Page:Index to St. Nicholas- Volumes I-XLV, 1873–1918 (Wilson, 1920) (IA stnicholasserial1451dodg).pdf/7



No set of hooks or periodicals is sure of yielding to children’s libraries so large a return on the investment as St. Nicholas. Each one of the forty-five volumes is a forever source of joy and enlightenment to the juvenile reader. Time has not deprived even the earlier volumes of their interest and fascination, neither has it taken from their educational value. A further asset is that the set is a veritable storehouse of reliable information on numberless subjects which are of interest not only to children but to adults. Art, music, literature, biography, geography, history, polities, useful arts, the sciences, amusements, etc, are all represented and well represented in its pages. Much of this wealth of information is however unavailable, buried within the covers of the volumes. With an index all its treasures are at the command of the young librarian and her small_ patrons. Hence this volume—a librarian’s tool.

The index is dictionary in form, giving author, subject and title entries, the latter as a rule made for fiction and poetry only. Selection of subject headings most easily usable by children has been the aim striven for. Miss Margaret Mann’s Subject Headings for a Juvenile Catalog, Miss Mary Brigg's List of Subject Headings for use in a Dictionary Catalog. The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature and other works have been used as guides toward this end. Supplementary to the printed authorities, Miss Gertrude Andrus, superintendent of the Children’s department of the Seattle Public Library, and her assistants have given many valuable suggestions, especially in relation to the information children need and the way they call for it,

For the many courtesies extended by the Seattle Public Library during the progress of this work grateful acknowledgement is made. A. L. G.