The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1881-03-12
For the Union.
A WORD OR TWO ABOUT LIBRARIES

Among the most useful institutions of
the day subscription and public Libraries
hold forward place in the leading
sources of general benefit ; their visitors
and subscribers especially partaking
largely Of their advantages. And if
any improvement really be wanting in
their management, that possibly might
Be found in adopting more thorough
preventive against the circulation of any
publication of doubtful tendency to
youthful minds.
The natural fondness ofnovelty, COM
mon to youth, especially where it has
not been guarded with watchful care
against inroads upon innocency, finds
at least some scope for indulgence; and
thoughtlessly librarian may occasion
ally have been blamed for the supposed
neglect of a proper discrimination be-
ing observed in the distribution or de-
livery of books to youthful applicants.
But it is manifest that to prevent such
occasional mishaps the library should
have the cooperative aid of parents, as
it is chiefly through their discardance of
duty that any such mishap may be al
lowed to occur. Surely parents should
give attention to seeing what books are
asked for by the youthful members of
their families, as it is not expected that
tthe4 Librarian can form acquaintance
with the contents of each book having
a place in the library. Nor would it be
considered privileged question for
him to ask who was to be the reader of
book delivered. Moreover the sub
Scribers usually make their own selec-
zion of books, and having done SO, the
book is merely shown to the librarian
who may consider his duty done by
making a record of the delivery thereof.
Without parental cooperation with
the library, however, a young miss, for
example, in her teens, may obtain
through the presentation of her own, a
brothers. or sisters ticket Of member
ship, any book she may ask for, and the
book may be read without the slightest
knowledge being lad of its contents by
her parents, at least that is just con-
clusion to arrive at, for it's we'll known
that the exercise of parental control,
parental influence, especially in large
cities, is no longer as it was in by-gone
days.. Indeed it may almost be said
that many parents scarcely spare time
from office duties, visiting and other
outdoor engagements to allow sufficient
acquaintance being had with the man
ner of pastime or the habits that are be-
ing formed by the younger members of
their own families.
The writer, without arrogating to
himself much acquaintance with library
matters, is tempted, ignorantly it may
be, to ask if it would not be we'll as a
further precaution in behalf of youthful
readers having free or too free access to
the books of those institutions, for a
fixed number, say two or three, of the
regular attending officials whose duty it
would be to classify the books of the en-
tire library, and one of each of those to
make himself as well acquainted as pos
sible with the books, and especially all
n00eb, of the particular class or classes
assigned to his supervision, and that
they, with the librarian, would see that
proper discrimination be made by ap-
propriating particular books for youth
full reading; and that they also exert a
controlling influence in making selec-
tions for purchases of all books required
for the library.
1t may be said that some of those in
stitwtions, in order to be self-sustaining,
have not enough of revenue or material
aid for efficiently correcting the defects
that may pertain to the mode of pres
ent management. Educated aids,
whose attainments fit them for proper
discharge Of the duties of such situa-
tions, can, if desired, command remu-
neration for the required services of the
institution greater than the means there
of will admit. And hence it may be
not so much a matter of choice with re-
spect to the desired correction by those
having charge as it is of necessity, re-
stricted as the outlay probably is to the
means at command. Should this in
deed prove to be the case might not an
appeal to the wealthy of our citizens
freely meet with satisfactory result /?
And while the means thus obtained
would not only serve to relieve those
whose lively interest and generous hearts
have already led them to devote much
of their time and most literally of their
means to those institutions, but such
material aid would also prove cheering
to many earnest wishers for the increas-
ed success of the Libraries. P.
BALTIMORE, March 9TH, 1881.
D@~In England all the nobility live