Development of Business Libraries By Adelaide R. Hasse, Institute of Economics, Washington, D. C. can Business libraries may be described as those Leeds (population 471,000), Glasgow (popuwhose stock is confined to material related to, lation 1,057,100), and Dundee (population or in the service of business and whose serv- 171,700). There are two phases of business ice is offered to or preempted by business. library service, namely that which is rendered Just how far afield the general library through the departmentalized and the deought to go in developing its business service tached branch system, or that which is renis still an open question among librarians. dered by the library at large. To the business That the possibilities are very great is ad- man the former has the advantage of supplymitted. When the question first arose there ing a direct point of contact. This, from his was a very decided reluctance in selling this point of view, is a very great advantage. He phase of library service. General librarians feels as free to turn in a hurry call for were fearful that the comeback might over- nceded information as he would if the service whelm them beyond the capacity of their re- were a part of his own establishment. If the sources in man-power or informational ma- service has been properly sold he will know terial. Recently, however, there has been a that every effort will be forthcoming to get very definitely directed initiative, on the part for him the information called for in the of general libraries, to advertise the dollars shortest possible time. and cents use which the business man In the departmentalized and detached sysmake of their stock. tem the material is more often collected with Conspicuous among these efforts is the the specific needs of a definite market in view extra-mural service. The establishment of than is the case in the library-at-large. Morebusiness branches close to the center of busi- over the staff of the department or branch ness was successfully inaugurated in 1904 by will have a more intimate knowledge of the the Public Library of Newark, New Jersey variety of specific information which can be (population 431,790). During that time this extracted from the mass of directories, trade Branch has grown from a small collection of catalogues, maps, industrial literature, etc. On directories in small rented quarters to a col occasion there is expert sleuthing done by lection of 15,000 volumes, about to be housed these staffs in forcing the material to yield in a $225,000 city-owned building. The Pub- obscure data. Fact-finding is a mild term aplic Libraries of Minneapolis (population plied to the work of these experienced 380,582) in 1916 and of Indianapolis (popula- searchers. They are really detectives for tion 314,194) in 1918, followed this example they unearth information from places, where, in maintaining downtown business branches. to the inexperienced eye, none seems to exist. In other cities, Detroit (population 993,678) This is accomplished as often through that and Providence (population 240,670), extra- other sense which, in the reporter is “the nose mural service is made possible through the for news” as through skillful manipulation cooperation of organized business men. In of material. These fact sleuths become as these cases branches of the general library keenly alive to information value as does the are housed in the Chamber of Commerce advertising manager of the “energy value" building, the library supplying the service. of copy. They find information value in an In other cities, Chicago (population 2,833, advertisement, in the descriptive matter in 300), St. Louis (population 788,375), Cleve- trade catalogues, in sales lists, in pictures, land (population 854,565), and many others, tabulations and formulas matrixed in text. the service is still directed from the main Added to this gift for detecting information general library. value they have the training in orderly arThe only general business library service rangement which reduces to a minimum the outside of the United States is that of the friction in the handling of difficult material. libraries of Great Britain and of some of the In the library-at-large business service is Rritish Dominions. Notable work is being both extra-mural and local. The intent is done by the general libraries of Manchester more apt to be handicapped by the neces(population 755,000), Birmingham (popula- sary absence of concentration. Neither is the tion 946,980), Bristol (population 386,200), material as segregated nor is the staff in the same position to concentrate upon its exploitation as is the case in the departmentalized and branch system. The effect is that the local, under-the-roof, service amounts either to corroboration or amplification of material which the business man already has, or to hunting out specific information imbedded in a mass too general or too bulky to be made a part of the department or branch. Thus technical information in the nature of tables, or formulas, experiments or incidents of extreme value to the business man may be extracted from files of periodicals or of the daily press. Service of this sort is not to be minimized, but it is a service which will always require resources beyond the function of a department or branch. Salesmanship, as one of the functions of general business library administration, has been, until a few years ago, generally looked upon as savoring of the incongruous. The service impulse, however, of the wideawake librarian has been so quickened, and is so ever-ready that no legitimate scheme for advertising the value of his stock is now looked upon with anything but interest. Direct appeals are made by way of talks by library administrators to local business groups or by having representatives of these groups address groups of librarians. This is stimulating in that the librarians' outlook of the practical relation of their work is limbered up and the business group has brought home to it the fact that it has been allowing a service for which it pays to go unused. When the business element comes to know that its general business librarian has no rules or conventions which are paramount