The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-09
PICKING BOOKS.
DR.. George E. Wire
Talks Before Allan
ia Conference.
LIBRARY EXPERTS.
They All Gather Pointers
From Able Worcester
Book Man.


Atlanta, Ga, May Sat the 21st
conference of the American Library
Association, this afternoon, DR.. George
E. Wire of Worcester county law libra
ry, delivered an address on the subject
of book selections for small public Ii
braries.
He said in part: Book selection is a
most enhancing and may be made
most extravagant piece Of work. If
the library is entirely new, there seems
to be no limit to the lines Of knowledge
demanded; if there is some stock of
books on hand, the rounding up and
filing out with new books is ever more
difficult. In both cases the money is
liable to be limited.
TT is we'll to remember that Rome
was not built in day, and that no
library ever burst full fledged on an
expectant public. The library differs
from a private individual, for, like
Tennyson's brook, it "goes on forever"
So don't be discouraged because you
can't get everything at once. Many
things can bear to wait You soon
learn that books are perennial. There
bought at practically your own rea-
sonable price a year from today as well
as today. 1t makes no sort of differ
ence what the agent tells you to the
contrary.
"As a general thing, buy the latest
and freshest things first. The great
demand will be for fiction, and the fic-
ton habitues will want more than they
deserve. AS it is, we make unduly
large concessions to this class, but they
must not monopoliZe the book fund
BUY current sociology, light science,
useful arts, fine arts, literature, his
tory biography and travels. Then as
you have opportunity, go back and buy
second hand and auction books to fill
gaps.
Beware of bad advice Look out
for the local man who has a hobby, and
the trustee who wants to fill up the Ii
brary on his particular line. I do not
believe in small library or any Ii
brary short of fifty thousand volumes,
buying professional books. OF the
three, 1 think the clergyman is most
liable to temptation, and so will bear
the most watching. He or the liter
airy man will want the classics, say of
history like Grote's Greece, II volumes,
listed at SIS, and Gibbons Rome eight
volumes, at $12. Now the small IL
brary can afford to do without these
for a time at least. They are both
period histories, do not give the COM
plete history of either nation, and re-
quire to be supplemented by other
books, and this puts too much money
into the by-gone empires of Greece and
Rome.
Beware of expensive books. These
are far too expensive for any library
of less than $4,000 volumes or income
less than $4,000 a year. They lock up
too much of your money in one or two
volumes, which will be but little used,
and are not properly speaking, refer
ence books. All this time there are
dozens of books on much more wanted
subjects to be had for 81. $3.50 and 49,
Beware of limiting books Most Of
the above mentioned books are not
only expensive but ill-fitting to the
small American library. [ believe in
reciprocity, and no small European IL
brary would buy similarly expensive
books about US, printed in this vernac-
ular.
Ten dollars worth of Bismarck is
nine dollars too much for most PEG
pie, and the book is out Of place and
not used except by few with fad.
Ten dollars worth of Drake and the
Tudor Navy, in some of our small town
libraries where they want books nearer
to their life. is better. We could put
in one-half dozen books on useful arts,
electricity, cooking, dressmaking, BIZ
cycle repairing, flower gardening, ANA
teur photography.
1.-THE worst and most ill-f1tting book
I know of is the Encyclopedia Britain
lea. The original edition costs some
1870 and all cheap editions are poorly
printed and plates are unreliable. 1t
is the most disappointing reference
book I ever tried to use. 1t has mono
graphs on about one subject in a hum
bred. and the other ninety-nine are
by their absence. Better
get new Chambers and either john
son or International, and then save one
dollars for other reference
books"