New-York tribune., 1901-03-24
THE PITTSBURG LIBRARY
RESULTS OF MR.. CARNEGIFrS BEHEFAC-
TIONS IN HIS OWN CITY.
THE IRoNMAsTER's TOWN NOT YET LITERARY
CENTRE-GOOD EFFECTS MORE APPAR-
ENr AMONG CHILDREN THAN
AMONG ADULTS.

NeN-Nork does more than awaken feelings of
asJC-ishment and renew the question whether
this mans public munificenoe viii ever reach
limit Il IS soepucal age. slow - award praise
without reserve. and ready 10 suggest doubts
Not IN this city, perhaps, but certainly else
where, thinking men may be pardOned il they
yield little TO the contemporary tendency and
ask Z this passion for founding libraries is ef-
fectiyely benefioent only benevolent
one might easily cite pro and con the men
who have written voluminously on things in
general RuslIin, for instance with his doctrine
that no one is worthy 10 profit 10y a book whose
Viii 10 have il is not strong enough TO provide
i1e means Of paying good money for IT, But
the question here is not universal but specific
touching the issue Of the free library experiment
a. applied TO the population q a great city in
America Therefore, mere speculation promises
little profit; the comparison Of ascertained re-
suits IN another city where the experiment has
been very fully tried for now half a generation
Is more % The purpose.
The great central Carnegie Library. a. it nay
h. caled-the Carnegie Library OF Pittshurg rs
II officially calls itself. in oontradstinction TO the
Carnegie libraries Of Alleghen Mount Wash
lnEton, Braddock Homestead and other llaocs
n-2- ana far-does not present the appearance Of
crowded activity which is remarkable in the
LenGx and AstOr libraries Of New-Tork during
the day hours The Pittslu-g Carnegie offers
incoraparaby hanjsomer and better arranged
and fitted reading rooms than either Of these,
but PittsbUrg IS much more exclusively Z city
= mechanical industry, with fewer book nen
IL proportion 10 the u hole population People
come here l. make money out Of iron anG those
Wao think they can make money cut of priEt
- e.sew hele The men and women who work
hard in mills and Offices all day Ia. IiA.ly
10 spend many OF their evening hours in the
reading rooms OF { great library, pCT.Eg
oyer volumes of forgotten lore" As for
tae main humanity q Pittsburg. m men
who work in the mills, they may be found in
lae Homestead ard other minor reading rooms.
though not in throngs, but the big Carnegle Is
long journey from their homes. and one may
AIN 81 imagine that specimen mill hand rec 3
rzal among the readers there would quickly bz
caught by Dr. Hollands assistants chloro-
formed al nd transferred 10 the glass cases Of
tAe natural history rooms
s. FAR for comparison with the reading rooms
Cf ,te big New-York libraries. But the Pitts
burg Carnegie has other rooms be,onging T. its
lfrarian's jurisdiction of which there is no
c.c..terpart IA TIE Asto- or the Lenox. Passing
os-r The newspaper room. where readers actu-
a.y smoke without breaking the rules. there is
tae ealdrers room, and this is where The work
20 The Carnegie millions begins 10 b. visible.
81 ather room in the building is attractive
- -le senses, al least-as ;h.-. Il is light. per
f-c-y ventilated and its tessellated noor pleas
-r- and noiseess 10 walk Upon-all of which
may te said for the other reading rooms. But
i1 this room there are Specially qualified chill
lr-ls Librarians VINO seem 10 con hine mucn ~
The book ore Of their profess with all the
higher lcre of child nature that belongs 10 the
genuine kindergartner's equipment These en-
thl-.astic young women have flowers on their
desks and introduce aesthetic almost here ~
sweetness and light They have not only framed
pictures oL the walls such children loFe u
look a. but a large bulletin board, ST Io"
down. SO not 10 be above the reach Of s-nal!
understandings, with pictures OF persons and
things Of current interest illustrated announce-
ments and posters # new juvenile books and
typewriter ~ nopses cf information about cur
rent topics. Then there is the weekly story
hour plan, introduced hy Miss Fanchou J.
Olcott the chief Of the department. In this
hour the Librarians tel stories of the lives 81
youthful patriots and q All children who have
dome heroic things from uns -lfisn motives" one
Of the effects Of this particular form of enter
tainment is that story - TWO about. for *
ample Casabianca viii ST the children sc-am-
bling for books about th= Napcieoric invasion
cf Egypt
The attendance in the chilcrens reading room
is always good after school hours; Saturday
afternoons il ranges from 100 10 900, and on