FIFTEENTH
A N N U A L R E P O RT
OF THE
LIBRARY BOARD AND LIBRARIAN
OF THE
PUBLIC LIBRARY
OF
C L E V E L A N D , •
F D R T H E Y E A R . E N D I N G AUG-, 31, IBSS,
"'A A / ••
. > "X
S f i i-
A** ' i r' *
CLEVELAND, 0.:
H O M E P U B L I S H I NG
1883.
CO .
FIFTEENTH
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
LIBRARY BOARD AND LIBRARIAN
OF THE
PUBLIC LIBRARY
OF
CLEVELAND, •
F D R T H E Y E . R R ENDING- KUG, 31, 1BB3,
C L E V E L A N D , O.:
HOME PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1883.
MEMBERS OF LIBRARY BOARD.
L E V I F. B A U D E R .
H . C. B R A I N E R D .
L. B R E C K E N R I D GE
M. D. L E G G E T T .
W I L L I A M M E Y E R.
F . M U H L H A U S E R .
H . C. R A N N E Y .
1882-1884.
STANDING COMMITTEES.
BOOK: ss,
Messrs. BAUDER, MEYER AND BRECKENRIDGE.
FINANCE,
Messrs. MUHLHAUSER, RANNEY AND BAUDER.
33 MPLOYES,
Messrs. RANNEY, MEYER AND BRAINERD.
BXJI3L.IDX3Sra-,
Messrs. BRECKENRIDGE, BRAINERD AND MEYER.
GEN. M . D. LEGGETT, President.
L. BRECKENRIDGE, Secretary.
I . L . BEARDSLEY, Librarian.
PLACES OF BUSINESS AND RESIDENCE OF MEMBERS.
NAMES. PLACE OF BUSINESS. RESIDENCE.
L. F. BAUDER 108 Tracy Street.
675 St. Clair Street.
1026 Kennard Street.
620 Prospect Street.
661 Case Avenue.
110 Walton Avenue.
789 Euclid Avenue.
DR. H. C. BRAINERD
L. BRECKENRIDGE
GEN. M. D. LEGGETT ...
DR. WILLIAM MEYER...
F. MUHLHAUSER
H. C. RANNEY
675 St. Clair Street
13 Public Square, Room 1..
City Hall
356 Ontario Street
North'n Oh o Woolen Mills.
Case Building
Report of the Library Board.
To the Honorable Board of Education of the City of Cleveland, Ohio:
The Public Library Board of said city hereby submit the
following statement of the financial affairs relating to said
Library for the year, from September 1st, 1882, to August 31st,
1883, inclusive.
For more special information as to details and statistics, you
are respectfully referred to the report of the Librarian, herewith
submitted.
RECEIPTS.
Balance in Treasury September 1,1882 4^973 35
From December, 1882, collection of taxes 12,278.18
Collected for a mutilated book. 12.00
T o t a l $17,264.03
The June, 1883, collection of taxes was not paid to the City
Treasurer till after August 31, 1883, and will appear in the next
annual report.
EXPENDITURES.
S a l a r i e s $8,069 63
B o o k s 2,954 70
B i n d i n S 833 83
Printing, Reference Department Catalogue, etc 762 55
G a s 534 89
F u e l 478 87
Insurance 300 00
Reading room 507 58
Transportation 87 55
Repairs 660 10
Supplies 140 27
Furniture " " m 67
Miscellaneous 30 00
Total
Balance in Treasury, September 1,1883
.$15*,587 64
$ 1,676 59
6 REPORT OF THE LIBRARY BOARD.
For want of funds since the present Board was organized, the
book purchases have been lighter than they ought to have been,
so as to get back to a safe financial basis ; but now the needs
of the public can be properly supplied with books, papers and
periodicals.
By order of the Library Board.
Respectfully submitted, M. D. LEGGETT,
President.
Report of the Librarian.
OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, )
CLEVELAND, Sept. 1, 1883. j
To the Honorable Library Board of the Public Library:
GENTLEMEN : — I have the honor to present, for your informa-tion,
a report of the business of this institution for the current
year, ending August 31st.
The total number of volumes in the library at the close of the
year, was as follows:
Circulating department 27,634
Reference room 10,549
Duplicates 128
Odd volumes 93
Librarian's office 333
High School 34
Mrs. Hussy's gift 121
Old books (theological) 200
Total 39,092
The number of volumes on hand at the close of the previous
year was 36,563, showing an increase in the circulating depart-ment
of 429 volumes and in the reference department of' 1,962
volumes. Of the unusual large accessions to the Reference de-partment,
1,289 volumes were donations. The total gain during
the year was 2,391 volumes. There were worn out and con-demned
during the year 186 volumes, 103 less than the previous
year; 12 volumes were lost and paid for; 11 delinquent.
