a
large part of the advertising. Articles
were assigned; and the writers cooperated
marvelously. Advertising was solicited,
printing arranged for, design set up, etc.
Here is the important thing: This issue
of 'The Oklahoma Librarian' was published
at no cost whatsoever to the Oklahoma
Library Association.
The above statement is not made in
the nature of a boast. It is simply a state­ment
of pure fact.
There is no reason, in the opinion of
the editor, for any failure in the future.
Many of the advertisers want to adver­tise
on a yearly basis. Two have already
asked about advertising deadlines in fu­ture
issues this year. It is possible, though
not likely, that the Association might be
called upon to pay the expenses of mail­ing.
As far as the editor knows, this is the
only publication of a state library associa­tion
in the country which is self-support­ing.
Further, it ranks among the top three
from the point of view of content and
design. It is attractive, informal, and the
articles are all well written by competent
members of the profession.
The editor respectfully urges the As­sociation
and its individual members to
give the bulletin support. This is an im­portant
venture ... perhaps one of the
most important ever undertaken by the
OLA. Until this issue, the OLA was one
of only three state associations Which
did not have journals!
Space does not permit mention of all
the persons to whom the editor is grate­ful.
Response was excellent, and most
gratifying. His work in establishing and
editing the first issue of the Oklahoma
Librarian has been made much easier and
more pleasant by this cooperation from
the association members.
He would be grateful for the privilege
of continuing his work as editor, if he were
planning to remain in the state. Having
accepted an out-of-state position, however,
he can only express his appreciation, for
the fine cooperation he has received and
hope for a fine future for the Associa­tion
and its journal.  3  
[stamped] 208050
Oklahoma State Library.


Elizabeth Cooper
Literature on the Ceiling - Projected Books
Most of you, as librarians, have heard
or read about Projected Books. Coronet
magazine h as carried at least three art­icles
about it, the Saturday Evening Post
not long ago ran a long editorial con­cerning
it, and the ALA Bulletin and
various hospital magazines have covered
the field.
This gadget , a projector for throwing
the microfilmed pages of a book on the
ceiling, can be operated to turn the
pages by simply pressing buttons. Man­ipulation
of the controls is possible by the
pressure of a finger-tip; the wrist, elbow
or shoulder muscles, the toes or feet or
knees or thighs-in extreme cases of para­lysis,
the chin has called upon to press
the buttons. This has enabled otherwise
helpless people to read or study for hours
without assistance.
Can you imagine what this means to
those unable to help themselves in any
other way? Or how a child with rheu­matic
fever may find himself recovering
because at last he has something he can
do and still be as quiet as is necessary?
The cost of the machine is slight-all
things considered-$187.50. $27.50 of the
amount is profit, which goes to Projected
Books, Inc. for promotional purposes only.
Otherwise, the machine sells at cost, as
does the film. Publishers, authors, and
, illustrators have waived the royalties on
books photographed for Projected Books.

COOPERATION WITH CIVIC
GROUPS
As-you know from your own experiences,
no library has the appropriation to cover
the extensive cost of this new service.
Even though the equipment is sold at
cost, it is still more expensive than most
of us can handle. But all over the United
states libraries have called on and received
aid from such civic groups as Lions, Ro­tary,
and Kiwanis Clubs, Optimist , Scouts,
Camp Fire Girls, Altrusa; Pilot, and Cham
bers of Commerce. To name them all
would take a book itself, and to them
all we are grateful.
The story of Projected Books in Okla­homa
is one of a dream long cherished.
Ralph Hudson of, the Oklahoma State
Library returned from the army in the
spring of 1946 with the determination that
someday-somehow-the bedfast of this
state would know the comfort of reading
on the ceiling through the services of
their local libraries. It was not until late
1948 that help from the Oklahoma Society
for Crippled Children and the Soroptimist
Club of Oklahoma City turned this dream
into the beginnings of reality.
With four machines from the Society
and the promise of service and the spear­heading
of a quietly effective campaign
from the Soroptimists, the following plan
was launched.

PLAN OF OPERATION
The State Library would service state
institutions and their out-patients ,as well
as rural communities where no local lib­rary
service is available. It would encour­age
local libraries to start their own ser­vices,
and supplement those services in
instances when havoc following disaster
made their needs greater than those of
normal times. (Need is estimated rough­ly on
a basis of one projector for each
4,000 population.) Local libraries would
service their own communities-extending
even into the entire county where pos­sible.
They would seek aid from the State
Library in the establishment of service.
From there, demonstration machines and
films could be borrowed and a speaker
obtained to make the initial plea to local
clubs for help if desired.
This plan, as you know, is only partially
in operation, but we are slowly forging
ahead. Following the beginnings in the
State Library-actually almost simultan­eous
with our first efforts-Oklahoma City
(Continued on Page 13)  4

Betty Austin
Using the Long Distance Loan Service
You had thought the day was starting
off fine when a patron enters the library
and wants to see all the material you
have on Townsend Harris and his work
in Japan. ~ince the possibility is pretty
good that you don't have such material
on Harris, don't let this person upset
your otherwise pleasant day.
Instead, take advantage of the services
of college libraries in the state. These
several libraries , can send you the ma­terials
requested by your patrons which
you would ordinarily have no reason to
have on your shelves. Through the ser­vices
of interlibrary loan anyone has ac­cess
to publications of all sorts.
Often periodicals, theses, dissertations
may be had as well as books on any sub­ject.
This service of the college libraries
is set up, not only to take care of the
needs of the college students and the
faculty members, but also the patrons of
the small public• librarJy who do not have
direct access to many types of publica-tions.
HOW 'INTERLIBRARY LOAN
WORKS
Its use is simple and direct. The lib­rarian
Simply writes to the interlibrary
loan department of any of the colleges,
requesting the book. She states in this
request the name of the book and the
author and any other information she may
have as to where and when the book was
published. Shortly the book will be sent
to her; or if the library does not have
the book requested, it can suggest where
the book might be located in some 'of
the larger libraries as the Library of Con­gress
or the John Crerar Library in Chica­go.
Ordinarily, however, the requests of the
pUblic libraries in the state can be taken
care of by the state college libraries. And
this is probably preferable as your patron
5
receives the book much sooner if it is
sent from some library in the state.
The services of interlibrary loan have
been extended to a great extent by the
use of microfilm. Often materials or art­icles
appearing in old newspapers or mag­azines
cannot be sent to inquiring lib­raries
because of their value or because
they are too fragile. But many of the
larger libraries have photographic services
which will microfilm almost any printed
matter for a very small fee.
