The times., 1897-12-05
Two Libraries.


New York city, and it is TO be fine
one. The library viii be situated in
Bryant raIk, the old reservoir being re
moved, and new building, costing two
and one-haIt million dollars, erected for
the housingof the New York T lblic Library,
Astor, Lenox and Tilden foundations
Architects laye been selected to prepare
the plans OF tie structure, and the trustees
confidently expect it to be one Of the
finest library buil dings in the world.
This is an as il should he. The country
cannot have too much beauty in its public
buildings, and if New York chooses to
ouIdo Washington, and then Chicago is
stimulated to outdo New York, and san
20 oHtdO Chicago, there VIII be just so
much more fine architecture, of which the
whole country can be pnoud and glad, and
in which each particular city can delight
and to which foreign nations can look when
they really want to know what 4 merica
has done ia the line OF art. There might
be a question about the wisdom of erecting
| fine public buildings which can IN the ma
tune OF things be little more than show,
and DO not minister to the real good.
mental, moral or physical, of the gr,at
mass Of citizens. but there can be none as
to the good Of a great library, and for
the good OF the readers il should he housed
in a building as artistic as possible, he
cause that VIII elevate the thought Of the
people v ho 20 there, and exercise a silent
but powerful influence over our whole
civilization. Therefore. let the good work
go on, and let the New York Public LII
brsry be worth taking a journey 10 New
York 10 see.
Bnt there as one point which should be
noted, in connection with the plan for this
New York library. Before single brick
was laid, before the ground was broken tor
the foundations possibly even before the
! plans were submitted by tile competing
| architects, it was settled that that library
! should be kept open every day of the yesr.
The resolutions presented TO the board
provided that one OF more Of the reading
rooms should be open on every day Of the
week except Sunday, and on all legal and
public holidays, from 9 in the morning till
9 in the evening, and On Sundays from /
p. m until p. m, possibly later. There
win also be a free circulating branch of
the library. open during the day time on
Sunday, and on every evening till 10
O'Clock Thus the usefulness of the library
| is secured, no. only to students who wish TO
use it for some special purpose, not only
to the idle classes, who have nothing t.
do during the day, and who seldom have
any use for a library, but to the immense
mass OF the people whose leisure time is
only after iii the evening, and scme-
times only on Sunday. These people are
by the resolutions adopted allowed 10 use
| the library for three or four hours ln the
evening, all Of Sunday afternoon and even
ing, and are permitted to take home books
which the whole family may enjoy the
mother, who is tied hand and foot by the
care OF little Children, and the old people
and invaiids TO whom books mean - much
more than they ever can TO people who
are wen and strong. The contrast he
tween this arrangement, which seems to
! have been recognized by the citizens of
New York as imperauvely needed, and
that OF our own Congressional Library, is
too obvious TO need any comment.