The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1916-04-26

ness nesearcn-Forei9n newspapers
PopuIar-1o,3S4,57e Books Borrowed
During the Last Twelve Months, Not
Counting Those Read In Building.
The New York Public library now
leads the world in number of readers,
according to the annual report for 1915
The large increase In the number of
persons who use the library for re-
search as well as for recreation has
been due for the most part to the Eu
ropean war, according to Il. III. Ander
son, director
As result of the war the library has
become an immense laboratory for sci
entific Investigators, particularly those
seeking information regarding new in
dustries that have sprung up in this
country. The report also says:
The newspapers are being consulted
more than ever for statistics regarding
the prices Of securities and of merchan-
disc They are also being used by persons
who wish to get first hand knowledge Of
the history of newspapers and of such
subjects as advertising, headlines, car
toons and editorial articles. Writers of
plays and short stories consult the older
papers for local color The war collection
of newspapers from forty different Euro
pean cities has been useful to newspaper
reporters and a continuous source of in
terest to other readers. A test in Decem-
cember, 1915, showed the approximate dali
ly average of persons entering the news
paper division to be 1870.
"There has been lively interest in
the printed material relating to the
technical side of the European war;"
according to the report. investigators
have been studying opportunities for
new industries, notably in the coal tar
and petroleum products. Students came
to find the cost of producing potash in
Germany the French standard gauge
for nails, the effect of alkali on con-
I crete, method for spinning asbestos,
q description of canal boats used on
the river Arno, dimensions of German
heavy artillery, etc. These are merely
representative questions, taken from a
great number of Inquiries
Many Newspapers Read.
The report says the immediate inter-
ests Of today appear 10 be in the read
ing rooms devoted to current period
icals and newspapers.
1.-THE volume of work performed by
the library" says the report. land the
number rcsorting to it show constant
increase. The average number of read
ers is almost double the numbers using
the British museum of London or the
BibliotheQue Rationale of Paris"
The number of books borrowed last
year was 1O,3S4,579, compared with
9,5164S2 in 1914 and in the year 2,55S,-
TT persons used the library rooms for
90 study and reading.
There were 096,574 books and 312, SJ3
pamphlets, total Of 1,309,437 pieces,
in the reference department of the
central library at the end of 1915. The
circulation department., including the
branch libraries, had 1,100,952 volumes.
The total number of pieces in the
library was 2,410,3T9.
Reviewing the work of the library,
the trustees say: "All Of this, it must
be noted. has been accomplished with
out any corresponding increase in the
invested funds of the corporation or in
its income. The income for circulation
is almost entirely derived from an APP
preparation by the city.
1--WE have been able to make our in
come and outgo balance only by cut
ting down expenditures for books and
binding and by ruthlessly eliminating
from our budget a variety Of items for
purposes which were strongly urged as
desirable"