Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1920-03-19
YOUR LiERAR Y,

What are YOU doing for it, Here
is a proposition worth nearly a quar-
ter Of It million o. dollars OF which
Won are part owner and which yo1
are helping support In slight de-t
gree. Are you getting your snare o.
benefit from it? DO you think II y
being conducted to the highest degree
Of efficiency? Have you, in short
ever given it a thought?
Reddick's library came too easy to-
the people Of Ottawa, II would be
more highly appreciated if Ottawa
had been obliged TO wori1 for il ana
make the same sacrifices and effort
that other cities were obliged to maze
before they had libraries. With AMI
endowment insufficient to maintain IT.
the idea has become prevalent that
Rfddck's library is rich institution
and that any general support from the
city is unnece sary. Such IS not tHeI
case the finances of the institution
demand the closest watching and lhcI
expenditures the nest rigid pairing
in order 10 keep it going in anything
like an efficient manner. And not
alone The people Of Ottawa are pehe.
fitted, but anyone residing III thel
country can have The advantages 1t
offers for the asking -Without fee
and without price With monthly
circulation OF over six thousand vol
umes many are being benefited, but as
the use OF the books increas' rs tanG
the circulation of this library has in
creased from about 1000 books or less
monthly Of Il few years ago to over
5000 the expenses necessarily III
crease, and the assistance ana at leaSt
the good will Of everyone is nece#'
Sary,
The province of a public library Is
not merely the furnishing OF reading
fer amusement Miss Mary Ahern, d
lady OF wide experience bUth IN ms
country and overseas, who spoke 10
the Woman club on the 9tn INST,
says it's educational value has become
secondary only to the public sclOol
system. If. indeed it is to that. It Is
the great school for all beyond the
school age When Il Questlonaire
was sent out some time during the
war as to what was the greatest
Americanizng influence brough 10
bear on the foreign population OF this
vicinity Reddick's library was given
nearly the top place.
What the public library is doing tor
our young men is shown by the fol
lowing positively authenticated
story" 1t is only one case OF hun,
dreds
Pete Herman, worlds bantam
weight champion, is using his brains.
Not that the clever youn2Ster has
ever been accused OF tailine to make
Them work for him-his title i'll the
tistic world proves that-~out now he
is using them in a new tirec ion
Pete doesnJ lear for his laurels for
some time TO come, but he sees a tn
ture beyond the ring when his punch
deserts him So he has turned to
books He wants 10 be civil en-
gineer and he is going about 1t in the
self-educatiye way
1t didn't look quite natural to see
Pete coming out Of the New YORK pub
lie library with an arm full OF books
but that's just what happened yester
day Pete just had to be asked about
this new move, but he wasn't shy
when telling of it. He had concealed
II ever since he quit as boxing IN
structor to the gObs at the A2iers
Naval Training Station near New Or
leans, his home port
Pete admitted he was studying ant
gave credit to the American Librar!
Association One Of the workers il
the A. l.. A. war service at the naval
station first Interested him in the los
SiDili.ies and he took the tip. II,
shot high and decided on civil cngi
neering for profession after he has
l-quit the ring.
Can't fight forever said Pete Jes
teltlay "and when I'm through Ir
going to have something to tall 0acl
on besides the little pile i've go
saltcd away, and that's why I'm real
ing all sorts Of books on civil On
4fu4aritp