News Letter: Los Angeles County Public Library June 1955

              After my three weeks in the Branches Division I was promoted to the 5th floor to the Reference Division. I say "promoted" because the Reference Division is over the Branches Division, which is on the 4th floor. The Chief of Reference is my Hostess and all of the staff are verv serious, and all the time they are working with requests and consultations. Here I met and started more friend­ships with people like Mrs. Learned, Miss Castelfranco, Miss Hor i, Mrs. Shecka~d, Mrs. Hayes, and the boys Tharp, Farrell and Padno. On the 5th floor I spent two weeks, and then I received a dispromotion because I was assigned t o the 2nd floor to the Order Division for one week. Here I obtained information and t rain­ing in the purchase of books, repairing them, and many other good things. I found here good friends also, Mrs. Helen Perry, Dan Davis, Aurilda Jackson, Mrs. Ford, Mrs. O'Neill, Mrs. Wadleigh, Sue, Dot, and many more. Mrs. Sycour, the Chief of the Order Division0 instructed me the first day and her assist ant, Mr. Hewitson taught me more.
On the second floor is also the Catalog Division; the Chief here is Mrs. MacQuarrie. On that floor is also the Shipping Room; there I made good friends with Don Hughes, Dan, Norman. and the drivers Casey, Henry, Paul and Carl Miller, and of course Benny.
One week I spent in the Administration Office, and there all of the ladies gave me important teaching about the different Idnds of work9
Mr. Henderson and Mr . Geller aided me with my plans and projects for the new building for the National Library of Guatemala.
Also a nice department is the art section with Madalene and JI.Ulan. Madalene makes beautiful attractive and educational displays for the windows of the branches.
During another unforgettable week I learned about t he work with children, under the teaching of Miss Hansen and Mrs. Amstell, Sally, Alice, and Mrs. Jessie Reinburg who worked in the Benjamin Franklin Library of Mexico City with another librarian of my group, Miss Olivia Barberena. I was a guest May 4 in the Statler Hotel at the Authors' Breakfast where I met authors of books for children. A reason for my admiration of Americans is their constant preoccupation for young people and children. _
What can I say of my last three weeks? All of the staff was very nice to my young wife who arrived May 21, and each one demonstrated to her friendship and esteem.
If I forgot some of the good pals or folks whom I know here please excuse because my wife and I keep in our hearts an eternal love for everyone who gave us many demonstrations of the American's love and friendship.
TRAINEES Two of the other foreign librarians who came to this country at the VISIT time of Dr. Godoy's arrival visited us this month. They were Mrs.
Stella Peppa-Xeflouda, Lib~arian of the Ministry of National Educa­tion, Athens, Greece, and Mrs. Graciela Bellucci, Li brarian of the National Bank of Developement, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
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They, like Dr. Godoy, completed their internships June 11, and are now visiting Amerioan libraries.
Mrs. Peppa.~Xefloudar the guest of ilichigan State Library at Lansing~ said she
hopes t o establish free public circulating libraries in her country and set up
a training school there for librarians. She said there is no such institution
in Greece at present.
~~iss Bellucci, assigned t o the Seattle Public Library,, plans t o attend the AI.A Conference in Philadelphia and afterward t our Mexico in company with her friends, Dr. Godoy and his wife Martha 0 before returning t o her offi ci al post. Her· library is a technical one dealing with the economic, industrial, agricultural and monetary features of her country.
Doth visitors expressed particular interest in our branch system and bookmobiles.
ANNEX For the first time since September 1937 when Library headquarters were established at our present location, we overflowed our familiar four walls -four floors and basement.
The Branches Card Catalog section of the Catalog Divi.sion moved to new quarters across the st reet, Pan American BuildingQ 253 South Broadway. It had formerly occupied a corner in the t hird floor r oom where the IBM machines were constantly and noisely grinding out nur book catalogs.
The eight staff members who work in that section now have two rooms and peace and quiet in which to operate. Their vacated corner will be taken over by a multilith machine and a tabulator.
