Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1910-09-24
WOODSTOCK NEWS
Public Libraries in Vermont

&N PUBIC Libraries III vermont
M The public schools of Vermont are
4 hot as good as they should be, and
y Improvement in them ought TO be
q more rapid than it has been in recent
x years. Our population is widely
4. gathered; it is not easy in many
cases to bring pupils of town to a
Y central school; the modest means of
Y .'bur farmers make it di fficult to in
crease salaries and thus secure better
Z teachers.
The new life which Middlebury
college is taking on under the new
q ADMINISTRATION will be most helpful
4, 10 the common schools all over the
4 state. The coming Legislature should
give the school question careful con-
X sideration. Our larger and more
+ prosperous towns should raise their
school salary schedules and thus
secure and hold in the state the best
obtainable teachers.
FL While our schools are progressing
4 but slowly. their friends and allies,
III The Public Libraries, are making
admirable progress. They are work
y ing with the schools in many towns,
and the two agencies together are
greatly increasing the general in
Il terest in education for the last two
4 years.
4 The report of the library commits
4 sioners of the state is now in press
and will soon be distributed. 1t is
a most interesting publication.
Consider that good woman at An
dover, whose little library gets an
annual appropriation Of SIS! To
that tiny income she adds her own
zeal, skill and devotion and the
modest contributions of u fe Nv friends,
4 Of books, and so keeps the habit OF
good reading active in her commun-
ity. She has a little branch library
in one corner of the town, and she
lends over 5000 books in a year.
She has no salary.
In Brookfeld is another story.
The library has been opened, it
seems, four times year for ll9
years, and the people are content.
They are little set in their ways in
Brook6eld, and wish to have no
new-langled library competing with
the time honored custom of quarterly
admission to their literary possess
sions
In Hartford the 60 ladies of
reading club add books to the
library; trustee furnishes periodi.
calls and the children's reading is
carefully looked after.
In White River Junction, in the
same town, another ladies' club has
paid the library's running expenses
and added to the permanent fund;
while 500 in cash and over 200
books have come as gifts from
friends.
In Quechee, in the same town, a
library association has built beau
hiul little library building, charm
ingly furnished and supplied with
nearly 1900 volumes.
Our neighbor, Hartford, thus has
three active public Librarians Why
does not the library idea take root
and grow in Woodstock !? Here are
West Woodstock, South Woodstock
and raftsville, besides several other
small communities, within the towns
limits, each of which could take
pleasure and profit from a collection
Of books Will not some Of the
ladies' who are active in other good
work add to their pleasures that of
Organizing library associations in
these smaller places, where good
books are appreciated even more
than in larger ones? Organization
Is all that is needed to bring about
results. Residents and visitors in
The village could easily supply
books and contributions enough to
make three or four little travelling
Collections which could be moved
from one place to another during
The winter and thus bring good
supply Of attractive books almost to
The door of every resident in the
Town. This is done in Hartland,
and in many other towns in the
state.