SATURDAY, NOVFMBER 29, 1924
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
__
Late Co-Worker Pays Tribute
To Raymond C. Davis, Many
Years Librarian Of University
BYRON A. FINNEY
" a Ii.
(This article appeared in the Oc- history. If literature contributes to
tobpr issue of the Public Librarian. it-as it does, largely, of course-he
It W*as written by Byron A. Finney, should know what literature gives.
reference librarian emeritus of the "(1) Historical bibliography. This
University of Michigan, an ardent ad- comprises a description of the writ-
ml r and life-long tfrietid 'of Mr. ing materials of the different ages;
Imvis ) of ms.; of the pres6rvation of ancient
ong the names of the librarians
of 'hat we call the "olden time,"
h of Raymond Cazallis Davis, for
28 4ears librarian of the University
Qf hIichigan, who introduced instruc-
tio in bibliography into the college
cq iculum, has a peculiar interest.
lir. Davis was born, June 23, 1836,
An farm in Cushing, Maine, located
on "n inlet of the Atlantic ocean just
oi i de Penobscot Bay. To help out
tbj neager returns from the farm
1i father, who was a sea captain,
accustomed to make mercantile
vo kges during part of the year.
(oung Davis grew up to know the
;and at the age of 13, then almost
p-an, being unusually tall for his
a, took a voyage on his father's
a4 ing ship, which eventually carried
th around the globe, covering a
pei od of two years. This trip, tak-
0K 1k 1849-51, he has described in a
W6ik, published in 1869, entitled Re-
tiih'iscences of a Voyage Around the
World. This includes experiences
limilar 'to those of Dana's Two Years
ore the Mast, and is full of actual
i4 rest,.
S 5n his retdrn, he prepared for col-
10 and in' 1865 entered the Uni-
v'rity of Michigan. 'erioup ill
lialth prevented the completion of
thte course, and in 1857 he withdrew
fii " school. In 1868, Mr. Davis re-
tt rned to the University of Michigan
as assistant librarian, which position
he held for four years. He returned
Oki n to the sea, but in 1877 was ap-
pintted librarian of the university,
Which became his life work.
It was during Mr. Davis' work as
afsietant librarian, in the 60's, that
the card catalog was put into general
e'eit, the idea of which had been
0r light from Europe by his predeces-
#dr in the librarianship, Rev. Andrew
'fk 'rbck, on his return from the
U. S consulateship at Munich', 1862.
:started the card catalog for
Al ica in the University of Michi-
g during the tine at which it was
bengi-separately evolved in Harvard
cdlege library.
, ith the increase of students' in
4uiversity and the increased num-
l* of books in the library, which had,
t timne he took charge of it, 25,-
d Volumes, came new problems and
r Xestions'as to how to make the
#,# *Wruseful to the students who
o4 ie so little prepared to use it.' In
f ,ll of 1879, Mr. Davis started a
rt' coufse of lectures to members
the freshman class on the use of
kW and the .library and, in 1881,
lit a regular course of lectures on
iography, the precursor of the
s of instruction in bibliography
1 rary science now given in so
I ty colleges, and normal schools.
th pf these courses were elective.
y were described in a paper by
iavis at. the Milwaukee confer-
e Vf the A. L. A. in 1886, as fol-
had not performed the duties of
Sbrian long before it became evi-
o me that many of my readers
Wre'working at a disadvantage. Their
wiedge of books of comion ref-
oe was very limited; they did
.'tknow of the existence of special
1ibliographies and indexes to serial
loations; that they could help
t selves by an intelligent exercise
S-,heir reasoning power never oc-
ciU'red to them.
"As one effort to remedy these evils
I decided to give a few lectures on
the library in general and on library'
aids in particular, at the opening of
eith college year. This I did first in
9$, and have continued to do since.
t ;ndeavor to show the student what
his obligations are as a user of the
library and also what his rights are.
f 49so describe the card catalog, show-
ing how it is constructed and how it
should be handled, with a mention
of the printed catalogs of other li-
bartes in our possession and how
they may be helpful. I give a list of
the 'books of reference, with' explana-
titns of their scope and value.
