Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-01
MODERNS IN SECOND PLACE
Omaha Book Borrowers Still Cling to the
Standard Works Of Fiction.
EXPERIENCE OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Miss Tahiti Gives some information
a. 20 the Demand for stories
of various Glasses and
other writings.

of Various Glasses and
other writings.
In these days when the printed page
plays SO large q part in our scheme Of ex-
istence, anything which gives Information
as to the relative popularity Of authors
and their various books and helps 60 show
which works have the merit TO outlive
their first burst Of popularity. is of con-
siderable interest. A report from the
city library for the year 1902 gives US some
interesting comparisons.
The works Of fiction are OF course the
most popular and are read by all classes.
Next in demand are works OF q religious
character, especially those OF an optomistio
and reassuring nature. Books clsssed under
literature, biography and travels rank next
and are all about equally popular. Books
dealing with philosophical subjects seem
to have a certain popularity and works
classed under useful arts. while in no case
rising to great demand. have a high aver
age Of circulation. Books Of poetry have
no large popularity and the historical vol
umes are not read as much as one would
expect to find them.
one Volume Wins.
In the department Of fiction It seems
that the popular book is the one-volums
story. Readers do not like to carry home
two volumes at one time and frequently
do not read the second at all, either be-
cause they have lost interest. or are at
tracted TO som other author when they
return the first volume TO the library. The
short story. unless the collection 10 OF
marked excellence, does not seem popular.
The reader, at least here in Omaha. APP
pears TO enjoy best the book with a con-
siderable and well worked out plot. The
novels Of the romantic school do not have
the popular demand which they are sup
posed to excite. and while when first intro
duced into the library, there is a rush
among certain readers to obtain them. this
is satisfied during the first year, and the
books fall to a comparatively low average
Of circulation. II has been Miss Tobitt's
observation, that taking a period Of i've
years in the library, such books as Wey-
mans. Anthony Hopes and others Of the
kind, fall in average circulation below
some Of the old standards. Dickens or
Dumas for instance. This is contrary TO
the popular belief, and goes far to refute
the of decadence in modern lit
erary taste. AS a rule, some particular
work Of an author rises far above his other
books in popular favor. One such popular
book. however. draws attention TO the other
/ blOTltb u u NlAAtA aha ia 49,
an increase Of circulation, owing to the
curiosity Of those who have been pleased
by the popular tale. While there Is a
demand among a class Of readers for stories
Of foreign countries and characterx. the
books most generally read deal With Ameri-
can life. OF these the books Of homeiy,
plain living, lead. The second volumes of
various works do not reach the circulation
Of the first.
Popularity of
Among all the recent authors Stevenson
has perhaps the highest average Of popu-
larity and this interest in his books seems
to be growing. Treasure Island" has q
demand among all classes. "St. Ives is
also popular. There is a small. constant
circulation for all OF Dickens works and
Dumas is in considerably larger demand.
Monte Christie" is the great favorite OF
this writer. Thackery and Bulwer are also
wanted. The books Of Jane Austen
seem TO be rapidly growing in popular
favor, especially Sense and Sensibility'
and pride and Prejudice" Janice
Meredith" enjoys a large and we'll sustained
circulation and a number of new copies
have been ordered to replace the wornout
books.
The library list was made with the idea
Of ascertaining If the books were being
purchased which the people wished TO read.
From orders made at holiday time, 1901, q
list of volumes in each department was
made, taking them as purchased, without
any selection. The circulation for the year
was then obtained. Crawford's Marietta"
Ludlow's Deborah DAlrymple's That
Wager Of Dots" and Waterloo's THE
Seekers ran out one book card. or over
forty times in circulation. These were
among the sixteen books first on the pur-
chasing list. HAbberton's Caleb Wright"
was taken out forty times; Chestnutt's
Marrow Of Tradition" thirty-four times:
Oppenheim's The Survivor" thirty-three
times; French's THE Colonials." thirty-one
times, and the lowest in the list, Bourgeois
The Screen" thirteen times. Moiett's
Career OF Danger" twenty-seven times,
was the most popular juvenile.
other Than Fiction.
Poetry and the drama: Fields Book Of
Tribune Verse" went out twenty times;
Wells Mother Goose's Menagerie," twelve
ines. and Dunbar's Candle Eghtin'
Time" eleven times. The average for the
other twenty-four books was only three
times out. with seven books not out
at all.
In the natural history list. Amateur
bee httptI INdNntu I otNbuu kaI0g blt
on the Stage" Qiterature). Morrison. was
circulated twenty-nine times; bible
Stories" vas out twenty-seven times; Life
Everlasting" twenty-three; Life Beyond
Death" eighteen; Making OF an Ameri-
can" biography, twenty-four. and Clusters
The Boy General" twenty-five. Method
OF Bookkeeping" was the most popular book
OF the science list. How 20 Make Common
Things" Gala Day Luncheons." Farm
Poultry" and Theory and Practice OF
Cooking" were the best liked OF the useful
art books. Intervals. Chords and Ear
Training and Romantic Castles and
Palaces" lead the fine art list, and HAlp-
hides 'Physie and Psychism" and James
'WiH TO Believe we're the most popular
OF the works OF philosophy. The books on
language and education had an average
circulation OF five.