New-York tribune., 1911-04-23
MANY USE LIBRARIES
Over 100000 Books a Year
Borrowed in BROOKLYN.

| plalned or in the postcard campaign which
Adelphi is now making for an endowment
fund, is pretty well balanced by the sue
cess OF the library system. II there is
only one college student to every few hum
dred population. there is a book borrower
to every five persons in the population or
| thereabouts. According to the last census
there were about l,6OO,0p0 persons in the
borough. Last year there were upward OF
| 100000 book borrowers.
Statisticians say that the average family
is made up of five persons. II this is so
the average family in Brooklyn has a book
borrower The books borrowed by these last
year numbered 4o66,oo. While undoubtedly
many thousands of the subscribers shared
thelr books with no one. probably just as
many did share them. When this large
amount of borrowing goes on among
population which is for the most part In
comfortable circumstances and which buys
many books, II indicates a gratifying de-
gree of mental activity. the authorities
think Their view is strengthened by the
large percentage of non-fction works that
are taken from the libraries under the sys-
TEN which permits borrowers TO take one
fiction book and one non-fction book at a
time
The library statistics are more convincing
than the figures Of Adelphi relative to the
/ number Of college students. for BROOKLYN
sends large proportion of her students to
colleges out of town. If the actual state
/ of things could be found out In any way
II is contended, she would he shown TO
have just IS large proportion of college
students as most cosmopolitan cities
Brooklyn has now twenty mine branch
libraries. two stations and five deposit sta
tOns. Seventeen of the branches were
| erected from the Carnegie fund In the
| last year six Of the branches had more
| than 2Ooo00 circulation. The list is headed
by the Brownsville branch, where more
than $4,000 circulation was reported last
year The Bushwick branch came next,
with 2S0,50o The other four important
j branches are the Montague. Saratoga,
Williamsburg and Prospect branches. With
the exception Of the williamsburg and the
Brownsville branches. these leading libra
ries are not situated in sections with large
foreign populations. 1t cannot be said
that only enterprising aliens are using the
/ libraries 10 the exclusion of citizens. En-
! terprisng aliens are no doubt reapng much
benefit from the libraries and no doubt are
preparing themselves to be intelligent cti-
zens through their means.
! The Prospect branch is at Sixth avenue
and 9th street. on the Park Slope on three
sides ii is surrounded by people of wealth
and education. The foreign population in
the neighborhoOd is comparatively negli-
gible. The Montague branch in Montague
street. between Clinton and Court streets.
is in the midst of the business section On
the one hand. II caters to the Brooklyn
/ Heights section. and on the other to the
| many men and women in business about it.
| Here also, the foreign element is almost
negligible So branches all about the bor-
| Ough give proof that the native born are
as diligent readers as the foreign element
! The library is the school of all the .peo-
pie; even more it is the distributor of
wholesale amusement to all the people II
it's only mission was 10 compete with the
, cheap amusement resorts for the attention
of the young people it would be eminently
worth while. 1t would be hard TO estimate
D the educational and cultural influences ex-
erted last year by the 100000 books-for
the most part books worth while. and in
many cases the best in the language-which
were read in the borough.
feature OF the library work is the col
lections in foreign languages and the col
lections for the blind Another feature is
the formation of libraries for the fire
houses and for factories The presence of
Department of Education libraries in the
claSsrooms of the public schools has caused
a slight falling off Of the use Of the chill
drens department of the public libraries
but this falling off is made up in the adult
department.
The last three branches to be built with
the Carnegie fund are soon TO be erected
Work on the plans for the central library
building has also been started an appro-
priation of 10000 having been made for
the purpose The building of a wing of the
building. which is TO stand in the Prospect
Park Plaza. will be started within a few
months il is hoped. Here 1t will have as
its companion the Museum. "a stones throw
away in the Eastern Parkway.
The erection of the central library Will
mark the elimination of a peculiar growth
of popular sentiment. When the men and
| women who are now getting hrmly
| launched i'm life were youngsters they had
| 10 walk miles to get books from the bor-
ough's three or four big public libraries.
| such for instance. as Pratts Library In
Rverson street. To-day a borough-wide
| public library system has come to be
| looked upon as nearly Indispensable as
borough wide public school system. The
| central building will signify that the IL
hrary system has come to be accepted as
| institution