The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-01-30
REPORT

association vas held In the assembly
room on Monday evening, with a good
attendance. The report Of the librar-
ian was the most important business
Of the evening, and it is so interesting
that we give it in full:
Statistics are usually dry but in this
instance I believe a few will be Of in.
terest. The great question of this age
In regard to all enterprises seems to
be, does it pay?" And even the pub
lie library which seems little akin to
such materialism, comes forward to
nswer this same question, us 1t a
paying Investment"
This library was opened just nine
months ago today. There are now
600 cards out, 600 people who have
been making use of the books to say
nothing Of the many others who come
In to read in the library but do not
draw out books. Scarcely a day passes
but some n or several, take out
cards. The general circulation in the
time since the library has been open.
ed is about 400, that Is books have
been drawn out that many times. The
older readers have drawn fiction al
most entirely, although the high
school students have made some use
Of the reference books, especially his
tory. Very few read poetry, a few
more biography. We have on the
shelves or in circulation about $40
volumes. or these about 800 are
fiction and 1872 are children's books
Besides these are quite a number Of
volumes just received that are not YET
catalogued, mostly recent fiction
which brings the number of books ul
to about 1000 volumes. Now in re.
gard to the class of fiction most Dor.
rowed. 1t would seem the old authors
are not being read very much now
The works Of Scott, George Eliot and
Dickens have gone out very little,
some not at all. David Copperfield
has been out a few times. George
Meredith's books have been used hard.
ly at all. or recent books, De Morgan
does not appeal to the popular fancy.
The fiction most popular so far has
been Harold Bell Wright's Winning OF
Barbara Worth and Calling Of Dan
Mathews. Gene Stratton Porter's The
Harvester, Freckles and Girl of the
Limberlost. The books of c. N. and
A. NJ. Williamson, The Lightning Con
ductor, Adventure Of Princess Sylvia,
tc. Winston Churchill's The Crossing,
Richard Carvel and The Crisis. Mrs
Barclays The Rosary, The Mistress OF
Shenstone and The Following Of the
Star, Booth Tarkington's The Two Van
Revels, and The Gentleman from In
diana. Others very popular have been
The Little Minister, Mary Cary, Neatly
Make Believe, The Goose Girl, The
Spoilers, To Have and to Hold, The
Masters Violin, Lavender and Old
Lace, The Iron Woman, Brewster's
Millions, The Man OF the Hour, and
Septimus. We have one book OF
Robert Chambers, The Reckoning,
which is popular and have calls for
others of his.
Now to turn to the children's books.
l will give the twelve that have been
out most often. The first two are not
really children's books but have been
read almost entirely by the younger
boys: The Trail, by Hamlin Garland
(40), The Prisoner Of Zenda, by An.
thony Hope (27), Hans Brinker (2S)
Indian Stories (retold from st. Nichol
as) (28), Tree Dwellers (23), Later
Cave Men (24), Rebecca of Sunny,
brook Farm CID, Boy Scouts in Maine
Woods (28), Biography OF a grizzly
(25), Nelly's Silver Mine (22), Jack
Hardy (28), Boy Aviators (37). The
children do not read fiction altogether
by any means. For instance, the
biographies written for children have
been out often. The life OF Abraham
Lincoln (11), Paul Jones (13), -Four
Am. Naval Heroes, Midshipman Far
ragut (9), Hero Tales by Lodge ant
Roosevelt I'D, History In an interest
ing form Is read a great deal. Childs
history Of England, also the story o
Scotland have been out several times
Revolutionary Stories, Colonial Stories