Staff Newsreel Vol.I, No.5

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Staff Newsreel
LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 
Vol.I, No.5 	February 1936 
CONCERNING CREDIT UNIONS
The following committee has been appointed by the Chairman of the Staff Assocciation to consider the matter of Library participation in a Credit Union Association:�
Miss Violet Tapper 
Miss Margaret Walkington 
Mr. James E. Cobb, Chairman 
Since Mr. Clifford Moore of the Assessor's Office gave such an effective explanation of Federal Credit Unions at our Staff Association meeting on Thursday, February 13, there has been a good deal of interest aroused in having the Library join such a Union. County employees living out of town are equally eligible for membership in the proposed Credit Union although details of handling deposits and withdrawals at long distance have not been fully worked out. The Committee is to meet with Mr. Moore and report later. 
Bulletins on Credit Unions have been placed in the Staff Room. You will find the small leaflet, "Federal Credit Unions: Cooperative Thrift and Credit" gives a particularly clear, brief summary of the purpose and organization of a Credit Union. 
COUNTY EMPLOYEES' COUNCIL
A County Employees' Council was organized on February 6 at a meeting in Patriotic Hall called by Mr. Fazel, President of the Count y Employees' Association. The Council is composed of delegates and alternates elected by the various Departments. It will serve as a representative advisory body to consider Association activities and report back to the membership at large. 
At this meeting several members of the Board of Directors gave short talks on committee activities. Mr. G.W. 0lson, Membership chairman, declared that his goal is 10,000 association members in 1936; Mrs. G.M.E. Kenilworth explained the services of the Ross-Loos clinic; Mr. Stanley Pomeroy offered the findings of his insurance committee to anyone interested; and Mr. F.W. Emerson described the benefits of the Mortuary Group and explained the new sliding scale of assessments based on age at initiation. 
These chairmen were all sincerely enthusiastic about the activities they represent, and very definitely gave the impression that they would be glad to have any County employee consult them. 
The Library delegates and alternates who attended the meeting were: Miss Tapper, Miss Johnson, Miss Virginia Bronson, Miss Cooper and Miss Himoe.
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SAN ANTONIO LIBRARY CLUB MEETING
The San Antonio Library Club held its mid-year meeting on Saturday, February 8, at the "Adobe Alvarado" near Ganesha Park in Pomona, with Miss Helen Rees, Librarian of our San Dimas Branch Library as hostess. The Adobe, built in 1857, is one of the oldest buildings in Pomona, and its old chapel, many pieces of early Spanish and Mexican furniture, early pictures, and huge book case of old books, made an interesting setting for a library meeting. 
Miss Mabel Stanford, instructor in journalism at the Chaffee Union High School, 
spoke on the subject of writing and marketing a play, and several of the librarians 
present were called upon to tell of their plans for the new year. 
The catalog librarian of Pomona College, Mrs. Hattie C. McConnaughey, spoke briefly 
about union cataloging projects; Miss Rees told of the historical data being collect
ed for the San Dimas Library; the Librarian of the Junior Republic explained ways of 
encouraging reading among the boys; and Miss Vogleson, who qualified her remarks by 
saying that there is danger in prophecy lest one's eggs be turned into omelette, 
reported the creation of the specialized position of Technology librarian, and the 
partial restoration of salary cuts at the Los Angeles County Library, as encouraging signs for the future.
Among those attending from the County Library staff were: Miss Vogleson, Miss 
Stephens, Miss Rees, Mrs. Anna Robinson of Claremont, Mrs. Elsie Rager and Mrs. 
Gladys Fischer of La Verne, and Mrs. Lillian Goetz of La Verne Heights.
CATALOGERS HOLD MEETING 
The Los Angeles Regional Group of Catalogers met at the Bible Institute on the even
ing of February 4 for a dinner and program . Miss Johnson, Miss Hoge, Miss Leonberger, Miss Tomlinson, Miss Seager, Miss Neher and Miss Himoe attended from our staff. 
