New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-04-20
GROWING PUBLIC LIBRARIES
A REPORT ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT
BUREAU OF EDUCATION.
THESE INSTITUTIONS NOT AFFECTED BY HARD
TINES AND CHEAP READING MATERNAL
LIABLE AND INSTRUCTIVE STATISTICS.

LIABLE AND INSTRUCTIVE STATISTIC
icy TELEGRAPH TO THE TRiBUNE.l
uosh,rotor AnrIl 1e-According to a report re-
Gently issued by the United States Bureau OF Educa
ion. the Increase in the number and usefulness u
pubc and semi-pubc libraries has peen s.ea ,.
DESPITE the general business depression OF ',o
four wears The growth OF such horar'es .. ~,
1rrod state. has been remarkable and the increase
in the use Of them has been not less ~o"u 49,,
Nany nersons believed that the cheapenins OF Tue
cost OF hooks while II stimulated the reaoihs as
and capacity OF the people. wouiu ue'ia'' - 49,
use and usefulness of public libraries anu ,'a"'
moro feared that the tremendous nood OF cneap,
M, IN sav unwhoesome and vicious. literature
49,. 49, norrsd from the printing presses during the
lac, few wears would produce the same anu eve.
more deplorable results Happily neithcr 'ne 19''
nor the fear has been. thus far at least reanNeu
The total number OF public society anu '.
| libraries reported last year was 7lSz' con.a,""e
49, ,norsoato NJ "a 5ss 25S bound volumes and o'fH,-
| 7sa unbound pamphlets OF the total numper vi ~
| hrar,es reported 4O2S contained LOCO or more WI,
umes each the total amounting 10 oe"'
umes and .54H,7SS pamphlets ana ",ioo 49,,
| from 300 to 1,OOO volumes each III 1871 'ne 49,
number Of libraries reporting 600 or more 'oIue'
a,, uos ? 5os containing In the aggregate S9S,-
GO ,,o,urres The increase Of volumes was aoout %
ner cent and Of libraries about 10 per cent. Nv, =,
nac.,,o wor, Of the libraries during the year Is
| indicated by the following Statistics "hic"' w"
| be observed are far from complete .v
on1,, 90 Of the 402s libraries Qess than onehai'
-, .ha total number) reported the NUMBER OF pooho
- % horrowers for home reading; inc tota'
| number of volumes issued was ooo'o'o0' nc
,or ~ volumes issued by 5N libraries for use III
| their reading rooms was 1IOo.So Inc h'''o
! libraries reporting their reading-roo"S e"pp
,,h periodicals was 216S and the number OF perioo
| ,caI publications thus made accessipie " ''o p
| was 11624s Additions during the year W.
or,oa "a fo,lows. Bound volumes (by 2sol horaiie@''
I 20, sci: pamphlets (by 1903 librarles), aas'4i1
| Tbe renorts show that 1lF Of the Libraries are
| sunported by public taxation 23fo by coip
I'D "a derive their support from both these sources
| The number OF circulating libraries was o. -.
| number of reference Libraries 'oo' ana INC H''l
| ,a.sed as both circulating and reference was
COO The report divides the 1925 libraries into nine
tom classes as follows: General LOW se"' ~
college 626; college society, 81 law iz'
o.. medical A: United States Government 80 o.'.o
2s asylum and reformatory 81 Young Me a,,s,. ~
tian Association, 81; Masonic. "A; ODD feilows ~
social. 81; scientific. 49, historical u; army s'i
rison "A; mercantile, 10; society," los
| This classification Is a misleading one ro' ca
| annie II accounts for only twenty-sM ota'e anu
Territorial libraries in twenty-five states TWO eao"
sylvana and Illinois. According 10 p rnt Libra
published In the Special Report on Lug 9s7s ,bere
We're forty.sx State and Territorial Libraries III ea
isence in 1915 According TO the sI anTTe nave no
|
State or Territorial Libraries, among them o Shin
| Rbode Island Connecticut. Virginia georgia, Oniu;;
| Indiana Michigan Wisconsin, Caifornla, Nssou,,
| and Kansas all OF which are known 10 P1 r,
ibraries as also do all the other States ana Terri
tories with the possible exception OF f,nd a.
Returns from nearly all the libraries are lou"u "a
n general table appended to the report whlcn con
tains the erroneous classification above descrineu
Cassiiied according size there are TWO iier BRA
ries-the library OF Congress ana the boS6on w
lie Ibrary-whch contain more than oooW VOL 0,o
um.s each. four containing from 5000 10 IVS co.
| Volumes each twenty eight containing W." ~
20 10000 volumes each. sixty,nine coh,ainms o. ca
| TO 100000 volumes each, l59 containing 20 "o
TO 30 600 volumes each. All containing lVVW 20 .9vv
each and 2727 containing 1000 to 1908 each. Ihere
are 62T public Libraries which contain more an
| 5000 volumes each. the aggregate Deins 'ooI-''
| The total amount reported as received directly
| from taxation BY GOO libraries was sl6.9,2l0 ana
the amount appropriated TO 73 libraries by states
counties and cities was $L5l33oz for the year ne
| amount received from endowment funds Dy o'i
libraries was 052 S33 Libraries received s5se al
| from membership fees 303 libraries received s3sb4
from book rents sos libraries received s59SoO from
| not stated The total income reported by :,i3'
Libraries 1886 for the year ending April l.
| 1896 The permanent endowment funds OF 800 libra
ries aggregated sl6o6lS The assresate Na s 90
| The value of the books added during the year by
| 1873 libraries was Sl.5I4+lO ,-,, - j,
| In the last twenty years the number or pubic ana
| semi public libraries each containing Luz" volumes
| or more in the United States has increased from
2O39 to 4.O26 about 100 per cent. and the aggre-
gate number Of volumes therein has Increased from
H. 4S777S to ST. or more than 2SS per cent IN
| 1875 only 3Ss Libraries reported endowment funds,
| the total amount beln s61o5.5S1. Since that time
| there have been some notably large gifts 70 public
libraries and the be total m rfpoTsa tb a w.
erage amounted to s7,O5 and in 1885 90 to s2',2sl
1