For most libraries .of the state, however,
there will not be many times when the
use of microfilm would be needed. But
its use only points up a type of progress
made in the availability of materials, and
particularly research materials.
REGULATIONS GOVERNING USE
The rules governing the use of books
through interlibrary loan vary slightly
from one library to another. The length
of time a borrowing library may keep a
book depends on the lending library and
usually it is for two or three weeks. A re­newal
for another two weeks can usually
be made. This length of time would allow
a busy housewife or business man ample
time to use the book before its return.
Postal or express charges are paid by·
the borrowing library which is the only
charge for the service.
As was stated above, theses and disserta­tions
are !;tvailable, but most of the re­quests
from the public libraries of the
state are requests for books on gardening,
child and nursery care, criticism for book
reviewing, books of poetry, Oklahoma his­tory,
and history of the Southwest in
general. The University of Oklahoma
Library is fortunate in having an Okla­homa
Collection composed of books on
Oklahoma and by Oklahoma authors.
These books are available for interlibrary
loan. Interlibrary loan in this manner pro-
(Continued on Page 14)
Gaston Litton
The Public librarian: Curator of local History
Anyone who has seen and used the tiny
little volume by Dr. Charles Gould en­titled
Oklahoma Place Names, or has had
access to the Guide to Oklahoma prepared
by the Writers' Project of the WPA, or
who has travelled extensively in the Soon­er
State is aware of the great differences
which exist among our communities.
Oklahoma towns and ~ities are different
and distinct, as varied and unlike as if
a whole continent separated them. Some
were settled predominately by a single
racial or religious group. Others grew out
of some freak of circumstance. Still others
were products of. necessity.
But wherever they are and Whatever
their destiny, they are surrounded by in­numerable
details Which make the fas­cinating
fabric of history. These details
should be preserved and made available
to the public.
Perhaps it has not seemed important to
most of the public librarians of our Okla­homa
towns that community history
should be collected and preserved, or that
the obligation rests on their shoulders.
But it does.
There is, first of all, the librarian's obli­gation
to the officialdom at the City
Hall, to be able to provide historical ma­terial
for frequent civic needs. Informa­tion
of an historical nature is frequently
needed by mayors and city managers for
patriotic occasions. City planners and oth­ers
in the official circles need this sort
of material. If the public librarians were
better known among all city officials,
such requests and opportunities to serve
would be more numerous.
Others, outside the official · pale, have
occasional need for local history material.
Newspaper editors, teachers, chambers of
commerce, and others who may be writ­ing
and illustrating brochures or prepar­ing
'for anniversary celebrations are on the
"l,lert for such material. The librarian, her-
6
self, in planning exhibits and displays, can
often make use of such items.
TYPES OF MATERIAL
Local history materials assume a wide
variety of forms. There are the inevitable
clippings from the local newspaper. Clipp­ings
of items of an historical and descrip­tive
nature about the community-if care­fully
kept and identified-can be of great
service in any local history collection in
countless ways. Gleanings from the n ews­paper
definitely have their place, especial­ly
when the files of the newspaper itself
become too bulky to be kept in the library,
Microfilm is solving the problem of bulki­ness
for many libraries, but clippings can
still be of great value.
Handbills-or broadsides - covering a
wide range of local activities are certainly
to be sought. There will undoubtedly be
opportunities extended to the public lib­rarian
to accept collections made by oth­ers.
Such materials, if sqrted and classi­fied,
could have interest to many and
will be used by many.
Programs of recitals and .concerts, or
old stage plays and operettas, carnivals,
anc;l athletic events, will all give a piC­ture
of printing and of public amusement
which no other single type of material
could give.
Innumerable types of brochures are pub­lished
in the course of time in any com­munity,
and many of these pass through
the hands of the librarians, possibly with­out
their realizing their historical value
and interest.
Photographs will come the way of the
receptive librarian, and many of these
in neat new frames with appropriate
matting add to the dignity of any room·
Others, carefully identified and filed, can
be hoarded against the day when theY
will surely be mustered into service to
illustrate some newspaper article or bro'
(Continued on Page 15)
Planning a Children's Vacation Reading Club
We have all heard the statement-"Any­thing
that is worth doing at all is worth
doing well." I agree with that statement
but want to change it this much: "Any­thing
worth doing at all is worth a plan."
A carefully planned vacation reading
club is certain to be an outstanding suc­cess.
In conversation with young readers the
librarian will meet with attitudes of dis­like
for summer reading. There may be
the complaint that they have been work­ing
so hard that they "do not want to see
a book all summer;" that they plan vaca­tion
trips and will not have time for re\id­'
ing; or that they are "afraid to sign any­thing
for fear that they will fail to read
enough books to earn a certificate."
The wise librarian will bring no pressure
to bear on the readers. She may discuss
with parents and children the matter of
this planned program for summer vaca­tion
reading and may suggest benefits.
She will continue to strive for happy con­tacts
even though the enrollment in the
club is not large.
Planning for the vacation Reading Club
should start during Children's Book Week
in the fall. Teachers and parents may be
contacted and frequent mention made of
the summer reading program. The teach­ers
usually find that pupils who belonged
to the reading club during the summer are
more alert and "book-minded" when school
opens in the fall.
The librarian should work with teach­ers
throughout the year, helping them
select books to take to their classrooms for
leisure reading periods as well as directing
the individual child's selection when nec­essary.
Announcements should be made
in the spring meetings of the Parent
Teachers Association, and the suggestions
of teachers are also very helpful.
. Advance publicity for the summer read­lUg
program will be given by the local
7
newspaper. Plans for the story hour will
be outlined and the whole summer pro­gram
will be' given a prominent place in
the local program of activities.
PLANS FOR THE STORY HOUR
Plans for the story hour should receive
careful attention. Some librarians have
the story hour session every day, some
twice a week. But this part of the proj­ect
seems to be most successful when held
only once a week, for example, from ten
to twelve on Wednesday mornings. The
complete arrangements should be publi­cized
in the newspapers, announced in the
close-of-school programs, and by means
of posters made by the library staff.
Often mothers and teachers will volun­teer
to take the prepared program and
supervise its execution with the help of
highschool girls, graduated students, and
others selected for their talents in this
type of work.
In the plans for the story hour program,
the theme or themes to be used, books to
be used, references to stories or book
pages, etc. should be clearly and definitely
noted. The program may be varied by the
use of phonograph records, group singing,
stories about songs, short plays of original
dramatization, and games.
