The Colorado statesman., 1910-07-09


deed, but owing to the growing i'm
portance of the Russian empire and
people interest in this peculiar tongue
is on the increase.
In the matter of preference, history
has the greatest number of devotees
among the readers at the Congress
sional library, fiction coming second.
Now, and for some time past, nearly
one-half of the number of readers in
the library reading room come here
to read town histories. genealogies
and that class of works which during
the past two years have appeared in
such numbers, and which deal with
historic towns, families. etc, of the
different groups of states of the
Union. Such subjects have become
immensely popular of late years. and
people who, ten years ago, probably
did not know the names of their great
grandparents, and possibly cared less,
are today poring over old directories,
genealogies, town histories and the
like, in efforts to search up distin-
guished ancestry.
One would also be surprised at the
large number of people who resort to
the library reading room to spend
their evenings reading works on hyp-
notism, table rapping, theosophy and
kindred subjects. The interest in
such matters is intense and far-reach-
ing, and despite the advanced state or
learning and science 1t is astonishing
to witness the large number of those
who every evening call for works on
the subjects aforementioned.
The Congressional library, like all
institutions of considerable age, has
quite number of old patrons. per
sons who have called regularly every
evening for the past 20 or 30 years.
Some of them have been coming to
the library for period which extends
beyond the memory of many of the
oldest employees and librarians. One
man has called every day for the past
20 years to spend several hours daily
reading poetry. He never reads any
thing else, this being his hobby. An
other old-timer has made the subject
of mushrooms his hobby and reads
everything printed on the subject.
Those who come to prime themselves
full of hasty, ready-made information
for papers, speeches. addresses, ETC.,
are always in evidence. Some of the
heaviest reading is done by young
Japanese and Chinese students, who
are making the very best of their op-
portunities Next the works on spiri-
tualism, etc, the number of books
that are read on sociology, social
questions. criminology the trust prob
lens, etc, is astonishingly great. The
interest in such things has been on
the increase for the past several years
and shows no evidence of waning.
Minors under the age of sixteen are
not allowed in the reading room, and 1T
has long been the policy of the IL
brarian of congress to assist young
readers between the ages of sixteen
and twenty-one to class of good
reading matter. The librarians do all
in their power to increase the use
fulness of the library as an education
al institution by giving advice, sug-
gestions and information. to the end
of encouraging a desire among young
readers for the best and most instruc-
tive class of solid reading matter.
While standing near the desk of the
reading room one day the writer saw
a little lad just sixteen years of age
. hand in a card for Plato's Republic"
This happened at the close of great
rush on the part of large number
of young readers for cheap Juvenile
fiction. The little fellow did not have
his card made out quite right, but the
librarian attended to that for him with
evident Measure putting himself to
no small pains to see that the young
ster was supplied in short order and
with the right translation. When
boy shows a taste for such literature
there is some hope for him. and he
can always rest assured of receiving
every attention at the disposal of the
library and its force.