The Falls City tribune., 1909-09-24
GROWTH OF public LIBRARY
OVER 5000 VOLUMES ON THE
SHELVES TODAY.
Some Pertinent Suggestions as to
the Future of Our Library
Necessary Changes.

There has been talk in plenty of
the growth of Falls City and her in
dustries; of the prospects of inducing
other industries to locate here. The
little city has o%utgrown many of her
old garments and is ready for new
ones. Sometimes the growth has been
slow and it has been hard to wake
changing, the world moving apaee
and that we must hurry a little to
keep up with the crowd.
But there is one public institution
in our city that seems to have grown
so rapidly, so easily, so naturally
that few seem to realize that it has
outgrown its present surroundings.
That institution is our public library.
In years past a few noble women.
and a few public spirited men tried
to maintain in Il city, first, a free
reading room, in which most of the
periodicals We're furnished by sub
scriptions from the various grades
of the schools. A few good books
were purchased. but the literary spir-
it was lacking and the public gener-
ally did not patronize the reading
room enough to pay-the ordinary ex-
penses,to say nothing of keeping new
books supplied.
The next venture was a circulating
library. This, too, was a failure for
much the same reason as the first
step.
And so on for several years, till
one day a noble minded woman with
high ideals of benefit, the greatest
amount of good to the greatest num-
Der of people, beqGeathed to our
city a goodly sum for a permanent
library. One of our fellow towns
men aided the institution materially
by donating a splendid site for the
building. And the library was built.
spirit in Falls City ten years ago. Thel
club work was limited to a few con-
genial friends, who delighted to meet
in each others homes for a little re-
search. The child mind was trained,
in the majority of cases, in the home
by a few story books not always wise
ly chosen.
And so when our library was built
provision was made for the shelving
of $500 books and 200 volumes were
placed in the library when it was
first opened to the public. Today,
there are over 5000 volumes on the
shelves to say nothing of the bound
magazines stored away and the un-
bound that could find no place to
rest if stored away.
Our library has outgrown itself
There is no place for new shelving,
unless a window be covered, and not
one window a be spared. A win
dow might be cut in high above the
cases on the north wall, but poor
light only could fall upon a cast of
shelves placed in front of the north
section. Our library has become a
necessity to our people. This is very
evident, if n reads the report of
the librarian from month to month;
he cannot afford to let it decrease or
degenerate. 1t stands among the
best in the state in the report of the
state librarian.
What is the remedy? A Carnage
library. A wild idea? Not at all.
Other towns large and smaller
have them, and why not this
city and without expense to the city.
too? A Carnagie library is given con-
ditionally-a given amount must be
raised by a town to secure the gift.
Very well. Our library building is
a good one centrally located. 1t
should command a good price. Why
not sell the present building to raise
the amount necessary to obtain a
Carnage gift and then build a new
library with provisions for the fu-
ture? There is hardly a doubt but
that those who helped build and
maintain the present library would
be willing to see it go to build a bet
ter one.
Our city is absolutely without a
rest room, a place where people
spending a few hours, or a day in our
city could repair for a short time
for rest without the publicity of the
stores, public buildings or hotels.
There is not a suitable lecture hall
in the town. These are only a few
minor details that could be put into
the new library building, and all a
be had without additional cost to the
city.
No.. the pla, soann faooib1ao