"'In the year 1881, I submitted to the
faculty of the university an outline
r a ystematic course of instruction
ini bibliography, which they were de-
sired to consider, and, if it met with
t4ir approval, to so recommend to
tl e Board of Regents for incorpora-
t bn in the curriculum. The schemel
was approved by the faculty, recom-
ml nded by them as desired, and at
tie next meeting of the Board of Re-
gnts, the course was established. It
isl an elective lecture course of ne
f ur per week, extending through the
second semester. Those who take it
acid pass a satisfactory examination
literature; of the revival of learning
in the fourteenth century, and that
almost simultaneous event, the begin-
ning of modern literature; of the in-
vention of printing and the improve-
ments in the art; of the early print-
ers and their works; of libraries, and
of the copyright.
"(2) Material bibliography. This
has reference to the denominations
and sizes of books, and their mechan-
ical execution; to bibliographical'
nomenclature, to editions, to catalogs,
to buying and caring for books, etc.
"(3) Intellectual bibliography.
! This has to do with the classification
of literature and the contents of
books." Mr. Davis continued to give
this course until several years after
his retirement from the active duties
of librarianship, in 1905. He was
called upon to give a short course of
lectures on this and similar subjects
at the Library School of Columbia
University in its first season, 187,
and continued to give the course there
for several yearslorbuntil the removal
of the school to Albany.
When Mr. Davis asked for retire-
ment, President Angell, in his annual
report for 1904, referred to it in this
way :
"Librarian Raymond C. Davis, at his
own request, has been permitted to
lay down his office, while in appre-
ciation of his long and faithful ser-
vices, we have asked him to remain
as librarian emeritus, with the under-
standing that he will continue to give
instruction in bibliography. Mr. Davis
has been connected with the library
as assistant librarian four years and
as librarian 27 years. He has seen
the library grow from 25,000 volumes
to its present size (182,680v.). His
fidelity and devotion to duty could
not be surpassed, while his winsome
personality and his willingness to as-
sist every reader have endeared him
to all who have ever had occasion to
visit the library."
lie was held for another year, until
his successor could be determined
upon, and then was given his well-
earned rest.
One of the particular characteris-
tics-ofaMr. 'Davs,1lttle known but to-
his intimate acquaintances, was his
rare humor. This was little expressed
in his library work, but was a side
issue of his inmost nature.
The story of his attendance at A.
L. A. meetings contains many inter-
esting situations.
"The city authorities gave the
members of the association a sail on
the harbor, landing us for lunch and
other entertainment at one of the pub-
lic institutions, the Reform School on
Island. The occasion was an exceed-
ingly pleasant one. To the greater
number, however, the visit to Har-
vard university, on the ivitation of
President Eliot, yielded more enjoy-
ment, as it had educational as well as
social features. Mr. Winsor made it
his care that this part of the program
should be interesting.
On our arrival at the university, we
were taken to Sanders theatre in
Memorial hall, where President Eliot
welcomed us in a very happy address.
Then the venerable librarian emeri-
tus, John Langdon Sibley, who was al-
most blind, was led forward by Mr.
Winsor and introduced. He was most
warmly greeted. His speech, which
occupied about 20 minutes, was to
some of us, and perhaps to all, most
interesting, and in- its closing words,;
very pathetic, for the old man's voice;
became uncertain with emotion and 1
his eyes filled with tears. He had
given the library, as he said, the
greater part of a long life. He it was
who laid the foundation of the great
collection that Harvard possesses at
the present time. His remarks in
full may be found in the proceedings
of the association for that year, 1879.
After seeing the museum and other
places of interest, we were taken to
the great dining room in Memorial
hall for refreshments. This was the
only occasion on which I ever saw
Mr. Longfellow, who, with other dis-
tinguished guests, was present. Mr.
Winsor surprised his brother librar-
ians by reading an original poem at
this time. It was in honor of Mr.
Longfellow and was very happily re-
ceived. He also surprised-some of us
by a very pretty display of gallantry.
