Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-12-14
LIBRARIES FOR THE POOR.
A Successful Plan Now in Operation in
Chicago.

Chicago is practicing a very worthy
and successful method of educating
and improving the lot of the poor
This consists of the tiny itinerant Ii
brary, small box containing twenty
volumes, that is placed by the bureau
of associated charities in a house in
the tenement district that from that
moment becomes library at which
the neighbors may call for supply Of
reading matter.
District visitors go to the homes and
easily enlist the attention of the peo-
pie there when they announce that
they intend to leave little bookcase
and appoint a small member of the
| family librarian for the little district.
| The books are chosen especially to in
! terest children, and it has been found
that numbers of them who had no
means of obtaining proper literature
| flock to the libraries and eagerly Dor
row the books.
] The West End Woman's Club is
| equipping twenty of the libraries, and
other organizations are helping. One,
the Lewis Institute, provides from its
advanced pupils friendly visitors, %
who call each week at the homes where
the libraries are lodged and hold meet
ings Of its patrons. At these gather
ings the visitors obtain a good hold up
on the children, who are eager for
more books or perhaps anxious to
have some of those they have read
further explained to them or to hear
something about the writer's.
Charles Frederick Weller Of the As
ISOLATED Charities and leader of the
home library movement, says that the
incidental benefits of the work are
iequal to those resulting directly from
the dissemination of good literature
Iamong poor children. The little book
lease is an open sesame to homes that
Iotherwise would be closed with dis
Itrustful haste against the friendly Wis
Iitor and her mission of helpfulness
Once lodged in a home, the bookcase
stands as a reason for a weekly call
there on the part Of the visitor, who is
insured a welcome. When the visitor
makes the weekly call at the house OF
the little librarian-a post Of honor
given to trustworthy boy or girl-al
the children who are enrolled as pa
irons of the library gather and learn.
These meetings are like little parties
at which the children for the most
part get their first glimpse of social re-
laXations. The idea is to keep them
free from anything like conventional
ity or stiItedness and to give the child
rem good time. Often all the children
are asked to make pictures illustrat.
ing the books read during the week
OF course most of the attempts at ar
are crude and funny, but here and
there the friendly visitors" have beer
lucky enough to find children with rea
talent.
When the little library patrons are
not making pictures they are discuss
ing Robinson Crusoe," and making
the thousands of inquiries that such {
work provokes from the juvenile mind
Another feature Of the home libra.
ries is that besides books they contain
the games that are so sadly missing
from tenements. The friendly visi
tors" say much about the wholesome
effect Of the games. In one library was
the equipment for parchesi. The father
: of young librarian, who had faller