=Aids in Book Selection.=—The chief aid in book selection for the average small public library is the A. L. A. catalog. The first edition was issued in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition. It was planned as a guide for book buyers as well as for readers and as a manual for librarians in the matter of book selection. To a certain extent it was hoped that it would take the place of a printed catalog in some of the smaller public libraries. By checking in the margin the titles of the books owned it forms a convenient partial catalog of best books for any library. In 1904 a classified and annotated edition, thoroughly revised and brought down to date, was prepared for the St. Louis Exposition. This included 7,520 volumes adapted to public libraries as contrasted with 5,000 titles included in the earlier edition. A supplementary class list of 3,000 titles, covering the books issued between 1904 and 1911, was issued by the A. L. A. in 1912. The “A. L. A. Booklist,” a guide to the best new books, has just completed its ninth annual, volume. Various state library commissions have issued helpful lists. Wisconsin’s “Suggestive list of books for a small library” is a good specimen. The “Fiction catalog” published by H. W. Wilson Co., Minneapolis, is useful as a check list and contains many excellent titles. In the same way the lists of the 100 and of the 1000 best novels issued by the Free Library of Newark, N. J., are worth studying. Various lists of best books, like Sir John Lubbock’s famous “hundred best books,” or Dr. Eliot’s “five foot library,” are to be found in a pamphlet “The World’s best books,” which is to be had free of charge from the Globe Wernicke Co., Cincinnati. For additional titles see “Aids in book selection” by Alice B. Kroeger and Sarah W. Cattell (A. L. A. Publishing board, 1908.) =Bookbuying.=—If it is desired to buy a special list of books, already selected, it is usually best to place the order with one of the large houses which make a specialty of library trade or with a local dealer, if the proper service and discounts are assured. Cost of carriage may total up high enough to offset a special discount, and so should be considered in comparing prices offered by two different dealers. In scanning a list of books to be bought, attention should be paid to 1. Those titles which are to be had in reinforced bindings. 2. Titles which are to be had in special editions, as in Everyman’s Library. 3. Titles which are to be had from dealers in remainders and are likely to be offered at bargain prices. The “List of editions selected for economy in book buying,” compiled by Leroy Jeffers, and published by the American Library Association (25 cts.) is well worth studying.