Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITIES OF COMMISSIONS. Alabama The work of public and school library extension, and allied activities, such as are usually performed by Library Commissions, is carried on under the direction of a Library Extension Division of the State Department of Archives and History, with headquarters in the State Capitol, Montgomery, authorized by act approved March 5, 1907, and put in operation June 1, 1907. Library Legislation.. Library legislation in Alabama is quite limited, and yet it is sufficiently comprehensive to meet the needs of practically unlimited expansion, with the single exception of appropriations for direct aid. These laws may be grouped as (1) the statutory provisions for the organization and support of a State and Supreme Court Library; (2) the maintenance of historical and legislative reference collections by the Department of Archives and History; (3) a very few special acts incorporating local library associations; (4) provision for unlimited municipal support; (5) the legislation for the organization of the Library Extension Division. The following is the very comprehensive and elastic provision requiring the organization of this Division: "It shall encourage and assist in the establishment of public and school libraries, and in the improvement and strengthening of those already in existence; it shall give advice and provide assistance to libraries and library workers in library administration, methods and economy; and it shall conduct a system of traveling libraries.'' Advisory and Promotion Work. The efforts of the Division, from its very beginning, have been directed to arousing and shaping public opinion throughout the state looking to the establishment of new public and school libraries, as well as to the strengthening of those al...