Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-01-18

One of the busiest hives of working indus
try, SC to speak, is the Public Library of this
city. Almost any day, yes, every day in the
week except Sunday land We don't know
why not Sunday the reading room Is crowd
ed with all classes and of all ages, aud the
many different branches of science and litera-
ture, as well as the general news, are earn
estly consulted, from nine o'clock in the
morning TO nine at night.
When the Library is entered. the extreme
quiet of the place is very striking, and its in
fuence remarkably conclusive TO thoughtful
reading. Although the people, old and
young, are constantly going and coming
books are exchanged and wonderful amount
of necessary red-tspe transactions gone
through with, yet the silence is such that the
fall of pin might be regarded as an earth
quake, and one will be sure TO question with
in himself whether the quiet attendants or
the visitors will ever be able to speak above
whisper again.
To the spectator the quiet is really oppres-
| sive, and no one can endure it long without
falling into muse and recalling the quiet
/ spring days in the quiet old school house on
country bill side, when nothing but the
dreamy hum of the bees could be heard; or
fall in with the spirit of the place and try, at
least, TO read something.
All classes OF people gather information
from the Library, and its influence must per-
meate all the circles OF society in the city.
Indeed, it has been remarked that the city
could better spare five of its pulpits from the
moral influences that sway its people than
to lose the Library. This may sound rather
enthusiastic, but it is only meant to convey
the idea OF the irrepsrable loss that the de-
struction of the Library would occasion.
Perhaps the busiest days are when the puo-
,, lie school children are preparing their essays
At these times the accommodations OF the
room are hardly ample enough 20 supply the
demands of the searchtrs alter information.
There are now IL ,056 volumes belonging
to the Library, and the circulation reached
s,0S3 last month, an increase OF over l,00e
above December of 1883.
The selections embrace the widest range in
literature, while at the same time the trashy
stuff is studiously reiu ed admission 10 the
shelves, as it should be, certainly. Two hun
dred and eighty-iye new volumes were added
last month, and so rapidly have they disap-
pearet from the shelves that scarcely one can
now be found unemployed in its mission of
disseminating knowledge. This shows con-
clusively that the taste for reading, the desire
for infor nation, and deterH nation to ac-
quire both, is on the increase, rather than de-
clining.
The daily circulation now reaches 3l6, and
let it be considered that this public and free
supply goes generally to those who cannot
or do not, have libraries o. their own, and the
average of book-readers in our city will CON-
pare favorably with any other.
What books are generally read? would
be natural question at this point
While all the books in the Library are read
generally, many of them furnish Information
needed only by certain ella 'ses, as the spec
tally scientific purely Theological and
such works, SO that the demand for them may
not be so noticeable; but, it the Juvenile
stories are to be embraced in the line of fc-
ton, seventy-fve per cent of the readers
must be put down in that class. + P. Rowe
is probably the most popular, while Mrs.
Holmes and many others of that class Of