The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-18
FREE LIBRARY OPEN
FIRST BOOKS TAKEN OUT YEsTER-
DAY AFTERNOON.
LIBRARIAN HARDEN BUSY.
MANY APPLICATIONS AND SOME
BOOK CARDS ISSUED.

the Afternoon for the Lending of
Goes on in the neutrality-suspicious. of
Fiction Are Arranged and Ready
for borrowers and the Section of
Travels VIII BE Finished Next.
over -Four Hundred Registrations
Appear on Books.
Yesterday afternoon for the first
time, the Public Library was opened
for the lending of books and during a
considerable portion of the time, from
3 O'clock until 10 o'clock. Librarian
William Harden and Assistant Libra
rian Miss Maude Hayward, were kept
busy, supplying cards and books.
AS has been repeatedly stated, the
patrons of the library are required to
| I'LL out an application, with reference,
then obtain a borrowers card and
after these formalities are complied
with, books are loaned. This, Of
course, takes considerable time, but
the principal part of it will only have
to be done once, and the requirements
are only such as are necessary in or
4
der to keep absolute check upon the
volumes that go out of the building.
The total number of registrations,
by which is meant the number of per-
| sons taking application cards, up to
the hour of closing was 40l, OF this
number many came in to get borrow
ers' cards. and the total number OF
books loaned was about seventy. II
will be understood that all applica-
tons had to be taken home for sigma
lures and reference, and naturally
there will be a great many applicants
for borrowers cards and books each
day hereafter, even though there was
not great number on the first day.
1t will be noted with interest that
the applicants and borrowers were
from widely separated portions of the
city and the people in the library at
various times during the day repre-
scented all classes of the business and
professional life, and included men,
women and children the latter being,
according to the rules, over fourteen
years of age. The hours at present
observed are from TO 10 o'clock, and
will be in force for some time, until
the entire list of books are made
ready
The division of Election" is now
available only, and the section of
Travels will next be made ready
for the borrowers. Late in the after
noon the library presented an animated
scene, for the place was we'll filled
aNr4f \ aw1kA -
who were either getting cards or books
there were many who had come In to
read or consult the books of reference.
First Book Taken.
The first book taken out of the public
library was THE Making of the March
noness," by Mrs. Frances Hodgson Bur-
nett. 1t was numbered E. 2S-5, and
the borrower was Mrs Emily Gwynn of
No. $50 Indian street. 1t was taken
early in the afternoon and for an hour
was the only one out. Later the de-
mand became brisk, and the number
out when the library building was
closed was about seventy.
All who were in the handsome Hodg-
son Memorial building, at the corner Of
CASTOR and Whitaker streets, noted
with pleasure the improvements made,
the neat railing that now incloses the
book shelves, the librarians desk and
arrangement of tables. The catalogue
is placed so as to be most convenient
to patrons and every provision seemed
to have been made for their comfort
and convenience.
The Board of Library Commissioners
are endeavoring to make the place thor
oughly satisfactory to everybody, and
1t is entirely probable that they will
in short time note the unnecessary
heat now caused by the oil lamps used,
and will supply the place with electric
lights. This was understood to be the
only matter of which there could be
the slightest complaint.
The patrons of the library will no
doubt find that not every book want
ed can be found in the catalogue. In
such cases a written request should
be made to the librarian, and all such
calls will be considered by the Library
Committee, and If the call seems to
be rea sonable no doubt the book will
be procured as soon as practicable.
New books will, no doubt. be added
from time to time, and every effort
made to improve and make valuable
and interesting the collection.
Rule 6, as printed in the leaflet and
published in the list of rules a short
time ago, was found to contain an err
ror. It should read as follows: Books
may be reserved in the order Of appli-
cation at the library by payment Of 2
cents for postal notice" In the leaf
let the word reserved was misprint-
ed as renewed" which entirely
changed the sense of the rule.