The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-09-17 00:00:00

LIBRARY ASSOCIATION of the UNITED

KINGDOM.

The fourth annual meeting of the members of the
Library Association of the United Xingdom was
opened on Tuesday in the Library of Gray's-inn. Mr.
J. A. Russell, Q.C., Master of the Library, presided.
The report of the council was adopted, as was a resolu-
tion instructing the committee to take no steps which
would affect libraries in the 'provinces without pre-
viously giving notice to those libraries and consulting
with the persons representing them. Several papers
were read.

In noticing the above meeting, The Times, in a leader
remarks
The Library Association of the United Kingdom
includes in its programme all public libraries, such
as free libraries, workmen's libraries, besides such
matters as the education of librarians, cheap material
for binding, and the formation of catalogues. . • .
With regard to the public libraries in our large
towns, it will be found that the managers, that is the
municipal authorities, must not be stingy either as to
the buildings or as to the books, or as to the staff. It
will be found necessary to classify both the books and
the readers, making many books more accessible than
others, and also giving some readers a readier access
to them. In the reading-room of the British
Museum there is what is called the Reference
Library, arranged round the wall. As the circum-
ference of the room is about 450 ft., ainl the shelves
are about 10ft, high, the total space is about 4,500 ft.
which would contain about forty thousand volumes.
Any reader has the uncontrolled run of these books,
and can take them down, lay them on the tables, or
on his own desk, without asking anybody's leave. If
it is his way to save himself trouble by giving it to
others, he can leave twenty volumes about on as many
tables for the assistants to replace on their shelves
after the closing of the Museum. An ordinary reader
may easily find for himself, and take down for himself,
all the books he will require for amusement or
instruction. Something of the kind, though not
quite on such liberal principles, will be found
necessary for our public libraries, otherwise the strict-
ness necessary for the many will much interfere with
the better use of the library made by the few. Yet,
in the case of such smaller libraries, the preservation
of the books is a secondary consideration. Books are
made to be read, and whether they are read or not,
they deteriorate in value so rapidly, that anS, harm
done to them by mere carelessness becomes a small
matter. Many thousands of volumes are annually
"sold for a song," as they say, after being carefully
preserved many years in good bindings and handsome
bookcases, but never once opened. Not a few thou-
sands are annually destroyed by fire. Let books be
used, even if they are spoilt in the using. They are,
indeed, in most libraries, private as well as public,
some few volumes of exceptional value. The Corpo-
ration of Leicester would not allow every artisan or
'prentice lad to handle as he pleased the "Codex
Leicestrensis ;" and every one must tremble to see
costly engravings in unwashed hands. This points to
classification in the frequenters of libraries as well as
in the books. Our libraries, we are now told, are our
Universities. If so, we should wish them to be
largely augmented and developed, but placed under
rules which will hurt nobody, but will be of the
greatest value to those who know how to make the
best use of a library. The librarians are the people to
ascertain what rules will answer the purpose and give
the least annoyance.