If the story hour is devoted to one day
each week, the groups should meet in sep­arate
rooms so that the partiCipants will
have only that material which is suitable
to the age group in understanding and
entertainment.
Lack of stress, ease in discussion, and a
helpful attitude on the part of the library
staff will aid in enrollment of members in
the Vacation Reading Club. Attendance
charts of the story hour sessions with
the proper amount of publicity will also
help. If the eager ch~ldren come early,
they may be given pictures or books to
look through, and a seat at one of the
(Continued on Page 16)
11,1111 11 111 11 11 11 111 111 111 11 1111 1111 1111 1111 11 11 11 11 11 11 1111 111 11 11 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 11 111 111 111 111 111 11 11 11 111 11 11 1111 11 11 1111 1111 1111 1111 111 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 1111 1111 1111 11 11 1111 11 11 11 111 11 11 11 11 111 11 11 111111 1111 "" 111 '1
From the Four Corners
• NEWS OF OKLAHOMA LIBRARIES
1 111 111 11 111 11 11 11 11 11 111 1 11 1 1 11 1 1 11 11 111 1 1 11 11 11 1 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 1 111 1 111 1 111 1 11 1 1 11 11 11 11 111 11 11 1) 111 11 11 11 11 1 1 11 11 11 1 1 111 1 11 1 1 11 111 1 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 1 1 1 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 111 11 [1 11 11 11 11 11 111 11 111 11 11 1 IIIIIIII~
ADA - The Ada Public Library installed
a Gaylord automatic charging machine in
March.
ALVA - Northwestern state College Li­brary
boasts the only air-conditioned col­lege
library in the state. The ,library is for
tunate in having an almost new collec­tion,
as most of the book have been added
since the fire in 1939. Outstanding activit­ies
of the past year include reorganization
of the documents collection in a separate
department with its own reading room.
Two courses for school librarians have
been added to the college curriculum.
A special service of the Northwestern
Library is the mimeographed quarterly
acquisition list which is distributed to fac­ulty
and students. Library privileges are
extended to the community as well as to
the college group. The Northwestern Li­brary
is a regional film depository and
serves as a distribution center for films
and film-strips to a large percentage of
schools in the surrounding -area.
BLACKWELL - The Public Library is
being repaired and redecorated.
CLINTON - The Library Council will
hold open house in the Clinton Public
Library in May for the Gold Star moth­ers.
Books purchased by the American
Legion in memory of Clinton servicemen
lost in World War II will be formally
presented.
The Clinton Library Advisory Council
is made up of members of the library
board, the librarian, and two representa­tives
of each civic and study club. Con­tributions
from the clubs assist in the'
maintenan<;e of the duplicate pay shelf
and the Council cooperates in many li­brary
activities.
DURANT - Southeastern State College
8
maintains a traveling library and sends
books to rural schools, The library has
purchased a microfilm reader and is
starting a collection of films.
FREDERICK - The Public Library re­po
r t s numerous publicity activities.
These include a weekly book column in
the local paper, a fifteen minute weekly
radio program on the local station and
twenty-six talks by the librarian during
the past year, ,
HENRYETTA - The Public Library has
added nearly 1,000 volumes, a gift of Mrs,
M. K. Moody in honor of Dr. Dudley Clag­gett.
MIAMI - Mrs. David Steele reports that
the A.A.U,W. is sponsoring a story hour
in the Pubilc Library.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Mrs. J. R. Dale,
secretary of the Oklahoma Library Com­mission
since 1919 has been named Okla­homa
City's "Woman of the Year" select­ed
by the Business and Professional Wo­men's
Club.
OKMULGEE - The Public Library has
conducted a series of book reviews of
general interest sponsored and paid for
by the library. Tl),e Toastmaster's Club
attended the meetings in a group and
led the discussions which followed the r e­views.
Target You by Stowe, Crisis in
Education by Bell and Midwest at Noon
by Hutton were presented. Mrs. Deane
Barnett, librarian, reports the revieWs
were well attended.
PAWHUSKA - The Public Library haS
been moved to a more central location
and has been remodeled and redecorat ed,
This is a temporary location, as the li ­brary
is to be housed in a new building
in the not too distant future. The lot
has jtlready been selected.
The Pawhuska Public Library is the
fourth public library in the state to estab­lish
a film information center in cooper­ation
with the University of Oklahoma
Department of Visual Education. Other
new services established during the past
year include a "Teen-Age Section" and
a "Family Book Shelf."
PERRY - A new tile floor adds greatly
to the appearance of the first floor of
the Carnegie Public Library.
PONCA CITY - The Junior Chamber of
Commerce has presented the library
with a ceiling projector and 44 books on
film. The books include: fiction, travel,
humor, religion, biography, and science.
About half the projected books are for
boys and girls.
The library has purchased five new ex­hibit
cases for displaying Indian and
historical relics and four new double­faced
book stacks.
Various units of the Ponca City Garden
Club are supplying flower arrangements
for the main desk. Each unit is respon­sible
for the "Arrangements for the
Month." Mrs. Gertrude Sterba, librarian,
reports that patrons have been enthusias­tic
about the arrangements which have
included: floral bouquets, winter scene
with handmade felt birds, cactus plants
in a homemade Mexican cart drawn by
a donkey, a Christmas sled scene, a win­ter
bouquet, and pussy willows. A printed
gift card giving credit to the garden club
unit responsible accompanies each ar­rangement.
TULSA - An extensive program was be­gun
in the Tulsa Public Library in 1948
to purchase books listed in the ESSAY
INDEX so that a well rounded collec­tion
of general literature could be avail­able
to Tulsa readers. Of the 6,000 titles
in the ESSAY AND GENERAL LITERA­TURE
INDEX, the Library now has all
but 800.
The Library now has a file of the Tulsa
Tribune on microfilm from 1927 to date.
The Tulsa World and the New York
Times are on film from 1940 to date.
ltitute, The Journal of the Society of
9
Rare, unusual, .a~d 0!1t~of-print pe­troleum
books are being . borrowed from
many sources and are being microfilm!(d.
TULSA UNIVERSITY.",.. A grant of $10,-
000 from the General Education Board
to the University of Tulsa Library has
made possible the acquisition of files of
several import.ant scientific journals.
