The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-02
PUBLIC LIBRARY HAS ANNIVERSARY Became Free to Public Just
 One Year Ago WHAT HAS BEEN DONE Now Hns 10000 Volumes and 5000 Members, But Much Must Be Done
 to Make It Suitable for
 Birmingham
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
BY EDWIN TORGERsoN


 terday celebrated, figuratively speaking, it's first birthday anniversary. It was on October>1, 1909, that the library was thrown open to the public, absolutely free, and for one year 1t has proved benefit to the community and a self-sup- porting benefit at that.
 When the free library opened year ago its membership included about 300 subscribers to the old flee system" li brary. Now the institution furnishes reading matter for 5000 members, and every day is growing more and more popular.
 There were less than 1500 books on the shelves when the free public library be- came a reality in October last, including all volumes of government statistics. Now the volumes in the possession of the library exceed in number 2o.ooo, and new and valuable books are being added daily.
 To the city of Birmingham officially the 5000 people who gain instruction and entertainment by means of the public H. brary are indebted for the elevator ser vice in the city hall. for the quarters oc- cupied by the library on the fourth floor of the city hall, and for the payment of the salaries of the librarian and assist ant librarians. For everything else the public is indebted to the Birmingham Public Library association, the city board of education, the women's clubs of Bir- mingham and sundry private citizens.
 It was the board of education, through nr II crfIl ri n a1d schools, that established the modest li- brary from which the present institution sprang. It was a pay" affair at first, the membership fee being s2.50 per year, and was generally looked upon as com mercial venture. For that reason there was little public sympathy with pr. Phil lips enterprise, and as a result the li- brary existed for several years with It. tie or no Improvements or additions.
 When the nominal fee was thrown off, however, the general public was not slow in taking advantage of the opportunity, and extended its thorough sympathy.
 But sympathy and funds are anything but identical and 1t may be believed that whatever has been accomplished for the free public library has been paid for in work that was hard and uniterary.
  utive board of the Birmingham Public Library association, through Its former able secretary, Miss Frances Nimmo Greene of this city. Miss Greene and Miss Lila May Chapman, the present H. brarian, have worked hard and conscfen- tiously. Whether they attained results remains only to be seen.
 Association Worked, Too
 Some three years ago there was a
 aAt nf e. tablishing a big free public library for Birmingham, a library large enough to be a credit to the city. Out of this agitation there arose organization which became known as the Birming- ham Public Library association. It was composed of broad-minded, public spirited citizens who did not mind giv- ing their time and energy to benehtlng the public In general, while the pub lie in general did not at all want to be benefited, but instead maligned them as fanatics because they were in earn est.
 The first dreams of the library asso- citation are still dreams, but Birm1ng- ham has a public library and one that Is free: and if the present rate of growth is sustained sGreater Birming- ham will some day have greater
  Atlanta library.
 Next to the library association, the Rirmin gham Federation of Women's clubs has been the organization most interested in the library expansion movement and most responsible for it's growth. Many "best seller which has circulated around and around again, thanks to the freq library, was do- mated to the library by one of the women's clubs. and many anothe CT book, more valuable but less popular. has been placed on the library shelves with the compliments of one of the clubs.
 Work of the Clubs
 And then there was the fateful Library Day picnic, held at East Lake on May 20, when 1t rained more ito the square inch than on any other day of the year. It was the day set apart by the ladies of the federated clubs to make money for the public library and a month or two of preparation had seemingly made it an assured fact that much money would be made as desired. Everything pointed to a brilliant and epoch making success, but 1t rained. Despite the inauspiciousness of wealth or conditions, ss00 were amassed, if not made, for the public library, and that meant 900 new books. more or less, which was going little. so to speak.
 And what, with small benefit per formances of various kinds, and dona tions, small and otherwise, the library has grown An institution usually as- sociated with women's clubs and pink teas, 1t has come to be looked upon as no mean factor in the development saf Birmingham, development cultural and educational, if not commercial.
 Before many years the Cox property on the Southside will be the site of a library commensurate with the great ness of city in the hundred thousand class, and wise saws will be justified in murmuring something about great