New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-12
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
r,r NEED OF MORE AGENCIES FOR THE
CIRCULATION OF BOOKS.

MAYOR STRONG THE neutrality-suspicious.
BY Ex-JuDGE HENRY E. ROWLAND.
ANDREW CARNEGIE AND JOHN
1. CADwALADER.
rub,,c meeting was held yesterday afternoon In
-h,ckering Hail. Fifth-ave. and Eighteenth-st.
,rder the management Of the New-York Free Cir
.ulating Library Society. for the purpose OF an
,onncng the need of establishing at least ten more
honches of the free circulating library In certain
d,stricts This city has at present only rev sucn
~r,ss circulating something like 100000 VOL
Mos a year 1t is however. estimated that II the
circulation was at all proportionate 10 the popua
,on at least 100000 volumes should De ois'riou'eo
every year. The society. In order 10 meet 'he heeue
~ the population. wishes TO establish at once the
hranches mentioned the cost Of which Will range
., s25 oOo N $4,000 each The object Of yester-
aav's meeting was to attract public attention to the
project and aid in It's furtherance.
Mayor Strong presided. Among those on the plat
form were Andrew Carnegie. j. Frederic kernochan.
exJudge Henry E. Rowland. the Rev. DR.. Thomas
callaudet. Jacob H. schiff, Frederick W. Stevens.
pentamin Franklin Cornelius n. Bliss. William
creenough Henry Marquand George c. Clark.
Richard James Cross John l.. Cadwalader. Arthur E.
Rostv,ck De Witt j. Seligman. William Solomon
and Dr. Henry NJ. Leipziger. The body OF the hall
was well filed by large audience interested In
the extension Of the free circulating library system
inc the arrival OF Mayor Strong who. when he as
cended the platform from the front. was greeted
with cheers In opening the meeting he apoiogzed
for his lateness by saying that the Mayor OF New
York could not always control his own time. ever
on a Saturday afternoon. Continuing. he said: ut
o,vss me great pleasure be so honored as to be
collected TO preside on Interesting occasion
th,s-an occasion In which all people OF the city
a, New-York Of all classes, Of all religions take
thu greatest interest"
EX-JUDGE HOwLAND'S ADDRESS.
Mayor Strong called upon ex-Judge Rowland to
make the first address. In part Judge Rowland
said 1T will hardly be credited that sixteen years
ago when this library started. there was not
MACE In this city, the largest the American Con-
t,nent where a person could get book to read at
home unless he bought it, paid for Its use borrowed
or stole IT, 1t was almost the only city of the Union
without public library and was In this respect
surpassed by almost town and village In New
England. New-York and many other States. 1t was
enriched by the great Aston and Lenox collections,
which were somewhat inaccessible, and hedged
around by such restrictions to hours and the use
of the books only in the library buildings that they
we're useless save to the leisure class the wealthy
or the scholar.
"The harvest that TO be reaped from Guilt
walton OF the field is shown In the fact that. with
an expenditure OF $4,000 and collection OF DOCKS
numbering about eighty-one thousand. the library
IA. circulated them during the last year among
s4 900 readers with scarcely the loss OF book, and
has risen in point Of circulation TO the third place
IN the country being surpassed only by Boston and
Chicago.
Boston seventh in population but first In library
nrogress has spent g. 1900 for its Public Library.
gives 1t over 1000 yearly has 100000 volumes,
and circulates by the help Of nine branches and
sixteen delivery stations, nearly 100000 volumes.
II We circulated proporuonately, our circulation
would be 5000 900. Chicago, the second city. appro-
PIRATES $4,000 public money yearly. and from Its
200 900 volumes circulates. with thirty eight pranch
agencies over 100000 among 10000 users.
philadelphia appropriates $4,000; ST. Louis gives
its public library over 10000, and crcuates $4,000
San Francisco. Baltimore. Cincinnati and Cleveland
each approprates more money than New-fork. and
clrcuates In every instance less than half the vol
GROWTH OF THE FREE LIBRARY SYSTEM.
such result Is an evidence OF the necessity OF
the establishment of e. free circulating library ana
OF its benefcence the public. The history OF the
inception and growth OF the New-York institution
is most interesting 1t originated with some char
table ladies' who giving lessons to class OF
Young girls and discovered that the favorite lit
erature Of the girls was picture-papers, hi-suted
10 Young minds, but the only things they could
got to read An effort at once made to collec,
a suitable library and four months l,522 vol
u,,es were collected, a room hired and the library
onened The demand exceeded the supply from the
start In 1880 the library was incorporated ma
FORTY OF the ncorporaors are connected Win IL 10
DAY The society rented rooms at NO. ~ Bond-st.'
.,d nv the aid OF liberal and pubc-sprited friends
bought the building and equipped 1t with DOCKS
The circulation during the first year was zzo'S
yolumes and It has increased at such rate that
during last year lol. 73s volumes were circulated
from that library alone.
In ,s4 Oswald Ottendorfer presented a beautiful
building. well equipped with books. at No lSo Sec
oni-ave TO the corporation the circulation Oh 'he
two libraries In that year 201.0o. In 1858 Miss
Catherine Bruce presented another library. in men,
orv Of her father George Bruce situated at No PIG
West Forty-second-st, which represents an expendi-
ture Of at least $4,000 in the gift The circulation
Of the three libraries that year was 800 6S5 volumes
Another branch the gift of George Vanderbilt. was
established in Jackson Square in 1885, The crcula-
ton OF the four Libraries for the year was 423,3G3
volumes branch was opened In Harlem in 1892.
IN rented room The great and rapid growth Of
this branch is one Of the most remarkable features
In history. In cramped and close quarters with
q limited supply OF books the branch mad such
demand for books that one Saturday there was |
nothing left on the shelves. except book on pickles.
dictionary and directory, which one applicant /
said were wanting in interest and evincing lack OF
continuity OF thought. During the last year. with /
3,4sl books its circulation reached 963l. and the
cost OF circulation although the library had to pay
rent. was only four cents and half per volume
the largest circulation in proportion TO Its means and
faculties OF any library In the United States. and the
same may be said Of our library as a whole. There
ID another library. known the Muhlenberg branch. !
"hch does equally good work. though upon
smaiier scale There free reading rooms con-
neoted with all these libraries which were used DUR
ing 'he last year by lsl.l53 persons
"of the proposed twenty libraries eight should |
De below Fourteenth-st and twelve above equally /
divided between the East and West sides We
nave now hve below Fourteenth-st., two of the
Asunar ana 'hree OF the free circulating Libraries.
VI the three required should be near the south
e S extremity OF the island. one east Of Tompkns
T r1uaie anu one on the lower West Side Above
. ou 'eehth- ST. mere Aguiar and
inIee free circulating Libraries, and the Mechanics,
e. 10 LII ~ L.