best advantage from the centre aisle, down which was to pass the procession of inspectors headed by His Majesty King Frederick Augustus of Saxony, under whose patronage the International Exposition was to be held.

The trials and tribulations of those first two days need not be recounted here. Confusion reigned throughout the grounds. Hundreds of teams were coming and going, shipments were being left at the wrong halls, boxes were being searched for wildly, and a babel of strange and excited voices was heard on all sides. We were fortunate in being able to keep our collective shipment together. There being no artificial light in the hall, we were forced to rent a big acetylene lamp the night before the opening so as to finish our installation in time. Exhibits that were not ready were to be curtained off, as the King had said at the Architectural Exhibition of last year that he did not care to come up to Leipzig simply to see a lot of packing boxes-and we had not come over from America to hide our light behind a curtain on the opening day. By pressing a number of laborers into servIce and getting a volunteer from the local public library, we made quite a brave showing by Wednesday noon. At a quarter to twelve your representative laid aside his three-fold part of carpenter, decorator, and chairman of the hanging committee, and with the aid of a sprinkling can made a hasty toilet and under cover of some of the above-mentioned screens got into a dress suit. Dressing in a Pullman berth is the height of luxury and ease in comparison to preparing for a reception behind a lumber pile in an exhibition hall where a crowd of people are excitedly and momentarily expecting the arrival of their King.

At high noon your representative was standing in the centre aisle, fairly properly attired, and there was a tension in the air indicating the approach of the King. There were subdued whispers of "Er kommt! Der König kommt!" Down the aisle came a squad of police to clear

the way and keep the people back at a respectful distance. Your representative was requested to stand out beyond the line a bit so as to indicate his official position in case his dress failed in this respect. Dr. Volkmann, the president of the Exposition, preceded the King and explained the nature of the various exhibits. When the royal party arrived at the A. L. A. exhibit, Dr. Volkmann presented me to His Majesty and said that I could explain the American exhibit. The King inquired about the Library of Congress and the New York public library, pictures of which were in evidence on the walls, and asked whether we had the same library system in America as they have in Germany. The question was a little vague, but the answer, whatever it was, seemed to satisfy the questioner. No sooner had the procession passed than I became conscious of the fact that in replying I had not once made use of the phrase "His Majesty." One's esprit d'escalier always comes out on an occasion of this sort. I apologized to one of the officials for my democratic manner in talking with the King and was assured that I need not be concerned about it as the King was him. self very democratic in his ideas.

I was invited to the "Salamander" with which the special Student Exposition was officially opened that same afternoon. This was presided over by the King and was a gay and joyous outdoor affair. There were large delegations from student organizations all over Germany and the bright, variegated uniforms, with the lit tle caps and clanking swords, made a sharp contrast to anything ever seen on an American college campus. The drinking of toasts was a most formal matter. The singing was very spirited, even though many lagged behind time in a truly laughable manner. Apparently "Guadeamus igitur" is sung more slowly in some parts of Germany than in others.

At the evening reception a high official of the Exposition came to me and ex pressed the hope that I appreciated the honor of having been presented to the

King. I assured him that I did. He then informed me that in arranging for this it was intended to honor America and I was asked to notify my fellow-countrymen of the fact.

Since the opening we have been busy with the rearrangement of the exhibit occasioned by the arrival of seven cases of Library Bureau furniture and a case of books for the Children's Room, and additional material from the Library of Congress. We are still awaiting a large number of photographs and mounts for use on the walls and screens.

The exhibit from the Library of Congress occupies the western booth and consists of eleven large framed pictures of the building, a collection of the Library's publications since 1897 and a 90-tray catalog cabinet containing both the dictionary and systematic catalogs of the bibliographical collection in the Library of Congress. In the installation of this exhibit, as indeed in the work of the entire opening month, we were fortunate in having the assistance of Mr. Ernest Kletsch of the Library of Congress staff. On the wall is a large statistical chart, showing the growth of libraries in the United States from 1875, 1885, 1896, 1903 to 1913. In the centre of this booth is a model of a typical small branch library building, showing the arrangement of reading rooms and delivery desk to admit of easy supervision. This is mounted on a platform 32 feet high, draped with a large American flag loaned by the American Consulate. The model has attracted a great deal of attention and is especially instructive as there are in nearby spaces models of Assyrian, mediaeval and eighteenth-century libraries, the new building for the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence, and also the reading room of the new Royal 11brary at Berlin, and the close proximity of these models affords the public an opportunity to contrast these different types of libraries.

The Library of Congress exhibit has attracted a great deal of favorable attention. Many visitors were already famil

iar with one aspect or another of it. The Library of Congress is famous here for the modernity of its system and the liberality and excellence of its administration. The large framed views of the building were much admired and the reading room was compared with that of the Königliche Bibliothek, Berlin, which it somewhat resembles. The card catalog of the section devoted to bibliography called forth a number of questions as to the L. C. classification in general, its application to special fields of knowledge, comparison with the Decimal classification, comparison of the printed cards with those of the Königliche Bibliothek, which are distinctly inferior to the L. C. cards. The 90-tray card cabinet containing the L. C. catalogs was frequently contrasted with the German make to the advantage of the American original.

