New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-05-13
THE READING ROOMS AID LIBRARIES.

TIE READING ROOMS AID LIBRARIES.
Generally the notice ut the entrance toa public
library reads, " Open daily except Sundays The
exceptions are very few. SOmc Ike the LcnuA
Library, arc open only two or three times week,
or. like the Aston Library at certain hours OF the
day. and are closed IN the evening az well ~ on
SUNDAY A score or 81 of circulating llbrIre, e.
tablished by local hOoEScllerS are scattered about
over tine city, many OF them having comfortable
reading rooms wnere a fcw regular patrons may be
found at their places ever sun lay one OF tho
most popular OF these i in Mulberry ST. opposi tie
Police Headquarters. But for sunday reading the
most requentcd and the most complete place IN the
city is the Cooper | niCn Library and Roaming
Room. lew of the churches have larger or more at
tcntvo congregations than II az bo seen there IN a
sunday afternoon or evening during half of tho
wear. Thr hours Of admission on Sundays are from
noon until 10 p. m. and the average attendance
during the last winter was I,GOo "n sundays,
though on sc,eral occasions II reached - 100. Ihc
average daily attendance during thr week was
-. 100, the largest number being present III the
evening after working hours. There are nearly
800 daily papers on file. all The lea ling magazines,
and u large and well selected library. No rcstric
ton ~ placed on the reader. and all respectable
persons are admitted These represent the traces and
yocations IN which sunday Is the omly day Of cls
ure. large number are men of thIry Years and
upward. some with white hail and bent figure, that
tell declining years No record Is kept OF the ages
of he readers, but at least One-thru appear be
under thirty. One room ~ gwen solely To the use
OF women. Though many of the men appear OF
American birth. foreign traits are traCcabe in the
features of thu majority. OF these the Engl Sh AMI
the ScOtch-lrIsh types were most numerous on "A re
cent sunday German faces were frequent aud
there were Hebrew cOuntc lancrs a lew Italians
several cOlOrcd men and one Japanese. The libra
ran sad 100 books and 200 magazines were taken
out GU sunday. About halt OF the books Wefe
works of fiction, but nearly - por cent were
books of travel, history and general literature
There was always "a demand too. for works purely
scientific. and some requests for such books as Pat
ent Office Reports The reading aud library OF
the Cooper Union only remain open sundays six
month, OF the year. hey are now closed and will
remain 20 until October.
The YCung Mems Christian Association Library,
at Twenty -thlrd-st. and Fourth-ave., has 10000
volumes, and 1t sOpen from in the afternoon until
10 at night % all persons. In the TcadIng-rOom all
religious papers may nad but access 10 the daily
papers is not given on Sundays In the library tie
ton and the lighter poets, tho librarian cx-
planned, and medical works are not II, en- out The
library has large number of medical books. and
many OF those who visit II on Sundays are medical
students attending the colleges IN the neshbornood;
the line is drawn 10 prevent the room beng made
a resort for study. The average attendance is
about fifty on sunday nearly all Young men be
tween twenty and thirty years Of age. Religious
services held in the afternoon and evening to
which all in the library are invited but attendance
il optional with them. At O'Clock n light meal ~
given the Bible class in the building, to which those
in the library are also invited. More than hundred
men eat AT this table every Sunday e7enDg. The
Association has a large branch in the upper part OF
the city, the library and reading room of which are
regulated in like manner. AT the Grand Central