The Monticellonian., 1904-06-23
LAUNDERED LIBRARY BOOKS
Public Institution Has to Renovate Thousands of Volumes
 Every Year.

A large room on the first floor of the | Chicago public library building reminds one of laundry with soiled clothes at one end and washed and irened ones al the other Two or three long, wide tables are covered with books, torn frayed and dirty. Other tables and rows of shelves are filled with volumes just | from the bindery, in spick span, new clothes, with black, blue, green, purple maroon or red backs; not as gaudy or as gilty as in their original array, but fal more solid and substantial, says the Chi cago Tribune
 Last year LOGO volumes were reclaimed and reclad and this year coco will be Most of them are novels, an occasional | history or work on practical arts feeling as lost in the tattered rank of fiction as a pedigreed dog among the surs of the pound The original binding seldom lasts more than six months. But stout boards in place of cloth is substituted and the leather backs instead of cloth ones. The thread is much stronger, and each token" or cluster of pages. is sewed separately, so that the renovated book of this grade and sort lasts four or five times as long as it did in it's original covers. Each new book costs an average of S5 cents. and it's new suit 35 cents. or, taking into account it's longer endurance, about nine cents.
 The chief damage done is the tearing of the leaves, the tearing of the covers from the leaves, the soil and the writing in them. The writing mainly consists of comment upon the book. either in praise or blame. Lovely book" Fine story" Be sure and read it." Isn't she just loyely?" "I think Reginald is a splendid fellow" Just too fine for any thing Adverse judgments are briefer and explicit Bum" and No good" sums itup.
 These commentaries have all to be erased, which is sometimes made impos- sible by their being written in indelibe ink. Occasionally the character of the book proyokes controversial inscrip- tions. Books In favor of secession excite emphatic protests from union readers. The history of Belle Boyd" the spy. has been fearfully marked up with frank opinions of her secession proeliyities. Protestants and Catholics also give vent to their sentiments in regard to each oth- CTS creed and conduct. So do those of socialistic or anarchistic beliefs. when the rare chance of their presence in fic- tion offers. Frequently these voluntary commentators are satisfied to draw line under the obnoxious text and Get ques- tion or interrogation mark in the mar gin. These expositions are generally in poor writing. bad spelling. and bad Eng fish. Occasionally they are bitter. and even profane.
 Two or three damaged books are kept as curiosities. One is history, by Sen ator Lodge, of Massachusetts. It was run over by the wheel of street car and a hundred-odd pages cut sheer across di- agonally. Another is copy Of the Unit ed States Official Register, from which some one while In the library vas able undetected to cut over 400 pages contain ing the list of post offices and postmast- CTS In the United States, probably for a mailing list. Many of the books are bad ly stained with the compound of mud and soot that overlays Chicago streets. When a book has been defaced or dam aged, but is not yet far gone enough for rebinding. the one who draws it from the library after the defects have been seen, is protected by a stamped line reading: Pages 145 to 153 of this book were cut out previous to June 15. 1904" or what ever the date may have been.