, 1880-06-13
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The Librarians Report Of Its
Progress During the Year.
Necessity for a Permanent Location
The Demands Of the Future.

The Board Of Directors OF the Public Library
held their eighth annual meeting yesterday
afternoon, President Shorey in the chair, an6
present Messrs- Hotz, Mason, Sprague, and
L5wenthal.
An amendment to the rules, providing that nc
| books except current periodicals Shall be pur-
chased without the approval of the Board, was
| agreed to.
| Mr.. Hotz, from the Committee on Admins
tration, recommended that IS cents and 81 CT
! tra be allowed the Clerk and Secretary respect
| lively for night service and 81 for Sunday sery-
/ ice. C0ncurred in.
The Special Committee appointed to investi-
! gate the condition Of the Library Fund was
granted further time.
MR. POOLE. THE LIBRARIAN,
presented his annual report, which was as fol-
lows:
The recent reports Of all public libraries con-
cur III the statement that the general revival in
eyery branch Of business during the past year
has diminished their circulation and the use Of
their reference books. The explanation Is in
the obvious fact that their patrons are so en-
crossed in business pursuits that they have not
80 much time for reading as formerly. Our
statistics show the same result, the circulation
for the past year being 6 per cent below TINT Of
falling or III the circulation Of the Lower Hall,
Or ce!ltral circulating department Of the Boston
een f@aay ana H. the Raf has been Is per
VIII Us, tho use Of reference. e books iss'Ha bus
pee, been larger than in any preceding year,
have exceeded those of 1875 and 1879. The
Library during the past year has been steadily
books purchased " were T In number % double @ the the
average purchases Of the three preceding years.
Il some plan hud been devised by which the
made aynit,LIc during the year in which the
taxes are levied the more liberal appropriations
Of 1879 and 1870 would nave a,lied iargeiy to the
Tho anrAf c1.ctn
year Or moro elanscs before the taxes levied are
collected aAd are available. The Board has al-
ns books ks Until it had o eear oey OF
to pay for them. When it is considered that the
Library was first opened to the .pus!ic in May,
prDstrafon came upon the country. it Ihay seem
little remarkable that it has grown to its
Ia s1e ad y 1ra with the
For four years OF this period of retrcnchment
IN every department Of the city's expenditures
the appropriations for the Library were barely
sufficient to pay its running expenses, without
buying book Or periodical. The uucxpended
balances Of the first ;Wo liberal appropriations
served TO de the ol or the
to this period Of commercial prosperity. Amid
these pecunary embarrassments tho Library
has made a growth and done work which
THE FRONT RANK oF SIMILAR AMERICAN 1Ssn-
TEr1oSs.
No library can show larger results for the [
enlightened community than Chicago, it would !
not have been strange If, in the dark days OF |
financial distress. the new enterprise had been |
abandoned or fatally crippled, That it has sur.
v1ved, and thAt it has won the confidence and !
of the public and the municipal !
authorities: is the omen of brighter
future before it. His Honor the Mayor,
fiji his recent address to the Council,
gives the Library his fullest support, and calls |
special attention to its most pressing need Of a
building adapted for its use which shall be ac-
cessible and fire. proof.
BOOKS
The number of volumes now In the Library il
8. - The number reported last yeur was co.
t23. The accessi0ns Of the year have been {, ~, |
Of which 7,799 have been bought and GIL given.
The number of volumes worn out and con-
ae1nned LII, Of which SIS were English |
prose fiction, :<}t juvenile books, II history, 4o
German liter1lturc, Q voyages and travels, 9
poetry und misce1lanies, and Is In other classes.
The accession Of pamphlets has been is., Of
which Ill have been bought and 3s3 given. The
amount expended for books was 81, Ijj. II. Tho |
following list shows the number Of volumes in
classes In the Library and the num-
Der Of volumes added to each class during the
rear: