New Life for a Carnegie Library

On December 1, 2018, Cleveland residents will reclaim a beloved neighborhood institution when Cleveland Public Library’s South Branch officially reopens and resumes library services after years of restoration efforts. 

Thanksgiving Day Lament

For all of us who have forsaken shopping on Thanksgiving because we feel that everyone deserves the day off, we present this snippet from our archives - Main Library News Notes, dated September 1918 to September 1920.  Each department wrote regular updates, usually every week, of various goings-on in their division.  We come upon this entry for Thanksgiving, 1919.  Although the poem is unsigned, we believe it was written by our beloved William Fitch Smyth - creator of those wonderful envelopes!

Lament of the Thanksgiving day Staff

O day of turkey and of pie,/ You certainly have passed us by!/ Here, faithful, at our desks we toil,/ Nor taste the nuts and salad oil./  In homes the rich plum puddings smoke,/ We think of them—our voices choke./  Tears spring unbidden as we cry:/ “Thanksgiving, you have passed us by!”/

Yet, faithful at our posts we stand,/ and information freely hand/ To all who ask. We give advice? To such as seek it. Never twice/ They have to ask. But when with thanks/ They turn from us, we clutch our hanks,*/ Wipe off our flowing tears, and sigh:/ “Thanksgiving, you have passed us by!”/

According to annual report statistics for 1919, the Main Library was open for 365 days!  Hours open for reading each week at the Main Library - 83.5!!

War Service Libraries

On Veterans Day we remember and are thankful for those in uniform who served our country. Cleveland Public Library's motto of "Books, Information, Service" was particularly fitting as the Library was very much engaged in the war effort over the years, providing books to our service members and even sending library staff to serve overseas.

During WWI, the United States government asked the American Library Association to set up libraries for troops in 32 military camps. The Cleveland Public Library held fundraising drives for these war service libraries.

Besides his duties as director of CPL, William Howard Brett served on the Finance Committee of the ALA War Service. He also served as the dispatch agent at Newport News, Virginia, overseeing the shipment of books to troops overseas.

This bookplate, designed by the New York artist, Mr. C.B. Falls​, was a memorial to William H. Brett after his death in August 1918. At the time of his death, the suggestion was made that instead of flowers, Brett would have preferred contributions to purchase books to be given to soldiers.

Annie Cutter was a CPL staff member assigned to a camp library at St. Aignan-Noyer, 70 miles southwest of Paris during the war. Ms. Cutter wrote "He (Brett) would be gratified by the number of Cleveland books which come in all the boxes shipped to us. They far outstrip those from any other city." (The Open Shelf, April 1919)

Every professionally trained person in the library was in turn loaned to serve as Librarian at Camp Sherman, near Chillicothe. Service there lasted from five weeks to several months. Carl Vitz, Vice-Librarian, and Gordon Thayer, head of the White Collection, both served at Camp Sherman.​ Some librarians were sent further away, and even overseas. Marilla Freeman, a Librarian at Cleveland Public Library and pictured at the far right in the above photo, served as hospital librarian at the Red Cross Convalescent House at Camp Dix, New Jersey. Another CPL librarian, Louise Prouty,​ served in France and Germany.

This bookplate dates from WWII. In February, 1946, the Library received a $400 check from the Council for American Soviet Friendship to buy Russian books in the memory of Mr. Robert Fritzmeier. the Secretary of the Council. Fritzmeier was an Army Sergeant and died February 9th, 1945 in the Battle of the Bulge. He was survived by a wife and son. He attended Oberlin College in the 1930's and later was the Cleveland manager of the National Youth Administration, and organization that trained young men and women workers for the war industries.

Our appreciation to Danilo Milich, Center for Local and Global History, for research on Robert Fritzmeier which allowed us to fill in the story behind this bookplate.

Summer Reading Club!

As Summer Reading Club is winding down here at Cleveland Public Library, we thought we would take a look back at the early days of summer reading!

