,,the ,,public ,,library4 ,illustration3 ,,king',s ,,library1 ,,british ,,museum4 ,photo by ,donald ,macbeth ,,the ,,public ,,library ,by ,,ernest ,a4 ,,baker1 ,d4,lit4 ,,published ,,in ,,london ,,by ,,daniel ,o',,connor #ij ,,great ,,russell ,,street1 ,w4,c4#a4 #aibb4 ,france and ,england literally1 observe1 buy panic of each other2 they pay1 each of them1 for ten thousand thousand pounds' worth of terror1 a year4 ,now suppose1 instead of buying these ten millions' worth of panic annually1 they made up their minds to be at peace with each other1 and buy ten millions' worth of knowledge annually2 and then each nation spent the ten thousand thousand pounds a year in founding royal libraries1 royal art galleries1 royal museums1 royal gardens1 and places of rest4 ,might it not be better somewhat for both ,french and ,english8 ,,ruskin3 ,sesame and ,lilies4 ,,contents4 ,,chap4 ,,page4 ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,preface ,i4--,,historical ,,sketch #a ,,ii4--,,what ,,is ,a ,,library ,,service8 #cb ,,iii4--,,library ,,extension #if ,,iv4--,,rural ,,libraries #ace ,v4--,a ,,national ,,library ,,service #afi ,,vi4--,,training ,,in ,,librarianship #baa ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,,page ,,king',s ,,library1 ,,british ,,museum ,frontispiece ,to face page ,,lambeth ,,palace ,,library #ab ,,central ,,public ,,library1 ,,nottingham #bb ,,reading ,,room ,,of ,,the ,,british ,,museum #dd ,,guildhall ,,library #eb ,,reading ,,room1 ,,stepney ,,public ,,library #ef ,,patent ,,office ,,library #gd ,,library ,,of ,,the ,,institute ,,of ,,actuaries1 ,,staple ,,inn ,,hall #ij ,,library ,,of ,,the ,,south-,,eastern ,,agricultural ,,college1 ,,wye #afb ,,reading ,,room ,,of ,,the ,,general ,,library1 ,,university ,,of ,,london #agh ,,the ,,oratory ,,library #bjj ,,university ,,college1 ,,general ,,library #bad ,,reading ,,room ,,of ,,the ,,goldsmiths' ,,library1 ,,university ,,of ,,london #bbf ,,preface4 ,our ,public ,libraries are entering upon the critical period of their history4 ,they have been saved by the ,act of #aiai from imminent bankruptcy2 but the efforts of the ,adult ,education ,committee to find a place for them in a national scheme of reconstruction seem to have come to naught4 ,an ,act which it was hoped might have been a new charter1 and have ensured their utilization as a chief instrument of adult education and the intellectual and spiritual development of the people1 did away with two heavy grievances the abolition of which was long overdue2 it left a programme of constructive reforms unfulfilled4 ,in this brief account of our public libraries1 the work they have done and the far greater work they are capable of doing1 many points have been suggested that call for more comprehensive legislation4 ,the one hope now is that the urban and rural libraries already existing or soon to be may be co-ordinated into a national system1 or group of systems1 worked on economic lines1 and empowered to act the part they were surely destined for in a civilized world4 ,sociologists1 including those treating of education in the widest sense1 have paid scant attention to the part played by the public library in social life1 in the present or the future4 ,even such an inventory of our intellectual assets as the ,cambridge ,history of ,english ,literature has in its fifteen big volumes no reference to the effects of the ,ewart ,act or to the vast collections of literature amassed and thrown open to the people through its operation4 ,this book will be a small addition to a very small group of works on various sides of a momentous subject4 ,the author is deeply indebted to ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,berwick ,sayers1 ,chief ,librarian1 ,croydon ,public ,libraries1 for his kindness in reading the proofs and for many useful suggestions1 and to his daughter1 ,miss ,ruth ,baker1 for indexing the book4 ,e4 ,a4 ,b4 ,i4 ,,historical ,,sketch4 ,in the period of reconstruction after ,waterloo1 there was1 among other analogies with the present time1 a keen popular desire for education and opportunities for self-culture4 ,it met with both encouragement and discouragement from the governing classes1 more of the latter than the former1 much more of direct opposition than dare show its head to-day4 ,the state of the universities and the public schools had been since the middle of the last century more backward than ever before in history4 ,both universities still shut their doors to ,dissenters4 ,they had no sympathy with and probably no consciousness of the needs of the masses for self-improvement4 ,in spite of earnest writers on education1 and manifold discussions of ,rousseau's doctrines1 even in the ingratiating form of fiction1 nothing could stir the sullen apathy of the ruling powers2 and in educational machinery and practice ,england lagged far behind both ,germany and ,france4 ,samuel ,whitbread introduced an ,education ,bill in #ahjg which was rejected by the ,lords4 ,after his death1 ,brougham became leader of the group of educationists in the ,house of ,commons1 and in #ahaf secured the appointment of a ,select ,committee to inquire into the education of the lower orders of the metropolis4 ,the report of this committee furnished material for two ,bills4 ,the first1 for the reform of educational charities1 passed in #ahah1 after its best features had been pruned away by the ,government2 but the ,education ,bill of #ahbj1 which would have extended to ,england the excellent parish school system of ,scotland1 was thrown out4 ,not until #ahcc was the work already being performed by voluntary agencies approved1 by the grant of an annual sum of #bj1jjj to assist in the erection of school buildings4 ,not until #ahci was there any recognition of the national responsibility for primary education4 ,in that year1 a committee of the ,privy ,council was appointed to superintend the application of grants for educational purposes4 ,this was the forerunner of the ,education ,department to be established in #ahef4 ,roebuck in #ahcc had failed to carry a resolution in the ,commons in favour of universal compulsory education4 ,on the eve of the ,education ,act of #ahgj1 it was computed that there were nearly as many children without any kind of schooling as there were attending all the state-aided and private schools put together4 ,so slowly had education advanced4 ,but1 whilst ,parliament was engaged in repressing or ignoring educational demands1 or debating whether it was wise or safe that the commonalty should be educated at all1 the people1 headed by those who had faith in an educated nation1 were establishing the requisite machinery for themselves4 ,there had been elementary schools of a sort in existence in most parts of the country for nearly a century4 ,the academies set up by the ,dissenters after the ,toleration ,act1 the charity schools of the ,society for the ,promotion of ,christian ,knowledge1 the schools founded by the ,methodists and the ,society of ,friends1 provided a general education based primarily on the principle of moral and religious instruction4 ,many of these schools catered for grown-up persons as well as children2 the ,sunday ,schools1 for instance1 which sprang up after #aghj1 taught reading and sometimes writing to the illiterate of all ages4 ,there were also private schools in the towns and many villages where the rudiments were imparted1 unsatisfactorily1 for a few pence4 ,these organized efforts were mainly the work of middle-class evangelicals and philanthropists intent on the moral and religious improvement of the people4 ,but new motives came into play in the new century1 and the people themselves began to take an active part in the movement1 with far-reaching results4 ,political agitation might be repressed1 but an intellectual awakening could not be extinguished4 ,knowledge was demanded for its own sake2 it was demanded also for economic reasons4 ,the artisan who saw wonderful mechanical inventions enabling him to perform his operations with undreamt ease and efficiency1 or depriving him of his job1 was roused to an intense interest in science and a desperate desire to fit himself for a place in the new industrial order4 ,the country was flocking into the towns2 the major part of the population was becoming industrial4 ,education was perceived to be a necessity of life1 and a necessity that concerned1 not merely the rising generation1 but even more momentously the adult workman4 ,a passionate demand for education was faced with a sporadic supply1 and it was a demand for education in other directions than had been contemplated by the promoters of charity schools and ,dissenting academies4 ,whitbread and ,brougham1 ,bentham1 ,place1 and ,mill encouraged and directed these aspirations4 ,philosophic ,radicalism affirmed the right of every citizen to an elementary education1 which the ,state was in duty bound to provide4 ,further1 such education must be unsectarian2 and here were the beginnings of the age-long strife between the advocates of secular education and the defenders of voluntary schools1 which were now being planted all over the country by the ,national ,society and the ,british and ,foreign ,society4 ,throughout the nineteenth century the history of education was chequered by these conflicts over the rights and wrongs of religious teaching4 ,another thing that hampered progress was the temptation to provide schooling on the cheap1 by the monitorial system and other contrivances1 which were maintained for reasons of economy long after they had been discredited4 ,we shall find this ,british failing again and again crippling the finest schemes1 and entailing costs in the long run incalculably greater than the saving at the outset4 ,it is a form of economy that is not economic4 ,how deep and sincere was the working man's desire for enlightenment is illustrated most tellingly by the co-operative institutions which it now brought into being in almost every industrial centre4 ,the ,mechanics' ,institutes were not gifts from a railway company or a large firm to its employees1 but the creation of the operatives themselves1 established and kept up mostly from their own unaided resources4 ,apart from the schools and classes for children and adults carried on by the religious bodies in the eighteenth century1 these ,mechanics' ,institutes1 with their lectures1 classes1 study-circles1 debating societies1 libraries1 and other educational activities1 were the real beginnings of adult education in this country4 ,they were the immediate forerunners of the municipal library1 and1 at a further remove1 of the modern technical college and the polytechnic4 ,thus adult education begins in a spontaneous movement1 ready for large self-sacrifices to achieve its practical ideals2 and1 at the outset1 the library is recognised as an integral part of its scheme4 ,the great mistake in the ,public ,library ,acts1 we shall find1 was that they failed to build on the combination of reciprocal activities in this promising model1 and thus divorced the library from the other departments of adult education4 ,conversely1 the weakness of many admirable schemes for adult education has been neglect or omission of the library as an essential part4 ,once the separation had taken effect1 it became very difficult to establish relations again4 ,librarians have since learned the impossibility of making one part of the social machine work properly in detachment from the rest4 ,the ,mechanics' ,institutes were not troubled with unprepared and indifferent readers4 ,they led their horses to the stream and had no difficulty in making them drink4 ,the troughs provided by their municipal successors were larger and handsomer1 but the excellent supply of water was too often unappreciated4 ,ewart and his coadjutors in #ahej concentrated on the single object1 libraries2 and libraries they got1 their bare object--bare at first in the literal sense of the word1 till they were later on allowed to spend money in furnishing them with books4 ,as a consequence of this policy1 libraries and art galleries1 schools1 technical education1 university extension1 tutorial and continuation classes1 have carried on their work on separate lines1 though labouring for identical ends1 and though they might have worked in unison much more effectively and economically4 ,the problem now is to bring them into harmony again4 ,perhaps the time was not ripe for such a comprehensive alliance4 ,perhaps1 also1 had such an idea been realized it would have had to undergo the blighting influence of the examination system and payment by results4 ,on the other hand1 a popular institution might have contained the antidote to those delusions4 ,at all events1 it is a matter for lasting regret that a great opportunity was missed4 ,nationalized ,mechanics' ,institutes1 cured of the imperfections due to their dependence on the voluntary support of the unwealthy1 with their numerous activities developed1 their technical and utilitarian classes supplemented by humanist1 non-vocational teaching1 and the recreative side fully expanded1 would have been an invaluable instrument for the great social effort which was then and is now required4 ,and the initiative would have come from below1 not from above2 the danger of bureaucratic and academic projects for other people's welfare would have been avoided4 ,a central part of this many-sided organism would have been the library1 a part ministering directly to every other part4 ,such a conception is still useful4 ,in town life the different agencies may have to work side by side1 though there need not be dense partitions between4 ,in the villages1 where there are no museums or picture-galleries1 and the club is too often only a well-meaning but aimless substitute for the public-house1 institutes of such a composite and elastic type are obviously the very thing required4 ,the first of these promising institutions came into existence in #ahbc4 ,george ,birkbeck had given free courses of lectures to artisans at the ,andersonian ,institution in ,glasgow1 where1 after his removal to ,london1 there had been a schism4 ,the seceding members set up for themselves the ,glasgow ,mechanics' ,institution1 and elected ,birkbeck their first president4 ,next year1 the ,london ,mechanics' ,institution1 now ,birkbeck ,college1 was started in emulation1 speedily enrolling some #ac1jjj working men as members4 ,that same year saw the establishment of an institute at ,manchester1 which had had a ,literary and ,philosophical ,society since #agha1 an offshoot of this1 the ,college of ,arts and ,sciences1 being a sort of prototype of the new working men's institution4 ,huddersfield1 ,leeds1 and other industrial towns followed suit next year2 and by #ahcg the ,west ,riding had so many that a union of mechanics' and similar institutions was formed1 to be followed in #ahci by a ,metropolitan ,association1 and by a ,lancashire and ,cheshire ,union in #ahdg4 8,in #ahea it was estimated that there were #faj institutes in ,england with a membership of over #fjj1jjj1 that the number of lectures delivered in #ahej was #c1jed1 and that the number of students attending classes was #af1jbi40a ,in #ahdi1 four hundred ,mechanics' ,institutes had between three and four hundred thousand volumes1 with a circulation of more than a million4 ,in his ,practical ,observations upon the ,education of the ,people1 ,brougham1 one of the four trustees of the ,london institution1 announced the programme of what ,peacock in ,crotchet ,castle nicknamed the 8,steam ,intellect ,society40 ,lectures and conversation classes1 on the lines of a modern tutorial class1 libraries and book-clubs1 were to be provided2 and1 as a more extended enterprise1 elementary primers and other cheap works on science and the useful arts were to be published for the benefit of the working classes4 ,brougham was the first president of the ,society for the ,diffusion of ,useful ,knowledge1 founded in #ahbg to give effect to this second part of the scheme4 ,dr4 ,folliott tells the company at ,crotchet ,castle how his house was nearly burned down by his cook taking it into her head to study hydrostatics1 in a sixpenny tract published by the ,steam ,intellect ,society1 and reading what he calls 8the rubbish0 in bed4 ,other persons1 besides ,peacock1 were disturbed by this portentous 8march of intellect40 ,the ,mechanics' ,institutes spread to all parts of ,england and ,scotland1 but they failed1 from lack of means1 to find the qualified lecturers and experienced teachers that their well-meaning but ambitious aims required4 ,good teachers were very scarce in those days4 ,it was more than combinations of the lower middle classes unaided by public funds could be expected to achieve4 ,when1 in the course of two decades1 the first enthusiasm faded1 the buildings fell more and more into the hands of those who could afford to maintain them as comfortable lounges and literary clubs4 ,this educational failure and the secular nature of the education that they sought made them unsatisfactory in the eyes of the ,christian ,socialist group1 who in #ahed founded what they considered a better type of mechanics' institute in the ,working ,men's ,college4 ,but the ,mechanics' ,institutes1 though most of them were transformed or absorbed into a different kind of institute1 did not cease to exist2 a number have survived to this day or the eve of it1 and some have carried on work of priceless importance1 side by side with the public libraries1 which were now about to arise4 ,to say that there were no free libraries for the people before #ahej is practically though not literally true4 ,those interested in the history of libraries can point to many older examples1 certain of which were open to all comers4 ,long before the nineteenth century idealists schemed to provide every reader in the nation with access to books1 as for instance the ,scottish grammarian ,james ,kirkwood1 author of a pamphlet in #afii entitled 8,an ,overture for ,founding and ,maintaining of ,bibliothecks in every ,paroch throughout the ,kingdom10 and of a project for erecting a library in every presbytery or at least county in the ,highlands4 ,the project was approved by the ,general ,assembly1 but had no great results4 ,in the ,middle ,ages1 many of the monastic libraries were nominally open to the public2 but as a reading public hardly existed the fact does not amount to much4 ,nor is it of more than antiquarian interest whether ,london had a public library as far back as the early fifteenth century1 the joint foundation of ,sir ,richard ,whittington and ,william ,bury4 ,readers did exist at the beginning of the next century1 wherefore the appearance of a city library here and there is of more significance4 ,norwich claims to have the oldest of these that has never perished1 founded in #afjh and preserved in the public library there to-day4 ,the library founded at ,bristol in #afae came under the operation of the ,public ,library ,acts when these were adopted by that city in #ahgf4 ,the venerable ,chetham ,library at ,manchester dates from #afed1 when the books were placed in the quarters they still occupy in the college built in #adba4 ,the number of volumes is vastly greater1 but the ,chetham ,library has not changed in character or in the atmosphere of a still remoter antiquity that it had at its beginning4 ,dr4 ,bray and his associates established #gh parochial libraries and #ce lending libraries between #agjd and #ahjg1 which were meant for the use of poor clergymen4 ,he also secured an ,act 8,for the ,better ,preservation of ,parochial ,libraries20 but this in time became a dead letter4 ,the ,british ,museum was established by ,act of ,parliament in #agec1 opened to the public in #agei1 and gradually absorbed various royal and other collections1 forming a great storehouse of books for scholars and other literary workers4 ,london1 nearly a century later1 when the public library agitation was in progress1 had four public or semi-public libraries1 those at ,sion ,college and ,lambeth ,palace1 and ,dr4 ,williams's and ,archbishop ,tenison's libraries4 ,in a number of large towns1 readers of the better class enjoyed the advantages of good reference and lending libraries belonging to the ,literary and ,scientific ,institutions4#b ,the library work of the ,mechanics' ,institutes has already been described4 ,but the libraries of various kinds that were in existence1 most of them subscription libraries or otherwise restricted to a narrow class of users1 served only to whet the appetite of the ardent seeker after knowledge1 and to provide the apostle of popular culture with an illustration of the possible4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,langley ,sons4 ,,lambeth ,,palace ,,library4 ,the campaign which led to the ,public ,library ,acts of #ahej and #ahec opened in #ahdd1 when ,richard ,cobden presided at a public meeting in ,manchester to consider the means of improving popular taste4 ,joseph ,brotherton1 the member for ,salford1 laid the proposals carried at this meeting before the influential ,william ,ewart1 member for the ,dumfries ,burghs1 a rich1 well-educated1 much-travelled person1 who was an old parliamentary hand1 with a general desire to see his country provided with library facilities at least equal to those which he had found on the ,continent4 ,brotherton1 a ,liberal of the ,manchester school and a strict ,nonconformist1 had a profound belief in an educated people1 and a special confidence in the ,lancashire operative2 he was returned again and again for ,salford1 holding the seat continuously #ahcb-eg4 ,these two public men found an energetic and well-informed coadjutor in ,edward ,edwards1 a supernumerary assistant in the ,british ,museum1 who had cut a prominent figure in the parliamentary inquiry into the administration of that library1 writing pamphlets and appearing as an expert witness before the second ,select ,committee in #ahcf1 after forcing himself into notice by his severe handling of the evidence laid before the committee of #ahce4 ,his wide knowledge of libraries at home and abroad and his thorough acquaintance with the methods of the ,british ,museum1 particularly on their defective side1 together with the freedom and far-sightedness of his criticisms and suggestions for reform1 impressed the committee1 and led1 rather surprisingly1 to his being given his post in the ,museum in #ahci4 ,later1 his independent attitude led to friction with his chief ,panizzi1 and he left abruptly in #ahej4 ,edwards was broad-minded enough not to pin his faith on libraries alone as an engine of intellectual progress2 he took part as a pamphleteer in the warfare over ,london ,university in #ahcf1 persistently maintained that libraries and schools were complementary to each other1 and pointed out that libraries should fulfil a very definite function in promoting the intellectual life of all classes4 ,his radical views on the extension of hours and the opening of the reading room in the evening1 on branch libraries for the utilization of duplicate books1 on improved catalogues1 the better supply of foreign literature and materials for research1 and on numerous points of administration at the ,british ,museum1 have been fulfilled in large part since his time2 yet some still remain a counsel of perfection4 ,his aid was enlisted by ,ewart and ,brotherton after he had published some long articles1 packed with statistics1 on the inadequacy and inaccessibility of the library resources of ,great ,britain and ,ireland1 and on the liberal provision enjoyed on the ,continent1 which had a great deal to do with making converts and securing votes when public library legislation was before ,parliament4 ,edwards probably exaggerated his case1 and painted too glowing a picture of the wealthy ,continental libraries1 at any rate in the freedom of access said to be enjoyed by every citizen4 ,but his instances of ,british scholars put to undue expense and compelled to live abroad in order to have libraries of historical material at hand were relevant enough4 ,gibbon complained that he had the greatest difficulty in consulting books and had to obtain them from abroad at a heavy expense2 he found himself better provided when living in ,switzerland or ,france than in his own country4 ,buckle1 later on1 and1 still later1 ,lecky and ,acton had to seek their material in ,continental libraries4 ,one telling point ,edwards made1 that ,england was unrivalled in its private collections1 though so poor in those open to the public--a state of things by no means wholly remedied yet4 ,meanwhile1 ,ewart and ,brotherton having put their heads together1 a piece of legislation was secured that would and did ensure the establishment of a certain number of public libraries1 rate-aided if not entirely rate-supported4 ,this was the ,act of #ahde for 8,encouraging the ,establishment of ,museums in ,large ,towns10 first-fruits of the proposals passed by the ,manchester meeting of the previous year4 ,it authorized the levy of a halfpenny rate1 in towns of not less than #aj1jjj inhabitants1 for the erection of museums of science and art2 it did not allow public funds to be used for purchasing books or even exhibits2 and it was supposed that salaries and other maintenance charges would be defrayed out of the penny-fees for admission4 ,timid and inadequate as such measures were1 the ,act was followed at once by the opening of museums at ,warrington1 ,salford1 ,canterbury1 ,liverpool1 ,leicester1 ,dover1 and ,sunderland1 the first three towns forming collections of books as well4 ,in #ahdh ,warrington provided the first free reference library under the ,act1 and also a lending library for the use of subscribers4 ,brotherton1 with the aid of a local benefactor1 saw to it that a library and museum were opened at ,salford in #ahej4 ,thus1 although looking back we may think it strange that museums should be started before libraries1 they did prove a stepping-stone to the greater necessity4 ,ewart now applied himself to inducing the ,house of ,commons to appoint a ,select ,committee on the question of public libraries1 and availed himself of the services of ,edwards in preparing evidence and framing proposals4 ,edwards was the chief witness before the first ,committee appointed1 in #ahdi1 and a special motion of thanks for his services was appended to their ,report4 ,he gave an account of the resources1 conditions1 and relative accessibility to the public of #ce ,british libraries1 the majority of which were university or college foundations and only two1 the ,warrington and ,chetham libraries1 public in a true sense2 he drew an elaborate comparison with #chc libraries of not less than #aj1jjj volumes apiece which1 he affirmed1 were open to every one on the ,continent1 and with about a hundred in the ,united ,states4 ,in his examination by the ,committee1 he pleaded for grants from the ,privy ,council to supplement local contributions1 as were already being given for elementary education2 the inspection of libraries by the ,committee of ,council on ,education1 and the institution of a ,ministry of ,public ,instruction charged with the control of public education and the supervision of public libraries2 the establishment1 not as a tax on publishers but at the national expense1 of public depositories for all books published in the ,united ,kingdom2 the international exchange of books for the encouragement of libraries4 ,edwards urged other advanced ideas1 some of which1 such as the provision of a different class of public libraries for country parishes1 have generations later begun to be put into actuality4 ,a second ,select ,committee was appointed early next year to report on the best means of extending the establishment of free public libraries1 and ,edwards was again in request as a witness4 ,an article of his in the ,british ,quarterly for ,feb41 #ahej1 had no doubt considerable influence on the passage of the ,public ,libraries ,act on ,march #acth1 in spite of damaging criticisms of his statistics4 ,the ,ewart ,act1 as it is often called1 8for ,enabling ,town ,councils to ,establish ,public ,libraries and ,museums10 was purely permissive4 ,a poll of burgesses was required before the ,act could be put in force1 and a two-thirds majority was prescribed4 ,the promoters believed that if buildings were put up1 suitable contents would be forthcoming from local benefactors4 ,accordingly1 no power was granted to buy books4 ,the rate levied must not exceed a halfpenny1 the same as had been allowed by the ,museums ,act1 of which this was merely an extension4 ,the debate on the second reading is remarkably interesting4 ,the arguments of ,ewart1 ,brotherton1 the father of ,labouchere1 and even ,john ,bright1 were essentially utilitarian4 8,nothing10 ,bright was sure1 8would tend more to the preservation of order than the diffusion of the greatest amount of intelligence1 and the prevalence of the most complete and open discussion1 amongst all classes40 ,brotherton said1 8,here were #b1jjj1jjj a year paid for the punishment of crime1 yet honourable gentlemen objected to tax themselves a halfpenny in the pound for the prevention of crime4 ,in his opinion it was of little use to teach people to read unless you afterwards provided them with books to which they might apply the faculty they had so acquired4444 ,he was satisfied that expenditure upon this object would be productive not only of immense moral good but of very material public economy in the long run40 ,the adverse arguments were likewise utilitarian and1 as a rule1 economic in the purely mercenary sense4 ,roundell ,palmer1 afterwards ,earl of ,selborne1 8was most truly desirous to see learning extended10 but protested against compulsory rating1 which he loftily said would put a positive check on the 8voluntary self-supporting desire for knowledge which at present existed amongst the people40 ,one obstructor1 who 8did not like reading at all1 and hated it when at ,oxford10 said1 8,however excellent food for the mind might be1 food for the body was what was now most wanted for the people20 and that he would have been 8much more ready to support the honourable gentleman if he had tried to encourage national industry by keeping out the foreigner40 ,summed up1 the objections were four3 that increased taxation was undesirable2 that it was unjust if not unconstitutional to make non-users pay for the upkeep of the new institution2 that too much knowledge was a dangerous thing2 that there were ulterior objects in the project1 and that libraries might become centres of political agitation1 awake feelings of discontent1 and encourage economic unrest4 ,the same arguments1 observe1 were heard in the brief debates accorded to the abortive amending ,bills in the decade before the last ,public ,libraries ,act4 ,yet the ,ewart ,act1 at this interval of time1 looks a timid1 experimental1 and by no means far-sighted enactment1 defended against excesses by clauses that could scarce fail to make the very existence of the institutions it brought forth precarious and unfruitful4 ,such clauses could hardly have been accepted had not the framers of the ,bill contemplated further legislation at an early date1 and concentrated their efforts on making a small but irrevocable beginning4 ,the operation of ,ewart's ,act was extended to ,ireland and ,scotland in #ahec1 and the same year the ,act was amended with respect to ,scotland1 raising the rate limitation to one penny4 ,ewart brought in a ,bill in #ahed for raising the rate limit in ,england and ,wales to the same figure1 and authorizing expenditure of the rate income on books4 ,by this time thirteen towns had adopted the ,act4 ,as the ,government opposed the ,bill1 it was dropped after the second reading2 but next year he brought in a new ,bill1 which1 after a keen debate on the proposal to provide newspapers out of the rates1 passed with little demur4 ,the rate limit was now one penny1 and places of #e1jjj inhabitants or more were entitled to the benefits of the ,act2 clauses dealing with borrowing powers1 the acquisition of sites1 the mode of adoption by a poll of ratepayers1 and the special circumstances of the ,city of ,london1 were included4 ,there were amending ,acts in #ahff and later years1 but this remained the principal statute for ,england and ,wales till #ahib4 ,the first town to set up a municipal reference and lending library under the ,act of #ahej was ,manchester4 ,a subscription reaching #ab1hbc1 of which #hjj was collected by a working men's committee1 was raised2 the ,act was adopted by an enormous majority of ratepayers2 ,edward ,edwards was appointed librarian1 and books were acquired in readiness out of the voluntary fund4 ,the original building in ,campfield was opened on ,september #bnd1 #aheb1 with great ceremony1 ,dickens1 ,thackeray1 ,lytton1 and ,monckton ,milnes being among the statesmen and other personages on the platform4 ,dickens described the ,manchester undertaking as 8a great free school bent on carrying instruction to the poorest hearths40 ,thackeray improved upon ,hogarth's contrast of the wicked mechanic reading ,moll ,flanders and the good mechanic reading the story of the apprentice who became ,lord ,mayor1 by picturing the ,lancashire mechanic reading ,carlyle1 ,dickens1 and ,bulwer4 ,john ,bright looked forward to when the farmer and country labourer would have a library service4 ,norwich and ,bolton were actually before ,manchester in adopting the ,act1 ,oxford and ,winchester were almost as prompt4 ,liverpool obtained a special ,act in #aheb to raise a penny rate for a library and museum4 ,brighton had got a local ,act in #ahej1 but was late in establishing its library4 ,sheffield and ,exeter refused at first to adopt the ,act1 but reversed their decision in #ahec and #ahgj respectively4 ,blackburn1 ,cambridge1 and ,ipswich voted for libraries in #ahec2 ,maidstone1 ,kidderminster1 and ,hereford1 in #ahee4 ,airdrie was the first town in ,scotland1 and ,cork the first in ,ireland to adopt the ,acts pertaining to those countries4 ,birkenhead1 ,leamington1 and two parishes in ,westminster adopted the ,acts in #ahef1 ,walsall1 and ,lichfield in #aheg1 ,canterbury in #aheh4 ,in ,london progress was slow and chequered4 ,adverse polls were recorded in the ,city of ,london1 ,islington1 ,paddington1 ,marylebone1 ,st4 ,pancras1 and ,camberwell1 though several wiped out the stigma later2 ,hackney1 ,whitechapel1 ,putney1 ,cheltenham1 ,bath1 ,hull1 and other places were likewise recalcitrant2 but ,cardiff1 after voting down the proposal by a majority of one in #ahfj1 adopted the ,acts in #ahfb4 ,leicester1 ,burslem1 ,warwick1 ,oldham1 ,dundee1 ,paisley1 ,nottingham1 ,coventry1 ,leeds1 ,doncaster1 and ,wolverhampton1 were among the forty-six places that had accepted public library legislation by #ahfh1 the year taken in a parliamentary report dated ,april #aath1 #ahgj1 from which it appears that fifty-two libraries had been established1 nearly half a million books acquired1 and an annual issue of #c1djj1jjj attained4 ,this was the year of the ,elementary ,education ,act1 which was to do away with the enormous amount of sheer illiteracy that still prevailed1 and to raise up potential readers in their millions1 though it was yet too early to ask for that intimate co-operation between schools and libraries which would have taught the people not only to read but also how and what to read1 and tended to make the results of even a brief elementary education deep and permanent4 ,illustration3 ,,central ,,public ,,library1 ,,nottingham4 ,the library movement made most headway in the northern counties and the midlands2 the southern towns were slow in coming in4 ,scotland also was late in adopting the ,acts--a curious fact1 probably due to the way ,scotland is used to the private endowment of public foundations4 ,the ,scots are frugal and saving2 but no people are so generous in works for the common weal4 ,hence it is not difficult to understand the reluctance of ,glasgow to saddle itself with a library rate1 when it already had its ,baillie's ,institution and ,stirling's ,library1 and the ,mitchell ,library was coming--it actually came in #ahgg4 ,edinburgh also rejected the ,acts1 obviously on similar grounds1 until in #ahhf an offer of #ej1jjj from ,andrew ,carnegie induced the city to change its mind1 at first however1 levying only a halfpenny rate4 ,ireland was very much behindhand4 ,the following table shows the relative rate of growth1 down to #aiji1 of public libraries established under the ,acts2 it does not include a number provided by voluntary agencies or under special legislation4#c ,england4 ,wales4 ,scotland ,ireland4 ,totals4 #ahdj-ahdi #a -- -- -- #a #ahej-ahei #ah -- #a #a #bj #ahfj-ahfi #ab #a #a -- #ad #ahgj-ahgi #ch #e #e -- #dh #ahhj-ahhi #ea #e #i #e #gj #ahij-ahii #aba #ag #ae #h #afa #aijj-aiji #abe #bi #db #ab #bjh ---------------------------------------- ----------- #cff #eg #gc #bf #ebb ---------------------------------------- ----------- ,accelerated growth from the seventies onwards was due to various causes1 first and foremost the general advance in education1 especially when the effects of ,forster's ,act of #ahgj began to tell4 ,successive amending enactments1 down to the consolidating ,act of #ahib1 each removed some obstacle4 ,thus the resistance of ,london ratepayers was conciliated by an ,act in #ahgg permitting them to vote a lower limit than one penny4 ,more libraries were opened as a consequence1 but the handicap of an exiguous income militated against their welfare4 ,many gifts of funds1 buildings1 or special collections of books were received from time to time1 often with a proviso that the municipality should build and maintain a library4 ,the old objection to the public endowment of libraries1 that it would discourage private bounty1 was thus shown to be against experience as it was against reason2 though ,british generosity in this respect cannot stand comparison with that of rich ,americans4 ,it was calculated by an ,english librarian1 ,thomas ,formby1 in #ahhi1 that in the last thirty-five years ,british libraries had received a million pounds from private sources1 and ,american libraries six times as much4 ,a stimulus of far-reaching effect came into operation towards the close of the century1 when ,andrew ,carnegie began to make systematic contributions1 first to ,scottish and then to other ,british municipalities1 for the establishment and extension of public libraries4 ,the benefactions of an ,english philanthropist ,passmore ,edwards1 though more modest in amount1 had relatively a more salutary result1 because they were more carefully adjusted to local needs4 ,the policy of ,mr4 ,carnegie was1 however1 very sagacious4 ,as a rule1 he gave money for buildings and fixtures alone1 on the understanding that the maximum rate allowable should be raised4 ,the expectation was that1 once started1 the library enterprise was bound to go on1 and that with a building free from debt it was bound to thrive4 ,the sequels were not always so satisfactory4 ,many places were tempted by the free gift to build more expensive premises than they had the wherewithal to maintain efficiently4 ,some embarked on ambitious schemes that left them with a heavy burden of debt4 ,large buildings meant1 of course1 large staffs and heavy establishment charges2 but the income was strictly limited4 ,hence many libraries were unable to pay their way1 and at the same time afford a proper service of books4 ,there was a judicious clause in the ,scottish ,act which ought to have been inserted in all1 by which authorities were forbidden to raise a loan of more than twenty times one quarter of the annual rate income4 ,the insufficiency of the penny rate was early and acutely realized4 ,it weighed heaviest on places with small incomes4 ,the larger the establishment to be kept up1 the smaller the ratio of establishment expenses to maintenance4 ,the limitation had been fixed so low that most towns with a population between #ej1jjj and #ajj1jjj had to pursue a hand-to-mouth policy1 and content themselves with spending on books such sums as happened to remain over when all fixed charges had been defrayed4 ,the main reason for the library books1 had to be neglected for the sake of the building1 the mere case that held the books4 ,the inadequate staff that looked after both cost still more1 yet were overworked and underpaid4 ,larger towns were better off1 not merely through being able to apportion expenses more economically1 but also because they had more chances of getting legislative concessions4 ,furthermore1 the civic spirit is usually stronger in big cities3 it is one of the reasons why they are big cities4 ,there1 in the great industrial centres1 the old ,mechanics' ,institutes were born4 ,they have been strongholds of educational endeavour2 they were the pioneers of the library movement4 ,thus it is not surprising to find ,wolverhampton1 ,swansea1 ,warrington1 ,sheffield1 ,manchester1 ,salford1 ,birmingham1 ,newcastle-upon-,tyne1 ,oldham1 ,st4 ,helens1 ,walsall1 ,preston1 ,wigan1 ,sunderland1 and several smaller industrial towns obtaining increased rating powers and widening their library provision4 ,many other towns would gladly have sought the same privileges1 but for the cost of promoting a special ,act4 ,for many years before the great war it was borne in more and more to the minds of friends of the movement that not all was well with public libraries1 and a series of amending ,bills to do away with the obsolete restriction of income and introduce various constructive reforms were brought into ,parliament and steadily blocked4 ,the various ,acts for ,england and ,wales had been consolidated in the ,public ,libraries ,act of #ahib4 ,this harmonized several conflicting enactments1 laid it down that adoption of the ,acts should be by resolution of the local authority1 except in ,london1 and allowed neighbouring districts to combine for library purposes4 ,it left the rate limitation where it was4 ,some infinitesimal relief came from the ,museums and ,gymnasiums ,act of #ahia1 whereby the upkeep of museums could be charged to a special museum rate4 ,the ,local ,government ,act of #ahid1 on the other hand1 introduced some complications into library law1 and made it even more impossible than heretofore for rural districts to come under the ,acts4 ,amending ,acts for ,scotland and ,ireland passed that year4 ,in certain points1 the ,scottish ,acts1 which had been consolidated in #ahhg1 had advantages over the ,english4 ,the precaution against extravagant building loans has been mentioned already4 ,further1 committees must contain not less than ten and not more than twenty members1 half the number being appointed from the local magistrates or councillors and half from other householders4 ,many if not most ,english authorities draw their committees exclusively from their own body4 ,the disadvantages are twofold4 ,the ordinary borough councillor is an overworked person1 attending many committees1 among which the libraries committee rarely1 in municipal politics1 counts as the most important4 ,he is apt to regard his duties on that committee in a perfunctory way4 ,the ordinary member of a council1 moreover1 is elected oftener than not for very different objects from the welfare of a public library1 it may be simply to keep down the rates2 and his qualifications for these objects may very well tend to disqualify him for enlightened service on the governing body of a public library4 ,a book sub-committee with hardly a single member that reads1 has1 unfortunately1 been no rarity under the conditions that still prevail1 with a chairman standing for an obscurantist and reactionary policy towards this despised department of the municipal entity4 ,hence the peculiar desirability of having outsiders with liberal views1 a liberal education1 and some familiarity with books and libraries1 added to the representatives of the council4 ,this question will arise again when the possibilities of a new regime come in for discussion4 ,from time to time it was suggested by critics and would-be reformers that public libraries ought not to remain a series of isolated institutions1 able to co-operate neither with each other nor with the schools and other intellectual activities4 ,edward ,edwards and also his biographer ,thomas ,greenwood1 one of the wisest and most disinterested friends the library movement has ever had1 looked forward to the co-ordination of all these departments of the body politic as a body intellectual under the supervision of a ,government minister4 ,the same reform was mooted by ,j4 ,j4 ,ogle1 a public librarian and a secretary of education1 who1 in ,the ,free ,library 7#ahig71 easily disposed of the argument that ,state inspection and ,state grants would mean uniformity of method4 ,in #aijd the ,library ,association at their annual conference1 after several sessions