GRADUATES Fourteen of our Branches personnel who have successfully completed
the training course i n Aims and Techniques in Reference Service, given by Miss Christeson, have received their certificates from the County Civil Service Commission. They are: Elsie Biggerstaff, Harriet Glaze., , Elvera M. Hansen, Leonora James 1 Doris K. Johnson, ~~ary fL Stapp.: Eddena Woody, Rose E. Brown, Lillian B. Freer, Lorraine Hertzberg. Nancy E" Marden, uth Overton Helen L. Swi nney and Virginia L. i1ertz.
STATE Delegates including Mrs. Catheri ne 0. MacQuarrie, Frances Christeson, LIB A Y Dorothy Hansen, Mrs. Elton F, Terry, r-::llie Frost, rtlt's. Frances M NORKSHOP Greene and Mrs. Elna L Burt, attended the June 1... 4 ;Jorkshop in
Sacramento, conducted by the California 'tate Library.
Discussions were devoted to possible budget stretching through simplification
o work procedures that might tend to free the liorarian 1s time for more creative work than manifold keeping of statistics and files. Topics stressed were registrationf circulation, book charging to branches, and card reproduction.
Mrs. Mac ~uarrie gave a brief resume of the work involved, the aim and achieve­ments of our Children's Book Catalog, and our forthcoming Adult Book Catalog.
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A twenty-year pin was awarded to Mrs. Helen L. Smith, Librarian, Lawndale Branch, June 8, by Mr. Hendersonv acting on behalf of the Board of Supervisors. Throughout the twenty years Mrs. Smith has been the Lawndale librarian.
STAFF Richard Rankin, Librarian I, Catalog, has been appointed librarian at NEWS our branch at Mira Loma, subsidiary of the Sheriff's Wayside Honor
Farm. He succeeds Joseph H. Schwartz, Librarian I, who resigned to continue library studies at USC. ----The former Martha A. Mickey, Typist-Clerk, Catalog, is now the wife of Johnny J. McCool City Civil Service employee. Their marriage occurred June 19. ----Helen Prescott, Typist-Clerk, Office, has resigned to take a position with a commercial engraving company. We will miss Helen and the quips that fell from her tongue, as rapid and sharp as the countless pages from her rnultilith machine. ----Mrs. Barbara Beckner, Hospital Librarian II, County General Hospital Branch, is leaving our organization to establish a home in Florida with her doctor husband who will do his internship in a hospital there.
STAFFERS Miss Hansen, Children's Division Chief, and Mrs. Frances M. Greene, IN PRINT Branches, in charge of the Young Adult Section, have informative articles in the current issue of Top Of The News, official publica­tion of the Division of Libraries for Children and Young People, ALA.
Miss Hansen collaborated with Helen E. Kramer, Children's Librarian, Stockton Free Public Library, and Eleanor Kidder, Young People's Specialist, Seattle Public Library. Their article summarized replies made by state library agencies to a questionnaire sent out by the Division Board to determine features most needed in a planned extension of service.
Mrs. G~eene's article was titled County Library Work With Young People In California. She dealt with the four California counties -Fresno, Kern, San Bernardino and Los Angeles -which have "librarians appointed to take care of the needs of young patrons."
VIEW PARK Enlarged and improved facilities at our View Park Branch were ENLARGED officially presented to the public June 20. The main room was
enlarged by an additional 705 square feet, making a total now of 2,305 square feet of floor space. New lighting fixtures and floor covering were installed and an additional 1,500 books were added to the adult collection, as were two tables and eight chairs . Librarian Mrs. Minerva Freudenburger was also given a new charging desk over which to do business with her patrons, a new book truck, and a new typewriter stand.
LIBRARY G. Calvin Tooker, Norwalk Branch Librarian, discussed the use of a TALKS library and presented several bo~k reviews at ~ meeting of the Norwalk Chapter, Beta Sigma Phi, June 23.
Mrs. Terry, Branches, talked on "Hammock Reading" June 3, to members of the South Pasadena Chapter, P.E. O.
