Evening journal., 1910-03-10
HOW LIBRARY'S
MONEYISSPENT
Librarian Bailey says about
$4,000 a Year is Expended
for Books
MORE FOR TECHNICAL
WORKS THAN FICTION

Arthur L. Bailey. librarian OF the lnsti- Z
tute Free Library. in a statement issued I
to-day. discusses the expenditure OF the (
appropriation OF Si2OOO a year received
from the city by the library, and shows
that only about 5000 a year OF that money
is expended for books. lie also points out
that a greater amount is expended for
technical books than for fiction, and gives
other interesting details OF the conduct Of
the library. Mr. Baileys statement was
prompted by remarks made by President
OF Council James L. Banning at meeting
OF the Mems Club Of St. Andrews Church
on Monday night last In his letter Mr..
Bailey SAYS.
Editor THE EVENING JOURNAL.
The remarks Of Mr. Banning. presi-
dent of the City Council, relating to
the Free Library. as reported in THE
EVENING JOURNAL for March Sth,
may POSSIBLY express. in a general way,
an opinion held by others in this city.
Since. however. there seems to be sew
eral errors Of fact in Mr. Banning
remarks, il may be only fair to the
Library and its loyal supporters II a
brief statement Of facts be made
Mr.. Banning states that most OF the
$4,000 received from the city by the
Library is spent for books. particularly
fiction. Any Library In a city no
larger than Wilmington which could
count on a book fund OF $4,000 year
would be indeed fortunate. AS mat
ter of fact the Free Library OF Will
mington spends about $1,000 a year for
books. and this sum is a somewhat
/ larger percentage Of it's income than
most libraries are able 20 spend.
Mr.. Banning voices the opinions held
/ by many when he implies that a large
part of the book expenditure is for
fiction. II is true that more than so
per cent Of the books borrowed from
the Public Library are novels. This
is true Of all libraries whether in the
United States or in England. While
library authorities all over the coun-
try believe that the existence Of a
library is justified and that It ought
to be literally supported from the
standpoint of the use that Is made Of
it's fiction, this is not the place TO
discuss the matter The only point 70
be made al this timo Is that the
Library does not spend a large part
Of its book fund for fiction. An cx-
animation Of the records Of purchases
for the year February. 1909, to January,
1910. shows that S606.50 was spent for
fiction, a little more than u per cent.
Of tho total book purchases. AS a
further refutation of the implied charge
that large sums of money are being
spent for ephemeral literature. It
should be stated that during the same
period the amount spent for technical
books alone was s5S9.10. These technical
books are used by the working men OF
the city in learning the different trades.
There are many instances Of men who
have directly increased their earning
capacity through the use of books bor-
rowed from the Free Library, and IL is
J almost automatic to say that the
! higher the grade OF intelligence dis
played by the citizens Of any COM
munity. the better that community is.
Therefore, the library authorities be-
lieve that money spent in the support
of the library is a good Investment.
, since II helps TO make more intelligent
workmen with larger earning capacity.
They believe that Il could be justified
on this ground alone if on no other.
Two facts are sufficient TO answer
the statement that those who use
library books are likely to catch dis
, ease.
1. The Board Of Health notifies the
I Library Of each case of contagious dis
ease and a notice is Immediately sent
. by the Library requesting those who
have library books TO hold them unit
fumigated by the Board of Health
I They may not be returned 10 the Ii
I brary books was so very slight as tc
certified that they have been fumi-
gated.
.. The whole question Of contagior
through books was investigated by th'
Buffalo Public Library about two
years ago, and a conclusion reached
at that time. that the danger Of con
, tagion to the public from public II
brary books was very slight as q
be almost negligible. One very i'm
portant fact brought out at that in
h vestigation was that there were NJ
known cases where a library employ
had caught a disease from contac
with books. Since each library EN-
pIoye handles in the course Of a yea
over 1OO. 900 books, it would seem a
il the general health Of the public wer
not in any particular danger from
II public libraries
j. AS to the general statement tha
y the Library is an expensive luxur,
s. since it receives the sum OF sl2.OOO
4 Continued on Second Page.