The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-06-12

will admit that he is the right man in
the right place. It is the fault Of the
system. There is actually no catalogue
corrected up to date and that is in itself
a serious drawback to the utility Of the
library. It will be urged that its pre-
paration would involve too large an out
lay. So be it, but while catalogue is
highly desirable, it is not an actual ne
cessity. Throw the book-shelves them
selves open to the public, give them the
right to select their books with their
own hands and the result will be a de-
cided benefit to both public and libra
rian. The time for claiming books to
shelves and putting them away in lock-
fast bookcases is gone by, and the trus-
tees should recognize the fact.
Loss and damage will not be the inev-
table result, as some might ex-
pect. Here are few facts that
tell their own tale. When Har-
ward University possessed a library
of 81, 900 volumes, no student ever hand
led single one until it was dealt out to
him by the librarian after being attired
in a brown cover, At present, out Of
100000, there are 1900 volumes in tn at
same library accessible to every student,
which they are free to take down, use
and replace at their own free will, un-
watched except by one another. The
books no less carefully treated than be-
fore. But if Harvard University is not q
fair parallel, here is another instance. In
the Boston Athen@um, every stock
holder is free to roam in every alcove at
will. But Boston is the hub of culture
and the comparison again may not be
quite just; here is another. From Paw
tucket, Rhode Island, public library
comes the guaranteed report that in a
manufacturing city of 10000 persons the
library keeps lying on it's tables, by act
ual count, 600 newspapers, magazines
and books and that, though 500 persons
sometimes sit at the tables in day, the
whole losses during ten years have not
amounted to ten dollars. For ten years
every book in the library has been as
freely at the use of all citizens as if it
were in their own private collection and
yet they have lost no more books with
this open system than other libraries
with their closed shelves. There are the
contents of the shelves to choose from
and no fear of anyone leaving the library
without book. What Pawtucket has
done, Helena can surely be trusted to
do. From the large cities, where the ex.
pertinent has been tried, come the same
unvarying reports Of success. Cleveland,
Ohio, has population OF 10000. In
the public library Of 1000 volumes, the
whole collection, except fiction and juve-
nile literature, is thrown absolutely open
to the public, being so arranged with
parallel and diverging alcoves as to place
all parts under the supervision of an at
tendant, and yet calling for no more at
tendants than any ordinary library. The
citizens thus really possess Of their own
library and the result is success.
1t is not to be supposed that there
will be no cases of loss and injury tc
books; such there must be in all libra
ries. But the statistics quoted prove
that the loss under the open system ii
not one whit greater than under under
the other. With these facts before then
it is to be hoped that the trustees of ou
public library will show their trust il
the good sense of the reading public o
Helena and by permitting free access t.
the bookshelves- some slight restric
tions may be wise and necessary-mee
a widespread demand.