The morning call., 1892-02-14
TIE MERCANTILE LIBRARY.

Tomorrow morning, after a vacation OF
some seven months, the Mercantile Library
Will reopen its doors IN its new home on
the corner of Van Ness and Golden Gate
avenues. There are larger and more COM
plete libraries in several OF the Eastern
cities; but it is not saying too much to assert
that there is no buOk-paTlor on this CONT
nent which can compare in spaciousnesS,
comfort, light and convenience with the
great hall IN which the subscribers to the
Mercantile VIII henceforth gather. The
room is 90X12) feet, and Is lighted by
tWenty-four large plate-glaSS windows, so
that in every portion Of the room the small
est print can be read on the darkest day.
The entire rear wall is hidden by shelves,
on which ictiOn Is to TepOse; people can
there fad every leading novel in the Ian
guage from TON Jones to the Crime Of
Sebastien BonnaTd" They can wander
from shelf to shelf till they find what they
want without troubling the librarians. In
the southwest corner OF the building, front
ing on the TWO avenues, is a drawing-rOom
for ladies, sumptuously furnished; and at
intervals through the room tall bookcases
are full of solid literature.
The Mercantile Library is a pet institution
with San Franciscans. At first it had hard
struggle to live; its infancy was spent in
financial throes. 1t is now on solid basis,
and there is every reason TO expect for it
hencef0rth a career Of uubroken prosperity.
and a continuance of the popularity II has
enjoyed. II owns its home, and will receive
some income from the upstairs Offices 1t has
to rent-its revenue would have been larger
had the building been four stories Instead of
two.
Il contains some %, coo volumes. But Of
these a large number are duplicates of o.
s0lete novels, works Of science which have
been superseded, and volumes Of back num-
bers of magazines and reviews. As the live
books increase these will gradually settle
down into the cellar, leaving residuum OF
the best books Of the times in the main hall.
No matter how many books 4 library con-
tains there are few which are read. OF the
100000 printed volumes in the British
Museum. and the 2J0).00O in tie Blblio-
th-que Rationale at Paris. il is doubtful if
more than -. 600 are ever called for, except
on rare occasions by students Of specialties.
With judicious management extended over
a few years the Mercantile Library may
contain on its shelves every book which the
suit.
In San Francisco, as elsewhere, the read
/ ing taste runs TO novels Sxty-six per cent
of The books taken from circulating libraries
/ in this city aud - per cent Of the books
bought are fcuon. There is nothing wrong
/ in this, SO long as tie fiction read 5 good Of
its kind. = really good novel is sometimes
as instructive and wholesome reading as a
work Of history, biography travels, science,
/ OF bellies lettres. But such novels are few
and far between, and their place is usuTped
By a class Of publications which are the
fruit of idle and ignorant Imagination, and
do not redeem their fancy with anything
which feeds the mind or takes hold of the
memory. OF all the novels which were
/ published in 1891, Miss Murfree's In the
| Stranger Peoples Country" and L las
/ "Bete Humane" are perhaps the only ones
! that viii be read four or five years hence.
/ Even CIaWf0rd's witch of Prague" died
/ prematurely. What poor food these are in
/ comparison with Nicolay and Hays Life
! of Lincoln" Remnants "Siberia," Fiske' 5
! american Revolution" aud Bryce's Amer
/ icaa CommonweaI. h."
Sill, maukjnd-aud especially tie farer
! half the.eof-waut novels 10 feed-Or to
! repress-the fancy; and libraries must SUP
/ ply them with what they want OF g out OF
/ business. The Mercantile Library proposes
! to stay; its only embarrassment will be to
! select from the mass Of fiction which is
/ going into print the books which are likely
to live at any rate for a few months. L
has been stated that the number Of novel:
/ now published in the English tongue every
year is equal to the number Of volumes
! issued annually by the Government Print
| ing Office at Washington. That is known
to be about 1000. At this rate there mus
be an average Of eleven novels appearing
every day of the year, including Sundays
| No library could undertake TO cope will
| such a food Of romance as that.