The director of the Leipzig city library detailed an English-speaking assistant to file cards and learn about the L. C. system with a view to introducing the card catalog system into the city library. A philologist to whom was entrusted the reclassification of the literature section in a public library found the printed schedules of classification so satisfactory that he wanted to use the schedule for literature as soon as issued. The secretary of a series of workingmen's libraries became much interested in the card system and hoped to be able to use the L. C. classification in classifying the books on their shelves. The director of an art library wanted to know to what extent the L. C. classification could be used in his own library, and upon looking over the scheme for art he thought it quite full and satisfactory. The representative of a musical journal admired very much the publications of the Music Division and said that he was quite unaware of the splendid opportunities in this line in the L. C. In fact, he had not thought it possible to do such work in the United States. One medical man was interested in the possibility of using the L. C. cards for cataloging a large private library, and

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another physician, an American, said that until he had had the opportunity of studying the L. C. system as shown in Leipzig he had no idea of its excellence, and that upon his return to the United States he would make an early pilgrimage to Washington to learn more of the national library. Librarians of a technical high school in Munich and of a commercial high school in Nagasaki inquired as to how L. C. cards could be applied to their needs and how card catalogs could be started. Another librarian saw specimens of photostatic work done in the L. C. and was interested in comparing them with similar copies done by a German machine.

An Austrian archivist was interested in the possibility of using a card system in cataloging archives and said that he hoped to see the day come when there would be an international code of catalog rules and an international exchange of printed catalog cards. He thought that the Deutsche Bücherei, which since Jan. 1, 1913, has been receiving a copy of every new book printed in Germany, might require of every author whose book was deposited, coöperation to the extent of filling out a blank giving full name, date of birth, title and subject of book—all information helpful in cataloging. German librarian requested a copy of the A. L. A. catalog rules in order to incorporate into his own new rules the points in regard to author entry, size, collation and other features in which the American code is more specific than the German practice.

A

The eastern end of the A. L. A. space is given up to the exhibit of library work with children, in which the visitors have shown a very lively interest. Reading rooms for children are hardly known in Germany, though beginning to be well known in Vienna. About two hundred juvenile books are exhibited on shelves and those with the most attractive illustrations are spread open on exhibition ledges or on the small tables of two heights sent over by the Library Bureau. These tables, with the chairs to match, call forth

the warmest admiration. Many school children look admiringly at the furniture and linger over the books as well as over the photographs of scenes in various children's libraries that cover the walls of the booth. The illustrated books are much admired and fond mothers have wanted to buy some of them to take home to their own children. Surprise has at times been expressed that we neither sell nor take orders for material exhibited here.

Children ask questions about the Indians they see pictured in Deming's Little Indian Folk. Even the one lone Indian on the back of Willson's Romance of Canada called forth a series of questions from one boy as to how many Indians there were in America, whether they were very bad and whether they were to be found in every city. He said that he had seen one in a circus. As a special mark of appreciation this lad promised to return later and show us his English school book. Every juvenile visitor agrees that a special reading room for children must indeed be "sehr schön."

The major part of the centre booths is given up to the work of public libraries, college and university libraries and library architecture, with special exhibits on cataloging and binding. Samples are exhibited to show methods of reinforcing books in publishers' bindings, morocco and pigskin backs, the use of Keratol cloth and Holliston buckram. The Trenton winged cabinets have attracted a great deal of attention, possibly more on account of the mechanism than because of interest in the subjects illustrated. The Germans are always on the lookout for something practical and we have frequently been asked whether we could sell one of these cabinets after the Exposition closed.

We had some experiences which may be helpful in arranging for the San Francisco exhibit.

First, as to labels. There can hardly be too many of them. To paraphrase a wellknown saying about museums, an exhibition is a collection of carefully prepared

labels adequately illustrated by correlated objects. The Germans placard everything. Go into a street car and you see one sign calling attention to the law in regard to unprotected hat-pin points, and another informing the traveling public as to how much damages are to be paid for the breaking of the different-sized panes of glass, lamp chimneys or electric light bulbs. Labels should be in several languages, including the vernacular of the country. Signs in English only may be helpful as exercises on which Germans can try their linguistic skill, but in many cases they fail to convey fully and clearly the desired information. Thanks to our neighbors, we secured German labels for the table exhibits, reading "Please do not disturb," and "Without permission nothing is to be removed, not even circulars." It was found necessary throughout the Exposition to protect exhibits in this way. From the model of the Assyrian library one of the little figures had been removed, and from a publisher's booth a set of an architectural journal had been broken into. Volumes 5, 4 and 3 were taken in succession by some one who believed in beginning at the end, but appreciated the value of completeness. We caught one man in the act of removing a book from the children's section, but were less fortunate in the case of the person who took a fancy to Mrs. Julia Cartwright Ady's Pilgrim's Way from Winchester to Canterbury. The volume, which was the first item in an exhibit showing the history of a book from the first stage of book selection through the processes of ordering, cataloging, and preparing for the shelves, was taken with item 9 of this exhibit, i. e., the book pocket.

