the Dictionaries of Universal Knowledge, and of the McAnally Collection, largely composed of religious works, donated by the late Dr. D. R. McAnally, to be kept intact in this room. A portrait in oil of Dr. McAnally hangs on the west wall of this room. Here are to be found the students and brain workers who know how to dig in these mines for their treasures, and a growing appreciation of this department (which is a sign of healthy intellectual life) has already caused it to be frequently too crowded for the comfort of the information seekers. chaotic, with its seeming confusion of books, new and old, in all stages of preparation. But out of this chaos comes an accurate record of each of the 125,000 volumes owned by the Library, from the time the book comes from the publisher or book agent, until it is stamped condemned, and, old, worn and tattered, goes to give its last bit of pleasure or instruction to the inmates of one of the charitable institutions of the city. In the entry ledger the following facts are noted regarding each book: Date of entry, accession number, author, title, volume, A glance at the plan of the MAGAZINE will show that successive numbers do not supersede their predecessors. The April issue may be as useful to you next January as now; and by preserving your copies you will in time obtain a catalogue of a large portion of the collection. For example, by saving this and the next number you will have at hand a complete catalogue of the books in the Library on the Useful Arts and Trades. From time to time other departments will be treated in the same manner. Save your numbers. AMONG the recent additions to the Library is "Famous composers and their works," edited by Payne. It is a handsome book, profusely illustrated. A few of the illustrations are reproduced in this number. DURING the past year the Library has bought many books on music, not only descriptions and lives of musicians, but text books on the different divisions of music, and treatises on themes such as fugues, counter-point, etc. Later on a list of such books will be published in this magazine. MEMBERS OF THE.... ***** ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY who have not yet subscribed to the Members are allowed a special rate of 50 cents a year, which is one-half the regular subscription price. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. T HE FREE LIBRARY owes much to retiring Mayor Walbridge for the care and judgment he has used in making appointments to the Board of Directors. From the outset he has made it a point to have all the principal races and religions that make up the community represented on the Board by men, or women, of ability and character, who have given their time and talents to the work without a thought of self-interest. In the first Board of Directors of the Free Library were three members who had served on the Board of Managers of the Public School Library from two to eight years and who therefore brought to the larger field of the Free Library a valuable stock of knowledge and experience. Under these favorable conditions the immediate success of the Library is easily accounted for; and all that is needed to assure the continued growth and prosperity of this People's University is the exercise of the same wise and patriotic spirit by succeeding Mayors. A group of the members of the present Board is given in this issue. MR THOMAS DIMMOCK is a retired journalist. His newspaper career covered about thirty-five years, of which fifteen were spent on the Missouri Republican. Mr. Dimmock was appointed a member of the Board of Directors in June, 1895, for a term of three years. MR. BENJ. EISEMAN is a member of the well-known dry goods firm of Rice, Stix & Co. He is serving his first term on the Public Library Board, but was some years ago, a member of the Board of Directors of the Mercantile Library. MR. CHAS. W. KNAPP is a life-long resident of St. Louis. He is editor and manager of the St. Louis Republic and was recently re-elected President of the National Press Association. He was appointed a member of the Board, June, 1895. MR. ARTHUR LEE is senior member of the law firm of A. & J. F. Lee and is an old resident of St. Louis. Mr. Lee drew the bill under which the vote for a library building will be taken at the pending election, and has freely, and gratuitously, given his legal, as well as personal, service to the affairs of the Board. COL. T. A. MEYSENBURG is President of the Tudor Iron Co. He was a member of the first Board appointed after the vote for a free library in 1893, and is now serving his second term. He was also a member of the old Board of Managers of the Public School Library from 1889, and has held the office of Vice-President from the organization of the present Board. MR. CHAS. C. ORTHWEIN is a native of St. Louis. He is a member of the firm of Chas. F. Orthwein & Sons, grain exporters and commission merchants. Mr. Orthwein is serving his first term as a member of the Board of Directors. DR. THOMAS O'REILLY came to St. Louis in 1849 and is still engaged in the active practice of medicine. Throughout his busy professional life he has found. time for much valuable public work. He is now serving his second term as member of the Library Board. MR. EDWARD L. PREETORIUS was born and brought up in St. Louis. He is business manager of the Westliche Post. Mr. Preetorius was a member of the first Board appointed under the Free Library act and is now serving his second term of three years. MR. OSCAR L. WHITELAW is senior member of the firm of Whitelaw Bros., dealers in oils, paints and heavy drugs. He has been a member of the governing Board of the Library since 1886, and its President from 1892. He is now serving his second term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Free Library. MR. FREDERICK M. CRUNDEN has lived all his life in St. Louis. He was appointed Librarian of the Public School Library in 1877. Prior to that he was a Professor in Washington University. |