Some of the publications recently acquir~
ed are the Transactions of the Institute
of Chemical Engineers , Math~~atical_
Reviews, the Journal of the Frankli9 In­ChemicaJ
Industry, Die Berichte der ·~deu­tschen
chemischen. Gesellschaft, and, the
Transactions of the Faraday Society. An­other
noteworthy addition is the Report
on the SCientific Results of the Voyage
of the H.M.S. Challenger in 40 vol\1mes.
A spacious and well-eq~ipped library
has been opened in the n~w building of
the Downtown Division Qfthe University
of Tulsa. The library, which is adminis­tered
by Mrs. Marjorie Gilham, compris­es
approximately 12,000 volumes in the
field of law and 1,000 in the general col­lection.
VINITA - The late W. M. Malone made
a $250 bequest to the Vinita Public Li­brary
which was used to buy books suit­ed
especially to the needs of the high
school stUdents.
WEATHERFORD - The library of the
Southwestern State College extends ser­vices
to the town as well as to the col­lege
community as the town has no pub­lic
library. New services include a col­lection
of 150 albums of recorcis which
are available for home use or in the
library listening room. Also, a collection
of colored reproductions of paintings has
been started. These are loaned framed for
ten cents a month.
In January the library had an ex­hibit
of published and unpublished works
of the faculty which was so succeSSful
plans are being made to repeat it.
WILBURTON - The library of the East­ern
Oklahoma A&M Junior College has
recently received a one hundred and
twenty-five year old grandfather clock,
the gift of Mr. 1. Yourman, a Wilbur-
! i
ton jeweler. The clock has been refin­ished
in the manual arts shop of the col­lege
and the unusual and beautiful time­piece
has created quite an interest among
library patrons.
WOODWARD - Plans are under way to
extend services of the Carnegie Library
to serve the entire county. The city of
Woodward has voted additional library
funds to enlarge the library building and
allow for expanded activities. The plan
is now before the county commissioners.
The Junior Library Club has been re­vived
after a period of several years.
Made up of members of the 1949 ap­prentice
class of volunteers, the group
will study Find It Yourself by Scripture
and Greer.
YALE - Dr. F. Keith Odschlager has pre­sented
the Yale Public Library with a
Hebrew Bible printed in 1878.
TAHLEQUAH - The Library of North­eastern
State College has recently acquir­ed
the A. E. Bonnell library consisting
largely of religion and philosophy. The
library is now in a new building which
contains a "Cherokee Room" which h ous.
es the collection of rare Cherokee t itles.
The Library also has a model childrens
department. The new building, Occupied
in January of 1949, is semi-modern, and
will accomodate about 150,000 volumes.
There is also an art exhibit room. The
reading room, which has three walls of
glass, will seat about 400 readers.
Roscoe Rouse is acting librarian in the
absence of Miss Sue Thornton.
The Carnegie Library has inaugur ated
book truck to the hospital recently. Ser·
vice is maintained several times each
week.
Editor's Note - All librarians are reo
quested to answer news-notes queries
promptly. The Oklahoma Librarian should
be a clearing house for library news, and it
hopes to fulfill that task through the two
news columns, "From the Four Corners"
and "Who's Where." Your cooperation in
helping the staff to meet the deadlines will
be greatly appreciated.
Books. • • and Service
from McCLUR'G'S
McClurg's with over half a century of specialized library service,
is equipped to serve you well! Our staff is skilled in the handling of
Library, School and College book orders.
We welcome your patronage ... and the opportunity to serve you .
•
A. c. M~Clurg & Co. 333 E. Ontario St.
Chicago 11, Illinois
"Serving Librarians Is Our Business"
::J I \
10
2
r"'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''~'''''~''''''o'''':'''''~'''''''''''''~'''''~'"'''~'''''~'''''~''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''~
• NEWS OF OKLAHOMA LIBRARIANS --
Fo l l l ll ll l ll l ll!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!III!1 1 111111111111 1l11 1I.1 1111 1 1 1 11111111 11111111111111111 11111 11 1 1 1illlllli l l lll l llllllllll ll llltllllJllll l llllllJlllltlt I lltl l lllllll l lllllllll l lll lll llllll l lll l l l lll l lll l l l lll l ll lll l ll~
ALVA - Northwestern State College Li­brary.
Miss Frances DuVall, M. A. (Li­brary
Science), George Peabody College
for Teachers is librarian. Miss Edith Gor ­man,
M. A. (Library Science), George
Peabody College for Teachers is Ref­erence
Librarian.
BLACKWELL - Miss Florence M. Wil­liams
succeeds Mrs. R. M. Parkhurst as
librarian. Miss Williams was previously
librarian in Wellington, Kansas; on the
staff of the Wichita City Library ; and
on the staff of the Kan as Library Com­mission
where she edited the Bulletin of
the Kansas Library Commission.
HENRYETTA - Mrs. Grover Bynum is
now librarian of the Henryetta Public
Library. /
HOMINY - Mrs. John J. Starks h as suc~
ceeded Mrs. C. O. Crossley as librarian.
PAWHUSKA - Mrs. Louis A. DeNoya
has been librarian since the res~gnation
of Mrs. Frances Stalcup. Her assistant is
Mrs. Jack A. King.
TAHLEQUAH - V. E. Porterfield (M. A.,
University of Texas) has joined the staff
of the Northeastern State College Li­brary,
Roscoe Rouse, Acting Librarian
has reported. Porterfield is the Assis­tant
Librarian.
TONKOWA - Mrs. Margaret Zinn is the
new librarian of the Tonkawa Public Li..'
brary which serves both the community
and the high school.
TULSA - Tulsa University reports. the
following staff additions and changes:
Mr. Willard Watson (O.U. '36) was ap­POinted
first assistant in the Cataloging
Department, January 15, 1950. He pre­VioUsly
worked in the Library of Con­gress
as cataloger and in the Catalog-
11
ing Department of the University of Ari­zona
Library.
Mrs. Zuline Trammell (0 . U. '42) joined
the staff of the University Library in
September, 1949. Before coming to Tulsa
Mrs. Trammell was reference librarian
of the Carnegie Public Library, Ardmore.
Prior to this service she was reference
librarian in the Chico State College Li­brary,
Chico, California.
Mrs. Marjorie Gilham (Columbia Univ.
'40) was appointed librarian of the Down­town
Division Library, December I , 1949.
Mrs. Gilham, who is treasurer of the
Kansas City chapter of the Special Lib­raries
Association, was employed as Re­search
Librarian of the Phillips Petro­leum
Company before joining the staff
of the University of Tulsa Library. She
has also held library positions in the Uni­versity
of Washington Library, the Cin­cinnati
Public Library and the Findlay
Public Library.