to service, and that the librarian understands the full meaning of this service, both groups will be on a much better working basis. The Growth of a Business Library In 1904 a small branch library was opened in the business section of Newark, New Jersey, having, in addition to its general collection, a limited number of directories. In 1910 this branch, in somewhat larger quarters, was named the Business Branch and a pamphlet describing its work published in the American Library Economy series. In 1913 the Business Branch was moved to a two-story building and the business work greatly developed though the general collection was still conspicuous. In 1918. all work other than that covered by the name Business Branch was discontinued. Beginning May 1, 1927, the Business Branch of the Newark Public Library will occupy its own building erected for it by the City at a cost of $230,000 for land, building and equipment. The small directory collection has expanded to approximately 1500 items, renewed an nually. Business books, of which there were VI few in 1904, now are published in such num bers that a collection of them must be selective rather than inclusive. Periodicals and pamphlets are many. The business man understands the value of print in his daily work. Where formerly the branch librarian with one or two assistants could handle the work, the staff now includes the branch librarian, New Home of the Newark Business Branch four reference assistants, a cataloguer, a a stenographer and three junior assistants, while is an elevator from the basement to the third the estimated budget totals $35,000. floor. On the first floor of the new building are Newark taxpayers found that business the directory, investment and map collections, branch in the business district meant much with a few books of general reference. On to them in convenience, time saving and profit the second floor, with more room for readers, making. And now, twenty-three years after are books, magazines and pamphlets. The its inception, visitors are welcomed to this third floor has working space, staff rooms and new and city owned home of the Business back files of reference periodicals. Back files Branch of the Public Library in the center of directories are kept in the basement. There of Newark's business life. M. C. M. The Business Library and Business Profits By Mary Watkins Dietrichson, Librarian, Minneapolis Business Branch "Library Unit Saves $28,000 in Time for selected for the headline. It was the only Business Man." These were the headlines part of the article that was copied by the of a recent newspaper story about the services largest daily of one of our Eastern cities as rendered by our Business Branch Library. an argument for the establishment of a simi Considerable publicity material had been given lar library branch in that city. It was news. the reporter assigned to write the article. It Men have always been accustomed to rewas a good story, more complete than we had gard the public library as an institution of dared hope, and our simple computation of education for their club member wives and the actual cash value of the time saved our school children, and of entertainment for business men patrons was a small part of the themselves as well; but the idea of a library article. It was, however, the item that was as a business asset, giving an actual return on the profit side of the ledger is still novel enough to attract attention and be selected for headlines. Twenty-eight thousand dollars was, of course, only an estimate of the value of time saved by our convenience of location. We were placed in a rented building in the heart of the business section, because the Central Library is at a considerable distance. We calculated that our patrons saved on the average a half hour by being able to step into the Business Branch instead of having to make a trip to the Central Library. We have a patronage of over 57,000 a year. They range from errand boys to bank presidents, so that it should be a conservative estimate to credit them with earning one dollar an hour. Hence our total of $28,000. Someone may be interested to know what items should be checked against the Business Branch on the other side of the ledger, since we are talking in terms of dollars and cents. Only the rent item could fairly be charged against us as a separate branch, for if we did the same work as a department at the Central Library we should need the same equipment and staff. The rent in a business district must necessarily be high. In 1926 the Minneapolis Business Branch paid $4200 in rent. The total expenditure for the Branch during the year was $13,988.28, not half our estimated $28,000 saved. Mere saving of time is of course not the only benefit of a convenient location. The Business Branch advertises its services every time the business man walks by our display window to lunch. There is no doubt that a large percentage of the users of the Branch would not otherwise have acquired the library habit at all. Nor does this saving by location begin to represent the time saved by the advantages which a specialized business branch or department has over a general library in serving business men. Specialization of reference work is being advocated for general libraries with reference librarians who are experts in their lines. This is of course possible in a special library. It is possible too to gather more complete material, particularly in pamphlets, clippings, reports and answers to questionnaires, and to index and catalog more closely so as to give quick and efficient service. It would be a satisfaction if the actual value to their business of the information furnished patrons could be as definitely cal culated as the value of their time saved. It is the chief service that we render and we have good reason to believe that the answers which we supply to questions are being used seriously to further business success. A young man from a building and loan association borrowed our reference copy of the Robinsonian building and loan tables over night to try and sell the idea to an investor and remarked next morning, "Well, it did the work." The same morning another borrower came back