The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-01

@<--~ prominent business men who are con vinced that spending money to get good books and people together is good in- vestment.
 with the proper librarian In charge. the library,s work will be more com prehensive than almost any other insti- tuition. No other institution is less sec tartan. You may have splendid schools but only children of certain age are is based on social position or intellec- tual qualifications. The lodges limit their membership to a certain sex, and churches are conducted on denomina- tional lines, but free and untrammeled from all such limitations, the public | library stands for perfect fellowship and cooperation. It Is the symbol Of education and culture. of wisdom and happiness. the place where everyone | can meet on a common footing for in- struction and enjoyment.
 Tt Is not unusual to hear a librarian enumerate all the splendid things she would do if she had money or perhaps l if her building were in better loca- tion. recently heard the excuse giv- | en for a certain library's alleged state of coma. that unfortunately 1t was lo- cated half way between the uneducated rich and the iliiterate poor. Proper financial support and good location are necessary for the fullest results. but rian and her board are of the greatest importance.
 Wasn't it Rosebery who defined 1 memory as the queer feeling which comes over one when friend begins a story? Examples of work accomp- lished by small libraries which can be mentioned. are not stories in any sense. but illustrations which have come un- der my personal observation.
 Small Children.
 Work with small children Is one of the most interesting features of a library's activities, and kept in proper | relation to the other departments Is one of the most valuable. The story hour Is particularly interesting. Sto- rfes should not be told for mere enter tainment, or where there are not | enough books to meet increased de- mands which result from the story | hour. They should be held to get the children in proper relation to the IT, brarian, and to interest them in certain classes of books which otherwise would not be attractive. Thorough prepara- l tion by the librarian is necessary and frequently her story hours covering two years will be outlined in advance, talk I ing up the old Greek tales followed by the Morse legends. for instance, or the King Arthur tales followed by the story of Robin Hood. These are the basis | of much that is literature and art. Frequently you will surprise li- brarian on Saturday afternon. seated in the midset of thirty or more small people. telling them story of George Washington perhaps. Doubtless a por- trait of Washington will be hung over 100 juvenile books or the American Revolution and our early history. Ma turally, the children will go from the story to the books.
 T have known of school teachers declining to move to a town without a public library, because of the great advantages they would lose in their work. To be of service, special cards may be issued by the library to teach CTS so they can borrow more than the usual number of books at one time. Special collections may be furnished to vacation schools. Cases of books can be deposited in school buildings re- mote from the library. Many librar- les send such cases to the country schools. with hooks on debates. his- tory and biography. to be kept six months or more and then exchanged. Special educational collections are shelved for use by the teachers. Grad. ed lists of books suitable for school children are printed as part of the H.. brary's finding list. Lists of books on special subjects and bulletins of books for special days are printed. Topics being studied in the schools are Illus 1 trated by special exhibits at the It.
 brary. Childrens rooms are provided at the library where the children may come in contact with a children's H. brarian who knows both children and their books. Training can be given | in the use of dictionaries and other reference books, in the use of the card | catalogue, etc. This can be given to teachers and children. both at the li- brary and in the school rooms.
 Aim of Library.
 "The aim of the public library Is not so much to increase reading. as to increase good reading. It has been | said by few, that libraries Increase the reading of trivial books especially | by boys and girls. but experience has l shown that a person usually reads up and not down. With the right sort of | librarian, good books can give ma l terial aid in the proper development of boy or girl at an age when the
 school and sometimes even home in- | fluences have waned I know of one instance where 8 dispenser of penny 1 dreadfuls waxei rich on his sales of I public library in the town decreased | his sales fifty per cent. for few will | purchase a poor book when a good | one can be had for the asking. Many of these books picked up by l the boy are not particularly vicious
 but 1t Is a mistake to delude him into
 thinking that it is quite ordinary to
 rise from the streets at ten years of
 age and go into business. make a
 lucky speculation at fourteen. save
 the life of his rich employers daugh-
 ter and marry her at sixteen. and
 probably within the next two years
 become a public benfactor and retire i at ease.
 What is the use of teaching boys
 and girls how to read and then pro-
 vide nothing for them to read. Dr.. Dewey says 1t is like teaching them
 to use a knife and fork and then giv-
 ing them no food. The school-life of
 most people, only about five years, Is
 lamentably short, but If the library
 can attract the child while in school.
 1t will provide the means to continue
 his education through life.
 "All cities, whether large or small.
 have their full share of boys and
 young men who are endangering both
 themselves and others by continually | loafing about the streets of nights,
 and perhaps of young girls, who for
 nothing better to do. spend their eve
 nings in parading the streets. Per
 haps the home is unattractive. or
 there may be no home at all, or there
 may be social cravings blindly seeking
 some satisfaction, but whatever the
 cause, the public library can be made
 the salvation of many such people
 Nw