Mr. James Murry, formerly an assis­tant
in the Circulation Department, has
just enrolled in the Department of Li­brary
Science of Our Lady of the Lake
College, San Antonio, Texas.
Miss Gretchen Britton, a former stu­dent
assistant, is attending the Univer­sity
of Denver College of Librarianship
this year.
Miss Patricia Jeeter (0. U. '46), period­icals
librarian, was married to William
Robert Neely, Oct. 15, 1949.
TULSA - Mrs. Geraldine Fleetwood - B.
A. (Library Science) o. U., 1935 is head
of the Central Circulation Department of
the Tulsa Public Library.
Mrs. Allie Beth Martin - M. S. (Li­brary
Science) Columbia, 1948 · is head
of the Children's Department, succeeding
Miss Anna M. Anderson, who retired
September 1, 1949.
Mr. A. L. Layton, head of the Technical
Department of the Tulsa Public Library
leaves soon to become Librarian, United
Gas Company, Shreveport, La.
Mrs. Helen Norvell has completed two
years of Veteran's Administration on­the-
job training and is at present an
assistant in the Children's Department.
WEATHERFORD - Mrs. Charlotte Rat­cliffe
has been assistant librarian of
Southwestern State College since July,
1949.
WOODWARD - Miss Maedine Jones is
assistant librarian succeeding Myrl Whit­ley
at the Woodward Public Library.
Librarians to 'See
O.U.' Treasure Room
Madame Schumann-Heink, Will James,
. Admiral Byrd, Carl Sandburg, Mary Ro­berts
Rinehart, William Allen White are
some of the names you will see written
in the books which form a part of the
Treasure Collection at the University of
Oklahoma.
Autographed books form a part of a
priceless collection of rare books which
are kept in this Treasure Room, which .
will be open to the Oklahoma Library As­sociation
at the Convention in May, 1950.
This reporter, though he is not an au­thority
on fine books, was impressed by
the collection which Mr. J . L. Rader will
show to Oklahoma librarians.
On display will be a copy of the famous
"Byron Forgery" the date of which was
supposed to have been 1810, but whose
water-mark bears the date 1818. There
will also be a -copy of the first edition
of Sheridans "The Rivals", and a copy
of the first Dublin edition of "The Duen­na,"
both of which are extremely rare.
Fine bindings will also be displayed. A
copy of a book which has a leather-inlay
of the head of Thomas Hardy on the front
is one of the rare and unusual examples
of binding which will be seen. There will
allo be some manuscripts op vellum, calf
12
bindings of all types, and a facsimile of
the Gutenberg Bible.
Of particular interest to many librarians
will be the Bizzell Bible Collection. This
collection of Bibles, the work of former
University of Oklahoma President William
Bennett Bizzell, is probably the finest pri­vate
Bible collection in the world, and
is now housed in the Treasure Room of
the University Library which now bears
his name. This Treasure Collection is the
only one of its kind in the area and r e­presents
years of work and/ thousands of
dollars. Mr. Rader, an authority on rare
books and incunabula, has spent many
years building up a fine collection of lit­erary
rarities Which is unique in this
area.
A tour of the Treasure Room has been
scheduled as' a part of the convention pro­gram,
and all those attending the con­ference
are urged to take advantage of
seeing this priceless collection of rare
books and manuscripts.
BOOKS
NEW AND USED
* Rental Library
Out-of-Print Book Service
IVlagazine Subscriptions
Greeting Cards Gifts
Stationery
Toys and Games
Pens and Pencils
Gift Wrapping
*
STEVENSO N'S
OPEN EVENINGS anl SUNDAYS
119 West Main 2-4296
Oklahoma City J
-----~- . - -~- -----
Literature on · the Ceiling
(Continued from Page 4)
Libraries borrowed a projector for demon­stration
and were off on their own pro­gram.
Tulsa was next on the list, then
Shawnee, and Ada. Shawnee, incidentally,
was the first city to meet its quota of
machines, and that quickly. It is the
only city to offer this service to the whole
county, thereby lightening the load for
the State Library. Other cities have fol­lowed
with established programs-Bistow,
Cushing, Ardmore, Enid, and Ponca City.
Woodward has a projector in the hospital.
Service is being rendered to individuals
in a number of places throughout the state
-some in communities capable of handl­Ing
their own services-if the communities
back the libraries in their efforts. Many
communities have borrowed demonstra­tion
machines and are laying plans for
starting their own programs.
OKLAHOMA HAS FIRST
STATEWIDE PLAN
Oklahoma was the first to conceive a
state-wide plan, and other states are fol­lowing
our lead. Arkansas is deep in a
similar program and letters from other
states, even those where local programs
are established, have come to this office
requesting information.
Projected Books is only one of many
services you, as a librarian; can render
to your community. Your buildings were
not designed for storehouses of books­nor
were you intended to act simply as
a middleman in the checking process of
books for your patrons.
Yours is the privilege to serve your peo­ple-
at all times, under all conditions in
Whatever situations. You are not bound
by any creed or doctrine, but can pull all
groups together. You are not routed
through educational channels, but can co­ordinate
all efforts toward knowledge.
Yours is not the cordiality of salemanship
but the true hospitality of friendliness, be­caUse
you are not selling but giving-of
13
your time, your knowledge, your service,
yourself.
The vehicle you may use may be adult
education, a record collection, the books
on your shelves, book cart service to hos­pitals,
or simply the gracious use of your
telephone! Yours should be the magnetic
force in your community, pulling together
-quietly-the scattered forces that make
up your town's spirit.
If, as a librarian, yo.u . are living up to
the standard of service which your pro­fessional
pride and personal interests dic­tate,
can you, without slighting other ser­vices,
take on even so worthy a cause as
Projected Books? You can indeed! The
very fact of your doing so will enable
those services to grow.
Strangely enough, the more service you
give-the more that is expected of you
-the easier serving becomes. It is impera­~
ive to the life of established service in
librarianship to keep adding to it. The
answer for this particular one is this: en­list
your community is your cause-all of
it-your newspapers and radio, your stores
and business offices, your civic clubs and
study groups.
It is too large a project for anyone
organization to handle alone. It is too rich
in experience to be held selfishly by one
group. Let them all help you with money,
with advertising, and with service; they
will be many times repaid. And those in
the community who have use for Projected
Books will have opened for them a new
life though literature on the ceiling.
