Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-01-30
STEADY GAINS
IN LIBRARIES.
Towns South of Trenton Great.
est Users Of Educational
Matter Controlled at Capitol.

TRENTON, Jan. 3O:-According
to the annual report Of the New Jer-
sey library commission no. other state
in the union has made greater pro-
gress during the past year in the pro-
motion and establishment of free
public libraries than New Jersey.
The commission modestly asserts
that they have not been altogether
responsible for this rosy retrospect.
and they freely admit that the sue.
cess which has attended their efforts
has been largely due to the co-opera-
ton of the New Jersey Library asso.
citation, the Federation of Women's
Clubs, its officers and committees
the New Jersey state grange of Pat
rons of Husbandry, and library ex
perts who are in charge of various
departments of work in the larger
libraries of the state.
The report shows that new librar-
les have been established in several
towns; old ones have passed under
municipal control; some have been
r~eorganized, reclassiied and recata-
logued; the number of travelling lib
raries In operation has. been more
than doubled, assistance has been
given in many instances to those in
charge of smaller libraries, and for
five weeks early in the umm a
library school was maintained at AS
bury Park for the purpose OF giving
elementary instructions In library
work to those who had been without
special training. The commission
operates under the act of March 20,
1900, to promote the establishment
and efficiency of free public libraries.
Under this authority the commission
ers have pointed the way, and,
through its organizer, looked after
the many details that have brought
about good results.
The report shows that during the
year 457 travelling libraries were sent
out by the commission throughout
the state and that the aggregate book
circulation from these, in round num-
bers, was 1900 volumes. Eighty
per cent. of the libraries went to
rural districts, where the demand
was largely for history, household
economics. agriculture and horticul-
ture.
The total number of books in the
travelling libraries of this state is
1881. The discarded books are CIV
en- to small towns or reformatory in
situations.
The report summarizes what has
been done in New Jersey since the
appointment of the commission by
saying:
when the report of the New Jer-
sey Library Association was made in
1900, with a view of securing the ap-
pointment of a library commission,
only seventy-six libraries were re-
ported. Forty-seven of these librar-
les were free. We have on record
today $50 libraries, ninety-nine of
which are free. Twenty-Five of the
subscription libraries reported in
1900 are today free public libraries.
The seyenty-four more libraries add
ed to the record are not all new;
some of them have been discovered
in small towns where they were
struggling for existence, and have
been helped to get upon their feet.
"Of the $50 libraries of the state
only five free public libraries have
$4,000 volumes and over, and thirty
of them have less than 1000 vol
umes. In 1900 the total circulation
of books in the state was reported as
being 1,604,644. These books were
circulated at an average cost of 7.3
cents per book. Last year the circu-
lation, taken all together, "a about
~5,SS9,000, at a cost of k cents per
book. OF these 5,SS9,000 books,
3,S79,000 were circulated by librar-
les of less than $1,000 volumes, at an
average cost of less than four cents
per volume. One hundred of the $50
libraries have no assistants, seven
are taken care of by volunteer SER
vice, and in nineteen volunteers aid
the librarian. Besides these libraries
$50 towns have good school libraries.
With these we will also try to keep
in touch.
If a line was drawn straight from
Trenton to the seacoast, thus dividing
the state into two sections, sixty-two
of the $50 libraries would be in
South Jersey and lightweight in
North Jersey. There are in proper
ton more free libraries in the south
ern section than in the northern, and
the libraries are more widely scat
tered"