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JUNE June's session of the Branches Meetings wound up the series qntil MEETING October. It was full of surprises~
Mrs. Marjorie Sheckard, Reference. disclosed that county reader interest the past year has been most ~vid in the twin subjects of getting born and growing up. Off-hand one might have thought it would be uranium or skin diving. The Division, which supervises purchase of books in the 500 and 600 classifications, has received more requests for. and purchased more books dealing with, expectant motherhood, birth and child care and guidance than ever before in its history. Among the books specifically mentioned were~ a new edition of Being Born by Frances Bruce Strain; The Allergic Child by Harry Felix Swartz; How To Be A Better Parent by Barney Katz; and Mother And Baby Care In Pictures by Louise Zabriskie. ·
Miss Jasmine Britton, former librarian. was guest speaker. Recently returned from a several months t our of Europe_ and Asia, making calls on libraries1 she surprised us by not mentioning them. Instead~ she gave a fascinating account of her unusual experiences which included interviewing an eight-year old Danish girl who aims to become first "Prime Ministress0 of her country; attending a world gathering of gypsies at Aries, France; seeing Pandit Nehru at a religious shrine in his country; and spending Christmas eve in Bethlehem.
Mrs. Beryl Martin, Catalog, reported briefly, but in almost astronomical terms, on progress of the Adult Book Catalog. It is taking a carload and a-half of paper to make it. It has necessitated key punching more than 1~750p000 cards. The Author volume will contain more than 165,000 entries.
FROM THE CHILDREN'S DIVISION
GOING The film world has a term which seems to exactly fit our summer reading GREAT program this year. The word is "sleeper." The movie industry applies GUNS it t o a good picture, expected to do only average, which confounds its
producers by becoming an over-night box office hit.
We thought the reading program was good and hoped the branch librarians and their juvenile patrons would too, but we were not prepared for its overwhelming reception. We have had so many calls for additional supplies we are practically burning up the rnultilith machine in order to comply. If we are a little late bear with us.
"KIDS:" .Jesse Reinburg, Children• s Librarian~ Inglewood Branch, sent an
emergency request for 100 more reading records with the plea~ ''Please: We got kids:" Her note was inspired by a 9-year old boy with whom she had just been discussing the project. He had said. "Ma'am, I 'd like to join but I'm pretty busy. We got kids at home•.v
-8 ­VOTE FOR Response of branch librarians to the Regional Meetings conducted byREGIONAL Mrs. Terry has been gratifyingly enthusiastic. Return of an opinionMEETINGS questionnaire discloses the majority considered the programs "Excellent''
and especially appreciated their informality, which gave all an oppor­tunity t o "talk out" their problems. The most frequently expressed criticism was the "time li~itation" necessarily imposed. All voted to continue the series next year.
Mrs. Terry will appoint a committee of branch librarians t o meet with her shortly and work out a detailed program for the coming season.
SHARE T~ough the lATL st~rike has interfered with the routine of getting to THE work it has caused no absence or tardiness on the part of staff members. RIDE Concern of each for all resulted in a sufficient number of car pools to
solve all transportation problems.
OLD YEAR orrr Midnight has struck on an old fiscal year and a new one has
NEW ONE IN arrived, young but vigorous and full of promise.
The brightest prospect on the new horizon is books, books, and more books.
The book budget for the forthcoming twelve months has been increased by $25;00().
The new year also sees the birth of a new branch, to be know as Santa Fe Springs
Branch, at 11409 Telegraph Road, one of our f ormer bookmobile stops. A f ive-year
lease has been taken on the building which will be ready for occupancy in
Septef!!ber.
But as we welcome one new branch we are saying "Goodbye'' to three old ones
Altadcna 0 Lincoln Avenue, and Ben Lomand. Children do grow up and leave the
old home. The Altadena Branch and the L~ncoln Avenue Branch are now part of
the Altadena Library District. Ben Lomand Branch has been withdrawn effective
June 30; it was located in territory recently annexed by the City of Covina
which has its own library.
IN RE. Lippincott's George Stevens has written recently of his products:
THOSE
BOOKS! "Ladies and gentlemen, these things are books. They keep quiet.
They do not suddenly dissolve into wavy lines or snowstorm effects. They do not pause to deliver a message from their sponsors. And every single one of them is three-dimensional --they have length,breadth, and thickness for convenience in handling, and t hey live indefinitely in the fourth dimension of time."
. .. Cri bbed from SLO DOWN~ San Lu'ls Obispo Count! Free Library N~wsletl!!:,. Dec. 1953
!H::D~~
County Librarian
JOH: AW
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