.EDITOR'S NOTE: For further informa­tion,
write The Oklahoma State Library,
109 State Capitol, Oklahoma City. Or Pro­jected
Books, Inc. 313 North First Street,
Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Recent issues of the Library Journal and
ALA Bulletin have articles on projected
books. Additional material may be found
in the March 11, 1950 issue of Saturday
Evening Post and in Coronet for August
1948 and November, 1949.
long Distance loans
(Continued from Page 5)
vides a service through which any patron
of any library can get materials · which
at first glance would seem difficult to get.
WHICH LIBRARY TO USE?
All of the college libraries of the state
schools, including the state teachers' col­leges,
The University of Oklahoma, and
A&M College are eager and happy to serve
the public libraries in this directi:on.
The library one would be most likely
to request books from would depend on
certain factors. Often the college nearest
to your town would have the materials
your patron needs. If so, that library
would be the one to use, as transportation
costs would be less and it is probable that
the service would be faster.
Or it is possible that you are familiar
with one particular library, from student
days or from other association. This know­ledge
would help you to know if it would
be possible that the library would have
the materials.
Too, the type of material wanted by
your patron would be a factor in deciding
which library to request from. If publica­tions
are agricultural in nature, for in­stance,
Oklahoma A&M would be the log­ical
choice. The University of Oklahoma
has a good collection of works on Okla­homa
history. Many excellent theses on
oil and its production are also written
there, and are in constant demand from
oil company librarians.
The type of materials wanted by pa ­trons
cannot be predicted. The other day
a patron frantically called long-distance
to the University library with a plea to
send her everything available on gour­mets,
that afternoon, the library sent by
Mistletoe Express all the books available
on the subject.
A few weeks ago, a copy of Rostand's
Chantecler was sent out. When the book
was due, two copies were returned, along
with ·a note explaining that the additional
copy was meant to replace the original one,
which had been chewed by a hungry dog
14
who had apparently taken a decided in­terest
in 'the works of Rostand.
But this sort of incident is indeed the
exception in interlibrary loan service.
Normally, it works efficiently and effect­ively
for all concerned. This incident in­dicates
the spirit of cooperation that ex­ists
: the librarian sent the new book along
WHO USES THE SERVICE?
Interlibrary loan service can be invalu­able
to anyone in your town who is en­gaged
in almost any particular kind of
work. In its beginnings, it was set up for
research purposes only, for the conven­ience
of men who were doing serious work
in the arts or sciences. But over a period
of years, the scope of interlibrary loan
has widened and increased to the point
that it may now be popularly used.
Today a doctor in your town doesn't
need to be preparing a paper for an im­portant
medical journal in order to use
interlibrary loan. He can simply be check­ing
material for his own use. He, with
other professional men in the community,
are logical users of the service, which can
provide him with highly technical material
which the smaller library does not have.
Students, high school or college, may
need interlibrary loan to complete research
projects. Clubs doing special work in cer­tain
fields may welcome the opportunity to
use the service in preparing their projects
or programs.
County ag~nts , tea'chers, ministers, and
the librarian herself, may have reason to
use the services of interlibrary loan. It
will facilitate their work, and add to 'the
opportunities of the library for extended
service.
So, through the use of the mails and
express, the small library needing rare,
technical, or other types of material, can
obtain them quickly and with almost no
expense. The larger libraries in the state
are eager to be of service, and are staffed
to provide it. The results of using this
service will be a finer spirit of coopera­tion
between libraries, and better and
more adequate services for the library
patrons.
a
The Public Librarian:
Curator of Local History
(Continued from Page 6)
chure. These will thereby win friends for
the library who might not come in any
other way.
THE DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED
In proposing the creation of a vertical
file of local history materials, or the ex­tension
of a beginning already made in
collection of such material, the author
is not unmindful of the addition of an­other
heavy burden to the public librar­ian's
.load. Perhaps this would call for
a new attitude, a change of philosophy­possibly
a new way of life for the public
librarian.
An antidote for the boredom that some­times
goes with life in a small town is
the development, through consistent ef­fort
and initiative, of an interest in the
beginnings of the community and its his­tory.
A necessary accessory for this pro­posed
get-acquainted campaign is a pair
of low-heel walking shoes. Because the
librarian who is bent on getting acquainted
in the community would find it difficult
to summon up a warm smile while wear­ing
a pair of tight shoes that pinch her
toes!
A partial readjustment of the librarian's
daily schedule would be desirable. A
streamlining of present activities would al­low
time for attendance at special city
fUnctions, service on policy committees
and participation in conferences and ral­lies.
There must be also speech-making
before the civic and community groups­the
women's and professional clubs, the
University women, and the service groups,
as well as associations of tradesmen and
professional . leaders. This recommended
program might very likely win new friends
for the library-and the librarian is al­most
certain to enjoy it!
In the course of these errands, the lib­rarian
may possibly come across early
minute books of the city council, the
kahom
15
correspondence of early mayors, reports
of the city department heads, and other
strictly archival material which pose com­plicated
problems and require space and
equipment beyond the facilities of the
local libraries. These records, together with
duplicates of the strictly non-official
items would be welcome at any institu­tion
of higher learning doing graduate
research in the humanities.
There are nearly eight hundred stu­dents
enrolled in the graduate program
at the University of Oklahoma. It was
to provide these students with the raw
materials from which :to draw the lessons
of the past that the University establish­ed
the Division of Manuscripts. The Arch­ivist
and the Director of the Division of
Manuscripts invites the librarians of Okla­homa
to become his agents in locating
material in these categories and to help
assemble them at the university. The goal
is a vast coordinated collection, represent­ing
every town and city in the state.
This is work worth the attention of li­brarians
of this state. Any task which re­sults
in better research materials for the
students of the state should be of interest
to state librarians.
Other material, of a purely local and
non-official nature should be carefully col­lected,
identified, preserved and filed in
the local public library. Through this med­ium,
the librarians of the state can serve
their people well.
In providing historical material which
could not otherwise be located, the public
librarian will make possible many new
civic affairs, and will help to a great ex­tent
to improve the services of other
community agencies.
Surely every community in this state
is proud of its past-proud of its heritage,
and sure of its future. The public librarian
has within the range of her duty the col­lection
of the historical material of the
community, and the ability to organize
that material and make it available. In
this way, the librarian becomes, in addit­ion
to her other duties, the curator of
local history.
Vacati'on Reading Club
(Continued from Page 7)
reading tables in the childrens department
of the library. With casual supervision of
the staff, they may be kept happy until
the hour for the meeting arrives and a
worker comes to take them to the room
where they are to have their meeting.