with an issue of the Engineering and Mining Journal It contained statistics of the production of a certain mineral in Virginia. He reported with some elation that the information helped to close a considerable business deal. The chief engineer of one of our largest lumber companies was not asking out of idle curiosity when he wanted statistics on the amount of wood used in the production of wood pulp in a year, nor was the research man of one of our large flour mills when he wanted figures on the consumpticn of bread in the United States. How much did it mean to the success of the young pharmacist who wanted to set up in business and was able to learn at the library how many drug stores there already were in each town of the state in proportion to population? An enterprising young saleswoman for a building and loan association telephoned us during her conversation with a prospective customer. In order to convince her customer of the comparatively great safety of building and loan shares she wanted authority that our state had once repudiated some of its bonds and when and why? The information was given while she held the phone. A manufacturer had received a cablegram for a rush order. It was from an Australian town in which there was a firm with which they had done previous business, but this time the signature was in code and he was not sure it was the same firm. Our “International Register of Code Users” answered the question immediately. A women's furnishing store asked us for importers of rain coats. Sometimes the patron does put a definite value on the information received. A woman who used our London Directory said, "Some time ago, before I learned of your directory collection, I paid $20.00 in cablegram charges for information similar to that I have just obtained.” A wealthy patron who used our daily Washington service for information on a very recent treasury decision on stock dividends remarked, “Well, that is worth at least $5.00 to me.” The twinkle in his eye led us to believe that this estimate was none too high, There are firms that use us constantly as though we were a department of their own business. A manufacturing firm which is in an outlying section of the city telephones in their cablegrams, we decode and telephone results. Two mailing list firms send in their own typewriters and typists almost every day to use our directories in the upstairs room of the branch. An official of one of the largest and most conservative investment companies has had us get together for him the most recent information available on the economic and financial condition of each foreign country in turn, as it has had an issue of bonds floated in this country. These are but a few typical cases of reference material given which we had every reason to believe made for better business and actual cash returns for patrons served. James Rand, Jr., one of the several bona fide business men who have recently written business books, goes further and in his "Assuring Business Profits” gives the general reading matter, the books and periodicals in a business collection a definite part in making business profits sure. He says, “It is safe to say that every problem you face in your business has been met and solved by someone else.” He gives as an illustration a dye manufacturer who during the war spent a year and a half and $180,000 to work out a formula for the combination of two chemicals to get certain results. A chemist friend when told of his accomplishment gave him the exact reference to a publication in which the answer had already been recorded before he made his experiments. Mr. Rand gives as one of the conditions underlying business success the making of as many stimulating contacts as possible. He says, “Opportunties for profitable and stimulating contacts have been greatly expanded by our business press. Each month the business magazines and business books make available a vast storehouse of business ideas, plans and experiences. They bring to you personalities that might otherwise be inaccessible and the thoughts of many Business reading is highly stimulating and thoroughly justifies its regular place in the manager's schedule.” The problem of how to gain the interest and support of the business men of the community has always confronted librarians and library boards. The special business service in either a branch or department seems to be a considerable part of the solution. It will itself, if given a chance, demonstrate its practical value to this large group of tax paying patrons, men. New Worlds to Conquer By Marian C. Manley, Librarian, Newark, (N. J.) Business Branch women advance more rapidly toward success in business. In considering business service a public library's problem differs according to location. If it is itself situated in the business section of its town, it need add to its equipment only books and journals of special value to busi ness men. Why, among the many cities with flourishing public libraries should there be so few with specially developed business service? Business men form a large proportion of taxpayers; their influence can be made a strong factor in obtaining a city appropriation. The business man may "need to be shown” at first; but once this is done he will help its library to secure necessary funds for a business department. Some librarians may hesitate to emphasize or develop work in the business field because of a feeling that it is too complicated and expensive for limited resources. As a matter of fact, the proportionate cost is slight and the expenditure for this purpose is justified by the use made of business literature. With good business books, magazines and directories for study and use, young men and A typical case is that of a thriving midwestern city of 85,000 population. It is the second city of a prosperous state and is the trade center of a wide area. The contour of the city has condensed the business section to a few blocks of level ground, while the rest spreads over steep hills. The library, while not far in point of distance from the main streets, is inconveniently located on a steep slope and remote from street-cars. The passers-by are few. Although the library has |