I cannot reproduce his felicities of
language but will relate the matter
as I recall it. If a title had been given
to this little speech, it would have
been something like this:
"The influence of a lady-uncon-
scious influence-on a man's for-
tunes."
This is the substance of Mr. Win-
sor's speech:
"When it became necessary to ap-
point a successor to Mr. Sibley, Pres-
ident Eliot offered the place to Mr.
Winsor. He was inclined to accept it,
but when the matter came to the
knowledge of the trustees of the Bos-
ton public library, a strong pressure
was brought upon him to remain in
Boston, and President Eliot's offer was
not accepted. Afterwards, when it
was evident that his Boston friends
had promised more than they could
perform, Mr. Winsor decidedthat he
would go to Harvard if the place was
still open to bim.
"It was afternoon when he-took a
street car for Cambridge. While
crossing the Charleston river bridge
he saw, on a car coming into the city,
the man he sought-President Eliot.
The two stopped their cars and got
off. Mr. Winsor made known his er-
rand. The offer of the Harvard li-
brarianship was renewed and ac-
cepted. And here it was that a lady
had exerted an influences on his for-
tunes. He learned from President
Eliot that he had left the presidential
mansion that morning to offer the
vacant position of librarian to Mr.
Cutter of the Boston athenaeum. On
his way' to take a car, he had en-
countered a lady whose company he
had found so pleasing that instead of
boarding a car, he had accompanied
her home and dined with her and
'even lingered 'a bit after-that. 'But
for the subtle of this lady,' concluded
Mr. Winsor, 'the office of Harvard li-
brarian had been filled in the morn-
ing but not by me.'
He then asked the company to enter
into his feelings and honor with their
applause the lady, then present, and
now the "mistress of the presidential
mansion. All arose with acclamations.
It was at this meeting that I first
saw Dr. Poole. At this time, the New-
berry bequest was in litigation and
someone asked Dr. Poole, as most
likely to know, how matters in the
case were. While Dr. Poole was an-
swering the question, he was inter-
rupted several times by someone in
the audience who objected to the im-
plied value of such gifts. At last,
Dr. Poole, impatient at the interrup-
tions, stopped his speech and deliv-
ered a verbal castigation to the man,
under which he seemed to wither in
his spirit and he left the room. Dr.
Poole finished his remarks in peace.
Here, also, I met for the first time
Melvil Dewey, a young man of tre-
mendous initiative and one whose
name must appear frequently when
the history of the library renaissance
of the nineteenth century is written.
Mr. Dewey was the secretary of the
association and' to his official duties
added many of those of a host and a
bureau of information. He introduced
members who were unknown to each
other and answered with courtesy and
fullness the numerous questions that
were addressed to him, giving un-
jwearied personal attention to all in1 Deweys expense. The matter was
trouble on any acceunt. carried farthest by Mr. Schwartz of
The second meeting of the associa- the New York Apprentices' library in
tion at which I was present was that his paper entitled "King Aquila's li-
at Milwaukee in 1886. As Milwaukee brary."
would be reached by the greater num- A sort of by-product of the matter
ber by way of Chicago, President was a paper on library construction,
Poole, who was at that time at the sent over from England by Mr. Mag-
head of the Chicago public library, nusson, the Icelandic scholar. The
had arranged for a day in 'the windy subject did not excite general interest,
city.' I took the night train and ar- but a few, especially Dr. Poole, were
rivel early in the morning. At the very much interested. The plan, a
hotel which was named as a rendez- spiral, wa a novel one to most of us,
vous for the librarians were a num- but Dr. Poole ruthlessly upset both
her of men striding about the office the claim of originality which was
with weary, disgusting expressions on made and the claim that there was
their faces. I recognized among them now inaugurated a new era of order,
Mr. Whitney of the Boston public Ii- system and sound economy in the con-
brary and from him learned that the struction of libraries throughout the
night had been intensely hot and ac- world.' This spiral construction is il-
commodations on the train hardly sat- lustrated by an outline sketch in the
isfactory. There was a temper abroad proceedings of the meeting of the as-
that did not augur well for the day. sociation for 1 8.
