FROM THE BFANCHES DIVISION
It was probably made amply clear to all and sundry at the last Branch Librarians• Meeting on the 9th that there is a GREAT SHORTAGE. The cry was for more and more books, espec'ially the popular titles of which we can never buy enough copies. Magazines, too, are woefully lacld.ng according to all reports and we hope that the many pleas which arose from the audience will be heard in Heaven or wherever they will do the most good. We, at Central, are painfully aware of the necessity for t earing a popular title away from one branch in order to briefly pacify some other community. It r eminds us of that piece of folklore about father being hurt worse t han son by the mere sight of a belt strap. Actually we feel mo~e like the nightmare S_olomon might have experienced, had his judgement been carried out, of desperately being forced to cut the precious child in half. It appears that the word blench has two meanings and we fear that nowadays we can plead guilty to both, (1) flinching and ( 2) feeling baffled every time a new title is announced. In fact we blench constantly.
There are, however, a f ew titles we have bought which are not being reordered for reasons other than mercenary. They are books which have either gone out of print or are of such a nature that we feel a bit restrictive in sending them out. Mrs. Hopkins has made some notes on them which appear below. Please explain as best you can to your patrons.
TITLES WITH LONG STANDING REQUESTS
Gorham, c.c. Future Mr. Dolan
Purchased only two short time loan copies as it is unsuitable for open shelves. This one really plumbs the depths of human depravity but it is frightening in its evident sincerity and plausibility.
Halleran, E.E. outlaw guns
Have six copies onlyo Ordered in quantity but remainder of order cancelled. Tried to reorder but v:ere notified that it was out of print.
Himes, C.B. Lonely crusade
One short time l oan only because of subject and treatment. Powerful but ugly and subject controversial.
Lees, Hannah Dark device
Library has 20 copies of this title. Unless mysteries are outstanding, it is the present policy not to reorder due to increased cost of books and budget limitations.
Prokosch, Frederic Storm and echo
A loathsome and revolting world is created in this story of Africa. Brilliant writing and the reputation of the author seemed to justify the purchase of short time loan copies,
-4~'here can we go for a vacation?
How can I make over an old coat into something nice for my children to wear?
These are not questions recently sont in to Reference, but a very small sample of the material covered by various docmnonts . From the f ederal departments and their counterparts in stat e, county, and city, and from trade and professional, charitabl e and political organizations, flows a never-ending stream of publication. The aver age person, and even the average librarian, may think of government documents as d<ill col!lpilations of statistics, printed (or multigraphed or mimeographed) in paper-covered pamphl ets, with no illustrations, and completely lacking in inter est. Unquestionably, such documents exist, But tho tendency is definito y toward attractive, werl-il ustratod, well-presented mat erial. True, the cover may bo paper, but where else will you find such a variety of information, bo.ckGd by government authority, the rosult of the latest research, made available to all at minimum cost?
Government-published periodical s range from tho daily Congressional Record with its thousands of pages yuarly, through tho St ate Department Biillotin, tho Child, Foreign Commerce 1-:ecld y, the ~.:onthl.z Labor Review, to specialized and t echnical publications like tho Journal of Research of tho National Bureau of Standards, or the Journal of Agricu~turalResearch.
Series of bulletins or circulars represent somo of the most useful and best
knovm documents. The Fanner s Bulletins, bulletins of tho Office of Education,
the Bureau of Labor Statisti cs, t he California Division of :rinos, the Technical I.Ianuals of tho War Department (now DopLJ.rtment of the Army) are a few typical
s eries.
We must not forget, of course, publication of smaller agencies, such as annual
and special r eports of county and city dopartmonts (Air Pollution Control,
Board of Health, Superintendent of Schools), with their manuals of procedure,
and rules and regulations by which our lives aro governed.
Vital, if somewhat loss interesting reading, are the lmrn of Congress and tho state Legislature~, the or dinances of co ty supervisors and city councils. Various compilations and codas have made these familiar to almost everyone
(Fish and Garno Code, Vehicle Code, etc.)
For librarians, some of tho most useful arc reforonce works like the Census volumes and t he Stati stical Abstract, thu Offi~-al Postal Guide, the Congressional
Director:r.
Branch librarians, even if theyhave fow or none of those tools, should know what a source of inf ormation government can be f or t hem and for their patrons. Investigation of tho par:lphlet fil es at many branches will reveal numerous
documents ready to supply the information neoded under such headings as:
CALIFORNIA -LA 7S, STATUTES, ETC.; .ALASKA; FLOVJERS -CALIFORNIA; NATURALIZATI
ON -U.S.; PATENTS; UNI TED NATIONS; VOC!,TIONAL -GUIDANCE -SCIENCE; and many
others.
The telephone directory will l oad to local government offi ces which can often
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