Evening star., 1933-10-24
LIBRARIES SUFFER
ASUSERS INCREASE
Tax Cuts Limit Facilities
While Book Demand Gains
Greatly During Slump.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, October 24.-With the
whole Nation taking to serious reading,
public library facilities throughout the
country are starving through budget
deficiencies. Thus a generation Of tax
supported effort to advance the cause
of literature and science is endangered
because of the failure of American
cities to support their libraries
This is the conclusion of Carl H.
Milan, secretary of the American
Library Association, who is investigat-
ing library needs as part Of Nation
wide inquiry being conducted by the
National Municipal League as to mini
mum requirements of public service
during the depression. The results of
this inquiry will be the basis of series
of discussions at the National Confer
ence on Government in Atlantic City,
November 9. 10 and II.
Users Increase Greatly.
Between four and five million people
have become library users during the
past four years who never used Ii
braries before, Mr.. Milan finds. This
amounts to an advance of nearly 40
per cent in the number of library users.
The increased demand is heaviest for
technical and trade subjects, with edu-
cational and cultural works following
closely. Proportionate demand for fic-
tion is surprisingly small
This increase, according TO MT. Milan,
Is Nationwide in numbers and in seri-
GUS quality of the demand. In New
York City public libraries have in
creased their annual circulation by
$780, 900 volumes since 1929. In Balti-
more such reading has increased more
than so per cent; in Oak Park, Illinois,
55 per cent. These figures are charac-
teristic In one Chicago library branch
adult readers have withdrawn SO 900
books on a thousand different subjects
exclusive 6f fiction and biography in
the last six months.
The problem before the American
public library service, Mr.. Milan con-
cludes, is to maintain this public in
terest, which American librarians have
striven for years to build because Of its
valuable implications of citizenship, in
the face of wholesale curtailment of
tax funds for library use
Library Early Sufferer.
The tendency everywhere has been to
make the library an early sufferer in
the "tax-slashing" campaigns. Yet this
Is Short-sighted, Mr.. Milan maintains
since it not only deprives the people
of invaluable opportunities for self-im-
provement which they are showing
themselves eager to seize during the
depression, but it reaches clear back to
the publishers and allied trades, and
through them to host of authors and
research workers. He holds that there
are minimum standards of library
service which can be maintained within
the limits of a reasonable municipal
economy program, if library funds are
scientifically readjusted and not merely
"slashed"
The library situation will be consid-
cred at the Atlantic City conference as
one of a number necessary public
services that are being endangered
through the financial crisis now con-
fronting the majority of municipal
governments in this country. Others
are public schools, health agencies,
welfare institutions, fire and police de-
partments. Depression ills of these
services, and the remedies therefor, will
be discussed by public officials and po-
litical science authorities from all parts
Of the country. The general subject of
the conference is The Part of Local
Government in Recovery"