There was a program for this half by I do not know of a single instance
the way but so great was the heat of a library constructed on this plan.
that little attention was paid to it. The great problems to be solved in
I, for one, did not follow it and the such construction would, of course,
few things that remain in my mem- be that of lighting and, in our climate,
ory are not associated with library that of taking care of the snowfall on
matters. the roof.
We were received at the rooms of The city authorities extended the
the Board of Education. Then fol- usual courtesies. The mayor took us
lowed an address by the mayor, Car- to ride about the city, where we were
ter Harrison. At the close of the shown the things of most interest.
mayor's remarks, President Fellowes Among these was the Empire brewery,
of the old University of Chicago was over which we were shown from cel-
introduced as the representative of lar to attic. We saw the army of
higher education in the city. Referr- men and women employed. At the
ing to that university, he said: end of the inspection, we were taken
"As I have been introduced as pres- to a room which might have been the
ident of the University of Chicago, sample room, where we were seated.
you will expect me to have something Then came a squad of young women
to say about that university. It is de- carrying on trays huge glasses, ice-
funct-no longer exists. I cannot cold, of the product of the establish-
lead you through its halls-there are ment. The brewery physician, a fat
none. I cannot bring before you its 1 German, had us in charge at this time.
ingenuout student-there are none. We were all perspiring-he more than
I cannot exhibit to you its equipment any other. Forgetting his manners,
-there is none. A---halls, students, he halted the first Hebe and drank
equipment-have melted into thin -no, poured down his throat, with no
air and left not a (rck behind. But pause between glasses except to put
stop-am I quite right? It occurs to an empty vessel down and take up
me now that there is the tube of the a full one-the eight beakers that she
telescope in my attie.- The lenses are bore. Then he gazed with good-na-
gone but the tube. -is- there, I am tured, moist eyes around the com-
sure. If you desire to see it, I shall pany. His example was followed but
be delighted to show it to you." no such score was made by anyone
I have described D. Poole as rather as that made by him. One member
merciless in a controversy. That he of the association was led to remark
had a very tender heart was evident that at the Lake George meeting the
when he read his address as presi- librarians were vulgarly called 'liber-
dent. While referring to the recent 'ans.' Here he thought we might be
death of Lloyd P. Smith, librarian of called 'zweiberians.'
the Philadelphia Library Company, a It was here announced by the mayor
'friend of many years, his feelings that on the return trip to the hotel,
overcame him to such an extent that we would be treated to an exhibition
he could not go on, and the reading of the efficiency of the fire department
of the address was completed by Mr. of the city. I happened to be in a
Whitney. carri'age in which the mayor was and
The subject was discussed in the when he got out at one of the stations
papers read and after the papers was to give the alarm, we who were with
classification. Dr. Poole had said in him got out also. He gave a general
his address: alarm and in an incredibly short time
"To say that we need more dis- the whole fire department came tear-
cussion of the subject of classifica- ing up to the spot. It was an in-
tion Would be superflous. We need, spiring experience.
however, that the discussion should be Mr. Davis had an exalted ideal of
divested of some of the asperities-and the work of the librarian and put
personalities into which earnest men into it all the strength of his vigor-
and honest men are liable to fall. We ous constitution and the scholarly at-
need, also, that the discussion should tainments of his character. In 1881,
be cleared as far as possible of tech- the university recognized this by con-
nicalities and abstruseness so that an ferring on him the honorary degree
incipient librarian who has not the of master of arts.
wisdom of Solomon and the ingen- In 1906, at a meeting of the Ann
uity of a magician may understand it." Arbor library club, Mr. Davis gave
These admonitions did not seem to a paper on The Function of the. Li-
me to be taken much to heart. Many brarian, in which he said:
were the witticisms uttered at Mr. "In the farther exercise of his reas-
Historic Collection Expected
Shed Light on British
History
ONCE OWNED BY BACON
Chicago, Nov. 28-New light on
social, economic and industrial con-
ditions in England, during a period of
over five centuries, is expected to be
obtained when careful study is made
of nearly 2,000 documents, once the
property of the famous Bacon family.
