The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-08
LIBRARY FOR PUPILS
FRANKLIN SCHOOL COLLECTION
OF BOOKS NUMBERS OVER
1000 VOLUMES
COMPREHENSIVE AID TO STUDY
ed fn Securing a Well Chosen LII
brary, Which Is the Pride of the
SchoOa-Best Works ON History,
Literature and Fiction Constitute
the Collection.

Among the school libraries of the city
the Franklin school probably stands
first. For many years 1t had library
with its regular cyclopedia, a little sup
Elementary reading, with a few odd
books of more or less value. But last
winter it was undertaken to provide for
the school library that would furnish
the needed assistance to teachers and
pupils to carry out the present course Of
study. To raise the necessary funds for
such library the popular lecturer, Prof.
Seymour, was engaged for course Of
lectures. Teachers, pupils and patrons
then canvassed the district, and, as re-
suit Of their work, netted the nice sum
Of $239. The question of investing this
sum was next to be faced. After much
Germs, and much consultation with our
local houses. 1t was found much
the best could be done at home,
and the books were purchased through
the Book and Stationary company. The
library thus procured bears the name
of the Seymour library" In all 1t con-
tains about 400 single volumes, including
books Of reference, and also eighty sets
of supplementary reading, averaging
twenty books to the SET, making a total
of something over 1000 volumes, repre-
senting many lines of work
There are about forty volumes on Eng
lish history alone ranging from the sim
pier histories which any pupil can read
with pleasure to the more extended
works from which the teachers and old
er pupils derive much help in many top
les not fully treated in school histories.
The history of our own country is quite
well represented in some sixty volumes,
which provide quite generously informa-
ton on all the epochs of our country
from the original inhabitants to the
Spanish-American war.
Another department shows the poets
Of our own and other lands In an
other division glance will take one
where you Will, to Spanish Cities"
Westminster Abbey" the ALPS" to far
off polar lands or across the desert to
tropical forests. to China or India In
fact, there is hardly country so small
or distant but you will find it repre-
scented. Nor are man and the country in
which he lives the only things on which
information may be gained. Plants ana
animals-the nature work of today-have
not been ignored. but from some forty
five attractive volumes the children may
learn to know and love all things which
have been created
There Is also a small department of
fiction, though only nucleus. If titles
are noticed it will be seen that they are
such as bear very helpfully on the his
tory or literature work of this country
or England, mingled with stories like
Miss Alcott's, which every child should
read often.
In the supplementary reading the sup
ply Is most generous, reaching from the
short-WOrdedl stories of the babes to
the classics for the grammar grades.
The library is In the principals Office
and Is we'll housed In pretty cases, cata-
logued and numbered, each volume In its
own place, on it's own shelf. But unless
one happen there In June or September
when the books are returned for the long
summer vacation or before they have
been taken out in the fab, but an In
adequate idea of its size and extent
would be obtained, for as this library IS
for the use and help 1t can afford, the
books are taken out by the grades and
rooms they most aid and kept in circu-
lation among those for whom the work
was done--the children of St. Paul .l7
In this same school this year. am
other entertainment was undertaken
taking, as did many others, the Lester
and Kent moving pictures, on which
an even 800 resulted THIS, after due
consideration Of the needs and the best
place and manner of supplying these,
will be expended for pictures and casts
to make the building more attractive and
more refining to the thousands of chill
dren who spend so many hours of the
day, during the formative period of
their lives, within It's walls and under its
influence