Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-06-15
Our Free Public Library.

EDITOR BULLETIN:-Next to the school,
the press, and the pulpit, the most import:
ant educational influence in our midst is
unquestionably our Free Public Library.
Although, like our public schools, it is an
eleemosynary institution in so tar as its
management is concerned, and, similarly
again, the labors and even the personnel
of its Board of Directors are scarcely
known to the public at large, yet Its vital
mental circulation is immensely active,
and its effec: upon the intellectual energy
and progress of our city beyond calcula-
ton. This effect will be more apparent
in after years than now, for, like our
schools again, its more positive and i'm
pressive influences are upon our young,
while, unlike our schools, it supplies
mental appetite among our people gener-
ally which without it would in great
measure go unsatisied. The extent to
which the library is patronized is not gen.
orally understood. How many of our
citizens would suppose that /, 1915 differ
ent persons in this city had made formal
application for the use of the library since
the fire? Or that the reading of thirty five
of its volumes is completed dailys Or that
over four hundred volumes are constantly
in the hands of borrowers? AS a sample
of the more active days, on last Saturday
eighty-five books were drawn and seven
ty-three returned! This is something won
derful for library numbering upon its
accession catalogue only 1,191 volumes.
The secret of this remarkable success
lies in the fact that our library has been
made in the fullest sense of the term
a peoples institution. The pioneer libra
ry of its class in the State, the only one
in fact now i'll active operation, the re-
suits of it's three years work demonstrate
the great superiority of its system over
that of public libraries based on assocla-
ton and contributions of individuals and
open alone to their membership. Our IL
brary is supported by one-mill tax and
is open to all our citizens without fee
This makes it not only a public library,
but a free public library. Libraries based
on the association plan are called "pub-
lie " to distinguish them from the libra.
ries of individuals. OF this class Iowa
had in 1875, twenty libraries containing
over 800 volumes each, Dubuque leading
off with 5000 volumes. In comparing
the results of the two systems, take the
Des Moines public subscription library
containing in that year 3, 440 volumes, and
contrast its yearly circulation of only
5,025 volumes with our yearly circulation
of IL, 600 volumes for the same period,
our library then containing only 914 vol
umes! In other words each book of the
Des Moincs library was read on an aver.
age less than twice during the year in a
city of $4,000 inhabitants, while each
book of cur library was read more than
thirteen times in city of $500 lnhab-
itants. OF course this is a statement Of
averages, rather than of actual reading,
for some books are read much more than
others in all libraries, but the comparison
is fair nevertheless. Ottumwa, with a
subscription library of 800 volumes, re-
ported yearly circulation of only $500
volumes, and Waverly with 800 volumes
a yearly circulation of 5000, this being
the most favorable showing of that class.
But while the success of our free libra
ry and reading room has been so marked
as to command not only general favor at
home, but the warmest expressions of ad-
miration from intelligent strangers, so
that our city may very properly regard it
with reasonable pride, yet it is after all
only in its embryonic stage, and it be-
hooves US to examine carefully its defic-
iencies as we'll as learn how we may best
utilize what we have. To this task
shall address myself, with your permits.
sion, in subsequent articles.
J. L. LOOMS