Miss Johnson, who was the official delegate of the Los Angeles Regional Group to the A.L.A. Conference, reported on the Catalog Section meetings at Denver. 
DOES IT PAY TO TAKE A CHANCE? 
Much might be said on both sides of this question. The important point is why you are taking the chance. We hope the members of the County Public Library staff bought their chances for the "Nora Beust Raffle" to help bring Miss Beust to the C.L.A. meeting in the spring and NOT to win the "Mix Master" or one of the book prizes. February 12th, the day of the drawing, was not our lucky day, and although all prizes except one went to Los Angeles City Library members, we were winners in the goal set, i.e. to collect one hundred dollars towar bringing this outstanding person in library work with children to the San Diego Conference.
"ARE WE GROWN UP?" 
The Altrusa Club, a national service organization of which Miss Vogleson and Miss Ryder are members, is presenting Mrs. Mary Blair Wallace at the Friday Morning Club House in a series of six lectures in April and May. Mrs. Wallace is consultant on personality adjustment and human relations, and her own attractive personality and 
thorough knowledge of her field promise that her talks will be both enjoyable and profitable. Full details may be found in the leaflets in the Staff Room.
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INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX
An income tax return must be filed by every resident of this State, including state, county and city employees, whose gross income for the taxable year amounted to $5000 or whose net income amounted to:�
(a) $1000 if single, or if married and not living with husband or wife. 
(b) $2500 if married and living with husbahd or wife; or 
(c) More than the personal exemption if status of tax�payer changed.
Blanks may be obtained from the Library Office; also the amount of money earned from the Library during the year 1935.
AMONG 0UR NEIGHBORING LIBRARIES 
The death of Mrs. Kerr, wife of Willis H. Kerr, Director of Libraries, Claremont Colleges, is a grievous loss, as Mrs. Kerr had endeared herself to so many who have known her as a friend and librarian. 
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Miss Doris L. Hoit, Assistant Librarian of the Providence Public Library was recently appointed Librarian of the Pasadena Public Library to succeed Miss Jeannette M. Drake. Miss Hoit is a graduate of the University of Washington, has worked in the libraries of Seattle, Cleveland and New York, and was Acting Librarian of the American Library in Paris in 1930-31. Miss Drake is retiring and will be greatly missed in the library field, but she will still live in the vicinity of Pasadena in a lovely new house which she is building. 
ON THE PLEASURES OF READING 
"The other day, depressed on the 'Underground', I tried to cheer myself by thinking over the joys of our human lot. But there wasn't one of them for which I seemed to care a hang -not Wine, nor Friendship, nor Eating, nor making Love, nor the Consciousness of Virtue. Was it worth while, then, going up in a lift into a world that had nothing less trite to offer?
"Then I thought of reading -the nice and subtle happiness of reading. This was enough, this joy not dulled by Age, this polite and unpunished vice, this selfish, serene, life-long intoxication."  
-Logan Pearsall Smith in his Trivia.
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AMONG oursevles
Book Review meetings  
"Far Horizons" was the subject of a talk given by Marjorie Gadbois on Wednesday, February 26, at the Book Review Meeting for branch librarians. Miss Gadbois prepared a list of travel books, of which 500 copies were mimeographed for distribution. 
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Sixty-one branch librarians and their assistants attended the Sixth Book Review Meeting held at Central on January 22. Jessica King reviewed a number of books for boys and girls which have the modern scene as a background.
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Valentine Parties
Doris Soder gave a Valentine dinner party on Thursday, February 13, in honor of her sister Vivian, Margaret Andrews and Violet whose birthdays all occur in this month. Edith Metcalf was also a guest.