. Of the accessions, 138 volumes were travel, 103 biography, 57
fiction, and 7 juvenile. The rest were pretty evenly distributed
among the other classifications. German decreased 12 volumes
8 REPORT OF THE LIBRARY BOARD.
The donations as mentioned were 1,289 volumes and 65
pamphlets. A list of donors, with the number of volumes given
by each, is appended to this report.
There have been bound 201 volumes newly bound and 1,885
re-bound. Repaired in the library, 3.793 volumes.
The following is a statement of the receipts and expenditures:
RECEIPTS
Balance of newspaper account
Fines
Catalogues sold
Books lost and paid for
Damage to books
Subscriptions
Paper sold
l o t a l $388 69
EXPENDITURES.
Stationery and printing $ 17 17
Postage 47 63
Miscellaneous 54 33
B o o k s 40 67
Expenses to Convention in Buffalo and dues 20 50
Expenses to Cincinnati 7 00
Newspaper account 39 02
Custom house 4 05
Freight and express charges 54 17
Balance in Librarian's hands 104 15
T o t a l $388 69
The whole number of names registered and tickets issued
since September, 1877, is 15,859, being an increase for the year
of 1,690.
The circulating department was kept open 281 days ; the
number of books drawn was 127,483, an average of 456 vol-umes
per day, being an average daily increase of 16 volumes
over the previous year. The total business of the library was
as follows:
,$ 41 44
. 319 55
6 70
. 12 35
75
2 25
. 5 65
REPORT OP THE LIBRARIAN. 9
1878. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.
7,130 8,017 8,324 7,586 8,417
9,506 9,520 9,898 10,413 10,325
10,886 10,436 11,064 11,307 11,340
11,261 12,497 12,523 12,071 12,669
11,841 13,347 15,621 11,278 13,787 14,719 12,063 13,030 15,406 14,893 15,757
10,869 13,109 13,904 9,517 10,830 10,986 10,504 8,378 8,916 10,082 9,840 9,943 8,463 9,492 10,050 9,620 6,707 2,078
127,483
21,714
1,871
151,068
the past six years:
1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.
September 4,819 7,130 8,017 8,324 7,586 8,417
October 8,738 9,506 9,520 9,898 10,413 10,325
November 8,989 10,886 10,436 11,064 11,307 11,340
December 10,384 11,261 12,497 12,523 12,071 12,669
J a n u a r y 11,841 13,244 12,887 14,253
February 11,278 14,048 12,784 13,372
M a r c h 12,063 13,030 13,468 15,757
APr i l •'• 10,869 12,011 12,139
M a ^ 9,517 10,830 11,760 10,669
J u n e 8,378 8,916 9,651
J u l 7 8,463 9,492 9,474 8,891
August T o t a l 105,339 108,175 130,443 13^.568 125,722 127,48
The following table exhibits the classifications of books drawn
for the past eight years:
1876. 1877. 1878. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.
F i c t i o n 60.42 55.80 53.75 54.85 56.42 50.14 51.80 50.85
Juvenile 15.40 12.20 12.90 13.69 12.05 14.52 12.50 12.00
History 3.05 3.51 4.25 5.44 6.30 6.21 5.50 3.80
Biography 3.42 3.56 3.00 3.13 3.59 6.62 4.75 3.35
Theology 75 .50 .90 .52 .69 .58 .55 .75
Poetry and Drama 1.05 2.40 2.25 2.65 1.98 2.77 2.25 2.05
T r a v e l s 4.16 4.05 5.25 5.68 4.74 5.87 5.65 5.60
Science, and Art 6.50 9.23 8.50 6.82 6.03 6.42 9.25 12.15
German 5.55 7.75 9.20 7.22 8.20 6.87 7.75 9.45
The change in the character of reading from year to year is
somewhat remarkable. Why the increase in the drawings of
history and biography should have gone on for several years
increasing and tjaep gradually declined, while educational and
1 0 REPORT OF THE LIBRARY BOARD.
polite literature have increased in the same ratio, is a problem
that perhaps cannot be satisfactorily solved. Fiction continues
with little change, and is probably reduced to the lowest possi-ble
percentage, unless the proportion in the number of volumes
is decreased. The expenditures for this class of reading is so
small that the suggestion is offered whether it would not be
desirable to purchase three additional copies of such popular
works as would find constant circulation. Should it be deemed
desirable a list can be prepared for consideration. It is a
source of frequent disappointment to readers that they are
unable to obtain, without long waiting, new and popular books
from the small number purchased. This reference is made only
to a class of literature thai has more than an ephemeral reputa
tion. It should also be remarked that the waste of this class of
books is considerable, and should be considered in keeping the
proportion good.
