to supplement the work of the schools, and to give training
in appreciation of the best literature.
The special activities of the department include instruction
 in the use of books and libraries, reading aloud, storytelling,
 and book talks. For the younger children, storytelling
 has proved an effective means of presenting good
literature, and during 1927 the attendance at the library
story hours was over 100,000. In 1927, 50,000 reference questions
 were answered in the Department for Children, an indication
 of the value and use of the children’s rooms. The department
 makes a special study of children’s literature and cooperates
 in every way with parents, teachers and others
interested in the welfare of young people.
Great care is taken in the selection of books. Of the
thousands of new books printed each year, the library is
able to purchase only a limited number. It is accordingly
very important that those books be chosen which will be of
greatest service to the people who use the Library. All
works of fiction are read by some member of the staff before
they are purchased, and non-fiction is added to the collection
only after authoritative reviews have been consulted or upon
the recommendation of some specialist in the subject under
consideration.
In order that the book may give its full service, the information
 it contains must be made readily accessible to the
public. Each new book of non-fiction added to the library
is accordingly first carefully examined and classified and its
contents are noted on cards for the catalogue under the
principal subjects discussed, with annotations to make clear
the author’s method of treatment. This is the work of the
Catalogue Department.
The binding of magazines, newspapers, and other printed
material, the repairs to and rebinding of worn books, constitute
 an important part of the mechanical work of the
library, and with the reenforcement of new books, total
about 90,000 volumes each year.
The library contains a total of about 630,000 volumes, of
which over 50,000 volumes are in foreign languages. Each
branch has a limited collection of its own which it supple-