had been devoted to considering the pros and cons1 passed a strong resolution affirming 8,that the public library should be recognized as forming part of the national educational machinery40 ,thus the ideas of close interaction promoted by central control and of intimate correlation of libraries and the other instruments of public education had been well-debated1 long before they were taken over1 along with the more pressing question of the rate limit1 as obvious items for the agenda of the ,adult ,education ,committee1 which was appointed in ,july #aiag as a sub-committee of the ,reconstruction ,committee1 to be merged presently in the ,ministry of ,reconstruction4 ,how this ,committee handled the constructive proposals will be shown later on4 ,two of the reforms they recommended were embodied in a ,government ,bill1 which became law on ,december #bcrd1 #aiba4 ,both of these were1 in essence if not in form1 the abolition of illogical and obsolete disabilities1 inherited from the early days of the ,ewart ,acts4 ,the first grievance to be removed was the rate limit4 ,when even the advocates of the public library thought it would be mainly the working classes that would use it1 there was some reason for keeping down the cost1 economic reasons as well as reasons of policy4 ,when libraries had been in existence for more than half a century1 and every class in the community used them without distinction1 it was monstrous that a municipality owning a library should be debarred from keeping its own property up to the mark if it was willing to pay the bill4 ,bankruptcy was already threatening many library authorities even before the war2 before the end of it1 some were being shut up1 numerous others were cutting down their services to the vanishing point4 ,councils were forbidden by law to pay the ordinary war bonus to their library staffs1 who had before these changes been the worst-paid of their employees4 ,it was a question of life or death4 ,relief must come at once1 or half the libraries in the country would cease to exist4 ,relief was vouchsafed1 and with it a second restriction was ended1 that which debarred ,county ,councils from setting up a library service for the villages4 ,systems of rural libraries were already springing up through the monetary grants of the ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 and were being carried on1 legally or illegally it was doubtful which1 by the ,education ,committees4 ,to do something to stimulate an intelligent social life on the land was indispensable1 if the dreams of recolonizing ,britain and reviving agriculture were to come to anything4 ,the ,bill passed1 without an echo of the strenuous opposition that had greeted its many predecessors1 which had made much smaller demands on the public purse4 ,it removed two crippling disabilities1 but the constructive proposals of the ,adult ,education ,committee it did not touch4 ,two most formidable obstructions had been cleared away3 the forward leap was yet to take4 ,was it to be deferred indefinitely1 or might the ,act be accepted as prelude to a comprehensive library charter1 to be prepared as soon as the ,committee's numerous recommendations could be reduced to legislative form8 ,,footnotes3 #a ,adult ,education ,committee4 ,final ,report1 p4 #ad4 #b e4g4 ,that at ,edinburgh 7dating from #agbe71 ,london 7#agdi71 ,liverpool 7#ageh71 ,manchester 7#agha71 the ,newcastle 8,lit4 ,phil0 7#agic74 #c ,professor ,w4 ,s4 ,b4 ,adams4 ,report on ,library ,provision and ,policy 7,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 #aiae74 ,,ii ,,what ,,is ,a ,,library ,,service8 ,there is an enormous difference between the library service enjoyed in the more progressive municipalities1 where public opinion has been properly educated and the authorities mean to do their best1 whatever the financial impediments1 and have a clear conception of what is the best1 and the perfunctory service in places where the library is an unwelcome addition to the municipal family1 which cannot be got rid of but must be prevented from becoming a burden on the rates4 ,the most progressive of librarians and library committee-men would freely admit that no public library in this country is doing all that it might for the community1 or anything like what it will do when the library habit has been instilled into the average citizen4 ,the most progressive are but leading the way2 the goal is still in the future4 ,accordingly1 an account of the best work now being done by the best libraries will serve two purposes3 it will show the possibilities that are actually being attained2 it will help the reader to build up mentally a complete type of what a library service might be4 ,,lending ,,libraries4 8,the jug and bottle department10 as it has been cynically called by illiberal critics1 is the oldest and1 in a sense1 the fundamental part of a public library service4 ,there were lending libraries before #ahej1 but none that could be regarded as its prototype4 ,it was a consequence of the new democratic idea4 ,in earlier times a library simply provided books to be read on the spot4 ,circulating libraries1 such as began to be common in the eighteenth century1 were shops that lent out books1 chiefly light literature1 to subscribers of the leisured classes4 ,the literary and scientific institutions allowed their books to be borrowed1 without troubling to divide their stock into distinct collections1 or worrying themselves with the standing puzzle of the modern librarian1 should this book1 which is neither a novel nor an encyclopdia1 go on the lending or the reference shelves8 ,the strongest argument for rate-supported libraries was that the studious person who could not afford to buy books1 or the no less meritorious person who wished to enjoy good literature in an armchair but could not pay a subscription1 should be enabled to read at home4 ,access to libraries was an excellent thing1 and every seeker after knowledge was entitled thereto1 but a supply of books in the home was a greater boon1 and one that would have a far deeper effect on the mental life of the nation4 ,even a ,freeman could not work in a reference library1 but had to borrow--or buy4 ,circumstances of a different kind make the library of the ,british ,museum1 and even the local reading room inaccessible1 or at any rate insufficient1 to most busy people4 ,the existence of the ,london ,library--the finest lending library in the world--is proof enough of the most serious kind of reader's need for a home supply of books4 ,catering for all classes1 for all ages1 and for users having all sorts of motives for reading1 the municipal lending library will not admit any petty or restricted purpose to limit the scope of its contents4 ,costly books1 if it acquires such by purchase or gift1 and works of the atlas or dictionary type1 will for different but equally obvious reasons go into the reference department1 however small that may happen to be4 ,very cheap books1 with certain exceptions1 it will not supply4 ,college text-books may be refused1 on the score that students should have them for their own1 unless there are circumstances that justify a different course4 ,some books may be rejected for reasons of public morality1 though a narrow-minded puritanism must not be tolerated4 ,otherwise1 the lending library should develop on the most catholic lines4 ,the light literature that was the staple of the old-fashioned circulating library will1 with the rubbish sternly and drastically sifted out1 form a considerable proportion of the stock-in-trade4 ,in the minds of some short-sighted people1 indeed1 the public library is identified with over-thumbed and dog-eared novels1 and supposed to be a purveyor chiefly of books for private amusement at the public expense4 ,the statistics that seem to authorize such a view are misunderstood4 ,half-a-dozen novels usually take less time to read than does a single substantial work of science1 history1 or even the other kinds of belles-lettres2 and make six times as much show in the record of issues4 ,if allowance be made for this obvious fact1 study of the figures will usually reveal that a greater amount of reading having a serious value is going on than of reading for mere pastime4 ,one ought to apply a different kind of calculus2 but till a sort of mental foot-pound1 a unit of energy expended effectively in self-development1 has been fixed1 we can merely ask that statistics should be interpreted with a due consciousness of what humane literature is1 and with common sense4 ,over-thumbed novels are no argument against public libraries1 but a very strong argument for making sure that the supply of fiction is of the best1 and for doubling1 quadrupling1 and multiplying further the supply of first-rate novels4 ,if there are always enough of these to go round1 critics on the one hand and grumblers on the other may be disregarded4 ,the workshop theory1 which is on the face of it a sound guide for the development of the reference library1 though by no means a complete statement of its functions1 applies also to the lending department4 ,on the one hand1 this should minister to our recreations and our sthetic and spiritual needs2 it will be well-stocked with excellent novels1 the best poetry1 drama1 essays1 and humane literature in general4 ,on the other hand1 it will cater for the student and serious reader in all branches of knowledge1 and will provide all the books it can of general use for industrial and amateur craftsmen1 shopkeepers and other business people1 and the professional classes4 ,the librarian and the book-selecting committee will have a keen eye for the needs of teachers1 journalists1 ministers of religion1 and all who are in any way intellectual leaders4 ,one healthy consequence of the workshop theory is the rule that a library must never be cumbered with dead stock4 ,books that have been superseded or have outlived their interest must be ruthlessly discarded4 ,the workshop library has no room for any but live books4 ,such from the first have been the aims of the great bulk of our public libraries1 with1 naturally1 some laxity here and there1 and in rarer instances too much strictness in regard to education and mental improvement or the cult of mere utilitarian efficiency4 ,there are between five and six hundred library buildings under the ,public ,library ,acts in this country1 and with few exceptions each contains a lending library1 and some hardly anything else4 ,a corollary of this distributing service is the branch library4 ,liverpool had two branches by #ahec1 and other towns quickly followed suit4 ,a very large proportion of these buildings are branch libraries1 established so as to bring a stock of books for lending as near as may be to your door4 ,to-day1 the biggest provincial cities have each from a dozen to a score such district libraries2 the average town or metropolitan borough has two or three4 ,some places are content with delivery stations2 some have these and branches as well4 ,the delivery station is a device for bringing books that have been asked for from the central reservoir to the nearest point1 and is a convenience to readers who have not the time1 or do not think it worth while1 to visit the library in person4 ,given a first-class catalogue and intelligent readers1 the delivery station is a useful makeshift4 ,but there are weighty reasons why it is much better to invite ,mahomet to the mountain--why a service through district libraries will have more valuable results than one through delivery stations4 ,the best systems combine the advantages of both methods1 making the reader free of all the branch libraries in a town1 with the right of direct access to the book-shelves1 and at the same time bringing books from other branches to the one nearest the reader who is unable or finds it inconvenient to visit the library in person4 ,manchester and ,glasgow1 for example1 have a motor-service whereby all the books in a score of district libraries are pooled as one vast stock1 accessible1 with a minimum of expense1 difficulty1 or delay1 to the borrowers situated at any point in the civic area4 ,make your library area big enough1 and you can provide the maximum of opportunities at the minimum cost4 ,during the last two decades1 public libraries have been reverting to that old and sensible mode of working which1 on its reintroduction1 was styled 8,open ,access40 ,practice varied in former times between letting the reader loose among the books and shutting these behind doors or shutters4 ,when the new era began in #ahej1 the new race of librarians beheld themselves confronted with an unprecedented and hazardous problem4 ,here was the multitude of famished readers1 who had never experienced the civilizing influence of libraries1 who might be dishonest1 and who certainly had to be served expeditiously and in large numbers2 and there was the stock of books1 which must be kept in working order and unpilfered4 ,hence the closed library--the books on one side of a counter and the reading proletariat on the other4 ,then1 in an ill-omened moment1 indicators were invented1 and the proletariat could not even see the books at a distance1 but must try to find out1 first1 what it wanted from a catalogue1 perhaps an abbreviated form of hand-list conveying little meaning to the unbookish and then1 through a numerical system compared to which ,bradshaw or a census competition is an intellectual delight1 whether there was a chance of getting what it wanted4 ,the library movement would have spread with far greater rapidity1 and its results on the national mentality would have been far deeper and more extended1 but for the long reign of the closed system4 ,very large libraries must keep the main bulk of their accumulations in a place apart2 otherwise they could not contain them at all4 ,when the stock begins to approach six figures1 a librarian begins to think of having a stack1 or some analogous form of magazine1 accessible to none but officials and attendants4 ,but in libraries of moderate dimensions there is no reason why the public should be locked out1 and the most convincing reason why it should be invited and persuaded to come in4 ,one must be something of a book-expert to know always precisely what book one wants2 and then one may fail to obtain it through the mechanism of a catalogue and an indicator4 ,the ordinary person will assimilate more mental food from browsing among the shelves than he would in thrice the time from reading what the chance of the indicator brought him under this discredited system4 ,it may be that more books will disappear2 but a certain percentage of losses may be faced with equanimity2 it is one of the running expenses of true efficiency1 and the results are well worth the cost4 ,in all the most recent public libraries1 and in a very large number of the older1 reorganized in the light of this reform1 the public have the inestimable advantage of handling the books1 and seeing1 as it were in a bird's-eye view1 their relations to the other books in the sphere of knowledge or of art1 before deciding what they want now and will want later on4 ,this has had an immeasurable effect on the quality of the reading--on the education of the public taste4 ,only librarians know how difficult it used to be to lift a certain class of reader out of an old rut1 to persuade him1 or more often her1 to try an unfamiliar author4 ,once get over the difficulties of an introduction to ,george ,eliot1 ,thomas ,hardy1 or ,tolstoy1 and the devotee of ,guy ,boothby and ,charles ,garvice1 who was stone-blind to the blandishments of the printed catalogue1 will march on steadily in the new world that has been opened4 ,it is the first step that counts in his literary salvation1 and in an open access library the first step is pretty sure to be taken1 if the contents have been well and tactfully selected4 ,an inducement to read other things than fiction is offered in many progressive libraries4 ,this is a general permission to borrow two books at a time1 provided only one is a novel4 ,teachers and other privileged persons are often allowed as many as half-a-dozen at once4 ,there is indeed no reason except insufficiency of stock why any intelligent reader should not be able to have three or four books together1 and a great many arguments for liberality4 ,three are regularly allowed at ,coventry1 and in ,american libraries1 generous concessions are made on any reasonable grounds2 in some the daring principle of 8,take as many as you like0 is in vogue1 and many libraries lend freely to all comers without the irritating insistence on local residence or local guarantee which rules over here4 ,to a man pursuing a serious course of study it is a manifest advantage to have several works in hand2 the habit should be encouraged4 ,the cost will be considerable2 but it will be a cost in books not buildings1 since the extra books will usually be in the hands of readers and not in need of house-room and larger premises4 ,the cost can and ought to be borne now that library incomes are more elastic1 if authorities take a serious view of their responsibilities and the part they should play in the business of education4 ,look at the empty shelves in almost any popular library1 and the nature of the problem will be apparent4 ,the actual situation is significant4 ,the need is for more books1 and better books1 rather than more buildings4 ,the one essential to a successful library service exists1 a great public demand--wanting more guidance1 perhaps1 and susceptible of education in the wiser use of books1 but still vigorous1 spontaneous1 and unsatisfied4 ,there is an unprecedented demand for books1 fully commensurate with the demand1 all over the country1 for educational facilities4 ,and there is an unprecedented shortage of books on the lending library shelves4 ,during the war1 expenses were kept down1 and the gaps due to wear and tear were not filled up4 ,binding was allowed to fall into woeful arrears4 ,now1 the cost of bookbinding has gone up threefold1 the price of books has doubled4 ,yet under these disabling conditions1 many a provincial town and a number of ,london boroughs have an annual issue of a million or thereabouts4 ,manifestly1 the municipal lending library is a mighty power in the land4 ,one librarian1 in a borough where1 it has recently been affirmed1 the average intelligence is eighty under proof1 tells me that out of #fij volumes of ,rider ,haggard's various novels1 which have to be duplicated over and over again1 he would not expect to find more than sixteen on the shelf at a given moment4 ,sir ,henry ,rider ,haggard is not a classic2 he lies on the border between the kind of fiction to be tolerated and the kind to be encouraged4 ,nevertheless1 empty shelves are a powerful argument4 ,the following paragraph surely speaks with a most convincing eloquence of the work public libraries are performing2 it is from the prospectus of the latest ,london borough to set up a library system1 the borough that has the largest population of the lower middle class and the poor4 ,this system is still in its infancy1 yet it has achieved an annual issue of nearly a million volumes1 and the separate uses of its libraries and reading rooms are estimated1 on a count1 to number #c1dif1jjj during the year4 8,the cost of the ,public ,libraries to each inhabitant of ,islington is one-fifth of a penny per week4 ,for this outlay each person has at his or her disposal3 ,lending libraries containing #ge1jjj volumes2 ,reference ,libraries containing #aj1jjj volumes2 ,children's libraries containing #aj1jjj volumes2 ,reading rooms containing all the best current newspapers1 magazines and periodicals of importance2 and all these resources are constantly increasing4 8,a penny newspaper daily costs #ce times as much as this extensive service40 ,books are not the only wares in which the lending library deals4 ,most of them circulate music in bound volumes1 in sheets1 in portfolios2 some lend pianola records4 ,ordnance ,survey maps are issued to ramblers and tourists1 geological maps to students2 prints and technical diagrams and other articles of use to the scientist1 craftsman1 or student are sometimes among the circulating stock4 ,,reference ,,libraries4 ,the lending library is for study and recreation1 the reference library for study and information1 the latter term covering the sources to be explored by the research student4 ,a reference library is a much more expensive thing than a lending collection of the same numerical extent4 ,dictionaries1 miscellaneous modern encyclopdias1 atlases1 many-volumed treatises1 books having costly illustrations1 and the numerous and rapidly multiplying books of inquiry1 directories1 year-books1 and other compendiums of information1 bibliographies and other registers--all these find their appropriate home in this department1 where also are stored calendars of state papers1 ,annual ,registers1 ,hansard1 bound periodicals1 transactions of learned societies1 and other long sets1 the risk of mutilating which renders them unsuitable for lending out4 ,such works as the ,cambridge ,history of ,english ,literature and the ,medival and ,modern ,histories are usually duplicated1 one set at least being available for lending2 a host of smaller works1 even the expensive ones1 are likewise duplicated when it can be afforded4 ,in the large centres of population1 reference libraries were opened soon after the passing of the ,ewart ,act1 and they have grown apace1 to no small extent as the result of windfalls in the shape of gifts or legacies of private collections amassed by amateurs and other experts4 ,in the lesser towns1 the lending department bulks large in comparison with the reference department1 which too often has had perforce to be neglected4 ,the one has been regarded as a necessity1 the other as a luxury that must wait for better times4 ,the places in the kingdom where a scholar could live and pursue his tasks with most of his material within easy reach1 in public or semi-public libraries1 can still be counted on the fingers of one hand3 ,london and ,edinburgh1 the two ancient university cities1 perhaps ,manchester1 and possibly ,dublin4 ,these towns have been favoured by other dispensations than the ,public ,library ,acts4 ,yet ,liverpool1 ,birmingham1 and ,glasgow each command at least a quarter of a million books in their reference libraries2 and ,newcastle-upon-,tyne1 ,leeds1 ,bristol1 ,cardiff1 ,nottingham1 and indeed most towns with over #ajj1jjj inhabitants1 possess reference collections respectable in the size and quality of their contents4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,donald ,macbeth4 ,,reading ,,room ,,in ,,the ,,british ,,museum4 ,to regard this department as merely a luxury is a bad mistake4 ,true1 it is not a daily necessity of life to the average man2 but there was a time--there still is a time in many parts of the country--when even a lending library is not supposed to be that4 ,yet the more lending libraries are used to good purpose1 the greater will be the average man's need for a place where he can seek or verify information of every sort2 where the student may consult the larger works of which his text-books are but elementary abstracts or expositions1 and find encyclopdias1 lexicons1 atlases1 and commentaries to aid and elucidate his reading2 where the busy worker1 whatever his occupation1 may see the expensive technical treatises and illustrated monographs that are indispensable to an intelligent pursuit of his calling4 ,the political and social worker will find here the statistical returns1 the inventor the ,patent ,office specifications1 the researcher1 if he cannot get all he wants1 will discover where it is to be found from a liberal supply of catalogues and bibliographies4 ,reference libraries are the obvious complement to a service of books for home consumption4 ,the boundary between their domains is not easy to mark out1 nor will any attempt be made here to answer the favourite question of the gravelled examiner in library routine3 ,what distinguishes a reference book from one for the lending library8 ,in most cases the distinction is obvious2 in the more difficult1 local circumstances may settle the point4 ,librarians in charge of comparatively small libraries may well shirk a final verdict1 and allow much latitude in the use of reference books for lending1 and the converse when the lending library book is in4 ,thus the whole stock of books on the premises is at the reader's disposal without any pedantic restrictions4 ,as an ,american authority sensibly puts it1 8,obviously there is no book that may not be used for #8reference4' ,a reader who consults one of ,anthony ,hope's stories to ascertain the name of a character or to refresh his memory in regard to some incident1 without reading it consecutively1 is using it as a reference book40#d ,even a magazine or review may be a work of reference4 ,back numbers of all that are worth taking in are worth preserving for reference purposes2 and these1 with the bound sets of past years1 should be always available for use4 ,energetic librarians index all the important articles as they come out2 the published indexes to periodicals forming a key to the older numbers4 ,lastly1 the very newsroom has its place in the reference scheme1 its contents being a daily appendix to the stores of information in the library4 ,no department of the library economy should work in isolation4 ,in ,london1 principally through the circumstance that the twenty-eight boroughs now existing were preceded by eighty-two parishes1 two-thirds of which had set up libraries for themselves before the present library districts and borough authorities came into being in #aijb1 there are far too many reference libraries in proportion to lending libraries4 ,most of these are of indifferent or inferior quality1 and1 if they were suppressed and their collections centralized in a series of large district reference libraries1 few would miss them1 and the general gain would be enormous4 ,all the same1 more numerous ready-reference libraries are wanted4 ,every branch library should have a collection of dictionaries1 atlases1 and general encyclopdias1 in short all the books that a business firm1 a school1 or the like usually provides for daily use4 ,but1 since reference libraries are so expensive1 it is a vain and wasteful policy to duplicate them at random2 and the result is merely a scattered series of middling libraries1 far inferior to those open to all the world in ,birmingham1 ,liverpool1 and ,manchester1 with a crippling of resources in other directions4 ,this is not said to belittle local effort4 ,the point is that1 though ,islington1 ,westminster1 or ,chelsea may each build up a reference library not inferior to that found in the average provincial town of like population1 ,islington1 ,westminster1 and ,chelsea are1 after all1 parts of ,london1 and the ,londoner ought to be vastly better off than the average provincial--else why should he stay there8 ,though to one acquainted with the exacting needs of all grades and varieties of readers the deficiencies of our reference libraries are evident enough1 it is none the less true that the richness of their contents and the value they yield to judicious users are realized by only a fraction of the public4 ,librarians have never been allowed to advertize their wares2 a notice in the press such as a university or a ,state department would not consider beneath its dignity would have called down a reprimand and probably a surcharge from the ,government auditor4 ,in a strange town1 the visitor may have some trouble to find out1 first whether a public library exists1 and then where4 ,advertisements in tramcars and finger-posts in the street are usually looked for in vain4 ,things being so1 it is better to lay stress on what the reference library can and does do than on any delinquencies1 since public opinion is sure to learn in time from the books that are there to be read1 the immensity of the desiderata4 ,in the cities previously mentioned as possible abodes for a worker among books1 one may acquire a competent idea of this immensity4 ,in other large towns and in several ,london boroughs1 one may find reference libraries sufficing for the ordinary demands of all but the specialist and the researcher1 and1 in addition1 one commonly finds special collections that attract readers from far away4 ,thus ,manchester1 besides the ample provision of general works that everybody would expect to find on its reference shelves1 and a large mass of works on textiles which would also be anticipated in the metropolis of ,lancashire1 has a fine collection of ,english dialect literature1 others on music1 the gipsies1 and shorthand1 and in the ,greenwood collection the largest library of works for librarians in this country4 ,the magnificent ,hornby ,library of engravings at ,liverpool is as great a pride to the city as its ,walker ,art ,gallery4 ,birmingham is famous for its ,shakespeare ,library1 and possesses smaller collections relating to ,milton1 ,byron1 and ,cervantes4 ,the ,boulton and ,watt collection is also there4 ,stratford-on-,avon1 again1 is a depot for ,shakespeare literature1 having the memorial building and the valuable collection housed at the birth-place as well as the town library4 ,newcastle-upon-,tyne1 owns the ,bewick collection1 ,northampton the library of the poet ,clare1 ,nottingham another accumulation of ,byron literature and association books1 ,kilmarnock a ,burns library1 ,glasgow among its many special sections a vast collection including not only ,burns material but ,scottish literature in general2 ,bristol is rich in works concerned with ,chatterton1 ,cardiff specializes in ,welsh books1 though the ,national ,library of ,wales1 at ,aberystwyth1 designed to be a ,british ,museum for the principality1 is fast outstripping this as a storehouse of ,celtic literature in the wider sense4 ,a library is fulfilling only its obvious duty by specializing in the staple industry4 ,at ,stoke-on-,trent1 however1 the valuable library of ceramics collected by ,louis ,solon1 and acquired after his death by the ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 has been placed1 not in the public library1 but in the ,national ,pottery ,school1 where the library of the ,ceramic ,society is also housed4 ,many ,london libraries specialize in the same useful way1 sometimes in response to local needs1 sometimes as the accidental result of local associations4 ,at ,guildhall is the national ,dickens library1 at ,hampstead the ,keats collection1 at ,chelsea one devoted to ,carlyle4 ,the ,bishopsgate ,institute vies with ,guildhall and ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral ,library in a huge collection of ,london books1 prints1 maps1 and other miscellanea4 ,the typographical library at the ,st4 ,bride ,foundation contains the notable collection of ,william ,blades1 biographer of ,caxton4 ,but to consider ,london without taking into account the public and semi-public libraries that are not under the ,acts1 many of them highly individualized in the nature of their resources1 and fitted to fulfil definite functions in the national library machine1 would be absurd2 and to treat them properly would require a volume4 ,in fact1 the volume exists1 though it makes only modest and tentative suggestions for the wider application of all this intellectual wealth1 much of which is lying dormant or only half-used4#e ,it goes without saying that every provincial reference library worthy of the name has a local collection of some importance4 ,most county towns collect county literature1 and other large places have their regional collections4 ,regional surveys are largely carried on now by schools and local organizations1 often with the library and its local collections as their central depository1 and at all events helping and helped by the library4 ,some public libraries have been made depositories for the local records1 and there is a strong case for conferring or imposing this duty upon them by law4 ,a librarian1 properly trained in palography and the treatment of archives1 is the right sort of custodian2 a well-appointed library is the right place for the safe preservation1 calendaring1 and public use of documents4 ,the historian1 social student1 biographer1 and genealogist would always know then where to go for local information not to be found in ,london4 ,there are many other abiblia which ,charles ,lamb himself would approve that are rightly supplied in generous measure by a good reference library3 modern maps1 both of our own country and of the world1 those of the neighbourhood within a wide radius1 including large-scale ,ordnance maps1 accompanied by older maps of historical importance2 prints and drawings in well-organized series1 and lantern-slides for illustrating library lectures1 or even to be issued on loan4 ,the systematic collections of lantern-slides at the ,croydon ,public ,library will be mentioned again later on4 ,in this enterprising library numerous other things are collected and made accessible for general use2 for example1 illustrations1 cut out and preserved1 not because of their individual merit as prints1 but because of the value they acquire in organized sets illustrating definite subjects4 ,they are mounted in uniform style and classified in vertical files2 thus they are available for reference purposes1 and may be borrowed by teachers to illustrate lessons in class4 ,croydon has about #ab1jjj such illustrations1 and the stock is constantly growing4 ,photographs of lace1 woodwork1 astronomical phenomena1 and other subjects are collected on similar lines1 and lent in sets to artists1 craftsmen1 and students4 ,the vertical file in which the ,manchester commercial library stores its press clippings and other items of information will be mentioned later2 it is an object-lesson in the preservation1 classification1 and indexing of material which was erstwhile discarded as soon as it had served the moment's use1 a lesson in the value created out of the well-nigh valueless by mere organization2 and teachers and business organizers have not failed to bring their pupils and their staffs to study what sheer method can accomplish4 ,illustration3 ,,guildhall ,,library4 ,but the whole library should be an object-lesson of high educational value4 ,a large1 well-organized collection of books1 especially if the public be admitted to the interior1 is a graphic example of method and order1 not to mention the enormous increment of value given to any stock of material by systematic indexing4 ,the art of classification is not only an excellent mental discipline1 but may be applied with advantage in every province of business and life4 ,though a classification of books is not the same thing as a classification of things1 and may depart widely from the exactness of logical theory1 there is no better way of inculcating the benefits of system than by allowing the reader to find his way from shelf to shelf1 and follow the tracks pointed out for him to other book-cases the contents of which are more distantly connected with his subject4 ,it is superfluous to point out the assistance the library gives in the choice of books1 not only to the reader who relies on it for his whole supply1 but on the book-lover and the purchaser of books4 ,of the aid offered to the student and the potential student1 over and above the library organism itself as an efficient reading machine1 more will be said under the heading of library extension4 ,in ,american libraries certain members of the staff are told off for 8floor duty10 that is1 to keep a sympathetic eye on persons looking out books and to offer guidance4 ,it is a duty calling for high attainments and insight into the particular requirements and idiosyncrasies of readers4 ,it would be unfair to say it is a duty unfulfilled in libraries over here1 since the more active public libraries are beginning to organize themselves as real bureaux of information2 but in the precise form just described it is practically unknown4 ,our method is to be ready with advice when it is asked for2 and in big libraries1 such as the ,british ,museum1 it is the most useful kind of advice1 that of the specialist1 which is our particular forte4 ,yet we still repeat1 8,the librarian who reads is lost60 ,more specialism1 not less1 is what we want4 ,,newsrooms ,,and ,,magazine ,,rooms4 ,among the old-established departments the reading rooms where newspapers and other periodical literature are displayed must1 to judge by statistics of use1 take a foremost place4 ,hundreds of thousands enter these newsrooms daily1 twice as many as come into the lending libraries4 ,until the question was raised ten years ago by the late ,j4 ,d4 ,brown1 a librarian who attempted reconstruction in library administration long before the word began to be written with a big ,r1 it seemed the most natural and unchallengeable thing in the world to put a newsroom in every library building and furnish it with a motley array of dailies and weeklies of all denominations4 ,brown induced the committee of the ,islington ,public ,libraries to reform the reading room in a drastic way4 ,no newspaper except the 8,times0 was provided for public consumption1 though the advertisement columns were cut out from others and posted for the benefit of the unemployed4 ,this violent departure from routine did bring out the fact that newsrooms1 at any rate as they were and as they are at present1 occupy a somewhat illogical position4 ,at first sight1 there hardly seems any better justification for their inclusion in a library than that they also provide reading matter4 ,but it is reading matter1 too often1 of a very different and doubtful kind2 and the awkward fact that it is not the same people who use the newsroom that use the library1 in short that the library proper and the newsroom1 but for an inconsiderable overlap1 cater for two different publics1 gives occasion for thought4 ,to put it roundly1 the proper place in the library scheme for the newspaper and its like has never been thought out4 ,brown went too far1 and the library which was the scene of this experiment is now furnished with a careful selection of newspapers as well as with magazines and reviews of good standing4 ,but he gave the problem serious thought4 ,in the various public reading rooms which were under his care1 he saw to it that the right kind of periodicals were provided1 and the best of each kind4 ,among his many publications on library practice was a classified and annotated list of ,english and foreign periodicals1 which ought to have done even more than it has to help provide something far better and more scientific than the mere hotchpotch of journalism with which too many tables are littered4 ,here again1 economy of the baser sort has been the offender2 for the poorest journalism is1 of course1 the cheapest1 and a steady provision of the high-class periodicals recommended by ,brown is an expensive drain on slender funds4 ,illustration3 ,,reading ,,room1 ,,stepney ,,public ,,library4 ,the library cannot do without the newspaper any more than it can do without the review1 the technical periodical1 and the learned society's journal4 ,all of these are necessary supplements to the books1 since they are records of new knowledge2 and they require the same care in selection1 the guiding principle of which must be a clear idea of what they are there for4 ,the much-debated dictum that history is past politics and politics current history needs no debate as a reason why the leading newspapers and the weekly reviews should be accessible in public libraries4 ,almost every one takes in a paper suited to his opinions3 the public newsroom should give the opportunity of studying other opinions1 and also of checking information by comparison of different sources and versions that conflict4 ,the newsroom is to the library as the open-air excursion to the botany class1 the laboratory to the lecture-room4 ,here theory and doctrine are seen in action2 applied politics1 applied sociology1 all the different phases of the science of life set forth in books illustrated1 tested1 verified1 or confuted4 ,which study is of more importance than the other8 ,fortunately1 that is a futile question3 the relevant one is1 how incalculably each gains by conjunction with the other4 ,there is no need to provide the paper that every one buys4 ,nor are those that deal in police news1 divorce cases1 spice and sensation1 the journals that a public institution is called upon to buy4 ,the most authoritative journals1 representing each of the recognized parties1 weekly reviews of similar credentials1 and the leading provincial organs1 are all that need be supplied in this group4 ,even in a large and prosperous library1 it is better to duplicate such than to make too wide a selection4 ,subsidized journals1 sent gratis by political or social cliques or by advertising agents1 might as well be rejected altogether2 where they are accepted1 the approved course is to pigeon-hole them until there is an applicant4 ,the least approved is to employ this worthless stuff to cover serious gaps1 and offer the public a stone when it asks for bread4 ,a library committee should feel the same responsibility for a newspaper as for a book4 ,by admitting either1 they virtually give it a public guarantee4 ,but if the newspaper is to be treated as the organ of current history1 then the newspaper room should be equipped with every facility for rendering current history real and intelligible4 ,maps of every part of the world should be hung over the reading stands4 ,the room itself should be in the closest contiguity with the reference library1 and should contain a ready-reference collection on open shelves1 enabling readers to consult dictionaries1 encyclopdias1 statistical year-books1 compendiums of geography1 and other sources of general information as they read4 ,that it should not be separated from the reading room where the periodical magazines and reviews are kept goes without saying4 ,files of such as are preserved should be close at hand4 ,all this means that the reading room for newspapers will be another expensive department2 yet the policy of making it a vital part of the whole library undertaking is in the long run economic4 ,here1 surely1 that training for citizenship which so many are preaching may be carried on without the features that make it objectionable to the old-fashioned party man4 ,the existence of public newsrooms where the daily papers are read intelligently and their pronouncements checked and compared1 might1 in the course of time1 react healthily on the daily press itself4 ,as to the lighter class of periodical1 the same discretion has to be exercised in shunning the frivolous and worthless as an intelligent and responsible committee1 not devoid of a sense of humour1 would display in handling fiction4 ,it is high time that the policy of treating this department as a kind of bait for the unregenerate1 something to make the library popular1 were abandoned4 ,it is a delusive policy1 grounded on two false assumptions--the first1 that it is our duty to get people to read1 no matter what they read2 the second1 that if you start them reading and bring them into the library they will eventually proceed to higher things4 ,every librarian knows that the habitual consumer of silly and pernicious reading-matter never can1 without some almost miraculous change of mind1 be taught to read and enjoy anything else4 ,if you lure him with rubbish1 you are encouraging tastes that are a greater obstacle to library progress than absolute illiteracy2 you are putting obstacles in the road you propose to take him4 ,the remark of an ,american librarian about certain popular novelists1 that the people who like that sort of thing would be more sensible and better educated had they never learned to read1 applies even more forcibly to the besotted victims of our periodicals of the baser sort4 ,but the mere fact that the public who kill time with this sort of chewing-gum are not the public that borrow books or use the reference library1 at once disposes of such a plea4 ,by all means1 let us have light literature1 but let it be literature1 and not an unrecognizable imitation4 ,much1 however1 and far the largest amount of the material in a well-appointed reading room will not be literature at all1 but simply information4 ,in the chief ,london and many provincial libraries a large number of scientific and technical periodicals are taken1 including publications of research societies and a good many foreign periodicals4 ,more are required1 and1 as our public libraries are able to spend more money1 one at least in each large area of population ought to be as well provided in this respect as are the science libraries at ,south ,kensington1 the university libraries1 or1 say1 the ,manchester ,literary and ,philosophical ,institution1 to take a good provincial example4 ,these publications are as necessary as it is to keep editions of scientific and technical books thoroughly up to date4 ,their contents should be fully accessible1 and to ensure this every library must subscribe to the ,subject-,index to ,periodicals4 ,a practice increasing in frequency is that of indexing the current periodicals as they arrive1 and mounting the entries in a mechanical guard-book or vertical file4 ,such libraries as possess a stock of long sets will naturally be provided with ,poole's and the other older indexes to periodicals2 even libraries not possessing such long sets ought to have the indexes1 for the same reason as they have other bibliographical guides1 namely1 to show inquirers in what books or periodicals information exists1 an intelligent staff being relied upon to point out in what nearest libraries the books or periodicals are to be found4 ,,special ,,reading ,,rooms4 ,not much is to be said nowadays in favour of separate reading rooms for ladies2 the segregation of the sexes is going out of fashion1 even in railway travelling4 ,yet they are still provided2 for instance1 the fine library building now all but completed at ,dunfermline has a ladies' room worthy of its scale and dignity4 ,far more urgent is the need for separate rooms where students can read and write in peace and quiet2 children's reading rooms will be discussed under another head4 ,the ,adult ,education ,committee wisely emphasized this desirability4 8,it is1 in our view1 essential that in all public libraries1 in addition to the usual reading room where newspapers and magazines are consulted1 there should be a room for the purposes of study4 ,it is too often forgotten that many students have no place where they can study in comfort4 ,it is also most desirable that all public libraries should possess a room large enough to be used for classes1 lectures1 and discussions40#f ,the latter requirement should have been framed differently4 ,a lecture room is not a good class room4 ,every library should have its lecture room2 it should also have one or more small rooms suitable for classes1 tutorial or other1 of the cosy size and character that help so much to bring out comradeship and intimacy4 ,whoever has tried to conduct a seminar numbering more than a dozen members will have experienced how difficult it is to break down shyness and evoke a frank and genuine exchange of thought4 ,rooms that are small and intimate are wanted for reading circles and discussions2 at a pinch1 the study room can be utilized2 but both purposes must be served1 and often at the same hour4 ,the need for still other rooms dedicated to special uses will appear when we deal with the various forms of library extension4 ,,the ,,children',s ,,department4 ,during the nineties of last century a good many libraries began to allot separate reading rooms to the children1 at first1 as a rule1 to boys only1 but later to boys and girls1 sometimes in separation1 sometimes together4 ,at first experimental and subsidiary1 this children's reading room1 usually combined with a children's library1 has come to be an essential part of the modern public library3 those that are without it have no claim to be considered modern4 ,its relative importance varies according to the views of different committees and librarians1 and also according to the local ability or willingness to meet the heavy cost of running such a department on proper lines4 ,when we remember that the children are our future reading public1 and when1 taking a broader view1 we imagine what it would have meant had every man and woman been trained from childhood in the intelligent use of books1 we see how impossible it is to overrate this side of public library work4 ,we must treat the child in the library in the most liberal1 sympathetic1 and respectful way4 ,we must give the child in our libraries and reading rooms1 from the outset1 all the privileges and dignity of a citizen1 and the future of our libraries and reading rooms will be ensured4 ,birkenhead seems to have been the first town to become alive to the need of special provision for the youngest readers4 ,child readers enjoyed the advantage of a special section in the lending library there as long ago as #ahfe1 and a few years later they were furnished with a separate catalogue of the children's library4 ,at ,nottingham1 a benevolent ,m4,p41 the late ,samuel ,morley1 gave a sum in #ahhb to found a separate building for children4 ,these ,english libraries laid the first stone2 but it was in ,american libraries that most of the building now took place4 ,in the ,united ,states1 the mere children's corner rapidly developed into the separate library and reading room1 and then gradually into a very peculiar and admirable thing1 the children's room--a distinct department1 under the control of persons trained to work with children4 ,it is a sort of autonomous children's institute1 combining something of the kindergarten with a well-planned school library ministering to both teaching and recreation4 ,there are readable books to be read on the spot or taken home2 works of reference to help in doing school work and make this more interesting2 pictures1 statuettes1 and miscellaneous exhibits1 which have more meaning given them by reading courses1 talks1 and illustrated lectures2 and1 finally1 there is the story-telling--an art on which the ,american librarian pins much faith as a mode of awakening interest and evoking the right atmosphere before a child reads books on any given subject4 ,in this country1 the ,junior ,library at ,croydon is perhaps as near an approach as any we have made to the ,american idea4 ,it occupies one of the largest rooms in the central building1 and combines the functions of lending and reference library and magazine room4 ,there is a platform and a lantern screen2 ferns and other plants are dotted about4 ,any child of school age is admissible on the recommendation of a teacher4 ,the librarian in charge and the one assistant do nothing but work for children2 the children make it possible for them to carry out an extremely full and varied programme by acting as voluntary helpers1 and are trained to serve at the counter1 put books back in classified order on the shelves1 and act as monitors4 ,others are drilled in groups for various duties1 such as cutting out and mounting pictures for the great cyclopdia of illustrations1 lettering posters1 writing up bulletins of topical information for their fellow-readers4 ,lectures are delivered once a week at least1 and story hours come much oftener4 ,the children's librarian takes classes brought from the schools1 and explains the value of classification or the use and pleasures of books4 ,teachers1 also1 are allowed to use the children's library at times as a class-room1 illustrating lessons from the books and other exhibits there4 ,sometimes a class is brought and the children are simply allowed to browse at will4 ,the collection of pictures is utilized in many ways4 ,sets of illustrations are hung on green baise screens to illustrate current events1 the seasons of the year1 the birthdays of notable men1 and so on1 with lists of the books in the library on the subjects to which the children have been introduced4 ,a large part of the librarian's time is taken up with showing the young readers how to find their way about among the reference books1 and how to make the easiest and most remunerative use of these in their school lessons and their private hobbies4 ,but the children are also gradually trained to help each other1 and eventually to help the librarian in the daily routine of what they soon come to regard as their own library2 they grow1 in fact1 into a sort of union society1 running all sorts of affairs on their own account1 with the official but not too officious eye directing and assisting rather than controlling their efforts4 ,they might be compared to a group of patrols under a scoutmaster4 ,the library in the children's room contains about #d1jjj volumes1 and issues from #a1jjj to #a1bjj every week2 in the period of five months from the report on which many of these details are taken1 #a1bjj new borrowers enrolled themselves4 ,discipline1 of course1 must be maintained2 this is essential to smooth working2 but it must be evoked rather than imposed4 ,only the right sort of person1 having had the right sort of training1 even if born with the right disposition1 is competent to evoke it and at the same time keep the children friendly1 happy1 and occupied with interesting things4 ,scores of children's reading rooms have been a failure from the lack of this well-qualified superintendent4 ,it is a waste of time to try running them as a minor department1 to be committed to the hands of each junior assistant as his turn comes on the time-sheet4 ,a mob of youngsters idling their time away and making the pleasant place a bear-garden would be the certain result4 ,one common mistake that has a bad initial effect is to make the junior readers enter the library at a separate door1 usually guarded by a special custodian who is a martinet4 ,this preliminary insult to a child's dignity is1 perhaps unconsciously1 resented2 it strikes a wrong note4 ,the idea that he or she must be segregated from grown-up readers subtly provokes a spirit precisely the opposite of that which needs to be cultivated4 ,it is more fatal than the contrary mistake of pampering and idolizing children4 ,put him or her on nearly the same footing as their elders2 mutual deference is infinitely better than the eighteenth century doctrine that every child is either a limb of ,satan or a little imbecile4 ,to attain full success1 librarian1 teacher1 and parents must learn to co-operate4 ,few parents take any interest in what their children read1 and those few often take too much2 they do not understand that coercion1 or even a too didactic purpose1 is fatal to the true object of an apprenticeship to reading1 and will assuredly not lead children to love and enjoy reading1 or to discover for themselves the values it can give to their own interests and pleasures4 ,until parents in general are capable of taking a wise interest1 it is better perhaps that they should remain as indifferent as most parents are4 ,in the fulness of time1 when our children's rooms are less markedly inferior to those across the ,atlantic1 when each has an adequate staff of persons trained for this highly specialized work1 and teachers understand how much can be done by suggestion to direct the child's reading and so lighten their own labours in teaching1 by then the parent will doubtless have learned to take a proper share of interest and responsibility4 ,all this cannot be achieved in one generation4 ,we have now had public libraries for three-quarters of a century2 but1 for the arrears of intelligent use we have to make up1 we might have only just begun experimenting with them4 ,the secret of success is to bring out the child's own initiative4 ,this1 it may be taken for granted1 is not a tendency to original sin4 ,good taste1 like good art1 is at bottom a natural thing3 a misguided belief that it must be painfully instilled has done more than aught else to pervert it4 ,children perceive as much instinctively2 hence their suspicion of well-meant efforts to put them on the right paths4 ,a boy will hate even ,robinson ,crusoe if he is told he must read it2 rather let him discover the realms of gold for himself4 ,all which means that children want handling in matters of taste with a refined skill to which the mere common sense and tact required by the adult reader in a library is nothing4 ,it means1 again1 that though the children's librarian is sometimes born1 when he1 or rather she1 has to be made1 the making is an important and highly specialized process4 ,other obvious points must be borne in mind1 by teachers1 parents1 and librarians4 ,the mere posture in reading1 and the need for a good light at the proper angle1 are not minor points1 for bad habits in this respect are ruinous and alarmingly common4 ,many children read far too much4 ,they must not be allowed to become bookworms2 the parent ought to see that they have a healthy outdoor life1 and the teacher that the charms of the book-world do not lead to the neglect of tasks set at school4 ,steady co-operation with the teachers in leading children to find in books aids to the business and the pleasures of life1 is characteristic of those library systems where the children's department has been given its due place in the scheme1 and is not a mere side-show1 ignorantly mismanaged and not thought worth spending money on4 ,it is characteristic1 for instance1 of the admirable group of children's libraries and reading rooms in the ,islington ,public ,libraries1 with its stock of #aj1jjj volumes set aside for the junior clients4 ,there are numerous others in ,london and the provinces where co-operation is carried on in some form or another2 but differences of opinion on the comparative merits of school libraries and of the library in the children's reading room make for differences of method4 ,yet access to a school library does not render the public library any the less valuable to an intelligent child2 and there ought to be the fullest mutual understanding and the keenest desire to help each other between librarian and teacher4 ,the fare provided in the children's department consists1 not only of books1 but also of the best juvenile magazines1 together with a sprinkling of illustrated weeklies and monthlies intended by the producers for readers of any age4 ,easy ,french magazines are sometimes provided4 ,on the reference shelves stand suitable encyclopdias1 atlases and gazetteers1 dictionaries of several languages1 works on local history and topography1 illustrated natural histories1 the works of the poets1 and many other books that are likely to prove useful to children in their home work4 ,the choice of books for children is a different thing now from what it was before the advent of ,kingsley1 ,kingston1 and ,kipling4 ,with a few exceptions1 the didactic trash that constituted the whole stock of children's literature a century ago may now be jettisoned1 along with a still greater volume of more recent lumber depressingly written down to the childish intellect4 ,any modern author1 for children or any one else1 knows1 if he knows his business at all1 that the first thing to avoid is the habit or affectation or process of writing down to an inferior mind4 ,lewis ,carroll1 ,sir ,james ,barrie1 ,walter de la ,mare conquered the child by writing as children themselves1 and writing their best1 writing with all their genius and with all the gusto due to things that are high and serious4 ,didactic writing is always bad4 ,it cannot help being bad4 ,the moment a writer begins to think of his audience instead of his subject1 he becomes self-conscious and artificial4 ,worst of all when he has the effrontery to think of that audience as inferior to himself1 and tries to adapt his thoughts to feebler understandings4 ,children are not slower than those of riper age to detect the false note1 and be insulted by the condescension4 ,thus it is far better to offer children books that have been written for their elders than such as have been manufactured on the plan of mild adulteration4 ,in fact1 a very large proportion of the best books in the junior library belong to this higher category4 ,robinson ,crusoe and ,gulliver are obvious examples2 ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin is another2 ,kidnapped will be received as warmly as ,treasure ,island or ,the ,black ,arrow1 and if ,lavengro has not such a universal appeal there will be no hesitation about ,the ,cloister and the ,hearth4 ,many of the novels of ,blackmore and ,stanley ,weyman1 most of ,dickens's1 some of ,thackeray's and all of ,scott's are on the shelves of every good children's library2 and ,jane ,austen1 ,mrs4 ,gaskell1 and some at any rate of ,george ,eliot's novels will meet the taste of girls4 ,many works of travel1 some histories1 and biographies not a few1 such as the delightful life of ,frank ,buckland1 are as much in place here as in the senior library2 and among the poets and essayists the same freedom of choice may safely be exercised4 ,both publishers and librarians are now at one in seeing that there is nothing shoddy in the format of the books provided for children any more than in their contents2 good paper1 readable print1 and illustrations of artistic merit1 are becoming the rule4 ,in the last-named particular children's books at the present day are immensely superior to the volumes of popular fiction that seem to be perfectly satisfactory to thousands who are obviously their elders1 but hardly their betters4 ,the advantages of a closer relationship between education authorities and library authorities are manifest both in children's rooms in libraries and children's libraries in schools4 ,the library is certainly part of the educational fabric4 ,on the one hand1 the teacher is aided enormously by the child's work in the library1 all the more if that work is spontaneous and enjoyable2 on the other hand1 the children who find out the vital part a library can play in their work and recreations1 who have become familiar with books of reference and periodicals1 with the uses of catalogues1 the vistas opened by files1 albums1 and indexes1 and the order and intelligibility brought about by a clear system of classification1 will have acquired something of inestimable value in the process of self-development to be carried on long after school-days are over4 ,the ,adult ,education ,committee were of opinion that the intimate relationship required could not exist without a common administration2 and they would accordingly have placed all our public libraries under the care of the education authorities4 ,there is no need at this point to discuss their proposals1 beyond assenting to the argument for the closest bond between school and library4 ,even if they continue to be managed by different authorities1 all library activities in the schools should be worked from the library4 ,whether school libraries are stationary or circulating collections1 they should be administered from the children's library as the base1 and their complementary relation thereto should be an important fact in the mind of every child reader4 ,in ,england it must not be hastily assumed that every town or even the majority are blessed with all the facilities described above for the benefit of children4 ,only a few have faced the problem seriously1 and hardly any have faced the expense of a thorough service4 ,a town like ,toronto employs twenty-one assistant-librarians in the mere work of supervising the school libraries1 and many ,american cities have much larger staffs engaged on this alone4 ,it is obvious1 at all events1 that no library authority can be expected to carry on such an undertaking except at the cost of the sister authority1 ready though it may be to furnish the knowledge and experience of a trained staff4 ,common administration1 or at least harmonious administration under departments of the same supreme body1 seems a logical consequence4 ,,commercial ,,and ,,industrial ,,libraries4 ,libraries1 like the books they house and distribute1 have multiplex reasons for their existence4 ,their highest aim1 like that of education itself1 is to promote the mental and spiritual life of the community2 they are humanist foundations4 ,but the race must be conserved2 our daily needs must be satisfied4 ,national safety1 liberty to develop ourselves1 the economy of our physical existence1 must be assured1 or humanism is a chimera4 ,our libraries must perform their necessary part in the functions we label utilitarian1 without1 however1 omitting or slackening in their higher purposes4 ,a general library1 in short1 is concerned not only with human knowledge1 but also with every human interest and activity2 not only with science1 philosophy1 theory1 but with all the practical arts1 those which are for the preservation1 as well as those which are for the highest development of humanity4 ,in the department of the public library now to be considered these material objects are the main concern4 ,a modern commercial library is something utterly different from any library heretofore considered4 ,here1 as an advocate of more and better commercial and technical libraries puts it1 8,the humanist will have to give way to the economist and man of science40 ,illustration3 ,,patent ,,office ,,library4 ,from their earliest years1 public libraries have admitted these claims1 and they have put forth special efforts to supply the peculiar needs of the working classes4 ,the nature of the industries carried on has been the chief factor determining the directions in which the stock of books should differ in any given locality from what may be described as the standard selection4 ,text-books on such industries and their subsidiary subjects1 illustrated treatises and other expensive works of reference1 have been provided as liberally as funds permitted2 and the same attention has been paid to the local trades and professions4 ,certain obvious restrictions must be allowed for1 besides limited resources4 ,few places have been able to provide a law library or an extensive collection of medical books4 ,the solicitor usually has his own book-case of legal literature1 and so with the physician and surgeon2 they also have access to large professional libraries4 ,nevertheless1 if the public library seems to disregard certain professions1 it is rather on the score of expense and of limited demands than that it disclaims its duty4 ,a national system of libraries would certainly have to provide for these classes1 probably by organizing a central supply and loans to the nearest library1 in the way proposed for dealing with the more advanced and costly technical works for industries4 ,the working mechanic1 the small manufacturer1 the factory workman1 the technical student1 and the tradesman are in a more necessitous condition2 they cannot give a standing order for all the newest manuals1 they have no professional library from which to borrow4 ,in highly technical industries1 only the largest firms can afford to keep abreast of the rapid growth in scientific knowledge2 and to do it they must install1 not only a costly arsenal of books1 digests1 and periodicals recording the fruits of research1 but also a special staff to extract1 register1 and index the most recent information4 ,so rapid is the rate of progress in all departments of knowledge that books are quickly left behind1 and the proceedings of scientific societies1 technical periodicals1 and even the daily press1 must be systematically ransacked by the information bureau1 if a progressive firm is to be sure of utilizing every invention and improvement in the fullest economic way4 ,andrew ,carnegie said that his own firm wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars through failing at first to provide their managers with the fullest information on what had been done throughout the world in their departments4 ,is the public library to confine itself to the narrower mission of assisting the needy worker1 or to launch out on this more ambitious project1 and compete with the skilled staff work employed by the wealthy industrial corporation8 ,after all1 the wealthy corporation has contributed in proportion to its rateable assets to the upkeep of the library1 and has1 on the face of it1 as good a claim to some return as the meanest ratepayer1 unless the original idea that the public library was only for the working classes is still to prevail4 ,if the public library were1 in the full sense1 a working part of the machinery for national welfare1 there could be no doubt about the answer4 ,as it is1 only a few of the more prosperous and energetic libraries have accepted the larger obligation2 and1 even so1 no ,british library can be compared with the great commercial libraries of ,america1 with such a foundation as the ,commercial ,museum of ,philadelphia1 with its exhaustive collections of technical and business information and its staff of consulting specialists1 or with the ,institute of ,commerce at ,antwerp4 ,the utter inability of the public library service to cope with the requirements of industry and commerce was growing more manifest before the war4 ,it was true then as now that no single library could satisfy the technical needs even of its own district1 and that some system of mutual aid and central supply must be devised to supplement the finest local provision4 ,with the violent awakening to the lack of organization of our resources which the war brought about1 the problem came into clearer focus4 ,the ,library ,association took the matter up with due seriousness in #aiaf1 first inquiring into the best methods of developing the scientific and technical departments of public libraries1 and then into the collateral problem of commercial libraries4 ,the dual subject was before the important annual conference of #aiag1 and strong resolutions were passed in favour of establishing commercial libraries in the chief centres of trade1 and technical libraries in all large manufacturing towns1 in both cases as an integral part of the public library systems4#g ,since then1 the ,technical and ,commercial ,libraries ,committee appointed by the ,association has put together a mass of evidence on the subject1 and has carried on a vigorous propaganda4 ,their views did not1 however1 meet with the full approval of the ,adult ,education ,committee1 who inclined to the representations of the ,committee of the ,privy ,council for ,scientific and ,industrial ,research that an independent series of technical libraries should be created in connexion with industries rather than with the existing libraries4#h ,the weak point of the ,library ,association's case had been a certain vagueness as to the methods by which1 and the particular authority by whom1 their admirable proposals should be carried into effect4 ,although they acknowledged that the work could not be done on a proper scale by the public libraries unassisted1 or without some measure of co-operation1 they hesitated to recommend that the public libraries should be organized into a reciprocating system for the purpose4 ,they declined to say who1 in their opinion1 should set up and who should control the machinery of co-operation1 or precisely what the 8measures of co-operation0 should be4 ,this1 of course1 is the essential point of any scheme for concerted action1 and the rival project of the ,adult ,education ,committee1 unfortunate as it must appear to any one experienced in the working of libraries and alive to the wastefulness of duplication1 at any rate was free from this defect4 ,the question between the rival proposals now lies in abeyance4 ,it is as well that it should lie there1 till a more constructive plan is put forward on behalf of the public libraries4 ,the country cannot afford to set up an independent system of libraries at a time when expenditure must be adjusted to strict necessities2 it would be uneconomic to do so at any time4 ,whatever the shortcomings of the nation's libraries1 shortcomings due to the nation's neglect in the past1 these libraries are a going concern1 a machine well able to carry a larger load1 under which indeed they would run all the better and at a lower rate per output4 ,how absurd to erect new machinery when the old wants only a little oiling6 ,the proposals of the ,adult ,education ,committee are mistaken2 those of the ,library ,association are defective4 ,the theorist failed to call in the expert3 the expert suffered from obtuseness of vision4 ,will they come together now to talk it over8 ,meanwhile1 the public libraries have been strengthening their collections of technical literature1 and commercial libraries have actually been established as an offshoot of the central library at ,birmingham1 ,liverpool1 ,glasgow1 ,leeds1 ,bradford1 ,bristol1 and ,manchester1 whilst at ,norwich1 ,northampton1 ,bolton1 ,croydon1 and ,rochdale parts of the library have been set aside as business sections1 and catalogues or guide-books printed showing how their contents may be utilized with the maximum of ease and profit4 ,the advent of the commercial library has done more at a single blow to rouse the public imagination than any other event in the history of public libraries4 ,business men1 who had been indifferent to mere accumulations of literature1 found in this new species of library1 containing hardly a single volume that ,charles ,lamb would have dignified with the name of a book1 a bureau performing gratis all the useful services that the wealthy business concern obtains at exorbitant expense from its large office library or department of information4 ,within a year1 the ,glasgow librarian was able to report that #cj1jjj visits had been paid to the new establishment by business people1 and a large number of inquiries by letter1 telephone1 or telegram satisfactorily answered4 ,the average daily consultations during the first year at ,manchester1 by all sorts of persons from managing directors to messengers1 was three hundred4#i ,in ,bristol last year the consultations of books1 periodicals1 files1 and indexes totalled #ea1aha4 ,elsewhere the tale is the same4 ,a more particular account of the ,manchester ,commercial ,library1 the latest to be opened1 will indicate the distinctive features and functions of these new departments4 ,its quarters are a large room in the ,royal ,exchange1 in the heart of the business region of the city3 here it was inaugurated by the ,lord ,mayor on ,october #bcrd1 #aiai4 ,a handbook stating its aims and explaining its uses was issued1 in which it is pointed out that the commercial library is there to provide 8any and every kind of commercial information that may be obtained from printed matter1 and such additional information as it may be possible to procure from public or private sources2 and for the collection1 arrangement1 and cataloguing of such printed matter1 so as to render it quickly and conveniently available for inquirers and readers4 ,it is not a technical library2 those who want books on processes of manufacture must consult the collection in the reference library in ,piccadilly4 ,its object is to cater for the man who markets commodities1 and buys and sells them2 not for the man who makes them40 ,in the fittings1 furniture1 and apparatus many new devices have been introduced1 such as the contrivance for mounting and storing maps on vertical cylinders1 and for displaying them flat on large tables--a method that has certain advantages1 especially when a number of different maps have to be consulted in turn4 ,but the most striking and in many respects the most useful piece of library mechanism is the vertical file4 ,this is a vast accumulation of cuttings from newspapers and other sources1 systematically arranged1 in which any item of information that may be of service to the business man is preserved and made available for instant reference by a subject index4 ,about #ajj1jjj clippings had been laid in1 arranged1 and indexed by ,march1 #aiba2 and this home-made encyclopdia1 this vast inquire-within1 enabled the staff to answer off-hand a large percentage of the miscellaneous queries coming in from hour to hour4#aj ,the periodicals taken number over two hundred1 and include a good many foreign publications4 ,the latest maps are added to the collection as they appear1 and the atlases include several that can hardly be found elsewhere1 at least in places accessible to the public4 ,thus the contents of the library are multiform1 books1 pamphlets1 leaflets1 charts1 tables1 as well as press cuttings2 all are minutely classified1 and graphic methods of subject-cataloguing make it easy to trace the most out-of-the-way information4 ,here is the summary of the contents given by the official handbook3-- ,,the ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,library4 ,these may be roughly summarized as follows3 ,directories4--,these embrace the whole of the ,united ,kingdom1 some of the ,british ,colonies1 along with other countries of the world1 and the principal cities of the ,united ,states and ,canada4 ,many important trades are represented by trade directories and year books4 ,there is a ,post ,office ,telephone ,directory for the ,united ,kingdom4 ,periodicals4--,a careful selection has been made of over #aej trade periodicals from all parts of the world4 ,parliamentary ,publications4--,the varied and most valuable publications of the ,british ,government1 bearing1 either in whole or part1 on commercial interests1 are received regularly as issued4 ,chambers of ,commerce ,reports4--,these include ,chambers at home1 and in many foreign countries--,brazil1 ,egypt1 ,south ,africa1 ,australia1 ,india1 ,norway1 ,sweden1 c4 ,the collection of ,chamber of ,commerce year books is of value as illustrating the industries of the different towns in the ,united ,kingdom4 ,codes4--,a4,b4,c41 ,bentley1 ,lieber1 ,lieber's ,five ,letter1 ,scott's ,western ,union1 c4 ,dictionaries4--,english1 ,french1 ,german1 ,spanish1 ,italian1 ,portuguese1 ,russian4 ,tables4--,calculating tables and tables of foreign exchanges4 ,text-books4--,commercial law1 banking1 advertising1 accountancy1 office methods1 insurance1 business organization1 tariffs1 salesmanship1 transportation1 raw materials1 and the commercial side of textiles and engineering1 are represented on the shelves by the most recent books4 ,trade ,catalogues4--,these are collected purely from the point of view of the value of the information contained in them1 or as types of catalogue production4 ,at present a beginning only has been made1 many firms not having published catalogues during the war4 ,the catalogues are classified and catalogued in the same way as other books4 ,maps and ,atlases4--,commercial routes and different countries are well represented1 and the best of the new maps and atlases will be added when published4 ,parliamentary command papers dealing with commercial matters are received on publication1 and liberal assistance is given by the ,department of ,overseas ,trade1 ,chambers of ,commerce both home and foreign1 trade societies1 business firms1 and ,british consuls and trade commissioners4 ,bulletins are issued by the library month by month1 giving lists of books on accountancy1 banking1 foreign directories1 scientific management1 advertising1 foreign trade1 and similar topics4 ,even a manufacturer's catalogue becomes a work of high utility and importance when it takes its proper place in such a collection1 often affording valuable assistance to inquirers in search of the manufacturer of any given article4 ,the ,library of ,commerce at ,bristol is similarly organized1 and has met with like appreciation4 ,the following is a return of the consultations from ,february #aibj to ,january #bbnd1 #aiba3-- #aibj ,books4 ,directories4 ,maps4 ,periodicals4 ,total4 ,feb4-,june #dcgh #fajb #gbe #hacg #aicdb ,july #hcg #aejb #agb #baha #dfib ,august #gce #abgf #bfa #aghj #djeb ,september #hbc #adjb #agb #ahjf #dbjc ,october #ihf #aeaj #aeh #baae #dgfi ,november #abba #abef #afa #bjgi #dgag ,december #gaj #aaee #acc #agci #cgcg #aiba ,jan4 #a 7#a day7 #ba #dc #c #ha #adh ,week ending ,jan4 #h #ahd #ccc #cd #eac #ajfd ,jan4 #ae #bbj #cbf #ce #ejd #ajhe ,jan4 #bb #bbj #cja #cf #eah #ajge ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ,grand ,total #aj1cce #ae1bjf #a1hij #ba1dec #dh1hhd ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ,here are some examples of the questions that have been asked and answered--in several instances with the direct consequence that the inquirer has been saved losses running into very large figures3-- ,what are the means of communication in ,bechuanaland8 ,was the #ahic vintage good8 ,what has been the monthly percentage of the increase of the cost of living since ,july #aiad 7retail and wholesale78 ,what is the procedure for the winding up of a company8 ,what is the bank deposit rate8 ,what is the amount payable for brokerage8 ,what is the state of the wool market in ,australia8 ,who are the principal makers of knitting machines8 ,can the movements of a vessel be traced through #aibj8 ,what is the stamp duty on a form of contract8 ,what is the position of trade in the ,argentine8 ,what time would a steamer take to go from ,hull to the ,canary ,isles8 ,what is the difference in the rate of exchange in ,u4,s4,a4 in ,september #aiai and ,july #aibj8 ,what is the duty on wine and spirits8 ,what is the position of the ,belgian industries8 ,what is the time-limit for stamping a form of agreement8 ,several inquiries for help in coding and decoding cables4 ,the width of the ,river ,tees from ,stockton to ,middlesbrough4 ,names of ,portuguese shipowners trading with ,english ports4 ,owners of steamers sailing between ,dover and ,calais1 and particulars of service4 ,the latest information re ,indigo in ,india4 ,the flat rate of pay for seamen4 ,price of bunker coal in ,new ,york in ,july1 #aibj4 ,at ,leeds1 the commercial library is combined with the technical library--an unusual arrangement1 but one for which there is a good deal to be said as well as against4 ,technical libraries exist for the supply of information1 and also to subserve technical education3 a commercial library is for information simply4 ,there are inconveniences attached to the combination2 it is not a mere question of logical differentiation4 ,commercial libraries are open during business hours1 and closed in the evenings and on ,saturday afternoons1 the very time when the technical student would use the library most4 ,the one1 again1 is arranged and furnished to facilitate rapid consultation1 not as a place for prolonged study4 ,logically1 of course1 it seems absurd to separate the literature on making a thing from the literature on selling it1 the production department from the sales department4 ,big libraries may some day divide naturally into a modern side and a humanist side1 and this might prove as convenient a dichotomy as it is suited to the logic of modern life4 ,at any rate1 the experiment at ,leeds is worth watching1 and public expedience must settle the point4 ,these commercial departments have enlarged the ordinary province of the public library1 and have developed into something like the intelligence bureau of a large industrial firm4 ,the staff is prepared to supply1 not only the means of information1 but also information itself4 ,many years ago1 in the ,cardiff and some other public libraries1 a new institution called the information desk came into vogue1 where a trained assistant sat at the receipt of questions1 oral1 postal1 or telephonic1 which he answered forthwith1 or after search in directories1 dictionaries1 and other compendiums of information1 including the file of inquiries already handled4 ,in a commercial town1 this departure from old-fashioned practice was welcomed as extremely useful4 ,public libraries suddenly became popular with a class who had hitherto scarcely noticed their existence4 ,the new commercial libraries perform the same function much more effectively1 because they have far larger masses of information tabulated and mobilized1 and are ready to lead up their reserves at any moment4 ,the ,adult ,education ,committee criticize this transformation of part of the library into an intelligence bureau4 ,there seems to be a fear that it may compete with the commercial intelligence department of the ,government or with the chambers of commerce4 ,admitting that the boundary between the province of these organizations and that of the commercial library is not easy to define1 they protest 8that the function of the commercial department of a local library is primarily to provide books concerned with the theory and practice of commerce and cognate subjects1 rather than detailed information on matters of trade40 ,here the mind of the theorist1 the stern logician1 is again at work1 making havoc of expediency1 and also of common sense4 ,if the commercial library is doing the work so well1 and doing it cheaply into the bargain1 then if you are going to shut up anything1 shut up the ,government department3 the trade association will be only too glad to be saved doing the job over again4 ,give the library its proper equipment in money and privilege1 give it room and opportunity to develop into an institute of commerce1 and the taxpayer and many other people's pockets will be spared4#aa ,these outside organizations1 whether run by the ,government or by the traders1 are in fact working under disadvantages so long as they are not lodged in a first-class commercial library and carried on by a staff trained in library methods1 the results are less satisfactory and more costly to produce4 ,every library1 in one of its aspects1 is an information bureau4 ,pedantic classification may draw a sharp line between one sort of information and another2 experience and expediency point to the library as the right place for the retail of intelligence1 whether practical or theoretic4 ,illustration3 ,photo ,pictorial ,agency4 ,,library ,,of ,,the ,,institute ,,of ,,actuaries1 ,,staple ,,inn ,,hall4 ,the commercial library or the technical library provided by the municipality will not lead to the extinction of the library belonging to the private firm2 rather may it be expected to tend to the multiplication and development of these1 just as access to books in public libraries has led to more book-buying by readers1 who have learned the value of books1 and feel the need to have certain works always by them on their own shelves4 ,the great immediate benefit is to the smaller firms and the individual worker2 but even they will no doubt acquire eventually far more books for themselves1 and a much better selection of books1 as a direct result of access to a public business library1 familiarity with its contents1 and realization of the enormous advantage of being in constant touch with the latest sources of information4 ,in the ,united ,states1 which are incomparably better off than this country in all sorts of commercial1 technical1 and other special libraries provided by public funds1 there are now about #b1ejj business libraries established by progressive firms4#ab ,,books ,,for ,,the ,,blind4 ,as long ago as #aheg1 the ,liverpool ,public ,libraries set the example of providing books in raised type for the blind4 ,at ,nottingham1 one of the first to follow this lead1 ,i remember many years later visiting the room set apart for the blind1 and watching several blind people at work producing new pages in embossed print from another sightless person's dictation4 ,along the walls were deep cases enclosing long sets of portly quartos or folios--novels by ,scott or ,dickens in eight or ten volumes apiece1 ,macaulay's ,history of ,england in seventy-two1 the ,bible in thirty-eight1 and so on4 ,at that time1 the supply of books for the blind had been so far centralized that most libraries relied upon collections at ,manchester1 ,nottingham1 ,london1 or other places1 run chiefly by voluntary organizations4 ,and now1 few if any public libraries provide books for the blind themselves1 the ,national ,library for the ,blind1 in ,tufton ,street1 ,westminster1 or its branch at ,manchester1 being a depot for all4 ,this admirable institution1 at once a great bookstore and a place for both recreation and educational work1 with its reading rooms1 music room1 and hall for meetings and discussions1 was provided by the ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust4 ,public libraries and other institutions all over the country are entitled to borrow from it for the benefit of their blind readers1 on payment of a moderate subscription4 8,it is closely affiliated with the ,students' ,library at ,oxford1 which is gradually being built up to supply the special needs of ,university men40#ac ,stamping machinery is now used for the production of metal plates1 from which any number of copies of books in embossed type may be obtained1 though the process is costly4 ,the ,carnegie ,trust has provided funds for the manufacture of metal plates by the ,national ,institute for the ,blind and by the ,royal ,blind ,asylum and ,school at ,edinburgh4 ,all copies of standard works thus printed--if the word may be used--are presented to the ,national ,library1 and the stereotype plates remain on hand for further issues4 ,the work of transcribing books by hand is1 however1 growing enormously1 and is of vast importance1 as is shown by the fact that during #aibj1 #dca complete new works of literature running into #a1cga volumes of ,braille were produced in this way from ink print by the ,library's voluntary workers 7of whom there are some #ejj7 whilst during the same period #hi complete new works were published by the stereotyping houses4 ,it will thus be seen that if