ibrarian's power. The ability of a general is not enough. He must
himself have the real human touch or he cannot call it forth from
others. There must be the promptness, the accuracy, the despatch which
marks military discipline; there must be also an intelligent conception
of the purpose of the library, a strong sense of personal responsibility
and of the dignity and beauty of the public service. It is sometimes
said that spirit of the library should be that of a merchant and his
well-trained clerks, anxious to please their customers. It should be
rather the fine spirit of a hostess with the daughters of the house
about her greeting her guests.

There is a fourth failure which is perhaps the root difficulty. It is
the failure to make the most of time. The day opens. The man hastens to
his place and finds a score of voices calling him to as many different
tasks. He hastily begins the one which seems to call the loudest, and
has just begun to gather up the threads of thought when there is a
peremptory call in another direction. And so he is driven through the
day, not controlling, but controlled, and constantly lashed by the
thought of neglected duties. By dint of keeping at it all through the
day and often into the night much work is done. The man gets and
deserves the reputation of a hard-working man, deliberately sacrificing
health, ease, leisure, and the joys of a scholar's life for the public
good.

Now this is the first and natural result of the enlarged conception of a
librarian's work. The man is dazed by the sense of responsibility and
almost crushed by the demands upon his time apparently separate and
conflicting. But this should be considered only the first process from
which the strong man will speedily evolve a wiser way. The fatal mistake
lies in considering this first stage inevitable and final. If a man
tarries here it argues limitation, not power. There certainly are men
who stand high in public life as well as those holding less prominent
positions, who accomplish an enormous amount of work with a sense of
freedom and an impression of leisure. As I have observed individual
cases, I am led to the conclusion that the explanation lies not in a
stronger physique, or a stronger intellect, but in a better organization
of work with reference to time. There is no need more imperative than
this for all of us who are proud to be called busy people. The trouble
is, we think we are too busy to stop and plan. Our p