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Sunday afternoon, February 9, Virginia Bolenbaugh entertained at her home in Huntington Park with a Valentine tea and Baby Shower honoring Mrs. Elizabeth Cromwell. The girls enjoyed renewing acquaintance with old friends and the opportunity of seeing Virginia's lovely new home. Adrian, Helen Rogers' little daugher, assisted in opening the many gifts which Elizabeth received and this added much zest to the occasion. Refreshments were featured by Valentine motifs.
Beside the honor guest there were Mrs. B .M. Laulhere, Mrs. G. E. Stevens, Marjorie Gadbois, Genevieve Stevens, Barbara Bronson, Florida Fischbeck, Louise Hastings, Helen Rogers and daughter, Nellie Long Hesse and son, Doris Soder, Edith Metealf, Carol Nelson, Elizabeth Kish Parici and Tilda Nelson. Genevieve and Marjorie poured and Mrs. Laulhere assisted her daughter, Mrs Bolenbaugh.
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Week-End Trips
On the week-end of February 22, Vida Martin motored to San Diego, and Dr. and Mrs. Bolenbaugh drove to Palm Springs by way of the Palms to Pines Highway. 
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Genevieve Stevens drove up to Oilfields, California to see Mrs. Katheryn Logan Coombs the 24th of January. Mrs. Logan,  Katheryn's mother, accompanied her. Genevieve reports that Katheryn, Bill and the "Gadget," as they call the baby, are getting along very well in the oil fields and hope to make a visit to Los Angeles soon.
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Big Pines was the destination of Marjorie Gadbois last week-end, and she was very fortunate to arrive there in the midst of a fine snowfall. The roads are open, although driving is rather difficult due to the skidding of the cars on the snow. Calvin Phillips also went to Big Pines the same week-end to enjoy the sledding. 
Library Visitor 
Miss Clara Breed, Head of the Children's Department of the San Diego Public Library, was a visitor at the County Library on February 11. She was in Los Angeles to attend the "Beust Raffle" at the City Library.   
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Many and varied are the occupations listed on the applications received at the Registration Desk. Among the most interesting are "Old Age," "Fountain," "Attending the School of Life, All Grades," "Idler in the Vineyard" (the department couldn't decide if the "Idler" were waxing poetical or if he did some rare bit of work in a vine�yard) and one woman states that her occupation is the "Navy". 
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News from Gladys Hird 
In a recent letter Gladys Hird sends greetings to her friends on the staff and says she is enjoying work at the State Library and likes Sacramento. "The weather has been real nice," she writes. "It may be a little colder than you have down there, but it's not so damp. It is not a depressing cold and even the rains seem more cheerful. We had a thunderstorm today. Quite enjoyable. This whole country seems imbued with the spirit of the pioneers. One cannot live here very long before getting thrilled with the romance of California history. Each town around here has its own fascinating story to tell. I can think of nothing nicer than visiting these old towns, getting their stories and walking about their interest�ing streets." 
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Gretchen Knief sent her thanks for a copy of the January "Newsreel", concluding her note with "I do hope, however, that not all the 'Ex's' suffered as acute an attack of nostalgia on receipt of the 'Newsreel' as this one did."
Let's Hope the "Flu" Has Flown Away 
There were so many victims of the "flu" that to list them all would almost be like calling the role of the staff. These who were ill for a week or more include Helen O'Conor, Catherine Hallock, Mrs. Ruth Putnam, Dorothy Brown, Ruth Morgan, Mr. Hoffman, and Mr. Potter, whose whole family were ill at one time.
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We had hoped to have a series of cheerful little interviews with staff members on how they planned to spend their new wealth when the 3'per cent salary restoration shows up in the pay checks on March 1. But the interviewer soorn felt too depressed to continue gathering copy as most of the increases have already been used up by the "flu", having gone into the budget for cod liver oil, cough drops, aspirin and other nostrums.