This collection, which has been in
England, has been purchased for the
University of Chicago by Martin A.
Ryerson of this city.
In the middle of the sixteenth cen-
on the librarian asked himself what
he could do next. He was not long
in doubt. He had something to give
his fellow men and he proceeded to
make this fact known to them. He
advertised. He put over the door the
inscription that graced the entrance
to the old Theban library: 'The bal-
sam of the mind. Nutrimentum spir-
itus."
To
tury Sir Nicholas Bacon, afterwards
HI Lord Keeper of the Great Seal under
Queen Elizabeth, acquired a large es-
Iate surrounding the hunting lodge of
the Abbot of Bury St. Edmunds
9 0 0 CUvi which had been in the possesion of
the monastery since before the Con-
In the
his high
libnarian
he said:
same paper,
ideal of the
in the work
in expressing
place of the
of the world,
"The office of librarian is an honor- was his saintlydi it-
able one. When first instituted it was ys gnlm. o one
held by the sons of kings. In the who ever worked under him-as did
performance of his duties there is be- the writer foridany er h ad
fore the librarian the living genera- th spek uny years-ever heard
tio inthemist f is atiitis; e-him speak unkindly of any one or use
tion in the midst of its activities; be- a harsh word to his subordinates. And
hind him, in the books on the shelves, when he died, in 1919, at the age
the completed work of the genera- of 83, after so long a life of un-
tions of the dead. No other labors selfish service, we could but say of
amid such surroundings." him: "There goes a soul we love, a
And he was not the "old-fashioned" m Tbesn to ankind."
librarian who thought his duty ended
with keeping the books confided to
his care in safety as well as in se- SLEEP ANYWHERE, BUT
clusion. He was strenuous in the of- EAT AT REXS
fort to keep at least abreast of prog- THE CLUB LUNCH
ress in scientific methods and in ex- 712 Arbor Street
tending the usefulness of the library. Near State and Packard Sts.
One marked feature of his character
till flillllit111tftlililflililllllll i11f1{ II IIIi i I111 Ii ftltii
E Gilberts Gilberts E
E Announcing'
E
- L
- T
5 P The Perfume Alluring I -
N. Iby Scherk N
N b
GG
I Arceade Phar macy
"The Drug Store Beautiful"
j 1038-J 7 Nickels Arcade
C berGilb erts-
SGilberts
fi1111fi I1 t11t11111 11111 11 Y11__________________f11______________(1_[11 11111 _t1 ___1i _11 _____11 11111111 11111 k
I
i
C
4D
"- e
Come To Our Store and Choose
Your Christmas Gifts
We now have a full line of-
_..
:.
r
R
the}
'Impecab~!egift
His COwAN vase ;won the,
'.Y Logan Medal at the 1924
Arts and Crafts Exhibit of the
Chicago Fine Arts Institute.
Unique and charming in design,
it permits fai-like flower arrange
ments of unusual beauty. An
excellent piece for use in pairs.
A gift expressive, of your good
taste and thoughtfulness.
Your choice oftwo exquisite col
ors Larkspur Blue or Sea Green.
Unusual value at $6.oo
C04Wt.AN
PQTTERY
SILVERWARE of choicest patterns
PYREX WARE of the best quality
ALUMINUM ware of the best grade
GRANITE Ware without blemish
WHITE ENAMEL the ideal ware,
CUTLERY with a keen edge
AXES and HATCHETS the finest of finish
SEARCHLIGHTS with brightest of lens.
THERMOS BOTTLES of all sizes
FISHIN G RODS and BAITS of all descriptions.
GUNS and AMUNITION for all sportsmen.
SLEDS, SKATES and SKIS for the kiddies
ELECTRIC GOODS that stand the test.
CLOCKS that never sleep.
NOTION COUNTER filled to over flowing,
LOCKS to make everything secure.
In fact many articles for Uletide gifts.
11
i1
AO.0147 ar -40" .1 ,/.. j
I
I
I
11 11