Letter from Miss Osborn to Mrs. Bauernschmidt, 1924

Сору tatp formal School TOWSON, MARYLAND LIDA LEE TALL PRINCIPAL October 18, 1924. Mrs* William Bauemschmidt , Secretary, Public School Association, 1519 Fidelity Building, Baltimore, Maryland. My dear Mrs» Bauemschmidt: Miss Tall has very kindly allowed me to see your letter, and place the facts concerning the shortage of La Rue’s "Child Mind and the Common Branches" before you. May I first call to your attention the fact that our official knowledge of the accomplishment of the merger came so late that we were unable to get in touch with many of our faculty during the summer? Consequently, detailed planning of courses and books to be assigned came too late for some instructors to send their requirements to me for preliminary book ordering in August. On Beptember 15, it is quite true that we had but twenty copies of la Rue’s "Child’s Mind and the Common Branches" upon our shelves. After September 23, two requests for more books have come through the instructors. The first of these for 30 copies has been filled and the books placed upon the shelves. The second for 50 more copies has been filled, the package having arrived yesterday, and it v opened this morning and checked before ten o’clock. Tow students who are engaged for library work on Saturday mornings, were put to work immediately upon the preparation of these books, and they will be ready for the shelves the firet of the week. W8th our doubled enrolment, and doubled library staff, we find that we are circulating about S00 books daily, besides those checked out for the term of 12 weeks* This is practically four times the work we were doing last year in circulation, and we feel that we are doing very well to handle the administrative work of ordering and preparation as prompt¬ ly as has been done in this case. The total proportion of 100 books to 250 students is a very good proportion considering the great increase in our work, and we feel that if students are still unsatisfied with the service they are gett ng, that it would be wise for them to purchase a personal copy. The State is cer- - tainly faced with an impossible problem, if expected to provide a book of every kind for every student. V qt7 truly yours i