The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-08-02
Every Branch of Gilbert M.
Simmons Library Shows
Marvellous Growth In
18th Annual Report.
READING CIRCLES INTEREST
Additions to Library Included Lyman s
History of Kenosha County Total
Home Circulation, 159,o53 Volumes
During Year-1o,ooo Increase.

That the reading public of Kenosha
has, during the past year, read books
by the thousands and the tens of thou
sands is one of the many revelations
made in the seventeenth annual report
Of the Librarian of the Gilbert M. Sim
mons Library, which was presented re-
Gently to the mayor and the common
council of the city. The total number
of books in circulation during the year
reaches the staggering sum sof 1884, 53.
volumes, an increase of nearly 10000
over the number loaned the year be-
fore. The variety Of subjects, which
have interested the people of the city
proves that fiction, with the ever pop
ular story of love and romance, still far
exceeds any other branch of literature
with nearly 100000 books recorded as
loaned from this department The
thoughtful student of sociology and
kindred subjects holds second place,
while thousands of pages Of history
have been read probably as the result
of the interest in the great war.
A person with mind pleased with
statistics and the deductions to be
made from them would revel in the OPP
portunities offered by the report to
study the reading habits of the thou
sands in Kenosha. In general it is
interesting to note that the use of the
library is not confined to any class or
nationality but that all groups of the
cosmopolitan population of which Ke-
nosha possesses have, to some degree,
utilized the advantages offered by the
public library. The daily circlation
ranges from the maximum Of 744 books
at the main library to the minimum of
81 when Patriotic Day, with all its var
led attractions and enthsuiasm, rightly
interfered with the activity of the IL
ed for the black letter day at the
branch library when only 43 calls were
made for books, where the average us
ually ran above the $50 mark The to-
vided among more than 10000 clients
Of the library which when we make
allowance for the books that are taken
home and read by more than one in the
Ill
has possibly reached more than half the
inhabitants of the city with its valu-
able distribution of knowledge. This
takes no account of the more than
$4,000 persons who by actual count have
used the reading rooms for study and
recreation, where access to books, maya
zines and newspapers is free. to all. An
other method of measuring the efficien-
cy Of the library service in the past
year shows that an average of At books
per capita were read in the city during
the past year.
The additions of books to the already
well-filled shelves of the library lndi-
Gates that everything has been done by
the board to keep the reading material
up to the minute This has made quite
a problem during the past year due to
the thousands of books which have
been published relative to the war but
the purchase of encyclopedias, supple
mented by valuable pamphlets, offer an
enviable opportunity for the historical
student of Kenosha to delve into the
secrets of the great conflict Promi- |
nent among the additions in the past
wear is Lyman IS History of Kenosha
County, which has already proved of
inestimable value to hundreds of clients. |
Many late books of fiction and volumes
to meet the demands for club work in
the city have been included in the other
purchases of the year.
The report of E. Il. Grant, treasur-
err, shows that the library is in splendid
financial condition and that, although
expenses of operation have increased
considerably, the board was enabled to
return July lst, $4,000 to the city of
Kenosha, and still have balance of
more than $4,000.
One of the most interesting sections
of the report deals with the branch Ii
brary on the West Side, which was es-
tablished more than three years ago,
and which has been very successful in
ali its undertakings 1t has proven to
be source pride to the people re-