Evening star., 1895-06-05

propriate anrually an amount equal to
the income Of that sum for the maintenance
OF free library. The private endowment
therefore, became merged in the public
undertaking. and except for the name
which perpetuates the memory of the gift
the institution would appear simply as a
munlcipal enterprise on the part of the
city of Baltimore.
The argument advaEced in the above
report was for a library that should sup
piement the work of the common school.
Ihere was not then foreseen the movement
which is now enabling the public library
TO complement the work of the common
schooi' AS result of this movement tde-
Neloped under the leadership of Worcester
Mass pubilc library the schools draw di-
rectly upon the library for books to be
USED IN class work; that the library is
woven in with the whole system of COM
mon school education. In this way the boy
or glrl who, after completing the grammar
or nigh school course-and ii must he re-
membered that but one in four who enter
the high school completes the course-can-
not afford collegiate education, but must
go forth at once into some active career,
still by familiar experience equipped to
pursue a higher education in the nuhlic
nbrary; all the best that mankind has had
to say in history, science or. art, being
placed freely at his service.
Advantages of City Library.
There must not be overlooked endowed
libraries that are successfully doing the
entire work fer certain communities; Of
which the Enoch Pratt-with the Peabody
Institutes the most conspicuous exam
pie, ard of which a legion of others, with
lesser endowment have sprung up all over
the country. But the work which these
libraries have had to do, to provide the
Iacllites which they have provided for the
individual citizen of these communities is
but 1.-THE of the work that will have to
be done to provide similar facilities for the
individual citizen of New York city Nor
is it merely that an endowed library is all 3
most Invariably cramped for funds for
administration. Identified as IL is by name
with the original donor, 1t fails to attract
gifts from other persons, who are not con-
tent to have their benefactions merged in
ms, yet who might be glad to share with
him the honor of giving to a city institu-
tion. The Boston public library has be-
come distinguished even above most special
libraries for the richness of its Special col
lections. The greater number of these-the
Ticknor, of Spanish literature; the Bow
ditch, OF mathematics: the Lewis, of early
printed books on America; the Allen A.
Brown musical library, and tho Cham
berlain collection of autographs-have
come TO IT as gifts and undoubtedly have
turred to it, not merely because il is a free
library, but because IT is a city library.
This latter fact has aided it. too to the
purchase Of special collections te.g., Bar
ton), on singularly favorable terms. So
that, although established primarily for the
work Of general education, it has come to
be among the first of American libraries in
that class of material of interest to the
special student. Add, then, the direct edu-
cational value to the citizens who use il,
of library which they feel 10 be their
own to maintain. well as enjoy, and
there would seem to be strong reasons for
saying, that no endowed library can do
the fullest work for the community, with
funds, and in some form, municipal con-
troll