Report of the Forty-fifth Annual
Meeting 539
probably purchase these volumes at that
price, if they had the
opportunity to do so. It is suggested
that two years hence a re-
quest should be made for the
republication of the volumes to be
distributed at cost to those desiring to
purchase.
ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY
Within the past year progress has been
made in additions to
the library. Books and bound pamphlets
to the number of 882
have been accessioned since the last
report. As stated, one year
ago, many of these are from the private
library of the late Wil-
liam C. Mills. Among the interesting
genealogical items that have
been added are a number of volumes from
the library of the late
Mr. Farrand Felch. Mrs. Felch presented
his entire library to
the Society, numbering 872 volumes.
These have not yet been
accessioned but they are in one of the
new vaults and the volumes
of genealogy have been conveniently
placed for reference use.
There are also unaccessioned and ready
for addition to the
library from the Dawson collection, 274
volumes; a general col-
lection of books, 921 volumes; bound
pamphlets, 1,663; making
a total unaccessioned of 3,730 volumes
and bound pamphlets.
At the last Annual Meeting the Secretary
in announcing the
large number of newspaper volumes added
within the previous
year, stated that it was not probable
that so many volumes could
be added this year. Eight hundred
volumes were mentioned as
the assured increase for the year that
ends today. By actual count,
however, 2,198 volumes have been added. The
total number of
volumes of newspapers in the library at
the close of the previous
year was 18,617. The additions for the
year that ends today
bring the total number of volumes now in
the library up to 20,815.
This is much larger than anticipated one
year ago.
As previously stated, the Committee on
Cooperation at its
meeting favored the preparation and
publication of a check-list
of newspapers in the libraries of the
State. At some time in the
near future such a work may be
undertaken. It will not be diffi-
cult with the data at hand for the
library of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society to
prepare its check-list.
But while newspapers continue to come
into that department at
540 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the rate of over 2,000 volumes a
year, it probably would not be
wise to publish such check-list. Later,
when the State has been
pretty thoroughly covered and the
available sources of additions
have become, in a measure, exhausted,
the published list, of
course, should be undertaken.
Mr. Simpson, the assistant in charge of
the newspaper room,
has furnished the following information
in regard to these addi-
tions:
There are 555 volumes transferred here
from the various
courthouses, where they had been
accumulating since the law of
1850 was enacted; 464 volumes have been
contributed by news-
paper publishers; 118 volumes were sent
by other libraries; 372
volumes came by current daily mail; 510 volumes came
from the
Ohio State University library; 36
volumes of Columbus dailies
were delivered by carriers; and 143
volumes were from miscel-
laneous sources, mostly gifts.
Among the papers received during the
year the following
may be mentioned as of unusual value for
reference purposes:
Lancaster.
Gazette. Complete 1826-1833, 3 volumes. Same incomplete 1834-
1844. 1 volume. Same complete--March,
1860.
Lancaster.
Ohio Eagle, March 1858-March, 1860.
McArthur.
McArthur Republican. April 13,
1850 (vol. 1, No. 1) to August
19, 1852.
New Lisbon.
Buckeye State. 1860-1872. 4 volumes.
Ripley.
Ripley Bee. 1850-1852.
Warren.
Trump of Fame. Numbers 1-28 of volume 1. June-December, 1812.
Ohio Miscellaneous Papers.
1 volume including dates from 1811 to
1854.
Ohio Miscellaneous papers. 1 volume
including papers from 1800-1865.
London, England.
Times. June 22, 1815. This issue contains the first published
news of the battle of Waterloo.
Manila, Philippine Islands.
A volume containing copies of newspapers
published in Manila
during and immediately after the
Spanish-American War.
Report of the Forty-fifth Annual
Meeting 541
In the gathering of newspapers and
especially a number of
the rare volumes, credit is here given
to the Business Agent of the
Society, Mr. H. R. McPherson, whose
duties call him to the
various properties of the Society in
different parts of the State
and who has found it possible to look up
newspapers and rare old
volumes relating to the early history of
the State. His interest
in this work has been continuous and is
appreciated by your Sec-
retary and Librarian.
This occasion must not pass without a
fuller expression than
has yet been accorded to Mr. Harold G.
Simpson for the splendid
work that he has done in building up the
newspaper collection of
the library. From the inception of this
work to the present time
he has been the "right arm" of
the librarian in faithfully and effi-
ciently planning and administering this
important work. He has
at his desk, as well as designated on
the volumes themselves, the
period that each volume covers and can
furnish this information
promptly to the patron. The work that he
has done to make
these papers accessible indicates to
anyone who will make inquiry
in regard to details, the expenditure of
patient and long sustain-
ing energy and never-flagging industry.
He knows his job, enjoys
it and pursues it with genuine
enthusiasm.
He finds time also to do some important
work not imme-
diately related to the newspaper
collection, in shelving and listing
duplicates. This has proven a helpful
service. At present he is
industriously engaged, while serving
patrons of the newspaper
department in the library, in indexing
and placing in the new cases
provided for them, about 4,000 halftones
and etchings. Most of
these cuts bear on them no indication of
what they are intended
to represent. The identification of the
cuts and the supply of
proper titles is a work of considerable
magnitude. Some of them
when the work is concluded will perhaps
remain unidentified. In
some instances cuts outside of those
used in the publications of
the Society have become a part of the
collection and this increases
the difficulty of identification. But
the great body of these, of
course, are identified, properly named,
labeled and indexed so that
they will be just as readily accessible
as the newspaper volumes.
This will place within easy reach of the
Society, a large collection
of illustrative material.
542 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Mr. Simpson has had three able
assistants, physically strong
and industrious, who have done much of
the heavy work involved
in moving the newspaper files and
keeping them in order, with
no expense to the Society except that in
furnishing to each of
these workers one meal a day. He has
gotten along harmoniously
and pleasantly with these assistants and
from this source has suc-
ceeded in getting a service that would
have cost the Society thou-
sands of dollars.
And right here permit us to say, thanks
for this service are
due to Warden P. E. Thomas. He has
certainly sent us the best
of his men whose generous response to
every word and act of
fairness and kindness has been most
gratifying.
Your Secretary could not let this
opportunity pass to pay
this modest tribute to the valuable
service of Mr. Simpson, and
his whole-hearted interest in the work.
Something must be said also in
appreciation of the service
of the cataloguer, Miss Alice S. Davis.
Not only has she been
diligent in the work but she has
conducted much important genea-
logical research, the results of which
have greatly pleased many
of the patrons of the library. Her
equipment for this work is of
a high order. She is also an excellent
proof-reader and your
secretary is dependent upon her
assistance in the publications of
our Society, including the indexing of
all the annual volumes of
the Quarterly.
Many of the books in the library of Dr.
William C. Mills
were duplicates of those already in the
Library. His daughter,
Miss Helen Mills, before her present
illness, prepared and sent
through the mails to other libraries a
list of about three hundred
of these duplicates with a letter
soliciting an exchange. As a re-
sult, a number of books needed here were
added to the Library.
Among those received was one volume
priced by the publisher at
$50.00. This was one of the very rare
issues of Western Travels,
edited by Thwaites, which fills a break
in our set.
RARE MANUSCRIPTS ADDED
Some notable additions have been made to
the manuscript
department within the past year.
Especially notable are the fol-
lowing: