Evening star., 1902-09-15
LIBRARY THRONGED
FIRST Sunday Opening Meets
Hearty Approval.
ATTENDANCE OVER4,OOO
RESTITUTION REACHES NEW
FIELD OF USEFULNESS.
New Faces and New Readers Predomi-
nate in the Sunday Throng-Li-
brarian Putnam Gratifed.

brarian Putnam Gratifed.
The first Sunday opening of the Con-
gressional Library, which took place yes
terday. was an unqualified success A.
though the present Is the season of the
year when the library is the least popular
with the reading public, and although the
weather yesterday was particularly inviting
t. outdoor enjoyment, nevertheless the
register at the entrances to the library, as
well as the count kept Of the readers III
the main and periodical reading rooms
showed an attendance of practically double
the average weekday attendance OF the IN
stitution. and this during the hours from
. to 10 pm. Besides the attendance, there
are many other points Of gratihcation 10
those who have been promoting the Sunday
opening program. Perhaps the most I'M
pOrtant of these is the report of the reg
ular attendants in the various departments
of the institution that the readers yester-
day were made up of entirely different peo-
pie than the habitual freQuenters of the
place on secular days and evenings
Librarian Putnam Gratified
I'm this respect the day has demon
strated exactly what l anticipated 1t
would" remarked Librarian Herbert Put
nam to Star man today. ut has been
the same way In all municipal libraries-the
Sunday use of the library was taken ad-
vantage of by persons who could not avail
themselves Of its privileges during week
days or evenings. OF course the statistics
of the large attendance are gratifying. but
II they had not been so large-infact, II
they had shown a smaller attendance than
on week days-1 should not nave peen dls,
appointed in the least. or led to believe that
Sunday opening was not going to be the
entire success and benefit to the community
that 1t was predicted TO be-
The actual number of visitors to the libra
~ Yesterday was 4.:GJ. The average daily
attendance during week days at this season
of the year which is regarded as the last
end Of the summer season. is only shshtly
more than 1000. Attendance. however, IS
not rega rded as the important feature OF
yesterday. 1t was the new faces. In both
the main reading room and in the periodi-
cal reading room the attendants noted thls
feature more than any other. In the pc
riOdical room. which had during the day
gST readers. only about a dozen familiar
faces were noticed during the day. In the
main reading room this same proportion
also prevailed. and of the AIS persons VINO
avaHed themselves of the use of this room
Yesterday less than a dozen were the regu
lar patrons of the library.
Taste of the Sunday Reader.
The taste Of the Sunday reader in the
g. aracter of books read also differs from
that of the week day reader. The after
noon Sunday reader likes solid reading.
During the afternoon hours yesterday more
history alone was read than fiction. Sun
Gav evening however. the fiction readers
pTedOminated. In the periodical and maga-
zine room trade journals and scientific pub
Iications We're those sought most The at
tendance here in the afternoon was mostly
Iy men while in the evening men and wo-
r.eu generally came together The fashion
magazine rack. which during week days is
usually a center of attraction TO women,
vas not touched Yesterday.
The CapaCiCy of the periodical reading
room was taxed to its utmost during the
greater part of the afternoon and evening.
TEe SUNDAY newspapers. which had been
u sred on n!e before the doors were opened
q = o'clock. were at a premium. Even be-
frre the doors Of the two reading rooms
opened there had gathered crowd of half
"a hundred before each door. In the main
reading room. where addresses have TO be
registered. il was observed that many of
tie visitors came from the suburbs Of
Washington Chevy Chase was represent
cd as were Anacostia. BroOkland and other
Iburban sections.
Sightseers Predominant.
The beneficial effects of the library are
not regarded as being confined to the read
iag rooms There are the exhibits and
works Of art in the print division the mag
nd decorative beauty of the place, all of
winch il intended to inspire and create a
love Cor the beautiful and finer things of
life. and none of these features were neg
I-Cled by the throngS yesterday. The divt-
sion Of prints was crowded during the day
nd evening. and 1t is regarded that the
beneficial effects Of the institution were i'm
parted perhaps much by the artistic
f-stuTes of the place as by the reading
done The figures show at least that more
Il. MT boo, 9 Il IL,
architecture and art than TO study the
printed page
What Was Read
In the reading rooms an hourly record
Of the number Of readers present is kept.
This record shows that at O'Clock and at
were the two times when there were the
most people in the main reading room. The
record runs like this: At 3 o'clock there
were 81 readers; at /. 119: at =. 12s: at 6. "A;
at 9, ~; at \ 12} and at O. %. If the rec
ord had been taken DT half hours IL would
have shown that at half-past eight in the
evening there were more people reading
than at any other time during the day.
The readers in the periodical reading
room were recorded aS follows: At 3 O'clock
20: at ). 1I3: al ;. H.; at g. 40: at = ii2.
al =. 1la. and at .. - 1T is curious fact
that the highest aJtt nGance of the iay 1Iao
Is the highest atte ndIncc that has been
recorded in the room since the first OF July
different times Besides the readers in the
periodical room, 149 persons made an in
spTction Of the place. The record OF the
character of books read in the main read
Ing rooms shows the preponderance of
solid reading demanded. There were 14S
books of fiction read; 9 histories: 64 bellies
lettres; 81 bound periodicals; ~ works on
scts nee; - IN the useful arts: - on the
fne arts. and % on theology. On the lat
ter subject. however. maky readers were
given the privilege OF the aicove in which
these works shelVed ana doubtless
many books were read of which no record
could be kept
This showing is regarded as extraor-
6inary from the fact that the week day
record shows more fiction readers than all
Other classes combined. In the periodical
room tie foreign current publications were
in Dc rnand To a much greater extent than
on week days
Approved by the Public.
- summing 1t all up. the inference be-
Ires a fact that Washington heartily in