Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-08

ono upon which, scarcely less than upon our
public schools, orators have frequently in
formed me the greatness OF the nation rests.
n this be true, all ! can say is, it's remark.
able what an imposing edifce YOU can erect
upon n feeble foundation. our public school
system is bad enough. being ba sed, as We
know, on a Prussian system designed to
keep 90 per cent OF the population In sub
lection, and We have achieved democratic
greatness rather in spite of 1t. But our pub
lie libraries.
or COURSE, I'm not speaking of the pub
" lie libraries in our large cities. just as
IN our cities the school system has long ago
realized it's deficiencies and set about finding
a remedy. so In such places the public library
~ very often = library IN the true sense, a
place where all classes go for whatever in
formation Is available In printed form. I
presume the public library and museum Of
Newark. under the guidance Of that foreward-
looking man. John Cotton Dana. is one of the
most useful institutions In the United states.
Mr.. Dana long ago cured himself of the
notion that a library is q place where I,"th-
ing belongs which isn't bound between covers
and where culture" Is alone sought in tic
guise of fiction and poetry.
7 AM speaking rather Of the public library
L in rural parts. where it liz housed. per-
haps. in a room in the town l,al,' ADMIN
istered by q board of trustees chosen from
the village worthieE and presided over ~
whateScr village spinst.r most needs the
money. After a considerable acquaintance
with such libraries ] am convinced that The
money annually spent upon them is virtually
wasted and would do far more good both to
the spiritual and material riches of the cont
munity II it we're applied to lettering the
rural highway.
EFT me explain this shocking statement.
II In the town where I live we have roads
| that are almost impossible from mid March
TO mid-April and pretty bad for "A month
longer and for a month In the fall. For at
least three months out of the twelve we lose
time. money. patience, getting our produce
to market. etc. not to mention the wear ana
tear on motors and teams and the discoursg-
ing eject on the young people. who go to the
cities as soon as they can. We also have u
public library which we support to the tune
Of 5000 "A year. because we believe IL is one
of the foundation stones of American den,oc-
racy. -
A1OW I'd rather sec some Of those stones
~ under our roads. Two hundred dollars
a year would put good gravel quite a dis
lance on the worst places, and In a decade
would virtually make passable for twelve
months our swainey stretches. Spent on the
library. what does 1t mean? 1t means n
salary to y Spinster who opens tho room
where the library iS housed on Saturday
afternoons talso Wednesday afternoons in
summer and dispenscs the few books on the
shelves to \ few children and fiction-hungry
females. Probably less than $50 a year is
left to buy books with. when expenses are
paid. so you can imagine how pitifully made
uuate any effort to keep up to date Is, even
in the single field of fiction. As a reference
library the collection IL quite worthless on
any line, and It simply exists. AS a thousand
other su,ail-town libraries exist. to provide IA
few children and women with fiction. To say
that such an institution is a foundation stone
of American greatness is q laugh.
T LIVED for some years in a town which
L spent over $1,000 a year on its library.
Naturally, II had more books and was open
every day. But when 7 came to investigate
the stacks | found it had no books on agri-
culture. farm engineering and sanitation,
tree trimming. plant diseases, etc, later than
1873, | found IL had no books on modern
economies. sociology. philosophy. | found
that if a school teacher had wished to stage
a play she could have found neither any
plays nor lists OF plays nor books to tell her
how to stage them. But we were pure-oh.
yes, we were pure. The spinyter, who was
secretary of the library board, carried a copy
of Pam to the fireplace, grasped firmly in
the tongs. and threw out Cardinal
"Apologia pro Vita Sus" Zone. of the great
religious books of the world), because New
man was a Roman Catholic.
NNNTELL, what are you going to do about
w 1t? What can YOU do, with only $500
a YEAR," is the common answer to any
criticism.
WE CERTAINLY ought to do something,
w or else give up this ridiculous blum about
our wonderful public libraries. The first
thing to do, ungallant as it sounds to say so.
is to fire out the spinsters and administer
the libraries by volunteers. II necessary. but
by people with a vision. The second thing
we have got to do is TO get over the idea
that a public library. especially a small one,
is a collection of books for the restricted
dissemination OF culture" Il. e., hction). 1t
is a collection of Information for the educa-
ton and assistance OF all classes.
ITO THIS end the United States Depart
L ment Of Agriculture especially and other
national and State departments should equip
every public library with its useful bulletins
and pamphlets. Any farmer wishing to know
a spray formula for a new potato disease or
how to build a concrete manure tank should
know that he could get the latest informa-
ton at his local library. The latest aids for
teachers in all lines should be there. The
women should ~ there for about
canning and conservation. Useful articles on
such subjects should he clipped as read and
put on a bulletin board or in scrapbooks. At
least one ma Ga zine OF international politics,
to explain Europe and America, should be on
file. The library should be constantly ad-
vertised to the village until it's true function
was realized and its resources made use OF.
1t should be in close and constant co-opera-
ton with the public school.
\ ME there has been something pro-
l. foundly disheartening during these past
three trying years in the almost complete
ignoring OF the small-town public library
cat least. In my part Of the world) by all
the forces seeking to get essential informa-
ton to the public. There has been a perfect
food of newspaper publicity (which goes
10 make the next days ire) there have
been posters and pamphlets and bulletins
But nowhere are they collected. sifted, kept
available for reference. They are lost In the
shufne, while the ~spinster librarian goes
serenely on each Saturday afternoon putting
her little rubber stamp on the slip inside the
back cover Of "Pollyanna" and similar stuff