One Pittsburgher who looked in on us said that as he came down the long hall lined with booths most attractively furnished with couches and curtains to the plainer part devoted to libraries, thought that he must be coming to the American section-it was so bare in com

he

parison. The German exhibitors certainly gave a lot of time and thought to their displays. Being not only trained to this sort of thing, but also being at home, they could afford to indulge in attractive fittings which could be utilized after the close of the exhibit. A corresponding treatment of the A. L. A. space would have been almost prohibitive. If more furniture had been brought from the United States the expense would have been much greater, and if bought here it would have had to be sacrificed after the close of the exhibit.

The sound of the hammer is still heard on all sides. Some buildings, like that of Russia, have just been roofed in, while another pavilion has just been begun. Others are provisionally open an hour per day. Many doors are still marked "Geschlossen" or "Kein Eingang." Trees and hedges are being planted and lawns made. There are beautiful parterres of luxurious flowers down the main avenue, and the landscape setting is most delightful. By the time the various A. L. A. parties arrive in midsummer the Exposition will be at its height and the unfinished look of the first month will be a thing forgotten. The richness of the exhibits in the different fields of book-making and the graphic arts will be found surprisingly well set forth in many buildings and in exhibits from many lands. We hope that the regret of the American visitor in finding that his own government took no official part in the Exposition and that American publishers have not participated will be in part offset by seeing the exhibit of the American Library Association. I am sure that visitors will find in the exhibit what the Committee has tried to make it a fair presentation of modern American library methods, modern equipment, with a suggestion of our historical background and an indication of the lines along which American libraries are developing.

Respectfully submitted,

THEODORE W. KOCH.

Leipzig, May 14, 1914.

President ANDERSON: A minute on the death of our late lamented member, Dr. Thwaites, has been prepared by a committee appointed by the Executive Board. The committee consisted of Mr. Henry E. Legler, Mr. Victor H. Paltsits and Mr. Charles H. Gould. I will ask the chairman, Mr. Legler, to read the minute. Mr. Legler read the minute as follows:

REUBEN GOLD THWAITES

Many men achieve success by consistent application in one direction; some can do many things indifferently well; few possess that creative power which invests whatever they undertake with signal distinction. Dr. Reuben Gold Thwaites had the rare combination of qualities which enabled him to pursue many and varied interests with marked success. From boyhood to the termination of his full and busy life, whatever came to him to do, he performed with ability and a judgment that compelled success. Each successive experience was but the preparation for something broader to follow. As a young man working his way through college, by teaching school and performing farm labor during intervals, and later as a newspaper correspondent and editor, he sharpened those qualities of natural sagacity and judgment which were to prove so productive in the fields of usefulness and honor which later engaged his thought and labor. Succeeding Dr. Lyman C. Draper as superintendent of the Wisconsin State Historical Society, he brought his natural abilities as an administrator and organizer to the task of making generally useful a vast and important mass of historical materials accumulated by his predecessor and perforce left without orderly arrangement just as the miscellaneous collection had been gathered. Dr. Thwaites not only added with keen scholarly instinct to this great collection so as to give it balance and completeness in its own field, but developed and stimulated the historic interests of his constituency until the society became the leading

organization of its kind in the Middle West, and one of the most active and enterprising in the country. The interest thus awakened found expression in the splendid library building which eventually housed the great collections, besides offering hospitality to the library of the great university of the state.

Not only were the riches of the historical society rendered freely available to scholars and writers, but Dr. Thwaites gave to many of the documents of major importance the impress of his editorial capacity. The published volumes which bear his name as editor or author are unsurpassed for sound scholarship and forceful interpretation.

As a librarian, too, Dr. Thwaites achieved distinction. His election a8 president of the American Library Association in 1899 was well-merited recognition of leadership in the profession. Numerous contributions to the library press on vital subjects bear testimony to his interest and his versatility. His intimate friend and associate, Prof. F. J. Turner, of Harvard University, thus summarized his achievements at a memorial meeting of the historical society:

"His activities touched every aspect of the social and scholarly life of his time. He was an active member of the free library commission; he was secretary of the Wisconsin history commission that has already published nine valuable volumes on the Civil War. He lectured on history in the university. He wrote the standard history of Wisconsin, of Madison, of the university, of his lodge, and of the Madison Literary Club. He was influential in the work of the city hospital, the university club, the Unitarian church. He was a pillar of strength in the American Library Association, the American Historical Association and the Bibliographical Society of America. With all his special duties, he produced a volume of scholarship that would have filled an active life that had no other duties. His books of travel in England and on the Ohio are charming speci