The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-04-13
LIBRARIES. OLD AND NEW.

II a librarian of the oden time had heard Of gift in
single city OF three libraries freely to all the
people says the New York Evening Post would have
muttereG something about pearls cast ante porous For the
library that Of sanctuary learning
the proane untroubled by the busy world
This ideal Of library in sense the exclusive property
Of the few scholars who direct it. still persists
today the director of reference library that
the value Of his work is measured not so much by the
many readers enrolled and striking statistics Of books
used rather by the completeness Of his collection
the high quality the produced by the few scholars
10 whose needs he ministers Un lately this been the
only kind Of library
The Evening Post continues: Modern conditions have
changed all that In time when everybody reads the
library has duty to everybody and the public crowds into
the great way excite the alarm Of old
librarian. For Old-schocl librarian crowd of
readers would have been like the locust plague to the Nile
immediate inconvenience and threat of dire
loss Not the modern librarian for if the people
have gone to the library conversely the library has
Is the people For the convenience Of the people branch
reading and delivery stations established in all
quarters Of the great cities the requests distant scho
for books cheefuy honored and finally the
rural public even reached by carefully selected travelling
Libraries Boston for instance has fifteen branch libraries
fourteen delivery stations. in 1899 circulated
25541 volumes Chicago has six branch libraries sixty
delivery stations and also stations public
its public library reports than two million and half
books annually used in the library circulated.
Otner agencies freely used to draw the people to
visitor carefully systematic reading
compiled model private libraries exhibited and
reference books the of the day lee
ture courses promptly placed the open shelves
Finally travelling nbraries-the New York public library
the month Of February thus circulated than
voumes-are sent to the smaller which make the
request therefor.
@An this means that the scope of Guardianship has
greatly broadened Where Of old librarian might be
simply recluse by habit and scholar by temperament
today be some fashion an evangelist Of books
and reading He be sufficiently the people to
know what they and need; sufficiently acful sup
ply their wants without lowering the IL
brary; and without undue urgency skiul pressing
upon the people best books than pop
director OF elaborate and expensive organza
ton he must have the qualities Of successful business
and since his support both from the taxpayer
the wealthy donor IS desirable that he should
effective writer speaker almost ndspensa-
bic that he should be something Of the world
The college president faces formidable list Of
quremens and yet find few Librarians lacking head.
The fear lest the popularzation Of the library may
bring its vugarzaon troubled thought
fu observers Is there not danger that the librarian shall
judge his work merely by statistics of circulation?
easier recordbreakpg device could be contrived
land than that OF circulating exclusively say Ouda Marie
Corei, Mr.. Guy Boothby, and Sir. CutcIne Hyne; but
would such circulating library deserve the name? On
the whole however conflict between what the public
likes but shouldn't and what the librarian knows it should
like is being settled by series Of compromises in
librarians AT the New York public library last
February the books most demand were Eben Holden
Eleanor and Alice Of Old Vincennes' but not 100 far
behind came the Huxley Letters and Mr. Stedman's
American Anthology
Whatever compromise Of the scholastic ideals of
old nbraranship may De necessary under new conditions
is than repaid pubio interest and public sup
port 1t would be easy cite after casehe Enoch
Pratt Free Library Of Baltimore for one-in which IL
brary founded strictly circulating library has become
almost incidentally admirable reference library Many
-.
bargain between the oky and the lay reader-that
interests Of thesehoar and those Of the the street
nearly identical than the older Guardianship with
its severely scholastic ideal admitted