Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-01-20
MECHANICS LIBRARY.



Report OF the Library Committee.
Members Of Mechanics Society:
GENTLENEX: The material progress of
the society during the past year. although
not commensurate with the facilities that
have been provided for the accommodation
of its patrons, has still, we think, not been
retrosressive. Although it may never at
tain to the popular patronage it enjoyed in
it's halcyOn days, it is yet very much in
advance of what it was when We became
members of it, respectively from fifteen to
twenty-five years ago. Customs and
things in general have wonderfully
changed during the last quarter Of a CEN
tury. Although change is no: i certain
| indication OF progress Or improvement,
still society is more Or less influenced by
such changes. The masses arc more at
tracted by painted shadows than by solid
| substances. All kinds Of busi. ess, pro-
| fessiOns, institutions-and even the
churches-are i'll a measure compelled to
| resort to different grades Of sensational ad-
| vertis. ment, in order to stimulate, attract
and subs!d!ze public attention. All the
| different organizations of the country are
kept constantly before the public through
the publication Of their weekly or monthly
proceedings except those instituted on u
prOfessedly secret basis. IL is question
| able whether any open organization in Ian
caster county would long survive, if it
worked as quietly and as unostentatiOusly
as the Mechanics society. In the "hurly
Eurly" progress Of the present period,
associations rs well rs asSOciatOrS, are
likely to become obsolete, If they do not
occasionally advertise their whereabouts,
and What :hey arc doing. Under such Cir
cumstances we cannot expect to occupy
| very prominent position amongst tho Or
ganized institutions oil an artificial age, no
matter what the intrinsic character OF O'lr
association may be. Wo possess now about
| five thousand volumes, and we have .
number OF Intelligent ard industrious
readers, WHO, in proportion tc their num
ber, have read as many books Us in any
former year ; hence VIC believe that We
are dOin:. some good, and so long as we
have any evidence Of this. We ought to feel
encouraged to press onward. For the
profitableness OF the reading, we. do not
hold ourselves responsible, SO long as We
do not furnish anything that is immoral or
contraband of law. OF course, mere as
elsewhere, the demand is mainly for works
of "fiction," which doubtless have their
use, and even their abuse might be de-
mOnstrated to be better than no reading at
all.
The additions to the library during the
past year have been very limited, but We
| have had about one hundred volumes re-
| bound or repaired and VIC have largely
increased the area Of our book space, and
| facilitated the movement and examina-
tiOn of our books and although still i'm
perfect, yet it is far in advance Of what it
was at any period since the reorganization
of the society, about twenty-five years
ago.
We do NO: desire to conceal the fact that
| our list Of readers is much less than It
was a few years ago, either for special
cause or only temporarily. Doubtless
they find greater attractions elsewhere.
This cannot be because We do not possess
the books that ought to be read, but be-
cause We do not possess the facilities OF
access to the same extent as others.
There is too great y difference between
three hours, and six days open house in =
week, for the little difference in the price.
1t originally had not been the object Of
this society to cater for subscriptions out
side Of the organization to any special ex-
tent. The society was instituted for and
| by mecllanics-their families and especially
object and subscribers only secondary or
incidental, and that had been the charac-
ter of the society from its early institution
down to the present time but through
the neglect Of mechanics to avail them
selves Of its advantages, it OpcEcd it's doors
to all classes Of the community, and sub
scribers became primary object. FOrtu-
nately it husbanded the means it accumu-
lated during its prosperous career, and
these have mainly constituted the elements
of its prosperity.
The Mechanics society was Incorporated
in 1828-mOre than half century ago
and therefore may be deemed a patriarch
among the institutions of Lancaster. All
or nearly all Of its early cOtemporaries have
passed away, and it seems somewhat sin
gular that it should have been SO utterly
abandoned by those in whose special inter-
est it hid been originally instituted. Its
membership has finally dwindled down to
such 4 limited number that good list Of
paying subscribers. or an increased list Of
contributing members, would be 4 desir-
able object, and the question arises what
steps shall we take, if any, to secure either
of these ends. It has been the opinion
of the members of your committee for
some time that the price of subscrip-
and also that its operations should occa-
si0nally be advertised. For the past year or
two little or nothin. relating to this sOci-
ETY. and its library has appeared in the col
umns Of the public press-nOt even q list
of it's officers. Doubtless, there are many
people in the city Of Lancaster who are not
aware Of the existence Of such q library.
About every five or seven years y new
set Of readers appear upon the literary
stage, who know very little about and
take little interest in the institutions Of
the past, unless their attention is called to
them through some attractive means.
Under those ever. changing circumstances,
which peculiarly distinguish American So
ciety, the elders become absorbed in active
occupations, which direct their ..linds into,
to them, more interesting channels, SO
that they perhaps have little more extra
time than is necessary to scan the daily
papers. We believe that every man who
is raising family of children-and espec-
tally every poor man-Ousht to sustain
such relations to a good library as would
afford access to him and his fam.
lily. The Mechanics library fur
nisles all the facilities of access
that the masses Of society can afford
to avail themselves of. A good reading
room, with constant access thereto, has
its advantages, within certain sphere,
over one that is only accessible once q
week !; but it is very evident that mechan-
les and la!,Dring men, except in rare in
stances, have no time to spend in reading
rooms. Even students, in consecutive
reading and research. prefer to occupy
their private closets, SO that institutions OF
both these characters may occupy their
ss,c al NIT