The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-08-21
THE PUBLIC PULSE.
Little interviews with Prominent
People.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.

almost unanimous vote it was decl-
cd to levy a general tax for the
support of free city library. This
tax will produce an annual income
for library purposes of $3.50. This
sum is wholly inadequate to buy
books magazines, ETC., pay room
rent and janitor, in order to insure
the success of the enterprise. The
board of trustees under the state
law, appointed board of trustees
to whom is intrusted the care and
management of the library and all
matters connected with it, subject,
of course, to the CONTROL of the
board of education. The library
has met and appoint ed COM
mittees to canvas the city to
secure by individual subscription
and donations money, books, fur
niture, etc, to aid in making the
Library a success. All this is COM
mendable hut there is a another
phase to this library question
which the people want to know
about Some twenty years ago
there was organized in Rapid City
a corporation for charitable and
objectionable purposes called the
"Rapid City Library Association"
Under its articles Of incorporation
the sole and only business of the
association is "To Erect and
Maintain in Rapid City a Free
Public Library and Reading Room"
To aid the association the city was
canvassed.
John r. Brenna n generously
donated the lots, 5ox1oo feet.
5000 was raised by individual sub
scription, the greater portion of
the subscribers still residing here;
$500 was raised by fair to which
all alike contributed; and several
hundred dollars more were raised
by local concerts and entertain
ments, in fact, every dollar that
went to purchase Library Hall
and the land on which it stands
was donated in this way by the
people of Rapid City. "For free
public library and reading room"
Under the bylaws of the associa-
ton anyone could become a mem
Der by paying $500 entrance zee
and $500 per year dues. One
hundred members joined the asso.
citation. At the fourth year it was
decided by the association that nc
more dues we're necessary and that
all members who paid S12, the dues
for 4 years should receive
receipt for the same which should
entitle HIM or her to membership.
Fiitysix members paid in the S12
each, All Of the dues and member
ship fees went to buy books. Goo
books were bought of which zoo
volumes are lost or destroyed and
400 volumes are now in the custo.
dy of Dr. Slagle at School of Mines
who 10 ready and willing to turn
them over to the city library when
given authority. Tables and library
cases for 1000 volumes have been
stored with a prominent member
of the association who undoubtedly
is anxious to get rid of them for
the benefit of a city library. For
sixteen years the association has
not maintained library or reading
room; its property has been d.
verted to other purposes. Rents
received to the amount of from
$500 to $4,000 are now lying in
the bank or have been used to
make a first class opera house out
of the library building. In the
meantime the property is run for
whose benefit?
OF the original S. me- nbe1s some
are dead, some have wandered
away and about one half still re-
main here. some Of the members
desire to aid the city library with
the books, money and property Of
the association. 1t has been cur
rently reported that others Of the
membership, laboring under the
delusion that the association was 4
stock company, have bought up a
large mum err of memhercb;ns *