The vidette., 1917-11-01
County Library.


the Miss. Library Association
Do you realize that more than
half the people of the United States
live in rural districts and small
Though there are
a few thousand small free libra
ries in existence to serve fifty mil
lion people, it will be many years
before even the larger part will
create and properly maintain their
own individual libraries. There
fore. if there is any virtue in books
and library service and il as
program of social development,
book service should become uni
versal as soon as possible, it would
be difficult to discover any better
means to this end than to provide
each State with an adequate coun
ty library law, which will encour-
age and almost guarantee action
by each county. What the agri-
cultural agent or farm adviser can
do for the bettermeut of crops and
farming methods the county libra
ry can do in stimulating intellect
ual pursuits and furnishing the
consequent cultural material for
those who live in the country.
Library activities begin with the
purchase and circulation of books.
Imagine for a moment the further
possibilities of a central agency
not so far removed in personel OF
location but that the cross roads
may frequently come in touch with
it, which besides loaning books is
circulating magazines, carrying on
a reference and study club ser
vice, encouraging new groups to
undertake reading and study and
suggesting topics and books. 1t
might eventually be supplying
musical score, musical records for
mechan cal pianos and phono.
graphs, loaning the monographs
for entertainments and programs
in the country towns, providing
unmounted, mounted and even
framed pictures which schools may
boriov for class room work or
which the far off farmer may hang
upon his walls for two or three
weeks at a time, and sending out
films and a motion picture ma
chine that can be used by every
community in the county instead
of by only one group of people.
The county library is as follows
A county levying a tax on the
whole population. An admins
trative headquarters at the county
seat or largest town in the county.
Books sent out in varying num-
bers to many branches or stations.
Part or all of the books changed
at frequent intervals from one
point to another, in the way which
will serve the greatest number,
Stations located in stores, school
houses, village hal 5, residences,
or where numbers of people can
easily reach them and without
having to erect or generally to
rent rooms or buildings. Admin
istration of the county unit in the
hands of trained librarian. Sta
tions entrusted to volunteers, or
perhaps small recompense given
ia larger stations.
The county library develops the
philanthropic spirit, since il is
maintained by county tax either
on all or large part of the prop.
erty of the county and many OF
those who contribute the most to-
wards the library maintainance ap
parently receive the least benefit.
The poorest resident in the county
a d his entire family have just as
much right to its service as the
largest tax payer. And yet the
largest tax payer gets value re-
ceived for his contribution to the
support of the library. however
much it may be. A few figures
will verify the statement that all
tax payers will get value received.
If a county with a tax duplicate of
FIVE million dollars allows its coun-
ty library one thousand dollars a
year for maintenance, and this
amount will successfully run
county library in a county of from
three to FIVE thousand people,
having from three to five branches
and collections in fifty or more
country schools-each person on
thousand dollars worth of property
would contribute only twenty cents
year to the support of the libra
ry. Very few farmers in any coun-
ty pay taxes on more than two
thousand dollars worth of property
and even such we'll to do farmers
would contribute only forty cents
year towards the maintainence
of the library. 1t is the railroads,
the banks. the factories, the mer-,