Norwich bulletin., 1921-10-05
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HELPS FARMERS
MOTOR LIBRARY

HELPS FARMERS Keen Appetite for Boois Created by
 Novel Plan Of Distribut' 'oa-'Parnas-
 sus on Wheels" seems Destined ts Be-
 come Big American Institution.
 Not so many years ago ycu heard the argument that the automobile was destin- ed to monopolizc peoples time that they would have no more leisure hours for reading and that the nation would con- sequently degenerate below it's present standard of culture.
 Since then, of course. it has been proved pretty definitely that exactly the reverse is true. The automobile saves sncS m enormous amount q time that people have more opportunity than ever 10 read. There is no danger tliat the l..otor car and culture will ever conflict.
 As matter Of fact. tlere are a num- Der of librarians in the country t5day who will tell you that the automobile IS helping them introduce traces of culture into communities that would otherwise fail to develop al appetite for b-oks for years to come. These librarians are talk ing their books to the farIns-5y auto mobile. They are introducing the motor zed library. and the success which has attended their efforts indicates that it Is one cf the certain American institutions Of the future.
 Par-icClar success with the motorized library is found in the clse Of EoAlesVils Ind, a city of about 5000, situated about 20 miles north Of Indianapolis. h an exceedingly interesting article czs- cribing the methods and results employed in delivering the library s. ;Ee farmers door, Miss Lulu d. 2iiessa, NoblesysllcI librarian says
 I "We tried both adult and juvenile sta. f-- ' found the adult section was not well pat ronized. The country scGo-ls are U3c- I only five days week and only siz months a year. So the house 10 house plan Uf service was determined upon. Nss visited some other cities. where lF5Tary antos were ia use. and after lsok-rg ovci various chassis and trucks. w decided | upon a Dodge Brothers Business Gar. lE the first place 1t did not need a great deal cf remoGelinr for our purpose. {. was stToasly bult and highly rccom- mended by people wno were using t, for durability uEd-r hard seyice, which we | knew cur car must receive.
 The seats were already comfortable. ? We had the wire s1reent and the entire back removed. The steel s.Ges were bent oTer seven inches and rsed for saelves in front O. tine book cases. Inside the car We built our book case z oak wlh glass dOors opening outNarn Dn 10th sides oi the truck, so that it aa,--..as s is own wares as it travels over i..l country. The shelves slant slightly back to d the books away from the glass.
 Our territory is now iaid in sixteen runs. but y'. must add at east rvs to these in or5e- to cover it-- Some e our trips are long. Number one I-r instance,
 Is 4 miles long and begins and ends 70 miles from No5losvi.ie- We have driven , cur car through fresh gravel. mud and over ice. As ve travel io1r days a week We cannot wait for good roads. The work
 is very interesting and gT-Ns nora so as
 the librarians and the people get better
 accuainted. The demand for ools has | been so great that il has bean alm1s- ius- possible to satisfy both the city and the , country. as we were not expecting and . not well enough prepared for the vora- ' cioGs appetite f-r reading matter which
 we created.
 Our library car fig called Parnasgus' , after Christopher AIorley'z nook -Parnas-
 sus on Wheels I. is e. very iatzrestsn . litJe book about book pcdL,ils. We use
 an old fashioned dime. he'i to call pa.-
 rons, this being m-rs effective than tho
 horn. One side Of the ear is useG for adult and the other for chrdren's books , we also circulate books 1n farming travel . and extra fiction and juvenile books in. e side. Fiction is in G-estest demand. but - we also circulat books on farrninll. travel history, literature. music and Bible ltter e ature. We carry fairy stories and bea' . stories for. the younger children and hay, - introduced many youthful readers to Lit
 tie Women. Tom Sawyer. and Pinochi One great advantage Of our system to thl t rural patrons is that there are no fnes attached to books charged to the iihrarl
 auto cards.
 The people in the country think VI
 made a good choice Of a ear. as it is % good car. but net the most expensive They make many comments on the car
 especially since we have met the men ii
 the homes.
 The Indiana Library Commission i trying to push the country library idea al . are many ether states. It is much bet ter to have a strong central library. wher,
 decent salaries are paid than g;
 many small libraries. barely alive. am
 of not much use in the community. Th'
 Indiana librarians are very much inte
 rested in our work.
 C "Our car now regularly visits almos O 500 homes and has about 1.5O0 patrons . the circulation running from 100 to 15 d per run. We will give more service vhei d the remainder of our territory is organiZ l. ed. It is the most. interesting librzr! e work we have ever done and we hope al
 of Indiana may have similar service i ,t the near future"