Page:The library a magazine of bibliography and library literature, Volume 6.djvu/149

 Librarianship as a Profession for Women.

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Assistant in the St. Helen's Public Library.

OW that women are entering as competitors in almost every field of labour formerly looked upon as belonging exclusively to the sterner sex, it may not be uninteresting to hear a little about library work as a profession for women.

In the first place, let us look for a moment at the mere routine work which goes on in every free library, and which is done for the most part by the assistants,—I refer to the labelling, repairing and issuing of books. The first two will in all probability be done more quickly and neatly by a girl than a boy; and as regards the issuing of books, there is an advantage in having at least one female assistant, as many of the lady borrowers prefer to be attended to by one of their own sex. In those libraries which have separate reading-rooms for ladies, it is also essential that a female assistant should look after the room and attend to the renewal of the papers and periodicals placed there.

But to proceed to the real work of a librarian, that which is done for the most part behind the scenes, such as choosing new books, classifying and cataloguing them, attending to correspondence, and the numerous other duties which are comprised in a librarian's work. Here, too, a woman will be as much at home as a man, and will make the institution under her charge a success.

In America, women are taking their places in this