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*I»T„ July 11, 1948. OTTUMWA DAILY COURIER 5We NominateAsrTheWoman Of ThetheShe has guidance“Being a librarian ismost exciting vocation in theworld 1“ That statement fromMiss May Belle Ditch, Ottumwa librarian, certainly throws into the discard the ideas many have about burying oneself in the musty atmosphere of a library.And as Miss Ditch tells the story it becomes clear that a librarian truly has her fingers on the pulse of the world, for as the pages ofhistory unfold and the happenings of the day pass in review, books which have been out of circulation for years suddenly become revitalized. Crisis in the far east, strife in Palestine, revolt in South America, the advent of summer, and the demand swings from calls for books on Japan, Egypt, the Argentine, to such prosaic things as putting up screen doors and spraying with DDT.Library (.nmvMiss Ditch has been associated with the Ottumwa public library since its early history.seen it grow under her from the first 3,000 volumes, *11 mostly heavy tomes, to an insti-tution with some 65,000 volumes including everything from the classics to th* latest best sellers with stops in between for books on everything from the care of babies to the building of a house.When she first came into the library as an assistant, th* most popular books were Alice C.Hogan s Mrs VViggs of the Cabbage Patch “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall, and Hall Caines The Eternal City.”Today there is less demand forfiction and a. steady swin . towardsbooks on economics, technical vocations, psychology, world trends.When the pendulum lt;f eventsswings toward a certain subject,an effort is made to obtain the best books available on that particular subject. That's the most important part of the librarian sselecting books.It takes a great deal of timeto spend money on books, and a librarian must be guided by her own reading, a whole battery of review periodicals and he requestsof patrons That the selection of hooks in the Ottumwa library isdemocratic and represents a serious effort to build a well-roundedcollei tinn and one responsive to its readers’ needs is due in great part to Miss Ditch.'specialized lt;ourse.A librarian s course is a highly specialised one and there are never enough graduate librarians to fill the demands. Opportunity has knock* d a number of times for this silvery-haired woman with her quiet voice and pleasing manner, to leave this library for others larger and offering better oppot turn ties But this is home and she believes the library here is the ideal size m which to work, where one may learn to know and understand the people who climb the high cement steps each day.Being a librarian is never dull Each day brings new problems, new requests. During the war parents came with letters from sons in far off places. They sought books on strange lands, so that they might know better the type of place in which their sons fought, When the boys came back therewere countless requests for innation on vocations andMiss May Belle Ditch.interesting manner, Miss Ditch is constantly in demand for pro-for clubs and churchgra?!♦groups.She tan iolt; k bark over the vears at a number of advance*j!|»rments which the Ottumwa Publiclibrarv has made since she tookover the reins. Through her efforts it was the first library tohave organized hospital service and the first in the middle west to have a jail servo e There is acomprehensive college Catalog file, a joke and quotation file, and the clipping tile has envelopes containing dippings on 1,800 sub* lects, none ot which are indexed in th*- Readers’ Guide. It was at her suggestion, during aof the executive board of the Iowa Library association in 1934, that the Johnson Brigham memorial award in Iowa was established. This has been presented to such well known authors as Frank Luther Mott, Mat Kinlay Kantor,Paul Engl*- James Norman Hall and Ruth Suckow, for their contributions to literature :rom Iowa authors.He Nominate,for her never failing Interest m civic problems, her pleasantSiWKmmanner; her kindness and willingness to be of assistance at ailtimes, her eitieieney in making theOttumwa Public librarv one of the tinest in the state, *».«nominate as Woman of the Week r* Belie Ditch.Tempest In A TeapotPherigo-lhompsonAgain In Boston, ThisWedding AnnouncedAboutMiss Hazel Pearl Thompson.BOSTON,*P Those ternwardthe lorgnettes of theIladies who live on Beacon street— were raised again today.In the old proud houses the famed accents took on the heat ofdaughter of Mr,Thompson, 1002street, and Clifford son of Mrs. ViolaFinns, were marriedrune at 8 o'* lock, atand Mrs. HarryE Pherigo, Phengo of Friday eve-a ceremonv
Newspaper Details
Ottumwa Daily Courier
Ottumwa, Iowa, US
Sat, Jul 17, 1948
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
State H.
IA, USA 27 Aug 2022
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