the blind of the country depended only on the stereotyped books produced1 their choice of reading matter would be exceedingly limited4 ,blind copyists are employed to duplicate the books at an average cost of #bes4 per volume1 whence it is obvious that literary provision for the blind is very expensive1 and is possible on any adequate scale only if liberal public support is forthcoming4 ,recently1 alas1 there has been a vast increase in the numbers of blind persons4 ,the idea of the old charitable institutions that such readers would be satisfied with books of moral edification was abandoned long ago2 nowadays it would be absurd4 ,books on every subject1 serious reading and light reading1 educational literature and literature recording recent scientific advances and expressing the latest phases of thought1 are in demand among blind readers representing every grade of culture4 ,in short1 there is no more limit1 except the cost of producing copies in this special form1 to the contents of a modern library for the blind than to those of any other general library4 ,at present1 the ,national ,library has nearly #fe1jjj books on its shelves1 besides some #ab1jjj volumes of music4 ,the public library in any subscribing locality is thus relieved of the serious burden1 not merely of purchasing1 but also of housing these bulky volumes4 ,a reader sends in his list of books required1 which is transmitted to the ,national ,library1 and the books are then sent direct to the reader's home4 ,it is a work of public benefit1 yea1 of national obligation1 that surely cries loudly for ,state aid4 ,in the ,united ,states consignments of books for the blind are carried free to the nearest post office or station4 8,of #ab1hai books for the blind circulated by the ,new ,york ,public ,library in #aijh1 #h1eeh were sent free by mail40#ad ,our ,post ,office has made concessions not quite so generous1 allowing a book weighing #f lbs4 to travel for #b;d41 and one weighing #e lbs4 to be sent anywhere abroad for #b;d4 ,the cheaper transmission of books by post will become an urgent question whenever a national system of interchange between all manner of libraries becomes an accomplished fact2 but1 even then1 the case of the blind will be one calling for exceptional liberality4 ,,footnotes3 #d ,a4 ,e4 ,bostwick4 8,the ,american ,public ,library10 p4 #ef-g4 #e ,r4 ,a4 ,rye4 8,the ,libraries of ,london3 a guide for students0 7,university of ,london1 #aiaj74 #f ,adult ,education ,committee3 ,final ,report1 par4 #e4 #g ,a ,question of the ,day3 ,public ,libraries 7,library ,association1 #aiah74 #h ,third ,interim ,report3--,c4--,technical and ,commercial ,libraries4 #i ,the following shows the number of readers monthly3-- ,oct4 #aiai #a1caf ,nov4 #d1cfa ,dec4 #d1dje ,jan4 #aibj #e1fjh ,feb4 #e1bei ,march #f1aff ,april #e1ehe ,may #d1daf ,june #aibj #f1jbi ,july #e1ggb ,aug4 #e1icf ,sept4 #f1cfe ,oct4 #f1hga ,nov4 #g1dbh ,dec4 #f1fag ,jan4 #aiba #g1jdc #aj ,on the other hand1 the complexity and the efficiency organization required in the technical library and information department of a modern business undertaking1 may be realized from an article on 8,the ,library at the ,ardeer ,factory of ,nobel's ,explosives ,co41 ,ltd40 7,library ,association ,record1 ,june1 #aiba74 #aa ,american opinion is all in favour of the use of the library as an information department4 8,the aim of the business library is rather to function as a central information1 statistical1 or research bureau1 or1 like other departments1 to aid directly or indirectly in profits1 in increasing quantity1 quality1 or efficiency of production1 in building up an intelligent work force1 or in the general improvement and extension of the business4 ,only in so far as it does this is the business library justifiable40 ,j4 ,h4 ,friedel1 ,training for ,librarianship1 p4 #aae4 #ab 8,within the last three years the number of business libraries has more than doubled40 ,j4 ,h4 ,friedel3 ,training for ,librarianship 7#aiba71 p4 #aac4 ,see also the chapters on ,special ,libraries1 ,agricultural ,libraries1 ,financial ,libraries1 ,law ,libraries1 ,technical ,libraries1 etc4 #ac ,library ,association ,record1 ,aug41 #aibj1 p4 #beh4 #ad ,a4 ,e4 ,bostwick3 ,the ,american ,public ,library1 p4 #ca4 ,,iii ,,library ,,extension4 ,library ,extension is closely analogous to the more familiar phrase ,university ,extension4 ,it stands for various activities that go outside1 often far outside1 the province marked out by the ,public ,libraries ,acts1 yet are natural if not inevitable corollaries of the educational and social doctrines that formulated those ,acts4 ,they carry the services and influence of the library into other spheres--the school1 the home1 the voluntary association--and expand its functions from the mechanical disposal of books as stock-in-trade to their treatment as atoms packed with vital force1 electrons charged with incalculable energies capable of working great consequences in that susceptible region1 human life4 ,a library may confine itself to a passive attitude1 and so long as it responds more or less freely to external pressure it may be acceptable and useful to a small proportion of the persons who pay for its upkeep4 ,but it was long ago borne in upon the far-sighted librarian and committee-man that a more active1 nay1 a positively militant policy was required if the public library was to exercise all its powers for good in the social economy4 ,more books have mouldered away or come to a like inglorious and ineffectual end than were ever worn out by hard use4 ,you can offer your public the finest collection of books--it has been done again and again by profligate philanthropists--and never get them read1 or the people's life and taste improved4 ,it is easy to buy books2 it is much more difficult1 and far more important1 to create readers4#ae ,the librarian's duty1 he has found by harsh experience1 is twofold3 to contrive a library service1 and to see that the best use is made of it4 ,instruction in the art of reading and in the choice of books1 it may be objected1 is for the teacher1 not the librarian4 ,theoretically1 it may be so2 but the rejoinder is1 our teachers have never succeeded in the task1 they have not even addressed themselves to it1 and they are not likely to succeed unless they work hand in hand with the librarian3 they must1 indeed1 rely on the librarian1 the book-expert1 more and more under modern conditions1 for guidance in their own reading and in carrying out their own functions according to the newest lights4 ,it is largely owing to the lack of any regular correlation between schools and libraries that the results of the ,education ,acts have been so unsatisfactory4 ,the mistakes of #ahej might have been rectified in #ahgj by bringing the new system of schooling into the closest contact with the public libraries4 ,but1 though it was enacted that every child should be taught to read1 that children should be taught how to read1 and where and what to read1 seems to have scarcely entered the minds of those responsible for elementary education4 ,in introducing the ,education ,estimates for #aiag-h1 ,mr4 ,fisher said in the ,house of ,commons 7,april #aith1 #aiag73-- 8,i have been impressed by the fact that boys who have been stirred up at the age of sixteen or seventeen to attend the technological classes attached to our new universities in the north of ,england have so lost the habit of intellectual activity as to cloy and impede the efficient working of the college4444 ,the country does not get full value out of its elementary schools1 because so much of the training and instruction is subsequently lost40 ,why had these boys lost the habit of intellectual activity8 ,because1 first1 though they had received the usual primary schooling1 they had never had instilled into them intellectual habits1 interests1 or likings2 and1 second1 because1 even where libraries and other intellectual institutions existed1 they had never been brought inside their doors1 or learned that these things were their own and would satisfy their multifarious needs the more they used them4 ,library ,extension aims at the repair of these oversights4 ,the activities which it connotes should be an important part of the library service when this is reorganized on a national basis4 ,in reality1 ,library ,extension is a return to the broader idea of the people's institutes4 ,the lectures1 reading circles1 meetings for study and discussion1 the co-operative alliances with energetic bodies such as the ,workers' ,educational ,association1 the local field club1 scientific society1 or the like1 the closer relations with schools and all intellectual agencies1 are revivals and developments of the social efforts at adult education which gave life to those institutions in the early nineteenth century4 ,as would be expected1 the towns which have taken the lead in such extension efforts as courses of public lectures have been places where the traditional bond between the library and kindred foundations like the museum and art gallery have never been severed4 ,such a combination is a much more appropriate engine of extension activity than is the library that is merely a library4 ,it usually contains a lecture hall1 if not smaller rooms for study and discussion4 ,in addition to the books1 which must be available and must be read if lectures are to have any lasting results1 the collections in the museum are there for use in connexion with scientific and historical lectures1 and the gallery provides the most appropriate illustrations for those on artistic subjects4 ,in some towns1 library1 museum1 and art gallery are housed under one roof1 governed by the same committee1 and even superintended by the same curator4 ,sometimes the technical school is one of the group4 ,too close a coalition may have detrimental results4 ,administration by one chief officer is hardly justifiable unless the whole establishment is only on a moderate scale4 ,there is always the risk that one department will flourish at the expense of the others4 ,one of the most disastrous instances within my experience was when the committee of a many-sided institute chose a librarian for his qualifications as a college lecturer4 ,in this case1 it was the library that went to the wall4 ,in others1 it has been the museum1 the picture gallery1 or the school1 when there has been one attached2 or the whole has suffered from the lack of close attention or of the special knowledge and experience required equally by each department4 ,but this is no argument against the policy of putting them all under one committee as branches of one corporate undertaking4 ,,lectures ,,in ,,the ,,library4 ,at ,liverpool1 where library1 museum1 and art gallery are in the same suite of buildings1 and under one general committee1 sections of which are detailed to supervise the several departments1 there is an example of intimate correlation on the largest scale4 ,here1 in the ,picton ,theatre under the central library and in the lecture halls attached to the branches1 free courses of lectures have been carried on ever since #ahfe1 averaging now some two hundred yearly1 with an aggregate annual attendance of nearly #bjj1jjj4 ,at ,bootle1 ,salford1 ,warrington1 ,wigan1 ,cardiff1 ,wallasey1 ,bristol1 ,derby1 ,norwich1 ,maidstone1 ,leek1 and other places1 mostly in the midlands1 and at ,islington1 ,croydon1 ,woolwich1 ,walthamstow1 ,camberwell1 ,kingston1 ,chelsea1 ,hampstead1 ,fulham1 ,hornsey1 ,bromley1 and other public libraries in the ,london area1 winter series of public lectures were in full swing in the years before the war1 and in many cases have not been discontinued or have since been revived4 ,a good proportion of these libraries are of the old composite type1 complete with museum and art gallery2 others are tending to become such4 ,at ,nottingham1 where the public library is in partnership1 as it were1 with the ,university ,college next door1 among various extension efforts the half-hour talks on books and reading have for several decades been a popular mode of stimulating taste and self-education1 both in adults and in children1 and have been widely imitated4 ,the ,manchester ,public ,library was the pioneer in this provision of lectures bearing directly on the uses of libraries and the best methods of reading and private study4 ,a large proportion of the library buildings put up during the last two or three decades are possessed of lecture halls4 8,it is also most desirable10 say the ,adult ,education ,committee1 8that all public libraries should possess a room large enough to be used for classes1 lectures1 and discussions40 ,and yet1 only in a few spots1 such as ,liverpool1 enjoying the privileges of special ,acts of ,parliament1 is it legal to pay a lecturer's fee1 or indeed to spend a penny on this invaluable and1 one would think1 indispensable work4 ,among the principal reasons put forward by the ,committee of #ahdi for the establishment of people's libraries was the growing demand for public lectures4 ,unfortunately1 the point was overlooked or dropped out for motives of policy when the ,act was drafted1 and repeated appeals to have such expenditure legalized have fallen on deaf ears4 ,thus the work is carried on under the most discouraging and repressive conditions4 ,if a public library is so reckless as to embark on illustrated lectures1 it must get hold of a lantern1 in forma pauperis from some benevolent donor1 or borrow it from a neighbourly institution that is not hampered by legislative taboos4 ,even to print a programme or post up a placard means surcharge by the ,government auditor4 ,in some places1 accordingly1 the cost is defrayed out of gifts by public-spirited citizens or by sending round the hat for subscriptions4 ,one excellent device1 which has obvious advantages over and above the financial expedience1 is to enrol the regular attendants at the lectures into a literary society with a small subscription4 ,another and a very objectionable method is to make advertisements on the programmes pay the printer's bill4 ,a public institution ought not to be driven to such shifts4 ,and1 even in the happiest circumstances1 very rarely are funds forthcoming for the engagement of professional lecturers3 library committees have had1 almost without exception1 to fall back upon the volunteer4 ,nevertheless1 efficient volunteers have been forthcoming3 it is indeed surprising how many lecturers of a high order can be enlisted by a librarian who keeps his eyes open for ability and scholarship and no caprice for hiding the light under a bushel4 ,it was the present writer's duty to organize regular weekly lectures at the central and the two chief district libraries of a large ,london borough for several successive winters4 ,by the exercise of some vigilance and diplomacy1 first-class lecturers on a variety of subjects were secured1 without a penny of expense to the borough4 ,the quality of the lectures was witnessed by the attendance1 which averaged well over two hundred--hundreds turned away on nights when there were bumper houses not being counted4 ,there is another side to this question of voluntary lecturers1 which may perhaps be urged by the ,lecture ,agency and the ,university ,extension boards1 that it is robbing the paid lecturer of his occupation4 ,in the present condition of things the point hardly arises4 ,there is no money for the professional lecturer1 so that the amateur cannot be charged with blacklegging2 but it will assuredly arise when lecture and other tutorial schemes are properly recognized and financed4 ,when that time arrives1 however1 there will be such a demand for lecturers that the whole question will be seen to have different bearings4 ,there will be courses of lectures running1 or demanding to be run1 at every library1 including most of the branch establishments2 there will be tutorial classes1 reading circles1 and other groups requiring teachers or at least competent leaders1 going on concurrently4 ,the library proper1 that is the working collection of books1 will have become1 or be tending to become1 the heart1 the functional centre1 of a complex organism2 it will fall into its place as the analogue of the library in a big college4 ,thus there will be a wide and importunate demand for lecturers1 and demand will create supply only if every possible source is utilized4 ,there will not be a glut of trained lecturers1 or even a sufficient supply4 ,rather1 when all the lecturers empanelled by official and commercial agencies are in full employ1 there will be keen competition for their spare moments4 ,when public libraries were first mooted1 it was prophesied that the bookseller would be deprived of a large part of his market1 and every new public library is supposed to be a blow to the trade4 ,the results are in direct contradiction4 ,a better supply has created a keener demand4 ,access to books has stimulated a desire to possess books4 ,the day of popular libraries was speedily followed by the day of the cheap edition4 ,there are many more bookshops than ever there were before2 and since there are more booksellers it may be safely concluded that1 in spite of complaints of bad trade1 the sale of books has largely increased4 ,even the commercial circulating library continues to flourish4 ,similarly1 it may be anticipated1 the public organization of lectures and teaching for adults1 even though every source of supply is tapped1 including the amateur and the volunteer1 will lead to a greater demand for the trained professional1 who will find his occupation not gone but all the more thriving and profitable4 ,the modern museum and the art gallery in a large town have daily lectures1 or perhaps half-a-dozen lectures a day1 provided to teach the public how to understand and appreciate the value of their contents4 ,this is one of the main objects of lectures in public libraries1 the contents of which are far more various and extensive4 ,but there are other reasons for selecting the library building as the most suitable place for all kinds of lectures for which appropriate illustrations in the form of works of art1 museum exhibits1 and other material objects are not available4 ,any lecture that aims at permanent results should provide every member of the audience who wants to pursue the subject with a reading list2 better still1 the actual books1 arranged by the librarian and the lecturer in a graduated course of reading1 should be on exhibition1 and every facility should be given to the interested person to take home books and commence his studies there and then4 ,such are the considerations kept always in view by the modern librarian who runs his courses of lectures1 not as a side-show1 or as a method of advertizing the library and bringing in new readers1 but as an integral part of the library machine4 ,in the ,croydon ,public ,libraries1 to take one of several good examples1 about a hundred lectures are given annually1 some to ordinary mixed audiences1 some to bodies of school children or to the young people in the junior library4 ,the halls are nearly always crowded with eager listeners4 ,most of the lectures are accompanied by lantern illustrations1 and the methods of bringing them directly to bear on the stores of books in the library are as thorough as in any place ,i know4 ,the lecturers1 who give their services free1 are furnished with lists of the books the library contains on their particular subjects1 and are requested to point out any serious gaps4 ,the titles of the books are shown on the screen1 and the lecturer makes his personal comments on each4 ,after the lecture1 the actual books are exhibited1 and any one in the audience1 who verifies his or her identity from the local directory or otherwise1 is allowed to borrow from these on the spot4 ,another useful method is to distribute descriptive lists of the relevant books1 arranged if possible on a continuous plan of reading1 such lists being drawn up in collaboration with the lecturer4 ,it was at ,croydon1 ,i believe1 that the library reading was introduced as a form of lecture4 ,the librarian or some other person well acquainted with a subject and also with the literature of the subject to be found in the library1 reads pieces of description1 notable prose1 or fine verse1 on such a topic as 8,the ,englishman in the ,alps20 or 8,byron1 the poet and the man40 ,it is a sort of spoken anthology1 in short1 stimulating interest in the works illustrated4 ,,university ,,extension ,,courses1 ,,tutorial ,,classes1 ,,reading ,,circles4 ,many years' experience of library lectures from the internal point of view1 that is from the point of view of the librarian and organizer1 and also from that of an occasional lecturer in most of the public libraries in and near ,london1 as well as careful study of the effects upon all kinds of hearers1 has1 however1 convinced me that the opinion of most educators and other critics is right3 the only lectures which are likely to have sound and lasting results are those that have been carefully arranged to form part of a course4 ,sporadic lectures are all very well in their way1 but very much inferior in promoting serious study and developing real knowledge4 ,reading an occasional magazine article is not to be compared with reading a book4 ,at the same time1 even if continuous courses can be provided1 it would be a mistake to drop the other sort altogether4 ,the results1 if usually ephemeral1 are not to be despised2 such lectures are as a rule more popular than the thorough-going ,university ,extension course1 and may be a stepping-stone to that4 ,and the organizer of such miscellaneous series may1 if he gives thought to the matter1 arrange the lectures by different specialists into groups on allied topics or aspects of the same subject4 ,he may do still better4 ,the person1 whether professional or volunteer1 who is qualified to deliver a first-class lecture would usually prefer to deliver several1 dealing with the same subject more thoroughly and methodically--it is usually easier1 and always far more satisfactory4 ,in nine cases out of ten1 the results would be enormously more valuable4 ,to dispatch a serious theme in an hour's discourse is an effort that usually means a rapid and perhaps brilliant but superficial handling1 and does not always mean that surplusage is avoided4 ,it is too much like putting the day's rations into a single meal4 ,one invaluable concomitant of the best and most remunerative form of lectures is usually absent at those of the ordinary type1 and that is free discussion4 ,this is not always invited1 and1 when it is1 discussion often resolves itself into complimentary speechifying or else passages of arms in which the same orators week after week display their gifts4 ,to have any real success1 lectures must arouse debate4 ,if there are no questions1 no give and take between the mind of the lecturer and of his hearers1 the entertainment is likely to remain barren4 ,a ,university ,extension lecturer will always invite questions and the discussion of points that need elucidating2 but he will not always break down the shyness of those who would fain have more light1 even though a course going on from week to week tends to make his listeners better prepared1 and enables them to save up their difficulties for an opportune moment4 ,here it is that the tutorial class1 which is run on the lines of a seminar1 shows its superiority4 ,the tutorial class is a small and intimate circle1 so small and friendly that the most diffident are hardly likely to feel that asking a question is like making a speech2 its head is a leader and moderator rather than a lecturer1 and its methods are devised to call out individual thought and initiative1 and ensure that the subject shall be viewed from every side and all difficulties of comprehension cleared away4 ,the members of the class do as much work as the teacher3 the better he is the more he gets them to do4 ,reading circles are usually conducted on a very similar plan1 the preparatory work of course being done by the members at home4 ,when instead of formal lectures papers are read or discussions opened by members of a literary society1 fairly satisfactory results are usually obtained2 but whatever scheme be adopted1 it is far better to split up into small groups than to be ambitious of large attendances4 ,many public libraries have wisely supplemented their own lecture schemes by co-operating with ,university ,extension4 ,even where the library has not been able to offer a lecture room on the premises1 such co-operation may be very valuable1 and a reciprocal advantage to all concerned4 ,the library can provide books for the students1 issuing reading lists which have been drawn up in consultation with the lecturers2 useful exhibitions1 also1 can be organized1 from the library's own stores or from other sources4 ,the tutorial classes organized by the ,workers' ,educational ,association have been aided effectively by such co-operation1 which always reacts beneficially1 in more ways than meet the eye1 on the libraries themselves4 ,when there is intimate association between libraries and technical colleges1 polytechnics1 and the like1 half at least of the real work will be done in the library or through the books supplied by the library4 ,nor is it only the urban libraries that are able to assert their true place in adult education thus2 several of the new rural repositories are working hand in hand with the ,workers' ,educational ,association and its tutorial classes1 which have not failed on their part to utilize machinery so apt to its purposes4 ,besides the ordinary stock of miscellaneous books for the general reader1 the wise rural librarian lays in a good selection of the works required by reading circles and tutorial classes1 if necessary duplicating until there are enough copies for all demands4 ,but for this special call upon his resources1 he would rely upon the ,central ,library for ,students to meet the requirements in works of this class4 ,but public libraries as yet do not appear to have instituted tutorial classes themselves1 or indeed to have taken on their own shoulders the financial responsibility of ,university ,extension courses4 ,though they have their own lecture halls and smaller rooms suitable for the various purposes here enumerated1 even the best and most active library authorities have not done much more than hold such series of miscellaneous and disconnected lectures as are1 admittedly1 not the best4#af ,that so much should have been accomplished1 even whilst the public libraries were toiling under the yoke of the penny rate limit1 is to their enduring credit2 but it is little to what ought to be done1 under less hampering conditions1 and to what the progressive among them will assuredly do ere long4 ,but the ,act of #aiai merely restored the right of every community to spend as much as it liked on certain library purposes2 it did not restore its natural right to spend money on what objects it liked1 as for example1 library lectures or library classes2 still less did it infuse an eagerness to do so where no such desire had previously existed4 ,the removal of an unreasonable and effete restriction can hardly be delayed much longer2 but even when there is no legal ban upon expenditure the cost of a paid university teacher will often be prohibitive4 ,why then should not the alternative be taken of appointing a volunteer8 ,this is continually being done by reading circles all over the country1 organized in connection with or in imitation of the ,national ,home-,reading ,union1 and the results are highly encouraging4 ,the fact is1 our resources in private ability and willingness to serve in such functions as these have never yet been fully explored3 they will have to be explored4 ,men of high academic attainments are expensive items in a tutorial scheme providing for the intellectual avocations of perhaps not more than a dozen zealous students2 and1 as was hinted before1 there will not be enough of them to go round--there would not be enough now if a serious attempt were made to ascertain actual wants and provide for them adequately4 ,vast numbers of continuous courses1 of multifarious kinds1 are required everywhere in these days of intellectual keenness4 ,let us try then to run some of them at least on the lines of mutual help that have served so well in the past4 ,there has never been in this country any dearth of one kind of personal ability1 that of clear and racy exposition1 in the sphere1 for instance1 of local politics and lay preaching4 ,it does not exist1 though appearances may be deceptive1 in the sphere of intellectual activity4 ,it should not be more difficult to find leaders for reading circles and study groups1 or lecturers competent to deliver a short course1 than it is to find chairmen for parish councils1 political meetings1 or local committees4 ,nor1 if we proceed with common sense and lay no stress on artificial difficulties1 will there be any dearth of discussion4 ,the part of the leader will rather be to direct the spontaneous flow1 and prevent the study circle from degenerating into a mere talking-shop4 ,but even loquacity can be controlled and kept to the point if there is a definite subject1 and a course of reading clearly marked out4 ,a well-informed1 tactful1 and judicious leader will work wonders if he observes the golden rule not to overwork himself4 ,the librarian himself and chosen members of any large staff should be able to run at least a reading circle1 if not to deliver public lectures4 ,the success of all such undertakings will depend of course on his personal competence and insight2 if he can take his own share in the work with credit1 he will be in the more intimate touch with the mental attitude and potentialities of his public4 ,,dramatic ,,and ,,other ,,circles4 ,lectures and classes by no means exhaust the modes in which the public library may carry on useful extension work2 in truth1 the ways are almost unlimited1 except that some forms of study1 teaching1 or entertainment may cause inconvenience1 unless the building is very large and special accommodation arranged4 ,thus a small library is not a suitable place for musical performances1 although many public libraries cater on a lavish scale for students of music4 ,it is not an uncommon thing1 however1 for dramatic readings and even full-length plays to be introduced into the scheme of lectures1 or for the library to be the headquarters of a dramatic society4 ,there is no better method of imparting a real understanding and appreciation of our best literature than to induce people to study a classical play dramatically4 ,to begin with1 simple readings should be attempted1 each member of the class or study group taking a distinct part4 ,as soon as the readers have a grip of the action and plot1 they should proceed to act1 still keeping the book before them4 ,a few properties may be introduced1 such as a table and a chair or two and a flagon1 in the revelling scene in ,twelfth ,night1 or a screen1 in ,the ,school for ,scandal--there is no need for scenery or costumes4 ,at some libraries1 properties--and even gestures--are entirely suppressed1 and the reading is a reading pure and simple4 ,mention of these two plays brings to mind several incidents when this rudimentary kind of acting brought out as fine and penetrating an interpretation of the dramatist as any performance by professional actors1 with the usual lavish apparatus1 that ,i have ever witnessed in a ,west ,end theatre4 ,sir ,toby ,belch and ,sir ,andrew ,aguecheek1 ,maria and the ,clown1 were people ,i knew very well1 attired in their ordinary dress4 ,the stage was a bare platform1 and there was nothing on it but a table and a few chairs4 ,the performers had the book in their hands2 but1 evidently1 they were word-perfect in their parts4 ,the scene went with a verve and a naturalness that could hardly be bettered2 and--best of all--it was ,shakespeare1 interpreted by intelligent and well-educated persons1 who were the last people in the world to cut or rewrite or recreate a part as they thought ,shakespeare ought to have written it4 ,another ,sir ,andrew ,aguecheek is still more memorable4 ,this gentleman would probably have been a failure or a very indifferent success in any other character3 he was ,sir ,andrew ,aguecheek in the flesh--the wonder was how we had never noticed it all the years we had known him4 ,a still more delightful proof of the latent genius that may be revealed by such modest performances was a certain ,lady ,teazle4 ,she was a plain and not a very youthful person2 the stage was as unfurnished and void of decoration as her get-up was plain and ordinary4 ,yet1 by dint of dramatic instinct that any much-beparagraphed actress might envy1 she easily conveyed the sense of youth and charm and beauty--she was the finest ,lady ,teazle ,i have seen1 on or off the regular stage4 ,the ,london ,county ,council and other educational bodies have thoroughly recognized the untold possibilities of the dramatic study of drama4 ,it is undoubtedly the right method4 ,charles ,lamb1 in a famous essay1 propounded the doctrine that in the theatre we see the actors but we may entirely fail to see the play4 ,the plays of ,shakespeare1 he paradoxically argued1 8are less calculated for performance on a stage than those of almost any other dramatist whatever40 ,the actor gets between us and the dramatist2 and if that was so in the days of ,kemble and ,mrs4 ,siddons1 how much more is it so in these days of sophisticated stage-display and mannered acting4 ,but put the student of ,shakespeare on the stage1 however rudimentary the stage may be1 and let him find his way into the mind of the great playwright by himself1 so far as he may3 that is how to study ,shakespeare1 and that is the mode of approach sought in such dramatic readings or more elaborate interpretations as are recommended here4 ,even the modest group of readers will probably go on from strength to strength4 ,one group which ,i first set on this track were content at first with a series of readings1 which were given in public1 after many rehearsals1 at the various district libraries of a ,london borough4 ,then they embarked on the complete presentation of ,the ,merchant of ,venice1 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 and ,twelfth ,night1 with scenery and costumes2 and even ventured on a tragedy1 all without discredit4 ,ultimately1 a troupe of experienced players1 they gave a series of ,shakespearian plays at the ,town ,hall and other places1 not only clearing all expenses1 but realizing a handsome sum for an important charity4 ,one of their number later on wrote a comedy1 which they produced with some success4 ,here1 surely1 is a piece of library extension work having high cultural value2 it is indicative of what may easily be done by apt suggestion and cultivation of the group spirit2 and there are innumerable directions in which similar results may be achieved4 ,,relations ,,with ,,work ,,outside4 ,the principle to be kept in view is that the civic library is a most natural home for all the intellectual activities of a social kind going on in each community4 ,even if it is not convenient for all such bodies to have their headquarters there1 the library should entertain the most friendly and active relations with every one4 ,in the ,united ,states1 the public library in most cities performs a large part of its most remunerative work through the medium of public and private organizations outside4 ,it may be likened to a nerve-centre1 with a network of efferent and afferent fibres and a series of ganglia throughout the social organism4 ,thus the ,new ,york ,public ,library has a long and miscellaneous list of clubs1 leagues1 musical societies1 classes of all sorts1 business and other associations that hold their meetings in its various branches4 ,many ,american libraries are ready to plant a delivery station1 dispatch a travelling library1 or a collection of special works1 anywhere that it is asked for1 or even to provide an industrial firm with books1 so long as accommodation and an acting librarian are supplied4 ,they will prepare select lists of books on any given subject1 get up an exhibition to celebrate any event or help on any deserving movement3 there is no end to the ways in which they are prepared to put their services at the disposal of the common weal4 ,british libraries have laboured too much in isolation4 ,the future depends upon1 more than anything else1 its coming into the closest touch with every intellectual and social agency in the body politic4 ,it should be a matter of course for the local scientific and literary societies1 the field club1 the local branch of the ,workers' ,educational ,association and the ,national ,home-,reading ,union--to name only two out of many--to make their home in the library building4 ,the antiquarian society should deposit its collections and books and maps here1 the natural history society its specimens and apparatus1 thus laying the foundations of a local museum to be housed in the situation most favourable for study1 both by themselves and by other inhabitants4 ,local historical and regional surveys are rapidly developing1 whether as pieces of research aiming at the extension of knowledge or as a practical form of education3 the library1 with its local records1 maps1 and other historical material1 should always be the base4 ,the ,croydon ,public ,library is the centre from which the ,photographic ,survey and ,record of ,surrey operates4 ,surrey took the lead in this important branch of topographical history1 and the photographic records of buildings1 scenery1 and miscellaneous objects of interest now collected in the library comprise some #h1jjj prints and lantern-slides1 all elaborately classified and indexed for instant reference4 ,housed along with these is the ,regional ,survey of ,croydon1 consisting of maps prepared from actual surveys of the district within fifteen miles' radius1 showing the geology1 vegetation1 surface utilization1 industries1 etc4 ,this also is accompanied by photographs4 ,further1 an artist has been commissioned to paint faithful records of architectural or natural features that are likely to perish or be disfigured by modern changes--a thing that will be of priceless value to future generations4 ,this logical extension of the work of preserving local records1 minute-books1 newspapers1 and various fugitive material is being carried on elsewhere1 notably at ,coventry1 ,brighton1 ,northampton1 and ,nottingham4 ,it deserves the attention of the many local societies that have not yet thrown in their lot with the local library4 ,,library ,,exhibitions4 ,libraries may themselves get up exhibitions or grant hospitality to those organized by kindred bodies4 ,the more the library takes a hand in the preparation1 the more can the series of exhibits be related to the appropriate books1 and the more effective will such efforts be as aids to popular enlightenment4 ,there is a wide choice of suitable subjects--book-production and its various branches1 engraving and other arts1 local history and geography1 the sciences4 ,the library will be able to supply many of the exhibits from its own stores2 usually it is not difficult to borrow useful material from commercial or private sources2 and loan exhibits from the ,state museums are available as nucleus1 supplement1 or even as forming the whole display4 ,such exhibitions are placed under the care of keen and intelligent members of the staff1 and lectures or demonstrations are given illustrated by the actual objects2 the results are enormously ahead of those achieved by the ordinary static exhibition4 ,lines of reading are pointed out1 and books brought into juxtaposition with their subject realities1 in a way that even the trained conductor in a museum or picture gallery can hardly compass4 ,actual experience in organizing and running a number of such exhibitions has left me with no doubt of their popularity or their educational value4 ,when an exhibition illustrating such a subject as the production of a book goes on for three months in the libraries of a ,london borough1 and the average attendance during that period exceeds a thousand a day1 we may feel that we are beyond the experimental stage4 ,even our rural libraries1 when they are located in the village hall or have a suitable building of their own1 need not hesitate to attempt an exhibition4 ,in many ways1 they have exceptional opportunities4 ,to begin with1 there is nothing to compete with them2 the novelty would be absolute4 ,and then there is suitable material of some sort or other in abundance1 botanical1 geological1 horticultural or agricultural1 or such as illustrates local history1 local industries1 or any subject having strong associational interest4 ,differences of scope being allowed for1 the rural librarian would probably find he had much less to do with his own hands than if he were getting up a show in the town4 ,such places as rejoice in the possession of museums and art galleries as well as libraries are specially favoured2 but it does not inevitably follow that these departments of public culture do combine forces so effectually as do the places where the work is on a more frugal scale but comes at any rate from one and the same fount of activity4 ,,relations ,,with ,,the ,,schools4 ,the chapter before this concluded with some account of library work with children4 ,the correlative of the children's library and reading room is the school library or the periodical loan of books to the schools--sometimes it is the alternative4 ,under the ,act of #aiai the library authority in places newly adopting the ,acts will be the local education committee1 and elsewhere the control of existing libraries may be handed over voluntarily to that body4 ,long before this ,act1 certain education committees had acted jointly with library committees in establishing school libraries and other modes of bringing school children into contact with good books4 ,the aims and interests of library and school in large measure coincide4 ,recent legislation virtually admits this sound principle4 ,into the question whether it is wise to vest the control of libraries in the education authority1 a question canvassed both for and against in the ,united ,states as well as in this country1 there is no need to enter at the moment4 ,everybody agrees that children must be taught1 or at least encouraged1 at a fairly early age1 to read books for themselves and to have some idea of the uses of a library4 ,most teachers and librarians would also agree that every school should have a library of its own1 and that at some stage or other each child should be introduced to the public library4 ,perhaps this is as far as we need go in the direction of agreement3 uniformity is surely not advisable1 and local circumstances1 relative situation in particular1 may have to determine the nature of the interaction of library and school1 and the more important point1 how soon should the school child shift the centre of his reading interests from the school library to the public one1 the one that is there to be his intellectual mainstay throughout life8 ,from the point of view of a public librarian1 it might be undesirable that a school library should be so efficient and amply sufficing that elder children were deterred from finding their way into the wider realm of the public library4 ,the school library should be but a tributary flowing into that main stream4 ,there are three modes of dealing with the problem of books for the school child1 and these may be variously combined4 7#a7 ,there may be a permanent collection1 stationed in the school1 consisting of graded sets of reference works required to illustrate any of the subjects taught or studied in the school2 and further1 a collection1 large or small1 of such books1 mainly of a recreational kind1 as it may be thought fit to provide for home reading4 ,such a collection may be built up by the school itself or by the staff of the public library1 who would act1 as a rule1 in close consultation with the teachers4 ,one great advantage of having all the books permanently located at the school is that the children look upon it then as really the school library1 and the teachers are able to familiarize themselves with the contents1 and thus can influence the children's reading to the maximum4 ,if there are funds enough1 a fairly large and representative collection can be provided--one that the most voracious boy or girl is not likely to exhaust till he or she is old enough to join the public library4 ,the best books become household possessions2 children talk about them to their chums1 and not to have read them is a lapse that must be wiped out4 ,if1 on the other hand ,westward ,ho6 or ,little ,women is merely a loan and has gone back to the central library1 how can the young reader get even with the luckier