Mr. Cobb, Detective 
One of the most amusing events of the month was the theft of the Library Buick sedan from Mr. Cobb. He had parked the car in front of a drug store in order to make a telephone call, and upon returning, found the car gone. The radio police were notified and set out on its trail, Presently, in a funeral procession that was passing, Mr. Cobb sighted the roving Buick. Upon questioning, the driver said that he thought he had his father-in-law's car, which was lator disccvered near the spot where the Library car had been parked. 
Mr. Cobb seized his car and started away, but was immediately "picked up" by the police for the theft of the automobile. After explaining the circumstances to the police Captain, he was released, and even offered a job as a detective by the Captain, since he had made such a good sleuth.
Beginning Young 
When five-year-old George Martin came home from kindergarten recerttly, he said to Vida, "Mother, I had the best time today!" 
"You did - what did you do!" asked Vida expectantly.
"I walked home with Patsy Ruth," George replied. 
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Little Patsy Britt, almost five, arrived home after kindergarten not long ago and remarked, "Mother, the little girl who sits next to me at school has the nicest yellow hair, and it isn't any curlier than mine. Please make my hair yellow like that."
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The contraption by the kitchen door in the Staff Room which has been arousing speculation, is a station for the night�watchman to punch as he makes his rounds to see that all is quiet on the Library Front.
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NOTES AFIELD
Branch Library Buildings 
El Monte's new building is actually under construction, though the heavy rain� of 
the past two weeks have put a stop to further work for a time. 
Work has also begun on the foundation of 
the new Torrance Library and will continue 
as soon as the weather permits.
Compton first planned to have its new home 
placed beside the fire house, but protests 
by the citizens against the ear-splitting 
siren resulted in a last minute change of sites, and the old location is to be used. 
The concrete foundation is being poured.
Wilmar Branch will soon operate in larger quarters. In fact, Mr. Cobb hopes to have 
his crew sufficiently recovered from the "flu" to do the actual moving on Saturday, 
February 29 since March lst falls on Sunday. 
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The "Northeastern Express" has proved so useful that a new truck has been ordered for the Property Division. This will make three trucks that are being used for weekly delivery routes; the "Pony Express," the "Western Express," and the latest, the "Northeastern".
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The "Trends of the Times", a series of exhibits which grew out of Miss Tapper's talk at the January Institute Meeting for branch librarians, is proving very popular. The one on "Crime" went to Compton, that 
on the "Farm Business" is at Moneta, "Jobs, or the Dole" is in use at Lawndale, and Woodcrest is exhibiting "Money". Exhibits of the same nature are planned for Downey, Florence, Altadena and Sherman, and it is expected that other branches will avail themselves of these contemporary studies.
Quest for Knowledge 
In the elevator of the Women's University club is posted a sign headed: "Missing from the Library." One of the titles listed is "Man, the Unknown." -The New Yorker.
New Charging System 
One of the changes made this year in branch technique has been the installation of the Detroit self-charging system in 54 branches formerly using the Newark method. Nine more will soon be initiated in this new war of charging books
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Interesting visitors observed at the Hermosa Branch Library recently were 
Gene Fowler and Ralph Waldo Trine who 
is writing a new book.
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Mrs, Bernice Wallace, assistant librarian of Inglewood Branch, reviewed a group of current books before the Montebello Woman's Club on February 6.
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The staff extends sympathy to Miss Hamilton of General Hospital and Mrs. Fike of Home Gardens, both of whom have recently lost their mothers.
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Mrs. Nichols of Woodcrest has completely recovered from injuries received in an automobile accident several weeks 
ago when a collision involved five 
machines.
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Miss Helon Rees of San Dimas was seriously hurt on Friday, February 14, when her machine was struck by a Pacific Electric train near San Dimas. Latest reports, however, are that she is recovering from injuries which will confine her to the Pomona Valley Hospital for several weeks.
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Several branch librarians have been ill with the "flu". Mrs. Jamieson of Tor-rance and Miss Gegner of Hollydale and Rancho Los Amigos have both been under a doctor's care.