Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1891-06-25
HOME LIBRARIES.
Established Practtcability of New Form
of Charitable Work.

Established Practfcability of New Form
i of Charitable Work.
The charity organization societies of
some of our large cities are gradually
extending their work among the poor
and passing beyond the lines of simple
benevolence. The Baltimore society is
cooperating with the industrial educa-
ton association and cooking schools in
efforts to teach the practical principles
of social science and to apply them to
every day life, and in Boston an excel
lent work has been done by the estab-
lishment of home libraries.
A glance at this plan will serve to
show at once its simplicity and the
amount of good which it can undoubt-
edly accomplish. A bookcase large
enough to hold fifteen books and five
bound periodicals is fastened to the
wall in the living room of poor fami-
ly, a boy or girl of the house, thirteen
or fourteen years old, being made IL
brarian and heS responsible for the
care of the library.
A club is formed of ten of the Gil
dren of the neighborhood, who meet
together once a week at the house
where the library is. At these weekly
meetings a visitor from the Children's
Aid society, which supplies the books,
is always present. The children then
return the books which were given out
at the last meeting, and take out others
to be read at home. When this has
been done the visitor, who is generally
a woman, tries to draw out the chill
dren's opinions of the books and to
quicken their interest in what has been
read
She also plays games with them, and
sometimes teaches sewing to any who
may have a liking for it. The books
include fairy tales, stories of travel and /
the lighter kind of history, and so
when the children reach the age at
which they are permitted to use the
public library they have learned to
read better class Of books than they
would choose if they had not had the
training of the home library.
The cost of a library complete, with
forms for keeping the records, is only
S25. This plan is undoubtedly an eff
fective means OF beneftting tie poor.
At an age when their character is form
ing, when their ordinary pursuits and
bring them into close con
tact with all that is worst in the byways
of great city, they begin TO realize
that there is something better and
brighter beyond their own daily rou-
tine, and are given an opportunity of
a legitimate and elevatins
pleasure.
The books which they take home to
read arc read by their parents and by
aeir older brothers and sisters, and the
little librarian in whose house the library
S placed awakens 10 IL sense of response
Oility and orderliness. The improve
nent spreads to tie rest OF the family, :
md the home becomes brighter and !
more cheerful.
The first of these libraries was started
n Boston four years ago and they now
number forty-six. The society which
las charge of them says that good.
emper, good manners and cheerful
less-what we must look for in chill
lren-follow directly in the train of
he work. Interest in reading the best
BOOKS is developed, the children's pride
5 stimulated by a sense of organization +
nd proprietorship, home amusement
nd occupation become realities, the I
amily tie is strengthened and indi-
idual character developed. "-Phila-
elphia Record.