ones8 7#b7 ,to save the expense of a number of permanent school libraries1 an education authority may arrange with the public library to organize a series of travelling collections or merely boxes of books to circulate among the schools4 ,this system may be combined with the other1 the reference collection being regarded1 most reasonably1 as always indispensable and therefore permanent1 and loans of books for recreation supplied at fixed intervals4 ,there is one unquestionable boon attaching to this arrangement--the children enjoy the stimulus1 as the date comes round1 of choosing and rejoicing among a fresh lot of books4 ,many teachers too1 no doubt1 are not averse from a change4 7#c7 ,the third method implies suppression of the school library1 at any rate so far as it is anything beyond the indispensable collection of volumes required for use in the school2 it is to send the young reader to the public library4 ,if this is not far away1 and especially if it has a first-class junior department1 where suitable reference books can be used as well as books for entertainment borrowed for reading at home1 there is nothing to deplore2 but to children in distant schools the loss will be serious4 ,the value of this third solution of the problem1 when it is a real solution and not an evasion1 is that the child is introduced early to a large collection of books1 and also comes into a different atmosphere from that of school4 ,its danger is that the child may come unchaperoned to a library where there is but a perfunctory service for the juniors1 and will be turned adrift in a pathless wilderness4 ,this third method may be seen at work in the schools of ,poplar4 ,one of the poorest among the metropolitan boroughs1 ,poplar has been a leader in many library movements1 such as the scheme of interchange between adjoining boroughs whereby all the books in a large group of libraries are made available for borrowing by dwellers in any part of the area4 ,the libraries have long co-operated with the schools as actively as the teachers would permit4 ,nothing is more essential to the mental life and the economic efficiency of the future citizen than that the gap between schooling and maturity should be bridged over4 ,poplar has realized the fatal nature of that gap1 and has long been doing its utmost to fill up the chasm4 ,school children come to the public library to do their preparation and spend their leisure in the enjoyment of books4 ,classes are brought by teachers during quiet hours1 and sit in the public rooms doing 8silent reading40 ,for a long while measures have been taken so that no single boy or girl in the schools shall go out into the world without being introduced to the public library1 and made acquainted with all that books and libraries can do to help them in life and the pleasures of life4 ,twice a week1 the upper classes from schools in the borough1 coming in regular rotation1 attend at the nearest library to hear an address by the borough librarian1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,rowlatt1 or one of his chief assistants1 on the libraries of their own borough and libraries in general1 what they are and what they contain1 and how freedom and ability to utilize the manifold services they afford is an invaluable part of the individual's equipment for life4#ag ,the librarian and his coadjutors have always thrown themselves heart and soul into the work of co-operation with the schools2 the children listen eagerly1 and the results are seen in the statistics of reading4 ,the vital importance of this work has now been recognized by the ,london ,education ,committee4 ,similar schemes are being introduced in the boroughs of ,islington1 ,greenwich1 and ,hackney1 and it may be hoped that they will become general4 ,this is by no means all that the ,poplar libraries are doing for the school children4 ,attempts are made to help the older children in making up their minds on the occupation they would choose4 ,sets of books illustrating various trades are put before such children1 from which they can gather an intelligent idea of what is the real nature and interest of some craft or trade which was previously a mere name4 ,this has proved a real help in the critical moment of many a child's life4 ,all formalities1 such as monetary guarantees against loss or damage1 have been reduced to a minimum or abolished for the benefit of school children1 who are admitted to full privileges on the bare recommendation of the teachers4 ,thousands avail themselves of the opportunity thus held out1 and many thousands of books have been borrowed as a result without the loss of five shillings' worth of books per annum4 ,the help given to the children in general has likewise proved to be indirectly of inestimable value to the teachers4 ,they admit that the introduction of the library habit among their young pupils has opened their own eyes to points they had never realized4 ,one head master volunteered the statement that it had done away entirely with surreptitious reading of trash among the girls4 ,poplar cannot afford a regular system of school libraries2 yet1 in spite of poverty1 it is signally doing yeoman's service in moulding the minds of our future citizens3 it is a shining example to boroughs of far superior resources4 ,on the whole1 my own preference is for the stationary library1 when the school can afford a good one2 but one's preferences may be modified1 or even reversed1 in altered circumstances4 ,whichever plan be adopted1 supervision1 or rather sympathetic guidance1 is essential4 ,such guidance will1 of course1 be entirely of a positive1 not a negative kind1 and will consist of tactful suggestion1 suggestion as unobtrusive as possible1 by means of story-telling1 illustrated talks1 and personal help4 ,there is not the slightest need for attempting to fit the book to the child4 ,let children read books for grown-ups if they have a mind to1 let boys read girls' books2 the girls will read the boys' books whether you want them or no4 ,it is taken for granted that the whole library will be well-chosen1 and everything in it worth reading4 ,alarmist nonsense1 emanating from ,english justices or militant ,new ,england moralists1 about boys led into crime by stories of brigands and pirates1 are not likely to upset parents or librarians with all their faculties about them1 including a normal sense of humour4 ,if you listened to these people1 ,stevenson and ,dumas would have to be put into a strait jacket1 and ,michael ,scott1 ,aimard1 and ,mayne ,reid burned by the hangman4 ,it is the last expiring gasp of the prudery and lust for chastening the young which made the old-fashioned library for children a byword4 ,far more important than any anxiety about moral or immoral influence is an anxiety about good literature4 ,edification is thrown away if the well-meaning author is unpossessed of charm4 ,the first requisite of a spell is that it shall work4 ,happily1 the charm of fine literature can hardly be attained but by the fine personality4 ,good literature is healthy literature4 ,among the books a child will read with delight1 it is doubtful indeed whether a single example can be found of a work of true literary worth that could lead a child astray4 ,harrison ,ainsworth's ,jack ,sheppard and ,lytton's ,paul ,clifford perished from the catalogues of junior libraries1 not because they were wicked books1 but because they were bad literature4 ,the best books should be duplicated over and over again1 especially in libraries that let their young readers roam along the book-shelves and choose what they like--as all libraries should2 and duplicated as far as possible in various editions1 especially illustrated editions4 ,this is a far wiser policy than aiming at a very comprehensive selection1 which means that quantities of second and third-rate stuff will be introduced4 ,after all1 if life is short childhood is much shorter1 and if every child had the opportunity of reading all the books that are fit1 there would not be much time left before the date arrived for migrating to wider spheres4 ,a bibliography of ideal works for children would not1 however1 be a voluminous affair4 ,the children's librarian should form something of the sort for use1 and the books starred in its pages as superlative should never be out--there should always be copies enough to ensure this4 ,the young reader will find it hard to resist the appeal1 if he sees one attractive copy and next week another staring him in the face3 it will assuage disappointment for the absence of something else1 or charming pictures may tempt to a second reading of a classic already familiar4 ,by such careful management the taste of a healthy child will remain unspoiled1 and in later life sound judgment and appreciation of the best will show the results of this novitiate4 ,in ,america1 the question of circulating versus stationary libraries has been well thrashed out1 though not to a unanimous verdict4 ,at ,buffalo1 the respective spheres of the library and the education authority have been carefully defined4 ,school libraries are limited strictly to the works of reference required in school work1 the public library acting as book-selector4 ,for all further requirements the school and the school children rely on the public library4 ,in ,new ,york ,city1 the public library deputes this branch of its work to a special department1 under a supervisor of work with schools4 ,the city is divided for the purpose into districts1 in each of which there is a branch library and a group of schools4 ,a school assistant1 usually a woman1 is appointed by the library to look after the work in each district1 to make herself personally acquainted with every teacher1 to give advice1 and keep the machinery running smoothly4 ,formal regulations are kept down to a minimum4 ,teachers are allowed to borrow books in large quantities1 and to keep them six months at a time if they need them2 they are expected and assisted to make themselves reliable counsellors and guides to their pupils in the choice and use of books4 ,assistants in the libraries are told off to address groups of teachers and assemblies of school children on the objects and the resources of the libraries2 children are brought to the library in classes to have its working and its benefits explained2 and1 finally1 they are encouraged to do their home lessons in the children's library1 and are provided with a reference collection adapted to the purpose4 ,in this country1 the relationship between the school and the public library remains undetermined4 ,many of our primary schools are destitute of a library worthy of the name1 and if a census were taken it would probably be found that the secondary schools are even worse off4 ,many school libraries have attained a musty and precarious existence through some passing gust of philanthropy1 and maintain it in a more or less accidental fashion4 ,this is not the fault of the public libraries1 many of which have done more than their share in providing schools with books1 and most of which are ready with the expert services needed to put school collections on a proper footing4 ,the failure is due more to lack of a clear realization of the function of school libraries than to mere neglect or oversight4 ,the work already described as done in the junior department at ,croydon1 where as at ,coventry and divers other places1 separate collections of books on education and teaching are provided1 from which the teacher may borrow and which the public may use for reference1 may be taken as representing the kind of endeavour put forth by the more active library authorities4 ,loan collections for schools are organized by some authorities1 stationary school libraries by others4 ,but in a vast number of places1 though many if not all of the facilities enumerated above are held out by the library1 the saving propensities of education committees or the indifference of teachers have left things as they were4 ,the need for a comprehensive treatment of the problem is still more apparent now than when the ,library ,association in #aijd urged that the nation's libraries were1 or ought to be1 an integral part of the national machinery of education4 ,it is a vital part of the educational problem and of the whole problem of public libraries2 and1 whether there are to be two sets of machinery1 working side by side or in reciprocation1 or one set controlling both schools and libraries1 the library service for the schools and the school children must be put on a proper basis1 or the future of adult education and of public libraries also will be in jeopardy4 ,here1 surely1 ,ruskin's saying has a particularly forcible application--8,it is open1 ,i repeat1 to serious question1 which ,i leave to the reader's pondering1 whether among national manufactures1 that of souls of good quality may not at last turn out a quite leadingly lucrative one40 7,unto this ,last74 ,,footnotes3 #ae ,the modern public library believes that it should find a reader for every book on its shelves1 and provide a book for every reader in its community1 and that it should in all cases bring book and reader together4 7,bostwick1 p4 #a47 #af ,the ,adult ,education ,committee attribute the most obvious defects of adult education to-day1 to the discontinuity of much of the work done1 the tendency to rely unduly on lectures and to neglect classwork1 and the inadequate supply of books to the students attending lectures or classes4 8,it is1 in our judgment1 essential that whilst regularity of attendance and seriousness and continuity of study should be insisted upon1 there must be freedom of teaching and freedom of expression40 7,final ,report1 par4 #adf47 ,the ,committee are strongly in favour of continuous courses of lectures1 and of that grouping in classes of moderate size that makes for 8the frank interchange of thought and experience which is essential to adult education10 and without which 8the work carried on will lose its vitality or change its character40 #ag ,,metropolitan ,,borough ,,of ,,poplar4 ,lectures to ,boys and ,girls attending at the ,libraries from ,elementary ,schools4 ,,synopsis4 ,how knowledge is handed down by books4 ,during school-life advice and help can be obtained from the teachers3 after leaving school guidance in reading and study can be obtained at the ,libraries4 ,public ,libraries1 their ownership and the right to use them4 ,the contents of the ,news and ,magazine ,rooms4 ,lack of home accommodation1 and how the ,reference ,rooms can be used for quiet reading and study4 ,books in ,lending ,department on all subjects1 elementary1 intermediate1 and advanced4 ,assistance given by staff4 ,how to use the ,libraries in conjunction with ,continuation ,schools and ,evening ,classes3 also when learning a trade1 business1 or domestic arts and occupations4 ,children are urged to retain the knowledge gained at school and to supplement it4 ,wisdom of acquiring ,general ,knowledge1 and how to acquire it3 with special reference to time-tables1 directories1 atlases1 and dictionaries4 ,the lighter side of ,libraries3--,use of holiday guides2 books of travel1 manners and customs2 music2 home interests1 such as gardening1 poultry-keeping1 pets and hobbies4 ,the care of books4 7,syllabus of one of the lectures described above74 ,,iv ,,rural ,,libraries4 ,before the ,act of #aiai1 more than two-fifths of the population of these islands1 which means practically those living outside the towns and urban districts1 were entirely without a library service4 ,a few attempts had been made1 with various degrees of success1 to found small libraries or contrive methods of circulating collections of books in the villages4 ,such were the library of the ,lancashire and ,cheshire ,union1 inaugurated in #ahdg1 the scheme of the ,yorkshire ,village ,libraries ,association1 in #ahef1 and the ,coats ,libraries supplying many parts of the ,highlands and ,islands of ,scotland4 ,besides these1 there was an odd village library here and there1 such as the excellent miniature institutes given to the inhabitants of ,east ,claydon1 ,middle ,claydon1 and ,steeple ,claydon1 in ,buckinghamshire1 by the late ,sir ,edmund ,verney1 or the library founded in a ,hampshire village by the unaided efforts of the villagers themselves1 which is described by ,miss ,sayle in her little memoir ,village ,libraries4 ,many other rural libraries have flourished for a time1 and then decayed1 leaving no history4 ,professor ,adams found that of the total population of the ,united ,kingdom in #aiaa not more than #eg per cent4 resided within library areas4 ,he contrasted the library provision in different parts of the country in the following table3-- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- ,total ,population in ,percentage ,population1 #aiaa4 ,library ,districts4 of ,total ,population4 ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- ,england #cd1aid1bje #ba1ajc1cag #fb ,wales #b1jbe1bjb #ich1cjc #df ,scotland #d1gfj1ijd #b1djc1bhc #ej ,ireland #d1cij1bai #a1bde1gff #bh ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- #de1cgj1ecj #be1fij1ffi #eg ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- 8,these figures10 he remarks1 8would in themselves suggest what is an outstanding feature of the present situation1 the fact that libraries are chiefly in the larger town areas1 while the smaller towns and country districts remain to a great extent unprovided for40 ,the reason for 8this partial and unequal development0 was the absence in the early ,public ,library ,acts of any clause providing for concerted action among bodies competent theoretically to become library authorities1 but unable practically1 because to furnish an adequate income out of a parish rate would have required an ,aladdin's lamp4#ah ,if the county authorities had been permitted long ago to establish systems of public libraries for the villages1 and the product of a penny rate throughout the county had been spent on the upkeep1 there might by now have been a rural library service not inferior in quality to that in the towns4 ,but before #aiai the potential library authority in country districts was the parish council2 and1 even if parish councils had been persuaded to combine1 the unit of organization would have been too poor to support anything but a miserable apology for a library4 ,in his report of #aiae1 ,professor ,adams observed that there was a growing consensus of opinion that the county authorities should be empowered to adopt the ,acts and impose rates1 and that the rural library systems so established should be closely linked up with the educational system4 ,by this plan the financial difficulties would be overcome1 and1 since 8common thought and common action0 are hard to attain in a dispersed population1 it was only reasonable that a more widely representative body should be authorized to take the initiative4 8,it is part everywhere of the rural problem that there needs to be an organizing centre for the concentrating and directing of rural thought and action40#ai ,professor ,adams outlined 8a public ,state system0 of rural libraries1 8supported by the rates1 and1 like the educational system1 universal40 ,it would be closely associated with1 if not under the control of1 the county educational authority4 8,it would radiate from one or more centres1 according as the county is large or small40 8,there would be ample room for voluntary organization and effort within this framework1 and a good village and rural library system must depend largely on voluntary co-operative work4 ,but the framework of the system must be strongly knit1 and must secure especially at the centre a library institution1 well equipped1 and with expert management and supervision4 ,a new corps of librarians1 in the form of county library superintendents1 will be required if the movement is to be progressively developed40 ,i have quoted an important passage in the actual words of ,professor ,adams1 since it must be always borne in mind that he proposed something far more substantial than the mere circulation of boxes of books among villages or small country towns such as asked for the privilege4 ,one of the primary requisites of each local library1 even in the initial scheme which1 he suggested1 should be experimented with in a few select areas1 was 8a permanent collection of certain important reference books and standard works40 ,that1 indeed1 must be the minimum foundation for the most unambitious kind of library service1 as distinguished from a mere book service4 ,this latter may be furnished by a circulating system1 centering in a repository at some distance2 but the permanent collection must be there1 in the village1 or the book service will be bereft of most of its educational value4 ,the ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 at whose request ,professor ,adams had carried out his investigation1 adopted for the sake of experiment his suggestion that the ,trust should take over the ,coats ,libraries in the ,highlands and ,islands1 which had been initiated by ,sir ,peter ,coats of ,paisley and at that date numbered #ahf on the mainland1 #ei in ,shetland and ,orkney1 #cc in ,lewis and ,harris1 and #cg in the other ,hebrides4 ,a repository was established at ,dunfermline1 from which these local centres were supplied with periodical batches of books4 ,this was the beginning of the ,carnegie rural library scheme1 which during the next few years offered the public and the ,government an object-lesson in the methods of supplying the neglected two-fifths of the population in the four kingdoms with a library service4 ,the first county scheme to be set on foot was in ,staffordshire4 ,in #aiae the ,trust offered #e1jjj to this county council to be expended in five years on a central repository1 a stock of books1 travelling boxes and other equipment1 and the costs of administration and carriage1 asking in return for 8reasonable assurances that1 at the conclusion of the period and after the expenditure of the grant named1 the scheme would be maintained and supported on funds other than theirs40 ,from #ed centres at once established in ,staffordshire schools the scheme gradually spread in four years to #bjf4 ,the county councils of ,gloucestershire1 ,cardiganshire1 ,somerset1 and ,wilts undertook similar schemes under like financial conditions1 and the ,trust made grants to the public libraries of ,perth and ,grantham to organize a service in the neighbouring country parishes4 ,these rural systems were given a statutory basis in ,scotland1 under sec4 #e of the ,scottish ,education ,act of #aiah2 but it was not till the ,public ,libraries ,act of ,december1 #aiai that the position in ,england and ,wales was legalized4 ,that ,act gave an immense stimulus to the rural library movement4 ,library schemes have now been prepared for nearly half the rural area of ,great ,britain1 and a large number are in actual working order4#bj ,the ,trustees in #aibj set aside a sum of #aib1jjj for grants to county authorities during the six years #aibj-e1 such grants to be employed on the initial expenses of the stock of books1 boxes1 shelving1 and similar accessories for the central repository4 ,from that date they ceased to pay for the erection of buildings or for running expenses4 ,the premises used are mostly temporary buildings1 such as ,government huts1 or else rooms in schools4 ,these central repositories look bare and insignificant to the uninitiated1 since they are furnished with little but a few tables or benches for packing books on and enough shelving to hold a fraction of the working stock of books1 most of which are out in the villages and when they come home are off on another journey almost at once4 ,a few stout boxes1 with simple fittings countersunk to avoid damage in transit1 lie about1 full or empty4 ,these are sent out1 each carrying fifty or a hundred volumes1 by rail1 carrier1 or motor-van1 to the village schools or perchance the village club1 to be handed to the readers by volunteer librarians1 who are in most cases the schoolmasters4 ,in a typical county1 where the population is mainly rural and the repository is quartered in a borough of moderate size without a library of its own--where indeed the local inhabitants1 hungering for books which their own borough council will not consent to provide1 have to be kept at arm's length by warning notices--some three hundred villages are each at present receiving about two hundred and fifty books a year4 ,it is not much2 it is not much more than an experiment2 but anyhow it is a beginning2 and1 remember1 until the rural scheme arrived the labouring man never saw a new book1 from year end to year end1 unless his child won a ,sunday ,school prize4 ,the circulating stock consists of books for children and the class of books commonly defined as for the general reader--that is to say1 works for entertainment primarily and in the second place for knowledge or information4 ,further1 there is in this particular centre a strong collection of educational works for the use of teachers1 and a numerous and sound selection of sociological literature for the special benefit of the ,workers' ,educational ,association1 who have many tutorial classes in the district1 most of them studying economics1 social philosophy1 or the science of politics4 ,the teachers are allowed to borrow several books at a time1 to further their work2 and in addition1 the requirements of modern methods in teaching reading are met by the allowance of perhaps fifteen or two dozen copies of certain select books1 to enable every child in a class to have a copy--the reading-circle system applied in the school4 ,if any studious person should ask for a book not in the printed catalogue1 a book obviously in advance of the general demand and costing rather more than the average price bargained for1 the librarian sends for it to the ,central ,library for ,students1 in ,tavistock ,square1 ,london4 ,even the newest and least-developed rural library aims at an ideal that the great commercial circulating libraries have given up as unattainable1 to enable any reader to have access to any book1 of unquestioned value1 that he applies for--and few failures to achieve this end1 by one means or another1 have to be reported4 ,the librarian superintending another county system1 a lady who has built it up from the foundation stone1 has1 after three years been able to announce an average circulation of two thousand books a week4 ,this1 in spite of difficulties of transport1 and the absence of facilities for reaching the adult readers directly4 ,the work here is done entirely through the schools1 and of the eighteen thousand and odd borrowers recently on the register not much more than eight thousand are above school age4 ,nevertheless1 she reports1 even if the parents have 8to snatch the books from the children or to wait patiently until they are all in bed0 444 8the people will read if they get the chance40 8,in one ,cotswold village there are seventy readers1 forty of whom are adults2 among them are several farmers1 a painter1 a butcher1 a sadler1 domestic servants1 railwaymen1 builders1 labourers1 many mothers1 and the postmistress4 ,forty books were sent there in ,january1 and by ,june these books had #chi readers1 an average of #i4e readers per book4 ,one teacher reports that his male readers include a carter1 a cowman1 a rivetter1 farm-labourers1 the policeman1 a workhouse attendant1 the night watchman1 the schoolmaster1 and the vicar4 ,another writes3 8,our readers are chiefly as follows--cloth-workers1 carpenters1 clerks1 plasterers1 house-decorators1 tailors1 gardeners1 printers1 engine-drivers1 ironworkers1 chauffeurs1 railwaymen40 ,when one looks at lists like these one realizes that to pack a box to meet all tastes is no easy matter4 ,in ,stroud there is an old lady of seventy-nine who borrows books regularly from the school1 and at ,coln ,st4 ,aldwyn1 in the ,cotswolds1 a disabled soldier read1 in three months1 nineteen out of a possible twenty-six books4 ,one of our former borrowers who came in by train every day left her book in charge of a porter in the evenings4 ,it was some time before she discovered why he was so surly at times1 and then she found she had changed her book before he had finished it60#ba ,here are samples of the letters received from imaginative school-children1 who had been told about that inexhaustible treasure-house1 the ,central ,library3--8,please send me a book on carpentering and oblige40 8,dear ,sir1 ,could you kindly send me on one of your nature study painting books as you spoke of in our schoolmaster's letter from you and oblige1 ,yours sincerely40 8,dear1 ,sir1 ,i should be pleased if you would kindly forward me a book on the study of knitting a ,jumper40 ,and here is an extract from a teacher's account of her library centre3-- 8,we all feel greatly indebted to the ,carnegie ,trustees1 it is impossible to over-estimate the boon that the ,library is in these country districts4 ,if the ,trustees could see for themselves the excitement and pleasure when the books arrive1 and the rush to see them and choose1 ,i am sure they would realize afresh how well-spent their funds are4 ,our only difficulty is that there are never enough books for all who want them1 but that1 without doubt1 is a difficulty common to all ,carnegie rural librarians40 ,the ,carnegie ,trustees calculated their grants on the understanding that purchases by the rural libraries should be restricted to the cheaper books in general demand 7averaging #cs4 #f;d4 new or second-hand71 and that when other or more expensive books were required they should be obtained on loan from the ,central ,library for ,students4 ,to this library1 which forms a central store of technical1 scientific1 and other high-class works1 for supplying both the rural systems and those urban libraries that pay a small subscription1 the ,trustees are now making a subsidy of #a1jjj a year4 ,it may eventually develop into an invaluable auxiliary to all the public libraries in the kingdom1 and money spent on increasing its stock is a thoroughly economic expenditure1 since it saves an incredible amount of overlapping among the different units of the nation's library service4 ,different counties have employed different modes of distribution4 ,rail and carrier are the usual medium where the centres are not far from the railways1 and some counties have secured half rates for conveyance of books by passenger train4 ,experiments have however been made with hired motor transport1 with a saving on costs and a much more important saving in time and trouble1 since more than a score of boxes can be delivered and the time-expired boxes collected in a single day's trip4 ,the ,perthshire authority have acquired a motor-van of their own to be used for conveying books and also for the librarian's tours of inspection4 ,this will no doubt be the plan adopted elsewhere when the systems reach a further stage of development4 ,more miscellaneous and more picturesque methods have had to be followed in the ,north of ,scotland service1 which feeds the ,islands1 including ,st4 ,kilda1 with much-needed books4 ,after many abortive attempts to reach ,st4 ,kilda1 it was found that a trawler was going there from ,fleetwood1 and in this roundabout way the first box of books from ,dunfermline arrived there last year4 ,in the ,orkneys1 ,shetlands1 and ,hebrides1 crofters1 fishermen1 and cobblers1 we are told1 look eagerly for books on natural history1 science1 and philosophy1 from the ,central ,library for ,students4 ,how many people passing the drab house in ,tavistock ,square have the remotest idea that from this centre1 unmarked by anything more grandiose than a small brass plate1 mental and spiritual light is being steadily radiated to the inhabitants of utmost ,thule4 ,in the island of ,foula1 where the grown-up people cannot leave their crofts in the scanty summer1 the school-children are enlisted as carriers4 ,a schoolmaster describes how in the winter he carried the books himself until he fell in with the sheep-dogs sent out to bring them to the distant croft4 ,on this island a population of #age borrows #a1cjj books a year4 ,guiberwick1 with a population of #bjj1 calls for #gjj every six months4 ,minute records are kept at ,dunfermline of the kind of reading that appeals to various kinds of readers4 8,for the fiction10 says the librarian1 ,miss ,thomson1 8taken on a whole1 they read very good novels4 ,the general works are of a varied nature1 but ,i have noticed that books dealing with the literature1 fauna1 flora1 and topography of each island are much in favour4 ,we also supply books in ,gaelic1 which are widely read both by adults and juveniles40 ,anyone who has wandered in the lonelier parts of the ,highlands will know what are the difficulties of a service to the remote glens and the foresters' stations in the deer-forests1 and what a priceless gift a handful of books always is4 ,it must be evident from this short account that the rural problem has been tackled on the cheapest lines4 ,the maximum cost of any county scheme has in no instance exceeded the yield of a halfpenny rate2 and until there are centres throughout a shire1 or until supplementary means are employed1 such as the establishment of stationary libraries at accessible points in certain areas1 it is not likely to increase appreciably4 ,the following typical examples of county expenditure are given by the ,trustees in their report on the year #aibj3-- ,total ,school pop4 pop4 ,cost ,age of of area of area ,total ,rate per ,no4 of ,county4 ,scheme4 served4 served4 ,cost4 equiv4 head4 ,centres4 ,staffordshire #dth yr4 #bdf1jjj #ce1jjj #ebe d4 d4 #bjf ,gloucestershire #bnd 8 #bab1jjj #cj1jjj #ejj d4 d4 #cjc ,cardiganshire #crd 8 #fj1jjj #f1ejj #ddj d4 #a;d4 #de ,wiltshire #ast 8 #aha1jjj #cd1jjj #dce d4 d4 #ij ,notts #bnd 8 #ajj1jjj #ac1dba #ehj d4 #a;d4 #afd ,somerset #bnd 8 #cce1jjj #eb1jjj #dej d4 d4 #bbc ,it was a wise stroke of policy to make a beginning through the schools and the children4 ,a reading public is in process of manufacture1 and through the books and the readers thus introduced into rustic households even the stubborn bucolic mind can hardly fail to receive some impression4 ,but the risk of beginning in a small way is that people will be content with small results1 or1 even worse1 that the service may have such insignificant consequences that nobody will mind if it declines into something like the old-fashioned school library or disappears altogether4 ,the country districts are being supplied with boxes of books2 they are not being put into contact with libraries--they are not yet supplied with what ,professor ,adams laid down as the first essential1 8a permanent collection of certain important reference books and standard works40 ,such a permanent nucleus is in truth the essential basis of a library service2 a rotation of book-boxes is1 in reality1 but auxiliary to this4 ,unless it be firmly realized that what has been done is only a very small beginning1 and that enormously more remains to be done before an adequate library service is provided1 a fatal mistake will have been committed1 as paralysing to future progress as the blunder of #ahej1 which made public libraries a failure on the whole throughout the first period of their existence4 ,the warning ought by now to have been taken to heart4 ,in their manner of dealing with the rural library1 the county education authorities are on their trial4 ,if the wonted errors of bureaucratic management are committed1 if there is a lack of vision and of sympathy with the villager1 especially the villager who will not be hustled inside the fold of organized adult education1 failure to come to grips with the thorny problems of rural psychology1 and1 above all1 a one-ideaed zeal for economy and a cheap sort of efficiency1 not much can be hoped for until public opinion1 when our new readers have grown up1 imperiously demands more4 ,so far1 little has been attempted1 except in one or two counties blessed with an open-minded and energetic librarian1 to secure the personal contact and the insight into local needs and local avenues of approach that are the indispensable preliminaries to success4 ,for the extension work that has proved so lucrative in urban libraries there is doubly and trebly a need in the country1 if libraries are to play any vital part in the rural economy4 ,during the last few years1 fortunately1 many agencies have come into being or have acquired a new lease of life through which missionary enterprises can be carried on1 granted the necessary intelligence and driving-power at the centre4 ,rural conditions have changed profoundly since the war4 ,there is a keen desire to make life in the country interesting1 to open the stagnant backwater into the general stream4 ,here there is a village club or a women's institute1 there a branch of the ,w4,e4,a42 the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 and the ,y4,w4,c4,a4 have both identified themselves with these and other local activities and initiated fresh projects themselves1 including small libraries1 reading circles1 and educational programmes2 one place has a field club1 another a musical society2 almost everywhere there are boy scouts1 girl guides1 and other elements of social life1 to all of which the library movement should come as an aid and a stimulus4 ,some of these may form a natural home for the village library2 others will provide materials for reading circles and similar enterprises on the part of librarians having some insight into the rustic mind and a determination to break down initial barriers4 ,but to make such efforts effective1 the policy of the rural library authority must be pushing1 adaptive1 and not a parsimonious one1 and the staff of librarians must be something more than machines for distributing books4 ,the directors of education and the county librarians who are in charge of rural systems might learn a good deal from the district organizers employed by the ,village ,clubs ,association4 ,this organization was founded during the war1 with ,government assistance1 to stimulate social life in the country1 and counteract the tendency of the villagers to migrate into towns4 ,it works principally by encouraging the formation of village clubs and institutes1 and assisting these with advice and practical help1 especially by getting them to co-operate in schemes for lectures1 classes1 entertainments1 sports1 competitions1 and the like4 ,several hundred thriving clubs are affiliated to the ,association1 and the staff of officials--men chosen for their experience of rural conditions and insight into rustic mentality--are in touch with everything that goes on throughout a radius extending over two or three counties4 ,many clubs have through local benefactions acquired large and beautiful village halls1 which are obviously the destined home of the village library--in point of fact1 they are not yet the actual home even where the village has a library centre1 bureaucratic authority much preferring the school1 official routine and discipline to mere human nature4 ,the ,village ,clubs ,association takes an active interest in the intellectual side of rural life2 it promotes the formation of village libraries1 very sensibly urging every club to make itself the owner of a small reference collection1 to buy some books for lending1 and borrow from the ,central ,library to satisfy demands beyond the average4 ,the ,association1 further1 busies itself in promoting study circles1 lectures1 and evening classes1 official or otherwise4 ,it has its own library and education committee1 whose activities coincide in large measure with the work that the county education committees and directors of education are doing1 or ought to be doing1 in carrying out the rural library scheme4 ,yet the ,village ,clubs ,association and the educational authorities1 even in counties where rural libraries exist and both are ostensibly engaged in furthering the same purposes1 have done nothing yet in concert1 have not availed themselves of each others' services1 and so far as a person who is not a ,government official can make out1 do not know of each others' existence4 ,in short1 this is another notable instance of our national gift for doing things twice over and at the same time leaving them undone1 of paying twice for the same job and declining to do it properly because of the expense4 ,this too1 in days of anti-waste campaigns and niggardly economy4 ,the education committee and the director of education in each county work under the ,board of ,education2 the ,village ,clubs ,association is foster-mothered by the ,board of ,agriculture4 ,it is1 apparently1 not official etiquette that the ,association should recommend the village clubs to seek the benefits of the education authority's library scheme--their pamphlets of information and advice do not mention the new possibilities opened out by the ,act of #aiai--or1 on the other hand1 for the education authority to utilize the organizing experience and fit its own schemes into the framework which the ,association could put at its disposal4 ,if the education authorities ignore official or semi-official work such as this1 it is to be feared that they will be slow to recognize and co-ordinate the thousand and one activities1 the libraries and institutes founded by private effort1 and the numberless bodies that are trying hard to infuse a new spirit into rural life4 ,will they take over or work in any kind of partnership with the library schemes of the ,y4,m4,c4,a41 the village library association working in ,worcestershire1 or that centred in ,barnett ,house1 ,oxford8 ,will they make the various field clubs and other local societies their coadjutors8 ,unless they do1 all the elements of a real social and intellectual resurrection in the villages will be left just outside their radius4 ,it was a good thing to begin with the schools1 but the work must get beyond the school at the first opportunity4 ,the village school is only a makeshift base for the great intellectual and civilizing crusade in which all available forces must be concentrated4 ,it is very difficult indeed to evoke in a schoolroom the congenial atmosphere of the library1 the reading circle1 and the village institute4 ,the very word education1 with its narrow associations1 is unpopular and repressive4 ,adult education will have to get rid of the second term before it can become an inspiration4 ,the sooner1 therefore1 the rural library can leave the school and schooling behind the better4 ,to do so everywhere1 in most places perhaps1 is not yet possible2 but where it is possible1 directors of education must not be allowed to frown upon the suggestion4 ,freedom and initiative1 spontaneous personal development1 are the chief things to aim at1 and they will be attained most easily in regions outside the range of our present educational machinery4 ,salvation will probably come to the rural library movement from such counties as are enlightened enough to form leagues between villages1 with real not perfunctory libraries in convenient centres1 or combinations of borough or urban district libraries with neighbouring villages4 ,only when a growing proportion of the rural public has the opportunity of direct contact with libraries1 and not merely with small batches of books sent them at stated intervals1 will they realize what a true library service can do4 ,only then will there be much hope of co-ordinating all the miscellaneous local efforts into active schemes of library extension4 ,incidentally1 unless events have meanwhile hurried on the process of linking up all our public libraries into a national system1 such combinations may furnish a suggestive example to the towns4 ,but to achieve all this1 it is doubtful if we should make heavy demands upon the county education committees1 unless they depute this side of their work to a strong sub-committee1 reinforced with co-opted members from outside4 ,representation of other interests than those of schools and education1 representation of the many voluntary bodies who are striving to reanimate the countryside1 representation1 above all1 of the people who read or whom we want to read the books1 is a radical necessity4 ,to this point there will be a return in the next chapter1 where the general question of who shall manage our reconstituted libraries will arise4 ,in the ,united ,states1 where the obstacles to a rural library service are still more formidable1 the town population being only #de per cent4 of the whole1 various plans have been tried1 and a different method than that recently adopted in this country has met with most success1 the method of expansion outwards from a library at the centre1 freely open to the public4 ,the ,state library commissions do not flatter themselves that they have completely solved the problem1 for only #gid of the #bifd counties in the ,united ,states have as yet one or more libraries of not less than #e1jjj volumes2 but they are apparently on the highroad to success4 ,at all events1 they are fully aware of the extent and value of their opportunities4 ,all the states in the union have ,state libraries1 and most have library commissions1 which operate in different ways1 some with exemplary thoroughness1 and some1 it must be confessed1 rather perfunctorily4 ,many states have systems of travelling libraries1 that in ,new ,york being the most extensive and flourishing4 ,yet comparing this with the rival county system now to be described1 a well-informed critic says1 8,the few people reached compared with the great rural population of the state of ,new ,york1 wherein the travelling library under the direction of the ,state ,library ,commission seems to be more widely used than in any other state of the ,union1 indicates the futility of trying1 by means of a travelling library system operated from the capital of the state1 to supply farm homes with library privileges40#bb ,municipal libraries have reached their highest development in ,massachusetts1 which has on its public shelves more than six million volumes1 about two to each inhabitant2 but in the absence of a county system the rural population is neglected4 ,indiana also has an admirable township law1 empowering townships to combine and work in concert2 yet only one rural inhabitant in each eleven enjoys library privileges4 ,a very different tale is told in those states where the system of the central county library has been set up1 though the system is even now but in its infancy4 ,the pioneer county library was established in #aija in ,van ,wert1 ,ohio1 in a state where the library movement had hitherto made but indifferent progress4 ,funds for a building had been left to the county town by a self-made banker1 ,j4 ,s4 ,brumback1 and his heirs decided that it should be a library for the whole county1 whereby #cj1jjj people would enjoy benefits that would otherwise have been restricted to #h1jjj4 ,the county is small and compact1 measuring #dje square miles1 and is predominantly a rural area1 #af1cjj persons at that time living on farms or in out-of-the-way spots1 and the inhabitants of the towns depending largely for business on the rural population4 ,the county spirit is strong4 ,there are county parks1 a county fair1 a county hospital1 a county ,chautauqua1 agricultural shows1 sports1 singing contests1 and other county affairs4 ,hence the tree was planted in the right soil1 and took hold at once4 ,a county tax was sanctioned1 a large initial stock of books was acquired1 and has been continually augmented2 and when the stock had increased to #be1jjj the whole library service1 which is threefold1 dealing with the town of ,van ,wert1 with fifteen branches1 and with the schools in town and country1 was run at an aggregate cost of #g1jjj per annum4 ,the staff is divided into three departments corresponding to the three divisions of the service1 besides the custodians at the branches1 who receive an honorarium for their attendance at certain hours4 ,an equal if not a greater circulation of books is attained through the schools than even through the branch stations4 ,sunday schools are pressed into the work1 and the extension activities are multifarious4 ,collections of #abe books are sent to each branch every three months2 in addition1 supply boxes of a hundred books go regularly to some branches1 and when required to others4 ,every inhabitant of the county it must be understood1 is entitled to borrow direct from the central library4 ,this is an important point1 and1 observes the librarian1 it would be still more important if the central library were worked on the open access system4 ,in #aibj1 the total number of agencies in operation was #adb1 comprehending1 besides the central library1 five city stations1 six city schools1 fifteen branches1 and #aae school collections4 ,the registered borrowers comprise nearly sixty per cent4 of the whole population1 three-quarters of them using the central library1 whether they live in the town or in the villages4 ,though weeding-out is a regular practice1 obsolete books being ruthlessly discarded and the library supplied with the latest books so as to be a real workshop1 the total stock is now #cj1eig1bc which is rather more than one volume per head of the population4 ,van ,wert is a small county1 and the compactness of the area served gives it an immense advantage over areas of the size of most ,english counties1 which would have to be divided into library districts to be put on the same footing4 ,but the superiority of the county system1 with its facilities for direct access as well as its service through the branch stations and the schools1 over the mere travelling library1 was so manifest that the system rapidly spread4 ,among the states that have adopted county library laws1 following ,ohio's example1 are ,wyoming1 ,wisconsin1 ,minnesota1 ,missouri1 ,california1 ,maryland1 ,washington1 ,nebraska1 ,oregon1 ,iowa4 ,canada1 also1 has welcomed the system4 ,california has the largest number of county libraries1 and is not far from covering the whole area of the state with a library service4 ,it has a state board of examiners in librarianship1 and only certificated persons are eligible to county library posts4 ,one laudable social object is clearly realized as a motive behind rural library policy in the ,united ,states1 to encourage the people to live as far as they can from the heart of the cities1 in spots where they can own a little ground for cultivation1 and enjoy pure air and a wholesome environment4 ,if the practical ,american looks at it in this way1 we may be sure that there is much force in the contention that a first-rate library service in the country would be a real attraction and help materially in the movement back to the land4 ,here it is worth while mentioning a different class of library that is multiplying fast in the ,united ,states1 greatly to the furtherance of the same movement--agricultural libraries4 ,there are three varieties of these1 the library of the agricultural college1 that attached to the experimental station1 and the agricultural library formed by a private individual or a farming corporation4 ,their are sixty-five agricultural colleges in the ,states1 maintained by state or federal funds4 ,primarily1 such libraries serve the college students2 but the colleges have adopted a strenuous extension policy1 running short winter courses for farmers1 organizing agricultural clubs1 sending out instructive groups of exhibits1 batches of books1 reading lists and reading matter1 in the form of pamphlets1 cuttings1 and answers to inquiries4 ,the ,university of ,wisconsin distributes books by parcel post and issues bibliographical bulletins2 the ,massachusetts ,agricultural ,college has a system of travelling libraries2 ,purdue ,university prepares select libraries of agricultural literature and takes steps to sell these to farmers4 8,through the farmers' papers1 on the special trains1 at fairs and at institutes1 the work was carried on40#bd ,agricultural libraries are an essential auxiliary to the experimental station1 where the work is forwarded materially by the services of an expert librarian skilled in searching out information4 ,the experimental station and its library play a part in answering queries from working agriculturalists1 similar to that played by our commercial and technical libraries for the benefit of manufacturers and men of business4 ,the advantages of basing a rural library service on a central library to which the readers can resort if they desire are manifold4 ,foremost is the supremely important point that the users can come if and when they will to see and handle the books and make themselves familiar with the library's contents4 ,open access in town libraries has been1 not merely an educational factor1 but an inspiration4 ,the box of books doled out from a repository that the reader has never seen1 and to which he would not be admitted if he applied1 is better than nothing1 but it is a library service only to those who have hitherto had nothing4 ,a town takes a pride in its library2 the villager would have the same personal interest in the collection of books housed in the village hall4 ,an inaccessible repository is not likely to excite the feelings of county patriotism which have been a valuable element in the success of the ,brumback ,library1 ,ohio4 ,such patriotism is needed1 if the unanimous social effort required of this new experiment1 much more than it was required in the towns1 is to become a reality4 ,the ideal plan would be to divide the large counties into sections1 each centering in a town or regional library4 ,the town libraries exist1 and if proper financial conditions were arranged the towns would probably not be averse from coming into a well-planned scheme4 ,they would gain1 not lose1 by the change1 since the available stock of books would be enlarged indefinitely and there would be a wider apportionment of overhead charges4 ,at present1 ,somerset is worked from the little watering-place of ,burnham1 which has no library service for itself1 and books are actually sent across the width of the shire into the suburbs of ,bath1 a town rejoicing in a large collection of lending-library books used mainly for desultory reference purposes4 ,how much better were ,somerset mapped out into districts served from the existing public libraries at ,radstock1 ,weston-super-,mare1 ,taunton1 and ,bridgewater1 with new ones established at ,glastonbury1 ,wells1 or other places1 unable singly to afford a library4 ,why should not ,sussex be supplied from the chain of admirable libraries in her south coast towns1 with a new one in the hinterland at ,horsham8 ,kent has public libraries at ,maidstone1 ,gravesend1 ,chatham1 ,bromley1 ,canterbury1 and ,folkestone2 ,maidstone1 with its ,bentlif ,institute comprising library1 museum1 and art gallery1 would form a central magazine hardly to be surpassed1 and with subordinate centres at the other places it would be easy to cater for the whole county4 ,wiltshire is served from ,trowbridge1 where the bookless inhabitants have to be sternly repulsed from the sacred repository1 whilst ,calne and ,salisbury have libraries of their own that might co-operate in supplying this large agricultural area4 ,similarly1 the ,gloucestershire repository is in the county town1 and has no dealings with the ,gloucester ,public ,library4 ,examples might be multiplied2 but the reader need only open the map of the ,united ,kingdom to see how easy and natural a thing it would be to adopt the ,american county library system and centre our rural service in an accessible library building1 with its reference collection1 its reading rooms1 and above all1 its lending book-shelves thrown open to all comers4 ,the ,librarian of the ,national ,liberal ,club1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,r4 ,sanderson1 prepared a scheme for ,middlesex1 one of the latest counties to accept the ,carnegie grant1 for organizing a regional service worked from a central library established within the joint boundary of ,southgate and ,friern ,barnet1 which have between them a population approaching #fj1jjj4 ,the alternative to this proposal is the usual travelling library system1 and it remains to be seen which will be ultimately adopted4 ,middlesex1 most of which is mere suburb of ,london1 is in circumstances very different from those of the average county4 ,it already has a score of public libraries in its towns and urban districts1 many of which would be anything but worse off if they were linked into a county scheme4 ,failing that consummation1 towards which1 however1 it may be hoped that future events will lead1 there seems no reason but timidity and short-sighted frugality to hesitate in choosing the ,american pattern4 ,illustration3 ,,library ,,of ,,the ,,south-,,eastern ,,agricultural ,,college1 ,,wye4 ,the more rapidly the method of the travelling book-box spreads into counties in which efficient urban libraries are already working1 the sooner will its radical defects appear2 common sense and obvious convenience will presently call for the abolition of such anomalies1 and insist on a proper utilization of existing resources4 ,the earlier this happens the better1 for such utilization will be far more economic than an ineffective system1 however cheaply run4 ,the outcome will be something much nearer the goal indicated by the ,adult ,education ,committee in their ,final ,report4#be 8,the hope lies in the recognition of the county market town as the natural centre for the surrounding villages and the gradual development of transport facilities radiating from the market towns4444 ,the development of transport and the extended use of electric power will tend to the decentralization of industry and the movement of firms from the town to the country4 ,it is improbable1 however1 that town workers will be prepared1 in any large numbers--even when the housing shortage is remedied--to exchange urban life for life in the country so long as the latter is without the counterpart of the many and varied activities to which they have become accustomed in the towns4444 ,the rural problem1 from whatever point of view it is regarded--economic1 social1 or political--is essentially a problem of re-creating the rural community1 of developing new social traditions and a new culture4 ,the great need is for a living nucleus of communal activity in the village1 which will be a centre from which radiate the influence of different forms of corporate effort1 and to which the people are attracted to find this satisfaction of their social and intellectual needs4 ,we conceive this nucleus to be a village institute1 under full public control4444 ,the institute should contain a hall large enough for dances1 cinema shows1 concerts1 plays1 public lectures1 and exhibitions4 ,at the institute there should be a public library and local museum4 ,if arrangements can be made for games and sports1 so much the better4 ,the institute1 in a word1 should be a centre of educational1 social1 and recreational activity4444 ,as the institutes will be used more and more for public and quasi-public purposes1 it seems to us that they should be established out of public funds4 ,in the main1 the establishment of village institutes should be a national charge4 ,the complicated social and economic questions which we call collectively the rural problem are a matter of the greatest national importance4 ,they do not admit of any simple solution4 ,they need to be approached by many roads2 one of the most important is through direct encouragement to the establishment of a new communal organization and to the development of corporate activities and social institutions in harmony with modern social ideas4 ,the ,state cannot create a new social spirit2 it can but provide opportunities for its growth and expression4 ,one of the chief of these opportunities is the village institute1 and we can think of no more profound or far-reaching piece of rural reconstruction than the provision of buildings expressly designed as a focus of the social activities of village communities4 ,whether such institutes become active centres of social and educational work will depend largely upon the degree in which voluntary organizations of various kinds co-operate in utilizing the opportunities which the institutes present4 ,it is clear that a village institute can never become the mainspring of organized life in the village unless the organized activities of the village centre in the institute4 ,the success of village institutes in the future rests upon an appeal to groups of people with common interests1 rather than to individuals4 ,it is because they have1 in recent years1 begun to flourish that we look forward hopefully to a vigorous life within the village institutes40 ,only let the library hold the central position in these rural institutes that it held in the ,mechanics' ,institutes before the ,public ,libraries ,acts1 and let the numerous libraries--and institutes--be knitted together in active fraternal union1 and the ,committee's dreams may easily be accomplished4#bf ,,footnotes3 #ah ,the ,adult ,education ,committee may have been justified in laying the blame for this state of things on 8the want of foresight of the original promoters of the movement1 who assumed that the institutions would appeal only to the artisan classes of the large centres of population02 but they were hardly right in going on to ascribe it more particularly to their mistake in allowing the legislature 8to restrict the expenditure of public money to the product of a penny rate40 #ai ,a ,report on ,library ,provision and ,policy1 by ,professor ,w4 ,g4 ,s4 ,adams 7#aiae71 p4 #ae4 #bj 8,prior to #aibj1 pioneer rural schemes had been financed or assisted by the ,trust in the counties or areas noted in column #8,a' below2 column #8,b' shows the counties to which grants have been sanctioned this year2 column #8,c' shows the counties whose ,authorities are in negotiation 7preliminary or advanced7 with a view to a grant40 ,a ,perthshire ,caithness ,montrose ,district ,nottinghamshire ,staffordshire ,wiltshire ,gloucestershire ,buckinghamshire ,dorsetshire ,somersetshire ,yorkshire ,village ,library ,cardigan ,carnarvon ,brecon ,radnor ,denbighshire ,montgomeryshire ,grantham ,district ,westmorland ,warwickshire ,b ,sutherland ,clackmannan ,renfrewshire ,forfar ,kincardine ,midlothian ,berwickshire ,peeblesshire ,dumbartonshire ,kent ,pembrokeshire ,glamorganshire ,west ,sussex ,cheshire ,inverness ,c ,flint ,carmarthen ,anglesey ,middlesex ,hampshire 7,isle of ,wight7 ,hampshire 7,southampton7 ,worcestershire ,northamptonshire ,cumberland ,durham ,northumberland ,kirkcudbright ,nairn ,fife ,bedfordshire ,surrey ,linlithgow ,shropshire ,cambridge ,isle of ,man 7,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 ,seventh ,annual ,report1 #aiba2 p4 #i47 #ba ,library ,association ,record--8,the ,gloucestershire ,rural ,library ,scheme10 by ,miss ,a4 ,s4 ,cooke 7,feb41 #aiba74 #bb ,s4 ,b4 ,antrim and ,e4 ,i4 ,antrim1 ,the ,county ,library 7#aiad71 p4 #bch4 #bc ,total number of vols4 accessioned 7,dec4 #ca1 #aibj7 #cg1cjb2 number in the library #cj1eig4 #bd ,j4 ,h4 ,friedel3 ,training for ,librarianship1 p4 #ajf4 #be pp4 #ada-e4 #bf ,the character of the best type of village institute may be judged from the following account of the ,nettlebed ,working ,men's ,club and ,institute3-- 8,perhaps the most original feature of the equipment of the hall is the provision of a cinematograph apparatus4 ,the provision of picture palaces in all ,english villages would be a doubtful advantage1 if they showed the baser sort of #8cowboy' and other sensational films4 ,given some restraint in the choice of subject1 however1 moving pictures make winter evenings more changeful4 ,during #aiah the cinema was used very little1 but it is now running every ,saturday evening1 and draws full houses4 ,mr4 ,fleming's main idea in installing a cinema at ,nettlebed was to make use of its educational possibilities4 ,the ,oxfordshire ,education ,committee welcomed the provision1 as also did the ,inspector of ,schools1 the more so because it extended advantages to the school children of six parishes near ,nettlebed4 ,the ,education ,code permits teachers to take the whole or part of a school for rambles or visits to places of educational interest during school hours1 and films have been shown at ,nettlebed on certain afternoons to a concourse of children4 ,the subjects of the pictures were chosen to illustrate geography1 history1 ,english1 and nature study4 ,a village club can conduct its #8cinema department' by joining a lending library of films1 so that the subjects can be duly varied4 8,the higher aspects of village life have not1 however1 been neglected at ,nettlebed4 ,concerts1 lectures1 and dances are held in the men's hall1 which is laid with a special dancing floor of oak1 famous throughout the district1 and this is protected in the ordinary way by a cloth covering4 ,dancing classes are held weekly for children in the afternoon and for adults in the evening1 and are conducted by a lady resident in the village4 ,an instructress1 under whose care the young girls in the village and district are taught cookery1 laundry work1 and housekeeping1 lives in a house near the hall4 ,across the road is the school garden1 divided into some fourteen plots1 each cared for by one boy4 ,at the back of the playground is an old building converted into a carpenter's shop1 in which another section of the boys work under the supervision of the village schoolmaster4 ,all of these branches are under the control of the ,county ,education ,authority4 ,altogether1 it will be seen that in these various ways instruction as well as amusement is provided40 ,sir ,lawrence ,weaver1 ,village ,clubs and ,halls 7#aibj71 pp4 #hb-c4 ,v ,a ,,national ,,library ,,service4 ,centralization proved to be the only way of extending a library service to the rural districts4 ,no village1 unless through the largess of a plutocrat1 could build up and maintain anything worth calling a library for itself4 ,given a centralized system1 some sort of service can be run cheaply1 and a first-class service can be run economically4 ,does it not follow that some measure of centralization would be good for urban libraries1 enabling them to save in certain directions1 and making their resources go a great deal further than they go at present in the direction of widest utility8 ,the largest libraries have managed to be self-sufficing1 not merely because they have more money to spend1 but rather because their service is organized on the principle of a centralized group4 ,there is a point beyond which it does not pay a library to provide from its own resources all that its users may possibly require4 ,each library must determine this point for itself4 ,the everyday wants of its readers ought to be satisfied on the spot and at the moment2 but to go far beyond that point even should a local ,crsus provide the wherewithal1 would be extravagant1 entailing surplusage1 overlapping1 and waste4 ,spending money on books only in occasional request is to spend too little on books in continual demand4 ,the library of moderate means cannot pretend to satisfy both daily and exceptional wants1 unless it is able to call upon outside resources1 such as a ,central ,library for ,students developed to such a capacity that it forms a sufficient reservoir for supplementing all the moderate-sized stocks in the country4 ,if most of the urban libraries were brought into a co-operative network of libraries1 with mechanism for interchange by which the book lacking here would be supplied there1 or else from a larger regional library or a clearing-house at the centre1 obviously a service equal to the pooled resources of the whole system would be provided without the present waste on overlapping4 ,central organization exists in the big provincial cities2 that is the reason for their superiority1 and they are superior in a degree far beyond that of mere size4 ,it does not exist in ,london2 that is why serious readers must have recourse to the ,british ,museum or the big special libraries1 to satisfy their requirements2 or if1 like the great majority1 they can rarely do this1 they must go without4 ,london is the most glaring illustration of the vices due to mere parochial methods2 it suffers1 not so much because its library resources are limited1 as because they are not mobilized4 ,for certain purposes1 it has already been noted1 both ,london and provincial libraries acknowledge the economic value of some centralization4 ,thus every municipal library has given up buying books in ,braille type for the blind1 and relies for this branch of its service upon the ,national ,library at ,westminster4 ,a great many subscribe to the ,central ,library for ,students1 and draw upon that for books required by specialist readers4 ,a large number help to provide the funds for the great ,subject-,index to ,periodicals1 which makes the contents of reviews1 magazines1 technical and scientific journals1 filed in their reference departments1 available for instant use4 ,this may not seem much compared with the results of joint effort or of ,state supervision in ,america1 where they have co-operative cataloguing1 co-operative publication of bibliographies and aids for readers1 and elaborate facilities for professional training2 but it is a beginning4 ,the ,adult ,education ,committee can think of no way to endow the industries of the country with an adequate series of technical libraries except by centralization4 ,although many librarians1 represented by the ,library ,association1 do not approve of the particular scheme put forward1 they are at one with the ,committee in admitting that co-ordination of the separate libraries and the establishment of a central supply is the only way to solve this problem4 ,although1 however1 the partial and unequal development of public libraries which the ,adult ,education ,committee by a slip in their logic put down to the rate limit1 is due1 as the report conclusively shows1 to their having had to struggle along in isolation1 it would be disastrous to take the control of the local libraries entirely out of the hands of the local authorities4 ,this would stultify all efforts to inspire public opinion and evoke local pride4 ,no institution in a civilized society is more sure to be an expression of corporate life and local individuality than a communal library1 in the building up of which the actual users have had a hand4 ,a system1 however complete and efficient1 bestowed by a ,government department1 however benevolent1 would be sure eventually to stifle all such aspirations4 ,the local communities in both town and country must have a decisive voice in the management of their libraries4 ,they must have a larger voice1 not a smaller1 than they have had hitherto4 ,local initiative has never had free play4 ,why is it that public libraries rarely excite that interest and enthusiasm in which the promoters hopefully confided8 ,the answer is obvious4 ,libraries have suffered from official repression1 and have not had even the doubtful advantage of official tutelage4 ,if a town wished to spend liberally on its library1 it was pulled up by the rate limit4 ,if it wanted lectures1 the ,government auditor put in his veto3 he does so still4 ,and so with any of the excursions from the programme prescribed from above that would have helped to realize a higher ideal4 ,library authorities have been confined to the unimaginative duty of exercising circumscribed and inadequate powers1 and the library committee has enjoyed the least prestige of all the council's departments4 ,more local control1 more powers of initiative1 and more representation of the actual users of the library are needed1 if a vigorous and useful life is to be maintained4 ,but this is fully compatible with healthy co-operation between the different authorities under the guiding supervision of a central department4 ,some authorities may require a stimulus2 they should not be allowed to victimize those among their constituents who crave the very necessities of civilized life4 ,cases are not unknown where borough councils have failed to carry out1 or have deliberately emasculated1 a library scheme approved by a majority of the ratepayers4 ,education is compulsory3 it is a question whether one of the chief instruments of education should be at the mercy of a local body to grant or withhold4 ,for1 so inconsiderable a place does the library take at present in local politics1 the average borough council1 elected to manage the trams1 the streets1 water1 electricity1 and other mundane affairs1 seldom represents the views of the citizen on such a different matter as libraries2 and the committee appointed by such a council hardly ever represents or is fully cognizant of the views of the people who actually use the library4 ,fortunately1 the times when a policy of rate-saving at all costs1 or the selfishness of a leisured class enjoying their subscription libraries and not in favour of too much education for the lower orders1 or the interested opposition of the liquor trade and the music hall proprietor1 were able to keep out or keep down public libraries1 are gradually passing away4 ,they have not gone altogether2 but it would be invidious to name the two or three distinguished boroughs where these influences are still rampant4 ,the problem now is to bring the great crowd of under-developed and under-nourished libraries into line one with other1 to assist the halt1 help the blind to see1 and by schemes for concerted action enable all to reach the same level of efficiency as the big towns have attained without undue exertion4 ,a simple licence to spend more than a penny rate will not secure this by itself4 ,reorganization on a co-operative ground-plan will do as much as the mere expenditure of money1 and money will not be spent lavishly in these frugal days4 ,the merit of such a reorganization is that so many and so great values will be secured at a minimum cost4 ,the material is in existence for an enormous improvement of the services4 ,had not the sweeping proposals of the ,adult ,education ,committee for making the local education authority the library authority been negatived before the late ,bill came into ,parliament1 the heterogeneous units that constitute the library service of ,london would after the ,act of #aiai have come under the unifying influence of the ,london ,education ,committee4 ,it was such a near thing that we may pause to consider the probable results4 ,as already noticed1 library development in the metropolis has been unequal in the extreme4 ,certain boroughs are still destitute of a public library system4 ,the total number of books in the remainder is about a million and a half4 ,all these metropolitan libraries are established under the same ,acts2 till recently they drew their income from a uniform rate 7except in certain boroughs where a high rateable value allowed the penny to be reduced to a halfpenny72 the governing bodies are in each district a committee of the borough council4 ,yet each group of libraries is a distinct entity4 ,each authority is a law unto itself4 ,a ratepayer in one borough is not permitted to borrow from the library in the next though interchange of privileges would have been1 not merely a logical but a great economic advantage4 ,there has been no consultation between the authorities to avoid overlapping in neighbouring reference libraries1 though correlative specialization would have been easy and remunerative4#bg ,every reference library develops on individual lines1 perhaps as a ,british ,museum in miniature1 with the result that1 out of a number much larger than the total number of boroughs1 not one is above the standard of a second-rate library in the provinces4 ,some committees offer a cordial welcome to students at school or college in their boroughs4 ,others repulse such students unless they are ratepayers or at least residents in the borough4#bh ,the immediate advantage of combining all the local libraries of ,london and ,greater ,london into one system1 all available to any one living or working in any quarter1 and supplementing each other by a simple method of interchange1 is manifest4 ,the majority of the reference libraries should be shut up at once1 and the space used for library purposes that have hitherto been neglected4 ,provided that every branch has a good collection of quick-reference books1 there is no need for most of these--many of them are legacies of the still more parochial government of ,london before the present boroughs were formed4 ,a proportion of the contents should be used to augment the stock of the ,central ,library for ,students1 which is now1 in a small way1 a central depot for the lending libraries of both ,london and the country4 ,the remainder1 after all useless and obsolete material had been sent to the destructor1 would be brought together to form the initial stock of some six or eight really excellent reference libraries1 so placed that every potential reader would be within the radius of a tram-ride4 ,six or eight large central libraries might be selected for the purpose1 and would require little alteration beyond the removal of the lending department1 for which room would have been found elsewhere4 ,whenever the present haphazard library service of ,london is superseded by a unified system1 there will be a possibility of incorporating into it1 or associating as auxiliaries1 various public or semi-public libraries not belonging to the municipalities4 ,london is not poor in its bibliothecal possessions1 though badly served4 ,in #aiaj1 ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,rye calculated that in the public and administrative libraries and those belonging to various institutions1 ,greater ,london had a total of eight and a half million volumes1 of which one and a half million are inaccessible to the general public4#bi ,this gave a supply of one volume per head1 which may be compared with ,berlin's two volumes1 ,dresden's three1 and the four per head in ,paris4 ,such comparisons1 it should be observed1 are not a matter of simple arithmetic4 ,a larger community may find its account in a smaller relative stock1 be that organized for use4 ,a family of five with ten books would be badly off4 ,a town of #ej1jjj with #ajj1jjj volumes would be opulent4 ,london1 with a system of centralization and distribution comprehending all these varied resources1 would probably be as well off as any city in the world4 ,it is largely a question of realizing the intellectual capital that is now paying such poor dividends4 ,special libraries1 such as that of the ,patent ,office1 the ,national ,science and the ,national ,art ,libraries at ,south ,kensington1 the ,public ,record ,office1 and others1 like the various economic and sociological1 historical1 medical1 legal1 and other libraries attached to technical or scientific institutions1 would continue to stand apart1 but would stand in a definite relation to the general service4 ,illustration3 ,,reading ,,room ,,of ,,the ,,general ,,library1 ,,university ,,of ,,london4 ,the proper balance between local control and the superintending departments--and sub-departments1 if the nation's libraries are reorganized as several great territorial systems--would not be difficult to contrive1 so as to preserve and foster the rights of each community to self-expression4 ,it is not proposed to work these out in detail here4 ,briefly1 the functions of the central board would be3--7#a7 to install and operate the machinery for interchange and central supply1 the latter ultimately superseding the former altogether2 7#b7 to see that the local libraries and more especially the selection of books are maintained at a proper level2 7#c7 to undertake such wholesale services as cataloguing and the compilation of aids to readers1 work which is now done over and over again by individual library staffs at great expense1 or else is neglected2 7#d7 to organize and finance the training of librarians1 and see that they are properly paid4 ,ultimately1 librarianship might be organized as a sort of civil service2 at any rate1 librarians ought to be as carefully looked after by the ,state as are the teachers4 ,many other enterprises of vast public benefit could be1 most appropriately1 engineered by the central office2 for example1 the publication of large editions of non-copyright books in a form suitable for lending library use4 ,bookbinding is another item of local expenditure that calls urgently for mass treatment4 ,it is not proposed1 however1 that the central library authority should set up a binding factory in opposition to the trade4 ,this would be unnecessary1 for it would be in such a commanding position1 as by far the largest purchaser in the market1 that it could dictate its own terms to publishers1 printers1 binders1 and even to paper-makers4 ,the fact is1 the rebinding of books in public libraries might1 for the most part1 be done away with1 if paper1 covers1 and binding were originally designed to stand the wear4 ,as a leading authority on the subject1 ,mr4 ,douglas ,cockerell recently said1 8,publishers still design books to meet the fancy of the casual buyer1 and very largely ignore the requirements of the libraries1 which are for many books their largest customers40#cj ,light1 fluffy paper is selected by publishers solely to bulk out books2 the thicker the book the higher the price4 8,now the public may like to pay for fluff and wind1 but the librarian's interests are directly opposed to this4 ,increased bulk means more shelf-room1 and the use of this paper means that the books will fall to pieces after a very short time40 ,but our central authority would surely see to it that a book produced for library use should be printed on paper of good quality and cased in split boards1 which 8should last in ordinary library circulation until the librarian is forced to discard it on account of the dirt it has picked up40 ,another need of paramount importance to all engaged in the pursuit of knowledge is that the contents of the numerous periodicals produced throughout the world1 registering advances in all branches of science and research1 should be abstracted and indexed1 so that the material should be rendered accessible or at any rate its existence fully known4#ca ,mention has already been made of the ,subject-,index to ,periodicals1 in which some hundred and fifty periodicals are systematically indexed4 ,this important undertaking was initiated some years ago by ,mr4 ,e4 ,wyndham ,hulme1 late librarian to ,h4,m4 ,patent ,office2 it has been carried on successively under the auspices of the 8,athenum0 and of the ,library ,association4 ,it is at present a heavy burden upon a few devoted shoulders1 although a very large part of the labour is performed by volunteers2 yet its scheme is susceptible of indefinite expansion1 if all the requirements of scientific and technical workers are to be1 even approximately1 met4 ,it is eminently a task pertaining to the library1 the university and college library1 the special library1 and the research department of all types4 ,were there a central library department in existence1 it would undertake this as part of its ordinary routine4 ,it would also undertake the collateral task of preparing and publishing a union catalogue of the long sets of periodicals of all kinds to which the ,subject-,index gives the references1 and it would indicate where these sets are to be found4 ,besides the indexing1 it would perhaps carry out the further but hardly less valuable work of drawing up and issuing systematic digests of important new knowledge contained in the learned periodicals4 ,it has been recently proposed that the ,british ,museum should carry out this necessary piece of national work1 the cost of which1 sales being allowed for1 would not be excessive4#cb ,such results1 however1 invaluable as they would be to the whole nation1 through the services rendered to several classes of workers1 would be only a by-product of the centralizing and systematizing process1 the immediate object of which would be the betterment of our libraries4 ,let us return then from this digression4 ,in the middle of last century and towards its end1 ,edward ,edwards and then his biographer1 ,thomas ,greenwood1 both stated their conviction that central control was necessary1 and that one of its most useful instruments would be systematic inspection4 ,greenwood quotes the following from ,edwards3-- 8,if every ,library in this country on which the public has any fair claim1 could be brought distinctly under public view1 by a precise and periodical statement1 comprising at least three particulars3 7#a7 what it is2 7#b7 what it has2 and 7#c7 what it does2 a long train of improvements would inevitably follow4 ,but the systematic inspection of ,public ,libraries to be effective must be national40#cc ,he goes on3 8,the present writer is convinced that there will never be a full measure of health and vitality in libraries generally until some central control of this nature is established4 ,the largest and best of the public libraries do not need it1 but would welcome it to secure the welfare of the library body politic4 ,but there is a class of libraries1 and it is to be feared that it is not a small one1 which seriously need to have light from the outside brought to bear upon their administration4 ,such libraries are managed in a narrow1 illiberal manner1 with rules which hamper rather than help the public4 ,the staff is selected without regard to conditions of suitability1 training1 or merit1 and every method adopted is of the tamest and least efficient kind4 ,only national and systematic inspection can alter this state of affairs4 ,his ,majesty's inspectors of public schools perform an efficient and salutary work without curbing local aspirations1 and similar inspectors of public libraries would be able to carry out an equally useful task in connection with the municipal libraries4 ,but it is plain that no form of public ,government inspection would be agreeable to existing library authorities1 unless accompanied by some kind of substantial ,state aid40#cd ,government inspection of libraries is not unknown in other countries1 on both sides of the ,atlantic1 and appears to cause no friction but a spirit of good feeling and mutual help4 ,it is carried on1 for instance1 in ,canada1 and it is one of the functions of the ,state library commissions in the ,united ,states4 ,the libraries accept it in the spirit which ,edwards saw would animate the efficient library authority1 and1 further1 welcome it as a potent means for extending their benefits into regions hitherto unreached4 ,in ,ontario the ,minister of ,education is responsible for the administration of the ,public ,libraries ,act1 and assigns this part of his duties to the ,public ,libraries ,branch1 of which the ,inspector of ,public ,libraries is superintendent4 ,but in ,ontario the local authorities are so whole-hearted in their zeal that the energies of the ,branch are mainly confined to general work in the interest of libraries1 to routine inspections1 the collection of statistics1 and the payment of grants4 ,yet1 it is admitted1 the majority of librarians and library trustees would welcome a demand for a minimum standard of efficiency4 ,the ,american ,state commissions usually include the ,state librarian1 other professional librarians1 prominent educators1 literary men1 library trustees1 and business men interested in the work4 8,instead of regarding with jealousy the assumption by the ,state of powers like these1 librarians generally welcome the increase of systematic work fostered by ,state aid and control4 ,they are active everywhere in efforts to establish ,state commissions1 where such do not exist1 and the opponents of their efforts are usually persons unfamiliar with the modern library movement1 or politicians who see in such action no benefit to themselves4 ,in some cases1 where legislatures have refused to enact a proper ,state library law1 ,state library associations1 voluntary bodies of librarians1 have agreed to initiate and carry on1 at their own expense1 some of the activities usually supervised and financed by the ,state40#ce 8,a former agent of the ,massachusetts ,free ,library ,commission won for himself the title of #8the travelling bishop1' descriptive both of the estimation and affection with which he was regarded40 8,state library commissions exist at present in thirty-seven states4 ,in a few states such as in ,california1 ,new ,york1 and ,utah1 the ,state library or the ,state board of education1 in lieu of a library commission1 exerts the functions that such a commission would have40#cf ,the question of ,state grants to local authorities is perhaps important1 but certainly not so important as some critics would make out4 ,equalization of burdens would of course have to be arranged4 ,yet1 on the other hand1 there should be nothing to prevent a very enterprising authority from spending a great deal more if it chose on further developments of its library service4 ,progress would ultimately come to a standstill if there were not this liberty2 uniformity1 at any level1 is ultimately stagnation4 ,the ,adult ,education ,committee speak of ,state grants to local exchequers2 but1 apparently1 these were to have been calculated on the measure of a local authority's zeal in co-operating with educational work in the narrow sense1 and not made a handle for beneficent central control4 ,it might or it might not be advisable to assist local effort or reward enterprise by a policy of grants in aid4 ,anyhow1 it should be borne in mind that the material benefits of such a scheme of centralization as has been