When the books in these libraries are avail able to all members of a community no fee is charged for the first 25 volumes. In the case of restricted use (as in classes 6 and 7) a small fee is charged. Small fees are also charged for volumes in excess of 25. The period of loan is from three months (in the case of house libraries) to one year (in case of schools and study clubs). The collections are of two types: fixed and open shelf. The former are lent as a unit and the borrower is allowed no substitutions for titles on the list. The latter are selected from the general collection of the extension department to meet, as far as possi ble, the specific desires of the organization or person borrowing the library. The fixed col lection is more economical as it ensures the use of the whole collection; the open shelf collec tion is more flexible and, therefore, more satis factory to most people. The tendency is to ward the open shelf collection.
The large city libraries maintain similar systems. Their "deposit stations)) are essen tially traveling library collections. In addition, smaller collections of books are sent to clubs, schools, organized societies, police and fire sta tions and many other types of organizations. The New York Free Circulating Library, which had for several years supplied traveling libra ries to schools, in 1897 established a traveling library department. This which is now the Ex tension Division of the New York Public Li brary, in 1918 sent out 46,402 volumes to 417 agencies. The Free Library of Philadelphia be gan its traveling library work in 1896. A typi cal example of the use of traveling library books is seen in the Saint Louis Public Library which reports a circulation of 240,883 volumes in the fiscal year 1918-19.
An interesting variant of the traveling li brary is the book-wagon or automobile which delivers books along definite routes radiating from some library centre. The pioneer book wagon in the United States was started in April 1905 by Miss Mary L. Titcomb of the Wash ington County Free Library of Hagerstown, Md. The Connecticut Public Library Commit tee and the Delaware State Library Commis sion have also maintained book-wagons. Book wagons have also been used in parts of Wis consin. A local book delivery automobile has recently been put into service by the Endicott (N. Y.) Free Library. To some extent rural mail delivery wagons have been used for traveling library purposes but the possibilities in this direction are capable of much greater development.
Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to establish traveling libraries on a com mercial basis. The best known of these, the Booklover's Library and the Tabard Inn Library, founded in Philadelphia in 1900 and 1902 re spectively, were measurably successful for some time.
Educational Significance of the Traveling Library.— The traveling library idea has spread throughout the civilized world and the small collection of books changed frequently is known in many places in which the more elaborate pub lic library is as yet unknown. The late war was instrumental in giving the idea greater promi nence than ever before. The case of books sup plied by the Red Cross, the American Library Association or other relief organizations fol lowed the troops into the trenches as well as into the camp and hospital and prison camps. It was a familiar sight on every war vessel or transport. The Germans as well as the Allies were quick to see the value of the traveling li brary in maintaining morale.
The great advantages of the traveling library are economy, mobility and adaptability. The collection is limited to books definitely chosen for some purpose. The obsolete and useless are eliminated. The frequent change of collections gives each group or community receiving the libraries access to the volumes in all the groups. Books on timely topics or those needed to meet changes in community taste can in this way be provided at a minimum cost. The traveling li brary can be put into the home, the store, the grange or wherever people congregate. It is not limited to any one place. No permanent building or special assistant is needed to make it give fairly satisfactory service if intelligence in selection is shown by the library which issues it. The only records needed are the simplest types of lending records.
The traveling library is of special signifi cance in four different directions : in providing the rural population and special organizations with library facilities, in aiding the rural schools to keep their instruction abreast of the times, in promoting educational extension move ments of all kinds and in promoting the estab lishment and development of permanent libra ries. The town and village libraries, aided by the county library systems, are beginning to pro vide much more adequate library service for the rural population than formerly. (See Rotes. LIBRARIES). Nevertheless, there will always be a considerable portion of the population for which the traveling library will furnish the only really convenient access to good books. Even the proposed extension of the parcel post service for library books at reduced rates will supplement, not supersede, the larger collection of the traveling library. The factory and the machine shop, the social club and the fraternal organization also find it much to their advan tage to have immediately at hand a small, well chosen collection of books changed often enough to prevent their becoming stale.