Mrs. Lane presents a certificate for Mr. Smalls Club at the Woodland Branch, 1947.

The development of a summer reading club was begun under Caroline Burnite, the Library’s first Director of Work with Children. Children’s librarians needed a way to attract children to the library during the long summer vacation from school. The Library was generally less busy in the summer months than in the winter and this allowed the librarians to discuss books with children individually.

Mr. Smalls certificate, 1947

Summer reading honor rolls began as early as 1914 at the Perkins Branch (a branch for children only) where children would read through a sequence of books and have their name posted. This was very popular with the kids!

Cowboy Small, 1949

By 1939, the practice of having a summer reading club “theme” became standardized. A committee of children’s librarians would choose the theme to be used in all branches for the summer. This is pretty much how it is still done today. 

Elizabeth Briggs, Director of Work with Children at the Cleveland Public Library from 1937 until 1953, explained the 1943 theme of Plant a Flag of Friendship:

Ramona Part II - The Sequel!

To follow up our last post on the Ramona movie, we want to share some dandies from our collection!  First, we have a copy of the actual book by Helen Hunt Jackson. It is copyrighted 1927, so it is actually the fourth edition of this title.

The title page lists some of her other titles (”Bits of Travel”, “Glimpses of Califormia”, and the ever classic title “Nelly’s Silver Mine”.

The book is filled with decorate drawings for all of the chapters by Henry Sandham. Also included are numerous photo plates taken by A. C. Vroman, a photographer noted for his work in the American Southwest. 

There are four versions of the movie. The 1910 version was directed by D. W. Griffith and starred Mary Pickford in the title role. The 1916 version is considered to be lost, with only one reel preserved at the Library of Congress. The 1928 version was considered a beautiful production but was panned by critics for eliminating the whole motivating factor of the story - Ramona running away with her lover. 1936 saw the first production of Ramona in color. This version starring Loretta Young and Don Ameche drew mixed reviews: 

The reviews included above come from the W. Ward Marsh Collection in the Literature Department of the Cleveland Public Library. Thanks to our colleagues in LIT for finding the book featured as well as the reviews! The W. Ward Marsh Collection includes reviews such as these, interviews, Coming Attraction Lantern Slides, and other movie memorabilia.

Follow-up to our previous post on Ramona - we mentioned that our staff was gearing up for the movie release, however we could find no mention of this movie ever opening in Cleveland! 

The Book is Always Better Than the Movie

We tend to think of book and movie hype as a modern phenomenon, however records from the Cleveland Public Library’s Round Table discussion from December of 1915, paint a different picture. Librarians were given notice that the popular book “Ramona” was being made into “an unusually fine film” and that they should be prepared to meet the demand for the book once the film was released. The notice reads:

Cleveland Public Library started promoting movies with displays of film stills and bookmarks as early as 1923 - before the library moved into its current location. But obviously, the librarians were thinking about this much earlier than that!

Many early movies were based on popular historical fiction. Ramona was no exception. There were at least 4 versions made of this book between 1910 and 1936. The display above is from the 1928 version, as is the bookmark below. The initials in the top right corner of the bookmark are LAE - Linda Anne Eastman, library director from 1918 to 1938.

Many library employees were great fans of film, and even though moving pictures were considered by some as low culture, Cleveland Public Library embraced the art form and found a way to entice people to read more!

The Cutting Edge of Library Technology!

Throughout history, libraries have always been on the cutting edge and the first to make widespread use of the newest technology.  The Cleveland Public Library was no exception, as you can see below. 

Shown here is Kathleen Dowd, Catalog Department, Main Library, 1937. Miss Dowd is operating one of the Library’s typewriters specially fitted to accommodate two catalog cards simultaneously, enabling rapid and accurate duplication of the usually complex material which forms the card’s contents.

A motor-driven eraser speeds the work in the Catalog Department! Photo taken May 1937. Seriously? Is erasing that hard that you need a motor-driven eraser? I will never again complain about today’s youth...