roughly outlined would be tantamount to a large financial contribution by the ,state1 though it should cost the ,state nothing4 ,apart from equalization of burdens#cg and1 perhaps1 rewards for noteworthy efficiency--or the converse1 fines or refusal of grants for failures in efficiency--there seems to be little use in discussing what proportion of the cost of our systems of libraries should be defrayed by local rates and contributions from local authorities and what by the ,state4 ,both rates and taxes come ultimately from the same source1 and1 so far as that source1 the rated and taxed individual1 is concerned1 he might as well spend his time debating which pocket he should keep his purse in4 ,inspections and grants from the local exchequer would1 obviously1 go hand in hand2 but the allotment of grants would certainly not be the sole or the principal end of the system of inspection4 ,if all the libraries in the kingdom were linked together in a national system1 the division into urban libraries and rural systems would to a large extent disappear4 ,a large number of the urban libraries would be absorbed into groups of town and country libraries1 analogous to the ,american county groups2 and large rural areas1 with small village libraries and a service of boxes1 would have their focus in new central institutes easily accessible to readers in the vicinity and available for occasional visits by students at a greater distance4 ,many populous areas would remain much as they are at present1 with some increase of facilities4 ,but1 instead of one ,central ,library for ,students1 there would have to be1 sooner or later1 several large supplemental libraries in convenient spots1 forming magazines supplying1 not individual readers1 but the scattered libraries2 and1 probably the ,british ,isles would have to be divided for library purposes into several provinces1 each centering in one of these4 ,supervision of library activities in such provinces would devolve upon regional committees1 elected by the county and borough authorities in each province1 the central board exercising co-ordinating functions and carrying out such work as is for the general welfare4 ,these central supplemental libraries would be built up largely by a careful redistribution of existing resources4 ,there is hardly a library of any size that does not contain many books which are very seldom used1 books1 however1 which no librarian would dare to jettison1 because he knows that some fine day a reader is sure to come along to whom one volume or another will be of priceless importance4 ,there are many other books so infrequently called for that it would be an immense convenience to store them elsewhere1 and utilize the valuable shelf-space for books in continual request4 ,books of this sort should be kept at the supplemental library1 duly catalogued1 and ready to be sent to any library throughout the area served1 when readers require them4 ,the supplemental libraries would1 of course1 be always buying more books2 they would have to keep abreast of the latest advances in all subjects2 but the works just described would form an important part of their original contents1 and would be transferred to them free of cost4 ,local libraries are constantly put to the expense of buying books for one or two users2 such users are1 no doubt1 among the most deserving of all their clients1 and it is but just that their urgent wants should be satisfied4 ,but it is a tax upon the capacities of small libraries that should be met somehow else2 they would be spared it by the new system1 and the cost of the supplemental library would be saved over and over again1 the local library then having more funds to maintain the stock of books in regular demand4 ,the present ,central ,library for ,students is a step in the right direction1 but it is only a step2 the work will have to be done on a very large scale4 ,this library was an outgrowth of the efforts to supply students attending university tutorial and ,w4,e4,a4 classes with books to carry on systematic reading4 ,at the end of #aiae1 the ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust undertook to provide #fjj to assist in the establishment of the library1 #b1jjj for additions to the stock1 and #djj yearly for five years1 if #cbj were raised by subscription4 ,the subvention was afterwards raised to #a1jjj a year1 and in #aibj the issues of books numbered #ae1ejj4 ,the ,adult ,education ,committee were deeply impressed by the exceptional value of the work performed by this library1 and proposed that it should be made the nucleus of a central circulating library to supplement the local library service all over the country4 ,with an assured income of #b1jjj a year for ten years1 they calculated that an annual circulation of at least #dj1jjj volumes would be attained2 their estimate being based on an estimated cost of #as4 per volume issued4 ,the actual cost of each issue1 under our present benevolent postal regime1 is considerably more4 ,the figure is now probably not less than #as4 #f;d4 ,add return postage to this1 and you will see that1 after borrowing a book two or three times1 you might as well have bought it outright4 ,the method of sending out books singly is too expensive4 ,and a circulation of #dj1jjj a year would be a mere drop in the ocean2 any small provincial library has an annual circulation of at least #dj1jjj2 a large borough library system in ,london expects an annual circulation of about a million4 ,the thing must be done on a vast scale to be worth doing at all1 and then it can be done cheaply1 even if1 as might reasonably be expected1 the ,post ,office declines to grant a large rebate on the transmission of books issued from the national libraries4 ,the proper method is to make our central library or libraries an integral part of the whole machine1 supplying to all other libraries all1 or nearly all1 of the books that are not imperatively necessary on the spot for everyday purposes4 ,then the issues from the central library will not be in twos and threes1 but in large batches1 and the average cost will be reduced to an economic amount4 ,mr4 ,john ,mc,killop produced a workmanlike scheme in #aijg for such a supplemental library in ,london as would have provided all the students and other hard working readers throughout the twenty-eight municipal boroughs with all the books required in the most exacting course of study4 ,he proposed that it should be established by the ,education ,committee of the ,london ,county ,council1 since its greatest immediate effect would be to supply students with expensive works not now within their reach4 8,with eighty-five municipal libraries already established in ,london1 it would be useless duplication for the ,education ,committee to undertake all the work of registering borrowers and issuing volumes to them and safeguarding their return4 ,it is suggested that the contents of the ,council's collection should be lent on application to the public libraries and the libraries of educational institutions which could then lend them to their clients4 ,this method would avoid the necessity for a very large staff4 ,the central collection would have as borrowers merely the eighty-five libraries and branches already established1 and those which may be added from time to time by the boroughs in the future1 together with the fifty or so polytechnics1 and such other of the institutions for higher education as may care to avail themselves of the facilities offered4 ,in any case its borrowers could not exceed a couple of hundred1 and though each of these might daily draw and return large numbers of books1 the clerical labour required would be but a fraction of that necessary in a smaller library1 where a large number of borrowers withdraw and return one or at most two volumes each40#ch ,mr4 ,mc,killop based his estimate of cost on the number of volumes contained in the ,patent ,office ,library1 viz41 #aje1jjj volumes1 which comprehend a very large proportion of modern scientific works4 8,if we take #ce1jjj as the number of volumes required for a modern working science library of reference 7i4e41 excluding the smaller text-books and class-books71 and if we allow four times this number for the needs of departments other than science1 we get a total of #afe1jjj volumes as the size of the collection4 ,as a basis to calculate the capital cost of the collection probably #es4 is too little and #ajs4 too much per volume4 ,taking #gs4 #f;d4 as a working figure the total cost would be about #fb1jjj 7one penny rate in ,london produces #aga1jjj74 ,but it would be impossible to spend for this purpose wisely and economically such a sum as #fb1jjj within less than ten years1 and the collection could be got together with reasonable rapidity by the expenditure of not more than #aj1jjj in any one year4 ,the average expenditure would probably be nearer #e1jjj4 ,in regard to administration the cost would be probably easily covered by #e1jjj a year when in full working order1 but would be four or five years in getting up to that figure40#ci ,if the cost of ,mr4 ,mc,killop's scheme was to be #e1jjj a year in pre-war money1 we can hardly expect much from #b1jjj a year now1 especially when the whole of the ,united ,kingdom1 and not ,london alone1 is to be supplied4 ,further1 it is hardly too optimistic to conjecture that the number of students and other serious readers in the population is a great deal higher now than it was in #aijg1 and1 accordingly1 that the demands upon our supplemental libraries would be proportionately more exacting4 ,no1 the ,adult ,education ,committee have not looked far enough3 a much bigger scheme is required1 and the expenditure of much larger sums than they contemplate4 ,but there is no need to be frightened by the cost2 one may safely affirm that the general economic saving will be in direct proportion to the outlay on the establishment and upkeep of the experimental libraries4 ,whatever is spent at the centre1 will be far more than made up by savings at the circumference4 ,mr4 ,mc,killop put the case of the student of science and technology1 for whose difficulties he felt most concern1 although there are numerous others whose state of destitution is no less pitiful1 with a cogency that cannot be bettered4 8,these students may be either those whose means enable them to pursue courses of study in the splendid laboratories of ,university ,college1 the ,royal ,college of ,science1 the ,city and ,guilds ,institution1 and other schools of equal rank1 or they may be young men and women whose circumstances compel them to earn their living by daily work1 and have only access to the culture and improvement offered by evening study4 ,while the former presumably have access to the best literature of their subject in the libraries of the institutions in which they work1 the latter1 although1 it is suggested1 showing probably greater devotion and sacrifice in the pursuit of knowledge1 are debarred by the hours of opening and closing from the use of the magnificent collections in the ,british ,museum1 ,patent ,office1 and other public libraries of reference4 ,the polytechnics1 it is admitted1 do make great efforts to supply the books required by their students2 but it cannot be contended that at present they can compete in this respect with the other institutions named1 which provide for the student who has all his day for study4 ,it is precisely for this latter class that the public rate-supported libraries of ,london ought to provide1 and it is a well-established fact to those who know something of the inner working of the public libraries in ,london1 that it is one of the great sources of discontent among ,london's public librarians that insufficient funds1 and sometimes also unsympathetic borough council committees1 prevent their doing more than is done for this class4 ,but there are inherent difficulties which have to be taken into consideration4 ,london is not a unit2 it is twenty-eight independent units without even a semblance of federation1 and it would impose an insupportable financial burden on the ratepayers if every one of the twenty-eight boroughs were to attempt to supply1 through the public libraries1 the books required by advanced students in science1 technology1 history1 literature1 art1 and other domains of study which can be pursued in ,london40 444 ,but why should ,london provide twenty-eight sets of all these works8 ,there is no probability that one student in1 say1 ,bermondsey1 and one in1 say1 ,finsbury1 will require the same volume of the ,philosophical ,transactions at the same time1 and1 therefore1 it is not necessary that both ,bermondsey and ,finsbury1 and every other library in ,london1 should possess a set4 ,but there is a probability that more than one student in the same borough might require the same volume at the same time2 for instance1 a teacher at the ,battersea ,polytechnic might recommend the half-dozen or so students in his advanced class in chemistry to read some classical memoir2 and ,battersea ,public ,library1 to meet this demand efficiently1 would require two or three sets of the ,philosophical ,transactions1 which would be an obviously absurd arrangement4 ,the absence of any system of co-operation between the metropolitan libraries renders it impossible for them at present to co-operate in any way in meeting this difficulty4#dj ,mr4 ,mc,killop went on to show that it might be possible for the local libraries1 trusting to the central collection for an adequate supply of what may be called students' works1 relatively seldom used1 to work with a standard collection of popular works which would be the same in all boroughs4 8,when this point is reached1 it might be possible to have a common catalogue for all the libraries4444 ,the way is1 in consequence1 easy for a local authority which decides to establish a collection4 ,it can procure for a very small sum the catalogue of all its collection ready made on the best lines1 and all it has to do is to purchase the books1 etc40#da ,without endorsing this idea of stereotyped libraries1 an idea which is obviously contrary to the vital principle that a local library1 if it is truly alive1 will by the predominant character of its contents show itself to be the expression of local individuality1 we must admit that it opens up suggestive possibilities4 ,another proposal of the ,adult ,education ,committee lies open to more severe criticism4 ,this was a project for assisting industries and technical students and research workers by setting up a great chain of industrial libraries forming 8a technical library system for each industry10 independently of the municipal library system4 ,side by side with the latter1 not yet1 and perhaps not even then1 organized as a reciprocating system1 there would be erected a complex and highly expensive series of special collections1 open1 apparently1 to members of the particular industries alone4 8,in the case of general libraries the unit of organization and administration is the local authority1 in the case of the technical library system it should be the industry40#db ,the amount of costly and unnecessary duplication1 both of contents and of machinery1 in such a cumbrous scheme dumbfounds the experienced librarian1 especially when he reflects that all the libraries in the kingdom could be put on a scientific basis1 and all the wants of both the general public and the special industries amply satisfied1 at much less the price4 ,such a scheme must obviously have been framed by persons having but a rudimentary idea of the library arts1 or they would have thought out a much more practical and economical plan4 ,the extravagant cost and the impracticability of the proposal have been exposed in a special ,memorandum by the ,library ,association1 representing the trained librarians of the country1 who1 strange to say1 were not consulted before the scheme was evolved4 ,the gist of their criticism is contained in the following paragraphs3-- 8,the ,library ,association is not prepared to admit that this policy is sound or economical4 ,clearly1 extensive overlapping cannot be avoided1 because a large number of industries require general technical libraries and not special technical libraries4 ,for example1 the motor industry is special1 but a library for that industry must contain books special to many other industries1 on metallurgy1 chemistry1 physics1 and other subjects4 ,an industrial library should comprise information1 not only on the industry itself1 but on subjects and industries in contact with the industry for which the library is intended4 ,as a rule the industrial and technical student1 unless he is a beginner1 needs information just off the line of his special work4 ,hence1 libraries formed round an industry will tend to become general technical libraries4 ,few industries are confined to one area4 ,birmingham is usually regarded as the centre of the hardware trade1 which1 however1 is spread widely over the country4 ,a technical library for an industry must have a centre and branches with all the machinery of inter-communication and exchange4 ,even so1 the books could not be so readily accessible as by an extension of the present library service1 which has developed naturally in response to the people's demand for information4 ,a better plan1 therefore1 would be the proper organization of the existing libraries of technical societies1 and an extension of the present service of public libraries1 the technical collections of which 7so far as funds have allowed7 have been selected to aid the industries of the locality4 ,the public library service is already extensive2 improvement on it is essential2 but to organize another parallel service would be a regrettable waste of money in view of the great need at this time of obtaining the best technical library service at the least cost4 8,the ,library ,association is strongly of opinion that scientific and technical information should be freely available to people who are not yet enrolled in or who are outside an industry2 otherwise that industry would tend to be impervious to new ideas1 except from within4 ,they earnestly press for the efficient equipment and expansion of the existing public technical collections1 and for the foundation of technical libraries1 in large provincial cities1 on the lines of the ,patent ,office ,library in ,london40 ,the all-important question remains to be discussed3 ,if a centralizing authority is required to enable the libraries of this country to take their proper share in reconstruction and in carrying on civilized life in an intelligent and orderly way1 who is to be this centralizing authority8 ,what ,government department is fit for such a charge8 ,unless a new one is to be created1 the ,board of ,education obviously has sole claim4 ,this was the unhesitating conclusion of the ,adult ,education ,committee4 ,the ,library ,association1 the membership of which is made up principally of salaried officers or elected representatives of the present municipal authorities1 took alarm at this proposal1 and especially at the corollary that the library authority should be the local education committee4 ,the objections are1 briefly and summarily1 two3 ,that the interests of the libraries might tend to be subordinated to those of the schools1 and that bureaucratic control would stifle local interest and local initiative4 ,but1 as was urged in the chapter dealing with the interaction of libraries and schools1 if the ,board of ,education undertook this wider responsibility1 it should1 and doubtless would1 become a board of something more than scholastic education4 ,libraries must not be allowed to take a second place to the schools1 the work of which at an early period of life they are destined to transcend4 ,let the local education committee attend1 as now1 to the schools1 which will be1 and should be1 its first consideration4 ,but let another body1 appointed definitely for the purpose1 partly no doubt from the same personnel1 but well seasoned with co-opted members representing the wider intellectual interests of each locality1 be responsible for managing the public library4#dc ,illustration3 ,,the ,,oratory ,,library4 ,american librarians1 who have had experience of administration of both libraries and schools by boards of education1 are not in favour of vesting the control of libraries in the education authorities4 8,too close an administrative connection 444 has not been beneficial to the library 444 it has generally been found that when the control of a public library is vested in a body created originally for another purpose it is regarded as of secondary importance and its development is retarded4 ,it is better that the library should have its own board of trustees1 and that the two institutions should co-operate in the freest manner4 ,such mutual aid is1 of course1 founded on the fact that the educational work of both school and library is carried on largely by means of books4 ,that of the school is formal1 compulsory1 and limited in time2 that of the library is informal1 voluntary1 and practically unlimited4 ,it is greatly to the advantage of the scholar1 and of those informal processes of training that are going on constantly during life whether he wills it or not1 that he should form the habit of consulting and using books outside of the school4 ,when books are thought of merely as school implements their use is naturally abandoned when school days are over40#dd ,similar views were submitted by the ,library ,association to the ,adult ,education ,committee4 ,part of their resolution ran as follows3-- 8,the aim of the library as an education institution is best expressed in the formula #8self-development in an atmosphere of freedom1' as contrasted with the aim of the school1 which is #8training in an atmosphere of restraint or discipline'2 in the school the teacher is dominant1 but the pupil strikes out his own line in the library1 which supplies the written material upon which the powers awakened and trained in the school can be exercised2 furthermore1 the contacts of the library with organized education cease where the educational machinery terminates2 but the library continues as an educational force of national importance in its contacts with the whole social1 political1 and intellectual life of the community44440 8,in speaking to the resolution1 ,mr4 ,l4 ,stanley ,jast1 formerly ,secretary of the ,library ,association1 developed the argument--8,the work of the librarian is sharply contrasted with that of the teacher4 ,the teacher deals with human material1 the librarian with the written record1 and only incidentally with the people who come to consult and use it4 ,but not only is there this wide difference in the nature of the material upon which the teacher and the librarian respectively work2 there is a difference of immediate aim of so basic a character that one is almost the negative of the other1 and therefore are they perfectly complementary to one another4444 ,the library and the school supplement and complement each other4 ,and the virtue of each is that it is not the other4444 ,the material of each is different1 the aims are different1 and the administrative machinery of the one has no real relation to that of the other4444 ,the resolution has a second thesis1 which is that it is after all only a portion of the library field which touches education4444 ,we outgrow the school2 we cannot outgrow the library40#de 8,we have examined these arguments with the care to which the policy of the ,library ,association is entitled4 ,the first argument1 however1 rests upon a sharp distinction between the library and the school which should not1 in our opinion1 exist4 ,a school is a more complex and many sided institution than the argument would appear to assume1 and its functions are too narrowly confined by the phrase #8training in an atmosphere of restraint or discipline4' ,the class-room is but part of a school4 ,other institutions--the workshop1 the gymnasium1 the playing field1 and the library--are essential features1 each of them making its peculiar contribution to that self-development which is claimed to be an end of the library4 ,the school in fact1 is a community which fulfils its end through a variety of agencies of which the class-room is one and the library another4 ,the ideal school is one which seeks to aid self-development through the medium of #8discipline' on the one hand1 and by providing opportunities for the pupil #8to strike out on his own line' on the other4 8,the antithesis between the teacher and the librarian is also1 in our judgment1 too sharply defined4 ,powers are trained by their exercise1 and the printed book is an integral part of the equipment of the school4 ,if the librarian deals with the written record1 it is but as a means to self-development in the scholar4 ,in other words1 the library is part of the educational fabric1 just as much as the art room or the school clinic4 ,the school and the teacher will perform their true function only in so far as they enter into the closest co-operation with the library and the librarian4 ,the latter will fill their real place only through co-operation with the former4 ,both school and library will be immeasurably strengthened when the artificial line of demarcation is obliterated4 8,it is sometimes argued that the libraries would lose by the process and become subject to an over-rigid systematization1 to which librarians are rightly opposed4 ,this attitude of mind appears to us to be based on a want of knowledge of the strong trend towards greater freedom and initiative within the publicly provided schools of the country4 ,this movement1 we believe1 would receive a valuable stimulus from closer association with the libraries1 without necessarily imposing a mechanical organization upon the libraries4 8,the provision of children's rooms in libraries1 the assembling of books bearing upon the work and interests of students1 library lessons and other developments and proposals will forge strong and necessary links between the school and the library2 but it is difficult to see how this intimate relationship can be generally established unless there is an organic connection arising from a single policy based upon the complex needs of the pupil4 ,under certain circumstances the frank interchange of experience and inter-relation of interests may be possible with dual control4 ,but it is at least open to doubt whether they will be generally and permanently attained without a common administration4 8,the second argument in support of independent administration for libraries is1 in the words of the resolution referred to above1 that #8the contacts of the library with organised education cease where the educational machinery terminates4' ,the ,education ,act1 #aiah1 provides for compulsory continuation education up to the age of #af1 and ultimately #ah4 ,further education of this character must lead to a growth of both technical and general education beyond these ages4 ,there is certain to be an extension of technical education after the war1 and there will be a growing demand for non-vocational education to be met4 ,with the latter question we shall deal at greater length in our ,final ,report4 ,a greater call than in the past will undoubtedly be made upon our educational resources1 and the necessity will arise for that close co-operation between educational institutions and libraries which is admittedly desirable in the case of school pupils if the school and the library are to fulfil their functions4 8,it is true that we cannot outgrow the library3 but it is equally true that we cannot outgrow the school1 in other words1 that we cannot outgrow the need for systematic education4 ,the whole purpose of our inquiries into adult education has been directed towards formulating recommendations based upon this truth4 ,our inquiries1 further1 justify the view that there is a growing recognition of the need for education and an increasing desire for it on the part of men and women4 8,but though the public library has an important function to perform in relation to educational institutions1 its activities travel beyond assistance to formal education4 ,it exists to serve the needs of a public with varied interests4 ,it must satisfy the requirements of the serious student2 but it must also cater for that large class of people who are #8general readers1' and those who go to books for recreation4 ,the unsystematic and recreative reading which the libraries have stimulated do not1 however1 it seems to us1 provide any argument for maintaining the public libraries as an independent municipal service40#df ,in the present writer's opinion1 the distinction drawn by ,mr4 ,jast is a sound one1 and is corroborated by the reluctance of ,american librarians to placing libraries under an authority primarily appointed to administer schools4 ,but1 since there remains so much in common in the aims of the two sets of institutions1 if the supreme authority were entrusted with a scheme of education in the larger sense--call it culture1 humanism1 or personal development1 since the term education smacks too much of the school and college--then it would be logical and salutary to put our public libraries under a department of that authority1 making this responsible1 side by side with the education department in the narrower sense1 to the supreme ,board--which may or may not continue to be called the ,board of ,education4 ,dread of bureaucratic control has become almost instinctive with thoughtful people4 ,the habit of working in watertight compartments1 and repressing every spontaneous activity that cannot be forced into the strait-jacket of official routine1 inspires observant critics with distrust even of rural library schemes conducted on strictly official lines under education committees4 ,to put the control of both urban and rural libraries in the preoccupied hands of those whose attention is centred in schools1 discipline1 and organized education1 would be a blow at the freedom and elasticity of the library4 ,after all1 the problem of the young person is much the same everywhere1 and education may for the most part be reduced to a system4 ,people who have grown up and developed personality1 however1 will not submit to have their intellectual nutriment doled out on a system4 ,they must have a say in managing and developing their own libraries1 and in choosing the books they are to read4 ,the notion of a ,libraries ,board side by side with and independent of the ,board of ,education would find no support in this country4 ,nor are we likely to see ,state library commissions on the ,american model1 though we may as well digest the lesson from the ,united ,states1 where they certainly know how to manage libraries so that they bulk large in the social consciousness4 ,co-operation1 but not subordination1 must be the watchword4 ,the department of the general ,board of ,education charged with supervision of the national system of libraries would contain1 besides those who are educators in the widest sense of the term1 representatives of those versed in the government and the actual administration of public libraries1 from the ,british ,museum and the university libraries downwards4 ,such a combination would be less likely than the mere education committees of to-day to negative the proposals of those who understand the needs of libraries and of the people who use them4 ,the local committees would likewise be well-seasoned with co-opted members representing all the varied intellectual interests of each locality1 and1 above all1 representing the actual readers1 the people most concerned in each library's well-being4 ,local initiative must be welcomed1 not merely tolerated3 it is the vital element of progress4 ,in between would come the regional committees1 charged with the maintenance of the central supplemental libraries1 and with all the general activities carried on throughout each great library province4 ,thus1 surely1 the proper equilibrium between the central co-ordinating body and local volition would be safely established4 ,,footnotes3 #bg cp4 ,america3--8,in towns where there is more than one library accessible to the public1 these should reach as soon as possible some modus vivendi that will prevent the useless duplication of any class of literature4 ,this may usually be done by agreeing to specialize4 ,for example1 in ,chicago such an agreement has been made by the ,public ,library1 the ,john ,crerar ,library1 and the ,newberry ,library4 ,the ,public ,library specializes in general literature1 the ,john ,crerar in science1 and the ,newberry in history1 economics1 and so on4 ,in pursuance of this policy1 the ,newberry ,library has even transferred to the ,john ,crerar its medical collection1 which had reached a considerable size4 ,such action is evidently a long step toward the complete understanding between civic institutions that is so much to be desired2 and it deserves the highest commendation40 ,bostwick3 ,the ,american ,public ,library1 pp4 #gc-d4 ,similar specialization has been effected in the ,astor1 ,lenox1 ,bar ,association1 ,academy of ,medicine1 and ,columbia ,university ,libraries in ,new ,york4 #bh ,there are great irregularities in the distribution of these libraries2 for instance1 the ratepayer in ,holborn has to walk on the average #edj yards to get to a library2 in ,camberwell he would have to go #a1jcj yards2 in ,wandsworth #a1djj2 while in the huge borough of ,woolwich1 if it were all built up1 he would have to travel about #b1djj yards4 ,the majority of the boroughs1 however1 only expect their readers to walk between #ejj and #a1jjj yards4 ,if we consider the provision of libraries in proportion to the population1 we find that the extreme variations are that ,hampstead supplies a library for every #ad1jjj inhabitants1 while #ge1jjj inhabitants in ,stepney share one between them4 ,but the demand for library facilities is not the same in all the boroughs1 for we find that while in ,hampstead #abe out of every #a1jjj of its inhabitants are registered as using the library1 in ,shoreditch only #bi per #a1jjj avail themselves of the facilities which exist in that borough4 ,the effect of this is that the number of readers per library varies considerably1 for while ,poplar and ,hammersmith share a library or branch between #a1bjj readers1 ,stoke ,newington and ,chelsea are satisfied with one establishment for #d1fjj readers4 7,john ,mc,killop3 8,the ,present ,position of ,london ,municipal ,libraries with suggestions for ,increasing their ,efficiency10 in ,library ,association ,record1 ,dec4 #aijf47 #bi ,rye1 ,r4 ,a41 ,the ,libraries of ,london 7#aiaj7--8,preliminary ,survey40 #cj ,in a lecture at the ,school of ,librarianship1 ,university ,college1 ,london1 on ,may #bcrd1 #aiba4 #ca 8,sometimes a discovery of vital moment lies concealed for many years in a little known periodical2 the most striking recent case is that of ,mendel's experiments1 now the inspiration of the most productive school of modern biology1 described in #ahfe in the periodical of a natural history society in ,brnn but buried until #aijj1 when a happy chance revealed them40 ,times1 ,june #bi1 #aiba--8;,indexing of ,technical ,literature40 #cb 8,a union catalogue of the current periodicals preserved in the ,german libraries1 published in #aiad1 comprised some #ag1jjj entries4 ,a similar list for the periodicals filed in the libraries of the ,united ,kingdom1 prepared in #aiad-ae by some ,english ,state and copyright librarians1 was submitted for publication to the ,department of ,scientific and ,industrial ,research1 but the proposal met with no encouragement4 ,yet the compilation of such a list is an essential preliminary to the proper national organization of knowledge4 ,for a union list indicates the relative strength and weakness of our national libraries in respect of their periodical collections3 it enables the librarian to correct the latter without unduly increasing the expenditure of the library in that department of literature40 ,nature1 ,june #i1 #aiba--8;,co-operative ,indexing of ,periodical ,literature40 #cc ,edward ,edwards1 by ,thomas ,greenwood1 p4 #acg4 #cd ,ibid4 #ce ,bostwick3 ,the ,american ,public ,library1 p4 #bh4 #cf ,friedel3 ,training for ,librarianship1 p4 #agf4 #cg 8,the amount produced by the penny rate varies from borough to borough within very wide limits4 ,the wealthy ,city of ,westminster receives nearly #bc1jjj for every penny of its imposed rate2 ,kensington comes next with #i1ejj1 and the others fall gradually till we find that ,stoke ,newington receives only #a1djj4 ,but to estimate the burden it is necessary to consider the produce of the penny rate in relation to the number of inhabitants1 and in doing this we find that while every #a1jjj inhabitants in ,westminster can raise for library purposes #abh1 in the over-burdened east and south-east1 ,poplar and ,camberwell can only raise #bj1 while ,stepney comes lowest on the list with #ai per #a1jjj inhabitants4 ,but this does not express the whole of the burden1 for while #a1jjj inhabitants of wealthy ,westminster have the power to spend #abh1 they find that their five libraries1 well stocked with books and liberally staffed1 cost them only #fe1 while ,poplar1 which finds six actually four establishments too little for its needs1 must perforce expend the whole of the #ai per #a1jjj citizens that it is enabled to raise40 ,j4 ,mc,killop3 ,the ,present ,position of ,london ,municipal ,libraries4 ,these figures were put down in #aijg2 the present situation may be understood from later statistics4 ,the areas and populations are similar4 ,,from ,l4,c4,c4 ,,london ,,statistics1 #aiac-d4 ,charge falling on ,rates4 ,amount ,poplar #d ,libraries 4#ii #c1jhj ,kensington #c 0 4#fa #e1ije ,westminster #d 0 4#dc #aa1ghd ,,from ,l4,c4,c4 ,,statistical ,,abstract1 #aibj4 ,assessable ,value4 #a;d4 produces ,poplar #hce1ehc #c1dhb ,kensington #b1dea1cce #aj1bad ,westminster #g1jaa1hde #bi1baf ,current estimate at ,poplar1 #h1cah to #b4ag;d4 in 4 ,poplar1 it should be noted1 has one of the most efficient library systems in ,london1 though the buildings are not pretentious and the furniture is for use and not ornament4 ,to provide and work this admirable system something like an economic miracle had to be worked1 for so narrow was the financial margin that as the borough librarian picturesquely put it1 if a few slates fell off the roof the cost of replacing them had to come out of the book fund4 #ch ,j4 ,mc,killop3 ,present ,position of ,london ,municipal ,libraries4 #ci ,ibid4 #dj ,ibid4 #da ,ibid4 #db ,adult ,education ,committee3 ,third ,interim ,report1 #bj4 #dc 8,the public libraries and museums should be remitted to special committees of the education authority4 ,on each of these committees it would be desirable to co-opt representatives of voluntary organizations and societies specially interested in the work of the committees1 such as local educational bodies1 scientific societies1 and art clubs4 ,librarians and curators should1 of course1 have direct access to their respective committees and the fullest possible scope for their powers and special knowledge40 ,adult ,education ,committee3 ,third ,interim ,report1 #ef4 #dd ,bostwick3 ,the ,american ,public ,library1 p4 #ie4 #de ,adult ,education ,committee3 ,third ,interim ,report1 #ai4 #df ,adult ,education ,committee3 ,third ,interim ,report1 par4 #i-ab4 ,,vi ,,training ,,in ,,librarianship ,the pioneers of our municipal libraries were mostly men who had had no experience of library administration1 and learned their craft and coached their assistants after studying the best type of older libraries1 improvising new methods to suit new circumstances4 ,in #ahgf the ,american ,library ,association was founded1 and in #ahgg the ,library ,association of the ,united ,kingdom4 ,their objects were first1 educational1 through the medium of personal intercourse and the exchange of information2 and secondly propagandist1 the furtherance of the library movement4 ,in some of the larger towns classes were carried on for the instruction of the staff2 and in #ahhd the ,library ,association drew up an examination syllabus1 which was a first step in defining the proper qualifications of a librarian4 ,classes open to any assistant were held at various centres1 and in #ahic an annual summer school was started4 ,the ,association next appointed an ,education ,committee1 which before long co-operated with the ,london ,school of ,economics in holding courses of lectures1 conducted correspondence classes1 elicited similar efforts from provincial branches1 and held yearly examinations4 ,certificates were granted in the separate subjects1 ,literary ,history1 ,bibliography1 ,classification1 ,cataloguing1 ,library ,organization1 and ,library ,routine2 and when an assistant had taken these seriatim he might obtain a full diploma1 after he had shown some knowledge of ,latin and of a modern foreign language1 and written an original thesis on an appropriate subject4 ,the weak point of this admirable programme was that it did not provide for systematic training or even for continuous study4 ,perhaps it was an initial mistake to award certificates in single subjects1 for the majority of those gaining such certificates never approached the final stage1 and in a dozen years less than a dozen candidates won the diploma4 ,but the standard of the qualifications had to be adapted to the educational level of the ordinary library assistant1 and to the extreme disadvantages under which he laboured4 ,his hours were long1 his pay was low1 and1 penny rate libraries being uniformly understaffed1 he could not be spared to attend many classes1 even if any were held in his neighbourhood4 ,the diploma scheme of the ,library ,association is still in being1 and provides an alternative method of qualifying for professional certificates to working assistants who are unable to benefit by the training system next to be described4 ,during the war1 whilst the ,adult ,education ,committee were trying to find a place for libraries in a comprehensive plan of reconstruction1 the ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trustees were in consultation with the ,library ,association on the question of a more thorough system of training4 ,the ,university of ,london ,school of ,librarianship came into existence as the outcome of these conferences in #aiai1 a few months before the new ,act4 ,this was a momentous event in the history of the profession4 ,the ,school is a department of ,university ,college1 the largest school of the ,university2 its curriculum fits into the scheme of the ,faculty of ,arts2 the students participate in the social and intellectual life of the college4 ,thus it is not a separate vocational institution1 like the majority of the ,american library schools1 but part of a great foundation dedicated to the liberal arts and sciences4 ,the normal course of training occupies two years1 and students must devote their whole time to lectures1 private study1 and practical work2 but for the benefit of assistants who cannot throw up their occupation1 and also of booksellers1 publishers' assistants1 and others desirous of knowing something of library economy and useful subjects like classification and indexing1 part-time attendance is allowed1 by which the training is spread over a period varying from three to five years4 ,but it must be continuous4 ,this and the thoroughness of a college training1 coupled with the initial requirement of a general education of matriculation standard1 make the advent of the school a great stride forward4 ,in time1 the training may develop into a postgraduate course1 and instruction may be given in a series of advanced subjects1 such as ,historical ,bibliography and the ,bibliography and ,history of ,scholarship1 ,latin1 ,greek1 ,biblical1 ,celtic1 ,romance1 ,teutonic and ,scandinavian1 courses which the present writer was able to introduce as possible subjects for study and research into the ,library ,association's syllabus1 when he was ,hon4 ,secretary of their ,education ,committee4 ,the growing complexity and diversity of library work and the multiplication of technical and other special libraries call for new types of librarian4 ,the administrator of a large urban or rural system must be a highly educated and many-sided person4 ,knowledge of the relative values of books on an immense range of subjects is hardly more necessary than ability to help other persons1 not only to select the right kind of books1 but also to read1 not at a venture1 but methodically4 ,the able librarian must have a wide comparative acquaintance with the contents and the technique of many libraries4 ,he1 or perhaps she--for women are at least as well-fitted as men for almost any kind of library work--must be a competent organizer1 a good judge and controller of others1 and one who can infuse