The morning call., 1893-12-03
OUR LIBRARIES.

The United States Bureau OF Education
has just issued valuable pamphlet on the
growth of the library system in the United
States. From this it appears that there are
1904 libraries in the country con tanning 1000
volumes and over. Three of these contain
half a million volumes and over, and 81
contain over 100000. Of these latter Cali
fornia contains one, six which nave over
$4,000 volumes. and " which have over 1000
snd under $4,000 volumes. 1t need hardly
be observed that the leading libraries of
the country are in the thickly settled States
of the East.
There is this consolation for the newer
portions of the country. The value of a
library consists not in the number of books
it contains, but in the number of good
books. And these are generally new books.
Of the books of the past few are in
dispensable TO every well-equipped library.
But the number is small. Every new
book written by master hand destroys
the practical nature of score or hun
dred ola books. Even in works of imagina-
tion-whichi is not progressive-publc taste
changes with ripening civilization TO such
an extent that the number of old poets
who retain popularity may be counted on
the fingers. Political science and political
&c conomy make such strides with each gen.
Grafton that the historians of the past re-
tain little value. Grote wiped out all pre-
vious histories of Greece; Hume is out of
date as history of England; GuiZot left
nothing alive Of the previous histories of
France. As to natural science. it is hardly
too much to say that, if we except Button.
LinpBus, Newton and one or two others,
all the scientific books published before
1926 might be burned without much injury
to human knowledge. Thus it might hap
pen that a judiciousiy collected selection of
modern books containing 10000 volumes
may be more valuable than a library of
$4,000 containing the accretiOns of years.
and the Free Library of San Francisco
may thus come to compare in usefulness
with the Astor Library Of New York.
Commissioner Harris in designating the
class of books which should be found in
school libraries and which are read at
home enumerates "books of history, books
Of travel. popular expositions of science
and works of pure literature which fur
nish an insight into human nature. into
the springs Of human character and the
motives which govern mankind" What
he means is that the GradgrlDd philosophy
should not dictate the policy of school
committees, but that works OF Imagination
should take q place on the shelves of
school libraries as well as history, travel
and science. That is sound, with given
limitations. Such works as dime novels,
the tales of Old SleUth and mere love
stories are out of place In school Libraries.
They contain no information and impart
no training to the mind. But library
which did not contain the novels of Thack-
cray, Dickens. Scott, Reade. Cable and
Howells would neglect an important
branch of usefulness. Nor could thor
ough acquaintance with the language be
acquired without some study of Tennyson
and LonRfellow.
The cardinal defect of school libraries
which will be observed by every visitor
who cares TO inspect them-s that they
are collected without regard to the taste of
those for whom they are designed. They
abound in sound books which are so dull
that no boy will possibly read them il he
can help it. This error ignores the re-
served rights of the growing generation.
A teacher may place a book in a boys
hand and order him to read so many pages
of it. but unless the book pleases the boys
fancy he will not read it, or he will read it
perfunctoIily, with his mind far away on
football or baseball intent. Compulsiop
will not avail in such a case. But if the
same boy is supplied with a book which
excites his interest and appeals to his i'm
agInation he will not need tn be ordered to
read it, nor will his attention flag while he
has it in hand. That is why boys read
dime novels. Ii the purveyors of litera-
ture for the young supplied them with sto-
ries of adventure and drama, free from
the debasing tendencies of the Old Sleuth
order of books. and conveying informa-
tiop of men and manners now and in the
past, teachers would no longer have reason
to mplain that their pupils hated books.