Shown here is the Library’s multigraph, used for quantity production of catalog cards. May, 1937. The multigraph was an early copy machine that had the distinction of reproducing letters that looked like they were typewritten.

A Library employee using the Telautograph machine, ca. 1925.  The telautograph was an early precursor to the fax machine, reproducing hand written information by transmitting electrical impulses from one station to another. 

The Library’s Telautograph machine was used to send information between the Public Catalog room (pictured above, ca. 1925) to the Sociology Division and the Technology Division.

One of Cleveland Public Library’s earliest online catalog terminals. The Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) was made available for use by selected Main Library subject departments on an experimental basis in the Summer of 1980. By the end of the year, the OPAC service had been extended to all public departments in the Main Library and Business and Science Building. The Library’s catalog of 1.2 million individual titles was fully online by December 1st, 1982.   

Dr. Ervin Gaines, Director and Ms. Marion Huttner, Deputy Director, using the Library’s new Online Public Access Catalog, early 1980′s. To the dismay of many staff and patrons, Dr. Gaines closed the Main Library Public Catalog room on February 1st, 1984.  It held 5 million cards at the time and was long regarded as the nerve center of the collections.

Why yes, Effie, we DID get a new catalog!

Since the Cleveland Public Library has just transitioned to a new online public access catalog, we thought this would be a great time to show you our card catalog throughout the years.  The photo above is from our Public Catalog room, taken sometime in the mid 1930′s.

This photo from the mid 1920′s shows several patrons finding books with the use of the card catalog. We’ve said it before, but our patrons sure were fashionable! Look at that awesome coat with the fur cuffs and collar! And of course, a dashing gentleman with his hat!  Also note the random vase on top of the card catalog. (?)

Cleveland Public Library had numerous school libraries. This photo is from the Hazeldell Elementary School Library, taken in 1953.

The Public Catalog room was located just inside the front entrance to the Main Library. The photo above, taken in 1955 helps to give a sense of the scale of the room.

Miss Helen Seyfried, a pricipal clerk from the Catalog Department, practicing for the rolling library desk races. Seriously tho, I want to know where you get a rolling desk like that! I’ve never seen that in the Demco catalog!

An overhead shot of the Public Catalog room, 1969. According to a printed Guide to the Main Library from 1925: 

Multi-tasking in the Catalog Department, 1969. There are three - count them! - telephones on the Service Desk! Note the cat-eye glasses on the lady on the left, and the caped coat on the lady searching the catalog drawers on the middle right. 

Another overhead shot of the Catalog Department, this time of the Workroom area.  Taken in 1973.  How many unshelved card drawers can you count in this photo? Send us your answer and we’ll give you a prize! :)

Another shot of the Service Desk/Workroom area, also from 1973.  The Service Desk is now a bit larger than before, but still has three phones! And (in the left foreground) there’s another of those rolling desks!

So 70′s! This shows a library employee seated behind one of the Public Catalog service desks helping a patron.  Probably letting them know that the Catalog will be closed for two weeks. You know, since there aren’t enough signs right there. The catalog was converted from a dictionary to a divided arrangement. According to the Society of American Archivists,  “Divided catalogs catalogs often have separate sections for authors, titles, and subjects” and “are distinguished from dictionary catalogs, in which all entries are organized in a single alphabetical sequence.”  

The Public Catalog room was officially closed on February 1st, 1984. Watch for more info on catalog technology in a later post!

Andrew Venable (1944-2016), Cleveland Public Library Director

Everyone here at the Cleveland Public Library is sad to learn of the passing of our former Director, Andrew Venable. Mr. Venable worked at the Cleveland Public Library for a total of 24 years, and became the Library’s first African-American Director, serving from 1999 until 2008. We would like to share some of our favorite photos of him.

The first photo is from when Mr. Venable first started at Cleveland Public Library in the early 1970′s. At that time, he was the Business Manager. He held several more positions after that, including Head of Community Services, where he is pictured in the next photo.  