keenness and interest4 ,it is a tradition that he should be a master of the superficial1 a compendium of second-hand learning1 knowing something about everything2 but that it would detract from his qualifications as a kind of walking index to universal knowledge1 if he knew too much about anything in particular4 ,this is an inhuman and impossible ideal4 ,the oft-quoted dictum of ,mark ,pattison that the librarian who reads is lost1 unless it be wantonly interpreted that we have lost the well-read librarian1 is a mistaken warning4 ,one must have a hobby for mere vitality's sake2 and1 unless we specialize in something1 we shall not even know what knowledge is about anything4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,langley ,sons ,,university ,,college1 ,,general ,,library4 ,the corner-stone of the edifice is the science and art of book selection4 ,the librarian must be a first-class judge of books1 and of books for definite use4 ,he is to be the guide and counsellor of innumerable readers2 the inspirer of untold thousands more4 ,he should be ready at a moment's notice to deliver a lecture on the art of reading1 and1 with reasonable time for preparing his notes1 to conduct a tutorial class or at any rate lead a reading circle4 ,some specialization will give him a good start on either run4 ,a mere smattering is not of much use in this branch of library extension work4 ,thus the desideratum is an appropriate blend of general and special accomplishments1 and there is no question as to which should be acquired first4 ,entrants to the ,school of ,librarianship are expected to have matriculated beforehand3 if they aim at academic honours1 they should take their degree before they specialize in professional subjects4 ,many of the present students are pursuing librarianship as a postgraduate course3 this may become a general rule as the programme of studies is enlarged4 ,the ,university has recently allowed the course to be taken as the final stage in a degree course1 under certain regulations4 ,some ,american library schools have highly specialized curricula2 the ,carnegie ,library ,school of ,pittsburg1 for instance1 has courses in ,library ,work with ,children and ,school ,library ,work2 and at ,washington1 in association with the ,school for ,secretaries1 there is a ,training ,school for ,business ,librarians4 ,high school or college graduation is usually required for admission1 and in the library schools at ,syracuse ,university and the ,university of ,wisconsin there are courses leading to a degree4 ,too much specialization in the library school itself is not desirable4 ,the best librarian for a technical1 scientific1 historical1 or other special library is one who has taken the ,b4,sc41 ,b4,eng41 or honours ,schools1 and then followed a course in ,librarianship4 ,librarianship is not a science1 notwithstanding the fact that a number of the ,american library schools call themselves schools of library science1 and that a baccalaureate is granted in this1 but an art4 ,it is the application of knowledge1 knowledge which must be attained first2 education must have preceded training4 ,that is a rough-and-ready way of putting it2 but such is the main principle that should guide us in drawing up a course in librarianship4 ,both in ,england and in ,america1 two orders of librarians and library assistants are tending to become clearly differentiated1 on the analogy of the two orders in the ,civil ,service4 ,on the one hand are those who enjoyed a liberal education and have supplemented this with a first-class technical training2 on the other1 those who had a poor start educationally4 ,the latter may by intelligence and perseverance catch the former up2 there will be no watertight partitions between the classes4 ,but the difference between them will become more and more accentuated as library activities become more complex and more specialized4 ,in one way1 a school of librarianship forms a medium between the two grades2 it may enable an energetic man or woman to overcome the disadvantages of a poor start in life2 in another way1 it helps to differentiate the classes1 those persons who proceed successfully through the courses and win diplomas going automatically into the higher class1 and those who fail to attain more than a few odd certificates1 into the lower grade4 ,the main determining factor is to have enjoyed or to have missed a good preliminary education1 comprising a knowledge of languages and fair general culture4 ,the present curriculum of the ,school of ,librarianship is as follows3-- 7i47 ,english ,composition4 7ii47 99,latin or ,greek or ,sanskrit or ,classical ,arabic4 7iii47 99,a ,modern ,language other than ,english4 7iv47 ,bibliography4 7v47 ,library ,organization 7including ,public ,library ,law74 7vi47 ,library ,routine4 7vii47 ,cataloguing and ,indexing4 7viii47 ,literary ,history and ,book ,selection4 7ix47 ,classification4 7x47 ,palography and ,archives4 ,in the purely technical subjects1 the instruction is partly theoretic and partly practical4 ,the students are set to work1 under expert supervision1 cataloguing sections of a library2 they classify masses of books1 and perform upon them various routine processes2 they are given medival ,english1 ,latin1 and ,norman-,french documents to decipher and translate1 medival manuscripts to catalogue and calendar4 ,they watch bookbinding demonstrations1 and are shown1 not only how a book is bound well1 but also how the job is done in a shoddy way by dishonest binders4 ,skins of the finest quality and other bookbinding materials are hanging up in the school1 and all sorts of library apparatus and equipment are on exhibition4 ,during the long vacation the students are expected to work as voluntary assistants in libraries of the most modern type1 and no opportunity for practical experience or for seeing things actually being done is neglected4 ,lectures on such phases of the prescribed subjects as library architecture1 rural library systems1 library work with children1 technical and commercial libraries1 and library extension1 are continually being given by special authorities not on the regular staff4 ,the student who is not a graduate must pass examinations in all the ten subjects set out above1 before he can receive the diploma2 the graduate may be exempted from the first three4 ,those candidates who have not held salaried offices in approved libraries do not receive the ,diploma until they have done at least one year's work in such capacity4 ,it is apparent1 then1 that the course is partly general and partly technical2 and1 whether the entrant is a graduate or not1 there is no escaping the basic requirement1 a good general education1 or the other essential1 practical experience4 ,america had library schools thirty years before ,great ,britain2 there are now eighteen library schools in the ,united ,states1 several requiring a college degree before admission1 some qualifying their alumni for a degree in library science4 ,other agencies for training librarians are apprentice classes and summer schools2 and the training these last provide is more continuous and thorough than is afforded by the same kind of institution in this country4 ,certain general colleges1 also1 hold courses in bibliography1 palography1 and kindred subjects1 useful not only to the librarian but also to the research student4 ,germany1 ,italy1 and ,sweden preceded us in the establishment of library schools1 the first-named in #ahfa4 ,france exacted technical qualifications from candidates for university libraries in #ahgi4 ,holland has a library school1 and #aibj saw one started in ,czechoslovakia4 ,all these are ,government or university foundations4 ,if our libraries become a national concern1 training in librarianship will necessarily be an affair for the community to regulate and finance4 ,old-fashioned library committees and librarians still exist who are well content with the library assistant that1 as they put it1 8has gone through the mill10 in other words1 a person without any education worth mentioning and without training in any real sense1 who has learned his work by having had to do it and never studied the why or the wherefore of library practice4 ,there are still librarians who regard librarianship as simply a job like any other job1 which has got to be carried on and incidentally find some one a berth2 and who feel aggrieved if called upon to furnish anything beyond the most rudimentary service--lending and reference library and reading room--and regard any sort of library extension as incipient bolshevism4 ,committees and librarians of this stamp actually prefer the uneducated junior1 the youth1 that is1 who has enjoyed nothing more liberal than primary schooling2 whereas the intelligent and progressive committee or librarian would rather appoint1 even to a senior post1 a well-educated person who has to learn his duties1 than one poorly educated yet having had a great deal of practical experience4 ,the former would have to spend some time in picking up the ways of a new post1 but1 given equal abilities1 he would show himself the better man in a brief space of time4 ,perhaps a more insidious danger than this survival of the obsolete is the view1 to which all administrators of systems are apt to fall a prey1 that high mechanical efficiency is the be-all and end-all of library economy4 ,perfect and smooth-running machinery is an admirable thing2 it will certainly be one of the characteristics of every library system that achieves complete success4 ,but there are elements still more essential1 which cannot be secured by the pursuit of mere mechanical perfection4 ,to put mechanism and mechanical organization first1 knowledge and ideas second1 is as bad a mistake as crass content with the old1 inadequate service4 ,the danger of being dominated by mechanism is1 in truth1 as real a danger in the world of libraries as ever it was in ,erewhon4 8,true1 from a low materialistic point of view1 it would seem that those thrive best who use machinery wherever its use is possible with profit2 but this is the art of the machines--they serve that they may rule40#dg ,this very danger is already apparent1 it has been noted1 in some of the rural systems superintended by bureaucratic directors of education4 ,their criterion of efficiency is uniformity1 in method and results4 ,but uniformity is of no value except as a mark of excellence or fitness4 ,when uniformity is sought for its own sake1 it is bound to stultify aspiration and suppress spontaneity4 ,in the earlier days of the public library1 there were librarians who thought that they had achieved immortal fame by inventing that surprising piece of mechanism1 the indicator4 ,library progress for decades was checked by the indicator and the repressive form of organization of which it was the symbol1 the closed library4 ,to infuse a new spirit into the reading and the non-reading public will do infinitely more for the future of libraries than any amount of mechanical efficiency4 ,that is the reason why the ,school of ,librarianship has erected its course of professional training on the broad base of a liberal education4 ,this is no slight to the technique of librarianship2 but means that technique must be the servant1 not the master1 and that machinery will be used best if those who control it have intelligence and vision4 ,and why should training in librarianship be confined entirely to librarians8 ,it has often been urged that bibliography should be taught in schools4 ,book selection1 indexing1 classification1 in short1 most of the professional subjects1 are elements of a general training in organization and in methods of study and research4 ,when there comes about a thorough correlation between libraries and schools1 young people will1 as a matter of course1 acquire the rudiments of the library arts4 ,since the child1 as soon as he leaves school1 will have to pursue his intellectual activities chiefly through the medium of books1 he should be taught something about bibliography1 at any rate the maxims and methods of book selection4 ,self-education to-day is rendered more difficult and uncertain by the very multiplicity of books that solicit attention4 ,even advanced university students are surprisingly ignorant of the means for ascertaining the nature and relative value of the literature of the subjects they are working on4 ,a thorough grounding in book-selection and certain other of the library arts might work a reformation in the newspaper world3 it is a point for the attention of schools of journalism4 ,imagine the results if there were a reference library of high quality in every office and every reporter and sub-editor had been trained in using it accurately4 ,no one is competent to be a guide in intellectual matters or a dispenser of knowledge who is not engaged in a continual process of self-education4 ,the value of a knowledge of librarianship to the layman is recognized in the ,united ,states3 in #aiad ninety-one ,american colleges gave courses in what is there called library science4#dh ,one result of the library extension work described in an earlier chapter is a wider diffusion of the library arts4 ,when the ,education ,act of #aiah comes into force throughout the land1 and the school-child becomes a 8young person02 when intellectual training is carried on right through the plastic period of mental development1 the opportunity for cultivating the library arts will be laden with profound consequences4 ,if elementary schools and continuation schools then work in due co-ordination with libraries1 the new curricula will in large measure comprehend what we desire3 instruction in the art of reading and the enjoyment of literature1 guidance in the use of scientific and technical books and in the methods of research4 ,every young person should be shown how to make himself master of the multifarious contents of a library1 to acquaint himself with other library resources that are within reach1 to become his own bibliographer1 map out his reading to the best advantage1 and be able to choose books wisely1 whether he is buying for his own shelves or making use of the public library4 ,the vital importance of the library arts to the researcher and to all whose work is among books1 pamphlets1 or records1 needs no expatiation4 ,mr4 ,sidney ,webb1 in lecturing to young librarians some years ago1 depicted the infinite pains with which he constructed his own bibliographies of social science4 ,he had to acquire the library arts in the hard school of experience1 when manuals of bibliography and guide-books to books were fewer than they are now2 and1 no doubt1 the fine library at the ,london ,school of ,economics may be regarded as in no small part the result4 ,modern specialization has extended the field of knowledge so enormously that the finest education is1 in a large sense1 only elementary--only a preparation of the individual to use human knowledge and exert himself in extending it4 ,exact classification is making its way in all directions4 ,the art of classification is not only an invaluable mental discipline1 it may be applied with advantage in every province of work and business4 ,it stands for order and method in all sorts of affairs4 ,though a classification of books is not the same thing as a classification of things1 and may depart in many respects from the exactness of logical theory1 there is no better way of inculcating the usefulness of system than by illustrating it in a well-classified library1 where the reader can find his way from shelf to shelf1 and follow the tracks pointed out for him to other book-cases the contents of which are more distantly connected with his subject4 ,commercial firms have learned the value of systematic filing4 ,representatives of business corporations and parties of students from schools and colleges visit the ,commercial ,library at ,manchester in order to examine the vertical file and have its principles explained4 ,it is in the research departments of the technical firms that classification1 filing1 and indexing are pursued to their furthest reaches4 ,it is to be wished that the librarian's near relations1 the publisher and the bookseller1 would make more use of system4 ,when the bookshops are arranged on an intelligible plan1 there may be less romance in the ,charing ,cross ,road1 but it will be better for business4 ,and1 though some might think there was more lost than gained in the second-hand shop if 8,americana0 were shelved according to ,dewey and 8,book ,rarities0 placed in their proper decimal order1 there is at any rate no sentimental objection to the scientific arrangement of new books4 ,but1 with the notable exceptions of two or three large firms of publishers and the university presses1 no one seems to think it worth while to issue classified catalogues of new publications4 ,booksellers and publishers prefer to arrange their wares and compile their catalogues by the sizes of books1 by binding1 or by prices--by anything except the subject4 ,both are sadly in need of a course in librarianship4 ,publishers have declined to take the expert advice of the ,library ,association1 or to learn anything on the materials1 printing1 format1 or even the kinds of books that are wanted4 ,the fact is1 their books1 their catalogues1 and their methods of marketing are adapted to the momentary satisfaction of a public having no acquaintance with the library arts4 ,when we are each our own bibliographer1 these perfunctory ways will have to be dropped1 or the reader and book-buyer will want to know why4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,langley ,sons ,,reading ,,room ,,of ,,the ,,goldsmith',s ,,library1 ,,university ,,of ,,london4 ,classification is the natural basis of indexing1 or rather classifying and indexing are complementary to each other1 the object being to have everything in its place and to show how it can be found4 ,every author1 every one who uses or dispenses information1 every one who keeps so much as a commonplace book1 ought to be an efficient indexer2 yet ignorance of what constitutes a good index is almost universal4 ,there has been a slight improvement of late in the proportion of books indexed2 but the general standard of precision and scientific arrangement is still very low4 ,apart from inaccuracy1 which is a common defect1 our methods1 in regard to thoroughness and ease of reference1 are painfully inferior to ,american methods2 #dithe fact is patent even in some of our big co-operative treatises1 which have no excuse for their slovenliness on the score of economy4 ,yet the public seem to be content4 ,they are used to taking what is offered them1 and have never considered what minimum of efficiency in book-production they are entitled to expect4 ,a review here and there makes its protest against a bad or omitted index1 or against inadequate or forgotten maps1 or illustrations that do not illustrate1 and to this may be attributed the slight improvement noticed4 ,yet the importance of indexing1 in all the affairs of life1 is so obvious that1 apart altogether from its function in books and libraries1 it ought to find a place in any well-planned scheme of education4 ,but the most important and fundamental of the library arts is that of book selection1 which is best defined1 not as choosing the best books1 but as choosing the right1 the appropriate books4 ,the student of librarianship is taught literary history so that he may be a safe and discriminating selector of books1 and be qualified to see that the library contains the right sort of material4 ,the object of library lectures and reading circles is to direct readers to the right books to read4 ,in her account of a very interesting experiment1#ej ,miss ,sayle describes how the ,hampshire villagers were allowed the casting vote on every book purchased by the simple expedient of eliminating those books that failed to attract readers4 ,the results sound lamentable4 ,whole sections went under the hammer4 ,autobiography1 ,gardening1 ,lives1 ,travels1 ,poetry1 are one and all reported 8,abolished1 owing to lack of readers40 ,waverley1 ,kidnapped1 ,barnaby ,rudge1 and ,pierre ,loti's ,iceland ,fisherman1 were among the classics discarded in one year in order to make room for the works of ,mrs4 ,henry ,wood1 ,miss ,worboise1 ,baroness ,orczy1 and ,gene ,stratton ,porter4 ,lamb's ,tales from ,shakespeare seldom left the children's cupboard4 ,now ,miss ,sayle is undoubtedly right in extolling the principle of giving her village readers the initiative in the choice of books for their own library1 the library they founded and maintain out of their own pockets4 ,but her story is not creditable to those who might1 had they gone the right way to work1 have guided the tastes of these village readers1 so that they would have chosen and enjoyed the very books that had to be discarded4 ,one can hardly imagine a reading circle finding much to discuss in books by the luminaries mentioned as chief favourites2 but it is quite as difficult to imagine that a paper or a reading or an intimate talk about ,stevenson1 ,scott1 ,dickens1 and a few of the poets1 would have failed in opening many eyes to the charms of the writers abolished4 ,to prescribe what people shall read is impossible2 it is foolish to present any public1 in town or country1 with a well-chosen library1 and tell them to take it or leave it4 ,coercion would be as fruitless as it is impossible4 ,but to leave the choice to the untrained and unguided initiative of the villagers1 without some attempt at training and assisting their powers of choice1 is hardly less absurd than it would be to let the children in a school decide what lessons they should be taught4 ,this is the real inwardness of the great fiction question1 on which so much wordy argument has been expended4 ,there is no need to deplore the high percentage of fiction that is read2 if this is of any literary value1 the percentage is so much to the good4 ,the innuendo underlying the ,adult ,education ,committee's sneer at 8unsystematic and recreative reading0 betrays an illiberal conception of the cultural value of belles-lettres1 of which ,meredith said3-- 8,light literature is the garden and the orchard1 the fountain1 the rainbow1 the far view2 the view within us as well as without4 ,the ,philistine detests it1 because he has no view1 out or in4 ,the dry confess they are cut off from the living tree1 peeled and sapless1 when they condemn it4 ,the vulgar demand to have their pleasures in their own likeness--and let them swamp their troughs6 ,they shall not degrade the name of noble fiction4444 ,shun those who cry out against fiction1 and have no taste for elegant writing4 ,not to have a sympathy with the playful mind is not to have a mind40 ,the question is not whether public libraries ought to provide novels1 nor simply whether they should provide only the best novels and reject the bad4 ,the important problem is1 how the general reader is to be led to choose and enjoy the best4 ,to spend public funds on the public provision of feeble and enfeebling reading-matter is indefensible4 ,true1 there are librarians who defend it3 one head of a large system has recently pleaded for fiction of the ,charles ,garvice and ,ethel ,dell type1 because the charwoman and the overworked housewife find it restful and soothing1 and cannot afford to subscribe for it to the circulating library4 ,but public libraries are not a sort of poor relief3 their mission is not to provide1 even these unhappy folk1 with opportunities for mental dissipation2 but1 the very reverse1 to introduce them to higher pleasures4 ,would apologists for bad novels recommend our public art galleries to adopt similar standards of taste8 ,or our museums8 ,no doubt1 if we turned them into a kind of ,madame ,tussaud's or sensation-mongering picture-house1 these would be much more popular with a very large and a very important class4 ,this kind of argument hardly needs confuting3 but many committees and librarians have been led astray by the specious doctrine that by giving people the inferior stuff they like they will eventually be led to prefer something better4 ,the present writer1 who has devoted years of hard work to shepherding the general reader into the right way of appreciating good fiction1 would be the last to deny the humanizing value of the novel and its right to an honourable place in the public library2 but he would be the first to deny that to get people to read any kind of novel1 or to bring them at any cost into the public library1 is a sure way of inducing them to read something better4 ,than much of the reading done at the expense of the library rate it would be better if no reading were done at all4 ,a kind of mental dram-drinking1 it is stupefying to the brain and soul1 and thoroughly anti-educational4 ,homopathic application of continual doses of the hair of the dog that bit you is a futile mode of treatment4 ,the time has come for saner methods1 and the only sane method is to refuse to recognize the stuff as having anything to do with the literature which a public library has to supply4 ,earlier pages have dealt with the various methods by which the standard of fiction reading can be raised--duplication of the best on shelves to which the reader has free access1 descriptive catalogues and readers' guides1 lectures1 talks1 and reading circles4 ,our crusading efforts at raising the level of popular taste must be as strenuous as those of a revivalist mission4 ,future progress depends on a wide diffusion of the library arts2 it depends on the attitude of that much-abused person the general reader4 ,when the general reader uses public libraries wisely and well1 and finds them indispensable to a full life1 their position will be assured4 ,the largest body of readers will always be composed of this class3 the object of education is to turn out intelligent general readers4#ea ,the ,adult ,education ,committee expressed too narrow a view of the library's function in the social organism when they insisted on the paramount claims of vocational and non-vocational education1 and spoke slightingly of the general reader1 the vast multitude who are guilty of 8unsystematic and recreative reading40 ,it is only fair to notice1 however1 two passages in which the ,adult ,education ,committee did not overlook the claims of the general reader and of imaginative literature3-- 8,the ,lending ,department is the main feature in the smaller libraries2 it provides such books as are suitable for continuous reading or study and in convenient form4 ,the books cover the whole range of knowledge1 physical and metaphysical1 ancient and modern1 philosophy1 religion1 sociology1 language and literature1 science1 fine and useful arts1 history and travel4 ,the recreative element in reading bulks largely in the statistics of this department4 ,very much of what is best and most elevating in ,english literature takes the form of fiction1 and selecting this with care and discretion the library gives valuable impulse in the direction of broadening the mental outlook1 enlarging the sympathies1 and elevating the tastes and feeling of readers4 ,any estimate of the cultural work of the library which omits the effects1 more or less unconscious1 of the reading of the best poetical and imaginative literature is gravely incomplete and inadequate40 8,it is clear1 however1 that local education authorities may neglect the #8general reader' in their desire to obtain from the public libraries the maximum of assistance for more serious students4 ,this is a danger which must be guarded against4 ,it is part of the problem of how to retain the freedom and elasticity of the library with the more organized administration of the system of public education4 ,it is with no desire to subordinate the libraries or belittle their importance that we recommend the union of educational and library administration40#eb ,it will not do merely to tolerate this large section of those who use libraries1 on condition that its interests are made secondary to the 8serious students and trained readers40 ,this would be fatal to the true purpose of the public library1 which should minister to intellectual life in all its fulness4 ,the general reader must be put first1 not second4 ,a clear conception of what is best for the general reader will ensure that the interests of education shall not be neglected4 ,it is on the growth of a new consciousness1 a new attitude towards the institutions subserving humanism1 that we must pin our faith in the great library system of the future4 ,a ,,further ,,course ,,of ,,reading4 ,,public ,,libraries1 ,,past ,,and ,,present4 ,,bostwick1 ,arthur ,e4 ,the ,american ,public ,library4 ,appleton4 #aiaj4 #hvo4 illus4 ,,brown1 ,james ,duff4 ,a ,british ,library ,itinerary1 ,grafton4 #aiac4 #hvo4 ,,brown1 ,james ,duff4 ,manual of ,library ,economy1 ed4 by ,w4 ,c4 ,berwick ,sayers4 ,grafton4 #aibj4 #hvo4 ,illus4 ,,greenwood1 ,thomas4 ,edward ,edwards1 the chief pioneer of municipal public libraries4 ,scott ,greenwood4 #aijb4 #hvo4 ,,greenwood1 ,thomas4 ,public ,libraries3 ,a history of the movement1 and a manual for the organisation and management of rate-supported libraries4 ,cassell4 #ahid4 #hvo4 illus4 ,,ogle1 ,john ,j4 ,the ,free ,library3 its history and present condition1 edited by ,r4 ,garnett4 ,allen4 #ahig4 #hvo4 ,the ,library ,series4 ,,the ,,library ,,question ,,of ,,to-,,day4 ,,adams1 ,professor ,w4 ,g4 ,s4 ,a ,report on ,library ,provision and ,policy1 to the ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trustees4 ,edinburgh4 ,neill4 #aiae4 ,,bostwick1 ,arthur ,e4 ,library ,essays3 papers related to the work of public libraries4 ,new ,york4 ,h4 ,w4 ,wilson4 #aibj4 #hvo4 ,,bostwick1 ,arthur ,e4 ,a ,librarian's ,open ,shelf3 essays on various subjects4 ,new ,york4 ,h4 ,w4 ,wilson4 #aibj4 #hvo4 ,,hardy1 ,e4 ,a4 ,the ,public ,library3 its place in our educational system4 ,toronto4 ,william ,briggs4 #aiab4 ,illus4 ,,library ,,association4 ,the ,library ,association ,record4 #hvo4 #ahii in progress4 ,,library ,,association4 ,public ,libraries3 their present position and future development in national reconstruction4 ,library ,association4 #aiah4 #hvo4 ,illus4 ,,library ,,association4 ,year ,book for #aiba2 edited ,e4 ,c4 ,kyte4 ,library ,association4 #aiba4 #hvo4 ,contains statistics of existing libraries and their work4 ,,mckillop1 ,john4 ,the present position of ,london ,municipal ,libraries with suggestions for increasing their efficiency4 ,reprint from ,library ,association ,record4 #aijf4 ,,ministry ,,of ,,reconstruction4 ,adult ,education ,committee4 ,third ,interim ,report4 ,libraries and ,museums4 ,h4,m4,s4 ,office4 #aiai4 ,,ministry ,,of ,,reconstruction4 ,adult ,education ,committee4 ,final ,report4 ,h4,m4 ,stationery ,office4 #aiai4 ,,morel1 ,eugene4 ,la ,librairie ,publique4 ,paris4 ,a4 ,colin4 #aiab4 ,,public ,,libraries ,,act1 #aiai4 ,h4,m4,s4 ,office4 #aiai4 ,,rural ,,libraries4 ,,antrim1 ,saida ,b4 and ,ernest ,i4 ,the ,county ,library4 ,ohio1 ,pioneer ,press4 #aiad4 #hvo4 ,illus4 ,,carnegie ,,united ,,kingdom ,,trust4 ,annual ,reports4 ,dec4 #aiad--;,dec4 #aibj4 ,edinburgh4 ,constable4 #aiba4 ,,sayle1 ,a4 ,village ,libraries3 a guide to their formation and upkeep4 ,grant ,richards4 #aiai4 #hvo4 ,,weaver1 ,sir ,lawrence4 ,village ,clubs and ,halls4 ,newnes4 #aibj4 #hvo4 ,illus4 ,,training ,,in ,,librarianship4 ,,friedel1 ,j4 ,h4 ,training for ,librarianship3 library work as a career4 ,lippincott4 #aiba4 #hvo4 ,illus4 ,,ross1 ,james4 ,technical ,training in ,librarianship in ,england and abroad4 ,reprint from ,library ,association ,record4 #aiaj4 ,,footnotes3 #dg ,samuel ,butler3 ,erewhon1 ,,xxxv4 8,the ,book of the ,machines40 #dh ,j4 ,h4 ,friedel3 ,training in ,librarianship1 p4 #ib4 #di ,see1 e4g41 the ,cambridge ,history of ,english ,literature1 and compare it with the ,cambridge ,history of ,american ,literature1 a model of arrangement1 indexing1 bibliography1 and general editorial work4 #ej ,a4 ,sayle1 ,village ,libraries4 #ea 8,education should be preparation for life4 ,its purpose is to prepare the immature human being for the life he is to lead when he becomes mature4 ,it is to fit the child for the life he is to live when he shall be no longer a child4 ,that is1 to my mind1 the purpose of education40 ,dr4 ,c4 ,a4 ,mercier 7,the ,principles of ,national ,education1 #aiag47 #eb ,adult ,education ,committee3 ,third ,interim ,report1 par4 #ab4 ,,index ,adams1 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,s41 on library provision1 #acf-aci ,administration1 #ad1 #ahc-ahd1 #bjj-baj1 #bba ,administration of ,centralized ,library ,system1 #agi ,adult ,education1 #d-f1 #ih-ii1 #aaa1 #adi1 #aed1 #bjb-bjd1 #bjh-bji ,adult ,education ,committee and ,board of ,education1 #bjj-bja ,adult ,education ,committee and ,central ,library for ,students1 #aij-aia ,adult ,education ,committee1 centralization1 #gc1 #aga-b1 #age1 #aid1 #aig1 #aih1 #bjb ,adult ,education ,committee1 fiction question1 #bcj-bce ,adult ,education ,committee1 ,final ,report1 #afe-afg ,adult ,education ,committee1 on grants1 #ahf-ahg ,adult ,education ,committee1 on intelligence bureaux1 #hi-ij ,adult ,education ,committee1 on lectures1 #aaa ,adult ,education ,committee1 on reading ,rooms1 #fb ,adult ,education ,committee1 on reconstruction1 ,preface1 #cj1 #ca1 #gc1 #aga-agb1 #age1 #aid1 #aig1 #aih1 #bjb ,adult ,education ,committee1 ,technical and ,commercial ,libraries1 #gh-hj ,advertising1 #dh-di1 #ajc ,agricultural ,libraries1 ,america1 #afj-afa ,airdrie1 adoption of ,library ,act1 #bb ,america1 books for the blind1 #id ,america1 children's libraries1 #fd1 #fh1 #gd1 #aca ,america1 ,education ,authorities a4 ,library ,authorities1 #bja-bjb ,america1 indexing1 #bbg-bbh ,america1 inspection of ,libraries1 #ahd-ahf ,america1 librarianship1 #bbd ,america1 libraries1 #be1 #da1 #aah ,america1 library schools1 #bac1 #baf1 #bai-bbj ,america1 rural libraries1 #aef-afb ,america1 school and library1 #aca ,america1 ,state ,library ,commissions1 #aef1 #ahd-ahf1 #bji ,america1 travelling libraries1 #aef ,american ,library ,association1 #baa ,ancient ,libraries1 #aa ,andersonian ,institute1 ,glasgow1 #h ,antwerp1 ,institute of ,commerce1 #gg ,apparatus1 ,library1 #bai ,apprentice ,classes1 ,america1 #bbj ,archbishop ,tenison's ,library1 #ab ,architecture1 library1 #bai ,assistants1 #bab1 #bag-bai 8,athenum01 ,the1 #aha ,baillie's ,institution1 ,glasgow1 #bc ,bath1 adoption of ,library ,act1 #bb ,bibliography1 #aca1 #aga1 #bbj1 #bbc1 #bbe ,birkbeck1 ,george1 #h ,birkbeck ,college1 #h ,birkenhead ,public ,library1 #bb1 #fd ,birmingham ,commercial ,library1 #hj ,birmingham1 library rate1 #bg ,birmingham ,public ,libraries1 reference library1 #de1 #dh1 #ej ,bishopsgate ,institute1 reference library1 #ea ,blackburn1 adoption of ,library ,act1 #bb ,blind1 libraries for the1 #ia-ie1 #aga ,board of ,education1 #bjh-bji ,board of ,education as central authority1 #bjj-bja ,bolton ,public ,library1 #ba1 #hj ,book issues1 #be1 #dj1 #da ,book selection1 #cd-cf1 #ed1 #ig1 #abi-acj1 #agi1 #bae1 #bbc1 #bbd1 #bbh-bce ,book selection for children1 #fh1 #gj-gb ,book selection1 periodicals1 #eg1 #ei ,book supply1 #da-dc1 #gj1 #aje1 #adb ,bookbinding1 #db1 #ahj-aha ,bookbinding demonstrations1 #bah-bai ,book-box system1 #ach1 #aci1 #ada1 #adb1 #add1 #adf1 #adi1 #afd1 #afe ,books1 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#de1 #ej1 #hi1 #aja ,cardiganshire ,rural ,library1 #adj ,carnegie1 ,andrew1 #bc1 #be1 #gg ,carnegie ,rural ,library ,scheme1 #ca1 #aci ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 annual report1 #adj-ada1 #ade-adf ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust and ,central ,library for ,students1 #ade-adf1 #aij ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust and ,national ,library for the ,blind1 #ib-ic ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust and rural libraries1 #ca1 #aci ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 ,scotland1 #aci-adb ,carnegie ,united ,kingdom ,trust1 and training in librarianship1 #bac ,catalogues1 #ci1 #dj1 #aga1 #ahb1 #bbf1 #bcb ,cataloguing1 #agi1 #bah ,central clearing house1 #agj ,central ,library for ,students1 #aaa1 #agj1 #agg1 #ahh1 #aij ,central ,library for ,students1 relations with rural libraries1 #adc1 #ade1 #adg ,central repository1 #aci1 #ada1 #adb ,centralization in library system1 #bi-cj ,rural1 #acg-ach1 #afa ,urban1 #afi-baj ,chambers of ,commerce1 #he ,chelsea ,public ,libraries1 #ea1 #aja ,cheltenham1 adoption of ,library ,act1 #bb ,chetham ,library1 ,manchester1 #aa1 #ag ,children1 books for1 #abi-acj ,children1 library work with1 #baf1 #bai ,children's ,libraries1 #fc-gd1 #bje-f ,children's ,reading room1 #fc1 #fd ,choice of books1 ,see ,book ,selection ,christian ,socialists1 #aj ,city and ,guilds ,institution1 #aid-aie ,classification1 #ec1 #hc1 #bac1 #bbc1 #bbe-bbf1 #bbg ,closed system1 ,see ,open access ,coats ,libraries1 #ace1 #aci ,cobden1 ,richard1 #ac ,cockerell1 ,mr4 ,douglas1 on bookbinding1 #ahj ,commercial ,libraries1 #gd-ia1 #bai ,co-operation1 #agd-agf1 #agg1 #aif-aig ,co-operation1 rural #aej-aee ,co-operation with industries1 #ig ,co-operation with outside organizations1 #aag1 #aej-aee ,co-operation with schools1 ,see ,schools ,cork1 adoption of ,library ,act1 #bb ,correspondence classes1 #bab ,county ,education ,authority and rural libraries1 #adi ,county library schemes1 #acg-aci1 #aef-afj ,coventry1 #bb ,coventry ,public ,library1 #bb1 #da1 #abj1 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,library1 #adj1 #afc ,winchester1 adoption of ,library ,act1 #ba ,wisconsin1 ,university of1 #afa1 #baf ,wolverhampton ,public ,library1 #bb1 #bg ,woolwich ,public ,libraries1 lectures1 #aja ,workers' ,educational ,association1 #ii1 #aaj-aaa1 #aai1 #adb ,working ,men's ,college1 #aj 8,workshop theory10 #cf ,yorkshire ,village ,libraries ,association1 #ace ,young ,mens' ,christian ,association1 #aej1 #aec1 #aed ,young ,women's ,christian ,association1 #aej ,,recent ,,new ,,books ,the ,story of the ,mikado ,by ,,sir ,w4 ,s4 ,,gilbert4 ,illustrated by ,,alice ,b4 ,,woodward4 #fs4 net4 ,postage #f;d4 extra4 8#8,the ,story of the ,mikado1' with its beautiful illustrations1 should be one of the most popular books of the season40--,the ,sphere4 ,the ,luck of the ,bean-,rows ,a ,,fairy ,,tale ,,for ,,lucky ,,children4 ,illustrated in ,colours by ,c4 ,,lovat ,,fraser4 ,with a ,dedication to ,h4,r4,h4 the ,princess ,mary4 #fs4 net4 ,postage #f;d4 extra4 8,those who are wanting a ,christmas book for the small folk would do well to look out for this40--,the ,bookman4 8,the book is a gem of modern typography1 and will be treasured as such40--,the ,observer4 ,the ,haunters and the ,haunted ,a ,collection of ,authentic ,ghost ,stories and other ,tales of the ,occult and ,supernatural4 ,edited with an ,introduction by ,,ernest ,,rhys4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 net4 8,familiar tales from literary sources qualified for admission by being superlatively well told40--,scotsman4 ,the ,south ,sea ,bubble ,by ,,lewis ,,melville4 ,demy #hvo4 #bes4 net4 8,an admirable piece of work 444 it has the fascination that1 human nature being what it is1 lurks about all great swindles40--,evening ,standard4 ,literary ,impressions ,by ,,jules ,,lema,,tre1 of the ,french ,academy4 ,translated by ,a4 ,w4 ,,evans4 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4 8,the translator may be congratulated upon his skilful choice4444 ,it was wise to choose from the mass of ,lematre's criticisms his treatment of celebrities as an introduction to his work40--,times ,literary ,supplement4 ,elizabeth ,inchbald and ,her ,circle ,by ,s4 ,r4 ,,littlewood4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4 8,the reader will close the book with great gratitude to ,mr4 ,littlewood and a sense of having made the aquaintance of a captivating woman40--,spectator4 ,life and ,letters of ,john ,gay1 ,author of 8,the ,beggar's ,opera40 ,by ,,lewis ,,melville4 ,demy #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 net4 8,of ,gay's literary and social life1 ,mr4 ,melville1 with an enjoyably liberal employment of the letters1 both of ,gay and his friends1 gives a lively description40--,scotsman4 ,burma ,a ,handbook of ,practical1 ,commercial1 and ,political ,information4 ,by ,sir ,,george ,,scott1 ,k4,c4,i4,e4 ,new 7,third7 ,edition1 ,revised4 ,demy #hvo4 #bas4 net4 ,,daniel ,o',,connor1 #ij ,great ,russell ,street1 ,w4,c4#a ,,important ,,new ,,books ,history of the ,port of ,london ,by ,sir ,,joseph ,,broodbank4 ,two ,volumes4 ,crown #dto1 with #hj ,illustrations4 #fcs4 net4 ,limited ,edition printed on ,hand-made paper and bound in full ,niger1 #be guineas net4 8,these superb volumes1 which lend themselves much more readily to eulogy than criticism 444 are of genuine national significance2 their success should be immediate1 and their reputation permanent40--,daily ,telegraph4 8,a book to be read by all of us who have the honour to live in the greatest of existing1 or recorded cities40--,times ,literary ,supplement4 ,america and ,england ,by ,c4 ,r4 ,,enock1 ,f4,r4,g4,s4 ,demy #hvo4 #bes4 net4 8,it is an admirable survey 444 ,the information is adequate1 correct1 and up-to-date1 and it is not only useful for reference1 but easily readable40--,times ,literary ,supplement4 ,old-,world ,essays ,by ,r4 ,l4 ,,gales1 ,author of 8,studies in ,arcady40 ,crown #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 net4 8,mr4 ,r4 ,l4 ,gales has a lighter touch than ,henley ever possessed4 ,some delicate1 elusive other-worldly quality seems distilled from his pages1 whose magic the most prosaic must feel40--,outlook4 ,advancing ,woman ,by ,,holford ,,knight4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 net4 8,a singularly able discussion4 ,mr4 ,knight1 who was in #aiac the pioneer of the movement to open the ,english ,bar to women1 deals in separate chapters with women as jurors1 as lawyers1 as magistrates1 and in relation to the legal profession generally40--,times ,literary ,supplement4 ,ireland ,since ,parnell ,by ,,captain ,d4 ,d4 ,,sheehan4 ,demy #hvo4 #abs4 #f;d4 net4 8,a book which certainly helps towards an understanding of the tangle which is now in progress of being combed out40--,daily ,mail4 ,ireland in ,insurrection ,an ,englishman's ,record of ,facts4 ,by ,,hugh ,,martin4 ,preface by ,sir ,,philip ,,gibbs1 ,k4,b4,e4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 net4 8,i hope that ,mr4 ,hugh ,martin's #8,ireland in ,insurrection' will have the wide circulation and careful study which it deserves40--,the ,rt4 ,hon4 ,h4 ,h4 ,asquith1 ,m4,p4 ,the ,lady with the ,hands ,by ,c4 ,n4 ,,longridge4 ,crown #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 net4 ,a novel with peculiar attractions for ,devonshire readers4 8,mr4 ,c4 ,n4 ,longridge has a knowledge of a character and an engaging style4444 ,the story is interesting and written with considerable ability40--,bookman4 ,,daniel ,o',,connor1 #ij ,great ,russell ,street1 ,w4,c4#a 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note ,minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice4 ,hyphenation has been standardized4 ,for this version in the table on page #adh1 some of the headers have been abbreviated to allow the table to fit within the margins4 ,in the ,index 8,selborne1 ,roundell ,palmer1 ,earl of1 #ai0 was out of alpha order and was moved4 ,page number references in the index are as published in the original publication and have not been checked for accuracy in this e,book4 ,spelling was retained as in the original except for the following changes3 ,list of ,illustrations3 8,library of ,the ,south-,western0 8,library of ,the ,south-,eastern0 ,page #e3 8rom a railway company0 8from a railway company0 ,page #h3 8working mens' institution0 8working men's institution0 ,page #bg3 8to find ,wolverhamption0 8to find ,wolverhampton0 ,page #ch3 8could not even seen0 8could not even see0 ,page #gj3 8provided in the childrens'0 8provided in the children's0 ,page #ga3 8greater volume to more0 8greater volume of more0 ,page #hg3 8,stockton to ,middlesborough0 8,stockton to ,middlesbrough0 ,page #aja3 8free course of lectures0 8free courses of lectures0 ,page #agg3 8of interchange1 are manifest0 8of interchange1 is manifest0 ,page #bjb3 8ran as follow3--0 8ran as follows3--0 ,page #baf3 8,university of ,winconsin0 8,university of ,wisconsin0 ,page #bai3 8ten subject set0 8ten subjects set0 ,page #bbd3 8his own bibliogapher0 8his own bibliographer0 ,page #bbg3 8take the expect advice0 8take the expert advice0 ,page #bcb3 8appeciating good fiction0 8appreciating good fiction0 ,page #bda3 8,gloucester ,public ,libary0 8,gloucester ,public ,library0 ,page #bdb3 8of ,library ,act1 #afa1 #bb0 8of ,library ,act1 #af1 #bb0 ,page #bdg3 8,sir ,,joseph ,,bboodbank0 8,sir ,,joseph ,,broodbank0 ,footnote #dc3 8voluntary organizattions0 8voluntary organizations0