ENCOURAGING VOLUNTARY
ATTENDANCE
Enrollment for the vacation reading club
should be properly motivated by the library
staff but entirely voluntary on the part
of the child. When faced with the ques­tion,
"How many books do I have to read?"
the librarian should make it clear that
the number of books is left entirely up to
the reader. He may read ten books and
get a certificate to show for them. If he
reads less than that number, he will still
have something gained from his effort,
which is better than not to have tried at
all. Or if he reads more books and out­strips
his fellows, he will receive an award.
Sometimes a chart is kept in plain sight
so contestants can see where they stand
in tl;1e race. Some table or blackboard
demonstrations may be carried out as a
motivation project. Often·, an easy con­test
may be promoted with the child rac­ing
against his own former record. This
is an excellent builder of self-confidence.
Here again the local newspaper will aid
with publicity. Snapshots or flash pic­tures
of groups working together may be
used as casual inducements and for pub­licity.
The winners and the runners-up
may be photographed. These pictures may
be used immediately, and then used again
in the spring when publicity for the com­ing
summer session is needed.
SELECTION OF MATERIALS AND
AWARDS
Material read in the contests need not
be too closely censored by the librarian.
However, the books must be on the grade
level of the reader. The upper group will
read books of fifth grade level or higher.
The second group may read anything the
members can understand. The pre-school
group should be read to by parents or
16
other older members of the family who
will choose the material, frequently with
the assistance of the librarian. The moth­ers
usually take care of the motivation for
the pre-school group.
The awards should be books or subscrip­tions
to children's magazines. These awards
should be carefully selected by the staff
and should be representative of the best
type of reading material of the age group
involved.
BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM
The benefits of a Vacation Reading Pro­gram
for the pre-school groups are simply
the broadening experience of coming to the
library, and an interest in books at an
early age. For those children who attend
school, the program provides a transition
from the end of school to the starting in
the fall. This is apparent to teachers when
school starts again.
For the community as a whole, the pro­gram
offers entertainment and education
for the children and helps to prepare them
for the responsibilities which com~ with
growing up.
BOOKS
• NEW
• USED
• RARE
Books on all subjects supplied
from stock or by special
order.
•
Particular emphasis Oll South­western
Americana.
•
Locating out-of-print books
our specialty.
•
Liberal discounts to libraries.
MILES BOOK STORE
319 North Robinson
OKLAHOMA CITY . -
I
The Library and the Local Newspaper
Much has been said during the past few
years about publicity. We have learned
that, living in an age such as this, we
must accept publicity as a necessity. There
are many agencies which offer education
and entertainment just as our libraries
do. Radio, television, magazines, and mo­tion
pictures all offer services which are,
to a certain extent, competitors of the
library.
In order to have our services used (as
we are obviously convinced they should
be) we must make those services known
to the people who are in a position to use
them. This work in making our services
known falls under the general heading of
public relations.
There are several means of public rela­tions
other than direct contact with the
library patron. Radio programs, posters,
exhibits, direct mail, and the newspaper
are ~ll public relations media, and are
agencies Which are within the reach of
most of us.
Perhaps of all of these, the newspaper
suits our purposes best. But we must not
be content with book lists and lists of
recent additions to the library. The news­paper
wants news; it employs ~eporters to
gather it. They appreciate any news ma­terial
that the library can give them.
Only one thing needs to be avoided: free
advertising. The material you give the
reporter must not in any way be sugges­tive
of advertising; it must either be of
news of or feature value.
And there you have the solution to your
problem. News is a very common piece
of material in your library. Use your ex­tension
services to the best advantage.
For instance, watch your calendar. Mark
every holiday or special event several
Weeks in advance. During the middle of
May, for example, you should be planning
a Fourth of July exhibit. Use your own
ingenuity in gathering and arranging the
material Which will form the exhibit.
17
Now most of us do this sort of exhibit
and promotional "{ork. But we stop with
the exhibi~ itself, when actually it is here
that the job begins. The exhibit will reach
only those who happen to come in the
library. The logical thing to do is to call
the newspaper and ask them to send over
a reporter. Or, depending on the town
and the policies of the paper, you might
go to the newspaper office and give them
the story there.
But regardless of how it is done, your
exhibits, displays, and promotions should
be given newspaper publicity.
Your childrens programs should receive
attention. Interest not only the children,
but their parents, the teachers, and the
entire community.
The chances are that you should not try
to write the newspaper articles yourself. '
A better procedure is to simply give the
newspaper the facts in ABC order.
All of your publiCity through the news­paper
must be tied in with some impor­tant
event or activity of the library or
the community. It cannot be simply pub­licity
for the . sake of publicity. There
must be something worth While about
it. . .. something in which the people of
your town will be interested. Perhaps a
book review once a week would be the
thing for your newspaper. Or perhaps a
weekly column about library activities.
The cardinal point is this: it is not
. boasting to give a story to the newspaper.
The people of your community contribute
to the support of their library and are
therefore entitled to know about its act­ivities
and progress. The newspaper, the
community's informative agency, should
be glad to have the news.
So get acquainted with your newspaper
and begin to contribute to it. Together,
you and your newspaper can help to build
a better community.
~
~.J 1111 1 1 1IJI I IIJI I II I IIII I IIIII: ! 'lljlllll l ll lll llllll l l1 11 1 111 11 11 11 1 111 1 111 1 111 11 11 11 11 11 111 11 11 11 111 11[ 1 1 111 11 111 1 11 11 111 1 111 1 11 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 111 1 111 1 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 : 11l l lllllllllll l llll l lllllll l llllllilllll l llllll11111111!IIII I~
BETTY AUSTIN. Mrs. Austin, Inter­Loan
Librarian at the University of Okla­homa,
brings to her position several years
of varied and unusual experience out­side
the library profession. She received
a degree in education at the University
and taught in the school systems of Port­land
and Oklahoma City. She was later a
member of the Secretariat o~ the Third
General Assembly of The United Nations
in 1947. She spent the following year in
Japan and The Philippines, where she
became interested in professional ' writing.
She returned to the University of Okla­homa
in 1949 to study writing under Pro­fessor
Walter S. Campbell, and is at pre­sent
enrolled in one of his advanced cours­es
in addition to her work with inter­library
loan.
GASTON LITTON. Dr. Gaston Litton,
Archivist of the University of Oklahoma,
is also Treasurer- of the Oklahoma Lib­rary
Association. He has recently return­ed
to the University after a varied career
in government service. During his associa­tion
with the National Archives, he took
several leaves of absence to undertak~ mis­sions
in Latin America for the ALA and
the State Department.
