Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-05-01
The Children's
Library Room

L
the hest private libraries in the state,
was placed in charge of making the
entire library in beautiful city OF
New England thoroughly up-to-date.
Since the library had from it's gen.
erous endowment an annual income OF
several thousand dollars, he could
command the services of an expert
New England architect, and pay for
making the changes artistic as well
as practical so that all who visited
this home of information in future
would find there surroundings OF
beauty which are always joy.
| Downstairs the best electric lights
were installed. A fine great oak read
ing table with leather covered arm
chairs and settees took the place OF
the old furniture. Walls were retint-
ed A splendid great hand-carveo
thoroughly equipped oak desk was
placed in coy little room LOT those
readers who love to write by them
selves. surrounded by an aoundanco
of reference books and periodicals.
On the shelf. over which taolet
had been placed to the memory OF one
of the donors of the library, IN the re-
novated reading room. was put
beautiful French clock with exqulsl'e
chiselled scroll decoration. Whlle neal
the librarians desk, standing oaintliy
upon the card catalogue cabinet was
another handsome clock with artlstic
round wood frame; and, apparently
with cordial interest In all the doWh.
stairs readers, the strong, beneVolent
donors looked out from their hne por-
traits, some of which were made more
etrue to life" by an expert.
Then "The Children's Room'-tnat
interests lis most-upstalrs was the
object of especially careful plannins
and reconstruction. The old taples
and the old chairs had their legs Gu.
off to the right height for the use OF
the boys and girls; ventilatlng regis
tiers were fitted at Intervals INTO .ne
walls. the hot water radiators were
located in suitable places. twenty
four-pane skylight, protected by
strong canopy above, and three dor-
Nor windows on the front were pullt
into the old stock-room, and these,
with one window at the end. gave gooa
light nv day. and great lnverteu
howl and two globes gave brlgnt elee-
trio light at night On the hne book
shelves at last rested the many urea
sures If wisdom and delight.
r. was a, great day for the boys anu
Owls OF this New England CITY Wnen
their room, so finely equipped msS
opened. An earnest young laus ~
nate az the academy was IN charge ~
rrae+ them az they scampered up tne
two half-flights Of stairs leading TO tne
child,s elysium She had enthuslas-
TO Mans to take special thorough pre-
naratory work in a library summer
school the next season.
Hal was away in their mounsann
camp with father and motner .hat ICY;
hut when he came back and heard
~ +he new children's room at the IL
hrary. he went eagerly with his rather
" EXPLORE its attractions. Hal is qulte
an explorer. Has he not had rather
and grandpa make lists OF every streel
IN the city in which he has lived TOT
only two years! ~.
Among all the magazines upon tue
tables he liked Little Folks best. Tor ne
had heen a subscriber" but ne
thought he would soon love st. Mich
The many books and magazines
,,ight have been bewidering, but ne
did not seem to mind any more tnah ne
minded the variety OF trees IN tne
woods around the summer camp IN the
white Hills Of New Hampshire, for Hal
NJ
noanys of this wonderful world.
His father left him in this-to MIN
new kingdom. Back and forth ne
walked. taking here and there q DOCK
rom the shelves and delv1ng into us
picture beauties and looking over tne
bright magazines on the low taples.
BY and by the children's librarian
asks:
wouldn't you like to take home
1><Sly
soh, yes. says Hal. And what
shall it be-" :.
do you like stories about out Of
doors?'
Eyes, indeed"
well here we have think, SAID
lust as they do downstairs for big
folks. I will give you your own library
card to keep. When you have read this
book through you may come back ana
get another one on this same card"
Now that card was very little,
light, simple thing. 1t was six inches
long and three and one quarter Inches
wide. 1t did not weigh an ounce. nut
II was Halls passport to paradise. With
that ticket any library day he could
enter that great kingdom Of thought
and fancy which extends to all places
under the sun and beyond the sun.
even to where kings and queens ano
princes and princesses have their great
conclaves, wear their royal robes. and
do their great deeds; where the far |
away stars twinkle and brighten the
blue sky: where the fairies take their
tiny friends to magic palaces and hnd
for them treasures better than gold, |
and fun jollier than going to Jerusa-
lem"
He can find there what those funny
little midgets do-the brownies the
sprites, the elves the pixies, and the
kewpies; and then what wonderful
things natures real creatures do-the
birds, the rabbits. the squirrels, the
foxes, the conveys. the beavers, the
gophers, the fishes, and all the rest
from tiny beetle to giant elephant, as
well as about real boy and girl and
men and women heroes, and what they
think and do and discover.
The first book Hal took out on his
first card was "Out Door Land" and
he loved it, for it brought him pictures
and accounts of the odd and entertain
%o1, o1o n