July 2, 1937. Honorable Mayor and City Councilmen: I wish to submit the following report from the Glendale Public Library for the fiscal year of 1936-1937. It is with a great deal of pride that I present this report because it has broken two all time high records. The circulation of books for home use for the year is 29,950 (just 50 short of 30,000 books). This is the highest record in the history of the library. It exceeds last year's record by 5,377, and 1934-35 record (which is the first year I served as librarian) by 6,582. The second record broken is for the past month of June when the circulation for the month reached 3,133. This is the first time in our library history that the circulation has reached the 3,000 mark for a single month. These figures include only books drawn for home use and do not include the hundreds of books and magazines that have been read at the library daily during the hours we are open. This year 247 membership cards were issued to new patrons which brings the number using the library to 1,328. In some cases more than one member of the family use the same card so we actually do have more than 1,328 patrons. The library has again sponsored the Vacation Reading Club. This year we have a combination of supervised reading and play. The play period is directed every Wednesday by Miss Ila McNees. We neither urged or begged any child to attend. We simply made the rules as attractive as we knew how to children and invited them to come. We now boast of a membership of 70 children who intensely interested in good books. The greatest needs of the library are an increased budget and a new building. We need funds to hire competent help. We have been fortunate in obtaining W.P.A. aid to keep the library open every day (as our budget does not permit this), but these people are untrained and much valuable time has to be spent in training them. We are desperate for space for our books, as well as space for a reading room. We have come to the conclusion that the forces of erosion can destroy books as well as soil. You can stand in the center of the library and look in any direction through the cracks and see the great outdoors. The boards in the ceiling are gaped and leaves, dirt, and filth are continually sifting through, which makes it not only impossible to keep the library clean, but is also a constant fire hazard. Gentlemen, we ask that you carefully consider our figures. That is the best indication of our growth. Do we not merit expansion? Respectfully submitted, Mrs. J.O. Teague, Librarian.