Dr. Litton has attended the University
of Southern California, the University of
Oklahoma (where he received his library
training) and Georgetown University,
where he received his doctorate. He has
been director of the American Library of
Nicaragua, Librarian of the National
Archives. He is the co-author with Dr.
E. E. Dale of Cherokee Cava:iers, and has
published articles in Library Journal and
in the Chronicles of Oklahoma.
18
ELIZABETH C. COOPER is reference
librarian at the Oklahoma State Lib­rary.
She received her degree in Library
Science from the University of Oklahoma.
She has had wide and varied experience
in library service. Following her gradu­ation,
she was· in the cataloging depar t­ment
of the Oklahoma City library. Then
she was with the Veterans Administra­tion
and the Army Special Services. She
was Acting Librarian of the Oklahoma
state Library during 1944 and 1945. She
has been in her present position as ref­erence
librarian there since 1948.
Miss Cooper is President of Kappa Tau
Delta Alumnae Association and Corres­ponding
Secretary of The Soroptimist Club
of Oklahoma City.
LOUISE TOWNSEND is the Librarian
of the Mangum Public Library. For a
number of years, Mrs. Townsend was a
free-lance writer, contributing feature ma­terial
to the Daily Oklahoman, Daily Ard­morite,
and Farmer-Stockman. Her main
writing interest however, was in the field
of children's literature, which makes her
article on vacation reading clubs even
more interesting and authorative. Sl1e
published stories and articles for chilo
dren and young people for many magaZ'
ines and for six different religious pub'
lishing companies.
Mrs. Townsend has a B.S. and an 1\1.A·
from Sull Ross State College and received
library training at Texas State College
for Women. She' has taught highschOol
. English and has been in libraries in sa
Diego, Ardmore, and Mangum.
Library Commission
Serves People of State
For some thirty years, the Oklahoma Li­brary
Com 'mission has been quietly serv­ing
the people of the state. Of interest .
to librarians especially is the fact that to
1948, the Commission had issued over
500 certificates to librarians.
In addition to certification, the Comis­sion
sponsors library legislation, offers pro­fessional
assistance, helps establish new
libraries, and serves the reading public of
the state.
It maintains traveling Libraries ;to ru­ral
schools, public libraries, clubs, and
special groups. These Travelling Libraries
are collections which range in number
from 35 to 150 books. Also, in addition to
Travelling Libraries, the commission pro­vides
library service to individuals through
out the state who have no local library
service.
In the Braille and Talking Book De­partment,
there are about 650 active bor­rowers
registered. To take care of these
borrowers, some twenty talking books are
added each month. In June, 1948, there
were 2,920 Talking Books, representing
about 1,100 titles in the Talking Book Col­lection.
At ' that time, there were also
about 10,000 volumes in Braille, totalling
about 2,200 Braille titles.
This service to the blind would justify
the existence of the Commission even if
it offered no other services.
The Travelling Libraries circulated over
100,000 volumes in the year 1947-1948. They
loaned 26,000 to individuals, 14,000 to the
blind, to bring to total circulation for
that year up to about 150,000.
Thus, since its beginnings in 1919, the
Oklahoma Library Commission has cir­CUlated
over 30,000,000 books to the people
of Oklahoma. That record indicates that
people in this state do want library ser­Vice,
and it is up to us, as individual lib­rarians,
to increase our efforts to serve
them.
19
for 1 950
To keep in touch with modern
times-to meet the ever increasing lib­rary
reference needs- genuine con­tinuous
revision adds 360 pages to
the 1950 Compton's-complete refolio.
The famous Fact-Index (section in
back of each volume) has been com­pletely
reset and expanded to include
many new entries. No increase in price
-greatest value ever offered. Write
for information to:
Martin J. Phillippe, Mgr.
COMPTON'S PICTURED
ENCYCLOPEDIA
918 West Eufaula Norman, Okla.
SPECIAL
LIBRARY SERVICE
SUPPLYING
Out Of Print
BOOKS and
MAGAZINES
W rite Us Your WANTS? NEEDS?
QUOTATIONS SENT WITHOUT
OBLIGATION
Second-hand Reading Copies-Sets­First
Editions-Fine Bindings
Autographed Copies
JAMES NEILL
NORTHE
1016 North Central
Oklahoma City 4, Oklahoma
OLA Committee Issues
Historical Booklet
An eight page booklet entitled "Special
Historical Collections in Oklahoma Libra­ries"
has been published by a committee
of the Oklahoma Library Association. This
-booklet, a survey of historical materials
in the state was distributed at the recent
conference of the Mississippi Valley His­torical
Association.
Arranged by city, the p!\cmphlet is a
survey and analysis of materials of his­torical
value located in state libraries.
Each library listed gives a summary of
its resources as far as history is concern­ed,
and a brief statement about extension
services including interlibrary loan and
photoduplication services.
This publication is another step toward
more and better service to the people of
the state through the Oklahoma Library
Association. Too, it is a valuable piece of
material for any library or individual in­terested
in doing research into any phase
of Oklahoma history.
Oklahoma Writers
To Be Revised
The Handbook ot Oklahoma Writers is
being revised, Mrs. Mary Hays Marable,
co-author, announced this week.
Written in 1938, the handbook is an
important compilation of material about
Oklahoma writers and is a standard part
of most Oklahoma library collections.
"After twelve years it needs some re­vision,"
Mrs. Marable said, "And we hope
this revision brings to light the more ob­scure
yet important works of Oklahoma
writers."
Many new writers from Oklahoma have
appeared since the book was written, and
those writers included have continued to
do work which is not listed in the first
edition.
The handbook lists authors by the type
of writing in which they achieved prom-inence,
and/ihere is a brief biographical
sketch of each author listed. The appendix
includes a list of authors by towns.
"We are eager to continue this revision
and to add new Oklahoma authors" Mrs.
Marable commented, "and we especially
want to bring the authors mentioned in
the first edition up to date, listing all
their recent works."
Mrs. Marable has asked for the assis­tance
of Ok~ahoma librarians in com­pleting
the research for the revision. All
information which any librarian has a ­bout
Oklahoma authors since 1938 should
be sent to Mrs. Marable at the School
of Library Science, University of Okla­homa,
Norman, Oklahoma.
With only one exception, every City in
the state of Oklahoma with a population
of 5,000 or more has a public library. There
are 87 public lfbraries serving a population
of over one million.

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