Next is a photo of the reopening of the East 131st Street Branch, with Library Director, Dr. Ervin Gaines, Mr. Venable, Mrs. Gaines and Deputy Director Marian Huttner, January 1979.

Mr. Venable is sworn in as Library Director by Congressman Louis Stokes, June 4, 1999.

Director Venable in front of the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, 1999.

Deputy Director Venable leads the Cleveland Public Library Chorus in a holiday celebration, 1998.

President Clinton announces the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Plan at the Cleveland Public Library on March 13, 2000.

Director Venable at the opening of the Teen Center at the Collinwood Branch, February 2, 2006.

The History of Cleveland Public Library through Book Trucks - Printing Department

When Cleveland Public Library moved into the new building in 1925, there was for the first time, room for more departments, services and offices.  The Annual Report for 1925 refers to “no more popular encouragement to reading and study than printed lists of carefully selected titles.” The lists were compiled by the subject departments and printed on “the Library’s multi-color press.” The Print Room was located on the fifth floor, east side of the Main Library, seen in the original floor plan above.

Also shown are two examples of book lists compiled by library staff.  And since Spring has finally sprung and we are all making our Summer travel plans, maybe some of these titles will provide some inspiration!  Some of our faves:

Westward Hoboes by Dixon                                                                                 Men, Maidens and Mantillas by May                                                                   Three Asses in Bolivia by Portman                                                                     Alone by Douglas                                                                                                 Together also by Douglas                                                                                     The Worst Journey in the World; Antarctic, 1910-1913 by Cherry-Garrard         Diary of a Dude Wrangler by Burt

The original spy manual???

The above images are from the 1904 edition of Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet by Sarat Chandra Das, a civil engineer who worked in Calcutta in the 19th century, but somehow came to run a school for spies to work in Tibet.  This title is in the John G. White Collection at the Cleveland Public Library.

The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, March 20, 2016 printed a short article about how Das came to travel in Tibet, which was at the time closed to the outside world. Das undertook two journeys: 1879 and 1881. A report about his second journey was compiled into a book but not published until 1902.

The maps in this book are quite detailed, as seen in two of the photos above. The photos of native Tibetans are eye-opening, showing many of the customs and ceremonial dress like the little girl pictured in the last photo. 

Happy (almost) St. Patrick’s Day from The Cleveland Public Library!

We’re getting ready for shenanigans here at the Cleveland Public Library, so we thought we’d post some pages from one of the highlights of our Special Collections department.  This is a facsimile copy of The Book of Ballymote.  

The Book of Ballymote is a 501 page manuscript written by scribes in 1391. Ballymote Castle in County Sligo was the home of the McDonagh family, whose scribes wrote this book. It is written in the Ogham alphabet, an ancient form of written Celtic.

This manuscript has a long history of being stolen. It was held at the Library of Trinity College in Dublin from 1620 until 1767.  Mysteriously, the book disappeared from the library and traveled to France.  In 1785, it was returned to the Royal Irish Academy.  The Academy photographed the book and made 200 copies of the book in 1887.  The Special Collections Department of the Cleveland Public Library owns one of these copies.

The middle photo depicts scales or a key to the Ogham alphabet.  The bottom left photo is from the first page of the book and is probably a drawing of Noah’s Ark.

Go raibh maith agat to our colleague Stacie Brisker in Special Collections for all of her research on this great cultural treasure!

Read Across America Day is Tomorrow!

In honor of Read Across America Day (which is tomorrow March 2nd, 2016), we would like to share some photos of places Clevelanders have read in days gone by!  

First is an open air story hour from around 1910.  Next is story hour at the Perkins Branch, ca 1921.  Then we have a row of very engrossed children reading at the Quincy Branch in 1937.  

And finally, an intense group of boys in our Lewis Carroll Room in 1957.  Don’t let their studious-looking demeanor fool you - the titles they are holding include “Pretty Polly Perkins”, “The Wonderful Fashion Doll”, and “Little Boy Doll”.  You alllllmost pulled it off, guys!  But those grins gave you away!!