And let us do these things not by way of pretending to oracular gifts or the possession of omniscience, but as a means of revealing ourselves and so of establishing a channel of communication between ourselves and our people through which the clear stream of human nature, which is common to us all, may flow unobstructed. And upon that stream we may confidently launch our several ships, freighted with wisdom and joy, profit and pleasure, inspiration and growth and life itself, safe in the knowledge that they will be wafted straight down the stream to their destinations, the hearts and minds of our patrons. Perhaps this is one of the things in the mind of the president when she laid down the following query as the point of departure for this week's program: "Should not the library, neglecting no other known service, make very certain that it fulfills its own unique task, that is, to provide and to make known the sources of joy?" The PRESIDENT: I think it is quite evident from several references in Mr. Roden's very delightful paper why the president went to Springfield for a paper on making known the charm of books. The librarian at Springfield was by "royal command" compelled either to write a paper himself or produce some one who could write it, and Mr. Wellman has produced Miss Grace Miller's manuscript, which he will read to us. Mr. WELLMAN: Madam President, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very sorry that Miss Miller could not be here to present her paper in person. She is known to some of you through the notes which she writes for the Springfield Bulletin. Mr. Wellman read the following paper, prepared by Miss GRACE MILLER, of the Springfield city library. BOOK ADVERTISING: ILLUMINATION AS TO ATTRACTIONS OF REAL BOOKS The reputation of the American people as a nation of readers evokes a pleasurable sensation of pride in the patriotic heart. But when we pause to ask, "What do they read?" that pride is destined to fall. Newspapers, periodicals, novels, the popular books of the hour--yes, but how many of the books of all time? It may be doubted if the present generation, with all its opportunities, reads as many of these as did its fathers. Two traits seem forcibly to impress the cultivated foreigner as characteristic of our men and, to a lesser degree, of our women--a hard materialism and a lack of interest in the finer things of life. Is there any relation between this dearth of idealism and the reading habits of the nation? Ideals are the greatest force in life, and what a man's ideals are is largely determined by what he reads. The power of great literature to awaken noble ambitions, to cultivate the imagination, to impart the ability "to see life steadily and see it whole" is undisputed. In face of all this, where does the library of today stand?