REFERENCE DEPARTMENT.
This department has grown to important dimensions. It now
contains 10,549 volumes, having been increased during the year
1,962 volumes, of which 1,289 volumes were donations. Of this
number 936 volumes were contributed by the State department
of the goverDment at Washington, and consist of Congressional
documents running back to the Twenty-ninth Congress, all
bound in leather. For want of shelf room they are packed in
boxes.
This library was first made a separate branch eight years ago
at the instigation of the present librarian. Not till the creation
of the Library Committee (now Library Board) did it receive
special attention, but during the last four years its growth has
been steady, and within the past two years it has become an im-portant,
even an indispensable aid to the High Schools, to the
student, and to the numerous literary societies of our city. The
whole number of visitors during the year was 35,044, beipg an
increase over the previous year of 9,119. The number of volumes
REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN. 11
given out for consultation last year was 21,464, of which 1,678
were for Sunday use, the" increase over the previous year being
3,720 volumes.
The great and growing necessity for a catalogue has been
filled, and although but a subject enumeration, under classified
heads, without references or index, its usefulness has been
already well demonstrated. A far more elaborate catalogue is
in course of preparation, already completed to the end of letter
G, and so far occupying eight manuscript volumes, which is
designed to be exhaustive in its character, and embracing all
the books in both departments. It will make a double column
quarto volume, in fine print, of eight or nine hundred pages.
Perhaps the income of the library will hardly permit the print-ing,
but in manuscript it will be of the greatest service for gen-eral
reference.
It had been supposed that the loss by theft from this depart-ment
was serious, but investigation has happily proved the con-trary.
Only twenty-seven volumes are known to be gone, some
of which were undoubtedly stolen, and a part, it is evident, have
been lent out and not returned, and no proper account taken of
the borrowers. A good many volumes in the catalogue, and
reported as missing, were valuable pamphlets, which for safety
and want of binding had not been placed upon the shelves. It
would go to prove that the assistants have exercised fair dili-gence
in looking to their charge. A list was prepared and pre-sented
to the Board early in 1881 of annual publications needed,
which was duly referred to the proper committee, but the pur-chases
have not been made, and are now deficient for two years.
It is very desirable that they be bought before passing out of
print.
The alphabetical arrangement of the books, by classification
and special subject, upon the shelves, leaves nothing to be
desired, and the final addition of duplication of the cases, in the
form of a gallery, will not interfere with the harmony till all the
shelf room of twenty-eight thousand volumes is filled.
1 2 REPORT OF THE LIBRARY BOARD.
LIBRARY SERVICE.
I. L. BEARDSLEY, Librarian September 1st, 1875
Maria T. Hubbell, First Assistant March 1st, 1875
Mary F. Hutchinson, First Assistant Reference
Department January 8th, 1874
Lizzie L. Hall, Assistant Reference Department April 21st, 1879
Carrie E. Bassett, Assistant Reference Department April 1st, 1881
Emma E. Kenny, Assistant February 9th, 1876
Ida M. Rezner, Assistant March 5th, 1878
Caroline P. Kirkwood, Assistant March 19th 1878
Anna Umbstaetter, Assistant October 21st, 1878
Emma M. Johnson, Assistant September 15th, 1881
The Sunday service having been in operation during the year
has demonstrated its usefulness, as the number of visitors to
the reference and news departments, 5,740, and books consulted,
1,871, will attest.
The hours from one o'clock P. M. to eight, seem to be satis-factory.
Appended lists will show the magazines and newspapers taken
last year, and the list of donations to the library.
For the consideration and courtesy extended to the Librarian
by your honorable Board, he begs to return his sincere thanks
I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully,
I. L. BEARDSLEY, Librarian.
APPENDIX A.
List of Papers and Periodicals on file in the Reading Room
DAILIES.
Anzeiger (Cleveland),
Baltimore Am. & Com. Advertiser,
Boston Herald,
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser,
Chicago Inter-Ocean,
Chicago Times,
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
Cleveland Herald,
Cleveland Leader,
Cleveland Plain Dealer,
Cleveland Sunday Sun,
Denver Times,
Detroit Free Press,
Louisville Courier Journal,
National Republican,
New Orleans Picayune,
New York Evening Post,
New York Graphic,
New York Tribune,
New York World,
Ohio State Journal,
Philadelphia Times,
Pioneer Press (St. Paul),
Pittsburgh Commercial,
San Francisco Bulletin,
Santa Fe New Mexican,
St. Louis Globe Democrat,
Toronto Globe,
Wachter am Erie (Cleveland)
WEEKLY PAPERS AND PERIODICALS.
