The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-02-01
LIBRARY EXTENSION
Bill Will BE introduced
for a State Com
mission.
SMALL COMMUNITIES TO BIZ HELPED
How the Law Works in Other
Commonwealths New Jer-
sey Associations Action.


has prepared bill for presentation to
the Legislature. providing for State
Library Commission The association at
its meeting held in Newark on Thursday
appointed a committee, consisting of
William r. Weeks and Librarian Frank
P. Hill of Newark; E. c. Richardson,
librarian of Princeton College; DR.. John
3. Thompson of New Brunswick. and
Mr.. Kemble This committee will meet
Friday evening at the residence of Mr..
Weeks in Newark and will carefully con-
slider the bill and make such alterations
as may suggest themselves. Senator
ketcham will then be asked to Introduce
the bill. The measure as prepared at this
time reads as follows
An Act to promote the establishment
and efficiency of free public, Libraries.
Section /. Be it enacted by the Senate
Jersey, That the Governor. within thirty
days after the passage of this act shall ap-
point point & flve persons. residents Of this state,
Commission. Such appointment. if made
during the. session of the Legislature, shall
Senate. One member Of said Commission
shall be appointed for term Of five years.
one for four years, one for three years.
one for two years and one for one year.
who shall hold Office until their successors
are appointed. Annually hereafter. with.
II IN thirty days after The assembling of OF
advice and consent of the Senate, shall
appoint one member of said Commission
for a term of Ave years. All vacancies
ton of term. shall be filled by the Cover
nor for the remainder of the unexpired
term, within thirty days after notice there
of shall be given to him in writing; and
all such appointments to fill vacancies. if
made during the, session of the Legisla-
ture shall A. be with the advice and sem
sh shall n make s rT report Of its its dongs to the
Legislature in January of each year,
shall That recs2e no member sn9 Of aad
ton; but said Commission. for its neces-
sary travelling and other Incidental ex-
discharge of its duties, may expend a
sum not exceeding five hundred dollars
annually in additon t2 the expenditaarsSs
under. the provisions Of this act. shall be
paid from the State treasury. after the
bills therefor have been approved by the
Commission. and sent to the State Comp
troller. who shall audit and certify the
same to the State Treasurer.
section g. That the Librarian or Trus-
State, or any person or persons .desir-
Gus of ,organizing free public library.
may ask said Commission deT for adyice in
aloguing thereof. and any other matters
pertaining to the establishment. main
tenarce or administration of such IL
such advice, in regard 70 such matters.
as it shall find practicable;
hereby authorized to expend. upon the
piulbiic library in this State. sum or
hundred dollars. for books for the use
of such library. such books to be selected
and purchased by said Commfission pro
public library shall first pay to said Com
mission an equal sum Of money, to be
pnpchase pplas Of additional BOOKS for the use use
of said free public library; and provided
further. that the provisions of this sec
library in any city in this State, Of the
first or second class, nor to any library
having upwards of five thousand vol
Section s. That this act shall be deem
ed a public act, and shall take effect i'm
mediately, and that all acts and parts
of acts inconsistent herewith be and the
same are hereby repealed"
The first State Library Commission was
formed in Massachusetts in 1890. and those
of other States have been founded upon
that of the old Bay State. 1t will be no.
ticed that the commission is of very re-
cent origin. The five years which cover
the history of the movement have proven
the value and usefulness of such move
lhent most conclusively. A vast deal of
good has been done in the way of putting
good literature in the hands of people
who never before had such privileges, as
will presently be shown There are now
commissions in six States :-Massachusetts.
New Hampshire. Vermont. Connecticut.
Rhode Island, New York and Wisconsin.
Their principal field of usefulness is in the
sion exercise a sort of supervision over
free public library interests throughout
the State. They are in a way bureaus Of
infarrQafj0 qt1 Of
towns and in most cases they issue from
time to time circulars of information for
the benefit of small libraries not only as TO
the class of books that should be put be-
fore the people. but as to library supplies,
the arrangement OF catalogues, the meth
DDS of library administration, etc. In
short. the State Library Commissioners
stand. ready to familiarize library mana
gers. with every detail of library work ac-
1t will now be recognized that such a
commission, composed of the right sort of
men,, is capable of doing a vast amount
What is fully as. important is that the
commissions usually have the power to
for sa braries o. thus IGr 6ooks
substantial stimulus for the widening of
the fields of town libraries. AS is usually
library commission grew out Of want
long felt. but for which there seemed to
be no adequate remedy The big Libraries,
they availed the country folk not at all.
The city people, even the poorest, had
every facility for keeping in touch with
good literature, while the country people,
whose. desires for such things are often
more keen than those of their city breth-
ren, went hungry for good things to
read. 1t was fevident that modern library
methods, while infinitely superior to any
thing ever known before, were still far
from perfect, for they attended to but
one side of the problem of education by
means of reading, and let the other go by
default.
Naturally, the library movement should
begin in the city, but it should not stop
there. In most States by far the greater
part of the people are in the towns and
villages not in the cities; consequently
the modern library was reaching only a
small proportion of the people. It was
conditaions Ike tho those just outlined that
Commission in Massachusetts, and which
brought the educational folk in other
States to quick realization Of the wis
dom of the step taken by Massachusetts
AS has been said. the Massachusetts
State Library Commission was established
II consists Of FIVE members appointed BY
the Governor. with the advice and con-
sent of the Senate; One commissioner
was appointed for FIVE years. another for
four another for three another for two
and the fifth for one year. After the ex-
piration of the terms of the first FIVE
commissioners al succeeding. ones are to
the commission are TO give advice and coun-
sci to all free libraries in the State and
to all communities which may propose to
establish them. as to the best means of
establishing and administering such IL
braries. the selection Of books. catalogu-