The Sunday morning news., 1891-02-01
MAY Be TWO MONTHS YET
But the Free Library Is
Getting Ready
for Us.
LIBRARIAN COLES VIEWS.
Something Short Of Ten Thousand
Books Arc Now in View
Other Interesting Details.

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1t really begins to look as though the
free public library. about which so much
has fean ea;d a.,d z--;tt.,, = .t.s<s+ /. !
y, = -ss7S : :
sssaoliSneu lhstisutloh.
The trustees have located It in the base
ment Of the eieoant na,v Prav;s5ent szv.
iaay p.,,b ps,sfs;..r =, vgst-...,-.s.,
%'uA 1,uiieank Vn uasnlh soii
street. near Warren. The location IS
good. The room Is large and airy. and
the entrance fI,erate. easv and inviting
= :. '.''e' s.tsA : y ea0s aau - s1aAas
Eight large double and three single
cases have been erected, with shelving
capacity Of Is. 600 Volumes nrov5de.i They
- .,,,,,,+ 80 49,. go -
= : ~ s4as ~ 1see - auu a1e P-aSse.
az intervals Of few feet on each side OF
the large room Its proposed to rail- of
large reading room IN the rear.
EIGHT THOUSAND BOOKS.
The old High School library. with its
four Thousand volumes of miscellaneous
literature and one thOusand Duf1llc liocl-
ments, whicn is to form the nucleus of
the proposed free library, has been thor
oughiy cataiogued and sheived in the
new cases. 10 these wlll soon be added
five to eight Thousand new volumes. The
purchasing committee has already or
dered 400 volumes, which win cost
$3.50.
The trustees have fitted up a room for
themselves 70 the right or the entrance.
In this cozy retreat found the new Il
brarian, Mr.. George Watson Cole. who
was appointed by tie trustees n Decem-
ber last. He was In conversation with
Mr. Alfred G. Herzog, who was appointed
first assistant BIZ The trustees last night.
petitive examination of some hall dozen
applicants last Thursday night Young
Frank Van Beuren of York street was
busy out in the large hall classifying
books
Mr.. John T. O2Conneil win have charge
of the accession department.
LIBRARIAN COLE.
Librarian Cole is an agreeable and en-
tertaining middiesaged gentleman. with
iron gray hair and placid, intelligent fea-
lures that give him the appearance of a
scholar He has been connected with
some Of the largest libraries Ia the coun-
try, and his experience IN affairs pertain
fng to public libraries Is somewhat exten-
size. While librarian Of the FltchDurg,
Mass, Public Library he complied 8
splendid catalogue Of over seven hundred
large pages, which has been elegantly
bound and is used in nearly all the big
libraries OF the country He was but re-
Gently connected with the Newberry LII
brary Of Chicago, which has one of the
finest collection Of books this side the At
lantic, and has fund OF S3.0G0,009.
Mr.. Gale could not say Just when the
library would be ready to be thrown open
10 the public.
'sIs may be two months, = he said In re-
Spouse TO my enquiry, s'possibly d mouth
OF six weeks. We are pushing matters
ahead AZ rapidly as possible f Will de
n.
curing books ordered. The Purchasing
Committee, Of which Mr.. William AIur.
ray is chairman, has already given Scrib-
ners' Sons an order, which, with other
smaller ones. will foot up over four thou
sand volumes. and the committee is still
at work searching catalogues for works
which are especially desirable.a
A GOOD DEAL OF FICTION.
sWhat viii be the character OF works
ordereds Well. tnat's easy. The library
will embrace every possible phase of Eng
lish literature, excepting, of course, the
cheap, trashy stuff generally known as
dime and nickel novels. Ny experience
convinceS me that seventy five per cent.
of fiction will scarcely supply the de-
maud
in what condition did You find the old
High School librarysv | asked Mr.. Cole.
Il regard it as au especially valuable
nucleus. 1t strikes me the books were
very carefully selected. The books are
already catalogued aud placed on the
shelves in such d manner tnat necessary
interpretations can be made. All OF
them, however. will have to be recovered.
You know there is nothing like uniform
ity.u
And what are to be the conditions
under which the public shall have access
TO the librarys'' asked.
.sWell, that's pretty hard to answer
iast now. don't know precisely what
are the ideas of the trustees. In the va
rious public libraries with which | have
been connected the borrower usually
signs an application for the use of books
aud furnishes a guarantee. The librarian