Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-10-28
WOOD COUNTY LIBRARIES
Are Filling Real Need, Hiss Stearns
Says.

"a day or two ago I happened to hear
a Milwaukee woman say that she was
sick and tired to death of hearing about
travelling libraries-and she was clever,
brainy clubwoman who goes in for phil
anthrOpy and that sort of thing, too. |
presume she is being bored; probably
other people are too, but up in Portage
and Wood counties, where | have been
recently, in the interest of the Wiscon-
sin Library commission, no one has as
yet complained about the ceaseless
chatter of US unlucky mortals who down
here are playing the role of bores. It's
something to be appreciated some
where, isn't it?" and Miss Stearns smiled
cheerfully across her heaped-up desk.
but just to defend myself against that
woman and anyone else who agrees
with her, I'd like to tell you something
about the book-needs that exist and the
efforts that are being made to meet
these needs up there. And when you
get tired, you may stick your fingers in
your ears, and I'll stop.
"ln Wood county, as you may know,
j. D. Witter Of Grand Rapids, not long
ago started a system of travelling libra
ries. He now has twentv-seven libra
rles of forty volumes each in circulation,
but he intends to increase the number
to thirty-seven and the number of
books in each to fifty, so that very
shortly there will be. over 1880 books
passing from farmhouse to farmhouse
and what that means only those who
have experienced the book hunger that
farm life often engenders can really ap-
preciate. The distributing station is
the L. B. Scott library at Grand Rapids
and all that is necessary for any com
munity or group of individuals to avail
themselves of the system is to form a
club of ten and send in So which only in
part pays for the little bookcase which
is al once sent on and which becomes
the property of the new association. In
Dunn county, the packing case in which
the books travel serves also for a book
case, but it is Mr. Writer'S idea-and a
very good idea, | think, too-that the
joint ownership of little set of shelves,
which have some suggestive vacant
places, may in time lead to the estab-
lIshment of permanent library for the
community. All the expenses of trans
portation are borne by Mr.. Witter, and
IN addition to the forty volumes num-
Der OF magazines are sent out with each
| library. These magazines are not re-
turned, but are passed about among the
| patrons of the library. And by the
way, these patrons are by no means just
the ten who dubbed together to raise
the -, but anyone who wishes to draw
out a book.
SCATTERED THOUGH WOOD COUNTY.
"These travelling libraries are scat
tered all through Wood county, in farm
houses, in corner groceries, in schools
and IN pOstoffices and as in some places
| the farmhouses are a mile apart, the
patrons come from some distance to re-
ceive and return their books. But dis
tance doesn't in the least dampen their
enthusiasm.
THE GRAND RAPIDS MEETING.
THE week before the library meet
ing held at Grand Rapids on Oct. and
3, [ spent i'll driving through Wood
county, trying to ascertain definitely
something of the peoples needs and
their degree of appreciation of the sys-
TEN. 1t was great ride. For about
fifty miles each day we bumped over
corduroy roads or plowed through dust
that seemed fathoms deep, and the Joy
of life centered about the big water
melons that we could buy anywhere
along the road for a cent apiece. We
stopped at every farmhouse, every
schoolhouse and every place where a
travelling library was stationed and IN
terviewed farmers, and teachers, and
postmasters, and merchants as to their
views of the system. Everywhere we
found the deepest interest and appre-
citation. | could tell you any number of
pathetic incidents that we came across.
\ HARD WORKING LIBRARIAN.
There was one woman, for instance,
the mother of eight children. This
woman Was obliged to work from four
teen to sixteen hours day in the fields
with her husband, and yet she found
time to serve as the librarian of her
community. The library in her house
was set up over the cupboard in which
she kept her milk pans, that being the
most available place. And the woman
! herself was one of the library's best
patrons. After [ get the supper and
wash the dishes and put the children to
| bed, it's pretty late, she told me, be
| cause it takes time to do ones house
work and help in the fields, too. But
when everybody else is asleep 90 and
get book and read half an hour or so.
Someway 1t makes me sleep better and
l don't feel so tired That woman
wasn't sick of travelling libraries, now,
was she?
THEY PRACTICE READING ALOUD.
"At another farmhouse, / discovered
that there was scarcely an hour day
in which someone wasn't reading aloud
while the rest of the family worked.
And in another [ was told that it was