The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Mrs. Patricia Blair (left) with Mrs. Grace Stevenson of the Seattle Public Library over and over. This marked the real beginning of work with groups of libraries and with the state library agencies. Despite the fact that the regional meetings put us in touch with numbers of newly interested librarians, it was immediately apparent that we needed to know specifically which units and how many would be interested in cooperative planning for films. Accordingly, early in 1950, with the help of the U. S. Film Distribution Unit of the United Nations, a 16mm film questionnaire was sent to approximately 6000 public libraries in the United States. At the time the files were closed for tabulating, a return of 786 replies had been received. Many of the replies from the pitifully undersupported village and township libraries implied the familiar need for consolidation and/or state supplementation for special services such as films. In spite of this, some 200 libraries across the country indicated that they would like to explore joint film operations with their neighboring libraries and that they would contribute to joint film acquisition if they could be helped legally and administratively to do so. The results of this film survey were broken down by state and sent to every state agency. In some states the results were precisely what we had hoped they would be. The State Agency or the State Library Association, or both, picked up the ball and ran with it. Several states made state surveys and were able to get a larger number of more detailed returns. Some states set up their own audio-visual committees and went to work planning for state film coverage. Thus, in one way or another film circuits, in addition to the original Missouri and Ohio demonstrations, have actually gone into operation in Eastern Ohio, Western Ohio, Tennessee, the Greater Detroit Suburban area, New York State Library's Watertown Regional Branch, and in the state of Washington. The Cincinnati, or Western Ohio, Circuit with seven outlets got underway in January, 1951 and in the first month of its operation had 840 showings to 35,081 people. The air in California is fairly crackling with preparations as 11 libraries in the San Francisco bay area and 13 libraries in Southern California around Los Angeles prepare to get started in the fall of 1951. Circuit planning -Referred to as state library asencies because some stales have state libraries, others have State Library Commissions. in the earlier stages is also underway in Illinois, North Carolina, and Georgia. In general the public library film circuits fall into the following patterns: (1) Those administered by a state agency (Missouri State Library and New York State Library) (2) Those administered by a large library in the vicinity (Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati) (3) Those administered by a University (University of Washington) (4) Those in which the member libraries, being of the same (relative) size, administer jointly (Tennessee) During the last few months and last field trips before the Film Project office closes officially on June 15, 1951, emphasis on joint and statewide planning has been given priority above all else. And as the project terminates, there are 114 individual public library film outlets which are grouped into 66 units of library service. Of these, 58 are individual libraries maintaining film service alone — the remainder belong to one of the film circuits. Thirtytwo libraries are in cities of over 100,000 population, the remainder in smaller cities. Film Workshops Inevitably a certain number of activities proved useful enough to have been continued throughout all four years of the project. One of these was the Film Workshop. Altogether the Film Project office has sponsored directly, or helped to sponsor regionally, ten special Film Workshops (San Francisco, 1947; Atlantic City, 1948; seven regionals in 1949; Cleveland, 1950) and has conducted both film seminars and evaluation programs at each Midwinter Conference in 1948, '49, '50, and '51. A final twoday Film Workshop at the culmination of the project will be conducted prior to the ALA 75th Anniversary Conference in Chicago on July 7 and 8, 1951. This last Workshop will stress throughout the correlated use of films and books. These Film Workshops and programs have all tended to highlight critical evaluation and selection of good film material. They have also served as a platform to. introduce many notable film people to library audiences and vice versa, and from 1947 on we have been proud to share the experiences of such discussion leaders at ALA Workshops. Notable audio-visual specialists who have been with us are Lester Beck, Francis Noel, Edgar Dale, Otto H. Coelln, the late Kenneth Edwards, Dennis Williams, Arthur Stenius, Robert H. Schacht, Willard Van Dyke, Irving Jacoby, Arthur Mayer, Philip Stapp, A. J. Foy Cross, Floyde E. Brooker, William Fulton, and many others. Information and Exchange Service Another useful activity which has brought an interesting and wide response is the information and exchange service. This consists of the informal ALA Film Newsletter which has gone out at least once a month and which always has tucked in with it one or two outstanding sample programs, fliers or bibliographies. We know that this news and exchange service is appreciated because of the varied comments and thank-you notes received. Member libraries have contributed generously to this service and have kept the Film Office supplied with large quanti June, 1951 223