The herald., 1893-01-21
THIS IS A CITY OF READERS.
Features and Scenes at the City
Free Library.
The Patrons of the Establishment
Constantly Increasing.
school Girls Keep the Clerks Busy in
the Afternoon Indications of
the Growing Demand
for Books.

A PUBIC institution which ls desery
ing of more than an occasional pres
notice is the Los Angeles free library
Under the present board of directors au
the librarian, Miss Tessa j.. Kelso, it ha
become second to none in the state. no
even excepting that of San Francisco
and it is conducted in far more orderl,
style. The directors are alive to ever,
innovation that can be made, and ar
never slow in seizing upon it.
No institution is of the Importance o
a public library for diffusing knowledg,
among the classes, and that they art
willing to avail themselves of the priv
lege is evidenced by the statistics. 1t it
between the hours of and 4 that tia
library shows its most busy scenes. AT
that hour hundreds of school girls pre-.
sent themselves for the purpose of OBJ.
tanning books for home use, and at that
time the attendants have their hands
very full. Were it not for the syste m
In vogue in the library, granting a mum.
ber OF young ladies a course of studies
Tor several months on condition that
they render three hours service daily
behind the counters, it would be utterly
impossible for Miss Kelso and her as.
sistants to wait upon one-third of the
applicants.
The reading rooms, too, are constantly
we'll filed, this being especially the case
with those reserved for men, and the
class OF readers in the general reading
room is far above the average, intellec-
tuslly speaking, while in the reference
room, of course, only students appear
The system of allowing every respect
able persons, under certain conditions, to
become men, Der of the library, when he
or she is privileged to carry home books,
hes become SO popular that, on the Fl rat
OF this month the active membership
consisted of 10.284. The home issue of
books for 1898 was 233, 1858. In order to
show the ever increasing demand for
literary food among the reading classes
of the city, it may be stated here that.
while in October the issue of books was
1910, in November it was 20,146, and
in December, 34,414.
The directors have, notwithstanding
the constant requests for new books,
been obliged to cease purchasing any,
and this for some time to come owing
to the present precarious state of the
library fund. The board feels that the
~hole usefulness of the library will be.
come impaired unless more room is
placed at its disposal, and as a measure
OF instant relief have asked the council
for special appropriate of $250O for
the establishment of delivery stations
in different sections of the city, feeling
confident that if the city fathers will ap.
point committee to investigate this
matter it cannot fail to report favorably
upon the scheme.
A good idea inaugurated lately by the
library on ouhuAysf aiIu Iegni nvrIuays
from l to 80 p. m. instead of to as
heretofore. Indeed, why the public
library should not be kept open all day
at all times does not seem very appar-
ent, as many people have no better way
of passing their leisure time than in
reading for pleasure or the requirement
of knowledge.
The list of newspapers in the reading
room is somewhat limited and the light
is far from good The gas jets are in
sufficient in number, the gas of poor
quality, and there is need of overhaul
ing the whole thing That is about the
only complaint that can he heard and
the matter of lighting can easily be
overcome,