The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-07-09
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ever. Simple. commonplace entoyments
have lost their favor. This is far more
than a fanciful picture, and columns
literature. 1t is never written as such,
but the concluding chapters often fall
to the lot of the newspaper reporters to
JERSEY CITY LIBRARY.
1t is not meant by the above to
convey the idea that in the Jersey. City
distribution of the yellow-covered litera-
ture. The line between good and poor
fiction has been drawn somewhat higher
up in Newark, and there are prominent
people In Jersey City who, having seen
the evil effects OF introducing SO much
of the cheap sort upon their shelves,
In the Jersey City institution there
We're at the opening of the present year
43, 1923 volumes. In the Newark Library
umes. 1t will be seen that the two IL
braries have very nearly the same guam
tity of goods to deliver to populations
how they deliver these goods. The total
circulation of books in Jersey City for
the year was 1854, 395 volumes. In Newark
City, therefore. read more than Newark
last year by over 1900 volumes. Who
would have thought it. Newark is the
care as much for reading. Newark has
a right to think that it is as intellectual
as its ~neighbor; it had always. thought
" WAS q IilllC diiSdus IL IA lfulH De
tola. To be surpassed a few hundred
volumes or so would not mean much;
but by 60,000 volumes! How is 1t posi-
BILE? The solution of the problem, if
such it would appear, has been suggested
In foregoing paragraphs, and 1t is to be
partially found in the percentage of fic-
last year the percentage of fiction out
of the entire circulation was 78.4, which
is above the normal. jersey City's fic-
1 TSe RIsTsssn'a aIsy, f s2sssfer,e. W reads 50. !
per cent more fiction, which is approx
mately 10000 volumes, and represents one
third of Jersey City's large circulation.
sey City library was open 1854 days, while
that in Newark was open but 298 days, or
6e days less, and the solution is compare
number Of days upon the circulation will
be readily understood. and the 10000
volume superiority in fiction is explained
works are admitted there than here
WHAT Is A LIBRARY FOR ?
The above facts show plainly enough
~ularize a public. library. Jersey city
has a larger circulation than Newark but
It has also to enjoy the reputation of
ing cities (from the public library stand
point in the United States, Success under
such conditions is pen to comment. If
sey, .City',s circulation it could in all prob
ability do so within a year or two by
simply admitting to its shelves trashy
fiction.
AS was said in beginning, the two cities
represent fairly well the two sides of the
great fiction question in public lihraries.
ark stands contend that 1t Is better and
wiser to keep sensational books outside
even at the expense of circulation. The
faction which Jersey City represents in
the present article holds thai it Is better
for people to read such books han to
read nothing at all. and that if they
didn't read them they would he doing
things much worse. The writer leaves it
to the readers judgment which course is
the wiser