The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-01
CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF MONTGOMERY.

| President Phares Coleman and othe, | members of tho Board of Trustees will be at the Library tomorrow and 1t Il | probable that members of the City Coun | ell will call there during the day to in. | spect this great institution which is
 solely the property of the city of Mont gomery.
 It is a matter of regret to members of the Board and others interested in tho work that Edgar Gardner Murphy, an | earnest member of the Board, cannot be
 here on the occasion of the opening of the Library. It was largely through the
 Montgomery secured this splendid gift from Mir. Carnegie and his absence in New York owing to illness, will be noted with sorrow by many.
 There are at present about 5000 vol-
 umes in the Library. They cover every class of book from the lightest reading
 to the most profound volumes
 Every person who visits the Library Monday is requested to bring at least one book as an offering to the great in- stitution that has been dedicated to the people.
 Tho Librarian. Miss Elmore, speaking of the interest of the people in the in- stitution, said:
 The possibilities of the library's power are only measured by its aims. And the library that has behind 1t the desire and will to make it potential factor in the life of the people. will soon find the way opening
 ''The library that would realize its ideal must make It's owners feel their ownership, and consequent responsi- bility for It's success. The old ideas of libraries and their uses no longer ob- tain. Now, they are not mere deposito- ries of books too valuable to be han dled but they are living, breathing forces, and when rightly used become the greatest power for good to the greatestN number The library is truly the university of the people, and, as such, should be considered an adjunct of tho school the two should so CO., operate that the one would be the com plement of the other. It should be the librarys aim not only to circulate the books 1t has. but to provide those that are helpful as supplementary reading in the schools, and the teacher should be solicited to make order lists for this purpose. It might bo that the books would not be forthcoming for a long time. but 1t would promote good feeling, and make the teachers. par ents and children understand that the library's interests are coincident with their own. Free education and free books in free democracy-that Is the system of an enduring social struc- ture
 The library must be ever on the alert to see the readers needs. and to respond as occasion demands--so wiu It prove the city's strength. the bone and sinew of the civic body.
 "once a reading community is form ed. study and recreation become one, and the library Is made the intellectual center.
 '@rhe sympathetic bond thus estab- lished gives the library the opportun- ity to perform its mission, to implant in every heart and mind the spirit of culture and enlightenment. It is not enough that the library should supply food for the mind. but to properly mer- it its name, to worthily bear the re- responsibilities 1t has assumed, it must be the advance guard In every upward movement" the means toward enrich ing, beautifying and making fruitful the barren places of human life"
 No doubt hundreds of MontgomerIans will visit the Carnegie Library to-mor- row. It is a certainty that many of them will be surprised and delighted with the great possibilities of the in- : stitution.