American Architect,
American Journal of Philology,
American Journal of Science & Arts.
American Naturalist,
Army and Navy Journal,
Art Amateur,
Atlanta Weekly Constitution,
Atlantic Monthly,
Auf der Hohe (Leipsig),
Belletris-tisches Journal (N. Y.),
Blackwood's Magazine,
British Quarterly Review,
Burlington Hawkeye,
Century (Scribners),
Chautauquan, (The)
Christian Advocate,
Christian Union,
Churchman (N. Y.),
C on gregationalist,
Critic (N. Y.),
Demorest's Monthly,
Deutsche Rundschau (Berlin),
Die Gegenwart (Berlin),
Eclectic Magazine,
Edinburgh Review,
Educational Monthly (Ohio),
International Standard,
Iowa State Register,
Journal of Education (New Eng.),
Kansas City Weekly Journal,
Lippincott's Magazine,
Littell's Living Age,
London Athenaeum,
London Church Times,
London Electrician,
London Engineer,
London Illustrated News,
London Lancet,
London Literary Churchman,
London Phonetic Journal,
London Punch,
London Quarterly Review,
London Weekly Times,
Magazine of Art,
Mechanical News,
Memphis Avalanche,
Milwaukee Sentinel,
Mining Journal (Marquette),
Musical Herald (Boston),
Nation (New York),
New York Medical Times,
Nineteenth Century,
1 4 REPORT OF THE LIBRARY BOARD.
Electrical World,
Engineering and Mining Journal,
Evangelist, (New York),
Evangelical Messenger,
Florida Times (Jacksonville),
Forest and Stream,
Frank Leslie's Newspaper,
Galveston Weekly News,
Godey's Lady's Book,
Gospel in All Lands,
Harper's Bazar,
Harper's Monthly,
Harper's Weekly,
Harper's Young People,
Independent, (The)
North American Review,
Official Gazette (U. S. Pat. Office )
Popular Science Monthly,
Princeton Review,
Puck,
Richmond Weekly Whig,
Sanitary Engineer,
Scientific American,
Scientific American Supplement,
Spirit of the Times,
St. Nicholas,
Westerman's Mo. (Braunschweig)
Westminster Review,
Youth's Companion.
PUBLICATIONS DONATED.
Catholic Universe, Cleveland
Christ an Register, Boston, Mass.
Die Deutsche Zeitung, Wheeling, West Ya.
Ernest Worker, Cleveland
Hahnemann Monthly,
Irish World, New York
Musical World (Brainard's), Cleveland
Ohio Farmer, Cleveland
Sanford Journal, Florida
Sunday Voice, Cleveland
Trade Review, Cleveland
Unitarian Review Boston. Mass
APPENDIX B.—DONATIONS.
VOLS. PAMrHS,
Bauder (L. F.) 69
Board of Education, Dayton *
Boston Atheneum
Breckenridge (L.) 1 ^
Brooklyn Library ^ » $
Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C o
Burchard (H. C.) Washington, D . C 1 °
Cobden Club, London j
Donnell (E. J.) New York 1
Eckman (W. H.) 1
Everett (R. D.) Boston (Mass.) 1
Fitzgerald (D.) Washington, D. C 1
Garfield (Mrs. L.) Cleveland 2
Gaylord (W. H.) Cleveland 7
Hewitt (Hon. A. S.) New York 1
Mercantile Library Association, New York 1
Mercantile Library Association, Philadelphia 1
Mercantile Library Association, San Francisco 1
New Orleans Historical Society 1
Parsons (Hon. R. C.) 1
Public Library, Boston (Mass 5
" " Bridgeport, (Ct.) 1
" " Chicago 1
" " Cincinnati 2 12
" " Lancaster (Mass.) 1
" « Lynn (Mass.) 1
" " Milwaukee (Wis.) 2
" " Newton (Mass.) 1
" " St. Louis (Mo.) 5
" " San Francisco (Cal.) * 1
" " Swansea (Mass.) 1
" " Taunton (Mass.) 1
Toledo, (O.) \ 1
" " Worcester (Mass.).' 1
Sims (Wm.) Topeka (Kansas) 1
Sheridan {Lieut.-Gen. Philip) 1
Slade (Wm) 42
Smithsonian Institute .( 6 2
Townsend (Amos) 26
United States (Interior Department) 5 1
" " (Department of State) 936,
" " (War Department) 27 3
Williams (W. W.) Cleveland 1
Williamson (Samuel) 160
Yale College (New Haven). 1
Total 1289 65
