The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-07-10
has shown more enterprise also shows a
larger circulation.
GEO. WATSON. COLE.


MI. Coie:s lecture.
The following is the lecture alluded to
by Mr.. Cole
This question brings forward anew the
old one az to the functions of the free
PUBLIC library. Shall 1t supply It's pa
t irons to- whom It owes its ex-
and demand in return for their support?
Members of mercantile libraries Justly
1eel a sort 81 proprietary interest in
giving them large numbers of duplicate
copies Of current popular fiction. The
pu5lic Library. with q more general pa
this practice by. purchasing only a i'm
tied number OF duplicate copies. The
question is virtually the same in both
the readers, who, just as truly pay Tor
It's support as do the members of a mer-
camille library, and are not brought into
such close relationship with the Il
to bring that Individual pressure to bear
upon s its Management. by threats Of
wise. which can be done in a mercantile
library by a dissatisfied member. He
says. and with apparent reason and jus
Joined this library to get such books to
read as suit my tastes. If / cannot get
them here. I Will withdraw my support
where can procure Them" s'ss~1sf
The reader in the public library has
just as much right. and often more. to
towards the l;brary's support shall be
expended to supply him with popular
fiction. The library is in existence BY
duty to cater to all the classes that 90
towards making up the community in
which 1t is established.
The late DR.. Poole, with his usual
this point:-"in the public libraries which
are growing up In our land, fully four
b looks IS IS spent las Money IN Worss pp adpppted to t fPe
wants of scholars. In the larger librar-
es the proportion is even greater. 1t is
hardly becoming for scholars who en-
ADAPTED to the wants OF the masses who
bear the burden Of taxation."
CAN'T SKIP THESE.
A Word here may not be out of place
as to the statistics Of fiction reading
Wnsn ts enmp ans With those Of STANDARD
ta.ria by which to judre of the amount
Of solid reading, so called. done in the
community. In the first place it takes
,orlger to read a book of the latter class
shsn a work of fiction.
The omnfverous reader will devour sew
eral novels white the studious reader IS
reading a single standard work. Then,
again, 1t takes go much more time to
read sta ndard works that they are more
tut it must 'fbe be a g eotd noe novel ao indee e9r thst
$ welcome to these same shelves. For
fiction in general such readers rely al
No one, SO far as I know. defends the
admiss.cn Of impure or immoral fiction
INTO the public library. and few, scarcely
of the standard novel;sts. The whole
question, then, hinges upon the admit
lance of works of inferior merit. so that
% bel admitted (as In the Germantown
library, where fiction IS with consistency
entirely. excluded. and becomes one en-
AfANfry - - Ar-@ - lnr-
IN toto from the question of free thea
tiers and other amusements of a similar
nature, about which We have no gener-
ally accepted standard of dissent or APP
prevail.
Much has already been written upon
he subject now under discussion; it IS
SANITY. Such being the case, it is hard
o say anything new concerning it, and
may be %pardoned If I quote at length
rom those writers whose opinions are
.ntitleea to weight on this po nj. The
conditions remain UNCHANGED from what
they were twenty or thirty or more
ant.pathy or prejudice which existed
New ENGLAND. when novel read.ng was
almost ctassed among the deadly sins.
IN FAVOR OF NOVELS.
Time has wrought a great change in
his sentiment, and, as we believe, for
me voices the aguments of years ago.
now happily exploded. Ever, as far back
ION the whole. the verdict must, we
think he in favor Of the novels. though
fashion to make. The objection rests.
we think, upon the assumptions, neither
y which is more than partially sound
confined to novels, and that, there IS
- T]assiti y, good to co.nteroa r. IS bo ,ne
brings to the ordinary mind at least as
much rood as Ill. a Revere is
y itself beneficial. and all that novel
,haracters and situations imagined by
Mr.. Samuel s. Green, a well known
he Subject OF .'.sensational Fiction in
Public Libraries" from which I make
sslect a few. hundred dollars
worth of books for young persons in
we'll satisfied with all sensational novels
eft out of its library. IT did not put
IN the list a single book na 9y E Nas M,
,"~castlemon'), or any other sensational
writer for the young. Had there been
4 great shoe shop or cotton factory IN
ne books. and sensational works of a
good quality had not been elsewhere &C
sess:bIe to operatives. should nave
brought a small supply of the books OF
the authors just mentioned into the
library
Dr.. Poole was accustomed to take a
thoroughly practical and sensible view
IN all questions of library management
that came to his attention. I hin he
| never said more appropriate or truer
! subject In a paper which appeared in the
second number of he Library Jour
nal entasled Some Objections to PUB
WHERE is THE sKULE MASTER?
| iates to the kind and quality of books
circulated" he said
1.-THE mass OF the community have very
| little literary and scholarly culture and
| need more Of this culture, and the pur-
| crease it.. This is done by placing In
| their hands such books as they can read
With pleasure and appreciate. and by
stimulating them to acquire the habit OF
reading. We must first interest the
| reader before we can educate him; and
| own standard Of intelligence. The scholar
In his pride of intellect forgets the pro-
| g~ressive steps he took in his own mental
development, the stories read. to him in
| the nursery, the boys book of adventure
in which he reveled with delight, and
tears In his youth. Our objector. sup
poses that the masses will read books
| of his standard If they are not supplied
| with the books to which he objects; but
| he Is mistaken. Shut up to this choice.
they will read no books; when the habit
| of reading Is oncs acquired, the readers
| taste, and hence the quality of his read
ing. progressively improves.
'If our objectc.rs. mourn over the
standard of books which are, e by the
J. - II D.. 1xa nnonlA hrr fhh f. Z