DISBURSEMENTS. 1906 July 25, A. E. Sheldon, expenses.. October 10, S. L. Geisthardt, postage and stationery October 10, A. E. Sheldon, expenses bal ance Oklahoma trip.... October 10, cash, exchange charged. Total disbursements Balance in National Bank of Commerce, per check herewith.... .$ 62 00 1 75 51 73 15 $115 63 $228 79 I submit herewith bank book duly balanced and vouchers and check to the order of the Society for the balance on hand. Beginning with July 5, 1906, I have kept a record of all receipts issued on stubs from which the receipts were detached, numbered consecutively. Prior to that time there was no regular system of giving or issuing receipts. · Dated this 16th day of January, 1907. S. L. GEISTHARDT, Treasurer. Accepted, approved, and ordered placed on file by the Board of Directors, February 1, 1907. C. S. PAINE, Secretary. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. REPORT OF MUSEUM COMMITTEE. To the Executive Board, Nebraska State Historical Society: We find a brief catalogue of the museum ready for the printer and recommend that it be published in connection with the report of the Archeologist. This report has been published in the Agricultural report without expense to the Nebraska State Historical Society heretofore, and we recommend that it hereafter be published by the Society. We wish to express our approval of your action in setting apart $250 for field expenses for this department. We believe that the services of a stenographer are necessary, not only to prepare the letters, but to assist in preparing manuscript and elaborating notes which are to be used in the literary work in hand; an average of one hour a day will accomplish the necessary work. It is impossible to properly preserve the specimens and interest the public unless the dust and dirt be kept out of the whole building; we recommend that this matter be arranged for in some manner so that less of the time of Mr. Blackman be taken for that work and more of his time be devoted to field exploration and arrangement of the specimens in the cases. The matter of popular lectures throughout the state should have more attention. There is nothing which will better advertise the work and bring the people into closer touch with the Society. To that end we recommend that funds be set aside for the purchase of a stereopticon lantern and equipment, and that lantern slides of the important specimens be made, giving full credit as to ownership or authorship, and thus carry the museum to the people who can not come to the museum. We feel justified in asking your honorable body to apportion a fair share of the legislative appropriation to this department of the work. The share we are asking for is scarcely one-fifth, and we believe if the members of the Society were to decide the matter they would justify you in expending at least one-fourth on this department. We have confidence that you will see that a just proportion is expended here. We believe that you will not let this important part of the work be handicapped for lack of funds. February 1, 1907. E. E. BLACKMAN, 268 NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. REPORT OF THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE. To the Board of Directors of the Nebraska State Historical Society: Soon after the appointment of the library committee of the State Historical Society a meeting was held in the Society's rooms. After a thorough inspection of the library it was decided that the one great need was a librarian. There is much valuable material on the shelves, but it is not in such form as to be available. The records are inadequate. While a great deal has been done in the past few months in arranging the books on the shelves there is still much to do. There should be a new accession record, a shelf list from which an inventory can be taken, and a catalogue which will make the contents of the library of easy access. There is doubtless much material duplicated which should be sorted out and listed for exchange. Continuations and sets may be incomplete. But little can be done until a complete catalogue is made. Now this work of organizing the library may be done in two ways. A temporary librarian may be employed for several months who will plan the work, get it well started, and train some person to carry it on, the person trained to be some one with the natural ability and such knowledge of office work as will fit her to carry a great deal of the work of the Society, the correspondence, etc. In this way some one would be employed who, by her previous experience, could be an assistant to the Secretary and by her training under the library organizer would have the knowledge of library methods necessary to carry on the work of the library. An organizer could doubtless be obtained for $75 a month. The future librarian should be employed at the same time to assist in the work and to learn how to carry it on herself. By the other plan a graduate of a library school could be employed as permanent librarian. Such a person could reorganize the library and gradually assume much of the other work to be done. Under this plan a person of good education can be found, doubtless a college graduate as well as a graduate of a library school, who would have, by reason of her professional training, a broad outlook. Handling the books through every process of accessioning, classifying, and cataloguing she would acquire a knowledge of the books themselves very valuable in future reference work. Such a librarian could, we think, be found who would be willing to start in at $600 a year. At any rate, adopt which plan you will, there should be some person whose first duty is to the library, who will make this collection of the value that it should be to the community and to the whole state, a person who will watch the book catalogues for desirable purchases, who will build up the library systematically along its special lines, who will keep up a live mailing list of good exchanges, who will take care of these accessions intelligently when they come and make them available to the public at large. It is very desirable to get the library into good shape now before it is any larger. Every year makes the task more difficult and more expensive. It seems to us that in the apportionment of funds there should be a définite sum, however small, set aside for the library outside the salary of the person in charge, who, as she would do other work for the Society, could be put on the general salary list. Unless there is such a sum, we fear that the money will all be absorbed by the other activities of the Society. The library committee will gladly serve as an advisory board in the book purchases, although they believe that it is more important just now to get into good order the books already in the library than to add more. These suggestions are respectfully submitted by your library committee. CHARLOTTE TEMPLETON, Chairman, W. P. AYLSWORTH. February 1, 1907. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKING HISTORIC SITES. Lincoln, Nebraska, January 17, 1907. To the Board of Directors of the Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska: SIRS AS chairman of the committee on landmarks I am not able to report much that is tangible in the way of marking locations having a local or general history sufficient to be perpetuated by an expenditure of time and money on the part of the Society. The fiftieth anniversary of the council held by Gen. John M. Thayer for the territory with the Pawnee Indians occurred on the 25th day of May, 1905. The event was celebrated by General Thayer in person pointing out the location, and the erection of a granite monument about 31⁄2 feet high to mark the site, on the farm of Robert McLean in S. 2, T. 16 N., R. 8 E. On the monument is inscribed "Pawnee Council, May 25, 1855." In the early part of November last I visited the site of old Ft. McPherson on the south bank of the Platte river in T. 12 N., R. 28 W., Lincoln county, near Maxwell on the Union Pacific R. R. The row of cottonwood trees planted in front of the officers' quarters is still standing and in fine growing condition, and the old street in front is now the county road, although it does not conform to the section line. Cottonwood Springs, situated in a bend of Cottonwood canyon, a short distance east of the fort, was famous in the days of overland travel. It is now smothered or choked up by the sloughing off and washing down of the clay bank of the canyon. The large cottonwood tree which shaded the spring, I was told, was ordered cut down, during the occupation of the fort, by order of Colonel (General) Emery, to prevent the soldiers lounging around the spring. The old flagstaff was of red cedar and stood in the center of the parade ground. It was the initial point of the survey |