Albertson Public Library – Books and More

ABOVE:  “A Woman’s War Record” donated by Captain Charles Albertson.

When the Albertson Public Library opened to the public in November 1923, most of the books in the collection were gifts from individuals and organizations. A number of books were also purchased from Baker & Taylor for the children’s department, since few of the donations were suitable for the juvenile collection.

Book Collection

Captain Charles Albertson amassed an impressive personal collection of approximately 12,000 books and a large collection of pamphlets, photographs, and clippings, long before his first visit to Orlando. The scope of the book collection is described in great detail in the January 19, 1906, edition of the Waverly Free Beacon. His collection was reviewed 14 years later by an inspector for the education department and reported in the September 3, 1920, edition of the Waverly Sun.

Captain Albertson’s writings on his love of collecting books are fascinating, explaining how he came to acquire many rare titles. The books he donated to the City of Orlando are quite fragile due to age and their many years on bookshelves in libraries before air conditioning was common, however, a small selection of the books have been digitized and are available to Orange County Library System card holders.

The Sorosis Club of Orlando also donated their entire collection of approximately 3,000 books to the library. Most of the Sorosis Club books are listed in Accession Book 1, entries 1-2000 (see links below).

In addition, books were donated by Wesleyan Bible Class, the Unitarian Church, D.A.R. of Orlando, Eclectic Club, First Church of Christ, Unity Alliance and Father Michael J. Fox, Pastor of St. James Cathedral.

This excerpt from the November 1923 Monthly Report, shows there were 9,674 books on hand at the opening on November 8th. Another 285 books were gifted and 482 purchased during the first month of operation, bringing the total books available by the end of November 1923 to 10,442.

Captain Albertson’s love of genealogy is evident in this early purchase of Savage’s four volume Genealogical Dictionary in March 1923, months before the library opened in November 1923.  View catalogs, business cards and early book orders

Mr. Frederick G. Birch was a representative of P. F. Collier & Son. View the entire catalog.

George Van Meter thanks Sexton Johnson, president of the Library Commission, on May 2, 1923, for accepting the books he wished to donate. View the books he donated.

The O’Neal-Branch store was located at 33-35 East Pine Street and the building is still there. It was owned by Orlando pioneer William R. O’Neal. View the invoice to see what the library purchased.

Accession Books

The original accession books still exist. They contain painstakingly recorded entries for every book added to the library collection, the call number, author, title and, eventually, the date the book was withdrawn. The entries also include the name of the person who donated the book or the company from which it was purchased.

Accession Book One

The first accession book contains entries 1 – 10,000, and includes books gifted by Captain Charles L. Albertson, the Sorosis Club (primarily found in entries 1-2000), and others in the community like George Van Meter, John H. Bentley, Mrs. Robert Howe, F. W. Taylor, the Unitarian Church, D.A.R. of Orlando, Eclectic Club, First Church of Christ, Unity Alliance and Father Michael J. Fox, Pastor of St. James Cathedral, and the Wesleyan Bible Class.

Accession Book Two

The second accession book contains entries 10,0001 – 20,000, and includes the remainder of the books gifted by Captain Charles L. Albertson and the Sorosis Club. In addition, there are gifts by individuals and groups including, Cathedral School, Daughters of the American Revolution, Sorosis, Unitarian Church, Unity Alliance, and the Weslyan Bible Class.

Purchases of books are from Carper’s Book Store (Juvenile and Adult 1st, 6th sections), O’Neal & Branch Co (Juvenile 1st, 4th, 6th sections), Yowell-Drew Company (6th Section) 1st, 4th, 6th sections

The 14000s contain notations indicating some of the books were sent to the School Department (collections in local schools) and to BTW – Booker T. Washington Library.

View both of the accession books and learn about other donors.

Bookplates

Bookplates were commonly used to identify the owner of a book – whether than be a library or an individual. Several beautiful bookplates can be found in many of the original Albertson Public Library books; three of which are shown below.

 
View larger copies below under IMAGES.

We are unsure who designed the first two but, because of a memo written in 1999 by library staff member John H. Martin, we know that a local artist named Lucretia Fay Halsted created the plate on the end. According to the memo, Charles Billings found original artwork for a number of bookplates at an estate sale around 1979 at the home of local artist, Lucretia Halsted. Comparing the images of other bookplates found by Mr. Billings, the page in the middle could certainly have been created by Ms. Halsted as well.

Circulation

Determining what types of books are popular with patrons is comparatively easy with computer software in present times, but back in the 1920s, it was all done by hand. The Albertson library staff kept meticulous records of every book checked out daily, sorting them into subject areas based on the Dewey Decimal system, as shown in the attached circulation stats from 1923-1941. Some of the sheets also contain monthly stats from the Colonial and Booker T. Washington branches and the school stations.

Adult and Juvenile books checked out were tracked as well as periodicals. Non-Fiction subjects tracked included: Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, Language, Sciences, Useful Arts, Fine Arts, Literature, Travel, Biography, History.

Perhaps not of great interest to many, it is an interesting look at what the people of Orlando were reading from the opening of the library in November 1923, through the Great Depression, and up to the beginning of the United States involvement in World War II.

1923     1924     1925     1926     1927     1928     1929     1930     1931     

1932     1933     1934     1935     1936     1937     1938     1939     1940     1941

Newspapers and Periodicals

Included in a booklet created for the 1923 opening of the library is an impressive collection of 63 periodicals and 8 newspapers available to the public. The November 1923 Monthly Report indicates that the number increased during the first month of operation to 106 periodicals and 10 newspapers! Library patrons were able to borrow “check out” the magazines for reading at home.

1923 booklet listing Magazines and Newspapers

Loose Leaf Encyclopedia – Clippings and Pamphlets

Captain Charles Albertson believed that information in books should be augmented by the collection of pamphlets and clippings from periodicals and newspapers. He referred to his collection of clippings, photographs and pamphlets as his “Loose Leaf Encyclopedia.” It is referenced in his writings about collecting books (p. 16) and mentioned in the January 31, 1926 Sunday Reporter Star overview of the library’s first two years.

Captain Albertson: “Nine tenths of the educational writing at present appears in newspapers and periodicals. All or a large part of that in the newspapers is lost, and that in the magazines and other periodicals is difficult to preserve. That this valuable material might be preserved I have been trying to devise some scheme for several years and believe I have succeeded. I divide the entire field into two hundred subjects, and this can be extended if desired to suit any and all.”

Sunday Reporter Star, January 31, 1926: “All clippings, pamphlets, and pictures in Captain Albertson’s Loose Leaf Encyclopedia have been classified and arranged in alphabetical order.”

Art Posters

Patrons were not able to borrow the art posters on display in what the Sunday Reporter Star described as the “Art Room,” but the room was a favorite of visitors and was often used for meetings and events.

The Art Room at the Albertson Public Library.

The front page of the Literature Art Music section of the January 31, 1926, Sunday Reporter Star featured photographs of the staff and interior of the Albertson Public Library.

An overview of the accomplishments made during the first two years of operation includes a break down of the number of books checked out by adults and children. Mention is also made of additions to the collection, the Loose Leaf Encyclopedia, creation of school class room libraries, and more.

Steel Engravings

It is mentioned in several places that, in addition to the books and loose leaf encyclopedia, Captain Albertson also presented to the library board a collection of 43 steel engravings of great value. The location of the engravings is still unknown in 2023, one hundred years after the gift was made. A document found recently indicates that the library attempted to sell the engravings in 1955 but found no takers. A note on the report directed staff to “Pack them up and store them.” Perhaps one day we will find them.

Read more about the Albertson Public Library – In the beginning