The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-03-21
CATHOLICS AND PUBLIC
LIBRARIES.

d '1dlE piOpOIG1Oh VI CdGuOlIC
books, that they do not place on
their shelves the works Of authors
who treat of controverted sub
jects from the Catholic stand
point.
The question is an important
one, not only for the Catholic
patrons Of public libraries, but
also for the general public. Cath
olics do their share towards the
support of public libraries, and
they are therefore entitled to con-
sideration when there is a ques-
ton of laying in supply of books
for general use. They have
right to demand that due consid-
Grafton be shown them in the Sc
lection of books by Catholic
authors or fair-minded non-Cath-
Ollie writer's who deal with Catho-
lie topics. Not only that, but
Catholics are within their rights
in asking that such books be pro-
cured by the public library for the
benefit Of the non Catholic pat
rons who may desire to familiar
ize themselves with Catholic
teaching and with the Catholic
viewpoint on any subject in which
they may be interested. This is
the more necessary in all cases
where there is a divergence of
opinion among authors who have
written on any subject which, from
it's very nature, lends itself to the
expression of views that are not
unlikely to be colored or biased by
the religious affiliations of the
writer. In all such cases, Catho-
lie authors should be as accessible
to students as Protestants ones.
We believe that, in the majority
Of cases, those in charge of public
libraries are not only willing but
anxious to do what is right in
this regard. The few instances of
bigoted opposition to the interests
of Catholics and disregard for
their rights which come to- light
from time to time serve to en-
phasize the fairness and impair
TALLY which generally character
ize the action of public library
boards and officials. Not long ago
we were told that the public
library board in a Canadian city
refused to accept set of the
Catholic Encyclopedia on the
ground of it's religious character.
The protests which were entered
against their action 60 to show
that it was largely a matter OF
personal bigotry rather than an
expression of the attitude Of the
general public towards a just
claim on the part of their Catholic
fellow citizens.
But while public libraries are
not unwilling to cater to their
Catholic patrons, they do not
wish to cucumber their shelves
with books that are seldom or
never called for Their aim is to
meet the demands Of the reading
public, and unless there is a de-
mand for such books, it can scarce
ly be expected that any consider
able number of them will be kept
on hand. The kind Of books kept
in public library are an express
sion of the taste Of it's patrons. Ca
tholics have it within their power
to add continually to the number
of Catholic works in the public
libraries, by asking for such books
and reading them when they are
procured. In not few instances,
the dearth Of Catholic books in
some libraries, is due to the
neglect of Catholics themselves
who seldom call for books that set
forth Catholic thought and deal
with vital problems from the Cath
Ollie viewpoint.
One cause Of complaint on the
part Of Catholics is that they do
not know what Catholic books are
contained in the public library.
While it is true that catalogue
of the Catholic books contained in
public library, would be of great
benefit to Catholic patrons, the
absence Of such a catalogue
should not be made an excuse for
apathy and indifference on their
part. They can easily procure a
list of Catholic books and ask for
them at the library. If they are
not found on it's shelves, the
| librarian should be asked to pro-
cure them. and in this way, in the
course Of time, a plentiful supply
will be accessible. No library
board will refuse to comply with
the request Of Catholic citizens
that certain books which they
would like to read, be placed on
the library shelves.
Then, too, Catholics should
exercise vigilance in scanning the
catalogues issued by public Ii
braries, and if they find that
books anti Catholic in tone, i'm
moral or suggestive in content, or